2043 Hours, October 20, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Sol System, Earth, Kenya, Business Park Sector, Sub-Sector 1
With the night, Sam knew the sub-city was going to light up. What was once a busy sub-sector for families to head home and join their families, it became a war zone. He saw the same thing happen across too many colonies, one planet after another turning into a war zone.
"What do you have on the bee?"
Mathilda continued to move the MQ-72 Bee Nano Drone across the walkway to see if there were any enemies on the other side before crossing. The Bee became an affectionate friend to reconnaissance teams for its small size and quick intelligence gathering.
"Not much, everything is pretty calm."
"Want to move across?"
With the bee being recalled, Sam watched as it landed in her hand. She gave him a nod of approval. The rest of Nomad began to pack up their kits and make their way across the bridge as Math stashed the drone kit into her backpack.
She signaled Darrick to take point as Sam took the rear, he wasn't at 100% with a sensitive shoulder and dented armor. Taking up the rear was the best way for Sam to enable the team.
Their walk across the bridge brought them to a large balcony overlooking the sub-sector business section. Contrary to the businesses above, the sub-businesses were oriented toward the locals. Business names were in various languages and they held anything possible to sustain a family.
"This doesn't look like a bad place to live. Well, you know, before the invasion."
Darrick continued to look around the area as the rest of Nomad set up their equipment.
"Yeah not bad, too cramped for me though. I wouldn't live here."
"True. But the land is going to become an issue."
Sam decided not to respond as he focused on his assigned area. He didn't want to think about his family home and house glassed by the Covenant. He wanted to stop the Covenant.
"Sam, what do you got?"
"A few Jackals, a couple of Brutes, and a handful of grunts. Seems to be a platoon since it's a diverse group. Jackals are on an overwatch tower."
"O?"
"Two hunters with grunt support."
Mathilda took note of the two observations and studied where the militia was in her spotting scope.
"The militia will get chewed alive if they confront this force. We will also. Hold your fire, do not engage. Continue on surveillance."
Sam nodded and kept his scope trained on the targets as he studied the platoon of Covenant troops. He noticed the platoon was not hunting, but more of searching for something. They moved away from the militia position and deeper into the sub-sector. The arrival of FJFs made him confirm his observation.
"Where are those Hunters O?"
"About 100 meters to the left of your patrol."
"What are they doing?"
"Defensive position."
"Rog, looks like the Hunters are serving as a buffer for the platoon. Platoon isn't hunting, they're searching for something here. Their movement and the FJF support the theory."
Oriana seemed to support the theory with her silence as Mathilda moved to study the platoon's movement.
"Seems like you're right. Looks like they're searching for something. Want to relay it to V?"
"Want to wait for a little before I send it up."
"Be sure to take out the jellyfish first since it enables the force. Last thing we need is those things helping the Covenant more."
He nodded before staring back at the images of the patrol. The Covenant never changed their tactics, they were always similar, and the search platoon was doing its job.
"Ultra 02, we got airborne movement in your AO. Jetpack troops are moving around, keep your eyes open for anything flying above. Also, I agree with your theory, that they're searching."
"What's the status on Home Fleet?"
"Covenant is starting to establish a presence around EAP space, they're pushing back the UNSC forces in order to secure a clear path for interstellar ships to enter the atmosphere."
"Thought they were going to put up a better fight."
"So did I. Update me on the search platoon when you know info."
"Rog." He was about to switch back to TEAMCOM. "V, they're not going to nuke us, right?"
"Undetermined. I will keep you in the loop on that. Ultra 01, out."
"Great."
With Home Fleet being pushed back and the Covenant setting up above, Sam expected to see a rapid deployment of Covenant forces. He wasn't surprised when seeing a pack of brute jump-packs moving to the search platoon.
Covenant forces needed to destroy air defense platforms before moving their cruisers into the atmosphere, they wanted every troop to be deployed. It gave Nomad time to continue playing around before the cruisers trapped them in New Mombasa.
"Jumpers inbound. Linking up with the search platoon. Waiting to see which one they talk to."
"Roger. Look like they're trying to help expand the search field?"
"Seems that way."
"Search Platoon will be more affected."
"Figured."
"O, want to take the leader of the jumpers?"
"We have the advantage right now. Should we wait until we have to? No reason to make our life down here harder."
Sam glanced at Math then at O, before looking back at the enemy.
"Not a bad idea O. Sam, continue tracking."
"Rog."
He continued to track the force as the Hunter pair continued to protect the unit searching. The further they went into the sub-sector, the more Sam needed to move to get a clear line of sight.
"We'll need to move if you want me to keep an eye on them. Probably won't get far."
"Stay put for now. They probably don't know where to go and we have the high ground."
Sam knew Mathilda was right and relaxed in his position. He wasn't going to move for a bit.
