CNRD facility codenamed: RAINDROP
Two miles northwest of Sierno, Providence
November 29, 2557
Meredith Adrian took point, leading the Spartans in an eerie silence back towards the Department facility. The rain had now subsided falling, but moving under the trees kept them susceptible to drops that fell from overhanging branches.
Roads from Pine and Austal's scouting had proved that the brutes were making a major advancement inside the facility. Outside, they heard the droning of phantom dropships overhead plus a brute growl.
"Whatever we're doing here," Bowman noted, "We better be quick about it."
"We should be in and out once I get ahold of the project." Adrian replied, "I won't take long."
Adrian led them to a rear entrance and began to enter when suddenly; Bowman put his hand in front, stalling her advance.
"Stay behind Fowler."
"Yes sir." She replied challengingly.
She moved over to a maintenance section directly behind the front administration desk and shifted a large drawer out of the way. There was no paying heed to a coffee machine plus baskets, who fell to the floor with a dull thud upon being moved.
Behind the drawer, Adrian produced a razor and ran her hand along the side. Her eyes lit up and she jammed the blade inside. Rather than make a solid thunk and be partially buried, it punched straight through the thin wallpaper.
The Spartans left her to work and moved out to establish a small perimeter surrounding the agent. They kept their weapons trained on various points where enemies had the potential to appear. In addition, they also kept eyesight on at least one another, relying on subtle hand signals and body gestures.
She worked it along the cracks, eventually carving out a four foot space to tear off. Beneath it was a seal, which was pried off by the blade as well. The seal was a self-adhesive that could be repainted on the seam as to prevent water from leaking in. Considering the amount of rainfall this place had got, a flash flood could spell disaster for whatever the CNRD had locked up.
Next was a metal door that was easily removed and set down on the ground. Adrian twisted a dial for a combo lock and it clicked, causing a small cylindrical object to emerge.
"Retinal scanner." She explained before putting her left eye to the end. A second later, a ten foot incision was made in a rectangular door shape that sliced away the remaining wallpaper.
Lights snapped on in a downward metal staircase that leveled out at about fifteen feet underneath. Bowman guessed that this passage ran underground and where the CNRD's more sensitive stuff was put.
Adrian ushered the Spartans downstairs before shutting the door herself. They heard a couple of locks sliding home followed by a loud hiss.
"How are we going to get out?" Fowler asked.
"Same way we came in."
The corridor before them opened up, being lit by dim blue lights that gave the place a ghostly haunted feeling. On each side of the wall were large metal doors that stretched four on either side. Beyond that was a split corridor that must've housed even more.
"What is this place?"
"One of the Department's vaults for keeping sensitive and classified information." Adrian responded, looking at the bright blue holographic numbers to the top right of each door. "It contains everything. Databanks, research, every employee dossier…"
"What's the significance?" Bowman asked, "All this security and hidden measures rivals what the Naval Intelligence spooks use."
"We're responsible for the well-being of every colony that is in the Unified Earth Government and to an extent…some of those that are involved with insurrections. Project Gaia is one of those projects we've tried to keep from prying eyes because we don't want to raise any assumptions."
They had stopped at a vault labeled 15. Adrian removed one of her gloves and pressed her hand onto the scanner pad. It blinked green and they heard the bolts unlock.
Adrian fastened the glove back on her hand and swung the heavy door open. The chamber inside was about four feet long and wide enough to fit the two Spartans side by side.
Resting on the pedestal in the center was a metal box the size of a briefcase. Adrian thumbed a small numberpad and clicked the straps open. The Spartans noticed that it had a watertight seal when it was shut. Atop the case's open side were four letters in black font: GAIA.
"Password is extremely sensitive." Adrian explained, turning the case around for them to see. Inside were three elongated metal strips covered by black plastic and ending in sockets. It took them a second to realize they were ordinary computer drives. "I was given it by our mission commander himself. Nobody, not even our director boards know what it is."
"Which means?" Fowler asked, extending a hand halfway for her to continue.
"Which means that I am the only one that can open this case." Adrian closed it and engaged the seal once more. The case hissed and they heard a metal lock slide into place. "These cases are nearly indestructible. There are few ways to get inside one of these cases without destroying or seriously damaging the cargo."
"Austal, you're up carrying the case."
"No." Meredith firmly shot back, "This is my mission and I don't trust anyone else to handle it."
"Agent, I completely understand the value of that case."
"I don't think you do Captain." Pine noticed her stance starting to become aggressive, "You have no idea what the hell I've been through to get to this point."
"And you know what we have?"
"To start, I haven't slept in thirty-six hours."
Bowman scoffed, "You know me and my team have run the last seventy two with just three of them sleeping?"
"Stop." Austal firmly said, thrusting a hand in front of them. Bowman, Adrian and even Fowler were deftly surprised at his sudden sternness. "Can Agent Adrian and I get a minute alone?"
"Why, you going to frisk her?" Fowler sneered. Bowman, knowing what he had in mind tapped his shoulder and they both exited the vault. Pine kept an eye on the corridor at the end, sniper rifle raised and alert.
