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FICTION
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"Crossing Paths"
January 22 2526 - Hour 1738
CPL Logan 'Log' Sutton
Utgard, Edda, Planet of Harvest
The situation was far from pleasant on Harvest's surface.
The Covenant got orbital superiority, and that fact combined with their numerical superiority on the ground provided for quite the unfunny predicament to be stuck with. Protocol was simple, Cole being quite clear about it: Hold the ground, let them think they have an advantage and then have them shit their pants when the 'defeated' fleet, plus any nearby reinforcements and all available repaired ships, decided to hit them again from behind.
The ideal victory in this scenario would be to squish them between our cavalry and the defenders... but even the most optimistic strategist doubted that was feasible considering how close of a fight that was going to be. We lost a few orbital defenses, so I didn't believe in a possible redo of what happened during Christmas.
I wanted it to be possible, but not in these conditions. Not when the MACs were no longer safe from orbital retaliation. One thing to notice was that the ships weren't trying to glass the surface. This was an unusual circumstance, but it highlighted that they had a new chief in charge. Sif shared this very feeling too but... she was unable to find much about this individual. Whoever it was, they actually managed to hide their 'presence' within the commanding logs of the ships and remain unmentioned by other soldiers through their comms. The Covenant was finally learning from their mistakes from the looks of it.
Disregarding that odd and quite bad news, the main objective was to stand our ground until we had the chance to put up a serious fight and counterattack their offensives. Or... at least, that was what the primary objective for most of the troops was. Cole had asked my support for something different. It was tied to ONI. I was surprised that they hadn't given the task to the Spartans, but the Admiral admitted to have 'replaced' a few names for good reasons.
A week or two ago, ONI had found the facility that was supposed to contain the 'crucial' hint about a Shield World accessible through Arcadia. A team of scientists was put to the task to retrieve as much information from the mysterious rooms filled with advanced tech, and now they needed help to make a proper retreat from that base. Cole wanted to get a copy of that info, and so Serin, me, five marines and two ODSTs were sent to take care of this matter.
The Spartants were given extra autonomy to handle the defenses in those hot spots that required further assistance, Jerome was put in charge of the 'troublemakers' as they were soon getting called for what happened during the last skirmish. Not a name a professional force would expect, but one that seemed to be embraced by the armored soldiers. Mostly Grace.
Still, back to the main issue, I was half-expecting to find Anders just as a fun easter egg, but I was twice as surprised to find a young Doctor Sandra K. Tillson leading the entire group. The woman looked relieved when we finally arrived, and she proved to be capable of prioritizing what was necessary to do about this circumstance compared to other crazy science-nuts employed by ONI. The scientists were mostly done with the removal of anything essential, having two Pelicans in standby with the purpose of carrying all that material, devices, and all that stuff that was meant to be used for future research. Once the retrieval was done, a few bombs would be activated to have the structure collapse and the main terminal destroyed. Before things went boom, we would be leaving with another dropship waiting for us.
Sounded simple, it really did, but I would soon learn that fate had something to give me the 'spice' I was avoiding with my carefulness.
Contacts. Enemy dropships fast approaching towards the landing zone in front of the facility.
Sif's warning had me tense up as I could see for myself how we were far from leaving just yet. Activating the bombs now would be counterproductive, so there was a single option left.
"Team, take defensive cover and provide support for the scientists if needed. Dorsey, set down the M41 Vulcan. Prepare for some grinding," I barked, the group scattering over the room to find the best spots to hold the ground during this defensive operation. Meanwhile the young woman in charge of the HMG complied with my order after replying with a loud 'Yes Sir!'.
Tension was running high as the lab's sensors picked up 'unidentified creatures' approaching and then we saw plasma being used to cut into the closed door between us and the attackers. Serin was crouching beside me as we watched the whole affair, and I decided it was high time to give the Covvies a fright or two.
"Private, prepare a grenade," I hummed quietly, and the girl didn't show any hesitation in mirroring my actions as I retrieved one of the four explosives I had on myself, but carefully held back from throwing it. "I'll tell you when to prime it and throw it. Got it."
