Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you for your support, thus far. I greatly appreciate any feedback that I can get.
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Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.
Halo
Underground Tunnel Network
September 20th, 2552
The interior of the Forerunner tunnel dome was quiet, with the only sounds made being the Grunts that were sleeping in the area. The various lights that illuminated the tunnel cast the place in a bright teal-white glow, while columns of light strips winked on and off sequentially. The only individual awake was a Grunt Minor that was on guard duty.
Capcap is bored, the Grunt thought as it milled about. Boss flappy jaws always doing something interesting. Just as it's train of thought would've continued, the Grunt heard something: a quiet, whooshing sound that echoed from the tunnel below. Stopping in it's tracks, the Grunt sniffed the air in an effort to determine what was going on.
It was about to find out. Moments later, the Grunt yelped as a large VTOL ascended from underneath. Somewhere in the Grunt's penile brain, it recognized the VTOL as a UNSC Pelican, though it had obviously been modified. In one moment, the alien screamed, running away as quickly as it could. Awakened by the screams of it's comrade, the other Grunts did the same thing.
In the Troop Bay of the Pelican, Chief watched the sight from his seat with stoic silence, while nearby, the joint SLDF/UNSC Marine contingent enjoyed a bout of chuckling and laughter at the sight. It was one of the very few times that they got the drop on the Covenant, and they were making the most of the moment. Alex and the Elementals with him also laughed, mostly in derision at the Grunts.
"Cowardly Grunt freebirths," Alex snorted.
"Tell me about it," Ward nodded.
Moments later, all conversation halted when Foe Hammer said, "This is as far as I can go, Cortana!"
"Roger that," Cortana replied as the Pelican moved over the platform. "We can make our way to the Control Room from here."
"Good luck. Foe Hammer out."
"Everyone out," Alex shouted, with Chief, Shaw, Ward, and the Marines quickly piling out, with Alex getting off last. With that, Foe Hammer quickly brought the Pelican around before descending back down the tunnel that she had used to get to the platform.
Once they were off, Alex said, "Alright, Marines. This is the plan. Chief, you will be the point man for this operation. Ward will provide long range fire support wherever applicable. I will work with Chief to neutralize any hostile forces. Shaw, you and the Marines will provide support wherever possible. Understood?"
"Yes, sir," the others replied.
"Good."
Just as he said this, a Marine shouted, "Hostiles incoming!" Right on cue, two Elites, a Minor and Major, emerged out of a large, pentagon-like door that was recessed into the dome's wall. Upon spotting the SLDF/UNSC contingent, they roared loudly before opening fire.
At the exact same time, the Marines, Elementals and Spartan opened fire as well. Bullets and laser beams cut through the air towards the Elites, who retaliated with plasma bolts from their weapons. "Scatter," one Marine shouted. "One man's a waste of ammo, five in a group's a juicy target!"
Just like that, the Marines scattered, making it much more difficult for the Elites to hit all of them at once, a tactic that Alex and the others copied as well. What made it easier was the fact that there was very little cover for the Elites. Without cover, they were sitting ducks, with the bullets and laser beams cutting into them before killing them.
It wasn't without a cost, though. Chief heard a choked cry and turned around, spotting a Marine that had taken a grizzly injury: a plasma bolt had hit his left hand, turning it into a lump of charred flesh. Said Marine had tears streaming from his eyes as he let out a howl of anguish. Nearby, an SLDF Corpsman was doing her best to ease the pain.
"He's too badly injured to keep fighting," she told Chief and Alex. "The plasma bolt completely destroyed his hand. There's nothing I can do, but ease the pain. When we get back, we'll have to replace his hand with a prosthetic, or a cloned limb."
"Do what you can for him," Alex replied. "Once we can get to an area where we can call in medevac, we will get him out of here. For now, you will have to sling him over your shoulders; remain in the back of the group so that you are not targeted as easy prey." Nodding at that, the Corpsman injected the Marine with a powerful painkiller, before slinging him over her shoulders in a fireman's carry. The Marines howls and cries of agony quickly became whimpers as the painkiller went to work.
