A/N: Thanks for the reviews readers. As for those who don't understand military talk, I will be placing something akin to a dictionary right after the chapter. Anyway, here's chapter 2.
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or plot line. I do own the OCs, new weapons, and vessels within this story.
Chapter 2
The dark reaches of space and not once did humanity ever think that it would ever encounter a race with a dedication to eradicate them from the planet, much less a coalition of species whose goal was to exterminate humanity. It had only been a few days since the battle for Harvest, dubbed the Second Battle of Harvest, where Vice-Admiral Cole and Battle Group X-Ray reclaimed the space above the agricultural world by destroying the Covenant vessels that were currently orbiting the planet.
Preston Cole stood within the confides of the bridge of the UNSC Everest, it's personnel working firmly to ensure the safety of the group. He had taken time to talk with the four COs within X-Ray, the respective leaders that took charge in order to destroy the Covenant Destroyers. There wasn't another attack and it troubled him greatly. He was brought out of his musing by a female officer appearing just within his peripherals.
"Sir, we have the COs of the Battle Group on channel 1," mentioned Naomi, his communication officer on board the Everest. "Do you wish for me to patch them through?"
"Send it to my office, Naomi," replied the old veteran with a sigh before he walked to his office. As soon as he entered, four screens appeared, showing the faces of Captain Lyons Summerton, Commander Elizabeth Mansfield, Captain Troy Daniels, and Commander Theodore Davis. "What is our current progress ladies and gentlemen? And what have we discovered from the combat logs about these Covenant and their vessels?"
"From what we've discovered from the logs, their shields were able to hold up from single fire from a handful of ships but when we focus on them with all weapons like with the Archers and MACs, they quickly went down after several barrages. Their weapons are able to knock down a large amount of our shields in one broadside," reported the only female commander. "Their anti-air weaponry has a larger cool down rate but is more destructive. We believe that's why there is a large quantity of them when compared to our vessels. That also means that they have a stronger and greater power core."
"As for Harvest, drops are being prepared as we speak," answered Captain Summerton. "We'll be dropping in the Bifrost region, the southwestern of Edda. Our FOBs will be operating there for now until we can have something stronger."
"ODSTs will be HALO dropping in a couple klicks northeast of Summerton's desired landing zone," mentioned Commander Davis. "They'll be clearing the field for your lads before joining up with Mansfield's troops."
"My men will be dropping at the Harvest Reactor Complex," said Commander Mansfield as she shook her head to get her hair out of the way. "They'll be investigating the area and see if we can restart that facility. That will be our FOB."
"We'll have armor dropped at both Summerton's and Mansfield's FOBs as soon as they are ready. ODSTs will be dropped prior of Mansfield's deployment in order to clear the sight of any undesirables," said Captain Daniels. "Sir, are we having any form of reinforcements? We won't be able to hold these bases with what we have so far."
"I have just received word that reinforcements are on their way," stated Admiral Cole. "We will be joined by Task Force 14 led by the Spirit Of Fire. They're all outfitted for retaking Harvest while being able to engage in any ship to ship engagement."
"Spirit Of Fire? That would be that old Phoenix-class colony ship that was retrofitted right?" asked Summerton with amusement in his eyes.
"The very same, though I question why you ask."
"My ship was part of Task Force 14 before we volunteered for this mission sir. Shadow Operations for ONI."
Cole's thoughts started to race as soon as the captain mentioned the words 'Shadow Operations' and he needed to know what the true might of the UNSC was. Was it all a mask or is it a large bluff, a placebo, in order to make humanity seem stronger than they think they truly are?
"What is the true might of the UNSC?" he suddenly questioned, earning him silence from the group. "You, captain, have mentioned that you worked in ONI's Shadow Ops, which I am to believe, consist of missions which that are not released to the general public and only for the eyes of specific people. ONI mentioned that the ships I would be leading would be the strongest that the UNSC had to offer and last time I checked, there was nothing out of the ordinary from any of the ships. What are you truly hiding?"
Silence reigned for several minutes before a lone sigh echoed throughout the room. All eyes turned to the source of origin, the lone female commander.
"Admiral, please know that if it were anyone other than you, they would have been killed on the spot," she stated seriously. "ONI knew that there was something out there bigger than humanity and that something we did would eventually step on the toes of those bigger people. So they started to fund a program called PROJECT: INFINITY."
"What is the purpose of this project?"
"To produce stronger, faster, and overall better technology in the field of warfare," replied the blonde captain. "What you saw was only what we wanted you to see. Out of the fifty plus vessels in this battle group, at least a good twenty are the results of the project."
"Then why did you fail to mention your capabilities to me? We could have saved the people on those thirteen vessels!"
"These weapons wouldn't have been able to make a difference. All most of them were made for defensive purposes," answered the male commander. "The only offensive weapon from the program were the Primus Deck Guns."
"What do we have that came from the program?" asked Cole with seriousness etched on his face.
"First is the Primus Deck Guns, capable of firing 50 ton ferric slugs at high muzzle speeds. It uses the same concept as the MAC guns but aren't able to do as much damage. These Deck Guns have four cannons, two attached on each side and there are about 30 scattered around each ship from INFINITY," informed Lyons. "They require a large power supply and at the rate we were spending power through constant barrages, we were not able to utilize them at all. It's especially because we were repeatedly firing the MACs. They haven't created a power supply strong enough to power it all."
