Bleeding Out
Disclaimer: I do not in any shape or form own Halo. It belongs to Bungie, 343 Industries, and Microsoft, nor am I associated with them in any way. This is a non-profit fan work written solely for the purpose of entertainment. This is in no way canon.
Responses to questions or statements:
-edboy4926: Thank you.
-Jayden890: Thank you. Also, I still thinking on whether or not I'll start the whole story again or if I'll continue from where I left off, but I will continue it. Eventually. Hopefully. Maybe. Some day.
-Krieger Techpreist: Pretty much. Not all the coasties survived though, two of them died if you recall. So, RIP Coastal guardsmen. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten (Salutes).
-Gwynx: Thanks for pointing that out, I fixed it so it should be good now. Hope you enjoy this chapter!
-Mythic Imagination: Thank you very much. Hope this chapter was to your liking.
-Spenge: Yup, Valve time continues even in the future. Like, come on, Valve. Is it too much to ask for a new Half-Life game- like, an actually new game that continues the timeline by more than fifteen seconds. Preferably before my inevitable demise? I know it may be a fool's gambit at this time, but I still maintain hope that one day we'll get to see Adrian Shepard and Gordon Freeman once more. Until, we'll just have to pass the time with mods like Entropy Zero: 2. Which is admittedly really good IMO, that I see it as canon.
-S290138: :)
-WarCorgi: Thank you. Well, technically they weren't Marines, but Coastal Guardsmen Maritime Enforcement Specialists (MES). I wanted to give other branches a chance to shine in this story and there's no branch that gets the least recognition than the Coast Guard (Poor Coasties). Also, the primary UNSC personnel that appeared so far in the story were from the UNSC Army. The only Marines in the story so far was the ODST Bullfrogs in the last chapter.
-W0lf Mast3r: Thank you. Hope this chapter was satisfactory.
-Guest: Here you go. Hope you enjoy it.
-bable631: Apologies for that. Still, thank you for taking the time to check out my little fanfic on this side of the internet and for leaving a comment.
Now, without further adieu, onto the chapter!
Chapter 12
(Time: August 23 ,2552)
(Location: New Alexandria, Reach)
The flight was spent in near silence as the Pelican dropship ferried Jorge and Casper to their location to meet up with Carter and regroup with the rest of their team. Glancing at Noble Two from where he sat on the opposite end of the bay, the Spartan-II seemed to be recovering from his days-long depression and anger from seeing his home planet being glassed Since they met up after assisting with the evacuation at the New Alexandria spaceport, he not longer seemed prone to rage-induced murder sprees and composed himself into being the calm and collected operator that's typically expected of an augmented super-soldier in power armor that's more expensive than entire frigates. Now that Jorge was getting better, Casper fell back into his more natural self; which was being the stereotypical quiet guy who keeps to himself and sits in the corner away from the rest of the crowd. Though, the 'crowd' at the moment really only consisted of his teammate and the crew of the D77-TC they were riding on.
Casper placed his armored hands behind his head and leaned back into the seat, kicking his feet up on a supply crate in front of him with 'Hurt' by Johnny Cash playing in his helmet, taking the opportunity to relax after fighting all day at the New Alexandria space port and assisting with the city's evacuation. Not that he really needed it thanks to his augments, just his old training of taking whatever opportunity he could to get a break. Plus, old habits tend to die hard as he admittedly was pretty lazy when it came to doing stuff he wasn't enthusiastic about, or just in general as some people he knew may argue. He didn't know how much time had passed before he heard the intercom beep and the pilot's voice coming through it, informing him a Jorge that the dropship was nearing the drop off point and that it'll be about ten more minutes until they reach it. Therefore, he decided to stretch his limbs and check over all his gear and equipment before he stepped off.
Taking out a detachable box mag for his VK78 from a nearby ammo box, he quickly inspected the magazine to check that it was full before he slid it into the rifle. Locking it in place by thumbing the bolt release sent the charging handle forward and locking into place with an audible click. Tilting the rifle to the side to perform a brass check, which he let out a hum of satisfaction as a round was indeed in the chamber.
The Spartan-III let out a hum of satisfaction as he turned on the weapon's ammo counter and seeing the number twenty. One round of 6.8mm in the chamber with the remaining nineteen still in the mag itself. Bullets that were just waiting to be fired by him and drop a Covenant trooper. Whether it be an Elite, Grunt, Jackal, Drone, or whatever. Something that was highly likely to occur in the next hour if things still played out how the Spartan-III remembered it and looked forward too. Which earned him a reputation of being an addict, only instead of drugs it was gunfights.
