White Fang Headquarters
October 30th, 1120 Local Time, 2552
The White Fang's evacuation was taking much longer than Sienna Khan would have liked. Three days had passed since the skirmish at the Lucky Angler, and that was three days that the UNSC would have had to track down the White Fang's hideaway. The alien military had already demonstrated their ability to find otherwise secretive locations during their campaign against the Schnee Dust Company, so it was far from unreasonable to assume that they would do the same in Menagerie.
Already, her people were reactivating a number of far more concealed bases all across Menagerie, most of which dated back to the Faunus Revolution. While sleeping in a moldy underground bunker wasn't appealing to anybody, it was also much easier to lay low in such a location. The old Human prison was by far and above the most obvious territory that the White Fang owned, and that meant it was a target.
Mercifully, Adam had recovered enough to begin helping with the evacuation. It was something of a mixed blessing of course, given how he wasn't afraid to voice his opposition to the evacuation even as he helped organize it, but he did follow his orders, and that was what really mattered.
I should oversee the emptying of the armory, there's probably a few relics in there that we shouldn't waste our time on. She thought. The armory was in one of the deepest parts of the base, and while that meant that it was well protected, it also made it much more difficult to move anything heavy out of it. As it turned out, her decision to head underground was extremely fortuitous.
Mere moments after she passed through one of the large doors leading into tunnels beneath the base, some kind of massive explosion erupted outside, followed swiftly by three more. Even halfway down the tunnel, Sienna could feel the wave of heat that swept through the air. The blasts themselves were utterly deafening, and the shaking of the ground indicated that whatever they had just been hit with, it had been very, very large.
Immediately, she turned around and sprinted back up the tunnel into the danger. While doing so would obviously put herself in danger, it was her duty as the White Fang's High Leader to figure out what was going on, and whether anybody had been hurt. More explosions rang out, and a wave of dread washed over her a million possibilities of what she might find on the surface ran through her mind.
It's the UNSC, it has to be! She thought as more blasts on the surface shook the ground around her.
She burst out of the tunnels to see the base in total chaos. Debris was everywhere, and there was a massive crater in one of the courtyards. It seemed as if everyone had been thrown into a panic, as practically every single White Fang Soldier who wasn't already in cover was rushing around in panic, looking for a place to take shelter. Several people barged past her, but she was able to get a hold of one of them and pull them before her.
"Calm down!" She sternly commanded. "What's going on?"
Even through his mask, Sienna could see the wide, fearful eyes of the recruit. "It's the Humans! They've come for revenge!"
Another explosion erupted just outside the entrance, making Sienna's ears ring from the sound and force. Somebody had been running towards the tunnels when it had happened, but when the smoke cleared, they were totally gone, replaced only with a crater.
Artillery. The horrible realization struck her with the force of a bullet. We need to leave, equipment and supplies be damned, we can't hold out against their forces.
"Lady Khan!" Sienna turned around to see Vermillion running up the tunnel. Despite having an empty sleeve where her arm had once been and no weapon, there wasn't a speck of fear in her voice.
"Vermillion! Thank the Gods, have you seen Adam or Clay?"
"Clay's down in the infirmary, he's already putting together a plan to evacuate the wounded. He sent me up here to tell you." Vermillion answered. "I haven't seen Adam since the attack began."
Sienna grated her teeth in frustration, she couldn't afford to be missing any of her Lieutenants at such a crucial moment. Still, there wasn't anything that Vermillion could do about it. "Damn it all! Alright, I need you to relay a message to Clay, tell him to abandon anything we can't carry and sabotage the rest. Once that's done, get yourself out of here with the rest of the wounded."
Vermillion scowled In dissatisfaction at Sienna's orders, which was more than a little exasperating. "We don't have time to argue about this! I am not going to risk one of my best fighters while they're injured! If you want to be useful, then help Clay with the evacuation!"
Despite Vermillion's obvious reluctance, she still gave a stern nod and darted back down the tunnel. All the while, Artillery shells continued to slam into the ground outside, but the intensity of the incoming fire seemed to be diminishing somewhat, as it was taking longer and longer for each shell to land.
Sienna exploited the opportunity to dash outside, making her way from cover to cover until she reached the Command Center in the middle of the base. With any luck, she would be able to effectively take charge of the crisis.
