0100 hours September 05, 2581 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Eridani System UNSC Mother Ship Jurassic Gateway
Location Classified
Lieutenant [Tech Officer] Samuel Davis filled his coffee mug to the brim. As he quickly moved to his seat on the bridge, a drop climbed over the edge and dripped its way over the drawing on the mug. It had a picture of the Jurassic Gateway on it, shooting off her heavy missiles at nothing. He had made it himself to honor the extremely old Mother Ship. It had been made over 100 years ago, and went by the name Perpetual Light. But after a few battle, and a few dozen years, it got its name Jurassic Gateway.
There weren't many Mother Ships made, but out of the few that were made, Jurassic Gateway was the most protected. Her bridge crew consisted of over 20 men and woman, who have heavy experience dealing with Covenant battleships.
Mother Ships were the center of all knowledge about Earth. If someone planned a birthday, the people on this Mother Ship knew the flavor of the cake, and how much it costed.
Several noises came from this bridge. From sipping of coffee, to constant talking.
"Look." Said Sergeant [Nav Officer] Jamie Price pointing to her screen. There moved a group of purple ships across the screen, from the left side to the right. On the right side of the screen was the Jurassic Gateway. There were 3 planets along the way, all of which were uninhabited. "They're headed in this direction."
"How long until they get here, Nav Officer?" Captain Ken Dullard asked Sergeant Price.
"42 days." The ships AI, Jenova, answered as Sergeant Price opened her mouth to answer.
"How many crafts would you say there are, Jenova?"
Sergeant Price blushed in embarrassment. What turned out to be her find was turned over to a smarter being.
"Calculating… … … 214 Battleships, 54 Frigates, 39 drop ships, & 22 Repair Crafts. 329 Covenant forces in all. Taken up against our 65 Battleships, 25 Frigates, 50 drop ships, & 21 Repair Crafts; 160 Human forces, it hardly seems fair."
"But we still have 8 extra Repair Ships." Sergeant Price commented, trying to get into the conversation.
"No, Sergeant, that's irrelevant. Those Repair Ships take up to 2 hours to fix a simple drop ship. They will take too long to fix a battleship. It's useless to trust in them in the heat of battle," Captain Dullard answered back to her quickly. "Think straight, child."
The Sergeant blushed even harder now. She turned to her station and nodded. "Yes, sir."
Jenova, on her AI pedestal smirked. She knew what Sergeant Price was trying to do. But it blew back in her face. No one could outsmart an AI; no matter how hard they tried.
"So what's the plan?" Sergeant First Class [Weapon Officer] Carl Daemon White asked with a slick smile. He seemed not to be worried about the Covenant; he just wanted to be kept in the know. He was a curious person, but no one could blame him for it. Everyone is at times.
The Captain breathed deep. "We'll call in the biggest SOS ever. Call all those in this and the next system. Call 'em here to come and battle them half way from theirs and ours location. That will at least weaken them. And then we'll have another attack half way again, and have another battle. By the time they get to us, they will be half in numbers and with no morale at all. We'll surely crush them."
The Jurrasic's crew flashed a smile. It was a simple plan, but effective nonetheless. If not, they had a third option. The second option being surrender, the third would be to unleash the Earth's strongest weapon.
Haven remained hidden for a little under 5 centuries, a quick upgrade here and there, the secret weapon was presumed weak at its present state. But its power was unmatched, and could wipe out Saturn with ease. Having quick firing, 16 minutes per fire, it could destroy all 9 planets in 2 hours and 24 minutes.
"Lets just hope we don't have to resort to using the secret weapon… it damages the planet by sucking out its resources. If used to much, the planet will waste away, and shatter, like a glass ball dropped 100 meters high." Jenova said, showing the Earth shattering on her monitor.
The bridge crew gasped. They never knew of this secret weapon, except being mentioned once or twice. Other than that, all they heard where Marine rumors. And Rumors always have twists to them.
The crew looked at each other, but felt discomforted, and quickly looked back at their monitors. They were the crew of Jurassic Gateway. The center of Earth. All information went to them, and the only thing they didn't know of was this hidden weapon…
Why was it such a big secret… was it because in time, it could kill the Earth?
================================================================
"Alright, Spartans, our job here is done." Master Chief called to his Spartans in PHANTOM-CC, as he scoped the field, to see hundreds after hundreds of human bodies lain across this once peaceful project.
Killing humans didn't feel as good as it did killing Covenant. The Master Chief felt abhorrence for himself at that time. Though he was fighting for the humans, he just killed a thousand humans here today, with no real explanation except… revenge…
"Coming to pick you up. Stand by." Dr. Kelly called, also in PHANTOM-CC. He dived into atmosphere. He also felt the heat of the atmosphere passing through the thick alloy. A sweat bead dropped from his forehead onto the control panel he was utilizing. "Man, it's hot like an oven. Better hurry and get out of here. Before things really get heated up."
He feed more fuel to the quad burners, and the ship shot forward in a quick movement.
