Greetings readers!
Welcome back to another installment of RoTE. At the end of this chapter, we shall have almost 225,000 words archived. We're approaching the halfway point in the story soon but there are still so many other things that need to happen. I can't wait.
This chapter was due to be released around the start of 2017 but I unfortunately was inundated with a number of personal things. As a result, I had to postpone this chapter until I could release it now. I always regret when I can't update on a regular basis but it is my hope this chapter satisfies you.
There are a couple of Easter Eggs hidden inside this chapter. Kudos to you if you can spot them all.
Without any further ado, please sit back, relax, and enjoy.
Chapter 25:
December 11th, 2559: 11:55 Hours UNSC Standard Military Time/Calendar
Outside War Games Simulation Room, Room 2-001
UNSC Infinity, Slipspace Transit
Spartan William Gunther
"So, you didn't know about the integrated thrusters?" Elizabeth asked as they filed up to a lift that would take them up to their starting positions in the War Games room.
"Well, we had thrusters in armor before right? Those were usually limited to exo-atmospheric operations. Not the same thing." William replied. "So, no. Four and I haven't really been in the loop on all things Spartan."
Castle Team, sans Castle Eight who had been pulled aside by the technicians that morning for reasons unknown to William, had geared up for a combat training mission. Instead, their morning training had consisted off a "Spartan Physicality" course taught by Commander Palmer and Roland on how to properly utilize all the capabilities of their armor including use of their integrated armor thrusters. This was one area the Four's seemed to do a better job in, at least the end they had been given the assignment to log their physical training time for the next two months (when not in active combat) and to regularly incorporate maneuvers using their thrusters into their exercises, both combat, and otherwise.
Afterwards they were pulled aside and directed to a smaller room where Roland and Tedra Grant from Majestic had given them a tutorial on the various pieces of equipment that were available to them to supplement their combat performance. Equipment training had been fun though. William and the rest of Castle had significant experience with some of the older tech such as the Bubble Shield module, but were pleasantly surprised by some of the Forerunner tech that had been reverse-engineered. All of them enjoyed giving the Hardlight shield a go.
"I thought you all performed extremely well in your thruster training. You did better than 78% of the Spartans - just from your first attempt alone. Not bad. I thought your performance during equipment training was nearly flawless." Freya noted optimistically.
"We could be better." Asher muttered. She was the only member of the team that was still raw over their performance in training.
"What's taking this lift so long?" Ralph griped, pointing a finger at the closed door.
"Calm down. The elevator will be here soon." Castle Five said, turning to Castle Six.
On cue, the door chimed once and opened.
"See?" said a slightly smug Castle Eight. All of Castle turned to face Brittany.
"Hey, when did you get here?" Ralph asked.
"Now. I'm done with the synchronization process."
"Synchronization?"
"Turns out the armor maintenance crew violated ONI regulations regarding this suit." she shrugged her shoulders.
"Seriously?" William said turning his full attention to his teammate.
"Yeah. Apparently this suit requires an extensive synchronization process before it can be used. The guys in charge of maintaining my armor are in serious trouble."
"Why?"
"Well, the danger lies in the move-by-wire system. The reflex enhancers are on steroids. Turns out I got lucky that my suit happens to mostly be calibrated to me already by default and that I didn't too anything too crazy in Warzone. If it hadn't, it would have been like your average marine strapping on MJOLNIR and giving it a go."
Castle Team winced. Their had long since had the explanations system was so reactive that normal human beings couldn't use the suit without injuring or even killing themselves. The only people capable of wearing MJOLNIR were those who had undergone the skeletal, neural and muscular augmentation necessary.
"It's that powerful?" Felix gaped.
"So they say. Definitely wouldn't want to put your average marine inside this thing. Because it was already mostly calibrated it didn't take long. They showed me how to use the integrated thrusters as well so it looks like I didn't miss too much."
"Well, show us your fancy reflexes." Ralph demanded.
"You'll see once we get into our training." she shrugged.
"Speaking of which, on the elevator." William ordered cutting off their interaction before Ralph could retaliate.
"Yessir." Castle Six grunted as he adjusted the M41 SPNKR-EM on his back. The weapon was slightly larger than it's cousin to account for the extra long tubes it had. Evidently most weapons now had one or two variants with their own unique traits. This was more prevalent in the War Games exercises. In actual combat? As far as William could tell, what was available to Spartan Operatives was limited in quantity and supply.
"You didn't go for the M57?" Castle Seven asked.
"What, the peashooter? Oh I'm sure the Quartermaster was telling the truth, but let's be honest, this weapon is bigger, it's louder, and it scares the crap out of anybody on the receiving end of good 'ol UNSC justice. I'll give it a try later, just so that I know how to use the thing, but this will always be superior."
"Check your weapons." Asher ordered.
William racked the bolt on his DMR and checked that the ARC-920 on his back was in working order. The railgun was easily one of the heaviest guns he had ever held, but he was impressed with how the weapon performed in their first simulation against every other Spartan.
He flashed a green acknowledgment light and waited for the rest of his team to respond. Castle Four was the next to light up as she checked the action of her M90 and gave a quick inspection of her side arm.
"I'm surprised they still carry these." Castle Eight remarked as she checked the action of the M319 Grenade Launcher. "I haven't seen these since 2552."
"Why re-invent the wheel," Castle Three quipped as he slid back the bolt on his SRS and checked the scope "when a weapon 200 years old weapon still performs just as well as it did when it was released?"
The elevator started upwards and a hole opened up in the ceiling for them.
"Any idea what our mission is Freya?" William asked.
"Negative. I'll know as soon as you do."
The elevator suddenly stopped with a clank.
The eight Spartan III's stiffened slightly.
"Uh. Was that supposed to happen?" Ralph asked after a long pause.
Emergency lighting in the shaft flared to life and the elevator started back down. Moments later William felt the familiar vibration that was a sign of the ship exiting slipspace.
"Freya?" he asked the AI for confirmation.
"We're dropping out of slipspace." Freya reported. "Captain has ordered combat alert Alpha."
"This is Captain Lasky to all hands!" The Captain's voice blared over their internal radios a moment later. "We've intercepted communication from a Republic fleet under fire from Confederate Forces. We're going to go help them out. Battle stations people! All combat personnel standby to receive orders!"
Attention all Spartans. All combat simulation exercises have been terminated. Please exit the facilities at once and return training weapons to the armory." F.I.L.S.S ordered.
"Fireteam Castle. Your training exercise is suspended for now." Commander Palmer announced her presence from somewhere unseen. "We'll continue some other time."
"Copy that. Castle Out." William said closing the connection.
"Fireteam Castle?" Roland was the next person to get their attention. "There's a live-fire armory attached to the training armory. Gear up and report to the S-Deck on the double."
"Marking the armory now." Freya responded. An arrow flashed on their HUDS and the elevator settled to the ground.
