A few kilometers ahead
After a brief dust-off, Keyes inspected each of his crewmates as he stood up.
Fortunately, they appeared no worse for wear than when they left the Autumn.
The lifeboat had touched down on solid ground with a clunky shudder.
If the landing angle were either a little steeper or shallower; more than likely, the entire lifeboat would have broken apart, turning those within into minced meat.
No, at the very worst, the landing had left some of its occupants shaken, possibly minor injuries and even a mild case of whiplash.
If anyone did sustain anything more severe, they were doing their damn best to put on a brave face in front of their superior officer.
Onto the question of their general safety.
It's no doubt that we made one hell of an entrance, and it would only be a matter of time before we're going to be greeted by an unwanted welcoming committee.
He thought to himself.
Now Keyes knew that Covenant's first priority would be to seize control of the Autumn once it settled onto the ring, ensuring that even the most organised of survivors would starve for ammunition and other essential supplies.
As far as he was able to tell, the ship was still undergoing its 'landing procedure', though their re-entry may have caused some interference to some of the ship's external instruments.
What he did know, as well as having a little more control, was a second, more dire matter;
capture of any high ranking officers, personnel with sufficient knowledge of stellar navigation or anyone with intel worthy of being kept alive.
We have to move now, and move fast.
He thought, wasting no time by filling the compact interior with his voice of authority.
"Right, everybody, if you're done taking your lunch break, grab whatever you can that isn't nailed in place!
We're gettin' the hell out of here while it's quiet."
"Yes sir!"
Was the sole response he received from those around him.
Two of the marines at the rear opened the hatch before forwarding their way out to survey the area.
The remaining members of the group set to work salvaging the entire contents from the lifeboat's compartments; ammunition cases, guns, medical supplies and food rations.
While watching his subordinates working diligently, one problem floated in the back of the Captain's mind, something that Cortana had said to him the second they dropped out of slipspace into the fleet which awaited them.
"The Covenant have always been faster."
So true, so very, very true.
How long have they been here waiting for us?
Whether it was three weeks or three days ago, the Covenant had numbers on their side, and more importantly… time.
Time to coordinate their ships for our exit out of slipspace, time to establish bases along the ring and worst of all, time to prepare ground forces to meet any and all evacuees looking to seek shelter on the ring's surface.
The next several hours were going to be crucial, every minute not doing something, anything even, may cost everyone present dearly.
But as the man rationalized their odds, it didn't phase him.
He'd be damned if humanity had been up against the odds like this and didn't come out on top.
It doesn't matter how big or how strong your opponent is… you just need to know where to hit them.
His thoughts were then interrupted, one of the marines, who was working to stuff several MRE rations into his pack looked up to see the Captain's face had lost all emotion, eyes glassy and still.
A few seconds passed, before he finally coaxed himself to speak up.
"Sir? Are… you good?"
This was enough to get the others' attention, and almost as one, they looked up at the man, then they glanced over to Keyes.
Keyes blinked after another few seconds had passed, all life returning back into his eyes as he flinched.
"Sorry. I'm fine."
He pinched the bridge of his nose as he massaged the area, blinking again as his eyes refocused on those in the escape pod.
"People, I have good news, it turns out that while we were making our landing, the Autumn had already touched down.
She's in bad shape, but she still lives."
He happily reassured his companions.
"Even with the odds stacked against her, the Autumn isn't going down easy.
Score one for the UNSC!"
One of the marines optimistically hollered.
"Oorah!"
The rest cheered.
As the excitement wore down, they went back to cannibalising the escape pod's contents.
Keyes involuntarily nodded in approval, feeling uplifted by the group's mood as he shuffled his way to the end of the craft.
Stepping outside, the CO shielded his eyes from the intense glare of the sun.
"How are things looking for our exit?"
"We've got no signs of any hostiles, so we're pretty good, all things considered."
One of the men answered without glancing back.
"Excellent." Keyes acknowledged, and as he did, the rest of the crew could be heard filing out from behind him.
"Dowski, is there any good locale we can retreat to?"
Upon hearing her name, Ellen Dowski moved until she was front and centre.
Being the one to pilot the Bumblebee for the group's escape, it was only natural that she would be called into question about where to proceed.
"The way I see it, we've got the best chance if we head southwest, looks the best to traverse by foot.
I saw a river running in that direction, so we'll have a good source of water at the very least."
"But what about cover Dowski?
The Covenant aren't really the type to enjoy the sight of holiday goers having a picnic by the local river."
"Oh there's cover alright, plenty of valleys and ridges to protect us from overhead.
There is one issue…"
She gave a minor pause as she tried to visualise the land below her, maybe she was just mis-remembering.
"That path doesn't go on forever, and cloud cover on the way down prevented me from seeing all the way through.
So I have no idea what's at the end."
"And you're sure that is the best route we can take?"
Dowski's expression was weary as she solemnly replied.
