Chapter 28

August 23, 0719 Hours, New Alexandria, Eposz

Mike and Natalia worked throughout the remainder of the day and into the night as an independent fire team, pausing for several hours of sleep taken in watches. The focal point of their efforts had been the area surrounding Traxus Tower, a tall, gray, narrow spire that dominated the landscape of the sprawling city. The building, which had its own launch pads, had become the key area of extraction for the civilian population that had started the previous day. As a result the Covenant had been pressing the area hard trying to penetrate in while the beleaguered UNSC forces reinforced it to allow the citizens of the city a flight to safety.

Waves of Grunts had been thrown at the defensive cordon but thus far the human defenders had been able to hold. Groups of Jackals then began to probe and snipe from the surrounding buildings but again the integrity of the civilian collection and evacuation point held.

Despite the recent tension over Mandy and the distraction of the ODST team Mike and Natalia once again worked well together. The seasoned Spartan used his experience and IFF to assess areas of need so moved freely about the safe zone with Natalia in his wake covering his flanks.

Early in the morning and already on the offensive, they pair had gone into a basement of a building adjoining the complex to clear out of a group of Suicide Grunts attempting to sneak through the lower areas. Easily dispatching the squad they'd caught by surprise the area channel on their comms came to life.

"This is Evac Team 7," a harried trooper called out using the call sign of one of the dedicated Army units tasked with assisting the civilian evacuation, "calling all stations. We need immediate assistance in the Traxus southeast court yard, over." The sound of intensifying weapon's fire could be heard through the channel. "We are in an imminent threat situation. Require assistance from any who can assist, over."

Mike tagged the location of the harried group and set a waypoint. "Come on Tali, sounds like they need our help," he ordered, slapping a fresh mag into his assault rifle.

Quickly finding their way to a set of stairs the pair sprinted up into the morning sunlight coming out onto a balcony overlooking the courtyard. A Covenant Spirit dropship was already hovering over the courtyard disgorging its contents out of the troop bay. Massive, shaggy creatures were dropping out and aggressively attacking the soldiers and civilians caught in the area.

Natalia stopped involuntarily at the intimidating creatures. Standing around nine feet tall, the dark grey, shaggy, hulking creatures had an ape-like appearance. Though at likely close to 1,500 pounds they were far more fearsome. "What are those things?" she breathed out in shock.

"Jiralhanae," Mike responded, checking his stock of grenades. "They're called Brutes. Come on, let's go."

Every fiber of Natalia's body wanted to go in the opposite direction as dozens of the monstrous creatures dropped into the fray but she moved automatically with Mike. Though fear gripped her the woman was determined to not fail Mike or those in need.

Moving down a set of stairs to engage the dangerous threat they passed several panicked civilians fleeing the scene.

"Help! Somebody help us!" a terrified twenty-something woman called out.

"They're coming! They're after us!" a balding man in a ripped business suit screamed as he pushed past the woman.

"Stay calm, move clear of the area," Natalia called as they passed, following Mike towards a group of Army troopers trying to rally.

The pair laid down some cover fire from long range as the Brutes began to organize themselves for a push in the direction of Traxus Tower allowing the civilians to run away from the scene of the growing battle.

A group of Army troopers were forming in the courtyard so Mike and Natalia joined them.

"You Evac Team 7?" Mike asked the group, receiving a nod of affirmation. "Who's in charge here?"

"Sergeant Bellbrook," a trooper with the name Jonas on his assault vest responded pointing to another group of soldiers trying to hold a defensive position.

"All right specialist, let's link up and start to push back," Mike ordered.

"Come on! Let's go!" the lead trooper called out to his fire team.

"What are those things?!" another soldier asked near panic.

"Brutes!" the first one responded tersely. "Move to cover!"

The aggressive attackers had moved off towards the tower, not seeming to be interested in the broken human cordon, allowing the scattered UNSC troops to regroup.

Going up to an NCO the trooper reported, "Picked up some friendlies."

"You Bellbrook?" Mike asked.

The Sergeant nodded but was looking at the unfolding battle that wasn't going well for the defenders.

"I'm Noble Six, this is Noble Seven," Mike gestured towards Natalia who stood just to his rear. "What's the sitrep?"

