Surface of Menae
FOB Keyes, Operation HARPOON
September 2nd, 05:31
Three days, one hour, twenty-nine minutes after drop
It's day three. Day three without a shower. Day three with barely any sleep.
Well, thank God for whatever group of lance corporals coordinated the shipments for the mass quantities of energy drinks, cigarettes, and dip. Without them, a lot of marines would've died a long time ago.
Buck popped open another can of Rip-fuel energy drink. The same shit that's been keeping Marines awake for nearly seven-hundred years. It's his second one this morning.
Or afternoon? He wasn't sure. He's been up for the past eighteen hours. Time was becoming...blurry.
Stacker took out his lighter and lit up a cigarette. The two stood at the end of the makeshift briefing room behind the holo-display. The rom itself was merely an empty Elephant cargo room filled with chairs set up in neat rows that faced the display.
"'Rah, mates." Lieutenant Dubbo said as he walked up the ramp. He was the first one to the briefing. Sergeant Major Walpole followed closely behind him. "Busy morning?"
Dubbo walked up to Major Stacker. The Major pulled out a cigarette, handed it to Dubbo. The Lieutenant brought out his lighter and lit it up.
Busy would be describing it lightly Buck wanted to say.
LZ Sugarcane became the primary UNSC foothold on Menae. While space was still contested, Marines shored their secured drop zones. Navy dropped off their cargo loads and hurried off back to the fight before any Reaper ships could intercept them. From these drop zones, Marines proceeded to push out, establishing LZs for firebases, then using elephants to establish FOBs. The FOB they were currently located at, FOB Keyes, was merely three parked elephants and a resupply station.
FOB Keyes was only a klick away from a joint Turian-Krogan stronghold located on the heart of a plateau. General Corinthus had been very helpful in supporting the UNSC's endeavors. Wherever they needed assistance, he rounded up as many Krogan and Turian units as he could. He's a motivator.
"Ain't wrong," Buck pinched the bridge of his nose. Morning report was coming in soon. It contained updates from all sections and elements in Task Force Assassin and overall progress of Regimental Combat Team One, Five, and Seven of First MEF, and the Brigade Combat Teams and assault elements of the 101st Airborne.
Soon, section leaders and Turian and Krogan commanders will be here for Buck to deliver the brief derived from the morning report.
Whenever the report decides to get here…
Currently, the ODST elements of Task Force Assassin, 19th Battalion and Infinity detachment, were directed with assisting Marine RCTs wherever need be. They essentially been converted to a QRF unit. While their chain of command was still directly with the Infinity and their requests are priority,they've been transferred over to First Marine Division command.
Ten-thousand-six-hundred ODSTs supporting the three-hundred-thousand marines of the First Marine Division of First Marine Expeditionary Force.
As for Spartan task force elements under Commander Palmer, they were tasked with missions directly tied to the Infinity and Battle Group Dakota, and high priority objectives as deemed by FLEETCOM.
Whatever the fuck that means. Most of Assassin command was kept out of the loop.
Dubbo took a drag of his cigarette. "This is probably a stupid question, sir, but we gettin' R and R anytime soon?"
Buck grimaced.
Dubbo sighed. "Bloody hell, mate."
It's what they all trained for since bootcamp. Still, it never gets any easier.
A few more ODST officers came into the Elephant. They said their greeting and immediately sat down. Some of the boot butter bars were developing dark circles around their eyes.
Lieutenant Dubbo took his place by Stacker's side, and Sergeant Major Walpole took his place by Buck's.
Morning report finally came through. Buck opened it.
...
Operation SUN GOD, surface of Thessia, One klick from RV Gamma
August 30th, 11:49
Asari defenders slowly peaked out of the barricades, rifles cautiously raised. They surrounded Shepard and his team.
"Corporal, get HQ on the line." One of the Asari ordered. She lowered her rifle. "We heard you guys were coming."
"Who the hell are you?" Wrex asked.
Most of them had cuts and gashes over their faces. Skin encased in dry sweat. Permanent dark circles surrounded their eyes. Their armor was beaten and scratched. Weapons dented and worn.
They've been through hell.
"All that's left of Second Biotic Infantry Division… Least all we know." The Asari leader answered.
"How many of you are left?" Shepard asked. "We heard from elements of Task Force Verdona that Second BID had been wiped out."
"Chief Sergeant? Matriarch and the Justicar said to let 'em through. They wanna speak with 'em." A Asari corporal reported.
Justicar? Samara was here? Shepard, for maybe a brief moment in a while, was relieved that someone he cared for had made it through all this.
"Follow me, Commander." The Chief Sergeant said. The rest of the Asari defenders put their rifles down. They eyed the three as they made their way through the outer defense.
They entered a service door into another tunnel. In the tunnel was a second layer of defense. They passed by a makeshift barricade with an Asari heavy machine gun attached to one of the crates. Two were manning covered by another Asari her down the hall wielding a sniper rifle.
"At the beginning of the invasion, Reapers sent Husks down the service tunnels. Battalion command had deemed them low priority till we found out what was down here." The Chief Sergeant said.
"And what was that?" Liara asked.
They entered a second door into another hallway, and….
Casualties. Civilian casualties lined up the halls as Asari medics and battalion surgeons tried to tend to them. There had to be dozens of civilians and…
Asari children. Teenagers, toddlers, all grasping to their mothers…
"Goddess…" Liara was barely able to say. Her voice was quiet and empty. Shepard barely heard it. Instead, he heard the groans and cries of innocents as the Asari medical teams did what little they could
"Civilians been holding out the past two months. They wielded doors shut, tried to survive with the food they had…" The Chief Sergeant lost her voice for a moment. They turned down a hall with multiple small service rooms. It was less crowded, populated by a couple civilians covered in thermal blankets. Shepard could hear a wet cough every once and awhile. "A lot of them didn't make it… And whatever civilians were left in the local residential area above… We tried to get them here."
They entered what looked like a small basement. A few soldiers guarded it. They let them through once the Chief Sergeant waved them off.
Inside was a holo-display propped up on a table. A few high ranking Asari surrounded it. Standard light black armor. One was dressed in a red outfit Shepard recognized.
"Commander Shepard…" She said as she stepped away from the holo-display. Hands on hips. Dirt and dried blood covered her uniform, and there were heavy dark circles under her eyes. But, like the rest of them, she was still alive.
"Samara." Shepard replied. The three stepped into the room. It was barely lit by a single fluorescent light above and the dark blue light of the holo-display. "It's been a while."
"That it has." She said. The other Asari stepped away from the holo-display.
"How long have you been down here?" Shepard asked.
Samara said. "I've been on Thessia since after the Monastery." Samara said. "It's our people's last stand. I've been helping where I can, attached myself with Second BID when AHC was forming Task Force Verdona."
