Hello again, everyone, and welcome back to my Halo - MechWarrior/BattleTech crossover redux.
Thank you all for your wonderful feedback and support. I deeply appreciate it.
I apologize for taking so long to finish up this chapter. I was kinda stuck on how I should go about the ending for some time, and I was working on my Halo/Star Wars crossover on top of that. Fortunately, I've finished this chapter up and I will soon begin writing the next one. Thank you for your support and patience.
In addition, I have a special treat for everyone reading this chapter. If you've played MechAssault before, you should recognize the music title I placed above the date listed in this chapter. As a fellow MechAssault fan, I always enjoyed that music and I hope you do as well.
As always, leave a review and enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo or MechWarrior/BattleTech franchises. They are the respective properties and trademarks of 343 Industries, Microsoft Studios, Bungie, FASA Corporation, FASA Interactive, WizKids, Catalyst Game Labs, Piranha Games Inc., etc. Any material original to the franchises belongs to their respective developers and publishers. Any material not original to the franchises is of my own invention. I do not own any music listed in each chapter. Any music belongs to its original composers and/or artists.
De Wolfe - Downshift
SLS Hammerfall
Harvest
March 1st, 2526
While 'Moramee was busy coordinating the battle from his flagship, the battle for the space near Harvest reached its bloody climax. Seated in his Hellcat II, Richard Wright and his Delta Squadron buddies finished off what remained of the ASF picket, all to take the pressure off the beleaguered Prinz Mugen. Firing the ER Medium Pulse Lasers on his ASF, he quickly blasted apart the last enemy ASF, scattering its remains into the vacuum of space. "Delta Lead to the Prinz Mugen, you should be good to go."
"Copy that, Delta Lead," came the Captain's reply. "Our point defense systems were being overloaded when you arrived. Thanks for the help. Continue swatting more of the bandits out of the sky for us while you're at it."
"Affirmative. Heading out now." Using the motion sensor gloves, Richard quickly turned his ASF back towards the battle, accelerating as fast as he could. Spotting one of his squadmates flying off, he shouted, "Delta-4, where are you going? Stay in formation!"
"I need help!" came Delta-4's panicked reply. "I've got a bandit on my six!" Covenant ASFs was in hot pursuit, weapons firing away as the pilot desperately pulled all kinds of maneuvers to escape. "This is Delta-4 to any available ASFs! I need help shaking this bandit off my ass!"
"Hold on, I'm coming!" Richard shouted. "Delta Squadron, continue hammering the other bandits! I'm going to help Delta-4!" Closing the COM-link, he threw the throttle to maximum and pointed the nose directly at Delta-4.
The entire ASF shook as the engines roared, pushing the Hellcat II to its blistering maximum speed. RCS thrusters flared as Richard maneuvered around the increasingly debris choked battlefield, with some bouncing harmlessly off the armor on his fighter. Just in time, he reached Delta-4 and prepared to pull him out of the fire.
The moment he saw the fighter, he knew that Delta-4 was in rough shape. Much of the armor on the rear of Delta-4's fighter, a Corsair, had been ablated away, with the internal structure now taking damage itself. Craters and cuts that glowed an angry orange color pockmarked the entire hull of the Corsair, while parts of the bubble canopy had charred and blackened pieces. Behind the ASF, the Covenant Bandit kept up the pressure, regularly firing plasma boluses and shearing of more armor with each hit.
After quickly checking over the armor integrity of his ASF, Richard fired on the bandit with the twin ER Large Pulse Lasers, causing the energy shields to flare. That got the hostile pilot's attention, as the bandit quickly turned to respond in kind. As he fired at the bandit, Richard spotted a flare of light coming from Delta-4's engines. "Delta-4! EJECT!" he roared.
It was too little, too late. There was a bright flash of light as the fighter's engines, unable to endure the stress of combat any longer, tore themselves apart. The fuel onboard the Corsair promptly exploded, blasting the ASF apart into thousands of pieces. The pilot was instantly killed, with the man's mangled corpse floating away to become just another piece of debris in space.
For a brief instant, Richard saw red as he watched Delta-4's dead body drift away. Richard snarled and locked his crosshairs onto the murderous Covenant bandit, squeezing his joysticks' triggers with all his might. His Hellcat II's lasers smashed right into the bandit's shields with tornado force, popping the overloaded shields in a single volley. Next, Richard's follow-up shots slashed nasty gashes and holes into the bandit's armor plating, and the alien fighter exploded. Richard watched with grim satisfaction as its pieces scattered across the void.
That's for Delta-4, you son of a bitch, Richard roared internally. He took a deep breath, slowly letting it out as he slumped a little in his seat. Turning his fighter around, he said, "Delta Squadron, head back to the Moscow for repairs and rearming."
"Roger Delta Leader," came the reply.
