Eve of Fate
Chapter 9: On the Run
The Master Chief looked outside the window, and instantly spotted what he had heard from earlier. A Wraith mortar tank was parked down the street, and it was firing at the building.
Did they know he was here? Was that why they came in with such firepower?
The Spartan had no time to think of why the Covenant was attacking now – he had to get everybody out and to safety.
"What's going on!" Connor demanded as he stumbled out of his room, his gaze instantly turning to anger as he spotted the Master Chief. He probably thought the Spartan had something to do with all this.
Stacker ran out of his room, also filled with shock and confusion over the noises.
"The Covenant are attacking, we've got to get out of here" the Master Chief replied.
The Master Chief rounded up his equipment and stuffed them into his satchel. He peered out the window and counted the number of Covenant troops below – there were around thirty of them outside, and possibly more on their way.
As he looked around and checked on the others, he saw Rhineland burst out from his room, his sniper rifle and clips of ammunition in his hands.
"Scratch what I said earlier about me thinking of joining," he said. "I think I'm officially in."
The Master Chief looked around the living room once more, and he instantly noticed that someone was missing.
"Where's Cortana?"
Connor looked around in shock, his eyes locking to Cortana's door. He then broke it down with a kick and ran in. A second later, he came back out with Cortana in his arms. She was unconscious, dressed in the same sweater that she usually seemed to wear, and like the last time the Master Chief saw Cortana, she didn't wear any pants.
The Master Chief was reminded of the conversation he had with Rhineland just earlier.
"Is she alright?" Stacker asked, worried.
Connor checked Cortana for injuries and found none. He then lifted her over his shoulder and carried her.
"She's fine."
"Alright, let's move" the Master Chief said, motioning them to get to the door.
"Wait, where are we supposed to go?" Connor asked, questioning the Spartan.
"This area isn't safe. The resistance tunnels should offer some better protection" the Master Chief said.
"I'm not going," Connor said, firmly. "This is our home, and I'm not leaving it. If the Covenant sees us running out of here, they'd shoot us! Our best bet is to stay here."
The Master Chief looked back at Connor almost immediately after Connor finished talking.
"We've got to move, Connor" he said calmly. "The Covenant will be sending soldiers inside and they'd kill anything that may get in their way. It'll be safer if we leave the apartment and get out before they do that."
Connor then gave a long hateful stare at the Master Chief.
"Are you trying to get us involved in your stupid war? We are not going to help you in any of this."
The Wraith on the street then fired and half a second later, there was another explosion that shook the floor and sent pieces of the apartment floor a level up falling down. The Wraith was firing on the side of the building, and it appeared as though it was trying to adjust its aim, which was getting closer and closer now. Rhineland ran over to the window and looked out, surveying the Covenant forces on the street.
"Connor," the Master Chief said, his voice turning from calm into a sterner and serious tone. "That Wraith is hitting the side of this building, and any of us caught in its blast would be vaporized in an instant. Either you get moving with the rest of us, or you hand Cortana over and stay all you want – don't waste our time."
"The Chief is right," Stacker said, stepping forward. "Either way, we've got to get the hell out of here!"
Rhineland then frantically got back from the window and to the door.
"We've got to hurry; I think they're adjusting their aim."
The Master Chief ran out, with Stacker, Rhineland, and Connor, carrying the still form of Cortana.
"What's the quickest way out of here?" the Master Chief asked Stacker.
"The fire exits," Stacker replied, pointing down the hallway. "I'm not sure if any of the side entrances are still open, but it's our best bet. Otherwise, we'll need to go through the lobby, which might be swarming with Covenant."
"Lead the way."
Stacker did so, running down the hallway with everybody else following. Turning around a corner and running down a hallway, Stacker found the fire exit. He tried to open the door, but the doorknob must have been jammed.
"Dammit, the door's stuck! There should be another-"
The Master Chief then punched clean through the doorknob and tore down the rest of the door. The Master Chief walked through wordlessly, while Stacker looked on in humour.
"Well, that works too I guess" he said.
The stairs within the fire exit were small and spiraled around inside, and the entire path itself was cramped. Stairwells were natural obstacles that troops met in close quarters. The combination of close quarters battle as well as higher and lower areas that require constant cover made places such as these dangerous to walk into blindly.
