++August 23rd 2100 Hours++
It didn't take long to locate the ONI installation called 'Omega,' as it turned out Naomi had stayed behind long enough to pull an updated map from the Superintendent that marked our objective. When we finally got far enough away from the TV station, such that we felt the Covenant either wasn't able to track us, or didn't care to, we stopped and consulted the best route. Luckily the building was only about an hour's walk away, and was located in the CBD, which was probably another factor as to why Colonel Holland had assigned us the mission instead of calling in extract. Hallelujah for being convenient I guess…
Now only a block away we can actually see the building. In all honesty, it's not at all what I expected. Its entirely plain, just a regular office building sitting amongst the cityscape, entirely nondescript and unmarked.
"Doesn't look like there was any extra security here…" Wink comments.
Even the area around the building looks entirely undefended. There aren't any barriers from UNSC positions, or any evidence that the building itself was fought over.
"No sense waiting around then." Chance comments. "Let's get in there."
"I've got point." I say, and move forward from my position at the head of the group. As we approach the front of the building I check both left and right down the street. There isn't any sign of Covenant activity, and so I signal the others forward.
Viking is the first to the door, and he rests his hand on the handle. Chance takes a position at his back, and places a hand on his shoulder, and Wink behind him. I take position on the other side of the doorway behind Naomi and I'm forced to reach up to place my hand on her shoulder due to her height.
"Go." Wink says, and taps Chance. Chance taps Viking, who swings open the door. Naomi is first through, and swings to the left to square off the room. I'm next in, and follow behind to cover her blind spot. Chance follows, then Wink, and then Viking to pie off the other side of the lobby.
It's silent. "Clear." Naomi says. "I have no motion."
"Roger that. Stay frosty." Chance orders.
The interior is surprisingly clean. I remember how Olympic Tower was also clean, besides the defensive barriers, and wonder exactly how much the janitors are paid to sweep during an active warzone. But this is different - it's clean because there is no sign that anyone has ever worked here. The reception desk is empty of paper, and the offices we can see, through the ceiling height window-walls, are identically decorated, with no personal items or files anywhere in sight.
"Where is everyone?" Viking asks.
"Probably left." Wink replies.
Naomi shakes her head, and walks forward ahead of the group. "This building is a façade. Nobody worked here, it's merely meant to cover up the blacksite."
"Ah. Makes sense." Wink admits. "So how do we get to the AI?"
"This way." Naomi waves us on.
Near the back of the office building is a series of elevator's with polished brass doors and a decorative plate over the 'call' button. I look back and chuckle at the dirt we're leaving in our wake - a series of dusty and muddy boot prints on a wax-polished, marble floor.
Naomi moves to the panel, before prying it open to reveal a hidden third button. She depresses it and waits a moment, but nothing happens. I watch her hit it again, several times, in rapid succession. Still nothing happens.
"The powers on." Viking comments, motioning with his rifle towards the overhead ceiling light that still has the elevators bathed in a warm yellow.
"It seems the power to the elevator specifically is not functional." Naomi comments. "It is likely the breaker has been tripped."
"Why don't we take the stairs?" Wink asks.
"There is unfortunately no stairwell access to the lower levels for security purposes." Naomi states, and jabs her thumb into the button a few more times.
"I can take a look." I say. "At the breakers I mean."
"You and Viking." Chance replies, "We'll hold the lobby just in case. Don't be too long."
Viking nods. "Shouldn't be more than ten or fifteen." He taps me on the shoulder. "Come on, let's find the stairs."
It doesn't take us long to locate them either. The plain corridor was just off to the side of the elevator and soon we're trudging down to the basement. When we get to the bottom, only two flights down, it's Viking who calls for us to stop.
"The door." He points with his rifle. "The lock is broken."
I raise my rifle and peer around him. He's correct, and the thin metal around the lock is heavily dented. Someone kicked their way through.
"I've got your six." I say and he nods.
