Okay the new chapter is here! Read, review and enjoy one and all!
(Project Knighthood Mobile Base: UNSC Legacy Infinity-Class Cruiser)
Inside the private office of the Founder, the head of Project Knighthood, said man was sitting at his desk looking out his office's window, which was enforced by an energy shield layered over it. The founder, whose form was hidden mostly by the shadowy silhouette, spun round in his chair when the screen on his desk began to blink, a sign that someone was contacting him.
The founder quickly pressed the button and a monotone female voice spoke over the speakers, "Sir, General Dominus is online." The voice said.
"Thank you, put him on the big screen." The Founder replied.
A second or two later a large screen hanging from the ceiling appeared before the Founder. The screen soon came to life and the face of Arthur Crest appeared, his scarred face visible on the screen along with his red hair. "General Dominus, it's good to see you again. Am I to assume that this call is related to the upcoming campaign of regaining planet Chorus" The Founder said, it wasn't a question.
"Yes sir" Arthur said quickly. "While I have nothing against the decision of retaking Chorus from the Insurrectionists, I must voice my displeasure of the person being put in charge of the operation." The General commented.
The Founder sighed, "General you know despite my position I don't decide of who is put in charge. And I can't exactly change it without playing favorites. FLEETCOM has already decided that Admiral Gregory Crow will be put in charge of the operation." The Founder explained.
"Sir, Admiral Crow is someone who believes that brute force, superior numbers and heavy weapons is the key to victory. Add to the fact that he has zero experience with ground battles and special operations, a thousand soldiers, marines and Knights will be killed because of him, and maybe even civilians." Arthur said. "If the reports of the current forces as well as other intel on Chorus are accurate then sending someone like him in charge will only cause disaster in a large scale."
"I understand that General, which is why I'm sending you in charge of ground forces as well as special operations on Chorus." The Founder said, surprising the General. "I don't disagree with you that Admiral Crow's methods are extreme and in some ways careless, but I couldn't change FLEETCOM's mind. However I was able to convince them and HIGHCOM to put you in charge of not just the Knight Companies sent but also of all special operations and you'll be working alongside with Lieutenant General Richard Logan, who'll be put in charge of ground forces. There is more information but I've sent it to you yesterday, for your eyes only and the teams involved in it."
Then the Founder let out a sigh before adding. "Including the current status of objective codename Fallen God." Arthur's eyes widened at the mention of the name, before they quickly narrowed. The Founder took that as a sign of understanding. "The importance of retrieving this individual is beyond words. Three weeks ago I sent team Eclipse to Chorus to retrieve Fallen God and take him off world. Two weeks ago we lost contact with them but we know that they their alive because Eclipse's beacon is still active. Their last transmission was that they have the HIV and are somewhere in the south west of the planet, but that's all we have right now. I entrust this to you but remember, for now only a few people know about this, understood?"
"I understand sir, I'll make sure to see it done and bring those Knights home." Arthur said before saluting the Founder and with that the screen went dark. The Founder was once more left alone as the man continued to look outside the window.
(Five Days Later, UNSC Tenth Fleet, UNSC Project Knighthood Vessel Burning Will, Paris Class-Frigate)
Tex looked out her quarter's windows, not really seeing much since the ship was still in slipspace alone with the rest of the fleet. The planet, Chorus was going to be the first planet where Project Knighthood would have several teams participating in a military campaign. According to Maxwell, the organization of Project Knighthood teams were that nine teams were placed into a company, with Team Bishop being part of Epsilon Company along with, ironically, the teams that the Washington, Carolina and the former simulation troopers were in, with the ninth team being Team Eclipse.
"Tex" A voice said. Turning around said woman saw Felix, helmet under left arm, at the door. "The General has called Epsilon Company to Briefing Room A21. The others are already there." Felix said as he walked down the hallway.
Without a word Tex grabbed her helmet and quickly followed behind Felix towards the briefing room. When they arrived to the room they saw the rest of Team Strife along with the other teams and Arthur surrounding the hologram table. Tex looked at Carolina and Washington for a moment, before giving the two former Freelancers a brief nod, which they returned returned. They then turned their attention back to Arthur and the table just as the rest of the two teams.
