Point Guderian, AKA Selfoss Strip Mine
October 9th, 0751 Atlas Time, 2552
A final encore of gunfire signaled the end of the long and dreary fight to finish off the Grimm. Jorge was grateful for the timely intervention of Ben and Meadows, who had bolted at full speed to back up their embattled comrades. From there, the fight devolved into a brutal slog, a close-quarters dance of death with the Grimm, who seemed to be expressly built for this kind of fight.
But their training served them well, and they all made it through the battle. They regrouped at the entrance to the mine, reloaded, and caught their breath.
"That was... exhilarating." Fairfire commented between deep breaths. "Everyone still good?"
"One of those pig things ripped a hole in my undersuit, left leg, stings like hell..." Meadows replied, tending to the flesh wound with a small strip of biofoam.
"Save as much as you can, our packages may have injuries as well." Jorge instructed, criticizing the ODST's usage of the precious resource on what was a comparatively minor wound.
With what little intel we have, I'd prefer to have a whole Medical Company backing us up. Jorge thought, but quickly dismissed the wishful thinking, it was worthless.
"My bad. I'll finish it off with bandages." Meadows replied, quickly admitting his fault and taking responsibility, an action that Jorge approved of.
"We don't have to call them 'Packages', do we, Sir?" Yu critically asked. "I mean, seems like these shitheads have dehumanized those poor people enough already."
Jorge didn't see the immediate relevance of the question, but understood her concern. It was always important to remember that they were talking about people, not statistics. "Call em' what you like, as long as it follows brevity code and keeps the meaning clear."
"Understood, Sir." Yu replied, seemingly surprised by his answer for reasons beyond him.
Jorge returned his attention to the rest of his team. "Ben, how's your ammo?"
"Well off on my end, Sir." Ben replied from his position at the entrance to the mine.
Jorge thought for a moment, looking back towards the prisoners they'd taken. They had five now, since another had come out of the mine and offered his own surrender. Leaving them alone on the surface was just asking for trouble, but so was bringing them along into the mine. He quickly decided that leaving a small section of soldiers behind was the only prudent course of action, they would also serve to keep their exit open.
"Kerry, Kowalski, stay here and dig in, keep your eyes peeled and the prisoners secure!" Jorge shouted. "Everyone else, follow me, we're going in."
"Yes Sir!" Kerry confirmed, the ODST giving a sharp nod of confirmation.
He and the rest of the Helljumpers regrouped with Ben, who had taken cover behind some large pieces of machinery. The steady slope leading into the ground was marked by a series of rails, although no carts were visible.
"Curie, are there any cameras down there?" Jorge asked, hoping for a little bit more intelligence before they proceeded any further.
"I'm afraid not." Curie answered. "Although it seems that all of the lights are working, should you run into any resistance, I can shut them off to blind the enemy. I know for a fact that the quality of our night vision far exceeds that of the enemy."
"Hmm, good. Keep them on for now. Hopefully, we won't need them." Jorge replied. "Yu, Meadows, are your shields ready?"
"Only one way to find out..." Yu muttered in response, before activating her Jackal Shield Gauntlet, which suddenly flickered to life. At first, the color of the shield was blood red, but it shifted to become a steady blue after a moment, which was quickly joined by Meadows's own shield. Both of them drew their M6C/SOCOM Magnums, the sleek black handgun offering a far better complement to the Shield Gauntlet than something that fired as inaccurately as a plasma pistol.
"Ready." Meadows confirmed.
"Good, you two take point. Ben and I will follow close behind, followed by Fairfire and Peggy." Jorge ordered, his formation ensured that the two members of his squad with no shields were in the rear, at the least risk of harm.
Close quarters combat was always dangerous, limiting movement and reducing a soldier's ability to avoid harm. Underground, especially in a somewhat narrow tunnel, those aspects of combat were amplified even further. Jorge hoped that their energy shields would offer a degree of protection from any ambushes, but there was no way to offer any true degree of safety in such a dangerous place.
"Mind the support pillars, we don't want to bring this place down on top of us." Jorge warned, noting that some of the supports were made from wood, while others were made from steel. He would have to be the most careful with his shots, as not only were they high-caliber, they were also explosive.
"And the Dust." Curie added. "Some, but not all of it, can be explosive, even in its raw form."
"I fucking hate this planet." Yu muttered. "Can't even miss a shot without it trying to kill us."
"Amen." Fairfire grumpily added.
Jorge was surprised by Fairfire's tolerance of Yu's complaining. Although he certainly could empathize with her sentiment, it was dramatically inappropriate for a mid-mission comment. Fairfire should've known to lead by example, and at the very least enforce a vague sense of discipline.
"Lock it down, both of you. Keep your eyes forward." Jorge instructed sternly. Thankfully, they both listened.
As they crept down the main tunnel, they spotted numerous offshoot tunnels. Most of them were fairly small, and protected by chain-link doors. Almost all of them just held small storage areas for equipment and a ventilation system, but someone had left their handheld tablet in one of them. Jorge had almost mistaken it for some kind of tool or handheld battery when he pulled it open inadvertently and a screen of solid light held the two parts together, revealing its true function.
"Hard Light?" Jorge asked, before closing the screen. He was very confused as to how such a primitive planet would develop such advanced technology.
"That is a type of Dust, although to my knowledge, it does have some limitations compared to the Covenant's usage of the technology." Curie explained. "I would like to perform further research later, but for now, we should keep moving."
"Yes, we should." Jorge said, storing the device before returning to formation.
They didn't get to make much more progress
"Hold up, anyone else hear that?" Ben asked, gesturing for everyone to stop.
Jorge listened, he thought he heard something scrape the ground, but it was only the sound of an ODSTs boots.
"Nothing, what was it?" Fairfire asked, her posture indicating a sense of suspicion.
"It sounded like something scraping along rocks, something heavy." Ben explained.
"Analyzing audio... nothing found." Curie added.
Meadows suddenly stiffened up. "Wait, I heard it too, there." Meadows added, gesturing forwards with his pistol. "What the hell was that?!"
One person hearing something is an oddity, two people hearing it means that your mission is going to get a lot more interesting. Jorge mentally quoted his old instructor.
His motion tracker revealed nothing, but that wasn't a guarantee they were safe. "Keep your eyes peeled..."
