Another Day at The Office
We approached the gargantuan bridge that connected the outskirts of New Mombasa to the city. The darkness of the tunnel ebbed away, leaving the kaleidoscope of the sun to shine. I checked the ammo of my Battle Rifle and sidearm, adequate for now. Chief was next to me, a couple burns across his chest and shoulder plates from where the plasma cannons had grazed us. I had a couple dents and scores as well, but we were intact.
I slung my Battle Rifle over my back, and pulled out my combat knife as I approached a struggling marine trying to pull apart a supply crate that had gotten tangled onto a bridge line. He fell down, and as I pulled him up, I split apart the ropes that held the crate to the bridge, and it fell to the floor with a clatter. I opened it to reveal ammo, rations, and a M41 Rocket Launcher. I grabbed it, and tossed it to Chief who caught it with a nod.
A young female marine stared at the behemoth in the distance. The Scarab in front moved at a slow pace, but destroyed everything in its path. She indignantly said, " Bastard blew a swath right through us. It's hopping over the bridge now. 50-cal, rockets, we did jack shit to it."
I looked up to see a Pelican coming, with a Scorpion hanging under it by a hook. It dropped as it landed with a loud clang, practically emanating its power. Sergeant Johnson jumped off the pelican onto the tank and strode over to us.
"Where's the rest of your platoon?" He barked.
"Wasted, Sarge." The female Marine replied, sadness creeping into her voice.
The struggling Marine put in, " We will be too if we don't get the hell outta here sir!"
Johnson looked at the man, and clapped a strong hand on his shoulder. "Son, have you been hit?"
"N…n-no, Sir."
Johnson roared, louder this time, " Then listen up!"
"The Chief and Noble Six are getting in this tank, and they're going to roll across this bridge, blowing up any SOB dumb enough to get between them and the Prophet of Regret! Now I suggest you dig real deep for some bravery, because you're going with him!"
I grinned, and opened up a private COM to Chief," He sure has a way with words." I saw him shake his head on my left.
The female marine, Private Delacour asked, "What about that Scarab sir?"
Sergeant Johnson hopped back onto the Pelican, saying, "We've all run the Sims. Bastards are tough, but they aint invincible. Stick with the Spartans, they've handled a lot worse."
The two Marines chorused, "Yes sir!"
I took a look at the tank, and whistled quietly. I studied my TACPAD for any information about what lay ahead. Backup was arriving in an hour or so; the UNSC Say my Name was dropping a platoon of ODST troopers into the city, situated around Kizingo Boulevard, where they'd move to the ONI building. I relayed this information to Chief and Cortana, who probably already knew. I saw the burning skyline of Mombasa up ahead, a large cruiser hovering over it. Down onto the bridge, there were a multitude of cars, trucks and buses in front. No problem for the giant treads of the scorpion.
It was the enemy that concerned me. There were several Ghosts patrolling the bridge, along with one wraith tank. John got in the driver seat, and I got in the front turret, as we drove towards the city. The first brave Elite that came towards us manned the ghost, and managed to get off one wild bolt before Chief left it in bits and pieces behind us. It was nice to be in control for once. Our large tank continued to steamroll onwards, as Marines following on our sides cheered loudly and happily.
"Tanks beat everything!" One marine cheered with macabre and joy as we continued to blast them all apart with our cannons. The gaping hole in the highway I noticed on the way through the tunnel was there as well, and it took several minutes for Chief to slowly maneuver around the hill. With a loud whirr, a Pelican dropped onto the highway, and unloaded two warthogs. Along with this, several phantoms headed towards the city, and Chief rotated the cannon towards them. A couple couldn't withstand the sheer firepower, and pieces of the broken phantom debris dropped to the ground, with a whoop and cheer from the rest of the marines.
"Look, a welcoming party." Cortana sardonically mentioned as Banshees powered over from the city, and two wraith tanks hummed and hovered slowly but menacingly towards us. They lobbed their mortars that slowly arced towards us, and I got out of the turret.
