2219 Hours, October 20, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Sol System, Earth, Kenya, Business Park Sector
A blacked out EV-44 Nightingale from the 173rd Expeditionary Rescue Squadron of the UNSC Aerospace Force raced towards New Mombasa for their 13th mission since the Covenant attacked Mombasa. They were on station from Kilibasi Auxiliary Field in Kilibasi and conducted numerous personnel recovery along with combat search and rescue missions. Their next mission came to rescue an ODST from New Mombasa.
The Nightingale flew low and fast, making it a near-impossible target to hit at night. It was a near-suicide mission to go out when the Covenant practically owned New Mombasa air space.
"Gothic 19 on approach. ETA five minutes."
The four Pararescue combat medics from the UNSC Aerospace Force were preparing themselves to recover a critically wounded combat casualty. The two pilots had one mission, to get the casualty to an operating room to survive. Nothing else mattered, they were the bridge between life and death for the casualty.
Two Crew Chiefs maintained the stealth systems and kept everything online while the pilots and pararescue medics prepared for their mission. Nobody was going to fail their job when a friendly was depending on them.
"LZ in sight. Let's put her down."
As the pilots set the Nightingale down, two Pararescue medics moved out to establish security for the vehicle as the other two moved forward to link up with the casualty.
The pararescue flight chief met with the ODSTs and Rangers while the teammate moved to get an analysis from the Ranger medic.
"What have you done to him so far?"
"Tried to stabilize him more, giving him more breathing space after the puncture. Not much else could be done once the biofoam went in. It's a good fill, but it's in his lung."
"Did you administer him anything?"
"The usual painkiller dosage. Gave him blood to make up for the lost but he needs more under your care."
The pararescue medic looked over at Mathilda to see her staring back at him.
"You did the biofoam fill?"
"It's not the best, but it was the only thing we could at the time!"
"Roger that! We'll get him to a field hospital. We'll take it from here. You've done a good job!"
The flight chief broke off from talking with Payne and Sam, Math and the Ranger medic worked with the two pararescue medics to carry Darrick to the Nightingale.
"Keep him alive!"
Math yelled at the flight chief as his team followed him back into the Nightingale.
"We'll do our best!"
Sam could only watch as the Pararescue team carried Darrick onto the Nightingale. He hated seeing one of his teammates being pulled out of combat. If anyone was able to save Darrick from dying, it was the Pararescue team. With the Nightingale taking off and returning to wherever, Sam knew he had to push Darrick's wellbeing out of his mind and focus on the mission.
"Hey, Panther! I'm going to give you one of my lads so you can keep on with your mission!"
"Who is it, Playboy?"
"Speedy. He's one of our scouts."
"What's special about him?"
"He talks fast, runs fast, and can kill fast. What else do you need?"
"Alright, we'll take him. We'll have Ava get him all hooked into our comm frequencies."
"Yep, bring him back to me in one piece! It's my job to give him PTSD."
"I'll try my best. Hey, you seen Covenant elements moving in search patterns?"
"A few. Why?"
"We saw one element in a search pattern down below. Don't know what they're looking for."
"I'll keep an eye out up here. Stay safe Panther."
"You as well Playboy."
Nomad regrouped with their newest member, a UNSC Army Ranger Sergeant known as Speedy. Vilda was working on getting him in sync with the comm channels and left the mission to be explained to him. Speedy was short, but he was a Ranger and some Playboy trusted, it was good enough for Sam.
"Alright Speedy, here's the deal. We're doing sub-city reconnaissance and surveillance now. Our objective is gathering actionable intelligence on the Covenant and provide critical information for planners."
"Seems pretty straight forward. What do you need me to do?"
"For now, security and covering us when we're on overwatch. Math is our lead scout now, you're the junior scout. You're partnered with O if we break off into our pairs. She doesn't bite so don't worry about that."
Speedy looked at O then back at Sam, she sure didn't look like someone who was going to bite him.
"Roger that. Anything else?"
"Not at the moment. You're all synced up with us?"
"Yes sir."
"Good, let's go hunting Nomad. Math, you're on point."
With Playboy moving back towards his designated mission, Nomad prepared to head back down into the sub-city. Math handed Sam his sniper rifle and she gave Darrick's drone kit to Oriana. Everyone had their gear squared away before moving out. Sam took the break to learn about their newest member.
"What's your history in the Army, Speedy?"
