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Part 1: When a grunt's in trouble... The space around Sigma Octanus I was filled with debris. Everywhere you looked, there were meteors from large asteroids that had been blasted apart, scrap metal from past battles and frozen pieces of rock orbiting the planet. After the planet had been glassed, the Covenant had begun sending it's ships through this sector, reestablishing their navigational bearings and reentering slipstream. It was because of the amount of objects in space that helped them do this without human interference. No one would notice the small stealth probe placed there, that served as a warning to the Covenant ships... The red armored grunt sat in the sensor pod, leaning back in his chair looking slowly from sensor to sensor. For such a remote place, there had been a great deal of human activity here today. There were a few destroyers that came in system that he had to notify the fleet about. But they were chased off within a few moments. A few bombers passed through the system too, which the grunt found quite odd, but called in the fleet once more. A few of the fighters were destroyed, but most managed to make it away. The natural paranoia of the grunt, that was a characteristic of his race, made him wonder what the humans were up to. He felt as if they knew he was there, but there was no way they could. The small pod was jet black, sporting camouflage for tight situations, as well as being so small that it could not have been noticed. It was also smaller then any other Covenant ship and required next to no power to run, partly because it had no energy shielding. The only time one of the Covenant's sensor pods was found was while one was moving out of the system. But he had no reason to move. He liked it where he was. Safe and fighting the humans in his own way - without being on the battle field. The grunt's eyes slowly sifted to the last sensor, to see something that wasn't quite right. There was movement of black on black, as well as a few objects that hadn't been there an hour before. He quickly punched patches of the holopanel in front of him to see what he feared. Two stealth ships, a stealth bomber and a small shuttle moving toward him. He hit a patch signaling a distress signal to the Covenant fleet. But he knew it would take them at least ten minutes to reach this place. Then it might be too late... The grunt was pulled from this thought when he heard a warning flare; Incoming Archer Missiles. This pod wouldn't be able to stand one Archer, let alone multiple. They began exploding in the space around him. They had not acquired a lock, but the grunt was too scared to care. He quickly hit the throttle, and went flying into space. As soon as he did so, there was another alarm sounding. This one long and monotonous. A missile lock. The grunt cried, as the pod was hit. Surprisingly, nothing was destroyed, but the ship was completely dead. An EMP blast had hit the pod, causing it to go dead. After thirty seconds, the shuttle had picked up the pod and it had been attached to it's hull, as the Covenant fleet arrived. The stealth ship slowly began to move to a randomized slipstream vector, in time to escape and leave the Covenant fleet behind, without them having a chance to determine their exact coordinates. "Yes, sir, we have successfully captured the Covenant Navigation Pod," Captain Marshall said to the holographed man standing in the holotank in front of him. "We are beginning to take apart its Nav base now, we currently have 4 locations... no, make that 5 Covenant locations." The man standing in the hologram nodded. "Good work Marshall. This could potentially save the human race! Good work. Come out of Slipstream and head toward Earth as quickly as you can!" the man said. "Yes, Admiral," Marshall said, saluting. Admiral Stanforth returned the salute, and faded away. The count of coordinates in front of him changed to six. All of the coordinates were unmarked, providing no clue as to what they were. But all the same, it would no doubt provide the humans with an advantage that could win the war. The grunt heard the engines of the ship above him stutter, signaling they had come out of slipstream. He knew now that there was no way for him to be saved, and he would soon die at the hands of the humans. But if he was going to die, he was going to save the Covenant's Nav database in the progress. Marshall prepared to reenter slipstream, giving his orders to his junior lieutenants, when something came to his attention. On the screen in front of him was the display of both the Covenant ships data, as well as their ships. The engines on the ship below him seemed to be powering up, to the point of overheating. "Lieutenant George, what's going on with that pod's engine?" Marshall quickly demanded. He quickly checked the engines of the craft, surprised to see what was on the viewscreen. "What the hell? The engine temperature is rising at an incredible rate! Detonation in 10!" George frantically yelped. "Disengage! All power to engines!!" Marshall barked. The crew jumped into action, but was too late. The stealth ship had only gotten a kilometer away when the pod detonated. The plasma explosion would be enough to destroy a city the size of New York, and easily engulfed the stealth ship and the bomber, destroying them both. The pod and the bomber were