"Hate to say it, but it is the best of the bad bunch."
"Good enough for me."
The Captain earnestly said.
"Marines, saddle up and move on out."
"Yes Sir."
The small company answered, tightening the packs they carried, making last minute checks to see if they hadn't left anything, before marching out of the escape pod and getting into a formation, and heading in the direction their pilot had advised.
On the Seeker of Truth
Rtas held his breath, his mind going over what Thel laid out for him.
'Humans unlike any previously encountered'?
They did come in a variety of shapes, sizes and colours.
This was true for any species; no two Unggoy look alike.
Was his leader insinuating that these 'humans' weren't the same as what they have come to know them by?
What compounded matters further was the fact that according to Thel's reports, the humans- four of them- had been successful by not only infiltrating their own vessel, but also escaping unscathed, all whilst evading detection from a fully staffed ship.
When instructed to search the Seeker of Truth for the elusive intruders, Rtas made sure that as they surveyed every portion of the ship after the discovery was made; they would also scour for any casualties hidden along the way.
Yet, when the search was complete, the only casualties from the Seeker of Truth were those piloting banshees engaged in the battle with the humans in space.
A less poignant factor in Thel's report stated that the four were females, young ones at that.
What would this mean for them and their crew?
Mere children were able to survive on the fleet commander's personal carrier.
What could they have gleaned whilst aboard?
He couldn't see a clear answer, and as such, he looked back up to his commander.
"Do you consider them a threat?"
"No… at least, not for the time being."
Thel honestly answered.
Rtas nodded in agreement, there were more pressing matters that would need to be tended to before thinking about the strange incursion.
Before any further words could be shared between the two, the door to Thel's quarters chimed, opening to reveal a Sangheili major.
Though looking to be well composed, both the higher ranking warriors could easily tell the subtle hints there was a mix of worry and anxiousness adorning his face.
"My apologies for my immediate disruption."
He declared, placing a hand on his chest while giving a curt bow.
Rtas moved to speak for Thel, knowing exactly what his leader would utter in this situation.
"You needn't apologise.
You have come here because of matters that require our attention, have you not?"
"Indeed.
One patrol that was dispatched by the Prophet of Stewardship to search the sacred ring for possible holy sites has hailed us.
They report to have witnessed the human's ship fly overhead, before disappearing from their view and crashing into the ring's surface, the location is yet to be determined."
"Very well, have a small squadron of Banshee scout the area beyond this patrol's location.
Once they have located the crash site, create an aerial perimeter within the area and await reinforcements from the Truth and Reconciliation.
Even if there are units already assigned to scout for human survivors; pull them back to fortify the human vessel.
Choking their lifeblood will have a greater impact on them than directly cutting their lives short."
Thel commanded.
"Is there anything else of note?"
"There is, the same patrol also reports seeing what could potentially be an escape vehicle, once their squad regroups, they will investigate the craft.
The other patrols you have dispatched from the Truth and Reconciliation are slowly starting to report in, some have found crashed human escape vehicles and are cleansing those with survivors."
"That is good news, I shall accompany you back to the command centre so I can coordinate those ground forces accordingly."
Thel gestured to where the major came from.
When the supreme commander made the action, they could hear the clatter of footsteps, followed by the arrival of a Sangheili minor, and unlike the major, his breath was more labored and nerves were on full display.
"What is it?"
Thel immediately demanded, there could only be a handful of reasons why anyone under his supervision showed fear.
"C-commander… one of the patrols that were sent out by the Truth and Reconciliation, they have sent an urgent message.
Two banshee's which had accompanied the scouting party were destroyed upon seeing a lone survivor.
The Spirit pilot, after dropping off troops identified the foe.
The demon lives."
Back on the ring
The site where the minor battle had been fought, was now some distance away from them, the marines with the four girls kept their pace.
The fact that major didn't poke his head out until the last minute might have meant he had called for backup.
It was something the marines by no means were planning on sticking around to wait for.
Unfortunately, the only things they were able to salvage from the fight were four plasma grenades, most of the Covenant weapons were either too banged up for use or destroyed in the fight.
Luckily, the girl's still had plenty of juice left to keep fighting in their weapons, and as for the marines themselves, ammo was still in the green.
And speaking of the girls, though Weiss had offered to give Ruby a shoulder to lean on while they travelled, it may have only been ten or even fifteen minutes before Ruby assured the white haired girl that her injury no longer hurt to the point she couldn't walk on her own.
There definitely were going to be questions asked when they could breathe without Covenant on their backs.
Kappus shook his head, the more he tried not to think about what he had seen, the more his mind drew him back, Hosky was right.
One doesn't really survive an attack like that.
The man snapped out of his fixation by trying to distract himself, afterall, there were bigger problems to worry about beyond Ruby's quite frankly, miraculous recovery, like the likelihood of his squadmates surviving.
