Chapter 10 - Interdictione vetustius
September 16th, 2544 (17:32 Hours – Military Calendar)
Ulterin System, Miridem
Matin Province, Continent of Vitre
3 Kilometers East of New Memphis
:********:
Where had those Guns even come from?
That was the question on everyone's mind and the one Duncan wanted answered most. That, and how had the Covenant done it without anyone noticing? The security breach that entailed was almost nauseating. It could only mean that the Covenant had started attacking UNSC logistical satellites to prevent them from detecting their movements in the outskirts. Those remaining to spot the eight Tyrants were likely only moved into place because of that diminishment of observation capacities.
It was decided that 1st platoon would split up. Squad Echo would diverge to attack the Tyrant less than 2 kilometers to their Southeast while Epsilon attacked the second another kilometer South.
"We get the job done and we're out of there." The Staff said.
"Hope the evac doesn't leave us behind." Deaks huffed as he inspected his rifle.
"One way or another we're getting out of here, Corporal. Count on it."
But Duncan wasn't counting on it, not strongly. As Zack had told them from reports over SATCOM, there were Covenant forces assembled near the area where they were heading, at least 10,000 strong. When he compared those numbers against 20 ODSTs it sounded more like long odds the longer he thought about it. What was to stop those reinforcements from coming over once they saw their Tyrants going up in smoke, that is, if they destroyed them at all?
From his studies on ONI-cleared documents about Covenant weaponry, the Type-38 possessed an inner core with a pinch fusion reactor. They would have to destroy the core in order to take out the Gun. That said, if they incidentally dropped the core's containment barrier just as the Tyrant prepared to fire then they would be at risk of receiving a 200 rad dose of radiation. Under those conditions their armor would do them little good.
The Staff called in. "Here's the rundown. Nova, Deaks, Heck, Rico, Zack, you're with me. Yuri will drop us off about 20 meters out. We'll target the Pylon first so Yuri can provide us with some air cover. Then we'll push for the AA and hit the core before we exfil."
"Sounds like a plan." Nova said.
"What about me, sir?" Duncan asked.
The Staff answered by stepping out of the copilot seat and walking into the blood tray. "I'll show you. You and Heck come help me with this."
Duncan and Hector glanced at each other and got up. They hopped on top of a few seats with the Staff and reached into the overhead netting. Duncan gripped the smooth metal surface of a triple barreled weapon. He worked with the Staff and Hector to pull it out then hefted it onto the floor.
The descendent of several dozen renditions of the original 19th century Gatling gun, the AIE-486 Heavy Machine Gun was a monster to behold and even more so to lift. The three-barreled weapon came with its own advantages. First were the two defensive palisades on the sides that gave it the appearance of a Frilled Neck Lizard. Second was the deployable tripod that came compacted against the main body.
Hector whistled as he and Duncan hoisted the weapon up near the doors for the Staff to pull out the tripod. "First we find a Jetpack and then a hot piece like this, I might just become a pilot at this rate."
"I wouldn't suggest that for you my friend." Yuri chimed in. "Its harder than it looks, I just make it look easy."
The Staff fixed the last leg in place then patted the multi-barreled weapon like a pet. "This is yours, Iris. You'll stay on with Yuri to provide fire support from above."
Duncan grasped the handles with both hands, flexing his thumbs over the two triggers. It was a comfortable, reassuring kind of feeling, and it reminded him of the last time he'd used a machine gun back during the escort mission on Reach. This time he'd actually get the chance to fire it. "Understood, sir."
"Hey Staff, can I call dibs after him?" Hector asked.
"Focus on your own job, Heck." The Staff replied and walked back into the cockpit. Beyond the window, the hills gave way to natural lanes of forested escarpments that formed deep valleys with running rivers. It was hard to spot anything other than that through the dense, deciduous forestry. "How're we looking, Match?"
Yuri shrugged as he steered them along. "We've got 'nother 900 meters to our target. We'll see Echo's AA in 30 seconds." He pointed to a monitor that showed the other squad's Pelican 100 meters to their left. It flew at a lower altitude, barely skimming over the tops of the trees. "Echo-7 has them staying low in case they have Shades on perimeter. I still think it's not good idea because any Covies nearby could spot them."
The Staff watched the other dropship whisp over the treetops, leaving behind a wake of waving pines. "Ep-1 to Echo-1, you sure about your altitude?"
"Don't worry about us, Staff." Joels said. "We'll be quick enough to get away from anything on the ground that hears us coming…speaking of which."
The Staff caught on and looked out the window. Sure enough, about 300 meters to their left, he saw the silhouette of a Tyrant. It sat in an open area of the forest.
"I see it." The Staff said.
"Guns up people!" Joels barked to his squad. "Boots on the ground in-"
The world, for a moment, seemed inverted as rain began to fall from the ground below to the sky above. It took the Staff a full-second to realize it wasn't rain, but plasma that shot up from the forest floor towards the Pelicans. He winced as a burst flashed past the cockpit. Looking down he spotted several disc-shaped emplacements firing at them. "Shades! Yuri, evasive maneuvers!"
"Da!"
Yuri weaved the Pelican left then right and up to avoid geysers of plasma fire.
The Staff braced himself while everyone in the blood tray fought to restrain themselves in their seats. He looked at the monitor showing Echo's Pelican just as directed plasma slashed through the fusion drives on its starboard side. The engines exploded, bucking the dropship to port. It made a violent turn towards the distant Tyrant then began a rapid descent, bleeding a trail of smoke.
