1253, April 19th, 2544 [MILITARY CALENDAR/]Colonist Planet[OROVOR]
It hits me about an hour later that I had actually killed another human being. It doesn't affect me as hard as I thought it would have. But that's probably due to the fact that my teammates are still out there in the hands of the enemy, so I don't have time to focus on something as trivial as that. We need to figure out how to get into that base.
Jacobs and Jessica ran recon and reported back to us quickly after. They returned with an idea of the base. They had hijacked a COM signal and found out where the others are being kept. An interrogation was planned at 1300 hours, which was only in two hours. But fortunately, Jacobs spotted a way in. The south gate is lightly guarded and the armamaments aren't anything we can't handle. We can hijack a supply vehicle and make our way inside. Jessica and Arnolds are already in the progress of creating a signal jammer so the vehicle we hijack can't call for help. Jacobs also reported that they don't bother to check the storage bays, so the ones in the back would be safe as long as they keep their heads down. Unfortunately, me and Zeke who will be sitting up front, won't be able to wear our armor because that would be an absolute dead giveaway. But we only need to get passed the checkpoint to be able to infiltrate their base. From there, we'll do a basic breach and run, eliminate all of those who get in our way.
I hadn't realized I was running Hokai's blade across my gauntlet until Parkson gently grabbed my hand to make me stop. Once I look up at him, he looks from my gauntlet back to me. "Oh...sorry," I say, lowering my arm and sheathing the knife. Parkson just smiles and gets up to help the others with the jammer.
"Absentminded habits do more damage than they're worth," Zeke says. I look to my left to see him leaning against a tree, looking down at my scratched gauntlet. "Not that much. It's just metal," I say. Zeke removes his glove and shows me his palm. The pale skin is roughly scarred with scattered gouges from what looks like hours of scratching. "Habits are hard to break. Might not want to start," he says, replacing the glove. "I'll keep that in mind," I say. Zeke comes closer and looks hard at me. He stares long enough to make uncomfortable, forcing me to finally say something. "What? What is it?"
He just crosses his arms and looks into the distance, in the general direction of the enemy's base. "Keep your focus during this mission, Spartan. Your teammates may be in the enemy's hands, but you are not alone," Zeke says. "Translation, don't be an idiot and get us killed," Kia adds. "Keep your head in the game. You lost your temper back in the Pelican, and that's all I'm allowing you. I'm your superior officer. And even though I never do, I can pull rank. Would you really risk a court martial over something as stupid as temper?" Zeke says seriously. Zeke's face suddenly becomes stern and melts into a tight lipped frown once he reads my stubborn expression. He grabs me by the shoulder, forcing me to look at him as he lowers his face closer to mine. His voice drops to a whisper and I am actually intimidated by him. "Jackson, you took an oath when you were augmented. 'loyalty over treason'. You promised your mentor, your teacher, that you would never break that oath. But if you lose your head and go postal on these locals, then you will be breaking that oath and I can't save you from the consequences." Zeke backs off, his expression still stern. "So I am begging you. For god's sake, keep a level head. No matter what you see or hear. I can't have you getting discharged, Jackson." There's a tone of desperation in his voice that makes me think there's something more going on. Something that I can't even begin to think about. But before I can say anything about it, Jacobs announces that the jammer is done.
Me and Zeke get up and go over to them. We find them holding a small round device that is very roughly made. "Once we get into position, we'll activate it and make our move. It activates instantly so we don't have to worry about timing," Jacobs says. "Lets get down to the road. I'll assign positions once we're there," Zeke says.
We get down to a dusty dirt road flanked on both sides by neglected grass which tower high over the surface of the road. On one side is a ditch, on the other is a small hill. Both will be good camoflauge.
"Jacobs, Arnold, Jessica, take the ditch. Jackson, Parkson, you're with me on the hill. Once I give the signal, I'll go in first and get the driver out. Jacobs, follow up and get the passenger. Jackson, Jessica, Parkson, you secure the rear. Do not shoot unless you need to defend. I want as few casualties as we can. It doesn't look good to the UNSC to slaughter locals," Zeke says. Jacobs clips a smoke grenade to the front of his belt and secures his weapons. "Tends to piss everyone else off, as well," Jacobs adds.
Once we're all ready, we clear out to our assigned sides and await the transport vehicle.
It seems like forever that we stay crouched in the grass, hardly breathing, barely moving. None of us dare do anything to give the other away.
But finally I hear the vibrations from the vehicle. At first I think it might be something smaller, maybe a Warthog. But as it gets closer I can hear the straining of the engine as it pulls the hill. "Heads up!" Zeke hisses, gathering his feet under him in one swift movement.
"Arnold, once they're within a few feet, activate the jammer," Zeke whispers. "Copy that," Arnold says, all sarcasm and former humor completely gone from his voice. It's weird how Zeta gets once on a serious op. One moment, they're all laughs and jokes, and the next they're as tense as a cable. I guess we just have more to learn.
The vehicle gets closer and closer and it soon gets close enough that I can hear the crunching of its wheels against the rock. And all of a sudden, our radars go blank as the jammer is activated.
Everything goes into action instantly. Zeke appears from his hiding place, weapon up. The vehicle screeches to a stop as Jacobs joins him, both yelling loudly for them to get out.
I get to my feet and approach the rear of the transport. Its canvas cover conceals those inside, making me tense. I nod to Parkson who stands behind the canvas and Jessica stands on the other side. Parkson opens the flap and we stick our guns inside. Five terrified soldiers stare back at us, but a sixth had gotten up with a gun.
His finger was just about to pull the trigger when the sound of a knife whistles through the air and a combat knife lodges itself in his femur, making him scream and fall down hard, clutching the blade. Parkson appears, scanning the inside. He points his gun at them and jerks his chin outside. They don't move. "Get out, get out!" I yell, bringing my weapon up. Jessica grabs their arms and pins each to the ground which she then proceeds in tying each soldier's wrists together. "Please-" a soldier begins to beg, but Jessica slams her boot down onto his head. "Shut up!" She snaps. "When the UNSC finds out-" another soldier says, a sneer in his voice. But Jessica turns to him and presses the barrel of her gun against his head. That shuts him up.
Zeke appears from the front of the vehicle and tosses me a set of clothing. "Strip and get into that," he says, already beginning to remove his own armor. I hesitiate and hold the wrinkled and dirty clothing up. "Don't think about it. Just do it," Zeke says, removing his boots.
I try to ignore the smell as I remove my armor and put it into the back of the vehicle and put on the other soldier's clothing. It reeks of sweat and feces. I'm not sure these guys washed that much...
"Stay quiet and keep your heads down. We'll tell you once we're on. If everything goes south, I give you the permission to go weapons-free," Zeke says from the driver's side of the vehicle. "Copy that," Arnold says and jumps into the back of the transport. "What about them?" I ask, looking back at the soldiers. Jessica walks back around and quickly levels her magnum. Eight shots ring out in quick succession and eight bodies hit the floor. I try not to think about it as I round the car and enter the passenger's seat.
Once I close the door, Zeke starts the engines and soon enough we're on our way. "No witnesses," Zeke says soon after leaving. He sounds regretful. "It's a cruel war." I just focus on the cloud of dirt we leave behind instead of the men we had just murdered.