Majah woke up to a four fingered hand shaking her.
"you were called to the bridge an hour ago, why are you still asleep human?" an elite said. He looked to be the bridge tactical officer, Gadgasdai Morkoros. She just called him Gad.
"what? What's up?" she asked, rubbing her eyes before looking up. He was in full combat gear, something he wasn't in two days ago during the long flight. Most of the elites while not in a combat zone wore nothing but a skin thing suit, the hexagonal layout of the fibers and scales looking grayish and lizard like, blending in well with the Elite's figure. Now he was wearing all armor paneling on his body.
"we've reached the sector, Dr Halsey has been trying to call you for quite some time. You should be getting ready right now. She awaits you on the bridge" Gad said.
"uh… ok" Majah mumbled out before getting up, her T-shirt unwrinkling and her pajama pants shifting. Gad just stood there, waiting.
"I gotta get dressed you know" Majah told him annoyed.
"alright" Gad said, still standing there.
"OUT!" she pointed towards the door.
"I'm supposed to escort you to the bridge. Why leave now?" Gad asked.
"I need to change, without being seen! Get out now!" she said and motioned again towards the door.
"but-"
"NOW!" she screamed at him, quite annoyed.
"very well, I shall wait outside" he said confused. They normally didn't have women on the ship, and as such did not know how to address privacy between soldiers she thought. She sighed and let him slip outside, before blowing upwards at her baings. She started to get dressed and put on her combat medic suit, before buttoning up and walking out the door.
"are you ready now? Took you long enough" Gad said.
"Gad, I swear… never mind, let's go" she sighed and brought her palm to her forehead, annoyed he said anything.
Both walked up to the elevator and entered, the pad rising to the top before a double set of bulkhead doors opened onto the bridge.
"ah, she's here" Halsey said as she turned around, The Arbiter turning as well.
"so what are we going to do here?" Majah asked, staring at the view screen.
"currently? Our cloak was detected, and we're being hailed for combat clearance. It seems we're a welcome sight to the defenders. Take a look" Halsey told her and pointed.
The space ahead of them was littered with destroyed UNSC ships, some trinity cruisers and a good portion of covenant ships as well. Bodies floated silently through the vacuum as she watched, slightly sick to her stomach as she saw the wounds in some of the bodies from anti ship weaponry.
"currently they are asking for reinforcements down below, though I don't know how long we can keep them occupied on an answer" Halsey told Majah.
"we won't. we'll send a contingent of soldiers down" The Arbiter said.
"ok, that will keep them from hailing us anymore. Guess we should get to work at locating the missing ODST squad" Majah said.
"we will go with the contingent" The Arbiter told her.
"wait, I'm sorry, I must have missed something, what?" she gawked at him.
"he didn't stutter Majah, though I can see why you would be a bit apprehensive. The problem is, there are wounded down below, and they need all the capable medics down there they can get their hands on. There is also a… group of friends who will be joining us down below. Once we find the position of the marines and Garrett, it shouldn't take long to get them out" Halsey told her.
"you can't be serious? I've never been on the field before, I wouldn't know how to respond" Majah stared at Halsey, a bit worried.
"we will be fine. Just say yes and do what you can, we will handle everything else" Halsey told her.
"ok… I guess…" Majah mumbled out, saying a silent prayer to any god that was listening. Gad escorted her to the drop bay where a phantom was being prepped. Little grunts scurried towards the transport, all carrying either plasma pistols or fuel rod cannons, and two hunters lumbered up the ramp as well. She looked surprised, somewhat scared. She'd never seen a hunter up close, and she hoped she wasn't going to be standing next to one.
"lucky for you. You will be sitting in the front with the pilot and communications officer. We value our medics highly now" Gad told her as he took his stance at his spot, a small circle on the ground.
She looked around, other elites getting ready and priming their rifles, some carrying carbines, two gold elite commanders carrying energy blades. One cocky blue elite seemed to be duel wielding two plasma rifles, thinking he had the skill to handle it.
"you should take your seat soon, the phantom will be leaving" a grunt said up to her. His little beady eyes, now that they were on the human's side, looked cute in a way, like a puppy, but this one was carrying a fuel rod cannon and cocked a cell into the chamber. She read on his chest armor "Bazornag Glagurrez" which she just simplified to Baz in her mind. It made it easier for her to recognize certain people by shortening their names or getting nicknames for them.
She walked up the her seat just as the door was closing, and sat down. Two elites checked their equipment and primed the engines, one wearing odd bubble goggles over his eyes instead of the normal helmet, the pilot she realized.
"ready for take off. Leaving in one minute" the pilot said in a gruff low voice.
