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The Covenant Invasion: Primal Confrontations by Joshua Barreto (Infernal)
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The Covenant Invasion: Primal Confrontations
Date: 2 June 2004, 11:15 PM
The Landing
0455 Hours, September 23, 2552 (military calendar) UNSC Orbital Defense Platform Delta Gamma 223, in defense formation code: Fox-049-Bravo; Earth
Rear Admiral Amadeus knew the Super MAC guns on this platform couldn't go down. It held this position well against a strong force of several Supercarriers and short attack ships. The Covenant forces had another idea for this place, and the admiral wasn't going to let them express it.
UNSC High Command had been warned. Nobody knows where the intel came from, or by whom. But word spread like wildfire. The collective of alien races known as the Covenant, found Earth. The entire human race was at stake, and the population of the blue planet, on sanity's edge. This is it, the Rear Admiral
thought. This is the end.
"Give me firing solutions on silos A through D. Captain Davis, are you there?"
"-Yes admiral-"
"Have your crew warm the MAC guns ASAP. I need a couple of more rounds, our super missiles are clearing the Seraphs, but they aren't doing anything to this thing's shields."
"-Aye sir. MAC guns 4 and 5 at 85% readiness, 6 through 9 are hot-"
"Captain Lotus, fire your four guns now!"
The plasma scoured defense platform with its 12 Super MAC guns, jolted as four projectiles shot out its massive cannons. The 15 kilometer disc had massive, criss -crossing rings that rotated to keep a center of gravity. The guns stuck out of them like gigantic needles protruding from a ball of yarn. Around the defense platform were small mobile defense shields, cargo liners and sacrificial sattellites that attempted in blocking and nullifying Covenant weaponry. They did so with 60% efficiency, until they became molten hunks of debris, becoming dangerously sized metallic meteorites that impacted upon the hapless gun base.
"Lotus, report!"
"-Target hit sir, and hard. Its main weaponry has been disabled, and its hull integrity is at 45% and dropping rapidly sir-"
"Good shot, Captain." He looked at his tactical display screen and only swallowed. Where there once were six carriers, now stood a crescent formation of ten. "How're 4 and 5 Davis?"
"-Ready and firing sir!-"
The Covenant supercarrier, now spewing atmosphere and debris into space, took two more holes into the sixth bulbous starboard side section, which reached through several layers of decks. Electric blue flames ignited outward, sending it into a slow spiral into another sister vessel amidst the formation. She nosed into the other supercarrier's eighth bulbous section, over coming the force of its defense shields it crumpled inward, and broke deep into the hull. Blue-purple flames ignited both vessels if but for a second, before they both swelled and blew apart. The front half of the second carrier continued forward from the blast's momentum and careened into another ship. Flaming chunks of the two ships blew outward and caused several ships' shields to activate defensively.
The Orbital Defense Platform jolted over and over, its cannons sending their respective payloads to a quartet of vibrant colored craft. Shields flashed and disabled, cruisers swelled and blew apart, plasma torpedoes melted away sattellites and freight ships, and small explosions lit up from hundreds of Seraphs coming head on into super missile flak. This small section of space was alive with two forces engaging in the defense, or genocide of the other. The occasional reactor went off, and a nuclear bright glare would blind all eyes for thousands of kilometers around.
There were 30 Super MAC holding, Orbital Defense Platforms slowly but surely holding there place
in the defense against the Covenant. They steadily orbited the Earth, trying to nullify the Covenant juggernaut from wiping the human existence from the galaxy. But the highly advanced coalition of races were far stronger than the force seen at the Battle of Reach. A total of 700 ships appeared between the blue planet and Mars, and more came in by the hour. Some of them even took the time to glass the red planet.
"-Rear Admiral Amadeus, this is Vice Admiral Wolfhart; respond please-"
"Yes, I'm here sir."
"-Good. We need your guns at these coordinates. Our ships haven't been able to hold off the incoming forces there, and you're the nearest defensive option. I've already sent in a contingency of destroyers and carriers to deal with your situation. Come in guns hot son.-"
"Aye sir, I'll be there in ten minutes." He saw his destination, and 16 crescent shaped formations within 1000 kilometers of it. The human fleet there were being overwhelmed, and were already pulling back into another defense position. As he issued out orders, a hit the station took, shook the bridge and initiated red warning lights.
"Dammit!! Captain Gibaldi, the defense shields, where are they? Captain Tienus, fire those Titan super missiles and free floating Lance mines, we need a smoke screen. Captain Dasker, how're the gun batteries holding up?"
"-Defense shields have been destroyed sir, not one left, our sattellites are maneuvering as fast as possible, but there's too much incoming fire for them to block. I'm doing what I can sir-"
"Titan missiles away sir, we've made contact with numerous Seraphs sir, but the mines have been set with some of our tactical nukes for the bigger craft, so the point defense systems are going to have to take care of us on the move sir-"
"-Guns 6 through 9 have been disabled sir, guns 2, 3, 4, and 5 are hot and ready to fire. Guns 11 and 12 are at critical heat levels.-"
"Fire at will son!! I wanna take out some of these bastards before we leave." As he said those last words, a warning siren resounded throughout the gun base. A white blue glow lit the entire bridge, as the Admiral helplessly looked at the incoming plasma torpedo that crashed into the main viewport. In an instant, the entire command crew and bridge were sucked out into the vaccuum in space, as the plasma flash vaporized them into nothingness.
The lightly pulsating blue beams of light within Olahim's chamber quickly turned into a purplish red haze as his crew of 300 infiltration specializing Al'djurian warriors, finished gearing up and making their last rounds of preperation. The silver-black armored Elites climbed into individual landing pods, shiny, gray-colored 12 foot high cylindrical tubs within chutes that ran along the ventral part of the supercarrier like a network of veins.
"Al'djurian warriors, of the highest esteem, battle lies ahead; death awaits, only for the highly priveleged."
The communication earpieces resounded with the smooth, relaxing melodious ceremonial music that played before Al'djurian warriors went into battle. It seemed to have some underlying secret to calming the nerves of even the rookie fighters. It's said among their own, that the prophets of ages past came upon ancient relics that captured the musical voices sung by the gods, and reproduced it over and over to calm the unnerved and fearful.
As Olahim climbed into his pod, he gave a rising click of his mandibles, wishing some nearby comrades good luck. Some glowing symbols raced across his front display, detailing his mission. The pod encased itself around him, pressurized and came alive with life. Vibrations ensued as the low hum of energy gave way to a feeling of movement. The pods were now moving through the launch tubes enroute their exit vectors to the rear top section of the ship.
He touched several glowing knobs, opening up holopanels with vid-screens. One was the main camera from his ship, the supercarrier Sirenous Requiem; its numerous weapons turrets discharging their gaseous payloads to a couple of human vessels.
Blue-red plasma made contact and melted several layers of one ship, yellow-orange metal bent inward as the intense heat boiled through its sections. A Covenant ship's shields overloaded and flashed off as the purple craft swelled and blew apart in a series of explosions. Warning beacons blared as the ride in the chute was coming to an end.
Three hundred sparkling specks flew out in rapid succession off the top rear section of the sixth bulbous protrusion from the Sirenous Requiem. They looked like glitter spilled out in zero-gee against the blackness of space. Longswords engaged the helpless pods, shooting down as many as possible before taking on the escort forces of the Seraphs.
Olahim's pulse and heartbeat bagan to accelerate, as his pod shook him violently side to side. Various screams were heard over the com-frequency as explosions, random debris and Longsword rounds hit his fellow warriors.
"The Gods grant a fruitful afterlife to they that fulfill their mission..." The melody continued its calming rhythms. "As promised, he who ends the transgressors' contiuous pattern of sinful advents, will see his name inscribed across the heavens of Al'djuria, as said by the High Prophet of Translated Promises."
