UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 15th, 1340 Local Time, 2552
The atmosphere on the Bridge seemed to have suddenly shifted. The spines of every bridge officer straightened as they shifted into a more professional posture, their faces adopting a more stoic expression. The chatter of the Bridge silenced instantly, and the only sounds that could be heard were those of terminals, computers, and keyboards working. The time for relaxed discussion was gone, it was time to work.
Those officers that didn't have immediate, essential duties looked to Richard for instruction, including Bradford. Ironwood similarly looked to him, his expression unmoving, as if trying to guess what Richard would order. But Richard already knew there was only one option of how to respond.
"That's Commander Cordovin, she's in charge of the garrison at Argus." Ironwood explained to Richard, speaking before he could. "It's a city towards the north end of Anima, if it's in danger of falling…"
"I understand." Richard replied, with mental images from the bloodiest battles of the Covenant war flashing in his mind. He knew from experience what happened when major population centers fell, he was not going to let it happen again. "Ensign Williams, set a course for Argus, best speed!"
"Aye Sir!" Williams shouted in response.
Even as the young Helmsman answered him, Richard turned to Bradford and issued his next order with what he could only hope was a confident look on his face. "Action Stations, set Condition One throughout the ship."
"Aye Sir." Bradford said, before grabbing the intercom and issuing the order. "Action Stations, Action Stations, this is not a drill. Set Condition One throughout the ship, I repeat-"
As Bradford spoke, Richard turned to face Ironwood, but he spoke first. "Commander, I appreciate the support-"
"General, I understand that this battle will likely be a significant diplomatic milestone for not just Atlas, but Remnant as a whole." Richard interrupted him, a no-nonsense tone in his voice. "But right now, your people don't need kind words and pleasantries, they need us to do our jobs. So please, tell me everything you know about the defences at Argus."
If Ironwood was at all insulted, he did not show it, instead remaining as professional and stoic as ever. If anything, he looked a bit relieved. Soon his expression, as well as the whole bridge, were illuminated by the red battle-lights of the Dominion going into full-alert. "We've been withdrawing forces from Argus for the last two weeks to reinforce Atlas, they're going to be in serious trouble if we can't get there quickly."
Damnit. Richard though. That was a complication that he had inadvertently caused, and now it was costing both him and the people of Argus. "Ensign Williams, how long will it take us to get there?"
"An hour, Sir, but we can make it in half that if we do a low-orbit burn." Williams quickly answered as he brought the Dominion about. Beneath his feet, Richard felt the immense mass of what was now humanity's strongest warship shift against the force of Remnant's atmosphere.
"Do it." Richard instructed, before turning back towards Bradford and Ironwood. "Lieutenant Bradford, ensure that all of our Air-Wings are set for action, load the Sabres for interception and send them on their way."
Bradford nodded and began to carry out his orders as Ironwood spoke up, his expression rich with confusion. "Half an hour, in this massive thing?"
"She's not just meant to ferry troops General, she's meant to do it quickly." Richard slyly answered, feeling a hint of pride in his warship for not the first time.
I can see why Captains get attached to their vessels, it's a truly unique feeling. He thought, momentarily relishing the slight shake of such a massive vessel beginning to climb out from Remnant's atmosphere.
"Either way, I'll need to assemble a force from Atlas to reinforce. This ship is certainly impressive, but a Level Nine attack is not something we want to take chances with." Ironwood said, a pressing urgency in his voice.
I wish I knew what that meant. Richard grumpily thought. "Use our communications station, and be quick, we'll need your knowledge if we're going to respond accordingly."
Ironwood flashed a rare expression of sympathy. "Thank you."
"Think nothing of it General, this is what we do for a living." Richard replied with a reassuring nod, before Ironwood moved to the communications console to radio back to home.
Richard meanwhile, had more orders to issue. "Lieutenant Gage, charge point defense guns and warm up the MAC, cap it at half power."
"Aye Sir." Gage replied, his voice shaky, but his demeanor calm.
"Relax Lieutenant, it's just the Grimm, this'll be a good ol' turkey shoot." Bradford reassured him, apparently noting the man's shakiness.
"Ensign Gillespie, alert Lieutenant Clark and Lieutenant Jorge to prepare their respective units for battle, we'll be dropping them in as soon as we arrive." Richard instructed. "Lieutenant Chen, alert Commander Cordovin that we are on our way, and to prepare for our arrival."
"Aye Sir!" They both shouted in response.
