Chapter Two: Small Victories
Near Taiyuan, Shanxi, UNSC Outer Colonies, April 19th, 2525
POV: Staff Sergeant Damien Xavier, Ninth CMA Training Company
"-ff Sergeant? Sergeant, wake up already. Now!"
He was woken up by the voice of Allison speaking in his ear, just like he had asked her to. That didn't mean he wasn't a bit annoyed at being awakened, though. "What is it, Allie? Are we here?"
"Almost. There's been bit of a problem, though." She replies in a serious tone, which was a bit unusual for the normally playful artificial intelligence. Still, Damien just chalked it up to what was happening.
"And that is?..." He asks immediately after she finishes, not wanting to play a guessing game with her.
"While these aliens haven't been able to breach the reactor complex's core facilities, despite killing almost all the defenders, they've decided on a different approach. Their engineers have begun severing power connections, and...well, I've lost most of the power to the cargo containers you and the civilians are in. So you're down to twenty percent speed, meaning that you're slow enough for these inhuman pricks to board and search. That can't happen. Or you'll all be killed, or put in one of their prisoner camps I've been seeing pop up all over the planet."
"So you need us to reconnect these severed connections?"
"Yes. They actually did it in a power transfer station about a klick further along your path. Fix that, and I can get the speed up to eighty percent. Not ideal, but a hell of a lot better than now. I would have asked one of the other groups of resistance to do it, but..."
"We're closest. Yeah, I understand." The man pauses a few seconds, thinking for a few moments. "I'll take two people and try to get that system back online. Also, you mentioned prisoner camps? 'Cause I sure as hell didn't see any."
"I know you didn't. the enemy forces at the city were being much more aggressive than the others, so if anything, I would think that's the enemy commander in charge of that particular assault. Anyways, Pick your people and go. I'll keep you informed of any new developments." She kills the channel, leaving him with just silence.
That is, until he stands up, and walks over to wake up the other militiamen in the container, him stopping when he sees the woman he had rescued staring at him. "Do you need something, ma'am?"
"Yeah. I want to help with whatever it is you're planning." She says quietly, not breaking his gaze, it being mildly creepy to Damien.
"Sorry, no civvie's allowed." He says quietly, gently nudging the sleeping man with his foot, before he sees the woman stand up, only being an inch shorter than the marine.
"Don't play that game, sergeant. I'm a police officer, and I know how to fire a damn gun. Besides, the others will be safer if the rest of the militia stay guarding them. Meanwhile, this container would have no one in it, meaning it doesn't need to be guarded." She crosses her arms, brushing a bit of her black hair out of her face, staring up at him with icy blue eyes.
He looks away after a few seconds, before sighing, her having made several good points. "Still, it would b-"
"Don't suggest that it would be easier to just transfer people between containers. You know as well as I do that it would be quite difficult and time consuming. We can leave now, if you'd just stop being a stubborn jackass."
He seems more than a bit insulted, stepping a bit closer to her and raising his voice a bit. "Listen up, lady. I don't care what you think you can do, but you were in borderline shock when we pulled you out. How do I know that won't happen again, the next time you see a-"
She cuts him off yet again, having a fairly fiery temper, and raising her voice to match his. "It wasn't because I saw a body. Or even because I was shot. It was because I just watched the murderous bastards kill my little cousins. The ones I literally had adopted a couple years back. So with all due respect Staff Sergeant, you can kiss my-"
The trainee at his feet finally stands, before handing the police officer his sidearm, raising a hand for her to be quiet. "I agree with her. This needs to get done now."
Damien stares at the two, obviously a bit ticked off now, though after a few seconds he sighs. "Fine. But this isn't a democracy. You two had better listen to every damn word I say."
The two glance at each other, before nodding, the woman examining the pistol for a few seconds before lowering it to her side. "What's the plan, then?"
The sergeant crosses his arms, and proceeds to quickly explain what was the problem was, before sighing. "We need to go and fix the issue. Allie, do you have any cameras in the area? How many of them are there?"
"I was waiting for you to ask. Anyways, the cameras inside the facility are destroyed, however several JOTUN harvesters are active in the area, and from their cameras, I've been able to estimate the number. There's five outside, from what I can see. Two on the roof of the south tower, Marksmen, no doubt. One is guarding the main entrance of the building, and and two are patrolling the exterior fence. Oh, and I've uploaded the images of the site to your helmet, might want to share."
He examines the images, sighing in frustration as he hands the helmet to the others. The sigh then suddenly fades as he sees a crate marked with the Misriah Armories logo, him quickly running over, the militia member following after he had scanned the images.
Damien almost yells with excitement, seeing several "toys" that gave him and his group a significant firepower improvement. Starting with what appeared to be a pair of silenced BR55 rifles, four silenced magnums, A half a dozen grenades, and a blocky weapon the marine didn't recognize immediately. He picks it up, a targeting screen popping out. "Allie, what's this?"
