Author's Note: Just a word of caution, there's a lot of language in this chapter due to the situation. Do what you must to mentally prepare, lol. Hope you enjoy, please please review, and peace!
Chapter Forty-Five: Facts of Life and Death
2117 Hours, March 22, 2552. Phase Two, City of Cote D'Azur. "The Final Hours," Planet Sigma Octanus IV. Day Thirty-Five of the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV
My father, Commander Adam Cooper, was killed by the Covenant in a naval battle when I was four years old. At that young age, I wasn't sure what people meant when they said Dad was gone. I went to the funeral, felt some emotion, and cried, of course. But through it all, the actual concept of My daddy is dead! never really hit me. It was only as I grew older that I began to realize what death was and what death meant.
It meant missing someone, wanting to hear his voice or see her smiling face. It meant that no matter how much you wanted or how badly you needed these things, you could never have them again. No more trips to the park, no more sharing ice creams by the pond; you would never see that person anymore.
And yet, sometimes, you would.
I'd lost track of how many dreams I'd had, even now that I was an adult, about my father. Sometimes he was just part of some crazy dream I was having, and other times he was the center of it all. Either way, I took comfort in the times I was able to spend with him while asleep.
So now that I was facing this mysterious thing called death myself, I smiled at the irony. Looks like I'll finally get to see you again, Daddy, I thought. And Jenna, too. God, I've missed you guys so much.
That was the reason why I hadn't changed my name when I'd married Willis. My name was the last link I had to a beloved father who had been taken prematurely; as long as I was a Cooper, I could still be a part of him in some way. Willis, being the great man that he was, understood my choice and didn't try to change my mind. He knew I had no qualms about adopting his name, if only the circumstances were different.
"Frederick! Don't let 'em through!" I shouted over the radio, unleashing a spray of bullets from my MA5C. My platoon's first squad had recovered the weapon the day I'd fallen, so at least I didn't have to worry about not having a gun.
"There's too many, El-Tee!" Second Lieutenant Frederick's shriek was filled with fear.
"I said hold the fucking line! I don't care how you do it, just do it!" I'm not going to die. I'm not going to die. I'm not going to fucking die here! I thought to myself.
A blast sounded from a Wraith tank, and I ducked instinctively as a huge blue sphere flew over my head. The enemy ordnance hit a building a few hundred feet behind me, and the impact made the ground beneath my combat boots quake. Between my healing head injury making the surroundings shaky and the vibration from the explosion, I was quickly knocked off my feet.
Get up, get up, get up! I thought, picking up my assault rifle and aiming down the sights once more. The Covenant coming towards us were charging now, dozens of Brutes, Elites, Jackals, Grunts, Hunters, and Drones. And they'd come with the back-up support of three Wraith tanks and six Ghosts. How the fuck do they keep coming up with more armor, vehicles, and personnel? I wondered desperately. Though, in the end, I suppose the how and the why didn't matter so much.
This was what I'd feared all along: an all-out assault on our feeble perimeter. Bravo Company's lines had been absolutely silent for three days, and each day I had grown more and more nervous. The enemy had launched their attack over an hour ago; it began in a subtle manner, with just a couple of patrol teams at first. I hadn't thought much of the skirmish with third platoon, because it was so damn normal. But the Covies were clever fucking bastards. They initiated a similar "standard" assault on second platoon's lines a few minutes later, then did the same with first.
And after that, they'd consolidated their forces and called in reinforcements.
I'd had no choice but to pull first and second platoons off their watches and bring them up to Third's position. I knew that would leave the Covenant with wide-open flanks to either bypass our forward line or maneuver to take it out, but it was a risk I had to take. The alternative would mean the utter annihilation of third platoon and a breach in the center of our perimeter. At least this way, we had a slim chance of keeping the aliens where they belonged: out of Cote D'Azur.
"We have to fall back, Lieutenant! We can't hold them off!"
"There is no fallback point, Frederick," I said, stunned by the calm in my voice. "This is our stand, right here, right now. You hold that line, Marine."
"Yes, ma'am!" came the shaky reply.
"Cooper, we have incoming mortar! The whole bloody sky is coming down on us!" First Lieutenant Lewis cried.
Running across the street with small-arms fire trailing me the whole way, I jumped over a piece of rubble and crouched behind it. I could hear the shrill of needles hitting the other side of my cover as I paused to reload my rifle. My ribs shuddered with pain as I sucked in rapid breaths, and my heart was thumping so fast I could have sworn I'd developed tachycardia.
A glowing green plasma round hurtled just centimeters over my helmet.
"That's it," I said, slapping a fresh magazine into my assault rifle. I peaked over the rubble and squeezed the trigger. The long burst tore through several Grunts and a couple of Jackals before I heard the click of a spent clip.
