Chapter 3 – 'Rebel Point' Part III
0200 Hours, February 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Harold's Valley [Asteroid Belt/ Unclassified space zone/ Rebel Base/ En route to Armory W-4
Katy cycled the bullets in her MA5K while Andrew aimed his SMG down the corridor. The Spartan made a series of hand signals, and Katy reacted. Katy ran swiftly past the two manned turrets, the six Rebel troops holding .30-caliber machine guns, and dropped a single flash-bang grenade behind her.
A flash of light appeared, and the Rebel troops came under fire from two sides. Andrew's SMG burped sixty rounds into the two Rebels manning the turret and Katy emptied her MA5K into three of the six Rebel troops. The remaining three Rebels turned their .30-calibers on the Spartan when they lost their legs. Andrew's commandeered .30-caliber machine gun was still smoking as he dropped it on the floor. Katy drew her M6 pistol and shot each Rebel in the head. The two Spartans continued on until they ran into Evan, who was running from a pair of Rebel troops. Katy's MA5K stuttered, and two bodies fell.
"Take this." Andrew said as he tossed an M6 pistol to Evan.
"Thanks." Evan replied. Soon, the three Spartans had made it directly in front of their destination. The only problem was that there were twelve, specially armored Rebels standing guard… or, waiting for the Spartans.
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0210 Hours, February 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Harold's Valley [Asteroid Belt/ Unclassified space zone/ Rebel Base/ Command Center
Sergeant Mason, the Rebel Special Operations Assault Squad leader, or SPOAS, stood in front of the Rebel Nation's Admiral, Admiral Wooten.
"We're all fighting against a common enemy Admiral! Why fight against the UNSC when we could join them?! Call off your Spartan-Hunter teams and we could have an alliance with the UNSC by tomorrow." Sgt. Mason reasoned. The Admiral looked at the Spartan-Hunter schematics. They were very much identical to the standard UNSC Spartan, except instead of arms and legs, they had solid titanium-alloy prosthetics. Every bone had been replaced by metal, and every one of the five human senses enhanced by chemicals. They wore armor that was in every way superior to the MJOLNIR and even had captured Elite armor fused into it, so they even had energy shields. Of the six-hundred candidates, four hundred-eleven had died during the augmentation process, and one hundred-twelve in the armor testing stages. Only seventy-seven remained, and all were dispatched to kill the meddlesome UNSC Spartans.
"You're sounding a lot like a UNSC spy." Wooten growled. "Destroying the Spartans would mean an end to frequent raids and casualties to the RN. I'm gonna do whatever I can to destroy them, so hold your tongue or I'll kill you right here and now."
Mason couldn't control his anger. For years the Admiral had sent SPOAS on practically suicidal missions with insufficient equipment and kept on deducting their pay. Once, he even sent a Pelican Gunship to 'cover' SPOAS. The order killed two of Mason's men. "No, I will not hold my tongue you son of a bitch. As CO of SPOAS, we hereby succeed from the Rebel Nation." Mason drew his M6 pistol, "And, that makes you a hostile." He fired, an armored hand made of steel and flesh blocked the fired projectile.
The Admiral's two S-H guards held top-of-the-Covenant-line Beam rifles as well as two M6D pistols. They fired their Beam rifles and dual lances of plasma danced over Mason's head. Sgt. Mason was a crack shot, but he knew he couldn't penetrate their armor head-on. The SPOAS leader took cover behind a nearby computer terminal and couldn't do anything as Admiral Wooten strolled outside the room.
"I'll get you Wooten!" Mason shouted. But first I have to get past these bastards. He thought. Mason poked his head out and sighted the two S-Hs. A lance of plasma splashed near his head. There were several unarmored joints, above the thighs, behind the knees, the elbows, the armpits, and…
The neck! Mason grinned. He aimed his pistol and put multiple rounds into one S-H's neck. The second put a beam a millimeter above Mason's head, so the Sergeant withdrew. The second S-H had tucked his chin down, so a second shot to the neck would be useless. The helmet would successfully block any bullet. The knee, elbow, and armpit joints would be useless, since they were all metal. Above the thighs, Mason knew that there had been no modifications to the groin area, luckily for the S-Hs, so Mason opened fire. The S-H screamed in pain and fell.
Mason cheered and planted a bullet in the armored figure's neck. Then, he commandeered the S-H's ammo. The Sergeant pondered his two choices, either link up with his team, or chase the Admiral. For all he knew, Wooten was a coward and would've sent a full squad of S-Hs to defend him. So, Mason rushed to link up with his team.
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0210 Hours, February 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Harold's Valley [Asteroid Belt/ Unclassified space zone/ Rebel Base/ Armory W-4
"SPOAS has betrayed our nation, kill them on sight." A voice sounded over a loudspeaker. Andrew didn't know what SPOAS was, but he did know that the armored figures would present a huge obstacle. Andrew, Katy, and Evan crouched behind a pair of power conduits and waited for the rest of the team.