"Aw hell..." Yu commented, shifting her shield in discomfort.
"Focus! Everyone, listen!" Jorge ordered, before he heard it too. It sounded almost like a tiny rockslide, but it was muffled by stone.
Without warning and in unison, every motion tracker in the squad pinged a single hostile target fifteen meters ahead of them. Several of his squadmates pinged their status lights as amber, a silent warning, but Jorge had already pieced it together.
"Steady..." Jorge quickly stated, silencing any remarks that any of the rest of the squad were about to say.
His motion tracker pinged again, this time at ten meters away, with a second target twenty meters behind them. Fairfire and Peggy quickly turned around and assumed firing positions. The sound was getting louder now, and it wasn't stopping.
Here we go... Jorge thought, unsure what to expect, but ready nonetheless.
At last, the ceiling began to shift sporadically a few meters ahead of them, before several small chunks of stone clattered to the ground. A hole around half a meter wide suddenly appeared in the ceiling, before the maw of a very ugly Grimm emerged, its features resembling a Centipede. It's bone carapace formed a layer of thick armor, and the ever-growing number of motion tracker contacts told Jorge that it was not alone.
"Weapons free!" Jorge yelled, as another one of the creatures began to emerge from the ceiling, followed by another.
His first burst of gunfire was accompanied by a long burst from Ben's Assault Rifle, and their combined firepower blew the hostile creature into two pieces, with enough of their bullets managing to cut around the armor. Unlike the other Grimm that he'd killed, this kind bled an ugly green slime as it died.
The ODSTs joined in, opening fire as more of the monsters emerged. The report of Fairfire's shotgun confirmed they were coming from behind as well, coincided by one of the enemy contacts behind him vanishing from his motion tracker. The creatures crawled and dashed towards the soldiers, although none made it past the wall of gunfire. These Grimm were deceptively large, around the same mass as an adult human, albeit thinner and longer.
The original trio of the creatures failed to reach the squad, their sheer combined firepower stopping the advance. The fight was furious and blisteringly fast, careful planning abandoned in favor of reacting quickly enough to hold the line. Still, Jorge put his heavy weapon to good use, creating gaps in the enemies armor for his squadmates to exploit. But more emerged, preventing them from getting a chance to reload.
Jorge abandoned the effort to control the pace of his gunfire, as sheer overwhelming firepower took priority over accuracy, which was of negligible importance at point blank range. There were at least a dozen of the creatures now in front of them, with maybe another six behind them.
Thankfully, it seemed Fairfire had the foresight to reload her shotgun with buckshot, making it difficult for the Grimm to flank them, with Peggy offering fire support with his Assault Rifle. Yu and Meadows blocked the beasts from getting any closer with their shields, taking precision shots with their powerful handguns at gaps in the enemy's armor. Ben and Jorge focused on frontal crowd control, but the surprising durability of the creatures nullified their effectiveness.
One of the Grimm began to climb along the wall instead of the floor, which gave it the extra second it needed to launch itself towards the packed formation of soldiers like a living torpedo. Yu managed to catch it with her shield and was knocked back by the force, she attempted to throw it off, but it held strong as it gripped to the edges of the shield, snapping its jaws at her head, but missing narrowly.
"A little help?!" She cried out as she dodged another bite that would have easily removed her head.
Jorge took a calculated risk and deduced that if he didn't intervene, the ODST would lose the fight, meaning that it would be practical to shoot regardless of the risk of friendly fire. He quickly reduced the offending creature into a fine mist with a long burst, before moving to cover the Helljumper as she struggled to return to her position. Jorge could not immediately deduce if she was wounded, but she showed no signs of staying down.
Another of the wretched creatures leapt through the now open hole in their line towards Jorge, but he had predicted the strike. Dropping his weapon to free his hands, he caught the Centipede and forced it into a battle of strength that it had no chance of winning. Solidifying his grip, he dug the fingers of his gauntlet into the space between its head and it's bone mask, before tearing the protective plating off, along with chunks of its face.
"Hold it steady!" Ben shouted, before leveling the muzzle of his Assault Rifle into the creature's face and blowing it apart with a long stream of gunfire.
"Cover Sato!" Jorge shouted as he released the corpse from his grip, noticing that she was still struggling to recover.
Jorge assessed the situation rapidly, most of the creatures were dead, but they had failed to stop them all. Meadows was caught in a melee stalemate with another Centipede, which he slowly seemed to be losing. Jorge attempted to help by getting a grip on the monster, but failed to get a good grip on it as it squirmed so much. His second attempt was more successful, and he managed to pull it off the Helljumper and send a power-armored fist straight through the beast's skull with one good punch.
That was surprisingly effective. Jorge thought, noting that this Grimm type was weak to blunt impacts. He retrieved Etilka off the ground, before using the weapon as a blunt instrument to smash the face of another creature, which seemed to obstruct it's vision. The Grimm swiftly tunneled into the ground and wisely did not return.
Jorge turned around to assist the other ODSTs, but it seemed that he hadn't given Fairfire enough credit. She and Peggy had annihilated the creatures with what appeared to be comparatively little effort, and the only surviving creature he saw was savagely blown apart by a shot from Fairfire's shotgun, unable to move as she pinned it beneath her armored boot. The last Grimm was caught in a two-way melee fight with Ben and Yu. Yu pinned it beneath her shield and body while Ben finished it off with his knife.
Heh, just like Emile. Jorge thought, somewhat amused despite the seriousness of the situation.
With all of the Grimm dead or running for their lives, the squad reloaded and took a moment to catch their breath. The whole fight had lasted less than two minutes, but the ODSTs were totally drained, and hundreds of shell casings littered the floor. The Grimm corpses were dissipating, but it seemed that the green blood that now covered all of them would not disappear so easily.
"Fuck... this... planet." Yu said in-between deep breaths, as she wiped a thick layer of the green slime off of her visor. This time, Jorge did not voice any objection.
UNSC Dominion
October 9th, 0800 Atlas Time, 2552
Nearly an hour after the first strikes had begun, and the Marines were beginning to show some results. Two Pelicans and an Albatross loaded to the brim with wounded and freed slaves had returned, been rapidly unloaded, and sent back out for more.
