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The War of Rage by Das Krueg
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The Extermination Begins
Date: 30 December 2005, 9:51 pm
Prologue: The Extermination Begins
Covenant Holy City of High Charity
6th Cycle of the 5th Division of the 3rd Stage of the 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
1830 hours, October 25, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
The dim light in the corridor reflected off the purple metal in a strange way as the Brute walked towards the Sanctum of the Hierarchs. He knew something was up. He sensed it. Why else would the High Prophets of Truth and Mercy have called him to their private sanctum? The Brute couldn't help wondering if it had something to do with the Sangheili. Yes, that had to be it.
The large doors opened and the Brute stood there in the doorway. A noble voice sounded from across the chamber.
"You may enter, Tartarus."
The Brute walked in towards the figure floating in the air. When he was close, he lowered himself to one knee and bowed his head. "Noble Prophet of Truth, what is the reason for your request of my presence?"
"We have a special task for you, Tartarus. We have discovered that the Sangheili are starting to doubt the Great Journey. Because of this they are becoming weaker, and they cannot be trusted anymore."
A door opened on the other side of the chamber and the Prophet of Mercy floated in on his throne. "The Sangheili have escorted us and kept the Covenant together for countless cycles. But now it is time for a change. The Sangheili are starting to fail, but we now have a race to replace them."
Truth turned to welcome the other Hierarch who floated up next to him, "Yes, Brother Mercy. The Jiralhanae are strong and faithful. I am starting to trust them more than the Sangheili." Truth turned back to Tartarus, "Our plan is to first send several groups of elite Sangheili warriors to the ring's Quarantine Zone. They will think that they are being sent there to capture the building holding the Sacred Icon. We know this is impossible, but they do not. We are going to send you with the Arbiter to claim the Icon. You are to drop the Arbiter at the Sentinel Wall so he may deactivate the shield surrounding the Quarantine Zone. Then we may send in the other Sangheili to their deaths. You must help the Arbiter reach the Icon in whatever way you feel necessary."
Mercy added, "If the Arbiter fails, you must continue to retrieve the Sacred Icon. We suggest that you make it easier on yourself and make sure the Arbiter gets to the Icon alive."
"Once the Icon is claimed, you are to take it and dispose of the Arbiter," Truth continued. " With the Arbiter dead, we will commence with the extermination of the Sangheili. We no longer need the Sangheili and they are becoming a threat to the Covenant. They must be eradicated."
Tartarus rose to his feet. "Gladly," he said with a grin.
"Good. You may leave and prepare a Phantom for departure. Your assignment will begin as soon as possible."
"My faith is strong and my hammer swift. I will not fail you, Holy Ones," Tartarus said with his head high. He turned and walked out of the chamber with a sense of great pride. He would finally be able to get rid of that nuisance, the Arbiter, and the rest of his bungling race.
Chapter 1: The Sacred Icon
Halo Installation 05, Library of the Index
7th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
1320 hours, October 26, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Tartarus impatiently looked over the pilot's shoulder. "We should scout ahead," he said, "to see how much longer it will take the Arbiter to reach the Icon."
The pilot turned around. "But shouldn't we be protecting the Arbiter?"
"He can take care of himself while we are gone." Tartarus was somewhat confident in the Arbiter's abilities to defend himself, but he couldn't wait for his chance to dispose of the Arbiter once and for all. "Now hurry up and see if we can find where the Icon is."
The Brute piloting the Phantom nodded and turned back around to the controls. The Phantom then left the gondola that the Arbiter was riding on and went speeding down the tunnel. Soon enough, the ceiling started to rise and the tunnel widened. The cavernous room that they entered was like a central dock for the special gondolas. The room was shaped like a large donut with the docking platforms in the middle of the circular cavern.
"That must be where the Sacred Icon is held," Tartarus said in awe. "When the Arbiter runs inside there, set me and the others down on the ledge. We will follow him in and take care of him. But let us go back and see how he is doing."
The Phantom turned around and sped back the way they came. They reached the gondola and could see the Arbiter fiercely battling several Flood Combat Forms.
