Chapter 4: Truce?
New Mombasa Central Highway
It took several more tense minutes for Tarin and Williams to confirm the source of the weapons fire. Fortunately, they did not run into any more of the gorilla-like aliens on the way.
"I see them." Tarin pointed to the other end of the street. "There!"
Williams narrowed his eyes and could see a squad of Marines returning fire with an opposing Covenant squad consisting of Jackals and, unfortunately, more of the gorilla aliens.
"It looks like we're gonna have to save the Captain's little sis again." Tarin sighed.
"Wonderful."
"Nicole, we found them. Captain Mengsk, home in on our position for pickup." Tarin said.
"Roger that." Mengsk said.
There was no reply from Nicole.
"Petty officer, do you read?" Tarin asked.
There was tense silence for several seconds until the radio suddenly squacked and buzzed.
"Copy that." Nicole's voice was distorted and muted by gunfire and alien screams. "I am inbound to your position."
"Okay, let's move." Tarin said as she shut off her radio.
"Why don't we just wait till the cavalry get here?" Williams said meekly.
"Not fast enough. They'll just get swarmed by those Covvies."
Williams sighed and said, "Of course. What's the plan?"
Tarin quickly scanned the area. Paccone and his squad were currently pinned down behind a fountain in a wide open plaza. The majority of the Covenant were firing down on them from a balcony on an apartment building adjacent to the plaza. The plaza itself was sparsely populated with benches, planters, and trees. It was hardly adequate cover and any attempt to enter or exit the plaza would be suicide. However, Tarin noticed that the east side of the apartment building was devoid of life. To make things better, there were a multitude of aesthetic columns and vehicles to provide cover and concealment. She and Williams could easily enter the building from that side and hit the Covenant from the rear.
"Okay, I think-"
Again, Williams would never know what Tarin was originally planning, because at that moment, a Warthog burst onto the plaza, knocking over benches and small trees before screeching to a halt between the Covenant and Paccone's Marines. A blood spattered Nicole leapt out of the driver's seat, armed with a Covenant fuel rod cannon, and began to sweep the balcony with superheated energy. Most of the Jackals and Brutes ducked, but the slower ones were instantly incinerated. As Nicole was firing, Tarin and Williams noticed that the fuel rod was beginning to overheat. Nicole also realized this and hurled the entire weapon over the balcony like a giant grenade. The compromised weapon detonated, sending Covenant flying over the balcony and to their deaths. Nicole didn't even stop there. She quickly leapt into the back of the Warthog and started spraying what was left of the balcony with heavy cannon rounds.
Amid all this, Tarin sighed dejectedly. She really wanted to see how her plan would have worked out.
"Come on, we should go and help out."
Tarin and Williams sprinted across the street and joined Paccone, who was taking cover behind an overturned trashcan. The rest of his squad members were huddled behind the fountain, taking shots at the Covenant.
"Well, I can't say I'm not glad to see you." Paccone grinned. "But as you can see, we've got the situation perfectly under control."
Tarin rolled her eyes and Williams sighed.
"I see we've also got our own little superweapon here." Paccone motioned to Nicole. "Where'd it come from? Did some giant hand drop it from the sky?"
"Frankly, I don't know how she got here." Tarin responded. "But I don't really care as long as she gets the job done. What's your squad's status?"
"Well, it's just down to me, the lovebirds, Kumi, Sergeant Alvarado, and a couple of his men. No serious injuries though."
"Well, don't worry. We've got a ride out of here."
As if to back up Tarin's statement, Mengsk's Viper whipped around the corner, guns blazing. Heavy cannon shells blew the entire balcony apart, showering the plaza below to debris, blood, and body parts. The armored vehicle screeched to a stop next to fountain, still firing at the building in case there were any Covenant survivors.
"All aboard!" Mengsk yelled over the gunfire. "Next stop, anywhere but here!"
