Chapter Twelve-The Triumphant Few, Part II
A/N: Damn, I had to cut the chapter again, just because I had to get something put up. I couldn't finish this story because I am just too pressed for time. Chapter Thirteen to be put up (hopefully) by the end of September. Yep, that long of a time. Sorry.
It was eerily dark in the passageway to the Prophets' fortress. All the tunnel lights had either been shot out or turned off. All the troops turned on light amplification for their helmet displays, as flashlights were more like signal beacons. Once they engaged in bat tle, it was safe to turn them on. There was a steady drip of water up ahead, adding more suspense to the already tense situation.
A soft clatter of hooves alerted James to the presence of Grunts. The ODSTs in the front crouched down in firing position, then moved forward. One tossed a grenade.
"What the? GRENADE!!!" screeched a Grunt. There was a pillar of flame and the bodies of four black-armored Grunts flew everywhere.
"Spec-ops…" said James softly. "They only have the most veteran teams here…"
Plasma fire lashed out from down the hall. A cluster of Elites stood, firing rifles at the team. They concentrated fire on a single ODST. He fell with serious plasma burns. The others covered him and returned fire with their weapons. The Elites were outnumbered five to one, and it was soon over. After the confrontation James had a medical team come down to rescue the wounded soldier. However, he had already lost a lot of blood and was dead. The Spartan gritted his teeth and continued on.
They continued down the confined space, cautious for any more enemies in the tunnel. Suddenly, an ODST stepped forward and a cleverly placed plasma mine exploded, taking him and three other soldiers out in a blue explosion tainted with blood and armor.
James quickly made a fist, a signal to stop. The others froze, knowing that another step could cost their life. He pulled a grenade from a belt pouch, and the others around him did likewise. He knew that the chain reaction could cause the tunnel to collapse, but at least the entire tunnel wouldn't because of the tough Covenant metal-lined walls. Besides, the aliens' metal was known to be incredibly resilient and James hoped that they would hold, and it was better than stepping on mines and blowing up. They tossed their grenades and scrambled back for cover. There was a loud bang and a series of explosions that marked the chain reaction of mines going off.
James turned and saw that there were ragged holes in the wall and floor of the tunnel but he ran an analysis with Havoc that determined it was safe. An advance scout team of four moved up the tunnel, crouched down low and with weapons ready. They passed through the tunnel without more encounters with the Covenant. James was puzzled at first by the lack of resistance, but quickly surmised that the bulk of enemy forces lay ahead.
Soon the humans arrived at a solid metal blast door. A quick scan from Havoc revealed it was over a meter and a half thick. That made grenades and rocket launchers useless. James solved the problem by having the captured Covenant cruiser fire its pinpoint accurate pulse lasers through the ground and burn away the door. He grabbed a NAV marker to help the gunners find the target. Then James ordered the ODSTs to move back down the tunnel so they wouldn't accidentally be hit. The cruiser's turrets began to glow blue as they built up charge. The Aurora, Maw, and Vengeance drew fire from the fortress's guns while the cruiser attacked. The first shot only made a large hole in the ground, but the second was directed straight down the existing hole and lightly scarred the thick door, which was as thick as Covenant starship battleplate. A third and fourth shot managed to punch through the thick metal, leaving the path into the fortress wide open.
The Spartan snaked a fiber-optics probe along the ground and through the breach. His breath momentarily caught in his throat. Roughly forty brown-furred muscular creatures stood pointing large weapons at the hole in the blast doors. The creatures were about the height of Elites but far bulkier. Their weapons were arm-mounted on their right arms and ran all the way along their forearms and extended out from their three-fingered hands. Blue plasma glowed through what looked like ventilation points on the guns, ready for discharge. Strapped to the aliens' left arms were jagged swords, which to James's relief were not plasma. Slung across their shoulders were chains of what looked like ammunition. As for armor, the aliens wore chest and backplates, between which brown fur stuck out. They also had a few bits of armor on their arms and legs. Some had large silvery objects strapped to their forearms, presumably energy shields like a Jackal's.
James kept the probe online and sent it via video feed into the team's HUDs. They needed to know what they were up against to prevent catastrophic errors, like underestimation of the enemy. He could not discern their reactions due to the faceplates of their helmets, but some made subtle movements that showed their surprise. James opened up a COM link with Havoc to discuss the situation.
"Havoc, I need you to calculate the trajectory so Elysium can fire a pulse laser to neutralize those things just beyond the door. I'm sending you a video feed of them now," he said over the COM.
"Negative," said Havoc. "The shield protecting the fortress is preventing me from getting a good shot off at those things. To hit them would require an extreme angle of fire that I cannot provide. These Covenant pulse lasers have a limited trajectory, due to their strange turret design. We only got off the first shot because it was not quite so extreme of an angle," reported the AI. "Wait…I'm intercepting a Covenant transmission. Translated literally it's just religious gibberish, but I have made it more understandable. It says that 'Brutes are being sent to cleanse the infidels from the tunnels.' I believe that this communiqué is referring to those creatures."
