Chapter 7: Tip of the Spear
Szurdok Ridge, Ütközet
August 12, 2552 08:00 Hours
The day has arrived. Noble Team was off to launch a full on assault against the covenant in the dark zone. A massive convoy of Scorpions, Warthogs, and several Mongooses along with Falcons and two Pelicans advance across a bare plain. Auntie Dot addresses the situation to Noble One.
"It appears that Noble Team's discovery last night was not an anomaly. Large Covenant deployments have occurred undetected, and we are now under attack across the Viery territory, including orbital defenses. As per the Winter Contingency, we are countering on every front. Noble's reconnaissance has also identified sophisticated Covenant army hiding canopies, and has been pointed what appears to be a landing zone for additional Covenant forces, the origin of which is yet to be determined."
The Warthogs, led by Kat and Six, charge towards the Covenant landing zone, followed by a group of Falcons. Carter is revealed to be on board a Falcon overlooking one of the Warthogs in particular, being driven by Kat. Six rides shotgun in Kat's Warthog with a marine on the turret.
"That landing zone has been tagged by UNSC command as a Priority One target." Carter explains to Noble. Jun gets a ping from his data pad, giving a heads up to his team.
"Det-charge link is loud and clear!" Jun then looked back and thought to himself, "Time to bake that cake we made last night!" It was rather cheesy, and that is exactly why he didn't say it out loud. Kat picks up the signal on her detonator.
"Copy that. Acquiring signal lock on the pylon. Detonating in three, two..." Kaboom! The charge that Jun and Six planted the night before was now exploding to the far right of the warthog strike force. This already began to stir up the covenant, and they had already picked up enough heat signatures coming in to know something was up.
Banshees swoop down on the convoy and open fire, while Wraiths lob mortar rounds from a distance, keeping full pressure on the Strike force. The gunners on the Warthogs retaliate, firing at the Banshees and destroying those that got too close. This was the first start of trading blows, as warthogs and banshees equally started to die off. "It seems something pissed them off. They sure got into their defensive positions rather quick." Jun remarked, with Six following him up. "They were already set up, I don't think it had anything to do with us. I think this was just their plan in the first place in order to keep it heavily guarded. Although, I don't think they will be getting speedy reinforcements like they hoped." Six snickered. "True that." Jun said back.
Wraith mortar rounds tear into the convoy and destroy several of the advancing vehicles. Kat takes sharp turns, managing to dodge the mortar fire while turning towards a bridge across a deep chasm. "Nice maneuvers Kat." Six complemented. Kat just shrugged as her ego inflated. "Of course, not a problem. Heads up, bridge close by." She spoke too soon. "Incoming!" Six yelled as he looked on preparing to cross, watching a large ball of plasma hit the bridge, destroying a good section of it.
"Might want to hold onto something!" Kat yells, causing Six to grab onto the top bar, whispering to himself, "Oh shit." Kat floors it and the Warthog manages to jump the gap in the destroyed bridge, but crashes violently on the other side, shaking and tossing the Spartans around. The crash kills the gunner and eventually sends Kat and Six flying out, landing into the red covered sand.
Six could see nothing but white. His breathing was slow as his face was buried into the sand. He is lying stomach-down after the crash, with a grenade launcher lying several feet away. His DMR, blades and pistol managed to stay with him however. Kat began to open fire on multiple hostiles in the vicinity, ranging from grunts to skirmishers. Eventually, Six groans as he comes too. He slowly lifts his head up with blurry vision, head spinning from the brutal thrashing that happened seconds ago. Grasping into the sand and letting it run through his fingers, he lifts himself up as his vision clears, and Six looks toward the destroyed bridge. A second Warthog came around as it attempts to clear the gap in the bridge. The driver was too timid, giving up on the gas at the last minute and falls short, crashing into the canyon below as the marines scream out into the valley, drawing their last breaths.
"Six! Can you hear me? Six, you alright? I could use some help!" Kat yelled as rushed towards a warthog for cover and fired her assault rifle, running her mag dry as she tore into the advancing covenant. Six groaned again but got up to his feet and grabbed the grenade launcher. "On my way Kat. I'm fine, sorry for the wait." Six said as he shot the grenade launcher up at an incoming banshee, exploding it right onto the front hull with perfect timing. This greatly damaged the banshee, causing broken purple debris and plasma sparks to fly off the banshee as it flies downward into the ground hard. The following explosion was very much a sign to Kat that Six was back in the game. "Well done Six, glad you are back."
Six smirked, "Glad to be back. Let's get this over with shall we?" Six said as he handed Kat the grenade launcher. She only had an assault rifle and a pistol, so naturally he thought she could use the weaponry. "Why are you giving me this?" Kat asked as she takes it. Six pulled out his DMR and began to fire onto the hostile grunts and skirmishers firing onto their position. "Just a little something to take make things easier for you. Why? You think you can't show me up with it?" He said, playing coy in order for her snarky attitude to kick in and use it to make him look bad.
Kat scoffed as she loaded in a grenade and launched over their cover, landing it on top of an Elite Major and blowing his face into smithereens. "Hot damn, nice arc shot." Six commented as he peaked back out of cover and began to snipe at the Grunts in the back. He spots something that he doesn't like an peaks back down. "Oh shi-"
"Kat, Six, what's your status?" Carter interrupts, coming in on the coms with Kat responding. "Pylons are down, we're pushing up the hill." Six then bolts up and pulls Kat behind him. "Move it!" Was so he shouted as she ran out to their right to get into cover. Sure enough, an explosion was heard behind them as their cover exploded.