Ada threw a frag Grenade at a pair of Rebels. They attempted to catch the frag. But hadn't enough time to throw it. The Rebel, who caught it, was instantly blown away. He laid in the grass, half his right face blown off, and his right arm was missing. He moaned a little, then fell silent. The other Rebel however, was still alive as he laid in a flower patch. His whole left side was burned profusely. He tried to remain still, as to look dead. But Dilon knew he wouldn't be. They were to far apart to both be killed from 1 frag.
Dilon walked up to the hurt Rebel. The Rebel tried to protest, but it was no use. Dilon picked up his heavy boot and brought it to the Rebel's face with force.
Master Chief seemed to not be doing any work. His weapons hadn't fired since he told the Spartans to clear out. Maybe he felt guilty for the deaths at December's Hail. And he felt guilty for all these deaths here too. He felt it was his fault so many humans died. It was his mission to save them. Not let them die. He felt empty. Like he was worthless… like he didn't deserve such an honor of being the Earth's savior.
Seconds later, the Phantom carrying Dr. Kelly arrived, and the Spartans were picked up with no hassle.
"Get out! You promised peace you bastards!" The Rebel Leader screamed at Master Chief as he was entering the ship.
"You kill ours, we kill yours," Was the Chiefs simple reply. "But we're also sorry. But don't take our kindness for weakness. Or you'll see us real soon."
"Hope to have many years of peace with you." Mack added with a modest laugh as the blast door slammed shut. That was the last they heard of the Rebels for now.
================================================================
At this point in time, this specific Phantom was the most worth thing in the universe. Or many would have thought so. But all over space, there were about 60 Spartans fighting with the Covenant.
Dr. Kelly, being directly related to Dr. Halsey, the founder of the SPARTAN program, being her cousin, had taken over her experiments. He took the shots the Spartans had to go through upon becoming teens, and made it better. The death result was no longer 59%, but was lowered to an amazing 22%.
This left around 70 Spartans in all. They were each separated to different parts of space, to help fight the Covenant in that area. UNSC put 5 Spartans into each sector surrounding Earth. If need be, Spartans from all the sectors would be called to Earth.
This made everyone exultant; if 5 Spartans could hold back a large Covenant attack, imagine 70 Spartans fighting on Covenant planet. This battle would end in under a day, with the Spartans victory, and a little under a dozen Spartan casualties.
"This Phantom will be left to December's Hail, so they can diagnose it, to see if it really is weak to heat..." Master Chief explained to Dr. Kelly what he thought, and what had happened today. From his theories to the battle of Kairo Rebel.
This was all that went on for the next 5 days, until the crew finally arrived at the December's Hail.
The Master Chief entered the bridge. Where he got welcomes from the crew.
"Welcome home, Nickolas-238, I presume your mission was a success?" Captain Marcus Locke asked the Chief as he stepped to the command chair.
"Yes, sir. We got Dr. Kelly back. And I see you replaced the crew as well. Don't worry, I got the scoundrels back for the crew."
The Captain nodded. "Yes." He turned to the large transparent screen ahead of him. Beside the screen, on the AI pedestal appeared a hologram image. Leela, the tomboy female AI, greeted the Chief warmly. Leela had been around since Cortana's death, in the late 2550's. Leela would be called Cortana's sister AI. But with additions, she was made to last a 2 decades more than Cortana. Same as Cortana, Leela was to smart for her own good, and also like Cortana, this will sooner or later be the death of this AI.
"Glad to see you and Dr. Kelly back safe."
"Yes, you are free to rest if you like." The Captain Locke added, as an image appeared on his screen.
"Locke and I are studying the transmition you guys sent, along with the battle images. Thought this provides little of everything… I got nothing else to do." Leela sighed.
Master Chief let out a prompt laugh. "Well, if it's any use, I also felt the Phantom stored in the dock bay was weak to heat. Maybe that's a weakness of the Covenant."
"Achilles' heel, huh? Hmm, I'll have someone look into it."
"Thanks." The Chief said, waved, turned around and left the bridge.
================================================================
"This is Juliet 621, does anyone read me? I repeat, does anyone read me? Over."
"This is December's Hail, we read you Juliet 621. What's the problem?"
"I need back up, Spartan 2 have found a giant Covenant base. They have proceeded to attack, but have fallen to deep into the city. There are too many Shades, and Banshees to be able to pull them out. So we decided to take the city--"
"This is Delta 219, December's Hail, do you read me? Over."
"December's Hail here, what is it 219?"
"We need back up at Epsilon Echelon system. I repeat, we need back up at Epsilon Echelon system."
"Roger that, 219. Requested units are dispatched."
"Roger, Delta 219 out."
"Juliet 621, this is December's Hail, do you read me? Over."
"Roger."
"What system are you located."
"… … Epsilon Echelon system. I repeat, Epsilon Echelon system."
"Roger that, I have dispatched units to your system. I will also send Spartan 3 to your location."
"Roger. Thanks December's Hail. Juliet 621 out."
================================================================
"Master Chief? Master Chief?! Do you read me Master Chief?"
