Chapter 40: Bleeding Skies

"Come on, Sosa, run them over! Decatur, divert everything you can to the engines!"

Vivian gripped the edges of her seat as the I'm Alone barreled towards a limping CAR-class frigate. Tracers from the point defense guns lit up the enemy ship's unshielded hull and tore apart the purple armor plating. Hitting the intercom button, Vivian leaned into it. "All hands, brace for impact!"

I'm Alone smashed into the frigate. The massive titanium ship rocked and shuddered, throwing some of the bridge staff officers onto the deck. Vivian was able to stay in her seat and watched the purple hull, twisting metal, and plasma flames pass by. Looking at the starboard and port side cameras, she watched the two halves of the enemy vessel drift away. But nobody cheered as they would in any other battle. Everyone returned to their stations, began feeding data to the relevant stations, and began calling out targets. Ahead of the I'm Alone's bow, the battle over Port Sanchez raged. All around, interceptors dueled with orbital-capable Banshees and Seraph-class fighters. Everywhere, there were explosions and detonations. MAC-platforms zeroed in on an enemy DAV-class corvette attempt to attack I'm Alone. First, the shields went, and then the ship broke up and exploded as a salvo of MAC rounds struck it. A UNSC destroyer called the Shores of York charged, cut a SDV-class corvette in half, but then was struck on the port side of the bow by plasma torpedoes from a CRS-class light cruiser. Titanium armor plating buckled, warped, and broke apart. Secondary explosions rippled along the bow. More explosions rocked the Shores of York and then the ship exploded.

Vivian's battlegroup was holding their own. Frying Pan was coming down on an exposed light cruiser while Determined Guardian came from underneath.

"Determined Guardian, Frying Pan, I'll pull hard to starboard!"

"Roger, Frying Pan! We'll stay out of your lane!"

Both frigates fired their MAC's simultaneously, one golden streak shooting upwards and the second cascading downwards. The rounds struck at that same time, breaking up the cruiser. Then, the frigates plowed through the wreckage and gracefully passed one another. They looked so close it seemed like if someone leaned out of a window they could have grazed their fingertips against the other ship's hull.

"HORNET detonations seven kilometers, three-hundred fifty degrees," Decatur reported. Vivian looked ahead and saw a string of explosions blossoming across the blackness of space. Although several heavier ships' shields prevented major damage, several smaller tonnage Covenant ships were heavily damaged, immobilized, or destroyed.

"I'm Alone, River Styx." Rundstrum sounded very tense. "I've laid out the last of my mines on likely avenues of approach. But this fight is heavy tonnage, I don't know how much assistance I can render. I'm...sorry."

The sincerity in his voice was almost moving. He sounded almost choked up. As hyper-aware and adrenaline-fueled as she was, Vivian couldn't help but feel moved. Captain Rundstrum the officer and the man, not the ONI spook, was speaking to her at that moment. One sailor to another, honest, plain, the true character revealed. Smiling, she pressed her finger on the comm channel.

"Roger, River Styx, wave off to a safe distance spot targets for MAC platforms and friendly ships."

"Copy, I'm Alone. Captain, one more thing. If the Covenant—"

"Ma'am, we've got a CPV-class heavy destroy bearing down at us, dead ahead!" Sosa reported.

The long, curved ship was heading right towards them. All along the hull, Vivian could see its plasma weapons flaring.

"Decatur, divert power back to the MACs. Bassot, firing solutions sent."

"Thirty seconds!" Bassot shouted back. Vivian monitored her data as sweat rolled down her forehead. Decatur fed her terminal his analytics. She waited for him to finish processing. She began to smile. The Covenant ship was forty-five seconds away from being able to fire. By overclocking the MACs, the I'm Alone could disable the shields with its first salvo and then knock out the ship with second with time to spare.

Koroma wheeled around in her seat, one hand pressed against her earpiece.

"Ma'am, Batavia is requesting assistance. She's taking harassing fire from a swarm of Seraphs and there's a fleet of Phantoms attempting to board. They're supported by a frigate. She's lost a lot of her guns."

Vivian checked the starboard side tactical display. The entire map of the system was alive with yellow and red dots. More red ones were appearing while the amount of yellow dots steadily diminished. Seeing the tag, 'UNSC BATAVIA,' attached to one dot, she activated her starboard cameras. A few kilometers away, Batavia was faring badly. Multiple rupture's in the carrier's hull were burning. For everyone that became sealed by the damage control crews inside, another hit from the enemy frigate tore a new gap. Her engines seemed to be weakening.

"Patch me through to Batavia," Vivian ordered. Koroma gave her a thumbs-up a moment later. "Kelly, I need a no-shit report: can you hold out?"

Seconds felt like ages. Vivian's shoulders heaved with every heavy breath.

