Wide.
Elster could only describe the boots of the Semi-Powered Infiltration Suit MARK II as such. She gazed upon them under the light of makeshift lamps. Of course, they were made for humans with normal feet instead of... Well, pegs? She didn't even really know how to describe her narrow, slim calves and lack of feet, sans for a few pads that helped her maintain balance at the base of said calves. She sighed deeply, looking over the SPI suit itself.
The MARK II Headhunter variant was a beauty of a suit, designed specifically for what seemed to be pairs of SPARTAN Elites, meant for deep reconnaissance and other high-value missions deep behind enemy lines. Special Operations were a fairly familiar concept to the LSTR unit, her memories of life in the military, though still blurry, returning over time. She had memories from a life that was not hers. This one was beaten, a bit, though.
Apparently, the intent for this armor had been for it to be shipped as spare parts to one of the HEADHUNTER units out there. Some of its photoreactive panels were damaged and wouldn't work properly and some systems needed to be re-routed and reactivated. The shield emitters, HUD, Life Support and main micro-fusion reactor remained active and safe, however, so that was good. Less tenuous repairs.
She probably wouldn't be using the camouflage all that much. She just needed the armor plating beneath it to not be smashed so, if her shields failed, she could at least take one or two Plasma or Needle rounds before collapsing. She hummed as she tried to figure out a way to stuff the heavy boots so that her leg would not move within them. It was a good distraction from the thoughts of her first team dying around her.
She gazed back for a moment, looking from the open repair bay at NOBLE Team as they sat together around one lamp, the sky above glimmering with the beauty of the stars and atmospheric anomalies of Reach. They were trying to induct Noble Six into something, it seemed. And her fellow newbie was taking it in stride for the moment, simply following along as NOBLE and him talked and engaged in some sort of team-building. Elster hummed and turned back to continue the repairs on the armor set.
Again, she just wanted her set to work properly as armor. Stealth field could be repaired later. She made sure to patch up any possible damage to the undersuit she'd wear over her own unarmored frame, patching up a small tear here, a cut there and somesuch issues all around the bend, before standing up and looking at the helmet. The mirror sheen of the golden visor reflected her face perf-.
Elster took two steps back, staggered by the sight of a young woman with emerald eyes and dark-red hair that had stared at her, mirrored in the visor as if it was her own face. She blinked, shook her head and walked back up to the visor, leaning in to see her face. Mirroring her movements, the Elster in the visor ran a hand over the seam that ran down the middle of her face, through her cheekbones and over her nose, before sighing. Her face had returned to normal.
She needed to get her brain checked before it got either her or one of her teammates killed because of spacing out. She blinked, rubbed her face and murmured to herself, "Just relax, Elster... It'll be fine..." as she picked up the helmet and looked into the visor again, running a thumb over the glass gently. She flipped the helmet over and slotted it over her head, feeling the weight of the thin layers of Titanium interspersed with the shield generators and under the photoreactive panneling.
She sighed, taking the helmet off and setting it back next to the armor, before moving to the back and starting work on its reactor. She gently turned it off through a series of maneuvers necessary for deactivating such a heavy piece of equipment safely, then hummed as she started working on a bit of a jailbreak upgrade she'd thought up. Maybe she could up the output of the armor's reactor to provide a more 'fully powered' exoskeleton.
She sighed and stood up after finishing up repairs and slowly starting the boot-up sequence for the reactor. She then walked to join Six and the others as the first rays of the sun poked over the horizon. The SPARTANs all turned to greet their new Number Seven, before Jorge stated, "It took you a hot minute, Elster. Take it you're really looking forward to putting that armor on, eh?"
"I was making sure it was gonna be functioning properly..." She replied with half a mouth, "I'm still surprised ONI had it 'in stock'..." And she made the necessary air quotes, before sitting herself down. She gazed upon Kat. The girl had taken her helmet off and, even under the stone mask of the slightly-tanned young woman with short hair, she could see the faintest smirk as the woman tapped away on her own datapad.
"Kat has her ways," Emile quipped, leaning his shotgun against his shoulder.
"Clearly, so does she, considering she's making it fit for her peg legs," The Sharpshooter, Jun, stated bluntly as he cleaned the barrel of his SRS-99/99. He was the more quippy type of person, it seemed, at least to Elster. He had probably been the most interesting to try and decipher in the last day since her addition to team NOBLE. She, however, didn't know what to make of him.
