Chapter Thirty-Five: Fat Chance

Things were in chaos topside by the time we made it up. It didn't seem as bad as the first day of the initial invasion, but something had clearly changed.

And it was amazing just how fast it had happened. I barely ducked out of the way as a rapid volley from a Storm rifle came at me, a tight burst that very nearly hit its intended target. Bringing my rifle up just as quick, I fired back, hearing the squawk of a Jackal as reward. It was nice to hear, but I knew from the weapon type that it hadn't been the bird who'd let loose the plasma rounds. Somewhere up ahead, there was an Elite.

I was looking down the sights of my DMR for the bastard when Porter came up beside me, half his squad in tow.

"Colonel! We need to find you a better spot!" he cried, ducking his own head low as another burst came for us. He answered with a punishing hail of lead from his SAW, then turned back to me. "We're not safe here!"

"Copy that!" I returned. "But neither's anywhere else, Staff! In case you haven't noticed, the whole terrain's open ground! We'll do what we can!"

"Yes, ma'am. But - "

"Move!"

I grabbed the staff sergeant by the shoulder then and pulled him roughly toward me, making him lose his balance and stumble momentarily to follow the action, SAW gripped tight in his hands. His expression was all wide-eyed surprise at first, but then he realized what I'd saved him from - a glowing green overcharged plasma shot that sizzled just past his helmeted head.

I noticed the abrupt change in his blue eyes when he saw how close he'd come to getting hit, but quickly focused back on what lay ahead. Alongside the Elite still gunning for us, a trio of Grunts had appeared, firing off plasma rounds of their own. I tagged the closest two and squeezed the trigger, bringing them down in three rapid bursts. Sky blue blood erupted from their bodies, one struck low in the gut, the other just above that in the center of its chest. Their attack was stopped, for now, but just behind them and to their flanks, dozens of their comrades remained.

"Porter!" I shouted to my aide, just now straightening up after I'd caught him a hair's breath away from death. "How the hell did things get this bad so quick?"

"Must've been their ship in orbit, ma'am! There weren't this many when we went underground!"

"You think the rest of their Phantoms finally deployed?"

"Safe bet!"

"Dammit. Then where the fuck is our close air support?"

Reflexively, I spared a quick glance at the sky. I could hear a few of the Broadswords and Pelicans up there, duking it out with forces on the ground - but there weren't as many as there should be, and they were far away. In the midst of the fight, I opened up a COM channel to Major Collins, trying to keep my head from getting blown off in the process.

"Collins, this is Lieutenant Colonel Cooper!" I said.

"Ma'am?"

"Where's our wings? We need 'em up to support now!"

"Yes, ma'am! We're working on it! Right now I've got my squadrons split watching the ground and the air closer to orbit. We've got the last of the Phantoms and Banshees to deal with!"

"Acknowledged! Just shake them as soon as you can, things are getting pretty crowded on the surface!"

"Will do, Colonel."

"Good! Cooper out."

Another bolt of plasma shot past me, heating the air next to my left shoulder. I turned and looked for the perpetrator, intent on sending the alien to the afterlife, but there were suddenly so many I couldn't tell from this distance which it might've been. I settled for aiming at the closest one and let a series of successive bursts rip from my DMR. That sent one of the Elites at the forefront packing, dark violet blood dripping from its wounds as it hit Qamar's sandy dirt.

"Ma'am, we need to get you to cover."

Beside me, Staff Sergeant Porter was still at it, trying to convince me to stay out of the fight. Keeping my eyes trained downrange on the battle, I huffed a sigh.

"Where?"

"Some of Major Warfield's Marines've set up a barricade on our right flank, just ahead of the command and med-tent outside the chamber entrance," Porter replied. "All due respect, but I think that'd be a good place to start."

I rattled off another tight burst and nodded. "Okay, Staff. Lead the way."

Even with a security detail surrounding me, maneuvering through the fight proved to be tough with all that was going on around us. We moved as fast as possible, pausing every now and then to unleash some suppressive fire before continuing on our path. We finally reached the hastily erected barricade - made up of spent ammo and supply crates - in the next couple of minutes. Because my luck was so shitty, I ended up taking cover just a few Marines away from the 904th's commander himself.

"Lieutenant Colonel Cooper, ma'am," he shouted to me above the din, squeezing off a flurry of bullets at the oncoming enemy as he did so. "It's good to see you back on the island - where you should be. Last I checked, we defeated the Storm on the mainland. And the Prometheans have yet to reach it."

Anger bubbled up inside me in an instant. Obviously whatever reprieve the major had decided to grant me while my husband was dying was over now that Willis was doing fairly well and recuperating. And this sure as hell answered the question as to whether my talk with Warfield had actually done me any good in terms of how he viewed me and my decisions.

I held onto my DMR hard, determined not to show how livid I was. "Last I checked, Major, I was in charge of all groundside operations - and while I'll admit most are here, they extend beyond the reach of this one patch of land in the water."

