0937 hours, February 14, 2555 (Military Calendar)/ Omega Delta System, Research Outpost Berk, Planet FP-089.
Astrid struggled to open her eyes to gain the bearing of her surroundings. The pure, white light caused her to blink rapidly as her eyes adjusted to its intensity. She was no longer participating in the War Game back in Berk but laying on the most comfortable bed she ever encountered. Her head was supported by a pillow that formed perfectly to her neck and head, which brought back memories of Hiccup carrying her before losing consciousness. The glimpses of the foreign, exotic room and furnishings caused alarms to blare in her head causing pleasant memories to cease. Immediately, adrenaline coursed through her veins snapping her out of her daze. Muscle memory from hours of training activated, which caused her to spring to her feet and stand in a defensive stance to repel hostile attacks. Awake and alert, Astrid scanned the pristine room and at a glance the room was that of a moderate apartment bedroom and to her surprise she was alone. Her hands went to grab and ready her rifle that was hanging from her chest plate, only to grab empty air where her weapon was only moments ago. Astrid's eyes widened in shock, quickly she retrieved her M6 sidearm and combat knife just to find them equally as gone. Her moment of shock quickly, only to be replaced with a cool focus. After all, she was an ODST, trained in a few forms of unarmed combat that made her just as lethal as if she were fully armed. This thought brought a wolfish smirk to form on her face. Whoever captured her will pay for their mistake for not securing her with their life.
With this in mind, she cautiously approached a doorway blocked by some marble material, her senses tuned to detect any threats. By her close proximity and with surprise, the doorway dematerialized to reveal the living area and kitchen. All the furnishings were in an optimal clean state which reflected the natural light lighting up the living area.
Astrid braced herself on the doorframe and tilted her head to scan the main living area. She spotted another door frame identical to the one she was using as cover on the far side of the apartment, past the kitchen. This is too easy she thought as she saw no guards stationed in this room. Astrid took a few deep breaths as she mentally prepared her next move to transition to the next-door frame. Seeing no possible hostiles in the immediate area, she crouched low to lower her target size as she stalked towards the hopeful exit, stealth and surprise her only defense.
When a familiar feminine voice broke her sense of confidence, "leaving so soon? After all, you just got here."
Startled, Astrid abandoned all effort in concealing herself and vaulted over the couch, placing the couch between herself and the source of the voice.
Astrid grinds her teeth in frustration at pointing herself at this disadvantage, "identity yourself! Kidnapping an officer of the UNSC will be seen as an act of aggression and I am authorized to use lethal force!"
With a giggle, "my my you are such a spitfire Astrid. You remind me of myself when I was younger. I am not your foe, so you can come out from behind cover."
Stunned that this person knew her name, Astrid took a calming breath as she analyzed her options in this scenario from behind the couch. Her helmet was misplaced, so she did not have access to the UNSC communication net to call for reinforcements. She was weaponless and out of range to use CQ martial arts. Furthermore, she had no information on her abductor to plan any form of launching an assault of her own. Every way that she looked at the situation, the advantages were solely on her abductor's side. Her anger began to rise at herself for being so careless to be subjected to such a position. She is a Hofferson and a Hofferson does not shy away from her duty. Her family's honor was on the line.
Her thoughts and anger were interrupted, "yes if this was reality then you would be in a dire situation if I was the enemy, but lucky for you that is incorrect in both cases."
With that last statement, Astrid cautiously stood up and faced her abductor, her body ready to dive back behind cover at a moment's notice. With whom Astrid saw left her speechless, for before her, leaning on the railing of a balconing, large enough to serve as a landing pad for a dropship; was a breathtaking woman in advance, exotic looking armor. For a moment, Astrid thought she recognized the women before her as her mother and opened her mouth to respond only to stop herself at the last moment. The resemblance to her late mother was uncanny, the warrior before her had the same golden hair, tied into a single braid like her own, and blue eyes that made her long for her mother's embrace. Emotions that she long suppressed after her parents' deaths rushed her anew. Her heart ached after years of compartmentalizing her grief and tears began to form in the corner of her eyes.
