City of silence

by NCR Ranger

New Mombasa. One of the most thriving cities on Earth, reduced to a ghost town in a span of one night. The Covenant own it now, and anybody who could've stopped them is either dead or gone. Or, so they think

10. Only Whispers

...The orbital ?!

They knocked down..an Orbital ?!

From how hard the ground had quivered seconds ago, Dutch already knew something cataclysmic had happened. There was no weapons system in the whole UNSC that he knew of ( barring a nuke, of course ) that could rattle the Earth like that. Even the Covenant, who'd thrown everything from plasma handguns to Scarab Walkers at him over the years, didn't have anything with that much oomph behind it, short of a full-on " cleansing " beam fired from one of their naval death-bringers...whether that be one of the CCS cruisers or the destroyers.

If it hadn't been for the wide-eyed, slightly hyperventilating Private on the steps right now, Dutch would've been thinking the aliens had rolled something else in, nobody had ever seen...but, finding out the orbital was coming down ?

Yeah, that wasn't much better. In fact, that was about as bad. If not worse.

" You'd better level with me, Private: The orbital ?! ", a distinctly incredulous Rassan shouted.

" The tether is collapsing!? "

" Roger that ! ", the Private on the stairs confirmed. " The whole-

BWOOOOOM !

BWOOOOM !

He didn't get any further than that, though, because it was right about then, that the ground did a repeat of what it had before- shaking so bad, it sent everyone reeling and staggering, desperately fighting for balance.

Again, Dutch was thrown around, and his left shoulder clanged noisily off the side plating of the M12. Biting back a string of profanity, he fought to stabilize himself, planting both boots as firmly as he could into the dust, stiffening his legs and fighting the rumbling.

Someone else did cuss loudly- Private Hudson, from the sound of it- as the earsplitting booming noises continued, with the Earth reverberating with each of them. It was completely deafening, and all the ODST could do against it was brace with everything he had...while maintaining an iron and vise grip on his M7S.

It'd take a lot more than a disintegrating orbital tether to get him to drop that...

...but Corporal Jao had gotten dropped. The AT specialist was freshly tossed on the ground again, sprawled out, though not motionless.

Are you...?

Dutch was already moving her way, but even as he did so, yelling her name, Jao was in motion, gradually rising back to a standing postion again.

Oh...Thank God.

Clearly, he hadn't realized how...resilient the other corporal was. Barely heavy enough to be able to handle that Jackhammer easily without having a hard time of if, if he had to guess. Still, she wasn't made of paper, that much Dutch was sure of.

Impressive toughness. The real kind.

But, still-

" Get under the stairwell! "

Lt. Gorman's voice somehow managed to be heard, even with all the cacophony going on of another one of the booming roars, as he yelled the command, pitching it as loud as he could get it.

" Go, go-! "

" Hudson, move your **** hide ! Now ! Get in there.. !".

It was all going down at the same time, and with the overlapping auditory assault of what Dutch now knew...was the sound of the Orbital Tether's support rings hitting the Earth. Now he had an idea of what was going on...and frankly, it couldn't have gotten much worse.

Its miles tall...and its falling on us...

..God. What's that gonna do...?!

But, there was no time to stand around and think about it; there was only moving and thinking. Dutch ran over to Jao as the AT Jarhead regained her footing, seized her by the nearest shoulder, and practically threw her-all of, what, 155 Ilbs ?- toward where Gorman was sending them.

" Back of the stairwell, Jao.. ". No need to say it any louder, not when she was this close. " Git !"

" Copy...! ", the other Corporal acknowledged.

As she careened off, Dutch watched as Gorman and Kivec led the way, with Rassan having made sure to charge partially up the steps to be that certain that she'd drag Hudson into the " safety " of the stairwell's shadow. Higher up, on the upper levels of this side of the lodge, the ODST caught a glimpse of more Marines on the scramble, rushing to put some distance between them and the incoming rain of metal and concrete.

Or, at least that's what they seemed to be doing-

Dutch just ran then, charging off after Jao as the Earth did another shake. It didn't take a rocket scientist to figure out that the bulk of all that space junk was raining down here, right down around their 20...!

One direct hit...!

That's all it'd take...

Thankfully, it was only a stone's throw ( literally ) from where the M12s were parked to the tucked-in area just behind the staircase...decorated by a patch of gravel with some kind of tree sticking out of it. A frosty, glass-fronted door was set into the nearby wall.

The mismatched group of Leathernecks dived into the further side of the alcove. Jao choose to have hunkered by the door, while Kivec and Gorman were using the tree as a shield. Rassan had hauled a yelping Hudson like a sack of grain over to the corner opposite where they'd come in, shoving him forcefully onto the deck.

Dutch came to a skidding stop somewhere in the middle of all of them. Automatically, he'd oriented himself so that he was pointed toward the Covenant would come from...if they'd been here.

Right now, though, all that seemed to be coming at them was the orbital tether itself.

" They did it, damn, it, damn it", Hudson- it was definitely him, from somewhere off on Dutch's right- gasped loudly.

" The Covies dropped an orbital on us. ..! !A-Are they insane ?! "

Bwooom !

Oh, this rook definitely hasn't seen a glassing.

Yeah, he's a true greenhorn alright...and a skittish one at that.

Dutch exhaled, a hissing slight breath between his teeth. Sure, he'd watched more than a few planets getting burned from one pole to another, but this Private hadn't even gone offworld in his whole career- that couldn't have been more obvious.

If he had, Hudson wouldn't have...well, not that he'd want to get anywhere near a glassing. That tended to get you killed pretty quick.

Still, at least he'd know what they could do...and one step closer to not being a rook no more.

" That's what they do-! ", Jao was quick to educate him. " They're out of ships because the Navy whupped them good- so they had to drop the Tether to get rid of us ! "

Bwooom...bwoooom !

The Covenant ?! Out of ships ? Yeah...I wish...

I really do...I pray we're still in the fight up there.

" Private ! ", Gorman stepped in. " Keep a lid on that.",

"...Yes, sir. "

The echoing impact crashes rolled on for a few more seconds...maybe half a minute if Dutch wasn't that badly off his guess. He couldn't actually see any of them making planetfall, though...all he could see from the tucked-in stairwell shadow was the collection of M12's, bouncing and rocking on their thick wheels like popcorn kernels on a sizzling plan every time a quake struck.

Was the rest of the Lodge's Jarheads ok ? Dutch couldn't say. Much as he wanted to find out, the here and now was all he could give attention to. But, at least nothing from the toppling tether had landed square on them...

...yet, that was. Emphasis on yet. Orbital debris wasn't exactly precise when it came cascading down, not even remotely.

Tether could reach into Tanzania if you laid it out...so

-How much of it is headed for us ?

---

They stayed put, till it was finally over.

The booming sounds had died off, at long last. There was definitely more debris pelting the Earth, needless to say, but no more were bombarding Magma Company, or their new hosts.

One high-end issue was resolved; not that they didn't have plenty more trouble to deal with.

" Game...over Game over, man ! ".

Beginning with Pirvate Hudson, to begin with. The rook wasn't panicking, not really, but he was damn near getting close.

" Geeez...", he was jabbering. " What the...what we can even do now ?! They just knocked down the Tether like it was nothing...! "

There was a rustling thumping noise; someone had smacked him upside the helmet...or seized and dragged him again.

It turned out to be Rassan once again " That's enough, Private! Being scared is one thing, but you will not lose your shit on my watch ! Understood ?!"

" Hey- hey look at me. "

" Need some backup? ", Gorman offered.

Rassan, however, declined. " Thanks for the offer, but-I got this. "

Sparing a glance over his right shoulder, Dutch found Rassan holding Hudson in place with a hand on his upper arm. The rook was staring at the dust, his MA5 cradled loosely in his own arms.

The other LT. did soften her tack ( slightly ), though, as she continued; " What you will do, is follow my orders, and follow my lead. You don't panic if I don't- got it ? "

"..Do you want to get out this alive ? You want to survive, right ?! "

"...I just...they're- they're so damn powerful. ", the Rook whispered. " Do we even have a shot at taking 'em on... ? "

" I'm not ONI, Private: I don't lie through my teeth with every word. You either go and find the Covenant, or the Covenant will find you. That's what's going to happen. "

Well, she wasn't wrong. More importantly, she was doing a good job of getting the point across, if Dutch was any judge. Plenty of steel in that voice; she wasn't messing around with setting the rook straight, and keeping his head from coming completely off his neck..

Not bad, Lt..not too shabby.

" Lieutenant...! Hey, Lt..! "

A shout from somewhere over the railings on the righthand side of stairs leading down and around into the alcove was shadowed a second later by a Marine appearing with it. He craned slightly over the metal barrier, trying to get a look at everything-

-and then spotted them.

" Lt ! "

" Not done with you, yet, Hudson ", Rassan warned him, before addressing the new arrival up top.

" What is it, Sergeant ? "

" You ok down there, ma'am ?! ", the NCO on the stairs called.

