Chapter 3: Like a Bat Outta Hell

Perfection

"What am I supposed to be looking at here?" Daniel asked.

He, Alicia, and the rest of the Guard squad were perched on the rooftop of an abandoned housing unit, which served as a perfect vantage point over the motorpool as well as the surrounding town. They had spent the past half hour observing Covenant movement throughout select parts of town.

"Right there, about a kilometer north of the motorpool." Welkins pointed. "Under the water tower."

Daniel shifted his perspective to where Welkins was pointing, and noticed numerous Covenant troops hurriedly moved about. There was a much, much greater concentration of them than on the outskirts of town. He also noticed heavy machinery being moved, and heavy lifters carrying dirt out of the town and dumping it into huge piles.

"They're digging?" Daniel wondered. "Why in the world would they invade a planet just to dig?"

"That's not the worst of it." Welkins glanced at his watch. "You should be able to see it right about now."

"What am I supposed to-" then Daniel's face blanched, "holy shit."

"What?" Alicia pulled out her own pair of binoculars to see and gasped, "Oh my god…"

There, in the middle of the street, was a line of ragged, wretched figures that took Alicia several seconds to realize were Humans. From the looks of it, they had been pressed into slave labor ever since the Covenant invasion. Their painfully visible skeletal frames, deathly pale complexion, and look of general despair painfully reminded her of the recordings of concentration camps on the Warsaw III colony. As she looked on, the Covenant guards herded the wretched slaves out of the mystery dig site and directly into the motorpool.

"It looks like we have more to do than just ditching this place." Alicia growled.

Personally, part of Daniel secretly wanted to get north as soon as possible, with the prisoners or not. They weren't exactly his concern, but some piece of his conscience tugged at him, and it was clearly obvious that Alicia and Welkins weren't going to leave without them.

"Well, we have one thing going for us." Daniel observed. "They've put the prisoners and the vehicles in one place, so when we attack, we can sweep both up in one go."

"Yeah, but we've still got all those Covenant to bust through." Alicia pointed out. "Welkins, how many Covenant are there?"

"We've estimated that they've got about three hundred troops with light armor support, and about a hundred noncombatants. You know, those weird floaty squid things."

"Against just the thirteen of us." Welkins pointed out.

"All we need is a distraction, don't we?" Daniel shrugged.

"As long as we can hit somewhere where it hurts." Welkins nodded.

"Well, that dig site seems incredibly important to them." Alicia said.

"Idea." Daniel grinned. "Welkins, you and your squad stay here. Once you see the signal, move and grab the vehicles and the prisoners."

"What's the signal?" Welkins asked.

"Oh, you'll know." He looked at Alicia. "Come on, we've got work to do."

The two Marines returned to ground level and slowly made their way towards the dig site. However, it was too dangerous to move directly to it, so they instead opted to sneak around the main body of Covenant, which took far more time. When they finally reached the dig site, the sun was already coming down.

"Recon?" Daniel asked.

"Don't we always?" Alicia grinned.

The pair moved closer. Fortunately, due to the hour and the absence of the prisoners, there wasn't a very heavy Covenant presence around the dig site. After a few stealthy kills on the part of Alicia, she and Daniel were able to get close enough to the dig site to actually see inside it. It definitely looked like some sort of mining or archeological dig, with heavy machinery littering the pit below. At the bottom the pit, Daniel thought he could see the remains of some kind of structure jutting out from the sand, but he wasn't too sure.

"We've got explosives, right?" Daniel asked.

"Yeah, but not nearly enough." Alicia shook her head. "The dig site is much larger than I thought it would be."

"Wait." Daniel grinned. "Follow me."

They backtracked a few blocks until they reached a parked truck. At first glance, it seemed like any other regular cargo hauler, until Alicia took a closer look at the side and gasped, "It's carrying fusion cores!"

"That's right." Daniel grinned. "Looks like our explosives problem's been solved.

"How did you know this thing was here?"

