Greetings,
I have returned from the depths of college applications to present with a new chapter. I try not to wait too long but I have little control over when I can get things out. While I wasn't able to post I managed to have Chapters 19 and 20 written on paper. Transcribing my own handwriting actually proved to be more difficult than I thought. The next chapter should be released soon. I regret that this chapter is shorter than the others but it will suffice I think.
Several of you made correct guesses as to who the mysterious figure in the last Chapter was. You'll know who you are in a second. Have a cookie.
In other news I have reached 100,000 hits and 300+ reviews on this story. A BIG THANK YOU is in order for helping me get this far.
Please enjoy the show,
Chapter 19
War Games Simulation Room: "The Gorge"
UNSC INFINITY
Spartan William Gunther
"I am." said a deep resonant bass voice definitely didn't belong to anybody on Castle.
A cloaked figure suddenly materialized into existence, right next to William.
Will reacted swiftly dropping down to avoid an incoming blow and then lashed out with two quick jabs at the Spartan's solar plexus. The blows connected but to Will's annoyance they did nothing to stop their assailant other than make the shields flare for a moment. An arm launched out at superhuman speed and threw William backwards into the rock hard enough to make his shields flare for a moment. He bounced back and his vision blurred as he tried to recover.
Through his visor he saw his Lieutenant Commander turn around and open fire but the other Spartan lunged knocking the weapon out of her hand. Her other hand went to her sidearm but he seized it and yanked it from her grip. The gun flipped into the air out of reach. The assailant caught a punch with its hand and caught the airborne M6, turning Asher's weapon on herself. Will struggled to his feet but was stopped by another hand brandishing a knife at Will's throat. Will recognized the large brute of Fireteam Shadow who now had both of them cornered.
Will froze, not that he personally felt like he had a choice with a knife pointed at him.
"How did this happen?" he wondered. It was a rare thing for him to have been taken advantage, he would havee but this was exactly what was happening now.
"Well done sir." Will congratulated his assailant mentally. The pressure on his throat released but the knife still lay close. Real or not he was not keen on having his throat slit.
"Sloppy William. You call that being watchful? My grandma could have seen that in her sleep." a memory of SCPO Franklin Mendez's voice echoed inside his head.
Despite his precarious situation he began to laugh at the sudden flashback. He wondered what they would say to him now.
"Does defeat seem amusing to you?" his assailant asked.
"No, it's just been a long time since I've been in a position like this." Will admitted. "Kudos to you Issac."
"Flattery will get you no where." Issac growled.
"Hey! Castle One? Castle Two?!" Ralph called out from his position higher up.
"Don't you dare warn them." Issac said moving the the knife closer.
"There's someone else down there! Hang on Commander!" Brittany called out.
"If you fire your leader goes down with me!" Issac called to Castle Team who rounded the bend and turned on him. He moved Asher and Will in front of him as protection. "You would all do well to pay attention to your surroundings."
Suddenly around the rest of Castle three more Spartans uncloaked into existence behind them with Rockets and shotguns trained on Castle. They had been flanked and completely trapped.
"Not so victorious are you now." said Horatio Fry with a slight grin in his voice as he kept his M90 trained on Chelsea. "Bjorn, Daniel, Isaac, relieve them of their weapons please."
Will had his weapons taken and tossed away to the side out of reach.
Within a minute the other enemy Spartans noted the lack of fire coming towards them and all came up to see what had happened. William and Castle stood in an uneasy standoff while word spread quickly of Castle's capture. Many of them pealed off hoping to finish off Rapier. Others chose to stay and watch their inevitable death by paintball.
Death by paintball. William mentally snorted. It would all be over soon and he could get out of this infernal simulation.
"Nicely done Fireteam Shadow." a gold and orange Spartan said followed closely by his comrades as they came up to observe.
"Thanks Fireteam Lancer." Horatio said quite pleased with himself.
"I suppose this is the part of the show where we surrender and are brutally painted?" Will asked surprising himself with how causal he sounded. "I'd prefer an artistic genius like Picasso or Van Gogh to do it but if you must-"
"Quiet." his captor snarled.