"No time to waste!" Castle Four called out.
The eight Spartans took off running towards the training armory which was just down the corridor. Other Spartans began streaming out from their exercises behind them.
They rounded a corner, turned left, and walked through the door.
"Alright Spartans. Training weapons and ammunition here. Live-fire is beyond that door." the Quartermaster gestured to their left. Grab what you need and get to the S-Deck."
William and the others quickly cast off what they had into a large receptacle and proceeded straight to their left. A door, which William had always seen sealed, was now open.
"What kind of mission are we talking Commander?" Elizabeth asked.
"Likely boarding and counter-boarding operations." William said sliding a DMR from off a rack and grabbing ammunition from a dispenser located next to it. "Go for same or similar load-outs."
He noticed a section of the armory that had a few Promethean weapons. In the training section there were rows upon rows of the "exotic" weaponry. Here in the live-fire section, there were only a couple available. By contrast, the amount of Covenant weaponry that was available far outstripped the number of Forerunner weapons.
"Are these free for the taking?" he called out to a different quartermaster that was organizing a rack full of MA5's.
"They are. Be careful with them though. We only got a few models we can use."
"I'll keep that in mind." William said ignoring the Lightrifle and sticking with his DMR. "Freya, remind me to make it a point to grab these and practice with them." he said privately to her.
"Done."
The lights dimmed for a second and William felt the ship jolt for a second.
"That was the MAC. We've engaged the Confederacy. It looks like the Republic caught a freighter with a small escort fleet and attempted to seize it. The Confederacy responded with reinforcements."
"Is it just the Infinity?" Hansu asked.
"Only the Infinity and the Frigates stored internally, Castle Three." Freya replied.
"Seems rather one-sided." he snarked.
"Must be an important freighter if they sent reinforcements this deep into Republic territory." Chelsea said with a frown.
"Think we're headed there?" Felix asked.
"Possibly." Freya replied. "How exciting though! My first live combat mission with you!"
"Shall we celebrate with cake?" Hansu quipped.
"Cake is a lie Three, Cheesecake is the way to go." Elizabeth shook her head.
"Hey." Asher said grabbing everyone's attention. "There's equipment and armor modules on the other side over there." Asher pointed to a different corner.
"Do we know how to use it?" Elizabeth asked. "I mean, we only had that one training session and it's been a while."
"You don't need to grab one if you don't want to. I think you'll learn quickly though. You got your choice of equipment pieces or armor modules. Tell me what you want and I'll give it to you." William said, turning to the others.
"I'll take an overshield." Asher was the first to speak up. William grabbed a module. and gave it to her.
"Not the Hardlight?" he asked in confirmation.
"The battery runs down way to fast. I'll use the overshield."
He gave it to his Lieutenant Commander (did they still hold ranks? He would need to double check that later).
"Hansu?"
"Give me the Zulu Dash Five Zero Eight Zero SRSA/V."
"Translation?" William asked slightly annoyed by his Sniper's behavior.
"Promethean Vision."
William pulled the module off the rack and gave it to Hansu who was wise enough not to say anything else.
"Speed boost." Chelsea replied when he looked at her.
"Stun blast." Elizabeth nodded a second later at a small cylinder equipment.
William retrieved both devices.
"Hardlight shield!" Felix grinned.
"Those are currently in the science department!" the Quartermaster called out.
"...then I'll take a bubble shield." he replied disappointed. "Mr. Wreck-it will take the armor lock."
"I - uh, sure." Ralph confirmed a moment later.
Castle Eight asked for a Regeneration field and William handed it to his Medic before grabbing a camouflage module.
"We good?"
"Five and I are good." Chelsea announced after securing her sidearm to her leg and attaching the speed boost module to the back of her armor.
"Anybody carrying plasma?" Asher asked suddenly, gesturing with her head towards a section that was filled with plasma based weaponry.
"I can." Castle Six replied. "Might help if we're fighting off droids."
"Good call." William said replacing the M6 on his leg and retrieving a plasma pistol.
"These look different." Ralph commented.
"A bunch of weapons underwent a design change after the war. These models are approximately 18% more efficient than their predecessors." Freya replied.
"Hey Will! Toss me one of those."
He looked behind to see Fireteam Charon with Felix gesturing to the DMRs which were opposite the pistols. William grabbed one of the rack and tossed it to him.
"Just another day at the Office, eh Castle?"
"Indeed." he turned to the rest of his team who were all ready.
"Good hunting." Asher said in parting as Will flicked his head in the direction of the door.
The eight members of Castle streamed out and ran for an elevator which took them directly to the S-Deck. When they arrived, the S-Deck was full of Spartans, unarmored and armored running to various destinations.
"Fireteam Castle! Over here!" Commander Palmer's voice rang out over the din of alarms, klaxons, and whirring machinery.
William looked over to see Commander Palmer on top of a stack of crates directing people.
"Yes Commander?"
"Separatist boarding parties are swarming the Republic's flagship. Jedi General Keelyvine Reus and Commander Tyzen Xebec are currently under siege. We'd prefer they both avoid capture or death. I need you to get in there and assist."
"And what of counter-boarding parties?" Castle Two asked.
"Others will handle those positions. I just need you to get in there and help secure the ship. I'll have Roland send you the location of your Hangar. Clear?"
"Yes ma'am." Castle Team saluted.
"Good luck." Palmer she started ordering a different group of people around.
"We need to find Transflight Deck 19-7. Hangar 32 has our ride." Freya reported a moment later.
"Which is where?" Elizabeth asked.
A navpoint appeared on their HUDS below them. An additional marker appeared on a lift midway through the S-Deck.
"Take that lift right there."
"Uh. That lift is leaving." Hansu pointed out.
"Hey! Hold that lift!" William called out.
Several Spartans standing on the platform motioned for them to get on. Castle Team dashed over and clambered on just as it started descending again.
"Cut it kinda close there." A Sand colored Spartan nodded.
"Thanks for holding it."
"No problem. You being deployed to secure the ships?"
"Correct."
"We might be on the same flight then." The Spartan said offering his hand. "Tyler Hoff, Leader of Fireteam Rhino."
"William, Fireteam Castle."
"So you're the guys we had to take down the other day?"
"Something like that."
"How you liking the Infinity?"
"It's big."
Fireteam Rhino chuckled.
"Yeah, I'll give you that one. Beats the crap out of the Frigates." Tyler grinned behind a depolarized visor.
"Well, there's that." Will shrugged. "There's a lot of people on board. Especially Spartans."
"You get used to it. There's still some people I don't know. Have you been to any of the R&R activities?"
"No, we're still getting used to this ship. Haven't gotten an R&R schedule."
"Oh, dude, you need to go to the Christmas dance. It's the highlight of the year. Always a blast."
