A brisk wind whipped across Josh's face, carrying sand and the smell of smoke with it. The sky was beginning to give way to twilight, although the stars that usually dotted the sky were replaced with sleek purple hues of Covenant warships seemingly stuck in the atmosphere. A portion of the sky lit up as a distant explosion sounded.
Josh's orders were clear; to unite with the 53rd infantry unit half a click North of what was once the courtyard. Graceful curves and majestic structures were now just piles of smoldering rubble on the ground. Josh tried to piece the scene back together from memories, but the destruction was too great to remember where everything once was. Josh's face tightened as he clenched his teeth, his grip on the BR55 tightened as hate swelled within him.
The Covenant had taken everything, and although Josh didn't know what he could do to even the score, he was certainly intent on killing as many of the bastards as he could. Josh took a deep breath and then started double-timing it to the rendezvous point. Pain continued to emanate from his shoulder, but Josh knew there was no time for healing. This fight was about humanities' survival, and injured or not, everyone had to fight.
The trek seemed lonely without Amy by his side. She always had a way to make him feel at ease before a battle. It always seemed as though they each had the other's back, that nothing could go wrong.
But something did go wrong…
Josh continued to shrug off the feelings that thoughts of Amy brought. He knew that anything less than concentration on the battle ahead would lead to a quick death, and Josh did not plan to just throw his life away. It seemed that was all humanity had done since the war began, just throw one life after another at the Covenant. Now, one way or another, that would all end.
The volume of weapons fire increased as Josh closed in on the 53rd's position. Josh could tell there were several soldiers still alive from the number of rounds that were being fired. Just as Josh topped a small incline, the scene unfolded in front of him. There looked to be about a dozen marines taking refuge behind what used to be a solid wall. Concrete and dust splintered off the wall as plasma impacted it. The scene was silhouetted with a backdrop of destruction. Columns of smoke ascended into the air from half-structures that once graced New Mombasa's skyline.
Looking a little further to the North, Josh spotted a large unit of Grunts charged to a lone Elite advancing on the group. He thought it odd that there were no Jackals present, as their shields were typically used to provide protection for such an advance. Another movement caught Josh's eye, and he realized a camouflaged Elite was flanking the group of soldiers on the right.
Dropping to one knee, Josh squeezed off a three round burst from his battle rifle. Two of the shots impacted the Elite and disengaged its cloaking. The Elite roared in disapproval as it turned toward Josh. Three more shots rang out from his rifle and riddled the Elite's face, removing a mandible and exploding out of the back of the creature's head.
The Marines behind the barricade began flanking maneuvers of their own as four of them sprinted for another nearby wall. Weapons fire poured into the advancing Covenant line and began cutting the Grunts down. One of the little creatures got off a shot that boiled into a Marine's head caused him to go into spasms as he died.
Figuring that Grunt was a good place to start, Josh zoomed in his BR and trained it on the small creature. A smile crept upon his face as he saw the Grunt pull a grenade from its sash. The explosive began to glow, instructing its holder that it was ready to be tossed, Josh sent three more rounds streaking at the Grunt which impacted its chest and exited out its back, cutting one of the lines to the creature's methane tank.
The Grunt wobbled briefly before keeling over, falling right onto its primed grenade. The grenade exploded, sending light blue blood and gore throughout the line and cutting down Grunts with hot shrapnel. Secondary explosions erupted as more methane tanks ignited. Soon there were fewer than eight Grunts left to their Elite commander. These Grunts, however, did not last long as the Marines continued to pound them with weapons fire.
The battle was almost over when Josh spotted what seemed to be a new threat. From the west of the flanked Marines walked three hulking creatures. He had never seen them before, and Josh brought his scope to bear on them. They were gorilla-like in form, and Josh surmised them to be powerful beasts. What was worse was that he had no way to warn the Marines of their advance.
It was then that Josh decided to fire rounds at the incoming creatures. Maybe he could get the Marine's attention or at least slow the creatures down until the Marines could see them coming. Focusing on the left rear creature, Josh let three rounds go, which seemed to impact the creature's chest. A roar came from the large beast, and gave Josh the effect he was looking for. The Marines instantly turned and began to fire at the creatures, which were less than ten feet from their position.
Suddenly, all three creatures dropped to all fours and began charging at the Marine position. The group fired wildly at the creatures as they bore down on them, their bullets seemed to have little effect. Josh had to stop firing for fear that he would hit the Marines instead.