"No need to get hostile Isaac." Horatio frowned at his hulking teammate. "You know I got to give you guys credit. You guys held out for a half hour against all of us. Still..."
"So Horatio, if you could just hand over Castle nicely-" Lancer's leader asked.
"What? Over your dead body Taylor." Daniel said.
The gold and orange spartan stiffened and a standoff seemed likely.
"Quiet!" Isaac said moving the blade closer.
"Hey!" cried out another voice.
William mentally groaned he saw Majestic push their way up the cliff they were missing Madsen and Thorne though. Will realized they must have been frozen in the Warthog explosion.
"Why can't we have a piece of them?" DeMarco said pushing their way through Lancer. "They blew up our Hogs after all and I'm going to be feeling that bruise until next month."
"Uh I'm sorry where were you last War Games match? You left us to the mercy of Fireteam Eagle and that ******* Wraith."
"You got a problem?" Hoya asked as he pushed his way to them.
Will mentally groaned a second time. They could have had Castle team on the ground converging on Rapier. They were being idiots. Will's frustrated mind cast itself back to his training. The current conduct of these Spartans would have guaranteed punishment of the harshest nature from Mendez. If Mendez and Ambrose could see them now he was sure there would be a coronary in one of them.
He sent a silent prayer out that this would all play out quickly and he could just fall asleep.
Well what do we have here?" Two new figures pushed their way through the already thick crowd. One clad in steel and orange armor clutching a DMR, the other in steel and sage brandishing a SRS.
"Back off Felix. We got them first." Horatio said annoyed at more visitors.
"Hey!" Castle Seven protested. "I'm the real Felix! The real deal! The real-"
Will flashed a red acknowledgment light and he stopped instantly.
"Shouldn't you be going after Rapier?" asked Bjorn standing over Brittany and Ralph.
"Well you know Locus and I thought we would just check in on our new teammates." he said mildly. "We just wanted to see the team that was the cause for all the frozen Spartans in the valley below. I must say you guys did an excellent job. Nearly took us both out with your paint surprise at the bottom. I'm sorry that we have to be on opposite sides. I'm Felix by the way and this is Locus." he gestured at his companion.
"And its time for us to go." he said in a voice more deeper and resonant than Isaac.
"If you ever need anything from Fireteam Charon give us a holler."
Will nodded as much as he could with a knife at this throat and the two of them ran off to fight Rapier.
"At least they were chivalrous." Will thought. He was trying to make out Asher's helmet from where he was held but Issac did a wonderful job of making sure that nobody could communicate in hand signals.
"What a bunch of creeps." Bjorn said as soon as they were out of earshot."
"Next time I see them in a simulation you I'm going to put a knife in Felix's ****** head. Maybe he could paint that on his helmet instead of that ridiculous thing he calls a skull." Daniel spoke up.
The team laughed at his joke but it sent chills down William's spine. He swore he knew that voice. But where?
"Hey Shadow, shoot 'em already and let's move on!" one of the other Fireteams hollered.
A series of winking lights flashed in his HUD from Asher. Will nearly cursed himself as he realized he had totally forgotten about acknowledgement lights.
"Do you have a plan?" she asked.
"Other than making a mad dash for freedom, no." he responded.
"Better think of something."
"I'm working on it! Trying to mitigate the heavy weapons.
"Quit stalling already!" Hoya called out. Fireteam Bailey and Jacknife are calling for assistance.
"Relax we got plenty of time." Horatio said unconcerned unsheathing an M6. "Who do we start with first?"
"Oh just shoot me already." Felix protested.
"Felix?" Asher asked dumbfounded. "What the-"
Isaac brandished his gun and Asher stopped.
"Uh. Very well then. You know this will hurt right?" Horatio said a little taken aback by his eagerness.
Will was formulating a plan as fast as he could but he had nothing in mind. He could always try to blitz his way out but that meant getting a weapon, and soon.
"Just shoot al-"
Horatio sighed and fired his pistol three times breaking the shield barrier and sealing Felix up in a purple coffin.
To heck with caution. Will decided. It was do or die.