"Damn, that would have been bad. Thanks for the assist." Kat said as they peered out and saw more covenant forces. The heavy resistance locked up behind the hill includes two Fuel Rod Shade variants, and many grunts with Elite Ultras leading them. "Don't thank me yet. Let's kill these bastards first." Six said sternly as he placed his sights over the head of a grunt using the turret. *BAM* The grunt falls with a new hole in his forehead. "Fire at those shades and destroy them so that they won't be a bother any longer. I am pushing up." Six ordered as he crouched down and moved up with his rifle firing out at the enemies.
"I got you covered Six. Consider those shades gone." She said sneering as she arched her shot upwards and launched the grenade, hurling it towards an Ultra who was now manning the shade that the grunt was killed. "Boom! Shade down! One more to go!" She yelled out, reloading her launcher. The grunts in turn started to flee as one of their commanders was now reduced to charred meat, and the remaining Ultra roared out in anger at the death of his brother.
Six shot the grunt out of the other shade and then targeted the Ultra in particular, strafing to the sides in order to dodge the incoming concussion blasts and plasma rounds. Kat moved up and gave him cover fire using her assault rifle, mag dumping onto the Ultra's shields. The Ultra's shield drained out and he had enough of the pesky demons. He ran towards Six with incredible speed with a hand on his belt. Fortunately, Six shot him right in the dome, causing him to fall and tumble at his feet. However, his hand that was placed on his belt had actually activated a plasma grenade. "Six move!" Kat yelled and Six rolled backwards, barely managing to escape the blast radius. His shields were now completely drained, so he ran into cover while Kat gave out supporting fire. She had made sure that no grunts made it to the shade by keeping a steady stream of fire on it. "Die you little pests!"
Now taking cover behind the rocks, Six made sure that he was ready to go again as his shields charged back up. Kat took back to her cover as she reloaded her rifle, and Six took to his DMR, firing into the bright eyes of the skirmishers and grunts as shots of green plasma whizzed by Six's helmet visor. Kat, now reloaded, pulled out the launcher and then fired another grenade into a nice arch, holding it's explosion as it neared the final shade turret. A plasma explosion soon followed as the shade and any enemy near it was reduced to shreds. "Both Shade turrets down, let's clear out these tangos Kat." Six said as both pushed up as a unit, no longer fearing the power of the shade turrets.
Six and Kat had fired endlessly, reloading when necessary as they pushed forwards, taking out the Grunts, the skirmishers, and the final elite minors. After seeing all the tangos taken out, Kat gives an all clear into the comms. Six was wondering what could be coming their way. "All set?" He asked, causing Kat to peer over at him with her gleaming silver visor. "Yeah, I'm good. Just calling in a little reinforcement." Six looked confused, until he heard the familiar sound of a pelican coming from his nine o'clock. The pelican lowered and dropped a warthog off, with a giant gun in the back that he has never seen before. "Rocket Hog, nice." Six said as he neared Kat.
"Kat, be advised: ONI has identified two hostile anti-aircraft guns southwest of your location." Carter said, coming in on coms.
"Copy, Commander. New target, Six. Shut down those AA guns. Commandeer that Warthog, get us there in one piece." Kat said, causing Six to nod as he went over and hopped into the driver seat. "You just make sure that you kill whatever is in my way, just like Sword base." Kat snickered a little bit. "With eight rockets all launching at whatever the hell I want, it won't be too hard." Six wasted no time further as he stepped on it, traversing the dusty roads of the valley. Kat was eagerly waiting for something to get in her sightlines so she could blow it sky high.
"Six, AA guns should be in visual range." Carter said to Six through coms as he watched them drive off. He was using their coordinates as an indicator. As drove through the valley, a new voice came out onto Noble's Channel.
"2 Lima 4 to Noble One, those guns are pounding us with high-velocity plasma shells!" Dot followed up the voice. "Which would mean a strike by the Frigate Grafton is also out of the question." Six kept a sharp eye as he listened to the conversation, hoping to see the gun so he could take it out.
"Noble Six, all our birds are stuck out of range unless you can do something about those guns." Carter said, prompting Six to punch it. "Roger that Noble Leader, I'll make sure that gun turns to rubble. Let's go Kat." He took a sharp turn, keeping the vehicle going despite the fast speeds. Kat looked to her right and saw the giant purple cannon, firing at any air support they got. "There it is Six, let's take this thing out."
Taking a new path, Kat began to fire her rockets at enemies up ahead. She fired her eight rockets at anything that moved. As they approach the gun, a furious battle can be seen in the valley below. Three enemy Scarabs and multiple Ghosts, Wraiths, and Banshees attack a large group of Warthogs, Scorpions, and Falcons. This truly was a full on assault. With Kat and Six proceeding to the AA gun, the Sangheili General in charge of the AA gun ordered his skirmisher and hunter squadron out to fight the demons.
"Kat! Enemies up ahead! Going around to target enemy wraith, be ready!" Kat smirked in her helmet but was very focused. "Just give me an angle." Six took a right turn, spotting the Wraith as it turns to line a shot on him. Kat fired her found volley of rockets into its front, damaging it's hull but not getting through. Six drove straight at it as it fired a large pool of plasma right at the warthog, flying right above their heads. Once he got close enough, Six took a sharp right turn again. The wraith tried to ram him but did not think he would turn away, so it left itself vulnerable.
