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The Covenant Invasion: Primal Confrontations 3
Posted By: Infernal<JRUNFIRE@YAHOO.COM>
Date: 17 August 2004, 6:54 AM
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The Darkness
Obsidian and his team broke into an oasis. Cool mist from a nearby waterfall sprayed onto their bodies, easing the uncomfortable sticky humidity accumalated from marching through the jungle. He motioned his team to be alert. There was movement in the darkness, watching- and waiting.
"Anelitak, you and Moringon come with me, the landing craft is supposed to have landed within the pool of water." They swiftly made their way into the murky depths, while the other three crouched in a defensive position at the pool's edge.
Obsidian holstered his weapon and dove into the relatively cool muck. He felt the tangle of roots and underwater vegetation brush past his body as the water pressure increased and popped his ears. He thought he saw something move across his peripheral vision, and immediately aimed his weapon. He steadily drifted in the soft current, awaiting any more activity, and satisfied that nothing was there, swam again to search for the craft.
Lenoth felt movement in the waters behind him, so he spun around to see what it was that gave him those goosebumps. Nothing, just the silent ripples reflecting broken moonlight and floating logs that bobbed.
"What is it that disturbs you, Lenoth?" He didn't want to admit it, but Guron too, had felt something. He couldn't put a bead on it, but there was someone, or something, waiting in the black expanse.
"Nothing, but keep alert you two. Be aware of your surroundings, for something lies patiently in the dark unknown." He got that feeling again, this time sending chills up his spine. Again, nothing but the water and logs. The logs, they had drifted slightly closer from the current.
Something shuffled on the water near the third Elite at the far left of the 15 meter wide defense position. He turned around and fired a shot. It was reflex. The leathery skinned creature's enormous jaws caught the torso of the Al'djurian warrior, overloading his shield and breaking through layers of skin, armor and bone.
The warrior screamed as his body was crushed from the force of the bite. Lavender-blue blood sprayed into the air, as the other two Elites began to fire upon the spikey backed creature. The plasma bolts burnt holes along its sides, as it dragged the victim's limp body into the murky water. Lenoth roared and followed the creature until he was chest deep within the pool.
"NO, WAIT!!! DO NOT PROCEED AFTER IT!!" Guron's warnings were in vain. Another creature blindsided the Elite, killing him instantly, with a sickening crunch.
Guron roared and fired angrily at the water, now bubbling in the area where his comrade once stood. The plasma bolts flash boiled the surface harmlessly, sending small puffs of steam that instantly dissipated after a few seconds.
The jungle screamed with animal life, almost as a mocking laugh to the silver-black armored Al'djurian warrior. The creatures of the forest knew what had taken place, and were active as a result. The Elite was almost in shock, confused and angry, not knowing what to make of what just happened.
"Obsidian, by the gods. You must return here, we are...I don't know...the other two have been slain!"
He stepped back from the water's edge, wary of his own livelihood. He needed to warn the others before he died. Therefore he couldn't take any risks, not yet. He put some distance from the pool. Guron's last action was turning around after feeling the warm mass from some heaping hulk of black flesh. The creature growled adn beat him to the dirt with its gigantic arms. The Elite kicked it in the chest, only to have another creature jump onto him.
It grabbed his neck and skull, and twisted them apart with its strong hands. The Al'djurian warrior went limp, as the victorious creature roared and beat his fists against his chest. The two creatures roared and danced around each other, before disappearing into the jungle. The animal noise calmed down, as small pools of purple blood trickled out the stump where an Elite's head had once been.
Lieutenant Colonel James Aegis wanted to be on the frontlines, killing as many Covenant troops that had the arrogance to cross his line of fire. The covies had landed on different parts of the world, some even landed here. Under his captivity, three Elites committed suicide before succumbing to torturous interrogations.
News from another outpost 150 miles south reported that a contingency of individual landing pods had crashed. He had sent frequent flyers to scope out the landing sites, and even deployed a recon unit to engage the numerically inferior force.
"Lt. Giavanni, how's our SAT-link? I need up to the second info on how everything is going up there. Any word from recon?"
"No sir, we've encountered a generous amount of interference since the plasma bombardment started."
"Have our pilots found anymore covies out there in the jungle?"
"No sir, but six hours ago, we picked up scrambled pulses of communication." The officer brought up the area and replayed the sounds that the crew on watch had heard at the time.
"Did anyone visually see anything?" He scratched his chin as he squinted his eyes from reading different reports.
"No sir, we thought it might've been just a little feedback from that downed covie ship, 350 miles east of here."
The Colonel had forgotten about that crashed ship. According to UNSC forces, the cruiser was blown to bits and hull crushed from its own weight.
"So, is there anything for us to kill at the moment?" Lack of combat, in light of recent events, agitated him. The same was for his whole battalion.
"No sir, but if it made you feel any better, sightings of Covenant troop transports from the outpost, Gilali-Henderson, were confirmed by our Skyhawks twenty minutes ago. We were asked to spare a company of our men for reinforcements. It looks like it'll be a quick pick-n-shoot for the AA guns though."
