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"Not-so Unlucky"

March 9 2526 - Hour 1712

PO2 Grace-093

Covenant's Airspace, Biko

"Grace, don't go too far this time around."

That sentence really irritated her, especially when the one that mentioned it was one of her siblings. Joshua-029 meant well, he was leader material and had already proved that to her and others on different occasions. But while she was fine in getting restrained to this degree, this time in particular felt upsetting. The little 'near-death experience' she got on Seoba had left her already tense and never keeping by a single spot too long. There was nothing wrong in being wary of getting hit by a planned avalanche.

In fact, if it hadn't been for her quick thinking on the spot, six of her siblings would have died in the process. She just moved, against orders, feeling compelled by a deadly instinct born from working closely to whom Halsey had defined a 'suicidal and yet effective asset' of the Marine Corps. But to Grace this was a model to follow to some degree. It was what they were meant to be as Spartans, to be able to react even beyond the realm of orders if it means being able to actually do better. Sometimes a leader can hesitate, and quick-thinking can handle the pressure better than just expecting and becoming too reliant on the chain of command.

Much to her surprise, like the ones from many others, that action of rapidly boarding a warthog and hauling the six other Spartans out of the bad spot they were stuck in was given praise. No admonishment was relayed to Joshua at the time, but it was clear he felt slightly defeated at the notion he should have said something about it. That he should have ordered a quick evacuation when needed. Hugging did little to subdue the unpleasant feeling he had to deal with from time to time, but it offered the support he needed to go through it without being blocked by it. Right now, that unease was missing.

The order they received was simple: the boarding was feasible with lesser chances of getting killed while approaching the targets due to the previous scout operation resulting in some 'favorable developments'. Grace had to hold a snicker when Logan Sutton's name was brought up as one of the commanding officers behind that operation. It was clear that the sudden turn into a sabotage operation could have been expected from the very officer she looked up to. Not only did he seem to catch on how she 'worked' within the battlefield, but seemed to find it deeply amusing. Why wouldn't Grace find him a pleasant individual to take orders from?

Nonetheless, the pelican ride was the most difficult part of the mission. At least, that's what she and Naomi-010 could wholeheartedly agree on. They might not be on the best of terms since Grace may have yanked her around back in Seoba, but the two Spartans could find common grounds on the notion that being subjected to explosive AAs while being unable to jump off and deal with the issue just felt horrible. It was a terrifying ride, but one that preceded a funnier part of the operation. And that was boarding the ship and starting to kill everything Covenant on sight. Once the hangar was cleared out from any threat, the next phase of the plan could begin.

Naomi and her were soon splitting from the rest of the group to reach the second weak spot to reach within the ship, their weaponry meant to handle the sheer amount of issues along the way. Issues that grenade launchers and shotguns were meant to solve with satisfying results. Grenades were used frequently, with Plasma ones becoming more common to find through the corpses of Grunts. It was... fun. It could be funnier, Grace knew that as she had seen a few more explosive canisters of plasma that just wanted to be used on expensive bits of the ship, but Joshua had told her to not exaggerate. Which was sad. And annoying. But still! Grace found the entire experience fairly amusing. Naomi would dare to say it was just a mission, but it wasn't Grace that had decided to take one of the Plasma turrets and use it to mow down a few squads trying to stop their advance.

A few more personal shields from the Jackals and plasma weapons were retrieved. Either to be used for later in case they finished their ammo, or to give those to the researchers working on studying this kind of equipment. Their rush through the well-defended halls of the frigate ultimately ceased as soon as they reached their destination. The bombs were planted, a few annoyances were sharply killed when they tried to stop Grace from setting up the explosives from a very careful Naomi, and then it was time to leave. Now, that sounded like the best way to end this mission, to get back in the hangar and leave. Joshua and Daisy were done with the other section of the ship and soon the four were leaving through a Phantom manned by Joshua and Naomi and two Seraphs used by Daisy and Grace.

