A day and a half had passed since the arrival of the five new survivors in Chief and Sara's little inner circle and they turned out to be fairly proficient at cooperating to survive. With Priscilla acting as a single-woman patrol and warning system around the perimeter, the others were free to make the place somewhat more livable. Zele had caught on to how to till soil for crops to grow well and rather quickly, having already planted a dozen potato plants in the small farm they had. Meanwhile, Tyden had been out hunting, rifle in hand, for the better part of the day with Paulette. Thus, Panda, Chief and Sara could focus on expanding the base further out.

Mining had proved to be surprisingly easy, once Chief did it for more than an hour's time. Their base now had a few separate rooms aside from the main area, with Panda actually making a working kitchen. Sara, of course, ran research duty and had, so far, produced several advancements, among which being thermal and solar power and batteries of several varieties.

Chief and Cortana had to remind themselves she had been an engineer at some point. A military engineer. The things one of them could pull off with nothing but scrap at times were proof they were smart enough as researchers too. Panda seemed content to work her own way through mining, with an M-Fit on her wrist and a pair of headphones on her head, she mined on in a 21x21 pattern, stopping only to build the rare wooden support beam so the damn roof wouldn't fall on their heads.

"Surprised how quick-witted the kids are." Cortana quipped. "You'd think they'd be more scared of... I don't know... Surviving on a world like this?"

"Mhm." John nodded, his external mic shut off as he worked on mining out a vein of compacted machinery, surprisingly.

"You okay, John? You seem a bit off." She hummed "... Don't tell me. Gut feeling?"

"Yeah."

She knew him well. Were her lips visible, she would clearly be smiling as she spoke "Think something's gonna go awry? We haven't gone to check the Dawn yet because of interruptions like the kids." as he continued his own work. The Dawn could well have acted as a massive source of supplies. From the recycled titanium, to perhaps even the Rampart point-defense cannons they could reuse for ground defense and, if luck was with them, the reactor. If they could repurpose the reactor, that would save them a lot of time in finding ways to power their home... Plus, she still had weapons lockers, vehicles and ammunition on her decks.

"We'll check her today, if possible." He answered, then he turned to Panda and waved. She nodded, smiling, before turning to continue her work while the Spartan left the mine-shaft and exited through the front door. Staring out into the valley, he saw the sky was clear, a deep teal hue and the mountains around them towered high. His gaze swept over to the small farm. Much to his surprise, the plants were already sprouting leafs and probably growing.

"Chief."

He locked eyes with Sara, who leaned on the door. She cleared her throat, then tilted her head toward a small construction site where supplies had been delivered. Steam hissed out from the hole in the ground by the spot where steel and electrical components waited to be used in construction. With a nod, the Spartan stepped off toward it, checking his M-Fit with the help of Cortana. She brought up the schematics of a thermal generator and powered the tool, setting it to construction mode.

He stopped, took the supplies off the floor and let the M-Fit absorb them. With his hand outstretched, he let the device work. It thrummed to life, two tendrils of energy extending out from it. Slowly, the massive power-generating device took shape under the Chief's eyes and before long, it whirred to life, its interior electronics beginning to gather energy from the planet's own heat.

He soon saw Priscilla returning from the patrol, her rifle slung on her back. She grinned, powering on her own M-Fit and starting up construction of the underground power conduits that led all the way to the base. The girl said "All clear, though Tyden and Paulette passed me by. Said they saw a herd of bison going that way and they figured we could use the foodstuffs."

"Good choice." He nodded.

"Tell me about it." She smirked. "Never had bison burger before. How about you, Chief?"

He shook his head as he looked toward the valley, that nagging feeling in the back of his head growing stronger. The woman eyed the Spartan staring out into the valley and elected not to bother him, seeing his fists clenching and unclenching. Something was bothering the Chief. Priscilla knew the signs since her time serving. And now, she felt her heart drop as she got that gut feeling too...

She finished the conduits and entered the main 'hall' and research area of the base, turning her head to the basic research table to gaze upon their young Engineer doing work while sat down on a basic wooden stool. She walked up to her, setting her rifle down, then pulled up her own chair and sat beside her. Leaning on the table, she looked at Sara. Pris knew Sara too well, from their time serving together. She knew the look. The focus on her work?

"Chief's got that same look." Priscilla stated bluntly.

Sara looked to her old friend and quipped "How can you tell with the helmet?"