Will suddenly gave a shout and with a single twist of his arm loosened the knife from Isaac's grip. At the same time Asher smashed the pistol from his arm and with the same move bowled into him staggering the massive Spartan before throwing the knife Will had tossed to her. The knife hit his chest and the brute burst into purple. Isaac flailed back as Asher's reacquired gun emptied out onto his body which promptly froze.
"Overkill Ash." Will said.
"Come on the others are in trouble." she replied .
There was a cry from behind as the enemy Spartans gathered tried to assist but Will and Asher were already gone having grabbed their weapons and dashing to help out the rest of their team.
Ralph and the others burst into action causing Bjorn and the others to panic suddenly. In a sudden in a feat of strength Ralph hurled a sizable rock at Bjorn who dropped to the ground to avoid being pulverized. His escape was short lived as the Spartan threw a punch at him staggering Bjorn back. Bjorn instinctively ducked and was floored as Ralph feinted and delivered an uppercut that threw Bjorn several feet away. He was almost on top of him to incapacitate him when Ralph's leg seized up and he tripped to the ground a moment after Horatio's shotgun shell grazed it.
Bjorn got to his feet and seizing an SMG from off his back prepared to finish off Ralph. He was stopped as Hansu came out of nowhere with sniper rifle in hand. He bashed the SMG from Bjorn's grip and without a seconds pause stopped Bjorn instantly with a snapshot.
"Catch Ralph!" he called out seizing Ralph's rocket launcher which was nearby. Ralph, who managed to get to his feet, caught it and saluted William.
Will opened his mouth to order him to stop but it was too late as Ralph dove off the rock face yelling "BANZAI!" before firing and painting the area behind Will and Asher purple. A second rocket froze himself and ten tightly huddled Spartans where they stood.
Had will not been running to put some distance between himself and the enemy he might have laughed. Ralph's sacrifice had given them a window to escape leaving the Four's struggling to react with the loss of ten.
As he charged up the hill he saw Daniel and Hansu crash together. The former knocked the gun out of his grasp and the two rolled around trying to overpower him before Horatio froze both by accident with his M90.
Four Castles down, four to go.
"Hey!" Will called out.
He turned to Will and Asher who both shot his arms and legs. The shields flared and his extremities became useless.
Horatio swore as he froze in place and Will regarded him with sympathy.
"Next time don't monologue."
Horatio nodded mutely and Will turned away grabbing his fallen Assault rifle and adding that to the arsenal already on his back.
"Fall back!" he ordered. "Castle Team! Double time it to the bridge!"
They obeyed without hesitation and Will saw a fresh wave of Spartans charge up firing at them. He paused only to toss a grenade and ran for the bridge.
"Rapier Lead come in!" he yelled switching to a channel he thought they would be on as he vaulted over a rock and rolled underneath a fallen tree.
"Read you loud and clear. What's the problem Castle?"
"We're retreating away from a lot of bad guys. Are we able to fall back with you?"
"Uhh. That's a bit of a problem right now."
"Say again?"
"We got a hundred plus Sierras knocking on our door and they're not happy with us."
The bridge came into sight as they rounded a clump of trees and Will saw the tide of enemy Spartans trying to climb up the rockfall and engage them. Their only success had been creating a wall of frozen soldiers that was providing them cover fire.
"I have visual."
"Mind helping us out?"
"We're enroute now. Is there a back door or something?" he asked as he noticed the bridge promptly met a wall.
"Get closer and we'll open it for you."
"Roger that." Will said closing the connection and dashing towards the bridge.
"How the heck did we even get out of that?" Brittany asked as she turned around and fired a burst from her rifle before running after them again.
"The better question is how were we snuck up on?" Chelsea asked
"We can worry about that later. We need to be up there assisting them ASAP." Asher said.
Will was the first to run up on the bridge. He fired down at the Spartans attempting to siege Rapier and managed to freeze several of them before they realized there were additional enemies flanking them.
"Castle Lead be advised you have ten...twenty...****! How many do you have coming after you?" Kevin gaped as they approached the end of the bridge.
