1820 HOURS, APRIL 24, 2559, (MILITARY CALENDAR) /
VALLEJO CITY, PLANET BALLAST, EPSILON ERIDANI SYSTEM
Kelly-087 lay prone, a BR85 she had "borrowed" from the bunker's armory stretched out in front of her and Oathsworn resting in the magmounts on her back. She was on the fourth level of what appeared to be an office building - one of many that ringed a small park in the downtown sector of Vallejo. She looked down the battle rifle's scope, sighting in on a pair of birds as they idly swam circles around the pond that was clearly the main attraction of the park. Had she been positioned any lower, she likely wouldn't have been able to see much of the park, hindered as her visibility was by the prolific pines that had been left standing when the land was flattened decades ago. The standing trees formed a sort of natural fence around the area, providing both shade and privacy to the park-goers.
From what she could see Kelly was sure the park had been a hub for families, tired employees seeking a moment's respite from the business district, and elderly people who came to throw breadcrumbs for the flightless waterfowl that waddled about as if they owned the place. She could all but picture young children running through the trees, coming up with silly games to play as an excuse to chase each other around the park while their parents sat on benches nearby. She briefly wondered if it had been a similar place where Fred himself was observed by ONI agents before he was taken and inducted into the SPARTAN program.
She physically shook her head as she realized she was getting distracted. If the time to wonder about such things even existed, this definitely wasn't it. She did another quick examination of her rifle to sharpen her attention.
She and Fred had chosen this building because it afforded Team Two's sharpshooters the best vantage into the park, where Eason claimed that Graham was set to appear at any moment. The building was also far enough from the park to provide more time to stage an evacuation. The evacuation itself should be easy - each member of the team had brought with them a line of 9.4mm dynamic rope and rappelling gear which they had anchored near their position, then broken out a window on the side of the building farthest from the park run that line to the ground level below. Provided they remained discreet, it should take less than thirty seconds for the entire team to exit the building.
If all went according to plan, John and Linda - along with Team One - would intercept the scientist before he ever reached the park. As soon as they received confirmation of that, Team Two would disband as quickly and quietly as possible, with six of the eight civilians abandoning their gear and blending back into the generally populated areas of the city. Each of the six was a Ballast native who had opted out of the drawing to leave the planet, and they'd be returning to their families. Meanwhile Fred, Kelly, Ellsworth, and the mercenary Alpin would reunite with Team One and they would all retreat to the bunker and prepare to make their escape from the planet.
If things didn't go according to plan, Team Two's first priority was to intercept Graham and the device and return to the bunker as inconspicuously as possible, which would be next to impossible under the kind of firefight Kelly expected would accompany a failure on John's part. If both teams failed in capturing the wayward scientist and his device, the order was to eliminate the device with extreme prejudice – it was far better that it be destroyed and the entire unit lost than the Created get yet another leg up on the UNSC in this largely one—sided conflict.
Kelly tried to focus. Her team was spread across five floors, with two soldiers on each level. Two operatives, rather, as the majority of Team Two was made up of police officers. The six men and women that were stretched out amongst the three levels above her head were brave, and reportedly good shots, but they weren't soldiers. There were only two people among the team that she trusted not to lose their nerve. One of them, Fred, was on the level beneath her with Alpin. The other, coincidentally also named Fred, was doing his best to stay still next to her as he fought pre-fight jitters.
Able to at least contain his excitement enough to remain prone, the man had nonetheless done no less than four complete checks over his S85, re-secured the anchor on his rappel line several times, and had been chewing gum as compulsively as a lifelong addict trying to quit smoking. What distracted Kelly most, however, was that he kept looking at her and opening his mouth to speak before seemingly changing his mind and busying himself with something else.
"Something on your mind, officer?" Kelly eventually asked. She had always been deadly curious, and the way he bit his tongue every time he seemed ready to speak to her was beginning to drive her mad.
Ellsworth seemed surprised. He had hardly seen the Spartan move since she settled into her prone position, and his only assurance that she was even breathing was that he couldn't imagine a Spartan simply laying down and dying. He worked his jaw for another moment, debating with himself over whether he would speak. "Can I ask you a question?" he finally spit out in a rush.
