So, I'm back with another edited chapter for you all. I'm still getting used to this, so if there's anything off let me know.
But until then, all rights go to their owners, as I own nothing!
For most of us, we were glad to finally be out of cryo-sleep. But needless to say, once we started learning what was taking place on the world below. I'm certain that some members of the crew had wished they had stayed in cryo and avoid everything that followed: Private journal entry from one of the Helljumper serving onboard the Spirit of Fire.
The Pelicans had come in and under the edge of the storm, as any attempts to go through the strange clouds had caused some of the Pelicans to lose power and start falling to the planet's surface.
Thankfully so far there had been no casualties, but this was not the way that Jerome wanted to start the mission. But he had to know where they could get through the cloud layer in case of an emergency, but since they now knew that this was not the case Jerome had already made the necessary adjustments to the operation to account for this added information.
So now he was working with Alice and Douglas, as all three of them were doing their last-minute checks on their olive-green Mark-IV MJOLNIR power armour, ensuring that it was working at 100%.
"I'll be in the cockpit if you need me." Jerome then informed the two of them as he then gave them a thumbs up and quickly made his way to the Pelican's cockpit.
Once inside one of the pilots immediately noticed him and waved Jerome over to his operation station.
"Has something come up sir?" The co-pilot then asked.
"I just wanted to check our Coms, see if you can raise the captain," Jerome told the pilot.
As the Spartans wanted to confirm whether they could contact the ship from here.
"Understood Spartan, give me a moment and I'll see if I can raise the captain." The co-pilot did not sound confident that he would be able to do that.
As ever since they had entered this area long-range COMs had been spotty at best of times. Knowing this, and the fact they were just minutes away from touching down, Jerome needed to know their situation regarding their COMs.
Moments later he would have it as the pilot then turned his head to face him.
"Sorry Spartan, I can't raise the Spirit on COMs." The co-pilot then informed the Spartan.
"Understood, can we still make contact with the other Pelicans?" Jerome then inquired.
As was expected, this last question Jerome asked would also influence his decision as to whether they were to continue with the mission. As he was not going to risk it should they not be able to call for an emergency evacuation; Jerome's choice as to whether they would proceed with the mission or simply call it off depended fully on the response Jerome got from the Pelicans co-pilot.
"I can confirm that we can raise the other pilot; though it's on the short range. As it seems that something is messing with our long-range transmissions." The co-pilot informed him.
"Keep me informed if that changes, otherwise we are to continue with the mission unless we lose contact with the other birds. If that happens, inform me immediately." Jerome informed the pilot, as he commented them to the mission.
Because even though the circumstances surrounding it were not ideal, Jerome knew that they needed Intel on what was taking place on the planet. Especially in regards to the plasma they had detected from orbit, as such readings did not occur naturally on a world such as this. Jerome knew this fact well from his training. As for all the planets Humanity had been surveyed in their time as space travellers. They had yet to find a planet which allowed for human habitation and plasma was present in the same space.
Unless it had artificially brought there. Jerome knew that this situation did not lend itself well to the health of a planet's biosphere.
Knowing this only made this mission seem even more vital in the Spartan's mind. As they needed to know what was happening there and such Jerome was more than willing to take the risk and continue with this mission to collect this information.
"Understood Spartan, I'll pass the word on to the other birds as well. We'll be touching down in about 5." The co-pilot informed him.
To which the Spartan gave him a nod of acknowledgement and left the cockpit. Moments later the door opened, and Jerome walked straight into the troop bay to brief Red Team as to their current situation.
"The Com dead zone confirmed Red Team; the captain won't be keeping us informed during this mission." Jerome then informed the rest of his team.
Who gave him the acknowledgment through their winking of their status lights, as both Douglas and Alice were still doing final checks on one another's amour; for his part, Jerome could not help but feel as if Cutter were taking a huge risk in sending them ground side. But since any drone that they sent into the area kept going dark, this forced them to resort to having to do this the old-fashioned way, with boots on the ground. But despite his misgivings, Jerome had managed to put together the best teams he could give their current circumstances. As a good majority of the crew that was still coming out of cryo-sleep were still recovering from the extended stay. Some more than others, as Jerome knew all too well from the reports he had gotten on the situation.