"understood. Doors are opening" the coms said as the pilot pressed some buttons and the phantom lifted off the ground. Majah noticed Halsey wasn't with her.
"uh, excuse me" Majah asked as the communication officer checked all channels.
"excuse me" she asked again, before he turned slightly, and looked surprised as he saw her mouth moving.
"What do you want?" he asked sternly and pulled an earpiece from one ear.
"is Dr. Halsey coming with us?" Majah asked.
"what? You would have one of your old come with you? She is still on the ship, as stated. She is doing her job in tracking down your demon. Let me guess, you wish to talk to her?" the com officer said as his eyelids slid vertically, looking at her.
"uh, ok" Majah said.
"very well, make it quick, we will lose frequency cohesion once we enter the atmosphere, and will not regain it until we land" he said and handed her a large object, with a hook. She tried her best to place it on her ear, but found it difficult from the size, so she just held it up.
"Majah, you will be going down alone. Find whatever information you can down below and have Gad retrieve it. He'll do the rest. All you have to do is help out a bit down there until you reach the supply depot the battle is taking place around. There's quite a few trenches and at least four bases emplaced under UNSC control. Don't worry, and grow a backbone. Halsey out" the doctor said and the com link cut. Majah looked a little annoyed at that before handing the object back, and sat as the phantom started to rock.
"brace for entrance, passing through the mesosphere" the pilot said. Majah held onto her medical kit for dear life as the ship started to shake, rocking around as they entered. She looked around, finding that the elites felt it was natural, checking instruments and watching for enemies.
"they have a lock on us! We need an escort immediately!" the pilot said suddenly.
"oh no… we're being fired on…" she whispered. She felt the shot hit behind, and the ship rocked hard.
"where is that escort! We're sitting ducks to those brutes!" the pilot yelled out.
"we are coming to assist! Standby!" a voice said over the channels, static filling around it.
Three Seraphim fighters shot by them and opened fire, taking out two blocky somethings she didn't know the name for.
"another squad approaching! They've locked on!" the lead Seraphim said as it alerted, the torpedo flying by and scratching across the phantom's armor as it dodged. It detonated five feet behind the engine, knocking the phantom end over end as the pilot tried to regain balance.
"I cannot compensate! See if you can get a lockdown on us!" the pilot yelled out as systems sparked.
"I can't believe this is happening…" Majah said as she curled up on her seat, holding her medical kit next to her.
"I've got you!" the com yelled through static as a Seraphim shot cables out and latched onto the phantom, trying to help it regain it's control.
"thanks for the assist Tordelmal. Much Appreciated" the com officer said. Majah knew little about the elites culture, except that when a mal was used at the end of the name, it usually meant the elite was female.
"never leave flying to a male" the female voice broke through the static again, and the pilot grinned, if Majah could call it a grin.
"landing in two minutes" the pilot told everyone just as a missile flew out and struck and engine.
"we're hit! We're going in!" the pilot yelled as the ship jostled Majah about, she falling out of her seat and sliding somewhat before they crashed.
---------------------
Majah woke up, sparks flying from computer systems as a fire was seen in the corner, flaring up before she felt her head, a large headache. She could see plasma fire outside the busted ramp door, as soldiers traded fire for fire, before a four fingered hand clamped down on her arm and lifted her up.
She couldn't hear what the voice of Gad as he tried to speak to her, all sounds muffled somewhat as her body adjusted from the crash.
"get up! Get up now! We must escape this crash site! Move to the trenches now!" Gad yelled as a brute was seen in the background, a fuel rod round punching clean into it's chest as Baz came up and ordered his grunts to lay suppression fire forward. A loud battle cry was heard from all the grunts as they threw plasma grenades in unison forward, before firing their fuel rod cannons and charged pistols forward.
She was half in shock as Gad dragged her forward, she struggling to get her legs working correctly again as she looked around for her medical kit. She found it under a dead brute at the door, and realized just how close she was to being killed had Gad not come to get her out.
Gad lead her out and fired his carbine towards the brutes and jackals, explosions seen nearby as hot flame and heat was felt outside. Majah ran towards a trench waypoint where three marines and two elites hunkered down, a machine gun firing unstopped as the brutes charged forward.
"great, they sent a medic up here, that was quick from the request" the corporal there said.
"uh, what?" Majah asked as a grenade blew up nearby and she ducked and covered from the shrapnel.
"this man needs care immediately!" the corporal said as he blind fired over the ridge of the trench, spraying the area with his assault rifle before sitting back down. She looked around and saw the third marine, holding his side as blood leaked out, coughing and sweating. He was laying on his side, his rifle melted somewhat and useless.
