Road Trip

It had become a recurring theme for us to be knocked out, and regain consciousness surrounded by either dead bodies, or flames. So when I came to and was surrounded by both dead bodies and fire, I was mildly surprised. I groaned in pain, before shaking my head to clear my vision fully. I looked around for Chief and Arbiter, and saw both of them struggling to their feet as well.

After pulling them up, I took a minute to check the surroundings. We landed in the bottom of the elevator shaft, and were surrounded in darkness, unless one counted the fires. I turned on my helmet light, and started to move.

I heard voices around me " What happened?"

"Ah shit, I think I broke something."

"Keep pressure on the wound!"

I panned around, seeing wounded Marines around me. Medics were treating some, others simply lay there, waiting for someone to come and help. The ones that could walk were moving around, assisting the medics or regrouping.

I heard a voice come over the COM, and attempted to listen. "Resp-.. Status, over? If can…. Town…. Voi."

The COM clicked off after that, and any attempt to reconnect failed. We were too far underground. Chief and Arbiter had begin to move around and help the wounded. Chief administered bio-foam to one, while the Arbiter pulled several to their feet.

I headed over to the other side, where I met Sergeant Reynolds. He was assessing the situation, before he suddenly aimed his rifle at a camera and fired. The camera exploded, and he turned to the rest of the Marines.

"Settle down Marines, someone get the emergency power."

"On it Sergeant." One marine went off somewhere, and with a whirr, the lights flickered on.

I decided to take command of the situation. We'd need to get out of the caves, it was the only way to re-establish contact with command. The wounded would have to come slow, after we confirmed that the immediate area around was secure.

I opened a channel to both the Chief and Arbiter. " We have to get out of these caves, and establish a perimeter. Afterwards we can make contact with Keyes, plan our next move."

Chief replied. "We need transport."

Arbiter finalized the conversation. " There are two of your vehicles next to me. We can use this to get out of the caves."

I coughed, and spoke up to the rest of the Marines in the caves.. " If you can walk, meet the Arbiter next to those two Warthogs."

One marine asked. "What's the situation Sir?"

I replied curtly. "Not too sure. Can't reach the Commander, too far underground. That's why we should mount up; get the hell out of these caves. "

Sergeant Reynolds asked. "Sir, we got wounded. They can't come with us."

"That's why we're first establishing a perimeter. Once the immediate area is secure, we can get in radio contact, and request extraction for the wounded."

With direct orders, and all questions answered for, the Marines quickly formed up next to the two Warthogs.

The Arbiter, Chief and I got on the Warthog with a mounted turret, while the Marines piled up into the transport version.

We drove down the tunnel fast, and Reynolds attempted to contact a squad at the mouth of the caves.

"Second Squad? We're coming through!"

After a short lip, we spotted several Jackals roaming around in the caves. They stood no chance against the Warthogs, and were either killed by the Chief manning the turret, or by the treads as I ran them over.

We finally made it out of the caves, and were met with a terrifying sight. Wreckage littered the savannah, large pieces of metal embedded into the ground like glass on skin. The Mombasa space elevator, once a shining pinnacle of human achievement was gone, ripped away as though it were nothing.

The Marines were stunned. "Jesus… it came from the space elevator."

"The thing was thousands of kilometers high! How could it have come down?"

"Glassing. Now, it's scattered all over the damn Savannah."

"Holy crap."

Up ahead there was a crashed Phantom, where several Grunts made their way out of the wreckage. Their squeals lasted seconds before they were quickly put down. From the wreckage, a Brutes guttural voice filtered through our translation software.

"Chieftains! Rally your Packs! Kill all those who venture near the crater. The Prophet will soon complete the blessed task!"

I processed this information in my head as we continued on. Chief was still trying to raise Keyes, but COMs were still a mess. Pelicans and any form of Evac were still scattered around, which meant it would be hard to extract the wounded. After some deliberation, we left a distress beacon near the base, and resolved to radio for exfil as soon as we could.