"Echo-1!"
There was no reply as the damaged Pelican screamed down towards the surface. The pilot, Echo-7, seemed to be fighting to maintain control as he used their thrusters to slow them down. Regardless, the craft hit the ground at 100 kilometers per hour, bounced on impact then came back down, skidding across the forest. It ploughed through trees for several seconds before slamming into the base of an escarpment.
It sat like a dead bird on the forest floor, leaving a long scar in its wake.
"Echo-1?" The Staff asked, summoning all his strength to sound calm. There was no reply. "Ep-1 to Echo-1, respond, over."
Again, no answer.
"Ben come on...say something."
A total of five seconds elapsed with nothing but static. Then, slowly he made out Joels' voice as the man shouted orders between fits of coughing. He was telling someone to check on Echo-7, then after receiving an answer, told them to move the body into the cargo bay.
"Echo-1 to Ep-1, we're down one man but we're still kicking, over." Joels said.
The Staff sighed with relief, or whatever relief that could be found after seeing troopers shot out of the sky, or the Shade fire that still leaped up at his own Pelican. "Hold your position, we'll pick you up."
"Don't." Joels coughed. "No time. We're only a jog away from the Gun. You keep on going. Just pick us up after we're done, over?"
The Staff considered it for a moment. He exhaled again, although this time with concern.
"Is that the sound of you doubting my squad, Staff?" Joels asked with a hint of a challenge.
"Not a chance, Sergeant. We'll be back for dust-off in 20 minutes. Hit'em hard and hit'em fast."
"We don't know any other way, Staff." Joels said as the sound of moving hydraulics indicated that the cargo bay door had opened. "Move out Echo! Staff says we've got 20 minutes! Let's go!"
:*******:
Duncan couldn't see as they neared the Tyrant but felt it in the way that the Pelican stopped moving evasively. He felt little relief, however, especially knowing what happened to Echo. The thought that they might still get shot down made him tighten his grip on the machine gun.
"We hit paydirt in 20 seconds." The Staff said. "Get ready. Once we're done here then we head back for Echo."
Duncan could hear the rest of the squad reloading their weapons. He felt it through his feet as they started to descend and counted off the seconds: 15…10…5…
He took a steadying breath as the Pelican's descent stopped and the door opened. Evening sunlight streamed in, illuminating the cargo bay. Duncan took in the sight of the slightly sloped ground they were hovering over that led up to another rocky escarpment about 100 meters away. Sitting in a small plateau at less than half that distance was the towering purple structure that was their target, its image slightly distorted behind the blue dome of an energy shield.
"Move out!"
The others streamed past him and dropped a meter to the ground. They fanned out and made for the labyrinth of scattered tree-cover and boulders leading towards the AA from the encompassing forest.
Yuri rose the Pelican another 30 meters into the air then fell into a holding pattern around the target area.
"Look out for Banshees." Yuri said. "We didn't see any on way in but doesn't mean they're not out there."
"Roger." Duncan swept his weapon's circular targeting reticle across the ground while occasionally glancing up at the horizon. The skies were clear. The same couldn't be said for the ground.
He pulled down the triggers and spooled up the gun. Half a second later he was spewing armor piercing rounds at the several squads of Grunts, Jackals and Elites emerging from the energy shield to face the rest of Epsilon. They quickly fell out of his sight as Yuri kept on the patrol route.
"Yuri!"
"I see them." Yuri swiveled back around to strafe the ground. The Pelican's rotary cannon spat high caliber rounds into Covenant forces nearest to the squad. Bloodied gas masks and dismembered Jackal limbs flew. Once they passed over, Duncan gained a clear line of sight and pressed two of the Elites still fighting. Their shields fell quickly before they succumbed to the rain of fire, leaving them in splattered ponds of blue blood.
A few fired at the dropship, prompting Duncan to dip his head to avoid the occasional needler round.
Yuri turned for another strafing run and the rotary cannon belched out a second barrage. Once they passed over, Duncan spotted a trio of Jackals trying to flank around a boulder where Zack and Rico were taking cover. He wasted them in several seconds of continuous fire. He swiveled the gun sites onto the two Elites holding off Nova and the Staff as they pushed for the shield. The Elites' personal shields shattered under the heavy concentration of fire and their bodies flew apart under the onslaught.
Without a moment's reprieve, a Ghost sped out from the domed shield. Three more raced out behind it to stop the ODSTs' advance.
"Cover!" The Staff said. The rest of Epsilon quickly slipped behind more of the boulders before the Ghosts opened up, spitting out lanes of plasma across the area.
Duncan was about to help out when an all too familiar rurring noise came to ear. He glanced at the shield in time to see two Banshees emerging from either side. They quickly turned towards the Pelican.
"Banshees!" Duncan said.
"Focus on Ghosts." Yuri said. "I take care of Banshees."
Yuri turned about to face the flyers head on, stuttering out 40-millimeter responses against the streams of plasma fire that flew past and cutting down one of the Banshees in turn.
Duncan held on as the dropship swerved to the right to let a plasma torpedo sail past, all the while shooting down at the enemy vehicles moving below. One Ghost had already been taken out and sat as a burning wreck. He focused on another driving past it and got a clear shot on the driver, throwing the Grunt pilot clear of the craft.
He followed the exhaust trails of the third Ghost that was speeding along. He focused on the front of the craft. Blue flames and smoke flickered to life over the hull a moment before the entire thing ignited, turning the Ghost into a small fireball.
