Dust drifted steadily down from the rocky ceiling as the foundations of the cave shook violently. In less than a second, both Spartans were up and at attention. They stood, frozen in place, listening carefully. Slowly, the shaking subsided, and everything was quiet again, but something wasn't right. It was incredibly quiet, It seemed even nature itself was still. The alien creatures had stopped making noises outside, the cold wind seemed to stop entirely, even the air itself seemed taut with tension. Suddenly the cave was rocked hard again and the sound of an explosion took place in the distance. The duo looked up at each other, silent and expressionless, their faces two masks of pure focus.
Iona held up her arm and pumped her fist twice, and the two instantly pulled on their helmets and gear before beginning to creep towards the cave's mouth. They stepped tentatively out of the cave, their visored gazes scanning back and forth. Caleb looked over at Iona, waving his hand in a circle and cocking his head a little. Iona shook her head ever so slightly. She looked to be thinking for a moment and then directed her hand towards where they had hidden their ship, an AV-22 Sparrowhawk outfitted for two. They had stashed it in a snowy crevice surrounded by trees, far from prying Covenant eyes. Caleb narrowed his eyes, there was now smoke rising steadily above the treeline in that direction. Iona glanced back at Caleb and cut her arm across her chest reassuringly, before holding up two fingers and bringing them across her chest before directing towards their ship's hiding place. And without a word being spoken between them, the two began to move out. Into the forest, past the Revenant they had stowed in an adjacent cave, and away from the safety of their hideout.
As they drew closer, they could hear the faint sounds of covenant armor in the trees. It was possible to just barely make out Covenant voices chattering, seemingly alerted and agitated. They picked their way over the terrain silently, taking their time. Caleb froze, hearing an all too familiar sound over their heads and he immediately pushed his hand down in a hasty signal. The Spartans dropped to the ground near the shadow of a large boulder and pressed themselves against it. Suddenly Iona heard it too, the sound of two Type-26 Banshees flying overhead, on patrol. The two waited, every muscle in their bodies taut as a bowstring. After a moment, the Banshees passed, and the two continued.
Finally, they arrived at the edge of the ship's hiding place, and a rather unfortunate sight met their eyes. What was left of their ship lied uncovered on the ground and in a smoldering wreck, surrounded by Covenant soldiers. It had been thoroughly searched and then blown to pieces, possibly to ensure the Spartans they now knew where on the planet had no way to escape. Covenant search parties moved through the trees, the foliage was thick with their luminescent armor. Iona and Caleb looked over at each other, the gears in both of their minds whirring and top speed. Caleb began to raise an arm to propose an idea before a confused squawking noise caused their heads to snap up. Above them perched on a tree branch was a Jackal, peering into the semi-dark forest below it. The two froze again, hoping its vision wasn't powerful enough to make them out. Unfortunately, it was not their day for luck.
The Jackal screeched and aimed down its carbine, firing plasma bolts into the dark below. One slammed into Caleb's shoulder, his shield absorbing the brunt of the blow. Iona reacted quickly, pulling Caleb behind her and detaching his Magnum from its holster, nailing the intruding alien in its skull, but the damage was already done. The quiet hum of the forest exploded as the Covenant forces became aware of their location. Some of the aliens roared and pointed towards them among the trees, while others looked over surprised. Suddenly, time was of the essence. In sync, the two raced off into the snowy forest, attempting to put some distance between the covenant and themselves. The Covenant was in full gear now, powering up vehicles and chasing after them. The two Spartans were bolts of lightning through the trees, vaulting over rocks and sliding under branches.
The covenant soldiers stationed throughout the forest turned and opened fire on them. The Spartans took evasive action, doing their best to weave through the forest without getting pierced by one of the many projectiles currently flying towards them.
"We'll have about 10 more seconds tops before they alert the aircraft patrols to our location and a couple of minutes before they get here!" Iona yelled over the wind and gunfire. Caleb nodded, wracking his brain to come up with a solution while simultaneously avoiding a spray of pink needles from a nearby Grunt. They two ran for a little while longer before barging into a large clearing, crushing snow under their boots.
"There!" Caleb yelled, pointing at two unmanned Banshees stationed at the other end of the clearing. The two dashed towards it, just as a Wraith broke through the treeline, effectively blocking off their chance of escape. Iona pointed to her right, and without breaking their pace or hesitating for a second the two split up, attempting to make themselves more difficult targets. The Wraiths main cannon reacted, turned to target Iona, blue plasma beginning to amass on its unfriendly end. Meanwhile, the Elite manning the tank's turret turned to face Caleb, unleashing a hailstorm of smaller plasma bolts on him. Caleb ducked and weaved, but there were too many shots, and he was stuck out in the open. Changing strategies, he pulled his sniper rifle from its holster and returned fire twice. The first reflected off the turret's shielding while the second slammed into its lower area. The armor-piercing round made a huge dent in the hull preventing the turret from being able to turn. The Elite let out a roar of frustration as Caleb continued to flank towards the back of the tank.