Olahim turned off the incoming musical transmission. He believed all this preaching was far mor suited for the monks, not warriors entering battle. He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, trying to soothe the growing tensions within his own mind. He was a skilled warrior, a veteran of many successful infiltration campaigns. But in this individual landing pod, he was nothing more than target practice.
As he continued to view the external cameras of his tub, a number of frantic, shrill screams came in from the command center of the Sirenous Requiem. At first, Olahim believed his ship to have finally been brought down. Upon careful examination, he could still see the ship, now over 10000 kilometers away, completely intact and still flying in space. Its engines were running fine, and the diagnostic readouts he pulled up showed everything was at 100%.
"Al'djurian warrior Olahim, by the gods, requests knowledge from the great ship, Sirenous Requiem. What has happened? I say once more..."
The frequency went dead with static. He continued to try and contact his superiors. All lines were dead. His already racing heart jumped suddenly with more fear. As he kept his incoming comm-traffic receiver open, numerous reports indicated an alien crew had taken the bridge of the vessel, and the commanders had been assassinated.
He put on his external cameras again, to see if his ship had moved. As his pod entered Earth's atmosphere, the intense heat interfered with the electronic components of his pod. Along with the snowy reception and violent rumblings, Olahim could not get a clear view of the Sirenous Requiem. The supercarrier faded into the blackness of space, and the random glare of the occasional reactor explosion. He hit another knob, that would record everything into a small crystalline cube. All he could do now was growl and curse the dishonorable usurpers. His mind told him it was the Hunters. Long had his kind warned the Prophets of their indifference to the Covenant hierarchy. Long had he been suspicious of their disloyalty among given Covenant units.
No, thinking on these matters would cloud his thoughts. He had to focus on the mission at hand. A holographic image floated into view. It was a heavily guarded human installation, which he and his crew were to infiltrate and destroy its defenses. This would allow an attack force of the Bauhl-geuls to enter and fulfill their mission. The humans called them Brutes. Suited them well, he thought. Their disgusting, ruthless behavior carried onto the battlefield, their sloppiness reflected in the mayhem and destruction inflicted on both human and Covenant.
A holopanel displayed a map of his landing zone. A human habitat named SIDD-NEE, full of their sinfully constructed cities. The thought of unworthy beings ever attempting to achieve a civilized existence was blasphemy. He felt his oneness closer to completion as he performed his noble duties. He lived to slay.
Like fireballs falling from the heavens, 200 or so landing pods entered Earth's atmosphere glowing white hot and some, ablaze. Their computer controlled thrusters, bursted at different intervals to compensate for speed and trajectory of each pod.
Olahim's vid-screens came alive once more, showing a vast expanse of blue. Still five kilometers up, the landing zone was brown, with some blotches of green. It was longer, and more softly triangular than he'd expected. The pod jolted violently, as it spun down toward the Earth. Olahim calmly held on, as he hit a few other keys.
His eyes widened with anger. The landing zone match-up was different. The map layout showed an error reading at the top while small red lights winked in the display. He pulled up another reading. A 3-D holographic display of the Sirenous Requiem's intended launch trajectory with a comparison of his. They were off by more than 15000 kilometers. No doubt it was the work of saboteurs. Whoever now commanded his ship, entered new destination coordinates for the entire landing infiltration force.
"Olahim, Al'djurian warrior, by the Gods, speaking with the landing team. Do you hear now my transmission?" Different voices responded affirmatively. Some began to ask questions, others began to argue. Confusion already set in, it was Olahim's job to clear everything up.
"Silence! Our landing vessels have been re-directed. I do not have knowledge as to the land nor the reasons as to why. Let me assure you, my brothers, that it is still the will of the Gods for us to land. If it were not, we would have perished upon our departure." He tried to hide the potentially enraging truth from his voice. "We are to land very soon. If the Gods did not intend for us to land here, so be it. We are Al'djurian warriors, and will slay the human filth no less!!"
Cheers went across all the frequencies, as his little speech of motivation worked his crew. As the warning beacons blared again, a private comm-channel was opened up from a close, well respected comrade, and old friend.
"Olahim, brother. This is Zorian who speaks now." He spoke clear cut, as if knowing of Olahim's false convocations. "I saw, of the ill-fated end of our ship. The commanders were assassinated, but not by Coven....."
Olahim didn't understand what he'd just said. He went for the comm-send knob when radar warnings pinged in.
"Zorian, I know not of what you speak, we shall have to be vigilant and wait. We have human flyers upon us."
Several human Skyhawks flew up to meet the falling intruders. They shot down 22 pods upon initial engagement. The thrusters from the silver, shiny pods flared with life, attempting evasive maneuvers in their falling flight. From the distance, it seemed like someone threw a handful of pebbles into the air, scattering upon the return, while being chased by numerous sparrows.
Olahim hit some manual override knobs, allowing him minimal movement and total control of his acceleration and deceleration. A pod was hit with a cluster bomb's shrapnel, igniting several energy coils and setting it alight with gaseous flames. A few seconds later, it blew up, sending shockwaves to 10 or so nearby pods. Olahim was one of them.
He made sure the nose was down, it was something his landing instructors constantly emphasized.
"Keep its nose pointed toward your intended landing zone, and no matter how chaotic heavens and clouds may be, by the Gods you shall indeed land and live to slay!"
Still, the speed and amount of force caused his pod to shake uncontrollably. Another nearby explosion caused debris to spray across the top and puncture small holes into the hull. The jolt put the pod into a rapidly spinning, helicopter seed descent.
A loud staccato of anti-aircraft fire was met with a rapid response of successive explosions. Olahim grimaced, as he saw the numbers of his landing force dwindling below 3 digit numbers. As the vid-screens popped on and off, he made out the area of his inevitable crash landing. There were mountains, tall, thick green foliage, and a deep ravine, like a crack within the green earth. A waterfall was at the far north end, which disappeared into the crack.
"Olahim, I must tell you....she was...." Zorian's voice was interrupted by random white noise and the metallic strain of the pod trying to overcome the g-forces."...human vessels...it was...I must....we were...
we must...."
"Zorian, your words are as thin as the air, hold until our landing!"
Zorian's voice was instantly cut off by a disturbing loud cracking sound, with the fire warning beacons blaring. Olahim saw his pod on one vid-screen, its midsection breaking apart and the top ablaze with purple-blue flames. It fell in a rapid spiral, leaving a trail of smoke and flames, as it came closer and closer to the tops of trees. He tried to say some last words and faded out as the pod broke through the top of the jungle.
Olahim tried to regain control out of the helicopter seed descent, but couldn't. As the pod's spinning speed increased, g-forces pulled him backwards against his seat-hold. One of the straps from his harness snapped, and popped back against his snout. He cursed as one of his many teeth fell out. The pull of the forces continued to play hell with him, until he could no longer think. His claws became numb, then his limbs, then his body. He felt pins and needles as he saw the trees grow taller and taller around him. Blackness overwhelmed and washed over him, sucking him into unconsciousness.
The pod crashed into the canopy, breaking through meters of thick trees and rotting vines. It caught several fresh vines and snapped them, making a loud cracking noise like several whips. The heat and friction charred a hole through the trees and even left few flames in its wake. As the pod finally hit the jungle floor, it spun on its nose like a top for a few seconds before bouncing off a mid-sized boulder and falling down another several hundred feet. It splashed down in a small but deep pool of water, ending its trip. The water sizzled and boiled as the pod cooled from a white-silver to an orange, red, then finally a burnt silver color. Steam rose from the pod, as it floated and bobbed in the small ripples it caused, silently whispering tales of a deadly creature soon to rise from its seemingly peaceful, shiny-gray coffin.
The Covenant Invasion: Primal Confrontations 2
Date: 16 August 2004, 6:46 AM
The Jungle
0635 Hours, September 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)
UNSC Carrier, The Silver Bullet, Earth Orbit
6000 kilometers from the moon
Captain David Monson let his newly created AI construct take care of the maneuvering of the carrier. He ordered a couple squadrons of Longsword Fighters to take out the Seraphs harassing some nearby defense stations. The ship jerked as its MAC cannon shot out a round.