While many warfighters might say that they don't look forward to combat for obvious reasons, though it was rather understandable as each time you did get into a firefight there was always a risk of you being sent to an early grave, Casper embraced shootouts and still enjoyed them even after decades of doing this stuff. Though he didn't hold it against anybody and he knew he was just different from others in mindset. In his previous life, he was at times regarded as a 'war junkie' by those he knew, even by his own brother-albeit, in a more joking form, mostly. He did get it where it was coming though and how it looked to strangers, after he finished his service with the U.S Army, he hadn't even waited a week before he signed back on with the Navy as an EOD tech since he had the opportunity to see more combat in that MOS than just being a regular ol' 11-Bravo. That wasn't exactly a sign of a healthy mind. As such, he was willing to acknowledge he wasn't exactly the sanest man out there.
Though Casper did enjoy getting into gunfights, he wouldn't say he was addicted to them. He was a professional after all, not some cold-blooded psychopath that enjoyed killing people. The Lord didn't permit killing unless it was done in sell defense after all. Though, honestly he could at times get a bit too... excited, for lack of a better word, when bullets start flying. But not to the extent that some psychologists that he was forced to see after some particular grueling operations said in their assessment of him. With those ones he made a bad impression thanks to his sup-optimal social skills. Or it was maybe due to his ability to better digest and process traumatic experiences to the point where it barely left a mark on his psyche, as oppose to the more normal reaction of developing trauma and even PTSD in others. Not to say that he didn't feel anything at all, he just did a better job of compartmentalizing it than most.
Admittedly, while he did enjoyed shooting a weapon downrange and kicking down doors, it wasn't like he couldn't live without it. As people in both his old and first life can attest to. He also enjoyed other things besides firing a weapon and smoking bad guys. Like kicking back with a soft drink and listening to a song or score stored on his playlist, or putting on a series or movie he enjoyed on the TV. He even enjoyed going to 40k conventions and tournaments cosplaying as a Kriegsman with his Death Korp army in his previous life, though he didn't have the opportunity to do so in his new life for obvious reasons. Or watching a fan film or animation of an IP he liked.
Well... that's if the company that owned the IP didn't take down fan projects to force people to subscribe for a streaming service.
'Curse you, Games Workshop.' Though he would never forgive them for taking away Astartes, text-to-speech, and many other 40k fan works, they did occasionally make decent content like Pariah Nexus.
Shaking his head out of his musings, as he realized that this was not the time to be thinking on stuff like this, he steered his mind back into focus and began going through the onboard ammo boxes and the built in weapons rack. Giving the MA37 he had brought onboard with him a small pat, to thank it for its help in the battle at the spaceport before grabbing the VK78 and slinging the weapon strap over his head and doing a quick press check on his M6D and magnetically attaching it to his right thigh.
The hyper-lethal also took the opportunity to stock up on frags, smoke grenades, C-12 charges, an M102 clacker, and any other pieces of equipment he deemed to be necessary for what was to come. Running a quick diagnostic on the SOLA jump-jet still attached to his back indicated that it was still in operational condition.
As soon as he finished his equipment check, the Pelican's crew chief, who was also the designated loadmaster of this particular aircraft, made his way to the ramp and pressed a nearby switch, prompting an alarm to start blaring which signified that the cargo bay doors were beginning to open and the interior lights to switch from red to green.
The hissing of hydraulics could be heard as the ramp began opening to show what was left of the capital city of Reach, which was best described as an apocalyptic spectacle. Many buildings were on fire and looked dangerously close to collapsing thanks to the fierce fighting on the streets below. Distant gunfire and explosions could also be heard, which only served to enhance the somber atmosphere. Night had fallen which only served to add to the somber and depressing vibe that whoever was left in the city was feeling.
"This is your stop, Spartans." The Warrant Officer informed the two other occupants in the Dropship's troop bay.
The two super-soldiers gave him a nod as they grabbed their gear and made their way to the exit, stepping off the Pelican as soon as it hovered over the drop zone marked by a magnesium flare. They soon spotted their team leader who gestured the two over to him.
"I'm afraid we're going to have to hold off your AARs for the time being." Carter said to the two Spartans with the bare minimum of courtesies as they followed closed behind. The three enhanced humans made their way up a nearby staircase which led to another landing pad, where a UH-144 Falcon sat.