The Master Chief awoke with a sudden fright. He breathed heavy, and noticed his helmet was off. He looked over to where his helmet was, and saw it lying on the floor. The transmition, who ever was calling him, shook the helmet slightly. The Chief picked up his helmet. "Master Chief here, what is it?"
"Finally Master Chief, we are headed for Epsilon Echelon, to help Spartan 3 deal with a Covenant base."
Spartans at each system were also labeled by their numbers, since the new Spartans were 226-300, 226-230 was Spartan 1, 231-235 was Spartan 2. And the Master Chief's was Spartan 3, as Spartan 3 was 236-240 and he was 238. Out of these numbers, the group chose the leader. Ada was 236, Dilon was 237, Eddie was 239, and Mack was 240. Spartan 3, as a team chose Master Chief because of his great leadership skills. In missions, he was the bravest, and smartest, Covenant battling wise.
"What's the matter, December's Hail? They infiltrated a Covenant base and are in too deep to get out?"
"That's right, Master Chief. You were listening to the conversation between us?"
The Master Chief shook his head. He remembered briefly something about this. But not all of it… he must have been enough awake to hear what they were saying, but not enough to understand. Now it's when he understands. "I guess I was… I don't know."
"Well whatever, Master Chief, you will have to load into 1 Pelican out of 9 Pelican and fly there. These Pelicans will be equipped with 'Hog's and Spiders, and be filled with Marines. Use the vehicles to your liking. And we will also fire ODST toward the planet surface.
"By the way, this planet does not belong to the Covenant. It belongs to a now dead race of aliens. The Covenant have killed them off, and taken captive the planet, to harvest its many resources. Normally, we wouldn't interfere, but this is a great time to damage the Covenant numbers. They will drop greatly if we take over this city."
The Chief nodded. "Have the others gotten the message?"
"Yes, Chief. They're just waiting for you."
The Chief grew red with embarrassment. He hated the fact that, he always told them to be punctual, and now he's the one that's late. He felt like he was an idiot for sleeping. In the future, he would try to sleep when it was most convenient. When he was sure there was nothing to do. So he would never be embarrassed like this again.
He slammed his helmet on, digging them into his shoulders, leaving a red and white mark on his white skin. He pushed that aside as he grabbed a shotgun, and attached it to his side, grabbed a 10mm M12D, and his trusted 45mm MA8B. Which was his real weapon. Not the one he took to Earth, which was a 12mm. That was for close combat, as he knew in the White House, the corridors didn't offer much space. But they were going to an unknown planet. Who knew what resided in wait there. There was plenty of space.
The Chief exited the Spartan's rest hall quickly, and followed the signs attached to the overhead the pointed right, and to the left of it read in dark red letters, 'Launch Bay'.
As the sliding metal doors recognized the Chief's movement, it slid apart. Revealing the many air vehicles ready to be launched. The Chief noticed the black suited Marines, and quickly figured they were ODST—"Hell Jumpers".
Aligned the bulkhead, were several Hell Jumper pods. Ready to be launched as well. But the Chief had no time to dawdle. He had a Pelican to catch. He hurried down the thin catwalk, to a small metallic bridge that lead to the Pelican's open hatch. Attached to the ships belly, the Chief could see a Spider attacked to it, loaded with 8 missiles, and with its factory given Mini guns. Those things could cause havoc, unbelievably fast. But the thought that gave the Chief the most comfort was the bare fact that he would be riding like a speed demon with the 6000 miles per hour fast, blue sports car. Amazing that the beautiful vehicle could raise not only hell, but also the road it traveled on.
The Chief boarded the craft, and announced himself.
"Welcome aboard, Chief," The pilot called out to him. "I'm Romeo 566. I'll be your pilot for today."
Right away, the Chief recognized the pilot as Australian because of his accent. The Chief strapped himself in. He looked about and found the team sleeping, some drinking and eating. For the most part, leisurely things. The ones who were awake, though, welcomed him. His team consisted of Spartan 3 and around 10 more Marines.
"This is Romeo 566. Craft is taking off. The Captain has turned on the fasten seat belt sign. Please no smoking, and care to take this time and click the safety on you weapon. If we have to abandon ship, the Co-Pilot can be used as a floating device."
The Chief smiled under his helmet. The Marines also laughed. "Pilot humor," A Marine called out loud. "The best there is."
Unlike the rest of the Spartans, the Chief kept his helmet on. He didn't like to be seen without it. He also asked himself why the Spartans had their helmets off. Another stupid question? The only simple answer was, there was no danger. They wanted to relax while they could. Under the helmet, it was tightly packed. Luckily, none of the Spartans were claustrophobic. The Pelican was released from its hold onto the December's Hail.
It dropped down and out through, since this part of the ship had no bottom, so the ships could drop out from there instead of fly in. But it had 4 walls surrounding it. The Dock Bay was different of course. It had the bottom, but only 3 walls, as the wall to the North was missing, and replaced by a door that would remain open 90% of the time. The only time it would close is if it was being attacked or entering the atmospheres.
The Romeo 566 stalled as it exited the battleship, and then did a 180, and headed down to the small dot, that was designated to be the biggest battle this century.
