Stage 12: Intruder Alert!
July 28, 2552
Final Assault of Troy
"Captain, all pelicans have docked and the Cole Protocol has been initiated." Ares stated from his glowing holotank. He floated softly above the small pedestal, with a deep red glow and black body armor reminiscent of a Greek warrior. Ares was not a smart AI, but simply aided in aiming the MAC cannon and slip space flight. The crew of the Rogue Fantasy would have had it no other way.
"Good." Captain Monroe stated. She leaned forward in her captain's chair and looked to the rear screen. "And not a moment to soon." On the screen she saw four Covenant cruisers quickly pursuing her tiny cruiser away from Troy's orbit.
"Captain, lock down complete." A command crew member stated with a nervous pitch. "We can enter slip space at any time."
"Make the jump!" Captain Monroe stated without hesitation. "Monitor those Covenant ships that are sniffing at our tails."
"Aye-aye." The navigator stated in return. The sleek engines of the Rogue Fantasy flashed to life and quickly accelerated the ship forward. A flash of blue and red formed at the forward hull as the ships slip space engines tore a whole in sub-space. The twist ripped open a pathway into an alternate dimension and allowed the Rogue Fantasy to force itself into slip space.
The four Covenant cruisers watched as the Rogue Fantasy vanished from before their eyes, but this did not deter their aggression. The Covenant smoothly crossed plains in less the amount of time that it took for the Rogue Fantasy to perform the same maneuver. The Covenant's understanding of slip space travel was much more advanced and they managed to predict the course of the Rogue Fantasy.
"Captain four slip space tears dead ahead!" The helmsman stated. "Those bastards jumped ahead of us!"
"ETA till slip space exit?" The captain questioned sharply, with a hint of nervousness in her voice.
"Two minutes, captain!" The navigator replied. The Rogue Fantasy was not a battle cruiser, and taking on four Covenant Capital cruisers was suicide. The mission of the Rogue Fantasy was to spy on Covenant activity after they had glassed a world. In some cases the Covenant landed before the entire surface was blasted, and they began excavations of various ruins across colony worlds. The Rogue Fantasy and its marine, ODST, and Black Ops crew secretly observed these behaviors and documented their findings. Occasionally they were intercepted by ground forces, but the Black Ops held them at bay. This was the first space battle for the tiny ship, and its inexperienced captain.
"Shit!" One of the command crew shouted as he gazed into his scanner. "Multiple Covenant drop ships detected beyond slip space threshold! Those bastards are waiting for us!" Captain Monroe felt a cold lump slam into the back of her throat, and her mind went blank as she gazed at her display. She was afraid of this, she wasn't ready to face space battle, yet one was about to begin, but now she had to repel boarders as well. She reached out to the helmsman and navigator which were sitting only a few feet from her captain's chairs.
She placed her hands on their shoulders and whispered, "Options?"
"Captain?" The helmsman questioned as he tried to deal with the reality of what was happening. His captain was loosing control.
The navigator quickly snapped them both to attention, "Sound general quarters, prepare to repel boarders, load the MAC gun and fire on the lead ship, and then… pray, Captain!"
"All hands, battle stations." Captain Monroe stated into the ship wide com. Her voice was hesitant, but her duty was clear. If she were to die, she would at least die fighting. "I repeat all hands to battle stations. Prepare to repel boarders." She depressed the ship wide com and directed her attention back to the navigator. "Why board us? We're too small of a ship to be a threat or to carry any important personnel. So why risk a boarding party?"
"You're asking me?" The navigator laughed. "The Covenant has some of the worst battle tactics I've ever seen, but they're still winning this war. We're exiting slip space in ten seconds."
"Right." Monroe sat back in her chair and breathed deeply, attempting to calm her rattled nerves. She pressed a channel on her com counsel and stated, "Black Op 04, I want your squad guarding the command deck."
A stiff voice replied on the channel, "04 is dead, Captain. This is 19 and I'm in command of the Black Ops." Captain Monroe sunk in her chair even further, her mind quickly raced as she pondered how many times Kim had saved her life and the life of her crew over the past ten years. She was a brilliant strategist and sharp shooter, and she could crack any covenant transmission or encrypted message without the aid of Smart AI.
"Normal space reached!" The navigator stated. "My God, all four cruisers dead ahead and fifteen boarding crafts in bound."
"19, get your squad up here and defend this deck!" Monroe nervously shouted into the com. "Marines, defend decks two through six. Medical teams stand by to receive injured." She once again sat up and quickly placed a hand on her heart, attempting to regain her composure. "Ares, set the next jump destination and put a MAC round in that lead cruiser. Engineering, how long before we can jump again?"
"Twenty Minutes, sir!" The engine monitor stated. "SFTE is recharging now, and I'm pumping as much power into as I can, but the MAC guns are sapping a lot of power. If we fire a MAC round we'll need an additional ten seconds before we can jump."
"That can't be helped." Monroe snapped. "Those ships will fire on us even while their boarding teams are hitting us."
"Multiple hull breaches along the port and aft of the ship; decks two and six."
"Marines, hull breaches detected on decks two and six, port and aft. Defend engineering and the main landing bay. Intruder alert! I repeat, intruder alert!"
"Melanie, I need you to pull yourself together." Eric stated as he pulled Melanie behind him. She staggered wildly as the Black Ops raced down the hall toward the main elevator. The remaining Black Ops were Roy 02, Melanie 05, Mathew 08, Sammy 13, Justin 14, and Eric 19. They were all that had survived the slaughter on Troy.