"You just did, but I'll give you two for your trouble," the Spartan answered, looking at him from the corner of her eyes to avoid moving her head.
The young man grinned in response, though his face quickly turned serious. "I can't help but notice that your team has a problem with me," he began. He then shrugged one shoulder as nonchalantly as possible and sighted down his S85. "It wouldn't normally bother me much, but I'd rather not be on the bad side of the most effective killers this side of a tactical nuclear missile."
Kelly couldn't help but crack a small smile at the compliment. "My team doesn't have an issue with you. You've performed admirably given the circumstances, and that's more than most can claim," she answered.
Ellsworth scanned the street below them for Promethean movement as he spoke. "Yeah, that's all well and good, but I've noticed that you're the only member of your team that looks me in the eye. Well, I should say I assume you're looking me in the eye. Kind of difficult to tell with the helmet," he admitted, waving an open palm over his face in an obvious pantomime of Kelly's faceplate. "The rest of them seem to deliberately stay away from me. Your boyfriend has kept as much distance from me as possible since we left Dacacio."
At that Kelly turned to look at the man directly. "Boyfriend?" she asked confusedly.
Ellsworth's shot her a chagrined look and said, "Sorry, not trying to make any assumptions here. You two seemed close, and I needed something to call him since I still don't even know the guy's name. Call it a relational misjudgment."
"Spartans have neither the time nor the energy for romantics, and you still haven't asked your question," Kelly said, putting an edge into her voice in the hopes of sidestepping further uncomfortable speculation.
"Right," Ellsworth answered, taking the hint. As he spoke he absent-mindedly unwrapped another piece of gum and used it to replace the one he had been chewing. "I've noticed that you're not exactly the chattiest group, but should I be worried about Big Blue's knife finding its way across my throat? I'm trying to convince myself that you aren't keeping enough separation from me to avoid feeling bad about my untimely death."
Kelly sighed and turned her gaze back out the window. "No, we aren't planning to kill you. Spartans don't make a point of assassinating local police. As for why my team is acting differently around you, we . . ." There the Spartan hesitated. She certainly wasn't going to tell the truth about what kept Blue Team on edge around the young man, but she knew that it was best not to resort to a complete lie when dealing with detectives. If this Ellsworth was anything like the Gaoian inspector Veta Lopis, he'd easily pick through an attempt at totally deceiving him. "We used to know someone named Fred Ellsworth," she finally answered, settling for an awkward half-truth. After all, Fred's surname hadn't been Ellsworth for nearly four decades.
Ellsworth arched one eyebrow. "Whoever this guy is, he must have made quite the impression," he said, chewing his gum with renewed vigor.
Kelly laughed once. "Don't even get me started," she said. She watched carefully down her rifle, hoping for a sign of the wayward scientist for whom they were waiting. Or anything, really, to distract them from this line of conversation.
Instead, her mind fixated on the mystery made incarnate by the man lying beside her. She had spent the past hours biting her tongue in respect for Fred's privacy. Ellsworth was right in his observation that Fred had been giving him as wide a berth as possible since they met, and Kelly respected that her partner needed to grapple with the possibility of some relation between the two in his own way. She wanted to respect that and keep her nose out of her partner's business.
Which was why she was surprised as anyone when she heard herself saying, "As long as we're asking questions, how did you come by the name?"
Ellsworth raised his cheek from the stock of his rifle and looked at her with a mildly surprised expression. "Depends on who's asking," he answered cheekily. "Do you want to get to know me better, or are you getting ready to notify my next of kin?"
Kelly shrugged one shoulder. "I told you I wasn't planning to kill you, but you might convince me to change my mind yet," she joked with just enough of an edge in her voice to leave the young man wondering how much truth was in her statement. "You're a police lieutenant. I'm sure that the questions you ask about my team are to help you paint some sort of profile that you can use to understand us better. I'm just looking to do the same. Besides," she concluded, "I'm pretty sure that 'friend' of yours in the bunker would notify everyone for me."