The city the Covenant had invaded was as Texas. This was the only city on the planet, but this was also an advantage. The Covenants had sent enough forces to fill half, but the other half could be filled with human forces. There they could set up a base and fight the Covenant back. Then they'll be almost half in total number. Which is a real advantage to the humans. This was the first time in a while when they could get a large Covenant fleet on land, where the Spartans could assure victory. Which is why Spartan 3 and Spartan 4 were called to this planet, both of which were surrounding the Echelon system.
The pilot added more fuel to his burners, and sped toward the planet.
SECTION II===========================
POLTERGEIST
CHAPTER 6 ==========================
1205 hours September 13, 2581 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Echelon System UNSC Vehicles
Plains Forerunners Planet
The sun had just started to come up over the high mountains in the distance. This planets sun was pink; leaving a pink trail on everything it got its hand on.
The air was moist, as if it were dawn. Insects flew around, making extraordinary sounds. Hiding in the tall grass. The grass stood 2 meters high, and was stationed on red sand.
5 pelicans dropped their vehicles, and Marines, but the Marines were walking, while the Spartans, and a few lucky Marines used the vehicles. Point was for the vehicles to clear the way, and the Marines to arrive unharmed.
The air was filled with dust as well, as the Warthogs bounced around, trying to regain its grip on the Earth. It dug into a soft spot on the ground, and climbed out quickly, sending a fireball of red sand forward.
Ada shook as she tried to find the right road as to not feel so much resistance. But it was impossible. Here there was too much grass to see what was under the grass. She ignored that, as she press on the gas, and sent the 'Hog forward, sending the Marine at the PRL99 backwards, almost falling off the back.
The PRL99 was a Plasma-launching rocket. It shoots Plasma that exploded on contact. This was stolen technology from the Covenant database. The PRL99 replaced the old M41 LAAG, which shot bullets. It's very powerful, but dangerous with close quarters, which is why some 'Hogs are equipped with M41s.
Leading the troops of vehicles was the Master Chief in a Spider. The Chief barely pressed the gas, and the Spider was still faster than a 'Hog going full speed. In the passenger side was his trusted Marine. Private [Weapons Officer] Davey Micheals. The Chief knew the private for a while.
When the Chief was a kid in the Spartan program, he had lost the challenge, and had to walk to the barracks, and eat nothing for that day. Davey Micheals, who had been a Sergeant at the time, was young and naive. Being 20, he felt sorry for the 6 year old. He told the boy if he wanted a ride on his 'Hog. Nickolas agreed, and they were soon off. Micheals gave Nickolas a sub sandwich he had, but didn't want. Micheals dropped him off in front of the barracks. Where Sergeant Enrico Sancho found Nickolas was not tired and it only took him 15 minutes to walk a 2 hours long road.
Sergeant Sancho asked the young boy who had brought him, but Nickolas denied telling him. For the next few days, Sancho made Nickolas do extra PT, non-stop, and his eating was leveled to minimum, while the rest of the Spartans ate grand meals, to intimidate Nick into telling Sancho the truth. But Nick held his own for 6 days.
Until the 7th days, the scared Sergeant Micheals confessed. Sergeant Sancho took him in front of the UNSC Board, and told them what he did. Their punishment was to put the Sergeant into Ensign, and he couldn't rise in ranks for 1 year and for each day it took him to confess, they added a year to this. 8 years, and he was still and Ensign, until the 9th year, where he was risen up to a Private. And the 10th year, present time, was when he was made into a Weapons Officer of his battle ship, the Dear Mary.
Private Micheals thanked the Master Chief for not ratting him out, but he couldn't let a 6 year old take such a punishment for his mistake. And that's where their friendship began, when the Chief was 6, and now 12 years later, they were side by side, each others life in the others hands.
The Chief let up on the gas, as he saw a Wraith mortar tank on the hills up ahead.
"Listen up everyone, there is a Covenant tanks up ahead," The Chief said in FORERUNNER-CC. "Which means most likely Covenant units. 'Hog 1 and 2; take the tank out with your PRL99. 'Hog 3 and 4, pull up and take out any Covenant units with your M41."
"Roger, Green 1 & 2 taking out tank." Green 1, Mack's group, called back.
"Roger, Red 1 & 2 taking out any hostile units." Red 1, which was Ada's, called back as well.
Green 1 & 2 pulled up onto the Chiefs right, and Red 1 & 2 pulled up on his left.
There was a little rising up ahead, that's the reason they couldn't see if there were units around. As the 'Hogs jumped up the ramp hill, they immediately saw Covenant units.
"Covenant sighted! 50 meters from our location!" Red 2, Eddie's group, screamed over the CC.
"Fire at will! I repeat, fire at will!" Master Chief screamed back, pressing harder on the gas. He ramped up the hill, flying meters of the ground; he landed back with a thud, as the heavy vehicle hit the ground, pounding dust clots onto the windshield.