One of the creatures picked up two of the Marines by their heads, and crushed them within its powerful grip. Their writhing bodies went limp as life left them. Another Marine was knocked to the ground and out of Josh's view, although he could see blood being slung with each lifting of the beast's fist as it pummeled the man underneath it.
It was at this point Josh realized he had to shoot, even if it meant risking their lives. Sighting in the beast holding the two Marine's bodies, he sent three more projectiles that connected with the creature's skull, splitting it open and causing it to drop to the ground. To his amazement, the creature rose back up as blood poured from its head, soaking the light brown fur which covered the front of creature's body.
Josh quickly fired a follow up succession into the creature's face, and once more it dropped to the ground and became motionless.
Now through with their first threat, the rest of the Marines turned to face the carnage that was happening to their left flank. All weaponry was trained on the two remaining Brutes as projectiles raced toward them. Holes riddled each of the Brute's bodies as they tried to advance on the Marine position, but only got a few meters before collapsing onto each other.
"What the hell are those things?" Josh heard a young Private ask as he approached the group.
"The battlenet is crazy as hell right now, but I think they may be called Brutes. I have been hearing a lot of chatter concerning these guys." The older Lieutenant in charge explained as each Marine stared stoically at the downed beasts. "If you see these assholes, aim for the head."
"Sir, Private First Class Josh Dunson reporting for duty with the 53rd." Josh refrained from giving a salute, as was protocol in times of war so as not to indicate a ranking officer.
"Good to have your aboard Josh. Our job is to set up a three-block perimeter for incoming reinforcements. For some reason the Covenant seem really interested in this area. We are to make sure they don't find what they are looking for."
---------------
E'Las wasn't sure how he had managed to get himself into this predicament. He had been searching for more Sangheili and their sympathizers to fight alongside. What he had found, however, was a pack of the disgusting Jiralhanae. Four of the creatures snarled as they encircled the lone warrior.
E'Las powered on his blade as the first one lunged at him; the Brutes were strong, but they were also stupid. If the Brutes had begun their attack from the back, E'Las would have easily fallen. Instead, E'Las sidestepped the charging Brute and decapitated it, its blood coating E'Las's feet.
Not wasting any time, E'Las lunged and rolled at the opening the dead Jiralhanae had created for him. As he came back to his feet, he twisted and tossed a plasma grenade at the group. The grenade landed and infused with the throat of the Brute on the right. The creature began to frantically claw at the glowing orb until it erupted. The creature's head was obliterated, with scraps of what used to be its neck falling to its shoulders.
E'Las's confidence grew, although he remained cautious. He was sizing up his remaining opponents when they dropped down to all fours and began to charge. Without time to think, E'Las jumped into the air as the two Brutes overran his position. Their forward momentum not allowing them to stop, each of the Jiralhanae's backs presented rather large targets.
Putting one hand on top of another, E'Las brought the blade down in a vertical stab, dissecting a Brute's heart. The massive beast crashed into the ground, the sand below it partially covered its body.
The last Brute stood back on its two legs, and brought its plasma rifle to bear. It had decided getting near this Sangheili was not a good idea. As it leveled the rifle in E'Las's direction, a green orb from a fuel rod gun landed at its feet, then exploded, removing both of the Brute's legs and torso, spilling its guts onto the sand below.
E'Las looked in the direction the shot had came from as the image of four spec-ops warriors donned in black armor softy came into view. The Sangheili warrior could tell their active camouflage was more advanced than his. Two spec-ops Elites ran to E'Las's side, followed by their Grunt counterparts. The Grunts, however, seemed to move effortlessly on all fours instead of the slow-gaited walk the small creatures usually moved about with.
"You fight well my Sangheili brother. Taking down that many Brutes is not an easy task, even for the skilled. What is your name young one?"
"My name is E'Las Pertumee."
"I know of your heritage, young one. I have fought side by side with members of your family, and all have been honorable. Tell me, how did you come to be by yourself? What of the rest of your unit?"
"I am not sure why, but the Phantom we were on was shot down. I was the only survivor."
"Yes, the Prophet's treachery has shed much of our and our bond brothers' blood this day. Join our team, E'Las and we will destroy the betrayal the Hierarchs have created with these insipid beasts. Their loss of blood shall be much greater than our own. I am Doru Blyasmee. Alongside me is my brother Akon and our two Unggoy Hajaf and Tatak."
The two Grunts did not break from their four-legged stance, but somehow the sight looked much more natural than the stance E'Las was accustomed to.
"Your Unggoy move in a different fashion?" E'Las couldn't understand why, but the scene continued to pique his curiosity.