"I've got a good memory." Daniel shrugged. It was true, since the law profession necessitated having one. "Now we just have to get it running."

"Leave that to me." Alicia stepped up the driver's side door and nonchalantly smashed the window in with the butt of her carbine.

"Jeez, why'd you have to do that?" Daniel asked.

"It's not like anybody's around to complain." Alicia retorted and climbed into the driver's seat, remembering to sweep the broken glass off first. "Good thing I figured out how to hotwire Warthogs during boot camp. This truck can't be all that much different."

"Wait, what?"

"Funny story. I'll tell it to you sometime."

"I'll go get the cores ready then."

As Alicia tinkered with the truck's wiring, Daniel ran to the back of the truck and opened its rear cargo hatch. Inside were rows of commercial fusion cores, used to power pretty much everything from vehicles to home appliances. There was usually great demand for these in small towns like Perfection, which normally wouldn't have reliable access to electricity like the bigger cities. He also happened to know that a simple hard impact wasn't going to set the cores off. They needed a bit of encouragement. He grabbed a timed C7 charge and placed it on the nearest fusion core. He set the timer for thirty seconds, but didn't activate it just yet.

"Is the truck ready?" Daniel asked.

"Just a second." Alicia sighed as she worked the wires, making sure not to cause a short and give herself a nasty shock. After twisting the last pair of wires together, the truck's engines growled as the vehicle slowly came to life. "We're in business!"

"Good. Aim it towards the dig site." Daniel glanced around and picked up a brick and a discarded iron pipe. Making sure the brake was engaged, Daniel pressed the accelerator down with the brick and braced it against the driver's seat with the metal pipe.

"Alicia, can you go to the back and set the timer?"

Alicia nodded and disappeared around the back of the truck. When she yelled "Ready!" Daniel disengaged the brake and leapt clear of the truck.

With brakes disengaged and the engine on full power, the truck sped forward with surprising speed. It didn't take long for the Covenant sentries to notice the noisy truck barreling down the street towards them. The truck's cab was soon perforated with plasma bolts and needler rounds in an attempt to kill the nonexistent driver. When it was clear that the truck wasn't going to stop, the Covenant troops started running for their lives. The truck then disappeared over the lip of the pit and both Daniel and Alicia could hear an audible whump as the truck impacted the bottom of the pit. Several tense seconds later the dig site was instantly engulfed in a massive blast of fire and light, as if a volcano were erupting. Daniel then saw what looked like to be a Covenant version of a bulldozer, flying through the air like a broken plastic toy, land several blocks away.

The explosion succeeded magnificently in its dual purpose of distracting the Covenant as well as slamming the brakes on their little side operation. The Covenant responded in a lightning fast manner, and made it very clear that they were not happy. Easily over a hundred ground troops and at least one or two Spectres and Ghosts marched down from the town center to investigate the blast.

"I believe that's our cue to leave." Alicia pointed out.

"Good idea."

As they retreated, however, neither of them expected to run into a Covenant recon patrol, consisting of a pair of Grunts and Jackals. Daniel panicked and fired wildly, embarrassingly missing all four Covenant soldiers at literally point blank range. Alicia, meanwhile, had far more success in reacting to the surprise encounter. Two quick bursts took down the Jackals before they had a chance to duck behind their shields. Alicia then yanked Daniel into cover before the surviving Grunts could return fire, though it was a wasted gesture. The Grunts decided that their time was better spent to try and put as much distance between themselves and the Marines as possible.

"Damnit!" Alicia cursed. "We have to take them down before-"

But it was too late. The Grunts apparently managed to get the word out to their comrades investigating the dig site. Within seconds, Daniel and Alicia could hear the familiar hum of Covenant engines closing in on their position.

"Definitely not as planned." Alicia sighed.

Without hesitating for a second, Daniel and Alicia sprinted down the street back towards the motor pool. Even though Daniel was painfully aware that he was not at peak physical condition anymore, he was filled with so much adrenaline that he felt that he could break world records. He could feel the heat of plasma bolts as they passed both him and Alicia, and for a brief second, he believed that they weren't going to make it.

