"I don't like this shit at all," Lee grumbled, her voice low and troubled.
Somehow, despite the fact that none of them were hooked into the squad-net, Captain Perry heard the comment.
"The next time I hear anyone bitching about what they don't like I am going to give them something that I like!" he barked in a single, gargantuan breath.
"That Lee," Valentine whispered on Boomer's left, "Always running off at the mouth."
"You're one to talk, Valentine," Yuri scolded her squadmate from Boomer's other side.
"Yeah, well, some of us don't have something to keep our mouth preoccupied."
"That's not what a lieutenant in Sci/Tech told me," Yuri leaned around Boomer with a mischievous grin," Something about your V-1 SFE's crotch-plate malfunctioning and a private inspection," Yuri shook her head dramatically," I don't know what's worse, Valentine. That you actually thought that line would work or that it actually worked."
Boomer, seated between them in the troop compartment of a Covenant Phantom, laughed uproariously and pounded knuckles with Yuri. The hard ceramic coating on their armor made the gesture echo slightly in the close confines of the Phantom's troop hold. The squad was anxiously awaiting the order that would send them into orbit. It was unbelievable how far the human race had come from the brink of extinction. What Boomer found the most unbelievable was that much of the progress was due to SkyNet and a race of aliens. Boomer looked at the helmet cradled in his arms, so like those that T-850's came standard with now, and restrained the urge to shudder. Every TechCom Special Forces squad that had been assigned to the orbital assault had been given a suit of the first full-body exoskeletal armor developed by Sci/Tech and Tau engineers working in concert. It was not as advanced as the armor the Terminators had because TechCom soldiers had been trained for their entire lives to fear highly advanced technologies, especially artificial intelligence. Special Forces Exoskeletons, Version One's, were a step-up from Tau Fire Warrior armor in several fundamental ways but the one that mattered most to Fire Warriors and TechCom soldiers alike was that this armor had shield systems. Boomer, like of his comrades, did not like depending on advanced tech for his survival but he had a feeling he would learn to love having his own personal energy shield in this fight.
"Listen up, people, because I'm going over our mission objectives one more time so that I know you've got them straight. Bringing up schematics in five, four, three, two, one."
Boomer held up his bracer and a small LCD screen flared to life. On it was a three-dimensional representation of the Covenant Command Carrier Light of Hope. The image magnified and rotated until Boomer could easily identify the infiltration point via an external docking hatch that lead to a secured machine shop.
"Our primary objective is to secure Aun'o Triv's extraction route to this docking hatch," a graphical representation of the Tau Ethereal appeared at the end of a circuitous route marked in red. "The Aun will have his own squad of Fire Warriors protecting him and that is why we have been given a secondary objective." This time a graphical representation of a particularly ugly Brute appeared not too far from the Tau Ethereal's position. "This is the Sector Commander for this occupation force. Memorize this face because his name is unimportant. Our secondary objective is to kill or eliminate this Brute. There are Machine and Tau Special Forces assigned the Brute as their primary objective. Their infiltration points will be at these locations. If we can force this Brute to flee then they will finish the job. No heroics. Alright! Final check on your SFE's. Remember to check your seals. You've all seen how messy explosive decompression is. Then sit back and-"
Before the captain could finish his sentence the emergency lights activated and plunged the room into an eerie purple-red twilight. A faint rumble passed through the deck plating before the drone of the engines filled the compartment.
"Double-time on those final checks," Captain Perry said after a second consulting the Ops-Coordinator for this assault. "We're lifting off in five."
Boomer lifted his helmet, with its visor flipped up, and placed it on his head. He locked down the bolts before flipping down the visor. There was a faint hiss of gas escaping as the faceplate's visor sealed. At first there was complete blackness but almost instantly data began to scroll vertically down the visor. It was techno-jargon that he understood little of. All he was concerned with was each telltale coming up green. Soon the check was done and a tiny point of light expanded to fill the visor. It had taken most of the squad several weeks to become accustomed to the feeling of claustrophobia the suits caused. It still seemed to Boomer that his breath was too loud in the closeness of his helmet but he quickly cast those thoughts from his mind. If he dwelled too long on those kinds of thoughts he would probably start to hyperventilate.
Boomer stood at almost the exact time that everyone else stood. The manual check of the SFE's mechanical seals was something they'd all practiced obsessively the last two months. Boomer turned to Yuri, her astonishingly beautiful face covered not with a veneer of dirt but by the cold exterior of TechCom battle armor. His HUD was nearly devoid of icons except for the descriptors that intermittently appeared above objects. The descriptors shorted once the object was identified. Yuri had at first been headed with 'Special Forces Sergeant Alexis Yuri DZ-738415'. It had been shortened to 'Sgt Yuri' within a second. The check of her seals took less than thirty seconds.
"You're good," Boomer said, his voice was significantly deeper and more menacing coming through the helmet's speakers.
Boomer turned around and waited while Yuri checked his seals. The quiet hiss of static alerted him to an incoming communication.
"So, Boomer, you excited?" Yuri asked, her voice low as though she was still talking through an open mic'.
"About what?" he asked, trying to keep his voice as neutral as possible.
"Going up into space, jackass!" she shrieked before adding in a calm voice, "You're good."
It amazed Boomer every single time Yuri raised her voice to glass shattering levels only to return to her normally laid back tones in the blink of an eye.
"Of course I am, Yuri. I'd be more excited if aliens weren't going to be shooting at us."
The two reseated themselves and lowered jury-rigged crash restraints over their shoulders. Three minutes before they launched the entire squad was locked in. Captain Perry stomped down each row of soldiers to double-check their restraints. Boomer stuck his tongue out as the CO passed and was rewarded with a sharp slap against the helmet.
How the hell did he know? Boomer thought sourly as he waited for his ears to stop ringing."What was that for?" Yuri asked him.
"Nothing," he replied and shut down their connection to prevent any more embarrassing questions.
Lieutenant Brians was seated opposite Captain Perry at the head of the compartment and the two checked each other's restraints once they had strapped in.
"This is your captain speaking," the pilot's voice, a plucky, feminine one, suddenly filled Boomer's helmet. "Are we all ready to fly the friendly?"
"Let's keep it professional, Lieutenant," Perry rebuked sternly.
"This is Fio'vre Lasho. We will be lifting off in thirty seconds."
Yuri reached over and grasped Boomer's hand. He bumped helmets with her in a reassuring gesture. The next twenty-five seconds were spent in near silence as soldiers focused themselves for the conflict ahead.
"This is the final countdown," the human pilot's voice came on again, deadly serious, "Liftoff in five, four, three, two, one, mark."
Boomer had heard the old-timer stories about aircraft and the kick that they all had upon takeoff. The only indicator that the alien vessel had done anything was a slight increase in the volume of the engines. Nothing about the cabin moved and there were no g-forces to be felt. Two minutes later a tremendous shudder passed through the entire ship.
"We have docked. Seals are green. You may disembark. May you all serve the Greater Good this day!"
