A/N: Hello all, and welcome to chapter 4 of Fragments. The previous chapter was admittedly a little bit on the shorter side, so this one (the mission ONI: Sword Base) will be longer to counter it. Hope you all enjoy!
Fragments
Summary: Carter watched her slide down the wall with a sob, her hands covering her face. "You should've said something to me, Lexi. I would've helped you." Her teary eyes met his, and she shook her head. "You don't understand. You aren't a murderer."
*To War*
July 26, 2552
Babd Catha Ice Shelf, Esposz
Even in her armor, Alexis couldn't help but shiver as her and the rest of Noble Team flew over the ice shelf that hid ONI's secret research facility, Sword Base. They were coming in to assist in driving off Covenant forces that were attacking the base, and yet the Spartan's thoughts were elsewhere during the flight, not even noticing Kat sliding a chip into the data module they recovered from Visegrad Relay.
She didn't expect Carter to enter the gym the previous night during her practice. Alexis had hoped that she would be able to have the time to herself to calm down after the vivid nightmares of witnessing torture plagued her again, but it seemed as though fate decreed otherwise. The Commander didn't say a word to her about it today, but she had a feeling he knew far more than she thought.
"Be advised, Kilo-Three-Three and Kilo Three-Four, your current LZ is too hot," Sword Control warned over the COM. A Covenant Corvette loomed in the distance, its heavy plasma cannons firing at the base.
"Roger that," Carter acknowledged. "Dot, standby to receive and respond."
"Yes, Commander," Noble Team's AI answered. "Coordinates received. Initiate immediate course correction. The Office of Naval Intelligence Sword Base is presently under siege from a corvette-class Covenant vessel. Due to the sensitive nature of this facility, use of orbital rounds has been, for the moment, prohibited. Regrettably, my efforts to obtain relevant data on enemy forces have been unsuccessful. However, current defensive forces are insufficient. ONI has requested Team Noble's direct intervention to help secure Sword Base."
"That explains the shitty wake up," Emile grumbled from his seat.
"Alright people, we're stuck with that ship for the time being. Let's focus on the hostile infantry; give those troopers a helping hand," Carter commanded.
"Whoopdee-fucking-doo," Emile growled, earning an annoyed huff from Jorge.
"Kat, Six, you're out here," Carter ordered. "Jorge, Emile, you're next. Get prepped."
Kat slid a clip into her M6G pistol, jerking her head roughly. "Let's move, Lieutenant!"
The Falcon lowered to the ground, and Alexis and Kat jumped down onto the ground, joining the Marines who were trying to handle the Covenant assault.
The red and black clad Spartan switched for her DMR, and her rifle snapped up once an Elite Officer came into view. The alien warrior roared a challenge, and Alexis answered the call with six rounds hitting the alien in the face. Its shields broke, and the Elite stumbled. It returned fire, plasma bolts flashing over her shields, but it was already too late; one shot to the head later, the Elite was dead.
The Spartan saw a flash of blue out of the corner of her eye, and she rolled out of the way as a Grunt tried to sneak attack her with two grenades alive in its hand. 'Great. Now that the Elite is dead, the Grunts became panicked.'
She swapped for her MA37 rifle, firing short bursts into the Grunts. The small aliens fell to her, and she proceeded across the small bridge just before the courtyard. In it was a Covenant attack force led by an Elite Ultra, and it roared at her. Blasts from its Concussion Rifle followed, and Alexis ducked behind the walkway cover on the other side.
However, she quickly had to move again, as a pair of Jackals opened fire on her immediately. Their Plasma Pistols glowed with overcharges, and she rolled out of the way of one green burst. Unfortunately, a Marine caught the plasma bolt to the face, and he screamed as his skin boiled away.
His Shotgun fell to the ground, and his body followed suit.
Alexis brought up her rifle and fired, aiming for the small gap between the aliens' personal shields and their hands. Shell casings started to litter the ground, and dozens of armor piercing bullets shredded the bird-like aliens. A little revenge for the life they just took.
Alexis discarded her spent rifle, throwing it at a Grunt that was walking up the landing to attack her. The butt of her rifle smacked the alien in the head, snapping its neck. 'Shotgun it is.'
She picked up the close-quarters weapon, pumping some of the eight gauge shells into it, and she remembered one of the reasons her lost lover always liked carrying on of them. "Heavy is good, Lexi. If it doesn't work, you can hit the bastard with it."
