The Covenant did not arrive one at a time, or even a few at a time. They arrived all at once. 8 phantoms and 10 Apparation class transports, with their long fork shaped prows, came in fast. The transports swooped over the mountains, flying low. They dropped from the sky like shooting stars, coming to rest scant feet from the ground in a thick cluster in the middle of the valley. In front of them rode howling death. The Seraphs were fast, sleek, deadly looking craft, shaped like a teardrop with spines. They were the Covenant space superiority fighters, and they dived in raining plasma and fuel rods, while marines ran to and fro. The Seraphs were only trying to keep the marines attention, while the transports disembarked their precious cargo. The tanks shot at the transports anyway, taking down an Apparation and two of the Phantoms, and another Apparation fell to the warthogs, but not before they could drop off their cargo of Ghosts. Grunts spilled like a rainbow flood from the drop ships, spreading in every direction and firing at anything that moved. They covered the valley floor, running in clusters of colored blue midgets. Jackals dropped in sworths, racing for the cover of rocks and boulders that had fallen from the cliffs. 6 pairs of hunters landed, bellowing challenges across the field of battle. The last two Phantoms deposited their wraiths, which were joined by a trio of Spectres. The Wraiths', Covenant tanks, plasma mortars began dropping doom upon the marines' positions, sending the entire valley into chaos. The marines had set up in two positions. The first was in hedgerow trenches set in front of the garage, one of the structures forming a curve along the inset of the valley. That way, they had the other structures to their left, and the mountain pass to their right. The damaged tank covered the pass, and had a pair of warthogs giving the marines entrenched at its entrance covering fire. The other two tanks were set at corners behind the main marine force, so they could shoot over the heads of all the marines. The Scorpion tanks blasted at Wraiths and Ghosts, sending purple chunks flying in pieces through the air. One of the Wraiths exploded in a blue blast of light as it passed through the open valley, while the other moved behind the wall of slagged metal that remained of the MAC cannon. That put it on the flank of the main marine force, exactly opposite from the mountain pass. The Seraphs disintegrated the damaged tank guarding the pass, and all of the salvaged warthogs' weapons. Two of the remaining warthogs tried to flank the large Covenant force, driving a large circle across the open field, only to be sent flying by grunt held fuel rod guns. The two scorpions moved back into cover behind the garage, trying to keep their fragile flanks covered. Marines ran from trench to trench, diving in to the deep cuts in the earth, while trying to keep a hail of fire on the enemy. Grunts fell, and the night was alive with glowing blood, muzzle flashes, and bolts of blue plasma. A shadow fell over the valley, as the Covenant cruiser came in low. It hovered in the middle of the valley, its curves and hourglass shape illuminated by the battle. The cruiser dropped a single gigantic pod onto the valley floor before drifting back up above the clouds. The egg shaped pod landed with a crash that sent every creature in the valley dashing for cover.
"What in the hell!" Colonel Mush was doing what he could. His forward troops were dead, his flank was falling to Ghosts and Spectres. If his flank fell, the mountain pass would be open, allowing the Covenant to shoot straight down his trenches. The Hunters were keeping his Warthogs and tanks behind cover, and his missile teams couldn't get a healthy lock on much of anything. Worse yet, he was running out of ammo. He bent over the radioman beside him. The poor man was barely 22 years old, and his face was dripping with sweat. He passed the Colonel the head set with shaky hands, watching the Covenant force grow with agitation. They had a large communication system set up, patched into the compounds net, and the Colonel was trying to use it as best he could.
"Tell me you got a hold of them. They have to be there."
"No sir, nothing. I don't think they're there. We're all alone." The radioman had been trying to get a hold of the Chimera for hours, but she continued to remain silent. Something was very wrong.
"Then send out a mayday. We don't have much time left."A tank flying over their trench echoed the Colonel's failing courage. A trio of Hunters, who screamed their victory cry across the battlefield, had hit it. Andrew Mush ducke dhis head down, listening to the sounds of battle. He looked up and down his trench at the faces of the men and women who served under him. Their eyes all said the same thing, we're not going to live through this. The huge valley had turned into a massive firefight, his trenches on one side, jackals, grunts, and Hunters on the other. Ghosts and Spectres challenged his flank, racing back and forth through the pass, shooting into trenches and vehicles alike, while strafing Banshees, Seraph space fighters, and Phantoms immediately killed anything stupid enough to be seen. Now, there was a huge egg shaped dome in the middle of the entire mess. Whatever the hell it was, Andrew Mush knew it wasn't going to be good.