vaporized instantly, with the hull of the stealth ship floating lazily through space. Before the pod detonated, the stealth ship had time to send a mayday that was intercepted within an hour. The Covenant pod had sent a series of messages, only to be intercepted by one ship that was within the range of the weakened communications system. The mayday arrived merely seconds after the destroyer, Heracles, came out of slipstream. Lieutenant Colonel Bates quickly read the transmission. A stealth cruiser and bomber both being in one place at once, and both being destroyed at one time? Something was up. Bates pressed a button on his command chair to prepare the AI they had deactivated after entering slipstream; the AI hadn't been working properly. The mysteries of how it came into being were shrouded by many rumors, few people actually knowing. All he knew is that it was not human, and something about it rubbed him the wrong way. A moment later a voice came over the PA in the bridge. The AI had recently been place on the ship, and was apparently so new to operation that it had yet to have found a form to shape in the holotank, which Bates had considered odd. The voice had a slight english accent, and had the same high-pitched know it all attitude that Bates also disliked. "Yes, Lieutenant Colonel Bates?" the voice said. "Begin thawing the troops, looks like we're headed into another battle," Bates responded, hating the fact that he had to work with such an irritating AI. "Yes, right away sir!" the voice said, chipper and eager as always. "The Spartans will be most pleased to be operating once more!" "Uh, this may be an odd request, but could you try to tone it down?" Bates asked, with a frown on his face. "Why, whatever do you mean, sir?" the voice was still as irritating as before. It drove into the LT's head like a dentist drill. "Never mind, Spark, never mind," Bates said. Despite his attitude toward the AI, Bates had to admit, the AI had a vast knowledge, as well as astounding battle tactics. Despite this, Bates knew that as all 'smart' AI's, this one would die in seven years. And he hoped he could be around to witness it. Part II: When a Spartan's on a mission... Teff, the Master Chief of the Spartan IIIs, had only been awake for an hour or so, and he had already suited up for the mission that he was given, even though they were still thirty minutes out of the position and still in slipstream. Teff had also made sure the rest of his Spartans were ready. Something big was always going on when a stealth cruiser was found, but to have both a bomber and cruiser meant something especially large. Perhaps a Covenant force foiled an intelligence breakthrough? Only time would tell. Bates had made sure that Teff knew he would be together with Spark on this mission. For one thing, Bates hated the damn AI, but it would also aid Teff quite a bit in battle. The AI's past had been shrouded in mystery, only Teff, the Spartan IIIs, and a few technicians on the planet Thermopylae knew of it. During a past operation, the Spartans first, they had boarded a ruined Covenant cruiser called 'The Advocate' and had encountered a small ancient AI by the name 343 Guilty Spark. The small robot had been destroyed, but his databanks had been recovered, providing a wealth of information, including the new MarkVI MJOLNIR suits the Spartans wore. From the databanks, they were able to recover Spark's personality, including all of the data and normal functions of a shipboard AI. Seeing as the Heracles didn't have any AI currently, they decided to issue the AI to Teff and the ship Heracles while he was active on it. As the Spartans made their last check of weapons, and other miscellaneous items and equipment, LT Bates stepped through the door. Thanks to their enhanced senses, all of the Spartans immediately leaped to their feet, saluted, and yelled in unison, "Officer on deck!" Teff could tell immediately the LT wasn't used to quite a response. He stood there stunned for a moment. "At ease," Bates began, but the Spartans didn't move. Bates returned the salute, and they all lowered their arms. "Well, I have spoken with Admiral Stanforth, and it appears this operation may be more important then we all realized. It seems that after entering the Sigma Octanus I, a fleet was ambushed by a far superior Covenant force. The group immediately fled the system with next to no casualties. An hour later, fighters from a reconnaissance picket of ours came in system, and were once again confronted by a superior force then theirs. Seeing as the fleet hadn't arrived, they were suspicious. They caught a signal being sent from a large debris field moments before the Covenant arrived. After word of this had gotten to Stanforth, he deployed the stealth ships in an effort to find out what was happening. After a sweep, they picked up a tiny signal that seemed to be emitting a small amount of power. They began firing missiles at it, hoping to draw it out. They found a sensor pod, disabled it, and were on its way back to earth when, apparently, the pod exploded. Now, the cruiser had found some major coordinates concerning Covenant-predicted space. It is possible, however miniscule, that this information survived the blast. You must find the remains of the ship, find the bridge, and try to retrieve this information. This information could prolong the life span of the human