"First Platoon reports straggling resistance, they have them on the ropes." Bradford reported. "Lieutenant Clark reports all packages are secured and en-route to the Dominion. He wants to know if they should push the survivors or regroup and extract."
It only took Richard a moment to make his decision. "Order them to regroup, the Grimm will finish the rest of the job, no need to take risks. Get them extraction whenever we have something available."
"Aye Sir." Bradford confirmed.
Richard re-examined the holotable and the critical information displayed on it, it changed so often that staying up to date was becoming difficult. Two targets had already been completely cleared of resistance, and with Clark's report, three no longer held any slaves. Richard was well aware that the influx of wounded slaves and Marines would overwhelm the Sickbay staff rapidly, and he planned to address the problem before it happened.
"Ensign Gillespie, issue updated orders for all Marine Corpsmen. Once they return to the Dominion, they are to report to Sick Bay and assist with the triage." Richard ordered.
"Aye Sir." Gillespie reported.
There's gotta be something else I'm forgetting, I feel like I'm forgetting something... Richard thought, feeling a sense of foreboding.
"Things seem to be going fairly well." Winter noted, her professional demeanor now recovered. "Are you expecting any further surprises?"
"No, but that doesn't mean we won't be prepared." Richard answered. "Complacency kills, and we cannot let our guard down until the enemy has been eliminated or routed completely."
There's still a lot of things that can go wrong, even if we're starting to make serious progress. Richard thought, unable to shake the sense of unease. Maybe I've forgotten about a target?
"Lieutenant Chen, can you identify any surviving enemy strongpoints?" He asked.
She quickly examined her dataz. Although she was technically a Navigations Officer, she'd begun taking over some of the roles traditionally filled by the Operations Officer, in order to clear up some of Ensign Gillespie's workload. "Point Adolf is still showing pockets of resistance, no reports from Point Guderian, but the computer is predicting little resistance."
They still haven't reported in? Richard thought, surprised and worried. "Get me an update from Onyx immediately, see if they need support."
"Affirmative Sir." Chen said, quickly hailing the squad.
"I can't imagine they got overwhelmed, maybe they're having equipment failures?" Bradford suggested, although it seemed like he was also worried about the lack of an update.
"Somehow I doubt that..." Richard replied.
"Commander!" Chen called out, regaining his attention. "Most of Onyx is apparently underground looking for the Packages, but one of the Helljumpers relayed that they've secured the surface."
"Dispatch First Platoon once they've returned and rearmed." Richard instructed, to which she gave a firm nod.
"Something on your mind?" Bradford guessed, noting his precautionary actions.
"Call it a hunch..." Richard replied, an odd sense of foreboding clouding his mind.
"A hunch?" Winter asked, apparently surprised by his reasoning.
"Well, it's also a good idea to have some fresh troops in the area in case something does go wrong." Bradford added. "But as a general rule of thumb, trust that gut feeling, it'll save your life."
Richard didn't contribute any more thoughtful words, as his gut felt like it was trying to escape.
Point Guderian, Underground
October 9th, 0806 Atlas Time, 2552
It didn't take long for the layout of the mineshaft to level out, it included steadily diminishing. Offshoot tunnels led into small pockets of ore, minecart stations, and complex looking machinery. But Ben could tell he wasn't the only one curious about the lack of not just prisoners, but also any defenders.
"Not complaining or anything, but does it seem quiet to anyone else?" Yu asked. Ben could tell she was still visibly shaken by her encounter with the Centipede, and he didn't blame her.
"Yeah, we should have found someone by now." Jorge replied. "Pick up the pace, let's keep heading-"
He paused, and Ben noticed why, as he had spotted the same thing. A thin red trail of blood on the floor, slowly trickling into the main shaft from one of the offshoot tunnels. The ODSTs noticed it as soon as Jorge went quiet, all of them staying silent to avoid giving themselves away any further. Ben couldn't hear anything coming from the tunnel, or even see what was down it, but human blood could only mean one thing.
We're late to a fight. Ben thought grimly, immediately expecting the worst.
"Yu, Meadows, lead the way." Jorge quietly said over the radio, his speakers left off.
Moving sneakily was never Ben's strong suit, but he did his best to remain as quiet as possible as he followed closely behind the ODSTs. He was ready to fire over Meadow's shoulder should the need arise, but he couldn't hear anyone, and his motion tracker was clear. Again, he felt that horrible sense of foreboding.
Yu peeked around the corner first, before being followed by Meadows. Neither of them fired and both pinged their status lights as green, signalling the all-clear. Ben followed them around the corner and saw that the tunnel was protected by a large two-part swinging door mounted on side mounted hinges, it was made of solid metal plates, preventing him from seeing what was on the other side. There was a small gap between the floor and the door, which was slowly but constantly leaking blood, as well as an odor so foul that Ben could smell it through his helmet's filters. There was a notable lack of light on the other side, hinting that the tunnel or room on the other side was dark.
"Aw hell, not again..." Yu muttered, so faintly that Ben barely heard her. His mind filled with horrible guesswork, which he rapidly banished. "Think it was Grimm?"
"Quiet, if it is Grimm we don't want to give them a heads up." Ben replied, using TEAMCOM to communicate and not his speakers.
The ODSTs looked at the door and the blood with a sense of dreadful anticipation that was visible even through their polarized visors. It was only Jorge who didn't appear in the least bit shaken, he stood as if he had infinite confidence, offering Ben some limited reassurance.
"Ben, deal with the lock." Jorge said over the radio.
Ben crept up to the door, rifle raised, and reached out to the small padlock holding the doors together. Ben noted almost as soon as he got a better look that it was already unlocked, and only needed him to flick a small lever to open it. He flicked it and quickly took a step back.
"Squad, listen up. No matter what is on the other side of this door, we will clear the room according to procedure. We do not slow down or stop until it is clear, do you understand me?" Jorge asked, receiving five silent green pings in response. "Good, Sergeant, breach on your mark."
Ben took a deep breath, steadied his grip on his rifle, and gave the doors a harsh kick. Technically there wasn't a need to be so rough with the door, especially now that it was unlocked, but the loud slamming added an extra aspect to the all-important "Shock and Awe" aspect of breaching a room. The door flew open, and Curie quickly activated Ben's helmet lights to illuminate the darkened room as the squad quickly walked in, weapons raised.
He almost wished she had kept his lights off.