Once she signaled that she was good to go, Chief and the others moved up, with the Marines stacking up on them. On a hand signal, they moved through the door, weapons at the ready as they advanced forwards through the massive hallway. Reaching another door on the other side, they waited for a moment before advancing inside.
The door opened to reveal a large, circular room that was split into two sections via a large, curved wall that was also split into sections by two entryways. Large windows were present, allowing a person to look into the interior of the other section. The interior section of the room had a deep chasm that was bridged by two glass bridges. The Covenant were present here as well, with Deployable Shields being present, along with some Grunts, a pair of Jackals, as well as an Elite Minor that was coordinating the defense.
Moving inside, Chief and the Elementals spotted the Covenant, opening fire with their weaponry moments later. On a signal from Chief, the group split up, with Shaw leading the Marines to the left, while Chief and Alex kept the Covenant occupied. Firing his M42D, Chief quickly neutralized the Grunts that were with the Elite, before targeting the Elite with his rifle. Alex, who spotted Chief's target, fired his laser rifle, cutting the Elite's shields apart and allowing Chief to neutralize the alien. The Elite collapsed to the ground, blood seeping from multiple holes in it's chest.
The loss of their commander caused the remaining Covenant to panic, with the Jackals and Grunts attempting to flee through the door behind them. Unfortunately for them, Shaw and the Marines had capitalized on the distraction Alex and Chief had made, trapping the unfortunate aliens in a pincer maneuver. The Marines, angered by what had happened to their comrade, tore into the Covenant with ruthless efficiency, reducing them into bullet riddled and laser cut corpses.
Moving on, they quickly traveled through the hallway, only to find themselves in another circular room. Fortunately, the Covenant resistance here was fairly minor, with only a handful of Grunts and Jackals. Eliminating them proved to be relatively easy, as the Covenant here lost cohesion very quickly without any Elites to rally them.
As Chief cut down the last of the Jackals, Cortana said, "The Covenant presence here is much stronger than I anticipated. They seem to have the entire region secured."
"That would make sense," Shaw remarked as he reloaded his MP-20. "Since this is where the Control Room is located at, it would be logical to assume that the Covenant would send their best forces to secure and occupy this region. I would not be surprised if we encountered a higher than average number of Elite Zealots or Ultras in this area."
"Agreed," Cortana nodded. "We'll have to be careful while we're here."
"Noted," Chief finished. With that, the squad proceeded through the door, moving through the hallway slowly as they advanced. Reaching the door, they waited a couple seconds before exiting the hallway.
Instead of entering another circular room, the squad found themselves standing on a long and wide bridge that spanned the length of a canyon. The bridge was anchored to the walls via immensely strong, angular supports, though no supports beyond the entrances were visible. The walkways were made out of the same, silvery-gray material that the Forerunners made widespread use of, with transparent metal paneling where they were at.
Looking up, Chief found that the sky was overcast, with thick, dark clouds that promised snow, if the temperature was anything to tell by. Before he could concentrate on the weather, he heard a faint sound to his left and right. Looking both directions, he spotted Grunts that were sleeping, with one right next to a Shade Turret. Using a private COM channel, he said, "Neutralize the Grunts, quietly. We don't want to alert the enemy."
"Got it," the others replied. Moving silently, the Marines drew their knives and silently slit the throats of the Grunts they could see. Within thirty seconds, purple colored blood coated the ground like paint.
As the Marines went about their grizzly work, Cortana scanned the area. "Interesting," she remarked. "The weather patterns here seem natural, not artificial. I wonder if Halo's environmental systems are malfunctioning… or if the designers wanted the installation to have inclement weather."
"I don't mind," one of the SLDF Marines remarked. "I was born on Kentares IV during the winter months, but I grew up at Tharkad. The snowy weather reminds me of home, though frankly, Tharkad had a lot deeper snow and worse weather than this ring so far."
