Hyper lethal vector
Shar stood before the Captain, waiting for his orders. "Well, Senior Chief Petty Officer, I suppose I've kept you waiting long enough. Today you have some particular rules for this mission. You'll be working with a Spartan II. I know that this is not the first time that you have worked with them and you are aware of the protocol for this situation."
"Yes, sir." Shar had worked with a Spartan II once before, a man named Jorge if she remembered correctly.
"Good, then you'll remember the protocol for working with a Spartan II." The Captain tapped a control and a holographic representation of a planet appeared. "This is your target. You'll be under the Master Chief's command, so I expect you to listen to orders."
"Yes, sir." Shar wasn't really used to being in the field and under another soldier's command. She wasn't usually put in the field with solders that were higher in rank than Staff Sergeants.
"Our recon shows that they have three scorpion tanks. I would prefer that that equipment could be saved rather than destroyed. They would be a help to soldiers in the field.
"I'll do what I can." The idea of facing a tank and not destroying it wasn't very appealing. They were supposed to be going in quiet and keep from being noticed, all while destroying the entire rebel population. It was normal for Shar to be given these parameters, though she wasn't so sure about this other Spartan. Jorge had been so big that he didn't seem to understand the idea of stealth.
"Very well, then. The Master Chief is waiting for you in the hanger. Keep in mind that he is a Spartan II." The Captain nodded and turned back to a screed that was covered in transmissions from departments all across the ship.
Shar nodded and turned, making her way off of the bridge. She made her way through the ship until she reached the hanger. There she looked around and spotted a pelican and the familiar figure of a Mark IV armored Spartan. She watched him for a moment before moving down the stairs and walking over. "Master Chief, Senior Chief Petty Officer Spartan-three-one-two reporting as ordered." She stood at attention.
The Spartan II stopped and looked at Shar. His head tilted slightly to the side. She wasn't exactly sure why he was staring at her. Whether it was due to her ODST armor additions, because he didn't recognize her, or her robotic arm, she wasn't sure. He moved over to her and nodded. "Good to have you working with me, Spartan. You must be from the second class." Shar simply nodded. It was the cover story she always used with Spartan IIs. "I'm John. How much combat experience do you have?"
Shar froze for a second at his name. Memories of three Spartans in Mark IV armor carrying her to the evacuation transports flashed in her mind. The memory of the female Spartan calling their leader John was crystal clear for a second then slipped away. She pushed aside the question of if he was the same John and focused on the now. "My name's Shar. I have plenty of experience. Covenant, rebels, loud, stealth, teams, solo, I'm ready for anything, sir." Shar frowned as he continued to stare at her. "Is there something wrong, sir?"
"Why aren't you wearing the standard armor?" John's voice was flat as he spoke.
The Spartan III shrugged. "It has always just suited me more. I stole some ODST armor back in training and always used it, so it is logical that when going out into the field for real, that it would be my choice." It was all rehearsed. She'd justified her armor choice to others since she'd moved out into the field.
John nodded, accepting her answer. "Grab your gear and we'll head down." Shar grabbed a standard pistol and assault rifle with extra clips of ammunition and a pair of frag grenades. She followed John into the pelican and sat down in a seat across from him. She felt small compared to the Master Chief. He stood at seven feet two inches while she was only six foot ten in her armor. She wondered exactly how much of his height was the armor and how much was the man inside.
The ride down to the planet was silent. Shar wasn't sure what she had been expecting. Spartans weren't really big on chatter, but Jorge had asked her questions like crazy about herself. John just sat there in silence and stared at her. It was really a bit unsettling. She was actually grateful as the ship slowed and swung around so that it could land. Shar waited until John had stood and started to walk to the back before she stood. The pelican bounced as it landed.
John hit the release on the rear door. "Stay here, Corporal. We'll call you to the evac point when we're finished." John moved down the ramp. Shar gave the pilot a glance; he somehow seemed glad to be just left to sit around. She followed after the Master Chief, dashing across the open space to the forest nearby. She stopped beside John and he motioned her in the direction of the insurrectionist camp.
It took them half an hour to get to the outskirts of the camp. Shar lay on her stomach, watching as the patrol walked past. They moved in groups of two and passed by every ten minutes. That was more than enough time for them, but they wanted to be sure of their plan before they struck. If there was even one snag then things could go south fast.
