The building that they had managed to secure was an energy projector of some kind, continuously firing blasts of energy high into the Ring's atmosphere. That, however, was not the most concerning of things right now. It was the fact they were on a ring and a Covenant Armada was bearing down on their locations as they spoke. Kneeling beside one of the pallisades of the place, Elster peered down the massive, green canyon they were in. Creeks through which water flowed, random alien Flora and Fauna and a massive drop at the end that led to the most extraterrestrial, yet beautiful view.
The ring arched up high into the sky, the widest point on the inverse horizon closest to them being a wider section of the ring that Elster could swear she could see into if she squinted hard enough, followed by an ever-narrowing structure the farther away it got, that looped all the way over their heads and behind them, hidden by a rocky cliff wall. She murmured to herself, "This entire place is impossible..." as she shouldered her MA5.
She looked back at the Marines as Sergeant Johnson arrayed them into defensive positions. The distant hum of antigravity engines echoed across the valleys, from all directions. Two Banshees flew overhead, diving toward where another Pod had crashlanded. Elster had managed to see a green figure moving stealthily from the crash, but couldn't make out if it was the Chief or any of the other Spartans.
Johnson approached and knelt beside her, then said, "Can't get radio contact with anyone else. Everything's scrambled," before shouldering his MA5. The cigar between his lips glowed for a moment, a strand of smoke rising up and vanishing. He puffed out the smoke in his mouth and took the cigar out from between his teeth, stating, "That pod got any movement?"
"Saw one green figure," Elster replied, "Might've been a Spartan. IFF can't pick him up from this far..." and she turned to watch the sky as the hiss of antigrav engines seemed to be inching closer. She told Johnson, "I'd get the men ready. I'm hearing possible contacts..." before casting a sideways glance at Lilith, who was sat beside her with a Eusan-made rifle in hand.
She smirked and said, "What?" upon feeling Elster's thoughts, "A little morale boost. You know I'm here to help, right?"
Elster didn't deign to answer, simply watching Johnson wave his hand to his men, sending them into cover with a couple of hand signals as a Spirit Dropship, the bifurcated type of transport the Covvies loved to use so, flew in from amidst the canyons. Lilith's smile disappeared as she, too, vanished, with Elster hefting her AR and watching the drop-ship land. It'd probably seen the Life Pod.
Indeed, it landed fairly close to the Pod. The one corpse was still there. They hadn't managed to bury him before the roar of more enemy forces came. Elster twitched as distant gunfire echoed, then watched a Banshee careen to the floor, its antigrav pods smoldering, then flaming. She smiled, realizing that the friendly in that pod, whoever they were, was engaging the enemy.
She, however, didn't quite smile when the first plasma bolt washed over her cover. Johnson called out, "Contact! Asses in gear, Marines!" as he raised his rifle over the edge of polished silver alien alloy and opened fire. A suppressing burst landed around the Elites, Grunts and Jackals advancing on them, with the Jackals returning fire from behind their portable cover with plasma pistols and needlers.
A pair of Marines and a Corpsman moved up to join the fighting force, the latter with a Magnum she was using to pop at the enemy. Elster poked out from behind cover and let loose a half-second burst from her rifle, too. The rounds struck the shields of an Elite who was quick to shoot back, blue blots of plasma hitting. One struck Elster's helmet, causing her shields to flare as she huffed and ducked into cover.
Tossing a grenade over the edge, she checked her ammo counter. Lilith said, "Two, coming up the ramp. Grunt. Elite," and Elster's gaze moved down over her cover and at one of the ramps. She dropped another grenade and popped out to fire after the thump. The Grunt got a round clean through its skull, collapsing with a chitter and a hiss of his methane tank, while the Elite jumped off the platform and returned fire.
His shields flared once, twice, three times. At the third, a round pierced and struck it right between the eyes, killing it on the spot. Elster looked over to the Corpsman as she tended to a Marine that'd taken a Needler round, then looked at Johnson and nodded. The Marine Sergeant flashed a pearly grin, the cigar between his teeth as he poked out and opened fire on another advancing unit.