"What is that beast up to? I could use some help right about now," thought the Arbiter as he sliced off the head of another Combat Form. He had found out that his energy sword was very effective against the Flood, as long as he was able to behead the creatures or impale their chests before they could do any severe damage. He turned around and ran his sword straight through two Combat Forms running at him, impaling both on his sword. Out of the corner of his eye the Arbiter saw the Phantom returning to the gondola. Suddenly, several Combat Forms jumped down from a ledge that the gondola passed under. Suddenly the familiar voice of a Jiralhanae sounded in his helmet.
"I'll thin their ranks!" Tartarus said over the comm. link. "Take them out!" he shouted at the pilot.
The Arbiter was grateful when he saw streaks of plasma striking the Flood. He was thankful to have a short break. He walked towards the front of the gondola and saw the wide cavern open up in front of him. There was a feeling of awe about this large room, even though it was just a dock. The Arbiter stood at the front of the gondola taking in the view when the gondola lurched to a halt and Tartarus's voice snapped him out of his trance.
"Hurry, the Humans are already inside, Arbiter!" Tartarus bellowed over the comm. link. He leaned over the pilot's shoulder again, "Drop us off where the Arbiter went in. We must catch him before he leaves."
Tartarus went to the back of the Phantom and signaled for the other Brutes that it was time. Tartarus stepped onto the gravity lift and dropped down to the ledge below followed by his companions. They ran through the opening in the wall and looked for the Arbiter. They saw him just as he ran through another passageway and disappeared. As they chased after the Arbiter through the short narrow tunnel, Tartarus heard shots being fired and barked a command in his native tongue for the group to slow.
"Sergeant! Stay down!" Commander Miranda Keyes was unaware that here companion was unconscious, but she didn't have time to find out. That Elite had materialized out of thin air and attacked the Sergeant. She pulled out her Sub-Machine guns and unleashed a hail of bullets at the strangely armored Elite. Unfortunately, her aim had been shaky because of the unexpected attack. She had only taken down the Elite's shield and heard a bullet ricochet off the armor plating before it ducked behind a fallen Enforcer for cover.
"Johnson! You all right? Johnson!" Miranda was hoping for an answer, but Sergeant Major Avery Johnson's body lay motionless on the floor. Out of the corner of her eye she saw the Elite leap into the air at her. She turned to fire her weapons but she wasn't fast enough. The Elite swatted the SMG's out of her hands and she suddenly felt as if the gravity had shifted towards the wall to her left. She didn't feel herself land on the shoulder of the large Brute because she too was knocked unconscious.
Tartarus and his Jiralhanae came to a large open room. In the middle of the room he could see a deep hole with the remains of Sentinels and Enforcers strewn all around it. When he was close enough, Tartarus saw that a Human was standing in the middle of the wreckage shooting at a blur that ran behind a large skeleton of an Enforcer. Tartarus decided that he better do something before the Arbiter gets killed, because if anyone was going to kill the Arbiter, it was going to be him. He thought he would surprise that Arbiter and take the Human just as the Arbiter was about to strike. And that's just what he did. He saw the Arbiter jump from behind the debris and swat the Human's weapons away. Tartarus realized that this Human had the Sacred Icon with it, so instead of pushing it off the edge he decided to take the Icon from it. He took out his hammer and thumbed a button on the handle. Suddenly the frail Human came flying towards him and he caught it on his shoulder. He set down his hammer and grabbed the Icon from it and put it in his belt.
"Excellent work, Arbiter. The Hierarchs will be pleased."
"The Icon is MY responsibility!" the Arbiter was furious at Tartarus.
"WAS your responsibility," retorted Tartarus. "Now it is mine." He put the Human he carried onto one of the other Brutes shoulders who was also dragging another Human by the foot. "A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race, and I, Tartarus, Chieftain of the Jiralhanae will send you to it."
"When the Prophets learn of this, they will take your head!"
"When they learn?" Tartarus chuckled. "Fool. They ordered me to do it."
And with that, Tartarus thumbed another button on his hammer, which was pointed towards the Arbiter. A pulse of energy blasted from the hammer and the Arbiter was thrown backwards and disappeared into the chasm behind him.
Tartarus turned to the others, "Quickly, we must return to High Charity and report our success. We will keep the Humans as prisoners. To the Phantom!"
Tartarus walked down the same hallway to the Prophet's Sanctum. The Humans were now conscious, bound, and following Tartarus at gunpoint. The door to the Prophet's chamber opened and the group walked in.
