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The Road To Earth The Time between halo and Armagedon by John Morris
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The Road to Earth Part One
Date: 18 April 2003, 12:51 AM
The Road to Earth
Part One
John sat motionless, his assault rifle laid across his lap resting silently for the first time in three days, as he stared into the deep abyss of space, the black sheet only punctuated by pin pricks of light from distant stars. He sighed and rested his head against the foam padded backing of the cockpit chair. The seat, which had been personally fitted to suit the pilot, was now out of place and extremely uncomfortable, since he had taken the only Long Sword fighter left in the launch bay to escape the Pillar of Autumn. His suit was strewn across the floor, and was severely damaged from the fierce fighting, which had ensued on the alien ring world. The ships Auto pilot allowed him a chance to rest as it guided the craft to the nearest UNSC frigate, The Lone Wolf.
John stood and stretched, his whole body ached, the first time it had done so in ages. Looking at the monitor and gauge display he noticed that in 3 hours he would be docking with the Lone Wolf. Crouching down to exit through the shuttles Bombay doors, he entered the ships living quarters, two cryo chambers for pilot and copilot were on either side of the room, and small table with a built-in storage for supplies and food served as the base. Picking up the pieces of armor off the floor, he proceeded to remove a rag, and wipe the soot from the green armor plating, being sure to polish the finish.
Taking the black nomex body suit, he pulled it up, and strapped the green armor to it's assigned places on his body. Turning on the power supply, a surge of energy jolted through him, the artificial strength flowing through him, increasing his strength and reflexes even more. Removing his pistol from it's shelf, he loaded a new clip and holstered it along with more ammunition packs, to the supply pouches which lined his chest. In exactly five minutes from now, the Lone Wolf would be in visual and communication range. John walked over to the cockpit and once again took a seat. Removing Cortana's data chip from the ships recharge unit, he carefully inserted it into the side of his helmet, and was soon greeted by a familiar voice.
"It's about time," she stated in her sarcastic tone.
"I don't want to hear it now Cortana," he replied
"Where are we?" She asked.
"Hold on" he said as he peered out the window. Off in the distance the Lone Wolf appeared, The Pride of the UNSC fleet, the most heavily armed frigate, sat immobile parts of it's hull were charred black, and holes punctuated the sides.
"Oh my God!" he said, anger piercing through his voice. "What the hell happened." He yelled.
The speck on the horizon grew larger as the Long Sword approached. Vapors could now be seen leaking from the side of the craft, and hundreds of chunks of severed, twisted steel, floated in a near proximity of the ship. Several were bodies, which had been sucked out into the vacuum of space. John held back the vomit that was rising in his stomach. The lights inside the ship turned red, a warning light. John flipped several switches and took the craft off autopilot.
"What now chief?" Cortana asked.
John shook his head "We're going in he said.
The small craft was rattled by tiny pieces of debris as John maneuvered the nimble fighter through the wreckage. Docking bay 20, was now 50 feet away, and was one of 25 launch areas spaced strategically around the ship. Lowering the landing gear, he slowed the ship to a near stop, letting inertia lead it into the landing Zone. Swinging the rifle over his shoulder, John walked to the back of the craft and pulled a lever. An electronic hum sounded as the Long Swords hydraulics groaned and hissed as the pressurized seal was broken. The ramp at the rear end began to lower, more and more; John began to see the interiors of the LZ. The dark floors, which were usually a shiny polished Black, were now covered with a gray layer of exploded concrete from the pillars.
John disembarked the fighter his footsteps clanging across the metal grating of the Long Sword. Shouldering his rifle, he peered around all sides of the ship. Bodies littered the room and bloodstains were splattered onto the walls and floors. The lights that normally lit the room, as regulated by the UNSC doctrine for Frigates, now flickered on and off, some hanging just by wires from the ceiling.
"What happened?" Cortana asked.
"Covenant." John replied as he approached a small creature, which lay lifeless on the ground.
"Cortana do a scan for life forms, we have to find out where they are." He ordered. Several seconds passed as he examined the body.
"Sir" she said "I'm reading signals of life just beyond that room." John nodded, and crept towards the door to the far right of the room. Leaning against the wall he listened, on the other side he heard high pitch squeaks and screeches. He turned to face the entrance. Tapping his hands on the keypad, the door sprung open, quickly checking the room he saw two grunts and an elite, which towered above the other two. Squeezing the trigger, he unloaded three shots into each grunt before they even noticed him. The Elite barked and pointed before ducking behind a corned to evade fire. John ran in, flipping over a titanium table for cover as the hot plasma from the alien weapon splashed onto the surface. John waited, the Elite continued to rapidly fire it's weapon allowing the heat to build up inside it, when he heard a hiss he stood. The rifle had overheated, and was cooling down; John aimed his rifle and charged. The first ten to fifteen shots bounced off the personal shield system, but the next volley pierced the protective layer of the creature. Each new bullet that left the barrel was sent into the enemies' torso sending a mix of purple green blood to the wall behind it, sending the animal to the ground as it howled in pain.
John leaned over the dying creature as it groaned. He showed little pity, for those creatures were responsible for the deaths of millions worldwide. As it hissed and gargled for oxygen the chief took the end of his rifle and crushed it's skull with a crunch, ending one more threat to the human race. Wiping the blood from his visor he looked towards an elevator that lead to the bridge.
