Dust and Echoes (RWBY/Halo)
Chapter 26: Reap the Seed
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"I want turrets and snipers set up along that wall," Blademaster Ir 'Haramai ordered over the local battlenet, tracing his finger along a paper blueprint they had uncovered of the refinery they had chosen to be their fortress.
"Of course, Blademaster. Your will be done," one of the Sangheili Majors who managed to survive the human attack and rendezvous at the refinery replied.
Ir glanced up towards one of the many security monitors the humans had set up along the wall. He and the rest of his Zealots, along with the memory block containing the Cartographer's records, had taken refuge inside a large vault underneath the refinery. The veteran Blademaster had seen such facilities before, some of which he cleared out personally. They were shelters designed to protect the workers should the refinery suffer a catastrophic failure and they were unable, for whatever reason, to evacuate the facility itself. The humans would run inside, close the thick, titanium doors, and seal it shut behind them. Despite their primitive construction, Ir found that they were quite sturdy, with some even able to survive orbital plasma bombardment.
Granted, they didn't offer any protection whatsoever from Covenant soldiers storming inside. Such was the case for the humans who had sought refuge in the vault, who were hunted down ruthlessly in the tight, confined space. The place that had been designed to keep them safe from harm instead became their tomb. It was somewhat ironic, in Ir's opinion.
Speaking of humans, Ir glanced towards his youngest Zealot, Rteda. He was currently preparing defensive positions inside the vault along with the most experienced and well-armed soldiers who had heeded Ir's call. Plasma turrets were being set up and manned by Sangheili warriors, Kig-yar marksmen were training their beam rifles and carbines towards the only entrance, and more. In total, there were several dozen loyal soldiers ready to lay down their lives for the Cartographer, with dozens more outside.
But that's not what Ir was focused on. Instead, he was far more focused on the obvious doubt that was growing in Rteda's mind. He had hoped and prayed that their earlier discussion on the matter would be enough, but clearly that wasn't the case. Why else would a Zealot argue for keeping humans alive as prisoners? Yes, Ir understood the practicality of such an argument, but that was no excuse. More importantly, Ir felt that Rteda's true motive for saying that was to try and get out of killing the unarmed humans at all.
He had half a mind to put him down for heresy right then and there. Had they been in any other circumstance, he probably would've. But for now he needed every Zealot he could to ensure that this mission would succeed, and that meant he would stay his hand for now. Should Rteda continue to show such doubt and, Gods forbid, guilt, he would execute the Zealot once they were safely aboard the Valorous Penance. But until then, Rteda's fate was undecided. Hopefully, the young Sangheili would turn back from the path he was currently treading. The last thing Ir wanted to do was put down a promising young warrior, but he would if he must.
"Blademaster, our sensors have picked up human aircraft," Xesan 'Voramee declared, holding his concussion rifle to his chest.
"How many and what kind?" Ir asked, continuing to go over the blueprints to find the best possible avenues of attack and defense.
"Three Falcons, I believe," Xesan answered, then grimaced. "I still don't like the fact that we're using human names at all. They don't have the right."
"They don't, but they simply have too many vehicle types that we need to distinguish for combat," Ir pointed out. "And we're certainly not going to dignify them with names of our own."
"I understand, Blademaster," Xesan said with a slight bow of his head. "In any case, they've likely already dropped off a complement of soldiers and are now hanging back to provide close-air support. They're currently outside the range of our AA-guns."
"Hmm, so they know what happened to their fallen brethren," Ir said and huffed. "It is no matter. We'll put them down all the same. Have the men outside ready themselves for an infantry assault. So long as the Falcons are deterred by our defenses, the humans will be no match for us."
Xesan nodded, then began to speak into the battlenet to convey Ir's orders. The Blademaster appreciated that his orders and direction were being followed immediately, something that all Zealots should strive for. One does not survive on the battlefield by questioning their superiors. That was a lesson all loyal soldiers of the Covenant learned early in their training, and each battle only reinforced it.
He was cut off from his internal musing when an alarmed Rteda shouted, "Blademaster, a human warship is on approach!"
"What?!" Ir yelled in surprise.
"THEY'RE LAUNCHING MISSILES!" Viza 'Vogamee declared, causing Ir's eyes to widen in horror.
A moment later, the world began to shake violently, and all he could hear was the sound of unending explosions and screams.
Qrow watched with grim satisfaction as the Midsummer Night, hanging above in low orbit, rained fire down onto the deuterium refinery. An endless volley of Archer missiles struck Covenant defenses indiscriminately. Walls were blown apart. Grunts, Jackals, and Elites were consumed by fire and shrapnel. Large vats containing fuel for starships ruptured, causing the fuel to ignite and explode, further adding to the carnage in a thunderous shockwave that they could feel in their chests even from their cover and safe distance.
"God damn," Harriet couldn't help but mutter as she nodded to herself.
"Indeed," Lieutenant Dare remarked in agreement, wiping away the rain that had fallen onto her visor.
The orbital missile bombardment had been going on for a few minutes now. As soon as Lieutenant Karim called in the strike, the Midsummer Night wasted no time in unleashing Hell upon the Covenant. With no humans in the immediate vicinity, they were able to act with impunity. Something that Qrow was more than happy to accept, particularly since the Covenant had clearly murdered every innocent human there already.
At the same time, though, he couldn't help but gulp at the devastation he was seeing. It was a far cry from a Grimm hunting expedition. Those more often than not became intimate affairs, even on the rare missions he undertook with the Atlesian military or militias in other Kingdoms. This felt larger and more impersonal.
"So this is what total war looks like," Qrow said, and Johnson nodded.
"Yep. At least this time we're on the other side of an orbital strike," the Marine sergeant stated.
"Mm-hmm," Qrow hummed, then turned to Dare and asked, "Tell me, if there had been humans down there…would you have called the strike anyway?"
Dare was silent at first, clearly feeling everyone's eyes focusing on her. After a moment, she sighed and said, "We're lucky we're in a position where I didn't have to make that call."
That was as much as an admission as any, Qrow figured. It left a sour taste in his mouth, even if he understood the cold, hard logic. What was the life of, at most, a few dozen workers over billions? Fortunately or unfortunately, it was as she said. The Covenant, in their needless cruelty, made the decision easy for them. Qrow suspected, though, that wouldn't always be the case going forward. He tried not to think about it.
The Huntsmen, marines, and ODSTs continued to watch the missile barrage from their position. They were still laying prone, although Qrow doubted it was necessary at this point. From the looks of it, it didn't seem as though anyone could survive that level of devastation. But, eventually, the missiles subsided, and the sound of explosions came to a stop.
"Archer barrage complete," Shakespeare revealed.
"Copy, Midsummer Night. Standby for visual confirmation," Captain Price replied as he aimed through the scope of his sniper rifle towards the ruins of the refinery. From what Qrow could see within the smothering pillar of dust and smoke, hardly any of it was left. Just a few isolated, warped, and crumbled walls of polycrete and titanium. If he had to put a number on it, he suspected at least ninety percent of the refinery was destroyed in the bombardment.
After a moment, Price replied, "All external Covenant defenses destroyed. A few stragglers, but nothing too serious. They're in no condition to fight from what I can see. Look like they'll keel over any moment now."