Ellsworth smiled again, and his cheeks turned pink in a light blush. "Fair enough," he said. "I did downplay my reason for wanting to make it back to Vallejo, so I guess I owe you an answer. Fair warning though, it's a long story."
Just as he opened his mouth to expound, whatever he was about to say was interrupted by two clicks on the open comm line. "Looks like we'll have to take a rain check on it. Keep me alive and I'll answer when we get back to the bunker," he finished with a smirk.
"New orders, Team Two," Fred's voice came over TEAMCOM. "Everyone who's staying planet-side, bug out now. Repeat, dump all equipment where you are and bug out now." Kelly heard some light scuffling come from the floor above her as the two officers positioned there raced to comply. "Everyone else," Fred continued, now speaking to herself and Ellsworth, "We are not to fire on Prometheans until absolutely necessary. Team One is sending someone to intercept the target. They're going to try to use this as a live field test of the device's functionality."
"Who should we be watching for to confirm that their intercept got to the good doctor in time?" Ellsworth asked.
There was a pregnant pause over TEAMCOM before Fred answered. "You'll recognize her when you see her," he finally said.
Ellsworth's brow furrowed as he considered the Spartan's answer. "She better not have," he said in a low voice, his eyes suddenly darting back and forth along the tree line with a renewed intensity and his jaw working twice as hard on the gum in his mouth.
"We've got movement," Alpin interrupted whatever else Ellsworth might have prepared to say. "Southeast corner of the park. Looks like someone moving through the trees."
"That's Graham and our contact," Fred said after a moment. "Keep an eye out. The Created they're meeting with have got to be around here somewhere."
Kelly scanned in the direction Alpin had reported, searching for any movement. Finally, she caught a brief patch of white moving through the dense collection of pine trees. She tracked the direction the object had been traveling until two figures appeared in a small clearing, glancing around themselves nervously. One of them was a somewhat diminutive man, with narrow sloping shoulders and a bald spot that glistened with perspiration in what was left of the evening sun. The other was a tall woman with a blonde ponytail and a device tucked under her left arm, who seemed to be making a point of not looking across the park at the business district.
Fred was right; Ellsworth didn't like it.
"She always throws herself into these situations," he began to mutter under his breath.
"No use being angry about it now," Kelly interrupted. "You two can have your spat when we get her and that device back to the bunker in one piece. For now, focus up and get ready to lay down covering fire." She glanced over at the young man, who appeared even more tense than before. In a more soothing voice she continued, "We still have a job to do, and whether Alex survives or not depends a lot on how well we do it. Stay focused and keep her safe."
As soon as she finished speaking, her attention was drawn back to the park as she saw even more movement through the trees. A handful of Crawlers lived up to their name, quickly dodging and weaving through the trees as they undoubtedly scanned for any trace of an ambush. Soon after identifying the Crawlers, Kelly picked out several squads of Soldiers moving through the trees with their rifles raised.
"You're seeing what I see?" she asked quietly over TEAMCOM.
"Confirm multiple contacts," Fred answered. "Stay frosty and keep your fingers on the trigger."
Kelly honed in on the head of one of the Soldiers. They weren't as strong as Knights, but the Soldiers were fast, and good shots to boot. When things turned ugly, they would need to eliminate the targets as quickly as possible. That said, she wasn't sure how this situation could possibly turn out in their favor.
Finally, a Soldier Officer left the trees and entered the clearing, approaching the pair of scientists as they looked around themselves nervously. The large machine walked toward them with its weapon down, either having received orders or having scanned the pair and deeming them non-threatening. The soldier stopped in front of the pair of humans, and its interior lights changed from a harsh orange to a softly pulsing blue. Kelly tried to focus on the mouths of the scientists, hoping to get a clue as to what was happening from reading their lips, but was too far away to have a clue what they were saying. Graham began speaking to the Soldier first, gesturing meekly to Alex and most likely explaining why he was being accompanied by more people than he had originally claimed. The Promethean then turned its attention on Alex, and the pair seemed to be saying something to each other.