She felt a tear slither its way down from her eye and to her cheek. 'You told me to live out both of our lives. Easy to make that promise, wasn't it?'
She was glad Kat was on the other side of the bridge, firing her rifle at the Covenant. The fewer who knew about her mental state, the better. 'Carter is already getting a little too close for my liking. I don't want him to put the rest of the pieces together.'
Alexis aimed the Shotgun at an Elite Minor and fired. The heavy blast broke through the alien warrior's shields, and it stumbled. She fired again, and the alien minus its head fell to the bloody ground. There was a bit of a twinge of satisfaction that crept into her mind after the Elite fell. The satisfaction of having one less hinge-head kill more of humanity.
A plasma bolt nearly struck her in the chest, and she whipped around to see three Grunts waddling up the ramp with their pistols overcharging. 'Oh, no you fucking don't.'
She grabbed a grenade from her belt, pulled the pin, and let it fly. Two seconds ticked away, and she was rewarded with a loud explosion and three bodies flying in the air.
"Hell yeah, Lieutenant!" one of the surviving Marines cheered. "Let's knock some heads together!"
A flurry of needles stuck themselves into the Marine's arm, and he tried to yank them out with a panicked yell. However, he was soon put out of his misery by a plasma bolt to the face courtesy of another Elite.
The alien roared, charging at her and firing its Plasma Rifle madly at her. Blue energy bolts flew over her head, and Alexis whacked it in the face with her Shotgun. The Elite bellowed in pain, and it caught a shell in the chest. 'All that's left to worry about is that damn hinge-head with the Concussion Rifle.'
The white-clad alien was firing angrily at Kat, whose shields couldn't take the punishment for much longer. They were flaring brightly, and she grunted out as she took cover to reload her rifle. "Dammit! Six, distract this bastard!"
Alexis spotted a weapon she was far more comfortable with, an SRS99 Sniper Rifle. Next to the long range weapon were a few clips of ammo and two grenades, and she swapped her Shotgun for it. 'Trickier to use up close, but I'll need its range and firepower.'
After she picked up the rifle, she tossed two grenades at the Ultra in an attempt to get its attention. The Elite's strong shields flickered, and it roared out at her. 'Well, great. I was hoping the grenades would do more damage than that.'
The Elite ran at her, firing its weapon. Bursts of plasma exploded around her, and she gritted her teeth as her shields began to dwindle. She spotted a fusion coil, and she ran towards it, hoping the alien would follow her. It did, unaware of the trap the Spartan was laying for it.
Once it was practically on top of it, Alexis fired her DMR at the coil. It exploded, and sent the Elite skyward. Blood rained from the sky, and Kat let out a chuckle at the sight. "Nice fireworks display, Lieutenant."
Noble Six reloaded her DMR, spinning to her left as a pair of Skirmishers ran from the bottom of the courtyard. Fire from their pistols filled the air, and Alexis dropped them with precise headshots.
"Noble Two to Sword Control: courtyard is clear, over," Kat said.
"Head to the main gate to the east. I'll brief you as you go," Sword Control informed.
The two Spartans walked down to the main gate, and Alexis took the time to fit an armor lockdown ability to her suit; she'd need it in a pinch to buy time if the Covenant brought out something heavy like a Wraith.
In the other ordnance packs were DMRs and a Target Locator, perfect for wiping out an entire platoon. Alexis picked the Locator up, putting her DMR across her back.
Kat saw the device in the Lieutenant's hands. "Sword Control, I see a Target Locator. Any artillery support in the area?"
"Limited, but we'll prioritize whatever you need, ma'am."
The two Spartans walked out of the base, and above the Corvette opened fire on the base. In the distance, Alexis could see a damaged Warthog, obviously being pursued by some kind of Covenant vehicle.
"Three Echo Five-Seven heading back to base, but we've got enemy tangos on our six. How copy?" the driver asked. Unfortunately, two Covenant Wraiths came into view and blew the vehicle to bits, killing its occupants.
"Six! Use the Target Locator on those Wraiths!" Kat bellowed.
The Wraiths opened fire, using the Covenant's most devastating ground weapon, the energy mortar. The tanks fired blobs of blue-ish white plasma, obliterating anything they struck.
One blob of plasma landed on a pair of Marines, and the Lieutenant winced at their agonized screams and the smell of cooked flesh.