James cursed softly. Then he switched to the team's COM channel and gave orders. "Havoc says it's impossible for to kill those Brute things with a pulse laser from the ship. Looks like we'll have to engage them directly. First, we need to soften them up. Jackhammers down the tunnel first, then we attack. Don't charge out, that might be suicide. Wait for my signal."
The five ODSTs carrying rocket launchers stepped up first. They lay down flat for a better shot angle, and then sighted the Brutes through the launchers' scopes. There was a whoosh and wave of heat and light. Five orange-blue streaks were seen briefly before they disappeared out of the tunnel. There was a chain of explosions and howls, and then everything was silent again. The ODSTs fired off another volley. More explosions and alien shrieks of pain were heard. The ODSTs on the ground dropped the empty Jackhammers and unslung assault rifles or shotguns from their backs.
James was about to give the order to move out when three large blue blobs arced through the blast doors. They burned furrows into the ground, much larger of a scar than an Elite's plasma rifle would've made. Another two shots flew into the tunnel, but this time the plasma exploded, almost with the force of a plasma grenade. Luckily for the humans, they were still where they had retreated to allow the pulse laser to fire, which was farther up the tunnel. However, the shots were bad news to the Spartan, because they meant different types of ammunition than just plasma bolts. Charging into the room would mean heavy losses because of the bottleneck entry point and the explosive ammunition.
"Grenades on my mark. One, two, mark!" The soldiers tossed frags and plasmas into the room. Most fell short, but the explosives created a cloud of smoke and plasma that distracted the Brutes. "Get in there! Go go GO!" James yelled over the COM. The ODSTs rushed into the room, firing at the shapes that were moving around them through the haze. The ones who wielded shotguns stepped up front, dealing heavy damage to the Brutes. Soldiers with assault rifles hung back and fired controlled bursts at the aliens. Return fire lashed out, but most of the shots missed. The ones that did hit weren't consistent or concentrated enough to penetrate shields. Soon the smoke cleared and the Brutes gave a bone-chilling war cry. They grouped and returned fire.
Two ODSTs were cut down by heavy plasma fire. So far the Brutes had not used their grenade-type ammunition because of the close-quarters battle. The Brutes that had shields stepped up to the front. Plasma-charged bullets pinged off of the reflective devices, but they would not hold. The Brutes retreated until they could use their explosive fire. The ones standing behind the shield-bearers fired deadly plasma grenades over their companions' heads. Three shots hit near one ODST. He screamed and fell. The Spartan and his team kept up a steady stream of fire, bullets ricocheting off the shields and making holes everywhere. Soon the Brute shields overloaded and they began to take fire. Assault rifle fire ripped through the chest armor of one Brute, but it charged and tried to run an ODST through with his blade. The Helljumper rolled to one side, reached down on his belt for his own combat knife and plunged it into the unarmored side of the Brute. The alien howled in pain, but slashed sideways with his sword, catching the human unawares. The sword blow was so powerful it overloaded his shields and cut a gash in his armor. The soldier fired full-auto with his assault rifle into the Brute's back, finishing off the alien.
The remaining Brutes filled the chamber with plasma fire. Helljumpers ducked behind anything they could find-Covenant crates, stray pieces of metal, and some just lay flat on the ground. One of the human forces had not reacted quickly enough and was hit by several volleys of plasma. His shields were quickly burned away and his armor suit was peppered full of holes. James sprinted out and lifted the Marine easily and sprinted back to the tunnel. He removed the man's helmet and checked his pulse: weak, but there. He carried the man a little further down where a group of medics stood with M6DP pistols. A few remained on guard while the rest tended to the wounded man. The Spartan turned and sprinted away, eager to get back into the action.
Back in the large room, the Brutes were still spraying the area with plasma fire. They had turned over some crates for cover but didn't need them, as the Helljumpers were pinned down and not really returning fire. James tossed two frag grenades to make the Brutes duck. When they poked their ugly heads back up, the ODSTs and Spartan were all standing over their barricades. They opened fire, cutting down three more Brutes. The Covenant hunkered down and returned fire. The aliens sprayed the area with suppression fire, forcing the humans to duck. James could see it was a standoff; both sides could just fire and hide behind barricades.
Suddenly a crate was blown into pieces as three grenade-type rounds hit it. Shrapnel from the crate peppered the two ODSTs hiding behind it. One was killed and the other was badly wounded. He managed to drag himself back into the tunnel where the medics were waiting. James took a quick overview of his forces. There were only twenty-nine humans left. Nine ODSTs had been KIA, and two were too wounded to continue the fight. James considered himself and his platoon extremely lucky. The Brutes could have inflicted a lot more casualties to them had they used better defense tactics rather than standing in a line and firing.
A few Helljumpers tossed plasma grenades, throwing them over the Brutes' barriers. The Brutes fled down the hall, but some had been stuck. They howled in helpless rage and charged at the humans. However, the three-second fuses went off before the aliens could get close enough to do any damage. Blue-black blood sprayed the walls and floor. Five Brutes stood at the end of the chamber to make a last stand while the rest ran for reinforcements. Apparently, they were not as concerned with battle honor if the Prophets were in danger.