"Covenant destroyer has been dealt with, sir. Live by the sword, die by the..."
"Can it, Odysseus, what's our status, and how's the fleet?"
"Covenant forces have broken through the second defensive perimeter. They're preparing to move some of the orbitals into tighter formations around the poles. We've been able to hold them at current positions, but distant system reports indicate an influx of cruisers and warships gathering off of Jupiter orbit."
He looked at the vid-screens, minute by minute fleet reports and tactical grid. His orders were to keep this section of space open for some classified strike against the covies. He didn't know for sure, but rumors were rapidly spreading about some Section 3 personell soon to be departing his vessel. He didn't even know there was anyone designated with that high a rank on his ship.
"Sir, we have incoming fire at 9 o'clock starboard level!"
Three plasma torpedoes struck the starboard section of the Silver Bullet. Its hull melted and broke away from the ship. UNSC Marines and Naval personell were sucked into space.
"Report! Get us on par with that damned cruiser! Odysseus, what the hell just happened?!"
"They caught us off guard by appearing within our defense position through slipspace sir."
"Fire our MAC cannon, those bastards are too close to repel the force of the blow!"
"I'm sorry to say sir, but we're just sitting ducks right now."
"And why is that?"
"They destroyed our accelerator coils, nothing's coming out of that tube sir. Archer missile silos F through M are fused from the heat blasts as well. We're done sir, I can suggest we..."
Captain Monson couldn't believe his ears. He'd never heard an AI sound so negative in dire situations. He got angry and was tempted to take him offline.
"No we're not. Do as I say, exactly how I say it."
Olahim awoke to the pitter patter of cool liquid dripping on his forehead. His landing pod had a leak from the damage put on from the fall in the skys. His left shoulder was bruised, and cut from some metallic piece that jutted out off the corner of his seat hold. His head pounding, he ripped off the other harness strap, and slammed into the front of his pod.
He reached for the release activation knob. It hummed, then gave a low sigh, as the pod began to depressurize. The pod rocked, then began to sink, as water rushed into it. Olahim frantically pushed against the hatch, realizing that he was in a pool.
The water rushed in around his face after he pushed away the hatch, flooding the pod. He turned 180 degrees around, facing the surface, then pulled himself up and over the sinking pod. He swam hard and fast, trying to overcome the downward pull of the sinking pod.
He broke the surface of the bubbling water, finally tasting the thick, humid, jungle air. It was warm and rancid with rotting vegetation and animal fodder. He pulled out his new and improved plasma rifle. It was a hot pink, red color and longer, its metal magnets elongated for a faster, hotter bolt of energy. As his eyes slowly adjusted to the differentiating rays of broken sunlight, he waded to the edge of the stream fed pool.
The screeching sound of jet engines roared overhead. Olahim hid close to some trees and underbrush. Something fizzed and smoked on his left shoulder, catching his attention. Six or seven leeches hung on to his wound, melting away like a snail with salt poured on it. His blood was toxic to these creatures, causing them to burn and disentegrate. He moved on, away from the crash site. There was no doubt that the human jets knew his position. His thoughts were confirmed as he looked up and saw a hole in the canopy and trees burnt at odd angles away from the impact of his landing pod.
He pushed on through thick jungle foliage, fallen trees, and fatigue. The landing had been hard, but the bugs constantly harassed him and his wound, slowly nawing away at his patience as he fruitlessly swatted at the air.
After he felt that there had been some ground put between him and the land site, he pulled out a small, field communications kit. It was risky in this particular situation, but he had to find his crew, or call them to one common area. Some of the components were loose, due to the bumpy drop. So he brought up a simple topographical read out of the region. Different symbols and readings scrolled across the top, giving clues and hints as to where the human base of operations were in this area. Even if he and his landing force hadn't dropped on their intended target, the Al'djurian warriors would still do some damage.
Some movement in the bushes nearby caught his eye, initiating his reflexes to kick in. He pulled up his weapon and hid while aiming in the general direction of the movement. He dug his claws into the tree he was next to and climbed up its side. Quick and stealthy, he grappled along some vines, while now aiming his weapon downward at the area of suspicion.
"Commander Olahim, by the gods. It is warriors Soki and Kahnd. We have found other Al'djurian warriors as fortunate, and are ready for your leadership."
Olahim was slightly relieved, and dropped down from the vines. The other two Elites, startled because they hadn't even seen him until that moment, pulled up their weapons at him. He raised one claw in the air and clicked all his mandibles.
"Fools, it could have been a trap laid out for an ambush." The one Elite named Soki then waved out to unseen eyes. The jungle trees bent and rippled, as 23 Al'djurian warriors uncloaked, and 32 others moved in swiftly from the surrounding brush. His lower mandibles clicked, which would pass for a grin.
"Well done, Soki. I had not doubted your cunning for but a moment." He gave the order for the Elites to form up. Three teams of four scouted surrounding areas for more survivors.
"The rest of you shall gather together your weapons, and set up defensive positions 200 meters in all directions. This is the command center for the time being. Once we have a force of sufficient size, we will go and slay the humans."
They all bowed their heads and crossed their weapon holding claws across their chests. With zealous fervor, they moved out accordingly, each to their respective posts.
Olahim returned to reading the holo-topographic display, searching for any geographical advantages that would come into play if they needed to do hit and run tactics on the enemy. After an hour, the Elites' scouting units brought some more warriors back to the command camp. The Al'djurian warrior was pleased, but not exceedingly so. All together, there stood only 87 infiltration Elites, out of an initial force of about 300. Had they not been betrayed, they would have begun the taking over of the intended target.
He looked up at the sky with disbelief and disgust. The sun had already begun to set. He and the other Elites were used to 53 and a half hour days, meaning that they could continue for another two Earth days, working while human forces would be sloppy and tired from shift changes and normal sleeping cycles. This was yet another deadly characteristic to add to species' already long list.
Five Elites came running back with a sense of urgency. They roared and yelled for the entire camp to get low and hide. Immediately following was the screeching sound of jet engines flying overhead. Olahim winced as he realized that the human aircraft had most likely picked up the energy signatures of the Elites and their equipment. He shot glares at his secondary command units and gathered up his gear.
Already having set up protocol for contingencies as this, the Al'djurian warriors split up and seperated into different teams. They held themselves at their points until Olahim signaled the okay to regroup, an hour later.
"Kahnd, give me knowledge on known landings." Olahim counted every head in his force, and had not found his close friend, Zorian. "And bring to me the warrior, Obsidian."
The Elite bowed his head submittingly, and rushed off. Kahnd was put in charge of head counts and locating more of the infiltration force. He had done well, but there was one more warrior that Olahim had to find. He had to know what Zorian found out about their ship. He needed to know who it was that deserved his revenge.
An eight foot tall, bulk sized Elite walked before Olahim. Each of the twelve specially appointed command Elites worked in pairs. There were actually six head positions, but 12 were assigned the same tasks in case on of them were killed or imprisoned. Soki was Olahim's other half, but since he was alive and well, took orders for now. Obsidian was Zorian's other half; the communications specialist bowed appropriately.
"I am here commander, what is it that you need?"
"Knowledge, as is the matter in all moments. Tell me, what of our great ship the Sirenous Requiem? Have you been able to retrieve any data from Zorian before the fall? If not, aid me in understanding what it is that has befallen us."
Obsidian took out his crystalline data prism, and put it on the other Elite's wrist. The small object slotted into place, and hummed with life as Olahim's data reader on his armor projected a holo-vidscreen above his wrist.
"Zorian gave me some knowledge before our trip's ending. He had spoken with several Al'djurian warriors, before we broke out of range. The commanders of our ship had been slain. They were attempting to break in upon the intruders, but had to fight off unknown warriors."