Carter, however, sighed and stated rather dispassionately, "Jun," as if to make a point. The Sniper paused, blanked out and came back again, lips narrowed as he scratched the three-arrow tattoo on the left side of his face. He cast an almost-unnoticed and well-concealed apologetic glance at Elster, who didn't seem miffed by any of the remarks, then looked back to Carter.
"Sorry, boss," The man stated. Carter shook his head...
"Anyways..." He then started and gazed upon their newest recruit, as did everyone else. He stated directly, staring the girl down as if he was scrutinizing something specific about her, "Welcome aboard, Seven. Hope we didn't make a mistake," and then shifting to face her fully. The man was a SPARTAN, alright, with all the bulk Elster could see in that armor of his.
"You didn't, sir. I'll do my damnedest to keep up with all of you," Elster replied calmly, saluting him. Carter gave a salute back as the girl hummed, her mind wandering to home while the others spoke. Six, beside her, noticed her enter a moment of pause, letting her be as he listened to his new team talking to each-other. Seemed as though they were starting to get along.
Kat sighed deeply, then added, "At least she's protected enough now. Marine armor didn't do much against plasma weapons..." while performing maintenance on her prosthetic limb. The woman gazed at Elster for a moment, gave her a nod, then went back to working on ensuring her arm worked properly. Elster had seen prosthetics before, but nothing quite as skeletal.
Carter crossed his arms to his chest, then told his Second-In-Command, "Kat, I hope you know you're keeping watch over her. It was your idea to bring her in in the first place." in a deadpan. Elster took some offense to that comment, but chose not to counteract it for now. Just to see what Kat would say and if she would step up for her 'newly-acquired buddy'.
"I know, I know..." The girl waved it off. Elster narrowed her lips, a bit hurt.
She butted in, crossing her arms to her chest, "I'm not a SPARTAN, but I can take care of myself, sir..." before shooting a glance toward a curious Six and Kat, then back to Carter and stating, "No offense." Words which garnered a chuckle out of Emile and a hum of agreement out of Jorge. The eldest of the SPARTANs, the II, seemed at ease with the two new arrivals actually being talkative.
"None taken," The man replied, slightly pleasantly surprised at her gumption. He shot back to her, "You're still part of my team until further notice, which means we take care of each-other. Doesn't really matter what you are..." before humming as he remembered and shooting a glance toward Noble Two. Noting that she looked back at him, the man requested with an air of authority, "Speaking of, Kat? File?"
"Yeah. No black ink on her, surprisingly. File must be too fresh, even for ONI Censors," The girl stated, leaning back and setting aside the tools she used to make adjustments to her arm. She stood up and walked up to the group, which now formed a circle. She put her helmet on and let the suit re-seal itself, before craning her neck left and right to make sure mobility was alright.
Carter gave a nod, "Got it. I want the file ready. Have to see what we're getting into..." then paused as the radio turned on audibly in his helmet. He hummed, then replied, "Affirmative, sir. Yessir, we're ready to mobilize. We restocked ammunition. Yessir. Northbound, aye. NOBLE Actual, out," and he sighed deeply. Another day, another mission, Elster soon realized.
"What? Something happen, Actual?" Five asked more outta courtesy. He was aware a new job was on.
"... New mission's already incoming. Covenant warship emerged out of camouflage and hit SWORD Base. Dot'll have our briefing as we move," He replied and grabbed his gear off the floor, rifle included. A string of weapons being loaded and cocked reverbed throughout the entire base, surprising the UNSC Troops around them. Elster herself hummed.
"Sir. This means we're going in?" She raised a brow.
"It does, trooper," The man nodded firmly.
"I'll put my kit on, then," The girl gave a proud smirk of a sort, stepping off to don her new armor set. Before long, the Replika had fully donned the armor she had gotten and modified with Kat's help, noting the surprisingly light weight. She hummed, descending from the podium with her helmet slung under her arm and her weapons on her back. Quietly, as she joined the formation, she hummed an old marching hymn, its writers lost to time, running with NOBLE toward the Falcon Helicopters that would transport them over.