"Kat! Fire at it's rear!" Six shouted, which Kat did not respond as she was already on it, firing her second volley into the back end of the vehicle. From the sustained damage to its weak spot and the front, it was too much for it. The purple tank eventually stopped hovering, resulting in a big blue and purple explosion. "Haha! That's the way! Now let's take out the gun Six, I'll cover you. Come up the right side here and I'll distract the hunters and skirmishers." Kat ordered, with Six following her exact orders. He got her far enough away for the hunters to have trouble shooting her, but she would be stationary regardless. The skirmishers wouldn't be much trouble for the both of them.
"Alright, keep me covered." Six said as he got her into position and hopped out with his DMR at the ready. He then took into a full on sprint to go around the whole gun to enter the original spot they saw. That way, he could flank them while they were focused on Kat. He could hear Kat going off, cursing and laughing as she fired her rockets into the enemy forces.
Six slowed down to a walk as he came up a little hill, cutting through little covenant hard barricades to now be on level ground with the gun. Looking to his left, he could see the general commanding his troops from the safety of the gun. "I don't have time for such a prolonged battle, so let's do this quickly." He said as he put his DMR on his back and switched things up a bit. He grabbed his sword with his right hand and his magnum with his left. Activating the sword, he sprinted at the door of the gun.
"What? The demon flanked around! Kill him now!" The general yelled as his heavy grunts with jackal support rushed to him. "Not today," Six said back as he shot his magnum and sliced at the enemies in his ways, moving at such speeds it was nearly deemed impossible. The General roared and fired his fuel rod cannon at him, but Six kept to his toes but dodging and strafing as he colored the ground with purple and blue blood. His mag ran empty, so he jumped with lots of momentum built up, loading a new mag in with help of the magnets located on various parts of his armor. When he landed, he jumped forward into the building.
The ground was spattered with blue and purple bloods, making it quite a scene to describe. He caught the general off guard when he charged in, and Six stabbed him center mass with the sword while shooting at the remaining grunts in the building. The General could feel his insides burning as Six left the sword in his chest, letting him protect him from any remaining fire before eventually letting him drop with a few groans and gurgles. Holstering his pistol, he contacted Kat. "Kat, we are clear in here. Finish off the rest will ya?" he said, sounding unsatisfied as he grabbed a plasma nade off the belt of the general. Walking over to the gun's main core, he sliced the protective shield with his sword and lobbed the nade in there. He quickly turned around and sprinted for it as the grenade exploded causing the gun to go into meltdown.
"It's gonna blow! Cease fire I'm coming!" Six yelled as he darted to the left, taking note of the ground littered with covenant corpses. One hunter and a few skirmishers remain as he pushed to Kat's warthog. As he ran past the skirmishers, the hunter failed to notice that Six was coming up from behind. He was taking aim at Kat when all of the sudden it could feel a burn go throughout the it's entire hivemind, round about it's stomach area. Six had sliced the hunter from it's back up to its front, cutting it nearly in half and neutralizing the hunter. "Good kill, now let's get moving!" Kat yelled as Six put his sword back and ran even faster.
Hopping into the driver seat, he immediately took off to their left over by a cliff face. The alarms of the gun stopped as the explosion went off. Plasma spewed out of exposed orrifaces, and hunks of debris flew in its perimeter. "Hell yeah! That's how it's done. Proper Job Six." Kat said, causing Six to smile. He was impressed that they had done it so quickly. Looking up into the sky, Six could see three Longswords and two Heavy Frigates, the UNSC Grafton and the UNSC Saratoga, fly above them.
"Good work, Noble Six. UNSC air support: skies are clear." Carter said, with 2 Loma 4 following suit."Control, 2 Lima 4, permission to commence bombing runs, heading 224.6, over." Control doesn't take long to come in behind him. "Copy. 2 Lima 4, bombing run, heading 224.6, permission granted - out."
Six and Kat watch as the Frigates open fire on the Covenant forces in the valley, as 2 Lima 4 commences a bombing run on the three Scarabs, destroying two of them and disabling the third.
Kat and Six proceed on, soon driving under a partially destroyed bridge. While looping around to get up to it, a Pelican under fire from a Phantom, drops off a temporary bridge that allows Noble Team to continue. "There is a structure up ahead on the geo-scans." Six said as he drove and indeed saw the structure. "I'm detecting friendly and covenant forces nearby, get ready Kat."
"Noble Six, there's a mining facility near your location, the Covenant are using it as a Command outpost. Troopers on site have already engaged." Carter said coming into the coms. "Roger that commander." Kat responded as the Spartans arrive at a bridge over the canyon. Several USMC troopers are under fire from Covenant troops. Six peers out and spots a Shade turret. "Enemy shade. Let's help those soldiers." The Spartans hop out of the warthog and advance to the bridge to help out the Soldiers.
"Spartans? Holy shit! My name is Sergeant McCoy, and we could use your help." Kat loaded up her grenade launcher and aimed it at the shade. "Already on it Sergeant." She said as she fired at the shade, exploding it into a bunch of covie shrapnel. Six made it to the marines, and they all focused fire onto the covenant forces up ahead, ranging from elite minors to grunts and jackals. Nothing too difficult for them.