"Gut instinct... It's kicked in for all 3 of us." She mused. "Sara... Do you think...?"

Sara shrugged "Tyden and Paulette are farther out, right? If anything, I don't doubt they'd run back here to warn us in case they saw something wrong..." she hoped, truly, that nothing was coming and that they were just getting rusty. But her time in the Drop Corps taught her otherwise... She grabbed her AK and set it beside her, just in case. Priscilla hummed, nodded and leaned back, watching the scientist-in-chief do her thing for a little.

Sara scoffed a few moments later, slamming her head onto the table and murmuring a quiet expletive. She turned to her friend, then said "Alright... Should we start prepping?"

"I'll talk to the chief." The Sergeant cracked a smile at her friend's reaction. She stood up, slung her rifle on her back and watched the girl do the same. After Sara took to donning her armor, the two walked off. One went out to construct a series of barricades, while Priscilla spoke with the Chief about the unfolding events.

Farther away, meanwhile, Tyden and Paulette worked.

Paulette eyed one of the creatures they were hunting through a pair of ancient binoculars. Majestic, tough and as old as humanity, the bison were an animal originating from the Core Worlds. Though now a disparate rarity there, on Agri-Worlds and RimWorlds, these guys and gals thrived as wild animals high up in the cold mountainous areas. Covered in earth-colored, dirty fur and with long, sharp horns on the sides of their head, the males guarded the herd. And one of them was lined up neatly in Tyden's crosshair. The girl said "300 meters."

He racked the bolt of the rifle, then said "Ready." as he slowed his breath, grip tightening on the rifle stock and finger twitching on the trigger.

"Shoot whenever ya feel like it." She smiled, leaning the binoculars on the grass. They were about half a kilometer away from the herd, so she wasn't sure how they'd react. She surely jumped when the rifle's crack echoed across the valley. She looked through the binoculars and watched the round land square into the side of the creature's head. One dead bison... One whole lotta meat.

"Nice! Good shot!" She raised an open palm. The two did the ancient, momentous motion of the high-five, before the boy cycled the bolt again and looked down the scope, toward the rest of the herd. The animals scrambled, running down the valley. Another shot cracked and another one fell, with the others escaping. Two bison were hopefully enough meat for a little while, at least.

Wait...

"Tyden..." The girl's voice cracked due to fear as she elbowed him and pointed far to the right, on a cliff face. The young man frowned, then turned the rifle toward where she was pointing. He blinked twice, then looked over the scope and back down the scope. Marching on the side of the cliff, on an old path were creatures made of white alloy. One scarlet eye peered from an angular, terrifying helmet. The creatures were hunched back, segmented plating covering the black bodies underneath and in their hands with four elongated fingers were long, shimmering weapons.

Following them were battered-looking soldiers, more like civilian militia, carrying broken-down and worn variants of the same weapons. Pistols, carbines and rifles, to be exact. There were about a dozen humans, with 7 of those strange creatures. Bions, Tyden recalled. Bions and Federation Auxiliary troops. He and Paulette looked to each-other, fear plastered on their faces. They stood up, packing up their equipment, then they ran.

... Chief watched the sun reach the top of the sky. It was midday now and Sara and Priscilla had just finished setting up a defensive perimeter.

Steel barricades hidden beside trees and around the base in three layers, with simple booby traps in-between them made for perfect firing positions. The most defended was the newly-built generator, with a line of barricades surrounding it and bear traps placed in the grass in an interval. The defenses were makeshift, poorly planned and underwhelming, but they'd do the job. He hoped.

The Spartan eyed Tyden and Paulette running toward them. The two skidded to a halt in front of the Chief, panting heavily as the exhaustion finally set in. Tyden looked up to the Chief, then croaked out "Feh-Feh... FEDERATION! They're sending troops! Bions and Auxiliaries are heading this way..." And he hacked and coughed. Chief jumped, drawing his weapon and ready to spring into action. Sara and Priscilla joined up with them, seeing Tyden and Paulette tired out and the Chief with his weapon at the ready, they knew...

Priscilla looked toward the main entrance just as Zele and Panda appeared. She yelled out "We got incoming! Rally up!"

With their weapons in hand, the two girls ran down the hill, while Chief got as much info as he could out of Tyden. Sara and Priscilla looked more horrified by the second as they heard the word. They exchanged looks of fear, then looked to the Spartan. Sara spoke first "Stalker-class bions. Specifically modified as snipers and scouts... And if they've got a squadron of auxiliaries with them, we must've royally pissed off someone up top."