Suddenly, two shafts of light that blazed in the dying glow of the setting sun streaked over Daniel and Alicia's heads. The two armor piercing rockets, shrieking like flaming banshees, struck the two Spectres pursuing Daniel and Alicia, blowing them to pieces and scattering the Covenant troops following close behind. Like an Arthurian knight on his horse, Welkins and one of his men braked to a stop in front of Daniel and Alicia in a transport-pattern Warthog.

"Come on!" Welkins yelled. "Get in!"

The two Marines scrambled into the back of the Warthog. Daniel barely got one leg in when Welkins jammed the accelerator, speeding away from the approaching Covenant wave. Welkins' rocket-toting squadmate banged off two more rockets, which streaked off into the dusk to destroy a Ghost. The Covenant began returning fire, but at that point, the Warthog was already gone.

Several Miles Away

Daniel was initially caught off guard when Welkins finally caught up with the rest of the squad at the rendezvous point outside of Perfection. There were easily at least a hundred liberated prisoners milling about with a sizeable convoy of vehicles, both military and civilian.

"I see you and your men were busy while we were away." Daniel remarked. "What do we have?"

"Well, I don't exactly have exact numbers." Welkins scratched his head. "We've rescued roughly a hundred people, and we've snagged quite a number of vehicles as well. We've got about six Warthogs, four combat and two transport, two trucks, an ambulance, and about eight other civilian vehicles."

"What about the supplies?" Alicia asked cautiously.

"Well, that's a bit more problematic." Welkins bit his lip. "We managed to pull some stuff that was left over from the start of the invasion. It was pretty simple, since the Covvies really didn't care about stuff they couldn't use, but the problem is that nobody's taken any sort of proper count of it all.

"I'll take a look at it." Daniel volunteered. He'd spent many long nights filling out paperwork, and this didn't seem much different.

"Good luck to you then, sir." Welkins smiled. "I'm going to go through the civilians to see which of them knows how to point a gun."

"Good." Daniel nodded. "We'll need all the fighters we've got."

"I'll go and set up a perimeter then." Alicia said. "There's no guarantee the Covvies won't try and pursue us."

With his two newly-made comrades off on their separate duties, Daniel decided to start taking an inventory of the supplies Welkins and his men had managed to make off with. As he meandered his way throughout the makeshift camp, he noticed many people looking at him as the passed. Many would nod, or give silent thanks to him. What Daniel noticed the most though, was that something about these people now seemed remarkably different. It seemed to be the newfound shine in their eyes and the small smiles on their faces. Apparently, having their status as "hopeless prisoners doomed to a horrible death" upgraded to "liberated refugees with a fairly high chance of a horrible death" did wonders to their morale. Daniel returned the smiles, nods, and thanks that he received and got to work. As he started writing down all of the available equipment and supplies, Daniel felt the pit in his stomach growing deeper and deeper. There weren't a lot of supplies to go around. If it had just been him, Alicia, and Welkins' squad, then they would've been able to survive in the desert for up to a month. However, with about hundred civilians saddled on them now, his projections were shortened to just a couple of days, even with rationing.

Three Hours Later

By this point, pretty much all of the civilians were asleep, huddled inside or against the vehicles for some measure of warmth. However, some of Welkins' men stood steadfast at the edges of the camp, while Daniel, Alicia, and Welkins, now the de facto leaders of the refugee band, held a hasty conference.

"I and my men made a complete count." Welkins said over the dim light of the gas heater they were huddled around. "We have exactly eighty six refugees with us. Four were captured Guardsmen, fourteen have experience with weapons, but the rest are basically just civilians. About twelve of them are injured, but they're mostly minor with the exception of two critical cases, who we're keeping in the ambulance."

"Yeah, well, supplies are our biggest problem at the moment." Daniel sighed. "With rationing, we only have enough to see us through for three days, five at the most. We're going to have to find a way to get more supplies."

