Chapter VIII

—Déjà Vu—

1820 Hours, October 7, 2550 (Military Calendar) \
Aboard Unidentified Covenant Assault Carrier, Upsilon
Slipstream Space—unknown coordinates near Star system.

A reverberation forced Jace's eyes open, immediately awaking him. Alex shifted beside him, grabbing his arm before he tumbled out into the hangar bay. Their stomachs shifted, a familiar sensation they'd experienced many time before. The alien vessel had exited Slipspace. The SPARTAN-III commandos of Saber Team became alert, their attention ascending. Jace motioned to edge of the nook, easing his head out of the shadows. His auburn eyes analyzed the deck first, searching for vigilant Covenant Grunts. Satisfied, he glared through the semi-transparent energy field that surrounded the hangar's deployment exit, catching sight of the planet.

From his standpoint, the planet resembled Mars, expect it lacked the rich reddish appearance. It was dull, almost barren-like. Another sense of nausea came over the Spartan. The ship had modified its course, diving toward the planet with increased acceleration. Jace pulled himself back inside the nook, taking his sidearm in his hands.

"They're headed for a planet. We'll be breaking through the atmosphere soon."

Alex brows wrinkled, assuming that this was their only chance to escape from this ship. But would it be wise, though? Yes, stowing away in a Covenant Carrier as it coasted through Slipspace toward unknown locations was detrimental, but being stranded on an unknown planet was worse. Even if they stole a Covenant Seraph as originally planned, those fighters were only capable of short Slipspace jumps, not jumps across entire star systems. With that she voiced her concerns, implying that maybe this Assault Carrier supplied a Stealth Corvette. If so, then they'd use it to return to the 16 Cygni star system to retrieve their ship, and continue with their assigned missions.

Jace frowned behind his faceplate. As good a strategy it was, it was incredibly risky. The Headhunter, however, liked risky. If there was a Slipspace capable ship in this hangar, it would most likely be located in the rear for its size.

Jace smirked, facing Alex now. "Spoken like a true Headhunter."

"I try," Alex shrugged nonchalantly.

At that moment, before the bulk of the crew returned to the hangar, the Spartans slipped out of the nook, elusively making their way across the deck.

SPARTAN-B229 raised his armored head from the cavern dug out by the Covenant Scarab. He swept his dark eyes across the sea of bloody alien corpse, scorched earth, and burning metal. The Spartan glanced down at Jeremiah who hung on the line below him. Lukas nodded once, indicating that the area was clear. He continued up the rope, climbing gingerly out of the hole. Jeremiah reached out his hand, then Lukas pulled him out. Before the Spartans even speculated on what to do next, they speedily vacated the Covenant site. Reinforcements who'd gotten wind of the Spartan engagement would possibly rear their curious heads any moment now.

The Headhunters of Sierra Team scurried toward the rift they visited before, just outside the low-level plateau they parked Warthog next to. Lukas dropped down into the rift first, then Jeremiah. Sierra-One's armor was barely hanging on. His HUD flickered occasionally, going dark for brief measures of time. This concerned the Headhunter. He couldn't risk himself in a firefight with the Covenant if his armor continued to malfunction. Lukas, for now, would have to take point.

In the meantime, though, the team leader focused on leaving this planet before more Covenant arrived. He limped over to where he'd left the Gauss Cannon, disassembling it. Lukas hefted the main gun, while Jeremiah carried the weapon's tripod-like base. They bustled to the 'Hog, reattaching the weapon to the vehicle's rear. While the Spartans were securing the Gauss Cannon, a resonance like that of thunder boisterously sounded. Lukas dropped his hands from the cannon's barrel, raising his eyes skyward. The clouds seemed to swell, increasing its mass as they rolled across the sky. Flashes of violet-blue lightning occurred within the clouds, resembling a vicious approaching storm.

It was then that the storm's origin emerged. The bulbous prow of a Covenant Assault Carrier slowly broke through the cloud cover, gradually descending. As the hook-like bow fully came into view, Jeremiah paused his actions to notice the vessel. There, just along the starboard side, a streak-like scar ran along its prow, traveling near its mid-section.

'No, it couldn't be,' the Spartan reasoned with himself.

Jeremiah snapped his fingers, gaining Lukas's attention. The Warrant Officer looked up from the Gauss Cannon, staring down at his fellow Headhunter.

"That ship look familiar to you?"

SPARTAN-B038 posed to the Spartan sniper. Lukas studied the vessel with his eyes before enhancing his faceplate to its maximum magnification. The scar inflicted upon the Carrier's hull struck a sense of déjà vu in the Spartan.

"Its ole' scarface," Lukas recalled.