As the engines powered with mighty roars and the rotors began to chop through the air, the girl and her team-mates jumped aboard them, weapons at the ready. She boarded the bird with Kat, Six and Carter. The others took the other bird, with Jun taking a seat on the side to presumably provide overwatch as he had in the previous mission. Elster tensed again, memories of past battles a blur, flashing in her mind next to the few she's made on Reach.
As the Helicopters flew, though, that tension eased, parts of it replaced with determination to survive, just to see Ariane again. She ran diagnostics on her armor as the helicopter flew along the mountains for the next couple of hours. The UNSC needed them to fight. They would fight. She would fight for Ariane's sake, if it meant getting the poor girl a better future than anything that awaited her back with the Eusan Nation.
A few hours later
Babd Catha Ice Shelf, Eposz, Northern Pole
ONI SWORD Base
26th of July, 2552
Flying over the frigid waters of the northern ice cap of Reach, the two Falcons made headway toward the massively-important ONI Facility just ahead. To their left was a singular mountain face, a cliff so steep, it'd take an act of god to save whoever fell off it and to their right, the ice shelf's multitude of glaciers stood in the water, moving with the few currents. As pair of Falcons passed by an opening between two rock faces, Elster laid eyes first on the enemy's space-capable Corvette. The ship looked slim, organic, bulbous like a seamonster from old tales. Its plasma batteries, however, were technological and laying down Hell on Sword Base.
"Be advised, Kilo-33 and Kilo-34:Your current LZ is too hot!" The officer belonging to SWORD Control stated, his voice rather panicky. Elster shifted in her seat, feeling the armor she wore adjusting itself to her body shape and form. It was getting tight, but she expected as much from something that was meant to be a one-size-fits-all Power Armor set.
"Roger. Dot, stand by to receive and respond," Carter ordered with the same calm he and his team had rescued Elster. Elster, meanwhile, noted Kat had slid that chip they'd acquired from Visegrad into her tablet... Huh.
Elster listened in as a monotone female voice spoke, "Yes, Commander..." A short pause, then, "Coordinates received, initiate course correction," just as the two Falcon gunships turned to the right, past the island and toward SWORD Base itself. Auntie Dot, UNSC 'Dumb' variation AI according to a briefing Carter had given Elster on the flight over to Babd Catha. The AI began briefing, "The Office of Naval Intelligence SWORD Base is currently under siege by a Corvette-class Covenant vessel. Due to the sensitive nature of this facility, the use of orbital rounds has been, for the moment, prohibited. Regrettably, my efforts to obtain relevant data on enemy forces have been unsuccessful."
"However," Dot hummed, "Current defensive forces are insufficient. ONI has requested Team NOBLE's direct intervention to help secure SWORD base."
"Alright, people," Carter now sounded a bit less than pleased with their tactical situation as they approached the massive, modern-brutalist tower that was ONI's SWORD. He continued, "We're stuck with that ship for the time being, so let's focus on the hostile infantry. Give those troopers a hand..." and Elster tensed, her helmet's visor instantly polarizing as she thumbed the safety off her rifle. As the helicopters flew in low toward the courtyard, Carter ordered, "Kat, Elster, Six, you're out here. Emile, Jorge, you're next, get prepped."
Elster gently slid the bolt of her rifle back to make sure her weapon had ammo in the chamber. Six hummed, readying his DMR and removing the safety as well, while Kat cocked the slide of her Magnum back and looked to the two of them. She spoke, "Let's move, you two!" just as the bird hovered a few feet off the ground. The SPARTANs and Elster jumped off, weapons at the ready, with Elster jumping last out the same side as Six and Kat. Her teeth were rattled by the drop, courtesy of the heavier armor she wore now.
"Kat, you and your team push back the attack on Sword and get us some intel on our hostiles..." Carter ordered as the Falcon above flew off and veered right, presumably to go support friendlies as its 30mm nose-mounted chain-gun roared. Elster didn't need to be told twice. She pushed up with Six and Kat toward a barricade, noting the ramp and everything around was filled with boxes bearing military markings, as well as the sight of specialized forklifts.
"Roger, Actual, we're your Strike Team," Kat replied, then pushed forward as plasma bolts started to fly from the suspended walkway ahead. She called out, "Let's knock some heads together!" as they began their push, with Elster firing the first burst out of her Assault Rifle toward an Elite officer near the base of the walkway. Two rounds struck, causing the Covenant soldier's shields to flare. It let out a strange noise, lifted its plasma rifle and opened fire.