The Jackals were pinned down, but a second Spirit swooped in, its rear-mounted plasma cannon letting loose one trifecta-shaped lilac plasma volley after another. The shots struck and superheated the alloy of the building, but it didn't melt. One Marine was struck as he was running with his rifle, only to be vaporized on the spot, turned to red mist. Elster swore to herself, while Lilith asked, "You think we can take out the turret?! It's chewing us up!"
"No heavy weapons!" Elster replied after muting her speakers. She stood up and fired. Bullets pinged off the turret, but one struck the gimbal it was on, causing it to go wide for two shots. It disgorged its troops, an Elite with a jump pack launching itself straight toward them. When it landed, it hefted its plasma repeater and swiveled about toward Elster, opening fire.
The Replika rolled out of the way, sprang to her feet and charged it, emptying her magazine into it before she shoulder-checked it onto the ground, drew her knife and planted it straight through the tinted glass visor of the alien, where she instinctually knew its eye was. She dug the blade in even deeper through the cracking glass, then twisted and puled it out.
She staggered as a pair of needle rounds struck her in the back, exploding off the shield. Johnson's rifle rang again and the cries of a Grunt and Jackal followed. Elster turned back and watched the Sergeant kick down a third alien, plant the barrel of his weapon in its face and squeeze, spraying blood and methane. He jumped back as the punctured methane tank detonated, then watched one of his Marines get turned to mulch.
Jenkins swore to himself and dragged the Sergeant to his feet as Elster rejoined them, then said, "This is nuts!"
"Mayday, mayday," Johnson activated his radio, "This is Fireteam Charlie, requesting aid from any UNSC troops nearby. We've got a lot of covvies bearing down on our heads!"
"Sergeant, this is Blue Actual. Stand by, we're on our way," Cortana's voice replied over the radio, calm. The distant chatter of another AR echoed, Elster standing to her feet and watching Chief appear from amidst the trees, slam an Elite down and kick its head in, snapping its spine and crushing its skull. Purple caked the dark-green boot of the Spartan's armor as he stepped forward, wading through a small creek and lighting up Jackals whose backs were turned to him, shields facing the Marines.
He was quick on his feet as an Elite swung for his head, dodging the hit and striking the Alien's chest with an open palm. The hit staggered the Elite enough for the Spartan to blunt its second, messier swing, grab its weapon hand and twist it. The Elite's jaws splayed out as it screamed in pain, then let out a guttural roar of anger. Chief swept its legs and kicked its ribcage in.
He then turned around and fired a full burst of assault rifle fire at a squad of Grunts that were charging him. The diminutive creatures collapsed, their fluorescent blue blood painting the greenery of the valley. Another pair of Elites charged the Chief, but the Spartan was quick enough. His assault weapon's inaccuracy was nullified at the range the aliens were at, each round striking one's or the other's shields.
When the counter went red and the gun clicked empty, Chief quickly drew his pistol and put two rounds into one Elite's chest and a third into his comrade's head. Both collapsed, the first gargling blood as the Chief marched up to it and shot it in the head. Cortana voiced, "Dirty, but efficient. We still have ammo for any other distress signals... To all Marines of Charlie, this is Cortana. Area's clear."
The Spartan turned and watched as Elster descended first with the Sergeant and his troops. She snapped a salute and spoke jovially, "Glad to see you're alive and kicking, sir. Any word from anyone else in Blue?"
"Sparse comms," Chief replied, "They're alive, but will land in other parts of this Valley. We need to go find them."
"Roger, sir," Elster replied, "If you need the extra gun, I'm green..." And she patted her gun.