She aimed the Locator in a spot between the two alien tanks, and the laser guiding system locked onto the two tanks. 'Two corpses, one grave.'
Heavy artillery bombarded the area, and both tanks erupted into flames. A Pelican dropship flew overhead, carrying with it a Warthog.
"Outstanding!" Kat yelled. "Pelican, coming in with transport."
The Pelican landed, dropping the Warthog onto its wheels, and from the inside jumped down five Marines.
"The old Farragut Station has its own comms array. That should bring us back online with Command. Airview Base has an anti-air battery that will help clear the skies," SWORD Control informed.
"AA gun is to the west, comms array to the east," Kat said to Noble Six. "Let's roll."
Alexis got in the driver's seat of the Warthog, thinking under her helmet. Communications were absolutely necessary, and they didn't need to worry too much about incoming aerial assaults for the time being.
Kat hopped in the passenger seat, letting a freckly-faced Private take the gunner position, and the Lieutenant took off to the east
"Good call. Let's get comms back first." Kat shouldered her rifle, and Alexis pushed her foot to the floor. Mud spat out from underneath the armored vehicle, and her grip on the steering wheel tightened when she rounded the corner and saw a Ghost piloted by an Elite. Its plasma cannons would wreak havoc on their Marine occupant, and it needed to be dealt with first.
Alexis slammed her foot on the accelerator and rammed into it. Bits of purple armor fell from the vehicle, and the Spartan could hear its occupant hiss in its native language. However, much to her satisfaction, they were soon replaced by roars of fear as the force of the Warthog slamming into the Ghost pushed it off into the icy depths.
"Nice driving, LT!" the gunner yelled in approval, swinging the machinegun around and mowing down the Grunts. The heavy rounds shredded them to bits, and he didn't stop firing until the last Grunt was no more than a heap of flesh and blood. "All clear, Lieutenant!"
Alexis spun the Warthog around and drove up the cliffside.
"Hope that comms array has a working generator," Kat mumbled once the station came into view. She reloaded her rifle, and motioned for the Lieutenant to halt. "Wait! We've got a Revenant!"
Revenants were the Covenant's answer to the Gauss Warthog; they fired a less powerful version of the Wraith's energy mortar, but were far more maneuverable than the tanks, making them a deadly assault craft.
"Oh man, fuck this," the Marine sighed in the back. "Please tell me you have a plan that doesn't involve me being reduced to fucking ash."
"I do." Kat nodded, and she motioned for the Lieutenant to get out, pointing to the building on the left. "Search that building for any explosives, and make your way up to the second floor. Private, take cover on the right ridge. I'll put a rock on the pedal, and slam it into the Revenant. Six, you'll finish it from above."
"Sounds good to me." The Marine grinned, giving her a thumbs up. "Just make sure you leave me a few hinge-heads to kill; a little payback for my buddies is in order."
Alexis ignored him, and she proceeded into the building Kat pointed to. Inside on the far side of the room was an M41 Rocket Launcher, perfect for taking out smaller vehicles and groups of infantry. The Spartan hefted the heavy weapon onto her shoulder, and Kat initiated her plan once she silently crept onto the open balcony.
"Now!" Kat yelled over the COM. The driverless Warthog drove into the Revenant, bursting into flames, and Alexis fired her Rocket Launcher at the damaged craft. Alien metal flew everywhere, and the Elites driving the Revenant were blasted to bits.
Unfortunately, the loud explosion also alerted the rest of the Covenant in the area.
Two Jackals with Needles Rifles focused on her, the long purple needles quickly draining her shields. Alexis fired again, and pieces of the aliens went skyward. She dropped the spent launcher, switching for her DMR, and took out two Grunts with precise headshots.
She still had her SRS99 rifle, and she propped the rifle against one of the structure's wooden railings to provide extra support. She clicked the button on the side, zooming in with the scope, and fired at an Elite that got too curious for its own good. The rifle cracked, and the alien's headless corpse fell to the ground.
She saw a trio of Grunts on the other side of the valley, and the Spartan fired again.
Two shots, three bodies.
"Six, go in from the bottom. I'll cover you from the top," Kat said.
Alexis flashed her acknowledgment light green and leapt from her position. She landed and broke into a sprint, DMR ready. A curious Jackal wasn't able to move its shield into position while it descended a pair of old wooden steps, a Plasma Pistol in hand, and it fell from two quick punches that broke its spine.
