Chapter 28
November 27, 2552, 1120hrs, "The Crow's Nest", Chawia Hill, Kenya, East Africa Protectorate, Africa, Planet Earth
Tension built in the ops center of the Crow's Nest as all waited for the anticipated Covenant attack
"We just lost the perimeter cameras," a technician called out.
"Motion Trackers?" Commander Keyes asked. With time of the essence she assumed overall command with the base commander being out of the hub.
While Mike held the same rank, he deferred to the assertive woman knowing now was not the time for debates about org charts and command structures. The woman seemed dialed in to the situation so he'd let it play out.
"They're down or we're not receiving. Can't tell," the tech answered with a note of frustration.
"Any of our birds squawking?" Keyes asked, beginning to mentally assess their options.
"No ma'am." But then the inevitable report was received. "Wait, Overwatch has contacts. Phantoms, closing in on our position."
The die was cast.
"Any birds less than five minutes out, bring them in. Tell everything else to scatter," the Navy officer commanded.
A number of the logistics personnel and technicians began to whisper nervously to themselves, the distraction of the impending assault causing them to lose focus. The natural tendency to self-preservation was starting to kick in.
Miranda Keyes saw this and knew she had to respond. "We knew they'd find us eventually. But we have a plan, let's make it happen."
This bolstered the resolve of those who were there and an enthusiastic response came in return.
Mike stepped forward to begin to exert himself, not trusting ground operations to a Navy officer despite her reputation. Doing a quick calculation he asked," "Sergeant Major, assessment?"
"Arbiter and I will guard the Ops Center. This will be our strong point," Sergeant Johnson responded. "Don't worry about the Commander, Chief. I got her. But I suspect the Marines downstairs could use some help."
"All right, you hold Ops," Mike agreed. "Chief, you work with the Marines and shore up any weak points in the south. Focus on the landing bays, they're vulnerable. Me and my team will head to the north entrance and firm it up. We need to hold this base."
"Makes sense, good luck," Master Chief replied with an approving nod. Then cocking his assault rifle, he moved off.
"That works," Commander Keyes confirmed happy for the assistance.
"All right everyone, let's move with a purpose," Mike ordered.
The Lone Wolf moved out of the Ops Center and into the flow of preparations to defend. Heavily armed Marines joined with him as he moved to the rest of the Wolf Pack who were waiting and ready to go. Their ability to hold the structure built in the 20th century concerned Mike since it had never been designed for the type of weaponry the Covenant possessed.
"We're good to go, sir," Adam confirmed as Mike stepped up. Tension was thick in the teen's voice but all stood confidently, ready to do what they could.
"Excellent. We're going to move to the periphery and wait for openings." Mike then went to the broader team channel. "Wolverine Actual, proceed to north entrance and provide blocking force with the Marines. We'll cover gaps."
"Roger that, Wolf One," Captain McLynn acknowledged. "We're moving out."
Gunny Stacker and a squad of ODST's pulled up to where Mike and his team stood. "Thought you might like some company, sir," the tough Helljumper said with a grin.
"Good to see you, Pete," Mike confirmed, shaking his hand. "I think it's going to be hard to hold this base if we're hit in force but we need to hold long enough for our wounded to be evac'ed."
"Outstanding," Stacker replied. "Lead the way."
The Wolf Pack, bolstered by Stacker's ODST's began to move from the interior of the base to the outer rim. Muffled explosions and small arms fire could be picked up already. Mike switched to open comms so he could assess what was going on from the radio traffic. It already didn't look good. Knowing they'd be engaged soon he set his IFF indicator on the HUD of his helmet to ensure he knew where everyone was. He noted his team and Stackers but instinctively became aware of the fact he suddenly realized he didn't know where Melanie was. It appeared that when they left the Ops Center she hadn't come along. He thought to call out to find out her location but knew the seasoned combat veteran would put herself where she needed to be. Plus, after their interrupted conversation there had been a degree of tension between them he didn't want to deal with now. No, better to leave things alone.