"Sound interesting. Might be a good way for me to start memorizing names and Fireteams."
"Good luck. We're a big crowd."
The lift stopped.
"You going right?" Tyler asked.
"No, navpoint has us going left.
"Ah. Well, we'll see you around."
Fireteam Rhino turned and ran right.
"Hangar 32 is up there." Ralph gestured.
William led the Team into Hangar 32. As far as hangars went, it was towards the smaller side of things. A single Pelican dropship was waiting for them. Three others were being lowered from the ceiling to the ground.
Outside the Hangar was an explosive battle raging between the Confederacy and the Republic with explosions rocking either side. There was another thump as the MAC fired delivering a lethal dose of hyper-accelerated munitions somewhere else.
"You guys Fireteam Castle?"a female voice called out.
They looked to see a Silver colored Spartan staring at them.
"We are. Where's the Pilot?" Ralph asked.
"I'm the Pilot." the Spartan said offended. "Didn't you see my armor?"
She wore a suit that was different than any William had seen before. Freya tagged it with the label Valkyrie.
"Sorry, we're new to the program." William apologized.
"Figures. Well, just as a PSA, the Spartan branch has augmented personnel trained specifically as Pilots. We're still better than your average leatherneck. Some of us pilot the Broadsword fighters, my Fireteam flies Pelicans most of the time. You'll be hard pressed to find anyone as skilled as us."
"Sounds good." William said, trying to not tick off their Pilot.
"Go strap yourselves in. We'll be airborne momentarily." she huffed.
William gestured and the Spartans moved in.
"Nice going Ralph." Felix grunted.
"Hey! How was I supposed to know?"
"Lock it down and take a seat."
"Yessir." Ralph grunted placing the rocket overhead and sitting down in
The Pilot reappeared.
"We all set?"
"Affirmative."
She said nothing but pushed past them to the door in the cockpit.
Freya, what's going on outside?"
"Infinity's dealing out to the Confederacy, but the Republic and Separatist warships are too entangled for us to do more. Connecting you to the Battle-net now."
"Infinity Flight Control, Pelican Five-Niner-Five callsign Eagle One, is ready for immediate departure with Sierra class payload."
"Eagle One, Infinity Flight Control reads you five by five. You are clear to start engines. Hold short of the shield door. Broadswords are mopping up enemy starfighters as we speak. Be advised your approach to the Galliant will be hot.
"Roger that. Nothing we haven't seen before."
The engines started spooling up and a few seconds passed before William heard additional voices.
"Eagle One to Squad. Could we do a radio check please?"
"Eagle Two is green."
Eagle Three is green."
"Eagle Four is green but we're loading Spartans. We're almost ready."
"Roger that."
"Any Republic chatter?" William asked Freya.
"Certainly. Give me a moment."
"-squadron I've lost you!"
"Blue Two we're going for the Bridge of that Recusant. Can you see us?"
"Negative! They're all over me!"
"Break for the nearest cruiser and hope that the gunners do their work."
William squelched the channels as he felt the Pelican rise from off the ground.
"Hey, you guys back there prep yourselves. It's only a short flight but I'll have to insert you somewhere else besides the main hangar." Eagle One called out over the intercom.
A moment later William heard the sudden acceleration and briefly felt the G-forces as the Pelican soared out of the Hangar. Weightlessness took over. Behind him there was a tiny window that allowed them to see behind. Currently it was impossible to make anything out because everything behind was blurring. William felt gravity return briefly as centripetal forces from their spin pushed them against the walls of the Pelican. Inside the cabin they were immediately exposed to the concussions of various explosions, both near and far.
"Feels like the end of the world out there." Chelsea remarked.
"For someone it probably is." Brittany replied grimly.
"Freya, can you tune us into the ship we're landing on?" Asher asked.
"Still searching for that-got it." She announced suddenly.
A whole host of voices suddenly blared to life and were automatically suppressed by their suits com system as they attempted to lock onto senior transmissions.
"-all combat teams in sectors three through five are to fall back to the Bridge at once! All squads in Sectors Six and Seven are to do anything in their power to try and restore control to the Bridge!"
"Sounds like our entrance zone is hot." Freya commented.
"Who was that?" Asher asked.
"This is Captain Pharl McQuarrie of the Galliant to all friendly ships! We just lost control of key systems to internal saboteurs and we've lost propulsion and weaponry. Anybody out there?"
"Sounds like the same person." Brittany said.
"Figure he's our guy?" Ralph asked Brittany.
A sudden bang shook the Pelican.
"That was a Starfighter! They're onto us!" Freya alerted the team.
"Pelican Niner Five to all friendly units, we just picked up a squadron of droids on our tale!" Their Pilot's voice said slightly irritated.
"Niner Five this is Dragon Lead, change course by 30.5 degrees left and head for the deck of that cruiser. We're moving to intercept." A different pilot responded.
"Too hot Dragon Lead! I have a Sierra class payload on board that needs to be offloaded ASAP!
"Then change course to 225 by 40."
"Roger that."
"Eagle One break left and we'll try to clear the way!" Eagle Two called out.
"Are you sure about that Eagle Two?"
Another explosion rocked the Pelican.
"Standby Dragon Lead. I'm breaking left."
William saw the droids come into sight after a moment and saw two explosions as two Pelicans intercepted them with their chin mounted gun turrets. Two pursuers remained.
"Thanks Eagle Two, I owe you for those two. Dragon Lead where are you?"
"Niner Five break right and cut across those two cruisers. We got them."
The Pelican broke in a sharp right turn and rolled once. Dragon Lead turned out to be a Broadsword fighter who opened fire with the fighters cannon. Two seconds later their pursuers vanished as it streaked by, guns blazing. Their pursuers broke off and started following the Broadsword.
"Thanks for the assist Dragon Lead. No more hostiles on our six."
"No problem. I'll deal with these guys and cover the rest of your squadron."
"Roger, Eagle Two out." William heard the frequency change a second later. "RSS Galliant this is Eagle Squadron. We're inbound with counter-boarding teams but your main hangar looks too hot. Where can we disengage?"
"Oh thank the Force! Can you break for our port hangar?" Captain McQuarrie asked.
"We can try. Just give us a fighter screen to cover us."
"We'll do what we can."
The intercom buzzed.
"Hey Spartans, get mobile! Hostiles in the hangar and we're coming in hot!"
"Weapons check!" William called out.
Castle Team released their harnesses, stood up, and briefly checked their weapons. Green lights lit up and they braced themselves. Moments later gravity returned in full force and William heard the sound of the Pelican's cannon roaring to life. He pitied what was on the receiving end of that cannon. The Pelican yanked itself around 180 degrees and descended rapidly. The back ramp released and the red ambient light turned green.
"Touchdown! Good luck Spartans."
"Roger that!" William replied. "Move it Castle!"
The ramp expanded and William saw surviving droids running to meet them.