"Holy Ones, I come with good tidings. I bring with me the Sacred Icon and Human prisoners," Tartarus said proudly as he walked in. The Prophets turned from the large window where they were admiring the view of the sacred ring, Halo.
"That is good news. Excellent work Tartarus," the Prophet of Truth praised. "So I trust that the Arbiter has been dealt with?"
"Yes, Holy One. The Arbiter is no more." Tartarus knelt in front of the Prophets and bowed his head.
"And where is the Icon?"
Tartarus held out his hand, which contained the glowing green stick.
"Very good. The Great Journey is at hand, and all the Covenant has you to thank, Tartarus." Truth reached out and took the Icon from Tartarus. "There is one last step before the Great Journey can begin. We must unite the Icon with the Core in Halo's control room, and that is our last task for you Tartarus."
"It is an honor," Tartarus bowed his head again, "but why are you not going yourselves?"
"We are going to the Human's planet to finish the battle," the Prophet of Mercy chimed in with pride. "We hope to make short work of their planet, but if we take longer than expected starting the Great Journey in the middle of glorious battle will be even better."
"And what of the Humans?" asked Tartarus.
"You will take them with you," said Truth. "According to the Oracle, we need one of them for the consecration."
"Are you sure?"
"As hard as it is to believe, yes. We need at least one of them to start the Great Journey."
It looked like the female Human was trying to say something about this, but she could not make a sound due to the special gag the Jiralhanae had put on her. The Prophets ignored her.
"Very well, Noble Truth," said Tartarus reluctantly. "I will take them both and decide which one we need when we get there."
"Good," aid Truth. "Now that the Icon has been claimed and the Great Journey is around the corner we must make an announcement to the entire Covenant on High Charity. You go take the Humans and watch over them; Mercy and I will come get you when we are ready to leave."
"Yes, Holy One," Tartarus bowed once more and rose to his feet. He turned and barked a command for the group to leave. They obeyed and left the Hierarchs alone in their Sanctum.
The War of Rage, Ch. 2: The Sermon
Date: 6 January 2006, 7:02 pm
The previous chapter and prologue of this story are under the name "The Extermination Begins" if anyone was wondering.
Chapter 2: The Sermon
Covenant Holy City of High Charity
8th Cycle, 5th Division, 3rd Stage, 9th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
0455 hours, October 27, 2552 (UNSC Military Calendar)
Tartarus was pacing back and forth in one of High Charity's detention blocks looking into each cell as he passed them by. Each of the cells only had metal bars as doors that Tartarus did not think would be very secure.
One of the cells he passed by had an energy shield behind the bars, and behind the shield was a group of three Unngoy. None of them had masks or methane tanks, which was the reason for the energy shield. They were sitting huddled in the corner of the cell conversing about something in their native tongue. Tartarus paid no attention to them as he patrolled.
Many of the cells were empty, and the only ones left in the cells were the Unngoy, Kig-yar, and the two Humans. All of the Sangheili prisoners had been taken away to be executed because of the Prophets orders to eliminate every single one of their species. Tartarus always had a secret hatred for that race.
The Prophets of Truth and Mercy looked around the council chamber as they rose up on the lift. The chamber was empty save for several of the Jiralhanae Honor Guard and two Unngoy working the monitor that would record and broadcast the Prophets' message to the entire Covenant.
Outside the council chamber, hundreds of Unngoy and Kig-yar were trying to get in to see the Prophet's announcement up close, but the scores of Honor Guard were not letting anyone past due to the Prophet of Truth's request to have the chamber vacant during his speech.
Inside, Truth had signaled for the little Unngoy to start recording.
"Creatures of the Covenant, we have recently had some unfortunate incidents occur within our Covenant, yet there have also been a few events to celebrate. Brother Mercy and I regret to inform all of you that the Sangheili have betrayed us. They have neglected their duty to protect the Prophets, and in doing so allowed the Prophet of Regret to die by the hands of the Demon.
"Shortly after my decision to recommission the Honor Guard of the Prophets to the Jiralhanae, the Sangheili threatened to quit the High Council saying that the change of the guard was an outrage. And since we recently learned of the Arbiter's failure to claim the Sacred Icon, the Sangheili councilors followed through with their threat declaring that the Arbiter had been purposely sent to his death. That is utterly false. Mercy and I had the utmost confidence that the Arbiter would succeed with all of the support that we sent with him. But with this unfortunate turn of events, the Sangheili have seceded from the Covenant and have openly declared war on us. But do not fear. We will prevail as we always have.
