Eve of Fate
Chapter 6: Waging War
It was only mere hours after midday in the city. The human civilians continued yet another day in their miserable lives under the Covenant watch, while the Covenant soldiers continued with their miserable task of watching the humans.
The vehicles hummed as they hovered above the ground, and the Elites grumbled as they went about their patrols.
The day was unlike what 'Yuteryi was used to. He was used to surveying the streets and various units for their combat readiness and taking part in patrols as well. Yet today, he had another task to complete.
The Gold Elite strode along a hallway with large slanted windows to one side. He was inside the pyramid structure in the centre of the city, something the humans called an arcology. It was a multistory building that easily dwarfed the other structures in the area. The pyramid itself was split in four corners with small bridges connecting each quadrant to each other, and a central atrium existed in the centre of it.
While it was a human structure, it was used by the Covenant to house vehicles, and often as a type of headquarters. Every here and there, Covenant décor was set up inside to make it appear closer to home, and to hide the hideous human cement and metal.
At the lowest point of the atrium was the gravity lift, which connected to the flagship assault carrier of the Prophet of Regret, the Eternal Reverence.
Passing by the guard keeping watch over the gravity lift, 'Yuteryi lifted into the air towards the ship. In the distance the battle cruiser, the Strength and Faith, hovered over its newly established position not far from the arcology. The majority of the Covenant forces were stationed near the arcology, making it the central point of power in the human city. In order to keep enough soldiers spread out, another ship was required to establish another point of power.
It was one of 'Yuteryi's ideas on how to keep the soldiers better spread out. But following an incident from three days ago, there was still something else needed.
When 'Yuteryi entered the ship, he proceeded along towards the Prophet's chambers. He came towards the entrance, which was flanked by Honour Guards. Passing the usual security tests, 'Yuteryi entered.
Inside, the Prophet of Regret waited, floating above the ground in his chair. The Prophet's chambers was filled with Honour Guards, all tasked with the duty of protecting the members of the Covenant leadership. Walking by them, 'Yuteryi came within a distance of the Prophet and knelt.
"You may rise, Nosla 'Yuteryi. What is it you have wished to seek guidance upon?"
'Yuteryi rose to his feet, and began to explain.
"Noble Prophet of Regret, as you may have heard, three days ago, a sizable unit of infantry and vehicles, being led by one of our veterans, Ouna 'Ortomee, was wiped out by a human task force. He had confirmed the humans' location based off of a tip from an informant and moved in.
"My investigation into the causes for the destruction of 'Ortomee's unit concluded they were wiped out with combined weapons fire as well as explosives, some from higher vantage points, and we have recovered signs from one of the tanks that the cockpit was opened by force.
"The Demon is working with the humans now, and as such, I require more troops, as well as authorization to wield heavier firepower. Only then can this resistance be taken down safely and quickly."
The Prophet of Regret raised his hand, a symbol for disagreement, and shook his head.
"Commander, the Hierarchs have clearly stated that nothing, other than the standard ground forces we have made available to you, shall be used against the humans. You have already asked for another ship to remain over the city and establish a defensive position, and your previous request for addition troops has already been granted. You have more than enough infantry to complete your task."
'Yuteryi was disappointed, but he hid it well. It made sense that the Prophet of Regret had not granted him more troops – 'Yuteryi had asked twice now for more troops, and one was granted, and the other resulted in another ship. It appeared as though that were enough.
"Holy One, I ask for more soldiers because of the Demon," 'Yuteryi continued, hoping to sway the Prophet's view. "His presence will be of hope for the humans, raising their morale and urging them to fight on. If this is so, the humans will fight with more tenacity and more will join their ranks. If we are to combat this, I require either more troops or possible air support in the form of bombers. We need to be willing to destroy parts of their city to root the human resistance fighters out of hiding."
The Prophet of Regret looked down at the Elite with a disapproving glance. 'Yuteryi felt his eyes burn at him.
"Commander, are you aware of how much incompetence you are displaying? You are displaying incompetence for both your duty as Commander, and to the success of the Covenant" the Prophet explained.
Incompetence? 'Yuteryi was unsure of how asking for more troops and weaponry was incompetence.
"There shall be no bombing runs over the human city, and your forces shall only comprise of infantry and ground vehicles. Unless you agree otherwise, that is all you shall receive. If you cannot use your forces, you should rather step down from your position and allow another more willing to take your place than ask for more."
