The battle for Jogrennilee
The Knight and Piercing Arrow exited slip space, tearing through the fabric of time and gravity. The distortion of transferring from one plane of existence to another quickly faded, and the ship was once again whole. In the distance sat a large planetoid with a ring filled with dust and collected particles; it was a beautiful display. The large red planet was uninhabitable, but its massive size created an unusual gravity field throughout the system, and the ship's crew quickly began to adjust the ship's flight setting accordingly.
"Captain, settings have been adjusted to the gravity of the red giant." The navigator explained. "We can now enter the system. ETA to Dorenth is one hour."
"Good. Helm, proceed at best possible speed." The helm officer nodded and the Knight and Piercing Arrow sped through the system.
"Sergeant Palab." The captain stated over the com. Palab didn't reply immediately, he merely sighed and casually pressed the com button on the wall.
"Yes… Captain?" Palab questioned with a heavy head. He didn't want to talk to the captain at that moment. His dreams were still calling to him, his dreams of all his fallen kin in the war. He finally had the moment to think of them, but the demands of the Elites once again prevented him from mourning.
"I thought you and your Grunts would like to know that we are on final approach to elite space." The captain stated through the com. "We can not stop now, but if you fathom to gaze upon the giant red world, you will see your home."
"Thank you, captain." Palab replied. Palab pressed a series of buttons on the holo-panel near the door and a large screen appeared. He then switched the camera angle and a massive hologram of the red giant appeared. Its moons began to expand on the screens but soon one moon began to come into focus as the ship came closer and closer. Soon the red giant could no longer be seen in its entirety, it only appeared as a background. But the moons exploded into view, and one green moon sat in the center; home. The mumbling behind Palab was slowly escalating into a roar of barks and howls. The grunts were filled with joy unlike anything they had ever felt. It was an exciting day for them and mixed emotions filled their grunt speak.
"You did it, Palab!" Etah barked loudly over the cheers erupting from the mass of grunts staring at the screen. "You brought us home!" Cheers carried throughout the crowd and some of the older grunts even became emotional; sobbing at the image of the home they had never seen but dreamed of every night. They knew that they wouldn't stop at their home planet, but for them to even see it, to be this close to it was worth the excitement. But something caught Palab's ear, and it grew louder and louder with every second; it was the captain's voice. Palab walked out of the room, leaving the grunts to celebrate and once the door closed behind him he could no longer hear the grunts cheers.
Palab walked to a nearby communications terminal and pressed the Bridge channel; "Sergeant Palab reporting."
"Finally. I need you on the command deck. There is something… not right."
"I'm coming." Palab closed the channel and walked back into the room with his grunts. He pulled Etah to the side and softly spoke. "I'll be back. They need me on the command deck."
"I'll come with you." But Palab shook his head in protest. "But you know what happened last time. They don't like us, if anything happens to you…"
"Don't worry Etah, I'll be fine. Besides, with only one arm, what can you do to help if trouble starts?" Palab laughed. "No, you stay here. I'm leaving you in command until I get back." Palab turned and left his happy grunts. Etah watched as the door closed behind his younger brother and he couldn't escape the feeling that something wasn't right.
- - - - - - - -
The door opened and Palab strutted on board the command deck. He quietly waited at the door but no one seemed to acknowledge his presence, he wasn't surprised by that but what did surprise him was the amount of tension the elites seemed to be under. As he crossed the threshold of the command deck doors, Balmaeda spotted him and trotted to his side.
"Balmaeda, what wrong?" Palab asked as the elite approached.
"There is no contact from your home world."
"Elites have bases on grunt world?" Palab questioned. He wasn't surprised about it but still he wanted to know everything.
"Yes sir. Your world is one of our training stations for the young to prove themselves before being enlisted into the ranks of warriors. It is here that our young Watchmen journey too after they have completed their trials. But we have not been able to contact anyone. The station here is a relay point to our home world. By contacting them, they will inform Dorenth of our approach."
"…I repeat. To all elite stations, this is the Knight and Piercing Arrow, under leadership and guidance of the Arbiter." The com officer shook his head and sighed heavily. "Captain, there's nothing. Not even a transmission echo. It's as if everyone left."
"Did the brutes attack?"
"No signs of space battles, captain. The space stations appear to be intact, and no battle markings are visible."
The captain pondered what course of action to take. If they approached Dorenth without clearance then the stations in orbit of the Grunt World would surely turn on them and fire. But if the stations were empty, then the path would be clear.
"Your orders, captain?" The helmsman questioned.
The captain sighed. "Raise shields but power down weapons. If those stations do turn on us, we have little chance of fighting back." The Knight and Piercing Arrow exited the gravity well of the massive red world, leaving the grunt planet behind.
"No response from the battle stations, captain." The com officer replied. "As we thought, they're empty."
"We should still be in range to remotely access the stations systems." Timnaldee nodded toward his system operator.
"Coming online now captain. Your orders?"
"Find out how long these stations havebeen abandoned."
"The last ship left orbit nearly fiver hours ago. Carrying a full compliment of elites, hunters and…" The system operator paused; confused at what he was reading. "Sir, they've taken all the grunts."
