Halo: Fireteam Phoenix

Chapter 21: Under Cover of Dark

They plotted their approach. "We climb up the ridge, sticking right until we reach the treeline. From there, we move down to the brow of the hill. We report our findings back to the commander,""And then we..." "And then we wait," Marie concluded. The others nodded their understanding, pocketing their binoculars.The climb was long and arduous. It was a sheer surface of solid red stone, with few handholds. When Marie put her weight on it, it groaned. Her feet crushed the rock into fine red powder, showering Eric. He stifled a cough and carried on climbing. It didn't take too long before they stood atop the ridge. They tossed down a rope mesh to make the climb easier for the others. "Now for the easy part," Eric huffed, out of breath. "At least the others will have an easier time of it," he said, looking at the rope."We mustn't dwell here," Marie said, pointing to their destination. The damp, dewy grass was soft underfoot. It made little noise as they trekked to the reconnaissance point. As they neared the valley edge, they became more and more aware of the light changing.Night and Day no longer existed on Haven. Perpetual dusk and inky fog hung in the air. Occasionally, it grew so black and thick it was like twilight. Currently, the wind had picked up, dispelling much of the mist. Instead, they caught faint glimpses of the scarlet sky. Marie thought back to the dead city, with Richard, and shuddered. "It's getting lighter. We need to move," Ruby warned, moving faster as she spoke. The others followed in her footsteps, fully aware of the danger they were in.Marie chose a spot flat spot to lay in. They sat atop the crest of a valley. If the plan worked correctly, they would overwhelm the covenant from all sides. When Marie gave Sarah the go-ahead, a group would move around to the far side of the valley and charge in most of the vehicles they had. Whatever they had left would rush the side of the valley they had camped in.From her position and the opposite crest, a steady rain of fire would disrupt the covenant. When the vehicles broke the lines, most of those atop the valley would charge down and enter the outpost. In this throng of bodies, the Originals would break off and head up the gravity lift. At least, that was the plan. Marie knew plans rarely worked out. Regardless, they would see it done, or die trying."Commander, this is Phoenix 3. In position, over,""Go ahead Marie,""We will have our work cut out for us, commander." The outpost consisted of a broken stone wall spanning the shallow valley at each end. Between this, a small bunch of standard military buildings-barracks, mess hall, supply depot. It was built around an abandoned civilian gold boomtown. Little evidence of the mine remained. Instead, the only substantial building of original design was the 'town hall', of a sort. A rough box, the roof was supported by five great pillars, like a Roman palace. Atop the roof, a shattered dome capped the stubby walls together. From this, an eerie purple glow emanated. Marie relayed all this to Sarah, who remained silent. Marie went on. "They rush around like ants. I count approximately one hundred foot mobiles. Around a dozen at each gate, twenty five in the central plaza. The others, scattered throughout,""Roger that," Sarah replied. Her radio went silent as she ordered the initial group to flank. "Prep for insertion ASAP. No need hanging around, we just need the vehicles in position.""As you say, commander," Marie said. Her eyes never left her sniper scope. In a voice like an afterthought, she said, "I see few high ranking officers. These troops seem inexperienced. That being said..." A blaring claxon cut her off. "Merde!" "Commander, we've been spotted! Start the attack now!" Marie's sniper rang out like a starting pistol. A further chorus of gunfire roared over the howl of the wind.Back at the base, it was hectic. Sarah was trying to coordinate people who had just been confronted with reality. This was it. They had entered the war properly, now. "You, in the jeep and go. Follow Four, flank round the pass and hit them from behind. Go!"After she had mobilised the poor display of vehicles and their crews, she moved onto the bulk of the infantry. Most of the untrained soldiers were part of a suicide charge at the front gates. The most experienced, true UNSC survivors reinforced Marie atop the crest. Ideally, Sarah would join them. But these people needed a symbol, a leader to rally behind. So she started to run, ahead of the pack.Like a stampede of cattle, they thundered down the