"Next is the Overlord Missile Defense System. It is a program that targets any fighters who aren't giving a friendly IFF and launches a missile to destroy it," added Elizabeth. "However, if the missiles miss, the system will not track that fighter but rather lock on something else and fire on it. It's somewhat akin of the Fire and Forget missiles of the 20th and 21st Century."
"Lastly is the Pulse Flares. They are glowing blue mines that are ejected and explode when something nears it. They weren't meant to counter plasma based weaponry but rather rounds and missiles so they weren't really used throughout the battle," said Theodore. "However, I believe ONI will like to hear that they make great mines after a few modifications."
"So it was basically a lie then?" stated Cole blankly.
"ONI didn't lie to you, they told you the truth in the fact that in a slug fest, these vessels would be able to come out on top with no problem."
"They weren't only focusing on advances on UNSC vessels but also in the weapons and armor that our men will have on the ground. Spirit Of Fire will be bringing some new gear for us to work with."
"Let's hope that they will be strong enough. They told us to fight, and that's what we've done," started Cole as he looked at their eyes. "Now let's get the Covenant off of our planet."
With that, the four figures nodded and the screens disappeared from view. Cole just grabbed a nearby chair and sat down in it, not knowing of what should be done given the most recent events. ONI had started a program that was unknown to everyone but them and they were creating ways to strengthen the military arm of the UNSC in ways that he couldn't comprehend. But he knew one thing, the Covenant was going to pay.
Harvest, Bifrost Region
The blue skies of Harvest were a beautiful sight and the white covered trees were nothing short of gorgeous as they waved with the wind. It was a sight that no one could expect on a battle torn world and yet here it was. One particular person watched with interest as the snow blew with the wind. While they were covered in heavy armor, they could feel the cold touch and the lack of warmth.
"Colonel, Chief!"
Both figures turned to watch as a white clad soldier ran towards them with his gun bouncing up and down from its placement around his back. A tinted visor covered the face of the soldier but they knew that something was up and they turned to watch as the person stopped before saluting to the two.
"Orders just came in that the rest of the FOB is coming down tomorrow along with the rest of the engineers. Birds will soon be coming down with armor and weapons," reported the soldier. "Scouts have reported that there is some nearby Covenant patrols nearby but nothing major."
"Good, what vehicles do we have available currently?" asked the colonel. "Let's see if we can find any nearby Covenant bases nearby before we move to the Reactor Complex."
"Claire, we have an ODST HALO drop in five hours at the Complex. It' s at least twelve klicks out from here," stated the chief. "Let's go grab them before we head out."
"Fine, grab Desolator Company and let's move. I need some Hogs Robert, and I needed them yesterday!"
The male named Robert tapped the side of his helmet while he started to walk in the direction that the soldier came from. Radio static came through the snowstorm that surrounded them before the sound of a human voice broke it.
"Bifrost FOB, this is Chief Waterfield," he stated. "I need Desolator Company at my location with Hogs and supplies for the trip to Harvest Reactor. I repeat, have Deso Company rendezvous at my location with Hogs and supplies for the trip to Harvest Reactor."
Static reigned for a few seconds before a response was sent.
"Roger that chief, Deso Company is on their way to your location with Hogs and supplies," reported the dispatcher. "ETA is 5 mikes, repeat ETA is 5 mikes."
"Claire, ETA is 5 mikes," reported Robert as he turned to face his CO. The soldier pulled the helmet off to reveal her heart shaped face and piercing dark yellow eyes. Her pink hair draped on her shoulders, before she shook her head to remove the snow that had landed on it.
"You would think that with all the new toys that they supply us with, they would make comfier helmets," stated Claire as she placed her helmet back on her head.
"They're to protect your head," stated Robert with amusement.
"Well sir-"
The soldier never got to finish his sentence as a beam of light pierced his body, right where his heart was. His body fell to the ground with the red blood soaking into the white snow, staining it with its color.
"Sniper!" called Robert as he swung his rifle about and rushed to a nearby snow covered rock. The pink haired colonel had done the same thing as she grabbed her rifle and ran for some cover in the form of solid landscape.
"Deso Company, this is Colonel Halls," called the female Colonel as she placed her back on the cold, rocky surface. "We have a sniper at our location, repeat sniper at our location!"
As soon as she ended her message, a bright beam grazed the rock, causing pieces to fly into the air. She looked at her fellow officer hiding behind a large piece of rock as he also endured a similar fate. Steeling her nerves, she moved her head to the side, allowing her to see her attackers. What she say made her eyes narrow before retreating her head as a bolt of plasma phased through the area where it was before.
"Waterfield, we have Covies up top," she said through her radio. "Looks bigger than a scouting party."
"Raiding party maybe," he answered back. "They might have seen our landing. Take them down?"
"Colonel Hall, this is Deso-5, we are one mike from your location," played the radio. "Covenant forces have been located on top a nearby cliff by one of our birds."
"Deso-5, you are cleared to go weapons free," ordered the female colonel. As soon as she said that, a bright light pierced the snow before more pairs of lights started to appear. The snow parted to reveal the well known UNSC vehicle, the M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle aka the Warthog, and they came in guns blazing. They slid so that the passenger side was pointing their targets before stopping with their M41 spitting out 12.7x99mm armor piercing bullets at insane rates.
