Chapter 8: Total war
Six POV
Dirt was tossed into the air as the column of military vehicles thundered down the barren grounds of Reach. The Scorpions soon fell behind as the more agile vehicles moved forward, turning themselves into live bait in order to draw out easy targets for the tanks. UNSC air support flew overhead, from Pelicans supplied with heavy weaponry to the lighter Falcons, the birds in the air were ready to assist in the coming battle.
'This was what it was like before we made spaceships,' Six thought to himself as he checked his battle rifle one last time.
The convoy was almost to the Dark Zone, where the Covenant was preparing for them. Auntie Dot provided them with low altitude imagery from Short Sword jets when they did a recon run. It showed large-scale movements there, possibly Wraiths and Scarabs. This didn't boost morale among the troops, but it did help motivate the Spartans; there would be plenty of targets for them to shoot at.
Across Noble Team's secured line, Carter's voice came through the roar of a charging modern army, "That Spire is our top priority, Noble. Do what you have to ensure it's dead. Jun, what's the status on those charges?"
Jun responded in a rather enthusiastic voice, "Signal lock is loud and clear."
"Copy that," Kat replied. "Acquiring signal lock on the Pylon." As if on cue, they passed the cliff where the jammer rested as Kat started the countdown. "Detonating in three, two, one." She raised and pressed the detonator with one hand and held the wheel with the other.
Six watched as the tower was engulfed in flames, a small revenge for the humans slaughtered in the mountains. Then his head quickly twisted forward when he heard the familiar wail of plasma shots.
In front of them was what looked like every Banshee ever created. It was like a great flock of purple scavenger birds was heading straight towards them, releasing a tsunami of multicolored fiery balls of death released from their weaponry. The Warthogs and Mongooses all swerved to avoid them, but all around the battlefield, both machines and men began to groan in pain as the intense heat began to devour them. A small bright, blue sun appeared and landed on top of a Warthog, tearing it apart. Like a bird caught in a storm, the human forces were swept into an all-out battle.
"Split, now!" Carter cried over an open channel. He wasn't the commander of the entire invasion force, but every soldier followed his orders. Alpha team split to the left, heading to the plains, while Bravo headed to the right in the direction of the mountains.
There was only a single bridge that could be used to cross a gorge that was separating the plains from the mountains, and at the moment it was jammed with Warthogs all madly trying to cross it.
"Maybe we should hold back and wait-" Six barely finished his suggestion when Kat shouted, "-No time!" and punched the gas.
Six looked up and saw that a plasma mortar round was bearing down on the bridge.
"Incoming!" warned Six, but Kat ignored him. She shifted the car's gears and yelled, "might want to hold on to something!"
Heeding her advice, Six grabbed the upper rail above him while he listened to Lin praying louder than before. Six was hoping that they could make it across the bridge before the hurling orb of plasma hit it, but it was too late. The round slammed into the bridge and shattered it like fragile glass. However, Kat didn't slow down, in fact, she gunned the engine harder. A small part of the bridge was raised higher than the other pieces and became an improvised ramp. At nearly a hundred and fifty miles an hour, they jumped over the crumbling structure, weightlessness taking over. The sensation was one that Six enjoyed, but it came to a bone crushing stop when they landed. The warthog started doing back flips while the contents of the car came undone and threw around its occupants.
Whether it was from the sheer force of the crash he was experiencing or the violent introduction his head had with the ground, Six felt himself losing consciousness.
Shress La'Vdamee POV
Shress watched from a distant cliff as the Covenant and human forces collided. It was as if watching two great astorms crashing violently into the peaceful landscape. This was her first time witnessing such a large-scale and violent ground battle. The smaller human vehicles broke off, not even engaging the charging Covenant forces. Watching from her position, she easily saw that the humans were attempting to flank them, one side heading to the plains while the other headed into the mountains. Soon the small Ghosts and Revenants found themselves facing off against the larger human war machines. The two forces relentlessly blasted away at each other, releasing their molten payloads towards their adversaries until walls of fire blinded them. She shuddered as she imagined how terrible it would be to be incinerated alive by the same weapons she herself uses.
Suddenly, a ranger ran up to her and shouted, "Zealot!"
"What?" she asked, jarred out of her thoughts at the interruption.
"A squadron of humans have broken through our perimeter. They're closing in on our position!" he said with an undertone of malice in his voice.
Shress didn't like the thought of killing humans, but this was war. Reconciling her chaotic thoughts, she reminded herself of her childhood training.
'Any hesitation on my part could spell the deaths of my warriors… As much as I dislike it, it is my duty to defend this position.'
Firmly gripping her concussion rifle, she nodded solemnly towards the Ranger. "Lead the way."
Six POV
Six awoke to Kat's voice, "Six, can you hear me? Six, we have to move, now!"
Six opened his eyes and saw Kat firing her rifle at Covenant forces coming at her from a hilltop. All around him, Six could see the smoldering bodies of Marines littered at their feet.
As fast as he could given the circumstances, Six got to his feet. Hearing a yell behind him, he quickly spun around just in time to see a warthog attempt to jump over the now destroyed bridge. They didn't have enough momentum, causing them to smash into the cliff before gravity pulled them into the canyon. Six could hear their screams in his helmet, even through the roar of gunshots and plasma rounds around him.
"Six! Come on! I need your help!" Kat's voice brought him back to reality.
Six pulled his grenade launcher off his back and said, "I'm on my way!"
He ran up to her side, took cover behind their overturned Warthog and started shooting high-explosives into the ranks. The grunts squealed and tried to take cover, but the grenades detonated, igniting the flammable gas inside their packs, causing secondary explosions to erupt. The nearby Ultra roared in frustration as a bulk of its forces were destroyed in less than a minute.
As Six took cover and reloaded, he noticed with surprise as Lin was slumped up against their improvised cover, unmoving. He made to shake his shoulder to check on the soldier, but Kat interrupted with a callout of, "Incoming!"
Not entirely sure what to expect, Six grabbed Lin and ran from their cover while Kat provided covering fire. Suddenly, the floor of the canyon shook and Six fell to the ground, dropping Lin in the process. He looked up just in time to see a Banshee pulling away from their location, leaving their overturned Warthog as a smoldering heap of useless metal.
Seeing Lin still lying still in the middle of the kill-zone, Six decided against his better judgment to brave the fire from the enemy's weapons. Pulling the soldier to a nearby rock, he finally crouched next to the young Infantryman and checked his vitals.
Against all odds, he had a pulse.
"Hey, hey!" Six shouted as he shook the soldier.
The trooper opened his eyes, the fog of an obvious concussion still clear in his motions as consciousness finally returned to him. After a moment, he looked up at the Spartan in confusion.
"Can you hear me?" Six asked, thinking that the recent explosion messed up the soldier's hearing.
"I can hear bells ringing sir!" was Lin's reply, yelling loudly even in this close proximity.