Astrid bit hard on the inside of her cheek to fight pain with pain and the taste of copper filled her mouth, "you still have not answered my question. Who are you?"
The warrior placed an arm with a closed fist parallel to the floor, crossed her chest in a salute, "please forgive me. My husband's antics seemed to have brushed off onto me. I am Vice Commander Manere Volantes Gladio of the Riders Galactic Guard. You may call me Astra for convenience."
Astrid did not lower her guard at the friendly introduction, and she approached Astra with suspicion. Astrid decided to play along with Astra's game only to gain information on her abductor. As she joined Astra on the balcony, she began to study her and planned her opening volley of strikes if this encounter became hostile, "never heard of that organization, but it is not on the known insurrectionist list."
Astra smiled smugly, "that is because you are the first human in over a millennia to hear that name."
Astrid let out a small snort of disbelievement at that information. She looked upon the breathtaking city before her as the sun began to sink over the horizon, bathing the elegant city with rays of yellow, orange, and red. "The city is beautiful. Where are we?" asked Astrid, as she fished for more useful information.
Astra's expression turned to one of sorrow and grief, "this is just an echo of my memory from long ago that I am using to talk to you while you are unconscious. This is a memory of Charum Hakkor from my apartment the night before the Forerunners began their siege of the planet."
A major spike of pain started pounding in her skull and caused her to wince, "impossible," Astrid shook her head. She continued, "humanity only has been around for ten thousand years!" Now that is not only the case, but humanity was a space faring empire that at one point fought a war against the Forerunners?" Astrid questioned with a disbelieving tone.
Astra listened to Astrid's rant with a saddened expression, "yes and there is more than meets the eye with our forgotten history," cryptically replied Astra.
Astrid was blindsided, for she detected that Astra spoke truthfully and paused for a moment at that statement then studied Astra's emotions. She was taken aback that Astra was at the point of tears and changed the subject in a softer tone, "you mentioned that we are having this conservation in my mind. How are you even talking to me?"
Astra's expression brightened slightly and smirked as she placed her hands on her hips, "your ancestors called me and others like me Disir. The Forerunners, when they captured our consciousness, called us Geas. I will explain more at a later time."
Again, Astrid was shocked from hearing the term Disir due to the fact that her grandmother would tell her stories of spirits of her ancestors that would guide their descendants called Disir.
"To answer your last question, it took a long time to bypass your mental barriers for us to be talking. It took a rock to knock you out and lower your defenses briefly for me to initiate this. You are quite resilient, and it was annoying. I have been trying for weeks now to talk to you in your dreams, but that is in the past." Her features became serious as her eyes locked onto Astrid's, "time is about up, and I still need to warn you for what is to come." Astrid was caught off guard at Astra's change of tone and listened carefully. "Your wish is about to come true, and your life is on the brink becoming extremely exciting. You are approaching a crossroad that will determine the fate of the galaxy that will challenge who you are and who you serve."
Astrid was not expecting this token of wisdom from the Disir as the memory began to fade, "WAIT! What do you mean who I am and who I serve? I am an officer in the UNSC and I serve the UEG!" Astra gave a sad smile, "all will become clear in the near future." With that last statement the memory vanished leaving behind a confused Astrid with a splitting headache.
The repeating cracks of UNSC rifles and whistling bolts of ionized particles hounded Astrid's ears. Her nose flooded by the stench of gunpowder and iron. A young feminine voice pierced through the fog of her mind and the sound of battle, "LIEUTENANT… LIEUTENANT… thank God!"
Astrid moaned as her head was throbbing with pain. She slowly raised her hand to rub the source of the pain only for someone to grab her wrist. "Lieutenant don't mess with the gel pack strapped to your head. You have a nasty concussion after dealing with that knight." Astrid finally was able to open her eyes to see the artificial blue sky, filled with orange crisscrossing particle bolts and then focused on the hazel eyes of the eighteen-year-old navy corpsmen, Julia Heitz. Astrid witnessed Heitz open her mouth to speak further, but was interrupted by her second in command, "INCOMING EVERYONE! TAKE COVER!"
