Chapter Six: Deadly Approach
"I have to ask, Lieutenant," Cortana voiced, "why ONI was concerned about our getting back if we have this fighter."
A trace of apprehension flickered across Jessica's face. "ONI probably figures that once the Covies find out we're planetside, they're probably going to look for a ship. And once they do, they'll destroy it and come looking for us."
"We can't allow them to gain access to our technology," John interjected. "The Cole Protocol—"
"Will be followed," Jessica interrupted. "I've got it all worked out, so there's no need to worry. Just stick to the mission briefs as best we can, get what we need, and then we'll worry about getting out."
The conversation was interrupted when the fighter entered the planet's atmosphere. Jessica held her breath, wondering if the simulations they'd run on this fighter would turn out to be true. After what seemed like an eternity, the small stealth ship had passed through the fiery gauntlet and landed in a secluded area. She moved to the weapons locker, grabbed a battle rifle, and glanced at the Chief.
"Showtime."
Jessica took one final look around the ship, making sure nothing had been left behind that they might need. They'd grabbed first aid kits, weapons and ammunition, grenades, and a palm-sized datapad in case she needed to infiltrate; she'd also rigged up the fail-safe ONI had designed for the craft--if the Covenant were to discover it, she could remotely trigger a self-destruct sequence. We're as ready as we're going to be, she thought, following the Chief out of the fighter; one of the first things that hit her was the large amount of trees and brush, perfect for camouflaging the ship and providing cover as they did their snooping. That doesn't mean there won't be patrols, though. Hopefully, they'd landed in a secluded enough area that Covenant patrol wouldn't find their ship until after they left—if they left at all. Brushing aside her own worries, Jessica readied herself mentally as the Chief took the lead, moving effortlessly through the overgrown vegetation. Cortana was acting as both a scout and a navigator, slicing into the Covenant battlenet while she moved them closer to the installation they were to investigate.
"So far our presence hasn't been detected," Cortana's voice echoed in her ear. "Though I am picking up an increased number of transmissions among the Covenant battlegroup."
"Anything worth investigating?" she whispered back; for some reason she felt the need to keep her voice down to a minimum, even though no one else was using her com channel.
"Nothing yet, but I'll keep my ears open." After a few minutes of marching in silence, Cortana spoke again. "There's some sort of structure up ahead."
"I'll check it out." Moving up past the Chief, Jessica slipped into the surrounding brush they'd been using as cover. Within a few seconds she'd all but disappeared.
----
John felt his jaw drop as he watched Hawkes disappear into the surrounding foliage. How did she do that? She'd barely made a sound as she'd moved the brush aside, and the only indication of her departure had been his motion sensors and her heat signature.
"Chief, Cortana?" a soft whisper broke into his thoughts.
"Lieutenant?" he replied, wondering what she'd found.
"I think I've found that structure, and it's crawling with Covenant soldiers. They look like they're using it as a barracks or a command post." There was a pause, and then she whispered, "I think that structure's our target."
"How many can you estimate?" Cortana beat him to the question.
"I don't think I even want to attempt it. There's definitely a lot of them, though. Care for a look?" Within minutes a video feed had been patched to John's helmet, and he saw exactly what Hawkes was referring to. The structure in question definitely resembled many of the Forerunner buildings he'd seen on Halo, but his attention was quickly drawn by the building's defenses.
Brutes were stationed at every entrance, armed to the teeth and more than able to take them down. Jackals were stationed there as well, some mounted on defensive turrets while others milled about doing various tasks. The sky was abuzz with Drones, and there seemed to be no way in. John had seen these types of forces before, on the High Charity shortly before he tried to retrieve the Index, and he'd survived them easily enough.
"New contacts coming in, about nine o'clock relative to the structure," Hawkes reported in. "Looks like a patrol group, two Brutes and five Jackals."
"Roger that," John acknowledged. "What's our plan?"
"You're asking me? I'm just the scout, Chief."
This surprised him: she was the ranking officer on this mission, and for her to defer a decision to him was unexpected, to say the least. "Okay, get back here then and we'll decide what to do."
"Will do." The video feed was killed instantly, and in a matter of seconds Hawkes emerged silently from the overgrowth. She'd donned a helmet for her blacksuit before she'd left the ship, which made it hard to read her expression, but her body language belied her concern.
"I'm not going to mince words: those troops stand between us and our objective. Any ideas on getting past them would be greatly appreciated."
"If there's one thing I've learned about Brutes from previous engagements, it's that they're not strategically inclined. They'll rush right into a fight, which could give a quick thinker an advantage. But they make up for it with animalistic tendencies and brute strength." John swore he saw Hawkes flinch, but she masked it quickly.
"I'd say the Jackals might be a problem as well," she supplied. "Based on some of the mission reports I've seen, they're good marksmen. And once they spot a target, it's goodbye for all concerned. What about the Drones?"
