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The SkyHawks screamed by overhead the Chief, who had gotten into his personal Warthog with the mini-MAC gun. The plasma-chain guns of the jets mowed down a few more lines of the advancing Covenant. MC saw plumes of black smoke and blue light flash from the wing of the lead SkyHawk. A second later, there was a huge crater in the ground, caused by the plasma-charged Scorpion missile. The Covenant shot at the fighters. Some threw grenades, but the armor and shields were too heavy. Small arms could not destroy it. A Wraith threw a bolt of plasma into the air towards them, but the shot was not fast enough. The Skyhawks quickly made a maximum-g turn to get a clear view of their target. As the Skyhawks turned for another shot at the Covenant infantry, 20 small dots appeared on the horizon. As the dots became larger, the familiar whine of Banshee engines could be heard. The Banshees spotted the Skyhawks, and continued to increase speed as they came closer and closer. Within seconds, their plasma weapons lashed out, grazing the lead Skyhawk as the formation turned to face the new threat. The Skyhawk's shield flared for a moment, then cooled. The lead Skyhawk opened fire with its 50mm plasma-chain guns, shredding the hatch of a banshee, leaving the pilot exposed. The Skyhawk continued firing at the damaged banshee, and it erupted in a ball of flame, the wreckage spiraling to the ground. The Banshees retaliated with fuel-rod guns. The green plasma streaked toward four of the Skyhawks. The first few shots impacted their shields, each shield shimmering yellow when plasma hit. Several more fuel-rod shots streaked toward the Skyhawks, overwhelming their shields. The four Skyhawks dove down to the ground to avoid being shot down in their current state, but they had forgot about the ground forces. Ten Spec Ops Grunts hurled grenades into the air, straight at the jump jet fighters. Most missed, but some stuck onto the wings of the Skyhawks, reducing their agility and turning ability. The Banshees sped after the damaged fighters, spewing a huge stream of plasma. Their already severely damaged armor was melted away and the Skyhawks detonated as their ordnance exploded. The remaining 11 Skyhawks fired as many Scorpion missiles as they could before the jump jets were forced to veer away as they got too close to the enemy Banshees. There were so many blue streaks in the air that the Chief could not even count them. The plasma-charged missiles chased their target, and the fifty enormous explosions sent a shockwave through the air, knocking the Marines and most of the Covenant to the ground. The shockwave also ripped through the Banshees, tearing them to metal fragments. The Covenant were quite shocked at the defeat of their Banshees, but they regrouped and charged en masse. James saw that they charged in a delta formation to protect themselves. Jackals and Hunters stood in front, using their shields to protect the forces behind them. Elites followed them, as they were relatively strong and had shielding. Grunts trailed behind by the thousand, having no advantage except sheer numbers. James saw something behind the formation, so he pulled out his binoculars to get a clearer view. All the way behind the Grunts, there were 15 hunters and about 30 Jackals standing in a circle, surrounding-something. James adjusted his binoculars for a better view. It looked like a purple-armored Elite, but it was about four inches taller than a regular Elite, and had twin fuel rod guns, similar to the ones Spec Ops Grunts carried, on its shoulders. The circle of Covenant closed in, and the Elite disappeared from James's view. As the Covenant charged, the Marines all reloaded their weapons and prepared for the worst. They would shoot through small niches in their barricades, portable walls and energy shields before their cover would be melted away by the sheer amount of plasma the 25,000 remaining Covenant would be firing. Then they would just stand and fight. The Chief strapped himself in into the gunner's seat of his personal Warthog and ordered Private Johnson to face the Warthog straight into the charging Covenant to provide extra cover. A low rumbling became louder and louder as they came closer. The Scorpion tanks rumbled into position and the Warthogs turned to face the enemy. As Hunters and Jackals appeared, Sergeant Andrews and several other snipers fired, but most of the rounds bounced off the shields. The snipers continued a steady stream of fire, and sometimes a Hunter or a Jackal would expose its weak spots, allowing the snipers to kill them. For every Covenant they killed, however, ten more would take the place of the one that had died. The Scorpion tanks fired 18 rounds into the center of the charging Covenant. The Hunters raised their