Chief pushed forward as bullets zipped past him and his team. Delta's sniper rang out, two mid-caliber Nikke-upgraded bullets striking the legs of a smaller Rapture and shattering them. The machine screeched angrily, to which Cortana said, "The fact I'm getting used to this is a bit terrifying, but I think that one just swore at us..." with a chuckle. Chief ignored the quip, kicking the monster's oculus in, shattering it with the weight of the impact.
He rolled to the right as a neutron beam from one of the four-legged Thermites struck where he had been, turning the concrete into glass. A volley of electrified rounds struck the Spartan's armor, overloading his shields before he could once again move out of the way. He aimed his pistol and snapped off a shot, nailing one of the Thermites' rail rifles, which caused it to detonate, staggering the machine.
Sammy pushed forward next, pulling two fragmentation grenades off her belt and throwing them under the machine before swinging her MPX toward the enemy and opening up, a grin on her face. Two smaller machines evaporated under the volley of fire, which was followed up by Niner hefting her MG and squeezing the trigger, the laser-focused burst of bullets cutting through the midsection armor of one of the machines and killing it by detonating its oculus.
Pinne swiveled on her feet and called out, "Sam, look out!" as she slam-fired her entire magazine into a group of Rapture drones, the slug rounds tearing through the flying bastards like a hot knife through butter and spraying their biomechanical parts and armor across the floor. She started reloading while Sam turned toward her and gave a thumbs up. Pinne gave a smile, then ducked and tried to turtle up behind her armor as bullets struck the kevlar-reinforced plates.
Signal ran forward and fired a burst from her SMG, then yelled ,"O-Over here, ugly!" toward the tall machine that had opened fire on their shotgunner. Layla followed up by dashing forward and grabbing the girl out of the way whilst firing her own AR in a suppressive manner. Bullets sparked off her metal armor, while a stun shot, a sparkling electrical current contained in a scarlet ball, hit the dirt beside her.
She swore to herself, then said, "Chief! Falling back to Delta!" as she rushed back with the girl. She spoke to her, "Nice work, though maybe seek cover next time, Signal!" which got the little white-haired glass-wearing radio specialist to whine. The girls slid into cover, with Layla drawing her rifle and aiming again as she fired bursts. Beside her, Delta zeroed in and eliminated enemy flyers that were engaging the Spartan and the CQC Nikkes.
"This is getting hairy. Fifth swarm we've encountered today," Murmured Delta as she snapped off a shot that tore through a Rapture's oculus and caused it to detonate. She dropped the spent transparent magazine and immediately slammed home a fresh one, sending the bolt forward before starting to fire again. Layla replied with a hum of agreement as she laid into the enemy.
Layla ducked into cover and replied, "I'm down to about six mags of ammo..." as she dropped the latest spent one, bullets littering the floor beside her, Delta and Signal. She slammed one home, then stood up and immediately fell back down with a yelp. Two missiles flew over her head and struck the wall behind her, craters dug into the concrete by what looked to be HEAT warheads.
Pinne jumped back into cover with them as well, poked up and screamed as her visor got hit. She tossed it off her face as it boiled, then stood up and, with anger in her blue eyes, snapped off several more slug shots toward the Raptures. Chief pushed toward one of the leading Lords, climbed on top of it and cocked his fist back as Cortana said, "Alright, managed to get a call through the Alva particle concentration. Friendly IFFs are converging on our POS as we speak... You're gonna like who's tagging in to save our behinds, Chief."
The Spartan nodded, jumping off the exploding lord whose oculus he'd ripped out, before drawing his rifle and firing. He swept the area ahead in a 45 degree angle, spent casings hitting the floor as he gunned down the smaller units. He grunted as a full burst of rounds struck his shields, shattered them, then started denting his armor, before taking cover behind the husk of a destroyed armored fighting vehicle left over from fifty years ago.
"Integrity's at 90%, Chief. They're hitting us with a lot more beams now," Murmured the AI, "I'll keep us alive. You just make sure we don't become a walking reheated soup can," then she activated an overcharge to Chief's shields. He poked out again and fired a burst just as Pinne's shotgun rumbled again. She, Layla and Signal joined him, with Niner continuing to suppress a multitude of enemies.