"Negative, I'm Alone. Half my bridge crew is down, one of my MAC's is in-op. If the boarding parties get in, I'm not sure we can fight them off. I've got a mass casualty situation. Even if we do, that frigate is giving us a bad beating."

Vivian looked up at the approaching destroyer. The I'm Alone's MAC guns were almost ready as were the Covenant ship's weapons. It seemed to be increasing speed, like it was going to fire and then ram the ship. Her emerald eyes darted back to the cameras. Batavia was attempting to disengage but her engines were flaring. All around, the enemy fighters harassed and bombarded the hull. Phantom drop ships closed in. After a few moments, her brow furrowed.

"Sosa, hard to starboard, ninety degrees!" Vivian ordered.

"Ma'am, what about the enemy destroyer?" Bassot asked, wild-eyed at his station.

"We're going for the Batavia. Decatur, whatever that destroyer is about to throw at us, can we take it."

"Projecting," Decatur said, flashed, and then passed his analysis onto her terminal. I'm Alone would survive but just barely. But the damage they sustained would nearly put the ship out of action. And that enemy destroyer would not let up. Vivian made her decision.

"Bassot, new coordinates. Take out that frigate. Then prep whatever Archer Missiles we have left. We're going to get those fighters off of Batavia and by her time to escape. Kelly, you copy that?"

"But Captain—" His voice was desperate and pleading. Vivian cut him off.

"Dispatching fall back coordinates for you," Vivian said, snapping her fingers and pointing at Tsang. The operations officer nodded and began plotting an escape route. "Proceed at once. We'll cover you."

"Captain..."

"Just do it," Vivian ordered and cut the channel. "Bassot, ready?"

"MAC's are hot!"

"Fire!"

I'm Alone shuddered and the guns thundered. Two golden streaks shot out from the bow, blasted through space, and crashed into the enemy frigate's shields. For a moment, the blue shield flared, then it flickered, and finally died. Bassot didn't wait for orders, he fired the second salvo. Both struck simultaneously; one round struck amidships, tunneling through the armor plating, and the other hit underneath it, tearing the midsection apart. Secondary explosions rippled from the impact sites going forward and aft. Seconds later, the entire ship exploded. Meanwhile, Batavia was pulling away and moving at half-seed towards the nav-marker Tsang sent them. Every Phantom increased speed to catch up. I'm Alone burst into the cloud of dropships and fighters. "Fire everything!" Vivian shouted at Bassot.

Every Archer Missile pod released and all the ship's point defense guns opened fire. Explosions blossomed everywhere. Seraph fighters disintegrated into dust and the enemy dropships burst into flames. Some who managed to avoid being struck by the missiles were smashed by the I'm Alone's bow.

Vivian didn't see any of it. Observing the port cameras. The enemy destroyer loomed closer, then it's weapons flared, and fired. Plasma beams arced from either side of the ship, followed by torpedoes and plasma shells from its cannons. "Sosa, increase speed! Decatur, push the engines! Overclock the reactors if you have to!"

It was not enough. Some of the plasma shells missed by the beams tore into the I'm Alone's hull. A red light began flashing in the bridge. Officers were knocked out of their stations. Voices flooded through the intercom announcing breaches in the hull and fires on multiple decks. Plasma shells struck the port side and exploded, melting the outer layers of the hull. Damage control reported they were losing personnel as they attempted to patch and seal the hull. One large explosion knocked Vivian to the deck and she hit her head on the edge of her console as she did.

Wincing, she gripped the side of her head. When she took it away it was covered in blood. Pulling herself back into her seat, she observed the cameras. Six plasma torpedoes were soaring at the ship, lacking the speed of the shells or instantaneous nature of the beams. When they were a kilometer away, a massive silver wall appeared across the cameras. Vice Admiral Travers's ship absorbed the blow, the plasma explosions billowing across her hull. Across the bridge, there was a collective gasp, a breath of air of relief and horror.

For a moment, Vivian thought the ship would explode. As it turned, she saw the entire starboard side was on fire.

"All ships, proceed to I'm Alone's rally point," Travers broadcasted across FLEETCOM 7. "We're evacuating the system. All MAC platforms, provide covering fire. Any ships in fighting shape, move in to support Port Sanchez's evacuation."

He turned his massive cruiser so he could bring his guns to bear on the destroy. The Covenant ship had changed direction to avoid a collision and now its stern was exposed. A salvo of MAC rounds destroyed its shields and a swarm of Archer Missiles crippled the engines. As it attempted to limp away, a final MAC round pierced the engines and detonated them.

Vivian sat back and breathed in deeply.

"Sosa, proceed to Batavia's rally point. Tsang, update: how many ships have we lost in the battlegroup?"

