0910 FEBRUARY 2nd, 2543 [MILITARY CALENDAR]/ ECHO BASE, PLANET REACH
Recovery for me and Kia went swiftly. But Parkson and 211 were down for almost two weeks. In that time, we were excused from our duties on a month long leave. It was labeled as R&R, since the UNSC wanted us back right away. Fortunately, our new mission commander took pity on us.
It's been strange to be around such normal soldiers. They seem unprofessional, but I'm sure it only seems that way because of how we were trained. We don't fit in with the others, not even the other Spartans. We were only in the original Spartan program for a year before being sent to our separate training. I learned from another Spartan II that this was not the norm, and I learned how the program truly was. He had said that we were part of an ONI program of sorts. It was believable. But he had also said that we were an unruly bunch. Too formal. His companion had waved it off as us being "newbies", but the Spartan wasn't convinced.
We were assigned a room for all four of us to stay in. 211 and Parkson had been released from the hospital after the first week, but they were still on a few drugs that made them dizzy and weak. 211 tried to convince me that he was fine, but it was obvious in the way he walked and in the way that he spoke that he wasn't. He would need another week to be battle ready again.
It was very interesting to see how the others interacted with each other. How loose they were, as well as their lingo. I was beginning to get a feel as to how real soldiers act.
We found the ODST's who had rescued us. The one that had saved me is named Austin Rex. He's been in service for a few years and was one of the soldiers fighting on Harvest. His brother, Charles Rex, is an EOD who seems to be both intelligent and reckless. Though by the looks of it I wouldn't want to be in his crosshairs.
We are kept busy by constant intelligence updates from our mission commander. We learn more and more about the Covenant, our enemies, during our down time. We should have learned all of this during our training, but for some reason we were never taught hardly anything about them.
I realize that I underestimated the Elites. They're faster and smarter than I first thought. I would have to be careful around them. But the Grunts are weaker, slowly, and stupider than I thought. They would be easy to eliminate without cause for too much worry. Jackals are devious and quick. They are the Snipers of the Covenant Empire. Hunters are big brutes with thick shields. They don't care for anyone but their partners. Drones, Engineers, Brutes, we learn about them all.
0923, Febuary 16th, 2543 [MILITARY CALENDAR]/ Above planet Thrug
At last, the two weeks are up and we are reassigned to the UNSC Faithful. It's a combat ship that saw the fall of Harvest. There were plenty of Marines aboard, and a single team of ODST's.
We were briefed and given our new objectives. We would be defending an outer colony on the verge of being overtaken by the covenant. While the UNSC fought off the Covenant in space, we would be on the ground waging war throughout the surface.
We weren't fighting the frontlines, however. We would be running assassinations and sabotage as well as infiltration. We would be working alone, as I had expected. We would be provided a single Falcon for our transport needs. The ammo provided would be picked up from the Faithful, but would be on our own if we run out. There would be complete radio silence between us and the Faithul once we reach the planet, no evac, no backup, nothing.
This is our first official mission where we've had time to catch our breath. I'll admit, I am scared. But not enough to affect my team. And not enough to be distracted.
We drop down to the planet which is buzzing with activity. We aren't near the front lines, so there isn't much air or ground activity as we fly near the mountains and forests. I'm the pilot and Parkson, Kia, and 211 are in the back. The cockpit is too small for a copilot.
Our first objective is an infiltration on a Covenant refueling outpost. It's big and important, plus it has heavy traffic in both air and land.
I'm going to stay in the air with the Falcon and provide aerial support as Kia and Parkson make their way through the base to the fuel storage. Parkson will plant explosives, and the two will escape before blowing the charges. It seems easy, and it just might be. But Hokai warned us about being cocky, so I have to expect complications.
The base is open, and most of the supplies are only protected by a sort of canopy. There are two large warehouses and a number of smaller ones peppering the outpost. The entire base is protected by a short wall with sentries posted around the perimeter. Jackals are posted at random intervals, some on top of warehouses, others keeping watch from their hovering snipers nests. There are two Hunters patrolling the main road. From our vantage point, I can see a few Elites and a good number of Grunts.