"Open the door please!"
They were getting closer and no door appeared.
"The door Rapier!"
It still remained closed.
"Spartan Kevin, if that door isn't open-" Will warned,
A door instantly opened outwards in the side of the structure with Kevin's IFF tag on the other side waving them in frantically.
Will crossed the threshold first. He spun around and armed the sticky detonator before firing. The projectile soared over Brittany by inches before landing at the far edge were Fireteam Lancer was in hot pursuit pouring paint down at them. He pulled the trigger and Lancer disappeared to be replaced by another team clad in brown and blue.
Asher, Chelsea, and finally Brittany crossed the threshold and Kevin slammed on a button sealing the door in an instant. Castle Four and Eight fell on the ground trying to catch their breath while Kevin turned to him helmet removed giving him an slightly annoyed look.
"You four are some incredibly lucky-"
"Where do you want us?" Will asked stopping the jibe before it could be said.
Kevin's face turned serious and he put his helmet on again.
"We could use two on the third floor and two on the second."
He looked at his teammates who were slightly frazzled but ready for action again.
"Ammo check." William called out.
His teammates quickly reported in what they had. It wasn't enough. The only game changing weapons they had was the M363 "Sticky Detonator" and Chelsea's M90, both of which were low on ammunition.
"I was hoping you had more but we can give you access to what we have but at this point every shot counts." Kevin said concerned.
"Thank you Rapier Lead." Will nodded in appreciation. "Alright, Eight you're with me. Asher you take Chelsea and head up to the second floor. We'll take the third."
Kevin nodded. "I've set up a bit of a trap here. Micheal insisted on using C12 but even if its paint filled I don't trust that much in one place." he gestured and Will saw all around there were dozens of unactivated mines all connected to a single trip wire that Kevin was replacing. "It'll give us some warning if they manage to breach here. Come, I'll show you your posts."
He turned and picked up his MA5K Carbine and led the way quickly.
Will followed close behind and they picked their way through the minefield. Beyond the front entrance it extended past the entrance and were spaced at uneven intervals.
"Watch your head." Kevin said as they came to a large opening in the left wall.
The corridor was covered with a massive blob of paint with many smaller splotches. This corridor had at one point been used by one of Rapier as evidenced by discarded ammo clips and makeshift barricades made out of a couple ammo crates.
"Hey Boss." Will recognized Michael's voice as the Spartan rounded the corner, taking care not to reveal himself to anyone standing outside.
"Did you take care of the Wraiths?"
"Toast." Michael said hefting a Rocket Launcher as he turned around to head back to his post.
"Good work." Kevin nodded.
Will made his figure as small as possible and crossed the hardened paint. He sighted in a lone Spartan making his way to their former hiding place.
Within three seconds he was out of the fight.
"Rapier One, be advised the majority of our enemy is breaking off their siege of the front door and making for the bridge." Julianne reported.
Kevin's body posture reflected instant worry.
"Do you have a fall back plan?" Will asked as they turned a corner.
"Well, it was going to be to fall back to your position." Kevin admitted. "Here we are..."
They all turned right then made an immediate left and they saw another member of Rapier crouched behind several tall barricades covered in purple.
"Sweet. Reinforcements." Sophie said wearily as she ejected a spent clip and added it to a pile at her feet. She reloaded and sat down.
"They've abandoned their siege here." She pointed and took off her helmet to breathe in fresh air."
"Helmet back on Rapier." Will said automatically. He suddenly froze as he realized he was giving orders to a team different than his.
"Huh?" She said slightly taken aback.
"You're still in a live fire zone."
"He's right. Kevin said awkwardly before she could respond. "Back to work Rapier Five, go upstairs and regroup with the others."
Sophie acknowledged and wearily put her helmet on.
Kevin showed them their cache of ammunition in the other hallway and allowed Castle the chance to refill what they lacked. He then lead the way to a staircase that led up.
"The second and third floors are mostly exposed but you guys seem to know how to deal with it. Two of you should join up with Julianne and Emily. I'm sure she would appreciate some help."
"As long as they didn't bring a curse with them."
