Chapter 13 – Fiducia
May 8th, 2545 (17:08 Hours – Military Calendar)
Aquilla System, Actium
High Mediolanum, Republic of Pavia
Mezoline Block
:********:
The Covenant Communications Jammer's sheer versatility made anything in the UNSC com-spectrum seem inferior via three distinct factors: signal suppression, amplification and interception.
With the first setting the device could automatically distinguish different signals such as those on the UNSC E-band versus those on the Covenant BattleNet. It categorized them according to rate of frequency, traffic and overall transmission distance. Then it effectively jammed preselected signals via emitting repetitive electromagnetic waves whose range over a chosen distance increased the signal-to-noise ratio.
The next, amplification, was where the device's modulated CW setting could actually prevent 'unintentional' jamming like radiating signals from electromagnetic radio frequency convergence. It essentially kept different frequencies apart via walls of continuous subsonic emulations targeting 'rogue frequencies'. It would decrease the possibility of transmission overuse that often arose during an emergency situation, thereby making any communication on monitored channels much clearer.
Last was the Jammer's most cunning feature of interception. The device could literally operate between different transmission routes. This was done through blocking those reception frequencies that messages were being sent to then relaying them to a different frequency, a Covenant operator on their BattleNet for example. The new receiver could then utilize that information for their own ends.
That last function made Duncan nervous. It meant, if the Covenant wanted to, they could patch into any detectable human communication's channel not fully secured then hear whatever was being said. The last thing they needed was for an Elite General to overhear the Staff talking to the Colonel about the jammer.
For the time-being the CCJ was carrying out its function of signal suppression and it was Duncan's intent to keep it that way for now.
Ever since his smartlink had established a connection he had found himself in a world of chromosomal characters that substituted for numbers and symbols representing letters and command prompts whose striated appearance was similar to helical DNA strands.
His work revolved around a hexagonal keypad emitted from a holographic projector above the main display. Its individual keys followed a honeycomb pattern that glowed a faint purple with each one he pressed. Around it appeared displays of various other background tasks as well as those he was actively affecting.
At first, he hovered his fingers over each character for the software to detect the patterns and match them against its calligraphic catalogue. Its findings were shown on a miniature screen on his HUD depicting the character and its adjacent English translation. When he typed, suggestions would appear giving him a more refined version of the word or sentence he truly meant relating to an applied function, a kind of Covenant autocorrect.
After he'd spent 10 minutes learning its main features, he began peeking into its database. He gravitated to a record of everywhere the device had been. When the information was presented in holographic form, his smartlink translated the words verbatim, capturing the data in all its religious dogma. Fortunately, he was able to figure out what was basically the equipment's shipping label.
This jammer in particular had been manufactured by 'Assembly Forges' in some place called the 'Urs System'. While the names were unfamiliar, he did recognize the 'CCS' and 'CAS' classifications of the Covenant ships that had carried it. Apparently, this device had been transported around 7 times before its most recent interment aboard the CCS Battlecruiser 'Enduring Clarity' as part of the '2nd Fleet of Theophanic Revelation'.
Duncan logged the information. Chances were high that all this data was a treasure trove for intelligence gathering. But that only made him remember where he had gotten this technology from to begin with.
Stolen or not, Renni did deserve some appreciation for bringing it forward and giving them this opportunity. If UNSC forces ultimately won here today, it would be largely because of her. Still, he kept that fact in the back of his mind out of caution. He wasn't certain how he felt about her most recent reveal or how the others felt.
She was currently at one of the booths behind him dabbing blood off Zack's face. He had complained through most of his biofoam treatment about it stinging his ears. She in turn shut him up by handing over a chocolate bar from her MRE pack.
Hector patrolled around the center, making regularly stops at the front doors opposite the jammer to check the outside lobby. The rest of the squad was securing the tower's last few levels.
But while everyone else was busy, Duncan found himself bored. He had already studied the CCJ's systems and they had another 52 minutes before things got underway.
Then something caught his eye that he hadn't noticed before, a shape behind one of the columns in a nearby alcove. He went over to investigate. As he did, he spotted the cylindrical stump whose silvery-purple sheen and four adjoined 'petals' confirmed its purpose as a Covenant holo-pedestal.
He rested a tentative hand over the dais at the top of the cylinder. To his surprise the glass surface was still warm.
Then slowly it glowed a light blue. Several chromosomal characters appeared and rotated counterclockwise around the rim of the dais. His smartlink established a connection and the translation suite reappeared on his HUD. There were options saying 'Activate', 'Shutdown' and 'Reboot' while displaying the corresponding symbols. He briefly wondered if he should warn the others what he was about to do. After thinking about it, he decided there was no real risk involved. It was a one-way communication's device and it wasn't like it was going to blow up once he pressed it.
He touched the 'Activate' symbol which he already recognized from seeing it on the jammer. A flash of pride went through him as he realized he was genuinely starting to learn pieces of their language.
The moment his forefinger made contact, the entire device came to life, and so did the image of a figure so close that it made Duncan instinctively reach for his SMG.
Then as it clicked that it was only a hologram, he slowly eased up. But as he took a closer look, his eyes widened.
It took him a full second to realize that the projected being sat in a levitating throne. While humanoid, its deeply wrinkled skin and amphibian eyes let him know it was anything but human. Its long arms rested on those of its throne which were only matched by its serpentine neck. Its hunchbacked form sported a purple robe as well as a large, gold headpiece inclusive of an even more sizable shoulder part whose ornate triangular patterns vaguely reminded him of a cordyceps infection. It was that key feature that helped him identify what he was looking at, or rather, who.
It was the ghostly image of one of the Covenant's leadership class, a Prophet.
The figure slowly raised both hands in a universally understood invocation of the heavens, a prayer. It spoke in its alien language with a fluidity that brought Duncan's earlier pride to heel.
He remembered the translation suite came with a link to his helmet's auditory sensors. He turned it on and a second later was listening to the fervent voice of an old man.