" Yeah.. yeah, combat effective, Bishop. "

No kidding. You are if nobody else was, Rassan.

That's for sure...

The now-introduced Sergeant Bishop scanned the others, though he stopped dead when he spotted Dutch.

" Holy- is that him, Lt ? That's the Helljumper you talked about ? "

" That's right- and he needs some of our Jackhammer stash ! ". Rassan stood, while beckoning sharply for Hudson to do the same.

"Alright- On your feet, everyone ! ", Gorman called. Unsurprisingly, Jao was one of the first to move, bouncing up and bounding over to join Dutch, with Kivec not lagging much behind.

" Let's go ! Form up ! "

" Sergeant ! Hold there- we'll be right up ! ", Rassan told him.

" Double time, all of you ".

Dutch needed no urging; he was moving at a run right away. The ODST quickly reached the base of the stairs on the righthand side, rounded them, and began taking them several at a time.

Looking at his 6, he wasn't surprised to be closely tailed by Jao; she was really shadowing him today..

As he charged up the incline, the ODST saw that more of the lodge's garrison was beginning to re-coalesce after obviously finding safer places to duck and cover while the orbital was showering the region with its bits. Groups and bunches of them- established squads, or mismatched ones who'd wound up together.

Dutch had emerged onto a large, sprawling space that was hundred of feet from end to end. It was fully covered overhead by some kind of...awning ? Dutch wasn't sure what to call it, but whatever it was, it was a dulled orange material that was letting in the sun's light, but cutting out all the searing glare.

Before the Covenant, this place had been where the Reserve guests could observe the wildlife that lived in it, while relaxing on the padded benches and chairs that were arranged around the perimeter railings. Even just days earlier, this whole place

The ODST eyed them all, searching for any who'd been wounded, but none of the Jarheads he was seeing appeared to be. All of them were vertical...but after all the action they'd been through recently, there had to be an aid station ( or, several ) set up on the premises.

Inside, needless to say...No point putting it up top. Come on; you knew that already.

Two of them, jogging from left to right across the width of the viewing deck, were the first to spot the ODST. Each of the two leathernecks was carrying an ammo can in each hand, and one of the Marines nearly dropped his as he stopped dead.

The one standing next to him didn't know what was going on, but a half-second later, he did, also spotting Dutch. His buddy was already in the act of pointing at the ODST, then rembered he was carrying a box of ammo, and quickly set it down first.

" Hey-trooper ! ", he yelled. " Hey...! "

" Where's the rest of your squad-

" Badowski ! ". Bishop bluntly interjected. " Get that ammo up to the forward M41s- now. Didn't I give you that job ?! "

A grin tugged on Dutch's mouth; he couldn't help it. Sometimes, it was just plain satisfying to watch some rawhide getting verbally sat down-if he really needed it, that was. And, this guy pretty much did.

" Hey- did I ?! Then get on it- go. You too, Raymond !"

" ..Oh,..um...Yeah, Sarge. ", acknowledged the other ammo carrier, slightly put off balance by the NCO doing what NCOs do best.

" Come on, man..."

" Hey- but its an ODST, though.. Alright, yeah, I know.."

Leaving the rank and file Jarheads to lug the bullets, Dutch and Jao- yeah, she was still there- kept following Bishop onward. The Sergeant led them deftly past other groups of additional Marines, all of whom were still getting reorganized, carrying more loads of ammo and munitions, rechecking their weapons...

" How its been for you up till now ? ", Dutch asked Bishop. " You keeping them back with who you've got to work with ? "

It was a good guess that they had, as Caldera was still hunkered down here on the Lodge, needless to say. But, that rain of Tether-bits was making it hard to be sure...

Bishop didn't look at him as they moved along, but he did answer. " We've been hit hard enough, but we weren't about to call it a day, and attempt a fallback. Most of the heat was coming from their Wraiths behind and on the ridge...haven't gotten any of that since the Tether went boom, though.

Not quite chaos, though. But, then again, an orbital tether had collapsed, close enough that the ground had shook like a quake. At least it seemed to have blunted the Covenant offensive, though; Dutch hadn't heard the woosh of plasma mortar salvos from the Wraiths for a while...not since the tether's debris had begun pelting the place.

Did...the tether's chunks take 'em all out ?

God, that'd be convenient...

Briefly indulging in wishful thinking aside, the ODST stayed on point, letting the Sergeant led the way.

It didn't take much longer, though. Aside from plenty of shocked expressions and glances from the other Jarheads, nobody else slowed them down...probably due mostly to Bishop barking at anyone who oogled them too long.

Finally, they got where they were going: some kind of fortified position built right onto the edge of the Lodge's perimeter rail. It wasn't alone, of course- within a stone's throw, was a static M41 postion, also surrounded by more sandbags- but the one Dutch had come up to was...different.

Sandbags had been piled and packed into a rough semicircle, forming a horseshoe-shaped barricade that was easily wide and long enough for at least 2 individuals to fit into, if not a whole fireteam. The sides of the ring were high enough so that nobody on the Reserve's plains below the rail would have a clean shot ( if any shot at all ) up onto it, but giving whoever was in it a clear LOS on them.

Decent enough, on its own, but whoever had made this had gone a step more; they'd piled scrap tiles from the Observation deck's floor, along with any other bits of debris and scrap they'd been able to scrounge up from anywhere nearby ( Dutch knew Covenant metal when he saw it, and there was indeed a slab of it inserted into the mix here ).

Now, that was unconventional. But, in a clever way; the jumbled mass of scrap and junk was making the whole position look more like something that already blown it up. Even with the deception blown ( when/if someone finally engaged it, or got engaged by it, either or ), the extras on the barricade would help soak up at least some of the incoming plasmastorm the Covenant would be slinging.

As improvised field fortifications went, it wasn't that flimsy; Dutch had seen much worse expected to do much more...and fail more often than they succeeded. This, on the other hand, looked like it would actually keep you alive if you ducked behind it...unless a Wraith shot landed smack dab on it. Or withing that

That the barricade wasn't anything but atoms yet said that hadn't happened yet, obviously. Still, the Jarheads manning it would've cleared out by then...

..and speaking of which, 3 of them were still in it, as Duch and co raced up. Two of them were staring out downrange, weapons all in hand and leveled. The third was sitting with his back against the wall of bags and scrap

Jackpot !

" Jenkins ! ", Bishop pitched his voice up, calling out at them.

" Sarge ?! ". The brows of the Marine serving at the position's reargeard shot up, as he looked up and then saw them. " Hey...Sarge ! "

One of the other Jarhead's helmeted heads swiveled around, and the second of the Marines spotted them. Unlike the other one, he was sporting an elaborate set of facial tattoos...ones that could only be called..., well, fearsome.

Is that...Maori ? Looks like it..

Yeah...now that's a rarity these days.

" Jenkins ! ". The NCO didn't waste another second. " Give me another count on your Jackhammer ammo...! "

" Still got 18 left, Sarge. 18, exactly. ", the Marine with the tattooed face replied, promptly answering in full. He tipped his head to a neatly placed stacked pile of long munitions cases, tucked into the righthand corner of the ring.

He put a hand out, patting the stored warheads. " You know I always keep track of them. "

" Yeah..yeah, I do. ", Bishop nodded, surveying the cases.

" Allright...Corporal Miles ! Jao ! "

He turned toward the two corporals, and pointed at the cases. " Grab a few of those, but don't weigh yourselves down..."

" Oh, hell yeah...". Jao was unmistakably delighted.

" Jenkins ! Give 'em a hand. Everyone else, eyes out !"

That seemed prudent, for sure, though Dutch had been doing the same every few seconds since he'd come up on this spot...and he hadn't seen anyone moving around down there.

By 'anyone ', that meant the Covies, needless to say. When Magma Company rolled up on the Lodge, the sky had been practically raining Wraith plasma, but as Dutch gazed over the terrain ahead, he didn't see any-even any piles of destroyed ones.

All there was to see down there, was more of the same kind of postcard-worthy grasslands that were carpeting the entire Reserve, along with the usual towering cliffs in the distant background. Closer in, and more off on the left, another cliff that was barely a third of the height of the ones further out ran in a gentle curve, topped with more bushes and a handful of baobab trees.

Well, postcard-worthy for sure...aside from all the Tether scrap.

They weren't specks, either; some of them were so tall, that were casting shadows ! Giant husks of space-resistant metal, buried at least halfway into the ground, forming craters around each one...and they were scattered as haphazardly all around they should be for something as tall as an orbital tether disintegrating like a kicked Jenga tower.

If if they'd been any bigger, the shockwaves from the impacts would've washes over the Lodge on this side like a tidal wave, given how close some of them looked to be. They were just these hulking, bulky chunks of scrap metal and what other space-age materials had gone into the tether, strewn around like so much wrapping paper- even though any of them probably weighed as much as a Grizzly tank, at the lightest.

God almighty...! This could've gone so badly for us...