Just as Richard guided his ASF back to the Moscow, a COM burst came in. "This is Admiral Janos of the Moscow. We have detected Covenant bandits heading for the DropShips that we have launched. To all available ASFs, form up on the DropShips and prevent the Covenant bandits from reaching them. That is all."
Richard swore under his breath. "Delta Squadron, rearm and repair," he ordered. Switching frequencies, he said, "Delta Leader to all ASF Squadrons. Did any of you guys get that?"
"This is Epsilon Leader, we got that," came a reply from Epsilon Squadron's leader. "We're moving to engage the Covenant bandits immediately. Charlie, Gamma and Rho Squadrons, move to assist ASAP."
. . .
As the Daedalus and the other SLDF DropShips burned hard toward the planet's surface, Major Gerald carefully walked along the 'Mech bay's catwalk, heading to his 'Mech. The entire DropShip shook and shuddered, nearly throwing Major Gerald over the railing at one point. Well, these drops are always rough, Major Gerald reminded himself. It's a miracle that I've lasted this long without falling off the catwalk.
The other MechWarriors were already climbing into their own 'Mechs, and Major Gerald was about to climb into his custom MD-2R Marauder when someone took hold of his shoulder. Gerald whirled around and faced the helmeted man who had stopped him, whose green eyes shone through his helmet visor. "You OK?" the man asked.
Gerald nodded. "I'm fine, Ivan. I'm just wondering what kind of land vehicles the Covenant will throw at us. Given the tech they have, they must have BattleMechs of their own. Plus, whenever we do a combat drop, we're always rolling the dice."
"My thoughts exactly," Ivan said. "I don't know either, but I can say one thing for certain." Leaning in, he said, "We'll make those Covenant bastards pay for what they did to Harvest and everyone on it. Mark my words."
"Same here," Gerald agreed. "Let's get into our 'Mechs and teach those Covenant bastards why you don't fuck with the UNSC or SLDF. See you groundside, Ivan."
"You too, Lance Leader," Ivan finished. Both men went their separate ways. Gerald clambered onto his waiting Marauder, removed the metal panel over the keypad and punched in the access code. Two beeps sounded off, and Gerald opened the hatch, dropping inside.
Once the hatch was closed and sealed, Major Gerald advanced towards the seat he would sit in for the next few hours. Sitting down, he connected his cooling suit's feed tubes to the coolant system that would prevent him from suffering heat stroke when the 'Mech was running hot. Putting his neurohelmet on, he drew a length of cable from the reel built into the seat, before connecting it to his helmet. Once that was done, he flipped a switch. The DICs automated voice, known affectionately by MechWarriors as 'Bitchin' Betty,' sounded off in his ears. "Neurohelmet Activation Detected," it said. "Please Present Authorization Code."
"November Three-Niner-Five," Gerald replied, thinking back to the family he had on Soell III. This was a necessary part of the process of turning on the 'Mech, as modern neurohelmets scanned for specific levels of activity in areas of the brain. MechWarriors often set up the security system to where specific memories could trigger the security system to prevent any thieves from stealing the 'Mech by fooling the DIC.
Right on cue, the DIC said, "Identification Confirmed. 'Mech Ready For Activation." Nodding slightly, Gerald looked at the bank of switches and screens before him. The controls for the Marauder were designed to where most of the important switches were directly in front of the seat, with a pair of smaller panels to the left and right. The left panel, once a series of buttons and a small screen, was now a solitary touchscreen, with the right panel being similar. The center one had a pair of touchscreens, though there were several switches, as well as a lever. Under those switches was a small protrusion that looked like a key.
Behind Gerald was a small alcove that had the neurohelmet cable hookup, also known as the NCCI, the air supply and recirculation system that provided the pilot with breathable air, a personal gear storage unit, as well as a tool web that held a 'Mech field repair kit. The alcove also had a toilet built into it.
Gerald was in the middle of the pre-power up checklist when he felt the DropShip rumble slightly. Keying his COM unit, he said, "Bravo Leader to DropShip. What's going on up there?"
"We're being fired upon is what's going on!" was the reply. "Looks like the Covenant's engaging us with their ASFs! We've got our own fighting to keep them off us, but we're still taking a few hits! Hang on in there!"
"Copy that," Gerald replied. Closing the COM-link, he quickly continued to go through the pre-power up checklist. Once completed, he put the checklist away, before waiting for the signal to power up his 'Mech. His feet danced an arpeggio on the floor of the cockpit from nervous stress.
Just a few moments later, he felt another rumble, though this was one very familiar. Checking a video-link feed, he found that the DropShip was now beginning to enter Harvest's atmosphere. Orange-red plasma enveloped the Hammerfall as it brute forced it's way into Harvest's atmosphere. Then, he saw only the intense plasma field around the DropShip. The intense plasma also scrambled the DropShip's sensors, though it did the same for the Covenant's sensors, with the hostile fire quickly tapering off as the DropShip seemed to vanish.
