Chapter 38
August 30, 2552 16:55 Hours Aszod, Eposz, Planet Reach
Mike got to his feet and couldn't help shaking his head to clear it. His MJOLNIR armor protected him during the fall but it didn't mean he hadn't been shaken up. But more than that, Commander Carter's last words to him before he and Emile had jumped stuck in his mind: That AI chose you... She made the right choice.
Maybe he was beginning to believe but a renewed confidence surged through the troubled man. He'd complete the mission.
Mike picked up Cortana's storage unit and checked it over. Though he'd dropped it when he jarred to a halt the blue, glowing unit was intact. He couldn't help but wonder what she was like. He'd interacted with AI's before many times but something told him this one was different.
That AI chose you.
"She chose me." The Lone Wolf said quietly to himself. The Spartan's reflections though were cut short as the sound of aircraft overhead interrupted him. Carter's Pelican flew past them with two Banshees in hot pursuit still outpacing the smaller craft despite one engine being on fire. Mike couldn't help but admire the piloting skill of Noble One.
"Come on, let's go," Emile came over and encouraged him with a nod of his head.
Mike looked around and realized they'd fallen into a narrow ravine with a winding dirt road through it. A waypoint popped up as he checked his weapons. Finding them undamaged he racked a round into the chamber of his Assault Rifle and the two Spartans began to trot down the road.
A short time later the pair went through a narrow crack in the ravine decorated only with a few clusters of brown tumbleweed to come onto a cliff edge overlooking a large area.
"Still with us, commander?" Emile called over the comms as the pair watched the Pelican and pursuing Covenant craft juking through the air.
"Stay low; let me draw the heat," Carter responded tensely. "You just deliver that Package."
"There's our destination, Six: Pillar of Autumn," Emile declared as their objective could be seen in the distance. "Race you to her."
As Carter's Pelican zooms away into the distance, the two Spartans move from the cliff face to a narrow dirt and rock strewn path that wound its way down into the valley below. Staying in cover and moving quickly they made it to the floor to find prominent nearby a hard-packed dirt highway strewn with destroyed vehicles. Also prominent was a group of Covenant going through the remains of what appeared to have been a military convoy heading towards their objective. The distracted Covenant seemed to be watching the dramatics overhead so didn't see the approaching Spartans who charged right into them.
Leading with a grenade Mike unnerved a group of Grunts exploring an overturned transport truck. The squat creatures yelled in alarm and scattered as expected. Emile took two of the retreating creatures down with quick shotgun blasts while Mike shredded a third. But coming from behind another wrecked vehicle an Elite roared a challenge and opened fire with a Plasma Pistol. Blue streaks of plasma whizzed past as the Spartan charged in Assault Rifle taking down the Sangheili's overshield. Without stopping Mike bashed relentlessly into the maw of the screaming warrior, beating it to death.
As Emile mopped up the remnant of the Covenant left from their initial assault Mike noticed a trio of Jackals form up and lock their energy shields together blocking a curving concrete bridge over another deep ravine.
"Push through 'em, Mike," Emile called out, "I got your back."
The Lone Wolf knew he wasn't alone in this and that gave him a measure of comfort despite all his losses of late. Notwithstanding their earlier rocky start the two Spartans were now brothers.
Needing no further encouragement Mike charged in as Needler rounds flew around him and Plasma bolts splashed. As he got closer he threw a grenade causing the Kig-Yar to pull back behind their shields which was exactly what he wanted them to do. Lowering his shoulder the bulky Spartan bulled through the avian creatures sending two tumbling through the air. The third he smashed into the concrete with the butt end of his rifle then turned and shredded a second just as Emile joined him to gun down the third.
Slapping a fresh mag into his Assault Rifle Mike kept pushing on, coming up to a flat-roofed building that looked like a check point. Moving inside the Spartan found that it was indeed a military installation so took the opportunity to forge for more supplies. He heard the sharp boom of a shotgun so sprinted out to find Emile finishing off a few stray Grunts.
"That felt good," the aggressive Spartan commented.
Mike snorted but said nothing. He checked his waypoint and realized they still had a long way to go to complete their mission and time was running out.