Majah didn't even have time to put her hair in a bun as she crawled across the ground through mud and dirt and came up next to the wounded soldier.
"hey, I thought it wasn't regulation to have your hair that long sweetheart" the private nearly whispered. He smiled at her before coughing up a bit of blood.
She ignored the comment and tried her best to get to work, nervous and shaken by the battle raging around her. She popped open the med scanner pad attached to her left arm and checked his vitals, and realized it was a clean shot, missing most of his organs and nicking a kidney. She popped open her medical kit and pulled out a med hypo, ejecting the syringe needle out of his sheath with a press of a button before inserting it into the hole in his armor. He grunted in pain before screaming and swearing, the genetically engineered microbes doing their job of knitting up the veins. The raven haired woman waited for the auto doc micro clone vat to pop open with a satisfying hiss as she pulled out the kidney, and cut the old out and before knitting the new one in place. She tried to pull out a biofoam dispenser before the corporal yelled out "ARTILLERY! GET YOUR HEADS DOWN!" and three shells slammed into the ground nearby, mortar tanks trying to destroy the small waypoint.
"we need air support pronto!" the second marine, another private said, and pulled out his com gear from his back before taking a plasma round to the head, flying back as his head still burned. Majah screamed as she saw the shot and covered her head, the elite manning the machine swearing something in his language as the gun jammed.
"ah shit we are so fubar!" the corporal yelled as brutes started to advance. Majah couldn't take this. She was crying as the Corporal crawled up to her and shook her.
"doc! He's dying here! He needs help! Please! Get it together and help him!" the corporal yelled as she looked up at him, tears flowing from her eyes before she looked at the marine still holding his side. His kidney was repaired, but the biofoam needed to be placed to keep him going, and the second layer of microbes still needed to be put on to knit up his skin. She nodded slowly and then crawled back, inserting the nozzle of the biofoam can and spraying it into the marine.
He screamed from the fire burning inside his innards before she injected him with another packet of microbes, and closed his armor before air support flew through and bombed the mortar tanks.
"hell yeah! Knock those bastards out!" the corporal yelled just as a hand came out over the trench and grabbed Majah by her hair, and she screamed as a brute shot fired into the trench. She was thrown out across the field as she rolled, and looked up to find a Brute roaring in anger as it stomped towards her. The trench was destroyed, both elites and the two marines inside dead from the grenade.
She started to crawl backwards before scrambling to turn around, the brute closing the distance quickly as it grabbed her hair again and snapped her head back.
"Scream more human!" he roared as he tried to smash her head into the ground.
"you no hurt her!" an almost synthesized voice said as a grunt jumped onto the brute's back and aimed his plasma pistol at his head, and fired. He clawed and yelped and barked as the brute struggled to get the little grunt off his back just as the pistol overcharged and blew the brute's head clean off, vaporized by the attack as the body fell forward onto the ground next to Majah. She turned around to see Baz sitting there, trying to help her up.
"thank you" she said as he chuckled and beamed, barking in approval as he looked around.
"it not safe here. Need move now, go go!" Baz said as he motioned for her to follow him. She crawled across the ground as rifle fire was heard nearby, a second trench only forty feet from her location.
She noticed Baz's shooting was quite good, the white armor covering over him showing he was indeed a high rank.
"eep! Run now! Run run!" Baz yelled out as he broke down onto all fours, running across the last few feet as Majah stood up and ran. Plasma fire lanced out to try and drop her, as yelling was heard from nearby.
"what the hell? Is she crazy?!" a voice was heard just as a warthog drove up behind her, spraying the area with chain gun fire as it tried to cover. She fell into the trench and rolled, her hair starting to mat from sweat and crying and mud as she regained her bearings. Baz watched as he realized there was only one marine, now dead in the trench. It was abandoned as the lone marine's corpse was still smoking from plasma burns.
"there com gear, you use, me cover" Baz said as he watched the sides of the trench, waiting for enemies to come nearby.
Majah had never called for help before as she picked up the receiver, com chatter breaking out all around.
"FALL BACK NOW!" was suddenly screamed as mortar rounds started to arc through the air towards them.
"oh no… help! Anyone! Please help!" she started screaming into the small receiver.
"415th! Flank left! Flank left damn it!" was heard as the rounds still arced toward them.
"I need help! Anyone! Please!" she yelled, breaking down crying.
"isolate that signal! Who the hell is this?" was heard suddenly.
"my name is Majah Barrington, I'm a medic, I need help! Please!" she yelled out.
"who? Where the hell are you?" the voice asked.
"I uh, I'm uh, at, the front zone, I don't know! We're about to be hit by mortars!" she yelled.
