"The Maya Counter Offensive"
Luke had underestimated how cold the air at the top of the building was as he watched Dagger attempting to patch their portable radio into the satellite dish. Dagger's fingers had gone from a pink color when he took his gloves off to a bright red before settling into a ghostly white as the blood refused to travel to his exposed fingers. Despite Luke urging him to let someone else take over, Dagger rebuffed him and insisted that he would rather do it himself since he knew why he'd done different things along the way. At the moment, a spare fiber optic cable was being jerry rigged into the main line leading away from the dish but there was something wrong with the connection and they weren't talking to each other. Off to their side on the gravel rooftop was Claymore who was standing next to a generator, ready to send juice back to the dish when Dagger gave the go ahead. After the fifteenth attempt they'd managed to come up with an unspoken motion to flip the switch. Stepping away, Claymore brought the generator back online and waited as Dagger stood next to the radio, a fiber optic cable hooked into his armor which was displaying all of the information on his HUD. Dropping his head in disappointment, he squatted down next to the thick bundle of black cable and started to shift things around. The entire squad had grown silent so as to prevent any tension from erupting in an argument which was something they definitely didn't need right now. Luke stepped away from Dagger as he focused on getting it right this time around and began to walk over to Katana who was vigorously defending an unused A/C unit which was doubling as a nice place to sit.
"Is this seat taken?" he asked as he walked up next to her. She looked over at him and scooted to the edge before patting the spot next to her. Accepting the gesture, he sat down on the metal and let his feet slide out from in front of him, pushing the white gravel out of the way. Katana reached up to her helmet and popped the seals on it so that she could take it off, setting it down over the fan that was sitting still beneath a wire mesh. Luke followed suit, grateful to let the fresh, if bitterly cold, air blow across his face.
"This is taking a while," she said, breaking the silence.
"Yeah, but it'll still be faster than rushing into their base to try and find whoever's in charge." As he was sitting there, an odd feeling flooded his mind but it wasn't unfamiliar. Like some invisible hand tugging at him, he felt a warm feeling in his head that was in the direction of Katana. It was the same feeling he had whenever he was in combat and seemed to "sense" danger around him but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't seem to control it but just knew that there was something wrong. He'd never mentioned it to the others but they all seemed to react like he did as he could see them tense up and look around whenever he felt it, most likely the gift that they all possessed that lead them to being picked up by the UNSC for this project. After a few seconds, the feeling seemed to subside and he looked over at Katana who had her head hanging low. "Something wrong?" She wiggled her lips a little bit but didn't say anything. Glancing back at Dagger and Claymore he saw that they were absorbed in their work and weren't looking over. Luke reached up to Katana's brown hair that had been cut to just above her shoulder and was pulled back behind her head with a single clip. Gently caressing her head, he brought it down to her shoulder and pulled her into his chest.
"It seems like we met at the wrong time and under the wrong circumstances," she said as she rested her head on an unarmored part of his chest, just below his shoulder. He knew what she meant but still asked anyways. "We never would've met had it not been for this project and it's in the middle of a war of survival. Whatever it is that's between us has to be pushed aside and it's not fair." Her voice wasn't whining or even dejected but rather a cool assessment of the situation they found themselves in. Luke nodded slowly in agreement so that she knew he understood what she was trying to convey. He imagined it was hard for her to come out with something like this and it showed her true character. Kissing her forehead softly he released the slight pressure on her and she withdrew from him but still had a solemn look on her face.
"If…when this is over. I promise you that we'll try and make us work." Their eyes locked together and a smirk came across his face as he stood up, reaching for his helmet. Towering over her, he kissed her on the lips and masked his face behind the blue visor. "Just stay by my side," he finished, his voice metallic and crackling through the speakers. As he walked away, the smirk faded and a feeling of depression came over him that he tried to manage but was unable to dismiss. Giving himself a few seconds, it passed and he recomposed himself as he walked up to Dagger and patted him on the back. "Take your time and get this right," Luke said in a reassuring tone.
