Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my remastered Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover. Thank you for the support that you have shown thus far. I really appreciate any amount of feedback that I can get. For those of you viewing this page, please don't forget to leave a review. Any feedback is better than none at all, so long as it's constructive.

Either way, were you all bored by the previous chapters? If so, then this is the chapter for you. We're talking about high octane action here, so get ready for a show.

As always, leave a review and enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of Microsoft Game Studios, 343 Industries, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc, etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music listed belongs to it's original composers and/or artists.

MechWarrior: A New Dawn (Album Mix) – Arkham Bridge

Reach

Szurdok Ridge, Ütközet

August 12th, 2552

The Sun shone brightly in the sky over Szurdok Ridge, with the intense heat causing the air to ripple at ground level. It was high summer in the Ütközet region of Reach, as the air was particularly hot, enough to drive most people indoors. Today was no exception to this rule, as already, temperatures were getting high enough to cause some people to sweat.

In Alex's case, he wasn't sweating at all, mostly because he was inside of his favorite BattleMech; in fact, he was rather cozy, thanks to the SLDF Cooling Suit that he was wearing over his entire body. He could feel the cool liquid inside of his suit keeping him from overheating, even though the cockpit itself was doing quite well at keeping the interior nice and cool. Still, I have to wear this suit, even when the 'Mech is not in operation, he thought as he checked the status of his Mad Cat IVa for the umpteenth time, even as it cruised along at it's top speed of 84km/h.

He took a look around at his surroundings, with the holographic feed in his Neurohelmet changing as he looked to the left and right. He wasn't the only MechWarrior that was out on the field. There were nearly forty more BattleMechs of varying tonnage and design that were out in the field with him, and more were on the way via DropShips courtesy of General Norman and the rest of the SLDF. He could see Commandos, Riflemans, a couple Nightstars and a few Jenners and Firestarters. Up ahead, he could see the Command 'Mech that was coordinating their efforts, an Atlas that he learned was the favorite 'Mech of Colonel William O'Donnel, who had been placed in charge of this ground assault.

BattleMechs weren't the only things that were present either. Looking towards the ground, Alex could see Manticore IV's, some Demolisher IV's, Patton IV's, four Axel IV's, a number of Badger IFV's, as well as some transport hover craft. Looking up, he could see Donar IV VTOLS, as well as some Nightshade IV's, Peregrine IV's, as well as a few Pinto IV's and some Troop Transport VTOL's, a few of which were Vector IV's. All of this, combined with the BattleMechs and Combat Vehicles constituted a major military force on the ground.

To top it all off, the UNSC had brought it's own firepower to bear as well. More than thirty Warthogs, four Scorpions, a Mongoose, two Pelicans, and a few Falcons were present as well, all of them loaded with heavy firepower. In terms of formation, Alex noticed that the Manticores and Demolishers were sticking with the Scorpions, the former to provide fire support in case the latter two were attacked. In addition, the IFV's were sticking with the Warthogs and hovercraft. The BattleMechs kept in their Lances, while the Trinary Alex commanded was clustered into groups of five, as per Clan military formation. Above, the VTOL's kept pace with the Falcons, though it was clear that they were anticipating a firefight.

As he drove the 'Mech along, he heard Noble Team's AI, Dot, speaking over the MILCOM. "It appears that Noble Team's discovery last night, was not an anomaly," she reported. "Large Covenant deployments have occurred undetected, and we are under attack across the Viery territory, including orbital defenses. As per the Winter Contingency, we are countering on every front. Noble's reconnaissance has identified sophisticated Covenant army hiding canopies, and have pinpointed what appears to be a landing zone for additional Covenant forces, the origin of which has yet to be determined, although SLDF officers suggest a cloaked Covenant WarShip of Carrier class or greater is the origin.

"In addition to UNSC deployments, the SLDF has also deployed it's own ground forces. Due to the limited number of SLDF ground forces, General Norman has deployed SLDF ground forces to strategic regions of the planet, specifically the Orbital Generators and the Landing Zone we are currently assaulting. This is also an opportunity for the UNSC to observe SLDF fighting doctrine on the battlefield, including the use of highly advanced mechanized walkers, classified by the SLDF as 'BattleMechs.'"