"Let me handle that Lieutenant, I know the Commander, and my knowledge of Atlesian Radio Protocol is more extensive." Ironwood said, joining Lieutenant Chen at the Communication Station.
There was a momentary hesitation as she must have mentally pondered whether or not she was supposed to obey Ironwood's orders. She gave Richard a silent, questioning look, to which he only responded with a nod.
Thankfully, his message had been properly conveyed, as she grabbed a headset and handed it to General Ironwood. "I'll handle the transmission Sir, here, I'll patch you through."
Richard turned back to the holotable and examined the holographic representation of Argus that Curie had constructed. A wave of red markers swarmed around the outer defenses as the defenders repelled them.
So much for a moment of peace… Richard thought as he examined the carnage. For mindless beasts, this is a surprisingly well-timed attack.
And yet, Richard felt a calm reassurance in the back of his mind. They had beaten the Grimm before, and that had been a battle with less acting in their favor, perhaps he didn't have too much to worry about.
UNSC Dominion, Starboard Armory
October 15th, 1342 Local Time, 2552
It didn't take long for the Armory to go from the quietest room on the Dominion to the loudest, even before the alert siren began to sound. Ben was rapidly joined by Marines, ODSTs, and Jorge, all of whom began to rapidly and rhythmically equip themselves. Equipment lockers were quickly thrown open as the defenders of humanity all recited a set of vaguely-chaotic but well-practiced movements, throwing on boots and armor alike.
"Prep your kit Spartan, we've got a situation!" Jorge instructed. Ben had already finished putting away the last of the Covenant weapons, and now he was wondering if perhaps he should have left a couple of them out.
"What's the mission?" Ben asked as he made for the nearest available equipment locker, thankfully, there was just a big enough gap for him to gear up.
"We've got a major city that's being stormed by Grimm. For some reason, their early warning system failed to spot them coming!" Jorge explained, his loud commanding voice overpowered all of the others in the armory, as the Marines instinctively shut up and listened. "Pack for a long fight, and a plasma secondary!"
A shiver ran down Ben's spine, urban combat was a nightmare for anyone involved. Thankfully, it seemed like they would be on the defensive, but that did not mean that their mission would be easy. If it was a major city, civilians would also probably be present.
This is going to be bad. Ben immediately thought, a strong sense of danger in his gut. He ignored it and focused on gathering his equipment.
Ben interpreted Jorge's orders to mean that he only needed an extra rifleman, and selected an MA5B Assault Rifle for the job, along with a Plasma Rifle, as per Jorge's instruction. He also grabbed a rucksack, and liberally filled it with extra magazines and grenades. He paused for a moment at the reinforced hardcase that held the UNSC's limited supply of plasma grenades.
"Take two." Curie advised. "And then drop me off at the nearest terminal, the Commander is going to need me in the Dominion."
"Are you sure?" Ben asked as he retrieved both of the dangerous blue devices, affixing them to one of the pouches on his chestpiece.
"I am positive, if Commander Richard does not need me to help manage the Dominion, I will alert you." Curie answered.
Ben did as she commanded and quickly dropped her off at the nearest terminal, where she would be able to work her way through the Dominion's systems to help wherever she was needed. Although Onyx would certainly be less effective without her, they were more than capable of acting independently as well. If she was needed to help manage the Dominion, she would probably do more good back aboard the ship than with them.
It's a shame that we couldn't save Dot, she would be really useful right around now. Ben thought.
Around him, his squad made themselves ready, Nathan grabbed his Sniper Rifle and Jorge retrieved and prepared Etilka. With both Yu and Fairfire out of action, they would be missing both a breacher and a heavy equipment operator, Meadows sought to remedy at least one of those issues by equipping himself with the legendary Spartan Laser.
"You sure?" Ben asked, carrying such a heavy weapon would be quite the commitment for the Helljumper.
Meadows looked at him with a sly grin. "Ben, I've been looking for an excuse to bring one of these for years, don't deny me this."
Ben nodded at Meadows's joking response, they would need the firepower anyway. The rest of the ODSTs, Kowalski, Peggy, and Kerry, all equipped themselves with a mix of plasma weapons and battle rifles.
Even in the confines of his armor, Ben could sense the confidence of the men and women around him. Nobody said it aloud, but all of them knew that this would be the largest battle that they had fought on Remnant, even larger than Operation Bismarck had been. But unlike their previous fights, they would be fighting Grimm, creatures that the UNSC's arsenal and well-trained soldiers had proven more than a match for.