A trio of bolts struck around Elster and one hit Six in the shields as the man poked out. Three shots left the barrel of his DMR in quick succession and the Elite's shields collapsed as Elster thundered up the ramp that led to the walkway. She skidded to a halt in front of the Elite as it threw its hands and head up, its jaws splaying like flower petals as it roared in anger. Once its gaze came back down, it was met with Elster pointing the barrel of her rifle right at its head. A short burst left the gun again and the monster was dead, head split open by 7,62mm ammo.
She barely dodged a stream of lilac needles striking near her position. A grunt in front of her now focused its fire, bursts of projectiles that were semi-capable of tracking the intended target trailing Elster while she found a pillar to hide behind. Two needles struck and shattered off the shields of her armor as she ducked and rolled, before drawing her pistol. The SmartScope self-engaged and the girl had locked onto the Grunt's head. One audible crack later and the little creature was dead.
Following up, Noble Six stepped up the stairwell, his DMR rounds striking true an Elite 'Minor', one of the lower-enlisted Elite soldiers, as he charged up the stairs. Three shots burst his shield, a fourth struck his head and he went limp, falling onto the floor with a rumble and a thunk against the steel. Elster pushed up next to Six and the two advanced, covering each-other's sectors while Kat pushed down below.
"Spartans! Over here!" Called out one of the Troopers as the two crossed the walkway in a sprint. The trooper, a young female with Asian features and goggles, saluted and said, "Lieutenant Sam Lee! Sixth Company, First Division, 'Big Red One'! Glad to have you folks backing us up here! Didn't think command was gonna actually spare the Spartans, considering the rumors floating around!"
"What's the status, Lieutenant Lee?" Six asked as a needle rifle snapped off over his head, the round piercing through one of the thin walls next to the door at the end of the walkway. The SPARTAN then poked up and snapped off a shot at the hairier of the Jackals' avian brethren, the Skirmishers. Grey-skinned, with more heavily-mottled, porcupine manes covering the backs of their heads, the yellow-eyed bastards were also more skittish, for when Elster tried to poke up and suppress them behind the boxes and barricades spread out around the concrete courtyard.
"It's getting fucking tough..." Lee responded. She jabbed an accusatory finger toward the Covenant Corvette hanging over the lake and said, "Because of that piece of shit spawning a squadron of Banshees outta thin air, we can't risk sending Longswords out. Even worse is that they have enough of a task force deployed around the base's outskirts which disabled certain vital defenses on the first wave. Then, they started landing here, Spirits and Phantoms! First wave took out Ninth Platoon!"
Kat appeared up top as well, firing her pistol, then patted the two Lieutenants on the shoulder and said to Lee, "We'll deal with it. You reorganize your troopers and be ready to push. Six, Seven, let's move!" as she vaulted over their cover. The two others followed close behind while the Lieutenant rallied her men via radio and hand signals. The group pushed, meeting resistance from about half-a-dozen more elites and a squadron of Jackals and grunts.
Gratuitous use of frag grenades solved the problems with the phalanx of Jackals before it even came to be a problem, while the grunts, injured by the fragmentation, scrambled for cover or simply ran around in circles. Some braved the UNSC weapons fire, turning to return fire on their own. One such grunt was lucky enough to blast one of the Army Troopers with its overcharged plasma pistol before his head was pierced by a DMR bullet that punched straight through and set off the gas tank on its back.
The Elites, among them a Major, knew better than to retreat. They pushed, firing plasma rifles and repeaters at the group of SPARTANs and at Elster, forcing them to take cover. A Trooper that tried to switch positions was peppered by needles which coalesced and detonated, tearing off his right arm. Following that up, the Medic that tried to pull him into cover got his head sniped off by a Needle Rifle that was in a Skirmisher's hand.
Six returned fire and managed to snap the bird's neck with the bullet from his DMR, before aiming toward an Elite that charged him. The Elite Minor pushed him against a steel-and-concrete barricade, nearly knocking the tall segment of wall over and denting the metal. Six pushed against him, holding him at bay with his rifle. He used his weight, lifting both his legs and kicking the Elite in the chest. The bastard's shields flared.