"There's your ride, Sergeant." Tarin patted Paccone on the shoulder. "Please try to get it back in one piece, or the Captain is going to be pissed."
"Girl, that's all I live for." Paccone got up and waved to his squad. "Come on boys and girls, time to ditch this dump!"
Alvarado and his last two men quickly piled into the Viper. Kumi followed them in. Paccone was about to get in when he saw Sam still firing at the Covenant.
"Leo! Sam! Get your asses in here pronto! We don't have time for pottybreaks!"
"Just one more shot, Sarge!" Sam said as she aimed her rifle. She had one round left in her magazine and didn't fell like putting it to waste.
Fortunately, that wouldn't be the case. Sam caught sight of a small convoy of Covenant vehicles coming up the street. Leading the convoy was a Wraith, with a very well-dressed Brute standing out of the hatch. Now, Sam didn't exactly understand what all the decorative armor was for, but she knew she just had to shoot the Brute. Sam inched her rifle over the Brute's head and pulled the trigger. Her heavy rifle roared as the bullet splattered the Brutes brains over the Wraith's armor plating. The entire convoy, suddenly leaderless, abruptly stopped and reversed direction.
"Come on." Leo grabbed Sam's hand. "It's time to go."
Meanwhile, Tarin and Williams reached the Warthog and leapt into the driver and passenger seats respectively. Nicole was still pounding away at the Covenant with the 30mm autocannon.
"Brace yourself, we're outta here!" Tarin yelled as she pounded her foot onto the accelerator.
Inside the Viper, Paccone grumbled, "What I hate about transports is the fact that they're basically bullet magnets. Pretty much everybody wants to shoot them."
As if to reinforce the point, there were several dull thuds and sizzles as plasma fire bounced off the vehicle's armor.
"Well," Leo replied, "At least it's not like it's going to penetrate-"
Suddenly, there was a loud BANG and the Viper tipped to the left a little, as if a sledgehammer had hit in the side. Leo saw a large dent several inches deep in the hull. It was obvious the vehicle had taken a direct hit from one of the Brute shots.
"I see your point." Leo said meekly.
"I wonder if this rifle could pierce it…" Sam thought.
"Don't even fucking think about it." Mengsk said. "I've kept this baby in one piece in for over nine battles and I intend to keep it that way for a lot more."
However, in the Warthog, things were a lot more hectic. Without the safety of full armor plating, the Warthog crew was all too aware of the amounts of enemy fire they were drawing and how close it was. Nicole and Williams blasted any infantry that tried to block their way, while the Viper easily dispatched any Covenant vehicles that happened to show themselves. It would be a long and eventful trip back to friendly lines.
New Mombasa Central Highway Defense Line
Karla looked down at the other end of the highway with her binoculars. The Covenant force on the other side had suddenly stopped right outside the range of most of her force's weapons. The Covenant force looked battle ready, but it didn't look as if they were going to be charging down the road anytime soon.
"What do you think they're waiting for?" One of the Marines asked.
"Who knows. Covenant thinking has been shown to be extremely inconsistent." Karla replied.
That fact was true. Karla had run into Covenant forces that were so poorly led, she wondered how they were even able to point their weapon in the right direction while other times she ran into organized and smart units that gave Karla a run for her money in terms of tactical and strategic planning.
"Ma'am, we've got movement." One Marine pointed down the highway.
"Numbers?"
"Uhhhh, just a single Ghost. Doesn't look like the driver's armed, either."
Now this was a surprise. Karla looked through her binoculars again and indeed saw a lone Ghost approaching their lines.
"Orders?"
"Let him get a bit closer." Karla said. "I've never seen Covenant willing to negotiate, but I've also never seen them act like this before. Once he gets close enough, nab him and see what he wants."
It took several minutes, but the Ghost finally approached the Marine defense line. Karla wasn't sure what was going through the Elite's mind when he approached the line of guns pointed at him, but she was sure it was nothing good.