Reynolds summed it up well. " Best we put some distance between the base now. Brutes are gonna be looking for survivors."

Further in the savannah, another crashed Phantom had a Brute manning a plasma cannon. Chief hosed down the Brute with turret fire, while we took care of the remaining stragglers.

From this Phantom, we received some startling news.

"Brothers! I see the Holy Relic! Foolish humans, to live so long on hallowed ground, not knowing the beauty that lay beneath the surface!"

Holy Relic? What did they find? Chief, and the Arbiter were as confused as I was. Our thoughts were interrupted as we spotted a Phantom. It hovered slowly in the air before it noticed us, and opened fire with its plasma cannons.

I threw the steering wheel to the right, swerving the Warthog to avoid the incoming fire as Chief attempted to answer back in kind. He destroyed a couple turrets, but the damage had been done, as the Plasma cannons killed two Marines in the Transport 'Hog.

I drove fast, whipping right underneath the Phantom as the Arbiter lobbed a grenade straight up. It stuck in the Phantom and detonated, sending sparks flying. Chief maintained focus fire on the Phantom, destroying the luminous tips in the front.

The Phantom was sputtering, venting plasma all around its body. It hovered unsteadily, and attempted to escape. Chief continued to hose the ship down, and several seconds after it flew away, there was a bright blue explosion, and pieces of the phantom rained down, joining the wreckage.

Static blared over our COM suddenly, as we tried to listen to the garbled transmission.

"I repeat. My convoy has been hit! I've got wounded..Zzzz…. Tsavo Highway! East of Voi. All units, someone respond!"

I pulled up my TACPAD and scanned the area.

"Chief, we're close to the highway. We can get there, hopefully find whoever was making the transmission."

The Chief grunted in response, before gunning it. Several squads of Covenant, or "lances" were in our way, scattered along the savannah. Some had set up sniper towers as well, ready to mow down all in their path.

Chief radioed to the other Warthog.

"Head's down. Drive fast."

The moment we crested the hill, we were assailed from all directions. Several bolts slammed into my shields, forcing me to crouch lower into the drivers seat. Chief returned fire with the turret, and was able to score several kills on the Jackals residing in the sniper tower.

"Keep driving! Don't let them get a lock on you!" I called out to the other Warthog, as I continued driving to get out of the kill-box. The Arbiter fired at the squads of Covenant on the ground, whittling down the Grunts and Jackals with deadly precision. The Brutes rallied the remaining covenant, and they were able to kill two more Marines.

A Brute in front of us readied a spike grenade, before launching it at us.

"Grenade!" I yelled. The Arbiter panned over and fired an accurate carbine round right into the grenade, causing it to detonate in the air harmlessly. I continued driving, and rammed the Brute at full throttle. The incessant whine of the engine and the crunch gave me sufficient knowledge of what was left.

The remaining Covenant, leaderless and now outnumbered began to retreat. The Grunts and Jackals were easy pickings, especially when they weren't firing back. We quickly mopped them up and continued on to the highway.

The transmission we heard from before became clearer. " My convoy has been hit! I've got wounded! We're on Tsavo Highway! Someone, anyone please respond!"

I quickly pinged a response. "This is Noble, We are on our way, over."

Over the COM, I heard the sounds of gunfire and screams. The transmission came from right ahead of us, and I could hear Brutes roaring, as well as a mechanical whirr. Suddenly, a large vehicle came screaming behind us, firing twin cannons that exploded against the rear wheels of our Warthog. Chief turned and fired at the new threat as it whizzed past us, a Brute at the helm.

The Arbiter growled. "Choppers." I gunned the engine and chased after it. There was a small settlement next to the highway that was the scene of a firefight between several Marines and Brutes. One marine manned a turret that was pinning the Covenant down, until cannon fire from the Brute Vehicle destroyed both the turret and the unfortunate soldier.

"Take down that Chopper!" I called out, as Chief and Arbiter started to focus their fire onto the Vehicle. By a combination of luck and skill, the Brute manning the Chopper slumped over, and it continued to drive past the settlement and over a destroyed section of the Highway, out of sight.

