XII
Damon fought to keep the Warthog from rolling over. He'd jerked the wheel so hard to avoid the sizzling ball of light that he nearly sent everyone flying. The impact detonated somewhere between behind them, but none of them dared to look; but they could feel the undeniable heat given off from the superheated ordnance. It pricked their skin underneath their suits, feeling blistered and scorched like a lit match close to the skin.
Damon regained control, planting all four tires back on the ground before slamming on the breaks. He turned to see Rey releasing the vice-like grip he had on the Hog's frame, while Jacen and Aiden untangled themselves with grunts and sharp expletives.
"Is everyone all right?" Damon asked them.
"Hell no!" Aiden growled, shoving Jacen's leg off of him. He worked his jaw from side to side with his hand, knowing it was probably bruised from slamming into the back of Rey's seat. "What was that?"
Rey shook his head to clear the disorientation, the ringing slowing ebbing away in his ears. He adjusted his shades and looked back to see where it hit. It turned the soil into what appeared to be smoldering shards of glass with glowing hot fringes that rapidly began to cool. It was all too familiar, all too reminiscent of billions the Covenant vaporized via orbital bombardments. So many worlds lost, and now they were in humanity's backyard. Was Earth even still there?
There was a swaying sensation Rey felt, his body being rocked back and forth. Then there was voice. It was barely audible, but it kept growing and growing in volume until he finally realized it was Damon practically shouting at him.
"Captain Anderton! Captain! Rey, you hear me?"
Rey snapped to attention, staring into the reflective shades of corporal Damon Vasher. "That was a plasma mortar," he spoke at last. "We're blown. Stealth isn't going to work now. We go in guns blazing."
Jacen pointed in the sky. "And what about the mortars?"
"As long we get the hell out the way, they shouldn't be an issue," Rey answered. He keyed up his radio. "Bravo, give me your status?"
The radio sizzled open after ten seconds. "I nearly pissed myself, but other than that, we're okay," Aaron came in. "What's the play, Rey? They obviously know we're here."
"Full assault. We hold nothing back. We'll deal with the mortar, draw it's attention. Kipp, drive like hell and get the M18 into position. Aaron, disembark and start picking off whatever you see. Get moving!" Rey cut the radio and addressed his team. "Damon, line us up with the mortar. Watch it's trajectory. The rest of us will open fire on the rooftops. Once we're in close, we'll fall out and move inside. Drop anything that isn't human. Let's hit it."
Damon dropped the Hog into gear and slammed his boot on the gas. The vehicle revved, rear tires churning as it fishtailed into acceleration. Rey leaned out, shouldering his embattled BR55. It had been a while since he'd used the weapon, but if he could ever call an inanimate object his friend, his rifle would qualify. He pulled his NV monocular down and looked through the scope. There wasn't any movement on the rooftops, but he was sure they were up there. Both Jacen and Aiden stood up, holding onto the angular frame that separated the front seats from the back. They held their rifles at the ready, aiming for the rooftops.
Another mortar was shot off, the first and then another. Damon's hands tightened on the wheel and his teeth gritted. He kept the Hog centered, gradually accelerating toward the compound. The M18 sped up, veering away from the Hog as it faded into the darkness until Jacen couldn't see it any longer. He turned back to face the incoming mortars that were now larger than they were before. The Warthog began to ease out of their path, moving to the left. A cerulean flare of light from the mortar lit up the area as it passed them, splashing into the surface with violent force. The second mortar hit somewhere out of view, but Jacen could feel the heat roil up his back. He held on as the Warthog began taking a wide approach as the compound began to appear larger and larger. The mortar's trajectory began to shallow up; the explosions felt closer, more violent. It wouldn't matter. At this rate, the mortar couldn't aim low enough to hit them; but if Jacen learned anything about the Covenant, he knew they always had a contingency plan.
The vehicle came to a stop beside the building and Rey jumped out, head on a swivel. "Disembark. Let's go!" He walked around to Damon as Jacen and Aiden hopped out and made a perimeter. "Pull around and ghost the Hog. Take it slow. If you encounter any surprises, haul outta here. This Warthog is all we have."
