ODSS Chapter 17
Kathleen pushed Joshua back, causing him to fall to the ground. Fred grabbed Kathleen, pulling her away. "Kathleen, stop, that's an order."
"Since when do I take orders from you?" Kathleen struck, out hitting Fred. He took a step back, rubbing his chest.
"What is her problem?" Joshua asked, scrambling back up to his feet. He turned to look at Will. "Does she often attack her teammates?"
"All the time." Will smiled and chuckled at his own words. "You get used to it. Now, though, would be a good time to remember to never call her by any name other than Kathleen."
Joshua dusted off his pants. "I can't believe you let her push you around like that. Isn't Fred the leader of your team?"
"Well, lead is a loose word for what I do. You can't really lead that thing." Fred motioned toward Kathleen, earning him a kick to the shin. "Ow, kicking, that's new."
"Can we just get back to our mission? We have to take out our target before the time limit is up." Will put an arm around Kathleen's shoulder. "Come on, I'm sure there will be people there that you can hit."
Kathleen contemplating hitting Will for the comment but decided against it. "Fine." She turned and marched off toward their target. Fred raced ahead to take the lead. He glared back at Kathleen, annoyed that she was trying to usurp his authority as their leader. Kathleen stuck her tongue out at him.
The fireteam made their way through the forest to their target. Kathleen stared down at the tall radio tower that was their target. The tower wasn't in actual use, but was attached to a system that would alert the DIs when it was destroyed.
Fred made a few hand signals, ordering a perimeter sweep. He motioned to Kathleen, Joshua, and then to the right. Kathleen hit him in the arm and shot him a dirty look. Fred glared back at her and after a moment Kathleen looked away. He was the assigned leader, after all.
Kathleen moved off through the woods, checking for any sign of instructors or traps. Joshua trailed behind her, watching their six. Kathleen stopped them halfway along their path. Joshua moved up behind her, searching the area.
"Why did we stop?" Joshua fidgeted, hand moving to his waist as though he would find some kind of weapon there. The problem was they hadn't been given anything. They only had their basic PT gear.
"Something's wrong." Kathleen looked over the forest, trying to figure out what it was that was off. She couldn't place her finger on it. An odd sound was in the air. Kathleen pushed Joshua away from her and leapt back, just in time to avoid the DI who had jumped down from the tree above.
Kathleen cursed. She hadn't thought about an attack from above. She rolled to her feet just in time to see the DI raise his baton, sparks flying from the tip. A rock hit the instructor from behind and Joshua crouched, hand searching the ground for a new weapon. The instructor turned and Kathleen pounced. Her fist contacted with the man's side, followed swiftly by an elbow smashing into his nose. The instructor flinched back and Kathleen turned, her foot striking out and connecting with the man's stomach, sending him flying back.
Kathleen stood at the ready, but the man didn't move. She approached him slowly, checking to be sure that he was unconscious. As she checked him over and searched him for a radio, a second figure appeared. It swung its baton at the unaware Kathleen. Joshua moved in the way and the baton smacked him in the side of the head. He fell to the ground, temporarily paralyzed. Kathleen snapped to action, grabbing the fallen baton from the first instructor and turning around, swinging with all her might. Sparks flew and the baton connected with the second instructor's chest. He fell to the ground and Kathleen jumped on him, hitting him several more times with her weapon before he was knocked out.
Kathleen took his baton and moved over to Joshua. She crouched beside him, checking around her to be sure she wasn't caught unprepared again. Joshua stirred and slowly stood up. "You all right?"
Joshua flexed his fingers and shifted his limbs before nodding his head. "Yeah, I'm good to go. Just going to have a bump from that hit probably." Kathleen hit him on the arm lightly. "What did I do this time?"
Kathleen shook her head and sighed. "That wasn't an angry hit. It was a 'thanks for having my back' hit." She stared to move through the forest again. "You'll learn the difference, teammate."
Joshua smiled as she called him her teammate. He hurried and caught up with her. They met up with Fred and Will, who had also had a run-in with a pair of instructors. Will had some dirt on his face and Fred had a scratch on his forehead. They made a full assault on the tower, running into only five more instructors before they placed the EMP charge and set it off. The charge would fry the network of the radio tower, officially tagging it as destroyed.
The fireteam sprinted from their target, looking to get out of the area before the instructors showed up and gave them hell for managing to destroy the tower. They spent the rest of the day making their way through the forest, back toward base. They dodged patrols and spent a bit of time exploring areas they hadn't been to before so they would be more familiar with it in the future.