Yes, the Spartans of Sierra Team knew the ship all too well. It was present in their last engagement with the Covenant a week ago in another sector in the Upsilon Andromedae. It was the ship that had gotten away. The Spartans remembered colliding with the vessel, barely evading its fired plasma torpedoes. The Spartan's Prowler had scrubbed against the ship's hull, leaving the distinct scar.

The Covenant Assault Carrier—the Bloodied Revelation—jumped soon after the impact. For the Spartans, it was reunion they weren't too fond of reliving.

"What's that ship doing here?" Lukas barked in frustration. "It should've already been here if it was heading for this planet."

"Or it was probably contacted," Jeremiah redirected, adjusting Lukas's thinking. "It doesn't matter now. Let's just worry about being airborne before they glass this place."

"Not necessarily," Lukas muttered under his breath.

"And you're insinuating…?" Sierra-One began, refusing to take his eyes off the Assault Carrier.

"I'm insinuating that it won't take them long to realize we've taken what they came here for. Their excavation crew is dead, the Elite scouts underneath the site are dead, and the alien structure is destroyed. That only leaves us—Spartans… the humans. They'll snuff us out for what we've found, then they'll glass this world before anyone else finds this place. We need to be in Slipspace before they even prep for plasma bombardment," explained Sierra-Two.

"And if they catch up to us?" Jeremiah added, turning to face Lukas now.

The Headhunter shrugged before he stepped down from the 'Hog's rear. "Then list us MIA… cause we're already dead."

Jeremiah hung on Lukas's words for a moment, taking his eyes from him to view the alien vessel. It had cleared the cloud cover as it loomed toward the excavation site. The clock had started, and the Spartans needed to get off his rock now. With that Sierra-One bolted to the Warthog, leaped into the driver's seat, then started the engine.

"Man the Gauss if they deploy and air strike!"

Lukas motioned before Jeremiah finished his thought, promptly taking the gunner's seat. Dirt churned around the rear wheels as the Warthog spun in the opposite direction. Jeremiah switched gears, gunning the vehicle across the landscape. Lukas crouched down from the cannon, aiming his sniper rifle to observe the distant ship. The Carrier finally made its way over the site, its energy field around the hangar dropping.

"Covenant dropships en route over the site," reported the Spartan. "How much further to the Eclipse?"

"Seven kilometers out," answered Jeremiah.

"Copy th—"

An explosion occurred within the interior of the hangar of the Assault Carrier, halting Lukas's thought. "Holy…"

"What! What do you see, huh?" Sierra-One exclaimed, swerving between stone arch formations.

"Their hangar bay… something inside it just detonated," Sierra-Two proclaimed, keeping his rifle steady.

"And this is important because…" Jeremiah grunted, trailing off.

"Since when does the Covenant discharge their own weaponry inside their own ship?" Lukas pointed out.

With his interest peaked, Jeremiah pumped the brakes, bringing the Warthog to a skidding halt. "That's a good question."

An Elite Minor howled as Jace's crushed its armored head with the end of his plasma rifle. The Spartan took hold of the deceased Elite before it fell, using it as a shield as Grunt Majors discharged their plasma pistols. Jace took a few steps back, ditching the sapphire-armored alien has he ducked out behind a Banshee. Alex was six meters away from him to his left, cooling her policed plasma repeater before it overheated. Everything had run smoothly, but like all good things, the Covenant came and ruined it.

Alex was right, for there was a Stealth Corvette. Now, however, the small starship had suffered severe collateral damage. With the Assault Carrier planetside now, the hangar once again was bustling with activity, and the Spartans were caught in the middle. Grunt Heavies armed with Fuel Rod Guns had pounded the hull of the ship, damaging one of its engines. The single engine had exploded, spreading the damaging onto the next engine. It was demoralizing blow. The Headhunters, though, kept their focus. The Corvette was still a functional ship, so the Spartans manipulated the firefight, drawing the Covenant away to retain a measure of its hull integrity.

Now that the alien antagonists had gotten wind of the Spartans, they redirected their objective—kill the intruders. A solid amount of Covenant began pouring into the hangar, the majority being Grunts and Jackals. Elites were few and far between, mostly consisting of Minors and Majors. The bulk of them had loaded up into the Phantoms and headed groundside, just before the firefight had elevated. Bodies began to pile up as the Spartans continued their assault.

The fight, though, couldn't go on forever. One of the Spartans had to make a break for the Corvette, but the amount pressure the Covenant had placed on them was immense. Bombardments of plasma streaks, bolts, and explosive blobs seemed insurmountable. The fuel rod wielding Heavies remained at the distance, keeping themselves out of harm's way as they fired. Alex focused on them swapping out the plasma repeater for the needle rifle she'd taken.

