Author's notes: Wanted to advance a couple of years into the future, that's why the whole change of dates and stuff, don't worry though, we will be back at Mamore in a bit.
CHAPTER SEVEN: DISCOVERIES
1500 HOURS, JUNE 09, 2547 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ CHI CETI SYSTEM \ CHI CETI IV \ IN ORBIT ABOVE CHI CETI IV
A lone Covenant Destroyer lingered above the long-abandoned human planet known as Chi Ceti IV. The UNSC had abandoned the colony at the beginning of the war after an attack from the Covenant to their installations just as they were outfitting the Spartan II candidates with the then new MJOLNIR Mark IV powered armor system. But that had been more than twenty years ago, now what was left of those facilities were riddled with decay and mistreatment.
That however didn't stop the Covenant from looking for anything that might make the cleansing of the unholy humans easier and faster. They would never use their technology or anything pertaining to them, no, but that didn't mean they couldn't gather information regarding their worlds locations and any holy artifacts that might lay dormant in them. Such task was the one handed to Phre 'Eojalee, a seasoned Sangheili Zealot stationed at the Fleet of Ardent Fervor whom was to find any human world and subsequently burn it down until there was nothing left but ashes and cinder. That wouldn't happen this day though, no, for the world below him was but an empty shell, devoid of any of the impure beings they currently fought. "Prepare a Phantom, we are going down." He ordered to one of his subordinates, his maroon armor shinning in a dull fashion under the blue lights of the bridge, they would go explore the abandoned facilities that lay below them to find what mundane research the humans had done before leaving that world. Despite the knowledge that the planet had been abandoned for more than twenty years, something told the Zealot that what they were looking for was located down there.
1600 HOURS, JUNE 09, 2547 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ CHI CETI SYSTEM \ CHI CETI IV \ EN ROUTE TO CHI CETI IV
The fabric of space was violently ripped open as the UNSC Prowler Phobos jumped out of Slipspace at the edge of the system, its ablative coating masking it from the Covenant Destroyer that still floated above Chi Ceti IV. While Covenant tech was miles ahead of the UNSC's level, they still couldn't detect a fully cloaked Prowler, if they were to look their way, they would be greeted by the dark void of space, a good thing, considering the disadvantage the Prowler possessed against the Destroyer in size, durability and firepower, if they were spotted they would be doomed. The bridge was quiet save for the clicks and beeps made by the computers as the crew kept any type of signal away from the ship, despite their camouflage they could still be detected by electronic means if they were not careful after all. The Captain of the ship, an aging man, probably around his late fifties stood in front of the observation deck with his hands crossed behind his back as he examined the lingering enemy vessel. "So they're already here…" He mussed to himself, a scold present on his face.
Captain Horace Bennett was not new to the threat that the Covenant presented, he had fought them in at least ten battles before, but he still didn't liked doing so and he had hoped that they would arrive before they did. "Captain. You wanted to see us?" He was snapped out of his thoughts by a grave voice, prompting him to turn around on his heels only to see two figures towering above the rest of the crew. Spartans. "Indeed I did." He beckoned them with his hand so they would approach him before turning around again to return his gaze towards the Covenant ship. "Resent intelligence has informed us that the Covenant have been returning to our lost colonies, we are not sure why but we don't like it. Now, that over there is Chi Ceti IV, you may know it as the place where the MJOLNIR Armor Systems were manufactured." He informed them, not needing to see their faces to know that they understood what the mission would be. "Back in 2525, the planet was abandoned after it was attacked by the Covenant; unfortunately some…assets were left down there. The Office of Naval Intelligence wants you to destroy or recover anything that might serve the enemy with information, and I mean anything." He explained, turning his head momentarily to the side to input some commands on the console besides him.
"You will be going down there through SOEIVs and will have Demeter to provide field data for you." The Spartans looked at each other nodding before Joseph spoke. "Understood sir, now, if you'll excuse us we need to get prepared." He spoke calmly, eyeing the vessel that was becoming bigger and bigger by the moment before leaving the bridge, Roxanne following him closely.