"Wonder if Jenkins and Chips made it out?"
He wondered aloud to the others, no doubt in his mind they were probably thinking the same thing.
"Wait a second."
Yang said, garnering the marine's attention as she went on.
"When you say chips, you mean Dubbo?
So his name is Chips Dubbo…?"
She trailed off.
"Yeah tell me about it, and where he's from, chips mean both the snack and the side dish."
"I don't think they even understand what you're talking about Hosky."
Fitzgerald chuckled.
"Sure we do, although we have snacks call potato chips-"
Ruby held her tongue as five pairs of eyes fell onto her.
"Hold on! You mean to tell me you know what potato chips are?"
Emmerson asked in mild exasperation.
Ruby stared blankly for a few seconds.
"Uh, yeah?"
"And then next you're gonna tell me you know what french fries are?"
She added.
"I mean, I don't know what 'french' are, but sure we've got fries too- ow."
Ruby was cut short as she felt a jab from Weiss.
"What was that for?"
Weiss whispered in a hushed voice.
"I think you need to drop the subject."
"Why?"
Ruby asked, oblivious to the looks she received from everyone around her.
Weiss appeared to be searching for the right words, or rather the right moment to speak.
She didn't have long to wait, the attention of the reasonably dumbstruck members of their group shifted as a small column of smoke was rising beyond the next hill.
Upon seeing them distracted, she leaned in and continued in an even quieter whisper.
"Didn't you see how they all looked at you the second you brought up potato chips?"
"I kinda did."
Ruby whispered back, her focus going to the marines, then back to Weiss, obviously not putting two and two together.
"And what about when Emmerson asked about 'french fries'?"
Weiss pressed further.
"So?"
She questioned with equal merit.
"We've just met these people, and they're wondering how we can know something which they think we don't."
She answered.
"I still don't get it?"
Ruby once again didn't comprehend what she was getting at.
Weiss held back the urge to either slap a palm to her head, or Ruby's, but she elaborated.
"Ruby, until today… we didn't think humans lived beyond Remnant."
"I get that, but what does-"
"They know what potatoes are!"
The heiress said, almost yelling what she had to spell out for her dolt of a leader.
Ruby said nothing, her mouth agape in shock as it finally dawned on her.
In the amount of time the red and white duo had their back and forth, the group had crossed the next hillside.
The smoke they had seen beforehand now became clearer, and at the bottom of the hill was a smoldering wreck, the source of said smoke.
They moved quickly, scanning their surroundings until they reached the heap, which only presented more questions for the girls as they saw the marines lower their weapons as if in mourning.
"What is that?"
Yang's intrigue getting the better of her.
"Jack rabbit." Fitzgerald answered, kneeling and moving a hand to inspect the intact sections.
"Reconnaissance vehicle, single occupant.
Fast, agile and, with the right timing, able to cripple an assault force before it even has time to react.
The Autumn only had a handful of these to begin with."
He continued looking over the wreck, a small chuckle escaping his mouth as he added.
"It's a wonder how the grenades are intact, considering the damage the rest of this thing took."
Kappus eyed the heap before giving his own thoughts.
"Actually looking at it up close, I reckon it was damaged by being dropped rather than sustaining it in combat."
He trailed off, smiling as he moved to what appeared to be a turret at the rear.
"And on further inspection, it looks like the manual firing mechanism is still in working condition."
"But why would they destroy it like that?
A perfectly good vehicle that sounds like it would come in handy.
Especially if we're scattered about."
Yang questioned, her voice almost sounding hurt.
"They did a dump run." Blake flatly answered, her eyes staring down at the wreck as she continued to elaborate.
"They must have been pursued, so they released the jackrabbit to shed excess weight, as a way to gain a little speed to evade their enemy."
Fitzgerald looks up as he gives the raven haired girl a quick nod.
"Bingo."
*Click*
"Hey Careful!"
Kappus shouted as Yang placed a hand onto the turret.
"That's the safety you just flicked off."
Before the man could begin to search the wreckage, the silence was broken as a gradually increasing hum filled the air, and judging by the marines now unease, the girls leveled their weapons in the direction of the sound.
"Here comes more!"
Bisenti yells.
From over the hill, a purple ship with a resemblance of a wishbone, sails into view, doubling back before slowly descending to the ground.
Sitting on the bottom of the craft appeared to be a three pronged fork,scanning the area from left to right.
As if it had a mind of its own, or more accurately, the pilot operating the ship catching sight of the group, the fork swiveled to face their direction.
The four girls' eyes widened as the fork began to fire three sets of plasma bolts, slowly at first before increasing in frequency, the bolts matching the colour of the craft.
The group breaks their tight nit formation, causing the shots to harmlessly turn the grass and dirt into molten glass as it fails to track a target.
With the hostiles in momentary disarray, the craft started to descend.