The Marines were jubilant, their excitement barely contained, this was what they lived for. They were veterans of the war with the Covenant, and fighting against an enemy like the Grimm carried no ethical or moral doubt to linger on after the battle. Fighting such an enemy was what Ben had originally aimed to do as a Spartan, and even if they looked a bit different, the Grimm were no better than the Covenant. Still, he found the excited chatter and enthusiasm of the Marines to be a bit unnerving.
Confidence is critical, but arrogance is what makes cocky men into dead men. Ben remembered another lesson from Mendez. A quick and silent exchange of glances with Jorge confirmed that he was thinking the same thing, which only reinforced his fears.
But it wasn't his job to worry about every Marine on the Dominion, it was his job to follow his orders and contribute towards completing the objectives given to Onyx Team. So he finished packing his kit, slung his rucksack over his back, and waited for further instructions, but he would not have to wait long.
"Onyx Team, head for the vehicle bay." Jorge instructed, presumably relaying some unheard instructions from the bridge. "We'll be boarding Fireball's Pelican, Zulu 198."
"Sir, Yes Sir!" Every member of the squad shouted. With his equipment fully prepared, Ben set out immediately.
UNSC Dominion
October 15th, 1348 Local Time, 2552
It was both a blessing and a curse to think at the speed that Curie did. Smart could process information hundreds of times faster than an ordinary human, and while Curie was by no means a traditional Smart A.I, she still "sensed" things happening considerably faster than humans did. It was incredibly useful, especially in combat, as it allowed her to think clearly and at a speed that nothing else, especially on Remnant, could ever hope to match.
But as she listened to the panicked signals and communications coming in and out of Argus, Curie could only wish that time would move faster, so that she would not have to listen to people suffer as she was helpless to assist. All of the signals of the CCTS, combined with the overhead reconnaissance of one of the Dominion's recon satellites, gave Curie a vivid and constantly developing picture of the battle, sometimes with a little bit too much detail. There were also a handful of security cameras which she quickly brought under her control and added to her enormous pool of data.
All of the information that she received was taken, absorbed, compacted, and streamlined, before being recited to Commander Richard and the rest of the officers on the Bridge. She was consciously aware of General Ironwood briefing Lieutenant Clark and Jorge over the radio, trying to quickly bring them up to speed on the terrain of Argus and what they would need to do to stop the Grimm.
The Atlesian Defenders, combined with small numbers of Mistral Militiamen, as well as dozens of Huntsmen and Huntresses, formed a capable and decently-sized ground force. Although they seemed to lack many heavy vehicles, they had plenty of competent infantrymen, which would be invaluable as the defenders were slowly pushed back into the city. However, they had been caught off guard and out of position, thanks to what appeared to be deliberate sabotage of all of Argus's Radar Stations.
Who would do such a thing, and why? Curie thought, deeply troubled by the revelation. Terrorists frequently acted illogically, which made determining their motivations difficult, but as Curie's estimated death toll for the battle skyrocketed by the minute, she failed to imagine what could motivate any intelligent being to undertake such an action.
The city of Argus was built into a valley between two coastal hills, offering a valuable and defendable location that even had a fortified wall at the top of the slope that led down into the coast. Curie would have called it beautiful, were it not for the fact that it was currently under attack by a swarm of Grimm that made her feel ashamed with its sheer size. The Wall itself had yet to be breached, but certain Grimm types could climb over the lesser-defended portions of it.
There were tens of thousands of Grimm, so many that Curie gave up on trying to estimate their number at the thirty-five thousand mark. There were small ones, like Beowolves and Boarbatusks, accompanied by larger types such as the Deathstalker and the Taijitus. But the largest of the Grimm stayed near the rear of the horde, such as the monolithic Goliaths, which bided their time as they waited for the moment to strike.
There were also some types of Grimm that Curie had not previously seen as well, such as a deeply unsettling creature that reminded her of the ancient Tyrannosaurus, that reached easily twenty meters in height. Its teeth were more like the blades of swords than any sort of conventional tooth, and its jawline was reinforced with what looked like a sharpened bone plate. Thankfully, they seemed to stay behind most of the Grimm, but for how long, Curie couldn't guess.
But by far the biggest threat to Argus and the Dominion alike was the flying Grimm, ranging dramatically in size and lethality. Gigantic Nevermores shared the sky with Manticores and Griffons as they partook in a chaotic dogfight with Atlesian strike craft. Forming a final line of defense in the skies was a trio of Atlesian Cruisers, the Fox, the Perseus, and the Neptune, which held a tight formation around the island upon which the Atlesian military base stood as they fired volleys of laser fire into the Grimm hordes.