"Yes sir. It's not that I'm having a hard time figuring anything out, just a matter of finding the right cable to splice into that'll let the two of these things communicate with each other and I haven't found it yet." Stepping off of his knee, Dagger motioned to Claymore to power up the dish yet again. A few seconds passed and Dagger looked at Luke. "Found it."
Corona watched the holographic display as the third dish connected to the network he had already established. A 3D render of the city appeared above the small projector and keyboard that Corona was hunched over. Tapping a few keys, a triangle appeared between the three targets and he let the software begin to search out the source of the OpFor's signal. With so many competing bands and a relatively small amount of computing power he watched as the progress bar moved across the display painfully slow.
"Corona, that K-band you wanted me to watch is starting to get clearer and it seems like there's more traffic on it." Corona looked away from the map and towards Helios, one of his squad members.
"What's going on? Can you make out anything?"
"Negative on that, still jibberish but I don't think this is Human at all, not by a long shot." Helios remained still as he remained focused on Corona.
"Ok…forward that to command." He nodded at Corona's order and began to get the information together to send to the command base on the top of the hill. At the moment, the K-band wasn't his concern until he was ordered otherwise. Returning to focus on the progress bar, he watched it skip ahead a few chunks and finish up. The view centered on the far side of the bay near a square that was surrounded by a few buildings that were much larger than the surrounding structures. A pulsing red dot centered on the open space and he quickly got the coordinates and forwarded them to Luke.
"Sir, I'm getting a message from a new unit on the far side of the city." Two rows of computers sat back to back in a small tent, technicians manning each one as they monitored communications and relayed orders to the units. Sitting in the middle of the group was a young Corporal who had received a message from a unit that he didn't know existed in an area they shouldn't be in. In charge of the technicians was a middle-aged Commander who was communicating directly with the command element for the UNSC forces. Walking over to the station, the Commander leaned over the Corporal's chair and stared at the monitor.
"What is it?"
"We received a message that asked us to monitor the K-band," he replied quickly.
"The K-band? That's typically a channel used by the Covenant. Why would they want us to monitor that?" the Commander wondered out loud.
"It's possible they're modifying the scenario to see how we react."
"Maybe, play it over the speakers and let's see what's up." Two seconds passed before the speakers were filled with the same deep guttural language from before. All of these soldiers had field experience and knew what they were listening to. "Jesus…those are Elites. Cancel the scenario and prepare for combat! Alert planetary command if they haven't already heard. The information may be still coming down the pipes.
Luke stopped as a message icon appeared on his HUD, glowing red which was something that he'd never seen before. What it contained chilled his blood instantly.
"What is it?" Dagger asked as they waited in the dimly lit staircase.
"Covenant forces have entered the system and are attacking a nearby planet, Maya. All forces are being mobilized here to assist in defending the planet. We're supposed to report to the nearest command post for further orders." No one said anything as they let what he said sink in a little bit. It'd been three years since they'd all been abducted and they were finally preparing to go to war to do what they'd been trained to do. It was an odd feeling for Luke. He'd expected to either be full of adrenaline or be scared but it seemed as if he had no emotions whatsoever. He remained still as he considered the next course of action and knew that, ironically, he had a little bit of time to make it as they were dependant on someone else to get them to their new objective. "Let's get down to street level and try and meet up with Corona and his team. Hopefully command will send a message to us and give us some orders."
The trip down the stairwell was fast with everyone moving with an increased sense of urgency to get into the fight. There was very little talk between them, mostly limited to quick comments about their immediate surrounding but not much else. Luke had slung his rifle onto his back to move faster and was skipping stairs as his feet propelled him forward. Chatter on the radios had exploded to the point that he had to turn them down so that he could think without the hundreds of voices constantly talking and receiving orders. He decided that if there was something important, they'd be given the orders directly. Emerging onto the street, he looked over towards the cliffs and saw that it was a complete turnaround in activity as Pelicans swarmed in the sky while more were coming in from all directions. There was a dull din that permeated the air as all of the engines of the drop ships roared around them. Luke tried to bring up their channel with Corona but the bandwidth had been reallocated to the higher priority channels and their SQUADCOM wasn't strong enough to transmit to through all of the buildings to Team Thunderhead. Luke cursed under his breath but didn't have time to stop and think of a new plan when a communications request appeared on his HUD from Captain Ambresio. Immediately accepting, the Captain wasted no time in explaining the situation.