"Breach! We've been breached!" one of the combat team leaders called out urgently over the comms. "Transport bay Delta-4 has been breached. Falling back to rally point. Any available units in the vicinity respond to contain."
Definitely better to leave things alone. It was game time.
"All right, Wolf Pack, that's our cue," Mike called out. Setting a waypoint for the team to the bay he added, "Time to get loud."
Charging through the corridors of the base, in their power-assisted armor they were able to move faster than the others responding to the alarm. Marines moved out of the way but also had their confidence bolstered knowing Spartans were with them. This was lost on Mike as he concentrated on the situation at hand. Drawing closer to the bay the sound of small arms fire and explosions intensified. Mike could see into the bay now and saw Marines being pushed back past the open door. Just as they were about to enter in four Grunts turned into the corridor nearly running into the Spartan team coming the other way. The Unggoy squealed in terror and tried to get out of the way but the armored juggernauts ran through them knocking them over like bowling pins. Stacker's ODSTs made short work of the four with assault rifle fire.
Coming into the transport bay Mike looked right to see the big roll up door was destroyed having been blasted open. Charred twisted metal showed the explosion had been a big one. Two transport trucks were on fire having been ignited in the initial assault. The Marines guarding the area had been pushed back to the end of the bay and had rallied around a Warthog whose LAAG was spitting out fire on the attackers. Grunts were pushing forward with Skirmishers in support, Jackals on the periphery and a pack of Brutes pushing in from behind. Already the Covenant attackers had taken a third of the bay and threatened to be in a position to hold this breach as a foothold.
"Wolf Pack, close quarters combat," Mike ordered, "we need to push 'em out."
The teenaged Spartans instinctively went into their battle procedure based on the order. Alissa put her sniper rifle on her back with its magnetic clamp and drew her magnum, Terrell held his GPMG at the hip, ready to give fire support and Matt moved up with Mike to become the fist of their bludgeoning action. For a moment Mike worried about how the teens would react in their armor but none had the luxury of hesitation since they were moments away from being overwhelmed by the invaders.
Mike led off by lobbing two fragmentation grenades in succession, one at the charging Grunts and the other on a higher, looping trajectory over towards the Brutes. Both went off and had the desired effect of checking their progress. Already he'd switched to his assault rifle and was firing quick, short bursts to check the Covenant forces forward momentum. While this was going on Matt had pivoted to the side and had taken out three Jackals with blasts from his M45 tactical shotgun. In the meantime, Maia had fired a succession of three-round bursts from her battle rifle scattering a group of Skirmishers who'd been trying to push through the hapless Grunts. Terrell set up his GPMG on an overturned rations crate and begun to open fire, spitting deadly armor-piercing rounds down range towards the Grunts who were setting up to charge. Alissa had moved as smoothly as she'd ever done in the Mjolnir armor, for the first time reacting and not thinking which allowed her neural interface to kick-in and give her enhanced reflexes. Twice the massing Brutes had tried to take the sniper out with accurately fired grenades from brute shots but each time she moved through the arc and to safety. She wasn't even aware of the potential threat taking out two Jackals behind their energy shields with precision shots through their view opening. The ODST's under Gunny Stacker had deployed into the transport bay and set up a base of fire in support of the Spartans. This allowed the beleaguered Marines who'd been holding the point to move their wounded out of harm's way and regroup.
Only Adam struggled.
The blond-haired teen had come in with the rest of the team and had gone left as was his position in the CQC plan, feeling natural in his armor. He'd fired his assault rifle scattering a section of Grunts who'd tried to slide past the initial human counterattack and press on to the Marines. But then as he looked to his right, he saw the pack of Brutes forming to counter the assault. He'd lost his breath as his heart rate spiked and anxiety kicked in. The biometers in his suit kicked in to try to compensate but this was not an environmental or physical issue but rather an emotional one. Adam tried to compensate but couldn't get his body to do what his brain was trying to tell it. The neural interface couldn't keep up and so when he tried to move into a good position he instead charged into the side of a tracked survey vehicle, denting it and causing him to fall flat on his back due to the ricochet of the impact. He lay there listening to the guttural barks and howls of the Jiralhanae and found he couldn't move.