The Wraith tanks turned toward the group and fired a shot of pulsing Plasma. It clearly missed, but sent dust and Plasma smoke into the air, covering some of the Marines sight. They fired freely, into nothing, trying to score a lucky hit. The PRL99 fired its Plasma toward the Wraith. It hit the edge of the Wraith, sending it flipping head over heel, until it landed behind the hill. The Wraith was out of the picture for now.
As the dust settled, Plasma started to rain from ahead. The 'Hogs tried their bests to dodge it, but Dilon's got hit in the front right tire, sending it forward. The Marine manning the M41 was sent 10 meters before landing on his face. He lay silent, in pain. But as for the passenger and Dilon, they were strapped in, so they remained inside the turned over 'Hog.
Besides from a quick headache, the two were fine. They unstrapped themselves, and dropped to the ground. From inside their little base, they heard Plasma hitting the 'Hogs underside. Dilon picked up a Shotgun from the supplies dropped onto the floor, and then he exited the overturned Warthog. As soon as he did, he saw trio of Ghosts headed in his direction.
Private Micheals unleashed a missile toward the group of Ghosts. It flew toward the middle one, and hit it hard. It exploded, sending the 2 adjacent Ghosts sprawling onto the ground. The Elites how ever, were still alive. They stood up and opened fire with their Plasma Rifle. The Elite on the left didn't have much time to fire, and a Shotgun shell went through his shield, diminishing it, and another Shotgun shell blew his head off, showering his surroundings with blue-purple blood.
================================================================
The Covenant knew that they were going to be attacked sooner or later. But not this soon. But no matter, they had a plan to kill these invading sons-of-bitches. A new air vehicle that would prove to be more than useful.
"I can't wait to see the new weapon in action." Akua 'Relimee called out, to his partner, Nanam. Nanam was partnered to 'Relimee because of a mistake.
In battle against the Marines, Nanam and 'Relimee are side by side. Without care for Nanam, 'Relimee steps onto Nanam's foot, causing Nanam to fire his weapon onto the ceiling. The Marines take down 'Relimee's shield, and are about to kill him, when one of the blast from Nanam's Plasma pistol breaks the ceiling, and causes it to collapse. Creating a barrier between the Marines and Covenant. Ever since then, the two have been inseparable. God knows why an Elite would be with a Grunt.
As 'Relimee stares out of the window, towards the battle of Master Chief, he waits patiently for the new weapons to fly towards them.
Finally, after an eight-minute intermission, the weapons are released. 5 of them are sent flying from the top of the building 'Relimee is located on.
"Hahaha… beautiful creations. I call them… Poltergeist!"
================================================================
By now, the Marines have caught up to the battle. They start to unleash their fury onto the now quickly dropping Covenant.
A group of Grunts fire their Plasma pistols out of fear, but hit nothing. They are soon run over by Ada's 'Hog. Bluish blood is splattered on the ground, as the 2 ton 'Hog crushes the light Grunts. Ada turns her vehicle to face a couple of advancing Jackals. The Marine in the back opened fire, ripping through the shield of the Jackals, and blowing chunks off of his body. The 'Swiss' chess Jackal falls to the ground, spraying blood from the newly made holes.
As everything seems to be going all right, a sudden comet of Plasma appears and blows Dilon's 'Hog into pieces. Dilon jumped out of the way of the explosion, only to be nearly crushed by the 'Hog's bumper. He stands up, and smiles. "Close. Lucky me."
"Alright, the Wraith tank is back, take it down!" Master Chief screams as he sees the comet hit the 'Hog.
"Um, Chief… that wasn't the mortar tank." Ada explains, as she spots the problem. "Look. It's the Banshees."
The Master Chief sees the Banshees, but they look different. It has the same external wings, but it has dual burners in the back. It's painted baby blue, and has the picture of a ghost flying around on the front. It has a small window where the pilot can see through. It also has a large cannon on the bottom.
It fires again, and a Plasma comet, the same as a Wraith tanks, can be seen shot out from the cannon on the belly of the aircraft. It lands between a group of Marines, blowing them into pieces. Blood paints the ground around them dark red. As Frag grenades blow as well, it leaves a large crater in the center. As it passes by, the Chief noticed the side of the craft, on the black ghost, in white it says, 'Poltergeist'.
"Take down those Poltergeists!"
"Poltergeist, Master Chief?" Ada asks, getting into position, so her Marine could fire his PRL99 at the target.
"That's what the Covenant call them, Poltergeist. Damn, bad time to make a new invention. It has the power of a Wraith tank, but it's agile as a Banshee… deadly duo…"
'Hog 1 & 2 fired their PRL99 at the Poltergeist, taking down 2, but leaving 3 more.
Dilon ran across the field, trying to get away from the dangerous Poltergeist. Covenant plasma threatened to kill him, but he was too quick to be hit from the side. A Covenant Elite tried to tackle him, but Dilon hit him harder, and dropped him to the ground. Dilon laughed and looked back at the downed Elite. The Elite grunted and tried to stand up, but his shields were diminished, and his health was half gone. Dilon turned around in time to see the Grunt body on the floor, but not in time to move.
He tripped and fell flat on his front. He turned around, and saw a Poltergeist dive onto his position. The cannon on the belly glowed Plasma green, and unleashed a comet.