"I'm fine." Melanie sighed. She was clearly far from it.
Eric fumed and turned to Roy 02, "Notify the command deck Marines to prep for close quarters combat. I want deck one and two to be our primary hold point, along with engineering on deck six. I want the ODST's stationed there."
"Got it." Roy 02 replied as they all climbed into the elevator and headed to deck two.
The Rogue Fantasy was a small ship, caring a crew compliment of only four hundred able bodies. The addition of the Black Ops only increased its manifest to four hundred twenty. But now, with over two hundred civilians scattered about the ship, the Rogue Fantasy was bursting at the seams. The Rogue Fantasy was designed for stealth, meaning that no fighters were docked on the in the lone landing deck, only a few scorpions, dozens of warthogs, and forty pelicans. The pelican roster was the second largest in the fleet, but because of the Rogue Fantasy's unique missions, pelicans were an asset that the crew could not do without. Whenever a Pelican was disabled it was immediately replaced at the next refit. Luckily, the Rogue Fantasy had just re-supplied and refit at the colony world of Reach when the call from Troy was sent out. The small cruiser had four primary decks, one command deck and an engineering deck; a total of six. But unknown to the captain, Eric and Kim had already set plans to defend the ship years ago.
"Captain, this is 19." Eric stated in his communicator. Standing beside him, Roy 02 was barking orders to the ODST stationed around the ship. Ordering them to gather on deck six and defend engineering. The ODST were a hardcore group and followed the orders of the ONI Black Ops squad without question. They had served under the Black Ops for years, and never had their plans backfired. But this was also the first time a boarding team had breached their ship.
"Go ahead Eric." Monroe stated over the channel.
"Sir, stick to protocol." Eric snapped. "This is a live channel so use call signs only."
"Sorry 19." Monroe nervously replied. Eric could hear the tension in her voice and no matter how long she had been aboard the ship, she was still young and not use to direct combat. As luck would have it, her first officer and navigator were seasoned UNSC officers so Eric knew that she was still in good hands.
"Sir, Black Ops will defend deck two." Eric stated. "Deck one is a pit, they'll need to get past us to get there. We have begun our Lock Down maneuver."
"Lock Down?" Monroe replied.
"Our battle plan to secure the ship in case of borders. 04 and I put it together a few years ago. Permission to take command of all UNSC personnel?"
"Granted." Monroe replied. "The command crew and I will deal with getting us out of this mess."
"Roger that, 19 out." Eric tapped his helmet and adjusted his chest plate. The all black battle armor of the Black Ops was the first version of the ODST battle armor used throughout the UNSC for drop shock troopers, but with slight modifications for stealth. "Attention all Marines, this is Black Op 19. Repel boarders on decks two and six. Form fallback points at the primary elevator. If you're deck is overrun notify me ASAP. ODST, you have your orders." Eric killed the channel as his squad began to pass around ammo and adjust their gear. They arrived on the second deck and heard the roar of assault riffle fire at the end of the corridor. The fight had begun.
Fighting together for fifteen years had its advantages. The Black Ops said very few words when in the field. They relied heavily on hand signals and eye movements. They followed each other without regard for their backs, knowing that the rear man would always watch over them.
Eric gazed at Melanie 05 and sharply dipped his head backward, pointing to the rear of the six man formation. Melanie nodded no, and Eric began to fume. Melanie replied with a head tilt forward, signaling that she wanted point. Eric sighed, shook her off and slapped his head twice. He then repeated his earlier command to take the rear. Melanie understood. She lowered her head, and fell in line at the rear of the formation. Eric's sign for slapping his helmet meant that she was out of line, or a risk. In this situation it meant both.
Eric looked to Roy 02 and Sammy 13, they had the best eyes. He nodded sharply for them to take the point. Sammy peeped around the corner spotting marines defending a set of barricades at the end of the corridor. She turned, looked at Eric, and held up five fingers. She then made a fist and tapped the UNSC patch on the sleeve of her shoulder; five friendly forces under fire.
Eric quickly turned to Justin 14 and pointed to his eyes and waved him forward. He then looked to the group and nodded toward the hall. The Black Ops quickly lowered their posture and sprinted into the hall. They lined up against the hallway walls, two to the left and three to the right, while Justin 14 kept watch over the elevator.
The marines ahead of them were loosing ground as the Elites were pushing hard against the barricade. Plasma grenades detonated around them and one of the marines dropped with an agonizing scream. The Black Ops leveled their rifles to eyesight, and picked their targets. Each of them knew who to aim for because they had done this dozens of times. Their positions indicated who their target was. The point man aimed for the farthest target, and the rear man aimed for the closest. Everyone in between took the next corresponding target. The black ops outnumbered the elites in this instance, which meant that Melanie 05 would hold her fire and pickup anything that was missed.
They quickly pulled up behind the marines, and Roy 02 fired a controlled burst into the rear elite. Its shields sparked and the elite turned around, thinking the shots were coming from behind it. Roy then continued firing, all of his shells striking the back of the elite's head. The shield quickly faded, and two rounds parted the creature skull. The cry of agony startled the other four elites and they turned to see what had happened. As planned the elites were taken by surprise because the rear man had died. To them, they believed it was an attack from behind.
With their backs exposed, Eric and the Black Ops fired on their respected targets without much retaliation. The group quickly dropped to the ground, and the marines breathed a heavy sigh of relief.
"Thank God, sir." One of the marines stated. "We lost our CO during the first raid. We heard your order to fall back to the elevator and we got here as fast as we could. Those grunts were a piece of cake, but those elites pushed us hard. We were twenty men two minutes ago. Our whole squad is gone."