When it was several meters above the ground, the hatches on either side hinged open, revealing a swath of aliens comfortably standing inside the seemingly harness-less compartments.
The marines then leveled their weapons, opening fire, several bullets managing to clip one or two of the smaller aliens, while others harmlessly either were absorbed by the ship, or ricocheted off energy shields.
On the side of the Spirit that was directly facing the incoming barrage of firefight, a Sangheili minor was braced in his position, his shields effortlessly soaking up any bullets that made contact with him.
The same however, could not be said for the Unggoy beside him, a bullet landing squarely into his forehead, splattering light blue blood in every direction, a small droplet of which splashed onto the minor's mandible.
He watched as the lifeless body tumbled out of the open hatch and landed just a foot off of where the hatch opened.
As he felt the gravity harness holding him in disengage, he calmly leapt out, landing with a gentle thud and looking down at the body, all the while keeping his mandibles firmly shut so as not to get a taste of the fallen's blood.
Whichever human that had killed the Unggoy- it did not matter, they were all going to regret doing that.
He thought to himself, making a display of wiping off the blood before unholstering his weapon and firing into the cover they so eagerly sought behind.
The group of nine huddled behind the hail of plasma fire, the derelict jackrabbit being the closest source of cover.
In fact, it was the only source of safety on the flat terrain, the only other way out of this mess other than to fight, would be to retreat back up the hill.
The hail of fire only intensifies as the second half of the craft's occupants touch ground and move to bolster support to the first line of offence, all the while the craft closes its hatches, rising in altitude and giving another volley of plasma, some shots getting dangerously close to its targets.
"This is useless, we're pinned down."
Fitzgerald yells as he drops his head back behind the cover while grabbing a fresh magazine after ejecting the empty one.
"Well, unless you have a better plan, I'd love to hear it, otherwise, keep the fire up, and them as far away from us as possible."
Kappus retorts, producing something from the side of his belt.
"Grenade!"
He calls, flicking the switch before throwing the explosive over the cover.
The grenade sails through the air and lands at the feet of some of the smaller aliens that were from the second half of the assault.
Three seconds later, the grenade erupts, sending the aliens flying, as well as breaking the shield of a maroon coloured larger alien.
The small loss of numbers on the Covenant side caught some of the less disciplined of them, their attention focusing on their fallen brethren.
The marines took the advantage, balancing their rifles on the jackrabbit, firing on those distracted.
The group were successful by downing only three or four before the rest kept the onslaught of fire on them, causing them to duck back behind safety.
A few seconds later, Hosky pokes his head out of cover to lay more fire, only to narrowly miss a shot that collides with a piece of armour plating dangerously close to him, causing sparks of molten metal to spray around, he winced as one or two droplets coat his armour, though not melting and sinking into the inner lining.
Yang fires another two shots, before retreating.
This is useless, like Fitzgerald said, we can't push them back and they're going to gain ground.
She then looks over her right shoulder.
Unless…
Without a second thought, Yang clambered to her feet and bolted for the rear of the Jackrabbit.
"What are you doing!?"
She heard Kappus scream, though it was slightly muffled as several plasma bolts whizzed past her ears with a high pitched squeal.
In turn, showing her enemies she wasn't intimidated, she fired her own pistol, clipping several smaller aliens and flaring a shield of one big guy.
After a few shots, she firmly held the trigger, eyeing which bastard was the closest to her as the weapon's indicator filled, the thing becoming dangerously hot in her grip as well as beginning to shudder.
A second or two later, she released the trigger, sending an overcharged bolt into a cobalt blue armoured alien.
The instant her finger relaxed, the weapon went into cooldown, its top hatch opening to vent the excess heat, in doing so, Yang tossed it to the ground before reaching for the grenade launcher attached to the vehicle.
In that short time, from throwing her weapon to getting a grip on the grenade launcher, she felt a jolt as a plasma bolt landed on her chest, her aura flaring in response.
Ruby was right, feels like hot coffee… on steroids.
She seethed, but unlike her little sister, Yang bore the brunt of the pain, grimacing at the reflection of her personal endurance as another three or four bolts clipped her.
That's what I get for putting myself out in the open-
Her thoughts were immediately cleared as a glassy crackle echoed, she quickly glanced down to see pink dust wedged in between her aura, just above her left shoulder.
She didn't contemplate on it too much as she lifted a hand to remove it, as she was just halfway, the crystal shattered sending dozens of smaller shards in every direction, some sticking into her aura, including her hand, while others fell to the ground.
The pain was indescribable, but yet her aura held, and with it, she clenched her teeth as she went back to trying to operate the turret.
Meanwhile, the marines, who kept behind cover, looked on as they were paralyzed in place, the blonde had taken more of a hefty brunt compared to her younger sister and still stood fighting.
Hell, she just was hit by a needler shard and the damn thing exploded without causing a mangled mess like they were known for inflicting.