Duncan moved to target the last one when the final Banshee raced only a few meters overhead, then suddenly aileron flipped downward. It arced down, twisted then curved upwards, stopping seven meters from Duncan. He opened fire while plasma splashed against the lower part of the cargo bay door.
He managed to wound its fuselage enough to make it bleed smoke but it suddenly launched a torpedo aimed straight for him. Duncan's visor brightened at the approaching green comet.
There was seemingly an angel on his shoulder that day, his name being Yuri, who suddenly cut out the Pelican's engines, sending them falling towards the ground and allowing the torpedo to fly past.
In the two seconds before the engines shut back on, Duncan kneeled with the machine gun and stabbed two seconds of continuous fire into the Banshee's underbelly, finishing it off in an explosion of purple flames.
As the dropship settled back into a proper holding pattern, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Hey Ep-5."
"Da?"
"Thanks man, seriously."
"Pozhaluysta, it's what I do."
Duncan peered out again at the ground. The fourth Ghost had already been finished off, probably by Rico's grenade launcher. The squad was at the edge of the energy shield. They waited until Zack hustled up alongside them.
"On my mark." The Staff said. "Three…two…mark!"
The troopers dashed through the barrier and were immediately met with resistance from three Grunts manning plasma cannons on the pylon's observation deck a short stretch away. They sprinted for cover behind nearby boulders.
"Ep-3!" Staff said.
"Copy." Deaks slinked out from behind his boulder, aimed and shot each Grunt once in the head. The cannons quickly fell silent.
"Move up."
The ODSTs sprinted the last 20 meters to the energy pylon. While the others took up defensive positions behind its tripodal support struts, Rico moved to each strut individually to plant C-7 charges along the pylon's energy supply systems. He planted the last one, hit the timer and gave the Staff a thumbs up.
"Fall back." The Staff ordered. "Ep-5, get ready for open skies, over."
"Matchstick copies." Yuri said.
They retreated to a safe distance. After ten seconds the charges detonated. The explosion channeled up the pylon's energy supply chain into the central tower, consuming it in a flash of blue flames that chimneyed into the sky.
The energy shield flickered then dissipated, leaving the Tyrant fully exposed.
The ODSTs moved for the final target. The Pelican's shadow overtook them as Yuri flew in.
The dropship turned around so Duncan could get a better view. He swept his gun across the second floor and the base structure beneath. Nothing moved save for the architecture's pulsating turquoise lights.
He'd been checking the base' entrances when several figures bounded out of the opposite side. He tried to track them but found it nearly impossible. They appeared as three white flashes shifting cover from dead trees to boulders, sprinting or rolling away, always staying out of sight.
"Ep-8 to Ep-1, I'm seeing several enemy contacts setting up positions ahead of you."
"Classification?" The Staff asked.
"Can't tell, they're moving too-"
He froze as his targeting reticle settled on an Elite in white armor, aiming a Fuel Rod Cannon right back at him. Its glowing, eye-like visor stared him down, its crimson-accents giving him the impression of freshly drawn blood.
The Ultra fired.
"Incoming!" Duncan shouted.
Yuri swerved to the left, barely dodging the twin fireballs of emerald energy that whisked past. The Elite kept firing, forcing them to jet further left in a desperate bid to evade while Duncan poured down return fire.
By then the other two Ultras were also revealing themselves. One of them shot a Concussion rifle at Epsilon, forcing them to slide behind what cover they could find across the craggy ground. The pink explosive blasts slammed into their positions, blowing out pieces of dead bark and boiling rock.
The third Elite fired two orbs from its Plasma Launcher that tracked the dropship. While one missed entirely, the other attached itself to the underside of the Pelican's tail. Duncan leaped back as it detonated, tearing a jagged hole into the tail. The shockwave knocked his gun clear off its mount. He jumped over it, letting the weapon slide past the unconscious Lieutenant Commander until it hit the cockpit door.
Yuri looked back from his seat. "Where'd they hit!?"
Duncan looked at the smoke billowing from the tail like a deep hemorrhage. "The tail!"
"Ep-1 to 5, back off for now! That bird's our only way out of here! We don't need it taking any more hits!"
"Copy!" Yuri said and started steering them away.
Once they were moving off, Duncan spotted something a short distance from the Tyrant itself. Parked ten meters out from the emblazoned energy pylon were two empty Banshees, unguarded.
An idea formed. It was crazy but it could work. He glanced back at the Jetpack on the netting, then at the ground passing below. He would need to either act fast or not at all.
He ran back into the Pelican and pulled out the Jetpack. He threw aside his rucksack, attached the pack to his back harness and saw the device' readouts appear on his HUD. "Yuri, swing around to that pylon and drop me off."
"You crazy!? Staff said to back off!"
"I know, that's why I'm saying drop me off."
"I don't see how…" He stopped as he seemed to put the pieces together, then laughed once he figured out what Duncan was going for. "You really are crazy. I hope you know how to fly those."
Duncan nodded. "Let's find out."
Yuri wheeled the dropship back around and swung over the pylon. With a running start, Duncan vaulted out the cargo bay into the air. There was a solid 30-meter drop to the ground. At 20 meters he engaged the jetpack's thrusters, releasing a controlled burst to slow his descent. He fell to 10 meters, boosted again, then dropped to 5. With a final boost he let himself drop the rest of the way. He spotted the Banshees and made a run for them.