"Stay calm, private." Eric stated to calm the man. "You can cry when this is over."
"19, the shock troopers are having a hell of a time getting through deck five." Roy 02 stated as he monitored the com frequency.
"Take 14, and any marines you can find on the way, and secure that deck." Eric ordered. "Only engage the enemy if they are hindering your path, otherwise get through deck five quickly and lockdown deck six." Roy 02 nodded and sprinted down the hallway to Justin's position. The two men entered the elevator and began their trek to aid the ODST.
Melanie then chimed in, "19, the Doc wants to move the civilians to deck 2. She can't hide them anymore."
"Tell her we need ten minutes to clear deck 2 then we'll call her." Eric stated. "Tell the marines assigned to the civilians to hold down the elevator where they are for as long as they can." Eric quickly turned to the marine trembling at his feet. "How many ships docked on this deck?"
"Uhh,.. " The marine hesitated. "I counted four hull breaches before we pulled out."
Eric mentally did the math; "Four boarding ships, twelve per ship, so forty-eight on this deck." He quickly shouldered his assault rifle and switched to his M90 shotgun. "You four marines, fall back to the elevator. If anything ugly comes, kill it then insult its mother. Black Ops, move out." Eric and his squad sprinted down the corridor. Melanie also gripped a shotgun, fully loaded and ready to unload in the next creature that came too close. The group neared the main bulkhead, which separated the forward and aft section, and came to a stop.
Eric 19 and Sammy 13 paired together and crept along the starboard side of the hall. Sammy would provide distant coverage with her assault rifle while Eric 19 handled those that came to close. Mathew 08 and Melanie 05 did like wise on the port side. The hallway was crawling with covenant activity. Grunts patrolled the edge of the hallways while Elites huddled around computer terminals.
"What the hell are they doing?" Eric thought to himself, but there was no time to dabble. He primed a grenade and judged the distance to the nearest group of elites. Melanie saw Eric's eyes and followed suit. She dipped her shotgun and palmed two frag-grenades. She smiled with a joyful glee as she waited for Eric to toss his single grenade. Eric spotted the perfect candidates, three elites stood near a computer terminal as if they were reading something. He chucked the metal ball of death at the group, and Melanie waited to see where they would land. As the grenade soared she mentally judged where it would hit, how the elites would respond, how far the elites would jump and their possible landing areas. In a split second she calculated all the factors and tossed each grenade at her desired spots.
Eric's grenade landed at the elite's feet and instinctively they reacted. Each one jumped clear just as the grenade detonated, their shield flickered and were drained but held. But soon they found themselves falling toward grenades that had not yet exploded. One of the elites tried to alter his jump, but gravity was against him and he fell directly atop the grenade as it detonated. Fragments of his body scattered in all directions. The other two elites were somewhat lucky as the last grenade was off by a few feet. It exploded and sent the two of them sailing backwards. They impacted the far wall and the two creatures left massive dents in the bulkhead; stunned and dazed.
The grunts broke out into a frantic frenzy as they began shooting and running in all directions. The chaos was excellent cover for Melanie and Eric to do their magic. Eric pumped his shotgun and Melanie followed him in. They ran over the first four grunts in quick succession. The barrel of the M90's quickly heated from the rapid succession of shots. Melanie then took cover behind a wall and reloaded her gun, making sure that all twelve rounds would be ready for her next charge. Eric took cover in an alternate hallway, after verifying that it was clear of hostiles. There were more grunts running around, still clueless to what was happening and Eric knew that they needed to hurry. More elites would be coming.
Further down the hall, Melanie spotted the two dazed elites slowly staggering to get up. They would be deadly if they fully regained their composure. She looked to Eric 19, made a fist, slapped the fist to her chest plate, and fanned her hand toward the two elites. She wanted Eric to cover her as she charged them. Eric nodded her off after counting the number of grunts between her and the elites. There were fifteen grunts plus the two elites, meaning she wouldn't have time to reload. Enraged, Melanie 05 ignored Eric's denial and sprinted from cover. Eric quickly gave chase.
Melanie's enhanced speed and strength propelled her past two grunts before they could turn to see her. One of the odd looking creatures nearly raised its plasma pistol, but it caught the hard stock end of her M90. Purple blood exploded from the top of its head as Melanie delivered the blow. Melanie was now only a few feet from the elites, but surrounded by grunts. She kicked another of the small methane breathers and pushed on until her barrel was nearly two feet from the dazed elites face. The elite gritted its teeth and roared as it forced itself to stand. The metallic explosion of the magnesium pump action round splattered the elites head against the bulkhead wall. Melanie spun to her left, pumping the barrel with another round as she went. The other elite was standing, charging, barring down on her with all of its rage. The shot discharged, but missed.
Sammy 13 and Mathew 08 began shooting the grunts from the distance with their assault rifles, while Eric desperately sprinted to aid Melanie. He fired on a grunt with his shotgun, hitting the creature square in the chest. The small creature wailed in agony as it tumbled backwards.
Melanie quickly stepped back, hopping to give herself some time to reload the chamber. She pulled the pump back and a high pitched metal lock flipped a magnesium 15P shell into the chamber. The pump began to recoil, but it was too slow. Melanie caught the full aggression of the three hundred pound elite's fist in her chest. She flipped backward, her helmet tumbled across the floor, and her grip on the M90 loosened. She rolled over and stood to her feet, dazed but determined.