"Understood. You are cleared for approach," Commander Keyes declared. He then growled, his voice dripping with venom, "Take no prisoners."
With that, Commander Keyes got off the line. As everyone stood up, with Price swapping his sniper rifle for his submachine gun, Ghost remarked, "These guys are Zealots. Doubt they would've surrendered anyway."
Nor would they have accepted it after what they had done, Qrow figured. It was a moot point. As far as he was concerned, these Zealots were going to pay, and he was more than happy to be the one to do it. With that in mind, he unfurled Harbinger from his lower back and, along with everyone else, began to move across the open field towards the refinery.
With his eyes clenched tightly shut, Rteda covered his helm-less head with his arms in a desperate attempt to shield himself from the never-ending series of explosions going on above him. Even with several units of reinforced titanium and polycrete protecting them from the worst of the barrage, its effects were still being felt. The Kig-Yar and Unggoy were tossed off their feet and onto their backs or bellies from the constant and violent vibrations, cracks were forming on the ceiling that dripped dust and debris onto those below. Barricades which hadn't yet been fully secured collapsed, burying one unfortunate Unggoy under its mass.
It felt as though they were being subjected to the wrath of the Gods themselves. In all his years fighting the humans, he had never seen them react this way. Or rather, perhaps this was the first time they were able to react this way.
Eventually, the humans' fury came to an end. The explosions subsided, and the world became all too quiet and still. Slowly, Rteda unfurled his arms from his head and looked around, watching as the other Zealots and Covenant warriors did the same. At the back of the room, he saw Blademaster Haramai supporting himself on a large wooden table looking towards the wall of security monitors, only to see static.
"Status report!" Ir shouted, causing Rteda and the other warriors to leap into action.
"One of the Unggoy was crushed," Rteda called out after doing a quick headcount, with several of the other Unggoy trying to dig their fallen brother's body out from the debris only to stop when a Sangheili Major ordered them to cease their efforts.
"Other than the Unggoy, it appears we've only suffered minor injuries, Blademaster," Tul 'Nrazamee declared after he, the only field doctor among them, finished doing a quick scan of the assembled warriors.
"I'm not hearing anyone from outside!" one of the Kig-Yar mercenaries reported.
Rteda didn't even bother trying to verify his claim. After that much ordinance was fired upon them, he doubted anyone topside was still alive. If they were, they weren't long for this world, and death would be a mercy.
But apparently Ir wasn't content with assumptions as he pointed towards Jasan 'Luxumee and said, "Head outside and report on what you find. If you see any humans approaching, find cover and report on anything they say. Do not engage unless you absolutely have to."
"Yes, Blademaster," Jasan replied, flashing a quick salute before shouldering his focus rifle and activating his active camouflage.
"Blademaster, is that wise?" Rteda couldn't help but ask, watching the dust kick up underneath Jasan's invisible feet. "He'll be without cover, and—"
"Do not question my orders, Rteda!" Ir barked irritably, shooting the young Zealot a harsh glare that caused Rteda to involuntarily flinch.
Realizing that he was treading on thin ice already, Rteda wisely decided to keep his mandibles shut. In the back of his mind, though, he grumbled about his commander's decision making as of late. It was obvious to everyone that the humans were after them. They likely wanted the Cartographer's data for themselves. Even though the humans secured the site itself, and were undoubtedly already having their AIs comb through its contents, having a copy already downloaded to an external memory block was too great a treasure to pass up. Which was why Rteda advocated for keeping prisoners. It would give the humans pause, even if only a little.
Instead, they killed every single human on the site, then unceremoniously dumped them by the river. The humans were only ever going to respond in one way after such a massacre of their people, and Rteda could only pray that they would be able to survive their retribution.
That was when Jasan's voice came through the battlenet, and Rteda's eyes widened in horror as he reported, "Blademaster, the humans are already here…and they brought the Demons with them."
With Harbinger fully extended into its sword configuration and held in one hand, Qrow stomped through the smoldering ruins of the deuterium refinery. It was oddly calm despite the raging storm overhead and the crackling fires beside them that cast a harsh glow over the area. Beside him were the other Huntsmen, ODSTs, and marines, their weapons trained outward and flashlights cutting through the darkness.
As Captain Price reported, there were hardly any Covenant soldiers left alive after the Midsummer Night's orbital strike. Most of the Covenant troops unfortunate enough to be outside were reduced to nothing, leaving behind only blood stains and meaty chunks at most. But those were the lucky ones. Some had managed to miraculously survive, but with limbs completely blown off or half their bodies missing. They were pitifully trying to crawl away to some semblance of safety, except for one Elite who was missing all but one arm that he used to shakily train a broken plasma rifle in their general direction.
Qrow and the others executed them on the spot with single shots to their heads. It was done passionlessly, with barely a moment's glance spared to the fallen aliens before they continued on.
"Captain, I'm seeing a staircase heading underground in the center of the refinery," one of the pilots of the three Falcons hovering overhead, whom Qrow recognized as Nikolai, reported over TEAMCOM. As the Russian man spoke, a nose-mounted spotlight illuminated the stairs in question, allowing everyone to see it.
"What's that lead to, Lieutenant?" Clover asked, gripping Kingfisher tightly as his eyes darted in every direction.
"A fallout shelter," Lieutenant Dare answered. "It was designed to withstand the refinery undergoing a catastrophic explosion in the event the workers couldn't escape, or a glassing."
"How much do you wanna bet that's where the rest of the Covies are holed up?" Ghost asked, only for Soap to chuckle.
"That's not even a bet, mate, and you know it," Soap pointed out.
"They're likely already dug in," Elm added. "Do we have any bunker busters?"
"Nothing that'll get through that, short of a nuke. That's several meters of reinforced polycrete and titanium," Dare said as she tapped her foot against the broken ground beneath them. "We're going to have to go in ourselves."
"And right into the defenses they've set up for us. Perfect," Farah groaned. "How are we going to do this?"
"I could—" May began, only for her to freeze, quickly followed by every other Huntsman and Huntress before their gazes started shifting about, catching the Terran soldiers off-guard.
"What?" Johnson asked, bringing his assault rifle to bear instinctively.
Qrow narrowed his eyes and felt his hairs stand on end before quietly whispering, "We're not alone."
Part of Johnson wanted to ask how Qrow and the other Remnantians knew that, particularly since his motion tracker was only showing them, but by this point he knew to take them at their word. Apparently, being well-versed in one's Aura gave them something of a sixth sense that warned them of danger. He had seen it first hand on Khembalung, and the battle on Peponi only reinforced its existence to the veteran Marine. If they said they weren't alone, they weren't alone.
Johnson narrowed his eyes as he swiveled his assault rifle back and forth through the ruins of the refinery. His rifle's underbarrel flashlight tore through the darkness, but all he could see was mud and devastation.
"He's cloaked," Price whispered as he switched to his sniper rifle.
That made sense in Johnson's mind. The Night's orbital strike would've destroyed any external video cameras, meaning that if the Covenant wanted to know what was going on, they'd have to send someone out here to check it out themselves. Zealots were always equipped with active camouflage, and that was who they were chasing. He thought back to the Stealth Elite he and Qrow dealt with just a few hours before, and he couldn't help but gulp nervously.
That one Elite killed every single marine in his squad save for Qrow and Johnson himself. This was a Zealot, a far more dangerous enemy.
