Chapter 10
1035 hrs, August 1, 2552, New York City, Earth
"Sir…Mr. Misriah!"
The executive assistant to the CEO of Misriah Armory winced at the glare he received by interrupting the businessman's teleconference.
"I told you not to interrupt me Felstead," Spanner Misriah barked, waving his hand for the video screen to mute.
"I know that sir but this is urgent."
"What is it?" the powerful executive asked hesitantly, knowing his EA to not be one to brook his anger lightly.
"We've intercepted a communications to Naval Headquarters sir. Planet Reach is under attack by the Covenant."
Misriah's blood went cold. "Impossible," he sputtered. "They couldn't have found the planet."
"They have and are apparently there in force. At least one Supercarrier has been reported. A battle group is being dispatched to come to their defense but it doesn't look good."
"Nicolo, can you confirm this?" Misriah demanded.
The opaque image of an Italian gentleman dressed in Renaissance clothing appeared, hovering over the business executive's desk.
"Well?" the man demanded testily to the Artificial Intelligence who floated with pursed lips and a look of concentration.
"Yes, what Eric says is true," the Smart AI confirmed the assistant's report in an Italian accent, "and the assessment is accurate as well," it added.
The fact that Spanner Misriah had an AI, and a highly rare Smart AI, spoke not only to his wealth but influence as well. While AI's ran many of the functionality of the UNSC and industry in general a 'smart' version was quite unique. Having no limitations in their dynamic memory-processor matrix, Smart AI's could not only be taught a vast wealth of information, but could learn and comprehend from their surroundings as opposed to their "dumb" cousins who could only learn one topic. Nicolo was Spanner Misriah's personal AI, formed in the personality of the 16th century philosopher Machiavelli, and possessing tremendous power to gather and assess information.
"Why did I have to find out from him and not you?" Misriah questioned testily.
"Because, my lord, I was not looking for it and ONI and UNSC's AI's blocked out the information," Nicolo responded huffily. "I had to find my data from Reach itself. This is information, after all, the rulers do not want in public hands. The peasants need not know this."
"I knew there was something going on there," MacKenzie Wainwright interjected into the conversation, voice filled with fear. "What are we going to do? Tali's on Reach. That's why I haven't been able to get ahold of her for days," her would-be boyfriend declared.
"I am aware of that MacKenzie," Misriah shot back testily. The handsome young executive opened his mouth to speak, fear growing. "Shut up and give me a moment to think about this." Spanner Misriah sighed heavily in frustration, already weighing his options and not needing to be reminded by the whiny executive.
The owner of Misriah Armory, which produced everything from assault rifles to Pelican dropships, had benefited from the war effort. The major supplier of arms and ammunition to the UNSC had grown rich and powerful to the point where he could not only afford but demand his own AI. Nicolo was testament to the influence of Spanner Misriah. The fact his beloved only child was in the middle of an unexpected alien invasion on a planet over ten light years away though upsetting did not leave him without options. He hadn't built an empire and become one of the most powerful men on earth by sitting back and waiting
"Get me Admiral Parangosky, now," Misriah demanded.
In less than two minutes the business executive had the assistant to the commander of Operational Naval Intelligence, headquartered in Sydney Australia, on the screen, verification to the power he did have.
"Golf 51979 wants to speak to you Ma'am," Captain Serin Osman reported to Margaret Parangosky, CINCONI.
The elderly woman with sharp features pursed her lips in surprise but already her razor sharp mind was calculating what she could get in return anticipating what the man was calling about.
"Very well, Serin, but do please get me a cup of coffee first," the most powerful woman in humanity requested pleasantly. "Jamaican Black."
Several minutes later the holoscreen on the admiral's desk switched to the image of an annoyed Spanner Misriah standing behind his desk with clenched fists at having to wait.
"Yes Mr. Misriah, what can I do for you?" the elderly woman asked pleasantly but her eyes betraying a hint of annoyance.
"Reach is under attack."
"I'm well aware of that but how do you know?" Parangosky shot back accusingly.
"I have my sources," Misriah evaded. "Listen, that's not important. My daughter's on that planet."
"Yes, she is, isn't she?" the admiral confirmed, raising her eyes in feigned surprise. Margaret Parangosky knew what all of her people were doing and Natalia Misriah was thought of as a key asset, though in a different light then the aggressive young woman and her ambitious father thought. "You arranged for her to be attached to Noble Team. To get some combat experience, wasn't it? Well, it appears as if she'll get plenty," the intimidating woman declared without a note of sympathy.