The rumbling suddenly grew stronger, rattling Gerald in his 'Mech's seat. Small items inside of his 'Mech shook around, with a few falling to the ground with a clatter and a clang. Can't pick them up yet, he said to himself as he continued to wait out the intense shaking.
Eventually, the intense shaking dropped off, and he unbuckled himself from his seat. He gathered up any fallen items and threw them back into his personal storage compartment. Satisfied that he wouldn't have any distractions, he quickly walked back over and reattached the coolant lines before buckling himself in firmly once more.
Sometime later, the intercom crackled to life. "Attention, Attention. Approaching Landing Zone. ETA: One Minute." There was another interval of silence, then the entire DropShip shook with a muted THUMP as it landed on solid ground. "Attention. Prepare For BattleMech Departure. Warning: 'Mech Bay Doors Opening. Stand Clear."
Flicking a trio of switches, Gerald twisted the key-fob that was on the control panel before him. A pair of clicking sounds sounded off, before a muted electrical hum echoed inside of the cockpit. "Reactor: Online." the DIC informed him.
Gerald flicked on a few more switches, activating all the touchscreens in the cockpit. "Sensors: Online," the DIC reported. Within seconds, the touchscreens began displaying the various weapon readouts, while the HUD of his neurohelmet activated, displaying the crosshairs, minimap and other vital functions. A 2D layout of the 'Mech appeared in the lower left corner of his HUD, serving as a damage indicator.
Flicking a pair of switches, he heard the DIC report, "Master Arm Activated. Weapon Systems: Online." The 'Mech shuddered as the DIC began running the entire 'Mech through its own systems checklist, with myomers contracting and relaxing. Then, Gerald heard the DIC report, "All Functioning Systems: Nominal. Cleared For Combat Operations."
Keying his COM, he said, "Bravo Lance, report in."
"Bravo-2 here, all systems nominal," came a reply.
"Bravo-3, ready for war."
"Bravo-4 here, all systems online and ready for combat."
"Good," Gerald said. Switching COM frequencies, he said, "Charlie, Delta and Epsilon Lances, report in."
"Charlie Lead here. All 'Mechs online and ready," Charlie Lead reported.
"Delta Lead here. Systems green and 'Mechs are ready," came Delta Lead's response.
"Epsilon lead here. Everyone's ready to go," Delta Lead finished.
"Copy that. Once we're out of the DropShip, we'll form up and head out towards our objective." Switching COM frequencies, he said, "Bravo Company Lead to Hammerfall. Mission objectives and status?"
"Your objectives are to secure the ruins of the city of Utgard," Lieutenant Colonel Edward Haines, the battalion's CO, said. "Command is going to be establishing an FOB there as part of the effort to reclaim the planet from the Covenant. Your Lance and the others in the battalion will be engaging Covenant ground forces that have already landed. Two regiments of mechanized infantry and combat vehicles will provide support for the two BattleMech Battalions assaulting that portion of the city, of which your Lance, as well as Alpha and Charlie Lances, are members of. Do whatever is necessary to drive the Covenant out of Utgard and secure the region."
"Copy that," Gerald replied. "We're Oscar Mike." Closing the COM-link, he said, "Bravo Lance, form up on me." With that, Gerald guided his Marauder through the 'Mech bay, following the flashing lights and stomping down the boarding ramp onto Harvest's surface.
In Gerald's eyes, Harvest was a hellish ruin. Gone were the forest green trees and grass, and gone was the bright blue sky. The grass and trees had been burned away, leaving glassed stumps that were still rooted into the glassed earth. The predawn light was the color of burnt orange, though Gerald had hopes that it might improve somewhat. Gale force winds churned whatever dirt and dust was on the ground, creating clouds of steam and dust that obscured his vision.
This must have been a nice place once, he said to himself. Now, the planet was an unrelievedly depressing place. In all that dust shrouded land, there was not a single cool color. Not a blue, nor a green; just a steady seepage of yellows, sad orange, tired browns and grays, nothing that might cool the mind and ease one's thoughts. The ground was the color of ship excreta, and the atmosphere reminded Gerald of a failed science experiment. It was hard to imagine that this planet was one something of a tropical paradise once. Either way, he knew this planet would never be able to support life on its own again, not unless mankind put the effort in to restore the planet to its former glory.
Then, Bravo-2 spoke up. "Bravo Lead, you OK?"
"What?" he asked.
"You OK, sir?"
He frowned. "Sorry. Too much thinking. I'm all right."
"Good," Bravo-2 sighed. "Orders?"
Gerald checked his sensor suite and HUD. Turning his 'Mech to the right, he spotted the nav-point that would lead them to Utgard. "Form up on me," he ordered. "We're heading towards Utgard. Once we arrive, the Combat Vehicles will move up with us, while the infantry clears out any Covenant forces in the city. Bravo Company, form up on my lead. Once we reach the city, we'll split up, 100 meter spread."
"Copy that," the others replied. Getting into formation, the rest of the Marauders in his lance marched alongside Gerald's Marauder.