"Sword, I'm sure you've already heard that Covenant forces have entered the system and have attacked Maya, all UNSC forces currently on the planet are being mobilized to defend the colony. I've dispatched a Pelican to pick you and your team up for immediate evac out of the area."
"Sir, I have two questions. First, what about the other teams? Thunderhead, Monsoon, Blizzard? All of them are currently still operating within the battlefield. And why are we evacuating and not fighting?"
"Son, I gave you your orders and I expect you to follow them. The other teams will be dealt with when possible but you are my priority." Ambresio's response stung and made Luke pause for a second but he didn't press the issue any further and accepted it.
"Yes sir." Luke grit his teeth while he took a deep breath and held it in. He was sure the rest of the team could sense his tension but didn't care, they wouldn't stop listening to him just because he was frustrated with an order from above. Refocusing on the mission, he wasn't sure where there Pelican was coming from or where it was landing but Ambresio had contacted him which meant he probably had a fix on their location. Sure enough, a Pelican began hailing him.
"This is Lima Eight-Three-Six to Sword. I'm inbound to your current location, ETA one minute."
"Copy that Lima Eight Thirty-Six, we're on station and awaiting pick up." Looking up into the sky, Luke spotted a Pelican dropping down lower to the skyline while it headed towards them. He grabbed a smoke grenade from his belt and rolled it out into the intersection to the south of them and walked back from the area. The green smoke billowed from the small metallic canister and up into the air so that the Pelican wouldn't have any trouble finding them.
"I can't believe they're just going to leave the others behind like this. It's not right," Katana said through her speakers.
"They never said that they were leaving the behind, just that they wanted us out of here first. I can't believe that they'll want to just throw away so many of our lives in the blink of an eye." Luke paused for a few seconds before he finished his reply, almost as if he was reassuring himself. "We're too valuable." Remaining relatively still, the Pelican came in close to them before it ducked down a side street and out of view. The sound of it's engines echoed throughout the city blocks while it moved between the buildings and into the intersection they were at. As the Pelican descended closer and closer to the ground, the column of green smoke began to blow horizontally before being pushed right into the asphalt after leaving the opening in the canister. Dust and debris that had accumulated on the unkempt roads skipped over the black surface towards Team Hurricane as they remained firm against the jet wash. Once the three landing arms touched down, Luke motioned for them to get on board with a quick flick of his wrist in the direction of the rear of the drop ship. Jogging over, he climbed in the back which was completely empty and headed towards the front while the other three members of his team sat down in their seats and pulled the waist restraints together and strapped themselves in. Opening up the door to the cockpit, Luke ducked down and stepped into the open space next to the co-pilot, behind the pilot.
"I'm Chief Warrant Officer Preston, call sign 'Bugle.' I'm guessing yours is Sword…?" Preston asked while he turned around in his seat to look at Luke, his voice trailing off as he was wondering what Luke's name and rank were.
"That's affirmative, I'm Sword. Where are we headed?" he replied, closing the subject before it opened up any more.
"Captain Ambresio is waiting at one of the rally points which are being used to transport troops to ships in orbit. I'm guessing you'll be getting new orders when we arrive," he replied in the same matter-of-fact tone he'd been sporting since they first started communicating.
"ETA?"
"About an hour, give or take if the air space is crowded which it probably will be. I'd suggest you try and get some shut eye on the way over there."