Back on the Dominion, all eight Sabres of Voodoo Squadron launched from both of the Dominion's side-mounted hangars in rapid succession. Unlike the rest of the Dominion's embarked aircraft and spacecraft, the Sabres were considerably faster than the Dominion, meaning that they would arrive several minutes before the Dominion itself.
Fly fast pilots, they will need you down there… Curie silently remarked, watching as the storm of smoke and gunfire around the walls of Argus intensified.
But as Curie watched the battle develop from the advanced cameras of a satellite, she noticed an oddity in the way that the Grimm moved. Rather than move as part of a large wave, they were seemingly segregated into different formations. Swarms of Nevermores and packs of Beowolves moved in completely separate ways, hinting perhaps at some kind of pack mentality amongst the different subspecies of Grimm. But it was less like the movements of wild animals, and more like a deranged mockery of the movements of human military units.
Perhaps they are like a pack of wolves, and the "Alpha" designation for certain Grimm is more accurate than I anticipated… Curie thought, disturbed by the idea of a greater intelligence behind the Grimm's actions. Still, time was of the essence, and she could not afford to think in such a way while the battle still raged.
Even despite being hopelessly outnumbered, the Huntsmen and Huntresses of Argus fought with a ferocity and fearlessness that reminded Curie of the Spartans. Although she only had a handful of security cameras on the ground to give her a closer view, she could see that in a close fight, the Grimm were being ripped apart. Weapons slashed, smashed, and penetrated Grimm in manners that Curie had scantily imagined possible. Even despite a total lack of unified equipment, tactics, or even organization, the Huntsmen performed unexpectedly well.
Perhaps my earlier special forces comparison was more apt than I had anticipated. Curie thought, recognizing that without the Huntsmen, the outer defenses of Argus would have long since fallen by now. She watched with both confusion and respect as one Huntress used a giant hook and a quad-barreled shotgun to fling the Grimm into the air, before blasting it apart. No, wait, the hook is part of the weapon...
In the sky, lasers and missiles flew from the decks of the Atlesian Airships, while their escorting smaller craft did their best to protect them from attacks by the larger flying Grimm. But they were noticeably more overburdened than the forces on the ground, and the shields of the Cruiser Neptune were rapidly eroded and fires began to break out across the ship. Frustrated at her inability to help in any considerable manner, Curie quickly downloaded the fire control software for all of the Atlesian Cruisers, ran a brief optimization, and beamed it to the three embattled warships.
Curie was consciously aware that attempting to manage every bit of information from Argus was taking up a considerable amount of her processing power, and opted to send certain tasks to Lieutenant Chen and Ensign Gillespie so that she would not have to do it all alone. Still, the overload was quite straining, but various Atlesian comms officers quickly offered their support, and soon, she was back to having a small amount of leftover processing power. But as she filtered through the slew of communications, a single transmission caught her attention as it reached the Dominion's communications dish.
Broadcasting over the Atlesian Command Channel, Commander Cordovin spoke with a furious tone of voice that had an oddly inspiring effect, at least, in Curie's opinion.
"Attention all units, be mindful of your surroundings, I am activating the Colossus!" She said, and was met by a slew of enthusiastic responses from the various defenders.
Curie's curiosity was immediately grabbed, and she quickly downloaded a more recent report on Argus's "Colossus" vehicle from the Atlesian Battlenet.
...Oh. Curie thought, not really sure how she was supposed to digest the information she had just read. Nevertheless, she passed it on to Commander Richard, and silently hoped that Cordovin's stunt would be enough to buy some time for the Dominion to arrive.
Argus Military Base
October 15th, 1354 Local Time, 2552
Mechanical servos whirred and spun as the stony spire of the Atlesian Military Base in Argus pulled itself neatly apart, revealing the concealed mech within. Manipulating the controls, Cordovin took the first steps out from the rocky prison of the Colossus and adopted a ready stance as the numerous sensors and cameras provided her with all of the information that she needed to decide her next move. Whatever staff were left in the base stood aside and let her slowly step forwards as the massive legs of the Colossus effortlessly made room in the water for her.
The Colossus was Cordovin's brainchild, a mech towering just over thirty meters tall, and coated in dense, durable armor. She had aimed to encapsulate the superiority of Atlesian technology into a single, powerful mech, that was capable of taking on even the strongest Grimm by itself, and she had succeeded. But that had been many, many years ago, the Colossus was no spring chicken, and neither was she, but both of them were still standing in defense of Argus despite their age.