Kon Hejee looked at his systems. All were ready. He activated the deployment sequence, and signaled for the Unggoy to get on top. His Scarab stretched its legs and stood, the top already filling with Unggoy and their fuel rod guns. This was going to be easy.
Colonel Mush looked up with horror as the massive ovular object broke apart, and a huge Scarab stretched its leg. The machine looked like a giant robot spider, except that it had a big ass laser cannon for a head. On top was a large open platform, currently filled to the brim with grunts carrying shoulder-mounted cannon. Scarabs were tough as hell to take down, and he knew that he didn't have any way up there, or any way to kill it. They were all doomed. How did the Covenant know they were here? The Sacarabs head opened like some giant robotic flower, and its center glowed bright blue before firing a beam of super hot plasma at Colonel Mush's last tank. He watched helplessly as the Hunters ran forward and jumped into the trenches in front of him, finishing off his second platoon. He had only a handful of men left. Every vehicle and every man outside of his trench was dead and destroyed. Night filled the valley, only disturbed by the occasional green or blue blast of plasma, as grunts and jackals finished off the wounded. Their screams echoed through the little valley, making the hair stand up on Andrew's neck. The Colonel turned to his remaining troops.
"Come on men! To the Pelicans! We have to get the hell out of here!" The Colonel obeyed his own orders immediatly, crawling out of his trench, and running for the underground entrance to the hanger where the Pelicans waited. Some of them might be able to get out of here yet.
Private Sean Messin stood in his trench with his gun leaning against him. He could feel its cold weight pressed to his side, which usually comforted him, but now it only further reminded him of where he was. Lookin gout of his trench, he saw grunts covering the valley in front of him, Hunters firing over their short, stocky heads. Sean couldn't believe this was happening. The screams of injured and dying filled his ears, the smells of their blood and fluids invaded his nostrils, his body sweating from nerves and the heat of plasma. Sean ducked low in his trench, wishing everything were different. He dropped his gun, watching it as it fell, feeling helpless and afraid. He didn't have any ammo, and couldn't bring himself to pull any from his dead friends. His weapon was useless, he was useless. The young man next to him still clutched his rifle, his chest a smoldering mess of melted armor, flesh, and steaming organs. Sean knew the man, had known him now. They had been friends. His name had been Anthony, Anthony Tallert, and now he was just another corpse, another part of the field and horror of war. Sean bent over and retched. He was going to die. Looking up, he saw the massive frame of a Hunter step into the trench. It lowered itself into the small passage, and turned to face him. Sean looked up as the creature towered over him, unfolding its arms, while its head twisted to look at him. For a moment, the two creatures eyed one another. Sean could not take his eyes from the massive creatures body, its terrible shape, the blood dripping from its giant metal shield. It studied him, alien thoughts passing through its head, and lifted its shield, stretching out over Sean's body. He looked up at the shield over him, light shining off its razor edges, and tried to scoot away, he tried to get up and run, but he was frozen in place. He was too terrified to move. Then it stepped forward, and Sean saw no more.
Frederick Nichols hated his job, and right now, he hated it more than anything. He huddled behind his table, his hands wrapped around the hot SMG, trying to get another clip into place. He was having the darnest time reloading the thing, mostly because he couldn't stop his hands from shaking. He looked up, and saw Ariel crouched behind a table not ten feet away. She was crying. He saw her reload her battle rifle, and ready a grenade. Ariel tossed it blindly, trying to get the Covenants' heads down, if for only a moment. She ducked out of cover and sprayed a few bursts. Looking behind him, he saw the body of the younger, beautiful scientist he had worked with just yesterday. Her entrails lay strewn out around her body, her face unrecognizable. She had been too close to one of those Covvie grenades, and without any protection, her body had melted and twisted under the heat. He threw up again. It wasn't the sights that got to him, it was the smell. It clung to his nose, and made his eyes water, and his throat dry and scratchy. How could a man do this for his entire life? Once again, he was glad that he wasn't a marine.
