Author's Note: As I mentioned in the introduction, my version of the battle on Sigma Octanus IV is different than what occurred in the canon version. Therefore, the end of the fighting won't be the same as what was described in Nylund's The Fall of Reach. I hope you'll still like it and enjoy it, though. ;-) Please please leave reviews after reading and, as always, peace!
Chapter Forty-Six: Sprint to the Finish Line
1644 Hours, March 27, 2552. Phase Three, City of Cote D'Azur. "The Last Fight," Planet Sigma Octanus IV. Day Forty of the Battle of Sigma Octanus IV
Phase Three of the late Captain Kingston's plan had begun five days ago, when the 21st ODST Battalion finally found Bravo Company of the 603rd Regiment. We had finally reconnected with at least a portion of Europa Base's remaining UNSC soldiers, and for the past few days, we'd been trying to force the Covenant off Sigma Octanus IV. Even with tons more troops, plus armor and vehicles, however, the fighting had been as rough as ever.
But now, we had two things we'd had very little of five days ago: help and hope.
Suddenly, we had ammo, food, water, medical supplies, and manpower. I'd been down to my very last clip the day the ODSTs found us, and now I didn't have to worry about how many bullets I was using. As long as I took out as many alien bastards as I could, that's all that mattered.
The Covenant had continued their en masse attacks against Bravo Company's perimeter the same day the Helljumpers arrived. The Covies had come intent on wiping out the decimated group of Marines, but what they got instead was a UNSC force matching theirs in number and strength. The aliens had fought us for over forty-five minutes before they realized their task was infinitely more difficult than it had been just a couple of hours ago. And ever since then, they'd been assaulting our now-fortified lines on and off for several days.
Each time the Covies came back, however, they'd fight a little less longer and a little less harder. I'd lost track of just how many Wraith tanks and Ghosts our Scorpion tanks had blown to kingdom come; we'd lost two tanks ourselves, but the ratio was almost incomparable. We were finally starting to win, and today, I felt especially positive about our chances of ending this long battle once and for all.
"Glad you could make it back, Hillburn," I said, grinning.
"Good to be back, El-Tee," Second Lieutenant Hillburn replied, flashing a grin of her own.
"We've missed you out here the past few days, kid. How's the shoulder?"
"Hurts like all hell, ma'am. But I didn't want to spend any more time than I needed to in Doc Reynold's makeshift hospital. No disrespect, ma'am, but that medic is freaking anal about everything."
My grin suddenly widened. "I know what you mean all too well, Hillburn. But he's also the best damn medic in the Corps."
Just an hour earlier, Doc Reynolds had taken a break from his other patients to check on my wounds from the fall. It had been three weeks since I'd gone flying out the window of the department store, and the medic said my concussion was just about fully healed. I still had occasional headaches and dizziness, but nothing like all the migraines and vomiting I'd experienced before.
My ribs were a different story. After being hit by shrapnel on Heath, they hadn't been that great to begin with; when the Brute had thrown me against a light post, that had made things even worse. Obviously, hitting the ground after falling three stories really wasn't helpful, either. So those, Doc Reynolds had said, would take several weeks of light duty and bed rest to heal.
To his credit, Petty Officer Reynolds wasn't even surprised by my negative reactions anymore. He simply acknowledged that that kind of treatment wasn't my style, and he'd said, "Well, the best advice I can give you, El-Tee, is to try not to work them too much. And if you do, expect a longer recovery period and lots of pain. Now that you know the risks and what'll happen, feel free to make your own choice."
Funny, though, that the Covenant always seemed to choose health matters for me.
"Can't argue that, Lieutenant," Hillburn said, replying to my earlier statement about Reynolds. "Broke my collarbone and sternum five days ago, and here I am on the lines again."
"Lieutenant Cooper, ma'am?" my aide, Corporal Kaleb Garian, asked as he approached.
"I'm listening, Gary. Tell me the Covies have departed, and you'll make my day."
Garian smiled faintly and shook his head. "Sorry, El-Tee. No such luck there. Actually, Captain Schaeffer wanted me to relay a message to you."
"Oh, yeah? What's that?"
"He sent out a platoon of scouts twenty minutes ago, and he says they've reported Covenant activity. Looks like they're mounting their final assault, Lieutenant."
"That's the opposite of the information I requested of you, Corporal."
"Yes, ma'am." He gave me an apologetic look before going on. "He said he wanted to let you know so you could prepare your company."
"Tell him I've received his message, and let him know Bravo will be ready."
"Yes, ma'am."
Lieutenant Hillburn and I exchanged glances.
"Well, you've heard the news, Lieutenant," I said to her. "Round up first platoon, and make sure they're stocked up on all they need. I'll prep the company."
"Got it, El-Tee."
