Author's Note: So yeah, I'm continuing with my rapid-fire updating, lol. As usual, reviews are the best things ever, hope you like the chapter, and peace!

Chapter Thirty-Two: Dates on a Battlefield

1845 Hours, February 18, 2552. Phase One, City of Cote D'Azur. "The Irony," Planet Sigma Octanus IV. Day Three of the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV

"Covenant infantry, over by that tree! Watch for those Hunters near the lift!"

"Breaching! Breaching!"

"Sniper! Get down!"

"Set up that machine gun in the second story window and give 'em hell!"

"Building secured! Let's move, Marines!"

"Fire in the hole!"

By now, my ears were constantly ringing with the sound of gunfire and explosions. As soon as we'd entered the city, the Covies had come out in droves. There were simply Covenant troops everywhere, which, on a positive note, meant that Bravo Company didn't even need to aim to hit something.

The huge numbers of enemy soldiers, however, also made clearing out the city a long, tedious process.

"We'll do this methodically, but also quickly and efficiently," Captain Kingston had said at the briefing. "Cote D'Azur is divided into six quadrants. Bravo Company will be entering the city in Quadrant A, which is southeast relative the others. Once this sector has been swept clean, we move west to Quadrant B. From there, we'll continue to move up and to the side, until we have all the quadrants secured. Then we'll set up our perimeter around the city and keep the Covenant out. Understood?"

"Yes, sir," the other two lieutenants and I had answered.

"All right. Building by building, street by street, we'll get rid of every alien bastard lurking in Cote D'Azur. Get ready for a lot of action, Marines."

Two days later, Kingston's words were proving to be true. In over forty-eight hours, we'd managed to get only twenty-five percent of Quadrant A secured. If we continued at this pace, we'd run out of supplies well before we managed to save the city.

Of course, that was the least of my problems at the moment. Right now, I was too busy trying to live to really think about the big picture.

"Third squad, listen up! Move to the fire escape and catch them through the emergency exit! We're pinned down!" I ordered.

I pressed my back against a ceramic planter in the corporate building's lobby, praying the hail of plasma and needles wouldn't hit me. First platoon and I had been in this hairy situation for only a couple of minutes, but with deadly projectiles filling the air around us, it felt more like two hours. We had to get the Covenant to focus their attention elsewhere, or we wouldn't even be able to return fire.

Holding my battle rifle in my gloved hands, barrel hot from days of overuse, I poked my head through the plants to get a fix on our attackers.

That turned out to be a huge mistake. I went prone immediately, my reflex almost rivaling that of a Spartan, as the green foliage above me was shredded and burned.

Exposing helmeted head to enemy fire equals bad idea, Cooper, I scolded myself.

"Hillburn! Where the fuck is my flanking unit?" I yelled into the COM above the noise of the fight.

"Moving into position, ma'am! We had snipers to take care of outside, and it took an electronics tech to get through the side door," the young lieutenant replied.

I muttered another curse, then glanced at my HUD's motion tracker. Finally, the ten yellow dots I was waiting for moved up on my squad's right side.

The cacophony of assault and battle rifles, submachine guns, and shotguns filled the room as Lieutenant Hillburn's squad opened fire.

The Covenant on the opposite side of the room shrieked with surprise, but the Elites were quick to restore order to their troops. Finding cover behind the front reception desk and other solid objects, the aliens were now pinned.

"First squad, let 'em have it!" I cried, rising from my crouched position to fire off three-round bursts. As third squad laid down suppressive fire on the enemy, I had my squad move forward slowly, going from cover to cover; the lobby of this particular company was a vast space, filled only occasionally with columns, seats, and planters.

Emerging from their cover, several Elites began to return fire in my direction. I scrambled across the marble floor and ducked behind a column, just in time to see a glowing plasma grenade sail through the air.

It landed and exploded right where I had been just an instant earlier.

Realizing how close I'd come to being stuck with an explosive, I moved around the column and squeezed the trigger of my battle rifle angrily at the enemy. Pausing to reload a moment later, I unhooked a frag grenade from my web belt and let it loose. The grenade burst as soon as it hit behind the front desk. Expensive marble, wood, and electronic furnishings flew through the lobby…along with purple and blue blood from the Elites caught in the blast.

The two remaining Elites growled what sounded like orders to the frightened Jackals and Grunts. Using its shield as cover, a Jackal and a few Grunts tried to make a run for Hillburn's squad. I watched in horror as the lead Grunt primed another plasma grenade and pulled its arm back to throw.

That's when a single shot rang out through the lobby.

The Grunt's head popped in a splash of blood and brains in front of its comrades. Meanwhile, the glowing grenade fell at its feet. With third squad safely out of the blast radius, the plasma grenade exploded, taking the small group of stunned aliens with it.

"Nice work, second squad," I whispered into the COM, grinning silently inside my helmet. The snipers were hiding out just outside the building, keeping an eye on the streets and the engagement inside. Man, had they intervened at just the right time.

