Bleeding Out
Disclaimer: I do not in any shape or form own Halo. It belongs to Bungie, 343 Industries, and Microsoft, nor am I associated with them in any way. This is a non-profit fan work written solely for the purpose of entertainment. This is in no way canon.
Responses to questions or statements:
-admiral89: Thanks, mate. I do have some ideas on other changes I can make to the franchise. Though, I'm still working on fleshing them out and whether or not if it'll fit in the story.
-WarCorgi: Thank you. As for whether or not NOBLE will meet the Spartan-IIs, they will later meet Chief, as this story is a prequel to another story I made ,"Unbreakable." Whether they meet the rest of the Spartan-IIs, well that remains to be seen.
-Guest: Thank you very much for the idea. Also, (spoilers), I'm afraid that the majority of Noble Team will be on the Pillar of Autumn, as this story is intended to be a prequel to my other fic 'Unbreakable.' However, your idea on having NOBLE Team, or at least Casper and Kat, go to Onyx with Halsey and Kelly to meet Kurt, Lucy, and Tom is an interesting one and is definitely something I'll be thinking about. However, I have not read the Halo books, only read a brief summary of a few, so I don't know if I can do it justice or not. Nevertheless, I do appreciate the ideas and I'm happy that you're enjoying the story.
-CMDR Kovacs: Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't a chalk a group of soldiers or paratroopers that deploy from a single aircraft, usually a platoon or company sized force, not the transport itself. At least, that's what I found when I was researching. Of course, I could be wrong since, like I said before, I never served in the United States or any real world military. Still, thank you the assistance. If you did serve, than I apologize.
-Mythic Imagination: Thank you very much. Hope you enjoy this chapter, mate.
-Krieger Techpreist: Glad you like that. It's always nice to see someone else appreciate the militia boys in Halo Reach.
-GloGang214: Yup! The rest of NOBLE Team and Dot better be careful so that Casper's laziness doesn't spread to them as well. I thought it would be neat if Casper shows them his interests and hobbits, give them a look at what regular people do for fun. Also, I am thinking on showing a snippet from one of their movie nights or where Casper introduces them to gaming. Maybe have one of them inquire on something like 40k or Aliens, which causes Six to spend hours explaining the lore to them. Though I haven't decided yet.
-tewewrtwe: I'm sorry, but I don't get what you mean by stations of canon, did you mean the missions or the campaign itself? Also, I'm sorry to hear that you don't enjoy this story. Like I said before, I'm not exactly a great writer but I am trying to improve. But still, thank you for giving this story a shot.
Now, onto the chapter!
Chapter 7
(Date: August 12, 2552 )
(Location: Viery Territory, Reach )
When Casper and Jun had made it back to the Forward Operating Base that the UNSC were using to launch the offensive, the two of them were debriefed as they waited for the rest of the infantry scouts to return. The militiamen they had come across on their mission were escorted out of the area with the rest of the evacuees as they were informed about the assault. Once they were done with the debrief, Six decided to hand in his SRS-99 and M899 LAAW for a Series 12 Single Operator Lift Apparatus (SOLA), more commonly referred to as a jetpack. This piece of equipment was primarily issued to and used by those in Air Assault or Airbourne units like the 101st Airborne of the ODST 'Bullfrogs'. Seeing as how the quartermaster had a few extra ones, he decided to give it to Casper from a nearby storage depot before taking in his spare weapons he was handing in. Seeing as how they were waiting on "the word" before they could begin the operation, Six decided to pass the time by taking a nap in the driver's seat in one of the Warthogs going to be used in the counter offensive. It was the one that was assigned to NOBLE Team for the operation as the team was going to be rolling with the 83rd Mechanized for the attack on the Covenant landing zone.
He was woken up by the sounds of artillery batteries firing as the sound they made was akin to thunder. From where he was sitting a good distance away, he could see M103 Salamanders off to the side firing 105mm rounds at designated targets marked by scouts last night. A moment later, he also saw dozens of 40 by 180mm Orion rockets shoot off into the sky as they launched from the rocket bins on M381 Widows. All of these weapon systems firing shook the ground and created a thunderous noise that would've caused anyone near the site to go deaf if they weren't wearing hearing protection. Fortunately, that was unlikely as the artillery and rocket batteries were a good distance away from the FOB and that the crews for these vehicles were issued hearing protection, even if it was military-grade.