"Bravo Company, this is Lieutenant Cooper," I said over the radio. "Our ODST buddies have just informed me that the Covenant are headed this way once again. They're bringing everything they've got, and we think this could be their big last stand.
"Things are going down right here, right now. Let's kick some ugly Covie ass one final time, Marines."
"Yes, ma'am!" my company chorused over the company-wide COM channel.
"All right. Let's finish this, Bravo. Cooper out."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
It didn't take long for the Covenant force to show up. Bravo Company and the battalion of Helljumpers, however, were ready for them. The scouts Captain Schaeffer had sent ahead had returned just ten minutes before the Covies came, and so they were the first to engage the enemy. As soon as the Wraiths and Ghosts showed up, the captain had sent out his two remaining Scorpions, plus the last five Warthogs.
"Ok, Bravo, hold steady. Hold your fire until they get closer, then take aim and give it to 'em," I said over the COM channel, looking down the sights of my MA5C. I tried my best to take slow, even breaths, as much to keep the pain in check as to calm my nerves. Of course, with all that was riding on this final showdown, I couldn't really control my breathing as well as I would have liked.
Come on, ribs, I thought to myself, gritting my teeth against the sharp pain. Just hang in there for a little bit longer.
At the same moment, I saw the first enemy rounds start to head in my company's direction.
"Bravo, open fire! For all those fuckers did to us, for all they took away, let 'em have it! Let's take this city and this planet back, Marines!" I cried.
The Marines beside me, including Corporals Garian and Dandh, immediately obeyed my order. Loosing their weapons all at once, it didn't take long for the plasma in the air to be overwhelmed by lead. Sniper rifles were going off above me, and I could hear the booms of Scorpion tank shells as they burst into the Covenant formation. Warthog gauss cannons and machine guns cracked and rattled, and it suddenly seemed like the whole world was coming to an end.
Eager to join the chaotic melee created when the aliens clashed with our lines, I jumped over the side of the city hall steps. I hit the ground running and started firing my assault rifle like mad; anything and everything that didn't look human was promptly bulldozed by my bullets. After taking down an onrushing group of a few Elites and Grunts, I dove behind a broken piece of statue and felt plasma boil over my head.
Well, there goes Doc's plan for me to go easy on my ribs, I thought.
I quickly peeked over my cover and squeezed the trigger of my MA5C, taking down more Covenant soldiers before my clip ran out. When I ducked back behind the statue, I found two Marines crouched on either side of me. And I couldn't help but grin.
"Dandh and Garian, you crazy-ass Marines came with me?"
"Yes, ma'am!" Corporal Garian replied.
"And just for the record, Lieutenant, no one's crazier than you!" Corporal Dandh remarked.
"But we'd still follow you anywhere, El-Tee!" Garian finished.
Despite the situation, my grin widened. "Well, boys, get ready for some fast action!"
After reloading, the three of us rose from our cover and let loose a constant stream of bullets. The two corporals were firing their submachine guns at the Covenant coming from the left and right, respectively; I was taking care of those in the middle. At first it was just your standard Covie infantry, but then things got a little more frightening. Six Brutes and four Hunters took an awful amount of interest in us.
"Run for it!" I shouted as the Hunters prepped their fuel rod cannons. The other two Marines and I managed to get away from the statue in time, but not quite far enough. The combined force of four fuel rod cannon beams utterly obliterated what was left of the statue, and a huge crater formed in its place. Meanwhile, us three Marines were thrown completely off our feet. We each landed on various parts of the grass surrounding the city hall building, and now we were all exposed to enemy fire.
"Find cover, now!" I yelled, trying to shake off the disorientation. I crawled under a hail of fire and found my rifle lying several feet ahead of me. Looking up for just a moment, I saw that Dandh and Garian were ok and had already reached cover. At least they made it out, I thought.
Just as tons of Brute spiker rounds were launched in my direction, a huge Scorpion tank and two Warthogs maneuvered into position in front of me.
Kaboom!
The Scorpion loosed a single cannon round at the Brutes and Hunters that had been harassing Garian, Dandh, and I. Not only did the mammoth tank block rounds that had been meant for me, but it also eliminated about half the group of aliens with just one blast.
"Yeah! Thank you, tankers!" I cried into the general COM channel.
"No problem, Jarhead! You just get yourself to some cover, Lieutenant, and we'll handle 'em!"
Crawling faster through the grass, I finally made it to where the two corporals were hiding out. Looking down the street ahead, we could see the Scorpion and Warthogs take out the rest of the Brutes and Hunters. The two UNSC vehicles targeted two Ghosts next; the Warthogs' machine guns tore through the little Grunts manning the speedy alien crafts as if they were nothing more than tissue paper.
"First platoon, report!" I said into the COM, taking a second to check in with my company.