As if reading his mind Emile looked around and spotted a pair of Mongoose ATV's. Getting Mike's attention, he announced, "Got transport."
Commander Carter took a moment from his flying to notice below with satisfaction the two remaining Spartans driving away in the quick ATV. So far luck had been on his side and he'd been able to keep the Pelican in the sky despite the hot pursuit. He couldn't help but feel a swelling of pride at his Spartans despite the searing pain of his own wounds.
Yes, they were his Spartans. Even Mike-B312. He couldn't help but think of the previous Noble Six. Had it only been since April? He couldn't believe it. So much had happened in the past four month. Carter still blamed himself for Thom-293's death. Yes, Colonel Holland had blamed the brash Spartan for charging into that Covenant battlecruiser at Fumirole and detonating that nuke but he had still been in charge of the mission. When Mike had joined them as the new Six he'd thought he'd been getting another cowboy but instead he'd gotten so much more. The Lone Wolf hadn't lived up to his name. He was a team player and even seemed to relish being in the small family known as Noble Team.
A shrinking family, Carter thought to himself. Jorge was gone, Kat too. Jun was away and who knows what would happen to him…
Carter let the thought drift a bit as the loss of blood made him light-headed. The impact of plasma fire on his ship brought him back to reality. No, he was going to die here on Reach, the others likely as well. The planet was lost, he knew that, but they'd complete the mission. What had Halsey said? When Reach falls - and it will fall - our annihilation is all but certain. Unless...we can glean from this artifact a defense against the Covenant. This is a game changer.
"A game changer," Noble One mused to himself taking some comfort that all was not lost, that there was still hope. "Okay doc, Noble'll get the job done," he said again, rebalancing the engine trim so he could keep flying.
On the ground, Emile and Mike had been making excellent time on the Mongoose. They'd shot past several small Covenant patrols before they could react. Continuing through a tall, narrow ravine strewn with more destroyed UNSC vehicles they had good cover until the road opened up into another open plain. Mike hit the accelerator and picked up speed as the road straightened but as they pressed on to the other side of the valley a loud thud nearby caused them to look and they saw Covenant Heavy Orbital Insertion Pods drop all around. Popping open Covenant troops emerged and began to form up. Worse still, a massive Scarab Ultra Heavy Assault Platform dropped from the sky right in front of them.
"Scarab! Do not engage!" Emile called to Mike urgently, "Gun it, Six!"
The heavy weapons platform seemed to have discovered the pair of Spartans and moved to attack but Commander Carter flew past it and opened fire with the Pelican's 40mm rotary nose cannon distracting the Scarab.
"Get the Package out of there," Carter ordered over the comms. "Remember your objective!"
Mike revved the engine and sped up. More Orbital Insertion Pods dropped disgorging their inhabitants. Needler and Plasma fire lanced through the air but the speed of the small ATV made it difficult to hit. Emile fired randomly at targets as they appeared from the rear but he had no better luck than the Covenant. Another gigantic Scarab dropped from the sky right in their path but the Lone Wolf gunned the engine and sped right through the legs of the quadripedal bug-like platform. A short distance later the pair of Spartans entered a tunnel and got a bit of a respite.
"Fun, huh?" Emile whooped from behind.
"Yea, loads," Mike responded blandly.
"Ah come on Wolf, you want to live forever?
"No, just long enough to get the job done."
"That's the spirit brother," Emile slapped him on the shoulder as they came back out onto the narrow track winding back through another ravine. A Phantom now joined the fray, trying to splash the Mongoose. Mike started to weave a bit on the maneuverable ATV avoiding any damage.
The span of a bridge appeared just ahead and at the same time both Spartans saw the same thing.
"The bridge ahead is out, Six," Emile yelled. "We're gonna have to jump it!"
Mike gunned the engine anew and the 1000cc liquid-cooled engine whined giving the bike all the power it could. Saying a quick prayer Mike involuntarily closed his eyes as the Mongoose left the concrete and flew through the air as the Phantom tried to knock it out of the void. Landing hard on the other side the Spartans made the jump but came upon another obstacle. Another checkpoint was beyond the bridge but this one's big steel barricades were in place blocking their way.