At that moment, several soldiers clad in white jumped out of the Warthogs with guns aimed at the ridge where the Covenant had set up. Their tinted helmets gave no sign of emotion on their faces as they unleashed a barrage of bullets from their weapons. The aliens had to turn their focus on the larger force of humans as they tried to take aim with their purple or blue weapons. A pair of the light vehicles had taken the distraction to drive at the location of the two stranded soldiers.
"Damn glad to see you here," stated Colonel Hall as she grabbed the offered hand from the soldier within the back before offering her hand to pull up Chief Waterfield. "Took you guys long enough."
"Sorry ma'am," responded the driver. "Traffic was rough to get here."
"Well, get us the out here."
"Roger that. All Hogs, this is Hog-3, package has been acquired," stated the driver as he slammed the gas. "Pull out. Pull out."
With those words, the soldiers hopped back into their respective vehicles with the gunners on top giving them enough cover to make a clean get away.
"So what do you have?" asked the female colonel as soon as they were out of range.
"That bird that spotted you also reported that they spotted a Covenant base nearby," reported the soldier on the passenger seat. "They said it looks really new and that there wasn't much there."
"Relay this information to Everest. They might want to know about this. And tell them that we're heading to the mountains."
UNSC Everest
Within the confides of Everest, Vice Admiral Cole looked down on the planet of Harvest with a calculating gaze. It had been a handful of weeks since they reclaimed the space above Harvest and several days since they were told that they were being reinforced with Task Force 14.
"Sir, we have a message from Colonel Hall," reported an officer, breaking Cole out of his thoughts. "They stated that a Covenant base was found several klicks from the Bifrost FOB and are requesting further orders."
"Tell them to-"
"Sir, contact!" shouted another officer. "Slipspace rupture!"
"All hands! Battle stations!" roared Cole as he sat down in his seat, his eyes glaring at the hole that had just emerged. "What are we looking at?"
"Covenant ships sir, they just exited the portal. There are ten of them but they are all Destroyer class."
"..."
"Sir, what are our orders?"
"Get me Captain Summerton."
"Sir?"
"Do it."
It took a matter of seconds before the blonde haired captain answered.
"What can I do for you sir?"
"Show me."
"Very well sir," stated the captain of the Fires of Freedom. Suddenly, several of the UNSC vessels of Battle Group X-Ray started to move as a single unit while Cole just watched with interest. From what they had told him, these vessels were all from the INFINITY project. They were positioned just below the Everest, giving him a perfect sight of the events about to occur. On the tops of these selected UNSC vessels, several turrets rose from within them and pointed their guns at the oncoming Covenant.
"Naomi, get the other ships on the horn," said Cole, earning her attention. "Tell them to warm up the MACs and prepare the Archer pods in case things go FUBAR. Also, arm any remaining SHIVAs that we have."
The female communication officer nodded her head before heading to her station to relay the message to the other vessels.
Inside of the Fires Of Freedom, Captain Summerton looked upon his targets. His crew were working frantically to make sure everything was ready for the show they were about to put. Other vessels were doing the same thing as they armed every weapon they possessed.
"Status of the Primus?"
"Rounds are set, power is being diverted from the MAC," reported the Weapons Officer. "Broadsides are ready for barrage."
"Status of all ships?"
"Green, sir. They are waiting for your orders."
"Tell all vessels to aim at that lead vessel, assign that as Destroyer-1."
"Yes sir. All vessels acknowledge the order and have aimed all Primus batteries at Destroyer-1."
It seemed like several hours had passed when in reality, only a few minutes flew by as the slow stalemate continued. As if an unseen sign was given, Summerton's eyes widened.
"Fire!"
The new Primus Deck Guns unloaded their payload, firing a salvo of 50 ton ferric slugs in pairs from each turret. From afar, it would look like miniature explosions were covering the tops of these vessels. The slugs travelled straight and true as they struck their targets. A large blue shield encompassed their target and it flickered with every explosion that splattered on it.
"Report!"
"Their shields are holding but only barely. All vessels are continuing the barrage."
The continuous broadside unleashed what seemed to be an infinite amount of rounds, striking their sole target in a matter of seconds. One of the many slugs made impact with the large shield and the explosion caused many within the UNSC vessel to cry out in happiness. It had burst the shield and the rounds were now causing massive damage on the external structures and in a matter of seconds, it exploded in a ball of blue and purple.
However, the Covenant had recognized the fire power that they possessed and began to turn their ships on their sides in order to begin their own barrage of broadsides.
"Sir!"
"I'm aware! Get all vessels to load up the Archers and target designated Destroyer-2!" he ordered. "And see if we're in range for Overlords."
"What are thinking about doing, Lyons?"
"Using everything we have against them."
"Weapons have confirmed that they are entering firing range for the Overlords!"
"Relay the order to change the aiming program to that of the Archers, we're going to pop their bubble. All ships are cleared to open fire! Get Wings Of Creation, Straits Of Demons, and Defender to arm their SHIVAs."
"It seems that you require some help, Captain."
With those words, several projectiles flew over the Fires Of Liberation. They struck a two out of the remaining nine targets with deadly precision and accuracy, causing large explosions to bombard the blue Covenant shields. However, they were quickly broken from the amount of explosions and it was at that moment that the SHIVAs made impact with the worn and beaten outer shell of the sleek, purple vessels. In a matter of seconds, they were both engulfed in a white flame and sent a massive shockwave that pushed the remaining seven ships away, inadvertently shoving them into each other and causing their shields to flare from the large impact.
