Chapter 25: Wandering Ways

1935 Hours, October 2, 2563 (Military Calendar)/
Lambda Serpentis System, Surface of Novus Pacis, Close to Noceo

Corporal Tyler Walkins sighed as he and his friends walked through the dark woods. Scattered sunlight from the setting suns illuminated the forms of Teddy and Ian in front of him. Both were looking around the woods uneasily and watching for any Covenant. Since they'd gotten out of the city, everyone had been on edge.

After Ian decided to join them, they searched for a way to get out of the city. Yesterday, on the first of October, they found a small hole in the Covenant's defenses and had managed to slip through unnoticed. But ever since then, the three lone soldiers had been afraid of being found by a Covenant patrol and hadn't stopped since they'd gotten out. Still, they had a long way to go.

"Hey!" Ian shouted, tearing Tyler from his thoughts. He looked up from the ground and saw that his two friends had stopped and were looking at him. "Keep up, man. We don't have time to slow down."

Tyler groaned, but not loud enough for Ian to hear. Ever since he'd joined them, Ian had taken the role of leader, not that Tyler really minded. After this, he would probably never see Ian Beye again. He could handle a few days with the man. Tired of carrying his weapon, he used the strap and slung it around his shoulder before walking over to his two friends.

Ian glanced at him once before walking on again. "Come on, we need to keep heading west."

"Why west?" asked Teddy.

"That's where Spero is," said Ian calmly.

"And you think it's in better shape than Noceo?" asked Tyler skeptically.

Ian glanced over his shoulder at him before saying, "Spero is our capitol. They wouldn't give it up that easily. Besides, the majority of the population in Noceo was alien. We didn't stand a chance."

Tyler nodded to himself, seeing personally how true that was. "So what do we do when we get there?" he asked the superior officer.

Ian kept walking in silence for a moment, carefully stepping over a root before turning around and facing his friend. "We'll figure that out when we get there. Right now, I think we should worry about avoiding Covenant."

"Why would Covenant be all the way out here?" asked Teddy as he stepped over the same root Ian just did.

Ian ducked under some branches and looked to his right and left before taking another step. Tyler did likewise but saw nothing but trees flooded by a fine mist in either direction. The process seemed a little over the top, but better safe than sorry though.

"We're in enemy territory, boys," explained Ian. The words seemed to remind him of the danger they were in and he quickened his pace ever so slightly. "They could be out here patrolling and keeping an eye out for a couple of brave ODSTs crazy enough to try something or signs of a possible counterattack. Honestly they don't need a real reason. This is their territory and they're going to protect it." Ian stopped and faced the two younger soldiers. "We'd do the same thing. Around cities we probably are." The man then shrugged and resumed his brisk pace.

"Hey, Ian," Tyler said before ducking under some low branches. "How much do you think the Covenant have taken over?"

Ian shrugged again as he stepped over a fallen, rotting tree. "Don't know. But honestly, the only thing we should be worrying about is getting that index back to command." Ian glanced over his shoulder at them, making sure they were keeping up with his quick pace.

Overhead, two quick flashes illuminated the darkening forest and were quickly followed by a deafening boom. The three soldiers merely glanced upward, but continued on without stopping. Seconds later, a downpour of rain let loose and soaked the men in seconds. The sound of the water hitting the millions of leaves above them produced a cacophony of noise so loud that Tyler barely heard Ian when he told them to stop.

"What?" he shouted over the rain.

Ian had stopped moments before, and when Tyler shouted he whirled around and clamped his filthy hand over the other man's mouth. "Shut up!" he whispered fiercely.

Tyler nodded fervently, and as Teddy walked up, he glanced between both men and finally looked at Ian. "What are you doing, man?" he asked.

Ian simply glared at the younger soldier and he quickly quieted. He held his index finger in front of his mouth until both his companions nodded. Then, he motioned them forward and pointed at the ground. There in the mud, water was pooling in the very clear imprint of a brute foot. The footprint was large, longer than twelve inches and well over eight inches wide. And it was fresh.

"Damn," muttered Teddy quietly.

Ian simply nodded. "I started noticing signs of a brute patrol a while ago. We've been following in their footsteps for a while now."

"Is that why you've been so nervous?" asked Teddy, voicing Tyler's own thoughts.

"Yeah," said the older marine simply.

"Why are we following them? What if they double back and run right into us?" asked Tyler.