"Gotta go on foot from here," Mike called to Emile as each checked the load in their weapons and moved through the abandoned building looking to scavenge supplies.
"Noble, enemy forces blocking the road up ahead," Commander Carter warned them from on high, miraculously still in the air and alive.
"Now that's a surprise," Emile declared sarcastically.
Pushing quickly into the new area another destroyed UNSC column of vehicles was being picked over by the Covenant. The invaders command-and-control didn't seem to be overly connected since the mixture of Grunts and Jackals paused rather than react to see the two charging Spartans coming. By the time the group of Elites who were supposed to be supervising the point realized what was going on Mike and Emile had fought their way through and had disappeared into a nearby cave.
The winding natural structure going through the mountain range provided a respite for the two Spartans. Nothing was showing on their IFFs so they allowed it as an opportunity for a respite. Travelling through the winding passage it began to climb and become lighter as it was evident the exit was approaching.
"Noble! You got a...situation," Commander Carter called out urgently over the comms.
As the two Spartans approached the exit a Scarab walked down in front of them, blocking the way. Its main gun began to glow green as it prepared to fire.
"Mother... We can't get past it, sir!" Emile called out. The aggressive Spartan began to back up in hesitation, Mike hugged the wall.
"No you can't," Carter confirmed. "Not without help."
"Commander, you don't have the firepower!" Emile protested.
Aiming its main cannon at the two Spartan III's the Scarab prepared to fire until Commander Carter's Pelican flew over it peppering the massive assault platform with fire from its main gun. The tactic did the trick and Scarab changed its focus the Spartans to the pesky aircraft
"I've got the mass," Carter confirmed.
"Solid copy," Emile confirmed, his voice breaking slightly at the intent of his team leader. "Hit 'em hard, boss."
"You're on your own, Noble... Carter out."
Commander Carter put on full thrusters and rammed the Pelican into the Scarab's side as it charged its main cannon again. The Scarab's side burst into orange flames, explosions rocking within it. The Covenant platform let out an almost dying scream and struggled to stay on the cliff. More explosions rocked it and though desperately trying to remain upright it toppled down the cliff along with Carter's crashed Pelican. A deafening explosion erupted from the floor below indicating its destruction.
"My god," Mike whispered.
"Crevice to the east," Emile reported without emotion but trying to hold it together. "Let's go."
Mike couldn't move. The image of Carter sacrificing himself for them scorched in his mind with all the other memories he'd collected of late.
"Six, come on," Emile ordered but he couldn't get his partner to move. It was all too much for the beleaguered Lone wolf.
"Come on Mike, let's make all this shit worth it," Emile came over, putting his hand on the Spartan's shoulder kindly and standing visor to visor.
Mike snapped out of his funk. "You're right. Let's make it count," he declared, inserting a fresh magazine into his Assault Rifle.
The pair continued on, staying close to the mountain wall on the narrow, sandy ledge. As they moved closer to the opening to the next cave system Mike paused and slid over to the side to look down. He hoped to see the Pelican or Commander Carter but knew their team leader was gone. Emile paused and allowed him the moment, saying nothing. Kicking the dirt in anger but saying nothing Six pressed on.
Entering the cave they could see the UNSC had tried to defend it. Dead Army troopers and broken equipment littered the entrance. The two Spartans tensed as red dots lit up their IFFs. Then they saw what had taken out the guard.
"Buggers," Emile confirmed they were Covenant flying drones. "Go quiet."
The pair tried to use the rocks and shadows to move through the hostiles but it was to no avail. The insectoid drones detected the humans and immediately engaged.
Attacking in pairs, the hard to hit armored flying attack platforms bobbed and weaved trying to stop the Spartans. It took several Shotgun rounds or sustained fire from the Assault Rifle to take one down and as a pair was eliminated another would enter the fray. Mike and Emile continued to push forward, taking the drones down but there were always more. Fortunately the drone's weapons were lighter Plasma Rifles since they were scoring numerous direct hits but doing little damage to the Spartan's shields. Still, they were an impediment and slowing the pair's progress. But the Buggers were no match for the Spartans and so were eliminated.