"Chief, I got the potatoes, deal with the meat." I waved at him. His green acknowledgement light winked on, and I charged forward towards the banshee's, firing a couple of shots to distract and force them into getting on me instead of the real threat.
"Cortana, hack em." I pointed to the Banshees.
"You say that as if it was a challenge." She appeared on my HUD, crossing her arms and grinning her typical grin.
With a wave of the hand, the Banshees bulbs on both of their wings powered down, and they crashed into adjacent buildings, causing one to cave in completely. It clattered, a mad crash of concrete, metal and plaster smashed the ground with an incredible explosion. The wraiths were absolutely demolished, and disappeared into the rubble. Chief and I were somehow miraculously unscathed, and other than a couple straggling Grunts, the tunnel was gone, replaced by several thick walls of building.
Chief got out of the tank, and looked at the carnage.
"Cortana, find alternate routes into the city, we are not losing that Carrier." He asked.
Cortana replied in a second. "Not too sure you two are going to enjoy this, but there's a way back into the city, through the sewer system. You're going to crawl through it and that's going to lead you to Palace hotel. There's a small contingent of Marines there, and we'll link up and push into the hotel. That should lead back into the blocked out tunnel through an emergency exit. From there, just follow the 3000 ton Scarab."
I sighed," Just another day at the office." Before walking over to a service hatch located in an alley, and kicking it open. I got in the cramped sewer, the rusted pipes creaking in protest at having such a large weight, before sliding down into the main system. We splashed down into murky liquid, filled with dead insects. With the war going on, nobody was going to pay attention to something like sewage. Nothing a Spartan couldn't handle. We silently pushed forward, Cortana feeding us information about the city as we moved towards Palace hotel.
" The Prophet of Regret is looking for something down here. I'm picking up a lot of Covenant chatter about some holy artifact that Regret is looking for, but for now they're keeping this very under wraps. This is much more secretive than anything else they've done." She relayed to us, as Chief pushed open a hatch leading us to the sewer that led to Palace Hotel.
Chief pondered, "Why Earth? What could we have?"
I agreed, "I have no idea what is going on, but I don't think we're going to find out stuck in this sewer."
Chief opened the hatch, and we ended up in a small area for sewage. FOF tags appeared in our HUDs, and the highest ranked was a Lieutenant Parisa. Chief shook his head, an almost imperceptible motion. Spartans didn't waste any energy, why would he do that? I decided not to press him on the subject, and opened a COM signal to Parisa.
"Friendlies incoming Lieutenant, we require your assistance."
Parisa replied, her voice high pitched, but hardened, the voice of someone who'd once had much youth, but had it forcibly ripped from her. We opened the door and made our way into the main lobby. Parisa and 5 Marines stood over a small table, resting. There were plasma burns and scores of black char marks around all of their armor, and all of them looked like they'd been through a hellish battle.
"What happened?" Chief asked.
Parisa turned to us, her face bloodied and her eyes fiery, " We were part of the 4th Division Marines, sent in to clear out the cultural center in New Mombasa. It went all chicken-shit on us. Covenant sent a huge force en masse from their carrier, and we were forced down to the industrial zone. Our entire goddamn division was decimated, and I rallied what was left of our men and pushed a path near the city. We were about to move into the tunnel for a shortcut until your AI pinged us."
I nodded," Okay, lets move into the tunnel. Marines, follow me." I walked past the table, seeing the possessions on the tables, photographs, lighters, but one photo stood out. Two people, young children, arm in arm and smiling. One was a young brunette, her eyes lighted with the same fire I saw in Parisa. The other one had red hair, pale blue eyes, and had a white skin color, nothing like what he was now. John and Parisa were standing together as children. Chief froze, staring silently at the photo, as I looked to him.
Even Cortana was speechless.