"And let us who walk the path do so diligently; that we will be granted salvation. Remember, warriors of the faith, that ours is a sacred devotion. Even now the divine winds wait to welcome us at its gates and bless us with transcendence. Let my words strengthen your resolve with an assurity that your reward, that our reward, is guaranteed. The fruits of our labor will be marked with a glorious passage into the world beyond our worlds whose majesty is unknown and unrivaled, whose threshold we will cross should our feet remain steadfast upon the path to the Great Journey. The preparations for the purification of the city are nearly completed, and the time of the Ceremony of Sanctification will soon be upon us. Work joyously, and I promise you that the reward shall be yours in two days-time. On my word, none shall seize it from you, but all who are worthy shall indulge."
Midway through the speech Renni and Zack had walked over and stopped to watch.
Once the prophet had finished, the message automatically repeated.
"A recording." Duncan remarked.
Zack stepped next to him. "Hey Irish, whose your friend!?"
Both Duncan and Renni winced and rounded on him, telling him to quiet down.
"Geeze, you deaf again?" Duncan hissed.
"He shouldn't be." Renni said, looking worried.
Zack laughed. "Just messing with you. My hearing's good. Well, not good enough I guess 'cause I have no idea what your friend's saying."
Renni eyed the Prophet. "You activated this?"
"Yeah. He kinda jumped out at me at first. I got acquainted with him real quick after that."
"How acquainted?"
"I don't know his name yet but..." He waved his hand over the dais. His HUD's mini screen showed an inverted 'k' symbol translated as 'Sender'. He pressed it and brought on a string of more symbols separated by several spaces. It was a title. "Minister of Iconography – Prophet of…Sanctity."
Renni raised an eyebrow. "Two titles?"
Zack whistled. "Must be a real bigshot."
"He's going to be someone's shot sooner or later. Does it show the source location?"
Duncan double-checked the interface. "Nah. If I recall, these things have an effective range of 100 kilometers. Doesn't really give us a small search area."
"We should tell Ep-1, then let him buff this information up the chain of command. If there's a Prophet anywhere near here then the higher-ups will need to know."
As if on cue, Hector opened one of the doors to let in the Staff and Nova.
Zack waved them over. "Hey Staff, come check this out."
The two of them made their way down a short flight of stairs to join them, stopping when they noticed the prophet.
The Staff turned on Duncan. "I thought I told you to work on that CCJ, trooper."
"I did, sir. I just…worked on something else too."
"I didn't think I'd be walking into a sermon. Sure, I had Quakers in my family but they never looked like this." The Staff nodded to the projection. "Who's he?"
"This handsome face right here is the Minister of Iconography."
Nova chuckled at the notion. "He's definitely not my type. Sure, they can be a little matured but that." She pointed to the whitening facial hair. "Is too much."
Zack piped up. "You sure? He looks like you're ty-"
Nova shot him a glare and rested her hand on her holstered M6. "I'll shoot you."
He held up his hands. "Hey, just saying, don't be so quick to shoot down your prospects."
Nova sighed away from the topic. "This device has any triangulation capabilities?"
Duncan shook his head. "Negative. It's a one-way broadcast system. They can talk to us but not vice versa. If you want, I can get you a comm-pad. Then I'll see if I can hook you up with his number."
"I'll shoot you too Irish." Nova glared.
Duncan shrugged. "You're loss." He caught a mischievous smile from Zack that came off as a 'you're pushing it but nice' expression.
"Come on, Irish, I don't speak Covenant like you can." The Staff said. "Let's hear it."
Duncan checked around again, this time finding a new symbol that looked strikingly similar to pi. He hovered his finger over it to see its translation 'Repeat' appear and pressed it.
The image of the prophet briefly winked off then back on as his message replayed. Duncan linked the suite to his armor's external speaker for everyone to hear.
Throughout the playing the polarized visors of the Staff and Nova showed no reaction, though their body language exposed their growing concern. Even Hector stopped by to listen in.
At the finish, the Staff rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms. "Well, that's a mouthful. Can't think of anyone bored enough to listen to it than the Covenant and us."
"But what about that event, the Ceremony of Contemplation was it?" Nova asked.
"Sanctification." Renni corrected.
"…Yeah, that."
The Staff finished his stretches and checked his rifle. "He also said something about receiving a reward in two days. Whatever it means, it's a problem. Hopefully, what we do today stops whatever ceremony they're having on the 10th. Irish, can you make a copy of this? We'll need it for the Colonel in case our offensive doesn't cause a big enough upset in their plans."
Duncan nodded and rewound the message, this time activating his HUD's camera to record the Minister's words. Once it was done, he pressed the shutdown option and placed the device into rest mode.
"Next question." The Staff pointed to the jammer. "You know how to use that thing now?"
"Like the front of my hand, sir." Duncan held up a gauntleted palm.
"What about the back?"
"I don't use the back of my hand, sir."
"Fair enough. Everyone else, you're free to move around but watch that timer. Be ready by 1745 Hours. Mito, Yuri and Rico are on Level 1 watching the streets. Nova's going to work on a special surprise in the pumping chamber-"
"Ep-6 to Ep-1, can you hear me, over?"
The Staff looked to the doors. "Go ahead Ep-6."
"It's Ep-3 sir. He's back."
The news came as a subtle relief to everyone. Even the Staff's shoulders relaxed slightly. "Good. Bring him and Squad Griffin inside. Do they have Taylors?"
A full five seconds passed before Rico answered. "…Sir, its…just Ep-3."
The troopers shared worried glances.
"Alright, bring him in and get him up here."
"Sir, he looks…shaky." There was a commotion on Rico's end with the sound of a glass door opening and footsteps coming in. "I'll lead him up to you."
Five minutes passed before Hector heard footsteps in the outside lobby and opened one of the doors. Rico entered first followed by Epsilon's sniper who was using the former's shoulder to steady himself. As they came to the gathering at the holo-pedestal Deaks fell back against a column and slid to the floor. His breaths were shallow and uneven. He put his rifle aside to slip off his helmet, revealing his pale face.
Renni came down beside him to check him out but he waved her off. "Ep-3, you're having a panic attack. Let me help you." She pressed.
He batted her hands away again, his piercing brown eyes glaring daggers at her. The medic replied with a defeated exhale and backed off.
The Staff crouched down in front of him and offered him his water canteen. Deaks' exhausted eyes brightened. He took it with a shaking hand, gulped down half its contents in three quick swigs then handed it back.
