Chapter 14
Divided
September 18, 2554
05:45 Hours, Earth Time
Ship: Midnight Enforcer
ODST Spec Ops Unit, November Six, aka Nova Team
Status: Dropping
Location: New Mombasa, Southern Kenya
The lights of the various switches and buttons inside the drop pod flickered off for a second that bordered on an eternity before coming back to life, the blue flames of re-entry engulfed the exterior of the pod as the surface of the planet inched itself ever closer. A feeling of dread washed over Lt. Miles, tho this was far from his first drop he couldn't quite shake the fear of being shot down while still in his pod. The thought of reaching hell before his feet ever got to reach the ground had always frightened him to no end, he knew his pod had its own built-in manual control option but that and of itself only did so much. It was a common debate among the ODST whether those things ended more lives than they saved. Eventually, he managed to convince himself to chalk anything not directly under his control in the category of occupational hazard, it would have driven him insane otherwise.
Suddenly the monitor inside his pod began to flash a bright red, "WARNING!" began to flash repeatedly overtaking multiple monitors. Quickly the lieutenant made contact with his fellow troopers.
He yelled, "What the hell is going on?"
Lucy replied, "It's Gideon's pod sir, there's no response and his fall trajectory is... he's on a collision course."
"With what?"
"With you! Brace for impact it's going to be a rough landing."
Slow but surely Gideon's pod made its way toward the pod of the Lieutenant. CRASH! The two pods made contact for less than a microsecond before both were violently hauled in opposite directions tossing their occupants to and fro. As the added G-force kicked in Lt. Miles tried everything in his power to remain conscious. His body tensed up, holding on to two of the handles placed on the far sides of the pod to help brace himself. He could feel his grip loosen as his body started to relax, He knew it was only a matter of time before he passed out. Quickly he smashed the manual tracker installed on his pod as the fleeting voice of Lucy rang in his ears before the darkness enveloped him.
"Hold on Sir! Hold on..."
[Play Halo ODST Deference for Darkness on YouTube]
Lt. Miles awoke moments after impact with the surface, barely conscious and temporarily blinded by sunlight when his pod was suddenly opened from the outside, He was unable to make out the identity of this intruder he could see only the darkened figure of a man reaching out towards him one moment and then removing his helmet the next. It was at that time the Lieutenant realized he was slipping in and out of consciousness. He heard a muted voice as the man spoke calmly into some sort of a communication device.
"He's still alive... It's already been taken care of... Should I have the other extract him?... Understood."
Suddenly the man stepped away from the pod. That's when to the lieutenant's surprise the door of his pod began inching its way back over the surface of his pod, someone was resealing it? But as the darkness of the pod took hold, unconsciousness soon followed.
Lt. Miles awoke several hours later in a daze, to the sound of distant mortar fire. It took him mere moments to have realized what had happened and he was less than thrilled about it. He decided to deal with the mysterious man when he had a better sense of the situation and not a moment sooner. But first, he had to found a way out of his pod. He began reaching for the emergency escape switches scattered throughout his pod, suddenly stopping once a crippling pain erupted in his chest, wincing in pain as he grabbed his rib cage with his right hand. A fractured rib? He hoped not. He took a moment to rest, finally hitting the last emergency switch. Nothing happened. He took a closer look at the pod door only to notice water leaking in from the top of the pod door. The door wasn't reattached, instead, it was simply leaning up against the front of his pod if only for the purpose of hiding him.
"Fan-fucking-tastic." The Lieutenant said to himself as he pressed both his boots up against the pod door and began to push. He felt the door began to move as the pain in his chest hit him again. He stopped breathing in quick short breaths as he grabbed his side, "Yep it's probably fractured." It took some effort but the door eventually toppled to the ground with a thump! followed swiftly but the Lieutenant's helmet that had been resting atop of it. With the door opened Lt. Miles could now see that it was raining, explaining the water leaking into his pod. As he made his way to his feet he analyzed the surrounding area. His pod had crashed through the side of one building and into the basement of another which might have explained way he was still alive. He moved to pick up his helmet only to notice the communication system within it had been completely removed.
"Damn it."