"Really Rapier-"
"Relax Rapier Lead. I got room enough to spare. Just watch out for anyone brave enough to snipe at you. I got eyes on a few targets I could tag."
"Boss, we got multiple hostiles coming up on the edge of the bridge. They're hiding behind the rocks." Emily chimed in.
"Understood. Thank you Rapier Four."
Asher and Chelsea broke off as they reached the second level leaving William and Brittany to advance.
"I'll hold the fort down below with Micheal. I'll brief you on anything interesting." Kevin said before turning and hurrying back.
William climbed the remaining flight and climbed onto the roof of the structure. The only thing giving them cover was a few paltry barricades and a railing that ran all the way around.
"Oh this is fun." Brittany said cheerfully.
"How so Bree?" Will asked using her nickname. She was suddenly acting unusually excited for someone so introverted.
"We got perfect visibility of the enemy."
"Yeah, but they have perfect visibility of us." he said scanning for threats that could see them. He saw nothing so he moved up slowly.
"Not for long."
"What?"
He turned to see Brittany holding two oblong objects in her hand.
"Active camo?" Will asked staring at the holographic specter emanating from the two objects.
She clicked one and she disappeared.
"Where did you get that?" he asked when she uncloaked.
"Oh, I picked them up off of Fireteam Shadow. Daniel and Bjorn were not happy that I grabbed them."
"I imagine so!" Will laughed. He took one and attached it to the waist on his back.
He mentally clicked it and the neural interface triggered the activation mechanism dissolving him from sight. He slid behind cover of one of the barricades and uncloaked. He motioned for Brittany to come over and she did so at once.
"Thanks for the present."
She nodded and shouldered her rifle.
"Castle Lead, how copy?" Kevin asked.
"Five by five."
"Excellent. Julianne is currently marking Team Leaders. If you can't already see, it looks like they're all trying to plan out their assault of the base."
A red marker flashed to life and Will looked to it and saw a small circle of Spartans discussing intently. He could have done something if he had a weapon that could fire at that range.
"Can she do anything about it?"
"Negative. She doesn't have a clean shot. Once she fires they're going to hide and the rest of everybody else is going to follow the bullet back to her.
"Understood."
A question just flared to life in William's mind.
"Hey, Spartan Kevin?"
"Yes?"
"How much does it take to trip one of those mines?"
"Uhh...I think Micheal said that it took 150 lbs of direct pressure, a bullet, or an electronic signal on them to trigger an explosion." Rapier's Leader replied.
"Is there a way we can commandeer them?"
"Uhh yes. It would take a while to move all of them. What are you thinking?"
He looked at Brittany's camouflage unit.
"You guys got any rope or something?"
"Uh. I think we got some with the ammunition." Emily answered hesitantly.
"Enough to rappel down?" he asked.
"Oh no. You can't be that crazy!" Brittany said in disbelief.
"Watch me."
UNSC Infinity, Captain's Quarters:
"Come in." Captain Lasky responded to the rap on the door.
The door opened and Spartan Palmer walked in swiftly.
"At ease Commander." Lasky said from behind the holoscreen showing the ongoing War Games match. He looked up and gestured for her to come over.
"What do you think so far Captain?" Palmer asked.
Lasky stroked his temples and stared at her for a second. "The Spartans or the Games?"
"Both."
He hesitated before answering her question.
"I'm not sure what possessed you to throw them into the meat grinder so to speak but I think these Games are close to showing me what I needed to see. I understand why but at the same time, why did you set up tonight's scenario to be suicide?"
"You said you wanted them to prove themselves right?"
"I did."
"So I took the liberty and set up a situation to test them. Roland and I ran a simulation of our best Fireteams in action. Crimson, Majestic, Shadow, and Charon. In each of the simulation attempts they never attempted to ally themselves and they consequently were out of it within 28 minutes."
"And what's the time right now?"
"The current simulation time is one hour, twelve minutes." F.I.L.S.S responded.
"Well it's sure as **** working." Lasky grunted approvingly as he manipulated the camera bringing the screen to a tactical overview."