race, because, as you know, we are not faring well. The Covenant is most likely going to beat us there. That is why you are going in, not the technicians. Any questions?" Dawson, one of the largest Spartans, nearly seven feet tall, raised his hand, and Bates nodded to him. "Is there any prediction on the size of the Covenant force?" Dawson asked. "For all we know, they could have no clue that this is going on, but the ONI spooks don't want to take that chance. They want this information, at any cost." "Don't worry, sir," Teff said, finally lowering his salute. "When the Spartans have a mission, we get the job done." When the Heracles came out of slipstream, it immediately scanned the area. Surprisingly, the only thing in the area was one Covenant small cruiser. Some of these ships were known to not carry shields, but instead, hordes of troops for boarding ships. This was not the case with this cruiser, as when the Heracles entered the system, its shields had just come up, sending a grey sheen over the entire cruiser. The Spartans had already boarded their Pelican, and were waiting for the go-ahead from the bridge. Within a few moments, Bates came on the PA. "Spartans, we have a Covenant cruiser in sight, with their personnel pods heading towards us and the stealth cruiser. Advise that some Spartans stay behind to defend the ship. The stealth cruiser is completely powered down, except some areas in the bridge, which means gravity is down." "Sir," Dawson spoke to Teff. "I volunteer my services to defend the Heracles. I like my gravity as it is." Teff couldn't see below his helmet, but he knew he was smiling. Dawson was, by far, the least qualified for no gravity combat. Nine other Spartans volunteered to stay behind, the other ten, commanded by Teff, were headed for the Heracles. "Spartans, be ready with thruster packs to jettison the Pelican," Teff said as they left the hangar. "If we get incoming plasma, there's no way this baby will hold together." Just as Teff said that, he saw red motes light appearing on the scout ship, and heard a loud blaring indicating a target lock. Part III: Gravity's a Spartan's best friend As soon as Teff had heard the alarm, he knew the Pelican was done for. He began barking out orders, and getting ready to jump as soon as he could. "Grab anything you can carry and take it with you! But nothing that will burden us too much!" Teff yelled over the blaring alarm. Within six seconds of the alarm going off, Teff's entire team at exited the Pelican and were now using their thruster packs to head in closer to the leftover of the stealth cruiser's hull, but Teff stayed behind. "Excuse me, shouldn't we abandon this craft?" Spark asked, surprisingly quiet so far. Teff responded, "If this baby's going down, she's going to help take out that Covenant ship. With that Teff hit the thrusters on the Pelican so they would jam at maximum speed heading straight towards the Covenant ship which was now only a few hundred kilometers away. Teff abandoned the Pelican, in time to see the large red bolts of plasma fly over top of the Pelican, skimming the top and heading toward the Heracles. A plasma torpedo on the other hand hit the Pelican, but not to stop it's forward momentum. The Pelican crashed at full speed into the Covenant ship, sending it toppling through the vaccuum of space. One MAC round hit the spinning ship, destroying what little was left of it. Dawson and his group of Spartans hadn't even finished readying their equipment when the announcement came over the PA. "Covenant boarding craft landed, decks A through F, give em hell marines!" Bates yelled over the PA. "You heard the man!" Dawson yelled to his team. "Let's give those marines a hand! On the double!" With that the Spartans sprinted towards the closest deck, F. They had reached it within five minutes of running, one end of the vast ship to the other, to see the marine forces in the area had been obliterated. They hid in a corridor that was just outside the Covenant troop's position. "We have tons of enemy signals on the motion tracker, sir," Private Huds said. "From the looks of their movement, they seem to be reinforcing. I am picking up energy levels that match those of stationary shields." "They're digging in? Why don't they move toward the bridge?" Dawson questioned out loud. "Maybe they know we're here," Sergeant Powell said. "It doesn't matter. All that matters is that we keep them from reaching the bridge. So lets do it," Dawson said, loading his Assault Rifle and releasing the safety. As Teff floated toward the floating hulk of the stealth cruiser, he could see just how much damage it had taken; the back end had been completely vaporized, the middle section melted, and the front was still mostly intact. The bridge seemed to be the least damaged area of the ship, which would help them get the coordinates. "Alright people," Teff spoke over an open comm channel to all his Spartans in space. "Enter through the life pod junction, deck 4-A." Lights winked over his HUD letting him know his team acknowledged. A Nav point appeared on his HUDs, as well as all of the other Spartan's. "Sir, the Covenant pods are landing now," Boarders said over the open channel. He was the first to leave the Pelican, and apparently the closest to the ship. The Spartans all flew into the hole where the life pods once were, and prepare to blow the door open. They