"Commander," One of the Asari soldiers at the holo-display said. Shepard recognized the Matriarch rank on her shoulder plate. "Matriarch Morato. Commanding officer of Second BID."
"Well, sorry to interrupt this little happy moment, but maybe ya'll can tell us what the hell's going on." Wrex interrupted.
Commander Shepard sighed. "We already have bits and pieces of the story. The Temple was overruned. We made contact with elements of Task Force Verdona holding the outer cordon around the residential zone. They said Second BID was wiped out."
"Not yet." Matriarch Morato replied. "MSR Angel has completely collapsed, and we had no time to establish any ASRs. Feros Combat Team was sent into the Temple, along with a platoon sized element of Second BID. We were cut off… Pushed into the residential area. I then ordered my men to find a way out of the AO. As we were in the residential area, we found hundreds of civilians still holding out. I gave the order to gather who we could and retreat down into the tunnels. We met even more civilians down here."
Samara crossed her arms, she nodded to the Matriarch. "May I speak to the Commander and his squad alone?"
The Matriarch nodded. Samara lead Shepard and his squad outside of the command room to the hallway. It wasn't exactly alone, but it was the best they could do. The doors to the room shut.
"It is good to see you again, Shepard." Samara said.
"Likewise." Shepard looked to his squadmates. "You met Liara at the Monastery, and remember Wrex?"
"How can I forget?" Samara smiled. The room shook for a brief moment, followed by a muffled thud of some sort of explosion above ground reminding them of the war. The smile immediately faded. She sighed. "We had only received some partial details from AHC, yet I'm not sure if they know the full story themselves.
"I would help you, yet my duty is to help ensure the safety of these civilians."
Second BID was a battalion sized unit. So anywhere between four-hundred and six-hundred Asari soldiers. Shepard wondered how many were down here? How many civilians were down here?
How many more civilians will they have to abandon?
Shepard looked at the civilians. "The Elites are deploying shore party and loadmaster teams to prep mass evac. But our job is to get to that Temple. Is there any way you can get us there?"
"I understand where you're coming from…" Liara added. "And maybe I'll be the only one brave enough to speak up to a Justicar." Liara lowered her voice. "You're wrong. What's in that Temple will be able to save our people.
"This is your duty, Justicar. Our duty. "
Samara didn't say anything. She looked down the hall. A couple dozen meters away were more civilians. Injured. Walking wounded. Some had their eyes closed… Shepard wasn't sure if they were just sleeping.
Samara crossed her arms, looked to Shepard. "She's a bold one."
"Samara… Believe me when I say I understand where you're coming from, but is there anyway you can get us to that Temple?" Shepard said. "We have two other teams on the ground, and they're under heavy fire. We need your help"
Samara thought for a moment. Maybe debating on what she should do… That was a first for her. At least the first time Shepard witnessed any hesitation from her.
"The Reaper destroyer is the main thing blocking us from the Temple." Samara quietly said. "If we destroy that, it'll free up some elements to assist you."
"Explain to me how the hell we're gonna do that?" Wrex asked.
...
Operation SUN GOD
Surface of Thessia
Five-hundred meters from RV Gamma
The Chief peeked out from defilade, scanned the empty park. There were a few dead Asari soldiers on the ground. The grass surrounding their bodies was stained with purple blood. Kelly stepped out, sprinted to the nearest cover. It was only a small mound of dirt unearthed most likely from an artillery shell.
She hit the mound hard, peaked out, and scanned the area for contacts.
The park was maybe about three hundred by three hundred meters. On the other side, it would be a straight shot ot RV Gamma, save there wasn't any enemy resistance.
Kelly displaced, pushed forward, prompting Fred to push out to Kelly's previous position. Fred took cover behind the dirt mount, and Kelly moved farther through the empty park.
The Chief received a horn from the tac-line. Commander Shepard.
"Go, sir." The Chief said. He then dislocated. Fred and Kelly moved farther out. The Chief hit the dirt mount where Fred once was.
"Change of plans. Redirect from RV Gamma to these coordinates." Shepard ordered. "Friendly staging point. Watch your fire. Our main priority is to take out that Reaper Destroyer blocking the route to the Temple."
"We've already figured the destroyer would be a target sir. Do we have any assets in the area?"
"We're currently talking to the command element of Second BID, but so far there are no outside elements available to help deal with that Reaper."
"Copy that, sir. We'll stick to improvising then." The Chief cut the line, then relayed the new coordinates to the rest of the squad.
Three green acknowledgement lights from his squad status screen appeared. They got the message.
They moved from the courtyard to another narrow alley. His HUD stated that the new RV was only two-hundred meters away.
They checked their corners, assessed the building walls and windows above, and continued to push towards what looked like a small service hatch.
Kelly moved first, making sure the area was clear and set up. Fred and the Chief moved in. The automatic doors opened and the two moved inside. It was a small service tunnel at a downward angle.
Kelly and Linda entered after them, and together they continued to push towards the underground. It was sparsely lit by a few white lights. The squad turned on night vision. Orange lines appeared on every little crevice of the hallway. Shadows turned into yellow, staticky images. Their night vision was an integrated system borrowed from the ODSTs.
Drops of water leaked from various tubes that lined the wall, forming puddles on the floor. Electric wires were in disarray, exposing copper linings that produced bright sparks at constant intervals. Purple blood splatters and bullet holes appeared every once and awhile. No bodies however.
The hall began to even out. A few service hatches were on both sides of the wall.
The Chief raised his hand in a fist. The squad immediately stopped where they were. Movement. Eighteen meters. No IFF tag.
More contacts. Five total. Eighteen meters.
The rest of the squad acknowledged the contacts, and they slowly moved up. Weapons at the ready position. The Chief stopped. He was base. Kelly leaned on his shoulder and began to scan the left wall. Fred and Linda did the same. Fred was base. Linda scanned right.
The primary RV point was somewhere down here, but coordinates were six-digit. Not very exact. They pushed forward until they reached a service hatch where the movement was coming from. They stacked up, and Fred pulled out a plasma grenade.
"You really want to be going in loud?" Kelly asked.
Asari military general IFF had been registered with the UNSC. Any friendly Asari assets in the AO would've been tagged friendly.
"What do you want me to do, knock?" Fred asked.
"It'd be polite." Kelly responded. "Might be friendlies on the other side."
"Or Reaper infantry. Well, anyway have a flashbang?" Fred asked.
"When's the last time any one of us used a flashbang?"
The Chief silently stepped towards the door and kicked it in. A massive dent appeared. The hinges swayed. He gave it another kick and the door flew back a few feet.
The rest of the team rushed in.
"Standby! Hold your fire!" Someone yelled.