"What do you mean?" The captain questioned.
"I was not sure at first, but I cross referenced with the type of ships that have landed here, and at other stations around the planet. There have been over two billion grunt entries into the database in the past few hours. The system is still trying to catch up. Hundreds of ships have landed in the past few hours and loaded beyond compliment; filled with grunts."
"Elites take grunts from our home to fight their war." Palab mumbled from the back of the command deck. The captain quickly turned and spotted the little grunt standing near the door. He had almost forgotten that he had called him to the command deck.
"I know this troubles you, Sergeant, but you must understand…" The captain began to state, but Palab quickly cut across his words.
"Me not troubled. Me know what means to be grunt. Elites not ask for allegiance of home grunts, these grunts go where told to go, they not know things change." Palab lowered his head but quickly looked to the captain. "You orders?"
The captain could only look to Palab, but he then stated, "We will arrive in our home world in one hour. Prepare your troops for anything that may occur. The brute are attacking our home, and we will arrive in the heat of combat."
"Yes Captain." Palab quickly raced off the bridge and contacted his grunts via the ship com systems.
The Knight and Piercing Arrow accelerated away from the Grunt world, leaving it behind. Palab knew that one day he would bring the grunts back to their methane rich world, and they would return to their normal way of life.
- - - - - - - - -
"We should go." The female voice stated from behind the shielded mask of her MJOLNIR Mark V body armor. The tiny ship shifted from the dark corner of the space station and slowly arced away. "That was a big ship. Glad they didn't see us."
"I think that carrier has more to be concerned with then one tiny ship." A middle aged woman stated as she tied up her long silver-streaked hair. She shifted her glasses back onto her face and looked over the covenant data that the Spartan had just retrieved. "It was fortunate that the elites and grunts left when they did, I was assuming they would have left a long time ago. But I guess I over estimated the elites trust in the Prophets."
"Getting the data was easy enough, but had I been a few minutes longer, they might have sensed the activity on the station." The female Spartan added. "Luckily, they didn't even take the time to run a scan."
"They wouldn't have detected us anyway." The older women replied. "I marked us with a Covenant band a long time ago. Besides, I don't think the elites are truly aware of what they have stumbled upon. The prophets on the other hand, they know everything."
"But why did we come to the grunts home world? We didn't even go tothe surface."
"The forerunners left something, something unique to each species they left behind." The woman opened a canister and poured a brown mixture into a small cup. She then pulled out a thermos from a nearby storage locker. Steam rose off of the hot water as she added it to the brown grains. She then began to mumble to herself; "The prophets built that space station in orbit so that they didn't need to deal with the Methane world below… The grunt's wail… that battle cry they do. That might be their key."
The Spartan watched as the doctor mixed the water and grains. "You know, you've had too much caffeine in the past few days, Doctor. You haven't had proper nutrition in nearly a week, and that isn't good for someone of your age."
Doctor Halsey ignored the Spartan's concern, "The grunts, the elites, the jackals, the brutes, those drones, which I have yet to see, and we humans, all share something unique and each has a key to the puzzle." The elderly doctor stated. She took another sip of her coffee and then rubbed her head. The taste was horrible and the coffee grains were annoying her, but she ran out of filters days ago. She was seriously debating on venturing to UNSC space just to get some fresh coffee filters, but there was no time for that. The last transmission she intercepted stated that Earth was under full assault.
"What about the hunters?" The Spartan questioned, knowing that the Doctor would answer such a direct question.
"The Hunters are immune, meaning they weren't a factor when the Forerunners began their research. Kelly, power up the engines, set slip space coordinates for the next world on the chart. The prophets have data stored there as well. After that, we should be able to solve this puzzle, just as the prophets did."
Kelly took off her helmet, because she had become accustomed to not wearing it around Doctor Halsey, and sat it to the side. They had been traveling for nearly a month and had done several random trips to covenant worlds. Luckily, the war had distracted the Covenant and they left several outposts undermanned, making it easy for a Spartan to break in, get data, and get out; virtually unnoticed.
Kelly looked at Doctor Halsey and stated, "Ma'am, when are you going to tell me what all this is for, why are we out here?" Kelly typed in the preset coordinates and the slip space drive came alive. The engines began to hum and Doctor Halsey looked at Kelly with a soft smile.
"Like I told you; we're going to save us all." The tiny ship darted into a slip space tare and vanished from site.
- - - - - - - -
Dorenth
Elite Capital City of Jogrennilee
Two days had passed since the assault began, and the battle still raged over head. The Elite home world was a brilliance of fire and destruction, but that didn't stop the bombardments from orbit. Some of the Covenant capital ships had slipped passed the elite's defensive battle group in orbit. Then made there way from city to city; the brutes destroyed anything in view with their ship-side plasma cannons. The city defense systems were able to hold the some of the brute ships off, but patience and determination eventually gave the brutes the advantage, and not even the massive ground based plasma cannons could hold off the Capital ship's onslaught from above. The same scene took place all across the elite home world, as city after city fell to the brutes advance.
