Chapter 13

August 12, 2552 08:00 Hours, Szurdok Ridge, Viery Territory, Planet Reach

The large dust cloud could be seen from a distance even before the roar of engines straining towards their objective overpowered the clear morning. There was no stealth in this; the approaching convoy could be seen from kilometers away. Scorpion Main Battle Tanks, Warthogs and Mongoose All-Terrain Vehicles charged towards the Covenant staging area Mike and Jun had discovered the previous evening. The concerted response of the defenders of Reach to the invasion finally seemed to be happening.

Flying overhead, Commander Carter had to admit it was an impressive sight. Despite his natural cynicism after years of hard fighting he allowed himself the thrill of the moment as he watched the disciplined formation below charging towards the waiting Covenant. It took him back to his days as a boy, before he became a Spartan, before he had the weight of command placed on his shoulders as a teenager and he savored the moment. The thrilling sight reminded him of the cavalry charges he'd heard about and seen in pictures from hundreds of years ago when men on horseback advanced to combat in this fashion.

The reflective Spartan thought that while technology had changed the problems mankind faced hadn't. There'd been wars and rumor of wars back then just as there was now. For all of their technological advancement, for their ability to colonize planets billions of light years from earth, they still hadn't figured out how to live in peace together. Before the Covenant was the human insurrection that would likely boil over again if they defeated the alien invaders.

No, little had changed since men had beaten each other to death with stone clubs for water holes. It seemed to be an ingrained nature they'd never overcome on their own. Wars of conquest had been going on from the beginning of time despite every attempt at understanding, education and tolerance whether it was a war for the playground equipment in the school yard, for a worthless boyfriend among teenage girls or nations fighting each other over ideology.

Carter shook his head and couldn't help but smile. He'd never considered himself a philosopher but then perhaps he'd never had the time. Seeing the rapidly approaching ridge line to their front he knew his time for this type of luxury was up. The Covenant had not simply glassed Reach and moved on. They wanted to conquer it and hold it. That allowed the human defenders the chance to fight for it.

And fight they were going to.

Opening up the team communications channel the leader of Noble Team said, "Okay Auntie Dot, give us a sit-rep."

The pleasant voice of the team's intelligence support and liaison AI responded, "It appears that Noble Team's discovery last night was not an anomaly. Large Covenant deployments have occurred undetected, and we are now under attack across the Viery territory, including orbital defenses. As per the Winter Contingency, we are countering on every front. Noble's reconnaissance has also identified sophisticated Covenant army hiding canopies, and has been pinpointed what's believed to be a landing zone for additional Covenant forces, the origin of which is yet to be determined."

Listening to the report the leader of Noble Team looked down from his vantage point in the Falcon above watching Kat driving one of the lead Warthogs below with Mike riding shotgun. Jun, Emile and Jorge travelled together in another Hog to their right while Natalia rode shotgun in one to the left. Noble Team was back in the fight and this time were moving in force. It was an impressive task force HIGHCOMM had put together to unseat the Covenant from the area. The invaders seemed to want to conquer this region so this was one where the humans felt they could make a stand and fight back. In order to do that though they needed to not only take out the Covenant forces but more importantly where they were coming in.

Watching the Warthogs and other vehicles charging towards the Covenant position Commander Carter couldn't help but think of a poem from ancient times called 'Charge of the Light Brigade'. He hoped the outcome would be different. Opening the team channel the leader of Noble Team declared, "That landing zone has been tagged by UNSC command as a Priority One target."

But first the dark zone shrouding the area needed to be removed for a concerted attack from the ground and above to be successful. That would be the first order of business then the UNSC forces would attack the landing area en masse. That meant the Covenant pylon generating it needed to be taken out.

"Det-charge link is loud and clear!" Jun reported, checking to ensure he was able to pick up the signal from the ordinance he'd planted the previous evening.

"Copy that," Kat acknowledged looking over to Mike and giving him a thumbs up sign as she prepared to blow the structure that was creating the dark zone. "Acquiring signal lock on the pylon. Detonating in three, two, one."

To their right and on the ridge line bracketing the plain the UNSC force was charging along an orange ball exploded into the morning sky. The pylon crumpled in response and all along the line Noble Team's and every other sensor array came alive with red dots as the dark zone ceased.