There was a noticeable pause between when he kicked the door down and when the ODST's followed in after him. A second when the group was completely silent, simply looking into the hell they had just opened.
Bodies was too kind a word, these were corpses. Dozens of them were piled throughout the room. Clothing so torn and dirty they looked more like rags fell from them, soaked in blood.
Ben tried to breathe but found it increasingly difficult.
The trail of blood they had seen was only a small portion of what now covered the floor, although it seemed most of it was now dry. Some of the ODSTs gagged from the sight and the smell, but they pressed on regardless, sweeping their lights around the darkness, looking for threats, none emerged. With the room cleared, their training began to fall apart.
For an awful, uncomfortable moment, Ben was too shocked to do anything. The rest of his squad stood silently behind him, and as their lights stopped moving, Ben knew that they were standing as still as he was. He felt paralysed, his mind totally overwhelmed at the massacre that had taken place before him. In spite of his armor, his weapons, his squad, and his skills, he felt totally helpless.
Ben had seen dead civilians before, at the other mines, but this...
The silence and shock was broken by the sound of retching, along with the sound of a helmet falling to the ground. Ben turned and watched Yu rapidly dispose of her early breakfast, followed closely by Fairfire. Meadows stood like a statue, he was so still that Ben couldn't even tell if he was still breathing. Even Jorge seemed shocked by the brutality of the murders, but he recovered the fastest.
"I..." Curie commented, although her voice was somewhat distorted, as if the speaker she spoke with had glitched momentarily. It shocked Ben out of his trance somewhat.
"Curie are you o-"
"Sergeant, help me look for survivors." Jorge wearily ordered. "The rest of you, get out of here, clear the hallway."
Ben softly nodded, his training and instincts fuelling his actions, rather than conscious thought. He and Jorge slowly began to walk among the corpses, trying their best not to step on them. Ben flipped one of them over with his foot, they were a young man with goat horns, his throat had been gouged out.
"The Smartest Woman I've ever known once gave me some advice for this sort of situation. " Jorge commented as Ben slowly tipped the corpse back over. "Don't try to look away, or mentally avoid it, just keep moving. The more you try to avoid what you're looking at, the worse it comes back later."
Ben did as he suggested, and the two of them doubled-checked all forty-three corpses in the room, confirming that not a single person had survived. All of them had their throats gouged out, bullet holes in the back of their heads.
Executed, without a chance to fight back. Ben thought. I can't think of a worse way to die than that.
"Just like Gao, all over again..." Jorge softly said, seemingly not speaking to anyone in particular. "Come along Sergeant, there's nothing we can do for these people anymore."
"Yes Sir." Ben sadly nodded, his voice unintentionally cracking somewhat.
Ben and Jorge exited the room and shut the doors behind them. The ODSTs looked absolutely devastated, but they had re-equipped their helmets, and held their weapons with death grips.
"Nothing, not even one?" Fairfire guessed, her voice utterly empty, as she noted that Ben and Jorge returned empty handed. "God damnit..."
"Hold it together a bit longer, we still have a job to do." Jorge instructed, somehow sounding utterly unfazed. "There were seventy-three people listed as being held here in our intel reports, and we didn't find that many bodies."
"How many?" Yu asked, her voice coarse.
"Forty-three." Jorge bluntly said. "There's a time and a place to feel defeated, and it is not when there are people counting on us. Get on your feet, we're moving out!"
Jorge's words inspired just enough energy into the beleaguered ODSTs to bring them back to their previous formation. Ben couldn't help but feel surprised that they had broken their discipline, even with the brutality, Helljumpers were supposed to be hardened veterans.
You nearly lost your own. An unhelpful voice in the back of his head pointed out, which Ben quickly banished as the squad began to move again.
The shaft didn't go much further, but at the end, they found another one of the double doors in an offshoot shaft. Everyone stiffened up, dreading what they were about to do.
This time however, there was no blood leaking out from the crack, and light was visible on the other side. Ben thought he heard a faint murmuring of voices on the other side, which silenced as the footsteps of his squad approached.
"Squad, prepare to breach." Jorge instructed.
The rest of the squad moved into position, but as they did so, Ben began to feel that sense of foreboding again.
Maybe breaching is a mistake? He guessed, unsure of the reasoning for the feeling. "Wait."
"Something wrong?" Jorge asked.
"If it's slaves on the other side here, they might panic when we breach." Ben suggested. "Maybe we should send a hostile challenge and demand they identify themselves?"
Jorge looked at him with an indecipherable expression, not made any more apparent by his concealed face. "...Very well Sergeant, take the lead."
That still doesn't feel right... Ben thought, fearful that he was about to find more bodies.
Ben approached the door and was about to give it a harsh knock when an unfamiliar voice shouted behind him. "Squad, there they are!"
A chill ran down Ben's spine as he realized what had happened, the bullets started flying before he even turned around. His shields had taken half a dozen hits by the time he turned back around, before seeing the enemy soldiers who had found them, all in superior cover in the main shaft. The rest of his squad seemed equally off guard, and Ben quickly realized just how bad a situation they were in.
Both Onyx Team and the enemy squad flung everything they had at one-another, bullets flew, ricocheted off shields and cover. Screams quickly filled the air as Jorge pelted the enemy with explosive rounds, spraying shrapnel and debris throughout the enemy formation and quickly inspiring them to panic. Ben took the extra moment he needed to acquire a proper firing stance before he opened fire, and was rewarded for his efforts as his fire quickly eliminated one of the enemy soldiers.
"Ben, put up a shield, for the love of god!" Fairfire cried out from behind him. Ben silently complied with the panicked order, and deployed a drop shield over his squad. Offering a critical layer of protection against the hail of gunfire.
All at once, the gunfire stopped as the Mercenaries returned to cover. Ben heard harsh breathing and groaning from his squadmates as they recovered from the shock of the ambush. The status monitor for his squad informed him that Meadows and Fairfire were both wounded, although how badly he didn't know. There was scared and confused murmuring from the other side of the steel door, which was now indented by bullets.
"Ben, reload." Jorge instructed as he added another belt of ammo to his own weapon. "Curie, prepare to kill the lights."
"Ready!" Curie reported, anxiety in her voice. Ben reloaded as his superior commanded, reassured that Jorge had a plan.
