Chapter 17

I ran down the loading ramp and had to stop myself before I tackled James. "Uh... What are you doing here? I thought John, Becca, Matthew and I were the only ones on this mission.?" I managed to get out. I honestly happy that he was getting sent on a mission. Just why one with me in it? John walked up next to me. He was rigid, obviously not liking that James was on our mission.

"I just got a message, Halsey wants me on this mission to... Didn't you guys know?" We all shook our heads and he frowned. But then that cocky smiled returned and he shrugged. "Maybe they decided to send me last minute. Oh well, lets get moving." He started up the loading ramp and slipped on his helmet.

"Did you have any clue to this?" John asked me in a hushed tone. I shook my head and he huffed and started up the ramp. I sighed, This is going to be a LONG flight... I groaned inwardly as I walked back up the metal loading ramp.


The transport shook back and forth with the accasional shifting in speed. We didn't talk, we hardly looked at one another. I might gaze around the cargo bay and if any of them had been looking at me, they would look away casually. "Damn it someone talk before I lose my mind!" I growled at them loudly, that drew everyone's attention.

Matthew was the one to step up and save my sanity. "I bet there will be lots of explosions!" He pipped up. Becca groaned and hung her head back, making me chuckle quietly. "Oh come on! Like you don't like the sound of explosions. They way they shake the Earth and knock almost everything maybe miles away!" He seemed to be captivated with explosions the way he continued talking about them. Not noticing that we had lost interest a while ago. He covered the just about everythign there was about explosions. Should have been a demolition, not pilot.

"There is several different ways for an explosion to effect the area-"

"PLEASE SHUT UP MATTHEW!" Becca yelled at her twin with furosity. He stopped, shut his mouth and kept quiet. John and I didn't have to count how long it would take. Becca was instantly apologizing to Matthew. "Matthew, I'm sorry, I just... Blew up. I couldn't take anymore... I shouldn't have snapped at you, you don't deserve that. Do you forgive me?" Matthew nodded his head and looked around, still quiet.

I looked around as well. James had been abnormally quiet. He was usually talking my ear off rather then staying quiet in a corner. "James," I called him out. "Is everything alright?" I asked him in a soft voice.

He laughed, "Yeah everything is alright, why?" I stared at him, though he couldn't see so, it seemed he could feel that I was, he shifted in his seat.

"You havn't said a word, and we have been on this flight for a couple hours. That's not like you." He laughed as I explained and I was caught off guard.

"I was sleeping... Well up to Becca blowing up," She glowered at him, "I figured it would be best to rest up before the mission." He shrugged the last part off and was soon leaning his head into his seat. I hadn't realized he was doing that. He was starting to act more grown up, being careful. Taking precautions... Why? I shook my head clear and looked at John. He was laughing at something, most likely me but I couldn't be certain.

"What's so damn funny?" I asked him flatly.

He shook his head as he chuckled silently more. "OH nothing Liz, just something I saw... just something I saw." I pressed him further, but John was a stone wall when he wanted to be. After thirty minutes of that I gave up and slumped into my seat.

I leaned my head back and groaned, "This is taking forever! Will we ever get off this transport?" My answer was the rumbling of the ship, the creaking of its bulkheads as it began a downward accent. I shifted so that my head didn't rush as bad with the momentum we were falling at. James yelled as he woke up, but shook it off and braced himself against the back of his seat. The impact dampeners kicked in when we were three hundred feet and below. With our weight, I thought we needed them sooner.

As the ride finally came to an end, so that as the loadign ramp slid down with brilliant light reflecting off its light metal surface, we knew we were moving out. The ramp wasn't down all the way when we were half way down its length. Guns at ready, ammo in pockets, a medical pack or two just in case. Armor fully ready for what ever was to come. A hand patted my back, Matthew's. "Jeesh Liz. Why didn't you say that earlier?" I could hear the smile in his voice, making me smile back through my silver visor.

"Alright, let's move out to our objective!" John ordered, and began the march through golden grass that hissed as wind blew fitfully though it. Danny and James were towards the back bringing up the rear. I had nearly forgotten he was there. That was until he pulled me back, preventing me from stepping into a hole the size of my foot I hadn't seen; just a bit before we got organized. Becca was in the center with me, and Matthew. I was closest to John in our parade line, Matthew closer to James and Danny, Becca smack dab in the middle. John on point of course.


It was a long, testing, excruciating hike. First the plains were alright, easy, despite the altitude. We encountered few mishaps there, a few stray foot sized holes here and there. We were able to see everwhere we were going however. But then came the forest as we climbed down towards the valley. It was wet from a recent rain, making it slippery and hard to traverse the rocky side of the mountain. Of course we could have gone through the large boulders for better footing, but little cover. We all agreed to stick through it rather then risk being exposed.