"That's a...hang on, there's a bit of a...that's a M6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle, apparently. Its a hugely expensive prototype for an infantry weapon. In short, its a laser. Five shots, but if my simulations are correct, I pity whoever's in the way."
He studies it, before putting it on his back, figuring maybe they could use it later. He then picks up one of the silenced pistols in exchange for his own, putting it on his hip and grabbing his MA5B. "You two get the BR55s. Take a silenced pistol too, since we want to be relatively stealthy about this. And what are your names? I'd like something to call you two."
The police officer takes a few moments to comply, her handing the marine's helmet back. "My name's Anna. And Sergeant, I might have an idea..."
"This is such a stupid idea." Damien finds himself saying approximately seven minutes later, him crouching on the side of one of the massive JOTUN combines. The aliens had been ignoring them for a while now, since they found out that they were automated. That had let this one remain active and plowing the wheat fields nearby the transfer station. Which was where this, well, creative plan had came in. On its current pass, Allison would have the large machine deviate from its current circuit, and rip through the chain link fencing, causing him to both have an entry point, and to likely distract the marksmen and the patrol guards. Then the recruit and the cop would take out the marksmen in the confusion, and sneak into the base, hopefully dealing with the door guard as well.
At least, that was the plan, and he was hoping to god it worked. He then feels the JOTUN turn, sighing and readying his silenced pistol, having set his assault rifle beside him. The soldier aims it, though he doesn't fire yet, waiting for a better line of fire. The combine rapidly approaches the fence, with the marine relying on the shadow he was hiding in to conceal him as the two patrolling aliens walk up to look at the massive machine bearing down on them, not understanding the danger they were in, though that changes an instant later. Both aliens dive backwards as the automated farming unit suddenly rips through the fence, Damien having to grab on tightly to avoid being thrown off as it bucks a bit. Though one of the turian soldiers finds himself in a predicament as he tries to back up further, his back running into a metal shipping container.
They don't have time to get around it, the rotating metal blades of the JOTUN meeting their chest a second later, shredding the alien's armor, before promptly shredding them as well, bloody chunks of flesh being tossed in various directions, before the blades get stuck on the container, and stop spinning. The vehicle's passenger doesn't give the second alien any time to react to the rather gory death of their comrade, the sound of the four silenced gunshots hitting and overwhelming their barriers being masked by the combine's engine, before Damien's fourth shot shatters their visor and punches through their head. He holsters his pistol after quickly reloading it, grabbing his MA5 and sliding down the ladder, hitting the ground a moment later, where he starts running for the entrance, hoping his allies did their part of the plan. He also hears a muffled bang, though he doesn't pay too much attention to it.
Since his head isn't immediately hit by a sniper round, he assumes they had, though forgets about the door guard, who he soon runs into, literally. The alien is slightly quicker on the draw, managing to activate their omni-blade and slash at the marine, who uses his rifle to block the hit. The sturdy weapon doesn't stop it, obviously, though it gives him the time to leap back and avoid the next swing. Though before either soldier can attack another time, a three round burst shatters the turian's skull, Anna standing behind it with her BR55 inside the alien's kinetic barrier. A moment later, the body flops to the ground.
"You're welcome, sergeant." The police officer comments quietly, her turning and walking over to the structure's entrance, where the militiaman waits, him nodding at Damien.
"Alright, I assume they know we're here?" The marine asks, recieving a nod from the other man almost instantly.
"Yes. They've got a few crates being used as cover, I caught two of them with a grenade when we first got here, but I've seen three more hiding behind cover. What's the plan?"
"Charge in." He says casually, though as the two get ready to do that, he stops them, giving both a flash bang and a frag each, before leading both to a wall on a different side of the building, unslinging the M6 and aiming it at the wall. "Throw them in six seconds." He mutters, before holding the trigger, hearing his weapon start to make a whining noise.
A few moments later, the noise reaches a fevered pitch, before a ruby beam of light, aided by him slashing it sideways a bit, blasts through the concrete wall. The various grenades then get chucked inside, while he puts the laser on his back and draws his sidearm. After the blasts of the explosives, he jumps through the opening, seeing one of the aliens dead, and in two halves. He guesses the laser had bisected them, though that doesn't matter too much as he sees two living turians staggering around, their barriers knocked out, and both blind and deaf. He puts three rounds in both, two in the chest and one in the head, before turning to face his two allies, who both have rifles raised. He's about to ask why, though he doesn't get that chance, feeling a blade of energy at his throat, one of the aliens holding him from behind and saying something in their alien language. Likely a "lower your weapons or he dies" sort of thing, seeing as the way they were holding the sergeant.
The two hesitate to lower their weapons, the alien yelling at them again, before the marine jabs his own knife back into the enemy's ribs, before managing to pull the blade away from his own neck long enough for the militiaman to drill it in the head with a few rounds from his battle rifle. Damien just gives his 'teammates' a slight nod, before he walks over to the control panel, activating his helmet comm. "Allie, you there? What do you need us to do?"
