Chapter Fifteen – Storm
0732 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Epsilon Eridani system, Orbital Defense Generator
Facility A-331, planet Reach.
The storm had picked up.
Jack primed the three frag grenades at his waist and tossed them into the fray of aliens rushing towards them. He turned and ran with Logan and Rachel at his side, as three loud thumps echoed behind them, alien cries reverberating down the tunnel. The narrow hallway sloped downwards and curved slowly towards the main facility. In seconds they had reached the sealed doorway into generator complex seven. Someone from the other side recognized them from the cameras as they approached and unlocked the door, its metal bulk sliding aside to let them in.
Daniel leveled his rifle, aiming over their heads and covering the tunnel as they ducked inside. The other Spartans were organizing what little equipment remained of their defenses. Another doorway further on led into complex three and beyond that into the tunnels leading to East Bunker. Other doors remained sealed; they led deeper beneath the mountain where the remaining generators powered the MAC guns in orbit.
Not that it mattered now. The Covenant fleet had already punched through Reach's defenses and was in the process of glassing the planet.
There was an earthly shake and a Spartan watching one of the computer screens uplinked an image to Jack's visor, showing him the view from East Bunker's remaining camera.
The forest beyond was ablaze.
Jack cut the link and turned to Daniel.
"Status?"
"Sir, East Bunker's tunnels are still partially collapsed. The Covenant may try to drill through to flank us. West Bunker's tunnels are the most exposed. In fact," Daniel said as the sound of plasma rifle fire reached their ears from the sealed doorway nearby, "they're already trying to get in. My estimates give us three, maybe four minutes before we're engaged in direct combat with the enemy."
There was a large boom as a Wraith round smashed against the main entry doorway from outside. Jack turned to a passing Spartan carrying a block of C-12 explosives.
"Bryce, grab someone and set up that ordnance around the main hangar door. We may need to bust our way back out," Jack said. The Spartan saluted and moved to complete his task.
Taking the cue, Logan jogged off to assist Bryce with preparing the explosives along key points before the large, main entry doorway. Once the last package was applied to the metal framework, Jack activated the COM.
"Green Team, cease all further activity and report to me to await further instructions."
Ten acknowledgement lights winked back, and Jack soon faced his ten remaining Spartans. His eyes lingered over each faceplate. They held longest on Rachel for a moment, before he wrenched his gaze away and prepared his next words.
"Spartans: we have two minutes to get out of here before the enemy breaks through. Here are your orders:
Bryce, place the Fury nuke deeper within the generator complex. Set the detonator for seven minutes. Alert me and synchronize a timer for us all once it's armed. Report back immediately afterward.
Daniel. You take everyone else and prepare to slip them through East Bunker's tunnels once they're clear and out into the forest. The Covenant won't expect you to attack from there. Your mission is to escort everyone to our reserve Pelican and EVAC Green Team. If there's time, find any survivors of Red Team – Alpha, Gamma, Delta...any of them.
A two man team will be lead by me. We'll do our best to hold the Covenant assault off while you all escape. I want every one of you to confirm this order. No one is coming back for us. You are to place your own lives above the rest and live to fight another day. Is this understood?"
There was a pause. Spartans weren't supposed to leave team members behind, especially the leader. Jack knew they wouldn't understand why he was doing this, what it was worth to him that he might save the last few he could. But he knew they would respect him enough to follow his orders nonetheless. It was all he could ask of them. They had to know it was for them.
Perhaps saving nine would redeem the six lost already...
Acknowledgement lights finally winked back in his HUD.
Jack looked at his fellow Spartans.
"I'll need someone to help me defend the facility. I'm...asking for a volunteer."
All ten Spartans raised their hands. Jack was reminded of similar tenacity onboard the Pilllar of Autumn.
Daniel stepped forward.
"Sir, permission to accompany you on your mission?"
"Negative. You have the most important job, Daniel. You need to EVAC everyone else," Jack said, firmly. You're in charge of making sure all of this was worth something.
Rachel began to step forward next, and Jack's heart was wrenched in agony.
