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Chapter 1: First Strike
Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson walked out of the Gettysburg's docking tube and into the Cairo. They had finally arrived home after a series of events leading up from Reach up to Halo and then to Earth. Johnson looked out the viewport and whistled at the sight of earth, "Phew, that's a beauty if I ever saw one." The Chief nodded and gestured toward a group of marines marching towards them. The leader saluted curtly, "Sergeant, Master Chief, welcome back to Earth. Admiral Hood wants you to grab some sleep before attending a debriefing tomorrow in UNSC HighCom Facility Bravo 6, in Sydney, Australia." Johnson turned around, "It's good to be back, Marine." The Master Chief briskly asked, "What's our situation, Marine?" The Marine's expression darkened, "We haven't seen any trace of Covenant activity, it's been quiet all across UNSC territory for the last few weeks, gave us some time to regroup and rest…" The marines left the bay and Master Chief and Sergeant Johnson went to their quarters to grab some sleep.
After the debriefing, the two heroes went back to the Cairo for an awards ceremony. It was held in a primary bay where hundreds of Marines and crew members stood in uniform. MC and Sergeant Johnson stood in front of Admiral Hayes, Miranda Keyes(the daughter of the celebrated Captain Keyes, killed at Halo), General Ackerson and Captain Wagner. They were given medallions when a warning Klaxon started. A transmission from the command center came on, "Admiral, Covenant ships approaching from sector 27. Defense fleet reporting readiness. Deactivating weapons safeties. Getting numerous weapons locks from Covenant fleet." The Admiral and the General went off towards the command center. Miranda and Wagner rushed to the docking bays to get to their ships. The marines and crewman rushed to the nearest weapons armory to get ready. Outside, the MAC defense stations swiveled and targeted the incoming fleet. They fired and dozens of massive charges sped away. They impacted the front of the enemy formation and shredded a few of their ships apart. The Covenant halted their advance and started deploying transports. UNSC carriers deployed fighters and they shot towards the transports heading towards' the moon's defense platforms. Covenant Seraph fighters clashed with the UNSC's Longswords and dozens of fireballs in space ensued. Admiral Heyes arrived at the command center and asked a crew member, "Are the Covenant getting through?" The crewman nodded grimly, "We're trying to intercept their transports, but some have gotten through. They are approaching the moon's defense platforms and are getting ready to board them."
Commander Galder of the moon defense station Bravery looked around as marines stationed themselves in front of the airlock near the bridge. Sensors had detected incoming Covenant boarding craft. Galder raised his pistol and aimed it at the airlock. A marine set up a mobile machine gun turret and manned it. There was a clang and the Covenant started cutting through. Marines armed their M7 SMGs and BR55 Battle Rifles and got ready. The door flew off and Covenant Grunts and Elites started piling through. The Marines started firing. Galder's pistol bucked and two Grunts died. The Marines steady fire wiped out the first wave of attackers without great casualties. They waited several moments and a Jackal came in followed by a Grunt. The Jackal covered the Grunt with his energy shield and the Grunt threw a grenade, which flew towards the machine gun turret. The Jackal and Grunt were killed but the grenade reached its target and stuck to it. Moments later, it exploded, killing the 3 Marines near it and injuring another 5. Then, a new wave came through and Galder knew they might not be able to hold them back. First Jackals, then Grunts. The Grunts cowered behind the Jackals' cover and waited for the Elites. Then, five Elites came barging in and the Covenant attacked. A marine threw a grenade and sent several enemies flying. The Covenant returned fire and marines soon littered the deck. A marine decided to take on an Elite by himself and was awarded with a quick blow to his head. The marine fell without a sound. Three ODSTs were wiped out by a fuel rod gun and a crewman was silenced by a carbine. The whole station shook as a long-range plasma strike from the incoming Covenant armada struck somewhere at the edge of the station. Sparks flew and the heat in the compartment jumped for a few seconds. A report from the bridge came on, "Sir, a plasma strike hit our MAC generator and disintegrated Sections 27 through 36. We've lost the ability to defend ourselves at long-range. Also, we've got several Covenant Phantom dropships heading for the Primary docking bay, we've rerouted several Marine squads to defend it but they'll need some help." The Commander replied solemnly, "Arm our close range weapons and get our Autocannons and missile pods ready. Inform the crew to get ready for close combat with Covenant battleships. We'll try to get down to the Primary bay." The bridge acknowledged his command and he turned back to the battle at hand. His pistol ran out of ammo and he grabbed a fallen SMG. He sprayed a group of Grunts with auto fire and they died. He ran out of ammo and reloaded, helping a marine take out a cobalt-clad Elite. Even with this help, the human defenders were quickly getting whittled down to a small group of Marines and crewman. Galder ordered a retreat and they ran down the hallway, shutting bulkheads behind them in order to slow down the Covenant's advance. The remaining team ran into a service lift and Galder punched in a code for the docking bay. The lift plunged down deeper into the station. The crewmen looked around fearfully while the Marines exchanged witty but nervous remarks. Galder reloaded his SMG and looked around, "Ready your weapons." They nodded and obeyed his order. All of a sudden, the station rocked one, two, and finally three times. Everybody was thrown around the lift. After the shuddering subsided, a Corporal exclaimed, "Sounds like the Covenant fleet is really close." The lift shuddered and stopped moving.
