Enjoy all.
This battle would be recorded as a victory.
Their fleet was ambushed by the humans, and many were destroyed as the smaller weaker ships fired on them before they realised what was happening.
This battle would be recorded as a victory.
They were able to use their nuclear weapons to conduct a strong attack while at the same time pushing themselves through their fleet, the cowards that captained the ships moved out of the way instead of using their bulk to ram the human ships to dust, this single attack from the humans wiped out most of the attacking fleet and at the same time allowed the humans to push past them and move towards their orbiting station. They forced themselves into a defensive foothold that would have forced them to take heavy losses to destroy.
This battle would be recorded as a victory.
Krypton's wrath arrived in the system and was severely damaged in the process of taking down the station and even more, the human fleet that defended the station was able to take advantage of the disarray and nearly completely wipe off those of their number that remained in orbit in there feeble attempt to destroy those pests.
This battle would be recorded as a victory.
While the Supercarrier went to the surface of the planet to crush the human resistance, while it left, all that remained of their fleet in orbit was wiped out. By the time they made it to the surface, the Assault carrier that led the ground assault was destroyed. All that remained of the fleet to destroy this world were four corvettes and an incredibly damaged Supercarrier.
This battle would be recorded as a victory.
They were ordered to deploy the ground forces and battled them in glorious combat, encroaching on the city from the north. The glory of a ground battle, seeing their enemy in combat and proving that they were superior in all forms. Something their Legion master taught them. Before their ground forces could even enter the city proper, the human captains who must have been driven mad by their might charged at them.
This battle would be recorded as a victory.
One ship, one single small human ship overloaded their core and caused an overload. They created an artificial rupture in space that swallowed three-quarters of their Supercarrier and what seemed within one moment, Krypton's Wrath. One of the strongest ships the Covenant had was destroyed beyond repair, their entire fleet. Nearly the whole of the second Legion was now reduced to two single corvettes and the remains of the human fleet were coming for them.
And yet despite it all, this battle would be recorded as a victory.
It had to be; they were being led by Nam-Ek himself. One of the five great ones, the leaders of their holy crusade. Nam-Ek stood tall amongst them all, the warrior, the executioner, the one who would always stand alongside those on the front line. The most respected by the soldiers of the Covenant, of course this battle would be recorded as a victory.
Every battle that involved a great one was recorded as a victory, it was impossible for them not to be. Even now, as the Second Legion was reduced to this, it would be a victory. In all his years of service to their crusade, their mission was to find the one that was lost to them, to rebuild their great empire. Thel'Vadam has never wavered, never flinched, being appointed as the Ship Master of Kryptons Wrath was the proudest moment of his life, seeing it lay so low hurt him in a way few other things have. But he didn't falter for a moment and he thought he never would.
Until he saw the lost one for the first time.
Thel was among the honoured few to know the truth of what happened to Dev-Em. Leader of the Fifth Legion, a great one that was brought low by the lost one. Kal-El, the name knew nothing to him and the other mortal Covenant but after the Great Ones were informed of the name, they changed. They moved with so much more vigour and purpose than they did before, it did not take a genius to know they wanted him, badly.
Thel like many others believed Kal-El to be a traitor to his own kind, until Nam-Ek chastised him for saying such things. While not completely agreeing with the Great One's words, Thel knew that the power Kal-El possessed was not something to be denied. But Thel was confident that he would be stopped, it was child's logic but there were five great ones and he stood alone against him.
He was confident in his Legion Master, he was certain of his strength and he knew he would lead them to glory. Then he saw Kal-El with his own eyes. It was only one small fraction of a second but it was enough for Thel to see the face of the lost one and rage that was being contained within it. For the first time in his life, he felt doubt about Nam-Eks' safety.
He flew through the air towards his target, nothing remained within him except an uncontrollable rage that would refuse to go. It seemed like a small part of his mind tried to convince him to calm down, to take a breath and go about this the smart way. That part was quickly surrounded and killed by the rest of his mind.
The air rushed past his face but his eyes didn't blink even once, like he was afraid that if he looked away from the target for even the small fraction of a second it would take to blink, he would disappear. No, Alt will not allow that. He wouldn't let it get away, not now, not like last time. MAC round to the face or not, he would kill this one with his own hands and he wouldn't let anything stop him.