Surface of Menae
FOB Keyes, Operation HARPOON
September 2nd, 06:02
Three days, two hours, one minute after drop
Turian, Krogan, and UNSC Army and Marine officers and staff NCOs filled the makeshift briefing room. Buck saw General Corinthus enter, surrounded by his bodyguards. He stayed at the end of the room; arms were crossed.
Marine officers of Task Force Assassin and regional Army officers, mostly from 101st Airborne Brigade Combat Team Two, sat in various seats. Turian officers in command of local regional elements in the AO stayed in their own groups, mostly standing as if they were uncomfortable to sit down. There were a few Krogan, but they mostly stayed with the Turians. Like dogs on a leash.
There were a few murmurs going around the room. Don't let it fool ya. The primary combatants in this ground fight were the Turians, Krogan, and Army 101st Airborne and their Air Force support. Task Force Assassin and First MEF did their part, but they were limited to direct naval support. They were a very small but highly important support piece to nearly four million UNSC soldiers and the fifty-three ships of Battle Group Dakota and hundreds of support ships of Third Fleet Logistics Group. Marine RCTs were spread about the region whether knocking out Reaper anti-exosphere cannons, establishing more LZs, or supporting the Army's push. Army was designed to be the hammer, marines were the knife...Buck guessed Spartans were the scalpel.
While the Army still technically responded to Captain Lasky and Infinity, they had their own mission as directed by HIGHCOM and Army Expeditionary Command. Once they disembarked from naval ships, they were their own entity unless deemed otherwise. Most of the time it was because the Navy ordered them to match their battle rhythm with the Navy's exospheric movements above. Army could only advance as far as the Navy could, and Marines were there to assist the Navy's push on the ground.
Anyways, at Buck's side was Major Cortez, Major Stacker, Sergeant Major Walpole, Commander Palmer, and Lieutenant Dubbo. They stood around the holo-display.
"Morning, gents." Buck said. A couple of the Marine officers and staff NCOs barely let out a 'rah.' He could see dark circles and red eyes on nearly every face.
Task Force Assassin had been busy.
"We just received the morning report from higher. We have a priority alert." Buck sighed and accessed the priority ops. "First MEF has requested Task Force Assassin's assistance on this. Army dropped the ball, and guess who they need to pull them out?"
Rahs and eerahs erupted from a few marines. A couple soldiers rolled their eyes.
Buck pulled up a local strategic map. It showed a few hundred klicks away on the far side of Menae, on the darkside of the moon.
"Gentlemen, as you already know, we've already established MSR routes in this region. However, MSR Bronze is the only supply route First MEF has established planetwide. It's highly contested. Army heavy assault convoy, four elephants, two mammoths with grizzlies in tow, callsign 'Burning Dog', were pushing to establish an Alternate Supply Route. Barely made it a half klick off MSR Bronze before they were pinned down."
Buck inputted some commands. The image focused on a small part of MSR Bronze on the darkside. The region was mostly flat, with a few sparse hills and craters, natural or otherwise. MSR Bronze was displayed in a simple blue line. A red arrow diverged from MSR Bronze and stopped around a small, isolated cluster of hills. The nearest hill to the red arrow was codenamed Hill 535.
"Squids got the jump on them. Knocked out the lead Mammoth's MAC gun and both front axles of the wheels are down." Buck displayed the convoy. The four elephants surrounded the downed Mammoth, maintain a eight-hundred meter distance while the grizzlies formed a perimeter around all the vehicles. "It's stuck in the water and unable to move.
"Crew suffered heavy casualties. Limp home procedures take hours on a Mammoth, and they can't perform it without suffering more casualties. Elephants pushed up to perform ambush counter procedures and establish a cordon… But Reapers have them boxed in."
One of the elephants in front of the Elephants turned red, indicating it was down.
The other front Elephant moved up and tried its best to complete the cordon around the downed Mammoth. The rear Mammoth pushed forward, utilizing its MAC to take out large targets or clusters of Reaper ground troops. It readied its tow gear. Grizzlies did their best to provide support, but they got taken out one by one.
"Reapers prepped a good ambush. Used Ravagers in the hills to hit the Mammoth's weak points. CO of the convoy called in for reinforcements and firemission…." Buck let the display run.
Past Hill 535 and the downed Mammoth, more Reaper infantry began to gather and crash against the UNSC convoy, like ocean waves on rocks. One of the elephants behind the downed mammoth was about to move out the way before it received numerous direct Ravager rounds to its main drive socket and cockpit.
The Elephant was downed, and the working Mammoth soon stopped. The Ravagers turned their fire on the working Mammoth, focusing instead on the back wheels to ensure its immobilized.
"The convoy is dead. Third Battalion of 101st Brigade Combat Team Two dropped from low orbit to assist and try to get the vics up and running. However, Squids surrounded the convoy and cut them off from MSR Bronze. Third Battalion is now pinned with them, and the Reapers are now pushing to cut off the entire MSR. Army is barely holding them off with Cobras and their new Kodiak artillery, and Air Force has deployed Short Swords and Pelican gunships on limited firemission and CAS to slow 'em down."
The display showed Third Battalion elements spread throughout the sixteen-hundred-meter cordon the convoy had established. Reapers had created a blockade five hundred meters in between the dead convoy and MSR Bronze.
"Higher ups are afraid 101st can't mobilize the rest of BCT Two fast enough to reach the convoy. Most of their assets are spread about either trying to hold MSR Bronze or are engaged in their current AOs. We've got word the 101st is mobilizing the 501st Infantry Regiment to deal with the situation but it will take some time."
With BCT Two and 501st Infantry taking their sweet ass time rogering up, Army had only one option…. And it seemed either First Marine Division or Captain Lasky approved the 101st to utilize Task Force Assassin.
"Task Force Assassin is on recovery." Buck popped open another Rip-it and took a swig. He hadn't seen Commander Palmer take anything from the immense stockpile of field essentials. Fuckin' Spartans.
He moved the display to focus on MSR Bronze. "Stacker, I need a man."
Stacker placed a hand on Dubbo's shoulder. It caused the Lieutenant to spill some of his Monster. He also dropped the cigarette he had in his other hand. "I got one right here."
Dubbo cursed under his breath and finished up the rest of his Monster. Admittedly, Buck liked Dubbo. He's a good guy, good marine, and under Stacker's mentorship he's coming up as a decent officer. But Buck could still sense the...weariness.
"The convoy's inner and outer cordon are shaky at best. Whatever combat elements of Task Force Assassin that didn't drop will deploy into the outer cordon, immediately." Buck ordered, "they'll help reinforce the convoy and buy us time.
"As for you Dubbo, General Corinthus…" Buck nodded to the general in the back, "...has been kind enough to lend us some troops. Ninth Combat Legion, plus a mobile artillery unit, Second Cabal, are going to insert from MSR Bronze and help us extract whatever people and assets they can."