Dutch didn't have the luxury of soaking it in for long, though- he couldn't afford more time than the handful of seconds he'd been spending, not with-

" Hey- Corporal Miles ! Gawk on your own time, and get over here ! "

Damn. Got distracted...!

Blinking, and pivoting right, Dutch left the demotion derby display alone, while suppressing a twinge of annoyance. He didn't usually commit rookie mistakes...

...but, today was just a train of things going wrong anyway.

" Yeah...on it, Sarge. Don't worry. "

" Come on, Trooper; we got rockets coming out of our ears here ! ". Jao was as excited as Dutch had expected her to be, already in the process of prying open one of the cases, and carefully lifting one of the Jackhammer warheads clear.

Coming over to her side, Dutch dropped to both knees alongside the other corporal, and immediately pitched in. The sight of so much heavy weapons ordinance all in the same place was..

...well, it was a beautiful godsend, it was it was. Without a doubt, Dutch found it beautiful.

" Man, you sure keep your word, don'tcha...", remarked the AT Jarhead .

Looking over at her, Dutch saw she was grinning from one ear to ear. She was having a ball now, the ODST recognized. Made sense; known her less than a day, but she loved blowing things up as much as he did.

Like a lost sister...

" Here's your treasure, Jao...! ". The ODST flipped open a case, revealing another pair of warheads, and tucked them beneath his arm.

" Freaking...gold, man", the other corporal expressed her satisfaction.

All well and good, sure, but they were still pressed for time here. Obviously, the tether's junk rain had spooked the Covenant into withdrawing, but that couldn't last for much longer. The Xenos were smart enough to run, but they'd be back before long- they were no doubt getting the gibbering Grunts back into something resembling a fighting unit so they could be thrown at the Lodge in another assault right now.

But, when had they ever not been in a hurry...?

Hardly ever, is the answer. The kind that just doesn't change.

Dutch kept that to himself, though, as he opened up another case and retrieved some more warheads. Out the corner of his left eye, he watched Jao doing the same to...a 3rd case ? Hard to be sure, but she'd worked through them like lightning.

" Allright- I got 5 here..! ", he reported, glancing down at the bundle of explosives he now had clamped tightly against his side.

" 5 ? ", asked Bishop.

" Roger that. "

The NCO nodded. " Alright, alright...what about you, Corporal Jao ? "

" I got 7, Sarge ! ".

12 rockets ? That's a lot of boom for one Jackhammer, no arguments, but-

Sure, it seemed excessive at first...

...Well, the Covenant probably have a whole company of Wraiths waiting for us down the road. That's only logical.

" You can carry that easy ? ". Bishop did sound skeptical, but that wasn't uncalled for. Not entirely...

" No problem, Sarge ". Dutch assured. " They're in good hands. "

" Thanks, Trooper. ".

It was then, that the marine who'd been leaning on the barricade interrupted with some less than positive news. " Hey...Sarge ?! "

The warning note in his voice was enough to get Dutch standing in a flash, though with the all the Jackhammer warheads he was now lugging, he couldn't exactly one-hand his M7S.

Still, if they was anyone coming, he had to see for himself.

" You see something, Jenkins ?! ". Bishop moved forward, rapidly circumventing Dutch to join the Private at the rail.

The lower-ranking Leatherneck had leveled his rifle over the edge, staring down its scope. " I think...I think there're some Jackals down there..."

Covie scouts...poking around ?

Yeah...that tracks, all right. They're prepping to hit here again, just like I thought.

" Jackals...? ". Bishop unlimbered his own rifle, put it to his shoulder, and scoped down.

Blinking, Dutch utilized his helmet's zoom function, pushing it to the maximum. It still couldn't match the mag level on his M7S, but without it, it was the next best thing.

And, it proved to be enough here: emerging from around and between the mangled girders of some of the tether debris, were 4 of the spiny-headed alines, all of whom had beam rifles in hand.

Great...a bunch of beaks

Could be worse, though...better them than the Gorillas.

" Yeah-Jackals. ", muttered the NCO. He knew what that meant, as Dutch suspected that he did...

Its how Covenant assaults began: A handful of the Beaks would arrive, and would use their long-range scopes to get a read on the UNSC position. On top of feeding intel back to their superiors, the Jackals were, of course, snipers. Spotting them downrange had anybody who knew a single thing about Jackals ducking for cover..or reaching for an S2 rifle.

" What ? We've got beaks inbound ? ", Jao piped up.

" That's affirmative ", Dutch confirmed to her, feeling liquid anticipation seeping into his blood. " They're probing us- more are gonna be comin' in soon. "

Better raise the alarm-

Turning around to face the rest of the Lodge's roof, Sergeant Bishop proceeded to do exactly that. He cupped his hands to his mouth, and-

" Stand to ! Stand to, we've got hostiles scouting our perimeter ! "

Sergeants as a rule didn't lack for volume, and Bishop fit the bill to a T. More than a few Marines heard the call, stopping cold in whatever they were doing or going, with heads all turning his way.

" Jackals ! Jackals spotted ! Prepare for inbound enemy assault waves..! ", the NCO boomed.

The Leathernecks responded with alacrity and competence, which didn't surprise Dutch one bit. Hudson might've been a bit skittish, but as a unit, Caldera Company seemed to be as put together as Magma- nobody continued standing still if that's what they'd been doing, and all of them began to move, heading with clear purpose to either the edges of the roof, while squad leaders spread the word between themselves, and to their charges.

" Where are my marksmen ?! ", demanded Bishop. " Get on the Jackals ! Top of the ridge, reference the center ! "

Already bustling, the Lodge rooftop became a hive of activity, as the Marines rushed to finish getting ready to receive the Covenant. What fighting units that were fully formed began jogging toward the perimeter, while the members of the rear echelons dived into carrying on ferrying ammo and gear to where it was needed, emerging from the doors leading up from the Lodge's lower levels, with their arms loaded with additional gear or munitions.

The whip-sharp crack of an S2 rifle blasted out...soemone had finally gotten on the counter sniping.

Watching them in progress, Dutch felt like he'd have no issue with sticking around, and slugging it out against the upcoming aliens shoulder to shoulder with them...if it wasn't for having his real squad still out there in New Mombassa somewhere.

Oh...and having gotten roped into helping Magma Company out with whatever ONI had them working on. That was somewhere deeper in the Reserve...presumably.

" Keep your eyes on them ", Bishop ordered the barricade Marines, as he lowered his BR. " Lasram, Mua-you'd better be on point !"

" Roger that, Sergeant ", responded the Jarhead with the tattooed face.

Jao must've been thinking the same, judging by what she had to say next.

" Man...I wish we could stick around, and give 'em a hand. Sure they could use it..."

Dutch didn't doubt that; aside from Gorman, Jao had shown the most of that " go-get-'em " spirit he'd seen from Magma...and that was saying something. Looking at her right now, there was everything in her tone and posture that said she was in the mood for a real knockdown fight. A fight, more accurately, that had a high chacne of inflicting a considerable number of enemy casualties.

The other Corporal spent a few full-on seconds staring down at where the enemy's recon element had shown up, and for a moment, Dutch wondered if he'd have to intervene personally, and drag her away...

Eyes have fire in them..and that jaw is clenched at the back...I know hints when I see 'em

Its not about a deathwish. She has something personal against them...

...but then, don't we all ?

Yeah, I'd say we do.

" Right on, Jao, right on...but we got our own job. "

" Hey, don't think I don't know.

" ONI's damn job...". There was no mistaking how much the other corporal disliked the Naval Intelligence Service- and again, that was no shocker. After all, did anybody in the UNSC's rank and file trust them ? After all the shady covert activity ONI had done in the past, what they were still up to, even these days ?

Hardly anybody liked them, and why wouldn't they ? . It was simply how much you thought they all sucked- if it wasn't for the value of their Prowler Corps at screwing up the Covenant in space battles, there'd be a lot more grunts that a chip toward them...

...and there already were plenty of those.

" Corporal Miles ! Jao ! ". Bishop was getting their attention again.

Turning to look, they found him already a yard or so away, having already begun to race back down toward where the M12s of Magma company were waiting.

The Sergeant made a brisk " Come on " motion with his free arm. " Get a move on ! "

" You've got an objective to reach, don't you ?! "

---

Vbrmmmmm...!

As the M12's engines coughed to life, and Dutch shifted it into drive, his mind was already going a mile a second...

How much of a horde are we diving into ? Sure, just Jackals back there at the tunnel, but-

Wraiths. Got to be Wraiths back there with them...

Of course it would be...the Covenant weren't ones to bring anything less than considerable firepower to any fight. With all the plasma fire that'd been in the sky, before the tether fell, that tactical doctrine was in full effect here in the Reserve, and while they would have the common sense to do recon, that was only a prelude to what followed...

A total slugfest, to put it more simply. All that Wraith fire had a source, and without confirmation that the Tether debris had crushed them, it'd be up to Magma to lock horns with the alien armor.