If that was good news no one was cheering.

As if on signal waves of Covenant Banshee fighters came swooping down on the convoy opening fire in concert with a salvo of plasma rounds coming in from Wraiths lobbing them in from the distance. It appeared the Covenant were not impressed by the aligned human firepower and intended on holding the landing zone. M41 Vulcan LAAG gunners on the Warthogs retaliated, opening fire on the swooping Banshees.

The Covenant had the area zeroed for their Wraiths as more mortar rounds screamed in, several finding their marks. Warthogs and Mongooses began to fly through the air from direct hits creating havoc in the movement discipline of the column. Vehicles began to juke wildly about to get out of the arc of incoming fire while still trying to avoid the Banshees diving hungrily down from the sky looking for victims.

The avenues of advance broken, drivers moved on instinct. Two Warthogs turned into each other, crashing, while a Mongoose was crushed when it got in the way of a charging Scorpion Main Battle Tank. The UNSC air cover of Pelicans and Falcons did their best to provide support from above but were no match for the nimble Banshees who shot down two Falcons in the process.

Oblivious to all this, Kat dodged mortar rounds left and right, whooping like a madwoman from excitement and adrenaline. Seeing their objective the female Spartan turned towards a bridge which was the key structure in crossing a deep chasm separating the plain. The UNSC needed to take and hold the bridge for the main force to cross and retake the Covenant landing field. Kat and Mike were now in the lead echelon, engine roaring at full throttle trying to make it to the bridge. Only meters away as Mike watched the lead group of vehicles begin to cross over he looked up and saw a plasma mortar round reach the top of its arc and begin to fall towards the center of the bridge. It seems they had that zeroed too.

"Incoming!" Mike yelled too late for Kat to swerve from the course.

The plasma splash hit perfectly in the center of the bridge. With a dull thud the round exploded dropping the center of the structure down to the bottom of the chasm.

"Might want to hold onto something!" Kat grunted as she floored the accelerator to try to jump the gap.

The Warthog took off sailing through the air but the gap of the now-destroyed bridge was too wide so the heavy vehicle came down nose first. Hitting hard it bounced wildly before turning on its side spilling the passengers out onto the rocky terrain. While Kat and Mike's MJOLINIR armor absorbed much of the shock the Army trooper manning the LAAG on the rear hit hard enough to snap his neck.

Despite the armor, Mike hit the ground head-first. Even though his Mk.V[B] helmet absorbed much of the blow the Spartan was still knocked momentarily senseless. Coming too he found himself lying face down.

"Six! Can you hear me?" Kat called out urgently racing over to his side. "Six, you alright?" Seeing Mike begin to slowly move her concern turned to action. "I could use some help!"

Covenant infantry began swarming over a rise to the bridge approach while a Spirit dropship inserted more troops. A fresh wave of Banshees screamed overhead strafing the area. Seeing the threat Kat moved to an overturned Warthog and began to return fire.

"On my way," Mike responded.

Spotting a M41 Rocket Launcher that had fallen out of a broken weapon case on the ground the Spartan grabbed it and prepared to follow Noble Two into the fray when his eyes caught another Warthog trying to jump the gap.

At the last moment the driver panicked and tried to pull back rather than accelerate over the gap. It failed, instead slamming into the side of the destroyed bridge sending its screaming crew into the abyss. Mike turned but realized the passenger in the ill-fated Hog had been catapulted out of the seat and sent flying through the air landing with a sickening thud on the remnant of the bridge.

The red MJOLINIR armor could only be one person: Natalia.

The woman lay motionless on the ground beside an overturned Warthog whose driver's headless body hung suspended in the seat. Caught off guard and still foggy from his own collision something snapped in Mike's mind. The brooding Spartan was taken to another place at another time. Sprinting towards Natalia, instead of being on Reach he was in the middle of Operation Torpedo though he'd never been there.

"Melanie! Mel!" Mike screamed, "Wake up," seeing the woman from his past whose face still tormented him. "Don't die Melanie, please!"

Despite the din of battle all was silent for him as he dropped down to the ground beside the limp form.