The display showed areas ejecting from MSR Bronze towards the convoy. Ninth Combat Legion doing a general sweep, pushing towards the outer cordon.
"Rookie, Dutch." He nodded to his men sitting up front. Buck didn't want to use the phrase 'Cole Protocol' with the aliens in the room, but he knew it was on the UNSC officers' minds. "Take your platoons and mount up. Palmer, rotate a team. They'll be on intel sanitization and asset denial. Rookie and Dutch will punch through to Burning Dog, drop the Spartans off and evac any critical.
"You'll also be taking in the Turian cabal unit. They'll station themselves near the Mammoths and begin firemission as needed."
"Wait, sir…?" Dutch asked. "I thought they're a arty unit. They can mobilize that fast?"
Buck looked over to General Corinthus. The marine and army officers also looked over to the group of Turians. Corinthus spoke, "they are. They're biotic infantry. Human artillery. This makes them far more mobile and agile, and more efficiently coordinated for close range firemission."
They turned back. Dutch nodded.
"Besides the Turian arty unit, Army will have firemission. Direct Cobra strikes and indirect Kodiak arty. Air Force will be providing us a Joint Terminal Attack Controller. He'll be directing CAS and Forward Air Control." Buck turned to Dubbo. "Dubbo, you're calling the shots. You got everyone, Spartans included."
"...Roger that, sir." Dubbo said a little unsure. He took a sip of his monster and took a slow breath. "What about exosphere support?"
"Everyone here knows naval support right now is unreliable, especially with all the fighting going on up there. Captain Lasky is mostly focused on holding the Reapers back. He's already taking a risk sparing the assets to drop off the rest of Task Force Assassin. That's why we're overloading on the ground infantry and firemission, and tropospheric CAS. No MACs or Archer Pods on this one."
Dubbo reached into his armor and pulled out another cigarette. He lit it up and took a drag.
"PCCs and PCIs in thirty, wheels up by zero-seven-thirty. Rah?" Buck said.
"Rah." The marines replied. Everyone else was quiet.
"Next order of business…" Buck continued. Dubbo and the required personnel began to file out of the room.
...
Operation SUN GOD
Surface of Thessia
Redirecting to alternate RV
August 30th, 12:24
The Master Chief immediately flipped on the safety and lowered his weapon. He scanned the room. No hostiles. Only civilians as they curled up in the back of the hall, frightened. There was a single machine gun position about five meters from the door, manned by two Asari dressed in what looked like ragged, dirty skivvy shirts.
The machine gunner gripped the weapon in terror. She seemed to barely keep her finger off the trigger.
The rest of Blue Team cautiously lowered their weapons.
"Why aren't you two wearing your IFF tags?!" Kelly yelled.
The machine gunner continued to slowly lower her finger on the trigger… The assistant machine gunner spoke. "We don't have any. We're not soldiers… We're local police…"
"Don't worry. We're not door to door salesmen." Fred quietly said. It didn't ease the tension.
"Ma'am, we're on your side." The Chief calmly said. The assistant machine gunner placed a hand on the gunner's shoulder. She was still absolutely frozen.
The barrel was aimed directly at the Master Chief.
He could see she put more pressure on the trigger… And all his training, all his years of experience told him she was a enemy. Told him to quickly take her out before she did something stupid. She was compromised.
But… He didn't move forward. Instead, something told him to lay his weapon on the ground. John did it, slowly.
"John…?" Kelly said over comms.
John kneeled down so they were about eye to eye level. He slowly reached to the clasps of his helmet, unlatched them.
He took the helmet off. Laid it on the ground… It was only now he could hear the world outside the audio sensors. The muffled gunfire above. The echoey screams coming from various locations throughout the sewers. The vibrations of heavy artillery fire and Reaper lasers.
"We're on your side." John was able to say.
The gunner slowly and surely loosened her grip on the weapon. She took a breath, and whatever fear had taken hold of her let go.
Civilians were still huddled at the far end of the hall, maybe a dozen meters down. A family of three and some stragglers. They crushed themselves against the walls, using each other like shields.
"We're on your side." The Chief said louder, looking to the civilians. He stood up, placed his helmet back on and locked the clamps. He grabbed his rifle, still kept it lowered.
He wasn't sure what they saw with him.
The back door opened, and some of the civilians scrambled inside. Asari soldiers came through, weapons hot. They were followed by Commander Shepard and his squad, and an Asari the Chief didn't recognize.
"Stand down!" Shepard ordered. "Stand down, dammit!"
"What in Goddess' name are they?' The Asari asked.
"We're the good guys." Fred said.
...
Operation Sun God, Surface of Thessia, Alternate RV "Zulu"
Shepard and his crew guided the Spartan team down the halls. A couple Asari soldiers tailed behind, yet they kept their distance. The Spartans drew a lot of attention as they walked down the crowded halls. Civilians, soldiers, and staff stopped whatever they were doing to stare at the walking behemoths as they passed by. But Blue Team ignored them. Not the kind of ignore where they took notice of the gaze and pretend not to see it, but they ignored the Asari because they might as well not know they were staring at all.
They were in their own reality.
Shepard could hear a whisper from one of the soldiers, "they those Spartans we keep hearing about?"
"Yeah, heard one of them took down a Reaper alone."
"Uh huh, sure. You know that's probably bullshit, right?"
"Hey, that's what I heard."
The Spartans continued to walk by. Everyone who crossed paths with them immediately stepped out of the way. The group entered the makeshift command center.
"So these are the Spartans we've been hearing about on comms?" Samara said as she walked behind the display.
"This is Blue Team." Shepard said for them. The Spartan team stayed separate from Shepard's crew. "This is the team the UNSC sent in to assist us with the Temple."
"Ladies." The Master Chief said to Samara and Matriarch Morato.
Samara turned back to the display. Each Spartan was taller than everyone by a foot. "As we were discussing with Commander Shepard, our first priority is the civilians we have here… We'll provide limited support to get you to the Temple, but the main problem is the Reaper Destroyer."
Matriarch Morato moved the display to show the local residential area. The Temple itself was only three kilometers away. Blocking the entrance was that destroyer and what Shepard assumed were hordes of Reaper infantry.
Beyond the AO, Shepard could already tell the intelligence data of friendly units were still three days old. They were the first team to finally contact Second BID once they went to ground.
"We have a few heavy armaments. RPGs. X-twelve charges. Biotics of course. But nothing powerful enough to take down that Reaper." Matriarch Morato said.
"We've secured CAS for the AO over Talon Swarm, ma'am." The Chief reported. "Do we have any exospheric capabilities?"
"Currently, no. Exosphere is highly contested. Joint Republic Navy is barely holding out, and priority is to get civilians out of the system. AHC may pull out a cruiser for orbital bombardment, but that'll take time."