"Served in the 152nd Airborne Division; did some time in a Sniper Section and Pathfinder Platoon before moving up to the 121st Ranger Division. Also did some time as a Pathfinder and Sniper Instructor at the 96th Special Warfare Training Group."
"Not a bad history. Been stationed on Reach the entire time, you from there?"
"Nah, Miridem. Did some time as a smoke jumper before enlisting into the Army. You?"
"SigOct. Enlisted when I graduated from secondary school."
Once the area grew quiet, Math led Nomad back towards the sub-city. They made their way towards the fourth sub-sector sector after one got too hot. But no one cared about the sub-cities, they wanted to know about Darrick and whether he made it.
"What do we know about sub-sector four, Ultra 01?"
"It's a residential area mixed with some local businesses. There is a shell company for ONI in the area we're trying to get the name of so you can scrub it clean."
"Don't know the business name?"
"It's Black Zero, they don't tell me anything till it's too late. I'm working on it.
"Great. Update me when Black Zero gets a stick out of their ass."
"Copy, Ultra 01 out."
Sam listened to Vilda hop off the channel, ONI was going to kill everyone with their backdoor secrets. The last thing the UNSC needed to worry about was NAVCOM covering their ass.
The street was clear, there wasn't activity. Odd since there was a CASEVAC and the Covenant was throwing forces towards them. Math signaled Nomad towards a lift to take down into Sub-Sector 4.
"Sam, what's the situation with 4?"
"Probably the same as 1. Black Zero has a front company we need to scrub, but Vil is struggling to get the name since they're worried."
"You're serious?"
"Black Zero, that's ONI Section Zero, right?"
Sam nodded at Speedy, the Ranger knew NAVCOM enough to know Black Zero.
"Anyways, yeah. Black Zero is playing games. We'll have to figure stuff out as we go along, per usual."
Math glanced at the lift then at the stairs. The lift was going to be suicide, even if it meant they were going to rest their legs. She signaled the team down the stairs, and Nomad made their way into Sub-Sector 4.
Back down in Sub-Sector 4, the team was welcomed into a residential area. It was weird seeing playgrounds and parks underground. It felt like a concrete jungle for Nomad.
"Did you guys see Scarabs down here before?"
"No. Why?"
Sam looked to see where Speedy was pointing down to and saw a Scarab patrolling around a park.
"Where the fuck did that come from?"
"Probably dropped in via aerial transport. We saw some near Kikowani doing the same thing. The sub-city sectors are a beast themselves. Don't be surprised if you see air assets down here."
"This day keeps getting better."
"What we saw, the Covenant were sweeping outwards and sending units down to the lowest levels. Weird since that'd be the last place to find anything of worth. The units were assets recovery more than strike force."
"They're looking for something. It has to be the reason. After all, this is the place they chose to land in their initial invasion."
Sam knew he needed to go deeper into New Mombasa. Secrets were being hidden from him and he had to figure them out. The Covenant were making them think they needed to focus up top and not below.
"What did you guys find?"
"There's a structure under Mombasa, seismic readings from the past indicate it's massive. We can't pinpoint what it is since the UNSC isn't talking about it."
"Hmm, could explain why Zero is tight lip."
Speedy was quickly becoming a valuable component to the success of the mission. Sam figured Vilda was working on cataloging the conversation and searching for anything to link their suspicions.
"Let's keep moving, we don't have all day. But I think we should bypass the Scarab and head down further to gather more intelligence. That seems to be where we need to go."
"Agree, lead the way."
The team made their way further down into the sub-city, there was an increase of activity. There was no longer a single platoon size force. Sam studied one group of personnel ranging around 100 Covenant personnel. ONI called them Maniples, Sam simply called them companies, they roughly had the same structure.
"Ultra 01, we're heading further down into the sub-city. We're going to see if Speedy's analysis about another sub-sector were right. Given we seen Scarabs and how he mentioned the same thing, I'm bound to roll with him on this. I think SECNET needs to know what's going on down here."
He knew Vilda was not going to like him going deeper. But he needed to give a good analysis of what was happening inside of New Mombasa.
"Roger that. Understand I may not be able to contact you when you're down there. We'll check in to see if we can. If not, you run the mission based on your analysis. If you think it's worth it, then I support you."
"WILCO. Any update on Darrick?"
"None yet, I'll let you know when I do. Ultra 01, out."
It didn't take long for Nomad to make their way past the security patrols, Sam knew how to weave his way around the lingering patrols. He made sure to use alternative options when traveling down to avoid detection. Math used the Bee as a means to ensure their safety while Speedy kept track of the rear.
