Mere moments had passed since Private First Class Jack Buchanan's voice had washed over her comm, but to Amy every minute was feeling more like an eternity. The remnants of her team were encamped about the courtyard, the two snipers focusing intently into their respective beam rifles' scopes. Amy had grown quite accustomed to seeing the various Covenant soldiers. Elites, Jackals and grunts had all fell under her fire. Now, however, she was being faced with the possibility of confronting Hunters for the first time.
The Hunter's build and armor presented them more as an armored tank than a foot soldier, and even with the traps they had laid out, they would have a hard time bringing the beasts down. Amy cursed her trepidation, and she knew the other Marines could not afford to see their leader as weak.
"Sir, we have contact! I have the one thirty-third in sight!" Private Larkin yelled from his south wall perch.
"And I've got Hunters. Looks like they were right, I am seeing four plus three Jackals. I also see some Grunts running around, but can't make out how many. No sign of any Elites." Private Edmund checked in, then returned to peering at the oncoming forces.
"Listen up, don't spend sniper ammo on the Hunters. Leave them for the trap to take out. Pick off the Jackals and Grunts. Also watch for any signs of cloaked Elites before they can get close."
Small claps of gunfire began to cut through the city ambience and slowly began to crescendo. "Corporal Wilkes, this is Buchanan again, we are a couple hundred meters out with the Covies on our tails. Could use some cover."
"Roger that Private. We have sniper cover fire incoming. Make your way to the south entrance tunnel. Be advised the tunnel exit into the courtyard is wired."
"Copy that Eighty-second, we'll be sure to watch our step." A wash of static came over Amy's Comm. The time for engagement had come as both snipers let loose, sending their supersonic payload into unaware Grunts. Amy mused that the minimal recoil of the beam rifles made them appear to not have fired at all. More beams were fired as plasma streaked wildly into the sky, announcing the death throws of more Covenant soldiers.
Waiting for the Hunters' arrival was agonizing. The sounds of their massive fuel rod cannons barked in the distance. Amy took a moment to look at the rest of the team. They were all holding steady, their eyes focused on the large opening that the enemy would soon be pouring through.
The Marines each had their mannerisms, though. Josh shifted from side to side on the Ghost's seat, checking over the various instruments and structure. The vehicle's body seemed intact, although part of one of the wings had been blown off, as bright arcs escaped it. One lone marine perched himself on the wall opposite the entrance. The war-torn soldier bit his blackened nails and spit pieces of them on the ground. Others checked their arms for remaining ammunition, prayerfully requesting that the firepower would not run out in the battle to come.
The snipers continued their assault as the first of the one thirty-third's men passed through the courtyard's entrance. First to enter was a man and woman pair, the female offering support to the male, his leg burned severely. The groggy Marine winced as the female removed his arm from over her shoulder, letting him gently rest against the thick concrete wall.
More Marines followed the pair in, their backs to the courtyard as they continued to offer suppressive fire at the incoming Covenant force. The massive hunters were not fazed as the bullets bounced harmlessly off their massive shields.
"Amy to snipers, you guys got any grenades left?" The thought had struck Amy that it would be advantageous to compliment their traps with fire from the rear.
"Sorry sir, we used all we had on the trap."
"Dammit." Amy couldn't believe she didn't think of it before. Being able to hit the Hunters from behind was imperative.
"Sir, the Hunters are entering the tunnel, it shouldn't be long… Oh shit…"
"What is it Perkins? What's going on over there?"
"Sir, it looks like a Jackal may have spotted the wire. The Covenant have stopped their advance toward the opening. Wait, the Hunters are charging their Canons… Shit! Edmund, we have to get our asses off this wall!"
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"Alright Dragoons, this is your primary weapon… The Magnetic Impulse Assault Rifle, or MIR for short."
Dr. Wilkes lightly caressed the top of the polished black rifle as the humanoid forms looked on. Their holographic eyes continued to give Dr. O'Brian pause. They looked human enough. They just seemed to be missing… Something… They were cold and empty from the lack of a soul. Dr. O'Brian couldn't help feeling a bit of guilt over just snatching a human's substance from them.
For all practical purposes, these were the Marines they used to be, albeit with neural programming to enhance their response times and decision making abilities. They had been given a new lease on life through simulation software and intelligence programming, but would they just be throwing their lives away again? What did they or didn't they remember of their past life and death? Colonel Ackerson didn't care what the Dragoons could or couldn't remember, "I don't give a damn what they know as long as they know how to kill Covenant" had been his exact words, and his orders had put resources elsewhere. The lack of resources to create sufficient memory scan algorithms left the software's development on the back burner, so their memories would be more or less patched together.