"An armory is on the 3rd level below the bridge Chief" Cortana said. John nodded, walking over to the large freight elevator which could easily hold more than 25 fully armed crew members at a time. Pressing the directional button he waited for a moment allowing the elevator travel from it's start position on E deck to mid C deck where he waited now, an near kilometer journey. The door sounded with and electronic buzzer and opened. Black burn marks and bullet holes decorated the insides along with a Navy officer who had two holes burned through his body. John stepped inside and checked the tags; the man was 2nd Lieutenant John Miller a Navy Long Sword pilot. The once vibrant face was now cold and white, and his eyes emotionless and gray. Miller's pistol was at his side along with a few shell casings but other than that he probable proved to be no obstacle for the invading covenant soldiers. John saluted him and removed a keycard from Miller's body before turning and facing the closing doors.
"A Deck floor 3" he said
"Negative, A deck is off limits for those without proper clearance, under UNSC code 5129, all personnel without clearance or a proper escort will not be able to access these floors. Please receive proper clearance, or chose another deck." The automated voice replied
"Damn-it" John said "Cortana get me access."
"Hold on" She said. John stepped back he was becoming frustrated, any moment Earth could fall under attack and he was there arguing with a security machine. The door pinged:
"3rd floor deck A, armory, staging area and security quarters accessed." The voice said
"Cortana what would I do without you?" he said
"Well you probably would be dead I believe along with all life in the Universe." She sarcastically stated.
The lift shot up traveling at around a constant 25kph, the floor signs imprinted on the walls blazed by. Eventually the lift slowed to a stop and the doors opened. Outside the hall was layered in a thick dust layer that hung in the air while the lights flickered on and off illuminating the entrance to the armory, which was pitch black inside. John Cautiously walked out, his rifle held tight to his shoulder as he scanned for enemies.
"Nothing" Cortana said.
"Don't be to sure." John replied as he came closer to the armory entrance. "I'll get some ammo and check the bridge before we leave." He said
"Sounds good to me" Cortana replied, "But I hope to God that...
Cortana's words were cut short as multiple sources of gunfire flew at them. John leaped against the outside wall for protection, as the shattering concrete pelted off his visor.
"Get that bastard!" a voice yelled
"Come out so I can kill you!" another called out. John stood up he now knew that Marines were inside.
"I'm a Friendly!" he said back
"That's what they all say!" the voice answered.
"No they don't, they can't even speak." Another Marine said.
"Well than, ok common in slowly." The one sarcastic Marine said hesitantly.
John walked in, switching on his shoulder flashlights he could see the 30 Marines who were badly beaten, a mixture of blood and dirt was caked on each ones face. One man stepped forward his rifle hanging by his side. He was older the others in the room, John estimated in his forties. He had short Gray hair, and a rigged face that was scared from numerous fights
"Sergeant Jake Farrell 1st Marine jump division who the Hell are you." He asked in his deep voice.
"Spartan 117 Master Chief." John replied. The men gasped when they heard that.
"Holy Christ, it's a Spartan," one said excitedly.
Farrell grinned at John "It's good to see you Chief, we've taken a hell of a beating." He said as he exchanged handshakes with John.
"What happened here?" John Asked
Jake sighed, "They hit us hard," he said "A covenant Armada had attacked Reach, our ship along with several others managed to escape the onslaught. The Pillar of Autumn and we ended some 50'000 miles apart, A Covenant carrier followed us through the wormhole and attacked." He paused, scanning the room of men who now stood silent. "Sixty boarding parties poured on, we did our best to fight back, but we failed. We took heavy casualties, 600 Marines In are division are un-accounted for and 2000 have been confirmed dead. My team held out up hear, it was our Alamo, we figured we had enough ammo and supplies to smoke the whole invasion fleet." He laughed "But for some reason they left, at least the large ships did. The Landing craft left their cargo behind, and went back to their ships before they went into hyperspace." He stopped and looked at his feet.
"Well where are they headed?" John asked
"We're not sure, but at the current trajectory somewhere in the direction of the Earth. They left in a hurry so it has to be something, but with no communication to the bridge and just a window to look from we can't be sure, hell they could miss by a several million miles." Jake looked up at the Chief waiting for a response
"That's not a risk we can take Sergeant."
"I know, but we're in no condition to fight."
"The hell you aren't." the Chief growled, "Earth may soon fall under attack and your whimpering down here, that's insubordination!"
"I know what it is Chief but I will not lead my men on a suicide mission on a hunch we did our part down here, but now we have help." Farrell stopped and waved some men over, calling out there names.
"Johnson, Church, Alan, Kowalski, Harrison, get your asses over here now." He waved at the men furiously "You and I are going to take a little trip up to the bridge, hopefully get some fly boys, and get this bucket of rust home." Jake grinned.
"That's crazy sir one!" One called out.
"Hush your bitch ass mouth Johnson before I have Church slit your throat in your sleep." Jake replied. The resistance was immediately extinguished.
"And I'll do it to." Church said looking at the Sergeant
"That's right, you're a good man Church." Jake patted him on the back "Ready Chief?" he asked. Heading towards the elevator, Jake turned around and spoke:
"Mouldoon, if anything comes in there that isn't human, blow those slimy sons a bitches straight to hell." A rough neck shouted out an OHHHHRAHHHHHH in response.
The Elevator doors slammed closed, and the electronic motor hummed as it started up.
"Chief are you sure about this?" Cortana said. John shook his head the elevator was slowing now, and God only knew what was beyond those doors. The familiar ping rang out as the lift came to a halt, and the doors slid open. The Bridge was a mess, human and covenant bodies alike littered the floors, their blood intermixed and pooled in the corners forming reddish-purple puddles. Johnson began to heave eventually vomiting up stomach bile.