Despite his attempts to take Bugle's advice, Luke was unable to fall asleep which was made even more frustrating due to the fact that both Claymore and Dagger were snoring loudly and Katana had dosed off onto his right shoulder, her helmet held tight in her lap. Sitting with his hands between his legs and his back slumped a little, Luke was only left with his thoughts as the Pelican cut through the crystal clear air on it's way to the rally point. They were traveling through the mountains that were had just received what looked like their first winter dusting of snow while the lakes were just beginning to freeze solid, reflecting the sunlight back up in a brilliant and blinding white flash. He turned his hands over and absent-mindedly examined his gloves which had begun to fray and tear as they became caked in dirt and other junk that he had touched during his missions. They served as a sort of reminder and log of his experiences as a soldier up until this very moment and he couldn't help but rub his right thumb in his left palm for some reason.
"Are you hurt?" He froze when Katana spoke to him and he looked over to see her staring at his hands as he was rubbing them together.
"Oh…no. I was just…I'm fine," he stammered, embarrassed to tell her what he was really thinking. With his helmet on she wasn't able to see him sweating at the sudden question.
"Ok then, just looked like you were massaging some kind of injury, that's all."
"Yeah, I guess it does. I'm fine though, and even if I was hurt it's my off-hand so it's all good." She smiled weakly and nodded after a second, accepting his pledges. Glancing out the back of the Pelican, Luke noticed that another drop ship had slotted in behind them while vehicles and troops moved about below. The Pelican quickly slowed it's speed and began to lose it's altitude, obviously preparing to land. Katana pushed away from him and put her helmet on and began to pressurize it while Luke reached out with his foot and bumped Claymore and Dagger in the shins to get them up. Almost in unison they both snorted awake and looked around for a second before they had already reestablished their bearings and were focused.
"Are we about to land?" Dagger asked, a slight hint of drowsiness still lining his voice.
"Yeah, I think so. Look sharp because the Captain is going to be here."
"Got it Boss," Claymore added in. Dropping even lower, the Pelican finally came to a stop on the frozen ground in a large clearing in the forest. Peering out the back, Luke saw that the normally lush green forest had a pale hue to it due to the layer of frost that was veering everything sapping the plants of their color. He got up first and led the way out the back of the Pelican while the others followed behind him out into the bitterly cold air. Stopping a few feet away from the back of the Pelican and looking around for some sort of directions, Luke heard Captain Ambresio call out to him.
"Sword! Over here!" Turning to his right, Luke jogged to the Captain who was wearing a long black trench coat, double-breasted with his epaulets lined with four gold bars representing his rank. A single silver eagle adorned his white cover that was pulled tight over his head. Standing next to Ambresio was a young women that Luke recognized almost instantly as Doctor Trisha Allara, who'd spoken to them years earlier. She was dressed in a warm looking black pea coat that was cinched at her waist with a fashionable leather belt, a scarf wrapped snugly around her neck. Both of them looked relatively miserable as their faces had lost almost all color except for their noses and ears which had turned bright red. "Glad to see you made it here in one piece," Ambresio said, his dried and cracked lips letting out a constant stream of white fog.
"Yes sir, it was a smooth ride."
"Good because it looks like we're going to have to use him to get to our destination considering our ride still hasn't arrived." Ambresio had a frustrated look on his face as he gave the landing grounds one last look for something but when he didn't see it he began to walk towards Lima-836. "We'll be travelling to the Frigate UNSC Kamiak which has been assigned to Project TEMPEST indefinitely. That's all you need to know for the moment." Luke followed after Ambresio, annoyed with the way the Captain treated him and his team but regardless of his feelings this was no time for him to begin lodging protests. Ambresio stepped into the rear of the Pelican and immediately headed for the cockpit while Hurricane and Dr. Allara sat down in the seats, the ones they were just sitting in still warm from the earlier flight. The doctor sat down gracefully and adjusted her clothes before looking at the four soldiers one at a time. From behind his mask, Luke was able to follow her gaze as she studied each one of them. He could see behind her brown eyes that her brain was clicking but there was no way for him to know what it was that she was thinking.
