A/N: Special thanx to Micheal.C.Owens for being my new editor, though he never got a chance to edit this chapter before I posted it.
CHAPTER 4
Cat in the Hat
1210 Hours, November 14th, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Sol System, planet Earth
10 miles of the shore of the island of Hawaii
Staring at the holographic image the Banshee's control console projected, Brock was chilled at what he saw. The sky was a murky gray, with heavy cloud cover and slight thunderstorms. Over the main Hawaiian island, the clouds and storms were broken apart, giving way to a far more sinister figure. The Covenant battle cruiser that rested above Hawaii was enormous, stretching far out in both directions, its main gravity beam located in the center.
All around the island, Brock could barely make out the specs that represented Banshee patrols. The Spartan increased his magnification and counted them, five in all. He imagined that the Covies probably also had a fair amount of ground support, Wraiths, Ghosts and Shades. The dropship and fighter jet accompanying them wouldn't help tip the scales, they'd be liabilities.
"Screaming Falcon and Adept Phoenix, this is Scimitar One, we've got a cruiser in the sky" he said.
"Roger that Scimitar One, what are your orders?" Adept Phoenix asked.
"Return to base and await further instruction" Brock answered.
"Sir, with all due respect-" Screaming Falcon began, before being sharply cut off.
"You heard me Lieutenant, I don't care what your orders are, you staying here will only compromise our mission" Brock said bluntly.
There was a long pause.
"Roger that Scimitar One, Screaming Falcon and Adept Phoenix out, good luck sir" the Pelican pilot finally said. Brock listened as the noisy human ships turned back around and was content that he had made the right decision.
"What's the plan S-1?" Forrest asked over TEAMCOM.
"I was thinking the old Cat in the Hat maneuver, how about you guys?" Brock asked. Three acknowledgement lights flashed on.
Back under the training of Lieutenant Ambrose, Gamma Company had been trained in aerial combat fairly extensively. They had been put in numerous combat simulations and had always won. The Cat in the Hat was one of the first maneuvers taught to them, designed to catch the enemy off guard and destroy them before they could respond. But this was an actual aerial combat situation, not a simulation and Brock would have to take into account all the variables before throwing his team into a firefight.
In recent weeks, the Covenant had learned that many a time UNSC soldiers would hijack their craft and attack them, catching them by surprise. They now had much tighter security when it came to unidentified ships. Not only that, but Spartans were naturally more comfortable on the ground than in the sky or space, their performance may not be as crisp. It wasn't that he didn't think his team could do the job, he just wanted to be sure.
Brock immediately noted that all five enemy Banshees were heading in their direction. The Spartan hoped the Covenant wouldn't ask any questions until his group was a little bit closer.
"Alright Scimitar, the enemy has us down as guilty until proven innocent" Brock said. "They're going to be on guard, which means our reaction timing will have to be just right. Line up any shots you can and prepare to fire the Fuel Rod Guns, we needed to maximize initial damage and minimize return fire."
Just then Brock heard the scrambled voice of a Brute barking questions over the Covenant BattleNet. He punched a few buttons on the communication portion of the console, hoping he'd sent an appropriate response.
"Fire at will!" Brock yelled over TEAMCOM.
From either side of him, globs of green plasma streamed out, heading for the enemy Banshees. Brock hit the firing mechanism and was surprised at how much his Banshee jerked from the recoil of firing its most powerful weapon. Three shots hit their marks, exploding into plumes of neon green fire upon impact. Banshee armor bristled out of existence and the attack crafts were blown open. Both pilot and ship spun toward the merciless sea below.
The remaining two Banshees immediately returned fire, starting out with Fuel Rod fire, then moving to Plasma Cannons while waiting for the main cannon to recharge. Team Scimitar took evasive action, activating their thrusters and sending their ships into elegant dances in the air.