Pinne patted him on the shoulder and said, "Chief, we're running a little low! We should pull back!"
"We've got reinforcements converging on our position," The Spartan replied as he dropped his own expended magazine and loaded in a new one. Pinne nodded, then moved beside him and snapped off another five shots. She ducked as a bullet scratched her face and ear, then swore to herself. Chief ducked back as well, then told her, "Your visor's gone..."
"I know, they shot it off!" The girl replied as she loaded some new slugs that Chief hadn't seen before. She looked up at him and smiled, then explained, "Neon gave me a few new rounds to test out for her, heh..." only to gasp and pull the Chief back by the collar as a rail rifle shot pierced clean through the armored vehicle's sides and embedded itself into the dirt behind them.
She sighed, relieved, while the Chief looked back at her and said, "Thanks."
"My pleasure," She smiled, then gave him a gentle nudge.
Signal joked awkwardly, "W-Well, at least she's opening up m-more...?"
Layla snorted, "Yeah..." Before pausing. She yelled, "ARTY!" as the whistle of projectiles filled the air. The fireteam scattered to various pieces of cover as another patrol element of Raptures advanced their way, reinforcing the dwindling current patrol. Two missile-carrying units, four-legged, stout and with two 'wings' on top of their heads onto which missile pods were attached, fired a second volley from their MRLs.
Pinne snap-fired her shotgun, sending the strange slug out. It shot forward at supersonic speeds, a discarding sabot kicking off of its frame to reveal a miniaturized armor-piercing fin stabilized round. It punctured through the leading MLRS Rapture, before striking a second and third and digging its way into the overgrown concrete behind them. All three raptures detonated simultaneously, while Pinne's eyes widened. She murmured, "Okay, note to self, keep Neon as a friend..."
Layla took cover beside her and opened up. She gasped, however, when she saw Sam take several bullets to the chest and collapse. She hit Pinne on the shoulder, with the shotgunner Nikke nodding. Layla called out, "Covering fire!" and a volley of automatic weapons erupted across the roundabout intersection they were in as the shotgunner charged forward. More rounds struck her kevlar and a neutron beam hit so close to her she could practically feel it aging her up, a bullet scarring her shoulder and cutting through the kevlar-reinforced cloth.
She dived beside Sam, slung her shotty onto her back and pulled out a medical kit. The Soldier EG, as thanks, drew her pistol and fired two shots at a smaller Rapture that was just about to pounce on Pinne from the top of the vehicle. The bullets staggered it enough for the Chief to put his own hand cannon to use, punching its plate armor and killing it.
He moved over toward Pinne as Niner moved forward, switching out her hot barrel for a fresh one and opening fire to cover them. The man watched Pinne tend to Sam, then motioned for her to help him drag the girl back to cover. Pinne nodded, before looking to Sam and smiling as she asked, "It bad?" while pouring a specialized medical/repair substance on the injuries. Her plate had failed at the second shot and it punched through.
"Burns, but I'll live!" The EG Nikke admitted. She pulled her skull mask off her face and wiped the red coolant leaking from the corners of her mouth, then let Chief and Pinne carry her back into cover. She coughed, then rubbed her wounds and said, "Cutting it close... Damn near heat the coolant pump..."
"You mean your heart," Chief patted her on the shoulder. She stared up at him, a bit surprised, before he pushed forward to help Signal, Delta and Niner. Niner gave the Chief a thumbs up as he and her pushed forward, weapons firing 'till their barrels glowed at the Rapture units. Delta's snapshots took out more enemy flyers that tried closing the distance. She then slung her sniper onto her back and dashed out forward.
Niner spoke, "This is getting interesting just as I'm running low on ammo..." before turning to Chief and stating, "You should get to cover, sir!"