We come to a stop just a few hundred feet away from the protective wall and drop off the two infiltrators. As they make their way into the base, we rise above and begin raining hellfire to distract the enemies.
As soon as we open fire, we are hammered with AA guns. They came out of nowhere, having been concealed somewhere within the base, and begin firing. I duck and dive to avoid being shredded. 211 quickly spots and opens fire on the guns. But after taking out the first, the Spartan is forced to switch seats to avoid being killed.
"What's your progress?" I ask the two on the ground. "Nearly there. The fueling tanks are in sight. Just-" Kia's report is broken up by an explosion and the sound of flying debris. "a bit of reinforcements. Standby."
I whip the Falcon around and curse quietly as a Fuel Rod round discharges and attempts to hit us. "Copy that," I reply and climb higher into the air.
Snipers! 211, can you take them down?" I ask my gunner as a Needle shatters my right window, the glass clinking off of my armor. There's a long burst of fire from the Spartan and he calls it dead.
"We've planted the charges. Making our way to extraction now. As long as they don't find and defuse it, this base is as good as dead," Kia says through the TEAMCOM.
I manage to take out the AA guns, but the ground fire is just as heavy. The entire base is packed with attackers. Soon enough, the Falcon is venting smoke and alarms are screaming at me.
"I have to pull out. Meet up at the extraction point," I tell Parkson and Kia as I feel the Falcon giving up.
After rising high into the air, I pull the bird around and shoot forwards, keeping the speed low enough to avoid activating the thrusters.
Once at the extraction point, we set down and open the hatch and jump out. 211 follows me and he radios the others who report that they had been followed by a large set of reinforcements.
We'll have to lose them before we get back to you. These Hunters are making our lives miserable," kia shouts over the deafening sounds of gunfire. "Keep in touch. 211 will find you if you need help," I say, looking to 211 who nods. "Roger-" Kia starts, but a nearby whine and explosion stops her. There's a grunt over the COM and a scrape. "-that."
While we are waiting, we check our weapons and reload them. 211 cleans off his helmet and I do the same. "Sir, what are those Spartans that we have been seeing around the base?" 211 asks me. I have to think about that for a moment. I know they aren't Spartan II's. They can only be III's. I've heard they're being rolled out faster than the II's. Shorter training and all that. While I don't agree with the method, I see their reasoning. More soldiers means more battles won. But I can't help but think they look a little too ill-prepared. "Spartan-III's, 211. They're the newest generation," I answer. 211 is quiet a moment before nodding. "I understand, sir."
About thirty minutes later, Kia and Parkson appear through the trees. They look beaten and worn, but alive. "Any complications?" I ask them. "No. Parkson managed to take down the Hunters, and the others dispersed after that," Kia says. "What did he use?" I ask, looking at Parkson who shows me an anti-tank bomb. "Well that answers that," I say with a smile.
I consult our mission route and find that the next thing we are to do is an assassination mission. One of the high ranking Sangheili are arriving in a few hours at one of the inner outposts to inspect a battle-ready Scarab. The UNSC wants him dead. So we have been put to the task. Unfortunately, we would have to hoof it for the last few miles in order to avoid detection. We would set up a mile from the outpost and Kia would be the assassin while we watch her back.
Lets get into the air and blow this place so we can move on," I tell the others. They then load into the Pelican and we are soon in the air.
Once we are far enough away, Parkson detonates the bomb. It takes a few seconds for the signal to reach the explosive, but once it does, the reward is exciting.
The base explodes into one huge fireball. The shock wave slams into the falcon and rocks it violently. The flames reach high into the air like some angry entity, burning everything it touches. We can smell the burning plasma even from miles out, and only imagine the scream of dying Covenant soldiers.
After watching the flaming wreck for a few minutes more, we turn away and head for our next objective. The assassination of a high ranking Elite.
It takes us about an hour to reach the drop-off point. I land the falcon in a rocky clearing and use the boulders as camouflage. After a quick weapons-check, we head into the forest that stretches on for a few miles before running into a mountain.