The General clicked a button on the table, activating a holographic image above the table. The image was a planet, Chorus to be exact. "This is planet Chorus, once a colonized world of the UNSC and one of the few worlds that hadn't been glassed by the Covenant due to how far it was from Covenant Space." Arthur explained. "However a majority of the UNSC forces on this world were forced to leave in order too defend Earth against the Covenant Forces, leaving little contact with Chorus if none at all. During that time the people of Chorus decided to set up their own government and run things on their own, the Federal Army of Chorus. Now normally in that case we would try and negotiate with them or even leave them alone however…"
"Things went to shit" Leo stated.
"Well, yes that basically sums it up" Arthur said. "The Federal Army of Chorus has, from what we've learned, been oppressing the planet's population and focusing more on increasing their military strength, especially towards space travel. Thanks to Team Bishop, we've recovered data that shows that the Federal Army has been making deals with several insurrectionists groups on other worlds, making various deals mostly involving weaponry and high-tech. How these people got their hands on these kinds of tech we don't know but its clear that these people are a threat to the UNSC." Arthur explained. "Now normally we would try to avoid this kind of stuff since it would make us look like oppressors and give the Federal Army sympathy as well as cause more insurrection on colony worlds. But since we've learned that they've been using the people of the planet as nothing more then a labor force for their forces, we can now move in especially now that we have cooperation of a growing rebel force called the New Republic on Chorus. First though we need to have a place to establish a presence on the planet."
The screen changed again, this time showing a picture of a landmass with what appeared to be a large facility. "This was once called Dawn Base, a large military facility that was built on the planet's countryside in the south west. It's built on top of one of the numerous mountains there, giving the place a defendable position, which is why the plan is to commandeer the facility and use it as a staging point for a forward ground base. Team Bishop will be heading towards the facility to secure it and get everything in working order, don't feel like using a base with no power. Team Nova will be on standby just in case something goes down there. Now while that is happening, Team Iron however will be heading here…"
The holographic map changed once more, this time showing a small town situated on top of a hill looking over a body of water. "This use to be a small civilian town until the Federal Army of Chorus took it over and is now using it as an outpost for over sea activities. Currently the leader of the Resistance, Vanessa Kimball, is being held captive for most likely interrogation and then execution. This is basically a rescue op except if we get Kimball out of this mess we'll not only gain the full trust of the resistance but also the entire planet's population. Force there is infantry only, no Warthogs or such so it should be good as long as you don't get pin or anything." Arthur said before looking at the others. "The rest of you will be assisting with liberating nearby settlements of Federal Forces. We can kick them out and give us a decent amount of space away from our designated ground base."
"Won't the people in those settlements be a little pissed off we moved in uninvited?" Tucker asked.
"The civilians in these areas have been proven to be anti-Federal and honestly most of these places have become slave compounds, holding the populace as prisoners within their own homes." Arthur replied. "If that is all then this briefing is done. You are going to be deployed the moment we reach Chorus, dismissed."
(14:00 Hours Above Chorus)
The UNSC Tenth Fleet soon appeared over the planet Chorus, all eighty ships consisting of Frigates, Cruisers and Destroyers were now facing directly towards the planet itself. Back on the Burning Will one of the hangars were showing movement as technicians and engineers were prepping up several Pelicans to take off. While they and the pilots prepared the Pelicans, the passengers, Knights and UNSC marines were getting on them.
Washington was walking towards his team's Pelican when he was roughly pushed aside by 2nd Lieutenant Charles Hark, another Knight of Team Iron. He wore brown and sage Strider-class armor and had a DMR rifle magnetized to his armor's back. "Hurry it up new guy or else we're leaving you behind." Hark said rather rudely.
Washington just glared at the man through his helmet until he felt a hand on his left shoulder. The hand belonged to Sergeant Major Arnold Sprigs, the team's sniper. The red and cyan Scout-Armor wearing Knight, having seen the little interaction, said, "Don't mind Hark, the guy is usually rough on new members. Seeing how you're technically now second-in-command Major Washington, he might be like that for a while."
"Great just what I need." Washington replied as he and Sprigs made their way onto the Pelican.
Soon Arthur's voice was heard over the loudspeaker. "Attention all Knight Teams, prepare for deployment ETA 5 minutes."