The squad sprang into furious action then. Everyone removed their restraints and switched their SFE's to battle-mode as they stood. The air in the troop compartment stirred as multiple energy shields displaced it. Boomer's HUD came alive with sensory information, though most of it was barely perceptible until the computer decided it should be brought to his attention, and a targeting reticle for his sidearm. When he looked at Yuri the targeting reticle turned green to indicate that she was an allied combatant. Boomer and his squadmates retrieved their primary weapons from the racks beside their seats. Boomer quickly checked his carbine and shotgun one last time. That done he secured the shotgun across his back and held his carbine at guard. Captain Perry opened up the squad-wide channel.
"Bravo Team, you've got point. Hopefully all you see is those damn T-X units."
Lieutenant Brians opened up Bravo's channel, "Standard formation. Move out!"
Bravo Team arranged themselves in front of the docking port on the starboard side of the Phantom. The hatch slid open to reveal the small airlock's inner door was also open. Standing in front of it with a slight look of impatience on its face was one of the T-X units completely nude. Boomer couldn't help but nod slightly in admiration of the view. SkyNet did know how to pick perfect bodies for templates; that was for sure.
"The area is secure. Follow me," it said before about-facing and striding back into the room. The descriptor above its head had been a long serial number of mostly zeroes before it had settled on TX-012.
"You heard the fakie," Captain Perry said, and Bravo Team quickly followed the Terminator into the Covenant Command Carrier.
Boomer couldn't help looking around in awe as Bravo entered the multi-tiered machine shop. Dozens of vehicles, from Phantoms to a Tau Hammerhead, were arranged quite neatly on the far side of the machine shop from the docking hatches. Swarming from those docking hatches were squads of Tau Fire Warriors as well as TechCom Infantry in the body armor that the 132nd had used what seemed like ages ago. It was a noisy environment but above it all Boomer could hear an eerie alarm klaxon blaring. It sounded like the Hegemony knew they were there.
There was no doubt that they were in space because a hundred meters to Boomer's right there was a huge window that looked right out into a furious battle between Hegemony, Tau, and SkyNet fightercraft. The SkyNet fighters were nearly identical to the Tau fighters but that was because SkyNet had built most of the Tau fighters in use. The Hegemony capital ships, of Covenant or assimilated origin, listed lifelessly like the carcasses of deep-sea leviathans as smaller predators fought for the spoils against the dazzling backdrop of Earth.
The T-X, now clothed in black fatigues, led them to an entryway not very far from the neatly arranged vehicles. It was then that Boomer noticed that strange aliens that looked like floating squid were working on the vehicles with lightning speed. Lee had her carbine trained on them as soon as she noticed but the T-X calmly stepped in her line of fire.
"They have been designated as non-hostiles. Check your HUD," TX-012 said, and Boomer realized that the targeting reticle had changed to yellow when he focused on the floating squid.
Lee lowered her weapon after an imperceptible nod from the captain.
"I have been attached to your squad to assist in securing a route to this machine shop for the Tau Ethereal designated as-"
"Cut the pleasantries, Oh-One-Two," Captain Perry growled, "You take point. We'll cover your back while you seal the corridors. Move out."
The Terminator stood there for a moment, still as a statue, before holding up a forearm suddenly morphed into menacingly large plasma cannon. TX-012 turned on a heel and marched with mechanical precision towards the door.
"Bravo, you're right behind her," Captain Perry said into the general squad-net.
"Spread formation," Lieutenant Brians ordered and Bravo team fanned out behind their Terminator guide.
The thought of it was so ludicrous that Boomer chuckled. There definitely were benefits to nobody being able to see or hear him unless he allowed it. TX-012 marched toward the door and didn't break its stride. Boomer thought it would collide with the door but it disappeared into the ceiling seconds before the killing machine made contact. It marched down a brightly lit corridor that resembled the ones he remembered from the Flame of Justice. This corridor was noticeably smaller and had strange alcoves lining it. The alcoves had hatches that were probably used by the floating squids to perform maintenance on the ship's innards. The Terminator was leading them through a service tunnel.
The journey through the service tunnel was uneventful but the Terminator paused just inside the hatch they would exit out of.
"The Terminator says that there are approximately seventeen hostiles guarding this junction. They seem to be holding this area as a fallback route for their Sector Commander and a Prophet, the one that's really in charge of this invasion. It says it'll go in first and suggests that Bravo Team deploy in a standard attack pattern. Do it but let it draw their fire first. Let's see how tough it really is."
Boomer wanted to laugh because he thought the T-X's were plenty tough but he stilled his tongue.
The hatch cycled open for the Terminator and it tossed what looked like a flash-bang into the junction. His visor darkened slightly against the sudden brightness and the Terminator darted into the room with awesome quickness. The zap and sizzle of energy weapons rapidly discharging crackled in the air. After several seconds, far too long by Boomer's estimation, Brians waved them forward. Boomer moved forward behind Lee, he went right and she went left, and aggressively swept the area with his plasma carbine. Seventeen bodies, or enough parts to make that many bodies, lay in various states of death across seven meters of corridor. Some were burned, some cooked, and some looked as though they had been torn apart. The Terminator was taking cover behind the hulking corpse of a Covenant Hunter and firing what looked like plasma rockets down the ramp directly in front of them.
"Bravo, secure the area. Alpha, start stacking bodies. I want a barricade set up in two minutes. Move it, people!"
Brians began using hand signals to set up his squad positions. Boomer was ordered behind a pylon on an ascending ramp with Yuri and Dots. It would have been impossible for Boomer to tell who was who if it hadn't been for the descriptors over both their heads. Yuri had a plasma condenser attached to her plasma carbine and Dots had an R-6 PAK, V-2, trained on the level above them.
After what felt like an eternity of waiting the Captain finally came back over the squad-net.
"The Terminator says it or its… sisters-," the captain seemed to really struggle to get that word out, "Can't seal this hatch. Alpha'll stay here and secure this junction. Bravo will escort the fakie and make sure it locks down the rest of the hatches leading to the Ethereal. Kick some ass, Bravo."
TX-012 stepped into Boomer's view and jogged up the ramp.
"Follow the leader, team," Brians said, his tone very dry.
Boomer stood as Lee came up to take point and dropped into position behind her. The squad jogged after the Terminator and then had to run as TX-012 increased its speed. It stopped at every door to press a palm against it before moving on to the next. At several other junctions between levels the squad got to pause to breathe as it sprinted down each corridor and ramp to secure the doors. Then they crested the ramp their objective marker said was only ten meters away from the Aun's quarters.
Blood.
That was Boomer's first impression when he walked off the ascending ramp. There was blood coating every surface of the corridor. There were streaks along the walls and ceiling. Pools of it lay on the floor around many bodies. All of the bodies were Covenant and StarSpawn. The blood was almost pretty in its many vivid hues. It looked like the Covenant had come for the Aun and the Fire Warriors had shown them the way to hell. Lee knelt down and gestured to Boomer. He knelt beside her and saw the odd claw marks she was examining. His combat computer tried several times but could not come up with anything that matched its databank.