The sights around her were hellish, like something out of her worst nightmares. The Headquarters was the closest thing that she and the White Fang as a whole had to a home, and it had not rendered the barrage well. While the heavy concrete structures that made up much of the old prison were intact, practically everything else had been torn to ribbons. Fires roared all around her as more artillery shells came down, and the cacophony of the blasts meant that her ears were still ringing.
The worst part was the bodies of her fallen comrades. Even though Sienna did the best she could to just keep moving, she couldn't ignore just how many of them there were. The lack of any kind of warning prior to the attack had left many Faunus out in the open when the artillery came down, and while many of them had managed to flee to safety, many more hadn't gotten the chance.
After what felt like hours but had probably only been around a minute, she finally made her way to the Command Center. It was a somewhat-concealed bunker towards the heart of the old prison, protected by the large concrete walls around it, as well as some work done by the White Fang to fortify it even further.
Stolen Atlesian Computers and Communications Equipment was manned by the best that the White Fang had to offer, as they struggled to execute existing plans in the event of a Human Attack. Standing beside those technicians was Adam, who noticed her almost immediately. "High Leader, where have you been?! We've been looking for you, the UNSC is coming!"
Sienna rolled her eyes. "You don't say? I figured the artillery outside was just the weather!"
Adam grated his teeth, but wisely kept his own snark to a minimum. "Not just that! Our scouts report seeing their aircraft heading towards us. The artillery is just the beginning, they're going to send their troops."
Even though Sienna had expected as much, the news was still chilling. "What about our own defenses?"
"We've been trying to organize them, but something is preventing our radios from working!" Adam explained with no small amount of irritation. "I sent a few runners out to check on everyone, they should be back any minute."
"Good." Sienna replied. "And our Bullheads?"
Adam shook his head. "They were all destroyed, one of the survivors said that they weren't even able to take off before their starfighters shot them down."
Damnit, there goes our maneuverability… Sienna thought. Assuming the White Fang survived this battle at all, the loss of their stolen aircraft would severely hamper their ability to travel aboard, or even within Menagerie. "Then we'll just have to fight without them."
Adam nodded. "We should try to counterattack once the UNSC reveals their forces! If we can engage them at close range, they can't use their artillery against us!"
Sienna scowled, it was certainly a risky plan, but it also had some merit. The UNSC was unlikely to use their heavy weapons against their own men, but at the same time, engaging them in a close-quarters melee would likely be an absolute bloodbath. Her conscience was not at all eased by the memory of Adam's last plan, but admittedly, she had also played a massive part in that mistake of an operation.
Another shell landed somewhere above the Command Center, causing the lights to flicker and the ground to shake all around them. Although nobody was hurt, it was more than enough to remind Sienna of the urgency of the situation at hand.
"Do it!" She ordered. "Buy us time to get the wounded out! I'll come back for you when it's time to leave!"
Adam grinned maniacally, but didn't say another word as he rushed out to face the UNSC.
Gods above, it's like he actually enjoys fighting… She thought.
UNSC Dominion, Bridge
October 30th, 0628 Local Time, 2552
Through the cameras of a Clarion Spy Drone flying more than a dozen kilometers above the surface of Menagerie, Richard watched as the White Fang's base vanished beneath a cloud of ugly black smoke, brought on by Zulu Company's M440 howitzers. The wind caused the smoke to spread, but even through it all, Richard could see the concrete structures that had once been the Oubliette Facility. The Artillery had failed to destroy the old, sturdy buildings, but that had never been the purpose of the bombardment.
If the goal had been to destroy the prison and everybody in it, then all the UNSC would have to do is fly the Dominion over to Menagerie, fire a couple of Trebuchet Missiles into the White Fang's Headquarters, and call it a day. Completely destroying the White Fang's base wasn't their goal however, as it would also destroy any potential source of intelligence that could be found, and while Silver's information had proven useful so far, that didn't mean he was trustworthy. Richard was also reluctant to deploy the Dominion in any battle where it wasn't absolutely necessary, as while something like a tank or a plane could be replaced, the Dominion simply couldn't be.
Richard's paranoia regarding the mysterious informant and for the Dominion's safety were only two of numerous reasons that the base couldn't be levelled outright. Killing the White Fang's leadership in a massive airstrike would certainly be a victory, but it would also make them into martyrs for not just the White Fang, but potentially even the Faunus. The last thing that anybody needed was for the White Fang to be given a reason to fight on.