shields, but over 40 of them were killed as the plasma-charged rounds impacted in their tightly packed ranks. Orange blood flew in the air, landing on the humans and coating the ground. Jackals charged their weapons, and Hunters began to shoot their guns. A few barricades were destroyed in this first volley, but the stronger protitanium walls and energy shields held up. The Marines were mostly armed with heavy weapons, so they returned fire. Rockets, plasma and grenades hit in the front group of Jackals. They all fell, with the plasma-charged ordnance ripping through their shields like an ax through butter. The rest scattered and returned fire. Their plasma pistols peppered the area with shots, and several Marines who had their cover blown away fell. The Chief fired his Warthog's mini-MAC gun. It took out two Ghosts. The Covenant were finished deploying troops, and now they were landing vehicles and stationary guns for the Grunts. All these numbered 500 in all, with 200 Ghosts, 75 Wraiths and 225 stationary guns. Marines would have to hijack these whenever possible. About 30 more Banshees screamed by overhead. The Covenant knew that they could not destroy all of the Skyhawks, but at least they could distract the fighters from attacking their ground forces. Another fierce air battle ensued, and some Grunts, Jackals and Marines actually stopped fighting to watch as explosions rocked the air and wreckage spiraled down, sometimes landing in the packed ranks of Covenant. The Elites, Hunters, SPARTANs, and veteran Marines, however, continued fighting. Suddenly, by a stroke of luck, a Scorpion misfired, hitting a dropship carrying two Wraiths. An ordinary shot wouldn't have penetrated the shield, but the plasma-charged shot did. The crippled dropship spun around before it crashed into a group of Marines, killing them. The pilot was dead, but the Wraiths were relatively intact. James, in need of heavier firepower, jumped into one. Displays popped up around him when he sat down in a seat that was meant for an Elite. He had experience before using Covenant vehicles, so it wasn't too difficult. Because the large vehicle was slow and hovered a few feet off the ground, he could not run over any Covenant. Anyway, there were too many of them and he would probably be overwhelmed in seconds. The mortar shot was perfect for shooting while staying under cover. A large group of 30 Hunters broke off from the main charge, stopping to fire as fast as their guns would recharge. The green shots blew away several small squads of Marines. They continued keeping up a steady stream of fire, being careful not to expose their weak spots. This caused numerous casualties in the human defenders, and the lucky ones that would actually survive this murderous barrage had to be taken to the infirmary because of their serious wounds. The Hunters could not be stopped. They would not expose their weak spots and they were so far away any heavy weapon fired at them, such as a rocket, would be useless. James's Wraith shots were also much too slow, and even the clumsy Hunters dodged them, so he resumed firing at the Elites and Jackals, who were too busy fighting. The Scorpions were also busy hitting Covenant vehicles, and all the Warthogs were too far away. Except for one. The Chief saw the unstoppable crowd of Hunters and ordered Private Johnson to head toward them at full speed. "Hurry up, Private! Those Hunters will just blast our forces to pieces if you don't step on it!" he yelled. "Sir, right away, sir!" the Marine stomped on the accelerator and headed towards the aliens, who had their backs turned to them. Sergeant Andrews fired his sniper rifle, felling a few of the massive creatures. As they turned to face the new threat, MC fired his gun straight at them, killing five more. Andrews kept up a steady stream of fire, emptying three clips shooting at the Hunters. Johnson was making erratic turns with the Warthog to avoid being toasted by the Fuel Rod shots. "This is Warthog 13B, we have turned the Hunters' backs to you, defense team. Fire at will," Andrews said through his helmet COM system. The Marines back at the shipyard entrance started sending rockets and grenades at the Hunters. One rocket missed a Hunter and whizzed by, missing the Chief's back by a hair. "Watch your fire, Marines!" he said angrily into the COM channel. The Hunters were now being hit hard on two sides. Several of them were hit by a mini-MAC round and they dropped to the ground, groaning in pain. Several Hunters managed to surround James's Wraith and started to bombard it. A pillar of flame rose from the tank, and the ruthless Hunters smashed its armor, damaging it further. The Wraith was no longer hovering, and the whole thing erupted into flame. "Turn to the left, now!" The Chief ordered Johnson. The Warthog turned and sped toward