About This Site
Daily Musings
News
News Archive
Site Resources
FAQ
Screenshots
Concept Art
Halo 2 Updates
Interviews
Movies
Music
Miscellaneous
Mailbag
HBO PAL
Game Fun
The Halo Story
Tips and Tricks
Fan Creations
Wallpaper
Misc. Art
Fan Fiction
Comics
Logos
Banners
Press Coverage
Halo Reviews
Halo 2 Previews
Press Scans
Community
HBO Forum
Clan HBO Forum
HBO IRC Channel
Links
Admin
Submissions
FTP Uploads
HTTP Uploads
Contact

Note to the reader: It has taken me a long time to write this chapter so I'd appreciate any feedback. The morale boost given allows me to write stories more inventively and more often.

Chapter 3 Section 3: The Fallen Arise
1037 Hours November 16, 2553 (Military Calendar)
New York City, Downtown Educational District 3

The Chief looked up and blinked twice not believing what he saw in front of him. The green armored glove was still there as well as the one it belonged to. He grabbed it and was pulled to his feet. After wiping the blood off his shields he took a look around. There were six of them, six other Spartans, all in the older model suits. Half were the original Mk Is while the others were in the Mk IIs. Scratches and dried blue blood stained parts of their armor. All were armed with the outdated MA5B excluding the one who had given a helping hand. He had a slightly upgraded S2 AM.

" Soldier, " he said over the radio to the Spartan that helped him up, " Who are you people? Which class are you from? " The one that helped him was a bit confused and spoke to the Chief directly.

" The first class sir," the Spartan replied confused, " Don't you remember us 117? " He knew the voice and then the Chief smacked himself to see if he was truly alive. It hurt as it should've bringing him to the conclusion that he was not among the dead.

" Yes, but how did you-"

" Don't worry about the details. We'll explain everything later. " The Spartan said interrupting the Chief. " Now we've got more hostiles coming in. More than we've got ammunition for. Recommend we leave this place and come back in full force. We are awaiting your orders...Blue-One. " The Chief snapped out of his unbelieving state of mind and quickly thought of what was necessary to be done. He quickly assigned call names to each of them.

" You three, " the Chief said pointing to one of them in the Mk I armor and two in Mk II. " You are Red group. The rest of you are in Blue group. Red group assign yourselves numbers and prepare to back out of this area. " He then turned and assigned numbers to the others. " Now who can tell me what is left outside? " Red-One stepped forward and explained. He dug into the loose rubble and drew what had happened.

" The Lucifer dropship dusted off with the damaged armor units and left about a company of assorted infantry along with several gun emplacements. We came in as it was leaving. " Red-One said pointing outside. " Several of the guns have been blown thanks to Blue-Three. We also dealt with everything that got in our way to here. Which was about twenty Grunts and the three other units inside this room. The remaining enemy force has begun to dig in. Seems they are trying not to destroy the museums or the library nearby. "

" Very similar to Sigma Octanus. " the Chief added.

" Right. Now we've received reports that an armor column is on its way. ETA is ten minutes. Our dropship was shot down just three hundred meters south of here on the outer edge of the educational district. Don't know if the other dropships made it, but that area is to hot for our numbers to even consider making it in and out again in one piece. Too many armored units. " Cortana decided to ask a few of her own questions when the Spartan stopped speaking.

" Are there any human survivors left in this area? " she asked. The others spun around with weapons ready. They scanned everywhere trying to find the source of the voice. The Chief tapped his helmet twice.

" What was that sir? " Blue-Two asked.

" Cortana, our computer...our electronics and battlefield analysis specialist. Now are there any survivors left in this area? " The Chief replied. Red-One shook his head. " Well then. Let's get out of here while we still can. "

" Teams there is an exit in the basement. Leads all the way back to the shipping district and all over the city. I strongly suggest we take this route back and assist in the eventual counter attack. " Cortana said. They looked at each other and then to the Chief.

" We'll travel together as one unit until we reach the port, " the Master Chief said. " We'll then split up and try to take this city along with the remaining marines here. " He got up and policed the ammo from the dead marines and decided to gather their field recordings and dog tags. The others were busy enough grabbing the plasma weapons from the dead Covenant. After everyone was loaded up they headed out into the hall.