James ordered his forces to spread out to avoid splash damage from the Brutes' grenades. Some Helljumpers whipped out pistols and took potshots at the Brutes, but they raised shields. The rounds bounced harmlessly off of the shields. The Brutes gave one last war cry and all charged for James, firing grenades and plasma crazily at him. He rolled to one side, but still caught some plasma rounds. His shield dropped to a quarter.
"Return fire!" yelled the Spartan. The ODSTs had moved to the walls of the room, and the Brutes were charging right between them. Heavy shotgun and assault rifle fire slashed through armor and flesh. Four of the Brutes fell, writhing in pain on the floor. Blood, bits of flesh and metal pooled all around their bodies. The remaining Brute leaped high in to the air right at James. He shot the alien in midair with his assault rifle. Rounds ripped through the Brute's chestplate, but it drew back its sword arm for one last strike. James jumped to one side, but the lighting-fast Brutes stabbed at the Spartan's leg. His weakened shield gave, and the sword cut through rock-hard layers of MJOLNIR armor. James cried out in pain as the sword broke through his skin, but he continued firing at the Covenant alien until his weapon's clip was exhausted. The Brute twitched once and fell over, withdrawing the sword from James's leg. A ragged hole was ripped clean through its chest from all the plasma-charged rounds.
James lay still, gritting his teeth with pain. The medics had seen the danger was over and came out of the tunnel to tend to the Spartan. James first removed the damaged section of his leg armor. Then a medic filled his leg up with biofoam, which stung his leg but relieved the pain somewhat. The medic wrapped the leg up in a bandage and offered the Spartan a painkiller, but James refused. He locked his leg armor back in and limped off the where his squad was covering the door. The door hissed open as James approached it. He threaded his fiber-optic probe around the corner and found himself staring down nearly a hundred plasma rifles and needlers of Covenant Elites.
Bridge of the UNSC Maw, holding position above destroyed Covenant gun platforms.
Admiral Stanforth paced the bridge of the Maw restlessly. So far no Covenant ships had descended through the atmosphere to battle the tiny human fleet, but who knew how many ships were massing above. The Covenant were beginning to jam long-range scanners and communication, so he could not scan for enemy ships above. The Admiral also hated standing around while UNSC soldiers were fighting and dying elsewhere-namely in the Covenant Prophets' fortress. Suddenly the radar screen flashed a warning-a large object at extreme range, coming down through the atmosphere.
The Admiral yelled for his COM officer to open a narrow-band short-range COM channel to the rest of the ships. "We have incoming radar contact, only one ship. Everybody, get ready to fire! We're going to send that bastard to hell!" A small box in the corner of the forward viewscreen snapped on, showing the charge percentage. Other screens showed magnetic ripples of MAC guns charging and red balls of plasma building up on the other ships in the battlegroup. Stanforth zoomed in on the incoming ship. It was square-shaped and gray, nothing like a normal Covenant ship. Realization hit the Admiral like a plasma bolt. He opened the COM channel again. "All ships, hold your fire! It's one of ours!" Screens showed the human ships' weapons powering down and the plasma cooling from the captured Covenant ship.
Havoc displayed data from the new arrival's encrypted identification chip, located inside each UNSC vessel. It was the UNSC carrier Midway, named after an ancient aircraft carrier of the United States of America, an old country on Earth. A link inside the information document led to a history of the carrier's namesake. Stanforth decided to read it, having not much else to do unless the Covenant attacked. If they did, Havoc or some other bridge officer would warn him anyway.
The aircraft carrier itself was named after the famous Battle of Midway. It was fought over and near the tiny U.S. mid-Pacific base at Midway atoll and represented the strategic high water mark of Japan's Pacific Ocean war. Before this battle, Japan possessed general naval superiority over the United States and could usually choose where and when to attack. After Midway, the two opposing fleets were essentially equals, and the United States soon took the offensive. The Japanese intended to surprise attack the American fleet, but the surprise was thwarted by superior American communications intelligence. The perseverance, sacrifice, and skill of U.S. Navy aviators, plus a great deal of good luck on the American side, cost Japan four irreplaceable fleet carriers, while only one of the three U.S. carriers present was lost.
Stanforth closed the historical reference and returned to the information document. The Midway sported a single MAC gun and 200 Archer missile pods for self-defense, as well as point-defense guns. The Midway was protected by four meters of protitanium-A on all surfaces. Its aircraft included a full wing of 400 Longsword fighter/bombers. In addition, the carrier had ten launch bays, five each along the port and starboard sides. Each launch bay held forty fighters and had ten refit and repair stations to fix damaged fighters. The ship also had upgraded reactor technology, giving it enough speed to keep up with the other human vessels.
A COM channel opened up. The transmission was filled with static, due to the Covenant jamming systems. "This is Captain Daniel Nelson, reporting for duty from Earth, sir," said a male voice over the COM. "Sir, Earth HighCom sent us after your transmission for help. They thought you could use a lot of assistance, so they sent a carrier instead of a destroyer."