"Boomer, Lee, go see what's keeping the Aun and the fakie. We'll secure this area," Brians ordered them and the squad began taking up defensive positions.
Boomer and Lee stood as one and cautiously advanced into the surprisingly dim domicile of the Tau Ethereal. There was a small anteroom that was decidedly empty and peaceful considering the macabre scene just a few meters outside the door. The two TechCom soldiers stepped into the main chamber of the Aun's quarters and into a scene that rocked them to the core.
The Terminator stood in the center of a room of Tau bodies. Almost all of them had no mark on them except that each of their heads had been broken so severely that most looked boneless. The sole exception to this was the Tau Ethereal. A neat hole, barely larger than the barrel of a KE-10, had been punched through the Ethereal's torso. Strangest of all the Ethereal had a look of sublime joy on his face.
"What'd'ya do, fakie!" Lee shouted, setting the Terminator dead in her sights.
Before Boomer could tell her he didn't think the T-X had done it the sounds of a firefight reached their ears.
"This is Lieutenant Brians, requesting immediate…!" the squad-net wide request was cut off by a gurgling scream.
Boomer and Lee turned as one and sprinted back towards the door. Their SFE's had servomotors that doubled their strength but it did little to increase foot-speed. Boomer only caught one sight of an image that would haunt him until the day he died. A…, two-meter tall demon was the only thing that came to his stunned mind, held a metallic staff in a single clawed hand. Its large, lifeless black eyes seemed to be fixed directly on him and its gruesome mouth opened wide to reveal rows of razor-sharp teeth. Its black armor glistened wetly with the blood of heroes. All of this was as inconsequential as a drop of rain in a thunderstorm to Boomer. All that mattered, all that would ever matter, was what was impaled on the end of that staff.
Boomer wouldn't have known if it wasn't for the descriptor that headed the gently convulsing body of Special Forces Sergeant Alexis Yuri DZ-738415.
"'Lexi!" he screamed, tears bursting from his eyes as though from a dam, and effectively doubled his speed as he sprinted for the door.
The demon's eyes widened at something behind Boomer and gestured towards them. The doors slammed shut just as a blur hit them with tremendous force. T-X 012 bounced back from the door a meter before hitting it again with its shoulder. Boomer added his own servomotor powered shoulder to the effort and Lee did so a short time later. The sounds of heavy machinery being dragged in front of the doors made Boomer howl in frustration.
"Sensor contact. Thirty-one hostiles," TX-012 said, stopping the futile charge against the door and morphing her hand into its plasma repeater configuration. "Twenty Reapers. Ten Mutons. One StarSpawn Ethereal."
The Terminator raised its arm, the weapon appendage once again morphing to a new, long-barreled configuration, and fired what looked like a rail-rifle round into the wall a meter to their left. The path of ionized air that glowed a faint blue-gray and the smoking hole in the wall were the only indication that the Terminator had fired a weapon.
"Ethereal terminated."
It was like that single act had set off an avalanche. Reapers, the cybernetic bipeds that had almost killed Lee once, rushed into the room in a flurry of animalistic rage. Boomer and Lee turned as one, Boomer going to one knee automatically, and opened fire. Automatic plasma fire from TechCom carbines and a Terminator's plasma repeater cut into the ranks of Reapers. The dimly lit anteroom came alive with the purple-white strobe-like effect of plasma weaponry. A plasma grenade was tossed into the small anteroom just as Boomer and Lee were reloading. The Terminator jumped forward into the swarming mass of Reapers.
"Move, Lee!" Boomer shouted, remembering to chin his external speakers, as he jumped into the hole the Terminator had created.
Boomer rolled as he landed, losing his plasma carbine in the process, and could only watch as Lee was catapulted by the concussion of the blast into a trio of Reapers. A Troll lowered its plasma rifle at Boomer but the TechCom sergeant had already drawn his sidearm. Boomer grabbed the Troll's descending wrist, pressed his weapon into the Troll's chest and let loose with a ten-round automatic burst. The force of the rounds took the large creature off its feet. Boomer unshipped his shotgun with one hand while scanning the area with his visor on light-amp mode. A Troll roared like a beast and raced towards him. It apparently forgot it had a firearm clutched in one hand. Boomer didn't and fired his shotgun one-handed at almost point-blank range. The Troll's upper torso crumpled like tissue paper as it flew back across the room. Brilliant white light would have blinded him if his visor hadn't polarized at the last instant. The gauge for his shield energy suddenly brightened in his HUD as it dropped nearly a quarter. Boomer rolled out of the way of the following shots until he hit a wall. Another ball of superheated plasma struck him in the chest and his shield energy dropped to nearly half. Boomer sprinted behind the cover of a pylon and waited several seconds while his shield recharged. He holstered his sidearm along his right thigh and dived from behind cover in the direction he thought it likely the Troll would take. The Troll was surprised to see Boomer dive but was even more surprised when the single shotgun blast destroyed both its legs from the knees down. Boomer rolled and a weight landed squarely on his back. Something bit down on the back of his head and his shield strength dropped horrifyingly quickly. With servo-enhanced strength Boomer pushed himself to his knees first, then to a squat, and finally he jumped high into the air. Boomer landed on the Reaper on his back with a wet thud but the damn thing's grip only loosened enough so that his shield didn't drop any lower. Boomer drew his sidearm again only to have another Reaper grab that arm's wrist. His shield failed and the Reapers teeth crunched down into his exoskeleton. Schematics of his helmet and bracer appeared along the top of his visor along with a structural integrity gauge. He didn't have much time.
Boomer dropped his shotgun and reached down to a compartment on his left thigh next to his spare sidearm clips. With a flick of his wrist the plasma baton extended and activated. The arcs of plasma passing to the tip were almost too bright to look at. Boomer drove the melee weapon into the jaw socket of the Reaper holding his wrist. The flesh began crackling before the plasma baton came into contact. With a horrific shriek and convulsion the Reaper let go of Boomer. Boomer reversed his grip on the baton and plunged it into the side of the Reaper on his back. If it bit down he was probably a dead man.
Luck was on his side this day. The Reaper went slack nearly instantaneously and released the sergeant. Boomer grabbed his shotgun and sighted on the first shape that came into view. He didn't pull the trigger, though he came very close, when his watery eyes saw that it was the T-X. The Terminator looked as pristine as ever despite the fact that Boomer knew he had seen it take several unshielded plasma blasts to the torso.
"Lee," Boomer called over Bravo's channel but there was no response.
"The other member of your squad is there," the Terminator pointed without emotion and proceeded towards the anteroom.
Boomer stood, collecting his scattered weapons in a daze, before heading over to where the Terminator had pointed. Lee was covered in four bodies and multiple plasma burns marred her armor. Three Reapers, that looked like her KE-10s had done for them, and a Troll whose neck had been snapped lay around her. It looked like the Terminator had administered the coup-de-grace to the Troll after it had done the same to Lee. Boomer tossed and rolled the bodies off of her with grunts of mingled fury and exertion.