The room they were in was big, and circular, with a door at both ends. The one behind him had a giant blast door blocking it, but the one across the room was wide open, molten metal lying in bits around the frame. The little grunt bastardscame in through the front with their shoulder cannons, while the Elites had tried to burst in from behind. The Elites had two Hunters with them. Luckily, the thick blast doors were holding those back, which was good, as they had their backs nearly pressed to the doors. The little research station had been chosen for their last defense because of its armor shielding. They used it for radioactive materials testing, making it necessary for thick walls. That kept any heavy weapons from blowing through, but the doors were only held in by steel, which melted after enough plasma hit it. There were originally 14 of them. Now, there were 6, and they weren't fairing too well. The survivors were spread out through the room, hiding behind tables, desks, workstations, and anything else that could protect them. Frederick finally got the clip into the stupid gun, and ducked out of cover to give another spray. He didn't fire though, as he looked up into the blurred form of an invisible elite. The creature swept its energy blade, and sprayed Frederick's upper body across the floor.
Ariel screamed when Frederick died. The elite had rushed up, and she hadn't noticed its invisible form in the dark. They had destroyed main power hours ago, and the emergency red lights weren't working well enough to see more than ten feet. Ariel gazed in horror as it turned to look at her. She tried to shoot it, but her hands were frozen. She was paralyzed with fear. This isn't happening, she repeated to herself, as the creature walked casually towards her. She didn't see its smile as raised its sword, Bringing it down, and ending Ariel's world.
Telys watched from the human cannon's structure, safe now that the cannon was a mountain of warm metal. He switched through his Sangheili warrior's optical recorders, seeing what they saw, and hearing what they heard. Telys always preferred being amongst the warriors, but tonight he needed to stay back, just in case the Infidels had an ugly surprise hidden away. Looking through the data, he saw something that caught his eye. It was a large circular door in the ground, hidden in the back of the valley, and slightly below level ground. Very clever, thought Telys, hide your escape vector, and make your enemy's prefer to wait you out than finish their duty. He wasn't known for his patience.
"All warriors, prepare for assault. We kill them now, all of them." He was tired of this game of chase.
Jumping down from his elevated position, Telys checked his plasma rifle. He glanced at his Honor Guard, eight jackals and two deep crimson Sangheili warriors. It was time to finish this. Telys began a quick pace to the human launch pad, signaling a pair of Hunter that were trying desperately to smash through a thick set of blast doors, to follow. He would need their strength and fortitude. Awaiting him were twenty other Sangheili warriors, and a multitude of Unggoy, all shaking and jittering from the excitement of battle.
Telys pointed at the spiral shaped door lying just below them in a recess. The Infidels' ships must be hidden there. He was going to find them, and stop them from getting away.
Major Alex Kistler was getting uneasy. He had snipers, shotguns and flamethrowers at two of the three entrances. The third entrance had just been closed permanently with plastic explosives. This was too easy. Only a few of the Covenant wandered too close, getting their heads blown from their shoulders. The Covenant commander was cunning, and he knew that the creature had something in mind. No way had the Pelicans' launch bay gone unnoticed, or the loud sounds of five Pelicans warming up for lift off. A horrendous grinding sound from behind confirmed his thoughts. They were coming in through the Pelicans' exit. This was bad.
The Lokgolo were firing at the human launch bay door. It lay flat on the ground, nearly 80 paces across. The metal glowed bright red. The Lokgolo wasted no time, and began smashing at the hot metal, bending it down, breaking through its reinforced surface. Telys was going to finish his quest, and bring victory to the Covenant.
Colonel Mush walked wearily up to Major Kistler.
"Well, everyone's here. Now we have to decide what to do."
Major Kistler gave him a dumbfounded look, completely lost through his featureless helmet.
"We have Hunters coming in over our heads, and pretty soon…" The sounds of gunfire at the two entrances cut off his sentence. Jackals and grunts were charging the two entrances, trying to get the marines to back into the coming Hunters.
"Huh, well I guess that answered that. We're all dead men, Major, I suggest you start making peace with your god."
Major Kistler didn't like the sound of that. He wasn't about to die on this ugly god forsaken rock. The birds were ready to fly, and by the sounds of it, there were only two hunters. He had five Pelicans. The numbers added up in his head, and he made his decision.
"All the stragglers from B through G platoon, get in the Pelicans! Now!" Alex turned to the Colonel, "That means you too, sir."