"You get a lot of snow on Tharkad," Cortana asked.
"Yep," the Marine nodded. "It's pretty common to get at least eight feet of snow at the capitol city. I once fell into a snowdrift during winter as a kid; got buried up to my neck in cold, powdery snow. I didn't mind, though. To me, that was part of the fun." Right on cue, snow began to fall from the sky. The snowflakes were small, but it was clear that more snow was on the way.
Any small talk was promptly cut off when Chief heard a familiar sound, and one that he didn't like. "Get down," he ordered the others. Complying, the team quickly got to the ground, just as the source of the sound flew overhead. "Banshee," Chief told the others.
Before he could continue, a voice said, "This is Fire Team Zulu requesting immediate assistance from any UNSC forces. Does anyone copy? Over?"
"I didn't think there were any human forces left on this part of the ring," Cortana remarked.
"There are not," Alex remarked. "Fire Team Zulu was at Alpha Base before we left. Let me see if I can get O'Donnell on the line." Nodding at one of the SLDF Marines, he walked over to the man, who was carrying a Long Range MILCOM Kit on his back. On a motion from Alex, the Marine set the object onto the ground, before attaching a microwave transceiver onto the device. I hope those micro-satellites that the Autumn deployed are still up there, he thought as the Marine checked for a signal.
Fortunately, that was the case, as he gave Alex a thumb's up. Keying his MILCOM transmitter, he linked it to the Long Range MILCOM Kit before speaking. "Star Commander Alex to Colonel O'Donnell. Do you read me?"
There was static for a moment, before he got a reply. "Affirmative," O'Donnell replied. "What's your SitRep? Over."
"We are in the canyon network and are en route to the Control Room. We spotted UNSC personnel in the region, even though there was no one present here. Can you confirm? Over."
"Solid copy. Once you found the location of Halo's control room, I sent Fire Team Zulu to provide reinforcements, as well as to deliver any Combat Vehicles that we could spare. I've also gotten word that they are under fire. I'll inform them that you are on the way to provide fire support and to continue on to the control room. Those are your orders as of now. Over."
"Aff, Colonel. We will assist Fire Team Zulu and proceed to the Control Room. Over and out."
"Good luck, Star Commander. Colonel O'Donnell out." With that, the COM frequency went dead.
"Any luck," Cortana asked.
"Aff," Alex replied. "Colonel O'Donnell sent Fire Team Zulu ahead of us to provide reinforcements and to assist in capturing the Control Room. We need to move out and get to their location. They might also have a Combat Vehicle that will assist us in our efforts."
"Agreed," Chief nodded. With that, the squad began to move out. Just as they did, a Jackal spotted the group and let out an ear piercing screech. "We've been made," he told the others.
"Take them out," Alex shouted. With that, the squad immediately went to work. Again, working in near-perfect concert, the Marines went with Shaw, while Alex and Chief went to work neutralizing any Covenant that were ahead of them. This time, Ward was able to provide some fire support, thanks to the increased sight lines.
Spotting an Elite, Chief was about to fire when he heard a loud CRACK. At the same time, a ferrous slug zipped past Chief's head, before smashing into the head of the Elite in question. The Minor's shields failed under the immense strain, before the ferrous slug promptly atomized it's brain, flinging the headless corpse backwards all the while. Looking behind, Chief spotted Ward, with the man's Thunderstroke IV rifle recharging from the shot. All Ward did was give him a thumbs up, before changing targets.
While Chief, Alex and Ward handled the upper level, Shaw and the Marines found that the bridge had walkways connecting to the lower level. "Follow me," he told the Marines. "We can use the walkway to ambush the Covenant. They will not expect an attack from below."
"Nice idea, sir," one of the Marines beamed, with the others nodding in approval. Satisfied that he had the men's support, Shaw continued with them, firing a burst from his MP-20 at any Covenant that he spotted. Resistance on the lower level was much less intense than up above, with the Marines and Shaw quickly getting into position.
