This city was odd.
One could also say the aliens were odd too.
Flicking the mixture of deep red and nearly fluorescent blue blood off his sword, he swung it into a reverse grip. His hood fluttered in the air as he ran, following the streets. Wary of more enemies, he flung a shuriken at one of the many cracked walls, and pulled himself toward it with his Gap-Jammer. The glowing blue line flung him upwards, and he used the momentum to get onto a rooftop. There was a rather large object embedded into the concrete on its edge.
A pod, though not one he had seen before. There was a seat inside, with controls and weapon mounts to the sides of it. They were empty of said weapons, and the seat was missing its occupant as well.
But, the seat was clearly designed for a human, and a couple bodies of aliens were sprawled on the sidewalks, forming a trail that lead in a specific direction.
Giving the crashed pod one last look before leaving, his optics noticed white writing on its side:
J. Doherty
[]
Hissing in pain, Jonathan, or Rookie, lowered himself down onto the ground. The last shootout with two Hunters and multiple Brutes with cloaking had been though, but he managed. One of the spikers that the hairy aliens used had, however, hit him, even if it was only a glancing blow. The superheated metal spike had clipped his left shoulder pauldron, and the ablative armor that it was made of saved him from the heat, but the sheer force of the blow had badly bruised his shoulder joint. Add to that the minor burns from plasma rounds and that one lucky Grunt which almost stuck him with a grenade, and he was ragged. But, there was no time. His team was nowhere to be found, and the short message the ONI Captain had managed through the jammed radios had directed him to the underground entrance.
Popping a painkiller in his mouth, the Rookie stood and crept closer to the open entrance to the now empty elevator shaft. He was about to grab to one cable hanging in its center, when he heard growls and footsteps outside on the plaza.
Shit.
He reached back to his pack, pulling out one of the plasma pistols he had 'liberated' from dead Grunts. The bastards died quick, so they left their weapons near full charge, which let him use freely to pop the shields of Brutes with the overcharged shots. He kept two, and in combination with his UNSC-issued weapons, he could deal with most Covenant rather easily.
So, he peeked his head out of the shaft, giving the VISR system a moment to identify and tag what he was up against. Half-dozen Grunts, and a Brute Minor. Manageable, even easy if he wasn't wounded. It was lucky only such a small of Covenant came here, since they would doubtlessly notice the multiple corpses of Brutes and two dead Hunters he killed minutes before and raise an alarm of some sort, bringing more hostiles down on his head.
He squeezed the trigger of the plasma pistol, still staying behind cover, as to not reveal himself with the weapon's glow. The alien weapon began shuddering in his left hand, ready to release the large EMP bolt, and he moved out of cover, his SMG held in one hand. Sighting the Brute, he released the shot, its neon-green glow lighting up the dark streets of Mombasa as it smashed against the alien's shields, dropping them and leaving the gorilla-like creature vulnerable.
The ODST dropped the plasma pistol before it burned his hand, and gripped his M7S with both hands, the reticle of its sight dead-center on the Brute's head. Before he could pull the trigger, however, a blur appeared right next to the tall alien. A split-second later, the large silhouette became two, and dropped to the ground, bleeding and spilling guts around the corpse. VISR told him the blur was human in shape, so he shifted his aim to the pack of Grunts, squeezing off single rounds, popping their heads. His weapons chattered quietly, and soon, all the aliens were dead, with multiple cut down by the now recognizably human-looking being. He cautiously moved forward, weapon scanning for hostiles. One could never be sure with the Covenant.
He made it to the Brute's corpse, quickly inspecting the wound, if one could call cutting someone in half a wound. It was and incredibly clean cut, even the extremely durable Covenant metal split without issue. Giving his surrounding one last look, sure that he was alone, or a sure as he could be right now, the Rookie went back to the elevator shaft. He needed to get to the underground levels of the city, where the ONI Captain supposedly was according to the city's superintendent AI.