He wasn't sure if the soldier was trying to be funny or not, but Six just chuckled as he gave him his DMR. Giving Lin a slight nod, he watched as understanding came across his young face.
'Back to work.'
Together, the three of them systematically destroy the Covenant forces with an efficiency that only comes from trained Spartans. One by one, two by two, the aliens fell by either bullets or well timed detonations. It wasn't long before the three of them were standing on the side of the cliff face, taking a short moment to examine the warzone in the valley below.
With the immediate threat neutralized, Kat got on the radio, "Command, this Bravo One, we need additional support, over."
"Copy, Noble Two," replied Carter's calm voice, "Pelican inbound. Stand by."
Sure enough, a large Pelican flew in and detached a Warthog from its rear. Six couldn't help but feel excited as he jumped on top to take control of the turret, a Multiple Launch Rocket System, designed to destroy ground armor.
Shress La'Vdamee POV
The roars of victory from her hastily-organized lance rang through the alien architecture. The smell of burnt flesh and iron came through as she pulled her sword out of yet another… Enemy.
With the final human defeated, the lone female among the group deactivated her blade. Looking over the battlefield, Shress couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt as she thought of how Michael would feel about what she just did… What she needed to do!
'… Right?'
While She had seen scenes like this a hundred times over by now, she no longer felt the rush of pride and the buzz of victory when she glanced over the broken bodies of the fallen humans.
While she was no longer bound by her oath to not kill humans, she couldn't help but feel like every swing of her sword wasn't just killing another innocent, but cutting into a piece of her own soul.
She felt terrible, but yet she was a Zealot of the Covenant. She would do her duty. She must!
Her comrades didn't notice her disgruntled state; too busy reveling in the supposed glory of their victory. Shress couldn't help but feel that the minor celebration brought a stark juxtaposition over the broken bodies of the humans they had just killed.
Suddenly, there was a burst of fire from her right and she turned her gaze on what could only be more humans who were attacking. Unsurprisingly, the shields around the spire held true against the onslaught of primitive explosive projectiles fired from afar.
'Don't these humans know that their explosive projectiles won't-'
A scream of fire and metal dropped from the skies, slamming into the ground nearby. The strange human drop-pods popping open to reveal several more warriors inside, armed and ready for battle. These new humans were wearing helmets with glass covering their faces, similar enough to, but clearly smaller than the Spartan she had come to know so well.
Unable to save them, unwilling to dishonor herself by fleeing, and utterly incapable of preventing the imminent battle, she bellowed a battle-roar that resounded through the immediate battlefield.
Had these humans known better, they would have heard the slight crack in her voice, a sign of her sorrow.
Six POV
The coal refinery hadn't been put to use since the early days when Reach was being colonized. It was like a great hulky beast that was slowly dying as it turned to rust. It had been empty for years by this point, however, now there were UNSC soldiers and Covenant troops alike moving through the once deserted building with deadly purpose.
Six and Kat were at the front lines as they led the troops onward. At first, trying to get them to follow the Spartans akin to getting startled rabbits to follow rabid wolves. They were simply defeated; they didn't believe they could succeed, let alone survive the battle. That all changed after Six single handedly destroyed one of the massive anti-aircraft turrets, not only bringing in the aid of the frigates Saratoga and Grafton, but also giving the soldiers the morale they desperately needed.
As shocking as it was, Lin was still with them, now holding the title of UNSC soldier who lasted the longest on a Spartan suicide mission.
'His prayers must have worked after all.'
Their advancement came to a halt when they reached the final balcony of the decaying coal-refinery. An Elite with a plasma turret had them pinned for a while, but the alien didn't realize it had set up its gun next to a large tank of explosive liquid. With a couple of well placed grenades, the gun, along with the alien, was destroyed.
As the troopers ran by, Six slowed down to look at the dead Sangheili. Its broken body was twisted in odd angles and its mandibles were splayed wide open. Six had a disturbing image of Shress spread out like that flash in his mind, causing him to shiver. They were on different sides of the war, not to mention different species, but now they were friends. Despite every bit of his training, along with half the UNSC regulations that said otherwise, Six felt an obligation to try and keep that friendship.
"Lieutenant," Kat shouted over her shoulder, "Get over here. We have a problem."
Six rushed forward, making his way to Kat, taking a moment to recon the immediate area for any threats. Noticing upon closer examination that there was a massive courtyard below them with stairs leading up to the opposite side of the factory, Six then scanned the clear path for any threats. Almost immediately, Six now saw what disturbed Kat: two squadrons of Grunts, all being led by an intricately armored crimson Elite.
Six felt his stomach drop, knowing that the red armor marked the wearer as a Zealot.
'Is it Shress?' Six tried to distinguish if it was his extra-terrestrial friend or not.
'If it's Shress, maybe she won't attack,' Six thought.
That changed when the Sangehili saw them. It roared a challenge and fired multiple blasts with its concussion rifle. The human forces all dived for cover, but the powerful balls of energy still got them. It blew one human to ashes, scattering the forces into different directions as they all dove for cover. Kat and a few lucky troopers were just blown off their feet, but Six, as well as four other troopers, were carried over the rails and landed in the courtyard ten feet below.
Despite this, Six was still unsure if it was Shress or not. Did she not see him, or worse, was their friendship over?
The Spartan pushed himself up and looked around. Three of the troopers were killed by the impact of the crash, but one was still alive. He grabbed him and hauled him behind the cover of a rusted container. When he glanced at him, Six was shocked to see it was Lin.
'Maybe these prayers are the real deal' he thought before the Zealot continued his barrage, returning the Spartan's attention to the task at hand. Six got down and inspected Lin, checking him again for any injuries.
"Status?" Six asked, checking for clear signs of trauma.
"My back aches and I can't raise my right arm," Lin muttered as ash and blood covered his face.
Without warning him, Six grabbed the hurt arm and popped it back into place into its socket. Lin screamed, but Six quickly smothered the sound with his hand. Glancing over his cover, he was thankful to see that the sound didn't attract the attention of the trigger-happy Zealot.
"Sorry soldier," Six said quietly, shifting his gaze to the only other Spartan in the area. Seeing her attention was already on him, Kat began to make quick hand signals which Six nodded to. Kat and the remaining UNSC forces were going to provide suppressing fire while he took out the Zealot.
He kneeled and handed Lin his rifle. "Eyes up soldier, this isn't over yet." Lin only nodded while he tested raising and lowering his arm.
"Yes, sir!"
Six pulled out his magnum and combat knife, holding the blade in his left hand while bracing his sidearm in his right. Readying himself for the next fight, he waited in cover next to Lin until he heard the thunderous cry of human weapons letting loose a veritable wall of bullets. With the clearest demonstration of suppressing fire to date, Six ran around his cover, weapons in hand.
He barreled into the first group of Grunts who were too preoccupied trying to shoot the human soldiers to notice Six until it was far too late.
