Iconium Plateau, Ascella IV, Ascella System
March 19, 2558
Ross Pine stirred, grinding his teeth together as he felt a rather nasty knot forming on his head. He opened his eyes to find himself lying almost upside down in the pelican's cabin. Like all of the Spartans, his harness had only been built to accustom standard UNSC Marines. His big half-ton frame had shredded the belts and restraints when the dropship crashed.
Looking at his timer; he saw that they had been taking a dirt nap for almost an hour since he estimated the time they were shot down.
Despite the risks, Lusana had ordered an extraction through heavily contested airspace where they now paid the price.
They should have known better ever since 'Xiva had effortlessly surrendered himself over to them when they stormed his chambers.
His sniper rifle lay in its cradle at the cabin's end. The force from the impact had bent the barrel at a fifty degree angle. The optics he had tinkered with to fine tune to his preference had been shattered, covering the floor in tiny slivers of sparkling glass.
He cursed and drew his sidearm, stepping out and looking down.
The prone forms of Austal, Bailey and Fowler laid on the floor as 'Xiva's harness had miraculously held him in place. Had it failed, his armor combined with the jarring impact would've inflicted serious injury to his back.
"You better thank human tech for once in your miserable life," Pine muttered to the Vahkai as he bent down to check on the other Spartans.
Austal jerked when the resident sniper put a hand on his head.
"Wakey wakey sunshine,"
"Fuck off."
Despite the condescending remark; Pine knew that it was merely a playful bickering jab, "You alright?"
"Did we have one too many Mai Tais? And what was the name of that girl I hit on? Tessa right?"
Pine sighed, "I call shit on that. You're married to Gabrielle and about to be a dad remember?"
"Oh yeah," Austal sat up and took off his helmet. There was a nice red streak of blood that was dripping down his nose. "I'll check the pilots."
As he went up into the cockpit, Pine checked and stirred the other two.
"The hell happened?" Fowler swatted aside his teammate's outstretched hand and helped himself up.
"We were hit,"
"Crew's dead," Austal wiped a dressing on his nose, which seemed to stop the bleeding before grabbing his helmet and swabbing it inside. The visor had a big spatter, which obstructed his vision.
"Where's the boss?"
All four Spartans glanced around; Lusana was nowhere to be seen. His seat harness was still present, although like all of theirs; his half ton body had effortlessly ripped them apart.
"Fowler, Bailey, check on our guest. Austal, with me outside."
"Copy."
The hatch hadn't been jammed shut, despite overwhelming evidence that it should have from the crash. Even though it was intact, the power had been shut off, forcing both Spartans to wedge themselves and be able to push it open. Thankfully, the mechanisms hadn't been jammed and it opened with just a bit of effort.
On point, Austal stepped out, scanning the immediate area with his A9 in hand.
"All clear out here."
Pine followed him to the pelican's back. They had crashed into a narrow valley part underneath a rocky outcropping. The dusk sky was settling fast, putting on a beautiful orange glow overhead. Some smoke trailed from the starboard engines and parts of it glowed red as if still fresh from whatever shot them down.
It looked burned, but by plasma or fuel rod left a rather acrid smell and made a lot of thick smoke. Instead, whitish sparks danced on the damaged machine with no smoke visible.
Both Spartans noticed it; a small detail that would've been overlooked by most others.
"Whatever the hell shot the engine wasn't human or Covenant. There's nothing in our arsenal that can come out of the sky like that and the damage would be seen for miles if it was plasma."
Pine walked up to it, examining closer, "So then what is it?"
Another figure caught his attention and Austal's heart skipped a beat, "Boss!"
The urgency in his tone snapped Pine out of his musings and he ran to join him, who was kneeling down.
The upper body of Spartan Lusana was barely visible, as if he was buried underneath the sandy ground with his arms and torso sticking out.
He groaned when Marcus shouted his name and blinked twice to clear the dancing shapes out of his eyes.
"This ain't good," Pine said, "His body's trapped underneath the pelican,"
"What's going on?" Fowler asked, ducking underneath the exit with Bailey in tow. He glanced back at the questioning looks of his partners, "Oh right. 'Xiva's secure."
"Oh my god!" Bailey gasped, seeing Lusana trapped underneath, "Shit."