Perhaps it may come to them as some sense of Déjà vu?
The thought caused O'Brian's heart to break, although outwardly she remained stoic. The doctor could not imagine the AI soldiers having to piece together the horrors they had seen through crude flashbacks. However, there simply hadn't been time or resources to purge the memories from the rest of their thought cores. Christy's mind drifted back into the room and the weapons lecture being given by Edgar.
"This rifle was made especially for the Dragoon armor. It makes use of the magnetic coupling within your palms to pass a magnetic field onto each round that is fired. In a nutshell, Elite shielding will be useless against this ammunition, as the polarization of the bullet will part the plasma away from its trajectory, allowing them to simply bypass their shields altogether. This comes with a price, however. Its trajectory can also be affected by any metallic surfaces that may be close by. We are still working out the details of it, so just keep that in mind. First, let me see if everyone's system monitors are online."
Edgar turned about to face a wall of monitors, each keeping check on an individual Dragoon's statistics. Silhouettes of the Dragoons displayed on their respective screens, a florescent green filling the inside of each body part. Percentages were attached to each major joint, giving an observer a rating on range of motion. Various fluid levels and their temperatures were also displayed. In the upper right of each screen a box switched on showing a video feed from each soldier. Both Dr. Wilkes and Dr. O'Brian scanned them curiously and then turned back to the team.
A sudden chirp from Dr. Wilkes' terminal caught his attention. A message on the screen denoted a new email had arrived, and was marked with the highest of priorities. Edgar didn't know why, but something told him he needed to read it. "Dr. O'Brian, would you please show the Dragoons to the shield testing room. I want to give them a quick zap before we send them topside."
Christy nodded and motioned with her hand for the group to follow her. Dr. Wilkes clicked on the email as the last of the team left the room.
Decrypting transmission…Please wait
Decryption Complete…Opening contents
Received: from unknown (22.1823.87.212) by MailerX-daemon 64287
Fri, 20 Oct 2552 18:47:26 -0400
Message-ID: 0b04201c6c881$5e64abtge42c0$6c00000amaster64874
From: Unknown
To: Unknown
Subject: This should hurry you up
Date: Fri, 20 Oct 2552 18:47:26 -0400
X-Priority: Epsilon
Dr. Wilkes. I would have expected to see the Dragoons topside by now. You are continuing to disappoint me. However, I think I have found an adequate motivational tool. A large force is bearing down on the courtyard above you. You might want to look at the image I have attached.
…End transmission
Dr. Wilkes nervously clicked to open the attachment, and gasped when the image came up. There were two parts to the image, which was clearly from satellite imaging. The first showed the courtyard the Colonel had mentioned, with several large aliens near it along with dozens of smaller forms. At the bottom right of the image was an enhanced close-up of a single soldier solidly aiming her rifle. Tears began to form in the doctor's eyes as he took in the image. It had been almost a year since he had seen Amy. She had written to Edgar often to tell of wars and death, but to also reassure him of her well-being. Looking back at the larger picture it seemed as though her team was hopelessly outnumbered.
"Are you coming Edgar?" Dr. O'Brian's soft voice broke into Edgar's nightmare and snapped him back to reality. He quickly closed the email and spun around in his chair, bringing himself to his feet in one quick motion. Edgar silently moved past his partner and into the hallway. Trying to not to run although everything within him screamed for the doctor to hurry.
The Dragoons turned in unison as Dr. Wilkes came barging through the door. Their demeanor quickly relaxed as -012, Kiersten, broke ranks. "Where's the fire doc? Or do you just enjoy playing with big bug zappers?"
"Maybe he just wanted to see your pretty face again." Joe bellowed from behind the group leader. No sooner had the words left his mouth then Kiersten turned and had her retractable forearm blade pressed against his throat.
"Last time I checked, you didn't have a dick for me to cut off, but I can substitute one useless head for another."
"You'd miss me too much Kier-bear". Kiersten pushed the blade's edge harder, as the magnetized blade slid effortlessly past Joe's shielding and contacted his Titanium-B flesh. A similar gesture would have drawn blood from a normal human
Dr. Wilkes started wishing they had dumped their personality cores, but that was another process that was ignored. Smart AI's were always given some of the original brain's personalities, but was carefully monitored for patterns of aggression and unruliness that could compromise their usefulness and cooperation in times of battle. Curiosity about the nature of Joe and Kiersten's relationship was forming in his mind, but images of Amy quickly replaced it. "Enough." Even Edgar was surprised by the tone in his voice. Dr. O'Brian snapped her head to the left and eyed Edgar's profile. She had never seen the man quite so tense.