"Chief, first reinforcements should be arriving in five... Four...-"
All thoughts were cut short as the largest Rapture in the assault force ahead was split in twain from crest to belly. The figure that'd cut it in half landed, hair fluttering in the wind and her strange straw rice hat barely hanging onto her head. Her blade glimmered in the light. Everyone paused, watching the figure with the blade suddenly begin her fluid assault.
She danced with her sword in hand, every single slice and stab part of a wider acrobatic endeavor that made her seem like she was showing off to the eye of the untrained. Chief lowered his rifle, watching the Ronin Nikke ahead cutting down the horde of Raptures with strength behind each swing that managed to vivisect one or two for each attack. Two more figures landed beside her and they made Chief stagger.
One was clad in a Mark IV armor that looked like the earliest models, while the other looked like she had modified her GEN 2 EVA suit in the field, her shotgun thundering as she charged forward at maximum speed to join the seeming Pilgrim in battle ahead. The Lucky Strikes gathered around the Chief, all staring with wide eyes at the Spartans and Pilgrim Nikke that struck at the enemy.
Chief, however, felt his breath catch in his throat as he saw the IFF tags. While Kelly was a very welcome surprise, the Spartan in Mark IV was supposed to be... Dead... Cortana noted this, stating, "Abnormal heart spike det-..." only to notice the IFF tag of the Mark IV Spartan. "Oh..." was all she could utter in a low voice, "My God..." She then whispered with a smile.
"Chief?" Delta started, "Are they the IFFs we set out to recover...?"
"Yes," Chief nodded, stunned. He slung his rifle onto his back, watching the Pilgrim and his comrades wipe the floor with the remaining Raptures. Before long, there was a field of debris ahead of the trio, with Kelly and the Mark IV Spartan, Samuel-034, bumping fists and laughing as they slid their weapons into their mag-locks. Their Ronin guardian sheathed her sword with a smile, turning to face them, then paused as she saw the Nikkes and Spartan. She smiled.
"Mine belief lay with the fact we found thine friends, Sir Sam, Lady Kelly," The woman spoke, then started walking toward the Chief. She arranged her hat and smiled, offering, "Curt greetings to thee, Sir. And to thine Nikke-" She paused, locking eyes with the wounded shotgunner that was Product-23 'Pinne'. She blinked, rubbed her eyes, then simply stared on. Certainly, she lacked that strange tri-leaf pendant, but-...
"H-Hello, Pilgrim...? Did I do anything wrong...?" Pinne asked awkwardly, though a glimmer of recognition shined in her eyes, too.
"N-No... Apologies, you just..." She sighed, "You look like someone I and mine friends knew..."
"Oh," Pinne hummed, then nodded, "Sorry. Us 23s really look alike..."
"Indeed... Doth thou have a name, friend?" Scarlet inquired.
She nodded, "Pinne..." And the entire group paused as they saw the Swordsmith double over. Kelly and Sam, to their credit, checked on the woman that had brought them here, before both looked to the Chief. The Spartan stood there, a statue that tried not to move or show a hint of emotion. He looked between Kelly and Sam, before he couldn't help it anymore. Giving a quick 'Spartan Smile' to Kelly, he then looked to the young man that he'd seen die.
Sam, much to his wisdom, took his helmet off and offered a smile to John, walking up to him. Both were at around a similar height at this point, though Sam had always been one of the tallest Spartans. Chief, to the surprise of even Kelly, wordlessly put a hand on Sam's shoulder, to which the blonde man put a hand on his arm as a response. Chief gave him a gentle pat, before taking his helmet off to look his friend in the eye.
Sam was a bit stunned, to say the least, to see the scarred face of the man that was the Chief. Much less did he expect to see the man stare at him with such tired eyes and a face so full of surprise. He guessed that, even in such a state, the Chief's mask would crack. Kelly took her helmet off next, smiling at John and giving him a gentle bump in the shoulder as Cortana manifested, too.
The AI looked up at Sam, who looked down and greeted, "Hey, there. You must be Cortana. Kelly told me about you."
"Hello, Sam," Cortana beamed, "A pleasure to meet you. Chief and the others told me stuff about you, too, when we had days off..." before looking up to the Chief. He nodded and turned to the Pilgrim, who simply smiled and whispered something to Kelly, before she bowed out quite literally. As soon as the Chief and everyone else blinked, the swordsmith had disappeared.
