"General Hughes: Next issue. I want to find out who had the gall and the authority to retask two Marine Shrikes and a Navy Longsword mid-mission to support a single ground unit. I swear I will get to the bottom of this- (phone rings.) Excuse me (Picks up phone.). Yes, this is General Hughes. Yes sir. No sir. Sir, I-. Yes sir (Hangs up phone.). Well, it seems like the issue has been resolved, and we'll delve into it no further. Let's move on to the next item on the agenda…"
-Excerpt of the Marine Conduct Oversight Committee meeting transcript, dealing with operations in the Mercan Theatre
Chapter 4: Driving Test
"Well," Karla said as she swerved the Warthog back onto the road, "you two are lucky sons of bitches that we happened to be nearby. By the way, I'm Second Lieutenant Wellings and the dork in the back is Sergeant Paccone."
"Don't forget who's aiming the gun here, Kare." Paccone laughed.
"Charmed." Ryan tried to hide the bewildered look of surprise trying to creep in on his face. Was it possible that this Marine was the same girl he had talked in that deli a few short years ago? He took a closer look compared the face he saw to the one back then. Having a high memory retention rate greatly helped in these matters, and he quickly deduced that she was in fact the same person. This was nothing short of a massive coincidence, but he had no time to think about it now. "Glad you could pick us up."
"No problem." Karla glanced at Ryan and narrowed her eyes. "Wait a minute, you look kinda-"
However, before she could finish her sentence, a fuel rod dropped down from the sky and slammed into the pavement just feet in front of the Warthog. Karla swerved around the smoldering crater in the road and accelerated.
"Damnit, Ron, I thought you were supposed to be keeping an eye out for them!" Karla yelled.
"Not like I have eyes on the top of my head!" Paccone retorted as he whipped the LAAG around and poured fire on the oncoming Banshees. The Covenant aircraft responded with a hail of fuel rods, but they all seemed to conveniently land in front of the Warthog or close to the sides, but never near the Warthog itself. Ryan knew it wasn't because the Banshee pilots were THAT unskilled. While part of the reason may have been the wild maneuvers Karla was doing, Ryan suspected that the Banshee pilots were afraid of potentially destroying the diamond. Fuel rods were extremely potent weapons, after all.
"Shit!" Karla cursed as another fuel rod dropped down right in front of the Warthog. This time, she didn't have enough time to avoid it. The Warthog jarred wildly as it drove straight into the newly created blast crater and went airborne for a brief period of time.
"Uhhh, Lieutenant, we have a problem!" Shannon yelled over the roar of the thundering LAAG.
"Better be the good kind!"
"We've got company!"
Ryan turned his head to see four Ghosts whip around the corner on the street behind them, plasma guns blazing wildly. Being naturally faster than the relatively large and clumsy Warthog, the Ghosts began to close the distance quickly, easily dodging the LAAG and rifle bursts Paccone and Shannon were firing.
"Lose them!" Ryan yelled.
"I'm trying." Karla gunned the Warthog engine, weaving around abandoned cars and other refuse on the streets. She then made a sharp turn into a narrow alley which was barely wide enough to accommodate the huge vehicle. Sparks flew as the Warthog ground against the sides of the alley. However, the one advantage being in such a narrow space was that it negated the Ghosts' numbers and speed advantage. They were dumb enough to try to follow the Warthog in, which made them easy targets for the rapid fire LAAG. The front two Ghosts were shredded to pieces while the last two rammed the wrecked hulks of their destroyed comrades and exploded in a flash a blue fire. "Care to explain why these Covvies are so intent on killing us?"
"What?" Ryan cocked his head in mock curiosity. "What are you talking about?"
"Because Covvies usually don't go through so much trouble to kill a retreating enemy." Karla scowled. "All the time we've been down here, the Covvies were never compelled to chase us whenever we fell back."
"I honestly have no idea." Ryan lied. It wasn't good practice to give away secrets right off the bat, especially to people who really shouldn't know.
"Wonderful." Karla growled.
While things on the ground were quiet for now, the Banshees still circled the sky like vultures, ready to pounce on their prey at the slightest signs of weakness. However, the fact that they were just holding positions in the air rather than attacking was a far more unnerving situation. Meanwhile, Ryan could not shake the feeling that Karla was eyeing him suspiciously. He couldn't blame her though. They were being relentlessly chased by a huge Covenant force, and he was sure Karla was smart enough to realize that he wasn't being entirely truthful to her. Fortunately, she was more concerned with surviving the day than with asking unnecessary questions.