The elite reached out and slapped the barrel of the shotgun just as it discharged. Melanie dipped her right shoulder and brought the full wait of her body into a solid right hook. The elite stumbled, but it was able to grab Melanie's sleeve and pull her close. He gripped her by the neck and slammed her to the floor. Melanie screamed as the enormous pressure flowed through her chest. She heard a rib crack and she quickly inhaled as fast she could. Her chest expanded and the elite briefly struggled to apply more force. Melanie held it a second before she could no longer resist the elite's force. The elite slammed his fist into her chest again, and Melanie screamed in agony.
Swinging its head to left the elite spotted a plasma rifle and grabbed it. He pointed the gun at Melanie's head but he was quickly tackled by Eric; knocking him off of Melanie's chest. Eric didn't want to wrestle with the insanely strong elite, but if he shot the elite with the shotgun he may have hit Melanie. The elite lost its grip on the plasma rifle and grabbed the barrel of Eric's shotgun. The two struggled to gain control of the weapon. Eric kicked out and the elite lost its grip. Eric rolled the shotgun around and planted the barrel in the elite's chest and fired. The elite was propelled a few inches into the air before its lifeless form fell on top of Eric. Eric pushed the mass off of him and ran to Melanie side.
Melanie cringed on the ground and held her chest as blood sat at the back of throat. She leaned to the side and spat the blood filled mucus onto the deck. She slowly stood as Eric grabbed her from behind.
"What the hell was that?" Eric roared. Sammy 13 and Mathew 08 raced to their side and quickly looked the deck over for more hostiles.
"So far, so good, 19." Sammy 13 added. "We're clear from here to the elevator. If she's injured we should leave her here."
"I'm not staying behind!" Melanie sobbed, struggling to breath.
"We all loved her, Melanie." Sammy 13 whispered; her voice calm and true. "But we all know that this war will cost us loved ones."
Eric looked at Sammy and felt her concern. They had all lost someone close over the past hour. Squad mates and friends had been left behind on Troy, but they new that they had to fight on. Now was not the time to loose focus.
"08 and 13 take point, and check the next corridor." Eric barked. "We don't have time, those civilians are running out of places to hide."
Sammy and Mathew quickly repressed their thoughts and stated, "Sir."
"I'm not going to loose you." Eric softly stated to Melanie. "Gather as much bounty from those dead grunts. You should find a ton of plasma grenades. But then take cover at the bulkhead and hold this zone till the deck is clear. Get me?" Melanie softly smiled at the thought of playing with a lot of plasma grenades; she would most likely have more fun with them then her M90.
"Sir, yes sir." Melanie sighed as she turned to face Eric. Eric began to pull away from Melanie to follow 08 and 13, but Melanie lunged out and hugged him. "I'm not going to loose you either." Eric grinned softly and nodded his head, agreeing to her statement. He then jogged to 08 and 13, giving them quick nods to push on. He then tapped his helmet com and a static burst filled the line.
"02, what's the progress?" Eric stated into the com.
"We broke through and put the hammer down on a few covie bad asses." Roy 02 replied. "I have twenty or more marines in my rank and we are pushing toward deck six now. The shock troopers are holding there own, but they're pinned down. ETA to deck six, about two minutes."
"Keep me posted when you can." Eric added.
"Will do." The static burst ended the call and Eric focused on the task ahead. The group neared another service corridor. Sammy 13 quickly held up her fist and pressed herself closely to the wall. Eric 19 and Mathew 08 quickly took cover while Sammy peeped around the corner. Without looking away from the enemy forces around the corner, she quickly held up two fingers and raised them directly over her head without moving them; two hunters. She then held up five fingers pointing them down; five grunts. She then made a fist and held it tight for a few seconds; she was still looking the area over. Suddenly she held up three fingers and tapped the side of her head; the leaders, or as they were generally called, elites.
"Damn hunters." Eric thought to himself. "Not the smartest, but surely the deadliest." Eric then looked up and spotted a hallway marking: D2 C9. "Deck two, corridor 9?" He smiled to himself. "Those idiots." Eric ran boldly toward the adjoining wall to the corridor and pressed open the access panel. He was easily spotted by the Covenant forces and they all roared in anger.
Sammy suddenly figured it out as well. She fired several shots around the corner to keep the hunters and elites distracted. Two grunts lobbed grenades but they arrived too late. The door to the corridor closed. Eric then keyed in more commands and several doors around the enemy forces closed, trapping them in the corridor. He then opened a long row of doors until they reached the junction to the evacuation gangplank.
"Got'em." Sammy cheered. With a sadistic smile Eric opened the pressure door of the gangplank and depressurized the corridor. The unfortunate group of covenant forces was blown out into space, and the ones that held on simply died as the cold radiation of space killed them. Eric waited longer then needed, and sealed the door. He then pressurized the corridor and walked in. Sammy 13 quickly began to put bullet holes in the elite's heads to make sure they were dead.
A burst of static filled Eric's ear, "19, we just noticed you gave a fail save override sequence to a pressure door. I hope that was a good thing." Captain Monroe stated.
"Yes, Captain." Eric replied. "It was a necessary evil. Deck two is almost clear, and we are now heading to the port side to clear out anymore hostiles."
"Very good, 19." Monroe replied. The channel went silent and Eric switched frequencies.
"05, fall back to the elevator and tell Doctor Smith to start bringing up the civilians." Eric stated to Melanie.
"Roger that." Melanie stated as her lone come back.
"Keep them to the aft until we sound the all clear. 19 out." Eric ended the transmission and they proceeded toward the port side of deck two.