"I apologize, Noble Prophet of Regret. I shall make best with my current troops."
'Yuteryi was quick to apologize – he didn't need the wrath of the Prophet upon him. But, it did not make sense why their firepower had to be limited.
"You shall leave now Commander. Return to your duties where you are needed."
'Yuteryi bowed and left the Prophet's chambers. Inside, he was shaken up – he was loyal to the Prophets and the Covenant, and to be accused of incompetence was nerve racking.
But inside, 'Yuteryi continued to wonder why – why is the Prophet not allowing him to use heavier firepower? What made the humans and their city so special it was worth protecting? They had already destroyed most of their planet and population before – why did they have to stop and simply police the rest?
'Yuteryi had no time to think about it when he heard the alarms sound. There was an attack in the city. 'Yuteryi immediately got off the ship and into the arcology and confirmed where the attacks were taking place.
The humans were systematically launching attacks on separate targets in the area – mainly vehicle hangars. They were after the vehicles. If the humans could destroy the Covenant armoured support, there would be less of it to stop them in their street war.
'Yuteryi picked up and charged his plasma rifle and gathered a squad, mixed with Grunts and Jackals, as well as a pair of Elites. Checking the maps, 'Yuteryi found the closest vehicle hangar and rounded his squad up on a Shadow troop transport. Within moments, they were off with several others following.
Looking out, 'Yuteryi could see at least four or five more Shadows behind him and several more in front. Overhead, Phantom dropships flew, carrying full loads of infantry in their holds. The number of troops that could be deployed in the city was a testament to their military prowess and their superiority against the humans.
As they drove along, getting gradually farther and farther from the arcology, 'Yuteryi thought he was hearing noises. They sounded peculiar – like a vehicle, not but any that he was familiar with. He then heard gunfire – not the slow but sharp bursts from the human rifles, or the chatter of their automatic weapons, but some both loud and fast, meaning it was able to spew plenty of large human projectiles in a matter of seconds.
Suddenly it appeared in front of the line of transports, making a sharp turn around a corner. It's ugly, grotesque appearance and the fact that it used wheels for its movement instantly gave it off for a human vehicle. However, this vehicle had a very big, three barrel weapon in the back.
'Yuteryi yelled and order for the troops in the Shadow to get down, but his voice was drowned out by the sound of the weapon firing, spiting out a rapid hail of bullets, peppering each Shadow after another as it continued down the road opposite the column of Shadows.
The human vehicle drove by, but another appeared right behind it, doing the same maneuver and peppering the column with more fire. 'Yuteryi fired back, but the human vehicle was too fast for his shots to hit. The turrets on the Shadow opened fire, but it was of no success against them.
'Yuteryi looked around at other occupants of the Shadow. Everybody was dead. Only he remained. His shield had barely held out against the barrage of bullets.
Part of him was met with shock – the humans had vehicles now? The situation now had a unique twist. The humans needed to be met with a different type of force now – it now meant war.
"We're coming up on the depot! Get ready!" Elias yelled from the side seat of the Warthog.
While the Warthog was designed to only carry a driver, passenger, and gunner, three more sat inside around the turret and waited, readying their weapons for when they'd face the Covenant.
The Master Chief eased his thumbs on the LAAG's firing levers. The M41 light anti-aircraft gun was a three barreled, electrical powered chain gun, firing at least five hundred rounds of 12.7x99mm armour piercing bullets per minute. They were primarily mounted on Warthogs, and they were a valuable asset back during the war.
Today, they were a blessing.
While Fist-Alpha recovered munitions three days ago, the other forces in the city recovered many different kinds of equipment, and one had found a garage of probably a dozen Warthogs, as well as enough fuel and ammunition for them. After considering them into various plans, they would now play a role in fighting the Covenant on the street.
Pairs of Warthogs would travel together and complete certain tasks – two pairs were sent to harass Covenant troop columns and drive around the city doing so. The others would be used to move soldiers around to their designated targets and later aid them where needed.
The Master Chief helped Hawkins and the other members of command to coordinate this operation, which was the largest yet.
Their targets were vehicle storage depots. If taken out, human forces would be able to move around the street more freely for operations without having to worry about the potential Wraiths the Covenant might send.