Six quickly shot two Grunts in the head, stepping over their still-falling corpses before he drove his knife into another's throat. Even as he removed his blade in a shower of bioluminescent blood, he saw the last try to turn and shoot. Sadly for the creature, Six was just too quick. Violently smashing his foot into the small creature, the Spartan watched in smug satisfaction as it smashed into the wall, killing it immediately upon impact. With the first group neutralized, Six sprinted upstairs to engage the remaining forces.
The Grunts were dead but the Zealot was still fighting, easily weaving through the suppressive fire, letting his shields do the rest while firing its powerful weapon into the defenseless men below.
It was then that he needed to make a choice.
Should he drive the knife into the Zealot's throat like he was trained to do, or should he check and make sure it wasn't Shress first? Even if it was, then what? Let her go?
Six took a breath slowly before he moved forward as silently as possible. The Zealot had its head turned so he couldn't even tell if it was female or not.
He hoped he wasn't making a mistake when he came up behind the Sangheili and whispered "Shress?"
The Zealot turned, taking a moment to meet the Spartan's gaze.
'Yellow eyes. Not Shress.'
Unsurprisingly, after a moment of hesitation, the confused look was replaced with the familiar bestial rage that Six sees all too often. Firing off a shot at point blank range, Six needed to quickly weave out of the way before attempting to skewer the alien's throat. With surprising speed, the Zealot caught his arm and lifted the nearly thousand-pound Spartan, throwing him into a wall. With his quarry stunned for the moment, the Sangehili brought up it's rifle and pulled the trigger.
Click.
Unable to believe his luck, Six threw himself towards the now frantically reloading Elite in an attempt to prevent it from regaining the upper hand. Sadly for Six, this Elite was strong and clearly determined to kill him. Dropping it's useless weapon, the Zealot punched Six in the gut with the force of a jackhammer missile, which caused the Spartan to wheeze in pain. Shaking off the injury as the Zealot tried to get him in a headlock, Six quickly twisted out of it, delivering a swift kick to its head, which caused the Elite to stumble away and cough blood. It wasn't long before it's mandibles were wide open in a roar of challenge, promising revenge for the injury.
It charged at Six again when there was a sudden explosion of gunfire. Some UNSC soldiers had maneuvered themselves down the stairs and up to the platform where Six and the Zealot were fighting. They positioned themselves in a firing line, unleashing yet another wave of lead into the rampaging alien. The Sangheili's shield only lasted for a few seconds before it was annihilated. Six watched as fountains of purple liquid burst from the alien's body until it collapsed in a bloody heap at Six's feet.
Without realizing what he was doing, Six got down on his knees and removed the alien's he knew that this Elite wasn't Shress, morbid curiosity urged him onward.
This Elite had brown skin and had lines surrounding its eyes, clearly an older warrior.
Six let out a held in breath, thankful that he didn't just try to murder his friend.
"What are you doing?" asked a confused Kat.
"Nothing," was Six's reply, before Kat could say anything else he asked, "Did you get Lin?"
She nodded before she said, "I sent two Medics to get him back to base, he has fractured vertebrae. He's done for today."
Six nodded along absent mindedly before he got up and led the way deeper into the facility. There was no additional contact until they exited the building. A pair of Grunts were trying to escape into some nearby ghosts when the attack force opened fire. One Grunt fell under the hail of bullets, but the other was able to jump onto a ghost and speed away.
"We've got to keep moving," Kat said as she approached a Covenant Revenant. It was a scarlet two-rider only vehicle with a cannon in the rear.
Six nodded and said over his shoulder, "Soldiers, hold this site until additional forces arrive."
"Yes, sir!" They replied as they took up guarding posts by the door.
Six made his way to the Revenant and got in the driver's seat while Kat got on the passenger's side. Six stared at the mass of blinking holographic buttons, levers, and the oddly shaped triangle that took the place of a wheel before him.
"You do know how to drive this thing, right Six?" asked Kat.
Reading the symbols on the display, he was surprisingly able to decipher the controls after only a second. Thankful for his lessons with his xenomorphic friend in the mountains, he responded with confidence
"Yes."
Shress La'Vdamee POV
Shress watched as more strange metal pods fell from the sky. Flames burned all around them before they pierced the protective sphere of the Spire.
She was familiar with these warriors and how they fought by now, with this being the fourth wave of the gods forsaken creatures. They were better trained than the average soldier, yet they weren't as skilled as the demons. She supposed she should be thankful for the slight challenge as she opened fire with her rifle in one hand while clutching her sword in the other.
'They are persistent if anything, I'll give them that.'
She glanced at the Rangers and sighed. They were still standing in the open, easy targets, foolishly relying on their shields to keep them safe. Shress decided to use this to her advantage as she moved around to flank the humans.
There were only seven of them this time. Perhaps they were running low, since this was the fourth batch of soldiers to fall from the sky since the battle began. Shress looked up and studied their movements. They were all hidden behind rocks, hiding from the blasts of plasma, all spread out. She could probably kill three before the other four realized what was going on, but then she'd risk being shot at.
Her thoughts were interrupted by a howl of pain, causing her to look over to see a Sangehili Ranger fall. It was clear from a quick glance that he succumbed to the primitive ballistic weaponry of the humans. Seeing her fellow warrior fall enraged Shress; she was going in for sure now.
She jumped over the rock that she was hiding behind, casually tossing a grenade at one human while she fired her weapon at another. The humans weren't prepared to be flanked; it wasn't long before the grenade exploded killing three while her rifle cut through two more.
The remaining four humans, however, began to fire at Shress, forcing her into cover. Her only hope now was that the Rangers come and provide covering fire.
It wasn't long until after she thought that another soldier fell. The Rangers suddenly charged forward and mowed down the remaining humans, leaving only one left.
The lone warrior turned and started shooting, trying to stave off the bloodthirsty Rangers, but it was clear that it forgot about Shress.
'Mistake.'
Shress jumped from cover and ran to the human. Hearing the sound of her approach behind it, the human turned and raised its gun, but Shress grabbed the weapon and yanked it upward. Bringing her remaining fist up, she smashed her fist into the glass shielding the human's face and shattered it. Wishing to end yet another battle on this terrible day as fast as possible, Shress used her other hand that held her sword and drove it into the human's body.
The human screamed, his face clearly visible through the shattered glass of it's helmet. He was young, appearing as if it had yet to reach its twentieth summer. It's strange pale blue eyes were wide and its mouth moved but, eventually, the screaming stopped and the clearing was quiet once again.
Shress found herself gently taking out the sword and lowering the human to the ground, watching with growing sorrow as the young human slowly lost its battle against death.
'What have I done?' She thought. 'It's so young, why is it even fighting?'
As if in answer, she heard a massive explosion and turned to watch as a large number of human vehicles got blown to pieces as the much more able Covenant warriors turned the tide of battle firmly into their favor.
She looked down at the alien, who was still watching her in fear. 'This is its home' she realized. 'It's fighting to save its home, just like what we would do if someone invaded our home.'