"We sure do," replied Stanforth. "We have no idea how many Covenant are coming for us. Did you get a rough estimate of how many enemy ships there are while you were up in space?"
"Sir, we didn't get an exact number, but I estimate that there are from thirty to fifty Covenant ships in orbit over the planet," Nelson answered.
"Damn…" the Admiral cursed softly. "We'll be hard pressed to hold them off. Best hit them quick while their shields are still weak from descending through the atmosphere and hope their plasma weapons aren't charged yet. Elysium, take potshots at long range with your pulse lasers. Nelson, don't launch fighters until battle is imminent. No need to waste fuel on patrols. The Longswords might need the fuel later. All ships, hold position and charge MAC guns."
There was a chorus of ayes as the captains carried out Stanforth's orders. Once again magnetic distortion could be seen near the ships' MAC guns. Plasma gathered along the captured cruiser. The crew tensed for the inevitable battle.
"Sir, radar is picking up twenty-two Covenant ships descending through the atmosphere. Jamming is making in-depth scans useless. I have no exact information as to the enemy ships' tonnages. I estimate ten medium-tonnage frigates, five destroyer-class, and the remaining seven as cruiser-class. The frigates seem to be leading the charge to soften us up first," Havoc reported. This was bad news for the Admiral; unlike their earlier confrontations, which were mostly against weaker frigate-sized Covenant ships, they would be against much more powerful ships.
"All ships, spread out in arrowhead formation, pointing upward. The Maw will take point, with the Aurora and the Covenant cruiser providing heavy fire support at our flanks. Midway, prep and launch half of your fighters from each launch bay. 150 Longswords to hunt-and-kill, remaining fifty guard the ships. All other ships will launch their fighters to assist in the attack. Vengeance, hang back and pepper the enemy with Archer missile fire. Once missile pods are all depleted, stay near the Midway and its protective screen of fighters," Admiral Stanforth ordered. The ships quickly formed their formation. Alarms sounded, calling all crewmembers to general battle stations. MAC guns and plasma weapons charged. Two hundred Longswords streamed out of the Midway's launch bays, twenty from each bay. They formed up into five-fighter squadrons and went to their designated position, marked by Havoc.
The first ten Covenant frigates could be seen clearly through the clouds. They turned sideways to face the Maw and its battle fleet, readying for a salvo of plasma torpedoes. Motes of red light collected on their lateral lines.
The UNSC ships fired their opening shots. Seven blazing MAC rounds and two crimson plasma torpedoes streaked towards the Covenant. Two frigates were blown out of position by multiple MAC round impacts. One of the frigate's hull flexed and shattered as three MAC rounds struck it. The other ship's plasma charge dimmed out as its reactor power faded from a MAC hit. The ship plummeted down and exploded in a giant nuclear fireball on the ground. The two plasma bolts struck another frigate. The Covenant vessel's shields dimmed and winked out with the first impact, and the second shot burned a hole from the ship's nose all the way into the ship somewhere amidships. The plasma hit the craft's reactor and it, too detonated in a ball of fire and plasma. Fragments of silvery metal showered the other frigates' shields, making them flare with the impacts.
The Longswords formed up in attack positions and concentrated their attacks on one frigate. Plasma missiles and chaingun fire dotted the vessel's silver-gray shields. The human fighters swarmed all around the ship, harassing it with constant fire. Point-defense pulse lasers flashed out, hitting a few fighters. Seraphs launched from the frigate's launch bay in an effort to stop the Longswords. The alien fighters were vastly outnumbered, but the honor of the Elite pilots demanded that they defeat their enemies, or in this case, die trying. Puffballs of smoke indicated that the Seraph wing were being torn apart by the Longswords. Pulse lasers flared out again, grazing a few fighters' shields but also tearing right through four fighters. Before long the huge amount of fire from all the fighters overloaded the frigate's shields. The hull was peppered full of holes as the Longswords strafed it with plasma chaingun fire. They launched missiles at the pulse laser turrets, taking out the only real threat to the fighters. The Covenant ship listed to one side, flames and smoke pouring from all over the ship.
The remaining six operational Covenant ships were almost ready to fire. Their lateral lines were strips of superbright crimson, too bright to look at for too long. The Vengeance fired hundreds of Archer missiles, showering a frigate with high-explosive missiles. The shield quickly overloaded and the hull was holed up from stem to stern from all the Archers. The magnetic plasma guidance systems were hit, and the plasma collecting at the ship's side dispersed in a red haze. Only one of the ship's pulse laser turrets was still operational. Blue light collected near the turret.
Five balls of plasma erupted from the Covenant frigates' sides. A pulse laser also flashed out, playing along the Aurora's shield. The Maw dodged one plasma bolt with its thrusters, but it began to loop around to track the cruiser. Stanforth yelled for the weapons officer to fire the MACs, which had recharged. The ship rumbled and spat three MAC rounds at a Covenant frigate. It fired its own thrusters and avoided one of the shots. The other two MAC rounds slammed into the frigate, slicing through its protective shields and tearing two huge holes through the ship's side. The hull was almost completely crumpled from the concussive force, and its magnetic guidance system was destroyed along with most of the other systems. By pure luck the Maw had hit the frigate that had fired the shot that was chasing it, so the plasma no longer had any guidance and dispersed.