valley. They followed the whirring rumble of wheels and heavy gunfire. Flashes of yellow and orange and purple and blue lit up the night. "Keep moving!" Sarah said. She was hardly jogging, yet still headed the charge.As she neared the walls, the shoddy maintenance filled her with some hope. As soon as the bulk of the forces reach the dull red fortifications, they could flood through the gaping holes like ants and overwhelm the dozen defenders. Already, warthog turrets fired at the rock, chipping away at it. Sarah disappeared into a cloud of debris and dust, followed by her army.The hail of plasma fire tore through many a soldier, sending them flying back into the hapless horde. Plasma balls shattered the ground, sending up a rain of mud and blood and bodies. She stepped out of the blurry carnage and took in what she could. Most of them had gathered at the base of the wall. The occasional rocky outcrop or mound of debris provided ample cover to deter any push by the scared civilian force. Sarah cursed their cowardice, then berated her callousness. These people were not soldiers. Being here was more than she could ever ask. Still, they needed to make progress, and they needed to do it now.Sarah dashed forward like lightning. Before anyone realised what she was doing, Sarah scaled the wall and engaged the covenant defenders. Her SMG flashed in a crackle of gunfire, the elite's shield fizzling away. Sarah pushed closer to the elite. Another was moving to take Sarah from behind, but her motion-tracker tipped her off. Now, she was within spitting distance of the first elite. She jammed the barrel of her gun into the elite's mouth and fired again. The head exploded in a gooey cloud of purple. The corpse tumbled over the wall in a heap. The second elite had reached Sarah from behind, now. When Sarah whipped round in a flash, shattering her SMG over the elite's head, it could hardly believe what had happened. These demons must be omnipotent! Before it could react, the elite had its head seized by Sarah, who wrenched it aside witha war cry. The elite's neck snapped with a sickening crunch, and Sarah threw the body down, triumphant. The first elite's headless corpse hit the ground as the civilian soldiers first reached the wall. Emboldened by Sarah's superhuman assault, they pushed up. The cracks in the all provided an outlet for them to enter the outpost, but some, the bravest, tried to scale the wall. A great gash in the stonework separated the wall in two. It provided a rough, unstable path to the top of the wall. Climbing it was like climbing shale, but some took the duty upon themselves. They fell upon the disarrayed covenant forces like a hammer, shattering their resolve. Resistance at the wall fizzled out, and they turned their attention to the plaza.In, to Sarah at least, the background of the battle, Marie charged down the valley into the outpost. That meant the vehicles had arrived to engage the far side. Good, their job should be easier now. Divide and conquer. A charging elite disrupted her train of thought, but she quickly dispatched it. These were poorly trained, over-eager troops. Why? She supposed that the battle for Haven was over. There was no need to field capable troops to deal with disorganised civilian militias. They hadn't expected such an attack, thus it was suceeding.Briefly, Sarah flushed with pride. She was winning, ever so slightly. Then, her shame returned. If she had won in the first place, this would not have been necessary. These deaths could have been prevented. If she had just done her job.A crackle of plasma drew her focus back to Marie. A flock of ODSTs and marines followed her in her charge, scores of bodies littering the hillside as the plasma fire intensified. Sarah cursed and returned to her own engagement. Marie would be okay.It didn't take long to clear the wall when the others joined. Sarah didn't even kill her next opponent. Four civilians armed only with bowie knives swamped the elite, hacking it to death in a brutal display.Thankfully, she didn't have to pull them off the elite. Their bloodlust sated, they pulled themselves together. Sarah gathered the few still at the wall who hadn't charged the outpost. "Headcount?""We lost Reyes," Connor said, his eyes glistening. A few more came forward, reporting losses. Overall, around a quarter of the force perished. Not great, not terrible. Sarah hoped that the narrow streets would aid their assault. They should be able to overwhelm the defenders. Beginning their sweep, they searched every building they came across. Most were grim, empty ruins. Some riddled with