"What happened out there, Ep-3?" The Staff asked.
Deaks fought to get his breathing under control. "We found Taylors alive, sir…but…I didn't know…that thing was going to be there…"
"Start making sense, corporal. What thing?"
The sniper shut his eyes. "A Brute Chieftain. It reached us near Gatehouse-9, took out half of Griffin on its own. Captain Asana, he…" His closed eyes tightened even more in recognition of some raw memory. He shook his head. "I told the others to break contact. They took Taylors somewhere else…didn't want to lead anything back here since they'd already been spotted."
The Staff stared him down. But the sniper's fallen gaze betrayed no hint of a lie. Neither did the lack of blood in his face.
"How'd that happen? Weren't you on overwatch?"
Deaks was silent.
"You tried to kill it, didn't you?"
"I did sir." Deaks said, finally looking him straight on. "It just wasn't enough."
:********:
As Aquilla descended over the eastern horizon, Euryale-1's blue light washed over the city of High Mediolanum with the likeness of a celestial tide.
The Solar Evening was beautiful, Duncan thought as he looked out to the city. But it was also somber.
Since Deaks' report, Epsilon remained on high alert. The possibility was now on the table that the Covenant had detected their presence. The capture of Baccara, the death of Asana and even the missing status of the confirmed living Colonel Taylors were pieces to a potentially disastrous puzzle and there was no telling how they would fit together.
At the very least, Baccara wouldn't have known about the overall strategy in the 2nd Tier so his capture was tactically insignificant. However, it was also a devastating blow to the 22nd. Losing a company commander was no small thing. But if Taylors were to be captured or killed…
Duncan stopped his patrol over the third floor of the visitor's center to gaze out the encompassing windows. He recognized that the city's deceptive quiet was merely the calm before the storm, one that was about to begin with a lightning rod straight to the Covenant's communications network. Now, less than 5 minutes remained.
"Ep-8," The Staff called to him from the ground floor. "Come on down. Start setting up shop."
"On my way." Duncan spared one last look at the view of the city. The survivors of Squad Griffin were still out there. He hoped they had found somewhere to shelter as he turned for the stairs. On the way he sighted Deaks. The corporal was lying prone out on the tower's glassy observation deck. He had specifically requested the posting shortly after his debriefing. In the last 40 minutes he had yet to move from his scope. No one moved to talk with him either. It was best to give him his space for now.
Duncan headed down to the jammer where The Staff, Hector, Nova, Zack and Renni were already gathered. Pressing the main display, he brought out its holographic keypad to activate two separate hexagonal displays that hovered to his left and right. Both showed an array of columns through which lines of radio wave frequencies fluttered, reflecting different comm channels. The distinguishable difference was that rows divided the columns of the rightmost display into a grid, keeping radio waves of every frequency from reaching their endpoints. In each outside row was a uniformly curved 'y' symbol for 'Disengage'. On the left display there were no restrictive rows, allowing dozens of signals to reach their endpoints in back-and-forth exchanges.
"I knew you were a techy but I had no clue you were a DJ too, Irish." Zack chided.
Duncan shrugged. "Tell me which song you want and I'll put it through." He pointed to the left display. "Over here we've got tracks like 'Death to all Humans' and 'Bloody Salvation' courtesy of the Covenant's own BattleNet." He pointed to the right display. "And over here we've got 'I don't want to die today' and 'The Jarhead Crusades' by our very own UNSC. Take your pick."
"Let's go with Bloody Salvation." The Staff said, checking his timer as did everyone else. "We let it run first then quickly switch to Jarhead Crusades."
Duncan set his hands over the necessary symbols.
"We've got 4 minutes left on the clock people. Get in position."
All 10 of the squad's acknowledgement lights winked green.
"Think Hotel and the others have their CCJ's ready?" Nova asked as they dispersed.
"We'll see soon. In any event our focus is here. There's no telling what might happen right after we start jamming."
"Simple, Staff." Zack said. "We get to hear the music of a million pissed off Grunts getting kicked out of town."
"Oorah." Hector grinned as the two took their positions at the front doors.
"Oorah." The Staff agreed, bringing out his shotgun as he stopped at the threshold. "Ep-5, 6 and 10, how about it?"
"In place, sir." Rico said.
"Ready and waiting." Mito replied.
"Kak vy dumayete, oni popytayutsya vorvat'sya?" Yuri asked half-heartedly.
Nova butted in. "If they do then they'll find out really quick that they screwed the proverbial pooch in coming here."
The remaining time went by in utter quiet. The squad's eyes stayed locked on their timers.
Duncan watched it reach the last minute. Either of his hands hovered over an individual display. '10…9…8…7…' He felt a drop of cold sweat slide over his face. '5…4…3…2…'
At one he brought his hand down on the left display. His fingers besieged the rows in the signal frequency columns, tapping inverted 'J' symbols representing 'Engage'. His hand danced dexterously over each row, engaging the jammer's suppression functions and jamming local Covenant radio signals. Fluttering lines of comm traffic flatlined across the board.
He immediately shifted to the righthand display to remove the curved 'y' symbols, disengaging the suppression of UNSC channels.
The entire process lasted less than 20 seconds. He turned and gave the thumbs up to everyone that had quietly watched him work and their collective attention shot to the nearest windows.
Time itself seemed to reverse as the blue hue of the solar evening changed to a red dawn in response to the birth of multiple miniature suns.
A series of detonations rocked Mezoline and its neighboring blocks. Several mushroom clouds rose up to 200 meters high in areas not far from the tower. One cloud to the northeast suffered successive detonations that funneled up to form larger mushroom clouds with each perpetual blast.
"Sounds like the Strike Teams got the job done." Nova commented. "Ep-6, what's your take on those explosions?"
"¡Eso es loco!" He shouted ecstatically. "¡Simplemente hicieron explotar los pozos de metano! ¡Esos genios locos!"
"English please." Yuri pleaded sarcastically.
"They just blew up the methane atmosphere pits. Looks like they used M168s to pull it off. As for el Grande Champiñones over there, that big cloud in the northeast, they must've hit their methane reserves for that one. Man, that's crazy."
"Crazy how?" The Staff asked.