Without answering his question, Ian looked around nervously and nodded forward. "Let's keep moving. We don't know how many patrols are out here." He remembered Tyler's question then, and explained, "The brutes won't double back. They'll go around in a circle. Start out going west, head a north a little ways, and then head back east toward the city. I've seen them do it many times before."

"When? The war's barely started," observed Teddy.

"This war is barely started. I fought in the Human-Covenant War for many years."

Silence stretched between the men as they walked over the slippery, slimy terrain. More than once, Tyler and Teddy slipped on a wet log or boulder. But Ian seemed very sure of his footing. "Where's you learn this?" asked Tyler.

Ian stopped and glanced back with a confused expression. "Learn what?"

"You… said you'd seen signs of a patrol before the footprint. I haven't seen any. And how are you able to move through this terrain so easily? Me and Teddy are falling all over the place." By this time Teddy had caught up to them and was standing behind his friend.

Ian looked from one man to the other, and finally shrugged. "I used to go hunting with my dad before the war. He was an old veteran who fought in forest-like enviroments and taught me all about tracking."

"Where?"

"My homeplanet. In the forests of Sibet IV."

Tyler had heard of Sibet IV. The planet was mostly lush, green forest with a few massive seas that weren't quite large enough to be called oceans. He looked at Ian, who was still walking and ducking under low branches, and asked, "Whatever happened to it? I never heard."

Ian sighed slightly, but kept moving. "In 2545, and a day after I left for basic, they came and started their attack. We never had much of a militia so they conquered it quickly. I guess they never had any real use for it so they glassed it after that." The man spoke with such a detached voice that Tyler could hardly believe this was his family and homeworld that he was talking about. Ian finally glanced back when Tyler said nothing and offered a sad smile. "It's okay. It was years ago."

Tyler smiled back sadly, but still said nothing for a while. After a few minutes, he decided to switch to a new subject. "Hey, are we going to stop for the night or something?" he asked.

Ian stopped so suddenly that Tyler almost ran into him. Before he could react further, the man turned around and motioned for them to move back. Like lightning, he switched the safety off his assault rifle and bolted through the trees to the right. Tyler and Teddy quickly followed, but had trouble keeping up with the man's fast pace. The large drops of rain painfully spattered on and branches whipped their faces as they sprinted through the foliage. After a few hundred feet, they spotted Ian, who had taken up positions behind a large, wet boulder. As they approached, he motioned for them to be quiet and pointed in front of them.

Tyler looked and saw they were close to the edge of a ridge. From their vantage point at the ridge, they could see that if they'd kept going straight, they would've walked right into a brute patrol below them. Ten large beasts stalked through the foliage below, heading for right where the marines would've walked in. if Ian hadn't warned them, they could probably be dead by now.

Ian leaned in and whispered, "It's a different group than the one we've been following. I didn't plan on two patrols crossing paths, let alone right where we would be."

"How'd you see them?" asked Tyler.

"I saw the moon reflecting off his helmet," he said as he pointed to a brute. The brute was obviously the leader, as he was in the front, and had a large blue helmet, indicating him as a brute captain. Tyler still didn't see how he could spot the beast through the pouring rain.

"Good eye," commented Teddy from behind them.

"Should we take 'em?" asked Tyler.

"No," came the quick, confident answer.

"Aww, why not?" asked Teddy, who already had his weapon out and at the ready.

"For one thing, we're totally outnumbered and outgunned. And second of all," he stopped and looked pointedly at Tyler. "we have a special package here that needs to be delivered." Tyler nodded, understanding what he was referring to immediately. The index. "If that fell into their hands," he nodded toward the passing brutes and then looked back at his companions. "it wouldn't matter what we did anymore. The war would be lost."

Tyler grimaced slightly and looked between Ian and Teddy. Since he was carrying the index, he felt more responsible for it than anyone else. "Guess we'd better make sure that doesn't happen, huh?" he said quietly.

Ian nodded with a sad smile before checking once more for the brute patrol. Moments later, he motioned for them to move to their right and head back down the side of the ridge. They quickly ran through the mud, putting more distance between them and the beasts. After a few miles, the three men slowed to a brisk walk and checked around them.

"I think we should rest here for tonight," decided Ian.

Tyler looked around and saw that the area they were standing in was relatively dry. He and Teddy nodded in agreement and quickly shrugged their packs off, grateful to be relieved of the weight, and used them to rest their heads on and keep them out of the mud. Ian agreed to take the first shift and make sure nothing snuck up on them while they slept. As Tyler laid his head back, exhaustion took him and he was in a deep sleep before his head hit his makeshift pillow.