We slowly creep forwards, and Viking pushes open the door with one hand. It creaks, which sounds much louder than it actually is in the relative quiet of the dark basement. My helmet's night vision kicks on, and the maintenance area is bathed in green-yellow light. As I pan the area I see nothing out of the ordinary. It looks like a regular basement. Electric and heating pipes cover the walls, and the bare concrete floor has regularly spaced drains. The building's support pillars, of which there are an unusual amount, let me know the structure has been significantly reinforced, and separates the basement into smaller partitions. Most of these are filled with piles of junk. Stuff like janitorial supplies, old AC ductwork, ceiling panels, and shelves with various tools for regular maintenance.
"Looks clear." I whisper.
"Yeah – Come on." Viking moves further in, following the electrical wiring to a large gray breaker panel a short distance away.
"Shit." He says with a sigh.
From where I'm standing I can see the panel has been smashed in. The padlock is broken, and lies twisted on the ground. "Someone forgot their keys?"
"Lets see the damage then." Viking says, and pulls the door open.
The entire mounting bracket for the circuits has been pulled free from the box to reveal the wiring behind. Viking groans as he parses through the mess. He is constantly forced to look back at the front of the panel to try and reference what each of the wires is or isn't connected to. "What a fucking mess."
"Why the hell didn't they turn the whole building off?" I question, looking at all the effort someone went through just to gain access.
"Well – if I had to guess ONI is probably smart enough to have the facility on a separate circuit, probably the elevator too. Couldn't just yank the main, they'd have to locate the actual elevator."
"Why the hell would they do that?"
Viking shrugs. "Dunno. Maybe a protection protocol? Stop the Covenant from getting below?"
I groan. "I wish they'd just flushed the damn thing, then we wouldn't have to be out here pulling an AI out of the wall. Pain in the ass."
"Agreed. Hold on, this fucking nigh vision is making it hard to tell what color the wires are. Get me a flashlight."
I nod and remove one from a pouch at my side. I cut off my own NV and turn the torch on. "Better?"
"Much." I watch him rummage through the back of the panel. "You worked for ONI before joining the ODST, right?"
"Yeah."
"I never hear you talk about it though. You sworn to secrecy or something?"
I laugh. "Honestly, yeah, probably. Not why I don't talk about it though." I shrug a bit, and watch him fish for a red wire in the mess we've found. "I'm just… not really proud of the work I did with them is all. Not a lot of stories worth telling, I guess."
"Yeah, I get that." He admits. "I've heard some pretty crazy shit about ONI and how they work. Heard they even have some Spartans working for them on hush-hush stuff. Black armor and unnamed – just ghosts, you know?"
"Wouldn't surprise me."
"I think I've got the wire. Whoever did this shit didn't label the front properly." He grunts as he pulls a bundle of wires forward. "So what were you? So kind of assassin?"
I chuckle dryly. "Nah, nothing that glamorous." He looks back at me with a grin. "No, I was in 'Asset Acquisitions.' Basically a glorified delivery boy."
"What? Ginger, that's hardly something to be ashamed of. I mean come on, I figured you'd did something way crazier."
I can't keep the frown off my face. "The assets weren't always cooperative."
"Ah." Viking says after a moment of putting things together. "I take back what I said…" He manages to grab the wire he's looking for, and strips it before reconnecting it and flipping the breaker. "But – I mean look: fighting the Innies required a lot of us to go farther than we were comfortable with. Even us ODST, right? All those black ops? If you had to kidnap some Insurgent generals and put the screws to 'em… fuck 'em. You're a good guy in my book."
I nod my head, even though I don't believe his words. He doesn't know the realities of what we did, and I'm not going to tell him. I think it'd be better if everyone forgets, myself included. "Yeah." I respond.
"Let's head back up."
In the lobby we find the rest of the team, waiting by the newly powered elevator.
"Did it work?" Viking asks, to a murmur of confirmation.