The team took a short break in a cave that they would often use in the future as a fallback point or hiding spot from instructors. Kathleen sat on a rock, leaning back against the cold stone wall. Will and Joshua were standing guard at the entrance, keeping an eye out for patrols. Fred sat down beside Kathleen and looked at the pair on watch. "So what do you think of Joshua?"
Kathleen looked at Fred, grabbing his chin and turning it so she could look at his scratch. "Well, he wouldn't be stupid enough to get himself an injury like that on such a simple task."
Fred pulled her hand away from his face. He reached up, touching where the scratch was starting to heal. "I take it that means that you've changed your opinion." He turned away from her, arms crossed over his chest.
Kathleen shrugged. "I don't think we need another soldier. You and Will are more than enough. But it is nice having someone to watch my back while I'm busy watching the backs of you two."
"I watch your back. Though I have to admit that I like having an even number. It means we can split up into smaller groups and no one is left all on their own." Fred glanced over at Kathleen. She had usually been the one that was sent for tasks all on her own.
"At least now I have someone to throw to the instructors to keep them busy while I get my job done." Kathleen smirked but it fell from her face and Fred scowled at her. "I was just kidding."
From that point on, Joshua was a part of the team—a valuable part. He proved to be skilled with just about anything. He could drive any vehicle, made a great sniper, was perfect for helping with demolition jobs, and an admirable fighter in close combat. In the end it would be why fireteam Romeo would get a reputation for beating up instructors. They excelled in unarmed missions, putting some of their fellow trainees to shame in their hand-to-hand combat simulations.
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Kathleen snapped herself back to the present, to the current mission. The pelican shifted direction and decelerated as they reached the final base. CRAFTER base was designed to only be accessible by the air. The pelican swung around landing on the middle landing pad.
"Sergeant, I have five phantoms inbound," Maria announced.
"Understood, Maria." Kathleen moved to the pilot. "All right, we're heading inside. I want you to take this bird and move due south of here. We'll call you when we need pick up."
The pilot nodded. "Understood, ma'am. I'll be standing by."
Kathleen nodded back and moved to the rear of the ship. She grabbed her DMR. "All right, marines. Move out." The ODSS sprinted out of the ship toward the base. The doors slid open for them as they approached. Rifles swept the hallways as they moved inside. Kathleen spotted the pelican rising up and moving off before the doors shut.
The soldiers started to move through the base, searching for computers. After several minutes Peter found the target AI. Kathleen stood before the pedestal, frowning at the screen.
[Love]: Welcome to CRAFTER BASE
[Sgt. 113]: Requesting activation of protocol WHITE GLOVE
[Love]: That would be ill-advised. I do not think I can do as requested.
Kathleen frowned at the screen. "What is going on?"
"It seems that this AI is reluctant to terminate itself." Maria sounded as annoyed as Kathleen. "Plug me in and I'll talk to it." Kathleen pulled the data chip out of her helmet and slipped it into the machine. Maria's image showed up on the screen. "This might take a while." The image scowled. "We don't have time for this crap."
"Never heard you use that kind of language." Kathleen motioned to Max and David. "Make a sweep through the base, look for Covies or any weapons we can use. If you find enemies, then just alert us before you do something stupid and try to fight them."
The two marines ran off to do as they'd been ordered. "Everyone else, defensive positions. We have five phantoms coming in full of aliens and we need to keep them at bay until Maria can destroy this thing." The others nodded and ran off to set things up.
Kathleen turned back to the computer. "How long will you need?"
"Hard to say. This AI is locked away so I can't forcefully destroy it. I don't understand why it is denying the protocol."
"Can you give me an estimate?" Kathleen glanced over her shoulder as something hit the ground. Her soldiers must be making cover.
Maria scowled. "At least fifteen minutes, maybe a half an hour."
Kathleen cursed to herself. "We'll give you the time, but try to make it closer to fifteen than thirty." Kathleen turned and moved off to join her soldiers. They had toppled cabinets and moved them into defensive positions. The marines took up positions behind the cabinets, waiting for the covenant.
Max and David returned. They bore Assault rifles, ammunition, grenades, and several Spartan lasers. Kathleen made sure that every soldier got an assault rifle and a handful of clips for them. She gave the Spartan lasers to Tobias, James, Tym, and Edward. They settled in to wait for the aliens to attack.
Kat watched the door, and the scene was familiar. The ODSS had guarded many places before, kept civilians safe long enough for the Spartans to get in the city. When the ODSS would leave, the Spartans would move in and find the survivors. It reminded her of all those times, but also all the times where fireteam Romeo had captured a location and defended it from the DIs. It reminded her of all the training exercises the ODSS had done, though they'd never had weapons in those situations.
Kathleen settled in beside her soldiers. She slung her Spartan laser over her shoulder, and raised her rifle, ready for whatever would come through the doors.