Chapter 16
0700 hours, January 24, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Inside The Fabled Prophecy/ High Charity
"That tower? What's so special about it?" Ando asked.
"It's no tower, it's a Forerunner ship, and it seems so that the prophets are going to use it to escape High Charity!" The Commander replied.
"How can we board that ship?" Ando said as he stood up.
"Board that ship? By the prophets, that's suicide!" The Commander said.
"How can we, I, board that ship?" Ando said firmly.
"You won't be coming alone, that's for sure," The Commander sighed and said, "That energy beam, if you can get to its power source, you can then enter the beam and it will carry you to the Forerunner ship."
"Thank you Commander," Ando replied.
The Phantom's three plasma turrets let loose a stream of boiling energy raining plasma on the Flood below. Slowly, the Flood on the landing platform were destroyed, so as Ando Mormoslee and his team set foot on the landing platform, only a few stray infection forms remained.
"Grunts, you provide covering fire, Hunters, you shall take out the groups of Flood, we elites shall take care of the rest." Ando said. Yim Yam and the rest of the team shouted "YES SIR!" and made their way to the single door.
"Good luck, I shall pick up some reinforcements and try to find a way inside the Forerunner ship!" The Commander said over the COM. With that the dropship flew off.
"Okay, you two!" Ando ordered pointing at two grunts, "Cover that doorway! Hunters, move in!" The two grunts backed up against the doorway as two hunters entered followed by the rest of the team.
One elite stood awestruck at the pair of Flood infected hunters and muttered, "Why, the hunters have been taken by the Flood as well…"
The two regular hunters roared angrily and raised their shields, their fuel rod cannons slowly charging.
"Open fire!" A mix of blue, green, and emerald plasma impacted on the infected hunters followed by the comet-like fuel rods from the grunt's fuel rod cannons and the beam-like energy from the hunter's arm mounted cannons. Yim Yam primed a plasma grenade and threw it between the two monstrosities. As the grenade exploded, a pair of tentacles lashed out and smashed one hunter. The other hunter roared angrily and charged forward lashing out its spines and cutting one infected hunter in half. The other infected hunter roared just as angrily and, using its shield like a sword, slammed it down upon the regular hunter's shield. The infected hunter may have had more strength, but the regular hunter had something better… a fuel rod cannon. The regular hunter slammed its gun into the unshielded part of its enemy's body and fired. Moments later, two halves of the infected hunter's body slammed to the ground.
Nodding appreciatively at the hunter, Ando led the team through the next door, where a grav lift awaited.
"You have to wait here," Ando said to the hunter knowing that the beast in its armor wouldn't be able to fit in the gravity lift. "I'll go up first, you grunts follow, and then you elites take the rear. You two elites, help the hunter guard the lift." The hunter and the two elites nodded as Ando and the rest of his team went up the gravity lift.
Ando took out his plasma rifle and signaled to the rest of the team that they were nearing the end of the lift. The opposite end opened and Ando and his team spilled out. The area was secure. The team followed the hallway and exited via the door in front of them.
Ando and his team entered a huge chasm where three platforms floated. Several swarms of drones, packs of brutes, and groups of Flood where fighting. Suddenly a narrow beam of energy erupted through the wall of exchange fire and utterly destroyed a group of bunched up drones.
"Why, that's a hunter's…" Ando muttered, "Men, head to the Central Platform! Allies are awaiting us!" Ando led his team onto another platform and signaled the grunts to stay there and provide covering fire. Ando and his elites then took a gravity bridge from there to the Central Platform where Ando and his elites found four hunters and five flustered elites were doing their best against the tidal wave of enemies.
"Gold Commander!" A gold armored Zealot said. "The Commander sent us forward to escort you and your team to the conduit! Quickly, we don't have much time!" The Zealot started to head towards another gravity bridge when the bridge exploded. Flying past a burning group of Drones having just impacted against a grunt's fuel rod, a Sentinel Major surrounded by a flock of sentinels emerged.
"Open fire!" Ando roared. The elites and the hunters immediately started to open fire at the newcomers. Drones flew around the sentinels firing their plasma pistols at the machines as narrow beams of energy slowly set the Drone's wings alight. Beserking Brutes charged around randomly landing ineffective punches upon the Flood. The brutes that had not berserked where firing their red brute plasma rifles at the nearest enemy before a Flood infection form would latch itself to the beast. The sentinel major fired its mortar launcher and its mini missiles at the crowd. Ando Mormoslee saw a drone fly towards him and turned around to face it. Using his plasma rifle, he melee attacked the buglike alien, but it didn't do a thing… even the drones had been taken by the Flood.