"We were holding okay but Brutes dropped right into the center of our line and everything fell into the crapper."

"A Spartan? Where the hell did he come from?" another trooper interjected into the conversation who'd been covering the approach.

"Who cares?" Bellbrook retorted. Spartan, assist!"

"That's what we're here for," Mike answered, doing a quick assessment on his IFF.

"Evac Team 7 to Kilo 26, we have eyes on Traxus Tower." Sergeant Bellbrook reported now that his group had rallied after the initial setback and with bolstered confidence being supported by the Spartan.

"Copy, Evac Team 7," the operations communicator affirmed. "Move to assist the evac."

"How do you want to play this?' the sergeant asked deferring to not only Mike's rank but experience.

"Right up the gut," the Spartan responded grimly. "We go in hard and fast, don't let them get formed. I'll lead the way. Tali, cover my angles. The rest of you arrowhead formation off my wake. Let's roll!"

"With a yell the human defenders waded back into the battle.

Moving through a shadowed area under an elevated walkway the humans surged into what had likely once been a small gardened courtyard which would have been a nice spot for a lunch break in happier days. But now plasma burns, blood and destruction marred the beauty of the spot. The Brute attackers had been forming up to push into the Traxus Tower complex allowing the advancing UNSC troops to get in close.

Mike didn't break stride. Charging in he led with a frag grenade which landed in the center of a trio of Brutes. One caught the brunt of the charge but the other two howled in anger turning to the new threat. The Spartan unleashed a deadly stream of fire from his assault rifle as he moved around the attackers who turned and attempted to return fire with their Spike Rifles. Several of the super-heated spikes connected but Mike's armor handled it easily. Assault rifle empty, in one motion the Spartan picked up one of the fallen Spikers and used it to unleash a salvo on another roaring Brute bulling in. The spikes exploded into the chest of the hulking beast causing it to drop to its knees in an ear-splitting roar.

Two other Brutes joined the fray but between Natalia and the half-dozen Army troopers they were able to take the Jiralhanae with concentrated fire and grenades. Thinking they were safe the troopers let up until one in the lead's head exploded as three spikes hit him in quick succession.

"More, topside!" Bellbrook yelled as the others ducked for cover.

Mike moved fast. Leaving Natalia in his wake he reloaded his assault rifle on the run. Taking the stairs four at a time assisted by his MJOLNIR armor he quickly got to the upper level where two more Brutes were sniping. The pair turned too late as Mike emptied a full clip of armor-piercing ammo into the shaggy beast that went down in a crumpled heap. The Spartan kept up his charge, smashing the butt of his rifle into the snout of the ape-like creature who tried to bring his weapon to bear. Bashing hard he caught the Brute off balance who tumbled over the side to the cut-stone courtyard. Before it could get up the other members of Evac 7 surrounded the beast and cut it down.

Mike took a quick look around and saw there were no more attackers in the courtyard area. He waved to Bellbrook to let him know then jumped down in one motion.

"Clear, we're all clear!" Sergeant Bellbrook called out.

"How do we get to the tower?" a female trooper named Foxglove called out.

The senior NCO looked at a schematic of the area. "Elevator in the atrium goes down to the cargo port. Cargo port goes to the tower." He then looked at Mike for affirmation.

"Looks good to me. Reload and move out," the Spartan replied assessing the situation. They had lost one trooper dead and one too badly wounded to carry on but they needed to press on.

Mike set a waypoint to an opening into the atrium area. Looking over at Natalia he asked, "You good?"

"She nodded her head vigorously in agreement.

"Okay. Stay on my butt," Mike ordered. "We're going to move fast. We got to root these Brutes out before they overrun the evac area."

"I'm with you Mike," she affirmed.

The human party moved quickly down a flight of stone stairs to the opening in the low lying structure heading into the soaring tower which was only about 100 meters away with Noble Six once again in the lead. As they were about to move inside a trio of Brutes slid out of the shadows into the morning sunlight to block the way. They laid down a hot fire from their Spikers checking the progress of the UNSC forces.

"Got to get in there!" Private Foxglove called out in frustration.