"The only way to kill those fuckers with the guns we have now is to aim for the single eye sensor. And they'll be at a distance of at least 700 meters from us, with plasma snipers. Auxiliaries will be easy to kill, since their armor is shit and their tactics are even worse." Priscilla noted, racking the bolt of her G36. She looked to Tyden, then said "We're gonna need you two to be our counter-snipers. We'll keep you safe and deal with anything that comes close."

"You want us to out-snipe Stalkers?!" Paulette protested, her face red "Are you crazy?!"

"You can run, but they'll see that and pop you in the back before you even make it to the door." Sara warned, glaring at the cowardly youngster, who shrunk under her gaze. Sara's expression softened as she continued "And trust me, AR-500 steel and ceramics can't stop a high-velocity focused plasma round from punching through. You wanna have even the slimmest chance at living? You fucking shoot them first. And remember, the eye is your target."

"I, Priscilla and Sara will take up frontline duty and distract the Snipers as best we can. Panda, you've got the LMG... Lay into them the moment you got them in your scope." Chief ordered the girl with bionic arms, receiving an approving nod as the redhead put on her mean face. He looked to Zele, then spoke "You'll be keeping guard beside her, Zele. Anything gets too close for comfort, you kill it if it didn't hit a trap beforehand."

The mute jerked a thumb up, shouldering her rifle. Chief looked to Sara and Pris and saw them with their rifles at the ready. He looked to everybody, then nodded, readying his MA5. The team scrambled into positions, evenly divided now between the three lines of defense, with the Sniper and Spotter duo taking position in the rear. The Spartan squinted just as Cortana said "Motion Tracker's kicking up... Signatures 300, meters out."

In that part of the treeline, the girls had put bear traps and punji sticks. The latter were old traps consisting of sticks placed in a deep pit only to be covered by a thin layer of leafs and shrubs. They were most famed for being used by the Viet-Cong communist militias during the American-North Vietnam War. Chief had read about their horrifying effectiveness in training. He had to admit, he was impressed... And indeed, Chief understood how dangerous they could be.

The crack of a thin supporting roof breaking and a scream of pain echoed from the trees, followed by the clang of a metallic bear trap clasping around the leg of the unsuspecting victim. Priscilla squeezed the trigger of her rifle, firing into the shrubs, down where she expected the Auxiliary troops were, with Sara following suit immediately after. Chief, too, squeezed the trigger the moment a white helmet popped over the bushes.

The corpse of an auxiliary trooper collapsed through the thicket. The response came soon. A dozen inaccurate shots of focused plasma struck the floor, barricades and the trees as auxiliary soldiers, men and women clad in weak armors, carbon jumpsuits and some times, just plain clothing with Federation patches. Chief waved to Panda, who grinned, gazing down the ACOG scope on her LMG. She shouldered the weapon firmly, then said "Come to mama..."

The rattle of a machine gun was something Chief was used to. Panda's shots, however, were far more accurate than suppressive fire. The woman shot six or seven rounds and had a half-second break between them, realigning her shots.

He ducked as a far more focused Plasma round struck him square in the chest, draining his shield in one shot. Cortana announced "Stalker sniper rifle at about 700 meters. Pris and Sara were right..."

Chief heard Priscilla yelp. He looked to see her stumble back, before she dived back into cover as a second shot struck where her head had been. She hid behind the barricade, dropping a half-empty mag and sliding in a fresh one. The Spartan looked to Tyden just as the snap of his rifle came to them. Cortana reported "Tyden's a good shot. He just got one of'em."

"One down." Chief mused. "How many more?"

"Usually, they operate in teams of 7." Sara noted, before leaning beside one of the barricades and emptying her mag into another duo of advancing troopers. She reloaded, then poked her head out again, only to gasp and duck back in cover as another Sniper round charred the dirt and grass right in front of her. Another sniper shot cracked the air, this time from another position... Tyden knew how to reposition. Smart of him.

"Another one down." Cortana called "There's 5 left, but they're moving... And countersniping."

"FUCK!" They heard a cry, turning back to see that Panda was on the floor, grabbing onto a wound. A plasma shot had grazed her shoulder, nearly severing a carotid artery. Priscilla scoffed, then looked to the Chief and Sara and motioned for them to move onto the second line and defend the generator. More traps were set up around and the soldier pointed to them. Chief nodded, then counted down on his fingers and, when the countdown reached zero, he popped up over his cover, hosing an entire area down and fully emptying one magazine.

