Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Fire of War. Enjoy the 3200-word chapter. I don't own Halo; Microsoft and a few others do.
Sean watched as a D-79 Pelican passed overhead while he and the others hiked to FOB Golf. The mountain-based outpost offered a massive tactical advantage.
"Spartan Sean." A hologram started as the Spartans and marine sentries crowded around. "Good to see you, didn't know how many soldiers reached the ground safely," Lasky stated while Sean looked at the hologram.
"Still fighting banished here and there, sir. They're not happy we keep breaking their toys." Sean stated while he crossed his arms. "What's the op? There's still plenty of banished down here. We're pushing as best we can, but they control the majority of the north." Sean reported to which the captain nodded.
"Got a mission for fireteam Phantom if your game." Lasky put in while the spartan nodded.
"We're on station for whatever you need, sir," Sean stated while he crossed his arms behind his back.
"We've picked up a UNSC transponder in the mountains." Lasky put in while the spartan leader nodded. "Old, I've tried to contact them. The banished seemed afraid, diverting at least 2 of their dreadnoughts towards it. I need someone to check it out." Lasky stated to which the Spartans nodded.
Lasky looked at the fireteam leader who was cloaked in MJOLNIR GEN-3 'Cavallino' armor. It was something that had been slapped together in the months following Cortana's new empire rising. It felt new, VERY new.
"Echo 316 will take you there. There are heavy banished forces in the area from what a scout team stated." Lasky said as the Spartans formed up. "Make contact, the more troops we have on Zeta Halo, the better. I'll send word when we're through their fleet. Captain Lasky out." Lasky added before the hologram faded out.
The 4 Spartans started to restock and rearm as they prepared for war. Sean grabbed a fresh magazine before slapping it into his rifle. Sean turned towards one of the marines who was silent as the super-soldier started to walk around the small base.
"It's good to see Spartans around here. We almost heard fireteam Intrepid was shot down." The marine stated before Sean cracked open a crate. "The assault on Ransom Keep isn't going well. We're supposed to make a strike tomorrow morning, pelican is dropping off reinforcements." The marine added to which Sean blinked.
The spartan was well aware the banished were putting the UNSC through hell. Sean had killed brute after brute, but their army seemed bottomless at times. Still? Sean didn't once consider the empire of pirates and mercenaries to be any different from the covenant.
"If we're still here?" Sean stated while he raised an eyebrow. "We're hit them as hard as we can. The new M15 razorbacks are helping with that a lot. Helps with supply lines and transport, huh?" Sean asked to which there was a chuckle.
"Yeah, reminds me of the older warthogs." The marine stated while Sean nodded.
There was a familiar bristle of air while Echo 316 started to descend towards the fob. Sean almost thought that the craft was entirely fireteam Phantom's considering it seemed to transport them all the time.
He shook his head. Echo 316 was attached to FOB golf more than them. It made sense it moved them since they were also attached to this place. Sean turned to his team who were checking their weapons and making ready for their next assignment.
"Alright, coffee breaks are over, Phantom," Sean stated as the pelican slowly moved forward. "Everyone on. We have some friends the banished aren't happy to see, that means they're just as good as us." Sean added before the pelican lowered its doors to let the Spartans on.
"Great pep talk, Sierra." The pilot stated as Phantom started to board.
"Let's see you do better, Nick," Sean stated while he climbed aboard. "How is it up above? Phantom was annoyed we had to hike 4 miles on foot here." Sean stated and shook his head.
"Banished keep dropping their buddies on top of us at the moment, the captain wants everyone on deck," Nick responded to which Sean fell silent.
The pelican darted towards the IFF tags as Phantom Team checked their weapons and prepared for deployment. Sean wanted to know who the hell had spooked the banished so badly they had sent an army after them.
'Is it chief? Captain had him and Blue Team deployed on some top-level op. Nah, the banished LOVE to talk about how bad they think this war is going for us.' Sean thought as the pelican crested over the hill.
