Insertion: Chapter 2
Posted By: Jester<jre333@bellsouth.net>
Date: 26 May 2005, 3:01 AM
Read/Post Comments
|
0900 Hours, July 20, 2533 (Military Calendar)/
7th Planet of the Llenski System
John wasn't worried. Not yet anyways. They had faced worse in prior missions. It was certainly going to be a challenge, a challenge that he was going to enjoy as much as possible.
He slipped his helmet back on, touched a few keys on his armor, and a small holographic display brought up the schematics for the facility. The facility its self was fairly new, though it already had the frosty sheen of ice on its walls that was characteristic to this part of the planet. The main portion of the facility was a large rectangle with all the usual Covenant architecture and muted purple colors. Jutting out from the center of the rectangle was a massive shaft that went up at least 20 stories to end in a massive sphere. Patrols of grunts and jackals were constantly roaming the valley the facility was embedded in. The three Spartans had been watching the patrols and the routes they took for the past three days. They had found a small gap in the patrol routes. Unfortunately the routes were sometimes sporadic and unpredictable. John had no doubt that they would be improvising on this one.
They would try to keep the mission as quiet as possible. No blowing holes in doors unless they had to. They would try to avoid any Covenant they came across, but John knew sooner or later they would get into a situation that would force them to kill. There was no rush in killing for him. It was simply his duty to protect the UNSC. He would never fail in his duty, unless he was dead. He was unique in a way that let him accomplish things that no ordinary soldier could ever do. It was his responsibility not to waste that gift. He didn't intend to.
The Spartans didn't know where the main Covenant computer would be. John was betting that it was at the top of the "skyscraper." He hoped fervently that he was wrong. In every previous mission the Covenant had always kept a main terminal that would have all the information one could wish to know about the location where the computer was kept. If they were able to remotely hack into the computers, then this information would be useful. As it stood they only got access once they got to the computer. By that time anything on there wasn't of much use.
He could feel the "snags" in the plan already. They didn't have nearly enough explosives to take out the entire structure. He could only hope to destroy all the critical parts, maybe even activate a self-destruct. He was planning on putting most of the explosives at the base of the pillar and allowing it to do his work for him by collapsing down onto the rest of the structure. The problem was that if he were the Covenant, he would have made that pillar as indestructible as possible. He would have to be physically on site before he could do anything else.
His eyes drifted over to the sleeping bodies of Kelly and James. He should be asleep too. He just didn't trust himself not to make an error during the course of the mission. He had to make sure that he would be prepared for any instance. He had the map brought back up into his helmet's HUD.
1200 Hours, July 21, 2533 (Military Calendar)/
7th planet of the Llenski System
John's eyes adjusted quickly to the glaring sun. His eyes still hurt a little bit. He liked the feeling though. It served to remind him that he wasn't by any means invincible. Being overconfident he had long ago learned could end your life as surely as a needler round exploding in your heart could. He had finally forced himself into sleep late the previous night. He rolled over onto his back and checked the mission timer. Two hours before it was time to hit the base. He woke Kelly and James. They made no complaints as they got up. Breakfast was a little less than gourmet. Simple military food that they had all gotten used to was the standard that they all accepted. They were utterly silent as they ate. Every now and then the occasional sound of an alien animal would break the forbidding silence for a second or two.
All three got up and began to get ready. They all started checking their gear silently. He disassembled his assault rifle and then reassembled it before firing a single round to make sure it was in complete working order. He stowed the rest of his gear: two heavy pistols, a combat knife and a third of the C4. He also had four fragmentation grenades. They would each be carrying what he hoped would be enough explosives to take out the base of the pillar. As one the three Spartans threaded silencers onto the barrels of their assault rifles. John slipped his helmet on and stood up waiting for the others. They stood up a second later and all three started off at a brisk pace through the woods.
The plan was for Kelly to go ahead of the other two. She was and had always been the quickest. Assuming the way was clear they would all move ahead as planned. They cleared the tree-line 20 minutes later. John and James lay prone in the tall grass as Kelly darted ahead of them. It took no less than five minutes before they received the blue signal light in their HUD that meant "go." The two Spartans moved as quickly yet as discretely as possible. They followed the NAV marker that Kelly had uploaded to their HUD's. Kelly lay on the edge of a small ridge. The facility was no more than 200 feet from where she lay prone. John hadn't truly realized how close they were going to be to the Covenant base at this point.
"Look's like we got lucky" Kelly commented. "Seems the patrols decided to ignore this area for the time being."
John nodded and quietly gave the hand signals to go. All three were a blur of motion. They barely disrupted the tall grass as they swept through it. Their feet barely seemed to touch the ground. Kelly made it to the entrance first. Half a second later John and James arrived. John gave another signal and Kelly moved toward the door with the tiny explosive that would destroy the lock. To all of their surprise's the door swung open on its' own accord. Pain suddenly shot through his back. Dimly he was aware of watching Kelly and James fall to the floor unconscious. He tried to reach for his gun, but blackness suddenly engulfed him.
|