"Copy that." Damon eased on the gas and crawled alongside the face of the building until turning right around the corner and out of sight.
Rey brought up the compound's altered schematics that Astrid and DEV had worked up. The targeted service entrance was up ahead. If everything was correct, the tunnels would lead directly underneath engineering.
Jacen brought up the rear behind Rey and Aiden as they approached the corner. He stole a look behind him—clear. They came to a halt and Rey began to slowly take a knee. The mortars had ceased from firing and the eerie silence the moon emitted had returned. That only meant one thing to Jacen—the Grunts were organizing. He tensed. Motion appeared on his wrist-mounted data reader. One blip, green. Damon came creeping around the corner, one hand raised as the other secured his rifle.
"Where'd you ghost the Hog?" Rey asked him.
Damon pointed over his shoulder. "About thirty yards south, tucked behind one of the old radar dishes."
"Good." Rey stood up and took point. He pointed forward and began to cautiously edged around the structure. "Let's move in. They know we're here, but keep it tight. No noise. Surprise is our best weapon we have if we want the jump on 'em."
There was no response from the others; they simply fell in line and moved in wedge formation against the side of the building. There was no telling where Bravo Team was. They hadn't radioed in since veering off from the mortars. Maybe they were already in position and Aaron was on overwatch. Jacen just hoped Naomi kept her head and didn't take any risks. He wasn't concerned about Kipp. If the crude hit the fan, he'd know what to do when the time came.
They arrived at the service entrance, a sealed door of solid lead with chipped and faded caution paint around the fringes. There was no panel to enter an alphanumeric code, just a standard handhold depressing in the metal. Rey clipped his rifle to his chest rig's tether and flipped it over his back before digging his fingers into the handhold. He strained the pull it open, but the door only groaned without moving.
He waved to the trio huddled around him. "Gimmie a hand."
Aiden pushed up, he and Rey taking a firm hold on the door as Jacen and Damon held the area. They set their feet in the damp soil and pulled with their combined strength. The door screeched against its track, stubborn and nearly rusted shut. The reddish-orange corrosion flaked and surrendered against the door's seams and it opened. Rey and Aiden tumbled back on one another as the door practically flew open, sliding off its track and leaning off one of it's hinges.
Damon toggled the light on his M7 sub-machine gun and aimed down the dark tunnels. "No lights. Night-vision throughout until engineering."
"Perfect." Rey got his feet, turning around to help Aiden up. He brushed the soil off his pants and keyed his COM. "Bravo-Two, are you in position?" He motioned for Aiden, Damon, and Jacen to get inside the tunnels as he awaited for a reply.
Kipp's voice came screaming through with an ear-jab of static moments later. "We're in position. Bollocks! How'd they know we were coming? Mortars? We nearly got blown to bits."
"It seems they've bolstered their defenses," Rey replied. "We knew that was a possibility. We're moving in the service tunnels now. Stay alert once he blow the oxygenator. Pass the word along to Naomi. She'll know what to do."
Kipp sighed."You seem to missing the point. This raid is scrapped. We can't fight them all."
"We're not scrapping anything," countered Rey. "Keep your head. Stay in contact and don't engage the enemy unless you have to."
Rey cut the COM and went in after the others. He followed the swaying beams of light until he caught up with them, stepping up between Jacen and Damon to take point. A quick view of the schematics placed them less than a hundred yards from engineering. He pictured the Grunts swarming above them, all charged with adrenaline and methane flowing through their lungs. They wanted to kill. At least the feeling was mutual.
The four of them reached a tunnel that ran perpendicular to their path. Jacen took a knee at the edge, leaning forward to scope both ends. Clear. Engineering was to their right, and from what he could see, it appeared they were alone. As a matter of fact, it seemed like the Grunts never used the service tunnels at all. There was no trace of them. No footprints, no smell—nothing. Maybe this would work. The temperature in the tunnels was -152°, too frigid for the Grunts to survive without protective gear. Chasing them through the tunnels might've been a risk too great for the little aliens.
