CARTWHEEL
Shar moved through the forest, trying to keep low. She had been assigned to take down the AA gun that was currently blasting pelicans and longswords out of the sky. They wouldn't be able to bomb the Covenant positions until they took out the gun.
The lone wolf stopped and turned as several identification tags appeared on her HUD. She changed directions and moved toward them. She found a quickly constructed base with several SPI armored Spartans guarding it. She clicked her COM twice and all three of the helmets turned in her direction. Shar walked out of the forest, holding up her weapon so that they could see her.
One of the Spartans moved to meet her half way. "Why are you here?" He didn't sound at all happy to see her, but Shar recognized the voice right away.
"Nice to see you too, Brad." Shar sighed, not sure why her old teammate was so unhappy to see her. "I'm here to destroy the AA gun."
"How are you going to do that?" Shar turned to Kat as she came over to join them.
"So Kilo is here as well?" Kat nodded. "I have a plan, but I need to get myself into a banshee. Was looking for anything that might help with that."
The third Spartan came down to join them. "What are you all talking about?"
"Wolf here wants to take some of our supplies." Brad's aggression was starting to get on Shar's nerves. She hadn't done anything to deserve this level of venom from him.
"I think I might have a way that you can get a banshee, but you have to let me run the mission." Kat spoke up. "We need to take out those shades or they'll wipe out all of the marines that are going to make an attack on them. We have to at least give them a fighting chance."
Shar paused for a moment, wondering if she should take the risk. She needed to be focused on her mission. "Very well then, you're in command, but once those shades are gone, we have to take out that gun. The longswords get to make a run, they'll be able to take out some of the heavier stuff and give them even more of a chance."
Kat nodded and lead Shar into the constructed base. Elizabeth crossed her arms as she looked at Shar. "What is she doing here?"
Shar shifted a bit, feeling the air of aggression in the air. Kat ignored it. "I've recruited her for an op."
"You don't have the authority to run an op, Kat." Ted took a step toward her, but Kat didn't back down.
"I can't, but Wolf can. Now where is the grenade launcher?" Kat moved to find it, but Ted grabbed her arm, keeping her in place. Shar could almost feel the anger between them. She was sure it was only fractions of a second from turning into a fistfight.
"I've got it, and I'm in." Shar frowned as the unknown Spartan moved up. She hefted the grenade launcher to rest on her shoulder, still holding her pistol in hand.
"Thank you, Katy." Kat moved over, taking the launcher. "Come on, we need to take out those shades and that gun."
"I'm ordering you not to go." Ted took a step forward, standing in Kat's way.
Kat pushed past him, and Shar and Katy followed. Brad didn't make a move to stop them as they moved out of the base and into the trees. The trio of Spartans moved through the forest, Kat taking the lead.
They stopped when they reached a slight clearing. "The banshee groups have been making patrols over here and the clearing will give space for us to hijack from." Kat prepared the grenade launcher and then reached to her belt and tossed a plasma pistol over to Shar. Shar wondered where she had gotten it, but thought better of bothering to ask. Kat always had what was needed for a mission. "Use that to disable the third one."
Shar moved to crouch beside Kat. "Can I ask you something?" Kat nodded to her. "Why did you call me Wolf?"
"Cause you're a lone wolf. Wolf is just faster." Kat glanced over at Katy. Shar glanced toward her as well, and Katy looked back at them. "Would you put that pistol away?"
Katy glanced down at the magnum in her hand. "No, if a patrol shows up, I'm the one to take care of them while you take down the banshees. I think I'd rather be ready." Shar frowned as she stared at the identification tag that was attached to her. She was marked as a member of November. So then Katy had been the one to replace her. Maybe that was why her team wasn't happy to see her.
Kat shook her head and turned to Shar. "She never puts that damn thing down. Pretty sure if she doesn't put it down soon it will fuse to her hand."
Shar smiled behind her visor. "She's the one you used to hang out with?" Kat nodded to the question. Shar remembered seeing Kat have a few other women that she would spend time with. A girl name Lucy and it seemed this Katy. The three had been together all the time during training.