We held onto branches for support as we went down a ever growing steeper mountain side. We relied on each other desperately to catch one another's mistake. It made me feel a strong sense of companionship. Becca tried cutting around a mushy spot we all had sidestepped, but she didn't think she could make the jump to the rocks we had used without slipping. She saw a drier spot to the left and once she placed a foot on it, the rock gave way beneath her.

"BECCA!" Matthew barked and had a hand on her wrist before I knew what was happening. He pulled hard untill she was on a secure rock. She was spooked, and for good reason. If we were to fall on this section of the mountain, we would keep going until we reached it's sudden break off and fall to God knows where. Perhaps the covenant base was nestled right there, or maybe the LZ. Either way I was fine with taking the stairs down and not the express way.

"You alright? That was pretty close." I asked with concern thick in my voice. She nodded mutely and we started off again, even more careful now.

Once we were towards the bottom of the forest, which had taken a good two hours and a half to get through the thick of it. I sighed with relief, John was letting us take a break while he planned our route down to base. He used a binocular to figure out how much farther. I snuck behind him, not caring if the other's saw. I heard Becca chuckle, no other responses. I wrapped my arms around his neck, hanging there. I had to use a rock to get the extra height to do so, but it was nice. Just hanging there like that, was relaxing. "Liz..." He whispered and I nodded. "Why are you hanging on me like a cat in heat?" He asked just as quiet, so that only I could hear.

I laughed at the comparison. I suppose I had a similar intention as one, only I simply wanted to steal a kiss before we rode off into battle. I slipped a hand to his helmet lock,he turned slightly; having pulled us into a bit of cover from the peering eyes. But not enough to truely cover what we were about to do. He slipped his right hand to my helmet lock, we unlatched them at the sametime. We lifted them just enough, half way up the bridge of the nose. He pressed his soft lips against mine, which were getting slightly tough from a lacking of water. I stayed quiet despite my urge to giggle with pleasure. Out lips moved togeather, in sync with each other's movements. Our tongues slipped out into each other's mouth and battled for dominance, I lost.

When we pulled from each other, the other's eyes on us intently. I blushed and took the binoculars. "Not much, another hour and a half maybe." I said getting back on track as I peered down at the covenant settlement. It was huge, several jackal and elite patrols on the rooftops. I could see the shape's of grunts paired with brutes in the main courtyard. So we started again, moving swiftly with anticipation and now that we were only heading to the south instead of east, which led us down the steap slopes. The hike was easier, and held less dangers.

John stopped us maybe thirty minutes from the base. He turned around and sat down, we all did the same. "Alright... Were gonna be there soon. Is everone ready?" We nodded mutely. I was shaking, excitement was welling up in me. I looked at Becca, she was shaking as well, something told me it was her crave for battle. Danny was unmoving, his body language was so minimal that it was hard to read. It was obvious that once he started a mission, he showed as little emotion as he could.

Matthew and James were jittery as well. John nodded, we stood up and continued the hike.


I was peering down the binoculars' scope. We were just outside the base, still undetected. We had managed to get about thirty feet from the base walls. There was a door where shipments of supllies or troops moved in and out of. There were a few sentries on in the towers, but we were blending in to well in the dark shadows. I returned the binoculars to John and shuffled my feet with anxiety. Memories of the last mission flooded my mind.

"Take it and let's get out of here. We still need to set off-" I broke off at the sound of Samuel crying out in pain. I turned around and saw an elite with a sword. The sword was running through his side. His helmet fell off and I saw blood dripping out of his mouth. I yelled with fury and lodged the sword through its face. I pulled it out and the elite fell down. Dead as dead gets. I dropped the sword and caught Samuel. "Samuel! SAMUEL! OH GOD! SAMUEL!" His green eyes were clouding and he became limp in my hands. I started shaking him, yelling his name. Samuel's death, it haunted me. The way his body became trembled with pain, his eyes..."Samuel..."

Then Mathew, Ricardo was half way through, but the doors shut on him half way out. He screamed with pain and we tried to pull him out. "Take my helmet, it has the data. GO! YOU ONLY HAVE A MINUTE TO GET OUT OF THE BLAST RADIUS!" He yelled at us. I could see the blood around him and heard gun shots on the other side. I took his helmet off and saw he was tan to, he had brown hair and kind eyes. But he was proud, not scared, a true Spartan. "GO!" He yelled before the air left his lungs. "Ricardo..." I whispered, a large hand suddenly landed on my shoulder. I turned, expecting to see John or Matthew seeing how he was on the mission.

James.

"Something on your mind?" He asked softly.