He quickly looked at the last confirmed sighting report, then smiled. Perhaps he and 360 other lucky men, would be able to fight after all.
"When were we given these requests?" He breathed heavily while scrolling through the list of battle-ready companies.
"Five minutes ago, sir."
"Call in Major Lennoix, I'm giving tactical command of the base to him. Alert fox company, tell them to gear up and load into the transports. Let 'em all know we're going out to kill some covies. Tell them we leave yesterday."
Major Lennoix was head of the intel analysis post. He knew that, sooner or later, the ex-ODST, Lt. Colonel Aegis, would eventually find a way into the thick of battle. A veteran of numerous search and extraction campaigns, the battle hardened Aegis wanted to do nothing but 'KILL, KILL, KILL.' He gave the Colonel a crisp salute, a good luck handshake, then about faced and began his duties that were handed over to him.
"Alright, so what's going on with the recon-unit, why haven't we heard from these guys yet?" He saw a corporal retreating from his shift of guard duty and beckoned him. "Hey corporal, if you're not too busy, get me some coffee. I like it black with three sugars, thank you."
"Will do sir."
"No word from recon sir." The Major's face became tense.
"No word from recon? The hell are they doing, sleeping?! We got dang-on end of the world shit going down, with Covenant bombing us and sights of landings, and still no freakin' word?!" The Major's concerns suddenly sent a wave of worry into the commanding officers.
"Where's the last transmission from? And what about the scrambled comm-pulses we picked up? These two things ain't coincidence people, we got a war going on. There's no such thing as coincidence."
He ordered into flight eight Skyhawks to low altitude bearings over the jungle canopy. Opening all possible channels of communication and energy readings, they would pick up someone whispering over a walkie talkie. He also had two companies load into four troop transports, being escorted by two, heavily armed Pelicans with small strike teams. One company was ordered to land in the vicinity of recon platoon's last transmission send. The second landed 15 miles south, where "scrambled comm-pulses" were being electronically felt.
As runway crews finished signaling off the last of the troop transports, lightning bolts lit up the sky, as a warm but well needed downpour commenced.
Olahim saw the blackness extended beyond the sight of the clifface. He and his other two Elites have managed to change any small hole, uneven surface and thick, mossy vine into a foothold or claw grip. They climbed 200 meters up already, along the side of the huge wall. According to his computer's potential landing site readings, Zorian's pod was somewhere up here, its silver casing wedged into stone.
He looked up at the night sky, wondering how long it would be before the entire human race would fall. There was no doubt their technology and tactics of warfare were superior. But the fact of the matter was, the humans had been putting up a much fiercer fight than any other conquered race they've battled.
Then there were reports of a breed of warriors among the human armies. Armored with obviously stolen shield devices, these warriors were known to take out thousands of Covenant soldiers. As seemingly invincible as they sounded, Olahim's knowledge rested on one fact: their armor only protected a fragile human.
"-Olahim, this forest has moved somehow.-"
"What are you speaking of?" He tensed and pulled himself up another couple of meters.
"-It's silhoutte moves with the wind, and creatures of the darkness have made their way toward us.-"
Olahim couldn't believe the idiots. Did he really need to think for them?
"Are they human soldiers?"
"-No-" Olahim thought for a second. Three bored Elites that hadn't killed anything in weeks, with intense combat training, scared of some moving shadows? Of course not. In a subtle, subversive way, the Al'djurian warrior was asking for his permission to let off some steam. Olahim's lower mandibles widened, then clicked.
"Go ahead Xemani, kill anything that comes near you."
"-Thank you, dear Olahim-"
"Equip the sabers, and save the rifles' energy."
"-Yes commander.-"
Olahim looked down, over his shoulder, and faintly saw the luminous green glow of the three Elites' plasma swords. He laughed, then continued his climb.
Sehon was the first to make out the landing pod's shape. The surge of adrenaline pushed all three Elites to the spot, five minutes later.
As they neared the pod, the rocks became slippery with the energy coils' fuel liquids. Its faintly light blue substance slowly trickled out of some tubes that ran along the inner length of the tub.
Olahim pulled himself onto the pod, quickly realizing the critical state it was in before it crashed. Large sized rounds punctured six different holes along the right side. Metal was sheered away at the top of the craft, indicating there had been a strong explosion from some flak or AA gun rounds making contact on the energy pions. He looked along the inner wall for the small craft's "blackbox". It contained the information that Olahim had been seeking, including the full communication recording that Zorian had with the crew of the Sirenous Requiem.
"We have found Zorian's fallen craft. To the rest of the search groups, sieze all activity and proceed to the human base."
He felt around until he felt the warmth of a control knobs energy. The Al'djurian warrior gripped it, then pushed it in. The hum of a metallic cube's prism popping through wires and cables vibrated the craft in its position. A few small rocks and dust fell down the clifface, as the two other Elites climbed onto the pod.
"Let us leave now, I have retrieved the knowledge we sought." He looked down into the jungle, searching for the green glow of the plasma sabers. They were gone, but Olahim wasn't worried. Perhaps they finished killing whatever it was they wanted to kill, and deactivated the weapons.