In the Capital City of Jogrennilee, the elites were able to form a stronghold. They had assembled most of the ground forces into the city. The grunts that had been transported from their home world were quickly dispersed across the world, but Jogrennilee was where the largest segment was deployed.
Deep within Jogrennilee stood several crumbling towers, the result of an early Capital Ship barrage, and the entrance to an underground tram system that connected all the cities to the Elite Inner Sanctum. This system of tram tunnels connected all around the world. At this entrance the elites held one of their last outposts for connecting to the outside world. The surviving High Council members, the Mirratord warriors, hundreds of hunter pairs and thousands of grunts patrolled the region. Numerous phantoms patrolled the sky as well as hundreds of plasma cannons along the ground. The elites had been pushed back, and they could not retreat any further without jeopardizing the safety of the civilians within the Inner Sanctum.
Elder Vornaldea patrolled the tram deck and waited for word from the strike teams that had been deployed to other cities. His arms folded across his chest and his robe trailed behind him as he paced back and forth. He had taken a large risk ordering the orbital defense ships to not pursue the Covenant ships that had broken through, but the main thing his elites had to do was hold the orbital defensive grid; he would let his ground forces worry about the few ships that got through.
An elite wearing yellow armor approached. "Elder. We just received word from the Balamenan City Tram system. Our strike team loaded up the last few civilians into the tram and they were sent to the Inner Sanctum. The tunnel was destroyed and collapsed behind them. The troops are pulling out and are heading back here."
"Excellent, Captain. That confirms all eleven Tram Terminals, excluding those the brutes destroyed for us. This is now the only clear path to the Inner Sanctum."
"Elder if I may have a word with you." The Captain stated with respect. "But is this wise? The Brutes are aware that we are gathering our troops here, and if they break through our orbital battle defenses…"
"Then we will be wiped out. But our tram tunnel will also be destroyed and our families will be safe. There are enough supplies for the elite race to thrive for decades; undisturbed within the Inner Sanctum." Vornaldea knew that he had signed their death warrant within the city, but if it meant that the women and children would survive, then it would be worth it. But he knew the brutes better then that. The prophets may have wanted an easy victory, but the brutes would not be happy unless they got their hands bloody. He knew they would not want to bombard the last elite city from orbit. No, they would come, and they would want to face the elites in battle. "But do not threat, Captain. We have amassed a rather large array of ground based plasma cannons. It would take a dozen ships to break through our arsenal." Soon a nearby grunt ran toward the councilor as if to test his theory.
"Orbital defense failing!" The grunt screamed. "Brutes getting through, they come here!" The grunt was hysterical with fear; flailing his arms and painting heavily. "Two hundred ships come here, elder!" For all his panicking ways, Vornaldea understood his crazed disposition. Even with the full assault of hunters, grunts and his brothers, this was a battle for survival. The brutes were coming to exterminate them, and they wanted to get through to the Inner Sanctum. There would be no hope for the women, the young and the frail. The brutes needed to be stopped. Vornaldea looked around and noticed the concern on all the faces of the elites around him. They were a mixed group of Rangers, Captains, Mirratord, and councilors; his command team.
"Maintain discipline, all of you." Vornaldea stated. "We can not fret before the battle has begun. Begin positioning battalions along the cities edge; ten hunters per battalion. The rest of the troops will be dispersed throughout the city. Position the Tram 2 kilometers into the tunnel and prime the charges… as a last resort we'll blow the tunnel ourselves. Charge all cannons and fire at will; let the beasts know that we will not go down without a fight." His command team divided and headed to their posts, leaving only the Mirratord, the Council and hundreds of grunts at the Tram Station.
Vornaldea looked to the sky as the sun began to set. He, as well as every elite in the City of Jogrennilee, knew that this was their last stand. No matter what, the brutes would not pass this position. He would sooner die then let that happen.
"Grunt, get on the communications array, radio for any surviving troops across the world to rally at Jogrennilee." Vornaldea stated slowly, but sternly, to the grunt. "If the Brutes are coming, then they will face us all."
"Yes, elder." The grunt waddled to the com and began sending transmissions across the world, but questions kept crossing his mind. "We are not outnumbered, but the elites seem worried. Why? There are millions of us grunts left since the first days of battle, and soon all will be coming to this city. We will outnumber the brutes by ten-fold, but the elites seem to think this is the end. Even the hunters seem confident."
"Have you sent the transmission?" Vornaldea questioned. He hovered over the Grunt and hung his head low.
"Yes, elder." The grunt replied, snapping out of his deep thought. He then looked to Vornaldea and noticed that the elder elite carried the face of a beaten enemy. "Why worried? Brutes outnumbered, we have many troops."
"Don't speak to me of what you don't understand, grunt." The grunt quickly became nervous, and trembled at the elder's aggressive tone. "We have the numbers, but we lack the power. The hunters will be helpful, but I'm sure the Brutes will simply bombard the outer areas of the city, too ensure that the tram is unharmed. They want our blood and will do whatever is necessary to kill us all."
"Bu... bu… but what about grunts? We fight in large numbers." The grunt added from his cowering position. Vornaldea simply smirked, an almost chuckle escaped through his mandibles, and he walked away.