She spent years serving the Covenant by destroying the heretic humans, but now she knew that they weren't the heartless monsters she was raised to fear, but a species much like their own; they breathe, they think, and they die.
The young warrior's eyes grew wide with fear as its breathing became more labored. She wanted to help this human, to comfort it, a small absolution to calm her troubled soul, but how? It was going to die, and there was nothing she could do to change that. Michaels voice echoed in her mind, the last day they talked, when he held her hand. 'It's a sign of assurance among humans, no matter what happens, I'm there for you.'
Without really knowing why, Shress took the human's hand in hers and gave a small squeeze. The human now looked more shocked than afraid, but Shress could see death was ready to take the human. She wondered what it was like to know you were about to die.
'What would I want if I knew I was going to die?' Shress thought.
The first thing to come to mind was to listen to her mother when she sang her favorite lullaby, the one that Shress would fall asleep to after a long day of training to be a house mistress when she was little. It was a song that offered hope and opportunity in a low soothing voice that would always make her feel better.
'Would the human appreciate hearing a song before it died? Would it understand the words I'm saying or know how sorry I am?' She looked down at the human as it drew its final breaths.
She never sang before and most certainly not in front of anyone, let alone an alien, but that's what she did. She started to sing. First she hummed the melody before opening her mouth and sang in a slow and gentle voice. She sang in the ancient Sangheili language, one that she was sure no human had ever heard before.
"~Come my child, my dear child. Come and rest your head on the dreams of destiny.~"
The warrior's eyes grew wider than ever before and she felt the eyes of her astonished companions on her now–but she kept singing.
"~The storms and wars are still flaring, but my dear child you will escape to dream.~"
"~Live to dream and dream to live, my dear one, of a life different than this.~"
"~Know that you will see a future of which you helped to create.~"
"~A future, a future, that only you my dear one can reach, a future better than this.~"
The human's eyes were drooping, but they were still focused on Shress.
"~Live to help, live to heal, and live to love.~"
"~Seek the forgiveness of others, so that you may be at rest.~"
"~Learn to care, learn to feel, and learn to live.~"
The human was barely breathing, but now it was clutching Shress's hand, as if to urge her to finish the song.
"~This is my dream, my dear one, to see you bloom and live.~"
"~Sing this song to everyone and create your future.~"
"~Remember this song my dear one, sing it to others my dear one.~"
Tears were running down the human's face, but its eyes were devoid of fear as Shress finished.
"~My dear one, sing this song to those who need it most.~"
"~Build your kingdom, my dear one, build your family, and build your dreams my dear one forever more."
Shress looked down into the human's eyes before finishing.
"~Sing this song my dear one, remember this song, before your eternal slumber.~"
The whole field seemed quiet after Shress was done singing. She felt embarrassed with all the eyes staring at her but that changed when she looked down.
The human she stabbed, the human she killed, the human who was afraid of her–smiled at her.
She smiled back and squeezed its hand as she watched it. Slowly, the human ceased breathing, its eyes faded and the pressure on her hand disappeared. But that smile was still on its face.
Shress was still holding its hand, wondering what to do next when a Ranger approached her. She looked up and was surprised to find it was Dinjit, her current suitor.
He gave her a strange look before he said "Zealot, what–"
He was interrupted by the wail of a Ghost. Sure enough, when Shress stood, there was a Ghost that sped towards them with a frantic Unggoy riding it. He came to a speedy halt, but the momentum was too great, and she watched as the Unggoy flew from its seat and landed directly in front of Shress. The Rangers around her laughed.
The small creature got unsteadily to his feet before he looked at the towering figure above him. He squealed before waddling backwards to give Shress some space before he spoke.
"Commander, the demons… they are coming closer. They just conquered the third outpost and are now on their way here!"
The Rangers growled among themselves, eager to kill the approaching humans while Shress thought over this. They had four outposts all positioned to keep the Spire safe, if these humans made it this far, then they wouldn't be easy to stop. Especially if there were demons helping them.
As Shress thought this through, she just realized something and looked back down at the Unggoy "Soldier, why did you just now call me 'Commander?'"
The small alien quivered before He spoke, "Commander Ruan is dead, Mistress. The demons killed him." He looked up at her with his small scarlet eyes. "You're the Commander now, mistress."
Shress felt herself become light headed but willed her body to remain standing. 'Ruan dead? That was impossible!' In her experience nothing could kill the seasoned veteran, but it seems that her assumption had been proven wrong.
She shivered at the revelation. She was now the only Zealot on the human world and now acting Commander of the Covenant ground forces.
One of the Rangers stepped forward and asked, "Commander, what are your orders?"
Before she could reply, the ground shook and the warriors all looked to the East. The spot where she was sure the third anti air gun was stationed was now bellowing great clouds of purple smoke. Even despite the catastrophic losses that the defenders were incurring, it seems that the humans had struck another victory.
Shress steeled herself; now wasn't the time to succumb to worry; it was the time to act.
She turned her gaze to Dinjit. "Go to try establishing communications with the incoming carrier. I need to know how far away it is."
Her suitor nodded before taking the Ghost (ignoring the Unggoy's halfhearted protests) and speeding away to their camp.
Shress turned to her remaining warriors. "Fall back to the spire and construct a defensive perimeter. We need to keep the humans at bay until at least one of the fleet's ships gets here."
They all respectfully placed their hands on their chests, giving a salute before turning to run back to the Spire with the Unggoy attempting to keep up with the significantly faster T'vaoans. Shress was their Commander now, and though she didn't want to receive her promotion in this fashion, she still had a duty to perform: to serve the Covenant at all costs.
After she returned to her position on the Spire, Shress began observing the battlefield below.
Despite the clear advantage that her forces had at the beginning of the battle, it looked like it was anyone's victory now. The Covenant forces had both superior firepower and better equipped soldiers, but the humans somehow had brought in two of their war ships to help them, providing deadly support from above. On the plains, the catastrophic battle seems to have devolved from massive scale armor battles, to small arms fire as most of the war machine from both sides have been obliterated. Strangely, this left the situation of troops from both sides fighting in close quarters combat as the two forces battled fiercely overhead for air superiority.
Plainly speaking, it was chaos.
She confirmed that none of the anti-aircraft emplacements were providing any assistance because the humans have destroyed them like the Unggoy reported. The effects of this were plain to see above the battlefield, as without any large scale anti-air support of their own, the humans were gaining the clear upper hand in the skies. She tried to listen for Dinjit to see if he had successfully contacted the fleet, but he either couldn't hear her or he just wasn't responding.
Shress went over every bit of her tactical training, trying to figure out a way to turn a situation like this around, but a small voice in the back of her mind spoke up, bringing her thoughts to a halt.
'This is their home… Shouldn't they succeed at defending it?'
It was a traitorous thought, but one that she would need to come to terms with… and soon.
