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Chapter 7

September 15, 2554

00:58 Hours, Earth time

Havoc Prison Space Station

ODST Spec Ops Unit, November Six, aka Nova Team

Status: Currently Engaged in Hostel Enemy Terrain

Location: Havoc Prison Space Station, just outside of Pluto Orbit

Children of War

Staff Sergeant Kristen Chambers Perspective

[Play Follow our Brothers Halo 3 on YouTube]

Boom!

The smoke from the explosion filled the hall, the loud bang echoed accompanied by sounds of bodies crashing against the walls and furnishings before hitting the floor and weepers of pain on the lips of the downed guards. A moment later two guards tried to rush into the room through the smoke and confusion, Gideon who was ready for such a tactic release several rounds into the chest of each combative first the one on the left followed by the one on the right. The hit the ground respectively.

Then there was silence. The lieutenant placed his hand on Gideon's shoulder then moved for him to ensure that the rest of the hall was indeed clear. Hugging the wall tightly Gideon lean slowly, peeking outside into the hall. Gideon sighted in down the hall, then looked to his Commander offering him a nod to confirm that the hall was indeed clear.

Lt. Miles nodded as he began to speak,"Chambers you and Gideon get to the docking bay, I have a feeling they're not just going to let us leave this place. If you encounter hostiles on the way, kill them, if you don't hold the position until Evac and if you die... get up and shake it off."

"Roger that Commander." Chamber replied motioning for Gideon to move to her position, she couldn't help but look into at the crack in the helmet that he wore that she had created. She wondered it hinder him in anyway then she quickly shook the thought from her head 'He's the best of us 'she thought to herself 'He'll be fine.' . "But what about you Forge, you going after Dexen?"

"I'm just going to have a talk with our little friend is all."Lt. Miles said leaning up against the entrance to an uncleared corridor, with mild excitement in his voice."See how that goes."

"Put a bullet in him for me sir." Chambers yells jokingly as she turn her back to him and begins to make her way back to the docks with Gideon on her tail.

"Now what did I tell you Staff Sergeant. First talk, then shot him. End of discussion." the lieutenant exclaimed fading into the darkness of the black and red lite room.

Warrant Officer Noel Radd Perspective

[Play A Martian Winter by Angel Vivalda on YouTube]

"Found One! Take him down!" a prisoner yelled as he saw the sight of a fair sized man, who's face was covered with a helmet with a tinted black visor and a shiny suit of ODST issued armor protecting his body with a jet black katana mounted on his back. The trooper looked back over his shoulder's and identified the treat, there were three fairly large men in orange prison jumpsuits, none of which had a firearm. One had a crudely made knife made out of a piece of glass with tape around one end to keep the prisoner from cutting themselves no doubt. the other two had no weapons in sight. The one with the knife rushed in expecting his pray to go down easy, he was mistaken. In a single swoop the trooper leaped into the air sending a flying kick downward across the man's face. He fell to the ground like a sack of bricks.

"Spotted by low-lives like you?" Warrant Officer Radd said to himself, "I must be losing it." Quickly the one of the two man helped the prisoner on the ground to his feet, while the other retrieved the knife.

"You think you're pretty tough huh?" the prisoner said as he made his way to his feet. He looked to his buddy who was now holding the knife and motion for him to go in for the attack. The prisoner hesitated but then proceeded to do so. Once he was close enough Phantom caught the wrist of the hand that was in possession of the knife with his right hand then sent a solid punch right into the mid section of the prisoner knocking the air out of him with his left hand. As the man gasped for air, Phantom proceeded to violently use the arm that was already within his grasp to position the man in a way so that he was facing his friends and the knife in the man's grasp was positioned at his own throat, the man's voice tried to escaped as he attempted to cry out in pain but no sound could be heard. The other two men watched in utter stock until the supposed leader slapped the other in the back of the head explaining that they should attack him from different sides. They move into position, the one in the front attacked first yelling as he moved, Phantom simply kicked the man in his grasp into him as he approach causing both men to stumble to the ground in a clumsy fashion. The other attacked from behind, however now that he was free from the burden of another man's weight the warrant officer was able to deal with him in a similar fashion as before, sending a flying heel kick to the side of his face causing him to spin out of control until eventually catching himself on a nearby wall.