A far more preferable alternative was to capture the White Fang's leadership, as it would offer up a major political victory not just for the UNSC, but for Menagerie and Atlas as well. There, they could stand trial for the lives that they had taken and the people that they had hurt.
Not that any of those crazy bastards are likely to avoid the Death Penalty, but that's hardly our problem. Richard thought. Even if Remnant's culture seemed to treat Capital Punishment as a sort of taboo, the sheer volume of crimes that could be attributed to the White Fang may very well be enough to overrule that.
Unfortunately for the UNSC, the White Fang's Headquarters was a practical fortress, but that did not mean it was uncrackable. The Marine Artillery would do much to suppress the enemy and cripple their morale, while precision airstrikes guided by the Dominion's supply of Clarion Spy Drones neutralized any White Fang assets that were likely to prove a problem, such as their airships.
All the while, every officer, crewman, and serviceperson aboard the Dominion worked tirelessly to manage and coordinate the assault from afar. Lieutenant Gage, Lieutenant Chen, and Ensign Williams were all responsible for managing the flotilla of spacecraft and aircraft that the Dominion had deployed for the operation. Meanwhile, Bradford and Ensign Gillespie coordinated the groundside operations, ensuring that the Marines were as ready as they could be when the time came to strike.
To Richard, all of the minor details of the operation were starting to become an overwhelming weight that was holding him down. Artillery needed to have it's targets spotted, the Hornets and Vultures that were still some distance from Menagerie needed to have their navigational data updated constantly, and the Sabres of Voodoo Squadron needed to be alerted of any friendly assets in the area of operations, lest they accidentally fire upon their own forces. Mercifully, he had his Officers and crew to rely upon to help with the workload, as well as a new, powerful ally.
"Hostile fortifications have been suppressed, Voodoo Squadron reports seventy-eight percent of their ammunition has been expended." Auntie Dot reported.
"Order them to orbit around the target site and provide cover against any incoming airborne targets." Richard replied.
He had worked with Dumb AI in the past, and their no-nonsense programming was always refreshing. Dot's help, combined with the aid of the talented men and women of his crew, meant that he was free to focus on the bigger picture. So far, everything was going according to plan, but the battle had only just begun, and the initial bombardment was always simple in comparison to what came after.
"Commander." Bradford spoke up from the Operations station. "Zulu Company and Crusader Company are both giving us the green light, they're ready to move in on your order."
Richard opened up the unit roster and saw it for himself. While commiting armored units to a jungle environment was admittedly risky for a number of reasons, the plantlife surrounding the White Fang's Headquarters was considerably less dense than was standard for Menagerie's climate. Moreover, the tanks had plenty of Infantry to cover them, so they would be at less of a risk to any kind of ambush by the White Fang.
"Give them a standby order, I don't want them advancing until we've set the table." Richard replied. "Gillespie, what's the status on our jamming blanket?"
"Still online Sir, the White Fang still have no eyes or ears." Gillespie relayed. "I think that some of their communications gear is still getting through, but I'm working on that now."
"Do it. We need to keep them in the dark for as long as you can." Richard said. Keeping the White Fang's communications offline would be a major help to the Marines on the ground.
"Commander, you have a new message from Noble 5… Onyx Actual." Auntie Dot interjected. "Onyx Team are making good progress towards clearing a path for Crusader Company, he estimates that they will be at the enemy's position within minutes."
Richard scratched his chin in deep thought, that posed something of a problem. For every minute that was spent waiting for the artillery to continue their bombardment, the White Fang would have more time to prepare their defenses, or worse, even find a way to escape. Time was of the essence, but at the same time, sending Marines against entrenched positions in a frontal assault would lead to grueling casualties. Thankfully, there was another option.
"Order Crusader Company to begin their assault as soon as Onyx Team has cleared the way." Richard instructed. "If they can punch a hole in the enemy defenses, then Zulu Company can exploit it."
"Aye Sir." Bradford rapidly relayed the orders as Richard turned his attention back to the holotable. A digital representation of his plan was rapidly forming to display the battlefield in an understandable manner.
One way or another, this is going to be very bloody. Richard thought.
White Fang Headquarters, Outskirts of Civilized Land
October 30th, 1150 Local Time, 2552
The White Fang's Headquarters stood like a concrete monolith over the jungle that surrounded it. Surrounding the compound itself was a wall constructed from similar material, protected by watchtowers and ramparts. Past that wall lay nothing but untamed rainforest, providing ample cover for any attackers, but also a substantial obstacle to actually traverse.