"Spartans William, Asher, and Kevin both demonstrate extreme tactical grasp of the situation at hand. They weren't necessarily supposed to team up but they know the meaning of the saying 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend.' Fireteam Castle's resourcefulness in changing the strength of a rocket warhead is to be commended as is Rapier's speed in positioning themselves to have the element of higher ground." Jerome commented somewhat amused. "Right now Castle Seven is either the most foolhardy Spartan I've ever seen or one of the most brilliant with his explosive sacrifice. Spartan Sophie also makes good use of cover and takes initiative on taking out targets."
"-but there's still the issue of Fireteam Shadow's debacle with taking them down." Alice interjected.
"Agreed." Lasky said wearily. "What do you have to say to that Commander?"
Palmer's face became slightly reddened but otherwise didn't show her disgust as she faced the Captain and looked him squarely in the eye. "I say that Fireteams Shadow, Majestic, Rhino, Ivy, and Talon will be berated for conduct and actions unworthy of being a Spartan on the battlefield. You have my word, Captain, that they will be punished for their immaturity."
He frowned and entertained the possibility that maybe something else needed to take place. He chose to nod and say ,"Understood. Meet me in my office after this is over so we can...discuss it." He observed the tension that had filled the air. Things between Palmer and him were rougher than he would have preferred it. He knew Palmer held her Spartans to high expectations but he would need to speak to her later about some of his other fears. He still hadn't explained why Red Team was here. They were here to audit everyone's performance. Not just hers.
"What do you think of the model three's?" he asked trying to gauge her reaction.
She stared at the screen for a few seconds watching an arrow indicating Fireteam Castle's leader heading back to their stronghold.
"Some of them are certainly more audacious then others. I think they're obviously outclassing the four's."
"We expected that though."
"True."
"You know we are supposed to get a lot of new armor in a shipment soon. Fireteam Shadow's finally going to get the armor they tested and we're going to be able to help give the Spartans a competitive edge." Lasky said in a vain attempt to thaw the ice that was forming.
"The armor's not the issue." Jerome spoke softly. "You can armor them all you want but until they internalize what it is to fight like a Spartan they'll never be like us or the three's."
A sudden silence met the room.
"I apologize if I seem out of line Captain, but you've asked for my opinion. We will present to you our initial findings when we are done with this simulation."
Lasky nodded. Palmer suddenly looked shade more embarrassed and angry at the same time.
"So what do you have planned for the event that one of the teams is taken down?" He asked. "At some point one of the new Fireteams has to go down."
Palmer's face cleared slightly and she stood up straight."If you'll follow me to the War Games overlook I'll show you exactly what I have in mind."
"Better hurry. It looks like they're about to make their about to make their gambit." Lasky said as the mass of Spartans on the other side of the bridge began to move.
War Games Simulation:
"I can't believe you did that." Brittany said annoyed as he climbed up the staircase and went prone next to her.
"Me too." Will agreed.
"You know you're going to get yourself killed one day? Right?"
"I didn't think you cared that much." Will said slightly teasing.
"Hey!" she protested. "I do care! I and the rest of Castle care."
"She's right Castle One. Your more bold and daring plans haven't always necessarily work out." Chelsea added her two cents from below. "I didn't like necessarily being target practice while you sneak ahead and-"
"Thanks Castle Four." Will grumped. "Did we forget that we don't have the odds in our favor? How else are we supposed to beat out an entire army of enemy Spartans?"
"William..." Asher sighed below.
"I rest my case that desperate times call for desperate measures."
"William!"
"Okay! I'm sorry!" he apologized.
"Whatever Castle Lead." Asher said clearly dropping the matter for now. William noticed how she didn't use his name. Whoops. He'd have to apologize for that later.
"I just hope you set those charges correctly." Rapier Three quipped nervously.
"Eyes up! We finally got movement!" Rapier Four announced.
"Finally. I want some trigger action." Rapier Two eagerly said.
"Careful what you wish for." Kevin finished.