. . .

Outside, in one of the Warthogs, Kat and Six looked around at the military forces that the SLDF had brought to bear in their efforts to assist the UNSC. Looking to his left, Six could see a Badger IFV that was actually keeping pace with the Warthog he and Kat were in. Just behind the vehicle, he could see a Jenner keeping pace as well, it's legs moving in a blur as the 'Mech kept pace with the rest of the formation. He could also see the massive dust cloud that the formation was causing, with the cloud trailing their vehicles as they advanced forwards.

He was about to speak to Kat when he heard COM chatter on the frequency the task force was using. "Brigadier General Wright" he heard William report, "we have Covenant forces inbound. Looks like Wraiths and Banshees. Permission to engage?"

"Affirmative," Brigadier General Osman Wright, the commander of half the forces in the Viery territory, replied. "You have permission to engage."

"Affirmative," William replied. "To all long range units, we are go on Operation: ANVIL STRIKE. Engage, engage, engage." As soon as he said this, the firefight began.

There was a loud KRA-THOOM as one of the Demolishers fired one of it's twin A-AC/20's. Since the Warthog Six was in was near the front of the formation, he thought he could see the blur that was the KE shell flying through the air for an instant before it smashed into a Wraith. Unlike the BattleMechs and heavy tanks that the Demolisher was designed to hunt, the Wraith proved unable to withstand even a single shot from the powerful autocannon shell - it's power plant exploded, tearing the Covenant vehicle apart.

At the same time, the other long ranged vehicles in the area opened fire, sending a fusillade of rounds directly at the enemy. Six watched as, off in the distance, he could see Arrow X missiles flying through the air, while he spotted the 175mm shells of the Long Tom artillery vehicles arcing through the air, smashing into the incoming Covenant counterattack with devastating results. Ghosts and Revenants were hurled into the air, with one Revenant being disintegrated by a direct hit from an Arrow X missile. At the same time, the Riflemans opened fire on incoming Banshees, sending many of them tumbling out of the sky and into the ground, where they exploded upon impact.

"Hell yeah," Jun, who was in one of the Falcons, shouted. "About time the Covenant got a taste of their own medicine!"

"Stay focused," Carter, who was in the same Falcon, barked out over the sounds of autocannon, laser and missile fire. "That landing zone has been tagged by UNSC and SLDF command as a Priority One target."

"Det-charge link is loud and clear," Jun shouted to Kat. "Time to bake that cake we made last night!"

"Copy that,' Kat replied as calmly as ever. "Acquiring signal lock on the pylon. Detonating in three, two, one…" On the word 'one', she depressed the detonator switch. Moments later, the Covenant Stealth Pylon detonated, falling over on the side where one of the legs used to be. At the same time, Alex watched as the jamming interference on his 'Mech's sensor suite vanished, allowing him to get a clear idea of what they were facing.

At that moment, several Banshees that had survived the initial barrage from the Rifleman 'Mechs swooped in, firing their weapons all the while. Most were quickly destroyed by the Aerospace Defense 'Mechs, and those that made it through almost exclusively targeted the 'Mechs. Unfortunately, their weaponry was nigh useless against the armor the 'Mechs were armored with, with the offending Banshees being blown out of the sky moments later.

At the same time, any Wraiths that were lucky enough to avoid being hit opened fire, sending plasma bolus' directly at the joint UNSC/SLDF attack force, before being blown apart by the SLDF's longer ranged weaponry. A pair of Warthogs were destroyed, as well as a Scorpion, but any SLDF vehicles that were hit, mostly the Axels and Manticores, easily shrugged off the hit, powering on through as they began to accelerate to maximum speed, outpacing their UNSC counterparts.

The attack only emboldened the SLDF forces, as they quickly got busy making short work of any Covenant Combat Vehicles, while the MechWarriors decided to get dirty. "Time to play," Six heard Alex chuckle over the COM. "All Stars, engage enemy forces. If you see any Covenant BattleMechs, let me know immediately."

"Aff, lead," came the reply from the Point Commanders of the other Stars.