Sean walked to the window as he watched gunfire from the trees and what seemed like a dozen phantoms. There was indeed one of the banished dreadnoughts which seemed to be engaging AV-22 sparrowhawks. There was a vessel in the sky that he had seen before. Sean rotated to the pilot before he cleared his throat.
"Where are we being dropped?" Sean asked while he drew his BR from his back as he did so.
"See that plain of metal pillars?" Nick asked while Sean nodded. "30 seconds to drop. I'm not sticking around for a while. Orders are to find the IFF tag and escort them to the LZ. Secure the area at the moment." Nick stated before Sean nodded towards the others.
The pelican rotated to let the Spartans loose as the hatch hissed open a second later. Sean sprinted out of the craft as did the others as they airdropped into the battlefield. Sean landed in a crouch as Echo 316 roared away. He snapped his rifle up before he motioned for the others to sweep forwards.
"Phantom Actual to UNSC forces. This is Fireteam Phantom, on-site and ready to assist." Sean stated as he and Phantom slowly started to advance down the hill. "Patrick? Stay there. The banished probably have snipers in the area." Sean stated while he cleared his throat
"Spread out, slaughter the demons!" A brute roared as plasma streamed through the trees.
Sean felt his back hit a tree as he and the others took cover. He rotated and shouldered his rifle before firing at a freebooter jackal who collapsed to the ground with a pained shout.
A wave of banished soldiers approached. Brute warriors armed with mangler weapons. He rolled his eyes as several jackals joined them. He shifted his aim to nail a moving jackal raider, watching as their orange shield died with them. It almost made him wonder how their army hadn't collapsed already. The brutes were at least well trained enough to spread out as one of their rounds clipped his shields, dropping it by 25%.
He sighed as he dropped behind cover once again. Sean was about to issue an order before Patrick fired and one of the brutes collapsed to the ground. He was at the least glad that the rest of his fireteam didn't need to be told to fire at the enemy… Even if they seemed off by a little.
"Sean? An officer is directing their forces ahead. I also see a phantom." Patrick reported with a sigh as he fired again.
Sean fired as well as his shields dropped a little more. He slowly moved forward and fired towards the enemy line.
"Keep firing!" The officer yelled as Sean pondered what they wanted this badly. "We cannot let them remain alive!" Sean also heard as he slid next to a tree.
Sean fired another burst at one of the brutes who tried to flank him. He was met with a roar and a dive into cover as the Spartans slowly advanced. The brutes were well trained and armed, but they attacked with the reckless abandon they were known for.
Still? They outnumbered the Spartans by 5-1 and their forces were still gaining territory each day. Sean continued to engage the banished troops as his armor picked up on their chatter.
"The blasted demons fight like monsters! Send more reinforcements, their…" The officer said before their radio went dead.
Sean picked up on the mention of 'demons. There was only one meaning for that word when the covenant had fought them. It meant Spartans were here which meant the banished were getting butchered by some of the best soldiers in the UNSC's military.
Sean rolled to the side before he fired and nailed another brute in the head. The soldier gurgled before its eyes rolled back into its head and it fell to the ground dead.
The other brutes started to back away to allow more banished troops to storm into the area. Sean motioned for Phantom to slowly move upwards as he swept his rifle around in a circle.
"Phantom to UNSC forces," Sean stated as he mentioned for his team to advance. "We are approaching your location. Copy?" Sean asked while he listened to the radio.
There were the sounds of gunfire and banished screams while their forces slowly started to collapse. Sean looked upwards to see a banished phantom on fire as the craft careened out of control.
Phantom sprinted forward while Sean watched with wonder and awe. They were skilled Spartans if they made mincemeat out of banished troops. Sean noticed motion on his radar, however.
What he noticed next, however, surprised the spartan majorly. Another brute, one clad in the garb of a chieftain smashed into the clearing. Sean watched a glint of green emerge from the back of the 8ft monster.