"I am Captain Wellings, the officer in charge of this area. What's your name and purpose?" Karla asked the Elite.
The Elite replied in a series of garbled and unfamiliar words.
"Shit." Karla said when she realized that there might be a problem.
"Do you speak any English at all?" She asked.
The Elite replied again in a different, but equally confusing jumble of alien words.
"Wonderful," Karla said to herself. "Our enemy finally decides to negotiate with us for the first time in human history, and their representative can't even speak the same goddamn language as us."
Suddenly, she had an idea. Karla picked up the radio and called the prison guards watching Mako back at the Municipal Center.
"Yes, Lieutenant, you heard me correctly. I want the prisoner taken out of his cell and taken directly to Outpost Gamma."
At that moment, two vehicles burst onto the highway at high speed. The Marines quickly turned their attention to the new threat. Karla looked and realized that it was Tarin and the others.
"Hold your fire! I repeat, hold your fire! Those are friendlies down there!"
A few seconds later, a somewhat harried looking Tarin and Williams pulled into the outpost in an incredibly battered Warthog. Mengsk's Viper followed close behind, in equally battered condition.
"I assume your mission went smoothly?" Karla asked.
"You could say that." Tarin sighed. "We managed to save Paccone's ass… again, but we weren't able to get a good read on the Covenant forces. Nicole says she saw their main force, but-"
Tarin caught sight of the Elite standing behind Karla and quickly raised her battle rifle.
"Whoa, hold it there!" Karla said as she grabbed Tarin's rifle and forced the barrel down. "We're not killing this one. Not yet, anyway."
"Can you explain this, Captain?" Tarin asked suspiciously.
"Not really, since I have no idea what's going on, either." Karla sighed. "How about you get Williams and the others to the mess tent and get something hot to eat. This is going to be a long day."
Tarin nodded, and took one last suspicious glare at the Elite before walking off the check on the Viper's occupants.
"Keep him somewhere safe, and away from the rest of the units. We don't want any disgruntled Marines breaking orders and play 'shoot the Elite'." Karla said.
"On it, ma'am!"
Karla then glanced over at the Viper. She saw Mengsk fretting over the condition of his Viper, as Wrall stood by trying to comfort Mengsk in the fact that at least Vipers weren't piles of junk like his own tank. Somehow, that didn't seem to console Mengsk that much. She then saw Paccone's squad making their way to the rear. However, something bothered her…
"Whoa, hold it there you little brat." Karla grabbed Sam's shoulder. "I don't quite remember seeing you lugging around that monster of a rifle before we ended up here."
"Uhhh yeah, my old one got kinda broken." Sam replied innocently. "Plasma swords tend to do that to stuff."
Karla sighed, it was going to happen one day eventually.
"Well, just make sure you log that thing with the quartermasters. It would really suck if you ran out of ammo for that thing and the clerks send you the wrong bullets."
"I'll work on that."
"Well… you can go play with your friends now. I have go talk to yet another Elite about things that will complicate this war much more than it should be."
"Um, good luck with that, I guess." Sam shouldered her rifle and ran to catch up with her squad.
"You know, most commanders would make sure that their loved ones were in a position to be as far away from the front lines as possible." Wrall pointed to Sam, "You know, family ties and all that."
"Yeah, well I'm not like most commanders, and if there's one thing I hate more than the Covenant, it's nepotism. Special treatment sucks, especially when you're not the one receiving it." Karla replied coldly.
"Oh boy, I'm sure everybody just loves you."
"At least one of them does." Karla replied.
Karla's radio buzzed so she flicked it on.
"Captain, the prisoner has arrived."
"I'm on the way. Put him in with the envoy." Karla said.
"Roger that."
Mako and the Elite envoy were taken to one of the conference rooms in a nearby Marriott hotel. A heavy Marine guard was posted outside to keep an eye on things. When they saw Karla approaching, they lowered their weapons and saluted before letting her in.