"You aren't getting all heroic and shit on me, are you Major? Because you know how we marines feel about heroes? They get too many of their buddies killed when a buncha C-4 woulda done the job just fine."
The Major turned and looked at him. "Sir, no offense, but if we had some damn C-4, we wouldn't be in such dire straights. As it were, I have one machine gun with ammo left, and about three quarters of my platoon left. You have about one platoon worth of stragglers, and most of them are out of ammo. I suggest that you get in that god damned Pelican, before I shoot you and take over. Hear me, sir?"
Colonel Mush looked at the Major. He wished he could see the man's face, but was too smart to ask him to remove his helmet. This man was going to die for them, and was willing to do anything to try and save some of his men in the process.
"Ok Major, good luck. My boys and girls, get in those bloody birds! We've got some flying to do!" The marines ran into the Pelicans, strapping themselves in. Major Alex grabbed Haley, and yelled for him to pull everyone back. He had one idea left.
"Good luck Colonel, and God's speed!" The Major yelled, and his men opened fire. He had his missile crews firing salvos through the roof launch bay as soon as it opened. Two Hunters stood, waiting for them. The missiles took one out before it could fire back; the other killed his entire heavy weapons team in a single shot. Damnit, thought Alex, I'm in a lot more than I can handle. He looked over to his left, one of his flamethrowers stood there, looking razzled. An idea formed in his head.
"Ok men, give it one last friendly burst, and then follow me! We've gotta get out of here ourselves!" He turned and grabbed the flamethrower, motioning for him to follow. They still had two exits from here, and a lot of mountain to hide in.
The Colonel's five Pelicans, each carrying 12 people, flew through the opened hole in the ceiling of the underground structure, straining to gain altitude. The first Pelican blew into tiny bits as a trio of fuel rod guns fired into it. The second got some altitude, but the turrets on the Scarab took it apart, sending bits of marine and transport raining down. The third turned, trying to go low over the mountains. It pushed for speed, flying back and forth over the rocky terrain. A pair of Banshees came screaming out of a cave, sending a pair of Banshee bombs into the front of the human transport. It exploded in a ball of light that lit up the night sky. The fourth Pelican out was even less lucky, as the deranged, pissed off Hunter got its bearings, and slammed the Pelican with its massive shield as it passed by. The tail of the Pelican clipped the rim of the bay door, tearing most of it off. The transport spun and crashed, Covenant swarming to it, killing any survivors. Colonel Mush's Pelican flew high and far, reaching the clouds. It broke free, and as it did so, a huge Covenant warship filled its field of vision. The pilot had only enough time to curse before the Covenant cruiser shot the little Pelican with a single Plasma barrage, melting the ship into tiny balls of molten metal. The Colonel was able to make one final transmission before dying, a personal log:
To any UNSC Ship,
The planet Terrace has been compromised. The item of value is in the hands of a Spartan. Retrieval is not recommended, and is judged to be highly dangerous. Let our deaths not be in shame.
Telys was furious. Every human he could find was dead, yet still the artifact eluded him. His Banshees stated that they saw some shapes moving into the mountains, and he was sure that some of the humans had escaped with the artifact. He would find them, and he would taste their blood.
Alex bent over, coughing up flem from the long sprint. His men looked at him, bewilderment and hope in their eyes. Everyone's helmets were off, as they needed the air. He looked around, casually running his left hand through his wet hair. Sweat dripped down his face, and he rubbed it from his eyes. The Spartan just stood, waiting. It held a funny looking device in its hand. It looked like a Covenant device.
"Nice rattle, 84. Is that what we're all dying for?"
"Affirmative, Major." The Spartan always was a man of few words and many actions. If it weren't that son of a bitch, though, they wouldn't be alive. He had single handedly fought his way through a swarm of grunts and jackals, blasted down a whole crap load of drones, and then grabbed the flamethrower off of a dead man's body. Once he had the flamethrower, he used it to create walls of fire, scaring the crap out of the little grunts, and buying them enough time to run like hell before the elites and hunters noticed them. They had run for at least an hour into the mountain, taking winding trails, and then turned off all of their electronics. No need to advertise their position. Alex laid his head down on a first aid kit. They had decided to camp out in some alcoves, to give them shelter form weather and flying ships. The small box was softer than anything else they had. Sure, they'd go back later to grab some gear and food, but right now, they just had to wait. He liked that idea, that and a nap. Yup, definitely a nap.