Tiny colored lights darted across the navy blue and tan walls. As the lights zipped upward code ran along the ceiling painting odd colors onto the floor. Carefully the Spartans made their way down to the basement slipping past several Covenant on patrol. Several more Phantom dropships were coming and dropping off mechanized infantry. They could tell from the distinct roars of the engines and the howling of Grunts. The group gathered dog tags from the dead they ran across and made it to the basement in short time. They were a bit shocked, as the basement was rather small for an elementary school of its size.

Pipes ran along the ceiling and wires were exposed to the air. It was not as professional looking as the floors above. The Chief spotted the manhole easily and pried it open. Two Spartans had their rifles fixed on the manhole while the others kept the area secure.

" Red-Three you're first. " Master Chief said. The smaller Spartan left her position and went down. It was pitch black in this area when Red-Three landed. Her vision adjusted quickly before she turned on her nightvision. Blue-Four was next, followed by the others and lastly by the Master Chief. " Which way now Cortana? " A NAV point appeared on everyone's HUD. The distance was a little over six kilometers.

" Chief the marines have moved up and have established a better hold out sector. They've been engaged by the Covenant presence here only once and with minimal armored force. That's not saying that the marines didn't receive all hell, but it seems the Covenant have not been on the offensive too much these past few hours. " Cortana said. That was good news as far as the Chief and the others were concerned.

" Teams split up into your groups. Red Team I want you on the other side of this sewer pipe. The water here is shallow, move across and go into five-meter spacing. Just incase something is down here. " The Master Chief said. " If there is anything do not engage unless imminent danger presents itself. And no explosives. Blue-One Over." He got three acknowledgment lights on his HUD.

The three Spartans consisting of Red Team moved across and did as the Chief had ordered. They almost blended in perfectly with the green tinted nightvision and came close to disappearing along the side of the sewer wall. They traveled a kilo when they stopped and heard a pair of Grunts talking above them. The Chief turned off his nightvision and switched to infrared. He looked up through a storm grate at the cold bottom hoof of one of them. The translation software got part of what they were saying.

It was a lesser red-back officer being rimmed out by a black-back veteran type. There wasn't much other than a mention of the marines being to large in number compared to the officer's squad and he was forced to fall back if he was going to survive and come back in full force. The argument was quickly shut off when the veteran rimmed him out and fired its plasma pistol into the officer's chest cavity.

" Well at least they are killing each other. " Blue-Two commented. The Spartans continued on when a problem had occurred another kilometer ahead of them.

" Blue-Four to Blue-One. Over. "

" Copy Blue-Four what is it? "

" Sir up ahead the sewer has collapsed. I can see into a building above us. Looks like an office from my position. No enemy contact. Over."

" Roger that. Motion tracker is clean. We'll move up and advance on the streets. But be careful people. We can not afford to be found this far away from reinforcement. Blue-One out. " The squad moved into the office covering each other's blind spots.

The office was a mess. Blood stained papers were scattered across the floor and constant dripping of water came from the pipes in the ceiling. Every window was automatically shut tight. No contacts alive or otherwise. They advanced into another large office area with a flickering when a good-sized mass of movement was being picked up from outside. Faint sounds of humans crying could be heard from the other side of the wall they were nearest to.

The Chief pointed a single finger towards a closed window and then pointed to Red-One and Blue-Three. After he had done this he made his hand into what looked like a knife and did a small lifting motion. He got two green lights and they went to their task. The nightvision was shut off and they were plunged into the darkness.

Red-One opened up the sealed window seal by pressing a touch panel next to it and then again for the glass window. They were looking into a parking lot that was roughly seventy-five square meters. Traces of sunlight were shown in the lot illuminating small patches of concrete. There were a few cars, mostly those of the employees of the office. They resumed their analysis when two plasma pistols were suddenly fired at an extremely rapid pace. Terrified screams were heard during the shooting. The two Spartans had their rifles pointing out the window immediately. A group of about ten civilians had been cut down by two Jackals, but the Covenant warriors had gotten something they hadn't expected.

A pair of unwounded male civilians had rushed the two while the plasma weapons were overheated. The humans bashed the claw like weapons out of the hands of the enemy and began to wrestle on the ground. The blue shields made it had for both the attackers and the Covenant to move.