At that warning Heitz dove over Astrid, covering her body with her own as an incineration round impacted next to their position. A wave of heat passed over them as dirt and rock rained down on them from the aftershock of the resulting explosion. The explosion brought Astrid back to her senses as she ignored the pain from her head wound, "Heitz get me Lieutenant Haddock so he can bring me up to speed." Heitz was in the process of removing herself from Astrid when she registered the order and paused. Her eyes widened in disbelief, "ma'am you ar-."
Astrid interrupted her, "now! That is an order."
She saw the storm of conflict rage in Heitz's eyes, and her expression harden into a glare that could bisect a Covenant Supercarrier. Heitz visibly flinched under her glare and her resolve buckled upon making eye contact with Astrid. With renewed vigor, Heitz rolled from her, crouching low in the narrow stream bed and went off to deliver the message to Lieutenant Haddock.
Astrid sighed as she unclipped her helmet from her waist. She winced as the helmet slid past her head wound reforming the seal with her body armor. She did not mean to snap at the young corpsman who was trying to do her job, but time was of the essence and they needed to retake the initiative after that encounter with the knight. A moment later, Lieutenant Haddock slid next to her on the stream bed slope, slightly out of breath. She studied him as he ejected the spent magazine from his BR and jammed in a new one, knocking back the bolt chambering a new round. Heitz took a position a few meters away to cover them as she sent controlled bursts of her M20 SMG downrange.
Hiccup tilted his head at her with his signature mischievous grin, "welcome back to the living, sleeping beauty."
Astrid's cheek flushed at the teasing and her anger flared up, "Now is not the time for teasing Lieutenant! Report!"
Hiccup's grin disappeared with a brief flash of fear in his eyes then was replaced with a calm professionalism, "after you finished off that knight and went unconscious, I took command per your orders and took this position to treat both you and Corporal Ozouf. You have a concussion, and your armor took minor simulated shrapnel damage. Ozouf has some bruised ribs, but she insists that she is combat ready. Corporal Dagur took a glancing hit to his left upper arm but has been treated and is combat able. The other team is positioned 75 meters to our eleven o'clock and set up a defensive overwatch position to protect their base led by Sargent Jorgenson."
At that bit of information, Astrid narrowed her eyes and glared at her counterpart, "did you obtain this information by legal means?" she interrogated.
He gave her that annoying grin that caused her stomach to flip again, "wait for it," he countered with motioning her to be patient. She snared at his antics but humored him. Then off in the distance in the direction that he indicated she heard, "Snotlout Snotlout oy! Oy! Oy!" and the rapid firing of a light machine gun. Astrid sighed in disappointment at the Sargent's battle discipline. She noticed that Hiccup's expression turned into a frown with worry, "what is the issue Lieutenant?"
She stared into his enticing, calculating eyes and she forced herself to shake her head to regain focus on the situation when he replied, "It's way too quiet with the twins on the other side."
"What do you mean too quiet?" she questioned with worry beginning to seep into her words.
"The Thorston Twins are followers of the Aesir faith, devoted to Loki and the Battalion's leading experts with explosives. I wouldn't put it past them to smuggle some simulation grade explosives into the gym."
Her face paled at the implication of the enemy capabilities, "I am guessing that they are waiting to ambush us with our attention focused on Sargent Jorgenson's team."
She saw Hiccup nod with agreement. Astrid renewed her determination to win and swapped a new magazine into her assault rifle, "Lieutenant rejoin your team and continue with the original plan and keep Jorgenson's team occupied, while my team completes the mission."
She watched his eyes hardened in determination and replied, "affirmative Lieutenant," before rolling to his feet and swiftly linked up with his team.
Astrid blinked in her HUD to bring up the map and saw two yellow dots indicating her team several meters to her three o'clock holding that position, "V-2 and V-3 this is V-Lead regroup at my position and we will continue the original plan. Be alert for a potential ambush."