"Sir that ship is still hot to fire!" The helmsman shouted sharply.
"Weapons, fire Archer pods one thru four on our first target!" Captain Monroe shouted. "Helm put us on a direct course for that trailing cruiser!"
"MA'AM?" The helmsman questioned in a shocked tone.
"Just do it!" Monroe sternly added. "Engineering, prepare to jump on my signal. Ares, the moment we get close to that ship put another MAC round in it."
Calmly, the AI replied, "Yes captain." The command crew had been dodging liquid plasma for more then twenty minutes, and there nerves were on edge. The Rogue Fantasy wasn't the fastest ship in the fleet, nor was it the strongest, but it was the most maneuverable. The ship could relatively turn on a dime and accelerate faster then the Covenant torpedoes could change course. But the Rogue Fantasy wasn't designed to take on four ships, only to get away. Its lone MAC gun was fairly insufficient on power, but it could do its fair share of damage.
"This is a huge gamble, captain." One of the command crew stated. "Those Covenant ships can detect our SFTE engine signals. If they are scanning us then they'll know we're going to make a run for it. They'll chase us down and finish us off for sure."
"They can detect our signal, but they can't track us if they're dead." Monroe stated. Her confidence had increased since the battle began, and she had relaxed substantially. Her first space battle was going relatively well, and despite the odds they were all still alive.
"Distance to covenant cruiser, 1000 kilometers." The navigator stated.
"Incoming torpedoes!"
"Steady people!"
"We're going to hit!"
"You heard the Captain, calm down. Engines primed and ready!"
"Ares, fire!"
"MAC round away." The ship rocked backward as the ferric-tungsten round was accelerated from the MAC at the head of the ship.
"Direct hit, the cruisers shields are down."
"Engine recharge in ten seconds."
"Jesus this is going to be close."
"Fire all missile pods, helm bare to four-seven-nine marc two!"
"Slip drive ready!"
"Missiles impacting on Covenant cruiser. Covenant torpedoes are bearing down on our ass!"
"Ares, jump to slip space!"
"Slip space tare forming, and… my god."
"What the hell is that?"
"I can't maintain stability!"
"Slip space is expanding."
"Helm, all ahead full!"
"We've breached the threshold and the slip space integrity field is stable."
"Stability regained. How the hell did we do that?"
"The covenant cruisers are being torn apart. They couldn't get their integrity field stable in time."
"Thank God for physics."
"I can't believe it."
"We did it!"
"We're not out of the woods yet people. We still have boarders." Captain Monroe stated, but she felt more relieved knowing that she didn't have to deal with more Covenant cruisers.
Sammy 13 chased the grunt down and her assault rifle spat its shells into the back of the grunts head. Eric 19 put two M90 rounds into the elite and it dropped in a roar of pain, as Mathew 08 feverishly mowed down a group of grunts at the opposite end of the hallway. When the last bullet was fired Eric swept the bodies in his immediate area.
"Clear." Eric stated to his squad.
Mathew 08 checked the grunts as well, "Clear."
"Clear." Sammy 13 replied. They had done their duty so far, but there were still small enemy targets scattered around the ship, but at least for now they could relax.
"Captain, deck two is clear." Eric stated into the com.
"Good to hear it." Monroe replied. "We've reentered slip space, two more jumps and we can make a course for Sol. So far no one's chasing us. Clean up the rest of the stragglers and report the details." Eric could hear that this battle had given the young captain a new sense of confidence. The fist battle was always the hardest.
"Aye-aye." Eric turned to Sammy and Mathew, and nodded softly. "Take a breath. We got some rats to find before we're done."
Deck two was now secure but deck six was quickly being overrun. The vast majority of enemy forces had boarded at the aft of the ship and they were eager to take down the Rogue Fantasy's engines. Roy 02 and Justin 14 were doing all they could to hold the line of Covenant forces, but there seemed to be no end to their attacks.
"Jesus, they just keep coming!" Shouted an ODST from his corner position.
"Just keep an eye out for grenade flares." Roy 02 shouted over the constant burst of assault riffle fire. The two Black Ops members were at the head of the formation and they were flanked by more then a dozen Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and numerous marines. Behind them was the only entrance into the engineering hold. Roy thought that it was going to be a simple matter defending deck six, because they were able to clear out deck five with little trouble, but now he was having second thoughts. The room leading into the engineering hold spanned the entire width of the ship, and funneled toward the engine hold door. The room was the main maintenance bay, and scattered throughout it were various parts, engine components and storage lockers. It was a maze of junk that provided everyone with plenty of coverage for firing, but it also meant that the Covenant had the same advantage.
"Grenade!" Roy screamed as he spotted a grunt prime a glowing white-blue ball within its claws. The grunt began to draw back to heave the plasma grenade, but Roy laid into it with a full clip. The grunt dropped the grenade as the creature screamed in pain. The plasma grenade landed between two jackals and an elite. The elite jumped clear but the jackals never saw the glow of the grenade until it was too late. The grenade exploded and sent the lifeless jackal bodies flailing across the room.
Roy sighed as he quickly reloaded his rifle; never letting his gaze off of the battle zone. With his sharp reflexes he looked from corner to corner, watching for any sign of grenades or hunters; those massive creatures could easily rush their formation and end the stand. Roy 02 and Justin 14 knew that their position was horrible; defending a lone corridor where the enemy could easily out flank you or overwhelm you with destructive force, but oddly the elites had yet to utilize their superior positions.
"14, we have to prevent them from flanking us." Roy stated to Justin. He was practically shouting so that Justin would hear him over the numerous assault riffle fire from the marines and ODST at his side.