As they drove forwards, Kat began to turn right, along with some Warthogs. As they drove forwards, Six shouted, "Incoming," just as a plasma bolus from a Wraith destroyed it.

"Might want to hold onto something," Kat shouted, smashing the pedal to the metal. The ICE engine in the Warthog roared, a deep, bass sound as the vehicle surged forwards, before hitting the impromptu ramp made by the fractured roadway. Due to the uneven elevation the ramp, and the Warthog's nose heavy design, the vehicle began to tumble through the air, where it landed nose first on the other side. Six shouted as he was hurled out of the vehicle, with the Spartan III tumbling ass over teakettle as he came to a halt. Kat remained inside, but was jostled around as the vehicle tumbled and came to a stop. The gunner, a UNSC Marine, was also hurled out of the back of the Warthog screaming at the top of his lungs, but was fortunate enough to land in some brush growing in a patch of sand, which softened his impact into the ground.

Six groaned as he shook his head, his vision blurry as he began to come to. Looking to his left, he spotted the weapon that he had been given for this assignment, an SLDF Grenade Launcher. Looking behind himself, he could hear another Warthog charging forwards, the personnel onboard shouting as they landed on the section of road curving downward. The engine on said Warthog roared as the driver gunned the throttle, just barely getting enough power to drive up onto the other side. As he looked around, the ringing in his ears faded, with the first sound being Kat shouting, "Six! Can you hear me?! Six, you alright?! I could use your help!"

Moments later, Six felt someone tugging at him. "Come on," the Marine that had landed in the brush shouted. "Get up, get up, GET UP!"

Shaking off the stupor, Six immediately got up, grabbing the SLDF Grenade Launcher while saying, "On my way." Scrambling to his feet, he looked around to see what was happening. It was clear that, despite this minor snag, Operation: ANVIL STRIKE was going along smoothly. Behind him, he could see that the combined SLDF/UNSC forces were overwhelming the opposing Covenant counterattack, as he could see Covenant Combat Vehicles being blown apart by their UNSC and SLDF counterparts. Turning around, he could see that they had landed on the other side, with the Warthog he had been in lying on it's side, with Kat using it for cover. "Look out," he shouted as a pair of Banshees came towards their position.

Spotting the threat, Kat engaged her suit's Armor Lock, protecting her from the blast when the Warthog detonated, courtesy of a Banshee's Fuel Rod Launcher. Behind them, the other Warthog exploded, but the Troopers were able to quickly escape, with only the driver being killed. Firing off one of the six grenades in the Launcher's drum, he watched with satisfaction as it flew into one of the Banshees, detonating on impact and throwing it into it's partner, sending both crashing to the ground. Looking ahead, he frowned when he spotted a mass of Covenant infantry, along with a pair of Fuel Rod Shade Turrets. Time to put this Grenade Launcher to good use, he thought as he fired off the remaining four, two for the Shade Turrets and two for the Covenant infantry.

Moments later, the quad of grenades landed at their intended destinations, blasting apart anything in the blast radius. One of the Shade Turrets detonated explosively, as the grenade caused the Fuel Rods to explode, while the other was severely damaged, with the operator killed instantly. The Elites, which consisted of two Majors, spotted the incoming threat, but were unable to move quickly enough, as the grenades were little more than blurs once they were fired. Both Elites, and some of the Jackals around them, were instantly shredded by the powerful explosives, their shields failing from the force of the blast. That left the Grunts and a few Jackals.

Once the Jackals were terminated, Six was about to fire on the Grunts when they did something odd: they surrendered. "Don't shoot," one shouted as it dropped it's weapons, lying prostrate on the ground as it did so. "Don't shoot. We surrender!" As it said this, it's comrades also dropped their weapons, before lying down on the ground in submission.

"Kat," Six asked.

"I see it," Kat replied. Keying her COM, she said, "Noble Actual, we've got some Grunts that are surrendering, Apparently, we scared them pretty bad. Orders?"

"Have they dropped their weapons," Carter asked.

"Yes," Kat replied.

"Do not engage. They are POW's now. Have the Troopers take them into custody. General Norman will take over custody once they're out of the combat zone."

"Copy that," Kat nodded. Turning to the Troopers, she said, "These Grunts are POW's now. Take them into custody, but do not kill them."