Her teammates icons flashed their acknowledgement and began to move to her location. With another set of eye commands the map with both team's icons minimized and saw a trio of green dots advanced through the ravine. She shakenly got to her feet as Heztra and Heather turned round the corner and gave the hand signal to advance up the slope at one o'clock to follow the ridge. Their icons flashed once more and the trio advanced in an arrow formation with Heather stubbornly taking point to protect their wounded commander.
The first dozen of meters of the ridge line were uneventful as gun fire and particle bolts echoed from the other side of the gym. Astrid was thankful for that, for her head was in constant pain from her head injury. The ability to focus on her team and the mission was strenuous and glad that Corporal Ozouf took point in the formation, for if she were honest with herself, her current state would get everyone killed. She turned around and scanned the formation's rear for hostiles with the relief that there were none. The number of Prometheans must have dwindled significantly after her engagement with the Knight Battlewagon and her otherworldly experience, she thought to herself with a frown. Her eyebrows scrunched together as she focused through the pain on the cryptic warning from the being called Astra, who claimed to be a Disir. A new challenge was apparently approaching that would cause her to dout who she was and what she served. She scoffed at that remark. Her expression changed to one of determination. She was Lieutenant Astrid Hofferson assigned to the 82nd Shock Trooper Battalion, Bravo Company, 1st Platoon, on special assignment to the 522nd Expedition and Reconnaissance Division on Outpost Berk. She served the UNSC and was a humanities sword and shield. She knew both those answers… So why did Astra's statement cause herself to question herself?
A whisper from the back of her mind interrupted her thoughts, "look up."
After meeting the Disir in person, even in a dream she linked this voice and the voice from earlier to Astra. She looked up and immediately spotted artificial flashing red lights spaced every five meters in the rockface. She recalled the warning from Hiccup from earlier and the blood drained from her face as she put two and two together.
She didn't care she was on the team channel and warned her sisters, "EXPLOSIVES! TRAP! EVADE!" Not a moment too soon and the C4 hidden in the cliff exploded in a string of thumps, causing rocks to rain down on the flat footed fireteam. The concussive blast staggered the team as they evaded the worst of the trap, only for secondary pops at their feet to release multicolor smoke to add more confusion. Her helmet automatically deafened its audio speakers to reduce the strain on her ears, but the shockwave still caused her ears to ring. She found herself on the ground after she dove to evade the falling rocks and disoriented. Pink, green, blue, and red smoke obscured her vision as she attempted to get to her feet and locate her team, but with no success. The smoke lit up orange as she could only look in horror as a UNSC 102mm rocket flew past her and detonated with a whish. She felt herself become weightless as the explosion flung herself off the ridge and to her surprise right into Lieutenant's Haddock's fireteam in the ravine below. Time seemed to slow down due to the adrenaline flowing in her system and if the situation was anything else, she may have laughed. She had a good view of Hiccup turning in her direction due to him reacting to the explosion above him. His green eyes visible through the clear visor of the standard issue Marine combat helmet suddenly filled with surprise then horror as he noticed the quickly descending ODST armor clad warrior heading straight towards him. With a dual thud she collided with Hiccup breaking her fall, knocking both of them to the ground and for the second time, to her annoyance she was greeted by darkness once more.
0953 hours, February 14, 2555 (Military Calendar)/ Omega Delta System, Research Outpost Berk, Planet FP-089.
Today has been fantastic, even by his calculated standards of almost dying every other day and it is not even 1000 yet, he sarcastically thought to himself. He laid on the ground attempting to get air back into his lungs after his latest problem literary fell from the sky and landed on him and currently on top of him, out cold. The first omen of the day was when he walked into the pre war game briefing with his team and found out that his fireteam's sister team were the Valkyries, led by Lieutenant Astrid Hofferson, the beautiful Valkyrie warrior goddess herself. The one that pulled him out of his garage when his latest project exploded. He thanked Odin then that he was the last to enter the room and no one noticed his gaping expression at the sight of Astrid and gave him time to calm himself down. He did not know if he wanted to punch his father or hug him about assigning the two of them to work together, but now that he was thinking about how this happened, the true culprit must have been Major Gothi. She must be on the ground laughing at their current entanglement as she was supervising the game with a medic team on standby. The old medical officer can be a sadistic old hag when she wanted to be and definitely when she plays matchmaker. To further her goals of spicing up life on Berk she must have planted the idea to assign a seasoned officer with him to his father, especially after hearing his drug induced sleep talking about Astrid.