"Give me a fucking break!" I screamed at my weapon as enemy rounds assaulted my cover once more. Instead of trying to reload again, I unhooked a plasma grenade from my belt and tossed it at the Covenant troops. That should keep 'em busy while I rearm, I thought. As I put in yet another fresh clip into my MA5C, I radioed Lieutenant Lewis.
"Lewis, what's going on at your end?" I asked, remembering his transmission a few seconds ago.
"Two Wraiths are blasting the bloody hell out of us, Lieutenant!" There was a pause as Lewis fired his submachine gun, then his voice filtered through my helmet again. "We've no more grenades, no more rockets, and we're truly and royally fucked."
"Try anything and everything, Lewis. I'm sure the Covies wouldn't mind lending you the ordnance, if you just blow their faces apart first."
"Yes, that'll do."
"Give me a report in a few minutes, Dean."
"Of course, Lieutenant."
"Cooper out."
During the brief conversation, I heard an explosion a few yards away; my grenade had finally gone off. Lifting myself above the rubble, I saw pieces of three Grunts and an Elite on the street ahead of me. Beside the dead were their still-living comrades, lying in pools of blood after being caught in the blast. Not bad for one grenade, I thought to myself. That's what I call effective use of limited resources.
Too bad that there were still dozens of Covenant soldiers heading in my direction. It was definitely time to high-tail it out of here.
"Hillburn!" I radioed.
"Yes, ma'am?" The young officer sounded beyond spooked by the whole situation.
"I've finished up my recon of this sector. You've got a Wraith tank, three Ghosts, and plenty of infantry headed for first platoon's line. I'm coming back now, and I want defenses set up by the time I get there."
I heard the lieutenant swallow hard before replying, "Yes, ma'am!"
This shouldn't be too hard, I thought, trying to psyche myself up. Outrun a shitload of Covies with really big guns, three zippy vehicles, and one massive tank. Put your running shoes on and sprint like hell, Cooper.
I could hear the sounds of the aliens getting closer and closer to my position. If I wanted to at least make it to first platoon alive, I had to leave pronto.
I quickly checked my rifle to make sure it was properly loaded, then took a deep breath. Despite wincing as I stood, I was up and running faster than I ever was in any track meet.
Zigzagging as I sprinted down the street, I managed to avoid the multitude of plasma rounds and needles that were hurtled my way. Blasts from the Wraith tank thundered through the air, however, and shattered glass and pieces of debris were falling just steps behind me; I had to really push myself to keep running at this pace, or I'd end up getting cut and crushed.
My ribs were screaming and my head throbbing when I finally reached first platoon.
Once I got to their fortified positions, I barely managed to sit down. A combination of the sprint, my wounds, and the stark terror I felt was making my heartbeat fast and my breathing rapid. Pressing a hand to my right side, where I'd broken two ribs just a couple of weeks ago, I shut my eyes as intense pain enveloped my upper body. The third and final broken rib on my left wasn't giving me any freebies, either.
"Are you all right, Lieutenant?" The voice flooded through my helmet.
Still breathing hard, I opened my eyes and saw a Marine crouched down in front of me.
"Ma'am? Should I get Doc?"
"No, Dandh. I'm fine," I lied.
"I can't see your face, El-Tee, but I can tell you're hurting."
"Corporal, there are going to be Covenant crawling out of your ass soon if you don't get back to your post."
"Yes, ma'am." The corporal remained crouched for just an instant longer before he obeyed and stood to leave.
Come on, Cooper, you can do this. Get your breathing under control, and then it won't hurt as bad. Push the pain to the back of your mind and return to the fight, where you're supposed to be, I thought.
"First platoon, this is Lieutenant Cooper," I said as I got back to my feet. "Listen carefully: the next wave of Covenant will reach our defenses in two minutes. They're coming with Ghosts, they're coming with troops, and they're coming with a tank. Our first priorities are the vehicles. When we've taken those out, we go for the Hunters, then the Brutes, and then everything else. Clear?"
"Yes, ma'am!" the platoon chorused. I could hear the unease in their voices, mirroring what I felt. But I was their leader. Even if I knew we were about to be killed and overrun, I still had to find a way to make them fight. Until I breathed my last, I wasn't going to give up the perimeter we'd worked so hard to maintain.
"I don't want to see any heroics, Marines. I want you to use your heads, keep your wits, and stand your ground. Things are going to get rougher and they're going to get uglier, but we have to find a way. We cannot and will not let the Covenant take Cote D'Azur. Is that understood?"
"Yes, ma'am!" First platoon's voices were steadier this time.
"Semper fi, Marines! Let's give 'em hell!"
"Oorah!" They screamed the cry louder than they ever had before.
And then the first shots of plasma started coming our way.
"Open fire, Marines!" I shouted into the platoon-wide COM channel.
