0700, April 17th, 2543 [MILITARY CALENDAR]/ UNSC Faithful
Waking up the next morning was terrible. My head was still hurting but luckily the nausea had passed. I was terribly hungry, though. I considered grabbing something on my way to the showers, but decided against it.
When I sit up and open my eyes, I find my team gone. Their beds are made but empty, and their bedside gear is gone too. Fearing they had left without me, I quickly swing my legs out of bed and get to my feet. After pulling on my shoes and retrieving Hokai's knife, I jog down to the armory and find Fireteam Zeta and the rest of my team fully armored.
Once I see them, they turn with concerned glances and Zeke motions for the others to leave us alone. "Why did you leave without me?" I ask them, frowning slightly. "Sorry, sir. We tried to wake you a few times but you were passed out. This isn't a very important mission so we figured you could sit it out and recover," 211 says apologetically. "Well I'm awake now," I snap, sounding angrier than I am. I pass my Spartans and enter the locker rooms where I retrieve my armor.
Soon after suiting up I rejoin my team who are again chatting with Fireteam Zeta. "I'm ready," I tell them, placing my helmet over my head. "Good. We dust off ASAP. We came out of slipspace about an hour ago so we're above the planet now. Just be aware, we're not going to be the only UNSC personnel dirtside. So check your fire," Zeke says and pulls on his helmet.
Their armor is strangely shaped. It looks a little like ours, but different. "What armor is that?" I ask the other Spartans. Arnold gestures to his armor with a proud smile. "SPI II. Only the state-of-the-art armor for us Air Assault's," he says. "SPI?" I ask, not knowing what the abbreviation means. "Semi Powered Infiltration," Zeke explains. "Means we can go invisible. The Elites aren't the only ones who have it now," Arnold says with a smirk. "Partial invisibility. Plates reflect the light. It's not that strong, though," Jessica adds.
We make our way to the hangar where our pelican awaits. Jacobs enters the pilots seat and the others load into the back. "Strap in, boys and girls. Prepping for take-off," Jacobs says from the cockpit. We sit down and secure our weapons, making sure they're within easy reach.
The Pelican shudders as the engines come on and soon the air changes as the vehicle takes off and leaves the safety of the ship.
"What's our mission?" I ask Zeke who just smiles. "We'll be splitting up into teams of two. Kia and Jessica will be our Rescue team while Arnold and 211 run distraction. Jacobs and Parkson are going to be breaking a way in while me and you cover their asses from above," he explains. Parkson looks to Kia and signs something with a concerned look. Kia nods and looks to Zeke. "What's our objective?" she asks. Zeke looks at Parkson with a strange gaze which quickly softens. "Prisoner rescue. We've got a few POW's that have been tracked down to an abandoned UNSC base that the Covenant have holed up in. Poor bastards have been in covie hands for a week now. We're hoping they're still alive," Zeke answers.
0822, April 17th, 2543 [MILITARY CALENDAR]/ Planet Grovaar
The air in the pelican changes once again as we enter the planet's atmosphere and drop down through the clouds. "ETA to LZ, four minutes," Jacobs says from the cockpit. "Copy that. Spartans, ready up," Zeke tells his team. We do the same and wait for the pelican to touch down.
Once it does, the ramp drops to reveal a large clearing. Towering trees ring the grassy area and give the forest an ominous look. A falcon sits nearby, untouched and ready to fight. It has two mounted gatlings and a chingun. A backpack and hacking equipment sits inside of the Falcon, waiting to be picked up. Arnold grabs the backpack and puts it on. Kia grabs the hacking gear and Zeke opens the cockpit's hatch. "You'll be going on foot. The base is marked on your HUD's. Jessica, Kia, go in silent. Arnold and 211 will be drawing the heaviest of the fire. Jacobs and Parkson, take the rear. Go in silent and hit them hard while they're distracted. We'll provide cover fire for the distraction team. This op shouldn't take long. But be prepared for complications," Zeke says, slinging his weapon once he finishes. "Our rides are downwind a few yards. You'll love what we have to use," Arnold tells 211. And even though he shows no reaction, I know 211 is getting excited. "Jackson, take the cockpit. I'll be on the guns," Zeke says and looks to the others. "Move out."
I jump into the Cockpit and lower myself into the seat. It's uncomfortable and odd because it's meant for much shorter soldiers. But I manage to fit me and my armor inside and close the hatch. "Wait for the distraction team to start the fire and we'll come in to fan the flames," Zeke says through the COM's. "Yes sir," I answer, slightly distracted as I start up the Falcon.
The whir of the blades and the roar of the engines is exhilirating. It means we're about to start something. Warfare at its finest.
I run a few tests before lifting off. I then bring the Falcon to bear towards the waypoint which rests directly on the UNSC base. "Keep it low. We don't want to be detected just yet," Zeke says. I look down to see us high above the treetops. I hadn't meant to fly this high, so I slowly descend to a lower height. The treetops bend and sway with the downwash and birds flee from their perches. "ETA to base, two minutes," 211 says through the COM's. He sounds excited and by the rumble through his helmet's feed, I can tell he's driving something big. "Copy that. We're right behind you," I tell him.
"Keep it low over the base once we start our approach. There'll be snipers and those bastards are better with range. Don't give it to them," Zeke instructs. "Burn the engines if you need to, but save it for emergencies. We don't want to be darting all over the place."