"You understand the plan?" John lowered his rifle, turning to look at the Spartan III.
"Yes, sir." She really wanted him to stop asking her that. He'd already asked it three times. She knew the plan. It showed he didn't trust her skill. Then again, she hadn't shown him her skill yet. He had reason to be unsure about her.
"Good, move out." John moved to his feet and Shar followed. They moved along the edge of the forest, keeping low and trying to stay behind the trees. They stopped when they reached the side of the base opposite the one road into the camp. Shar crawled slowly forward toward the fence. She waited until she pulled out a container and applied a blue paste to part of the fence. The metal smoked, and with a gentle tug part of the fence came loose. Shar made a not to specify in her report how well the new substance had worked. It was specially designed to rust through particular metals, though it had proven it burnt just as easily through skin. It made it useful only to people with the proper equipment to protect them.
John moved up beside her and past her. Shar followed right behind him, melting into the shadows. He surprised her with his ability to move so quickly and fluidly, despite his size. They made their way to the motor pool. They had planned on disabling the tank before they made any real strike against the rebels.
Shar knelt, keeping a watch for any patrols. She could hear John behind her, picking the lock to the back door of the building. She heard the tumblers move and open inside the door. She moved over to the side of the door opposite John. Master Chief held up three fingers and counted down before he pulled the door open. The metal slid back silently and Shar swept the area. She spotted a pair of soldiers standing beside several warthogs, chatting.
"We have two rebels inside. Not aware of our presence." She motioned toward a crate and she and John moved over the open space like oil over water until they were hidden behind the crate.
"Did you bring a silencer for your pistol?" John moved to the edge of the crate and peered around at the pair of rebels.
"Not necessary. Even silenced, they'd make too much noise, and we can't risk them knowing before we get those tanks disabled." Shar wasn't sure how he would take her words. He might be offended that she was possibly going against his orders or he might not care at all. He was much too hard to read. The memory of the blank faceplate staring down at her when she was a child burned in her mind.
"You got a better idea, I'm more than happy to hear it. I don't want to risk alerting them." John's voice sounded sincere but Shar was still hesitant.
"I can take care of them. Quietly and quickly, sir." Shar grabbed a small rock and flicked it into the air. It hit the ground and the sound echoed through the structure. One of the rebels turned around and Shar could hear them talking.
"What was that?" One of the rebels turned completely around. The other simply rolled his eyes. "I'm going to check it out."
"Whatever. It's probably just a cat or something." The second rebel turned back around.
Shar crouched in the shadows, waiting for the rebel to pass her. As soon as his back was presented to her she moved like lighting. Her arm wrapped around his neck and hand covered his mouth. With a quick jerk and the man's spine snapped. The body went lip in her grip and she pulled him back behind the crate.
The second man didn't even notice the other rebel fall. "What about the second one?" John searched the dead man and found only a pack of cigarettes and a pistol.
"Not a problem. He's even easier." Shar moved away from the crate, drawing the combat knife from her armor and sneaking up behind the man. Her hand covered his mouth and she stabbed up with the blade into the back of his skull. He fell to the ground with a dull thud. Shar pulled her knife free and turned to John's location, giving him a thumbs up.
John moved out from cover and they moved over to the tanks. They disabled each of the vehicles and made sure that they wouldn't be an issue. "What about the warthogs? They could still be an issue for us." Shar glanced over at the jeeps.
"We'll jam the guns. The rebels won't run if they do find us, which isn't the plan, but if they do get to the hogs, the guns are the only thing we really need to worry about." John moved to the back of one of the hogs and got to work. "Keep watch."
Shar wanted to argue but she stopped herself. She could do more than just stand guard but she'd show him what she could do. She knew that if he knew she was that little girl who had smashed in a grunt's skull he'd have a bit more faith in her ability.
John finished and moved over to Shar's side. "All right, on to stage two. You know what to do." Shar nodded. "All right, move out." John crept off and Shar slunk off in a different direction.
John had already planned out how they would systematically work through the camp. John would take care of the mess hall, which at this time should be empty, and the medical building, while Shar would take out the main command building and the weapons locker. They would then meet up and take out the barrack building.
Shar moved to the command building first. When she slipped inside she found most of the building empty. The only room that had anyone in it was a lounge-like area where three men sat around sipping whisky.