Her motion detector picked up three hostiles above her, probably waiting to tear her apart with plasma weapons. Alexis grabbed two grenades from her belt, pulled the pins, and tossed them up into the little room. The explosives went off, and she was rewarded with the orange body of an Elite Officer flying out of the window and landing thirty feet away.
She could hear Kat fighting upstairs, the other Spartan's rifle mowing down their enemies with ruthless efficiency. Perfect for a Spartan.
'You're not like them. Don't pretend to be something you're not, murderer.' Alexis never felt at ease around other Spartans, even during her time in training with the Headhunters. They were the perfect assassins for dealing with the Covenant, but she never had to deal with the alien bastards anywhere near as often. She was a killer of man, not alien.
"Lieutenant, your heart rate just spiked,"Kat said, concerned. She joined her, reloading her rifle. "Are you doing okay?"
Alexis blinked; she hadn't noticed her breathing had increased. Her fragile mental state wasn't something she wanted any of the other members of Noble Team to discover, especially Carter.
She nodded in response, and she could feel Kat looking at her skeptically despite the helmet. However, the cyan Spartan motioned to follow with her head without further questions. "Come on; that generator isn't going to start itself."
'Aren't you the tech expert?' Alexis wanted to say in return. However, she wasn't sure if she opened her mouth to respond that a sound would even come out; she rarely talked at all nowadays, closing herself off from everyone.
However, she followed her partner up to the generator and pulled the lever, starting it up.
"Generator is up and running. Find that comms array; it should be up high," Kat said.
Alexis and Kat started to move towards the adjacent building when a Spirit flew overhead, its plasma battery firing at them.
"Dammit! Get into cover!" Kat hissed. She opened fire with her Assault Rifle, armor piercing bullets harmlessly deflecting off of the dropship's hull, and out jumped a group of Skirmishers.
Alexis growled quietly. 'Of fucking course. It had to be them.' Out of all the Covenant she had to deal with so far today, Skirmishers were by far the most irritating. They weren't durable; a few shots to the body was enough to kill them. But the damn things were always in packs, and moved very fast.
Alexis steadied her shaking hand and fired her DMR.
The Skirmishers began to drop like flies, and though they continued to pepper her shields with plasma bolts, she stood strong. An empty magazine hit the ground, and the Lieutenant reloaded.
They were clear.
She sprinted over to the building and ran up to rickety steps, activating the comms array. They now had communication with command back, and things were looking a little bit better for Sword Base.
"Noble Two, this is Sword Control. Thought you could use some local firepower." A Pelican with a fresh Warthog flew overhead, stopping briefly to drop the vehicle on the ground.
"Always." Kat chuckled. "Take the wheel, Six. We need to get that AA gun back online."
Noble Six gave a quiet nod of response, clamoring into the driver's seat. Their Marine ally joined them, and he was in pretty bad shape. A series of slashes had cut through the armor on his chest and a plasma burn was forming on his cheek from a near miss, but he gave the Lieutenant a bloodstained grin and climbed in the back to control the machinegun. "Don't worry, LT. I gave as good as I got."
How was it that Alexis was able to stare death without a moment's regard for her own life, yet when faced with the scenario of seeing her own kind dead, she still felt queasy?
Kat jumped into the seat next to her, and she shook her head. The answer to that question would have to wait.
Alexis spun the Warthog around, driving over a crest. They were greeted by a Ghost that was on patrol, and its Elite occupant let out a startled roar as the Warthog's heavy body crushed the small vehicle. The Elite struggled to remove itself from the twisted hunk of metal and the Marine spun the gun around to tear it to bits.
"How do you like that, you fucker!?" he yelled, continuing to shoot its bullet-ridden corpse. "Here's some more for you!"
Alexis stopped on top of a hill, and the Spartan jumped out of the Warthog. She switched to her Sniper Rifle, and she saw an Elite General on top of the bunker with a Plasma Launcher. Inside the building were several Grunts, supported by two Elite Officers and a Phantom dropship overhead.
This wasn't going to be easy.
"This doesn't look like it'll be an easy ride," Kat remarked with an annoyed huff. "But the power source from the AA gun is on top of that bunker."
"I'm itching for a good fight," the Marine said, growling in determination. "I have a few bullets I haven't used yet. Shame for them to not be lodged in some hinge-head's throat."