"When we learned of the Arbiter's death, we sent the Jiralhanae down to Halo to retrieve the Sacred Icon. However, when they had arrived, they discovered that the Sangheili had released the Flood to try to prevent the Jiralhanae from securing the Icon. We are, all of us, gravely concerned. The release of the parasite was unexpected, unfortunate, but there is no need to panic. In truth, this is a time to rejoice, a moment that all the Covenant should savor, for the Sacred Icon has been found! With it our path is clear, our entry into the Divine Beyond guaranteed. The Great Journey is nigh, and nothing, not even the Flood, can stop it."
As soon as Truth had finished his speech, a cylinder of pulsating yellow light appeared on the podium behind the two Unngoy at the monitor. A large figure clad in green armor had emerged from the light when it had dissipated. The Prophets immediately recognized the figure, which had just scared the Unngoy technicians.
"Kill the Demon!" Truth yelled at the Jiralhanae next to him. Two other Jiralhanae put their pikes in front of the Hierarchs in an attempt to shield them, but moments later, the Prophets were on their way down the lift.
"Hurry, Brother Mercy," said Truth when they had reached the bottom of the lift. "We must find Tartarus and complete the rest of our plan."
Tartarus waited impatiently in the detention block for the Hierarchs arrive. His moment of fame was close. It was the greatest honor ever to be the one to unite the Sacred Icon with the Core and start the Great Journey. He was determined to do whatever it took to complete the task, even if that meant fighting an entire army of Flood single-handedly.
He walked past the Humans' cell and looked in as he went by. The Humans were sitting against opposite walls. From what he overheard of the Humans' conversations with each other, he learned that the female must have been one of their Ship Masters. But the curious thing was that the Humans apparently had two different ranks of Ship Masters: one called a Commander, and the other called a Captain. The female Human in the cell was one of the lesser, a Commander. The other Human was a male and was obviously not as high ranked as the female. All this came as a surprise to Tartarus. He had never heard of a female of any species being able to join their military, much less obtain a prestigious rank such as Ship Master.
Most of the Humans' conversations had something to do with a planet they called "Earth". After a while, Tartarus concluded that "Earth" must be the planet that the Covenant had just recently attacked, which also happened to be their home world. It wouldn't be around for much longer though. The Prophets would be sure of that.
Unfortunately, the one thing Tartarus was hoping to hear about was news of the Demon, which they called "Master Chief." The Humans did not mention a word about it. The Covenant had received no word about the Demon since the death of the Prophet of Regret. Many were starting to believe that the Demon was dead, but Tartarus knew that if there were no signs that it was dead then it was still alive.
The door at the opposite end of the corridor where Tartarus stood hissed open and the Prophets floated in on their thrones.
"Tartarus!" Truth was almost screaming at him. "Open the Humans' cell! We are leaving right away! The Demon is here!"
"Right away, Holy Ones," Tartarus obliged. All of a sudden, a million questions went through his mind. The Demon? On High Charity? How did it get here? How many guards has it killed already? Is it still alive?...
"Come, Humans. We are leaving." Tartarus grabbed them by the arm and pulled them out of the cell. Together the Prophets, Tartarus, and the Humans walked out of the cellblock. On the way out, the two Honor Guard who had been guarding the cellblock entrance followed behind them.
"We must get the Oracle from our private sanctum," Mercy said as the approached a gravity lift. "It will provide you with instructions as you perform your final task."
"Lies!" Kado 'Toromee yelled as he slammed his fist on the communications pod. "I do not, and will not, believe this! We did not release the parasite against the Jiralhanae. They released it on US! The Prophets are spreading these lies to the entire Covenant. And may the Forerunners help them if the Arbiter is still alive."
The Sangheili warrior had blindingly white armor, which signified that he was Covert Operatives Field Master. He had the utmost respect from everyone under his command. He had seen countless battles in his time as a Field Master and the majority of those had been victories. He had even won an encounter with a Demon, which he had a scar to remember it by.