He reached one and leaped into the cockpit. The canopy closed over him and the vehicle hovered off the ground. The windshield display came to life with curling, alien calligraphy so intricate that it brought him to an expected conclusion: he didn't have a clue what he was looking at. Still, he'd done enough Enemy-Equipment Requisition Simulation trainings at Ravenport to identify what he needed: the movement handles and firing studs. The moment he put his hands on them, his smartlink updated his HUD with three-circles and inverted arrows that served as a targeting reticle. While his BDU came with software able to adapt to Covenant weaponry and some vehicles, that was a function few ever used unless old faithful human-equipment wasn't fit for the job at hand. He would have to get used to it on the fly. If all else failed, he could always bail out with the jetpack.
Duncan pushed the Banshee forward, gently at first, then activated the thrusters. He boosted forward and swung the vehicle around towards the Tyrant.
The Ultras were still holding the rest of the squad at bay, pinning them just outside the gun. He switched on his comms. "Ep-8 to Epsilon, friendly Banshee coming in from the Northeast."
The Staff's comm came on with the thundering reverberations of concussion rifle discharges. "Mind telling me what you're doing in a Banshee, Ep-8?"
"Thought it'd be a good idea, sir."
There was a brief pause as the Staff talked with Nova off the comm. He came back on. "See what you can do."
"Roger." Duncan pulled back to gain some altitude then arced down into an attack run. His reticle turned red at spotting two of the three Ultras. He hit the firing studs, raining down bursts of plasma fire. The Elites saw him coming and leaped out of the way in time. He angled right to center his sites on the third firing its fuel rod cannon off at the squad. He switched over to the Banshee's torpedo mode and pressed the firing yoke. A torpedo launched forward and raced down to the target. But the Elite also noticed him coming and fired off two shots at the rogue Banshee before leaping out of the way.
Duncan banked off to avoid the two return shots. He thought he was safe to try again when he spotted several of the bolt-like blue balls from the plasma launcher headed towards him. He did a rough barrel-roll to the left, then to the right to shake them off.
These Elites were fast, he realized, too fast for anything less than a fake out. The odds he'd pull it off were long. Then again, so much up to this point had looked like long odds that it didn't make a real difference. He swung out from the air above the Tyrant and did a semicircle around the area, taking the time to observe the Elite's movements. They leaped around a lot. That, he could use to his advantage. If he timed his attack right then there was at least a chance he could separate them.
He came back around and boosted forward, heading for the Elites' positions near the Tyrant. He swooped down into another attack run. He sighted two Elites, aligned his sites with the closest and let him have it. The plasma strafed its position with some even catching its shields. The alien threw itself behind a boulder, leaving its nearest comrade wide open. Without warning Duncan switched to the torpedo and rolled left to put himself only several meters above the second Elite. He could see as it flinched at his sudden appearance as he fired.
The torpedo easily lanced into the Ultra at near point-blanc range, enveloping it in emerald flames and sending its concussion rifle flying. Its scorched body skidded back a few meters then slid against the Tyrant.
Duncan quickly banked off to avoid a head-on collision with the ground. He skidded across the soil then got back into the air for another pass.
Zack cheered over comms. "Right in the face! Nice one, Irish!"
"You're ballsy, Ep-8, I'll give you that." The Staff said then addressed the rest of the squad. "Ep-2 and 6, hit that one on the left. Everyone else, target the one on the right. Keep them separated."
The squad returned fire. A grenade from Rico bounced between the feet of one of the Ultras. It detonated, bursting its shields. Deaks scored the kill shot. The Elite toppled over, shooting its fuel rod cannon once into the air before collapsing.
Duncan turned his attention to the last Ultra standing in one of the entrances to the Tyrant's base. The Staff, Hector and Zack were already hard at work on its shields. Duncan helped strafe it with his plasma cannons. The moment they popped its shields the Ultra leaped out of the way. Zack tossed a frag after it. A second later the explosion sent the Elite flying past the entrance. It landed in a heap, its plasma launcher tumbling behind it.
The ODSTs, save for Nova, moved up the ramp. They cautiously stepped inside and cleared the interior. Their attention settled on the reactor at the chamber's center. The glowing ball of plasma energy housed inside rippled with electricity, brightening the entire room. The fact it wasn't firing was a good sign. It meant that there were no targets, and by extension, that the Lieutenant Colonel had somehow managed to delay the evacuation.
"Ep-6, get to work." The Staff said.
Rico took out a C-7 charge from his rucksack, primed it and nodded to the others. The Staff tossed a frag against the reactor's energy barrier, blowing it out of the way. The squad's demolitionist tossed the C-7 through the entrance. The explosive went off, instantly creating a secondary detonation as the fusion reactor ruptured. Emergency sirens activated and blared rhythmically.
The troopers jogged back down the ramp and took cover behind a few boulders.
The Tyrant's emergency sirens continued to blare for another several seconds as blue flames and smoke bloomed across its surface. The reactor gave a final high-pitched whine before the entire structure went up in a fiery blossom. Burning debris streaked from the destroyed gun like enflamed pollen, showering the area.
The Staff walked out to take in the sight. "We're done here. Ep-5 bring the Pelican."
"Khorosho."
"Ep-8 and Ep-2 bring those Banshees. They'll come in handy if we run into any trouble."
Duncan who'd been circling around the burning Tyrant was a little confused. He'd thought he was the only one with a Banshee when he spotted a second one ascending into the air baring a friendly IFF.
"We copy." Nova said. "I figured we could use these on the return trip. They're not so bad once you get past the hieroglyphics, Right Ep-8?"