Naomi is holding the door open to the very last elevator in the row, and we all pile in. It's cramped, but we all manage to pack in with some shoulder rubbing. I look at the elevator panel and see there are only two buttons - one labeled L, and one B.
"Only one option." I comment as Naomi's thumb presses the button labeled 'B.' The door slowly closes and then the elevator begins its rapid descent down. I get the sensation we're going far lower than just the building's basement.
"Come to think of it, we have really shitty luck with elevators." Viking points out, "First, the one at the power station where we got stuck, then Olympic Tower, and now this one wasn't even on."
A boom echoes through the shaft, and the small cab vibrates with the force of an explosion from above. Everyone looks at Viking, who holds his hands up apologetically.
"I'm going to smack you every time you speak." Wink seethes.
"Sorry. What was that though?"
Naomi looks up. "I am unsure, but we should hurry."
We finally come to a stop, and the doors open. Naomi is the first out, with Viking and Chance following. I move forward, but my foot gets caught on the frame and I spill forwards onto my hands and knees.
"Fuck." I groan as the fatigue washes over my body. Sore muscles and battered joints are taking their toll on me more and more. I look up to see Naomi offering me a hand that I eagerly take. She practically lifts me off the ground.
"Not much longer." She promises, "Then we'll get some rest."
On my feet I look around the small confines of the hallway. The 'decoration' down here, if it can even be called that, is a stark change compared to the clean office space above. The hallway is entirely metal in its construction, with smooth plates covering parts of the walls while leaving a complex array of tubes and wires exposed in others. There are access computers at semi-regular intervals, the purpose of which I can only guess at, and the entire thing is lit by a pale-blue light
"Kilo-Five," Chance alerts us, "Body on the deck."
He motions with his rifle to a black shape in the middle of the hallway just ahead. I shoulder my rifle and keep my eyes forward as we all approach slowly.
"I am detecting no other signals other than our own." Naomi assures us.
"Wink, check him." Chance orders.
Wink nods, slings her rifle and moves to the body. She presses two fingers to his throat just in case before shaking her head and flipping him over. I immediately recognize the uniform as belonging to the ONI Special Tasks and Operations. It is entirely black, with no rank, branch designation, or individual identifier of any kind. Just a single geometric symbol in the rough shape of an eye on the chest rig.
"Whose that?" Chance asks.
"It's ONI." I advise. "Special tasks - Black ops."
"What got him?" Viking pipes up.
We draw closer, and examine the body over Wink's shoulder. He's been shot multiple times, that much is clear, with the chestarmor shower a series of holes all across its front plate. He was carrying a silenced SMG, similar to the ones ODST utilized but with a different set of modifications I don't recognize. I consider exchanging my weapon for it, but with the multiple Brutes we've encountered, the stopping power of the battle rifle is almost necessary, even if I'm nearly out of ammo.
"Looks like he was shot, Viking." Wink speaks with deadpan sarcasm.
I stare at the body in confusion, as I'm sure everyone else is doing. It doesn't make any sense for human on human conflict to have occurred here of all places.
"Like… with bullets?" Viking asks.
"No, with marshmallows." Wink counters with a snort.
"But that doesn't make any sense." I protest. "Who shot him?"
"Maybe…" Viking murmurs, "Maybe the Covenant got down here and were using UNSC weapons?"
I look around, and back the way we came. There are no signs of damage to the elevator door, or any signs a battle even occurred down here. "Doesn't look like it." I comment. "Naomi, have you ever heard of Covenant using UNSC weapons?"
Naomi only further complicates things by pointing out that the entry wounds are in the man's back. "He was shot from behind, and to answer your question: No. I've never heard of that but… It isn't impossible. The Covenant are smart, I'm sure they understand how." She concludes.
"So what does that mean?" Viking wonders aloud. I have no answer, and nobody else provides one.
"We've got to keep moving." Chance says, "We can ponder the mystery later. Let's just get the AI and get out."