"No," Jack said before Rachel could even say a word, "You're to assist Daniel at all costs-,"
"But Jack, I-,"
"Do I make myself clear?"
"Jack-,"
"Do I?"
Rachel stepped back amongst the others. Unknown to them she blinked back tears inside her helmet. Jack tried to put his emotions out of his mind. He tried not to think about how he was throwing away any future plans he may have dreamed of having with Rachel. However vague and distant and submerged they had been within his mind. Then again, didn't he take that same risk with every bullet he shot, every grenade he dodged, every breath he took on the battle field? Today was only different in that he didn't plan on coming back.
Logan stepped forward.
"Sir...I'm coming with you."
Jack's chest swelled with pride at his friend's loyalty. He was even willing to dismiss Logan's assertive attitude. Jack nodded and turned towards the rest.
"Alright then. It's settled. You know your mission. Let's roll."
The Spartans moved, a lethal fluidity of motion that would frighten even the Covenant.
There was another dull boom from a Wraith tank. A rapid succession of the powerful plasma bombardments began against the main doorway. The doorway to West Bunker's tunnels was sparking from the intense heat being fired at it from the opposite side as well. Drill teams could be heard trying to clear the collapsed tunnels of East Bunker.
Daniel led the others to East Bunker's tunnel entrance, just as Bryce updated Jack on the nuke.
"Countdown's set, Green-One. I'm on my way back."
Jack noticed his HUD timer.
6:55.
"Good. Accompany Daniel and the others. Get out of here, now."
"Yes, sir."
Jack turned to Logan, the only other remaining Spartan in the room.
"We'll take the Warthog."
"Sounds fun. I have an idea."
Logan searched amongst a crate of equipment and emerged, an Anaconda missile in one hand, EB Green military tape in the other. Jack cocked his head, and Logan leapt atop the Warthog to explain.
Jack watched as Logan lined the missile up against one of the machine gun turret's barrels and fastened it in place with several layers of the super adhesive tape. Jack understood immediately and moved to help Logan retrieve the other missiles.
Under normal circumstances, a term not well known to Spartans, the surface-to-air missiles were placed on a tripod that helped align the missile for firing. From there it could track targets and destroy them. However, the missile itself was encased in a long tube, housing the firing mechanism. In theory, one could simply shoulder the things and fire them at incoming aircraft.
Logan wanted to upgrade that theory.
An explosion drew their attention to the doorway to West Bunker's tunnels, just as Jack snapped off the last ream of tape, securing the final missile onto the chain gun. Logan lifted off the ground one of the spare turrets another Spartan had brought into the main facility. Logan pointed the thing at the doorway to West Bunker's tunnels, where a red armored Elite stepped through the doorway.
The triple gun barrels began to twirl. Jack rotated the Warthog's turret as well to face the doorway. The Elite had only time to cry out as twin machine gun turrets unleashed bullets into the passage, shredding apart the alien and several others directly behind it.
Logan tossed down the turret while Jack continued firing through the doorway, pinning down the rest. Logan tossed a frag grenade into the tunnel and watched the explosion rip apart the small attack force. The chatter of the Warthog turret ceased and Jack looked at Logan from between the smoke swirling from the barrels.
"Seal the doors to complex three. If they take this sector, we may be able to buy time until they reach the next."
"Why? We're staying here?" Logan asked.
More Wraith rounds detonated against the main doorways.
"Not for long. Prepare to set off those C-12 charges on the main doorway. We're taking them head on."
"I like the sound of-," Logan began.
There was a sudden break of static over the Spartan COM and Jack's gut leapt as he recognized Fred's voice.
"Delta Team: Fall back. Fall back now!"
Fred was alive. He was trying to warn Delta of the Covenant warships beginning to glass the planet from orbit. Fred obviously assumed the generators to be lost at this point, now that the Covenant had entered Reach's atmosphere.
Jack had to signal him, let him know that they were alive, that the generators were still online if the fleet could pull off a victory in orbit. He had to hope that the Covenant had merely slipped by Reach's defenses rather than completely eradicate them. He also had to let Fred know that the reactor complex was set to blow in less than seven minutes. Perhaps it was enough to give Reach's fleet one last shot at the Covenant. One last shot for the Chief and his team to complete their own mission.