the Wraith. Two Grunts stood in the way, firing their plasma pistols, but they were smashed out of the way by the speeding Warthog. I'll call a medic. It's a long shot, but we might be able to get there in time. Cortana said calmly. As the Wraith became larger while the Chief approached it in his Warthog, two Ghosts manned by Elites moved into his way. Four bolts of plasma tore through the air, and the temperature increased dramatically. The plasma hit the engine armor plate, and it boiled away. The Chief brought his MAC gun to bear on the Ghosts when the Warthog swerved to avoid a plasma bolt, and his shot completely missed the Ghost, streaking into the sky. Sergeant Andrews raised his sniper, and carefully sniped an Elite out of one of the Ghosts. However, the other Ghost refused to move out of the way of the incoming Warthog. The Chief would have ordered the Warthog to simply push the Ghost out of the way, but he would not take any chances, especially with an engine that had no armor. The MAC gun read 70% charge, but the Chief didn't need a full charge to destroy a Ghost. He fired the gun, and this time the shot tore a hole from one side of the Ghost to the other, also penetrating the driver. The Warthog stopped at the flaming Wraith, and the Chief jumped out of the gunner's seat and dashed to the tank. Master Chief tore off the hatch with his superhuman strength, and grabbed James's limp body from the tank. The Chief didn't know whether how injured James was, so he put him in the Warthog. He needed to get him to a medic, quickly. He asked Cortana for help. "Can you get us a dropship to bring James to a medic?" Negative. This area is not deemed safe for a dropship. The shipyard is 3 kilometers south. We might be able to find a good medic in the infirmary. Oh, and the Maw is sending its remaining 5 Skyhawks to escort us to there. I'm putting a nav point on your HUD. You can direct the driver that way. Cortana replied. The Chief pointed the directions to the Private, and he strapped himself back into the gunner's seat. James could be dead already, or just unconscious. The Marines were fighting the best they could, but the Covenant still outnumbered the Marines drastically. To the Chief, it was going to be a long ride back to the base. While the Chief headed to the base, a battle was still raging. A group of Marines had run out of rockets, so the switched to their assault rifles. Most had taken cover behind anything possible: pieces of the wall, barricades, protitanium walls, and shields. Three Warthogs charged a large group of Grunts and Elites, their plasma-chain guns slicing through the Elite shields and Grunt armor. Any remaining troops were killed when the Warthogs slammed into the group. The shipyard area was covered in blood, mostly Grunt, but there was also blood from all species in random areas. The snipers had taken cover in the nearby hills. Every several seconds a plasma-coated round would penetrate a Jackal or an Elite, forcing the Covenant to find seek cover for the sake of their lives. The humans had not given up yet, even though the odds were bad. Sometimes the Covenant would be lined up. If a sniper fired at the lead alien, the round would tear through several of them. "Get your asses down here! May I remind you that we're protecting the shipyard, not some damn hill!" a Sergeant yelled at them through the COM channel. "But Sarge, we are defending the shipyard, and besides, we can't snipe from-" the lead sniper's reply was cut off by his superior officer. "But nothin'! You can snipe from the main control tower! Now move!" The Marines found that they were running out of ammo. They fought on while the Chief listened to their reports. "We're low on ammo! Chief, can you make a call up the Maw or Aurora? Ask them to send down extra ammo and grenades! Also, if they can spare anything else, like vehicles just lying around, send them! We're being hit hard here!" a Lieutenant yelled through the COM channel. Screams and plasma blasts could be heard in the background. The Chief used the Warthog's high-power COM system to contact the two cruisers. He received a reply almost immediately. "Chief, we're sending down 20 Pelicans with ammo onboard. Nine of them are also carrying Scorpions and Marines from the destroyer Renown. ETA is ten minutes. The five SkyHawks that escorted you will also help fight, after making sure the dropships arrive safely," Admiral Stanforth's voice could barely be heard over the roar of the Warthog's engine. The drive to the shipyard was uneventful. As soon as he arrived, the Chief took James, still inside his armor suit, and ran towards the infirmary, which was surprisingly empty. A few Marines that had Fuel Rod blast wounds were in there. Soldiers with regular plasma injures could be treated by the 20 field medics. MC laid James's