"More of those glyphs are showing up."
Math looked up to see many glyphs decorating the walls. Sam knew he was heading in the right direction.
"Yeah, the further we head down, the more we see. Looks like we're heading in the right direction."
Further down, the sub-city took on a new life. It looked more like a place where the common folk lived. Seemed like the richer lived closer to the surface while the others lived below. As chaotic as it looked, New Mombasa was an extremely organized city to help manage its sprawling population.
"Hey check it out." Sam was nudged by Math as she pointed at a Covenant piece of equipment. "Those look like they help the FJF. Those are filled with FJFs, I wonder how many they have."
"This looks more and more interesting. Want to send the Bee out to get a better idea?"
"Not yet."
The team sat in their position to study the Covenant's movement. It was easy to identify the major players. Not often was a Brute Chieftain seen on the ground, something serious was going on. If Nomad had a rough time with a Stalker, they were going to be wiped out by a Chieftain for sure.
"Hmm, if that Chieftain is here. Must mean we're onto something."
Another helpful clue came from the growing number of glyphs, they made to capture every single one, even if they saw it before. Yet, no matter how much their mission was developing, they were still worried about Darrick.
Once the team got to an overwatch position inside of an apartment building, Math and Speedy set traps to warn them of incoming personnel before returning to their partner. Sam spent his time setting up a sniper position and looked at the walls to see a family portrait.
He turned his attention back to his task and waited for Mathilda to show up. Once seeing her, he knew he was going to be in good hands.
"How many shots do you have left for your sniper?"
"About 16. We're doing fine so far. Got five mags left for the MA5K and two for my handgun."
"Good, I don't expect us to fight that much. But we never know after what happened earlier."
They didn't say anything further. Math finished setting up her spotting scope and the two went to work with the Speedy and O. Sam wanted to follow the Chieftain without alerting the Covenant to the best of his ability.
"Ultra 01, this is Ultra 02."
The silence made him think about being on his own. He knew V was going to do anything to ensure they kept in contact with each other. Nomad was capable of doing the mission without her.
"Ultra 02, send it."
"Chieftain is down here. We have a large number of glyphs down here and an Engineer Recharging Station. There's a lot of activity down here as well. I'm seeing a lot of asset recovery teams. They're searching for something down here. Do you still want us to go after the Black Zero bleaching?"
"No, focus on the Chieftain. Don't do anything you cannot get yourself out of. Air assets are losing their ability to support you with the Covenant locking down air space."
"How bad?"
"Covenant cruisers are dropping into the atmosphere."
"Copy that. LUX been declared?"
"Not yet. Figure out what they're looking for and report back to me on your findings. Note, we may not be able to communicate, but Ava can probably figure a way to communicate with you. Stay swift. Ultra 01 out."
"WILCO. Ultra 02 out."
Sam turned his attention back towards the Chieftain and scanning valuable targets. It seemed like the finest warriors showed up to handle the asset recovery. It would be impossible for him to take out the leadership. One thing that caught his eye was an Elite walking with the Chieftain.
"Odd, an Elite with the Brutes."
Math focused on the same Elite and noted his armor, it was an Ultra.
"Those two don't like each other if I remember the report correctly."
"You're correct."
"Maybe the Ultra got left behind. Could be a thing given how fast the carrier left earlier."
Sam continued to study the Elite as the rest of Nomad took their time to catalog every major officer present. Photos were taken and marked with names for ONI to analyze later. If anything, ONI could figure out where they were sighted previously and see what they did.
"How you doing over there O?"
"Pretty fine Sam. Speedy is doing a good job, he's filling me in with a lot of Ranger lore. He talks really fast."
"His nickname must really fit him then."
"Any update on Darrick?"
"None yet. I'll let you know if anything comes down."
"Thanks."
He saw Math's helmet move, glanced at her then back at the enemies.
"Elite's moving. Looks like he's up to something.
He took the cue to study the Elite and the options at hand for the enemies. The Ultra was close to the Chieftain, oddly close. The Brutes were known to have their Chieftains guarded by hand-picked warriors from his pack. For an Elite to be so close, Sam didn't know what was going to happen.
"Think that Ultra is going to try and take out the Chieftain?"
Sam knew it looked like a possibility. After all, the Elites and Brutes didn't like each other. If an Elite wanted to fulfill his destiny, assassinating a Chieftain could be one way.
"In a combat zone?"
Math shrugged her shoulders. Nothing seemed to be off the table.