That was when he saw Yuri's eyes flash blue as he scanned the area, and within a split second he aimed his combination spear and bolt-action rifle, Gamayun, towards a seemingly empty spot to their left and fired a single shot. Immediately afterwards, the assembled humans saw the flash of an energy shield in the shape of an Elite.
Captain Price immediately aimed his sniper rifle towards the exposed alien and fired two shots. The first struck the cloaking Elite in the shoulder as he tried to retreat, causing his shields to flash. The second broke the shield completely, collapsing the invisibility field in the process. Every single marine and ODST immediately fired upon the Zealot, who didn't even have time to react before his body was peppered with fresh bullet holes. He collapsed to the ground in a bloody heap, somehow still breathing before Johnson walked up, pulled out his M6D magnum, and fired a single bullet into his head.
"Sense anyone else?" Johnson asked as he flicked the safety for his weapon back on and holstered it to his thigh.
"No, we're good," Qrow declared. There was still an ever-present sense of danger around them, but it felt far more distant than what it was just a moment ago.
"We don't have much time," Dare declared after giving Yuri Grammy an appreciative nod, but otherwise remained utterly focused on the objective like the professional she was. "The longer we wait, the more likely it is that Covenant reinforcements could arrive. Any suggestions?"
May nodded and spoke up, "As I was trying to say, I could always sneak in with my Semblance."
"The only reason why you were able to get away with that was because the Covenant both weren't expecting you and there were far too many angles of approach for them to cover," Dare pointed out while shaking her head and pointing at May. She then pointed her arm towards the stairs and added, "But the Covenant here are battle ready us and they only have one entrance to guard. If you try sneaking in, they'll know."
"There's gotta be some ventilation shafts," Gaz suggested. "We could try smoking them out."
"Or poisoning them," Gron added while holding up his sword, Gram, reminding Johnson of the poison gas the faunus was injecting into the Drone nest.
But once again, Dare shook her head and rebutted, "Unfortunately, these bunkers were installed with state of the art filtration systems that'll prevent any toxins from getting inside. Good for when the atmosphere turns toxic after a glassing, but not much help to us now."
"Are you telling me our only option is a frontal assault? That's suicide," Soap protested. "We'll be cut down before we get a few meters in."
"Maybe, if you take point," Sienna Khan countered, causing the marines and ODSTs to look at her with raised eyebrows. She then pointed to herself with one arm and used the other to gesture towards her teammates and said, "But us? We're Huntsmen. We can take a few hits, and Gron is actually the perfect point man for an assault like this."
"That is true," Gron smugly confirmed, smirking proudly while crossing his arms.
Seizing her moment, Sienna continued, "Let us take point, thin the Covenant's ranks. Then you and the other marines and ODSTs come in behind us. It's not a great plan, I know, but given our situation it's the best one I can think of."
Underneath her helmet, Dare frowned and furrowed her brow. She wanted nothing more than to rebuke Sienna's suggestion. The last thing she wanted was to put the Remnantian delegation into a situation where they could all die at once. But, it was as Robyn said. They didn't really have many options, and so far the Huntsmen had proven to be a highly effective force multiplier, comparable to only one other unit in the entire UNSC military.
After a moment, she reluctantly sighed and said, "Alright, we'll go with your plan. Here's what we're going to do."
Rteda held his plasma rifle tightly in his hand, aiming it towards the large vault door that served as the only entrance into the fallout shelter. Beside him were all the other Covenant warriors doing the same thing. A pair of plasma turrets were being manned by Unggoy, placed on opposite sides of the long corridor that made up the entrance hall. Behind him were scores of other warriors taking cover behind walls, columns, side rooms and anything else they could find. Blademaster Haramai was at the back of the fallout shelter, his energy sword ignited and ready to defend the memory block with his life.
He wasn't alone. Standing at his flanks were a pair of Mgalekgolo. The hulking beasts, with their nearly impenetrable blue armor, massive shields on their left arms, and powerful assault cannons on their right, were walking tanks. It was hard to believe that they were just a colony of worms split into two sets of armor. Hopefully they would be enough to deal with the humans and their Demons.
He had heard whispers of human Demons before, even if he had never faced them in actual combat before today. But the stories described them differently than the foes currently hunting them down. For one, they weren't wearing armor, and the abilities they possessed were far more esoteric. It made him wonder if they were something different, something new.
But that was a concern for later. For now, Rteda could only focus on holding them back. Jasan had long-since gone silent, not responding to any hails sent his way. That told him and everyone else that the humans had discovered Jasan's presence and killed him. Soon the humans would breach the fallout shelter, and everything would turn very loud and chaotic. Rteda hoped that their defenses would be enough to at least hold the humans back long enough for the Valorous Penance to come to their aid, but with the human fleet scouring the system for the Covenant corvette that might prove difficult.
His hearts thundered in his chest when, at the edge of his motion tracker, he saw at least a dozen red dots appear. Beside him, every single Covenant warrior twitched, telling the Zealot that they picked up the same thing. The thick titanium door muffled the sound of the humans and their movement, but Rteda knew they were doing something. He wished that they had access to something that could let them see at the very least, that way they could prepare more effectively.
"Quit your whimpering," a Sangheili Major chastised a trembling Unggoy next to him, but Rteda didn't spare a glance in favor of focusing his entire attention onto the door, the only entrance into the shelter.
He wondered how the humans would breach. Would they try to blow it open via explosives? Would they tunnel through a wall or ceiling? That seemed unlikely, given just how thick the structure was.
Rteda soon got his answer when, out of nowhere, a large blue blade shot out of the center of the round, gear-like door, causing him to involuntarily jump in surprise. A few of the Unggoy openly yelped, and it was only thanks to the presence of their Sangheili commanders that they remained in formation. Narrowing his eyes and tightening his grip on his plasma rifle, he watched as the blade began to carve a large hole out of the center of the door. It reminded Rteda of an energy sword, but this was nothing like the honorable weapon holstered on his thigh, simply slicing through the metal with bewildering force and sharpness rather than melting through with plasma heat.
When the blade completed its circle, it retreated back to the other side. The segment remained standing for a moment, then everyone heard something loudly strike it like a hammer. The impact sent the large cutout flying back, crashing through the center of the Covenant formation and splattering several warriors who were unable to get out of the way. It crashed through everything in its wake, from columns to barricades and Covenant warriors before grinding to a stop at the far end of the corridor.
"Open fire!" Ir ordered, prompting every single Covenant gun still standing to engage.
An intense volley of plasma fire filled the air, converging from multiple angles onto the open hole in the door. Between it and the cloud of dust, it was hard for Rteda to see what they were actually firing at. But he continued to fire his weapon, nonetheless, carefully pacing his shots so that the plasma rifle wouldn't overheat too quickly.
But then, out from the dust, came a golden form that, to Rteda's horror, was completely unfazed by all the ordinance striking him. More of the dust cleared, allowing Rteda to see that it was a human male wearing a black full-body suit not unlike what human Imps wore, only far less armored. Rteda, though, was completely focused on the intense golden field encasing his body from head to toe. It reminded him of an overcharged energy shield, only this was far more intense and, most importantly, wasn't coming from the armor. It was being emitted by something else.
