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1314 Hours, January 3, 2553 (Military Calendar)/ As Reco climbed into the Warthog conveniently parked near the entrance to the mountain, he began to ponder what the inscription meant. "You have come to my castle, and you will not leave. The Gods will prevail, and your infidel lives will be crushed." What the hell was that supposed to mean? It meant that the Covenant brass was mad, and they wanted vengeance. They would get their vengeance. The artillery bombardment had halted, no air cover was provided, and the sky had darkened to a mix of indigo blue and midnight black-the odd thing was, it was only an hour after noon. Plumes of black smoke and fiery columns rose from the ground almost like a distress beacon. Pelican drop ships, Warthog Light Reconnaissance Vehicles, and Scorpion Main Battle Tanks had been decimated, and were smoldering scrap heaps. He continued to ponder this as he drove off, trailed by his comrades-in-arms. "Guys, we're going home. It's gonna be hot, so trigger fingers itchy and ready to go." Ares looked to his left, and looked into Reco's icy cold eyes. His eyes did not waver, and his star was merciless. It alone could kill a man. The Warthog's began to skid, as if on ice. The ground was a deep orange and red, glassed over. The vehicles had no traction, and the only thing stopping it from moving would have to be a building. He drove right into the nearest building, and the vehicle halted. He hoped out, and got back on the radio. "Reco to all teams. Commence assault on Delta Storm. Repeat, commence assault on Delta Storm." He killed the link, and walked into the open. The horizon was blurred by the burning of structures in the distance. The rest of Roughneck Two-Zero stealthily followed Reco, right up into the entrance of the base. The doors had been welded shut. "Damn it!" "Now what boss?" "Death From Above," was the reply. What and the hell was that supposed to mean? Reco walked over to a ladder, and began climbing. "Oh." The team followed, and assembled on the 'roof' of the main building. Reco knelt down, pointed at his eyes, and then pointed at a spot on the roof. There was a sunroof. Against regulations. He walked over towards it, and fired five rounds into it, shattering it into a million tiny fragments. He jumped down, followed by Zeus, Ares, Gizmo, Apollo, and the rest of the men. "We need to get to the hangar. From there, we get extra arms, ammo, and then go into the heart of the complex. The control room. We have to destroy the complex. Gizmo, destroy any nav-databanks that we come across. And I mean any." They walked unopposed into the hangar. The doors opened up, and reveal a large cavern. It was crawling with Marines and Covenant. It was going to get dicey in a few seconds. "Holy shit-traitors. Okay, change of plans. 68th, you guys are going with Apollo and Gizmo. Destroy in and all navigational databanks. Kill all opposition. Human and Covenant! That's a direct order. Roughneck Two-Zero, we go into the belly of the beast. Move out." Apollo, Gizmo, and the 68th moved off to destroy any navigational databanks, while Reco along with Roughneck Two-Zero hunkered down in a fixated position. In all actuality, it was just a bunch of overturned crates. Not much of a fixed fortification, but it had to do. Isis crawled alongside Reco, and placed her scope into a small slit in between the crates. "Aim for the heads. Marine leaders, Elites, Jackals, mud sloggers, Grunts. Fire when ready." Isis nodded silently, and opened fire. She hit a captain squarely in the forehead. Good choice. He had been ordering the Marines around, were telling the Covenant what to do. He slumped down, drowning in his own blood and because of a fatal wound. Not a moment later, Reco and Ares opened up, cutting down three Marines in a maelstrom of lead. Zeus opened up, cutting down a patrol of Grunts without wasting half a clip. Reco still said he should've been a sharpshooter, but Zeus liked being in the hot spots, the intense situations, the driver's seat, where he was in control. Isis picked another target, this time of Covenant descent, and lodged a 14.5x 114mm APFSDSDUI (armor-piercing, fin-stabilized, discarding-sabot, depleted uranium, incendiary) round right in its brain-not only did it kill instantly, it exploded too, adding a nice "touch" to the kill. Zeus, with one hand on