A pair of Marines crept into the hallway beyond; they signaled "All clear," and the rest of the team moved in. Galder motioned to the crewmen, "Guard the lift, if we lose the battle for the bay, they will be able to get to the lift. They must not be allowed to get there; it will give them access to every part of the station, including the bridge." They nodded and set up positions around the lift. Galder and the marines moved in to the Primary bay. The bay was a large, rectangular chamber, approximately the size of a ten-story warehouse. Three huge doors, meant for transporting large shipments and moving vehicles around the station, were stationed at three sides of the bay. 70 feet from the deck hung a crisscrossing network of catwalks, open in 6 places so that Pelicans could dock to the overhanging apertures and the crews could walk off onto the catwalks. At the end of the bay was the huge opening that allowed ships to come in and out. Currently, it was closed off by a huge solid metal barrier that was glowing red. "Phantoms are burning through," said a marine. All around the bay, marines took cover behind cargo containers, some getting portable turrets ready, others arming their weapons. Ten ODST snipers took positions in the catwalks and got ready to fire down on the aliens. The door was burned away and the magnetic containment field took hold, closing the bay off from the vacuum, but not from the Covenant. A dozen Phantoms, protected by Covenant Seraph fighters, sped towards the opening. Autocannons on the Bravery's surface swiveled around and began emptying dozens of rounds into the dropships. One, two, and finally, three Phantoms exploded. The Seraphs swooped towards the turrets and fired at them. Several of the turrets were turned to slag, and the others turned their attention to the Seraphs. This let the Phantoms come in and drop off their troops. Covenant flooded onto the dock and soon the air was filled with whining bullets and sizzling plasma. The Phantoms reared off the deck and started to spray the marine positions with fire, each of their three turrets chugging away.
Two marines were caught out in the open and killed. Galder grabbed a radio, "We need to get rid of those Phantoms, I need heavy weapon support." Eight marines with enhanced M19 SSM Launchers, otherwise known as Jackhammers, ran forward and emptied their rockets into the Phantoms' shields. The turrets were blown off, and the Phantoms, not able to do anything, backed out of the bay. "They'll be back," a marine said. Galder didn't doubt it, but he had other things to worry about. During the brief skirmish with the Phantoms, the Covenant were able to appropriately disperse their forces around their side of the bay. Jackal snipers picked off any Marines out in the open and advance squads from both sides played a game of hide-and-seek amongst the numerous cargo containers. He knew that the Covenant were just playing for time until they could get reinforcements. A sniper bullet whizzed through the air and caught a Jackal trying to run from container to container. This wasn't going well. He grabbed an ODST sergeant and quickly ordered, "Get your men ready for a flanking assault. I want squads Bravo and Tango to get ready to move out. Keep squads Foxtrot and Alpha here. The snipers are to provide covering fire and the launchers should be ready in case those Phantoms show up."
The helmeted Sergeant nodded and barked orders on the COM. Several dozen marines soon appeared and gathered around Galder. "All right, listen up. We need to get rid of those Covenant quickly, but their snipers are keeping us from making any big push. We'll move under cover of the large containers on the right flank. As soon as we reach their side, unload with everything you have and kill every Covenant bastard, especially the Jackal snipers. Got it? All, right… MOVE IT!" The marines got in a single-file line formation and started creeping on the right side of the bay. They darted from container to container. There was a pretty large gap between the next two containers, but the marine in front of Galder rushed ahead. He was nearly instantly hit by a plasma beam, his lifeless corpse thudding heavily to the ground. The Sergeant whispered over the com, "Flitzpark and Smith, see if you can get the goddamn sniper blocking our route." Two black armored figures on the catwalks crept forward and each fired twice. There was a shrill scream and a thud. The Sergeant gestured and everybody advanced to the next container under the two men's covering fire. They were in enemy territory, "All right everybody, open up!" Marines rushed from behind hiding and started to open up. The Covenant, expecting an attack from the other side, slowly turned to face this new threat. Two elites, five Jackals and a squad of three grunts, were, however, killed before the Covenant understood what was happening. The air in the bay was soon filled with criss-crossing bullets and plasma. ODST after ODST fell as Elites and Jackals were blasted off their feet. Galder and the Sergeant managed to gather together a squad of 4 marines and were directing their fire against individual targets. Galder realized that the Covenant's attention was split and he quickly gave the order he was waiting to give. The marines of Alpha and Foxtrot squads rushed from their hiding places, creating a full frontal assault. Grenades exploded and metal shrieked. The Covenant were unable to hold back both assaults at the same time, and they began falling at a quicker pace. Galder saw several of the incoming marines fall because of plasma, but the Covenant were getting beaten pretty badly. When the last Grunt had fallen, Galder slapped a new magazine into his SMG and called for a casualty report.
