Chapter LXXX: One For All?
February 24, 2543 (UNSC Calendar)/two months later
UNSC Inconvenience, edge of Ursa Tertio System
I yawned as loudly as possible before I opened my eyes. Even as my eyelids parted I had trouble seeing correctly. As soon as my yawn was over I started retching and threw up the lung fluid. As soon as that ugly shit made contact with my cryogenic pod the door started opening. I stretched my arms and arched my back. Being two months in the same position should feel worse than this, but in reality I'd just been there for a few seconds. At least, that's what my body thought.
"Will you please stop doing that, it looks weird," Grass noted.
I blushed a little and stopped arching my back. It did look weird. I gave the female Helljumper one quick glance and was surprised to see that she was already wearing her underwear. "You wake up early?" I asked.
"Yeah," she replied. "I asked Eliza to let me out a minute earlier."
"All right," I said, leaving my pod and reaching for my clothes. "Can you look away?" I asked.
This time it was her turn to blush and look away. I reached for my briefs (black) even as my teammates were waking up and doing various stretching exercises. Sutton joked around with a nervous-looking Snark and Pave was still as happy as he had been two months ago when he finally broke up with Delacroix. The rest of the guys were simply chatting while they got dressed. It suddenly annoyed me that even my underwear had to be black, but there wasn't really anything I could do about it.
"Hey," I asked suddenly, "how come you get to have white underwear?"
Camilla turned slightly sideways and then fully once she realized that I had underwear on and that my pants were already at my knees. "Well, black underwear is usually considered sexy," she explained.
"Amen," Sutton hummed.
"So…" she said.
"So…?" I begged her to continue.
"So the UNSC doesn't really want soldiers to look at each other in that way," she finished explaining with a smirk.
"Too late," Konstantinov murmured.
Once again, the whole team exploded in laughter save for Grass, who only looked flustered and slightly annoyed as she started putting on the rest of her clothing. The few other soldiers in this cryo bay looked at us weird for a few moments before deciding to mind their own business.
"Hey Frank, we go straight to our quarters or is there something we have to do?" Pavel asked me.
I reached for my shirt in the small shelf next to my cryo tube and grabbed a small datapad that was there. I touched a few numbers and it showed me my orders. It seemed like we didn't really need to do anything for now other than report that we were out of cryo without problems. I did so from the pad and told the rest of the squad to go to their rooms and relax. If this was a regular deployment without any incidents we would be very bored for a few months.
Let me rephrase that, if this wasn't a regular deployment, without any incidents, we would be very bored for a few months.
It really isn't funny how often the Covenant find a planet that our ship happens to be guarding.
"We're fine," I said. "Nothing but rest."
Then alarms started blaring.
"What is it?" I asked Wilkins. Alarms were still blaring in the background but everyone had long since stopped running around to their combat stations.
"As soon as we jumped into the system we broadcast a message about our arrival as per protocol," the ONI liaison informed me. "We didn't get an answer."
"Shit," I muttered.
"Wait, what does that mean?" Lamberti asked.
"Covenant," Konstantinov explained.
"The only problem," Albaf said, entering the room, "is that we don't know anything. They could already be gone, they could've just arrived, they could be waging battle right now. We don't really have that much information on anything."
"Yes," Wilkins agreed. "Captain Brooks is sending several messages to New Moskva to see if there is any UNSC presence left."
"Won't that broadcast our position?" Scarecrow asked.
Wilkins simply shrugged in reply.
"Ma'am," Eliza popped up from a holotank. "Oh," she said, feigning surprise at seeing the rest of us in Albaf's office. "Had I known you were here I would've worn something more fitting."
"Get to the point Eliza," Commander Albaf snapped
"Fine, fine. We just got a reply message from the UNSC Ursa Tertio Fleet. Or what's left of it."
"What's it say?" Camilla asked, almost urgently.