This fact had made itself well known during his selection process, where he had found some platoons reporting that they were down to half strength due to freezer burn and other complications in regards to their extended stay in cryo-sleep.
But despite all those issues, Jerome had been able to put together a force that he felt was more than adequate for the task assigned to them.
But silently the Spartan hoped that they would not need to test whether this scratch company could handle the task he had assigned them. Still, Jerome knew that if they did their job well, then hopefully they would not before being forced to find out as one of the members of Red Team spoke up.
"Are we still able to make contact with the other birds?" Douglas then asked.
"Only on short range, I can't make any grantees that will last once we make it ground side," Jerome informed him.
Because it had become obvious that the closer, they continued to approach the island the stronger the interference was becoming. Making it obvious where the source of this interference was coming from, forced Jerome to adjust his plans slightly to take this into account.
"What's the plan should we lose contact with our birds?" Alice then inquired, as she wanted to go over this plan one last time before they made landfall.
"The plan, should we lose contact with either our Pelican or the other ground teams is to fall back to a predetermined rally point. At which point we'll set off a flyer, alerting the Pelicans in orbit above the island to our situation." Jerome informed the other two members of Red Team.
Though he considered it a poor plan, Jerome knew that it was the best that he could produce in the time that had been allotted to him. But despite those feeling Jerome was confident that both ground teams would be able to execute such a plan should the need arise.
"What happens if any of the teams get pinned down on their way to the rally point?" Alice then inquired.
As Alice had only been given the bare minimum in terms of what they had planned should such a situation like that arise. This was partly because Jerome had not had enough time to brief his squad, as he had been too busy ensuring that all other elements had been briefed and knew what to do should certain eventualities arise.
Thus, for most of the ride down to the planet's surface, Jerome had been using it to be spent bring Red Team up to speed on what they were expected to do once they were in the mission area.
"If that's the case, then the affected party will attempt to fire off their flyer. While at the same time attempting to move back into COM, contact with the other squads down on the surface. If things get really bad, then the relief force I've put together will move in to secure us and our location to facilitate extraction." Jerome explained, giving them the same briefing that he had given the other teams.
As Jerome ensured that all ground teams knew what would be expected of them should a situation like this arise during the mission.
"Are the other teams aware of this?" Douglas then asked.
As he wanted to ensure that there had not been any oversights by Jerome regarding this.
"They've already been briefed and know what the plan is should they find themselves in such a situation," Jerome informed them as he was then interrupted by their pilot, who cut into their COM circuit.
"Red Actual, we're on our final approach to the island." The voice of their Pelican pilot then came over the COM circuit.
"Understood Brovo-029, any sign of hostile activity?" Jerome then inquired.
So far it had been too quiet for the Spartans' liking.
"There's nothing on radar, nor have any other birds reported weapon locks of any kind." Their pilot informed them.
Once again Jerome's feeling of unease continued to grow in his stomach. As he could not help but feel as if they were walking into some sort of trap, but despite those feeling Jerome knew that they would not know the full picture until they were on the ground side.
"Understood pilot, any signs of the LZ?" Jerome then inquired.
"Nothing in the main city Red Actual, actually you'll probably want to look at this yourself." The pilot said as an alert popped up on Jerome's HUD.
Immediately realizing what it was Jerome opened the connection and was then treated to the front view of the Pelican and immediately understood why the pilot had wanted him to see this. As what was being shown to him was the ruins of what had once been a large city, Jerome could see that none of the buildings in the city's core had remained untouched by the fighting that had taken place there.
Seeing this and immediately realizing its implications, Jerome started looking for a safe landing zone on the outskirts of the city. As it was more vital than ever that they knew what had taken place here, for it was obvious that some great battle took place here, as attested to by the ruined six to seven-story buildings that he could now see littering the city center.
"Pilot, I've located a landing site just on the edge of what looks to be a shopping area. I've sent a waypoint to your HUD and would like you to put us down there."
"Roger that Red Actual, I'll put her down in the area you've marked, be ready as I don't want to linger here longer than necessary." The pilot said as he quickly started bringing the dropship down for a landing.
As the Pelican quickly started its descent, Red Team did their last-minute checks, ensuring that all their equipment was ready for action. With all three Spartans did one final armour check, ensuring that there were not any issues with their MJOLNIR before they deployed in what was most likely to be hostile territory.
