Chapter Four - Surprise

0813 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /

Aboard Covenant destroyer, Epsilon Eridani System

"Are you sure?" Jack asked.

"Positive. There is no way out of here. All doors are shut and locked from the outside. I double-checked myself," Eric said, as Ashley and Logan returned from their search.

"Triple-checked, now," Ashley said as they joined them. Rachel crouched nearby, fiddling with the door's control panel. With an exasperated sigh, she tossed down her decoder and looked at Jack, awaiting orders. Logan tapped his pistol absentmindedly against his thigh, seemingly careless.

Focus, Jack. What would John have done?

When you've run out of options, make more.

Jack could almost hear the Spartan's words in his head, spoken at the end of a training session in which John had tossed his gun into the air to distract automated turrets while he sprinted across the field and rang a bell. He remembered asking him how he had thought of that, when all the others had either attempted to disable the turrets or simply run for it and take the rubber bullets like a sponge. Jack had truly come to accept John as his leader at that moment, when his words and actions had proven to the others that insurmountable odds could be overcome, with some innovative thinking and a touch of luck.

But John was long gone, far beyond the canvas of reality into slipspace, leaving the molten slag of his home world behind. Dead, most likely.

But Jack wasn't, and it was his job to complete John's mission, no matter the obstacles.

By now, the air had long since been depleted in the chamber, and only a minute and a half had ticked by breathing reserve oxygen. The Covenant no doubt suspected they'd have several minutes' worth of air in their suits, so they wouldn't be hesitant to wait around all day for them to die. But they didn't know how much they had. Perhaps it could work…

"Spartans, remain where you are. Do not acknowledge my order in any visible form. Here's the plan…"

o o o

Golo Zalamuu clicked his mandibles in wicked delight at the glowing display on the screen before him. He had been charged to monitor the movements of the intruders while they put the enclosed corridors into a vacuum. Fearing he would have to sit and wait for hours before he was able to enjoy their silent and agonizing deaths, Zalamuu had scowled at the demons as they attempted to find a way out.

They didn't squirm in fear, like the Grunts, they didn't squeal in panic, like the Jackals; they merely paced and searched, perfectly silent, cold and calculating. No doubt their deaths would be calm and uneventful. Then again, Zalamuu had nothing better to do while the Engineers worked fervently at repairing the ship's engines.

But now, oh yes, they were beginning to show the signs. The intruders had suddenly redoubled their search, and one of them had begun to slam its fist repeatedly against a pair of closed doors. At precisely the same moment, all of their movements slowed, the one against the door sliding wearily to the floor, clawing at the seam. Another weakly raised his pistol and began firing rounds against a wall, the bullets ricocheting about the chamber. Soon each had slumped to the ground, lifeless. The pistol clanked to the floor, empty.

Ah, now that was a spectacle. Zalamuu activated his communicator and spread the news to his higher-ups.

o o o

Many minutes passed for the Spartans as they lay there, wondering how long until a scouting team was sent. The Covenant were either more cautious or more slow than they had realized. Seven minutes left of air…

A gentle hiss as a set of doors parted and atmosphere vented into the room. Three Grunts stepped warily into the corridor, followed by a blue armored Elite and a red one. Jack set a countdown timer in each Spartan's HUD, and all waited patiently as thirty seconds began to tick by. The Covenant soldiers cautiously stepped over the bodies, sniffing at them, with a tentative kick now and then.

0:22.

The red Elite knelt before Logan, sitting slumped against the wall, his emptied pistol lying inches from his grasp.

0:17.

The alien pressed a plasma rifle against the side of his helmet, growling through its wavering mandibles.

0:13.

Jack lay on the floor at Logan's feet, watching the scene through his visor. Three orange panic lights blinked from the others…but Logan remained calm. Jack knew in his stubbornness Logan would voluntarily die right then and there, a pointless casualty added to the growing list of glorified Spartans. The others silently screamed at Jack to give the command.

0:10.

The Elite clicked its mandibles and squeezed the trigger.

The timer skipped to 0:00.