The War of Rage, Ch. 3
Date: 6 January 2006, 7:44 pm
Chapter 3: Massacre at Omicron Ossirus
Omicron Ossirus I, Puerto de Oro
71st Cycle, 3rd Division, 48th Stage, 8th Age of Reclamation (Covenant Holy Calendar)
1645 hours, August 5th, 2547 (UNSC Military Calendar)
"Hold warriors!" Kado 'Toromee held his arm up behind him as his company of 15 Sangheili Covert Operatives stopped dead in their tracks. "The artifact the Prophets want is inside this building and into the ground quite a ways. The Humans have a formidable defense set up inside. We will split up once inside and work our way down. Kaz 'Istrazee, you will lead one half, while I take the other. Once down to the bottom work your way towards the artifact signal. We will meet you there. Eliminate any threats you encounter, and remain hidden until we are together." Eight of the black armored Sangheili disappeared as they activated their camouflage generators. "The rest of you, come with me."
The first group went through the back entrance of the building, while 'Toromee's group went around to the front. They met no resistance as they traveled down the many flights of stairs, but the Field Master knew that once they reached the bottom, a large group of Humans would be waiting for them.
The group had gone through several rooms at the bottom level of the building and had finally seen the Humans fortifying a central room. 'Toromee was thankful for his camouflage; otherwise the Humans would easily have seen him as he looked through the glass door. He saw a faint glimmer of light in the glass door across the room and knew that 'Istrazee's group was waiting for the order to attack. Suddenly, the Field Master burst through the glass door and ran towards the Humans.
Guenther-126 stood at the rear of the lab. The Marines had set up to machine gun turrets behind barricades and had overturned several metal tables on their sides to act as shields also. Everyone had their eyes on the two glass doors on either side of the front of the lab. Behind Guenther was a solid Titanium-A door, which must have led to the Forerunner artifact that ONI wanted to protect.
This is hopeless, he thought. These Marines can't hold this position against wave after wave of Covenant. If only Ronny and Pete were still here, then we might stand a chance. Twenty-six Marines ain't gonna cut it.
Only about half an hour earlier, on the surface of Omicron Ossirus I, a battle had been fought and lost within three hours. The attack had come so suddenly that the group of six Covenant ships consisting of 3 frigates, two destroyers, and an assault carrier had met no resistance above the planet and had immediately launched scores of Phantoms toward the planet. Minutes after the Covenant's arrival, ten UNSC cruisers entered the space around Omicron Ossirus I and engaged the Covenant. Unfortunately, the Covenant were expecting the UNSC's arrival and had fired on them less than two minutes after the UNSC ships appeared. The UNSC was expecting a tough fight, but what became of that battle was a slaughter.
The UNSC immediately lost four of its cruisers to the Covenant's plasma torpedoes making the sides "even". Luckily they were in such loose formation that the demolished ships didn't drift into the live ones. The captains of the remaining ships tried to calm the calamity on their bridges down and managed to fire a volley of MAC rounds at the Covenant. Twelve white-hot bolts streaked across the blackness of space towards Covenant ships. Four of the heavy rounds completely missed, while the remaining eight impacted their targets. The two destroyers were hit first. They took two rounds each before their shields flickered out, and a third round to each turned out to be fatal. The assault carrier was able to withstand the two rounds that hit it.
Shortly after the MAC volley had hit, the Covenant launched their torpedoes again. As the red balls of energy sped towards the UNSC vessel, they were able to attempt evasive maneuvers. The reaction of the UNSC captains proved to be too slow, as the plasma torpedoes impacted another four cruisers.
"Shit!" Captain Joseph Sorenson cursed as he saw the other cruisers ignite into balls of plasma and flame. His ship, the Alexander, was lucky enough to have evaded two of the plasma torpedoes that had targeted it, but once the torpedoes passed they veered away and struck the Bismarck, which was about fifty kilometers off the port side of the Alexander. The crew seems relatively calm considering our current situation, thought the Captain. "Lieutenant Crane, make your heading one-eight-five degrees."
"Aye, sir," replied Crane. "Heading one-eight-five degrees."
"Lieutenant Simmons," Sorenson turned to around, "Give me one hundred twenty-five percent on the reactors."
"Reactors at one-two-five percent, sir," answered Simmons.