Only a handful of aliens were now left alive inside the foyer. As third squad continued to keep the Covenant aliens pinned, first squad and I pushed forward. Another well-placed grenade and several rounds of ammo later, it was finished.

"Lobby secure, Marines. Let's regroup and head up the next few floors," I said over the platoon-wide channel. As first platoon obeyed the order, I opened another channel to Captain Kingston.

"Sir?"

"Wait one, Lieutenant," Kingston replied. I heard him breathing heavy into the mike, as though he were sprinting. A distant explosion came through the COM channel, and then, above the loud sounds of battle, a hard thud.

"Captain? Are you ok?" I asked, worried.

"Fine, Cooper. We're just in a bit of situation." An MA5B assault rifle opened up in a long burst, and, judging by its proximity to the mike, I recognized the weapon as Kingston's. He was currently with third platoon, working on clearing out an adjacent city block. "That's right, you lousy son of a bitch," the captain muttered as a Jackal's shriek pierced through the radio channel. "Bullets. It's what's for dinner."

"Uh, sir…" I tried again.

"Go ahead, Cooper. I'm listening now."

"We've secured the lobby of the building, Captain."

"Good work, Lieutenant. Third platoon and I have just finished up here in the café."

"It's a bloody shame, really. It looked like such a charming little place," Lieutenant Lewis interjected. "Now it's full of those dead buggers."

"Cooper, I want you to clear the rest of the Galaxy Stars. Do it floor by floor; you'll hear the Covies if they're in any of the rooms," Kingston said, ignoring the other lieutenant's comment.

"Yes, sir."

Then I realized what he'd said.

"Sir, did you say 'Galaxy Stars'?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"No, sir, it's just…" Is this really the same hotel I stayed in with my husband? I asked myself. How did I not notice? Between my brain's current focus on survival and the fact that Willis and I had been too interested in each other to see much else earlier, the missed connection suddenly made more sense. Still, I need to keep my mind sharper next time.

"The more we dawdle here, Lieutenant, the less time we have to get rid of the Covenant."

"Yes, sir, of course. Sorry," I said, returning from my musings.

"Secure the building fast. When you're done, rendezvous with third platoon at the Pearl Croissant. Got it, Cooper?"

"Yes, sir. I read you."

"That's what I like to hear. You've got ten minutes, Lieutenant. Kingston out."

When the COM went dead, I paused for a moment to let the information sink in. I just fought a skirmish in the same hotel Willis booked for us, I thought. And Kingston and Lewis blew Covies to hell in the same café where Willis bought us pastries. For some reason, these facts really, really bothered me. Light duty post, my ass, I thought, shaking my head as I turned to face my team.

"All right, first platoon! Captain wants the building flagged a green zone in ten minutes! We've got a ton of levels, Marines! Take the rooms only if you hear or see something move, including on trackers, scanners, or vision. Let's go!"

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"Huh." Captain Kingston looked down at his watch. "Nine minutes, fifty-three seconds, Cooper. You really took my ten minutes to heart, didn't you?"

"Orders are orders, sir," I answered, trying to keep the smug look I wanted to give him off my face.

"I see." He motioned for me to follow him as third and first platoons took up positions around the hotel and café. Once we were out of earshot of the others, Kingston turned his gaze on me. I saw the dark circles under his eyes as he removed his helmet and ran a dirty hand across his brown-gray hair. The poor guy must be beside himself, I thought. Commanding one company at seventy-five percent strength against an invasion force in the very city he's supposed to liberate? It's a wonder we haven't had many casualties yet. Sure, we were only facing part of the invasion force, as Europa Base had been under siege for days. But the heart of the city was what the Covenant were really after---their troops were specifically concentrated in Cote D'Azur.

I'd been wrong on Heath when I'd judged Captain Kingston's abilities the second time as poor and far too cautious. He'd certainly hit the head on the nail when he foresaw the last-minute attack in the desert. And here, after three days of heavy fighting in situations where we were always outnumbered, each member of Bravo Company was still alive. All of it was due to him and his skills as company commander.

I guess I should have learned to trust my first instinct.

"Cooper, I'm going to be straight with you, like I was with Graham and Lewis."

"Sir?"

"While you were clearing the hotel, we lost contact with base again." His eyes didn't waver. "There's not just static on the lines this time, Cooper. There's silence."

"You think---"

"I don't know, but the probability is high. If Europa's been overrun…" Captain Kingston glanced down at his muddy boots and shook his head. After a slight pause, he looked back up at me. "Cooper, we won't go down without a fight. And we haven't lost all hope yet, either. Somehow, I know, we can at least try to pull this off. But I just wanted you to know the reality of what's happening." His eyebrows darkened, and he gave me an even more serious stare. "You must also realize that we are now surrounded, yes?"

I swallowed. Swallowed hard, despite the sudden dryness in my throat. "Y-yes, sir," I replied a bit shakily.

Kingston nodded and started to walk back to the two platoons. When he had gone just a few feet, however, he turned back. The captain looked me up and down and said quietly, mostly to himself, "Shit, Cooper. You're too damn young, kid."