The vidscreen was jumpy with flashes of imagery. Voices played, as Zorian commenced conversations with the Covenant regulars on-board. An Al'djurian warrior roared with anger while plasma fire went off.
"-Speak warrior, what has taken place?-"
"-The commanders have been assassinated, the ship's alarms have confirmed this as truth. Warriors of unknown origin are within the command center, and locked themselves in.-"
"-Speak again warrior, what species, what defiant race has risen against us?!-"
"-...not Covenant..they..." The incoming signal went dead.
Olahim switched off the player. He looked at Obsidian, and handed him the prism. It couldn't be possible, wasn't possible. If the assassins weren't Covenant, who were they? Not humans, they couldn't possibly infiltrate a Covenant vessel of the Requiem's size and proceed to slay the commanders. Just the thought of humans aboard their vessel made him cringe and angered him. "Zorian also had more knowledge for me, Commander. But our scouting units have failed in their search for him."
"Very well. Return to your duties, Obsidian, and send for Soki."
"As you command, Olahim." The Elite bowed and walked away from him, rushing over to find Soki.
A few minutes later, Soki walked into Olahim's work area. He found the Elite replaying images of the fall. The Warrior punched in a few keys, and looked at his holo-topographical display. Three green-blue arrows pulsed on three different locations that shaped into a triangle within a mile radius.
"We must find Zorian, Soki. He withholds the answers we seek. Our malefactors shall be unveiled, and once they are, we shall reveal them to the fleet."
"Speak, Olahim. What is it that you seek?" Up until then, Soki, like the rest of the crew, had believed that the landing was a mistake, or a mere redirection of the commanders. They hadn't questioned anything of their superiors, to do so would be blasphemy, and they would be slain immediately. But Olahim and Soki were commanders as well, and always had to question every miscalculation or suspicious activity and report it to higher authorities. Olahim's words and actions sent a channel of curious energy up his spine.
"Our landing was not the work of our superiors, Soki. Transmissions before we hit the Earth speak of assassinations adn intruding, unknown warriors." Soki listened intently, becoming infuriated by the truths as Olahim relayed the story that lead him here to his ideas. The landing force were in unknown territory, with no reinforcements and limited energy supply. Their initial campaign was supposed to last a few days, not an unforeseen amount of time.
"Once we have found our intruders, we will be able to warn the fleet of who betrayed us, and upon seizure of human communication systems, return to safety for another assignment."
"How do we begin our search?" Olahim clicked his lower mandibles, waving him over to the topographical display.
Four teams were organized by Olahim for new, more important purposes than just waiting around playing let's-see-what-happens games. Three teams, led by Olahim, Obsidian and Kahnd, went directly to the different possible locations of Zorian's fallen craft. Each team consisted of six Elites. The rest of the force, led by Soki, went ahead to a possible human base. Readings indicated some flat, cleared out land with the silhoutte of pointed columns and bunkers. The force would infiltrate and take command of this possible human base, and await for Olahim's arrival.
Olahim and his team pushed through thick, jungle bush, fighting off bugs and the annoying sounds of animals screaming. It was dark now, almost impossible for the human eye to see. But the Al'djurians were used to dim lighting conditions, so the minimal moonlight was satisfactory.
His team was going after the pod that had landed itself 500 meters into the side of a cliffface along the west, inner wall of this huge Earth-penetrating valley. He percieved this to be the most difficult location, as they would be susceptible to aircraft fire, and open targets for any sharpshooting humans who were already, undoubtedly, in the jungle searching for them.
It took them a little over four hours to come to the moss covered rocks that guarded the actual clifface. They climbed slowly over the rocks, keeping eyes and ears open for any contacts. Olahim looked up the wall as it disappeared into the black sky. The sky, it was a whole day since their mission began, and the jungle canopy had obscured the heavens from view.
"Sehon, Nosulat, follow me. The three of you, guard our area of retreat." The Elites bowed their heads and hid among the outcropping rocks. Olahim and the two other Al'djurian warriors grabbed hold of some rocks, and began their ascent.
Soki let his warriors have their amusement with a couple of captured humans. They came across a small platoon of United Nations Earth Forces recon units a few hours earlier. It wasn't much a fight for the Elites, if anything, it was a massacre.
The soldiers had been sloppy, resting a few hours before another hump through the jungle foliage. The few guards on duty were improperly walking their posts. The 71 Elites cloaked and had their rifles beaded on every soldiers' head before Soki gave the signal. 50 shots went off, 50 soldiers went dead. He found a few of them alive, and decided to interrogate them for information.
"The humans are resilient, commander." The Elite named Ukilo brought up an optic sheet with images. "But I have succeeded in drawing knowledge from the fallen. It appears we have landed somewhere distant from the human fortress at SIDD-NEE." Soki clicked all his mandibles in a clockwise movement.
"Where are we, Ukilo?" The warrior handed him over the plastic, transparent map. Soki touched a glowing red circle, and the continent grew bigger to show the readings of their position. He clicked on the area again, and this time, words scrolled across the top as the mid-northeastern section grew bigger. The words in human letters spelled out:
GREAT RIFT VALLEY: AFRICA -092://88706//25520923
"We are within a deep ravine, surrounded by many lengths of bush. The human base is located by the waterfalls at the northernmost section of these forests." Ukilo demonstrated by touching another section on the map, which caused it to zoom in on simple, colorless images of a waterfall and a human base built on and next to it.
"To state taht we appear to be distant from the mark are small words." He looked at the map one last time, rage building within him.
"Slay the humans in our captivity. Alert the others, we take the human stronghold today."
The Covenant Invasion: Primal Confrontations 3
Date: 17 August 2004, 6:54 AM
The Darkness
Obsidian and his team broke into an oasis. Cool mist from a nearby waterfall sprayed onto their bodies, easing the uncomfortable sticky humidity accumalated from marching through the jungle. He motioned his team to be alert. There was movement in the darkness, watching- and waiting.
"Anelitak, you and Moringon come with me, the landing craft is supposed to have landed within the pool of water." They swiftly made their way into the murky depths, while the other three crouched in a defensive position at the pool's edge.
Obsidian holstered his weapon and dove into the relatively cool muck. He felt the tangle of roots and underwater vegetation brush past his body as the water pressure increased and popped his ears. He thought he saw something move across his peripheral vision, and immediately aimed his weapon. He steadily drifted in the soft current, awaiting any more activity, and satisfied that nothing was there, swam again to search for the craft.
Lenoth felt movement in the waters behind him, so he spun around to see what it was that gave him those goosebumps. Nothing, just the silent ripples reflecting broken moonlight and floating logs that bobbed.
"What is it that disturbs you, Lenoth?" He didn't want to admit it, but Guron too, had felt something. He couldn't put a bead on it, but there was someone, or something, waiting in the black expanse.
"Nothing, but keep alert you two. Be aware of your surroundings, for something lies patiently in the dark unknown." He got that feeling again, this time sending chills up his spine. Again, nothing but the water and logs. The logs, they had drifted slightly closer from the current.
Something shuffled on the water near the third Elite at the far left of the 15 meter wide defense position. He turned around and fired a shot. It was reflex. The leathery skinned creature's enormous jaws caught the torso of the Al'djurian warrior, overloading his shield and breaking through layers of skin, armor and bone.
The warrior screamed as his body was crushed from the force of the bite. Lavender-blue blood sprayed into the air, as the other two Elites began to fire upon the spikey backed creature. The plasma bolts burnt holes along its sides, as it dragged the victim's limp body into the murky water. Lenoth roared and followed the creature until he was chest deep within the pool.
"NO, WAIT!!! DO NOT PROCEED AFTER IT!!" Guron's warnings were in vain. Another creature blindsided the Elite, killing him instantly, with a sickening crunch.
Guron roared and fired angrily at the water, now bubbling in the area where his comrade once stood. The plasma bolts flash boiled the surface harmlessly, sending small puffs of steam that instantly dissipated after a few seconds.