"Panther, this is Playboy."
"Send it."
"A Site is toast. Foam eaters did a good job torching the place. We've recovered a few people that got picked up by a Personnel Recovery team and we're making our way towards the industrial park. Activity is getting busy up here. How are things down there?"
"Met with a leader who read too many books. One of us got shot by the militia. Tangled with a Stalker. That's about it."
"How did your date with the Stalker go?"
"Shit. Can still shoot, move, and communicate. That's all we need."
"Roger, stay safe Panther."
"You as well Playboy. Panther out."
Sam sat quietly as he watched the enemies move around. They didn't look worried or prepared for combat, maybe the Hunters were easing their nerves. He wasn't surprised, the menacing can of worms was something he didn't want to mess with.
"Playboy is heading to the industrial park."
He saw Mathilda nod her head out of the corner of his eye as they continued to sit.
"Hey Sam, we got a fucking psycho on the net."
"Which one Rick?"
"Militia."
"What did he say?"
"Tune in."
Sam joined the net Darrick was talking about to see what was happening. Ava was doing a splendid job of making sure he didn't have to waste time.
"This is SPARTAN-117, I'm going in for the kill on those hunters!"
There was a quick burst of gunfire from an unknown position and O watched the hunters get defensive. Unable to do much from their position, they watched as the lone fighter who claimed to be SPARTAN-117 fire on two hunters.
"Were we expecting special forces down here Sam?"
"No."
He watched as the hunters move backed slowly as the search platoon began moving further away.
"Get some! Come get some of SPARTAN-117!"
The militia member continued to fire steady bursts, which bounced off the hunter's armor. A brute jumper returned to look at the suspected location of the enemy, Sam knew what was going to happen.
"He needs to move. They're calling an airstrike on him." He flipped to V's channel. "Hey, we need to move that guy out of there."
"I can't do anything here. You're too far away to pull him out and militia members are calling him a rogue member. Don't do anything to give away your position at this point."
"I'm not letting a civilian die without us trying to do something."
"Understand. Ultra 01 out."
He flipped back to TEAMCOM after hearing her unable to do anything.
Sam heard Mathilda issue a firm warning to the person but was only met with being told to mind her own business.
"Sam, put a round next to him. O, take out the jumper. Let me know when ready."
"Ready."
"Ready."
Sam nodded his head and moved to target the location where the militia member was holed up and put a sniper round close by him.
"Oh shit! They're up top! You want a piece of 117?!"
Oriana killed the jumper but soon hit the deck when a burst of gunfire hit near her. She let out a low grunt and looked at Sam as the rest of the team followed.
"I'll give you a piece of 117!"
"Can we do anything else at this point?!" Darrick said over TEAMCOM.
"Show yourself you covenant fucks!"
It wasn't long before they heard the sound of a fuel rod cannon bomb slamming into the position. Sam left the channel before he decided to hear the dying breaths of another civilian.
"Why the fuck didn't he evacuate with the others?!"
"O, relax."
"No, you fucking relax Math! We can't just civilians die! We need to do more!"
"That's not our job."
"Then what the fuck is our job then?!"
"To provide intelligence. They had their chance to evacuate. He chose not to, and he paid the price."
"That's a fucked mentality, you know that?"
"Welcome to the war."
She glared at Mathilda after hearing the comment. O pledged a duty to protect humanity, and she was failing. Nomad did very little and Vilda told them to not reveal their position. The line of ethics and morality in the Human-Covenant War seemed to erase themselves more.
"Let's move Nomad, this nest is blown."
Sam sat up to see the burning room and looked at his sniper rifle before deciding to slide it onto his back. He pushed the previous events out of his head.
He got a light tap on his arm from Mathilda and they switched to a personal comm channel.
"That didn't sit well with her."
Sam nodded at the comment as he stood up.
"We should've done more."
"The mission comes first Math. You and I both know that. We couldn't do much for that individual. If we did, we would be dead."
"Yeah."
She left the channel and Sam returned to TEAMCOM.
"We'll make sure they pay O."
She didn't say anything and neither did Darrick since he called out the lunatic on the net. Sam took point and led the team to another potential location to set up. It was further in the city and the team needed to relocate anyways.
Mathilda placed Darrick to lead the scout while she provided security. O was going to protest the idea of having Math as the shot caller, she'd rather have him scout do the shot calling. It happened often in sniper teams, the two sniper elements had their preferred scout and shooter. Sam was able to work with whoever spotted for him, yet he preferred Math.
"Math, can you handle talking with V?"
"Yeah."
Further into Sub-Sector 1, the lights of the city remained on as if it was a normal day. Store lights were lit up to welcome customers and advertisements were playing as if people were watching them. An occasional warning about the Covenant invasion came over the PA system, but it remained a ghost city. The machines went on as if nothing had ever happened.