"Welcome back, Blue Four," Chief replied, then asked, "Cortana, status on that EVAC for the Marines?" as he started checking his gear. His armor was scorched in places by the plasma blasts. Elster also noticed denting from needles probably breaking on the plate amidst other things, with even Lilith chiming in with a sound of awe or two in there. The Replika sighed and gave a final once-over of her weapon.
Cortana had replied, "Contacting... Echo Four-Nineteen, this is Cortana. Foehammer, you still on station?"
As Elster tuned into the Radio, she heard a heavy southern accent kick in, the female pilot replying, "Here and copying you Five-by-five, Cortana. I'm on my way to your location with a little ride, gift from the boys and girls. Should just be a minute," and, indeed, it was less than that. The Spartan, Marines and Elster looked upon the beauty of a Pelican as it swung in for touch-down, carrying a Warthog FAV in its magnetic clamps.
It dropped the vehicle, with Elster noting, "I'm taking the gun," as she moved toward the landing site. The Marines followed, with Johnson right beside her. The dark-skinned man bounced up onto the side seat as Chief took the wheel, with Foe Hammer reporting her takeoff with the surviving crew and Marines. Chief pressed on the acceleration and the vehicle's engine roared in a higher pitch. He swiveled the wheel right and the wheels spun, kicking up mud and dirt.
The vehicle then rolled forward, Elster manning the fifty-caliber gatling on the back. She looked around at the scenery as they drove forward, up and down bumpy roads and around hills, while Johnson commented, "I'll be damned if whatever aliens made this Hula-Hoop didn't make it pretty... Almost reminds me of Illinois a little," as he shifted his rifle and set its buttstock on the floor, leaning the rest of it against the chair as he held on.
"Looks picture-perfect," Elster murmured. She saw some of the weird alien wildlife around them scramble out of the way as the Chief drove and she also felt the weight of the suspension as they made the jumps. She spun the gun around while keeping an eye on the sky, only to pause as she saw escape pods incoming. She told the Chief, "Several more pods, incoming. They're landing in the valley like you said, Chief."
The crew rolled down into a deeper canyon via some dirt and rock ramps, only to see the massive maw of what at first looked like a cave, only to resolve into a silver alien structure not to different from the energy projector they'd just defended. It was massive, big enough to fit an entire frigate through, and lit by recessed blue lights. Cortana commented, "This cave is not a natural formation..." almost ironically.
"Yeah, no shit..." Lilith whispered in Elster's brain, causing the Replika to snort.
Johnson commented, "Don't matter to me. None of this damn ring is natural," as he slid a cigar between his lips again, "Shit, doubt God would've made something like this..."
"You a man of the Church, Sergeant?" Joked Cortana. Johnson snorted and shook his head.
"Grew up in Chicago and went to Church, aye. Auntie Marcille raised me right, I'd say," He replied rather jovially as they took a sharp left up a ramp, the wheels of the Warthog barely gaining traction against the glowing alien metal. As they crested the top of the bump, a bulkhead that seemed almost like a wall opened, its seams barely visible at first, before it slid wide open.
A massive hall revealed itself, a chasm stretching down the middle. Two triangular support-like structures acted as the ends of the platforms that faced each-other and the ceiling was tall, almost obscured by the darkness. The walls curved in on themselves, each bearing pillars from which faint light emanated. Both the Replika and the Sergeant stared with muted awe at the sight, while Chief scanned the area, his motion tracker picking up various targets.
Cortana said, "We've got company. Around those pillars..." which got the Replika's attention. Several box-like pillars stood to the left and right of the 'road' leading toward the pyramid-shaped support on their side. The faint hum of charged plasma weapons and the heavy breaths of Grunts echoed, though the latter were muffled by the rebreather masks. Elster could just barely make out a ramp to the right and some sort of control system that was being guarded. The shadows of Jackals moved to her right. She swiveled the turret toward it and hit one of the two triggers, starting the weapon's spin cycle.