"Holy shit what the hell happened." Church said nervously.
"Men spread out." John told them as he cautiously entered the command area. From the looks of things all hell had broke loose, the nervous center of a 2.5 trillion dollar craft had been shut down. John paused outside the locked down entrance to the cabin.
"Cortana, override it." He ordered
"Already done"
"Good." John watched as the security light turned green, and the massive steel door began to lift off the ground. The Marines had taken up position behind him, grabbing what cover they could incase of an attack, the lights on their Assault Rifles piercing the darkness ahead.
"Get back a voice." A female voice yelled back inside
"It's ok we're Marines." Jake reaffirmed. Silence ensued, John waved the men forward, the inside was untouched from the masquerade. The black tile floors still glistened and the walls were untouched by enemy or friendly fire. Although the room was almost entirely pitch black, John's sight was superb. Three men stood in the center of the room, two in full armor wielding riles the third towing a pistol, but in an officers field uniform. Two more female marines were crouched in the corner, guns raised pointing towards the entrance, along with one Marine in a doctor's outfit.
"Identify yourself!" one demanded
"Spartan 117, 1st Marine division B Company." John replied. Suddenly the lights flashed on, temporarily blinding him. The man in the uniform stepped forward, he was not noticeably different in age, yet he carried himself with a sense of pride and wisdom. Multi colored ribbons decorated his chest along several rank patches that were sewn onto his arm. His hair was black yet touched with gray tips, but for the most part he was in good shape for an officer of his rank and could easily pass as a roughneck.
"I'm Captain Samuel Thorn of UNSC Lone Wolf." He cocked his head waiting for a response.
"Sir we were trapped down stairs, until Master Chief cleared the enemy forces from our area Sir." Jake said
"Master who?" the captain questioned.
"That would be me." John raised his hand.
"Ah," the captain mumbled, "A Spartan, you survived Reach?"
"Not all of us sir, just I for all I know." John said sullenly.
"So where are the covenant forces now?" Jake asked. The Captain sat down and rubbed his forehead, he was obviously discouraged.
"We tracked their trajectory." He slowly stated "Their headed towards Earth." There was silence in the room. "We had lost communications in our shuffle with the covenant ship Iron Dagger, so we can't notify FLEETCOMM or receive long range messages, all we get out here is short wave signals so we at least intercepted this." Thorne darted his hands across a control panel, the audio speakers in the cabin kicked on.
"All, our day of reckoning has arisen, the enemies home world will be crushed once and for all, now we must do as planned immediately." The deep voice bellowed.
"That message was received 5 minutes before the Iron Dagger did a hyper jump, they found Earth." Thorn buried his head in his hands, and a young woman came closer. John was caught off guard, she was the type of woman found on calendars or modeling papers, not in uniforms carrying weapons. She was around 5'6 and in relatively good condition, her hair was cut to military length but still appeared to suit her.
"Corporal Sarah Young requesting permission to speak freely sir?" she asked in a nonchalant manner.
"Permission granted." Chief said in return, she shuffled he feet.
"Well If you allow your AI unit to pilot the Lone Wolf, and plot the course, we can be back to Earth within 2 hours, hopefully get a jump in on the fight." Sarah looked towards him expectantly.
"I agree." Cortana rang in, clearly surprised by that notion. John thought for a moment.
"But what if you fall into the wrong hands, you won't be safe up here." John replied
"If they've already found Earth what's the use?" Cortana was right. John nodded, and handed the chip to the Captain, who promptly put it into the ship's AI holder. Clicks began to occur rapidly, and displays began to light up.
"Ok, she's flyable, but decks F-J have been sealed and only 5 launch bays remain, with two pelicans." Her feminine figure shrouded in data appeared, she folded her arms over her chest. "Life signals are converging on A deck near the Armory!" she exclaimed in terror.
"Those are our guys." Farrell said
"Not unless their over 8ft tall." She shouted. Farrell's eyes grew large and worrisome
"Captain, you, and these men stay here, Jake come with me now." John pointed to the men before sprinting out of the room to the life, followed closely by Jake.
The Gunshots bounced off the walls around them as the doors opened two Hunters stood ready, aiming towards the Armory, their fuel rod cannons glowing green as they became charged. Two shots were released simultaneously along with corresponding fire form Marines trapped inside Removing his pistol Jake was able to take out one by hitting it's spinal cord in a single shot, the other however turned in a defensive posture towards Farrell and the Chief. Two Marines desperately charged the Hunter in an attempt to prevent an attack, both were cut down by a blast from its armor shield, one was crushed under it's feet his entire sternum was flat. John ran from the elevator, Farrell grasped firmly in his hands.
"Damn-it what are you doing, running down a locked hall way." Jake yelled. John stopped at the end and tossed him in the corner before shielding his body with his own. The Hunter Turned, and it's Gun began to charge. That moment two rockets streaked from the armory and blasted the hunter on side. The tremendous creature roared, before collapsing onto the ground. John pushed himself off the ground and dusted off his armor, Jake turned and sat up against the wall.
"What the hell was that all about." He groaned as he grabbed John's had to pull himself off the floor.
"I rocket pods being loaded, and quite frankly I didn't want to peel your body off the walls." Jake sighed and rolled his eyes. John picked up his rifle and went to the entrance to the armory. Groans echoed from the room men dead and dieing lined the walls, only 5 remained in well enough condition to continue the fight and tend to the needs of their fallen comrades.
