All it took to be spotted was to lose composition and panic. Six noted this fact as he sped past the compound of Covenant and ran over the yellow armored Elite. Carter's rising question was silenced as he noticed the kill, and let Six have free roam with the truck; he backed up quickly into a forming group of grunts before jumping out and pursuing another Elite going into hiding.
Inspired, for he really couldn't believe he was, Carter jumped into the driver's seat and took care of the remaining grunts. As for the pair of jackals, Jorge easily took down their shields with his gun and let Carter run them over as they flickered off. Pleased at the quick work, Carter eased under the overhang and waited for Six's return.
The said Spartan arose from the dust that had blossomed inside the room and staggered into the passenger seat. His armor was decorated by flimsy blood and dust, masking its original color.
"You alright there, Six?" Jorge questioned as Carter drove on in silence.
The Spartan nodded his head, keeping his silent composure a mystery to the other two. And it did not suit either passenger and driver fine. Noble Team had all reviewed his files; Carter letting slip that the new Six would be quiet and impassive. So they knew they were dealing with a silent member – possibly another Jun. But putting all conflicting emotions aside, they expected to at least have the new member try and meet them half way. Not vice versa.
As for the rest of the drive, it was silent until they reached another compound. Six heard Jorge curse behind him as he shot at the grunts scattered ahead. The rain of bullets whizzing past his head brought no comfort, as Six would have preferred to have taken care of them himself. The truck veered into the bridge and brought him out of his grumblings.
Jumping out, Six prepped his newly acquired plasma rifle in one hand. It made twice the better damage against enemies and was easier to handle, but that just didn't fix Six's distaste for the weapon. So with Carter and Jorge taking the blunt route to the enemy, Six planned to flank them out from the left.
Bringing the plasma rifle into position, Six sprinted into the condensed hallway and assassinated two grunts from the back. Their friends, momentarily lost, finally set their eyes upon him and unleashed a heavy torrent of plasma. Six dove to the side and returned the favor with his Mag.
"Commander, I'm picking up a signal..."The sound of Jun's voice was almost, always a constant reminder to Six that he wasn't alone anymore. As he always ventured away from the others during engagement, it was the only voice that kept him coming back to regroup with the rest of the team.
"Patch it through, Noble Three." Carter replied, watching Six appear from the corner. The Spartan made little effort to avoid stepping over the Elite he and Jorge had killed, and casually stood by for further orders.
"Mayday, mayday! This is Three-Charlie-Six, we're under attack by Covenant forces. The Covenant are on Reach. I repeat: the Covenant are on Reach. Anybody out there?"
Briefly, Six wondered if Carter was the type to abandon soldiers in trouble when a mission was being in the process of completion. He cast off Jorge's side comment and looked directly at the Commander. His poise had not changed, but in his next set of words, he sensed the rigid tone in them.
"Let's move, Six. We need to find the source of that distress signal." said Carter. The other two Spartans with him did not need a repeat of instructions as they hustled into the truck. As Six drove out of the outpost, Jun put his two cents in: "With all due respect Commander, but search and rescue – rounding up strays – isn't necessarily our top priority here."
Preforming three other roadkill wasn't quite troublesome to Six. Though admittedly, he did feel somewhat bad for the moa that had come into the truck's course. Six continued driving, and hoped that Jun would just coincide with the Commander's decision.
"How many times do I have to say it? We do not leave anyone behind. Let me –"
"I've got visual of possible friendly forces under attack just south of your position, sir." Jun cut off.
Heaving a soft sigh, Six sharply turned left and avoided the possible detour he would have taken seconds ago.
"Mayday! Mayday! We're under attack! We've got wounded here! I don't think we can hold out any longer!...Someone! Mayday! Mayday!"
The settlement was a mess, and Six didn't even bother to register its distorted array as he stopped the truck in the middle of the Covenant's fire. He waited for his two passengers to get off before ramming the truck straight into the grunts. One flew overhead, and Six briefly smirked at the sickening crunch it made as it hit the truck.
He did a U-turn next and returned to the group once again. "Spartans?" one of the soldiers emerged from the shadows of cover.
"Dropships," he heard Carter mutter through the COM. In a louder tone he said, "Evac ships, keep your distance. Five and Six, keep the LZ Green when the drop ships come in."
"Corporal Travis, sir," said the previous solider. He sported no major injury, but seemed just as shaken as any of the soldiers in his unit. "with Three Charlie, sir. It's the Covenant."
Carter nodded: "We know, Corporal. Get the wounded and survivors into cover. It's time to get you out of here."The solider saluted in response and hurried off for cover; whether to warn or ward off any bystander, Six didn't wait to find out.
The roar of winds was almost deafening now, and Six reversed the truck out of the dropships' landing zone. There were two in total, and Six waited till both finished dumping their contents into the field before driving into it again. He hoped to catch whatever unlucky stray in the truck's path and crush them over. If not, he just hoped he got their attention long enough to distract them.