"Options?" Justin 14 questioned. From that moment Roy 02 began to analyze the battle zone. He began to take into account the number of soldiers at his disposal, the layout of the room, the position of the door, and the determination of the Covenant advance. After thinking it over, he realized that they were all as good as dead, but he wasn't going to let that stop him.
He looked to Justin and flashed five fingers twice, waved his left hand toward the left edge of the room, made a fist and quickly pointed to the Covenant forces. Justin understood and realized that Roy's plan was pretty good for a dire situation. Justin 14 quickly turned and tapped five marines and five ODST on the shoulder. They all quickly jumped from their positions and followed Justin to the left edge of the room. A massive engine component made excellent coverage for his small team. Once they arrived at the position they had a clear view of the advancing forces. He looked back toward the door and nodded to Roy. Justin couldn't help but notice that if the elites had moved to this position first, there would have been no cover for him and the group. They would have been fish in a barrel.
Justin returned the nod with a series of hand signals, clearly orchestrating a last ditch effort to regain any form of ground they could get. The Covenant were pushing hard and it was time for the UNSC to push back or die.
Justin 14 agreed to the plan. He then told several to the marines to hold their position and wait for the signal. Justin 14 and the five ODST quickly spotted another cover position along the wall, and one by one they sprinted to the position. A red armored elite spotted one of them and quickly roared to get the attention of the grunts.
Nervously the grunts raced toward the flanking humans, firing their plasma pistols with determination. The elite suddenly realized that the humans had divided their forces and were attempting to out flank their advance. The elite roared in frustration, they were so determined to press into the engine section of the ship that they had not planned out the attack. The humans were placing themselves in an excellent position to counter attack. He was unwise to rush into this battle unprepared. The elite turned and ran from the room, not in cowardice but in strategy. In the hallway where his forces were reading themselves to enter the room, he approached the hulking blue metal of a hunter pair. The bond brothers growled with approval. The elite quickly pointed to the room and the massive hunters hulked through the doors.
Justin took down two grunts and then tossed a grenade near the door the Covenant forces were entering through. The blast killed two elites and two jackals. This immediately got the attention of the other Covenant forces in the room. They turned and were quickly mowed down from the front and side, as Roy's group at the engineering hold door and Justin's group on the side, fired with everything they had.
"Hell, this might work." Roy whispered to himself. He pulled up on his riffle and fired controlled bursts while frag-grenades and gun fire rattled around the room. They had taken the upper hand and things were going well, the elites were in full retreat, or so they thought.
"Damn it." Roy sighed as the massive blue frame of a hunter entered the room. His only concern had been realized. The hunter raised its shield and slowly marched toward Roy's position. The fuel rod gun along its arm began to glow a cold green-blue. "Take cover!" Roy dived clear as the plasma streamed passed him. Two of the shock troopers were not as lucky. Their bodies melted away before they could scream. The second hunter quickly turned on Justin's position, eliminating any hope of shooting the hunters in the back. Justin and his group fired wildly, hoping to get a lucky shot, but with no success. The hunter laughed at the futile effort and powered his cannon.
The command elite sat proudly in his red armor. He had miss judged the humans, but the hunters would put fear back into them. This battle would be settled soon and he would send his second wave to eliminate any of the human stragglers that were left behind. He turned and looked to his squad of elites, jackals, and the lowly grunts. They were all bundled up in the small foyer that lead into the massive room, but for now it would have to do. He wanted to send more troops into the maintenance room, but they would only get in the hunters way. He smirked with confidence and looked to a nearby grunt. The unggoy was nervously peeping into the room, as if it wanted to see what was happening. The elite gripped the grunt by the back of the head and tossed it into the room. The grunt whined and panicked as he slid across the floor. He quickly jumped to his feet and was overwhelmed by the sounds of plasma and human weapon fire. He then ran to an opposite corner and hid.
The red armored elite laughed at the site, grunts were truly worthless creatures. The other elites in his command joined in the chuckle as they continued to wait for the hunter to thin the human numbers. He then heard a soft pinging sound throughout the room and the other elites heard it as well. Suddenly there were more of the sounds. He looked down and saw the small metal ball of a human grenade. Shock quickly consumed him and he turned around. At the unguarded rear door he spotted three humans, tossing grenades into the room. In his determination he also overlooked guarding the rear. He roared and turned, he wanted to escape into the room with the hunters but the first grenade detonated sending him bouncing of the side wall. Another grenade, and another, and another until the room was filled with fragments of what was once thirty Covenant warriors. The grenades were well placed and none survived.
"Clear!" Eric 19 stated as he steeped into the blood soaked foyer. "I can't believe they left their rear open like that. Those elites are usually meticulous with their strategies."
"This entire attack seemed odd, if you ask me." Sammy 13 added. With her assault rifle pressed firmly against her shoulder she stepped clear of the door and entered the maintenance room. "Jesus, hunters!"
"08!" Eric shouted. Mathew sprinted through the room and stood beside Eric and Sammy.
"We take down the closest one first." Eric ordered. Sammy and Mathew agreed. The turned to the right and took aim at the hunters back. "Aim for the glow!" All three assault rifles roared as bullets soared across the room. Their aim was deadly and dozens of the shells splattered the soft body tissue of the hunter. The creature gargled as it stood to its full height of twelve feet, and slammed the top of its head against the maintenance room ceiling. It then slouched and tumbled to the deck. The beast's heavy armor was less guarded on the rear and made killing the hulking creature easy. The second hunter roared with fury and turned to see that its bond brother had been slain. It began to charge at Eric, Sammy and Mathew.