"Let them come…" Cordovin muttered to herself as she charged the weapons systems. Her shields powered on as she raised the arms of the mech stepped forward towards the beach, steam hissing and aging servos whirring as it moved.
The UNSC better be all that it's cracked up to be! Cordovin thought, nervously eyeing the countdown before her that was rapidly ticking down the minutes until she could expect reinforcements. Were it not for the stakes of their current situation, she would have scoffed at the idea of Atlas needing help in a battle, but now, waiting fifteen minutes for help seemed like an impossibility.
But she had never seen such a massive Grimm attack before, and never so suddenly. If she ever got her hands on that wormy bastard who took down her defensive grid, she would fire him out of her main gun. Thankfully, it seemed that the aquatic Grimm were feeling a bit lazy today, at least for now. With the seafront more or less secure, she could focus the efforts of her forces, as well as her Colossus, on the Grimm attacking the wall.
Cordovin continued to step forward until the massive metal feet of the Colossus stood upon Argus's beachfront, taking care not to step on anyone who was fleeing to the safety of the military base. It was impossible not to feel sympathy for the fleeing civilians that she was duty-bound to protect. She enabled the loudspeakers of the mech and issued a swift order.
"Get to the base, proceed in an orderly fashion!" Cordovin shouted, hoping to regain some sense of order, but it was a lost cause, the citizens of Argus knew the stakes as well as she did.
I will not fail you! She insisted to herself, raising the massive primary dust cannon of the Colossus, and cycling the ammo until she found the type that she desired.
Brilliant golden energy flashed from the bore of her massive weapon as the force of lighting itself was bent to her whim. Like a dozen whips of arcane energy, the lightning bolts dashed into the sky faster than any Grimm could ever hope to evade. Dozens of flying Grimm fell in a single shot, and a noticeable gap formed within their formation.
"Excellent shot, Commander." The captain of the Atlesian Cruiser Perseus said over the Command Channel.
"I'm certainly well-practiced." She cockily replied. "What's the latest report from the wall?"
There was a momentary pause as the Perseus launched a volley of missiles to cover the faltering Neptune, before the captain was able to speak again. "There's a breach on the western half, we've taken heavy losses, we can't hold for much longer."
Cordovin bit back a curse as she pondered her options, and realized that if they were going to hold the line until Ironwood arrived with the UNSC, she would need to move into the thick of the action. "I understand, tell them I'm on my way!"
The Colossus was not exactly built with maneuvering in urban environments in mind, as it was meant to wade within the water of Argus, not to venture into the city itself. Nonetheless, the main street was barely wide enough for her to walk down, as long as she kept the arms of the mech raised above the buildings and her legs close together.
If we survive this, Argus is going to take years to recover… Cordovin realized, before her distracted train of thought was interrupted by an ambitious Manticore that attempted to crash itself into her. Rather than waste the effort trying to shoot it down, she allowed it to impact on her hull, where it was fried to a crisp as it passed cleanly through the hard-light shielding.
As she moved, she began to take shots at the clusters of Grimm that she could spot. In particular, she used up most of her missiles in a massive spread in an attempt to assist the pilots in the sky, acutely aware that they were overwhelmingly outmatched. They were also one of the only things besides the Huntsmen on the ground that could hope to protect the Colossus from its biggest weakness, smaller Grimm in the wrong place.
"Begone you insolent weaklings!" Cordovin commanded as she used the right leg of the Colossus to simply step on a trio of Boarbatusks that were attempting to grind their way through her armor. Although it was somewhat troubling to see that they had progressed so deep into the city, Cordovin would ensure that no more Grimm survived to join them.
Finally, she reached a position from which she could directly observe the wall, and discovered that it was already being abandoned. Huntsman and soldiers alike fought a fighting retreat as the Grimm pursued them into the outskirts of Argus. Seeing that her forces were in serious danger of being wiped out, Cordovin leapt forward, placing herself between the vast swaths of Grimm and her subordinates.
"Come and get me!" She taunted over the loudspeakers, before unleashing a series of truly devastating shots from her dust cannon into the tightly-packed Grimm. Fireballs, shards of ice, spiky fragments of rock, and hurricanes of wind combined to form an impenetrable wall of death that no Grimm could dare hope to pass through. The barrage was so great that the Grimm began to actively back away from her in fear.
They cannot dare hope to combat the might of Atlas, the might of me! Cordovin thought as the adrenaline rushed to her head and she continued to fire at those that fled.