"intercept those rounds! Fire finder retract and tag those! I need flights two and four in there!" the voice yelled in the background. The mortar rounds suddenly disappeared and multiple missiles lanced out into the air and knocked them out. Three long sword fighters streaked through the air, one breaking off and strafed a group of brutes while the other two bombarded ahead.
"now then, what's going on? Where are you? Wait a minute, Majah? Shit, that new chick they sent down from the elite's ship? Fuck, you were dropped in the wrong fricken zone!" the voice said.
"please, I don't know what to do, I've lost my medical kit, what do I do?" she asked still crying.
"beats the fuck out of me! We're trying to pull back and regroup on grid point alpha! Your squad should be nearby, try and link up with them and get an escort. Surprised they didn't do that ahead of time. Medics are precious down here" the voice said before suddenly yelling "ALL SQUAD LEADERS THIS FREQ, FALL BACK TO PRIMARY LZ. THERMALS ARE IN THE CAVE, POSSIBLE CAMOUFLAGE IN WET SECTOR 43 ZULU" and the com link swapped to normal, chatter erupting and she realized she wasn't gonna get anymore out of the man.
"damn it… this can't be real…" she yelped out and held her head, sobbing. Baz crawled up to her and patted her on the shoulder before a large form crested the side.
"commander! It's you!" Baz squealed in joy as Gad leapt down, six black ops elites flanking and covering.
"I apologize we didn't get to you earlier, we tried to regroup from the crash site, but when we reached your original position it was already abandoned. We need to get to the supply base, our armored columns are moving in to support" Gad said as he looked down at Majah, crying on the ground. She was dirty, grungy, and looked like she was in shock. He didn't know what to do.
"I found this in the other trench, we still need your help if you're willing. There are many wounded in the area" Gad said.
Majah looked up at him, her eyes red from crying as tears ran down her cheeks.
"I wanna go home. I shouldn't be here. I can't do this" she pleaded.
"but you are here, and with that there are people dying nearby. They could be saved if you come to your senses" Gad said slightly gruffly. She resumed her original position and curled up, scared.
"I thought with your reputation as the coordinator for a demon you would be fearless. I guess not. There are soldiers dying to protect this area, to protect you. If you do not move to assist them, they will have died in vain. There is no honor in defending someone who will do nothing to make their sacrifices meaningful" Gad told her.
Majah looked up from her position and stared up at him, who laid down the medical kit in front of her.
"it is up to you to decide to help, we cannot force you. I will have two elites stay here, the second phantom flight will be here shortly" Gad said as he motioned for the others to follow, he starting to walk towards the original landing location. Baz followed.
Majah stared at the medical kit then at the com rig as it chattered for backup, then air support, and then finally a medic. She heard it repeat multiple times, over and over, and no one responded to it. The air support was called in, reinforcements were sent to the attacked camp, but no medic.
"we need to help that camp" Majah yelled out to Gad and stood up, looking at him as he turned around.
"are you sure?" he asked.
"I won't let those men die. But… I can't do what I just did" she told him, trying to wipe away tears from her eyes and still feeling very unsure of herself.
"you won't need to. Elites! We're escorting this medic to camp point four! Take up flanking positions!" Gad barked out, and two elites took up position behind her, all igniting modified jackal shields on their arms and aiming their rifles around.
Majah picked up her medical kit and cleaned off some of the dirt, then followed Gad as the elites escorted her towards the medical emergency.
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4 hours later
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"report" The Arbiter asked.
"currently squad is moving out of the supply base, on vehicles. The second phantom flight made it through without incident and brought in reinforcements. I'm getting a message from Commander Gadgasdai. Should I put him through sir?" the com officer asked. Halsey looked up at him from her post at the science station.
"put him through. Commander, I trust you have found some information useful to us" The Arbiter asked.
"yes Arbiter, I have, or should I say the medic did. She did quite well and was lucky enough to stumble upon a secondary entrance to the supply base. We were able to extract the data cores. Requesting a pick up immediately, the area is still swarming with brutes" Gad said as he drove a Shadow, two elites holding their seat on both sides as Baz took up a heightened seat on the back turret. Two ghosts and two warthogs escorted the shadow as it hovered away at full speed, Majah curled up on Gad's lap, asleep from exhaustion. She had saved over one hundred men in the time she had been there, learned to call in artillery with just a rangefinder nearby, and repaired a damaged Scorpion's turret so it could return fire on an encroaching armored column.
Majah lay there cradled on top of him as he drove, blood splattered on her armor, mud caking with blood on her cheeks. Before she had fallen asleep she seemed to be on auto pilot, working away on a computer, glazed eyes drooping from the stress and adrenaline forcing it's way through her veins as the elites watched over her.