About half an hour of continuous bombardment later he saw Kat making her way to the vehicle with a BR55 service rifle as her primary and a M6D as a backup weapon, along with frag and smoke grenades in the pouches attached to her armor. She stopped as soon as she reached the drivers side of the Warthog and held her rifle at low-ready before speaking.
"I was beginning to think you were going to sleep for the entire operation, Casper." Kat said with a hint of mirth in her voice.
"Ha, ha, very funny," Six replied with sarcasm before getting to the point, "so what's the word?"
"The commander has paired us together for the initial assault, so looks like we're together for the time being. Now move aside, I'll be taking the wheel," she explained as she waited expecting for him to move to the passenger's side. Only to be met by a single word in response.
"No," Six retorted without missing a beat.
Noble two let out a sigh of frustration. "I've gotten a lot better at driving over the years , Six, you're worrying too much." Kat argued in an almost childish manner. "Now move, that's an order." She continued as she tried to pull rank.
"Really, Kat?" Six replied dryly. "You're going to resort to pulling rank?"
"Come on , Casper, don't you trust me?"
"Kat...let me be perfectly honest with you," Casper explained as clearly as he could. "I have more faith in the driving ability of a blind and deaf monkey than I do with you. I'm sorry, but I ain't moving." He said with finality. There were only a few instances where Casper felt true fear in his two lives, with one of them being without a doubt when he rode a vehicle Kat was driving when they were training to be Spartans along with two others. Both of whom refused to get in another vehicle with her even if she wasn't driving, something that he and many other of their fellow trainees couldn't blame them for.
The two stared each other down, as well as they could've considering they were both wearing helmets, for what felt like hours before Noble two lowered her head and her shoulders slumped in defeat, realizing that nothing could be done to convince him otherwise and that the assault would be starting momentarily.
In defeat, she walked to the back of the vehicle and climbed on, pulling back the charging handle on the turret to chamber a round as she wrapped her fingers around the grips. Thanks to Six's enhanced hearing, he could hear her mumbling under her breath about her driving wasn't that bad. A sentiment that wasn't shared by Casper, the rest of NOBLE Team, and everyone that saw her driving in the past.
Ten minutes later, just as the son had come up, they began moving out with a force comprised of M530 Onyx IFVs, M464 Dauntless APCs, and M12 FAV Warthogs, along with UH-144 Falcons to provide air support. The trip took around thirty minutes before the Covenant energy dome could be seen off in the distance. The sounds of rocket fire and artillery fading to prevent accidental friendly fire as UNSC forces were now moving into the area for phase 2 of the operation.
"It appears that last night's discovery was not an anomaly. Large enemy deployments have occurred undetected and we are now under attack on various fronts across the Viery territory, including orbital defense sites and UNSC installations."
Dot's synthetic voice popped up on their comms as she briefed them on last night's developments.
"In accordance with the Winter Contingency, we are now initiating counterattacks on every front. Reconnaissance had also identified and located sophisticated enemy hiding canopies, along with what looks to be a LZ for additional Covenant reinforcements, the origin of which is yet to be determined."
"/ That LZ has been marked by CENTCOM as a priority one target. /" Carter informed NOBLE over the SQUADCOMM.
"/ Det-charge link is Lima Charlie! /" Jun announced with clear enthusiasm in his voice.
"/ Copy that, /" Casper replied as he took out the M102 firing device with his left hand, otherwise known as a clacker for the C-12 he and Jun planted last night during the recon op, keeping his right hand on the steering wheel. He took a glance right as the small light on the firing device turned from red to green, signaling that the detonator was now in range of the remote explosives. "/ Blowing in three, two, one...Fire in the hole! /"
Six repeatedly squeezed the trigger of the detonator which resulted in a cloud of smoke and fire from the location of the Covenant spire Casper and Jun uncovered the night before.
There wasn't any time to celebrate as a flight of Banshees came into view and began firing plasma missiles at the UNSC armored force. They were able to neutralized a few warthogs before they were forced to break off as a squad of F-99 Wombats fired their Sidewinder air-to-air missiles missiles, causing the Banshees to launch evasive maneuvers as they tried to break the lock. With this, the UNSC ground forces could focus their attention on the Covenant ground forces without getting picked off by Covenant aircraft
A few Warthogs, including the one with Casper and Kat, broke off from the main attack force and drove towards a nearby bridge that led to a ridge overlooking the Covenant landing zone.
