Chapter 9: Assassinate

Planet Orta, eastern continents, on route to Si-Ran city

July, 26, 2552

8:07am

It was the next day, the sun shined on top of a flying UNSC Pelican in the cloudy blue sky. Sitting inside the airship, Nico turned on his COM channel and informed Commander Randy. *"Sir, me and Linda just got on a Pelican and left the command post a few minutes ago, were on our way to Si-Ran city."*

*"Ok."* Randy replied. *"Sergeant major Toni will be your first in command throughout this operation. His Pelican will land at a different location in the city. His ship is going to be your getaway after you kill Commander Belgium. He should be calling you any minute now…good luck you two."* Linda sat quietly as Nico double checked his equipment. He had his S2 AM sniper rifle and M6D pistol; also plenty of ammo, Linda had the same equipment as well.

Four minutes passed, and then finally Toni came on Nico and Linda's COM links. *"This is Sergeant major Toni, are you two there?"*

*"COM links are working properly sir."* Nico replied.

*"Good…alright, this is what you two are going to do."* The high ranked marine said. *"Since the Blue Army disabled there COM systems, Belgium is going personally to the abandoned city mayor's complex at one thousand hours. I think it recently became a base for the rebels. He's going in there to brief a Blue Army field commander about an all out invasion on all of OUR CP's on the western coastline. You two are going to stop him from going into that meeting. He will be in a troop transport Warthog, so watch for it. Do I make myself clear?"*

Linda and Nico both said "yes sir". The western coastline was the west end of the eastern continents, a shoreline of Orta's ocean. There are many UNSC command posts by that area.

*"Sir, how do you know about all this?"* The red Spartan asked Toni.

Toni then calmly said to Nico's comrade. *"Linda, hold on for a few seconds. You'll be back online, don't worry."* The sergeant turned OFF his communication with Linda, he then replied to Nico in a low tone.

*"I forgot to tell you about this. We sent a skilled team of spies to the Blue Army. They had been there for quite awhile. We only tell this to certain people, so let's keep this between you and me."*

Then Toni restored Linda's COM link, he informed her and Nico. *"Anyway, don't forget the maps of the city I gave you two earlier today. My ship will land at Bill's junkyard waiting for you two. Good luck."*

Toni's signal was gone. Nico and Linda took out their maps and looked for the city mayor's complex and their "getaway Pelican's" location. To Nico, the map of Si-Ran city was very hard to understand, names of buildings covered a lot of the visual of the lanes and streets, and some routes went in various directions, it was a mess to him. He never realized how big this city really was. Linda quickly found the two area's easily and marked them using a pen. She glanced at the red Spartan. Linda could tell Nico was having a hard time figuring it out; she slightly sighed and then said to him. "Let me mark them down Nico…."

****

Planet Orta, Genesis military complex, Red army commander's dorm

8:28am

Professor Donor approached Randy, who of course, stood up instead of sitting down, the scientist handed the commander a document. It was about the results of the Recon cyborg research. Randy read through it. This made the commander wonder and somewhat worried. He faced Donor and asked. "So according to this, these things are dead rebel soldiers that were modified into cyborgs. And you guys don't know what kind of technology was put into these people? You're saying it's some sort of alien machinery?"

Donor replied. "Yes, they were once human….When we dissected them we found unknown mechanical implants that replaced the chest organs like the breast bones, the heart, and so on. Our tech experts couldn't identify what the metal implants were. The metal arms are an unknown technology as well. The only thing we know about the arms is that they can insert a grenade in the palm of their hands and fire them."

Commander Randy's mind was filled with questions. Fighting the anxiety in his head, he took a deep breath and said to Donor. "Thank you professor Donor, I appreciate it."

"No problem sir." The scientist then left the room. A lone Randy placed his right hand on his head in thought.

"Now they're using cyborgs…what is it the Blue Army wants from us, the UNSC rebels want from us? Why are they determined to take over this planet?"

****

Planet Orta, eastern continents, Si-Ran city

8:44am

Nico and Linda strapped their sniper rifles on their backs and took out their M6D pistols. The Pelican landed and the back hatch opened. Nico peeked out to see if the area was clear, it was. He signaled to Linda to follow, they both jumped out the ship ready and alert. The UNSC Pelican then took off in the sky; it was now just Linda and Nico.