At least it's not snow… Ben thought, although he was still trying to figure out which of the two climates posed a bigger challenge to fight in.
Thick roots, wet mud, and slippery rocks made stealthy maneuvering a considerable challenge, but if there was any team with the capability to covertly approach the White Fang's fortifications, it was Onyx Team. Along the way to the wall, they would plant C-7 foaming explosive charges on any obstacle big enough to give a tank trouble, thus clearing the way for the main assault.
Additionally, navigating the jungle was made difficult by Curie's absence, but the towering structure looming only a few dozen meters away offered a useful point of reference. The gargantuan impacts of the howitzer shells had been replaced with smaller, more controlled blasts, likely from mortars operated by the Marines, if Ben had to guess. Whatever the case, the sounds of the explosions helped keep them all on course.
Nathan had taken over the role of navigator in Curie's absence, as he could apparently use his Semblance to locate the most efficient path forward. Even if waiting for him did slow them down a little, they were able to move much more quietly as a result, which made the delays well worth the effort.
"Okay, now we go… down that way." Nathan quietly relayed his latest directions over TeamCom. "Mind the ditch."
"Are you sure they'd be able to hear us out here?" Yu asked. "I know that Faunus have better hearing and all, but over all the guns?"
"They might not all be in the base, any decent commander would have patrols out at all times, so keep your eyes peeled." Fairfire pointed out. "Nathan, is that ditch going to cause problems for the tanks?"
Nathan shook his head. "It's too narrow, they'll just roll over it, but that tree over there is in a pretty inconvenient location, we should get some charges on that."
Jorge joined Ben and Nathan up at the front of the formation and had a look at the tree in question. It wasn't very tall, but it was extremely thick, and it was directly in the path that the tanks were meant to take. While there wasn't any doubt in Ben's mind that a sixty-six ton M808B Scorpion would be more than capable of battering the tree down with a bit of time and effort, having the tanks get bogged down by obstacles, either natural or manmade, would leave them as sitting ducks for any kind of anti-tank weaponry or Specialist.
"Good eye. Ben, plant a charge under the root cluster, that should knock it over." Jorge instructed.
Quietly, Ben made his way over to the tree in question and withdrew a can of C-7 foaming explosive from his belt. He gently removed the safety device and lid, and then attached the sticky, volatile substance to one of the larger roots. Finally, he added a radio-activated detonator to the mixture, the final necessary step to arm the explosive, which he linked to the previous charges that had already placed behind them. At the push of a button, all of them would explode, suddenly and violently clearing a path for the tanks and Marines to advance.
"Charge is active and in place." Ben relayed.
"That should be the last one." Jorge said. "Everyone, regroup on my position. We'll take up positions just outside their defensive line and call in the cavalry."
After only a few minutes of discrete travel, Nathan had successfully led the Onyx Team up to a small cluster of trees only around a dozen meters from the outermost walls of the White Fang's Fortress. The mortars had stopped, making such a close position relatively safe… so long as they didn't alert anybody to their presence. They were so close in fact, that Ben could hear various White Fang soldiers nervously talking to each other from behind the barriers, wondering if the artillery would start to fall again.
"Goddamn… this place is built like a castle…" Yu muttered.
"Not for long it's not." Meadows commented as he glanced up at Ben. "What do you think, Ben? Could you get some explosives on that wall without getting spotted?"
"Negative." Jorge answered on his behalf. "We can't risk getting spotted now. I'll let the Commander know we're in place, remember to polarize your visors, this is going to be bright."
Ben and his squadmates did as he was ordered while Jorge relayed the relevant message. Around a minute later, the howitzers of Zulu Company spoke once more, this time firing a very different type of ammunition. Seconds of tense silence passed before four brilliant multicolored lights exploded a few hundred meters above ground-level. Knowing what was to come, Ben averted his eyes.
The cluster munitions detonated in mid-air, scattering hundreds of much smaller objects across the entire White Fang Headquarters. After another moment, each and every one of the smaller objects exploding, bathing the whole area in brilliant white light, along with hundreds of ear-shattering explosions that added up to an almost apocalyptic cacophony.
