Rain showered down onto the group as they approached the building as quietly as they could. Flashes of lightning lit the sky for brief moments, illuminating the area before them. A small team of six Marines with weapons at a low ready moved close to the structure towards one of the main entrances. The team leader knelt down while raising a clenched fist, signaling the others to stop. Pulling up the rear Tz'eal turned on the spot, took to his knee and watched their backs so no one could sneak up on them as per his new training. His Team Leader glanced over to them all and made a string of hand gestures towards the group. Slowly they began to close their spacing around him. Tz'eal held a position away from the others but closed in enough to hear what was being said.
"Alright. Three will breach the door. Two and I will enter and take the left side, Four and Five will take the right. Six you'll keep an eye on our backs and make sure nothing gets up behind us." He said quietly. Tz'eal simply nodded in response, not able to remember their names, only remembering their numbers.
"Three, once the door is open, get in and take point up the hall, cover the front. On you." The Team Leader continued as the group broke apart and stacked up on the door. It was an older door, made of wood with some metal supports. One and Two set up on the right hand side to cross over to the left as they entered, Four and Five on the left. Three stood before the door and glanced around. Everyone nodded and shouldered their weapons, ready to breach.
Nodding in response, Three stepped back slowly before violently kicking out at the door. The door rattled loudly in its frame but did not move any more. With a grumble and a shake of his head Three kicked out at the door again, it shook more than it did the first time but still did not move.
"Come on Three we're sitting ducks here." Four whispered as she glanced over her shoulder towards a window, checking for any movement on the other side of it.
"I'm trying. This door is stubborn and doesn't want to open." Three hissed in response as he reared up and kicked the door a third time with no more luck. With a growl Tz'eal had had enough. He stood up and walked over to Three, took him by the shoulder and moved him aside. Then, with a powerful boot, kicked the door with enough force to rip it off of its hinges tumbling back into the now open hallway by several feet.
"Go. Now." He whispered to Three before pushing him into the hallway. The rest of the team sat stunned for a brief moment before shaking their heads and pushing into the hallway.
"Doorway right!" Called Four as she reached said doorway and held her position.
"Doorway Left!" Called One as he and Two reached their position. Turning and nodding to Four and Five the two teams opened and breached their doorways, gunfire echoing loudly from inside the rooms. Tz'eal walked backwards into the hallway and held his position just behind the two new openings. He didn't like being delegated to rear security but understood that if someone didn't do this they could easily be ambushed from behind.
"Room clear, moving on!" Four called as she and Five exited their room and stood behind Three. Not long after, One made the same call and joined the rest of the team. As a unit all six of them moved farther down the hall to the next set of doors which the two pairs breached and cleared. Tz'eal could only stay where he was and listen to the report of gunfire echo from both rooms.
His attention began to wander as boredom set in. This was nothing like what he had been trained to do. He and other Sangheili would go into rooms alone with their shields and engage anything they saw, sometimes entering buildings and other structures with their active camo to keep silent and unnoticed. This was slow and time consuming. He glanced over his shoulder at Three who was knelt down with his rifle ready, focus purely on his sector. Tz'eal sighed and shook his head as he turned back around to face the rear. There from around the corner was a face for just a brief moment. Tz'eal raised his weapon to fire before the face vanished from sight.
At his feet he heard a metallic clink as he looked down to see a grenade roll between his legs. Quickly he stepped back and turned from the device just as it detonated. He felt a wetness splatter over his left side as the grenade went off with a pop. Wiping the side of his face with a free hand he looked at the red colored fluid running down his hand, side and face.
"Wrap it up. Mission failed. Simulation over.!" A voice boomed from outside as the interior lights of the building flashed to life.
"What the hell happened?" One asked as he left the room with Two before looking at Tz'eal. "Ah. That's what happened." He finished as he smiled and walked out of the hall. The rest of the team followed suit as Tz'eal shook his head, trailing behind them.
"So do you want to tell me where you went wrong there Tz'eal?" Lieutenant Frost asked. She was an older Woman with chocolate Brown hair and emerald Green eyes. A large scar crossed the left side of her face which stopped inches from her eye.
"I lost focus. I was not covering my sector." Tz'eal admitted quietly as he reached his pack of gear and pulled out a rag, slowly working on removing the fluid from himself and his armor.
"Well at least you know what you did wrong. Next time you won't forget that. If this were a real situation you and your team would probably be dead." Frost said with a nod as she reached to her shoulder radio with her free hand.
"I would not have died. My shields would have absorbed much of the damage." Tz'eal argued as he grabbed a second rag, the first dripping with paint.
"Ah of course. The big Elite with their super strong energy shields can't die like the rest of us." Frost replied sarcastically before striding over to Tz'eal.
"Take it off. Now." She said as she pointed to his Combat harness.
"Lieutenant I do not believe-" Tz'eal began before Frost cut him off.
"I don't care what you have to say. That's an order. Take it off. Now." She repeated as she stepped back and placed her hands on her hips, watching as Tz'eal, begrudgingly, removed his Combat Harness, leaving him in just his undersuit.
"Good. Now for this next simulation you're just a simple flesh bag like the rest of us. No Harness with energy shields to prevent you from dying like everyone else. You get shot, you die like everyone else. You take a grenade to your feet and you die like the rest of us. Understood?" Frost asked as she knelt down and looked over to get eye-to-eye with Tz'eal.
"Yes ma'am." Tz'eal replied quietly.
"Good. Now this time Tz'eal will be your breacher again. Lawson over here can't seem to kick in a simple wooden door." Frost began as an Engineer from Castle approached and began repairing the first door.