The three men made their way to there feet, however they were breathing extremely heavily by this point. The Warrant Officer could see the look of exhaustion in their eyes, he knew they had one last attempt in them at most. They moved. Phantom activated his clocking system disappearing from sight, carefully he moved right before of one of the men and sent a right hook across his face causing him to stumble and fall before reappearing, the other two men took the opportunity to attack, first from the front then from the back. Phantom sent a straight leg kick into the chest of the one coming from the front then without even turning himself to face the other used the momentum from the impact to use the same leg to strike the knee of the one attacker from behind forcing him to the ground on hands and bended knees. Just then the one that took the right hook was back on his feet and with a familiar crudely shaped knife in hand. Phantom grabbed the hand the knife was in it then with a little joint manipulation positioned the man so that his face was forced just beneath the warrant officer crotch. Radd sent three quick knees into the man's face before flipping him onto his back taking the knife as he did. Radd throw the knife into the leg of the prisoner trying to stand, forcing him to the ground as he yelled in agony. Finshing off his opponents with a kick to the chin of the one on bended knee rendering him unconscious. The man with the knife in leg cried out in pain cursing up a storm as he did. The others lay silently in their involuntary slumber. "Like I said... minimal at best." the Warrant Officer whispered under his breath. Just then a hand exited from a dark corner of the room and rested itself on the trooper's shoulder. With no hesitation whatsoever Radd grabbed the hand of the unidentified individual, pinning him up against a nearby wall, drawing his pistol from his holster as he did.

"Take it easy fella." the man said,"You're a trooper ain't cha , so am I." It was a rather large man in an orange prison jumpsuit with bumps and bruises all over his face and hands. He had wild long black hair and a short black beard with spots of gray here and there was a southern North American accent in his voice. He may have looked a little differently but his voice and dialect were unmistakable.

"Holden?" Radd stated as he returned his pistol to his holster.

"Yeah... Radd is that you? Sorry I sneaked up on you like I did." Holden explained rubbing the area of his wrist the warrant officer recently assaulted,"Its just been far too long sense I've been able to tell a friendly just by looking at him."

Phantom looks up and down Holden's person before speaking,"Do you have a weapon?"

Holden pulls out a strange tool from his back pocket."Shot... only my skin penetration device fashioned from a spoon, maple syrup, and another man's baby teeth." Radd shuck his head and handed Holden one of the two silenced pistols that he was never went into battle without as well as a spree magazine before walking off. "Aren't you gonna ask how I freed myself or at least about the baby teeth?" Holden laughed following him.

"Actually." Warrant Officer Radd finally after a mild period of silence, "I couldn't care less. Save it for the Commander."

"And speaking of the Commanders..." Holden exclaimed, "All I was able to weasel out of those guards before I got away was something about having friends in high place. That's news to me. But, then to my surprise I found my good old friend Corporal Radd to the rescue." Radd let out a big breath of air before turning to him and revealing his well earned rank, "Warrant Officer?... da Fuck!"

Lieutenant Trent Miles Perspective

Lt. Miles sprinted down a nearby hall lite by the faint red of light of the emergency generator, the gray steel of the floors combined with the darkness of the space station gave off an alarming feel. Coming across an uncleared opened doorway he slowly pied the entrance with his battle rifle leaving as little of himself exposed as possible to enemy combatants. He spotted six Havoc prison guards searching the room lazily as if the were unsure of exactly what they were looking for. Carefully he positioned himself in a way so he could cleanly take them all out one by one, until the a voice over a communication system surprised him, causing him to abandon his plan and throw his body against the wall he was closes to with a loud thud. It was Lucy, "Commander, Warrant Officer Radd has confirmed contact with Nickolus Holden."