Gerald heard his COM chime. "Lieutenant Gerald here. Identify."
"Charlie Lead here," came the reply. "You guys OK so far?"
"Yeah," Gerald said. "Why?"
"The dust storm's so thick that we're using you for a distance-and-line-fix. That way, we don't get lost in all this dust."
"Solid copy," Gerald reported. "What's your Lance makeup?"
"Four Shadow Hawks."
Good for both attacks and scouting, Gerald noted. That'll be useful. "Copy that," he said out loud. "I'll get in touch with the Colonel and find out where he's at." Switching COM frequencies, he said, "Colonel Haines, do you read me? Over."
"I read you," Haines replied, his voice muffled slightly by static. "Dust cloud's interfering with your signal, but I can still hear you clearly. What's your SitRep?"
"We're en route to Utgard as per your orders sir," Gerald reported. "Heavy dust, and sensors are starting to suffer from interference, but it's not bad. Once we're at Utgard, we'll report in and begin hunting for any Covenant forces in the area."
"Roger that," Haines replied. "I'll report the sensor interference to our DropShip and the flagship we detached from. Be advised, the Covenant might try to use that to sneak up on you and the others. Keep an eye on your sensors and report any anomalies immediately."
"Copy that," Gerald said. "Bravo Company out." Once the COM link was closed, he issued those orders to his Company of 'Mechs, while keeping a close watch on his sensors.
Soon, they had reached the outskirts of Utgard. Here, the dust storm died down, allowing them to see the devastated city for the first time. Even in their condition, the skyscrapers and buildings of Utgard remained tall and proud, though the majority of them had been warped and melted by intense heat. The smaller buildings that had survived had been reduced to ruins, allowing for long sightlines that could be used to engage enemy forces.
"Mother..." Bravo-2 whispered under his breath. "The entire city's been turned into a nuclear wasteland."
"Damn," Charlie Lead whistled. "The only time I saw devastation as bad as this was at the Battle of Lockdale. Entire cities were reduced to rubble."
"Stay focused," Gerald ordered the two. "If I was a Covenant officer, I'd use the urban ruins to hide my forces and stage ambushes." Keying his COM, he said, "Lieutenant Gerald to Hammerfall. Do you read me?"
"We copy," the CO of the Hammerfall, Captain Cassandra replied. "What do you need?"
"We need a UAV flyover of the area that we're about to enter. My gut tells me that the Covenant might attempt to set up ambushes in the city, where our 'Mechs will be less useful."
"Copy that," Cassandra replied. "Launching UAV. ETA: 3 Mikes."
"Copy that," Gerald said…
Back at the landing site, the DropShip opened a small port in its armored hull, and a small UAV shot into the air before speeding toward Gerald's location. Onboard the DropShip, Cassandra watched as the UAV flew overhead, before the operator began a series of multispectral scans. "Captain, I've got something," the drone operator reported.
"What have you got?" she asked.
"I've got thermal blooms in the ruins. My guess is that the Brilliant Bier landed ground troops here as a temporary occupation force. Long range scans indicate that enemy DropShips are landing on the other side of the city, likely from the fleet battle being waged overhead. If I had to guess, ma'am, I'd say that Gerald's gut instincts are right: the Covenant are planning an ambush."
"I see," Cassandra noted. With that in mind, she traveled back to the holo-table and keyed the COM…
At the outskirts of Utgard, Gerald was about to check his 'Mech senors when the COM crackled to life. "Lieutenant Gerald here," he said.
"Lieutenant, we've got some news," Cassandra said. "According to UAV scans, we've got thermal blooms in the area you're about to enter. My guess is that the Covenant are setting up an ambush."
Damnit. That complicates things, Then, Gerald remembered that each Fortress-class DropShip was armed with a single Long Tom Artillery piece. This, combined with the gun's elevated position and power, meant that a Fortress-class DropShip could easily secure its own landing zone. As the Hammerfall was equipped with the upgraded Long Tom II Artillery Piece, it could strike an enemy target at considerable range with devastating effect. Keying his COM, he said, "Captain, can you perform an artillery strike at the location in question?"
"Affirmative," Cassandra reported. "Call out the target area's grid location."
"Roger," Gerald reported. Checking his sensor readouts, he said, "Our position is Charlie 3-5-8. Target grid is Delta 1-4-2. Requesting artillery bombardment of the enemy position."
There was a pause as Cassandra reported the target location to the gunners. "Roger that," she reported. "Long Tom II firing."
At the landing site, the DropShip's Long Tom II Artillery Piece slowly and smoothly rotated to face the distant the city, all while the Fire Control computer calculated the required trajectory for a precise strike. Once the computer had lined up the projected impact zone with the UAV feed, it quickly loaded a clip of shells into the feeding system. Then, it fired
There was a loud KRA-THOOM as the Long Tom II fired, sending a 250mm large HE shell directly towards the target location. Before long, it had fired four more shells in rapid succession, all of which were clustered around the initial shell. Looking towards the sky, Gerald watched as five streaks of light zipped upwards, before coming down on the outskirts of the city.