The "Sundog" shell was something of a rare sight in UNSC service thanks to the war with the Covenant, but now, the disorienting effects of what were effectively howitzer-launched cluster-flashbangs proved its usefulness as panicked screaming erupted from inside of the White Fang Fortress. It seemed that just as Penny had predicted, the enhanced senses of the Faunus left them extra-susceptible to blinding lights and loud noises.
Maybe it's a good thing we didn't bring Mags along… Ben realized. As much as he'd grown to appreciate the Huntress's gung-ho attitude and her skill in a fight, she would have probably been just as disoriented as the White Fang was.
"Ben, hit the clacker." Jorge gave the order as the last of the Sundog Shells found their mark. Even if the Faunus were vulnerable to disorientation, the effect would not last forever, and so time was of the essence.
Having the detonator already in hand, Ben called out the final warning. When no call to halt the detonation was received, he did as he was ordered and fired off every single C-7 charge that he had planted.
A deafening roar shook the whole forest, utterly dwarfing the sound that the Sundog Shells had made. Massive plumes of fire and smoke rushed into the air, and numerous shockwaves shook the ground like an earthquake. When the smoke had cleared, Ben saw that the explosives had done their job well. All of the major obstacles were destroyed, and while there were still some minor obstructions remaining, they were far from anything that a Scorpion or a Grizzly couldn't handle.
From the White Fang's fortifications, Ben could hear the sound of panicked shouting and orders being issued. This time, as Ben listened in to try and discern what they were planning, he heard one voice that stood out amongst them all, one that Ben recognized even if he didn't see the speaker.
"Stand strong! Let them come to us!" Adam Taurus shouted out. His words were accompanied by some of the panic dying down, confirming that the speaker had some authority amongst his fellow terrorists.
Ben quickly pinged an amber status light over Teamcom as a way of silently asking if Jorge had heard him as well, to which Jorge replied with a green status light, he'd heard it too. Be patient. One way or another, that bastard will get what's coming to him.
With their path now clear, the Marines began their assault, supported by Scorpions and Grizzly Tanks. The armored monsters spared no mercy to the White Fang's exterior wall, and within the span of seconds, it had been struck by over a dozen high-explosive anti-tank shells. The protective barrier fell away as if it were smashed apart by a wrathful god, sending splinters of debris flying in every direction.
The White Fang, in a surprising demonstration of bravery, responded by doing exactly what they were supposed to. Anti-tank units with distinctly Atlesian-looking rocket launchers were brought to the front to protect the rest of their comrades. None of them had yet noticed the two Spartans and five ODSTs that were hiding in the woods just outside, as their attention was focused firmly on the main assault force. It was the perfect opportunity for an ambush.
Agonizing moments passed as Ben waited for Jorge to give the order to open fire, but his squad leader remained silent. In spite of Ben's own instinct to clear the field of hostiles with a few well-placed grenades, he did as his training had taught him to do, and waited along with the rest of his squad.
Then, among the crowd of enemy soldiers, Ben spotted Adam, leading a squad of terrorists armed with rocket launchers. Like the rest of the White Fang, he seemed to be oblivious to Onyx Team's presence as he and his squad rushed up to the newly-formed gaps in the wall while the tanks reloaded. Although they were suppressed by the machine gun fire coming from the tanks and Marine Snipers, it was still readily apparent what they planned to do.
"Wait." Jorge sternly ordered over TeamCom, as if sensing the urge of his squadmates to unleash hell on the enemy position.
Ben followed the command, even as he kept his rifle sights lined cleanly up against Adam's head. At Adam's order, the rocketeers fired their weapons, and four large projectiles began to scream through the air as they raced towards Crusader Company's tanks.
Even though Ben knew just how well armored UNSC tanks were, he couldn't help the sensation of dread that he felt as he watched the rockets careen towards their targets. Just because a vehicle was well-armored did not mean it was indestructible, and while pretty much any UNSC tank could stand up to plenty of kinetic or thermal energy, they hadn't been designed with Dust in mind, particularly the more elemental ammunition.
The tankers were well aware of the incoming threat however, and with remarkable precision, one of the Scorpion Tanks shot down a rocket with it's coaxial machine gun. Of the remaining three rockets, one missed entirely, but the remaining two found their mark on the two Grizzlies that were leading the charge.