Parisa saw the photo, and quickly moved it away, blushing. "Oh sorry. I know, personal effects must be kept stowed and away. But it was a comforting photo to have Chief. This little kid said that he'd protect and marry me when we got older, said that he would keep me safe. He saved my life when we were children. He passed away one year after. It's because of him I joined the corps. I'm gonna hold him to his promise, and stay alive till the end of this war."
Chief was stunned and silent for a second before he replied, " It's fighting for the ones you care for that helps us win this war."
"Now let's get through the tunnel."
XXxXxXxXxX
We dropped down into the tunnel, guns up and ready for any contacts. I swept the large tunnel, looking up for any hibernating Drones in the area. It appeared clear in this sector, but a large blocked off area up ahead signaled enemy contacts, and my motion detector served to confirm my assumptions. Chief and I pressed forward, and I had my M9S Pistol out. It was much more effective in dealing with targets quietly, no use alerting the Covenant. Chief simply had his serrated edge knife up, ready for anything. The marines behind us silently loped forward, before Chief held up his hand, and signaled me to move to his side. Up front, two Jackals, shields off and pistols hooked to their sides. Chief signaled Lieutenant Parisa forwards, and then counted to three. I shot them dead when he hit three, Chief and Parisa holding the bodies to make sure no sound would occur. Marines weren't too used to this kind of operation, but we were. Chief, in a two ton armored suit made no noise as he leapt to the sidewalk of the tunnel, knife at the ready. I spotted a crack in the large barrier of cars, and slid lithely through. Chief and I both noticed the Elite immediately. It had white armor, and an unpowered Energy sword at its side. Beneath it, three humans with blade marks through each of their chests lay on the floor. Chief balanced the tip of the knife on one gauntleted finger, and motioned to me. He threw the knife, embedding it directly into the Elite's throat. I moved from the shadows to cover the Elites mandibles, and to pull out the knife, killing it instantly as it's eyes turned glassy.
I passed the knife quietly to Chief, when suddenly I heard Parisa scream," Contact!"
She fired a burst directly at me, but I was astonished to see a shimmer in front of me as a camouflaged Elite hit the floor in front of me. I ducked as the floodlights switched on in the tunnel to reveal a large enemy force. I threw myself behind a car, and Chief pressed against a large pillar as the Marines moved to our sides.
"Throw grenades!" I commanded, and everyone complied, lobbing grenades at where most of the enemy resided. Plumes of debris and dirt blasted into the tunnel, causing it to shake. When the dust cleared, half were dead. The enemy counterattacked with precision, flanking our position with endless plasma fire. A Marine took a bolt to the face, and flatlined. Chief jumped down, firing quick bursts at the Elites. I pulled one unsuspecting split-chin from my cover, and stabbed it in the throat. My cover blown, I hopped out and kicked a Crimson Elite in the chest, causing it to tumble into its alien buddies. Chief latched a plasma grenade onto them, and we backpedaled as they disappeared into bloody mist.
Back in cover, the remaining Elites hunkered down, waiting for our heads to pop open. This wasn't a hard problem to solve. I opened my TACPAD, and set the sprinklers ahead of us to turn on. Suddenly, the Elites were hit with warm water. They warbled and shifted, but it was enough for Chief and I to land accurate shots on their exposed spots.
They hit the ground, and were summarily executed painlessly and quickly. I grabbed the dog tags off our dead, and handed them to Parisa, who held them and grimaced with a sense of mourning before slipping them into her already overflowing pockets.
"We have orders to hold this position sir." Parisa explained.
Chief and I nodded, before we moved through the exit corridor of this tunnel, towards the Metropolis beyond.
Chief looked at Parisa. " Lieutenant. Hold true to that promise." His voice gravelly, but a shade of emotion betrayed his tone.
Parisa nodded, and before we stepped out of sight, I saw the glitter of hope flash into her eyes.