The human then laughed uproariously as he pulled out a sword from behind his back, then charged at the warrior closest to him. It turned out to be an unfortunate Unggoy who was split diagonally from shoulder to waist. He continued to completely ignore every plasma bolt that struck him in favor of moving on to his next victim, a Kig-Yar who attempted to block his sword strike with his energy shield gauntlet to no avail. His head was separated from his neck, and as it flew away the human was already moving on, laughing the entire time.
So focused was everyone on the invincible interloper that their eyes were taken off the hole in the door. That was when Rteda heard rushing footsteps, causing him to turn his attention back to it. To his horror, he saw the rest of the humans emerging, with the new Demons taking point. Now that they were closer, he could see that while most simply looked like a normal human, if wearing colorful uniforms that didn't match what human soldiers normally used, some had odd features that made no sense to him. One man had feathers instead of hair, and two of the women had an extra set of ears on top of their heads. He briefly wondered how, exactly, that worked and why they had them in the first place.
But that wonder was immediately pushed aside as the man with feathers fired his weapon at Rteda, causing his shields to flash. The Zealot dove backward, landing with a roll as he continued to fire his plasma rifle while rushing to cover. The other Covenant warriors weren't as lucky as the human Demons engaged them. Many were using melee weapons like swords and hammers, with the woman who had striped tattoos on her arms impaling Kig-Yar and Unggoy with a spear-tipped chain while sporting a savage grin on her face. The other woman with extra ears on her head was dueling a pair of Sangheili minors with her sword encased in blue energy, matching them blow for blow and exceeding their strength before bisecting both at their waist with a single slash. But as the Sangheili corpses fell to the ground, the energy dissipated and reverted the woman's weapon back to a simple steel claymore. She didn't let it stop her from engaging the Covenant, however, and she immediately cut off the arm of a Kig-Yar sniper above her.
To Rteda's surprise, not all of the weapons the Demons were using were simply blades or bludgeons. Several shifted before his very eyes and transformed into some form of a firearm. A large muscular woman who was crushing Unggoy underneath her hammer transformed her weapon into a double-barrel rocket launcher which she used to destroy the plasma turret emplacements. The feathered human turned his rifle into a spear to knock away the carbine from a Sangheili Major's hands before impaling him through the head once his shields broke.
Behind them came the other human soldiers. Marines and Imps, whom Rteda was much more used to fighting. But with so much of the Covenant's defenses already scattered by the Demons' assault, they were able to get to cover past the choke point before engaging. Bullets and grenades were flying in both directions, screams filling the air before getting cut short.
"Fall back to the secondary position!" Ir ordered, and the desperate survivors did as instructed.
They ran back as fast as they could, some stopping to provide covering fire. The humans and the Demons continued their relentless pursuit, the Demons taking point and absorbing the bulk of the Covenant's plasma fire. As Rteda fired a few shots at a man wielding a sword that flicked up over a one-handed, double-barrel shotgun, he saw as the man parried the plasma bolts before diving to cover. At the same time, he saw a red aura flicker around his body, which reminded him of an energy shield about to fail.
Before Rteda could find a way to use that information, his own energy shield flickered dangerously as a marine sergeant fired upon him with an assault rifle. He was joined by several other marines, forcing Rteda to fall back. The Zealot was able to fire a quick burst that killed a marine, with another pair falling by Kig-Yar marksmen wielding carbines alongside Xesan 'Voramee who ran up to join Rteda.
"They're already breaching our defenses!" Xesan yelled, pushing Rteda back to protect both from the explosion of a fragmentation grenade. As their shields flickered from the shrapnel, they pulled out plasma grenades of their own and threw them, causing a brief lapse in gunfire as the humans tried to get away. Whether any were consumed by the ensuing fireball was unknown as the Zealots were already retreating along with the rest of their contingent.
"I noticed!" Rteda yelled, leaping over a barricade before immediately returning fire against the humans. "If this keeps up, we won't last another cycle!"
"Ragh!" Xesan roared in frustration as he fired his carbine towards the gold-covered human to no avail. Ducking behind the barricade in order to reload his weapon, he added, "I'm almost out!"
"Likewise!" Rteda replied as he glanced up at the top right corner of his HUD, displaying his weapon and the remaining charge. He was down to twenty-five percent, and he could only imagine how everyone else was doing.
As more and more Covenant warriors fell, Rteda heard a soft sound playing over the gunfire. Peeking over the barricade, he saw one of the humans, whose legs were digitigrade and covered in thick, brown fur, playing into a flute that he previously saw had been a hammer. A moment later, Rteda's eyes began to droop and a wave of exhaustion seemed to wash over him and several other Covenant soldiers nearby.
He didn't know exactly what was happening, but he knew it was connected. Before Rteda completely lost consciousness, he fired a burst towards the human, causing him to gasp in pain and stop playing his instrument in favor of getting to cover. This caused Rteda's exhaustion to dissipate and allowed him to become fully alert once again.
"What was that?!" Xesan shouted in surprise and fear, and Rteda shook his head.
"I don't know, but we can't let him play that again!" Rteda yelled.
Pulling out another plasma grenade, he tossed it towards the musical human, forcing him to retreat further at surprising speed. Xesan fired his carbine towards him, several of his shots making contact despite the difficulty, a testament to his skill. The last shot managed to break the shield covering the human's body, but unfortunately Xesan had to reload before he could take advantage of the opening.
That was when the large, muscular woman aimed her hammer-turned-rocket launcher towards them, and Rteda's eyes widened as he grabbed Xesan by the shoulder and screamed, "MOVE!"
They barely managed to get away before a rocket slammed into the barricade, the ensuing explosion sending them flying back and tumbling head over foot.
Elm Ederne smiled proudly as she held Timber atop her shoulder, its twin barrels smoking from the rockets she just fired. In front of her laid the remains of the haphazard fortifications the Covenant had erected, now blown to smithereens and reduced to nothing more than scrap metal and chunks of polycrete. Several Covenant soldiers had been killed in the blast, with only a handful of Elites managing to survive. Two of them wore Zealot armor, with one not having a helmet for some reason.
Not that she cared. To her, they were just monsters she needed to put down, and she was more than happy to do so. Beside her, the rest of her team, the other Huntsmen, and the Terran soldiers accompanying them were clearly of the same mind, putting down any surviving Covenant they came across as they continued to advance. Harriet in particular was just a blur, picking up Covenant soldiers and slamming them into nearly walls, reducing them to bloody paste in the process.
With that in mind, she reconfigured Timber into its hammer mode and stomped towards the Zealots, fully intending to swing it down upon their backs and break them in two. But before she could, she heard a deep bellow coming from the back of the shelter. She barely had a chance to look up before spotting two hulking monstrosities emerge from adjacent rooms, each one armed with a glowing-green assault cannon mounted to their right arms while their left was covered in a massive shield.
"Hunters!" Elm shouted over the ominous charging of the cannons before the Hunters fired towards her with a roar that drowned out all else. Before the powerful incendiary gel emissions could make contact, she was tackled away by Harriet, causing the projectiles to explode against the wall behind where she previously stood. A wave of intense heat washed over her, and it was only thanks to her Aura that she didn't suffer any burns.
"Pay attention, damn it!" Harriet chastised her teammate as she helped Elm up to her feet.