"Red Actual, we're at the insertion point. I'm ready to drop the hog on your signal."
"Jerome here, you're clear to drop." The Spartan informed the plot, as moments later Warthog detached from the rear of the Pelican.
Red Team did not waste any time in mounting the Hog, as they did not want to linger here for any longer than necessary, especially considering that the Pelican was currently in an extremely vulnerable position should they come under attack. As such Jerome wanted to minimize the risk to both them and the pilots as soon as possible.
So, when Hog finally settled on the ground all the members of the Red Team immediately settled and started to move clear of the area.
"Jerome to Bravo-029, we're clear and making our way into the mission area." Jerome then informed the pilot as they continue to speed away in their Warthog.
"Roger that Red Team, we'll be on station if you need a hot pickup." The pilot said as he started to bring rise the Pelican clear of any obstructions.
As moments later the Pelican Dropship was making its way to its designated location on the edge of the island airspace to act as a screen for the ground forces of any incoming traffic, while being close enough to deploy the rescue party that Jerome had put together should the need arise. Silent Jerome hoped that they did not need to call upon this force. As he and the other members of the Red Team continued further into this 'shopping district'.
"Seems they were expecting trouble," Douglas then commented, as he continued to scan the surrounding area with his MA5.
As it had become obvious to him that all the buildings in this 'shopping district' had been reinforced with concrete rebar that was usually reserved for military fortifications. Alongside that was the fact that most of the streets they have travelled through so far could've easily been turned into large kill zones. These facts alone put the Spartans on edge, even more so as passed by the remains of a burnt-out barricade.
"Looks like it found them," Alice commented as she continued to scan the area.
As they moved past them Alice could not help but notice how the barricade had been built to be moved out at a moment's notice. This fact only added to Red Teams' uneasiness, as they continued to make their way past the ruined defences that now littered the road around them. All the while Alice and Douglas kept scanning the area, as Spartans kept getting hits on the edges of their motion trackers whenever they came close to one of the buildings. Meaning likely that there were people inside of them; but the fact that whoever was in those buildings did not come out to greet them only added to Red Teams' sense of unease, as they continued making their way further into the city.
So, it came as something of a surprise when without warning the Warthogs onboard console let out a beep.
A beep that Jerome immediately realized was an alert from the onboard computer. Knowing this sounds well enough to know what the alert was for; Jerome then alerted the other members of the Red Team to this new development.
"Look sharp team, seems that they've mined on the road ahead; Alice, you're up," Jerome informed her.
Alice is the person best placed to deal with this problem. The M46 she was welding had enough stopped power to penetrate a couple of inches of unreinforced concrete if it was called upon. So, it would be child's play for Alice to use to make them clear a path for them a clear path through the mines.
"Understood Jerome, I'll see what I can do about clearing us a path through them," Alice assured him as she then spotted a couple of mines lying on the road ahead of them.
At which point she quickly opened with her chain gun; all the while Jerome slowed the Hog down so that Alice would have an easier time aiming M46. But despite the necessity of it, Jerome could not help but feel as if he were taking a substantial risk by doing this. As he knew that it was easier to hit a slow-moving target than a fast one. So, he would have to find a balance between the need to keep safe and giving Alice the room, she needed to do her job.
But while Jerome tried to figure out the best speed he should go at, Douglas for his part was taking advantage of their slower speed to get a better idea of what caused some of the damage to the area around them. As he then found himself drawn towards some of the larger scorch marks on a couple of buildings, they passed by.
As Douglas ran through his mental files on what weapon and the damage profiles matched what he was seeing. But after a minute or two of doing this, Douglas could not deny what he was seeing.
"I shouldn't be surprised that this was the case." Douglas then muttered to him.
"Care to share what you discovered?" Alice then inquired as she then let loose another couple of rounds from her chain gun to clear another barricade that was in their way.
For a moment Douglas did not respond, as he wanted to be sure that this was indeed the case. For if he was indeed right about this then their mission had changed significantly.
"Some of the damage to the building matches that of plasma weapons," Douglas finally dropped the bomb on his two teammates.
That statement from Douglas immediately made the other two members of Red Team tense up, as they knew what this meant for this mission at hand if this was true. As it would change what they had speculated into a confirmation of all they had suspected.
"Alice, can you confirm this?" Jerome then asked.