He didn't know it himself but the red hue of his eyes didn't falter for even a moment as they neared each other. Alt's hand was pulled back, eager to be smashed against the enemies body. He watched as the much larger man was quick to pick himself up off the ground and move towards him as well 'Good' Alt thought to himself 'Let him' his mind added. Despite moving so quickly through the air, Alt had time to watch as his enemy started to run forward towards him.
It wasn't something he was used to, he thought that he would see something akin to the Spartans. Something large in tough armour moving far faster than it had right to be. But that wasn't the case, the large man took three steps….. no, he took three leaps forward.
The first pushed him well over five meters, the ground under his foot crunching as he left it. The second leap moved him forward by twelve meters, this time the ground he landed on was shattered as well. For the final leap, he moved what must have been a single mile in distance. There wasn't much left between them now, only half a mile. He didn't care, this was good. It would be easier to kill him if he came closer.
When the enemy's feet hit the ground again, Kal watched as he bent his legs lower than before he jumped into the air with enough force to send a shock wave around himself. Unlike before, he didn't go back down, the force of the jump had too much strength before it and he was shooting right towards Alt.
'GOOD!' his mind shouted at him. They were standing above a large crossroads with abandoned streets under them. When the two titans finally met each other, their fists smashed into one another, the result was a shockwave that shattered the glass in the tall buildings all around them. The enemy won the battle of strength between the two and Alt found himself pushed back in the air, though only slightly.
He watched as the enemy started to fall to the ground now that Alt had halted his momentum. He stayed in the air for no longer than a couple of seconds before he shot towards the ground, pulling his fist back again. Though the enemy saw the attack coming, as Alt moved his clenched fist in a swing at the falling foe. He reached forward and while not blocking the blow but parrying it forced Alt to keep moving forward despite missing, as he did so the enemy reached forward with his other hand and grabbed his neck, twisting the two of them just before they hit the ground.
Alt was sure that normally he would have felt the pain from the impact but with the raw emotion coming from him, he only felt more anger. The large man was quick to stand up and raised both his fists into the air, ready to strike down at him like an angry gorilla.
But Alt would refuse to lay there and take it without giving back, he kicked out with his right foot and hit the back of the enemy's left leg while he turned in the same direction. The force of the kick forced the enemy to stumble forward and miss his strike, Alt dodging the attack brought his right arm forward, bending it and slamming it down on the back of the figures head. Something that he was annoyed to say, didn't seem to do much in the way of damage. So he did it again, only this time the figure rolled away forcing him to hit the ground. Seeing as he tried to stand up Alt did the same, the two getting to their feet only a few meters away from each other.
However, seeing how little effect Alt's strength seemed to have on the man, he used his anger to his advantage and released the built-up pressure within his eyes and they shot out. The large man seemed to have either an idea of what was about to happen or simply had fast reactions as he brought up both his arms and held them in front of his chest as a boxer would who was attempting to block a flurry of attacks. Though it was having an effect, that much he knew. Alt could see the figure being pushed back, his feet digging into the ground as he attempted to hold his position. Something he was failing to do, despite everything that was happening around them, Alt could hear the sounds of pained grunting coming from him and his face of anger turned into an almost sinister smirk.
Before he could enjoy it for long, Alt found his eyes winded for the fraction of a second it took the enemy to launch himself forward towards Alt and grab his head with both hands, lifting him and slamming him into the ground. This time the force of the blow did knock the wind out of him and dazed him enough to forget his hatred for just a moment.
While only for just a second, it was enough for his eyes to lose their power and return to a normal state, though still having a small red hue to them. Before he could quickly bring himself back to his feet and continue the attack, the large man brought his hand around his neck and lifted him before once again slamming him into the ground. Alt by instinct brought both his hands to the figure's wrist and attempted to break them off of him though it seemed to have little effect.
Due to the circumstances of their positions, Alt and the man looked at each other closely for a few moments as Alt struggled in his grip "You fight well Kal-El" The sound of the man's voice caused Kal to pause for a moment and stare back at him "It matters not, I am Nam-Ek. Captain of the Captain General's honour guard. I have never known defeat and I will not start now. I will offer you this choice, surrender and come with me willingly. Or refuse and come unconscious" The offer was given and Alt didn't even take a few seconds to think about it.
This man is giving him a chance to surrender? After everything he just did? After all the lives he just took? No! Alt had already decided. He was going to kill this Nam-Ek, and then he was going to kill all who followed him "I'm going to kill you now" he said, staring back at him with unblinking hatred. His eyes lit up again and Alt lunged for his enemy, every intention of killing him.
