Halo: Fireteam Phoenix

Chapter 5: Hammer Strike

The following Tuesday, Derek entered the mess hall as Marie finished her breakfast. She ushered him over. Pulling out a chair he said, "We'll have to hurry. The commander is getting impatient."

"I understand." 

For a week of rest, Sarah had been nigh-on psychotic with her schedule and training. Still, they had time for a game of twenty questions. "Derek, how did it go when we left? At the forest,"

The question caught him off guard. It had been a week since the scuffle at the forest, as it had been dubbed. High up had attempted to censor any reference to the covenant, hoping to prevent panic. All that had caused was gossip, in turn leading to 'one platoon' developing into a full-scale invasion force. 

Regardless, Derek hadn't expected her to ask. She was usually quite withdrawn and, considering the event was a week old, he thought she was well versed in the events. He indulged her nonetheless. "I think we had a worse night than you did," he winked, ignoring Marie's scoffs. "It went well. We had a few casualties, Bam's cousin took a needle, a couple more guys went down. Covvie's had more, we almost got em all. Problem now is finding where they came from." 

Derek was about to ask her why she was so curious when Richard joined them, adding, "It's not like them to assault something like that with no real reason. They can't have known we were there, and you didn't need an armada like that for what we found. Big silver building? Fat chance. Speaking of, what did we find?" 

Derek shrugged. Marie said, "It is most likely an artefact or weapon they prefer we not possess. I witnessed an ONI operative requisition the live doctor."

"Fucking hell, we're in bed with ONI now?" Derek's eyes were wide.

"Derek, ONI made us for God's sake!" Richard said. "Besides, how can a scrawny spook scare you? You're seven feet tall."

"ONI's trouble. Trust me." Shovelling a final mouthful of stale cereal into his mouth, Derek walked out. Richard and Marie soon followed.

Sarah opened a chest containing a small recording device. "Spartan Commander Sarah B133, mission brief March 4th, 2548. In attendance, Colonel Ariana Duven, Spartan Lieutenant Commander Aaron B183, Spartan Lieutenant Marie B256, Spartan Warrant Officer Richard B341 and Spartan Sergeant Major Derek B221." She put the recorder down and paused for breath.

 "Our newest assignment concerns our discovery on the 24th of February, an unidentified structure. The Office of Naval Intelligence has provided information to aid further study."

"Other colonies have confirmed the presence of similar structures. All reports point to origin other than covenant. ONI information suggests the covenant attribute religious significance to the structures."

Sarah paused now. It was time to admit the hard truth. "We have detected a significant covenant presence on Haven. A strike force is being mobilised to attack the heart of this force, codenamed OPERATION: HAMMER STRIKE." The spartans were uneasy, previously unaware of the brewing covenant invasion. Derek had to stop himself from spewing with questions. 

"A CAS-class assault carrier carrying a complement of two CCS-class battlecruisers has been detected above the Vojvodina peninsula. On the peninsula, multiple spires of unknown purpose have been detected. Authorization was provided for the Charon-class frigate Sunbreaker to provide air support."

As the recording ended, Derek erupted with anger. "There's been more covenant on the planet this whole time, and we didn't know?" 

"Sergeant major, know your place! Surprise is our best bet here. If you didn't know we'd identified them, do you think they did? We need surprise."