"Contacts sighted! Open fire!"
Ralph's SPNKR made it's debut with a loud WHOOSH as the warhead landed in the center of a group of droids creating a ball of fire that roared outwards. Alarms sounded and Fire-control systems activated sending sprays of argon gas into the air. His VISR compensated for the decreased visibility and outlined the droids in red.
William snapped his DMR up to bear on an additional cluster of droids running to reinforce the hangar and began to fire with deliberate precision.
Hansu mantled a stack of crates and switched his SRS for a DMR of his own.
"Four, Five, shift fire right and flank those doors!" Will ordered. "Two, Eight, flank left! Six and Seven cover the other set of doors!"
He ducked as a B2 made itself visible with its repeating blaster and trained it's blaster on Brittany.
"Bree! Your nine!" he called out.
The B2 opened fire and William watched as the bolts slipped past her by inches. Castle Eight turned her Battle Rifle to the offending droid and drilled a three-round burst into its head.
"Did you see it?" she asked.
"See what?" William replied confused.
William ducked as another trio of B2's barged their way into the hangar. These ones seemed to have missile launchers attached to their left arms. One of them had its legs separated from its body courtesy of a ricocheting sniper round from Hansu. As it fell, William watched as a missile left it's arm traveling towards Castle Eight. She saw the rocket and spun out of the way so fast that even with his augmented vision capabilities, he was barely able to follow her. Hansu dropped the droid with another round to the head (or whatever constituted its head).
"Okay. That was fast." Ralph replied. "I'm impressed."
"Happy?" she asked as she rolled out of the way of another rocket-toting B2.
"Scared. You're now number three on the list of people I don't want to anger."
"Don't get cocky." William called out.
"Believe me Commander, I'm scaring myself with how fast I can move." she replied as she darted back for cover.
"Freya, any ideas on how to navigate this ship?"
"Scanning for an interface port. Heads up lots more hostiles approaching your position."
William looked to his motion tracker for a second and confirmed her statement by the massive red blob that was moving towards them. First out the door where four of the Destroyer droids who unrolled themselves in front of the door and enveloped themselves in their trademark shields.
"Take this!" Ralph called out. The SPNKR gave a WHOOSH again as a rocket left the tube. It sailed towards one of the droids and exploded when it hit the shield. The shield flickered dangerously for a second but powered back on. All of the Destroyers switch targets to Castle Six."
"Problem?" he called out.
"Solution!" Elizabeth responded. "Draw their fire for a second. I'm going to stun 'em!"
Brittany popped up and made herself the most visible target taking the pressure off Ralph long enough for him to find a better spot of cover among a stack of crates. The droids immediately focused on her but quickly found that she was a target they couldn't hit as she started dodging and weaving around. Brittany had always been the second most agile member of Castle Team but she was outperforming herself here.
"This isn't as easy as it looks!" she called out.
"Going!" Elizabeth called out. She leaped off a crate and jumped on top of the maintenance catwalk at the top of the hangar. She hung for a second, an easy target for enemy fire before she jumped off and suspended herself momentarily with her thrusters.
"Get back!" she called out.
William took a moment to observe her stance and guessed that she was about to combine a "ground pound" with her equipment.
William and the others had time to retreat a few steps before Castle Five triggered her armor's primary thrusters sending her hurtling towards the ground. Her fist connected with the metal plating which buckled and warped as 800 pounds of Spartan slammed into the ground with enough force to create a concussive shock that blasted the droids nearest her in all directions. A millisecond later, her equipment triggered and everything within a sizeable radius was thrown backwards as an electric field expanded outwards in conjunction with the shockwave.
The combined explosion was spectacular. The Destroyers lost their shields instantly as the EMP blast roiled across them before the shockwave slammed into them, throwing the droids into the far corners of the hangar hard enough to make them explode upon contact with the wall. The other droids were ripped apart or sent flying in all directions where they met similar fates to that of the Destroyers."
More droids emerged from the door and began firing upon the Spartans. Before William could shift his fire to cover Elizabeth, his motion tracker registered another Pelican entering the vicinity which it did so with a loud roar.
"Watch your heads!" Brittany called out.
William ducked instinctively as the Pelican opened up with its cannon spitting out 70mm ammunition which tore through the droids sending circuitry and sparking shards of metal in all directions.
"Apologies Spartans. Watch your backs in there. Eagle Two out."
The Pelican spun around and the back opened revealing Fireteam Crimson who quickly exited with weapons ready.
"We meet again." Inigo nodded from behind the visor of his Mark VI helmet. "Nice job. Miller? Fireteam Crimson has rendezvoused with Fireteam Castle. We've secured the starboard hangar."
"Roger that. We can't hail Captain McQuarrie. You'll have to do your best."
"Acknowledged. Crimson out."
"I'm trying to locate the Captain. Either he's not on the Bridge, he's deceased, or the system's lying." Freya sighed frustrated. "If the Republic had CNI transponders or neural implants, this wouldn't be a problem."
"Keep trying." William said reloading his weapon.
"Find a way to put me in and I'd have more resources to do that."
"Working on it." William said scanning around the hangar. He spied a holoprojector nearby behind a stack of crates and moved closer to it.
"Will that work?" Castle Six asked.
"You deserve a full refund if it can't. Yank me and I'll see whether I can interface with it."
William removed the chip and held it close to the console. Half a second passed before the chip flashed for a second before going dark.
"Success! I'm in the system." she reported happily. "I've located the Captain. Patching him through."
"Hello? This is Captain McQuarrie, does anyone hear me?"
"We read you Captain. What's the situation?" William asked.
"We're pinned down here on the Bridge. Our ventral hangar was overrun and we have reports of an... assassin running amok. Commander Xebec engaged but we haven't heard from him since. We've lost contact with General Reus as well. How many of you are there?"
"13 Spartans with two more Pelicans on the way."
"Hmm." Captain McQuarrie sighed. "We'll have to make do. If we can regain control of the main hangar, it will make our job of routing the enemy easier."
An explosion was heard in the background.
"It seems we may have droids attempting to access the Bridge as well. Can you spare a few men to help?"
"Roger that Captain. We'll get it done. Are there any Clone units active nearby?"
"Yes, but we're all scattered at the moment. Confederacy swarmed the ship before most of us knew what was going on. Be careful if you engage the Assassin. She's not one to be-"
A sudden burst of static cut him off.
"Captain McQuarrie? Captain McQuarrie, are you there?" Castle Two said, trying to raise the Captain.
"Interference coming from the Hangar." Freya reported.
"We'll knock it out." Inigo nodded. "Any idea what they're talking about with this assassin business?"
"I have a very good idea." William said with a sinking feeling. "It's one of those Sith we heard about in briefings. Her name is Ventress, or something like that, and carries two lightsabers. Subject possesses has telekninetic abilities. Be on guard for both those and her weapons. The lightsaber is akin to the energy sword."
