November 19, 2552
St. Louis, MO
0720 CST
The Helbound once again chased the sunrise as the Phantom bore down on St. Louis. After the ODST had left the city, the battle had continued. Covenant remnant forces had spread throughout much of St. Louis, burning buildings and destroying landmarks. UNSC forces were able to keep the Covenant away from the Arch, though after events with the Helbound, the aliens had all but avoided the area.
"Look at all that smoke." Hackett said, gripping a handrail as she stood by an open deployment hatch. "Why'd they even bother? War's supposed to be over."
Yakushev shook her head. "We both know that is not true, Emily. The Brutes are just that; they love to destroy and fight. Then the split-chins, burning everything that they can. This war will not be over for many years, I fear."
"We are approaching the human's ship." Nosu informed the crew. The Phantom dropped lower, the wreckage of the Come and Get 'Em coming into sight. The Frigate's bow was all but obliterated, the stern protruding up from the ground.
Several Ruuhtian Jackal scavengers surround the wreckage, salvaging what they could. A Kig-Yar scavenger craft – fitted for in-atmosphere flight – sat just outside the ruined UNSC Frigate. The pirates had piled odd bits of metal, half-ruined weaponry, and a few consoles outside their craft. Two Kig-Yar were busy loading their take onto the medium-sized ship.
Eric scowled down at the scene. While the ship hadn't been his to command, it had been home to the Helbound for many months. Alice approached behind him. "How far in do you think they've gotten?"
Eric cocked his head. "Judging from their junk pile, I'd say as far as the medical bay. With any luck they haven't reached the bridge yet." He left the side of the Phantom to pound on the cockpit door. "Take us down; we've got some pests to clear out."
As they approached the crash site, the side hatches of the Phantom lowered, two turrets unfolding on either side. "Yakushev, Morelli; take those turrets and lay down covering fire. The rest of you are with me. As soon as the Jackals are thinned out, we'll clear out the rest inside."
Yakushev gave a groan. "Sir, I can fight. Why must I be stuck up here with the Rookie?"
Eric smirked. "Because you two keep getting injured. Think of it as a team-building exercise."
The Russian shook her head, grabbing the turret and swiveling it towards the Kig-Yar. "Think they've noticed we're not their friends yet?"
Green plasma raced over Jersey's head as he manned the second turret. "Dammit! There's your answer, Yakushev." He tilted the turret down, opening fire.
Melissa appeared with an urgent look on her face. "Gunnery Sergeant, I advise destroying that salvage ship. They have seized data that contains several troop movements, as well as information shared by all UNSC ships of command-level communications."
Eric looked to the troopers on the turrets. "You heard her, light it up!"
Thurson, James, Hays and Hackett took cover at the edges of the Phantom's troop bay, firing down at the Jackals as Yakushev and Morelli focused their fire on the Kig-Yar vessel. Plasma warped metal, burned paint, and melted glass, but was unable to hit anything critical just yet.
The Phantom abruptly drifted to the side as a large green Fuel Rod shot arced past, causing the ODST to quickly grab for purchase. A T'vaoan screeched up at the dropship, taking aim with the heavy weapon again.
"Did we not agree to never do this again?" Yakushev shouted, clinging to the mounted turret.
"How high up are we?" Jan asked.
Hackett peered over the edge. "I'd say about 40 feet, why?"
Jan slung her Assault Rifle over her shoulder, a faint grin tugging at the corner of her mouth. "This might hurt just a bit." She ran for the side of the dropship, leaping out into the open air.
"James!" Eric shouted, rushing over to the edge.
Janissary tucked just before hitting the ground, rolling forward with the momentum of her fall. As she rose to her feet she drew her rifle, spraying shots to suppress the remaining Jackals.
"Goddamn!" Hackett exclaimed in amazement. "Sure wish ONI would have assigned her to us sooner!"
Yakushev squared her shoulders, whipping plasma across the field to hit several Jackals. "It was not that impressive. We do the same, all the time."
"Yeah, but we got the armor for it. She don't."
Maria returned her fire to the now burning Kig-Yar ship. "She is a Spartan. What did you expect?"
Hackett gave a small laugh, a grin coming to her face. "You're jealous, ain't you?"
The Russian kept her eyes on the battlefield. "I am not jealous. I am only unimpressed."
Down on the ground, Janissary rushed the Skirmisher with the Fuel Rod gun. The alien swung at her with the weapon, snarling in anger. Jan ducked under the attack, punching the T'vaoan in the gut. She gave a startled cry as it dropped the gun, slashing her arm with its claws.
"You break! You tear!" The bird-like creature shrieked at her. "Drop no kill you, I kill!" He leaped over Jan, kicking her in the back. She stumbled forward, knocked off balance. Before she could regain her footing, the T'vaoan was on her back, pinning her to the ground.
Eric grunted in frustration, losing a clear shot on the Skirmisher. "Nosu, set this bird down now!"
As soon as the Phantom was a reasonable distance from the ground, he leapt from the crew deck. Hays shook her head. "I guess we're taking the quicker way down. Helbound, fall out!"
The squad followed Thurson, leaping from the craft as it settled over the scorched ground. Eric ran towards Janissary, the Skirmisher wrestling with the soldier as he clawed at her armor. Thurson smashed the butt of his rifle against the unaware alien's head, knocking a few teeth out and sending violet blood flying. The T'vaoan shrieked at Eric, its feathers fanning out in anger, before the Gunny shot it through the mouth.
