Samantha trudged down the hall, her squad following close behind as she had her assault rifle raised at the ready. She was watching the motion detector out of one eye, avoiding groups of Elites altogether. Against a group of more than three, she was sure none of them would survive it. She had just barely managed to get her armor on when she was forced to kill two Elites on her own, and through plain luck, managed to find her squad, already in their gear and searching for their commander. When they met, they nearly shot each other. And now they found themselves rushing through the halls. Reports over the network stated that that Covenant were coming from the Sword of Damocles, and they were trying to get to the docking bay to join with the other marines holding down their position. They couldn't afford to let any more of the Covenant onto their ship.
Simmons held his shotgun at the ready, holding up the rear as he looked left and right, glancing over his shoulder every now and then. He was sure they were going to be ambushed, and kept an ever watchful eye. He heard some thumping going down the darkened hallway, then frowned.
"Marines on your six!" he shouted, opening fire.
The blast of the shotgun made short work of many of the Grunts storming to their position, the others turning around to give him cover fire. Screams filled the air as the Grunts fell to the ground, and to their utter dismay, two red armored Elites were bringing up the rear. It took a few bullets, and a few dodges of plasma, but the two Elites fell to the ground in a heap, the Grunts remaining suddenly becoming confused at what to do, and were easy prey. When the last one hit the ground in a pool of his own blood, Samantha ordered her squad to resume their path. Simmons reloaded while Panda kept an eye on the motion detector.
The lifts were out of the question, and instead they took the stairs. They could hear the heavy footsteps of Elites directly above them. Samantha motioned for her squad to remain silent, heading down as many levels as they could without making a noise. A broken piece of metal fell off of the railing as Simmons passed by it, and there were loud grunts of confusion, followed by rapid footsteps leading down the stairs. The four of them quickly rushed through the nearest door they could find, sealing it from the inside, before rushing to the large observatory deck. Samantha glanced through the bay windows, spotting the raging battle of the marines vs. the Covenant. It looked like a slaughter. Grunts were falling left and right, Elites were ducking behind cover and returning fire in bursts, while the Hunters fired at anything though could with their fuel rod guns. One of the warthog's main guns were in use, sending the armor piercing rounds at the hunters, striking one very well across the torso, his partner simply firing a blast from his weapon. The Warthog exploded with a scream from the marine, the large piece of machinery falling over and taking out an otherwise useful weapon.
The explosion caused the marines to withdraw to cover further in the back, allowing the Grunts to advance, and even more of the Covenant to flood into the docking bay. Samantha cursed, turning around as she heard a group of marines keeping a hall occupied, avoiding blasts of plasma and returning fire behind a small blockade. She rushed around the hall leading around the bay windows, occasionally glancing to see what the Covenant and the marines were doing, before looking straight ahead at the group of jackals before her. She opened fire without hesitation, crouching down by the wall as her squad mates happily supported her fire.
When the two Jackals cried their final cry, two more and a black Elite rounded the corner, the Jackals firing rapidly at the Humans, while the Elite armed a plasma grenade. He rounded the corner to take a few bullets to his shield, throwing the grenade. It bounced along the floor, everyone avoiding it successfully except for Johns, who was taking care of some other Grunts that were coming up from the blocked hallway, the marines having been slain and unable to protect the hallway anylonger. He stopped when he felt something hit his leg, looking down at the grenade stuck to his leg, then quickly tried to remove it.
"Come on!" he cried, managing to dislodge it from his leg, but now it wouldn't come off of his hand.
Panda turned around, starting at Johns in a panic, trying to remove the grenade, "Cover! Cover!" he shouted, everyone diving around a corner or hitting the ground. The explosion sent a wave of heat that instantly melted the bay windows, and scorched the metal structure of the hallway. Samantha decided to use her own grenades, pulling the pin as she counted down the timer. When it was nearing the end of its life, she tossed it into the hallway, just as the Elite was advancing with his Jackals. The explosion killed the Elite instantly, sending a lifeless Jackal past them and down the hall, while the one further from it gurgled in pain, the shrapnel forced deep into its body.
"Squad! Sound off!" Samantha shouted.
"Panda!"
"Simmons!"