The familiar screech of banshee fliers filled the air and Shar looked up. A trio of the sleek purple single-pilot ships glided overhead. Kat moved into the open and raised the grenade launcher. She fired and Shar moved out, overcharging the plasma pistol. The grenade detonated between two of the banshees and the fliers started to drop from the sky. Shar fired and the overcharged shot hit the final vehicle and it dropped down behind the others. The Spartans sprang into action, racing toward the disabled ships, pulling open the cockpits and pulling out the elite pilots before slipping in and securing themselves in.
A second later the controls flared to life before Shar and she grabbed them, angling up and hitting the gas. She checked her motion tracker and the two banshees that followed turned yellow as her teammates hijacked them. The three vehicles moved into formation and Kat took the lead with the other two trailing. They headed toward the Covenant camp.
"Concentrate on the turrets, but if you get a chance, take out any heavy weapons that you can find." Shar flashed a green light and set her sights on the closest shade. She switched the weapons over to the fuel rod gun and fired. The ball of green energy slammed into the shade and turned it into a pile of smoldering metal. Two more of the shades burst into balls of green as the other banshees fired. Shar barrel rolled to the right as plasma fire streaked through the sky. She tuned the banshee and let it lock-on before she fired again, destroying one of the two remain shades. Kat fired on the last one and it was destroyed.
"Shades taken out, now focus on the AA gun." Shar turned her banshee and they fell into line, side by side, firing as one. The green shots hit the AA gun and the metal heated. Shar switched over to plasma fire and started to bathe the still heated metal in as much plasma as she could. The others followed suit and sparks began to fly from the structure. Finally, the AA gun exploded. The three banshees turned and darted through the air. The Covenant forces below had started to fire, shots crisscrossing in the air, most of them far from hitting the targets.
"We're going to make another pass. I want to take out as many of them as we can. Have to give the rest of the teams a better chance of surviving." Kat opened fire and plasma shots cut through the infantry as the trio turned to make a second pass over the Covenant camp. Katy moved a bit to the left and took aim at a group of elites. She fired and the leader aliens went for cover. She dropped down a bit closer to the enemies and slowed as she searched to be sure that she hadn't missed any.
Long powerful beams of green shot through the air. The shots clipped Katy's banshee and it lost altitude, nearly hitting the ground. Shots from the surrounding grunts and jackals splashed over the sides of her banshee.
"Katy!" Kat fired on the source of the shots, her fuel rod shot hitting one of the hunters dead center. Shar shot the second one leaving, behind the broken armor of the monstrous alien.
Katy's banshee pulled up a bit, gaining back some of its altitude. She straightened out and joined them in returning to their temporary base. "I'm all right. This thing is just banged up a bit. Weapon systems are down, but other than that I'm good."
"Head back to base. We got our mission done, that's what matters." The banshees sped through the air toward the camp. "What is that?"
"Wraith." Shar's voice was cold as she spotted the purple tank. "It's hitting our base." The temporary base that Kilo and November had been using was under assault, the wraith pounding it with shot after shot.
"We have to stop it." Kat opened fire and the wraith stopped. The wraith turned and took aim at Kat's banshee, tracking it and preparing to fire. Shar felt a pique of fear as she realized that the wraith's pilot probably knew more about how to use the tank. While it would take a human a while to get used to the angle, the Covenant driver was trained with it. It would easily be able to shoot Kat out of the sky. The wraith fired and its aim was perfect. The rear of Kat's vehicle was hit and it plummeted. The banshee hit the ground and bits and pieces broke apart as it crashed. Kat flew from the crash, hitting the ground hard.
The wraith turned to finish her off and Shar tried to turn faster, give her teammate cover, but there was no time. She opened her mouth to warn Kat to run, but stopped as she spotted a purple shape diving. Katy's banshee was falling from the sky, directly toward the wraith. The banshee hit the tank and the two vehicles burst into brilliant blue flames. Shar heard Kat shout over the COM but Shar was deaf to it. She couldn't believe what she had just seen. Katy had just rammed the wraith, sacrificing herself to protect Kat.