"We're getting close," Rey announced to the group. He flipped his NV monocular up and viewed his TACMAP. Their entry point was just up ahead and he could feel his stomach tighten. He didn't know where the Engineer was, and with the Grunts alerted of their presence, he wasn't too keen on the idea of having a sit-and-wait attitude.
Aaron's voice spilled into his earpiece. "Captain, I've got some activity outside. The Grunts have abandoned their mortar and have headed back inside. I don't think they know where you are, but I'm not a hundred percent. Should I move up, find another vantage point? I think I can get to the roof and disable the mortar."
Rey shook his head. "No, I don't want you getting cornered. Keep your distance, but you have a green light on changing positions. Keep us posted."
"Copy," Aaron replied.
They proceeded with caution, reaching the old service ladder that led up into engineering. The hatch above was, as expected, was sealed from their side. There was no telling what was on the other side. A Grunt could be standing right above them, gun in hand, and ready to fire. They certainly hoped not, but they were paranoid buggers now. Anything could happen.
"Who's going first?" Rey asked them.
Aiden wagged his finger between himself and Damon. "Not us. Black guys always die first."
"Are you really black, though?" Damon suspected. "You hardly season your food."
"You also bake your fried chicken," Jacen added. "I find that suspicious."
"Hey, cut the chatter!" Rey reined in. "Pearce, get us inside. And we all know Aiden couldn't handle a red pepper flake, so the discussion is over."
Aiden raised his middle finger and panned it across the others' field of view.
Jacen flipped his rifle over his back and ascended up the ladder with a chuckle. He anchored his feet, slowly placing his hands around the lock's handle. A gentle tug revealed it wouldn't move without more pressure. He rolled his eyes. The thought of a loud clang from disengaging the lock was the last thing they needed. They're stealth approach might've been blown, but that didn't mean they could get careless. He pinched his eyes shut yanked on the lock with his strength.
The lock slid back with an unsettling bang against the metal with a screech. If there were any Grunts above them, they'd have to be deaf not to hear it. Jacen drew his sidearm and removed the safety. Pressing his forearm against the hatch, he applied some upward pressure. The hard metal scraped against the edges, groaning with much noise.
"Screw it," Jacen said under his breath. He forced all his weight into the hatch and it flipped open. Sidearm first, he emerged, looking to shoot the first curious alien he saw. There was nothing there. It was clear. He looked down at the three below and nodded before pulling the rest of his body through. Rey, Damon, and Aiden came shuffling up as Jacen kept his aim on the open doorway in front of him. The hatch was nestled in the back of a maintenance room, its shelves filled with discarded wires, cords, and plastic containers—one way in, one way out. That could work.
"Leave the hatch open," Rey recommended. "I have a feeling we'll be making a quick escape. Pearce, lead the way. Get us to the oxygenator."
Jacen switched back to his rifle and went out the door. To his left and right were tables jutting out of the walls, topped with dead computers and keyboards so thick with grime that the keys didn't work. He could hear the humming generators close by, all powered by infused Covenant tech. All of it wouldn't matter once they blew the oxygenator. No amount of augmentation of the old human machines could replace the methane-rich air they breathed.
Memories resurfaced as he guided them through engineering: he and Naomi scrambling for their lives, plasma bolts striking everything around them. Every corner he turned basically retraced their many steps they'd made to get out this hellish place. Blackened marks on the walls were still there from the previous encounter, now cold and no longer smoldering.
They all took a sudden knee as the sound of Grunts chirped nearby. From their chatter, they were in a full alert. The hunt was on for their human prey. Damon changed where he was kneeling, moving away from one of the open doorways. A few Grunts waddled by, unarmed but moving quickly to an unknown location.
Rey exhaled. "Okay. I think we're good. Let's keep mov—" Rey shut his mouth, tilting his head. "Hold on." He couldn't pinpoint it, but there was an acute sizzling sound that buzzed in his ear. "You guys hear that? I… oh, Christ, MOVE!"
A Grunt came screaming around the corner, holding two smoldering plasma grenades in its hands.