The sounds of dozens of rifles, submachine guns, and shotguns filled the air. Up on the rooftops behind us, the sharp cracks of sniper rifles echoed through the night. I watched from my position on the city hall steps as aliens fell dead, one-by-one, on the street. But no matter how many of the bastards my platoon eliminated, more would simply take the place of those who were killed.
I waited until the Covenant were closer before I began firing my assault rifle; the enemy had been out of effective range, and I didn't want to waste precious bullets. The last time I'd swapped magazines before coming back here, I only had three clips of ammo left. After that, I was down to a clip and a few rounds of ammo for my silenced pistol. And after that…I probably wouldn't be alive to find out.
"Incoming!" Second Lieutenant Laura Hillburn suddenly yelled.
I quickly took out my field binoculars and saw that the Wraith tank was bringing up the rear of the enemy advance. That didn't stop it from firing its long-range mortars, however. The first salvo the mammoth armor launched seemed to be heading straight for the top of the city hall building.
"Jesus, they're going for the snipers!" Hillburn shouted.
"Get the fuck outta there!" I ordered, shoving my binoculars into my pocket and holding my rifle to bear once more.
But the mortar round was already on its way. Through some kind of error, the huge ball of plasma veered to the left as it flew through the air. It ended up missing its initial target and falling short instead. And if I remembered correctly, it had fallen right where my young platoon XO and third squad were fighting.
"Hillburn!" I screamed.
Tapping Corporal Dandh---who'd been fighting next to me---on the shoulder, I motioned for him to follow me as I raced across the steps. No, God, please, not this all over again, I thought as I ran. Not another kid's blood on my hands. Not another Private Beesner scenario.
When Dandh and I reached third squad, we found a smoking crater in their midst. Crouched behind statues and heavy concrete, most of the Marines were dazed but fine. Three of them, however, lay bleeding on the ground…and one of them was Second Lieutenant Hillburn.
"Medic!" Corporal Dandh exclaimed. The young noncom and I continued firing on the approaching Covenant as we waited for Doc Reynolds.
As soon as he arrived, the petty officer began triage. "This kid's dead, Lieutenant. The damn mortar blew him completely in two," Reynolds announced.
"Dammit," I muttered. I can't believe another one's gone, I thought.
Doc Reynolds looked down at PFC Keith Barker's bleeding body parts and gave a slight shudder. Lance Corporal Shawn Rivers was next, and he had blood oozing from his lower leg. The medic inserted biofoam into the wound, then quickly wrapped it up in a bandage. "You'll be ok, Rivers. It's a deep wound, but it didn't get the bone. Think you can walk?"
The young lance corporal tried to stand, and thankfully his weight held. "Hurts like a mother, Doc. But I think you guys need me, so I'll stick around."
"Thanks, Rivers," I said. "Glad you made out all right."
"Wouldn't miss this, ma'am."
"Doc? What about Hillburn?" I asked him.
Moving on to the lieutenant, Doc Reynolds checked her pulse. "She's out cold, El-Tee. And all that blood on her shoulder? Broken clavicle, maybe sternum, too." He paused, then turned his visor towards me. "But don't worry, ma'am, she's alive."
"Thank God. Ok, try to get these two Marines into the building. That'll be your makeshift infirmary for as long as we can hold the Covies off, Doc."
"Yes, ma'am."
Meanwhile, the Covenant continued firing at our lines. Mortars were coming down, Ghosts were strafing, and small arms assaulted our cover. Our five machine guns were working overtime, shredding the aliens to pieces, and our snipers were still getting headshot after headshot. But the wave of aliens was inexhaustible.
As I ripped through a few Elites trying to climb up the steps, my clip emptied again. I tossed out the used magazine, put in the new one, and realized it was my very last. I'll just have to really be effective with these rounds, make sure I hit good targets, I thought.
"Cooper!" Lieutenant Lewis's sudden cry made my adrenaline spike.
"Dean! What's happening?"
"We've held our lines, Lieutenant! Your trick with the grenades worked! We managed to disable one of the Wraiths and kept firing on the bastards. Natalie, they're actually retreating. Isn't that absolutely brilliant?"
"What? Retreating?" I couldn't believe my own ears.
"Yes!"
"Ma'am! Same phenomenon's happening here, too," Second Lieutenant Frederick radioed. "I think they're realizing that we're a lot tougher than they thought. Once we had a tank knocked out, they started to backpedal. We took out tons and tons of infantry, and there was plenty more where that came from. But, for some reason, they didn't push forward. I don't understand, Lieutenant. They could have easily slaughtered us, even without armor."
While this news should have been exciting, all it did was make my blood run cold. The Covenant had us heavily outnumbered, and they ran just because we destroyed a couple of their support vehicles? And why were they still fighting first platoon if the others had left?
"Frederick, Lewis, I want your platoons to get to First's position. Double-time it, Marines."
"Copy that!" they both answered.
"Gunny Hills!"