"Charlie's jamming all comms to Command. Six, Kat needs your help running a counter-op. Jorge, I need you with me."
"It's good to have you two back." He said, genuinely thankful that they've managed to come back unharmed. He never did like it when Spartans under his command perished in the line of duty like with Thom-A293. Despite being told that it wasn't his fault, he couldn't help but blame himself as he pondered on how he could've done things differently.
"Good to be back, sir." Jorge inclined his head as he followed his commander, giving a nod to Six before he followed Carter back down the steps.
Climbing onto the UH-144C, this particular aircraft being a two-seater as opposed to the regular UH-144 which only had one, Six gave the two crew chiefs who were manning the M247 machine guns on the side doors a nod in acknowledgement, which they returned in kind, before linking his helmet's comms to the chopper's frequency that the crew and occupants use to communicate with one another over the engines.
"Welcome aboard, Spartan." He heard what he presumed to be the pilot speaking to him. "Warrant Officer Troyer at your service."
"Thanks for having me." Casper said. "You've been briefed already?" He asked.
"Yup. My orders are to take you to where I'm told."
"Thanks for being my chauffeur." Six said in a joking tone.
The pilot chuckled over the radio as he took no offence to the jest. "No problem, Spartan. By the way, we're using channel 4, frequency 12.7 for this op. Encryption code is charlie-hotel-four-three-zero. Also, my weapons officer lost her arm this mornin' so I need someone to fill in. You up for it?"
"I thought you'd never ask." Six joked as he climbed inside and started up the onboard weapons. Which included the M68 20mm autocannon and M230 dual rocket-pods, in addition to the two crew chiefs.
Once he confirmed that all systems were operational, Casper began tuning his helmet into the frequency before pressing the push-to-talk button built into his helmet.
"/ Check, check, this is Noble Six. Two, do you read me? Over. /"
After several seconds passed by with no reply, he tried again.
"/ I say again, this is Noble Six. Noble Two, are you receiving me? /"
"/ Six, two here. Sorry to keep you waiting. /"
"/ No worries. So, what's going go? /"
"/ Charlie has deployed long-range signal jammers on high rises across the city. When I find them, you hit them. Hard. I'm sending you the waypoint of one I already located. Take it out. /"
"/ Roger that. Six out. /"
"Take us up." Casper instructed to his newfound co-pilot.
"Roger that," The pilot said in acknowledgement. Soon, the twin turbines started powering up and started spinning. Kicking up wind and dust all around the landing pad. Once the engines reached the necessary speed to achieve lift, the Falcon took off and began heading towards a pair of nearby skyscrapers. Passing in between them as it approached the hospital marked on their waypoint.
The approach to the tower was unopposed surprisingly, considering that Casper remembered there being anti-aircraft shade turrets posted on the roof, but he wasn't opposed to it as it meant he didn't have to waste time taking them out. Hovering a few feet off the ground to allow Six to step off onto the landing pad, the Falcon took back off and began circling the building. Ready to intercept any incoming Covenant craft and need be provide support from the side of the structure.
The elevator was out of commission, so Six decided to move to the staircase as he began moving down. He soon stopped when he hit the thirty-second floor, as the tracker indicated that his objective was somewhere on this level.
Raising his rifle, he moved down the halls of the hospital as he moved in the direction his tracker was indicating where the jamming signal was coming from. Stepping over the corpses of patients and medical center staff that failed to make it out in time. Not letting his guard down, Casper muttered a quick prayer under his breath for the dead. That they found peace and that the Lord guides them to where they need to be.
As he got closer to the signal, he began hearing voices from around the corner thanks to his augmented hearing and moved closer to the wall.
Deciding that we wanted something to listen to before diving headfirst into combat, Casper pulled up a music playlist that he had stored into his suit. Normally he wouldn't do this for a variety of reasons, one of them being that it was necessary to not have any potential risk of a distraction in the middle of a gunfight and that firefights were serious business. But his augments helped him hear over his songs and didn't really impede his combat effective, but that was just his opinion. Plus, he was alone at the moment and thus wouldn't need to worry about others when he was engaged. Besides, it wasn't like he did it all that often, only when he had the time and could afford to unwind a bit.
Besides, he was professional enough to know when it was necessary to direct his full attention on a given task. Like, when he and Jorge took part in Operation: UPPERCUT a few days ago.
Deciding that he wanted something other than the Doom soundtrack for once, he quickly scrolled through the playlist until he settled upon the 'Disposal Unit' track from WH:40k Darktide. As the score began playing, Six took a frag grenade from one of his pouches and pulled the pin before tossing it inside. Hearing the panicked screams of a Grunt who noticed the explosive before it went off.