The attack was sudden as a surge of seventy-plus Spartans bore down on them. Fireteams Castle and Rapier immediately opened fire on them. He watched two Spartans freeze up as multiple rounds froze them into place. A particularly lithe Spartan behind them vaulted over its frozen allies and slammed an oblong object into the ground causing a fan of cyan plasma to explode outwards into the middle of the bridge. It served to make a roadblock but it also saved several more from being painted.
A Fireteam took the initiative and started launching rockets towards the second floor.
Kevin swore as the rockets sailed into the windows underneath and rocked the floor beneath Brittany and Will.
"Rapier, isolate the rocket jockey!"
"I don't have a sight on him! Wait, watch the grenadiers!" Rapier Five called out.
Will saw the two (possibly) suicidal Spartans charging at them and immediately started attempting to take one down. His target was evasive however and most of his shots went wide by centimeters. He watched as his target unslung an M319 Grenade Launcher used mostly by the Army and fired. The other one seized two grenades, armed them, and tossed them in a high arc.
Will's DMR ran dry right before he could take another shot at either Spartan, or the grenades. He frantically grabbed a clip and reloaded but it was too late as the three grenades went soaring into the second level.
Several members of Rapier swore before an explosion shook the building he was on..
"Report!" he called out as he and Brittany both silenced the Grenadiers with headshots.
"****! Kevin! Castle Five's down and out! Couldn't move fast enough." Emily reported.
"She out?"
"Afraid so. We're down to four members."
"We'll distract them. Regroup yourselves Rapier." Will ordered as he deliberately uncloaked and stood making himself visible. The rest of the enemy caught sight of him and chose that moment to charge again. This time William and Brittany were the prime targets as everybody else struggled to regain control of their situation.
"Does anybody have something we can shoot at it with? Plasma gun? Grenade?" Rapier Lead protested angrily as another volley of rockets caused them to hit the deck again.
"I got it!" Brittany called out. "Cover me!" she said pulling the Sticky Detonator off Will's back and aiming it. Will jumped up from prone and made himself a much bigger target while Brittany took a moment to adjust her aim for distance, and fired.
The sticky projectile arced slowly downwards with a profound sense of grace before sticking itself to the shield. The Spartans hiding it behind immediately backpedaled but it was too late as William pulled the trigger and watched as a Spartan on either side was frozen followed by two more that had been hiding behind the shield.
"Not bad." he congratulated her.
"Last one!" she called out as Will tossed her the last grenade for the launcher.
"Aim for the rockets!" he ordered.
She complied by shifting her aim and firing again. The final grenade soared over the heads of all and, in a surprising feat of marksmanship, stuck itself to the barrel of one the Spartans guns. The offending Spartan promptly threw it over the bridge and rolled but it was too late as the now airborne grenade exploded in a heavy shower of purple that froze a small cluster of six Spartans partially or completely.
"That's how you use a grenade!" Chelsea cheered from below.
A dozen or so Spartans, fearing more grenades ran for it and successfully made it to the foot of the door. The crack of Emily's sniper rifle was barely audible now over the cacophony of all the other weapons firing at Rapier and Castle. William grimaced. They should have recognized the threat was on two levels and divided their firepower between the two. Not overly focus on one side. There was now again so much paint flying that Will could not risk leaning out far to take aim.
In short, Will thought they were being overwhelmingly suppressed.
"Castle Lead! What are you waiting for?" Rapier Three called out. "We need to blow it! Blow it now!"
The last Fireteam of Spartans colored in a woodland color scheme crossed the line of where he had laid out eight landmines stolen from their door defense trap. It had taken some effort but he had made four Spartans go charging out the door, engage in a skirmish to antagonize their foe, and kept up the effort while Will had sneaked up and laid eight mines on either side of the bridge and retreated back with his allies to safety. It was an interesting coincidence, he noted, the shape, coloration, and size of the mines made them look like part of the bridge. A part of him wondered whether that was intentional.
Intentional or not, so far no one had figured out they were actually walking right into a trap.
He waited a couple crucial seconds longer and gave the order.
"Hit it Rapier Three!"
A series of four consecutive explosions rent the air and silenced the sound weapon fire as each pair of mines exploded outwards and enveloped all around them in purple.