"Probably not the first time. Remember those Elites before? They looked like they were killed by Brutes."
"I will bet the Ultra takes out the Chieftain. Unless the Chieftain is using a body double. The Ultra is acting really anxious, he hasn't stopped looking around."
"Probably because he's around so many Brutes."
"Heads up. We got enemy air inbound."
Sam watched as the enemies set a perimeter and prepared a landing zone after the warning from Speedy. Math focused on pinpointing the air assets and seeing what they were.
"Phantom coming in. Banshees are providing security; this is interesting. Must be a VIP transport."
"Play it smart. Don't shoot unless we have to. Let's figure out what they're doing here."
Watching the Phantom land on a ledge, Sam watched the Chieftain disappear aboard the Phantom with the Ultra and an Engineer.
The bodyguard personnel of the Chieftain shortly boarded then walked off with a piece of technology under heavy protection.
"Is that what I think it is?"
"What do you think it is?"
Math glanced at the tech then looked at Sam.
"It's a discount scanner. They're looking for discounts."
"Well, if they haven't noticed, everything is free now that they're here. What do you think it is Speedy?"
He knew the other two were formulating a name to figure out what it was.
"We think it's some form of Covenant device used to scan stuff."
"Yeah, I figure that. What do you think it scans? Math thinks it's a discount scanner."
"Ah, then we think it's something that scans for gifts to send back home. You know, like a collectible of the planet you show off to your kids when you go home. I bet you there's a Brute wearing a ball cap that says something like please be patient I have freezer burns."
Sam studied the piece of tech and tried to think back to when he saw it. Nothing came to mind; he couldn't remember a single time seeing one. Math went to work on snapping pictures and recording videos of the tech. She noted the Ultra was close to the tech alongside the Engineer.
He knew Vilda needed to know about the tech he was seeing. Maybe she was going to provide him more information.
"Ultra 01, I'm transmitting you my helmet cam. We have an unknown piece of technology in the field. Can Ava cross-reference it to some ONI database?"
"She's working on it."
"You ever seen anything like this before?"
"I want to say yes. Also, Ava came back with her report. The piece of tech she scanned is classified."
"By what?"
"Black Three protocols."
"That's fuckin great. What do you think it is?"
"Some sort of scanner or target designator. They were found in the Long Night of Solace by one of our asset exploitation task units on Reach. We weren't able to gather much more since they self-destructed."
"Interesting, I wonder if we can destroy it."
"If you want to slow them down, by all means. The more we restrict them, the less they can do. Note that if you do, all those troops won't be happy."
"Figured."
"All in all, I don't know much about this except it's some sort of scanner the Covenant doesn't want us to have. Since there's Cole Protocol, be smart if you want to recover it."
Sam paid close attention to the technology as Vilda filled him in on the information. Whatever he was looking at, he knew it was important.
"Alright, we'll track the scanner for the time being. Think you can lift that Black Three restriction by the time we get out?"
"I'll see who I can blackmail in Three to get you what we need."
"Thanks, will update you when something happens. Also, let me know when LUX goes out. Ultra 02 out."
Sam flipped his helmet cam off and watched as the Covenant went to work on securing the tech. The Phantom had Stalkers jump off as well to support the already growing force. Nomad knew security above them was growing tighter, they needed to move smarter and make the right decisions.
"Sam, what's the plan?"
"We're going after the scanner O."
"That's what it is?"
"It's what V called it."
Once it was activated, the device began floating and emitted a low light. It slowly moved then stopped, the Covenant waited intently for the device to do its job. After the device stopped, the Covenant quickly spread orders through their ranks. It was odd, seeing the Covenant rely on such a piece of technology to guide their movements.
The Ultra and Engineer worked closely to the tech while the Brutes provided the security. Math made sure to map out the enemy positions and their protective detail circle. The air assets stayed around for a little bit before heading back up, who knew when they were coming back down.
Nomad packed their kits up and prepared for tracking the device.
"So, we're going after the device. Shouldn't be a surprise. Black Three is blocking access to information about it."
The rest of Nomad knew the circumstances and began planning how to track the enemies.
"Our main objective is the device, nothing else matters. Unless we see a Prophet, we stay focused on the device. I want Math and Speedy switching every two stops. No reason to burn ourselves out. Speedy, you're up first. Ava will feed you anything you need."
With a short nod from Speedy and the rest of Nomad, Sam knew they were ready.
"Let's move out Nomad, we got work to do."