"Persistent sons of bitches." Paccone observed as he caught sight of Covenant dropships passing over them in the air. "Looks like there's going to be some traffic ahead."
Even as he said these words, Covenant troops were already beginning to emerge from every single crack and crevice to block their way. The Warthog swerved wildly left and right as Karla tried to avoid the hail of plasma fire. Paccone and Shannon fired their weapons in an effort to inflict as many casualties as possible.
"The bastards are everywhere!" Karla growled as she tried to keep the Warthog moving.
The next few minutes were some of the most intense Ryan had ever experienced. Plasma and bullets were flying everywhere while everything outside the Warthog was turned into colorful blurs. Suddenly, a massive Hunter appeared from a side street and made a move to block the Warthog. Karla managed to swerve around it, but the side of the Warthog clipped the massive alien, sending the vehicle spinning out of control. While Karla managed to regain control of the vehicle, Ryan noticed in horror that Shannon had tumbled out of the Warthog. Without a second thought, he found himself leaping out of the moving vehicle towards the spot Shannon had fallen.
"Are you okay?" Ryan asked as he helped Shannon up.
"You idiot!" Shannon struck Ryan on the arm. "Why'd the hell did you come back for me?"
"What, I shouldn't have?"
"Well-" Shannon hesitated, but a burst of plasma reminded her and Ryan that now was a good time to move.
"Hey! You still alive?" Karla's voice crackled through the radio.
"Yeah." Ryan panted as he ducked a volley of plasma bolts. "Where are you?"
"Not far, but we've still got all sorts of hell right behind us. We have to meet up somewhere else!"
"Uhhh, hold on a second." Ryan brought up his map and studied it, even while he was dodging enemy fire. "Meet us at grid one, point two two five."
"Roger that."
"Where are we headed?" Shannon fired a rifle burst, scattering a small knot of pursuing Grunts.
"That way!" Ryan pointed.
The direction he was pointing to was the Julio Mall, a sprawling complex of shopping centers, clothing stores, and food courts. The main advantage this place would give was that it's rather tight and congested interiors would make it difficult for a large Covenant force to maneuver through, as well as provide cover from their air power. Also, another convenient fact was that though narrow, the halls inside the Mall were just wide enough to accommodate a Warthog.
The first obstacle to the mall was the large, flat parking lot surrounding the building. Fortunately, the entire lot was jam packed with cars, probably from panicked crowds trying to loot the mall for whatever they could get their hands on. Regardless, the cars provided invaluable cover against the pursuing Covenant troops. Ryan and Shannon weaved through the cars and made a beeline straight for the mall doors.
"Think we can shoot out the glass?" Shannon huffed as the doors grew larger.
"Doubt it. They're probably shatter proof." Ryan panted.
To confirm his words, several plasma bolts shot past them and struck the glass doors but failed to destroy the glass.
"I got it." Shannon grabbed a frag brenade and lobbed it at the doors. The small explosive landed short of the doors and rolled right under the glass. She and Ryan ducked behind a nearby car as the grenade exploded, shattering the doors into hundreds of pieces. Before the last shard of glass even touched the ground, Ryan and Shannon were already dashing inside.
"We've got to meet them at the other end of the mall." Ryan pointed down the long central aisle.
"Always need to take the long way." Shannon sighed.
They barely passed several storefronts before a Hunter burst through the window of a nearby clothing store, firing its fuel rod cannon wildly. Ryan and Shannon took cover behind a nearby vendor stall as the fuel rods landed all around them.
"Something's wrong." Ryan said as a stray fuel rod melted a pretzel stand.
"What?" Shannon kept an eye on the Hunter but didn't fire. Even she knew it wouldn't do much against the walking tank.
"Hunters always travel in pairs, so…"
"Where's the second one?" Shannon eyed the rest of the aisle warily.
Without warning, the second Hunter burst from another clothing store directly behind them. Ryan froze in surprise before being pulled to the side by Shannon. She led him up to a nearby escalator.
"Damnit, it just never ends." Shannon growled as more fuel rods shot past her.
The Hunters attempted to follow them, but their huge size and weight proved too much for the escalators to support. They collapsed in on themselves, sending the Hunters plummeting down to the ground below, sending the now arriving Grunts and Elites running for safety. Ryan and Shannon continued running for the other end of the mall on the upper deck. More plasma and fuel rods shot up at them, but from none could hit Ryan or Shannon on the relatively safer high ground.