The operations officer turned around in his seat. He offered a small smile.

"None, Captain."

Vivian ran her clean hand over her face, kept it over her mouth, and released a shaky breath. After another, she straightened herself out, smooth her hair back, and cleared her throat.

"We need to start pulling people off the planet. Scramble every dropship we have and every available attack craft to cover them. I don't want any of the Seraphs to get even close to them. Tsang, what's it looking like on the ground?"

"It's hairy, ma'am. Covenant forces are already in the base, they've got a forward operating base to the west. A joint armor-infantry flanking maneuver is coming from the southwest. Covenant ships have already started glassing sections of the planet. From what I can tell, most of the plains are on fire."

Vivian's gut tightened. If the plains were burning, then any civilians who didn't get into the base beforehand were dead. She closed her eyes, composed herself, and focused.

"Commander Solak, keep updated regarding damage control. Once repairs are complete and they give approval, we'll try to lend some orbital support. Koroma, draft a communique to Determined Guardian, Lion's Den, Frying Pan, and Double-Down. I'm dispatching them for in-atmosphere support, we need to provide as much cover as possible."

"Yes, Captain," Koroma said, but then listened to her earpiece. "Ma'am, River Styx is hailing us for a closed, secure video transmission."

"Feed it to my terminal."

A moment later, Rundstrum appeared on the screen. He looked anxious.

"Waters, listen to me. When we first arrived here, the Covenant were trying to activate that starmap artifact. Now that's activated, and they take the planet, they can use it to find hidden systems and more of our colonies. But you'll need to send a team in to either download the database or scrub it clean."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "Look, I know we agreed that ONI wouldn't get to touch it. But I had my own personal research time from River Styx conduct research of their own and send the data back to Sec-Three. I'm sorry I lied to you."

A series of messages from Rundstrum appeared on her screen. She opened them, her mouth agape. Packets of data were attached to each message. "Look, my team barely understands this stuff even after months of research. But if I'm reading this correctly, you might be able to pull or wipe the starmap using an AI."

"We've got more than a few operating throughout the Port," Vivian said slowly. "I'll organize a team to collect one and send them in."

"No, those are your average models. You need a Smart AI."

Vivian slowly looked at Decatur. The blue hologram turned and faced her. His perplexed expression shifted into one of pure delight and daring.

"Am I going on a mission?" he asked eagerly. Vivian cracked a smile.

"Yes you are, commodore, and I'm coming with you."

Vivian turned her attention back to Rundstrum. The ONI officer almost looked sheepish sitting in front of the camera. Slowly, his eyes met hers. "If we survive, you and I are going to have a little chat after this."

"Move the patients through the eastern and northern exits!" Jasmine shouted as she ran down the halls. The tails of her white lab coat billowed as she slid around the corner and dodged a litter being carried by two hospitalmen. Walking wounded hurried by, briefly making way for more stretcher-pounded injured. Marines and Army troopers guarded doorways and exits. Outside, Warthog engines growled as the crews assisted the hospital staff and patients inside. More trucks were arriving to assist.

Jasmine looked into every single room and ward she came across checking to see if anyone was being left behind. Each room she checked was clear. When she came into the hospital room for long-term patients, she saw no one at first glance. But just as she was leaving, she saw a privacy curtain still standing. Darting in, she scampered around it and was relieved to see the bed was empty.

Before she exited, she went over to the window. Thousands of aliens were storming into the base's southern side. Massive charges had blown three huge gaps in the outer wall and their tanks had plowed through the double-layer of high fences. A few Army positions were holding out while the Covenant bypassed them. The sight reminded her of ocean surf swirling around beach-bound rocks. One by one, the UNSC positions began to fall. Multiple towers were burning. Some meters away, the command building was under siege by Wraiths. White-blue plasma mortars bombarded the building and Covenant infantry attempted to storm it. But the joint Army-Marine force had surrounded it with hastily construct sandbag redouts. M12's pulled up and added their M41's to the fight, cutting down swaths of infantry. But the Wraiths shifted their fire and destroyed some. M808's also arrived, destroying the first rank of enemy tanks and blasting huge caps in the swarm of Covenant.

More Wraiths were coming in. Some directed their fire on the CP, others on the Scorpions, and then one rank fired right at the hospital. Jasmine watched the plasma mortars coming in only for a moment. Diving onto the ground and covering her head, she listened to the plasma strike. The window behind her burst and showered her with glass. The concrete absorbed the heat but the impact shook the whole building.

Getting up, she scrambled out and back through the throng of escaping personnel. She put a finger to her earpiece. "Nate, what's the status of the evac?"

"Somewhere around eighty percent I think. No, eight-five. Uh, I got this guy, Lieutenant...Roberts. He says everybody's on the bottom floor. We've got more vehicles inbound and a steady trickle taking them to the airfield."