One by one the Covenant ships descended into orbit as they demolished the elite battle ships that were defending the city. They began to take position around the Capital city and were fired upon by the city plasma cannon defenses. Two hundred brute ships began surrounding the city's perimeter and returned fire at the outer rim of the City. Buildings crumbled from the force of the Capital Ships fire power, and some of the Capital ships also shot down by the ground based plasma cannons. With every capital ship that exploded, a roar of approval bellowed from the Elite warriors within the City. But soon the covenant ships were below the trajectory range of the plasma cannons, and the cannons stopped firing. The ground battle was about to begin, but the elites suffered massive losses during the initial barrage.
Of the two hundred ships the surrounded the city, one hundred and ninety remained. The brutes attacked without delay. As soon as their ships were low enough to activate their gravity lifts, they quickly deployed hundreds of wraiths, ghosts, and specters. Drones darted into the twilight sky; like a swarm descending onto their prey. The front line of elites ordered their troops into position as the brute and jackall attack formations sped across the massive fields surrounding the city. Suddenly hundreds of plasma charges arced overhead toward the incoming brutes. The explosions were massive but not enough to deter the enraged aggressors. They returned fire.
Balls of plasma arced back and forth across the twilight sky as the drones soared high overhead. They soon descended into the front line of the elites and the blood brawl began. The covenant forces ceased fire and increased the pace toward the rim of the city. The first wave of brutes broke into the city with pure rage driven fury as they slammed themselves into the elites and hunters. Grunts were trampled as they tossed grenades into the mass of brutes and jackals. The specters and ghosts were met hard by waves of elite phantoms that seemed to dart the sky like birds. But wave after wave of brutes seemed to overwhelm the elite forces; and before long, the outer rim of the city had fallen, and the elites were retreating to their secondary positions.
"Battle not go well." The communications grunt grumbled. "First wave of brutes breaking through, troops falling back to secondary lines. Scout reports brute phantoms launching from capital ships."
Vornaldea smirked at this news. "So, they are sending in reinforcements before they have established a solid footfall. Good. They will not expect the hunters in such large numbers. The hunters will slow them down." Vornaldea exhaled heavily knowing that this was a good sign. The Brutes were cluttered together and attacking in masses, which make easy pickings for the hunters massive beam cannons. Vornaldea stepped to the edge of the Tram platform and peered over the railing as the Tram began so quickly speed into the tunnel. If the City were to fall to the brutes then the tram tunnel would be sealed by his hands. He looked closely at the explosive's detonator which was sitting on the table at his side. It was primed and ready to fire. The detonator button had no protection and was extremely delicate; a strung gust of wind at the right angle would be enough to trip it. No matter the price, none of the brutes could be allowed within the tunnel, or near the Inner Sanctum.
- - - - - - - -
In one section of the city, on the front line, the elite commander rallied his army of grunts and took shelter within the corridors and streets of the buildings that scattered the inner city. They had been pushed back too far. Their perimeter defenses were crushed by the brute's aggression, but the elites had one last trump card. The hunters stomped down the streets toward their assigned positions and each gurgled with anticipation. Hundreds of the massive creatures then dived into groups of ten and each walked toward their battalion. The battle was soon upon them, they could feel the intensity of the elites and the fear of the grunts. Nighttime had come and darkness consumed the region as the hunters marched forward. They stepped around, over and on some of the wounded grunts without remorse. They then created a barrier between the elites and the advancing brutes. Plasma fire began erupting from the dark alleyways and bounced off the hunters' armor and shields. All ten of them locked their shields together and made a massive wall of metal. The shields quickly became super heated from the plasma fire but the hunters showed no concern for the siring heat. They held their ground and chuckled at the brutes futile attempts.
"Grunts, fall back behind the Hunters." An elite commander screamed. "Hunters, fire at will!" The hunters roared an approval and raised their cannons. The eerie green glow consumed the dark alley and concentrated radiation flowed in a massive drove. Brutes roared in agony and jackals shrieked in fear. The elites could hear the confusion within the brute's ranks and several brutes screamed as they retreated. But there was nowhere to hide from the hunters' tenacious outpour of radiation. It tore through the walls of buildings and shattered glass. Smaller buildings imploded upon themselves from the heat, crushing dozens of brutes in its wake. For now, the tide had been turned in favor of the elites, and the same display of overwhelming power repeated itself all across the city.
The brutes wanted to pulverize the elites, beat them with their own hands, and simply out muscle them, but the elites proved to more resourceful. The brutes and jackals had been baited into charging blindly into the battle, and they paid dearly for it. The Covenant ground troops numbers had been cut drastically by the hunters on the second line of defense, and an all out retreat had been called. The brutes maintained control of the outer rim of the city, and held their ground.
The Covenant soon realized that Jogrennilee would not be taken by force; the elites had a strong foothold. The hunters were a problem that needed to be dealt with if the elites were going to be defeated. The Brutes needed another strategy and it came in the form of jackal scouts.
The brutes held their position throughout the night, and for the first time in two days, the elites on the second line of defense were able to relax. The grunts huddled together by the dozens and seemed content with sleeping regardless of what was going on around them. Rogue plasma bursts would catch their attention, but the elites and Hunters quickly dealt with any of the brute stragglers that got lost in the night.