On the upper level, Chief, Alex and Ward were steadily making their way through the Covenant forces, weapons blazing as they fired. "Reloading," Chief reported as he dumped the empty mag and replaced it with a new one. That action nearly resulted in his death.
Hearing a roar, Chief looked up to see an Elite Zealot charging at him, Energy Sword fully activated as the alien charged. He was about to dodge when he heard Alex roar, "CHIEF!," before the Elemental tackled the Elite. This Elite, however, was much more experienced than most, as it quickly broke free of Alex's tackle, kicking him in the chest before getting up.
While experienced, it didn't anticipate Ward being a threat. It's shields shattered as a ferrous slug smashed into the alien, causing it to stumble. Rolling, the Elite swiped it's Energy Sword at Alex, who just barely dodged out of the way. He snarled as his HUD crackled from the energy contained inside of the plasma blade. This fucker is good, he thought as the Zealot charged at him, doing what it could to gain the upper hand.
This time, Alex went on the offensive, using his martial arts skills to counter and deflect each blow. As the two fought, Chief noted that the fight looked more like a dance than an actual fight, with the Elite slashing and stabbing, while Alex countered and dodged each attack. Raising his rifle, Chief fired at the Elite, only to see the bullets bounce off it's recharged shielding. Snarling, the Elite turned towards Chief.
That singular mistake was the Elite's undoing, as this action distracted it long enough for Alex to strike. Seizing the opportunity, Alex pulled his knife out, and in a blur, cut the alien's hamstrings, severing the tendons in two, precise slashes. Stumbling, the Elite attempted to get up, only for Chief to stab the alien in the bottom of it's head, his own knife coming out the top. Pulling the knife out, he let the corpse tumble to the ground.
"Thanks," he said to Alex as he cleaned the knife off. "That Elite nearly got me."
"Doing what I can," Alex replied. "You might not be a Clansman, but you are a fellow soldier. On top of that, I would not live it down well if you were to die on my watch." Hearing gunfire, he turned around to see Shaw and the Marines neutralizing the last of the Covenant, as they had been fighting while Chief and Alex had dueled against the Elite. "Good work," he told Shaw.
"Just doing my job," Shaw replied, as he casually reloaded his own SMG/PDW. "The Covenant did not expect an attack from beneath them." A moment later, he added, "We will also need more ammunition soon. I am down to four spare magazines, and the Marines are down to their third magazine."
"I can call for more ammo," Cortana told the others. "Just patch me into your Field Communicator and we should be good."
"Good." Alex nodded. With that, Chief and the others proceeded through the door, while Cortana used the LR MILCOM Kit in order to requisition supplies. More of the circular rooms that they had traveled through earlier were present here, and they were also filled with Covenant.
By the time they reached the last circular room, they were down to their last magazines in terms of ammunition, with some Marines having switched to their ER Laser Pistols which, while effective, were not ideal for the situation. Chief knew he was down to his last magazine, though that wasn't too much of a problem for him. I've salvaged weapons from the Covenant before, he thought. If I have to do it again, then I will do so.
Noticing a small, open passageway, he moved inside to make sure it was clear of hostiles. To his surprise, it didn't lead to another circular room. Instead, the doorway led to a small, tri-panel door that was barely tall enough for a Spartan to move through. Moving through the hallway, he found that it led to a circular platform that was just barely large enough for everyone to fit on. Looking around, he noticed that the platform didn't seem to have any cables. Must use anti-gravity to move up and down, he thought.
Moments later, Cortana confirmed what he was thinking. "Interesting… It looks like this is an elevator of some kind. No cables, which means it's like the Covenant Gravity Lifts, only on a much smaller scale."
"Agreed." Turning around, he quickly rendezvoused with the others. "We have a way to get to ground level," he told the others. "There's a lift up ahead. It's not large, but it can fit everyone."