"…Yeah, copy."
Yuri brought the Pelican down outside the ruined AA cannon for them to jog onboard, then returned to the air.
"We'll pick up Echo first then return to New Memphis." The Staff said. "Let's get moving."
The dropship headed out, though not along the way they'd come. Duncan thought that was for the best in case the Covenant laid any traps for them along the way. He tagged along with his Banshee on the Pelican's portside while Nova guarded the starboard side. They arced over an escarpment then moved in the direction of Echo's target.
:********:
Sergeant Joels stared at the reactor before him and took the momentary reprieve, as well as the elation of having made it this far, to cough up the blood pooling in the back of his throat. Some of it splattered over his visor, although he had to admit that it was the least troubling thing he'd seen all day.
The two smoldering holes in his left breastplate was one thing. They were given to him courtesy of a well-aimed plasma burst from an Elite, one of the squad's worth that Echo ran into on the way here. Echo had taken on a defensive force four times their size and won. The only cost was Echo-5 and himself being the only ones left alive to actually make it to the Tyrant. He wasn't sure how long even that would last given his own wounds. The biofoam stung where he'd applied it in the spots where the heated metal of the armor melted then, according to Echo-5, fused to the carbonized flesh just above his heart. In a way, he'd become one with his armor.
He glanced over at Echo-5 who was crouched at one of the nearby doors, surveying the body-strewn area outside with his sniper rifle.
Joels' felt his mind grow hazy. He thought about the Staff Sergeant and Epsilon who were coming to pick them up. His thoughts drifted further to Captain Harper and Squad Eagle who, he felt, would've cheered them on if they were still around.
He fired three-round bursts into the energy barrier in his way, changing its surface from a strong blue to a weak red with each pull of the trigger as he thought of when he was just a recruit shipping off to Camp Lincoln to become an ODST. He thought of the days when he was just a private, the Staff was just a PFC, when the Captain was a Sergeant and life was simpler.
Now here he was, straining to breath and trying to destroy an AA Cannon ready to shoot civilians out of the sky. It wasn't a bad way to go at least, not for a Helljumper.
He knew Echo-5 could still make it, but even if he himself got out of here on Epsilon's Pelican, he'd probably bleed out internally long before they ever reached New Memphis. So he settled for giving the enemy as much hell as he could while he was still on his feet.
No sooner did the barrier finally dissipate and he reached for a frag that Echo-5 started firing. "Where'd he come from!"
Joels looked back to see him shooting through the entrance at an Elite Ultra rushing up the ramp. It evaded the high caliber rounds and pounced at Echo-5. It was close enough for the ODST to shoot a round into its stomach that flared its shields. It carried on regardless to slash its energy sword through his rifle, across his chest and clean through his visor in one swift arc of blood and energy.
Echo-5 toppled back, motionless. The Ultra immediately came at Joels. The Sergeant fired then ducked under a lateral slash, then cracked it in the chin with the stock of his BR, breaking its shields. The Elite staggered back but quickly recovered and yanked the rifle aside. The Sergeant grabbed its arms before it could swing the sword and the two grappled with each other.
Even while strong for a human, he could tell the alien was in a weight class all its own. Still he resisted, straining to push it back.
His comm crackled to life. "Ep-1 to Echo-1, our gun's out. We're on our way. Get your squad ready for pick-up."
Joels couldn't find the strength to answer for more reasons than one, though mostly because the Elite kept trying to get the upper hand. He focused his attention on trying to keep the hand with the energy sword under control. He wasn't in any position to move. If he reached for something with his right then the Elite would snap his neck. If he reached with his left then it would cut him in half. But he spotted the plasma grenade on its belt and caught a thought. It was a suicidal idea which, for a Helljumper, meant it was a good one. He glanced back at the reactor's energy barrier which had already reactivated.
"Ep-1 to Echo-1, respond. We are on our way, over."
"Don't." It took almost everything out of him to say. "Echo's gone. Don't…come…I'm taking out the Gun. Get out of here."
"Echo-1, what's your situation?" The Staff said, sounding more worried. "Echo-"
Joels roared through the blood pooling in his throat. "Get…GOING!"
The Sergeant pushed with renewed vigor against the Elite, flexing every muscle to successfully force it back. It grunted in surprise as he slammed its back against the barrier with enough force to dissipate the energy, winding the Elite in the process. He put everything he had into a final push. Yet the Elite held him at a stalemate. Joels felt himself weakening under the alien's grasp. He refused to back down and headbutted the Ultra over and over until his own blood streamed into his eyes. His opponent's grip slackened, giving him the chance to free his right hand. The Elite seized its own chance to grab his helmet and roughly pulled it free, slicing his face in doing so. He ignored the pain and quickly grabbed the plasma grenade off its belt, activated it and was about to plant it on its owner's chest when the alien warrior grabbed his arm again. The luminous blue orb became the center of a reverse tug-o-war between them.
Joels heard the Staff calling him, although his voice was more distant now. He gritted his teeth and held his head over the Elite's grip on his right arm. Enough of his blood dripped onto the limb for him to slip free. He punched the grenade onto its chest, raised a boot and kicked the alien full force into the reactor. Yet its arms were also free, and as it fell, the Elite lashed out with its energy sword.
Joels felt only a slight sting, a burning in his neck as the world around him spun end over end until it exploded in light.
:********:
Duncan fired a torpedo into the Shade Turret below, finishing it off in an explosion of green flame. He angled back up beside Epsilon's Pelican. Nova did as well after finishing off another of the four Shades that had been guarding the pass they were using to reach Echo.