Gerald could hear the loud KABOOMs of each shell as they detonated on impact with the ground. Massive explosions tore through the buildings that were targeted, sending each one crashing to the ground. Debris was hurled into the air, while some of the few standing buildings that had survived the glassing collapsed, causing large clouds of dust to rise into the air. "Good effect on target," Gerald replied after checking the video feed. "We're moving in now."
"Copy that," Cassandra replied. With the artillery barrage completed, the 'Mechs began to move in.
. . .
Just a mile away, a Heavy Tracked APC trundled across the glassed terrain. Inside of the APC, Lieutenant Harold Greaves and his platoon's other soldiers felt themselves getting jostled roughly as the APC trekked over the rough terrain. Harold and the others sat in tense silence, hearing only the APC's engine humming and the treads crunching over small rocks outside. This is the worst part, Harold thought. Quiet before the storm and all that. Might be a good time to try and break the tension, he thought. Looking at the man closest to him, he asked, "Private Jones, how's your mother doing?"
"Fine," Jones said with a shrug. "Why do you ask?"
"The way I hear it, it was a photograph of your mother that started this war," Harold teased.
"Really?" Jones asked. "The way I hear it, your mother's so ugly that one member of the Covenant shot at her. Scared them shitless."
Harold laughed at the jibe. Everyone else was chuckling and laughing as well, the tension slackening at last. "Well," he said, "when this mission's over, I'll be the first to drink to that. Anyways, Gordon's about to make his speech."
"What speech?" Jones asked.
As an answer Sergeannt Gordon, the Platoon's senior NCO, stood up and said, "Listen up, everyone! We're about to enter combat with an alien force that wants us all dead. Now you might be wondering, 'Why do they want us dead, Sarge? Why can't we be friends?' Well, I'll tell you why: because those alien sumbitches believe that we've insulted their 'gods' now they'll try and wipe our species from the universe.
"Now I don't care what some alien sonovabitch thinks about us! What I do care about is that we leave them lying dead with a pool of their own blood to lie in! We'll singe their asses with our laser weapons and we'll make 'em wish that they didn't have the misfortune to encounter the Star League Defense Force! We taught that bastard Stefan Amaris a lesson when we liberated Terra and killed his ass! We'll do the same with the Covenant! Am I right, gentlemen?!"
"SIR, YES SIR!" The others in the Heavy APC shouted.
"Damn straight I am!" Gordon shouted. "Now lock your helmet seals down and load your rifles! We're about to step out into one helluva arena to fight in, and I mean it! We Lead The Way!"
"We Lead The Way!" the others shouted, reciting the motto of the 46th Mechanized Infantry Division.
The Heavy Tracked APC came to a halt, before the doors on the sides and rear of the vehicle opened up. "GO, GO, GO!" Gordon shouted, with everyone rushing out of the APC, pumped up for some real combat. Grabbing his own Mauser II, Harold followed them out and into the ruined urban landscape of Utgard.
Everywhere he looked, Harold could see buildings that had either collapsed, or were just barely standing. Some of the tougher ones were mostly intact, though there was not a sign of life. "Stay close to the APCs!" he shouted. "Use them for cover until we can get to a building that's in good shape!" Gordon quickly relayed the orders over the TEAMCOM, with the platoon hugging the Heavy APC. Once everyone was close by, the APC began to slowly move up, its sole Mydron D-rf Ultra AC/2 scanning the area.
This decision to remain next to the Heavy APC promptly proved to be a life saver. Just as they were about to round the corner, a bolus of blue-white plasma cut through the air, barely missing the APC by a few inches. Harold ducked into cover, right before an energy bolus whooshed through the air where he had been standing, while his squad scrambled into cover as well. Once safely sequestered behind a chunk of polycrete, he peered over the top.
The entire street they were about to enter exploded with action. Multiple aliens sprang out of cover, from the small and squat creatures that intel had identified as 'Grunts' to the tall, lithe aliens that were called 'Elites.' All of them fired an array of weapons at them, with some spitting out bolus' of plasma, while others fired needle like projectiles that embedded themselves into concrete or metal. "OPEN FIRE!" Gordon and Harold shouted.
At that command, the SLDF troopers immediately opened up with their own brand of firepower. Red laser beams and high velocity projectiles cut through the air, tearing into the aliens on the other side with extreme prejudice. A Grunt's head exploded as a pulse laser beam tore through it, flash-boiling the water and spinal fluid in it's skull, while another laser beam severed the arm of a Skirmisher, causing it to scream before a bullet punched through its skull.