Jack broadcast back over the COM.
"Red-One, this is Beta-Lead. The situation is bad. Reactor complex seven has been compromised. We're falling back. Might be able to save number three," Jack began, when another Wraith blast crashed against the doorway, bending it inwards. Jack knew they had only one last shot at distracting the assault force. He turned to Logan, shouting, "Set off those charges now!"
Logan activated the detonator.
Both Spartans were flung to the ground by the immediate shockwave. Their visors had polarized to counter the bright glare, and their ears still rang from the deafening explosion. Their beeping shield indicators did nothing to help.
Jack rose and threw himself into the driver's seat of the Warthog, trying the COM again. No use, it was dead. He just had to hope that enough of the message had gotten through. Logan followed and took gunner position with their new revamped weapon. The smoke was beginning to clear, and Jack could see the wreckage before them. The hangar doors had been blown outwards, crushing two Wraiths, several Ghosts, and a passing Banshee in flaming debris. Jack checked the countdown.
4:59.
He floored the Warthog.
o o o
Rachel halted, rifle raised, as Daniel raised a cautious hand. All nine of them had arrived at the crumbled section of the tunnel to East Bunker. Cement and other debris was pasted in mud from the rain-soaked earth above them. A fist-sized pocket of air streamed light in from the outside. Rain splashed into the tunnel from this opening as well, masking any sounds of movement from both the inside and out.
Rachel grinned, realizing that the Covenant had yet to discover the opening they had made by tripping the Lotus mines. She could now hear the whine and clicks of drilling machinery working at the debris from the other side of the tunnel. Daniel noticed this too and pointed towards the opening up above. He flashed a signal for Rachel to scout it out and she leapt nimbly onto the pile of mud and cement, crawling slowly to the earthen ceiling. With delicate care she nudged her whole helmeted head through the hole, expanding it in a light shower of dirt and grass behind her, and swept her gaze left and right.
Banshees screamed overhead on patrol, though Rachel's presence was unknown to them. The image of a gofer peeking out of its hole to see if the birds had gone so that the coast was clear appeared in Rachel's mind, and had it not been for the slight trickle of adrenaline in her veins, the thought might have been amusing.
But Rachel was focused on the squadron of Banshees and was trying to memorize their patrol pattern. Satisfied she had it down, she lowered herself back inside the tunnel and turned to the other Spartans.
"In about another ten seconds we'll be clear for a good thirty seconds. If we make a straight shot for the woods, we might just make it," Rachel said. Daniel nodded his consent. Rachel counted off the seconds.
"Four, three, two..."
"Go," Daniel finished.
Rachel hit the opening above them first and shoved her way through the earth, crumbling a larger section for the others to follow. Daniel leapt out after her, and from there they proceeded to help each Spartan out two by two until they were all crouched about the opening, MA5Bs pointed every which way.
"We got twenty seconds, move!" Daniel shouted.
The Spartans broke their defensive formation and sprinted down the slope from East Bunker towards the tree line. Rachel could see now as they neared that the rain raged war against the flames of the plasma bombardment in a tangle of steam and smoke. She could only hope that their Pelican was still safely tucked away in the woods.
The burst of plasma cannons erupted from behind her, and Rachel felt the pulsating force of three plasma torpedoes detonating amongst the Spartans from Banshees that had spotted them. She had no time to look around and see if anyone was hit. The tree line waited just ahead...
A Spartan nearby opened fire with his MA5B, and Rachel saw an Elite flicker into view before her, its camouflage generators failing. The Elite howled and thrust a plasma rifle tip towards Rachel's chest.
The Spartan woman slapped the Elite's weapon arm aside, hooking an uppercut into the alien's stomach with her other arm. The creature bent forward in stunned pain as Rachel shoved past it, slinging her assault rifle from her back and firing several rounds into the Elite's exposed flank as she ran.