A large smile crept upon Doru's face as his lower mandibles clicked together. "These Unggoy are not the creatures you fight beside on the front lines. They have been trained in the Unggoy fighting arts and have been trained in their natural abilities. Their fighting abilities have enabled them to have taken down Brutes on their own."
E'Las didn't know if Doru's words were true or not, but he didn't have a reason to doubt them. The Grunts seemed to have confidence most others lacked.
"Very well, I am glad to fight alongside of you my brothers. Today we shall pay back the treachery the Prophets have imposed."
"What of the humans, brother?" Akon's voice was filled with disgust.
"They too shall fall, but this treachery cannot be ignored. The Brutes are the much graver threat now."
---------------
Once again light filled Amy's vision and she quickly scanned the room. There were eleven other forms on the tables, with two other Marines guarding the exits. Amy could not see her father. Amy wondered why she was lying in this room next to all of the other human-formed machines. She still struggled to move as though some unearthly force willed her muscles not to respond to her wishes.
The red-haired female guard stepped further to the side as the door behind her slid open. In walked Amy's father, his eyes already fixed on his daughter, followed by a petite woman in a lab coat. The woman's eyes also fixed on Amy, then looked away just as quickly, as though there was guilt in what they had done.
"Dr. O'Brian, please induct the new recruits."
With a curt nod, the slender pepper-headed lady turned toward the group. "Ladies, gentlemen, you have been chosen to take part in the Earth's greatest stealth strike force. Your neural pathways have been instilled with training and combat simulations as well as enhancements to your reflexes and strength. You're no longer what you once were. Your bodies were destroyed by the Covenant, but your spirits now live on in the force known as the Dragoons"
The woman was making absolutely no sense to Amy. Suddenly it hit her like a shot.
I am one of the machines?
Thinking was all Amy could do, as the inhibitors continued to suppress any movement requests from Amy's AI core to the armor's actuator controls. The thought that she was no longer human terrified Amy.
Why did dad do this to me? Where is Josh? Dammit, where is Josh!?
Amy screamed inside her head as confusion clouded her mind. Flashes of scenes began to explode like a nightmarish flashback. The fight with the Hunters, Josh's accident, the warriors who had rescued her all flashed before her. Amy fought with all she had to move, but to no avail. Even her fingers felt like they weighed tons.
A sudden sound of rushing air and locks disengaging filled Amy's hearing, and her form came to life. Sitting straight up, Amy noticed the other Dragoons were also looking rather disoriented. All except the two that were stationed at the exits. The female Amy had seen earlier seemed to be looking at her, studying her. There was a coldness in the woman's eyes that Amy didn't like.
With a solid clank each Dragoon managed to their feet and more thoroughly examined their forms. Amy looked back up as her father stepped closer.
"My daughter. I hope you can forgive me for what I have done. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you. Those bastard Covenant soldiers took you at the last possible moment. You and your new team have the capacity to change the way this war is…"
"What happened to Josh?" Amy didn't care for her father's explanation, not knowing what her new life would entail.
"Josh… didn't make it. His wounds were too significant although we tried everything we could."
"I must see him. Where is he?" Edgar could tell by Amy's inflection that he needed to turn her attention quickly.
"I am afraid he has already been sent out for burial. I am so sorry Amy, but we must turn our attention to the war." Dr. Wilkes increased his projection to explain the situation to the group. "The Covenant are above us now and appear to be looking for something. Also we are hearing reports of fighting between Covenant species. The Dragoons' job is to find out what is going on. Maybe we can use the infighting to our advantage to take the focus off us and allow all of you to slip in to their ranks. Reports confirm there are several Scarabs on the ground less than a kilometer South of here, with the Covenant cruiser Beaming Revelation sending down supplies. I want all of you on board that cruiser to find out what they are up to."
All fourteen of the soldiers snapped a salute and began to file out. Amy hesitated as she still had more questions she wanted her father to answer, when suddenly she felt an arm across her shoulders as her body compressed slightly. "Come on girly, daddy's got better things to do. You can ask away after we have killed all the alien bitches that are festering up top."
Amy gazed questioningly at Kiersten -012's eyes as the redhead rested the MIR's barrel atop her shoulder. A sly grin crept upon her face as Kiersten gave a slight push forward and the two of them exited the room.
Hope you liked this chapter. I hope to build more momentum with the Dragoons in the coming chapter, as they will get back to combat. Thanks for reading. Please leave your reviews/comments:)