Chapter 9: Calm Before the Storm

UNSC Outpost 6

"All clear. Nothing out there, sir."

Sam clicked off the radio. The outpost was right where it should be, but the problem was that there was absolutely nothing out there, save for several dozen bodies strewn across the pavement and some smoke rising from smoldering wreckage.

The outpost itself wasn't much to look at, either. It was just a squat, unremarkable concrete bunker sitting atop a stretch of pavement about the size of two football fields. There were a lot of bulletholes and plasma scoring along the walls of the bunker, but the building itself looked fairly intact, which Sam took as a good sign.

A successful Covvie attack normally doesn't leave much behind.

"Not quite as big as they said it was, huh?"

Sam turned to Leo, who was lying right next to her and snorted.

"That's because most of it's underground. Makes for a less obvious target."

"I knew that."
"Sure you did."

Thankfully, before any real argument could break out, the radio crackled to life.

"Wellings! We're moving in to see if there's any survivors! Cover us and keep an eye out for any Covvies!"
"Roger that, sir!"

It was about 50 yards between the treeline and the bunker door. Until the Marines could reach it, that open stretch of pavement could become a shooting range if the Covenant decided to attack. Sam wouldn't let that happen on her watch.

"Leo, keep that sight on their flank. If there's anything moving out there, I want to know about."

"Sure thing."

Sam looked on as ten Marines made a mad dash across the pavement, weaving their way over or between the bodies strewn about, all the while keeping a sharp eye out with weapons raised. Things were just far too quiet for their liking. After what seemed like hours, the last Marine reached the steel blast doors protecting the bunker entrance, and the radio buzzed to life again.

"Okay Wellings, your turn. Make a dash across. We'll cover you."

Sam tried to hide a look of disgust on her face, but Leo quickly caught it.

"Scared?"
"Not a chance."

But Sam DID feel a little uneasy. As a sniper, running around in the open was just inviting yourself to get shot, and Sam felt very uncomfortable doing that. Second the gilly suit she was wearing was fairly bulky and not made for sprinting. The heavy garment would impede her movement enough that she wouldn't be able to cover the distance quite as fast.

"Come on lets get this over with."

She and Leo scanned the area for any possible threats. Once they thought it was clear, they picked up their gear and ran across the pavement.

Sam was always on edge whenever she had to something like this. There was always the uncertainty, the what ifs. It wouldn't take much for a plasma bolt to come flying in from out of nowhere and sending her flying across the pavement...

Fortunately, she and Leo managed to reach the door without much difficulty. Paccone checked around to make sure every Marine was there. He nodded to another Marine, who quickly punched in the door code on a keypad. Motors whined and gears clanked as the door slowly pulled itself open. The squad of Marines were rewarded for their efforts with nearly two dozen assault rifles pointed right at them.

Paccone quickly raised his hands and yelled.

"Hey! We're friendlies!"

At once, the other Marines realized their mistake and lowered their weapons. One of them stepped up and shook Paccone's hand.

"My God, you're a sight for sore eyes! We thought rescue would never come!"

Paccone let go of the Marine's hand and scanned his IFF frequency. His HUD immediately brought up the Marine's name, rank, unit, and a brief CSV.
"Captain Lupton, you mind taking us to whoever's in charge?"

The captain stared nervously around the other Marines.

"Er, I'm sorry to say this, but as of twelve hours ago, I became the de facto commander of this facility."

"Just what the hell happened here?"

"The Covvies attacked us from out of nowhere. Most of our garrison was caught out in the open and they were massacred. Those of us that were left fell back into the bunker and held out over there. We repelled the Covenant forces and successfully held the bunker. We've been fighting off numerous raids ever since. The last one was about two hours ago."
"I see. Briefing said that there were a hundred fifty Marines in the garrison. How many do you have left?"
"About thirty Marines. Twelve of them are wounded, six so bad that we had to keep them in the infirmary. We've got a fair amount of weapons and armor, but we're running low on ammo and our radio is busted. We thought that nobody was going to come."

"Well, I've got good news. Command is sending over Pelicans and we're getting extracted out of this hellhole!"

The rest of the Marines cheered at the news. Some threw their helmets into the air and others fired their rifles wildly into the ceiling.

"But we've also got another objective. Command wants us to copy all of the outpost's computer files and then destroy any trace of the original documents so the Covvies don't get their hands on them."

"Sure thing. The main computer is on sub-level four. I'll show you where it is."
"Good."

Paccone then turned around and started barking orders.

"Okay! Marines! I want you to spread out and take up defensive positions! We've only got a few hours till we get out of here, and I don't want any Covvies spoiling that chance! Wellings! Carter! I want both of you on the roof of the bunker and keep watch! You're also on radio duty!"
"Yes sir!"

A mile from the Alien Structure

Karla Wellings kept a close eye out for any suspicious movement. Patrol duty was always a nerve-wracking experience, because you never knew where the enemy was or where they would strike. The only thing that you could hope for was that the enemy would have the same problems. Her Warthog slowly rattled across the worn dirt road. So far, things were extremely quiet, and Wellings hated it just as much as actual battle. In the calm before the storm, it was always very easy to slack off and let your guard down, and that was always the moment when the enemy decided to strike.

All of a sudden, Wellings brought her Warthog to a halt, forcing the rest of them behind her to stop as well. The lieutenant brought a hand to her ear and listened carefully. Beneath the rustling leaves and roaring engines, she could make out the distinct hum of Covenant plasma drives.

"We've got Covvies out there. Williams, Ryan, form up and follow me."

The three Warthogs quickly gunned their engines and barged their way though the brush, only to reach a small cliff. Wellings looked down and saw a gigantic Covenant force using an old logging trail and heading west.

"Williams, what's down there?"

The Marine quickly ran through a map of the region.

"Uhh, all that's down that road is UNSC Outpost 6. Didn't we pass that place during one of our patrols?"

"Damnit. Contact the rest of the platoon, tell them that we have to cut them off before they can get any farther. Ryan, radio Command and tell them what's going on."

"Uhh, ma'am, Command says there's no outpost up there!"

Wellings turned and stared at Ryan incredulously.

"WHAT?!"
"That's what they said, ma'am! Said that ONI decommissioned that site nearly a decade ago. There isn't supposed to be anybody at that outpost anymore!"

"That's impossible. We were there a week ago. They had a good hundred fifty Marines guarding that place!"

"But ma'am, Command says to disregard the outpost and return to the-"

"Screw Command and screw ONI! There are people down there and if they don't get any help, they'll be annihilated! UNSC or not they're still human! We go down there and we help them out!"
"Yes ma'am!"

Unknown

Chaos laughed. He had never imagined he would find such powerful creatures at his command. They were more powerful than he had imagined, and were far more formidable than the normal Flood drones. Plus, they were more infectious than even the drones could ever hope to be, spreading their influence upon all those they face.

Soon, this pathetic planet will be the first to fall, and then vengeance shall be mine!