Rachel looked ahead to see Daniel sprinting away, assault rifle in hands. She had no time to feel relief and hurried to catch up to him and the others. She nearly stumbled when she felt the explosion from the main facility, and the thoughts finally closed a tight fist about her heart...
Jack and Logan are going to die!
o o o
The Warthog roared to life and sped up the short slope from the main entrance, its doors now blown askew to the sides. The vehicle rumbled past the wreckage from the explosion and caught a little air as it reached level ground, racing between Wraith tanks and Ghosts as it sped deeper into the valley. Mud spouted from beneath its tires, and it swerved to avoid collision with a hungry Wraith.
Jack ground the wheel to the right, taking the Warthog westward towards the hill side of the valley. He hoped to draw the Covenant away from the woods where Rachel and the others were trying to escape. Logan thundered away with the chain gun, peppering the Wraith they passed and swiveling to shred apart a pursuing Ghost. Jack took a glance behind him and saw a squadron of twelve Banshees arc towards them. Another eleven dove towards the woods.
The others have been found...Jack thought with dread. He spun the Warthog angrily so that it faced the incoming formation of Banshees. Logan sighted on the center one and rested his thumb over one of the launch buttons on an Anaconda missile.
"Ready when you are, Green-One."
"Hold on, then."
The Warthog growled and sped forward, mud and grass spewing from behind it. Logan uplinked the missile's tracking system with his HUD and locked onto a Banshee. The squadron began its descent.
The Banshees opened fire with plasma torpedoes.
Logan sent the missile on its way.
Jack swung the Warthog left and right, dodging the hellish barrage of green plasma that sent columns of hot mud and steam into the sky. The Anaconda snaked its way through the air, trailing smoke, and caught the lead Banshee head on. The explosion caught the two to either side and sent them careening away. One recovered and screeched overhead with the rest. The other plummeted into the mountainside nearby.
Logan laughed victoriously and rotated to track another Banshee. Jack spun the Warthog about and drove carefully between hills and lumps of hard rock, hoping to use some of the rough terrain as cover. The ten Banshees, however, were already returning for another pass.
Jack was beginning to take in their distance and decide which way to go when he heard the explosion of a Wraith bomb from behind them. Chunks of rock bounced off the Warthog. Several more Wraith rounds detonated about them, but were far off the mark. Jack knew it was only a matter of time before one of those blasts was close enough to vaporize them.
The Warthog skipped over another boulder, heading south towards the far end of the valley. The Banshees were almost within range from the east. Jack spun the wheel and the Warthog swerved towards the incoming squadron. Logan fired two more salvos of missiles, and both found their mark amongst the throng of alien aircraft. They returned fire, and Jack winced through the wash of heat as one torpedo struck just a meter beside them. Logan realigned the turret as the Banshees wailed overhead and squeezed off another missile. One Banshee exploded and was flung into its neighbor, and both craft spiraled to the ground, aflame.
The remaining Banshees split into two trios to maximize their distance from one another. Each trio peeled off to either side, and arced to return for an attack from both the north and south. Jack brought the Warthog into a tight roundabout and sped back towards the west. With luck they could force the Banshees to chase them from one angle, where Logan could better hit a target.
More Wraith rounds began to crash around them, however, and Jack fought to stay on a westward course while dodging the orbs of blue fire. All it took was one splash of searing plasma to melt a tire and they would be stuck, awaiting death in the mud.
The Banshees dove in from the north and south, and were forced to merge and pursue from the east as the Warthog sped towards the hills to the west. Logan aimed and fired his last two missiles. Two hits. Two Banshees down. The survivor of the first trio hadn't even time to get a shot in at them as Logan opened fire with the main turret, puncturing the craft with heavy machine gun rounds. The Banshee crumpled and was torn apart. The second trio pulled ahead, firing their main plasma rounds.
The Warthog's bumper was incinerated, and Logan himself absorbed a couple bursts, draining half his shields. But the Banshees were deterred by his continuous machine gun fire and fired their plasma torpedoes, hoping to finish them off and pull out of range.