"Don't just sit there, we can attack while they're distracted."
Weiss called in order to snap the marines out of their trance, Ruby and Blake continuing to lay suppressive fire against the Covenant who targeted their teammate.
Now jostling the turret, Yang swivelled the thing until it lined up with the cluster of aliens.
WIth her finger poised, she squeezes the trigger, and a satisfying *Thwump* rang out, sailing through the air before exploding into the second half of the group, killing most of the smaller aliens and wearing down the shields of a maroon alien.
Before any could recover, Yang fired another single volley into the group scattering bodies, limbs and weapons left, right and centre, rendering the second half of the fighting force neutralized.
"Yang, the ship!"
Ruby screamed, forcing Yang to shift her sights on the craft above, its turret changing its target from the group to her.
The dropship's turret whirled to life, firing five successive shots of three directly at the blonde.
Yang remained in place, merely allowing the fire to clash against her aura.
As the turret fired the last set of shots, there came a momentary respite, causing her to take the opportunity, reorienting the mounted gun, firing upwards.
Unfortunately, she didn't take into account the weight of the grenade and gravity.
The shot arced in the air, before falling past the turret and colliding with the underside of the hull for the transport.
The gears in the blonde's head quickly turned as she did her best to course correct for the trajectory of the grenade.
The dropship's turret once again rained purple hellfire on the girl, but before it could complete its second set, she squeezed the trigger.
*Thwump*
This time, the single salvo sailed in the air and just as it looked like it would fall too short, the grenade found itself comfortably wedged between the underside of the dropship and the upper side of the turret.
In a blink of an eye, the grenade goes off, the turret on the dropship jerking in its aim away from any of the targets, all life it had seconds ago blown asunder.
Afterwhich, the Covenant patrol helplessly watched as the dropship increased in altitude before flying in the direction it arrived at this group of humans.
Clearly that turret was definitely disabled if it spooked the pilots enough for them to retreat.
Yang smirked to herself.
Now with less weapons fired on them from the spirit, the marines felt a lot more confident as they pulled themselves out of cover to finish off the remaining Covenant scouting party.
After all, she couldn't have all the fun, could she.
Before the remaining Covenant patrol was completely cut down, before the marines aided Weiss, Ruby and Blake with fire support, this group of aliens were left in shock, or at least the Unggoy very much were.
As for the Sangheili, they felt a bout of dread momentarily by the sight before their eyes, it wasn't a demon, but a mere human they had witnessed absorb several plasma bolts, a needle crystal and several volleys from a spirit's turret, and the human still drew breath.
Perhaps an ultra or zealot would have the combat harness necessary to withstand such a combination of deadly blows, but a human?
She didn't even appear to wear any armour like the rest of her kind, not even the shell worn by their demons.
No, dread wasn't the right word for what the Sangheili patrol bore witness, for in those brief seconds before their death, one emotion struck them to their very core… fear.
The Sangheili minor who initially swore to get revenge for his fallen Unggoy fought valiantly, or so he hoped.
That wretched girl with golden hair proved too much for him, another one of her attacks barely hitting him directly, the Unggoy beside him however, joined the number of casualties on their side.
The resulting shockwave from the blast was enough to knock him to the ground, the rest of his kin succumbing to gunfire from the rest of the humans.
While trying to pick himself up along the ground, he scanned the area, he was all that remained, twelve units strong, completely torn asunder.
Reaching his arm to drag himself forward, he felt another wave of pain wash over him, his body riddled with shrapnel and minor burns, every fibre of his being ached.
His eyes narrowed at the girl, his contempt growing as he slowly lifted his rifle and squeezed the trigger, two shots hitting directly into the female, her shields proving resilient.
He let off another bolt, again, the female remained standing, unflinching.
He knew his fate was set for death as he locked eyes with the girl.
Yang meanwhile took the time to tilt the turret down, glare at the foe before her, and firmly squeezed the trigger.
*Thwump*
The grenade rocketed forward, impacting onto the target and creating a cloud of dust and blood.
"Alright we did it!"
Emmerson exhaled in celebration while reloading a fresh magazine.
With the air of calm returning, the marines slowly ventured away from the jackrabbit to inspect their surroundings, keeping their rifles trained on the Covenant bodies.
After confirming they were in the clear, they went to scavenge the remains for any gear, but with the blonde's eagerness, that was a rather frugal ordeal.
And upon thinking about Yang, Hoskey spoke up.
"Okay, I know we are going to talk about it later… but, can we please address the elephant in the room."
He took a moment to remain calm as he looked over at Yang.
"How the hell did you just stand there and take that many shots like you were having a water balloon fight with them rather than being hit by some few thousand degree bolts of superheated plasma?"
"Just hang on a second Hosky this isn't really-"
"No Emmerson, I think we deserve some sort of explanation."
Hosky silenced his comrade, as his gaze fell onto the four girls.