"It's…it's alright," Lusana coughed, "I'm fine. Don't worry about me."
"Like hell we won't," Fowler went up to his side, "Alright. Bailey, get ready to pull him out. Guys, let's push the side."
Pine and Austal joined him on the pelican's ventral section while Bailey firmly grabbed both of Eon Lead's arms.
"Ready?"
"Go!"
"Three, two…one! Go!"
At once; the three men flexed their arms, planting their feet into the shifting ground, using all of their strength. At first, the big aircraft remained stubbornly on the ground before their strength prevailed and it dipped up, just ever so slightly.
Bailey had felt Lusana move a little, feeling a spark of hope, "He's moving guys!"
The three of them were continuing to strain themselves, being used to flipping warthogs and ghosts. A pelican was several times heavier than either of those vehicles.
Fowler let out an angry cry and activated his thrusters, followed by the other two. The jet blast from their packs send a torrent of sand in every direction, brewing their own micro sandstorm in the small valley. Had it not been for the helmets protecting them; their eyes would have been squeezed shut and still be unable to keep the grains from finding a way past their eyelids.
Lusana's alarming shout of protest caused the activity to stop.
"Guys, we're hurting him!"
They stopped their attempt and settled down to the ground.
There was a deep groan from the aircraft as it unexpectedly began to move on its own.
"Shit!" Ross moved to grab its side, but the weight was once again too much. "It's shifting."
Lusana grunted again, trying to wiggle out, "I'm still stuck."
"We can't call for an airlift," Fowler said, "Airspace is still too hot."
"Just take your time." Eon Lead said between ragged breaths, "I'm not…going anywhere."
"Get down!" Austal hissed. He had moved across the pit to the other side and began to pick up signature on his motion tracker.
The rest of Eon's camouflage units activated, save Lusana's and they melted into the background.
They heard it before they saw it; a humming chop that echoed over the valley. It didn't sound like any aircraft or vehicle they've heard.
"Covies got a new toy?"
"Whatever it is, it probably is not friendly," Pine gripped his pistol a little tighter, "Get into a defensive position."
From the south, the aircraft came into view. It was silvery metallic in appearance, with an orange fiery glow along elegant lines. To the back were two circular ailerons with sharp looking fins.
"That thing looks like it was designed by whoever made those promethean knights." Fowler was the first to blurt out his opinion.
"Can't be good if we have prometheans in the party."
The aircraft turned on a swivel as it hovered over the crash site before suddenly unleashing a barrage of lasers right down on Austal's position. He had been watching it and in the middle of dodging in time that it barely missed him. His shields flared and he backpedaled to another spot for cover.
"I've been made!"
"Weapons free!" Pine ordered, already emerging from his own spot and tapping bullets into the aircraft. The rounds glanced off its hull as he expected, but it was enough for it to take its attention off the other Spartan.
Ross rounded the pelican's underside as it unleashed a fusillade of light bullets towards him. He bounded into the cabin, glancing briefly at a still unconscious 'Xiva before looking around. He found what he was seeking and threw open one of the boxes that had been knocked askew in the crash.
Inside were a pair of M57 Pilum rocket launchers. Widely considered to be the spiritual successor of the older 41 Jackhammers, the Pilum was nearly identical in performance, firing high powered HEMP rockets that were dangerous to infantry and aircraft. The Pilum was notably lighter and a cheaper alternative developed by Chalybs Defense to replace the iconic, but aging Misriah product. It had a side fixed magazine, instead of the rotating barrels that loaded the second rocket into the chamber after the first was fired.
"I've got a dozen contacts approaching fast!" Austal shouted, "We got something to take that thing out?"
"Hang on. Brett…get ready to catch!" He ran right back out, cradling one launcher in each hand. As Fowler turned to face him; Pine lobbed one at him. He caught the pass, slipping his hand into the molds and gazed up.
"So bullets don't bother you huh?" He muttered, "How's this for a change?"
The promethean aircraft was still firing in Ross' general direction when a high explosive warhead had appeared almost out of nowhere, striking it on the front of the hull. Sparks jumped out of its large orange belly; no doubt having received some notable damage.
Pine shouldered his own rocket launcher and popped out the small scope display on the side. He was about to acquire target when the hovering vehicle jumped aside; leaving a ghostly trail as the system lost its targeting.