As he entered the doorway leading to the empty shaft, he saw a figure, the same one that bisected the Brute, standing before him.
He raised his weapon, but waited.
It had a cloak, and a… sword in hand, though the blade was pointed down in an unthreatening manner. The being looked to have now face, except for a set of yellow-orange lights in the vague shape of a triangle.
"Hello."
Its voice sounded like it came from a radio, the electronic distortion making it sound like some of the more… quirky shipboard AIs that Jonathan had come into contact with on the UNSC's ships.
"My name is Jack. I am not from here. Could you tell me where I am?"
After a moment, the ODST merely shrugged.
"Hmm… You look like a human… Are we on Earth?"
A nod.
"Ah. And those creatures that we killed were… aliens?"
Another quick nod of the silver-faced helmet.
"Well, if there are aliens on Earth then I think you won't mind if I help you?"
A shrug was all the Ghostrunner got in response, which he decided to take as a positive answer.
Seeing the stranger had nothing more to say, the Lance Corporal moved toward the edge of the empty shaft. The elevator cable dangled in its middle, so he let his SMG fall on one of the slings of his harness, and backed up for a running start. The Ghostrunner, seeing what he was doing, drew his sword, and waited next to the edge of the dark pit that the elevator now was.
Seemingly understanding what the goal was, Jack nodded to the ODST, and jumped down. Deciding to not question the behavior, Rookie simply jumped himself, grabbing the elevator cable and began to ride down it.
[]
Now at sub-level 7, the two slowly moved forward, brandishing their weapons. They made it only about two dozen meters down the corridor before Jonathan's helmet radio came on, and though the channel was full with static, he could hear the voice of the Captain as she spoke.
"I'm low on ammo, they're everywhere. If you can hear me, I'm on sub-level 9, nea-"
Though the message cut off, it was clear where they needed to go.
"Where do we go?"
At least for the ODST. With his throat already beginning to feel sore, he merely opened the connection from his helmet's BIOS and sent out a map of the city from the superintendent and their destination.
The Ghostrunner looked satisfied, and moved forward.
The two moved fast through the corridors, the few Grunts they met on their way quickly cut down either by blade or lead. Soon, however, they came across more Brutes, and were forced to fight the big aliens in close-quarters in the tight corridors and rooms containing the superintendent's data stacks.
The duo had formed basic tactics while fighting together: lacking ranged weapons, Jack was still able to deflect the bolts of plasma and superheated spikes sent their way by the Covenant's weapons. Doherty, using the cover provided, nailed any and all aliens with rounds from both his SMG and M6 pistol, even using a shotgun he found in the twisting corridors of the underground to blow apart those that came close and the Ghostrunner was unable to cut down while fighting others. The sword he was wielding was surprisingly effective even against the shielded Brutes, slicing them apart as if their armor and shields weren't there.
As they continued, they passed many bodies, both human and Covenant. The few humans they saw were NMPD officers, plasma burns scattered across their bodies, shotguns or old UNSC rifles in their dead hands. Accustomed to death, the ODST simply gave the fallen short, respectful nods, while taking the remaining ammunition from their weapons.
It was always more useful for the living rather than those who died.
Though his body ached from the exertion and wounds, he still fought on. The Ghostrunner, while hesitant and wary at first, had seemingly adapted to the fact of having an ally, and provided the ODST with openings while he dashed through the groups of Covenant, slashing them to pieces with his sword. Often, he would use what looked like pressure blasts to topple over the Brutes, Jackals and Grunts, or knock any buggers out of the air. While the Rookie was certain that he had yet to see all that the man was capable of, he accepted the help offered and returned it when he could.
After some time, the pair made it to sub-level 9, and the signal that was their target. Doherty backed up to the heavy door blocking their way, his gun sweeping the corridor they had come from. Jack held his sword at the ready, but looked back and forth between the door and the empty space before them.