"Open fire!" roared Summerton. All heard his command and they unleashed another storm at a single target. With the weakened shields from the combination of the shockwave and the collision, they weren't able to last as long and it exploded in another ball of flames with the debris floating in random directions.
"This is Cole to all vessels, we are-"
Completely unexpected, a large explosion erupts on the hull of several UNSC vessels.
"What happened?!"
"I don't know sir!" replied an officer before looking at his computer and his eyes widening. "We have more Covenant vessels! They're on top of us! Looks like several Battleship class!"
"Damn it! Tell Summerton to get his group and destroy those Destroyers. We'll handle the new ships," ordered the admiral. "Spin up the MAC and get the Archers reloaded! We've got to hold them off!"
UNSC Fires Of Freedom
The crew members slowly regained their bearings within the rocking vessel as more explosions rocked it. Officers started to frantically work on their systems while a red light started to flash brightly throughout the entire ship.
"Report..." grunted a dazed captain.
"Shields are down to 23%," stated an officer before another explosion rocked the vessel. "Now to 11% and we have Decks C to H venting. Response crews are on their way to handle it as we speak. We still have power and control over all weapons except the MAC. The power transfer system between it and the Primus is fried. All of our vessels have been striking the destroyers and have taken down two more. However, they have gotten into firing range of their broadsides."
"So we're stuck with the Primus then," muttered the blonde captain. "What are Cole's orders?"
"We are to take down the rest of the Destroyers and they'll distract them long enough for us to finish them off and help them."
"Sir! We have another barrage coming out way! We can't move out of the way!"
Time seemed to slow for the crew as the wave of purple balls flew towards them. Suddenly, a UNSC vessel flew in between the two, catching the explosion before it struck the weakened ship. Shock coursed through the entire crew but they took the moment to unleash a hail of rounds and missiles into the aggressor, who exploded from the amount of ammunition that it had to endure.
"Sir, channel for you," stated his communication's officer. "Patching it through."
The screen appeared and displayed a female with black hair and familiar grey eyes. It was Elizabeth. And realization struck the man as he looked at her closely. Blood was dripping down from her temple and sparks were appearing from the background.
"Elizabeth!' he called out in dismay.
"Are all you alright?" she asked with concern.
"We're all fine but why did you do it?" he asked.
"Someone has to save your sorry arse all the time..."
"Will she hold?"
"Put more faith in her, I've trusted her in worst conditions."
"Get Liberation to hold around the back, we'll continue shelling them."
"Summerton, we're not going-" started the woman with a glare, only to be interrupted by the pleading eyes of the man in front of her. "Fine... We'll head back but I expect to see your sorry butt groundside after this."
"Yeah, after all of this," replied Lyons with a small smile of gratitude before ending the call. "What do we have?"
"We're running out of munitions and we'll be on our last leg soon. The rest were taken down from the focus fire but the rest of our group is running low on everything from Archers and Overlords to rounds."
"What about SHIVAs?"
"It varies between the ships but it ranges from at least three to a dozen."
"We need help..." muttered Summerton before responding to call on his personal channel. "This is Summerton."
"Summerton, it's Cole. We won't be able to hold them off," radioed the admiral. "We were able to take down one of the Battleship class and a handful of the destroyers but we lost a few of our ships."
"Sir, we've finished with our group and en route to your location," responded Lyons. "We'll give you some support."
"Negative captain, pull back," ordered the man.
"But sir-"
"Your ships aren't going to able to handle this much fire power and I don't want to risk the death of more men. Head for Harvest. My group will follow as soon as yours is safe."
"Yes sir," responded the hesitant captain of the UNSC vessel before ending the call and turning to his crew. "You heard the orders. Relay them to the rest and start pulling out."
"Yes sir," murmured the crew,
"God save us..."
"Sir! Another slipspace rupture! Two ruptures! One of them appearing right behind the Covenant assault force and the other in between them and our vessels!"
UNSC Everest
"Sir, we have two slipspace ruptures!" reported one of his officers. "Shields are currently at 47% and decreasing. We won't be able to hold this position for long!"
"Status of Summerton's group?"
"They're heading for Harvest sir, out of range from what we presume is the maximum range of Covenant weapons."
"Good... Prepare everything, if we're going down, we're going to take some of them with us," ordered Cole. "We won't be able to retreat if those ruptures are from Covenant vessels."
"Sir! Message on Channel 14," cried Naomi in shock. "Patching it through."
"Seems that you need some help, old friend," stated an old voice that made Preston Cole's eyes widen and a small smile to appear on his face. From the portals, several large, grey ships emerged with the UNSC logo painted on their sides. One of the most prominent vessels was the 2.5km vessel that started to unleash all sorts of hell as it launched and fired all of its weapons on the Covenant force. It's name etched in white was shown proudly to the remaining ships in Battle Group X-Ray. Spirit Of Fire.
"Cutter, you're late," stated Cole as he released a breathe that he didn't know he was holding. "But better late than never."
"I believe that the saying goes like that," laughed Captain James Cutter. "Get your ship out of here Preston, we'll clear them out for you and rendezvous with you over the planet. Godspeed."
UNSC Spirit Of Fire
"Serina, how are shields holding right now?" asked Cutter. "And what is the current status of Cole's group?"
From a nearby pedestal, a blue figure appeared in the shape of a young female with long hair and clothes that resembled something akin of a lab coat. She was Serina, a smart AI.
"Shields are currently at 87%," answered Serina. "As for Vice Admiral Cole's Battle Group, the remains are split into two groups. Which group do you wish to know about?"
