Chapter XXXI

O'Malley had secured Church and Tucker aboard his space vessel and was slowly bending them to his will. Meanwhile, Red Squad was nearly defeated on O'Malley's island base when a familiar and welcome voice greeted their ears . . .

BADOOM

That was the sound that echoed across the island and carried out over the sea. To some, it was the sound of death bearing down on its victims. It was a sound to be feared because when there was one, there were bound to be plenty more. The sound indicated that in seconds, friends and fellow soldiers would die. In seconds, expensive equipment would be demolished. In seconds, the tide of the battle would be turned.

To others, it was a glorious sound almost like that of pleasant music. It signaled salvation and emancipation. It was a sound to enjoy because when there was one, there were bound to be plenty more. The sound indicated that in seconds, dangerous hostiles would be reduced to a red smear and a lifeless corpse. In seconds, the enemy vehicles would turn to smoldering wreckage. In seconds, the tide of the battle would be turned.

The fine soldiers of Red Squad were those who enjoyed the sound and embraced it. The Fortress Guards were those who cowered in fear, looking for a possible escape.

"Firing Main Cannons!" the mechanical voice said again.

BADOOM

Sand, rocks and dirt were blown in all directions, accompanied by several guards. The Reds couldn't see their savior from behind their hill, but they didn't have to see what was out there. They all knew the voice. They all knew the usual declaration of immanent attack. They all recognized the dual explosions followed by rocket impacts, plasma lances and cannon fire. Shawn, the M808C Main Assault Tank had come to the rescue. The Chief looked up into the sky and considered about rethinking his religious status.

"Chief, they're all scattered!" Tex shouted. "Now's our chance!"

Rather than reply, the Chief slung is battle rifle and pulled up his SMGs. He charged out from behind the hill, followed by the rest of Red Squad. They took up positions and fired at the disorganized guards. Shawn fired plasma lances that burned holes right through the chests of the guards. Rockets exploded and tore hostiles limb from limb. His MAC gun obliterated fortified positions and smothered enemies into the ground. The Fortress Guards never stood a chance.

The Chief, after making sure all of the dead guards were truly dead, walked over to Shawn.

"I told you I'd end up bailing you out of trouble sooner or later," the tank said.

"I'm glad you did. We probably wouldn't have made it."

"Well you did, and that's what matters."

"Indeed it is, Shawn. So tell me, why did you decide to come help us? Is everything ok back at Blood Gulch?"

"Better than ok, Chief. Command came in only a few days after you guys left and secured the whole canyon. I helped move stuff for a while, but they didn't have much use for me when all the scientific gear was moved in. So I just talked to the scientists and stuff like that for a while. Then Command tells me that your ship got shot down and decided to send me here. Someone on the inside got the word out that this place was heavily guarded."

"Red Command has a spy within O'Malley's ranks?"

"Hmph, not anymore. Apparently rumors started spreading around O'Malley's ranks about a spy, so he rounded up all the possible suspects and killed them. Our mole was one of em."

"O'Malley isn't fooling around."

"Guess not."

"Well, I would love nothing more than a mobile death machine to accompany us on our voyages, but I'm not sure if you'd fit through the teleporters."

"That's ok Chief. I wasn't really sent here to follow you around. I was sent here to help you take out the guards and," Shawn pointed his cannons up at the AD turrets and blasted them to pieces, "do that to secure the place for Command's research crew."

"I see. So, you're on guard duty now, huh?"

"Yup."

"Well, congratulations."

"Thanks Chief. I appreciate it."

Master Chief nodded and turned to assess the rest of his squad. Lock-jaw was out searching for any possible surviving guards while the rest of the squad policed ammo from the felled soldiers.

"Everyone, listen up," the Chief said, projecting his voice so they could all hear. "We're moving our camp site to this location. Lucky for us, those guards didn't frag our gear. Everything is intact and won't take long to move."

"Aw, but I wanted to stay on the beach!" Caboose whined.

"I don't think anyone wants to get swept out to sea during the tide, Caboose."

"Oh, that's ok. The whales are my friends. They would save you if you were drowning."

"Like I was saying," the Chief continued after a short pause, "get your tents and the rest of your gear and set it up in this area."

Red Squad began to move out, but the Chief waved Grif over.

"Grif, you see the tippy top of the tower there," the Chief said motioning to the highest point of the structure that was built into the island. "I think that would be an excellent spot for some scouting."

"You've got to be kidding," Grif said. "You're kidding, right? There's no way I'm going up there."

"I never said you were. I was just commenting on its possible usefulness. If someone managed to get up there, we'd never get caught off guard!"

"Wait, you don't want me to go up there?"

"Why would I subject one of my own men, especially my best sniper, to such torture? I was just saying that it would be a good vantage point for a sniper."

Grif shook his head.

"Sometimes I don't understand you, sir."

With that, Grif left to go move his supplies from the beachfront to the spot the Chief had designated. The Master Chief smiled behind his visor and, after a quick patrol with Lock-jaw to absolutely make sure that there were no possible assassins or saboteurs, he returned to the new campsite to find everything was set up. Shawn was busy shoving the downed Albatross into the ocean and Lopez was making inspections on the warthog. Dusk had come, and the sun setting on the horizon cast shadows that nearly blanketed the entire island in darkness.

