Chapter XV

After departing from Battle Creek, Red Squad happened upon a group of soldiers fighting a larger force of the Blue Army. The Master Chief decided to even the odds . . .

Bullets whizzed past, missing soldiers by millimeters. Rockets detonated tossing debris in all directions. Grenades, thrown with the accuracy of a three year old, landed near the soldiers and exploded harmlessly. The Reds' tank, perched on an unfinished section of road, spied a warthog driving up a ramp going at full speed. As the warthog went airborne, the tank fired a round into the jeep, destroying it and killing the three Blue occupants. Two soldiers were lying on a dirt mound that led up to the tank's position and were firing their snipers into the Blue's ranks. The rest had taken up cover near the unfinished building that they called 'home'. Despite the occasional kill, Commander Schreiber of the Red Army Special Forces knew that the battle was over before it started. The initial ambush had wiped out half of his men. Of those that remained, three were too injured to fight. The other six were giving the twenty some Blue Soldiers quite a fight, but they were exhausted; it wouldn't last much longer.

Suddenly, with his trained eye, Schreiber saw Blue soldiers drop to the ground, clutching their necks in agony. A thin trail of smoke pinpointed the attacker; a man in a suit of armor that was neither orange nor yellow, but some disgusting mix in between. He was accompanied by a man in maroon armor, who was also using the sniper rifle. The maroon one's aim needed some practice, but Schreiber was thankful for the assistance, however futile. He then heard some strange noise behind him, like a charge. He knew it wasn't his own troops, since they were all up on the front lines. He turned to see the source of the noise, and was frozen to the ground. There were six of them from what he could see. A man in jade armor led the charge accompanied by a man in purple armor, a man in red armor and one in lightish-red armor. There was a droid with them and some sort of monster holding a ball. The jade armored man stopped next to Schreiber and began ordering his soldiers to various positions. The one in the purple armor tended to the wounded. The droid and the lightish-red armored and the red armored soldier took up positions, giving aid to his own men. The monster with the ball disappeared before his eyes. The man in the jade armor shouted above the sounds of war.

"Where's the commanding officer?"

"You're looking at him."

The Chief nodded, then lifted a Battle Rifle with one arm and plugged three rounds into the head of a Blue that had gotten too close.

"Have your men fire on the front lines, my people can take it from here."

Normally Schreiber would object, but his men were taking quite a beating. He gave the order and all of the brown-armored soldiers began firing straight into the front lines of the Blue forces.

The Master Chief was glad he didn't have to argue over the matter. He then contacted Andy on his radio.

"Andy, are you in position?"

"Yeah, Lock-jaw set me in the middle of the tanks. Just say the word, Chief."

Master Chief waited until the friendly alien appeared at his side.

"Now."

The explosion tore through the M808B's, annihilating them. The tanks' unlucky operators were flash-fried, as were any Blue soldiers unlucky enoughto be caught in the blast radius. The Blues were in disarray. Their tanks just exploded and they were frantically trying to find out why, while still fighting the Red forces. Perfect.

Master Chief nodded to Lock-jaw and both of them charged out into the battle. All fire ceased as the two Reds ran out into the open. Blue soldiers, enraged over the deaths of their friends, went to meet them, thirteen against two. What a bad day to be a Blue. Master Chief punched a Blue in the stomach, picked him up by his shoulders and kneed him in the groin, pulverizing the organs. He threw the body into the other advancing Blues, knocking some down. Lock-jaw leapt at the nearest Blue and pinned him to the ground under his hooves. He punched the Blue through the visor, crushing his skull. Lock-jaw leapt off the dead soldier sideways, cart-wheeled in the air and landed on another Blue. Lock-jaw pulled his head back, and the Chief kicked his face in with his boot. The, one Blue jumped on his back. Another went for his legs, knocking him down. Lock-jaw picked up the Blue on the Chief's back by the neck and squeezed. After he felt the neck snap, he dropped the corpse to see the Master Chief rip the arm off the Blue that had grabbed his feet. The Blue stood up in shock and began screaming. The Chief held the limb like a bat and smacked the Blue in the head. The Blue stumbled, but didn't fall and continued to scream. The Chief took a few steps back and wound up another swing. He sprinted towards the Blue, who turned to face him, only to have his own arm connect with his helmet. The force of the impact twisted the Blue's neck until it snapped. The Chief dropped the arm and turned to see Lock-jaw put his hoof right through a Blue soldier's stomach. The last seven Blues looked in horror at the two Reds before them. They had never seen such brutality before, and weren't prepared to see it used against them. The Blue farthest away pointed at them, tossed his head back and screamed.

"Run away!"

The other Blues thought that was a good idea, and they began screaming and fleeing in terror. Lock-jaw took a step forward, but the Chief put a hand on his trusty alien's shoulder, pointing to where the Blues were running; right for the three decimated tanks. As soon as all the soldiers were within the blast radius, Andy exploded again. The Blues were violently torn apart from the blast while they scurried over the wrecked chassis's of the tanks. The smoldering bodies were sent flying into buildings and construction equipment. Lock-jaw went to retrieve Andy while Master Chief went back to talk with the brown soldier's leader.

Commander Schreiber looked at the man as he approached. Blood stained his jade armor, making some spots a sickly brown color. He showed no signs of injury, but perhaps a bit of fatigue. With combat moves like that, he had definitely been in battle before. Unlike the rest of his men who stared at the man in awe and fear, Schreiber looked at the man with admiration. It had been a while since he had seen a good Blue massacre. The Chief was now standing in front of the Commander. He saw the insignia painted on the man's shoulder and snapped a salute.

"I am the Master Chief, Spartan 117," he said.

"At ease, son," Schreiber said. The Chief assumed the pose; his feet shoulder width apart and hands clasped behind his back. "I am Commander Steven Schreiber of the Red Army Special Forces."

Schreiber looked around at the decimated Blue forces.

"Thanks for the help."

"Anytime. Do you have a base of operations?"

"Right here," Schreiber patted the building he was standing next to. "Let's head inside, we've got a lot to talk about."

Master Chief nodded and motioned for his forces to move in. Doc helped one of the wounded men to his feet and walked him into the building. The other two who were still too weak to walk were scooped up by Lopez and Lock-jaw and carried inside. Schreiber's men thanked the Chief for his help as they walked by. The Chief looked at the carnage he and Lock-jaw had created and smiled. Soon, O'Malley would suffer the same fate. The Chief turned and followed the Reds inside.

To Be Continued