Ears ringing from the force of the collision, Natalia groaned and her eyes fluttered. Her eyes needed to adjust as everything seemed fuzzy. Before she could focus she knew Mike was kneeling over her. The woman had no fear of death if this was what was happening. Something inside though said it wasn't her time, she had more to live, and now more to live for. Despite the pain from being thrown from the Warthog should couldn't help but smile since Mike had come to her in the middle of the critical battle.

Then her head cleared and she heard Mike calling out the name of another woman.

"Who…who's Melanie?" Natalia asked weakly.

"What?" Mike snapped out of his fog. "What did you say?" he responded, now back in real-time.

"Nothing," Melanie answered, knowing this wasn't the time. "Am I going to die?" Her emotions were churning at that moment and perhaps death would be a blessing. She was happy that he'd come to her in the midst of the fight but sad that it appeared as if he was coming for another and not her.

Mike pulled up the reading of the woman's vitals on his HUD and did a quick scan. "No, you look good." He sounded relieved which counted for something. "You'll likely have a nasty headache but your suit absorbed most of the crash. Come on," he held out a hand, "we need to get back into the fight."

We. That counted for something.

Charging up the rise Natalia travelled in Mike's wake. The Spartan fired and moved, cutting a path through the swarming Covenant towards where Kat was pinned down.

As Mike moved towards his stalled friend Natalia's comment to him as she came out of unconsciousness weighed heavy: Who's Melanie?... Had he really called her that? Everything had happened so quickly and the woman had been lying on the ground motionless. Maybe he had. Was he starting to see the two women on the same level? Was he starting to care? All he did know right now was the sudden rush of fear that overcame him when he saw the prostrate woman. It wasn't a fear as in panic; it was a fear as in loss.

There was no time for deep, philosophical thought.

Mike saw two Banshees push up high into the sky then loop 180 degrees to drop straight down towards the ground, vapor trails forming a ribbon behind them. They were dropping down on Kat's position. Noble Two couldn't move. Fuel rod rounds were slamming in to the woman's left and a concentration of Elites held in her check to the right. With the Banshees coming in overhead she was about to be finished.

"Kat you've got to displace!" Mike yelled over the comms. "You've got two inbound bandits coming down overhead."

Kat looked up and swore at the sight then declared, "I can't move Six. Bastards got me pinned down."

Mike hadn't paused in the interim, deftly flipping the jackhammer rocket launcher he carried he began to prep to use it. At the same time he ordered, "Kat, make your way to the right. I'll clear the way. Natalia, break right too, support Kat. Both of you move to the rocky area next to the abutment. I'll meet you there."

Natalia moved out of Mike's wake instantly, opening fire on a pair of Elites preparing to attack, disrupting their attempt to intercept Kat as she stepped out of cover. Continuing to move forward she walked fire from her assault rifle over to support Kat as she engaged those who tried to intercept her. Seconds after Noble Two had moved away from the cover of the overturned Warthog the Banshees leveled it with fire from their twin plasma cannons. If Kat had been there she would have been incinerated.

The two women worked in concert, moving seamlessly, pushing back the Covenant array up and beyond the peak of the hill they'd been charging over.

"Kat, Six, what's your status?" Commander Carter interrupted from his perch overhead, seeking to get a sense of what was going on since the battle had now broken into a series of running skirmishes.

"Pylons are down," Kat reported, "we're pushing up the hill."

"Roger that. Take the hill and consolidate," Carter ordered. "We're getting too strung out so we need to reform before we proceed."

Noble One saw a green acknowledgement light wink in his HUD letting him know Kat had received the order. Satisfied that part of the attack was fine he concentrated on the rest of the team. Jorge was supporting an engineer company with covering fire from his HMG who were seeking to place bridging equipment in place to cross the chasm leading to the valley and bring the rest of their forces to bear. Emile was moving among the engineers protecting them from swarming Grunts and Jackals seeking to disrupt the activities. Jun had found a place of cover on a rocky rise. Tucking himself into the shadows he began to seek targets of opportunity. Of particular interest were a group of Elite Zealots exhorting on the Covenant defenders in the area. Patiently waiting for good opportunities despite the chaos around him, the efficient sniper systematically eliminated four of the dangerous foes with precise head shots.