With that conclusion in his mind, his lungs finally were able to properly inflate after Astrid landed on him, knocking the wind out of them. He tilted his head up to get a better view of the unconscious ODST lieutenant laying on top of him. A low moan left her lips as she began to regain consciousness. Her hand gripped the top edge of his chest plate as she tried to stabilize herself and her face visor tilted up as well. He could feel her sapphire, blue eyes lock on to his emerald, green eyes. He felt her body tense as he guessed that she realized the intimate position they were currently in. He dared not move a muscle in fear that he would make the situation worse and forced his arms away from Astrid. Apparently, Astrid was still determining her next course of action, for she has not moved herself. Eternity seems to have passed as he meets her stare, only to be shattered.
A singsong voice originated from on top of the ridge, opposite side from where Astrid fell, "oohhh! Love on the battlefield. She can do- CRACK! DING! Oof!"
Hiccup looked up in time to watch the subsonic sim 14x144mm slug pierce the air and slammed into the helmet of a female marine, carrying the twin tube M19 rocket launcher. The force of the round knocked her out of view. Cami coldly reported of the team network, "target removed." The love remark brought Astrid out of her daze and she scrambled off him, quite forcefully. As he opened his mouth to try to give advice for ways for her to get off him in the less awkward way possible. In her hast, her armored knee stuck his diaphragm causing the air to leave his lungs once more. Thoughts of being a gentleman left his mind as he struggled for air and he tried to get his mind back on mission.
Between ragged breaths, he responded, "Specialist... Camicazi... her brother... should be near... her position."
"Affirmative. Target located," there was a short pause, followed by another CRACK! A young man's voice screamed out, "I am hurt! Very much hurt!"
Corporal Dagur Ozouf ran past Astrid, who was doing her best not to look in Hiccup's directions and remained silent as she listened intently to her team's status report. Hiccup's view was blocked by Dagur's body, who had a massive grin plastered on his face as he offered a hand to him.
"Love on the battlefield aye LT?" he questioned with a smirk.
Hiccup's cheeks burned red at that remark as he grasped Dagur's hand, "you know you could have offered assistance much sooner Corporal."
Dagur pulled Hiccup back on to his feet, "I could have but by my view you were enjoying yourself. It would have been unwingmen like to ruin your guys' moment," he responded cheekily.
His already flushed cheeks became crimson as he glared at the Corporal. Dagur let out a maddening laugh at that reaction and slapped him on the back in a comrade fashion, which caused him to stagger slightly.
Through gritted teeth, "Corporal Ozouf take point, we need to get moving."
"Yes sir," Dagur responded with that unflinching grin as he jogged to the front position of the advance.
Heitz was passing him to support Dagur when Hiccup grabbed her arm gently to grab her attention. She turned her head towards him with a curious expression on her face.
Hiccup lowered his tone, "Doc cover our six for any Prometheans we missed and keep an eye on Lieutenant Hofferson in case her situation worsens." She nodded her head to acknowledge the order and took her position in the rear of formation.
Hiccup moved up to take the second position of the formation and looked back to the others. He noticed Lieutenant Hofferson using the rock wall to hold herself up and was looking off in the distance.
Hiccup opened a private comm line to her, "Lieutenant Hofferson we are ready to move, and we are down to six combatants between us and the mission objective."
He saw her flinched as if startled from a daze, "right… the mission." On the team channel, "All teams advance, overwatch cover us." She ordered.
He flashed his status icon to acknowledge the order. He was worried about her condition and did not know how to approach her on the subject. From his limited time fighting beside her, she was determined, stubborn, and the perfect example of an ODST officer. No matter how many times she is knocked down, she gets right back into the fight. He can respect that. Best not get in her way when she is on the warpath and standby to catch her… again if she collapses.