The jungle screamed with animal life, almost as a mocking laugh to the silver-black armored Al'djurian warrior. The creatures of the forest knew what had taken place, and were active as a result. The Elite was almost in shock, confused and angry, not knowing what to make of what just happened.
"Obsidian, by the gods. You must return here, we are...I don't know...the other two have been slain!"
He stepped back from the water's edge, wary of his own livelihood. He needed to warn the others before he died. Therefore he couldn't take any risks, not yet. He put some distance from the pool. Guron's last action was turning around after feeling the warm mass from some heaping hulk of black flesh. The creature growled adn beat him to the dirt with its gigantic arms. The Elite kicked it in the chest, only to have another creature jump onto him.
It grabbed his neck and skull, and twisted them apart with its strong hands. The Al'djurian warrior went limp, as the victorious creature roared and beat his fists against his chest. The two creatures roared and danced around each other, before disappearing into the jungle. The animal noise calmed down, as small pools of purple blood trickled out the stump where an Elite's head had once been.
Lieutenant Colonel James Aegis wanted to be on the frontlines, killing as many Covenant troops that had the arrogance to cross his line of fire. The covies had landed on different parts of the world, some even landed here. Under his captivity, three Elites committed suicide before succumbing to torturous interrogations.
News from another outpost 150 miles south reported that a contingency of individual landing pods had crashed. He had sent frequent flyers to scope out the landing sites, and even deployed a recon unit to engage the numerically inferior force.
"Lt. Giavanni, how's our SAT-link? I need up to the second info on how everything is going up there. Any word from recon?"
"No sir, we've encountered a generous amount of interference since the plasma bombardment started."
"Have our pilots found anymore covies out there in the jungle?"
"No sir, but six hours ago, we picked up scrambled pulses of communication." The officer brought up the area and replayed the sounds that the crew on watch had heard at the time.
"Did anyone visually see anything?" He scratched his chin as he squinted his eyes from reading different reports.
"No sir, we thought it might've been just a little feedback from that downed covie ship, 350 miles east of here."
The Colonel had forgotten about that crashed ship. According to UNSC forces, the cruiser was blown to bits and hull crushed from its own weight.
"So, is there anything for us to kill at the moment?" Lack of combat, in light of recent events, agitated him. The same was for his whole battalion.
"No sir, but if it made you feel any better, sightings of Covenant troop transports from the outpost, Gilali-Henderson, were confirmed by our Skyhawks twenty minutes ago. We were asked to spare a company of our men for reinforcements. It looks like it'll be a quick pick-n-shoot for the AA guns though."
He quickly looked at the last confirmed sighting report, then smiled. Perhaps he and 360 other lucky men, would be able to fight after all.
"When were we given these requests?" He breathed heavily while scrolling through the list of battle-ready companies.
"Five minutes ago, sir."
"Call in Major Lennoix, I'm giving tactical command of the base to him. Alert fox company, tell them to gear up and load into the transports. Let 'em all know we're going out to kill some covies. Tell them we leave yesterday."
Major Lennoix was head of the intel analysis post. He knew that, sooner or later, the ex-ODST, Lt. Colonel Aegis, would eventually find a way into the thick of battle. A veteran of numerous search and extraction campaigns, the battle hardened Aegis wanted to do nothing but 'KILL, KILL, KILL.' He gave the Colonel a crisp salute, a good luck handshake, then about faced and began his duties that were handed over to him.
"Alright, so what's going on with the recon-unit, why haven't we heard from these guys yet?" He saw a corporal retreating from his shift of guard duty and beckoned him. "Hey corporal, if you're not too busy, get me some coffee. I like it black with three sugars, thank you."
"Will do sir."
"No word from recon sir." The Major's face became tense.
"No word from recon? The hell are they doing, sleeping?! We got dang-on end of the world shit going down, with Covenant bombing us and sights of landings, and still no freakin' word?!" The Major's concerns suddenly sent a wave of worry into the commanding officers.
"Where's the last transmission from? And what about the scrambled comm-pulses we picked up? These two things ain't coincidence people, we got a war going on. There's no such thing as coincidence."
He ordered into flight eight Skyhawks to low altitude bearings over the jungle canopy. Opening all possible channels of communication and energy readings, they would pick up someone whispering over a walkie talkie. He also had two companies load into four troop transports, being escorted by two, heavily armed Pelicans with small strike teams. One company was ordered to land in the vicinity of recon platoon's last transmission send. The second landed 15 miles south, where "scrambled comm-pulses" were being electronically felt.
As runway crews finished signaling off the last of the troop transports, lightning bolts lit up the sky, as a warm but well needed downpour commenced.
Olahim saw the blackness extended beyond the sight of the clifface. He and his other two Elites have managed to change any small hole, uneven surface and thick, mossy vine into a foothold or claw grip. They climbed 200 meters up already, along the side of the huge wall. According to his computer's potential landing site readings, Zorian's pod was somewhere up here, its silver casing wedged into stone.
He looked up at the night sky, wondering how long it would be before the entire human race would fall. There was no doubt their technology and tactics of warfare were superior. But the fact of the matter was, the humans had been putting up a much fiercer fight than any other conquered race they've battled.
Then there were reports of a breed of warriors among the human armies. Armored with obviously stolen shield devices, these warriors were known to take out thousands of Covenant soldiers. As seemingly invincible as they sounded, Olahim's knowledge rested on one fact: their armor only protected a fragile human.
"-Olahim, this forest has moved somehow.-"
"What are you speaking of?" He tensed and pulled himself up another couple of meters.
"-It's silhoutte moves with the wind, and creatures of the darkness have made their way toward us.-"
Olahim couldn't believe the idiots. Did he really need to think for them?
"Are they human soldiers?"
"-No-" Olahim thought for a second. Three bored Elites that hadn't killed anything in weeks, with intense combat training, scared of some moving shadows? Of course not. In a subtle, subversive way, the Al'djurian warrior was asking for his permission to let off some steam. Olahim's lower mandibles widened, then clicked.
"Go ahead Xemani, kill anything that comes near you."
"-Thank you, dear Olahim-"
"Equip the sabers, and save the rifles' energy."
"-Yes commander.-"
Olahim looked down, over his shoulder, and faintly saw the luminous green glow of the three Elites' plasma swords. He laughed, then continued his climb.
Sehon was the first to make out the landing pod's shape. The surge of adrenaline pushed all three Elites to the spot, five minutes later.
As they neared the pod, the rocks became slippery with the energy coils' fuel liquids. Its faintly light blue substance slowly trickled out of some tubes that ran along the inner length of the tub.
Olahim pulled himself onto the pod, quickly realizing the critical state it was in before it crashed. Large sized rounds punctured six different holes along the right side. Metal was sheered away at the top of the craft, indicating there had been a strong explosion from some flak or AA gun rounds making contact on the energy pions. He looked along the inner wall for the small craft's "blackbox". It contained the information that Olahim had been seeking, including the full communication recording that Zorian had with the crew of the Sirenous Requiem.
"We have found Zorian's fallen craft. To the rest of the search groups, sieze all activity and proceed to the human base."
He felt around until he felt the warmth of a control knobs energy. The Al'djurian warrior gripped it, then pushed it in. The hum of a metallic cube's prism popping through wires and cables vibrated the craft in its position. A few small rocks and dust fell down the clifface, as the two other Elites climbed onto the pod.
"Let us leave now, I have retrieved the knowledge we sought." He looked down into the jungle, searching for the green glow of the plasma sabers. They were gone, but Olahim wasn't worried. Perhaps they finished killing whatever it was they wanted to kill, and deactivated the weapons.
Obsidian finally broke the surface of the small pool. Olahim's order came in loud and clear, and the three Elites had long desired to come out the water.
They pointed their plasma rifles in three different directions as they made their way to the edge of the stream. Anelitak was the first one to realize teh other three had disappeared.
"Guron, Lenoth, Viameto. Where have these fools gone?" The two subordinates' tempers began to flare until Obsidian held up a claw for silence.