"Master Chief—" Dilon called out softly, but his transmition was cut into static.
The comet impacted Dilon, exploding him into tiny pieces.
The Master Chief watched his Spartan disappear into a smoke of Plasma fire. When the dust settled, there was nothing to be found of Dilon.
The Chief gulped, "Damn it!! Take those God damned Poltergeists down! I don't want any more casualties!"
Ada closed her eyes. Just this morning, Dilon was excited to get out and fight for his people. He wanted to come and fight. But all he came and did was… die.
Master Chief was suddenly filled with sadness. He immediately noticed it was John who was sad, and since John was in Master Chief's brain, the Chief felt sadness too.
"How many more good people will have to be sacrificed before we end this war?" John asked a rhetorical question.
"As many as needed…" The Chief answered. "No more games, John. We will take over this city! We will not lose any more people! We will win this war."
================================================================
The battle, later to be known as the "Battle on the Forerunner's Plains", had gone on for hours. At 1700 hundred hours, the pink sun was setting in a beautiful environment, behind moss green hills. It left the sky with a pink and purple hue.
Peace and tenderness was once spread across these plains between the biotic organisms in the community. But now war and hatred ripped these organisms apart from their ecosystem, abiotic and biotic alike.
These were the thoughts that raced through an intelligent Marine's head at the moment, until a DE-HP grenade shook his thoughts. He threw himself backwards, to miss the grenade 4 meters in front of him. As dust and burnt grass landed on his face, he brushed it off and scanned for the Marine who threw the rogue Frag, and he found the man behind him.
The Marine who threw it waved his apologize respectively, but didn't have time to say it verbally, as a Plasma round burned through his insides, and came out the other side. The Plasma passed on and waved by the intelligent Marine, leaving a wave of heat in its wake.
The Marine fell backwards onto his back again, and stood up quickly, to fire onto the Grunt that killed his ally.
He fired a controlled shot of 5, and the bullets pierced the Grunt's mask, blowing him up. The Methane he was breathing was flammable to some extent. It burned the Grunt, as yellow fire engulfed his little body. After the fire vanished, all that was left of the poor Grunt was its 'shoes', which were out of the way of the fire.
The Chief drove around crushing the bodies of Covenant with his fast moving vehicle. Quick speed and awesome handling were some of the Spider's attributes.
Private Micheals unleashed 2 missiles as he quick-targeted 2 Elites, and fired at them. The missiles flew straight and true, leaving gray smoke tracing their chosen paths and met their marks seconds later. The first of the 2 Elites was blown out of his shoes. His body exploded from the inside out, and sent blood and gore onto the by standing Elite.
Luckily, the Elite was also targeted by a missile, but was shot out of the way. The missile kept going, and tried to make a sharp turn, but unlike its launcher, it didn't have good handling. The missile strafed, and blew a 'Hog from the driver's side.
The 'Hog was sent spiraling in the air. The explosion of the vehicle killed both, driver and passenger, but the gunner was thrown off, landed on his back, and rolled to a stand. He quickly fell as a loss of power in the knees. He looked down at his feet, and tried to make them work, but only to fail. He looked up to see a Ghost, headed in his direction. He murmured a word of prayer, as the Ghost unleashed its Plasma, and burned 4 holes into the Marine's chest.
"This is Tango 222, delivering a Scorpion to a… Master Chief."
A wise ass Marine answered back, "I wanted one of those for Christmas, but my parents were too cheap!"
A Pelican could be seen from up high in the darkening sky. It was true. In its clutches was a Scorpion tank. A useful weapon in a crowded space.
The Pelican hovered meters off the ground, and dropped the 9-ton Scorpion. The Scorpion bounced and halted movement.
The Chief pulled up to the newly delivered weapon. He turned to Private Micheals.
"I'm leaving this Spider to you. Take a good shooting Marine and ride to give the Covenant hell!"
"You got it! I always wanted to drive one of these!" Private Micheals jumped into the drivers seat with a new sprout of confidence.
A Marine quickly pulled up to the job. Micheals pulled away in his brand new sports car.
The Chief jumped into the Scorpion, and was immediately followed by 4 Marines. "Ride 'em, boy!" 1 Marine called out as he jumped into the front right tread.
Each tread was 2-tons, while the body was 1-ton, giving the Scorpion the heaviest weapon in the human's arsenal, crushing anything that fell under it's power treads.
The Chief punched the gas, and sprung forward slowly. He quickly fired the cannon and destroyed a Ghost that was going around.
A quadruple set of Elites fired their Plasma weapons at the Marines stationed at the treads. The Marines fired back, taking out 2 of the 4 Elites. The Master Chief used his mini guns and took out 1 of the standing Elites. The other took down 1 Marine before he was crushed under the heavy weight of the Scorpion. The Scorpion had no trouble crushing his bones into dust, and kept going like nothing had happened.
The battle was winding down, but the Poltergeists that had gave trouble and ran out at the start of the battle, were coming back now with an annoying screech.
Hastily, they opened fire with their cannons, killing both of the Marines on the right of the Scorpion.
