Chapter 17: Your Problems Begin AFTER You Land

Outskirts of Robles

Sam and Paccone both dashed to where the Pelican was, with the dogs quite literally snapping at their heels. Sam quickly turned and took some shots at the beasts, but all it did was slow them down a little and make them angrier.

Paccone, meanwhile, was still making a dash for the Pelican's door. He stopped long enough to yank Sam by the collar and toss her into the Pelican before jumping in and slamming the door shut. The pilot turned from his seat to see what all the commotion was about.

"What the hell are you guys doing back there?"

At that moment, one of the dogs, which was partly disemboweled from Sam's gunfire, leapt onto the Pelican's windshield. The dog slammed into the transparent barrier with a loud, meaty THUMP, and then slid off, leaving intestines and blood smeared all over the windshield. The pilot's eyes opened in fright.

"Holy SHIT!"

In record time, the Pelican shot up into the sky like a cork and blasted away at full speed. Most of the Marines, unprepared for such a sudden liftoff, were thrown off their feet and pressed against the floor of the Pelican due to the high-G maneuver. It took several more minutes until the pilot finally calmed down.

"Okay, just what in the fuck where those?!"

Paccone, scrambling to his feet, grumbled.

"Hell if I know. Get on line with the other squads, and warn them about these things?"

"What the hell should I say? Rabid, disemboweled dogs are attacking?"

"Just give me that-"

Paccone snatched the radio mike from the pilot's hand and turned it on. He switched to the global UNSC frequency and attempted to hail any other UNSC forces in the vicinity.

"This is Sergeant Paccone of second squad. All other units, report your status, over."

No answer.

"This is Sergeant Paccone of second squad. If there are any UNSC units out there, please respond now."

No answer.

Paccone turned to the pilot.

"You sure this thing is working?"

"Yes sir. The thing is running fine. Maybe the signal isn't reaching them. The mountains and trees get pretty high and thick in these parts."

"Right. Then in that case, get to the nearest squad's rally point. We'll try to hook up with them that way-"

Suddenly, a warning klaxon blared and lights began flashing throughout the cockpit. The pilot frantically started reaching around the controls to find the problem.

Mackhall Airbase

"Captain Wellings"

Karla turned from her conversation with Holy to see Major Mackenzie standing behind them, with a very grim look on his face.

"Don't tell me-"

"I'm sorry to do this to you, Karla, but we're sending you out again."

"Don't you guys have any other units that can do the job?"

"I'm sorry Karla, it's out of my hands. You know how these things work."

Karla took a deep breath and tried to relax, but she still kept a steady eye on Mackenzie.

"Right. What do they want me to do this time?"

"Just a few hours ago, we received intelligence reports of Covenant reinforcements touching down."

"That's bad, right?"

"Very. The brass obviously wasn't expecting a revitalized Covenant offensive, and they were in the middle of shifting units around. None of them are in position to combat this new force, and the Covenant position places them very close to an ONI installation codenamed Omega."

"I don't recall ONI having any installations on this planet."

Mackenzie leaned over, lowered his voice, and looked around as if someone might've been watching.

"They don't really advertise it, but ONI has dozens of these little facilities scattered around the planet. But you didn't hear that from me."

Karla nodded as Mackenzie straightened up.

"What sort of opposition am I facing?"

"About two thousand ground troops. Assorted."

"Against about two hundred Marines. "

"Actually, you'll have to make that about fifty. The installation is inaccessible to ground vehicles, and we've only got enough Pelicans to take a platoon. Nothing more."

"So you just want me take down an entire Covenant army with just a platoon? I thought this was going to be a challenge."

Mackenzie let amusement spread across his face.

"Now that's the Karla I taught and raised. Oh yes, and you're going to have to choose which platoon to take with you."

Karla couldn't help but smile.

"I've already got one in mind, sir."

Pelican

"What's wrong?"

The pilot pressed several more buttons, and brought up a diagnostic program on his screen. The text and symbols on it may have very well been written in Byzantine to Paccone, but the pilot was able to read it like a kindergarten book.

"Shit. We've got a fuel pump failure in one of the engines."

As if on cue, one of the engines started to sputter, like a dying old man coughing his last breath. The Marines started to get nervous. There were many stories about spectacular mechanical failures on the part of the Pelicans, and the often gruesome results that followed.

"Can we still stay in the air?"

The pilot looked at Paccone as if he just said that pigs could fly.

"On one engine? No way in hell. The good engine will get overstressed trying to compensate for the failed one, and then we'd end up with no engines rather than just one."

Paccone kept steady, thinking through their options.

"How far?"

"Well, if the engine-"

"How far?"

This time, Paccone's voice was a growl, with a hint of hostility in it.

"I don't know, twenty, thirty miles at most."

"Can you get us to Robles?"

"I can try, but the landing isn't going to be pretty."

"As they say in the Helljumpers..."

Paccone looked out the Pelican's cockpit, still as grim as ever.

"All your problems begin after you land."