Harvest, 2186
"Preparing HEVs. ETA to Harvest 15 minutes." The flight operator of the SSV Planck called out, causing troopers to scramble to their pods. "Drop ships detaching."
SPARTAN-B312 looked around, the rest of Noble Team climbing into their HEVs. Doing the same, he donned his Orbital Drop Shock Trooper Helmet, double checking the latch on his pod as it slid shut. "We go feet first." he heard the ODSTs shout. Closing his eyes, he entered the launch code, stabilizing his pod. Noble Team would be accompanied by Red and Blue Team, both comprised of battle-hardened SPARTAN-IIs. They would were also being sent in with the Bullfrogs, a division of ODSTs specializing in personal Jet-Pack Combat. "Bullfrogs Ready?" their commander called out, eliciting a roaring "yes sir" from the troopers.
"Drop Point reached, detaching HEVs" the intercom called. SPARTAN-B312 felt the sensation of acceleration as his HEV entered free-fall, descending towards harvest at break-neck speeds. Gripping his harness, Noble Six closed his eyes until he hit the ground. Hard.
Snapping his eyes open, Noble Six hit the release mechanism for his HEV, grabbing the assault rifle in his pod. His TEAMCOM roared with static. "This is SPARTAN-B312, of Noble Team. Noble One, do you read?" he yelled into his helmet's microphone.
"Noble Six, this is Noble One. Glad you made it soldier. Rendezvous at Rally Point Alpha in five. Clear Noble?" Carter-A259 replied. Noble Six grinned, happy to be in the fight.
"Yes sir!" Six replied, his HUD display Rally Point Alpha's waypoint. Checking his weapon's heat gauge, Six sprinted off toward the waypoint, making sure to gun down any targets he saw on the way.
"Burn them!" the Sangheili Major roared, gesturing his troops to move forward. The Unggoy under his command reluctantly obliged, fearful of what may happen otherwise. The Sangheiliflared his mandibles in excitement as the humans screamed with pain, super-heated plasma burning away their armor. "RAAAAGHH!" he roared, drawing his plasma repeater and charging head first into a squad of human ODSTs.
Jorge-052 revved his mini-gun, anxious to test the experimental weapon on the new enemies. Sighting a squad of smaller, runt-like troops, he unleashed his mass-accelerated fury on them. "I like this gun!" he exclaimed, satisfied with the way it turned the Grunts into a bluish-purple paste. Carter-A259 grinned as Jorge played with his new toy.
"Don't overdo it, Four." Carter half-yelled, a slight reprimand in his tone. Carter scanned the horizon for targets, his helmet's zoom feature aiding him in his search.
"Sir, I've got motion." Jorge said, readying his behemoth weapon for another run. Carter nodded, shouldering his DMR. Looking down the scope, Carter spotted them. Two Skirmishers, bothof them armed with some form of sniper rifle.
"Get down!" he yelled, diving behind a rock as shards of plasma shattered around him. Jorge returned fire with a volley of disruptor rounds from his mini-gun, pushing the Skirmishers back slightly. The Skirmishers returned fire, shards impacting Jorge's kinetic barriers, dropping their status bar to 75%. Jorge cycled his weapon's heat-sinks, and then laid down more suppressing fire. Carter took this opportunity and fired a few rounds from his DMR, catching one of the Skirmishers in the head.
The other Skirmisher didn't get a chance to run, however. A large boom echoed across the valley as its head erupted into a fountain of purple-red blood and chunks of skull. "Nice shot, Jun." Carter called out across TEAMCOM, satisfied that he now had sniper support. Jun Smiled beneath his scout helmet.
"Not a problem, Commander." he replied, smugness evident in his voice. Carter's eyes rolled underneath his helmet. Jun always liked to show off. "Where's our new Six?" Jun asked, anxious to meet the newest addition to Noble Team.
"He's on his way." Carter replied, wondering what was taking Six so long.