The Elites, on the other hand, quickly ducked into cover, though one wasn't able to move quickly enough. A laser beam punched through its energy shields and tore through its armor, cutting an ugly gash into the alien's flank. Snarling, the Elite threw itself into cover, before firing at them with its plasma weapon. Popping out of cover, Harold fired a few pulses at the Elite, forcing it into cover.
Even the APC got to have a say in the matter. Turning onto the street, the APC fired its Ultra AC/2 several times, with the bright muzzle flash lighting up the street. HEAP shells flew through the air, blasting apart the cover the Elites were using, before tearing them into bloody ribbons and chunks of flesh and shredded armor. The coaxial MGs quickly tore up the remaining hostiles.
Harold was about to get up and issue the order to keep moving when he heard a shout of "MEDIC!" Turning around, he spotted an SLDF Trooper that was lying on the ground. The man was clutching at a gap in his armor, with that gap being occupied by a pair of magenta-pink crystals that had embedded themselves into his right thigh. The man's face was a mask of pain, though it was clear that he was making every effort not to attract more enemy attention.
"What happened?" Harold asked.
"Fucking bastards shot me in the leg!" the trooper in question grunted out. "It was one of those feathery fuckers. Slipped behind us and performed a sneak attack. I got 'im, though!" He pointed at a Skirmisher that was lying on the ground, its chest perforated by a large, ugly wound.
"Good work," Harold said. "We'll get you back up to fighting shape in no time." Looking at the medic, he asked, "Can we get him to the DropShip?"
"It'll take time, but yeah," the Corpsman said. "We'll have to get him inside of one of the Med APCs around here, where the combat surgeons can get to work on him. Right now, though, all we can do is stuff him inside our APC and continue with the mission."
"Understood," Harold said. "Get this man to the APC and make sure it doesn't get hit too hard. The rest of you, with me!" Everyone moved out, while the medic helped the injured soldier get inside of the APC.
Soldiers scrambled over piles of rubble and debris, each one watching the ruins of the city with a close eye. One peered out from around cover, only for a shot to impact his helmet. The magenta colored crystal that hit ricocheted off his helmet, leaving a small dent in the material. The man was knocked onto his ass, with plasma bolts landing around him as he scrambled back into cover.
Harold, reaching the firefight, peered out of cover to see where the enemy was. Up ahead in the ruins of a four story building were several members of the Covenant that were firing at them. A pair of Sangheili led the Covenant team, with one having blue armor, while the other had maroon-red colored armor. Using his Mauser II, Harold fired at the maroon armored alien, forcing it into cover as its shields flared. "KEEP FIRING!" he shouted over the sound of gunfire. "DON'T STOP!"
Both sides continued to trade fire with each other. Popping out of cover, Harold fired, only to feel something hard smack into his chest. The blow knocked him onto his back and into cover, whereupon he saw a charred and blackened crater on his armor plating. He could feel some heat coming through, but it was clear that the armor had saved his life. Scrambling onto his knees, he leaned out and continued to fire at the Covenant forces.
Others were not so lucky. An SLDF Trooper screamed as his right arm was ripped off by another magenta colored crystal. "HELP ME!" he screamed in agony. "I'M GONNA DIE! I'M GONNA DIE!"
"HOLD STILL!" the Corpsman that rushed over to him shouted. "I NEED TO -" He was interrupted when another shot tore through the wounded man's head, silencing him instantly. "DAMNIT!" the Corpsman shouted in rage. "YOU FUCKING BASTARDS! CAN'T YOU GIVE A MAN A CHANCE?!"
"GET DOWN!" Harold shouted, tossing the Corpsman into cover. "Don't let the enemy get to your head!" Thoroughly chastised, the Corpsman nodded, before firing with his Laser Pistol at the Covenant
. . .
On the other side of the battle, Borek 'Hotumee ducked his head down for the umpteenth time as a laser beam whipped past his head, blasting a crater into the floor above and behind him. Leaning out of cover, he fired his Plasma Repeater, returning fire with bolts of blue-white plasma at his Human opponents. The Humans fell back into cover for a moment before they returned with yet another volley of fire.
It had been a fine day until the Human fleet had shown up, with more than enough ship to take on the Heaven's Brilliant Bier and destroy it. When the battle overhead had happened, Borek received orders from the Shipmistress to dig in and fight the Humans with everything that he had. Much of that time had been spent preparing, until he received news of a newly-appointed Arbiter coming with a relief force.
That relief, though, had vanished now that they were in a fight with the Humans that had landed. Of all the weapons to be used against them, he had not expected the Humans to be equipped with advanced laser based weapon systems. They're powerful too, he thought. One shot was enough to cut my shields strength in half.
Hearing some shouting, he looked up to see an Unggoy Major firing at the Humans with wild abandon. In response, a blue laser beam struck the Unggoy directly in the head. Its head promptly blew apart, with bits of blood, gore and bone flying everywhere, while the body simply collapsed in heap. Snarling, Borek leaned out of cover and kept firing his Plasma Repeater.