"Alright, welcome aboard Lima Eight-Three-Six lady and gentlemen," Bugle said over the internal speakers, referring to Dr. Allara in his welcome speech, unaware that one of the ODSTs was also a female. While speaking, the rear of the Pelican began to close tight as two halves of a door met in the center and locked together, a high pitched whistle signaling that the rear was pressurizing. "This is a non-smoking, non-stop flight to the Kamiak. Due to budget cuts we won't be serving any meals." Luke chuckled silently at the joke which was made even funnier by the sudden uneasiness that was coming across him. This would be the second time Luke flew in space but during his first trip it was under the influence of whatever drug they'd used to transport him from his home. This time around he wouldn't have that luxury. Thankfully he could sense the tensions rise inside the ship as the others realized where it was they were heading. The ascent was much faster than Luke had imagined when he was forced into his seat by the g-forces of the Pelican accelerating to escape velocity. Engine noise filled the rear of the ship as they hit max power and then some, the superstructure rattling from the immense stresses put on the metal. Glancing up to the front, Luke could see Ambresio's feet peeking out from the open door where he was seated in the jumpseat next to the co-pilot. Through the window he was able to see the sky darkening and the last few wisps of clouds disappear as Bugle pushed his ship higher and higher into the atmosphere until the dark blue seamlessly transformed into an inky black sky that was filled with a billion blinking points of light. The g-forces quickly disappeared as the last tendrils of gravity let go of the ship which allowed Luke to float up from his seat for a second, pressing against the restraints that he loosened up and then finally unhooked. Grabbing hold of the cargo netting above him, he stopped his upward movement and then gently pushed himself in the direction of the cockpit. When he reached the door he stopped himself with all of his limbs and poked his head in just to make sure he wouldn't be chastised and ordered out. The view was absolutely stunning for a multitude of reasons. Never before had he seen so many stars nor had he seen them shine so bright, each one of them sending a steady stream of bright white and yellow light into the galaxy. Off to the port side was one of the planet's satellite, a much smaller planetary body that seemed to be covered in ice and rock which would've accounted for it's bright color. But mixed in with the natural beauty was the size of the Human fleet preparing to counterattack Maya. All around them were transports ferrying troops and equipment to the ships waiting around the Super MAC platforms that defended the planet. Because of the proximity of the planet and the relatively unsophisticated nature of the Shaw-Fukijawa FTL drive, once a group of ships were ready to join the fray they brought their engines to full power, the enormous exhaust tubes glowing bright orange as they propelled the crafts to war. Doing a quick head count, Luke figured the fleet numbered somewhere between sixty and eighty ships. For a few seconds he got his hopes up as the Pelican seemed to be heading towards a rather large ship sitting still in the space, a ship that Luke recognized immediately as the gargantuan Marathon-class cruiser but those hopes quickly disappeared when the Pelican made a turn to starboard and headed out into what seemed like an empty area.
"C'mon son, we need to talk," Ambresio said, breaking the silence as Luke remained transfixed with the sight around him. Pushing backwards, he floated towards the rear of the ship before he grabbed the cargo netting again and stopped himself next to Katana and Dagger. The Captain followed behind him, navigating the weightless environment with amazing skill that gave away his time in the service back before ONI had yet to take Covenant technology and repurpose it for Humans. Closing the door, he took a moment before speaking.
"This isn't your fight...our fight. Not yet at least." Ambresio stared directly at Luke as if he was speaking directly to him, something he may very well have been doing. "Those above who are involved in the project ordered me to evacuate the most promising team and bring them to a medical facility for the next, and last, step in the training process. I didn't like the call but it also wasn't a hard decision."
"Why are you telling us this?" Dagger asked, genuinely interested in why Ambresio was saying this.