"We are going to have to scrub the shield testing. There are Marines on the surface surrounded by Covenant. They need you up there now to assist." Dr. Wilkes gave the group a quick look-over. "Alright Dragoons, it seems you are fully operational. Go by the armory on your way to the lift and each grab a MIR and some grenades. It will probably be hot when you come out of here. Unfortunately we have lost most satellite uplinks so I can't provide a current situation, so be ready."
Dr. Wilkes himself could not understand why he wanted to keep from disclosing the satellite imagery to the group. Perhaps he was concerned over his own break in protocol. The shields needed to be tested, but he couldn't jeopardize his daughter's life when everything else with the Dragoon's systems was checking out OK.
"Kiersten, since you hold the highest rank, I have been authorized to appoint you Master Chief for this group." Dr. Wilkes didn't want to tell the group that the ranks were pre-mortem, and figured it best to leave that detail out.
"Copy that doc. Poor Covenant bastards don't know what's about to hit 'em." A sinister grin crept upon -012's face, a look contrasted by her otherwise soft-looking but fake features and short sandy hair. The Dragoons turned and began exiting the room, with both doctors returning to the monitor screens, anxious to see what was to come in the battle ahead.
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Private Perkins and Edmund scurried to get themselves to the rope ladders and off the tall concrete wall. They had to stay low as plasma streams flowed lackadaisically over the top of the wall in vain attempts to take the snipers out. A couple of plasma grenades were sent over the top of the wall as well, but fell to the ground below and exploded harmlessly.
The Hunters had began their assault by pounding the wall with their fuel rod canons, causing fissures to form at the impact point. Soon the wall would fold and the fight would begin. Amy cursed herself for using all the grenades on the trap. It seemed as the day wore on that she started questioning her rank more and more. How could she keep making these mistakes?
No, this wasn't a mistake; the Covenant had just gotten lucky in spotting the trap.
Amy knew she couldn't afford to keep questioning her decisions now that they were about to take on the Hunters.
Her grip on the MA5B rifle tightened as the pounding continued. The wall Amy focused on began showing more and more signs of stress. "Perkins, Edmund, the wall is folding, get out of there!"
The two snipers had just finished their decent and were a couple of meters from the wall when it erupted behind them. Their efforts would prove wasted, as they were consumed in fire and concrete fragments. Smoke and dust quickly spread throughout the courtyard as Amy tried to focus on the opening. The haze before her was obstructing the Marine from seeing the enemy, but she was soon given a beacon in the form of charging fuel rod canons.
"Open fire!!" All hell seemed to break loose as the courtyard erupted into gunfire. Tracers made their way through the dust, sending it parting and swirling around and away from the projectiles. The Hunters emerged in a semi-circle, their shields forming an almost impenetrable wall around the aliens. Their canons now at critical mass, the Hunters unleashed their payload at the various positions. Two marines to Amy's left screamed as they were horizontally carved, their midsections vaporized.
A fuel rod blast came dangerously close to Josh's Ghost as he thrust the vehicle to its top speed. The blast instead impacted the small pond formed from the courtyard's aqueduct system, heating it to a boil and causing steam to rapidly rise into the air. Deciding he would be bait to draw fire from the rest of the group, Josh blasted past the line of Hunters toward the opposite side of the courtyard. The plan worked as the Hunters shifted their focus onto the vehicle and began recharging their canons.
PFC Buchanan seized the opportunity as he broke from behind the pillar that was providing him cover and began to flank the Hunter's right side. There was an opening between them and the section of wall left standing. Knowing the Hunters' weak points, he had to try to get behind them.
Buchanan was a meter out when the Hunter closest to him took notice. The menacing creature gave a slight charge and slung its shield wildly, missing him by inches as Buchanan dove into a somersault. Contorting back into a prone position, he immediately opened fire on the Hunter to his left. Buchanan hoped he could take it down and begin attacking the others before they noticed. Bullets entered into the soft orange area of the Hunter's back and the creature roared in pain and fell to the ground with a massive thud.
It was then that Buchanan noticed the first Hunter was about to make another run at him. Knowing he needed to take out as many as he could, the Marine ignored the charging beast and pumped rounds into the next Hunter's soft spot, dropping it quickly. He then turned to the next one but ran out of time as the first Hunter plowed into him shield first.
PFC Buchanan's body was grotesquely deformed as the massive bulk of the alien slammed into him. His chest caved in and life instantly left his body as he was thrown back several meters. Not satisfied with his death, the large creature lurched over to him, then brought its shield to bear down on his neck, severing his head.