"Crazy that they didn't turn this whole part of the city into Hiroshima in doing that. Their people must really know what they're doing."
"I'd hope so. Ep-3, see any commotion yet?"
"This is insane" Deaks huffed.
"What is it?"
"It's the Grunts, sir. The coneheads are so confused they're firing on each other. See for yourselves."
The troopers in the visitor's center risked peeking through the closest windows.
Outside, a wave of green mist was sneaking forward from a park into the encompassing streets. It was spreading out far from where it had been displaced via the shockwave effect of several ruptured atmosphere pits. The areas around them were lakes of fire. Scores of Grunts flailed about the burning walkways and fields, screaming at the flames spreading over their bodies that caused their personal gas tanks to catch alight. This produced a mass firecracker effect where hundreds of the enflamed aliens were transformed into roman candles that spiraled into the air in trails of methane before blowing up. The more fortunate ones hurled themselves into the steaming remains of the local lake, only to be boiled alive by the sizzling water.
Others shot each other through the haze in a confused spray of blue and green plasma.
A trio of Wraiths began launching plasma mortars to annihilate the perceived threats. The explosions rapidly expanded along methane clouds to engulf trees, grass and flesh. Duncan saw a stray mortar impact one of the steeple structures. The resulting explosion caused successive internal eruptions that blew outs its base. It slowly collapsed onto two of the Wraiths, killing them in puffs of blue flame.
He noticed beam tracers adding to the madness below. He traced them to four black silhouettes firing from the top of an apartment overlooking the park. That had to be one of the Strike Teams.
Colonel Garrison's voice came in over the comms. "This is Neptune-Actual to all insertion teams. Well done securing your objectives, troopers. Things are getting underway across the district so hold your positions. We should be finished around dinner time."
The Colonel's voice was reassuring, at least to Duncan. It was good to know the 7th's leadership was still alive and well.
He overheard affirmatory responses from the other squad leaders including his own. Garrison wished them luck once more and signed off.
"You heard the Colonel." The Staff said. "Now we wait."
:********:
At Garrison's order, Convoy-7, 8 and 9 stopped just as the last explosions finished rumbling within Heraklion. The frontmost elements of Column C crested a hilly area of the block's western edge to be greeted with the sight of mushroom clouds rising from the Grunt encampments.
Natasha II had halted where the highway began its downward declination, giving Garrison a good spot from which to pull out his binoculars.
He focused on the main Grunt camp within their immediate vicinity. The assortment of polyhedral tents within one of Heraklion's parks was protected by lookout towers and plasma cannon emplacements that guarded its southwestern edge. Bands of hundreds were currently streaming down a north-to-south highway in a southerly heading that would take them straight to Ano Liosia
"Think they took the bait sir?" Marty asked as he eyed the masses.
"I'd say so." Garrison paused at hearing the recognizable roar of boosted gravity propulsion drives. "But they're not the only ones."
Three squadrons of 12 banshees each flew over buildings on the camp's southeast perimeter. Two dozen Ghosts simultaneously glided out from nearby streets towards the location, all with Jackal drivers.
The two groups of assault crafts charged forward. The Grunts countercharged. Handfuls were unabashedly run over or sent flying before the sleeker ground craft. Some Grunts fired overloaded bolts that paralyzed Ghosts long enough for others to seize their squawking drivers and tear them apart. A few Grunts loosed deranged screams as they activated a plasma grenade in either hand before throwing themselves at oncoming riders.
Banshees strafed the crowds below with impunity. Those targets that gathered together to try and hide beneath the cover of trees were sent flying amidst a hail of plasma torpedoes. Recovering from their bombing runs the aircrafts would cycle back for another pass.
Then Grunt Shade crews began tracking down the flyers with increasing precision. Soon a dozen were exploding out of the sky or crashing into buildings.
"Well crap, I didn't know these guys hated each other this much." Marty said, gawking at the destruction.
"It's not spontaneous." Garrison corrected. He eyed the main throngs of Grunts continuing unabated down the road to Ano Liosia, releasing a battle-cry. Similar sized groups were moving from camps further north towards their border with the Jackal territories.
The Colonel grinned. "That was probably a Jackal advance force meant to cripple the Grunts beforehand." He shook his head, laughing. "They were planning this."
"Sir, you're saying they were waiting to kill each other beforehand?" Shugart asked.
"Seems so."
Garrison thought back to his summation of the situation back at the HMPD HQ: "They already have the fuel. We just need to give them the fire to get things going the way we want them to."
The Jackals weren't acting as though their communications were a problem. He guessed they didn't want news of what they were doing to spread fast enough for them to be stopped, possibly to carry out territorial repossession against their neighbors. He had to admit that, for aliens, that was a very human way to think.
Garrison let 10 minutes pass for both sides to be whittled down to a more manageable quantity. Plasma fire soon reduced their numbers to a third. It was enough.
"Neptune-Actual to Column C, move in! We'll squeeze them northward towards Eden Square! Let's go!"
Corporal Marty quickly got Natasha II moving down the sloping highway. The rest of Convoy-7 followed close behind along with 8 and 9.
The Grunts and Jackals continued to fight each other, unaware of the third faction about to scythe into their lines. Convoy-7 reached the edge of the park first. Marty settled his high velocity cannon onto the closest Shade. Its gunner, already focused on a pod of passing Ghosts, was finished off with an accurate tungsten shell.
He drove further left to make room for the next 5 Scorpions that drove in alongside him. Together they cruised over the corpse covered fields to sweep the southern edge. Another six moved in along the northern edge. Meanwhile, the Warthog crews split off around the roads and highways surrounding the park to trap remaining enemy forces inside.
The Scorpions' high velocity cannons fired into the tree-line to engulf the hordes of heavily armed Grunts taking cover there. Turret gunners like PFC Shugart mowed down those in the open with long bursts, breaking down the larger groups into smaller, decentralized crowds more consumable for the rifles of Marines and ODSTs marching behind the tanks.
Garrison could tell the enemy were too disorganized to fight back considering the amount of shield Jackals he was able to shoot in the back. After downing his eighth Jackal, he ejected his spent magazine. Grabbing the next one between his pinkie and ring finger, he spotted two Grunts running towards him, screaming as they held two primed plasma grenades.