"We need to drop off the Spartans before the Covenant can get at us." There was obvious tension in the Captain's voice. "Apollo, give me a firing solution for the closest frigate."
"Yes, sir." A small figure appeared on a podium in the bridge. He wore a full set of ancient Greek armor with a plumed helmet and holding a long spear. He had a yellowish tint to him. "Firing solution calculated."
"Lieutenant Brown, ready the MAC cannons and Archer pods S through GG. Fire at will."
"Aye, sir," Lieutenant Brown's hands danced across the keyboard. "MAC guns are hot, firing Archer missiles."
Rapid-fire thumps echoed through the hull of the Alexander as over four hundred Archer missiles were launched towards their target. Seconds later, the bridge rumbled as the two MAC cannons spit out their six hundred ton rounds. The crew of the Alexander watched the center viewscreen as the MAC rounds passed the missiles and impacted the Covenant frigate. It took both rounds to take out the shields, but the second round struck the bow of the frigate causing it to start spinning. Soon after, all four hundred fifty Archers hit their target. The lights on the frigate flickered and then went out. There was a loud cheer on the bridge of the Alexander, but it didn't last long when they saw motes of red light collecting along the sides of the remaining Covenant ships.
"Spartan-126, this is Captain Sorenson," the Captain yelled over the comm. system. "I want you and your team in Pelicans, ready to leave for the surface fifteen minutes ago!"
"Aye aye, Captain," Guenther's deep voice replied over the comm. link. "We're on our way."
"Good. Leave as soon as you're ready. They need you on the surface as soon as possible."
"Aye, sir"
The six Pelicans landed on a landing pad in the middle of Puerto de Oro, the capital city of Omicron Ossirus, and three Spartans and seventy-two Marines jumped out. Guenther-126 addressed the entire company.
"There is an ONI facility in this city that contains something that cannot fall into the hands of the Covenant. We've been ordered to protect that facility at all costs. When we get there, we will establish a defensive perimeter around the building. It's all up to us to protect this ONI thing and thousands of Covenant are gonna be after us. I know it's a shitty deal, but we got it until reinforcements arrive. I'll brief you more when we get there, now MOVE OUT!"
The company jogged through the streets of Puerto de Oro with Guenther-126 and Peter-073 at the head of the company, and Ronald-022 watching the rear. The building was in the outskirts of the city and surrounded by residential homes and small office buildings. A street ran east to west across the front of the building and another extended north from a T intersection in front of the main entrance. The facility only rose one story above ground level and looked like a huge concrete bunker. Since it was ONI it obviously went down into the earth at least a kilometer as to protect itself from aerial bombardments.
"OK Marines," Guenther's deep voice came from the external speakers on his helmet. "We need two machine gun turrets set up at each corner of the building, rocket jockeys need to get inside and shoot from the windows, and snipers get up on the roof. There should Titanium-A portable barricades inside the facility. We need those on the roof for the snipers, in front of the turrets, and all around the building for cover for the rest of us. I know this position is terrible, but we gotta make the best out of it. Reinforcements should be here within two hours. And if need be, we will retreat into the interior of the building."
Marines ran around frantically setting up equipment. Guenther walked around the facility and helped move heavy objects wherever needed. Pete had gotten up on the roof with the snipers and kept watch for any Covenant activity. Ronny had to move most of the Titanium-A barricades because it took at least ten Marines to move one.
"Guenther!" Pete's voice sounded inside Guenther's helmet. "Covenant coming the street from the north. Incoming Ghosts three kilometers away. At least twenty of them."
"Let's go Marines. It's time for action," Guenther's voice boomed again. "We got twenty Ghosts inbound from the north. All jockeys get to the North side of the building and fire when they get in range." Good, he thought, the narrow streets should keep them tightly packed making them better targets for the rocket jockeys.
A couple minutes later, twenty rockets erupted from the northern windows of the ONI facility and streaked down the street. Pete watched through his sniper scope as sixteen Ghosts exploded and sent the remaining ones into the buildings on either side of the road. Another wave of Ghosts followed close behind the first and then the infantry came. He looked to either side of the east/west road and saw legions of Covenant infantry marching towards the facility.
"Snipers," Pete said through his external speakers, "watch the east and west sides. The jockeys will cover the north."