"Chief! Shade turret up high!" One of the Marines warned, and I swiveled to face the new threat. Overlooking the Marine's position was the turret, flanked by a lance of Brutes and Grunts. I quickly drove up the hill, while Chief engaged the turret. The plasma bolts, while they did great damage, were slow, and I was able to avoid them. When we approached level ground with the Covenant forces, the Arbiter leapt out. He aimed, and let loose several Carbine rounds that penetrated the Shade Gunners head. The Grunt toppled off, and we went on the offensive. With the Warthog turret, the forces above were quickly reduced to nothing.

Chief swiveled the turret around to take down the remaining Covenant, while the Arbiter hopped out, engaging them on the ground. I followed suit as well, mopping up the remaining forces. The Brutes fought tenaciously, but were soon defeated. I reloaded, and the three of us walked over to a Marine that was waving.

That Marine revealed itself to be the ever-present Sergeant Stacker. He smiled as we approached, but his eyes betrayed the expression. Him and his Marines had been through the ringer. Blood was streaked across their uniforms, both alien and human. There were scores of burns around his shoulder pads as well. Nonetheless, he maintained his ever-present calm demeanor.

"Glad to see you. Thought we were goners." Stacker drawled. "We were en route to Voi, but Banshees jumped us, began to start strafing runs. We holed up here, but they sent ground troops, and pretty much ruined our day."

I replied. " We'll radio for extraction. Reynolds is behind with a Warthog; he'll hole up with you while you wait. We'll push towards Voi, link up with the rest of the Marines."

Stacker nodded. "Sounds like a good idea Six. Thanks."

Like clockwork, Reynolds rolled up in his hog, and Stacker turned to greet him. We turned our attention to the highway, where a large barrier blocked the entrance. It seems that the Covenant did not want people getting to Voi.

The Arbiter beckoned us forward. "The technology prevents vehicles, but it does not prevent foot-soldiers." The three of us jumped out of the warthog, and walked slowly towards the barrier. We were all exhausted. Since we landed in the jungle, it had been a nonstop battle, and suddenly we were hit by a terrifying silence. We took the short walk as a brief moment of respite, a way to recharge and catch our breath.

Chief noticeably tensed up, and it caused all three of us to raised our weapons instinctively.

"Buzzing."

The silence that had permeated the air just a few seconds before had been replaced by a low drone, a buzz that slowly got louder and louder as we approached the barrier. Up ahead, shrouded in darkness and steadily coming closer, a black mass of the Covenant approached. Dozens of drones suddenly penetrated through the barrier, firing upon us. We dove and strafed out of the way, trading fire. I fell back quickly, towards the Warthog turret.

I leapt to the gunners seat and wheeled up the gun, letting loose a hail of bullets towards the swarm of drones. The armor-piercing rounds quickly pierced through their bodies, causing them to abruptly drop out of the sky.

The silence returned, but the moment was gone. We quickly jogged through the barrier, and found the power source of the barrier. Chief and I looked at the Arbiter, who gave an attempt at a shrug, before he lifted the butt of his carbine and slammed it into the power source, causing it to sputter and emit blue plasma. Another strike and it exploded into a puff of smoke, the barrier vanishing along with it.

There was a hologram present next to the barrier, displaying an image of the Prophet of Truth. The Arbiter growled, and my translation software filtered in in the middle of Truth's speech.

"When the dust settles, we will all see what I already know: here lies the Path, the start of our great-"

I turned to see the Arbiter holding a glowing plasma pistol, while the Chief had already moved on up ahead.

"He dooms us all." The Arbiter hissed.

"My thoughts exactly." I replied.

"Over here." Chief called out to us.

There was an intact Warthog right beyond the barrier. I opted not to question our luck, and we all got in, as I drove through the tunnel onwards to Voi.

We emerged on a bridge, overlooking the massive plains of Africa. Along the horizon, there was a swirling maelstrom in the sky. Lightning crackled amongst the black clouds as they loomed ominously.