Despite herself, Kelly found herself absolutely unnerved by the color emanating from the mechanized hostile. It was a color she had grown familiar with in her brief interactions with the AI that had been paired with John. She felt a tightness in her chest, and had to consciously stay her hand to avoid putting an end to the light with a barrage of an entire magazine from her battle rifle.
"Something's wrong," Ellsworth said beside her. "Alex is picking a fight with that thing."
When Kelly focused back in she could tell, even with the minimal maximization from the scope, that Alex's posture and body language definitely seemed to be more aggressive than just a moment before. She seemed to shout something at the Soldier, which continued to regard her coolly. Alex looked down at the device in her hand and did something to it.
At once, everything began to move. The Soldier Officer's light flickered back to orange and it began searching frantically in front of it, raising its weapon. Alex dropped low and dragged Graham by the collar of his coat behind a tree, rushing directly out of the Soldier's gaze.
Apparently, the device was a success.
The Officer standing alone in the clearing began firing blindly, seeming to focus its aim on where the pair of scientists had stood just a moment before. Until a crack thundered from a building across the park, and the Officer's tri-cornered helmet broke into pieces. A second shot split the machine's head in two, and it fell to the ground.
Following Linda's shots, bullets poured into the park as Team One laid down cover fire for the scientists. Kelly held her fire, awaiting the signal, but saw that the first team was doing a good job of putting down targets whenever they stepped out from behind cover. Slowly, a Promethean Watcher rose from a dense thicket of trees and floated away from the park, coming near the building Team Two had adopted and likely scanning for hostiles.
"You know what that Watcher means, LT," Kelly said. Watchers were the mobile support units carried on the backs of Promethean Knights. Promethean Knights spelled trouble in a situation such as this.
"I see it," Fred said in a rush. "And we have a change of plans. Team One is going to draw them out of the park, we're on pickup duty. Get out of the building and make it to the park as fast as you can." Without a word, Ellsworth rose to his feet and sprinted for the rappel line.
As Team One laid down fire from their concealed positions, the Watcher continued to gain altitude, taking occasional potshots as it attempted to locate the soldiers firing on its unit. Linda fired again, the 14.5x114mm round smashing through yet another Soldier with enough force to knock a fist-sized hole through its dead-center mass. The Drone lifted higher still, coming level with the third floor of the building.
Kelly debated between running for the back window and following Ellsworth down the rappel line and taking a shot at the floating machine. "Lead, if that Watcher gets any higher it's going to have a perfect line on Linda's position," she said to Fred.
If that thing were any closer, she thought in frustration, waiting for his reply, I could reach out and grab it.
"I've got it," came the reply with a cool confidence that surprised Kelly. "Get Alpin and Ellsworth to the park as quickly as you can. I'll meet you there."
The Spartan rose from her position and moved for the back window toward the rappel line, wondering what Fred had in mind. She stopped dead in her tracks when it dawned on her.
"Don't even think about it LT," she said, running back to where she had lain prone just a moment before and peering out the window. Ellsworth left his position near the rappel line and came jogging to her side.
"Never do," came the infuriatingly smug response.
No sooner had Fred answered her than the window directly beneath her erupted, shards of glass rocketing outward as though they had been shot from a cannon. Among the shards of glass flew a mass of titanium armor, two arms outstretched as it sailed across the thirty feet of open air between the building and the Watcher.
Kelly heard a sharp intake of breath from the man standing beside her as Fred's trajectory ended in a heavy collision with the floating sentinel. "Time to go," she said to Ellsworth. "We've got work to do."
As the pair turned back toward the rappel lines dangling out of the rear window of the building, Kelly spent a moment watching her teammate's rapid descent to the ground as the Sentinel he had attached himself to struggled against the sudden added weight on its propulsion. With a sigh she turned and moved to their exit point.
"Something wrong?" Ellsworth asked, already hooking himself to the line and preparing to drop to the ground below.
Kelly shook her head and gestured for the man to finish attaching the rappel line. "No," she said, sparing a moment to look over her shoulder and out the window she had just left. "I just hate it when he does that."