Another volley of twenty rockets flew down from north side of the building. Shortly after, twenty white streaks came from the roof and went towards either side of the cross street. Guenther was crouched behind on of the barricades directly in front of the main entrance of the facility so he could see the whole battle.
"Shit!" Pete swore as a purple beam of light passed through the head of the Marine next to him. He looked around and saw several Jackal snipers positioned on rooftops in the distance. "We got snipers on the rooftops! Watch yourselves and take them out!"
Everyone on the rooftop ducked just in time as eight beams passed overhead. Pete got back up and spotted a Jackal through his scope and fired taking it out. He looked around once more and didn't see a single Jackal left on the rooftops.
Ronny was behind the building in case an attack came from the alleyways between the office buildings. He didn't know what was going on in front of the building but it sounded pretty bad. Then he heard Guenther over the radio calling him to the front.
The Covenant had gotten close enough for the turrets to open fire. No matter how many of those bastards they mowed down, more seemed to replace the fallen ones. It reminded Guenther of the time he learned about the battle of Thermopylae between the three hundred Spartan warriors and the ten thousand Persian Immortals. They were called Immortals for a reason: when one of the numerous warriors died, the warrior behind took his place and it continued like that until they had exhausted their supply of warriors or had overwhelmed the enemy.
Ronny ran up next to Guenther and let out a long low whistle, "This can't be good, man."
"No, it's not," replied Guenther. "Get behind a barrier and help those Marines."
Ronny ran over to a barricade facing west down the cross street. As soon as he had gotten there, the Covenant had gotten close enough to open fire. Plasma started to melt away at the street and the barricade as if they were butter. The Marines had strategically placed the barriers so that retreat to the next barriers if the first ones had been destroyed.
"Fall back!" yelled Ronny. The Marines ran back to the second set of barricades and opened fire again.
Guenther looked around. This was getting chaotic. Rockets exploded everywhere at random while the streaks of sniper rounds were scattered in all directions. He crouched behind his barricade, scouted out some targets with his MA5B Assault Rifle, and proceeded to mow them down.
The battle raged on for another thirty minutes when the Marine forces had started to wear thin. The snipers were down from the roof and carried MA5B's, as did the rocket jockeys. They were starting to retreat inside the building when they realized that the Covenant forces were also depleting. However, when they had just gotten their hopes up, two pairs of Hunters came from either side of the cross street.
"GET INSIDE NOW!" screamed Guenther at the Marines. They obliged and retreated to the interior while Guenther, Pete, and Ronny provided covering fire against the Hunters. It proved useless as the Hunters did not even budge and returned fire.
The yellow-green blobs of light sped towards the Spartans as they tried to cover the Marines' retreat. Ronny and Pete both took two hits in the chest and flew back into the side of the concrete building. Guenther looked back and saw that both men had gaping holes in their chests. Instinct told him to turn around and fire again, but those Hunters were just too damn powerful. He ran towards the door of the building and realized the Marines were in the windows firing at the Hunters.
Guenther may have been fast, but not quite fast enough. When the Hunters fired again, one of the shots grazed his back right before he dove inside the door. The annoying beep of his low shield warning blared in his helmet as he rolled across the lobby of the facility. He heard four thumps as he got up and saw four Marines holding Jackhammer rocket launchers out the window. He walked up to the window and saw nothing but immobile bodies of Covenant and Humans alike. He turned around and looked at the Marines in the lobby.
Twenty-six, he thought. Twenty-six is all that's left? If they come back, it's gonna be with even more. It'll be a massacre. He walked towards a large service elevator in one corner of the lobby. "Marines," he announced, "the Covenant will be back, and madder than ever. Whatever it is that they want here, they want it bad. But we won't let them have it, will we Marines?!"
A resounding "No, sir!" was heard in the lobby as the Marines replied in unison.
"What we need to do is descend to the bottom floor of this facility where this thing is kept and set up another defense. We can hold out there until help arrives."
[indent[But what Guenther didn't know, was that the reinforcements would never come. They had arrived in the system an hour after the Covenant's reinforcements arrived. And instead of fighting their way to the planet's surface, the UNSC fleet of twenty ships initiated the Cole Protocol and jumped out of the system. Twenty UNSC ships never would have stood a chance against the thirty plus Covenant ships that orbited Omicron Ossirus I.