"I know, I know!" Elm replied as she threw herself out of the line of fire, with the Huntsmen doing the same while the marines and ODSTs scrambled to find cover.
"We can't block those!" Clover yelled over the exchange of gunfire and explosions. As the Hunters fired another pair of explosive, radioactive fuel blasts that incinerated an unfortunate pair of marines, Clover hastily added, "Lieutenant, pull your men back!"
Even through the polarized visor covering her face, Elm could tell that Dare didn't exactly like that idea. She could feel the glares she sent their way. But, nonetheless, Dare nodded in agreement then yelled, "Everyone, fall back! Give them room!"
While Johnson, Ghost, and Soap provided cover fire alongside Price, who was at the front of the shelter using his sniper rifle, the marines and ODSTs fell back as much as they could. In such a tight and confined space, it was impossible to get out of range of the Covenant's guns, especially the Hunters', but it was somewhat safer than being in the front.
Elm by this point had pulled out an M6D magnum that the UNSC had given her as a backup weapon and was firing precise shots at the heads of any Covenant she could. She managed to put down several Grunts with head and body shots, but the rest retreated behind a row of Jackals wielding wrist gauntlet shields. Combined with the surviving Elites and the pair of Hunters raining hellfire on their position, she was unable to get any more.
Feeling another wave of heat wash over her as a cannon shot exploded nearby, she yelled, "If we don't take those Hunters out, we're screwed!"
Elm wasn't exaggerating there. Already her Aura was dangerously low from the occasional hit by Covenant small arms fire. Hunter assault cannons were meant to take out tanks and other armored vehicles. Even if her Aura was full, she doubted she'd survive a direct blow. As another burst of incendiary gel whisked past her body, she briefly broke cover and fired one rocket towards each Hunter, only to curse when they exploded harmlessly against the Hunters' shields.
"You're not gonna get through that armor! You gotta hit 'em in the back!" Johnson advised as he traded shots with an Elite in the back line.
She thought back to the initial briefing she and the other Ace-Ops got when they first learned about the Covenant and the species that made up its ranks, with the reminder of how Hunters' back armor was much sparser, sometimes outright nonexistent. The young Ace-Operative wasn't sure why that was, maybe something to do with their anatomy and mobility, but it was a weak point to take advantage of regardless.
"Harriet, get over here!" Clover ordered, prompting Harriet to rush over to her commanding officer.
"Yes, sir!" Harriet replied as soon as she got beside him, only for Clover to hand her a pair of looted plasma grenades.
"Run around, find an opening, and shove them where the sun don't shine," Clover told the speedster.
Harriet looked at the grenades in her hands for a moment, then she smiled wickedly and nodded. She then disappeared into a blur, and Elm tried as best she could to watch her teammate's advance. With how fast she was going, that was easier said than done, especially for the Covenant as Clover tossed some frag grenades their way to distract them from his subordinate. Some attempted to fire upon her despite the danger, but even though the volume of plasma-fire was intense it wasn't aimed quickly enough to actually hit her. Had they attempted to do this before their lines had been broken, Elm wondered if it would've been a different story.
Nevertheless, within a few moments Harriet was at the back of the shelter where she power slid beneath one of the Hunters' attempt to crush the incoming assailant with its massive shield, and continued on between its legs. Kicking off the wall behind it to reverse her direction, she lunged upward to seize the base of an antenna-like back spine while the Hunter, well aware of its vulnerability, spun and thrashed about in an attempt to throw her off. But Harriet's grip was firm, and she pulled out a grenade, primed it, and stuck the now glowing blue orb right where the mass of orange worms could be seen beneath the gap in its lower back plates.
Kicking herself away and back-flipping through the air, she made a three-point landing and briefly paused to look at her handiwork. A second later, the grenade exploded, causing the first Hunter to burst apart in a charred, gory mess and the second to unleash an enraged roar. Before Harriet could celebrate her victory, she was suddenly attacked by the head Zealot brandishing his Energy Sword. She was able to hastily back-step away, but then the second Hunter charged and backhanded the Ace-Operative into the wall.
"Gagh!" Harriet grunted in pain as she fell to the ground, the air knocked out of her lungs and giving the Hunter an opening to aim his assault cannon right at her face. As the weapon charged, Harriet attempted to push herself back up to her feet. Lightning arced around her body, but even for someone as fast as her, Elm knew she wouldn't make it.
But luckily taking out the first Hunter gave Elm enough of an opening to act. Having already reloaded Timber, she aimed towards the back of the second Hunter and fired both rockets. Her aim was true, and the dual explosions destroyed the back armor. At the same time, Vine extended his glowing arms across the room to grab onto his prone teammate, pulling her back while Clover threw out a line that wrapped around the Hunter's cannon. He pulled back as hard as he could just as the weapon fired, causing the fully-charged stream to be unleased right across a mass of Covenant soldiers who were incinerated instantly. Unfortunately, none of the Zealots were caught in the blast, but it was enough.
Once Harriet was out of the blast zone, she recovered then ran back towards the second Hunter. As she ran past the monster, she primed the grenade and stuck it into its back. By the time she returned to her team, the grenade had already exploded, killing the hive-minded creature and letting it join its fallen brother. Or the second half of one colony, as Elm recalled. A single Hunter pair were actually the same being just split in two. Which was probably why the second was so enraged when the first was killed.
More importantly, seeing both Hunters destroyed by the Ace-Ops caused the surviving Covenant's morale to plummet. The Grunts openly began to panic and try to run away along with the remaining Jackals. The Elites tried to maintain discipline and order, but it was to little effect.
"Move up!" Captain Price ordered as he fired a pair of shots into the head of an Elite Minor, causing the alien's head to explode in a cloud of purple and white.
Emboldened, the Huntsmen and Terran soldiers began to advance, firing their weapons at the Covenant warriors. The panicking Jackals and Grunts were the first to fall, allowing the humans to focus their fire onto the much more formidable Elites. Although their energy shields protected them for a few moments, the sheer volume of fire sent their way overwhelmed their defenses and cut them down in just a few moments. Soon only the Zealots were left, who had hastily retreated to one final barricade they had erected around the Covenant data drive, doing their damnedest to hold them back.
Elm knew it wouldn't be enough, and she felt that they knew it too. With a grin on her face, she hoisted Timber to her shoulder and took aim at the center of the barricade, eager to break it down and end this battle once and for all. They were moments away from securing the Cartographer's data, preventing the Covenant from getting their hands on Remnant and all the other human colonies that had the misfortune of having Forerunner artifacts on it. They would finally be able to go home.
But just before she could pull the trigger, she heard a frantic call come over TEAMCOM as the squad of marines stationed outside the fallout shelter screamed, "Dropships inbound! Covenant corvette on approach!"
A moment later, the call was interrupted by what sounded like plasma-fire, then the line went dead. Elm's eyes widened in surprise and horror, and she turned to look towards the front of the shelter. Price had already run outside to see what was going on, and through the opening in the vault door they could hear screams, roars, and gunshots. It didn't take long for Price to come running back, firing his submachine gun blindly behind him as he moved.
"Brutes!" he yelled, which was matched by an animalistic roar. Price barely managed to get to cover before a stream of red plasma bolts and red-hot metal spikes a foot long shot through the hole, forcing the others to take cover as well.