"Okay. I'm going to make one more round."

"Jasmine, the Covenant are closing in! Get down here and evac!"

She didn't listen. Tearing around a corner, she practically catapulted herself up the stairs. On the second landing, she saw a patient standing with an MA5C and tactical vest by a window. It was Nora Langley.

"You! Get down there this instant!" Jasmine shouted, pointing at the downward staircase.

"I can fight," Langley wheezed, laboring from her injuries.

"No, you can't. Orderly!"

As a hospitalman came pounding up the steps, Jasmine took away the rifle and the vest. "Go, go. If you see Nate, tell him I'm coming soon."

As Langley was taken away, Jasmine took off her lab coat, donned the vest, buckled it, and then picked up the MA5C. It was loaded with a full magazine. Checking the safety, she proceeded up the stairs. Racing down the halls, she checked every single room once more. Everything was clear but the pounding in her heart told her to keep going. Up onto the third floor, she checked the rooms, then the fourth, and the fifth. She found nobody yet her fear was not quenched. "Come on Jasmine, you've made a mistake, you've left someone, you've overlooked a room, come on, come on..." she spoke to herself as she went up to the sixth floor. It was empty.

She began heading towards the stairs.

"Jasmine!" Nate sounded distressed. "We've got Covenant infantry heading right for the hospital. I don't think the guys out front can hold for long. You need to get down here now! Jasmine? Jasmine, respond! For fuck's sake, Jasmine, talk to me!"

She bolted up to the seventh floor. Her eyes were wide with fear. Jasmine checked every room twice. "Jasmine! They're in the building!"

Jasmine stopped at the stairs. She looked up and then down. There were still four more floors to check. Her heart was in her throat, her mind ran in every direction, and her legs trembled. She didn't want to leave anybody behind. She couldn't. But she was afraid of the Covenant surging into the building too. If they got to her, she wouldn't last long. To run now without ensuring everyone was out seemed impossible. Could she live with it?

She turned and ran upstairs.

"Just give me one minute!" she said.

"Goddammit Jas!" Frost screamed. "I'm coming to get you. Bishop, Knight, Maddox, follow me!"

The comm channel ended. Jasmine raced through the halls, up the stairs, and through every room until she was on the top floor. Every ward was clear. Satisfied, she turned around and ran to the nearest stairwell. Storming down them, she was smiling. It was one of relief rather than glee. Her legs ached and her muscles felt like they were burning. But she could leave now knowing she did her duty.

Skidding onto the first floor, she joined the tail end of the trail of patients leaving. Suddenly, plasma came flying down the hall. Blue and green bolts cut down dozens of horrified, screaming patients. Jasmine stepped into the hall, raised the rifle, and returned fire. Skirmishers came skittering towards her.

"Stay away from my patients!" she screamed and cut several down before the magazine ran out. Before she could reload, one of the shrieking Skirmishers jumped at her. She slammed the buttstock of her MA5 against its jaw and deflected it. As it recovered, she brought the weapon down on its head until she could see its brains. More plasma came down the hall. Grunts squealed and Skirmishers squawked. Jasmine turned around, reloaded, and fired back at them. An Elite Major in shining orange armor came storming down the hall. She shifted her fire and tried to drain its shield. But her magazine ran out before she could. Discarding its plasma rifle, it activated its plasma wrist blade and lunged at her. Jasmine gasped, stepped back, and raised her weapon. The blade went right through the barrel of the MA5C and stopped a few inches away from her heart.

"Jasmine!"

Frost tore into the Elite, making it stumble. She saw his KA-BAR knife rise in the air but the Elite caught his wrist, grabbed him by the neck, and then threw him against the opposite wall. When it went to finish him off, Bishop came into view. He depleted its shield with a shot from his M90. Before he could fire the next, the Elite ripped the weapon from his hand, slammed him against the wall, and held it up. Bishop kicked and punched as hard as he could. Jasmine jumped on the Elite's back and tried to hit him in the eyes. It was a strong creature and resisted her attempts. The alien activated his wrist blade and drove it towards Bishop. It sank into his shoulder and the Marine screamed.

A third Marine slammed into the Elite, forcing it to drop Bishop. Knight tried to jam his pistol in the alien's maw but it swung wide. Knight's eyes widened as the tip of the wrist blade came across his stomach. Blood began to seep from his wound. He fell over, cried out, and clutched the wound.

Jasmine struggled and squeezed its neck. But it reached over its shoulder, grabbed her, and Jasmine was flung through the air. Landing on Knight and bouncing off him, she scrambled back to her feet. The Elite attempted to stab Bishop but Frost caught its arm. Despite his wounds, the former grabbed its other hand. Caught between the two men, the Elite began to thrash and whip them around.