"From the original ten ships defending the planet there are only three left. One of them is badly damaged. A Covenant fleet arrived on the planet, twenty enemy ships."
"Twenty?" I exclaimed. "How did they manage to survive against twenty?"
"The fleet's commanding officer apparently did a hell of a job. He managed to lay out a mine field before the covvies engaged his fleet."
"How many enemy ships left Eliza?" I asked.
"Thirteen."
"Whoa, he lost seven and killed seven while outnumbered two to one?" Snark asked admiringly. "Impressive."
"Indeed," Albaf admitted.
"The rest of the UNSC and Covenant forces are playing hide-and-seek around the planet, but there's already an enemy landing force on the planet."
"That's where we come in," Wilkins said.
"Yes," the construct confirmed. "Our ship doesn't appear to have been detected just yet. We are counting on the element of surprise, so we'll burst through the remains of the enemy fleet and start taking the battle to the Covenant on the ground."
"One frigate hardly seems up to the job of taking an entire landing force," I said.
"There are several Army regiments already being redirected to the landing points," Eliza said.
"Hernandez will be glad to hear that," Pavel muttered.
"In addition to that," the female construct continued, "the three remaining ships have started deploying their Marine complements. All that is left to do is for us to spearhead the attack."
"You got all that from one message?" Konstantinov asked.
"It was three paragraphs long Corporal," the construct replied with irritation. "A lot of information can be transmitted in just three paragraphs."
Grigori looked annoyed at the AI but refrained from commenting, instead he simply crossed his arms over his chest and looked glum. The rest of my squad all started asking questions at the same time. Some were directed at Albaf and some were directed at Eliza. I would've expected more of my squad of handpicked prodigies. So much for professionalism.
"Shut up!" I ordered. "Everyone, head down to the launch bay and wait there." My squad looked at me for a few moments. "Now!" I yelled.
The six newly-arrived members quickly shuffled out of the crowded office and started moving out towards the launch bay while Pavel stayed behind with me and the two ONI liaisons on board the ship. I made sure to close the door before sitting down in one of the comfortable chairs that Albaf had in front of her desk. It was leather and very comfortable. I wondered why she had it brought here. In fact, I wonder why her office looked so stylish when she herself barely bothered to put makeup on.
"So, Samantha…" I started, trying my luck.
"Staff Sergeant," she interrupted. "To you I am either ma'am, miss, or commander. Anything else is unprofessional." The words that she said were what you'd expect from an officer of her caliber, but the way she said them sent ice into my veins.
"All right then, is there anything else I need to know?" I asked. "Commander?"
"Right now I gave you all the information that we have," she replied as she sat down across the desk.
"Are you sure?" Pavel asked.
"That's what I just said," Albaf said.
"Who's in command of the UNSC fleet?" I asked suddenly.
"One Rear Admiral by the name of Benjamin Wolfe Harper," Wilkins said.
"Eliza?"
"He's an excellent commander and tactician. He has a short record but on every battle that he has participated in he stood out and wreaked havoc among the enemy fleet. Harper is pretty young for the position and rank that he has, but his career record is quite impressive. He is the recipient of several UNSC decorations including the Legion of Honor. The Vice Admiral-"
"That's enough," Albaf interrupted. "Thank you Eliza."
"Ma'am," the artificial intelligence said respectfully as her hologram flickered and died.
"As you can see Staff Sergeant, the fleet is under capable hands. No need to worry about us."
"Actually," Pavel said. "I'm more worried about or way off of the planet."
"Right…" Albaf said with annoyance.
"Anyways, about the three remaining ships, what class are they?" I asked the ONI officer.
"Harper's flagship is a Marathon-class ship, the UNSC Disproportionate Retribution. The two other ships are heavy cruisers."
"Disproportionate Retribution?" I asked. "That name sounds familiar. Ahh, I know, wasn't it commanded by some other officer?"