Soon the first Brute emerged out of the hole. They reminded Elm somewhat of a Beringel crossed with an Ursa. Covered in thick brown fur and wearing only helmets, chest plates, and shoulder pads at most, the alien mammals towered over everyone else in the room. They were completely ignoring the bullets slamming into them, their thick hides protecting them from the worst of the damage. In fact, they seemed to relish in the bloodshed, barking and snarling at the humans as though they were nothing more than trapped prey.
Once the Brutes were inside, they returned fire towards the humans, allowing Elm to see what weapons they were wielding. Most were carrying small arms, either a red plasma rifle that shot red plasma bolts at what appeared to be a faster rate of fire compared to the blue models the Elites used, or a large fully-automatic handgun with two massive bayonets on the front. If Elm remembered correctly, the weapon was called a Spiker. Others were carrying Brute Shots, a grenade launcher which sported a massive underslung bayonet along the bottom half of the weapon.
But the most striking were the Brutes wielding massive gravity hammers. They were the ones taking point, wearing the most ornate armor that had intricate tribal decorations etched and painted onto their surface. Except for one who was at the front of the pack. Although he wore a thick and heavily scarred dark-grey chestplate and shoulder pads, he didn't wear any helmet, allowing Elm to see his scarred face and unique black fur that was partially woven into braids. While the rest of the Brutes were growling and barking as they descended onto the humans, he appeared to be calm and composed, taking stock of the entire situation before zeroing in on the Zealots at the back of the room.
Narrowing his eyes, the Brute Chieftain barked something in his native language that Elm couldn't even pretend to understand. But his fellow Brutes clearly did, and the other hammer wielders immediately charged forward while those with Brute Shots lobbed grenades over their heads.
"Scatter!" Johnson yelled as he and the other marines ran back, trying to avoid the onslaught while returning fire of their own. One unfortunate marine got speared by several Spiker rounds which pinned him to the wall, and when his friend attempted to pull him free he got slammed into the ground by a gravity hammer, reducing him to mushy paste.
Now that the Zealots weren't the only targets, they were able to fire back without fear of being overrun. Within an instant, Elm watched the battle completely turn on its head as the humans found themselves boxed in and being fired upon on both sides. It was a very inopportune situation, one they had to get out of quickly.
As another marine's broken body was launched across the room by the Brute Chieftain's dispassionate swing, Elm snarled and fired her rockets towards him. Seeing the rockets approach, the Chieftain reacted in an instant and swung his hammer down, causing an expertly timed wave of contorted gravity to shoot out around him and divert the rockets' course. They exploded harmlessly against the ceiling, and the Chieftain glared and growled towards Elm while she charged him with Timber in its hammer form.
Planting her feet onto the ground with a stomp, she extended her Aura to form roots that anchored her in place. At the same time, she swung Timber sideways, activating its rocket boosters to further increase its power. The Chieftain blocked the hammer with his own, only for his eyes to widen as his hulking arms nearly buckled and he was sent skidding back into a polycrete pillar. He audibly let out a gasp of pain and surprise, but quickly regained his composure as Elm pressed forward on the attack.
Around her, Elm noticed the other Huntsmen engaging the Brutes in close-quarters combat. It was so chaotic, it was hard for her to make out exactly what was going on, but she could tell that the Brutes were just as surprised as the Elites had been at just how fast, strong, and durable the Huntsmen and Huntresses were. But the Brutes were no slouches either. Each one was as strong as an Ursa it seemed like, and were retaliating against the Huntsmen with powerful blows of their own. It certainly seemed, though, that the Huntsmen had the edge, something that only enraged the Brutes and made them fight even harder than before.
But Elm had to focus mostly on the Brute War Chieftain she was fighting. The longer the fight went on, the more she realized that this Brute was different. He wasn't descending into blind rage, even if he was visibly angry. If anything, he seemed observant and calculating, studying her as the two traded blows. This Brute was also very skilled with his gravity hammer, clearly a veteran of countless battles against humanity and any other enemy the Covenant threw him at.
As the two locked hammers, they glared into each other's eyes. Elm's were full of fire, while the Brute's seemed as cold as ice. He attempted to push her back, but thanks to her Aura Roots she didn't even budge. She smirked confidently and pushed him back with Timber's pommel, then reoriented her weapon and swung it sideways. The Brute managed to duck underneath, and for a split second she saw his attention focus on her feet.
Before she could react, the Brute flipped his hammer into a reverse grip and plunged its head down. But rather than try to hit her, he instead struck the ground. The polycrete floor shattered, causing her Aura Roots to lose their hold and thus her footing. Surprised, Elm tripped backward for a moment, which was all the Brute needed to deliver a follow up attack to her side. The gravity hammer struck, sending her flying back and through an already damaged pillar, breaking it into innumerable small pieces.
"Gagh!" Elm gasped in pain as she rolled across the ground, coming to a stop at the far wall. Casper was quickly on her, helping the Atlesian to her feet.
"Are you okay?!" she asked, and Elm waved her off.
"I'm fine!" she insisted before centering a glare towards the Chieftain who matched it with his own. "He's one smart bastard."
Pushing herself up to her feet, she readied Timber even as her Aura flickered dangerously. Rather than appear astonished or intimidated, the Brute merely narrowed his eyes, then shot his attention to the side. That was when Elm heard the Elites yell in anger and surprise, and a moment later she saw the data cache being carried by what could only have been a Brute using active camouflage, making it seem as though it was being lifted through thin air by nothing.
"It was a damn distraction!" Qrow yelled as the data cache disappeared through the opening.
The Brute War Chieftain barked an order, and at once the snarling Brutes began to retreat with the Elite Zealots hot on their heels. One of the marines was stabbed in the back by the head Zealot, who for some reason had gone out of his way and weathered an assault rifle burst to do so, an action that visibly annoyed and angered the War Chieftain like nothing else. He spared one last look at the humans and his fallen brethren, then released a grunt and ran through the hole Abby had carved into the door.
The humans immediately pursued the fleeting aliens, firing their weapons in a desperate attempt to stop them. But the hole was too narrow, forming a bottleneck that slowed their progress tremendously. By the time they managed to get out, they saw that the Brutes and Elites were already halfway to a pair of Phantom dropships, which immediately prepared to receive them. Above was the Covenant corvette the UNSC had been trying to find, its shields already flaring as the Midsummer Night fired its remaining Archer missiles towards it to little effect.
"Oh, no you don't!" Harriet screamed as she ran ahead of the group, tackling the Brute carrying the data cache. As she pummeled his head into oblivion, she was hurled back by a hammer blow courtesy of another Brute who swung his gravity hammer like a golf club, but after a quick tumble on the ground she was able to reorient herself.
Realizing what would happen if the Covenant managed to retreat with the data cache, the Huntsmen increased their speed, leaving the marines and ODSTs behind completely. Now was not the time to hold themselves back for their benefit, and now that he had room to swing, Qrow unfurled his monster slaying scythe with the whirring of gears and clanking of metal. The Brute War Chieftain growled as he stood his ground, ordering several of his Brutes to about face and engage the Huntsmen directly while he himself picked up the data cache and practically threw it into the arms of two Elite Zealots running up to him.
