Chapter Twelve
Tenth Age of the Great Journey, Step of Action,
The Ark, Sol System
Shental peered through his viewscope.
The Jiralhanae minor had been assigned to peripheral defense. After the recent human attack, the High Prophet of Truth had placed the utmost importance in keeping the front line fortified. Shental had not yet been promoted to a Major, but he was ready for this honorable task.
He saw nothing. He growled at the nearest Unggoy, "Bring me my liquid ration."
Gab Dun huffed as he waddled to the supply box. It contained rations of all kinds, but they were to be conserved in case of an extended stay. The Grunt snagged a miniature methane tank for himself, hoping no one would see.
"Here you go," he said to Shental.
Shental offered no thank you as he yanked the bottle from Gab Dun's hand. He looked through his viewscope once more before he turned to drink.
Just then, he felt a prick on the back of his neck. He threw down his bottle and whipped around as he felt through the fur on his neck.
He found nothing.
As he looked through his viewscope once more, he noticed something odd. There was a rock about 120 paces away that he had not noticed before. Shental pondered the oddity for a moment. His eyes widened as he reached for his communicator. He also realized there was an odd beeping sound that seemed to emanate from inside his head.
The Brute keyed his COM just as the beeping sound stopped and a tiny, silent detonation severed his spine. He fell in a heap, much to the surprise and dismay of Gab Dun, who had been busy enjoying his contraband.
The Unggoy shuffled over to his former commander's body. In shock, he was just about to contact his new superior when a shadow appeared. Gab Dun barked once before three muted coughs tore into his skull and ravaged his infantile brain.
Kai-249 was satisfied with the kills. His was the leader of Wolf Team, one of fifteen squads comprised of 285 Spartan-IIIs, ordered to covertly infiltrate and dismantle Covenant defenses around the artifact. They were going to put an end to the Covenant occupation in Africa.
He motioned his squad forward. They had taken out what HighCom had designated as defense point Juliet-02 on the Covenant grid. Things were going well.
Too well.
Lieutenant Ambrose had always emphasized gut feelings. Kai had been trained to expect the unexpected, and to trust his feelings in combat. He was one of few that fully grasped the concept, thus his position as Wolf Team Leader.
Kai held up his fist – something smelled fishy. He crept forward, night vision on full and on high alert. His motion sensor flickered to his right for a moment. Kai dropped down onto his belly, and his team followed suit.
Darkness.
Maybe I'm being too paranoid.
Wolf Team Leader rose slowly, motioning his team forward once more. He had scarcely taken a step when a plasma bolt sizzled past his visor.
He wheeled around to face his attacker but saw nothing. Another plasma bolt narrowly missed his left leg. Wolf Team opened fire and blood spattered out from thin air, three meters ahead of Kai's position. The Drone's active camouflage failed as it fell over.
All of a sudden, the night was filled with a grotesque buzzing sound. Wolf Team had lost the element of surprise.
Plasma began peppering Team Wolf's position. The badly placed shots were easy to dodge, but they were pinned and had to take action before the rest of the Covenant came to finish them off. Kai looked up but saw only plasma raining down from the heavens.
"They've all got active camo. Switch to thermal vision!"
Drones began dropping from the sky almost immediately after the order. One by one they were picked off until the last of them lay splattered on the ground.
"You alright?" asked Jessica-008.
"Yeah," replied Kai. "Let's move. This firefight got plenty of attention."
Team Wolf stealthed their way across the desert, narrowly averting troupes of soldiers heading in the direction of their fallen comrades. Distant flashes and booms began dotting the horizon as other teams began engaging the enemy.
"Damn it. Who the hell ordered a tactical insertion on this massive force? It's suicide!" griped Doug-118.
"Can it, Wolf-13, we're on a mission," barked Kai. "All teams, be advised, Drones with active camouflage engaged. Be wary for more surprises."
Kai knew it was fruitless to maintain radio silence. His group would be spotted eventually, and they would have to fight. He just hope he could reach his objective before the inevitable would strike.
John stiffened. He was watching the operation unfold from a stealth Shortsword. The cloaked vessel would sneak in behind enemy lines while the contingent of Spartan-IIIs was engaging the enemy. He always hated to watch a fight.
"At ease, soldier," said Lieutenant Charpentier. "There's nothing you can do right now. You know your mission. We'll be dropping you in five, get yourself ready."
The Chief acknowledged. He was being sent in to infiltrate the artifact that had been dug up from the Earth's crust. The Prophet of Truth was there, and he had to stop whatever he was doing before it was too late.
"Chief, what's your status?" keyed in Major General Nicolas Strauss.
"Insertion in four minutes, sir. I'm set," replied John.
Strauss originally wanted nothing to do with the Spartan's plan. However, given the dire nature of the situation, and the promise that a dead Prophet of Truth held, Strauss had caved to the notion.
"We've got some new intel. Those boys at ONI finally got off their butts and did something worthwhile. Seems that artifact wasn't just buried, it was in avolcanic crater."
"Sir?"
"Ever heard of the Menengai Crater?"
"No, sir," John replied.
"It's an 'extinct' volcano in southwest Kenya. The Covies dug up the artifact and there has been a spike in radioactivity since then."
John could not help but wonder what it was for, or how the Covenant knew where it was. If it had been buried there for thousands of years, would have humanity not found it by then? He found himself staring at the moon as he pondered.
Just then an idea hit John like a shotgun butt to the head.
"Sir, what is the position of our moon?"
"Excuse me, 117?"
"I remember seeing reports on a media terminal about worldwide, natural catastrophic events. Floods, earthquakes–"
"Yeah, get on with it," said Strauss, impatiently.
"Sir, these events may be due to the movement of the moon, or lack thereof in this case."
John heard Strauss bark orders in the background and waited for his answer.
"Chief, we have the moon's position over 0°10′39" S 36°05′16.5" E. That puts it at…hell, chief, that's smack dab over your inbound location. Hang tight."
John had a pit in his stomach.
"Looks like they taught you something besides shooting, back wherever they built you. Unfortunately for us, that moon has maintained position over those coordinates since…well, since you arrived on that ship. Good job, Chief. I need to get this new intel over to ONI and sort it all out. Good luck. Strauss out."
The Master Chief liked Strauss' traditional style. He did not like the major general's and every other UNSC brass' gross oversight.
"How the hell did they miss something like that?" he muttered to himself.
I…I know y-…. our past–.
"Chief, insertion in one minute. Get ready–"
Suddenly, the craft shuddered and lost power. The Shortsword de-cloaked and dove towards the earth.
John gripped his handle as the fighter regained power. The Covenant had spotted it, though, and began firing their anti-aircraft guns.
The ship righted itself, but was hit and began to roll on a descent toward the desert floor. It announced its demotion from supersonic status with a deafening boom, and continued on its fiery descent.
"Brace for impact!" yelled Charpentier.
The craft lurched sideways and a wing caught on the ground, causing it to tumble through the sand. It erupted in flames as it rolled for almost a kilometer. The fiery wreck landed thirty kilometers from its destination, never to fly again.