"This is Perry! Anyone from Bravo team, respond. We're holding off a dedicated Hegemony assault. I don't know how much longer we can hold out. Have you secured the Aun!"
Boomer stood and followed the sounds of the Terminator cutting an alternate exit in the wall beside the door with her plasma torch modified arm.
"This is Sergeant Redman," Boomer said, his voice sounded odd to his own ears, as he removed the plasma torch module from its compartment at his waist and attached it to the barrel of his plasma carbine.
"Where's Lieutenant Brians? Is the Aun secure? "
"The L.T.'s dead, Captain Perry. I'm all that's left. The Aun's dead," Boomer said, tonelessly as he raised the shield that would cut the glare from the torch, and raised the small jet of superheated matter to the wall.
There was silence from the other end of the channel before, "Okay. What's your position and ETA?"
"Me and the T-X are locked inside the Aun's quarters. We're cutting our way out now but it might take-"
The T-X suddenly broke into their channel, "It will take approximately twenty-one minutes and thirty-two seconds to cut through the wall with available equipment. Reinforcements are unavailable at this time for your squad, Captain. We have failed at our primary objective. Your Ops-Coordinator should be contacting you shortly with new mission objectives. I suggest you retreat back to the machine shop. The blast doors will close behind you once your squad is safely inside the maintenance tunnels. "
"What about my soldier?" Perry growled, probably already hearing a confirmation of everything the T-X had said.
The T-X turned to Boomer, who had never stopped his obsessive work at cutting a way out.
"He has been reassigned to head a two-soldier squad with this unit as his subordinate."
The captain was silent for a few more moments before contacting Boomer on a private channel, " I don't like it Boomer, but Ops says we don't have a choice. Taking the Command Carrier isn't going to be as easy as we thought. I'm sorry about Yuri. She was a good soldier and friend. Watch your back out there and I'll see you again."
"What are your orders, sir?" the T-X asked, never turning away from their work, "Should we seek an alternate route back to the machine shop so you can link with your squadron?"
"Negative, Oh-One-Two. We're going hunting."
Templar sat within the confines of a Tau dropship and cradled his redesigned burstcannon with righteous vengeance on his mind. The burstcannon outwardly looked the same except for the silver coloring it had but it now fired SkyNet-type plasma rounds that were far more powerful than its previous incarnation. The rail-rifle on his back had also been manufactured on Earth. Templar was also wearing an SFE, V-1, modified for use by Tau. Only the fact that the humans let the Fire Warriors run their military anyway they chose kept Templar from resenting all of his new equipment.
Templar's Hunter-Cadre, along with several others, had been given the campaign critical mission of either capturing or eliminating the Prophet in command of this occupation. They had been holed up in an isolated hanger for nearly two hours after the attack had begun. Templar looked around at the cadre, his Fire Warriors looked almost alien in the non-reflective black exoskeletons they wore, and thought that they were probably as anxious as he was to exact revenge on the Covenant forces.
"This is Vre'Kais'," Templar grinned to himself at Kais' joy at being able to use his Tau rank, "Objective in range. Wait for the pink."
Templar stood and chinned his external speakers, "Our prey is in range, Fire Warriors. Hurry a final check of your seals and weapons. They could be here any minute."
Templar followed his own advice and checked his burstcannon before doing the same with his rail-rifle. The rail-rifle's barrel was nearly as long as the burstcannon's but the barrel was pronged because the firing path of the round was a series of electromagnets. The rail-rifle could fire a projectile at hypervelocity within a range of five kilometers before the round eventually disintegrated from atmospheric friction. In space the distance was significantly increased. It was a foolish weapon to use aboard a naval vessel but one never knew in battle. He turned to Sol, who had recently been promoted to shas'ui, and checked the younger Fire Warrior's seal. Sol did the same for him and the drop-seats retracted as the cadre mentally readied itself for battle.
The lights in the dropship turned to a vivid pink and the door's executed an emergency release that blew them right off their tracks.
"Move!"
Templar and Sol were the first out of the dropship, weapons at the ready, and they fanned out to their respective sides. The rest of the cadre quickly followed behind them and within fifteen seconds the entire force was in position. They had emerged into a small docking bay lined on the opposite side by a squadron of Covenant fighters. In the center of the bay sat a long-range Covenant shuttle designed for the emergency evacuation of Prophet's and upper echelon Elite officers. Standing in front of a locked entry-ramp was their target floating in his anti-gravity seat surrounded by a platoon of Brutes and the Sector Commander in his elaborate headdress. Flanking the party on both sides were three additional Hunter-Cadres. Templar switched to his rail-rifle and trained his red targeting reticle directly in the center of the Prophet's forehead.
The voice of Vre'Kais came from the dozen gun-drones hovering above the party, "Surrender, Prophet, and you will be given mercy."
"Mercy? You dare suggest I ask it of you who are so far beneath me as to be nothing. You and your pathetic race will be shown no such grace for this betrayal. Smiters of Evil, destroy them."
The Prophet's chair rose into the air as all of the cadres opened fire simultaneously. The actinic glare from so many plasma weapons firing caused Templar's HUD to polarize. That did not stop him from squeezing off a round. The hypervelocity slug shot forward, leaving a trail of ionized air behind it, and hit a coruscating shield of energy and was absorbed with little effect.
"Down!" Templar roared when he saw the Prophet's only weapon charging up.
Templar tried to dive to the ground but was flung into the air by some invisible force. Multiple explosions from Brute grenade launchers shook the docking bay. As Templar fell he saw that the Prophet's target had not been his cadre but the gun-drones that had dispatched several Brutes. He also noticed, with a detached expression, that the Brutes had personal shield systems.
That was new.
Templar hit the ground so hard he bounced and only the shock-absorbing qualities of his armor prevented serious internal damage. He slid to a halt against a wall, stood, and produced a strange little noise as he witnessed the unreal. Several strange beings, unlike any he had ever seen fight alongside the Hegemony, were slaughtering his Fire Warriors. They were easily two meters in height and were heavily muscled despite the fact that they moved like dancers. Their faces were reptilian but their eyes were strangely arachnid in nature. Each of them wore silver armor that had about the same body coverage as an Elite's. The only weapons any of them wielded were strange staff's but that was enough.
One of them gestured at a squad of Fire Warriors trying to set up a defensive perimeter beside a Tau dropship and it was as though an incendiary grenade went off in their midst. A trio of Fire Warriors armed with TechCom plasma carbines fired at the Hegemony warrior's back but he turned at the last instant. The staff in his hands spilt apart and a shield intercepted each of the rounds with little effect. The Hegemony warrior raised his opposite hand to gesture at the same instant Templar snapped off a rail-rifle round to his temple. Templar's target almost turned in time but only managed to cause the round to shatter a diagonal path through his skull.