The first Grizzly was struck by what must have been some kind of shock rocket, as it sent orange bolts of lightning that sparked and sputtered as they ran throughout the tank's armor. The second Grizzly was instantaneously buried beneath an artificial glacier that was the size of another tank, all while sending out a blinding cloud of snow in all directions. Whether or not the tanks were damaged or disabled was hard to tell, but they had been at the very least delayed by the rockets.
Reluctantly, Ben turned his attention away from his stricken comrades and back towards the enemy responsible. The four rocketeers motioned to reload at Adam's command, leaving themselves momentarily defenseless as they loaded their cumbersome weapons. Now Ben saw Jorge's logic, if they had attacked the rocketeers before they had fired, they might have turned the anti-tank weapons against Onyx Team, which would have likely been deadly.
"Weapons free!" Jorge shouted.
Ben already had Adam within the sights of his MA5K, and with a gratifying pull of the trigger, he unleashed a hail of automatic gunfire. The Terrorist and his subordinates were caught completely flatfooted by the attack, causing all of them to break for cover, either rushing into the jungle or behind the remains of the concrete wall.
Adam managed to reach cover, and despite his best attempts to deflect the incoming gunfire with his sword, still suffered a number of hard hits from Ben and Jorge. The other four Faunus that had accompanied Adam weren't so lucky, as Yu, Fairfire, Meadows, and Peggy, who had all ignited their Jackal Shield Gauntlets, used Covenant Plasma Pistols and Rifles to a frighteningly deadly effect. All four fell dead within seconds, with the final one being finished off by a headshot from Nathan's Sniper Rifle before he could fire a rocket at the squad.
"It's the Spartans!" Adam shouted from behind the wall. "Get ready, they're coming!"
"Hold position." Jorge calmly ordered over TeamCom, seemingly in direct response to Adam's shouting. "We can't advance without support."
"Should we get some smoke grenades in there?" Yu suggested. "That'll keep the tanks covered."
"Good thinking, do it." Jorge replied.
Ben reached down to his grenades, but moved his hand back to his rifle grip as he noticed a rapidly approaching enemy contact on his motion tracker. Whatever it was, it was closing in from behind them, and it was headed directly for him. He called out a warning and turned as quickly as he could to face the new threat, expecting to come face-to-face either with Adam or another White Fang Specialist that had somehow evaded them.
Ben had just about managed to raise his voice when a furry black mass tackled him with the force of a speeding truck. His energy shields flared and sparked with the impact as he and the Grimm were knocked out of cover and away from each other, although crucially, he had managed to keep hold of his weapon.
Although he hadn't quite landed on his feet, he was about to recover in short order and affix the offending creature within his gunsights. It was an Ursa Major, and a big one at that, standing at height and width of an M12 Warthog, with dense bone armor covering most of its form. Spotting a weakness in the creature's armor where it's eyes peered through it's mask, Ben unleashed whatever was left of his magazine into the creature. At point-blank range, the effect was extreme, creating spider web-like cracks in the armor and sending tiny shards of bones in every direction, including into the creature's own eyes.
The Ursa howled with rage as Ben's rifle clicked indignantly, it's last round having been expended. Gunfire and the whine of plasma weaponry indicated that this creature had not come alone, and that the rest of his squad was already entangled with the rest of the Grimm. His motion tracker was of no-use either, now representing a sea of friendly and enemy contacts seemingly all around him. If Curie were with him, she would have no doubt been able to sort out the system without issue, but that was unfortunately not the case.
With such a short distance between himself and the Ursa, reloading was simply not an option, it would be upon him before he could even start firing again. However, this was a situation that he was well-prepared for; so he let his rifle rest on it's sling as he drew his sidearm, a Type-25 Plasma Pistol. Steadying the weapon at the creature's already weakened armor, he unleashed a flurry of deadly green ionized gas, which burned through the creature's head with alarming ease, killing it outright and causing it to dissipate into the air as a wispy blake smoke.
Now with a moment to breathe, Ben saw how the Grimm's arrival had thrown whatever sense of order that had existed on the battlefield out the window. Flying Grimm flew down on the White Fang, as still more clambered over the wall in search of the negative emotions that had summoned them. His own squadmates were holding their own against the Grimm, but they were clearly in need of some assistance. In the distance, he could hear that Crusader Company and the rest of the Marines were running into similar trouble, but helping his squad remained his primary concern.