Jack heard the rounds fire from the Banshees, instinctively knew they had adjusted their aim ahead of the Warthog to land the shots perfectly this time.
He slammed on the brakes.
The Warthog slid to a stop, just as plasma missiles erupted in front of them, washing the windshield in green fire, melting the glass.
3:21.
Jack put the Warthog in reverse and hooked around, pointing it towards the main facility far to the north. He floored the Warthog and began to cross the valley towards West Bunker. Wraith bombs left craters about them, as the Banshees swerved to make another pass from behind. Four Ghosts sped towards them from up ahead as well.
"Logan, eyes forward. Take the Ghosts out."
"Gladly."
Logan opened fire on the nearest one as it sped by, and the Grunt piloting it was hurled from its seat by the force of the bullets impacting its body. Jack angled the Warthog and crashed directly into a Ghost, crumpled the thing beneath the Warthog and bucking over it. The other two hovered to each side, opening fire with their plasma turrets. The Warthog's sides sizzled and part of the passenger's side melted away. Logan shredded one of them apart, but the last one sped off. The three Banshees, however, were now closing in.
The Warthog was now approaching West Bunker at full speed. Jack spun the wheel and swerved them towards East Bunker instead, now. Two Wraiths angled to fire at them as the Warthog passed between them, but the Covenant tanks couldn't risk a shot in such close proximity. Jack accelerated the Warthog up the slope, hoping to jump off East Bunker, drive down the slope, and enter the cover of the forest. There might still be a chance for them to save the others.
The Banshees dove, opening fire with plasma torpedoes.
"Hold on!" Jack shouted to Logan, as the Warthog roared to the top of the summit. The Warthog lifted off the ground, just as the torpedo rounds struck beneath them. The force of the explosion propelled the back end of the Warthog skyward, flipping them in a slow somersault through the air. Time felt slow to Jack as he took in their situation at enhanced speeds. He watched with surprising clarity the Banshees scream overhead, heard the rattle of Logan on the chain gun behind him, firing blind shots after the retreating Banshees. The Warthog soared over East Bunker, completed its front flip, and slammed hard into the mud at the bottom of the slope, bounced once, and slid to a stop.
2:34.
Jack hit the accelerator.
The Warthog rumbled back to life and sped off into the woods.
o o o
Rachel leapt over a fallen pine tree, sprinting through the forest. The Spartans had fanned out several meters to reduce their risk of getting taken out with a well place Banshee bomb. Rachel dove sideways as another of the searing green missiles burnt its way through a tree trunk nearby. She rose to her feet as the wood began to smolder and crack. Rachel activated the COM to shout a warning to the others about the falling tree.
"Heads up, there's-!" She began, when a plasma pistol on overcharge splashed green lava across her back, draining her shields. Rachel spun, leveling her rifle, and took out the Jackal with a three round burst. Three more of the bird-like creatures emerged from behind the trees, energy shields humming to life before them. There was the burst of assault rifle fire a ways off, and the three Jackals flopped to the grass with a soft thud, lifeless. Rachel silently thanked her unseen Spartan guardian. The smoking tree behind her began to groan and lean forward. She turned and ran.
Several more Banshee torpedoes detonated about her. Chunks of flaming wood slapped her shields and they shimmered, but she continued sprinting towards the NAV point marked on her HUD where the Pelican waited. Daniel had uploaded it as they entered the woods.
Rachel heard the tree crash against the wet leaves and crack in half.
Someone cried out in pain.
Rachel stumbled as she halted and looked back towards the tree. The Spartan who had saved her, Alex, was buried halfway beneath the flaming trunk. Rachel ran to his side, grabbing a hold of the fallen tree.
"Go, run!" Alex shouted, as Rachel strained to lift the heavy trunk. She shook her head, and began to lift the thing an inch off the ground. She heard Covenant voices from the woods and ducked as a hail of needler shards sank into the wood on the opposite side. Alex grunted in pain as several found a part of his exposed leg, plunging deep between the matte-black mesh between the armor. Alex clutched Rachel's hand as the needles exploded, and his leg was shattered. Bits of wood and bone and flesh speckled the ground nearby.
