Chapter XI

Master Chief and Red Squad had finally reached their destination: Battle Creek. After promising to wipe out the Blue forces, Red Squad made plans for their victory. The next day, they put their plan into action . . .

Master Chief crept silently along the side of the Red Fortress accompanied by Red Squad and ten of the Red Zealots. He stopped and held up his fist, causing everyone else to freeze. The Chief opened a private channel to Simmons.

"Red Two, move into position," he said.

"Roger that," Simmons replied.

Simmons, Grif and Lock-jaw, who was carrying Andy, ran through the stream and up to the side of the Blue Fortress where a section of a wall had been taken down. The three soldiers climbed up the wreckage and reached the top of the Fortress. Simmons waved to the Chief signaling that they were in position. The Chief then opened a channel to Donut.

"Red Three, move your squad into position."

"You got it, sir."

Donut, Lopez and Caboose ran to the strange rock formation that jutted out from the side of the cliff wall. The squad began their ascent up the formation until they were at the top. Lopez entered a small cave-like formation in the wall to hold off any Blue forces that tried to flank the position. Donut turned to the Chief and gave the thumbs-up signal. The Chief turned to the Zealots who were behind him.

"As soon as that trumpet finishes sounding off, open fire on that main entrance, understand?"

"Sir, yes sir!" they all said in unison.

No sooner had the Chief given this instruction, the disembodied tone from the trumpet blared through the small valley. As soon as it ended, all eleven soldiers of Red One's squad opened fire with weapons ranging from plasma pistols to rocket launchers. The five Blue soldiers who had decided to use that door didn't know what hit them. Ten more Blues exited the Fortress from the underground tunnel on the side of the base and ten more exited from a similar tunnel in front of the base.

"Now!" the Chief shouted. The remaining fifteen Red Zealots popped up from their hiding places, shouting their own individual battle cries and poured fire on the unsuspecting Blue forces. They didn't fall easily, as most of them ran for cover behind walls or rocks, cursing the Reds for their camping tactics. The Chief saw that Donut and his squad were contributing to the effort by showering the Blues with sniper fire. The Chief turned to his squad of Zealots who were firing on the Blues.

"Alright, Red Four, you know what to do!" he shouted above the gunfire.

"Yes sir!" the grunt replied. His high-pitched squeaky voice was filled with anticipation and excitement.

The Zealot, along with four others, charged the Blue's front line of defense as planned, screaming at the top of their lungs. One of the Blue's fired a rocket at a Red soldier two feet away from him. The explosion took out Red Four, his Grunts and the five Blues that had established a perimeter around the tunnel in the front. That wasn't planned, but the Chief liked it anyway. The Chief charged at the opening followed by the remaining four Zealots that were with him. A Blue soldier stepped in front of the tunnel and tried to halt their advance. He was given a shotgun blast to the face. Master Chief and his Zealots successfully entered the tunnel and the Chief shot an access panel on the wall, causing the door to the tunnel to seal shut.

"Red Two, my team and I are in the Fortress and we are securing your exit vector. Be ready to initiate your part of the plan on my signal." He said.

"Ok, but hurry up, sir. The Blues found our location and are trying to take us out," Simmons replied.

"Roger that, Red Two." The Chief switched off his radio.

He nodded and two Red Zealots went to secure the side tunnel exit. The remaining two followed the Chief through a small tunnel. It opened into a small landing with a ramp leading up to the main level of the Fortress on the right and the left. Master Chief decided to take the left one. They crept up the incline slowly until Master Chief made the signal to stop. He peered around the corner and saw two Blue soldiers guarding an altar. The flag was, undoubtedly, on the top. The Chief turned to the two Zealots with him. He opened a private channel to the one farthest away from him.

"Soldier, I need you to peek around the corner behind you and tell me how many Blues you see," the Chief ordered. He opened another Channel to the other Zealot. "Give him cover."

The grunts nodded and quickly slid into position. The one glanced down the hallway and held up two fingers. The Chief decided that there were probably more that he couldn't see and he wasn't going to risk charging them since they were most likely the best Blue soldiers in the area.

"On my mark, toss a grenade down the hall into the Blue's Temple. One, two, three, now!"

The Chief and the Red grunt both tossed a grenade into the Blue Temple. Master Chief's grenade rolled to a stop at the foot of a Blue Zealot. He looked down at it before it exploded, sending his body into the wall behind him. With their cover blown the Chief darted from his hiding place and into the Temple. He saw that his Zealots were already there, firing their weapons at Blue Soldiers who had taken cover behind the altar. The Chief opened the channel to Simmons as he blew open a hole in another Blue's chest.

"Red Two, the Temple is ready for bombardment."

Rather than a reply, the glass above the roof of the temple shattered and fell to the floor below. Shards of glass penetrated the armor of two of the four Blue Temple Guards and cut into vital organs. The Guards fell to the ground in pain. Fortunately, the Red Zealots were out of the deadly glass's range and were unharmed. They continued to fire on the remaining Blue Guards, shouting and taunting their foes.The Master Chief was also firing when three grenades fell from the hole in the roof and down into the Temple below. The Chief and the Red Zealots dove for cover as the explosives detonated, killing the last two Guards. Lock-jaw jumped into the base and placed Andy under the altar. Grif and Simmons followed.

"I'll explode in twenty seconds, Chief. Better get going," Andy said.