"Yes, ma'am," the Troopers replied, though it was clear they wanted payback for what was going on.

A moment later, Carter said, "Kat, be advised; ONI has ID'd two hostile AA guns southwest of your position."

"Copy that," Kat nodded. "New targets, Six. Let's go shut down those AA guns." As she said this, a Pelican came in and dropped of a M12R Warthog. Unlike the standard Warthog, which was armed with a chaingun, this variant used an M79 Rocket Launcher, converting it into a light anti-air and anti-vehicle weapons platform. "Commandeer that Warthog," Kat ordered Six. Nodding, he quickly got into the driver seat, while the Marine with them clambered onto the gun, with Kat taking the passenger seat. Once everyone was in, they immediately began to drive, the engine roaring as they advanced.

Spotting a road up ahead, he continued to drive, reaching an open area that had a cliff on the left and a sheer rock face on the right. Looking ahead, he spotted a massive, tripodal AA turret that was firing high velocity plasma bolus' at UNSC and SLDF VTOL's, with a Falcon going down. Tyrant AA Cannon, he remembered. If we don't take that thing out, it'll shred our air support. As soon as the thought passed through his mind, the Tyrant AA cannon fired a a cluster of UNSC and SLDF VTOL's.

It was a rout, as the UNSC VTOL's were quickly destroyed, their armor plating failing under the intense heat and kinetic energy of the plasma shells. Their SLDF counterparts faired better, as around four Donar VTOL's survived, but another four were destroyed, falling down and detonating on impact with the ground. Further off in the distance, he could see BattleMechs engaging Scarabs, while the SLDF/UNSC strike force continued to pound the Covenant into paste.

"Six, AA Gun should be in visual range," Carter said over the COM.

Moments later, a Trooper called in over the COM. "2 Lima 4 to Noble One, those guns are pounding the hell out of us with high velocity plasma shells!"

"Which would mean a strike by the frigates Grafton and Tripoli is out of the question," Dot added, referring to a pair of WarShips that were on station.

"Noble Six, all our birds are stuck out of range unless you can do something about those guns."

"Got some intel, Six," Kat added. "Looks like normal guns won't det' those AA cannons."

"I would suggest neutralizing the internal fuel cells, Lieutenant," Dot suggested.

"Got it," he nodded. "Incoming," he told Kat as he spotted incoming Ghosts and a Revenant.

"Got it," Kat replied. Gunning the engine, Six got the vehicle closer to the enemy position, before angling the Warthog to give the Marine an excellent shot.

"Guess who, motherfuckers," the Marine roared, firing the M79 Rocket Launcher at the enemy vehicles. One Ghost was blown apart by a pair of Argent V missiles, while another survived, with the pilot being killed by the blast. Swiveling the vehicle around, Six narrowly avoided being hit by a magneta-white bolus of plasma. "I see 'em," the Marine shouted, firing the launcher once again. All six missiles hit their target, blasting apart the enemy Revenant in a few hits.

"Enemy Revenant down," Six observed as they began hammering the infantry. Just as the Marine finished the job, he said, "Soldier, fire those missiles into the chamber. They should be powerful enough to destroy the internal fuel cells."

"Got it," the Marine shouted. As soon as they stopped in front of the entrance, he fired the missile launcher once again, blasting away the energy shield, with another salvo finishing off the fuel cell inside. That had the intended effect, as an alarm began to sound as Six drove the Warthog out of the projected blast radius. "AA cannon down," Kat reported as the Tyrant's fuel cells detonated, sending part of the AA cannon flying away.

"Control, 2 Lima 4: permission to commence bombing run, heading 224.6. Over." Moments later, three Longsword fighters flew into view, including a pair of SLDF Heavy AeroSpace Fighters, which Six recognized were Dragonfire IV's, a complete design overhaul of the venerable Age of War ASF of the same name. At the same time, two WarShips flew into view. One was the UNSC Grafton, while the other his HUD ID'd as the SLS Tripoli. One Phantom arrived overhead, but he watched as a bolt of what appeared to be pure energy shout out from the Tripoli, blasting the Phantom apart. He had to admit, at that distance, that was a well aimed shot.