"I can confirm that there seem to be signs of plasma damage in the area." Alice then confirmed Douglas' assessment.
An uncomfortable silence then fell across the team, as they knew what this meant. Still, these silences did not last long as Alice then mentioned a relevant question.
"So then, where are all the bodies?" Alice's then asked her teammates.
As so far, they had not come across any remains, the only signs that they had been there was what they assumed to be blood that was occasionally splashed across the surface they passed by. But this did not give them an answer to Alice's questions as to where the bodies of both attackers and defenders were now.
"Someone must've recovered them," Douglas suggested the most obvious thing, that would explain why they were not seeing any bodies.
As this was the only reason that made sense to him.
For they would have known if they cremated the bodies, as doing so would have left identified evidence even after the process was complete. But no, it was obvious that this was not the case, as whoever had won the battle here had decided to recover both the bodies of the attackers and defenders alike. Something that was usually done when a side of the conflict wanted to hide something; thus, raising a lot of obvious questions in the Spartans' minds, the most obvious of which was: just what was it that the victories side wanted to hide from the outside world?
"Yeah, but why would you go through all the effort of doing that?" Alice then asked another good question.
"Maybe you can ask them when we find them, Alice. Douglas, do you have any IDs on what type of weapons were used?" Jerome then inquired; bringing his team back onto what was important.
As Jerome knew that they needed to figure out just what kind of Covenants weapons were being used here. Is known that he and the other members of Red Team had been trained to identify damage patterns from certain weapons from the Covenants arsenal, as they tended to leave behind a fingerprint of sorts, and with a trained eye they could make an educated guess as to what those weapons were.
A skill that had proven to be invaluable in the field as it allowed them to ID any Covenant weapon that was used against them in the field. Both when it was fired at them and in situations such as this when they came across old battlefields. Still, there were limits to this ability, depending on how old the battlefield was and how heavy the fighting was. It tended to make identifying what had been used more differently, a fact that Douglas was running into now as there seemed to be a lot of different weapons that had been used by both sides.
"That's hard to tell 092, as there seems to be a lot of ballistics damage mixed in with the plasma." Douglas then informed him.
"Are they from the defenders?" This question immediately popped into Jerome's mind.
This would make the most sense, especially since they had managed to identify this planet as a site of human habitation. So, it would make sense for them to be using ballistics, especially if the people on this planet were originally from a long-lost UEG colony ship.
"No, the angels don't match up. See whoever attacked these people using a mix of plasma and ballistic weapons." Douglas informed Jerome that he and Alice then took a moment to process what Douglas had said.
For statement had changed the game once again. As Jerome then asked the only question that would make sense given the facts available to them.
"Brutes?"
That would easily explain the mix of ballistic and plasma damage that Douglas was seeing around them, as the giant apes did tend to have a more mixed arsenal of weapons than most of the other Covenant member species.
"No, the damage pattern doesn't match that of Covenant or Brute weaponry. Besides, I think we would've known it was them already." Douglas said darkly, as he confirmed Jerome's worst fear.
"Understood," It was the only response that Jerome could muster, for his thoughts were already elsewhere.
As Jerome now knew, it was likely that they were dealing with a completely unknown force, as the situation that Jerome had been hoping for would not be the case considering their current circumstances.
But the fact was that they had confirmed the presents of plasma weaponry in the area made Jerome consider whether they should abandon the mission and return to the Spirit. As he guessed that whatever force had taken and then seemingly abandoned the city was still in the area. Even if this were not the case, Jerome knew that it was safe to err on the side of caution; he still could not help but feel that this was all a setup for some kind of trap.
A trap was not originally meant for them, but a trap was still a trap no matter who it was meant for. And often it was much harder to disarm such traps than to set them in motion.
Still, there was another factor that Jerome had to consider as well before he called off this mission. That was the state of the Spirit of Fire and its crew, as a good majority of them were still coming out of cryo-sleep. Some of them were needing medical attention due to their prolonged stay in cryo, such as key personnel missing from their post on the ship.
Thus, leaving the ship, and by extension the crew in a valuable position.
A factor that Jerome had to consider in his decision, as he then decided to get a status update from the other group teams before he made his final choice in that regard.
"Red Actual to ground teams, what's your current status?" Jerome opened his COM to the only other two other ground teams currently in the city.
