CHAPTER 6

The ONI facility was one of the biggest UNSC buildings I have ever seen. A huge gray box with huge glass doors and a large black sign imprinted with the words "Office of Naval Inteligence" along with the weird ONI symbol- a black and white pyramid with two black and white circles at its center, all trapped in a larger black ring. Who came up with that? I thought. Jane was walking close to me, and I was ready to defend her if I had to. "My father worked here, but I never came to visit. I never saw how it looks inside." Jane said.

"You will now. We'll have to take the artifact and whichever scientists are still there guarding it and get as far away from this city as possible. If the Covenant give up their search, this is the first place they'll blast on this planet." Cunningham said. Jason and Frank both followed farther behind- both seemed to be against the whole mission, believing that Ben and Harry could have lived had the UNSC just blasted the artifact instead of sending us to extract it. In a way, they were right, but the Commander said there was something special about it, that it might just win the war for us.

The Commander raises her fist, signaling us to stop and be silent. She holds her sniper up and zooms. "There seems to be a whole Covenant battalion here. But they are just waiting... They haven't entered the facility yet. Maybe they're waiting for orders." she says. I crouch beside her and zoom with my standard HUD device, it isn't as magnifying as the sniper, but it suits me well enough- especially with VISR activated. I see tens of them- two Brutes standing near the structure's entrance, having some sort of fight- pushing each-other as a few energy-shielded Jackals watched and laughed. Grunts were walking the perimeter all around the facility in squads of four- some just Grunts, others made of three Grunts and a Brute. There were plenty Jackal snipers perched in the buildings around us, all waiting.

The whole squad was clustered together now, zooming in and feeling the familiar sense of doom. I knew what I wanted to do, what someone had to do. But I made a promise. For Ben, I have to live this one out. And for Jane, I need to get her to Earth, to go with her. I'll quit this army if I have to. "We need a distraction." I say, looking at each of them in turn.

"I can't sacrifice my squad, Rob, but someone will have to do it... It will be me." the Commander says. I understand her, I accept it, but sadness still manages to take me over. She was a good Commander, she is a good Commander.

"No, Commander." Frank says. "I'll do it. I can hack this truck here," he said, pointing to a large truck parked nearby. "And I can ram into them. I'll make much more noise then you would with your sniper and I will surely get their attention. All of their attention. I'm a better driver than any of you."

The Commander gives him a sad smile, she understood that he was right. If he did what he planned, we really had a chance to make it inside the facility and get the artifact and Jane out of here. The Commander nods. "Drive down and around the structure, get as many patrol units on your back before you ram into their main cluster. When you're ready honk three times. That will surely get their attention, and it will be a good signal for us." the Commander says. She claps him on the back, amiably. "We will go a few blocks to our left, far away from your truck in case the Covenant understands our diversion. Wait five minutes before you leave. It was an honor serving with you."

Frank takes his helmet off and snaps the chain around his neck, where he kept his dog tags. He handed them to the Commander and said. "Tell my wife I'm sorry. Tell her it had to be done, and I had to do it." he said and the Commander nodded. Cunningham approaches and hugs him loosely before letting go and following the Commander. Jason hugs him tight, probably crushing his bones with his massive force. "Run over as much of those sons of bitches as you can, brother." he said and followed the Commander out of the street.

For the first time I feel like Frank's willing to sacrifice something for others. It seems he finally understood what it meant to be an ODST. At the beginning of our training we were told we were probably going to die, whether by falling too hard in our pods, by dehydration or hunger, or by just getting shot out of the blue like Ben, but they also mentioned sacrifice. They said there will come a time when we are needed- when our life is needed- and if that time comes a true ODST would know it, and they would do it. I go to him and take off my helmet as well, appreciating the midnight breeze. I smile to him, a smile coming from deep inside my heart, and where it was once pitch black darkness a spark has lit- a small fire, a good fire. I hold his shoulder and say "You are a good man, Frank. We will not let your sacrifice go to waste."