Misriah ignored the dig. "Listen, I want her off that planet and back here on Earth and I want it now."
"Sir, with all due respect," she said politely, "you know as well as I do that interfering in operational matters is not allowed and in combat situations is extremely difficult."
"Cut the crap Margaret," Misriah shot back. "You have the power and the ability to do this. I want it done."
"Mr. Misriah, I hope you realize Winter Contingency is in place on Reach right now. You're treading on dangerous ground."
"I'm not worried about that," Misriah brushed off the highest state of UNSC operational priority levels that had an explicit directive against civilian interference. "Just get my daughter off that planet."
"It's not that simple, even for me, especially in a real-time combat situation," Parangosky let the words hang, enjoying the obvious growing distress of the powerful man.
"Please, can't you do something for her?" Misriah asked, all the bluster out of his voice.
If I do this for you…,"
"I understand the implications Admiral," Misriah confirmed quietly in desperation. "Just do it, please."
Both knew the implicit cost of the declaration and who now held power in their relationship. Though a war was raging on Reach and in other parts of the galaxy, the balance of another epic struggle had just shifted.
You owe me big for this one, the admiral thought to herself, and I will collect. "Very well Mr. Misriah. I'll take care of it."
The holoscreen went dark as the businessman signed off.
"Captain Osman, what is the closest Prowler available to undertake this mission?" she asked her aide for the location of an ONI stealth vessel, knowing the answer already.
"The Dusk, ma'am," the brown haired protégé of Parangosky reported.
"Black Box."
"Here Admiral." The ONI 'Smart' Artificial Intelligence materialized beside the director. Projecting itself as a featureless box, the AI waited for the order it had already anticipated.
"Send a flash message to Captain Iglesias to reroute and to pick up Misriah's little princess. Send also a message to our people on Reach to arrange to get her to an extraction point."
"Already done Admiral. UNSC Dusk confirms receipt and is already calculating a slip to take them there," Black Box stated efficiently.
"Excellent," Parangosky responded, satisfied some good would be accomplished from the irritation of having to reroute one of her stealth vessels and interfere in ongoing operations on Reach. No, this was going to be a big credit in her account from now on.
"Ma'am," Captain Osman asked hesitantly, "what about Dr. Halsey? Should she be advised of the evac opportunity?"
"No," the Admiral answered with a gleam in her eyes, "we wouldn't want to interrupt the good doctor's work."
1130hrs August 1, 2552, Camp Independence, Highland Mountains, Planet Reach
After Sword Base had been secured by the humans the Covenant for some reason shifted their interest elsewhere. Noble Team spent the day there and with no serious threat other than some skirmishing the valuable assets had been moved.
And move they did.
For the next week the team had skipped all over the Highland Mountains region playing cat-and-mouse games with Elite Zealots who seemed very interested in the territory and several of the UNSC stations, including Castle Base in the region
Today the team was back in their base at Camp Independence. Located inside a large cavern in the shadow of a cliff in one of the many mountains dominating the area they had the opportunity to truly rest for a few hours, something that was becoming a scarcer commodity as the Covenant exerted growing control on the planet. With two Gauss Cannons protecting the main entrance to the location and a strong guard it was a place of respite.
Natalia sat down on a crate of supplies. Taking her helmet off the woman shook out her hair and looked up at the thick steel I-beams reinforcing the rock ceiling. Florescent lights illuminated the area. The secure facility had already been designated as a fallback position for Reach's HIGHCOM. No one hoped it would come to that but the signs of preparation for a growing reality were evident by the activities going on around the Spartan to strengthen the defenses.
After the fight for Sword Base a week earlier Jorge had started to treat Natalia better and Commander Carter would actually use her in combat. That being said, it was always in a support or defensive role and generally out of the center of action. Natalia wasn't sure if this was because he couldn't dump her anywhere else or based on a realistic estimate of her combat potential. Regardless, she was happy to be contributing. As for the rest of the team, Jun seemed indifferent but then the quiet sniper didn't share much. Kat and Emile, on the other hand, were still openly hostile towards her and often made her the butt of their jokes.
Then there was Mike.
