Exodus part 1
Everything was black and every part of her body hurt. Slowly her eyes opened and the world came into focus. It was night, from what she could tell, but she had no idea where she was. Shar moved her fingers, good, her left arm was still moving. The limb was slow to react and the skin and muscles protested as she started to move. The landing must have been harder then she had expected.
Shar rolled to her feet and was glad to find that her legs still obeyed her command. She was a bit unsteady as she struggled to her feet. Her right hand moved to her left arm, gripping her forearm in pain. She looked up and spotted her re-entry pack laying a distance away. Although it hurt Shar limped toward the pack. Her left leg was having a bit of trouble holding her weight but as she flexed her left arm she found that the pain was enough she could push past it. She looked down at her one flesh hand as she flexed her fingers, being sure that they worked properly.
She finally reached the pack and knelt down, well more of fell to one knee as there wasn't any other way she could get down. Shar pulled the pistol from the pack, having been added so that Sabre pilots would have something to defend themselves after a crash. She pulled back the slide and was glad to find it in working order. That was all though that she would get from the pack as there was nothing else but useless metal. With no other choice Shar forced herself to stand back up and started to move away from the crash site.
She looked up at the mountains before her where the burning smoking wreckage of the Supercarrier lay, a monument to the sacrifice that Jorge had made to take it down, though it wouldn't be there long with all the cruisers that had shown up. If they didn't fight them all off then the wreckage would be glassed with the rest of the planet. The destruction was elegantly beautiful, like a painting done by a master, but she supposed as nothing but a soldier it was something that she would see as art. Civilians would see it is a reminder of the strength of the Covenant, of the foe that was out to kill them all. To Shar it showed how much one soldier's sacrifice could really do.
Shar attached the pistol to her hip armor and started to walk. She didn't know where, hopefully toward some sort of civilization. She traveled on, the nights and days becoming a blur as she stopped only to rest and give her wounded body a chance to recover enough to continue on. As she went the land turned from the snowy landscape she had landed on to grass and rocks, more familiar to her, somewhere people would want to live. She felt better, well as better as she could with no actual medical care and still having been injured from the fighting and eventual fall from space.
Shar could hear gunfire ahead. Grabbing the pistol from her hip she moved up the hill to find that the source was. As she reached the top she was disappointed by what she found, or maybe she was happy. A human city stood before her, a great metropolis, but there were powerful rounds being shot into the sky while three Covenant Corvettes hung in the air. The city was under attack, but people were still fighting back, meaning she could link back up with the UNSC here.
August 23, 2552 15:34 Hours
Shar let Jorge's dog tags swing from her hand. She still didn't understand why he had given them to her, maybe it was just sentiment, or maybe Jorge had wanted her to remember why she was fighting. She didn't need a reminder, what she was looking at now reminded her why she fought. She tucked the tags away and got moving into the city. The soldiers there would need her help, and she was going to give them everything she had. She was ready to fight, ready to kill some Covenant.
Shar moved into the city as carefully as she could. She moved along an upper level, searching for any sign of human or Covenants. She jumped down from the higher level to the pathway below. She hit the ground and swayed a bit, using the wall to right herself. There was no time to stop now. She kept moving, hugging close to the wall. There was nothing, only fighting far of in the distance. Shar jumped down one more level where a railing had been blasted away. She hit the ground and cursed as a new wave of pain shot through her. She took in a deep breath and harnessed that pain. She would use it to fuel her rage and fight the Covenant. There was no Noble around, no team to realize what kind of a demon she really was. By that logic, there was no reason she should hold back.
Shar moved to the west, heading toward the large building a way away from her. Her radio sprang to life and she heard human voices for the first time in what felt like forever. "This is Kilo dispatch: all available teams, advance to Traxus Tower. Evacuation will commence ASAP."
Another voice replied, this one obviously the voice of a ground soldier. "Copy, Dispatch. What's the status of the tower pad?"
"Tower pad is green. Let's move these civilians before it changes." Shar took that as a cue that she would have to hurry. If she didn't meet up with them before the civilians were removed then it was likely she would be left behind and have to hope she'd find more soldiers.
"Copy Dispatch. Four-Zero out." Shar remained silent as the Sergeant signed off. She would let her arrival be a surprise. Better if the soldiers didn't know that they would have help then her being late and not being able to help. Not to mention Shar wasn't sure if she could actually radio back without giving away where she was to the Covenant.
Shar passed by civilians that littered the ground. At the base of the ramp there were a larger number of them. People just leaning up against decorative planters that held leafy green plants at the base and bright red trees in the center. Shar pushed past them, moving toward the building. There was nothing she could do for the dead. The doors to the building were jammed halfway open. They kept trying to shut but then jerking back open as something was triggered.
Shar moved into the building, activating her night vision and bathing the building in the neon green glow. An information booth before her had the UNSC logo on one screen but all other simply stated that the system was offline. She wondered if it was offline because the AI in charge had shut it down to try to give the humans a chance, to keep the Covenant out.