"Look here." He pointed to some stones covered in lavender blood. A shoulder's armor plate bobbed in the water's current, scraping against some rocks. Then Anelitak ran toward the jungle, his eyes narrowed on a target unseen to the other two.
"By the gods, this warrior's head has been taken!" The three Elites' expressions became a reflection of the shock that surged within their hearts. They stepped away from the dead body, chills running up and down theirs'. To them, this was an omen, a warning sign of death coming for them, but not through combat.
"Death abounds us, let us be cautious and do well before the gods."
"And should we come across the demon that has slain our brothers?"
Obsidian didn't have an answer for that. He knew that demons could never be killed. All he did was put his rifle into perfect sight alignment, and urged the other two to follow.
Anelitak stopped at the jungle's edge, turned around, crossed his claw on his chest and bowed his head. It was a final salute to a fallen comrade.
Lieutenant Colonel Aegis was looking out the viewport, port side in the Pelican's cockpit. It began to rain hard, as he and his company headed out to the UNEF outpost, Gilali-Henderson.
"ETA to Gee-Henderson, T-minus five minutes, sir." The pilot's voice seemed calm and resolute, hiding the fear within her heart. Almost every pilot in this crew has never faced Covenant forces in their entire life. Training or not, nothing could prepare an individual for combat with Covenant. Except, well, the Covenant themselves.
"Thank you Lieutenant. You heard the lady men, lock and load your weapons. As soon as we land, I want two platoons guarding the main and back-up generators. The rest of us are on ground sweep detail. Time to get pissed off people!" He checked his rifle as incoming acknowledgements from his subordinates assured him in understanding. He donned his old ODST uniform, having missed all the action from previous years. Numerous scars worked across the chestplate and shoulder armor, indicating many encounters with the covies.
As the relentless raindrops splattered on the windshield and ran off, lightning bolts lit up the darkness for a second. Aegis thought he saw movement, for just a brief second. Wartime paranoia set in, as he quickly moved over to the radar screen.
"Hey there, Lieutenant, we picking up any wierd things out there?" He stared back out the viewport, watching for a small hint of what he thought might be the enemy.
"No unusual signals or electronic readings sir."
Another flash of white-blue light illuminated the night. This time, the Colonel was sure he saw something. He went through his gear and equipped a pair of night-vision digital binoculars. The rapidly falling raindrops played tricks on his eyes, obscuring his sight's accuracy significantly.
"Put me on the CO at Gilali-Henderson, please." The co-pilot punched in a few keys. A gruff, tired voice responded.
"-This is Lt. Colonel Vermani speaking.-"
"Hey, it's Aegis. Are you manning the ground to air floodlights right now?"
"-No need, Colonel. Our electronic equipment picks up covies far off. If the lights were our only eyes, we'd get cooked before we even got a chance to spit.-"
Aegis knew this to be the truth. The centuries old strategy for seeing targets in the night sky was almost obsolete against the Covenant. But instincts told him to ask for illumination, so he did.
"Have some men activate the lights, nonetheless. Have them bear on my incoming signal, Vermani." He rubbed his eyes before looking through the binoculars again.
Faint, but sufficient beams of soft white light reflected off the clouds, creating a projection screen effect as the raindrops made shadows against them. With the new illumination, the Lt. Colonel could see what he had already suspected. His face became tight, and he bit his lower lip.
"Vermani, you might wanna send in some AA fire on my mark." He clipped on his black helmet, as he commanded the pilot crew to activate active scans of the region. Millions of little dots made contact with the signals the Pelican sent out. But the ones that were big enough to be the enemy blinked over and over, stronger than the others.
"-Anti-Aircraft batteries warmed and ready to fire, Aegis.-"
"Fire sixty degrees by seventy degrees north of my position. Light that sky up Colonel."
A second or two passed before the zipping flash of large tracer rounds and shredder fragmentation missiles worked a Covenant landing force only half a mile from Aegis and his crew. The Co-pilot didn't believe his eyes, nervous and anxiety began to take over. Aegis put a reassuring hand on the young officer.
"Looks like we're gonna have to do things the old fashioned way Vermani, our electronic equipment didn't pick them up like it was supposed to."
Aegis looked through his binoculars again, to see what the covies would do in response. His eyes widened when he saw more and more Banshees appearing like a swarm of locusts from the dark rain clouds. Then troop transports descended, four, then five of them, dragging vapor along their hulls while their main weapons glowed and glistened.
"Aegis to Vermani. I suggest you scramble some Skyhawks. And when I say some, I mean all of 'em. Covies are air dominant at this time, and there ain't no way I'm dropping my men off without any air support. It'd be suicide, and we all know the only way we're going down is after committing some homocide." He checked his weapon again, and gritted his teeth while watching the countdown to their landing.
The Covenant Invasion: Primal Confrontations 4
Date: 20 August 2004, 5:24 AM
Phantoms Within The Storm
2315 Hours, September 23, 2552 (Military Calendar)
UNEF Outpost, Savannah Loca, Great Rift Valley Sector
NorthEast Africa
Lance Corporal Fisher's eyes blinked as the rain drops soaked his uniform. Water poured down in an instant, as he and Private First-Class Banks patrolled the outer perimeter of this UNEF outpost that was built alongside a gargantuan waterfall that plummeted hundreds of feet into the jungle floor.
"Dammit, what a waste of a perfectly good smoke." PFC Banks looked at the withered away cigar and tossed it over a railing into the dark jungle hundreds of feet down the cliff.
"I can't believe you're worried about that damn thing. In case you didn't notice, we got men and women getting smoked every minute." Fisher looked up at the clouds, a sense of desparity written across his face. "You really are stupid." He shook his head disapprovingly while picking up his pace and walking away from the private, leaving him to ponder his actions.
As the sounds of the boots trodding through mud faded from earshot, an invisible figure, displacing multiple raindrops, pulled itself up and over the railing. Then three more figures pulled themselves up, then four and finally a small group gathered. In all, 18 ghostly footsteps appeared as these figures moved toward the base with mal-intent.
Like a predator moving within a rodent prey's burrow, multiple groups of invisible figures dashed between and through barracks, fuel stations and supply buildings, as they made their way to different objective points throughout the base.
Soki along with 20 other cloaked Elites, had already climbed up and slain the anti-infantry batteries' crew along the top of what he judged as the command bunker. It was clean and swift, one horizontal slash of each Elite's plasma sword sliced three men at the waist. Lying along the roof perimeter were 120 body parts, as the count of dead men went to 60. Every where at random locations, patrol units and electronic alarm devices went dead, as the Elites initiated their first phase of attack. And within ten minutes-completed it.
Soki's eyes squinted as he peered into the distance of the base. A 400 meter runway ran between eight hangars, and at the end were landing pads, which were built overhanging the cliff. Four of them were aglow with landing lights, which set a dim tone that reflected off the two hangars that housed the dropships. The base was very busy. Troop hogs were constantly bringing men in and out of the main bunker. The rising sounds of jet engines pierced through the falling rain, as two Skyhawks took off into the night sky. Four more waited for their turn at the beginning of the runway, their engines flaring a cool blue fire.
"Soki to all Al'djurian warriors. The strong arm of the head has been severed. Proceed swiftly and cautiously to secondary objective points. Neutralize the power from this place, but do not destroy it."
Like Ninja assassins of ancient Japanese lore, the Elites hitched rides on cargo transports, personnell carrying vehicles and roving Warthogs to different locations in the UNEF outpost. Unseen to the remaining two companies of soldiers and officers, and unheard due the rolling thunder and falling rain, these warriors masked by technological advancements and nature's fury were able to succeed in their second phase of attack.
Soki waited for the faint illumination of lamp posts, spotlights and building lights to blink off. The communication dish atop the bunker's transmitter spires to stop spinning. Warning lights winked off, as did the runway lights far off. He clicked his lower mandibles, anxious to slay some humans.