He reloaded his rifle and took aim at the nearest Grimm that he saw, only to feel something hit the back of his helmet with immense force, doing further damage to his energy shields. Turning to face the offender, he came face to face with Adam Taurus once more, who held his sword in one hand and his rifle in the other, a devious grin spreading across his face like a cancer.
"Going somewhere?" He taunted with a sick laugh.
Ben spared one more look at his embattled squad before fixing his gaze squarely at Adam, who was clearly the far greater threat.
"Jorge, Adam's trying to flank you, I'm engaging." Ben relayed his intentions to his squad leader, receiving only a green status light in response from Jorge. Whatever the other Spartan was doing, he was clearly very busy, making it all the more important that Ben won this fight.
Adam and Ben both opened fire at once as they tried to close the distance between one another. Dust rounds created ever-stranger elemental impacts as his energy shields absorbed the impacts, while Adam's Aura protected him from whatever rounds he couldn't block or deflect.
Ben's magazine ran empty once again just as he and Adam closed to melee range. Using the butt of his rifle as a crude club, he caught Adam's sword on the furniture of his weapon, and proceeded to match the terrorist blow-for-blow in a rapid, unrestrained fight to the death.
Adam was very fast, his movements almost blur-like even with Ben's advantage of Spartan Time, but just like in Kuo Kuana, he managed to keep pace with equal speed. Neither he nor Adam seemed to be able to deliver a deciding blow to break the stalemate as they blocked, deflected, and parried one another's blows. Ben was stronger, but Adam had learned from his previous battle, and was taking great care to avoid Ben's heavier blows.
Around them, Ben was somewhat aware that the battle was escalating further and further, as the tanks of Crusader Company closed the distance and met the remaining White Fang forces with canister-shells and airstrikes, courtesy of Vultures and Hornets that buzzed the battlefield. It was all a blur to Ben as his focus fixated solely on Adam, his blood boiling with regret and anger as he remembered the wicked, horrible smile that Adam had in Kuo Kuana, proud at how savagely he had murdered Ben's squadmate.
Not once did his emotions override his composure however, if anything, they only fueled it. His mind tirelessly searched for different methods that he could subvert Adam's defenses, or at least a way to break the stalemate. As he and Adam forced each other back and forth, he remembered the plasma pistol that rested on his hip.
The next swing that Adam delivered was an overhead blow with his sword, but instead of moving to deflect or stop the blade, Ben planted a harsh kick in Adam's gut, putting him on his back foot and forcing him to stumble backward. The momentary delay was all that Ben needed to draw his Plasma Pistol and fire a swift volley of shots at Adam.
The small, brilliantly bright green projectiles raced through the air towards Adam, but he recovered more quickly than Ben had anticipated, and attempted to block them with his sword. As soon as the first plasma bolt met Adam's blade, the metal turned red-hot, causing Adam's Aura to flicker and begin to fade as it struggled to keep his weapon from falling apart altogether. The next several landed their mark, only intensifying the red glow of the weapon's blade and of Adam's Aura, which struggled to keep up with the heat. His arms shook furiously as he struggled to keep hold of his weapons through the heat and pain.
Despite the damage that Ben had apparently done, he couldn't help but feel a sense of dread wash over him, something was amiss. The red glow of Adam's weapon was strange, not representative of heated metal like Ben was familiar with and had initially thought, but more so like an electric light. It was only when Adam's mask began to glow with the same red energy, that Ben realized what was happening. Adam brought his blade back and swung with all his might, catching Ben completely off guard with a powerful, Semblance-fueled strike.
For a brief moment, all that Ben could see was brilliant red. The world faded back into view a moment later, and he could see particles of his own blood fly through the air as Adam's swing struck him across the chest. His HUD alerted him to a new, serious injury as his shields popped outright and whined as they tried to recharge themselves. Time seemed to slow down even more as his body began to register the new injury.
Adam chuckled as Ben was momentarily stunned by the strike. "Was that all you had, really? Perhaps I didn't have to escape after all, if you were this-"
He was interrupted mid-sentence as a Grimm struck him, much like how Ben had been attacked by the Ursa Major, but Adam was not quite as lucky as Ben had been. The Grimm that struck him was a Beringel, and a big one at that, and while Ben had been tackled and thrown to the ground, the ape-like Grimm punched Adam with such force that he was flung into the air and off into the distance. Ben watched with astonishment as the terrorist was thrown through the air, before vanishing beyond the treeline and into the distance, he didn't even hear Adam hit the ground.