"Yes, it used to be the ship of Admiral Whitcomb," Albaf explained. "If I am not mistaken you received your Legion of Honor on board that ship," she continued. "Sergeant Klaus was also decorated if I am not mistaken."
"Right, right," Pavel said. "It was during… New Constantinople. Back in thirty-six?"
"Seven," I corrected. "That ship is one hell of a boat, how come this guy got it? Especially from none other than Danforth Whitcomb himself!"
"He earned it, Castillo," Wilkins said.
"Anything else?" I asked again.
"No, we'll tell you when we find a high-value target for your team, in the meantime, just wait at your battle stations."
"Aye, aye ma'am," I said, standing up and saluting. "Lieutenant."
The trip to the drop bay was uneventful, only delayed by a small detour to the armory, where Pavel and I both filled a crate with boxes of ammunition of different calibers and a few grenades of all types. Our armor was down in the drop bay, same as our weapons. Our sidearms stayed with us at all times; it was pretty much standard practice on board Navy ships to keep your gun on your hip. The crates felt heavy, testament of how much potential firepower there was in them. Sometimes I pity the Army, they carry almost double the load of a regular Marine and a lot less protection.
"Oi, Sarge!" Agnarsson called out. "What's going on?"
"Nothing Bumblebee," I said, calling him by his call sign. "We just wait for orders." As soon as I said his call sign he went all serious. Call signs were especially designed to be used in combat, and if I was using his, there must be a reason for it. "Everyone, suit up."
I took off all my clothes save for my briefs and my shirt before putting on my undersuit. It was uncomfortable as hell, but I had learned with time and experience that it was better to have it on than not. After that I repeated the well-practiced motions of putting on my armor piece by piece. I ran my fingers across the two gashes in my chest-piece before placing the straps on my shoulders and tightening it to the vest that went below it. Once everything was nicely set up I grabbed my helmet and placed it on the small holo-table in the middle of the room.
Next up everybody grabbed their respective weapons and placed them on the table as they started shoving bullets into extra magazines. The metallic sounds that we made had a strange, calming feeling, After all, it was the sound that came before we delivered death unto all that opposed us. As soon as all available magazines were loaded everyone started field-stripping their weapons and cleaning them. Grass was done before any of us had even started putting back together our rifles. You could sure tell her family had a gunsmithing tradition.
By the time my BR55 was nicely oiled and cleaned everyone else's rifle, pistol, or machine gun had been nicely cleaned up. As soon as they were done making their weapons ready for combat they started milling about the room. I had already seen their pre-jump routines, but I hadn't seen my squad waiting for orders to come. It was quite unusual really. Snark looked through his rifle's sight at different points in the room and occasionally calibrated. Scarecrow loaded and unloaded a grenade into his underbarrel grenade launcher. Grass sharpened her machete like a maniac. Bumblebee spun the tubes of his SPANKr repeatedly. Angel walked from one point of the room to another, he would then sit down for a couple of seconds before repeating the process. Pavel simply drummed his fingers on his M247L and made small talk with me while I spun my Damascus steel knife. Caboose looked eerie as he sat down on his pod, his ever-present black baseball hat on his head, covering his eyes.
"Staff Sergeant," Eliza's avatar popped up.
"Yes?" I asked nervously.
"We're about to go through the enemy fleet's rear, I just thought you should know."
"Oh, thanks."
Everyone sighed in both relief and worry. If we were spotted right now there was a high chance that we would get blasted out of the sky in no time by half the enemy fleet orbiting the planet. On the other hand, it meant that we didn't have to do a blind jump just yet.
The waiting was terrible. About two minutes after Eliza warned us about our situation alarms started blaring loudly and the drop bay was filled with flashing red lights.
"Ok, Reaper Squad!" I called out. "Get in your coffins!"
"Yes, sir!" they replied unanimously as they stopped whatever they were doing and made haste towards their respective pods.
"Eliza, what's our target?" I asked as my SOEIV's door opened.