Once they were out of the deck and using the elevator Roxanne let herself speak. "SOEIVs eh? Sounds like fun!" She stated excitedly, she always saw humor in everything, not that he could blame her, they needed something to cope their pain after what happened at PROMETHEUS. Even though it had been almost ten years ever since it had happened he could still remember it as if it had been yesterday…
2000 HOURS, AUGUST 02, 2537 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ UNKNOWN SYSTEM \ K7-49 \ 47-49'S SURFACE
"RETREAT, RETREAT!" One Spartan shouted as a squadron of Banshees flew overhead, performing strafing runs and shooting down whoever was unfortunate enough to be in their way. The Spartans present were being decimated, both by Banshees on the sky and by Elites on the ground and there was nowhere for them to go. Over the last seven days, the Spartans of Alpha Company had been able to destroy several Covenant factories at the asteroid's surface, something that would make the Covenant stop their efforts for some time while they built new ones on other systems.
They had destroyed enough factories to allow the asteroid to cool off, killing a response force gathered after they arrived. They had kept their enemies at bay for the next few days, but over the course of the last twenty four hours the enemy had gathered a force too big for them to handle. They were tired and they were outnumbered, bad odds for them. "Execute plan Delta, now!" Another shouted, prompting several shimmering figures to drop to one knee so they could fire their M19 Surface-to-Air missile launchers. The missiles connected with several Banshees but they were still not enough to completely deny the skies to the Covenant.
While they did so, other Spartans broke into a run towards the closest refineries, having lost their unit cohesion, right now they were but scared children. Most of the Spartans were hit by the remaining Banshees, some being vaporized by their bombs while others were gunned down by Elites behind them. Some others stood defiant and fought back; killing several of their attackers before going down with them, such was the case of Joseph and Roxanne, whom were cornered against one of the refinery walls.
They could see their exfiltration craft but it was across a field full of enemies, something that posed a big problem. Their only defense was a pair of captured Jackal gauntlets, the shields being just big enough to cover their bodies behind them. "We need to get to that exfiltration ship!" He shouted while firing what was left of his last MA5K magazine, managing to kill an Elite Major with it while Roxanne covered him. Hearing the click that signaled the end of his bullets, he dropped the carbine, resorting to his side-arm to defend himself. "I say we just break for it!" Roxanne answered, shooting at a trio of Grunts that got too close for her liking, it was a crazy move, but they could do it with luck.
The only good thing about their current situation was that some Spartans remained to help them, about twenty still stood nearby, fighting the overwhelming Covenant forces, that gave them a chance and as much as he hated the idea of leaving his brothers and sisters, they had to go. "Alright, let's go. Now!" He ordered, pointing the shield to his back to absorb any incoming fire from behind before breaking into a sprint towards the hill which contained their hidden ship. He fired what was left of his magazines at any nearby hostiles, killing some grunts and a pair of Jackals as well as an Elite. He had to duck however as he passed by a Hunter, whom had nearly decapitated him in a fluid motion of his enormous shield.
He however didn't stop, no, there was no time for that, their survival would be determined on their speed now. Luckily they were not that far from the clearing, unluckily an Elite with a fuel rod gun had them on his sights. They hadn't noticed him, not until they were thrown to the sides by the splash damage caused by his gun, dropping them to the ground, their armor emanating a wall of steam as the plates began to melt. If only they had been given a better armor system, then maybe they wouldn't be in such a dire precaution. Joseph grasped at his chest plate, ripping it away from his torso before it could begin to burn him, Roxanne did as well with her right shoulder pad while they both attempted to stand up, only to be targeted by the Elite Ultra that was holding the Fuel Rod Gun
Well, it looked like this was the end, the Elite was about to finish them off with his gun when he was tackled at the last moment by none other than Kai, whom was now missing most of his armor as plasma had eaten up the plates. "Go! I will hold them off!" He shouted as they stood up, there was no use on escaping, he was already doomed. His torso sported a big hole, caused by the shrapnel from a needler, he would die regardless of what happened. The two dropped their weapons and their now melted jackal shields and practically threw themselves into the escape craft; punching the commands and making the ship leave the asteroid, barely avoiding the plasma bolts lurched by the remaining Banshees whom soon ignored the ship to finish off any survivors on the ground.