A massive courtyard where Marines were making a stand against Covenant ghosts was in our sight. A jackal sniper was firing at the sewage tunnel we were in. I tapped its side, before kicking it off the tunnel and 40 feet down to the ground. I caught the beam rifle before it fell, and handed it to Chief before sliding down a small pathway towards the ground. Chief fired until he ran out of ammo, then followed me down. When he landed, a huge rumbling shook us in our armor, and we looked up to see the Scarab up ahead. It was making its way into the city. An Elite charged at us with a Energy Sword, and we both raised our rifles. We didn't make it in time, as a Gauss Warthog pulled up without a passenger or a turret man, and promptly ran over the Elite.
"This town aint big enough for those alien bastards! Get on sirs! I'll get you two into the city."
Stacker drove us around the courtyard, where Chief took out the Covenant stationary gun emplacements with the turret. I sat in the passenger seat, checking info about the Scarab and it's weaknesses, while firing my Battle Rifle for precise headshots.
" This Scarab's bigger than the other ones. It was originally build to literally punch into the core of a planet, before the Covenant repurposed it for war. It's got one weakness. It's top is completely exposed. We jump on there, we can take it out from the inside." I relayed this information to Chief as he was firing.
" We need to get on top of a building." Chief said, firing as he did so.
I grunted in affirmation as Stacker drove over a large rock, and we drove onto another courtyard, crawling with the enemy. I wedged deeper into the passenger seat, hoping to make myself a small target as a Ghost drove past us. As it turned to fire another salvo, I threw a Plasma perpendicular to our path, which latched on to the ghost as it drove past us, firing it's plasma cannons. I shielded Stacker with my MJOLNIR, taking a couple bolts, and Chief avoided them altogether as the Ghost detonated and cartwheeled into a sapphire-purple carcass.
Jackal Snipers situated around the courtyard began firing in unison, hoping to take out Stacker as he weaved and moved the warthog. Chief sprayed the area with the , taking out the rubble in front of the Jackals due to it's inaccuracy, but it was sufficient to drop the Jackals from their perches and cause them to fall the screaming 10 meters to a painful death or a scarring injury. After a minute of sliding, cursing and the sound of staccato bullets intertwined with the whine of plasma bolts whizzing through the air, the courtyard was clear. Stacker had taken a plasma burn to the shoulder, but I poured some paste on it quickly as he drove.
"Damn, taken care of by a Spartan, talk about 5 star accommodations!" He drawled, causing me to smirk to myself.
"Drive Sergeant." Chief said from the gun, ever serious.
"Hunters! 12 o'clock!" I warned from the passenger. The large organic tanks hefted their shields and rumbled a chilling growl before firing their cannons.
Chief grabbed Sergeant Stacker and jumped off the Warthog, and I followed suit with him. We rolled for several seconds, and when I looked up, both hunters were dead. Crushed by the fiery warthog that we'd left behind.
" Stupid buggers." Stacker kicked them, as we walked into the large tunnel the hunters came from.
Cortana chimed in. "You boys might want to watch yourselves. This tunnel leads to the city center. It's crawling with Wraiths and Phantoms. I'm redirecting a scorpion tank over to you."
Stacker tapped my shoulder. "Sir, I'm heading back to my platoon, we got orders to pull out to defend another area."
I nodded, and Stacker jogged slowly back to a Pelican.
As we walked through the large tunnel, Chief mentioned to me, " Didn't he serve with us on the Autumn? He was the one defending the beach on the fight for the cartographer. "
I nodded, and asked, "How the hell did he make it back?"
Chief was about to affirm my question, when a large tank pulled up in front of us. The driver hopped out, and saluted.
" Got her warmed up for you sir!" The young man said. I nodded in appreciation, and Chief hopped into the pilot seat, with my following on the gunner. There was a silenced SMG in the gunner seat, which I put on my left side. Could be useful.