"Incoming!" Kat yelled as turned the Warthog's turret and began firing 12.7mm rounds at a Phantom heading to the bridge.
The Covenant dropship fired what looked to be the plasma equivalent of forty millimeter high explosive rounds from a canon underneath the Phantom's cabin. Causing the bridge to go up in an explosion of blue energy along with an unfortunate Warthog with its three Army personnel that was crossing it at the moment.
"Hang on to something!" Casper shouted as he slammed his armored foot down on the gas, putting the pedal to the metal. Using part of the destroyed bridge as a ramp as he put as much speed as he could into the Warthog and launched it through the air.
As the vehicle slammed on the ground as it landed on the other side, the force of the impact had broke the axle, causing the two Spartan-IIIs to jump out as the Warthog flipped over twice before stopping at the end of the bridge.
"Six!" Noble Two's yelled out as she got up from where she landed and ran to where Six was lying, clearly a bit disoriented. "Can you hear me? Are you alright?!" The tech specialist inquired as he started to get up just as a Covenant Spirit flew into view. "I could use some help here!"
"I'm coming. I'm coming." Casper replied stiffly as he grabbed his MA37 off the ground and pushed himself back to his feet. Taking cover behind a nearby rock as Kat positioned herself behind the overturned and destroyed M12 FAV Warthog. He quickly pulled back the charging rifle on the rifle to see a round in the chamber before letting the handle go and shouldering the weapon.
The spirit fired off a few plasma rounds at Kat from where she was taken cover. To counteract this, she slammed her fist to the ground as she activated an energy shield that surrounded her. This protected her from the plasma barrage as the Warthog was left a burning wreck. Thankfully, the shield had just enough energy for the barrage as it disappeared when the last plasma round landed right next to it.
Not wasting any time, Six grabbed a nearby M41 SPNKR that was thrown out of the Warthog when it crashed and fired at the Covenant dropship. It didn't destroy the spirit, but it did fall back as Casper fired a second time before setting the now empty rocket launcher on the rock he was taking cover behind. Causing significant damage to the dropship as it began trailing smoke and blue fires started appearing its engines, looking dangerously close to falling out of the sky as it went back in the direction it came from.
"/ Two, Six, this is One, what's your status? / Over." Carter inquired as his voice came the radio.
"/ Enemy pylons are down in grid charlie-four-three. /" Kat responded. " / We're oscar mike to phase line gold. Over. /"
"/ Roger, be advised, we've have a PID on two Covenant Anti-Aircraft guns southwest of your position. Bearing two-two-zero. Can you assist? Over. /"
"/ Copy that, Noble three out. /" The 2IC of NOBLE Team replied before she turned back to Six. "Let's get those AA guns down."
Casper and Kat made their way up a nearby hill, where they came across a group of Grunts, Jackals, and Elite Minors as before the two factions opened fired on one another. The Covenant troops were quickly slaughtered by the combined firepower of the two Spartan-IIIs as Six launched a forty millimeter high-explosive round, taking out a good portion of the Covenant unit, while Kat picked off the rest with her BR55. When all the Covenant troops were lying dead, the two continued forwards as they went over the hill, where they spotted an M12 FAV with a M79 Multiple Launch Rocket System, along with the bodies of two who were most likely the the previous occupants of the vehicle.
After Six made a quick sign of the cross, paying respect to the deceased Army personnel, the two Spartans quickly searched them for any spare supplies, gaining a few mages for their rifles along with a couple of frag grenades. Once they were done, Kat hopped onto the back of the Warthog and manned the Rocket system as Casper climbed into the drivers seat. Creating a dust cloud behind them as he drove down the dirt road, avoiding the massive craters as a result of the initial artillery strikes to soften up Covenant defenses.
Not long later, the Covenant Anti-Aircraft battery came into view along with a few defense turrets. In the valley in the background, a few Covenant Scarabs could be seen battling UNSC Armored forces along with Wraiths and Ghosts. From the look of things, it seemed that the UNSC was winning the battle as the destroyed wreckage of Covenant vehicles looked to outnumber the ones belonging to the UNSC, there were even two Scarabs that looked to be down for the count along with a third that looked dangerously close to collapsing.