Hiccup's train of thought was interrupted, when he spotted Corporal Dagur singled the rest of the formation with a solid fist to halt the advance. He mirrored the command then signaled the others to take cover. Green indicators lit up in his HUD and green dots on his motion tracker staggered to either side of the ravine walls.
Hiccup patched Astrid into his fireteam's command channel for the status report, "report R3."
"Ma'am, Sir, this is the end of the ravine. It is about 60 meters of open ground from here to the mission objective. No eyes on hostile elements. This exit is the perfect kill box for the base defenders."
He saw the channel switch to team comm, "overwatch how are we looking?" inquired Astrid.
The chippy voice of the short sniper responded, "this is V4, positive ID on heavy weapon emplacement, 50 meters at your ten o'clock. Saw movement 40 meters at your two o'clock. No targets at this time. They are keeping their heads low after I removed two of them earlier."
Hiccup listened as Astrid collected information from the rest of the team, "V2, V3 status?"
"This is V2, V3 and I are at your three o'clock on the ridge. Got sights on the right defender's element. Once the shooting starts, we can out flank them and clear the position."
"Alright Valkyries and Riders here is the plan. R2 lay down covering fire on the left element. V4 take out targets of opportunity. R Lead you will stay here with me to hold our exfil route and cover the assault. R3, R4 assault the base and obtain the objective. We will pop smoke to cover your withdraw. V2, V3 clear the right element. We will begin the assault on my mark."
Hiccup acknowledged the order with an eye click command in his HUD and moved to position beside Astrid, Heitz, and Dagur. He glanced at Astrid and silently was in awe of her command presence, which just reinforced her warrior goddess beauty. Again, Astrid just showed the massive gap that exists between them in skill and capabilities as an officer. She is everything he isn't; calm under pressure, can make snap decisions, and she demands respect through actions. She is even suffering from a bad concussion and still outperforming him. His cynical side of his mind did a self-performance analysis and it just made himself feel worse. He was a joke of an officer and the majority of the base knew it. He got his commission due to his father pulling strings and not on merit. He did more harm than good to help complete the mission. Sooner or later he is going to mess up big and get people killed, then he can be dishonorably discharged and go back to life as an academic… if he survived the screw up.
Hiccup let out an undetected sad sigh that went unnoticed by the others as he inhaled deeply to clear his disparaging thoughts.
Astrid's voice brought him back to reality, "MARK!"
The tranquility that was created briefly after the last Promethean was destroyed, shattered once more by the rapid firing of gun fire. Adrenaline coursed through his veins, causing his senses to amplify in sensitivity and his muscles to tense due to the renewation of combat. To his surprise, this state he was in is completely different from what he has experienced before in extreme situations. He was calm, focused, and tuned to his surroundings. Every detail was collected and processed. He sensed Astrid to his right and began to bear her weapon to suppress the right element of defenders as he mirrored her actions with the left group. Impossible, he thought. This level of sync with another person should only be obtained through hours of working together. Not less than an hour of combat, but the evidence was presenting itself here. This sensation was as if they have trained together for an entire lifetime. He could foresee her every action. It was uncanny.
Putting aside this discovery, Hiccup brought his BR55HB rifle stock to his shoulder in a firing position and leaned out of cover to begin suppressing the left element of defenders. Each trigger pull caused the rifle to kick into his shoulder, sending a trio of simulation grade rounds down range. Between his and Andersen's M739 squad automatic weapon firepower kept the defender's heads down and prevented them from deploying their own squad automatic weapon.
Using his diaphragm to amplify his voice to be heard of the sounds of gunfire," NOW! R3, R4 MOVE IT!"
From the corner of his vision, Hiccup witnessed R3, Corporal Dagur, sprint across the 60 meters of open ground with R4, Apprentice Hospitalmen Heitz hot on his heels. Despite being just over half Dagur's size, Heitz was keeping up with him. Both of them vanished inside the interior of the defender's base as he pulled the trigger and an audible click sounded from his rifle. Quickly, Hiccup retreated behind cover as he ejected the spent magazine and retrieved another from his vest, inserting the fresh one and pulled the bolt back.
