Summary/disclaimer: Time for another chapter of Hunter and Soldier. Enjoy the 3100-word chapter. I don't own Halo, Microsoft, and 343 do.
(2525, September 13th Reach 12:30)
"Do you think they ever found this hiding spot?" Gram asked as the duo sat atop the concrete wall. "I don't think they do… The one time I had to get up here with bruised ribs? They'd never assume it." Gram said while humming.
"Will doesn't crack Jokes anymore, does he?" Cal asked which caused Gram to frown and nod. "I spoke with Kelly the other day; she took out 3 trainers." Cal put in as Gram hummed.
"Ah, the rabbit only took down THREE trainers clad in mark 1?" Gram asked which gained a look from Cal. "She's earned that speed. What about Linda? How are you both matching up in sharpshooting?" Gram asked with a raised eyebrow.
Cal was silent a moment. Linda and she had a competing contest over who was the better markswoman. Neither took it seriously, it was simply a contest to see who was better… A good shot was always needed in combat.
Gram noticed her drum her fingers on her legs. Linda had surpassed her; Gram knew when Cal was focusing on something to distract from the issue.
"I didn't think you got along well with Kelly," Cal said as Gram shrugged.
"She's faster, Kelly is a lot of things, but she's a hell of a loyal soldier." Gram said before humming. "Guess we're both second-best to Blue Team, huh? Well, I don't have a problem with that… Just means we don't have the entire UNSC expecting us to be perfect." Gram said and got a hum from Cal.
"Gram?" Cal asked, gaining her partner's attention. "Why is it always me you stick with? I get everyone got divided up into teams…" Cal put as she shook his head which Gram could only smile.
"Because you're the only one who puts up with my hotheaded ass." Gram said and looked at Cal. "Every single time I do something stupid? Your there to knock the wind out of my sails… And you're a hell of a shot. You're acting like I'm disappointed you're not as good as Linda is… I'm not as fast as Kelly, does that make me a bad soldier?" Gram asked which gained a shake of the head from Cal.
"You'd be dead if I didn't keep shooting." Cal put in as Gram chuckled and nodded.
"And RIGHT THERE is why you are my partner." Gram put in, a smile tugging at his lips. "Because you don't take crap… And you're the guardian angel of the Spartans… Nobody has that spark you do… That's the spark that will carry us through the war." Gram said and hummed.
"And what if I die?" Cal asked which made Gram frown. "We don't know how this war could end. I could take a round to the head, a ship goes down with me on it. Would you watch out for yourself?" Cal put in as Gram grimaced.
He turned, his eyes narrowing and his legs coiling and uncoiling like snakes. A tic that Cal picked up that told her that Gram was restless and uneasy.
"You're not going to die." Gram said and turned to her; a finger pointed at her. "I die, you live. The Spartans need a soldier like you, my partner. You're NOT going to get killed by some SOB with a rifle." Gram said, vile spilling from his lips.
"Every soldier dies, Gram," Cal responded which made Cal fall silent. "You're a good friend… I hope you live through the war." Cal put in as Gram frowned.
"We're both going to live through the war." Gram said as he turned to Cal. "Because I have you… And as long as I'm alive? NOBODY is going to kill you, NOBODY… The same goes for Silver Team." Gram said while Cal hummed.
"Then you're going to get serious?" Cal asked which got Gram to nod.
"Only if you knock the jackass out of my brain when I do something stupid." Gram said as Cal nodded. "Silver Team is going to win this damn war… Just don't say that damn crap about every soldier dying… We're Spartans, we protect each other… Like wolves… Or did you forget what Deja told us?" Gram asked, his lips parting in a smirk, not unlike a snake that had cornered prey it wished to feast upon.
"Says the one who forgets to stay with the squad." Cal retorted, her smirk gracing her lips at this.
Gram's smirk didn't vanish. It had no reason to.
(Present Times)
The blast was small, but it was enough to distract the covenant. Cal's knife took the life of the elite easily, slicing through shield and armor like butter.
Gram gazed in the direction of the former tank. He would have liked to set it off to cover their retreat or such… But a distraction was still better than not using it at all.
Gram was about to kill the grunts before a large roar cut him off. Gram drew his shotgun and rushed forward, acting on training and instinct.
He saw a blur of fur and armor. One of the Brutes had noticed Cal and rushed forward at her. Gram racked the shotgun before firing a shot as he approached. The brutes looked strong enough to rip a tank apart… Gram didn't want to find out if they were stronger than him.
Before he could signal to Cal, the spartan was already moving, backflipping off the ground and over the mass of fur and muscle.
Gram fired another shot into the gorilla-like creature, staggering it once more as the creature turned to him, bile dripping from its jaws as he hummed and racked the shotgun.
"Demon…." The Brute hissed to Gram; its beady eyes focused like lasers upon him.
The hulking monster bounded forward, faster than an elite… And almost as fast as Gram. The creature leaped at him; holes burned into its skin like nails.
