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Shadow Spartans by Agent Shade and Arinoth Koby
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Shadow Spartans, Chapter 1: Combat Ready
Date: 26 June 2003, 12:17 AM
"Captain, five minutes till we reach the LZ" came the voice of Second Lieutenant James "Firebat" Johansson who sat in the front of the modified Pelican dropship, Firestorm. Instead of the usual 40mm chain guns mounted on its nose, it had two 60mm chain guns placed on its stubby wings and a single 90mm HV (High Velocity) Canon mounted on its belly. The armor of the Pelican was upgraded from the usual titanium-B to titanium-A. The troop bay had been enlarged slightly so it could hold an additional ten personal. However, for this particular mission, there were only two occupied seats in the large bay.
Captain Arinoth "Koby" Kobrynovich watched the waves of the Atlantic Ocean below move towards the South American coast. While double-checking his MA7B battle rifle was loaded and cocked, he glanced over at his good friend and partner in combat, Lieutenant Colin "Shade" Thompson. Colin held a regular MA5B assault rifle, but strapped over his armored back was an M 19 SSM "Jackhammer" rocket launcher. He stared off into the rolling sky, not noticing his CO staring at him. Arinoth looked away and checked to make sure that the S2 AM Sniper rifle was still strapped to his back. He had around ten extra clips of ammunition for this battle rifle and sniper rifle. Colin had the same amount, however, he had two rocket casings strapped to his back, with the Jackhammer over them, which allowed him to grab the launcher quickly, then reloaded without having to stop.
Arinoth looked back outside and noticed that the scenery had changed. They were no longer flying over the violent sea, but flying over a war torn Naval Base. The radio inside Arinoth's helmet cracked with static.
"This is Naval Base Gamma, calling for any UNSC reinforcements in the area, we need immediate support. Covenant forces overwhelming base defenses, we are retreating to our third and last line of defense." Koby shook his head, and then the voice of Johansson entered his ears.
"Get ready sir, LZ is real hot, get ready, you may be in store for a rough landing" he said, his voice in monotone. Arinoth chuckled. He knew they had had a lot worse landings than this. He caught Colin's eye, nodded, and then cocked his battle rifle again. Colin nodded, slammed a magazine of ammo into his assault rifle, and then unstrapped himself from his seat. Arinoth did the same. Firestorm suddenly shook violently, and the two hung on to the overhead railings. As Firestorm continued to descend, more plasma rounds fired from Covenant troops around the LZ hit the ship. Finally, Arinoth nodded at Colin, and they both leapt off the troop bay and onto the LZ, which was an unused landing pad.
Arinoth rolled, and then crouched up. Colin did the same; however, as he crouched up, he fired several rounds from his assault rifle at a small group of Covenant Grunts rushing at them. As Colin continued to fight them off, Arinoth signaled to Lieutenant Johansson that they were okay. Firestorm's engines roared and the dropship sped off into the clouds.
Colin had stopped firing and was scanning their surroundings, much like Arinoth was. The marine defenses here were set up in three lines of bunkers, sandbags and chain gun turrets. The first two lines lay in ruins, dead bodies scattered everywhere and spent weapon ammunition lay around them. Arinoth could make out the weakening third and final line of defense. He activated his radio.
"Shade, marines sighted, move out along the left ridge" he said. Colin nodded, jumped off the landing pad and proceeded to a ridge that lay to the left of their position. Arinoth followed, firing several rounds from his battle rifle. They moved quickly, to avoid being flanked and came up behind the marine defense line. Behind them, the Naval Base's shadow towered over them. Colin and Arinoth both came to a stop and they crouched behind a line of stacked sandbags. Several marines looked up at them.
"Whoa, check it out, Spartans are here" said a wounded PFC.
"I thought all the Spartan-IIIs were dead?" questioned a Corporal, firing blind rounds at the charging Covenant. Arinoth merely looked down at the Corporal.
"We're not Spartan-IIIs" was all Arinoth said, leaving the Corporal confused and curious. Arinoth looked at his partner.
"Shade, take out those Shadows, then mop up the rest" he said. Colin nodded, and then ran down the line, unstrapping his Jackhammer as he approached a Covenant Shadow.
Meanwhile, Arinoth spotted a group of marine snipers posted on a ridge off to the right of the battlefield. The boulders surrounding them provided excellent cover. Without another word to the Corporal beside him, he stood, and bolted for the ridge, taking his sniper rifle as he ran. Plasma bolts hit the ground and flew through the air around him, but he ignored it and continued to run. His speed was equivalent to that of a horse. Within seconds, he walked up behind the two snipers, who were reloading. The snipers looked up from their weapons.
"Jesus! What-who..." stammered one sniper. The other grinned.
"Good, we got some experience up here" he said, glaring at his partner who was still goggling at Arinoth. Although they couldn't see it, Koby was grinning inside his suit. He propped his rifle on a rock, crouched behind it and targeted a gold armored Elite, who was firing at Shade as he reloaded his Jackhammer. Quickly, he sighted the targeting reticule on the Elite's head and fired. In a heartbeat, the Elite's head vanished. A fountain of purple blood started spewing out of its severed neck and the corpse dropped.
Lieutenant Thompson looked up at the ridge, where the bullet had fired from. He quickly finished his reloading, and signaled to Arinoth his thanks. He crouched low, and fired another Jackhammer round, blowing off the plasma gun turret on the front of the Covenant Shadow gliding towards him. The Grunt sitting in the gunner seat disappeared in a cloud of neon blood and a methane respirator. The Shadow however kept on coming at him and Colin fired another round, into the belly of the approaching craft. The Shadow slumped to the ground, and then exploded in a blast of white smoke. The Grunts and Jackals sitting in the small troop bay on the Shadow were sent flying in all directions, dead. Colin put the empty Jackhammer back over his armored back, then grabbed the assault rifle at his side and started firing full auto rounds at the Covenant who were trying to recover from the loss of their Shadows. From the ridge, Colin could barely make out the sounds of sniper fire, and dozens of Covenant around him fell.