Elster joined in next, firing her weapon into the Elite until his shields collapsed and his purple blood stained the ground below. The alien collapsed, dead, while Six reloaded. The Replika followed up with her own push forward, more images flashing in her mind. An open block, ruined, artillery raining down around them. Gunfire rippling, close quarters combat. She grew more bold now, more fierce with her movements.
Pulling her knife off her breastplate, she stabbed another Elite that came from the left in the throat. She'd felt the resistance of the shields, followed by a slight electric zap as they gave way to the blade tearing through the flesh of the beast. It gargled, clawing at is neck, while another of its siblings opened up on her with a Plasma repeater. The bursts of energy weapon fire burst her shield. She ducked behind cover as the armor plates heated, before reloading her weapon and throwing a fragmentation grenade at the Elite.
It ducked. It was wearing white armor, more ornamental, but also stronger, it seemed, so its shield tanked the hit better as shrapnel pinged off of it. Six and Kat, however, followed up on it by putting multiple rounds into it from both sides. DMR and Pistol fire shattered the shield and tore through the armor plating, brain turned to mush by accurate semi-auto fire.
Six switched over to his assault rifle after reloading his DMR and the three of them pushed the last three Elites, Elster taking on her own target by combat-rolling out of the way of his shots, standing up and engaging him with her pistol. She aimed for the head again, each of the two shield-busting shots staggering the Elite before the third punched clean through its helmet.
Kat hummed as they approached the sporadically-barricaded main entrance to SWORD Base, a lightly-angled 'ramp' leading up from the main vehicle gate at the lower base of some of the local rocky hills that surrounded the base, acting as a natural perimeter protecting from ground assaults. Noble Two then called up, "Noble Two to SWORD CONTROL, Courtyard is clear."
"Proceed through the main gate, NOBLE STRIKE, we'll call out priority targets for you..." The man behind the radio replied as the SPARTANs, Replika and a few Army Troopers descended down the ramp and through the angled gate of the place as it opened, revealing a small, reinforced underground section which was presumably specifically designed as a security area of sorts. Even though it now lay empty, save for a pair of boxes to the left.
Six marched up to one of the boxes and lifted up a strange pistol-shaped item. Kat's grin was audible behind her helmet as she spoke, "SWORD CONTROL, we just found a Target Locator. Any artillery available in the area?" while Elster marched up to the boxes and plucked up a few grenades. Clipping them to her belt, she looked over to the SPARTANs and gave them a nod. They replied with an approving nod back.
"Limited, but we'll prioritize what we can, ma'am," replied the radioman again.
"Got it," Kat replied as she marched up to a button and pressed it, opening the outer gate. The inner closed behind them, causing Elster to shift her gaze to the outside. Yellowed grass, tundra, rocks and salt-laden, glassy ice greeted them as they stepped outside. The Covenant Corvette still loomed far in the distance, plasma batteries howling and bombarding what seemed to be an airbase below.
"... It's incredible..." Elster murmured to herself.
"And terrifying to see up-close," Six said from beside her. The girl turned to him and offered a quick nod, both their faces shielded by the armor's opaque visors. All three armored personnel paused as plasma bolts flew up ahead, striking ahead of what seemed to be a Warthog running at maximum engine speed, its wheels crunching the semi-frozen dirt beneath.
"Three Echo Five-Seven, heading back to base! We got enemies on our six, how copy!?" The driver of the Warthog replied as he veered the vehicle toward the gateway. Elster paused, stunned, as she saw the vehicles chasing it. Two massive, bulky vehicles banked to follow it. They lacked wheels or tracks, instead seemingly hovering above the frozen ground. Their alloy armor shone an eerie blue in the sun, the stabilizing 'fins' on the front angling and dancing with the unevenness of the ground, while the rear shone an eerie blue. They were like whales, or sea creatures again, a motif seemingly common in anything Covenant.
One of them lifted its massive plasma mortar, a trident-shaped weapon, angling it for a long-distance shot. Before it could fire, however, Elster had noticed the scarlet rings around it, one large ring and one small, central one, concentric to the large. She then heard a whistle from above and watched as the first explosive shell impacted the enemy's vehicles. One of them detonated in a blue-orange flame, set ablaze by the HE blast.