"It's not going to be easy." Alicia said. "I've been out in this desert for a week, and there's not much out there. It was just me and I had the fortune of having my own supplies and running into clerk-boy over here."

"I think I have an idea." Welkins pulled a tattered map out of his pocket. "The planetary government had set up a network of hidden military supply depots in the event of a mass invasion or insurrection that would force the military underground."

"I hope that means what I think it means." Daniel said hopefully.

"One of these depots is right over here." Welkins pointed to a circled blotch north of Perfection. "If we can get there, we'll be able to restock supplies, but there's a catch."

"What is it?"

"You said we only have enough supplies for five days, and at my best estimate, the drive there is going to take up to a week."

"We'd all die of dehydration by then." Alicia blanched.

"Wait." Daniel narrowed his eyes as he examined the map further. "What's this here?"

"Another town." Welkins craned his head closer to read the name. "Springtown."

"You'd think we'd be able to get supplies there?" Daniel asked.

"Possible." Welkins nodded thoughtfully. "It's a fair sized town, plus it sits on a natural spring, so there should be plenty of water there, assuming the Covenant haven't bombed the whole place to hell, of course."

"We don't have much a choice." Alicia concluded. "We're just going to have to go for it."

Their deliberations continued throughout the night. After deciding on how to best ration supplies, figuring out the most fuel efficient route to their eventual destination, and predicting the level of Covenant resistance, the three leaders worked up a plan to organize the convoy. Welkins' squadmates, who had been fighting the Covenant since they had touched down, were undoubtedly the most experienced men in the convoy. They would then be split up in to smaller units and be put in charge of the civilians to train them into a fighting force. However, they unanimously agreed that the regular civilians weren't ready to be armed yet, so weaponry would be restricted to just those with prior experience. It wasn't as if they had the weapons to go around anyway.

"Alright," Daniel clapped his hands, satisfied, "we should get some sleep."

"We'll have to move out by dawn." Alicia said. "We have to stay ahead of whatever the Covenant might send out to find us."

"Good idea." Daniel silently groaned inside. He had long since thrown aside the ridiculous combat sleep schedule (or lack thereof) that the rigorous Marine lifestyle required. Working in a civilian job, Daniel had long grown accustomed to regular hours and decent sleep.

"I'll spread the word to my men." Welkins acknowledged.

"Man, it's nice to have a few more bodies to stay on watch." Alicia yawned as Welkins disappeared into the darkness. "I haven't had any decent sleep for weeks."

Next Morning

Though there were initial problems rousing the refugees from their much deserve sleep, Welkins and his men managed to pile everybody into the vehicles and get them moving just a few hours after dawn. So far, there weren't any attempts from the Covenant in the town to pursue them. Daniel suspected that they were busy trying to cover their hides for the loss of the dig site they were running, but he couldn't be sure. Either way, it was better to get as much distance between them and the Covenant as possible.

The first three days of the trip were uneventful. There was absolutely no sign of the Covenant for miles around, so Alicia felt it was fairly safe for the vehicles to drive at full speed. The small convoy kicked up a massive dust cloud in its wake, but nothing was around to notice it. Another bit of good news was that now that they were getting some proper food, the refugees' physical condition was beginning to improve rather significantly. The fourteen civilians familiar with weapons were assigned to Welkins' men for training and leadership, and were beginning to pick up on the military lifestyle. However, something nagged at Daniel. While the majority of the trainees were either policemen or gun owners, five of them were ex, or even currently serving, convicts. However, four of them seemed harmless enough. They really were nothing more than local troublemakers or wannabe gangsters.

Then there was Jerrid.

There was something off about the ex con. Whenever asked about what he was jailed for, he'd always mumble something about tax evasion, but everybody knew it was a lie, and what made it worse was that Jerrid knew that they knew and didn't care. Daniel also noted Jerrid's cold, lifeless eyes that seemed to suck the life out of you whenever you were the target of its gaze. What made the whole thing worse was his smile, though. Whenever Jerrid smiled, it seemed to Daniel as if even the devil himself would trade his soul to get it. That said, Daniel clearly tried to avoid Jerrid as much as possible. Alicia likewise kept her distance, as his sheer presence made her uncharacteristically nervous. When asked about it, Alicia merely said that Jerrid reminded her of some creepy uncle she had. Fortunately, Welkins had Jerrid put under his watch, so that the Guard sergeant could keep a close eye on him.