Without an order being issued, the 20 Elites broke into a ventilation shaft from the roof of the bunker. It wasn't long before they came upon elevator cables for a service lift. They went down four long levels, anticipating strong resistance after opening the guard doors to the corridor beyond. No one. Either the humans were asleep at their posts, or there were less soldiers than Soki expected. Whichever it was, the Al'djurian smiled knowing that the element of surprise was on his side. There was nothing like the terror in someone's eyes when they were slain, unknowing of their impending doom.
"-The recon unit has been found sir.-"
Major Lennoix didn't take comfort as the Seargant on the other line relayed the message.
"What happened, Sarge?"
"-KIA, sir. All KIA.-"
He looked around the room, knowing that everyone had frozen. The Covenant threat became real. People they had worked with, played pool against or shared a drink over the bar with suddenly left their lives forever.
"Can you tell me if there're any traces of the killers?"
A few minutes passed, then the voice responded with unmovable certainty.
"-Covenant sir, definitely covies. Plasma wounds to everyone. Did it in their sleep. Tracks seem to head east of here, sir. Should we pursue?-"
Major Lennoix focused on his tactical monitors, which displayed the region's terrain. He bit his lower lip and slowly issued his response.
"No. Return-" His voice was cut off as a boom of thunder resonated and seemed to cause a loss of power.
"Lieutenant Biggs, go find out what's going on at the plant. I know it's probably just the storm but..."
"Got it Major, no problem." The officer winked as he ran off to the generator complex.
"All right people. Just because the lights are out don't mean we're going to sleep." The Major called for the Gunnery Seargant in charge of security for the bunker. "Hey Gunney, everyone might be on edge right now, you know, non-combat related personnell. I want all your men to tighten up and secure all exit points from this command post. ACT, like the enemy is here, gunney; fishy things have been going down lately, seems they just as well are here."
"Don't worry sir, ain't nothin' gonna get past me and my men." The seargant about faced and called on his teams to their proper posts, issuing orders as he walked out the command center.
A few minutes passed, with thirty or so men armed with their standard assault rifles, setting up defense positions in the corridor leading into the command post. The Major had an MA-5C Battle Rifle, equipped with a night vision scope and flashlight. Numerous chemical flares lit up the room and corridor, but he preferred direct light.
Lieutenant Biggs rode in the passenger side of the Jungle Hog, as it spun out the bunker, followed by two other hogs for backup. They sped passed cargo vans, troop transport vehicles and men running around finding themselves turning on flashlights to make their way around. The splish-splosh of them running to different areas of the base overcame the rainfall's torrential roar. The last of the Skyhawks had taken off just ten seconds ago, leaving nothing but the occasional sound of rolling thunder to make up for the lack of intense sound. He realized after a few glances, that the power hadn't only gone out in the bunker, but the entire base.
"Hey corporal, does the communication system work in this thing?"
"Yes sir. But the relatively simple frequency won't penetrate the bunker walls, so you can't talk to anyone's personal comm. devices."
The officer gritted his teeth as he held on tight the hog's dash, while bouncing over small potholes and dips in the roadway to the power plant. A giant turbine complex with storage batteries over a century old were built into the waterfall. Three levels down and half a mile wide, it was larger than it appeared from a first impression. He put up his left hand to the corporal, ordering him to slowly approach the complex. The two hogs slowed behind him, as the men got out to inspect the area.
"I don't like this men, be ready for anything."
"Aren't there supposed to be security at the entrance?" The corporal squinted at the set of double, Titanium reinforced doors that were at this time a-jar from a closed position.
"This is First Lieutenant Biggs to anyone that can hear this transmission. I've come to the power plant, and from what I can tell, it needs some proper security. I suggest someone come out here and set up positions immediately."
The Corporal wasn't understanding of the situation that the higher authority thought the base might be in, so it was normal for him to have the puzzled look spread about in his small facial features.
"Sir, if I may ask, what's going on?" The Lieutenant cooly eyed the NCO as he equipped himself with some UNSC battlearmor.
"Ten minutes ago, we recieved word from a search team that recon was killed." The corporal's eyes widened in anger. "Our Skyhawks have been scrambled to intercept some incoming Banshee flyers and Phantom dropships, over at Gilali-Henderson. The one thing we gotta worry about now is...whatever it was that killed recon. Major Lennoix believes that Covies have touched down in our area, and they're smart. These special Elites are trained for insertion operations, and we so far, have been letting them play around too much in our jungle."
The Lieutenant dropped into some mud puddles before ordering the gunner to get out and take up a security position with the others. The rain still obscured the warthog's lights as he ordered the Corporal to slowly move forward in order to get a better angle on the area that his men were entering.
"-Lobby clear! Moving forward to the security systems.-" The Seargant on the other line waved two men forward down a corridor. A blue glowing ball stuck onto the rear warthog.
"What the hell is that?" The soldier behind the driver's seat was engulfed in flames that roiled outward and spat the wheels up and over Lt. Biggs' head as he spun the gun around to see what had taken place.
"CONTACT, ENEMY CONTACTS, TAKE POSITIONS AND LAY DOWN SOME COVER FIRE!!"
Biggs layed down a sweeping fire formation across the woods where he suspected the unseen enemy to be hiding. Plasma bolts hit the other warthog, melting away its hood and burning through its engine. In seconds, it went up in a glorious roar of fire and light.
"ALL HANDS, BE WARNED, WE HAVE ENEMY HOSTILES FIRING FROM UNSEEN POSITIONS!!"
The communication transmission went on dead ears, as the figure of the soldier recieving the message dropped to the deck from a plasma wound through the center of his body. His image spread and deformed as an Elite with its cloaking function activated, stepped over the body.
"Get us the hell out of here Corporal! Turn us around and get us the hell out of here!!"
The Lieutenant continued firing toward where some plasma bolts soared through the air at his head. Three plasma bolts followed them as they sped away down the mud filled road. They hobbled over potholes and dips that jerked Biggs from side to side. Four plasma bolts melted away and broke the windshield as the corporal dodged their shots.
"THEY'RE IN FRONT OF US SIR!!" Lieutenant Biggs spun the gun around again to look for the enemy. Nothing but the rain drops and darkness.
Biggs continued to fire in all directions, making sure to at least keep the enemy's head down and avoid their shots. His teeth rattled from the constant jerk of the automatic, triple barreled Anti Infantry gun.
Rain and mud splashed in his eyes, blinding him from any view.
The ride was cut short, when some plasma rounds tore through the right front tire, blowing it out and causing the hog to twist and flip over. The officer was flung ten feet in the air and twenty feet into the flooded road. He landed in a deep pool of water, and was disoriented by the sudden blow. As his vision began to clear, he faintly made out the image of the corporal being wrenched violently from the driver's seat that had him pinned under the overturned hog.
"Leave him alone you bastards!!" He drew his sidearm, and aimed at the area where an invisible figure had raised the young soldier up into the air. His gun recoiled as rounds shot at the air, hitting nothing, and displacing raindrops that came into contact with them. The Lieutenant watched helplessly as the figure activated its plasma sword and stabbed the corporal through his torso.
"AAARRRGGGHHH!!!" He limped forward while letting the rounds fly viciously at the Elite. A round finally met its mark, and bounced off the Covenant soldier's shield. He roared in aggravation at the human, as if telling him that he was merely angering him than actually hurting him.
Another Elite came and blindsided the officer, and knocked into the ground. His uniform soaked, he looked up and saw two Elites fading into view while allowing the down fall of water to wash around their imposing bodies. The Elite that had been shot at, hissed and stepped forward. He raised his plasma sword into the air, and roared victoriously as a lightning bolt flashed and for the brief instant, showed the Covenant warrior in his true colors and form. The officer went to bring his weapon up one last time, and was stopped, when the plasma saber sliced through him. Blood spread rapidly in the puddle of water, as the Elites laughed and ran off to the power plant.