Six sharply turned back again to face the Covenant. There were multiple Grunts, a few Jackals, and one Elite charging to his location. Six plotted and took out a grenade. Unlike others, this one was special. He had made it into a mini-time bomb, and placed it on the passenger seat. (Something he composed in during his night shifts.) And stepping on the gas, he charged straight at the aliens; he jumped out of the vehicle two seconds before it exploded.
Barely dodging the remnants of the truck, Six felt two jabs to his back. He rose to a crouch and swiveled around to face his next victim. To bullets sent the Grunt's gas tank up into the air. H – ?
Six cringed in pain as multiple needles pierced through his gauntlet. He counted his lucky stars to even be able to lift up his arm in time. For if he hadn't – Six was pretty sure he wouldn't be alive right now.
Glaring at the Spec-Ops Elite, Six jumped behind a large tree trunk and reloaded his Mag. He only had one magazine left, meaning he had eight bullets to spare before running out of long-ranged weapons. Six flinched as the charred bark was slowly being eaten away by the plasma shots. Wait – plasma?
Six chanced a peek and saw that not only had he attracted one Elite's attention, but two. Six cursed himself and decided that it was time to launch into action or face the risk of getting cornered. The lack of shooting in his particular area was nerve racking. Slowly rising up, he tackled the first Elite to the ground.
Kicking its weapon away, Six momentarily wrestled with the foreign creature as it roared for freedom. Six would have had it dead if not for its partner.
The Elite swung its heavy leg and launched Six into the bloody field ahead. He coughed and tried to purchase some air through his failing lungs. Only when he did, did the Elites continue charging at him. They were merciless as he was beaten with their ammunition. Six struggled to dodge their line of fire as he searched the ground for a gun. He spotted his magnum and took it.
Eight bullets, he thought. Eight bullets weren't enough to even deplete an Elite's shield. Six cursed as he realized he would have to get close and personal with the enemy. So Six jumped behind a rock and took cover. The Elites would not have any more of this cat and mouse chase, so they flanked him at an incredible speed.
It was a hurricane of purple and blue from there.
Six crouched and slid between one Elite's legs, kicking it over, he latched one arm around its neck as the other shot the magnum's ammo into its neck. The alien died and left its partner in a mask of red fury.
Six bounced off the corpse just as the Elite tried to pummel him dead. Swinging a fist at its turned head, Six's hand made contact. The alien staggered on its two feet, trying to grab a sense of balance, but Six would not have any of it. He picked up the needle rifle on the ground and continuously shot at the stupefied Elite. Having no mercy, Six used up all his ammo to deactivate its shield before jabbing the gun into its head; there was a gory crunch, and Six smirked in satisfaction.
"Transport, LZ is clear. Move in for evac."
The sudden opening in the COMs startled Six back to Reach. Tainted with blood, Six dismissively dusted the ones on his shoulder plates before heading into the opening. Jorge was the first one to spot him; the relief quite evident on his stance.
"Thought you went freelancing on us, Six." he said.
Six shrugged. "The plan just hit me." he replied quietly.
Jorge chuckled, "Literally by the looks of it." He had noted the blazing remains of the truck and the tire marks on some grunts. He had to hand it to the new recruit; Six was quite...creative.
"Everyone get in, we'll be rendezvousing with Kat and Emile. Six?" the sudden open COM went private at this point. Six registered his acknowledgment by nodding towards Carter as he boarded the Falcon. "Exactly where were you during the engagement?" he interrogated; his tone not leaving room for ignorance or arguments.
"Just doing my job, sir." Six answered stiffly. And he was, if Carter hadn't noticed it. Based on the after-field survey, he had at least taken out half of the Covenant during that fight. He heard Carter sigh.
"You're in a team, Six – a pack. And I won't repeat myself again; that lone wolf stuff stays behind. Clear?"
Jorge shifted in his seat, noticing the huge wave of tension that had swallowed the other two into secrecy. Noble Five was no ignorant fool – he knew that they were currently conversing in a private COM. And as to what the current subject was, he suspected it to be about Six's sudden disappearance in the field. In Jorge's mind, he saw no issue with Six's momentary departure; as long as he was killing the bastards and returned in the end, he was fine.
Six looked up from the floor: "Understood, sir." His visor met Noble One's visor, and if he could have taken it off, Six probably would have been staring into some cold, cynical eyes. The said Noble finally broke the contest between him and the new recruit. Instead, he payed attention to the rising scenery secluded in a sea of fog. Once they were close enough, the bitter vapor seeped into the ventilators of their helmets; Carter shrugged it off; Jorge grumbled about it, and Six just reluctantly breathed it in.
"Kat, how are we doing over there?" The dense fog was tampering with everyone's vision.
"We're out the relay outpost now, Commander."
"And we could use some help," Emile's disgruntled voice cut in. "The local animals are going into a frenzy." The sarcasm was heavily thick on his last sentence.
"Door's locked," Kat continued, seemingly ignoring the sudden intrusion on their conversation. "Mechanism's been damaged."
Carter remained silent for a grim second: "Alright, we're going to your location. Won't be too long now. Pilot? Drop us in there."