Rachel edged her rifle over the top of the trunk and fired into the foliage until her clip ran dry. There were cries of pain from the aliens, and she heard several of them, Grunts most likely, retreat deeper into the woods. She activated the COM.
"Help! Alex is down! I need backup!"
Rachel's radar picked up a friendly signal, and soon a Spartan sprang over a shrub and knelt by their side. It was Omar. He spoke up as he and Rachel grabbed a hold of the tree and lifted.
"Daniel's ahead with the others. They've almost reached the Pelican. They'll hold it until we arrive," Omar said. The tree trunk rose a meter off the ground. Alex painfully crawled out from under it, winced, and nearly passed out. The Spartans dropped the trunk and Rachel quickly applied a canister of biofoam to the messy stump of Alex's leg.
"Oh, now you've made it hurt," Alex said with a smile, but he grimaced and began to shiver. Rachel and Omar raised him up by the shoulders and began a fast hobble towards the NAV marker, still a hundred meters away.
Banshees screeched above the canopy of trees, melting the forest about them with plasma. There was an explosion overhead, and a flaming Banshee parted the foliage in a wreath of fire. The destroyed craft crashed into the ground nearby, tumbled through the air, and slid to a halt further ahead. The Spartans ignored the smoldering wreckage and continued on. Fire from the craft caught a hold of the nearby foliage. The flames swept about, overpowering the rain, and the three Spartans hurried along, the guttural bark of Covenant soldiers close behind.
o o o
1:52.
Jack wove the Warthog carefully between the trees, until finally they became too thick and close together to continue in the jeep. Logan fired a tenacious burst of bullets from the machine gun at an incoming Banshee until a fuel tank was hit and the craft exploded. The Banshee spiraled out of view and crashed through the canopy of leaves far ahead. Jack leapt from the driver's seat, and Logan followed. Assault rifles in hand, they ran deeper into the woods.
Jack activated the COM as they ran, opening a private channel to Daniel.
"Green-Sixteen, have you reached the objective?"
No answer.
Jack felt his gut go cold, and he surged forward even faster, Logan just behind him. He heard Banshees scream overhead and spew streams of plasma into the trees. Covenant aliens called for human blood about the woods. He shoved the thought of the other Spartans out of his mind and tried to think.
What is going on? Why haven't the Covenant evacuated from the planet? Do their soldiers even realize its being glassed at this moment? Or has our fleet turned the tide of the space battle? Perhaps the Covenant still need those MAC generators offline...
1:30. That was all he could give the fleet. If the battle wasn't won by then...then Reach had truly fallen.
He blinked as a NAV marker lit up his HUD display.
They're alive!
But as he leapt over another shrub, he glanced sideways at a charred figure lying in the mud.
A Spartan.
Jack checked the roster. Spartan-118, Justin, was dead. That one second in which he saw his body and continued running had left a crystal clear picture in his mind. Armor and flesh had been melted to form one charcoaled, sticky corpse amongst the burnt leaves. No doubt combined Banshee plasma bursts had glued him to the ground in a splash of blue fire. Jack could envision Justin now, tripping as his legs were liquefied beneath him, his back lighting up as he reached out for help, until his entire body was incinerated.
Jack shouted aloud for his fallen comrade as he ran, and Logan picked up the cry as well. Both raised their rifles as they saw the retreating backs of Grunts and Jackals up ahead. Automatic fire tore them apart, as both Spartans emptied most of their clips. An Elite sprung out from behind a tree, but Logan caught it by the arm and swung the creature into Jack's waiting fist. The two Spartans pummeled the alien to death, kicking its skull in until it moved no more.
The Spartans recovered their breath and continued running, following the sounds of assault rifle fire up ahead.
o o o
Daniel, Ashley, and Eric reached the Pelican first. Daniel motioned Ashley and Eric to bring the dropship online and power it up for takeoff. He then turned and knelt by the back opening, rifle raised, covering the clearing about them as another Spartan emerged from the trees. It was SPARTAN-042, Bryce. His armor was missing a shoulder plating, but other than that he seemed alright. Bryce took position alongside Daniel and swept the area with his MA5B.