The female Marine from the one thirty-third screamed as she watched Buchanan's death unfold, then raised her rifle and began firing at the Hunter who had killed her friend. Bullets pinged off the creature's back armor, the Marine's aim too blurred from the tears that streamed down her face. The tall and well-built female began charging the alien, which was now turning to face her, its comrade focusing its efforts on Josh's ghost. The rest of the marines continued to pour fire at the two remaining behemoths. Some jackals and grunts tried to break between the two Hunters and engage the Marines, but they were mowed down quickly.
The female Marine continued her charge toward the Hunter that had stolen Buchanan's life. The creature remained still as bullets bounced off its massive shield and armor. Just as the Marine reached the creature, it dropped its shoulder low to the ground, exposing one of its armored cover spines to her path. The Marine could not correct in time and the spine effortlessly inserted itself into her chest cavity. Her mouth became agape as blood began to rush out of it. The Hunter then stood up straight, revealing its true twelve-foot tall stature as gravity took over. The Marine slid down the spine lifeless, crimson flowing down its armor and staining the ground. The Marine's body became a grizzly ornament that adorned the Hunter's armor.
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Dragoon-004, Diego, looked over his weapon as the lift ascended rapidly toward the surface. They were about to emerge from their mile-deep tomb, and show themselves to the Covenant. He couldn't help wondering what the deal between Joe and Kiersten was. Perhaps if they were actually able to survive long enough he would ask her, although after the scene she orchestrated he wondered if that would be a good idea. He looked over his body form, and at each of the others. Their holographic coverings kept his eyes from seeing their true forms. Even he could have sworn they were human. This idea was quickly swept aside, however, as he ran his right hand across his left forearm.
It was a habit he was accustomed to. He didn't know why he did it, but he always had. He could always sense the ruffle of hairs as his hand glided over his forearm's surface, but not this time. There was no sensation as far as feelings went; there was only a slight distortion in forearm and hand images that looked like he was getting bad reception. The obtuse thought caused him to crack a smile.
"Alright everyone, we are approaching the top. Switch your imaging to camouflage sync. When we get out, check for targets first. Let's get the courtyard cleared and then check for survivors." Each Dragoon's holographic image disappeared from sight, leaving the lift seemingly empty.
The hum of the lift's actuators stopped and was replaced with the sounds of hydraulic locks securing the platform. A door to the group's right slid open, revealing a narrow passageway with three containers on the far wall. The Dragoons' proceeded single file to the end of the passage and up a short ramp. This led into a larger passage running to their left and right. To the right was the tunnel that served as Private Thompson's tomb along with other fallen soldiers. The left made an incline of its own, with light straining to light its walls. Kiersten sent a command to go left that was emitted to each Dragoon's wireless uplinks. There was no need for verbal communication. They would work as one efficient killing machine.
---------------
Josh's luck ran out as a fuel rod blast tore into the rear of the Ghost, sheering it off. Josh was thrown from the vehicle and rolled across the ground. Slightly shaken but otherwise ok, the Marine drew his sidearm and squeezed off a round into a Grunt that had managed to sneak in behind the Hunter's massive bodies. A sudden pain shot through his right shoulder, and Josh instinctively placed his hand over the hole as blood began to flow down both front and back. Josh had managed to get into a Jackal's sights, and cursed himself for being clumsy as shock overcame him and he fell to the ground.
"No!" Amy screamed as she watched Josh crumple to the ground. The Auburn-haired marine jumped up and raced toward Josh's position. The hole the beam rifle had made through Josh's body was small, but clean through and through. Since the beam rifles didn't use plasma, the wound didn't cauterize and was bleeding profusely. "Shit." Amy cursed as she tore some biofoam out of her medkit and fumbled with the top before popping it off and letting it fall to the ground. She pointed the elongated straw into Josh's wound and squeezed the spray trigger. The blood instantly stopped as the biofoam went to work cauterizing and cleaning the wound.
The situation was becoming much more desperate. They had been able to keep Grunts and Jackals out of the courtyard, which was starting to become a problem in its own right. They were all beginning to run low on ammunition, and they didn't have any enemy guns lying around to scavenge. They would be out of ammo soon, and then they would all die. A sudden movement at the wall below the tunnel exit caught Amy's periphery. The wall itself seemed to be moving as light was being bent around the creatures standing there.
Please God no, not more Elites…
Hope everyone is enjoying the story so far. Curious to see what the Dragoon's capabilities are? Don't worry, lots will be revealed next chapter. Please read and review! Let me know what you think!