If it hadn't been for all the mobility afforded to them by riding in M12's...

Wouldn't even attempt it, orders from ONI or not.

At least we got some Jackhammer boom on our side now. Some heavy ammo in our camp..

Yeah...having a fully loaded Jackhammer launcher in the group was certainly an edge, not to mention the column's AT operator was no slouch at handling the thing, and was chomping at the bit to employ said skill against the Covenant, with generous violence.

" Come on, trooper ! You're flooring it, right ?! "

Oh...and she currently was riding shotgun with him.

I'td been Lt. Gorman who had had ordered the switch-now that the Herd had more than just 2 Jackhammer rounds on hand, it was now Corporal Jao who was on Dutch's right, as the ODST steered the lead M12 around the Lodge's rightmost side. Charred craters dotted the ground, marking where Wraith mortars had struck, as the 4X4 vehicle led the others in the formation past and over the abused field.

" Woman, what else would I be doing ?! ". Dutch already had the accelerator pressed all the way down, with the steering wheel shaking hard under his gloves as the vehicle's speedometer revealed exceeded 65 mph.

" I'm checking that speed dial...ok...ok. That's perfect ! "

Oh, she took a glimpse at the dash ? Backseater..

" Well, what'd you expect ?", ODST returned fire. " I fall out of the damn sky for a living ! "

He torqued the wheel around right, pulling the strung-out column of M12s around the front end of a jumbled mass of Tether scrap, before straightening out and steadying their course dead ahead.

Directly down the length of their 12:00, as they rounded the debris, there was a...dead antelope lying on one side.

After so long spent in the Reserve, Dutch had nearly forgotten that there was any wildlife in this place. But, now he'd finally discovered what the Covies had been up to with the local fauna...

...and it was unsurprisingly nothing gentle. The dead herbivore wasn't alone, either; surrounded on every side, were several others. All of them were clearly shot to death..and given the lack of blood puddles under their corpses, it was a safe guess that ballistic rounds hadn't been responsible.

It was nearly enough to qualify as a whole herd....all just shot to death in the most methodically violent way possible.

Good God..!

What did they-?

" Son of a bitch..they lit up the animals ?! "

Over the howl of the air rushing past them, Kivec's reaction was still audible, and it more or less in the same envelope as Dutch was: " This is a fresh level of twisted, even for them "-ness.

Neither of them, or Jao for that matter, was completely shocked at the thought alone that the Covenant would gun down animals ( let alone ones that weren't exactly known for their ferocity or aggressive nature ), but actually coming across some of them was just...well, it drove the point home, basically.

Savages..

Well, that much about 'em hasn't changed.

" That ain't right ! ", the Private on the M41 shouted. " They just shot 'em...! "

" Like hunting us wasn't enough..."

Dutch watched, out the corner of his eye, as Jao twisted around to get a better angle on the slaughtered wildlife. She proceeded to then exclaim something in...Chinese ?

Vietnamese, maybe ? The ODST had another flash of internal annoyance someplace in his chest when he realized he still didn't know. As much as he knew it wasn't vital- he knew her name, and he knew she wasn't a screwup who couldn't be counted on-

Dutch was just curious. There was nothing wrong with that...but he'd have to wait to find out.

Instead, he offered his own take on the charred scene that was already well behind them by now. " Xenos don't care about Earth, or anyone living on it ! They're here to kill things, plain and simple..."

" Yeah..., agreed Jao, exhaling. " That about sums it up-"

" Corporal Miles ! Corporal Miles, respond ! "

Oh...

Nice of you to chime in, Lt.

" Boss is calling. ", the other Corporal commented.

" On you, trooper. "

Dutch tweaked the wheel. " Yeah-I got it ".

Multitasking time.

" Receiving you loud and clear, sir ! ", the ODST addressed the officer, as he torqued the M12 into a lefthand turn.

" Tunnel mouth is clear, Lieutenant ! We got a clear shot through..."

Looming ahead of them, was the gaping maw of the tunnel entrance that he'd gotten a glimpse of back he was at the edge of the Lodge's rail. By some miracle, none of all the copious amount of Tether debris had landed in front of it...or at least not enough of it to block the way. Fingers of twisted metal were stabbing up like a metallic dead forest in a patch just off to one side, having been sunk in deep by the impact of falling from God-knew how high up, but they wouldn't end up tearing into the sides of the M12's as they'd go by.

Magma Company wasn't blocked, yet...

" Repeat: Tunnel is clear ! ". Dutch advised. His mouth was beginning to get seriously dry at this point, but...that'd have to wait.

As a lot of things were having to...

"...Roger that, Corporal. "

" You're on point today. ". There was a note of being impressed in Gorman's voice, Dutch was certain.

Good with it, good without.

" Alright- Maintain your speed, Trooper ! ", Gorman commanded. " Only one way forward from here till the DZ ! "

" Watch for anti-vehicle weapons fire ", he added. " Copy !? "

Neither of those would be no problem at all.

" Solid copy, sir ! ", acknowledged the ODST.

The M12 flew through the tunnel mouth, and a quick glance at the RV mirror...and yes, the rest of the column of 4X4s wasn't all strung were still there, as the ODST leading them now cranked his vehicle around right, speeding through the flowing corner as it fed around right.

Now the column of 4x4s had reached some kind of...bypass zone, for the wheeled traffic that would normally be going through here. Most of the overhead white burning lights weren't online, but it didn't matter how shadowy things were in the tunnel- up the road, Dutch saw that the tunnel was already opened up.

Without the roof, they'd be back out in the sunlight again...

Exposed, in other words...

Great. We'll be running the gauntlet out there...provided the Covenant Air Force isn't on station.

At least we got the edge of an M12's speed...definitely going to be vital. Not stopping or slowing down either way...

Planning on the fly as was the norm for an ODST, so Dutch simply completed the turn, and gunned the vehicle up the road, rolling through scattered bits of litter on the ground in the process as the speedometer again wound up into the red.

If speed was the new rule of the day, then he'd be sticking by it as much as possible, orders to go fast or not.

" Private ! ". It was time to double-check that their gunner was ready. " Hey, Kivec ! Watch the skies; there's no roof ahead ! "

" Got that ?! Keep your eyes up...! "

The Marine on the M41still had his ears open, and acknowledged Dutch's order snappily. " You got it, Corporal Miles ! "

Got so used to ' Dutch '. ' Corporal Miles ' is formal as heck.

" Jackhammer, up ! "

Jao's shouted declaration of having her launcher ready was beautiful to listen to, as the M12 shot back out into the African sun outside, leaving the tunnel behind. If there were any Covenant fliers barrelling for them, or lingering around waiting to pounce, then having a well-supplied Jackhammer at their disposal was just what the doctor ordered.

" Roger that, Jao..! ".

Might need it in a second...!

Dutch braced for a shower of plasma from above, but-

-it didn't come.

There was...nothing.

What...

...the ?

The ODST's eyes flickered up, to some point that was 12:00 high, but there wasn't anything to be found up there, aside from a clump of puffy white clouds floating around at a couple thousand feet...at the same point ( roughly ) in the sky where the orbital tether would've be stretching up past. There was, however, no sign of any Banshees, or Phantoms.

Even his HUD's zoom function didn't reveal anything...

Jao swore, doing it in that language Dutch couldn't place again, before following it up with: "...Anyone seeing fliers ? 'Cause I dont ! ".

" ...Negative ! ". Kivec had come up empty as well-

"..Oh sh- Hostiles ! "

" Hostile air, 6:00 high ! "

Yeah-should've seen that coming...!

" Behind us ?! ". Out of his peripheral, Dutch watch Jao react, and then pivot around, Jackhammer raised.

Keep that thing up !

" Yeah- we got Banshees inbound ! "

Of course, hostile air would be loitering in the one place that didn't get checked first...and the one where they'd have the most cover. The Covenant hadn't burned out so many colony worlds by being stupid.

Just with sinfully high amounts of firepower, that the UNSC couldn't hope to fully match...

..such as the Fuel Rod Cannon rounds that would be soon coming down on them in the next few seconds, if there was a wing of Banshees coming down on them. And, they'd have plenty of time to line up their shots, on op of that. Given that the bridge they were on right now looked to be at least the length of the Golden Gate ( If Dutch remembered his history courses right ), Magma Company had a real gauntlet to run.

It was a wide bridge-wide enough for dual lane, two-way traffic, just as the tunnel was. Metal fences several meters tall ran along the sides of the sidewalks that sat on the road shoulders, speckled with the occasional lampost or security camera...or camera disguised as lamposts.

The bridge was perfectly designed...for tourists, and anyone else visiting the Reserve. With a Covenant invasion in full swing in the city, the bridge's lack of any kind of roof had turned it into a carnival shooting gallery for any Covie pilots going by, or sent to go full vulture on the place.

And, they'd had their fun; Dutch's M12 bypassed one abandoned open-sided touring bus , jeep, and other abandoned models of civvie vehicles after another, with most of them partially slagged like a candle hit by a blowtorch. Whether their occupant had been able to get clear beforehand or not, Dutch couldn't say.