I nod, and eagerly pass on. It doesn't take long for us to notice an increase in security measures. There are gun turrets I hadn't noticed before, poking out of concealed, circular domes mounted into the walls and ceiling. They are exposed now, but hang limp from the mounting brackets, apparently deactivated. As we go deeper into the facility I can see a heavy door at the end of the hallway, but before it are two side rooms with glass walls between us and rows upon rows of what look to be electrical equipment; large rectangular boxes with row upon row of smaller black boxes. It's not the equipment that attracts my attention, however, it's the bodies. In each room there are motionless, black-armored figures. In total I count eleven bodies.
"What the fuck?" Viking blurts out as he notices the morbid display. "There are bodies in there."
"Yeah…" Wink says grimly. "They've been – burned."
"Okay, now I'm officially confused." Viking turns to look at Naomi. "Come on, you've gotta have answers."
She shakes her head. "I sadly do not. It looks like the team either accidentally or purposefully overloaded the AI's serverbanks. I am unsure why they would have done that while inside. Perhaps it was a mistake?"
I shake my head. "STO doesn't make mistakes like that."
"The door." Chance motions with his rifle.
Wink goes to the keypad and inputs the code we were transferred by Holland. The door opens with a smooth sounding 'shlunk' and we quietly move inside. After another short hallway the area opens up into a stark white room which is roughly circular, more accurately hexagonal. Everything is clean and well lit by strong overhead lights. At the other side there is yet another door.
"Through there is the AI core." Naomi moves to the thick looking blast door.
"Alright, open her up. Let's go." Viking says impatiently, clearly eager to leave.
"Hello, Kilo-Five. It is good to see you." The voice is that of Alice, the AI, and I recognize it immediately, although it causes Viking to jump. He bends over at the waist and puts his hands on his knees to recover from the scare. "I did not intend to frighten you, Private Jostad." He shakes his head and waves her off, but doesn't respond.
"We're here to retrieve you." Chance states.
"I am aware of your current mission." Alice responds. "The door before which Spartan Zero-One-Zero is currently standing is the access to my cradle point. It is a clean room, with a single occupant capacity for security reasons."
"What happened in the hall?" Naomi questions.
"If you are referring to the bodies, they are enemy Insurgent forces. They were posing as Office of Naval Intelligence Operatives, which is a capital offense, and were using outdated security passwords to try and initiate a core destruction. After I inquired as to the origin of their orders, they were unable to verify their Commanding Officer. As a result I was forced to take direct action to defend myself and this facility."
"You could have told us that when we got here," Wink points out. "Don't you have access to this whole facility? What with the turrets and all?"
"Unfortunately my connection to this facility has been severed, or I would have done so. I was unable to prevent facility penetration by the Insurgent strike force, and so I was forced to overload my sever banks as part of a last resort trap. It was successful, but at a cost. I am currently blind to the facility."
"I will commence retrieval," Naomi concludes, and inputs the code to the airlock. She steps inside, ducking down slightly due to the low height of the opening, and the door shuts behind her.
"I am glad you have all made it here in one piece. I was not looking forward to liquidation protocols." Alice confesses.
"Neither were we." Viking jokes.
I move to the door window to look at Naomi, and watch jets spray some kind of white cleaning agent all over Naomi's armor. Even though it looks like a liquid coming from the nozzles, almost like steam, it leaves no visible moisture on any part of her. The second door opens and she proceeds inside. I can see a central walkway, about three feet wide, that leads to a central spire in which a blue orb hovers, suspended between two large pillar-like constructions. Hundreds, maybe thousands of wires feed into these central pillars, along with dozens of bulbous blue tubes. Naomi approaches the central terminal, and I watch as she removes a chip from the back of her helmet and then plugs it into the console. The blue orb dissipates from its cradle, and then, just like that, Naomi plugs it back into her helmet. For some reason I expected something more dramatic.
"CONTACT!" Viking roars.