"Good," Alex beamed. "Hopefully, the lower levels are not densely populated, if at all. If they are, we will need to get very… creative." Motioning to the Marines, they began to move forwards. Moving in single file, they traveled through the narrow hallway and entered the lift.
The small lift had barely enough carrying capacity for everyone, as it visibly sank once Alex and the others got onboard. Pressing one of the holographic panels, Chief felt the elevator beginning to move down, with the well lit shaft quickly moving past them as they descended. Seconds later, they reached the bottom, with the lift coming to a halt moments later.
Getting off quickly, the team advanced forwards, but stopped when Chief held up a fist in the air. "Wait," he told the others. "Motion tracker has enemy contacts ahead. Shaw, with me. Use your weapon only when necessary."
"Aff, Lead," Shaw replied, holstering his MP-20 and taking out his knife. Once ready, the two advanced forwards, with the door just ahead opening up. They entered a short, but wide, hallway that led into a hallway that had windows into a much larger room. To the left and right, between several blocky sections of the hallway, were Grunts that were fast asleep.
The two men didn't say anything, but they knew what they had to do. Drawing their knives, they quietly moved forwards and slit the throats of each of the Grunts. By the time they entered the hallway proper, purple blood coated the floor.
Spotting a contact, Chief held up a fist, before peering around the corner, eyes trained for the slightest movement. Within milliseconds, he spotted the source of the movement: an Elite Minor that was patrolling the area. He was about to issue orders when Shaw moved ahead, knife in hand as he quickly closed the distance between the Elite and himself. Before it could react, he shoved the knife through the base of it's skull, severing it's spinal column from it's brain. Dragging the body back, he hid it in one of the alcoves before returning to Chief. "Contact neutralized," he informed the Spartan.
"Good work," Chief nodded. With that, the two advanced forwards, knives ready. Reaching another section of the area, they peered around the corner to see what the OpFor was like.
The hallways in question looped around a large room that had some kind of machinery on the inside. Two small access ways traveled along the sides of the room, with a pane of transparent metal separating them from the main room. Blocky machines were present, though the two had no idea as to what purpose they served.
As for the OpFor inside, it wasn't anything too challenging. A pair of Skirmishers were inside, along with some Grunts and an Elite. Before the two could move behind the object they were behind, the Skirmishers looked in their direction. Chief's finger tensed as he reached for his rifle, ready to fire if need be.
Fortunately, he need not have worried. The Skirmisher in question, a Champion if he recalled correctly, raised a finger to it's beak in an imitating of a Human saying 'be quiet.' Drawing a plasma dagger, it motioned to the other Skirmisher to move towards the Grunts, while it moved towards the sole Elite in the area. In a flash of movement, the first Skirmisher leaped onto the Elite and plunged it's dagger into it's head, killing the larger alien instantly. At the same time, the other Skirmisher slit the throats of the Grunts.
With their cutthroat business finished, the two Skirmishers approached Chief and Shaw, who still remained on the alert. A moment later, the first one spoke, it's husky, deep voice echoing in the room. "My apologies, Demons, for not warning you of our presence earlier. Ever since our insurrection, the Sangheili have been highly paranoid as of late. Now that you are here, however, we stand a chance at defeating the Covenant, and stopping the doom of your species."
"Who are you," Chief asked.
"My name is Chuur'Vir, former T'Vao Champion of the Covenant. With me is Voor'Kir. We am a pair of the agents that Xhov planted in the Covenant."
"Can you prove this?"
"Yes." With a single motion, Chuur'Vir pulled out a small pendant from around his neck. The pendant was small, but it was ornately crafted, with a holographic display that could display a symbol. At first, it had the symbol of the Covenant, then that image shimmered, revealing a claw that was tearing that symbol apart.
When Chief saw that symbol, he knew what it was. According to intelligence the SLDF had shared, Xhov's agents wore a pendant that could display those symbols, with the latter symbol indicating that they were double agents working for the KigYar Insurrectionists and, in turn, the SLDF. As such, when he saw it, and when Cortana's scans came back positive, he knew Chuur'Vir was telling the truth. "Thank you," he said to the T'Vao before standing up. "Do you have intel on the OpFor ahead?"