"Good work, Noble Six," Carter called in. "UNSC and SLDF air support: skies are clear."

"Copy," Control said over the COM, "2 Lima 4, bombing run, heading 224.6, permission granted – out." Moments later, as the twin frigates opened fire on Covenant personnel in the valley, the Dragonfires veered towards the three Scarabs before dropping what appeared to be PGM's. As soon as they impacted, massive explosions ripped through the air, with all three Scarab's being blasted apart.

"Nice," Six remarked. "I wonder if I'll be able to fly one of those."

"You might get your chance some day," Kat replied. Spotting a road, she said, "Six, take that south road and see if you can have a better view of those Spires. I'll be on COMS." With that, Six began to drive down the road, with the Warthog quickly reaching top speed.

. . .

Out on the plans near the ridge, Alex could feel himself sweating as he fired the twin ER Large Pulse Lasers at a Wraith that was attempting to fire on some SLDF Troopers on the ground, both sapphire blue beams winking in and out as they tore into the enemy tank. He was well rewarded by the sight of the Wraith detonating in a brilliant fireball, allowing him to shift targets to another enemy contact. "Thanks," the SLDF Troopers said to him over the MILCOM. "We suffered some casualties, but we'll be fine. Thanks for the assist.

"You are welcome," he replied. "Keep fighting. This battle is not over yet." With that, he turned the Mad Cat IVa towards the south in order to link up with his Star.

Looking out over the battlefield, he could tell that the battle was going well for the UNSC and SLDF, though it wasn't without it's losses. There were fallen UNSC Troopers, as well as some downed Falcons, while a number of Warthogs and Scorpions had been destroyed. There were also some Axels and Manticores that had been destroyed, their husks burning long after their ammo had done so. The Demolishers were still operational, as their heavier armor ensured that they would outlast their Covenant counterparts in an engagement. Fortunately, Garrot Transport VTOL's were bringing in fresh reinforcements, and those that had survived the attack thus far had gone to Mobile Repair/Rearm Bays to rearm and repair.

Still, he was happy thus far with their progress. The Covenant hadn't expected the Demolishers, Axels and Manticores to be able to engage them from a long distance away, nor had they expected SLDF artillery fire to rain down on their heads. This threw them into disarray, which made it easier for the joint forces to take them out. That is what happens when you invest into nanotechnology and advanced weapon systems, he thought as he neared his Star. You get long ranged Autocannons, Particle Projection Cannons, Missiles and Lasers, and the same goes for Gauss Rifles. You also get some excellent armor plating in the process.

Looking up, he could see the skies were also filled with weapons fire, as Covenant and SLDF VTOL's vied for air superiority. A pair of Donar VTOL's were engaging a group of Banshees, with the SLDF VTOL's quickly outmaneuvering their Covenant counterparts before blasting them into pieces. Checking a MILCOM frequency, he heard one VTOL Pilot say, "Poor bastards. Do they have any kind of armor on those things?"

"From the looks of it, those fuckers are made out of tin," his wing-mate replied, with a chuckle over the channel.

Switching back to his normal frequency, he quickly reached his Star, which was moving towards an enemy Scarab. "Enemy BattleMech on my scope," one member of the Star shouted. "Be wary of the main cannon and tail cannon. They can punch a hole in your BattleMech if you are not careful."

"Concentrate fire on the weapon systems," Alex ordered, firing off his LRM-20's as he closed into range. Acknowledging the order, the rest of the Star scattered, making it harder for the Scarab to engage them all at once. There was a loud shout as the MechWarrior of a Shadow Hawk IV dodged a bolt of energy from the Scarab's main cannon, with the 'Mech rolling before coming upright again. He was about to fire when Alex fired his ER LPL's, damaging the main weapon on the enemy 'Mech, preventing it from firing.

At the same time, the Nightstar that was in the Star fired it's twin Advanced Gauss Rifles, sending 120mm ferrous slugs at eight times the speed of sound. The turret on the back exploded as one of the ferrous slugs tore through a power capacitor bank, with the turret being completely blasted off of it's mount. The MechWarrior in the Shadow Hawk blasted one of the leg joints, with the Scarab crouching down. "It is trying to repair itself," the Shadow Hawk IV MechWarrior shouted. "Target the enemy BattleMech Fusion Engine!"