"Sorry sir." A lone voice said in a thick Australian accent. "We tried our hardest but, we got bottled up, they ripped us to pieces." He frowned "Well at least you took out the force that was up stairs." He grinned "I bet you showed those bastards." He grinned, John Cocked his head.
"What bastards Mouldoon?"
"The forces that were A Deck level 3." He said
"We didn't find anything up there." John was puzzled
"There was about 10 elites, 3 with vibro swords, please tell me you killed them." Mouldoon began to sound worried.
"I'm afraid we didn't Mouldoon, I'm afraid we didn't."
Sarah leaned back against the radar display in the control room; she was beyond exhausted, as were the others. Church stood at the back of the room staring out at space as he tossed his shotgun back and forth. He was the youngest man in the room, and by far the hottest tempered, a stark difference between Sarah who was the caring non-confrontational type. Church ran a hand through his shaved hair, trying to keep awake. The ships coolant systems had all been diverted to the reactor room to protect the fusion generator from overheating while in subspace.
"Here Church, wake up." She said softly, as if trying to disguise her own exhaustion as she passed him her canteen.
"Thanks." Church smiled in return, before pouring the canteen over his face. Johnson bolstered his back up against the wall at the front of the room near the entrance. His eyes were heavy opening and closing every few seconds. Alan and Harrison sat back-to-back sleeping, while the captain downed his combat uniform. Bosko, one of the ships medics approached Sarah. He was around 5'5 and notorious for battlefield chivalry, once commandeering a Pelican drop ship to head back to an Invaded planet swarming with Covenant to save 4 Marines.
"Hey, you ok?" He asked
"Decent Bosko, why do you ask?" She said
"You look rattled, are you sure your fine."
"I'm positive." She assured him.
"Good." Bosko walked away swinging has back, back over his arms. Church turned around and looked towards the hallway, Sarah looked at him just in time to see his eyes grow wide
"Look out!" he screamed. Johnson was startled awake, and raised his gun to fire, but it was to late, the near invisible silhouette had already raised the energy sword, swinging the bright blue beam down, severing the mans waist in half, spilling his intestines onto the floor. Johnson let out a yelp, and continued to moan.
"Johnson No!!!" Church ran forward, Shotgun Aimed at waist level, he fired, the Elite roared and fell to its knees, Church Pumped another round into the chamber and fired exploding the head off the creature.
"Eat that you lizard son of a bitch." Church yelled out. He looked to his right 4 more elites had entered this time with blasters.
"You want some, do you, then come get it." He said mockingly. Sarah watched anxiously as Church disappeared around the corner. Alan and Harrison had taken up defensive positions around the room, as did the others in the room. Moments later an explosion rang out; chunks on rock dirt and Church fell to the end of the hallway. He coughed
"Got 3 of um," he said as he rolled into the room, "But there are at least 6 more." He curled against the wall, removing Shotgun shells from his pouch and placing them individually into his weapon. Harrison leaned around the corned to peek at the entrance, but a shot from the elites blaster rifle, slammed into his face, the hot plasma burning off his face. Bosko Ran forward, and lobbed a Grenade around the corner before pulling Harrison's body to the back of the room. Harrison moaned and his body was drug along the floor. The second grenade eliminated two more animals, but now three were entirely in the room barking and shooting. The other woman in the room crouched to one knee and began to fire, one elite growled and removed a plasma sticky grenade from his pouch throwing it onto her leg. The young woman screamed and ran towards a group of others pleading for their help. The explosion killed two others in the area in the area. Lt. James walker Page, head of Security Forces on the Lone Wolf stood ran towards Sarah and pulled her over a behind a Steel staging table.
"Get your head out of your ass and fight damn it," He demanded. Sarah looked at the man who was in his early thirties, A Titanium helmet covered his head, and dark protective goggles masked his eyes.
"Yes sir." She said in return. He patted her on the back and returned fire. The remaining five elites had entered the room, and now were wildly firing inside the room. Capt. Thorn raised his pistol and placed three shots into an elites head. The first two lowered its shields; the second pierced its skull killing the alien instantly.
"One for me." He laughed. Page sat up and unloaded a whole 60 shots on one,
"We're tied now." He said competitively. Two more elites entered. Sarah and Church quickly dispatched them, but the other three posed a problem, they had Gold armor plating symbolizing their rank as the best of the best. They had dug in behind objects, and they weren't going down without a fight.
The Road to Earth Part Two
Date: 24 April 2003, 1:53 AM
Road to Earth
Part 2
Page ducked down as the neon blue streaks of plasma shot over his head, splashing onto the titanium support column behind him, a near miss. Six Elites now stood in the room shooting and creating an uproar. Ten Marines remained, but they had been outgunned, and over powered. Page looked at Sarah, who had once more retreated to the fetal position crying for help as she put her hands over her head trying to protect herself as the table she was using for cover slowly melted away with every shot. At first he had been upset by her actions, but now he found them somewhat justified, he understood her fear, and now even he, a veteran of six major conflict, had to choke back the fear. Church and Kowalski on the other hand seemed to be amused by the current situation, hollering and laughing, as they would peek up fast enough to pop off a few rounds and duck in time to avoid the next volley of Plasma. Page was angrier with them than the others who saw the true gravity of the situation and were somewhat hesitant to act.