"Your actual target is a Covenant transmitter tower. It seems that it functions both as a jammer for our frequencies and as a radio towers for theirs."
"Sounds easy enough," Pavel said.
"It's heavily guarded even though it's on the edge of enemy-held land."
"Sounds easy enough," Pavel repeated.
"Flying over position," Eliza informed us, her voice automatically going to a prerecorded phrase. "Umm, yeah," she said. "That."
"People, you heard the lady, get ready for some explosives. Angel, I want some heavenly fire raining on those bastards."
"Yes Staff Sergeant!" he replied giddily.
"How do we go?" I called out loudly.
"We go feet first, Staff Sergeant," they shouted back in unison.
I cracked my knuckles as the door in my pod closed down in front of me. The eight SOEIVs were jerked slightly sideways as they were moved out towards their launch tubes. There was a ten second countdown on the screen above my head. I put on my helmet and the HUD displayed the same countdown. I quickly glanced at Marina's smiling picture on the side of my pod and quickly pulled it down before shoving it into a pocket.
Red, yellow, green.
There was a jerk as I was launched and then another jerked as my pod stopped.
"The fuck?" I called out. Sparks were flying all over the place. "Am I fucking stuck?"
"Frank?" Pavel called out. "You ok?"
"I'm fine, fuck!" I said, sparks were hitting my armor from every direction possible. I banged the emergency open for my pod and the door flew against the wall, pushing my pod violently towards the other side and slightly downwards. I made sure to grab my rifle and a belt full of magazines before I exited my damaged pod. The HEV was still tightly jammed against the walls of the launch tube, so there was still breathable atmosphere even if there wasn't any gravity.
Then the pod's hinges snapped and it was pushed downwards violently. Suddenly I found myself without anything that I could breath and there was a gale-force wind trying to rip me off from the small handhold that I had. A couple of miscellaneous objects banged against my helmet and shoulders before all the air that was inside the drop bay was gone. By that time my helmet had sealed itself and I was breathing recycled air. The temperature all around me suddenly went very cold and I started climbing back inside the ship as my suit's thermoregulators slowly pushed my body temperature back to normal.
"Frank! What the fu-" Pavel's next words were blocked by a bunch of static as his pod entered atmosphere and temperature became too high for his small helmet radio to transmit any messages at me.
"Motherfucking cunt!" I yelled in anger as I pushed myself towards the top of the launch tube. The frictionless air of space allowed me to cover the distance in a single jump. Unfortunately, I misjudged the strength of my legs and ended up slamming at at the end of the launch tube. "Fuck," I cursed again, this time more in annoyance than in anger. I jumped back towards the tube that lead to the drop bay and dragged myself back inside the room. Despite the sudden depressurization of the room there were a few floating objects moving in random directions.
I turned myself around and slammed my hand down on the button that covered my pod's position. This act cut off the drop bay from outer space and soon enough I found myself face down on the floor, gravity having done what it was supposed to do. I climbed back up as hissing air was pumped inside the room. Soon enough my armor's sensors deemed the room safe enough and allowed me to take of helmet, which I promptly slammed into the ground in anger. The ceramic and titanium piece bounced of the metallic floor with barely a scratch on it and then wobbled for a few seconds.
"Fuck!" I yelled once again. "Fuck, fuck, fucking fuck!"
Yes, as you can make out I was clearly feeling elaborate and coherent.
"Staff Sergeant, are you ok?" Eliza asked in a worried tone.
"Fuck, I'm just fucking great, as you can see, I almost fucking died and my team is fucking down there without my fucking leadership!" I exploded violently as I slammed my fists on the holo table. "What the fuck was wrong with that pod?"
"It seems that a small meteoroid or piece of debris from the battle impacted-"
"Oh shut up," I said. "Inform Albaf, Brooks, and Nezarian. I am going down there with my team no matter what."