Suddenly there was a roaring noise right above us, and a Battle cruiser soared past, towards the storm. It was then I realized that there were not just one, but several Covenant ships hovering near the storm. Why they were converging there, I didn't know.

Suddenly, our COM blared again. An ONI Recon team was transmitting on all signals, apparently in an attempt to reach Commander Keyes.

"Commander! This is ONI Recon 111. The cruisers are above…. They found…."

There was a ton of interference, and Keyes must have been struggling to listen to the full message.

"Say again Recon? You're breaking up."

"There's something in the crater, ma'am. Something beneath the storm."

"The Ark." Chief mentioned.

"We need to continue with Lord Hood's plan." I continued. "It's our only hope now."

I continued driving until we ran out of road. There was a large gap in the bridge, connected only by one large steel girder.

"Guess we're hoofin it."

After we made it across, Keyes was able to establish an actual connection with us.

"Spartans? Finally a good connection. Truth has excavated a Forerunner artifact, we have to assume it's the Ark."

Johnson was also in on the transmission, and gave us some concrete orders. "Keep pushing to Voi. Resupply birds will meet you in the next valley. "

"Acknowledged." Chief answered as he clicked the COM off.

Following Johnson's orders, we head towards the valley, the sounds of gunfire and plasma bursts already in our ears.

We came out facing a large hillside, the Brutes on one side, firing upon the Marines that were making a desperate stand against the advancing Covenant forces. Atop the hillside, several Grunts were launching plasma grenades down towards the soldiers, with a Brute captain hefting a fuel rod cannon leading them.

The Arbiter faded from view. "The captain is mine."

We pushed up the hillside slowly, careful not to make much noise. The Brutes stayed wholly focused on the Marines, completely unaware that three of their most hated enemies had snuck up behind them. The Brute captain suddenly grabbed at his chest, coughing out blood, as the wicked blades of an energy sword shimmered into view.

"Open fire!" Chief commanded, as we emptied our clips onto the grunts on the hillside. They were in disarray, and the Covenant forces at the bottom of the hillside were distracted by the sudden screeches coming from above.

The Marines, spurred on by our appearance began a second push. Suddenly outnumbered, the Covenant forces were pushed back, deeper into the valley.

We moved swiftly down the hillside, rifles pointed at the retreating Covenant forces, taking potshots at whatever Covenant we could kill.

The Marines at the bottom profusely thanked us, and their commander briskly strode over to us, hefting an M90 shotgun. My TACPAD identified her as First Sergeant Castellano. Tattoos covered her arms, her blonde hair tied up into a ponytail. Her and the men looked as though they'd been through the ringer, blood streaked across their armor, with some shoulder plates missing. We nodded to her as she gave us a terse smile.

"Thanks for the save Sir, but we can't relax just yet, Recon spotted a Phantom on it's way."

"Got it. Good job holding out for this long, " I answered. "What about the second valley? I saw the Covenant retreating towards what looked like a forward base."

"Affirmative. They've got armor there, but they haven't used it yet, not sure as to why."

On cue, a Phantom soared overhead; it's turrets peering for targets. We made ourselves scarce, keeping our guns trained on the aircraft as it touched down in the second valley. We pushed towards the second valley, hugging against the dirt to make as small a target as possible. "We don't know what's over on the other side of that valley," Chief said. "We need more information."

"I'll check it out Chief." Sergeant Castellano rose to the challenge. She got into a prone position, moving silently on the grass. We knelt behind her, out of sight, waiting for any sign of trouble.

After several tense minutes, she crawled back, before reporting to the rest of us.

"They've got armor. Two wraiths positioned far back in the valley. They also have four sniper towers, with Jackals patrolling them. As for the ground troops, I count at least three squads of Brutes leading Grunts."

Chief nodded. "Understood. Good work."

He turned to the Arbiter and I. "Arbiter, can you handle the sniper towers?"

The Elite nodded, and faded from sight.