The Spartans tried to aim at the Jackals, but there was a great chance they'd hit a friendly instead. The struggle continued when one of the shield bands was torn off. The Jackal was pinned down and met several blows to the skull by a human fist. The creature writhed and struggled in pain. The man continued striking his fist when a sharp pain entered his shoulder. The Jackal having a longer jaw reached up and latched on with its serrated teeth. Flesh was torn, blood was spilled, and filthy saliva entered the wound. The Jackal struggled for power and got on top of the man chewing on his shoulder still. The pair of Spartans had a clear shot to its back and took full advantage of it.

Two quick bursts of armor piercing bullets ripped a few new engravings along its back and into the spinal cord. The body went limp and the Jackal's bloody jaw slid off. The other pair was shocked to hear the report of weapons fire and momentarily stopped to look over. The human saw the two Spartans in the window and got far enough away from the confused Jackal in time to avoid another burst of bullets. Black blood sprayed out of several holes in its neck as it desperately tried in vain to continue its existence. The men looked in terror as they saw the Spartans and were stunned by their sudden appearance. The now wounded one grabbed his shoulder looking at the shredded wound.

" Damn it! It bit me. The son-of-a-bitch bit me. " He said.

" Blue-Three take point. Blue-Four help the wounded. " The Chief ordered off the COM channels. Blue-One went through the window and stepped onto the street. He looked around, saw the corpses, and waved the others forward. The two civilian survivors watched as the Spartans came out and quickly secured the area.

They were stunned at the sight of the armored soldiers. After the area was confirmed secured Blue-Four went over and gave a quick patch up of the wounded man's shoulder. When he was finished he resumed his position in the defensive matrix.

" Team I've got incoming hostile signals incoming. They got a negative radio reply from the Jackal scouts. I'd say ten maybe more incoming signals from the north. " Cortana said. The Chief brought his hand up in a fist and spread his fingers out. The squad fanned out and disappeared in the corners, under bodies, or any other spot they could find. The two survivors, although frightened, followed suit.

A moment had passed and a single orange armored Grunt showed himself. It walked forward and stopped in the center of the parking lot and saw the two dead Jackals as well as the dead humans. It was confused and scratched its head. The Grunt turned around and waved inward. Ten more Grunts came in and fanned out checking out the area. They came within arms' reach of several of the Spartans, but they did not engage. A moment had passed and the majority of the Grunts relaxed and sat down.

The Master Chief saw they growing closer to Red-Three's position. Closer to the pile of human bodies she was hiding in. He opened a secure COM channel and spoke quietly. " Red-Three you are the go signal for the attack. Over. " He got an acknowledgement light and saw that the enemy was getting close. Finally one of the Grunts stopped above her and took a seat on the bodies above the Spartan.

Red-Three then sprang into action grabbing the Grunt's neck and crushing it with her hands. The rest of the Spartans opened fire when Red-Three got up. The Covenant had no idea what had hit them and began running around frantically. They were put down swiftly. Afterwards the Chief walked over to the parking lot's exit and crouched by the corner.

The squad immediately followed him and fanned out along the exit. The rifle fire was too much and too loud as it alerted a nearby armored patrol. Three Ghosts were coming to investigate. The Chief watched the LRVs and saw the pilots, nothing more than Grunts tightly packed into their seats. He waited for them to come within range and put his targeting reticule on the head of the lead Ghost pilot. He fired a five round burst into the alien and watched as it rolled off the still accelerating vehicle.

Its body jolted around as fire enveloped its face. However the methane had not been entirely ignited when the mask was penetrated. The Grunt could still breathe, but with normal air mixed into it. The combination of gases flowed into the gas-sucker's lungs and went off like a Roman candle from the inside out. The other two pilots swerved over to their dying comrade and then to the direction of the Spartans.

Blue fire came streaking in and hit the Chief four times. He dropped on his back as his shields completely dropped and fired at the front of the LRV on the right. The Spartans as a whole opened fire picking away at the reinforced plating while avoiding being shot. The storm of armor piercing bullets did their damage and ignited one of the plasma converters on one of the Ghosts. Super-heated blue flame came from the Ghost as it spun out of control and burned away at the concrete road below. The other Ghost met a similar fate shortly there after.

The Chief pointed to Blue-Four and had him take point. The Spartans left the civilians and continued their path down the war torn streets of New York. It was nearly an hour of trying to avoid any confrontation with the Covenant. On occasion a pair of Longsword fighters or a Pelican would fly overhead and deliver attacks further into the city. The flights became fewer when the Spartans made it to a battered marine outpost near the waterfront.