The Master Chief raised his rifle and proceeded along down the stairs. Luckily in this scenario, he needed to be only weary of what was in front and below him. So long as he got out fast enough, he wouldn't need to worry about the areas above him.
After traveling down the lengthy spiral of stairs, the Master Chief opened the door at the bottom of the stairwell and walked out first, checking both sides with his Battle Rifle. In the distance, he could almost make out the sounds of Covenant soldiers scurrying into the hallways.
They needed to get out of here, now.
"Stacker, where's the exit?"
"It's close by," he replied, pointing down the hallway. "It'll lead us out the side entrance and to the street."
Stacker went first, leading the Spartan and the others through the mazelike hallways of the apartment building. The Master Chief kept checking behind as they moved along, watching for any Covenant troops who might be lucky enough to get behind them.
"Alright here it is" Stacker said as he rounded a corner into a short hallway, with the exit at the rear of it.
Stacker's expression then changed from optimistic to shock. The Master Chief walked up beside him, and realized why.
The hallway was blocked.
Giant pieces of concrete and debris from the ceiling blocked off the path to the door. The Master Chief groaned in agony – they were so close. It would have been possible for him to lift some and clear the way, but how long would it take? In whatever amount of time needed, it left the others in danger.
Then, he heard the yelling of an Elite. Turning around and raising his Battle Rifle, the Master Chief waited until the alien warrior came into his sights. Before the Elite was able to raise its plasma rifle, the Master Chief fired several bursts, taking down the Elite with relative ease.
The Spartan had no time to relax – within moments of the Elite's body falling to the ground, another squad of Covenant reinforcements came through, consisting on at least three Elites with a group of Grunts.
The Master Chief opened his grenade launcher's breech and quickly pushed a grenade inside and fired. The grenade detonated in the middle of the squad, killing most of the Grunts and wounding the Elites. With their shields now weakened drastically, the Master Chief's quick bursts downed the Elites with ease.
As he swapped out his magazine, Connor gave the Spartan a harsh look.
"Are you trying to get us killed! The Covenant will be all over us soon!"
"Well, do you have a better idea Connor?" Rhineland asked, rhetorically, looking from the group of dead Covenant soldiers back to the blocked off exit. Rhineland's hands held onto his sniper rifle with a death grip. Had the Master Chief not taken down the squad quick enough, Rhineland would have fired.
The Master Chief wondered how effective Rhineland was now. The aging sniper was determined, but is he still capable of sniping?
"Is there another way out?" the Master Chief asked Stacker.
"I'm not sure – this was the closest that I know of."
The Master Chief checked his ammunition, noting that he was now running out of magazines for his Battle Rifle. Between the shotgun shells and grenades for the launcher, he still had a fair amount to put up quite a fight. He would fight if needed, but the main objective for now was to escape and evade.
Suddenly, there was a rapid flurry of footsteps from the outside, getting closer to the door that was blocked off.
"Friendly?"
The Master Chief recognized the voice – it was Foley.
"It's me Foley," the Master Chief replied. The debris blocking the doorway was slightly more open in certain section, allowing the Master Chief and Foley to at least communicate.
"Chief! You're alive? Son of a bitch, some of us thought you went down with the Covenant ship. Hey, Hawkins, get over here!"
There were more footsteps as another soldier ran up beside Foley.
"Chief, are you there?"
"I'm here. I was able to evacuate the others from the apartment as well."
"The others?" Hawkins asked, in interest. "Where's Stacker?"
Before the Master Chief was able to reply, Stacker spoke up.
"Hawkins? Is that you?"
Hawkins laughed from the other side.
"My God, Stacker, you're getting old. Is everybody alright on your end?"
Stacker looked back at the still unconscious Cortana.
"We're fine over here. Cathy's unconscious, but we're fine. Is there another way out? We'll need to get to one of your bases."
"Right. About the base," Hawkins replied, his voice changing from friendly to tense. "Chief, we've got a problem – the Covies found the tunnel."
The Master Chief froze as he heard that.
"How?"
"We're not sure, but we got the hell out of there as soon as we can and took as many of the guys and equipment out of there. We've got a lot of wounded with us right now, but a good number of boys to fight. Listen, we're sitting ducks out here – meet us on the other side of the building. We've scouted out an open exit there. Meet us there and we'll lead you guys out."