Obsidian finally broke the surface of the small pool. Olahim's order came in loud and clear, and the three Elites had long desired to come out the water.
They pointed their plasma rifles in three different directions as they made their way to the edge of the stream. Anelitak was the first one to realize teh other three had disappeared.
"Guron, Lenoth, Viameto. Where have these fools gone?" The two subordinates' tempers began to flare until Obsidian held up a claw for silence.
"Look here." He pointed to some stones covered in lavender blood. A shoulder's armor plate bobbed in the water's current, scraping against some rocks. Then Anelitak ran toward the jungle, his eyes narrowed on a target unseen to the other two.
"By the gods, this warrior's head has been taken!" The three Elites' expressions became a reflection of the shock that surged within their hearts. They stepped away from the dead body, chills running up and down theirs'. To them, this was an omen, a warning sign of death coming for them, but not through combat.
"Death abounds us, let us be cautious and do well before the gods."
"And should we come across the demon that has slain our brothers?"
Obsidian didn't have an answer for that. He knew that demons could never be killed. All he did was put his rifle into perfect sight alignment, and urged the other two to follow.
Anelitak stopped at the jungle's edge, turned around, crossed his claw on his chest and bowed his head. It was a final salute to a fallen comrade.
Lieutenant Colonel Aegis was looking out the viewport, port side in the Pelican's cockpit. It began to rain hard, as he and his company headed out to the UNEF outpost, Gilali-Henderson.
"ETA to Gee-Henderson, T-minus five minutes, sir." The pilot's voice seemed calm and resolute, hiding the fear within her heart. Almost every pilot in this crew has never faced Covenant forces in their entire life. Training or not, nothing could prepare an individual for combat with Covenant. Except, well, the Covenant themselves.
"Thank you Lieutenant. You heard the lady men, lock and load your weapons. As soon as we land, I want two platoons guarding the main and back-up generators. The rest of us are on ground sweep detail. Time to get pissed off people!" He checked his rifle as incoming acknowledgements from his subordinates assured him in understanding. He donned his old ODST uniform, having missed all the action from previous years. Numerous scars worked across the chestplate and shoulder armor, indicating many encounters with the covies.
As the relentless raindrops splattered on the windshield and ran off, lightning bolts lit up the darkness for a second. Aegis thought he saw movement, for just a brief second. Wartime paranoia set in, as he quickly moved over to the radar screen.
"Hey there, Lieutenant, we picking up any wierd things out there?" He stared back out the viewport, watching for a small hint of what he thought might be the enemy.
"No unusual signals or electronic readings sir."
Another flash of white-blue light illuminated the night. This time, the Colonel was sure he saw something. He went through his gear and equipped a pair of night-vision digital binoculars. The rapidly falling raindrops played tricks on his eyes, obscuring his sight's accuracy significantly.
"Put me on the CO at Gilali-Henderson, please." The co-pilot punched in a few keys. A gruff, tired voice responded.
"-This is Lt. Colonel Vermani speaking.-"
"Hey, it's Aegis. Are you manning the ground to air floodlights right now?"
"-No need, Colonel. Our electronic equipment picks up covies far off. If the lights were our only eyes, we'd get cooked before we even got a chance to spit.-"
Aegis knew this to be the truth. The centuries old strategy for seeing targets in the night sky was almost obsolete against the Covenant. But instincts told him to ask for illumination, so he did.
"Have some men activate the lights, nonetheless. Have them bear on my incoming signal, Vermani." He rubbed his eyes before looking through the binoculars again.
Faint, but sufficient beams of soft white light reflected off the clouds, creating a projection screen effect as the raindrops made shadows against them. With the new illumination, the Lt. Colonel could see what he had already suspected. His face became tight, and he bit his lower lip.
"Vermani, you might wanna send in some AA fire on my mark." He clipped on his black helmet, as he commanded the pilot crew to activate active scans of the region. Millions of little dots made contact with the signals the Pelican sent out. But the ones that were big enough to be the enemy blinked over and over, stronger than the others.
"-Anti-Aircraft batteries warmed and ready to fire, Aegis.-"
"Fire sixty degrees by seventy degrees north of my position. Light that sky up Colonel."
A second or two passed before the zipping flash of large tracer rounds and shredder fragmentation missiles worked a Covenant landing force only half a mile from Aegis and his crew. The Co-pilot didn't believe his eyes, nervous and anxiety began to take over. Aegis put a reassuring hand on the young officer.
"Looks like we're gonna have to do things the old fashioned way Vermani, our electronic equipment didn't pick them up like it was supposed to."
Aegis looked through his binoculars again, to see what the covies would do in response. His eyes widened when he saw more and more Banshees appearing like a swarm of locusts from the dark rain clouds. Then troop transports descended, four, then five of them, dragging vapor along their hulls while their main weapons glowed and glistened.
"Aegis to Vermani. I suggest you scramble some Skyhawks. And when I say some, I mean all of 'em. Covies are air dominant at this time, and there ain't no way I'm dropping my men off without any air support. It'd be suicide, and we all know the only way we're going down is after committing some homocide." He checked his weapon again, and gritted his teeth while watching the countdown to their landing.
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