Shar moved around the booth and the doors on the other end slid open. She spotted several skirmishers at the top of the stair walking about. She took aim and fired, a shot tearing through the skull of the first skirmisher. The sound of the shot, and likely the fact that they had only been dealing with average soldiers, caused the remaining two to run to the top of the stairs to fire down at Shar. They had only just started to fire when Shar shot twice more and the skirmishers fell like the first.
Shar moved up to the top of the stairs, noting that the signs on the wall said this was the civic center. She searched the floor but found no other enemies. She moved toward the only door that was open which was to the south side on the west wall. She noted the familiar triangle with perfectly round eye in the center that indicated section 3. She brushed it off for now.
She moved through the door and a deep voice came over her radio. "Romeo Company, be advised: we have reports of Covenant suicide squads." Great, just what Shar needed. Grunts that were out to die and take her with them.
Shar fired on a grunt, putting a round through its head before it could pull out any grenades. "You've got to be kidding me…" Shar couldn't blame the trooper for his frustration. In her armor she could survive, in their weaker armor, they were in major danger of plasma burns that could kill them.
Shar took a step forward and fired on instinct as another grunt head game into view. The shot pierced its skull and the grenades the suicidal grunt had been carrying went flying into the air "That's a negative. Keep your eyes open, troopers." Shar hoped that the man's words would be headed by the troopers. She wanted to get out of here alive with them, not show up in time to find their charred bodies.
The explosives from the grunt she had just killed exploded just in time for a third grunt to appear. Shar quickly dispatched it and held back until the fallen grenades had detonated far away from her. She then moved down the stairs to where the grunts had been standing. There was a doorway on the south side and she moved through. She rounded a corner and spotted the top of a grunt's head. She fired and the grenades of the grunt fell to the ground. She stayed in place, waiting for the explosion.
"Kilo 26, this is Kilo 40. Covenant corvette is raining hell on us! Final Protective Fire-1, danger close, on my command, over!" The voice of the Sergeant seemed a bit hurried but still rather calm.
The grenades had gone off and Shar fired on a second suicide grunt that came running at her. It fell easily and the grenades detonated as soon as they hit the ground, sending a box flying and the alien's body spinning as the tank on its back ruptured.
"Copy, Kilo 40. Firing FPF-1 at your command." Kilo 26's voice was calm as it did as ordered.
Shar reloaded her gun and moved down the stairs past the fallen grunts. She was keeping a close eye on her motion tracker to give her any hints toward where the grunts may be.
Shar moved down the hallway, past the burned bodies of the grunts but turned as she reached a doorway. "Fire FPF-1, over."
"Firing FPF-1." Shar absently listened as the Sergeant and Kilo spoke. The other half of her attention was on a crate she had found. "Shot."
Shar moved to the crate, grabbing the equipment and quickly attaching it. She checked to be sure it was on correct, and that it would work. For once it wasn't just her affection for the powerful Armor Lock that gave her reason to use it. With walking bombs running toward her it would be useful to save her life.
Shar moved to the top of the next set of stairs. "Hold onto your helmet." Stacker had just finished speaking when there was a loud dull boom and the world around Shar shook. Shar gritted her teeth as the vibrations sent new pain up her body.
She moved to the bottom of the stairs and then back up as she spotted red dots to her left. They likely would have seen her movement and would be running toward her now. Better to wait then run into danger, particularly in her condition. When she heard nothing, not even the frenzied screams of the grunts Shar moved back down the stairs. She turned as she reached the opening to the hallway perpendicular to where she was. Two grunts stood at the end of the hallway, not even looking at her. Four shots and the grunt closest finally fell. The second tried to pull out grenades and run toward her but before it could even take a step the fifth shot found its head.
Shar spotted a dot running toward her and she stopped to wait. A second later a grunt rounded a corner and just as it let out a loud yell she fired, the bullet tearing its skull clean through. The two grenades the grunt had been carrying flew through the air and Shar retreated half way up the stairs in order to avoid the explosives. As soon as they had gone off she moved down the hallway.
She passed what seemed to be a service cage, though there was no door. She moved in and looked around, spotting tools, hardhats, and coveralls. She let out a sigh of relief as she found what she was hoping for. A standard med-pack hung on the wall. Shar moved to it, looking through the supplies. Most of it was useless to her, but she finally settled on injecting herself with some painkillers. She was already full of bio-foam, and there wasn't anything else in the kit that could be useful. As the drugs flooded through her system the pain eased away and Shar tried to focus. She turned and moved out of the caged area.
She moved back into the hallway and through a door. She found that the two doorways in the hallway lead to the same small area with one opening on the opposite side. As she moved forward red dots appeared on her radar. She moved into the room without hesitation, the pain no longer in the way. She fired on the closest grunt as it stood there. It fell with two shots and the rest of the grunts were alerted. A second ran toward her, grenades glowing as it moved. She fired once, the round hitting the alien's head and sending the grenades flying.
"Kilo 40: request FPF sit-rep." Kilo's voice was partially trained out as the grenades went off.
Shar took aim at the third grunt in the room. Two shots hit its stomach before a third went through its head. "Negative, 26! Corvette's still coming!" Stacker was starting to sound a bit worried. Shar couldn't blame him. A looming Corvette was never good.