He preferred not to think of the alternative...

" Taking fire ! Taking fire ! All rollers, engage on your 6:00 ! "

Gorman yelled out over the M12's comms speakers-there was no more time to admire the view.

There was an alien invasion underway, after all.

---

BWOOOSH !

" One away..! "

Jao's Jackhammer went off-for the first time Dutch heard that day. The hissing woosh of the Launcher firing was chased a second later by the residual heat of the backblast washing over the ODST, along with the billowing ash-grey wisps of exhaust plumes.

Ongoing already, was the chattering clanking of the M41 going full blast. Somewhere in the background, all the other M41's on the other M12s were discharging as well, producing an orchestra of overlapping full auto racket.

Got a lock, Jao- ?!

"...Banshee down ! Banshee, down ! ". The rocket-armed Corporal loudly- and enthusiastically reported success.

" I got one ! "

Gorman was still listening in on the unit's comms freq. " Roger that- One Banshee down ! "

" Corporal Miles ! ", he went on. " Update on the DZ: Covies are making another sustained push, and they're bringing Wraiths ! "

"...Copy that, sir ! "

God, those damn things are coming out of the woodwork !

They must've dropped a whole armored battalion in this wretched park, geez...!

" We're nearly there, trooper! Soon as we're over the bridge- "

And, it was right at that exact moment, when the M41 gunner behind Dutch interrupted them.

" Banshee, down ! One down !".

The column was halfway across the bridge now, and with a third of the enemy air taken care of. Plasma bolts were still raining down, but the column was no easy mark, which was something that the Covenant pilots had gotten that into their heads...along with more than a few UNSC bullets.

Directly ahead, yawed another tunnel mouth, like the one they'd whipped through a minute ago. At their current speed ( Dutch had the accelerator mashed all the way down, as he'd had as soon as he'd gotten behind the wheel ), it'd only take another...30 seconds or so, to clear the span they were on. They'd be out of reach of the alien's aerial assault...

Just gotta make the roost

" Good shootin' Private ! ", the ODST bellowed.

He then addressed the Lieutenant again, as Jao's rocket launcher bwoooshed again, spitting another warhead skyward.

" Lt ?! Yeah-still here, sir. Keep sending your traffic... "

True to form, Lt. Gorman didn't miss a beat. "- Soon as we're over the bridge, this road goes right to our DZ ! Its the only way there, so you keep the pedal down, and you don't stop till we get there ! Got it ?! "

It was hardly a daunting request; just a challenging one, and right up Dutch's alley. " No problem, sir ! "

" Got another !... Banshee, smoked ! ". Jao, evidently, had knocked down a second hostile.

" Good one, Jao. Good one ! ".

By God, she's working them over up there...

Keep it up, girl, keep it up

Engine screaming, the M12 began careening down the descending slope of the bridge, as it led down toward the opening of the other end. The volume of plasma bolts had slackened off somewhat; either the Banshees had all been wiped out...or they were focusing more of their attention on the rest of Magma.

Yeah..but there were still M41's blazing steadily. Did that mean any of the M12's had been taken out, though ?

Dutch checked the RV mirror again...but there were no smoke pillars coming up. Not that nobody wouldn't have been yelling over the comms if they'd been hit, because they would've...unless a Fuel Rod shot had smoked one so quick they didn't see it coming...

But even that would've been caught.

We've done it...!?

But, he had to check...

" PRIVATE! Kivec, you see anyone burning back there ?! "

"..Say again, Trooper ?! "

Blast. " Anyone burning back there, Private ?! "

" Oh...!...Nope ! No fires that I can see, Corporal ! "

So...they hadn't lost any of the Warthogs yet. The Covenant, it seemed, should've brought more of an air wing than a handful of Banshees...because if they had, then they might've had an actual chance at putting a real dent in Magma.

If there was anything worth thanking God over, this was one of them, and Dutch did right then, whispering gratitude as he steered the 4x4 down to the bottom of the downward sloping road, and then proceeded to hook another corner- this time toward the left. There was another chorus of tires screeching-squealing, as the column cleared the bridge and then swept through the anchoring structure that was a mirror of its counterpart on the other side.

As they flew out back into the outdoors, Lt. Gorman spoke up with another update. " Corporal Miles ! Coporal, respond ! Over. "

" Right here, sir. ", The ODST jinked the wheel right now, dodging a...dead vulture ( or, at least it looked like a vulture ), lying plasma-burned in the road.

" Send it-"

" They just shoot everything...damn !".

" Massacaring the birds...?! "

Jao must've seen the slain bird...and so had Kivec, as the M41 gunner cried out second later, " Hey, trooper- the Covies have gone full poacher ! "

Dutch let the comments slide unanswered, as the Lt. was in the middle of supplying some tactically applicable intel...or was about to, anyway.

"...poaching, Corporal ? "

Allright...these two have got to chill.

" Kivec, Jao- I'm on the horn with the Lt ! Police the noise ! "

Having addressed the issue, the ODST turned his attention back to the officer. " Go ahead, sir. Over. "

Once again, Gorman was crisply efficient. " Its a relay from the DZ...they've gotten some breadcrumb intel from our drones ! They're showing hostiles moving on foot along our route, headed for the DZ...! "

" Repeat: Expect enemy foot mobiles ahead..! Over. "

Oh, aren't they popular...

" Roger that, sir. Watching for bad guys hoofing it. Over. "

Could be worse...could've been Wraiths. Oh , wait- that's at the DZ.

At this point, they'd entered a grove of trees by now, and as they sped through the shady area, Dutch was already keeping his eyes firmly ahead, and scanning left. The right was already secure, though; a soaring wall of the now-familiar ' earthen base with a metallic upper portion ', the design that was another stretch of one of the dividing sections of the the left, the road they were currently on would up around a hairpin curve that partially went back on itself, extending up and out of sight over the silhouette of a loomingly giant hill.

There wasn't anything keeping the M12's from driving off the now-all dirt road...but that didn't' seem to be a good idea, as on either side of the column, the ground was rolling and dipping while also covered in considerable amounts of bushes and shrubs. While the M12s could handle that kind of lands, it was a great way to get the column strung out, scattered, and otherwise suffer comprised cohesion. That was unacceptable;

Aside from the grassy plains where Dutch had met Magma company for the first time, this was one of the more scenic areas he'd come across up till now...if it hadn't been for the formation of Sangheili that abruptly came jogging out from a thicket of foliage in his immediate 12:00.

Aha...!

Found you ! Must be a Spec Ops team...probably climbed over one of the dividers, or dropped in via Phantom.

Unwelcome either way. Their funeral, though.

The Hinge-Heads must've heard them approaching, as the gleamingly-armored aliens weren't moving in a scattered or haste way; they'd been planning to get into a fight right here and now. Numbering about a dozen ( give or take ), they quickly lifted their weapons, lined up shots...

" FUEL RODS...!

---

Kivec didn't need to scream that out...not at all.

Dutch had already spotted the jade-green bolts whipping toward them. Adrenaline was already replacing blood in his veins...

...and he jinked. Hard right, pulling them out of the enemy's line of fire.

God...!

As Kivec's M41 began firing again, the Fuel Rod bolts skimmed past. They were decently aimed shots, and would likely have struck home if it hadn't been for Dutch's evasive maneuvers.

" Shit, shit...Good lord-! ".

Jao's mixed swearing was definitely...interesting, Dutch judged.

" Rocket out..! "

Hey, be judicial with those- we're saving 'em for the DZ...!

Dutch didn't call Jao out on that, though. Getting shot at by Fuel Rod Cannons was absolutely a reason to use a Jackhammer...if they weren't coming at you in a Wraith.

As they closed in on, and then began going by the Hinge-Head squad, Jao's rocket slammed into them. They'd done their level best to get clear, but ultimately failed as an orange-white blast consumed them, blotting out Dutch's view of them.

Bwoom !

Did she get any of them ? Maybe-

Bwam !

That's a Rod round going off back there...

Did that hit one of ours ?

No way to know, of course. Kivec was still hosing the Sangheili down with M41 fire, as the M12 left the freshly pulverized enemy squad in the dust.

It was then, though, that the Gunner got a better LOS on the rest of Magma Company...

"..Agh...Trooper ! "

Here we go...

" Trooper, the Lt's M12 is hit ! He's hit..! "

The adrenaline mix in Dutch's veins...was still there, but now it'd become markedly chillier. It only took one Fuel Rod hit to utterly scrap an M12, if it hit in the right spot-

" What ?! They...they hit the Lt...?! "

Kivec's answered Jao's concern-laden question as best he could. " Yeah...! Yeah...but...he's ok ! I think...! His M12 is still going ! "

It must've been a grazing hit, then. It must've been. Any of the rods that had been coming at them while they'd been on the bridge could've done that in a heartbeat if they'd scored a top-down kill, but these Rod shooters didn't have that angle.