Then there was 1. The only Marine left got hit with the sudden case of fright, and jumped off the Scorpion. He madly dashed to the left, but was quickly chased down by 1 of the 2 Poltergeists. It dove near the ground, hovering meters of the ground; it fired off its mini guns, filling the young Marine with holes. The Marine held his body as it ached painfully. He looked down and saw half his stomach was missing; there was now a huge gap there. He dropped blood from his mouth, and fell to his knees. And then dropped face first onto the grass.
The Chief rearranged his turret to face the sky. It was a long shot, but it was either this, or run. And the Chief never ran, unless he was ordered to.
He fired a first shot onto the Poltergeist. It was a clean miss. The Poltergeist returned fire from its Plasma cannon. The explosion damaged the Chief minimal, as it only removed 1/8 of his shield. The Chief tried for a second time to fire his turret cannon.
An explosion lead by a crash put a smile on the Chief's face, the Poltergeist was downed.
"Now for the last one!" The Chief yelled to himself, as he put the Scorpion on reverse, and drove backwards till the Poltergeist was in range.
The Chief arranged the turret and waited for a moment. He made sure the shot was aligned. Then fired. Another shot hit, got all the Marines cheering in FORERUNNER-CC.
The rest of the battle was easy, as a surplus of Marines were dropped off at their location.
CHAPTER 7 ==========================0725 hours September 15, 2581 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Echelon System Alpha Base A
Hill Forerunners Planet
Smoke rose from the Captain Carlos Hanson's cigar and danced wildly in the morning breeze. The Captain laid his hand, along with the cigar at his side. He was watching the sunrise happening behind the green hills.
He smiled. The thought of a hard ass watching something 'beautiful' like the sunrise seemed like an oxymoron.
He puffed a bit more, and dropped it at his side again. He let the smoke exit his nose slowly. He was never a smoker, but in the battlefield, it calmed his nerves.
A strong scent hit him from behind and he whirled around to see a woman holding a boom style headset.
"It's Alpha Base B, sir. Captain Harold" The woman said thoughtfully, as she handed him the headset.
He put it on and listened to what the person on the other end had to say.
"Captain Carlos Hanson speaking. Yes. Yes, Captain, better results. 0900 hundred will be perfect. Aye. Roger that."
The Captain took the headset off and handed them to the female. The female, also know as Medic Elmyra Haley, was about to take the headset back to the Command Tent, but she turned around and stationed herself next to the Captain.
"What's on your mind, Captain?"
The Captain turned to her and took another puff of his cigar. He starred at her with a disbelieved look. "What, you one of the guys now? Go on, get the hell out of here." The Captain turned back to the view and blew out smoke from his mouth in the shape of an O.
"Sorry, sir." She turned around and was walking down the cliff, when the Captain called her.
"Come here, Elmyra."
"Sir."
"Hell? I got to tell you twice? Come here, Haley."
Medic Haley stood next to the Captain, and waited in anxiousness to see what the Captain would say now.
"The view." The Captain explained, without taking his eyes off the sunrise.
"Sir?"
The Captain looked at Medic Haley again with disbelief. 'They should give you an exam to enter UNSC. You have to be this smart to enter." The Captain said jokingly as he made his hands parallel, 6 inches from each other.
Haley laughed slightly. "The view, you mean the sunrise?"
"Yeah, whatever. They say on this planet, the sun starts rising at exactly 0730 hundred. It's 7:32."
Medic Haley had nothing to say. She also thought that a hard asses watching beautiful things should be an oxymoron.
The Captain took another puff of the cigar and threw it away, half finished. "We move at 0900 hours. Alert the troops."
The Captain walked back into camp to catch some shut-eye before the big battle.
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The Master Chief slouched as he reached for more soup. He poured it into his bowl and sipped it up immediately.
"Nothing better than cold soup in the morning." Master Chief said, as he pulled his armor farther away from his body. The armor was feeling tight, as he had it on for more than a week. His helmet was laid next to him, ready to be forced on at an attack.
"Deal with it. I once at dirt to try and survive." Ada replied, sipping her soup merrily.
The Chief frowned. He starred at Ada for a while with penetrating eyes. "Yeah, Ada… I know. I was there!"
A mission gone wrong, they fell helplessly into a deep cavern. They lasted 2 days in the underground cavern until a rescue crew blew the top open and a Pelican rescued them. They were forced to eat dirt in the underground cavern, as no other food was provided.
This base was made 2 days ago, after the '"Battle on the Forerunner's Plains", the Marines set up base. The 1st day was to rest, while the second day was to prepare, readying the bases for attacks. Also resupplying the bases with excess Marines. There were 4 bases in all, and they surrounded the Forerunner city. The point was to distract the Covenant from one side, so they build their forces on that side, but they leave their opposite side exposed. Then a surprised attack will be launched. An A-quality plan.
All their vehicles have been resuplied, and the ODST were planning a perfect plan.
Jumping into a live city is never an easy job. Too many buildings make for easy death traps. A wrong move and you'd be impaled in a city building.