Just then, however; the Phantoms had come back. Instead of firing at the marines though, they fired at the field generators on either side of the bay. The generators blew sending equipment and men flying. The fields winked out, and the vacuum sucked the air out of the bay. The ODSTs had space helmets, but the regular marines didn't. Galder fell to the floor and grabbed at a fallen ODST's helmet. He grabbed it and quickly snapped it over his head. There was a hiss and he could breathe again. Everywhere he looked, he saw Marine's dying from the sudden decompression. Only the ODSTs stood, unaffected. The Sergeant quickly gestured to his men, "Get those launchers, they'll be shooting at us next." Sure enough, the Phantom turrets started to track the humans and were pounding the area with red-hot metal. Five of the ODSTs ran back to the dead marine teams' position to get the rocket launchers. They ran from container to container, attracting the dropships' attention. Plasma fire thudded and burned holes around the marines. Two were hit in the back making a run for the rockets. The other three quickly scooped up the launchers and whatever spare rocket packs that lay near them and hid behind the containers, readying their launchers. "Aim at the turrets," said Galder. Rockets whooshed out and impacted two of the phantoms, each losing a turret. They reloaded and fired another volley of rockets, and then another. "Head for the doorway!" screamed the Sergeant. They ran, losing two more people to plasma fire. Galder looked at the still-far away doorway and thought: We're not going to make it! A plasma beam impacted right behind him and the shockwave send him and the Sergeant flying. He landed on the ground and turned around to see the Phantom turret aiming at him. His heart fell, he was going to die.
All of a sudden, the right bulkhead door opened and a Scorpion tank rolled out, its machine gun spitting out thousands of rounds a minute. The main gun fired a shell that hit the phantom just as it fired. The turret bucked and fired, missing Galder by inches. He gasped and rolled away toward the tank. The ODST inside saluted to him and turned his attention to the phantoms. One was hit by a shell right above the energy generator and fell down and hit the ground, exploding in a blue flash. The other Phantoms turned around to take care of the tank, but the ODSTs them from the sides. Two more Phantoms fell and the last 3 realized what they were facing. They jetted out of the docking bay in search of easier targets. The ODST in the tank gestured to the remaining men, "We're really getting the crap beaten out of us. These bastards are pouring into the station from every entry point possible, even making their own if they have to. The command center shut down the lifts in order to prevent the Covenant from spreading into key areas. However, they already managed to get to the main armory by the time we got into our vehicles to guard the main access tunnels. The only way to the bridge is on this tank, sir." Galder nodded and got onto one of the tank's treads. The Sergeant and two of his men who carried rocket launchers also got on. The driver wheeled the tank around and they started down the long access corridor. There were doorways on either side, and soon, several marines who had seen action joined up with the tank. Everybody was tense as the tank neared the main service lift, nearly 400 meters away.
They were passing through a crate-filled storage area when several dozen enemy guns opened up on them. Elites and Grunts popped out from behind crates and Drones rose into the air, buzzing the humans with plasma pistol fire. The marines on both side of the tank quickly rushed to the nearest cover and Galder jumped off, dodging needler rounds from above. The Scorpion driver, deciding that his vehicle's main gun was useless in such a close-combat situation, lifted his turret into the air and used the machine-gun as an improvised anti-air gun. Drones were mowed down by the dozens as fire and bodies fell down to the floor. Galder hid behind a crate, fighting an Elite. He popped out every few seconds, trying to gun it down, but the Elite's fire forced him behind cover again. At this rate, he knew he was going to expend his ammunition before he could ever get the Elite's shield down. A drone dropped down 3 feet away from him, clutching a plasma pistol. He remembered reading the intel reports on Covenant weapons, the pistol's ability to overcharge stuck out at him at that particular moment. Maybe it had enough power to do the task needed; he was going to test his theory. He rushed out of cover, blindingly firing his SMG in the Elite's direction, forcing it to duck behind cover. He scooped up the pistol and hid behind the crate on the other side of the small passageway. He hefted it and noticed how light it was compared to his SMG. He readied both his weapons, his SMG in his right and the pistol in the left. His finger pressed down on the trigger and a meter on the back of the pistol started to rise, the entire gun started shaking and a bright green ball of light appeared, seemingly suspended between the pistol's two pincers.