"Come on, let's push up. Follow our leads." Kat said as she loaded up her assault rifle and lead the charge. Six followed behind as the two fragged any covenant they saw, making sure that the Marines had an easy path. Six saw that there was a catwalk to his left. "We going there?" Kat, reloading her weapon looks to where he is looking and nods. "Yeah, that's the way." The Spartans and troopers advance on the BXR Mining facility, clearing out hostile in the area. They were doing quite well, and Six was very focused on the battle until he heard Dot come in.
"New intelligence: friendly forces near the Covenant outpost have spotted a high value target. An Elite Zealot in fact." Six lost all focus as he went up the ramps. "Iro could be stationed here… or worse…" he thought to himself, but he soon snapped out of it when he felt a hand on his shoulder. "A Zealot? We're onto something big here, Commander." Kat said as she passed by Six, taking point.
"Eyes on the prize, Noble. Take out that Zealot if you get the chance, but keep moving' towards the spires." Carter said to Noble. Kat, Six, and the marines move into the facility, but encounter resistance as they go. It was two Elite Majors followed by their minions. Kat and Six both move up and toss frags at the group, needing to dispatch them quickly due to the fact that there is no cover for neither them or the Marines.
The contacts were disposed of pretty quickly, with blood of multiple colors flying about as grenades explode and bullets fly. The Spartan's shields shimmer as they reload their weapons. "First wave neutralized." Six says rather quietly. "No visual on target." Kat says out loud in contrast to Six. Kat and the Marines push forward, but Six gets left behind after he succumbed to some thoughts. He had to relieve them, so after silencing his coms temporarily, he pressed the button on his radio, and spoke into it. "Thaya? I am making my way through a mining facility. We have already destroyed one AA gun and are heading to the spire. We have Intel on a zealot operating here, and I surely hope that there isn't a single field marshal here. I'll keep you posted, Six out." Six spoke in her native tongue as always, making sure that she has little opportunity to become suspicious. Regardless, whatever he says will become suspicion so it would be best not to contact her unless she gives the word.
"Six, we need assistance over here! High priority target located, and he has help. Quit zoning out!" Kat yells into his coms, which nearly scared the daylights out of him. He snaps back into it by letting go of the button and activating his coms again. "Sorry, on my way!" He loaded his DMR and sprinted through the catwalks, spotting the zealot on a perch firing his concussion rifle at Kat and the Marines down below. He had the high ground while his squads moved in on their level.
Thinking quickly, he put his DMR on his back and pulled out his sword again. He sprinted as fast as he could and jumped off the elevated catwalk, dropping a nade down below on the others enemies in the process. "Take that demon out along with those pesky humans!" The zealot said to his men, now beginning to wonder where the other demon has gone. He was soon answered when he saw Six jump at him out the corner of his eye, and didn't know how to react other than quickly turning to him and shooting the ground where he should land. With Six's shields taking the blast, the momentum had launched him a bit higher and faster at the Zealot. Six held his sword out at him, and the zealot was quick enough on his feet that he sidestepped the stab, but his gun was sliced in the process.
"Six is taking care of the Zealot. Focus all fire on the enemies in front of us!" Kat ordered with the marines laying down a steady stream of bullets.
"Face to face with the Midnight Demon, how interesting will it be when I bring your severed head to the high prophets!" The Zealot said to Six, causing Six to laugh at his foolishness. "I don't think you know who I am, Zealot. I have killed many of your brothers, including two zealots back at the Relay station named Jeten and Sivo. Last names are unknown, as I only found out when I managed to stand toe to toe with a Field Marshal." The Elite snarled as it lit it's own energy sword; the demon could speak his language. "You lie! No way you managed to defeat two of us AND match a Field Marshal!" He yelled out, lunging at Six and attacking fast and wild like. He fights without any form or grace, unlike Thaya. "Well I do have an energy sword." He said wittingly.
Six countered every attack the Zealot threw, making him waste stamina and almost belittle him. "Oh I did. It was a Marshal by the name of Thaya 'Vadamee. I managed to match her one on one until I had to pull back. Her and I have unfinished business to attend to should we meet again." He boasted, playing the part as if they are hated rivals.
"Grrggh, silence!" He shouted as he lunged forward. Six did another sidestep, grabbing his arm and bending it in a painful way. As Six was about to bring his sword down on him, the Zealot with his free hand punched him right in the side; a small weak spot where there was no armor covering him on either side, like most other Spartan III's. Six let go of his arm and went back to be ready for another attack, which did come his way. The zealot brought the sword down on Six, clashing and holding with his, creating sparks. "No more games Zealot. Today, you die with great honor. The Great Journey…" He then kicked the zealot back. After gaining space, he unsheathed his blade using his left hand and got into his fighting stance. "Ends here." He finished, mimicking the time he and Thaya fought. The Zealot pointed his blade at him, and readied himself just as Six did, not caring about the battle waging on below them.
After a brief moment, they both charged at each other. Their blades clashed like no other, creating bright flashes and sparks. Six kept his knife ready in his left at all times, waiting for an opportunity to either block or end this fight. "You will pay for all the brothers you have slain!" He shouted, spinning around while jumping to bring his sword down vertically on him. Six, using his sword to block and the knife as back up, blocked the attack. However, the sheer strength of the sangheili as a whole had knocked him down a bit. The Zealot saw the opportunity, kicking him in the chest hard to back him up. That's when he charged at Six, hoping to stab him through his chest as he lunged. In a final break moment, Six charged right into him blade, deflecting the attack with his knife. He pushed the sword up as he moved in, sliding on the sword with his knife. In his final movement, he pierced the elite right through it's chest with his energy sword. The zealot coughed and gagged as purple blood came up into his throat. Six slowly pulled his sword out and deactivated it, putting both of his blades back where they belonged. The Zealot had fallen onto his back with labored breathing and gurgles.
