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2553
Installation 06
Location: Quarantine Zone Alpha
The pair of Skyhawk fighters matched each other's maneuvers, both racing towards the Library, and the Quarantine Zone.
"Target closing by……two kilometers, get ready two-six, remove the Shiva's safeties." Finn called into his boom mike.
"Roger that four-oh, safeties removed, prepping for drop." The other pilot replied.
Finn looked out the Skyhawk's view port to the other jet's pilot, he was an excellent flyer, and he approached his task fearlessly.
"Breaking off, four-oh…good luck." Two-six stated.
"Roger that two-six, drop your payload and I'll bring up the rear." Finn answered. "Affirmative four-oh…Shiva ready, fox two!" Two-six yelled and a stream of white smoke trailed from a shaped charge with a Shiva nuclear war head. Two-six cleared out circling to confirm his hit, satisfied it was a success, activated his afterburners and headed back to his airstrip at Delta Base.
"Fox one, fox one!" Finn called as his own Shiva left his aircraft and the warhead sped towards the Library itself. Finn leaned over to see two-six's shock wave spread across the Flood infested terrain. The wake of nuclear energy rolled up the containment walls like waves splashing upon a sea wall. His warhead hit home and a blinding light following which when it cleared the Library structure simply ceased to exist.
"Knife two-six, this is four-oh, hits confirmed, targets destroyed two-six, excellent work." Finn said. "Delta Base, payload delivered, ETA back to base is thirteen minutes." Finn said and clicked off his com.
"Put us down here, Petty Officer!" The Master Chief called to the pilot of the dropship. The troopship hovered near a blown out section of the containment wall, John 117, Will 043 and Ryan 031 stepped off the craft, and the next boat load of Spartans contained Fred 104 and Kelly 087 was last to step off the craft.
"Ok Spartans, Fred, take Will and Ryan with you and set the Havoc mines and then meet here at 0945, Kelly your with me, we're going to check out ground zero for infection, then we'll call in the secondary air strike, your read me Spartans?" The Chief asked. "Sir, yes Sir!" the other four said in unison.
"Alright, Ryan, Will grab the charges from the Pelican and meet me by that piston over there." Fred ordered. The second Pelican had been piloted by Will and had landed in the opening in the wall, that's why Sergeant Pearson and his marines were here, they had the simple task of guarding the dropship. Pearson set up a tight perimeter and had Bauer and Kemp set up fifty caliber machine guns on hastily erected defenses. Fitzgerald and Takashi sported the team's M19 SSM jackhammer rocket launchers and Pearson and three ODSTs bore standard MA5B assault rifles.
"Kelly, sweep the West Wing, I'll scan the East, and set the charges," Kelly's acknowledgement light winked blue and she shot out ahead of him at a run. John ran the other way, deployed Lotus mines every ninety yards along with HAVOC nuclear explosives every two-hundred yards.
John set his last HAVOC mine and sprinted back to the RV point where Kelly would be awaiting him. He had encountered two severely mangled Flood forms, which did not stand much resistance, but proved they had survived which left room for more survivors, which meant a load of hell for the Human forces. John continued to run, Kelly had beaten him there…no surprise whatsoever. Soon the two super soldiers were on the level below the others' position. John inhaled and turned the corner, almost certain of resistance, he was right, but before he could fire, Kelly and tucked, rolled and fired, her shotgun reaping casualties. John gripped the trigger of his rifle firing a controlled burst into an approaching grotesque.
"We're clear Chief, let's move, Fred will be waiting for us." Kelly said, her shotgun's report still echoing down the narrow hall. Kelly stepped into the piston and she vanished upward, whisked away by some manner of invisible fingers. John stepped in after her, feeling static wash through his armor and he was elevated up the tube and realized what he was looking at, three marines, lying dead, their dog tags already removed his HUD labeled them as Kemp, Takashi, and Novak. Spartan 031 was stationed at one of the stationary guns, while the other two were set in a low crouch protecting two wounded Marines. Pearson injected another canister of bio foam into wound in his side with a needle shard had speared him; the shard was removed before it detonated, but it was enough to knock the battle-hardened leatherneck off his feet, which was quite a statement. Bauer was propped up against the side of the dropship one bloodied hand clutching his side while the other supported his rifle. Fitzgerald was doing the best, his injuries were several but they were minor
John opened a private COM channel to Fred. "What happened?" he asked. "a group of Covenant Brutes were headed for the exit, and our bird for that matter, along with two attacks from the Flood these Marines held them off until we got here." Fred replied, concern flowing thickly in his raspy voice.
"Good work Marines, I'm sorry for your men, get some body bags out here for your fallen. Ryan, pack up the guns and get them on board, Will, prep the ship Fred and Kelly, help the wounded, I'll cover our evac." Pearson helped Bauer inside the craft and sat down silently three of his teammates were going home in body bags, a fact that he was not taking lightly. He saw the last of the armored soldiers climb aboard, and the dropship fired its belly jets and accelerated away from the containment walls. "Knife two-six, this is Spartan 117, requesting secondary air strike on the Quarantine Zone, copy?" John asked through his SATCOM line integrated into his helmet.
"……Roger that Chief strike in five, are your people out of there?" Two-six replied.
"Affirmative two-six we're clear, hit 'em hard Lieutenant, 117 out." John answered and clicked off the SATCOM. "Will, take us home, HQ on the island, ONI is going to want an update." John said.
"Roger that Chief, ETA is fourteen minutes." Will replied.
The Skyhawks' engines roared over them. Again a barrage of rockets and carpet bombs littered ground zero. Thousands of secondary explosions detonated with nuclear blast, throughout the inside of the containment walls, and the ground level of the Library…mission accomplished.
* * * * *
"Excellency, readings of high radiation, a Nuclear strike, my guess, on the ring, estimated around the Parasite's Quarantine Zone, the humans are already causing further desecration to the ring." A minor Elite reported to the Ship Master.
The Golden clad veteran gave a subtle nod and again turned his gaze to the displays of the Ring's surface. The Human fleet looked formidable, but the only aspect that worried him was the thousands of human soldiers on the surface where glassing the planet would be heresy, he had a few hundred skilled Sangheili under his command, in theory, and he could inflict a wound in the heart of the human infestation… his hand rested on the hilt of his plasma lance. Thousands of thoughts rushed through his head, but he had made his decision.
"Have my shuttle ready, Commander, and my men deployed to the station." The Ship Master ordered and strode from the Control platform and then towards the shuttle bay. The Elite casually stepped aboard his personal Phantom, which had been modified for his own comfort, being one of the higher ranking ship masters who held a place on the Council. Minutes later, after gliding through several kilometers of vacuum, the shuttle eased into the docking bay of the Covenant space station at the edge of the system that owned the Ring. Two dozen black clad Elites stood at rigid attention, awaiting their commanding officer. It was time to prepare the humans for the inevitable slaughter that was to come, the four standard Covenant dropship Phantoms were to engage their adaptive camouflage, infiltrate the Human blockade and proceed to the Silent Cartographer, now, if victory was found on this front, the humans' would find it much more difficult to transport reinforcements and reaction teams to the newly captured Island Fortress. Yes, the plan was a long shot, but the Sangheili were more than a match for the human 'marine regulars' that they deployed in large regiments throughout the battle front, but his special operations Elites could finish the job without a wide span of causalities. Victory was within grasp. Humanity would finally cease from squirming away form which was inevitable.
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