Galder took a steadying breath and popped out of cover, dumping the plasma ball in the Elite's face. The shield crackled and fizzed and sputtered out. A full-staccato burst of fire from his SMG got the Elite in his face and sent him sprawling down. Galder turned to the battle and saw the last of the drones fall to the ground. His radio spurted, "Commander, we are reading dozens of boarding ships and dropships detaching from the station. It seems we beat them off…"
Galder looked around, at the burning bulkheads, the splattered bodies, depleted plasma weapons. No, the Covenant had been very close to winning and slaughtering the rest of his men. They never gave up in fights, unless they had a good reason, like at Sigma Octanus or the first stage of the Fall of Reach… He clicked the radio, "Any suspicious activity reported? What about the space action?" There was a long hiss of static, as his communications officer checked all of the Com-lines. "I got nothing on the interior or exterior motion sensors, sir. The Covenant fleet was going to intercept us, but it seems that they have set course for Earth. They are drawing heavy fire from the Cairo battle-cluster. It seems that we're safe."
The Commander couldn't believe this; they had to be missing a part of the picture. Why would the Covenant launch such a quick assault against the relatively lower-target-profile Bravery battle-cluster? Sure, there were a few MAC guns, but all they protected was a relatively small Moon colony. Earth was a much more valuable target to take out. Still, the Covenant only came with a dozen ships; there was no way they could take on the UNSC. It was almost as if the Covenant underestimated the strength of the human forces, like there would have been no human forces here. Perhaps they discovered Earth by mistake? Commander Galder paused, thinking what he would do in the situation. It came to him almost immediately, his thoughts honed after years of military drills. Use his small numbers as an advantage, allowing him to move quickly. Strike maximum targets to do the maximum amount of damage. Open the way for a large force…
His thoughts were interrupted by the insistent beeping of his communicator. "Yes?" he asked, worried. An anxious voice hurriedly replied, "Sir, sensors just recorded all of the Athens' boarders detaching from the station simultaneously, they… Oh my god. Athens MAC magazine just went up… There's nothing left…"
A bomb! Galders mind went into overtime. "I want the station back up to combat alert Alpha. Put every section under evacuation order Tango-Zero-Niner-Charlie. I want all escape pods primed and launched the second they're full. Get the pilots out of their beds and order them to get every single Pelican, Longsword, and any other bucket of bolts available ready to launch. Relay these orders to the rest of our battle cluster. We need to leave Bravery ASAP!"
All around the station, sealed bulkheads opened up, allowing access to the escape pods on the outer surface of Bravery. Pelicans and Longswords were suddenly lifted from their storage areas by automatic lifters, and taken through service corridors to the launch bays. The station's normally white lighting was replaced with a violent red. The Commander turned and shouted to his remaining Marines, "I want everybody to their evacuation stations five minutes ago, move, move!" They abandoned the Scorpion and ran towards the corridors, up stairs, and through atriums. Galder's heart beat rapidly, there was literally a ticking time bomb set to go off any minute, and the worst thing was that they didn't know when it was supposed to go off. Every moment took an hour, every footstep was an inch. He turned the corner at an archway labeled Evac. Pods, and saw a corridor lined with escape pod hatchways. People were already clambering into the closest pods. He turned to his men, "What are you waiting for? Double-time to the pods!" They ran towards the nearest pods, Galder into pod N138, which was nearly full. He managed to find a seat right behind the pilot, allowing him to see the viewport and beyond that, Earth. He turned back towards the station and saw one last crewmen take up the last seat and strap in. "Get us the hell out of here," he whispered.
The pilot punched a few controls and sealed the airlock. There was a torturous five seconds as she did pre-flight checks and set the boosters. A button lit up green on the dashboard, and she stabbed it. The pod lurched as the docking clamps released. A low thrum vibrated the pod as the thrusters quickly pushed it away from Bravery. A view provided by an aft camera appeared on a little screen right next to Galder. He watched as the entire station came into view, and the Moon appeared to shrink behind it. Dozens of exhaust trails marked other escaping ships putting their distance between themselves and Bravery. All of a sudden, there was a flash of light somewhere behind Bravery. Then another, and then three more. Commander Galder's mouth hung open. The entire battle-cluster was going up in flames, Billions in construction and maintenance taken out in only a few seconds. There was then a larger flash, which blinded the aft camera and filled the cockpit with searing white light. A shockwave hit the pod and jerked the passengers forward. The last thing Galder saw was the pilot's chair rushing towards him.
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