"Good, prepare your VISR in advance." Jorge instructed. Ben switched on the visual filtering system, and allowed his eyes to adjust to the bright lights.
"The Drop Shield has twenty seconds left." Curie reported.
"Ready." Ben reported.
Jorge readied his weapon with malicious intent. "Curie, kill the lights."
In an instant, every light in the mine went offline, but Ben's augmented eyesight coupled with VISR allowed him to still clearly see the outlines of his surroundings. The enemy began to cry out in confusion and surprise.
"Move up, eliminate the threat before they can recover." Jorge calmly instructed.
He and Jorge walked forward, moving through the energy shield with weapons raised, before opening fire. The Mercenaries stood no chance, blinded and confused, they were completely unable to put any sort of a fight. Some of them chose to sporadically spray gunfire, although since they could only see the outline of the Drop Shield and the vague silhouettes of the Spartans, it was mostly ineffective.
By now, the Energy Shields on Ben's suit had failed completely, drained by constant impacts and the energy strain of the Drop Shield. But the enemy gunfire proved insufficient to penetrate the titanium plating of the armor, or even slow him down as he fired upon the helpless opponents.
One Mercenary saw how the battle was going and attempted to surrender, only to be killed by friendly fire from a blinded ally. Jorge's muzzle flashes painted a golden silhouette of the Spartan, further inspiring terror in the enemy. In less than thirty seconds, a twelve man squad of Aura-armed opponents had been totally destroyed by the two Spartans, with no survivors.
"Excellent work Sergeant." Jorge commented, looking at the carnage. "Curie, can we have some light here?"
It took a second longer than it should have, likely testament to the rock interfering with the signal. She reactivated the lights as Ben turned off his VISR. The two Spartans turned away from the fresh carnage and back to their squadmates.
"Son of a bitch..." Fairfire muttered, applying pressure to a gunshot wound on her right leg, which Ben quickly took over for her. "...goddamn animals, they were coming here to finish the job."
"Yeah, motherfuckers..." Yu added, picking a shard of metal out of her visor. "Meadows, you good?"
"Me? Oh yeah, I'm fine." Meadows replied, obvious sarcasm in his voice. "I mean, my foot feels like it got crushed by a goddamn Elephant, but yeah, I'm fine."
"Hang tight, I'll have a look." Jorge said. "Ben, handle the door."
"Yes Sir." Ben complied, letting Yu take over treating Fairfire's wounds.
He approached the door and gave it a series of hard knocks. "UNSC Marine Corps, identify yourselves immediately or we will force our way in!"
"Are… are the guards gone?" A confused voice shouted from the other side.
Survivors. Ben breathed a silent sigh of relief as he tore the lock clean off of its mounting. "We've dealt with the guards. We're with the rescue team, don't worry. Stand back from the door!"
"Oh thank the gods!" The voice replied, before relaying Ben's instructions, presumably to the other Survivors.
He pushed the door open, revealing a room of similar size to the other they had found. Around thirty unhealthy-looking Faunus in ragwear occupied the room, either standing or sitting on the unsafe-looking beds.
"Thank you!" One Faunus in particular stood out from the rest. A smile over took his face when he realised they were not with the SDC. "Who are you? Are you huntsmen?"
"Now isn't the time for explanations, Ben." Curie reported, speaking only to him. "These are all of the remaining Slaves, we need to evacuate them while we can."
"Did you find any of the others?" The man urgently asked.
Ben froze and looked at the man, his smile fell.
"We need to move." Ben quickly said. "What's your name?"
"Harold, but-" he said.
Ben interrupted him with a waved hand. "Later, can everyone walk?"
Harold turned to the other Slaves behind him. "I think so, we can follow along. Do you know the way out of here?"
"Yes, all of you, follow me." Ben said. "Don't let anyone lag behind."
His squadmates had stabilized their wounds, and struggled back to their feet.
"I can walk." Fairfire protested when Ben offered to help her move. "Help Meadows, his looks uglier."
"Aww, thanks Liz. It's nice to know that you do care." Meadows mockingly replied as he helped him up to one foot.
"Are we all good?" Jorge asked, inspecting everyone to ensure they were alert and standing upright. "Alright, let's move out."
"Wait, what if more guards attack?" Harold asked nervously, looking at the corpses of those that Ben and Jorge had already killed.
"Then you drop to the ground and don't move until we say otherwise." Jorge replied. "Now come on, we need to get out of here."
Schnee Manor, Jacques Schnee's personal study
October 9th, 0830 Atlas Time
Before, Jacques had been worried, frustrated, and angry. Now, he was just frightened. All seven of the Mines that had been attacked had gone silent, nobody was reporting anything anymore. Worse still, his entire Airfleet had been destroyed, the crew all killed by some kind of alien superweapon. His Officers were stunned, arguing over what to do next.
In just over an hour, the seven largest Mines on Remnant had been attacked and the staff presumably killed. He was still in complete shock by what had happened, what Jacques had initially thought of as a war, he now recognized was simply a disaster.
"Sir, are you okay?" One of his officers asked, apparently it wasn't the first time he had asked.
"Yes, of course, I'm fine." Jacques replied. "Has there been any reports from the affected areas?"
The tension in the room spiked as the man awkwardly replied. "I'm afraid not."
Jacques slowly nodded, unsurprised. "Why are you here then?"
The man straightened up his posture. "We've prepared two plans for how to respond. These aren't particularly detailed, but they're all we had time to make."
"By all means, go ahead." Jacques said, giving the man his full attention.
"First, and the option most of us suggest, is try to negotiate better terms of surrender." The man said. "We don't know what this attack cost the enemy, but we know they have a very limited supply of manpower."
Jacques shook his head. "General Ironwood explicitly stated they were only interested in unconditional surrender, I doubt we could change that. What was our other option?"
The Officer looked at him with faintly-disguised nervousness, Jacques didn't criticize him, he felt it too. "Well, we fight. We move all of our remaining forces to the Central Distribution Center in Lampeter. There, we attempt to keep our rural mines supplied and in the fight while we try to gain additional support from our contacts in the Atlesian Military."
Jacques slowly nodded, even he could point out the obvious faults with the plan, but he had no better alternative. "We'll go with that then. Do whatever it is you have to do to win."
The man grimly nodded. "Understood, Sir."