It was mere centimeters from him when Gram pulled the trigger. 8-Gadge magnum exploded through the brute's head which opened like a flower, flipping it over and onto the ground as purplish red liquid spilled from the creature. It spasmed once, almost seeming to try to push itself to his feet.
The screeches of rage that Gram heard drew his attention to the other brutes. They hefted blocky steel grey weapons and howled like wolves upon sight of him.
Gram rushed for cover as the brutes fired, spikes flew from their guns like needles from a porcupine. Gram felt several of the rounds zoom by his head only to hear another sound added to the chaotic chorus. The sound of 7.62mm rounds being fired.
He slid to cover as Gram watched Cal empty her clip into the head of one of the brutes. It spits bullets and teeth before slumping over and crashing to the ground.
Gram hummed and cocked the shotgun again. He had a feeling that the weapon was going to be the most effective thing he had against the creatures.
"Think they noticed us?" Gram snarked before popping from cover as fast as lightning.
Gram pulled the trigger on a brute trying to flank them. The buckshot shattered armor and staggered the creature who Cal fired upon as well. The brute crumpled under their gunfire. Gram watched it take another 3 steps towards them before falling.
'Damn, what are they made of? Titanium-A?' Gram thought as he pondered how marines took these things on and lived.
"Least it took some of their troops away…" Cal said before dropping another magazine. "I've got 2 more clips, you?" Cal asked as Gram readied another round.
"Another 2 for my rifle, about a dozen more slugs for my shotgun… And 4 for my sidearm." Gram responded as he shook his head. "Remind me to grab one of those guns when we kill these things." Gram stated and fired again, sparking the armor of one of the brutes but doing little damage.
"Hmm…" Cal said before shouldering her rifle and firing once more, sending spent casings to the ground. "Think you can flank them?" Cal asked to which Gram hummed.
"Can I?" Gram asked before noticing one of the grunts from before. "Yes. Will that work? I don't know, these things are shrugging off 8 gauge unless it's point-blank. I doubt we can take them at close range." Gram said, looking at the grunts who started rushing them.
He fired a round into it, flipping the creature over. Its gun and grenades slid towards them. Gram hummed and grabbed the ball-like object.
Gram had seen the Covenant prime and used these things. He clicked the switch and hurled it, angling it into the air like a baseball as a tungsten round flew over his head.
The grenade smacked into a brute who was busy shooting at them. It adhered to the creature's armor as the creature screeched. The other brutes turned before charging away, knowing what would happen.
Gram and Cal used the time to sprint into a hole in the wreckage. Gram's visor auto-adjusted to spare his eyes from the glare as the explosive detonated, taking the screeching brute with it. Dust and smoke emerged, blocking the sight and smell of the Spartans.
"Where are the infidels!?" One of the brutes hissed, looking around for the creature. "Spread out, they must have run!" The brute roared before the group charged out the front gate.
Gram and Cal peeked out from the fallen concrete, their visors shining like gold in the light.
"Remind me to bring a rocket launcher next time," Gram muttered as the duo slowly stepped out of cover, sweeping their weapons around. "How did marines fight THOSE and win?" Gram asked before picking up one of the fallen creature's weapons.
He hefted it and reached down to grab the spare magazine from the brute. The weapon had to weigh 15 pounds… Not heavy to a spartan, but a marine? This thing was probably a rifle to them.
"How far are those nukes?" Gram asked before humming. "We can't stay here anyway. Even if the giant rhinos don't come back? There's bound to be Covenant soldiers picking through the base for survivors." Gram said as he placed the brute weapon on his other leg along with the magazine.
"Down, the covenant must have taken them into the temple," Cal said before looking over the hole the covenant had created.
The energy lift was still active, Cal didn't see any troops, however. She guessed it was to ferry supplies and material down.
"Are we seriously going down into hell?" Gram questioned as Cal backed up before rushing and leaping into the purple energy. "And she calls me the hotheaded one…" Gram said before following after the spartan sniper.
(July 15th, 2525, Reach.)
Gram hummed and looked at the setting stars. He used to wonder what was among them… Now he knew there was nothing but enemies among them.
"We're getting sent on an assignment in a week…." Gram pointed out while cracking his fingers. "How bad do you think things are when they send us in?" Gram asked as he looked down from the tree.
"Bad enough." Cal put in, gaining a roll of the eyes from Gram. "Eager to fight?" Cal asked, crossing her arms while Gram hummed.
"Eager not to be stuck doing nothing." Gram said and looked at Cal. "You a good shot without your sniper? It will probably be close quarters. Rebels like having clear lines of fire." Gram added as Cal hummed and simply nodded.
"I can handle a gun, Gram," Cal stated, gaining Gram's attention. "I heard Dr. Halsey put together the rest of the Silver team," Cal said as Gram nodded to himself.
"Didn't think she was allowed to do that." Gram stated and uncrossed his arms. "Who's the other members? I know you're the leader…" Gram asked, his raised his eyebrow, laying low in the tree like a snake ready to spring.
"Solomon and Arthur." Cal put in as Gram leaped from the tree.