"Keep to your formation as usual simply have Tz'eal breach the door, Lawson you move in to take point then the rest of the team follow suit. This time however, try not to take the door off its hinges Tz'eal." Frost continued as she walked into the hallway and wired for the Engineer to finish.
"Wouldn't taking it off its hinges be a better thing though? If someone's behind the door it becomes a weapon to potentially knock someone out?" Lawson suggested as Frost stepped back outside after inspecting the Engineers' work.
"Good, thank you. No. I see where you're going with that line of thought but it's better to keep the door where it stands than using it as a wooden bullet. I'll be able to explain when you're in the simulation. Now set up." Frost finished as she thanked the Engineer and sent him on his way. The fireteam set up along the wall of the building and waited as the lights dimmed, plunging them into almost complete darkness once again.
Everything seemed to go as it had before, with a few minor differences. The team was able to breach right away as Tz'eal did as he was told, breached open the door with enough force that kept the door on its hinges. As the team pushed in he wondered why Frost had told him to do this, a wooden door wouldn't offer much protection from bullets. Instinctually he closed the door behind them as he entered the building behind the rest of the team and held his position on rear guard.
He felt a wave of cold wash over him. Without his harness he felt so bare. Vulnerable. One stray round could kill him. Was this something the other Marines felt all the time? He knew they wore their armor but it was nowhere near as effective as his energy shields. Was this another lesson Frost was trying to teach him? So many questions. He felt himself losing focus again before something caught his eye.
Down the hall the door the team had entered slowly began to open. He raised his rifle to his shoulder and aimed down the hall waiting for a threat to present themselves. As the door inched open a head peaked around and looked him in the eye. He fired a single round at the threat, the red paint from his practice round splattering over their face as it impacted. They turned around and dropped their grenade on the floor as Tz'eal continued to keep watch.
Learning his lesson he refused to lose focus on his watch as the team cleared the building room to room, finally making their way out of the front door. There Frost was waiting, clapping slowly as the team exited.
"Well done. You understood what I was trying to convey with the door. You're getting there." She said with a smile as she reached over and passed him back his harness, it having been cleaned properly.
"Thank you. It took some time but I now understand. Having the door there to close behind us can be used as a warning that someone is approaching from behind." Tz'eal explained.
"Shit yeah that makes so much sense." Lawson agreed as realization washed over him.
"Good, i'm glad you're both learning. You're all learning." Frost continued as she watched the rest of the team walk over to the nearby benches and began placing down their weapons and gear.
"What do you mean we're all learning?" Four asked as she took off her helmet, her long flaming red hair dropping down her back.
"Well McGregor, you and your whole team managed to go through this entire scenario without issues." Frost explained with her arms crossed.
"Yeah? So?" McGregor asked as she turned to look at Frost with a confused expression on her face.
"She means you managed to go through the entire scenario with me." Tz'eal commented as he walked over and placed his rifle down on the table. McGregor looked from Tz'eal over to Frost who simply nodded with a smile before crossing her arms.
"You went through this whole session of training, all of you, without speaking to him with hate. You spoke to him and treated him just as he is. A fellow Marine." Frost explained as McGregor looked away from Tz'eal looking confused for a moment before she smiled and nodded slowly.
"That's only because we know that if we fuck this up we're going to be stuck here for even longer. I'm just glad the split-lip won't be in my team anymore." One grumbled as he finished gathering his gear, slinging his pack over his shoulder.
"Well congratulations Lawrence." Frost began as she stepped beside him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "You fucked up. Take it off and prepare for the next team. You're leading." Frost said angrily as he looked at her in shock.
"Seriously? I genuinely can't believe you're all falling for this act. It's going to end up stabbing us in the back when we least expect it and it's going to hurt you all the most when it does." He argued as he dumped his pack on the ground where he stood.
"Lawrence. Shut up. That's an order." Frost said confidently as she turned to the rest of the team. "You're dismissed, well done today." She finished as everyone else walked by.
"So who's down for a bite to eat since we're done with training?" McGregor asked the team as they all left the training hall.
"I'm down. Tz'eal you want to get something to eat?" Lawson asked.
"If you would have me with you." Tz'eal said quietly as he nodded.
"We're taking our time but we're slowly learning your intentions. Just know that if you are going to betray us we will find you and tear your hearts out while they're still beating." McGregor warned as they continued to walk.
"I will keep that in mind." Tz'eal replied with a chuckle as they continued towards the mess hall before the interior lighting flashed red, plunging them all into darkness for a brief moment.
"Attention all hands. End all exercises and simulations. I need everyone to get combat ready." Shapiro called over the PA.
"What the fuck is going on?" Lawson asked quietly, fear settling into his voice.
"Shut up and we'll find out." McGregor replied as the rest of the group looked around.
"Earth has been hit by a Covenant Fleet. As far as we are aware they don't know that they have and haven't brought their entire fleet to bear. We're gathering our forces in order to defend her as soon as possible. So pack your things and prepare to fight. We're going home." Shapiro finished as the PA system shut down. The lighting returned to normal and everything was quiet for a few moments.
"This is what we've trained for. If we're put together we watch each others back and we will get though this." McGregor said confidently.
"We probably won't have you big guy but the invitation probably extends to you too. Stay alive and we'll all come through this on the other side." Lawson added as he lightly punched Tz'eal on the arm.
"141 tac 1." Tz'eal replied quietly as the group looked at him in confusion.
"That is the frequency that Heretic team is on. If you need help and we are close by, call on the radio. We will do what we can." Tz'eal offered.
"We'll keep that in mind. Thanks Tz'eal." Lawson said softly as he pulled out a small notebook and jotted down the frequency.
"We should go. We will have a long fight ahead of us." Tz'eal said with a nod as he led the team back to the living quarters so they could begin packing their things in order to leave Destiny to fight for Earth.