Chapter 4
"Objective completed. Break out the nuke," ordered the Master Chief. The Spartans jumped to the task. The HAVOC nuclear mine was not very easy to set up and anyone who was going to use one had to go through a special training course to teach them how. The Spartans, having spent weeks preparing for the mission, knew the HAVOC inside and out. James led the setup of it and Linda broke out the field med kit.
The rapid series of concussive blasts had overridden the cushioning power of the hydrostatic gel in Joe's helmet and he had several cuts and bruises. As Linda bandaged Joe up, the Chief stood guard and covered the rest of his squad. A faint blip appeared on his motion tracker. He motioned Fred to stand guard while he investigated this odd signal. As he started towards the source of the signal, it disappeared.
"Keep your eyes peeled for any signs of camouflaged Elites," he warned as he investigated the place where the signal was when it had disappeared. A slight squishing came from under some control terminals to his left. Curious, he bent over to investigate. As he gazed at the strange little creature, he wondered what it was. It was shaped like a squid with a balloon-like sac filled with a green gas on its back that allowed it to float. On the bottom of it, there was a long tentacle and several other appendages that seemed to form a suction cup. It seemed to sense his presence and turned to face him. It hopped along until it got to within a meter of him before it lunged. Fred, who saw the threat first, fire a quick burst at it before it reached the Chief. It popped like a firecracker in front of the Master Chief's face splattering mottled brown goop on his visor.
"What was that thing," he asked rhetorically as he made sure that his mission recorder got a good look at the thing.
"Ugly little fellow," commented Fred as he shouldered his rifle again. "What could the Covenant want with such an odd creature? It didn't seem to have any offensive abilities whatsoever, and," he added as he walked over to join the Chief, "it was weaker than any Grunt I've ever seen, even a wounded one."
"It's dead now. Let's let the ONI spooks and eggheads in research deal with what it is," said the Chief effectively ending the conversation.
James was the first to break the silence. "Sir, it's ready," he said, "where do you want this thing," he asked indicating the HAVOC.
"This base has a special significance to the Covenant because of its special biotechnology. The pulsing object on the ceiling is an advanced heart that pumps energy instead of blood. This system can carry twenty times the amount of energy compared to standard copper wire. Because of this unique ability, several hundred generators have been interfaced with this node and now are powering a prototype plasma weapon that uses slipspace to travel long distances" explained the Chief, "The 'heart' is our target. Prepare the timer and break out some of the adhesives."