They scanned the area, it was a park, there were mostly trees, and a large lake at their far left. Then Linda calmly said to the red Spartan. "We go this way, follow me."

Nico followed her, they moved from tree to tree all the way to the lake. Linda spotted the passage that lead out of the park. She signaled to Nico to follow. They emerged out of the park and into the city. Linda and Nico moved forward to hide behind an abandoned parked van, observing their surroundings. The perimeter was silent, the only thing in the streets were just a few civilian vehicles parked at the sides. It was too quiet; the two Spartans raised their guard. Then Linda said quietly, recognizing their location.

"This must be Brook Street…." Nico kept observing the area, and then Linda continued. "Nico, get out your sniper rifle and scope out what's ahead of us at the west." He put his handgun back in his holster and drew out his rifle. Nico observed ahead slowly….he then informed her.

"Were clear, there's nothing ahead."

Then Linda thought of a formation, she said to Nico. "I want you to be the observer as we move. I'll take point." She signaled to him to follow her. They moved down the street, staying close to cover. Arriving at an intersection they then turned right. Linda paused, then Nico stopped and observed what was ahead, there was nothing.

"Keep going forward and observing." Linda's excellent sense of direction impressed Nico. She knew most of this area like if she were here yesterday.

Three minutes later they turned left at an intersection. They moved down the empty street quickly. Then they turned right at a T-section. As they did as series of turns and routes, Nico wondered why the big city seemed abandoned; he thought there would be UNSC rebels by now. Si-Ran city just looked so lifeless. The Spartan also wondered what happened here. Did this area get evacuated as well? Did the UNSC rebels overthrow the city? Putting questions aside, Nico kept focus on the objective.

****

After even more twist and turns, Linda signaled to the red Spartan to move to cover and halt, they hid behind a large pillar next to a tower. Then she said to Nico. "This area should be good, Nico, keep me covered for a minute." The green Spartan took out her map and double checked to see if this was the spot she was looking for. Nico took out his M6D and kept watch, scanning the perimeter. Linda nodded in approval, she then said to Nico.

"Listen. Where going to split up. See those two towers at that T-section ahead of us?" She pointed at the distant two towers that were far separated from each other.

"Yeah" Nico replied.

"We should have a clear sight of the mayor's complex. You will go into the right tower; I'll go to the left one." Then Linda looked at the structures for a few seconds, and then she gave Nico a command. "Before we do that, check what's ahead and then observe the towers and tell me how many floors are there."

Nico nodded. He checked the area carefully using the scope of his rifle, and then counted the rows of windows on both buildings. "Both towers are eleven floors high." The red Spartan calmly informed.

"Ok, we will go TEN levels high up the towers" Linda said. "Inform me when you get there. Let's move out." They both cautiously went to their destined spot. The two Spartans checked the rooftops around them, and each other's back. Eventually, Nico and Linda made it to the two buildings. Nobody but them was there still, or so it seemed.

****

The red Spartan cautiously and quietly went up the emergency stairway. He kept himself alert and ready, armed with his handgun. After scanning many rooms, he finally made it to the tenth floor. Observing the hallway, he could tell this was once a hotel. It didn't take him long to find the right room with a window that showed him the best view of the mayors complex.

Nico scanned the distant scenery outside the window. Below at a far distance showed him a large green field, and a short wide walkway that started from a street, and ended at the complex forward ahead. There were a few rebels and many anti-aircraft and tank guns. Still, Nico had a good clear shot.

The red Spartan then closed the door in the room he was in, double checked the whole small area, and turned on his COM link. *"Linda, this is Nico. Have you arrived yet?"*

*"Just found a good spot."* Linda replied.

Then Nico asked her. *"Did you make sure the room was secured?"*

*"Yes, just did that."* The green Spartan replied, thinking Nico was stating the obvious. But she knew her comrade wanted to make sure they were secure.

*"Alright"* the red Spartan replied. *"The Blue Army commander will arrive at one thousand hours. Now we just wait…."*

Nico and Linda took out their sniper rifles. The Spartans got situated. Nico grabbed a small table that he found and set it near the window, then he settled his S2 AM sniper rifle on it. Linda placed a desk near her window and settled down her sniper rifle as well. They did this to avoid having the barrels of their weapons sticking out the window, which decreases the chances of them being seen….They waited patiently for their target to arrive.