Thumping his fist on the cold metal of the door, the ODST was rewarded with the hiss of the door opening and the muzzle of a M6C/SOCOM pressed against his helmet. He twitched, and heard the woman holding the pistol gasp before the firearm was removed from his head.
Jack was behind the ONI officer, the blade of his sword millimeters from the blonde's neck, a shuriken ready to be thrown in his left hand. The woman's hands were up, the pistol raised to the ceiling, her finger off the trigger.
"Who are you?" she hissed, her head turning to the Ghostrunner slightly. The cyborg in turn looked at the Rookie, who nodded slowly. Lowering his sword, Jack answered.
"A Ghostrunner. My name is Jack."
Sighing tiredly, the Captain massaged her temples. "Okay. Listen, I don't know if you're some top-secret Section Three project, but if you're helping, I won't question it." she stepped to the side, motioning for the Rookie to go through the doorway, and closed it when he did so.
"Down there is the city's superintendent, the AI that runs the whole city. My… Our mission was to get the data in its servers and make sure the Covenant doesn't get it." the blonde began walking, with both ODST and Ghostrunner following silently. She stopped near another heavy door, and the Rookie took quick stock of his supplies. A couple spare magazines for both the M7S and M6C/SOCOM, two pouches of shotgun shells and three fabric holders for them. Two frags, four plasma grenades he took from dead Grunts and one Spike and Incendiary from the numerous Brutes they had taken down in the tunnels.
While he did that, the ONI operative continued speaking. "But the Drones made a hive right where we need to go through, and some idiots blew up the building at the top of the shaft, made the buggers go crazy."
Both UNSC personnel checked their weapons, making sure rounds were chambered and magazines were full. Jack merely stood and waited, idly twirling his blade.
"Ready?" Dare asked, her hand hovering over the green panel that operated the door before them. After getting silent nods from both Jack and the Rookie, she pressed her hand to the panel, eliciting a soft chime from the system and lifting the metal door to allow them through. Their way open before them, they began to make their way through the tunnels.
[]
Wiping sweat from her brow, the ONI Captain looked around as the elevator carrying both her, the silent ODST from Alpha-Nine and the 'Ghostrunner' came to a stop. They were now on the same floor as the buggers' hive, and would soon attempt to make their way through it.
As they exited the short corridor between the elevator and the first of many of the cavernous chambers of New Mombasa's underground containing the hive, Rookie pulled the M90A shotgun off his pack, moving his SMG to the now vacant mag-plate. He slid a couple rounds into the tube magazine and the fabric holders strapped to his armor. Before taking point with the heavy-hitting 8 gauge weapon.
The immediate area looked clear for now, so they moved forward, warily looking around for enemy troops. The first chamber turned out to be empty, save for some purple Covenant weapon crates scattered around the space. Through another corridor, the three made it to another chamber, this time one that was not, in fact, empty.
Large caricatures of insect hives hung from the ceilings, similar to anthills except hanging from the metal girders pillars holding up the numerous levels of infrastructure above.
"Try to be as silent as you can. Move fast and quiet, let's hope they don't notice us." Dare hissed.
The warning proved to be futile, as seconds later, a dozen-strong swarm of Drones descended from numerous holes and openings in the hive's structures. Immediately spotting the group, the chitin-covered aliens opened fire on them, luminous green plasma raining down onto the two humans and cyborg. Before the projectiles could reach them, Jack dashed forward and let loose a blast of pressure from his hand, pushing back the bolts, effectively reflecting them right back at the ones that fired them.
Thanks to the overwhelming number of projectiles the Drones had fired, the Ghostrunner had actually hit and killed almost half the swarm, even as all of its members dodged and weaved through the air in unpredictable patterns. Though such enemies would have been a tricky problem for a GR to tackle, this one was not alone.
Both Jonathan and Dare opened fire moments later, the 12,7mm pistol rounds and numerous lead pellets of slamming into and ripping apart the thin-bodied aliens. The swarm was quickly made inanimate, the last of the bug-like creatures cut apart by Jack's blade.
