The Spartans dove behind a desk each and overturned it, so that it could be cover, just in the nick of time. The crowd opened fire at the spot that the Spartans had just been standing.
Sean ducked up from behind his desk, primed a frag and threw it into the midst. Several people dove out of the way, others weren't so lucky. Bits of flesh flew as the grenade exploded and those that dove out of the way got sprayed with shrapnel. Half of the crowd were down. The rest of the crowd took cover behind more desks.
David took out his rocket launcher and fired at a table. The table was obliterated and the three men behind it were sent flying into the air.
Niall fired his sniper into the back of the overturned desks, it's armour-piercing bullets going through the wood and hitting the men behind it.
Chris took out his battle rifle and was systematically taking three shot bursts at the insurgent's heads.
Sean dove forward towards another table and then sprayed the insurgents with assault rifle bullets. It was quite clear that the Spartans were winning this fight. The last insurgent was finally blown apart by a good rocket from David, the Spartans turned to where Rufus was. At the back of the room were two heavy gauss turrets, mounted into the floor. Rufus stood on his desk. He was wearing what look what looked like a much bigger, and bulkier version of the MJOLNIR armour.
A gauss turret opened fired, the shot hit David in his reinforced chest, he was thrown into the air and slammed against the back wall, the concrete smashed by the force of the blow, and David lay motionless. Niall sniped one of the gunners and Chris shot the other. Sean ran forward, cautiously, not sure what to expect from this new battlesuit. Rufus swung and he ducked, then Rufus delivered an uppercut to the stomach, Sean was lift into the air and hit the ceiling, then fell to the floor creating a small crater.
Niall fired a sniper shot that hit Rufus in the leg; it pinged off of his armour. The man yelled, then lifted up one of the tables and threw it at Niall. The table slammed into him knocking him off his feet.
Chris fired three rounds of shotgun shells. The battlesuit lifted up an arm and created a large shield around the front of the armour. Chris slung his shotgun and ran forward unsheathing his knife, he clicked the button and the blade glowed red with heat. Chris slashed with his knife; the suit grabbed the sharp end of the blade in a fist and wrenched it out of Chris's hand. The battlesuit threw it aside and kicked Chris; he flew backwards and slammed into the wall where David was lying. He then set to work trying to unlock the armour.
Sean nodded to Chris to continue. He and Niall picked themselves up off the ground and turned to face their enemy. Rufus laughed, "This is the best the UNSC has to offer". Sean nodded to Niall; they sprinted round either side of the battlesuit spraying it with SMG and assault fire, the bullets pinged off the suit of armour. The man laughed again "those don't work" he said. Then Niall and Sean turned and ran head on into him, pushing him back, Rufus dug his heels in but could hold them back, then he pressed a button and a thrusters pack activated. Jets of fire spewed from the pack and soon the two Spartans found themselves being thrown back into the wall opposite David and Chris. The man put them through the concrete then pulled them back in.
"Hey!" a shout came from across the room. Rufus turned round. David stood, armour scorched black from the gauss gun, rocket launcher slung over his shoulder, Chris next to him. Rufus dropped the two Spartans.
Sean entered a private COM, "David fire two rockets, he'll raise shield, then lower in we all run and hold him in place, then I'll get him in the weak neck with a stun round". Four acknowledgment lights flashed.
Rufus stared at the Spartan with the rocket. "So what're ya gonna do?"
David fired two rockets, threw the launcher aside, and then he and Chris sprinted forward. Niall and Sean picked themselves up a final time. It all seemed to go in slow motion. The rockets exploded against Rufus' shields, Chris and David ran through the smoke and held the suit in place, Niall and Sean jumped on the back of the suit and pulled it down, Sean then drew his sidearm and fired a stun round into the neck. The man stopped struggling, the chemicals in the stun round temporarily paralysing him.
The Spartans released their grips.
"Right" Sean said wearily "let's get him out of this suit".
The suit took five minutes to get off.
"Sir" David said
"Yes"
"This suit has a nuclear self-destruct"
"Scan would it impact the local population of the nearest city"
"Negative"
"Set it for five minutes"
Chris hoisted Rufus over his shoulder and the squad began to leave. There was a huge explosion just outside; David's lotus had just gone off. The base was in chaos, men ran around putting out fires, then one of them seen the Spartans.
"Move!" Sean shouted. The Spartans sprinted through the fence, Sean's shield bar dropped to half way as he went rear to soak up the fire, then he sprinted into the forest. In the distance behind them they heard warthog and mongoose engines starting up. The Spartans sprinted harder and faster than they ever had before and soon enough they were rewarded. The warthogs were some twenty metres in front, when they reached them Chris put Rufus in the passenger seat of Sean's hog. Sean climbed in and David manned the light chaingun. Chris manned the other warthog's chaingun while Niall drove. The engines ignited and the Spartans gunned it. They drove side by side, crashing through the forest.
Just then four warthogs and three mongooses burst out from the side of the forest and fell in behind them. The gunners rotated the turrets to face the Spartans; the passengers on the mongooses levelled their assault rifles.
"Evasive manuvers" Sean called "gunners take out those hogs". Three acknowledgment lights flashed. Sean slammed the back brakes of the warthog on sending it into a powerslide, Niall followed suit.
David and Chris opened fire on their pursuers. A mongoose exploded in the background and Sean heard a warthog crash and explode.
One of the warthogs had a gauss gun, the enemy opened fire. Sean's warthog shuddered from the impact of the shot. Niall swerved and was hit by a second shot. The warthog began to flip forward; Sean swerved his warthog into a power slide.
"Jump!" he shouted to Chris and Niall. Niall clambered over the middle bar into the passenger side. Chris released the turret and clung to the side. The two of them leapt from the warthog.
Chris landed on the back near the turret, he held on to the side and David hoisted him up. Niall wasn't so lucky. He flew through the air; Sean reached out of the driver's side and grabbed Niall's hand. Niall was dragged along the ground at seventy-five kilometres per hour, his shield dissipated.
"Chris! Take the wheel" Sean called; Chris leaned forward and grabbed the wheel. Sean leaned completely out of the side and hoisted Niall up; Bullets pinged off the side of the warthog, "David, covering fire". David's light flashed and a roar of machine gun fire responded, a warthog exploded again.
Sean got on the COM "foxtrot eight-seventeen do you copy?"
"Roger that what's wrong?"
"We won't make it to the pickup zone, setting new recommended point, ready warthog clamps to lock while in motion"
"Location received, ETA two minutes"
"Roger that over and out"
Sean took the wheel, "Hold on Spartans!" Sean slid the warthog into a power slide onto a dusty road; the night sky was lit overhead by machine gun fire.
There was a roar overhead as a pelican flew overhead. Sean out his foot to the floor the pelican started to descend, it's ramp opened and three Spartans stood at the edge with rocket launchers. The Spartans fired and the missiles destroyed the pursuing vehicles.
The pelican lowered more and clamped onto the warthog, soon they were up in the air. David passed up Rufus to one of the Spartans, and then clambered up into the pelican. The rest of squad Terra followed.
As the pelican flew from the base faster and faster, one of the other Spartans asked, "What happened to the rest of the base?"
David held up a hand. A huge mushroom cloud erupted from where the base was, the pelican picked up speed to evade the EMP distortion.
Sean put two fingers across the helmet across his helmet, the gesture of the Spartan smile. He opened a COM "mission accomplished, good job Spartans"