Coming to a ledge in the cave Mike jumped first into a pool of water collecting at the bottom only to be attacked by a party of Skirmishers blocking the path. These were easier to fight than the pesky drones so with Emile backing him Mike punched through the avian creatures that were not designed to fighting in close quarters. The two Spartans almost relished the opportunity to fight these creatures after watching their leader sacrifice himself. The last of the Skirmishers tried to flee but Emile grabbed it by the neck, hauled it back and then with satisfaction sliced the creature's throat with his Kukri.
All threats eliminated, they were able to continue on finding the exit to the cave a short time later. Before them, slightly below the entrance, was the sprawling industrial complex of the Sinovet Heavy Machinery Company. Their ship breaking facility here in Aszod was massive with the remains of hundreds of starships lying in their ship graveyard. Prominent in the terrain was the remains of the UNSC Commonwealth which had been in the process of being disassembled when the invasion had begun but the expansive industrial facilities were now the scene of an intense firefight.
What once had been a jewel for this province of industrialization was nothing more than a scrap yard of grounded and wrecked UNSC hardware. But more disturbing to the Spartans was the area was also a massive battlefield between the UNSC troops trying to hold the last dock in the region for them and massing Covenant troops trying to dislodge them.
"Spartans! Over here!" a female UNSC trooper who had spotted them called out urgently, as a new waypoint popped up on their HUD's
"This is Captain Keyes of the Pillar of Autumn," an older but authoritative voice added. "We are tracking you Noble and have begun our launch sequence. Proceed to drydock, platform D. I'll be on it myself to receive the package."
"We'll be there, sir," Emile confirmed.
"You better be soldier, because my countdown has no abort," Keyes answered dryly.
"Understood. We've got to get to the dry dock. Priority One," Emile confirmed. Then looking at Mike he added, "Well Six, it's show time."
The two Spartans hopped over the edge and jumped into the maw of battle.
Landing on the roof of a single story administrative structure the pair began to open fire as they assessed the situation. They could see a group of what looked like mixed UNSC troops desperately trying to hold an opening into the main facility.
Hopping down the Spartans began to move systematically through the approach eliminating the mixed company of Grunts and Skirmishers. Mike began to realize the importance of this fight when he soon realized the Grunts were not falling back as they normally would when engaged but instead were pressing forward. A squad of Elites waded in, adding to the din of combat. Led by a gold-armored general, they fought ferociously to keep the two Spartans from linking up with the other human troops. But using grenades and concentrated fire the added weight of Mike and Emile to the fight allowed the humans to prevail.
Entering into the structure Mike was surprised to see the opening had been held by four Army troopers and two Marines. The NCO in charge wore the stripes of a UNSC Army Master Sergeant.
"You the one's we're waiting for?" the sergeant asked, keeping his gaze on the approach as the beaten Covenant tried to reform.
"Yes, we are," Mike replied. "Noble Six and Noble Four."
"Lawrence Buckah, 34th Infantry Brigade," the senior NCO held out his hand for Mike. "Drydock's through that structure. Punch through. We'll back you up."
Mike shook the offered hand and assessed the master sergeant who looked near to retirement. A shock of thinning white hair and paunch at the belly betrayed a soldier who'd been sitting behind a desk for the past few years. "You sure you're up for this, master sergeant?" he asked.
Buckah snorted. "Sonny, I may have been out of the fight for a bit but I still remember how to get the job done. Yea, we can keep up," he declared, loading shells into the shotgun he carried.
Emile let out a belly laugh at the brash comment from the senior soldier and joined in. "I bet you can. Come on, let's move out."
With Mike on the point, Emile a step back to his right and Buckah and the remaining troopers they pushed into the factory trying to link up with Captain Keyes and deliver their package. Any hope that the Covenant had been kept out of the massive structure was futile. The place was overrun with them.
Despite that, like a spear thrust the party moved fast through the corridors of the building, easily pushing aside the opposition since nothing seemed overly organized. Then the building shook from a nearby impact.
"That was close," Emile commented.
"Yea, we need to pick up the pace," Mike responded looking back and noticing all the troopers were still with them, including the older senior NCO was right behind Emile.