Point Guderian
October 9th, 0838 Atlas Time
They managed to reach the surface without further incident, but by the time they left the Mineshaft, Fairfire's leg was starting to burn. They hadn't had time to remove the bullet, only stop the bleeding.
Son of a bitch, what the hell did they shoot me with?! Fairfire thought, frustrated by how even the enemy's ammo was abnormal.
"Peggy, escort the packages to the Barracks. Take Meadows too, keep everyone as warm as possible while I radio in, we'll have evac shortly." Jorge instructed.
"Yes Sir." The young Helljumper replied.
Fairfire didn't know him all that well, he hadn't been part of her unit before the Battle of Hill 934, but he'd stayed strong throughout the whole mission, and that spoke volumes about the man. The other two, Kerry and Kowalski, were the only survivors of another squad from the same battle.
"Fairfire, take Yu and relieve Kowalski and Kerry. Ben, go with them, see what the prisoners know about what we found down there." Jorge instructed.
With Pleasure. Fairfire silently thought as she voiced her acknowledgement, limping her way over to where the prisoners were being kept.
"You alright Liz? You look terrible." Yu commented once she caught up, her voice filled with rare sympathy.
"I'm fine!" Fairfire snapped. "Let's just get this over with and go home, shall we?"
"Fine by me." Yu replied, seemingly unfazed by Fairfire's retort, Ben followed shortly behind them, still silent.
Jesus fucking Christ, he's just a kid! Fairfire thought, in a moment of clarity. He's probably scarred for life at this point, with all of the shit he's seen.
When they arrived at the small dugout where the prisoners were previously kept, they only found Kerry. "Over here Sergeant, we moved them to one of the Barracks."
"Show me." She ordered dryly, not caring enough to hide the anger in her voice. To his credit, the Helljumper silently obeyed.
They followed the soldier into one of the drab grey concrete structures, finding Kowalski looking over all of the prisoners. They were all kneeling with their hands bound in one of the bedrooms, with most of the furniture that could be moved pushed into the hallway.
"You're both relieved, go see what the LT wants." Fairfire instructed. Both of the ODSTs offered her silent nods before leaving.
Alright, let's do this. Fairfire thought, mentally preparing herself.
With Yu by her side, she turned to face the prisoners. "Alright, how about we start really simple, who wants to give me their name?"
They were silent for a moment, but one of them eventually opened his mouth.
"I'm uh, Private Weber." One of them said. Fairfire turned to face the young man, leaning down to get a better look at him, when she realized something.
He's the one who came out of the Mine. Fairfire thought, immediately putting the picture together, before feeling every neural pathway in her mind ignite with anger. Whatever illusion of calmness she had before vanished instantly. "Ok, Private. Let's start with a nice, easy question. Why did you surrender to us?"
"Uh, my superior officer ordered me too?" Weber offered, but he sounded unsure of himself.
Fairfire gave a mock sigh of frustration. "You know, somehow I doubt that. You see, I just came out of the same hole in the ground that you came out of..."
Fairfire drew her sidearm and unclicked the safety. It was a subconscious action, but she did nothing to stop it. "-And there were a whole awful lot of dead, innocent people in there. You wanna know what I'm thinking, Private?"
She noticed Yu step a little closer but she remained silent. Weber's expression shifted one of shock and fear, and he didn't offer a response.
"Aww, what's the matter, you were doing so good at the beginning there, did I scare you?" Fairfire taunted. "Come on Private, ask me what I'm thinking?"
"...Wh-what are you thinking?" he meekly complied.
What a coward. Fairfire unsympathetically thought as she racked the slide. "I'm thinking that you don't want to meet the same fate of all those people who you butchered down there, so you came up here, hoping that you'd escape as our prisoner. Is that right?"
"I, I didn't-" Weber tried to reply, but Fairfire shut him up as she put a round through the room's sink, which exploded, scattering porcelain everywhere.
"Liz, what the fuck?!" Yu demanded, obviously shocked.
Fairfire ignored her. "You fucking coward! You won't even admit it! How can you do that?! How can you justify something like that to yourself?!"
"Liz…" Yu said quietly.
"I... I..." Weber mumbled, tears now forming.
"What did you think we're gonna do, let a murderer walk free?! Or maybe you'll even get a little show-trial from Atlas, and a pat on the back for a job well done!" Fairfire shouted, barely even aware of her surroundings.
She raised her pistol to fire, aiming it at the kid's forehead and pulling the trigger without the slightest bit of hesitation. A pair of hands pushed her arm to the side at the last second, just in time for the bullet to only graze the bastard's ear.
"Liz!" She could only faintly hear Yu, even though she was certainly yelling. She tried to take the gun from her hands but Fairfire kept her grip tight and two began to wrestle over the gun. "What the he-"
Glass broke and blood splattered across her chest before she even heard the shot. The room was silent for a moment before she saw Yu's hand come away from the hole in her chest. Her friend looked to her, before going limp and falling into her arms.
Minutes earlier
Alliman Strip Mine, AKA Point Guderian
Despite all of his failures, Major Garrett had officially accomplished his mission. Even though his situation was desperate and most of his men were dead, along with over half of the Slaves, he had seen justice enforced on the man responsible, where Atlas and the UNSC had failed, he had succeeded. He would be lying if he hadn't felt the slightest hint of satisfaction as he'd emptied Private Weber's sidearm into the Executive Manager, mere moments from reaching his airship and fleeing, but that was just the satisfaction of a job well done.
That's all Justice is after all, it's a job, and a Huntsman is the worker. Garrett thought, watching as the UNSC milled the slaves they had managed to save into one of the Barracks, probably trying to keep them warm until their spaceship could pick them up. Huh, maybe those guys ain't so bad after all, not that I'm about to go say hi.
He'd managed to discreetly find himself a position on top of the Dust Refinery, from which he watched the post-battle cleanup. It seemed like the aliens had either forgotten about him, or they simply didn't care. Garrett was perfectly fine with being ignored, especially after he discovered that the UNSC had not just one, but two of the massive power-armored soldiers, one of which was apparently their leader.
Look at the size of that weapon, that's gotta weigh sixty pounds, at least! And he's just lugging that around without an Aura?! Garrett thought, before sweeping his view across to the Barracks where they were keeping the prisoners they had taken.