"Damn it Lucy! Little busy here." the lieutenant whispered with frustration in his voice. He was hugging the wall closely now, he could hear a few of the guards moving to investigate, he hope to deal them quietly and effectively but a certain sassy mouthed, violent tinted AI dashed all hope of that. The first guard walked to the doorway casually as if to prove that there was nothing dangerous on the other side. Noticing this Lt. Miles grabbed him by the chest plate of his uniform and spun the guard around his body 180 degrees before slamming him into the wall he hide behind.

"Everything okay down there Commander?" Lucy spoke trying to get a read on the situation. The Guard now pinned against the wall with the lieutenant weight bearing down on him threw his right elbow back trying to strike his attacker. The Lieutenant blocked the elbow with right arm then used his left hand to slam the guards head into the cold steel of the wall in front of him, stunning him. Then using his body as a counterweight of sorts the lieutenant placed the guard in a chock with his right arm then proceeded to fling the guard over his body, slamming him the ground with tremendous force before placing one last clean punch to the jaw knocking the guard unconscious. "Commander! Commander!" Lucy shouted repeatedly over the communication system.

"You know Lucy."Lt. Miles said clearly, pulling the charging handle on his Battle Rifle to send a fresh round into the chamber as he prepared himself for the now unavoidable battle to come, he could hear the other guards moving closer to his position probably to check up on their buddy who was now deeply lost in the land of dreams by this point. "Did I ever tell you how beautiful and welcoming you voice is?" he finally said.

"Then why do I suddenly get the feeling that my voice is none of those things." Lucy growled with contempt in her voice.

"Good instincts." the Lieutenant smiled, "Ah Lucy, you said ONI has been doing business with Dexen for a while right? Any idea how well-trained his guards are?"

"First you insult me and now you want to get information out of me?" Lucy's growled.

"Lucy." was all Lt. Miles had to say for Lucy to know that now was not the time for games.

"Alright alright... Let's see." Lucy thought for a second, "Dexen has always been somewhat of a cheapskate, never wanting to shove out the cash for any kind of high quality protection. He normally just hires second rate mercenaries and wanna be marines who couldn't make the cut in the UNSC, that sort of thing. That way he doesn't have to pay top dollar, and he keeps his personnel count high and his pockets loaded."

"Any kind of formal training issued by Dexen himself." The Lieutenant continued as he pulled a flash-bang from his grenade pouch.

"Not that I know of. Why?" Lucy replied not completing understanding the situation.

[Play An Erisian Autumn on YouTube]

"No Reason." Lt. Miles answered. The flash-bang was primed, and without a second thought he throw it into the room of enemy combatants, shielding the crack in his visor as he did so. "There were five of them." the lieutenant said to himself as he tried to shake the slight beeping sound from his ears but it was to no avail. Now certain that the enemy had been properly stunned he moved. The first guard was extremely close to the hall in which the lieutenant was hiding behind. A quick roundhouse kick to the back of the skull made his head bounce off the nearby door before he dropped to the floor. There were three more positioned at the far wall, with great swift the lieutenant took aim with his battle rifle and released three burst from his rifle, two of the guards were stuck in the shoulder, forcing them to drop their weapon. The unlucky one of the them took three bullets to the knee completely shattering it, he collapses roaring in agony. "One more left." the lieutenant utters under his breath as he surveyed the area only to see a half blind guard gripping his aching eyes with one hand and desperately running the other across the floor in search of his grounded rifle. His hand brushes over his weapon and a look of relief takes hold of his face. Ta ta ta! The rifle slides to a nearby wall as bullets from Lt. Miles' rifle connects with it.