Seizing the advantage, Casper moved in and began opening fire. Taking down several Grunts before sliding into cover as his shields began to flare from from counter fire. As the remaining Grunts and Brutes moved into cover.
Continuing to seize the moment, Six vaulted over cover and charged forward. Taking down a Brute that peaked out of cover in attempt to shoot him, before emptying the rest of the mag into another. Once the ammo in the rifle ran dry, Six drew his M6D in such a fluid and quick motion that could only be acquired through years of practice and shot at the rest.
Throughout the entire ordeal, the super-soldier moved in sync with the music. Though not on purpose as his focus was on neutralizing his targets.
The last Brute fell just as he fired the last mag in his pistol. Just as he was about to changed mags, he heard a pained but loud growl behind him as he heavy footsteps began rushing towards him. Most likely a Brute that survived his onslaught and was now trying to tackle him from behind. However, his last desperate act was for naught as Casper swiftly turned around and socked the brute so hard square in the face that several of it's teeth was knocked out and it's neck broke. Falling to the ground like a sack of rocks at the same time the track playing in his helmet ended. Stomping on the Brute's head for good measure, he reloaded both of his weapons as he swept the room one last time for any stragglers.
With the area now clear, the Spartan continued onwards taking out resistance wherever he went. Along the way, he came across a squad of around ten UNSC Army personnel, who looked like they were cut down before they could locate the jammer. After internally wishing them peace and giving them a nod of respect, he continued on until he eventually found the Covenant jammer, which was located in the back of a storage room. The core of the piece of warfare glowing blue and pulsating the field which jammed all comms that were caught in it's field.
Not wasting time, Casper took out a C-12 charge and placed on the machine before wirelessly programming it to connect with his M102 remote detonator. Seeing the light turn from red to green which indicated that the two were synced, Six went back behind cover and set off the switch.
The detonation of the blasting cap embedded in the charge caused the floor he was on, including the ones above and below, to vibrate as the noise reverberated throughout the hospital. Kicking up dust and smoke before it started to subside. Taking a peak back inside the room, he saw that the charge had done its job as the Covenant device was reduced to a charred, black husk' a far cry from the glowing and purple machine it was just a few minutes ago. A few sparks flew out of many electrical components that were still miraculously functional, but it was well and truly destroyed and incapable of doing what it was built for. The explosive charge also appeared to have damaged to the floor as what was left of the jammer fell through as the concrete beneath it crumbled and it landed on the level below, leaving behind a hole in the floor of medical storage room.
With his current objective accomplished, Six decided to make haste and leave. Killing a squad of Brutes equipped with jet packs that attempted to ambush him to no avail. Making his way back up the building, he reached the top within minutes and climbed back into the Falcon, whom he had already instructed to start heading towards the next site.
For the next half hour, Six and the Falcon he was riding in went from tower to tower. Assisting in the evacuation of civilian's and remaining military personnel before receiving orders from Kat to destroy another Jammer located at Sinoviet center, the planetary headquarters for the Sinoviet Heavy Machinery company. Same as before, he made his way inside when he landed and killed every Covenant warrior that he could find as he pressed forwards.
Keeping his rifle at the ready, Six continued moving through the halls of the floor until he located the jammer. Repeating what he did before, he pulled out a C-12 charge out of his pack and pulled the adhesive tape off before attaching it to the jammer. Connecting it to the detonator. he moved back around the corner before squeezing the trigger several times. He was already making his way back out when Kat contacted him to tell him what he already knew, that it was an ambush and to leave immediately. The drones then appeared seconds later as if they were overhearing her transmission.
As much as Casper loved a good firefight, that wasn't his objective at the moment. He moved fast, only engaging when he had too as he made his way back to the lift. Dropping a frag grenade behind him to cover his retreat before entering the escalator and pressing the top floor. The grenade exploding as soon as the doors closed, sending shrapnel in all directions and killing several drones in pursuit.
Six didn't waste any time and ran back to the chopper as soon as the doors opened and jumped inside, signaling the pilot to take off as he manned his station.
Once he was back in the air, his helmet began picking up a distress signal typically used by ODSTs. Tuning in, he began to hear a familiar voice.