had reached the life pods without Covenant interference. Perhaps they thought the Spartans had gone down with the Pelican. "Spark, can you find a way to open this door?" Teff seemingly spoke to himself. "Yes, give me just a moment," Spark said in his irritating British voice. "Why did we have to reactivate that little bas-" Boarders began. "There, the door is powered down! You should be able to open it freely now!" Spark said in his extremely chipper voice. "Thanks Spark, good work," Teff said. He knew this was Spark's first combat oriented mission, so he decided to encourage the AI. "Oh thank you, Master Chief. I don't like to brag, but I seem to have you ships systems 'licked', as you would say. It seems that-" Spark began. "Spark, in combat, we don't explain. We do as we're asked and we shut up," Teff said, beginning to have a dislike for the AI already. "Oh... I see... so sorry!" Spark said. Boarders lowered and shook his head. Teff floated toward the large door, and motioned three others to help him. They all lifted with their might, but the zero gravity sent them tossing and turning in every direction. This wasn't going to work. Teff sighed. "Jackhammers up," Teff called, gesturing for the other three Spartans to move back. "We only have one, sir, but it has two rockets," Boarders informed him. "It should do the job." One of the other Spartans lifted the Jackhammer and aimed it at the door. "Everyone out," Teff yelled. The other nine Spartans came out of the cover of the ship to see thirty jackals and forty grunts heading toward them. Teff pulled out a grenade and lobbed it through the vaccuum. It landed behind the front line of jackals, sending their mangled bodies in various directions through space. There was a wink on his HUD, followed by another. The signal that the way was clear. "Everyone back in the hole!" Teff yelled. The Spartans flailed in the zero gravity, not looking quite like the super soldiers they were. "I have mapped out your route, follow each of the Nav points I have set," Spark said over the open channel as the last of the Spartans slipped inside of the ship. Spark was efficient, but a little over the top. Teff set a Lotus anti-tank mine just inside the life pod door, and set the proximity charge. If anything was coming in, it would have a hell of a surprise. The Spartans began wandering through the passages of the stealth ship. Teff had never been on board one, so it was a good thing that Spark had laid out a map. For the most part, the ship was intact. At times the Spartans would run into beams that had collapsed through the roof, or huge gashes through the bottom of the ship. The lack of gravity also slowed their trek. They had reached the bridge without coming close to any other Covenant. Teff inserted Spark into the holotank, and the bridge instantly flared to life. "Gathering coordinate data now," Spark said. "Good, we need to get back to the Heracles," Teff said. "Oh dear!" Spark suddently yelled. "Oh my oh my, this is not good!" "What is it Spark?" Teff yelled at the confused robot. "Coordinate data gathered, but we have to get out of here! No time for an explanation!" Teff grabbed Spark and fired his thruster pack, sending him down the hallway. His Spartans followed close behind. "Shit!" he heard one of the Spartans yell. With that there was a large explosion, sending the ship's hulk spiraling. Part IV: Be Vewwy Quiet. I'm Huntin' Grunts Dawson examined his motion tracker. Nearly every signal that was on it before had disappeared. That was potentially forty Covenant troops that had just all stopped moving for no reason. Dawson hit the side of his helmet to see if only his suit had a slight malfunction, but it was dead on. Dawson took out his fiber optic probe, plugged it into the side of his helmet and snaked it around the corner. Dawson was wrong when he had said forty. There were easily eighty grunts in the long corridor that housed what used to be twenty life pods. At the end of the hall, he caught a glint of something shining. He wasn't sure what, but he bet it wasn't good. Dawson whispered to his team of nine Spartans, trying to keep his voice barely audible. "There's no cover out there. Although they are grunts, it does not mean we can head straight at them, while they're on guard and most of them with charged plasma. And I'm pretty sure I saw either a large grouping of elites, or hunters at the opposite end. If we can take care of those, we'll have no trouble with the panic stricken grunts. Any ideas?" Teff asked, looking between the Spartans. Powell spoke up first. "We can use the maintenance ducts to flank them. Half the group can head for the hunters, the other half wait here for the assault to begin. The grunts won't know what to do, especially if we can take out whatever leadership they have here." "Good idea Powell. You lead the assault from this end, I'll take Green 7-10 with me. Greens 3-6, you are under the command of Green 2. Got that?" Dawson asked. "Yes sir," the Spartans said quietly, but still with the authority that would make a leader proud. Dawson entered the duct on his behind them and motioned the others to follow. He switched on his flashlight, and began navigating the corridors. Before long, he had reached a fork. Dawson motioned for Greens 8 and 9 to take the left, the rest would go right. They reached an exit point, and Dawson immediately gestured