Johnson clicked the safety of his rifle to off as he lifted and shouldered it, murmuring, "C'mon, you alien bastards. Like to see you try takin' us on..." as he scanned his sector. Chief drew his own pistol and scanned the surrounding area as he held onto the wheel, ready to bring the vehicle around. It was strange to him that the Covenant was waiting, but he and Cortana didn't complain.
"... They have troops concentrated to the right and I'm detecting an energy source below us, linked to a console there," The AI spoke. She put up a Waypoint on the Spartan's and Replika's HUDs. She then told all three, "Don't like how they're waiting for us to make the first move... Maybe they know something we don't about this place? I'm trying to look into their BattleNet now."
"They're trying to keep the good cover..." Chief shot back, the sight of an Elite bounding to another piece of cover registering in his peripheral vision. He switched his speakers off and sent a single-beam communication to Elster, which the girl accepted. He asked, "Your suit at one hundred percent, Elster?" to which she gave a nigh-imperceptible nod. He replied, "I know about it. Cortana gave me a blueprint. Dismount... Use it."
"Sir, all due respect, wouldn't it be better for me to stay on the MG?" She asked, warily peering through the sights of the weapon. Chief shook his head. His right hand's fingers moved, forming a signal. 'Stealth. Advance. Flank.' She nodded. Chief looked to Johnson, tapped him on the shoulder gently and tilted his head to the MG, then lifted three fingers for both him and Elster to see.
At two, the Sergeant thumbed the safety of his AR and put it on his back, while Elster tensed. At two, Johnson slowly lifted his ass off the seat and Elster cycled the command for the armor's camouflage panels to kick in. And at one, the Replika jumped off the bed of the truck just as the first bolt of plasma struck overhead. The photoreactive camouflage panels engaged, her form melding with her surroundings like a smidge of paint at first, then resolving properly as she moved into the darkness. The gatling cannon spat out its first burst at a Jackal to Elster's immediate left, punching through the shield and etching the Alien's body in bloody marks.
Elster slinked into the shadows, moving over to flank the pair of Elites as Johnson and the Chief engaged. The Elites roared orders to their subordinate alien comrades, with Jackals pushing forward and Grunts right behind them. One Elite, a major from the looks of his scarlet armor, stood and barked orders, aiming his plasma rifle and firing bursts at them. It ducked in cover as Johnson swiveled the MG toward it, the Sergeant calling out, "Come on! I got plenty'a'lead for all of you!"
Elster pushed forward, drawing her machete quietly and crouch-walking toward the Elite. She looked over to her right to see two Elites in blue armor moving forward as well. She pulled a plasma grenade off her belt and, as she approached the Elite commander, she primed, activated and tossed it onto one of the passing blues. It stuck almost magnetically to the Elite's breastplate, stunning it and causing it to roar. The blast vaporized it and seared the other Elite, taking its shield offline. Chief finished it off with a moving headshot from his pistol.
The Replika's cloak deactivated as she brought her Machete toward the alien commander's neck. She felt it hit shields, felt the slight drag and resistance, then felt it piercing sinew and muscle. She slit to the left, blood pouring from the Elite's throat. Gargles of purple foamed in its open throat as it collapsed, with the Replika reactivating her camouflage as a pair of Grunts and another blue-armored Elite Minor charged her.
Plasma bolts struck where she'd been as she rolled out of the way. She pulled a UNSC Frag off her belt, primed it and rolled it toward the Elite and his escorting troops as she dodged their rounds. The thump of a detonation echoed amidst gunfire and hissing plasma as she turned a corner, drew her machete again and slammed it through the Elite's shield, clean into the back of its neck and through its spine. She brought it down again. And again. And again. With almost brutal fervor.
Blood spatters marred her camouflage. She deactivated the armor's cloaking, wiped the blood off her machete and the plates, then slid the blade back into its sheath. She radioed, "AO Clear... I'll go activate that terminal," only to receive affirmative replies from the Sergeant and Chief. She climbed the ramp and marched up the side corridor. She only took a moment to stare at the view of the cavernous room before feeling her heart sink. Part thought that the depth and size of this place was terrifying. Another part wondered what Ariane would've thought.
