Chapter XVII

After getting to know Commander Schreiber's team during a patrol, in which they found nothing, Red Squad retired to their base. The next day, Master Chief and Red Squad woke up early to prepare for the continuation of their search for Tucker and Church and for a possible encounter with the Rhinoceros super weapon . . .

Master Chief walked into the makeshift lab that he and Lopez had set up. Doc was sitting at the table reviewing the data he had gotten from the nano-chip.

"Make any more breakthroughs?"

"No. I think the most we got from this was the regenerative properties, which is still pretty good."

"Indeed. Listen, I need you to tuck this stuff somewhere safe. We'll be returning here after we search the train station area."

"Will do."

Master Chief walked into the main sleeping area and saw that everyone was ready to go. Some adjusted the settings on their weapons, others stowed their gear. The Chief was proud of all of them.

"Master Chief," Schreiber said over the radio. "The ferry will be here in five minutes. Have your squad down there in three."

"Yes sir." The Chief turned to his men. "Alright everyone, let's move out."

The night before, Schreiber made a call to Red Command to order two transport warthogs. Red Command had sent them to the nearest Red Outpost and had them ferried across the water to Schreiber's location. Red Squad arrived at the dock and was joined shortly by Schreiber and his team. The three wounded had been taken back to Red Command overnight via Pelican. After two minutes of waiting, the ferry arrived and unloaded its shipment; the two transport hogs. Each one could hold six, but there were thirteen soldiers going on the search since Doc was going to stay behind in case there were any wounded that would need treatment. The problem was solved when Weller decided to sit on Grif's lap, to which Grif had no complaints. With that they were off.

It took two hours to get to the train station, dubbed 'Terminal' by Red Command, and when they arrived they saw that they weren't alone. A Blue force of at least forty soldiers was actively patrolling the area. These soldiers weren't just grunts either. There were at least three Sergeants and a Lieutenant with them. They were also armed to the teeth; four M808B's, three Gauss Hogs and five Ghosts were making routine inspections of the area.

"You think they're looking for us?" the Chief asked.

"I don't think so," Schreiber replied.

The Red soldiers abandoned their vehicles and silently made their way through the train station. They came to a point where they had to cross the tracks. Parker, who had the sharpest senses, went first. She had just put one foot on the track when a mag-train rocketed out of a tunnel and headed straight for her. She was momentarily frozen to the spot watching the train get closer and closer like a deer on a highway. Donut reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her out of harms way in the nick of time. Parker spun around and bumped into Donut's chest. His hands moved to her waist to steady her. Suddenly he realized that he was holding her closely; too closely for his liking. He liked Parker, but not that way. Donut let go and she took a step back.

"Thanks, Donut," she whispered.

"Anytime," Donut replied.

After deciding that crossing the tracks single file was suicidal, Master Chief was about to suggest that they ran across one at a time when Grif tapped his shoulder and pointed up. There was a walkway that went above the train and had ramps leading to their current level. They moved across the ramp quickly and ended up on the other side. The Chief looked around, trying to find where to go next. Then he spotted a narrow doorway that lead up to a parking garage. He motioned towards it and everyone fell in line behind him. There was a gradual incline that led up to the garage and everyone slowly made their way up. After making sure the garage was secure, everyone fell out, guarding doorways and windows. Chief was looking around the room for a position for Grif to scout from when the answer dripped onto his visor. The Chief looked up at a square opening in the ceiling. There was some sort of moisture dripping from it and the Chief decided that it deserved a closer look. Grif was in front of the Chief and he put his hands on his shoulders. Grif jumped and spun about, aiming his rifle at the Chief's head. After realizing who it was, he quickly lowered it.

"Sorry, Chief. It's a little creepy, you know, forty Blues on your back and you don't know if they know where you are."

"I feel the same way," the Chief replied. He wasn't as jumpy as Grif, but that came with experience and a lifetime of training. "See that air-conditioning vent? I need you to check it out."

"You got it."

Master Chief got on one knee and cupped his hands. Grif nodded and handed Weller his sniper rifle. He put his foot in the Chief's hand and the Chief launched him up. Grif jumped from the clasped hands and sailed into the vent. He landed inside with a metallic thud and looked around. Whatever he was in, it wasn't like the air-conditioning vents he saw on TV. Most of the time, someone was crawling on their stomachs just to squeeze through. Grif was able to stand completely upright in this one. He walked around the area, closely inspecting whatever he came across, which meant that he walked straight ahead and didn't look back. He walked a few feet and saw that the vent ended overlooking a waiting room. Grif backtracked to where he thought he was launched up, but made a wrong turn and almost fell out of a small opening nearly three stories above the ground. He could see almost all of the Blue activity outside of the garage from his vantage point and smiled. It was the perfect area for sniping. Grif found the spot where he entered and looked down.

"Chief, this place is weird," Grif was about to ask if Weller could join him, but decided that it would be best if the Chief inspected the place. "You might want to check it out."

Master Chief nodded and handed up Grif's sniper rifle and his own battle rifle. Then, the Chief launched himself into the air and grabbed onto the side of the opening. Grif grabbed his hands and hauled him inside. After looking at everything Grif saw, the Chief went back down through the open hatch.

"I'll send Weller up there. You are to survey the Blue activity, but do not fire unless I tell you to, understand?"

"Yup."

"Good." Chief was about to go get Weller when he remembered something. "Oh, and Grif?"

"Yeah?'

"Don't make Weller laugh. It'd be nice if we could stay here unnoticed for a while."

The Chief left leaving Grif with a smirk on his face. After sending Weller through the hole, the Chief located Commander Schreiber, who was watching the Blues through one of the large openings in the wall.

"I don't think we'd survive if they attacked us," he said.

The Chief hung his head. He had faced impossible odds before, but he knew that they would need a miracle to survive if they were attacked by the Blues here.

"Sir!" Simmons' voice interrupted his moment of thought. The Chief turned to Simmons who was leaning with his back to the wall. Richards was in the same position, but on the other side of the door that led down to the train station.

"What is it?" the Chief asked.

"We have contact! There are three Blues approaching our location! What do we do, sir?"

To Be Continued