I was moving out of the bay before the AI had time to reply; that in itself is quite a feat. Not many people have managed to have an artificial intelligence shut the hell up for more than an instant. The doors opened to reveal a rescue team and a few medics just about to push the button that would open the door. They stared at me in shock for a few seconds. The look of anger, annoyance, and decisiveness that I had on my face must've scared them, because not one of them even asked me if I was fine. I walked all the way towards the bridge as alarms blared and Navy personnel ran from one place to another as the ship outmaneuvered the Covenant cruisers behind it. Finally, I reached the bridge and used my identification numbers to enter.
"Captain!" I called out.
"Castillo?" he asked in surprise. "What the hell are you doin' in here? I thought your team-"
"My entry vehicle malfunctioned," I said impatiently. "I need transport to go planetside right now."
"I am afraid I cannot authorize that," the captain said. "Phan, calibrate the cannon, Dolf, start spamming those motherfuckers with missiles. Eliza, prepare the nukes and give me a firing solution on that cruiser. Two shots, followed by a volley of missiles. Find suitable targets for the nukes. Use the Havoks."
The bridge crew confirmed his orders and started getting back to work. They were already sweating profusely from the stress of the job and the likely possibility that in just a few instants the Covenant fleet would realize they were under attack by a lowly frigate and start throwing plasma around.
"Castillo," the captain said, redirecting his attention towards me. "The pelicans are already being loaded up with our contingent. Go talk to Sharma and Hernandez, maybe they can give you a boost."
"Yes, sir," I said through clenched teeth.
I started running all the way down to the hangars and elbowing any idiot who got in my way. "Eliza," I called out. "Patch me through to Pavel."
"Patching through to Reaper Squad," she replied with an unnaturally pleasant voice. "Ready."
"Pavel," I said.
"Frank, I hear you. You all right?"
"I'm fine," I replied.
"What the hell happened?" he asked me. I could hear the bursts of gunfire in the background.
"No time, everyone ok?" I asked.
"Aye."
"Good, how's the mission going?"
"Well enough, but it feels weird not having you here."
Under any other circumstances I wouldn't have let Pavel forget what he had just said, I would've teased him so much that he probably would have ended up not speaking to me for a few days, but this situation was different. He was down there without me to cover his ass. It was even worse than that time when I lost my dog back in Jericho VII. There was a feeling of powerlessness.
"Don't worry, I'll be there soon enough."
"The way things are looking out we might just blow up this thing and get out alive with no problem after all."
"Don't jinx it," I said.
"Right," Pavel said knowingly. He knew as well as I did that soon he would be swarmed by angry dogmatic aliens from every possible direction with just six Helljumpers to cover his back. As good odds as he could be happy with, but adding one more Helljumper in the mix would make the odds tilt back in their favor. Even if just a little bit.
" I'll be there as soon as I can," I said again. "Over and out. Eliza, keep me informed on any developments."
"Of course Francisco," she said in a soothing voice.
"And don't go all Dr. Phillipe on my ass," I snapped at her.
"Fine, fine," she replied almost angrily. "I'll tell you if anything happens."
"That's all I'm asking for," I muttered in annoyance.
I ran the rest of the way and entered the huge hangar of the ship. There were a couple hundred infantry soldiers moving from one place to another. You could tell the marines from the army just by seeing the amount of ammunition on them. The marines from Echo Company were already packed up in their pelicans and ready to leave while B Company was still struggling to shove as many spare ammunitions as possible into whatever place they could fit it in.
"Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if they pulled out spare rounds out of their ass."
Thank you. Schitzo. Lovely mental image.
"Hey you," I yelled at a skinny private. "Where's Captain Sharma?"
"Umm, over there, I think," he replied. "But-"
Nothing interrupted him other than me storming violently towards the direction that he had pointed at. Lieutenant Veda Sharma was talking with Darbinian while looking at a hologram of the place where they would be landing. They looked thoughtful as the few remaining marines around them quickly headed towards their respective pelicans.