From his vantage point he watched as the farthest set of mines exploded creating a six foot barrier of purple behind them. The next two enveloped the back of the column of Spartans. The next two took out most of the rear guard on the flanks, and the next four took out a good dozen. Will had just succeeded in blocking the bridge and trapping them.
When the smoke cleared William was looking at an enemy reduced by at least 25. There were now a good 30 or so plus Spartans still kicking and a greater chance of actually getting out of this thing..."alive".
"Oh **** yeah!" Rapier Three spoke for all of them as the rest of the Spartans cheered at the aftermath of the explosions.
"Okay, that was awesome." Asher admitted to Will privately.
He flashed a green light and she fell silent again.
"We're not done yet! They're trying to breach the door!" Brittany exclaimed. Frustrated they couldn't lean out of cover for a shot Brittany kicked the empty Sticky Detonator plummeting over the edge.
Will was unsure but he thought he heard the sound of a metal on metal impact and a Spartan cursing the empty gun that fell from the sky.
"Hey, Castle One? Can you lend some assistance to Micheal and Julianne? I'm sending them down to the ground floor to try and hold back the enemy." Kevin importuned him.
"Sure. Flak's too heavy up here anyways." Will agreed. He turned to Castle Eight. "Come on, let's get down and finish this thing."
They all hurried down and met Rapiers Two and Three at the top of a landing overlooking the door and the dozen antipersonnel mines still defending them. Will wished for a moment that he had the older version of the DMR instead of the M315. The older iteration could change between semi-auto and auto firing modes. He glanced at his ammo counter which read a paltry 38 rounds. He would be switching to pistols soon enough.
A bang on the door brought him to reality. The enemy was using something to batter down the door.
"Door intergrity at 10%." Jeff announced over a hidden PA system.
"You guys have any more ammo?" Will asked already knowing the answer.
Both Rapiers shook their head. "Afraid not Castle Lead." Rapier Two answered for the both of them.
"So this is how the world ends." Castle Eight sighed somewhat resigned.
"You know guys, this was fun, I kinda wanna be done now." Rapier Three yawned. "We did good, kicked some serious Spartan butt, do you think we'll be allowed to sleep in?"
"Come on. We have 40 Spartans standing between us and victory." Will protested.
"And those Spartans have enough weapons to blow this place up." Micheal replied. "Face it, We've had a good fight but we're done. And even if we do take everyone out, we're still technically enemies."
William's retort was silenced.
Door integrity at 22%.
"Well I'd prefer we not become enemies until this is all over."
Will turned around to see the remainder of Castle and Rapier coming down to join them with Kevin leading them.
"I appreciate the gesture," William began, "but aren't we leaving ourselves exposed to entry from the second floor?" Will asked.
"Nope. They threw too many grenades. Window's almost impassable."
The door gave a sudden shriek as it "caved" inwards slightly exposing the world outside slightly.
58%
"Castle, counter-breach positions now!" William ordered.
The four of them that were left shuffled and positioned themselves at the top of the landing with their backs adjacent to the corner for a possible retreat.
Will heard a shout from outside, watched as something was placed blocking the small hole in the door, and then a moment of silence.
"Incoming!" he shouted to his teammates.
"Look out Rapier!" Kevin shouted.
The doors suddenly blew "inwards" on some unseen hinge as an explosive charge threw open the door. The action had the unwanted consequence of detonating some of the mines closest to the door resulting in additional smoke and paint thrown into the inital shock and
Will sighted in a Spartan moving to capitalize on the shock and awe of the breach before firing his weapon.
"Contact! Contact!" he shouted as chaos began to break loose.
There you go, Chapter 19 is done. Chapter 20 to come soon.
Comments? Suggestions? Ideas? Characters? Send them my way. I've already started incorporating some suggestions into my plan.
Again, many thanks to gwb99 for his work and for his characters. Fireteam Rapier is the property of him and shared under a joint agreement.
Take care, I'll be back soon.
Peace,
theotherpianist
Please review and leave a like, many thanks to fellow compatriot gwb99 for all the work he does in assisting me.