The four of them shot up and backpedaled into the adjacent room, packed tight from the ventilation system. Thick metal pipes snaked through the room with valves on their bodies, coupled with humming fans and electrical panels. The Grunt detonated just outside the doorway, blowing back the four men through the narrow walkways. Pipes bursts, spitting nuts and washers around them at the speed of bullets. Heated white steam vented out, heating the room so much that their suits could barely maintain a balanced temperature.
Rey kept his head low, pulling himself out of the pile between Damon and Jacen. Aiden was further into the room, away from the stream and near the network of electrical panels and controls. He grabbed Damon by his ankles and dragged him back as Jacen slowly began to crawl away.
"Everyone good?" Rey shouted over the hissing pipe. "Sac up! I've got hostiles moving in."
With a groan, Jacen got to his feet, shaking off the disorientation. It was safe to say those Grunts walking by earlier weren't coincidence. They knew exactly where they were and probably why they were there. Perfect. The dwarfs wised up.
Damon and Aiden took up positions in the rear, guns aimed toward the doorway as Jacen moved up beside Rey. A Grunt wasn't getting through the door without taking fire. The motions sensors were going crazy. Individual red blips no longer registered; instead, they all just pooled into a red smear that migrated toward them.
"Back up!" Rey pulled away from the door and went back to where Damon and Aiden were. Jacen followed suit. "Get ready. They're about to come through."
No sooner than the words came out of Rey's mouth, the first Grunt showed it's unmasked face, and it wasn't alone. Within a few seconds, the doorway that just measured three feet wide was packed to the frame with Grunts. There must've twenty—no—thirty or so just trying to squeeze through. They were all unarmed, fueled with nothing but unbridled rage and an insatiable appetite for their human intruders.
"Weapons free, weapons free!" Rey commanded.
Jacen squeezed the trigger, swaying his rifle from side to side until his ammo reader ticked down to zero. The first row of Grunts took the bulk of the gunfire, piling up in the doorway and began making a small mound of corpses. The others simply crawled over their fallen brethren and kept coming. Luminescent blood inked out on the floor in nauseating volume, splashing out like ocean spray against the rocks on the shore. Aiden unfastened a frag grenade from his chest rig and chucked it into the crowd. The blast, coupled with the methane-rich air, cleared a dozen of them and injured scores more. Stubby limbs and more blood ballooned in every direction imaginable.
The men steadily moved back, swapping out empty magazines for full ones as fast as their hands could move. They wouldn't be able to hold them back, and their ammo wouldn't last much longer. The grenade slowed them down, creating an almost impregnable wall of dead aliens that prevented the others from coming through.
Rey took one last shot to empty his magazine, speaking a Grunt through the right eye-socket that was trying to squeeze through. "Damon, get on those computers and red-line these valves. Bust 'em. If they try to get through, the steam will melt 'em."
Damon went to work. "I'm on it."
"We're out of our depth, Rey," Aiden mentioned as Rey walked passed him.
"Ice the negativity," replied the captain. "Stay focused." He ventured deeper through the maze of vibrating pipes, peeking an exit between a pair of hulking conversion machines. "Damon, how we looking?"
Damon looked up from the controls and hunched his shoulders. "No good. There's Covenant tech running through everything. The original operating system has been overwritten. I don't know what controls what."
More Grunts began pushing through the corpse-barricade, squirming their way through with a resilience that the four men couldn't help but admire. It only took to get through to encourage the rest to follow. They had to move.
"Screw it. Let's go!" Rey led the way, weaving through the room and went out of the exit. When the last man was through, they shut the door. Jacen and Aiden barricaded the door with whatever they could find, ramming it with pallets of drums filled with waste that was decades old. It wouldn't hold for long, but it was enough to buy them enough time to find an exit strategy. Going back the way they came was out, which pissed Rey off more than anything. The plan was falling apart before it even began. Aiden's words came to him again, about being out of their depth. Maybe they were, but they were tied into a conflict without a slipknot to get them out. Fight or flight didn't apply to them now. It was either fight or die.
Rey reloaded his battle rifle. He'd made his choice.