Spartan-126 started to wonder what was going on above them on the surface. It had been half an hour since they descended into the ONI facility. Either the Covenant should have attacked again by now, or the UNSC reinforcements should have arrived and rescued them. But neither has happened, and that worried Guenther.
Suddenly, the glass on the doors of either side of the room shattered and the marines opened fire on what seemed to be nothing. Guenther then saw the faint blurs coming into the room from the door. A blue flash appeared from one of the blurs and formed into the shape of a sword. Bursts of superheated plasma came from nowhere and started to melt the barricades and tables.
"Elites!" Guenther shouted. One by one, the forms of Elites coalesced from the blurs as their camouflage generators overloaded. "Pick your targets and fire at will." He then looked around the room and realized that half of the Marines had been taken out already.
All of a sudden, Guenther saw the energy sword coming at him, raised and ready to strike. He raised his Assault Rifle and pressed the trigger, but the Elite was too close so he only got a few rounds off before he bashed the side of the Elites head with the butt of his rifle. The Elite materialized in front his face and swiped the sword down, but the Spartan was faster and he grabbed the Elite's wrist in the air. Guenther dropped his rifle and grabbed the Elite's shoulder with his right hand, spun him around, and pinned him against the door behind them.
The Demon is faster and stronger than I expected, thought Kado 'Toromee as he was spun around and smashed against the door. He barely dodged his head out of the way when the Demon tried to smash his helmet into 'Toromee's. He was suddenly thrown to the right and hit the wall with so much force that he dropped his sword. The glowing blue blade disappeared before it hit the ground. The Field Master didn't have enough time to pick his sword up, because as soon as he looked up the Demon was upon him. The Demon swung his fist at 'Toromee's face and hit with so much force that his shield drained immediately and the two mandibles on his left jaw completely broke off and flew across the room. The force of the punch surprised him so much that he rolled to the side, which happened to be to his advantage because when the Demon swung again, the lack of resistance threw him off balance. This gave 'Toromee enough time to regain his composure and tackle the already off balance Demon.
The Field Master was caught by surprise again. He did not expect the Demon's armor to weigh a full unit (half ton). But he was successful in tackling it. They rolled on the floor together once before 'Toromee threw the Demon against the wall. He saw the hilt of his energy sword on the ground, picked it up, and squeezed it. A blue flash erupted from the hilt as the sword came to life again. The Demon had gotten up and started to run at 'Toromee, and vice versa. The Field Master lifted his sword in the air to strike, but the Demon grabbed onto his wrist again and looked like he was about to throw another punch. But 'Toromee was more alert this time and grabbed the fist with his free hand. The two of them stood there for a while with each other's arms in a vise, trying to wrestle each other to the ground.
After a minute or so, 'Toromee started to feel weak. He wondered how this particular Human was so strong. Or if it was even Human. Suddenly, 'Toromee stopped his struggle and ducked. The Demon was taken by surprise again and flipped head over heels over the Field Master. He landed on his back and absent-mindedly let go of 'Toromee's arms. The Field Master spun around, but the Demon was already up. This time he decided to go in low. He lunged forward with his sword and succeeded in plunging it into the Demon's stomach. The Demon didn't even flinch as the sword impaled him and he slammed his fist against 'Toromee's shoulder, sending him flying against the wall. The Demon kept on running and swung another fist at 'Toromee but only hit the wall. The Field master had ducked again and sliced at the Demons legs, severing them at the knees. He rolled out of the way as the Demon's body crashed to the floor in a heap.
'Toromee stood up and looked around. The battle was already over. Human bodies were strewn all over the floor. He counted the remaining Sangheili. There were twelve left, including himself. It was a successful battle, but he would have liked to win the battle without any Sangheili casualties. And that struggle with the Demon was too close. He would remember that encounter for many ages.
"That was exhilarating, was it not?" one of the Sangheili said to another.
"Indeed!" the other replied. "How many did you kill?"
"I killed three. What about you?
"Ha! I outdid you with four."
"Silence, warriors," the Field Master announced. "We were victorious, yes. But four of our brethren are dead. This is no time to celebrate, especially when we haven't completed our mission yet. Let us continue on and retrieve the artifact for the Prophets."
He turned, opened the Titanium-A door, and walked through. The other Sangheili followed behind him as they walked the dark corridor silently and invisibly.
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