"Then go on and have fun." Kat scoffed, and the Marine gave her a grin before running over to start shooting at the Grunts.
Alexis paid the smaller aliens no mind. The main threat was that damn golden-clad bastard on top. 'It needs to die, and now. Once that asshole is dead, they will panic and scatter, making it easy to take them down.'
She fired two shots from her Sniper Rifle. The Elite General's shields flared brightly, and it stumbled in surprise. It tried to focus its heavy weapon on the Spartan, and the third shot tore through its armored head.
The General fell to the ground, and Alexis reloaded.
The Grunts inside the bunker all panicked, exactly as she had planned. Switching for her DMR, she put them down quickly, and she made a break for the bunker. A destroyed Warthog lay across from it, and an Elite Officer jumped in to man the turret. 'Bastard!'
She hadn't seen the ruined vehicle until now.
She grabbed a grenade from her belt and let it fly. The plasma grenade stuck to its mouth, and it leapt from the gunner seat with a panicked yell. Its claws desperately tried to claw it off, and it detonated.
The body flew some twenty feet away, and she felt a twinge of satisfaction. It felt strangely good to kill the Sangheili in the ways she did, whether it was with her Sniper Rifle, bare hands, a grenade, or her knife slitting its throat.
But it didn't do much to help with the horrible amount of guilt and pain in her heart. 'This doesn't make you any better, murderer. You may have done humanity a service by killing the enemy, but you murdered your own kind for more than a decade.'
"Lieutenant! Look out!" Kat yelled.
Alexis looked up, and she saw the Phantom overhead had decided to drop off its troops. A Ghost dropped down, and it immediately began to fire at her. Plasma washed over her shields, and they rapidly dwindled. 'Son of a bitch!'
She gritted her teeth, taking cover behind the doorway of the bunker. 'Dammit. I don't have much of a shot. But it'll have to do.' She poked out briefly and fired.
The Grunt driver fell out of the seat, and the Ghost came to a stop.
A trio of Elite Rangers flew around, creating havoc for Kat. Their Marine companion was lying dead on the ground in a bloody puddle, with half of his right arm burned off and a hole from a Needle Rifle in his chest. Kat was growling in anger, using short controlled bursts from her rifle to not waste ammo. However, her shields were rapidly dwindling, and it was only a matter of time before they broke completely and she was in a bad spot.
Alexis killed one with a clean shot through its shiny visor, and Kat smacked another one in the body with her rifle. "Thanks for the assist, Lieutenant. Now get that gun online; I'll hold them off for you."
Alexis ran up through the bunker, and she activated the AA gun.
It spun around and began to fire at the Phantoms in the distance. One dropship exploded, and Kat finished off the last Elite. Objective complete.
"Noble Strike, this is Noble Leader. Get back to Sword Base ASAP," Carter ordered over the team's COM.
"On our way, Commander," Kat replied evenly. "Six, let's go."
The Lieutenant jumped from her position on top of the building, picking up a few extra rounds for her Sniper Rifle, and yet another Pelican flew towards them.
"Good work, Spartans. Return to Sword Base; the rest of your team is inbound, imminent." Sword Control informed, and the Pelican dropped off a Gauss Warthog on the ground. Instead of the usual heavy machinegun, the Gauss 'Hog was fitted with a heavy railgun that could destroy a Wraith in seconds. It was as perfect of a vehicle as it could be.
"Noble, be advised, that damn Corvette is moving into position," Carter warned. "Kat, Six, get here quick. We need you inside."
Alexis jumped ran towards the Warthog with Kat in tow, and the Lieutenant Commander grabbed hold of the gun. "Alright. Time to get to work. Step on it, Lieutenant!"
Alexis mashed her boot into the pedal and the Warthog took off.
She rounded a corner and they were immediately attacked by a pair of Ghosts. The agile crafts opened fire on them, and Alexis grimaced as a few plasma bolts hit her. Her shields flared and Kat fired the Gauss cannon.
The Ghost burst into flames immediately.
The second Ghost charged at the two Spartans, and Alexis spun the vehicle out of the way at the last moment. The Ghost crashed into a tall rock and Kat destroyed it with one blast from the cannon.
Alexis backed up and proceeded to Sword Base, where she let out a frustrated growl. Assaulting the base were two Revenants, and they could rain hell on them.