No people walking the streets, only the Covenant and whoever decided to stay behind.
"Sam, keep your eyes on the search platoon. O, track the jumpers."
He noticed the search platoon was moving differently, must've been since the kill shot from O on the other Jumper. Mathilda gave him another nudge and the two moved back into their private channel.
"V wants me back on lead scout."
"V gives advice. You'll be back on lead scout soon. We rotate, she knows that."
"Yeah, just giving you a heads up."
"I hear you Math."
She slipped out of the channel and they moved back to TEAMCOM, he didn't like the idea of having Math in the lead scout after her argument with O. Everyone was with the 105th, it wasn't time to debate the morals and ethics of warfare.
"Sam, what's the sitrep on the search platoon?"
"Still searching Rick."
"You sure?"
Sam glanced at Rick briefly before looking at the platoon.
"Yeah, still searching."
"Roger. Let me know if anything changes."
"WILCO."
Nomad continued to follow the platoon through Sub Sector 1. The FJF assigned to the platoon left behind symbols that Nomad took pictures of. Vilda went to work on analyzing the information before sending it elsewhere.
Her small staff was only able to do so much with covenant translations. The symbols remained cryptic to Nomad, they continued to toss it up to love letters and a preferred dish in the Covenant.
News of the 103rd Shock Troops Battalion remained scarce, Playboy and SPECWARCOM Personnel Recovery Teams were not finding much. Sam didn't enjoy listening to the updates while he continued to track an enemy. He wasn't doing as much as he wanted, not killing enough Covenant.
Darrick deployed his bee to see anything around an intersection, while Sam took a position on an apartment balcony with Mathilda next to him.
"This is where we make them pay."
Sam and Math agreed with Darrick's idea, they spent too long hanging around.
"Sam, you're on the platoon. O, you're on the jumpers."
He placed his crosshair on the Captain and watched as it moved across the walkways. The violet armor made him stick out among the rest of the enemies as someone important.
"Take the Captain first, then the FJF. Ultra after that."
"Rog."
Math used Darrick's bee to gather essential information and fed it to Sam, she knew he didn't need much. The two of them went through the Urban Scout Sniper Course back on Sigma Octanus IV together. She knew exactly what he needed.
"Sam, you set?"
"Yeah."
"On O."
Sam kept his scope trained on the Captain; he knew where to hit him when the target was walking away. He was also prepared to move quickly if the enemies responded with precise covering fire. The Jackal sniper was next on his targeting list since he wanted to remove the sniper from the equation. The last became the Ultra, a decorated warrior in the Jiralhanae, much like a Sangheili Ultra.
"O."
One sniper shot rang out followed by another. Sam hit the Captain perfectly and watched as the body slumped into the ground. He moved to retarget a Jackal sniper and fired again, taking down another target. The Jackal fell to the ground with its head exploding to pieces as the others tried to understand what was happening. O engaged another target and Sam watched a Jumper spin before crashing headfirst into a wall.
Switching to the last, he targeted the Ultra as it tried to rally the platoon. Sam engaged the target swiftly as it was talking to a fellow Brute. The Ultra collapsed out of view and its legs weren't moving.
"Time to move. On me."
Nomad grabbed their kits and prepared to move as Darrick took point. Sam glanced at the enemies to see where the FJF was and found it hiding behind a bench. It was his next target on the list.
Breaching into an apartment complex, Darrick led the team as they pushed further down the hallway and towards the enemies. Sam took the time to reload his sniper rifle and save the one bullet for later. Switching to his carbine, he jogged behind O as Darrick signaled to hold.
"Let's move."
Darrick led the team up the stairs and towards a bridge between two apartment complexes, the bee was feeding him crucial intelligence on where the Covenant was. No doubt Vilda was looking at the same feed.
"Ultra 03, the Engineer is providing a protective shield to a Brute. I advise you to make it a priority."
"Working on it Ultra 01, out."
"Sam, V wants us to hit the FJF. It's providing a shield to the Brutes."
Sam only nodded his head to Mathilda as they made their way towards another level to get a superior vantage point on the Covenant troops in cover. Shoot, relocate, shoot was a test each Scout Sniper needed to pass in order to become a Scout Sniper. Nomad moved like they had conducted their training; it was second nature for them.
"O, hit the FJF. Sam, take care of the Ultra Jumper."
Making their way into a common area, Sam took aim of the Jumper wearing Ultra armor and waited for O to make her position. He didn't like waiting for someone, but Darrick was rolling as the shot caller.
"In position."
"Hold for O."
He waited for O to be set. Sam was ready to take out another Brute.
"Ready."
"Send it."
Sam heard O's shot.
"Sam."