A group of Elites and Brutes suddenly emerged from a captured marine bunker, covered in red blood. Colin moved quickly, unpinning two fragmentation grenades, throwing them, and then firing at them as the grenade detonated among their ranks. Since the Brutes didn't have any shields on their armor, they went down first. The Elite's shields took the balk of the blast and died. The shield less Elites turned to fire at Colin, but the rounds he fired hit them first and prevented them from defending themselves.
Colin reloaded his assault rifle and ran into the bunker. What he saw would even make Arinoth grimace and wince. There were scattered body limbs and organs all over the bloody concreted floor. He saw no movement among the heaps of limbs and this enraged him. He stormed out of the bunker and looked for any Covenant to slaughter.
Sure enough, two marines with no ammo were pinned down behind a couple of rocks by several Grunts and Jackals. Arinoth did not have a straight line of view to take out the targets, so Colin rushed forward firing quick rounds from his assault rifle. Those that did survive his small assault were beaten to death by him.
The marines behind the rock looked to each other in confusion but nodded their thanks to Colin's back as he ran back into the battle. The only main threat that was left was a Covenant Wraith Tank positioned near the ridge that the snipers were on. Arinoth had put his sniper rifle away and did his best to flank the Wraith and surrounding Covenant. Colin was already making his way up, engaging those within range of his assault rifle.
The tank was not focused on Arinoth or Colin, instead targeting two M12 LRVs "Warthogs." The Warthogs had been sent out to do two things; take out the Wraith and mop up the Covenant stragglers. However a single plasma mortar round that struck the ground between the two 'hogs demolishing both of them and sending their occupants to an aerial death.
Colin was lucky enough to find a single Jackhammer rocket lying near a dead marine. He activated his radio.
"Covering fire!" Arinoth received this message and burst out of his hiding space, firing his battle rifle at the surrounding Covenant around the tank. As he did this, Colin slammed the Jackhammer rocket home and fired it at the Wraith tank. Arinoth saw the rocket being fired and dove out of the way as it struck the firing turret of the tank causing a massive explosion killing all those who were around it.
There was a cheer from the defense line as the remaining Covenant forces were falling back, yet the marine defenders charged after them, killing the last of the Covenant assault force.
Arinoth and Colin both stood on the ridge as their armor was finally able to mirror the environment around them, making them virtually invisible, even when they moved. They ran down to the marines who were all looking for them. Arinoth, then Colin deactivated their camouflage setting on their armor and appeared among the survivors. The marines gasped with shock in surprise.
"What the fuck?! Where did you come from...sir?" said the same Corporal who had greeted them when they had arrived. Arinoth looked around at them all and communicated to Colin over his radio.
"Good job Shade, I guess it's finally time to reveal ourselves to the rest of the UNSC forces?" Colin looked at his Captain and nodded. Arinoth looked at the anxious marines and began to explain himself and Lieutenant Thompson.
"I am Captain Arinoth Kobrynovich, or Captain Koby. My partner here is Lieutenant Colin Thompson, or Lieutenant Shade. We are the Shadow Spartans, a non-government project now under the hands of the UNSC. We are here to remove all Covenant threat from Earth."
TO BE CONTINUED
By: Agent Shade and Arinoth Koby
Shadow Spartans, Chapter Two: The Story
Date: 3 July 2003, 12:42 AM
~*Authors' note*~
Chapter 1: Combat Ready: http://halo.bungie.org/fanfic/?story=agent_shade_.0626030017051.html
If you haven't read Chapter 1, read it to better understand this chapter
We've added in a few little funny lines to make this story a little more enjoyable...not that it already isn't, but a little comedy wouldn't hurt. Cheers
~*End note*~
CEO Katherine Campbell sat in the very back of the modified Pelican dropship "Firestorm" which she herself had designed and built. She was the chief executive officer of the organization known as Shadow Tech, a non-government organization which was paid by ONI (Office of Naval Intelligence) to research, design and create a weapon to be used by the UNSC in their fight against the Covenant threat. A total sum of around fifty trillion dollars was given to Shadow Tech, which successfully created the Shadow Spartans.
Since the Shadow Spartans had just recently been made public, Katherine was traveling to Naval Base Gamma to help out the debriefing meeting held by General Arnold Abraham. She didn't mind, since she expected this to happen and would most likely have to do it again. This was the Shadow Spartans third mission, which meant that only up to a quarter of Earth's population knew about them. She would be in for an up coming rough month.
The Firestorm dipped out of the sky and Katherine ordered the troop bay doors to be opened. She stared down at the swirling Atlantic Ocean which crashed against the shore line. Although the rest of the world was plunged into a destructive war, the oceans and seas that covered most of Earth seemed rather peaceful, which calmed Katherine's mind from all the stress she had been undergoing lately. The sound of waves rolling up along the sand beaches off the coast of Brazil allowed her a moment of peace before the view below her changed to show the war torn terrain surrounding Naval Base Gamma.
The Naval Base was positioned in a canyon, with mountainous terrain all around it. There was really only one entrance on the ground, and that was a large path, carved out by a huge river that had been there hundreds of years ago, but was now dried up. The Naval Base itself faced the path and surrounding mountains. Ridges, along the walls of the mountains provided excellent sniper positions, which Captain Kobrynovich had used expertly. The ground inside this small canyon was composed mainly of dirt and rock. The marine defenders had dug out trench lines and small bunkers for them to use to defend the base.