"Time we can't afford to lose." Shepard said.
"As much as I'm all about suicidal charges, I don't think in this situation it'll work." Wrex said. "We could just sneak past."
"And who would provide a distraction for us?" The Matriarch said. "Justicar, with all due respect, the Reapers don't know about our position, and we won't be able to stop any assault if they do find out." She nodded over to the Spartans. "You've seen our position. We're spread thin throughout the underground. We don't have enough defenses for every entrance point. We have nearly eight-hundred civilians down here and barely ninety defenders."
Liara grunted uncomfortably, shifted her weight. She looked to Shepard.
The Commander sighed. He looked to Samara, "Feros Commando Team is still trapped… If they're still alive. We need to get them out of there."
"...The Destroyer has strangely avoided the Temple. So far it's remain intact. We're not entirely sure why…" Samara avoided Shepard's intrusion.
"So what are our options?" Matriarch Morato added
"We can board it." The Chief matter-of-factly said. "Take it out from the inside."
"Ha, sure. What are our realistic options?" Morato asked again.
There was a moment of silence. The Chief stared at Samara through his helmet.
"Uh...I think he's serious." Wrex clarified.
The Chief remained silent.
"Oh my Goddess, you're serious…" Morato's voice trailed off, quietly and confused. She stepped away from the table.
"If you have schematics on that thing's foundational structure…" Fred began. He looked closely at the display. "We could have our support ship drop down explosive ordnance and jetpacks. Provide a distraction, we climb in, blow it up from the inside."
"You make it sound so simple."
"I mean…" Fred shrugged. "It kinda is."
Morata didn't say anything. She looked over the display. Eight-hundred civilian down here. All of them running out of time. Shepard won't ask the soldiers to abandon them. Not this time. He couldn't abandon civilians anymore.
If Second BID accidentally gave away their position… Christ, Shepard didn't even want to think about it.
He understood where the Matriarch was coming from, which made it a lot worse. A couple more hours until the Elites arrived…
"You really trust these people that much?" Samara looked to Shepard.
Shepard looked to the Master Chief and his team, who only a few days ago he witnessed them sharing something they wanted no one in the outside world to witness. He saw the Chief nearly frozen still in front of what could be described as a shrine to this Cortana…. He nearly stopping the Chief from beating a man to death.
And of the few things the Commander knew about him, Shepard knew his real name was John.
Shepard truly had no idea what the Chief was. What he could do. If the faith everyone in the UNSC had placed in the Master Chief truly transformed him into that mythical hero was true. It seemed out of everyone in the UNSC, besides maybe Captain Lasky, Shepard knew who he really was…
...He was just like him. And nothing more.
Why was that even scarier?
Shepard crossed his arms, stepped to the Spartan's side of the display. He stood in front of John. Shepard didn't need to look up.
"If we get you on that Destroyer, can you knock it out?"
"Sir. Yes, sir." The Chief said without hesitation.
The rest of the Spartans were nearly silent. The usual detachment. They were still in their own private reality.
"So what you're asking from us is to do your work for you?" Liara said to the Matriarch. "We clear out that destroyer, give Elite loadmaster teams a clear path here, get your people out of here."
Samara stepped in. "I can assist wherever I can. I won't risk the lives of anyone here."
It seemed Matriarch Morato wanted to say something, but she wouldn't speak up to a Justicar. She only looked to Shepard, "so what's the exact plan?"
...
Surface of Menae
En Route to Convoy Burning Dog
September 2nd, 13:14
Three days, seven hours, twelve minutes after drop
Wheels up by zero-seven-thirty… Christ, mate. Thrown under the bus on that one, but it's whatever, he guessed.
Dubbo sat shotgun of the passenger hog as it pushed through MSR Bronze. He relaxed, tried to relax with giant squids in the background and the screams of the constant barrage of conflicting arty and orbital bombardments. It masked the roar of hog engines as the ODST convoy moved forward. The convoy was ten vics. His was the third vic in line.
In the back was the Air Force JTAC, Technical Sergeant McKnight, and the command staff for this Turian cabal artillery unit. Under a Lieutenant Quinruis, they were sullen, quiet, and tired. Christ, they've been in the shit for nearly seven months. Dubbo could barely spend a few weeks in the field without losing his fuckin' mind.
Not only that but they were also quite literally the artillery. Dubbo had to see that shit to believe it.
The world was growing darker as they headed towards the darkside of the Menae. Dubbo turned on the night vision on his HUD, and the terrain was then covered in faint orange lines. A staticky yellow film covered everything
All the terrain was were dead craters, empty trenches, puddles of fuel from friendly ships, and wreckage of destroyed vehicles and downed cruisers. A fire, be it red, blue, or yellow, dotted a hill or a piece of ruin.
About half more hour till they reach their Insertion Point. So far the ride was quiet, save for a stray enemy bolt that came their way.
"Ya mates okay back there?" Dubbo finally decided to say to the other occupants.
Th JTAC, dressed in the bulky brownish-tan gear of the Army, simply nodded.
"We're okay…" Lieutenant Quinruis quietly said on the local joint tac-comm.
"Ya mates got briefed?"
"Yeah, we know the drill." Lieutenant Quinruis stared off into the distance. She had purple tattoos printed onto her face plates. "Heard those Mammoths can punch a hole in a capital ship. That true?"
"Don't know 'bout that mate. They pack a helluva punch though." The light of the sun fully died out. Fires, artillery bursts, and naval engagements displayed flashes of light, screwing with his HUD. Every time a flash of light ignited across the terrain the orange lines of the night vision disappeared for a moment and bright flares of black static raced across the screen. After a few moments, the night vision was restored.
There was absolutely no sunlight at all. Dubbo turned off his night vision for a second and looked down.
Jaysus. He couldn't see his own fuckin' body.
Luckily the team packed a fuckton of flares.
They drove a few more miles. As they reached the insertion point, some of the artillery flashes began to draw closer. The HUD began to form distinct shapes around vehicles and figures.
The sharp crack of artillery fire was close enough now to send shockwaves throughout his body. It pierced the air and shook the metal of the warthog. A small ridgeline with sloped sides began to form on their left. It was maybe nine meters tall, providing cover for the convoy. Along the ridgeline were lock downed Cobras providing direct fire on the enemy. Every shot from the railgun produced brilliant flashes of white light. Next to the Cobras were machine gun positions. Soldiers manned them, providing suppressive fire.
Set up behind the ridgelines were those new Kodiak mobile artillery vehicles. They had orange warning lights on the top, constantly flashing every time they fired an artillery round. Crews unloaded canister shells and loaded them in giant brass piles. They placed fresh shells from metal containers onto the Kodiak track, and the automatic loader readied them up.