Spinning up and over the enemy fire, Brock boosted past their position and turned the flight controls severely, trying to whip around and flank them. Distracted by the three other Spartan-controlled Banshees, the Covies turned a blind eye to him. A mistake that cost one of them their life.
With an affirmative grunt, Brock punched the firing mechanism and shook inside the cockpit as the Banshee fired its Fuel Rod Gun. The bomb of fire slammed into the enemy's rear and blew it into pieces.
The rest of Team Scimitar swarmed the remaining enemy, pouring streams of plasma from their cannons until the attack craft exploded into blue fire balls, its wreckage plummeting downward. Moving into a crude arrow formation, Team Scimitar boosted toward the surface of the main Hawaiian island, following Brock's lead.
He and his team had just blown away the enemy's patrols, which mean they had attracted attention in the sky. The last thing Brock wanted was for the Covenant battle cruiser to unleash any Seraphs or to just fire upon them itself. No, the ground was safer.
But two questions lingered in the lead Spartan's mind. Why was the cruiser here and where was the Blind Fury?
Their Banshees coming to rest in a small clearing inside a lush tropical forest, Team Scimitar quickly ditched them and headed into cover. Brock immediately hid behind a thick tree and watched the silhouettes of his teammates as they took similar hiding positions. Their SPI armor adjusted to their surroundings, leaving only vague reflections of light to give away their positions.
"Let's break into two teams, Forrest and Myrin, me and Rachelle," Brock said, "we need to scout out any Covenant activity before we move any further."
The Spartans sent acknowledgments to their leader and Rachelle approached silently from Brock's four 'o clock. He watched Myrin and Forrest break toward one side of the forest, so he and Rachelle moved toward the other.
Having never seen a forest in a tropical climate before, Brock was amazed at the serenity and purity the sight had to offer. A lush canopy of thick green leaves from palm trees offered protection from the sun, and the threat of aerial surveillance. The moist ground below his feet sank a little with each step under the heavy weight of his armor, they would be easy to trace if they stayed moving like this.
Brock brought two fingers to his helmet as if pointing at his eyes, then pointed at the fallen logs and rocks that jutted out of the forest floor. Rachelle nodded and both stepped up onto the obstacles, careful to only step on the floor when it was absolutely needed as they made their way through the forest.
Suddenly, the air was filled with a thundering crash. Brock motioned for a halt and immediately scanned the horizon, trying to peek through the gaps in the canopy. He saw nothing. Just as he raised his arm to motion for Rachelle to move forward, another ear-splitting crash rang out. Once again Brock looked around for the source.
"Scimitar One, this is Scimitar Three, we've got a Scarab in sight" Myrin said over TEAMCOM. "It seems to be on a search and destroy mission sir."
"Roger that Scimitar Three, are you in view of the break in the forest?" Brock asked.
"Yes sir" came the response.
"Meet us two meters back from it" Brock ordered. Acknowledgement lights winked on and Brock and Rachelle broke into a slight jog. It was reckless, but if they were up against a Scarab, leaving footprints didn't matter much.
Coming into sight of where the forest ended and the wreckage of a small village began, Brock saw light reflecting the shape of a hand waving. He and Rachelle approached the other Spartans, weapons aimed in the air.
"Sir, the Scarab's on our two, just beyond our view" Forrest said, pointing. "We spotted it by climbing up into the trees."
"Good work, any other Covenant spotted?" Brock asked.
"Negative sir" Forrest answered.
So the Covenant had seen them, and come in guns blazing. Brock's heartbeat increased an almost unnoticeable amount as he struggled to come up with a plan, any plan to down the Covenant juggernaut looking for them.
"Sir, what do we do?" Rachelle asked.
"We could try and slip past it, but with the Scarab's superior tracking abilities I doubt we'd get far," Brock said. He suddenly wished they hadn't abandoned their Banshees so hastily. "Looks like we'll have to take it by force."