Facing the ocean was an empty harbor that was connected to the base. Normally, this harbor would be loaded with cruisers, battleships and destroyers, but since they were at a state of war, the harbor was empty. Most of the ships at sea had been destroyed, but a large handful of them were heading back to receive repairs and supplies.
The Firestorm circled around the exact same landing pad it had used to drop off the Shadow Spartans, who were standing at attention on the pad. As the Firestorm slowly descended, Katherine could make out General Abraham and two marine officers standing near him off to the side. She also noticed the dozens of marine guards standing around the pad, their eyes peeled for any trouble. Campbell knew that the Covenant were still in the area, and would have to make her little speech about the Shadow Spartans quick and to the point.
Second Lieutenant James "Firebat" Johansson landed the Firestorm on the pad and waited as Katherine was helped out by her Spartans. Although she was still slightly young, the wind blown around by the dropship had the power to blow down an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, so she needed the assistance to get off the landing pad, because of the high wind. Once she put her foot on the firm ground, the Shadow Spartans released her and escorted her to the General who stood waiting. As they walked, Firebat lifted his dropship off the pad and zoomed away back into the rolling clouds. Katherine approached General Abraham, smiling.
"General Abraham I assume?" she asked, holding out her hand. The General took it and smiled back.
"That's me ma'am, Three-star General Arnold Abraham"
"Katherine Campbell, CEO of Shadow Tech" she said back, shaking his hand. The General released her hand and motioned to the two marine officers standing next to him.
"May I introduce Major David Armstrong, Chief Security Officer and Lieutenant Commander Ian Kilgore, ONI Agent asked to oversee this debriefing" he said. Katherine shook both of their hands, then allowed herself to be escorted up to the Naval Base, her Shadow Spartans right behind her.
They entered a main entrance, which was guarded by four marines, heavily armed. They then entered a large lobby, which was slightly empty, besides the armed marine guards positioned all over the place. The usual secretary at the front desk had been replaced by a marine Sergeant. The man opened a pair of steel titanium doors to his left, revealing a large meeting room, which would be used for the debriefing. The group of six walked through and sat down, the large doors sealing behind them, guarded by two more marines.
Katherine sat across from the head off the table, which happened to be the General (who would've thought?). Major Armstrong and Lieutenant Commander Kilgore sat at the sides of the general while the two Spartans sat at either side of Katherine. The General put both hands together on the table and smiled at Katherine, who smiled back briefly (I smell an affair).
"So General, what would you like to know? I'm sure you and I both know that we must make this quick, since the Covenant are still out there" she said. General Abraham nodded.
"Yes, you're right. The only thing I wish to know is, who are the two individuals flanking you?" Katherine nodded.
"Okay, as you know I am the chief executive officer at Shadow Tech, a non-government organization that has been given a certain amount of money to build a new weapon for the UNSC. Well, the money we were given went to good use, and here is the weapon we have produced" she began, pointing to Arinoth and Colin.
They are called Shadow Spartans, and are almost exactly similar to the regular Spartans ONI has created, however these Spartans have unique differences compared to the regular Spartans. For starters; their armour has a reflective mirror coating, which allows them to blend into any environment, making it seem like they are invisible. The armour itself as an integrated AI system, however, when the armour is not in use by the required user, the AI has control over all functions. If they wanted too, they could get out of the armour use it has a backup (That would be hilarious). Essentially, instead off having two Spartans fighting, they could have four. Plus, the candidates we have chosen for the Shadow Spartan project have been friends since childhood, and continue to be friends. We feel that this strengthens the way they fight and work as a team. The regular Spartan candidates didn't know each other and had to build a relationship over their training, but with our Spartans, they had a friendship right off the start."
Lastly, they've received more tactical training than the Spartans, allowing them to make quicker decisions in the field of battle and predict the possible outcomes of a battle" Campbell finished. She sat back and observed the men's physical reactions.
General Abraham's mouth hung open (Look out for that fly). Major Armstrong was staring at the Shadow Spartans, as if worried, as was Commander Kilgore. However, it was Armstrong who spoke first.
"What are their names?" he asked.
"This is Captain Arinoth Kobrynovich and his partner; Lieutenant Colin Thompson. Their code names are Koby and Shade" she said. Kilgore nodded at both of them, but the Shadow Spartans did not nod back and merely stared forward at them. General Abraham finally cleared his throat.
"Well, this is quite amazing Katherine...you have no idea the amount of thanks and respect I have for these Spartans, but there are a few concerns I have. Are your Spartans freelancers?" he asked. Katherine grinned.
"Of course not General, they may act and look like robots, but they are human beings who have a radical hatred for the Covenant. Both of them lost their parents during the first few days of the Covenant invasion of in the Inner Planets" she said, shaking her head. Once again, both Koby and Shade merely stared at them. Abraham nodded.
"Okay, now, let's go on to-"
"Sergeant Brown to General Abraham" The sound of the Sergeant's voice at the front desk echoed through the two-way radio on the General's belt. Abraham reached down and grabbed it.
"Yes Sergeant?"
"We got Covenant forces inbound, two Phantoms, loaded with a lot of Covenant Brutes and Elites. They want us all dead sir" he said gravely. General Abraham cursed, and then looked at the Shadow Spartans for a moment. He grinned, and then clicked his radio.
"Roger that Sergeant, go to Combat Alert Alpha, get everyone ready. We have a little surprise for those Covenant bastards" he said. With that, the General put his radio away and stood.
