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Chapter 21

0800 Hours, July 18, 2552 (Military Calendar) /
Sigma Octanus IV, grid thirteen by twenty-four

Blackness. That's all it was, blackness. No sound, no sight, no taste, touch or smell. Just nothing. It was as if he was in a kind of limbo between life and death, not knowing what to do. He knew he wasn't dead as he had some feeling of consciousness, but also knew he was far from alive at that moment in time. He couldn't remember anything. Couldn't remember where he was, who he was, why he was here, wherever here was. He didn't even know why he couldn't see or hear, couldn't wake up, but he did know that he was alive. He delved deep down into his mind and tried to find something, what he didn't know, but he knew there was something there he could use. He pushed at something. There he thought. He felt something move. Was it his finger? Which finger was it? He pushed again, this time harder. He felt his hand clench, the muscles contracting and the fingers wrapping around underneath each other into a fist.

He searched again, pushing at another part, felt a foot move, but was resisted by something. What? What was it? He could move it up and down but only to a certain extent. He couldn't extend it fully, nor retract it back as it should. He pushed at both places together, and felt both his foot and hand move in unison, wriggling backwards and forwards. Another place and he felt his other hand move, then his other foot, and then both his legs. It wasn't much movement but he could tense and relax the muscles. Soon he was in control of all his body again, could tense and relax each muscle, feel his chest rising and falling, feel his fingers clench and unclench, feel his feet moving from side to side, up and down. But there was still resistance to them all.

Something was limiting him in doing what his body should be doing. But what? He still didn't know where he was, or why he was here. He tried to move his arm up and over his chest, and felt his bicep catch on something metallic, cold, making him jerk back in surprise.

And then it all came flooding back. The sensor placement, grid thirteen by twenty-four, the UNSC, the Covenant, all of it. The metallic material was that of his body armour, and he couldn't move his feet properly because of the dead body on his legs.

Manny opened his eyes and saw lush green trees above him, swaying in the light breeze of the morning. The sun pierced through the gaps in the jungle canopy, projecting shafts of light onto the ground around him. It seemed serene, quiet, as if nothing was happening. And then his hearing returned with a crash, as something detonated nearby, scattering earth and blood over him. He rolled to his right as he finally managed to regain control of his body, and as he did so his eyes took in a view he wished never to see again.

A dozen bodies littered the ground around him, some with no arms, no legs, no heads, no lower body. It was heart wrenching to see it, and Manny knew he was in very grave danger. He tried to remember what had happened here, what had become of his squad mates.

They had reached the co-ordinates, and found a huge grotto that was an overwhelming site at first, with lush vegetation, a sparkling waterfall and a huge lake. Then something had blown the Lieutenant out of existence, as well as whoever was standing next to him. Manny had seen his squad turn and run, but Bravo and Echo hadn't been so lucky and had been overpowered. That was when Manny blacked out, he didn't know what from. He checked for wounds quickly and discovered he was unhurt, although his head throbbed.

And then he lay there, in silence, trying to discern the noises around him. How long had he been unconscious? How long had he lain there, whilst his comrades were slaughtered? He peered around and saw he wasn't far from the grotto, about twenty metres to its edge. He had seen movement atop the waterfall when they were attacked, but whatever it was, it wasn't there now. He turned back to the dead around him. He hoped Fincher, Sarah and the rest of his squad mates were alright, hoping that they weren't the bodies lying in front of him.

He was about to get to his feet when he heard chattering a few metres away and froze in place. The noise grew louder and Manny recognised it as that of a Grunt. No, not one, but two. They were speaking in their alien language, emitting guttural barks and squeaks as they neared his position. His hand was at his side, trying to slowly pull out his HE pistol.

They were going to spot him, he knew it. He could probably get one of them, but its partner would most certainly burn him into the ground. They couldn't have been but a meter away now, he could hear their hoof-life feet stamping the ground nearby. Then their squeaking stopped, and it sounded like one was whispering to the other.

They'd seen him. He heard one of them fumble with its plasma weapon and knew this was it. The all-too familiar sound of a plasma pistol overcharging filled his ears and he waited for the impact on his back, waited for the searing pain that would follow.

Now, he thought to himself, it's coming now. But at the moment he thought it would fire, the loud crackling sound of a Sub-Machine Gun erupted, and he heard surprised shouts from the Grunts. He rolled over, pulling his pistol free and saw that one of the aliens had gone down, blue blood pouring from its chest. The other one, however still had its weapon charged and was aiming passed Manny.

He raised the weapon up to the Covenant's head and fired off three shots, catching cleanly with each bullet and sending it to the ground, the plasma discharging harmlessly into the air.

He lay there, the weapon smoking in his hand, waiting to see if anything came at him. A second passed and he suddenly felt something grab at his armour. He spun around on the floor and brought his pistol up, ready to fire.

The bloodied face of Harris greeted him with a smile. A long gash stretched from his forehead to his cheek and one of his eyes was swelled closed. He put a hand on the barrel of the weapon and pushed it slowly away from his head, then hefted Manny to his feet.

"C'mon, we gotta get out of here." He said, reaching down momentarily to pick up the SMG he had used to down the Grunts. Manny paused quickly, then grabbed a nearby MA5B and three clips of ammo. They made their way from the carnage, Harris stopping to pick up a Jackhammer launcher and two extra rockets. Slinging it over his shoulder, he caught up with Manny and the pair headed back to where they had left the Warthogs.

After running for five minutes, they slowed to a jog, keeping their eyes open for any sign of the enemy. The forest was thicker than Manny thought, not even being able to see an opening back into the clearing.

"What happened back there?" Manny asked, his lungs taking in deep breaths of air.