Despite the efforts of Noble team the attempt to bridge the abyss was at a standstill. Plasma mortar rounds began to fall among the engineers, searing a team and their equipment.

"Noble Lead, we got a Wraith somewhere frying this place up," Jun called into the comms from his perch. "Need some air support now or we're not going to get across this gap."

"Roger that," Commander Carter acknowledged, "Delta 3-13," he called over to a circling Pelican, "seek and eliminate hostile armor elements blocking our bridging efforts. This is priority one."

The Pelican roared in from the sky and quickly found the distinctive Wraith mortar tank tucked behind a low rise not far from the destroyed bridge. The Covenant had foolishly not supported their mobile artillery platform with any anti-air assets so the gunners could only watch in horror as the winged UNSC avenger slammed the tank with high explosive missiles from its Anvil-II air-to-surface pods.

The artillery threat had been eliminated but the UNSC had to get the bridging equipment in place to replace the crossings the Covenant had wisely destroyed at the beginning of the attack or the human's assault would stall before it really had the chance to begin.

Mike was too busy to respond and didn't have time to think of what the rest of Noble team was up to. The Spartan found out the fuel rod rounds turned out to be from a Shade turret. One roared in, knocking him flying as it came in too close. His shield drained to half level but the Spartan rolled and in one motion was back on his feet starting to zigzag so the tracking turret couldn't zero on him. Finding a small cluster of rocks he dove behind them as another blast from the turret sought to incinerate him. Adjusting the jackhammer, Mike popped up with his eye in the targeting sight as he brought it up to his shoulder. In one smooth motion he squeezed the trigger. He felt the weapon buck as the 102mm high explosive round released from the launcher with a whoosh. A millisecond later the round slammed into the turret turning it into a ball of flames. Mike was on his feet and sprinting up the slope, supporting Kat and Natalia's attempt to find a new place of cover.

A plasma round splashed beside the spot Mike had just moved from, turning the ground into a charred mess. One of the two Banshees that had destroyed the Warthog Kat had hid behind had turned on him as its next target. The winged fighter swooped up and right, seeking to reset for another attack run. Mike took the opportunity to bring the rocket launcher to bear on the dangerous fighter. Ignoring several Needler rounds impacting on his armor he allowed the targeting system of the smart-linked sight to track the looping Banshee until he heard the satisfying tone of a successful lock. Pulling the trigger he began to get back into the fight knowing the aerial threat was about to be eliminated.

He was correct.

A few seconds later he heard the sound of an explosion overhead and knew the Banshee was gone. That threat eliminated Mike began to work his way to the right to link up with Kat and Natalia. The pair had linked up and pushed up to the summit of the hill but were tied down by another Shade turret.

Kat swore as again a Fuel Rod round slammed into the rock protrusion the two women were holding cover behind. Bits of rock chipped from the solid surface pinged against their armor, more of an irritant than a threat. So intent was the aggressive Spartan to push forward that she missed the Elite emerging on her flank. Too late she saw the Sangheili level his plasma rifle and open fire. The plasma rounds were dead on, draining her shield. Natalia though had caught the threat and had already lobbed a fragmentation grenade at the distracted Covenant warrior. It impacted at the Elite's feet just as it was ready to finish Kat off. Natalia stayed focused and followed up the grenade which had taken down the Elite's shield with a stream of fire from her assault rifle punching through the blue armor and ripping open its chest.

"Thanks," Kat grunted with a note of surprise that the ONI officer she had consistently chided had helped her out.

"No problem," Natalia nodded expertly slapping a fresh mag into her MA37.

Any conversation was cut short by a wave of Grunts who came screaming over the top in an attempt to overwhelm them. Two suicide Grunts carrying primed plasma grenades led the way warbling crazily. Kat drilled the first one and Natalia the second. Their explosive charges went off prematurely shredding the group surrounding the pair. That allowed the two members of Noble team to bring more fire to bear and slow the charge. An added chorus of human fire was added to the symphony as Mike came charging in to join the stalled pair.

"Good to see you Six," Kat commented.

Natalia nodded her head vigorously in agreement but didn't say anything, the adrenaline of the moment causing her not to trust what she'd say or do.

"Sitrep?" Mike asked, getting down to business.