"You go through the trouble of imprisoning me in one of your boring structures, only to have me moved to yet another one?" Mako growled as he was brought forth in chains.
"Yeah, pretty much. I love annoying prisoners in my free time." Karla said sarcastically, "Now the only reason why we're here is because besides you, there's nobody I know that's fluent in both English and whatever language you speak."
"Another prisoner?"
"Something like that."
Mako cocked his head to the side thoughtfully. "What if I refuse? Or lie to you?"
"Then I'd shoot you."
"A compelling motivation." Mako agreed. "Let's get this over with."
The moment Mako walked into the room, he was fairly surprised at what he saw. Sitting at the table was a Unit Commander. Such individuals were not easy prisoners to take, which meant that he had given himself up willingly. But why?
"Ah, finally, somebody who can understand me." The Unit Commander remarked. "It's rather embarrassing trying to open up a dialogue without knowing how to speak the other side's language."
Mako looked to Karla, who replied, "You just have to translate the important parts. I don't need to be distracted by the small talk."
Mako nodded and turned back to the Unit Commander. "They want to know who you are and what you want."
"Of course." The Unit Commander grunted, "I am Unit Commander Slardar Pelamee, envoy from Warmaster Yemmamee. My mission here is to discuss the possibility and terms of a cease-fire or even an alliance with the humans."
Mako's heartbeat stopped for a moment. He wasn't sure if he had heard that last sentence correctly.
"Excuse me, what did you say?" He asked disbelievingly.
"The times have changed." Pelamee replied sadly. "The Prophets have betrayed us. After millennia of loyal service to them, the Prophets cast us aside and denied us a place on their Great Journey."
Mako took careful note of how Pelamee said "their Great Journey" in reference to the Prophets. Whatever had happened while he was away, it was monumental enough to drive a wedge between the Sangheli and the Prophets.
"The rulers of Karth and many like-minded individuals within the Covenant have decided that it is time to split from the Covenant and forge our own destiny." Pelamee continued. "We will find our own Great Journey, without being dictated or manipulated by the treacherous Prophets."
The whole notion was preposterous. A lone planet, splitting itself from a massive entity such as the Covenant? Then again, it sounded as if they had no other choice.
"Even now, we battle with the forces still loyal to the Prophets. If we can drive them from this planet, we may be able to go forth and unit similar planets to our cause." Pelamee grinned, "However, this means that we must learn to cooperate, especially with our former enemies."
Mako glanced at Karla and said to Pelamee, "Are you serious? Siding with them?"
"I have seen the humans fight, and no doubt you have too." Pelamee shrugged. "I've always wondered why they were never given the chance to join the Covenant. Even with their backwards technology and losses, they still fight with the determination and vigor of the greatest Sangheli. I have no qualms with fighting alongside them."
"But I still don't understand-"
Pelamee leaned forward. "The Jiralhanae are involved with this. Actually, I believe they are part of the cause."
Mako stopped. The Sangheli and the Jiralhanae were rivals ever since the foundation of the Covenant. The Jiralhanae were always trying to gain favor with the Prophets and gain the dominant position in the Covenant hierarchy. However, clever political maneuvering and masterful leadership kept the Sangheli at the top, at least until now.
"We need the humans on our side. We believe that their… unorthodox strategies may help us gain and upper hand over the Jiralhanae here. Also, they control a strategically important area. This area is crucial enough to quite possibly drive the Loyalist forces off this planet."
To Karla, the entire conversation between Mako and the other Elite were completely, well, alien to her. It was difficult to get any grasp of the weird, garbled language they were speaking, but it did sound as if they were talking about something very important.
When Mako finally told Karla everything he had heard, she nearly shot the Elite for fear he was lying. Then again, a Covenant civil war would explain a lot of the weird things going on here such as the apparent infighting and one side's offer for a truce.
"Get Major Mackenzie on the line." Karla told a nearby Marine. "I believe I have something he would want to see very much."