Although his angle was pretty bad, he could still see the armored giant who had chased him earlier, silently standing. Through another window, he could see two of the black-armored soldiers talking to the prisoners, probably interrogating them. One of them was standing towards the rear with dark-purple accented armor, and the other with the red armor was-
Garrett swapped from his binoculars to his rifle scope in record time, narrowing his zoomed sights on the second soldier. They were holding a pistol, and as they racked the slide, it didn't take a genius to figure out what was happening.
Not today you alien Bastard! Garrett stubbornly thought as he readied his shot. He didn't bother waiting for the bastard to aim with their pistol, he just took aim and fired. It wasn't an especially precise shot, but with Semblance at full force and his target lacking an Aura, it didn't matter.
He didn't stick around to see if his shot hit either, he got to his feet and started to run. Even if he did kill the alien, there wasn't a whole lot he could do for those soldiers now. Even if he did risk fighting all of the aliens, he would certainly lose. But he could run, take what he had learned, and try to get the information to the only person who could put it to good use.
By drawing attention to himself like he did, it might have spooked them into keeping the prisoners alive. Even if it only bought them a few minutes it was worth it. He was confident in his ability to survive, less so for those below.
Goddamnit Ironwood, you better not be useless! Garrett thought, leaping off the roof and bolting for the Manager's airship.
The UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 9th, 1332 Menagerie Time
"All Birds are aboard, all units retrieved, and all surviving Packages are secured." Bradford reported.
Surviving. Richard noted the keyword sadly. "Very good. Ensign Williams, get us to Menagerie, high-altitude burn at best speed."
"Aye Sir!" the helmsman reported, moments later, the Dominion slowly shifted underfoot as she began to turn.
"Well Commander, I'll admit it, I have seen worse operations conducted under similar conditions." Winter noted, her expression somewhat uneasy. "Although it seems we've learned a bit more information than any of us truly wanted to know."
Richard felt sick, knowing about something was very different indeed than actually seeing it. "We already knew about the killing, Specialist. It's just that reading a few lines of text is a whole lot different than seeing the graves."
"We're no strangers to atrocities, Commander." Winter pointed out, the subtle jab not lost on Richard. She'd been unnervingly quiet as the reports of Fairfire's actions came in, and it wasn't hard to guess how she felt on the matter.
Bradford also noticed the double-meaning of her statement, although he was apparently more defensive on the matter. "That's funny, I can't remember the last time our soldiers killed an innocent-"
"With all due respect Lieutenant, that line of thinking is going to get us absolutely nowhere." Richard interrupted. "If we're only striving to be less awful than our enemy, we'll all be monsters by the end of the year."
Bradford remained silent, seemingly contemplating Richard's words.
"So what are you going to do about your loose cannon?" Winter asked. "Whether she was successful or not is out of the question, Lieutenant Jorge made it very clear what she was trying to do."
And how it got one of her squad-members critically wounded. Richard added, noting that he still hadn't gotten an update on Corporal Sato's condition. "It's not much of a choice, frankly. Without the resources for a proper tribunal, we'll have to judge her under wartime standards."
Winter was silent for a moment. "I'm afraid I don't understand."
"The three highest ranking officers examine all of the evidence in question, before deciding upon the verdict. At least two of the officers in question must agree on the judgement." Bradford explained. "It's a flawed, faulty system, but it's meant to be quick, not thorough."
Winter slowly nodded. "I suppose that means you have yet another big decision to make, I hope you give it the thought it deserves."
"I don't intend to make any decisions on this matter until at the very least we reach Menagerie, we have other concerns at the moment." Richard said, turning to Bradford. "Kindly fetch yourself a copy of Staff Sergeant Fairfire's record, and send another to Lieutenant Clark."
"Clark?" Bradford asked, but quickly caught himself. "Aye Sir. Shall I grab one for you as well?"
"Don't bother, I've read through it already." Richard replied. "It's odd really, this is the first time she's done something like this, the rest of her record is littered with ringing endorsements from some high places."
Winter suddenly frowned, as if his words had triggered some kind of thought. "Surely it can't be too absurd. The stresses of war, let alone the… atrocities, must have some kind of impact, no?
"War is war, stress is an understatement," Richard brought a hand to his forehead and sighed. "but soldiers are expected to keep going despite that. Fairfire has never shown any signs of PTSD nor any other mental illness."
"So this is the first time something like this has happened for her, a sudden emotional shift in the field?"
"To my knowledge, yes." Richard replied. "Why, did you suspect something else might be at play?"
"Such a sudden shift is strange, and as you've said, uncharacteristic." Winter's scowl barely moved as she spoke. "It could be stress, or some kind of mental issues, but perhaps it could be related to her Semblance."
Richard and Bradford were immediately confused. "None of our soldiers on the ground for that mission have an active Aura."
"She might not need it." Winter explained. "Everyone has a Semblance, even if their Aura isn't active, it's tied directly to your soul. Some Semblances do not require an activated Aura to function, they're simply always active."
"Goddamn it, and here I was thinking that I had all of this figured out..." Bradford muttered.
"So you think it's possible that she was under the influence of a Semblance, without even realizing it?" Richard asked, wondering if Remnant had more insidious ways of getting under a person's skin.
"I certainly think it's possible, but I'm far from certain." Winter answered. "In my experience, Semblances can be volatile and overwhelm the user, but it is also possible she simply snapped under the pressure. Either way, your Sergeant is just as accountable for her actions as the people sitting in your brig."
Richard struggled internally. He knew better than to latch onto the easy answer and hate 'it's her sembalnce's fault' line would surely not stop the people of Remnant. Still, it gave him some level of hope that his soldiers might not have been mentally falling apart under the strain. In fact, the more he thought about it the more it started to make sense.
Fairfire was a soldier, she had seen war in all its glory. That she would crack so easily spoke of something strange at play. Richard sighed. Speculation didn't matter however, and he wouldn't excuse her actions.
"I believe I understand." Richard said, well aware that Fairfire would still need to be reprimanded for her crimes. "Could you possibly help us with a proper investigation in the future? You are the only person on this ship with any sort of experience in this field."
"I see no reason why not, but I can make no promise of success. Some Semblances are subtle enough to go unnoticeable and it's possible I am wrong entirely, but I will do what I can to aid you." Winter stated, before quickly adding more to her response. "On one condition. If it is her Semblance that's responsible, you do not deploy her into further action until she is trained to control it."