"There have been some complications with the project. We've been given word of the declassification of a Project SPARTAN which has taken a large amount of the funding from TEMPEST. We're only able to afford the augmentations for a single team, hence why I had to choose the best team for the job. It was the most we could without getting the entire thing axed." The Captain seemed visibly frustrated at this turn of events even if his voice didn't give his emotions away. "The Kamiak will serve as your launching platform for missions from here on out and considering Warrant Officer Preston is coming aboard he'll be stuck with us too. That's about all I've got for you at the moment. Sometime during the jump, Dr. Allara will give you a full rundown of the procedures and other aspects of the training."
The ODST helmet sunk into the bed with a dull thud after Luke tossed it to his side. One by one he undid the clips holding his chest plate on, snapping the two on either side of his stomach and pulling the metal armor up and over his head. It felt good to be finally out of the armor as he twisted his body around in the thin under suit and padding that was zipped tight to his chest. Luke felt oddly uncomfortable in his own room after having lived with a group of people for over three years; he wasn't used to the silence and the space that he had at his disposal. The Kamiak was operating with a skeleton crew and it wasn't expected to get much larger once they docked after the jump. While technically a Frigate (Hull Number FFG-298), the Kamiak had been retrofitted to serve as a stealth ship and had been covered in radar absorbing paint that made it almost completely invisible to sensors and the naked eye. In addition, the ship was hardened against electronic leakage which would give away it's position as well as having it's engines updated so that they could "run silent" like Submarines. All of this came at a cost, however, as the ship's armaments were largely non-existent with the MAC gun removed and the 50mm point-defense guns being reduced to four total and the Archer Missile Pods dropping from thirty to twenty. In the scheme of things, the Kamiak's survivability probably received a substantial boost because it's firepower, while strong against Human ships was no match for even the smallest Covenant capital ships. The Kamiak encompassed the entire dilemma of Humanity, either stand your ground and lose or run to fight another day.
"Can I come in?" Katana was leaning around the corner of the bulkhead leading into Luke's room, all of her armor off but still dressed in her BDUs. Without the metal plating Luke was able to see her feminine figure more closely which stirred a yearning inside of him that he quickly shut down.
"Yeah, sure," he replied quietly and walked past her as she came in to close the door. "What's up?"
"Nothing, I just don't want to be alone."
"I've been having the same feeling. It's funny I guess…I'm sure the entire UNSC would give just about anything to have their own room or even their own bunk and here we are, a ship to ourselves and we can't stand to be alone."
"Life's just not fair," she replied sarcastically. Katana remained silent for a few moments before speaking again. "What do you think will happen to the others?" Luke's answer was immediate and it surprised him how easily it came out.
"I don't know. The odds are against them." She seemed to agree, or at least accept his statement and began to pace around. Inside the room was a single bunk with a plain gray blanket pulled tight and a single pillow. Next to the bed on the opposite wall was a small table with a chair bolted to the carpeted floor, a small and thin black cushion sitting on top of the brushed metal chair which shared it's texture with the table. The final fixture was a small borough that occupied the back right corner between the wall and the table. Luke figured it was assigned to new officers just out of training because it was too lavish for enlisted but too Spartan for any ranking officer. Luke could see the turmoil in Katana's and walked over to her and lightly took her forearms. She looked up at him with two glistening streaks running down her soft cheeks, her eyes beginning to get red and puffy. He didn't say anything as he pulled her in close and comforted her, his left hand massaging her head and neck while his right hand sat on the small of her back. "I need you here with me right now. I'm sure the road ahead is going to be tough and I don't think I can make it if you're not by my side." Leaning back a little, he gently cupped her head in his hands while she wrapped her arms around his back. Staring into her eyes he looked for a signal from her and finally got one in the form of a weak smile that quickly grew in strength. He leaned in to her and rubbed his nose up against hers before finally pressing his lips to hers. They kissed for a few seconds before releasing from each other.
"Thanks for that, I just needed to let it out," she said, wiping the tears off of her cheek and recomposing herself before walking towards the door. She was about to walk out the door when she stopped. "You're giving me very mixed messages about you and I." She disappeared through the bulkhead, leaving Luke alone in his room again.
"Yeah…I know…" he said after she was long gone.