Crawling over Knight, Jasmine picked up his M6E. She aimed for the head, fired, and the alien slumped over.

"Bishop, go!" Frost yelled before the Elite even hit the ground. Holding his wound, Bishop ran back down the hall. Maddox came into view, peppering the encroaching enemy with his M7. He and Frost lobbed grenades at them. As the detonations rocked the hall, they picked up Knight and dragged him outside.

The last of the trucks were being boarded. Jasmine began to give orders but felt a hand grab her by the collar. Frost dragged her over to the wall next to the hospital entrance and held her there. "What the fuck is wrong with you!? We almost got killed back there! Where the fuck were you, why, why didn't you listen to me!?"

Jasmine was too out of breath to speak. She felt tears welling in her eyes. Frost's gray eyes were a cold shade of silver and were utterly lethal. His lips were drawn back like a wolf's, baring his teeth. Growling and shaking his head, he took her off the wall and brought her to the Warthog Bishop and Knight were being treated in. "Get out of here, just get the fuck out of here!" he yelled at her.

"Nate—"

"Just go!" he barked as he stepped back. More personnel were climbing into the back of the transport M12. Jasmine had just a few moments. She tried to speak, but her voice was drowned out by another M12. To her shock, she saw Vivian, Steele, Carris, and Grant in it.

"Frost, I need you!" Vivian shouted, jumping out of the Hog.

"The fuck for? We need to get out of here!"

"It'll take too long to explain, just come on!" Steele shouted, gripping the steering wheel. Frost nodded to Maddox and the pair clambered into the back. Vivian was about to join them when she saw Jasmine. Her friend smiled and ran over.

"You good? You good?"

"Yeah, we got everybody out," Jasmine managed to say. Vivian tapped her on the shoulder.

"You're a real hero, Jas. I'll see you on the ship, I promise!"

"Can they hold?"

Frost looked forward. Vivian was leading the way down the tunnel and was looking over her shoulder at him.

"For you, those Marines would do anything," Frost said. "But we don't have much time."

"Don't worry, this will be quick. Right, Stephen?"

She held out a portable AI display. Decatur appeared on it, his blue hologram lighting up the poorly lit tunnel.

"Quite right! Oh, how exciting, I've been longing for a daring mission once more. Do you think you and I shall be able to cross swords with the Covenant!?"

"Hopefully, won't have to, buddy," Vivian said to him kindly as the team jogged along. Decatur turned around on the display chip and looked down the dark tunnel.

"Oh, how exciting. This reminds me of the night my men and I took the Philadelphia back from the Tripolitans and burned it! Except this time I'll be your Macdonough."

"Stephen, I barely know what you're talking about now but I'm happy that you're excited," Vivian said.

The team entered the main chamber where they found the map display active. A huge projection of the neighboring systems was floating through the air, dazzling the room with whites, red, yellows, and blues. Slowly, it turned and turned, casting irregular shadows and strange lights all over.

Frost posted Carris, Grant, and Maddox at the tunnel entrance while he and Steele followed Carris over to the control terminal. Vivian examined it briefly. Decatur, still appearing on the pad, also bent over to look at it.

"Here, I think I'll be able to enter via this port," he said, pointing at a slot. "Transfer me over."

Decatur winked away and Vivian slid the device into the slot. Suddenly, the lines of glowing lights coursing through the walls and floor like veins flickered. Their golden-orange color shifted to a deep blue. The starmap disappeared and a larger projection of Decatur appeared in the center. He was about the size of a normal human being. All the rich details of his ancient navy uniform was clear, from the golden tassels on his shoulder pads to the crisp, neat trim on his collar and the frilly edge of his cravat. His thick sideburns ran down to his jawline and his thick hair was neatly combed at the sides.

Vivian walked up to the AI's hologram. He chuckled as she approached and saluted. She returned it quickly.

"What's the faster option, Stephen? Download it, or wipe it?"

"Wiping it, I'm afraid. Oh, to waste a trove of information. To think, all this vast space we shall have to re-discover."

"I'm sure Rundstrum's teams made some copies at least. How long do you need, Decatur?"

"There is a vast amount of data in this system," the AI said, holding his chin. "It is voluminous yet very elegant in its design. Simple, even. For someone like me, at least. I should think less than ten minutes will be enough."

"Ten minutes? Jesus Christ, mate," Steele muttered.

"Captain, they could use us up top. You want me to take a couple of my shooters up there or do you want us all here?" Frost asked. Vivian turned around from the hologram, her face washed in the deep blue light. A deep shudder ran through the cavern. Far above them, high in the mountainous ridge, the underground artillery guns were firing. At the same time, plasma mortars were falling on the earth. Dust fell from the cavern ceiling.