I whip around as fast as I can to see the other door, the one that leads back into the facility hallway, has been opened. An armored Brute is in the entryway, and fires several shots towards me. They miss, hit the door, and I dive to the side. Wink is the first to return fire, using the last shots from her rifle to punch two baseball-sized holes into the Brute's chest. It crumples forwards, but two more fill the gap. This time, however, they don't bother shooting.
A grenade leaves the hand of one, and embed itself in the center of the circular room by viscous spikes. Everyone dives for cover, trying to make themselves as small a target as possible for the inevitable boom. I cower in the doorframe, gun held in front of my face as a makeshift shield. There is a deafening crack, and then the hiss and whiz of bouncing spikes. Chance screams.
I look up once it's over and see Chance has been pinned to the wall. One of the spikes protrudes from his chest like the silver fang of a giant serpent.
"Chance is hit!" Wink shouts, and grabs her pistol to return fire.
I shoulder my rifle and open up with whatever I have left, but the Brutes are taking cover behind the frame rendering most of my fire ineffective. My rifle finally 'clicks' on empty. Viking rushes over to Chance to try and protect him as the two Brutes push into the narrow space. They seem intent on finishing the job more personally, when the door behind me opens and Naomi comes out firing.
The first Brute takes a series of shots to the knee, forcing him to buckle, which exposes the second to a hail of gunfire directly to the armored face. His helmet is sent into the air, as more lead spends him sprawling backwards into a lifeless pile. Naomi collides with the other Brute, toppling him backwards before her armored fists smash into his head repeatedly. The creature flails at first, trying to defend itself from the brutal assault, but its arms quickly fall limp at its sides and with one final twitch of its previously trashing legs it goes still.
I look towards Chance and see him hanging limply from the spike. Viking scrambles up from the deck and to his position. "Fuck." He curses as he examines the wound. I move towards them, but Wink shoves us both aside. She yanks off her helmet and it clatters to the floor.
"Get the fucking cutter out." She demands, and Viking rushes to comply.
"Chance? Can you hear me? Stay with me, honey." Wink reaches, unclasps his helmet, and pulls it off. Blood is leaking from Chance's mouth, and he's already pale.
He smiles at her and nods. "I'm here."
"Don't talk, okay? It's gonna be okay, just keep looking at me." She roughly pats his face to try and coax awareness back into his eyes, then looks down at the spike.
Naomi steps closer, and places a gentle hand on Viking's shoulder. "There are more Covenant on the way. We do not have time to cut through the hardened metal."
Wink stares at her, then back toward the open door and the three Brutes. "Right. Okay. Chance we're going to pull you off the wall, okay?"
He smiles, but shakes his head. "No." He takes a breath, and I watch pain wash over his features for the effort. "It's through my lung. I'll bleed out anyway."
Naomi informs us the base has likely been entirely overrun. "We will have to leave the facility using the coolant runoff pipe inside the server room. Now that Alice has been removed, the airlock can be opened for all of us."
"How long is the pipe?" Wink asks.
"It will be a ten minute swim." She answers.
"I'm not going to leave you here." Wink stares at Chance. "Ten minutes. You can last ten minutes. We'll get you to the other side and find medical."
Chance chuckles. "Helmet." He croaks.
I look down and see the crack, then close my eyes with awareness.
"FUCK!" Wink bellows and presses her head against his neck. She sobs, and I grit my teeth at the sound to try and keep my composure. "I can't leave you here."
He reaches up and puts an arm around her. "It's okay." He takes another pain filled breath, then smiles. "I got unlucky, that's all. Wish I could have been there to walk out with you, but… Just didn't shake out that way."
"Alex, no." Wink stares at him, her face hardening into anger. "You're absolutely not fucking dying on me. That's not an option. We'll find a way."
"There isn't another way. Samantha… Look at me." He directs her chin to him. His voice is soft, and he speaks to her with the kind of caring tone I've never heard the two exchange before. "I need you to woman the fuck up, okay? Get your helmet, complete the mission, and go home."