Understandably, there was no answer from Johns. Samantha looked back to the scorched walls and the glass cooling off, then looked away, frowning deeply before she got back to her feet. She ran along the wall, finding the Hunters were turning the tide of battle into their favor, before she spotted the catwalk. She'd have plenty of time to grieve over the loss later, if they survived this, that is.
"Marines! That's our goal. Hopefully none of them noticed the catwalks yet!" she spoke, pointing to the catwalk high above the ten story drop, and at the end, were stairs that led all the way down, behind the Covenant forces.
The three of them avoided a few more battles coming to door at the end of the hall that led to the catwalk that lined the walls. Panda yelped a bit as he ducked a blast of plasma, hugging a nearby corner and spotted a lone Elite firing rapidly at the glass as Samantha and Simmons climbed onto the catwalk. Panda frowned, taking aim, then fired his weapon. The Elite spotted him at once, turning his plasma rifle to him, letting the bolts of plasma strike the side of the wall in front of him. He crouched, continuing his suppressing fire, managing to catch the Elite off guard. It's shield's couldn't withstand any more punishment, the last bullets striking protected skin, penetrating the metal. It shrieked as its blood spilled to the floor, and Panda quickly reloaded, finishing it off before it had a chance to recharge its shields.
Samantha looked behind her, then through the glass, seeing Panda rushing to the door, shutting it behind him as he crouched down, quickly getting back into formation. The three of them made it to the center catwalk, being sure not to make a noise and alert anyone to their presence. Making it to the other end of the football field sized bay, Samantha went down the stairs to the left, while Simmons and Panda took the right.
A Sergeant spotted fellow marines coming up from behind, realizing they had a perfect opportunity to shoot the Hunter's in the spot where it counted the most: the back. He nudged the private next to him, then got everyone's attention.
"We have some back up. On my order, everyone is going to jump up and spray the area, and cover when reloading," he spoke, hearing a crackle on his radio.
"Sergeant Powell. On my word, keep them distracted, we're almost in position." Samantha whispered, and the Serge smirked.
"Way ahead of you girl." he replied, reloading his weapon, the rocket launcher.
Simmons and Panda gave the signal that they were in position, hiding behind a crate before Sam quickly hid behind a Scorpion. The armor could give her sufficient cover, at least for a while.
"Sergeant. On three. One. Two. Three!" she whispered.
"Alright marines! Now!" he screamed, rising from the stack of crates with a dozen more marines.
They started firing at any and everything, giving the Hunters far too many targets to deal with at once. A blast from their rod guns took out a good deal of Marines, the rest of them coming out of their hiding spots to add to the immense firefight. Samantha looked to her squad, then nodded. They sprang, firing at the backs of the Hunters, quickly bringing their shields down, the bullets finding purchase. The two of them grunted in pain, before falling forward in a heap. Samantha smiled, the rest of the marines having enough incentive now to continue their assault upon the Covenant forces. Grunts and Elites screamed in agony before falling to the ground, though the smarter Elites tossed grenades, taking out several of the marines. Panda and Simmons turned their attention to the emerging forces, making short work of them, and being careful not to accidentally hit their leader. When they stopped to reload, Samantha took up the battle, mowing down a dozen Grunts, a few Jackals, and a single Elite before she ducked behind the tank, quickly reloading.
The deafening sound of the Warthogs main guns started coming alive, quickly dispatching the flood of Covenant coming from the ship. Sergeant Powell spat, "How many of them are there?" he asked, finding a better position, then looked behind him.
"Marines! Behind us!" he shouted, so preoccupied about covering the door, that he didn't realize the group of Elites flanking their position.
The small group of marines quickly scattered while firing, trying to find new objects to hide behind. Many of them were quickly slaughtered, the closest one on the large turret of the Warthog getting it the worst. Bolts of plasma easily melted through his armor and punched holes in his body, slumping against the weapon and causing it's aim to turn on friendlies. Samantha from her cover continued firing, noticing out of the corner of her eye, the marines dropping like flies, and the one at the turret taking a few hits. Simmons moved from his cover, going to find something better, until he was sprayed with the armor piercing rounds from the turrets. He cried out, slumping to the floor while a pool of blood flowed from under him.
"Simmons!" Samantha shouted, that one moment of distraction allowing an Elite to raise a Needler at her.