We drove into the city center, and Cortana wasn't wrong, the place was crawling with Covenant. Chief aimed his cannon, and with a rumbling roar, a Wraith at the far end of the road exploded. I whooped, and Chief whipped the gun around to fire on several ghosts that were approaching. I aimed my turret, spraying the foot soldiers with powerful bullets that tore them all to shreds. Up ahead, a Phantom began to drop a Wraith. Chief began letting lose all his shells on the Phantom, Which caused it to Veer wildly out of control, and slam into the ground, exploding a couple seconds later with a fiery plume that went as far as 30 meters. I felt it from over 50 meters away.
The destruction of the Phantom did wonders in sapping out the Covenant morale, and we crushed the stragglers quickly.
"Leave the Scorpion, there's a Pelican dropping a tank man and a troops." Cortana advised, then continued. " Go to that building up there, we'll need their help to defeat that Scarab."
A marine at the entrance saw two supersoldiers coming and jumped to attention. "Sir! Corporal Perez, A-Company! CP is this way sir; the LT got hit as soon as we hit the ground. "
"Damn. Who's in charge now?" I asked.
" That's Sergeant Banks sir! He's pinned down up top, come on, I'll show you."
We charged up the stairs to a large balcony overlooking the streets where the destroyed Wraiths and Covenant debris lay. Up front, an enormous plasma beam destroyed a overpass, and the Scarab lumbered into view.
Banks was pushed against a barricade, seeing us and saying, " When I asked for reinforcements, I didn't think they'd send a Spartan. Instead, they sent two. We got trouble!"
The Scarab didn't even notice the tank firing at it, instead crushing it with one massive leg. Uncaring of us on the ground, it simply crawled over us.
A Marine panicked, and yelled, "Do you see this look! It's terror!"
Banks growled, "Marine, I don't recall giving you permission to bitch like a dog. God thing is really staring to piss me off! Marines, we are going to kill us a Scarab!"
We moved higher up the buildings, up to a series of catwalks. We followed the scarab's position closely behind it, as I picked up ammo from crates on the way. Chief grabbed a rocket launcher and hefted it in one hand, his other hand firing his assault rifle at the Jackals peppering us from the deck of the Scarab. Marines moved to avoid us as we charged to the side.
"Chief, you know how to take it down right?" I asked. He simply nodded, and we started moving ahead of the scarab. Now we were on top of it, staring down as the Scarab rumbled below us, moving slowly forward. I counted to three, and we both leapt off the deck.
We both dropped down onto the deck, and I pulled out my SMG, shredding the Covenant shields and turning them into chum. It was amusing that they didn't have a lot of inner protection. Chief moved down, using his rocket Launcher to blow apart the pilots quickly and easily, destroying them before they could even move. This was a textbook play, but all of it went incredibly smoothly.
"That was anticlimactic!" I clanked my gauntlet against Chief's, as I destroyed the Scarab's vital parts.
The Marines on the catwalks ogled us as we walked away from the destroyed Scarab, as it entered shutdown mode. A Pelican pulled up, opening its cargo bay to us.
Johnson yelled at us through the COM. " Chief, Six Get in!"
We hopped on, and the Pelican flew and docked into the In Amber Clad. There was a huge lurch as we docked, throwing Chief and I off our feet.
"Hold on people, Slipspace rupture!" I heard Commander Keyes warn.
Chief and I held on to something steady, as the ship began to rumble.
" I don't even know where we're going." Cortana said.
Chief deadpanned, " Do we ever?"
I chuckled, and answered, " No, but since when has that ever stopped us?"
(A/N : Well! Another chapter! Sorry for the slowness, school starting up and I'm in my last year of high school, going to be a bit rough on my writing schedule, that and a hell of a lot more other stuff. Rest assured, I am not going on hiatus. Writing is way too much freaking fun. Seeing my reviewer's happy compliments is also great, not that constructive criticism isn't either. Enjoy!)