With the way clear, they emerged out of the pass unscathed.
The second Tyrant appeared less than 500 meters off to their right. Even at this distance Duncan could see the smoke and flame bubbling up from the weapon. The energy pylon must have been taken out as well because it was free to detonate a heartbeat later and send a fine spray of burning debris into the surrounding forest.
Echo had gotten the job done. Now they just had to pick them up. Sure, they might get confused at seeing two Banshees escorting the Pelican but as long as nobody fired a SPANKR, they would all be fine.
"Looks like Echo did it." Nova cheered. "Where do they want to rendezvous? Me and Ep-8 can recon the LZ."
The Staff didn't respond, at least not right away. When he did it wasn't to answer her question. "Ep-2 and 8, we're rendezvousing with the rest of Bravo at the Starport for immediate extraction."
Duncan winced. There was a coldness to the man's voice that wasn't there a minute earlier.
"Sir?" Nova said. "W-, what about Echo?"
The Staff didn't answer.
It slowly dawned on Duncan, and probably on Nova as well, what had likely just happened. They understood then why they had to keep moving. The Staff was never one to leave men behind, not if it could be helped. But they couldn't leave men behind that weren't there to be left behind. Duncan felt a hard-lump settle in his throat and threaten to choke him as he and Nova steered away from the Tyrant's flaming pyre to join the Pelican.
He heard the Staff contact the Lieutenant Colonel over team-comm.
"Sir, the Eastern Guns are down. You're clear to commence the evac to the East."
"Roger. I already saw it via satellite and alerted the Vice Admiral. He's ordering every ship to head East. The Covenant are starting to advance in orbit so we're leaving. You've saved a lot of lives today, Staff Sergeant. Now save your platoon and get back here in 15 minutes, understood?"
"…Yes sir."
They carried on for another kilometer towards New Memphis. To Duncan it felt like they were going nowhere. He felt almost lost in the maze of landmass and forest around him. It was ultimately Yuri's shout that made him alert.
"Banshees incoming!"
He looked out his windshield display and felt a rush of fear. Some ways ahead were a squadron of Banshees that were racing towards them.
"Looks like reinforcements." Nova said with a hint of worry.
"Or just the scouts." The Staff noted. "Ep-5, head 400 meters Northwest. Ep-2 and 8, keep them off of us. Only engage if necessary."
Duncan, Nova and Yuri both flashed their acknowledgement lights. The Pelican veered off to the left while its escorts followed suit. The Banshee squadron similarly readjusted their flight course to intercept.
They met at a mazework of large escarpments.
Duncan quickly found himself making one evasive maneuver after another to avoid plasma fire. Nova was having a harder time of it since her Banshee was already on fire. She rolled out of the way of a torpedo and strafed a passing enemy Banshee, dishing out the same punishment that had been done to her own. As it tried to flee, she fired a torpedo that darted across the sky until it consumed the craft in green flame. That was the second Banshee they'd taken out. Just eight more to go.
The remaining enemy banshees attacked in pairs, two from each direction.
Yuri used his rotary cannon to kill one of the pair brazen enough to risk a frontal assault. Its brother craft veered off its attack run. Duncan fired a torpedo that snaked after it and caught it in its portside canard, biting off a wing. The craft spiraled down towards the ground before disappearing in a puff of purple flame.
Two more came from above to dot his Banshee's fuselage with plasma burns, eliciting small sprouts of flame. Duncan boosted a little then flipped upwards. The maneuver placed him right above the two approaching Banshees. He hammered the closest with an unrelenting stream of plasma then mercilessly pursued it once the two craft broke off. Like a shark after bleeding prey he shot away more of its frame until it blew apart. He flew victoriously through the smoke, only to see the Pelican and Nova already more than 100 meters ahead.
"Move it, Ep-8!" The Staff said.
Duncan spotted the five other Banshees now turning towards him. "Copy!"
He accelerated after them, turning left and left again then rolling right, allowing a tracking torpedo to slam harmlessly into an innocent oak tree.
He shot up alongside the Pelican again.
"Ep-2 and Ep-8, we've got another 3 kilometers before we reach the city. We're headed for a river. Fly ahead and ditch you're Banshees on the banks. We'll move from there."
Duncan knew his flyer wasn't in good shape. Neither was Nova's. Both of them flashed their acknowledgement lights.
The escarpment ahead had a sheer cliff face 300 meters tall. They ascended the steep incline before slipping over the top where it sloped down into a plateau another 100 meters down. There was a river there that dropped off a second cliff, creating a waterfall that fed into another river at the base.
They descended into the basin-like landform and stayed just above tree-level. Duncan and Nova went ahead. As they moved to land on the river's opposite banks, Duncan checked his rear monitor in time to see their remaining pursuers arc over the rear cliff face. "Banshees on our tail!"
"Double time-it, troopers!" The Staff said.
While Nova chose to land further up the bank, Duncan ditched his own a meter above the ground, leaving the craft to crash-land. He hit the ground running. Yuri brought the Pelican overhead with the cargo bay doors already open. He hovered above the river, close enough for Nova to leap aboard.
Duncan sprinted across the bank, pumping his legs with the will of a man knowing death was at his back. He threw himself onto his stomach as a Banshee flew right overhead. He figured the pilot meant to run him over. He took to the skies once it past. The evening shadows of the Banshees appeared over him. He quickly found that he wasn't their focus, however, as they pockmarked the dropship with plasma, forcing Yuri to move further off to the waterfall's edge.
