"Looks like rogue Covies raided the place." I remarked as I entered a barrack, "all the weapons are gone and the ammo, too." Adam grunted in boredom, along with the other marines that gathered around and investigated the bases. It was just like what I had imagined – sitting there, taking a few scans, and then concluding that they all died in some sickness and return home. Sitting there? Check. Taking scans? Check. But not the last step. Jack as usual wanted to make the best report as possible. We were set into a certain base bored into a strange mountain, while others scattered throughout the continent. They had 1 Spartan team on each side of the planet – to make sure the least effectivity as possible. To me, this whole mission was a dud. Well, we had a few leads with blood splatters, but there weren't a trail that we could track. "Looks like they need a renovation, cause tis feels like a ghost base. Like everyone decided, 'hey, let's leave this dammed planet', which I feel like doing about now." I whispered to myself. Oops, had my comms on – and here comes the reply: "We can't leave now – we have to have a definite conclusion and not leave behind any survivors of the incident." By the slight American accent it was Jack. Then came a British voice, belonging to Sam: "We can send a squad through the maintenance B14 tunnel, which leads directly to the underground classified chambers. It is approximately 1.5 metres diameter –"
"Yeah – wait, did you memorise the base blueprints again? Wow, you could've taken all that time to investigate-"I interrupted, but in turn was interrupted by Jack
"Cut the chatter Harry. Switch off your comms."
I grudgingly complied – oh, did I mention that Jack wasn't too keen on me being on Fireteam Zenith? I continued to walk through the barracks, looking around to find any clues. There were a few signs of battle, but it was very faint and subtle. I silently walked through the barracks again. Perhaps there was anything that I missed? I tiptoed back down the halls. I mean stomped – it's pretty hard to tiptoe with a titanium armour on. Something flashed on my radar – something red. It was only for a split second, but enough for me to trace it. Wait, there it was again. I held my breath and crept through the abandoned kitchen. Out of my peripheral vision, I saw a flash, a very faint whoop and silence. Holstering my pistol, I put my finger on the safety- off switch. Jeez, a Promethean Vision would be VERY useful here! Instead, it was used by Sam – i.e. used for nothing. Goddam. The only thing I had was the occasional flicker mid-air. Perhaps it was an elite, biding its time. Or a grunt. Or a jackal. Or a knight. Or a crawler. Dammit, there were too many possibilities to decide to fight or run. I took a deep breath. Running from a grunt will be humiliating. Any strong enemies will probably catch up.
Well, shit.
I silently unsheathed my Slicer, and holding a pistol in one hand and Slicer on the other, I circled the flicker. Then I thought again and decided if it was not an enemy – like a civilian cloaked somehow, I didn't want to stab them. Well, they would be crushed by 5 tons of metal then stabbed to bits. Perhaps killing them once was better than twice. I replaced my weapons, then readied my hands for a quick snap. Then I struck. Pouncing, I smashed into the flicker, but not 100% of my force. It was enough to make the flicker reveal itself – a sentinel! The sentinel dropped down its cloak, wildly focused its camera unto me, and stated "Reclaimer" in that weird robotic voice. Then started to flash all over, shuddering and beeping out counts: "20, 19, 18…" I swore when I realised what it was doing, then tried to disable it. I mean by striking it in random places. It got down to its last 10, then I decided to unsheathe my Slicer. I struck it down as hard as I can at its core, but on it continued. "3"… I jiggled my knife in desperation… "2" … I poured out obscenities… "1"… then silence. I sat back, panting, and looked at the disabled Sentinel. That little bitch nearly killed me! Or blew out my shields and wounded me for any more sentinels. Shit. Shit. Shit. I didn't know what to do – to report to Jack and risk "insubordination", or run and risk setting off any alarms. I decided to risk angry Jack. I turned on comms and radioed in… "Jack… Jack?" I listened for the reply… but instead of the familiar accent it came up with some garbled message. My de-encryptor decided to bomb out, and Zenith did not carry around AIs. I slowly took Slicer out of the disabled sentinel and checked for any identity tags – maybe I could sneak past the sentinels? I saw something that looked like a tag, and I took it, not too sure about it. I sighed. The one time I really need Sam, he's probably rambling on and on how B14 tunnel is the most efficient way. Perhaps they've noticed the communications jam. But for now, I was isolated and weak. Shit shit shit. I holstered my assault rifle and tried to creep through the doorway. But my motion tracker thought differently – it lit up like a firework, signalling a whole procession of sentinels within the vicinity. And all converging on my position! Three's a charm, so SHIT SHIT SHIT! The floating tin-heads bobbled on the doorway, waiting for a burst in. 3….2…1… SPRINT! I started off from my cover and ran right to the doorway. The sentinels bleeped red and opened fire, firing blazing red beams. I immediately felt the hydro-gel inside the armour start to boil, and I watched the shield bar drain crazily. Just before I hit the front sentinel, I slid under it and used the momentum to jump up and sprint without losing speed. The sentinel at the back quickly spun around and started to fire again. Just before my shield went out I dived into a tunnel. I silently spun around and aimed my assault rifle at the entrance. As soon as the sentinel came in, I opened fire. The sentinel's shield held off most bullets, but when I pulled out my Slicer and stabbed it, the bastard decided to retreat. Rule number one: When in doubt, stab. Before more can come in, I quickly crawled into the dark.
Did you notice that the word count is always 1,117?