Halo: Conflicts

Chapter 6: Shadows

August 22, 2552
Planet Reach
1403 hours
   
An AI speaks with a smooth female voice. "Intelligence has reported a large cluster of Covenant Wraiths on the outskirts of the city." Several images flash onto the HUDs of Nova Team. One shows a large group of metallic blue Wraiths. The next shows a Brute Chieftain looking over the force. Next is a pair of Spirits transporting the tanks. The AI speaks again. "Aside from the stationed corvettes, this group of Wraiths exceeds most other Covenant assets in the city in terms of threat level." The Spartans are in two Pelicans flying over the city. John-A222 glances at Josh-A124 and Timothy-A130 as the briefing continues.
  
"Aerial assault on this target is out of the question as our current resources are limited. Are there any questions?" The Spartans look at each other and shake their heads. "No, I think we have it." The AI responds, "Good, I will inform Colonel Holland as soon as you reach the objective." With that, the AI finishes. It is now John-A222's turn to speak. He comms to all of his Spartans, "Alright guys, check your AV-CAM units. We can't afford any mishaps." The Spartans proceed to inspect their armor supplements and sound off. The Pelicans are flying low, remaining distanced from areas of Covenant activity. They set down far on the outskirts of New Alexandria and the Spartans disembark. Each Pelican drops a Warthog. One is a Gausshog and the other is a passenger variant, lacking a mounted turret. In its place are several crates of explosives.
   
John-A222 speaks as the Spartans climb into the vehicles. "These hogs have been fitted with equipment specific to this mission. Their engines are silent. Each also has a short range frequency jammer that should keep us in the shadows." He pauses for a moment and climbs onto the gauss canon. Nathan drives the passenger hog forward, followed by Josh with the Gausshog. They are silent, as promised, save for the muffled skid over the dirt below. A222 continues, "Likewise, our explosive charges are designed to hide their signatures. This means that as long as we keep them out of sight, the Covenant won't know what hit them." The Spartans nod as the drive continues.
  
1523 hours
   
The Wraiths sit in the distance on a Covenant landing platform. The Warthogs pull up, still on natural land, and hide in foliage just below the platform. "Activate jammers." Nathan and Josh flip a switch of the Warthog controls. The sounds of Spirits and Phantoms are heard in the distance. Josh speaks, "We're going to have to do this when those dropships are absent." John nods, as each Spartan grabs a few charges. The group moves up a small hill until the team is level with the platform. Then, each Spartan disappears. A222 watches the tags move on his HUD as his Spartans disperse through the rows of Wraiths.
   
Adam-B226 tries to move quietly. He is swift until his camo flickers. The orange-clad, now transparent, Spartan stop in his tracks and he fades once more. This time, he moves slowly, maintaining invisibility. Reaching a Wraith, Adam takes a charge and places it on the underside of the tank. Looking over his shoulder, he moves to the next Wraith.
  
Timothy is careful. Stealth is not a common practice for him. He plants one of the charges and looks around for his next target.
   
Josh and John move in the same direction with ease. Stealth is a second nature for the both of them, though not commonly used. Josh stops to place his charges but John moves on. He reaches the far side of the platform and plants one charge to the guttural sound of a Brute. He looks up and sees a Brute Chieftain walking with a pair of Brutes Captains. A222 presses on his tacpad, causing a beacon to appear on the HUDs of his teammates, over the Brutes.
   
Tyler looks up, seeing the beacon on his HUD. He has just placed a charge on a Wraith and quietly moves on. He looks over and sees the tag B136 over a transparent blur. He reaches another Wraith. As he is about to grab his other charge, a Grunt rounds the corner, waddling along. Tyler lifts from his crouch and gets behind the Grunt. With a snap, the Grunt falls. Suddenly, Tyler's camouflage expires. He hides behind the Wraith as his module recharges. Once he disappears again, B037 finishes and moves back to the Warthogs.
   
Josh-A124 plants his second charge. The Brute Captains growl and turn, walking away from the Chieftain. How convenient, Josh thinks to himself. A moment later, the Chieftain falls to the ground, the friendly tag A222 next to the body. The corpse seemingly moves itself along the platform and slumps off the side of the platform. Right on schedule, Josh thinks and turns for the Warthogs.
   
A222 reaches the Warthogs, where his teammate wait. Deactivating his camouflage, John grabs a few more charges. He speaks in a hushed voice, "Alright we're almost done. Keep these things spaced out. They have a decent radius." The Spartans disappear and head up to the platform for a second time.
   
Nathan plants a charge. He looks up briefly to see where his squad is. Off to the left, he sees the tags A124, B226, and A222. As he pans over, he sees A130 and B037. He moves over to another row and plants another charge. Suddenly, he hears a mechanical 'whoosh' as a Phantom passes overhead. Several Spirits approach from the far side. All of the Spartan tags stop in their tracks.
   
Adam watches as the dropships pick up some of the Wraiths. I hope they pick up a rigged one, Adam thinks to himself. He glances on his HUD and sees that his camouflage is about to expire. No. No! NO! He grabs onto and climbs into the cockpit of the Wraith just as he reappears. Adam breathes a slight sigh of relief and his module recharges.
  
John-A222 watches as the dropships depart. He places his final charge and moves carefully back to the Warthogs. After his team arrives, he speaks. "Just about done. Go ahead and mount up in the passenger hog. Nova Two and Five, we have a few more to place." The Spartans nod and follow the Commander. This time, they move far under the platform. The landing platform is supported by three anti-gravity suspensions placed on the seashore of the natural landscape. The Spartans do their job and are soon back to the Gausshog. "Ready Nova. Let's move!" The Warthogs charge away from the platform, riding along the shore. John turns the Gauss cannon to look at the platform. A group of Spirits and Phantoms approach the platform and move to pick up Wraiths. "On my mark Tim." The blue-armored Spartan pulls out a detonator. "Three.... Two..." The dropships lift up some Wraiths. "One... Mark!" Timothy squeezes the trigger. The entire platform is consumed by flames. Several of the Covenant dropships explode and spiral into the detonating platform. The anti-gravity foundations blow up and the platform tilts. The Wraiths continue to detonate, sending debris everywhere. The platform continues to tilt until it falls to the water. The wreckage of Wraiths falls to the shore and into the water as smoke rises. The nearby land is blackened as the Spartans drive away. "That's how we get it done Spartans."