As Shress paced the interior of the control room in agitation, the nearby Unggoy would glance up at her before they looked down again. Even her two newly assigned guards couldn't help but stare at the Zealot as if they had never seen her before. Never had there been a female Commander–not in the history of the Covenant and most certainly not among the Sangheili.
Shress felt her nerves flare again as she slammed a fist into a console in her anger. She had been under a lot of pressure just for being a warrior, but this was another situation entirely. Hundreds of soldiers are now looking up to her to lead them into battle, to glorious victory. She had dreamt of this moment her entire life, but now she wished it was only a dream that she could wake up from.
'No. Not a dream. A nightmare.'
'Commander'. That was her destiny, her dream, but why does it feel so wrong now? She thought of the human she killed, the one she sang to. She then thought of all the other humans she had killed in cold blood over the course of this wretched war. How many of them were that young? How many of them were that scared? How many of them were innocent?
She shivered as she remembered. As a Commander, she is to lead her people to exterminate the humans. She might even be expected to participate in the glassing of a planet so she could prove herself worthy. She looked out of the window of the command spire. Looking over the battlefield once again, she sighed as resignation overtook her sadness. She knew her duty. She knew what was asked, no, required of her.
Watching as yet another banshee bursts into flames, crashing into the desert below, she sighed deeply as her conflicting emotions seemingly returned in full force. No matter how much she thought of it, it all just seemed so wrong.
Could she really be able to destroy this planet, destroy all these people? For the first time in her military career, she felt regret.
"Commander!" A worker on the console cried. "There's a human aircraft heading our direction. I think it's going to try and breach the shields."
"What?" She replied, walking onto an open balcony that encircled the Spire. Sure enough, there was a small green aircraft with primitive rotors heading their way.
'Surely by now the humans must realize that all their technology has ceased working once they cross into the shields array. What idiot is foolish enough to try and fly their way in?'
Six POV
"Stick's dead! We are going down!" the pilot shouted as the Falcon began to spin out of control.
"Lock your armor, Spartan!" Jorge shouted as he grabbed the handles positioned alongside the interior of the Falcon. Six was quick to copy his motions, bracing himself as best he could. He could only watch horror as the aircraft lost all power and succumbed to the pull of gravity. Right before they impacted the ground, Six only had one thought.
'Not again.'
Unlike last time, he didn't pass out. He was awake throughout the whole ordeal as they violently impacted the ground. Upon their introduction to the rocky surface below, the Falcon began rolling end over end. Six's armor lock prevented him from moving, but like a branch snapping, the handle his hand was glued to snapped apart from the metal frame it was welded to, and he was spewed from the fallen vehicle. He bounced, skid, and slid to a halt on the hard, rocky ground while his body remained in its feeble sitting position, the handlebars still in his hands.
'Why didn't I stay with Kat? Pulling guard duty is less painful than crashing into enemy territory' he thought bitterly.
Slowly, Six switched off his armor lock, and his limbs fell to his side, heavily battered from the interior of his armor. The lock system caused more pain than it prevented, but Six supposed the setting saved him from accumulating far more severe wounds.
He turned to the Falcon, and couldn't help but notice that it now looked as if was kicked around like a ball by giants.
'Speaking of giants…'
Jorge hauled himself up from the wreckage and dropped his massive weapon on the ground before dropping down himself and loosening his muscles.
"The pilot's dead," Jorge said in a cool voice. "We need to get moving."
That was when Six turned his attention to the Spire in front of them. It was nearly a mile tall and the bright blue metal was a stark contrast to the orange rocks it was placed around. The ray shields were expanding from the top of the long thin building, protecting it from all intruders.
Six looked to the raging battlefield in the distance. They were all fighting for this spire, and now Noble was close enough to touch it. This was the end game.
With that in mind, Six unslung his rifle and followed Jorge to the Spire. The hike was treacherous as they moved towards it. The rocky canyon floor trembled as explosions shook the massive boulders on the cliff next to them, causing a few to fall. The two Spartans tried to remain as silent as they could, crouching low behind large rocks and discarded metal pipes from long since abandoned construction projects. They were trying to get as close to the Spire as possible before they started the fight, carefully avoiding several skirmishers that were attempting to organize a search of their fallen aircraft. They would both tense if they heard the overturning of rock, only to discover it was moved by the tremors of war instead of the clawed foot of an enemy.
They were jumpy, and for good reason; this was the most important thing in the entire Covenants arsenal.
They crested a hill that overlooked the Spire, and the first thing Six noticed was the bodies. Most of them were humans in black armor, ODSTs, Special Forces judging by the coloring and looks of their armor system. It was a one sided fight–nearly all of them looked like they were covered in multiple burn marks, some hadn't made it more than a few feet from their pods before being killed.
Six was told that there were ODSTs sent in, but they had not heard from them. Command couldn't tell if they didn't survive the jump to the surface or if the shielding array had burned their comms. Now the two Spartans knew the answer.
Glancing away from the slaughter before him, Six looked at the base of the Spire in an attempt to assess the situation. It was protected by nearly a dozen Rangers, with several Shade turrets at the ready. It would take them at least ten minutes to dispatch them all, assuming no reinforcements came to assist their numbers.
Six looked silently to Jorge who shook his head. The two of them were of the same mind. They knew the UNSC didn't have much time left. This needs to end now.
Six looked desperately around when he noticed a human crane out of the corner of his eye. The colonists must have been about to start a mining operation before the Covenant interrupted them. With his trained eye, Six made quick calculations while he followed the crane as its frame made a sort of stair way up into the sky in the direction of the Spire. He then noticed that the midsection of the Spire was open, which revealed the elevator like gravity lifts, pulsing blue as they connected the top of the building to the base.
He turned to look at the dead ODST again and saw one of them had a jetpack. He had a crazy idea, so absurd it might actually work.
Six whistled to get Jorge's attention before making rapid hand signals, to which he nodded, reluctantly. The plan Six just translated to him which called for the hulking Noble Five to lay down fire while Six moved in solo.
'So much for the Lone Wolf stuff staying behind'
Making his way quietly to the dead soldier, he muttered a quick, "Sorry," as he took the dog tags and the small jet pack. He was hooking it on to his back when he noticed the ODST's body he just took the pack from was different from the others.
All of the shock troopers were lying in pitiful broken shapes all over the ground, but this one was set aside differently. He was lying on his back, hands at his sides, his dead blue eyes staring blankly through the shattered remains of his broken helmet. What surprised Six the most was that he was smiling.
"Six, move." Jorge whispered over comms.
Six gave the strange man one last look before he made his way to the crane. It was easy to climb onto, but the Spartan knew that once he started running up its neck, he'd be visible and an easy target. His only hope of survival was that Jorge kept the tower's defenders occupied.
Steadying himself for the task ahead, Six glanced down from his spot dangling off of the crane's arm. This wasn't just some mission where he was risking his life behind enemy lines on some black mission no one would ever hear about. Men, women and children were all unknowingly counting on him to succeed here. He just hoped he wouldn't let them all down.