Washington let out a sigh as Sprigs, helmet off revealing his yellow hair and tan skin, sat next to him with the rest of Team Iron right behind them. Hark sat across from Washington, something that the former Freelancer was grateful for. As the rest of the team were getting comfortable and setting things up Washington took the chance to ask Sprigs a question. "Hey Sprigs, just out of curiosity but why is General Crest making us move so quickly in this operation?" Washington asked.
Sprigs sighed and scratched the back of his head. "The General and Admiral Crow never really got along, and Crest wants to make as much progress before the Admiral goes gung ho on the planet." Sprigs explained.
"Gung ho?" Washington asked.
"Admiral Crow is more the brute force and full assault thinking kind of guy rather then patient and strategic thinking. The guy has more casualties under his command then any other commander out there." Sprigs said.
Washington stared at Sprigs incredulously. "Seriously? And he hasn't been discharged or something?" The former Freelancer asked shocked.
"Unfortunately, the Admiral's battle records and successful campaigns sort of cover that." Sprigs said before adding quietly so that only he and Wash could hear. "Another thing you should know about is that Admiral Crow has a great dislike towards Knights along with our predecessors the SPARTANS. He was the most vocal in objecting towards the Projects creation…and Project Freelancer didn't really help in matters."
Washington winced at that, remembering all the problems that Freelancer had caused. From what he had heard the UNSC was still cleaning up messes caused by the Project though it was somewhat easier thanks to the former Councilman, the once right hand man of the Director. However his thoughts were cut off when the Pelican door began to close just as Lindsay Autumn sat down. Once more Arthur's voice spoke over the speakers. "Attention all Pelicans and Broadsword escorts, all personnel onboard and ready. Hangar doors opening in five seconds, you may commence with take off. Kick ass Knights" The General said.
And with that the Hangar doors soon opened with the Pelicans flying through the energy fields and into the open space down towards the planet. With each Pelican were two Broadswords acting as escorts. While the Pelicans and Broadswords were moving through the planet's atmosphere, Courtney began talking to her team. Her helmet was off and thus revealed her tan skin, short brown hair and blue eyes. "Okay so the Broadswords will swoop in and take out most of the enemy forces but that won't mean it will be safe down there. Sprigs and Autumn will stay in the Pelican and provide air support while the rest of us get Kimball. Orbital scanners managed to pinpoint the HVI location so no sightseeing. We're moving in quick and fast and getting her out got it."
"Understood" Some said while others nodded.
"We're coming onto the western sector of the city. No signs of AA guns, Broadswords commence air strike." The Pelican pilot said over the speakers.
"Roger that!" One of the Broadsword pilots said responded.
"Everyone get set!" The Crew Chief said as he walked out of the cockpit, leaving only the pilot and co-pilot there. A few seconds afterwards explosions could be heard from outside the Pelican, indicating that the Broadswords had just struck the western sector of the city and now the Pelican was preparing to make its landing. The back door of the transport ship opened up, revealing a sandy beach-like city with the Pelican hovering near a street at the side of mountain edge.
"Team Iron move now!" Courtney shouted as she jumped off the Pelican followed by Washington, Ketch, Lasser and Hark. When Washington's feet touched the ground he noticed several bodies lying on the ground but realized that they were Federal soldiers, having seen the their white armor on a picture during briefing (AUTHOR NOTE: The Federal Soldiers and New Republic Soldier's outfits will by UNSC Marine gear, except white for the former and brown for the latter).
"The holdout is up ahead." Courtney said over the Pelican as it rose up into the air now overlooking the town. "Let's move team and keep eyes open!" Courtney ordered.
The five Knights immediately moved in but ran into a squad of Federal soldiers but were quickly put down by the Knights and their rifles. The team got a view of the holdout, which was actually an old hotel and were about to turn around the corner to the hotel when suddenly bullets were flying in the thousands, nearly impaling Ketch if Lasser hadn't pulled him back behind the building along with the rest of Team Iron.
Hark took a peek behind the wall to see what they were up against, avoiding the bullets flying towards them. "Commander! The Feds have three mounted heavy machine guns on the balconies, third level. They also got troopers with sniper rifles and rocket launchers on the roof. We can't hit them from this position and we can't advance without getting filled full of holes." Hark reported
"Did you hear that Sprigs?" Courtney asked through her radio.