"You better." Frank says, smiling back. He stares at the little girl beside me. "She likes you. " he said. "Get her to safety. The children are the most important, Rob, they are our future and if they don't survive the whole human race will extinguish." Jane looks at him with sad eyes, and we begin walking away. She then turns her head back. Frank looks at her, his smile leaving his face- now he must get the truck running and wait- a wait that will last forever, the calm before the storm. These were the last five minutes of his life.

We walked for two or three minutes before finding the right spot and then we heard the truck's engines running. We saw the trucks headlights as it wheeled past the two fighting Brutes and around the structure, attracting the attention of all the patrolling teams. Flocks of Covenant forces began pursuing him, even a couple of Ghosts and Choppers we haven't seen before. Will he make it? I thought. But Frank was too good a driver not to. He managed to go all around the facility, and now his truck was being eviscerated with plasma fire. But he kept driving, attracting all the snipers and shield wielding Jackals before he finally sounded the truck's horn. I couldn't look anymore.

After three honks, we were off- silent and in the shadows. We walked to the building's back side unnoticed, as the commotion happened far away, where there was a large back door- a metallic gate much uglier than the formal entrance. We heard the sound of a crash echoing in the distance and we knew it was over. We had little time.

The Commander approached the gate and began searching for a way to open it. There was a small numeric panel at the door's side, but we didn't know the code. "Shit, what now?" the Commander asks, and it is the first time I have ever seen her this distressed, this out of control. Cunningham heads for it and begins pressing buttons, and Jane and me just looked around to make sure no Covenant forces remained behind. I couldn't see any. Then I noticed a small spherical black object on top of the door. I neared it and stared directly at its center- a camera. Squinting, I saw the camera follow me, watching us.

"There's someone in there, watching." I said, pointing at the camera and just as I did the gate buzzed- indicating it was ready to be opened. "Did you do that?" I asked Cunningham.

"No." she answered, swinging the gate open. "After you, Commander."

The facility was as empty as the city, just as dead as the rest of New Kingston. It was filled with small cubicle offices and phones and large holographic screens. Something about this place was very creepy. Suddenly we hear a 'ting' from our right. The whole squad turn, cocking their guns up and raising them to aim at a near elevator door which began creaking open. Jane stands behind me.

The door opens and a small ONI scientist wearing a black uniform comes out, raising his hands in panic when he sees our guns are pointed at him. "No! What are you doing?!" he asks. "You've come to get me out of here, not to kill me!"

"We've come here to get the artifact, not you." the Commander said, angered.

"You can't get it without me, marine. I have the codes, you have the guns. I risked my life to make sure the UNSC will get this artifact." the ONI man said.

"Well," Cunningham said. "Where is it?"

The scientist sighed. "Follow me." he said.

We followed him back into the elevator, and up until we reached the facility's 21st floor. The doors flung open to reveal another boring set of offices, cubicles and wide offices overlooking the cityscape. All of them empty. We walked through another white corridor and another set of offices, but then we took a sharp left turn to a sealed dark room, which the scientist opened with a scan of his eye and a voiced code- "Undid Eridium". The room was dark and cold, only lit by the glowing artifact at its center. It was a small crystal, about 7 inches long, and glowed with a purple aura. At first it seemed natural, but the closer I looked, the more it seemed to be technological, with small electric pulses (almost like wires) running through it and visual recurring patterns on its surface, like small septagons. It looked like magic.

Cunningham sparked with curiosity, it was visible on her face as well as Jane's, and Jason stayed back with his mouth wide open. Then the commander grabbed it, just like that, and pulled it from its base. "No!" the scientist said. The crystal then glowed red and made a small beeping sound. "What do you think you're doing? It's a delicate item!"

"It's still working." she said, and began walking back.

"That is hardly a-" the scientist began saying, but then the alarm went off- a loud noise, endlessly ringing. The Covenant breached the building.