Before the Master Chief was able to reply, Foley and Hawkins were gone. The Master Chief tensed as the news of the tunnel being discovered kept echoing in his mind. How were they discovered? Hawkins, as well as the other officers made sure that every soldier going out from the tunnels to the surface used different entrances and exits each time so the Covenant wouldn't detect them. Even so, the soldiers themselves were smart enough to hide their tracks and watch themselves so they wouldn't be followed.
But what if it wasn't carelessness that led to the tunnel being discovered? What if there was a traitor amongst them that gave away the tunnel's location?
The Master Chief had no time to contemplate the possible reasons – they needed to move to the other side.
"Form up, let's go."
"Where are we going now?" Connor asked. His voice was still hostile.
"The other side," Stacker replied. "There should be a clear exit over there."
Connor's face showed little optimism, but he had no choice but to move along with the rest. Stacker led the way, leading the small group down another set of hallways, with the Master Chief close by.
The sounds of Covenant troops combing out and searching the apartment building were getting louder and clearer. There would be only scant moments before the bulk of the Covenant troops would come upon them.
The trek towards the opposite side of the building was eventless, and upon reaching the short hallway that carried onwards to the exit, the Master Chief spotted Foley. He was standing in between a doorway, offering him both cover as well as a decent hiding spot to keep a lookout for Covenant troops. As soon as Foley saw the Spartan, he waved him over and signaled for him to get into the room.
Past the doorway and into a small and windowless room was the temporary rallying point for the battered squad of Fist-Alpha soldiers. There were at least forty soldiers inside, but half being wounded and the other half tired and weary. Amongst them, the Master Chief spotted Elias, who was amongst the soldiers not wounded. His eyes brightened up when he saw the Spartan.
Hawkins came forward from amongst the soldiers. A sidearm rested in his holster, and he wore set of basic marine combat armour. Instead of a helmet, he wore a cap, similar to that of what the Sergeants many years back often wore.
"It's good to see you Chief" he said.
"Status?"
Hawkins motioned around the room as he explained the situation.
"We've got forty-six soldiers, around twenty wounded, but still able to fight, and the rest are tired, but still willing to move."
Looking around at the soldiers, the Master Chief noted their condition. They were in no position to wage a battle. Their best bet for getting to safety would be to sneak their way out of the area and into a safe zone.
"What happened?" the Master Chief asked, wanting to know how the tunnel was discovered in the first place.
"We don't know," Hawkins explained. "The Covies must have been poking around the area a bit and they must have found something. They hit our tunnel, but we were able to get out in time and out onto the streets."
"What about the other tunnels?"
"We told them to hunker down just as the Covies found us," Hawkins continued. "They're fine – it's us I'm a little more worried about. We're pinned down here, and we've only got one shot at getting to safety."
Hawkins then took out a map and pointed at a marked location far from their current position. The Master Chief spotted the words 'Vanilla Hopper' printed neatly next to it.
"We have another base at there. It's underneath a local bar, and the Covies don't care enough to check in places like that," Hawkins said. "If we can get there, we can get back to the safety of the tunnels."
It was a sound plan in the Spartan's head. However, there was still the question regarding how they were even going to get there.
"Hawkins, can you spare me a few soldiers?"
"What for?" the old veteran asked him, curiously.
"We'll distract the Covenant and force them into a fight here, and while we're fighting, you and the others can sneak out and get to the rendezvous point."
Hawkins went quiet as he thought about the plan. A split second later, his face lit up.
"Alright then, let's do this. I'll give you a shout over the radio when we're going to move."
"Affirmative."
Hawkins briefly outlined the plan to the others, and everybody began to move. Amongst the soldiers, Elias stood up and readied himself.
"I'll go with you Chief" he said, eager to stay in the fight.
"Same with me" another soldier said, as well as many others.
A brief minute later, the forces were now organized. The Master Chief was joined with Stacker, Rhineland, Elias, and more than half of the other soldiers, while Hawkins and Foley were with the rest, numbering to at least eight or ten others. The Master Chief needed enough men to hold down and distract the Covenant attackers, and Hawkins needed a small and unnoticeable group to sneak by with.
Looking at the assembled soldiers, the Master Chief picked out the still unconscious form of Cortana being carried by Connor.
"Connor, I think it might be best if you and Cortana go with Hawkins" the Spartan recommended.