"/ Any station this net, this is Gunnery Sergeant Buck with the 11th ODST. Does anyone copy? Over. /"
"/ Echo-7-Bravo, this is Sierra-Bravo-3-2-0. I'm hearing you. What's your situation. /" Kat responded with Casper listening in. The hyper-lethal noting internally how he sounded remarkably similar to Nathan Fillion in his own time despite being a different person in this one. But that was to be expected.
'/ Need an escort for a classified op. Send someone who knows how to fly a tight formation. /"
"/ Roger that. I'll task Outlaw 1-3 and Sierra 3-1-2 to assist. /"
Not much happened afterwards, Six taking down a few Banshees and Phantoms that were targeting Buck's chopper, with Troyer doing the flying and the crew chiefs proving additional fire when the enemy craft got within their machine guns effective firing range. Eventually they reached Nomolos tower where Buck's Falcon landed, thus signaling that they were no longer needed.
"/ Thanks you the assist Outlaw 1-3. You too Spartan. I'll see you in hell. /"
After they had assisted with Buck in his mission, Kat had directed them to the last jammer which was located at a club called Errea, apparently a few Army soldiers from the 36th I.D had located the device before they were ambushed by Covenant forces. Rushing to the nightclub, Six didn't waste time as he rushed into the club and assisted the , who had managed to fend off the ambush but where now engaged with a pair of Hunters. Once they had taken down the walking juggernauts, the soldiers directed Six to the jammer and proceeded to destroy it with a third C-12 charge. With the leading Sergeant informing Casper that they'll finish things up here before calling for evac, Six exited in the club and returned to the skies.
"/ Noble Two to Noble One. All Charlie jammers are down and long-range comms are up and running. /" Kat informed Carter which Six could hear every word of.
"/ Copy that, Noble Two. Be advised, we just received new orders, all personnel are to be evacuated from the annex. /"
Annex was usually the code name for the local planetary ONI headquarters. Which meant that they were talking about the ONI tower located in the city.
"/ Confirm, we'll start eva-/"
There was an explosion in the background before the transmission got cut off.
"/ Noble Two! What's going on over there?! I need a sitrep now! /"
"/ Annex's being hit in force. They must have zeroed in on my signal! /"
"/ Get that evac started, Two. /"
"/ Roger, Noble Six, get that Falcon over here and cover our evac birds. I need you overhead, now! /"
The Falcon made a beeline right for the tower. Providing overwatch support as they provided covering fire for the Pelicans taking off. Miraculously, no Pelican was shot down and the evacuation was successful with fewer casualties than they expected. Eventually, all mobile shade turrets and Banshees were neutralized which allowed the remaining Pelicans able to take off unopposed.
"/ Great work, Outlaw 1-3. /" Noble Two praised. "/ You're free to RTB. As for you Six, I'm extending the landing pad. Come on home, Lieutenant. /"
The Falcon then landed on the pad, with the cockpit then opening to allow the heavily armored super-soldier to climb out.
"Thanks for the ride. And you take care now"
"No worries, Lieutenant." The Warrant Officer replied. "And you too."
Stepping onto the landing pad, the Falcon disappearing into the city soon after, Six made his way onto the observation floor of the ONI HQ. Where he could see the rest of the team where he remembered them to be, with the notable exception of Jorge walking beside Carter as the two of them entered via a different door on the other side of the room.
"Look at this, this used to be the crown jewel." Jun commented aloud to no one in particular as he was observing something through his binoculars, his scout helmet placed right beside him. "Hmm. Not anymore."
Turning around, he spotted the team's resident nerd and shammer walking inside the room with his weapon pointed down at the concrete making up the floor. "Hey! You made it." Noble three said with a friendly smile on his face as Casper greeted the sniper with a nod.
"It's a regular ol' family reunion." Emile stated as he sharpened his Kukri against his armor gauntlet before turning his head to look at the team's only Spartan-II. Giving him a curt nod, which Jorge returned with a small smile on his face at the concern Emile showed with his gesture.
Despite the bickering and the occasional that occurred often between the two men, it was still evidently that Noble Four was glad to see that Jorge made it back unscathed. They may not have been the best of friends and fought with one another over disagreements, they still held a mutual respect for each other which developed over the years they spent watching each others backs and pulling the other out of the fire whenever they were downrange.
Nothing going through more life-and-death situations than you can count to forge a bond with someone that you normally wouldn't get along with under any other circumstances. Even if they still didn't like each other, they were still on the same team at the end of the day and they hated who they were fighting even more.
"I know you said you would never leave Reach, big guy. But I'm afraid you may not have a choice soon."
