The exhausted group of soldiers arrived at the F.O.B after a harrowing journey. Captain Ramos and his marines said their goodbyes and the ODST's led Dean, Oliver, Laurel, and Diggle towards the armory. Diggle was staring at a column of Scorpion tanks rumbling past.
"You good?" Oliver stopped him. Diggle settled his gaze back on Oliver.
"This is bringing back some memories I'd rather forget." He said simply. They jogged over to a drab gray building, Cooper holding open the door and waving them forward.
"Welcome to New Harmony F.O.B." He said as they filed in.
The inside of the building was a frantic flurry of activity. Soldiers jogging in every direction with a purpose. An unseen alarm blared steadily in the distance.
"Here." Thomas said. He stopped at a door clearly labeled Armory. He punched in a code and threw the door open, everyone filing in after him.
"Holy shit." Dean said. Rows upon countless rows of gleaming weaponry stretched on for what seemed like a mile. Explosions rocked the base, getting closer.
"We should hurry." Smith said grimly. Everyone moved with new urgency. Dean passed rifles to Cooper, who placed them into a black duffle bag. Another explosion rocked the building, close enough that the group felt it in their boots. Dean rushed over and poked his head through the door. He abruptly tensed up and started firing at something just beyond the door. Morgan ran over to see what he was shooting at.
"Fuck, we have company!" He yelled.
"Covies?" Thomas asked.
"Uh…sort of." Morgan replied. Dean backed away, still firing at something. A dark shape limped into view. Laurel snatched a shotgun off of a nearby rack and started hurriedly loading shells. The shape limped forward slowly, almost painstakingly coming into view. It was an Elite, pale as a corpse, with veins visibly standing out, pitch black. The body looked like it was decaying. It surveyed the room, almost like it was looking for something. It was knocked backwards abruptly as Oliver started firing at it. It stood back up, black sludge dripping from the wounds. It cocked its head and abruptly rushed at the archer. Dean shot it in the knee, hobbling the monster, Cooper put a three round burst into its skull.
"What…the fuck…was that?" Dean panted.
"Our que to leave my friend. Our que to leave." Morgan patted him on the shoulder. The team shouldered their ill-gotten gains. The ODST's stacked either side of the door, shoulder to shoulder. Diggle gently pushed the door open. The corridor outside was littered with corpses of these new undead monsters and dead humans. Three armored figures bolted down the hallway towards them, seeming unaware of the outsiders. One of them settled against the wall, grasping its thigh tightly. There was a hiss as the figure removed its helmet.
"Locke's fucking dead." A male voice said wearily.
"We don't know that." This was a woman.
"Vale he flat-lined, we all saw it. Those vital read outs don't lie." He said.
Thomas looked back at Morgan unsurely. The unspoken conversation transcended helmets, transcended words. They were comrades, they could be allies now. Oliver and Diggle moved to cover one end of the hallway, while the ODST's approached the trio. Laurel glanced at Dean.
"What are they doing?" Laurel asked.
"The right thing. However stupid it might be in this situation." Dean said softly.
Further up the hallway, the ODST's approached the injured soldiers.
"You guys are Fireteam Osiris right?" Thomas asked.
"What can we do for you helljumper?" Spartan Eddie Buck said through gritted teeth. Smith crouched down to examine his leg. She opened a pouch on her waist and opened a container of bio-foam. She stuck the nozzle of the spray can in the wound and hit the button. Buck got noticeably paler but he looked like he was in much less pain.
"We have a potential evac. It's a tad…unorthodox so I'm just asking that you guys keep an open mind." Thomas said.
"We would take an occupied Covenant cruiser at this point." Spartan Holly Tanaka said.
"Agreed. We'll follow you guys." Spartan Olympia Vale said. Tanaka and Vale hauled Buck to his feet.
"We need to move!" Dean yelled. The Spartans headed towards the hunter, ODST's bringing up the rear. The group reconvened outside. There's a brief awkward pause before Dean angrily looked skyward.
"Cas, I don't know if this works…with the whole other dimension thing but if you can hear me, now would be an amazing time to get off of your feathery ass and open the portal a bit early." He said. Dean almost lost hope as the seconds stretched into minutes. The Spartans exchanged a look, debating if they should search for their own way off world. Abruptly a gold rip in the air slowly opened.
"Forerunner?" Vale asked
"Looks like it." Tanaka said.
"It leads some place that's not here. Can we just be grateful?" Buck freed himself from his fellow Spartans grip and collapsed through the portal. Oliver and Dean began firing at more of the approaching undead.
"They don't go down!" Dean yelled in frustration.
"Focus on slowing them." Oliver said. The two of them brought up the rear, urging everyone through the portal first before backing slowly in.
Elsewhere….
Oliver and Dean stepped slowly through the portal, precisely shooting out kneecaps and placing head shots.
"Close it! Now!" Dean barked. Castiel touched a hand to the box and cut off the portal. Laurel dropped the gear she'd been carrying and flopped into a seat. Vale ignored her immediate surroundings and checked on Buck. Diggle dropped into a crouch next to her.
"We can help him, he's going to be fine." He said.
"So…someone want to explain who the hitchhikers are?" Felicity asked.
"Where are we Sergeant?" Tanaka asked. Thomas gestured for Vale and Tanaka to take a seat. Diggle and Oliver moved Buck to a cot against the far wall. Once everyone had gathered back together, Thomas let Oliver explain the situation, with Barry and a few others chiming in.
"We're in." Tanaka said.
"Just like that?" Barry asked.
"We lost a lot of good people on New Harmony. It seems like ignoring this would make all of that in vain." Vale said. Tanaka nodded her agreement.
"Would someone like to pull the needler round out of the handsome Spartans leg before he bleeds out?" Buck called from the far side of the room.
"Medical supplies?" Smith asked.
"Big chrome cart." Diggle pointed. She pushed it over by the prone Spartan, Sam followed after her looking to help.
"This place is starting to look a little crowded." Roy said.
"Agreed, we probably need to start scoping out a better location." Oliver agreed. "Barry!"
"Yes?" The speedster replied.
"Remember that warehouse?"
The younger man's face broke into a sheepish grin.
"Possibly…" He said. Oliver turned back to Roy.
"Civilian clothes for the UNSC personnel might be important too. I don't see them blending in with that armor." He said.
"I'll get on it." Roy said. The Red Arrow walked out, jogging up the stairs. Dean approached Oliver.
"Cas said he's gonna take a crack at getting the box to connect to a new world. Something further along on the map." He said.
"Dean, I gotta be honest here, I'm totally in over my head." He said hesitantly.
"Could have fooled me." The hunter grunted.
"I figure we've got a lot of sound tactical minds here, we can make that warehouse into a pretty decent command and control center. But I can't picture the next step beyond that." He said.
"Pretty simple. If Cas gets the box working, we go on the offensive. You've got a lot of resources here Oliver, and no one else has stepped up to lead. We're just as lost as you are. Any decision you make is going to be better than doing nothing. "Dean said.
"You feel comfortable making a food run?"
"Sure. I'll get a list going. I'm assuming you guys use cash here?" He asked smirking.
"Dean…thanks." Oliver said sincerely. They shook hands, Dean turned on his heel and started making the rounds for food requests. Oliver sat down and took his bow out of its case. He started oiling it and checking the grip, the small routine act calming him. This was going to be a long week.