Explosive flashes and stadium style lights provided an aurora of pale white lights to the makeshift FOB the Army had established along the MSR. The FOB itself, surrounded by unused Warthogs and Kodiaks, was composed of a handful of Elephants.
The convoy turned on their headlights. They began to slow down, and a couple soldiers guided the vics to a staging point next to a heavy elephant recovery vehicle. A few UNSC and Turian soldiers were gathered around what looked like a shabby holo-display surrounded by stadium lights and supply boxes. The convoy stopped, and team leaders began to step out. Dubbo got out with them.
He was joined by the two 19th Battalion Lieutenants, Rookie and Dutch, along with Lieutenant Quinruis and one of the Spartan Team leaders, Lieutenant Paul DeMarco or something like that.
One of the soldiers had his helmet off, and Dubbo could see stars on his brownish-tan collar. Two silver stars on each side. Like all the other soldiers, his brownish-tan gear was bulky and heavy with visible black clasps. Unit and deployment patches on their shoulders. Baggy gray trousers and ACU-patterned cammie long shirts underneath.
Christ, mate. Army really brought a major general out here to deal with this? Fucker was there in the Great War. Heavy scars and deep dark circles around his eyes. He's bald and looked constantly pissed off. He's maybe in his late fifties, early sixties. Still, he had a hard-chiseled face that looked like he PTed every damn hour.
"General, Sir." Dubbo was the first to say. The three took off their helmets. Spartan Marco joined them. He kept his helmet on, keeping his distance. Dubbo also noticed the Turian general. Generals usually had black armor with red outlines. He had pure black eyes, and almost looked as pissed off as the general. "Task Force Assassin reporting. 'Ere ready to punch through."
"Lieutenant." The Major General said in a gruff and scratchy voice. "This is Praetor General Veritus, C.G for the Ninth Combat Legion. They'll be the main assault force until the 501st Infantry arrives. Our Kodiaks and Cobras will begin a diversionary bombardment, and Air Force Short Swords will make sure those zombie fucks die a second time. Once bombardment is complete, Ninth LC will begin their assault and try to punch a path for you from MSR Bronze to Burning Dog."
"Aye, sir." Dubbo, Dutch and Rookie responded in near unison. Lieutenant Quinruis saluted Praetor General Veritus and he saluted back.
Guess they salute in the field…
"Spirits be with you." Veritus said to the command group. "Get those men out of there. We'll destroy as many Reapers as we can."
Dubbo nodded. The group stepped out of the little area, into the black. Christ, the boundary between the white lights and the blackness was almost like a wall.
He placed his helmet back on. The HUD activated. He looked over to Dutch and Rookie. "Ya men all good?"
The two nodded. Lieutenant Paul DeMarco walked over. "My team is ready for insertion."
Fuck, mate. He sounded like a Spartan. A voice too deep and too serious as if he was constantly trying to show off.
"Sorry, mate?" Dubbo responded.
"We can punch in now and reach the convoy, begin Cole Protocol procedures." Paul DeMarco explained. He could tell he didn't want to hear Dubbo's bullshit.
"Let you big boys loose?" Dubbo asked. "In between you and the convoy is more half-a-klick of fuckin' no man's land."
Christ, mate. Everywhere surrounded the convoy had to be fuckin' no man's land at this point.
"Don't think so, mate. You heard da general. We're standing by and we we ain't having arty stop so your team can slip past."
Paul DeMarco began to speak. "Understandable, Lieutenant, but we have another mission. Cole Protocol is a priority. If you-"
"Oui, shut the fuck up ya boot." Dubbo retorted. "I get it, mate and so does the general, but if we stop the arty, we're risking lives, mate. You want to argue with the general, fine by me.
"Take it up with Palmer." Dubbo added… He hoped he could cover up his unsurety with that shammy jarhead anger. "I don't fuckin care what rank you 'ave, or if you're one of the Navy's freaks." Dubbo wanted to say Spartan, but he had to remind himself that these weren't Spartans. "I have the billet. Try that shit on me again and I'll take you out to the fuckin' tree line."
...
Operation Sun God, Surface of Thessia, Alternate RV Zulu
August 30th, 13:28
"Tali, do you read me?" Shepard said on the team comms.
"Barely, but yeah." Tali said. "We've gathered a few Asari stragglers… Barely nine people, but it's something."
Tali's team was only a klick away from the Temple, standing by with the Reaper destroyer in sight.
The doors opened up and the Spartan team was the first out, clearing their sectors.
It led them to an open park. A grassy field with sparse trees and what looked like a small playground. Shepard could see the Temple in the far distance. A massive structure that overshadowed every other building in the city, though it looked similar to any other Asari skyrise. A large, round base with an elongated spire. Bright purple and blue signal lights. Shepard could see strange sharp angles and cuts within the spire, releasing a dim blue light.
This was the closest route they could get to the Reaper destroyer without being spotted.
The ground began to rumble. There was an electronic boom that sent a shockwave throughout Shepard's body. It tore down unstable structures. Debris and rubble fell to the earth.
The destroyer was close.
"Normandy, do you copy?" Shepard said.
"Roger that, Commander." Joker responded. "We're on standby. Call the shot, and we'll do what we can."
...The team had taken down a couple Reaper destroyers in the past, but usually it involved nearly an entire fleet or a Thresher Maw. Never had they went in like this nearly bare bone.
"Talon Swarm, priority uniform x-ray. Requesting Talon one-five, flight of two. Immediate CAS on quadrant coordinates…" EDI began to input forward air traffic and firemission orders on the FAC and local Asari fire channels.
Shepard's team moved out. The Spartans were already a couple hundred meters ahead, near the edge of the park.
"Showoffs." Wrex commented. "You actually believe they can take down that destroyer?"
"They seem pretty confident." Shepard responded as the squad pushed the clearing to the edge of the park.
"I'll admit, this ain't like taking down a Thresher Maw."
"Nervous?" Samara asked.
"No. I'm just not stupid." Wrex replied. "I know the UNSC thinks highly of them, but we should seriously start thinking of a backup plan when things go to hell."
"Are you saying there's a possibility it won't?" Liara replied.
Wrex grunted. The team reached the edge of the park to a connecting alleyway.
Blue Team was nowhere in sight. They probably took another alley.
"Tali, what's the status of that Destroyer?" Shepard asked. The team headed up the alley, getting closer and closer to the Temple.
"It's scorching nearly anything that's trying to reach the Temple." Tali replied. "It's pretty much formed a no man's land between the residential area and the Temple. It's almost like they're quarantining the place."
Quarantining?
That word made Shepard's heart skip a beat, and he wasn't sure why.
He could see a clear pale-yellow light at the end of the thin alley, maybe about five hundred meters away. The walls of the alleyway grew smooth and black. The pale-yellow light, the way out, seemed to grow smaller. His squadmates slowly disappeared.