Inside of the forest, we find a stream and follow it up. It's interesting. We're all alone in a forest on an alien planet about to assassinate an enemy. We've trained for this, sure. But now it's really happening. This is our first real long-term mission since we were augmented a few months ago. We're not even a year out of training and we've been through a lot. If this is what it's like as newbies, I can only imagine what we'll see as veterans, assuming we live that long.
We see plenty of alien creatures along the way, mainly prey-types. Small birds with four wings, some with two tails, others with several heads. We had become accustomed to the wildlife on Reach. But other species from different planets are...strange. But we can't pay too much attention to them. We have to keep a constant eye on our radar and keep our ears strained for the sound of enemies. If it was possible, I would eventually like to visit one of these planets outside of battle. It is truly peaceful out here.
We eventually reach the base of the mountain we'll be setting up on. It gets steep fast, but we locate an old rock staircase that the locals must have used. It reaches far up into the mountain, curling around for what seems like forever. While my team doesn't complain audibly about it, I know they don't like it.
The staircase is indeed a challenge. And by the time we reach our destination, our bodies are burning for rest.
The ruins of an old building greet us and provide the perfect view through the valley below. The floor above is still intact, shielding us from the sun and giving us the perfect camouflage in the shadows. The building once sat supported off of the edge of the mountain. But once age ate away the supports, the front of the house fell and left only half of it standing. We set up at the opening and scope out the area.
We take this time for a rest. With the exception of Kia, we all remove our helmets and drink some water. The air is cool and fresh. While the altitude is a little high, the view is amazing.
I watch Kia as she sets up her rifle. She sets up the stand, adjusts the sights, and is constantly repositioning. I would hate to be a Sniper. The precision that long-shots take looks tedious. But I bet the kills are very rewarding after all of the work.
211 is posted on guard duty and he leans against the wall, holding his shotgun pointed at the ground as he watches for any signs of attack. Parkson is assisting Kia and I'm looking over battle reports from the planet-wide military feed. The front lines are moving further and further south, pushing us deeper into enemy territory. I read over a successful raid on a Covenant supply outpost lead by two teams of Spartan III's. A firefight that ended in the loss of an entire marine regiment. Field reports of different ODST teams, one of whom was fairly close to our current position. The battle on the surface was raging, but it didn't look good for us. Evacuation orders were already being issued for cities planet-wide. Civilian transports were fleeing the planet in large quantities. The situation in orbit seemed even worse. While they were holding the Covenant off, reinforcements were coming and the UNSC couldn't get anyone fast enough. Within the next forty-eight hours, the UNSC would have to pull out. I wouldn't want to, I resent it. But it would have to be done to save the lives of my team. But that was forty-eight hours away. For now, we will focus on the task at hand.
Kia calls out that she is done and has set up the shot. She reports that the Zealot's phantom hadn't landed yet, but the welcoming was already set up. She reported of "fancy dressed hinge-heads" and clean lines, which usually meant an official was nearby.
After fifteen minutes of waiting, Kia tells us the Phantom is arriving. I watch her as she sets up the shot and tracks the Elite. Her focus is razor-sharp. I don't think i could break her focus if I wanted to.
A few moments pass, and then Kia fires. The Sniper rifle cracks and the bullet travels quickly. There's a silent moment before she reports the kill as successful. She pulls back from her rifle and sits up, letting out a held breath. "Good job, Spartan," I tell her. She just nods and picks up her rifle and begins to set everything back the way it was.
While we are waiting for her, I hear a strange sound. It was a rustle nearby, like the scuff of a boot. I look to 211, but he hadn't moved. My gaze sweeps the room but I find nothing. Guess It wasn't anything.
But before I can even think of the possibility of an ambush, 211 suddenly springs into action. I catch him out of the corner of my eye bringing up his shotgun in a blocking maneuver. I am surprised to find the glowing shape of an energy sword hovering just inches from his helmet.
An Elite decloaks and roars at him. 211 shoves it back with his shoulder and fires his shotgun. He hits thin air because the Elite had dodged to the side.
I open fire with my Assault Rifle and find that my bullets make its shields flare. But I soon find out that the Elite was only a distraction when a huge arm wraps around my throat and restrains me.