"Contacts, to the west!" Specialist Jonas added urgently.

With other Brutes coming to support their comrades it was imperative the humans were able to move into the atrium area. So Mike tossed two grenades in succession and then opened fire with his assault rifle while Natalia and the others joined in the chorus, shredding the Brutes blocking the way.

"Okay. Let's move in, and find that elevator," Bellbrook ordered.

Entering into the atrium they fanned out to not present a concentrated target with Mike anchoring the center of their line. This time the Brutes were supported by Skirmishers who tried to pick off the human forces successfully dropping one trooper and wounding another. But momentum was on the side of the UNSC forces and they were able to push through the Jiralhanae screen picking several other Army troopers along the way. Free of Brutes for the moment the remaining Covenant forces consisted of Grunts and Skirmishers. Though they would not have proved as difficult an opponent there were numerous civilians that had been caught up in the tide when the atrium had been overrun.

With surgical precision Mike mowed down the attackers freeing the vulnerable civilians. "Tali, co-ord a collection point for the civvies," he ordered. "You protect it personally with two troopers. Bellbrook, you and the rest of your team with me. We'll clear the atrium."

Natalia knew not to question Mike's order though several of the soldiers made note that the ONI officer outranked the man. Then again, who was going to argue with a Spartan? The woman knew though this was no indication of him wanting to get rid of her. On the contrary, the Spartan trusted her to protect the vulnerable residents from harm since the area was still far from secure. "Roger that, I've got the civilians," she confirmed.

Charging down a set of stairs Mike began to clear out the lower level then kept moving up another set to a new level. He trusted that the few Covenant remaining in his wake would be taken care of the Army troopers. His IFF was alive with non-combatants marked in green so he desperately kept pushing to save as many as he could. Rushing up another flight of steps he shredded four Grunts trying to hold the position. One of their methane tanks detached and shot crazily through the air like a rocket leaving a yellow contrail behind it. The Unggoy panicked at the aggressive assault from the Spartan so scattered shrieking all the way.

Continuing to press through the building Mike and the others moved into the naturally lit main atrium area. The overhead glass panels allowed the sunlight of what looked like a beautiful sunny day to stream in.

But there was no time to enjoy it.

Here there looked to be a new clan of Brutes systematically killing a group of civilians who'd been caught moving to the evac point. There were a number of dead UNSC troopers who had fallen trying to protect the citizens of the city. One soldier screamed as two Brutes tried to rip his arms out of their sockets for sport.

Mike let loose a primal yell and charged into the fray, dropping one of the tormenters with a dozen rounds in the snout. He kept moving and shoulder butted the other knocking the Jiralhanae to the floor. The Spartan then turned to hose down the others in the area. But the remainder of the clan responded with a deadly salvo of superheated spikes from their Spikers that impacted on Mike's armor draining his shield, causing the alarm claxon to go off. He had to move out of the way to allow a recharge but Pte. Foxglove wasn't paying attention. Without the Spartan protecting her, the lead UNSC trooper took a salvo and went down screaming.

The Spartan's armor reset so he returned to the fray tossing a grenade into the three Brutes concentrating to counterattack. The explosion allowed the UNSC forces to regain the initiative and clear the glass-enclosed structure.

Outpacing the other soldiers, Mike charged up another set of stairs and ran smack into a group of Jackals sprinting to join the fight. He bowled the first one over before it could snap its energy shield on and stove in the avian creatures face with his heavily armored boots. The remainder brought their shields to bear and began to fire but Mike bulled through them and one-by-one took them out at close quarters.

Then, almost seemingly impossible, the atrium area fell silent.

"Clear!" Sergeant Bellbrook reported, as the remnant of Evac Team 7 confirmed all the Covenant attackers that had penetrated the cordon were dead. The cost had been high, nearly three quarters of the team and those they'd picked up along the way were down but at least they made it to the elevator and could truly begin to assist with the evacuation.

Mike moved to the doors of the elevator and pressed the activation button.

Nothing happened.

"What the hell is taking this thing so long?" Specialist Jonas, who had miraculously survived the whole battle so far, exclaimed nervously.