The Brutes had erected a defensive circle around the Sector Commander and the Prophet. A pair of the new warriors was carving a path through another Hunter-Cadre.
"Shas'el," Sol limped up to him with a dozen Fire Warriors from their cadre behind him, "What are your orders?"
"Seek cover, concentrate carbine fire on the Elites. Everyone with rail-rifles target the unknowns. Spread out!"
His remaining Fire Warriors spread out and Templar took his own advice by finding a spot behind a twisted, burned piece of metal of unknown origin. A Brute Shot round went off a meter in front of him and his shields flickered slightly. Templar waited for the smoke to clear and targeted another of the unknown's back. He fired and was rewarded when the beast crumpled with a gurgling roar. The body count was growing and it did not look like the Fire Warriors were coming out on the winning end of this engagement. It looked like all that was left was a single cadre's worth of Fire Warriors where there had been three. The strange Hegemony warriors were truly terrifying in battle but they still died like normal beings. The Brutes needed to be taken care of because they provided enough distraction for the handful of Hegemony super-soldiers to decimate the remaining Tau. It was time to try a new trick Templar had learned from the humans.
The veteran Fire Warrior reached to the small of his back and pressed his thumb to an indentation. A slim cylinder half again as tall as his hand slid into his palm. It was something that the TechCom warriors called a Boom-Stick and Templar thought the name fit. Templar twisted the top half of the Boom-Stick and tossed it against the hull were the Brutes had their defensive perimeter set up. Prophet and Brutes scattered like the wind, the Prophet straight up with the Sector Commander hanging from his chair, a split second before the Boom-Stick detonated. Templar curled up as a horrifyingly powerful explosion ripped through the docking bay. Wet chunks of what Templar assumed were Brute bounced off of him as the blast-wave passed. After several seconds of reverberation Templar raised his head. The blast had been so powerful that the shuttle, which probably was in excess of twenty tons, had been moved five meters closer to the port bulkhead. So much power from so small a device was truly humbling. It also made Templar slightly uneasy about having three more embedded near his spine. Templar's gaze almost involuntarily rose upward and he cursed foully at the sight of the Prophet hovering gaily above the shuttle with the Sector Commander clinging tenaciously to his seat.
The Prophet was pointing right at him.
Templar turned and was a millisecond away from pulling the trigger when an invisible force pulled his weapon from his hand. Templar drew his KE-10 sidearm but the Hegemony warrior standing above him also flung that away with a careless gesture
What sort of beasts are these to possess such powers? He thought dazedly as the same invisible force lifted him two meters off the ground.
Templar tried to reach his burstcannon but the grip on him was too strong. His foe lowered the end of his staff and the weapon began to glow a dazzling mixture of gold and purple. It was then that Templar realized this was the moment of his death. He had served the tenets of the tau'va as well as he had been able for his entire life. He was content.
A high explosive, armor piercing round fired from a plasma carbine struck the Hegemony warrior in his chest armor just as it discharged a golden-purple energy round at the immobile form of Templar. The round was visible stuck in the midnight black armor of the super-soldier but it had not detonated. A blur hit Templar and took the round squarely in the back. The force of the impact spun them both in the air like tops as the invisible grip was released. Templar's shields went down as the round passed through the Tau that had tried to save him but thanks to that noble Tau the round had been depleted enough that his shield only just saved his life.
It was not until a few moments before they hit a wall that Templar realized it was Sol that had saved him.
Then he was crushed against the wall by Sol's body and he knew nothing else.
Consciousness did not return all at once to Templar. He could hear voices though and what they told him made him wish for death.
"This Tau is alive, Sergeant Redman," a clipped, precise human probably said in English but his suit translated it for him.
"Is he badly wounded?" a gruff male voice replied.
"Negative, Sergeant. His medical data indicates a minor concussion but little other injury."
"Lucky for him. Not so lucky for the bastard on top of him. Fix him up and do it quick, Twelve. They're moving fast."
"Affirmative."
An indeterminate amount of time later the world came back with shocking quickness and Templar recognized the effects of a powerful stimulant. His visor was still active and the first thing he noticed, with some relief, was that the figure in front of him came up green in his targeting reticle. It was a human female whose descriptor told Templar that she was one of the A.I. machines that impersonated humans. The figure scanning the immediate area with a plasma carbine was Sergeant Jonathan Redman. Templar tried to speak but all he produced was a croak. He tapped a key on his wrist pad and a small straw extended from his helmet interior. The water was cool but utterly devoid of natural flavor.
Templar chinned his external speakers, "What happened?"
"Your ambush unit encountered Hostile Species identified as Holy Paladins," the Terminator said, "You are the only survivor."
"You're lucky," the human said, never ceasing his constant scanning of the perimeter, "We've been tracking one of them from the Aun's quarters. It met up with some other fuckers and tore a hole through three separate ambushes for the Sector Commander to rendezvous with the Prophet. They didn't leave any survivors behind. We've managed to pick off five of the black-armored ones but each one they leave behind slows us down. Now you're slowing us down. Let's move, Twelve."
"Acknowledged, Sergeant Redman."
Templar's mind reeled at the carnage the Paladins had left in their wake. The air was undoubtedly redolent with the smell of burned plastics, metals and flesh but Templar's armor scrubbed any air he breathed long before it reached his nasal cavity. Body parts, far more than there were bodies, littered the entire two hundred meter length of the docking bay. To Templar's dismay most of the pieces were the remains of over fifty Fire Warriors. Being the sole survivor seemed a burden far too large for him to bear. Templar glanced down at the lifeless form of Sol at his feet, the descriptor now changed to KIA and a unit number, and growled softly.
"Wait," he called to the quickly retreating figures as they headed toward a grav-lift that would take them deeper into the belly of the colossal ship.
Templar quickly retrieved a rail-rifle and sidearm from the weapons scattered across the floor. He tried to ignore the mangled bodies of his fellow Fire Warriors as he stepped towards the waiting pair. It was then he noticed what a stark contrast the pair made. The Terminator was immaculate in a pair of what passed for battle dress uniforms for humans while the sergeant's SFE looked as though it had been through several wars. Its left shoulder-plate was partially melted and Templar could only assume the damage was superficial because the human seemed to be using that arm without difficulty. Teeth marks on the neck and forearm of the sergeant only increased the human warrior's value in Templar's eyes. It seemed as though the vast majority of the sergeant's armor was marred, pocked, or half-melted in one way or another.
"I wish to join your team, sergeant," he said, but before anyone could say more each received transmissions from their respective superiors.
"Shas'el, I am glad to see that you are still among us." Vre'Kais said, his voice sounded full of sorrow despite his words.
"I wish I could say the same, shas'vre."
"This feeling will pass, Fire Warrior. Remember your duty to the tau'va!" Kais snapped before continuing in a calmer fashion," You are being granted command of a three-man team consisting of the sergeant and the machine. You objective is the termination of the Prophet and Sector Commander at all costs. As of now you three are the only force close enough to have any chance at success. SkyNet has been given access to your communications packet and will handle all your intelligence from this point on. Remember that this day above all days we serve the Greater Good, Templar."