It had become expected that a brute scout would wonder into the elite camps, confused and lost because of the city layout, and was quickly killed by either the captain or commanding officers in the camps. It was strange to see a brute suddenly turn a corner and roar with shock, but the grunts quickly adapted to the occasional happenings. They weren't concerned any more. To the grunts the battle was over and all they had to do was wait it out. Perhaps they would even be able to go back home. A nice thought, but highly unlikely. The elite home world was in ruin, and the grunts knew that if they survived the war, they would quickly be used to aid in rebuilding the elites' one time beautiful world.
The sun crept above the city skyline, warming the streets and signaling the start of a new day. The grunts ignored it, and continued their sleep and prayers for their fallen comrades. The hunters stretched and arched their backs, chattering amongst their pairs, while the elites patrolled the camps; always vigilant and ready for the next battle. But they had no way to prepare for what was to come.
A loud roar filled the camp and echoed off the building walls, fallowed by another, and another. The hunters were dropping to the ground quicker then their partners could scream in rage. Their massive frames tumbled to the ground lifelessly and thudded loudly. The grunts were startled by the loud thumping and when they saw the lifeless corpses of the hunters they quickly panicked. Hundreds of grunts began running in all directions, screeching and crying in terror. The elites couldn't calm them down, and gave up trying; they needed to find out what was happening.
"Enemies! You see?" A lone grunt pointed to the top of a building and tossed a grenade. The plasma grenade flared across the camp and landed near the top of a two story building. The sudden explosion then revealed the culprit. The elites roared in anger as they soon looked to the rooftops. Jackals, dozens of them littered the rooftops.
Throughout the Covenant the jackals were not considered great marksmen, but their patience and vision proved a powerful asset when the Covenant Particle Beam Rifle was finalized. The jackals were uncanny with the weapon, and could wait for hours for before they would take a shot. This battle had once again fallen into the hands of the brutes. Thousands of jackals had been deployed into the city and overnight they had dashed across the rooftops to take position over the elite camps. The sun was their signal to begin and their targets were the hunters and then the grunts; the brutes wanted the elites for themselves.
A few hunters were able to pull back but a large majority fell during the initial volley of sniper fire. The jackals were everywhere; in front and behind. The hunters couldn't defend their unguarded areas unless they backed into a wall. The concentrated beam of energy bounced off of the hunter's armor from all directions, and one by one a lucky shot would get through, killing the massive creature. There was no cover from this strategy, but only to retreat. But that was not an option because too much ground had already been lost. The elites tried to rally the grunts as best they could, if only for a distraction and to buy some time to give the hunters instructions, but all was lost. Slowly, the last of the hunters fell.
The brutes once again stormed the streets, firing their brute shots and tossing grenades into the elite camps. The jackals turned their attention to the grunts and began to make quick work of the small bipeds. They tryed running, flailing their arms in retreat, but they were to slow to outrun the jackal's quick aim.
"Blasted brutes!" An elite commander shouted. "You cowards are no warriors, you would not face us with the hunters, and now you charge when they are dead! You shall face my blade…" But his words were cut short when a brute shot grenade exploded in his chest. His shields vaporized and overloaded from the blow, and his chest caved in from the blast. His head reared back and blood evacuated from his mouth. He was dead before he hit the ground.
"Fall back!" The words seemed to be repeated throughout the city as battalion after battalion of elites and grunts retreated from their posts. The attack lasted only a few minutes, but already the elites were forced back into the city yet again. Wraith tanks were not enough, and even the banshees were held at bay by the flock of drones overhead.
"Elder." The communications Grunts blurted quickly. "Elites retreat again, hunters dead all over city, second line failed. Brutes come here!" The hysteria in the grunt's voice did nothing to help Elder Vornaldea's mood.
He looked away from the grunt in protest. "Silence! Mirratord warriors, it is time." Vornaldea looked to his guards and nodded in approval. "Our last line of defense has fallen. Grunts man the turrets at the perimeter entrances. Snipers to the towers and ghosts begin patrolling. Get the phantoms into the air to cover the rooftops. Communications; signal a full retreat to all battalions. We will gather here, and make our last stand."
"Last stand, elder?" The grunt shuddered.
"We will show those brutes the true strength of our right hand. For the Honor of elites, and the glory of our race, we will not die like cowards. We will fight!" The Mirratord warriors, decorated highly in their black armor, roared in a massive cry for blood. They gripped their single bladed energy swords in each hand and growled in anticipation. The council members also pulled out their energy swords and waited for the battle to come.
Grunts scurried up and down the streets to the nearby turret guns as explosions grew louder and louder. The battle was coming, and the thumping of brute shot grenades channeled through the streets. Stray plasma blasts darted into the area and dead drones fell from the sky. The roar of grunts and elites began to poor into everyone's ears. It was coming closer and soon it would be right on top of them. The grunts charged the turret plasma cells but the soft hum was silenced by the increasing roar of brutes and elites. The turret gunners took aim at any nearby corner, anticipating any Brute that came into view, while the grunt beside him checked and double checked his needler. Elder Vornaldea and the High council were surrounded by fifteen warriors of the Mirratord and their blades hummed with readiness.
