The Falen: Halo 2 Chapter 7
Posted By: Hikaru-119<hikaru119@email.com>
Date: 21 April 2004, 11:31 AM
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Note from the author: Well it has come to my attention, through people that shall remain nameless, that the combat in this series is getting a bit repetitive and is a sign of a series' expiration. Well the series is almost over, but not for this reason. After Chapter 7 we have just 4 more chapters (not sections, actual chapters) to go and it is finished. But fear not, Chapter 7 is going to be worthy of the number that it has been given. Things are gonna get juicy in Chapter 7. ENJOY!
Chapter 7 Section 1: Trouble Begins
Location: Installation 12's Control Room
Time: November 23, 2553 1216 Hours
The Innocent Flame floated about painting the floor with red illumination. Came to a stop and turned to the Spartans that had accompanied him. Lazily he drifted backwards as he lead them to the main control panel.
" As I was saying there has been a breach in security on one of the Installation's secondary facilities. " he commented. Several of the dozens of Sentinels floated into the room and flew in circles around the room constantly keeping an eye on the Spartan team.
" Secondary facilities? " the Chief asked confused. The massive hologram in the room flared and zoomed in on one of the nearby moons. A red triangle began to blink on it.
" Yes secondary facilities. On this particular satellite world we built a facility to maintain off world security for this system. Unfortunately I have lost all communications with this structure. Security systems are not responding and the teleportation grid within the facility is no longer giving off any signal." 049 added. The Chief let out a low sigh. He was afraid he knew what the little floating ball was going to ask next. " So I am requesting that you would please investigate this matter. It is of utmost importance. "
" I can't do that," the Chief quickly protested, " Not without permission from command. " The Flame hovered in one spot for a full three seconds before it said anything.
" Explain why not. " The Chief turned to his Spartans and saw their scorched and blood stained armor. He then turned back to the Monitor of Installation 12.
" We have a mission to eliminate all Covenant forces in this area. Our orders are very specific. We can not leave until all are gone. " the Chief said sternly. The monitor leaned to it's left giving what passed for a confused look.
" One moment. " There was a rush of air and a flash of golden light. The Spartans brought their weapons up and watched as the Sentinel population had dropped to zero. " Your Covenant problem is being dealt with as we speak. " Two silent minutes passed as the squad talked to each other over secure COM channels. There was another rush of air and several of the Sentinels returned. "Sentinel population reduced by five percent. Within tolerable levels. "The Innocent flame turned to the Chief. " Your threats have been neutralized. "
" Cortana? " the Master Chief asked without letting anyone else hear him, " Is it true? "
"He's telling the truth Chief. " Cortana said. "I've sent a quick report to General Kits already. So, are we going to take up this mission? "
"Only if Kits clears it. Otherwise, no. Send a mission request. See what he says. "
"Roger that Chief. Mission request sent. "
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Location: Surface of the Fourth Moon
Private Sena nearly shit his pants as soon as the Covenant began their plasma artillery bombardment on the ODSTs. A dozen flaming blue trails of heat and fire scorched the sky sending blisters down the marine's back despite being several meters above him. He screamed in pain and ducked behind a nearby rock. The rounds impacted kicking up dirt and molten rock as they forced themselves into craters that dotted the battlefield. There were a few muffled screams that pierced their way through the explosions.
Sena looked back at the men who were hit and found nothing but smoke and ash. He felt his stomach hit rock bottom and gripped his rifle tightly. The measly private, scared to death, looked over his cover and saw the Covenant line. There were twenty mobile artillery platforms accompanied by at least a battalion's strength in troops. It was a sea of red, black, and chromed armor lined up along the complex they were ordered to take. He ducked his head back down and leaned back and began to scrutinize himself.
" Damn it why'd I have to join the corps? " he said cursing himself as he hid like a coward, " The ODSTs at that even. " Sena closed his eyes as he listened to a symphony of staccato rifle fire, the ever present whine of plasma weapons, the thunderous booms of artillery, and a haunting chorus of a thousand alien voices baying for his blood. The man was about to crack underneath the pressure. A shot whizzed by a hit a scant meter next to him. It kicked up a cloud of chalky white dust that covered his helmet visor.
For a moment the marine stopped breathing. Everything around him slowed and quickened in pace. Immediately there after he began to try to dig himself a hole with his rifle. He was literally trying to hide under a rock. A roar from above him stopped his frantic digging and a trio of Longsword fighters came in fast. He looked over his cover once more and watched as they came in and sprayed six columns of 110mm bullets and then drop their bomb payload on a few of the Covenant artillery pieces. A smirk tugged at Sena's face and then quickly faded as he saw the enemy air support.