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2 hours later
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Majah woke up to find she was laying in her pod, her armor stripped. She looked around shocked but realized her under suit was still worn, the wet suit still covering her body. She checked her chrono to find she had slept for three hours, one of which was while traveling back through a battle zone. She wonder who had taken her armor off her, and saw that Halsey was sitting in the corner, reading.
"how are you feeling" Halsey asked.
"better, I think…" Majah said, looking off at the wall.
"I hear you did quite well down there. Much was accomplished. We've gained a foothold on the perimeter of the supply base I heard, which means the covenant are attempting to force us back. I doubt they'll succeed thanks to our control of the surrounding space" Halsey chattered off as Majah sat there.
"Doctor" Majah said.
"what is it" Halsey asked.
"don't ever make me do that again" Majah told her sternly.
"we all must make sacrifices Majah. I suggest you learn to cope. Otherwise you won't keep that director title for very long. Did you know that four of the wounded men you saved today were ODSTs? Did you also know that all four of them were either lieutenants or Captains? All of which have placed a commendation for your quick response" Halsey told her as she threw a data pad towards Majah.
The Raven haired woman picked the pad up and read through, noting two of the men had called her a "guardian angel" out on the field, and glad that she had landed. She checked the KIA list and realized over half the medics were killed before they had gotten in orbit, sniped at by jackals.
"did I really do that much…" she whispered to herself.
"you did more than that, we now have a fix on Garrett's location. The problem is, we get to go on a little trip before we see him" Halsey told her.
"where?" Majah looked interested.
"it requires the sub space armory to get to him though" Halsey smirked.
"it can't hold organic life though. It's a complete vacuum in the thing, only for storage" Majah interjected.
"not unless we wear life suits to keep us alive until the opposite side engages the ejection controls. We'll just override. You did remember to make sure that was fully functional correct?" Halsey's smirk grew deeper.
"we won't know where we appear though will we? I mean, if Garrett is wounded, that means they could be in a battle zone. We could be walking right into more covenant" Majah asked.
"I somehow doubt that. And even if we did, it's not like we will be going alone. We found our friends" Halsey told her, the smirk turning into a true smile.
"who?" Majah asked just as the door opened, two elites gawking as in walked 8 Spartans.
"ma'am, sorry for being late, traffic" a male voice was heard. It was Tom. Ash and Lucy were right behind him, as well as Olivia, Mark, and Kelly. Linda and Fred stood behind those.
"but… how?!" Majah leapt up.
"they were with me when we were in the micro dyson sphere. John wasn't able to make it, he's aged more than the others since he was in normal time. He's… retired, in way, back on Earth. I'll introduce you some day" Halsey said as all Spartans nodded in unison, solemn respect for another Spartan.
"but… I thought… never mind, I don't wanna open that can of worms… how many are there?" Majah asked.
"currently this is blue team, red team is still in the quarters, originally squad Katana. They're coming with us" Halsey told her.
"still think you don't have backup?" Fred asked over the other Spartan's shoulders as they let him through.
"I'd be surprised if the covenant didn't run flat out after seeing you guys!" Majah gawked.
"Fred, please take the others back to your quarters, I'll speak to you in a little bit" Halsey asked and Fred nodded, the Spartans filing out as the Elites looked wary.
"I can't believe you got all of them here… that's incredible… I've… only seen Garrett… he's the only Spartan I've known…" Majah said softly, and for the first time, Halsey saw her blush slightly. She could tell something was up between the woman and the Spartan she's helped to care for.
"they aren't as strong as Garrett is, though Kelly is close to being as fast. The augmentations in they've recently gained are putting them on par with Garrett, though they have yet to receive their new armor" Halsey told her.
"wait, there are multiple suits? You made more than one?" Majah asked.
"there are multiple Spartans, why single out one when all should gain the benefit? While they don't have Garrett's psionic abilities, they have something he doesn't have. Experience" Halsey explained, and Majah had to agree. The Spartans she just saw had more experience in more battles than Garrett could shake a stick at.
"so, how do we get to him? And when do we leave?" Majah asked.
"get geared up, we leave in three hours, the transportation matrix is almost primed to load the pelican we gained with us onboard. Once it sucks us in, we hit the override before the matrix return gravity and tack point condenses us, and throw us out the other end" Halsey told her.
"I'll be ready" Majah told her as Halsey got up and pulled at her suit.
"see you then" Halsey said as she walked out to go talk to the other Spartans.
Majah beamed. She was gonna see Garrett again, and bring friends along with her.