A timer blinked on his digital display and began to count down. The Chief and his allies ran through the base and reached the exit to the underground tunnel. Fifteen. The two Zealots that were stationed there were dead as a result of continuous fire. The Chief made sure the surrounding area was secure and then motioned his troops to file through. Twelve. He looked back down the hall and saw several Blue soldiers running to catch up with them, but the Chief had other ideas. He ran and leapt into the air with his right foot outstretched. His boot connected with the lead Blue's chest, sending him backwards into his fellow soldiers. The Chief exited through the tunnel and joined his soldiers.He took out an M6D handgun and fired a round at the panel on the wall inside the tunnel, causing the door to close just as the Blue Soldiers caught up with them. They were trapped inside. Six. The Chief ran away from the Fortress as fast as he could and sprinted to the back of the Red Base, followed by his Zealots, Grif Simmons and Lock-jaw. A teleporter had been constructed that would take them directly behind the Blue Base. The Chief saw that all of his men were alive and unharmed and they were waiting with the three surviving Red Zealots. Three . . . two . . . one.

Andy exploded, sending a shockwave throughout the small valley. The explosion tore a massive hole in the back of the Blue Fortress. Fire ran through the halls of the base at incredible speeds catching any Blue unfortunate enough to be inside. The fire was repelled by the closed hatches that sealed the tunnels off from the outside world. Pressure built up to such an extent that the doors were blown off their tracks and were sent miles into the air trailing smoke and fire behind them. Fire also shot out of any window or crack in the wall. The inferno reached the armory and a secondary explosion rippled through the area as the fire made contact with explosive material and ammunition. The explosions subsided after several minutes.

Master Chief took a deep breath and stepped through the teleporter. He was instantly transported through the void in time and space to the newly destroyed Blue Fortress. He took several steps forward and turned to look at the destruction. The Temple room had been completely decimated and what remained of the base was scorched black. Pieces of debris fell from the sky, smoldering from the explosion. The Chief looked down at his feet and saw Andy lying next to the Blue Flag.

"So be honest. How'd I do?" Andy asked. He was eager to hear a progress report on his abilities.

"Andy," the Chief began. "If there is anything in the entire universe that can explode with more ferocity than you, I have yet to see it."

"Wow. Thanks sir. Glad to hear it."

The Chief bent down and picked up the Flag in one hand and Andy in the other. He went back through the teleporter and arrived back behind the Red Fortress. He was greeted with cheers and applause from everyone there. The Red Prophet came up to him accompanied by two bodyguards holding what appeared to be the Blue leader.

"You monster," the Blue said with disgust upon seeing the Chief holding the Blue Flag. "You will burn in the fires of Hell for this atrocity!"

The Chief turned to the Red Prophet.

"He is the Shaman of the Blue Tribe," the Red Prophet explained. "If all the members of a team are killed, the flags sound their Holy Horns and the armies of both sides are resurrected. We decided it would be appropriate for the Blue heretic to witness his God's demise firsthand."

"Very well." The Chief said.

He thought it was logical to keep at least one Blue alive, no matter how savage and sadistic the purposes were. He normally would have objected to such a form of torture, but it was not his place to question such motives. The Chief turned to Caboose.

"Private Caboose, would you like to do the honors?" he asked.

Whispers and murmurs passed through the Red Team's ranks. Apparently, they remembered Caboose from the last time he was here. The Blue Shaman began laughing.

"You would go so far as to ally yourself with the sworn enemy of our Lords?" He said.

"Relax, Prophet," the Master Chief said to the Red Leader who appeared like he was about to have a heart-attack. "Caboose now fights for the Red Flag. He has sought its infinite wisdom and has seen the true path to salvation. Isn't that right, Caboose?"

"Absolutely, Blacker Cheek, sir. I spotted its minion and saw the true bath of salvation. It was very bubbly." Caboose said.

The Prophet smiled and returned his gaze to the Blue Shaman, who looked on in horror as Master Chief handed the Blue Flag to Caboose. Caboose began to bend the flagpole, but it was stronger than it appeared. He tried again, now putting his full effort into the process. The flag groaned its protest as the metal slowly began to bend from the strain. Caboose began groaning from the pressure he had to apply. His temples were bulging and sweat was runnng down his face, but nobody could see that. Suddenly, the Blue Flag snapped in two sending small metal shards flying upwards. They harmlessly fell to the ground. Caboose handed the two halves of the flagpole to the Master Chief, who pulled a small blue nano-chip from one of the halves. None of the Red Zealots saw it, as their eyes were focused on Caboose. The Red Prophet looked on in awe. Such a task had not been though possible to accomplish, and the outsiders had done it in less than twenty four hours. He turned to the Blue Shaman, who had dropped to the ground, gripping his head in pain. He looked up at the Red Prophet who was smiling behind his visor.

"Where is your God now?" he said triumphantly.

The Master Chief snapped the nano-chip between his thumb and index finger, causing the Blue Shaman to convulse on the ground. Blue electricity surged through his body and played across his armor like a light show. The Prophet drew an old weapon from his holster; an M6C pistol. He aimed at the Blue leader's head and fired a single round. The slug penetrated the Shaman's visor and skull. The round exited through the back of his head splattering blood, hydrostatic gel and brain matter on the ground. After several moments of silence, the trumpets sounded again and all the Red soldiers woke from where they were seemingly killed. They looked at the Blue corpses on the ground and began cheering. The Blues had been defeated. Permanently. The Chief looked at his squad, all of whom were cheering along with the Zealots. The plan had gone off without a hitch, and they had future allies for the battles ahead. Now, it was time to relax again. The battle had been won, and there was still planning to do. The Master Chief smiled to himself. He had won. Again.

To Be Continued