She couldn't figure him out. At times he seemed to warm to her, even showing kindness. He definitely was helping her improve as a soldier, that was evident. But then other times he was cold and detached, like he had nothing but contempt for her. He'd look at her with his rock-like grey eyes as if he could see right through her. She'd always been able to read men quickly, to figure them out to get whatever she'd wanted. Not with this one. Everything he'd done had been freely given and he'd gotten nothing in return. That simultaneously bothered and exhilarated her. During some free time in the past week she'd pulled out her datapad and read some of MacKenzie's correspondence. The interplanetary communications relay was down so he couldn't send more messages. She wondered if that had him worried. Probably. But she didn't care. His messages were all self-serving with his own end in mind. Yes, they were full of compliments and praise for her. The newest spoke glowingly of how she was likely soaring in her assignment on Reach. That had caused her to laugh out loud with absolutely no mirth. It was the furthered from the truth and reminded her once again that this man, despite all his advantages, had no clue and really didn't want one.
No, Mike was different, unlike any man she'd ever met. Then the musing woman reminded herself he wasn't a man, he was a Spartan. But what did that mean? Sure, his body had been changed but what about his mind? What about his hopes and dreams? She was increasingly sure that behind the armor, the enhancements and the reputation Mike was all man and that was drawing her to him like gravity.
"I'm telling you, Covvies don't do this," Emile insisted as he cleaned his M45 Tactical shotgun. "They come in and glass the place. This ain't their style. They're looking for something."
"This is Reach. It's different," Jorge insisted.
"Yea, any different from Harvest or any of the other planets?" the volatile Spartan shot back.
"What does it matter? Glass or conquer you know once they show up in force we're screwed," Kat interjected fatalistically.
"Not here though," Jorge continued doggedly. "We've got the orbital MACs plus the biggest fleet. We can win this."
"As if," Kat snorted.
What do you think ONI-girl?" Emile asked Natalia.
"Well...I…we have looked at some scenarios pertaining to Winter Contingency, but, I mean…" she stammered caught off guard. In her eagerness to actually contribute something to the team her mind blanked.
It didn't matter.
The look of mirth on Emile's face and the derisive snort from Kat showed Natalia they weren't looking for her input but rather saw another opportunity to make her look foolish. And yet again she walked into it. Her face reddened in embarrassment. Looking away she saw Mike's jaw clench as he watched the scene but remained silent.
Commander Carter walked into the middle of the conversation eyeing it critically. "Listen up. We got a group of hingeheads poking around about ten clicks from Castle. They're supported and moving in the wrong direction. We're going to go and intercept. Saddle up!"
Ten minutes later Noble Team travelled by Falcon to the area of the reported contact. Dancing over the terrain the helicopters stayed low moving at full throttle. Satellite imagery had shown the Covenant party had stopped and seemed to be setting up a base of sorts near the critical structure.
Commander Carter had the Falcons drop them about two kilometers from the enemy position so as best to try to catch the invaders off guard. They'd hump it the rest of the way and try to get the jump on them. The team exited their transport in a defensive position as the Falcons soared back into the air and cleared the landing grid. This was the time they were most vulnerable to attack. Despite their IFF's showing nothing the Spartans had learned to not rely 100% on technology. While the waddling Grunts could be heard a mile away and Jackals were notoriously stealthy they still could be picked up. But they'd found out the Elites often had some form of cloaking device that allowed them to not only make themselves invisible but also not appear on their tracking devices.
Fortunately the only thing greeting them were some of the flightless Moa's indigenous to the planet grazing the peaceful meadow they landed in and some flying insects buzzing obliviously around.
"Three, scout ahead and get eyes on our target. I'm setting a marker for you," Carter ordered Jun as a waypoint popped up on his HUD.
"Roger that," the quiet sniper responded and trotted off noiselessly into a copse of evergreen trees, a testimony to his ability to move easelessly in bulky armor.
Giving him a head start the rest of the team moved slowly to cut the distance from their landing point to objective.
"This is Three, I'm in position," Jun whispered over the comms.
Commander Carter gave a hand signal for the rest to halt. "What have you got?" he asked.
"Covenant has set up some sort of operation here…," the sniper paused as if assessing the situation. "I see four Zealots but also at least a half-dozen minor Elites. They'd got at least a half-company of Grunts."
"Armor?"
"Negative. Three Ghosts, that's it, plus what looks like excavation equipment. I'm establishing a live feed so you can see the lay of the land."
"Roger that." Carter viewed the set-up through his HUD and devised a plan. "Okay Three, we're moving into position. Hold and engage as opportunities arise when we move in." Then turning to the remainder of the squad he gave his orders. "Emile, straight up and assault the camp. Get those Elites. Jorge, you establish a fire base and also look after those Ghosts. Kat, you and I go right flank. Six, you and Misriah go left. When you're in position set your status light to green and then we go. Questions?"
There didn't need to be any.