Tenth Age of Rejoining
Sol Relative Time: November 14th, 2552
The surface of Delta Halo, aka Installation 05
Reks 'Tormunee motioned for the Divine Unit to halt. His silvery Special Operations Commander armor reflected the sight of Parasite Infection Forms. The Sangheili Commander backed around the corner, drew his Plasma Rifle from its magnetic holster and turned to his troops.
The five Unggoy and three other Sangheili that made up the Divine Unit were some of the finest soldiers Reks had ever met. Dressed down in the traditional black armor of a SpecOp unit, the warriors were nearly invisible in the shadows of the Foreunner structure they hid behind.
"The Parasite are before us," 'Tormunee said, "we must evade them. Engage Active Camouflage and follow me." Just then, the Commander disappeared under a cloak of reflective light.
In an instance, his warriors followed suit and melded into the shadows.
Peeking around the corner once more, 'Tormunee scouted out the situation. The Parasite had three of the bloated Carrier Forms, two Combat Forms and literally hundreds of the pesky Infection Forms amongst their ranks. Up against a seasoned unit like that of the Divine, the odds were against the Parasite, but not as much as Reks would've liked.
Though Reks had been on hundreds of Forerunner structures before, he'd never faced the Parasite. He'd studied them and learned that they could usually track their prey through movement or heat patterns, but he hoped their Active Camouflage would fool the creatures.
'Tormunee gazed at the Sangheili that had fallen under the control of the Parasite and was disgusted to know that he would have to fight one of his own brethren. The warrior had been transformed into a walking abomination of tentacles, diseased flesh and basic instincts. It was a sickening sight.
"If we are spotted, burn the Parasite to dust, leave nothing in our wake!" Reks yelled over the COM. Then he stepped out into the light and charged across an open field of lush green grass, trying to move around the group of festering monsters. His soldiers filed behind him in a disciplined line, their weapons at the ready.
Suddenly, the Parasite formation shifted, the Combat Forms sensing movement. A bead of sweat ran down 'Tormunee's forehead as he continued to try and shuffle around. Then, with a ghastly screech, the Sangheili Combat Form sprang through the air, flailing its whip-like appendages.
The mountain of rotting skin and muscle landed on an Unggoy soldier, easily pinning the smaller creature to the ground. The Unggoy's Active Camouflage flickered out of existence as the Loyalist struggled against his superior opponent. The rest of the Parasite jumped into action, swarming toward the pinned down soldier.
"Attack!" 'Tormunee yelled, firing a burst of plasma from his Rifle at the Combat Form. Waves of burning blue fire washed over the diseased brute, charring its flesh. The Combat Form relentlessly beat at the Unggoy even while its own body began to burn away. When Reks had finally finished off the beast, the Unggoy had been reduced to a pile of broken bones and beaten flesh.
All around him, overcharged blasts from Plasma Pistols and shards of crystalline ammunition tore through the Parasite ranks as his troops opened fire. A Needler round latched onto a jumping Infection Form and exploded just before the insect-like creature would've latched onto a Sangheili's face. The Infection Form was burned to ashes.
A pair of shots from a Plasma Pistol slammed into a Carrier Form, knocking it over. The hulking mass of disease exploded amidst the masses of Infection Forms, killing many and bringing only a few into life.
Reks primed a Plasma Grenade and chucked it at the remaining Combat Form, a mutated human Marine. The grenade sailed through the air, leaving a trail of blue fire as it flew and latched onto the Combat Form's head. With a grunt, the infected human sprang into the air and towards the SpecOp Commander. It exploded amid flight, raining disease and gore onto the crowd below.
After that, the battle died down. Reks called his soldiers into a simple defensive formation and from there the Divine Unit slaughtered the remaining Parasite forces, peppering them with plasma fire until there was nothing but charred remains left over.
'Tormunee bent down and touched the blood stained grass underneath the body of the Unggoy soldier they had lost in the beginning of the assault. He rubbed the purplish liquid between two fingers, then wiped it back onto the grass. He promised the Unggoy that the Parasite would pay for his death, they would succeed in their mission and help the humans finish the unholy disease once and for all. Then he bent down, scrounged up a Plasma Grenade and Needler from the carcass and latched them into holsters.
