Comms between the rest of the team was fine as they made their way out. The farther the team travelled however the worse the link got. Chad was the first to break contact. As Drake continued south he moved farther and farther out of range of the team leader. Gibby was the second. As the team RTO she kept in contact as much as possible. However as Drake approached his limit of Advance her comms turned to static.
Merentias countryside glowed white as the nearby star began to set over the horizon, the slowly dimming light causing the snow to glow intensely as Rogue's comms finally died, leaving Drake alone to his thoughts and only the sound of the Mongoose's engine. His GPS programmed to his LOA, the waypoint highlighted on the HUD of his visor. As he reached the area he slowed to a stop and keyed his radio one more time hoping to get into contact with Rogue. He had simply keyed his radio every few minutes to let his teammates know he was still moving but had since gone silent.
Drake hoped that nothing had happened to any of them. If the threat of the Elites was real and any of them came into direct contact they were probably going to die. He shook the thoughts out of his head and he hopped off of the Mongoose and looked around for a suitable place to hide the FOF tag. Finding a small mound he scooped the snow and ice out of the way and placed the tag down. They were designed to survive harsh environments so if a storm brewed up he was sure it would be alright for Gibby to locate as she made her way around.
Once he was satisfied with his placement he hopped back onto the Mongoose and looked around for a few minutes. It hadn't been too long since he was able to take in the world around him in such a calm situation. If there was an Elite threat he didn't think there would be any time to relax after this was all over. The base would pack up and leave the planet, destroying anything they had to leave behind so the tech couldn't be used against them and so that the Covenant wouldn't be able to use anything to locate Earth.
Glancing up at the sky which was slowly growing more crowded with stars as each minute passed he whispered a silent prayer, hoping his teammates would be okay. He knew no one was going to answer but perhaps if there truly was a god then he might have his prayer answered. He kicked the Mongoose's engine to life once again before pulling out his GPS. He keyed in the grid reference for Rogue's last known location and set a waypoint. The marker showing up dimly on his HUD as he pulled the throttle and made tracks to the North-East.
He had been travelling for about an hour before his radio keyed up. He couldn't make much out over the static but he knew it was Shapiro calling out to someone in Wayfinder.
"Way...der….Ki...Actua...co...in….ver." Was all he heard. He wasn't in range to pick anything real up over the radio so chose to leave it. Once he was at Rogue's position and cleared the area of any threats to the base he would return to the base and make contact again to inform them of his situation. If anything Gibby would still be in contact with her radio pack and would have responded to the call. He rode over a large mound of snow and caught some air as he chose to stay positive. Everything was fine and would be fine.
The sun fully set over the countryside as Drake continued towards Rogues last position. The temperature in the night plummeted causing Drake to begin shivering as he drove to his destination, the wind chilling him to the bone. He had hoped he wouldn't take long to find Rogue's FOF tag. His hopes were realised in the most terrifying way.
Approaching the waypoint on his HUD he could already tell something bad had happened. The area was dotted with small scorch marks and melted snow. Spent shell casing and pieces of fragmentation littered the area. And a single, human sized, mound of snow ahead of Drake. Apprehensively he approached the mound, his heartbeat increasing in pace as he reached it, slowly he leaned over and brushed some of the snow away to reveal the corpse of a fallen Ranger Class Elite.
"Rogue!?" Drake called out as he stood up quickly and scanned the area. The snowfall had covered any sign of tracks leading away from the site so there was a chance Rogue had managed to deal with the threat and leave but Drake wasn't sure. He began to navigate the area, checking all the small mounds of snow and areas of cover to try and locate his teammate.
He spent 15 minutes scanning and was about to turn and leave with the thought Rogue had gotten out before he heard a cough. It was quiet but it was there. Following the direction of the sound, about 200 feet away from where he found the dead Elite he finally found Rogue who was sat up against a large rock, his hand clutching his stomach, his head hanging forward as he seemed to be coming in and out of consciousness. Drake kneeled down in front of him and quickly looked him over. His armor had melted in several places where he had taken hits and under his hand was a single plasma burn. At first glance Drake figured he would be alright.
"Rogue. Wake up, come on." Drake said quietly as he grabbed Rogue's shoulder and gave him a soft shake. Coughing Rogue looked up and nodded to Drake.
