Halo: The Search

Chapter 21

January 23rd, 2557
(Vex'Redna) It was possible that we'd be battling until night; the next morning... the prison had been wiped and there were only dead bodies of brutes.

"Looks like the brutes lost a completely one-sided battle. Does that mean the prisoners escaped?" Victor was speculating out loud, thinking of possibilities towards the whereabouts of the prisoners.

"Commander, I got something." Garret walked over to the corner of a corridor, surrounded by cells left and right. In the corner was a security camera. He took out a chip from it, sticking it into a cartridge in the side of his helmet.

"Transmitting feed..." Everyone stood in silence as Commander Huff analyzed the video, providing no feedback to what he was seeing. Instead, everyone but me and Victor turned to look in a specific direction, obviously receiving a marker from Huff.

Victor was in marine attire. He had an olive green armor set with some black counterparts, serving as padding for his joints. At this point, Victor was tall enough to fit the look. He even made it look good, given the training he was put through. The sixteen year old had hit his growth spurt early, standing at 6'1'' with a define and chiseled body that he earned through training; he looked older than his age. His face was still young looking, a lack of facial hair to help people determine his youth. Under the helmet was his matted, sandy brown hair. Along with his defined jaw and slightly arched nose were his hazel eyes with bits of green scattered throughout the pool of color around his iris. His skin tone wasn't tan, nor was it albino. Being inside the frigate, only to leave for missions, hadn't encouraged his skin to get any tanner than it was.

Rewind a few years, where I had abducted him, and you had a slightly tanner kid with baby fat yet a skinny body.

Garret took point and we followed him, walking for a couple miles to an area we were never aware of.

"This area wasn't scrambled by a jammer a few years back." Tye's visor reflected the image of huge metal walls, which was our destination. There was a shield, probably two way, with phantoms and infantry walking in and out. Barren land surrounding it, meddled with short grass and weeds that provided any sort of colorful plant life.

"It is now. The base is also a new addition. There never was one here when the area wasn't being hidden from us." Garret added.

"Move in and try to remain undetected. I recommend sending in one person." Alice stood up and pointed a thumb at herself.

"Affirmative. I'm moving in." Though it was Tye, our squad leaders decision, he didn't object to her declaration.

Alice moved down the hill and approached the only entrance and exit.

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(Alice) Slow, steady breaths. I kept the noise I made to a minimum, activating my cloak. Right when I had gone over the hill, I'd noticed there were jackals perched up in snipers nest. The reticles of beam rifles gleamed brightly, giving a glint of death.

I made it to the wall without trouble, flattening my body against it. Surprisingly, no elites were guarding the entrance. I walked through the shield without trouble, entering a bustling village.

For a place that had only been here a few years, it was a fortress. The tower, which I assumed was scrambling our mapping equipment, was almost as tall as the well, made of the purple metal that was one of the Covenants signature colors for many of their military wares. Despite the flashy ammo crates and advanced vehicles moving around, there were simple teepees and huts made out of natural materials that summed up the housing. I realized my cloak was wearing off and quickly walked into a field of ammo crates, weaponry perched against or hanging in the crates.

As my cloak deactivated, I went behind a mud hut that was close to the walls of the outpost. The area around here was quiet, no one having a reason to be here. "Commander, I have yet to see signs of prisoners. The area is extremely busy." Static was all she received back.

"This is on the local channel. Garret, relay to Denver that there are no signs of prisoners. We can't contact him in here unless we take out this tower." Alice looked at the tower, brainstorming what could take down the structure. The base of it didn't look very sturdy, four legs that arched out into four spots of the ground, making a square.

She reactivated her cloak, walking through the field of weapons. Her eyes landed on a fuel rod cannon.

"Alice, the message is relayed. Huff said he lost visual from your visor feed." Tye butted in After Garret's report.

"Alice, do you have a plan? If there's nothing you can do in there, come back." She kept looking around, doing a count.

One...

Two...

Three...

"Tye, I have an idea. Though we're not gonna be able to remain stealthy once this plans initiated." A few seconds of silence followed up.

"Alright. Do we need to come in?"

"Yes." She walked back behind the house, her cloak deactivating. "I'd say things would be easier if you got in stealthier though. I only need two more people in here. "

"Me and Vex are coming then. Ping your location." I complied, a yellow blip ringing on the radar, giving my location to them.

"Oh, you have to take out the jackals on the front side. We don't have stealth as an armor mod." I looked up and around, staring at nothing but a plain metal wall. I climbed up the hut, onto a straw roof and gained an overhead view of things.

On the other side of the whole development was a metal stair case. One that led to the top of the backside of the fortress, giving me access to all four sniper nests.

"I can take out the snipers but you'll have to wait. I'll signal you when they're taken care of." I looked down at the magnum holstered on my waist. It was the only weapon I had that was equipped with a suppressor.

"Roger. If things get too hectic, call us in." I hopped off the roof and looked to my left to see if I could use the wall all the way to get to the staircases

An elite was right in front of me. His mandibles started opening up and he was reaching for a holstered plasma rifle. Thinking fast, I punched him right in the face. The shock caused his mandibles to shut momentarily, a gurgle of pain being the only noise he could manage. I kicked his hand, cracking the knuckles as he yanked it backwards. Before he could yell out in distress, my leg connected to his neck and I brought it down, slamming him into the ground. I followed him to the ground, taking out a nightstick in the process. I covered his mandibles with my hand, muting the yell. He was completely off guard, combat not even on his mind anymore; he wanted help and he wanted to be known. Instead, he received an energy bayonet to the neck, the blade activating as I shoved the weapon into his throat. Sitting on top his body proved to be hard since he was bigger than me but he only struggled for a few seconds before going limp.

"Alice? Are you compromised?" Tye's tone had become slightly more alarmed due to my absence. I huffed and got up, putting away the melee weapon.

"Negative. I'm going now, Alice out." I looked around and began walking towards the other side, leaving the body on the ground.

Hopefully, no one would see that for the next few minutes.