"Cover me!" she shouted to Jace.

The Lieutenant beckoned, firing aimless rounds from the plasma rifle into the crowds. Saber-Two broke out into a swift sprint, racing across the deck to take cover behind a Seraph. She circled around the teardrop-shaped fighter, sending three shards into the torso of one of the Grunt Heavies. The needles detonated, dismembering the stocky alien where it stood. The Grunts held the line, refusing the back down from the loss of their ally. They sent a salvo of explosive plasma into the Seraph, eating away its hull. Alex ignored the Grunt assault, steadily coming back for another shot.

From Jace's standpoint, this was not working to their advantage, and one glance at the Corvette revealed why. The Lieutenant keyed his COM, sighing in frustration.

"This isn't going to work."

"Since when do you settle for defeat, huh?" Alex responded, sensing the dejection in his tone.

"I'm not settling," Jace corrected. "I'm being a realist. The engines on that Corvette are shot, meaning we'll have less propulsion and limited maneuverability. We'll never make orbit before they blast us from the sky. We need an alternate solution."

Alex ceased fire, contemplating about what the Lieutenant had said. He was right, and the female Spartan couldn't deny his astute observation. The very thought of being stranded on a desolate planet with no escape scared her. Alex wasn't afraid of the Covenant or death. What she feared the most was the inability to fight for humanity, for her fallen loved ones, for a chance to help end the war. She would rather die by the hands of an arrogant Elite than by sitting around doing nothing. But it could be worse, so the SPARTAN-III came to her senses.

"What do you have in mind?"

"Your original plan on the station," Jace recalled. "We take a Seraph. An impulse drive is better than no drive at all."

Alex reluctantly beckoned, flashing her acknowledgment light.

With no more contingency plans to fall back on, the Spartan went through with their current objective. They downed the remaining Grunt Heavies, removing their detrimental weapons from play. The Jackals and Elites came next. Jace shot a non-verbal signal to Alex, informing her to locate a fresh, undamaged Seraph. She agreed, disappearing from his sight. The Lieutenant remained where he was, tossing a plasma grenade into the incoming Jackals. A discharge of static-like light blossomed, smearing two Jackals and injuring one.

He killed the surviving with a headshot, taking a few plasma hits in the process from an Elite Major leaning out from behind a Banshee. Jace shook his left arm, his armor holding. Despite having their photo-reactive panels removed, the new armor Lt. Commander Nolan had issued was just as resilient as he advertised. The Spartan quit daydreaming, seeking a measure of vengeance against the red-armored Elite. He dual wielded a pair of plasma rifles, firing short-controlled bursts across the hangar. The Elite spun out from behind the Banshee, dodging the plasma as it loaded its arm back to toss a plasma grenade.

Jace's eyes followed the grenade with his eyes, briefly admiring the Elite's cannon-like arm. And though it was thrown with impressive strength, it was incredibly accurate. The Headhunter dove right, bolting as the grenade stuck where he had been. Jace didn't watch it explode. He flung another grenade, flushing the Major out of cover. A flash of light occurred from the plasma discharge, just as the Spartan overloaded its shields with plasma fire. The Elite howled, charging the Spartan with a firing plasma rifle. Jace went low, plunged his fist into the alien's gut, then twisted its neck to break it.

"Lieutenant, our ride his prepped and ready," impatiently reported Alex.

"On my way," Jace replied, weaving between the collection of Banshees and Shadows.

A humming Seraph was to his left. He leaped inside, racing to the prow to take the co-pilot's seat. Alex took the alien controls in her hands, fingering a few of the holographic keys. The Seraph gradually ascended, infuriating the alien troops below. They fired their weapons into the craft's shields, barely wearing them down. Alex warmed the fighter's plasma charge, locking onto specific sectors of the hangar. She fired. The rocket-like plasma bombarded the deck, igniting Banshees and wiping out lesser Covenant soldiers. Cleared, the Spartan gunned it, launching the Seraph from inside the Assault Carrier.

Jeremiah and Lukas watched the Covenant Seraph exit the Bloodied Revelation as they stood upon a distant plateau. Sierra Team had faced odd ops in their service, but today, this one had been moved to the top of list. The Spartans observe the alien fighter rocket skyward, looping and spinning as the Assault Carrier's pulse lasers targeted it. Lukas shot a glare at Jeremiah. Never before had they witnessed the Covenant firing at their own with the intent to kill. Yes, they'd seen enemy vessels accidently fire on one another, but it was never intentional. Something was up, and Sierra Team wanted to know.