Jorge didn't give a response as he looked down at his GRENADIER helmet he was holding in his hands. Doesn't not likening what his team leader said one bit, he, he knew that deep down that what he was saying was true. The next few days were going to determine the fate of Reach, and with every passing moment it didn't look like they were gonna be the victors in this battle.
It was something that occurred all too often during the Human-Covenant war. No matter how well a planet may be, once the Covenant uncovered it's location it was only a matter of time until it fell as they would simply drown the UNSC defenses with their sheer numbers and technological superiority.
His talk with Casper earlier did help him deal with it a lot better, but that didn't mean watching the planet he was born on being burned by a Covenant armada any easier. Which was a sentiment shared by many that had to watch their homes being reduced to scorched earth and cities that took years and even decades to built being turned into charred concrete and steel in days over the course of this decades long war.
"Sir," Jun asked his team leader with hesitancy, but continued anyway as he lowered his binoculars. "That true about GAUNTLET, RED, and ECHO teams are assigned to civilian evac ops?"
Knowing who was responsible for this information breach, Carter turned to his second-in-command. "Those are senior level communiques." He scolded her as he had already told her to stop listing in on high level communications.
"I hear what I hear," Noble Two shrugged with a small smirk, it disappearing as quickly as it appeared. "Point is why put Spartans on defensive deployments?"
"I need that link to CENTCOM, Kat." Noble One ordered as he tried to get the team's tech specialist back on task which was repairing the damaged AN/PSC-102 communication pack, commonly used by RTOs that operated under company commanders, before her. Their built in comms were unlikely to reach him as the Army Colonel had already been evacuated from the planet along with most of Reach's top brass and their built in comms embedded in their helmets just weren't going to cut as long as the Army Special Operations Colonel was off world along with most of Reach's top military and civilian leadership. Thus, the only way to get in touch with him was through the pack as it was the only device on hand capable of reaching him.
'Course the whole point was rendered moot if Kat couldn't get it working, which was proving to be rather difficult with all the damage the transmitter took during a scuffle with a Covenant squad not too long ago.
"I'm chasing it," Kat snarked," but this console's got more shrapnel in it than transceivers." The Spartan-III then turned back towards her superior. "You still didn't answer my question."
"You want to know if we're losing?" Noble One asked sharply that did little to hide just how tired and burnt out he was feeling.
"I know we're losing," Kat snapped before calming herself down, her voice revealing how just how exhausted she was by the last few days. "I just want to know whether or not we've loss."
Despite knowing that Reach falling was inevitable, a part of her still clung on to the hope that maybe, just maybe, Reach would be spared from utter annihilation. Not that she said it out loud to anyone else. She more than anyone else just as essential Reach was to the UNSC war effort and that without it the ability for Mankind to maintain an effective defense against he Covenant would be reduced drastically.
The Commander didn't respond as he continued looking out the nearby window. Silence filled the room before it was broken by a familiar voice coming through via the damaged radio pack that was lying before the only female Spartan in the room.
"Commander, Colonel Holland is hailing us." Noble Two informed all in the room, her face showing just how surprised she was that the communication device still worked. "What's he doing on an open channel?" She asked aloud despite knowing that it was question that no one in the room had the answer to.
"Let's hear it," Carter instructed as Kat turned up the volume, the Colonel's garbled and unintelligible voice filled the room. After Noble two adjusted the frequency, the transmission began clearing up.
"/ -located in the south-west quadrant in the city, over?! /" Holland's voice came through much clearer, albeit heavily distorted thanks to the static. But still understandable. "/ Sierra-Alpha-two-five-nine, if you are receiving this transmission, I am authorizing override of regular security protocols to link up with this channel. Are you receiving? Over. /"
"How long until we can get a secure link?" Carter inquired. Not wanting to risk the transmission being intercepted by the Covenant if he could help it. Which could have the effect of their location being broadcasted for every Covenant ship in the area to hear.
Killing Spartans always seemed to be a priority for Charlie, especially if the commander of the task force was a Sangheili.
"Can't guarantee secure anymore." Kat said honestly. Even if she could fully repair the communication pack, there was no assurance that the regular encryption protocols would be able to prevent the Covvies from listening in. Especially with all the ship hovering about in the area.
"Could the Covenant trace it to us?"
"I could."
"/ Noble One, this is a priority one hail. If you are receiving, acknowledge immediately. /"
Carter mulled all the pros and cons in his head as he internally debated fiercely with himself on whether or not he should respond. One one hand, his cautious side told him to hold off on answering until they could communicate over a more secure channel. Transmissions shouldn't be just broadcasted over open frequencies where just about anyone could hear them, especially if it was to transmit sensitive information and mission orders.
