CHAPTER NINE¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
0830 Hours, January 26, 2535 (Military Calendar)/ Lambda Serpentis System, Jericho III, unknown location
'Plague'
Plague could see the approaching drop ship as it came closer and prepared to land. A light anti-aircraft gun had been mounted on the back, and was manned by a marine. He swung back and forth, looking for a target. The Spartans however, had done a good job of eliminating the enemy forces in the area. The pelican came to a hover nearby and slowly lowered to the ground. The marine released the gun, jumped down and jogged over to them.
"We don't have much time left, so we brought you guys a few supplies to help finish your mission," he said.
"What do we have to work with?" asked Plague.
"The pelican, its LAAG, a couple of plasma grenades, three sticks of C10, and a Fury tac-nuke," the marine replied.
Brute looked at the marine, "I think we can come up with something."
"Good," he said, "let's move then."
The four of them entered the troop bay of the pelican. Brute operated the gun, and the pelican lifted into the air.
Usually the Spartans would converse silently over their suit's radios, but they couldn't this time due to Plague's damaged armor. They had no choice but to allow the marine to overhear everything. He gave no sign that he heard anything though. He sat there looking around, not daring to meet their eyes. He couldn't even tell if they were looking at him anyway.
The pilot set the pelican down on a hill a little ways away from the crash site. When it had settled on the ground, the cockpit door opened and he stepped into the troop bay.
"I'm your pilot, Chris," he said, "Do we have a plan?"
"Yes," replied Plague, but it may take some complicated piloting on your part."
"What do want me to do," he asked sarcastically, "fly inside the covenant ship?"
"Yes," said Plague in a serious tone, "That' exactly what we want you to do."
'Brute'
Brute held his rocket in one hand, and the Fury tac-nuke in his other. It was only slightly larger than a football, but considerably heavier. Plague couldn't snipe well at close quarters, so he had his assault rifle ready. Wrench was holding both his and Brute's pistols, one in each hand. It would be nearly impossible to reload with one hand however, so he planned on discarding one before too long.
The pelican moved slowly as it entered the gaping hole in the enemy ship's side. The entire interior of the back of the ship had been blown apart, creating a hollowed out space.
The pelican turned toward a large room near the side of the hole. It must have been for ground vehicle storage because it was a large room with a large door at one end. The pelican maneuvered carefully into the space and began making its way through the damage portions of the ship.
A com channel opened and the pilot's voice came over it, "There's a group of covenant up ahead."
"Good," said Wrench, "stop here and hover."
The vehicle came to a stop, and the Spartans could here the covenant talking to each other only a few yards away.
"Okay," said Plague, "now turn us around."
The pelican slowly turned so that the troop bay was facing the covenant. Brute was on the turret, and before any of them could do a thing, two grunts were dead, and an elite's shields were drained.
The rest of them took cover behind some nearby storage crates. Wrench however, hopped out of the pelican and tossed a grenade over. There were a number of loud cries and roars, and an explosion. Two elites and another grunt came flying out from behind their cover, their limp bodies crashing into a wall across the room. At the same time, a door opened and out came a pair of hunters.
The first one already had his cannon charged, and fired straight at the pelican. The Spartans all made it out in time. The marine however, screamed and covered his face as he and the turret were engulfed in a green ball of plasma.
Behind the two hunters, a stream of elites began pouring out of the doorway. Not even three Spartans could hope to win against such impossible odds. Another pair of hunters entered the room, and other doors began opening, spilling more covenant into the room. Surely this was were they would die.
Wrench turned to Plague as the enemies began to move in on them. "You and Brute arm the nuke, I'll hold them off."
"No way," said Brute, "we all get out together."
Plague looked around; there was no way Wrench would survive. "Negative, soldier," Plague said to Wrench, suddenly getting very serious, "My whole team gets out alive!" Even as he said this, he thought back to something he had learned in his training.
"Your duty to the UNSC supersedes your duty to yourself or your team, and sometimes, you must spend the lives of those under your command to fulfill that duty."
Plague couldn't see Wrench's face, but he could sense his emotion none the less. The Spartans' bonds were so strong that they could practically read each other's minds.
"Very well. Go now," said Plague, "and die honorably in battle."
Wrench grinned under his visor, and knew that Plague could sense it. "I wouldn't have it any other way," he said.
'Wrench'
He turned away from Plague and toward the massive group of covenant. They all froze, waiting for him to make a move. The whole scene seemed to stand still. Brute and Plague watched as Wrench prepared for his final battle.
Wrench reached up and removed his helmet, revealing his face and short, dirty blonde hair. A couple of the grunts chattered confusedly amongst themselves. He brought up both of his hands, dual wielding his pistols, and letting out one, last battle cry, charged into the enemies firing his weapons wildly.
He broke the enemy lines and dropped his empty pistols. He pulled out his fully loaded assault rifle and squeezed the trigger. A second later, an elite jumped on top of him, and he was engulfed in a mob of angry covenant.
'Plague'
Hurriedly, Plague assisted Brute in arming the nuke. It took less than ten seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. Finally it was armed and rigged to blow in two minutes. A countdown appeared on his HUD as he turned back toward the pelican.
Chris was standing in the troop bay, staring at Wrench fighting the covenant.
"Hurry!" Plague said, "Get us out of here."
"Wh…" Chris began, pointing toward the third Spartan who was fighting futilely against impossible odds. Blood was dripping down Wrench's face. One eye was black and shut. He had burns all over his face, and portions of his armor were falling off. His shields had been permanently damaged and weren't recharging. He stared at them and mouthed, "Go." Then he fell to the floor and a pool of blood appeared on the ground by his head.
Chris stumbled back into the cockpit. A second later the pelican's engines roared to life. Plague and Brute were in the troop bay watching the covenant rushing toward them. There was no way Chris would get them out in time.
Through the mob of enemies, however, Plague caught a glimpse of Wrench. He had a small access panel open on his armor. He was still alive, and Plague knew what he was about to do.
All of a sudden, an explosion radiated out from Wrench and all of the covenant were thrown into the air. Pieces of debris caught on fire and the room glowed a deathly orange as the flames rose. Wrench's body could not be seen in the wreckage.
The pelican rose into the air and flew forward, leaving the covenant to burn and die with Wrench. Plague's countdown timer read 1 minute.
Plague shouted into the cockpit, "You'd better get us out of here fast or were all going to be dead!"
"I've got to be careful," shouted Chris, "if I clip a wing off of this thing, we'll never get out.
Plague sat down impatiently. Once again he was placed in a position with no control. His life was in the hands of a pilot he hardly knew.
30 seconds.
The pelican shook. Chris swore and shouted back to them, "I hit something. I'm going to try to divert power to the damaged wing to try to balance us out."
"Do it quickly!" yelled Plague.
15 seconds.
Plague could see the opening in the side of the ship. They were almost there.
10 seconds.
They were out. Now all they had to do was put distance between them and the ship. Plague hoped it would be enough.
5 seconds.
Plague's countdown timer started beeping to indicate the time.
3 seconds.
2.
1.
The ship exploded in a brilliant flash of light and Plague's visor adjusted, then returned to normal as it died down. Heat swept over him, and his armor's internal temperature rose then fell as his suit cooled. They had just made it.
Mission Accomplished.