the trigger, and another on a grenade, lobbed the HE into a phalanx position of Jackals, flanked by Marines, shielded by the Jackals. It exploded, killing four of the Jackals, and twelve Marines. The remaining Jackals staggered and fell away, weak skinned backs exposed to the ruthlessness of Reco's MA5B. Reco fired, and placed lead in nine of the Jackals. Blood dripped, and seeped onto the ground. A Marine began firing upon the fixed position from a Warthog, and Ares discarded his chain gun and took up his Jackhammer Missile System. He fired one round at the Warthog, and another at a group of Grunts. The Warthog exploded, and sent the lifeless body of the Marine into the air, and flung it thirty feet away. Isis acquired another target, fired, and placed a round through a Marine, and into the head of an Elite. She was immediately countered by a hail of lead from a couple of Marines and an Elite. Lead pinged off he shoulder plate, and bounced off harmlessly. Reco took up her defense, and placed twelve rounds into a Marine, and one round into the head of another. Zeus aimed at the Elite, and placed three rounds into its shields, and Reco finished it off with four in the neck and chest. "We've gotta get to the vehicle bay! Cover us Isis! Take out the Elites! Move move move!" Reco left the cover, followed by Ares, and Zeus. Isis kept up a steady stream of fire, flanked by Izanagi who began to take down Elite and Marine alike. Reco ran from cover, dodging bullets between crates and debris, and repaid the favor to any hostile force stupid enough to oppose him and his men. A plasma bolt streaked out of no where, and caught Zeus open chested, away from cover. Reco fired madly into the direction of the enemy fire, and fell on Zeus. He covered him from enemy fire, while at the same time dragging him into cover. Zeus got to his feet, and with no apparent bleeding, staggered on. A HE grenade landed just a few steps away from Reco. Act fast or die. He wanted to live, so he kicked the grenade seconds before it exploded. The shrapnel caught him open, as well as with Ares. "We've gotta keep moving!" Reco, with shrapnel wounds in his feet and hands, trudged on into the hangar. He climbed into a tank, and closed the hatch. Ares, and Zeus climbed on the treads and Reco powered up. He kept his trigger finger down, firing hundreds of rounds a second into the oncoming hordes of Covenant and Human bodies alike. He fired his main cannon, and demolished a bit of the stiff resistance. Bullets pinged off the titanium alloy armor, and Zeus and Ares kept up a stream of fire to cover Reco's ass. Zeus and Ares jumped off the tank as a grenade landed feet in front of them. They ran behind the tank and hid, while the titanium armor shielded Reco from the blast. "Climb on, and let's get the hell outta here!" Reco fired his main cannon again, and took care of the last men. He climbed out, with the intention of leaving his own mark. He approached the wall, drew his combat knife, and inscribed: "To find sanctuary in the enemy is treason. You have entered my castle, and you will not leave to see the light of day again. I give you my word." Reco then lumbered into the tank, and began destroying Warthogs and Scorpions. He left the remaining Longsword interceptor intact, and radioed to the 68th. "This is Reco Roughneck Two-Zero. Come in 68. We have the hangar, a bird, and a lot of dead bodies. Oh, also, a Shiva II Nuclear Warhead. I was thinking of celebrating by having some fire works and some Nuclear Winter Fallout. What do ya guys say?" "I say hold your ass. We're coming." "Lets go!" Reco climbed into the Longsword, accompanied by Zeus, Ares, Izanagi, and Isis. "Any of you know how to fly this bucket?" Isis stepped forward, and powered the craft up. The doors opened at the far end of the hangar, and in ran Apollo, Gizmo, and 68th, carrying behind them a body. They climbed in, as Reco walked out. He went under the hangar into a hidden room under the floor, and activated the Shiva II nuclear warhead. Fifteen minutes. That would give them significant time to get airborne, into the atmosphere, and onboard a ship for some answers. He ran out of the room, climbed onboard the Longsword, laden with ammo and crates, and sealed the door shut. The Longsword powered up, left go of the binding clamps, and sped off into the air. |
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