Shar moved into the hall and quickly took out the silencer equipment for her pistol. She slipped on the silencer and moved into the room. The three men were chatting and laughing so loudly that none of them noticed her. She grabbed her knife. She moved up behind one of the plush chairs and in a flurry of motion her knife slashed over the man's throat. Her gun moved in an arc and she fired two shots. To Shar, the muffled cough of the silenced pistol seemed to sound like thunder in the quiet room.
Shar looked over the three men and frowned at the military-like uniforms they wore. Why was it that rebels seemed to think that they had a right to compare themselves to soldiers? As she looked at the rebels she felt an odd sense of their disrespect to all of her fallen family who had served.
Shar moved from the building to the armory, where she surprisingly found no one. The building was empty, though she made note of all of the weapons that were stored in the building. There were shotguns, rocket launchers, assault and battle rifles, not to mention several grenade launchers.
Shar busted the lock on the door and climbed out of a window. If things went south she didn't want them to be able to get to the heavy weapons. It would make things much harder for her and John. Shar paused and frowned to herself. Had she really just thought of the Master Chief as someone that she could call by his first name? She was convinced that he was the same John from back on New Harmony. She thought of him as one of those three strong figures that had made her so sure that she wanted to be a Spartan, that drove her in her dreams to keep fighting.
Shar made her way to meet up with John and they crouched down behind the rear of the building. "What did you find?" John glanced over his shoulder to check and be sure that no one was around.
"Three high rankers. I took them out. An armory with no guard and a lot of heavy weapons. Sir, something feels odd here." She shifted slightly. There was a slight tilt of John's helmet and she took it as her cue to explain. "Why wouldn't they guard their weapons, even more so if they have weapons like rocket launchers? There were only two guards for three tanks and all their hogs. There's no reason that the higher ups would be sitting around with no guards around. It just doesn't fit."
"You're giving them too much credit. They aren't military, they are just common people." John checked over his weapon. "Let's finish this."
Shar bit her lip but stayed quiet. She still couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong, but she followed John forward, grabbing her assault rifle. She moved up behind him as he readied his battle rifle. They moved to either side of the door and John nodded. He moved before the door and his foot met the solid wood. She didn't know what made her do it, or even was really aware but Shar's hand reached out and grabbed John's arm. She pulled him to the side just in time as fire and shrapnel flew through the doorway. Shar recognized the heat and the sound right away as anti-tank mines.
John moved to the side of the wall beside Shar. "Told you something was off." Shar raised her rifle and readied for something to come through the door. Nothing and no one came through the doorway. She glanced over at John who made a tossing motion. Shar nodded and took one of the grenades from her belt. She pulled the pin and counted before tossing the explosive into the barracks. She heard it bounce once before it exploded.
Shar and John moved forward as one, burst through the doorway. Shar quickly moved over to a table and tipped it over to make cover. She swept the room and spotted several figures. She fired a quick, three round burst, and the shots hit the men in their chests. She heard more shots join hers as John took down three more. Shar moved behind her cover and slowly eased out, looking for any other targets. A pair of heads peeked out and Shar took aim and fired quickly. The rounds splattered blood, brains, and bits of skull on the wall behind them.
Shar saw a grenade fly through the air and it disappeared behind the cots that the rebels had been using for cover. It exploded and she heard several people scream. Several others ran out of the cover and Shar took them out quickly with shots to the chest. When the room fell silent she and John made a full sweep of the building. They found no one else.
John radioed to their pelican and called it to pick them up. They two Spartans moved out to the firing range that was set up near the forest. The trees were peppered with bullet holes. John stood beside Shar as they watched the skies for their ride.
"Thanks." Shar looked at John, surprised by the word. "Thanks for saving my life back there. Those mines would have killed me. I'm sorry I didn't listen to you."
Shar shrugged and glanced over as the pelican arrived. "Consider it returning the favor." Shar could feel his confusion in the air as she moved toward the now landed pelican. She sat down in the pelican and John sat across from her. They were silent all the way back until they reached the ship. Shar stood to leave and John followed after her.
"Hey, Shar." She stopped to turn back to him. "You ever need a partner for a tough mission, go ahead and request me. I'll be happy to work with you any time." Shar smiled behind her visor and turned to walk down the ramp with John on her heels.