Sent To Protect and Serve Humanity

Chapter 64: Clock Strikes Midnight

3rd POV

For what could be the final time, the heavens above Remnant were alight with plasma, kinetics, hardlight, and biological weaponry. Despite their obvious numerical superiority, the Alliance's Navy was forced to maintain a distance to avoid being cut down and butchered by the Infected, lest they become a part of the infection themselves.

While the Alliance may have vanquished the Covenant without permanently losing a single warship, the amount of damage they had sustained was catastrophic. It was so bad to the point that Daring, being just barely mobile, had plenty of the holes in his hull patched with a thin layer of sheet metal. Not to mention that most of the fleet was running low on munitions as well as the several ships that were simply unable to fight, such as Manitoba, Tenacious, Augsburg, Jubilant, Risorgimento, Euology, and Pandemonium.

"All remaining squadrons of strike craft are to be launched!" Eos ordered, gallantly pointing at the Infected. "Maintain your distances!" She ordered her fleet.

What little smaller crafts the Alliance had leftover began to pour out of their respective warships. A combination of Pelicans, Phantoms, Banshees, Longswords, Seraphs, and several other crafts began to reinforce the others already on the battlefield. Godspeed's final Saber shot out of his hangers and immediately shot down an infected Longsword before punching right through a Seraph and launching its missiles at the Infected.

The hostile warship quickly focused some of its point-defense toward the single aircraft, allowing a wave of Longswords a brief window of time to close the distance. Moving with incredible speed, these bomber variants of the Longsword were quick to empty their payloads across one of the MAC Cannons of the Infected. Unfortunately, the hostile warship would detonate a series of missiles within the midst of the air wave and hit the remaining crafts with its point-defense, turning the entire bombing wing into scrap.

"It's sustained damage!" Raptor was quick to call over the radio. "We're going in for a run!" She waved the enhanced frigate over.

As Courageous began to line up her hardlight lance, she noticed one key feature about the Infected. "It's MAC Cannon isn't repairing!" She shouted as she and the other frigate prepared to fire.

"That must mean-" Spring felt the realization dawn on her. "All units, focus fire on its uninfected weapons!"

Instead of having to dodge two MAC slugs, the French feline only had to evade one, giving Raptor the perfect opportunity to strike. As the Forerunner frigate neared the target, the Infected made an unprecedented charge toward her.

"By the Builders-" Raptor managed to get out as her hardlight lance went off, slamming into the creature's claw once more.

The poor frigate was caught off guard by a swarm of missiles and bones, so she could never see the incoming force. As Courageous broke off from the strafe as she usually would, she turned to watch Raptor get snatched by the throat.

"Maintain distance!" Eos repeated as she watched Valorous attempt to cross their boundary. "Continue firing!"

Just as it began to reform its claw, the Infected was slammed in the back by a concentration of three MAC rounds. This brief moment allowed Raptor the opportunity to kick the creature away, only to get slashed at and have her left hand sliced off before managing to flee.

This time, Spring would speak up. "Do NOT let it get close to you! It looks like that claw can cut through anything!" She exclaimed as the Infected let out a silent, seemingly enraged roar.

Out of anger, the Infected violently swung its now regenerating claw around him, wildly swinging at the small strike craft that swarmed it as its tentacles snatched some out of the space nearby.