Richard nodded slowly, that was a very reasonable request. "Done, thank you, Specialist."
"Think nothing of it." Winter replied. "You should also know, Semblances can be... unfair. As your Aura's become activated, many of you will likely never find yours."
"Don't worry, we're used to things being unfair." Richard said, thinking again about all of the good people no doubt still battling the Covenant back home.
"But they can be worse than that. It is fully possible you may find them more a hindrance than an asset." Winter continued. "You've said that where you come from, Aura and Semblances don't exist. It's very possible that suddenly having them could pose a number of risks beyond just physical difficulties to adapt." She gestured to the side. "This being one such example."
"So now I have to worry about magic breaking my soldiers?" Richard sighed. "Just one more thing we can't control."
"It is far from magic, commander, and it can be controlled." Winter paused. "With proper training."
"Training we are unlikely to get, once news breaks out about what almost happened." Richard said, hoping to gain some insight into what Remnant's response might be. Winter stayed silent and his hope dropped just a little bit further.
Atlas Academy
October 9th, 1453 Atlas Time, 2552
General Ironwood was just as concerned about the failures of his military's intelligence as he was about the massive UNSC operation that had swept across rural Mantle. It took hours for reconnaissance and operatives to piece together everything that was happening, not helped in the least that both the SDC and UNSC offered their own conflicting explanations as to what was occurring. It had also taken the UNSC an hour to respond, which did nothing to ease his paranoia about Atlas's still-largely unknown "ally".
Winter had contacted him before he had gotten to contact her, and explained that they had finally launched the massive military operation they had been planning. While he had already been aware that the UNSC were making plans, as Winter had told him, he'd kept the information to himself. He was well aware that many members of the Atlesian military harbored sympathies towards the SDC, especially with the reports of slavery being deeply contested by the media.
The last thing he needed was to give the UNSC even a shred of evidence that he was undermining them, which would have undoubtedly catastrophic ramifications not just for him, but for Atlas. This dedication to secrecy went so far as to have Winter's assignment remain strictly classified, even the Atlesian Council didn't know that they had someone aboard the Dominion.
And it shall stay that way, until this pointless conflict is over. Ironwood thought. Although he personally sympathized with the UNSC's desire to liberate the slaves, they were decidedly unsubtle in their methods.
The show of force was not lost on him, the UNSC had clearly thrown everything they had into the operation, which was authenticated by Winter. Ironwood had expected the UNSC to keep to hit-and-run attacks with their small force, not to risk full-scale maneuver warfare. They had no reservations with the deployment of armored-fighting vehicles or attack aircraft either, and they had disposed of any resistance with ruthless efficiency. The SDC chain of command had panicked so badly that a nearby Railway Station owned by the Company was wiped out by the resulting Grimm attack, the UNSC had achieved yet another victory without even trying.
Any information acquired from said Corporation was sporadic and nonsensical. They reported that the UNSC had tamed Grimm, operated handheld weaponry that melted cleanly through Aura, and even that individual soldiers had literally fallen from space to attack them. Ironwood was quick to doubt most of it, but wondered if some of the irrational claims held a grain of truth to them. The claim that they were killing prisoners ran contrary to what Ironwood had seen previously, but he was still worried nonetheless.
Perhaps a more thorough investigation wouldn't hurt. Ironwood thought, sending a quick but authoritative email to the Head of Intelligence.
By far the most dramatic part of the battle was the UNSC Dominion itself, or the "Alien Mothership" as some sensationalist news outlets dubbed it. Winter stated that it attracted a Class-Five attack from airborne Grimm, which it had effortlessly obliterated with tertiary weapons. They had then dispatched four of their own fighters to destroy a dozen Atlesian Gunships under the helm of the SDC, they did not suffer a single casualty. The most terrifying thing that they accomplished was the destruction of a trio of Atlesian Cruisers with a single shot from their primary cannon.
Winter explained the event in far better detail than the poor-resolution footage he had. She described it as a colossal shotgun, spinally mounted, that ran the length of almost a third of the entire ship, and it had performed the act at half of its maximum power. The upper appendage of the ship's frontal section apparently housed the massive weapon, giving him a worrying sense of scale. In terms of sheer scale, the weapon rivaled most airships, in terms of destructive firepower, it was truly unmatched.
I believe that I initially underestimated just what Commander Richard meant when he said "Weapons of Mass Destruction". Ironwood thought grimly, watching the low-res footage of the encounter. The fireball that had been produced by the formerly Atlesian vessel, the A.A.S Valiant, was so large that it had engulfed its sister ships momentarily. He wasn't exaggerating when he said he could blow Atlas out of the sky...
Even if it wasn't technically in the hands of the actual military, it was still deeply alarming to see Atlas's equipment, even entire airships, torn apart with such ease. If things had proceeded even slightly differently, it could very well be Huntsmen and Huntresses meeting such a brutal fate. He was not alone in that line of thought, as the media criticized the UNSC for their flagrant and destructive display of power.
If Atlas performed a display like that, we would be called warmongers. Ironwood critically thought, noting the lack of even a single survivor aboard all three ships. Even if they were acting in self defense, I find it difficult to justify the use of such a brutish weapon against other humans. I'm not sure if I want to know what else they have in that ship...
Regardless, Ironwood was not about to make an ill-planned or thought out decision. For now, he would play along and focus on the defense of Atlas, but he would be watching the UNSC like a hawk. Ironwood had managed to get Lieutenant Thomas to agree to the conditions outlined in the Vacuo Accord, which effectively prevented any form of assault on civilians or their property. While the SDC and their Facilities obviously fell outside of this classification, it offered Ironwood something that he could use against them should the UNSC choose a regrettable plan of action.
He would also start looking into just how the SDC had gotten it's hands on three state-of-the-art Atlesian Warships. The failures of his nation's military intelligence apparently surpassed even his worst fears, and that was going to change, now. Even if he had to Court-Martial a third of his force, he would no longer tolerate disloyalty amongst the ranks of the Armed Forces, especially the Officers.
Maybe it's finally time I gave Ozpin another call, he'll know how to go about this. Ironwood thought, well aware of the man's ample experience in political maneuvering.