A swift nod, Serin proving to be absolutely faithful to the chain of command through that instance. I wasn't sure if it was still
I like what you're planning to do. Still, I would prefer this happened in less optimal circumstances.
"Me too," I groaned under my breath, catching a sigh from my subordinate as we waited for the right time to strike. As the two plasma beams slowly finished forming the large rectangular perimeter to finalize the breach, Serin and I primed the grenades and threw those before the Covenants could blast the cut rectangle at us. The end result was said rectangle slamming back into the engineers that cut it and killing them in the process. Three Grunts.
"Open fire!"
Bullets started to rain through the breach, and soon plasma was returned back to us in a more disorganized way. For a moment, we had the advantage over the attackers. We were in the best positions to hold the line, we had enough firepower to make it for the enemy's numerical superiority... but we also had a little issue in that last bit. We didn't have the means to pierce quickly though plasma shields were quickly deployed down in front of the entry point, allowing for a couple of Elites to get through. Some managed to get some defendable spot that lead wasn't getting through, others failed to do so and were butchered by the HMG.
The situation further escalated when it was time for us to get out. The scientists had finished the evacuation and it was time for us to leave too. The order of retreat was clear: the oldest-ranking marine would lead the way, the ODSTs and us would leave for last. With each soldier leaving, the firepower we had at our disposal lessened and the Covenants started to get bolder and closer as the HMG was packed up and pulled away from the premises.
"S-Sir," Serin muttered, a brief flash of nervousness causing her to blurt out part of her unease.
"Get going, private. I'm not letting anything get to you."
We shifted away from our previous position, with Serin's mobility faster as she was focusing on retreating, while I was slightly slower as I tried to give her some cover as she left. Once she passed through the bridge that led into the tunnels which would take us to the landing zones, I proceeded to throw another grenade and make a run for it myself. The detonator was activated. We had five minutes to get to the Pelicans before the place exploded. I had some cover while plasma reached near to me, expecting to be shot once or twice, but still make it across.
A bit of a stupid thought, I reckon even now.
Logan!
Too late, the warning didn't give me enough time to tense up and react to what was going on. One of the bastards had gotten close to me, lunging at me and slamming us both over the bridge and into the abyss. For a brief moment, I thought it was it. That's how I was going to die. Bad luck. It was ironic since luck was what pulled me out of Harvest the first time around, and now it was trying to kill me to make things even and... I was wrong. The momentum shoved us both into the nearby wall, the section having been left untouched by the metallic texture applied to the central terminal, as the stone shattered at the impact and allowed our combined weight to trail into the cave beyond it.
I was rolling for a while, but then I managed to kick my attacker off and walked back to gain some distance. Ideally, I thought I still had my Battle Rifle on me. Tragically, I found out that I had dropped it during that crazy confrontation. But as I could see with the tense reaction of the silver-armored Sangheili, I wasn't the only one having lost my weapon in this fight.
This is far from good.
"Ain't that funny," I hummed as I unsheathed my knife, the gesture being matched with a growl as the Elite retrieved his Energy Sword. "And here I thought that your species was all about fairness and honor. Or emotional shit like that."
The xeno rushed forth with a roar, and I instantly picked up something 'off' about the pitch, something in his tone that felt unusual compared to the rest... but I couldn't exactly explore that detail on the spot. Not without getting shanked by the bastard himself. Still, there was something I was quick to take notice of and couldn't exactly ignore. The fact that this opponent, this Sangheili, was much faster than any I had the 'luck' of facing before that battle. Nimble, swift, ferocious. Something about his pace took me by surprise, and I paid for it when his blade managed to get a quick thrust into my side and cut into my armor. I got a wound out of it, but not one that was deadly or crucial to be worried about.
My adrenaline kicked in for a second wind, and I managed to finally get to him by slamming my knife into his left arm. The blade found no resistance as it plunged into his flesh. The shields had broken down during the fall, taking the brunt of when we both slammed onto the wall and entered this cave. He backed away, slashing his blade around and preventing me from getting any closer and exploiting the advantage. There was a minor break from the direct confrontation, and it was there that Sif spoke again, bringing some news. Good and bad.