A sudden crash of glass caught everyone's attention, as an elite decorated in silver armor fell through a building window with a brute, struggling for dominance. The elite's energy sword pressed firmly against the blade of the brute shoot and the two fell to the ground; roaring at each other for blood. An explosion then ripped to the far side of the perimeter, as dozens of grunts ran from an alley followed by a wounded elite. The elite stopped and returned fire at the alley, shooting at a flock of shielded jackals. The grunts in his group stopped and returned fire. The turret gunner closest to the firefight quickly began firing into the alley. The jackals were caught of guard by the massive barrage of plasma and were mowed down. But more jackals quickly took their place. Drones began to pour over the rooftops and engaged the free standing grunts on the streets. Then came the brutes, and they seemed to come from every direction. More retreating grunts and elites, their numbers greatly reduced, ran into base camp and quickly took defensive positions.
Dozens of elite piloted phantoms roared overhead and began firing at the rooftops, killing off nearly all the sniping jackals, but those that survived found themselves on the ground running for cover as grunts swarmed on top of them. With the jackals dealt with the phantoms began to turn their attention toward the swarms of drones that swelled across the skies. The phantom pilots and their gunners made easy pickings of the flying insects.
The battle on the ground was at a fever pitch. Brutes darted into the open from all directions, and the elite Commanders and Rangers eagerly faced them. Hundreds of plasma bursts streaked in all directions. The brutes were pushing the elites back and the grunts were quickly running low on ammo. The smell of blood filled the air, and roars of all kind echoed throughout the remains of the city. Through the confusion of battle a small group of twenty brutes slipped passed the perimeter warriors and made their way toward the Tram Station.
"And now the battle comes to us." Vornaldea stated. "There is no longer time to wait. Let us spill the blood of these Brutes." The high council members powered their energy swords as the group of brutes made their way toward the tram station entrance. But the Mirratord warriors blocked their path, preventing the councilors from attacking the brutes.
"Our future leaders need guidance, elders." A senior warrior of the Mirratord stated. The tram quickly sped into view, and two grunts exited the tram doors. Three of the Mirratord warriors quickly circled the elders and forced them into the tram. "We are your right hand, and we will see this battle to the end. But your place is with our hopeful future." The senior warrior and twelve of his team vanished as they activated their camouflage and ran toward the charging brutes.
"What is the meaning of this?" An elder stated.
"Our place is in this battle!" Screamed another.
"Elders, we go to inner sanctum." One of the grunts stated. He quickly leapt into the tram control seat and powered the engines. The Tram slowly raised above the track as its gravity thrusters powered.
"We can not leave our brothers! Not like this!" Vornaldea shrieked. His anger only boosted by the pain in his heart. His Mirratord warriors were doing as they were trained to do; protect the High Council at all cost. The last elder was forced onto the tram and the door closed behind him. The elders resisted but they were unable to fend against the strength of the youthful warriors.
"For the honor of the Mirratord!" One of the young elites stated to the elders. The Tram door closed and it quickly sped into the tunnel and vanished from sight. There was only one goal left for the young Mirratord warrior; seal the tunnel if the brutes came close to the tram tunnel.
The group of brutes made their way into the station and quickly spotted the lone Elite standing near the Tram tunnel. They all roared with anticipation, but that roar was short lived as energy blades began tearing at their fur and flesh. The brutes never saw were the attack was coming from. With the swiftness of a serpent and the skill of the best elite warriors, the Mirratord pounced onto the unsuspecting brutes. They were silent and quick, striking at the brute's vital areas, and killing them before they could scream. The twelve Mirratord warriors snorted at the ease of the victory and turned to the senior warrior. The senior looked up to the young elite guarding the tunnel entrance and nodded his head. The young elite understood that he was now on his own. He would be the last line of defense, and if the brutes broke through then the tunnel was to be destroyed.
The other Mirratord warriors then walked to the Tram exit and walked into the street with the rest of their kin. The battle had yet to let up. Brutes continued to pour from all sides as more elite battalions and squads made their way from the perimeter. The streets were flooded with enraged brutes, blood thirsty elites, frantic grunts, and trigger happy drones. The twelve Mirratord warriors all smirked at the carnage and powered their blades.
"Today brothers, we fight for us all." The senior warrior stated. With the grace of a master warrior he darted into the fray. His hooves covered nearly ten feet with each stride. He contemplated turning on his active camouflage but decided against it; he wanted the brutes to see him, to see his face as his blades ripped across their hides. He rolled his twins blades so that each of the two single bladed plasma swords stretched the length of his forearms. He quickly spotted a pack of brutes slaughtering a few grunts, and made his way to their aid. He quickly charged passed them, slitting their throats in one swift move, but he didn't stop, he continued on until more brutes were in his view.
The brutes never knew what was about to hit them. The battlefield was filled with roars and explosions and it dulled out any warnings of what was about to happen to them. Before they could bring their guns to bear, they were impaled by the elite's swords. He retracted the blades and continued on, killing any brute that came near. The other Mirratord warriors also scattered amongst the chaotic battlefield, each killing two or three brutes at a time. The Mirratord warriors were truly the masters of this battlefield.