The base's military force was awakened by the sound of personell transports exploding. Careful timing and precision by the Elites allowed them to blow up all UNEF forces walking their patrol routes and driving around the base. In all, over fifty vehicles went up in flames, as well as numerous supply building and ammo depots.
Men and women jumped out of their racks and into the rain, uniforms and rifles ready, expecting spotlights and vehicles with commanding officers to point out the enemy. Instead, they were met with the relentess fall of the rain, and the fading sounds of weapon rounds exploding from the base's armory. Plasma bolts appeared from thin air, crisscrossing the assembled ranks and platoons.
"Everyone, head for cover! We've got enemy hostiles, return fire-RETURN FIRE!!"
The rhythmic sound of assault rifle bursts were met with more plasma bolts, still, out of the thin air.
Blue plasma grenades were thrown and attached to a few soldiers. They watched in horror as the azure radiation fizzed on their skin. Four seconds later, blue white explosions killed twenty soldiers. Some men and women opted for the safety of their barracks, taking up sniping positions and trying to pick off shots at what they saw move. They only met with a ghastly, firey death, when the edifices went up in flames.
Major Lennoix and the commanding officers knew what was taking place once they heard the 'thump' of a building exploding nearby. At first, some of them speculated plasma bombardment. But then the Major ordered them to take off the safety of their rifles. The security force set up multiple defense barriers within the corridor that led to the command center. In an act of desperation, the Major ordered all of the commanding officers to overturn the chairs and tables in the room for cover.
"Now listen here people. The invaders have to make it through the Seargant and his men first. That's gonna be a feat in itself. But if these bastards get past him, they'll have to deal with the fury of a bunch of pissed off officers that send many people to die against the enemy. I know that you all have this rage of battle within you, and have been holding it for the longest. But right now, I ask you all to get pissed off, and get ready to kill!! WHATEVER GETS THROUGH THAT DOOR, SHOOT IT!! NOTHING GETS THROUGH!!"
The entire command crew gave a solemn "AMEN" or nod of the head. The Major tried to ignore the small rock forming in the back of his throat, and bubbling warm feeling in the pit of his stomach. He ignored the sweat dripping down off his brow, and burning his eyes. The sound of automatic doors being pulled apart, made it to the ears of the officers. The Major even ignored the sound of someone sobbing while another let loose the flow of urine onto the floor, a tinkling sound reverberating throughout the room.
A man screamed in agony, causing the Seargant to yell at the crew to fire upon the enemy. Gunshots rang out and pinged off the concrete walls and floor tiles. A soldier yelled the warning call of a grenade being thrown.
"FRAG OUT!!" It bounced twice before going off and causing two Elites to blow apart in a mist of purple spray. Plasma bolts seared the air around and near the men, setting them into tighter cover positions. Slowly but surely, the invisible enemy inched their way forward, gaining ground after each man went down in a horrifying shriek. Another man grabbed at a hole in his chest, burnt round and through the battle plate armor, ending the victim's life. Another grenade went off, sending a couple more Elites flying through the air as they yelled in disbelief for the end of their lives.
Major Lennoix listened as his security force was being whittled down to nothing. From inside the command center, he could make out the sounds of a handful of men retreating into fall back positions closer to the room. They unloaded spent magazines and clapped new ones into place rapidly, as the enemy drew threateningly closer.
"PULL THAT WIRE!!" The Seargant was obviously still alive, but his voice sounded spent and out of breath. An explosion rattled the room and everyone in it while dust and small pebbles fell down onto the floor. More of the RATTATTATTA of gunfire rang loud, while the Elites proceeded toward the soldiers.
"DAMN YOU ALL!!!" A young soldier primed his grenade belt and ran toward the enemy. They shot him dead in his tracks while he blew apart in a red, wasteful, glory. The last one standing was the Seargant, giving his last warnings to the Major and, his farewells.
"-Sir, done...the best I can....I...can make out about five, no, make that six of them. Oh Jesus, no, sir, I take that back! There's about ten of them!! Good luck sir, I'm gonna...-"
An explosion resounded concurrently with the sickening sound of bones and flesh tearing apart. Two Elites went down with the Seargant's brave, final sacrifice.
A tear went down the Major's face, as he steadied his Battlerifle at the automatic doors being pulled apart. The sound of heavy boots trodding down the corridor was thick, giving away the fact that there was a significant number of them on the other side. The doors slid apart, almost instantly, the sound of rounds firing on that one small concentrated area, was met with the Elite on the other side to fall dead as the bullets tore through his shield and flesh. Plasma rounds flew past the Major's head right when he ducked for cover. The communication officer next to him wasn't so lucky, recieving the round through her chest. A plasma grenade flew behind some oak tables to the far left of the room, blowing away the officers hiding behind there. He saw a slight movement on the ceiling and was too late in warning some men as an invisible figure dropped down from crawling on it, then slicing the officers in half at the waist. Other men diverted their attention on the new enemy, losing their sight on the incoming rounds that dropped them to the deck.
Major Lennoix watched in sheer horror as his men went down in gruesome animosity, one by one. The Major ducked down and tried to hide behind his desk, putting his back up against it while he heard the sound of the Elites entering the room. A young Lieutenant, someone he had seen a few times playing pool at the officer's club, cowered down across from him behind another desk. Heavy hooved thumps slowly etched their way around the room, searching for any more of the humans hiding for their lives. The young Lieutenant became overly nervous, and shook uncontrollably while holding onto his rifle. He closed his eyes tight, praying silently and crying while rocking back and forth.
Lennoix tried to put out his hand in order to calm him down. The young officer wouldn't accept. His eyes opened wide and crazily, he stood up and began to blindly fire at the enemy. An Elite grunted and ordered in their gutteral tongue while pointing at the human. The Major watched as the Officer was shot multiple times in the upper body and jerked grotesquely from the bodily trauma. The man dropped to the floor, after a few seconds, his body charred black. Major Lennoix gritted his teeth as he shook his head at the young man. He would never forget the lifeless expression of the Lieutenant's eyes that were still, miraculously intact after the intense burns.
"AHHAAAHH!!! AHAHAHAHAH!!!" The Major's fears came true when an Elite appeared from thin air before him, pointing at him mockingly and laughing for the futile hiding attempt. The officer pulled up his rifle and let loose a final barrage of bullets. They hit true and clean, overloading the shields, and tearing through the armor and through his skin. The Elite gurgled his own blood, while dropping to the deck. Other Elites ran to their fallen comrade's position, wondering what had taken place. One of them slapped the rifle loose from the Major's hands, and kicked him in the chest. He drew his plasma rifle and was about to fire when another Elite ordered him otherwise.
"Guurrraagghhh!!" The Elite appeared from thin air, and grabbed the officer by the shirt and lifted him six feet off the ground. It held him there while momentarily reaching for something on his throat.
"Are you the leader of this installation!! Speak now human!!"
Lennoix looked around the room, red blood staining all of the previously white tiles. He also looked at his enemy, 15 Elites standing in a circle, bearing their teeth and snapping their jaws while growling angrily at the officer. He calmly looked down at his enemy holding him in the air, and cooly spoke, as if with an unexplicable fact of life, and solid certainty.
"You may have killed us here. You may have better weapons up there, and kill us up there as well.
But you won't win. Humans will never stop fighting. You may take our lives, but you will never have our souls." With those last words he spat in the Elites face, infuriating him more than the Covenant warrior had already been.
Soki bore all his teeth at the human, and let a slow rage build within him. He brought the officer down a few inches, then hurled up in the air while at the same time activating his plasma sword. The Major landed at an angle, and hung impaled upon the energy weapon, until it slowly worked its way through his body. It finally sliced through, and the Major fell to the deck.
The Elite stood there a few seconds, growling, then walked away from the body. He wiped his face, then looked at the rest of his team. His mandibles all clicked together, while he raised his rifle in the air, roaring victoriously. The others followed suit, celebrating their victory, in the blood stained, bullet ridden command room.
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