The other four shots spread out. Three slammed into the Aurora's shield. It flickered solid yellow, then cooled. The other plasma torpedo hit the Midway's shield, doing minimal damage. The carrier retaliated with its MAC gun, which blew one frigate out of its formation. Then the Midway launched a swarm of missiles, turning the frigate into a hole-filled chunk of metal that could barely keep itself aloft.
The four undamaged Covenant ships dispersed. Blue fragments of light collected near their pulse laser turrets.
The Aurora fired its three MAC guns. The rounds thundered through the sky and hit an enemy ship. Its shields lapsed and the rounds tore the ship apart. The frigate broke apart, its superstructure literally shaken apart by the supersonic impacts.
The other three ships all fired their pulse lasers at the Aurora. The beams of light cut through the human ship's weakened shields. The ship rocked as the lasers cut crisscross patterns along the cruiser's starboard armor.
The captured Covenant ship launched two more plasma torpedoes. They quickly sliced through a frigate's shields and burned two large, ragged holes in its side. The ship turned and accelerated towards the human formation in a last-ditch attempt to take an enemy ship down. A volley of pulse lasers lanced out from the captured cruiser. The lasers cut through the frigate's engines. The ship gave a lurch and the stern disintegrated as the engines exploded. The remainder of the ship plummeted down and landed in a crumpled heap on the ground.
The Longswords swarmed another frigate and within a minute had overwhelmed it. The remaining ship was brought down by a MAC salvo from the Maw.
The Admiral blew a sign of relief. He clicked on the COM channel and said, "Good work, people. Take a breather and get ready for the next attack."
On board the Covenant cruiser, Commander Elysium ordered all unnecessary processes to be halted to free up reactor power. He needed the extra energy to replenish plasma stores of the ship's weapons. The Maw and Aurora let their shields recharge, then began to feed energy to their MAC cannons. Most of the Longsword interceptors returned to their respective ships to restock ordinance and get some quick repairs.
"Covenant ships detected. Short-range scans match their shapes to that of seven Covenant cruisers. Unusual amount of chatter on the Covenant battlenet…intercepting a transmission. It seems that their destroyer fleet has encountered a setback. Wait a moment…I'm trying to decipher their religious babble…got it. This setback is said to be caused by a 'Traitorous Guardian of the Great Ones,' as they call it. Combat units of this 'Traitorous Guardian' seem to have infiltrated several ships, and the Covenant on board need additional support from an Elite team waiting on an outpost. They are pulling out of the system to this outpost. In the meantime, ten cruisers are being dispatched to cover for them," Havoc reported.
"Traitorous Guardian of the Great Ones?" Admiral Stanforth wondered aloud. "I wonder if that could be the-" The weapons officer interrupted his thoughts.
"Sir, all MACs ready to fire. The other ships are waiting on your command, also."
"Very well," he said, turned his mind away from the Covenant transmission. Then he turned on the COM system again and said, "All ships, pick targets and engage at will." He clicked off the COM and yelled, "Fire the MACs! Arm Archer pods A1 to A10, firing solution to impact after MAC impacts!"
The ship's lights dimmed and the hull shuddered as the MAC guns fired. A rapid series of thumps marked the Archers launching. The MACs tore down the shields of the targeted Covenant cruiser, crumpling the hull. The ship spun in circles, but fired maneuvering thrusters and launched a salvo of two plasma torpedoes at the Maw. The Archer missiles struck a moment later, mangling the hull and creating holes everywhere. The ship's port side was barely recognizable, but the starboard side was relatively undamaged, except for a little MAC concussion. The high-powered rounds had gone through shields and smashed a portion of the port armor and decks, but the rest of the ship absorbed the damaged. Bloodred light collected at the starboard side's lateral line.
The two plasma torpedoes washed over the Maw's shields. In the distance Stanforth saw the badly damaged cruiser fire off one last plasma torpedo at the Maw before it was set upon by Longswords and destroyed. Unfortunately, the plasma torpedo hit the Maw before the ship's plasma regulation and control systems were hit. Five Covenant cruisers remained-the other cruiser was destroyed by a MAC salvo from the Aurora and twin plasma torpedoes from the captured Covenant cruiser.
Pulse lasers flashed and raked the Maw's weakened shields. A screen flashed in the corner of the forward viewscreen, indicating the shields were down to 27% overall integrity. Admiral Stanforth bit his lip, hoping that he and his fleet could defeat the Covenant before he began to take serious damage.
Plasma erupted from the enemy ships' sides. Ten torpedoes sped towards the human line. Six arced off towards the Maw and the other four sped towards the Aurora. Stanforth barked for maneuvering thrusters and the ship rumbled out of the way of the deadly Covenant energy weapons. They moved to compensate but had to make another loop around to hit the ship.