If serving the Greater Good would get Templar vengeance then the Greater Good had a most devoted follower this day.
The Terminator, Twelve, stood at stiff attention in front of Templar while the human sergeant held a less rigid stance with his plasma carbine at the ready. Templar could practically feel the impatience and resentment coming from the human. Templar understood how galling it could be to have to give up one's command; especially when the need for retribution burned deep. Such a sentiment went against many precepts of the tau'va but Templar had long ago learned that the battlefield was often where most sentient beings found their true natures for better or worse. None of them had time to get to know each other though and the human would just have to accept his command. It only took a few commands tapped into his wrist-computer for the three of them to have their own three-person communication net.
"Okay, Sergeant Redman, is it?" the human nodded, "How have you been proceeding thus far?"
The sergeant's stance relaxed slightly as he subconsciously began to give Templar at chance at being a good officer, "Twelve, the Terminator, is tapped into the ship's internal sensors. She can track the general movements of the Paladins and tap into our communications grid to see which of our forces they're taking apart. It never is very hard to find out where they're goin'. She takes the lead and I back her up. Her sensors aren't as easily fooled as mine so she can usually take them out before they know she knows where they are. Sometimes though they make use of Elites and Brutes to set up ambushes. That's when me and Betsy here-," the human patted a lethal, blood-spattered shotgun on his back, "-reorganize some innards."
"What capabilities do they have?"
"Twelve," the sergeant prompted the silent machine.
"We have observed that Hostile identified as-"
"Short-version, Twelve, we don't have a lot of time," Redman interrupted her.
"Covenant Paladins are physically superior to baseline humans or Tau by as much as a factor of ten, possibly even superior to this unit. The black-armored Paladins are stealth assassins and prefer ambush tactics. They are able to hide themselves from a variety of sensor scans as well as organic sensory systems. The silver-armored Paladins prefer open battle and seem to focus on offensive skill-sets. Both varieties of Paladin are possessed of psychic abilities on par with those displayed by StarSpawn Ethereals. The usage of those abilities directly correlates with the variety of Paladin we encounter. Paladins have only a single staff weapon capable of both close-quarters and ranged combat. No Paladin yet encountered has used personal energy shielding."
Templar let the details roll around his head for a few moments, trying not to dwell on failing his cadre, "Twelve, can you mimic an SFE?"
"Affirmative."
"Do so and arm yourself as appropriately as you see fit. You will only reveal yourself to be a Terminator when there is no other recourse. By now they must realize at least some of your model's capabilities."
"Yes, sir," Twelve acknowledged as her skin and clothes rippled.
Seconds later a figure in a Terran-standard SFE began searching for suitable weapons among fallen Fire Warriors.
"Twelve, will continue to take point," Templar told Sergeant Redman, "I will be next in formation and you will be last to watch our backs. Understood?"
The Sergeant nodded and stood there as motionless as a machine. Twelve returned and Templar's eyes widened at the sight of her. The Terminator carried a burstcannon in either hand, a pulse carbine slung across her back, and KE-10's at both hips. Templar knew the Paladins had no idea if SFE's enabled humans such feats of strength so he said nothing.
"Let's move out."
The three moved to the grav-lift at the top of a ramp opposite the bay doors. The lift was simply a blue-purple, circular platform in the center of the ramp.
"We go in intervals of three seconds. Go."
Twelve went first, burstcannon barrels held downwards, and the lift descended into the floor. A second later the hole the Terminator had left was replaced by another circular platform. Templar had been doing a slow count since the Terminator had descended and at three he stepped onto the platform with his burstcannon at the ready. The descent was deceptively fast even though it felt like he was barely moving. The interior of the lift was lit in the blue-purple shade the Covenant seemed to favor.
"Contact," Twelve contacted him quite calmly over the comm.-link, "Twenty Grunts, Fourteen Jackals, Two Brutes and a Paladin. Performing evasive maneuvers."
"Negative, Twelve, establish a defensive perimeter at the bottom of the lift. Redman, we'll need you as quick as you can get here."
"Already on it."
The veteran Fire Warrior jumped as though he had never gone through a Trial by Fire when a shape landed beside him. He turned to discover Sergeant Redman unhooking himself from a rappelling line. Templar didn't want to even think about how the sergeant had managed it. Redman powered up his plasma carbine and waited calmly for the lift to reach its destination.
When the lift did finally stop Templar had to dive to avoid a dozen Needler rounds and several turned in time to take his shield down by nearly a third. Redman stood resolute and returned fire with his carbine. The two had emerged on the second-level of a walkway that had four wide entryways. Two of the entryways only led to what Templar assumed were long drops. Twelve stood to the side of one where several Brutes were trying to advance and held a burstcannon trained on the other. Those two led to ledges that encircled the room and were liberally dotted with doors.
"Redman!" Templar pointed toward the entryway opposite the Terminator where six Jackals and a squad of Grunts were advancing behind the cover of the Jackals shields.
The sergeant palmed a Boom-Stick and somehow managed to activate it one-handed while he sidestepped beside the entryway. Redman rolled it down the path and turned with his back to the entryway. Templar rolled to the opposite side and beneath the leaping shadow of a Covenant Paladin. The Paladin seemed intent on reaching Twelve and the blast-wave from the detonation of the Boom-Stick didn't even slow it down. Templar thought he had never unshipped a rail-rifle from his shoulder so fast in all his life. The Terminator turned and unloaded both burstcannons on full auto before the Paladin had landed. The Paladin's staff split and a shield shimmered into existence microseconds before the plasma bolts reached the Paladin. Redman turned and fired off a HE, AP round from his carbine but the Paladin twisted and it intercepted that round too. Templar had placed his targeting reticle directly in the back of the Paladin's skull but a millisecond before he hit the trigger the Paladin turned to him. The round's kinetic energy made the Paladin slide backwards for nearly a meter as it discharged an energy bolt. Templar had already been moving and the round merely grazed his arm. That graze almost entirely depleted his shield. Templar watched in awe as Twelve dropped a burstcannon, and extended that arm to an impossible, if she had been human, length to grip the back of the Paladin's head. Droplets of dark blood welled between her fingers as Twelve moved with lightning reflexes and shoved the barrel of her remaining burstcannon into the Paladin's back.
"Cover her," Templar spat out the command as he saw Brute's aiming their grenade weapons at the T-X.
Redman dropped down prone a few meters behind Templar. Together, rail-rifle and plasma carbine, held the Brutes at bay. Meanwhile Twelve had depressed the firing stud. This part of a Paladin's armor was among the thickest to better protect the vital organs that were the most vulnerable near its back but it was no match for point blank burstcannon fire. There was no obvious sign at first except for the furious jigging of the Paladin as mega-joules of energy were pumped into its body. Then a faint point of bluish light appeared in the center of its pectoral region. This point of light grew so much in the space of a few microseconds that it was hard to look at until plasma bolts, along with slagged flesh and metal, erupted from a fissure in the center of the Paladin's chest. Twelve estimated that the Paladin's life functions had ceased after only thirty rounds but as diagnostic data on Paladin biological was unavailable she wanted to take no chances.