"MAJOR, GET DOWN!" a voice shouted. Before he could respond, Borek felt someone pull on the back of his neck armor hard. As soon as he was in cover, a laser beam appeared where his head had been, the heat so intense that Borek could feel it through his armor.
Turning around, he found that it was R'tas 'Vadumee, the Minor in the group, that had rescued him. "Thank you, Minor," he said. "Were it not for your quick action, I would have died. A glorious death, but a death nonetheless."
"Thank you, Major," R'tas said. "I do not want you to die today."
"Good. Let us show these heretics how true believers of the faith fight!" Both Elites popped up from behind cover, shouting as they filled the air with plasma bolts. In his adrenaline-fueled rage, Borek felt like he was winning... then it all fell apart
Borek heard a loud, mechanical clanking sound. Peering out of cover, he watched a strange Human vessel approach his position, its main gun turning towards them. Almost immediately, he remembered the BattleNet message from that one squad before they went silent. "MOVE!" he roared. Immediately, all Covenant forces scrambled from their cover and fled for the next row of cover behind them as the Human vehicle advanced.
It was a maneuver that saved their lives. There was a loud series of percussive banging noises, with the cover they were previously behind exploding as high velocity shells tore through the blocks and columns of polycrete. Stumbling, Borek nearly fell down before catching himself and moving on. "Get the Fuel Rods up here now!" he snarled loudly.
Four Unggoy armed with Fuel Rod Launchers complied, each one setting up before firing in rapid succession towards the Human vehicle. The strange Human vehicle rocked around as the fuel rod shots pounded it, but Borek realized it was no good - the shots couldn't penetrate that armor. Some even bounced right off. The vehicle did, however, pull back, with the Humans temporarily retreating. He was about to get up and issue orders when he heard a ragged cry. "Borek! … help!"
Whirling around, Borek saw a sight that filled him with rage born of worry. R'tas was pinned underneath a piece of debris, and worse yet, sparks of energy danced across R'tas armor, meaning his shields had failed. The young Sangheili was holding the mandibles on the left side of his face. Blood weeped through his fingers. Borek rushed over and knelt by R'tas' side. "What happened, R'tas?!" He asked. "I need to know if I can do anything to help you!"
"M-my body," R'tas groaned. "I think my legs and hips are broken. My face… it hurts… it hurts…" At Borek's tugging, he removed his hands from his mandibles.
To Borek's horror, R'tas had lost half of both mandibles on the side of his face, with the cauterized areas suggesting a laser beam hit. Also, a check of R'tas suit confirmed that both of his legs had been broken, and his right hip had been shattered. Those injuries were life threatening, and if not treated, R'tas was likely going to die.
"Get the Revenant over here now!" Borek shouted. "We have a wounded warrior that needs help!" Looking at R'tas, he softly said, "You will be fine, R'tas. I will see to it that you recover from your wounds."
"But the dishonor -" R'tas protested.
"It is not dishonor if you are to be healed of such dangerous injuries sustained in battle," Borek said, both admonishing and reassuring R'tas. "Only a foolish warrior allows terrible injuries like these to go unhealed." Looking up and seeing the Revenant coming over, he threw the debris pinning R'tas to the ground off the injured Sangheili. "Now, I'm going to lift you and place you inside the vehicle. My orders are for you to receive healing for your injuries. Understand?" R'tas nodded, with Borek lifting him moments later.
A cry of agony erupted out of R'tas mouth, while tears began to stream down his eyes. The parts of him not crippled from injury spasmed in agony as he roared. Placing him in one of the passenger seats for the Revenant, Borek caressed R'tas face and said. "You will be all right, R'tas. Go now. Allow the healers to do what they can for you." R'tas nodded, just as the Revenant turned and flew towards a waiting Phantom.
Once he saw the Phantom leaving, Borek turned around, releasing his pent-up rage. "Warriors, rally to me!" he roared. "We will punish these filthy humans! For the Hierarchs!" Emboldened by his cry, the other members of the Covenant that were with him rushed forwards, snarling and barking angrily.
As he said this, his BattleNet receiver crackled. Keying it, he heard a voice say, "The Arbiter has called for a retreat. Repeat, we are retreating. The battle has been lost."
A pang of rage erupted in Borek's heart. Closing the BattleNet channel, he told the others, "The Arbiter has called for a retreat, but there will be none for us. Push on! We will fight to the last one!"
. . .
On the other side of the fight, Harold watched as the aliens returned, only they were madder than ever. "SON OF A BITCH!" he shouted. "EVERYONE, BUNKER DOWN AND FIRE!" The other soldiers quickly hunkered down, before firing at the aliens with their Mauser IIs. Blue laser beams cut through the air, killing some of the aliens charging at them. Then, Harold noticed that the maroon armored alien was missing. Where'd he go? he wondered.