Chief continued to direct the rest of us. "Pool explosives, any anti-materiel rounds, and pass them to Six. We'll need to use them on the Wraith to take it down. Take out the infantry, and leave the armor to us. "

I found myself holding several grenades, C4, and a sniper rifle with AP rounds. One of the Marines also had a SAW that he handed to me in exchange for my Assault Rifle. I passed the sniper to Chief, and kept explosives, jerry rigging a bomb. When I was done, I looked to Chief and nodded.

Chief pinged Arbiter. "We move when you've taken the sniper towers down."

"Acknowledged."

Slowly, but surely we edged closer to the enemy. I used my HUD to magnify the sniper towers. The first and second towers were empty, save several Jackal corpses. The third one had a lone Jackal, clutching at something it could not see, before it hit the ground. The air shimmered, and the wicked tips of two energy swords appeared, before revealing the Arbiter.

"Glad that guy is on our side." I mused. Chief nodded, before directing the Marines to move. He found a nice spot with shrub and adequate concealment, and dropped to a prone position. I signaled for the Marines to follow me as we moved down into the valley, hugging the corners to avoid the Covenant forces noticing us.

The Arbiter pulled a Beam Rifle and drew a bead on a Brute close to us, Chief was aimed at the Wraith, and his sights set square on the small covering where the Pilots seat was. I was with the Marines waiting on Chiefs signal to raise hell.

"Go Loud." Chief said, loud and clear as he and the Arbiter fired in unison. One of the wraiths suddenly slammed onto the earth, its pilot dead. Another Brute suddenly jerked to the side, a small hole clean through the skull. I immediately opened fire, hitting the Grunts that ran around in panic, before I took off running towards the one remaining wraith.

While the Grunts were running around in panic, the Brutes opened fire onto the Arbiters position, forcing him to jump off his sniper tower and retreat. Several Jackals were able to form a phalanx formation and take out two Marines before a well-tossed frag grenade blew them apart. Chief was continuously firing the SR99 rifle, the smoke trails tracing a deadly path to the corpses.

The remaining Wraith had wised up, and turned its side to avoid the sniper fire as it began to launch bombs towards the Marines. I was halfway to it when the turret gunner saw me and began to fire at me. I took several shots to the chest and rolled to the side for cover.

I breathed in and out quickly before popping from cover and emptying my SAW clip into the turret gunner. One of the plasma shots burned a clean trail above my shoulder, and I felt my armor heat and crack into my skin. I put the pain into the back of my head and took down the gunner.

The Pilot attempted to crush me under the Wraiths treads, but I was able to make my way above it. Above the pilots seat, I pulled open the cover and punched the Brute inside. While the bastard was still dazed I dropped my bomb and a frag grenade inside. I jumped off and made it about two seconds before the explosion took out both Wraiths, and sent me tumbling in the dirt.

A Brute had noticed the carnage and was ready to fire at me before the Arbiter appeared out of nowhere and drove his sword through the Brutes skull. I got up quickly and fired at a Grunt hefting a plasma grenade, setting if off and killing the other Grunts beside him.

With that, the battle was over. Three Marines were dead, but we had retaken the valley. The familiar noise of Pelicans sounded off in the distance, as Sergeant Johnson pinged us.

"Pelicans coming in! Brutes have got plenty of armor between here and Voi; hopefully this will help you push on through." A Warthog with a Gauss cannon mounted to the back was dropped off, and the Pilot gave us a hand wave before the Pelican flew off again.

I opened a COM to Johnson. "Johnson, we'll push on through the valley. Send some backup to hold with the rest of the Marines."

Chief hopped in the drivers seat, I nabbed shotgun as the Arbiter got onto the Gauss cannon. Chief directed to Sergeant Castellano. " Hold the valley, backup is arriving."

"You got it Chief, happy hunting." She smiled, and turned to the rest of her Marines as we drove off.

The tunnel leading directly to the highway was closed off, but there was a trail that led us around towards it. Chief gunned the engine and we were soon on our way. As we exited a large tunnel, a plasma bomb suddenly landed right next to us.