Things in the airspace had gotten fairly intense, with the Covenant having dispatched dropships to cover up for the fighters' losses. More Spartans had been deployed for the operation as per orders of ONI to secure maximum damage on the Covenant fleet within Biko, and while her team managed to get things done quickly due to how 'little' troops the Covenant had within the frigate they boarded, the same didn't extend to other ships. Some had yet to dispatch their ground forces on the planet's surface, and some squads were dealing with larger contingents of foes. Many had yet to finish, and it was clear that things weren't going to get any better without some involvement.

"Do you think we should do something about it, sir?" Grace inquired politely, barely hiding away her interest to help around if possible.

"It's not within the operation's directives."

"But, at the same time, that isn't forbidden, right?" She argued. "We are allowed to intervene if you so decide."

"It's risky-" Daisy rebuked, only for Naomi to groan at that.

"Like the rest. And yes, I know the chances here are higher than what we just dealt with... but we can help."

Ultimately the decision was up to Joshua. And while part of her felt he was going to refuse due to his cautious nature, she was quite stunned when her 'brother' sighed through the COMMs.

"We will try to provide assistance. But we will not stop to help everyone."

It wasn't much, but it was a good starting point. Especially when it meant lessening the losses within the fight. Less trouble in the airspace meant more friendly support for the ground forces dealing with the land-based troops holding vital sections of Biko's major cities. Less pressure, higher chances of success for the whole operation. Grace was soon following the 'commanding' Phantom, her Seraph soaring fast as it started to engage with a couple of not-so friendly Covenant fighters. And that's where the girl realized something she hadn't during simulations with this kind of vehicle: its energy armament was way more stronger than she had been prepared to use. In fact, Grace was stunned when she managed to tear through her foes' shields with ease before effectively blasting those into a burning and explosive death.

The first team they helped was one that was running on some issues tied to leaving the ship they were close to detonate, mentioning numerous fighters swarming the hangar's entries and limiting their chances of escape with the dropships they had boarded. What ensued was a ferocious brawl between Seraphs, with Daisy proving to have a keen eye in taking precise shots on her foes and the energy armament of her vehicle was quick to reward her with some kills under her name. Once the area had been cleaned up, the dropships could leave. Next team was facing a bit of heat running against them while they were leaving, some Seraphs having engaged their ships and coming close to destroying the dropship they had boarded. Once the pressure was lifted off from them, they could leave as quickly as possible.

Finally, it was the time for the last team to take care of and... surprisingly enough it was the Blue Team. 'So much to try and not bully John and Kelly', Grace thought as she remembered the few times she may have been a bit of a jerk around the two. It was just fun back then, to see their 'polite selves' crack in annoyed expressions. But now things are different. She was bullying the Covenant after all. They had to deal with one of the flagships on their own, and the presence of quality troops setting up defenses against them had been expected in the planning phase. But what really stunned the group that approached was the fact they weren't asking for help by the hangar area. They actually tore a portion of the ship's armor by asking a Longsword squad to 'open them an exit point'. The bombers obliged and managed to rip a section of the ship's hull. The issue? The entire airspace was still too heated for proper transports to reach and evacuate them. The solution?

"Cover us. We will try to get them to board the Phantom."

A nod and a quick green light by the HUD was enough of a signal from Grace as her focus shifted back to guard the process. A few Seraphs broke formation in an effort to stop the exfiltration, but the guards around the Phantom took care of the troublemakers. Ten minutes later, they were evacuating and getting everyone out of the hostile airspace. Fighters retreated soon after, with a few squads managing to get out soon after with a few losses at the result that a large fraction of the Covenant Fleet detonated and led to the decimation of the Covenant's presence within Biko. With no spatial supremacy, the Covenant ground forces were bound to be eliminated through the combination of aerial supremacy and numerical superiority. Grace got back with a grin on her face as things had gone fairly well for all of them... but there was also good news.

Joshua looked stunned as he finished reading the report from their superiors, but their 'excellent conduct' had led them to receive a promotion. Not much of a big jump, but it mattered a lot considering ONI's stinginess on dealing promotions to Spartans. It was proof that this mindset worked well for them, and Grace couldn't help but be a smug 'prick' as Joshua labeled her as soon as the teasing began on her 'being always right'.

Small victories, but still funny ones.

AN

Grace will never stop going nuts.