"HOLD THE LINE!" John 117 shouted as he and all the others started to fire at the enemy as they were beginning to march their way towards them and with it, the final line of defence. John stood up from behind his cover and fired his battle rifle, aiming down the scope and letting the bullets fly, he noted that the Grunts seemed to be in front of the rest of them. Something he would need to add to his report later, assuming he survived this.
Turning his head to the left, he noted that just as many were coming down another road. The layout of the battle was planned and John did everything he could, to turn the tide of the coming battle in his favour. There was a large pavement square with a fountain in the middle of it that went on for three dozen meters, then there was a road that went across from left to right. It was covered in cars and trucks, like the rest of the city, looking like it was they were just abandoned with no warning.
Past that road was a large skyscraper that if he could see past would lead to a row of buildings just as large as that one, that pattern went on for three miles. On either side of the row of buildings was a road that stretched on for most of the inner city. It was those two roads that took on most of his attention as it was what the Covenant were using to advance towards them. The defenders of the building were positioned and trenched in as best as they could be, given the time he had to order them where he thought best.
He turned his rifle and fired at whatever targets he could find, taking a surprising amount of pleasure in seeing that the once tougher Elites fall due to their lack of shields. While he was the picture of calm collectiveness, it was true that he often felt annoyed and frustrated at the enemy's more advanced tech. There have been times when John has watched good soldiers die because he couldn't bring the Elites down in time because of those shields, that wouldn't be a problem here.
He took a surprising amount of satisfaction in seeing the Elite's head snap back and his body fall to the ground as John's round went through its skull. Though it was far from alone, from his place in the middle of the barricades near the bottom of the steps leading up to the city council building. Despite the fall-open battle going on around him, the sound that hit his ears caused him to lower himself behind the cover and turn his head as he did so.
He found himself surprised by the sight of Sam standing on top of a Warthog-mounted weapon "We got the hydraulics up and going!" he shouted to John, not turning his head as he fired the heavy weapon towards the lines approaching them, something he was glad for.
Standing back up behind cover, he moved his aim to the right and fired at every enemy he could see. And there were many, almost too many. John ducked down behind cover again and dragged a marine down with him to avoid all the rounds of plasma coming towards them. Sam has the cover of the weapon itself to protect him "There's too many!" Sam called to him "We're going to get overwhelmed"
Something he figured out on his own quickly enough. There were so many, unable to stand up and make themselves a bigger target, John and many others as well, he noticed. They no longer stood up and fired back but instead stayed in their crouched positions as they fired, with many of the marines and militia even firing blindly. This wasn't right, the city was being attacked from all sides…
No, it wasn't.
John saw his mistake in that moment, he set out the defences around the council building in order to get ready for the full siege. He failed to take into account what the Khane's actions meant as a whole, with the ENP and the destruction of the Supercarrier, all the drop ships and fighters that the Covenant used were now not a problem for them. Meaning that they had half of their forces were spread about guarding against nothing because it was in front of them.
Turning his head to the marine he pushed down "Private" he said to the man "Go to the other side of the building and get in touch with Spartan Fred-104. Tell him that we need reinforcements on the northern side" he ordered.
"Yes sir" he said as John let go of him and the marine waited for a few moments, taking a couple of deep breaths before he stood up and started to run back towards the building, no doubt intending to go through it to get to the other side.
John quickly stood back up and fired to cover the man as best as he could. They needed to hold the line for as long as they could, what they had in front of them was likely all that the enemy had left. If his new assumption was correct, then everyone who was on the other side of the building could circle them and attack the enemy in a double flanking manoeuvre. Without their vehicles and shields, it would win them the battle.
The ground shook under them unexpectedly, it wasn't something strong enough to knock him to the ground but it was noticeable, it reminded him of an artillery strike going off in the distance. Then it happened again, it was louder this time.
He continued to fire on any enemy he could see, not letting himself be distracted by whatever was happening. He did his best to continue the fight and direct as best he could from the front lines without a radio, he assumed that Watts was somewhere in the building behind him doing what he could to coordinate the defence. But it didn't stop, the rumbling kept continuing and it kept getting louder, he didn't know what it was. It couldn't have been the heavy weapons from the ships above them, even though thankfully they were still operational despite the EMP, they would never fire those weapons without direction from those on the ground.