He got his answer when he heard a loud snarl from nearby. Whirling towards his right, he watched as the maroon armored alien charged at him, firing its weapon before tossing a blue glowing ball towards him. Rolling to the left, Harold avoided the projectile, eyes widening when he heard a whine that increased in pitch rapidly."GRENADE!" he shouted, throwing himself behind cover. There was a massive KABOOM, with an explosion of plasma and superheated air tearing apart the ground where he had been just seconds earlier.
Next, the alien charged at Harold, brandishing a two-bladed plasma sword. Realizing what was coming towards him, Harold quickly fired his Mauser II and heard the alien's energy shields snap. Before he could react, though, the rifle was batted out of his hands, with a hand wrapping and squeezing around his throat as he was lifted into the air. As he was lifted, the alien tried to stab him with the blade, or rather tried to.
In a last-ditch effort, Harold swung his body to the right, with the blade narrowly missing his torso and lower chest. His left arm, though, took the full brunt of the attack, with the limb falling to the ground. An explosion of white-hot agony erupted where the stump of his left arm used to be, with Harold giving a choked cry. Before the alien could try again, he quickdrew the Laser Pistol in his sidearm holster and fired, blasting the alien directly in the face. It fell to the ground like a sack of potatoes, while Harold fell to the ground like a lead weight. He howled as he hit the ground on his stump.
Almost immediately, the Corpsman was at his side. "Fuck!" he shouted. "I've gotta put a tourniquet on!"
"DO IT!" Harold screamed. Wrapping the tourniquet around the stump, the Corpsman tightened it hard, causing Harold to nearly scream in agony again. Once that was done, the Corpsman lifted him up and, carrying him bridal style, deposited him inside of the APC.
"Looks like you got fucked up like me," the other wounded soldier in the APC remarked. Looking at the man, Harold could see that the man's leg was intact, though the wound had bled through the bandages.
"Yeah," Harold said, "Fucked up indeed."
. . .
Up in orbit, Admiral Janos watched as yet another Covenant ship was blasted into dozens of pieces, with a nuclear missile having torn the ship right down the middle moments earlier. Outside, large chunks of debris and corpses floated every which way in the vacuum of space. "Armor ablation for the bow is 95%" the Damage Control Officer shouted. "We'll lose the ship if we don't act soon!"
"We need to retreat!" another office shouted. "We can't hold out much longer!"
"Sir! Look!" the Navigation Officer shouted. Following the man's finger, Janos could see the Covenant ships, only they were now turning away. "They're retreating! We've won!"
"Zhukov?" Janos asked.
"Affirmative, sir," Zhukov said. "Scans indicate that their slipspace drives are activating. We've driven them into a retreat."
"Copy that. Admiral Cole, are you seeing this?"
"I am," Cole replied. "Looks like we've outlasted the enemy. They're retreating to wherever they came from. I'm also reading numerous Covenant ships escaping from Harvest to the ships in question. Should we pursue?"
"No," Janos said. "Let them go. We've won the battle today. No need to spill more blood." Keying the fleetwide COM, he said. "Admiral Janos to SLDF 7th Fleet, we've won the battle! Harvest is ours once more!" A cheer arose on the COM as the crews of the surviving ships cheered.
Janos smiled grimly. They had indeed won the battle, but at a great cost. Several corvettes had been lost, and around a handful of the Avatar-class WarShips had been destroyed. None of the Texas-class BattleCruisers had been lost, though all of them had suffered near-total armor ablation, with the Prinz Mugen and Perth reporting hull breaches on sections of the ship. We won indeed, but the war is far from over, he said quietly.
(Author's Q&A)
RoyalTwinFangs: Thank you.
Believer218: So it begins.
Lord Halcyon: That we do. Thank you.
SulliMike23: Yep. The battle won't be one-sided, as you will see.
Krieger Techpriest: Excellent words and an excellent question. Nicely done.
Guest #1: Thank you
Guest #2: I'm happy that you are, and I hope I haven't disappointed.
PoofyOhio: I understand. Either way, thank you for your feedback.
edboy4926: Thank you. You're free to ask any questions about this story if you want.
Just a Crazy-Man: Yep.
Silverwingzz: I understand your concerns and complaints, but you have to remember what's happened in the previous chapters. The Star League is working with the UNSC and Guilty Spark to advance their technology. In addition, the technology the Star League has gives them greater survivability against the Covenant. In addition, unlike the UNSC, they put research into energy weapons, which Covenant energy shielding is vulnerable to. As for things being unrealistic, I've got two beta-readers that are basically going to tell me if any chapters I write make things too easy for the Star League, so don't you worry. It's going to get a lot tougher for the Star League and UNSC.
Danny79: Yep, and this battle will be an especially hard kick to the head for them.
Chronus1326: Thank you.
Alpha 12: I have. Don't worry. They'll be showing up in later chapters.
felipindelrio: Possibly. Those are interesting ideas.
bigbossHayden98: Oh, definitely. I've always wondered what would happen if a Covenant Locus got squished into the ground cartoon style.