Chapter 4
Location: African jungle Congo Basin UNSC Weapons and Vehicles Research Facility.
"Chief!" Yelled the Admiral over the COM. "They're here."
"Yes Sir. I am on my way." John replied. The COM snapped off. He started walking to the doors but was knocked off his feet by an enormous explosion that was followed by the yells and screams of UNSC soldiers. John started running. He came to the door and noticed a wounded Marine,
"Sir, be careful. They got snipers all over the place. They got tanks and phantoms. And…" he then coughed and died. John looked outside. There were fires everywhere. Marines lay scattered on the ground. But so did many Covenants bodies. John zoomed in on his MA8B and picked of a few Jackals. He turned left and saw some stairs. He ran down them and encountered a Brute. He shot it twice and shoved his knife into its side. It howled with pain and fell over. The turret emplacements were holding up well. One of them had a huge pile of bodies in front of it. John lobbed a grenade into a cluster of Jackals and they went flying everywhere.
"Chief, there is a bunker on the other side of the base. It is called the Gazeeb Cover. I need you to take whatever vehicle you want and get over there. Any Covenant you encounter, kill them. We can't afford any losses. This thing that they are after is too important." The Admiral told him. The COM snapped off. John ran back to the Garage. Pilots were getting into Rippers and Lotuses. John stopped a Ripper and got in the driver seat. An ODST got in the passenger seat and the two chain guns were manned. John drove down the ramps that lead outside. This new jeep handled a lot smoother than the others. Outside, it was extremely bumpy but the Rippers suspension absorbed most of shock. Overhead two Banshee fliers sped towards them firing plasma as they came. One bolt missed Johns head by inches. It was so close that his internal temperature rose thirty degrees. The chain guns blared and tore them to pieces. One of them landed in front of them and John had to skid to a stop. He started the engines back up and drove round it. He sped back up to top speed. A Phantom hovered over a group of Brutes and Ghosts. The ODST took out the guns on the Phantom, while the gunners took care of the Brutes. After the Phantoms guns were off the ODST took out some of the Ghosts. The gunners tore holes through Brutes and Jackals but more just kept on falling from the Phantom. The ODST kept on firing at the Phantom until its engine blew and it spiralled down and exploded taking the Brute and the Jackals with it.
"Sir, I've only got one more rocket left." The ODST told John,
"Aim it a vehicle, don't waste it on infantry." John replied. In the sky, John could just make out a dozen more Phantoms soaring in. He sped up. When the first Phantom arrived a swarm of Drones flew out of its GravLift. The gunners filled the air with bullets but one got caught by a hail of crystalline needles. He jumped off and landed on the floor where he exploded in a cloud of purple smoke.
"You," John yelled at the ODST, "Man that turret."
"Yes Sir." He shouted back. John swerved in and out of dead bodies when a Drone landed on the windshield. It fired a plasma bolt through the window and it caught John in the chest. His shields drained. He quickly grabbed the alien and punched it in the face. John felt its skull cave in. He tossed the limp body off the vehicle. The swarm of Drones was cut down. The Phantom fired all its turrets at the Ripper. One hit the hood and the jeep burst into flames. John jumped out just in time before it exploded. The Ripper carried on moving until it slammed into a wall. John quickly hid behind a corner. Behind him a Wraith tank fired its Plasma Mortar. It arced gracefully into the air and detonated on the side of a building. It glowed brilliant white and then crumbled into fist sized bricks. Marines screamed as they fell to their deaths. John took out his Punisher and pulled the trigger. All four of the barrels started rotating and then screamed as hundreds of bullets flew towards the Wraith. Its armour quickly peeled away and within seconds it was reduced to just a pile of scrap. John slung the Punisher around his shoulder and took out his MA8B. He went back to the corner when a Locust landed next to him. The driver jumped out.
"Quick Chief, get in." he yelled. He ran to the corner and fired three rockets at the Phantom. All of its turrets fell off. He quickly fired at a group of Jackals and they all scattered. John climbed into the cockpit of the Locust. The door closed and he strapped himself in. he made sure the strap was tight and he pushed the button which said fly. He grabbed the joystick and manoeuvred it towards the Phantom. He fired the two chain guns and watched its shield drain. After he fired two missiles and it exploded in a ball of flames. John quickly turned it around and noticed a group of trapped Marines that were fighting off Covenant forces. Chief warmed up the chain guns and let loose a wave of lead. They cut through five Brutes. John launched a missile and it detonated in the middle of them. The Marines gathered the ammo of the dead and then ran towards another group of ODSTS. John pushed the throttle to maximum burn and the Locust jumped forward. He kept the chain guns firing and he took down a dozens of Brutes. A Phantom appeared from nowhere behind him. Then another did. Then another. They got on each side of him and one more went in front of the Locust. He quickly hit the eject button and he was launched up into the air. A parachute came out if the chair and he slowly drifted down to the floor. On his COM Admiral Stanford's voice blared,
"Chief, you're almost there. Keep moving. There is a squad of Marines up ahead of you. Get to them and help them out. Then they will come with to the bunker. They must not take that bunker. That is directly on top of their co-ordinates they have been giving out for where the Ark is. Defend it at all cost Chief. I am uploading the positions of the bunker and the Marines. Stanford out." And the COM snapped off. Two blue NAV points appeared on his HUD. John sprinted forward towards the closest one. There was a group of eleven Marines holding off some Jackals. John zoomed in and took out three with three shots. He primed a Frag grenade and lobbed it into the air. It arced over and landed in the group of them and they all jumped out of the way. That was just enough time for the Marines to shoot them all down. John ran to them.