"/ 2-Lima-4 to November One, we're taking heavy fire from those AA guns. We can't send our birds in until they're dealt with. /"
"/ Roger that, you heard that Six, get those guns down ASAP. One out. /"
"/ Copy that, out. /" Six assured as he drove down the hill to the gun. Noble Two took out the defense turrets before he parked the Warthog, climbing out of it and pressed the stock of the MA37 against his shoulder as he made his way to the structure, leaving Kat to provide security.
Before moving into the structure, he stacked up on the right side of the entrance and pulled out a frag grenade clipped to the webbing on his armor. Pulling the pin which released the handle and spoon as it fell to the ground, briefly exposing himself in the doorway before he tossed it inside with a underhand throw.
A few panicked cries of a couple of Grunts were heard before they cut off by an ear-piercing explosion from inside. A cloud of dust and smoke filled the interior as shrapnel was launched in all directions from where the frag had landed, causing the AA gun to rumble as the floor vibrated.
Not wasting a second, Six seized the advantage as he pushed in, checking the center of the room before sweeping the corners. Fresh blue blood was splattered on the walls as the torn bodies of two Grunts laid dead on the floor. A few of their limbs torn off from the blast as the dust began to settle. Before continuing inside, Casper fired a round of 7.62 by 51mm into their bodies. While to most people this would appear to be a bit excessive, every warfighter is trained to double tap any enemy corpses they came across just in case if they were faking it to prevent them from being taken by surprise and receive a shot in the back, no matter how dead they looked. Better to lose a bullet than risk life.
After taking out a couple of Grunts and a few Minor Elites that were stationed inside, he made his way to the power core which was protected by an energy shield that was similar to the ones that Jackals used. Once he took the field down by punching it twice, he took out a block of C-12 placed it in the core. Rigging the blasting caps to the clacker, which he confirmed as the light turned from red to green on the M102, he ran back out and jumped into the driver's seat of the M12 FAV. Moving away from the structure before taking out the detonator.
"Fire in the hole." He said for Kat to hear as he squeezed the trigger several times, causing the blasting caps to ignite the composition twelve and collapse the anti-air gun.
"/ Noble One, Noble Two, AA gun is destroyed. /" Kat called in.
"/ Nice work, Six and Two. /" Noble One praised the two. "/ Air space is clear 2-Lima-4, you are clear to move in. /"
"/ Copy that. Attention all callsigns, bombing run is commencing, heading two-two-four. Keep your heads down, boys. /"
A UNSC frigate soon appeared above the value and began unloading 120mm and 105mm high-explosive rounds on Covenant ground forces via the M910 Ramparts and M870 Helix guns mounted on its underside. Squadrons of Longswords and Broadswords also flew overhead in attack formation as they dropped their payloads on their designated ground targets. Filling the entire valley with a symphony of explosions, gunfire, and jet engines.
"/ Six, Three. this is One. We've located a mining facility that's been refitted into a Covenant Command Post near your current position. /" Carter informed the duo. "/ A chalk is on site but they're under heavy contact. Move to provide support, callsign is Warrior 3. Over. /"
Casper and Kat both gave a reply to their team leader as Noble Six began driving to the waypoint Dot marked on their HUDs. Arriving at the installation a few minutes later and seeing a platoon of Army personnel exchanging fire with a few squads worth of Covenant along with two shade turrets.
"/ Warrior 3, this is Noble 6, how copy? Over. /"
"/ Noble 6, this is Warrior 3-Actual. Taking heavy fire! Unable to advance. Can you provide support? Over /"
"/ Roger, Warrior 3-Actual, we're on station and ready to clear a path. Keep your heads down. /"
"/ Copy! /"
Six turned his head to Noble two. "Let er rip!" Kat complied as she let loose a barrage of rockets that took down the Covenant defenses in seconds. A beautiful sight to every human watching the scene unfold.
Once the area looked clear, Noble Six drove the Hog to the bridge entrance and hopped out as they were greeted by the platoon leader of the chalk.
"Thanks for the assist, Spartans. " A 1st Lieutenant with 'Ridley' thanked with clear gratitude.
"You're welcome," Kat said. "Maintain position here with your chalk. We'll move in and deal with the post."
Ridley nodded his head as he began ordering his men to take stock of their ammo and take defensive positions while Casper took point as he and Kat crossed the bridge and moved up their stairs leading to the facility.