"So don't let it touch us?" One of Crimson asked.
"Pretty much."
"Got it. Have the AI download the ships schematics and forward them on to our HUDs."
"Hear that Freya?"
"Already done. Security sensors indicate the droids are mostly congregating inside the hangar command tower but keep your eyes open. I'll brief Ops back at Infinity and have them forward on assignments to the others. We should probably head for the Bridge. Leave me in the system so I can try and return control of their systems to the Republic."
"Got it. Which way to the Bridge?"
"Which one?"
"There's two?" Chelsea asked.
"One is designated for all ship operations, the other one is in command of all starfighters."
"Then point us to whichever one is hottest." Will ordered.
A navpoint appeared and William motioned for them to move forward.
"Six and Seven, you have point." he ordered as soon as they were inside the corridor. "Three, Five, watch our backs."
Felix lifted the plasma rifle he had brought from the Infinity and held it aloft while Ralph shouldered the SPNKR and pulled off the SAW. Hansu and Elizabeth both fell behind. Elizabeth checked her SMG, gave a nod, and the team proceeded swiftly down the hallway.
"You think that for a ship that's lost both the ability to move and return fire that the Confederacy would have sank this boat." Freya mused.
"Possible causes?" Castle Eight asked.
"The 'Assassin' might be the cause of it. Perhaps the Confederacy is looking to capture either the Captain or Jedi General? I'll keep looking. Perhaps there's something of interest in their files or in the Brig. Heads up. Droid patrol turning your way through that door ahead."
William flashed a yellow caution light and the group proceeded slowly.
The door ahead of them hissed open revealing a squad of eight.
"Hey! Who are you?!" one of them demanded.
Felix promptly slagged it with a couple bolts from his Plasma Rifle.
"What the?!" one of its companions squawked.
Ralph's SAW roared to life leaving the squad decimated. The only survivor had fallen to the ground and looked up at Ralph.
"Oh no!" it gaped in sudden realization. "Please don't kill me!"
Ralph brought down an armored boot on the droids head causing it to jerk once before lifting it up revealing a mangled mass of circuitry and servos.
"Overkill." Hansu muttered.
"Nah. Just making sure he doesn't get up again. Any idea why they picked such an idiot voice for them?"
"Beats the crap out of me. Let's keep moving." Brittany suggested.
The Fireteam pushed forward encountering no resistance until they started to hear weapons fire. They paused outside a door with motion trackers registering lots of movement on the other side.
"Possible friendlies ahead." Asher reported before they paused outside another door.
"Freya, you there?"
"Still am."
"Can you patch us through to the Clones on the other side of this door?"
"I'm navigating Fireteam Crimson to the jammer right now. All Republic frequencies have been blocked. Tyto squad from third platoon is on the other side and is heavily pinned down by about thirty or so droids."
"Watch your fire." William warned.
Green acknowledgments winked on.
"Ralph, get the door."
The armored Spartan triggered the console and the door hissed open. They saw the Clones in question to their left in an intersection twenty meters ahead. They were being fired upon from a squad of droids on the other side of the intersection opposite Castle, and another group to Castle's right. One of the Clones called out in alarm and sent a hail of blue laser their direction. William shoved Asher out of the way and launched himself into the side of the corridor to avoid being hit. The rest of Castle scattered.
"Hey! Friendly fire!" Elizabeth called out angrily.
"What the heck!" Felix protested as he picked himself up from the ground. "We're on your side!"
The blue bolts immediately stopped firing their way.
"Castle! Show them whose side we're on!" William shouted.
William swapped his DMR out for the Plasma pistol and began firing. The rest of Castle picked themselves up and opened up on the droids eliminating the enemies in front of them.
"Rollers!" he heard one of the Clones shout out. William heard the distinctive sounds of objects rolling on the deck and guessed it was several Destroyer droids. True to prediction, the bronze colored droids rolled into the corridor a moment later and unfolded in the intersection. Two of them were slagged by blasterfire, but the survivor uncurled and it's shield bubble flared to life.
William squeezed down on the trigger of the plasma pistol causing a buildup of energy to form between the twin prongs. He waited for it to reach full power before he released the trigger. The alien pistol leaped in his hands as the overcharged bolt of plasma crashed into the droid's personal shield. It flared, flickered, and popped as the electromagnetic effect overcame the shield. The droid powered down a second later allowing one of the Clones to blast it to pieces.
"Targets neutralized." Castle Five called out.
William walked into the intersection and turned towards the Clones. The Clones had barricaded themselves behind several stacks of metal crates and emerged from out of cover.
"Does anyone want to explain that friendly fire?" William asked.
"I...erhm..." one of the Troopers stumbled for words.
William turned towards the soldier.
"That was my fault...I'm sorry." the man apologized. "We honestly thought you were droids. Once comms went down we figured we would fight our way back to the Bridge. We didn't figure we would get any reinforcements." the Clone hesitated.
"Thanks for helping us." a second one said gratefully.
William's helmet was suddenly filled with overlapping transmissions of all sorts. The internal gear automatically filtered out the noise. From the looks of it, the Clones opposite him were hearing the same thing.
"Hey, comms are back!" a third Clone said enthusiastically which confirmed William's thought.
"Crimson Lead to Castle Team. We got the jamming device down but there's a lot of droids that aren't very happy with us. If you come across any Clones, can you send them our way please?" Crimson Lead pleaded.
"You hear that?" William asked.
"I did. Looks like the plan's changed boys. Let's go kick these Seppies off our ship!"
The Clones all nodded, gave a quick salute to Castle, and ran down the corridor they had just come from.
"Freya, how much farther to the Bridge?"
"Not too far. Proceed straight until you reach the elevator banks. Can't miss them."
William motioned Castle Six and Seven to again take point and Castle Team moved down the corridor. The corridor opened up and William saw what had to be an elevator.
"Will we all fit?" Ralph said, examining the elevator critically.
"No, we can't take the elevator." Asher said. She pushed one of the buttons and the elevator hissed open. It would have barely fit three Spartans, much less eight.
"So...where's the stairs?" Castle Eight asked.
"Hold up a second. Stairs would take too long." Will pointed out examining the elevator more critically.
"Well, what if we stand on top of it?" Chelsea asked. "Wouldn't there be more room?"
"Chels, you're a genius." Elizabeth nodded. "Freya? Could you give us a ride on top of the elevator?"
"You'd only be able to fit four."
"That's good enough for us. There's two bridges right? Four Spartans to a Bridge." Elizabeth countered. "Freya, mind putting us on the roof of the elevator?"
"Spooling them up now. I'm pretty sure Captain McQuarrie's still on the Cruiser's Bridge. I still can't get a lock on General Xebec."
"We'll deal with it. What do your sensors show of the Bridge?"