The Master Chief was able to make out the shape of the large three story, dome-like structure that was their target. They needed to take out the defenses around it, get inside and plant explosives at key points in the structure to level it and crush the vehicles inside.
The Warthog's driver, a soldier named Flynn, drove closer and closer to the vehicle depot with increasing speed. He was an okay shot with an SMG, but was the closest thing to a professional driver amongst the soldiers.
The Warthog then came under fire from plasma turrets stationed around the depot. Taking aim, the Spartan jammed his thumbs down on the firing levers, filling the area with lead. The smoking brass cartridges ejected violently from the weapon and the sheer amount of bullets simply tore the turrets and their users up into bloody shreds. The Warthog behind him joined in and helped clear the defenses.
"God damn! Watch where the brass is coming out of, Chief! The stuff burns like a son of a gun!" one of the soldiers complained as he picked the burning cartridges out from his shirt, with the other two laughing at him.
"Phantom, to the right!" Elias yelled, firing his Battle Rifle in that direction.
The Master Chief acknowledged it, and shifted the LAAG to that direction. While Elias had yet to catch onto saying proper military terminology, he was at least right about the direction. A Phantom slowly drifted in, its turrets spewing plasma towards the Warthog. The driver was smart enough to dodge it and drive in a zigzagging pattern to confuse the turrets.
The other Warthog opened fire and hammered at the dropship.
While they did so, the Master Chief opened fire as well. The LAAG wouldn't be able to damage the Phantom directly, so he could at least scare it by shooting off its turrets. That way, it would force the pilot to bug out.
Jamming down the levers yet again, the Spartan watched as the bullets slowly impacted and tore up the first turret. He continued the stream of fire until all the turrets were no longer functioning. The Phantom's pilot turned away and flew off, leaving the Warthogs alone.
"Get us to the entrance!" the Master Chief barked at the driver.
The Warthog shifted its direction and drove for the entrance to the depot. Stopping on front of the building, the Master Chief dismounted and picked up his gear. He still carried his Battle Rifle, an SMG, and a satchel filled with C-12 shaped charges. Reaching for the flattened plate of explosive compound, the Master Chief tore bits of it off and gave to the three soldiers and ordered them to follow him.
"Elias, Flynn, hold the Warthog until we get back."
They nodded, and the Master Chief and this team went on. The sounds of gunfire continued as the other Warthog drove around the depot harassing the Covenant crews nearby.
Opening the door into the depot, the Master Chief went in first, keeping his Battle Rifle ready. Inside the dome-like depot, vehicles ranging from the Warthog equivalent Spectres to the lumbering Wraiths, sat motionless on two levels, with a central elevator in the middle. The vehicle crews probably never had a chance to get to their vehicles, seeing how the other team circled around and prevented them from getting to their vehicles. The only Covenant personnel inside were groups of Engineers and Grunts, probably there to maintain the vehicles.
With quick bursts of fire, the team brought the Grunts down and began their work. The interior of the depot was supported by a skeleton that kept the entire structure standing. If taken down, the structure would fall on itself perfectly.
They split up and began planting their explosive at the key structural points. With the amount of C-12 they were working with, it would be enough to bring the whole building down. It was finished with relative ease, and they were back outside within minutes.
"How much time is on the detonators?" Flynn asked, trying to figure out how much time he had to get out.
"Two minutes. Let's move" the Master Chief replied, getting back into the Warthog with the others.
Flynn hit the gas and they drove off. The Spartan signaled for the other Warthog and they followed along. As they drove away, the C-12 detonated, and the depot fell apart. The vehicles inside would be worthless, and the area itself couldn't be used by the Covenant until it was cleaned up, which gave the resistance at least three weeks of respite from mass Covenant armour.
"Chief, we're picking up reports from another group that they're having trouble taking their depot down. They're not far from here. I think we need to give 'em a hand" Elias reported, listening to his radio.
"Alright. Give the direction to Flynn and we'll head there" the Master Chief said.
The Warthog then changed its direction for the other depot. In the distance, gunfire could be heard as human and Covenant forces collided. It was utter chaos for the Covenant.
'Yuteryi was lucky he had gotten off the Shadow before yet another rocket struck it, finishing off the already damaged transport for good. It was hit by practically everything while moving towards the storage facility, and the majority of the soldiers being transported were killed on the way.