"About time you showed." He said quietly as he lifted his head, resting it against the rock behind him.
"What happened?" Drake asked as he took his backpack off and grabbed some medical gear, looking to patch the plasma burn if he needed to.
"I found one of the Elites. Heard it talking. It spotted me and engaged. I was sloppy. Should have kept my distance. But I got it." Rogue explained as Drake moved Rogue's hand and inspected the wound. Rogue had not worked on it but it seemed the biting cold of the weather had flash froze the blood and cauterized it. Rogue was lucky.
"I noticed. Well I can't let you go off like this. Get up, we're going back to base and letting Shapiro know." Drake said as he slowly began lifting Rogue who didn't help himself.
"Leave me. I'm a goner." Rogue said quietly with a cough. Drake stopped and looked down at Rogue wondering what he meant by that.
"You're going to be fine. Come on." Drake said confidently as he continued trying to lift Rogue who shook his head.
"I've been getting colder for a while now and I can't feel my legs. You need to go without me. I'm not going to make it." Rogue said quietly, sounding defeated. Drake looked at Rogue, completely dumbfounded. How the hell did Rogue get to the conclusion he was going to die?
Then it hit him. He looked below Rogue and realised exactly why he was in the mindset that he was about to die.
"I now realise why you keep your mouth shut most of the time." Drake said with a smile.
"Why is that?" Rogue asked with a sigh as he struggled to look up at Drake,
"Because you're a fucking idiot." Drake finished with a laugh as he wrapped Rogue's arm over his shoulders and began lifting him to his feet.
"You're cold because it's currently well below freezing and you can't feel your legs because you've been sitting in a puddle of freezing cold water for god knows how long. You're going to be fine, maybe some mild hypothermia. Maybe." Drake said while laughing as he managed to get Rogue to his feet and began walking him to the Mongoose, Rogue murmuring under his breath which caused Drake to grin massively.
Setting Rogue up on the back seat of the Mongoose, Drake strapped him down to make sure he wouldn't fall off during the ride back to base when there was a burst of loud static from his radio. He finished strapping Rogue in when a voice cleared through the static.
"Umm, Hello? Uhh, Wayfinder One? Come in?" The Female voice called over the radio. Drake hesitated for a moment, Rogue glanced up at him with a tilted head. As far as Drake was aware, neither of them had managed to contact anyone on the radio for a long time, now suddenly, there was clear radio contact. Something was off.
"Wayfinder One. Who the hell is this?" Drake asked as he walked over and mounted the Mongoose.
"Drake, it's Kara. I need you to get back here quickly." Kara said over the radio.
"Kara? How the hell? We've been out of contact for a while. How can you reach us now all of a sudden?" Drake asked as he engaged the engine of the Mongoose, letting it slowly heat up to hopefully help Rogue warm up.
"I'm using the asset you brought in that I got from the Commander. I can explain later but right now I need you to come back. They're here." Kara said quietly. Drake Glanced over his shoulder to Rogue who was slowly shaking his head.
"What do you mean Kara? Who's there?" Drake asked, hoping that she didn't say the Elites had made it to the base.
"Some Elites. They've managed to infiltrate the base and take the Commander hostage." Kara replied which caused Drake to hesitate. The Sangheili were not ones to take hostages. They were looking for something. Someone.
"We're on our way back now. I need you to get me a clear route to the Brig when we get back." Drake replied as he pulled the throttle of the Mongoose, the engine roaring as he shifted it into gear and began making his way back to base with Rogue.
"I'll do what I can but there's something else Drake." Kara said, sounding unsure.
"What is it Kara?" Drake asked as he threw caution to the wind, revving the Mongoose to full speed.
"The Elites are looking for another Elite. Shapiro managed to turn on the PA and is broadcasting everything they're saying to the base. They've said something about a Zealot." Kara replied, sounding very confused.
"Yeah I figured. I can explain everything after the fact but right now I need you to make sure everyone keeps quiet, no one does anything stupid and I'll get Shapiro out of there alive." Drake said confidently as he began to come up with a plan of action as he launched the Mongoose over a large hill as he raced with Rogue back to Destiny.