The two Spartan-IIIs began clearing several rooms before they began taking fire from several Grunts and Skirmishers armed with plasma pistols and needle rifles respectively. Kat and Casper took cover on opposite sides of the door before Kat took out a stun grenade and holding it high for Six to see, with gave a nod in acknowledgement, before pulling the pin and chucking it inside. Once the fuse in the stun grenade hit zero, the Grunts and Skirmishers with all blinded with ringing ears from the deafening bang and flash of light. Before they could recover, they were gunned down as the pair of Spartan-IIIs advanced inside and gunned them all down.
"/ Two, three. Be advised; we just received intel that suggests the presence of an HVT Zealot at the Command Post. / " Carter enlighten them.
"/ Copy that, One, " Noble Two replied. "/ Orders? /"
"/ Original objective remains the priority. But if you see a chance to take out that Zealot, you take it. Noble One out. /"
Continuing further into the mining installations, they encountered additional resistance in the form of Grunts, Jackals with shields, Elite Majors, Sangheili Ultras, and even a few Spec Ops Elites. After intense close-quarters fighting where the Spartan-IIIs emerged victorious they made their way to the upper floor of the facility. As they moved on the last remaining room, Six panned around the corner before ducking back into cover as he spotted the Zealot, armed with a concussion rifle as he fired a few shots which missed his intended target and hit the concrete wall of the hallway instead. Kicking up smoke and dust as the hallway the two Spartan-IIIs were in now had a few new additions.
"Zealot's in there." Six informed Two as he gave her a quick glance before turning back to the door leading to the room the zealot was in. "Crash it!"
Kat followed what Casper said as she pulled out another stun grenade and pulled the pin before throwing it in. As soon as they heard it go off, they moved in as they could see the HVT exit the room through a door that connected to a catwalk outside. Six and Two immediately began pursuing the Zealot as it Six stepped onto the catwalk and fired every round left in the mag in his MA37, taking down the Zealot's shields before dodging a shot fired by the Zealot in retaliation.
Seeing he was out of ammo for his rifle, Kat took his place as she resumed fire at the Elite, who had taken cover behind some crates and returned fire. Casper, who had inserted a fresh mag into his rifle, tapped the shoulder of Kat to gain her attention as she gave him a look.
"Keep him suppressed. I'll push in." He gave out his plan as he readied himself to move.
Noble Two nodded in acknowledgement before turning back and waited for the signal. Which was given gave her shoulder a hard slap which prompted her poke out of cover and fire at the Zealot, forcing it to stay behind cover. Moving faster than any normal human, Six closed the gap within seconds and turned the corner with his weapon at the reload.
He had caught the Zealot in the middle of reloading his concussion rifle, when the Elite spotted him it deployed the energy blade on its arm and began to charge, which ultimately proved to be for naught as it was killed when Six took down its shields and filled the body of the Sangheili with lead.
"Clear!" He shouted to his fellow Spartan-III as he made his way back to her after he had confirmed the kill.
"Good work, Casper." Kat commented as she turned on her radio to give a sitrep to Carter. "/ Noble One, this is Two, enemy CP is down and HVT is neutralized. Holding for orders. Over. / "
"/ Roger that, Two. Good work, both of you. / " Carter replied before informing them of their next objective. "/ We have eyes on a second Covenant AA gun further along your route. Proceed immediately and take it down. /"
"/ Two and Six copies all. /" She answered.
The pair made their way out of the facility and commandeered a Covenant Revenant with its crew dead. Continuing along the path before getting a visual on the anti-aircraft gun which was set up on the top of a nearby hill. Which was defended by a Wraith with fired a plasma shot at the Revenant when the crew inside saw that it was being driven by humans.
Utilizing the faster movement speed of the Revenant, Six managed to avoid the plasma artillery launched by the Wraith as he chipped its armor down with the Revenants own, but not as powerful, plasma cannon.
Eventually, the Covenant armor went up in a cloud of blue energy as Six managed to get behind it and hit the Wraith's plasma core. With the area now clear, Casper and Kat hopped off the alien vehicle.
"I'll provide security exterior, Six. Get in there and blow that gun." The tech expert of Noble Team ordered, which Six gave a nod in acknowledgement before moving to the structure. Chucking a grenade inside before proceeding in and making his way to the core.
A few minutes later, Casper emerged from the structure as he gestured with his hand for Kat to get into cover. Following his instructions, she moved behind a nearby cluster of rocks as Six went over the collection of rocks with his jetpack and landed beside her, the M102 firing device in hand.