"A lot of my eyes and ears up there were damaged by blasterfire but I'm 95% sure that both corridors leading to the Bridges are packed with droids. There's insertion pods that keep landing on the exterior that are landing reinforcements. I've regained control of propulsion and weaponry so we can at least move and shoot. I'll see if I can take out a few of their boarding craft."
"Do it, but I need you providing intelligence."
"Right. Captain McQuarrie? This is Freya, UNSC AI."
"Yes? What is it?"
"What's your status?"
"We have the droids held to a stalemate at the moment but Commander Xebec and Ventress are both dueling in our tower. Suffice it to say, they're both a little too close for comfort. We managed to regain control of our primary systems.
"We got two Teams of Spartans that are going to help clear out both Bridges. Please don't shoot at them."
"Roger that. Be careful."
The elevator doors hissed open.
"The other Bridge elevator is further down. I'd hurry if I were you."
"Three, Four, Seven, you're with me. The rest of you go with Asher."
William nodded and the Spartans split from each other. William's group clambered into the elevator shaft on top of the roof of the car. The car started up immediately.
William switched the plasma pistol to his left hand and removed the Hydra launcher on his back.
"Anything else you want to tell us about our Assassin friend?" Hansu asked.
"Excessive force may be necessary."
"Now that's my kind of game." Ralph grinned.
"Castle Four? You got point."
"Gladly." Chelsea replied.
The elevator started slowing and a door above them opened up. Almost immediately the sounds of a pitched battle filtered through their audio sensors to their ears. A few blaster bolts sliced through the open elevator shaft and exploded against the back of the shaft. William forced Hansu against the wall as another salvo pummeled the back of the shaft.
"Hey Commander, we're close but not that close." Hansu grunted.
"Hansu, what do you see?" Will asked his sniper.
Hansu pressed himself against the wall and triggered his Promethean vision module bathing the center portion of his visor with a orange light. Within a moment, a small feed of what Hansu could see was projected on the other Spartans HUD's. There were about four dozen droids, mostly B1's supporting a dozen B2's. Who were all pushing slowly towards the Bridge which lay at the end of a corridor. Behind them were two figures dueling with lightsabers. William recognized the red saber-wielder as Ventress, the other combatant was an near-human with several vestigal horns sticking out of his cranium - a Zabrak - if he remembered his briefings on the various species of Andromeda. There were a few clones standing outside the bridge, desperately trying to hold everything back.
"HVT target sighted. It's Ventress." Will confirmed.
"The Jedi seems to be holding his own." Hansu pointed out to which Will nodded.
"Captain McQuarrie? You have four Spartans at the top of the lift. We have eyes on Ventress and a Jedi and are ready to mobilize." Will said after keying his radio.
"Clear the deck of the droids. I want the Assassin captured if possible but I have no qualms about killing her." the Captain ordered before cutting the connection.
"Castle Three? She's distracted. Disable her. Four, Seven, as soon as he takes the shot, weapons free. Watch for friendlies behind.
"I'll have to ricochet the shot." Hansu announced after a moment.
"Can you make it?"
"I've made harder shots. The problem will be not killing her outright with the round." he snorted as he pulled the sniper off his back and checked the angles of the corridor ahead. He suddenly stiffened and tensed as he brought the sniper up to bear. William flicked on his camouflage module and flicked the safety off his Hydra. Chelsea crouched, ready to spring into action, and Ralph hefted the SAW to bear.
Muscles strained, minute corrections were made, a finger twitched, and the roar of the sniper rifle deafened everything for a moment. William tracked the bullet with his eyes for a moment as it ricocheted off the ceiling, bounced off a wall, bounced over the top of another wall, nicked part of a bulkhead, and was skittering into the two duelists. His eyes picked out a spray of blood, and he watched as the Zabrak suddenly jerked back in alarm.
With no time to recognize whether the shot had made the appropriate impact, William centered his aim on the droids filling the hallway and squeezed the trigger six times. The Hydra gave a muffled Whump! before sending out six HEAB gyroscopically stabilized rockets into the unprotected rear of the enemy destroying the rear guard.
The next weapon to make its debut was the SAW which began spitting out rounds at those who survived the Hydra. William ducked as Castle Four leaped over him and started feeding shells to the droids as fast as she could. In such close quarters, the weapon chewed enormous holes in some of its unlucky victims.
William slapped the Hydra to his leg, retrieved the plasma pistol, and burst forward as well sending green bolts into the remaining droids. He ducked to avoid a blaster bolt by a Clone and rolled into a B2 with enough force to knock it off its feet. The droid attempting shooting at him, but William leaned out of the way and punched it with his free hand. The armored glove cratered and William punched through into the internals of the droid. All he needed to do was take one shot with his pistol at the exposed components, and the droid ceased to operate.
Within seconds Castle had cleared the droids. William scanned for Ventress and saw Commander Xebec leaning against the wall looking pale with a large quantity of blood on the ground. Nearby in a similar position was Asajj Ventress who had her lightsabers out of hands reach. He looked from one to the other and noticed both had had massive wounds in their shoulders.
"Clea-oh." Hansu stopped when he caught sight of his targets.
William snatched the lightsabers away from the Sith who lay somewhat half-conscious.
"Commander Xebec, are you alright?"
"I-I'm fine." he grunted painfully.
William looked over to see Castle Four and the Clones attending to the wounded Jedi. The first thing that he noticed was that he was incredibly young.
"Do the Jedi send children out into combat expecting them to hold their own?" he wondered.
Ventress stirred and William turned his attention to her.
"Hold these." William said offering the sabers to Ralph. Hansu, watch her.
"What are you doing?"
"Capturing her." William grunted as he reached out around for a canister of biofoam. He flipped open the nozzle and injected it. The effect was immediate as the foam immediately went to work sealing the open wound.
"Over-penetrated." Hansu said examining what was left of the sniper round nearby.
"I said watch her."
"Commander, she just had a gaping hole torn in her right shoulder. I don't think she'll be fighting condition."
"You haven't seen one of these in action have you."
"Did I mention she's weaponless?"
"Fine. Do you any of you have something to secure her?" William called out.
One of the clones rushed over with a pair of what looked like hand-cuffs. William flipped her over and the Clone secured her. William dragged the Assassin to her feet.
"Castle One to Castle Two, we just secured the bridge in this area and a HVT.
"We're almost done here. Who's the HVT?"
"Ventress."
"Confirm?"
"Confirmed."
"I'll inform Infinity. Two out."
The bridge door opened and a brown haired man with a large mustache stepped out. William guessed this must be Captain McQuarrie.
"Thank you Spartans for coming to our-"
He caught sight of Ventress and paused.
"How did you-?"
"Shot her when she wasn't paying attention." Hansu shrugged. "You're welcome."