"Where," the MechWarrior of the Star's Loki IV asked.

"I found it," the Nightstar MechWarrior shouted. "It is in the back, protected by an armor plate covering the back."

"Take it out," Alex shouted. As soon as he said this, the Nightstar and Loki fired their weapons at the armor plate on the back, tearing through it with their advanced weaponry. Moments later, the armor plate was sheared off completely, revealing the enemy 'Mech's Fusion Engine. As soon as he saw it, the MechWarrior of the Loki fired his A-PPC directly into it, blasting it apart. "Get away," Alex shouted. "It is going critical!" Almost immediately, the entire Star scrambled to get away, with the Nighstar activating it's built-in MASC module in order to get away quickly enough.

They were just in time. As soon as the Nightstar cleared the blast radius, the Scarab detonated. Alex was momentarily blinded by the blue-white explosion that tore the enemy BattleMech apart, sending pieces of debris throughout the area. When the blue-white explosion faded out of existence, he spotted the shattered, broken remains of the Scarab. "Enemy BattleMech is eliminated," he reported. "Good work, Warriors." Keying his COM, he said, "Gamma One to SLDF Command, do you have any objectives for us?"

"Negative," was the reply. "Continue assisting any UNSC and SLDF forces that need help. We're doing good. If we can keep this level of excellence up, we will win the battle in short order."

"Aff," Alex agreed as he and the others proceeded toward a hot spot. So far, all was going well, even though they had taken casualties. !20 people so far, he thought. If we continue to hold out, though, we will win this battle, and win much glory in this battle against the Covenant.

. . .

Six grunted as he maneuvered the Revenant he and Kat had commandeered at the mining facility, dodging a blast of plasma that rained down near the vehicle. Spotting the offending Revenant, he fired back with the plasma mortar, scoring a direct hit on the Revenant, which exploded once it's power plant was compromised. Stay down, he growled at the enemy driver. Otherwise, I will make you stay down.

Moments later, Carter came in over the COM, "Update, Six: scans show another Covenant AA gun ahead of your current position. I want you to neutralize that gun by any means necessary.

"Got it," Six replied as he drove on towards the second AA cannon. The rocky canyon they were in was narrow, and a number of rocks were present. They were heavy enough that the smaller rocks were crushed underneath the tracks of the vehicle, though they had to keep an eye out for any Covenant in the area. Driving along, they quickly entered another opening, which was surrounded by canyon walls, and split in half by a gorge. There was a bridge, but it had been long since destroyed during the fight.

This AA cannon was also well fortified, and it was here that Six knew trouble was afoot. In addition to a Revenant, there were a pair of Wraiths on the sensor readouts, and he spotted a pair of Hunters in the area. Good thing we're fast and nimble, he thought. Looking around, he said, "Kat, those Wraiths are the biggest threat."

"Copy," Kat replied. "Wraiths are a Priority One target, followed by the Revenants and Hunters. Can you keep them off of us?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Engage." With that, Six gunned the throttle, firing at the Wraiths while Kat handled any nearby infantry. Dodging incoming fire, Six nearly swore when a Wraith's plasma mortar fired, narrowly missing them. He was about to turn when he heard a loud, grinding sound.

"Shit," Kat shouted. "We're hit!" Looking to the right, Six spotted the problem: part of the anti-gravity emitter assembly had been damaged, with sparks flying off the damaged components. Without that section, they were now dragging in the dirt. On top of this, the Wraith was about to fire again.

Just as it would have, the Wraith immediately came under attack. Six watched as thirty missiles flew through the air, smashing into the Covenant tank, jostling it around. Missiles designed to penetrate well designed armor ripped through the Wraith, tearing off large sections of it's armor plating and hull. Halfway through the salvo, the Wraith exploded, it's power plant compromised.

Looking around, Six heard a voice on the COM say, "We've got your back!" Looking around, he spotted their rescuer: a large tracked vehicle that was driving in behind them, indicating it had been dropped off behind them. It was clearly an SLDF vehicle, as he spotted the eight pointed star on it's chassis, and just like the M12R, it had a missile turret. "We'll clear out the enemy infantry and vehicles!"

