Attack on Sol (Part 7)
Posted By: Slit Throat
Date: 10 June 2004, 7:11 PM
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The Master Chief stepped up to the control panel next to the door. The odd purple symbols glowed and flickered as if they had a life of their own. The controls also looked oddly familiar. The Chief touched one, hoping it was the one that opened the door.
The large blast door gave a low moan and slowly slid open, surprising the Grunt who was on guard duty. The opening door did not surprise it as much as the four bullets that took its life.
The Spartans stepped through the doorway into the two way hallway. Neither direction gave any indication of leading to their objective.
"Well, which way?" asked Will. The Chief pointed down the right hand corridor.
"That way."
"Are you sure?" asked Fred, peering down the hall. "It doesn't look any different than the other one."
"There's only one way to find out," replied the Chief as he started down the hall. The rest of the Spartans followed.
The chosen hallway took several abrupt turns to the left and right. There were also routes that branched off, but the Master Chief continued to go straight.
The corridor took one last right turn and ended at a door. As with most standard Covenant doors, this one was proximity activated. The door slid open to reveal a cavernous room with all manner of machinery humming away. In the center of the room was a large cylindrical container filled with a bright blue liquid that was being spun at a tremendous speed. Many wires ran off the machine into the upper floors of the room.
There were several Covenant engineers moving around near the machine and a squad of red armored Elites guarding them. The Spartans moved behind two large supply crates to either side of the door to avoid notice.
"This must be Engineering," said Cortana. "I would guess that that machine is the power generator for the entire base. If we can disable it, it would shut down the power and confuse the Covenant, which would make our job much easier."
"Would blowing it destroy the base?" asked the Chief.
"The explosion would disable much of the base but I doubt that it would destroy it outright," answered Cortana.
"Disabling the machine would also give away our cover so that's out of the question," said the Chief. "I suggest we neutralize the guard and come back later."
"That might work, but what do you intend to do while we're here once the guard's gone?" asked Cortana.
"Can you infiltrate the Covenant computer systems and pull up some schematics so we can get to the command center and the other targets?"
"That shouldn't be too hard unless they have an A.I. in the system," assured Cortana.
"Then it's settled," said the Chief. He motioned for Linda to cover the upper galleries while he, Fred and Will took out the rest.
The patrol of red Elites had had their backs to the door, but when it opened, five of them turned toward it. Not seeing anyone, the Elites relaxed but did not turn back around. The Engineers floated through a door at the back of the room.
The Chief poked his head around the supply crate and took aim at the Elite at the end of the line. He heard Linda shift as she prepared to fire. The Chief made a flicking gesture toward the Elites and the Spartans opened fire. Three of the Elites went down and another fell from the upper gallery as Linda's shot found a target.
The remaining seven Elites on the ground floor were confused but smart enough to get behind cover. The Chief's last shot hit an Elite in the leg, but he fell behind the power generator. The other Elites got behind the generator as well and fired at random over the top.
"Keep them pinned down," ordered the Chief, "Fred, you're with me." The two Spartans crouched and moved behind a large silver machine that was making a high pitched humming sound, barely heard over the fire being exchanged.
The Chief and Fred moved to the left side of the machine and peeked out. The Elites had left their flanks exposed which made the Spartan's job much easier.
The Chief made another flicking gesture and threw a grenade as Fred opened fire. The nearest Elite's shields faded just as the grenade landed on its face. The alien stood up and tried to claw the grenade off, but to no avail. The explosion took out five of the seven remaining Elites and dropped the shields of the other two. Two more quick shots by Fred ended the firefight.
The four Spartans moved into the open, still on the alert. The Chief motioned Linda and Will up the ladder on the far side of the room. He and Fred covered the door.
"All clear Chief," came Linda's voice over the com a few moments later.
"Okay," responded the Chief, "you and Will hold your position, I'm going to get us the coordinates for the command center and the weapons control station."
"Acknowledged," said Linda. The Chief signaled for Fred to continue to cover the door while he walked over to a computer terminal and inserted Cortana's chip.
"I'm in Chief," she said. "Surprisingly, there is no Covenant A.I. in the system. Maybe they have not had a chance to install it as yet. Ah, here are the coordinates." Two NAV points appeared on the Chief's HUD.
"The one to the left is the weapons control center. That exit is on the top floor. The other is the command center which is out of the door behind you."
"Good work Cortana, thank you," complimented the Chief. "Prepare to move out," he switched to his team's freq, "Spartans, it's time to split up. Will and Linda, you will neutralize the weapons control center. Fred and I will take the command center. Uploading the coordinates now. We'll rendezvous back here when done. Any questions?" Silence. "Then lets move!"
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