On the other, Holland wouldn't risk sending a message like this if it wasn't extremely urgent and important, which was likely given the tone of his voice. The Spartan-III had worked with the Army Special Operations Colonel for quite some time now and knew that he wouldn't be doing this if he didn't have a damn good reason to. That much he knew for certain.
Besides, if there was anytime it was acceptable to disregard SOPs, it was during times like these. When the literal planet you were on was being overrun by an alien empire hell bent on the extermination of your species.
Kat seemed to share his thought process as she rerouted the signal from the speaker to the wirelessly connected earpiece. "Keep it brief." The tech expert suggested strongly as she held up the receiver for Carter to take, which he did after a moment of hesitation. The Spartan-III really didn't feel comfortable with broadcasting their location to the Covenant, but it must've been really important if Holland reached out to them like this.
"Noble One here. Go ahead." Carter replied into the comm. Holland's voice soon came through with what was presumably instructions, but only Carter was privy to them as even with their enhanced hearing the rest of the Spartans in the room couldn't make out what was being said. "… yes, sir."
"We've got movement." Jun informed the rest of the team from where he was sitting as he was observing something through his binoculars. "Multiple enemy victors and infantry are vacating the area. And they're in a hurry."
"How often do you see Charlie retreating for no reason?" Emile said in confusion as he sheathed his kukri and readied himself to stand up with finishing the remainder of his drink and tossing it to the floor before putting his helmet back on.
"Radiation flare! Three-thousand roentgens!" Kat informed them as she consulted her data pad and pulled up the integrated Geiger counter feature which started picking up radiation in the vicinity.
"I just lost Holland. What's going on?"
"Atomic excitement scrambled the signal. Six-thousand now!"
"Source?"
"Airbourne. Close."
"How close?"
Suddenly, a thunderous boom came from outside which resulted in every glass window in the room shattering.
"That close!" Kat snapped as she fell backwards. Raising her prosthetic arm over her face to shield it from the broken glass that came from the nearby observation window shattering from the nearby sonic boom.
As the Spartans recovered from the blast wave they noticed that their armor's shield bar embedded in their HUDs were red, indicating that whatever had just hit them also disabled their shields
Emile, Carter, and Jun took one elevator while Kat, Casper, and Jorge piled into the other.
"First glassing?" Noble two asked the other two Spartans before sending the lift down to ground floor, not waiting for a respond from either of them before she replied. "Me too."
The team's tech expert placed her helmet back on before
"Don't worry I'm on it. Our best bet is a fallout shelter on sub-level two. Ninety-six meters north east of here. We get our orders from Holland, sir."
"We're being redeployed to SWORD Base." Carter informed the team.
"SWORD!?" Noble three yelled in a mixture of confusion and surprise at the orders their team was given. "Sir, Charlie owns it now!"
"Which is why the brass wants us for a torch-and-burn op. Keep Halsey's excavation data from falling into enemy hands." Noble One elaborated as the elevator he was on finally stopped and ran to the bunker. The second lift opening not long after with the rest of Noble team following right behind the three.
"If it hasn't already." Kat remarked as she ran as fast as her legs could take her. Not wanting to be caught in the blast when the Covenant began glassing the area.
"Maybe," Carter agreed. "But according to Holland the Covenant are still hunting for something." The Spartans took off to the shelter as soon as the doors opened. Carter and his group arriving first with the remaining three following behind them.
"Where doe he get off calling a demolition op priority-"
The second-in-command of Noble Team didn't get a chance to finish her question as she heard the thrusters of a SOLA pack before she was suddenly tacked to the ground to the side. Falling to the ground she could see that it was Casper that just did it with him still on her. Before she could ask why he did what he just did, the unmistakable sound of a needler rifle echoed through the air as a shot impacted directly where she was seconds beforehand. Causing her to turn her head to stare at the spot of rubble with shock.
This was the first time in Kat's life where she was so stunned that words didn't escape her month. With her shield's down, her MJOLNIR armor would have been insufficient to provide an adequate defense against the needler shot, which would have likely have resulted in her unceremonious and anti-climatic death.
She didn't have time to think more on it as as Six immediately got off her, shouldered his VK78 and began firing at something above him, with the rest of the team joining in seconds after. Looking up, she saw a Phantom dropping with an Elite Zealot leaning out the right side. He was holding a needler rifle which in all likelihood meant that the split-lip was responsible for nearly killing her. With this in mind, she pulled out her M6D sidearm and began joining her teammates in engaging the Elite.