She whipped her rifle up, pulling the trigger. Her eyebrows lifted when she heard a loud click, just before the Elite fired. She tried her best to get back behind cover, her scream filling the air as splatters of blood struck the wall. Panda could only watch helplessly, seeing his commander slump to the ground, needles sticking out of her body. He lifted his rifle, aiming the sights, then pulled the trigger. The Elite that killed Samantha crumpled to the ground like a sack of potatoes, another one taking his place. Panda lined the sights again, pulling the trigger. Nothing happened. He squeezed the trigger a few more times. His weapon couldn't have been empty... did it jam?
Two Grunts jumped in front of him, raising their pistols. He dropped his weapon, lifting his empty hands before an Elite walked up to him, striking him across the head with his rifle. He fell to the ground, everything going black.
"Where are we?" Halo asked, his voice asking with a definite hint of irritation.
"It's difficult for me to pin point our precise location. I have access to the map sub-systems and am monitoring your progress with my sensors, or if I could be plugged into your armor somehow, I could help much better in that way. But seeing how our technology isn't compatible, I'm trying my best." Katrina spoke, a bit irritated herself.
Halo just moved down the halls, trying to bring what he could up from memory about the ships layout. He had clued in that he needed to get off of the ship, and somehow find more Humans to deliver the A.I., or be captured, have a deformed body, and finally tortured to death. He liked the Human idea much better.
"Wait wait! I'm picking up short burst radio transmissions. It sounds like a coordinated attack. Variances in the transmission can only be because of the interference of many objects within the room. I am triangulating the position of it. It is coming from Docking Bay A. That's on the other side of the ship. Docking Bay B is one hundred meters in front of you. If we can get to that, there is an airlock that I can operate to get us outside of the ship."
"Outside?" he asked in surprise.
"No one will think to find you out there."
"Maybe," he growled, thinking about it for a few moments. She was right, it would be the last place to look. Now he just needed the air pack attachment for Covenant armor, suddenly realizing something, "err... I can't My armor is cut and fractured at many places... It won't seal in... air."
Katrina rumbled softly, then cursed, "Dammit. You are right. Maybe we can hide in Docking Bay B then."
Halo nodded slowly, rushing to the end of the hall and peeking around the corner, finding it clear, heading further into the darkness. He touched the side of his helmet, two black lenses falling over his eyes, reflecting a red color. He could see much clearer in darkness, and found himself taking a maze of hallways, trying not to go through the same area twice. He came to another junction, looking to the left and right, then spotted the bay windows of Docking Bay B. Fortunately the battle wasn't here, and a quick glance showed there were only a few patrols walking around inside the bay. He looked around for a lift or flight of stairs or something he could use to get to the main deck level. After searching for a few minutes, he found some stairs, running down them before hearing Covenant voices down the hall. He crouched down a bit, peeking around the corner, and spotted six red armored Elites patrolling the area. He closed his eyes slowly. Surely they must have heard the order for his capture, and Katrina new he was thinking of a way to get past them.
Halo simply growled, wanting to bang his head on the wall in frustration, before he heard some of the Human's shouting, and gunfire erupt, turning his head to the direction of the noises. There was a large explosion, and then frowned from the sound the type of weapon used to make such an explosion was heard.
"A Hunter?" he asked, frowning a bit more, rushing along the wall before he stuck his head into the bay.
His head was pulled back sharply as bullets struck the wall right beside him, ducking down quickly before he raised the assault rifle in his hands. He peeked again, seeing the towering and massive size of the hunter, his weapon firing once more before he heard the distinctive sound of the Fuel Rod Gun starting to recharge for another two bursts. The marines trapped inside the Bay did their best to hide behind large metal crates, occasionally peeking their heads out and raising their weapons to squeeze off a few shots.
Another explosion, followed by a scream this time, filled the air. Halo frowned, twisting himself slightly, accidentally hitting the button on his watch, his human facade disappearing before he looked once more. He recognized the marines as one of the few that were assigned to his level, to keep his existence a secret. The words of them trying to call for backup fell upon their deaf ears. Even Katrina was having problems trying to contact anyone The Hunter merely grunted, rushing forward and knocking down some of the crates, a Human screaming loudly as one of the large crates fell on top of him, crushing many vital parts of his body. The others merely ran for it, getting behind the Hunter and firing at the weakest part of its body, its back. It only took a few shots, but the lucky bullet plunged deep into its body, severing the spinal cord and causing him to fall forward, gurgling something in the form of last words.