Fortunately for the teen the human counter attack was decisive and they pushed the Covenant forces clear out of the bay. The remaining Spartans of the Wolf Pack pressed the retreating Covenant forces over fifty meters away from the door before Mike called them back to hold a defensive perimeter around the shattered bay door.
"Gunny, we'll hold this position. Organize the Marines to bring vehicles to block the entrance and provide a defensive position," Mike ordered.
"Roger that, sir," Stacker responded, and the ODSTs and Marines went to work trying to build something that could be held.
In less than ten minutes a half dozen vehicles had been moved into a blocking position in front of the transport bay's entrance with two Warthogs anchoring the line. It wasn't perfect, but would likely do.
"Wolverine Actual, sitrep, over," Mike called over the comms to Captain McLynn.
"We're at Hanger Bay Kilo, sir," McLynn reported. "Covvies put in a big push supported by a Phantom but we held solid. We're sitting pretty."
"Good to hear, well done," Mike congratulated the ODST officer.
"Attention! Hostiles reported outside the barracks," Commander Keyes voice called out urgently over a pair of loudspeakers mounted in the transport bay. "Barracks are under attack! All available combat teams, respond!"
It seemed it was time to get back into the fight.
"Okay, Gunny Stacker, looks like we need to move. Wolf Pack, stand to," Mike declared, watching two squads of Marines come into the bay to reinforce it. Setting a way point to the barracks area he ordered, "let's go and help the barracks out."
With the Spartans in the lead the relief force began to move from the periphery of the sprawling base built into the mountain. The fact that the barracks area which was being used as an overflow for the infirmary was being that hard pressed by the Covenant was not a good sign. The defenders had been fighting hard but in less than two hours it seems like the place was significantly breached. This would limit their options and likely hamper the evacuation. Mike began to wonder at what point a general slaughter would start. The determined warrior declared to himself it wouldn't happen if there was anything he could do about it.
The Spartans and ODSTs began to pass the signs of running firefights as bodies began to litter the way and the wall was pockmarked and scorched from small arms fire. The Covenant had indeed reached the bowels of the base. Red blotches began to appear on the IFF's but to punctuate the fact colored plasma bolts began to rip down the hall towards them as the Covenant attackers prepared to repel the relief force.
"Covvies blocking the way, lets push through them," Mike called out urgently, aware that if the invaders were already there in force that meant the barracks may have already fallen. The clock was ticking, lives were at stake.
"Wolf Pack!" Matt bellowed and went charging forward blasting his shotgun, the frustration and ensuing tentativeness over his armor gone.
Terrell let rip a full auto burst from his GPMG that mowed down a trio of Jackals who'd attempted to block the way by locking their energy shields together.
Crack crack.
Two precise shots from Alissa whizzed past the pair in the lead and slammed into the roaring maw of a Brute who'd stepped up to challenge the Spartans. It was dead from the high velocity rounds before the pair went running past.
The Wolf Pack was like a runaway freight train pushing their way through the Covenant cordon to reach the outer edges of the barracks area.
A Suicide Grunt came screaming out of a common room to the right of their advance but Mike saw it right away and drilled the Unggoy with a three round burst to the chest that pushed the attacker with the grenade it was cooking back into a squad who were following in its wake. The grenade went off that also ignited the hapless Grunt's methane tank causing carnage with the group that had attempted to spring an ambush. Two fire teams of ODSTs punched into the room to ensure it was clear after the Spartan juggernaut had pushed past mopping up any remaining Covenant resistance. The sounds of desperate battle now could be heard from up the corridor the relief force was coming to causing them to redouble their efforts.
The difficulties the teenage supersoldiers had been experiencing with their armor was lost in the fog of war which actually helped them since the intensity of the fight forced them to move instinctively and not think. Matt was hit full on with a spray of plasma fire draining his overshield. When the alarm claxon sounded, he nimbly stepped back and behind Mike to the cover of his team leader. Maia stepped into his spot in one fluid motion and so the Spartan fist continued to punch into the invader's resistance.