Twelve let the Paladin's body drop as the remaining forces arrayed against the three fled in disarray at the sight of a defeated Paladin. Templar and Redman stood warily, still scanning the area, as they checked their weapons for damage.
"This area is temporarily secure," Twelve intoned just as a plasma grenade sailed out of nowhere toward her face.
The Terminator simply flipped and rolled over the edge of the walkway. Templar and Redman dove for the cover of the walkway outside of the lift platform. The grenade detonation deafened them to the high-pitched squeal of a lone Grunt as it had its first and last glimpse of a T-X model. Twelve sprang back up beside the two organics as they checked for damage to their armor.
"We can't continue like this. Once they realize their lone Paladin's are having little success they will send them in force to deal with us," Templar rolled his shoulders as he did when the stress of a mission was really getting to him," Twelve, can you send a schematic of the ship and the Prophet's location."
"Affirmative. Data sent."
Templar held up his bracer and saw the probable route the Prophet was taking.
"Twelve, what is this location?" Templar pointed to a blind spot in the schematic of the Covenant Carrier.
"Unknown. That is not supposed to be there."
"I assume it's where the Prophet has a shuttle ready to fly him to a Halo. We have to get there first or at least right after they do. Twelve, find us a route."
What would they do when they got there though? He doubted that three of them, no matter that one was a machine designed primarily for the most extreme forms of warfare, would stand much of a chance against multiple Paladins.
"Route has been tagged."
The route was a torturous path mostly through tight service corridors but one spot only a hundred meters or so from the secret docking bay caught his attention.
"What does this icon mean?"
"It is the character meaning 'location where machines are returned to functionality' in standard cuneiform used by Covenant Species identified as Engineers."
"Good. Mark this location as our destination on your HUD, sergeant. You've got the point, Twelve. Let's move quickly."
"Affirmative."
"Yes, sir."
Twelve jumped from the side of the walkway and Templar hesitated slightly in following.
"SFE's have been tested at dropping heights of six meters without damage to the wearer, sir," the sergeant replied a tad impatiently before jumping off the side of the walkway himself.
Templar breathed out gustily before dropping from the walkway. The drop was barely three meters and he barely felt the impact when he did land. Redman nodded and Twelve set off at a jog towards a door a few meters to their left. Templar fell into place five meters behind her, just out of the immediate damage range of a plasma grenade, and the sergeant fell into step five meters behind him.
The three were traversing a wide corridor when a squad of blue-armored Elites led by a gold-armored commander rounded the corner fifteen meters in front of Twelve.
"Redman, cover! Twelve, advance on the double!"
Templar dove prone and rolled himself partially behind one of the light fixtures that protruded from the wall on his left. His HUD auto-magnified on the Elite squad and his rail-rifle was firing before Twelve had taken her second step. The Terminator closed the distance in seconds, firing the entire time on full automatic, sowing chaos among the enemy. Templar, his hand-eye coordination above average for a Tau and that meant his accuracy with ranged weapons was supernatural when compared with a human, accounted for nearly half the squad from his firing position.
"Grenade!" Redman barked, sliding to a halt on his back.
The sergeant was facing the opposite direction and firing his carbine in smooth arcs of semi-automatic fire. He maintained his cool, systematic fire even through the blinding glare of the plasma grenades detonation. Once Templar's visor depolarized he could see the smoking bodies of several Jackals.
"Good job, squad. Let's go."
"Affirmative."
"Yes, sir."
The Prophet and Sector Commander were ensconced in the small docking bay, barely twenty meters long and only five high, waiting while the Engineers repaired systems that had been destroyed on what they had thought were his orders. They could not even enter the ship until the door was repaired and checked for traps. With them waited four Paladins belonging to the clan called Smiters of Evil and a single Shadow Slayer Paladin who had an unexploded shell from a plasma carbine in his armor. Outside of the docking bay doors were four more Smiters of Evil bolstered by three Hunter-Pairs, two squads of Jackals, five Brutes, and a squad of rookie Elites. In addition to this a pair of Shade heavy plasma gun emplacements had been moved into flanking positions outside the doors. The docking bay entrance was at the end of a T-junction in the ship's corridors. Each corridor had been blocked off by heavy equipment but most of the defense was concentrated on the forward corridor. It had several places along its length where armored vehicles could be brought to bear against them. This time the Covenant forces were taking no chances.
There was no surprise among the ranks of the Covenant when a Shadow broke through the first of their barricades at full-speed. The Shadow was a Covenant version of an APC but with the usual Covenant aquatic predator look about it. The heavy plasma turret topping it gave it a vague resemblance to an earth shark. The Shadow and the Covenant opened fire at the same time. Two Tau rocket batteries had been rigged to the sides of the Shadow and they let off their full payload while the plasma turret fired continuously despite the fact that emergency cooling should have shut it down to prevent overload. The Shade emplacements fired plasma volleys that were as powerful as those used in capital ship anti-fighter batteries. Each Hunter-Pair fired its fuel-rod cannon along with the other soldiers firing their own personal brand of energy weapon. An observer would have called the display of light spectacular but the participants would have called horrifying. Only a handful of the Covenant warriors fell thanks to the efforts of the Covenant Paladins using their psychic abilities to detonate the rockets long before they came within range. The momentum of the Shadow was almost spent by the time it closed within five meters. By this time the plasma turret had been slagged and the vehicle was listing badly to one side.
That was when its fusion plant went critical and wrought cataclysmic detonation throughout the corridor. Every single piece of heavy machinery in front of the door was swept clean and the doors themselves bulged inward alarmingly to the Paladins guarding the door. These two Paladins looked at each other worriedly, undoubtedly communicating telepathically, and were thrown aside when a Covenant Spectre burst through the weakened doors. The Spectre's body was vaguely shaped like the snout of a beagle with a plasma turret in the back and two wing-vanes that doubled as seats. It hurtled towards the Prophet and the Sector Commander furiously spitting out bolts of plasma energy from its turret and burstcannon fire from the side-seats. The Paladins guarding the doors were killed almost instantly by the heavy concentration of fire. The remaining pair of Smiters shielded the Prophet and Sector Commander while using their mental powers to pummel the Spectre with telekinetic force. Both were trembling with exhaustion by the time the Spectre grinded to a halt in a twisted mass of metal.
None of them noticed the three figures free rappelling towards them from the ceiling of the docking bay.
Templar set his rail-rifles sights on the Prophet and tongued the green light command signal. Beside him Twelve opened up with her burstcannons on full auto while Sergeant Redman pumped AP shell after shell at the Covenant Paladins. Templar fired his rail-rifle three times in a single second, something the older model had been incapable of, and managed to bring the Prophet's shield down. Both Paladins were too fatigued to turn their shields upwards fast enough and were eliminated without a chance to offer any defense.