Two miles south of Rally Point Alpha
Noble Six ducked between rocks as the Sangheili warriors blasted him withplasma. "Is that the best you've got?" Six yelled, returning fire with two bursts of phase-rounds from his assault rifle. They ripped into the enemies shields like wet tissue paper.
"Kill the Defiler!" the Warrior yelled, throwing a plasma grenade at Six, who rolled in a dodge attempt. Coming up short, Six's shields flared as the heat and molten shrapnel pelted the Spartan, dropping them to half power. Thowing a grenade of his own, Noble Six sprinted towards th Sangheili with a blodlust roar echoing off the valley walls. As the grenade detonatd, Six pounced the Warrior, plunging his knife deep into the alien's neck. With a satisfying gurgle, the Sangheili collapsed to the ground. Six sheathed his knife, looked back towards the rally point. Smiling, he resumed his race to the Rest of Noble Team.
Rally Point Alpha
Emile smirked as he saw Six's silhouette appear on the horizon. "Show off." he said, sparks flying form his armor as he sharpened his Kukri knife. When Six arrived at the rally point, Carter gave him the full run of objectives.
"That all?" Six said smugly, his polarized visor hiding his face. Carter looked towards the city, already half ruined from orbital bombardment by the Covenant. Smiling at the opprtunity, Carter-A259 gave the "move out" signal. "SPARTAN-A259 to Overwatch, Noble Team is Oscar Mike. Echo Romeo to Rally point Sigma. Carter Out."
The rest of Noble Team followed Carter, moving strategically through the valley, dodging enemy infantry and vehicles until they reached Rally Point Sigma.
Unknown Location, Harvest
The wailing of HEVs entering the atmosphere filled the battlefield, causing Unggoy troopers to cover their ears. Spartan RED Team had just entered the fray.
"Jerome to squad, all clear?" Jerome asked, kicking the door off of his pod when the affirmation lights winked green. Scanning his surroundings for any resistance, he cleared his rifle and proceeded to Rally Point Sigma. "This is SPARTAN RED Team. We have entered the battle."
"Roger RED Team. This is Noble Team. Heavy resistance at Rally Point Sigma. Requesting additional support." Carter called out over his radio, responding to RED Team's transmission. Super-heated plasma cruised past his head, wisps of it causing his shields to flare. "Kat, get that beacon set up." Carter ordered, tossing a pair of grenades over a low wall, the explosion sending an Unggoy squad flying in all directions.
Jerome looked at his compass. Sigma was only one kilometer northwest of their current position. "Roger Noble Team. ETA ten minutes." Jerome replied, already breaking into a sprint. Douglas and Alice followed closely, both of their weapons cleared and prepped for open conflict.
Normandy SR-2, Unknown Space
"Hey, Commander, we've picked up a distress signal. It's HSA encoded." Joker announced over the intercom. Shepard shook his head.
"We can't spare the time, Lieutenant." Shepard reluctantly answered. As much as he'd like to help, the unknown hostiles and Reapers took priority.
"Uh, Commander, you should seriously hear this." Joker said, nervousness heavy in his voice. Shepard caved in.
"Alright, play the signal." Shepard said, resting his head in his hand. He had a mission, but it would have to wait for now. His eyes grew wide wen he heard the signal. "Joker, get a lock on that. We're going in, NOW!" Shepard yelled, already making his way to the ships large hangar area. "EDI, prepare the shuttle for launch. Things just got a whole lot more complicated."
AN: Size comparisons between Mass Effect and Covenant ships
ME Frigates = Covenant Light Cruiser/Stealth Corvette
ME Cruisers = Roughly the size of a Covenant Destroyer
ME Carriers = Covenant Frigate/Corvette/Cruiser
ME Dreadnoughts = Covenant Frigate/Corvette/Cruiser
Covenant Supercarriers = Roughly 1/3 the size of the Citadel
Covenant Assault Carriers = 1/8 the size of the Citadel
High Charity = Almost ten times the size of the Citadel
Unyielding Hierophant = Roughly 1/4 the size of the Citadel