Austal made sure they were out of earshot before he reached up and pulled off his angular Scout helmet. He took a deep breath and exhaled it out, eyes closed as if meditating.
Adrian's expression went to a bit of shock; she hadn't expected Austal to be that young.
"How old are you?" Curiosity got the better of her.
"Twenty-two." That was nearly two thirds her own age and yet this Spartan could've passed for a model representing a hip line of men's clothing. "Listen Agent Adrian, Eon is under attack. Not literally us, but someone is targeting something very valuable to all of us. Completing our mission is the best thing we can do as a Spartan to get over these little incidents that have been plaguing our personal lives. I'll take that case and you have my word that I'll hand it back to you in the same condition I took it in."
He reached over. When she pulled it out of his outstretched arm, he cocked a quizzical look, "Don't trust me? How about an indirect thing from Bowman, one squad leader to another."
"I've lost so much." Adrian looked defeated.
"Let's try to stop the loss of anything more." Austal accepted the case and placed it on a magnetic secure on the back of his waist armor. "If it makes you feel better, we'll be heading back to the final UNSC base by New Addie. Just think of hot food and warm sleeping bags."
"You sure know how to woo a lady." Adrian smiled thinly. It was the first time he had seen her do so.
He was surprised by the comment, but chose to ignore it. "C'mon, let's get out of here."
"What the hell took you so long?" Fowler grumbled as Austal and Adrian finally exited the vault area.
"Our package was a little shaken by the events. They've been taking a toll on her health."
"Good to hear." Bowman put a hand on Adrian's shoulder, "You going to be okay?"
"Yes." It was as if she hadn't changed her rigidness after the brief confrontation with the Captain. "Now what's the plan?"
"I managed to get a brief moment with Tyrant. The CNRD has sent an evac bird that's going to rendezvous with us at a square about a klick away from here. From there, we'll be heading to the Lumbar Mountains for evac."
"Good enough for me."
Pine and Fowler had just reached the main entrance when suddenly the former held up a fist. On instinct, the Spartans all froze in their tracks.
"Hey." He whispered, "Does something feel a little off to you?"
"What the?" Fowler's next curse was halfway out of his mouth when he realized the danger, "AMBUSH!"
All of a sudden, from four unknown points of origin, bullets began flying all over the place. Fowler and Pine had found cover behind the main walls while Bowman and Adrian rushed behind the administration desk. Austal shifted to their left, trying to see where their attackers were shooting from.
"Shit! We're right in the kill zone!"
Fowler broke cover and dove to the ground, just as a rocket hit the wall he was hiding behind. It exploded into fragments and flew everywhere.
"Where the hell are they shooting from?"
It was clear that the Spartans had the disadvantage. Their lack of HUD was just one thing that made finding their hidden adversaries so much harder.
Through the bleak area, Pine managed to barely scope out a white figure outlined in the distance. Quickly centering the scope onto center mass, he pulled the trigger. The figure vanished in a spray of inner body fluids and collapsed.
"Move from cover to cover and work your way out!" Bowman shouted.
"Got one!" Fowler's rifle had smoke trailing out of it.
Bowman saw movement ahead and snapped off a burst from his own weapon. The figure collapsed and had slowing movements.
By now, the initial shock of the ambush had worn out, the battle now falling in Eon's favor. Austal popped one with his pistol, the hostile's weapon; the familiar twin tubed M41 rocket launcher clattered to the street.
Bowman vaulted cover and dove straight for the power weapon, scooping up the handle. He rolled to a kneeling position and sighted the final firing hostile. By feeling the weapon's surprisingly light weight, he still knew that there was at least one rocket inside.
Squeezing the trigger, the weapon hissed, spitting out the missile and accelerating up to the building roof with unbelievable force.
The explosion must've echoed through the entire town and the fireball was hot enough for the Spartans to feel underneath their armor. The gunman had simply vanished in the fireball.
"Clear!"
"Form up on our wounded."
The Spartans and Adrian crowded around the single wounded hostile. He was moaning and had his hands placed on his hip, right where two of Bowman's battle rifle shots had went through. He was dressed in a dull gray rainjacket and had standard cargo pants that were brown in color. The dull shades and with the mist concealing them, they had a clear sight of Eon, but they remained so well hidden that it took a while for the Spartans to deduce their actual positions. All that thanks to the lack of their HUD.
"There's still a bullet in his hip." Pine said as he examined the wound.
The Spartans stood there for a few seconds but the next thing that happened would've blown all of their minds. Adrian stepped in and coldly put two more shots straight in the man's forehead.
"The hell?" Bowman angrily turned around for an explanation.
"That man is part of a mercenary gang, led by none other than Ivey." Adrian calmly explained, "He is affiliated with terrorist Zachary Gustafson and has been on the wanted list of the CNRD for years."
"So why did you kill him?"
"There's no point in interrogating him as he wouldn't talk anyway."