Taking a moment to load a new clip into his battle rifle and catch his breath, he rolled to the side of the table firing off several rounds into one animal, lowering it's shields as Thorne finished it of with a single 12mm round from his pistol. Several grunts entered with plasma cannons, but were quickly mowed down without a problem. The security systems emplaced on each weapon activated a glowing green orb lit up and detonated, causing a chain reaction of explosions from grenades which had been scattered on the floor. Another Elite had been eliminated along with one more Marine whose body was now scattered throughout the room. Blood sprayed onto Pages face, and blocked the sight from his goggles, which he quickly smeared off. Moments later several Jackals darted into the area, their shields protecting their frail bodies from the hot lead that ricocheted off their energy panel as their pistols fired a rapid stream of radiant plasma. Page began to feel that the situation was hopeless.
Kowalski stood, popping of round after round at the new intruders to the vicinity. Each one shrieked in their alien tongue, most likely death threats as they strafed across the room. Kowalski had served during the civil war that occurred within the colonies years before, but that seemed like a cakewalk in comparison to this new war. In the past, the UNSC decimated any thing that stood against them, their superior technology quickly crushing any head on military tactics, causing the enemy to rely on guerilla warfare. Until the war had begun the UNSC had never lost a large-scale conflict, but now they found that wherever they turned, another defeat war emanate. Kowalski knew that whenever an Elite was killed, it was one less that would fight on. So far in the war, he had tallied 6 Elites, 12 Grunts, 3 Jackals, and 1 Hunter. But now as the hot Plasma streaked around him he felt that this war was hopeless. Raising his rifle he charged.
Sarah was loading her weapon as Kowalski ran past, his rifle blazing as he approached the Covenant invaders. She looked up in horror; Kowalski dropped his weapon and careened his fist into an aliens face. The Elite dropped back surprised by the humans' tenacity. The others stopped firing and peered towards the man who now challenged the animal in hand on hand combat. Another slug from his fist nailed the Elite on its forehead, it's shield shimmering from the blow. The alien barked at him and raised its hands, exchanging another hit to the Marines face. Kowalski's head snapped back with a crunch and his body went limp. He gagged on the floor unable to move or feel the rest of his body; he saw the animal raise its leg before he slammed it down. Pain rushed through what areas of his body he could feel, it was the most powerful throbbing he could imagine, but after a moment he began to feel peaceful, tired even, he didn't care anymore, and as the animal pressed harder, he could hear the crunch of his skull right before the blackness set in.
Page had seen the entire ordeal from the rush to attack, to the imploded skull as a result. Sarah wept uncontrollably, and had to be held back by Bosko as she attempted to run forward.
"Now!" Thorne yelled, the remaining Marines jumped up and sent a wall of bullets heading towards the Covenant who had their backs turned. The three Jackals were annihilated their blue-purple blood and entrails splattering the insides of their shields. Two additional elites were destroyed by the utter quantity of hits from Marine weaponry. The lingering Elites quickly returned fire, Page ducked, a beam of hot plasma seared over the outer part of his leg, yet he avoided the rest of the incoming firestorm. However, several pink glass like shards from the alien needler struck Sarah which pierced through her armor burying deep into her chest. She shrieked and fell backwards, Bosko ran towards her and looked at the wound. Page stared back at him, waiting for some diagnosis as Sarah convulsed on the floor. Bosko looked back and shook his head. Page was positive of the outcome now, it was hopeless.
The Elevator in the outside hall way pinged; Mouldoon peered out into the dark abyss of the cabin, listening to the exchange of gunfire beyond the corner. Farrell nodded to the other men inside the lift before he stepped out; The Chief had already exited the cramped area, and was now scooping out the room ahead leaving the five Marines and one Navy pilot to set up A Defensive area, cutting off any covenant reinforcements. John was now camouflaged, the power cylinder had been left down stairs, allowing him to slip unnoticed into the center of the battle. For the most part the Marines were pinned down, or dead for all he knew no fire was being returned for their area, yet the Elites continued to fire towards back of the room. John took a position behind an Elite to the left, smacking him with the butt of his rifle the animal groaned as its spine snapped. The other two ignored the fallen comrade, the sound of their weapons drowning out the cries of pain from the critically injured creature. A shotgun shell to the back of the other aliens skull killed it instantly, but grabbed the others attention. The Elite watched, as the Chief appeared, the effectiveness of the camouflage wearing off. John smirked, the animal ran towards him in an attempt to hit him, but a shell from his shotgun slammed into the aliens' stomach, flattening it to the floor.
Off in the distance John watched as a Marine limped forward, followed by another and another. Four Marines now stood before him, tattered from the Covenant onslaught, still in the back of the room he listened to the groans of fallen Marines in need of help. John walked to the AI post and removed Cortana placing her back into the relative safety of his helmet. It had been a miracle that the post hadn't been destroyed along with the construct. Page limped towards John; a plasma scorch ran across his leg that was bleeding profusely. The look on his face was one of utter despair, as if he had lost all hope in the cause, yet his eyes, which were now uncovered by the goggles, leaving a white outline of them around his face, still burned with anger.
"We lost..." he coughed, trying to manage to choke out the words. "They're almost all dead, Kowalski, Johnson, the others, and Sarah is on her way out." He bent over as if he were going to pass out, only to remove an olive green canteen to pour fresh water onto his face. The dirt and grime rolled away, beaded up in tiny drops of water, which concealed the filth of the combat, mixed with blood from a deep gash on his forehead. The Chief nodded and patted him on the back, although he had seen thousands of men experiencing the same anguish if not worse, he felt sorry for the man who was now before him.
Church sat at one of the chairs in the cabin; a nonchalant look was plastered to his face in an attempt to hide the turmoil inside, as he carefully cleaned his shotgun.