The major snorted. "Yeah? How's Major Hawk doing?"

I shook my head and chose not to deign that with a response. Instead, I peered over the edge of the crate I was behind and looked for something more constructive to do with my rage - like take on the ex-Covenant.

"Marines, focus your fire on the Elites first!" I yelled to the group. "Once they're down, all we need to do is mop up the rest! We'll get air support shortly, so we just need to hold out! If you've got grenades left, now would be a good time to use 'em!"

That last order brought us closer to stemming the tide as several Marines on my left and right pulled frags off their belts and heaved them at the enemy. I ducked along with a few others as one of them fell short - not enough to harm any of us, but certainly enough that we got a little spooked.

As I straightened after it detonated, debris from the explosion raining down on my helmet and uniform, I looked over at Porter again.

"You were right, Josh!" I barked at him over the sounds. "Just talked to Collins. The Remnant let loose the rest of their aircraft!"

"Why now?" my aide shouted back.

I don't know why I did it, but I spared a glance behind us, just to see if there was any additional enemy movements we needed to be aware of. My eyes instantly went wide before I checked the reaction and buckled down. My instincts had once again proven their worth.

"I think that might have something to do with it, Staff!" Before Porter had a chance to respond, I was already opening a regiment-wide channel. "Marines of the 52nd, this is Lieutenant Colonel Cooper! We've got Prometheans teleporting in on our six! Major Warfield, your Marines are first in line, so hunker down and take them! We can't get surrounded!"

The rest I left up to Warfield, even though as a very recent former battalion commander, I was itching to dish the next commands myself. If he was sharp, which I knew he was outside of his unwavering attitude problems, he'd realize he needed to maneuver his companies very carefully in order to make sure they didn't get caught between the Storm and Promethean forces.

Something that was already happening as we fought, so he needed to act fast.

For my part, I looked to my aide and gave him a slight nod from behind cover, signalling that we needed to find a new spot to roost where we could do the most good - and without having to worry about getting shot in the back in the process. The staff sergeant got up cautiously first, barking orders to his squad, and then together we moved with our heads ducked and rifles tucked into our middles as we went past Warfield's Marines.

When we reached the disgruntled major, I tapped him on the shoulder and said, "Good luck, Cole. Stop them in their tracks."

"I know what to do, ma'am," he answered roughly. To prove his point, I heard him start to give out orders of his own to his men while we continued on. I did nothing about it for the moment, but kept the interaction in mind for later.

"Colonel! What's our heading?" Porter asked me then. I'd taken point even though the security detail had risen before me to make sure the coast was clear.

"To the command tent, Staff! We need to clear it out before the Prometheans can reach it!"

"And the med-tent, ma'am?"

"No time to evacuate that! We just need to make sure its defenses are up! Hail Major Harris!"

"On it!"

We were still in the process of moving behind Warfield's wall of Marines set up all along the slowly sloping hill when a violent blast from one of the Scorpion tanks hit close. I was blown several feet in the air as the impact gave gravity much less of a hold on my body than it should have, and landed hard in the packed sand, groaning. My chest felt like it was on fire, and my elbows and knees ached despite the strategically placed body armor.

"Colonel! Are you all right?"

I forced my chin up, feeling the sting of the hit even if my helmet had protected me from damage. Something had gone wrong because I could taste blood in my mouth. I spat it out on the ground before speaking. "F-fine, Josh. Just...rattled."

I pushed myself up then, noticing for the first time that there were bloody scrapes along my palms. I figured if that was all it was, I'd done pretty good.

My heart still didn't feel like it was beating right, though, and I got a feeling of intense vertigo when I stood.

"Watch it!" Porter said as he caught me under an arm. "You're sure you're okay, ma'am?"

"Well, I sure as hell better be," I coughed out. "I don't have time to see Doc right now."

I shrugged out of his grip and opened a COM channel to the tank operators, ignoring my irregular heartbeat. "Tankers, make sure you are not targeting friendlies! Watch your fire! We've got enemies coming up dead ahead and on our six, so make sure you've got clear lanes before you launch that ordnance!" Because you damn near took our heads off, I added to myself.

I stood there a moment longer, waiting for the rhythm in my chest to catch up with itself as acknowledgment lights winked green on my HUD. Finally it did, and I took that as a sign to continue forward at a faster clip. "Let's move, Josh! We've got to get to command. Now!"

The inside of the command tent was all anxious movement when we arrived. Holotables were flashing red with reports of incoming enemy fighters, both in the air and on the ground. Aides were rushing to get the updates out to the commanders in the field, headed by a strangely calm-looking Major Harris.

I stepped inside the tent fast, moving past the lights and the noise and deeply perturbed enlisted Marines, and made way towards my former XO.

"Shawn, good to see you," I said to him with a curt nod, pulling off my helmet after I slung my DMR behind my back. "Not under these circumstances, though. We need to get you guys out of here. Now."