Vivian smiled softly.

"All of you go. Leave me the charges. I'll notify you when I'm on my way out."

"Maddox, Grant, set the charges, then join us up top. Steele, Carris, let's get a move on."

The pair went ahead of him but Frost lingered at the entrance of the tunnel. He looked back at Vivian, the AI, and his two friends. As Grant walked by Decatur, the hologram recoiled silently.

"I say, do keep those explosives away from me. We're not quite ready to burn this ship quite yet."

"Sorry..."

He caught Vivian's eyes. She smiled reassuringly at him and nodded. Frost nodded back and then ran up the tunnel. Bursting back into the sunlight, he was almost overwhelmed by the sheer noise of battle. What was left of the Marine and Army units on the base were forming up at their position. Every operable emplaced weapon and vehicle were arriving. Marines sat on the M12 turrets, raking the approaching Covenant infantry with bullets. M808s continued to wipe out entire squads and knocked out Covenant vehicles. A swarm of Ghosts attempted to break through their ranks but men armed with rocket launchers knocked them out. Engines exploded and passengers were rocketed out. UH144 Falcons and Hornets dueled Banshees in the air. When they gained enough breathing room, they added their firepower to the fight below. Rockets, machine guns, and cannons tore apart Covenant ranks.

The forward UNSC positions were not holding well. Skirmishers threw themselves over the sandbags. Deadly grapples took place as the Marines attempted to hold out. Hordes of Grunts activated plasma grenades and swarmed towards friendly positions. Before the occupants of one machine gun nest could break out, a dozen Grunts blew themselves up inside the sandbags. All the men inside disappeared in a blue cloud of explosive plasma. Elites of various ranks and colors broke through the sandbanks over another. All the Marines holding the positions were skewered by energy swords. Phantoms descended, their heavy turrets knocking out UNSC air assets with red and purple plasma. Flaming hulks came crashing down, crushing both humans and aliens.

The Phantoms disgorged squads of Brutes right on top of the Marines. They were torn to pieces; arms were ripped off, legs snapped away, and heads lopped off by their massive blows. Skirmishers broke through the lines and began jumping on the tanks. Other thanks had to shoot them off with their coaxial machine guns or the heavy turret mounted in front. One Marine was plucked by three Skirmishers from the turret and beaten to death.

Frost slid in behind a sandbag wall and began returning fire with his BR55. Switching to full-auto, he gunned down squads of bumbling Grunts who were moving through the gaps in their lines. Steele mounted the bipod of his SRS99 on the sandbags and expended a magazine within seconds.

"Fuckin' hell, I'd like to meet the asshole who designed this thing!" he yelled as he reloaded. "Only four bloody rounds in a mag. What was he thinkin', eh!?"

"Just keep shooting!" Carris shouted. After a few minutes, Grant and Maddox arrived. Immediately, they began taking turns throwing grenades, driving back the Jackals who were attempting to rush through. They soon ran out and picked up their small arms. Everybody was screaming at the top of their lungs and shooting as if they had never taken a weapons drill. The enemy targets were just too numerous. Frost barely had to aim. Brass cartridges flew into the air and settled around his feet. As Marines can by depositing small crates of magazines and grenades, it seemed like they were crouching in piles of brass.

The recoil from such sustained fire was making Frost's forearms ache and his right shoulder felt numb. As he ducked to reload, he heard something overhead. Looking up, he smiled as two AC-220 Vulture gunships lumbered into view. Each one fired simultaneously their autocannons, tearing huge gaps in the Covenant onslaught. Entire enemy platoons disappeared and countless bodies were thrown about like ragdolls. Wraiths and Revenants burst into flames. For a few brief moments, it seemed like they could hold. But Frost's hopes were quickly dashed. Looming out of the clouds came a Covenant frigate.

"Holy shit..." Steele said.

"How did it break through!?" Maddox shouted. "I thought our own frigates were in-atmosphere!"

At first, it seemed like the enemy frigate was coming straight for them. But it altered course and began to drift away over the ridge. Below its bow, a massive orb began to light up and pulse with red energy. Yellow and red lightning struck out from the emitter. There was a huge gust of wind and then a tremendous red plasma beam descended. The gray, cloudy sky was tinted blood red. It tore into the top of the ridge, scorching the earth and shearing off the rock. The entire ridge was blasted open in a shower of red plasma and gray rock dust. Huge stones were flung into the air and came crashing down all around. One went right through the abandoned CP while another crushed a Wraith. Rockslides came barreling down the sides of the ridge and into the base. UNSC positions behind them were wiped out and part of the Covenant advanced disappeared.