Six, straightening himself up, had walked over to the zealot and looked to him in his eyes. Six knelt down beside him, giving him a warrior salute of sorts by placing his fist on his chest. The Elite couldn't do the same, but he was at least honored to fight a great warrior who knows of their codes. "You fought valiantly, like your brothers and sister. I wish you had not accepted the ways of the covenant. The Sangheili are better and wiser than the covenant and their high prophets. Have a good rest, Zealot."
He coughed up some purple blood and cleared his dying throat as struggled to breathe. "Khuro… Khuro 'Varumee." He said as he slowly let his breathes slip away, causing himself to pass away under those last words. Six lowered his head, despite him being an enemy. "Another warrior, a name I must carry with me. Despite your horrible feats Khuro, I will honor your name as a Noble warrior, despite your unhonorable attacks on humanity." Six got up and watched as Kat cleared the last Jackal. "Clear." She said as the marines went up. They had lost two before we came around, and they managed to keep the rest of the marines alive.
"All clear Kat." Six said as he looked down at her. Kat looked up after reloading her rifle. "You killed that high value target? Nice. Zealot neutralized. Impressive, Six." Six nods his head as he regroups with Kat and follows her lead. The marines stayed behind to guard the facility. Following Kat, they move outside to find two Unggoy, two Ghosts, and a Revenant. "See that? Let's snag it." Kat said as she rushed out of the mining facility. When she did so, the two Grunts attempt to escape in the Ghosts but are quickly eliminated by Kat.
"Damn, they were about to give us a real hard time." Six said to Kat as he walked over to a ghost. Puzzling to Kat, Six had not drawn his weapons. "Hey, how come you weren't on alert? What if there were more or if they were elites?" She asked as she went over to the revenant. Six looked at her, and shrugged. "I just want this shit to end already. I'm not exactly looking forward to the spire."
"Ah lock it up Six. You'll be fine. It's just a few more baddies then we go home for a bit. Come on, let's get moving." She hopped in the revenant, turning the vehicle on and dashing out of sight in her new covenant mini tank. Six sighed as he activated his ghost and followed suit. Six and Kat proceed down a trail, encountering Covenant forces as they go. "Quick work." Kat said as Six went ahead and rammed some jackals with his ghost. The rest were dispatched by the mini explosive that revenant shot.
"Update, Six: scans show another Covenant AA gun ahead of your location. I want you to neutralize that gun, by any means necessary." Carter randomly came in. The both of them didn't bother to get the geo-scans. "Well, shit. Guess we gotta deal with one more Kat." He said as he traveled the dirt pathways. "Looks like it." She responded.
The gun soon comes into view, and Six taking the lead in his Ghost scouts out for Kat. "Holy shit! Kat we have two wraiths and two hunters!" He yelled as he drove back using the boost to avoid the incoming explosives. "Dammit! Okay, you are faster, so I need you to take out the wraiths like you did before. Don't worry about the hunters, let's worry about the wraiths. I'll distract one, you get them both from behind."
"Okay, I got it." He said, agreeing to such a dangerous task. He used his boost to come out of cover and charge the wraith on the right, dodging the plasma being hurled at him. Kat soon followed behind but stayed back, firing at the one on their far left. This caught it's attention as Six got close to the one on the right, and just like before it tried to ram him. Being a ghost though, he had the speed on his side. He boosted out of the way and immediately turns around, firing at the weak spot on its back and watching as it lowered to the ground, following an explosion of plasma. "One down!" He yells. "Told you it would be easy. The covenant may be fearsome, but they are much easier once you spot their openings." She replied, which he kind of agreed with.
With the wraith taking heavy damage from the revenant, Six thought it was time to put that one out of its misery as well by lighting up it's backside with a steady stream of plasma repeaters from his ghost. "Kaboom! Both wraiths down Six! I'll take care of the hunters, you destroy the gun." She ordered. "Roger that." He says as he heads around the guns left side while Kat fires at and distracts the hunters on the right. Parking the ghost on a little elevating piece of land, he hops out and draws his magnum. He didn't exactly need the weapons, but just incase something was there, he would be ready. He ran towards and into the main door to the gun and saw the same shield as before. He pushed it a few times before it finally collapsed.
Reaching down on his belt, he grabbed his final frag grenade and threw it in. "Present from the Midnight Demon." He said sarcastically as he backed up and watched it explode, causing the gun to go into lockdown mode before its initial destruction. He quickly turned tail and ran out the door, hopping into the ghost and driving around over to Kat. Kat had already eliminated a hunter, and was left with the final one. "Gun is about to explode, might wanna back up a bit." Six said as the two reversed. The hunter tried to make a break for it, but Kat kept lobbing rounds at him. He was stuck between a rock and a hard place.
"Annnnnd… BOOM!" He yelled on time with the gun exploding. The hunter had perished with the gun, being right next to it. "Both guns are destroyed. Clear skies for us." Kat said, exiting her revenant. Six saw no further use for his ghost so he did the same. He stretched out into the sky, giving his muscles a little relaxation for the short bit he has. Looking up, he sees a Pelican coming in and landing, dropping off a bunch of troopers.