"MACs ready, sir!" yelled the weapons officer, sweat beading around his forehead.
"Fire at will!" replied the Admiral. He was more concerned with the incoming torpedoes. There was no way to stop them unless they destroyed the ships guiding them, and that would require considerable luck. Unless…
"Havoc, can you track the magnetic fields of one of those plasma torpedoes?" he asked the AI.
"Yes, Admiral. I will display the fields on-screen when I get them. This might require some time, though," replied Havoc.
Time. It was something that the humans had none of. However, if those plasma torpedoes got through, they could do significant damage, especially dangerous when the Maw was in enemy territory. "Alright, Havoc, we'll give you your time. Keep firing thrusters to avoid those torpedoes! As long as you can!" Stanforth said to no one in particular, but everyone knew the urgency of the situation.
The huge cruiser continued to dodge the high-powered plasma bolts, but the power used by the engines prevented the shields from recharging fast enough. About thirty seconds later, a waving blue field extended from a pair of plasma torpedoes, tracking them to a distant Covenant cruiser.
"Arm Archer pods A11 to B5, firing solution on that cruiser! Are the MAC guns ready to fire?" yelled the Admiral.
"Sir, MAC guns at 87% charge. Archers armed and firing solution online. Firing now," reported the weapons officer.
Archer pods opened and hundreds of missiles sped towards the enemy cruiser. They impacted on the shield, which rippled and went out. A few missiles made it through, doing minimal damage. The MAC guns fired a moment later, crossing the distance in a millisecond and reducing the ship into a broken, useless hulk. Two of the plasma torpedoes tracking the Maw slowed and turned into a red haze. The remaining four zipped through the cloud, splashing over the Maw's shield. One dissipated on the shields, but the other three punched through and converged on one point in the armor. They all hit the armor protecting the ship's reactor. They burned a large hole in the cruiser's side.
On the bridge, the impact was barely felt. But armor reports showed the reactor area's armor was down from four meters to one. It was dangerously thin when the humans were outnumbered so badly.
Once again, the Covenant ships fired pulse lasers. They scarred the Maw's hull badly in several places. One beam played along the aft Archer pods. The pods were heavily armored, but some still detonated inside their tubes due to the heat.
Explosions rocked the ship and threw the Admiral off his feet. He got up to and immediately looked at the aft Archer pod camera. There were large smoking holes in the ship's side, although most of the pods were still operational.
The Admiral sighed. Things were beginning to look very, very bad for the humans.
Human Special Operations Team, Fortress of the Prophets.
James stared in shock down the barrels of alien weapons. There was almost no way he and his squad could take on a hundred Elites. They were all black-armored veterans, too. Each one was easily a match for an ODST, if not more. They were also running low on grenades, so they wouldn't be effective either.
James patched the images over to his team members' HUDs. They were also worried about the heavy resistance. There was virtually nothing they could do but charge. They had no explosives or air support. They were seriously outnumbered and outgunned. They needed heavy firepower, something they had none of. There was a rumble in the ground-probably a ship crashing or exploding on the ground.
Suddenly, James had another idea-the tunnel looked like it was big enough to fit a Warthog through. A few Warthogs, or more specifically, their chainguns, would help to even the odds. However, all the Warthogs were loaded back on board the ships, which were currently heavily engaged with the Covenant battlegroup. The temporary base camp had also been dismantled and put aboard the captured Covenant cruiser. However, the Vengeance was not really participating in the fight, due to its disabled MAC guns. It was possible that it could offload a few Warthogs via Pelican dropships.
James switched his COM channel to the fleet channel. He opened up a link and said, "Vengeance, this is ground team. We are trapped in the basement by at least two platoons of Spec Ops Elites. Requesting Warthogs for fire support, over."
"Roger that. Hang on, the birds are bringing them down. We also have twenty Helljumpers aboard who are itching to fight. Don't mind if the come down with the Pelicans?" said the COM officer on the destroyer.
"Sure, we could use the help. Just make sure none of those Pelicans get fragged," replied James.
The Vengeance exited the human formation and descended down near the destroyed plasma cannon station. Four Pelicans flew out from one of the destroyer's launch bays. They were all carrying Warthogs on their magnetic-attachment surfaces. Two of the dropships also had a squad of ten ODSTs in them.
A pulse laser hissed by one of the dropships. Its shields flared and then cooled. A Covenant cruiser turned one of its pulse laser turrets towards the dropships. The turret glowed blue, almost ready to fire. The Vengeance quickly moved in front of the dropships to screen for them, taking the energy beam on its shields.
The Pelicans landed and quickly offloaded the Warthogs and Helljumpers. Some of the ODSTs drove the Warthogs and manned their guns, others just went in the building on foot. The dropships dusted off and returned to the Vengeance.
Down in the plasma gun control building, the Warthogs moved slowly to avoid wreckage. They were the first into the tunnel and quickly sped off to where James and the others were waiting. The other Helljumpers jogged along at a brisk pace, not wanting to miss the action.