Yim Yam saw the Guardians of the sacred rings emerge from the swarm of burning Drones, he had just set alight with his fuel rod cannon, and ordered three grunts to focus only on the Sentinel Major. As the three grunts rapidly fired their fuel rod cannons, making a total of fifteen comet-like fuel rods arcing gracefully towards the Sentinel Major, another flock of Sentinels arrived above the grunts. The flock flew forwards and engaged a swarm of drones when the fuel rods impacted on them. Bits of flaming metal and burning corpses rained everywhere.
"Damn!" Yim Yam thought, "Those bad Drones are getting in our line of fire!" Yim Yam saw another salvo of fuel rods fly towards the Sentinel Major when, once again, flying Drones and Sentinels flew in the way.
"That's it! You three!" Yim Yam grunted as he addressed the three grunts that had been firing their fuel rod cannons at. "Follow me! We have to get in close to take out that Sentinel Major, follow me!" Yim Yam led the three fuel rod cannon wielding grunts towards the gravity bridge. From there, the grunts floated over to the Central Platform.
Ando had drawn his energy sword and was slicing his enemies apart when four grunts waddled in front of him towards the Sentinel Major. Suddenly a group of infected brutes started to charge and Ando and his elites fought back. They needed evac.
Yim Yam and the grunts had snuck right under the Sentinel Major, which was floating straight above the Central Platform, and quietly aimed their fuel rod cannons.
"Open fire!" Yim Yam yelled. Twenty fuel rods flew towards the mechanical beast. After three fuel rods had impacted on its metal body, the Sentinel Major finally noticed the grunts and it backed away, completely dodging the other fuel rods. It fired its mortar launcher and red needler-like crystals flew directly at the four grunts.
"Ugh!" One grunts groaned, he then fell down… dead.
"Hold positions!" Yim Yam shouted as panic started to creep up into his voice. Four of the fifteen fuel rods launched from the grunts impacted on the Sentinel Major's dual energy shields, both shields failed and a single fuel rod impacted on its body. Another salvo of mortar and another grunt fell down.
"Charge up your plasma pistol and fire!" Yim Yam practically sobbed. Yim Yam and the last grunt drew their plasma pistols and fired the charged shots. They homed in on the Sentinel Major and made a direct hit. The smoking metal corpse fell down to High Charity's city. Yim Yam sighed in relief, the grunts had taken down their first Sentinel Major…
Ando Mormoslee saw the Sentinel Major explode and felt a renewed energy seep into his body.
"This is it! Drive these beasts, Flood, Covenant, and Sentinel alike to their deaths! Charge!" Ando roared. The Zealot, Yim Yam and his grunts, the three surviving hunters, and all the elites charged forward and mercilessly mowed down Flood, Covenant, and Sentinel alike. Soon only clustered groups of Flood and Sentinels remained. A few small swarms of Drones still flew around doing their best to survive against their enemies. But, suddenly, another Sentinel Major arrived. On the Central Platform's opposite side, a human dropship hovered above Ando and his team. Ando could see a human Flood piloting the ship.
"All is lost!" A grunt wailed hopelessly.
"Need some help?" A familiar voice said over the COM. Ando looked up and saw a Phantom hovering over Ando and his team.
"Just in time Commander." Ando Mormoslee replied.
"Well? Jump in!" The Commander laughed. The Zealot, who was dual wielding energy swords, looked up hardly daring to believe it.
"Let's go!" Ando laughed. The remaining grunts, elites, and hunters ran towards the Phantoms gravity lift and floated inside.
Meanwhile, the Phantom's three turrets started to glow alight and they let loose three streams of boiling plasma at the Flood controlled pelican and the Sentinel Major. Ando Mormoslee walked up towards the gravity lift and took one last look at the battlefield, the drones had already retreated and the remaining sentinels were almost all badly damaged… wires were hanging loosely all over their metal bodies. The remaining Flood forms stood motionlessly on the Central Platform as the Flood controlled pelican and the Sentinel Major returned fire at each other and at the Phantom.
The elite in golden armor went up the gravity lift and the Phantom took off, stray bullets and plasma trailing randomly behind it….