"And you think I'm the most headstrong spartan…" Gram said before turning to Cal. "He's the most aggressive spartan… Well besides Daisy…" Gram said and hummed while cracking a smile.
(Present Day.)
Gram landed in a crouch, sweeping his rifle around the dark cavern. He was quite curious about what awaited them down here.
He almost questioned if the Covenant cared the URF had made this base their home… He believed it was a stupid question… To the Covenant? Humanity was just a bug for them to crush billions of times, seared under the light that they brought.
Gram hadn't seen many worlds under siege by the covenant. He and Cal were constantly sent to new battlefronts, new places to kill and find the slain… But he heard enough to know the covenant slaughtered EVERY human they discovered.
Their level of depravity disgusted the spartan. He might have killed, but at least he could feel and reflect upon it. The sooner the covenant was removed? The sooner the galaxy could heal.
The sounds of muffled gunfire drew the spartan from his thoughts. Noises were coming from ahead. Gram advanced, crouching lower and slowly walking further and further into the cavern. He was about to take a step when he felt something sludgy under his foot.
He looked down to see a body of an elite spread across the floor, surrounded by spent casings like some form of art. He looked up to see a pair of grunts next to the creature… Gram didn't
"She talks about headstrong I am… Then goes and guns down dozens of covenant soldiers." Gram stated while he stalked down the chamber.
He looked at the stone wall that looked like it was carved by plasma, he could feel the heat washing over his armor and see the smoke billowing off from the rock around him.
"What the hell did they want down here?" Gram asked before he heard the sound of gunfire down the cavern. "Great stealth work, Cal…" Gram muttered while shaking his head.
"Someone must recover the holy relic before the humans retake the chamber!" Gram heard as he put his back to the wall of the cavern and swept it with the rifle.
He hummed and looked around for a moment before a small spark drew his attention to it.
The spark motioned with their index fingers. Gram hummed and slowly moved further into the cavern. Cal turned to look down the path, showing several bodies left in her wake.
"I thought you said I'm too aggressive…." Gram said as they slowly advanced down the path. "Main chamber up ahead?" Gram questioned, curious about how much the covenant had invested in Eden.
"The URF was using this tunnel for supplies," Cal responded as she motioned around. "There are some firefights up ahead, I can't tell how many contacts." Cal put in while Gram hummed at this.
He looked around at the interesting metal. It twisted and at times seemed to hover above the ground, there were intricate symbols upon it, more akin to art than scaffolding and reinforced support columns.
"This doesn't look like URF." Gram said as he looked at the metal. It was recorded into his armor like anything he looked at was. "Too clean and precise, URF wouldn't put this much effort into a tunnel network, especially one they wanted to be hidden." Gram pointed out before a stray shot flew over their heads.
The two Spartans took cover, sweeping their guns around the cavern as the bullet buried into the wall behind them. The two Spartans could hear an elite howl in agony as it collapsed to the ground in a puddle of liquid. Another elite returned fire which pinged off a rock formation ahead.
Gram noticed the barrel of a BR55 poke out from behind the rock. The URF was still down here. The Covenant must have been eager to break into the location as Gram noticed the signs of heavy combat such as deep plasma scoring. He kicked at one of the hundreds of spent casings.
Cal turned to Gram as he shouldered his rifle to fire. Cal placed a hand upon Gram's shoulder and slowly pulled him backward. The spartan scout turned to his partner with interest as he hummed.
"If they're this entrenched?" Cal questioned which got Gram to nod.
"Then we'd be throwing ourselves at a brick wall," Gram responded and lowered his rifle. "Is there a back route, then?" Gram asked and got a nod as Cal pointed to a clearing within the rock wall.
Gram nodded; his motion tracker showed several red contacts upon it. All soldiers for the URF or Covenant, he could drop them… But he doubted it would help and it would no doubt alert other squads down the tunnel to their appearance.
He decided to wait to engage them. He turned to Cal who was awaiting his acknowledgment. He motioned towards the tunnel while planting a hand on the rock they used for cover.
In one movement he vaulted over it and began to sprint towards the clearing in the wall. Both sides could hear him, but neither acted on it, unsure if they'd be hitting an ally or who was trying to flank whom.
Cal followed behind him as the duo threw themselves into the hole, rolling to put more distance between them. Gram landed in a crouch and turned, rifle up and ready to fire as he hummed.
"You know, as much as I like your company?" Gram asked and brushed off his rifle. "I wouldn't mind some backup… Where are we?" Gram questioned as he hummed while looking around.
"Gram, you're going to want to see this," Cal stated to which Gram could only hum.
He turned to see a hallway filled with light. It looked like a service tunnel… But with more of the metal from before. He hummed and looked over his shoulder before slowly following Cal.
Author Notes
Phew. Another chapter is done! I want to point out that the next chapter will be in 2-12 weeks or so and will show another minor flashback near the end of the chapter and Gram and Cal engaging URF and Covenant forces and discovering what the covenant is after. It will also start to finish the Eden arc and set up a time skip soon.
P.S: Next chapter is 1200-2500 words or so.