He used his two fingers to slip the magazine into the receiver, slid a round into the chamber with his thumb and gave both Grunts a third eye. They toppled back. Their grenades whined then detonated, blowing them apart.
Four more Grunts charged him as the tank drove over a slight dip in the grassy fields. He holstered his M6 to gun them down with his MA5B.
One of his troopers came up to stitch another's stomach with bullets.
"Helljumper!" Garrison called. The trooper turned in time to catch his MA5. "Filler'er up!"
The man looked perplexed. His question was halted as plasma fire came in from two Jackals marching up to the moving tank, one of them preparing an overloaded bolt. Garrison shot that one first, blowing off its fingers so that the overdone bolt discharged into the ground. As the alien doubled over, he popped two in its neck then did the same to its friend.
More Grunts ran towards them. However, a barrage from the Marines and ODSTs further back filtered out only five survivors that reached within a few meters of the tank.
"Colonel!" The trooper tossed his AR. He grabbed it out of the air and fired one-handed, sparing a three-round burst for the face of the first four Grunts. The trooper finished off the last one with five to the stomach.
Garrison tossed him his rifle again. "Reload!"
"Sir!?" He asked, cradling the weapon with even more confusion. He flinched as Shugart began firing over their heads at an incoming Ghost. Ignoring the blue flames igniting along its fuselage the enemy vehicle boosted straight for them.
Two 40-milimeter rounds struck the gas tank of the Grunt driver. The tank exploded, taking out the alien so that the riderless craft fell short of its target.
The trooper swiveled around to see Garrison putting a fresh clip into his M6. "What's your name, Helljumper!?"
"Private Gadsden sir!"
"Alright Gadsden, you're my aide for the day! Stick with me and you'll make it through this in one piece!"
"But sir I-" Gadsden's voice was overpowered by the yelling of another suicide Grunt. Its cry was cut short a second later as Garrison put a bullet through its eye. The private flinched at the jarring detonations that followed.
"Say again, private!?" Garrison asked.
"I'm with you, sir!"
"Copy!"
Garrison continued to shoot anything that got too close while Gadsden routinely reloaded his rifle and tossed it back, taking part in the shooting whenever he could.
The Scorpions pushed through the progressively isolated enemy pockets, targeting and shattering persistent Ghosts while turret gunners on pursuing Warthogs cut down any escapees.
Soon the advancing forces reached midway through the park where they circumvented an ovular lake.
Reaching the other side, they began cutting down hundreds of Grunts and Jackals now fleeing the battlefield. They were abandoning their polyhedral tents ahead of the Scorpions whose treads ran over and crushed them.
It was when a plasma torpedo struck a tank, blowing away its entire crew, that their cannons and turrets turned skyward to face the Banshees buzzing overhead.
The 20 remaining flyers flipped and aileron rolled in a desperate bid to dodge response fire. The tanks coughed up tungsten shells that eviscerated them in bellowing explosions of blue flame. Their turret gunners helped swat even more out of the sky. SPNKR rockets from Marine rocket teams in the rear assisted in downing one flyer at a time. The final Banshee flashed out of existence as Marty's eagle eye shot it down.
They spent the next few minutes eliminating survivors and trampling the remains of their camps. Hundreds of Grunt and Jackal corpses, flaming Ghost wreckages, crushed tents and blazing Shade gimbals were left in their wake.
As they progressed to the park's northern end, Garrison peeked back. He spotted a few wounded and downed Marines, 10 in total being carried on stretchers. Then there was the lost Scorpion whose scorched crew were being extracted from the wreck.
His estimations brought them close to 1,500 confirmed kills, mostly from the Grunts and Jackals going at each other's throats. Compared against 14 of his own forces left wounded or KIA, it was a good start. But they still had a ways to go. To win, each column would need to repeat massacres like this at least 20 times. To make up for the daylight they lacked, it was necessary for the three columns to combine for the planned push through the heart of Covenant territories. That would only occur after Mentieth was done with Eden Square of course.
Before that, Column C would need to annihilate the next two camps in Heraklion and the next three in Lamia. Then they would head south into Ano Liosia to link with A and B for the push into the Drone-infested Rhodes. From there they would cycle back northeast via expressways to carve through Agrinio and Mezoline with Sycion being their last stop.
With this encampment cleared, Garrison delivered their next orders over comms. "Saddle up Column C, on to the next one! We'll drive them all the way back to the wall, let's go!"
Marty got Natasha II underway. The others drove or jogged after them. Garrison gave his new aide one of the tank's available seats as they left the park. He only hoped that the private could keep up.
:********:
Lieutenant Colonel Serakovich bent back so that his AIE-486 Machine Gun's circular reticle was leveled with the passing buildings as he squeezed the triggers. The spooling effect quickly took hold, belching out streams of 51-milimeter bullets into the string of windows occupied by defending Jackals. Most quickly ducked to safety. Others fell through the shattered windows for their riddled bodies to crash onto the street below. Their bones often cracked beneath the tires of the 6 Warthogs in his personal convoy.
The Eleusis Block was mostly dominated by 20-story tall apartment buildings. This was where most of the workers in the city's burgeoning tourism industry lived. The housing was owned by the big businesses that ran interplanetary hotel brands like Eluciana and other attraction sites in the 1st Tier. It was reflective of the setup used by corporations that ran the supplies of mining towns like Scyllion on Charybdis IX, Serakovich's hometown. That familiarity helped him understand the composition of Eleusis and the lives of the people that had once lived in these buildings. Now the only things dwelling in them were the Jackals currently shooting at his Marines.
He withdrew his Scorpions and the ground forces early on after precision fire from sniper Jackals laced throughout the area had begun taking out his tank drivers.
To lower their casualties, he'd broken his force into two. The Scorpions, Marines and Alpha Company ODSTs would hang back. The other half, his Warthog teams, were divided into 10 smaller convoys of 6 Hogs each. Four of them were regular turret hogs working in pairs to act as the vanguard and rearguard to the specialized duos running the middle. Their goal was to soften enemy defenses halfway through Eleusis enough for the tanks and ground-pounders to have an easier time coming in. The Warthogs were to then circle back after reaching the midpoint to rejoin the main contingent. That halfway point was the Perseus Institute at the center of the block.