The barrage of bullets suppressed the Zealot, the only thing saving him from death being his shields, which made him ducked back into the dropship for cover. Seeing as how they had lost the element of surprise and that the sector was going to be glassed any minute now, the Phantom closed it's sides and engaged its thrusters to the max to escape the upcoming glassing.
Lowering her service pistol, she turned to see Six offering a hand to her, his primary weapon once again magnetically attached to his back.
Gripping his hand tightly, she was pulled to her feet where she found herself staring at the singular optic attached to the frontal helmet armor from behind her own one-way visor. It didn't take her long to start feeling awkward as she found herself unable to say anything to convey the gratitude felt towards the man standing before her. Finding herself at a loss for words for the first time in her life in the midst of her appreciation for saving her from certain death.
However, she had also felt no small amount of confusion as well.
'H-How did he know that was going to happen?' Noble Two thought as she racked her head for an answer to her own question. Maybe it was just as simple as him having looked up and happened to see the Phantom? It was certainly a possibility and would be the most logical answer.
Just before she could ask how Casper knew about the needler shot, the voice of her other long time friend and team leader reached her ears.
"Kat, snap out of it! Come on! Get in!" Carter ordered as he and along with Jun and Emile was frantically ushered them inside the shelter as the solid blast doors were beginning to slid shut.
This snapped Kat out of her musings as she made her way into the shelter with her remaking teammates right behind her. The three super-soldiers entering just as the steel doors locked shut, just as the world outside became engulfed in plasma fire. A similar event happening across every population center and military base on the planet that was still intact.
Every remaining human that still remained planetside knew what was happening, despite how impossible it may seem. After all, the same thing happened to hundred of other human colonies over the course of this long and brutal war that's lasted for nearly thirty years that's already costed the lives of billions of men, women, and children.
Despite the best efforts of all of Mankind, the finest warriors, equipment, and ships at man's disposal, it simply wasn't enough.
No matter what happens in the coming days, one thing was now certain.
Reach, the cradle of Man, had already fallen.
Terms:
-AAR: After Action Reports
-RTO: Radio Telephone Operator.
-SOP: Standard Operating Procedure.
Here we are with another major change that those familiar with Unbreakable would have already known about, Kat's survival. Hope you found it satisfactory and as always thank you again for taking the time to read my little fanfiction.
So, you may have noticed that I reduced the radiation flare from forty million roentgens to only a few thousand. The reason for this is when I was looking this mission up, a radiation flare on that scale would've killed everyone on Reach pretty much instantly. Therefore, I changed it to a few thousand to make it more reasonable. Then again, I'm not an expert on radiation so it may have been for naught. If there's anyone who's reading this that is knowledgeable on this stuff, feel free to correct me.
Also, unrelated note, this is something I just wanted to vent about so please forgive me. It also sort ties into my other Author's Note on my other fanfic, so, if you've read it you probably know what I'm talking about. Warning: minor rant incoming. *Inhales* AGGGGGHHH! WHY ROOSTER TEETH! WHY! WHY DO THIS! WHY DID YOU REMOVE ALMOST EVERY SEASON OF RVB OFF OF YOUTUBE! SERIOUSLY, WHY! WHY DO YOU GOTTA DO THIS TO US BEFORE RESTORATION! TO MAKE US GO TO YOUR WEBSITE!? IS THAT WHAT THIS IS ALL ABOUT! THIS SHOW IS NEARLY TWO DECADES OLD! DO YOU REALIZE HOW SCUMMY AND GREEDY THAT IS! ARE YOU SERIOUSLY TRYING TO USE THIS SHOW TO MAKE US SUBSCRIBE TO YOUR STUPID WEBSITE! I'D RATHER PAY FOR USED DVDS THAN DO THAT! HOW CAN YOU SERIOUSLY THINK THAT THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA! THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICOULOUS! NO WONDER YOU'RE A FAILING BUSINESS! AND JUST WHEN I WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF SEASON 9! AGGGHH!
*Exhales*
Sorry about that, just had some really strong feelings and emotions at the time of writing this as I stumbled upon this piece of news when I was writing this chapter. Thanks for listening (or rather reading in this case) to my unhinged and angry rant. Please forgive my sour mood.
That's it for now, hope to see you guys next time. Take care, guys, and remember… Stay frosty, gents.