"It looks like ground floor is no longer an option." Ryan glanced down at the first level to see it swarming with Covenant troops trying to intercept them.
"Nor the roof." Shannon pointed her rifle skyward and fired several bursts. A trio of dead grunts fell from the sky to the ground floor with a sickening splat.
"Parking garage." Ryan pointed towards a nearby door and activated his radio. "Change of plans. Second floor parking structure."
Shannon ran forward and kicked the doors leading to the parking structure open. They ran in to see rows of abandoned cars but nothing else. In the distance, they could hear the faint sound of an engine roaring and tires squealing. Ryan turned to the entry ramp and saw Karla's Warthog barreling through the parking structure. The vehicle made a sharp turn, sideswiping a sedan and ground to a stop in front of Ryan and Shannon.
"Get in!" Karla yelled. The moment Ryan and Shannon jumped into the Warthog, she gunned the engine and the vehicle took off.
"Wait, shouldn't we be going back down?" Ryan asked.
"No can do. We've got a whole load of Covvies right behind us!" Karla accelerated. "I suggest you strap in and hold on."
"Ah shit." Ryan sighed when he realized what was going to happen.
The Warthog rammed straight through the small concrete barrier separating the second floor of the parking structure from open air and the ground below. The Warthog and its occupants were suspended in the air for several brief, fluttering seconds before plummeting back to the ground. The shock of the landing was tremendous, but the Warthog was built tough and miraculously made the landing without suffering serious damage. However, the fact that several Grunts were conveniently placed to cushion the falling vehicle could have helped as well. The moment she regained her senses, Karla stamped her foot down on the accelerator and the Warthog shot away, leaving the Covvies behind confused and broken.
"We gave them the slip that time!" Paccone laughed.
"Jeez, you're pretty good at the wheel." Shannon grinned. "You've done this before?"
"Hell no!" Karla smiled as she swerved the Warthog around another tight corner. "This is my first time! Not even certified to drive one of these damn things!"
Ryan and Shannon both looked at each other. Ryan fought the rising urge to vomit while Shannon merely grinned and shrugged. At that moment, more plasma fire and fuel rods began raining down on them as another flight of Banshees dropped down from the sky.
"Shit!" Karla cursed as she swerved to avoid another fuel rod. "We've got to get these guys off our backs or we're never getting out of here!"
"I think we might need air support!" Paccone cried out. "LAAG's dry!"
It was the sound that nobody wanted to hear. The hollow clicking of an empty weapon that had expended all of its ammunition.
"Fuck this. I'm not planning to die on this damn dirtball." Karla growled as she keyed her radio. "Big Bird, this is Ghostrider. Requesting immediate air support, coordinates 552.53."
"That is a negative, Ghostrider." The radio squealed. "Air assets are currently unavailable at this time."
"You gotta shitting me!" Karla yelled angrily as a plasma bolt shot but just a little too close for comfort.
"Let me try!" Ryan keyed his own radio. "Big Bird, you will provide air support to the provided coordinates. Priority code alpha alpha echo sierra nine two six."
There was a brief pause in the transmission, as if the radio officer were contemplating what to do.
"Ghostrider, request for air support confirmed. Air units have been retasked and are inbound. ETA thirty seconds."
"What the hell?" Karla looked at Ryan suspiciously, but quickly refocused her gaze on the road.
"Ghostrider, this is Little Bird One and Two." The radio squawked. "We're moving into support."
Before the radio transmissions even cut off, the sky above the Warthog was filled with cannon tracers and missile trails. The four Banshees that were pursuing were instantly shredded to pieces under the whither hail of fire. The Marines looked up to see a pair of Marine Shrike gunships soar overhead.
The Shrike was basically the Pelican's leaner, meaner little brother. Shrikes used a scaled down version of the Pelican chassis and propulsion system, giving it excellent speed and maneuverability. Instead of wasting space for cargo and passengers, the Shrike was instead loaded down with missiles and guns effectively making it a very fast and mobile weapons platform that could provide close air support for ground units.
"What a sight for sore eyes." Paccone grinned as he could see the Shrikes circling overhead, raining down mechanized death and destruction
"Ghostrider, this is Little Bird One. Area is clear. Returning to base to rearm and refuel."
With that, both Shrikes waggled their wings in a show of respect and shot off into the distance.
"Looks like clear sailing from here." Paccone commented.