The Pelican's engines warmed to life, and the dropship rose a meter off the ground, hovering in place.
Assault rifle fire echoed from the trees ahead. Bryce moved forward, but Daniel held him back with one hand and stepped off the deck, landing on the grass with a soft thud.
"Stay here and be ready to help the others onboard. If I'm not back soon, you three take off. Got it?"
"Yes, sir."
Daniel took off into the trees, assault rifle in hand.
o o o
Rachel flinched as plasma rifle fire drained her shields. She raised her left arm and fired blindly with her assault rifle into the foliage. Omar supported Alex from the other side and fired his own weapon amongst the trees at the shadows cast by the flickering flames about them. A tree cracked and slammed into the ground nearby, washing them in hot sparks.
Rachel trained her rifle wearily at the woods to her side, hoping to make out the dark figures between the trunks. It was then she noticed her ammo counter glowing back at her.
00.
A tall figure leapt from the trees. Rachel cried out, preparing to let go of Alex and fight the thing with her fists if she had to.
MJOLNIR armor brushed past her, and she turned to see the Spartan raise their rifle and fire a sustained burst into the woods past Omar. An Elite fell from behind a tree, purple blood spouting from its neck.
The Spartan turned, a splash of the alien blood on his visor.
Daniel.
Rachel let her swelling relief subside and dropped her empty assault rifle, using her other arm to better brace Alex. Omar did the same. Daniel, however, spun to face behind them, leveling his rifle at the darkness between the trees. Two figures leapt from the shadows. Rachel nearly dropped Alex.
Jack and Logan!
The two Spartans lowered their assault rifles, and Daniel followed suit. He motioned the two-fingered smile, and they returned the favor. Jack however, pushed past him and took Rachel's spot holding Alex. Logan took Omar's place, who turned and covered their six with his rifle. Daniel stepped forward towards Jack.
"How much time-,"
"Sixty-seven seconds," Jack interrupted.
The Spartans began to move. Daniel turned his head towards the Pelican waiting further ahead past the last cluster of trees.
A plasma grenade latched itself to Daniel's faceplate.
Jack threw himself, dragging along Alex and Logan, to the ground. Rachel and Omar hit the dirt as well. There was a blue flash and an explosion. Jack's eyes were closed. He couldn't bear to see another friend become a corpse. He knew though that whatever threw the grenade still lingered nearby. With this driving thought Jack rose to his feet, carrying Alex between him and Logan, and opened his eyes.
Daniel stood over an oozing mess that was once a Grunt. His helmet lay in charred pieces a ways off. Daniel's face stared back at him; short black hair, blue eyes, and a slight grin that might have passed for laughter. The whine of approaching Banshees shook the Spartans from their moment of relief.
The six Spartans sprinted the last length to the Pelican, emerging from the clearing. Plasma and needler rounds chased after them as the main wave of Covenant soldiers finally began to catch up with them. Banshees spotted the clearing at long last and fired their plasma torpedoes. The quickly-calculated shots missed, but the Banshee trio and several more now arced to make a better pass.
Daniel and Omar covered their flank as Jack and Logan helped Alex towards the Pelican's open hatch. Rachel and Jack leapt to the deck and held onto the railings, a hand out towards Alex. He took both and was hoisted up over the edge. Daniel and Omar fired bursts from their rifles into the trees, and were soon in full retreat as hunter blasts splintered trunks left and right.
Daniel and Logan leapt aboard the Pelican as it began to rise into the air. Omar was still halfway inside when a plasma grenade adhered to his back. He shoved off the underside of the Pelican with his boots and dove headfirst into the pursuing throng of aliens. Rachel cried out as he exploded, taking thirteen Grunts and Jackals, including an Elite, with him. The Pelican continued to ascend into the air, ten meters above the ground.
Banshee torpedoes slammed into the Pelican's hull, jolting its nose skyward.