"Captain! Captain!"
"Staff Sergeant, what-"
"What the hell are you doing here Castillo?" Darbinian snapped.
"Hey," I told him. "Shut the fuck up."
"What?" He couldn't believe what I just said.
"Captain, I need you to drop me off in quadrant," I grabbed the controller from her hand. "India-Zulu-Eight," I pointed out, zooming in on the quadrant in particular. "Now," I added.
"Are you insane?" Darbinian asked. "They gave that mission to you because your stupid pods can't get shot down by AA fire that easily, not because they thought we couldn't handle it."
"Darbinian is right Castillo," Sharma said. "I couldn't risk a single pelican for one trooper. Besides, I need all the ones that are available to me to transport my company."
"Captain," I pleaded.
"Sorry," she said. "No."
"Fine," I grunted. "Don't look so smug," I said to Lieutenant Darbinian. "Asshole."
Next I started moving towards the sea of bodies that made up B Company. Being UNSC Army and mostly unfamiliar with the Helljumpers they moved aside to let me pass. Some of the younger recruits even muttered amongst themselves. The way they stared at me you would've thought that I was a SPARTAN.
"Hernandez!" I called out. "Major Hernandez!"
"What is it?" a familiar voice asked.
"I'm not talking to you, you cheating slut," I told Delacroix. As you can see, I wasn't in a particularly a good mood.
"Staff Sergeant, may I ask why you come barging here to insult my soldiers?" the Major asked from behind me.
I turned around. "I need a favor," I said.
"Oh, do you now?" a very angry Lieutenant Chloe Delacroix asked sarcastically.
"I'm not talking to you, am I?" I asked with equal violence in my voice. "Major, I need to pull in some favors. I need you to drop me in quadrant India-Zulu-Eight," I stated.
Hernandez pulled out a datpad as Delacroix dispersed a group of soldiers that had crowded around us to watch the spectacle. "This is a joke right?" he asked. "There's simply no way I can pull that off."
"You have to at least try," I complained. "My team is down there," I explained to him, "without me and under fire."
"Well, my team is up here, and it needs to kick ass. Trust me, if there was even the slightest chance that I could drop you off within a two kilometer radius, I would. Sorry."
"Shit," I said, mostly to myself.
"Sorry," Hernandez repeated. "Move those Armadillos, we need to be ready ASAP!"
"The ship will be entering atmosphere in a few moments, please brace yourselves," the loudspeakers blared.
"Eliza, what the fuck?" I asked.
"I'm doing my best to avoid three cruisers on my tail Staff Sergeant, so kindly shut the fuck up and let me do my thing."
I was surprised by the intensity of Eliza's reply, so I wisely kept my mouth shut even as the entire ship started shaking violently. A couple of soldiers that hadn't braced themselves lost their footing and fell to the floor, but soon enough the ship stopped shaking so violently. Instead, it started vibrating and rumbling. Flying inside the atmosphere was completely different than in space.
"Double time B Company," Delacroix yelled. "Get inside the Armadillos! Everyone else, inside the Pelicans!"
"Yes ma'am!" half a hundred UNSC Army soldiers acknowledged.
"Staff Sergeant, the hangar doors will open soon, I recommend you exit this room," Eliza said through my helmet radio.
"All right," I said, pushing my helmet against my face without putting it on. "All right…"
As always, thanks to Sniper-Fodder for proof-reading this chapter.
Wow, Eighty chapters already. Notice how I capitalized the word eighty and actually wrote it down with letters instead of numbers. I would've done this whole "we've come a long way" thing back in Chapter 69, but that would've been... lacking in taste, to say the least.
Also, to whoever actually took their time with leaving behind reviews, thank you. Thank yo for ya mothafuckin' feedback! Yeah, that's right, you know who I'm talking to.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter peoples.
-casquis