1250 Hours, November 14th, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Sol System, Planet Earth
The island of Hawaii
Brock positioned himself at the edge of the rock face he stood on, staring down at the tropical forest below him. Thanks to his SPI armor, he blended in perfectly with the ground below his feet and the sky above his head. Invisible to the naked eye, Brock was comfortable that the Scarab approaching his position would spot him until he moved.
The Scarab towered above the tree tops, its metallic legs crushing anything that got under them and its glowing 'eye' casting a glare on the world below it. Two mounted Shade cannons made up the biggest part of the behemoth's weaponry. One faced forward and mounted on its back and another rear facing one was mounted on its abdomen. Brock knew that the main weapon of the Covenant powerhouse was its central eye, which fired a beam of focused green plasma for maximum damage.
Brock waited for the Scarab to walk near his position, even brushing up against the rock face, before he jumped. With a satisfying metal scraping noise, the Spartan rolled along the top deck of the Covenant walker and came to his feet. Only then did he notice that the Covenant had placed multiple guards on the upper deck. Two Brutes and three Jackals turned toward the noise and yelled battle cries. They had spotted Brock before his SPI armor could meld in with his surroundings and opened fire.
The Spartan rolled underneath a grenade fired from a Brute Shot and came to his feet firing. His MA5D choked out Magnum rounds, acting more like a fully automatic shotgun than an assault rifle. A spray of powerful rounds peppered the chest of the Brute that had fired and embedded into the beast's chest. With a last defiant roar, the Brute fell into a heap on the ground, smoke rising from its body.
"Where's my backup?" Brock growled.
Just then, Brock watched as silhouettes of three Spartans climbed up over the side of the Scarab and opened fire. The Jackal guards formed a crude barrier around the remaining Brute, using their energy shields to block the incoming fire from the Spartans fire. Forrest and Myrin kept the Covenant on the defensive with their Magnum sidearm weapons as Rachelle charged forward, activating the blade on her Sear Sword.
Brock rolled behind Forrest and Myrin, opening fire with his assault rifle. The other two Spartans knelt down and reloaded as Brock unloaded on the Covenant. Ballistic fire cancelled out a Jackal's shield and cut through its neck. The Covenant guard crumpled to the ground, forcing the other remaining Jackals to spread out their defense.
Rachelle sprang up and flipped behind the Covenant formation, coming face to face with the Brute warrior. The enormous beast tossed aside its weapon and threw a sweeping punch at the Spartan. Barely on her feet from the jump, Rachelle rolled backwards and dodged the attack. She brought up her Sear Sword in a defensive stance as the Brute charged her. She slashed at the last second, before being buried under a mass of fur and muscle.
Brock, Myrin and Forrest combined fire and broke through the shields of the Jackals. After the defensive barriers cancelled out, the frail avian bodies of the Covenant guards were torn apart by a hail of gunfire.
The Spartans took the momentary reprieve to slid home new clips of ammunition and stared at the Brute body lying on the ground behind those of the Jackals.
"Rachelle, come in" Brock said.
Nothing.
"Spartan G-007, report" he tried again.
Just then, the skin on the back of the Brute lit up a neon orange. A tearing sound filled the air as a lance of blue plasma shot up through the Brute's body and cut an opening. A moment later, the blade disappeared and a hand shot up, grasping the side of the beast's body. Rachelle pulled herself out of the opening she had created, her armor covered in the blood of the warrior she had slain.
She gave a casual thumbs up.
"Alright," Brock said, "let's finish this."
At that moment, the ramp leading down into the cockpit of the Scarab was overrun by Brutes and Jackals and the Spartans turned toward the new threat, a renewed vigor filling their augmented bodies. The air filled with plasma fire.