Two Jackals stepped into the corridor and snapped on their wrist-mounted energy shields locking them together and starting to open fire with plasma pistols. Rather than fire on the Kig-Yar Mike put on a burst of speed which caught the avian fighters unprepared for when the charging Spartan lowered his shoulder and bowled the pair over not only shorting out their shields but knocking them hard into the concrete wall. Maia shot one with a burst from her battle rifle charging past while Alissa nailed the other.
A mixed group of Grunts and Skirmishers came up from behind them, led by a Brute. They streamed out of a side corridor, showing again how overrun the Crow's Nest really was.
"Wolf 2, Wolf 5, cover our rear and collapse back with us," Mike ordered Adam and Terrell.
Adam could feel his heart rate increasing and throat grip as the bellowing Jiralhanae surged forward but Terrell opened fire with his GPMG so the main threat was eliminated.
In the front, moving quickly towards the barracks area, Mike led the way flanked now by Matt and Maia. The sound of an intense firefight grew as did the screams of dying Marines.
"What's the plan, sir?" Maia asked as they approached the north entrance to the sprawling barracks area.
"No plan. Marines are dying in there. We push in and figure it out on the fly," Mike declared tersely. Slapping a fresh mag into his assault rifle he put on a burst of speed and charged into the open door to the base quarters.
The scene was one of carnage. Bodies of Marines lay in heaps and piles, showing signs the Brutes who were occupying the area had had the time to not only gather the human defenders but torture them. With a primal yell the Lone Wolf and his team surged into the open concept promenade level catching the Brutes and Jackals who supported them off guard. The Covenant tormentors seemed occupied with an attack from the south entrance giving the Wolf Pack their chance.
Mike opened fire into the back of the head of the closest Brute, exploding its head while grabbing a grenade with his off hand and throwing it into a cluster of another. Maia and Matt stuck close to their commander and the trio formed an arrow head slicing through the attackers. Alissa came in their wake and climbing up a metal ladder to an upper deck she switched to her sniper rifle and began looking for Brutes from the command element. Terrell and Adam joined them a couple minutes later adding weight to the thrust. The last push came from Gunny Stacker and his ODSTs who surged in from a sub entrance having taken another route to the barracks.
The leader of the Wolf Pack knew his rear and flank were secure so aggressively pushed on. He fired a three-round burst into the screaming maw of another Jiralhanae then ran full force into the shaggy beast hitting it square in the stomach. With a loud whoosh the air escaped the beast and it went down in a heap to be finished off by a shotgun blast from Matt. Mike could see coming the opposite way was the Master Chief and the Elite who went by the name Arbiter. For a moment the Lone Wolf's primal instinct kicked in and he was sorely tempted to shoot the Sangheili warrior but watching him effectively kill one Brute then swiftly a pair of Jackals who tried to stop him truly showed for whatever reason he was on the side of humanity. Plus, if the Chief trusted him that meant something.
With the two groups moving in a pincer movement the remaining Covenant forces were swiftly and effectively dispatched. None were allowed to escape. As the echo of small arms fire died down in the two-story barracks area several Marines and ODSTs checked all the downed Covenant and shot any of the wounded. There'd be no mercy shown to those who'd tormented and tortured the wounded.
The UNSC forces met in the middle of the room while several medics went to treat the wounded.
"Good job, sir," Master Chief congratulated Mike coming up to shake his hand, "and thanks to the rest of you for the assist, that was outstanding."
The teenage Spartans beamed inside their helmets at the compliment from the legendary warrior.
"Forget the 'sir', Chief, it's just Mike," the Lone Wolf stated. Then seeing Gunny Stacker punch a locker in frustration at the sight of the dead Marines added, "Sorry we couldn't get here faster."
"We all did what we could," Chief stated, seeing several ODSTs begin to weep at the fallen. "Let's just get the rest of them of our here."
Gunny Stacker came over unapologetically wiping tears from his eyes for the fallen. He looked around, assessing the situation and added, "We did the best we could, sir. Let's get the survivors up to the hangar. There's an elevator just outside the barracks."