covenant, which they quickly eradicated. Others, filled with corpses, which they swiftly vacated. The gravity lift drew ever closer, the mystical purple aura clear to see. "We need to reach the lift!" Sarah shouted. She bolted into the street, firing into a line of grunts who had pinned down a wounded soldier. Another three shots tore from the upper floor of the building she had left, shattering the arm and skull of a jackal that had taken aim at her. She nodded to a soldier, who was clutching his battle rifle like it was his lifeline. In a sense, it was.Aaron led the group to Sarah, who was attempting to find Marie. "Commander!" A familiar voice rang from a window. "Marie?""Yes. The others have pushed further into the outpost, but we must reach the gravity lift.""I know," Sarah replied."I have an idea," Marie said."Well? Go on," Deuce said."It is inside the town hall, correct? We can cut through the streets on the right and hijack the plasma cannons behind them. Before they know we are there, we can ambush the covenant,""There are guns on the landing pad?" Sarah asked."You didn't know?" Deuce asked."I just didn't consider it is all," Sarah said, deep in thought. It made sense. "Done. Marie, go ahead and secure those guns. We can't take the pad with that sort of firepower against us.""Negative commander," Aaron argued. "I can take that pad, guns or no." He stormed off to the gates, followed by Deuce and Connor. "Did I give you permission to leave?" "Negative commander, but we haven't got time to delegate. We have to act, now." "Son of a bitch," Sarah sighed. They both had a point. "Anyone crazy enough to follow the LC, you're free to do so. The rest of you, with me." Turning to Marie, she said, "The back route. Show me."Aaron soon realised he may have been overconfident. Eight heavy shade turrets were raining hell onto anyone who dared approach the town hall's doors. Unfazed by this, Aaron ordered the two soldiers to fire on the guns while he cleared the pad. Easier said than done. Charging out, he took a heavy amount of fire from the cannons, shattering his shield. For a while, all he could do was dodge. For a hulking brick of a man, he was shockingly fast. Superhuman speed, agility and reflexes meant he didn't struggle too much to dodge the fire. He just couldn't do anything else. It didn't take too long for other soldiers around the town hall to take an interest. Most broke off from their bug hunt to support Aaron's approach.Marie and company hadn't encountered much resistance at the rear. The infiltrated quickly, efficiently dealing with the few covenant they encountered. They circled the guns and prepared to push."Move in, I'll deal with the gunners." Marie took aim at the covenant. A calm washed over her like this was where she belonged. Aiming down a scope, her finger on the trigger. Nothing made her feel more alive than killing. At least, not now. She fired eight shots as fast as her rifle would allow. Meanwhile, the others cut through the disarrayed defenders. They tossed the last grunts from the rooftop into the battle below. "Alright everyone, take a gun position and open fire," Sarah said, taking the centre gun. The relentless rattle of the plasma cannon was infuriating, but it reduced the cornered covenant to ash in the crossfire. "Hold position until the others arrive," Sarah said, glancing around at the dancing shadows of plasma fire.They reclaimed some spare gear and embarked onto the next step of their journey. "Once we're inside, we get to the bridge and take over the ship." Sarah relayed the plan, then marched onto the gravity lift. They were unsteady as they glided into the belly of the beast. "This is it, everyone," Connor said. "Do or die," Ruby murmured."Do or die. This is for everyone we have lost," Marie spat, her voice full of venom.The hangar they entered was empty, with much of the equipment missing. "All clear,""For now," Aaron said. Marie scouted behind an abandoned wraith for any sign of the covenant. Her skin crawled. The air felt heavy. Her breath was stifled."This is wrong, someone should be here." Ruby's hands were shaking. To their endless surprise, nothing happened. It felt as if a legion should emerge from the shadows. The room was still, even the very air seemed to be afraid. It was well lit, the sourceless light casting no shadows. "You realise this is crazy, right? Who's to say we can even pilot the ship?" asked Connor"Did you get permission to bitch? Shut it, and get us to the bridge. We can worry about flying later," Eric snapped. His nerves were getting the better of him, and he knew it. "Shush! We need