On the fourth day, the situation was beginning to deteriorate slightly. One of the civilian vehicles failed to start, and the resident mechanics had to jumpstart it. It was a classic sign that the fuel cell was starting to die out. Without a fresh source of hydrogen or electricity, the vehicles would eventually lose power to their engines and die out. Speaking of which, water and food were predictably running low as well. Their morale was still generally high, but Daniel could feel the anxiety rising among the refugees.

"I see the town." Alicia pointed ahead, breaking Daniel's thoughts.

Sure enough, Springtown lay ahead, and surprisingly, it seemed to be in fairly good condition. True, there were signs of some minor damage, but overall, the town was intact.

"Alright." Daniel took a quick look at the convoy. "The rest of the convoy will stay here while we scout the town. When we figure it's safe, we'll signal for you to come in. Welkins, you stay behind and keep an eye on the convoy."

"Yes sir." Welkins nodded.

With that, Daniel, Alicia, and Corporal Talls, one of Welkins' men, took off in one of the armed Warthogs toward Springtown. As they entered, they saw what could have passed for a normal, everyday town, except for the fact that the streets were abandoned. There was some minor damage, but it looked to have originated from rioting rather than actual combat. The lack of any signs of fighting or bodies suggested to Daniel that the people of Springtown decided to pack up and leave. Not a surprising decision, given the Covenant invasion.

As they moved deeper into the town, they noticed that all of the stores they passed had once been boarded up and sealed. However, it appeared that looters had come through the town, as wooden boards had been pried open, glass windows were shattered, and there were splintered frames where doors had been kicked in.

"Somebody here's been busy." Alicia remarked.

"Let's just hope they're still not around." Talls said.

After fifteen minutes of patrolling the lifeless town, the Marines were about to conclude that it was free of any Covenant, until something caught Alicia's eye.

"Stop." She told Talls.

"What?" Talls hit the brakes. "What's wrong?"

"Those lights." Alicia pointed to a nearby building. "They're on, which means this building still has power."

"Survivors? Holdouts too stubborn to evacuate?" Daniel wondered.

"We're going to find out." Alicia armed her rifle and hopped out of the Warthog. Daniel and Talls quickly followed suit.

As they approached the building, Daniel noticed that it was a hospital. No surprise that it was still powered, as all modern hospitals were required to have a secondary power source in case the main power grid was knocked out. However, the fact that the generators were still running meant that there was a good chance somebody was around to maintain them. As they entered the hospital, they saw the lobby and the halls were littered with trash, refuse, overturned gurneys, and all kinds of hospital equipment covering the ground. The Marines carefully picked their way through the debris, methodically swept the rooms they passed. However, they were all empty, at least, until they reached one of the main wards.

"You two, stay at the door and cover me." Alicia said to Daniel and Talls. "I'll check this room out."

Rifle raised, Alicia silently moved into the darkened ward like a wraith. Seeing no immediate threat, she neared one of the beds to inspect it. She realized there was something under the covers. Believing it to be a person, she reached over and pulled the covers down and gasped at what she saw.

"Is something wrong?" Daniel asked, poking his head through the door.

"You can say that." Alicia said, trying to slow her racing heart.

There was indeed a person in the bed, but he had been dead for quite some time. However, his death wasn't caused by any kind of sickness, wound, or lack of care.

"He was shot." Daniel observed as he came to inspect Alicia's discovery.

"Not just that." Alicia pointed to the single ragged hole in the middle of the former patient's forehead. "He was executed… by a human weapon.'

"Who in the world would do that?" Talls asked.

Neither Daniel nor Alicia had an answer.