Chapter 6

Christmas Comes Early

(The Cavalry Drops In)

After landing the Pelican, and having Maya shock me and steal my cigarette, I made my way to Crimson Raider's HQ. As I walked through the door of Roland's office, I was greeted by a few new faces, "Ah, Corporal, I'd like you to meet Zero, Salvador, Axton, Mordecai, and Brick." He said gesturing at each person. The big one named Brick stepped forward and said "Mighty fine work you've been doing. You'll have support from my bandit gang all the way." I looked at Roland and lit a cigarette, "Support for what?" I asked.

"We're going to raid Hyperion's AI Bunker, and steal the vault key." Roland replied. "We'll need it to open the vault and control the warrior so we can destroy Jack and his evil corporation." I nodded, so he continued, "First we'll have to get past a molecular-ized laser wall designed to keep non-Hyperion personnel out, it's essentially a death wall. That's why Mordecai has brought us an upgrade for claptrap that will allow him to roll right through and shut it off. Then we have to destroy the weapons bunker, simple enough, then we have get through a security door that only opens for Jack. That's where our newest arrival comes in, Gage." He said as a young girl about seventeen walked around the corner, "What's up bitches?" She said.

"A child?" I asked lighting a smoke, "Who are you calling me a child?!" She asked summoning a mechanical soldier. "Now, Death Trap says you should give me one of those." She demanded, motioning at my pack. A little intimidated by her pet, I handed her a smoke. "Fair enough but you're not going with us on the raid." She looked pissed, "The hell I'm not!" I pulled my rifle up faster than she could possibly order her toy to act against me, "I don't give a single fuck how good you are in combat, you're going to stay in sanctuary." I said, my finger on the trigger. "Fuck you!" She said. I pulled my badge, "See this you little brat? I am the ultimate law in this part of the galaxy. You will sit the fuck down and listen to your superiors."

She stuck her tongue out and said, "Fine you fucking prick. But Death Trap is going with you and you're going to give me a pack of those." I handed her a pack and turned to the rest of the group.

"Now, let's get going." I said turning around and making my way towards the Pelican I'd left by Scooter's. I sat down in the pilot's seat and sighed, turning around to find Maya and Lillith in the personnel bay. "Sis, you're staying here, you too Maya." They both looked absolutely disgusted. "You're not going to go into combat with out us!" Maya almost yelled at me, I stood up and grabbed her wrist, pulling her outside I leaned her against the wall of the air craft and kissed her passionately.

"Michaelson." She gasped, I leaned in and whispered in her ear, "Maya, I'm starting to fall in love with you and I'd never forgive myself if you got hurt fighting by my side, and I need you here to look after my sister." She kissed me and nodded. She then whispered "Ok, just promise me you'll come back in one piece." I nodded "I wouldn't have it any other way." I broke the embrace and walked back towards the craft.

Feeling Maya about to phase-lock Lillith I turned around and said, "Maya, be gentle with Lillith." She nodded and locked her as Lillith almost screamed "What?!" As Maya picked her up and removed her from the Pelican. "Keep her that way until I come back ok?" She nodded as I started the vehicle and lifted off. I got on the radio and transmitted, "All friendly combatants check in." "Brick here, moving in with my troops." "Roland here moving in with everyone else." They replied as the Hyperion compound came into view ahead of me.

"Holy Shit!" Brick said over the comms, "There must be over two-hundred thousand hyperion loaders down there!" He finished. "Damn." I said getting on my UNSC Comms.

"Michaelson to Cortanna! Immediate Cavalry reinforcement requested, Send him! Send the Chief!" "Copy that Corporal, defrost and drop, ETA fifteen minutes." She replied, I said as I barely caught the reply over the massive explosions on the ground. "Cortanna, pop his ass in the oven, we don't have fifteen!" I sat the craft down a safe distance from the battlefield. "Roger Corporal, reinforcements in-bound."

I stepped off the Pelican and loaded my rifle. I climbed on to a hilltop and started pouring rounds down on the loaders. "Some body order the cavalry?" I heard over my UNSC comms as a Scorpion battle tank dropped on five of them as UNSC Marines began pouring over the battlefield taking down the loaders one by one. I got back on my comms and radioed Cortanna, "Cortanna, how we looking on getting the Chief down here? The Marines have begun suppressing the resistance but I fear we'll need him soon." Static, then "Corporal, he's in the drop pod now, thirty seconds." I ducked behind a boulder just as the ODST drop pod landed in front of me, shaking the earth.

A giant seven foot man in a suit of technologically advanced armor stepped out and handed me a Barret .50 caliber long range rifle. "Michaelson." He said, "John." I acknowledged. "You look like shit." He said, I chuckled and said "Yes I do, look around, shit every where." He smiled, I couldn't see it behind his helmet but I knew he was. "Shall we?" I asked. "Of course." He said as we climbed on top of the rock and began one shot-ing each loader.

Twenty minutes of fighting later Gage came running out of the Pelican, took one look at the Chief and screamed, "Oh my god! Are you an android?! Maybe a half human half machine?!" I slapped her and pinned her against the craft. "Ow!" She screamed. The Chief punched her Death Trap, disabling it as it came to assist her. "I told you to stay in sanctuary. Now get back on that plane and wait." I said tossing her to the cargo hatch and then walking away.

"Just keeps getting better and better." I said to the Chief, lighting a smoke as we climbed on a scorpion and began the ride towards the 'Death Wall'.