"Something's come up. Covenant strike time is inbound, most likely going to try and destroy this base. We can't let that happen (No shit). Miss Campbell, get your Spartans ready, we'll need them" he said. He nodded at them all, and then rushed for the doors, Major Armstrong and Commander Kilgore behind him. Katherine looked at her Spartans, who watched the men leave.
"Okay, get your gear and kick some ass, just like we trained you" she said. The two Spartans stood, nodded at her, and then rushed out of the room, heading for the armoury room. Katherine stood and was escorted to an underground bunker by a pair of marines. She hoped her Spartans were okay.
Captain Kobrynovich stepped into the armoury room on the second floor and activated his armour. His AI MJOLNIR armour "Arysis" stepped off the platform it had been placed on and stopped in front of Koby. Arinoth pressed a single button the neck plate of the armour, and like a zipper, the entire back of the armour opened. Arinoth stripped off his clothing (*porn music starts*), then stepped into his MJOLNIR armour. It sealed up behind him and Arysis transferred all functions of the armour to Arinoth. Koby looked over at his partner, who had just stepped into his own MJOLNIR armour "Wraith." Once Shade confirmed he was in control of his armour, they walked over to the rows of guns and picked up their weapons. Since they would be dealing with Phantoms and Brutes, Arinoth suggested they both take Jackhammer rocket launchers, which they did. Shade grabbed his usual MA5B assault rifle, while Koby grabbed a MA7B battle rifle. They each grabbed around five extra clips of ammo for their guns, and then took an extra two rocket packs for their launchers. Once they had loaded their weapons and grabbed a few grenades, they marched quickly out of the room and into the crowded halls.
The Shadow Spartans ran down the hallway, made two lefts, and then stepped out onto a large platform, overlooking the battlefield. They each had their Jackhammer launchers out and were scanning the sky. Sure enough, as they waited, the dull sound of a Phantom's hovering engines could be heard. Colin pointed to the southwest mountain range and sure enough, two Phantom dropships hovered low and began their descent to the base, firing off their plasma canons at the marine defenders on the ground below. Arinoth raised his Jackhammer.
"Two rounds at each Phantom, then an additional two rounds at the survivors. Once that's done, move in and clean up the area" he said. Colin nodded, and then looked up at the far right Phantom. He fired twice, and the rockets hit dead on. At the same time, Arinoth fired his, getting the exact same results as Colin (Hmm, what are the odds of that happening?). Colin's target took a nose dive right into a mountain, flipped over, sending several Brutes flying, then slide down the mountain and into the valley. The dropship Arinoth had fired at merely slammed hard into the ground and came to a stop near the landing pad.
Immediately, survivors could be seen climbing out of the wreckages. The Shadow Spartans fired an additional two rounds at their targets, wiping out handfuls of survivors, and then moved in with their assault weapons to take out what was left. Everyone in Colin's target was dead. However, in the dropship that Arinoth had shot at, the pilot was still alive. Arinoth and two marines pulled out a legless Elite, who was trying to kill himself (Come on, let Gimpy do it). A group of marines seized the pilot and dragged him inside. The Elite was howling in rage and pain, but the human defenders didn't care. Arinoth and Colin watched them go, and then (Look buddy, if you say "and then" one more time, I'm gonna come in there and rip your voice box out, damn Microsoft Word Spell Check) followed them. It was time to stop the raids on this naval base...
TO BE CONTINUED
By: Agent Shade and Arinoth Koby
(Stay tuned for Shadow Spartans, Chapter Three: Interrogation and Assault)
Shadow Spartans, Chapter 3: Interrogation and Assault
Date: 13 July 2003, 7:09 PM
Arinoth and Colin watched from an observation room, as their captured Elite dropship pilot screamed and howled below in the operating room. The doctors below were attempting to patch up the Elite's wounds, but the big Covenant officer would not allow a single human hand touch him. The Shadow Spartans had tried to get some rest, but the screams and howls were keeping them up (Cause it's hard to keep a good alien down-quote taken from Red versus Blue). General Arnold Abraham walked into the room and stood by the two Spartans.
"God, can't they get that thing to shut up?" he asked them. Arinoth chuckled silently and shook his head. Abraham sighed and picked up a small radio nearby. "Abraham to Armstrong" he said into the radio.
"Yes General, you awake too?" came the voice of Major David Armstrong, Chief of Security.
"Yes Major, I am (Why else would he be contacting you if he wasn't awake?). Can you get someone down there to shut that thing up?" he asked. The Major laughed.
"Will do sir, Armstrong out." The General put the radio down, waited a few minutes, then watched two burly Orbital Drop Shock Troopers walk into the operating room below and zap the Elite with two stun rods (Gang beats!!). It looked painful and Arinoth sympathized for the Elite for a moment, but he was relieved when the screaming stopped and the Elite fell silent. The ODSTs stepped back, stun rods still at the ready and the doctors moved in. General Abraham turned to leave.
"Now, let's get some god forsaken shut eye" he said. The Shadow Spartans turned as well and followed the General out of the room and back to their quarters.
"How did it go last night?"
"Not bad, the Elite came around another time, but those ODSTs really helped us out (Hmm...I wonder how?). He's in stasis at the moment."
General Abraham sat in the mess hall of the Naval Base, holding a cup of coffee and staring at Doctor John Phillips, who looked really tired.
"How long did it take?" asked Abraham.
"Too long, the insides of an Elite are really confusing" Phillips said, rolling his eyes.
"Well, as long as the sucker won't bleed to death, I'm happy. Good work doctor, go and get some rest now"
"Thank you sir." The Doctor stood and left the hall, yawning as he did. Abraham took another sip of his coffee, and then stood as well and left. He walked through a few halls, entered a crowded elevator, and then arrived in Barracks D-1. Normally, the Barracks would be loaded with marines, but today, it was empty. Abraham knew why.