Shar landed her banshee. Kat struggled to her feet and raced toward the wreckage. Shar joined her and stared at the still burning metal of the two alien vehicles. Kat stopped beside it, unable to find any sign of her lost friend. Shar took a step back, allowing the other woman a moment. Kat looked down at the ground and knelt, picking up the pistol on the ground. The metal was slightly scorched and scratched.
Shar moved over to stand beside her, glancing down at the pistol. "We need to see if any of the others are still alive." Kat nodded numbly and turned, sprinting toward the charred base. "Fireteam Kilo, November, acknowledge." Shar moved into the structure and stopped at the sight inside. The wraith had ruined the inside of the building. Crates of supplies had been burnt and melted. What were worse were the six bodies that lay on the ground.
"Ted?" Kat moved to her team leader's side. He didn't respond and she fell to her knees. Shar moved up behind her, looking around. She couldn't even tell which were her former team. She felt a bit of loss as she realized that they were gone, but she found that pain easy to push aside.
Kat removed her helmet and Shar looked down at the devastated look on her face. "I should have been here. I should have followed orders." The woman shook her head and Shar frowned.
"If you had stayed, those shades would still be out there, so would that AA gun, and you would be dead." Shar didn't try to soften it. It was fact. There was nothing the woman's presence could have done.
"I messed things ups, Wolf. My team, and November, both are gone." She shook her head. "And Katy." Shar flinched at the tone of voice. Kat was taking this hard. Was that what it was to have a team? To be vulnerable to the pain she could see plainly on Kat's face? "I shouldn't have had us make that second pass. We should have headed directly back to base." Shar kept her mouth closed. It was true; the second pass had been what had gotten Katy killed. Though it hadn't just been that. The other Spartan had gone too low, put herself in the line of fire. It was partially the fallen Spartan's fault, though she knew that Kat wouldn't listen to that reason. "What are you going to do
?" Shar turned away from the sight, watching the entrance. She couldn't stand to look at it all anymore.
"I'll find another team, fill any missing gaps." Kat stood up and looked down at the pistol. "Ted was right. I shouldn't lead missions." He hung her head in shame. "I'll never lead a mission again." Shar barely heard the words at all. Kat turned and passed Shar, moving out into the open. She stopped beside the broken vehicles. "Where will go you?"
Shar grabbed the fallen helmet from the ground and walked out behind Kat. "I'll find a place where I get connection to command. I'll get new orders and do whatever they want me to."
Kat nodded. "Well, as long as you are fighting, I'm sure that we'll win this one." She moved to walk away, but Shar put a hand on her shoulder, stopping her. Kat turned back and Shar handed her the SPI helmet. Kat took it and slipped it on.
"Good luck, Kat, and remember, following orders isn't everything. Cut yourself a little slack." Shar removed her hand from the other Spartan's shoulder.
Kat nodded and moved off into the forest. Shar surveyed the scene one more time before she ran off in the opposite direction.
Shar titled her head to the side. "Did you say that Kat was going to run the op?"
Carter looked toward her and nodded. "Yes, she will be. Kat's run plenty of ops in the past. Just follow her orders and you'll be fine. Trust her."
"I do sir…It's just…She's willing to lead an op?" Shar's voice gave away her surprise.
Carter stared and Shar could feel his eyes boring into her. "You know something I don't know?" He didn't sound at all pleased about that.
Shar shook her head. "No, sir. I don't think I do. Though I think you know something I don't."
Carter looked away. "Well, that's how the chain of command is supposed to work." He paused for a moment, lost in his own thoughts and Shar waited patiently. She wondered what he was thinking about, what he thought that he knew that she didn't. She somehow doubted that he knew what she had been talking about. "That will be all, Lieutenant. Report to Kat."
Shar nodded and turned, leaving the room. She smiled behind her visor. It was good to know that some old wounds could heal.