Coming into an office area with a shattered glass window they found two UNSC Marines taking a covering position at the door to a metal grated platform.
"Follow us," Mike ordered, not stopping, but instead moving out onto the balcony.
The area looked like it had been used for smelting and here the Covenant were formed up in a defensive position.
"Spread out into fire teams," Noble Six called out. "We need to clear this area before we can move on."
Grunts, Jackals and Elites had spread out and found good cover on the workshop floor dominated by a large, still bubbling, cauldron of molten iron. In one bound Mike leapt over the rail on top of a Grunt, crushing the creature before smashing his fist through the shield of a Jackal who came up to challenge him.
Emile and the rest of the team surged into the room and the firefight was on. The humans had to concentrate in the close quarters not to hit each other. The Covenant on the other hand were not so discerning and several were taken out by direct fire from their own side. Emile blasted a Grunt at close range causing its Methane Tank to explode. The creature was sent high in the air and landed with a plop into the liquid metal cauldron. The impact caused a splash over the side which seared two Jackals. Mike caught sight of this and seeing a trio of armored Elites forming up to attack the less well armored soldiers he tossed a grenade into the cauldron beside where they were. While the impact did nothing the geyser of molten metal that erupted burned right through the Elite's armor and burned them to death.
Despite a sharp fight it was shorter than expected and the humans held the smelting floor. Mike looked around noting Emile had already moved to the large double bay door that opened to another part of the complex. He saw that two of the Army troopers were down but other than a slight shrapnel wound on the arm Master Sergeant Buckah was still with them.
"Drydocks are through that area, sir," Buckah commented pointing through the bay doors Emile guarded, as he reached down and grabbed the dog tags of the fallen soldiers. "We need to push on."
"Roger that," Mike answered, "all of you," he added for the Marines they'd picked up, "you're with me."
Coming outside briefly into a sunny day Mike saw a Phantom dropping off more troops nearby. Feeling the storage unit with Cortana on his back despite the armor between his body, he realized that this was going to be a close run thing and despite how far they'd come this was far from being concluded.
Moving through the open area to a gangway leading to the drydock they had a brief time of respite from attack. Thinking perhaps they'd flanked the enemy the party picked up speed but they were wrong. Moving into the open structure, the humans were confronted by a pair of hulking Covenant warriors.
"Hunters!" one of the Marines called out, a note of fear in his voice.
"Let us handle this sarge, cover our backs," Mike ordered Buckah, charging in.
Emile went for one while Mike tangled with the other. The two Spartans had a moment's edge since the Mgalekgolo seemed surprised by their rapid arrival. But the lumbering juggernauts reacted quickly. Dropping their large arm shields into a defensive position the pair charged their assault cannons to fire.
Emile got one round in before his fired. It clipped the Spartan sending him tumbling. Mike fired an ineffective burst from his Assault Rifle then deftly switched to his own Shotgun. Seeing Noble Four down he slid off of his own target to drawn fire. Another blast slammed into a shipping container turning it into splinters which Mike dodged but with a mighty power-assisted jump he went up and over Hunter and pumped two rounds into its exposed back. The beast went down with a scream just as Emile got back up.
With a howl, the Hunter's unharmed mate fired at Mike while charging directly into Emile. The Lone Wolf was blown back by the plasma burst into a metal support post while Emile was knocked aside like a rag doll and stunned.
Mike's shield was down and he couldn't get out of the way of the enraged Hunter who roared in approval at the anticipated revenge. But before it could fire Master Sergeant Buckah came flying into the room firing a shotgun blast into the vulnerable rear of the behemoth. The Hunter roared in anger and turned from Mike to the elderly NCO who with surprising deftness skipped out of the swipe of the massive creature's shield to deliver another shotgun blast. In a frenzy, the Mgalekgolo thrashed around but again Buckah moved ahead of the beast and fired one last killing blow. As the beast fell to the deck with a thud both Mike and Emile got to their feet, their shields regenerated.
"Thanks for the help," Mike congratulated the older NCO.
"Told you I could keep up," Buckah responded with a twinkle in his blue eyes.
Emile couldn't help but laugh. "Slapping the enigmatic master sergeant on the back he declared, "Come on, we got more building to clear."