Mike opened a comms channel to the central command. "Kilo 26 this is Noble Six. We have secured the atrium elevator. We have a group of civilians here and the remnants of Evac Team 7. What's the sitrep on the elevator, over?"

A familiar voice cut in on the channel. "Uh, we're evacuating a group of civilians on the floor below you. Soon as they reach the cargo port, I'll send the elevator back up."

"Pete, is that you?" Mike asked, hearing the familiar voice of Gunnery Sergeant Stacker.

"Yea Mike," the ODST NCO responded. "Looks like we're working together again. Listen, if you can hold that position it'll buy us time to get these people out."

"Roger that, we'll hold the line," Mike answered.

"Dropships! They're pulling into the courtyard, watch your flanks!" Sergeant Bellbrook called out. "Okay, everyone find some cover, stay sharp. We need to hold this position."

Mike moved through a large archway into a new open green space in the sprawling office complex and watched another Spirit dropping a mixed group of Grunts and Brutes to try to regain the atrium. Checking his ammo the Spartan could see he was low on assault rifle rounds so grabbed a Spike Rife and several clips from a dead Brute.

Knowing the archway was vulnerable and with civilians and wounded UNSC troops gathered near the elevator he knew they had to keep the Covenant forces out of that area so he moved out into the open and engaged the attackers before they could get organized. Initially the aggressive foray by the Spartan supported by fire from the opening kept the Covenant attackers at bay.

But then a new threat arrived.

Several larger Brutes, who appeared to be officers or even chieftains, arrived on the scene. Each carried a long pole arm weapon that looked like a war hammer. While one end has a sharp-looking blade the opposite side of the head was mounted with some form of narrow box. With a roar the lead Brute brought the head down onto the ground and a massive shock wave of displaced gravity knocked Mike off balance and sent two UNSC troopers tumbling. Another blast caught Mike trying to right himself and he was knocked over in addition to the remaining guards on the archway allowing the remaining Covenant to steam into the opening.

A general melee ensued with civilians running away screaming and wounded UNSC troopers trying to defend themselves. Mike regained his feet and grabbed one of the Gravity Hammers before it could be slammed onto him by a charging Brute trying to take him out. He wrestled with the burly Jiralhanae for control twisting the staff around to slam the ape-like creature in the face. Then with his heavily-booted foot he kicked the creature in what he assumed was its groin. He was correct. The Brute grunted in pain and doubled over allowing Mike to wrestle the Gravity Hammer away. With a vicious chop down with the razor sharp Tungsten-alloy blade he nearly severed the head of the burly creature causing it to flop to the deck spasming.

Holding onto the Gravity Hammer Mike ran over to a concentration of Covenant forces and slammed it down to the ground. A satisfying shock wave sent Grunts flying through the air and two Brutes tumbling. With Mike wielding this new weapon effectively the human defenders were able to secure the area of the atrium housing the elevator and again things went quiet.

Mike hefted the Gravity Hammer with a sense of satisfaction then in a moment of panic he thought of Natalia. Dropping the Brute weapon he looked around wildly for the distinctive red MJOLNIR armor then calmed down when he saw her leading a group of civilians towards the elevator. She waved to him from across the room to his great relief. Stooping down to pick up his Assault Rifle one of the remaining troopers from Evac Team 7 couldn't help but exclaim, "Damn, Lieutenant... Glad you're on our side. The elevator should now get us to the tower."

Mike snorted but said nothing, the relief he felt that Natalia was okay giving him pause for thought, as the elevator door opened and a squad of ODST emerged to provide a covering force for the transportation device.

"Sir, they want to see you down below, ASAP," the NCO in charge of the relief force reported to Mike.

Entering in with as many civilians as could be fit, the glass doors slid closed smoothly in the poshly appointed elevator and just like that, the war stopped for them for a few minutes.

"Going down. Cargo port in Traxus Tower." The elevator's computer voice announced calmly, blissfully unaware of the destruction all around it.

"If you're tryin' to get to the tower you're too late lieutenant," Gunny Stacker reported to Mike over the comms as he waited for the elevator to stop. "Corvette over the starport pounded the hell out of the place. Cargo port is impassable on foot, rooftop evac's a wash. We could use the executive landing pad 'cept there's no easy way to get there. A group of ODST specialists are working on a plan, they might appreciate some backup."