More Covenant ships appeared in the distance. One followed in the path of the first, glazing the smoldering remains of the ridge with another beam. Another increased speed and flew over other sections of the base, reducing it to rubble. Frost could hear the deafening glassing beams burning the base behind him. From one enemy ship plummeted a Scarab; the massive super vehicle was nearly balled up at first. But like a scorpion defending itself, it slowly stood up to its full height. Green plasma bolts thundered through the air and knocked out more UNSC Hornets. Bursting into flames and falling to pieces, the twisted metal came raining down. Its massive, head-mounted plasma beam tore across the left flank, engulfing droves of Marines and soldiers. Tanks and trucks exploded. Screams were drowned out by the energy beam. The pale green light of plasma dwindled away as the Scarab advanced.

Everywhere, UNSC men and women began to fall back. The entire position was collapsing. Both Vultures pushed forward and hammered the Scarab with missiles.

"Vivian, where the fuck are you!?" he shouted over the SQUADCOM. "It's been more than ten minutes! Any longer and we'll be overrun!"

"I'm coming now!"

A moment later, Vivian appeared with the detonator. She hit the red cap and the rocks around the tunnel entrance collapsed.

"Come on, the Vultures are covering us, let's go!"

Vivian led the way. Frost ordered Grant and Maddox to follow, then Carris. He grabbed Steele who pushed him forward.

"Go on, bruv, I'm right behind you!"

Joining the rush of personnel flooding towards the airfield, the team tried to stick together. Plasma mortars fell all around. More vehicles were knocked out. Flaming hulks bounced on the pavement. More Covenant ships appeared to the north and began glassing the airfields. Many of the dropships were able to escape but some were caught on the ground.

The fleet of dropships began massing on the flat ground outside of the front gate to the east. None of the Covenant were attacking there. Pelicans descended and dropped their ramps. Frost ran faster as he saw Yankee Triple Seven touching down. He turned to make sure Steele was with him. The sniper fired a shot and began following. Frost was about to yell at him to hurry when he saw a plasma mortar descend near him. Before he could say his friend's name, the mortar hit. The concussion sent Steele flying into the air and was enough to knock Frost over.

Scrambling to his feet, he looked for his friend among the countless UNSC dead. He heard someone screaming; it was shrill, desperate, and bone-chilling. Tunnel vision set in and he followed the voice. It was Steele. The sniper's helmet was knocked off and his face was covered in dust. Frost straddled him and patted him down for wounds. His hands went all the way down to his knees, which felt charred and bloody. When he reached lower, he felt nothing. The tunnel vision widened. Everything below Steele's knees were gone.

Steele reached up and grabbed him by the collar of his M52B chest piece. "Nate, you gotta get me out of here, I'm gonna die."

He spoke calmly and clearly, as if the pain which coursed through him was suddenly gone. Something inside Frost snapped, like one of the arteries to his heart broke. He was so scared; he was absolutely terrified. Looking back at the gates, he saw some Marines trying to hold out. Others were running so fast they began to discard their weapons and helmets. Covenant troops were breaking through.

"Come on, Lou!" he shouted. He picked Steele up and threw him over his shoulders. Ahead of him, more Marines stopped and provided covering fire. But he couldn't pick out his team among them. The Pelicans seemed like miles away. Some were already taking off, but he wasn't scared of being left behind. They were drawing closer. He could see the face of Yankee Triple Seven's crew chief in the troop compartment. They were almost there.

Frost gasped as he felt a piercing pain in his gut, followed by another. All the strength in his legs gave out and he fell over. Steele screamed as he landed on the remains of his legs. Reaching down to his stomach, Frost felt blood. He looked down; two carbine rounds had punched through his arm. Blood was leaking from the wounds.

He suddenly felt exhausted. Laying on his back, he plucked his last grenade from his harness, pulled the pin, and tossed it. His BR55 was out of reach so he drew his M6C. He sat up, picked off a few Skirmishers who were breaking through, and then grabbed Steele's harness. There was a shell crater left in the road pavement just a few feet away. Grunting and gritting his teeth, Frost wanted to get there. He heard people screaming, could feel the bullets in the air as they flew by his head, and the heat of the plasma as it crackled by. Using the last of his strength, he threw himself and Steele into the crater.

At the bottom, he was able to sit up. He grabbed Steele and pulled his friend beside him. The sniper was gulping for air and leaned his head on Frost's chestpiece. Frost shot a Jackal that came to the lip of the crater and watched the plasma bolts and tracer rounds fly over head. He looked down at Steele.

"How're you doing, Lou?"

"I'm dying for a smoke, mate."

Frost chuckled a little and tilted his head back. Tears welled in his eyes.

"I'm sorry, Louie. I'm sorry for a lot of things..." His voice became choked.

"Yeah, me too." They met eyes. Steele was crying, too. "Nate, I don't want one of those fuckers to take me out."