He could barely move anymore. He had to stop running. It felt like he was out of breath. His armor was constraining.
There is still time to turn back… A voice said… Shepard wasn't sure what it sounded like, where it came from.
Something ran into him from behind. The blackness immediately faded away. His squadmates were back, and the pale-yellow light faded away from view, morphing into a white color
He turned around. It was Liara.
She regained her footing. "Shepard, are you alright?" She placed a hand on his shoulder.
Shepard wearily shook his head, said nothing else and turned back to the alley. He continued to run forward. Liara stayed by his side.
And they entered the alleyway, and…
"Oh...Oh my Goddess…" Liara said…. Her voice was shaky and on the verge of tears.
He could see the tears forming in her eyes. Tears that she had to hold back. Tears that will have to be saved until after the mission.
The buildings that surrounded the temple…parks, apartments...homes, were nothing but…. not even rubble. It was just pure flat, translucent glass. They emitted a reddish-orange glow, as if fires were raging underneath.
Shepard grasped Liara's hand, and the squad had to keep moving.
In the horizon above, what had to be fifty meters up sitting on an elevated artificial plateau, was the Temple.
No Man's Land. There was no cover between here and the Temple. Absolutely barren. Anything that crossed would be easily spotted.
In the corner of Shepard's eye was the Reaper destroyer itself. All he could see was the curved crown that creepily matched the design of the temple architecture.
Shepard and his team began the dead sprint to the Temple. The Destroyer roared that terrifying and deafening electric screech. It was only five-hundred meters away…
Shepard knew they were spotted.
All part of the plan.
...
"Talon one-five, this is SSV Normandy, Entering the AO, angels one, armed for bear. Two javelin disruptor torpedoes, twenty shots apiece. Magnetic-Hydrodynamic Weapon, ten second bursts. Point defense weapon, ten second bursts. We'll call the shot, east to west." Joker said over comms.
"Roger, Normandy, you have the ball. Standing by." One of the gunship pilots replied.
Tali could hear the sonic boom of the ship, and she could tell on sound alone it was definitely the Normandy. And it was the greatest relief she had the entire time planetside.
Grunt held a large yellow weapon with a radiation symbol on the side. Commonly called the M-920 Cain, it was colloquially called 'the nuke launcher.'
Guess she was about to find out why.
He smiled as he aimed the weapon, antsy to try it out. Thane and Ashley held their standard rifles, ready to provide the little support they had.
They were stationed along the third floor of a battered apartment building that was at the edge of no man's land. Along the other windows was the squad of Asari soldiers they picked up along the way. Everyone was still, preparing to fight.
Against a Reaper.
Boshet.
Fuckin' Boshet.
Was she scared? Hell yeah she was scared. She was terrified. She was always terrified. They all were. The only reason she's able to stand against so much was because the crew was with her. Without them….
She spotted four small figures running across the barren glass, stepping over heated shards that were once homes and... quite possibly people.
The Reaper Destroyer spotted them. It turned towards them.
It took the bait.
...
They lost Shepard's squad a little ways back, but they know the plan. They should be fine…
The supply pods rain from the sky, and the hatches popped open, revealing CQC weapons and jetpacks. At least Spartan Miller was good at acquisitions.
The pods had landed in front of what looked like a small wall made of concrete.… The Chief knew past that wall was nothing. Nothing but smoldering glass.
The Chief equipped the jetpack, traded in his sidearm for the shotgun. He loaded up on a couple rounds of explosive ordnance. Kelly and Fred were done quickly and stacked up against the wall. Linda seemed to hesitate for a moment. She shouldered her sniper, took one of the shotguns.
Intel on the Reaper Destroyer type was spotty. There could be a full battalion of infantry in there, or there could be nothing.
The Chief and Linda ready upped, stacked up against the wall with Kelly and Fred. The ground vibrated, and the Chief could hear a loud electronic scream in the distance, maybe at most four or five-hundred meters away.
Behind this wall was essentially what was called a 'no-man's land.' A large, mostly flat surface area without any cover or areas of defilade. Under constant bombardment and enemy watch, any tactic would advise avoiding this area at all costs. But according to the Normandy scans, the destroyer had essentially cut off the temple from the rest of the Residential area.
This plan was their only option.
"Spartan Blue Team to Normandy shore party, hal copy?" The Chief said on comms.
"Shore party here, standing by." A heavy accented voice said on the other hand. The Quarian, Tali, if he remembered correctly.
"Are you in position?"
"Yup. We're here. Shepard's team is almost in position. He'll contact you once he's ready."
Standby.
The Chief didn't want to standby. He didn't want to wait. That gave him too much to think about. Too much to observe as he kneeled down behind the eight-foot perimeter wall of another natural park.
Surrounding the team were patches of bright green grass that were still left untouched, peacefully swaying in the wind. Out in the distance were the burning buildings of the city. And beyond that were peaceful snowcapped mountains, seemingly untouched by any sort of war.
...He wondered what this place was like before the invasion…
Almost like Reach…
Almost like Elysium...on Erdinaus II.
...He didn't know where that thought came from. Accompanying that thought was an image. An image of a park much like this. There's a playground. The air was quiet. The sky was pure blue. And the buildings in the distance were intact… But the same mountains were there.
There were kids around the playground. Human kids. He's on top of this...grey jungle gym dome. He's standing… He recognizes all of them. All but two people who are merely watching from a short distance. A man and a woman. Dressed in dark civilian clothes. The woman is holding a coin… He couldn't describe their faces.
There was a hand placed on his shoulder. It was Fred's but...he wasn't geared up. He was...dressed in civilian clothes. He was...he was small.
And the Chief… John was scared. Not scared, nearly…. nearly petrified. He couldn't move...He couldn't feel his body…
"Commander Shepard to Blue Team. Interrogative. What is your status?" His radio chirped.
There is still time to turn back… Fred said...It didn't sound like him though. His mouth didn't move.
John had to go over the wall…
He didn't want to.
...
The Reaper destroyer was hit by what looked like a miniature warhead. It stumbled back, losing its balance. Shepard and his squad continued to push towards the wall of the Temple.
He heard a sonic boom above, followed by the echoey sounds of an incoming aircraft in the fair distance.
A beam of pure blue light hit the upper half of the Reaper destroyer. From behind the horizon of burning buildings and contested skies, two Asari Mantis gunships swooped down and began to provide close air support. They flew directly overhead. Rapid machine gun fire ignited from their main cannons. Empty eezo cartridges rained down. Missiles interlaced. A ringing sound began to play in Shepard's ears. It grew louder and louder.
Maybe he should wear his helmet more often.
They made it the plateau wall. Wrex was the first one there. He slammed into the concrete and tried to squish himself into whatever defilade he could find. The rest of them hit the wall. Samara began to look for a ladder or stairs that will take them to the Temple ground level. Shepard looked out to no man's land.