****

It was three minutes before ten o clock AM. *"It's almost time, Linda, get ready."* Nico said calmly. Then the green Spartan asked.

*"So, who's taking the shot on the target?"*

*"We BOTH will."* Nico replied to Linda informally. He wanted to make damn sure that the traitor didn't get back up....

Then the two Spartans heard the sound of vehicles. Nico and Linda observed the mayors complex using the scopes of their sniper rifles. A troop transport Warthog and three M12 LRV Warthogs following it came from the right and stopped next to the walkway to the complex. Moments later a rebel Scorpion tank parked behind the pack of vehicles. The UNSC rebels in the Warthogs stepped out and grabbed their assault rifles. Keeping his eye on the commotion at the transport hog, Nico wondered. "Something's wrong, this is too easy. Randy told me this area would be heavily guarded."

Then moments later, Nico noticed something in the sky. Six Hornets were in the air patrolling the area. For a moment, the red Spartan thought they could possibly be comrades, but they were circling the mayor's complex, obviously they weren't. He couldn't believe the rebels got a hold of Hornets. The Red Army Spartan never had seen UNSC rebels piloting those before.

The UNSC Hornet is a single piloted small sized assault aircraft that's quick and deadly. It has two jump seats, which holds a crew of three all together. And it has two class machine guns and twin lock on rocket systems.

*"Linda, do you see this?"*

*"Yeah"* Linda replied to the Red Army Spartan *"Looks like we're going to have to make this a little quick. We'll both shoot the commander in his back, which should finish him."*

Nico and Linda stayed calm and perfectly still, they focused on their target. The Blue Army commander in chief, Belgium came out of the Warthog, armed with a battle rifle. He did look similar to Randy, except he had dark hair and blue eyes. Two MA5B armed RE-borgs got out of the vehicle and followed the enemy commander. Then to Nico's surprise, a Blue Army Spartan wielding a BR55 rifle stepped out the transport hog and joined the group. The six other rebels followed as well.

The Blue Army commander and his company started moving down the short walkway. Nico and Linda kept their sniper scopes locked on to him. The green armored Spartan gave the mark to fire.*"Three…two….one, fire."*

In an instant, Linda and Nico fired at the same time. A loud echoing "Balmm!!!" sound pierced the quiet sky. Two 14.5mm armor piercing bullets hit Commander Belgium in his upper back. His comrades stepped back and started looking around pointing their guns at various directions. The commander fell to the ground…..but a moment later he got back up on his feet.

"What?" Nico said in complete surprise. Then the blue Spartan with Belgium pointed at Linda and Nico, the two snipers were spotted. "How did those shots not kill him?" was the only thought in the red Spartans mind.

Nico realized they were detected, but he still kept his concentration on Belgium. Linda was now under fire by the distant Blue Army commander and a few other rebels, she took a few bullets, forcing her to cover. The blue Spartan and a few of his comrades fired at Nico. The red Spartan wasn't hit yet, this was his chance. He calmed himself, then locked on to Belgium, and fired.

Setting off more noise, the bullet zipped through the air, and hit the Blue Army commander in the head. Blood sprayed on the ground, and Belgium fell down, he didn't get up. The Blue Army commander in chief was dead….Time to get the hell out of here.

Nico kept his head down and turned on his COM link. *"Linda, the target is dead, let's get out of here!"*

*"Ok, let's move now. Those Hornets are on their way. I'll meet you outside!"* Linda replied a little louder than usual. Nico strapped his sniper rifle on his back and took out his M6D pistol. He immediately ran out the room and down the stairway. Linda did the same thing. Now they have to escape Si-Ran city.

****

Nico peeked out the door and checked the area, no enemies were there. He went out the tower. "Nico, follow me." Linda said to the red Spartan as she approached him quickly. They jolted down a street and into a narrow alleyway between two buildings. Nico looked up and noticed three enemy Hornets fly right past them. He took his worry off the aircrafts and kept his focus on running.

Two minutes later, Linda and Nico found themselves at another street. Linda observed the area and figured out a route. Her and the red Spartan ran in another alleyway for a minute and turned left down a street. Then seconds later, they noticed three enemy Mongooses quickly turned from a T-section ahead of them at their far right, and then charged towards them.