But her good fortune would not last long, while the Grimm on the ground were forced back, the Grimm in the air identified her as an opportune target. Fireball after fireball battered at her shields, launched from Manticores and Sphinxes while the Nevermores came around to deliver a devastating volley of their razor-sharp feathers.
"Commander, get out of there!" The captain of the Perseus insisted. "We can't cover you when you're that far from the base!"
She didn't bother responding, she knew that she could take them on her own, at least long enough to buy time for reinforcements. She began to return fire on the airborne Grimm, vaporizing a massive Nevermore that likely would have finished off her shields and put a feather through her cockpit. But with her cannon aimed skywards, the Larger land-based Grimm were free to advance, and they too had decided to try to attack her.
Damn it, there's too many! Cordovin thought. Rather than redirect her cannon fire, which would open her up to air attack, she opted to enable the piercing drill built into her other arm. The Colossus wasn't built to operate all of its weapon systems at once, even in an emergency, but she needed the firepower.
She aimed her final missile pod into the sky, locked onto a small swarm of Nevermores, and banished them from existence in a hail of fire. On the ground, a Goliath made the critical mistake of trying to charge her and knock her off balance, she ground her drill into the beast's forehead for its troubles, and the ancient Grimm was quickly vanquished.
By now, smaller Ursas and Beowolves were clawing and biting at her feet, forcing her to stomp them to keep her lower shields intact. But as warning klaxons started to blare and the hydraulics began to vent steam as they failed, Cordovin knew that the Colossus could not take much more. She brought the drill to bear on the smaller Grimm around her with devastating results as she fired the last of her cannon's ammunition skyward.
"Commander, your systems are failing, you need to retreat!" One of her subordinates shouted in her ear, but now, she could not retreat even if she wanted to. Her shields finally cracked as a smaller Goliath rammed into one of her legs, its tusks penetrating the plating and damaging the servos that gave it mobility.
Goddamnit Ironwood, where are you?! She angrily thought, although the monitor that would've told her how long it would take for help to arrive was now snapped off, presumably from the force of one of the larger hits that she had taken.
"Warning, critical power surge imminent, eject immediately!" The A.I of the Colossus commanded, and Cordovin knew better than to ignore that warning.
With a heavy heart, she punched in the code to vent all of the coolant in the Dust reactor, dooming the Colossus to a fiery death.
"Goodbye… old friend." She said as she patted the arms of the command seat in a reassuring manner, before activating the escape protocol, and engaging her ejector seat.
The head of the Colossus opened up, and Cordovin's control seat launched her hundreds of feet into the air as her mech exploded in a spectacular multicolored fireball, taking all of the nearby Grimm with it. It was hard to watch, but it was also impossible to tear her eyes away, even as the parachute deployed as she slowly glided her way back towards friendly forces. Her sorrowful attitude was interrupted as a griffon buzzed below, missing her parachute by mere inches.
Suddenly, she was consciously aware of every Grimm around her, and the explosions of friendly munitions inside of their swarms and flocks. She briefly pondered the possibility of cutting her parachute away, and if she would survive the fall. But the ongoing fight between Huntsmen and the Grimm beneath her would probably claim her life, especially with how badly her Aura would be depleted by the fall.
Cordovin sat in her detached ejector seat as it slowly descended, a sense of paralyzing helplessness overtaking her. But even with nothing she could do, her defiant fury did not leave her heart, even as she watched the battle begin to turn for the worst.
In the distance before her, the Cruiser Neptune fell to the ground, with a massive Nevermore still clinging to its hull as it tore the power systems out of the ship one by one. The Neptune lost power halfway down and crashed down onto the beaches of Argus. Cordovin could only hope that it had not crushed anyone on impact, and that some of the crew may have survived. Her two sister ships desperately fought off a swarm of Grimm around them, but most of their missiles were either spent or still needed to be reloaded.
From the air, it was readily apparent that her forces were rapidly tiring, and that before long, the Grimm would storm the city. The forces on the ground did not falter, but by now, Cordovin's birds-eye view was starting to become muddled by gunsmoke and explosions.
I will not lose this battle, I cannot! Cordovin thought in anger.
As if to prove that things could always get worse, a giant Nevermore spotted her gliding towards the ground and adjusted its course to strike her on the way down. As she quickly ran over her options of how she could respond, perhaps even escape entirely, the Nevermore dove faster and faster. But before it could strike her, it was intercepted by some barely-glimpsed object and exploded in a furious light.
Cordovin's ears were assaulted by the most deafening thunderclap that she had ever heard. It was so loud that she could feel part of her Aura be spent in defense of her ears, and even still, she could hear a harsh ringing. The fireball that had engulfed the Nevermore left nothing but smoke in its wake as dozens more missiles screamed through the air, and gave a hint as to where the blast had come from.