"Well done, Six. ONI needs up-close recon on those spires, we're gonna fly you the rest of the way." Carter said as he looked over to Kat, who was now ordering the Marines into positions. Kat spotted Six looking at her and nodded. "Jorge has a Falcon inbound to your position. Lieutenant, highlighting the LZ now."
A navpoint appears on Six's HUD, and he waves to Kat.
"Commander, I'm going to set up a forward observation post here." She states, commanding some more marines.
"Copy that, I'm waiting on new intel. See what you can see, Carter out." Six looks over to Kat once again after he heads to the Nav point. "Is where we split off Kat?" Kat snickered. "You almost sound sad Six. Gonna miss me?" Six decided to act snooty back. "Of course. Who is gonna open up locked doors and get threats of court martial by Halsey?"
Kat laughs as she gives him a middle finger. "Good luck at the spire Six. Thanks for the help. Noble Two out." She said as she signs off his channel. The Falcon arrives and Noble Six looks to see Jorge flying in it. "Need a lift, Spartan?"
"Hell yeah. Nice to see you again Jorge." He said, manning the grenade launcher turret. "Likewise. Spotted some nasty business in the canyon on the way down." He explained, with the pilot following him up. "I'll call out targets as we go."
"Just call 'em out. I'll make them pay." Six said, re-energized and ready for battle. The Falcon takes off and flies along the river. It eventually reaches a bridge, with Covenant forces attempting to cross it.
"Top of the canyon, dead ahead." Six turned his turret. "I seem them." He says as he relentlessly lobs grenades at the covenant, exploding them to shreds. Some even got knocked off the bridge. "This thing makes it too easy." Jorge looks out and man's the opposite turret. Why? Just cause. "More resistance up ahead, further down the canyon." They both continuously lob the direct impact nades at the covenant forces stationed on the floating manned turret posts. They make quick work of them seeing as the grenades destroy them. "Haha! I love it when that happens!" Jorge laughs, Six taking on some new targets of skirmishers dashing around on his right.
"Nice shooting, Spartans." Says the pilot. "Stay sharp, Six. We're not out of the canyon yet." Jorge says, causing Six to ready themselves as they take a right turn and see the spire, guarded by a giant shielding dome.
"There's the spire." The pilot says. Auntie Dot comes into coms, "Latest intel suggests these spires may be projecting electromagnetic cloaking shields."
"Solid copy, Dot." Carter acknowledges.
They arrive at the edge of the shield. The pilot hesitates, hovering just outside it. "We gotta go in pilot." Six says. "Bit sir-"
"Priority One, pilot. Gotta know what's in there." Jorge interrupts. The pilot unwillingly agrees and slowly moves into the shielding. "Affirmative, sir... Here we go." The Falcon flies towards the shield, making it all the way through. Suddenly, the falcon drops, spinning out of control with all sorts of malfunctions. "What the hell happened?!" Six yells as he grabs into a bar for support.
"We just lost all power. We're going down!" The pilot says. Jorge grabs onto his gun and a bar, looking at Six and saying, "Lock your armor, Spartan!"
"Brace for a hard landing!" The pilot yells as it comes down. The Falcon crashes with a loud bang. Six is thrown a short distance from the Falcon, considering he was out on the turret and failed to move inside like Jorge. For Six, the whole world just went black.
*Break*
"The enemy aircraft is down." Says a familiar voice, being slightly toned to that of authority. Thaya was at the top of the spire, looking through a little device that enhances her vision, like binoculars. Next to her was the Ultra in charge of the post, Zoru.
"What should we do commander? Shall I send enemy forces to their location?" The Ultra Zoru asks. Thaya does not take her eye off the falcon as it crashed, however she stands strong with an intimidating presence. "Send half of our expendables out. Stop them in their tracks. The rest of our main force will defend the bottom and ensure nothing will reach us at the top." Zoru bowed and left her side, off to do as she said. She placed the device on her belt and equipped her needler rifle. "Dammit Six… I hope you are okay." She thinks to herself. She began to ponder just what she should do when they meet at the top of the spire. She has to defeat him, and she simply can't run. "What am I to do, Six?"
*Break*
Jorge emerges from the Falcon, tossing out equipment out. The noise finally shifts Six awake. "Arrgh, shit that hurt." He said as he gets up, grabs his DMR on the ground and stands up. After looking around briefly, Jorge dusts himself off and picks up his chaingun. "Crew's dead. We shouldn't stay here." Six shakes his head, "Damn."
"I'm showing hostiles all over the place, we gotta move." Jorge says as he looks around the rocky terrain. They look up and see the spire in full view. Six zooms in on the top of the spire and could swear he could make out a figure outfitted in these maroon or purple colors with blue lights. Before he could hone in on it, the figure moved back into the spire.
"Let's move." Six says with a serious tone, leading with Jorge right behind them. They went up the hill rather easily until out of nowhere, they were met with a force of Skirmisher sniper squads with Elites leading them. "Watch it! They have focus rifles!" Six says firing at one of them while moving to cover. Jorge laid down heavy fire, keeping himself in the open while steadily moving to his own cover.