"Bloody Shade's got us pinned down here," Kat declared. "We can't take the summit with it there."

Mike checked the rocket launcher he carried since that was the natural solution to the dangerous anti-infantry gun that commanded the summit but the weapon was empty. Throwing it aside he made a quick sweep of the area to get an assessment. Other than a few Jackals sniping away there seemed to be a lull in infantry action giving them an opportunity.

"Okay, I'll move up and right and draw the turret's fire," Mike began, "you two move back and left behind that big rock to flank the gun then take it out."

"That's going to leave you pretty exposed while we do it," Kat countered.

"I'll be fine. My armor can handle it," Mike countered.

"Man, that's a Fuel Rod up there," the aggressive female Spartan declared, showing concern for Mike. "One hit will take your shields down. You can't let there be a second or you're done."

Natalia gulped audibly at the declaration she hadn't thought of. She reached out to grab Mike's arm but stopped herself halfway looking instead like a school child trying to raise her hand to ask a question.

Mike caught the gesture. "What's up?" he asked, missing the intent.

"Nothing," Natalia mumbled in embarrassment .Then, instead of moving her concern overwhelmed her. "Just be careful, okay?"

Rather than chide her for the unnecessary comment in the middle of a combat situation he replied quietly, "I will," vigorously nodding his head. "Okay, let's move."

Mike sprinted forward towards the exposed summit, drawing fire immediately but he dodged crazily around.

The two women began to move into their position but Kat grabbed Natalia's arm first. "You like him, don't you?" Then, seeming to not want to hear a reply pulled her with her and added, "Come on!"

Mike's prediction was correct. The sight of the charging Spartan transfixed the gunner on the Shade who focused on taking down the armored super soldier. Kat and Natalia dropped several Jackals along the way but didn't slow their pace. As they moved closer to engage the Covenant turret Natalia couldn't help but admire Mike anew as he bobbed and weaved around, fearlessly exposing himself to the enemy fire to allow them a shot. It was yet another unrecorded act of bravery the galaxy would never know about, yet another example of a willingness to sacrifice for the greater good.

The quick woman's mind could process the needs of the battle and ponder this at the same time. She'd been so selfish, so ambition, so unaware of what these soldiers were doing for mankind. Deemed expendable, 'acceptable casualties', and on and on by ONI command and others. Yet charging to attack with Kat and watching Mike risk himself so the stalled attack could carry on made her ashamed to be part of such a group. Yes, she liked him, she thought to herself silently in response to Kat's question, she likely even was falling in love with him, but this was a different feeling. This was an admiration for the nobility of these Spartans and what they were willing to go through for the good of their species. Then it struck her:

Noble team.

An ironic and appropriate name. They were noble, even Emile in his own way. Right there, Natalia Misriah vowed if she ever got off this rock she'd do whatever she could to advocate for these misunderstood men and women and ensure they received better treatment then they had before. That gave her yet another reason to live.

Natalia thought all these things while simultaneously finding the opening in a Jackal's shield to drop the pesky creature with a burst of automatic rifle fire.

Kat had switched to her M6 Magnum pistol in order to have a more precise shot on the Shade gunner as they got within range. The Grunt manning it finally saw Mike was a ruse and desperately attempted to traverse the gun towards the real threat.

It was too late.

In quick succession Kat popped off three rounds all which found its mark and the Shade went silent.

Without the turret anchoring their defensive line the Covenant forces holding the top of the ridge crumbled. The force of the two Spartans supported by Natalia in addition to a contingency of UNSC troops who had rallied pushed them off the position. Retreating in disarray the Covenant ceded the key area allowing the humans to gain a foothold. A bonus of the turrets being taken out was that Pelicans could swoop in and drop several Warthogs to provide added firepower. With all of this a force held the ridge while another moved back to eliminate any remaining enemy seeking to block the attempt to cross the deep chasm.

While this was going on the UNSC Army engineers had brought up the bridging equipment. Now not being harassed by Covenant fire they were able to lay not just one bridge to cross the abyss but two. With UNSC forces on the other side covering the exit and the approach fully secure the flow of equipment and men could resume. First across was a squadron of Scorpion main battle tanks then a long line of troop transport. The assault on the Szurdok Ridge was back in business.