No missile flies that fast... Cordovin skeptically thought, before the eight aircraft that launched them flew overhead, leaving a sonic boom in their wake.
Her eyebrows raised in surprise as she watched them thunder past her, tearing swaths of Grimm out of the sky like a formation of technological monsters. The brilliant golden tracers of their projectiles left brilliant streams of light in the sky that were nothing short of awe-inspiring as even the largest Grimm were felled by them. For what had to be the first in a very long time, Cordovin was left utterly speechless as they flew at impossible speeds and pulled away to turn around and attack once more.
She was brought back into reality as her parachute drifted her into the rear of her friendly battle line, where she was quickly cut free by two of her soldiers. "Ma'am, are you okay?"
"Don't worry about me gentlemen, it's going to take more than that to kill me!" She confidently said, her demeanor utterly unaffected. "Lead me to the Command Center, I need to get in contact with General Ironwood!"
"Right this way!" He replied as he led her down one of Argus's many sidestreets.
UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 15th, 1409 Local Time, 2552
Waiting was the most agonizing part of any battle. They could last days, weeks, or only minutes, and ultimately, there was no way to definitively predict how long a fight would continue. The last twenty-nine minutes had been brutal as all Richard could do was listen to the fighting through the CCTS, getting frequent updates from Curie.
When Voodoo Squadron arrived in the skies, the voices of his pilots joined those of the defenders, and it seemed that they had arrived just in time to save two of Atlas's Airships from destruction. Regrettably, they could not save the third, a ship called the Neptune, nor could they save Commander Cordovin's Colossus. Thankfully, the Atlesian Commander was still alive thanks to a timely ejection, and Richard could hear her complaining to Ironwood from the communications terminal.
"Sir, we're about fifty kilometers out, I'm beginning deceleration." Williams reported as the ship shuddered, even if they had never left the atmosphere, the forces being exerted upon the ship were immense.
"Good, let me know when it's safe to launch our birds." Richard replied. Most of the Dominion's strike craft were meant for combat in a planet's atmosphere, meaning they could not be launched so high up.
But there were some that did not require an atmosphere to properly operate, such as the Pelican, and there was no sense clogging the hangars with something that could begin its descent alongside the Dominion. "Lieutenant Bradford, give the Pelicans the order to launch and begin their descent."
"Aye Sir." Bradford confirmed. He quickly relayed the order, and turned back to Richard. "Sir, pilots are requesting landing sites."
Richard turned to the communications console. "General?"
Ironwood quickly confirmed something with Cordovin before offering an answer. "The Atlesian Base is your best bet, but most of the streets to the North should be wide enough for your dropships to land."
"There's also a few city parks that should be clear enough, provided your ships can fit in them." Cordovin added.
Bradford nodded and relayed the instructions. The Squad Leaders of the Marines already had their orders, and the Pilots would also be made well aware, which meant that Richard could focus on other, more direct solutions to the horde of Grimm outside the city.
Clark is a capable leader, and Jorge is a Spartan for crying out loud, I'm sure they don't need you leaning over their shoulder and breathing down their necks. Richard's cynical side spoke, before he banished the voice from his mind.
"Lieutenant Gage, what's the status of the Grimm outside the city walls?" Richard asked.
Gage ran a quick scan with his equipment, and produced an answer. "There's... a substantial Grimm presence outside of the city's fortifications. They're outside of the range of most of Argus's defenders… but not us."
A confident grin slowly emerged on Richard's face, they were no longer helpless to assist. "I understand. Lieutenant Williams, steady our descent."
"Aye Sir!" Williams confirmed, as the RCS thrusters of the Dominion did their best to level out the rapid, but controlled descent of the Dominion.
Richard turned to face Commander Cordovin on the primary monitor of the comms terminal, the defenders would probably need a warning of what was to come. "Commander, you may wish to advise your men to cover their ears, this will be… loud."
Although she seemed skeptical, she nodded her head anyway, before seemingly passing the instruction along to her subordinates.
Richard took one final look at the holographic display, which displayed a representation of their descent. He waited for several seconds before they arrived within the firing range that Richard had in mind. He withdrew his datapad, and ran some quick calculations as to whether or not his plan would actually work, thankfully, with some silent assistance from Curie, it was.
"Lieutenant Gage, order all Ventral batteries to load kinetic packages, charge to half power, then fire at any target more than one kilometer from Argus." Richard instructed, triple-checking his math with the help of his datapad as he spoke.