Wink eventually nods through tear-filled eyes, and does her absolutely damndest to follow his instructions.
"Naomi," Chance looks towards her. "That self-destruct protocol, can you activate it?"
She nods. "I can, Sergeant."
"Good. Put it on a timer. Kilo-Five is yours now. Thank you." He looks between me and Viking. "And both of you have to look after Wink. You're two of the finest soldiers I've ever met, but you both know every mission we roll the dice. There's no guarantees." I nod.
"Alright - somebody get my pistol and put it in my hand."
Wink slowly removes the sidearm from its holster. She makes sure a round is chambered before curling Chance's hand around the grip and placing his finger on the trigger. "I love you." She whispers, something that I probably wasn't meant to hear.
Chance smiles, and despite the pain looks truly happy. "I love you too, sweetheart." The two share a kiss, before Wink breaks it with a teary eyed nod, and grabs her helmet.
I give Chance a salute. He gives me a wry smile, and then I turn away and follow Naomi and Wink into the AI chamber. At the bottom of the room is a pool of artificially blue water. The large blue pipes I saw previously were the coolant system keeping the AI servers running at optimal temps. Now with the AI removed, Naomi tells us she can flush the emergency runoff pipe and set the remaining systems to overload. Each of us takes turns dropping off the walkway into the pool. It's about neck-deep, and after Naomi opens some kind of cap on a four-foot wide pipe we proceed inside. It's cramped, and I'm forced to shove my rifle ahead of me as I worm my way through. I'm not particularly claustrophobic, but even I pray the pipe doesn't get any narrower. All I can hear is my own breathing inside my helmet, as the oxygen backups filter my breath. Our helmets have a thirty-minute supply, which should be more than enough if what Naomi said is true.
I crawl through the pipe for what seemed like ages, each inch requiring a delicate balancing act of shoving myself forward with my feet while rolling my shoulders from side to side. The fact that the pipe is filled with coolant makes the process infinitely easier, as I'm easily able to adjust my position, but it's hard to be grateful for that now. Minutes pass with very little breaking up the monotony of the process. All I have to see is Wink's boots as they kick through the water in front of me. Without warning though I feel rather than hear the detonation as the ONI installation finally hits critical. The coolant around us flexes, and almost vibrates. Naomi has been at the rear of our swimmer's column, shutting every pressure door we've passed. Without that I can tell the pressure wave would have torn us apart. I'm still breathing though, so now I only hope that the pipe itself doesn't collapse. All I can do is keep moving forward.
It feels like an eternity of hearing only my own breath inside my helmet. I could use the comms but talking right now just doesn't feel right. Ironically being alone with my thoughts surrounded by the dull sounds of muted water is somewhat calming. It doesn't last too long, however, as soon I see light peeking out from around Wink's shoulder. I check the time readout on my helmet and see that eight minutes have passed, putting us a full two minutes ahead of schedule.
Wink spills out of the pipe ahead of me, and I follow her. I tuck into a roll as best I can, falling down a shallow incline into a spillway canal about forty feet wide. Once I come to a stop at the bottom I shove myself up into a seated position. I look both ways, then up at the sky, and see no sign of Covenant here. They probably don't even know about the pipe, and even if they did would they know where it leads? The canal itself probably leads to the industrial docks, and there are dozens, probably hundreds of individual openings along its length. I figure we're safe enough, lay my rifle across my lap, and let the water drain from my equipment.
Viking is the next to spill out of the pipe, and he rolls down the ramp like an exhausted fish. I watch him struggle on all fours for a moment before he pushes himself up into a standing position, or at least half of one, with his hands on his knees and catching his breath. His rifle dangles loosley from its sling at his side.
Naomi is the final one out of the pipe, and while she is a great deal more graceful, she's also louder. Her armor clanks against the stone as she tucks into a roll, and then lands at the bottom of the canal in a casual crouch as though nothing had happened at all. She stands immediately, and her helmet pivots.