He placed his helmet on his head, then moved to recover his weapons from his pod. He placed his silenced pistol in his holster before securing his Battle rifle in his grasp. Suddenly he heard a loud hum in the distance that could only be recognized as the sound of Phantom engines closing in. For a moment a spotlight shone through the hole in the building that the Lieutenant's pod created before continuing on its way. Lt. Miles kept his head down until the Phantom passed, once he thought the coast was clear he began to move, he soon noticed that a patrol of elites was closing in. He stayed down, peaking only once, he was certain that the patrol had passed. He sighted in on the patrol with his battle rifle trying to ensure that none of them looked back. No one did. He began moving in the opposite direction.
September 18, 2554
05:35 Hours, Earth Time
Ship: AESIR's Headquarters
Former Nova Team Tech Specialist Catherine Armin
Status: Unknown
Location: New Mombasa, Southern Kenya
[Play Halo Reach OST: Both Ways on YouTube]
Armin's smile slowly began to shift as she sees two of the pods enter the atmosphere moving erratically, throwing themselves in opposite directions. That could only mean one thing, a collision. She took off her helmet to see the incident with her own eyes.
"Fucking A," she said to herself, as she ran towards the resting vehicles just inside the HQ's perimeter. An Aesir mechanic moved cautiously to intercept her then began to sprint frantically when he realized it was her.
"NO! no no no no no." The mechanic yelled hysterically, "Absolutely not. I refuse to let you take a vehicle outside the perimeter ever again.
"Robby... you're hurting my feelings." Armin shot a mischievous smile to the brown skinned pudgy man standing before her. He was wearing blue coveralls with the top half hanging from his waist revealing an oil covered wife beater underneath accompanying his thinning hairline. "You make it sound like you can't trust me or something." Robby shoots her a face that said, I can't trust you and we both know why.
"So I've damaged and/or misplaced a vic or two." Armin sighed throwing one of her leg over a nearby Mongoose, "It's not like you're the one paying for it."
"No." Robby says clearly trying to bottle his anger., "I'm just the idiot who has to fix it!"
"Sounds like a personal problem." Armin's mischievous smile returned, "But, I see your point. Tell ya what, name one time I personally mistreated one of your vehicles and I'll call the whole thing off, I'll even leave HQ on foot if I have to. Deal?"
"Sure, I can do that."Robby dawned a cocky smile as he begins, "What about the time your Mongoose was covered in plasma burns."
"How was I supposed to know that a grunt would decide to go all kamikaze right next to where I left it, you can't honestly blame me for that one."
"What about the time you brought that Warthog back after fencing its outer armor and turret system."
"Allegedly. There was never anything found to prove that."
"Oh, come on! The armor had been professionally removed, I couldn't have done it better myself."
"Do you mean that? I'll be sure to let the guys know next time they're in town." Armin winked. "Just Kidding."
Robby grit his teeth as he thought, "at least give me the common courtesy of lying to me so I don't get dragged into your mess." Quickly, he regained his composure, "And who could forget the infamous day when you ran a couple of elite over with our brand new AV-30 Kestrel unit."
"..." Armin donned her helmet in silence, as she moved her hand towards the ignition switch and started the vehicle. "Would you believe me if I tell you they were asking for it?"
"Hey Wait! What the hell do you think you're doing?" Robby moved his hand towards the ignition switch of the Mongoose until he realized that he was staring down the barrel of an M7 SMG. He froze, "We had a deal." he said through his teeth trying to move as little as possible.
"Back the hell up!" Armin said with intensity in her eyes, "Boss lady demands results and I'm gonna give em to her and if that means that I have to wreck one or two hunks of junks to do it, well... Better them than you am I right?" Robby took a step back allowing Armin to holster her weapon. "Besides, I told you to name one vehicle I wrecked, you named three."
"But that's just..." was all he had time to say before Armin was on her way.
"Later Robby!" Armin yelled as she began to dissipate in the distance, "I'll buy you a beer next time I see ya!"
"That is one crazy lady." Robby exhaled.
September 18, 2554
05:45 Hours, Earth Time
Ship: Midnight Enforcer
Nova Team Rifleman Adam Gideon
Status: Unknown
Location: New Mombasa, Southern Kenya
[Play Zack Hemsey- See what I've Become on YouTube]
Lance Corporal Gideon exits his pod carefully surveying the area carefully. It was as if his eyes and his rifle were linked where one went the other quickly followed. Stopping only once he was absolutely sure the area was clear. He bent down on one knee and opened up the set of orders sent directly to his terminal by the Director. He acknowledged his order as he moved down a dark alley and disappeared into the shadows.