"Look on the bright side, we won." He allowed a small laugh to escape. Although at a point of near exhaustion, Page took quite an offence to the off color remark, quickly he straightened himself up and hobbling over to young soldier.
"We won didn't we" he muttered.
"Sure did," Church replied joyfully. Page nodded his head, allowing a smirk to project onto his face. He sat for a moment than in a flash grabbed the Marine out of his chair, and pulled him over to the body of Sarah who gasped for air on the ground, while Bosko tried to comfort her.
"We won, you think!" Page yelled while Church tried to tug away. "Tell her that you bastard, tell her parents that we won," he sneered. Church stared at the figure of a young woman around 19 who was now dieing on the tile floor, a gaping hole had been torn through her chest and blood pooled from the contorted figure which lay before him. Her once blond hair war now a ragged red and brown, her previously bright peach face and glimmering green eyes, had now turned an ashen white, her eyes a cloudy gray.
"Sorry I just thought..." he whined, only to be punched by Page across the face, sending him to the floor with A THUD.
"No you didn't think damn it!" Page shouted, hitting Church once more, busting open his lip, which erupted with bright red blood.
"Do something Chief." Cortana pleaded, as she watched the ordeal through his visor. John agreed and stepped forward, only to be cut off by Captain Thorne.
"Enough!" He shouted, the Marines quitted and looked back, Page had stopped his fist in mid swing, as he went to deliver another hit to Church's head.
"We're your Marines Damn-it, perform like you have some decorum and admiration for the Cause you embrace." He said to the crowd. "We fight a common enemy not our selves, have we forgotten what this war is for?" he asked. "We're doing this for the Human race, to protect one an other, if we fight, what's the use?" Thorne stopped and walked away facing out the large bay windows that over looked the bow of the sleek oval ship.
Thorne stood straight, his back rigged as he clasped his hands behind his back. John turned away, and walked over to Sarah's body, she was gone. It was bad enough that for a family to loose a son, but a daughter, John couldn't fathom. The situation brought the war closer to home, the first major war in UNSC where women and children were slaughtered without remorse from a relentless enemy. The bridge had now fallen silent for the first time in 2 hours; only groans from an injured Marine could be heard as he struggled for life, Bosko tending to the soldiers every need. Farrell sat by Page; dealing out cards in haphazard pile for the next round of blackjack. For many of the Marines it was their first chance to rest, but most found it hard to, the blood of the deceased coated the floor making it slick and sticky at the same time. John had First watch, yet he remained in position for third and forth watch, compared to days prior, this had been relatively easy to him, on Halo 72 hours without sleep had only begun to were away at the Chief. After spending 2 days in sub space aboard the Long sword, he had plenty time to rest up, while he waited to arrive at the UNSC Lone Wolf.
The temperature inside the bridge had reached a sweltering 97 degrees Fahrenheit; Cortana had rerouted all coolant to the reactor to prevent a thermonuclear meltdown. Some of the Marines were down to their T-shirts sweating profusely; others had removed the sleeves from their combat uniforms, in an attempt to stay cool. Johns own coolant system prevented any discomfort from the heat, yet he watched as Marines pulled their shirts from their chests trying to have the fabric unstuck from their upper-bodies. The Chief walked to the Captains quarters as another Marine took watch. Removing his helmet, John set it beside the Captains bed and grabbed a glass of water from the shelf, which he quickly downed along with nutrient bar designed for the UNSC soldier on the go, the label read. He normally gagged on the awful taste, but for the first time eating in 2 days since he escaped the Pillar of Autumn on the Long Sword, he really didn't give damn. Running his hands through his short hair, he yawned and walked over to the sleeping quarters two rooms down from the captain's. Placing the helmet back over his head, the coolant system whirred and kicked in, just before he settled onto a cot and fell asleep.
Page watched the monitors in the small security room to the north of the bridge separated by a desolate hallway which extended for hundreds of yards in either direction, and a blast door which was on the North end of the bridge. Each monitor flicked on new images every three seconds cycling through decks that were chosen by the user of the system. Each camera was designed to pan back and forth across it's assigned area, yet it could also be activated by a motion detector, which in most cases was useless due to the near 7'000 inhabitants which populated the ship, but now proved quite useful in finding the enemy. Farrell watched closely as well, Page and he had been ordered by the Captain to establish a security perimeter to protect the bridge. Page knowing the layout of the area found it better to use the cameras than active patrols in which ambushes could be lead.
So far the Cameras had worked flawlessly, their night vision combined with a toned down thermal optics detected even the invisible enemies. A few cameras Page came across were very disturbing, Covenant forces taking injured Marines and ripping them apart as the men screamed begging for them to stop with no avail. Most of the enemies had been trapped below deck B but at least 25 to 30 still lingered in the confines of A Deck, floor 6 through 2. The Armory by now was over run, Page and Farrell both watched in disgust, The Enemies tortured and executed the injured Marines who pleaded for mercy, forced to watch the impending doom which was implemented upon their brothers in arms, eventually leading to their turn. Page slammed his fist onto the counter, a sharp pain raced through his hand but he ignored it, flipping the monitors to the landing bays, he saw six operable Launch areas, still pressurized and safe from the vacuum of space. Three Covenant landing ships each surrounded by at least 15 Enemies sat in landing bay 12, the soldiers standing at perfect attention. All of a sudden Farrell smiled,
"Can you blow the seal to that hatch?" he asked, Page looked at him abnormally as if Farrell were insane.