Luckily, he was already there and only had to run a short distance before he was behind the hastily erected defenses around the facility. Anything from bits of the Covenant computer uplink crates to deployable shields were set up, as well as a number of plasma turrets. The defenses were up before the humans in their vehicles came, and were unable to penetrate. Slowly, more human infantry began to pour in, setting up their defensive lines and opening fire along the Covenant positions.
'Yuteryi swore as a bullet struck the side of his head, only to be blocked by his shields. The Elite still felt the force of the impact in his skull. Crouching and waiting until his shields recovered, 'Yuteryi tried to find a weakness in the human lines.
"You - use your rifle to pick off as many of the humans as possible!" he shouted at a Jackal with a beam rifle. The Jackal agreed and did so, firing and taking down a pair of human soldiers.
Suddenly, a well aimed bullet struck the Jackal in the head, spraying its blood and brains against the wall behind him.
Taking the rifle from the hands of the dead Jackal, 'Yuteryi peeked out and took a shot. The concentrated beam of charged particles struck a human soldier in the chest, putting the soldier down for good. He tried again, but watched as the soldier was able to duck in time behind cover. They were getting smarter now, able to use cover more efficiently.
Standing up, the Elite aimed and continued to fire. He then noticed two more human vehicles pulling up alongside the human lines. He froze as he caught sight of one of the humans.
It was the one in the special armour, the same one that has brought humiliation to the Covenant, the same human that has killed hundreds, even thousands of Covenant soldiers.
The Demon was here.
'Yuteryi watched as it dismounted from the vehicle and began to open fire with its rifle. Numerous Grunts and Jackals down the line fell to its amazing marksmanship. 'Yuteryi tried to take a shot, but the Demon moved to and from cover too fast. It was nearly impossible to take a good shot. He squeezed off one, but it missed.
The Demon looked his way, and 'Yuteryi felt his eyes on him. The Demon then opened fire on 'Yuteryi, striking at his shields several times and bringing them dangerously close to failing.
Overhead, 'Yuteryi heard a familiar sound – a Phantom dropship. The dropship hovered for a second, letting its turrets fire at the humans while it unloaded its cargo – more reinforcements. The reinforcements gathered on the line and solidified the position, bringing with them plasma turrets and heavier weapons.
The Phantom remained and sprayed fire upon the humans, but 'Yuteryi watched as they shouldered their heavy weapons, the rocket launchers, and let loose a flurry of rockets towards the Phantom. The air boiled and thickened as the rockets impacted the Phantom, destroying its set of turrets and forcing the pilot to pull out.
Curse the humans and their weapons.
Suddenly, 'Yuteryi noticed that the humans with their rocket launchers changed their target. They let loose only two or three rockets towards the line. 'Yuteryi tried to get out of the way, but as soon as the first rocket hit, the force of the explosion sent the Elite flying.
He hit the ground hard. 'Yuteryi tried to get back up, but he felt too tired to do so. His shields were disabled now. Spitting blood down at the ground, 'Yuteryi tried to find his weapon, but it was thrown away during the explosion.
His eyes focused on the Covenant lines. They were now in chaos following the rocket strike. Grunts struggled to fire, but were cut down quickly. The Elites fought as best they could, but the sheer volume of fire kept them down. Out of the far corner of his right eye, 'Yuteryi noticed the Demon and the rest of the human lines. There was something peculiar about where he pointed his rifle. It was as though it was pointed…
And then something struck 'Yuteryi. The force of it sent him back to the ground. He yelled in pain, for it was the most painful experience he had ever felt. He tried to blink, but only his right eye responded. The other suddenly never appeared there, leaving a disproportionate field of vision.
He felt his face, feeling only blood and ruined flesh with his hand. The pain was unbearable. He had been shot, cut, burnt, and beaten before, but nothing was as painful as this.
Then a trio of rounds struck him in the chest, putting the Elite down for good. The noise canceled out – all 'Yuteryi could hear were the sounds of muffled gunfire and his own breathing.
A face then appeared over him – one belonging to an Elite. It examined 'Yuteryi then called over another. The two then dragged 'Yuteryi to cover and behind the vehicle facility. After what appeared to be a lengthy amount of time, they brought him out to an area with the least fighting.