The elevator stopped at the bottom and the doors on the opposite side opened. Mike walked out and was greeted by an Army trooper guarding the exit.

"On the other side of the hall there, lieutenant," the young soldier pointed. "Right through the Triage."

Mike walked briskly past a group of wounded civilians and out the door onto a deck. He saw a group of ODSTs attempting to clear the skies with anti-air fire. He also recognized several members of Stacker's Kilo 4-0 team.

"There he is. That's the one they're talking about," one of the operators he recognized exclaimed, shaking the Spartan's hand.

"Radio's buzzing about you, Spartan," another joined in, slapping Mike on the back. Then looking at a group from their team strapping into jetpacks asked, "You feel like jumping?"

"If you think it'll help," Mike said, "sure. I'll attach to you guys for the time being."

Gunny Stacker strode over. Though he had bandages on his arm and leg he still had the confident swagger of an ODST. "Damn, it's good to see you son," the man exclaimed in his southern drawl.

"You too Pete," Mike responded warmly, shaking the man's hand. "What's going on?"

The ODST NCO updated him on the situation at the evacuation point and the plan to try to establish a new perimeter in order to continue moving the civilians off planet. By that point Natalia joined them in the area. Though Stacker nodded to her politely he didn't address her.

"We're gonna capture the landing pad on the executive wing so the evac birds can land," Stacker explained. "The boys could use your help takin' that point if you want to jump with them."

"Sure, why not?" Mike agreed.

"We got an extra Jetpack, Go ahead, try it on Spartan," one of the operators declared enthusiastically.

Mike grabbed the propulsion device from its housing in the makeshift armory and noticed Natalia moving to join him. "Stay her Tali and work with Stacker on holding the strong point," he said to her.

"But Mike, I want to go with you," Natalia protested with a note of urgency.

He shook his head in disagreement. "I doubt you're rated for these things. They're tricky." Mike felt the intense disappointment and note of fear in the woman at their separation. "Listen, when we jump off this point is going to become vulnerable. Protect the wounded. I'm counting on you. And I'll be back soon, promise." He couldn't believe he'd added that last part. With everything falling apart around it was hard for him to make such a pledge but he could see the relief in the passionate woman's eyes at the comment.

"Okay Mike, you can count on me," Natalia affirmed, with a look of resolution. "Just come back, please." Spontaneously she gave him a hug despite their bulky armor then checking the ammo count on her assault rifle she walked off to check in with Gunnery Sergeant Stacker.

Mike paused to watch her go, feeling a sudden tinge of loneliness. The Lone Wolf had never felt that before, he'd never cared enough. But now he did. He cared about Natalia, he cared about Noble Team who was operating in another part of the city, and he cared what happened to Reach.

And then he realized, like a long forgotten door being opened, he cared about his family too.

For so long he'd been trying to live down the legacy of his heritage, and the pain of the death of his family that he'd kept people at arms-length. As he began to strap into the jetpack he looked over the sprawling city under attack. Buildings burned in the distance and the sound of battle was everywhere on the air. He'd tried hard over the years to not think of his namesake Mike Nantz, his distant great grandfather but watching the city under siege he couldn't help but wonder if the man had stood watching Los Angeles burn the same way back in the 21st century under an alien attack and felt like he did. Mike admitted he'd worked hard to shun the legacy of his past but perhaps it was time to start to learn from it instead, thinking of the faded and tarnished medal sitting in his utility pouch along with Jorge's dog tags.

"You ready to go, Six?" Corporal Chin walked up to him, strapped into a jetpack as well.

"Yea, let's do this," Mike responded, checking the harness to make sure it was secure.

"All right, let me introduce you to the others," the Asian ODST responded with a grim smile.

The pair walked over to another group of ODSTs waiting to go. They were checking each other's gear and prepping their weapons.

"Guys, this is Noble Six," Chin called out. The others turned and gave an approving nod. A sergeant came over, checked to make sure his gear was set up and declared, "Welcome to the Bullfrogs." Then calling out to the others yelled, "Other side, on my mark! 3, 2, 1 - jump!"