Halo sighed in relief, watching the five of the marines slowly step into the open, still cautious, and unfortunately couldn't do anything about their fallen comrade. His screams had died down, and he remained lifeless. Before the marines could count their blessings, however, one suddenly struck a crate, yelping loudly as he slumped to the ground as the next one was struck rather fiercely, stumbling to the side and landing in a heap. The third and fourth, however, were struck firmly in the guts, doubling them over before the last marine was lifted into the air by his neck, firing wildly, and seemingly hitting nothing. He was soon dropped a few short moments later, an image appearing of what attacked them. It was a Black Elite. He was simply toying with them.
Before the Elite could do anything else, Halo suddenly ran into the area, raising his rifle, and squeezing the trigger. The Elite looked to him, suddenly disappearing as Halo fired at thin air, following what he thought would be the path the Elite had taken. His eyes went wide when he heard rapid clicks, looking down to the counter on his rifle. It read zero. He looked around quickly, holding the weapon raised still as he made a slow circle around the marine gasping for breath. He recognized Halo, and unfortunately couldn't do anything to help him.
The Black Elite appeared once again, standing off to the side, drawing his plasma sword before turning it on.
"Here!" the soldier gasping for breath cried out, sliding a magazine towards the Covenant.
Halo ejected the magazine, watching it fall towards the floor, and was already in the process of kneeling down and outstretching a hand for the magazine that was headed his way. The Elite merely watched curiously, twirling his sword a bit, while Halo clutched the magazine, lifting it up and forcing it into the stock of the rifle. He yanked the bolt back to load the next bullet, then lifted his weapon and stared at where the Elite was.
No one was there, only the blue sword of the Elite was stuck into the floor, slowly melting the metal. Halo took a quivering breath, moving the weapon all over the place, ready to fire it in a heartbeat if he needed to. Katrina then spoke up through his helmet.
"Halo! I patched into your armor's comm. link, I can talk to you like this without anyone hearing. It was a struggle hacking Covenant technology though. Fried a few things in the process. Too bad your unit is busted or else I could listen in on the Covenant's directly." Katrina spoke rather proudly of herself.
"Hush!" he growled, continuing to walk around the area, looking for anything out of place.
"Oh, sensors indicated that the Elite isn't here. It's like he simply vanished." Katrina spoke.
Halo just lifted his head a bit, beginning to lower the weapon and then looked to his hands. He blinked, quickly fumbling to press the button on his watch before looking to the marine, frowning and tilting his head a bit.
"H-Halo," he spoke, coughing a bit before he slowly got to his feet, "I never thought I'd be so glad to see a Covenant before in my life."
Halo frowned slightly, titling his head before placing the rifle into a confused marine's hands, "Here," he growled, before stepping back, turning around as he started padding off, glaring at the plasma saber sticking into the ground. His hand slowly wrapped around it, sliding it out of the floor, then lifted it into the air and looked it over.
"Halo... take it," he offered the rifle back, "you won't last too long with just that."
Halo frowned once more, shrugging off the rifle. He still had the pistol he took out of the Captain's weapon storage, but he knew that wouldn't last very long. He just sighed before he looked at the ground behind the burn mark. There was a grey and black box which caught his attention. Quite thin with a few prongs and a large triangle on the front. He smirked.
"I'll be... fine," he growled, placing the small module into a hidden slot in the armor, pressing a symbol at the front of his armor that really didn't stand out. He just prayed the armor would accept it.
His image flickered a bit, before he disappeared, the module providing a wonderful cloak that made him all but disappear completely. The marine looked a little taken back, then frowned, unable to see the Covenant move away from him, only knowing he was walking away because the plasma saber was still glowing a bright blue.
"What are you going to do?" he asked, watching another of his marines start to wake.
"Don't know," Halo growled simply, turning off the weapon, then clipped the handle to his side before he deactivated the weapon, padding out of the bay without the marine noticing.