"I'm here. Alright...three things. Open that panel by your left knee."
He crouches near it and forces the dented panel off, finding the interior of the compartment a mess of sparking components, someone obviously having decided to shoot it up with one of the alien assault rifles. The sergeant sighs, waiting for the artificial intelligence to speak. "How exactly should I fix this?"
After a brief pause, she answers, though she sounds a bit more frustrated than she had been. "There's two wires somewhere in here that need to be reconnected in order for the console to work, and allow you to reactivate the power."
"Great. Which ones, and how big are they?"
"Considering there's over fifty separate wires in there, not big. And since they're all identical...Well, the first starts third from the top. Follow it to where its broken, then fix it."
He does as she asks, tracing it down to where the wire had been severed, him taking a separate, broken wire, cutting a bit off with his knife, before managing to fit it in where the broken part was and attach it. "First one's done. Where's the next?"
"Thirty seventh down."
"Really. Fine." He sighs and starts counting, fixing it about two minutes later, getting a slight shock as the console comes alive with a slight hum, the screen flickering on a moment later. It doesn't bother him too much, the man standing up a moment later, noticing an error message about the city power systems being partially deactivated, with a button that says "resolve." He clicks it, obviously.
"Alright, power's back up...mostly. At any rate, its good enough that you guys should head to the rail, I set up another way up about two kilometers away from the current position. You might want to get going."
He curses a bit, before starting to run towards the rails, the other two right behind him.
"I'm assuming she set up a way...back, that gives us maybe three minutes to get there?" The police officer asks quietly.
"Pretty much. Now be quiet and run."
They reach a different combine, climbing up to the roof not ten seconds before the containers arrive, the three jumping inside as it passes, Damien sliding the door shut, before walking over and sitting next to the others. "So...are things going better or worse for the others?"
"Same answer as before, Sergeant. You guys have currently been the most successful. While the aliens honestly seem to be better equipped, we're taking down about three of them per one of us. But since they outnumber us so heavily...things aren't looking good. We can only hope that reinforcements get here soon."
"Great...just great. So, have we been pushed back to the capital completely?"
"Basically...yes. The reactor complex is pretty much the enemy's now, though I sealed up enough of it that they can't really shut down anything vital. And there's one member of the militia still alive, though she's injured, and I locked the door to my data stores to keep her safe for now. Anyways, the defense of the city is falling to pieces under the command of Corporal Hall, so I suggest you take charge the moment you get there. He also is pretty much ignoring every suggestion I give him, so...he's stubborn. But he's the highest ranking person on the planet left alive, save the governor, who isn't military, and you."
The marine sighs, hating this quite a bit, though he nods. "How bad is it?"
"Well, under the command of Captain Howe, the enemy was being held off at the city limits. Now, we've lost over half the city to these alien bastards. Its not all his fault, but his 'tactics', if you can even call them that, are certainly not helping. He's behaving like the entire force is a squad, and pretty much micromanaging everyone. Not the thing we need when he's commanding over a company of people."
"Alright...yay, I get to be in charge. Well, I guess I'll take inventory until we get there, seeing as I've already slept enough." He walks over to the weapons crates, glancing at the other two, who are just quietly talking. "Me in charge...we're all going to die, I think." He mutters quietly, before just trying to lose himself in the task.
Author's Note: So...I am very sorry it took me nearly a month to release something that by all rights should have taken a few days, but I got quite busy. I promise the next chapter will be released fairly soon (a week or so), and this time, I definitely can make that deadline. And if anyone's wondering, Shanxi will likely last another full chapter, and a fraction of the next. And then, Spartans might appear. Anyways, now for the likely ridiculously long part; answering reviews.
Axcell, the short answer is, I need to make it not be quite as much of a curbstomp as it could be, which is pretty much the reason for a good chunk of the flaws you addressed. However, there is a few answers I can give you, the first being that the frigate had one of the engine pods sheered off by the main gun of the Turian cruiser, which I mostly did in an effort to make the fight more fair. the other one I can answer is why the GARDIANs did damage, and that is that Covenant pulse lasers, which granted, are quite a bit more powerful, did some fairly serious damage against lighter UNSC craft, like frigates. So I figured, with five different turian frigates firing, it might do a decent bit of damage to the UNSC ship. The rest of your answers...well, the first answer really covers them.
jam99chgo,and TheIrishWriter, the killing civilians bit was one, to give the UNSC more motivation, and two, as I mentioned in this chapter, because of the CO of that particular assault. Hence why it wasn't the case on the rest of the planet. As for the other thing mentioned by jam99chgo, the Infinity will not make an appearance early on into the fic, though it might appear just before the Reaper War. Or during. Depends.
Anyways, I think that is all. So, as usual, comment or PM me any concerns, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Bye.