to be silent, or we'll never make it," Marie warned. A locked door ahead sent a murmur of discontent through the squad. "From what we understand, the cruiser should have another hangar through here. We ascend to the top, and then the bridge is on the right. This is the final hurdle people, do or die." The door opened suddenly, sending Sarah tumbling forward. The amassed covenant beyond the door opened fire, tearing into her body with waves of plasma fire.The others began to fire wildly, killing scores of the defenders. One marine was too far in the open to retreat. A needle rifle struck him down. The jagged pink projectile tore through his helmet and came out the other side, trailing blood and brain. When he hit the ground, it pooled in a halo around him. He looked shocked at the event. Eric looked down at the wide eyes in dismay. "You filthy bastards!" He began to fire erratically, stunning the covenant with his show of utter gusto and force. "Push!" Sarah exclaimed, as did her rifle. It fired quicker than they could react. Each shot was death. They passed the threshold into the hangar, breaching the covenant defences.They were in. Shade turrets and snipers entrenched atop the catwalks, taking shots at anything that moved. "We're pinned, commander!" "They're locked down tighter than a nun's knickers," Ruby joked, blasting away a flanking grunt."I noticed that, thank you," Sarah said, gritting her teeth. "You do have a way with words""I'll take that as a compliment, although right now, words are worth shit. We need actions, or better yet some good soldiers.""You've got three spartans and an ODST, what more could you want?" Eric asked."Four spartans?" Ruby's voice was unchanged like they were sharing a drink in a bar."Touché," Marie nodded, picking off a rogue jackal."We need to move, or we're going to get hemmed in." Sarah started to unbuckle her grenade belt."Going to?" Eric asked. Sarah ignored him. Instead her eyes locked on Marie."Here we go again." Marie rolled her eyes. "You know commander, if you hadn't become a spartan, you could have made an excellent athlete." "It's my signature move at this point," Sarah agreed, throwing the grenades in a smooth arc. They exploded just behind the turrets, sending them over the rim of the catwalk to the hangar below. Sarah must have detonated something fragile, as the hangar rang with a deafening explosion.The landing platform came crashing down, taking the covenant with it. Screams rang out, buried by the cacophony of the demolition. Dust filled the room, disturbing the heated combat. The tumbling debris rocked the ship, sending a docked phantom off of the roof rack and into the covenant below. The team was now on the offensive again, pushing back the covenant in the area. Some reinforcements stepped out from the doors, then promptly turned around and fled upon seeing a trio of demons. The squad reached the far side of the hangar, past the central division, when the ground shook.Like a wrestler from the top ropes, a brute chieftain leapt from the smoking remains of the central divison to the floor. Most of the squad was already flooding the corridor to the upper level. Only Eric, Aaron and Sarah remained at ground level. "Go, I can handle this," Aaron declared, slamming the door shut. But not before Eric ducked under his arm and stood by his side. "You're not going it alone." Aaron chuckled at the bravery. Insanity, more like. "Push left, get around behind him. I'll distract him,""Roger that." Eric started to slink away to the left, leaving Aaron face to face with the brute.It cut a fearsome silhouette. At around ten feet tall, it towered over Aaron. The rippling muscles beneath its bared arms were clear to see. Blood and gore stained its matted fur and its burning eyes glared from beneath a low brow. What little armour it wore was black and red, adorned in skulls, bones and trophies from foes. It tossed a gravity hammer between its clawed hands. The gravity hammer was a cruel weapon. A brutal hammer accentuated with a gravity shockwave. Down the back of the hammerhead ran a wicked blade. Rolling its head, gnashing its teeth and stamping its feet, the brute was ready to charge. "Come on you big dirty ape," Aaron muttered, pumping his shotgun.The brute finally charged, sprinting at Aaron with its hammer raised high over his head. It brought the blade down where Aaron had been stood, burying it deep. Only, Aaron was now a metre to the right with his shotgun raised. Before the brute could process that its blow hadn't landed, Aaron emptied four shots into the brute's skull. "Well done," Eric said. "You