So far, the institute was close to a kilometer down the highway that his own convoy utilized. They routinely navigated around meter-high trash mounds and levitating gurneys lining the route.
Serakovich's Hog, the second in the vanguard, was intent on steering clear while he battered an apartments' newest denizens with suppressing fire. As he finished lashing out at one to his left, the two Hogs behind him started up. The duo of M12R Rocket Hogs, or Rockethogs for short, aimed their M79 Multiple Rocket Launch Systems at the enemy. Essentially two missile pods attached to a rotational gimbal, the M79s loosed up to 6 consecutive rockets with the power of a SPNKR. A total of 12 streaked into the building's occupied windows, eliciting terrified squawks from Jackal occupants as they were consumed in the fiery explosions.
Heavy plasma fire caught Serakovich's attention. He swiveled right and up to pepper the Shade turret shooting at them from atop an apartment. It crumpled under the fire from both vanguard gunners until one of the Rockethogs launched a deadly sextuplet of its namesake that destroyed the emplacement.
Serakovich barraged the next apartment's rows of windows. His speed of 100 kilometers per hour kept the avian hostiles from getting in a good shot. The Rockethogs then blew out the contingents within the lower floors before letting their M79s recycle their chambers.
They did the same to several more buildings until condensed plasma fire started coming from a deployable lookout tower in the middle of the highway ahead. The crown-like platform sported two plasma cannons which Jackals had turned on the approaching convoy.
"Daxon, Pierre!" He called over comms. "Tower 50 meters to our 12 o'clock! Take it out!"
He spooled his turret while the two M79 gunners set their diamond-shaped targeting reticles on the platform. Their rockets screamed out to strike the frontside of the target, rocking it. Another salvo reduced the platform to a small star of fiery debris that fountained into the air under the propulsion of the gravity lift below.
The convoy swerved around the ruins. Yet the flaming wreckage left them blind to a pair of Elites that stepped out from behind a set of barricades near the base. Their fuel rod cannons fired.
The lead Hog took the brunt of the four fuel rods. Serakovich saw the three Marines onboard disappear within a green and orange fireball. He immediately swiveled about to open up, striking the shields of the two Minors.
"Pour some rockets on those Fuel Rods!"
Corporals Daxon and Pierre unleashed another barrage aimed at the two passing targets. The onslaught engulfed them completely, chewing them up then spitting out their charred bodies.
Serakovich's Hog moved ahead to take the lead on their convoy.
In three minutes, they reached the highway's end. It split off into two streets that framed the rectangular grounds of the Perseus Institute. The miniature town of mahogany-roof tiled and white-walled buildings were surrounded by a sprawl of green grass yards and parking lots. The university possessed dorm buildings, lecture halls and research facilities bearing the names of persons to whom they were dedicated. Recently, craters had pockmarked both its yards and buildings, some of which were reduced to crumbled ruins.
A few structures hosted Marines shooting from the research facilities and lecture halls on the roving gangs of Jackals below. They looked to be winning as well.
The Lieutenant Colonel's convoy circumvented the grounds, joining two others from from another highway. They came around to the far end of the campus where they were supposed to swing back towards the main force.
However, they were stopped halfway just outside a Y-shaped Lecture hall baring the name 'Tobias Fleming Shaw' where a squad of Marines on the sidewalk hailed them down.
A Marine that looked like a balding CO ran up to the lead Hog. "You guys the reinforcements?"
"We are." Serakovich said. "Are you and your boys with the 4th Marines?"
The man nodded. "We're the 5th Battalion sir, or what's left of us. We saw you guys pushing in, figured now we really had a chance to get out of here."
Serakovich looked over his men. Their fatigues were ragged, dirtied from days of combat. Two wore blood-soaked head bandages but were still holding rifles regardless.
"We're currently clearing a path for the main forces coming here in about 15 minutes. Can you hold out?"
The Marine shrugged. "We've survived this long."
"Good man. We'll be back. Just stay alive till then."
At his behest, the convoy continued past. As it did, he saw Marines waving at them from the hall's upper windows. They were cheering them on with renewed hope in their eyes.
Serakovich smiled. He knew these Marines had been through the grinder. And now, finally, their backup had arrived.
:********:
To Mentieth, Eden Square bore a striking resemblance to World War One's Passchendaele. The trees of the decorative plots of flora that broke up the mostly cobblestone grounds were reduced to smoking stumps. The decorative canals along the sides of the square were blown open, causing the water to spill over and leaving little islands where the cobblestone was less even. Behind all that was the Eden Mall, a plexiglass building with several prism rooftops.
There were also areas that remained undamaged, mostly because they weren't where Covenant armies had met to kill each other.
Column B stayed a kilometer west of the junction where all three territories met. They observed the mobs of hundreds of Grunts that clashed with equally sizable ranks of Jackals over the square's western end. Plasma fire had filled the air. Shade Turrets, Banshees and Ghosts burned down the masses only to be destroyed by overwhelming numbers.
Armies of Drones soon came flooding over the eastern end. They swarmed over the battlefield like locusts, attacking Banshees en masse and forcing them into tailspins, slashing at and firing on Grunts and Jackals alike.
Mentieth guessed the strike teams had killed a queen which was likely to incite the buggers' fury.
Column B allowed what would be the first wave of Covenant forces do battle.
Once close to 80% of the enemy had died, he ordered them forward. His Scorpions led the way for all three convoys. They rumbled down the highways and stopped just 100 meters short of the square. Then he gave the order to fire.
In the 5 minutes of their first engagement there was one tank firing for each second of time, creating a perpetual cannonade that focused on any stragglers.
In the driver's seat of his own tank, Mentieth directed the Scorpions of his personal Combat Command A to target the few Wraiths that had reached the battlefield. His alignment of well over 30 Scorpions dispatched the less concentrated enemy armor using salvos that wiped away everything around them with explosive prejudice.
After cleansing the area with tungsten shells, Mentieth had them withdraw 500 meters to let the next hostile waves crash into each other unimpeded. As was expected due to the square's positioning, consecutive waves of Grunts, Jackals and Drones met here to slaughter each other in the hundreds. Their blood feud kept them blind to the true threat of nearby UNSC forces until the bulk of their ranks were broken.