A fire started by Lopez was roaring as it burned through drift wood and a Red Army fuel source called wine, which was able to burn continuously for hours. It was good for fires, but not good for fueling vehicles as it was extremely flammable. Since its explosive properties were discovered, the Red Army had moved on to more efficient fuel sources, but they still supplied wine to soldiers in order to sustain fires where other fuel sources were scarce. As usual, everyone was roasting an assortment of foods over the open flame while sharing stories while Tex and the Master Chief sat in their tent. The Chief was looking at the casualty figures of the Bombardment of Foundation; a robotic testing facility. The Red forces had been pinned down, but were saved by the timely arrival of Commander Schreiber and his team. The news of the Red victory brought a grin to the Chief's face. After getting the good news he had wanted to hear he glanced over at Tex who was, once again, polishing her battle rifle intensely. The barrel of the gun had been shoved into the mouth of a guard during the scuffle earlier in the day and was fired. The result sent the man's brains flying out the back of his head, but the kill came with a price. Blood had stained the barrel, and that wouldn't be tolerated. The Chief grinned for the second time that evening. He set down the data pad and slid under his blanket, resting his head on his pillow. He had almost drifted off when he felt Tex snuggle up against his muscular frame. He wrapped his arm around her and pulled her closer. The Chief grinned for the third and final time that night. Being happy enough to grin three times in a night, let alone a day, was unheard of for the Master Chief. Of course, sleeping with an identical genetic clone of a freelancer was unheard of as well. The Chief decided to list off all of the things he experienced that were 'unheard of' so he could fall asleep faster. Despite the unbelievably long list, the man was asleep within minutes.

Church was shocked. O'Malley had spent the last several hours explaining to him how the Reds had killed Tex. He was skeptical at first, but after he saw the recording from a hidden camera his thoughts were in disarray.

"Ok, so the Reds went to your facility looking for Tex. They got there, killed all of the scientists looking after her and destroyed all the cameras. Then they almost killed Tex, but your dragon thing tried to stop them. They killed the dragon and used some robot to activate the self destruct sequence which killed Tex and a bunch of innocent scientists who were in other parts of the structure. Is that right?"

"Yes," O'Malley said.

"Then answer me this one question, O'Malley. Who the fuck was killed back at our base? We got word from Blue Command that the Master Chief guy broke in, kidnapped Caboose, killed Tex and left. I saw Tex the next morning and she looked pretty dead to me. There was even a knife sticking out of the back of her neck. The Master Chief guy said it was an imposter."

O'Malley took a deep breath through Sarge's lungs. He didn't need to breathe, but it added dramatic tension.

"I have reason to believe that the Red Army Research Department paid the organization that Tex had belonged to before she became a freelancer. It was the same organization that created me and placed me inside her armor. The payment was for a sample of Tex's blood. The Red Army has hidden technological advancements before. Hiding the progress they've made on cloning would be no different."

"Wait, you think she was cloned? You think that the Tex who attacked our base was a clone?"

"I had the original Tex in my care, so that is the only logical explanation I can give."

Church turned the thoughts over in his mind. A Tex clone? It made some sense.

"Alright, so, you were caring for Tex. The Red Army cloned her and sent the clone to our base to do something, but it was killed by the Master Chief guy . . . wait, why would the Reds kill one of their own?"

"Perhaps the clone was trying to join your team, but was killed by the Master Chief before she was able to."

"Ok, so he killed the clone, and then he went off to kill the original. Why?"

"Perhaps he saw Tex as a valuable asset to your team. With her out of the way, he would have had no trouble getting to and eliminating you."

"Ok, but who was that person in the black armor that activated the self-destruct sequence?"

"A robot. The button was there so I could destroy the facility when I was finished with it, but I couldn't have anyone try to sabotage my plans, so I had the button set to send out powerful blasts of electricity. A living person would die from such an exposure before they could even put pressure on the device, but a robot would merely short circuit, as you see here," O'Malley replayed the recording right before the feed was cut. The figure in the black armor pressed the button and fell against the Chief shortly after.

"Clearly the robot is unable to function," he explained. The Chief then picked up the robot and carried it out of the camera's view.

"Ok, so all of that really did happen. But why did you have to capture us and painfully put me in this new body?"

"Well, you know how the saying goes. All work and no play makes O'Malley a dull AI."

"I don't think that's what it was originally."

"Quiet you fool."

"So, you want us to join you?"

"Yes, yes I do. Together, we can defeat the Reds and the Blues, ending this petty squabble once and for all! You can avenge Tex's death! Tucker, you can get your baby back!"

"Ribs?" Tucker asked hopefully.

"No, I mean your baby alien."

"Oh," Tucker dropped his head, his voice sounded crestfallen.

"So Church, what do you say?"

Church thought very hard. O'Malley, who he had thought was evil, had actually been looking out for Tex the whole time she was gone. Now that she was dead, O'Malley was offering him a chance to avenge her death. Church had still loved her, but was unwilling to tell her that. Now she was dead and he would never get that chance. O'Malley was offering him an opportunity to make up for it. His gaze met Sarge's visor. O'Malley was looking at the man through the sergeant's eyes and was hoping his well-fabricated lie had worked. Church outstretched his hand.

"O'Malley, you've got yourself a deal."

To Be Continued