With a barely visible nod, Jorge rounded a corner and began his barrage on the defenders of the alien spire. Six waited until he heard the Covenant returning in between their screams of pain and panic fire before pulling himself up to the crane's neck. Faster than most humans could even dream of moving, he sprinted down the crane, ignoring the throbbing of his body from the beating he had to endure over the course of the battle.
It wasn't long before he reached the top of the crane, where he leapt clear into the air, his momentum carrying him two feet higher in the air before he began falling. He waited a bit as he fell; he only had enough power in the jump pack for one jump. As he fell, the Covenant began shooting at him once more like he was a bird and they were the hunters. The blasts were threatening to destroy his shields before he reached his destination.
He finally got at the level he needed and activated the jump pack. Soaring above the battlefield, Six watched as plasma bolts and heavy machine gun fire was exchanged below him. Idle amusement went through him as the surprised look of several jackals reacted to the flying Spartan, pointing upward in an attempt to redirect the fire, but it was far too late now.
He probably rose an additional thirty feet before the energy from the pack was used up and he began to fall calculating his trajectory, he knew that he made it to his objective easily. Even as he plummeted towards the ground, he felt the strange sensation of the gravity lift catching him, pulling him upward to his objective. He couldn't help but feel like it was similar riding in an elevator, but without walls or a floor.
He looked down and watched as the image of Jorge fighting Covenant troops slipped away. He knew his friend would survive, he was too tough not to, but he also knew he was on his own up here. He needed to destroy the spire at all costs.
His gut wrenched as the magnitude of the situation hit him. Every living creature on the planet was now relying on him. He let out a sigh; he was trained to handle pressure, but never in such a large magnitude like this.
Finally the gravity lift released him as he reached the top of the tower, finding himself in a strangely empty circular room. He scanned the room with his rifle before confirming he was alone. He slowly edged out of the room, scanning for hostiles. Outside was a two way corridor, encircling the area he came out of, probably leading to the control room.
This was bad, he could be flanked and be massacred before he knew it. Unwilling to admit to himself that the plan was half-baked from the start, Six gripped his weapon a bit more tightly. Rounding the corner with his weapon at the ready, he came face to face with to find himself face to face with an Elite major.
Both warriors jumped back, Six raised his rifle while the alien went for a plasma grenade. Firing with only one hand, Six shot his rifle and the bullet hit the grenade, activating it. It began to smoke as the Elite cried out in alarm, trying desperately to get rid of the sticky bomb while Six took cover behind a nearby alien weapon crate. Feeling the muffled explosion, Six spun back towards the direction to advance further into the spire.
Even only a few steps in, Six could spot what appeared to be a control room at the far end of the corridor. It was flashing inside with holographic buttons on terminals that lined an open window. Six was about to sprint for it when a group of Grunts got in the way. They all growled before charging, raising their chitinous arms and shaking their guns over their heads as if forgetting they were projectile weapons.
Only one got lucky enough to fall back into the control room after Six took most of them out with a single magazine of ammunition. While he was reloading, Six heard footsteps and knew he was being flanked.
He kept his cool as he stood and walked forward slowly, listening as the footsteps followed him. Despite its attempt at being silent, the follower had heavy feet, an Elite for sure. As silently as he could, Six unhooked a grenade, making sure the assailant didn't see it before popping the pin. He made to throw it into the room, but at the last second hurled it behind him. There was a light growl as an Elite leapt from the shadows to avoid the blast.
The Elite was trying to regain its footing when Six struck. He bashed the Elite in the chest with his rifle which drained away the shields. Then he pointed it upward until the barrel went through the gap between the alien's mandibles. Six didn't hesitate when he pulled the trigger in quick succession, resulting with multiple bullets entering and exiting the Covenant trooper's head.
Six stepped away as the corpse hit the floor. He briefly examined his grisly work when he heard the pounding of running feet behind him. He turns to fire but a massive figure slams into him, knocking him to the floor which causes him to lose his grip on his rifle. In a single fluid motion, Six was back on his feet in a battle crouch stand while pulling out his combat knife. Six was ready to slice the Elite in front of him when he stopped.
It was Shress.
He had no idea how, but he knew it was Shress. He supposed that after nearly a month of staring and talking, he was able to recognize the armor the Elite was wearing. He saw the familiar scratch on her knee guard, the gash of a close caliber round on her chest plate, and the dent on the shoulder guard, the place where he hit her during their first meeting.
She was standing in a doorway, her muscles tense as she lowered her center of gravity in a clear sign of aggression. Her energy sword was in hand, glowing a bright electric blue even as her face was hidden within the confines of her helmet.
Six lowered his guard and muttered "Shress," but before he could say anything more, she let out a mighty roar, closing the distance between them in a clear sign of hostility.
The energy sword began expertly taking slices at him, causing Six to backtrack, duck, and dodge out of the way of the expert sword wielder. Unsheathing his knife, he wasn't quite sure what he was going to do with it. After all, his steel blade would not be able to parry the powerful energy sword, so he was forced to avoid the elite until he was slowly backed into a corner.
Unlike the last times they fought, she seemed to be acting with a deadly focus and calm calculation that wasn't there previously. He could see every bit of the training she had over the years demonstrated in the worst possible way against him, not leaving even the slightest opening that he could take advantage of.
It was clear that she was doing her level best to try and kill him, but why?
"Shress!" He grunted through clenched teeth as he made an attempt to take advantage of a slight shift in her weight. "What are you doing? It's me, Michael!"
She didn't reply. In fact, she used his movements to her own advantage, clearly anticipating his motions. Quicker than he'd ever seen her, or any other elite for that matter, move, she grabbed hold of his arm, using her superior size to flip him clear over her head and slam him into the ground.
The loud sound of a thousand pounds of Spartan getting introduced to the metal flooring of the spire ran through the room, but Six didn't have the ability to admire the strength of the elite, as the loud alarm of his shields being stripped away could be heard ringing through his helmet.
Throughout the fight, Six's mind was in turmoil. 'Why is she attacking? We're friends!'
Knowing that this was a life or death situation, the Spartan attempted to remove his knife from its scabbard, but his efforts were in vain as she placed an armored foot onto his chest. In a fluid practiced motion, she knocked his only remaining weapon away as she leaned forward intently, as if studying him like some prized trophy.
'Just like the first time we met.'
Struggling for a moment, he used all of his strength in an attempt to remove himself from this seemingly helpless situation, but her hold over him was as strong as a Guta.
And that was it. The battle was over. He had lost.
A moment of silence came and went between them before her large, four fingered hand grabbed hold of his MJOLNIR and pulled him closely. Watching her mandibles spread wide as she loosed a vicious roar, the Spartan could do nothing as she threw him violently through one of the doorways.
"You should have run!"
Sliding across the ground, Six tried to reorient himself, but he couldn't right himself before another hard impact sent him into a nearby terminal.
"I warned you of what would be coming! You could have saved yourself!"