The trio spun on their heels, weapons held high, and fired on the charging mass of metal and flesh. The hunter didn't care about defending itself or using the powerful fuel rod cannon on its arm, it simply wanted the joy of crushing the humans that had slain its bond brother. He raced at an almost incredible speed for a creature so large.
"Come on 02." Eric murmured under his voice. He knew there was no need to run and that their best bet was to keep the creature focused on them. With only ten feet between the trio and the hunter, the creature growled and tumbled forward. It then slid to a stop at Sammy's feet and she sighed with a nervous gasp.
"Cut it any closer, 02?" Sammy snarled. Roy 02 and what was left of his squad lowered their guns and cheered.
"Check on 14." Eric stated as he began to scout the room. Roy assisted Eric in looking for any enemy survivors. Sammy raced to the area where Justin's group was pinned by the plasma cannon of the hunter. She found three bodies, burned beyond recognition.
"No." Sammy snapped. Mathew raced across the room to check on his squad mate as well. Sammy checked the charred remains of each body, taking dog-tags and identifying the bodies. "
"Justin!" Mathew shouted, hoping his squad mate would respond. They had lost so many members of the Black Ops and lived through so many close calls, he couldn't stand the idea of another friend dieing so close to being saved.
"Here." A gargled cry came from the corner. Sammy and Justin pushed aside a mass of metal from some spare parts in the room and found Justin, partially burned but still alive.
"You lucky son of a bitch." Mathew giggled. He dropped his gun and helped push the metal off of Justin. Sammy softly cried, happy that they didn't have any fatalities in this battle. The swirl of emotions began to rise up within her and she could no longer hold back the memories of her brothers and sisters in arms. They had watched three of their own get killed on Troy; 09, 12, and the squad leader Kim 04. But what hurt even more was the thought of those they had left behind, fighting on the surface of Troy with a few thousand civilians. Mathew put his hand on Sammy's shaved head and let her cry. Justin winced in pain as he tried to sit up.
"We left them behind." Sammy murmured. "Nine of our squad mates, we left them on the surface, they were so close but we left them there." Mathew had nothing to say.
The surviving ODST and marines rarely saw the informal side of the Black Ops. Watching 13 cry was painful sight for the hardened warriors because they were accustomed to seeing the Black Ops as their leaders and inspiration. Although saddened by what they were seeing they felt an overall sense of relief, knowing that if the Black Ops could let their guards down then the battle was truly over.
"13, watch over 14." Mathew 08 stated. "I'm going to check on 02 and 19." A quick realization sat in that the medical crews could not be notified until the room was secure. The Black Ops couldn't let their guard down yet. "19, what's your position?" Mathew questioned into his com.
"On the port side of the room, and trying to decide on what to do with our new little friend." Eric replied with a confused tone. Mathew raced to the opposite side and spotted Eric and Roy hovering over a trembling grunt.
"No shoot!" The grunt stated repeatedly. Roy couldn't help but laugh.
"When they're like this, they're just too damn cute to kill." Roy laughed.
"Get some marines to take it to the brig." Eric stated to Roy. "I don't want it harmed. But I have some questions to ask it. 08, contact 05 and tell her to get the medical teams down here now, we've got countless wounded." Eric tapped his helmet communicator and contacted the bridge. "Captain, deck five and engineering are secure. I recommend recalling General Quarters, and sending out search parties to find any other stragglers on board. We also have a captured grunt. I'll interrogate it as soon as possible. Over."
"Understood 19." Captain Monroe stated. "I'll meet you in the brig when you are ready."
"Roger that." Eric stated. He then turned to the ODST huddled together around a few of their fallen brothers and marched toward them. "No time to morn our friends yet, gentlemen. Reload your gear, get some bandages on your boo-boos and start a deck by deck sweep. I doubt we missed anything but better safe then sorry. Questions?"
"No sir!" The men said in unison.
"Good. Move out."
On deck two, Melanie was getting some much needed medical aid.
"You've got a punctured lung, three broken ribs, a broken sternum and a dislocated shoulder." Carolyn Smith stated as she examined Melanie with a portable scanner. "Does it hurt anywhere else, 05?"
"I have a headache." Melanie 05 smiled.
"You have a headache?" Carolyn curiously questioned.
"A big headache." Melanie replied.
Carolyn smiled and added, "I'm glade you haven't lost your spunk, 05." She then turned to one of the male nurses at her side. "Take her to the med bay, and prep her for surgery. I'll be there shortly."
"Under the knife again, doc?" Melanie laughed. "That has to be some form of record for me."
"Four surgery's in a month, yes, you have the record in my book." Carolyn replied as she walked away. "I'm just glad we didn't loose you today." Melanie's laughter was the only thing she could do to keep from thinking about her sister. Kim was gone, and no force in the universe could bring her back.
After a painstaking search of the ship, Eric 19 was finally satisfied that the Covenant forces had been fully neutralized. Along with the Captain and several guards, he asked the grunt several questions but received no real answers. An hour of interrogating the creature was enough and he ventured to the med bay where Melanie 05 was resting after her surgery.
"How's the ship, sir?" Melanie questioned. The soft lights of her room shinning off her freshly washed skinned.
"At ease, Melanie." Eric stated as he sat on a stool beside her bed. "The ship is fine."
"I heard we caught a grunt. Everybody's talking about it. Can we keep it?"
"It's not a pet." Eric laughed.