"Yes," Chuur'Vir nodded. "The Covenant are becoming more paranoid. They have numerous Wraiths and Ghosts in the area ahead, and a number of Sangheili Majors, Ultras, with a Zealot that leads the entire operation."
"And our forces?"
"The Pelican they were using was downed, but the troopers have survived and are awaiting rescue. They have also dropped off a Pur… Par…" Turning to Voor'Kir, he asked, "What did they call it again?"
"A Patton IV," Voor'Kir replied. "It's named after a Human that lived during their Second World War. I've read up on him myself; I wouldn't mind serving under a man like him."
"Thank you." Turning back to Chief, he said, "Like my friend said, a Patton IV is ready to go. However, we will have to get past the Wraith in the next area first."
"Let's go." With that, the squad, along with the Skirmisher defectors, began to move forwards, weapons at the ready as they advanced. Reaching the door, they halted for a few seconds before advancing forwards, moving through the narrow hallway before exiting said hallway.
When they came out, they found themselves at ground level, with snow covering the ground that they were coming out onto. The gorge was wide, with enough room to land three, or even four, Lepoard DropShips with room to spare. A small bluff was located ahead of them, and another was off to their right in the distance. The gorge continued onward, with a gap in the walls leading to the next gorge in the area. To their left was a small cluster of trees.
Said trees had been reduced to little more than charred sticks, as a Wraith was shelling the area with Plasma Mortar shells. A pair of Shade Turrets, one on the bluff ahead, and one right next to the exit, were firing on SLDF and UNSC Marines that were taking cover where the charred trees were at. So far, the survivors were putting up a fierce resistance, but if this continued, it was clear they would be overwhelmed without help. Some Ghosts were also present, and were harassing the survivors as well.
Looking around, Chief made a brief assessment of the fight before he said, "Alex, I'll handle the Ghosts as well as the Wraith."
"Agreed," Alex nodded. "Shaw, take the Marines and link up with the survivors. Ward, being providing long range fire support. I will go with Chief. It is high time the Covenant were taught a lesson today."
There were shouts of agreement, and then, the squad advanced forwards. Moving to the left, Shaw and the Marines with them moved to reinforce the survivors at the charred trees, while Ward began firing on high value targets. Neutralizing the Shade Turret outside of the entrance, Chief and Alex began moving towards the Ghosts in the area.
As he charged forwards, Chief watched as his vision began to sharpen, while time seemed to slow down to a crawl compared to before. He knew the phenomena well, as he had experienced it multiple times throughout his career: Spartan Time. Nearby, he noticed that Alex was moving at the same pace he was. Probably has similar augments that have a similar effect, he deduced, his mind moving far faster than before.
Within seconds, the Spartan and Clan Elstar were on top of the Ghosts. With fluid precision, Chief leaped into the air, landing with his full weight onto the front of the Ghost. The driver tried to shake him off, to little avail, as Chief's grip on the vehicle was like Endo Steel. Swinging around, he used both legs and feet to kick the Elite out of the driver seat, before ramming into the alien with the Ghost, killing it. Nearby, Alex did something similar, with the only major difference being that he grabbed the Elite by the neck and hurled it out of the driver seat.
With some firepower commandeered, they moved in on the Wraith, firing the Plasma Repeaters built into the Ghosts they had hijacked. The Wraith's armor plating is too strong for a direct assault, Chief decided as he analyzed the vehicle, but it's rear armor plating is vulnerable to attack. A moment later, he said, "Alex, keep him busy. I'll fire on the rear armor. It's weaker there."
"Aff," Alex replied, before focusing on the Wraith's front with single minded intent as he strafed left and right. With the Wraith's driver occupied, Chief was able to move around towards the back, before firing the Plasma Repeaters into the rear armor plating, specifically the exhaust vent. High energy plasma was forced into the exhaust vent, with the cooling systems for the Wraith's power plant being overloaded.