The moment the door opened, he dropped his coffee cup and covered his ears, as the Elite's screaming could be heard again.
"God damnit!" he yelled. "Can't we get a bloody muzzle for this thing?" He ran down the rows of cots and entered a separate room. The Shadow Spartans sat on chairs, wearing their armor. Abraham looked at them confused, and uncovered his ears slightly.
"Why are you wearing your armor?" he asked. Arinoth stood. The sound of a radio being activated could be heard.
"Two reasons sir. One; to mute out that damn thing in the room next to us. Two; to frighten the Elite into telling us whatever we want. I'm sure that all Covenant know about the Spartans, so he would probably tell us whatever we wish to know if we threatened to kill him" Arinoth explained. Abraham laughed.
"Well get in there and silence that damn thing" he ordered. The Spartans walked out of the room. Abraham took one of their vacant seats and looked through the mirror that showed the room beyond.
The Elite was strapped to a chair, two fake plastic legs attached to his stumps (I think anyone would be screaming if they had two plastic legs). A spotlight was over the Elite's head, and a table was in front of it.
A door at the other end of the room opened and the Shadow Spartans walked in. At that moment, the Elite stopped screaming and stared transfixed at the two behemoths that walked in. When the two Spartans sat down, the Elite began squirming in its chair.
"No! Don't kill me! No!" he screamed over and over again.
Arinoth and Colin looked at each other, confused. Normally, an Elite would want to die, since they believe strongly in honor (much like a Samurai or a ninja; Haaiiiii ya!). The Elite continued to scream this, until Arinoth stood, pissed off.
"Shut the hell up!" he roared. His voice echoed throughout the room and the Elite froze again, looking up at his interrogator. Arinoth relaxed and sat back down.
"That's better. What is your name?"
"Imma 'Wimpee (Wonder what that stands for?)" said the Elite.
"First of all, why do you wish for your life to be sparred? Aren't all Elites honor bound? (I think his name explains that)"
"Not all Elites are honor bound cyborg. I am one of those who aren't" he growled. Arinoth didn't exactly understand this, but wasn't here to understand the Covenant hierarchy.
"Ok then. Where did you and your dropship take off from?" he asked.
"I will never explain the whereabouts of my-"At that moment, Colin stood, stun rod in his hand, "Ok ok! I will tell. There is a large Covenant base camp just down the main path that leads to this human base" he said quickly, looking at the rod in Colin's hand (I would've zapped him anyway).
"What is the security like at this base?" continued Arinoth.
"Not strong, since most of the troops we had we used in that last assault"
"Are there any type of reinforcements on the way?"
"We get two dropship loads of troops every twenty units" the Elite said, grinning at the fact that the humans had no knowledge of units. Arinoth cursed to himself.
"Is that minutes, hours, days?" he asked. The Elite shrugged.
"We do not use those terms, only units" he said defiantly. For the hell of it, Colin poked him once with the stun rod. The Elite howled in pain.
"Don't play smart with us" said Arinoth. "My final question is; what type of leader is at that base?"
The Elite didn't move. He stared at the wall, not breathing or anything. Colin prodded him with the rod and he jolted awake.
"No, I've sworn never to tell. I can't"
"If you don't tell, then we will take something of value to you (say an arm...or two?)" The Elite shuddered.
"May the Prophets forgive me. There is a Prophet at that base camp, which commands the troops to attack this base" The Elite lowered his head in defeat and Arinoth stood.
"Thank you...before I leave, I will tell you now that if you are lying to us, then you can say goodbye to your arms" he growled. The Elite gaped at Arinoth, who turned his back to him and left the room, followed by Colin, who waved his stun rod at the Elite.
"So, what did you get out of him?" General Abraham, the Shadow Spartans and a few other decorate officers sat around at the conference table. The Spartans sat at one end, while the General and his officers were at another end (Deja-vu going on here). The Spartans were out of their armor and wore black jumpsuits.
"There is a base camp just down the road the leads to this base. At the moment, it's virtually unguarded, but the Elite told us of a dropship that comes every twenty units, whenever the hell that is and unloads a large number of Covenant troops. There is also a Covenant Prophet at that base" Arinoth explained.
That last comment Arinoth made, caught everyone's attention. Abraham leaned forward.
"A Prophet eh? (That is what he said dumbass)" he repeated, his eyes going into the back of his head. Arinoth nodded.
"We don't know if twenty units, means twenty minutes, hours or days, which is why I suggest we attack now" he stated.
"I agree that damn dropship could be unloading troops right now. What are our plans of assault?" asked the General (Well gee buddy; you are the General, why don't you make up those plans...dumbass).
"Air strike?" offered one of the officers to Abraham's left.
"That would work, but we want to capture that Prophet, not kill it" said Arinoth.
"Ground assault seems to be the obvious solution then" the same officer said.
"With all due respect gentlemen, the marine defense forces here are not strong, which is why I suggest that myself and Shade go alone and complete this mission. That way, none of your marines are put into danger, and if another assault comes, you have people here to fight them off" explained Arinoth. Abraham's eyebrow went up.
"You sure Arinoth? You and your partner against an entire base camp" Beside Arinoth, Colin shook his head and laughed.
"Piss poor odds for them" he said (Oh yeah!). Everyone at the table chuckled.
"Very well, you two will be assaulting that camp. What do you need?"
"All we require are weapons and some sort of transportation to get us there and back, preferably a Warthog" he said. Abraham nodded.
"Done, Armory Station A still has a full load of weapons. Go there; get what you need, then head to the hangar. A Warthog will be waiting there for you" he said. Arinoth nodded and the two Spartans stood and left the room.