"Got it," Six shouted as he and Kat abandoned the damaged Revenant. Moments later, the SLDF Vehicle, which his HUD identified as an 'SRM Carrier IV', drove forwards, it's tracks clanking as it advanced. Running along behind it, Six was just in time to see the SRM Carrier fire off a 15 missile salvo at the pair of Hunters ahead of them. While Hunter armor was tough, it wasn't though enough to survive a large salvo of SRM's. Both Hunters were blown apart, while the enemy infantry around them was either severely injured, or killed by the rapid blasts. As the SRM Carrier went to terminate any other vehicles in the area, he ran inside and, after downing the energy barrier, destroyed the internal fuel cell, before racing outside away from the blast radius with Kat.

"Well done, Six," Carter called in just as the AA cannon exploded. "ONI needs up-close recon on those spires. We're gonna fly you the rest of the way."

"Affirmative," Six replied.

"Jorge has a Falcon inbound to your position, Lieutenant," Kat informed Six. "Highlighting the LZ now." As he did so, she said, "Commander, I'm going to set up a forward observation post here."

"Copy that," Carter replied, "I'm waiting on new intel. See what you can see, Carter out." With that, the COM link cut out.

It wasn't long until the Falcon arrived, with a Pelican offloading more Troopers, while the Falcon landed. "Need a lift, Spartan," Jorge asked. Six nodded, before manning one of the mounted grenade launchers on the Falcon. "Spotted some nasty business in the canyon on the way down."

"I'll call out targets as we go," the Falcon pilot informed Six. With that, the VTOL lifted off, with the vehicle flying along the river in the gorge. Spotting another bridge up ahead, the man said, "Top of the canyon, dead ahead." Right on cue, Six fired off some grenades, blowing apart the Covenant on the bridge.

As they flew along, Jorge said, "Look at that," pointing a finger out towards the plain.

Looking where he was pointing, Six could see the SLDF/UNSC forces continuing to hammer the Covenant in the plains near the ridge. From here, he could see that the joint forces had taken casualties. Quite a few Badgers were destroyed, their ruined husks smoking somewhat, along with some Axels, Manticores and a few VTOL's that had been of the casualties, though, were UNSC personnel and vehicles, though it was clear that it was not as bad as it would've been without the SLDF assisting them. For the most part, the BattleMechs were cleaning up the stragglers, and the other vehicles were refitting, repairing and rearming for another assault.

"Beautiful sight," Jorge beamed. "First time we took on the Covenant without significant casualties. Certainly feels good to have the edge, for once."

"It does," Six replied. Spotting more enemies inbound, he fired the grenade launcher. After a couple more minutes of firing, all enemy contacts were down.

"Nice shooting, Spartans," the Falcon pilot informed them.

"Stay sharp," Jorge cautioned Six. "We're not out of the canyon yet." With that, they flew on towards the Spire.

The Spire was a tall, elegant structure, with cyan blue and purple coloration, as well as gossamer beams of energy emanating from the top. Covenant structures were down below, and there was an enormous energy shield around the spire. "There's the spire," the pilot reported.

"Solid copy," Jorge replied. "Dot?"

"Latest intel suggests these spires may be projecting electromagnetic cloaking shields."

Moments later, they arrived at the edge of the shield. Nervous about what might happen, the pilot hesitated for a moment, with the VTOL coming to a stop. "Priority One, pilot," Jorge reminded him. "Gotta know what's in there?"

"Affirmative, sir," the pilot replied. Taking a deep breath, he released it and said, "Here we go…" With that, he pushed the Falcon through the energy field. As soon as he did, things went wrong.

Almost immediately, the Falcon's engines stuttered, with the lights in the VTOL quickly shutting off. Six saw interference on his HUD as the grenade launcher was retracted, just as the VTOL began to spin. Holding on, he heard the pilot report, "We just lost all electrical power. We're going down!"

"Lock your armor, Spartan," Jorge shouted, with Six complying moments later.