"Sir, Corporal Bennett, we could really use your help Sir. We got wounded and we have no radio." He told John.
"I'll see what I can do." He replied. He opened a COM to the Admiral, "Sir, we have wounded here. Requesting Evac for them." He asked, there was silence for three seconds and then the admiral spoke,
"Roger that Chief. Hold your position, Evac will be there in approximately twenty seconds." He told John.
"Yes Sir." And John turned off the COM. "OK. Evac is here in twenty seconds. Secure a perimeter around the wounded." He yelled at them. They moved in a circle formation around the seven wounded and three dead soldiers. There was a roar of engines and a Pelican with a red cross painted on the side landed. Five men dressed in blue clothing jumped out and grabbed the wounded. They placed them on board and injected each one of them. They then bought out stretchers and placed the dead on them. Once everyone was secure they took back off and flew back to base. John rounded up the Marines,
"Where is the quickest route to the Gazeeb Cover? I need to get there and I need your help." John asked Bennett.
"Get us a Battle Fortress and I'll get you there in no time at all." He told John.
"Ok." He set a channel for all UNSC personnel in a range of two-hundred meters. "Calling any UNSC personnel, this is Spartan 117 and I require a Battle Fortress. I need it at these co-ordinates, two-four-zero, does anybody read?" a voice replied,
"Yes Sir. I will be there in a minute. Over." In the background John could hear the sound of gunfire. John told everyone to get their stuff together and gather what weapons they could find. Thirty seconds they had managed to scavenge; two Jackhammer rocket launchers, three Brute Shots, two Battle Rifles, eleven Plasma Pistols, sixteen Plasma Grenades and five Frag grenades. There was an explosion behind John and he fell to the ground. He got up and saw the Battle Fortress emerging from a hole in the wall. It pulled up and everyone got out.
"Here you go Chief. She's all yours. Come on. Lets go kill some squid heads." He yelled to the passengers. They cheered and they ran off. John climbed inside and found it was extremely roomy. First the SGT pressed a button on the display and a machine gun emerged on the roof. John climbed up and manned it,
"I want those two Jackhammers to be used." He yelled down the ladder to the Marines.
"Yes Sir." Two yelled.
"Punch it SGT." The Battle Fortress moved with surprising speed. On the way John saw demolished buildings, burning vehicles. Corpses littered the ground. Explosions were going off all around them. John noticed a pack of Brutes encircling a Marine. All of them held a Covenant Carbine and were pointing them at his head. The Marine was crying. John opened up with machine gun and the Brutes fell to the floor before they could even turn around.
"SGT, stop." John yelled. The BF stopped just next to the Marine, "Get in. we could use all the help we can get." And the Marine jumped in the back. Just then a couple of Longswords flew over Johns head. John saw two bombs drop out of their open hatches and fall to the ground. There was a mighty boom and he saw remains of Covenant troops and vehicles fly up into the air.
"Chief, we'll be there in two minutes." The SGT shouted. The BF ploughed through the remains of a Phantom and at least a dozen Wraiths. For the rest of the journey they encountered no resistance. They finally arrived outside the Gazeeb Cover. Wave after wave of Brutes and Jackals attacked the bunker but it managed to hold them off with Jackhammers, SN-44S Sniper Rifles and a dozen machine guns. The SGT drove towards the attack. Rockets fired from the portholes and blew clusters of enemies. A dozen Phantoms came in and dropped off squadrons of Brutes, Jackals and Drones. John fired the machine gun and more than fifty Drones dropped out of the air. The next Phantom that came dropped off three portable gun turrets along with ten Brutes.
"SGT, I'm getting out and going inside the bunker. Cover me." John yelled over the noise.
"Yes Sir." He replied. John jumped off the BF and someone else got in the machine gun. John sprinted for the entrance when a plasma bolt hit him squarely in the back of his head. He flew forward and smacked his head on the wall. His vision went blurred and he turned around. He saw the outline of a Brute. He fired his whole clip into the creature. It still kept on coming. It fired two more shots and Johns shields drained. John primed a Plasma Grenade and threw it. It hit the Brute squarely between his eyes. It howled with anger before exploding in a mist of blue. John got back up and ran up the stairs that were guarded by ten ODSTs and three gun turrets. John opened the heavy steel door and entered.