"This is Sunray; we've come across two stores. One of which looks like a map store, while the other seemed to sell books. We're taking some of this with us so that Captain and Andres can look them over." The voice of Sunray leader: Major Vaughan came over the COM.
"Understood Sunray; but be advised, we've come across signs of plasma damage in the area," Jerome said, giving the heads up to Sunray.
"Understood Spartan, we're planning on moving further into the city center; we might get a reaction from the locals once we do so, be advised," Vaughan informed him.
As the Major knew just as well as Jerome that the city center had been marked as an area of interest by the captain; even so Jerome still felt uneasy about sending anyone in there. For he had originally wanted to send in Omega Team in, but Sunray had augured that with their drone operator, they could do this without the risk to personnel.
The only reason why he had allowed them to take this assignment was that the captain had become involved and ruled in favour of Sunrays' plan. Even so, Jerome felt as if they were making a major mistake in having Sunray undertake that mission. But there was very the Spartan could do about it now, other than hope that the Helljumpers stuck to their part of the plan and did not do anything reckless.
"Understood Major, remember to COM us if you find anything." Jerome reminded the Major.
As this went without saying, Jerome just wanted to remind them.
"WICO Red Actual, Sunray out," And with that Major Vaughan cut the line.
As Jerome once again hoped that he had not made a mistake in not insisting that Omega Team had been assigned to that mission area rather than Sunray. Still, Jerome would not get too long to linger on those thoughts as the voice of one of Omega Teams members came over his COM.
"Omega here, it's all quiet in this sector." The welcome voice of August-099 then said.
"Understood Omega; same over in this sector as well." Jerome continues as if this was a regular check-in.
But that was quickly going to change, as Jerome intended this to be more than that. As he then used his status light to alert August to this.
Using this he gave her the Spartan signal for an ambush, giving the Spartans of Omega Team an idea of what the conversation was to be about. As he continued the conversation as if this were a regular check-in.
"Omega, we've come across mines and IEDs in our area. Can you confirm the presence of such devices in your operating area?" Jerome then inquired as he then used his status light to signal Enemy detected.
Knowing that they would understand what he said, especially if they had come across the same damage they had encountered here. Then Omega would be on the same page as he was, even if they still thought they were dealing with Covenant instead of an unknown enemy.
"Red Actual, we can confirm the presence of such devices in our operating area; any orders regarding how we should proceed from here?" The voice of the other member of Omega, Spartan Loan-011 inquired.
As both Spartans knew that there would be a hidden meaning to what was being said on the surface.
"Maintain current orders for now Omega. But I would recommend that you proceed with caution, as we don't need anyone setting off or stumbling into any traps left by the defenders." Jerome informed them.
As Jerome did not want Omega team to get themselves into a situation that they could not get out of without assistance. As Jerome's thoughts once again turned as to whether he should scrap the mission and return to the ship. As he did so, 011 replied with a question that would decide this issue.
"Understood Red Team, should we try to disarm any we come across if possible?" Leon then asked Jerome what they should try to take. There would be attackers alive should they have the opportunity to do so.
Jerome took a moment to respond, as the Spartan knew that depended on his answer to Leon's question would decide whether they would stay or pull entirely. Still, after a moment Jerome had made up his mind and responded swiftly.
"We'll probably have to if we're going to find anything Omega," Jerome stated the fact they would have to if they were going to learn anything about this place.
Both members of Omega Team did not reply for a moment, as they took a moment to let what Jerome had just authorized sink in. Still, that momentary pause did not last long; as August did not want the COM's filled with dead air in case their COMs were compromised.
"Understood Red Team, just don't start anything without us." August then said, knowing that Jerome would understand what she meant.
"WICO Omega, we'll try to give you a head up if we can," Jerome said, knowing that Omega would do the same for them.
"Same here Red Team. Omega Team out." August replied as she then cut the link.
Jerome then let the silence settle in as he mentally went over the conversation that he had with the Omega Team and the implications of it. This quiet seemed to last a little longer than he had thought, as Jerome was only brought out of these thoughts when he then got an alert from his private COM.
Upon seeing who it was Jerome immediately opened the link.
"Cat got your tongue?" The voice of Alice came through his COM before he could say anything.
"Am I that obvious?" Jerome then asked as he then put the hog into a tight turn to avoid a mine that was in the road.