Stability of the BALMUNG suit is decreasing with each second. Right now we're at 78%, so please-
"I'm getting done with this," I lamented quietly. "But this bastard isn't getting any easier. How the fuck is he faster than the others?"
...It could be because that's not a male.
I blinked, then frowned at the approaching figure. "You are a girl?!"
It just didn't make much sense to me. Their culture should have prevented females from being recruited by the Covenant because women were seen as child-bearers rather than proper warriors. Still, my exclamation, which I didn't think would have got a reaction out of the xeno, actually had the effect of having her almost trip due to it.
There was a strange staring competition, with the Sangheili looking surprised by that comment, but seemingly getting her mind back into the big game as she resumed her assault. I now had an explanation why this particular Elite was so fast and so 'slender' compared to the rest of her species. It wasn't fully evident at a first glance, but after playing 'stabby tango' with a few of them in recent times, I can see there was a lack of the same muscles as I had seen on other members of her kind.
She eventually got frustrated by the staggering stalemate we were busy with. Some hits got through, but nothing deadly and nothing I was unwilling to return back to the sender. So, the bitch decided to get even more closer and personal. I was suddenly slammed onto the ground, the ferocious foe jumping over me and trying to kill me that way. The only thing she managed to accomplish was me punching the hand holding the Energy Sword and forcing it to drop the blade, limiting the Sangheili's capacity to fight to her bare fists. And while it didn't sound as dangerous as it was before, one of those mean punches literally felt like a bowling ball being thrown at me. I just needed to get struck once with my helmet on and I understood that this wasn't a fight I could win. Not with how little time I had left before things blew up.
In fact, right as I worried about how I was meant to shake her off from me, we both tensed up as the ground shook, an explosion ripping on the upper floors. It was there that I remembered what was going on around us, and that I had to get back to the dropships fast. Using this little distraction, I shoved the Sangheili off me, surprising her in the process and using this chance to start running through the large series of tunnels in the area.
"Sif-"
Setting a Checkpoint now. We have just two minutes before the entire place collapses.
I nodded at that last bit, my speed heightened by the suit but also by the adrenaline I got from a little earlier... and now. While I did get a headstart on this little run, I was soon stuck in a chase as the Sangheili wasn't exactly planning to drop dead and let nature do its course. The bitch was soon bolting behind me, trying to catch up with me. Very frightening, especially as I couldn't help but feel that the intense stare she was giving me was way more than the usual 'I want to stab you, please stop' one. but enough of an incentive to get me running through the lengthy path between us and the soon-to-leave dropships.
As we finally made it through the caves and into the small extension of the arctic area where the landing pads were, I saw just a single Pelican on sight. It was there that I sprinted to make the last 'lap' and not die. I saw Serin waiting by the edge, reaching out as the ship started to elevate a bit beyond my chances of jumping over it and I was able to get on board by using her helping hand to get into the vehicle as we left.
"Sir, are you-"
"Roughed up, but still not kicking the bucket," I answered flatly, gaining a chuckle from the rest of the people on board. "Sif, what's... the situation with the others?"
Our ground forces are still holding vital spots, but it's clear that we will be relocated to reinforce the more critical sectors once you are seen, fixed, and given the chance to return to action.
"That's good to know," I hummed in relief, knowing that out of this grim situation, I made it alive, the planet hadn't fallen just yet and.. then I got news of a counterattack planned for the next day.
Cole got through with a message that reached us. The fleet was ready, and the Covenant were going to pay for this little 'surprise attack'. And while that proved to be true as the skirmish led to the Covenant forces to retreat from Harvest for a second time, my thoughts were all aimed at that tough opponent I drew with, and what kind of insane plot power she got to be as vicious and strong as she was...
Fuck, I need to pick up my memories about any female Sangheili I might have forgotten about.
If one had the means to come close and kick my butt, then she had to be really important and I was being dumb in not remembering her...
AN
Third Battle of Harvest ensued and... the UNSC held. Next up is a secret mission!
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Doom Slayer 091: Dunno if it will reach Infinite. Story is already altering big stuff, and I might have plans to introduce the Banished at an earlier date, still around the Human-Covenant War.