Instead of detonating, the Wraith shut down, as it's systems attempted to remove the excess heat. Capitalizing on this, Chief got out of his Ghost and, using his superhuman strength, leaped onto the top of the Wraith. Moving towards the front, he repeatedly smashed his armored fist into the thin metal that served as the Crew Compartment door, before tossing a grenade inside once a hole had been made. With that accomplished, he leaped off of the vehicle, landing next to Alex moments later.
Instead of a spectacular explosion, there was a muffled WOMP that came from inside the tank. The vehicle promptly settled onto the ground, now that the crew had been disabled. Scorch marks on the nanolaminate plating was plainly evident, courtesy of Alex's diversion. Turning to Chief, he said, "Thank you for killing those stravag. I was not sure how much longer I could dodge those plasma shells."
"You're welcome," Chief replied. As he said this, he heard footsteps, which prompted him to turn and look at one of the surviving Marines they had rescued.
"Master Chief, Sir! Good to see you," the Marine shouted.
"What's the situation?," Chief asked.
"Not too good, but we're fine now, thanks to you," the Marine replied. "The Covenant gave it their best shot, but they didn't count on running into the biggest squad of Marine bad-asses in the Corps."
"Do you know where the others are?"
"Up ahead, past that small embankment where the entrance to the next gorge is at. The Pelican is down, but we've got ammunition, supplies, and one bad-ass vehicle ready to go. I kinda thought the Patton MBT that the SLDF uses would look like the Scorpion. It looks much different in person."
"Got it." With that, the squad advanced towards the next gorge. Spotting the small drop, Chief dropped down the six feet drop and into the next gorge, with the others quickly doing so. Once they were on ground level, they advanced forwards.
The area up ahead was fairly small, with a frozen stream that surrounded a small island in the middle of the area. On the right was a tunnel that had lights, with the tunnel leading into the next area, while a gorge to the front led to the same area, only from a different angle. On the left was the downed Pelican. Looking at the Pelican, Chief could see the cause of it's crash-landing: one of it's thruster wings was badly damaged, which had resulted in the vehicle being forced to crash-land.
On top of that, the Covenant presence here was fairly strong as well. Looking ahead, Chief spotted a squad of SLDF/UNSC Marines that were fighting tooth and nail for their survival against a cluster of Covenant, with a Sergeant directing the forces to the best of his ability. They were surviving, but not without cost. Several Marines had fallen, with some sustaining severe injuries, while four had been killed.
Looking around, Chief spotted the force multiplier that would give them victory against the Covenant, and provide a means through the next few areas. It was a tank, but it looked nothing like the Scorpion, as the tank had a low profile, with the turret located near the center of the chassis itself. Two tracks were on either side of the vehicle, with the engine, presumably a ICE or Fusion Engine, located in the rear. A gun turret was on the top, and the tank gun was on the front of the tank turret.
Fortunately, it was also manned, as the SLDF had the foresight to make sure trained personnel could use it. The tank surged forwards on it's tracks, with the gun turret quickly turning and firing. A pulsing laser beam cut through the air, with several Grunts and Jackals falling dead to the ground. Thanks to the tank being manned, it wasn't long before the Covenant had been neutralized.
That was when Chief and the others joined the others. "That's the last of 'em," the Sergeant shouted. Spotting Chief, he spotted a few jumpy Marines turning around, weapons in hand. "Stand down, team!," he shouted. "They did their damnedest, that's for sure." Walking over to Chief, he said, "About fucking time you showed up! This is all that's left of my platoon! The Covenant are down here in force… and they brought plenty of toys! I wouldn't have given us a snowball's chance until you showed up, Chief."
"Aw, crap. Let's get the hell out of here, man!" a Marine moaned. "Somebody call the dropship!"