A Phantom appeared over them, and its gravity lift activated, lifting the three into the Phantom. 'Yuteryi felt the motion as it jerked and flew away. Weakly, he stood up, and managed to get to the cockpit, where the pilot looked at him in shock.
"Let me speak to the fighter wings" he grumbled, trying to remain conscious. The pilot obliged.
"To any bomber units able to receive this, take off now and destroy the surrounding street around vehicle hangar twelve. Do so, now! Destroy the humans, all of them!"
'Yuteryi then collapsed. His mind drifted around from the inside of the Phantom back to the battleground.
Before he fell into unconsciousness, 'Yuteryi remembered the one who shot him, the same human that was held responsible for the deaths of many Covenant warriors.
The Demon.
"They're faltering! Hit 'em hard!"
The Covenant defensive lines were no longer able to hold. They were falling fast, and the attack had driven the Covenant insane. The Master Chief slapped a fresh clip into his Battle Rifle and then picked off a Grunt and two Jackals.
The Covenant willingness to fight appeared to have been shattered. The Master Chief wondered for a moment whether it had anything to do with him shooting that Gold Elite from earlier. Somehow, the Master Chief's shot only managed to shoot out the Elite's eye, since it was still screaming after that. The quick burst he fired after that probably finished it off.
After a moment of extended fire, the Covenant lines were broken, and the victorious human forces charged. Within moments, they swarmed inside, planted their explosives and got back out to pick up their wounded and dead, and get back to their Warthogs.
"We've got incoming! Holy shit, it's a wing of Phantoms!"
Looking up, the Master Chief spotted them as well. The half dozen Phantoms flew in fast, held together in a rigid 'Flying-V' formation.
"Get off the street! They're coming in for a bombing run!" a soldier screamed from further down the street.
The soldiers on the street ran for cover, and the Master Chief waved the others off. The Phantoms came in closer, but then strangely passed over them and flew off into the distance. All throughout the street, the resistance fighters looked up in shock and confusion. The Master Chief questioned what they were supposed to be doing, and what ultimately happened, but he didn't take any longer to question it. With the Phantoms gone, it left at least a path open for them to get away.
The Master Chief got back into the Warthog, where Elias brought him news.
"We've got a problem Chief," he said, his voice grim. "A few guys have taken down their target, but they've ran into some problems while they were getting out. They're now pinned down."
"Alright. We'll get there and help them out."
Elias gulped as he explained the next part.
"Chief, they're right next to the gravity lift of a Covenant battle cruiser."
Elias pointed in the direction of the Covenant battle cruiser that recently established a gravity lift in the city. It had yet to be fortified like the arcology and the assault carrier, but it still posed quite a threat.
"We've got to help them. Flynn, get this Warthog moving and get over there."
Flynn nodded as he hit the gas and got the Warthog moving. As they drove a long, another two Warthogs joined him.
"Chief, we're coming with you! You're gonna need some help!" the side passenger of the lead Warthog yelled.
The three Warthogs continued to drive on through the streets. Looking up at the sky, the Master Chief only noticed the battle cruiser. What was actually needed if they were going to assault its gravity lift? How many troops did it have on board?
He then wondered about the potential threat of it in the future. If it remained, it would create another foothold for the Covenant. That can't be allowed. But what could be done about it? Would he have to destroy the ship in order to so that?
The Master Chief wasn't sure, but all he knew was that he had one hell of a fight ahead of him.
End Note: Ahh, this chapter. I enjoyed writing it before, and rewriting it with more dialogue and more action made it all the better. A key change I made was putting 'Yuteryi into this chapter at the start meeting with the Prophet of Regret. I'll say this now - one of the reasons I embarked on a rewriting was that I wanted to put a bit more of Halo 2 into the story, especially with the Prophets, since they now have names. In particular at the start of this chapter, I wanted to create a bit displaying the relationship between 'Yuteryi, starting as a loyal soldier, is with the Covenant and the Prophets, as well as develop some foreshadowing for future references. Also, 'Yuteryi call for the bombers is a little bit that will affect later passages.
The action has been changed a bit. I got rid of the horrid idea of power generators powering the Covenant shields and made it so the humans were targeting vehicle depots instead. I expanded on the action a bit, but the path is mostly the same as before. The real fun comes with next chapter.