A fourth grunt appeared running through an opening on the opposite side of the room from Shar. She opened fire on the alien and it fell with ease. "Copy, 40. Firing FPF-2….Shot!"
Shar turned just in time to see a grunt running up toward her. She took a step back just as the second shot hit and the ground began to shake again. She fell to one knee and her fist hit the ground. The impenetrable shield snapped into place just in time as the grunt reached her and the grenades went off. Armor Lock snapped off and Shar stood, feeling very pleased. She reached back, her fingers lightly touching the piece of equipment. Silently thanking it for the help.
Once the shaking has stopped Shar moved through the doorway into the room the grunts had been occupying. "Damn! How do you stop that thing?" Shar could hear the edge of anger in the Sergeant's voice.
Shar moved through the room to the other side and into a smaller room. There were what looked to be tanks, or something. At the moment she couldn't focus enough to really care what they were. She passed by them to a doorway on the other side. Her gaze turned to a level above her. There was a large line of suicide grunts all running down the zigzagging stairs to get to her. She started to fire. She killed the one in the lead and it hauled all the others, causing them to be engulfed in fire.
The ground shook again below Shar and she shifted her footing to stay in place. When it had stopped she checked the area, finding it clear of anything but the bodies of grunts. She moved into the room and up a ramp on the west side of the room. Once she was sure that the upper level was clear she moved to a doorway to the side.
The metal slates slid up and she found herself staring into a hallway that led outside. She snapped off her night vision and moved toward the open doorway at the other end of the hallway. As she reached the doorway a Spirit ship rose up and she spotted three brutes on the open sides, firing toward her. The spirit moved away and Shar moved outside.
"Help! Somebody help us!" The panicked voice of the civilian surprised Shar a bit. She hadn't thought there were any civilians still around.
She moved over to a fallen soldier leaning against a railing and grabbed the assault rifle from the ground. Not her favorite weapon by far, but it would have to do. She moved down the stairs to where she spotted a brute attacking a man.
"Come on! Let's go." Shar opened fire and realized that she wasn't the only one. Two troopers were moving toward the enemy.
Shar continued to run down the stairs. She rounded a support beam and opened fire on the enemy again. In a matter of second the creature was dead and surprisingly the civilian scrambled to his feet.
"What are those things?" One of the troopers asked. Shar often forgot that brutes weren't an enemy that most soldiers met. And those that did never forgot them.
"Brutes! Move to cover." The troopers formed up behind Shar as she started to move toward the civilians that were taking cover under and awning.
"Picked up a friendly," The female trooper announced.
"A Spartan? Where the hell did she come from?" Shar wasn't sure where the speaker was, but at this moment she didn't care.
Apparently the soldiers didn't either. "Who cares? Spartan, assist!"
Shar did just that. She ran toward the next closest brute who was attacking a civilian. She fired on but the brute didn't seem to really care. It was trying to crush the civilian under its foot. It worked for Shar. She simply fired until the hulk of an alien fell to the ground, allowing the civilian to struggle to his feet.
"Evac Team 7 to Kilo 26, we have eyes on Traxus Tower," One of the troopers reported.
Shar moved the south side of the area and found another brute moving toward her. She lobed a grenade and it went off behind the brute. "Copy, Evac Team 7. Move to assist the evac." Shar could have sworn that was what she was already doing. She cut down the injured brute with ease, quickly reloading when she finished.
She turned to the North and found two more brutes. She didn't hesitate to run toward them, assault rifle blazing. She fired on one until she was close enough and then pulled her fist back. Her robotic hand hit the side of the brute's head and she felt the creature's bones give way under the force. The body went flying back, hitting a wall. Shar turned to the next brute, emptying the rest of her clip into it. When she finished she turned to the last remaining brute.
She jumped up and started to fire on the alien. The brute tried to move down the stairs toward her but she kept her fire steady as she moved with it. Eventually they met up at the top of the stairs and Shar struck out. With great force she slammed the butt of her gun into the brute's chest. With the wounds from being shot the hit sent the dead body falling to the ground.
Shar didn't stop moving, turning and moving across the upper area the final brute had been attacking a man on. She moved over to a fallen soldier and grabbed the assault rifle ammunition that lay by the body.
"How do we get to the tower?" The female trooper asked.
Shar moved to the top of the stairs leading down on the west of the upper area. "Elevator in the atrium goes down to the cargo port. Cargo port goes to the tower." The trooper seemed calm as he explained the plan.
The door near the bottom of the stairs opened up and Shar spotted skirmishers moving out of it. She fired on them and the two skirmishers and one brute that had appeared turned to her. She tossed a grenade and it landed behind them. The explosive went off, killing one skirmisher and injuring the other two aliens. She opened fire on the brute, and then the skirmisher, cutting them both down. A third skirmisher moved out of the doorway. Shar fired and it was sent reeling back a bit. It stunned it enough that she was able to run down toward it. Her elbow struck out, hitting its chest and crushing the bird-like alien's body between her arm and the wall behind it.
"Okay, let's move in and find that elevator." The troopers all started to move down to where she was. Shar didn't wait for them. She moved into the building. She needed to secure the elevator and get out of here as quickly as possible.