Mike looked around and did a quick assessment. "Okay, Chief, you and the Arbiter lead the way. Gunny, you and your team join with them and provide escort for the wounded. My team and I will cover the rear." Seeing a group of walking wounded congregating on the edge of the conversation he ordered, "the rest of you, grab weapons and ammo or get litters for those who can't walk. No one gets left behind. Let's move."
With the Arbiter travelling our front supported by the Master Chief and Stacker's Helljumpers the UNSC party was able to move into the elevators and to the landing bay area with little difficulty. Things seemed to tipping back in favor of the human defenders but that was a short-lived moment of optimism.
"Commander, we lost the Ops Center," Sergeant Johnson reported urgently over the open channel. "Brutes attacked in force. Couldn't hold them off. We're falling back to the hangar. But don't wait for us."
At the same time a Pelican began its landing sequence to extract the wounded survivors of the barracks attack.
"This is Kilo 23. What should I do, ma'am?" the pilot of the dropship called out in a thick southern accent.
"Hold position! I'm not leaving without him," Commander Keyes responded back on the same channel.
"All right, let's move out, first priority is getting the wounded on this bird and out of here," Mike ordered the group
With the Master Chief and Arbiter again leading the way, a group of Marines filled the elevator up to the landing pad while the Wolf Pack and majority of ODSTs stayed back for the next load. Unfortunately, the relative peace of the landing bay was short lived as well as Covenant forces led by Brutes with thruster packs counterattacked. They focused on the first Pelican seeking to land to take on evacuees.
"Ma'am, I've got movement. Above and below," the Pelican pilot called out urgently. "Brutes! They got jump-packs!"
"They're going after the thrusters. Shake them off, lieutenant!" Commander Keyes ordered.
The Master Chief and Thel 'Vadam were the first there so engaged the Brutes who shifted their attack to try to repel this dangerous threat.
"We need to get up there and into the fight!" Matt called out urgently as they waited impatiently for the elevator to return and take them. Finally arrived it was filled to capacity and went up to support the two warriors. With the Wolf Pack and squad of ODSTs, the UNSC forces made short work of the Brutes and were able to retake the hanger.
After successfully retaking the flight deck, a door at the road below opened, and Sergeant Johnson came in with the remnants of his team under attack by a group of Drones that had been harassing them all the way. The Wolf Pack, Arbiter and Master Chief quickly engaged the Covenant forces supporting the beleaguered Marines. The few Drones left were quickly eliminated and so Kilo 23 was able to return to begin the final evacuation. The barrack's survivors and remnants of Sergeant Johnson's squad boarded the Pelican first.
Sergeant Johnson gave a nod to Mike and the Master Chief then got onto the comms. "Brutes attacked the Ops Center in force and ran us out. They disarmed the bomb. Sorry Commander, there were too many. Even for me."
"Chief, get back to the Ops Center," Commander Keyes ordered. "Kill those Brutes. Rearm the bomb. I've gotta get these men outta here. But I'll radio with another exit. Good luck."
Sergeant Johnson and Thel 'Vadam boarded the Pelican and it lifted off so the next in line could drop in for another group to be evacuated giving those on the ground a few minutes.
"You okay with this, Chief?" Mike asked. "Me and my team could provide cover for you and exfil from the secondary extraction point."
"No sir, my tasking," the Chief answered with determination. "No sense putting more at risk. Good luck to you and your team."
"And to you too," Mike extended his hand which the legendary Spartan II shook.
"I'll see you when I see you," Chief declared in his gravelly voice then turned and trotted back up the gangway they'd previously came from, passing by destroyed equipment and dead Marines along the way.
Mike watched the Spartan disappear and felt a strange kinship with the legendary figure he'd only met earlier in the day.
"Sir, we gotta go," the Pelican's loadmaster declared urgently as the ship's engines began to spool up.
Mike held his gaze for a moment, watching the Spartan disappear into the bowels of the building then turned and walked onto the Pelican.
Several minutes later, an orange fireball erupted from the lush greenery of the mountain as the Ops Center of the Crow's Nest blew up. The Master Chief had accomplished his mission, was there ever any doubt?