A spartan II clung to the back of the monster and twisted its head to the side with a crunch. The banished commander slumped forward as their body shook the ground. They gazed at Sean and the fireteam of IVs who gazed at the armored warrior with interest.
"A godforsaken II…" Sean said as he slowly looked over his shoulder. "Weapons down. Friendly." Sean ordered with a roll of his eyes as they slowly did so awkwardly.
Both soldiers were interested in the other while the Spartan turned to address the fresh Banished troops.
"Kill the Spartans!" Sean heard them roar as Phantom spread outwards from their location.
"A damn II… An II on this ring? I'm losing my mind." Sean said before he lifted his rifle.
"Can we focus on shooting the Banished?" The Spartan-II stated as she pulled an M90 shotgun. "Douglas? There are Spartans here. The rookies Isabel talked about?" The Spartan-II added to which she nodded towards the Spartans.
"Rookies?" Sean heard from Patrick before he fired once more.
"Pack it in, Spartan," Sean stated while he cleared his throat. "We need to continue taking the Banished out. I doubt there's any left that isn't dead considering there's a Spartan-II here." Sean added before he looked towards the Spartans.
"Not a lot." The Spartan-II stated as she started to open fire on the approaching brutes. "They tried sending a small army… Didn't work." The II added as they continued to fire at the rest of the soldiers.
"That explains them panicking and freaking out," Sean stated as he nodded. "Nick? Get ready for a pickup. We're almost done here." Sean added before he sighed and spun out of fire towards the new wave of brutes.
"Already headed in to deal with these phantoms," Nick stated while he cleared his throat. "I'll drop down when they're done. We're being sent to the new UNSC ship that showed up. More Spartans? Damn, the Banished are screwed if they are ripped apart like tissue." Nick added as his pelican roared over their heads.
The Spartan-IVs slowly started to open fire once more. There were plenty of soldiers to blast as they engaged what seemed like charging brutes.
"They're pretty hard to kill, aren't they?" The Spartan questioned before blasting another of the brutes.
"Maybe, they're not very smart like their bosses are," Sean added to which the Spartan nodded. "They're pretty damn strong compared to Spartans when it comes down to it," Sean said while he cleared his throat.
"Maybe, but we dropped 30 or so of them already." The Spartan replied as they dodged a fist from a brute.
The blast from her weapon blew the Jiralhanae soldier to the ground and a hole into his chest. The banished soldier groaned before his body dropped to the ground and expired. The brutes were strong and good fighters… But they didn't match the Spartans in direct combat.
"Damn." Sean heard from Patrick before he fired again. "Sniper down. We've cleared out half their troops. Nick? Leave their ground forces to us at the moment." Patrick stated while he sighed.
Sean rolled his eyes as he shook his head and dispatched one of the grants that waddled towards them. He watched another shrieking brute charge at them while a whistling noise broke the air.
A familiar noise to the Spartan Fireteam: Banished drop pods. Sean cursed as he realized one of their dreadnoughts had probably dispatched reinforcements.
"Great. More brutes…" Sean muttered with annoyance as he fired at one of the brute warriors.
The warrior fired his mangler at the spartan as the bullets pierced its armor and sent it packing. The spike whirled through the air and pierced a tree next to him.
"I'm going to guess it was you who shot down the phantoms we saw?" Sean asked while dropping an empty clip before slamming another into his rifle.
"The Banished ambushed us. Captain Cutter sent us to link up with UNSC forces…" The Spartan stated before she leaped forward. "Guess they decided to come to us." The Spartan added before she slammed her weapon into a brute officer's chest.
Their armor crumpled as if made of tinfoil under her strength before she spun and executed the soldier with a headshot. Sean had seen Spartans in combat before… And it STILL surprised him how they moved as if they were dancing. He knew if they wanted? The Spartan could slay 500 Banished soldiers in an hour.
Still? The Spartan was a fellow soldier and what mattered the most was ensuring they secured the area. He wanted nothing more than to ask questions at the moment about what the hell was going on at the moment.