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0200 Hours, February 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Harold's Valley [Asteroid Belt/ Unclassified space zone/ Rebel Base/ En route to Armory W-4
Monica was blown off her feet as a fragmentation grenade exploded inches in front of her. The Spartan's armor saved her, but three of the twelve Rebel troops advanced to her prone figure. Kyle slid out of his cover, planted shotgun pellets all over the three Rebels, and Monica fired her two M6 pistols. Four bodies tumbled to the ground. The remaining five opened fire and bullets shattered on the Spartans' armor.
Meters away, however, Philip popped out from a corridor and fired his last rocket. The ensuing explosion ripped through the last five Rebels and allowed the three Spartans to make their way to armory W-4. They met up with Katy, Andrew, and Evan. The six Spartans waited silently for Cody, Cameron, and Smith.
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"Twenty-four Rebels against us three? I feel sorry for those guys." Cody grinned.
"Okay, we'll split it up, eight for each, okay?" Cameron asked.
"That's fine with me. Last one to kill their eight is a rotten, dead, and still rotting Grunt." Smith replied. The sniper swung his sniper rifle and leapt out of cover to face eight of the twenty-four Rebel troops who were guarding the main corridor. He switched his sniper rifle to an auto-fire mode and emptied his extended clip of five bullets. Four Rebels fell, and Smith drew his trusty Sub-machine gun. The other side of the corridor was filled with bullets and eight bodies littered the floor.
Meanwhile, Cody plunged his Saber-class knife into one Rebel's back, cut his spine, and let the body drop. Just as quickly, Cody had his silenced M6 pistol drawn, stabbed his knife through one Rebel's head, and used his pistol to kill five other Rebels. The last turned around, saw the Spartan, and committed suicide.
Cameron presented himself to one Rebel, and the trooper reached out with his SMG. Cameron, however, grabbed the man's forearm, and pointed it in the direction of the other seven Rebels. The first Rebel fired a split second later, seven Rebels were shot to death before the first Rebel let go of the trigger, and Cameron wrung his neck.
The three Spartans met up with the rest of the team, still quietly arguing about who won.
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0210 Hours, February 15, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Harold's Valley [Asteroid Belt/ Unclassified space zone/ Rebel Base/ Armory W-4
Together as one, the nine Spartans opened fire on the twelve Spartan-Hunters. Bullets pounded the S-Hs' armor, but when the assault ended, there wasn't even a scratch on their armor. The S-Hs returned fire with their Covenant beam rifles; they fired twice. Twenty-four plasma beams flew through the air and towards the Spartans. Seven beams splashed across Smith's chest, and while four were reflected by the MJOLNIR's reflective coating, the rest penetrated and one even went through his heart. Smith died instantly.
"SMITH!!!" Somebody roared. It was Evan, and he made the first kill in his life. Evan aimed a captured .30-caliber machine gun and fired its full one hundred-twenty clip into one S-H, and multiple lucky shots splattered through his neck. But, just as the S-H dropped, twelve more turned the corridor, and another twelve came through a door. They shot Evan, and the Spartan dropped.
The Spartans were outnumbered, and there was practically no way they could win. A meter to his left, Andrew spotted Katy unloading her MA5K and M6 pistol on a trio of S-Hs. The remaining thirty-five S-Hs opened fire with overcharged plasma pistols and beam rifles.
"KATY!!! Watch out!" Andrew shouted. He lunged into her and knocked her down as a tidal wave of plasma flew through the air. Katy winced as plasma heated her armor, and Andrew fell as an overcharged plasma pistol projectile landed across his chest. On her TEAMBIO, Andrew's vitals were flatlined. Tears poured through Katy's eyes as she stared unbelievingly at Andrew's prone form. He had been the man she loved… and the Rebels would pay.
Katy stood up with her MA5K and she started to scream angrily. She fired her MA5K until it ran out of ammo. Then, she grabbed the dead S-H's beam rifle and kept on shooting it until it ran out of energy… and seven S-Hs lay dead. Finally, one Spartan-Hunter returned fire with his beam rifle. The purple beam flew through the air and impacted on Katy's stomach. The Spartan doubled over as her breath was knocked out of her. The S-H fired again, this time shooting Katy's head. Plasma reflected off Katy's visor, though her HUD winked off, and the Spartan fell… unconscious.
With nothing else to do, or, nothing that they could do, the surviving Spartans ran for it. Monica and Philip stood by the door to the armory and started to lay down a sheet of covering fire. The other Spartans collected Katy's, Andrew's, Smith's, and Evan's bodies and hurried through the door. Once inside, the door flew shut… and the remaining Spartans caught their breaths….