body on a bed. He explained the situation to a nurse before rushing back out to his Warthog and promptly continued battle again. The newly arrived supplies and troops helped a little. The humans managed to stave off the relentless Covenant charges, but they were far too numerous. Eventually, they would win if no one came up with a plan. Nighttime brought a small lull in the fighting. MC's exhausted troops took turns resting. The snipers, however, continued firing. They had night vision scopes and would pick off any Covenant that got in range. Empty shell casings were strewn all over the tower most of them were in. Cratefuls of ammo packs were beside them. The Covenant soon realized that they would have to retreat a fair distance before they were out of the range of the deadly plasma-charged rounds. Since the fighting had slackened off, the medics brought in some food for the tired soldiers. They ate, talked and rested, always watching the Covenant in case they tried another charge. The Chief walked into the infirmary to check on James. The SPARTAN had received injures that would have killed any ordinary soldier. The MJOLNIR suit and the augmentations he had received, as a member of the SPARTAN-II project, was what saved him. He lay sleeping, covered in burns and scorched skin. "Will he make it?" MC anxiously asked the doctor that had treated his friend. "Yes, there's an 80% chance he will make it. He's lucky that the Hunters didn't bash up that Wraith a little more, because it would have collapsed on him totally. Even for a SPARTAN, that would be fatal. It will take several weeks before he's ready to fight again, though," the doctor replied. The Chief was relieved and dismayed at the same time. He had already lost all his other teammates on Reach, and the fact that James probably would make it was reassuring. On the other hand, having a SPARTAN out of action for weeks was like having an entire squad of Marines out of the fight. The reinforcements from the Renown should cover him, though, the Chief thought. He was actually not so sure. *** The next morning, everyone readied for another Covenant assault. The Marines had been keeping watch in shifts. The snipers had been doing this also, scanning the darkened terrain with their scopes. It was a quiet night, however. The Chief figured that the Covenant were planning for a big attack in the morning, so Marines climbed into vehicles and loaded up their weapons. All of them were tense, waiting for the attack. It never came. "What the hell are those Covenant up to?" a Sergeant asked MC after two hours of waiting. Scanners show that Covenant movement in their camp is very low. They appear to be sleeping or resting. Only a few Elites are patrolling. Cortana told the Chief. He relayed the message to the Marines. Now it's time to do some attacking of our own, thought the Master Chief. He outlined his plan with the officers. "All right men, this is our last chance. If this attack fails, we'll be overrun. Now, as you've probably heard, the Covenant appear to be resting. Our mission is to take out as many of them as we can before being detected. If we manage to take about, oh, 10,000 of them, we might actually stand a chance. But it won't be easy. Not by a long shot. This will require a lot of stealth, skill, and of course, luck. Now here's the plan. I will pick a group of veteran Marines to do the initial attack. We will use the "active camouflage" technology we have found and replicated on the Covenant cruiser I captured. We only have 100 of them, so I need the best troops to use them. There is also an "over shield" technology we will be using. Again, there are only 100. That much explained, here's what we do. I'll sneak in behind the camp, where the least Elites that Cortana mentioned as patrolling are. To kill them silently, I'll hit them in their backs. Once those have been eliminated, the Marines and I will plant a few caches of C-12 all around their camp. Then we'll creep off, whacking any Elite we see. The suit you Marines wear gives you extra strength and reflexes much better than your old one. It's not as effective as mine, but it'll give you enough power to crack an Elite's spine. I suppose you're all wondering, 'what will the other Marines be doing?' Most of them will be close by, under cover, just in case we need backup. About 200 of them will stay here to guard. The most important thing in this mission is to be as quiet as possible. We need to go now, before they wake up. Good luck," the Chief moved off to pick his squad while the officers readied their own troops. It was a thin thread of hope that they would complete it successfully, but at least it was something. They tensely waited to carry out the most dangerous mission any of the Marines had ever been in. |
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