Shocking Spartan
Chapter 3: Pushing Forward
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo or any of the characters involved except Guardian L. Lightning
The turret began firing, showering the hunters with heavy-duty rounds that pierced their armor. They lifted their massive, shielded arms to block some of the shots as they moved to cover. Lightning turned the mini-gun, following their movements. But, as one made it into cover, the other was not fast enough as it went down in the hail of gunfire.
The remaining hunter, seeing its companion lying motionless in the street, was overcome with rage. It swiveled out of cover and charged a blast from the cannon mounted on its arm. Lightning tried to turn the gun to face the enemy, but it jammed. He tried to turn it back and push it further, but the gun would not budge.
"Get down!" Cortana shouted.
Lightning released the mini-gun and rolled off the ledge he had been perched on as the Hunter fired. The blast rocked his former position, launching Lightning into the pavement from the force. He rolled onto his back just in time to see the Hunter charging him. He continued rolling just in time as the Hunter slammed its arm into the pavement, cracking the asphalt with the force.
Chief fired a barrage from his rifle into the creature's back, causing it to turn on him. It charged again, but Chief was ready as he easily side-stepped the slamming arm. Lightning staggered to his feet and summoned his rifle before aiming. Chief saw the movement and leaped away, giving Lightning a clear line of sight. The young Guardian pulled the trigger again and again, releasing a series of rapid bursts that peppered the Hunter's back. Feeling the pain, it started to turn, but the last few bursts hammered home and it fell to the ground dead.
Lightning sighed as he lowered his rifle.
"Too close Petty Officer," Cortana told him as Chief approached.
"Yes ma'am," Lightning said absently.
Chief put a hand on his shoulder to draw him out of his daze.
"We need to move," he said.
Lightning nodded as the pair were quickly joined by Johnson and his marines. The whole squad proceeded through the doors the Hunters had blown open. Soon they arrived at the LZ for Johnson and his squad.
"Chief, keep pushing into the city. The Sargeant will meet up with you later," Captain Keyes ordered.
Chief and Lightning bade farewell to the marines as the Pelican lifted off, and once it was gone they proceeded into the narrow side alleys of the city. Lightning moved ahead of Chief and slowly crept up to a corner. He pushed his back to the wall and slowly moved his head out from behind the wall, peering into the next section of buildings, but he quickly snapped his head back as a laser fired where he had just been.
"Sniper," he told Chief as the other Spartan approached.
"Where?" Chief asked.
"There's a half-collapsed building at the far end of the street. Third floor, dead center, no cover."
"Good work."
Chief stepped past him, waited a few seconds, then darted across the street. The delay caused the sniper to become relaxed, as the shot that followed Chief was a second too late. It scorched the ground where he had been as he slid into cover on the opposite side of the street.
"Move up Petty Officer, I'll cover you."
Lightning nodded, waiting a few seconds to ensure that the sniper was focused on Chief before he darted around the corner and slid into cover behind a blown-out truck a few meters ahead.
The sniper had seen the movement and tried to catch Lightning, but he was too slow as the yellow-clad Spartan slid into cover. He growled to himself, adjusting his focus to a point between Chief and Lightning's positions. If either of them moved, it would only take him fractions of a second to-.
Chief stepped out of cover and fired, the sniper's thoughts came to an abrupt halt before he even registered what had happened.
"Nice shot sir," Lightning said as he slowly stood up from his cover.
"Let's move, but take it slow. He won't be the last," Chief ordered.
"Yes sir!" Lightning answered.
The two continued to move through the alleys, leap-frogging each other from one piece of cover to the next, always keeping their eyes up and scanning each building and railing for any sign of additional snipers. They found half a dozen more as they continued and neutralized them in the same way as the first.
Eventually, they emerged from the narrow alleys into a large courtyard. A massive hotel stood opposite the open space. The two approached cautiously, so they were not surprised as an Elite emerged from one of the supporting pillars and charged them with an energy sword.
Chief and Lightning poured rounds into the enemy, depleting its shields and dropping it before it even got close.
"Who's there?" A voice called, echoing to them from inside the building.
The two exchanged a glance before moving into the building. They found a squad of ODSTs holed up in defensive positions at the opposite exit.
"Chief! Boy are we glad to see you," the squad leader said, "My men and I were in one of the other Pelicans with you when we were shot down by that Scarab. We made our way here to hole up until we could be reinforced."
"We're going after that Scarab. Do you know where it went?" Chief asked.
"Yeah, it was moving down the beach toward the bridge," One of the other troopers answered.
A third pointed ahead toward a massive cable bridge in the distance.
"I'm not seeing anything, we're probably right behind it," Lightning said.
Chief nodded agreement before looking over the trooper squad. The leader recognized the movement and turned to his men.
"Get your gear troopers! We're goin' with Chief!"