It was part of his overall strategy to concentrate them in this killzone, let them mostly off each other, then wipe out the remains before they became too entrenched for the other side to defeat. That way they cleared the stage for the next wave to arrive usually 5 minutes later. A lack of survivors from the preceding engagement kept the others in a state of lethal ignorance, thus continuing the meatgrinder he had planned. For more than half an hour it had gone on like clockwork.
Then, after the fifth wave had come and gone, the influxes stopped.
With 1845 Hours now on his HUD, Mentieth swiveled his cannon over the battlefield. The landscape across Eden Square had been terraformed into a hellscape of shredded Covenant corpses. He made a rough estimate of 5,000, none being UNSC-affiliated. The cannon's rectangular reticle remained blue as it finished its search. The way was clear.
"They've finally run out of bodies." He switched on his comms. "Column B prepare to move. We push to Rhodes with the other columns then on to Kastoria. Mars-Actual, have Echo Company secure the mall then leave a few platoons to guard it. We'll use it as a casualty collection point."
"We'll get it done sir." Echo Company's CO readily replied.
"Everyone else move out."
The Scorpions led the way over Eden Square. Warthogs, Marines and ODSTs trotted after them over the dead of the marshy terrain.
Everything was running smoothly. Mentieth just wondered how long it would stay that way. Most of his concerns surrounded Convoy-10 which was operating independently of the three columns deeper behind enemy territories, bound for different but equally important objectives.
:********:
Duncan made sure his SMG's magazine never dipped below '5'. He routinely reloaded to restart the weapon's chattering conversation with the throngs of Grunts outside the front doors of the ground floor lobby.
He was surprised it took the Covenant almost an hour to figure out the source of their troubles.
At that point, the sounds of battle had drawn closer. Hearing the eastward moving nature of the fighting made it obvious the main force had reached the Rhodes Block beyond Eleusis. It sent local Covenant forces into a panic. Thankfully, they were too preoccupied skirmishing over fuel pipes resting on their borders for them to fully address their communications outage. However, around 200 Grunts had eventually wised up enough to check the water tower.
The moment the first Grunt stepped over the threshold it was met with a warm 7.62-millimeter welcome. Rico, Mito and Yuri had no intention of letting them in. That said, the gathering outside had every intention of trying anyway, so much so that half the squad was called down to provide additional support, Duncan included.
There were too many for them to dispatch alone so they resorted to riot control tactics.
Whenever one or two in the riotous crowd got the itch to take a brave step forward, up to 5 meters to the threshold at least, they were consequently calmed with a sniper round through the cranium. Some 15 Grunts went out that way. Yet the mob persisted.
But soon Deaks became too preoccupied with Sniper Jackals arriving on the scene to assist. That left everyone else handling crowd control. They took turns shooting through the doors to cut down those that got too close. Of the few Grunts actually armed, some squeezed off poorly aimed shots or attempted to charge, only to end up in a pool of their own blood. It was to send a clear a message that bravery would only get them killed.
Yet one of the Grunts seemed to figure out a way around that as it gave a battle-cry that started catching on amongst the group.
"Sir?" Nova asked over comms, being one of the few not present.
"Not yet." The Staff said. "Wait until they all charge in-"
Then one of them charged. The others screamed and followed it towards the doors, causing the squad to tense.
"They're charging." Hector said.
"Indeed they are." The Staff jabbed his thumb backwards. "Withdraw."
The squad kept their weapons aimed as they headed for the entrance to the stairs on the other side.
The first Grunts crossed the threshold just as Rico shut the door to the stairwell behind them. "La puerta won't hold them for long."
"Its not supposed to." The Staff assured. "Now we lead them further in."
They stopped in the hallways of Level 2 before the entrance. After only a few seconds the door flew open to let the first hollering Grunts stream in, then flew back as they were hosed down with bullets.
The squad backed towards the next set of stairs. Duncan spotted the bulkhead door leading to the pumping chamber along the way, noting the light over the titanium frame was still red…for now.
They slowly withdrew to Level 3 where they held the Grunts for a time, using the smaller hallways to constrict them to more manageable numbers. They kept coming like a pipe ready to burst.
Eventually reaching Level 10 they made sure to seal the doors to the front lobby shut. It didn't stop the anxious Grunts on the other side from hurling themselves against them with all their strength.
With the visitor's center so close, the ODSTs had no choice but to hold their ground.
"Ep-2 to Ep-1, are we green?"
The Staff walked over to the lobby windows to look down to the streets where another crowd of nearly twice as many Grunts had assembled.
"Not yet."
"What are we waiting for?"
"One last batch."
He watched them flood straight into the ground floor, screaming wildly. The banging on the stairwell doors intensified.
"How much longer until they start throwing stickies?" Hector asked warily.
"They won't."
"Sir, we don't have much time." Nova pressed.
"Hold." He watched the last of the Grunts stream in. Predictably, the sound of energy weapon discharges began on the other side of the besieged stairwell doors.
"Now, do it."
From her seat in the control room, Nova flipped the switch that would open the floodgates of the pumping chamber. Automated voices spoke in tandem with the blare of sirens throughout the building: "Warning, storage breach imminent. Warning, storage breach imminent."
"You ever heard of Titanic?" The Staff asked to no one in particular.
"Wasn't that a ship, sir?" Zack asked incredulously. "What's it got to do with us right now?"
"It was an early luxury liner deemed waterproof due to compartmentalized bulkheads that could seal off breached sections before the rest of the vessel was compromised. That feature ended up being its undoing. Once it got hit by a block of ice, enough compartments flooded so that the water used its own system against it, causing what should have been its saving grace to be the death of it." His statement was accompanied by the sound of rushing water.
"I think we'll see something similar."
The screaming beyond the doors turned desperate, then stopped altogether as water began flowing inside.
The ODSTs fell back to a safe distance right before the doors burst open to let a torrent rush in. Its sheer force broke through the glass windows, sending drowned Grunts falling to the asphalt below.
On one lower level after another, windows burst out, releasing geysers of pressurized water that spewed scores of drowned Grunts out of the building like a series of volcanoes.