Flicking the bright, green-ish blood off of his sword, the GR quickly ran forward, his cloak fluttering behind him.
"Where are you going?!" Dare snapped, having reloaded her Magnum and already moving forwards with the Rookie following.
"I will draw all of them out into the open areas, and when they chase me, you can shoot them." the GR's voice answered through the two's radios, as he continued running along the catwalks and rafters crisscrossing the large chamber. Already, a sizable group of buggers was following him, about thirty in number, firing sporadically at the near unhittable target that the Ghostrunner was.
"That's… Actually not a bad idea." the Oni operative replied with some hesitance. "Alright, you ready?" she asked the ODST next to her, receiving a nod as he slid one last round into the M90A's tube magazine.
"Well then…" the blonde raised the M6C/SOCOM, and began firing, the weapon's quiet discharges quickly joined by the booming report of an 8-gauge shotgun as the Rookie began firing as well. Jack had chosen a path that allowed the two to keep firing at the swarm while he himself stayed out of the line of fire.
The firefight was relatively short, the Drones being killed off within a moment's notice, both nailed by the human-made bullets or their own plasma bolt reflected back at them by the Ghostrunner.
When they made their way through the masses of bodies strewn across the catwalks, the silent ODST looked at the yellow lights of what he presumed was Jack's face, and gave him a short nod, before continuing his march forward. And, though she gave the sword-wielding… man? robot? an annoyed glare, the ONI did so as well, keeping her pistol up and pointed at the many openings more buggers could emerge from. The GR paid it no mind, dashing twice so that he was in front of the impromptu formation, and slowed his pace to match that of the armored humans.
As they walked, the Rookie scooped up two plasma pistols, discarding the ones he had due to their depleting batteries, and stopped momentarily at a Covenant weapons crate. There were four carbines in its racks, with spare canisters to last many a fight. Looking back to Dare, he silently offered her his M7S SMG, which she accepted, along with the few spare magazines he had. Now with free space for another weapon, he curled his gloved hands around one of the purple-colored rifle analogues and slid it out of its resting place. Grabbing a number of ammunition he thought sufficient, Jonathan turned to continue to their objective.
The data would not secure itself, after all.
[]
"OPEN THE DOOR, TRAITOR!"
If he were alone, the Rookie would have sighed tiredly. A Chieftain. Brutes with incredibly strong shields, armed with gravity hammers, and deceptively fast for their size.
"BY THE PROPHETS, YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR INSOLENCE!"
The roars were getting louder as they crept closer to the heavy doors barring entrance to the Superintendent's main server, and, by extension, the Brutes that stood before them. The unlikely trio of ODST, ONI operative and Ghostrunner all crouched behind a Covenant weapons crate, the tall and rounded shape easily concealing all of them from the aliens' sight.
"Any ideas to kill that Brute without getting us all killed?" Dare spoke quietly, eyes darting between the towering aliens as she peeked out from behind the groups' hiding spot.
"I have one. Which three are the most dangerous?" the Ghostrunner asked, readying his blade.
"The Chieftain is the priority. If you can, kill other Brutes. The grunts we can deal with." the blonde said, ducking back into cover. "How are you going to do it, though? They'll see you and just shoot you before you can get to them."
As he looked back at the glowing yellow lines of the GR's faceplate, the Rookie could've sworn Jack smiled, even if he had no visible mouth.
"They won't see me."
Having said that, he fizzled and disappeared, leaving behind only a faint outline that faded moments later. The Rookie heard only one faint clank of the Ghostrunner's step, before that too faded. It was soon replaced by the soundof cut flesh and metal, and the roar of dying Brutes and their angered comrades.
The ODST darted forward, the carbine in his hand firing shot after shot into the surprised Covenant. Green bolts whizzed through the air, nailing the heads of Grunts, and delivering one-two combos to Jackals, hitting their exposed hands and killing them the moment they let their shields drop. Dare opened fire as well, peppering the enemies with fire from the M7S in her hands, killing many with short, controlled bursts.