" Corporal Miles...Trooper ! "

As soon as he actually heard the Lt. speaking after finding out he'd been on the receiving end of a Fuel Rod strike, Dutch couldn't help but murmur a " Thank you, God ".

Could've been real bad for them- Magma- if we'd lost you...

But. not yet. Not yet...

" Reading you loud and clear, sir..! ".

"..You ok ?

God's looking out for him, that's for sure.

Dutch was certain of that...as certain he was that the others could do with some of that divine assistance as another group of hostile footsoldiers came into view- a mixed bag of Grunts getting marshaled by their usual Sangheili whippers.

The shorter aliens were exactly where they were supposed to be- at the front of their formation, as their commanders bullied them forward. The Hinge-Heads were doing what they did best in making their stumpy subordinates going where they'd take the brunt of the Humans' fire...which they promptly did as puffs of dust began kicking up all around and among them; the other M41 gunners of Magma had gotten a LOS on this latest batch of hostiles, and were finally joining in.

What kept you...?!

" Kivec ! Eyes front, we got hostiles on our 12 ! ", Dutch bellowed.

Wrenching the M12 into another hooking turn, the ODST directed his gunner to adjust his fire, as he guided them around the previously spotted hairpin and then uphill, all at breakneck speeds. Thankfully, none of the newest Covenant facing them had anything heavier than a plasma rifle...but more than a few of their bolts made hits on the M12's side armor, boiling off chunks of plating into metallic vapor.

" Roger...roger that ! ", acknowledged the gunner.

Going at roughly 70+ mph, Dutch couldn't give Kivec any longer to aim...but the M41's roar soon shifted. Kivec spun it around, and second later, Dutch was treated to geysers of cyan and purple blood as .50 cal bullets tore through them, removing limbs and heads, opening up torsos.

It was a good bit of shooting, for sure.

Jao didn't join in with another rocket, but then again, the now-riddled Covenant squad was in their dust. Besides, they were hardly worth a Jackhammer warhead, and anyway..the rest of Magma was having their turn now as well.

Getting raked by a couple of M41s ? Yes..that was probably more than a Covie squad could stand, even Sangheili.

But, they weren't alone. As the column headed up the road, the terrain opened up, with fewer trees and improved sightlines...which made it easier to spot the jogging bunch of Jackals with a few Sangheili behind them up and off on the left...

Geez, they just keep turning up...!

Where they coming from ?! No Phantoms, or even one of those outdated Spirits had swooped in to drop off more squads...so the ones ahead right here must've been bviouced along Magma's current route, waiting for the orders to move up and hit the DZ. It had to be a recent tactical move by whoever was calling the shots for the Covenant; otherwise, they'd have dropped in some Wraiths as well...

Kivec had seen them, saving the ODST from having to call them out. The M41 engaged the Jackals at that moment , as a stream of tracers lashed out then to pluck a few of the Beak-Noses clear off their feet.

That's more like it, Pirvate !

Watchful..

Squeaking and leaping, some of the Jackals were dead before they even finished spinning around.

The ones that actually made it managed to get off a few spastic trigger pulls of their Carbines, but it didn't do them any good- mostly because they didn't have anything heavier, and because the M41 gunner Dutch had at his disposal already at them bent over the table without a safe word.

None of them had a chance. As Dutch drove past the rapidly shattered enemy formation, his fornt right bumper caught one of them, and wth meaty thmp, knocked him aside even more easily than a stuffed toy.

" Trooper...you've just lost your license ! ", exclaimed the Corporal beside him.

" Vehicular...manslaughter! "

" Yeah...you'd better call the cops ! ", Dutch agreed. It was kind of ironic...he'd made his living handling heavy wheeled vehicles on Mars for years prior to signing up, and all that time, he'd been so diligent as to not hit anyone.

Well, now things were more than slightly flipped, to put it mildly.

Reckless driving- all the way to the DZ.

All the way...

They were nearly there...they were nearly at the top of the road. Lying along their path, the ODST could see more enemy squads running forward, while others were redirection themselves to look back where they'd come, as the accumulative whining roar of multiple M12 engines reached their ears.

Or, what counted as ears on a Covie...

" Corporal Miles ! Corporal, its at the top of this hill, around the righthand bend ! "

It was very helpful of Lt. Gorman to keep things concise, and to the point. It wasn't fully needed- Dutch hadn't exactly forgotten that there was only one way forward other than this road, and-

- oh, there was the bend now. Across from some kind of...tool shed or maintenance shack on the lefthand side.

" Be advised, Corporal...I've gotten no word from Honcho ! Been doing all I can to raise 'em, but...they've gone radio silent...! "

the road bent right..and led right toward-

Well, there was only one word for it:

Maelstrom.

---

Good God Almighty...

What. Happened. Here ?!

Dutch had seen decimation before. He'd seen what the aftermath of a UNSC force that gotten wiped out to a man looked like, and he'd seen if more than once. He'd seen it often enough, to not have any doubt of being sure when he saw it.

And, he was seeing it now.

" Holy...! That's..that's a lot of smoke... ", observed a stunned Kivec.

" This place got burned down..."

Jao didn't say a word, as Dutch drove them closer. Why she had nothing to say, it was impossible to be sure...but maybe she was staring at the bodies.

There were a lot of them.

UNSC bodies, that was.

As the M12 rolled up to the edge of what had been the DZ, dead Marines, and dead Army Soldiers, all lay scattered and sprawled on the ground. Badly charred craters and pits pockmarked the Earth on all sides of them, most of which still had wisps of smoke curling up from their sides.

It was the craters that got Dutch's attention most...though the dead UNSC was a close second. After what had happened at Tribute...after watching so many Navy frigates getting bisected Dutch had taken every UNSC that he saw slain as personal, especially the ones that must've died at the hands of Covenant plasma.

And these craters here were proof of that, though it wasn't only them...

God...

Are we too late ...?

We must be...we must be.

Dutch hit the brakes. Going at the speeds it was, the M12 took a while to halt, but before long, it did. The ODST was jolted hard against his restraints, as the 4x4 was slewed around in the process of bleeding off its excess speed.

He began to move nearly from the very second the M12 had stopped, undoing his harness, and leaping clear of the vehicle.

" Everyone-out ! "

The crunch of boots on the gravely dirt announced that Jao and Kivec were complying. Behind him, came the sound of thickly treaded wheels crunching and scraping as the rest of the M12s also stopped cold in their tracks. They must've also seen the devastation...

...what other reason could there be ? They'd arrived, anyway. That'd been the objective, hadn't it been ? To arrive, and they had.

Not to what they'd been hoping to find, though..but that went without saying.

Dutch began to run. He raced around the front of the M12, accelerating into a sprint as he went right ahead, M7S once again cradled in his hands. He lifted it to his shoulder, sighted down-

-and then lowered it, nearly as soon as he'd raised it. Why bother ?

There was nothing that was still standing that could be shot...nothing and nobody at all. Dutch swept his gaze right, and then left, but all he found was what the Covenant had left behind. They had worked over the UNSC's defenses here- humble ones, which had been all that'd been all they'd been able to put together in the limited time they'd had to dig in at the site before getting slammed by the alien offensive.

The only thing that was still standing , was the base of a gravity elevator. The centerpiece of the Covenat's carrier's drop zone...and the reason why all these Leathernecks had died. Needless to say, the actual Gravity well was long ago shut off, but the foundation of it was still there, doing nothing but taking up space.

As purple and round as every other gravity elevator base Dutch had ever seen, the elevator base was essentially the only thing that hadn't been heavily damaged or completely destroyed by weapons fire, UNSC or otherwise.

Every other bit and piece of UNSC hardware and equipment in sight was pockmarked and slagged by the xeno weapons fire. The sandbagged barricades that formed the " heaviest " portion of the position's strength, were mostly gone- either completely, or in glassed chunks of melted detritus. Piles of crates had been placed alongside the sandbags to bolster their resilience, but most of them were blasted to heck as well- the fighting here hadn't been light, by any standard.

It wasn't just the improvised field fortifications that had taken the brunt of the enemy's attack, though.

Dutch wasn't counting the dead, per se, but there were quite a few of them. Enough, just by his mind's rough estimate, to equal a full platoon- and a few more squads. From where the bodies where lying, and how they were arranged and bunched up...it seemed they'd all pretty much died right where they'd been.

That's how it seemed to have gone down...they hadn't died running away. Falling back, yes...but running away ?

No. Not from how they were lying...

If they died, all of them, then...they'd died the best way it could be.

Comforts. Taking the edge off...

Anywhere you can...got to do it. Otherwise.

Dutch turned around, abruptly. He found Kivec and Jao, a few yards in trail of him, cradling their weapons, and staring at the scene. Jao had her lower lip tightly bit, while Kivec's eyes were bugged wide open.

The ODST was sure he didn't need the ability of mind reading, to get a sense of what was going on in their minds.

