Only On Paper

4 - Skies of Fire

That should get their attention.

The alarm sounds off with a long, shrill tone that warbles across the rocky trenches. The sound itself was potent enough that I can hear it even when the helmet's audio feed cut off.

Two months of scouting, two months of planning, two months of laboring, and now the ball is finally rolling. After consulting with my Orders Assignment, I had gleaned that the Vanguard is looking to eliminate Valus Ta'aurc of the Cabal command. For as long as I've been around, Ta'aurc's name has carried weight. It seems like a lot of people are scared of him - and rightfully so, as he commands arguably one of the strongest armies in the solar system. I don't see what the issue is, since the Cabal haven't made a single move toward Earth... well, ever.

As far as I know, the Imperial Regiments on Mars are as lost as Earth and her forces after the Fall. The Cabal only set up shop on Mars when they couldn't reach the rest of their vast empire. They have never made any threatening moves towards Earth or Humanity, only gunning down threats as they appear in the Exclusion Zones of the red wastes. It helps their case that they took Mars after humanity abandoned it during the Fall, like soldiers of Earth's old wars finding respite in abandoned homes.

It's not my place, though. I'm not the one making the calls, pushing the paperwork, or plotting moves on the tactical boards. I'm just the gun. I'm the primer. I'm the fiery hell that enemies of the Light will have to face before their own life is stamped out.

Of course I myself must endure a different kind of hell, as my plan unfolds. The disorienting scream of the distant alarm is a fruit of my work. Through a series of relays and beacons I was able to trick the Exclusion fields into believing that a fleet of Hive Tomb ships were entering orbit over the Meridian Bay. The tone of that alarm was designed to reach far into the red wastelands, that even if the signal transmitted to Cabal High Command was interrupted, the entirety of their forces were bound to hear it.

It took less than a minute for the first Harvesters to trawl low over the horizons to the west. Then from the north. The largest group, however came from the east. The canyon passes that direction were large enough it made sense that Ta'aurc's Imperial Land Tank would come scooting in that way. A few more minutes and the giant red dust butt in the east confirmed what I was expecting. If I didn't know what I was looking for, I would believe that there was one of Mars' famous dust storms heading my direction.

I move slowly into my pre-meditated cover, as not to be picked up by the Harvester's long-range sweep sensors. My distraction alarm was a fair distance away, but it wouldn't take more then ten minutes of hard sweeps to conclude that the alarm was false. However, an alarm designed to bring in the entire weight of the Imperial Regiment with a quickness is not tripped by accident. It was partly a blessing that the Vex had been sighted through Meridian Bay, they would be scapegoated into the Cabal's rush for an answer.

All in all, I have maybe twenty minutes before a whole army is mobilized on top of me. My plan can be executed in twelve if I move just right. If my Ghost calculated correctly - and it always did - I should be able to skirt the mesa and reach the Land Tank in no less than four minutes. Of course if I could TransMat my Sparrow it'd be a shade faster. Unfortunately, moving as fast as I was going to have to was also bound to draw unwanted attention. As long as the Cabal were convinced it was the Vex, I shouldn't be bothered by much more than a small investigative force. Until I enter that tank, then all bets are off.

The westerly Harvesters are right overhead now.

>://

Thirty seconds. Prepare to move

\\:<

The mute message comes from my Ghost. I edge to the outlet of my cover. The timer in the bottom edge of my helmet silently counts down.