The guard forces himself to his feet blinking his eyes rapidly still struggling to see, an angry yet determined look on his face. His puts his hands up as if to challenge the lieutenant to a one on one brawl. "Are you serious right now?" the lieutenant mocked as he took aim at the guards left leg, "Normally I'd be more than happy to pummel you into the dirt, but I've got a little get together planned with your boss sooo." Just then another guard grabbed him from behind while simultaneously knocking his weapon from his grasp. "The hell! Where'd you come from?" Lt. Miles yelled trying to break free of the guard's grip and failing miserably, "Let me guess you were behind the door the entire time, can't take into account what I can't see." Just then the men in front of him raced forward to deliver a quick jab to the face. Lt. Miles waited for him to move into range and then used both his legs to kick out at the man's chest using him as a springboard to propel himself and his attacker toward the far wall. Crash! The attacker's back hits the wall violently, angry now the guard slams Lt. Miles front into the wall so now he is the one leaning on it. The lieutenant throws his head back violently, the back of his helmet striking the guard's Kevlar helmet causing him to stubble and the helmet to fall off. The guard's grip loosened a little but not enough for an escape. Once he had his balance back the guard took a step back taking the lieutenant with him, then slammed the trooper against the wall again, he moved back yet again this time even further than before most likely with the same tactic in mind, however this time Lt. Miles was ready for it. As the two moved towards the wall, the Lieutenant pressed his feet up against the wall and proceeded to run up the wall flipping and landing behind at the guard's rear freeing himself in the process.

The guards looks up at the lieutenant in disbelief, without thinking he takes a step back and then another so that now his back was now to the wall where he previously held the trooper captive. In a single movement the lieutenant kicked up, as his foot made contact with the guard's skull, the guard's skull made contact with the wall behind him. All the life left the guard's eyes as he slide down against the wall until he lay dormant on the floor. Breathing heavily Lt. Miles reaches down and picks up his battle rifle beneath him. When he turns around to his surprise he sees the same guard as before with his hands up with the intent to fight. The lieutenant looks at his rifle then back to the guard, then to his rifle then back to the guard. "Ah what the hell." the trooper exclaimed as he leans his battle rifle against a nearby wall. The guard smiles. Suddenly Lt. Miles reaches into his holster and with his pistol releases a single round into the man's left foot. The man falls to the ground rolling in pain. "Dumb ass." the trooper whispers under his breath as he palms his rifle and exits the room, taking out guards and prisoners alike with single round burst from his battle rifle as they approach.

[Play Halo 3 ODST Deference for Darkness on YouTube]

Suddenly a voice is heard over the communication system. "Commander... Commander do you copy?" Chambers shouts.

"Chambers?" Lt. Miles replies, "Have you cleared the docking area?"

"Kinda ended up on a little detour, but Gideon's on it." Chambers responds "Don't touch that!".

"Well with the way these guy fight he should have no problem." the lieutenant stated, "What's this about a detour? Don't touch what?"

All of the sudden an unknown voice echos over the radio, "I want mommy!"

"Calm down sweetheart." Chambers voice quickly follows it.

"Sweetheart?" the lieutenant says to himself before replying, "Chamber what the hell is going on?"

"Commander..." Chambers hesitates, "I found a little girl. She says there are other children on the space station."

"Children?" Lt. Miles starts "This station is war zone right now! What in the world are children doing here? Are they family members of the guards and staff?"

"Doubt it. I gave the her here a quick look over and found evidence of chains on her wrist and ankles." Chambers replied, "I don't know why these kids are here, but its definitely not by choice."

"Can you keep them safe?" Lt. Miles exclaims.

"I'll do my best sir. Currently moving to their position as we speak." Chamber explains.

"You mean you're not already there?" the Lieutenant quickly asked.

"Commander this place is huge if I just went wandering around you wouldn't see me again for a month." Chambers replied, "I'm following the little girl, she seems to have some idea where she's going. She' leading me to the others. I think we're almost... I see them!...Oh my god. Commander you're gonna wanna she this."

"Damn it, What now?" the lieutenant huffed before speaking, "Alright Chamber turn on your distress tracer so we're not moving completely blind out there. Radd you and Holden meet up with me at Chamber's position. And Gideon you(The sound of gunfire rings on Gideon's side of the transmission) you... just keep doing whatever it is that you're doing, and by that I mean not dying. Time to found out what Dexen's been up to ladies and gents."

"Roger!" The voices of the troopers synchronize over the communication system as they each moved to carry out the objectives they were given.

A/N: Hey guys I put a lot of time and energy in to this, and I hope you guys enjoy it. Found out what it is exactly that Dexen has been up to, and how this team of trooper plans to take him down in the next chapter, and there I might even be a few surprise in store. and as always R&R and enjoy.