"Serina..."
"Well, one group under the apparent command of... Oh my... Fires of Freedom," she stated with some form of shock. "Most of the group is heavily damaged with several of them venting at several locations throughout the whole vessel. As for Everest, the group is currently heading for the first group and seems to be trying to meet up with them."
"Good, now let's turn this ship around and give these Covenant a taste of some medicine," ordered Cutter.
Within the blackness of space, the large vessel started to turn to point at the slowly decreasing Covenant group. A large quantity of UNSC vessels ranging in all sizes surrounded them and unleashed their weapons into the shields.
"The MAC is online and primed," stated Serina with a grin her light blue face. "Payback time!"
"Fire!"
The single MAC on the ship unleashed its slugs aimed at one of the vessels. Four rounds were spat out from the cannon and they flew straight into the core of the nearest ship, detonating in a brilliant fashion. It caused a chain reaction as the rest of the Covenant vessels started to fall from the large concentration of weapons pounding upon it. They didn't give without a fight as they fired all of their weapons into any ship that was in range. Soon, none were left and Task Force 14 was victorious.
"Serina, what are our casualties?" asked the captain wearily.
"19 ships report that they are venting in several decks but are still good. Another 11 state that they received moderate damage and the remaining ships have little to no damage on their vessels," reported the AI a little too cheerfully for crews desire.
"Good," said Cutter, ignoring the AI's tendencies. "Bring us to meet with Everest."
"Yes sir!"
It would only take a matter of minutes before the large vessel and it's group of fresh ships met up with the stationary and highly damaged vessels of Cole's group. Cutter had taken the time to walk to the nearest hanger bay.
"Forge, Anders," he called to the two figures standing nearby.
"Sir?" they both asked simultaneously.
"Both of you are coming with me to Everest with the ODST squad," said the old captain. "We're going to meet up with an old friend of mine."
"Yes sir."
The trio walked towards the nearest aircraft, a D77-TC aka the Pelican. A common aircraft used by the UNSC through the fact that it was extremely versatile in transportation of soldiers, vehicles, and equipment or as a gunship. It's light green color was something that was common on almost all UNSC vehicles. That was when a group of 6 soldiers with similar looking armor spotted them.
"Captain Cutter, Jacob Hayfield sir," stated one of the soldiers. "We're Alacrity ODST squadron, your detail."
"Good, let's go boys," Cutter ordered as they filed into the Pelican. The door closed shut, enclosing the group within the aircraft and it was then that someone spoke.
"Sir, not to be rude or anything," started the soldier named Forge. "But what are we doing here?"
"Sergeant, we're here to protect Everest along with Harvest," replied Cutter as he looked the man in the eyes.
"That's not what I meant sir. I mean there were other Task Force, hell even fleets who could have been a better group then us to support Harvest. But why were we selected out of the rest?"
"I would like to say that I do know but in reality, I don't," answered Cutter with a sigh as he took off his cap before running his hand through his white hair. "It may because of my history. Cole had selected our Task Force as the group to reinforce them out of the many others. In the times we had to talk, we've become something akin to acquaintances, friends even. But I do not know why we were chosen."
"In other words, Vice Admiral Preston Cole chose us with no other influence other than himself?" asked the only female in the group.
"Professor, that may be true but I think that we may have an influence in the form of a Lyons Summerton, the captain of the Fires of Freedom," said the old captain.
This earned him a chuckle from the group before the pilot announced something through the radio.
"We're now approaching the Everest," said the pilot. "Touchdown in one mike."
The landing was hardly felt by the passengers before the rear door opened to reveal the metal floors of a UNSC vessel. Cutter took this time to stand up before heading out. He was instantly greeted with the face of the famous UNSC CO, Preston Cole. However, there were two other people there, one of them being extremely familiar to the man.
"Sir," said the captain with a salute.
"It's good to see you Captain," answered Cole as he saluted back. "You saved our hide back there and I'm grateful for that. And I believe that you recognize one person here."
"Lyons, it's good to see," greeted Cutters warmly as he looked at the young blonde man before seeing some blood that had stained his uniform. "It seems that you all experienced a rough battle. I'm glad we were able to make it in time to prevent more death and destruction."
"It's good to see you too Captain Cutter," replied Lyons. "I believe you too haven't met but this is Commander Elizabeth Mansfield."
"Ah yes... I believe that you have mentioned her a few times before you left for this mission," stated Cutter, earning him a light blush from both. "It is nice to finally meet you Commander, Captain
"Summerton has told us nothing but good things about you."
"W-Why thank you Captain," she replied back as she tried to regain control of her emotions.
"Why don't we take this conversation to the meeting room?" asked Cole, to which Cutter responded with a nod. "Captain, I hope that you were able to fully stock before heading here."
"We did sir. All kinds of gear for retaking Harvest like you mentioned."
They continued to walk for a minute before entering a room with a table displaying a large map. The female professor and Forge quickly started to analyze it while the six ODST from Spirit Of Fire positioned themselves around the room.
"This is a map of Harvest, or rather part of it. We have a FOB here at the Bifrost currently and a second FOB at the Harvest Reactor Complex," said Cole as he pointed at the region. "Right now, my Battle Group doesn't have the forces or the supplies to hold these bases for long."
"And that's why you asked for my Task Force in particular," added Cutter. "We're one of the few groups that can supply several bases at once while helping an assault."