"Okay, let's move."
Irritation well up anew within Mike as he carefully picked his route of advance. Once again he'd been effectively excluded from Noble Team. He'd have been okay with that. He still had a strong pull to work alone but not only couldn't he do that, or work with the other professional Spartans he was stuck with Natalia. It was like going into combat with a broken leg. Grudgingly he admitted she had picked up a lot, and he did have a degree of compassion for the woman who was trying hard to contribute but this was getting ridiculous.
For Natalia, she'd been watching Mike now long enough she could read his body language despite the MJOLINIR armor he wore. Mike was irritated again. This seemed like a frequent theme. His declaration that 'even spoiled little rich girls deserved a second chance' had stuck with her and given her a great hope. She'd hoped this would lead to a deepening of their relationship. But it didn't. He still treated her with polite indifference, like a mentally-challenged child. That burned her. Men flocked to her, would do anything for her, and yet this man would barely give her the time of day. But then he wasn't any other man, he was a Spartan, he was the Lone Wolf. More frustrating for her was that this made him the more desirable.
Tali, you gotta shake this, she chided herself, you're developing a crush on this guy in the middle of combat. You need to focus or you're going to get yourself killed. Then a chilling thought struck her: …or worse, him.
Noble Team arrived in their designated positions and green status lights winked in the HUDs. It was time to move. It appeared the Covenant forces were unaware of the advancing UNSC party, focused instead on the digging operation they'd begun. Grunts waddled around doing the manual labor while the Elites stood around watching. Best still was the nimble Ghost vehicles stood empty and switched off.
"Go, go, go!" Carter ordered over the comms and Noble Team leapt into action.
Aggressively sweeping in the Spartans caught the Covenant forces off guard. Guns blazing and grenades flying the exploration party didn't stand a chance. In less than two minutes half the Grunts were down and four Elites lay in the grassy field dead while a thin trail of cloud from the destroyed Ghosts lazily drifted in the air.
With Jorge anchoring the position Emile and Jun sweep the perimeter for other enemy or remnant. The scattered force had run off into the woods surrounding the area. The 'all clear' signal sent, the team was able to relax.
Examining the equipment the Covenant party had left behind Emile gave one of the pieces a frustrated kick. "What the heck are they doing here?"
"I don't know," Kat responded, running a scan of the machinery with her datapad while capturing images. "Digging for something."
"But for what?" Noble Four exclaimed. "You think this has to do with what Halsey was talking about back at Sword Base? Some sort of search for artifacts?"
"It doesn't matter," Commander Carter interjected. "That's not our job to figure this crap out. We blow the machinery up then prep for extraction."
Using explosives they'd brought along for the task in short order the Covenant equipment was destroyed.
"Charlie One and Charlie Two, be advised we are ready for extraction on this position, over," Carter called to their Falcon transports.
"Roger that, we're ten minutes out," the pilot of the lead helicopter responded.
Satisfied with the success of their mission and with nothing else to do the team had the opportunity to relax. It was a gorgeous summer day and the air in the highlands though warm was not humid but instead intoxicatingly fresh. Stripping off their helmets the Spartans enjoyed being able to suck in non-filtered air.
"Hey, look what I found," Kat called out, holding a bunch of wild blueberries she'd found hanging thick from a series of vines nearby. She threw a bunch to Mike and another to Emile who eagerly dug into the delicious fruit.
Instead of joining them Mike put the bunch into his satchel and commented, "Shouldn't we mount a guard until our transport arrives?"
Carter shrugged nonchalantly, satisfied with how the mission had gone. "Suit yourself. Why don't you and Misriah cover it?"
Kat gave Mike a wink while Emile chuckled. So he was part of the team but not part of the team. Fine, he could live with that. Natalia? Well, she was a different story all together.
"Cover the west approach," Mike ordered the woman, "I'll take the east." Then he stomped off in a foul mood.
Helmets off, the rest of the Spartans enjoyed the intoxicating fresh air of the highlands region instead of the processed air they normally experienced. The day was warm and sunny with a light breeze. For that moment it seemed the war had left Reach. Mike, idly searching the area with his MA37 on his shoulder had his helmet off as well, still irritated by the circumstances. Only Natalia had put hers back on.
Though alert the woman allowed her mind to drift. Despite the continued chiding of some of the Spartans on Noble Team she now felt comfortable in this environment. She'd fought well again in this engagement and again held her own. She now was also comfortable in a support role, looking to fill gaps as they came. She didn't need to be out front and knew she didn't have the skill or ability. In the past that would have bothered her, seeing it as some form of competition, but now she was happy to be part of a team. It seemed as if she were growing up.