"It's one thing for Ruby to survive two hits, but it's another for Yang to just stand directly in the face of enemy fire and come out of it completely unscathed.
I'm starting to suspect Dubs might have been onto something-"
"Hosky!"
Emmerson interjected more harshly than she liked.
"Stop talking for a second."
Instantly the man shut his mouth, watching as the bumblebee pilot tilted her head ever so slightly, before then looking back at the others.
"Does anyone else hear that?"
Beneath her bow, Blake's ears subtly flicked around, until she heard something.
Slowly, she moved a hand behind her right ear as if she were trying to pick up on the sound more easily if the marines noticed her, a trick she had done in the early days of Beacon.
It was faint, but she equated it to popcorn popping in the microwave.
"I can, coming from the north east.
It's gunfire."
She lowered her hand and kept talking, another way to distract them.
"After all we've gone through, I think this is the first time to hear conflict that isn't ours."
"Well then that's where we'll be heading."
Bisenti declares, pointing in the direction of the apparent gunfire and stepping forward.
"So we really aren't going to address what we all just saw?"
Hosky questioned with a slightly hurt tone.
Weiss sighed, slowly walking up to Hosky and remained calm as she spoke to him.
"I know that right now, you have a lot of questions about us, and believe me, I think I can say with utmost confidence on behalf of my team, the feeling is mutual.
Please understand that the world we call home is full of dangers that we have been trained to fight, and our humanity is born with the ability to protect itself from that harm."
Hosky conceded, hanging his head in defeat before nodding and trudging to follow alongside Bisenti.
Whether he liked it or not, for now, that was the answer he had to accept.
With that, the other slowly began to leave, but as she took a few steps and realised her sister wasn't moving, Ruby turned back to see Yang still standing beside the Jackrabbit, hands on her hips while eyeing the turret.
"Yang are you coming?"
She asked with a slight confused tone, noticing the smile that was forming on her sister's face.
She knew that look, and in the context of the Jackrabbit; it could only mean one thing.
Yang said nothing, her grin still plastered on her face as she went to scoop up her plasma pistol before sauntering back to the turret and inspecting it once again.
By now, the others had picked up on the blonde's reluctance to leave the stationary grenade launcher.
"I reckon this thing will come in handy."
She happily mused, placing one hand on the rear of the weapon, and the other on the underside.
With a quick placement of her feet, she tugged on the mounted weapon, putting her back into it.
"Yang, that's not going to-"
Kappus hesitantly began, his words being caught in his mouth as a shearing sound cut him off. Afterwhich, the turret creaked and groaned under the stresses put onto the fixtures keeping it in place, that was until there came a metallic crack as sparks and bolts flew in every direction.
Once the shock wore off, the marines stared at the blonde who now happily smiled as she clasped the turret with both hands.
"Work."
Kappus trailed off.
Only ODST's and Spartans were able to rip off a turret from its base, and even then, those things were designed to do so, this thing however wasn't.
After eyeing the few grenades still attached to the turret, Yang reflected an eager smile at the group.
"I can get five shots outta this thing."
When the marines had stopped staring in disbelief, the group started to walk north eastwards,
hopefully, by the time they get to where Emmerson and Blake heard the conflict, the only corpses left lying about would be Covenant.
On the Seeker of Truth
Thel, Rtas and the two subordinates in tow, made their way back to the control room, double time.
Once standing at the holotable, with Rtas by his side, the fleet commander studied the information splayed before him.
What had previously projected the ships in combat with the human vessel, now displayed several clustered points on the ring; scouting parties engaged with human survivors.
As he heard his two Sangheili underlings take their respective positions, he glanced over and addressed the major.
"Has the prophet of Stewardship returned to the Ascendant Justice?"
While one of the majors begins communicating to the ship in question, Thel then turned to the second subordinate
"The scouting party that sighted the demon.
Are there any patrols nearby that may be able to aid the original?"
With a quick thumb of the display before him, the Sangheili looked back and answered.
"There is a single spirit dropping off a squad to deal with human survivors in the next canyon, and there are only four that are within desirable limits to overwhelm them as well as the demon.
Anything beyond that is too far out of range and would only arrive to find vanquished foes."
"Do not underestimate the demon, they have been overwhelmed before, and they sometimes could rise from the battle-"
"Commander."
The Sangheili major beckons Thel's attention.
"I have received a response from the Ascendant Justice, the prophet is still in transit."
Thel then turned to the first subordinate.
"And what about the scouting party working to find the whereabouts of the human vessel's crash site?"
Back on the surface of the ring.
Captain Keyes and the rest of his company trekked deeper into the path carved by the formation of rocks.
He gave no thought about how much time had passed since they left the bumblebee, instead, he pondered everything that had transpired within the last month or so.
The Autumn was the very last ship to escape Reach with a full military suite, any poor souls still on the surface were left to fend for themselves, and would eventually be decimated by the Covenant.