Kat opened fire with the Gauss cannon, yelling out over to the Lieutenant. "Try to outmaneuver it!"
Alexis nodded; she was one of the best pilots in the Sabre program, and she was skilled enough to drive or fly any UNSC craft short of a frigate. If anyone could run circles around a Revenant, it was her.
"Alright! Let's show these bastards how it's done!" Kat continued to fire at the Revenants while Alexis drove evasively, using the rocky and uneven terrain to her advantage. One of the alien craft attempted to pin her against a rock and missed. It exploded upon impact with the rock structure, and the Lieutenant jumped the Warthog over the second.
While in the air, Kat took one hand off the gun to throw a grenade. It bounced into the Revenant's cockpit, and the Elite occupant was blown to bits.
They were clear.
Alexis stopped by the main gates, punching in the correct code to open them.
"We're stuck in the tower atrium. Kat, where are you?" Jun asked.
"Opening the gate now," Kat replied.
The heavy gates hissed open, and they were immediately attacked by more Covenant forces (presumably dropped off by the Corvette) occupying the once-cleared courtyard.
"Dammit!" Kat hissed in annoyance, firing her rifle at the alien invaders. "There's just no fucking end to them!"
Alexis looked at the Warthog, and she noticed that it was possible for her to get it over the heavy concrete barriers.
She just needed a little boost.
"What are you looking at?" Kat asked. She followed Alexis's gaze, and she nodded. "Got it. I'll use my Armor Lock to launch you."
The Spartan sprinted back to the Warthog and floored it. Kat timed her Armor Lock perfectly, and when she burst out of it, the vehicle was launched ten feet over the barriers.
"Nice plan, Lieutenant. Allow me to return the favor." Kat jumped into the gunner's seat again, firing the heavy cannon at the aliens. Bodies began to fall, and Alexis drove through the courtyard until they reached the entrance.
And when she looked inside, she knew they were in for a rough time.
Two Hunters had a Marine squad pinned down, their heavy plasma cannons never ceasing their fire. Occasionally, one or two of the Marines would be able to poke their head out to fire a short burst from their rifle, but they would immediately be forced back into cover. They didn't have enough firepower to take the armored giants down.
But now, they had two Spartans to help them out, with a mostly intact Gauss Warthog.
"Great. So much for this being simple," Kat muttered. She shouldered her rifle, reloading it. "Got a plan?"
Alexis nodded, and she stepped on the gas again. 'This could be suicidal. But if it gets the job done, fuck it.' She rammed into one of the Hunters, and it flew across the room before sinking to the ground in a heap of flesh and metal.
One down, and one angry son of a bitch to do.
The second Hunter, furious at seeing its partner die, let out a mighty roar and swung its thick shield at the Warthog. The vehicle spun across the room, throwing the Spartan out.
Alexis winced and got to her feet, firing her DMR directly into the gap between the behemoth's armor where its head would be. Orange blood splashed out, and the alien toppled forward from a heavy blast from a Shotgun. She looked to see Kat standing in front of her, the barrel of the close-quarters weapon still smoking. "You alright?"
Alexis gave a nod of response and continued on, smashing her rifle against a curious Grunt. It fell back and an Elite let out an angry roar before firing at her with its Needler. Purple needles flew towards her and she ducked behind a doorway to reload.
Once the fresh magazine was in the DMR, she opened fire. Five headshots later, the alien warrior minus its head fell dead.
"Let's get to the atrium," Kat said. The two had been fighting nonstop for quite some time now, and yet neither were showing any signs of fatigue. "We have to go through the elevator. Take it."
The two Spartans stepped inside the elevator, and once it started to rise, an explosion rocked it.
"Corvette's hitting this fucking base hard," Emile said in annoyance.
"Where's our orbital support?" Kat demanded. "Got to be four platforms that could take it out with a single MAC round."
The elevator pinged and swung open, and the automated PA voice greeted them. "Welcome to the Office of Naval Intelligence. An ONI representative will meet with you shortly."
"I doubt that very much," Kat said with a scoff.
"Thank you, Lieutenant. You have been cleared for access."
Alexis's shields flared brightly, and she stumbled; no sooner had she stepped out than she was attacked by an Elite Officer, Plasma Rifle in hand. 'Dammit. I should've known better.'
The alien warrior charged, and Kat ran to intercept. She knocked it back with her robotic hand, and she followed up with another wicked punch to its face. The sickening crack told Alexis that she had broken the Elite's jaw and neck with that hit.