succeeded in pissing it off!" Flinging the hammer aside, the brute groped for Aaron, catching his helmet with its fist. Finding its prey, it turned and dived on top of Aaron. As it flew through the air, Aaron fired two more shots before dumping his gun and drawing his blade. The impact of the brute landing knocked him off his feet, but he held onto his dagger.The brute again charged at him, sending Aaron sprawling across the room into a wall, which dented as he hit it. Looking up at the brute as it once again prepared to charge, for what would be the final time, Aaron saw Eric. On the brute's back.Eric grasped onto the loose hair of the brute, hardly keeping his grip. His knife was between his teeth, bared in a snarl. He let go of the fur with one hand and plunged his knife into the brute's neck. The brute howled in pain at the wound, pawing dumbly into the hole as it began to piece together what had happened. Only now did it understand something was on its back. Eric knew he was running out of time to do something of note, so he started slashing and stabbing into the pulsing mass of muscle he had boarded.Aaron was recovering his bearings after the severe battering he had received. Standing up, he found he swayed like a drunkard. Shaking his head, he started to run at the brute, winding up a blow with his right hand. His clenched fist hit the brute in the chin.The impact resounded through the hangar. Aaron's fist connected like a freight train. The brute's jaw fell to pieces and it careened backwards. It sprawled out on its back, panting in agony. It looked like it might cry. Could brutes cry? That didn't matter much to Aaron, who leapt atop the downed beast, pummelling it until it stopped moving. It stopped whimpering and lay in a pile of its own rancid blood.Staggering back to his feet, Aaron turned to walk away when his legs swept from under him. The brute was still alive, and angrier than ever before. A guttural roar emanated from its chest, echoing throughout the room. It tossed Aaron like a rag doll and set eyes on Eric. Eric's blood ran cold in his veins. It ran cold from his mouth too, when the brute pinned him to a wall. That hurt like hell. He didn't know the specifics, but he'd certainly broken some bones. Most of his bones. He also felt something inside his chest that shouldn't be there. Had he been impaled?He couldn't process any of this. The pain, the situation, it was all so unreal. Screaming in pain, he took one last look down at his hand. It still clutched his bloody knife. Without conscious thought, he brought it down into the brute's skull. The dumb face dropped into a simple expression. It staggered back, waving its arms wildly. It waddled around, dazed until it finally had enough sense to swing a clawed hand at Eric's neck. The gash killed him instantly, spurting hot red blood over the brute's face and chest. Finally, the brute toppled backwards and was still.Aaron awoke to the sight of the brute's face, centimetres from his own. The shock caused him to recoil, reaching to his back for his shotgun. His hand grasped air. Memories rushed back to him, and he remembered what had occurred.A brute chieftain. A brute chieftain! Bigger than any he'd seen, tough as old boots. But it was dead, now. And he clearly hadn't done it. That meant..."Eric, you brilliant bastard."Aaron sat up, hoping to find his comrade alive and kicking. As he did so, his eyes locked with Eric's dead face. The corpse was unrecognisable. "Son of a bitch," Aaron sighed, resting his helmeted head against the man's own. "You went out on your own terms, didn't you?" Truth be told, he hadn't known the man. He was impressed he knew his name was Eric. Still, he'd seen enough of his endless bravery to respect him. In the end, it didn't matter that he was dead. They all would be, come about an hour's time. Quite a disturbing thought. Aaron tried not to dwell on it. He'd learned to die long ago. Ever since he was a child. Trading lives for time. He shuddered, seeing how cold Sarah had become. Was it really Sarah talking, ordering this assault? Or was it their conditioning? He couldn't say. Not that it mattered, now. They were doing it, and they'd see it through. Like she said, it was the best choice. They'd all die anyway, so why not take a few of the covenant with them? His eyes went back to Eric, and he smiled. At least Eric had done that. Aaron picked up the dog tags from the floor. They were coated in blood, the chain split in two. With a heavy heart, he pocketed them. He retrieved his weapons and continued up the hallway he had last seen the others follow.