"Uh, maybe not." Shannon pointed as a number of Ghosts and Wraiths began to materialize behind the Warthog.
"Crap. The bastards must have been hiding out until the Shrikes left." Shannon commented.
"Well, it's a good thing Big Bird had the wisdom and foresight to lend us a Navy Longsword." Ryan smirked. "Head for that bridge and keep it moving."
Karla nodded and headed straight for the Johnston Bridge, which spanned the nearby Meele River. In the distance, she could hear the distant roar of Longsword engines.
"Target confirmed." The Longsword pilot's voice buzzed. "Firing weapons."
"Are you sure this is safe?" Shannon said nervously.
"Oh yeah, definitely."
"Wait…" Karla narrowed her eyes. "What exactly is that Longsword targeting?"
"The bridge." Ryan said simply.
"What?!" Karla gaped. "You obviously haven't seen a Longsword strike, have you?"
"Not exactly…"
"Shit!" Karla cursed and stamped her foot down harder on the accelerator.
Seconds later, four long range Demolisher guided missiles smashed into Johnston Bridge in a ragged sequence, sending pieces of steel truss and asphalt flying in all direction. The long line of Covenant vehicles pursuing the Warthog were blown to pieces along with the bridge, flaming wreckage and body parts adding to the rain of debris.
"Real smart idea!" Karla yelled sarcastically.
"I'm sorry!" Ryan frowned. "I thought it would be a contained blast!"
"There are still pieces of bridge falling on us! Contained blast my ass!" Karla growled.
However, by this time, the fight had completely left the Covenant. With the bridge and most of the pursuing convoy destroyed, the Covenant ground forces were in disarray and in no state to try and continue the chase. Meanwhile, no more Covenant ships appeared in the air. They were all in the clear.
"We're going to have to take a detour!" Ryan said to Karla. "Our extraction isn't at Rally Point Alpha."
"What?"
"Here!" Ryan transmitted the coordinates of their backup extraction point.
"There's nothing there." Karla narrowed her eyes.
"Trust me!"
It was a quite but tense five minutes to the extraction point. Nobody spoke, since there really wasn't any reason to. Ryan could not shake the feeling that Karla was on to him. Actually, give today's events, any person with a brain stem could put things together and realize that something wasn't right. The question was, what would he do about this? Ryan was then jarred back to reality when the Warthog came to a stop.
"Well, we're here." Karla sighed. "Go and do whatever spook business you have to."
"What makes you think we're spooks?" Ryan faked some laughter, but he noticed Shannon tightening her grip on her assault rifle.
"Oh come on, it was pretty painfully obvious that you make a lousy Marine." Karla sighed. "Then again, I always suspected that you weren't cut out for soldiering anyways, Ryan."
"How long did you know?" Ryan gaped, a bit surprised that Karla was able to recognize him, since he had never even mentioned his name once to her during the chase.
"When you managed to grab air support without having to cuss out the air traffic controller." Karla shrugged. "Wasn't too hard to put things together."
"You do realize that you aren't supposed to know about any of this." Ryan sighed.
"Oh, but I don't. As far as I know, I just picked up a pair of deadbeat Marines who lagged behind the evacuation and then dropped them off. I really have no interest in getting caught up in whatever you actually do." Karla motioned to the approaching Pelican. "So long, hope I never see you again."
"Are you sure it's wise to let them go like that?" Shannon said nervously as the Warthog disappeared into the urban sprawl.
Ryan thought for a second. Karla definitely wasn't your average Marine. She was far more intelligent, and seemed to have a bit of an independent streak, not to mention a kind of twisted charisma. If Ryan had to guess, Marines like her were very rare and hard to come by. Besides, keeping her around meant that he could always use her if he needed to.
"Eh, let them go." Ryan shrugged. "They're no threat to us."
"Whatever you say." Shannon sighed.
"I wonder if this is what the rest of our missions are going to be like." Ryan shook his head. "If that's the case, I should've just stayed home."
"I'm sure you'll get used to it." The Director's cheerful voice buzzed through the radio. "I didn't choose you without a very good reason."
"D-director?" Ryan gasped. "You're here?!"
"More or less." The voice said playfully. "If you don't mind, can you please board the Pelican? I'm just dying to see the package you just picked up."
"Roger that." Ryan turned off his radio and turned to Shannon. "Do you ever have that feeling we're totally over our heads?"
"Probably." Shannon grinned. "But that's what makes things interesting."