"Okay Shade, assault weapons are needed here. Most camps are constructed with a perimeter of Shade gun turrets and plasma shield barriers. A S2 AM sniper rifle and M 19 SSM Rocket launcher are definitely needed (What a mouthful!)" Arinoth said, looking at the rows and shelves of weapons. Colin nodded, picked up a Jackhammer launcher and also picked up four extra rounds, which he strapped to his back.
"Why not just use the weapons we came in here with?" he asked. Arinoth knew that he would take the MA7B battle rifle again, which is what he had chosen when they first landed here on the Naval Base.
"Good thinking" he said. Colin picked up a MA5B assault rifle, loaded the weapon and pocketed fifteen extra ammo clips, Arinoth doing the same for his battle rifle. The two of them slung their secondary weapons over their shoulders, and then headed towards the hangar at ground level.
The Spartans moved quickly through the halls, nodding at the marines who greeted them. They took an elevator down to the main floor, and then entered the hangar.
A Warthog sat in the middle of the large room, with a few marines around it. General Abraham and Major Armstrong walked over to them.
"Your M12 LRV is ready (It's a Warthog dead man). Take this receiver, if things get really messy, press that and our squad of Longbows will bomb the area you need to be wiped out" Abraham said, handing him over a small receiver.
"I will have two divisions of marines standing by. If things continue to get messy, press the same receiver two times and they will arrive in more vehicles" Armstrong said, nodding towards a large division of marines on the far left side of the hangar, who all waved at them.
"Thank you sirs, we won't be long" Arinoth said, jumping into the driver seat of the 'Hog. He turned the key, and the engine started. However, as the engine began to rumble, it was drowned out by a sudden explosion of polka music that came from the Warthog's radio. Arinoth glanced at the dashboard, and then smashed his fist against it, breaking the radio. He looked up and could see a PFC slowly backing away from them, his eyes looking around. Arinoth shook his head. Colin jumped into the gunner's seat and signaled he was ready. Arinoth revved the engine and they zoomed out of the hangar and headed out of the valley and into the small dirt path that ran through the canyon...
TO BE CONTINUED
By: Agent Shade and Arinoth Koby
(Stay tuned for Shadow Spartans, Chapter Four: Captured Prophet; End Game?)
Shadow Spartans, Chatper 4: The Running Prophet
Date: 17 July 2003, 6:19 PM
~*Authors' note*~
We had typed in that the name of this chapter would be "Capture Prophet; End Game?" but to be honest, I (Agent Shade) didn't like that title, so we changed it to "The Running Prophet." Enjoy
~*End note*~
Naval Base Gamma was located in a valley inside a large canyon in the jungles of Brazil. Leading from the valley the base was in, was a large pathway that stretched for a few miles. Near the end, was a valley similar to the valley the naval base was in, however this one was slightly smaller and had pathways branching off from it that lead deeper in the canyon.
In this specific valley, there was a Covenant Raiding Camp set up. Because of the unlikely attack coming from behind, the Covenant had set up a defence perimeter facing the path that lead to the naval base. It consisted of three lines of four Shade gun turrets, each surrounded by plasma shield barriers. The camp also had a somewhat large compliment of Covenant Ghosts, two Covenant Shadows and a single Covenant Wraith tank. Luckily, because most of the ground troops were used in the last attack on the naval base, the only members of the camp that remained was a division of Covenant Grunts, a few Jackals, two Elites, two Brutes and one Hunter.
In the middle of the camp, there was a large circular complex that had a single entrance, which was completely sealed. Inside this complex was another ring of defence, which consisted of two Shade turrets, eight cloaked Elite commandos and four Brutes, two of which who manned the turrets. Their purpose was to guard the Covenant Prophet that was overseeing the destruction of the naval base.
While the camp lay in a subdued silence, approaching it from the main path was a single M12 LRV, its occupants, ready to kill. Arinoth Koby watched the camp appear in the distance, and slowed the Warthog down. In the back, Colin Thompson levelled the 30mm LAAG chain gun at the base, ready to fire. Arinoth shook his head however.
"Not yet, let's get closer; we won't win this battle just by going kamikaze on them" he said and Colin relaxed his grip on the firing triggers of the gun. Slowly, Arinoth drove the 'Hog closer, then finally stopped and got out.
"Wait here a second" he said, and then jogged off to the far right side of the path, using the darkness of the night and their armour as protection. Luckily, it wasn't needed. Arinoth unslung his S2 AM sniper rifle and aimed at the defence perimeter the Covenant had set up. He grinned to see that only two Grunts were standing around the Shade gun turrets, eating away at some sort of bio-food. Arinoth targeted the first one's head, and then switched over to the second. He did this a few more times; before he felt satisfied he could pull the two shots off in a matter of milliseconds. He aimed at the first Grunt again and pulled the trigger.
The 14.5 x 114mm APFSDS round struck the Grunt right in the neck, severing its head from the rest of its body. A fountain of blue methane spewed out of the destroyed neck, and the Grunt toppled over. Already, Arinoth had switched targets and fired again, the exact same results happening to the second Grunt. He grinned, slung his weapon, and then ran back to the 'Hog.
"Sentries are out, let's park this vehicle, then move in" he said. Colin nodded as Arinoth jumped in again, activated the engine again, then drove the 'Hog into the valley, making sure the engine's noise didn't elevate too much. He found a spot between two huge boulders. He parked it, jumped out, Colin doing the same. The Shadow Spartans climbed the boulder and observed the camp. Arinoth had his sniper rifle out again.