The Mongoose is a UNSC vehicle that looks a lot like a four wheeler (ATV) except tougher. It has no weapons, but it's very fast, quicker than a warthog. It holds a crew of two. One is the driver, and the other one holds on to the back grip of the vehicle using whatever weapon they have to fire.

Two of the Mongoose passengers fired their MA5B assault rifles at the Spartans. Nico and Linda hid behind a parked car. They fired their handguns accurately and wisely, there sharp marksmanship took both of the two enemy troops out of their ATV's. Then the remaining Mongoose maneuvered away from the two disabled vehicles. The rebel on the Mongoose fired his rocket launcher at Nico and Linda. They both got away from the car and quickly rolled their bodies to dodge the blast.

A loud "Boom!!!" was made and the car was blown to pieces. The two Spartans avoided the hit. Linda got back up on her feet first and shot down the driver of the ATV with her M6D pistol. Nico got up and shot the rocket wielding rebel in the chest three times, he was down. They both reloaded their handguns. The green Spartan faced Nico while they both kept moving; she pointed at one of the Mongooses and said.

"In that Mongoose, I'll drive."

Linda stepped in the driver's seat. Nico held on the back grip using his left arm and used his right arm to wield his M6D. It didn't take Linda long to figure out how to operate the Mongoose. She did a U-turn and head towards the road the rebels showed up and continued straight. Down the street ahead of the Spartan trio, four rebel Hornets flew towards them, firing their rockets. Linda thought fast and turned right to another road, avoiding the rockets. They went into a large and wide tunnel, keeping them safe from the aircrafts. Linda then said to Nico. "Looks like we're going to have to take a long way, Nico, call Toni and tell him are situation."

Nico nodded and turned on his COM link. *"Sergeant Toni, this is Nico. We killed the commander in chief and were returning to your position. It might take us a while though, were being chased by enemy Hornets."*

*"Alright"* Toni replied. *"We would go look for you two, but three hostile Hornets flew over us and I'm not sure if we could take them. We'll stay put here for as long as we can."*

Then a T-intersection was ahead, Linda turned left. Four enemy UNSC rebel occupied Mongooses approached from behind, firing their assault rifles. Linda steered her vehicle from right to left to dodge a majority of the bullets, Nico fired back at one of them. Both of the rebels flew off their Mongoose and fell to the ground. The other three ATV's kept moving and firing.

Then the two Spartans emerged out of the tunnel into an urbanized area, the three enemy vehicles were still behind them. Nico shot four rounds at one of the enemy Mongoose's right wheel. The wheel snapped off, causing the ATV to turn right and slam right into another one.

The two rebel vehicles ran into the side of a building. Only one enemy Mongoose remained. Then the three rebel Hornets swooped in, following Nico and Linda. The red Spartan fired the remaining rounds of his pistol at the hostile Mongoose. He missed due to Linda's dodging maneuvers from the hornet's machine guns. Nico reloaded his handgun; it was difficult though since he's using only one arm. Surpassing the difficulty, he then fired two rounds at the enemy Mongoose. The two rebels fell off their vehicle, they were eliminated.

"There's got to be a way to take them down". Nico thought as he looked up at the three enemy Hornets that were not too high in the sky….He found a possible solution. The red Spartan put away his pistol and drew out his sniper rifle. Linda noticed Nico; she knew what he was thinking.

"You sure you can make those shots?"

Nico nodded to her positively and said. "Try to keep me steady as much as you can."

Linda understood. The three Hornets fired their rockets at the Spartans. Linda steered left at a crossroad; the rockets hit a small building, taking it down. The Spartans Mongoose was now steadied and the Hornets were NOT firing, this was Nico's chance. He controlled his breath, locked on his crosshairs at the frontal cockpit of one of the Hornets, and then fired.

Within a second, the bullet smashed through the cockpit glass and hit the rebel in the forehead. The Hornet airship lost control and started to go down. It sideswiped a building and crashed to the ground.

One down, two to go. Linda steered the Mongoose to dodge rockets from the two Hornets. The enemy aircraft's machine gun bullets zipped by the Spartans, some barley missed. Then the green Spartan turned left at another intersection. The road had many tall towers and the street was narrow. This forced one of the enemy hornets to turn away from the town and go another route. The other aircraft went in, still following Nico and Linda.