"Death..." I replied quietly, and felt James pull me into a quick hug. I was stunned, unable to speak as he gave me a strong, friendly embrace.

"Better?" I nodded mutely to him. "Good, now lets take down this covie base!" John made a hand signal, we all became silent in a moment. He lifted his gun and we all readied our weapons. There was a covenant transport comign down the trail. We could jump in the back to get in, but there was a guard walking behind the slow moving transport. It was similar to a semi, only no wheels and hovered. It also had a grunt driving in the front, nothing covering him. He could easily be taken out.

I was the one who knew how to keep it quiet. The guard was watching the transport more then his back, making it easy to plan my attack. I crept out of the bushes, a small hiss from the leaves as I moved quickly out of them. The brute didn't notice. I ran right up to him, my footsteps quiet against the soft dirt. I jumped up, and landed on it's back. Instantly it tried to throw me off and alert the grunt. But I covered his mouth and quickly pulled my knife out and jabbed it into his throat and silenced him. He fell limply to the dirt and I let go of him. Becca ran out and we both threw him into back of the transport while the other's loaded in. Becca climbed in, while I checked behind and then jumped in the back.


The grunt had no idea he had lost his guard. In about three minutes there was a flash of light, and I could see that the covenant's were coming to check the cargo. "Ready..." John whispered and we pulled our guns up. My assualt rifle was aimed straight at the cloth covering. Two elites pulled it back, they flashed the lights in and howled an alarm at the sight of us. I jumped forward, stabbing the one on the right in the throat. Becca did the same to the one on the left. We landed in a roll out of the transport, the other four coming right after us.

I couldn't even count the seconds that passed before we were shot at, ten... five... maybe only one. My shields started playing games as the plasma overloaded it. "TAKE COVER!" Matthew yelled as he threw a grenade into a group of jackals. They looked at it and screamed as they tried to run away. It went off before any of them had gotten a safe distance. I was aiming at a group of jackals who hid behind their shields on the rooftops. We ducked under a overhang, giving us some cover from the sentries. We needed to get to the upper ground, one of those towers should work, but how do we get up? My answer was the a door that opened as three brutes ran out to attack. "Follow me!" I yelled to the others and sprinted towards the brutes.

I shot at one with my assualt rifle as I drew close. Once I was in range, I knifed him across the throat. The other two grabbed my arms and pulled me to them. I yelled, kicked the one that held me. I hit his knee and he howled with pain, but mostly rage. I twisted myself free and upcutted the brute, he stumbled back. I then took my magnum and jammed it below his chin. His eyes widened and his friend rushed to help. I pulled the trigger to soon, and Danny had gunned down the other. We all ran into the shelter of the tower base.

"UP TO THE TOP!" John ordered. He stopped by me real fast, placing a hand on my shoulder. "Good going." He said in a hushed voice. I nodded and we both ran up the stairwell.

THe other's had already killed off the sentries, and were throwing the bodies out. "HERE THEY COME!" Danny yelled as he pointed to the courtyard. Zealot class elites with energy swords and pissed off roars came charging in after us. We readied our weapons, reloading quickly. Their roars echoed through the stairwell, chilling my blood. As they came up the platform we all threw grenades. One dove forward, screaming his alien words. He had managed to not

"DANNY MOVE!" I screamed at him, he didn't seem to realize what was coming. The zealot slashed his legs before his own legs were shot out. I dropped my gun and ran to Danny. He was gasping and lost for air. I took off his helmet carefully, the other's were shooting. More of the covenant was coming, screaming their alien words. The sound of gunshots was drowned out by Danny's frantic breathing. Sweat glistened down his face, blood tricking out of his mouth and flowed freely out from his wounds on his legs. "Danny... Danny! Listen to me! It's going to be OK! I promise you! I won't let you die!" Words echoed in my head, words I had promised myself not so long ago.

I looked at Becca, "DO YOU KNOW FIRST AID!" I yelled at her, she shot a few more grunts as she inched to us. The plasma shot right above our heads. She started pulling out the first aid kit and began attempting to patch him up. I stood up, and looked at the energy sword that had felled Danny.

I picked it up, remembering how it worked before. I slashed it once in the air, the electric sound it made as it was swung excited me. I looked through it, examining the way the light ran through the energy. I observed the covenant markings on it, not understanding them. But I did understand one thing, the covenant had made a weapon that could be used against them. I ran to the railing of the tower, several mroe groups of elites were running in. I twirled the sword. "I'll hold them off!" I called out and dashed down the stairwell. Those words echoing in my head again, almost like someone was speaking my head.

Squad leader or not, I wasn't going to lose another comrade. Not to the covenant that's or anything else that might lurk out in the dark…