for all lights off. They could hear the clanking of armor; definitely hunters. Dawson risked a glance. He saw two hunters, and one elite with a plasma sword. Dawson slowly moved back and informed all of Green squad. "Greens 8 and 9? Where is your exit point?" Dawson asked. "Between the grunt and elite position. We practically have a clean shot at its head. Wait..." Green 8 stopped. Her voice was much quieter now, barely audible. "The hunters are moving toward your position." "Green 2, your team ready?" Dawson asked quickly and quietly. Powell's light on Dawson's HUD winked yes. "Good, get ready to-" Dawson was cut off. The door beside him was torn away to reveal a hunter's charged fuel rod aimed directly at the group of Spartans. "Scatter!!" Dawson cried. The three of them leaped from the duct in time to see it turn to a burning crater. They could see that the elite had torn off the door, and the other hunter was expecting them to leap out. The hunter immediately hit the closest Spartan with its great shield, grunting with its might. Green 7 went flying backward, hitting a wall and sliding to the ground. The hunters began recharging right away, preparing to fire again, with the elite and his plasma sword coming closer. Suddenly, the elite's shield dimmed, and the golden behemoth fell forward, a bullet protruding from the back of it's head. Green 8 stood behind the two hunters, sniper rifle leveled. The hunters turned toward her and fired. Green 8 ducked the blasts, sending the plasma into the group of grunts that had just begun to comprehend what was happening. Dozens of grunts flew in all directions, and more screamed as he could hear MA5B's in the background. Dawson immediately ran up to one of the hunters. He stuck his shotgun into the orange flesh on the beast's back, and fired. The hunter began to bleed, but showed no signs of pain. It turned and elbowed Dawson, sending him a few feet away from where he stood before. The hunter turned to fire his next plasma burst at him. Dawson rolled out of the way, feeling heat fly over his head. He noticed the other squad moving to help him as he stood up. The hunter loomed right in front of him. It was the first time Dawson had ever seen one up close. It had no facial features, no visible eyes, nose, or mouth. Only two slits where it's eyes should be, and orange all over. The beast raised his shield and went to slam it on top of Dawson. Dawson quickly evaded, and fired his shotgun at the beast once more. The other hunter had apparently slowed Green team's progress, but he saw Green 8 come up behind the hunter. Dawson evaded another attack from the hunter in front of him, hitting the ground as the shield flew over his head. Dawson lifted his shotgun up and into the hunter's stomach. The hunter began bleeding profusely, but still showed no sign of pain. Suddenly there was an explosion behind the hunter, sending him flying through the air and impacting on the wall. Green 8 stood there, standing just out of where the fuel rod had exploded, the other hunter aiming directly at her. The grunts were nearly at wiped out, a few still trying to run to the life pods to save themselves. Dawson stood, and ran as fast as he could at the remaining hunter. He leaped at the beast, and put his shotgun right where it's mouth should have been, and pulled the trigger. The hunter went slack, and began teetering. Dawson pushed himself off the hunter, and stood back, expecting the bleeding creature to fall. Instead, the hunter shook off the pain, and leveled his fuel rod at him. Dawson leaped out of the way of the blast, revealing Green 8. The blast knocked her from her feet, and sent her toppling down the hallway. The other Spartans had finished off the rest of the grunts and began firing at the remaining hunter. The amount of targets dispersed around it appeared to confuse the hunter, but after a second of disorientation, it fired again. Green 6 and 7 rolled out of the way easily. Dawson leaped up and ran as fast as he could at the hunter. The hunter had begun to charge his fuel rod cannon, aiming directly at him. When Dawson reached the great beast again, he grabbed the fuel rod, and stuck a live plasma grenade into the barrel. "This better kill you, you sonofabitch!" Dawson then leaped back, a full four metres, in time to see the fireworks. The plasma grenade went off first, tossing the hunter's arm into the air. The fuel rod then ignited, making a green explosion thrice the size of the hunter, sending Spartans flying uninjured in every direction from the blast. When Dawson stood and looked at the hunter again, he noticed that its entire arm and some of it's shoulder had been vaporized. The rest of the armor was tarnished green, and the orange skin seemed to have been peeled off. It was quite the gruesome sight. "Someone get a medic here quick!" Powell yelled into his intercom. He stood by Green 8's body. It lied there, not moving. The armor at least had not been punctured, meaning that she was not necessarily dead, but Dawson felt horrible after what he had caused. Dawson slumped his head and walked over to Green 7. "Are you okay, Harvey? That hunter gave you a good whack," Dawson asked. "Fine. One hell of a hangover, but fine," Harvey replied. Even with the blast shield, Dawson could tell he was smiling. Harvey was always smiling. |
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