Even at Azod, dozens of men and women sacrificed themselves to bide time for the arrival of Noble team.
Had they not been assigned by Kathrine…
He doubted Cortana would have arrived at all, let alone safely in one piece.
The thought of Kathrine halted Keyes dead in his tracks, the man had to be coaxed by one of the marines before he resumed the journey with them.
He was a captain of the UNSC, personally considering himself honest, and morally standing, unfortunately morality had a way of being tested in times of war.
His past pretty much justified this reasoning.
He knew that the Office of Naval Intelligence had its secrets, and with his clearance level, he was aware of Noble Team's mission to sword base, as well as the saber project.
If only more could have been manufactured, the odds in a space dogfight would have been stacked in our favour.
He was also privy to the true reason for the construction of swordbase, and what lay beneath it.
From what he was able to ascertain; at the deepest depths of swordbase stood a library of sorts, information, something that Kathrine had been studying at great lengths prior to the arrival of the Covenant's massive fleet.
Cortana had been aiding her at that time, and when it came to her departure off world, Noble Team had been there to help pass the baton.
Kathrine was never someone to openly share her feelings, but when she claimed that what she may have uncovered down there could hold the key to turning the tide of the war; he knew there was hope in her voice.
What that key was?
He never got the chance to ask.
It was this thinking that made the Captain begin to doubt, speculate on the reality of things…
Was our blind jump really so blind?
It definitely was odd to see such an alien structure of this magnitude in seemingly a random part of space.
But with the galaxy as large as it was, containing some hundred billion stars, who's to say it wasn't?
"SHIT."
Keyes gave no further speculation as he was snapped out of his thoughts, hearing outcry coming from the bumblebee's pilot.
When he looked up, he couldn't blame her as he cursed under his own breath.
The group had come to a complete stop, not as a result of sheer exhaustion from walking without stopping, nor because one of them had slipped and injured themselves, or even coming face to face with a Covenant scouting party.
No, what had caused them to stop was simply due to the fact that they stood at the entrance to what appeared to be a box canyon.
Its walls of rock enclosing every direction except where they currently stood.
"Great, now what do we do?"
One of the marines asked in frustration.
"What can we do?
We only have two options, stay here or turn back."
Another, Swan responded, his voice taking on a panicked tone.
Keyes stepped ahead of the tight-nit formation to get a better view, slowly scouring the landscape before him.
The rock wall itself was at an almost ninety degree angle, meaning that climbing was out of the question.
It wasn't completely barren, several clusters of boulders strewn the sandy terrain, but how long could hiding work to their advantage?
They would eventually have to move, and he doubted the Covenant were going to give up the search after twenty four hours of their arrival.
Then there was the lack of any source of shelter from the elements, even if they wanted to set up camp here for the time being, they would have to move eventually.
Quite frankly, he was at a loss.
After a few minutes, his eyes trailed back to those under his command.
He raised an eyebrow when they landed on the Bumblebee pilot, who was standing with her back to the others.
She appeared lost to the world as her focus lay on the path that had led them here, the same path she recommended to be the best option.
"What's on your mind Dowski?"
The pilot stayed speechless for some time, lifting her head up to the sky before finally answering her CO.
"Everyone who made it out and landed groundside is going to be hunted down by the Covenant, us included.
Our pod was the very last to leave the Autumn, so there's no way that at least one Covenant patrol would have seen the bumblebee and are able to track it.
Like Swan said, we stay here, or we can go back…
Maybe, if we're lucky we evade detection and are able to group up with more survivors."
There was a momentary pause as she compiled herself before going on.
"The Covenant are bound to find our lifeboat, track the trail we've taken, and if Jackals are involved, more likely than not they'll find us much sooner."
She clenched her fists, her voice tense after she exhaled as she turned to them.
"If they were to find a lone survivor… what's to say they'd continue to search along the same region if they knew that survivor was in fact the only one aboard the escape pod?"
"What are you trying to say?"
One of the men, Singh asked, concern creeping its way into his voice, although the question itself was rhetorical, he still wanted to hear the answer from her mouth.
Dowski never once faltered in her stance as she explained.
"There's a third option that we're not considering. It's not one for the faint of heart, and I wouldn't blame any of us for not thinking about it.
If the Covenant captured one of us, either we would die at best-"
"That's the 'at best'?" The same marine interrupted before he was abruptly silenced when Dowski met his eyes.
"Or, at worst, we are taken prisoner and are horribly tortured until we talk.
So, if one of us were to run out of here and manage to bump into a Covenant searching party-"
"Are you out of your mind!
You can't do that-"
"If you think for a second I'm going to rat you all out, or the location of Earth for that matter… I'll die before it ever came to that."
"What about-"
"And don't think I'm needlessly throwing my life away…"
Despite the landscape suggesting an arid climate, the air became suddenly cold as everyone present fell silent at Dowski's words.