"It's amazing, El-Tee!" Lieutenant Hillburn replied. "Everywhere we shoot, there's a Covie bastard waiting to bite the dust! No casualties on our side, either!"
"Second platoon, status!"
"No casualties, Lieutenant! We're beating them back!" Second Lieutenant Frederick answered.
"Dean, give me the good news!"
"Cooper, we're in excellent shape! Those bloody aliens are going to think long and hard about staying on Sigma Octanus, that's for bloody sure!"
"Bravo Company, keep it up! We're getting them, Marines. Keep pushing them back until there aren't any left!"
Encouraged by the positive reports, I motioned for Dandh and Garian to follow me as we moved forward with Bravo and the ODSTs. I could hardly believe my own eyes, even as I went through endless cycles of firing and reloading my rifle: the Covenant were actually being forced back! After weeks and weeks of being pounded mercilessly by these same aliens, Bravo Company, with considerable help from the 21st ODST Battalion, was finally getting its revenge.
This, I thought to myself, has definitely been a long time coming.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
The last battle in the month-and-a-half long fight for Sigma Octanus IV came to an end three hours later. At last, at long last, the Covenant had been defeated on the ground. As I watched the celebrations of the other Marines and ODSTs, I couldn't feel anything for the moment but a gigantic sense of relief. The fight was over, and we had done it. We'd stopped the Covenant from getting whatever it was they'd wanted from Cote D'Azur, and we'd held our city.
The 21st ODST Battalion managed to get into contact with Europa Base a short time later, where more good news came through: Sigma Octanus IV hadn't been completely glassed, as the media had first insisted. Actually, only about thirty percent of the planet's surface had been destroyed, and the rest of the UNSC ground forces had simply been out of contact with each other. But one thing remained true: Cote D'Azur had seemed to be the aliens' main focus. I wondered why briefly, but then decided that was a question better asked by the members of HighCom and ONI---you know, the bigwigs and all that. I was just happy that my company and I were still alive.
"Well, Lieutenant, I must say that was a helluva fight," Captain Schaeffer said to me once the battle had come to a close.
"Christ, sir. That's an understatement if I've ever heard one," I replied, grinning wide.
Schaeffer grinned back. "You're right, Cooper. You're totally fucking right." He folded his arms across his chest, then looked at me again. "You know, I don't think our battalion commander ever met you. How the hell did that happen?"
I shrugged. "I don't know, sir. I always thought you were commanding."
"No, I told you when we first arrived that I was the XO. Let me see if our CO's around here somewhere…" The captain turned around and waved at a Helljumper with silver hair. "Major Andreas, sir! Bravo Company's commander is here!"
Oh, shit! I thought. That's the same major I chewed out over the radio! He's the one who finally came to our aid? I'm so very, very dead.
"Cooper, so nice to finally meet you face to face," Major Dustin Andreas said as he approached.
I was utterly mortified. Now I really wished I hadn't taken my helmet off…
"Sir, I am so, so sorry for what I said earlier," I started, talking fast. I realized that Captain Schaeffer was looking at me with a half-curious, half-amused look on his face, but I didn't care. "I was completely out of line, sir, and I fully intend to accept the consequences of my---"
Major Andreas chuckled. "You really dug yourself a huge hole, Marine. That talk you gave me was so thoroughly an act of insubordination you left me stunned. But, I have to admit that if those had been my Marines' lives hanging in the balance, I would have done the same thing. So, I congratulate you, Captain Cooper, on your gutsy speech."
My jaw dropped. Had the major really just forgiven my actions?
"Sir, I'm really sorry. I mean, honestly, I'd never---"
That's when it hit me.
Major Andreas hadn't called me Lieutenant.
"Sir? All due respect, but I'm not Bravo Company's original commander, sir. I'm actually just first platoon's lieutenant. Which means I'm not a captain, sir." God, I'd never rambled this much in one conversation in my entire life. Why the hell was I doing it now? Frazzled nerves, that was it. All these weeks of constant combat had really gotten to me…
"I know your rank, Cooper, because you explained the situation yourself earlier. And I also know what I said." The major exchanged glances with Captain Schaeffer, and the pair smiled.
"Congratulations, Captain Cooper," Schaeffer said. "You've been promoted, for all your actions here in Cote D'Azur."
"W-What?" I stuttered.
"You held the lines and your perimeter for weeks, even after your company commander and company executive officer had been killed, Cooper. I'd say with those kind of leadership skills, you deserve this honor," Major Andreas said.
"Oh, my God. Thank you, sir," I replied, beaming at Andreas. Then I turned to Schaeffer. "And thank you, too, sir."
The other captain grinned. "I'm not 'sir' to you anymore, Cooper. You can call me Schaeffer, and you can call me Henry. But you can't call me sir."