Just as the Sergeant was about to admonish the man, drill sergeant style, one of the Marines took care of the problem. Walking over to the panicked man, the Marine slapped his comrade in the face, not hard enough to injure, but enough to let the man know that he was in disgrace. "Shut up!," the Marine shouted at his panicking comrade. "Show some backbone, amigo. We're all in this together!" That was enough to make his comrade stop panicking.
"Thanks, son," the Sergeant beamed. Turning to Chief, he said, "The Colonel was kind enough to have one of his Pattons strapped to the back of the Pelican. We had to drop it off before we crash-landed, though. Armor's nice and dandy still, but they took casualties. The tank driver's dead, but the gunner and commander are alive and well still. They're willing to let you take command if you want to."
"Affirmative," Chief nodded. Turning to Alex, he asked, "Orders?"
"Shaw will accompany the Marines, while Ward and I will provide long range fire support," Alex decided. Turning to the Marines, he shouted, "Men, grab some ammunition and prepare for a fight. Medics, treat the injured to the best of your ability. Chief, get yourself into that tank, NOW!"
With that, each man began following their orders. As they approached the tank, Cortana said, "Huh, I didn't expect a similarity between the two?"
"Between what," Chief asked.
"The Patton IV has a very close resemblance to the M1A3C Abrams from 21st century Earth. Allow me to put some light on the subject." Moments later, Chief saw the image of the tank Cortana mentioned pop up on his HUD. Looking at the two tanks, he could see what Cortana was getting at. The two tanks shared near-identical aesthetics, though Chief knew that appearances were deceiving. It was likely that the two were very different on the inside.
As he walked towards the tank, he heard voice over his COM unit speak "Chief, O'Donnell sent us along. The tank driver/gunner was killed before he could get inside, so I had to take over the driver/gunner role. Not easy, but I did qualify for driving tanks, so we weren't completely helpless. Tank Commander William O'Connor, at your service."
"What are the controls," Chief asked.
"Just link to the tank's system with your CNI and you should be able to drive it," O'Connor replied. "The means of driving it is like your Scorpion. Just enter through the port in the front, and you should be able to get in."
"Yes, sir," Chief replied, walking over to the tank. Spotting the entrance at the front of the tank, he quickly clambered inside. Once he was inside, he closed the armored hatch behind himself.
Looking around, he found the interior was more spacious than that of a Scorpion, with two seats that were arranged with their backs pointed towards the center. The driver/gunner seat was positioned at the front, and was offset towards the right side of the vehicle, while the Commander sat at the rear of the interior compartment. Computer screens and electronics were present at each station, while a heater kept the interior comfortable for the crew in the cold environment outside.
That was when he spotted Tank Commander O'Connor. O'Connor was a dark skinned man, but his bright blue eyes shone like a lighthouse in a storm. "Chief," he said, patting the Spartan on the shoulder, "glad to make your acquaintance."
"Status on the weapons?"
"Our A-AC/10 has enough ammunition to go several fights, so we're good there. Armor is slightly dinged up, but it's still in the green, and our Fusion Engine is purring like a kitten. I'll call out targets and give commands, while you fire the gun, if that's OK by you, of course."
"Yes, sir," Chief nodded. With that, the two settled into their roles. Sitting in the driver/gunner seat, Chief spotted the neurohelmet that lay to the side, but he also noticed a modification to the seat. It was clear that the Huragok that had come with the Autumn had modified the seat to accommodate people with CNI's. Sitting down, he watched as Cortana linked the CNI with the systems onboard the Patton, allowing him to control the vehicle as easily as his own body.
Once the system diagnostics were completed, he keyed the MILCOM system and said, "Alex, I'm ready to move out."
"Roger that," Alex replied. "We will provide fire support on foot. I will call for an APC drop off if possible. As for your orders, neutralize any Combat Vehicles ahead of your position. Move out." With that, Chief began moving the tank forwards. The Covenant was about to get a taste of the SLDF's idea of armored combat, if they hadn't already.