Connor nodded as he lifted Cortana.
"I was planning to do that. Better to get Cathy to safety than to risk her with in your fighting" he replied, still bitter.
"Just make sure she's safe" the Master Chief urged.
A part of the Master Chief felt uneasy being separated from Cortana in the middle of a firefight. If she was with him, he would be able to guarantee her safety, but the chances of her getting caught in the crossfire were too high. But if he let her go with the others, would they be able to protect her?
Erasing that thought, the Master Chief focused on his part of the mission. He signaled for the others to form up on him, and he led them out of the hallway and into the lobby.
Peering out, the Master Chief spotted a small group of Covenant soldiers stationed in the lobby. They entered in from the main entrance and set up a trio of turrets and established defensive positions all around.
The Master Chief loaded a 40mm grenade into its launcher and signaled for Elias and the others to throw down suppressive fire. As he did, they moved into their positions, readying their rifles and keeping themselves between cover.
The brief lapse of time that the Master Chief used to teach the soldiers how to properly wage war was paying off; with enough time for them to be hardened at their skills, they would soon be a force to be reckoned with.
Elias and the others opened fire, catching the Covenant by surprise. The Master Chief took that moment to lean out and fire the loaded grenade at the nearest deployed turret. The explosive detonated and destroyed the gun, also spraying the area with small fragmentations. The Master Chief shifted his attention to the Covenant soldiers and fired several quick bursts at them.
Out of the corner of the Master Chief's eye, he spotted the receptionist's desk, located at the opposite end of the lobby, lined up with the main entrance. It would be a good spot to fire at the Covenant positions from.
"Elias, get to the desk!" the Spartan barked.
"Got it," Elias replied. "Come on, let's go!"
Elias and several others quickly ran out from the cover of the hallway and hunkered down behind the receptionist's desk. From there, they had a better vantage point to fire from. The Covenant troops in the lobby had either no hard cover to use and were cut down where they stood, or were forced to retreat out the main entrance.
"Hawkins, what your status?" the Master Chief asked, speaking through his radio.
"We're on the move. Covie reinforcements are moving in from all around. Looks like your plan worked."
The Master Chief was relieved. This allowed them to get out safely. As for the Covenant reinforcements, all they had to do was hold them off long enough.
"Chief heads up! Phantoms, incoming - they're offloading Brutes!"
The Master Chief froze, and then ordered the others to move out of the hallway and take cover either behind the receptionist's desk, the hallway opposite from the current one, or remain there and provide covering fire.
They needed to put as much fire on the Brutes as possible and take them out quickly – a MJOLNIR enhanced soldier was even with them, but several normal human soldiers would be cut down quickly by the apelike aliens.
As the soldiers moved out, the wall next to the entrance suddenly broke down, and behind the dust came the six enormously built figures of the Brutes. The snarling aliens took little time to engage, already firing grenades from their Brute Shots into the room.
One of the high velocity grenades bounced off the floor and hit the midsection of a soldier just exiting the hallway. When it detonated, the grenade simply tore the soldier in half.
As the barrage continued, the Master Chief heard the cries from several wounded or dying soldiers. The six Brutes would easily decimate the human soldiers.
Not unless a Spartan joined in.
The Master Chief opened his grenade launcher's breech and loaded in a shotgun shell. Moving out, he fired a burst at the Brutes. The individual bursts inflicted almost no damage on the Brutes, but it did get their attention, exactly as the Master Chief wanted.
"Concentrate your fire on the Brutes!" the Master Chief barked as he ran out and lead the Brutes towards the front of the apartment lobby.
As he moved, the Master Chief now focused his attention towards the closest Brute, firing several bursts at its head and upper chest. With the combined fire of his Battle Rifle and the fire from the soldiers, the first Brute, and then a second and third were cut down quickly.
As one of the Brutes got closer to him, the Master Chief opened fire with the grenade launcher, firing his previously loaded shotgun shell into its face. To his surprise, all the shell was able to do was push the Brute back a foot, staggering while it gripped its bloody and torn face, roaring in pain.
The Master Chief then fired a quick burst into the Brute's head, finishing it off for good. Only two Brutes remained now. One of them looked towards the human soldiers and decided to engage them, while the other decided to continue with the Master Chief.