"I...I see." the Captain replied. "Well, in that case, maybe I can get the enemy to surrender now that their Commander has been captured."
He beckoned and William hauled the Sith to her feet. She made a feeble movement but otherwise didn't support herself.
"Comms! Contact the enemy flight! Order a cease-fire among ours!"
"Right away!"
"Helm, move us back into formation."
"Aye sir."
"Captain! The enemy fleet is contacting us."
"Open a channel."
The holoprojector fizzled to life revealing a blue-scan of what looked to be a droid.
"Captain McQuarrie, I'm told that you would like to surrender."
"No. I'm here for yours. I have captured your Assassin."
"Impossible." the droid said puzzled.
"See her for yourself." the Captain said proudly. He motioned and William brought Ventress into viewing.
"Impossible." the droid repeated.
"I want to be put into contact with Count Dooku straightaway."
The droid said nothing but instead another hologram joined them. An elderly man dressed in fine robes and a long flowing cape emerged."
"What is it?" the man demanded in a cool and polished voice.
"My lord, Ventress has been captured and a Republic Captain asked me to make contact with you."
"Greetings Count. I am Captain Ralph McQuarrie. Your assassin was foolish enough to board my ship but we have persevered.
For a moment surprise was present in the Count's face but it was soon wiped away by a mask of anger."
"Do you think to presume that by capturing my...failed apprentice, you would get some sort of concession to peace?"
Ventress stirred and suddenly startled.
"What...where - where am..." she stopped and realized she was held captive. William seized her in an iron-clad grip.
"Oh how the mighty are fallen." the Count said with anger blazing in both voice and expression."
"Master!" Ventress cried out in panic.
"What a pity." Count Dooku said with utter contempt.
"Master! Please! Have mercy! Send reinforcements! I'll bring the Jedi to their knees! Help me!" she implored.
"You've lost the battle. You're aboard an enemy ship surrounded by enemies. You're wounded. You're defenseless and you are far from ever being worthy to be my apprentice."
"Master! Please!"
"You are no longer my apprentice. You never wear, and you will never be. Now, as a reward for your failures, you shall die. All ships, target the ship Ventress is aboard and fire."
"Yes my Lord."
The connection closed out leaving the Bridge in a state of silence.
"Divert all power to engines and shields! Get us out of here!" Captain McQuarrie ordered frantically breaking the quiet.
The crew of the Galliant frantically sprang into action.
"Come on. Let's take you to the Brig. A long trial awaits you for your crimes you sith-scum! Commander Xebec said appearing from behind them.
"No..." Ventress muttered in muted shock. "No. No no no." she cried out becoming ever more agonized.
William tried moving her but she planted her feet firmly.
"Commander?" Castle Three said warningly.
In response, Will increased his grip on her and started marching her out the door.
"No! NO! NOOOOOO!"
Then came from her a scream so loud and powerful that it had the effects of a sizeable explosion. William was blasted back with his shields falling to near zero. The viewports closest to her cracked, fractured, and shattered suddenly exposing the ship to the vacuum of space. Will activated his magnetic boots in an instant, the only thing preventing him from being sucked out of space. The Captain gave a shriek and started tumbling towards the empty void along with several other Clones. William seized the Captain and felt the combined weight tug at his boots. He was unable to catch the clones and watched as they were sucked out into the abyss.
"Hold on!" William shouted as he flailed around looking for an additional handhold.
"Agh! Ahh! I'm slipping!" the Captain wailed.
Another clone lost his handhold and started tumbling towards him. He seized at the Captain and William almost felt himself give way.
"Freya! Do something!" William ordered as he strained to keep himself and both men inside the bridge.
"I'm working on it!"
A second later hatches slammed over top of the damaged viewports and the roar of the oxygen leaving the ship seized.
William's shields slowly recharged and additional emergency plating slid over the affected viewports.
He flipped around to see Ventress who had been clinging to a console station heaving in and out. Her hands trembled and suddenly the restraints burst apart in all directions.
"Take her down!" the Captain ordered.
Several clones fired at her but she rolled to the side. William heard Ralph give a start and watched as her twin blades went spinning back to her. She ignited them and gave another scream.
William yanked the plasma pistol off his other leg and began lobbing green bolts at her as fast as he could. The plasma ricocheted and spun off the blade. One unfortunate shot dropped William's shield for a moment forcing him to stop.
Commander Xebec ignited his own blade.
"Don't engage!" Chelsea called out.
The Zabrak gave a roar and hurled himself at her.
Before William could react Ventress had clashed blades twice and struck at him. He flailed for a second which was all the time Ventress needed to stab him through the heart. The Zabrak collapsed.
A trio of shots rang out and Ventress sprang away as Hansu sent the rest of his clip in her direction.
Chelsea was now the only thing standing between her and the door. Ventress raised her blade to strike but William heard the explosion of Chelsea's shotgun. Ventress stumbled for a second and one of the sabers winked out. She lifted a bloody stump of a hand and gave another scream before blasting Chelsea with lightning and throwing her to the side. The saber flew back to her hip and she retreated without another word.
"After her! Sound the general alarm! Lock down the ship! Get a medical team up here stat and inform General Reus to return to our ship and apprehend the Sith. Get us out of here!"
William ignored the Captain frantically given orders and ran over to check on Chelsea.
"Status?" he asked
"Green sir. Shields took the brunt of it. Didn't expect that one. Her hand is going to be un-useable for a while."
"That makes our job a little easier then. Come on Castle, we're going after her."
"We're going after her?" Ralph questioned.
"We have to." Will grunted as he switched out the plasma pistol for his DMR.
"Uh, you just saw her right?" Hansu asked hesitantly. "Went ballistic, blew out a few windows, just stabbed that Jedi through the heart...and you still want to go after her?"
"Why do you think I asked you to watch her. She's still dangerous armed or unarmed."
"Right." he nodded once.
"Come on. Castle Two?" William hailed his teammate. "Ventress escaped and is on the run. I need you to get off the bridge and see whether you can corner her."
"Escaped?"
"It's a long story. Take the team and watch for her."
"Affirmative."
William motioned his team to proceed carefully then switched over to Infinity Ops.
"Ops, this is Castle Team. We secured the bridges and a HVT, but the HVT escaped and is on the run."
"Can you confirm the target is Dooku's apprentice Asajj Ventress?" Commander Palmer asked.
"Was."
"I'm sorry?" Palmer asked confused.
"The Captain tried to use her as a bargaining chip. He renounced her as an apprentice and ordered her death."
"Nice guy. I'll contact the Captain and order the rest of the Fireteams to be on the lookout. Shoot on sight Castle."
"Hold on a second." a second voice asked.
"What Miller?" Palmer asked exhasperated.
"Do we need to kill her? I know she's responsible for killing a few of our troops, but why not re-capture her?"
"Miller, she's too dangerous to be left alive."