Where the hell was Spartan Blue Team? They should be here by now.
The Normandy passed by overhead. It's main cannon ceased fire. The blue beam of light cut off. It passed over the destroyer. Following the Normandy were the disruptor torpedoes, hitting numerous areas on the destroyer.
"This is SSV Normandy, gun run complete. Pushing to angels two. Stand by as we realign the shot." Joker reported.
Talon Swarm still laid on the pressure, combined by the admittedly mostly ineffective small arms fire from Tali's team. The destroyer was having trouble getting back up.
"Commander Shepard to Blue Team. Interrogative. What is your status?" Shepard yelled into the comms.
No response. Just static. They were nowhere to be seen. The Destroyer was slowly gaining traction, slowly beginning to rebalance itself on its four legs.
"Interrogative. WHERE THE HELL ARE YOU!?" Shepard screamed.
The Reaper utilized its back legs to stabilize. The Mantis gunships began to peel off. The Reaper destroyer fired its main cannon. A beam of red light partially engulfed one of the Mantis gunships. The gunship was spinning out of control, fire all over the hull and engines.
"Mayday! Mayday! Mayday! Talon one-five-one going down! Eject- Oh GODDESS!" The gunship tried to maneuver out of the way of no man's land, only to clip a building and crash somewhere in the residential area.
The other Mantis maneuvered out of the way, heading to the residential area.
"Talon One-Five, we have a bird down. Egressing out of the AO! We're getting out of here!" She sounded panicked, and before she made it to the safety of the skyline, the Reaper destroyer opened fire again. In a split second, the other Mantis gunship fell from the sky in shards of broken, burning metal.
Samara found a ladder, and soon enough she was making her way up.
"EVERYONE UP THE LADDER! IT'S OUR ONLY SHOOT!" Shepard ordered. There was no other option. It was suicide to try and make it back to the residential area, and if they stayed here they were dead. "TALI, COVER US! JOKER, WE NEED YOU ON DECK NOW! FULL GUN RUN!"
He had no idea where Spartan Blue Team was, but two gunship crews were now dead. And they might be next
Another miniature nuclear rocket hit the destroyer, but it was prepared for it. It merely stunned it this time.
"EDI! CAN YOU TRACK DOWN BLUE TEAM! WHERE ARE THEY?!"
EDI's voice came on the line. "Negative, Shepard. I think we lost them."
...
I think we lost them…
And now he was there, on that grey lab table in that dark light. Surrounded by the surgeons and lab technicians and specialists….
And he could still feel everything they did to him. How his blood scorched his veins, skin ripped apart… The drills in the temple of his head.
Would you watch them die?
He could feel the hand on his shoulder…
Not yet.
And...and he was back on Erdinaus II. In those quiet, endless tall grass fields shrouded in blue light. He could feel the soft dirt on his skin as he laid down. The endless dark blue and black sky with infinite stars. The mountains in the far horizon.
Yael Parisa was laying down a foot away from John.
Do you think we'll ever meet them?
I hope so. Do you?
They began to scream.
"Chief!?" Fred said. His voice was cracking and he was...panicked. And…
Time to go.
And John expected to see a small, scared child...or at most a child in the ancient bodysuit gear they wore on their first few missions. An unsure image of what Fred once was.
But...he was in Spartan armor. His face was invisible under the orange visor.
There was an explosion up above. The Chief looked up and saw the ruins of a gunship crash into the building. Debris rained down.
"CHIEF!" John knew Fred could command the rest of the team, but with the Chief here, absolutely silent, command was completely out of Fred's hands.
The team was scared now.
"This is Blue Team! We're here!" Fred said on the comms. "We don't know what's wrong with our tracker…"
And without a word, the Master Chief stood up, as rubble continued to fall onto the ground. He threw away his assault rifle. It would only slow him down. He gripped the foregrip of the shotgun and climbed the wall. His feet hit the glass. The glass cracked under his metal boots. He saw the Reaper destroyer, about six-hundred meters away. He saw Shepard's squad at the wall of the Temple, beginning to climb up a service ladder.
And without a word, the rest of his team joined him. Armed only with shotguns and pistols. Even Linda got rid of her sniper rifle.
And without a word, he began to sprint towards the destroyer. The glass crushed underneath his feet with every step. The destroyer turned towards his team.
It fired its laser. The Chief jumped out of the way, and continued his dead sprint. Kelly was right next to him. She could outrun all of them, but she remained with them.
They quickly closed the distance, traveling maybe thirty, thirty-five klicks an hour.
The Reaper fired its cannon again. A beam of light traveled across the sea of glass. The Spartans jumped out of the way, and still kept running.
"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!? YOU HAVE NO COVER!" Shepard screamed on the comms.
The Spartans activated their jetpacks, and lifted into the air. The destroyer didn't move, so sure that it could take on four ground soldiers.
They quickly rose around seventy-five meters into the air. The cannon tried to fire at Fred, but he maneuvered out of the way.
There was one main weak point on the Destroyer according to the schematics. The section underneath its main cannon. It had to unshield a portion of its body to utilize its cannon, leaving it vulnerable.
The Spartans fell towards the Reaper. The Chief lead forward with his shoulder. There was an electric charge that depleted his shields for a brief moment. They passed through the kinetic barriers.
He could see the weaker metal and rows of black cables underneath the eye. His body hit the metal. Nearly two tons of force crashed through the outer layer.
It was absolutely dark. Pitch black. He didn't even bother to turn on his night vision. He began to claw at metal and circuits, ripping and tearing deeper into the destroyer. He used his legs to push himself further.
He felt some type of liquid pour onto his armor. It didn't matter. He continued to push through. Circuits began to spark, providing quick sources of light for their brief existence.
He was completely cocooned inside the main Reaper structure. He clawed at more metal. It came apart like soft rock under his strength.
He continued, reached his hand out. He felt a small opening.
Almost there. He ripped out more groupings of wire and metal. His arm was free. He used his legs to jump through the wall of circuits. He fell onto a floor, in a unlit room.
He got up and turned on nightvision. It looked like he was on a support platform lined with railings. He raised his shotgun, kept the light off so he wouldn't alert hostiles.
He wasn't sure where his squad was. They were either still pushing through, on some other section of the destroyer, or missed their target altogether. Though he doubt the last possibility was likely. The destroyer wasn't that big.
He pushed down the hallway, checking his corners. It was eerily silent save for his boots clunking on the metal floor.
He turned a corner, and saw a small red light up ahead.
There was little information on the interior from the schematic. He assumed though it had to be something important.
And he felt it…
Something grasping his armor. A presence, a cold and silent presence...
And it was dead.
He turned around, weapon ready. Nothing.
He knew what it was.
Reclaimer…. The voice said from inside his audio feed.