Five Spartans exploded into action, each slamming an enemy Covenant against a wall. Logan's shields had taken the brunt of the first few plasma shots, but now he threw punch after punch against the Elite's chest, dropping its shields. Jack heard the others dispose of the Grunts with several gunshots as he tackled the blue Elite and brought it to the floor. The Elite shot its hands to Jack's neckline, dropping his shields and groping to unlatch his helmet. Instead of resisting the alien's efforts, Jack used his own hands to reach and snatch the Elite's fallen needler.

Jack's helmet was thrown off just as he pressed the needler muzzle between the Elite's mandibles, deep into its throat. Several high pitch whines, the tearing of flesh, and Jack leapt from his victim as its head exploded in a flash of pink light.

Jack rolled onto his back, gasping in the thin air. He found a plasma rifle aimed between his eyes.

Logan stood over him; the others were too engaged finishing the red Elite to notice.

"I should kill you right now," Logan said, finger twitching on the trigger. Jack was more angry than afraid. To think that Logan would murder him in cold blood, pass it off as the doing of the blue Elite, and then take command for himself. After all, Logan was Green Two, second in command. If Jack survived the next few seconds, he would see to change that.

Rachel suddenly turned from the rest as Ashley put a pistol barrel to the red Elite's head and fired, piercing its helmet and shattering its skull. Rachel raised her own pistol and aimed it squarely at Logan. He twisted his body to regard her, offering his other hand to help Jack up instead. The hand was taken, but when Logan looked back at Jack he found a needler pressed against his faceplate.

Rachel shifted her aim at Jack, then back at Logan, then lowered it in resignation. There was nothing she could do to hold their team together. Before, she had always found a way to keep things optimistic, but now…she couldn't help but watch her friends' rivalry unfold into a lethal battle of wills. Besides, she could never have pulled the trigger on either one of them even if she had tried. They were her family…

"I should have you strapped to a bomb and unloaded from this ship for insubordination and treason," Jack said, panting from the adrenaline of the previous moments, let alone his growing anger. By then Ashley and Eric had moved to the open doorway just in time to stop it from sliding shut, but no one seemed to notice their struggle.

"We can settle this later," Rachel said quietly, yet forcefully at the same time. If Jack wasn't mistaken, he thought he had heard her voice tremble. That snapped him out of it. What were they doing?

Jack lowered his weapon and moved to retrieve his helmet, clicking it back into place with a gentle hiss. He glanced at Logan one more time and strode to the doors, offering to take Ashley's place. The others filed through, Logan diving through last after having taken Eric's position.

Jack took the lead as he began to jog down the new corridor, calling back, "We have to keep moving. They could close off any of these passageways at any moment. They won't fall for the same trick twice." The five Spartans moved from corner to corner, carrying what few weapons and ammo they had.

o o o

They encountered several parties of Covenant soldiers, ranging from Grunts, to Jackals, to Elites. But every one of them fell quickly before Green Team's lethal efficiency. The odds were in their favor now, as each cluster of enemies was congested by the narrow corridors. By the time the Spartans neared the control room, they all had retrieved dropped Covenant weapons. Only Jack still carried his M6D on his hip, just three bullets left inside the magazine.

Logan and Jack each aimed their plasma rifles at the doors, while Rachel moved to the access panel. Eric and Ashley watched their rear with trained needlers. No doubt it would be locked, and they'd have to bust their way through. But they had to try. Rachel stepped back as her decoder flashed green.

Access granted.

Surprised, she immediately dove through the parting doors, rolling to come up on her knees, a plasma rifle scanning the room as Jack and Logan fell alongside her.

Empty.

Eric and Ashley slowly backed inside through the open doorway, weapons still focused on their retreat route. Rachel rose to her feet and joined Jack and Logan as they began a cautious search of the control room. Jack lowered his weapon.

Strange. No one was here. They certainly hadn't encountered the crew in the corridors…had they evacuated? No, too easy. There was only one other option.

"Spartans…this must be a-,"

"Trap…"

The voice was gurgled, and everyone turned to see Ashley, a shimmering energy sword sliding out from her armored chest from behind. The doors hissed shut and locked as her body slumped to the purple deck now tinged with the sinister taste of dark red blood.