"Correct. A few hours ago, one of our ODST companies reported that they encountered a Covenant assault force and our Bifrost FOB reported that one of their birds had scouted a base several klicks out."
"What are your orders sir?"
"Reinforce Desolator ODST Company and help them take out that Covenant base."
"Sir, do we have a current location on Desolator Company?" asked Sergeant Forge as he looked at the map.
"Last time we heard from them, they were heading towards the mountains," replied Captain Summerton. "All of our ships sustained quite a bit of damage and haven't been able to pinpoint their exact location. However, we do know that they are around this area, right by this mountain range."
"The geography suggests that the mountain range is at least 4km tall," stated the professor before she examined at a specific spot within the range. "However, there is a valley here. From the scale of this map, I would estimate that it is about 1 to 2 km wide."
"Perfect spot for a drop," muttered Forge before looking at Cutter. "If you can get comms back up with that company, there might be a chance to get an ODST drop at that location."
"Rather a small target space, isn't it?"
"What about intelligence?" asked Commander Mansfield, her looks restoring to the calculating ones she had before. "We don't know their count or if they have any armor in there? They would be going in blind."
"They would also be blind," replied Forge, saying something before anyone else could. "Unless the Covenant has heat seeking tech like we do, we should be able to do fine. The question is how are we going to destroy that base?"
"MAC round?"
"No!" cried the professor.
"Jeez Anders! No need to shout!"
"Sorry but if you fire a MAC, it will not only cause the destruction of the Covenant base but would possibly damage our FOB. This mountain range is rather close of our FOB and with the amount of kinetic energy along with explosive power one round does, it would cause an avalanche that would cover the whole base."
"What about the Primus?" asked Cole as he looked at Summerton.
"Any ship that has the Primus is either lacks the power to fire it without removing it from a vital system or possess no more rounds for it."
"Explosives?"
"They would have to be placed within the base and blown up from the inside out."
"Archers and Overlords are out?"
"We would need more than one missile to take it out and that has the possibility of causing the same effect as the MAC round," stated Anders as she flipped her hair out of her eyes.
"So the only option is a HALO drop?" questioned Cutters.
"Seems like it. Can you get a company on the horn?" asked Cole.
"Alacrity Company will do it sir," said James as he stepped from his position before anyone could say anything.
"How long will it take to get your company ready, soldier?"
"As soon as I can get back to the Spirit, it'll take a matter of minutes before drop sir."
"Why don't you head to the Pelican now James? Get back to the ship and prepare for drop," said Cutter. "We'll coordinate here on the Everest."
"Roger sir."
With that, the six ODST soldiers vacated from the room as they headed to the Pelican. The room was silent as the remaining figures looked either at each other or at the map on the table. Finally, it was Cole who broke the silence as he turned to look at the old captain.
"Do you wish to join me on the bridge, Captain, professor, Sergeant?" he asked. "We can talk about our future plans with Harvest."
"Very well," answered Captain Cutter as Professor Anders replied with a brief nod of her head.
"Might as well see what we're going to be dealing with," mumbled Forge as he followed the exiting group, but stopped to look at the remaining pair. "It's nice to see again kid. I'll talk to you later after you talk with your lady friend."
Forge left but gave a wink to the male before doing so. Silence reigned within the room as the pair looked at opposite sides of the room. With a silent gulp, Lyons looked at the female commander as he tried to suppress his nerves.
"Lizzie..." he started, earning him her attention. "Thank you..."
"Thank you for what?" she genuinely asked with confusion etched on her face.
"Everything. You saved me earlier and you've done so much for me..."
"It's nothing Ly. You would have done the same thing for me," she said with a smile that sent flutters into his stomach.
"Do you, if you have time later, want to go grab some food?" he asked, cheeks starting to glow red in nervousness and embarrassment. "I mean if you're not busy and all, and if you want to go grab some food with me. You don't have to go if you don't want -"
"Ly, you're rambling again," she said before placing her finger on his lips to prevent him from speaking. "And I would like that. I'll see you later then?"
"Yeah... Later," he said with a small smile gracing his face as he looked into her grey eyes one more time before she left the room, leaving him alone in it.
Bifrost Mountain Range
Before the war had erupted, the Bifrost mountain ranges were some of the most dangerous to climb and it was well known all throughout Harvest. Without the right equipment, it was common for people to fall and severely hurt themselves. A few have outright died from the impact at the base of the mountain. Needless to say, it's completely dangerous.
"Damn this snow," muttered Chief Waterfield as he drove his foot into the deep snow.
"Stop complaining," said Colonel Halls as she slapped him on the side of his head. "We've lost contact with Everest and I'm not one to believe that they are destroyed until it's stated otherwise."
"With all due respect ma'am, comms have been silent for several hours now," stated another soldier. "FOB hasn't been able to pick them up."
"Deso Company, this is Deso Actual," spoke the radio.
"Soldier, keep your mouth shut," ordered the female CO before motioning for the company to halt. "Deso Actual, this is Deso-1. What can we do for you?"
"Deso-1, Everest has reported in. Here is your current objective. You are to head to a valley 3 klicks northwest of your current location and hold there. How do you copy?"
"Good copy, Actual. We'll head that way right now," reported Halls as she ended the channel before turning to her men. "We just got an update. We're heading to a valley 3 klicks northwest and holding there until further orders."
"Why would we wait there?" muttered an ODST, more to himself but it was loud enough for Claire to hear.