The Brute that was fighting the Master Chief threw aside its Brute Shot. It was going to fight the Master Chief in melee, and that meant trouble. The apelike alien roared its challenge and then got down on its hands and feet, charging at the Spartan the same way an ape would run.
The Master Chief opened fire, but the Brute was too fast – it was already up to the Spartan now, and it sent a punch straight towards him. The punch threw the Master Chief aside, forcing him into a wall. His shields took the brunt of the strike, but the Master Chief felt the hit in his chest.
The Brute continued its attack, sending a fist towards the Spartans head. Seeing this, the Master Chief was able to duck, while the alien's fist struck and buried itself in the wall behind them.
Looking around, the Master Chief couldn't find his Battle Rifle. The force of the Brute's melee attack must have forced him to drop it. Without thinking, the Master Chief reached into his belt and pulled out whatever spare weapon he still had.
His hands wrapped around the hilt of the energy sword, and with a flick of a wrist, he activated it and swung.
The blade effortlessly cut through the Brute's chest, forcing the alien to a halt. It still screamed in agony and rage, but the Master Chief ended it by sending his blade through its head.
Near the receptionist's desk, the other Brute tumbled back, its chest and face riddled with blood and bullet wounds. One of the soldiers leaped over the desk and emptied out the rest of his magazine into the Brute's face, cheering as he did.
"Look out Chief!"
The Master Chief looked behind him and spotted a pair of Brutes just entering the lobby. They were down on their arms and legs and were charging straight for the Master Chief.
Suddenly, there was a single loud snap, and both Brutes fell to the ground. The Master Chief noted one was in front of the other as they charged. Looking back to the receptionist's desk, the Master Chief spotted the shocked faces of the soldiers, and the smoking muzzle of Rhineland's sniper rifle.
He fired only one shot.
The entire lobby was filled with bullet holes and plasma scoring, along with blood of both human and alien. Looking over to the soldiers, the Master Chief realized that the Brutes did severe damage upon them – only half were still alive, and the rest were mostly wounded.
"We've got to get out of here! They'll be sending more" one of the soldiers cried.
"What about the dead?"
"Leave 'em," Stacker said, worn out. "We'll come back and get them later. In the meantime, we'd best be getting the hell out of here."
The survivors quickly formed up and ran out of the lobby and into the street. It was dark outside, and the distant sounds indicated that more troops were inbound. They ran towards the nearest alleyway and continued to move, putting distance between them and the apartment. When they got to a temporarily safe position, the Master Chief consorted Stacker for their next move.
"That place Hawkins and the others are moving towards - the Vanilla Hopper - is a bar," he explained. "From what I know, there's a base under there and it's the only safe place for us to get to."
"Do you know where it's located?" the Master Chief asked.
Stacker nodded.
"Yeah, just follow me."
The Master Chief followed, and the other soldiers did so as well, following Stacker through the alleyways. As they moved, the Master Chief found Rhineland walking besides him.
"Thanks Rhineland."
"No problem Chief." he replied.
"I had that bullet for thirty-five years, and it cost me my team, but today, it took out two Brutes," Rhineland continued, his moral recovering. "I forgot how good it feels – to fire a shot and take somebody out. Now I remember. You've got my rifle Chief."
The Master Chief lightly patted Rhineland on the shoulder. He was a good sniper, and there would be more targets for him in the near future.
As they moved along, the Master Chief remained on the alert. The darkness gave them adequate protection, but it did not give him, or the others, an excuse to lighten up.
His mind then shifted towards Cortana. Was she alright? Did she or the others make it to the rendezvous point?
The Master Chief was hoping she was alright. But he needed to be sure, and the only way of doing that was if he, and the others, was to hurry along on their trek through the dark alleyways of the city.
End Note: I did a few things with this chapter. I first changed part of the beginning, so that instead of Stacker running with Cortana and Connor, everybody gets out, and then I began a new subplot - Fist-Alpha is also on the run. The rest goes into the next chapter, but boils down to them fighting their way out. One of the things I cut out of here was the noble Brute (oxymoron?). I was thinking about it after a reviewer talked about it, and it made sense - after 'Ikorji, another noble Covenant was a bit too much. At the same time, he was part of an old plot idea, one that I had before Halo 2 that that I was putting into the story where the Brutes were more related to the Forerunners, but ultimately they turned out to be uberstrong and stupid apes.