He was well aware of the fact that there were more banished soldiers showing up. He almost wondered if they were scared of the fact there was plenty more Spartans were on the ring.
Then again? They didn't seem to care who a Spartan was. There were dozens of soldiers on this ring and they had no damn reason for them to think for them to come crashing down on them.
He was well aware of the fact that they were beyond regular soldiers. They were Spartans. Spartans were perfect at combat and Spartan-IIs were some of the best soldiers in the military.
"Spirt of Fire? This is Sierra-130. We've engaged Banished forces. Their sending in reinforcements at the moment." The Spartan stated while she started to reload her gun.
There were the sounds of craft soaring overhead as Echo-316 spun and started to engage the remaining phantoms. Sean wondered if they were willing to throw an entire army away simply to try and kill their best soldiers.
"Well… If they weren't scared before? They are now." Sean stated before he looked at them with interest. "Phantom Actual? We have a Banished dreadnought in the sky making trouble for us. We need support. There's only so much we can do without reinforcements." Sean added as another brute soared towards them with a jetpack.
There was a crack of fire as the soldier fell from the sky. Sean wryly smiled inside of his armor as the Banished began to retreat.
Sean was about to ask why when three objects entered his scope of range. 3 which entirely told him that the tides had FINALLY swung towards their favor.
The profile of 2 UNSC Mulsanne frigates with a squadron of F-41 Broadsword Interceptors escorting them.
Echo 316 opened fire on the last phantom with a burst of its 70mm cannons which ripped into the craft. It spun and then smashed into the ground, ending the Banished air support in this area.
Another pair of forest green soldiers who seemed to be ripping into the Banished, stabbing elites, and wrestling with brutes.
'3 Spartan-IIs. This damn war just ended for the Banished.' Sean thought as he signaled for his team to move forward.
"Commander. This is the Spirit of Fire. Red Team is to return for debriefing." Sean and the others heard as they shared looks. "And bring your friends. We just learned something." Sean heard as the Spartan-II looked at the pelican which started to descend.
"Wait. Spirit of Fire?" Sean heard from Patrick as the sniper slowly started to walk over. "That ship is MIA. What the hell is it doing here?" Patrick asked only for Sean to hold a hand in the air.
The Spartan-IV fell silent as the other two Spartan-IIs started to walk towards them. Sean said nothing and snapped off a salute for their commander which his HUD stated was above him in rank.
"Maybe we should talk back where they AREN'T shooting at us." The Spartan-II stated before Echo-316 landed. "Sir? This is Sierra-130. We're enroute to the Spirit of Fire. Banished forces are in full retreat and it seems there are plenty of UNSC IFF tags here." The Spartan reported before she backed into the pelican as did her comrades.
Sean slowly holstered his rifle as did the others as they slowly boarded the dropship. There were 1000 questions in his mind and all of them seemed to conflict with what he was aware of.
It didn't entirely throw the fireteam leader off as the pelican departed towards the Spirit of Fire. The Spartan-IVs and the Spartans-IIs shared looks as they started to think as their craft started to slowly coast at the moment.
"You're a damn sight for sore eyes, sir," Sean stated towards the Spartan commander. "Still wondering how the hell you showed up," Sean added to which the Spartan from before spun on their heel towards him.
The stature of the fellow Supersoldier didn't bother him. Sean said nothing towards this woman who looked him in the eye as she spoke, her voice more playful at the moment than she had been for a time. There were more things to do and more work to complete.
The pelican soared towards the support ship as a hanger right under the brigade opened and the pelican rolled down the track and into the hanger. The ship almost made him wonder if it had seen the light of day. The doors behind them slammed shut behind them as the pelican started to stop. Sean would be lying if he didn't enjoy the idea of being aboard.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-10 months and will be delayed at the moment. The next chapter will show Sean and the others meeting Captain Cutter and finding their next move. The next chapter will be 900-6500 words.