"Brace for impact," the pilot informed them. As soon as he did so, they smashed into the ground, even as the VTOL spun. Six was hurled out of the Falcon, tumbling ass over teakettle before he came to a stop moments later, with the VTOL doing the same as well. Getting up, he picked up the Grenade Launcher he had still, while Jorge tossed out some equipment with a grunt before getting out.

Shrugging his shoulders, the Spartan II looked around before picking up his HMG. "Crew's dead," he reported. "We shouldn't stay here. I'm showing hostiles all over the place. We gotta move."

As he said this, Six looked up. To his amazement, a Donar and a Peregrine flew through the energy field. They briefly lost power, only to regain it and prevent themselves from crashing. A moment later, he heard one of the pilots say, "Woah, boy! I nearly turned myself into a pancake! Good thing our rad hardening's better'n what the UNSC's got."

"Don't get cocky," the other pilot replied. Moments later, he said, "Noble Six and Three, we've got your back. Your Falcons are vulnerable, but we're good to go. We'll hammer any Covenant that are ahead of ya."

"Solid copy," Jorge replied. Turning to Six, he said, "At least we're not on our own." A moment later, he said, "Commander, we've got eyes on the Spire. Looks like a staging area."

"Copy," Carter replied. "We have your visual. Dot's working the problem. Stand by." With that, the team continued to advance. Up ahead, they could see the VTOL's firing, with the sounds of dying Covenant echoing in the area. Cresting the hill, they quickly arrived at the basin the Spire was set in. Already, the SLDF VTOL's had gotten to work, as numerous Covenant were lying dead in the area. Just as they entered, Six was shocked when a Phantom seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The SLDF VTOL pilots were surprised, but they didn't loose their wits for a second, as one fired SRM's mounted on the sides of the vehicle, severely damaging the Phantom.

"What the hell," Jorge asked. "What just happened?"

"Noble Five," Dot explained, "ONI believes those spires to be teleportation terminals."

"Teleporters," Jorge remarked. "Well, that would explain why that Phantom appeared out of nowhere. What are they linked to?"

Dot was about to speak, but was interrupted when Carter said, "The SLS Tripoli is on station, ready to kill that Spire, but first we need to power down it's shields."

"That's no problem," came another voice. "Captain Morgan of the SLS Tripoli. Just got one of your anti-grav generators installed. We're on short notice, but it's holding up so far. We'll be firing a Naval PPC directly at the shield. It'll generate enough interference to temporarily short it out. Once it does, extract your men, and we'll blast the Spire with our Light Mass Driver."

"Copy that," Jorge replied. "Six, get into cover." As soon as both men did, the Tripoli fired, marking the second time that Six had seen a PPC fire.

He watched as a beam of pure energy shot out from the Tripoli as it drew closer to the Spire, with the beam impacting the energy shield. Almost immediately, the energy from the Naval PPC caused an energy shockwave across the Spire's shielding, neutralizing it almost immediately as energy cascaded down the spire. As soon as it was down, a Falcon came into view, landing barely long enough for Six and Jorge to get on. "Get us outta here," Carter ordered, with the Falcon flying away moments later. "Captain Morgan, we're away," he shouted.

"Affirmative," Morgan replied. "Firing Light Mass Driver." There was a brief pause before the Light Mass Driver fired, shattering the Spire and destroying the ground below. As it flew away, no one noticed the slight, purple glow above the WarShip.

Suddenly, the Tripoli shuddered as an energy beam smacked into it, smashing into the Advanced Ferro-Carbide armor plating. It wasn't a lethal blow, but it was enough that part of the WarShip's internal structure was damaged. "Shit," Morgan shouted over the COM. "Covenant energy projector attack!"

"Status," Carter asked."

"Armor ablation on upper midship full," the Captain shouted. "Severe structural damage sustained! We're pulling out!" With that, the engines on the Tripoli flared, with the WarShip quickly flying away and out of the area as it left for a YardShip.

"What happened," Jorge asked.

"That's what," Six shouted, pointing towards something in the sky. Looking outside, Jorge and Carter could see it: a massive Covenant WarShip that was holding position over the Spire, even as the Tripoli flew underneath it. The moment they saw it, they knew it: the Covenant meant business. I hope the SLDF can counter that, Six thought as the Falcon flew away.