James heard the familiar sound of a Warthog's engine revving. He turned and saw four Warthogs shoot out of the tunnel, each filled with an ODST driver, gunner, and passenger. The twelve soldiers dismounted and saluted the Spartan. He returned the gesture and had the soldiers stand separate to the first group. The Spartan waited for the Helljumpers that were running through the tunnel on foot to arrive. Then he outlined his plan through the group COM channel.
"For those of you who have just arrived, around that corner is a hundred or more veteran Elites waiting for us to poke our heads around the corner. Charging them would be suicidal. Even luring them out would've been, until these Warthogs arrived. You've all fought the Covenant, nobody here is green. You've seen these guns mow down anything but heavily armored vehicles, or Hunters. The enemy may outnumber us but these chainguns should give us the extra firepower needed to win. We'll split into two teams, Alpha Team and Bravo Team. A-Team will stay to guard the gunners and take their places if needed. B-Team will lure them out, and also will be standing by to take down any Elites that remain if they retreat down the corridor. The Elites won't just keep charging out to get massacred. Their "battlefield honor" ideas may have been replaced by actual tactical thinking, since Prophets are in danger. We need to hit them in the back while they're going back, hard and fast. Any questions?" James asked after outlining his plan.
"How are we going to lure them out?" asked one ODST.
"What's your name, trooper?" asked the Spartan.
"Private Slavin, sir. William Slavin," replied the soldier.
"Good man, Slavin. I was hoping someone would ask that. Well, most of us are short on grenades, but we might need them later. So we'll have to do it the old-fashioned way. B-Team and I will go out in the hallway and take a few potshots at them. That'll probably get those Elites pretty riled up, and you know how Elites act when they're pissed. Their "honor" crap pushes all other rational thought out, and it may take a few hundred chaingun rounds to change their minds. Now, to make the team choosing simple and fair, all the fresh soldiers will be with me in B-Team. A-Team will consist of all you Helljumpers who came with me all the way through the tunnel. You'll get the chance to relax, man the Warthog's guns, and do some relaxing guard work while B-Team gets right up close to those Elites," answered James. "Any other questions?"
There were none. "Good. A-Team, take positions up around the Warthogs. Bring over things for cover-crates, anything you can find. B-Team, check your gear and weapons. On my signal we'll charge into that hallway and lure out the Elites," said James. As soon as the Spartan saw both teams were ready, he yelled into the COM, "Get into that hallway! Move it, B-Team!"
The Spartan and twenty ODSTs rushed into the hallway, firing blindly down the hall. There were flashes of shields down the corridor and the war growls of Elites. They returned fire, huge amounts of plasma rifle fire burning up three soldiers where they stood. The rest of the plasma bolts flickered out on shields. The slower needles from needlers flew down the hall at Bravo Team. "Get back into the room!" James yelled as the needles approached. The human ran, jumped, and rolled back into the large chamber. One soldier didn't move fast enough, and a flurry of needles embedded in his left forearm's armor plate and exploded, punching through his shields and mangling his arm beyond recognition. The Helljumper screamed in pain as two of his comrades dragged him out. They pulled him behind a row of barricades where the medics were hiding.
Meanwhile, the Warthog gunners had opened fire. Plasma-charged rounds tore through shields and armor like butter. Elites dropped like flies in the narrow entrance. Few had time even to shoot before they were cut down. Before long the Elites retreated back down the hallway. A large pile of smoking bodies lay in the doorway. Blood was splattered everywhere on the floor and on the wall behind the entrance. The door could not even shut because of all the Elite corpses. It looked like at least forty Elites had been killed, so sixty remained. This was still too many for Bravo Team to face. James had hoped more Elites would have stuck around to get killed, but apparently some of them had common sense.
"A-Team, get up off your asses! We need you to help hit those Elites in the back! Move it! B-Team, move into the hallway and fill it will suppressing fire!" James yelled into the chamber before stepping into the hallway and firing with the rest of his team.
Assault rifle fire and shotgun blasts flashed down the hall. Ten Elites were cut up into ribbons and blown to the floor by the huge amount of fire. The others turned and peppered the group with plasma rifles and needlers. Most of the troops rolled back into the chamber to avoid being hit, but once again a soldier reacted too slowly. His shields instantly blazed out. Plasma burned through his armor and needles exploded everywhere. James yanked the trooper out of the hall but the man was already dead.
James set the body aside and fed his probe back around the corner. The Elites were dragging some random metal objects out of an antechamber at the end of the hall and blocking the hall with it. He primed his last two plasma grenades, leapt into the passage and threw them down the hall, hard. Plasma fire sprayed all over his shields, bringing them down. He dodged back into the room but was hit by a few plasma bolts. They singed his armor badly in a few spots but did no critical damage. There was a loud thump as the grenades went off. When James put his probe back around the bend, part of the hallway was blackened and a few smoking Elite bodies lay about.
A faint FOF signal, separate of the ODST squad, flickered on James's HUD. It quickly faded. James boosted his scanners in an effort to re-establish the signal, but his efforts were in vain. He pushed his questions about the signal out of his mind and concentrated on the situation at hand.