"Yes, ma'am?"
"Lieutenant Hillburn has been wounded, and you're our platoon XO," I explained.
"Understood, ma'am." There was a pause, then, "Uh, ma'am? Are you…seeing this?"
I took my finger off the trigger of my assault rifle and looked out in front of the building. I'd been so concentrated on the aliens before me that I hadn't noticed that the Covie tank had disappeared. The Ghosts were suddenly gone, as well.
And now, I could see the infantry scrambling to leave.
"I'll be damned," I whispered.
What the hell are they doing? I thought. Although I was grateful for the break---and the fact that my company and I were still alive---I wondered what the Covenant could be planning. This had to be part of some elaborate scheme.
"I see 'em, Gunny," I replied. Then, opening a company-wide channel as the sounds of battle died down, I said, "Bravo Company, this is Lieutenant Cooper. The Covenant are indeed in retreat, but do not let your guard down. I know this seems like a good time to take a break, but that's exactly what they're counting on. Things may be quiet for a few minutes, or maybe even a few hours, but they will be back. The enemy will regroup and try again with the next wave of troops; this has already happened three times in the last two hours, so you know the drill by now. This is far from over."
Acknowledgment lights winked green, but no one spoke.
Several minutes later, Lieutenants Lewis and Frederick announced that their platoons had arrived. They took their positions on either side of first platoon, and then Bravo Company waited.
Forty silent minutes had gone by when the COM crackled.
"Lieutenant Cooper?" It was Second Lieutenant Zackary Samson of Third.
"Go ahead, Samson."
"Do you hear that noise, ma'am?"
I strained to listen, and finally knew what the lieutenant was talking about.
My insides turned to mush as I heard the distant rumble of tanks, vehicles, and infantry.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
"Holy shit! They're ours!" someone shouted over the COM. "Yeah!"
I thought I was going to die of relief when I heard the excited announcement. I thanked God about a thousand times, too, for this was nothing short of miraculous.
"Confirm with visual," I ordered.
"Ma'am, confirmed!" Second Lieutenant Frederick said. "Those are UNSC Scorpion tanks, Warthogs, and ODSTs, Lieutenant!"
Cheers rang through the COM.
"Oh, Christ, Cooper. I really thought we were done for," Lewis said to me on a private channel.
"Me, too, Dean," I said lamely, too shocked to think of anything to say.
"No, really. I'd already picked out a casket and everything."
I just couldn't help it. I started to laugh hysterically, like an idiot, and I couldn't stop. I wasn't sure if I was finally releasing the horrible tension of the past several weeks, or if it was Dean's morbid but surprisingly funny joke. More likely it was some strange combination of both.
It took me a few minutes to calm down enough to hail our newly arrived allies.
"This is First Lieutenant Natalie Cooper, UNSC Marines, commanding Bravo Company of the 603rd. UNSC forces please respond," I said into the general channel.
"Lieutenant Cooper, this is Captain Henry Schaeffer, XO of the 21st ODST Battalion. We've got four Scorpion tanks attached to our unit, as well as a few Warthogs. Confirm your identity, Marine."
"Yes, sir. First Lieutenant Natalie Cooper, UNSC Service Number 38221-50486-NC, sir."
"Confirmed, Lieutenant. Why don't you come meet me inside City Hall?"
I grinned. "My pleasure, Captain."
After ordering Bravo Company to watch the lines for activity, I walked up the steps we'd spent hours defending alone. When I reached the top, my head and ribs were giving me hell, and yet I couldn't have been happier. I entered the building and found a young brown-haired, blue-eyed Helljumper talking to Doc Reynolds. He seemed to be about Lieutenant Dean Lewis's age, twenty-eight, and I had to admit he was pretty good-looking.
"This is our commander, sir," Petty Officer Reynolds said when he saw me walk in.
"Sir!" I said, standing at attention in lieu of a salute.
"Your medic had great things to say about you, Lieutenant," Captain Schaeffer said. "At ease. So I hear your company has been holding Cote D'Azur for over a month, is that right?"
"That's correct, sir," I answered.
"And your previous commander?"
"CO and XO of Bravo Company are dead, Captain."
"Damn, you guys've really had it rough, huh?"
"You don't know the half of it, sir."
"So why don't you fill me in, Lieutenant? Then I'll give you our story, and I'm sure it's one you'll never forget."
As ordered, I gave the ODST a quick but thorough synopsis of our part of the battle. He, in turn, explained that he'd been working on getting through to us for weeks. Turns out that Europa Base had been under siege this whole time, with control of the base going back and forth between UNSC and Covenant forces. It was only recently that humans had taken the base back for good and started to push forward with their counterattack. Finally cracking the strong enemy lines, Europa Base sent Schaeffer's battalion on a mission: the ODSTs were to find the company that had been sent on patrol and never came back.
In other words, they had come to find us.