As graceful as the Seraph motioned to avoid the pulse laser, however, the multitude of them finally hit their mark. The fighter-class ship banked righting, just as one of the lasers struck its stern. Its shields flared and died. A mixture of exhaust and sapphire flames trailed behind the Seraph's damaged region. Unable to remain airborne, the craft began to lose altitude. It broke through jungle of pillar-like rock formations, lost twenty meters, then eventually crashed several hundred meters from where the Spartan's stood. No sooner than the Seraph had crashed, a Phantom was dispatched from the Revelation, their course set for the damaged fighter.

The Headhunters quickly climbed down from their plateau, removing themselves from sight as the Phantom loomed overhead. They settled back inside the Warthog, pondering deeply about what they just saw. It was indeed strange, but it was probably some Elite being executed for insubordination.

"I'm curious," Lukas uttered.

"Curiosity killed the Spartan," Jeremiah answered quickly, discouraging the sniper.

"Curiosity is the reason I became a Spartan," Lukas fired back. "Just a peek, huh?"

Jeremiah sighed explosively. "We're two miles from our ship. What happened to leaving this place before they glass it?"

"Five minutes. Let's just see what happens," the Warrant Officer bargained.

Sierra-One shook his head, stepping out of the 'Hog. He gave a glare to Lukas he wished he could see, but in a sense, Jeremiah wanted to quench his curiosity as well.

An overwhelming sense of vertigo pushed against Jace's discernment. His eyes lazily opened, closed for a moment, then opened again. The Heads Up Display flickered, briefly showing an array of distorted programs. Crackles of static boiled over the COM channels, spewing incoherent voices. A warm liquid dripped from his nose, sliding into the corners of his mouth. He tasted copper, proceeding with a sickening smell. Jace closed his eyes again, feeling as if his skull had been sawed open as someone poured acid onto his brain. The echoed voices sounded again, preceded by light series of shoves. He couldn't comprehend the situation.

The last thing remembered was locking his armor before… Yes, he remembered now. The Covenant had shot them down. Just a setback, he guessed. A swell of pain catapulted through his nervous system from the shoving. He ignored the throbbing sensation behind his eyes, forcing himself to look up. A foggy silhouette stood over him, its voice forceful but feminine.

"Jace, can you hear me?" the voice sounded.

"Inside voice," the Lieutenant grunted, his head pounding. "Use your inside voice."

Alex exhaled, thankful he survived the impact. Jace rose shakily to his feet as Alex supporting him. He nodded a non-verbal 'thank you' before pulling away. The Seraph's interior had gone dark. Sparks highlighted the darkness while streams of sunlight pierced through the mangled hull.

"Covenant dropship is inbound. We need to move," Alex informed.

"Not yet," the Lieutenant grimaced. "We need a little insurance first."

Lukas took a knee, casually staring through his weapon's scope. Jeremiah overshadowed him, more concerned about the incoming Phantom than the downed Seraph. If that dropship caught sight of them, it was going to be an even longer day. It was actually nice to have the Covenant attack someone else besides them. No activity occurred outside the Seraph, leading the curious Spartans to believe that its occupant(s) probably died on impact. Before they could leave, however, the Phantom dropship had touched down.

A dozen troops landed onto the ground—three Elite Majors, one Elite Ultra, four Skirmishers, and four Grunt Ultras. The aliens began inching their way toward the fighter, the Elite Ultra stalking the outer perimeter.

"I don't want to see this," Jeremiah confessed, refusing to watch the Covenant mercilessly gun down whoever was inside.

Lukas kept watching. When the troops had come within twenty-five yards of the Seraph, it self-destructed. Two of the Grunts and Skirmisher's were killed instantly, while the remaining eight recovered from the blast. Jeremiah silently shrieked, caught off guard by the sudden blast. The proceeded the blast shocked even the bold Headhunters of Sierra Team. A pair of Spartans raced out behind the burning Seraph, engaging the surprised Covenant troops. Lukas's jaw dropped as he pulled back from the scope. Was he hallucinating? The Headhunter looked again. For the first time in a long time, the sniper was at a loss of words.

"Jeremiah!" he called out over private channels.

Sierra-One quickly turned around, surprised Lukas actually used his name.

"They're Spartans down there," Lukas added.

"What!" the Spartan spat, snatching the sniper rifle from Sierra-Two.

Jeremiah couldn't believe his eyes. "My God…" he finally managed to say.

"Looks like they require our assistance," Lukas supposed, taking back his rifle.

Jeremiah stared down at the Spartan pair as they fought against the Covenant troops. He took his DMR in his hands, allowing a smirk to form.

"Then let's assist them."