He was forced back to reality as the Beringel, seemingly satisfied with how far it had managed to throw Adam with a single punch, turned its attention to Ben, howling some kind of animalistic taunt. Ben raised his plasma pistol in reply, but found it steaming furiously, momentarily unusable as the alien weapon struggled to cool itself.
With that weapon clearly unserviceable, he holstered it once more, and grabbed the MA5K that he had left hanging on it's sling, reloading the empty weapon as quickly as he could. Adam had scraped and bruised the weapon with his slashes, but the systems in Ben's armor reported that the weapon still worked. The systems also reported that he was bleeding heavily and needed immediate medical attention, but with a Beringel charging him down, that just wasn't something he could afford to spend time on.
Unlike most of the Grimm that Ben had fought before, this time he had a bit of intel going into the fight, as Fairfire had encountered one of the demented gorillas during the Battle of Argus. Its muscles were built like overlapped titanium cables, and while they were technically vulnerable to gunfire, it would take an awful lot of firepower to shred through enough of them to deliver a fatal hit, to the point that Ben didn't even bother firing as the creature approached, it would be a waste of ammo.
The best solution was to find some kind of gap in the Beringel's defenses, a place that wasn't protected by the dense muscles through which he could deliver a lethal blow. That was easier said than done however, as the Grimm's bone armor covered many of the weak points that Ben could have otherwise exploited, leaving him with very few options.
The Beringel finally closed the distance, attempting to crush Ben with both fists in an overhead strike. Narrowly, he avoided the strike by rolling out of the way, the Beringel's fists instead finding their mark on one of the larger roots that ran through the soil, which was snapped roughly in two.
Now with a view of the Beringel's back, Ben spotted what he had been looking for. There was no armor between the creature's shoulder blades, and the muscles seemed to be a lot thinner there as well, it was the perfect place to strike. He raised his MA5K and fired off a spray of gunfire, tearing apart flesh and bone before the Beringel turned around and flung itself at him, a surprisingly dexterous move that Ben had not expected.
One of the Beringel's feet caught him across the chest, launching him backwards and into the trunk of a fallen tree, which splintered and fractured as Ben fell back against it. Thankfully, his shields had recharged since Adam had broken them, and were able to resist the majority of the initial impact, but he still felt like there was an unusually heavy set of weights on his back, causing prickling pain down his spine as he got back to his feet.
The Beringel was unrelenting, and attempted once more to hit Ben with another fast and hard strike, but it had already demonstrated its supreme agility once before. This time Ben wasn't caught off-guard. Just barely, he managed to dive out of the way, finding himself behind the Beringel once again. The Gorilla had managed to get one of its arms stuck within the fallen tree, an opportunity that he would not leave unexploited.
Repurposing one of his older tricks, he leapt onto the creature's back and thrust the muzzle of his MA5K into the creature's open wound, the more nimble and lightweight frame of the weapon proving especially useful as he was forced to operate it one-handed. At point-blank range, whatever bone and muscle still protected the Beringel proved insufficient to stop the hail of gunfire that he unleashed into it, and after a moment, the Beringel died without a sound, steadily dissipating into the wind.
Now momentarily safe, Ben finally allowed himself to look at his vital monitor, and the results were both unsurpsing and concerning. He had lost a lot of blood thanks to Adam's cut, and sustained some fairly serious concussive injuries during his fight with the Beringel. Thankfully, his energy shields had already recharged once again, so he was still far from fragile.
He kept a watchful eye out for Adam or any other threats as he used a can of biofoam on his worst wound, but the terrorist did not make a reappearance, nor did any Grimm arrive to attack him.
They must be drawn to the thick of the battle. Ben thought, figuring that was probably where most of the people would be, and they would all be feeling the stresses of combat.
It was also probably where his own squad was, and now that Adam had been driven off, it was time to rejoin them. He took one last moment to reload his rifle, before setting off into the jungle once more.
Author's Note: I've found great difficulty describing exactly how Nathan's Semblance works, something that probably comes across in the writing itself. For anyone confused, think of it like the ability to highlight something that you're looking for, while simultaneously making it easier to ignore anything that's not immediately relevant. In that regard, it serves kind of like the Nav Points from Halo, but it can also be used to find lost car keys and such.