Even the usually loud Kivec didn't have anything to say, not now. He just looked, as did Jao. They both stared at the obliterated barricades, the slagged

Further back, the rest of Magma Company's Jarheads had disembarked from the M12s, and were making their way forward. Nearly at once, Dutch had singled out the Lt. from the rest of them- he was at the head of the pack, walking with his BR55 shouldered, but with the muzzle down.

Dutch did what he could to read his face as well, but it wasn't easy- the officer was doing a good job of keeping his emotions hidden, and said face cast downwards.

As he got near, though, he looked up, and met Dutch eye to eye.

" Trooper ! Take those two, and sweep left. Might be survivors there. "

His voice didn't shake. He didn't seem to be trembling...just a lot of anger in his expression. Gorman wasn't even looking directly at Dutch when he said it, either; instead, he was staring at a point past him...

" If anyone is still alive, we're pulling them out. Understood ? "

Yeah. There's no mistaking someone with their mind set to something...

No worries. We think alike. More than you know.

" Sir, yes sir. ", the ODST nodded crisply. " We'll take care of it. "

Gorman pointed with his chin toward his left, and Dutch took the cue. He turned away, and called to the Marines he'd ridden here with.

" Kivec ! Jao ! Let's go, you two. On me. "

---

It was, as much as Dutch had seen, the ground version of Tribute.

Just remains of a UNSC decimation. That was it...

The ODST had led his two charges down into a narrow ravine, that wound down and slightly right in a gentle crescent. The entire terrain feature was " tucked " behind the side of the DZ platform opposite where the M12's had arrived from, which made it a perfect ( potential ) refuge from the notice of the Covenant.

Well, that's what it'd become, after things had gone downhill...

Even before then, though, the detachment here had made use of this place. More barricades, just like the ones up above, marked the mouth of the ravine, which Duch and the others had strode through moments earlier. There were more crates as well, but these ones actually seemed to be here because they were filled with usable items- ammo, spare components...

...and ammo. One crate had its top knocked off, exposing a collection of MA5 magazines. How much ammo was down here ?

Didn't matter; Dutch was here for survivors, whether he had orders or not. All the ammo in the world didn't mean squat, if there was nobody around to use it. Magma sure as heck couldn't haul it all, not with their lack of troop-carrying M12s...

" Hello ?! Anyone here ?! " . Dutch pitched his voice loud, as he scanned the jumbled mass of boxes, and around the outlines of the rocky outcroppings and piles." This is Corporal Taylor Miles, ODSTs !. "

Come on...give me something.

Someone...!

But, no. Not yet...

They hadn't been down here long, either. Just a few seconds, less than a minute, though they'd covered most of the trench/ravine, and had found nobody. There was plenty of abandoned and discarded gear, supplies and the like, but no survivors.

Just...a lot of empty space. From where they now stood, the ravine looked to be nothing but an improvised depot.

" I got a...a feeling about this ", muttered Kivec. " Not sure how to say it, but-I know we just got here, and-. "

" That's exactly, it, Private. We keep looking, till we find someone. ", Jao interrupted. " That's it.

" You saw what they did up there- ", the other Marine tensely reminded. " You really think there's anyone left ?! "

" The Covies don't take prisoners...! "

But, Jao just wasn't having it. " Would you give it a rest...! Show me a damn body first, and then I'll believe we've lost everyone here !"

What kind of...well, if Dutch had suspected Jao had some kind of personal chip against the Covenant, that last thing back there had essentially confirmed it. Or, at least gave it a lot more weight.

What were the fine details ? Well, those were still unknown, and needless to say, didn't matter right now. Overall, they did, sure, but Dutch was getting the impression that Jao'd been carrying this around for a while, and had figured out how to live with it. In the here and now, that was, which is where they were.

Still...it was worth keeping an eye on. Dutch tagged and filed it away...

...and it was right about then, that Jao's insistence on wanting to stay alert and leave no stone unturned proved to pay off.

" ...Hello ?! Hey...hey UNSC here ! "

A man's voice sounded from some point out of sight, around a stack of crates...

"...Friendlies ! ", it called.

Dutch stopped on a dime, and raised a clenched fist.

I knew it...there had to be someone...!

There was, after all...

Hope and optimism bloomed in his chest, and the ODST could sense it. He knew now, that all that...annihilation he'd seen up there wasn't for nothing- there was someone to be saved down here, after all !

" ..Who's there ?! ", he called.

" ID yourself, and come on out ! "

Come on; I'm an ODST. No matter how spooked you are, I'm as good a reason as any to poke your head up.

Won't say I'm a Godsend, though, but-

A second later, though, he got a response- a Marine with a Boonie hat on his head, and with an M6 handgun gripped in his right hand, rose into view from behind one of the boulders.

He was as dirty and dusty any anybody Dutch had met today, so that was unremarkable by now...but it was everything else about him that wasn't. Mostly, his expression and stance said plenty about what he must've been through just prior to Magma's arrival, and how he must be taking them finally getting there.

Then, he introduced himself.

" Private First Class Leon Kennedy. And you've walked into a freaking cesspit. "

---

Everything about that response was as Dutch expected it: short, bare-bones, and it told him everything. Well, reenforced it, more accurately. Drove it home with a lump hammer.

A fresh wave of rage began to boil up in the ODST, but he made himself stay focused, and his head on the task at hand: taking charge of whoever was here, and getting them out.

That, and sizing up this new guy... seeing if he might be another Gorman, or that nervous Private-Hudson, yes that was it- from back at the Lodge. It didn't seem like the latter, though...he wasn't gibbering at them.

Take what you can get, at least...

Jao was the first to speak up. " We know, Private...We saw what those xeno animals did. "

" Yeah ". Kennedy's eyes slid down and to the side, toward the back end of his M6's slide. Then, he met their gazes again.

" But you had to be there...they fricken' rolled over us. "

" I won't say that didn't happen ", Dutch assured him. " But , I need to know more. I need some more details than that. "

Kennedy shrugged. " Does it matter ? Everybody is dead out there. Everybody...I'd have been as well, if the Sarge hadn't sent me back to help guard the wounded. I think they got the Colonel as well...but the wounded are still ok I think. "

He turned away, beckoning them to come with his free hand.

" Come on...there's more of us. The ones still alive, I mean... "

God...

PFC Kennedy ambled off, walking not exactly slowly, but without any obvious strength. All Dutch could do...all he wanted to do, was set off after him, while sharply beckoning to Kivec and Jao to keep up.

As after-action reports went, the one Kennedy had given them was as rough an abbreviated as you could get, but at least Dutch had more of a clue of what the battle had been like, aside from " It was all doom and gloom. ". That was every day in Pyongyang..

He shifted his M7S to a lowered carry, and prepped himself for what he might find.

---

It...could've been worse.

By how much, though, Dutch wasn't sure.

There were barely enough Marines here to formate a full squad- let alone two of them. And, all of them were wounded.

Sitting up against the rock wall on the rightmost side of the ravine, or outright lying down. Evidently, all the remaining members of Honcho Company were off their feet, having been shot, blown up, or otherwise hit during the fight ( if it could be called one ) that'd gone down here.

Bandaged limbs, bandaged torsos, bandaged heads...all of them were sporting some kind of blatantly obvious injury. At least 3 of the Leathernecks were asleep, with their heads lolling off to one side, or for the one that was lying down, propped up with a stuffed rucksack. Planted upright in the sandy, gravely ground right between each of them, was a canteen, to provide each of them with water if/when they needed a drink.

And Dutch didn't doubt they would. Any of them would... including the only 2 Marines that were still vertical.

Just 2...only 2

Lord above.

Aside from Kennedy, there was only one other: A Marine was down on both knees, beside the Marine at the end of the line of lying/slumped wounded. He must'be been waiting for them, because he was already looking up.

Both of his hands were covered in field-grade surgical gloves, whose tips had blood on them. It seemed he'd been in the middle of swapping out the dressings on the wounded Leatherneck in front of him...

Hm. A Navy guy is here...

Navy is always a close second, right behind the Marines. Always, after Tribute.

" Hey, Chips..." Kennedy called out to him.

" Turns out, it was really was a trooper. Plus some others..."

" Some...", the Marine with gloved hands observed, staring at Jao and Kivec. He nodded slightly, then bent back over his earlier work.

" Yeah, I can see that. "

" Petty Officer Chipps Dubbo. So, is it just those 2, or did they bring the whole Corps with 'em ? 'Cause we're gonna need that many to get out of here. "

Kennedy shrugged; nearly as if it didn't matter either way. That in of itself was as worrying to Dutch, as anything else...

What- like you hoping the Covenant come back, and finish you off ?

...Better not to actually ask...I'd rather not know.

But, to answer the medic:

" Negative on it just being us- we brought a bunch of M12's with us. 4 of them, all fully staffed. Not as full a party as I know you'd want..but its all there is. "

Chips ( that was a curious name, for sure ) the Corpsman didn't stop, as he continued to pry the layers of dressings loose one strip at a time. A second or so after Dutch provided his explanation, however:

" Better than nothing...sure as heck can't drag these boys out on my back. Or the shelia ".