"It's clear." I say with any motivation I can muster. "Already looked."
She nods, but it doesn't relax her vigilance. I chuckle dryly, and find myself wishing I could be like her. I look around for Wink and find her already standing and looking towards the North West. I follow her gaze and see the orange flame of the Omega building reflected in a large column of smoke that stretches far into the sky. I stay there for a moment, as do we all, and watch the plumes billow ever upwards to join a vast ocean of smoke. It strikes me: how many of those clouds mark the death of a man or woman?
"I wish to give my condolences for the loss of your leader, and to thank you for delivering me from certain destruction. I would prefer not to be dismantled if it is at all possible." It is Alice speaking, even though it takes me a second to realize it.
"No promises…" Viking says, and I can't tell if he's joking or not.
"I understand this is an emotional time for you all, but it is unwise to remain here. The Covenant have shifted their focus to this area, and I have detected multiple air wings en route to this area."
I perk up. "I thought you said you had your sensors cut?"
"Inside the facility, yes. I still have access to the greater network of systems throughout New Alexandria, although there is an eighty-seven point four-two percent failure rate due to the ongoing conflict. However – this is not what has given me this information. Naomi's armor has a full sensor suite, and with my aid can be used for long distance enemy detection." The AI pauses. "I do not know for sure, but it seems likely this armor system was built with the intention of hosting an AI, though the data meshing is incomplete."
"That isn't important right now." Naomi states.
"You are correct, Spartan. With the information your team provided I have located what I believe to be an insurgent stronghold. I believe this location to be the best solution for rearmament and temporary safety."
Viking looks at Naomi, though I'm not sure if he's looking at her or the AI in her helmet. "Information we provided? What are you talking about?"
"It has been some time, but you provided me with orders to track a Warthog as it fled New Alexandria Spaceport after assaulting Spartan Zero-One-Zero. I was successful in that task."
I think hard for a moment, trying to recall exactly what the AI was talking about. The memory filters in slowly at first, and then all at once. I start to laugh. "Wow. That was like… what? A month ago?"
"Exactly thirty-one days ago, yes."
I shrug. "What a coincidence."
"Should I update your HUDs with nav points?"
I look at Viking, who looks back at me, then we both look at Naomi.
"I agree with Alice. It is likely we will find supplies at whatever stockpile the Insurgents had. If we are to get out of the city, we will need ammunition, food, and shelter."
"And sleep." Viking adds. "I regret not letting you talk us into sleep back at the station."
I stare at him. "You do realize we'd be dead then, right?"
"Oh… yeah."
"What do you think, Wink?" I turn to look for her, to find her standing in the same spot still staring at the sky. She doesn't respond. "Wink." I repeat, and her helmet turns.
"What?" She sounds genuinely confused.
"The AI wants to take us to an Insurgent base to rearm." I summarize.
She looks at Naomi. "I thought we were calling for a Pelican?"
Naomi shakes her head. "Not possible. With Alice giving me access to the city's sensor network I can confirm the entire city is a hot zone. Covenant air cover makes Pelican evac impossible now. Our window has closed."
She looks between us, clearly unconvinced. "So… what? We kill insurgents for fun?"
"Since when have you objected to that?" Viking asks.
Wink looks like she's about to respond, but Alice cuts her off. "I believe the stronghold has already been abandoned. I have detected no activity from the Insurgents for over a week, not since the invasion of New Alexandria began. If they were working with the Covenant, as your investigation indicated, it is likely they left prior to heavy bombardment."
Before I have a chance to say anything more I hear the howl of a Banshee in the air, and I immediately stare up at the sky. The sound grows, then starts to soften again before finally fading off into the distance. "We need to go." I conclude.
Naomi nods in agreement. "Alice, give us a nav point."
"Confirmed. I will direct us around known enemy positions."