"All of it Commander. Autumn and I are moving in from the rear." The team's sniper replied. A few seconds later the Pelican flew over the building, the pilot firing the craft's forward machine gun. Even though he couldn't see it from his position Washington could hear men screaming in pain as the oncoming bullets killed them. The Pelican flew overhead and as it did it revealed that its rear door was opened revealing Sprigs and Autumn, the former with his sniper rifle and the latter with a Battle Rifle. Sprigs sniped the rocket launchers on the balconies while Autumn gave him cover. "Okay boss you're clear" Sprigs said as the Pelican flew away from the building.
"Roger that." Courtney said. "Wash, Ketch, you two with me. Lasser and Hark stay here and cover the entrance. We're finding the HVI and getting out of here." And with that the three move into the building while Lasser and Hark remained behind. The three Knights charged in and easily gunned down the first batch of guards to confront them. The men inside seemed a bit shaken and disorganized, most likely from the sudden assault from the Pelican. This however gave Team Cross a perfect opening for them to move in swiftly. "HVI is on the second floor, back of the building last room! Let's move!" Courtney said.
The building had three floors, plus the roof. At the center of the second floor was an opening, like an overlook almost with a single door at the very end of the overlook. "Ketch, take the right. Wash with me!" Courtney said. As Ketch went up went up the right side Courtney and Wash walked up a curved staircase at the left side where the hostage was being kept. As they were about to exit the staircase another federal trooper appeared right before them, shotgun in hand and pointing straight at Courtney. But it was Wash who spotted the man first. "Commander, look out!" He yelled as he raised his Battle Rifle, trying to shoot the fed trooper. But Courtney apparently saw the problem first easily dodging a blast from the fed's shotgun by moving to the side. She swiftly pulled out her combat knife and stabbed the man in the groin. The pain caused the fed trooper to drop his shotgun, the weapon quickly falling into the hands of Courtney who fired it at the trooper right in the chest, killing him. She quickly moved forward, magnetizing her new weapon to her armor's back while taking her MA5D Assault Rifle back in her hands and acted as if nothing happened.
"That was…awesome" Wash said to himself, amazed of how swiftly and precise Courtney had dealt with the threat at the time. He quickly snapped himself out of it and tried to catch up with the Commander of Team Crucible. The two had finally made it to the overlook, on the opposite side where Kimball was being kept. There were two corridors on both sides of the overlook. But they were met with enemy fire from several feds plus a mounted turret across the overlook. Wash took cover behind a pillar while Courtney used the walls for her cover. Joining them was Ketch, reloading his Assault Rifle as he sat besides Wash. Apparently he had a little bit more action getting up to the second floor then Wash and Courtney did. "Ma'am, Wash" Ketch said as he got comfortable.
"Ketch what's the sit rep?" Courtney asked as she took a few quick shots.
"There are at least a dozen of those assholes on the other side of the overlook along with that mounted turret. The turrets our only problem but I'm pretty sure I can take it down with my Railgun. I'm going to need some cover fire so it doesn't turn me into Swiss cheese though." Ketch said as he pulled out the said weapon.
"Got it. Wash on the count of three." Courtney said as she reloaded her weapon. Wash nodded in reply and seconds later the two opened fire on the fed troopers, actually managing to kill three of them doing so while at the same time getting the attention of the trooper manning the mounted turret. His focus was so much on them that the trooper never noticed Ketch fire his Railgun until the explosive round struck him, sending the gunner, the turret and a nearby fed trooper flying. With the main threat gone the three Knights easily took down the remaining feds with several rounds of bullets.
"Everyone stack up on the door." Courtney said as she ran towards said door with Wash and Ketch right behind her. As they reached the door the White and Brown Gungnir armored Knight took out a flash grenade. Courtney looked at the other two. "On three. One, two, three!"
She then opened the door slightly, threw the flash grenade into the room and then closed the door again. There were sounds of voices in the room before Wash heard the grenade going off, a shimmer of light showing through a small crack in the door, followed by the same voices only this time being louder and confused. "Move now!" Courtney shouted as she kicked down the door, the shotgun now in her hand. She was quickly followed by Wash and Ketch. They saw five confused fed troopers with a sixth person, a female, tied to a chair in the center of the room.