"Shit! Drive off, drive off!" Wraiths, and Brute Choppers had been guarding the way back towards the highway. The Arbiter fired several laser-accurate rounds that blew several Choppers to pieces, but there were still a lot of them left. Chief drove off a broken section of the highway that led to a large field below. Several Brutes and their Grunt soldiers were littered around the field, peppering is with carbine and plasma rounds. I sprayed my SAW into several squads, ripping them apart as we drove by. Chief was weaving to avoid the chopper fire, as well as the Wraith shots that were coming from further down the highway.

One Wraith was right in front of us, and after it noticed us began to fire several bombs at our location. One bomb landed incredibly close to us, causing the Warthog to flip before landing back on its wheels. Chief continued to gun the wheel, while the Arbiter landed a shot that put the Bastard down for good.

"A little close for comfort!" I yelled, as we continued to drive onward, attempting to clear the fields of Covenant. The rest of the field was populated with Brutes, all the vehicles falling back beyond the highway. We cleared them out without incident, the Arbiter showing a supernatural affinity with the Gauss cannon.

After the field was clear we moved back onto the highway, ready to move onwards. A blockade prevented us from moving onwards in our warthog, but there was a small opening allowing for several Spartans and one Elite to proceed towards the end of the highway.

Johnson came over the COM. "Gentlemen. The gate to Voi is dead ahead. Smash the Brute blockade, and we can push forward."

"Affirmative." Chief acknowledged, and waved us on. Up ahead, there was a large Brute contingent, with a War chieftain in the head of the pack. Several Shade turrets also reinforced the already strong defense. They hadn't noticed us yet, but there was no sneaking up on them. We had to take a frontal assault.

The Arbiter led the charge first with several well-thrown grenades onto the Shade turrets, before laying down fire on the Chieftain with his Carbine, forcing him back as his underlings moved to defend him. We heard him growl to the other Brutes

"The Demons must not pass!"

I rushed down with the Chief, firing my SAW at the scores of Brutes, A couple of them collapsed to the ground, dead. The rest of them stood their ground, firing their Spikers and Brute Shots right back at us. I ducked, taking a few shots as well towards the remaining scores onto the Brutes. The Chieftain leapt to the top of one of the buildings, letting loose a score of bullets with his plasma turrets at us.

Chief ducked down, before opening fire with his Assault Rifle at some Brutes, putting them down with relative ease. Chief's masterful aim forced the Brutes back, except for the Chieftain who stood his ground. Chief was forced right back into cover, his shields low. Sensing his weakness, the Brutes pushed forward yet again. The Arbiter and I opened fire as they moved, giving Chief valuable time to recharge. He stood up and launched a frag grenade right between the pack, exploding and killing most of the enemy.

Enraged, the Chieftain leapt down from his perch and slammed Chief to the ground, before letting loose a flurry of fists into his faceplate. I moved forward and pushed the Brute over, and it was about to gfet up before the Arbiter tackled it, and thrust his energy sword right through its neck. The Chieftain gurgled for a second, before its eyes rolled into the back of its head, and the bastard passed out.

The Chief had already gotten up, and emptied a clip into the power source separating us from Voi.

Like clockwork, Pelicans showed up, ad one of them was piloted by Commander Keyes. The three of us slung our weapons, and looked up, finally relaxed from the fighting.

Keyes sprung a wry smile. "Lord Hood? We made it."

Lord Hood replied, "Music to my ears, Commander. What about the Ark?"

"Fully uncovered, sir."

As Commander Keyes said that, a large cruiser soared over our heads, heading right towards the ark. The Arbiter growled, and we turned towards the Pelicans, which began to drop Warthogs and several Marines.

Lord Hood began to speak. "Then we don't have much time. Marines? The Prophet of Truth doesn't know it yet, but he's about to get kicked right off his throne. We will take our city back, and drive our enemy into the grave they've been so happily digging. One final effort is all that remains."

I hopped into the turret, Chief hopped into the drivers seat, and the Arbiter manned shotgun, as we readied for the front.