"I had family on Reach, and they died during the evacuation at New Alexandria, along with some six hundred other souls."
"It's still crazy. Sir, please talk some sense into Dowski."
"..."
"Sir?"
They all looked at the Captain, the man lost in thought as he weighed the idea.
"Sir, with all due respect-"
The marine's words became caught in his throat as the Captain looked up at the group, there was definite pain in his eyes, though to his credit, the rest of his features remained unwavering.
"By no means do I condone this behaviour, but I don't have the luxury of options here.
With that said, I can't allow you to walk out of here with nothing more than your pistol with one bullet, and potentially, if it comes down to it, a single grenade."
"Thank you sir."
Dowski nodded solemnly as she began to unbuckle the loaded backpack she carried.
"Captain, I know you are my superior, but permission would like to voice my objection to this blatantly idiotic plan-"
"Your objection is noted Singh.
However, Dowski is free to make this decision herself.
And right now, it's the only plan that we have other than staying put."
Singh simply chewed the inside of his mouth, and shuffled where he stood, clearly still against the idea, but kept his thoughts on the matter to himself.
Dowski, by that time, had finished passing over what little she held on her before walking up to the Captain, and handing him her pistol.
He looked down at the weapon before removing the magazine and handing her back the gun.
As she holstered it, Keyes noticed two marines moving forward.
"Collier, Swan, if you two think you can convince me not to let Dowski go, I don't want to hear it."
The two men gave each other knowing glances before Swan spoke up.
"Actually, we were thinking, we want to join Dowski."
"Are you freaking kidding me!"
Singh angrily cursed, though the marine kept his frustration to a low mutter, the last thing they needed was to be found out by a mere bout of annoyance bouncing off of the canyon walls.
Keyes blinked in surprise.
"I'm sorry, it sounded like you said you wanted to join Dowski."
Collier nodded as he answered.
"That is correct sir."
"Might I be wrong to think that you two are okay with either the possibility of being killed or horribly tortured?"
"That's somewhat correct, sir."
Swan replied
"And what pray tell has sparked you to do this?"
Collier closed his eyes, gently inhaling the fresh air, savouring the feeling as thoughts turned to his wife as well as his parents before he opened them again.
"Well, as Dowski said; Covenant are going to be looking for survivors.
If those of us who are still alive are going to have any chance of success to fight to survive, you're going to have to make it out of here.
We've all lost people we care about during this war, and we still have loved ones out there, on Earth.
If Swan, Dowski and I can somehow play a part to prevent them from knowing its location by risking our lives, then we will gladly do so."
Swan then spoke up.
"And if not, well, we go out on our own terms rather than let them have the final say."
He then glanced over to the bumblebee pilot.
"I mean, that's if you don't mind us taggin' along Dowski?"
A wry smirk crept up her lips as she looked between the pair.
"Nah- If anything I'd like some company."
With that, the two men slowly began to shed the heavy weight on their shoulders.
Then, all three eyes landed on their Captain as he got their attention.
"What can I say, other than…
Thank you, all three of you."
Their leader saluted, to which the others did so, even if Singh had his objections, he did so without question.
Swan, Collier and Dowski looked at their fellow men, and returned the salute.
Once they had emptied their magazines and gave whatever else they couldn't carry, the three slowly made their way out of the box canyon and through the path they traveled, eventually disappearing from sight of the others.
"Now that they're gone, what are we supposed to do?"
One of the men asked aloud.
Keyes' answer was solemn.
"All we can do now is bide our time…"
Well I'll be, two chapters in the span of a week?
Christmas has come early...
Well here we are again, another chapter ready for you to enjoy (hopefully).
And as for the last, the thing I forgot to mention last week.
I hope the idea of a UNSC medkit containing Aloe Vera didn't seem too far fetched?
We all know about the handy dandy biofoam, but I guess I wanted to include something where somehow even in the future, sometimes the basic plants can do wonders.
And as for this chapter:
I find it interesting in sci-fi when you have completely differing alien species/ or even human ones, yet they still have vegetables akin to earth, or in Stargate SG-1's case, every world looks like Canada.
RWBY is no different (They have turkeys for crying out loud), so I thought it would be fun to play on that idea.
Again, I am just feeling nothing but elated eagerness this month.
Exactly three weeks till Age Of Mythology: Retold releases!
Now onto the reviews:
Monster King:
Thank you, I will do so with intent.
ikusatsunagi:
There will be much talk, and not just with Chief... I will leave it at that, and it may look like it will be not next week, but the week after (still writing, editing and formatting).
StarKiller215:
Happy to know I am on track to good.
Guest:
No, I understand. I just don't know how it behaves, also if you don't mind me asking (please comment/ review) how are you reading this?
Phone?
Web?
FanFic App?
Welp, gotta end it there, I need to get to bed for work.
And I will see you in the next.