From what he could see, there were four Shade gun turrets positioned inside the camp, obviously in case the perimeter was breached. Four Grunts were in these Shades, but weren't really paying attention and were chatting with other Grunts nearby. Two Elites were standing around what looked like some sort of communication structure, talking with each other. The two Brutes were nearby, but luckily were asleep, as were the four Jackals around the entrance to the large complex. Other than that, the camp was empty. Arinoth couldn't take out the Grunts, since the others would see their comrades' fall, but he could definitely take out the Elites. He did the same set up as he did the two Grunts, but focused harder, since Elites were harder to take out. Finally, he targeted the red armoured Elite and fired.
Arinoth grinned as the sniper round smashed right into the Elite's head, blowing open its skull and spilling blood and brains all over its colleague. Before the second Elite had time to react, a second bullet hit it in the shoulder. The Elite groaned and Arinoth cursed, quickly retargeting the Elite and firing again. The Elite let out a roar and fell over, a huge hole in its chest.
"Oh shit" whispered Colin, levelling his assault rifle. The entire camp was awake now, and looking to where the Shadow Spartans were positioned. Lances of plasma fire, fired from the Shade gun turrets smashed into their position. Arinoth's shields flared as continuous shots hit him. Colin pulled him back and they hide behind the boulder. Arinoth shook his head.
"My bad" he said and Colin nodded at him.
"Yeah, your bad" he said, then fired a sustained burst at a Grunt who had wandered towards them. Colin peered at the camp, but quickly retreated as more plasma fire came at him.
"We aren't going anywhere with those Shade gun turrets. Give me some cover fire, and I can take them out" he said to Arinoth, who nodded and took out his MA7B battle rifle. Colin took out his M19 SSM Jackhammer rocket launcher and signalled to Arinoth that he was ready.
Arinoth nodded and sprinted away from the boulder, tossing two fragmentation grenades at the Covenant Grunts running at him, and firing random rounds from his battle rifle. The four Shade Gun turrets turned to focus on him, but Colin stepped out from behind the boulder and quickly fired two 102mm rockets at two of the Shade gun turrets. The first turret erupted in a ball of fire and plasma, incinerating the Grunt operating it and also vaporizing two Grunts standing near it. Near the second turret, the Grunts gathered around it squeaked in surprise and attempted to dodge out of the way of the second rocket, but it was no use. The second Shade toppled over in pieces, flattening three Grunts. Colin quickly reloaded, as did Arinoth who was crouched low to avoid the volleys of plasma fired at him. He tossed another frag grenade and watched one of the Brutes rush back to the camp, blood flowing from its wounds.
Colin was finished reloading, and he quickly took out the last two Shade turrets. Slinging the Jackhammer over his shoulder, he sprinted out of his cover position, firing quickly at several Grunts. Arinoth finished reloading, and then looked to the complex entrance, to see the Jackals moving in.
"Shade, rendezvous at the entrance to that complex" he said. Colin nodded and tossed a single frag grenade, which exploded among the Jackals moving in on Arinoth. Arinoth stood and rushed towards the camp, firing his battle rifle at the remaining Grunts. Suddenly, as he approached a plasma shield barrier, one of the Brutes charged at Arinoth and was successful in smashing its fist into Arinoth's rib area. The Shadow Spartan grunted in pain, and then turned sharply, delivering a huge blow to the Brute's head with the battle rifle in his hands. Arinoth heard bones crack and he was sure that the Brute's skull had been punctured, but the thing kept coming at him. Arinoth rolled to his left, avoiding another melee swing and crouched near one of the dead Elites he had shot earlier. The Brute turned and roared at Arinoth, who reached beside him and picked up a plasma grenade dropped by one of the Elites. The Brute was still roaring at the Shadow Spartan, when the grenade sailed through the air and landed right on the Brute's foot. The Brute stopped, looked down at it and grunted, kicking his leg out, trying to rid himself of the grenade. It was no use though, the grenade detonated and the Brute disappeared in a shower of blood.
Colin approached the camp from the right, killing the Grunts running at him. As he reloaded, he tossed a single grenade, killing the last of them, and then moved into the camp. Suddenly, he stopped and listened. He could feel the ground beneath trembling, and he could hear the sound of armour clanking together. His eyes widened.
"Oh shit" he said. The Covenant equipment box beside him exploded, showering the Spartan with plasma and wreckage. His shield bar dropped incredibly and he fell to one knee. He turned to see a Covenant Hunter rushing at him. Quickly, Colin rolled backwards, doing a backwards summersault. The Hunter's melee battle shield smashed into the ground where Colin had been momentarily ago. He stood and watched the Hunter turn to stare at the Spartan. Even with the armour on, the Hunter still stood taller than Colin by a full head. He gulped and was forced to roll backwards again, avoiding another melee attack. The Hunter roared and charged up its fuel rod gun, but Colin was already moving away from it, loading his Jackhammer. If he was lucky, the Hunter would get lost and confused. The Hunter held back its shot and began searching for its prey. Colin crouched near the wreckage of one of the Shade turrets, finishing his reload. He then stood, Jackhammer ready and moved up the terrain slightly, to sight his target.
The Hunter had its back to him and was looking from left to right. Colin aimed and fired, then rushed back into the camp. The rocket sailed straight and true, smashing into the Hunter. The huge behemoth roared in pain, but did not fail. Instead, it became even angrier and began running around the base. Colin watched it approach him. He let the Jackhammer cool down, then fire again. The rocket tore right through the torso of the Hunter, shredding it in half. The bottom half of the Hunter stopped moving, while the top half fell to the ground, orange blood pooling around it. Colin grinned, loaded his last Jackhammer round in the chamber and jogged towards the entrance to the complex, where Arinoth stood waiting.
"Enjoy that little dance with the Brute?" he asked Arinoth, who shook his head.
"How bout your tango with the Hunter?" he replied, causing Colin to grin as well.