So the Hell Jumpers were spending the past 2 days to make sure they can land in the streets. Of course with the help of AI's, the job was easy to calculate the speed the battleship should be going, and the time to launch to make a perfect, desired launch.
Holding off attacks on Alpha Base A was an extraordinarily hard plight. With many of the vehicles in for repairs, the Marines had to take on advancing forces, from Covenant, to Covenant vehicles. Luckily, no Poltergeists have been sighted. If that were the case, Alpha Base would be in rubble.
Marine weapons were almost useless to Banshees [Poltergeist], and the vehicles were in repairs, so it would take too long to stop repair and start them up again. By then, Alpha Base A would be no more.
But on the bright side, Alpha Base B-D were fine, as Covenant officials expected only 1 base was in existence, and that was A. A mistake that would alternately lead to their destruction in the end.
"This is Medic Elmyra Haley. Can everyone hear me?" Haley called over the loudspeakers set up in the 4 corners of the tent.
The Marines of the "soup kitchen" laughed. "It's a one way speaker!" A Marine yelled, as more laughter broke out.
"Hello?" Haley asked again.
"Civilians. No idea of Military tech." Eddie said to the Spartans as he shook his head.
"Um, anyways, for those who can hear me, we move at 9 am. Captain Hanson's orders."
Marines laughed a little again. "I don't know 9… what is 9 am?" The Marines laughed again. Seemed as they were having fun. But was instantly broken as someone called, "Attention on deck!"
Everyone got into attention, the way you were suppose to be if you were sitting down; by putting their hands to their sides, and sitting back straight.
The ones who were standing, stood at attention. Not turning to see who was the officer on deck. But they immediately knew who it was by the strong, loud voice.
"You think it's funny to laugh at a Civilian?" Lieutenant Dana Glover asked, rhetorically. He walked up to a standing Marine who was in the Lieutenants Squad. "Huh? You think it's funny?" He yelled to him.
The Marine shook, but recovered and remained straight. He gulped, as Lieutenant Glover was the biggest asshole in the Corp right now. "Sir, no, sir!"
The Lieutenant turned his head to hear the Marine better. "No what, Private?"
"I'm a PFC, sir!"
The Lieutenant smiled. Now you're not. I asked you a question, which you failed to answer, and you questioned my authority. Say hello to your new Private Marines!"
"Hello, Private Brookeburne!" Everyone said in unison.
The Lieutenant turned to Private Brookeburne. "Now answer the question, Private."
Brookeburne felt like hitting the Lieutenant, but that would be a big mistake, as the Lieutenant would 'lay him out'. "Sir, I do not think it's funny to laugh at a Civilian, sir!"
"Good, lesson learned." The Lieutenant walked out quickly to go handle what he had to do, but he was like that, once in a while he'd pop in silently.
Everyone relaxed now, and Private Brookeburne smacked a cup full of orange juice to the ground. He hated Lieutenant Glover as much as everyone did.
"Tough break." Some Marines comforted him. "It's not good to get worked up before a big battle. Relax, get some sleep."
The Chief sighed, good thing he didn't belong to the Lieutenants group; Romeo Company.
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1 hour and a few minutes later, the base was ready to move. The yelling of commands woke the Master Chief. It scared him, as he thought it was the first day of Boot Camp, the first step of the Spartan Program.
But he quickly realized this was much worst than the Spartan Program. They were going into the biggest base the Covenant had, with many sniper positions, and with their new weapon, this would be no picnic, no matter how many Marines the Spartans had for help.
The Master Chief situated his helmet and left the Spartans tent. He saw that even more 'Hogs were brought, and a few more Spiders. Along with the solo Scorpion, in the front, he could see Marines picking their 'Hogs. This time around, the Spartans had their own Spiders to ride instead of the 'Hogs they previously had to use.
Messages followed by static were going back and forth, as everyone down here and in the December's Hail were using the same CC; FORERUNNER-CC.
"This is Hell Jumper Squad 1, prepped and ready to be launched."
"This is Hell Jumper Squad 2, us two as well."
"This is Hell Jumper Squad 3, us three."
"This is ODST Commander Lloyd June, all my Squads ready for launch, set Launch Sequence."
"Roger that, Leela, prepare Launch Sequence."
"No problem.... Launch Sequence ready. Tell me when."
More messages passed through the Master Chief's ears, but none he understood. He walked to his Scorpion and boarded it. He was welcomed by 4 Marines who already were on the treads already.
"Everyone ready?" Captain Hanson asked over the CC.
The leader of each squad answered with a powerful roger.
"Alright everyone, move!"
Engines started, making a loud roar to hear over. The Chief started the Scorpion tank, and started moving it. It rolled over small mounds of dirt, and compressed it without force. The 'Hogs followed him. Alpha Base 'A' rolled up a hill, and at once saw the city they had to take over. It wasn't that high, as the highest building to be seen was a 4 story building. This eased a little pressure on the fact of snipers.
The Chief prayed for no more Spartan loss, or Marine loss at that. He wondered if they would take over this city. A stupid question it was, as he already knew the answer. It was a positive yes.
To Be Continued…