"Hard to hit from the air, not too bright but they're determined."
"Cortana, any ideas?" Hawkes muttered. She seemed…edgy was probably the best word to describe it. It took a moment for the Chief to remember she'd seen little or no combat against the Covenant. How long before she cracks? The thought passed through his mind, but was almost quickly replaced by a resolve to keep her in one piece. He tried to rationalize it away as relating to the mission, protecting a valuable and critical part of the assignment.
"I could cut into their battlenet and redirect more of their forces on patrol, but it would increase our chances of discovery," Cortana's voice was a welcome interruption of his odd thoughts. "Plus, it could also lead to the discovery of our ship, and our only ticket out of here."
"The longer we sit and do nothing, the higher our chances of discovery get, and the more difficult it'll be to get this job done. Any thoughts, Master Chief?" Hawkes looked at him, face unreadable through her helmet.
Recalling the large amount of Covenant forces Hawkes had seen, John wondered whether or not they could use the terrain to their advantage. "Lieutenant, do you think you might be able to lure them here?"
There was silence for a moment, then Hawkes took a deep breath. "I can try."
----
Am I really this insane? Jessica wondered as she slipped closer to the tower. What the hell was I thinking? I'll be killed! The Chief wanted her to lure the Covenant back to where they had halted—he was only going to get them both killed!
Forcing herself to calm down, Jessica realized she had to trust him. He had far more experience in dealing with the Covenant, which was why she planned on deferring to him when it came to offensive attacks. If I can't trust a partner with experience, who can I trust? No one. Her life and the success of her mission were in his hands as well as her own, no getting around it.
There they were, standing around on guard duty. The Brutes were ugly SOBs, but she had no doubt that they had some semblance of intelligence. The Drones, from what the Chief had described, wouldn't be much of a bother if they couldn't see her. What really worried her were the Jackals: she'd heard about their accuracy with beam rifles, and hacked enough mission records to prove the stories true. If they caught her here…They will if you keep thinking about it, Hawkes, she thought. Finding a relatively concealed area, she opened a COM channel to the Master Chief.
"I'm in position."
"We're set here. Bring them in."
Jessica held her breath as she raised the rifle to her shoulder. Here goes nothing.
----
The report of a battle rifle echoed through the silence, followed by a loud angry roar. A well-concealed Master Chief nodded in satisfaction.
"Looks like she has their attention."
"Do you think your plan will work?" Cortana asked.
"It'll work, as long as Hawkes can get them here." And as long as she keeps herself in one piece long enough, he thought.
----
They were right behind her, she could hear them thundering after her. The only advantage she had was her smaller frame and her head start. Only a little further, she thought to herself. Come on! She was running out of breath when she reached the rendezvous, and from the sounds of things she was running out of time.
"Hawkes!" The loud, urgent whisper came from above, and she noticed the Master Chief concealed in a tree. Nodding comprehension, she gripped a low-hanging branch and swung upwards, just in time. A Brute tore into the area on all fours, nearly spotting her as she climbed upwards. Jessica noticed the blood leaking out of a few holes in his shoulder. I did hit him, she realized.
She was nearing the branch where the Chief was perched. He nodded acknowledgement to her, then returned to watching the Covenant forces gathering nearby. She'd definitely irritated them, as more Brutes and a scattering of Jackals entered the area. One of them appeared to be sniffing. Wait…sniffing!?!? Belatedly she remembered that some races in the Covenant could discern scents that belonged to different races, in a way similar to a dog or a wolf. Did they catch my scent? Could they find me?
A thunderous explosion sounded underneath her, shaking the tree and causing her grip on the branches to loosen. As tired as her run had left her—she'd expended a good deal of strength to keep ahead of the Brutes—she wasn't able to get a better grip. Jessica felt herself falling, but an armored hand gripped her wrist and held her in place.
"Thanks, Chief," she whispered, wondering if he even heard. A nod confirmed that he had, but there was no time for pleasantries: raising their rifles, both of them rained fire on the surviving Covenant.
----
"Nice trick with the grenades," Hawkes nodded in approval as she nudged a smoking Jackal with her foot. "I just hope you didn't use our entire supply."
"No, just half of it," John replied. It had, in fact, cost them half of their grenades, but they'd be able to make use of the now-dead Brutes' weaponry, which included quite a few plasma grenades. "We can use these just as well."
"Next question: how do we get into the facility?" Hawkes was staring at him through his faceplate, apparently looking for leadership. To a degree he could understand that, but it was unsettling to be asked for advice on a stealth op by a stealth specialist.
"First let's see how much opposition is left." John paused a moment before looking at the lieutenant again. "Good job getting as many to follow you as you did."
"Thanks, Chief." Hawkes turned to lead the way to the structure, and didn't here his response.
"You're welcome…Jessica."