The second soon followed suit as the Warthog braked in front of the SPARTANs, detonating and washing the ground it was on in its debris and in blue, plasma-laden fire. The Trooper driving the Warthog seemingly loosened, his head falling against the Warthog's horn button. The vehicle let out a short honk, waking the man up and making him shake his head, "Jesus fuck, that was close... Thanks, SPARTANs..."
Six offered him a nod. Elster, meanwhile, looked past the vehicle at the broken hulls and asked, "What were those...?"
"Wraiths. Covenant tanks," Kat stated as she motioned for the Troopers to disembark and head on inside, "These troopers were lucky. And we're lucky, too, since we need a transport Hog... Hm..." And she climbed on top of the vehicle, scanning the place. Two paths, two different targets. She called up, "SWORD CONTROL, you mentioned the enemy disabled external defenses and got inside. Anything we should be on the lookout for out here?"
"The old Farragut Station has its own communications relay. It's offline, but it should give us a link to command. Airview base, meanwhile, as a triple-A Battery that should help us clear the skies," Command replied just as a Pelican swung in to deliver another Warthog with a gatling gun in front of the gate. Kat hummed and looked to Elster and Six, before Elster marched up to said gun hog and boarded.
As the Troopers boarded their respective Hogs, Kat stated, "So, we're splitting up. One side takes Farragut, the other takes the gun battery?"
"Sounds good to me," Six replied. Elster nodded, hands firmly on the wheel.
Kat hummed, then sighed and jumped off of Six's vehicle, stating, "I'll go with her. Keep your eyes peeled, Six," before she mounted the gun on the back of the Warthog. She looked to Six and stated, "You take Farragut, Six. We'll take the AA gun," before looking to Elster and asking, "You do know how to drive, ri-" and being interrupted by Elster putting the pedal to the medal and... Damn near veering off the road three times already.
Lieutenant Lee hummed and said, "Well, I'm suddenly worried about them..."
"They'll be fine. Let's move it," The SPARTAN quipped as he took the driver's side seat of the Troop 'Hog. Lee and her platoon also hitched a ride on the vic... Elster, meanwhile, drove like an alcoholic bat out of hell. She tried to learn the controls, but she was just a technician, an engineer, not a freaking driver. The Trooper screaming in the seat next to her didn't help, either, as they rolled between a steep cliff-face and an even steeper descent.
As the vehicle bounced along the beaten path, Kat murmured to herself, "I'm driving on our way home..." before stiffening up as the vehicle rolled just a little too close to the hillside for comfort. They could see the Airbase, parts of it aflame from the Covenant's relentless bombardment. The Corvette was only drawing closer, Elster noticed even as she drove... Past the Marine cowering in the side seat.
They saw Airview up ahead, with the heavy gatling cannon battery resting in the midst of the reinforced concrete buildings. Plasma already began to fly as an Elite officer, stood atop the command building, fired at them. Kat shifted her gun and yelled at Elster with a hint of anger, "Keep her steady, Private!" before opening up. She felt a bump as the machine gun started its spin-up and began to fire, before seeing the corpse of an Elite stuck to the hood of the car.
Elster hit the handbrake hard, bringing the vehicle to a full stop in front of the base. She dismounted, as did the Trooper in the side seat, before both took cover behind it. Kat aimed for the Elite officer on top of the main building, suppressing it before it got a chance to fire whatever weapon it carried at them. Elster, meanwhile, pushed forward with the trooper, beside and past the AAA gun and into the building itself. The Trooper, meanwhile, kept other Enemy troops suppressed, with Kat laying down the hate.
When Elster peered over the top of the cover, she saw the Elite, a 'General' going by armor config. He was carrying a heavy-duty Covenant weapon, a launcher of some kind... And he was standing up to aim it, his shields already taking bursts of automatic fire. As the weapon charged, Elster attacked the man, drawing her knife, clambering onto his back and stabbing downward exactly where she'd seen Six stab one before-hand.
She was unlucky enough for it to feel her beforehand, swatting her away. It caused his plasma rounds to veer off to parts unknown, though, so she'd at least saved Kat from taking hits. Skidding across the floor and into one of the railings, the girl hefted her Assault Rifle and opened up on the monster as it aimed to fire at her, bullets sparking off its shield.