"We did wound the target Commander." Chelsea chimed in. "Subject suffered a massive injury to her shoulder and right hand. It wouldn't be out of the question to re-capture her. I'd rather capture her and not play into some Count's hand. That's what he wants after all, right?"
William heard a loud sigh on the other end.
"Fine. Proceed at your discretion Castle Team and keep your guard up. Ops out."
The ship stumbled for a second.
"That was the enemy fleet." Freya reported. "Fortunately the Infinity is moving to support us. Several of the ships have already retreated. The rest will soon be disabled or destroyed. Your target is trying to make her way through several blast doors. My guess is she will move to board one of the shuttles either in the main or haft hangars."
"What of the droids?"
"What patrols that are left are trying to converge on her location. Fireteam Crimson is already dealing with them."
"Coordinate movements between us and see what you can do to block her escape."
"Roger."
William motioned his team forward and they proceeded cautiously out the bridge door.
Several blast doors had closed in the corridor but had been had a several holes molten holes cut out of them. To their left and right, William saw the clones that had been standing guard outside lying in various states of dismemberment. Each Spartan stepped gingerly through the ruined blast shield and into the next section which was clouded by a mixture of smoke and fire-suppressant.
"I got eyes on target attempting to breach another door." Hansu reported. William flicked his head back to see Promethean vision active.
"Can you make a shot?"
"I could but I can't guarantee anything would be non-lethal."
William motioned his team forward again. A loud clank indicated that she had cut through another door.
"She's at the elevator banks."
"Stop her." William said suddenly rushing forward.
He burst forward through the next three blast shields and saw the former apprentice trying to key the lift.
"Freeze!" he barked as he stepped through and to the side.
Ventress flipped around and watched the four Spartans surround her. The others followed closely behind with Chelsea aiming her shotgun at Ventress' heart.
"It's over. You've lost. Let us help you. You're wounded."
"You can't help me." she said bitterly. "Nobody can."
"Look lady. If you value your life at all, this is probably the best option for you to take. An entire ship is converging on your position as we speak." Ralph grunted.
"I'm dead already." she retorted.
"Ventress. Come with us."
A cold, bitter laugh left her lips.
"Don't you understand? I'm already dead! It doesn't matter whether I live or die. Either way, the end result is the same. If I'm going to die, I will take this opportunity and kill everyone who stands in my way."
"Why even come out here anyways?" Hansu asked. "You were charged with protecting a freighter. Why? What's so special about it?"
"My Master wanted to tie up loose ends. It appears I was one of those loose ends. You'll find your answer if you look hard enough." she finished cryptically.
"It's not too late to come with us."
"No. It is."
A piece of the bulkhead tore itself free and flew towards them. The four Spartans ducked giving Ventress enough time to grip the elevator doors open and jump on top of it. She plunged her saber into the elevator ceiling and, carving a quick circle around her, disappeared.
"Come on." William said.
"Wait! Hold on!" Freya called out.
William and the others clambered into the shaft and looked for Ventress.
Suddenly the elevator doors closed and William felt the elevator start moving upwards.
"Oh crap!" Ralph yelped.
William looked up to see the shaft's ceiling lowering to meet them. The ceiling was within arms reach now. William planted his feet and began pushing upwards. The elevator slowed but began to whine as it met resistance.
"Come on!" he grunted.
Castle Three and Four took position with him and braced themselves slowing the elevator to a snail's crawl.
"Freya! Do something about the elevator!"
"I'm trying! I don't know what's happening!" she replied alarmed.
William looked around and spotted the hole.
"It's too small sir!" Ralph replied as he examined it.
"Well make it bigger!"
The elevator roof and elevator ceiling both started creak and buckle.
Ralph seized a cooler part of the incision hand with one movment, ripped a chunk from the elevator and tossed it aside.
A red dagger erupted from beneath where they stood and swiped horizontally nearly getting William's foot.
"That's it. Fire in the hole!" Ralph snapped as Ventress nearly bisected his own foot.
"Wait! Are you so sure that's a good-"
Castle Seven yanked the SPNKR off his back, aiming it directly downwards, and fired. The rocket lit up the elevator shaft for a moment before an enormous explosion shook the elevator. A fireball exploded out of the hole in the elevator.
The elevator dropped a few feet knocking them all to the ground.
"She escaped! How?" Ralph exclaimed as he looked downwards into the hole. William rolled over to look at it as well. The interior of the elevator was blackened and smoldering, but a single glowing circle marked where the floor had once existed. William saw a flash of red light far below.
"Elevator structural intergrity failing! I'd suggest you get out of there now!" Freya warned.
The elevator roof suddenly snapped downwards along the line Ventress had created.
William had only a moment to try and clutch for a handhold before the four Spartans fell downwards. The elevator floor, already damaged from both the rocket and the lightsaber, gave an ominous sounding crack.
"Ralph, for the record, you are the worst-" Hansu's remark was suddenly cut off as the floor gave out under the weight of four Spartans plunging them downwards into the dark below.
Ah. A good ol' cliffhangar. You have my condolences.
As a side note, I think this is the first chapter I've ever written where I haven't changed scenes between different characters. I know there quite a few characters who haven't gotten as much screen time as perhaps you would like. Don't worry. That will be fixed in the future.
I took your comments into consideration this time when writing interactions with Ventress and Spartans. One thing I got heat for was the "can lightsabers melt bullets" argument. I figure having both a shoulder and hand messed up does a little more justice to both parties on opposite sides of the debate. Ventress was distracted, Hansu pulls off a shot that would make Jun jealous, and Ventress is seriously wounded at the end of this chapter.
Halo Wars 2 releases next week so you can bet I'll be looking to figure out how to incorporate it into this work. It just so happens that the first chapters fit nicely into some parts of the first series. I'll leave it up to you guess.
To address a different question, some of you have asked whether Halo 5's plot will intersect at all. The answer? Not really. Because of the crossover elements, I can't have a third antagonistic faction running around. The UNSC are already heavily entrenched within the Galactic Civil War, there's conflict with the Covenant Remnant, and there's likely to be conflict with The *REDACTED*. To add the Created to this conflict would mean moving a number of assets stationed in Andromeda including a certain NAVSPECWAR team back to our galaxy just to get the plotline rolling. Let's not get started on the Infinity and other characters. To move everything completely back and true to canon would take a re-write.
That's all I can tell you for now. Expect Mandalorians, War Games, Former Apprentices, Legendary Characters, and ONI trying to make sense of it all. Did I mention that the Chairman of the UNSC Oversight Sub-Committee will open up an investigation in _A-7/Project 646?
My special thanks goes to gwb99 and stormdragon981 for their assistance as beta-readers for this chapter.
Have any comments? Concerns? Ideas you'd like to see in the future? Send 'em my way. Thanks readers, I'll see you soon.
Yours in writing,
theotherpianist