"Fire in the hole!" He announced as he pressed the trigger multiple times as the AA gun collapsed in on itself as it went up in flames.
"/ Noble One, Six, second AA gun is down. Over. /" Casper radioed in.
"/ Copy that, Six, well down. ONI wants more intel on that spire. Noble Five is inbound to your position with a Falcon. Over. /"
"/ Roger, we'll mark our position with red smoke. /" Six replied as he took out a smoke grenade, pulling the pin and dropping it on a patch of flat ground near him.
"/ One, Two here, requesting to set up an OP at my current location. /" Kat requested.
"/ Granted, radio in what you find. One out. /"
Soon, a Pelican landed and dropped out a platoon of Army as they began setting up the OP, followed by a Falcon which carried Jorge. "Need a lift?" He shouted playful from where he sat with a wave.
Casper answered with a wave of his own as he climbed past one of the crew chiefs of the UH-144, manning one of the Mark 34 automatic grenade launchers, and sat opposite of Noble Five and pointed the end of his rifle's barrel to the floor of the bird. The chopper taking off to their next objective as soon as he was onboard.
It wasn't long before they reached their destination. The UH-144 Falcon approached the blue energy dome that protected the Covenant Spire, coming to a stop a few meters from the edge.
"Latest intel suggests that these spires are emitting an electromagnetic cloaking shield." NOBLE Team's AI informed. "I do not recommend entering without additional information."
"We don't have a choice, CENTCOM wants to know what's in there." Noble Five said, taking a breath before he spoke out his next words. "Take us in, pilot."
"/ Wilco, Spartan... /" The pilot responded as the UH-144 slowly moved forward into the sphere. "/ Here we go... /"
At first, it seemed like everything was fine as they managed to pass through the barrier. But suddenly, the Falcon's engines started stalling as emergency alarms blared throughout the chopper, causing the two crew chiefs and Spartans to grab onto the nearby rails to prevent them from falling out and plumet to the ground below.
"/ We just lost power. We're going down! /" The pilot yelled as they began spinning down to the earth below. / " Mayday, Mayday! /"
Jorge held on for dear life before he turned to the only other Spartan in the aircraft. Before he could say anything, he saw something he wasn't expecting to see. He placed his MA37 in a nearby rack and positioned himself as if he was preparing to jump.
""Six! What are you doing?!" Jorge exclaimed in both confusion and worry.
Casper didn't say anything as leapt out of the chopper, timing it so that he was launched in the direction the Falcon was falling. The Hyper-Lethal twisted his armored body mid air so that he was facing back towards the Falcon before he activated the thrusters on his jetpack. With impeccable timing, he latched himself to the nose of the aircraft, shocking the pilot who witnessed the whole thing.
" / Keep it forward! /" Six yelled over the comms to the pilot, who immediately complied without even realizing it.
Casper reactivated the thrusters on his jetpack and cranked the output to the highest it could go. The UH-144's descent was slowed down before it crashed, minimizing the damage done to the bird had it continued pummeling forward at full speed. At the last second, Six activated his suits armor lock before he made impact with the ground. The crash causing a cloud of dirt and dust as the pilot immediately turned off the engines as soon as they were groundside, the back of the Falcon hitting the ground just after as the UH-144 went in nose first.
"Six!" The only Spartan-II assigned to NOBLE Team yelled out as he jumped out of the Falcon and made his way to the front. "You alright?!"
Six responded by weakly giving him a thumbs up before releasing the lock and falling forward on the canopy. A few seconds later, he let out a moan of pain as he got back to his feet and tore open the Falcons cockpit using his enhanced strength. Helping the pilot climb out as he made his way back to Noble 5.
"You good?" Jorge questioned with concerned.
"Feeling a bit sore, but I'm alright for the most part." He replied as the pilot began assisting one of the crew chiefs.
"The crew's not going to be able to move" Jorge said as he looked over the wounds they sustained in the emergency landing before taking a quick peak at their surroundings. "But the two crew chiefs are wounded and I'm picking up movement all over the place."