In under a minute the surrounding streets were filled with knee-high water that flowed into stores and apartments. The last contents of the tower's purposefully over-pressurized pumping chamber drained into the manmade lake. Hundreds of motionless Grunts were left floating about, bumping into each other here and there.
"You know Staff." Zack said, taking a seat in one of the chairs. "I think you're the only squad leader I know to come up with turning a building into a water grenade then teach a history lesson while it goes off."
"That's our Staff." Hector laughed.
Duncan felt the gradually relaxing atmosphere suddenly shatter under the eerie thrum of impulse drives.
"That doesn't sound friendly." Mito said, gripping his rifle.
To confirm that it wasn't, two Phantoms appeared to the north and south of the building. They angled up from the streets to swoop in along its sides. Duncan watched them hover past their level towards the observation deck.
"Ep-3, get out of there now!" The Staff called. "Everyone back to the center!"
They ran through the doors to disperse around the room. The crack of Deaks' now unsuppressed rifle drew their attention to the center's third floor.
Deaks rolled backwards through the door of the observation deck and came up with his sniper already leveled. He fired again, earning the audible grunt of a downed Elite. "We've got Rangers, 8 of them! Two down so far!"
The windy clamor of multiple thrusters echoed around the upper floor. The corporal retreated down the stairs ahead of an assailment of blue plasma.
Elite Rangers dashed from the observation deck's onto the floor above and quickly shifted their attention to the squad below.
The Phantoms departed, leaving the Rangers to let loose with their plasma repeaters. Those were the least of the ODSTs' concerns as they ran for cover within the info booths and behind the alcove columns to avoid the two concussion rifles that opened up on them. Blasts of explosive plasma rounds struck their positions. The two most troublesome Rangers jetted down to the upper decks to increase the pressure.
Duncan rolled away before a trio of pinkish-purple plasma rounds struck the nearby holo-pedestal, destroying it under the explosive impacts.
He scrambled behind another column in his alcove and peeked out in time to spot a Ranger landing right in front of the jammer.
The Staff pounced from his hiding place behind the device to uppercut it with buckshot. The blast punched it backwards and it struggled to bring its repeater to bare. He put a final shotgun blast into its vulnerable visor right before.
"Don't let them touch the Jammer!" He shouted.
The squad arose to collectively single out one of the Rangers wielding a concussion rifle. Its shields shattered almost instantly under the offensive of tracers that subsequently cut it down.
Its colleague shouted in anger. It jetted into the air to release a shimmering cascade of explosive plasma that struck Hector's booth, blowing apart its ornamental roof. The ODST barreled over the table to escape into another alcove.
The enraged Elite landed on the ground floor to reload. Duncan, Hector and Renni swiveled out from their hiding places to shoot it from three different directions. It scrambled to get its next magazine. The troopers proved faster, popping its shields. The others joined in, turning it into a dead bullet pincushion.
"Focus on the third floor!" The Staff ordered.
As the words were coming out of his mouth, a hail of machinegun fire burst through the windows above. The familiar drone of autocannons slashed into the last three Rangers. As their shields collapsed, they turned to face the full wrath of two sideways-strafing Hornets.
The pair of AV-14 Attack VTOLs sprayed them down in a shower of lead, then just as quickly moved on.
There was silence for 10 long seconds before a voice came in over the squad's comms. "Ep-1, you there?
The Staff walked out onto the main floor, crunching glass beneath his boots. "Can I ask who this is?"
"Sure, we're outside."
The team shared confused looks. They slowly followed the Staff past the bodies of the dead Rangers. They came out into the lobby and stopped at the windows.
What waited for them was a surprising yet welcomed sight.
A dozen vehicles including Warthogs and Scorpions were rolling down a western streetway to surround the tower. They had a bit of difficulty maneuvering through the Grunt-filled shallows at the building's base. As they came to a stop, an Army officer jumped out from the lead hog into the knee-high water. He barely grimaced. His gray eyes and even grayer hair suggested his age. He glanced up to their position and spoke into his helmet's headpiece.
"This is Warrant Officer Ludowski. I'm with Convoy-10. We're here to secure the perimeters around the jammers for you good folks." He stopped to kick away a Grunt corpse that had floated too close. "Are you all well, Staff Sergeant?"
"We're all here sir." The Staff answered.
"Great to hear. We'll hold our position down here. You take care of that CCJ."
The Staff nodded. "Will do."
"Ep-1 to Ep-3, how's our Jackal situation?"
Deaks who had already clambered back to the observation deck reported in. "They're…all down sir. The Hornets must've finished them off on their way here."
"Copy. Squad, we're off duty for now. Get some R&R if you can. I'll take first watch."
No one moved as they eyed the Marines and Armored personnel establishing their perimeter, no one except Zack who yawned then collapsed into a chair.
It made Duncan realize how tired he actually was. His adrenaline rush was fading. But he fought the urge to sit down and rest since there was one last thing he needed to do.
He side-eyed Renni to his right. "Hey Ep-10?"
"Yeah?"
He tapped his helmet. "Thanks for the update."
Renni only stared at him as the others caught wind of the conversation.
"You did good, rookie." Yuri added.
Zack held a lazy thumbs up. "Thanks for the chocolate."
"…Yeah, nice work Ms. ONI." Hector laughed with palpable exhaustion.
Renni's visor depolarized. Her tired face brightened slightly with playful shock. "I thought it was Ms. ONI-lady?"
"What, you want me to call you that?"
Renni smiled and shook her head. She noticed the Staff from the side dipping is head in a respectful nod. "Good work, private." He walked off back to the visitor's center. The rest left one at a time to do the same. But Renni remained behind to stare out the window.
Duncan watched her stay there, lost in thought, perhaps thinking on how the operation was actually succeeding. ONI or not, she had helped them. Sure, he was still a little standoffish around her. Who wasn't around spooks? But maybe this spook, or ex-spook, was a bit more trustworthy than he had first thought. She had earned that much at least.
He left her alone to join the others. He reached an alcove column where Zack was already sitting against the other side, sound asleep.
Duncan clipped his SMG to his harness. He pressed his back against the column and slowly slid to the floor. He took one last look at the jammer then let his heavy eyes finally close.
Fiducia – Trust