One round left the 'chamber' of the plasma weapon, trailing the girl and sticking to a surface behind her as she ran, before detonating and liquefying a chunk of concrete. Elster noted now the fact the weapon had a lock-on system, meaning its plasma projectiles could easily track and stick to her. That worried her, so she engaged the Elite with full-auto fire to try and throw off his aim.
Following up, two grenades came from the stairwell as the Elite dodged the girl's shots and tried to zero in on her. They were plasma grenades, neither of which stuck to the Elite. They, however, detonated with radioactive flashes of blue light which washed the Elite's shields, partially draining them to the point the blanket began to visibly shudder and shimmer underneath the prolonged assault.
Kat appeared from the stairwell and fired, .50 SAPHE from her pistol striking the Elite's chest on both sides, then his head. Three shots, one kill. Before long, though, the two women heard the roar of antigravity engines overhead and saw a Phantom approaching to drop off troops. Elster rushed toward the console on top of the roof and slammed her fist onto the activation button.
The turret below soon began to track, craning upward as its barrels spun. The first heavy burst of rounds spat out of its mouth, rounds tearing through the underbelly of the Covenant transport and shredding anything inside as it caught flame. Before long, one side's antigrav engines failed and the ship careened into the rock face to the left of the base, shattering into a dozen pieces.
Kat's shoulders sagged as she sighed in relief. She looked to Elster and stated tiredly, "I'm driving..." before vaulting over the side of the building and starting, "CONTROL, Triple-A is back in action. Skies should be clearing up..." and, as if to accentuate her point, bursts of anti-air fire from the Gatling gun tore apart a bunch of enemy Banshees and another Dropship heading for the area.
"Roger that, NOBLE STRIKE. Seems like Farragut's com relay is also back online. You have our thanks-" The radio cut off and burst into static as the Corvette moved closer, its plasma batteries pounding the station. Kat looked up at the Corvette, gritting her teeth, then jumped aboard the Warthog as a squadron of Banshees flew in toward the AA gun to distract from the trio of Phantoms moving to SWORD with vehicles, including what looked to be Revenant-class mortar skiffs.
"Noble Strike, this is Noble Leader. Get back to Sword Base ASAP." Carter ordered calmly.
The vehicle rolled Forward, Elster manning the rear machine gun as they trundled over the hills and uneven roads. The moment the first Covenant vehicle appeared, Elster already had the gun spun for the kill. The burst of automatic fire lit the vehicle up, bullets striking the front hull as the girl angled and aimed for the driver. Rounds sparked off an Elite's shield, all while Kat rammed into a Ghost, a lighter Covenant hoverbike, knocking it off the cliff.
Plasma raked the front armor of their vehicle, too, while smaller scarlet plasma balls began to fall inaccurately around them. Kat ordered, "Seven, focus on that Revenant! I got their infantry!" and, as if to accentuate it, their wheels caught an enemy Grunt and a Jackal underneath, squashing them. Their bones cracked beneath the heavy wheels, while Elster focused exactly on what she'd been told to fire. The Trooper aboard also engaged the enemy vehicle.
Thankfully, it seemed as if .50 caliber bullets from a machine gun were doing work. The spent casings clinked against the walls of the Warthog's bed as the vehicle braked and drifted to the left, narrowly avoiding the superheated scarlet ball of death, while one of the enemy vehicle's fins was torn off and its gun seemed to lose a magnetic coil, the plasma for the second shot dissipating.
A plasma grenade, lobbed from far away, landed right on the driver of the vehicle. Washed by a wave of plasma, the alien died as its vehicle exploded, split in two at the weaker midsection where he and any other co-pilot would've stood. They saw Six's Warthog barreling forward toward the main gate. Rolling past the dead Wraiths and enemy vehicles, past several rocks and deeper into the base's area, the two vehicles arrived at the Gate, which immediately opened to let them all in.
Dismounting, Six noted, "Take it you didn't sleep so well," as he looked at Kat.
"No thanks to her driving," Kat shot back as Elster readied her weapon. The group of Troopers, SPARTANs and Elster pushed inside, only to find a slew of Covenant Troops had just dropped in again. Today, of all days, was going to be a busy day, considering they'd just cleared this place out not even thirty minutes ago. At least there hopefully wouldn't be more reinforcements...
She hoped Ariane was okay back in CASTLE Base...