"Orders are from Everest, ladies and gents. Now let's move!"
The company of ODST continue their trudge through the covered mountains, enduring the high winds and the infinite amounts of snow that blew their way. It took a couple of hours before the large group found themselves looking at the large snow covered plains that seem to stretch farther than their eyes could see.
"There it is," mumbled Chief Waterfield before spotting something out of the corner of his eyes. "Shit! Get down!"
Everyone heard the order and dropped down into the thick snow with their weapons at the ready. Eyes were alert looking for anything that could have been a sign of a threat.
"What is it?" asked the female Colonel as she aimed her rifle into the unknown.
"This point is compromised," he replied back as he slowly shifted himself up so he could get another look. "We found a Covenant base. From the looks of it, it's more of a station for a bigger one. There's not that many here and no sign of armor."
"I'll relay it to Actual," she said before slowly moving back and then activating her radio. "Actual, this is Deso-1. Point is compromised, I repeat it is compromised."
"Say again, Deso-1," chirped the radio.
"Point is compromised, Actual. We found a small base at the valley, but there seems to be no armor and little hostiles. What are your orders?"
"Hold Deso-1, we'll patch you to Everest."
"Colonel Hall, this is Vice Admiral Cole," started the radio. "We need you to clear that valley up. That point is going to be an LZ for your reinforcements. Drop is in ten mikes."
"Yes sir! We'll get right on it," she replied before turning to her men. "Looks like we're going to see some action earlier than we expected. We need to take out that base. Apparently, this valley is going to be an LZ for our troops."
"Huh... Fun times then?" replied Waterfield. "How do you want to do this?"
"Have our sniper teams set up shop here. The rest of us will climb down there and take them down quick and quietly. We have ten mikes to clear them out."
"Roger that," replied the rest of the company. Four small groups consisting of four members headed for the ledge while the rest headed down the white covered slope with their rifles at the ready.
"Colonel, this is Sniper Lead," chirped her radio. "All sniper teams are set with Infrared and IFF settings We have spotted a small patrol group half a klick from your current position."
"Take them out quickly and quietly," ordered the colonel before motioning her unit to halt in their advance. The group heard a series of soft thuds before she motioned for the continued advancement from her group. They quickly found the dead carcasses of the patrol unit with their purple and blue blood soaking into the snow.
"Bury them deep into the snow," she quietly ordered to the closest group of soldiers. "Let's hope that they're a new group and won't have to report in soon."
"Deso-1, Sniper Lead," chirped her radio once more. "A pair of Covies just exited the base. It might be a northern entrance They seem to be staying rather close to it. The western entrance is clear."
"Copy that Sniper Lead. We're heading there right now," replied Halls before turning to examine the inconspicuous work that her men had just finished. "Good. We have a pair of sentries posted outside the entrance. Let's move!"
The group started to move quickly through the snow, careful of making little to no noise and they were greatly surprised to find the size of the base. It was tall enough to stand out from the constant snowstorm and its purple color allowed it to be seen from afar. However, they weren't expecting it to be a rather large base.
"I don't think this is just a station," muttered Chief Waterfield before looking at something from the corner of his eye. "Looks like they have some heavy weaponry but no signs of armor."
"Alpha and Beta are to head for the northern entrance. Charlie, Delta, and Echo are to circle around the back and clear any patrols and straying units," she ordered as she pointed at the respective squad leaders. "Foxtrot and Omega are with me. We're going in through the western entrance. Move it people!"
The large group of white clad units all dispersed into smaller units, heading towards their objectives. Nothing was heard and nothing was seen as they moved along the purple sides of the base. Up on the ridge, the sniper teams watch in anticipation at the possible engagement that was about to break out.
"This is Omega, ready to breach western entrance."
"Foxtrot, ready to breach."
"Alpha, we're near the northern entrance. We have no visual on the sentries."
"Beta, sentries have been spotted. Permission to take them out?"
"This is Deso-1, Beta, you are cleared for weapons free. Foxtrot and Omega are cleared to breach on my mark," ordered Halls. "Alpha, get set to breach as soon as you can. Chances are that we'll need you in here. Sniper team, take down any Covenant that Charlie, Delta, and Echo don't spot."
"This is Foxtrot-Lead, breaching on Deso-1."
"Breach!"
Explosives had been placed on the metal door that prevented entrance but it wasn't able to withstand the strength of the blast as it flew backwards, releasing some black smoke. The two squads quickly entered through the hole and were met with a hail of bolts. Some of them met their marks and struck the entering ODST.
"Find some cover and light these bastards up," roared one of the officers. "Get the injured to cover!"
The ODST rushed to find any source of cover, ducking through the flying bolts. As soon as they found some, they started to unleash their own bullets on the defenders. Explosions soon started to fill the base as grenades became frequently used.
"Alpha, where the hell are you?!" asked Chief Waterfield as he shot another Covenant unit with his BR55HB SR Battle Rifle. As soon as he said it, the sound of an explosion going off filled the room, exposing a hole into the battlefield. Debris flew in all directions in the form of metal shards and from the hole, several white clad figures entered with their weapons launching projectiles at their targets.
"About damn time, soldier!" shouted Waterfield through the radio as his rifle spat out another three rounds into a nearby Covenant target. "Reloading!"
"Flash bang out!"
A loud explosion filled the room once more and this time, the ODST soldiers within the room popped up from their cover and started to unleash a hail of bullets into the disorientated aliens. It didn't take too long for them to fall, even the ones with the personal shielding.