"Come on, Eric. Imagine it, a five foot talking dog! What girl wouldn't kill for one of those?"
"ONI will decide what to do with it once we reach SOL."
"You know they'll kill him, Eric. As Black Ops squad leader you can pull some strings. How many times have we put our necks out for those dicks back home? ONI, Earth, even Ackerson owes us one."
"Mel." Eric sighed.
"He'd lighten the mood here. Make time go a little faster, and I've heard of other ships picking up grunts and letting them join up with them. They're nice creatures, unless you're on the receiving end of plasma pistol, and then you simple want to punt the little rascal across the ship, but mostly they're harmless. Have you seen how those elites treat them? The poor things are only following orders…"
"I'm disbanding the Black Ops." Eric interrupted.
"… so I'm sure that if we can get the grunts away from the elites they will be fine, and happy. And … and…we can be happy." Melanie leaned back on her bed and gazed at ceiling, as her eyes began to swell with tears.
"I'm sorry." Eric continued. "I don't want to see anyone else I care for get hurt."
"Don't do this." Melanie softly sobbed. "Don't run away from this."
"I was a stupid kid when I joined the core and dragged you all with me." Eric hung his head, shame filled his face. "I thought that I could make a difference, one man could give the Earth some much needed time. I wanted to be a hero. I'm not a Spartan, just a stupid man that brought his friends across the galaxy to get killed in a war we can't win."
"Eric shut up!" Melanie screamed. "If we don't fight we die. We'll all die. Look at what you did today. You lead us to victory after they swept through our ship! You can make a difference."
"Killing an army of soldiers that has unlimited resources isn't going to win the war. We need better technology, better ships, and weapons. Rose was right."
"Rose?" Melanie questioned with a snarl.
"I'm going back to be with her, to make better weapons, better ships and anything else that I think will help us win."
"So that's it then." Melanie mumbled. "My sister died for nothing."
"No, she died because I brought her out here."
"NO! She died because she wanted to fight and protect those she cared for on Earth and all of the inner colonies. What are you scared of? Why are you running away?"
"I don't want to lose you." Eric stated.
"Me? Lose me! You're telling me that you're going to end the Black Ops, run to Earth to be with Rose, all because you don't want to lose me!"
"You're coming with me." Eric added.
"No, I'm not. My sister, my older sister, died fighting. She died doing what she has been trained and surgically altered to do. We've been fighting for fifteen years Eric, there is no way in Hell you are going to make me leave the fight."
"I already contacted a HighCom relay station. They agreed that with six members we are no longer fit to run our operations. When we reach SOL fleet yards for our repairs, everyone will be reassigned to Earth. They think we've done enough in service of the Earth. They'll officially debrief us when we arrive, but I'll put in and make sure we all get promotions and new ranks within the UNSC. I'm going to find Rose and work with her. I hope you'll come join us."
"You asshole." Melanie sobbed. "You stupid jerk. How dare you drag our squad down like this? If Kim were here she'd beat the hell out of you. She loved you and you ruined everything she has devoted her life to over the past fifteen years!"
"Sorry 05." Eric stated formally. "You have your orders. Get some rest, and if you want to talk more, we can later." Eric stood from his seat and walked out of the room. As the door closed behind him all he could hear was Melanie's soft sobs."
Covenant Cruiser: Life and Sacrifice
Slip Space time difference 12 hours:
21:00 October 21, 2552
Slip Space to elite home world; Dorenth
Eric slowly opened his eyes and only the soft purple hue of the Covenant Cruiser was visible. Everything was blurry, but he could tell that he was in a different room. To his own surprise he had survived the encounter with the elite Lieutenant, Gridolee. Everything hurt, but he brushed aside the pain and sat up from the bed.
"Sir!" A medic shockingly stated. "You shouldn't be up yet, you need to rest."
"I've rested long enough." Eric stated as he blindly felt around the table. "Where's my gear?"
"I'll get it for you, Sarge." The medic replied. He then ran to a chair where a covered figure was resting beneath blankets. He violently shook the person's shoulder and proceeded to gather Eric's clothes and gear. The blanket pulled back and Rose stared at Eric with a fuzzy glare.
"What the hell do you think you're doing?" Rose questioned.
"Rose?" Eric replied, rubbing his eyes to aid in his vision returning. "I have a ship to secure and soldiers that need to be briefed." Rose grabbed the medic and motioned for him to drop Eric's gear.
"Melanie is running things just fine." Rose replied as she walked closer to Eric. "The elites are being more then supportive, at least for now. They want to get back at the brutes just as bad as we want to end this war. They don't seem to be concerned with us for the moment, so lay down."
"Not an option." Eric replied. "There is too much that needs to be done."
"I said lay down." Rose pushed Eric back onto the table. His shoulder suddenly erupted in pain and he winced softly. "Melanie is in charge till you are back on your feet."
"I'm fine." Eric stated, but he made no attempts to get up again. Rose sat beside him and held his hand. She looked at him with an awkward gaze and fumbled his hands loosely in her own. The story Melanie had told her was still fresh in her mind, even though she ended it more then six hours ago. She now understood why Eric had changed so much, why he came back to Earth and why he was covered in scars. After fifteen years of fighting, he came back to Earth to be with her and to help her build better weapons, weapons that were still under development when the Covenant attacked, and to save the life of his friends.
"My eyes are getting better." Eric chuckled. "I'm starting to see clearly again." Rose then laid her head on his chest, but never let go of his hand. "You okay?" Eric curiously questioned.
Rose relaxed, closed her eyes and stated. "Eric, you're an idiot."
To be continued…