"Radio in for CASEVAC and stay with them till it gets here." Casper suggested as he grabbed his MA37, only to see that the barrel of the rifle was bent which was most likely caused by the crash. He dropped the rifle before grabbing a spare VK78 Commando along with a few additional magazines and frag grenades. Putting the grenades in his armors pouches a mag into the VK78 and pulled on the charging handle before pulling again to see that a round was in the chamber. " I can make my way to the tower."
After a moment of hesitation, Jorge gave a curt nod in agreement before he picked up his M247H HMG and began setting up a perimeter as the the crew of the now destroyed UH-144 grabbed the remaining ammo and weapons and took cover behind some nearby rocks. Not wasting anymore time, Six activated his jet pack and flew over a hill in the direction of the spire. Once he made it over and landed, he began making his way to the structure as he remained on alert with his weapon at redcon-one. Keeping an eye out for any hostiles as he occasionally gave his motion tracker a glance.
After taking down a few scattered Covenant shade turrets and patrols along the path he was taking, he made to the spire. He went prone on a nearby rock as he activated the bino function in his GUNGNIR helmet and zoomed in on the entrance, which was guarded by Grunts and Jackals with shields. Fortunately, he didn't spot any Elites, Brutes, or worse, Hunters, along with them. Deciding to err on the side of caution, Casper decided to report in to his team leader before moving into the structure.
"/ Noble one, this is Six, I have a visual on the structure. Transmitting visual, over. /" He radio to Carter as he snapped a few pictures of the spire and sent it to his t.
"/ Roger that, Six. Dot's analyzing it now, stand by, over. /"
" / Analyzing...these structures bear a resemblance to teleportation terminals that ONI has come across before. /"
"/ Teleporter!? /" Jorge yelled in a mixture of disbelief and anger. " / For what?! /"
Before Dot could answer, Carter's voice crackled through the radio, "/ It doesn't matter, orders are to take down its shields so we can bring in something with a little more firepower so we can kill it. /"
"/ Roger that. I'm out of explosives but I'm sure I can improvise something. /" Casper responded. "/ Six out. /"
Noble Six began scanning the area for anything that could provide an advantage before he spotted a flat bed truck. It only took a second before an idea popped in his head. An idea that most people would probably call stupid, but as the old saying goes, "if it looks stupid but it works, it ain't stupid."
A few minutes later, the Grunts and Jackals that were assigned with guarding the entrance to the spire suddenly began hearing music blaring through the region, When they turned to the direction of the source, they saw a human truck flying towards them at full speed as it launched itself in the air, using a nearby rock as a ramp. In fear and desperation, they fired at the incoming vehicle with only a few hitting it, but not slowing it down in the slightest. By the time they realized they should've ran, it was too late as they were soon roadkill as the truck landed right at the entrance and drove into the structure, almost crashing into the wall on the opposite side as the driver slammed on the brakes.
Soon as the truck was still with smoke coming out of its engine as a result of a few stray plasma shots that managed to hit it, the sole occupant opened the door to the drivers seat, who was none other than Casper-B312. Looking none the worse for the wear as he started firing at the few remaining Jackals and Grunts that survived his entrance. Within seconds they were all dead, leaving the Spartan-III as the last one standing as he made his way to the nearby gravity lift.
However, just before he stepped into the lift, he paused as he let out a small sigh he was holding in ever since last night. After quickly scanning the area to make sure he held his hand to his helmet and turned on his radio.
"/ Noble One, this is Six, do you copy? Over? /" Six said while adding a bit of panic into his voice.
"/ One here, what's wrong, Six. /" Carter responded immediately.
"/ Boss...the intel was wrong. The spire is not a teleporter, it's a cloaking device. /"
"/ A cloaking... /" Noble One trailed off as he became a bit more worried. "/… can you ID what they're trying to conceal. /"
" / Sir...it's for a Super-Carrier. /" Casper answered with as much serious as he could. The line became silent for a few seconds before Jorge's voice came up.
" / No...No! That can't be! /" He tried to deny, which sounded half-hearted as his words sounded hollow.
" / Six, are you certain? /" Noble One asked with complete seriousness.
" / A hundred percent, boss. We need to pull everyone out. /" Six replied.
" / Copy, I'll relay the info. In the meantime, continue with your mission. We still need to take that dome down. /"
" / Wilco, boss. Six out. /"
Pulling out his last remaining stun grenade, he tossed into the gravity lift before jumping in a few seconds later. Looking away, he heard it go off as well as the pained yells of Covenant soldiers that were waiting for him. When he made it to the top, he spotted a few Jackals and Grunts who were starting to recover being blinded. Which Casper never gave them a chance to finish as he gunned them all down. Putting an extra bullet in each of the corpses before moving through the corridors.