Seven Seraph fighters came out of no where and fired their plasma weapons at the human fighters. The trio of Longswords split from their formation and began to engage the new threat. Red bullets screamed out of their turrets chipping away at the Seraph shields. A few shots broke through and one enemy fighter detonated in a shower of sparks and a smoldering chassis that fell to the ground. There were five sudden flashes of blue and orange fire and two of the human fighters were intercepted by the alien craft. They flashed away and sent flaming shrapnel plummeting to the ground. Sena closed his eyes at the sight and from that moment on he knew he was going to die. He stayed in that state for a long time and began to shudder.
There was a sudden jolt on his shoulder. The marine's eyes popped opened only to see a fellow human grabbing him and trying to throw him back into the fight. The marine spoke to Sena, even yelled at him, but he could not hear the man. He wondered if it were the explosions going off, or the screams all around him that got to him, maybe even the fresh memories of his fallen comrades. It was none of them. Sena had fallen into shell shock. All he could do was stare into the black void of the marine's helmet and into the vacuum of space beyond that. The man gave up on him and leaned up against the rock they were behind and fired at the Covenant position.
Sena watched as he fired. The orange flashes gave away their position in the night. Suddenly the man's head jolted back and a spray of air and blood came from his helmet. Again it jolted and a thin blue beam of energy was seen. It was a sniper. Sena froze with fear. The corpse fell slowly to the ground due to the one-third normal gravity and crashed on the powdery dirt of the planet. Air continued to spray from the multiple fissures and cracks in the corpse's helmet. Sena reached over and closed the air release valve. He disconnected the air tank as well as the spares and put the in his satchel. He then poked his head above the rock to take a look at what Covenant forces were left.
He saw got a brief glimpse of dozens of Grunts with their chromed armor and weapons accompanied by the bird like Jackals with their forward energy shields in position. Beyond that were the intact artillery pieces still hammering away at the humans. It was a hopeless situation. He ducked his head back down and began to dig a deeper hole for himself. A deeper, inevitable grave.
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Seven Hours Later
The Chief leaned out the back of the Pelican and looked down at the scorched battlefield. It was pockmarked with glowing craters tinged red, several Warthogs, Ghosts and the like were scattered giving off thick clouds of smoke, many bodies lay on the ground next to them, both human and alien. John shook his head at the waste of lives ad resources.
" Is anyone else left? " he asked Cortana.
" Scanning...." She replied, " Covenant presence topside is at 2 percent of original complement...all UNSC forces are not showing any signs of life. So no, Chief, it doesn't seem so. " He gave no response. It wasn't like it was anything new to him. Men and women died in large quantity nearly every time the two armies met each other, but the human numbers were dwindling fast. Soon such large wastes of people could no longer happen and everyone will be gone. The Covenant would see through to that.
He now wished that Kits hadn't of only sent him in on this operation. Having at the very least one other Spartan would have been a blessing. But orders are orders.
" Okay then. Let's see how close we can get to that structure without being shot down. " The Chief said walking towards the Pelican's cockpit. " Ellerman how close can we get to the structure without detection? " The Navy pilot cocked his head around and looked at the Chief. He then looked at the displays on his helmet's visor.
" We can evade Covenant detection systems by landing about 340 meters from the Forerunner facility. Any closer and we'd be spotted on their radar. ETA to the LZ is 10 minutes. " Ellerman replied. The Chief nodded accepting this answer and loaded up on ammunition. He snagged an MA5B and screwed a silencer on the end. The suppression device gave a click signifying it was secure. He also took an MA8A and about 300 rounds for each weapon.
The Pelican banked in hard and slowed as it neared a large crater. The dropship came to a halt and drifted down towards the surface. It stopped four meters from touchdown and the Chief hopped off. He felt himself fall slowly and then impacted on the surface sending up a small cloud of dust. Low gravity combat he thought great just what I don't need.
"We'll come by later in approximately 4 hours should you not give us a call back. Good luck Chief. " Ellerman said over the radio. With that the Pelican lifted off and flew into the darkness. He watched it leave and then quickly gave the area a look around. It was clear and the Chief immediately headed out to see what the hell was wrong with the place.
Yet another note: I know it wasn't the best, but I did what I could with my limited time. Please be patient with me. And yes I know it was short.
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