"Why the hell would do that you retard." He snarled, "That would depressurize the ship, we'd all die." A look of worry crossed his face signaling his disapproval to Farrell's idea, until he understood where Farrell was going. In the moment of Insight Page grinned and began to rapidly tap his hands over the control panel. The gloom of the room was transformed by a faint red light, which illuminated the men's faces.
"So you got it now?" Farrell asked, Page held up one hand furiously typing away with the other. Within a moment the collection of tiny screens turned into a visual rendering of the hangar. Page snapped his hands together and leaned back into the leather chair, his arms folded behind his head in delight. On the screen the warning lights had just begun to flash.
The Elite stepped forward; removing another crate of plasma rifles from the drop ship, while several Ghosts vehicles whirred around landing bay 12. It had always been a mystery to the creature why the humans continued to fight for a lost cause, but it knew, as did the others that this had been the will of the Gods, as for seen by the Prophets, victory had been assured, and now as it looked to the others under it's command he knew the end was in sight. The red flashing light and piercing sirens sent the creatures into a fury of activity, the elite with the weapons crate dropped it to the floor and roared.
"Lockdown in ten seconds." The automated voice blared over the intercom, frightening the collective group of creatures as they scurried about trying to escape the hangar.
"Nine seconds" The elite looked around at the commotion.
"Eight."
"Seven"
"Six seconds" The Elite bolted towards the exit nearly 100 yards
"Five"
"Four"
"Three seconds" The animal reached the door blocked by an abandoned Warthog, he snarled and pulled on it along with several others
"Two"
"One second" The 3 inch door crashed shut sealing all but a few creatures inside, who now looked back at the others to see what would become of them. The one Elite walked back to the drop ship and removed some tools hoping to somehow pry open or destroy the barricade, which separated them from safety.
"It's to late." A voice said over the intercom. It was different than the other automated voice, which regularly broadcasted messages through the ship, and it was the voice of a man. The Elite glanced around the room; firing at one of the loudspeakers he saw hanging from the sealing with the pistol that had been attached to his armor plating.
"Don't be mad, it will all be over soon." The intercom switched off leaving nothing but silence, and the hum of the hydraulics lifting the outer bay door. The area erupted into a panic, most creatures belting towards the door in a pointless attempt to escape. Slowly the air began to be sucked from the room, along with boxes and smaller creatures like grunts as they hopelessly clawed at the floor trying to stop the inevitable. The Elite Grabbed onto a pole and braced itself as others around it were torn from the hangar, a grunt slid by him towards the crack on the floor where the oxygen was departing. The creature screamed as it slammed onto the door, crushing its internal organs and diaphragm with a snap. Soon the drop ships began to shudder being forced towards the gate that continued to rise. The three crafts then lifted flying out of the cavernous hole into hyperspace, each was shredded into thousands of pieces within seconds. Continuing it's valiant struggle, the Elite watched as the last few allies were ripped from the room, being shredded within moments. Suddenly the elite looked back into the rear of the room, the abandoned warthog soared towards him, tumbling in mid air as it approached. The Elite closed it's eyes and prayed, just as the warthog slammed into the pole thrusting him into the vast reaches of space, within a flash it was over.
Page sat back and laughed as the outer bomb bay door to Hangar 12 closed shut, and pressure was restored to the area. He exchanged high fives with Farrell, who gave Page a quick pat on the back, as the screens returned to normal.
"Sucks to be them." Has said
"Sure does." Farrell replied, each monitor returned to its assigned location, the circulation of cameras beginning again. Something surprised Farrell and Page alike, a large amount of marines scanned the hallways of Deck F floor 6.
"Establish contact now damn it." Farrell yelled to him. Page activated the intercom to the floor that the marines were scanning as they progressed onward.
"Friendly units report to the bridge at once." Page made the statement as clear as possible. The men on the floor jumped, surprised by the message. It seemed that there was at least 15 Marines and 10 Navy pilots. The pilots stood in the middle of their armed escort, fully downed in combat flight uniforms, pistols tightly clenched in their hands, their only lifeline now. All pilots in the UNSC forces had been highly trained and weren't like pilots of years before who received minimal training in the art of hand to hand combat, a feature that had proved very effective in this campaign. The men seemed to talk to one another discussing their next move, before one finally nodded his head to the camera in agreement.
In the commotion of the event Page had neglected the other monitors, which tracked covenant movement. He briefly scanned the other screens until his eyes spotted something in dismay; the men and women on Deck F were being followed.
"Lookout!" He bellowed into the loud speaker, but he was not on time.
The first Vibro sword sliced through the Marine at the rear with little notice, the diagonal motion split the man in two sending his body to the ground in separate chunks. In one last breath he screamed in agony. The rest of the column turned in disbelief as the covenant raced forward, mowing through three more Marines before a shot was returned. A dark skinned pilot fired off an entire clip into one Alien blowing 12 great holes through it. He stepped back with the other pilots as the Marines faced the blitz with a torrent of heavy weapons as they returned fire. A machine gunner escorted six of the pilots to a Safe room before returning to pull an injured marine to shelter in the minuscule sleeping quarters of a Marine officer on the floor. The other pilots that remained were obliterated; the machine gunner rushed forward taking out two Elites before he reached the main line of combat. Twelve troops remained, four of whom were immediately leveled, another two fought on only to be hit by hot plasma as they engaged the enemy. Four Marines raced to the quarters yelling for the others to come. The female Marine continued to fire wildly, only to be stopped as the machine gunner pulled her to the room. A soldier lead out around the bend to fire, but his head was severed by several hits of plasma. The carcass went limp, and fell into the corridor, the machine Gunner tapped on the security pad, and the entry slid shut.