Pulling himself off the floor, he felt yet another impact that would have shattered the bones of any other human slam into him, knocking him onto his back. Feeling the unnatural heat of a nearby energy sword on his neck, he looked up into the helmet of his… Former friend.
"And now… Now I… I must do what is required of me!"
Watching the energy sword get pulled back away from his neck, he could do nothing but struggle against her immovable grip as she plunged her sword downward.
Bzz-Hisss
Hearing the sound of superheated plasma cutting through metal, Six couldn't help but watch as the sparks the sword created from its attack sprayed all over his helmet.
"I must… But I can't."
Falling backward, Shress impacts the ground with a soft thud as the uncharacteristic sound of whimpering came from her form. Quickly getting back to his feet, Six prepared himself for any further aggression from her, but it appeared from first glance that any fight she had in her was gone. Watching her remove her helmet, she hung her head in shame as she ran a thumb over the intricate designs carved into it.
"My ancestors would be so ashamed of me."
Despite the clear deescalation though, he felt cold fury welling up inside from the betrayal. She knew of this invasion, yet she didn't tell him. He risked his neck to come and see her, to form their friendship; he risked his life, and the only thing that could ever come close to a family heritage. Worse, he gave her his trust, the one thing he held in reserve for only his friends, a privilege she had just abused by attempting to kill him in cold blood.
"Why?" he demanded, seeing her lowered head look up weakly at his words even as he collected his discarded combat knife. "Why did you try and kill me?"
She looked into his face plate and finally he was able to see her bloodshot eyes. He was taken aback when he saw that her eyes were moist. 'Is she crying?'
She opened and closed her mouth a couple of times before finding her voice. "Michael, I… I had no choice–"
"You always have a choice!" Six replied angrily.
She shook her head, gesturing with an arm to some unseen excuse. "You don't understand. My Commander is dead!" She looked up at him again and said, "I'm now the Commander of the Covenant army on this planet."
Six felt his limbs grow heavy. Before him was probably the most critical person of the whole Covenant forces. If he killed her, it would throw the enemy into disarray; they could win this battle.
It was Shress, the alien he came to know as a friend. Shress, who was the one who taught him things about the Covenant, the one who helped him to become more open to others, the one who loved to speak of the noble history of her people. Over the last few months, her voice was the one he has come to enjoy more than any others, from her questions to her laughter to even her strange frustrated warbles. Thinking of these small happy moments with his friend made him hesitate to shove his knife into her throat.
As if sensing what he was thinking, Shress whispered, "You can do it."
Six looked up in shock as Shress elaborates. "I'm done Michael. I can't lead this army, I may be a Commander like how I wanted, but I'm done killing, done murdering," Here she sighed. "You were right. I am a murderer."
Six stared at her in shock. Was she cracking under the pressure? There's definitely something wrong with her. He didn't even think about it as he tensed and relaxed his fist in indecision. After only a moment, he sighed and shook his head.
"Shress, I'm not going to kill you," Six said, moving over to the window overlooking the valley below. Watching the two armies still violently clashing into each other relentlessly.
'Such needless death… All for what?'
Throughout his fight amidst hordes of Covenant warriors today, none of them were as strong as her. None of them were as kind or thoughtful or curious as the one he came to know of as his friend.
"You're not a murderer."
"But I am!" she cried out. "All these years I thought that I had been cleansing worlds of heretics, but the truth all along has been that I've been slaughtering innocents for nothing!" her voice wavered as she spoke, clearly resigning herself to whatever fate Six would bring her. "Just give me an honorable death, please. It's more than I deserve."
Six moved back to put a hand on her arm, smiling even behind his helmet. She flinched at the contact, but instead of being deterred from the reaction, he took her hand in his. Making eye contact, even if she couldn't see his own, he tried to comfort her.
"Shress, I forgive you, and despite what you might think, you are worthy of forgiveness."
"But what can I do? We are enemies, Michael."
It might have been the moment, but the Spartan felt a bit more sentimental than he normally would. Giving Shress the best words of encouragement he could, he nodded as he pulled the Sangheili to her feet. "You'll do what's right. I know you can."
Shress gave him an odd look. "And what would be the right thing to do? Tell the Covenant to stand down? They'll sooner execute me for heresy, I can't lead this army, and I can't kill any more humans." She looked up at Six and began to plead, falling to her knees. "Please, Micheal, just end it. I can't do this anymore, and I don't know how else to regain my honor."
Six sheathed his knife before grabbing Shress and pulling her back up to her feet… again. "Shress! I can't kill you. Friends don't kill each other."
Shress still looked downcast, but his words seemed to cut through the fog of her depression. "It doesn't matter. I can't lead this army." She looked at him. "What can I do?"
'How should I know?' Six wanted to scream at her, but held his frustration back. He knew he couldn't kill Shress, and Shress knew that she couldn't kill any more humans.
Before he could fully think the situation through, he blurted out, "Come with me."
Shress jerked back in surprise. "What?"
"Come with me. Fight for us. You know the truth, perhaps you can convince some of the others. We can stop this war. We can let the Covenant know that this war is based on a lie!"
Shress took a step back. "I… I don't know Michael. I'm not even sure if everything the Prophets told us was a lie–"
"It's all a lie, Shress!" he said with conviction. "If humanity is innocent, then who knows what else these so-called Prophets are hiding from you."
She growled, "But Michael, if what you say is true, then we've been lied to about our religion, our honor, our faith, our entire society! You are asking me to believe that after hundreds of years our way of life has all been based on a lie? How can you expect me, or my people, to accept that as the truth?"
She got him there. Six tried to think of a comeback when he saw movement in his peripheral vision. Returning his attention to his motion sensor for only a moment, he easily recognized the form of a grunt wielding a fuel rod cannon aimed directly at them.
"Watch out!" he yelled as he tackled her to the ground, the energy bolt missing them by a few centimeters. Six turned to face the new threat, a single Grunt with a plasma launcher.
Wasting no time, he rushed forward to meet the threat head on. The Grunt began taking wild shots, trying to kill the Spartan, but he jumped and dashed until he was in front of the alien. It tried to shoot him at point blank range, but Six grabbed its head and twisted it. As it fell it let loose a last green bolt of energy.
"Michael!" Shress called from behind him, her voice suddenly more urgent than before.
"What?" He asked, after doing one last scan of his surroundings before noticing the smoke and hearing the fizzing of machines. He turned around and saw that the last bolt of energy had carved a hole into the console of the control computer. There was a flash of light as the console exploded before the spire's protective shield crackled violently and dissipated.
Six turned to Shress and raised his hands, "I didn't mean to do that."
Before she could respond, Six's radio buzzed to life as Carter's voice cut through the chaos. "Six," Carter called. "We're inbound with transport, nice job on the Spire, get ready for evac. Once you are clear, that spire is as good as gone."
'Great,' Six thought before turning and speaking to Shress, "Shress, are you coming? It's the only way out."