"All teams, this is Deso-1. Ground floor is clear."
"Deso-1, this is Sniper Lead. It's clear outside."
"Hey Colonel, look at this," called a soldier who was kneeling beside one of the fallen aliens. "These are the guys that had personal shielding. Weird looking thing."
"They have split lips, or jaw..." stated another rather dumbly. "Looks taller than any of us."
"Take pictures of it, send it to Actual," ordered Halls. "At least we'll have a way to recognize these... aliens."
"Contact!" shouted one of the ODST on the outside perimeter as he snapped his rifle up to unload the whole clip into a charging figure. He didn't last long as a neon green blast struck him and exploding into a cloud of green. From the cloud, two creatures of similar characteristics appeared. They held a large metal shield-like structure on one of their arms while the other was basically a cannon with green tubes connected to it. They wore blue armor with large spines on the back and exposed some of orange substance between the gaps.
"What the hell is that thing?!" questioned another as he unloaded his clip before jumping behind cover.
"Whatever it is, it needs to go down! Frag out!" called Halls as she lobbed a dark green item and it landed right between the feet of one of them. The explosion rocked the structure and the remaining ODST peeked out of their covers to see if their target was dead. However, their security was short lived as a pair of green blasts shot at two different areas, causing independent explosions .
"Those things have tough armor!" stated Waterfield as he ejected his empty clip before reloading a full one in. "I'm pretty sure that we wasted at least a dozen clips on them!"
"Toss some more frags!"
Several of the unit did just that, pulling the pin out and lobbing it at the pair of assaulting creatures. They landed everywhere around it and once one of the grenades exploded, the rest followed after. It didn't surprise them that the structure shook from the size of the explosion. Large started to appear on the purple walls and the floor above them was showing signs of wearing down from the constant weakening on its supports.
"If we're not careful, we're going to drop this whole base on top of us!" warned Claire as more of her company lobbed at least half a dozen more grenades. The constant explosion produced a large cloud of white smoke and that was when they stopped throwing the hand sized explosives.
"They dead?" asked a random soldier as they all looked above their cover. He was answered quickly as the pair ran out from the cloud in a rush, their shield impacting on one of the metal covers that several members were using and crushing them against the purple wall. Shouts filled the air as everyone started to run away from the charging beings, knowing that anyone who got hit would be dead instantly. However, Claire was able to notice something.
"This is Deso-1 to all squads. Toss all your grenades and bring this whole base down. Then get the hell out of here!"
Everyone complied as they ejected the pins on their grenades before tossing them into the weakening room. It was chaos as all of Deso Company ran for the exit to get out of the base before the explosion and they were able to succeed as the explosion began. However, they failed to realize that the floor above the room was filled with fuel cells and it caused a massive chain reaction that launched those within the blast radius a few meters away. All that remained of the building was the burning foundation and the small pieces that fell from the sky.
Claire Halls, one of the best ODST's known in the UNSC and she was damn proud of that. However, she knew that something was wrong the minute she had entered that base. It had begun with that skirmish and she knew that it was too easy. She was right when these two blue armored creatures appeared out of nowhere and started kill some of her men with their large cannons or by ramming them into the wall. All she remembered was giving the order to get out before tossing all of her grenades into the room with the two aliens. Everyone was exiting and she knew she had gotten out from that metal building before she felt no control over the movement of her body and let the gentle blackness consume her consciousness.
"-get up."
She knew something was wrong as the blackness started to fade and she felt her eyes trying to clear up her vision. In front of her was someone she knew all too well, Chief Waterfield. His helmet wasn't tinted, allowing her to see his eyes but she could feel soreness course through her body.
"C'mon Halls! Get up!" said the man in front of her as he continued to shake her.
"Damn it Waterfield, stop shaking me!" she replied back as he pushed him away from her. Using every ounce of strength she had left, she pulled her body up to look at her surroundings.
"What happened?"
"From what we found out, that base had something that reacted with the explosions from the grenades," stated another person whom she couldn't recognize of the top of her head. "It could have been anything from fuel to their explosives."
"And who the hell are you?" she asked bluntly, not caring about protocol or such.
"Warrant Officer Hayfield of Alacrity Company," replied the man as he saluted to her. "Chief Waterfield reported to Everest that the base was down but that there were casualties so they dropped us in."
"How many did we lose?" she questioned and she had a feeling she wasn't going to like the answer.
"Overall, we lost about 49 soldiers from all events. Another 78 were injured ranging from moderate to severe," answered Waterfield as he looked her in the eyes. "We'll need to rest up before we pull out and chances are, the Covenant will know that this base is gone."
"What is command saying?"
"We wait," answered Hayfield. "Almost a third to a half of your entire company was lost. Spirit Of Fire will be dropping in some more reinforcements and some armor as soon as you're 100%."
She knew that she couldn't win against this one. Orders came directly from the person in charge of the campaign and she knew that with those losses, her company wasn't going to be operating well for a while.
"Fine. But where the hell are we anyway?" she asked.
"Harvest Reactor Complex."
"What?"
Military Dictionary:
Bird: Flying vehicle, refering to a plane or helicopter
Klick: Kilometer ex. five klicks = five kilometers
Mike: Minute ex. five mikes = five minutes
FOB: Forward Operating Base
ETA: Estimated Time of Arrival
A/N: Thanks for reading! Read and review! No flames. Seriously. And see you all next time.