Before Duncan realized it, he was falling out of the sky as his jetpack's engines recycled. He got a final burst to break his fall and plunged into the water. He gave thanks that it was only knee deep.
He sensed the Banshees practically right on top of him. The Pelican was ahead, waiting with its cargo bay open and the others calling out to him. He heard several torpedoes behind him discharged simultaneously.
There was no time.
He used his jetpack and soared over the river's surface.
The Pelican's engines suddenly cut out and it fell. Duncan sped down, past the waterfall's edge, towards the open cargo bay. Above him, four plasma torpedoes hissed past.
Nova was near the edge, reaching up to catch him. He reached as well. One last boost closed the distance. He grabbed her hand and she pulled him inside.
The moment Duncan was in, Yuri reengaged the Pelican's engines and pulled up. They rose out of their vertical descent. They climbed 10 meters over the river and followed its snaking trail through the forest.
Duncan felt happier than he otherwise would have been to be in a blood tray. He nodded at Nova. "Thanks."
"Don't thank me yet." She pointed past him. The squad's attention turned to the three Banshees that zoomed down the waterfall in hot pursuit. The other two banked off and returned the way they'd come.
The trio descended over the forest and gave chase. Yuri's attempts at shaking them met with little effect. They pursued them down different trails with unrelenting determination, forcing the escaping Pelican to duck and weave to evade the occasional torpedo.
"Someone get these Covie flyboys off my tail!" Yuri shouted.
"Epsilon, take on those banshees!" The Staff said as he ran from the cockpit into the open blood tray.
The squad took aim from the floor or their own seats and poured out a hailstorm of fire. With a coordinated strike, they had a greater punch than an LAAG. Even that wasn't out of the question as Hector hefted the machine gun and fired it two-handed.
The first Banshee ignited under the barrage. The second plunged into the river below as one of Rico's grenades disabled its systems. The last one rolled from left to right to dodge. Despite its burning fuselage, it fired off a torpedo that rushed for the open bay.
Yuri expertly twisted left, letting it slip past. Mid-maneuver, Deaks fired a single round that zipped through the craft and speared through the brains of the pilot. The Elite tumbled out, falling into the river while its Banshee tumbled across the bank.
They were clear.
As the doors closed, the Staff ran back into the copilot's seat and switched on the long-range communication suite. "Ep-1 to Neptune-Actual, we're two kilometers out. How much longer do we have?"
"Never mind that Ep-1, the evacuation has already started."
The Staff winced. "Sir, you said we-"
"The situation's changing drastically, Staff Sergeant." Garrison said. "The Covenant must've caught on to the situation on the ground and are pushing for the city on all fronts. Navy's on its last legs in orbit. We're pulling out. Don't bother coming to New Memphis. Accelerate to these coordinates immediately or you will be left behind, do you copy?"
The Staff saw the coordinates stream over his and Yuri's consular displays. "I copy sir, we'll be there."
"We're out of time here, Staff. Move it." Garrison signed off the comm.
The Staff turned to Yuri who nodded in reply.
"Ep-1 to Epsilon, change of plans. Buckle in and get ready for immediate Exoatmospheric ascent."
"We're leaving Miridem now?" Zack asked.
"We are. Now buckle in."
:********:
The ride through the atmosphere was rough. The air inside the dropship grew hotter as Yuri pushed them through towards the stars.
Duncan sat inside the otherwise dark cargo bay. Although Miridem's gravity made him aware that he was technically horizontal, the encroaching vastness of space was about to make that a moot point. He wished it would make it a moot point faster since the blood in his head was draining to one side, making him feel woozy.
Everyone else was silent across the vertically inclined blood tray. Secured in their seats, they watched Miridem's surface grow further and further away through the rear window. They could also see the throngs of civilian ships fleeing from New Memphis into the upper atmosphere. The other ships had used the opening they'd made to flee the planet in a singularly massive, extrasolar convoy bound for the stars. Some were entering slipspace right away. Others waited until they got further out.
Duncan thought about all the families onboard those ships, that had lived on Miridem all their lives and now had to say goodbye to it. But he also thought about Captain Harper and Sergeant Joels, about Eagle and Echo, none of whom had been from Miridem but had died there all the same. He sensed a kind of irony lurking in that fact, although he didn't want to think too hard on it. "How much longer until we reach, sir?"
"Two minutes." The Staff said.
Ahead of them, Duncan saw a Paris-Class Heavy frigate silhouetted against the stars. It bore multiple rugged scars of plasma scoring. Yet it wasn't enough to keep him from making out the name on the hull: Swiftsure.
The docking bay entrance was open and waiting for them. Duncan had just started feeling at ease when emergency sirens came on.
"No-no-no-no-no, not now." Yuri said in a half-whisper.
"What is it?" The Staff asked.
"Covenant ships exiting slipspace…they're close, too close!"
Duncan saw them with his own eyes then. In the distant void of space, dozens of slipspace exit vectors appeared. They deposited Covenant ships out into the atmosphere over Miridem. They kept coming, pouring out of the alternate space like a flood.
He held his breath as a slipspace exit vector suddenly appeared mere kilometers away from scores of escaping transports. From it came a CPV-class Heavy Destroyer. The manta-ray-like ship was colossal at well over a kilometer long. Plasma appeared hot and ready along its lateral lines as it moved for the nearest ships.