Shress stepped back, shifting her weight from side to side as she still held her helmet in her hands, not willing to meet his eyes once again. "I-I-can't."
Six was thinking desperately on what to do. He couldn't leave Shress to die, nor could she continue to fight for the Covenant, then a solution to their predicament came to him. He turned to Shress and asked, "Ever thought about being a spy?"
"A spy?" she asked in a distasteful voice. He knew that in Sangheili culture, intentionally deceiving others was considered disgraceful, but at the moment there was no time to go over the finer details.
"Yes." He confirmed quickly, keeping an eye on just how much time they were spending discussing the issue. "Look, Shress, you either come with me or you become a spy for us and earn the trust of my people. Those are your only options."
Shress truly looked torn as her gaze switched from Six to the battle raging outside.
'I'm asking her to take a leap of faith, to make a choice that'll change her entire life forever,'
After a long few moments of indecisiveness, she finally gave her response. "I'll stay."
Six had no idea why, but he suddenly felt his body droop when he heard this. Why was he so disappointed that she wasn't coming with him?
She continued, "I'll be a spy for you Michael. I just…"
Six took her hand in his again, and this time it was Shress who squeezed his hand.
"It's going to be okay," He said. "I'll do everything I can to help you. That's what a friend does."
Shress only nodded as if it was painful to talk. They stood there, hand in hand, comforting each other in silence when Six's radio buzzed again.
"Lieutenant, we have Five and are thirty seconds out, get ready to jump," Carter ordered.
Six sighed and pulled away from Shress. "You have to go, this whole tower is about to be destroyed."
Shress was silent as she nodded before looking into his face plate. "Michael I really am sorry for everything."
Six didn't respond, hoping that the end of the conversation would spur her on to safety. Sadly, the silence didn't achieve the desired effect.
She cocked her head. "How will we contact each other?"
"I don't know," Six confessed, suddenly jittery from the strange stress of once again needing to balance his hidden friendship and his duties as a Spartan. "But we'll find a way."
Hearing the whirring rotors of the Falcon from the nearby exit, Six pointed out the opposite doorway.
"Go, Shress," He said. "I'll try and delay them."
Shress took a step back and nodded before running out of the corridor. She paused and looked at him once again before running into the gravity lift room. Six sighed. His friend was gone, and despite all his best arguments, was still with the enemy.
'Well, at least now she can help us. We are no longer enemies,'
The falcon hovered outside the Spire's walkway system that was just outside the control room. But Six didn't move right away, he waited, counting the seconds, deciding to give Shress two minutes to get away.
"Six, what's taking you?" Carter demanded.
"Downloading some data. Stand by." Was Six's excuse. He looked out the window and peered around looking for Shress before he spotted a Ghost speeding away from the Spire. Satisfied that his friend got away safely, He turned and ran through the doors leading to the outside balcony towards the Falcon.
He sprinted with all his might before making the jump. He came up a bit too short, and was already beginning his fall towards the ground below when a large hand shot out of the Falcon and grabbed him. Six was hauled into it and saw Jorge's faceplate.
Six took his seat next to Carter who nodded before banging his fist on the doorway leading to the cockpit. "Get us out of here."
The Falcon turned and started to fly away from the Spire. All around them, other Falcons took to the skies as well, attempting to escape the punishment that they knew was coming.
"Grafton, this is Noble One," Carter spoke into his radio. "The target is green, and you're good to go. Have a nice day."
There was a pause before a male voice responded. "Copy, Noble One, be advised to all forces in the proximity, we are closing in on the target. A MAC round has been authorized."
"A MAC round?" asked a shocked Jorge, "In atmosphere?"
"That's one way to get their attention," Carter replied while he grabbed the handle bars sticking out of his chair. "Might want to hang on to your teeth people."
'Wonderful' Six thought as he grabbed his handlebars, idly remembering that in a crash, they would be next to worthless. 'I wonder if I can get through this day without the threat of crashing into something.'
Six then peered out the side of the falcon and watched in fascination as the massive frigate inched closer to its target.
'Here we go,'
The blast was enormous as a single large magnetic round was shot from the equally massive cannon. With a mighty explosion, the round tore through the Spire, causing multiple smaller explosions to erupt all along its side until it looked like a blue flower blossoming orange petals. Soon, the whole building began to collapse on itself until there was nothing but the smoky ruins of the bright blue structure.
There were hollers and cheers voiced all over comms as the soldiers celebrated their victory while Six sat there and stared at the remains of the Spire, hoping he gave Shress enough time to escape before the round was deployed.
Suddenly, there was a flash as if something like lightning tearing through the midsection of the Grafton. Six watched in horror as the ship began to fall, along with the thousands of crew members still inside until the ship crashed into the canyon and slowly erupted as one massive explosion.
Six leaned slightly out of the aircraft and looked into the sky, looking for what shot down the ship.
It didn't take him very long to spot it.
His heart froze and his breathing ceased as the absolutely massive form of the largest Covenant ship he'd ever seen stretched clear across the skies above them. Instantly recognizing it from the many briefings he'f had on the topic as a super carrier, the biggest ship in the Covenant fleet, Six could tell right then and there that the offensive just became a fight for survival. The alien spacecraft was almost the length of the canyon, spanning nearly twenty miles long, shrouding the sky like a great big, purple cloud.
Jorge spoke for them all as he said, "No, no, somebody tell me this ain't happening!"
All across the channels, the happy cheering of the men abruptly faded away, replaced with curses and cries of horror. They were too late; the Covenant found their way here.
"Command to Grafton. Grafton, what's your status?" A man on the radio asked.
"Grafton is dust!" Carter shouted into the radio. "We need to get out of here now!"
The UNSC mighty army of Reach slowly crumbled after that. A bulk of the forces turned and made their way back to sword base while others took off in panic. The iron will of the UNSC was broken, the Spartans of Noble Team were tired. But now the real war was about to begin.
-Author's Note-
Wowee that was a long one. I think we ended up with over eight hundred edits on this chapter. I hope it was well worth the wait as midterms slowed the editing process. On a brighter note, spring break is here, so expect a new chapter soon!
-WhateverRex
I am glad we finally replaced every instance of the word 'blaster' with 'rifle' this ain't star wars. As Rex stated this was a long chapter so sorry about the delay! The next one is significantly shorter so we should probably get it out before the month is over… probably.
-Anonylemon
Hi guys!
So like, I changed quite a bit here, but I hope you all enjoy it all the same. Mainly, I removed Six actually winning the fight with Shress at the tower, because I felt like it was a hell of a lot more meaningful if she won the fight but couldn't go through with it. Actually shows the character development eh? Also, after rereading this fic the entire way through (again) I felt like Shress needs to have a few more W's under her belt. It always seems like she was the damsel in distress far too often for a Zealot… Let alone one that is Hyped up as going toe to toe with a spartan repeatedly. Feel free to give your own thoughts on the changes I made.
As always, read and review, and if you like it, consider giving me a follow and a favorite!
-PyreElegy