"Shit."
Just as quickly as it left; the promethean VTOL reappeared over the ridge, unleashing another barrage of explosive bolts. Bailey saw it coming in her direction and pressed herself against the side of the pelican to shield Lusana. Their shields flickered as they impacted dangerously close to their position.
"You guys okay?!"
"We're good!" She looked down, "But the boss has lost consciousness!"
"He's probably losing blood," Austal said, "We need to get him out fast!"
Another rocket streaked out of Pine's launcher, racing across the sky right up to the aircraft's belly. He had led it with his smart scope feature, slowly acquiring a lock as it searched for the Spartans again. The warhead hit its mark dead center in the craft's hull, which exploded on its side, knocking it out of the air. It crashed on the cliff above them with a loud screech of metal scraping against rock before it suddenly flashed in a white light. As if it were made of the sand they stood on, it disintegrated before the embers of a remains faded away.
"About time," Fowler said, "We might need this last one!"
More gunfire caught their attention as Austal opened fire on something further down the valley stretch.
"Are these guys prometheans too?"
There were five of them, with what looked like another five coming to join the fight. Like the knights and crawlers and the aircraft they just shot down; they shared the gray metal appearance as the other constructs. Instead, they were more humanoid, with long slender limbs and digitized fingers. They wielded lightrifles that flashed bolts of energy crisscrossing around them.
Austal still had his pistol, popping off rounds that splintered off their armor. Pine joined his side, adding additional fire on one of them. The new promethean stumbled from the barrage of shots before two more sheared off part of its armor. The plating covering the "head" was knocked off, revealing a glowing face that looked both angry and eerie at the same time.
"Inferior humans!" It growled in a robotic droning voice.
"That thing just speak English?"
More gunfire came from their six and they turned to see Bailey, spraying an assault rifle over another trio of the new enemies to keep them at bay.
"Brett!"
"I'm here!" Fowler had jumped on top of the side wing after seeing his comrades in trouble. He hoisted the Pilum up, "Y'all might wanna duck!"
"We'll just move!" Austal said, as he and Pine activated their thrusters to break away from their position. At the same time, the constructs had reached their position.
They only had time to see the rocket coming in their direction get bigger before a thunderous explosion ripped through the entrance, debuting with a cloud of smoke. Nothing was left standing after it cleared out.
Bailey managed to break one of their armors and put it down with her magnum, although the other two were smarter than their compatriot, firing their lightrifles one at a time while the other advanced up the open field.
Without warning, one of them sprinted right past her, bringing its knee up right into Pine's stomach. It happened so fast, that the Spartan had still registered in his mind of what happened before keeling over.
Austal unsheathed one of his knives, flipping into a switchblade style and swung, aiming for the head.
As if it knew he was there; the construct folded inwards before flickering away in a blue light that erratically darted to and fro.
A hand stopped his strike, surprising him that he was about to hit Ross' exposed stomach.
"Shit…sorry."
"Did that thing just teleport?"
"You humans are too slow!" The machine had phased out again and stood a little ways away as if taunting them.
And then from the top, its partner crashed into it in a blur of motion. Both lay dazed at the bottom of the pit.
"Stand back everyone!"
Like an artillery strike, Fowler had been dueling the other promethean when it baited him to the top of the pelican. He managed to throw it off onto the ground, knocking the mocking one aside as well.
The Atlas armor locked into position as he leapt up in midair, rearing a fist back before the thrusters kicked in, amplifying the force downward.
The impact almost shook the entire ground as both hostiles were smashed, splintering shrapnel everywhere and causing both of the prometheans to vanish in their usual light show.
Each Spartan breathed out a sigh of relief when the action finally came to an end.
"The hell were those things?" Bailey asked.
"Prometheans…got to be. They're debuting a new player."
"I doubt that was the last of them too," Pine said to get the group back on track, "We need to get Lusana to safety and everyone out of here before it gets even busier. There's no doubt that the Vahkai and now forerunners are out for us."
"I'll head out already. See if I can find us a vantage point and maybe draw any following parties off your tail." Austal volunteered.
Ross nodded, "If you run into any trouble…ANY, haul your ass back here. I think we had a couple of lotus mines in the hold and they can delay the enemy for a short while."
"Any weapons salvageable?"