The lull in suppressive firing provided enough time for the defenders to rally. Hiccup flinched as sim bullets slammed into the edge of the rock wall next to him. Slowly chipping away the rock and showering him with rock and dust. The deep boom of an explosion from the direction of the right element of defenders echoed off the ravine walls before static came over the team channel.
A cough came over the channel, "This is V3 to V Lead, V2 took some grenade shrapnel to her chest. I cannot get to her. We eliminated one hostile, but the second has me pinned. Request assistance," crooked Heztra.
"This is V4 standby," a moment later the defining crack of the anti-material rifle registered over the battlefield followed by, "V4 target removed, you are clear in your area."
"Thanks V4. V lead performing aid now. Will give you an update once I complete initial analysis and field treatment."
Hiccup was waiting for an opening in suppressive fire at his position when he saw Astrid move up next to him, "Acknowledged V4."
At this time incoming fire shifts away from their position. "SHIT!"
The sound of gunfire striking rocks were audible from the comms, "this is V4, my rifle took incoming fire and is nonfunctional. V Lead I am no longer mission capable. Falling back to support R2's position."
Another voice can over the channel, "This is R3, R4 took a bullet to her leg. She can't move on her own. Two hostiles were eliminated in the base. We have secured the mission objective. Carrying both of them out."
Dread began to creep in on him, for carrying both the flag and Heitz would decrease his mobility. He performed probability calculations in his head at the probability of Dagur crossing the open ground in such a state. His calculation came out to be less than 30%, even with smoke grenades covering their exfil. Unless they changed the variables of the situation, they will lose the initiative and have higher casualties assaulting the defender's position. Technically, they would complete the mission, but with 75% casualties would degrade the overall ability of the team to further the mission.
Hiccup glanced at Astrid; she would not give up so he would not either. Renewing his determination, "Lieutenant Hofferson cover me! Going to take a look at the environment around their position!"
She nodded, "ok. On my mark. MARK!"
Hiccup saw her pivot around the corner and sent control bursts of sim rounds towards the defenders. He joined her but scanned the environment through the variable zoom scope on his rifle. His mind took in every detail such as a small rock formation 20 meters at his eleven o'clock and the natural fortress that was the position the last defenders were held up in. No inspiration came to mind.
Astrid's MA5B clicked as she discharged her last round, "COVER NOW!" She ordered.
A moment not too late as they hastily moved back into the ravine. The rapid firing of the defender's LMG shifted back to them. Resuming to chip away rock and dirt like a determined woodpecker from Earth to wood. Both of them braced their backs against the ravine wall as they attempted to control adrenaline induced breathing.
He heard Astrid mumbled, "Oh I am going to have that gunner spar with me while I have my Axe! Then I am going to club him with his own weapon. Oh Thor only if we can cause those entrenched marines to abandon their position willingly."
The mumbling stopped as he heard the satisfying click of a new magazine being slammed into her assault rifle. His eyes widened at the last thing Astrid said. He recalled the environment above the defenders' position, where a large boulder was barely kept in place by its smaller counterparts. If he could focus enough firepower at the base of the larger boulder then he would remove the supports and cause an avalanche right above the defenders. Hiccup redid his previous calculations with the new scenario, and he grinned like a madman. Failing to suppress his enthusiasm he grabbed Astrid by her shoulders with battlefield protocol thrown out the window, "you are a genius Hofferson!"
Her visor was not polarized so he could not see her expression, but her body language told him she was startled and extremely confused. "What are you doing Lieutenant?"
"Oh, something stupid. Trust me," Hiccup replied with his signature mischievous grin.
He readied himself for the execution of his jury rigid scheme and called upon his second wind, for this is the time to impress Lieutenant Hofferson.
"Once I get to a small rock formation, pop smoke and give R3 the go to cross," he said in a confident tone that surprised even him.