Six could sense the hesitance and fear riddled into the man's voice: "LZ's a little bit too hot, sir."
Carter would have none of it: "We know. Put her down, pilot," next, he looked over at Six. He said the next set of words slowly and with authority. "Break time is over, Six."
"Gaarghhh!"
"Understood, Commander." said Six, lowering the magnum he used. Carter briefly looked at the dead, suicide Grunt before heading into the firefight zone; Jorge bumped shoulders with him, and after that, Six was left alone.
The said Spartan quietly took this time to renew his weaponry with the Falcon's on-board supply. He grabbed a new magnum and DMR, stocked up on some grenades, and then bid the pilot farewell; the bird enthusiastically freed itself from its dangerous cage.
"Everyone, clear the field." Carter commanded through the ruckus.
Six didn't need to be told twice.
He stealthily ran over to a group of huddled Jackals and pierced their heads with his gun, but the element of surprise only lasted for three of them as the last one – startled and angry, jumped around and hissed at him. Six grimaced at missing the opportune moment to kill it, but was swayed from his thoughts as something clung onto his neck. Six sharply turned and slammed whatever thing on his back against a steel column. It baffled him that something had successfully managed to sneak around his back, but that dumbfounded feeling dispersed as he set his eyes on the mangy group of Grunts. He kicked one out of the way as the rest unleashed fire on him.
Six's shields were all but enough to protect him from their fire as he mercilessly beat them dead. Although, as he was too busy infatuating himself with the easy disposal of them, a lone Skirmisher took sight of this scene. It took the chance and luck it had, and sprinted over to Six's back.
Its hope of assassinating him were purged as something lodged into its midsection. Its head swiveled around to see a grinning mask of death. It let out a squawk of stubbornness as it tried to fight the new threat back; Emile made its death come quicker because of this.
"Dropships!"
Six's head shot up as an immense amount of heat almost obliterated his arm off. His eyes darted towards the next round of plasma before he tackled Emile down. The said man tried to struggle and question Six's actions, but Six didn't spare him the time. He hooked a hand around Emile's wrist before flinging him and the other Spartan to cover; they only came out once the dropships' engines could no longer be heard.
"Don't ever do that again." Emile snapped, briskly getting to his feet. He grabbed his disposed shotgun and entered battle, leaving Six to mull over his words.
I'll take that as a thanks, he decided, and equally joined the fight. He pushed a falling corpse out of his way as he launched a stream of bullets at an Elite's body. Its shields went down, and Emile only had to shoot in the head for it to die.
"Almost..."
Six visibly glared at the Elite in front of him. His eyes were wary with the energy sword it had on its hip, but Six didn't let that on as he grabbed for his DMR and a plasma grenade.
"...there..."
With an abrupt roar, the Elite charged at Six, its head swinging into full action; as if ready to rip Six's own head off. Six refrained from letting his mind wander and create a snark comment as he opened fire on the running alien.
"Got it!"
Six barely dodged the glowing weapon as he side-stepped behind the Elite.
"...everyone, get in!"
From his side view, Six could only watch as the others ran for the cover the outpost produced. He gritted his teeth as he dodged another swing of the sword. There were others now, other Covenant, lurking in the shadows – ready to kill him.
"Six!"
Carter's voice, Six learned, was becoming a nuisance in these situations. So with a firm grip, Six jumped back as far as he could and threw the plasma grenade at the Elite. It happily latched onto its creators' kind and ticked the final seconds it would have before it would explode.
Marking that contact neutralized, Six turned to the gathering crowd of Covenant. His eyes barely flickered on each of their faces, but remained hardened on the charged guns. Those things were going to cause him huge trouble if he got hit two times.
Side-stepping the Elite again, Six sprung into a run as he made a dash for the outpost. Two hands instinctively reached out and pulled him in before the door completely closed; locking them away from hostile activity.
"You good?" asked Emile.
Six's face turned grim as he leaned against an adjacent wall. He had gotten hit once, and even after he dodged the other would-be-fatal-shot, plasma had burnt through some of his armor; he carefully watched as Kat sauntered up to him, inspecting his condition.
"Turn around." she commanded.
He did.
"You have a hole in your bicep's armor," she pointed out. "It's minor, but it will need patching. I suspect you have burns?" she asked.
Six shrugged. "Burns, bruises, and possibly fractured bones." he said nonchalantly. He could just picture Kat raised an eyebrow at this revelation.
"Can you still operate?"
He nodded his head.
"Then you'll survive." and with that, she briskly walked over to Carter to fill him over with some data. Six caught the Commander's gaze, although it was hidden, but he was sure he had been taking his words seriously and to heart. He could hardly wait for his next lecture about being careful.
But he wasn't complaining, no. Six planned to stand his ground and prove to Carter that he couple operate in a team, and be careful at the same time.
Note:
I'd just like to thank those who have reviewed/commented so far.
Your words are truly reassuring and very...helpful. It makes me
think that people actually like this and inspires me to write more.
So thanks, guys.
You know who you are.
Cheers,
FTAaee