He didn't need to worry about it for much longer, he saw the cause with his own eyes. Even though it was difficult to make out at first. The entire area was nothing more than a battlefield, with dozens of explosions every second, and hundreds of bullets and plasma rounds in the same amount of time.
This was different, in the central building opposite the fountain. There was a type of shockwave that took place, he knew it wasn't a bomb or weapon due to there being no blast or signs of weapon use. It looked like it happened from within the building and the result of it was enough to blow a large hole in the centre of it all. He could have ignored the sounds and focused on what he was doing, but now that he could see what was happening with his own eyes. What he assumed caused the shockwave in the building was flying through the air and landing towards them.
Whatever it was crashed into the fountain and continued to drag against the ground until it was practically pushed up against the barricade he was taking cover behind. He knew who it was the second he saw the battered uniform and exposed chest "Alt?!" he shouted in shocked amazement at seeing his friend present. He honestly didn't know whether or not he survived what happened in orbit, but he was glad to see him.
At least until Alt quickly stood back up and didn't even give him a glance over the shoulder before he most forward. John watched as Alt leapt into the air back towards the building he just come from, then John watched as what must have been the Godfall target flew towards him from the hole in the building when they met in the middle of the road. A huge shockwave took place, this one doing what the others couldn't and knocking him and many others onto their backs.
While he was sure many others would have stayed on their backs for a few more moments, John and all other Spartans present got up as quickly as he could. He stood up and looked back to the enemy. Before he could raise his weapon however, he found himself staring in shock at what was closer. The decorative fountain that while solid despite holding bullet wounds in the stone, was now completely wrecked.
There was a large figure in black standing in the middle of it, water from the ground spraying up into his helmet. John was quick to notice that one of his legs was slightly elevated above the other, it was only a moment later that he found out why. He was pinning Atlas under the water with his foot! He raised his weapon and fired right at him while knowing full well that it would do very little if anything, but he just needed to distract him for a moment.
He wasn't the only one to start moving either. As he fired his weapon at the target, he heard the heavy weapon Sam was using fire as well and based on all the bullets he saw bounce off the black armour, many others were doing the same. It seemed to have the effect that he wanted to have as the figure looked up from the ground and right towards them, it wasn't even flinching as so many bullets hit it. John watched as he reached down into the water and pulled Alt out by the neck hoisting him into the air. They all stopped firing at him then due to not wanting to hit Alt and returned their fire to the Covenant.
He wasn't dead, he wasn't too badly injured either based on the way he saw Alt place one hand on the figure's wrist while the other punched his helmet. John watched with amazement as the force of the blow created a visible shockwave that he could see. The figure brought his free hand back and readied to punch Alt who knows where, though before he could Alt brought his let up and stopped the attack before it could land. His foot is placed within the joint of the arm opposite the elbow, pinning it in place.
John was so focused on the rest of the fighting that he couldn't take time to think about what was going to happen next. Alt was in his fight and while he wanted to be there with him to help, he knew that he would be needed here and couldn't afford to lose his focus. He made out a large grouping of Brutes rushing forward towards them from the right, he quickly turned himself and started to fire, though he could only make one kill before his weapon clicked empty.
He crouched down and grabbed another mag while ejecting the other. He could sight of Sam still standing tall and firing at a target he couldn't see, he was about to order him to focus on the Brutes.
But he couldn't.
Because he was gone.
It all happened in a small fraction of a second.
He caught sight of a body that remained him of Atlas in build and uniform. He was moving so quickly, and it was in the direction of Sam. The body of Atlas, something so dense and strong that was moving a such speed, not even a Spartan in armour could tank that. Alt's body smashed through the weapon and collided with Sam. The two went flying backwards and right into the concrete wall of the council building, Sam hitting it first while Alt combined with the force of the throw pushed them further.
The two went right through it and into the building.
For a moment he thought about hoping but knew that it was pointless, that much force on Sam. There was no way he could have survived that.
I know this is less than what some wanted and delayed but the truth is some stuff has happened and I've been dealing with a lot of depression lately and this was all but on hold as a result. It doesn't help that I've lost of lot of the drive I have for this story in particular, I'm considering putting this one on hold and focusing on the others but that's not set in stone just yet.
Anyway let me know what you all think and I'll see you in the next chapter.
Next story update: A New Guardian