Jack was in the thick of it, dodging and weaving through and around the Covenant, bisecting them as he sped by. His sword was caked with luminescent blue and deep red alien blood, causing droplets hang in the air it traveled through, leaving a trail behind the GR as he slaughtered Brutes, Jackals and Grunts one after another.
Soon, the battlefield was empty of higher-ranking Covenant, causing the few remaining Unggoy to scatter, making them easy pickings for Jack's shurikens and Rookie's and Dare's weapons. The three joined up before the large and heavy door leading that had kept the Superintendent secure, and stood silent for a moment.
The ONI Captain was about to speak when, with a loud thunk of heavy mechanisms, the door opened, and the Superintendent's voice was heard from some unseen speaker.
"Welcome. Access granted."
"… I was going to suggest we find a way to get the door open… Whatever, move inside, now!"
[]
Moving through the darkness of the data center, all three stayed silent. The Rookie was first, shotgun in hand, the wide barrel sweeping left and right as the man moved forward. Jack followed closely behind, ready to slice anything that decided to attack into pieces. Dare was last, bringing up the rear of the small column, her own weapon scanning for targets.
They made it uninterrupted to the mainframe's central room which was dim, only the small lights of servers providing the bare minimum of illumination for them to see normally. Only once the ONI operative activated her flashlight, the bright beam cutting through the darkness, did they notice the pink-blue something moving around inside the metal structure that stood in the room's center.
The being, for it was obvious it was alive, let out a chirp and squeak, almost as if it was shy, followed by a series of clicks.
The Rookie quickly raised his weapon, but was stopped by Dare. She herself was stopped by the Ghostrunner when she opened her mouth to speak. The GR let out a series of clicks and chirps unnervingly similar to the ones let out by the pink-blue creature, which quickly moved out into the open after hearing whatever the sword-wielding cyborg had said.
"What? How are you talking with it?" the blonde asked, stumped, the Rookie tilting his head in equal confusion. Jack glanced at them (if one could say he did that, he did not have eyes after all) and spoke as if stating the obvious.
"He speaks binary. I can understand that." As if to emphasize his point, he tapped where his temple would be had he had a face. "All the stuff that I'm made of helps with that."
Turning to the floating and, admittedly, almost cute-looking creature, he lifted his hand to it, which it gently touched with one of its antennae, chirping all the while.
"His name is Quick to Adjust, or Vergil. I think, at least." the GR continued. Tilting his head, he stepped back as Quick to Adjust floated to a nearby console, which sputtered for a moment before showing what looked like footage from a security camera. On it one could clearly see more Brutes, this time with jump jets on their backs, drop down onto the structure that currently housed the four. The view shifted suddenly to show a lone ODST, an MA5C in his hands, green stains covering his armor.
"Buck! What's he doing down here?" Dare yelped in surprise, the comms sputtering with static for a moment before the unmistakable voice of Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck was heard.
"Veronica? Where the hell are you?"
"Inside the Superintendent's core, we have to get out and there's Brutes on top of us now. Can you help?"
"Sure, I-"
"Good. And please, do not, I repeat, do not shoot anything pink… Or any humans with a sword you see. Got that?"
"Uh… I guess so? Just come on out already, we don't have the time!" the Sergeant raised his voice, which was left unanswered as the group moved to exit the server-filled room, Jack and Vergil exchanging chirps and clicks.
"Right… You, protect the Engineer at all costs-" Dare said, pointing at the Rookie "-and you try to kill any of those Brutes before they can get close to him." the ONI operative continued, looking at the Ghostrunner and gesturing at the Engineer.
When she received nods of confirmation from both the GR and the silent ODST, the Captain quickly checked the M7S in her hands and began to move towards the exit.
"Well then… Follow me."