Both those thoughts made room for Lilith telling her, "If you wanna make it out of here and see Reach again for yourself, focus. We've got a job..." as she appeared beside her. She cast a short sideways glance at her possible schizophrenic, persona degradation-induced companion, then turned and marched to the terminal. It was a flurry of holographic buttons and geometric shapes and designs that made her head partially spin.
She sighed, noting the central hexagon as it flickered up and down, blue and orange, before her hand hovered over it and she pressed down. What surprised her at first was that the damn thing felt physical. More of an actual button than a light trick hologram. She blinked as Cortana said, "Whatever you just did, Elster, I'm detecting a power increase between the pylons ahead..."
The Replika slid her rifle onto her back and watched as twin prongs extended from below the pyramid-shaped pylons, visible emitters powering on with a distant, reverberating hum that shook the girl to her core. Before long, what looked to be a platform of some kind flickered into existence. A blue bridge, shimmering azure in the mild darkness. The Replika stood there, staring for a moment with awe.
She snapped out of it when her com clicked twice, a check from the Chief. She tapped it two times as well, then ran back down the ramp and past the Covvie bodies. She grabbed a plasma rifle off the floor as a backup, allowing her armor to check it for ammo count. 87%. Respectable. She stowed it on the mag lock on her other thigh as she ran, with Johnson demanding, "What're you doing, Elster?!"
"Testing it!" She replied, "Making sure before we roll the 'Hog over!"
She stopped in front of the supposed bridge, right at the edge of the pylon. She leaned forward uneasily, her biomech heart suddenly starting to race. Gently, she put one foot forward until the heel first touched the light. A slight hiss echoed as the boot made contact. As she set the sole down properly, she quietly prayed to herself... And pressed down hard. The bridge shimmered around her foot, but it was solid.
She gave a thumbs up to the Chief, who revved the Warthog's engine and rolled the vehicle forward. Johnson, who was back in his seat, said, "Taking a wild guess you're as crazy as the Chief, Sergeant," with a smirk when they stopped beside her. She shrugged, neither confirming nor denying it before climbing back aboard the 'Hog and manning the MG.
The vehicle rolled forward across the bridge, Johnson casually casting a glance down at the chasm past their sole, shimmering path over it, before immediately leaning back inside the Warthog and murmuring, "Damn..." as he looked back to Elster. The woman seemed to be unfazed by the fact they were crossing a bridge made of light. He inquired, "You good?"
"Scared shitless, Sarge," She replied, part jokingly, part genuine. Johnson snorted jovially while she added, "It's not every day we get to roll over a bridge made of hardened photons..."
"Not a bad deduction," Cortana replied as the vehicle rolled on through further tunnels. She told Elster, "That was a bridge made of hard light. It's a rather old concept in terms of our science, but we've never gotten it past any form of theory. The people that built this place certainly had a better understanding of it than we did, if they can just make bridges out of it."
"Shield barriers employed by the Covenant seem similar," Elster replied, "Dealt with a couple of them on Reach."
"The Szurdok Ridge battle," Chief cast a glance toward Elster. She nodded, with the Spartan commenting, "All Spartans wanted to be there, but preparation for another op you were supposed to participate in with us took priority..." while Johnson hummed a tune to himself. As they exited out into the second Valley, their radios crackled to life. Without a word, Cortana put three more waypoints. Chief hummed and said, "Elster, take the closest. We'll head for the other two and evacuate after the last distress signal has been cleared."
"Roger," She nodded, looking over to the nearest area. After Chief drove her close, she jumped out, her main concern now being RVing with the Marines and possible Blue Team Member that was still alive. She checked her gear, reloaded her rifle and pistol and ensured that the plasma rifle still held a charge, before marching forward beside a creek, her camouflage system active.