He did not look back at his baffled counterpart as he started phase one of his plan. Hiccup took in a deep breath then exhaled, "cover me!"
With that he dug in his heels to give him extra speed as he sprinted the 20 meters of open terrain. He heard the automatic bursts of an MA5B behind him as the Valkyrie leader did her best to buy him time. Halfway across the dirt around him began to kick up from large caliber sim bullets striking the ground. The fear of getting hit fueled him to even greater strides as his destination approached eight meters… five meters. A little further he told himself… two meters.
He slid the remaining distance into cover. Heavy breathing, he grabbed a smoke grenade from his utility belt, pulled the pin, and chucked the grenade midway to the base. Now phase two thought Hiccup. He braced his rifle on the meager cover and brought to bear the sights on the boulder's supports and squeezed the trigger. The first burst strikes a foot to the left of his target. He greeted his teeth in frustration and calmed his breathing. Inhale… exhale… squeeze. The second burst struck true, and the supports were weakened, causing some smaller rocks to become loose. He braced for the next burst. Inhale… exhale… DING! DING! DING!
Hiccup jerked from each impact from sim rounds colliding against his chest plate. He hit the ground hard on his back. The sudden force caused him to lose his grip on his rifle as it cladded out of reach. Again, the air was knocked out of his lungs from the impact as he got a great view of the simulated azure, clear skies of the gym. Having the air knocked out of him must be the recurring theme of the day, he thought sarcastically.
In his daze, he saw Dagur, partly obscured by the smoke, past him carrying both Heitz and the flag on his back. He was breathing heavily with droplets of sweat running down his face. He had the wild look of pure determination on his face as their eyes met. Heitz was doing her best to not hamper Dagur's ability to move as she fired her M6 sidearm at the defenders.
Of all the memories that could have passed through his mind. The memory of last night with his father came to mind. "Lieutenant, this is serious! You are no longer responsible for only your life, but your team's as well. From this point on your priority is to prepare them to fight and survive battles against the Promethean."
His father's motto repeated in his mind, "an officer protects his own… an officer protects his own," he mumbled.
He was not out of this fight just yet. His movements were sluggish from the sim rounds locking down parts of his simulation suit under his armor, but he still moved. He braced his hands on the ground to nearly lose his balance as the ground gave way. All his thoughts froze at this event. What!? He thought surprised. Is this a camouflage tarp? Curious he brushed the excess dirt away, revealing a tarp that was covering a hastily dug hole. Peeling away the tarp revealed an M41 SPNKR loaded with two 102mm warheads. Thank you, the Twins and their insane addiction to causing explosions!
With renewed strength, he lifted the hefty weapon on to his shoulders and shakenly got to his feet. Again, he trained the sights on the rock supports. He only needed one direct hit with the anti-tank shaped charge to complete his plan. A mighty swoosh followed the trigger squeeze, as the 102mm rocket left the tube. The warhead detonated low and jarred the defenders, causing them to seek shelter from the raining rocks. Hiccup recalibrated his aim and fired the second warhead.
The second one was a sight to see. The warhead flew true and hit the weakened support. The large boulder free from its spot rolled down the slope giving birth to the avalanche. The crashing of rock was audible across the gym as the natural fortress crumbled and trapped the defenders inside. Silencing the gun emplacement and guaranteeing Dagur made it back to friendly lines with the objective. The team channel exploded with the surviving team members asking for an update. Hiccup smiled. He actually did something right for once. His legs gave out as he laid his back against the rock that was giving him cover earlier.
The gym loudspeaker turned on, "end exercise. Fireteams Rider and Valkyrie won the game!" announced Col. Gobber. He grimaced as his armor unlocked and tried to stand but his chest exploded in pain. Ugg why does success have to be so painful? He asked himself.
"I got you Lt." Hiccup looked to the source and spotted Julia Heitz grab his arm and put it around her shoulder to bear some of his weight.
"Thanks Doc. I believe the infirmary is our next destination," asked Hiccup.
"It sure is Sir," responded Heitz with a small smile.