Kai clutched his stomach as the Elite dropped dead, a big hole on its forehead after Kai's magnum penetrated its helmet. He could feel his life slithering away from him by the moment, but for some reason he wasn't afraid, no, he just felt…at peace, despite the burns and the missing chunk of flesh and bone on his torso. He knew he would finally join his family and friends again, the ones whom had been taken from him so long ago, it made a tear streak down his cheek, he was going home. By now most of the other Spartans were dead or missing, he was the only one standing that he could see. "Well, looks like this is how the game ends." He half smiled, using his free hand to raise his side-arm. He had one bullet left, not much he could do, especially against the hunter that was quickly approaching him.
He stared into the creature for some moments, the rest of the Covenant forces were by now starting to surround him, watching in awe as he stood face to face with a mighty Megalekgolo without apparent fear. "Your time has come to perish, demon." One of the Elites said just before the Hunter hit Kai with its shield, sending him lurching a couple of meters away from his original spot "Yeah well, there's room for plenty of you in hell." He spat some blood, smiling as he used what was left of his energy to drop a primed plasma grenade to the floor. "Look around you, the place is riddled with this…this gre…grenades of yours." He coughed; trying to laugh at the situation, the explosion of the grenade would cause a chain reaction that would activate the rest, taking most if not all of the enemies out as well as him. "So, consider this your Great Journey." That was the last thing he said before the explosion engulfed them all.
2100 HOURS, JUNE 09, 2547 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ CHI CETI SYSTEM \ CHI CETI IV \ ABOVE CHI CETI IV
By now, the Prowler had arrived to the planet, having opted to go as close as possible to the surface to make the possibilities of detection slimmer, it also helped that the Destroyer now was hovering some kilometers above ground rather than on orbit, although that also meant that the Covenant was going to use their gravity lifts to move something valuable. "Alright Spartans, prepare to drop." An ODST announced, walking up to them with a M392 DMR in one hand and a SRS99 on the other. He gave the DMR to Joseph while giving the Sniper Rifle to Roxanne before he grabbed a pair of M7S's for himself. The two nodded and headed to their respective pods, storing their weapons in the appropriate places before hopping inside. "This is Echo One, do you copy?" He spoke through the team channel to see if the rest of the troopers could hear him. His HUD was lit by seven green lights answering his question. "Alright, set your drop coordinates to the outskirts of the Damascus Testing Facility, we will drop outside and sneak inside." The others simply flashed their acknowledge lights and began to input the coordinates on their consoles.
The drop pods closed on their owners like coffins before being moved one at a time to the dropping bay by cranes. Joseph inhaled deeply as his pod was left dangling above the abyss that was space, he wasn't used to the drops that the ODST troopers were famous for, no, he usually just went down on a Pelican or Albatross, but orders were orders. "Relax you big wuss." He heard Roxanne's voice on a private channel, always there to lighten the mood. "Says the one afraid of underwater ops…" He retorted, shaking his head before speaking on the team channel. "Demeter, did you double check the coordinates?" He asked the AI that would be helping the team during the operation; he had worked with this particular construct in the past and was more than glad when the Captain had told them she would be "tagging along" in a matter of speaking.
"Yes, Echo One, I've ran through all the simulations and the odds of things going wrong are… one point five in twenty." Her words didn't make him any less worried though, he knew that even possibilities that low could still happen. "Understood, Demeter, begin countdown." He answered, flipping switches on his pod as the A.I. acknowledged him. "Aye Echo One, initiating countdown, would you like me to apply some analgesics to help you relax during the drop?" The AI quirked, ready to apply a dose of morphine to soothe the Spartan, high stress levels were a common factor in ODST drops, or so she understood. The figure of a petite, robe-donning woman appeared at his side, arms crossed over her chest as he frowned. "Don't give me that look; you know that I hate dropping." He spoke to her, knowing the look of disapproval she often gave him when things didn't go her way.
"I was just trying to help, fifty five." She huffed, turning her hologram from him. He just shook his head an sighed. "Just begin the countdown." He ordered, leaning his head against the hard metal of the pod, she wasn't making this any easier for him. "Are you done chatting with your girlfriend?" He listened to Roxanne speak through the private channel. He simply shook his head and closed the channel, flipping the final switch that would release the pods. "Dropping in 3...2…1…Pods away." Demeter spoke calmly through the COMM Channel, releasing the pods into the abyss.