He pulled the trigger and took out the Ultra. A flurry of plasma and needles came soaring at their positions, Sam ducked as spiker rounds came flying into the window. Mathilda motioned for him to move as they made their way to link up with Darrick and O.
"O, status."
Mathilda heard nothing.
"Oriana, status!"
"Darrick's hit!"
"Stabilize him. We're moving to you."
Sam sprinted towards O after a waypoint was set by Ava. Making it into the room, he saw Darrick on the ground as O tried to tend to him.
"Darrick, stay with me!"
"I am with you! Jesus Christ!"
Mathilda pushed O aside as she began checking him. Seeing a spiker needle punched into the right side of his chest, she knew it was bad.
"Ultra 01, I need an immediate CASEVAC."
"Status of the patient?"
"Critical, if we miss the golden hour, he'll be dead."
"Roger, working up a request ASAP."
Sam readied his carbine and took down two grunts to buy time for Math, she was working to stabilize him for movement. It didn't help he was trying to sit up and forced Math to sit on him and put all her weight into his body.
"What's his status Math?"
"We need to get topside ASAP."
"Rog, O. Hold this door, kill any fucker that comes our way."
"Roger."
Sam move back to see Math trying to figure out how to stabilize him.
"You pull it out. I'll pack it with biofoam."
"You sure?"
"It's the only way I can think of."
He nodded and watched as she prepared a biofoam injection. Seeing her nod, he pulled the spiker out of Darrick as he screamed his head off while groaning in pain as Math filled it with biofoam.
"Payne, I got a class A casualty here. I need you to form a perimeter at the LZ we're marking for the CASEVAC."
"Roger, we're moving. Send me the location and we'll set a perimeter."
"Rog."
Sam looked down at Darrick and got his helmet off to see his face covered in blood. One quick glance at the inside of his helmet, he saw blood everywhere.
"C'mon mate. We're getting you out of here." He looked at Mathilda and tilted his head back. "Take the rifle."
"Give me my gun, I can walk out."
"Not in your current condition. I'm carrying you out."
She grabbed his sniper rifle and watched as Sam put Darrick on his shoulders.
"You ready Rick?"
"What do you think?!"
"O, cover us."
Sam made his way to the door as Math continued to figure out the best way to the surface.
"V, have Ava set a waypoint on Math's HUD."
"On it."
Mathilda signaled for Nomad to move out as Darrick tried to hold on.
"Contact!"
O engaged an enemy from behind as Sam continued to run towards an escalator to bring them towards the surface. O continued to provide cover fire as Math cleared the way ahead.
"Ultra 02, I got CASEVAC inbound. ETA 30 minutes. I've told Playboy to mark the location."
"Roger that."
"Your ETA is 25 minutes on foot."
Sam knew it wasn't going to be enough time.
"Math, we need Playboy to come to us. He needs to come to us."
"I'm working on it!"
O reloaded her rifle and continued back as Sam sprinted up the escalator.
"You're really trying to get your steps today, are you?"
"Rick, focus on staying alive."
"I am!"
By the time he reached the top of the escalator, he was gassed. Sam was running on fumes and the rest of Nomad knew it. Having a more stable area, Oriana was able to pull out her combat litter carrier from her rucksack and place him inside. It meant two people had to carry him.
"Playboy, I need you to send some people to us. We cannot get there in time. I need you to send someone to us with wheels so we can get to you."
"On it mate. Sending the Roo. ETA five minutes."
"Roger. We'll be there."
O and Math nodded at each other as Sam prepared to take down whoever was sprinting up the escalator. Darrick's bee was recalled to O and she tossed it into Math's backpack as they prepared to escape and evade.
"Sam, we're moving!"
"Covering!"
Seeing two Jackals, Sam ripped the heads off of them and fell back as he covered Nomad. The department store was providing good cover for him as the Covenant struggled to locate Sam.
"Sam, we need you at the door, we're almost topside!"
"Moving!"
Sam popped two smoke grenades to cover his retreat and screw with the senses of the Covenant further. Linking up with Math and O, Sam cleared the way and reloaded his carbine as they made their way into the ground level of the Business Park Sector.
The three came to see Playboy's Roo come screaming at them and stop short in front of them. The side hatch opened, and the Ranger element looked at the four ODSTs.
"Get your litter in. We're taking you to the LZ."
"Get him in."
They handed Darrick to the Rangers as the rest of Nomad piled into the vehicle. The driver stepped on the gas and hurled the Roo towards the LZ. Sam pushed his way back to Rick to check his status. Math and a Ranger medic were busy working on his chest wound, Sam was unable to help.
He only heard Rick talking about how much it sucked to get shot with a spiker. Math continued to take care of Rick along with the Ranger medic to the best of her ability but struggled inside of the roo.