Without even waiting Courtney fired her shotgun, killing the two closes fed troopers while Ketch took down two more feds and Wash killed the last one with a stab to the heart. As the lifeless man fell to the ground Wash ran towards the woman bound to the chair, who was also gagged and blindfolded too. "Wash is it her?" Courtney asked as she kept her eyes vigilant just in case more feds came.
Wash removed the blindfold and the cloth covering the woman's mouth. The woman had blue eyes along with dirty short blonde hair that stopped at her neck similar to the image of Team Cross's objective. "Confirmed this is Vanessa Kimball." Wash said to Courtney.
"Who the hell are you people?" Vanessa said as Wash cut off the ropes binding her to the chair.
"We're UNSC Knights, sent here to rescue you for the rebels here on Chorus." Wash said as he helped Kimball to her feet. While that was happening Courtney was contacting Sprigs while Ketch guard the entrance.
"Sprigs this is Courtney, we've secured the HVI. We need extraction." Courtney said.
"Roger that be advised though we just got word from Commander Gale of Team Hound that the feds got wind of what we're doing. She says that several Warthogs packed with federal soldiers are en route to your position. ETA 30 seconds." Sprigs said through the radio.
"How many" Courtney said urgently.
"Gale said about two platoons of soldiers plus two Warthogs with mounted machine guns." Sprigs replied. Then he added, "I've also got my sights on about fifty feds heading towards you from the west about ten blocks from your position too."
"Damn it" Courtney said to herself before speaking back into her helmet's radio. "Sprigs tell the pilot to meet us at the roof of the building. You can extract us from there." She said.
"Roger that Sprigs out" The sniper said before cutting the connection.
"Hark, Lasser get to the roof now. We got a shitload of bad guys coming this way." Courtney said.
"Got it Commander we actually got visual on some of them now about two blocks away." Lasser said before he hanged up.
Courtney turned towards Wash and Ketch the former helping Kimball. "We're going to have company soon. Our ride will be waiting at the roof of the hotel so we need to move. Hark and Lasser will meet us up there." She said before turning towards Kimball. Then Courtney gave the blonde her magnum. "Here you might need this." Courtney said as Kimball took the weapon.
The group of four, now six as Hark and Lasser joined them quickly, arrived to the roof three minutes later and were now waiting for pick up. It didn't take them that long for them to see the Pelican in the sky approaching them. But they were interrupted when two fed soldiers appeared on the staircase and opened fire on the Knights and Kimball. But the Knights reacted faster with Wash and Lasser killing them swiftly. But then a third fed soldier appears this time with a rocket launcher. The man was just about to fire it when a bullet out of nowhere impaled itself into the middle of the man's face. The man's lifeless body fell backwards with the launcher pointed upwards as the rocket fired into the air, not hurting anyone.
"Anyone need a lift?" Sprigs asked aboard the Pelican as the craft hovered a few inches from the roof. It's back was facing the team with the door opened, revealing Sprigs and Autumn, the former's sniper rifle still having some smoke rise from the muzzle from the bullet it had just fired.
"Everyone aboard now!" Courtney said to her team and Kimball. One by one the Knights plus the rebel leader got on the Pelican at the same time more feds appeared but were being held back from suppressing fire by Autumn. With Courtney being the last one getting on the Pelican quickly took off, closing its rear doors at the same time while the feds were firing at the craft in a desperate attempt to stop it. As the Pelican flew off Courtney spoke through her radio again. "This is Commander Courtney of Team Iron to Burning Will, HVI is secured and we're en route back to base."
(Around Same Time During Team Bishop's Mission. With Team Strife At Abandon UNSC Base)
"This is Pelican Charlie 312, UNSC Facility Dawn Base coming into view." The Pelican pilot said over the loudspeaker.
Trent entered the pilot cockpit to get a look of their destination. Arthur was indeed correct about the base's location. The mountain it was placed on was wide and at the same time very high above the ground. While most of the mountain and the surrounding area was just desert there were some grassy areas like at the top of the mountain. Also there were several caves and edges below the top of the mountain, some of them looking manmade. It also had small hills that also had various parts of the base attached to them while the main part was in the center of the mountain. Trent also assumed that the rest of the base was built a little bit more into the mountain's interior too. It did indeed look like a good place to ward off numerous attacks too. (A/N: Try to imagine it like a combination of the multiplayer maps Daybreak and Outcast. I know that it's not the best example but that's all I got)
"Can we get a scan on the base?" Trent asked the co-pilot.