The Spartan estimated that there were from forty to fifty remaining Elites. The Spec-Ops team were still a formidable force and had heavy armor and shields. They also had firepower to match the humans, though their tactics were simple. James mulled over the possible ways to breach the aliens' defense. They could charge and probably overwhelm the Elites, but they would probably do so with heavy losses. He could not afford to loose many more soldiers in an op like this. They could also back the Warthog into the hall so only the gun stuck out towards the Elites. That could be dangerous but if the driver remained alert he could quickly withdraw the gunner from the Elites' line of fire.
He scanned the room and picked out two Helljumpers. One would drive and one would man the guns. The driver carefully aligned the LRV with the door, then switched gears to reverse and pressed the acceleration pedal. With a jolt the Warthog's LAAG was in the hallway, almost scraping the ceiling. The ODST gunner immediately opened fire, catching the Elites by surprise. Five were killed by the rounds that slashed down the hall. The Elites opened fire, burning holes all around the gunner. He crouched down lower behind the LAAG's metal shield and returned fire. The vibrations from the gun shook his teeth, but he continued to pour it on full auto.
The Elites also crouched down behind makeshift barriers. A few Elites lugged crates into the room. They didn't use the containers as barricades; instead the aliens ripped them open. Inside were a rack of the emplaced shields the Covenant used, which were similar to a Jackal's, plus some strange power cells. 12.7mm rounds flew everywhere, sparking Elite shields. The Elites quickly set the stationary shields up and activated them. The Covenant had set the shields up one after another, like layers. This would mean that after the first three or so shields went down, the first one would be back up, making the whole thing a waste of bullets. The gunner realized this and stopped firing. Occasionally Elites would fire out from the unshielded sides of the hallway and get grazed by a few rounds. That would do nothing more than damage their shields, which would recharge. It was a stalemate.
James crouched in near the gunner to see what was going on. He sized up the situation and saw that there were six layers of shields protecting the Elites. The Spartan had several solutions to the problem, but most of his ideas required heavy firepower like explosives. Eventually he decided to have a few ODSTs crouch or lie under the Warthog's line of fire and help to bring down the shields with their own weapons. He watched as the first five layers of shields were overloaded, but the first one suddenly came back online. He ordered his troops to cease fire. A few Needler rounds flew out from the barricades, which damaged one Helljumper's shields. He and the others lay down flat in front of the Warthog gun to prevent themselves from being hit. One of the troopers threw a fragmentation grenade. It clinked down between the first and second layers, then detonated.
Four shields sparked out and overloaded. Pieces of shrapnel flew everywhere, embedding themselves into the four shield generators. They were disabled completely as the chunks of metal tore through them. All the other humans, including James, opened fire. The chaingun and assault rifle rounds easily tore through the last two shields and killed three Elites. The rest hunkered down and returned fire. They brought down one of the Helljumper's shields, and he threw himself down so the Elites could not hit him unless they stood up-which would get them killed. Another ODST whipped out a pistol and disabled the remaining two shield generators.
The Warthog gunner continued firing to break or fragment the barricades, which were nothing more than bits of metal and a few odds and ends. Suddenly, the gun clicked. The gunner looked down at where the belt should've fed into the chamber, there was nothing there. He had run out of ammo.
"Shit!" he cursed over the COM. "I'm out of ammo! Somebody bring in a refill!"
"Marines, you heard him! Someone better rip a box off ammo off of one of those other Warthogs!" James said. "Everybody else in this hall, give covering fire! Keep those Elites' heads down! They'll try to kill of some of us now that we don't have heavier firepower!" The ODSTs and Spartan started firing. Sure enough, some of the aliens had stuck their heads up to give the humans a piece of their mind. A shower of plasma-charged bullets made them decide otherwise. An Elite's shields flared and went out from multiple bullet hits. The alien was about to duck when it slumped down, a smoking hole in its head armor. The gunner had taken his M6DP out and utilized its scope to kill the Elite.
Soon a Helljumper came running in, carrying a box of ammo with the belt running out over the side. He slapped it into the box receiver and fed the belt into the chamber. The gunner checked that everything was ready to go, then started firing again. What few Elites still were firing back soon ducked like the rest of their comrades. One of them acted too slow and was torn through by the AP rounds from the LAAG.
The confrontation was once again a stalemate. The Covenant were heavily entrenched and well protected from anything but grenades, which James and his squad had few of. The humans, on the other hand, had the heavy firepower of the Warthog's gun.
Suddenly, one the Elites threw a grenade. Two others followed his example. One fell short but the other two landed near the cluster of humans. The ODSTs quickly ran and jumped out the door, but one didn't move fast enough. His shields blazed out and his legs were blown off in the two explosions. Some others dragged him to safety and waved the medics over. James put his weapon down and tried to stop the bleeding before the medics came.
One especially zealous Elite took advantage of this momentary disorientation of the humans to attack. James turned to face the doorway to see a black-armored Elite. It gave what passed for a grin among its species and a blade of energy flashed on in its hands.
The Elite roared a battle cry and charged straight at the helpless Spartan.