But the Brutes were being torn apart, bludgeoned, or impaled by the Huntsmen's weapons. The reaper's especially, who'd claimed the center as a bladed dervish which cleaved everything that entered his reach into pieces. One Brute actually managed to catch a backswing with the blade of his grenade launcher, only for a shotgun blast to literally wipe the grim satisfaction off his face, courtesy of the barrels behind the scythe head.
The War Chieftain pursed his lips, then gave another glance towards the Phantoms. As Elm ran towards him with her weapon raised, she saw him pull out a small spherical device attached to a rod that didn't look like it was Covenant in origin. He then spiked the device onto the ground as he yelled something into his communicator. Whoever was on the other line must've been incredulous as he followed it with another declaration, and as the words left his mouth Elm saw a golden, translucent shield coalesce around him like a bubble. The bubble shield was comprised of several hexagons which completely repelled her fired rockets, along with any stray bullets, spikes, and plasma which impacted against it.
That was when Shakespeare yelled into TEAMCOM, "Covenant corvette firing on your position! Take cover!"
Elm shot her head towards the heavens, and to her horror saw the underside of the Covenant corvette begin to glow. A moment later, a barrage of plasma mortars were launched towards the ruined refinery, slamming into the ground and reducing it to glass.
"Fall back! Fall back now!" Dare ordered as the ground began to shake and the temperature skyrocketed.
Elm spared one final glance towards the Brute who simply glared right back underneath his protective dome, then a plasma mortar struck the shield. He was consumed by blinding light and dust, and whether he could actually survive such a thing was unknown to Elm Ederne. But she couldn't focus on that as the bare edge of the blast washed over her, the searing heat straining her worn Aura even from such a distance. Instead, self-preservation took hold, and she ran as fast as she could back towards the shelter they'd just charged out of. One of the marines and an ODST tripped and fell due to the ground constantly shaking, but Elm picked them up with one arm each as she ran past. Others weren't so lucky, getting consumed by the rain of false meteors and reduced to nothing.
"Holy shit!" someone screamed, but Elm didn't know who. It was hard to make out individual voices in this hellish assault. Her ears were ringing, and her vision was getting blurry as more and more plasma mortars struck the earth. Screams were cut off as marines were consumed by fire, and her legs burned as she ran faster and harder than she ever had before.
Then, out of the corner of her eye, she saw Thomas Cornel lose his footing and trip. Sepia Honeycreep ran up from behind him and tried to help his teammate to his feet, but Elm saw a plasma mortar coming down right towards their position. She tried to yell out a warning, but her voice was drowned out by the constant explosions. Before she could do anything else, though, she saw Harriet zoom past her, running as fast as she could towards the Valean Huntsmen.
Elm hoped and prayed that Harriet would be fast enough to get to them, that she'd be able to get all three to safety due to her speed alone. The world seemed to slow down as she saw Harriet desperately reach out towards the two men, who only just then noticed the danger they were in.
That was when the mortar struck, engulfing Thomas and Sepia and sending Harriet flying back as a silhouette before the wall of plasma, and above the chaos she could hear Casper Marine let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The Phantom was quiet as Ir and his surviving Zealots were crammed inside with the memory block along with the surviving Jiralhanae who had been sent in to rescue them. No one said a word to each other, but Ir could feel the Jiralhanae's glares being sent his way. He matched them with his own, fighting back the urge to express his disgust more openly at being rescued by a bunch of primitive savages. Instead, he focused his attention on his remaining Zealots as Tul 'Nrazamee tended to their wounds. Ir couldn't help but notice that Tul was ignoring any wounds the Jiralhanae sported, which Ir approved of.
After several cycles of silent flying, he felt the Phantom dropship begin to slow down and descend. The gravity lift then activated, allowing the warriors inside to disembark. While the Brutes simply jumped out like the crude and impatient beasts that they were, Ir and his Zealots used the gravity lift to gracefully descend to the muddy surface.
He quickly took stock of his surroundings, and found that they were at a small mini-base they had set up as an observation post in the mountains not too far from the Cartographer site. There weren't any Sangheili around, only several lances of Kig-Yar and Unggoy led by Jiralhanae. In total, there appeared to be about twenty five. With the fifteen who had perished at the refinery during the escape, that meant these were the forty Jiralhanae the Valorous Penance had on station.
Beside him, he heard Rteda let out a heavy breath which practically shuddered with not only exhaustion, but remorse. Letting out an irritated groan, Ir said, "Do not weep for them, Rteda. Their deaths served their purpose."
If Rteda was going to say anything, he immediately clammed up and nodded in understanding. The Jiralhanae immediately around Ir shot him angry glares, but the Blademaster didn't care. He wanted them to know how little he thought of them, and that he didn't need their rescue.
"Where is the War Chieftain?" one of the Jiralhanae warriors asked one of the surviving chieftains.
"We lost contact when he ordered the bombardment on himself," the chieftain answered.
"He ordered a strike on himself? Why?"
"In his own words, getting the memory block to safety was more important, and everyone else in range was either already dead or about to be."
The Jiralhanae Minor shook his head in amused disbelief then walked away without saying a word. Part of Ir respected a warrior willing to throw his life away for the cause, even a Jiralhanae, but it was only slight. If nothing else, it proved that even the most unworthy members of the Covenant could answer a higher calling.
Taking a deep breath, Ir stood up straight and started to authoritatively say, "I want full stock of what we have. Vehicles, personnel, supplies, everything. Leave nothing—"
"I'm sorry, Sangheili, but who put you in charge of us?" one of the Jiralhanae chieftains, whose fur was white and somewhat cared for in contrast to the others, angrily snarled, cutting Ir off.
Releasing a growl of his own, Ir leaned forward and stared back at the chieftain before emphasizing, "I am Blademaster Ir 'Haramai. You will refer to me as such, and I have been placed in charge of this excavation by the Minister of Veracity himself."
Rather than be cowed by Ir's declaration, the chieftain merely snarled and growled before marching up to him. He then said, "That title may mean something to your people, but to me all I see is someone whose mistakes we had to clean up, and got our pack brothers killed in the process."
Ir's eyes narrowed and his nostrils flared at the obvious disrespect being hurled his way. He nearly pulled out his energy sword to cut the unruly creature down right then and there. In fact, his hand shot towards his hilt, an action that the chieftain clearly noticed as he, in turn, reached for his gravity hammer. Around them he heard the whoops and hollers of the Jiralhanae who clearly wanted to see a fight break out while his own Zealots remained composed like proper soldiers.
The two stood there for several tense cycles, their gazes locked and their bodies refusing to move. The world around them seemed to fade away, and all Ir could see, hear, and smell was the Jiralhanae right in front of him. But before anything could be done, they heard another Phantom dropship fly in, catching everyone's attention. When the dropship's doors opened, the Jiralhanae warriors let out a cheer as their War Chieftain jumped down to join them like a great beast of the inferno, his already black fur now singed and covered with still-smoking soot, along with a new scar on his arm. Rather than join the celebration, the War Chieftain stomped right over to Ir and his fellow Chieftain and violently pushed them apart.
"Decimus, that's enough! We don't have time for posturing!" the War Chieftain ordered.
Decimus, in contrast to his earlier confrontational attitude, immediately complied and gave his superior a respectful nod and salute before replying, "Of course, War Chieftain."