The man typed in a few keys and checked the screen for a moment before replying. "Well we got a good scan of the surrounding area and everything seems clear but I can't see anything within the base. I can't tell if its because its so deep in the mountain or something is shielding our scans."
Trent frowned at that, getting an uncomfortable feeling. He stayed quiet before speaking. "Land us at the first sight of flat ground. Also contact Command and tell them we've reached the facility but inform them about the scans too along with having Team Nova to be ready. I don't feel like walking into a lion's den without some insurance." Trent said.
Trent walked out of the cockpit at the same time the co-pilot was contacting Command. Trent looked at his team. "We'll be landing in a few seconds so get ready. Also we have no idea what if anything is in the base so be on your toes Knights." Trent said to his team as he put on his helmet.
Team Bishop soon got their feet on the ground two minutes late, facing the main entrance to the base. The Pelican went back up into the air, with the pilot saying that they'll be nearby in case the team needed pick up. "Okay Tex go and check the communication tower, Howe and Gabriele the engine, Xavier and Felix the armory and Alejandro and I will check the command station. Contact the others the moment you've reached your destinations or something happens."
The other Knights nodded before splitting up. Trent, Alejandro, Howe and Gabriel went inside the main entrance before splitting up, Trent and Alejandro went to the right while Howe and Gabriel went to the left. Xavier and Felix walked towards another entrance south of the main entrance while Tex went north. Tex had her Battle Rifle held up as she constantly scanned her surroundings, not taking any chances in case of an ambush. She had learned that much from Project Freelancer to not let her guard down for a second. It also felt, and she would never admit it out loud, disturbing of the silence surrounding her of the abandon base. Now if it were in ruins she would feel a bit better since seeing the base in good condition despite having been left years ago was a bit unnerving as it still looked like people were using it.
She snapped herself out of her thoughts when she arrived to her destination. She had to admit the communication tower was tall…very tall. She assumed the reason was to send out stronger transmission at long-range. It was also positioned around several piles of rocks that crowded around it, probably to hide it more effectively or easier to defend. She would figure out later right now Tex had to see if the thing could still work. When she walked up to the controls she went to see if the power was good and connected. Arthur had told them that certain parts of the base had their own power sources separated from the main engine examples such as the medical facilities, the base automated defenses, the base's energy shield and finally the communication tower.
"This is Tex. I've located the communication tower and everything seems to be running smoothly." Tex said through her radio.
"Roger that Xavier just called a few seconds ago saying that they've secured the armory. Stay with the tower until further orders Tex." Trent replied.
"Copy that" Tex responded as she went back checking the tower. As she went back to work Tex remained unaware though a person was slowly approaching her from behind, a magnum in their hand.
"Hmm that can't be right." Tex said to herself as she skimmed through the files of transmissions. "The last transmission was made several weeks ago…with Project Knighthood secure channels to the Founder!?"
Before she could look into it any further Tex's battle instincts went up. Acting quickly she spun around and coincidentally knock the magnum out of the mysterious person's hand. Before she could raise her own weapon, the person swiftly disarmed Tex of her Battle Rifle, causing her to react by launching a punch to the person's face. However the mysterious assailant saw it and easily caught the fist and then threw Tex over their shoulder and made her slam her back on the ground hard. Before she could get up the assailant pinned her down by sitting on her chest and had the magnum pointed at her head.
"Damn it!" Tex cursed to herself, her voice low. She couldn't believe how easily she got defeated; it was a serious dent to her pride.
"Okay bitch answer my question or I'm putting a hole through your head." The person, a male, said.
But Tex wasn't paying attention to the words but rather the voice itself. It was very familiar to her! "It can't be…" She thought to herself as her eyes widened, looking at her captor. The person was wearing cobalt and white Tracker-armor. "Church?"
And there we go! The beginning of the Chorus Campaign begins and Tex and Church are reunited. Review and let me know what you think.
Wacko12