Jorge was shredding into the skirmishers and elite minors that got too close, and Six supported him by laying down precise shots on any shot deemed worthy of a bullet in it's head. They were making quick work of the covenant. "Feels good to work with ya again, you fucking tank." Six said as he ducked down and reloaded. He then popped back up when Jorge got down to let his gun cool. "You too, you damned Lone Wolf show off." They both laughed as they both started laying into the tangos. "You should have seen me and Jun, it was a giant competition the whole way through."
"Oh I bet. That's Jun for ya." Jorge responded. He was all of the sudden hit with a focus beam, and it brought his shields down to nothing. He quickly got into cover. "Ow, that hurt you little bastard." He said calmly. Six looked up and saw the culprit. It was a sniper on top of a rock farther up. With swift trigger pull, it's head popped as his body fell down to the ground below. "There, problem solved." He said rather snarky as Jorge's shields came back up. Jorge sucked his teeth as he got up and made a big push to the top of the hill.
"TAKE THIS YOU LITTLE BASTARDS!" Jorge yelled as Six pushed behind him, giving any kind of support he could. The spire was now coming into view fully, and he was growing worried as to what was at the top. "That's the last of them. Good on ya Spartan." Jorge said after taking a breath. They moved forward and could now see the base of the spire.
"Commander, we got eyes on the spire. Looks like a staging area". Jorge explains into coms.
"Copy, we have your visual. Dot's working the problem, stand by." Responds Carter.
"Noble Five, ONI believes those spires to be teleportation terminals." Cuts in Dot, with Jorge responding rather confused. "Teleporter? Linked to what?"
"Frigate Grafton is on station ready to kill that spire, but first we need to power down its shields." Carter cuts back in. Jorge did not get his answer, but goes with it anyway.
"Understood." Six and Jorge look to each other after taking a quick scan of all the enemies stationed at its base. There were elite majors posted on shades, with grunt and jackal squads to follow their commander. "Six, I'll hold these bastards off, you find a way to the top of the spire."
"You get all the glory down here huh? Damn II, always getting the rep." He joked, with Jorge responding by shoulder bumping him. "Your reputation exceeds most you damn ONI test subject." They laughed as Six put his DMR on his back and equipped his sword. He needed the maximum amount of mobility to make it to the gravity lift at the bottom. "Catch you on the flip side Jorge. Ready?"
"Ready Six. Three… two… one… Go! SUPPRESSING FIRE!" Jorge yells at the top of his lungs, spraying his chaingun at every single person he could see. Six took off so hard, that he nearly made a little crater from where he started. He activated his blade as he ran, putting it in front of him to mask any shots he could. As he ran down the hill, he began to pick up even more speed, and only a few shots came his way. His shields, nearly on the brink of breaking, were allowed to stay up as he hauled ass into the bottom section of the Spire. "Go! I've got this!" Jorge shouts as Six sprints into the Gravity lift, taking him up.
"Noble Leader, Six is on his/her way up. I've got a mess to clean down here." Jorge says to Carter over the radio.
"Get in there. Take out that shield, Lieutenant." Carter ordered, with Six acknowledging him as he made his way up the lift. He could see his ally taking on loads of them and not even going down. Spartan twos were something else entirely to him, and he wished he could have been like them.
Eventually, he could no longer see the outside world. He had made it to the top, and his blade was a beacon in the shadows. He cared not, as he stealthily traversed the spire. He could hear some beeps as well as an Elite around the corner. Going up the ramp, he could see him. It was an Ultra, using the main controls and speaking to himself from what it seems. Six decided it would best be honorable than anything, so he got up behind him and pointed the sword at him.
"Stand down Ultra. There is no need to fight any longer. Lay down your blade." The Ultra turned his head, but not his whole body, as if he wasn't worth facing. "What makes you say that Demon? Just because you made it up here doesn't mean your friend will."
"Oh trust me, that wasn't the plan in the first place. All those forces down there will be killed for standing against us, just like you people do to any innocent bystander. The covenant slaughters innocents for sport and reputation. We are simply defending our home." The Ultra then turns to him, equipping his blade and activating it. He had to admit, he was rather surprised that Six didn't attack him, but nonetheless he was gonna fight him.
"You know not of what we fight for. I will end you here and now Demon, for you are in my domain." He points his blade to Six, much like how he was doing to him. "Then an honorable duel we shall have. Just know, that it will not be easy for you. I know a lot of your culture, as seen by me speaking in your language. I know of your fighting styles and traditions as well. Are you ready to challenge me?"
"Ready demon." They got into their fighting stances, staring into each others eyes despite there being helmets protecting them. The Ultra then stepped forward, and Six was ready to block and counterattack his move, but he was stopped by an invisible force. The Ultra stepped back appalled as he stared at the space in front of them. "Field Marshal! Why have you stopped me?!"
Six's eyes went wide as he realized who had stopped him. He did not leave his stance, but he did stare into the outline that displayed on his visor. The culprit revealed themselves as indeed, Thaya 'Vadamee. She had her sword activated and put her hand down after stopping Zoru.
"Zoru, this demon is my rival. He has killed three zealots already, and has managed to match me in combat before making an escape. The deaths of Sivo, Khuro, and Jeten must be avenged by me. I won't let him get away again, and you are simply no match for him. Worry not, this will not stain your honor, as you are needed down below. Your allies require help killing the demon down there. Get to it Zoru." She said sternly. Zoru tried to protest but instead turned off his blade and bowed. "Right away Marshal." He then took off after giving Six a glare, jumping into the spire's gravity lift. He kept his stance as he stared at Thaya.