"Well, it was to me," Douglas said, as he also cut in on the private circuit.
"Jerome, we know you're under a lot of pressure. If you need to talk about anything, we're here for you." Alice offered the olive branch.
As Alice knew that Jerome was under a lot of pressure given the current circumstances, as he was currently taking to make what were life and death decisions with little to no information available to him. Something that every commander found a little stressful, especially when success or failure hung on whether you could make the correct choice with what little information you had.
So, Jerome then took a moment to consider Alice's offer, as he knew that she would not have offered this if he did not show any signs of needing it. But he quickly decided that this was not the place to have such a talk, especially given the current circumstances.
"I'll take that offer once we're back on the ship Alice; Douglas, you're joining us since you invited yourself." Jerome made light of the fact Douglas had barged in on what should have been a private conversation between him and Alice.
Still, Douglas took it in good stride, as he immediately shot back.
"Aww, here I was planning to challenge Leon to a knife fight, guess I'll have to disappoint him by not showing up." Douglas' voice was laced with fake disappointment and sarcasm as he said this.
Jerome understood the hidden meaning behind Douglas' words. Still, if he was not planning to follow through with it then…
"Don't worry Douglas. I'll make sure that Leon can be available for you." There was a hint of quite an amusement in Jerome's voice.
As he had just doomed Douglas to fight the best UEG close-quarters fight just before Fred. Not exactly the worst thing Jerome could have done to his brother; still, he fully expected that he would have to drag Douglas out of the ring after it was all over.
"If that's the case then, bring him on Jerome! I could use a good scrap!" Douglas did not sound at all intimated by this prospect.
"I'm that case 042 mind if I join you? I can't let you have all the fun." Alice said with good cheer.
As it was around this point that Jerome knew that things were going to be fine. Jerome knew the fact that this meant that the other two members of Red Team were not too worried about the situation they now found themselves in. This came as something of a relief to Jerome, as he felt as if some weight had been taken off his shoulders by the confidence his team showed to him given the nature of the situation, they now found themselves in.
"Sure, just as long as I can warm him up for you." Douglas' words then cut through Jerome's thoughts.
"I wouldn't expect anything less."
"What happened to ladies first?" Jerome then chipped in.
At which point they all had a good chuckle out of this.
"Now let's not get too ahead of ourselves Red Team, as we still have a mission to complete," Jerome said as he tried to bring his team back to the task at hand.
"Understood Red Actual, Alice, mines at 3 o'clock low." Douglas made the call out to her.
Without missing a beat, Alice immediately swung her turret to where Douglas had made the call out to and unleashed a quick burst. To which she was rewarded moments later with a flash as the mine detonated.
Jerome then gunned the hog through the gap that Alice had created for them. As he continued further, Jerome then took comfort in the fact that despite whatever this world might have to throw at them, he would have Douglas and Alice by his side.
As the leader of the Red Team continued further into the shell of what had once been a great city, with those he considered to be his family by his side.
A couple of nautical miles off the coast of this insignificant island, a figure watched with a vision not her own as these interlopers continued to push further into the ruined port city.
She had of course watched them as they approached the island. Curiosity getting the better of her, well not her but her Master. For she wished to see what these interlopers were here for.
But as she had watched them from afar it had become obvious that these outsiders were different from the usual rabble. And that fact alone allows them to land unimpressed.
That was until they started moving towards the city center, and unknowingly the artifact that she was here to protect.
At this point, she knew that she could not afford to stand by and observe these outsides like her Benefactor would want her to do. But then again, she thought that her Benefactor would understand her actions. So long as there was something left for her to the exam after she was done with them.
Knowing this, and the fact that her opportunity to do something was quickly closing, the figure then moved her hand from under her clock as her attack dogs materialized and flew into a cartwheel formation around her. Awaiting her orders as to what they should do.
"Purge them all, make even god regret sending them to this place." The woman then commanded in a cold voice, as those circling vultures then turned and started racing towards the island.
As those vultures racing towards the island fully intended to carry out their master's orders, without hesitation or mercy as they then faded into the ink-black sky, only to reappear when their attack began.
That is all she wrote; I hope that you enjoyed this chapter.
Sorry if anything seems off, as I just started using Grammarly on my work, so let me know if you see anything in the comments.
And until then, have a good one.