"We'll call it even then" Colin said. Arinoth nodded then looked at the door.
"Sealed tight, not even a Jackhammer round could penetrate it" he said. Colin groaned.
"What are we going to do then?" he asked. Arinoth grinned and turned slightly, staring at the unused Wraith tank near them.
"Are you armoured certified?" he asked, causing Colin's eyes to widen, then he grinned.
"Of course" he said, then walked over to the tank, popped open the hatch and jumped in, closing it and activating the systems. The tank came alive and floated above the ground.
"What am I doing with this thing?" he asked Arinoth.
"Shoot at the door" Arinoth answered. Colin positioned the tank in front of the door and began looking over the various controls in front of him. He frowned and pressed one switch. The view screen in front of him turned all green and foggy. Colin raised an eyebrow.
"These guys have night vision?" he whispered to himself. He switched off the vision and began looking for the firing control. He shook his head.
"Fuck it" he said, then grabbed hold of the controls and revved the engine.
Arinoth watched as the tank charged at the door. He stepped back, waving his hands.
"I said shoot the door open, but ram it!" he yelled, but it was too late. The tank smashed right into it, creating a large dent. Colin backed the tank up, and then charged again, making the dent even bigger. He did this several more times before stopping. He grinned and activated his radio.
"Found the firing control" he said, looking at the red button in the middle of the controls. Arinoth shook his head.
"Fire away Lieutenant" he said. Colin nodded, pressed the button and hung on tight. The tank rumbled as the firing turret poked its head out of the hatch on the top of the tank and fired. The turret let out a huge ball of plasma energy that sailed into the air for a few seconds before smashing into the door, ripping it open and killing two Brutes and two Elites standing around it inside. Quickly, Colin climbed out of the tank, closing the hatch and rolling to avoid lances of plasma that were fired at him. He took out his Jackhammer and fired the last round in it. The rocket struck the ground in between the two Shade gun turrets, blowing them away from each other and killing the operators and three Elites nearby. The remaining three cloaked Elites moved in on Colin, but Arinoth fired several shots and the commandos dropped dead. Colin looked at his CO.
"How did you see them?" he asked.
"Heat vision" he said. (Or was it night vision?)
Colin nodded, and then motioned to the entrance. Arinoth moved in first, weapon up. Colin trailed behind, covering his six, with his MA5B assault rifle out. The complex wasn't that big. There was a small door that lead into a smaller room which they assumed was inhabited. Colin crouched right in front of the door and Arinoth went to the control mechanism. Colin nodded and Arinoth opened the door.
Colin slowly moved into the room, Arinoth right behind him. Arinoth gaped at what was in front of them.
A single Covenant Prophet, sitting in its anti-grav chair floated in the room, bobbing up and down from the air flows that entered the room. It looked at the two Spartans approaching it, and then raised its hand.
"Hello" it said. Arinoth raised an eyebrow but did not move. He took out the transmitter given to him by General Abraham and pressed it twice, signalling for backup. The Prophet watched Arinoth do this and shook its decorated head.
"I wouldn't advise that. You see, I have also called for backup, which will get here much faster than your marine forces. I suggest you merely go back to the base you came from and leave me" it said. Arinoth shook his head.
"I suggest you kiss my ass pal. Now shut up" he growled. The Prophet looked at him.
"There is no need for that tone Spartan, what I say is true and to be frank, I am saving you from your deaths" he said. Arinoth growled even louder.
"That's enough!" he shouted. The Prophet grinned.
"I seem to be annoying you" he said. Beside Arinoth, Colin shook his head.
"You have no idea" he said. The Prophet chuckled, and then looked over their heads.
"Ah, my backup is here, farewell Spartans" he said. The Shadow Spartans turned and raised their weapons as two gold armoured Elites walked into the room, plasma swords activated. Behind them, Arinoth could see dozens of other Covenant soldiers, aiming at them. Arinoth shook his head, realizing that capturing the Prophet would be impossible. He looked at Colin and activated a private comm. Link.
"Let's get out of here" he said. Colin nodded, and the two of them charged forward, weapons blazing. The two field master Elites jumped in surprise as bullets slammed into them. Both Arinoth and Colin slammed their weapons into the Elites, causing them to fall over.
The Shadow Spartans left the Elites there then charged at the Covenant soldiers gathered around the entrance. It wasn't much, which Arinoth was thankful for. He jumped into the air, crushing a Grunt and slamming his weapon into a Jackal, Colin doing the same. An Elite swung at Colin, but he grabbed the thing's fist and held it back. Arinoth fought around them, killing the others, while Colin and the Elite duelled. It ended up with Colin taking out a Kevlar battle knife and sticking it right into the Elite's throat. He left it there and sprinted away, Arinoth right behind him, firing rounds from his pistol. As they rushed to their Warthog, Arinoth could see the Prophet being escorted out and into the dropships that awaited them. Another batch of Covenant soldiers were out and firing at the Shadow Spartans.
As the two humans fell back, their marine forces appeared on the main pathway. The two M808B Scorpion tanks leading the way fired, their 90mm explosive shells drilling into the Covenant position. Body parts flew into the air, causing the Elites to pick up their pace and they literally threw the Prophet into the dropship. The Elites jumped in as well, calling what remained of their troops to them. However, the marine forces moved in fast, firing their weapons. The Elites told the pilot to take off, which it did and the two dropships soared into the air, disappearing into the night sky. The Covenant that had been left behind was finished off quickly, thanks to the added firepower by the Spartans who had appeared out of their cover position. Arinoth watched the dropship disappear and extended his middle finger at it.
"Next time, your ass is mine"
TO BE CONTINUED
BY: Agent Shade and Arinoth Koby
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