"Negative, I checked." Pine cursed, "How are you on pistol?"
"Got three mags left." Austal went over to scoop up one of the lightrifles, "I'll use this instead." He twisted it in his hands, "Shot one in a Warzome sim, so it can't be that hard to figure out."
He grabbed a couple of frag grenades from the crate before heading out, "I'll be on comms and give you regular updates on what's going on."
As Marcus' Spartan tag got further and further away, Pine, Bailey and Fowler began to form an idea on how to unpin their leader from underneath the pelican.
In case of water landings, each of the aircraft were fitted with a pair of inflatable lifeboats that were activated by microgenerators inside the package. Air pressure was quite firm and explosive, capable of moving quite heavy objects.
However it alone was not going to be able to move the pelican.
"That should be the good," Ross said as Bailey slipped one of the life rafts underneath the hull. They were positioned about a foot away on either side of Lusana, with their arming pins facing outward.
He then joined Fowler on the pelican's other side. Together, they were hooked onto thick durable cords that were attached to the other side of the crash. At the same time, they would pull on the cords while the inflatable rafts could hopefully buy them enough time for Bailey to pull Lusana out.
It was all a theory and there was no AI or scientist to do any calculations. This was just a manifest of ingenuity and hope.
Lusana wasn't going to last much longer.
"I'm ready."
"Good," Pine said, turning to Fowler, "On three….One…Two…Three!"
Both Spartans let out strained cries as they leaned forward, pulling the cords as hard as possible. They went taut, just moving the pelican's hull a fraction of an inch.
Bailey hurried forward, yanking the pins out. They would still need a bit of space to properly inflate, otherwise the force of the air pressure would blow a hole through the side, rendering their attempt completely futile.
Fortunately, it was enough room where they quickly expanded and to her amazement; the pelican began shifting upwards. There was now about four inches of space between Lusana's body and the bottom.
Blake grabbed his arms and pulled, digging her legs into the sand and cursing the half ton armor they all wore. Slowly but surely, his legs began to come out from underneath.
"Is he free?"
"Shit!" Fowler growled, no doubt facing a challenge on his notable strength, "I'm losing my grip!"
Bailey saw the armored boots in the dim light and gave a final heave that cleared him from underneath. "He's clear!"
Almost immediately; the other Spartans stopped pulling and the craft settled back onto the rafts. They were flattened underneath, expanding like pancakes before the pressure was too much and they gave way with a loud pop.
"Oh no," Bailey looked over Lusana's battered body, seeing part of his left leg entirely covered in blood. Part of it was dark from dried bleeds while more continued to bubble out of several sharp looking objects inside the joint. His armor's biofoam injectors must've been destroyed; otherwise the wound would've been sealed.
Fowler and Pine were by her side in an instant.
"Shit…That's bad. He's been hit on his femoral artery," The sniper said, wishing Austal and his medical expertise was here, "He needs to have surgery in the next eight hours otherwise he's going to lose the leg."
"We need to get a message out now."
"Austal? Status?"
"I'm about one and a half klicks down. These new promethean guys are here with the Vahkai and it looks like they're not on the best of terms. I've seen a couple fights break out, but looks sporadic for now. Hopefully it will just tire either of them out, but both parties are headed in your direction. I estimate you've got another fifteen before someone's all over you."
"We got the boss out. He's in very bad shape and we all need evac. He's likely to lose this leg if he doesn't get surgery soon."
"Vahkai have a bigger presence."
"I'd rather deal with them honestly. We still do have 'Xiva…can use him as a bargaining chip."
Pine suddenly stopped, blacking out Austal's reply.
Fowler saw the worried expression through the armor. "What?"
"Bailey, stay with the boss." He drew his sidearm and approached the pelican's hatch.
Although the night had made seeing things more difficult; the Spartan augmentations and their VISR software gave them tools to help alleviate the hindrance of the darkness.
Yet no matter how many times he blinked or adjusted his system; there was no denying it.
A clean slice had destroyed the restraints holding the Vahkai leader. Turz 'Xiva was gone.
Been playing a lot of Halo Wars 2 and I must say; the story is fantastic...not spoiling anything, although it does leave a cliffhanger that opens a door for a possible third game. Blitz is a lot of fun too.
Thanks for reading and reviewing everyone. You give my writing purpose.