As he made it to the main control room, he came into contact with two Elite Majors along with a single Ultra, who immediately shot at him with their plasma rifles as soon as they saw him. Casper took cover behind a nearby console as the plasma barrage drained half his shields. Before he could come up with a course of action, he heard rabid footsteps from from the right as an Elite pushed in.
Drawing his combat knife, he elbowed the plasma rifle of the Elite Major that rounded the corner, with such force that it was crushed against the console he was taking cover behind, before stabbing him directly in the mouth and shooting him several times in the stomach. The two remaining Elites resumed fire after seeing what just transpired, only for their shots to hit the body of the Major which Casper was now using as a body shield. He opened up as he used the fire selector to switch the VK78 from semi to full auto, charging forward as he need. His rounds draining the shields of the remaining Major and Ultra as he closed the distance between them.
Focusing fire on the Major, it wasn't long before his energy shields broke and several rounds of 7.62 were in his stomach, causing to fall to the floor dead. Switching focus to the Ultra, he pushed the body of the Elite Major he's been using as shield into the last remaining Sangheili, resulting in its shield breaking and falling backwards on the floor. Looking up at the Spartan, the Ultra found itself staring down the barrel of a human rifle before something occurred that was unexpected to both of them. A sound which was the last things a gunfighter wanted to hear in a firefight.
Click
The mag was dry as Six slightly lowered it in realization.
A tense moment of silence filled the room as the two warriors stared at each other before they both immediately began drawing their sidearms. Casper pulling out his M6C and racking the slide as the Ultra took out a plasma pistol. Aiming their weapons at the other as shots filled the air in the room once more. Luckily (or unlucky for the Elite), Casper's shields were at full strength while the Elite's were depleted, resulting in the Sangheili being filled with lead as Six emptied the mag as his shields held.
Taking a second to get his breathing under control, he swapped out the magazines for his M6C and VK78 and quickly sweeping the room to ensure that there were no more Covvies that were waiting to jump out and surprise him. Once he was fairly sure there was no one left, he approached the console and radioed in.
"/ One, Six, made it to the objective. Requesting extraction. Over. /"
"/ Copy, evac is inbound. ETA: one mike. Get it done so we can exfil. Out /"
While Casper had worked with Covenant tech before, he was never an expert on it. Which was proving to be an issue as he had no idea how to use the terminal to bring down the energy dome. After a few seconds of trying to figure out what to do, he only came up with one conclusion.
"Screw it."
He raised his rifle and fired the whole magazine into the console and anything else that looked important. Taking out two grenades and dropping them before running as fast as he could out of the room, running to the ledge as he could hear the two explosions behind him. Right on cue, the Falcon came into view as the dome dissipated behind it. Leaping as far as he could, he grabbed Jorge's hand which he extended for Casper, pulling him onto the chopper with a firm grip. Six took a seat next to Carter as the Commander ordered the pilot to get them out of here. An order that prompted the Falcon to begin flying away.
"/ Control, this is Noble One. Spire is down, over. /"
"/ Roger that. Archer missiles are inbound. Danger close. /"
The cruise missiles could be seen as two of them flew pass the Falcon and into the spire. Collapsing it as the resulting shockwave from the explosions caused vibrations that could be felt in the aircraft and the surrounding area.
Turning his head back, Jorge could see the Super-Carrier decloak and reveal itself for all to see.
"Damn it." Noble Five mumbled to himself as he still had a hard time believing this was happening.
"Lets regroup with the others," Carter said before turning to Six. "Nice job finding out about the Super-Carrier, Six. Still...the day's not done, and I have a feeling things are going to get really busy for us."
Casper remained silent other than nodding his head in thanks before leaning his head back on the seats headrest, knowing just how right Carter was for the upcoming weeks as he closed his eyes to get some rest as the three of them were lifted out of the area to regroup with the others.
Terms:
-Lima Charlie: Loud and Clear.
-PID: Positive Identification.
-HVT: High Value Target.
-OP: Observation Post.
-redcon-one: Readiness condition one.
I hoped you guys found this chapter enjoyable and as always thank you for checking out my work.
Take care, guys, and remember... stay frosty.