He said, "Was that a Pilgrim...?"
"Yeah," Pinne replied, then looked over to Kelly and Sam, "So, these are your comrades, Chief?"
"Yes..." He replied, then slid his helmet back on, "I'll call us EVAC-" before drawing his pistol and swiveling about as something rustled in the overgrowth. His entire team, Spartans included, turned on their heels and aimed their firearms at the greenery, only to pause as an actual green shoulder pad appeared through. UNSC Marines, the Chief soon realized as he stared at them.
"Put those weapons down, or I'll tear you a new a-" A far-too-familiar voice spoke as a shotgun pump was racked. He cut himself off, then marched out of the greenery with a grin, murmuring, "I'll be damned. Safeties on, boys. Looks like we got our ticket outta this hell. Good to see ya, Chief," and sliding a cigar between his lips. The dark-skinned man with a moustache peered at the Chief with hazel eyes, arranging his NCO cap on his head and slinging his shotgun over his shoulder.
"Holy shit," Murmured Mendoza as he stepped beside the Sergeant. The guy had a few wounds, though to be expected. "It took you guys long enough to drop, Chief!" He then laughed, pulling his MA5B over his shoulder by the strap, too. The rest of Johnson's old team from Installation 04 filed out from the bush, while Chief, Cortana, Kelly and Sam stared, dumbfound.
"I guess there's more," Delta smiled, then saluted.
"I-I'll radio EVAC," Signal spoke, though even her stutter was lined with a hint of joy. She knelt, set her radio down and started calling, while the Chief and the Spartans gave quick salutes to the Marines, who replied in kind. First, the Commander. Then, Sam and Kelly. Now, the Sergeant-Major. Chief couldn't have been happier to see so many of his old comrades in so little time.
"You do know you're gonna have to introduce us, right, Chief?" Layla voiced, grinning. The Spartan looked over to her, then nodded, before noting the Pilgrim sat atop an overgrown tower to their left, a smile on her face. He looked over to her, only to get a nod and a salute before she vanished yet again. His gaze turned back to Johnson, who was helping Jenkins, a Marine Chief had thought gone with the Flood, pull his leg out from amidst a thorny bush.
"I do, Layla," Chief replied, his voice low. He then called, "Sergeant."
Johnson looked to the Chief, "Yeah, Chief?"
"... Good to see you all again," He told him, a hint of joviality behind the usual stone-cold tone.
Johnson flashed him a pearly-white grin, "Glad to be back, Chief. Hell, I knew it was gonna take more than Tinkerbell trying to drill a new hole through my chest for me to die," before he and Jenkins finally managed to wrest the man's leg free, both of them nearly falling backward. Delta chuckled, while the rest of the team stared at the Sarge and his men as they prepped themselves.
Overhead, the rotorblades of a helicopter echoed, the heavily-armored twin-rotor transport swinging in for landing in the wide-open area. Chief thought to himself that he was gonna have one hell of a report to write later today, wasn't he? Multiple new arrivals, a possible new Nikke being made from one of his COs, the whole fight with the Pilgrim. Hm. Right, the Pilgrim. Best to ask Sam and Kelly about that ASAP...
At the Outpost...
Alyosha stared as the transport touched down at one of the Landing Pads, its rear hatch dropping to reveal the Chief and two new Spartans behind him, alongside his team and a bunch of simple-looking Human soldiers. Well, 'simple-looking' was a bit of a lie, considering the fact they all wore similar gear to the Chief and his Spartans. Chief, to his credit, saluted Alyosha calmly. His comrades also did the same.
He chuckled awkwardly and saluted back, then said, "No need for that, folks. I'm Commander Harriss, one of the two people in charge of the Outpost you see behind me," And he jabbed a thumb back toward the place as it was still being built by Liter, Centi and Mighty Tools's assets. A robot dog rushed forward to meet the newcomers, barking much to the surprise of Sam and Kelly, not to mention Johnson and the others.