The red Spartan noticed the other Hornet was gone; he used that to his advantage. Linda avoided more machine gun shots from the aircraft and steadied the ATV. Like the last shot, Nico locked on to the pilot in the Hornet. He fired….the bullet hit the rebel in the throat, blood splattered on the cockpit. The Hornet went almost straight down on the street, it crashed and exploded. The explosion caused two abandon cars to flip repeatedly in the air. One of the vehicles landed a few feet away from Nico and Linda.

The two Spartans looked around to see where the other enemy Hornet went. It was hard to see the sky since there were tall towers in the way. Linda kept driving down the road, ahead was the exit out of the town. As soon as they emerged out, the remaining Hornet came from behind and fired its rockets at them. The twin rockets hit the concrete ground a few feet away from the two Spartans; the impact sent their Mongoose front flipping in the air. Linda and Nico flew out of the ATV and hit the ground. Linda took little injury; Nico had taken most of the blast which stunned him momentarily. The enemy Hornet was out of range to fire, the rebel pilot passed the wounded Spartans, getting ready to turn around for another strike.

Nico laid on the ground, his vision was blurred for a few seconds, his shield meter beeped in red alert repeatedly. Then he heard a deep ringing in his ears. With his full effort, Nico tried to get up but he couldn't move. He felt severe pain in his back and legs. Then he noticed some of his blood spilled on the concrete ground. The red Spartan felt someone dragging him. Nico looked up; it was Linda dragging him to safety. She settled him next to the side of a building. He watched Linda, worried about her, but he stayed calm. The green Spartan armed with her sniper rifle went out of the left corner of the building and settled in the crouching firing position. Then Linda fired at the remaining Hornet, creating a "Blam!!" and then a few seconds of silence.

The powerful bullet pierced through the cockpit glass of the enemy aircraft and hit the pilot in his nose. The rebel lost control, Linda got behind the building. Nico watched the rebel Hornet crash across the road with parts flying many places, the red Spartan regained focus while giving a few deep breaths. He realized he still had his sniper rifle in his hands. Linda quickly walked over to him and asked. "Nico, can you still move?"

The red Spartan got up and replied, trying not to have pain influence him. "Yeah, I'm still in one piece. Let's move."

They both found their Mongoose flipped over on the street, the back half of it was covered in charcoal black. Linda flipped the ATV back up in correct position and got aboard. Nico walked unsteadily in pain, but he kept going. The red Spartan observed the area, and then got on the back of the vehicle. He ignored the stinging pain on his back. Linda got the Mongoose moving. She then informed Nico.

"Just hold on, were not far from the Pelican."

Nico nodded, he kept focusing on their surroundings as they went to their destination.

****

Seven minutes later, without running into anymore hostiles, Linda and Nico made it to the junkyard, were the UNSC Pelican waited. Making a few turns, they finally found the ship. Sergeant Toni with a MA5B stood next to the airship, and then the back door of the aircraft opened. Four armed UNSC marines came out and kept watch for the Spartans. Nico and Linda got out the Mongoose, Linda assisted Nico by having him put his right arm over her shoulders, and she held him, keeping him on his feet. They both went inside the Pelican, along with everyone else. Moments later the UNSC ship took off quickly.

Toni looked at Nico's condition, he said to himself. "Good thing I brought medics." He informed the three medics who got up and checked on the wounded Spartan. Linda sat, checking her body for any possible injuries. She was ok, sore body wise, but ok. Then Linda looked at Nico who lied down on his front body, back up. Nico glanced at Linda as the medics removed a few fragments that were jammed deep in his shoulders and lower back. The red Spartan gave Linda a thumb up in their success. The green Spartan nodded in approval back to him.

Sergeant Toni glanced at Nico and Linda. He then informed Nico. "Don't worry Nico. We'll fix you up completely when we get back to base, and then send you and Linda back to Genesis."

Nico thought about the Blue Army commander in chief's death….Wondering why he didn't die from two S2 AM sniper bullets. Also wondering why the mission seemed somewhat easy, like if some of the enemies were holding back. The questions went thru Nico's mind. How? Why? But the mission was over, the red Spartan tried to put thoughts aside, knowing things will probably change now….Nico gave thanks for Linda's actions back at Si-Ran. She saved his life.