Jack grabbed a hold of the railing. Alex slid out of the hatch and Bryce dove forward, catching his hand. Jack reached out and grabbed Bryce's hand before he could fall. All three held on as the Pelican shook from several more torpedo rounds, Alex dangling precariously out the back of the Pelican.
Twenty meters in the air.
One of the torpedoes caught Bryce in the chest. Green plasma washed away to reveal Alex tumbling towards the waiting horde of Covenant. Jack held only Bryce's arm, smoking from the elbow. Daniel pressed off the back wall of the Pelican and dove past the other Spartans, aimed towards the open hatch. Jack dropped Bryce's arm and swung out a hand.
Jack caught Daniel's wrist and held on tight.
Thirty meters.
Daniel's un-helmeted face looked up at him. His blue eyes flared with a cold determination. He needed no words.
Let go, his eyes screamed out at Jack.
0:17
Jack looked back into those eyes.
Forty meters.
Daniel reached a hand up and placed it gently over Jack's. He gave it a tight squeeze, a sign of brotherhood. This is my choice, Daniel spoke silently.
Fifty meters.
0:10
Jack let go.
Daniel dropped through the air, the harsh wind putting him into a slow tumble. He spread his arms and legs, slowing the fall. He descended towards the waiting Covenant monsters, intent on saving Alex. If he was still alive.
Jack wondered what Daniel's odds were of surviving such a fall. But it didn't seem to matter, as the Pelican screeched away into the sky, leaving the forrest, leaving Daniel, leaving Reach behind.
0:00.
A plume of ash and fire uplifted half the mountainside containing the generator complex. The wave of expanding heat and debris raced to catch up with the Pelican, swirling hungrily, absorbing everything in its path, singeing at the dropship's wingtips. Then suddenly the blast fell behind and faded, satisfied.
Covenant warships broke through the atmosphere, plasma warming along their lateral lines. Rivers of fire poured from their mouths, and the earth for miles was scarred in flame.
Jack let out his breath in a rush of emotions and looked about the cabin. Logan and Rachel sat, heads lowered. Eric could be seen through the open doorway to the cockpit, trembling with fear or rage or sadness, Jack couldn't tell. Ashley's voice broke in over the speakers, and after a slight waver, she spoke.
"Sir? Red Team?"
Jack's heart went cold, knowing the reality but hating it nonetheless.
"There's no time," Jack said. Fred, Will, Isaac. All of them. There was nothing he could do. "We'll have to find a ship that can take us out of here," Jack said. A moment went by, and Ashley continued.
"Green-One, sir. I've hailed an outbound frigate with a request for pickup. Lieutenant Commander Alkaev Vladimir says we're welcome onboard," Ashley said, then paused, adding, "He also says we'd better get there before he breaks orbit or he's leaving us behind."
Jack winked his acknowledgement light as the Pelican shifted and accelerated towards a new destination. He was too drained to speak. He opened the Spartan roster and marked all the other Spartans as MIA. He then re-assigned Green Team's roster to accommodate their losses. Green-One through Five, ending with Eric. Jack sat there, staring at the blinking tag labeling them "Green Team".
What are we now? A handful of Spartans. All the others are dead.
Jack tried to make sense of their deaths, find a reason why it had all gone wrong, find something that had been accomplished. But he knew deep inside that they had failed. That for the first time, Spartans hadn't won. That perhaps they couldn't win.
No. John is still alive. Together we might just stand a chance.
Jack wondered what John would say when Jack told him what happened. How each Spartan fought, bled, died, all for nothing. But it was then that Jack realized something. Perhaps it was not what a Spartan did in death that defined their sacrifice, all that they had achieved. Perhaps it was what each Spartan did in life, all these years, that amounted to their true value. Many Spartans had died this day.
But the Covenant felt a scar from each one of them.
Ashley called out from the cockpit.
"Entering the frigate's hangar at top speed! Hold on!"
Jack grabbed a hold of the railing and watched the words "Green Team" blink back at him, over and over inside his helmet. He had only one thought in his mind as the Pelican's nose dipped and they impacted.
The Covenant will fear the color of MJOLNIR Green.