And clear it they did.
With a new confidence in the troops backing them up Mike and Emile aggressively entered into the drydock area of the complex.
The area was thick with Covenant, Elites especially, slowing the progress of the humans and their mission to deliver the AI to Captain Keyes. But breaking again into fire teams and with the Spartans bobbing and jumping around they were able to continue to press through. Mike stayed focused on the waypoint he was heading towards and they had the advantage of no longer having to hold a position. In addition, they began to pick up more Marines who'd been holding positions strengthening their force. Pressing towards the fallback point they were again able to gain momentum.
Finally clearing the drydocks the Spartans and UNSC troopers moved into a maintenance area and upwards floor by floor. On the upper level they picked up some more Marines and headed down a small corridor when a significant explosion rocked the structure and unbalanced even the Spartans while causing the lights to flicker.
"Keyes to Noble team. We're running out of time here Spartans!" Captain Keyes called over the comms desperately.
"Solid copy sir!" Emile responded. "We're en route."
"Can't slow down," Mike commented, "Got to keep pressing."
"Yea," Emile agreed, "but I think we're getting close. Check out the waypoint."
Mike could see his teammate was correct. They were close. Pushing through the corridor they could hear the sound of small arms fire so picked up the pace. Entering a large storage room, they came upon two Marines holding a defensive position on their own. A Jackal with a Plasma Rifle and a section of Grunts were trying to press through and into the corridor they were blocking.
The Lone Wolf didn't wait. Charging in he blasted at the Jackal with his Assault Rifle who reflexively dropped down behind its energy shield. Mike expected this so charged in shoulder down bulling through the lighter creature's stance turning the shield aside. He then cracked his armored elbow down onto the avian's snout, stunning it. As it fell he stomped on the Jackal's head repeatedly, hearing a satisfying crack as the skull collapsed. While two of the Grunts fired at him with Plasma Pistols his MJOLNIR armor absorbed the shots long enough for Emile, Master Sergeant Buckah and the rest of the force to stream in and drop the pesky creatures. Three Skirmishers waded into the room, dropping one of the Marines who let his guard down but a hail of armor piercing bullets stopped the creatures.
"Thanks for the assist, sir," a Marine corporal acknowledged Mike. "We got a strong point down that corridor we're holding and a Casualty Collection Point there too. Platform D is just beyond. Covvies have kicked the hell out of us but we held," he declared with pride.
Mike looked at the young man who couldn't be older than twenty and could see the determination in his eyes. He was impressed anew at these people willing to fight this desperate battle to help him and Emile out.
"Good job, corporal," he congratulated the man and patted him on the back, causing the young Marine to beam. "We really appreciate it. Keep up the good work. We'll leave some men with you to bolster the position. Buckah, take care of it."
"Got it, sir," the sergeant responded without hesitation and pointed out half the group as Mike and Emile moved down the corridor.
Mike entered the room as Emile pushed forward. He saw that a small covering force held the exit and the platform. But he also noticed a large number of covered bodies laid out in a row along with a half-dozen troopers being treated by a medic who had her back to him. "Who's in charge here?" he asked somberly, seeing the price it had cost to make this possible for them.
An Army lieutenant with red hair and penetrating eyes stepped forward. "That would be me. Dick Winters," the junior officer introduced himself. "Sure glad to finally see you guys. We're holding the dock but barely. Covvies have laid on a few assaults but we've held. Seems though they're massing, so our window of opportunity is closing. I'll advise Captain Keyes. Sorry, got to get back to work."
Mike nodded his head, again moved by the dedication of the troops and was reminded anew of Natalia who had left. Anger flared but he kept it under control. He turned to Sergeant Buckah who awaited orders. "Get that wound of yours looked after and the others too but do it fast. Everyone else holds the line."
Buckah saluted and moved off with a spring in his step they didn't reflect his years.
The Lone Wolf checked his ammo count and changed magazines in his Assault Rifle plus reloaded his shotgun since they had a lull in the action. Then he heard a familiar voice that caused him to freeze.
"Mike? Mike is that you?"
He turned around and standing five feet away from him was Mandy.