He nodded at the Marine who was asleep. It was the kind of way a lazy person might sleep, or one who was always heavily stressed and " hectically busy ". The kind of " I need to just crash for an hour so or " kind of sleep...

Or, "blasted by plasma rounds and then drugged up with pain meds " kind of sleep.

Kennedy stabbed a finger out at her. " That's Jennifer, remember ? I thought you knew her name..."

This lad needs some serious R and R...right now.

Chips stopped again, and meet the other Jarhead's eye. " Leon...its ok. I understand. "

" Is it...? ". The pistol armed Marine looked down at his boots, dropped the pointing arm, and clenched a fist.

" They just killed us all. Covenant isn't here to fight; they just want us all to die..."

He was dead quiet for several moments, and then finally turned back at Dutch.

" Trooper-"

But the ODST was done just standing here and watching. He was done not doing anything about this..

Not anymore.

They've been put through the wringer 10 ways from Sunday, and we're their only hope. They nearly died in the worst way possible, and God helped me get here, to help them.

So, I will.

" Hey Hey. Both of you, listen up. "

Time to get a handle on this.

" This is what you're gonna do: Prep these wounded to move, as much as you can. Jao, Kivec, you help them out, and do what the Doc says, ok ? "

Nobody had any objections, and a mixed chorus of acknowledgments came in response, with Kennedy, unsurprisingly, having the most muted one.

" Hey, Corporal... ".

Kivec stepped forward.

" I wanted to say..you know...thanks. Thanks for getting us here. "

" Amen to that ", added Jao.

" I'm gonna remember this, Trooper. Everything you did for us...and them. "

They sounded the same: Genuine gratitude, like the kind regular civvies heaped on soldiers all the time. Not that there was anything wrong with that, but...

...it was special, coming from others in uniform. Particularly the lower ranks, or the rank and file Leathernecks. The UNSC had them as its backbone, but...they still looked up to ODSTs, nearly as much, if not more than, the Spartans. Which made sense, in a way: ODSTs were more, well, tangible

Which is why they didn't know it was still worth its weight in gold, to know you'd done something that mattered.

Go jump in a lake, ONI: I fight for those like these two. Or, what's left of Honcho...

Or. Alpha-9.

At that, Dutch depolarized his visor, so the others could see him. They had to be able to look him in the eyes...

" You're welcome. "

" I'll go report back to the Lt..."

The ODST turned back then, leaving them to carry out these orders.

He didn't want to put his back at them, even briefly, though; it was like he was leaving them, even though that's not at all what was happening. Even though, that wasn't even remotely what was happening.

Still, it felt like it. He was...angry, after seeing all this; the results of ONI's usual interference He wanted to help these Marines, and to set things right for them, to do all that he could for them. It was crystal clear now that no matter what the " Objective " ONI had in mind for them, had in mind for the " asset " that had been supposed to be here, was long gone and/or a lost cause.

The only " objective " there was now, was rounding up these Marines, and getting them the hell out of the Reserve. No matter what it took...

...Dutch was going to do exactly that.

And nothing less.

---

" ...That answers, well...everything. "

Lt. Gorman had slung his BR55 over his back, and with hands crossed, his was pensively chewing his lower lip, while still surveying the scene of smashed and burned annihilation that had been Honcho Company's position.

" Actual didn't answer the comms...must've been KIA when I'd called again. Or, their comms got knocked out first..."

Standing by his side, Dutch listened to the officer speaking aloud, as he watched the other Marines of Magma. Most had gone down into the ravine to help with moving the wounded, while the others were walking over the field. They were doing typical post-battle operations: salvaging ammo, searching for enemy intel, checking for signs of movement among ant of the bodies...and also retrieving dog tags.

The most valuable of what was left...

They were reverent in carrying out that last one. Dutch couldn't be prouder.

He glanced at the Lt. The officer was no less impressed with his Leathernecks, but he was also beating himself up for not having gotten her in time. He was taking it as his own personal screwup...which was something that would burn you up like a furnace, or a Supercarrier's cleansing beam.

Dutch had seen that kind of thing shred more than a few others who had bars on their shoulders ( or higher )...and it was the last thing he wanted to happen to Lt. Gorman.

On the other hand, the Lt. still had leadership chops. He knew what he could, so...no. It wasn't that he was that badly gone.

Not yet.

" Sir ", the ODST remarked. " You want to... you want to even the scale. Stop me if that's wrong, but that's what you want, right ? Even the scales. "

Dutch exhaled, looking down at the M7S he held.

" I don't mean just by killing a whole mountain of Covenant, though...they definitely have it coming. "

" What are you saying, Corporal ? ". Gorman sought clarification.

As if there was any other way you were going to ask...or if you were going to let your own goal go

You've got to find them.

Alpha 9...

" I'm saying: Doing something that would help us- the UNSC, the Corps- as much as it'd hurt the Covenant. "

Dutch inhaled, then breathed out. His helmet's interior felt a tad stuffy..which was odd, as it'd become a second skin for him years ago.

" I need to be detached from Magma Company, sir. I need to track down my squad. They and I were dropped in on that op for ONI in New Mombassa..and they still need my help to get it done. We all dropped together, without that kind of cohesion, the Spooks are gonna get them chewed up."

Was it manipulation, using ONI's track record of getting units they got their hands on utterly screwed over to get the Lt. to remove the leash, so to speak ?

Not at all; not to Dutch, or to any ODST worth their salt. To any Marine who believed in honest work, rather than cloak and dagger garbage. Everybody in Magma was dyed in the wool grunt, through and through, and that included the Lt. They all knew now, if they'd had any doubts, that ONI wasn't good for much aside from...getting good soliders killed.

Yeah...that was about it. If they stuck to spying, they'd be just vital...but, well, that wass exactly it: ONI was as busy

So, no: It wasn't any kind of string pulling. It was just lying thing out, making it as simple as could be. Dutch was prepared to go off without orders if that's what it took...if that's what it took to find a way to even begin hunting for them. Sure, it'd be going AWOL, and on a decent unit of Leathernecks, too, but Dutch was ready to do it.

But, it turned out to be needless. Which, didn't shock him all that much. Actually, not at all.

" Trooper ? ". Gorman shook his head. " I really shouldn't. You're the best damn driver I'ver ever seen, and a real asset to our unit-unlike the God-knows-what ONI had us here chasing. "

You said it, not me.

The officer looked out over his dispersed Jarheads again for several seconds, said nothing, then:

" But, after this ? No way on God' Earth I'd let another unit get screwed by ONI again...especially not a squad of ODSTs. Besides, its not like you're in my Chain of Command, to get formal. "

He reached out, and clapped a hand on the ODST's shoulder.

" Go on: Take one of the M12's. "

He could've offered a Grizzly Tank battalion, but it didn't matter: a free license to go and keep searching for Alpha-9 ? That's all Dutch had wanted, and now he had it.

Thanks, Lt. You're allright..

Dutch didn't say it aloud, though. Instead, he put out a hand.

And, the Lt shook it, in a strong and real grip.

" You're going to get them out of here, sir ? I mean, out of here. "

The officer nodded firmly, his jaw set with purpose. " You can count on that, trooper. I'll load them up, and Magma Company will carry them out- either to where there's an actual rendevous point, not this deathtrap here- or...all the way out of New Mombassa if that's what it takes. "

" Our last standing orders ? They died here...along with Honcho. Unless we get new ones- ones not from those snakes in ONI- then evaccing the survivors is the plan. Heck, even if it isnt, I won't leave them. "

I know you can't ditch them, orders or not...if I know you. And, I think its a good guess that I do

" God bless you, Lt. You and everybody here . "

" Let Corporal Jao and Private Kivec know: I'll put in a recommendation for both of them to join the ODSTs, if they're interested. "

Gorman nodded, and his mouth showed the slightest hint of what optimism might be left in him- but he had the determination to spare, and a winning attitude.

That was enough, to last long enough.

" I'll be sure to remind them. No doubt Corporal Jao will jump at the chance to have a swing at getting in with them. "

Yeah, I bet she would. Give her a Jackhammer, enough ammo to last, and she'll be a force to be feared.

Hm...and everybody I know says they haven't met someone who loves heavy weaponry as much as I do. Well, they haven't met her.

Up ahead, at the mouth of the ravine, Kivec and Jao emerged. Between them, a wounded Marine was being supported, carried toward one of Magma's M12's. At the sound of their shouts, several Marines turned away from their ghoulish rounds among the remains of Honcho, and hurried over to lend a hand.

Speaking of which..!

At once, Dutch raised an arm, waving. The two uninjured Jarheads saw him, and while they didn't stop, neither of them lost a second in waving back.

They were who mattered in this fight on Earth...they, what remained of Honcho Company, everyone back at the Lodge...all of them. ONI, and what ONI had in mind ?

Hang that. Dutch had his objective back in his sights again.

And a clear path, right to it.