"We would've made the prick talk." Fowler said from behind them, popping his knuckles, "Me and my little brother here have a few tricks we've been itching to experiment with."
"Either way, Ivey knows what we're up to."
Pine spoke up, "Agent Adrian, what exactly is Ivey after?"
She pointed to the case on Austal's armor. "That. Project GAIA."
Eon and Adrian had reached the designated LZ in ten minutes. It sat at the dockside of a large river alongside a road and several building foundations. The rain had made its presence known again by a light drizzle that felt surprisingly refreshing.
"Fireteam Eon, this is Striker. I'm en route to the LZ, but I can't hang around for long. ETA is ninety seconds."
"Understood."
"I hope the pilot can see us through all this mist." Fowler said. "The fact that we couldn't see those bastards is scary shit."
"Don't get distracted by our lack of instruments." Bowman snapped, "We've survived without our gear before and we can do it now. Let's make sure he can." He reached into a pouch on his belt and removed a flare. He struck it and tossed it in the street center.
Eventually the team heard the rumbling of rotors and saw an airframe of a UH-144 Falcon emerge from above the rooftops. Painted in the white and green colors of the CNRD, it did a full circle of the area before making its way back down.
Immediately, Fowler and Austal began to escort Adrian towards the center of the road.
In most cases, extraction was a huge relief that the mission was finally over, but Bowman had many experiences where getting onboard an aircraft to leave could be just the beginning of the real fight. He paid attention to subtle signs of danger and something was screaming at him that shit was about to go haywire.
His instincts proved right.
All the time, the Covenant were so pressed to get their hands on project Gaia, three data disks inside a waterproof case on Austal's ass. The fact that they hadn't shown up at all during their retrieval of GAIA was odd. While the rest of Eon dismissed it as regrouping, Bowman was practically screaming TRAP!
Fowler saw it too, four big orbs of plasma grenades all in flight directly for them.
"Get down!" Without warning, he pushed Austal and Adrian to the ground.
The plasma launcher grenades stuck themselves on the side of the tiltrotor aircraft and subsequently detonated a split second later. Eon was showered with the heat from the explosion and pelted by debris flying everywhere.
The falcon was now a charred piece of scrap and the pilot was nowhere to be seen.
A screech came from atop one of the buildings as nearly half a dozen jackal sharpshooters took position. On the ground level, they saw twice as many grunts, jackals that had popped on their blue energy shields and snarling brutes.
"Eon, get into defensive positions. Formation Foxtrot!" Bowman shouted. Already the bullets and plasma began to fly as the Covenant steadily advanced on their position. "Protect Adrian!"
If Austal had to give Adrian any credit, which he had already done, she didn't need no big Spartans protecting her, although the five of them were already having a hard time holding off the Covenant onslaught.
Pine tossed his last frag grenade into a group of jackals and then retrieved his sniper rifle, putting down a brute captain in the process, "Target down!"
"We got hunters!" Adrian shouted.
The lumbering spike backed pair walked right up to the edge of their cover and launched an onslaught of explosive bolts right at their position. Eon reflexively ducked back as they felt bits of debris and concrete pelt their arms and back.
Pine was capping every jackal sniper and happily called out that they were all down. Now the team could concentrate on the ground troops without fear of getting zapped by a carbine.
A brute rounded Austal's position, causing him to break fire from another and whack him in the chest. The apelike creature snarled and primed a spike grenade.
Just as he was about to throw it, Adrian threw herself at the arm as if she was a linebacker going for a football. Her motion caused the grenade to sail right over Austal's head, missing him by half a foot. It stuck in a pillar and detonated harmlessly, shattering the stone.
A new rumbling sound caught the young Spartan's attention and he looked over, knowing what it was. "We got armor inbound!"
Bowman pivoted the rocket launcher and squeezed off his last shot. The rocket slammed into the wraith's chassis and to his dismay, merely killed the single grunt manning the secondary turret. Sparks began to fly out of a crack, but the tank was pretty much still intact. Damn those improved armor wraiths…
"Shit I'm out of explosives!"
"Me too!" Fowler shouted.
"To the river now!"
"You gotta be kidding me."
With newfound vigor, Eon and Adrian turned and sprinted to the water's edge. In the process, Adrian felt a burning pain in her left thigh and saw a metal spike embedded inside. "I'm hit!"
"River!" Bowman repeated.
Fowler tossed his weapons to the floor, "This is COMPLETE FUCKING BULLSHIT!"
Both Adrian and the Spartans dove into the drink and vanished with a splash. The brutes looked over the side, weapons ready to see if they would surface. After a few moments, they turned back, having more prioritizing issues. The recovery of GAIA would be later, stated by their prophet.
On an adjacent rooftop, Ivey and two of his men casually had observed the firefight. He tapped his man on the shoulder and they quietly departed the city.
With the retrieval of project GAIA, the Spartans are out to the Lumbar Mountain Range, where there will be plenty more surprises!
Thanks for reading and reviewing, you give my writing purpose.