A black-armored shape materialized in mid-leap, a fantastic feat because they were nearly five meters from the closest bulkhead, and tackled Twelve out of mid-air. The two began engaging in a furious mid-air struggle as they fell towards the ground but not before the Paladin used his powers to cut Redman and Templar's lines.
They were still five meters in the air.
Templar rolled his body in mid-air instinctively and somehow managed to land hard against the side of the Prophet's chair. His shield had gone down noticeably after the impact but not enough to distract him from his duty. The Prophet rose into the air, shrieking madly for Templar to remove himself, while the Fire Warrior hung on for dear life. Somewhere below them Redman and the Sector Commander exchanged fire while there was no sign of Twelve. Templar had lost his rail-rifle and his burstcannon was too unwieldy to attempt to fire one-handed as if he were a Terminator. But there was one weapon that he had been aching to use on Covenant flesh since he had seen it.
Templar reached over his shoulder to the hilt that was protruding slightly above it. With a deft twist the lock released and Templar drew forth a Tau Dueling Blade. The blade was slender, straight, and half a meter long. That was going to be more than enough especially when Templar thumbed an activation stud that sheathed the blade in plasma energy. A howl of horror and rage exploded from the Prophet as he grabbed Templar's wrist in his surprisingly strong hands. It was probably his adrenaline-fueled terror lending him such strength. Templar gripped the underside of the chair with his legs and punched the Prophet as hard as he could with his free hand. It was a decidedly against the tau'va teachings to feel pleasure at the crunch of his foe's bones but Templar could not help it. After the third punch the Prophet let Templar's blade arm go and sealed his doom.
Templar sought to calm his vengeful heart with litanies but he could not deny the joy that coursed through him as he cleaved the Prophet's large head from its narrow shoulders.
The chair crashed against the far wall of the docking bay and Templar was caught between the two. His leg, the armor already dented from one of the many firefights the three had gotten into on their path, twisted horribly under the strain. Nothing snapped but he thought ligaments were torn at the least. With a grunt of suppressed pain Templar shoved the Prophet's corpse and chair off of him.
Sergeant Redman was standing over him before he realized he had passed out from the pain. Hours of fighting and exhaustion, as well as his minor concussion, had finally caught up with him.
"The Sector Commander," Templar asked, rising to his feet, surprised that he had held on to his deactivated sword.
"Eliminated."
"Where's-?"
Before Templar could ask a cold, menacing voice interrupted, "If you are looking for your pet abomination I think I can oblige you."
Pain blossomed along Templar's entire body as he felt himself lifted into the air by an invisible force for the second time that day.
"I remember you, Tau," the Paladin said, stepping closer with the twitching form of Twelve suspended in the air before him. "To think that so many of my brothers would have fallen to so weak a race as you… wait. You are not a Tau," the Paladin turned to Redman who was arched in mid-air beside Templar, "You are the one that I sealed in the Ethereal's room with that abomination. To think that an abomination and a stinking human made it this far is insulting to my people. I will find great honor and contentment in sending you pathetic creatures into the blackness of death. "
Twelve's form rippled and as quick as thought a spike formed of her 'skin' shot into the Paladin's left eye. Fluid gushed from the wound and the Paladin stumbled back with an anguished roar. The grip on the three loosened and they moved almost as if they had been fighting together for years. Twelve dropped to the ground and tried to recover from the Paladin's ion bombardment of her circuitry. Templar darted forward from the left; plasma sword activated, and sliced a wicked gash in the Paladin's abdomen. Redman raced forward from the right and shoved a Boom-Stick into the Paladin's lacerated gut.
"For Alexis, you shit," Redman said over his external speakers with the first hint of emotion Templar had seen him display since they had met.
Redman dived to the side as Twelve rose and tossed the Paladin as though he weighed nothing in the direction of the docking bay doors. All three dove to the ground as the Boom-Stick detonated with the Paladin writhing and cursing in mid-air. Seconds later Templar and the other were whisked off their feet by a tremendous suction. Templar turned and watched in dismay as the docking bay doors split apart. All of them, including Twelve, were sliding uncontrolled for the door. Templar reached down and removed a grappling hook attachment that could be fitted to his left gauntlet. He quickly attached it and fired it into the wall beside the control panel for the bay doors. He reached out and grabbed Redman's ankle. Templar looked over at Twelve and cringed despite himself. The Terminator's skin had disappeared and revealed her true nature. Twelve's natural form was supposed to be shiny and perfect but this was far from the case. Her exoskeleton was as beat up and charred as Redman's SFE. The Terminator had never once complained but Templar doubted if the urge to bitch was in her programming. Twelve didn't even ask for assistance as she tried to dig her talon-like fingers into the floor. Thankfully the ship appeared to be magnetically sealed to the floor so there was no danger of it sweeping the three of them out into space.
"Grab her when I swing you around, sergeant!" Templar ordered preparing to muscle the heavy suit in Twelve's direction.
"You're going to risk our lives for a fakie?" the sergeant asked in disbelief.
"She's a part of your team. We don't abandon anyone! That's an order, sergeant!" Templar practically screamed and flung Redman around towards the Terminator.
For a few moments Templar thought the human would not obey his orders. They were only ten meters from the widening gap in the docking bay doors when Redman reached out to the metal claw of Twelve. Then to Templar's shock Twelve did not grab it.
"Twelve! Take the sergeant's hand!"
"I can not comply. There is a seventy-five point nine-six percent chance that my additional weight will cause one or either of you to lose your grip."
"Grab that hand now, Unit-Zero-One-Two. That is an order!"
Compliance was instant and for a moment Templar regretted his decision. When the line went taut and the upper body of Redman was exposed to the yawning expanse of space while Twelve's entire body dangled outside the ship it felt as though Templar's entire arm would separate from his body. There was a chance they would be found before they ran out of air but there was still a battle raging amongst the Covenant fleet. Templar didn't want to take any chances with any of their lives. He thumbed the button that would reel them back towards the panel. Templar shut his eyes and grit his teeth against the pain in his shoulder until the arm went alarmingly numb.
I've definitely done damage, he thought numbly as he maintained his grip.
Finally his arm rose slightly as he reached the grapple hook. He felt the sergeant's body move and looked down to see the macabre exoskeleton of Twelve climbing up Redman's SFE. The Terminator extended an arm once she was sprawled fully the length of Redman's body. Long, translucent tendrils that had electrical signals pulsing down their length slowly writhed their way towards the control panel. Once contact was made the doors began to close almost instantly. When the doors were fully closed and the pull on Templar's arm relaxed he let go with a relieved sigh. He lay there for several seconds before opening his eyes. The Sergeant and Twelve, her SFE skin firmly in place, stood over him.
"Are you alright, sir?" Redman asked, his voice tinged with a hint of worry.
"Fine, Redman."
"Call me Boomer, sir."