The Sergeant leaned forward as the doggo approached him and looked up, only to give it a pat on the head. It leaned into it, to which Johnson said, "I swear, if I had a dime for every time we got stuck on some weird-ass assignment, I'd be a millionaire by now..." only to turn to Alyosha and said, "Commander. I'm Sergeant-Major Avery J. Johnson and these are my Marines. We'll be under your lil' organization's watchful eye from now on."
"Glad to have you on board, Sarge," The man nodded, smiling.
"Sir," Sam and Kelly saluted again. Sam spoke, "Chief Petty Officers Samuel-034 and Kelly-087, at your service."
Kelly quipped, "Holler my way if you need a Scout, sir..." which got a chuckle out of the Nikkes and the Sergeant and his men. Alyosha's smile only grew. He waved the team forward as the Chopper took off to head back to the Ark, leading them to the new barracks that Liter and Centi were building. Liter saw them approaching and gave a quick wave of the hand from the scaffolding of the third floor.
Alyosha told Chief, "First and Second Floors of the barracks are done. Should be able to house three, maybe four Platoons of people right now. Centi and Liter are adding onto it."
Chief nodded in approval. Speak of Centi, though, the bubblier of the two builders poked her head out, lifting her Drone goggles and waving, "Oh, heya, Chief! Take it these are some of the folks we're building this place out for! Heya! I'm Centi! Mighty Tools's other builder, so to speak," before looking up and giving a wave to Liter. Liter gave a thumbs up back, then watched her dog bolt up to her. With a short chuckle, she continued her work.
"She seems jovial," Quipped Jenkins, crossing his arms.
"Mighty Tools are the greatest Nikke builders and Engineers," Chief offered.
Centi blushed and waved it off, "Aw, shucks, Chief. Just doing our jobs." only to let out a "GWAK-" as a wrench fell on top of her head. She pouted, then glared up and called out, "Liter!" as she rubbed the top of her head. Despite some concern, the Marines and the other Nikkes couldn't help but laugh a little at Centi getting bopped. This wasn't really proving Chief's point, but, oh well.
"Sorry!" The diminutive one replied, waving.
"I'd be more careful there, Kid!" Johnson yelled, "Could'a dropped it on any of us and we'd be pissed! Much more on the Spartans!"
"I'll be more careful!" She snapped back, then paused and yelled back, "Who you callin' Kid!?" which made Johnson snort. He pointed at her, to which she pointed at herself and balked, "I'm older than your entire family!" while Centi looked to Johnson with the look of 'That's exaggerated'. He caught it and snorted, then shook his head, arms crossed, "Swear, if I don't come down there and spank the hell outta you youngsters-"
"Pff." Johnson snorted, "Alright, girl. We'll leave ya to it, Old Kiddo."
"F-" Liter's voice echoed all the way down, filled with anger. Johnson shook his head and snorted, then motioned for his team to get inside and find their rooms. He then turned to Chief and shrugged. The Spartan and Alyosha both nodded, with Chief motioning for his team to head to their own dormitories, which looked like they had recently been refurbished, at least from this distance.
"So, Sarge," Alyosha started as they got to walking, "You known Chief for a while?"
"Heh. We worked together including near the end of the war, kid," Johnson replied, taking a puff from his Cigar. He then asked the two of'em, "I'm gonna need a tour of our new stomping grounds so I can give it to the boys later. Y'all don't mind, right?" while they were walking around the various buildings and noting that multiple new Nikkes of various types had also arrived, including whole new platoons of MP Nikkes meant to staff the outer 'walls' of the Outpost's defense.
With little fuss, the two men decided that, yes, it'd be best to let the man know where everything was. Chief would talk to him about Miranda's revival soon enough, though, considering that that was probably an important think to talk to the man about. Starting up from the Command Center and all the way down to various Skunkwork areas, the trio had travelled through the Medical area and amidst other buildings that, for now, had little use beyond letting people know of the Nikkes about to be deployed.
Johnson seemed rather interested in the Outpost, at least.
Good news, helluva day...