"Spartans, I'm en route with a Falcon, will pick you up as soon as you knock out power to that shield." Carter said, interrupting the moment Six had as he stared into Thaya's eyes. Jorge then also came in. "Ready when you are, Six". He said, despite the amount of gunfire being heard through coms.
"Yeah yeah, give me a minute." Six said back, now giving his attention to Thaya. "Are we gonna fight?" He asked intently, wondering what her position was at the moment. "No, we are safe now. Surely your friend down below will take care of things. I am glad to see that you made it out that crash all right." They both turned off their swords, putting them on their belts and equipping their rifles while walking outside the spire and looking out into the land. "Yeah, I'm alright. Banged up my new armor though."
"Hey uh, thanks for the save there. I didn't really want to kill anything anymore today. One zealot and a bunch of other covenant forces is enough for me." Thaya sighed at him. "You know that is asking a lot for a being in your position." Six shrugged, "Can't hurt to dream." They both peered in opposite directions for a bit before meeting each others eyes again.
"Soon as I deactivate this, we are gonna blow this place sky high. Thank you for the intel. I know you had to come here to rouse less suspicion. Hopefully you can return back without any further questions." Thaya just shook her head. "I fear that it won't be that easy. I don't wish to mark you as the type to run when you are indeed a Noble warrior, but that is the only way I can make it really seem like we fought."
"You don't have to explain it to me, I understand." He put a hand on her shoulder. "Humanity as a whole should thank you for what you are doing. If they won't listen, you will always have me. I'll take a bullet for you anyday." Thaya seemed happy, but also saddened by this. "I appreciate that, but I would prefer you not take a bullet for a creature like me." She explained, but Six wasn't having any of it.
"We are all creatures Thaya. At the end of the day we are all intelligent life forms, and we should all dwell within the same realm peacefully. We can all learn piece if we all just gave it a try." She cheered up a bit from his little spiel. "Thank you Six." She said genuinely. "No problem." He said back before getting interrupted.
"Hurry, Lieutenant. We got a Frigate inbound to blow that spire as soon as the shield is powered down." Six sighed as he responded to him. "I cleared out the rest of them. Deactivating now." He looks over and watches as Thaya goes into the spire, deactivating it for him. "Lieutenant, drop the shield and get out of there." Carter said. She comes back out but not fully. "I guess this is goodbye for now?" Six questioned, which she responded with a nod. "For now Six."
"I'll contact you as soon as I can. Keep an ear out for me. Talk soon now." Six said as he waved her off. She turned invisible and sank back into the base of the spire, leaving the area as fast as she could. The shield dissipates. Six, placing his weapon back on his back, takes a couple steps back and then runs as fast as he could. The Falcon comes into view from below. Six yells as he leaps off the spire, "Oh SHIIIIT!" He reaches out and is caught by Jorge, who pulls Six up into the Falcon. "Hey there Six, long time no see."
"Oh thank God, that was almost bad. Thanks Jorge." He said as he clambered into his seat catching his breath. "No problem Six."
"Get us outta here." Carter orders the pilot.
The Falcon begins to pull away from the spire. "Control? This is Noble One. Spire One is green and you're free to engage. Have a nice day."
"Copy that, Noble One. Be advised, all ground units: Frigate Three-One-Eight heavy is inbound, and MAC rounds have been authorized." Said a voice back.
"MAC rounds? In atmosphere?" Jorge asked rather shocked. "One way to get their attention! Hang on to your teeth, people!" Carter shouts as the The UNSC Grafton, in a shallow dive, moves towards the spire past the Falcon with Six, Carter, and Jorge. The Spartans brace themselves, waiting for what's to come next.
The Grafton continues to move towards the spire, and with a bright flash, fires its MAC cannon, hitting the spire and shattering it in a mixed explosion of plasma and shrapnel. Jorge, satisfied, turns back and nods at Carter and Six, failing to notice as a purple glow illuminates the sky above the Grafton. A voice comes out of Six's radio, shouting at him. "Six! You are about to be fired on by one of our super carriers, 'The Long Night of Solace'! Get out of there now!"
Carter looks at Six confused, swearing he heard the enemies language coming from his radio. "The hell was that?" Six looked at him nervously before looking at the sky awestruck. An energy projector beam shoots down from the sky and hits Grafton's bow section, instantly gutting the ship. Secondary explosions blossom along the hull, and Grafton begins to plummet towards the ground.
"New contact. High-tonnage." Dot comes in unexpected. The Spartans watch in terror as the aft section of the Grafton explodes. The forward section crashes to the ground. "No. No! Somebody tell me this ain't happening!" Jorge yells.
"UNSC frigate Grafton, do you copy?" Asks air control.
"The Grafton is dust! We need to get out of here, now!" Carter shouts, all watching as the shattered UNSC Grafton falls towards the surface. The Covenant supercarrier, Long Night of Solace, is revealed holding position over the destroyed spire. Six's day was just about to get really bad…
And that is a wrap for chapter 7. Hope you all enjoyed, and hopefully this and my Atlas's Revelation chapter will hold you until the next update. I felt like I should upload them both at the same time just cuz, you know? Anyway, thank you guys for all the support. Have a wonderful day/night, and I hope you have a better one tomorrow. Love y'all, and until next time.
~RedRonin