It's a long two minutes as we wait for 211 and Arnold to make it to the base. But once the time is finally up, Arnold comes over the COM's. "We're engaging now. Heavy reinforcements. More than we originally thought. Stay low on approach," Arnold says. "Copy that. We're on our way," I say and push the Falcon forwards.
We soon come into view of the base and there's lots of gunfire aimed towards the approaching roadway. I can clearly see a heavily armored hulk of a tank absorbing heavy fire. It sits in the open and deals fire from its shells on unsuspecting Covenant soldiers. Hiding behind the tank is a Warthog with a Gauss turret modification. Arnold drives the warthog around bullets and keeps it safe as 211 lays down the fire.
The base has a vehicle checkpoint and loading zone. There's a courtyard which is absolutely flooded with Covenant aliens. A huge blast door sits at the far end, mostly left unguarded. An outdoor garage lays in the left area just on the other side of an attaching bridge. Forklifts and both non-military and military vehicles sit parked inside of it. The main entrance is open and heavily guarded. I can just barely see the large forms of two Hunters who hover just inside of the base.
"Weapons free," Zeke says. The Falcon shudders as the Spartan opens fire with his mounted gatling gun. I turn the Falcon so he can fire easier and circle around the base. I look down to see the air filled with Covenant blood as our unexpected air assault hits home. But the Covenant quickly turn their sights to us and we begin to be pelted with plasma fire.
Zeke suddenly exclaims in pain and yells at me to turn the Falcon around. "Snipers!" he hisses. "Got my arm." I turn the Falcon so I can see and open fire with the triple pulse chingun. The Jackals duck into cover once I open fire, giving Zeke a chance to recover.
"Are you okay?" I ask him, flying a little higher to keep us safe. "Yeah. Get us back down there," Zeke answers. The chingun opens fire once again and shakes the Falcon over and over. "Blast team, what's your ETA?" Zeke says over the TEAMCOM. "Another few minutes. Our ride was busted. Damned wildlife got to it," Arnold says, sounding annoyed. "Copy that. Tell us when you're in place," Zeke says.
I'll have to admit, for a little while during the firefight I get tunnel vision and all other noises are blocked out. But to my luck, nothing happened during those five minutes of complete focus. Kia's voice snaps me out of my trance, though. "We're at the door. No heavy resistance and it doesn't look like we've been spotted," Kia says. "We see the blast team. They're getting into position," Jessica says.
"Sorry we were late," Arnold says. A chain of explosions rock the air and take out more than half of the resistance in the courtyard. Bodies fly and aliens panic. "but the cavalry has arrived."
There's a crackle through the TEAMCOM and a rushed voice comes through. "Zeke, we need backup. Kia is down and the blast doors are covered in those damn Drones," Jessica says. My heart stops once she mentions Kia and my gaze instantly snaps to their nametags which hover over their distant heads. "We're on our way. Stay hidden," I say before Zeke can say anything.
I pull the Falcon around to face their tags and stay high over the enemies before dropping down once we're close.
"Zeke, keep the drones off of us. I'll deal with the others," I say and unlock the chingun. The enemies whip around as the chingun begins tearing into their lines. The plasma cannons from the Hunters lance towards us but they're as slow as they are powerful and never manage to get close enough to do harm. One Hunter falls and the other follows closely after. The rest of the Elites and Jackals go the way of the Hunters and soon enough the walkway is clear of Drones and Covenant. "I'm back up and headed for the door. Jessica is right behind me. Walkway is clear for the moment," Kia reports. "Copy that. Contact us if you need backup," I say and turn to face the distraction team.
"They're starting to retreat back inside. We're gonna have to follow them in," Jacobs says. I watch as the last remaining hunter and a handful of Elites back into the base, motioning for the others to follow. "Jess, see if you can slow the blast doors. We don't want to get trapped in here," Jacobs says.
211 and Arnold stay outside while Parkson and Jacobs infiltrate the base. They throw explosives and keep heavy fire going, distracting the majority of the soldiers from the rescue team.
"Distraction team, pull out. We've got the prisoners and we're headed for the back exit," Jessica says over the TEAMCOM. "Copy that. Headed back to rendevouz point," Arnold says. 211 swivels the tank around and rolls it towards the exit, crushing the remains of turrets and blasted barricades. We linger for a few minutes over the main courtyard before turning to the huge blast doors.
Everything is going fine until Zeke curses and tells me to turn the Falcon around. "We've got bogies," he says. And indeed we do.
Two hulking Scarabs peak a mountain and set their sights on the UNSC base. One of their weapons primes with green energy and lances across the large stretch of land and nearly hits us. I have to pull sharply to the left to avoid the hit, but the force from the blast pulls us down and almost makes me lose control. "Rescue team, hurry it up! We've got two Scarabs closing in," Zeke says, almost yelling. "Scarabs? Those weren't anywhere on the map! What the hell are they doing here?" Arnold demands. "I have no fucking clue. But we need to pull out ASAP before they get here," Zeke says.
Kia, Jessica, and four of the six prisoners emerge from the base. They are running as fast as they can, but the UNSC prisoners are in bad shape. "I'm coming around. We'll pick you up," I say and begin our approach.
We are just a few yards from them when the second Scarab fires. Its laser lances towards us so fast that we don't have time to react.
It slams into our right wing and rocks us onto our sides. I struggle for control and manage to get us right-side-up for a few seconds before careening towards the ground. "Spartan, lock your armor!" Jacobs screams at me over the COM's. The last thing I see before we hit are the jagged rocks and the Scarabs priming to fire again.