Mike spat into the grass. He'd tried to fit into the team and was certainly contributing to their overall mission, but still felt at arms-length. Was it him or because he was helping Natalia? He didn't get it. He'd fought his 'lone wolf' instinct and reputation to try to become a team player and it seemed to have been rejected.
Confusion welled up in the young man. Despite his years of combat he was still only 22 years old. He looked at Natalia with a mixture of frustration and envy. He'd been thrust into combat as a child and never had a chance to really live so never had the chance to experience fully the rest of life, to dream, to plan, to explore, to love…
Mike dwelled on the last thought while continuing to look at Natalia. Could he love a headstrong woman like that? She was certainly attractive enough, but it took more than that. Kat was his friend, like a sister to him. No, he couldn't love her like that. There'd been another: Melanie. Mel had been with him at Camp Curahee. She'd been with the others on Operation Torpedo and like the others hadn't come back. But by that point he'd already been sent off, yet the feelings between the two had remained. Despite their physical size they were still teenagers with teenage emotions. It had been confusing but it had felt good.
After he'd received the word Mel was gone he'd put those feelings away into the deepest recesses of his soul and double locked the door. The pain had been too great. It seemed everyone he felt something for died. Then, looking at Natalia Misriah an old, long dormant spark seemed to be lit.
Mike shook his head, as if trying to shake the feeling out his ear and tried to concentrate on what he was doing.
Natalia saw a red blip come up just on the outside of her HUD for a moment then it was gone. Had she been seeing things? She wasn't sure. The woman opened her mouth to call out an alarm then paused. If it was nothing she'd again look foolish and be embarrassed for another time. She didn't want that. Mike wasn't moving, he hadn't reacted. Then she realized he didn't have his helmet on, none of them did. Only she had her IFF activated. She decided the safety of the team, of Mike, was more important than her dignity.
"Contact!" she called over the team channel, "Contacts inbound and imminent."
The Spartans of Noble Team reacted instantly, grabbing gear and moving from the exposed area. It was just in time too for at the same time as they moved Natalia's HUD lit up with red contacts and the menacing sound of an inbound plasma mortar round could be heard. The deadly blob of energy hissed in impacting on the spot the rest of Noble Team had been hanging around less than a minute earlier.
"Shift position," Carter called, "they've got this place zeroed!"
Jorge laid down covering fire on a wide arc to allow the rest of Noble Team to regroup. A horde of Grunts came screaming out of the woods while Beam Rifle fire from hidden Jackals punctured the summer air.
"Got to counter this," Carter called out to the team, "force them offline so we can hold this spot."
Then two more plasma mortar rounds dropped in and the high-pitched swoop of Banshee attack fighters joined the chorus of counterattacking Covenant.
"Boss, we got at least two Wraiths inbound," Jun reported urgently.
Infantry with air support and now armor. It was more than even Noble Team could handle.
"Fall back," Carter ordered, "we're withdrawing from here." A waypoint popped up on the team's HUDs to mark their rally point.
"Come on, we can take them," Emile declared, spoiling for a fight.
"Negative. There's too many of them," Carter countered, "and this location has no strategic value. It's not worth the risk." Switching channels the team leader made his report. "Castle Control this is Noble One. Be advised Covenant have moved in force to our position. Dislodging will take concerted ground and air assets. Falcon One and Two, our LZ is too hot, switching to secondary extraction point I'm marking now."
Doing a fighting withdrawal the Spartans of Noble Team and Natalia moved carefully away from the location the Covenant seemed so intent on holding. The attackers pursued them only a short distance then settled with sending a group of Skirmishers to harass them the rest of the way. It appeared the invaders were content to merely retake the spot.
Reaching their extraction point the sound of inbound Falcons greeted them. The team stayed focused though since the last time they'd let their guard down it had almost cost them their lives.
You saved our bacon," Jorge declared to Natalia, acknowledging the timely warning that had likely saved them.
"Yea, you did," Kat added incredulously, "thanks."
Natalia couldn't help but smile at the acknowledgement though Mike remained silent and sullenly kept himself away from the group.
"Man, Covvies really wanted that spot bad," Emile stated, still covering their withdrawal from the rear. "What the heck's there that's worth it?"
As the Falcons swooped in to pick up the team from their fallback point each of them had the same though- the Covenant were definitely looking for something. Could it be the artifacts Dr. Halsey had seemed so interested in? But what were they?