Eric shouted something incoherent and fired pink needles blindly at the wavering figure dashing towards Jack with the sword. Rachel and Logan were soon preoccupied as two more cloaked Elites leapt at them seemingly from nowhere.

Eric knelt by Ashley's side and fumbled to find a tube of biofoam, even as spurts of blood flicked from her chest. She spoke softly to Eric, her voice picking up over the Spartans' COM Channel; everyone could hear her dying words as they fought for their lives.

"Eric…please…"

Jack fired two plasma bursts at the Elite, disabling his camouflage momentarily, then tossed down his plasma rifle, bracing his feet for the collision.

"Help them…"

The Elite thrust the crackling energy sword at Jack's waistline, who twisted his body to narrowly avoid the jab, meanwhile shooting his hands down to grab and twist the Elite's wrist. The energy weapon dropped from its grasp, deactivating and clanking softly to the deck, rolling away from the two combatants as they fell to the floor.

"I can't leave you!" Eric whispered back to her, "You'll be alright, just hang on a minute…"

Rachel and Logan each slammed their elbows into their opponents' stomachs. Rachel flung her Elite over onto its back and thrust her plasma rifle into its mouth, holding down the trigger until the weapon overheated and the alien's head and face melted into the deck.

"Eric…you're a Spartan…you have a duty…to the team…"

Logan used his foot to hook it around his Elite's ankle, tripping the Covenant warrior and causing it to fall away from him. As it fell, Logan wrenched its energy sword from its grasp and brought it high over his head, just as the collapsing Elite retrieved and primed a plasma grenade.

"We don't have to be soldiers! Ashley, I love you, don't leave me now! You're going to be fine, just…"

Jack slammed his head against the Elite's repeatedly, until both their shields had faded. Now Jack was able to get a better grip on the alien's throat. But the Elite rolled them both over and snatched the fallen energy sword, activating its glowing blade with a hiss.

"Eric…" A fading breath echoed over the COM Channel.

Rachel, tears in her eyes, ignored the scene and shouted for Jack to move. He took her advice and brought his feet under the Elite's stomach, kicking the creature off him and onto the deck several feet away. He ducked as Rachel unloaded a stream of plasma shots the Elite's way, who futilely attempted to block the searing bolts with his energy sword. With a gurgled roar, the Elite slumped against the wall, oozing purple in a mess of liquefied flesh.

Jack and Rachel turned as they heard a high whine and saw a blue explosion. Logan fell from the blast in a smoldering heap. His opponent lay pasted upon the floor. They rushed to him, Rachel giving Logan a hand up. His armor was charcoaled, and his body was rattled, but he seemed okay. No punctures in the suit. But it appeared his shield generators were short fused. He couldn't recharge them. That would be a liability. The three hurriedly moved to kneel by Eric, who was still cradling Ashley in a heap of sobs. His visor was flecked with specs of dark red; bloody tears for Ashley limp, graceful form.

Every one of them felt his pain. Every loss was another needle thrust into their hearts. It was getting hard for them to hold hope in winning the war with each passing body count. But this one was one of theirs, this was their own. Their family.

"It's my fault! I should've seen it! I should've known…She'll be fine, right?" Eric looked at each of them in turn, his eyes searching frantically.

"Tell me she'll be fine!" Eric shouted, and he sank his face against Ashley's shoulder. Rachel held back tears, while Jack and Logan lowered their heads, gripping their weapons in remorse.

Of course Eric is going to blame himself forever, Jack thought. He will never know how lucky we all were this day, that it was only one of us who died from the ambush. Even now, though, Jack was planning their next move. There was no way of knowing whether the crew of this ship had left and alerted the rest of the fleet already. He was hoping the ship had lost communications during its fight with the Surrogate Victor, and so no one else would know that it had been taken over.

The Surrogate Victor…

Jack checked his mission timer. Vladimir would be returning to the system in thirty minutes. He had to do something. They'd already come this far. He couldn't let their mission be compromised by Vladimir's suicidal decision.

"Spartans…prepare to-," Jack halted as he and the others trained their weapons on a doorway parting with a gentle hiss.

Covenant.