The War Chieftain snorted in acknowledgement before saying, "Gather our troops and supplies, we make for the rendezvous point within the hourly cycle. Go!"
"At once!" Decimus said, leaving the War Chieftain alone with Ir and the Zealots as the rest of the Jiralhanae warriors followed his command.
"You…you survived. How?" Rteda asked incredulously, and the War Chieftain pulled out another device identical to the one he used earlier.
"The humans call it a bubble shield. Reverse engineered from Forerunner technology, and completely impenetrable by anything moving fast enough to be a threat while letting air, vehicles, and personnel pass through unimpeded," he answered. "I had to use the only other one I had, but it sufficed."
"You used human technology?" Ir asked incredulously, and the War Chieftain nodded.
"Unlike you, my Jiralhanae and I take anything we can use," he pointed out. As though to show the truth of his words, Ir saw several Jiralhanae bearing human shotguns and rocket launchers strapped across their backs, making his eyes widen.
"That…," he shakily began, "is bordering on heresy."
"You would know about that, wouldn't you, Blademaster?" the War Chieftain remarked, causing Ir's head to shoot back.
"How…dare you insinuate such a thing!" Ir roared, his hand shooting towards his energy sword's hilt. But before he could do anything, he was suddenly grabbed by the throat and lifted up to the War Chieftain's burning eyes, who then squeezed.
"I will insinuate anything I want when it comes to you, Blademaster. Especially after you threaten my Jiralhanae after we saved you and your lance," the War Chieftain hissed while Ir struggled to breathe. "The Minister of Veracity is not pleased with your performance as of late. A Cartographer falling to human hands. Almost an entire Zealot lance wiped out along with most of our forces. Forcing the Valorous Penance to expose itself to save you. The humans nearly capturing or destroying the memory block you were supposed to extract!"
Ir's vision began to blur as he kicked the Jiralhanae in the chest, but he was completely ignored. As he got a hand on his sword hilt he was suddenly dropped, where he fell to his knees and began to cough.
"Blademaster!" Rteda yelled as he ran over to his commander and tried to help him up, but an infuriated Ir pushed him away before getting up on his own.
"You dare to strike me?! I will have your head!" Ir shouted as he pulled out his energy sword and prepared to activate it.
"If you activate that weapon, you will not live long enough to swing it," the War Chieftain flatly declared without an ounce of fear in his voice, staring the Blademaster down as though he wasn't even a threat. In fact, he began to stomp towards Ir, much to his and the other Zealots' surprise. He then leaned over and said, "Understand this, Blademaster 'Haramai. You may have authority over your Zealots and that memory block, but you have no authority over my Jiralhanae. They follow my command, not yours, and if you want them to do anything it has to go through me first. In that regard, we are equals."
Ir wanted nothing more than to cut the unruly Jiralhanae down right then and there, especially as he felt his neck painfully throb. But at the same time he knew attempting to do so would only result in his dishonorable death. The last thing he wanted was to be killed by a Jiralhanae of all things. Around him he could feel the stares of his Zealots and all the Jiralhanae bearing down on him, waiting to see how he would respond. After a moment, he came to a decision, one that would allow him to ultimately have his vengeance.
Breathing heavily while reluctantly holstering his energy sword, Ir then growled, "I will report this…insubordination to the Minister. When he finds out—"
"When he finds out?" the War Chieftain rhetorically asked before shaking his head. "Fool. Who do you think ordered it?"
That statement caused Ir's eyes to widen, and his arms to fall to his side in disbelief. Letting out another snort, the War Chieftain turned around and began to walk away. As he did, he ordered, "Lay charges on anything we can't bring. Don't let the humans get anything else!"
"Yes, War Chieftain Atriox!" the Jiralhanae yelled in unison, and Atriox smiled proudly.
[~][~]
Hello, everyone! Here is the latest chapter of Dust and Echoes! Special thanks to NaanContributor and Jesse K for their help in bringing this chapter to life.
So, needless to say the mission did not go as planned. The humans have suffered casualties, and the Covenant managed to extract the memory block, at least for now, thanks to the Brutes of the Valorous Penance. With the Battle of Peponi still raging and threatening to escalate at any moment, things are not looking good for our heroes.
Now, many of you thought that this chapter would be the end of the Covenant Arc. As you can see, that is not the case. We are about 2-3 chapters away from the true ending. But I am not too malicious, and I know that you guys are eager to move on to the Integration Arc and beyond. As am I. As such, my writing schedule will be as follows:
I will complete one more rotation for my stories. Hunters of Justice is next, probably a simultaneous Batcomputer File/Chibi, followed by another chapter for Familiar Evil and Outsiders. Normally, Outsiders would be updated between my other stories, but I think I'll put it on the backburner for a bit in favor of getting back to Dust and Echoes. Once I return to D&E, I will be writing the final chapters back-to-back, much as I did with HoJ's Green Light of Will chapters.
Now then, to answer your guys' questions:
First off, I'm certain you guys have noticed the amazing cover art this story now has. This was courtesy of Alex-kellar over on DeviantArt, and I am very happy with how it turned out. He also made a companion piece depicting Qrow and Sergeant Johnson during their engagement against the Stealth Elite during Chapter 24: The Cartographer. Please visit his profile on DeviantArt and check it out!
Deathwing, once again stop pitching your OCs. I do not want or need them as I am fully capable of coming up with OCs as necessary.
I'm glad you guys really appreciate how we've managed to mesh and merge Halo and RWBY. A lot of work goes into doing so, and seeing our efforts rewarded is very pleasing.
I'm also glad you guys liked the battle scenes. It's quite difficult to make sure the battles are engaging and entertaining to read, as well as not simply blend together. Luckily I've been doing this for over five years now so I've gotten plenty of experience in doing so.
Regarding the UNSC knowing about the Forerunners only after Halo CE, that isn't correct. They've been encountering Forerunner stuff since the beginning of the war. Heck, before it actually. ONI outright modified records that showed Onyx' existence once they discovered Forerunner ruins on the planet, and keep in mind the Cartographer that was on Harvest that the Spirit of Fire fought the Covenant over when the SoF was still in contact with the UNSC. So yeah, the UNSC knows about the Forerunners. It might not be public knowledge, but the people involved in this mission absolutely do as getting Remnant informed is very important to everyone involved. They just didn't know about Halo or the Flood until the Battle of Installation 04.
I'm glad you guys like the Covenant POVs. While the Covenant are definitely the antagonists of this story, we want to flesh them out, make them feel real rather than just genericly evil aliens hellbent on exterminating humanity. You can expect more of it as time goes on.
Glad you guys love Rteda. He's proving to be a fascinating character for me to write, and I hope you guys continue to enjoy his arc during these next few chapters.
Regarding the Forerunners' connection to Remnnat, you guys will have to wait and see what all we do with that.
I'm also glad you guys liked the ODSTs being CoD MW expies. You guys can expect to see more of those as time goes on, with the stipulation that the expies are from Microsoft-owned franchises. I know that CoD isn't owned by Microsoft, but the decision to include them was made after Microsoft started to acquire Activision-Blizzard. By all accounts, it's still probably going to go through, even if the British CMA has held up the process for a bit.
That's it for today. Lots of exciting things are happening. We hope you enjoy. If any of you have a TV Tropes account, any assistance in updating the page would be greatly appreciated. Let us know what you think!