She made quick work of the Grunts, who had panicked at their leader being slaughtered, and another set of blast doors opened to reveal the inside of Sword Base. Inside the multi-level room were Covenant and Noble Team. They were reunited.
"Hold it!" Jorge yelled over the sounds of gunfire and screams of pain. "Everybody, move up!"
Carter ducked behind a pillar to reload his DMR, and he jerked his head to the Lieutenant after they finished off a trio of Jackals. "Six, head upstairs and assist Emile. Jorge, make sure she gets there."
"Depend on it." Jorge let out a grunt. The two quickly went up a ramp to the left to the second floor, and Alexis beat three Grunts to death with her hands.
In the next room was an Elite Ultra and it jumped in surprise. Its hand reached for its rifle, and Jorge cut it down in seconds. Dozens of armor piercing bullets tore the Elite into a bloody pulp, and he chuckled. "Like that? I got some more for each of you."
Alexis could only roll her eye and sigh. She never understood taunting the enemy like that, or why it was so appealing.
They proceeded across a large bridge to the third floor where even more Covenant lay waiting. A pair of Jackal snipers fired at her, and the Lieutenant switched to her Sniper Rifle. Two shots, two bodies.
The Elite Officer let out a growl, charging her and clicking in its native tongue. Alexis ducked under a swing and drew her knife. The blade parted through the armor, much to her surprise; she assumed the bastard would've had its shields active.
The alien howled in pain as the blade cut into the soft and tender flesh beneath. It stumbled, and Jorge smashed his heavy chaingun into the warrior's face. "That's for Harvest!"
The base shook again from another explosion.
"Corvette is going to eat this base apart," Sword Control said worriedly. "What's the situation, Noble?"
"I can't do this shit on my own," Emile said reluctantly. "I need another Spartan up here!"
"Six, hurry up and get to the top floor to give him the assist he needs," Carter ordered.
Alexis flashed her acknowledgment light green and proceeded up a flight of stairs. Now on the top floor, she ran past a group of Marines making short work of three Grunts and two Jackals. She went to run across the last bridge when a bright green flash from a Fuel Rod Cannon narrowly missed her head.
Standing opposite to her position was an Elite General with a Fuel Rod Cannon.
'Son of a bitch. I need to kill it.' She went to fire her Sniper Rifle when Jorge appeared by her side, huffing a little.
"You damn young kids are always giving me headaches." He was probably glaring at her. "Let me handle this bastard. You worry about Emile."
Alexis nodded and made a break for it. She rolled under another burst from the Elite's cannon, and she fired at another Jackal sniper. Its rifle clattered to the ground, and Alexis switched out her nearly empty DMR for it.
Two Grunts got a little curious, and they were immediately killed by the rifle's long purple needles.
When she reached the top floor, she saw it was in ruins from an explosion; the Corvette overhead was even closer now, and the base shook again. Alexis went through a doorway, and she saw a massive hole in the building. Several Banshees flew around, firing at Emile. The Spartan had a M41 Rocket Launcher in his hands, and he let out a sigh of relief upon seeing her arrival. "About fucking time."
He tossed her a spare launcher, motioning to several crates on the floor. "Lock and load! Have fun!"
Alexis dropped her Needle Rifle and picked up the launcher and a few extra rockets. She was going to need them.
Jorge joined her shortly, and he and Emile concentrated their fire on a Phantom that started to fly in. The craft exploded under the merciless salvo, and Emile chuckled darkly as debris rained down. "Nothing like killing these sons of bitches, am I right?"
Alexis aimed her launcher at a Banshee and fired. The heat seeking missile locked on, and the craft blew up.
She repositioned herself to avoid a second Banshee's heavy cannon and fired again. The second Banshee crashed to the ground below in purple flame, and Emile gave her a thumbs up in approval. "That's the way we get it done, Spartan! We're clear!"
"Noble Team, Longswords are inbound and ready to push. Orbital defense is standing by to take the shot," Sword Control informed.
Two Longswords flew towards the fleeing Corvette, and they soon broke off. A MAC round penetrated the Corvette from above, and the alien vessel crashed into the lake.
"Beautiful, ain't it?" Jorge's voice startled her; for a big man, he was pretty capable of being sneaky. "Someone ought to take a picture. Nice work, by the way."