"Aye Sir!" Gage confirmed, before relaying the orders to the gunnery crews.
Ironwood raised an eyebrow. "Your secondary cannons can fire that far?"
"Absolutely, although normally they're not meant to make a forty kilometer shot in the atmosphere. That's why we aren't firing too close to Argus so that we can avoid friendly fire in the event that we overestimate our accuracy." Richard answered.
Ironwood seemed understandably a bit worried, even suspicious. "Are you sure that you won't hit Argus?"
"Our spread deviation is only seven-hundred and thirty-five meters, General." Curie quickly interjected. "The odds of us hitting Argus are practically zero. I could show you the mathematics involved if you would like to examine them yourself."
There was an awkward moment of silence where Richard wasn't entirely sure how Ironwood would respond, but eventually, he nodded. "No Curie, that shouldn't be necessary."
Richard gave him a grateful nod. "Believe me, if there was a chance we would hit Argus, we wouldn't be firing at this range in the first place."
It's also why we aren't using the Trebuchets, as useful as they would be, I don't trust their targeting computers one bit. Richard thought, shuddering at the damage that even a single missile of that kind would do to Argus. It wouldn't be a defense at that point, it would be a rescue operation for the survivors.
It took around a minute for the firing preparations to be completed as the Dominion continued its descent, which forced the guns to be constantly adjusting. During the momentary wait, Richard ordered the remaining dropships to launch as they neared the tangible atmosphere of Remnant, consisting of the heavier Albatrosses and the cargo carrying Darters, only now, they were loaded with Marines.
"Gun captains report firing solutions are acquired!" Gage reported. "Estimate about thirty seconds until we lose our window!"
Richard understood they would need to fire quickly, or be forced to calculate their shots once more. "Fire."
Argus, Forward Command Center
October 15th, 1413 Local Time, 2552
It turned out that the Command Center that was responsible for managing Argus's border defenses had been wiped out. Its personnel had been slaughtered and an explosive was detonated inside, ruining all of the computers. While Cordovin had obviously ensured that the automated gun turrets were still usable thanks to backup systems, the location was still compromised, and a new Command Center was needed. Thankfully, her officers had already taken the liberty of selecting one, even if it had some minor faults.
They could've picked any building with a Counter that I can actually see over, but no, pick the damn donut shop… Cordovin grumpily thought, but a repositioned chair sorted that issue out quickly. The building itself was actually ideal for being commandeered for military uses, its rooftop made a good place to post snipers, and its concrete construction would offer some defense against Grimm.
"Commander, the UNSC has launched their airships, they should be here any minute!" One of her Lieutenants stated.
"About time…" Cordovin said, before recognizing that none of the alien soldiers would know anything about Argus and its terrain. "I want a Specialist to act as a guide for each of their units." Cordovin instructed.
There was a hint of hesitation in the man's reaction. "We're uh, a bit short on available Specialist units, perhaps the local Huntsmen-"
"Recall what Specialists you have to!" Cordovin instructed, placing an extra emphasis on ensuring that Atlesian personnel would be the ones working alongside the UNSC.
The Huntsmen have their uses, never let that go unsaid, but I will not allow them to take away from this opportunity to show Atlas's greatness! Cordovin thought. Besides, it's not like your average Huntsmen carries a radio set...
As the Lieutenant grabbed a radio to issue the order, a massive explosion unlike anything Cordovin had ever heard sounded in the distance, causing the man to drop the radio in surprise. The rest of the Command Staff were similarly stunned.
"What in the-" Cordovin began to say before another blast cut her off. She walked outside to see what was going on, joined by a few of her officers.
Although she could not see the blasts, she heard dozens more, all coming from beyond Argus's wall, and Cordovin quickly realized what was happening, the UNSC starship must've been firing some sort of heavy artillery at the Grimm from high up in the sky.
She looked up, expecting to see a massive UNSC vessel alongside her airships, but only saw a handful of their smaller craft in the air, dogfighting with a dozen times their number of Grimm. But then she saw it, a gigantic black mass seemingly falling out of the sky, before quickly decelerating its descent and coming to a hover above everything else on the battlefield.
Magnificent… Cordovin thought as a large wave of air hit the city, blowing debris, garbage, and a harsh breeze in practically every direction as the Dominion settled around a kilometer in the air.
Then the rest of the Dominion's guns opened fire, tearing apart Grimm wherever they could be found, and suddenly, the battle didn't seem so unwinnable.