Sara joined Zele and Panda, finding the former tending to the latter with an IFAK. Panda held onto her shoulder, gritting her teeth and pale, but alive. She flashed a grin at Sara, then said "That was close, wasn't it?" with a tired voice and Sara firmly gripped her unwounded shoulder, patting her there, before she popped up and started firing again. She hunched over with a loud groan and grabbed onto her gut as a plasma sniper round melted through the ceramics and steel of her vest and nearly punched into her gut. Quickly, she pulled out her IFAK and started patching the wound up, while holding her rifle with her left hand.

Another sniper shot. Priscilla looked to Tyden and Paulette working, focused on their targets. Tyden seemed calm, but Chief and the Sergeant saw his face. He was suppressing trembling to shoot straight. Paulette noticed the two soldiers staring and raised 4 fingers. 4 targets left. The Spartan gave a nod as he heard traps activating again, this time close enough that he also heard the bones crack. Two Fed Auxiliaries' legs were bleeding, broken. He finished them off with accurate shots from his rifle, but found himself in need to duck into cover again as plasma struck his shields and then, his armor. Human energy weapons more powerful than the Covies'. Damn. He was lucky his armor could take some of the heat...

Priscilla looked to Sara, to see her tossing aside the now-empty IFAK as the cocktail of drugs and the bandage barely held her gut together. She'd removed the armor and set it aside, as the rig attached to it still held her ammunition. Six plasma rounds washed over their heads and slammed into the barricades as the Auxiliary troops with rifles and carbines finally came into the line of fire.

Panda poked up, holding her LMG in one hand. She squeezed the trigger and hot lead spewed down range. Bastards who managed to see it coming took cover. Those who didn't died and those who were caught in traps when running died painfully. The sniper cracked again and Chief heard, through the storm of gunfire, Tyden recycling the bolt of the Timberwolf.

Three.

Chief looked over the cover. Five Auxiliary troops were approaching. He looked to Pris, simply nodded to the confused Sergeant and jumped over the cover. Cocking back his fist, he threw a haymaker right into the face of the first soldier approaching;one wearing a helmet. When the armored gauntlet of a fist made contact with the face-plate of the helmet, the helmet shattered and the man's skull caved in with a thunderous roar. Chief drew his sidearm and killed the two on his left, while Priscilla appeared out of her cover too, killing the other two behind the Chief with extreme prejudice. Tyden fired again.

Two.

The Spartan looked to his teammates and showed them to move forward and push. Sara, Zele and even a refreshed Panda jumped over their cover, with the lattermost using her LMG without even looking down the sights. The Auxiliaries saw the wall of fire coming, so they took positions behind the first row of barricades. Plasma flew from cover and from snipers, before Tyden lined up and fired again...

One...

"GO!" Chief yelled, slinging his rifle on his back and drawing his knife. Priscilla tossed the G36 by the strap onto her shoulder and ran, jumping over cover and acquainting one of the soldiers with the two soles of her boots. Sara followed up, emptying her AK mag into one of the soldiers, sliding over the cover, grabbing one by the collar and throwing him into two of his comrades, forcing them to stumble back, before she grabbed a grenade off her belt and threw it into them. The grenade was an impact grenade. It turned the trio of survivors into chunks of meat. And the sniper roared one last time as the Auxiliaries, spooked by both the push and the loss of their support unit, fell into a disorganized rout.

Chief pushed down Priscilla's weapon as she was about to fire again, then said "Don't waste your ammo." and turned to Tyden and Paulette, both of whom were smiling proudly... The former more-so embarrassed and thankful. The fight was over and Chief gave a once-over of their field of defenses. Dozens of corpses... Dozens of them. Auxiliaries were probably the Federation's most expendable troops.

"It's over...?" Panda asked, panting. Chief nodded and the girl fell to her knees, a multitude of emotions on her face... Sans Priscilla, Sara, and Chief, they must've all just killed for the very first time. That wasn't gonna be pretty, but alas. The Spartan saw his two fellow soldiers fall flat on their asses, panting, thankful that it was over. He hummed, reminding himself they were all just human, after all. Tyden's shooting probably saved the day...

... Today had been awfully long.