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Attack on Sol (Part 9)
Posted By: Slit Throat
Date: 22 June 2004, 11:18 PM
Read/Post Comments
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Linda watched as John and Fred left the room. They would most likely have the hardest job, but then, John always took the most difficult assignment.
"Are we just going to stand here?" asked Will. Linda shook her head and moved toward the door. A bright orange NAV point on her HUD pointed to the left and read a distance of one hundred meters.
The hallway beyond was devoid of enemies but Linda's motion tracker showed movement ahead. She signaled for Will to move cautiously down the hall. A left hand turn led the Spartans up a ramp and into another long hall. This one, however, was occupied.
Three Grunts squealed in surprise as the two Spartans appeared at the top of the ramp. They all tried to run at once, but bumped and tripped over each other until put down by a burst of fire by Will. Linda's motion tracker still read movement, but it was farther away and she was confident it was not a threat.
The Spartans continued down the twisting hallways, putting down several small groups of unsuspecting Grunts. They were within twenty meters of the target when they turned a corner and a locked door appeared in front of them.
"Now what?" muttered Will as he vainly pushed against it. "This door is locked and shielded. I don't know how we're getting this open."
"Stand back," ordered Linda as she primed two plasma grenades. Will stepped back and Linda tossed the grenades at the door. They went off in quick succession and the door sparked as the locking mechanism was destroyed. Suddenly, contacts flooded Linda's motion tracker as the shield on the door was disabled.
"I think we're about to have company," she announced as the Spartans backed around the corner. The door slid open and a horde of Covenant troops poured out, looking for the intruders. They were met by a hail of lead from Will's Battle Rifle and armor piercing rounds from Linda's sniper rifle. Grunts fell by the dozen and Jackals dropped before they could bring up their shields. Oddly, there were no Elites in the force.
Finally, the Grunts turned and ran back into the room, trampling the few remaining Jackals that tried to marshal them. Many were cut down, but at least twenty survived.
Without saying a word, the two Spartans ran after them, regardless of ambushes or traps. If the Grunts raised an alarm, the operation would become much more difficult.
The Grunts were still running at top speed when the Spartans caught up. Will managed to stick a plasma grenade to one of them which detonated and took out most of the column. The surviving Grunts kept running however and managed to get within a few meters of another sealed door before they were brought down by rounds from Will's rifle.
"That was close," sighed Will, "but they led us right to the target."
The NAV point was centered on the door directly in front of them. There was a faint red light around it, signaling that the door was locked.
"Well," said Linda, turning around, "I'm not going to try blowing a door again. Lets go back to, what I assume are, the barracks and see if there is a less obvious way in."
The two Spartans jogged back the way they had come. The barracks were a rectangular room with tables and benches that had been upset by the stampede of Covenant a few minutes before. There were other doors that, upon investigation, were found to lead to sleeping quarters. One door at the opposite end of the room, however, opened to reveal what appeared to be an office of sorts. There was a computer terminal on one wall and several holographic displays spaced around the room. One large screen showed the view of Lunar City.
Linda immediately moved to the computer terminal and pulled out her 'hack pad'; a portable computer hacking device developed by ONI. Will covered the door after examining the holographic displays.
The hack pad vibrated as it contacted the computer terminal and infiltrated the system. A few moments later, the pad beeped to indicate success.
"I'm in," announced Linda. "Still no A.I. in the system and no serious barriers. This should be a piece of cake." She tapped a few buttons and the base schematics appeared along with other security options. Linda selected the 'open security doors' command and set the hack pad to work.
The decryption process took several minutes as the hack pad penetrated several layers of Covenant code. Evidently, the Covenant force valued secrecy over other things. Finally, the pad beeped and DECRYPTION SUCCESS appeared on the screen. Linda shut the pad off and replaced it in her equipment sack.
"The door's open," she announced, "time to move." She and Will jogged back out of the barracks and back to the formerly locked door that led to the weapon control center. The faint red light around the door was gone, replaced by a faint blue. The sensor blocking shield on the door had been deactivated as well and Linda's motion tracker picked up multiple contacts.
"They've got a welcoming committee ready," she warned, "we need to be careful."
"Acknowledged," Will said and hit the control to open the door.
The weapon control center was alive with activity. Engineers floated to and fro installing terminals and control panels. White masked maintenance Grunts ran back and forth carrying parts and checking monitors. A gold armored Elite stood at one end of the room, gazing at a large view screen that displayed the positions of the Covenant fleet around Earth. More Elites, wearing red armor, stood around the room watching the pandemonium. All activity halted, however, as the door slid open and the Spartans appeared with rifles held at the ready.
The Gold Elite turned around and growled a command. The Elites stationed around the room aimed their plasma rifles at the two Spartans. The Engineers and Grunts scrambled for cover.
"Well," Will muttered, "at least we know where all of the Elites are."
Linda snorted in derision, raised her sniper rifle and fired at the Gold Elite. The fourteen millimeter round took the Elite through the right eye, killing him instantly. The other Elites hesitated a split second before returning fire, but it was enough time for Will to activate and throw a plasma grenade. The grenade latched onto an Elite's arm and both Spartans dove back into the hallway, pursued by plasma bolts. They took cover on either side of the door. Three seconds later, there was a large explosion and several sickening whumps as the grenade did its job.
Linda peeked around the corner but ducked back as a plasma bolt flashed toward her. There were at least a half-dozen Elites still alive inside the control center.
"Covering fire," Linda ordered and primed a frag grenade. Will stepped out into the doorway and fired on the Covenant position. Plasma splashed across his shields, but they were holding. Linda moved into the open, located the source of most of the fire, and threw the grenade. It tumbled through the air and landed behind a storage container. Linda heard an Elite warble in surprise before the grenade exploded. Purple blood sprayed across the room. The incoming fire slackened and Will charged into the control center firing at the two remaining Elites. The ten millimeter rounds penetrated their shields and blew out their brains. Both aliens crumpled to the ground, dead.
Will scanned the room and announced "Area secure!" Linda nodded and moved toward the view screen the Gold Elite had been studying. As she stepped over the dead Elite's motionless body, her foot clicked against something. Linda looked down to see a gray tube about the width of her palm. Linda picked it up and saw two small buttons on the surface. She pressed one and a blue, double bladed energy sword flashed into existence. It was identical to the ones carried by upper ranking Elites. Linda tapped the other button and the energy blade powered down.
"New toy eh," observed Will. "I bet that'll make the scientists at ONI happy."
"No doubt it will," said Linda, "but first, lets finish this mission. Set those charges around the room and rig them for remote detonation." Will nodded and moved off. "Master Chief," said Linda into the com, "we have control of the weapon control center. Will is setting charges to blow it sky high. We'll meet you back at the reactor chamber."
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