:********:
The civilian transport Anchorage wasn't Joan's preferred ship of the line. She had her own personal qualms about its shoddy upkeep. The fact it was hardly maneuverable as well was the final nail in the coffin. Today, however, she was giving it a well-deserved second chance. While it was a poor excuse of a commercial frigate, it was more than able to serve its current purpose as a fireship.
Earlier she had split off this subroutine to take the Anchorage into the upper-atmosphere and keep it in geosynchronous orbit after the last Antimatter Charge was discovered onboard. She was honestly surprised when the bomb failed to detonate or do little else. That left her with nothing more to do except sit there beside the weapon of mass destruction hidden within the passenger section.
Now that the mass exodus had begun, and her core self was being escorted to safety, she saw her chance to do something useful the moment the new Covenant fleet slipped into the system. She focused on the destroyer that was baring down on her escaping human charges.
In the split-second it took her to think it through she figured that the antimatter charge was still primed. She also knew just where to put it.
Her knightly image appeared over the holotank on the Anchorage's darkened bridge as the ship exited from a short slipspace jump less than a few kilometers from the destroyer's starboard side.
It spotted the Anchorage and turned to face it. Plasma heated up along its lateral lines. She watched it fire off two torpedoes that tracked her movements.
She pushed the Anchorage's engines to near critical levels, angling upwards to lengthen the time it would take for the torpedoes to reach her.
She reached her destination first, coming right above the ship's bow. She turned the Anchorage about to present a larger target to the oncoming torpedoes.
Joan held out her sword towards them.
While her core-self would live on, like her predecessor, today she would find both honor and glory in the flames to come.
:*********:
Duncan saw the suicidal civilian transport disappear as two plasma torpedoes struck its portside. Then something happened that he wasn't expecting. The starship detonated with an explosive force far greater than it should have possessed. The Destroyer's shields shimmered under the stress before giving way. The blast rippled across its hull then turned the alien ship into a small star.
The flash lasted less than a second. The CPV reappeared with its bow utterly decapitated and the rest of the hull aglow with raging fires, leaving the last civilian ships to enter slipspace unencumbered.
There wasn't any time to think on it however since they weren't out of danger, not until they left Ulterin.
Yuri expertly slid them inside the Swiftsure's docking bay which closed behind them. They immediately felt the ship shutter, the familiar jarring movement of a slipspace transition.
The door to the internal hanger opened. Yuri piloted them inside and descended onto an available landing pad.
A voice came in over the ship's intercom system. "This is Vice Admiral Tursk to all Swiftsure personnel, we're away."
'We're away'. The words were refreshing in and of themselves. The ODSTs quickly pulled off their restraints. Once Yuri popped the door, Epsilon poured out onto the pad. There were a few other Pelicans and hanger personnel around. That didn't stop Zack from yanking off his helmet, falling to his hands and knees and panting. "That…was too close."
"No kidding." Rico huffed. "Where'd that other fleet come from?"
"Don't know and don't care." Hector said. "We're safe and that's all that matters."
The squad was starting to lighten up when they heard footsteps behind them. There was the click of a weapon's safety being flicked off.
They realized that in their relief they had forgotten something, or rather, someone. They turned to face the now conscious Lieutenant Commander who stood on the lip of the blood tray. She looked unamused as she stared down the Staff Sergeant with her M6 drawn.
She slowly walked down the ramp, keeping her pistol aimed at the Staff. All the while the ODSTs moved out of her way. She stopped at the pad's stairwell but refused to take her eyes off the leader of Epsilon.
"Do you know what they call what you just did, Staff Sergeant?" She asked the question with a calmness that did little to disguise the venom behind the words.
The ODSTs kept their hands unassumingly close to their weapon's triggers.
"They call that insubordination. And in a proper text-book definition of the term, you'd be an example. You've assaulted a commanding officer and allowed an important installation with critical assets to fall into enemy hands, the result of which may lead to incalculable casualties. There's blood on your hands now Staff. How do you justify that?"
The Staff spoke calmly. "There would've been blood on our hands if my platoon did nothing but watch as civies got shot out of the sky one ship at a time…mam."
Cordova shook her head and laughed slightly at what to her must have seemed like a pitiful excuse. "You're not seeing the bigger picture. Do you know that I don't need to have you court martialed, trooper? I am well within my right to shoot you where you stand."
The Staff accepted her words with a casual nod of his head and depolarized his visor. He looked tired, but not as much as he had earlier. "You're absolutely correct. You're well within your right to shoot me right here…in front of my squad." His gaze hardened. "But you're also well within range."
The Lieutenant Commander didn't appear to understand the threat at first until she saw Deaks. The Corporal had his SRS-99 leveled at her head.
Cordova glanced back at the Staff and the rest of the squad who stared her down with a same, reserved lethality. At length she slowly eased her stance and confidently slipped her gun back into its holster. "You, Staff Sergeant, will regret this."
"Do what you have to, mam. I already did what I had to."
Cordova stared him down a moment longer, then turned away, walking down the stairwell. She never turned back around as she walked across the ground floor towards a nearby door.
"You sure about this, boss?" Deaks asked, still tracking her with his sniper. "I mean, there's not that many witnesses around. It wouldn't be too hard."
The Staff put a hand to the barrel of his sniper and gently pushed it down, shaking his head. He turned to the rest of the squad with an exhausted yet genuinely earnest smile. He gave a long, heartfelt exhale.
"You did good out there, Epsilon. I'm proud of you, all of you. Well done."
Interdictione vetustius - Interdiction