- - - - - - - -
Inside the tram station, the lone young warrior paced in front of the tunnel. He wanted to be with his brothers fighting the brutes, not waiting for them to come. His eyes glanced at the detonator sitting upon the table. He didn't want to use it, but if necessary he would. The continuation of his race lay at the end of that tunnel, miles underground within the Inner Sanctum. He would fight and die to protect it. The lone grunt at his side quickly jumped with an excited cheer. The young elite had first thought that a brute may have slipped in, but he noticed that the grunt wasn't nervous; he was excited.
"Elite ship coming!" The grunt cried with a roar of excitement. "More support coming, enter orbit and coming to city! We're saved!"
The young elite thought quickly as to what he was talking about. "Explain yourself! What ship?"
"It ship from front line fleet. It is the Knight and Piercing Arrow." The elite new the name well, because it was the command ship for the High Council, and that also meant that more of his brothers from the Mirratord were coming. But was one ship going to be enough to turn the tide of the battle.
- - - - - - - -
A flash of light ripped in orbit of the elite home world and the elite carrier faded into view. The hum of the slip space engines slowly began to fade and the engines' of the Knight and Piercing Arrow carried it into orbit. Dozens of smoldering ships hung in the atmosphere in a death grip. Wreckage bounced off the shields of the ship, and other elite ships continued to battle brute ships in orbit.
Captain Timnaldee gazed through the view screen at the smoldering ships that drifted in orbit. His command crew also stared in shock at what lay before them. The surface of the planet was glowing with red hot spots where the Brutes had barraged major cities from orbit. But there were still plenty of cities untouched, guaranteeing that there were survivors scattered across the world.
"Scan the wreckage of these ships and find as many survivors as we can." The Captain ordered. "Is there any response from the surface?"
"Yes captain." The com officer replied. "Jogrennilee seems to be the focal point of activity. I've made contact with a grunt at the command center. He's reporting in now." The com officer quickly began to transmit the grunts words over the command deck speakers.
"Brutes push elite forces back. Elites send High Council to Inner Sanctum. Big battle here. Not know how long we live."
"Is there anyone of command we can speak with?" The captain calmly spoke into the com.
"No, but young council guard here." There was a soft shuffling sound and then the deep voice of a young male elite bellowed across the com.
"Captain, we are under heavy attack. We are outnumbered by brutes, but we have plenty of grunt support and they're numbers are thinning rapidly. We have other warriors scattered across the planet but they will not be able to reach, if they can come at all. The city defenses are all we have left. All tram stations have been shut down, but we are guarding this one, it is the last. I have my orders to destroy it if the brutes break through the tram stations defenses." The young warrior inhaled and gave himself time to reflect, to make sure he didn't forget anything.
"Have the brutes conquered the High Council bodyguards?" Timnaldee inquired He dared not to say too much about the Mirratord to the young elite, and also to the listening ears of his command crew, but it was no longer a time to keep secrets.
The young elite warrior paused; he was unsure how to answer. He wasn't aware that the secrecy of the Mirratord had been reviled but there was no time to be second guessing. He cautiously replied.
"No sir, we are still here. My brothers have entered the battle, but I am the only one guarding the tram station." The captain was quite shocked to hear that the elite he was speaking to was in fact a member a bodyguard of the High Council; a Mirratord.
"Very good, hold your position as long as possible, do what you have been ordered to do." The captain swiftly replied. "I'm sending more of your brothers to your aid, along with a team of Grunts. Sergeant Palab, and Lieutenant Simyaldee will arrive in your station shortly."
"Simyaldee?" The young elite questioned. The name was legendary within the Mirratord ranks. They all knew him and respected him. Every new recruit was forced to learn the chain of command within the Mirratord, and meeting Simyaldee would mean meeting the Second in command of all the Mirratord warriors. "I will hold as long as I can."
The channel terminated and the captain looked to his left. "We'll deal with those brute ships on the outer rim of the city, you defend that station. We'll fly over the city and you'll drop from orbit, a supply of Phantoms will follow you after you have disengaged from the ship. Any questions?" The captain's gaze locked onto Simyaldee and Palab, and they both looked eager to get underway.
"No sir!" The two stated in unison. They quickly turned and raced off the Command deck.
"Warriors assemble at the Orbital Insertion Pods, we will descend shortly." Lieutenant Simyaldee stated into his personal com. He ran at a full sprint, determined to get to the battle and aid his brothers as fast as possible. But he quickly realized that he needed to wait for Palab. He turned his head and noticed that Palab was at a full sprint behind him; keeping up with him stride-for-stride while on all fours. Simayaldee immediately noticed that Palab was a lot faster than any of the other grunts. He also overheard Palab barking into his com.
It was extremely convenient to be aboard ship. Ship wide systems made communications much more efficient, and Palab thought that perhaps if the personal communicators had worked on Delta Halo then his other brothers and Doz Yammaeda would all be alive. But he knew that he couldn't mourn them now.