Meanwhile, the main cannon finished charging and launched an enormous ball of plasma fire towards Iona. Quickly, she dived to the right, the snow she had just been standing on now thoroughly vaporized. Instead of flanking, Iona charged the tank head-on, silently counting the seconds until the Wraith's cannon was recharged. As she ran, she pulled a grenade from her side, sprinting towards the blue behemoth.
3…
She pulled the pin and took a deep breath, letting the grenade cook.
2…
She pulled her arm back and mustered all her strength, waiting in a slowed time only a Spartan could experience.
1…
The cannon began to glow blue as the plasma accumulated on its surface once again.
Zero.
Iona hurled the grenade towards the Wraith with incredible strength and precision. Right as the grenade's internal fuse reached the gunpowder stored inside, It made contact with the middle of the cannon turret when the plasma was at its most volatile, sparking a titanic explosion. The plasma cannon was torn to pieces right as Caleb made it to the back of the tank, at its weak point: the rotating purple engine. Caleb dashed up to it and jumped onto the Wraiths back, slamming his fist into the machinery repeatedly. The tank began to shake violently and the two backstepped before it exploded in a haze of blue and purple fire, engulfing the two elites that were manning it. They looked towards each other, calm for only a moment. Iona watched her HUD light signal blink three times, she chuckled to herself in her helmet.
Then there was the sound of more Covenant forces marching to them, and they were back in motion. They sprinted towards the Banshees, but there was too much ground to cover and not enough time. Suddenly an Elite major followed by a troupe of Grunts pushed through the tree line near their escape vehicles, noticing them and then the Banshee. It made a quick decision. It pulled a plasma grenade from its belt and tossed it to one of the fighters while jumping into the other one, leaving the grunts behind. The plasma grenade stuck to the Banshees side and exploded, tearing it apart while the Elite soared into the sky in the other one.
"Bastard," Iona snarled over their comlink.
"He's not done yet, look," Caleb said, pointing. The Banshee screamed through the sky, turning back towards them.
"This way!" Caleb yelled as he sprinted towards the treeline. "I have an idea!" Iona ran after him just as the Banshee launched a brilliant green plasma bomb towards them. The two split up for a moment, letting the bomb pass between them and hit the ground behind them. They made it to the tree line and Caleb launched himself upward, catching a branch on one of the trees and moving upward rapidly, Iona followed behind him, albeit slightly more slowly. Suddenly there was a rush of plasma bolts streaking through the trees around them as the Banshee fired again, getting ever closer to hitting one of them. Caleb reached the top of the tree and took out his Sniper Rifle, aiming down the sights and watching the Banshee carefully as it turned to make another round. He let out a few carefully aimed shots, and each one hit rather ineffective spots on the Banshee's hull, where there was the most reinforcement. Iona reached the top next to him and watched, slightly confused.
"Your plan?" She asked.
"Watch," Caleb replied. The Banshee screeched back towards their tree, looking aggravated now and barrelling straight down on them. Caleb holstered his rifle and looked over at Iona, "When I jump, you jump," he said. Iona nodded, and the two waited, their muscles tensed. Just as the Banshee came within firing range, Caleb leaped towards it, covering a massive amount of distance. He slammed onto the Banshees hull, his armored gloves scrambling for a grip. He found one in the Banshees entrance point and pulled hard, lifting the entrance open revealing a startled Elite within. He reached down and grabbed the alien by the armor, before hurling it with one hand out into the forest, its desperate roars echoing through the trees below. Iona hit the hull second, grabbing onto the left wing. Caleb threw himself into the cockpit, the entrance closing behind him, and he grabbed the controls. He had a very basic idea of how to use them but it didn't matter, Spartans learned fast.
"Is this thing outfitted for space?" Iona yelled over the roaring wind.
"I don't think so, but all it needs to do is get us up there, we don't need to fly around" Caleb replied, yanking the controls upward.
Iona pulled herself onto the wing and looked around, taking in her surroundings. Phantoms and Banshees circled the clearing they had just been in, finding no trace of the Spartans except for remnants of their carnage. The wind whistled by peacefully as the two soared up towards the rendezvous point, yet another impossible task conquered. Neither of them felt very strongly about what had just happened. For them, it was just another day at the office.