"I know," Frost said. He checked his M6C; he had two shots left. That was all he needed. He reloaded the weapon and pulled the slide back. As the tears coursed down his cheeks, he held Steele by the back of his head. "Are you ready?"

Steele inhaled shakily. He squeezed his eyes shut.

"Fuck...fuck..." he sniffed and his head fell into his hand. "I just wanna go home, Nate. I just wanna go back on the ship." He cried into his hand for a moment, drew in another breath, and looked up. "I'm ready."

The two friends stared at one another for a moment that seemed like it would never end. All the noise of the battlefield ceased. Frost couldn't feel anything. He slid the barrel of the pistol under Steele's chin. Then, they both smiled. "Bye, Nate." Frost shut his eyes and his trembling finger slid into the trigger guard. He felt the cold metal on his fingertip. Frost bit his lip hard and his breath hitched in his throat.

"Goodbye, Louie."

Suddenly, Steele disappeared. Frost looked up to see Carris dragging him out. Then, one of her hands reached down and grabbed his harness. She pulled him out of the hole and began dragging him towards the Pelican. Vivian and Maddox appeared on the left, firing their weapons at the horde of approaching Covenant. Grant was on the right, firing short bursts from his MA5. Frost craned his neck and looked over his shoulder. They were only a few feet away from the Pelican.

Grant turned halfway and smiled at Frost as he reloaded. When he stood back up to shoot, a pink needle hit him in the belly. A second followed, and then a third. The rifleman dropped his weapon. Wide-eyed, he looked down at the pink crystals embedded in his flesh.

"Oh my god," he said.

All three crystals burst. Grant screamed as the flesh of his stomach was torn open. Blood came out and some of his intestines hung out. Maddox and Vivian ran to him, picked him up, and carried him into the Pelican. Carris let go of Frost and he felt someone picked up. The young crew chief pulled him in. Steele was already on one of the benches. But Carris remained outside the Pelican. She fired the last rounds from her MA5, then grabbed her own grenade. Just as she pulled the pine, a round from a Brute Spiker hit her in the arm. She recoiled and dropped the grenade. In a split second, she picked up and whipped it forward; it was too late. The grenade exploded nearly in front of her. She was partially engulfed in it and her armor was riddled with shrapnel. Reeling, she staggered against the Pelican and stretched one arm into the deck. All the fingers on her hand were gone. Her visor was broken and burned on the right side and he could see one of her blue eyes. The skin around it seemed blackened.

Carris summoned her strength and climbed in. The hatch shut behind her and the Pelican lifted off. She took her helmet off; the entire right side of her face was burned and some of her hair on the same side was singed away. Blood ran down her neck. The corpsman in the Pelican came over to her but she shoved him away.

"Leave me alone," she snarled. Her eyes shut and her head nodded to the side. Frost looked at Steele. His eyes were closed too.

"What do we do!? What do we do!? His fucking guts are hanging out!"

"Put them back in, just keep his guts in!"

"Fill it with biofoam!"

Feeling groggy, Frost nearly reeled when he tried to look at Grant. He was shaking all over as he lay on the deck. Maddox was sitting on his right, Vivian on his left, the crew chief at his head, and the corpsman was straddling him. Everyone's hands were red as they disappeared into his open belly. Grant's face was drenched in his sweat and he was hyperventilating. The corpsman took out his biofoam canister and began to fill up the gaping wound.

Despite the blood leaking from his gut, Frost crawled along the deck and managed to get close to him. He reached out and took him by the hand. Grant's hand felt cold in his and it shook very hard.

"Oh my god, oh my god..." Grant kept saying. "...mommy...mama...I'm gonna die..."

"You're going to be alright, man, don't worry," Frost said, struggling to breathe. The corpsman emptied one canister and began funneling even more foam into it. Grant's wound was filled with the stuff now. But it didn't seem to help. He finally looked at Frost. Both eyes were wide and fading.

"I want to walk on white sand wearing a white shirt and white pants..."

Frost's mouth went dry. His vision began to darken. Light came from behind him.

"Corpsman! We need another corpsman!" somebody began screaming. Someone grabbed him by the cheek. Vivian was so close her nose was almost touching his own.

"Nate, hang in there. Stay awake, stay awake! Nate? Nate? Nate!"

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Author's Note: Well...that was some shit. I've been planning this chapter since I first started writing I'm Alone back in 2016. You'd think five years would prepare me for this moment. It has not. I didn't realize how much this chapter would impact me emotionally. Whew. Well, I promise I'll have comment responses in the final chapter which, because of my work schedule next week, might take a little longer than expected. Sorry, the timing is really bad. As for me, I'm going to run a couple miles and call it a day. Take care folks and keep an eye out for the final chapter of I'm Alone: Exalt.