"Ma'am?"

I pointed to the closest holomap. "Obviously these don't update as quickly as we'd like them to. We've got Prometheans in the mix now as well. They're headed here."

"How - "

"Now, Major," I repeated firmly. "I'm getting the Marines and scientists out of the ruins, too. This was the last straw and we can't take on much more, even with all the resources we've thrown at this damn thing."

He peered at me for a second. "What are you saying?"

"I'm tired of the sneak attacks, Harris. It's too much of a risk. We're blowing the chamber today."

Between Major Harris and myself, we got the command tent evacuated in no time. As soon as everyone had left, minus me and Porter's squad, I opened a COM channel via one of the holotables to the Marine in charge of security in the ruins. First Lieutenant Sjacvk answered promptly.

"Ma'am?"

"Lieutenant, I need you to escort the scientists out of the chamber," I said to him. "Right now. Make sure they're safely topside with Second Lieutenant Jakobsen's platoon, and then the rest of you haul ass out of there. You've got fifteen minutes."

"Fifteen minutes? Colonel, all due respect, but I don't think the scientists can - "

"I'm giving our demo team the order to remote detonate as soon as you're all out. So I suggest you move fast."

There was a slight pause, then, "Understood, ma'am."

"Good. I want to be notified the second you're up top and everyone is out of the blast zone. Cooper out."

"Colonel, please, ma'am, wait one."

"What's wrong?"

"Doctor Leedom wants to speak with you, ma'am. She says it's urgent and it'll only take a minute."

"I don't have a minute, Lieutenant. We're very close to getting sandwiched between the Storm and Prometheans out here. We need to plug the hole up right now."

"Ma'am...I'm sorry, but she's insistent."

I heaved a frustrated sigh. "All right. Put her on."

"Colonel Cooper?" came Leedom's voice over the radio.

"Yes, ma'am. I can give you thirty seconds, no more. We're in a tough spot at the moment."

"So I've heard. We're getting evacuated again?"

"Affirmative."

"But the portal to Earth we just discovered," she said frantically. "We'll lose access to it. And all the other research..."

I put a hand to my temple and looked down at my boots, covered in dirt and a bit of my blood. "I know. But we can't afford to keep the backdoor open any longer. I'm sorry, Doctor, but this is it. And at least we know that if we can't get to the Earth portal, then neither can the Prometheans or Storm."

Silence filled the line for what felt like a long time. When the lead scientist came back on, her voice was full of anguished disappointment.

"Cooper, your mother would have opposed this. You don't realize everything we're about to lose down here."

A hard edge slipped into my tone then, more out of hurt than anything else. "My mother is dead, Doctor Leedom. Precisely because she let her science come before her own life, and almost before the life of my son. Believe you me, I'd much rather have her alive with lost data than dead with what she learned. Because all those facts sure as hell didn't comfort me and my brothers and my sister when she was killed. My order stands."

"Very well. Lieutenant Sjacvk? The colonel would like us to leave now."

Thirteen minutes later I got the hail. By now I could hear the sounds of Harris's Marines holding off the Prometheans from getting to the med-tent or ours in my skull - the action was just that close.

As the command tent and the holotables inside vibrated from the nearby detonations, I placed my hands on the main console. "This is Cooper. Go ahead."

"Ma'am, Lieutenant Sjacvk. We're clear."

"You're sure everyone's safe? All the scientists and Marines?"

"Yes, ma'am. All accounted for and doing okay, if a little shaken. We're hunkered down behind Major Harris's forward line, Colonel. Ready when you are."

"Right. Standby."

I took in a deep breath and exchanged one last look with Staff Sergeant Porter. He stood a few feet away, not leaning against the other table as he had been before, but up and alert now. Prepared to fight.

"Now or never, ma'am."

"Yeah," I murmured. Before I lost my nerve, I struck up a link to my little brother.

"Captain Cooper here," he said.

I folded my arms across my chest, steadying myself. "Trav, it's me."

"Hey, big sis. You okay?"

"I'm fine. You?"

"Just dandy. What's up?"

"It's time, Travis."

The surprise was clear in his voice. I didn't think he thought I'd actually do it. "You want the ruins gone?"

"Yes. Everybody's already out. We just need your boys and girls to press the button. Do it now, Captain."

"Yes, ma'am. Give us one and hold on tight."

In those few seconds before I felt the earth quake beneath my boots, I retreated in my head, thinking about the choice I made. I'd never quite made one on this scale before.

Captain Rhodes had told me that the decision was at my discretion, that if I ever felt the situation warranted it, I needed to be prepared to do what I had to to keep everyone safe. Yet now, that included not just us on the island, but the people of Khan and the people of Earth as well. I just hoped the scientists had studied enough of the ruins to get whatever knowledge we might need out of them for the future.

Because as of now, the underground ruins of Qamar Island - and the active and inactive portals to other worlds that they'd housed - were gone forever.