"Etah, assemble the team at the Orbital Insertion Pods." Palab barked in the language of the grunts. "It will just be us dropping into the city; the Mirratord."
Etah's voice echoed back across the com. "Understood. We'll meet you there."
The Orbital Insertion Pod hanger, on the lower deck of the Knight and Piercing Arrow, was deathly silent until the first of the elites and grunts entered the chamber. Pods began to crane toward the exit tubes as the room slowly came to life. Everything was computer operated and thankfully the only things that needed to be loaded were the weapons. The grunts quickly began packing grenades, needlers, and plasma pistols into their pods. Etah was eager to grab a few plasma cannons but he knew this was going to be close quarters combat, and the fire power would only cause trouble for any of his allies nearby. Sixteen elites and eleven Grunts filled the bay as the last of the Pods were placed into position by the massive overhanging cranes. Palab and Simyaldee quickly ran into the room and addressed the Mirratord warriors before them.
Simyaldee stepped forward, "brothers of the Mirratord. Those detestable brutes have attacked our homes, families, and threatened our lineage. We will not let them take our home from us. We may be one team, but we are Mirratord, the best of all elite warriors. And now it is time to end this siege of our home. Our objective is simple: control the tram station and give Sergeant Palab time to rally the grunts. We have the advantage in this battle. The brutes will never suspect the grunts to attack. Load up, and let us fly into the belly of combat. For the honor of the Mirratord!" Elite and grunt's dressed in the special operations colors, and bearing the purple bar of the Mirratord, roared their battle cry and stepped into the Orbital Insertion pods.
Etah quickly hopped into his pod and began the pre-drop check as Palab walked toward him.
"Etah, how's your arm?"
"It's fine. I ran on it earlier."
"Ok, but if you want to stay behind, then you should. I don't want you to get hurt because you're injured."
"I'm fine. I'm not going to let my Messiah, and little brother, go down to that battle without me." Etah laughed. "You're worried about nothing. We no die here!" Etah burst out into a loud laughter, catching everyone's attention.
"Yeah. We no die here!" Palab returned in covenant speak. He waddled to his nearby pod and began the pre-drop check. All his weapons were accounted for, safety systems were online, and thrusters checked at full. The door closed and several small holes opened on the inside of the pod. Palab closed his eyes and waited for the shock absorbent matter to fill the pod. The holes began to glow softly and a white haze began to fill the inner chamber of his pod. It made Palab feel a little nervous at first, but he knew that he wasn't alone, the other members of his team were doing the same thing, and that gave him a little peace. The matter quickly began to solidify into a soft gel that slowly began to rise up and over his head. It was a warm feeling and not as bad as he thought it would be. Grunts were not allowed to use the Orbital Insertion Pods, so he had no idea as to how it would work. The atmosphere reader on his armor showed that the room was filled with Oxygen, so even though the gel was thick, it was still breathable by the air breathers. Palab was grateful that he had his mask, because the idea of breathing the gel filled him with disgust; not to mention it would kill him.
"Warriors, drop will commence in ten seconds." Simyaldee stated over the Pod's personal channels. "See you all on the ground." Palab was then alarmed when he started to hear several voices over the transmitter channels.
"I can't wait to get into the battle!" An unknown Mirratord warrior shouted from within his Pod. "I want a brute head as a trophy for my mate." Palab then quickly realized that the com channels for the Pods were open and he could hear the rest of the squad.
"I agree Brother! We shall bask in their blood and do the old ritual of offering to our mates!" Several Elites roared and laughed at the words, but Palab was more concerned with the drop.
Another elite loudly laughed over the channel, "I shall have several females dancing before me. It can be frustrating not having a mate, but it means I can have my way with as many females as I please."
"This battle will be glorious!" The elites continued to chatter, and Palab realized that this was most likely how the Mirratord warriors prepared themselves for battle. Listening to the elites gave Palab a sense that he didn't expect; he wasn't afraid. Ten seconds had long passed and Palab suddenly became concerned. He hadn't felt anything from the pod. Had he been left behind?
"We are entering the atmosphere, warriors, be ready for anything!" Simyaldee stated. Palab was confused, had they already dropped from the ship? His question was quickly answered as his senses started to go crazy. He felt disoriented for a few seconds and couldn't tell if he was awake or asleep, standing or sitting, and his stomach quickly became unbalanced. It quickly dawned on him that the pressure in the pod had increased; the pod was beginning to reduce speed and brace for impact.
The gel was absorbing the shock of everything happening outside the pod. The eerie sensation passed and Palab regained control of his surroundings. The Pod shifted slightly and light began to flood the compartment. The gel quickly began to evaporate and Palab grabbed his needler. As the cushioning gel began to evaporate, the door to the pod parted and the thick mist of evaporating gel rolled from the interior of the pod. Palab leapt toward the light of the door and exited the Pod. The first thing he heard was an explosion and then red plasma scorches flashed across his head. Palab quickly took cover.
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Authors notes: Sorry for the length of this chapter. It was much longer, but during the edit I realized I needed to trim it down and make one last chapter to finish this book. The next chapter will conclude book 1.