"How the hell didn't you see that?" Farrell said in anger
"I was watching the men." Page said defensively in return. Farrell shuddered, grabbing his weapon he disappeared around the corner. Page groaned, and followed in his footsteps, disappearing into the corridor. The hallway always got to Page, as his footsteps echoed on the tile floor and reverberated off the concrete walls he checked around in all directions. It was bad enough that this hallway was pitch black normally, it was now made worse by the fact that, enemies lurked everywhere and now he was alone. Somewhere up ahead Farrell had disappeared probably to warn the others, but now Page was left to his own devices, struggling to find his way around. He was the head of security forces, but it was only his third week on the new ship, which had been commissioned five months earlier.
"Shit." Page whispered to himself upon coming to a dead end, only two doors on either side. Page examined the area; he had always missed that turn. Spinning around, he swore once more, and began to backtrack. It was going to be a long day and he knew it.
John awoke nearly three hours after he fell asleep, the taps of Farrell bringing him back to consciousness. He yawned and pulled himself out of bed , the rest had been long enough and now he felt moderately relaxed. He tilted his head to Farrell who stood rigged, a worried look plastered to his face.
"What is it?" John asked.
"We lost contact with Page, and a cluster of Marines are trapped downstairs, with some fly boys." John thought over it.
"Ok." He said "Get Alan, Harrison, Church and Bosko together, and tell the others to lock down the bridge and stay there until we get back."
"Why?' Farrell inquired
"Because were going on a search and rescue mission." John responded "And were going to need all the help we can get."
Page had been alone for some time now, the dark hallway had time and time again lead him into areas where he had already been, he began to get frustrated. Pounding his fist against the wall, he swore.
Where the hell am I? He thought as he became increasingly frustrated, the aggravation lead to a physical throbbing in his forehead as he tried to figure a way out of the mess. The heat began to get to him, removing his canteen; he drenched his face with the contents only to find that the water was rather warm.
"Shit!" he growled, he was never good at problem solving when angry, and now it had hindered his ability to find a way out. In the background he heard a group of Covenant approaching, the volume of their growls and squeaks approaching steadily from all directions. He once more monitored the area, this time he managed to find a small silver glint in the obscurity, reaching down he touched it, finding it to be metal, which was quite cool and seemed to be a ventilation grate. Page squatted down and pried at the cover, which fortunately wasn't bolted down. He set his rifle on the ground and stuck both hand under the metal, struggling to pull it up. The metal cut into his hands causing warm blood to run from the wounds; eventually the grate gave way with a groan of rusted steel. Page looked down into the chasm, which filtered a cold wind onto his face. Brushing the blood from his hands onto his pants, hearing the howls nearing, he swung his weapon back around his neck and took a leap of faith.
John took point in the elevator; a six-minute ride separated him and the others from Deck F. Not a word was spoken among the men, but a pack of gum had been passed around the small enclosure as they descended into the depths of the UNSC Lone Wolf. Deck F was infamous among crew members for being the sixth level of hell as a Marine so eloquently put it. The officers on the ship would normally send new recruits there because seasoned veterans would normally refuse to work on the level. While it seemed to be a pointless and even a childish claim, many Marines thought different. The Centurion Class Destroyer that the Lone Wolf's was designed after had minimal defenses on the outer area, which lined Deck F. In prior engagements with Covenant Cruisers, Deck F always seemed to be the first hit due to the large size of the quadrant and the nature of UNSC evasion patterns which often put Deck F in harms way. When performing the maneuvers the ship would send frontal boosters into overdrive rapidly lifting the nose exposing the soft under belly, the largest bulge being Deck F.
The lift Came to rest with a clang as the floor systems locked into place. The doors slid open, No enemies were seen but the effects of there presence were. Torn scarred carcasses of marines were scattered around the room, their blood sticking to the bottom of John's feet as it started to dry. Only a few light fixtures remained, dimly illuminating the corridor. Other light fixtures hung form the sealing, their bulbs blown out, only the wires giving off light as they touched the blood, sending sporadic sparks showering onto the ocean of dark red blood. Bosko checked each body, John watched as the medic tried to find a live man, knowing well that none were to be found. The short man stood at attention and saluted the fallen soldiers before returning to the column. John moved forward, to the locked down door, which was sealed with several security levels. He turned and faced back at the Marines who's lights crisscrossed the hall. The Chief waved for Farrell to move forward. The Sergeant cautiously approached the Chief, a doorlock device held in his hand. Quickly he applied the device to the steel door and tapped a few buttons.
Jake curled around the corner evading the entrance, a series of beeps sounded and the door slid open.
"Whose there?" a worried Marine yelled
"Sergeant Farrell and a group of Marines to get your sorry asses out of here." he replied, he heard a faint conversation, before the dark skinned man and the machine gunner from earlier cautiously stepped out. The Machine gunner rested the weapon on one of his broad shouldered, he was a tall gangly fellow who wore a black bandanna, which hid his buzzed hair. He extended a hand pointing to the chief with a finger. He looked inquisitively at the chief and then looked to the shorter dark man who remained still, they exchanged glances and the young man frowned
"Should we show them?" The tall man asked
"Show us what?" John and Farrell responded simultaneously, The short black man smiled his bright white grin,
"You won't believe it." He said, the dark man turned and waved the others to follow him. "You'll just have to see."
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