Alexis gave a quiet nod, breathing under her helmet.
A five second awkward pause was soon broken by Carter on the COM. "Five, Six, get down to the science wing. Doctor Halsey wants a debrief and Command is saying we're all hers."
"Repeat? It sounded like you said Halsey," Jorge said.
"I did."
"Copy that. On our way." Jorge's hand dropped, and he chuckled. "Don't need Command to tell me. I've been all hers half my life."
Carter kept quiet when Jorge and Noble Six joined the rest of Noble Team, and he tried to not let his irritation show. Halsey was not an easy person for him to deal with, with her condescending attitude towards the Spartan IIIs in general. If she weren't behind a shield door, he might've been tempted to cuff her, and hard.
"I requested your assistance Commander, and do not need a report on events that occur on my own doorstep," Halsey said. "What I do require is a detailed account of your previous engagement—"
She stopped midsentence, looking at the new arrivals with a faint smile on her lips. "Jorge. It's been too long."
"Ma'am." Jorge gave her a respectful nod, taking his helmet off.
"What have you done with my armor?" Halsey asked, almost amused.
Noble Six stood away from the rest of the team, but she did take her helmet off. Her green eyes were sad, and her overall posture screamed, 'depression'.
Carter refrained from asking her about it; it was neither the time nor the place. He would do it the next time they met by themselves.
"Just some additions I've made," Jorge replied with a nervous laugh.
"Indeed." Halsey's smile faded, and she was stern once more. "Visegrad Relay. Its data center was home to one of my xeno-archaeologits, Professor Laszlo Sorvad. Perhaps you could shed some light on his death?"
"If he was a civilian male in his mid-sixties, he died with a Covenant Energy Sword through the abdomen," Carter answered.
"Elites, then." Halsey's eyes narrowed. "Tell me about them."
"Three, Zealot class," Jorge replied. "One got by us. The leader, by the looks of him."
"Zealots?" Halsey frowned in curiosity. "Are you sure?"
"Armor configuration matched, as did the shield strength," Emile answered with an irritated growl.
"I gave the order not to pursue. Our primary objective was to get the station's relay back online," Carter said. 'No need for her to know about Adam. He recovered the data, and it's safe and sound back at Noble Base.'
"Your primary objective?" Halsey snorted in disgust. "Commander, are you a puppet or a Spartan? There are those at ONI, myself included, who believe the Covenant dispatch Elite advance teams to hunt down artifacts of value to their religion. Survivor accounts suggest such teams are small, nimble, and almost always Zealot class. No doubt they came to the station for the abundance of ONI excavation data stored there, and you let them get away."
Carter stood his ground; he really despised this woman. "Data retrieval was not a command directive. Even if we had known, we had other, more urgent matters to attend to."
"Like warning the planet," Kat added.
Halsey paced a little, her jaw tight. "Professor Sorvad's final entry in his field notes made reference to a latchkey discovery. Latchkey. Not a word he would use lightly. So let's hope that the data module your Lieutenant Commander stole contains it?"
Carter gave his second in command a look. "Kat?"
Kat dropped the module into a container in the shield door, and Halsey took it back with an irritated sniff. "Before you ask, I was alerted the moment you attempted to access its contents, as I am with any unauthorized tap. That data is classified Tier One. I could send you to the brig for interfering with my work."
Carter leapt to his teammate's defense immediately. "Maybe you'd like to join her."
"I'm sorry?" Halsey looked genuinely confused.
"We're currently under emergency planetary directive, Winter Contingency," Carter answered. "I'm sure you're familiar with the punishment for civilian interference with a Spartan deployment."
"Are you threatening me, Commander?" Halsey didn't seem offended; instead, she seemed amused that Carter even suggested it.
"Just making a reading suggestion. Let's move out, Noble Team," Carter ordered.
Kat, Emile, Jun and Jorge went out first, and Carter walked over to Noble Six. The redhead woman met his eyes, and she finally spoke to him for the first time since their mission to bring the relay back online.
"Good on you, showing her the way you did."
Carter let out a chuckle and gave her a pat on the arm. "I'd do anything for my team. You included, Lieutenant."
He wished she wasn't so damn difficult to read.
A/N: Ah, fucking finally. I don't know why this took so fucking long, but I am glad to have it finished. Next chapter should be in another two-three weeks, depending. Leave your thoughts below, and tell me what you think I can improve on. See you soon!
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