Jan stood up with a grunt, kicking the corpse before spitting on it for good measure. She picked up her rifle, looking to Eric. "Thanks. Those things are harder to kill than Brutes."
Eric smirked. "How so?" He had seen a single Jiralhanae tear apart a whole squad before falling.
"They're nimble bastards. Vicious, too. The Brutes are dumb, and a bigger target—much easier to avoid. They also don't jump as far."
"I see your point." He clapped her on the shoulder. "Don't do anything like that again. You're too great an asset to lose by a dumb mistake. You don't need to prove anything to the squad."
Jan's brow furrowed. "But I didn't—"
"You did," Eric said firmly, "and you don't need to. The squad likes you well enough, and we all know what you can do. But we work as a team. No more leaping from vehicles in flight, okay?"
Jan gave a nod, her ears reddening. "Yes, sir."
Eric turned to the squad as they approached. "Yakushev, got anything to finish off that Kig-Yar junker?"
The Corporal shook her head. "I only have two rockets, sir. Everything else was lost in the crash."
"That'll have to do. Probably for the best; rockets don't work well for close quarters." Thurson looked to their Sangheili allies as they approached.
"Sir," Hays asked privately, "what about them? Do we really feel comfortable with ex-Covenant poking around our ship?"
Eric gave a shrug. "Why wouldn't we? There's nothing to hide on the Come and Get 'Em that hasn't already been shared with them."
Hays gave a tense look. "Yes, sir. We probably should not let them have access to the black box, though. We've got to have standards."
Nosu gestured to the wreckage. "This is the ship you arrived in?" He gave a small huff. "I am surprised that it survived re-entry into your atmosphere."
Eric shook his head. "That was no problem. It was not having power to the engines that caused it to crash."
The Elites flinched as the Kig-Yar ship exploded unexpectedly. Yakushev gave the Gunny a thumbs up, dropping her spent Jackhammer. Eric looked over to the wreck, satisfied to see that it had destroyed their salvage as well. "Will the dropship be secured while we're inside?" He asked the Zealot. The last thing they needed was a commandeered Phantom firing on them.
Esa gave a nod. "It is sealed, and only I and Nosu have the code to open the cockpit."
"Good." Eric circled two fingers above his head. "Helbound, fall in and move out; let's see just how trashed our ship is."
The squad climbed onto the wreckage. The Kig-Yar had welded hand-holds onto the hull, but the humans and Sangheili had to take care as they were designed for the lighter aliens. One of the umbilical hatches had been cut open, giving the ODST access to their ship once more. They stepped carefully, their footing precarious on the slanted floor.
Hackett shook her head. "It just kills me to see the old bird in such a sorry state."
Alice peered around, activating her visor's Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance mode. The ship's hallways were outlined on her display, highlighting key details in the low-light environment. The rest of the ODST did the same, with the Marines forced to use low-light flashlights on their rifles. "Cheer up, Emily," Sergeant Hays reassured, "they'll likely assign us to a better ship after all this."
Eric stopped at a cartographer terminal, plugging an access wire into the tower. It was all for show, though, as there was no power to the ship. "Melissa, pull up a schematic for where the black box might be."
It took the AI only a moment. "The box appears to be secured in lower sections of the ship, in a high-security server room."
"Damn. And I bet that we don't have the credentials to get in."
"Most certainly not."The AI confirmed. "But, you do have me, andI retain access to top-tier classification. Getting in will be no issue."
"Gotta wonder just how ONI expected us to retrieve the box in the first place." He unplugged from the terminal, turning back to the squad. "What we're after looks to be in a server room on the lower levels."
"Quickest access is through Cryo-bay Bravo."
The Gunny smirked. "We can get there through Cryo-bay B. Full circle. I'm uploading the ship's schematics to your VISR. James, Morelli, Esa and Nosu, stay close to us. I can't get you the map, and it'd be a very bad thing to get separated on a derelict ship."
They moved cautiously through the halls, stopping every so often as the ship creaked and groaned with the distant twist of metal. The doors to Cryo-bay B were shut, with no power to activate the IFF reader.
Yakushevand James each grabbed a door, straining to pull back and force the sliding doors open. With some effort, the mechanics gave way and they were able to pry an opening wide enough for everyone to get through.
The deck was in complete disarray. The cryo-pods had been dislodged in the crash, and lay in a twisted heap towards the front of the room. The gasses necessary for cryo-stasis had long since leaked from the system. As a result the floor was now covered in patches of ice and frost.
"Step carefully," Eric advised, "There's no telling how sturdy this floor is." The squad moved slowly through the room, keeping an eye on their footing. The Sangheili waited behind for the ODST to pass, knowing that they weighed more.
"So much for a shortcut." Hackett said sarcastically. "I always said they don't make for nothin' but trouble." As if on cue, the room creaked. The squad stopped abruptly, glancing around for a source of the noise. A brittle section of the deck crumbled away, swallowing the cryo-pods. As they tumbled in the hole grew wider.The odd sound of snap-frozen steel shattering rose over the twisting of metal as the supports gave way.
"Run, humans!" Esa shouted as the squad made for the door. The Sangheili reached out, but too late. The deck of the cryo-bay collapsed completely, swallowing the ODST into the darkness below.