They watched as everything that was going on. Damaged Pelicans were loading up for attack runs, a fleet light tonnage cargo transporter was having its supplies unloaded, a pair of Warthogs and Squirrels were on patrol, while the mobile deployment medical hospital was stacked with wounded. All through the firebase hold out points and barricades were being established.

" What do we do now sir? " Blue-Two asked.

" I want all of you to gather new weapons and ammo. Try them out on that damaged wall over there. " The Master Chief said pointing to the side of a scorched structure. " Your armor should automatically adjust to the upgraded reticules. " The Spartans understood the orders and went to one of the munitions piles.

They examined the newer weapons and took what they saw fit. They each took an MA8A excluding Red-Three and Blue-Four. They grabbed the M7C and enough ammo for the seven of them. The Spartans tried out their new toys and were satisfied by the stopping power and fire rate of the weapons.

" Chief, " Cortana said. " You got a new objective. "

" Pipe it through to the rest of the squad Cortana. " he requested.

" Of course. Cortana to Red and Blue teams. The brass has given you orders to assist in a counter attack as expected in the educational district. You are to arrive via Pelican dropship, retake that area, and await further orders. " She said. " Longsword airstrikes are in progress and are awaiting mop up. "

" You heard her Spartans! Lock and load! " Blue-Two barked. They loaded their weapons and searched for a dropship. Most had already been filled and were in the process of lifting off. The Chief spotted at the end of the line of dropships one that was vacant. It was his "reserved" ride Omega 74. He ran for it and the Spartans followed. The tail gunner saw the Spartans coming and his jaw dropped wide open. He wanted to say something, but he was in too much disbelief to speak.

The clanking of boots onto the deck of the dropship then alerted the pilots. Ellerman looked back and nearly jumped out of his seat. He only thought a group of marines had gotten on board, but he did not expect a group of Spartans. Lieutenant Marner looked back and had the same reaction.

" Get us out of here lieutenants. " Cortana said.

" Yes ma'am. Beginning lift off and setting in a course for the drop zone. " Marner said preping the dropship for lift off. Omega 74 ascended to one hundred meters and followed a line of other dropships. They were roughly in the center of the pack of sixteen Pelicans on route to the educational district. The Chief had the first seat out and took advantage of his spot to look for potential hold out points.

There were a few around some destroyed pieces of armor both Covenant and UNSC. He watched some small isolated firefights occurring and fired a few rounds of support every time he had a clear shot. It wasn't much, but he had wounded maybe even killed a few of the Covenant down below. He watched and waited patiently with the rest of his men. As they waited and were within a mile of the dropzone a transmission came in.

" Keep your heads down back there. We've got incoming plasma flak and anti-armor weapons fire coming in. Its gonna be a rough landing. " The lead Pelican pilot said. No more had the message been said that the living hell had begun. The plasma flak and Wraith mortar fire came in was heavy as rain. The dropship pilots spilt off into groups of two or three and swerved through the city's towers to avoid being hit.

The Spartans held on tight and watched nervously at the incoming fire they were passing. Two Wraith rounds flew towards their dropship and barely missed. The heat given off was enough to melt an outer layer of armor on the dropship's tail. Another volley of plasma flak came in and hit the Pelican just behind them.

Armor plating fell off and to the ground. The dropship's flight became uncontrolled and it was hit again inside the troop compartment. Flaming marines fell out of the back end to their deaths below. The warthog on the back was melted to nothing but a formless piece of metal and fell off the magnetic tail. The Chief watched the bodies fall and hit the ground hard. The Covenant ground troops were right on top of the corpses the second they hit. He turned away not wanting to see what was to become of his allies. It was not a time to be concerned for the dead, but for his own squad. Omega 74 swerved away from the other pelicans and went into another area. This helped spread the dropships out more evenly for a quick advance.

" Thirty seconds till drop. " Marner said over the radio. " God be with ya. " Those words did not help ease up any of the tension. The dropships had begun firing their forward machine guns to clear the way. Three dozen Covenant infantry bought the farm as they set down and unloaded their troops.

We are NOT Bungie, Inc.! Bungie Inc. are bungie.net!
Halo © Bungie Inc., 1999-2012, Microsoft 2012-2024
Intellectual © halo.bungie.org, 1999-2024