"Something big took out the El-tee," Harris replied. "They were waiting for us, Manny, it was a trap. They wiped out Bravo squad just as quick, and Echo didn't do any better either. It was just blind luck that Raynes had pulled Alpha back to set up the sensors. When all hell broke loose, I saw Raynes take a plasma bolt in the head. Harland and a few others high-tailed it into the jungle, the rest of the squad was taken down by a group of Jackals that had come up behind us. At that point I got knocked to the ground by an explosion and lay there till the shooting stopped."

"Did you see what happened to Sarah?" Manny asked, trying not to let the emotion in his voice show. Harris shook his head slowly, then turned to look away. Manny's head spun and his stomach flipped over. If something had happened to her, Manny would go insane. She could be dead for all he knew, and he wouldn't even have a chance to say goodbye or anything.

"C'mon man," Harris piped up "We gotta get going. This place could be crawling with Covenant." He grabbed Manny by the shoulder and pulled him by his battle harness out into the harsh rain had been previously shielded from them by the jungle canopy. Now they stood out in the open, staring at a large plain of land, a dozen Warthogs parked nearby. They both ran towards the nearest one, Manny diving into the drivers seat. Harris slung his rifle and the Jackhammer launcher he had picked up into the passenger seat and then climbed up into the gun emplacement. Manny gunned the engine and the wheels spun in the dirt, jerking the jeep forwards as they finally sped away from the jungle they had nearly been massacred in.





"Are you sure we're going the right way?" Harris bellowed down at Manny. The jeep was now going at a slow pace, the driver confident they were well away from any Covenant forces. After leaving the jungle behind them, the pair had driven for over five hours, but never found Firebase Bravo or their senior HQ, which was worrying, as Manny had gotten such a high score in the map-reading course he took back at boot camp. Harris had kept telling Manny to "go this way" and "through that ravine" and so on, and Manny had followed his directions until they found themselves back near the mouth of the jungle again.

"Nope!" Manny shouted back. "And I don't care! I'm sure if we drive long enough we'll find somewhere with life!"

"Hopefully not alien life! What if we're left behind on this planet? What if the Covenant glass it with us on it?"

"Then we're fucked!" Manny replied tersely. He jerked the steering wheel sharply to the left, spinning the Hog round a cluster of boulders, one of which jutted out above the ground and nearly took Harris out of his seat.

Up ahead, Manny spotted the coastline. If there was sea around, maybe there was a boat of some sort they could get on? If he remembered correctly, the map he saw showed a continent a few hundred kilometres East of their position. The vehicle bounded onto the sandy beaches that lined the silvery-blue water. It was getting late in the day now, the sun drifting down towards the horizon, casting a yellow glare onto the waves. Harris unbuckled himself from the chain gun, picked up his SMG and clambered into the passenger seat, not saying a word. Manny peered to his right and saw the shock and confusion on Harris' face. But then again, he had worn that same expression after every single engagement with the Covenant, and Manny wondered if the bigger man was having flashbacks of Greggs' death.

The pair drove on in silence for what seemed like an eternity, just staring ahead, their minds filled with the day's events. It wasn't until they rounded a beachhead that Manny finally spoke.

"Hey is that a boat?" he pointed over to what looked like a wooden dock. At the end of it a small vessel bobbed up and down in the water, its white panels glowing in the afternoon sun. As they neared it, they saw it was a leisure yacht, and a little over twenty metres in length. Although space-ships, planes, and every other kind of transport had been evolving over the centuries, boats had stayed very much the same, except that electric engines had replaced the cumbersome old-fashioned combustion engines of the 20th century. Other than that, the yacht looked like one two hundred years ago.

Manny steered the Hog onto the peer and right up to the boat, noticing that the wooden slats beneath the wheels were bending under the weight of it. He hopped out whilst Harris hefted himself up onto the back of the passenger seat and surveyed the area.

Manny stepped onto the back of the boat, his rifle raised, ready for any unwanted surprises. He stepped through the door that led into the boat itself, and noticed that it was just like those leisure yachts he used to see in magazines and on the television; pristine white, with everything you could ever need. There were holo-screens, TV-screens, GPS, two of the comfiest looking beds and a mini-bar in the lounge area. Climbing up on to the deck he walked over to the large, oak-finish steering wheel; something that was actually a piece of ornamentation rather than what was used to steer the craft.

Next to it was a touch-screen, a throttle control and a flexi-grip joystick. He flicked through the various options on the screen until he came to the "Start-Up" screen. With the touch of a button, the motors came to life. He glanced over the side of the boat and waved to Harris.

"Hey it works, c'mon." Harris smiled back at him, but it soon turned to one of horror as the unmistakable sound of a Banshee's whining engine filled the air. Manny's head darted up and saw the purple craft looming down on them. "GET IN!!" he yelled, pulling out his sidearm. The pistol came up in his hands and aimed at the assault-craft. Without his helmet, and the HUD display that came with it, he couldn't zoom in, but the Banshee was pretty close now and he unleashed several rounds into its shiny hull. Sparks flew off of the aircraft and it wavered in the air slightly, but apart from that it was unscathed.

Blue plasma rained down from the sky, splashing in the water in front of the dock and tracing up and onto the wooden panels, splitting them in half. Harris dove into the back of the Warthog, clutching at the Jackhammer launcher. He got a hand round it and forced his legs to move, propelling him sideways and out of the LRV. As he cleared it, a huge ball of green plasma exploded from the incoming Banshee and impacted on the side of the Warthog, blowing it into the air, taking the dock with it.

Manny jammed another clip into his pistol and fired round after round into the purple craft. It swooped low over where Harris, who now was clambering into the side of the yacht. Manny fired the last bullet in the clip and a metallic clack signalled there was no ammunition left. He fumbled for another magazine and slapped it home, and brought it up for a third assault. The Banshee soared over the water, and as it pulled up to circle back round, it exploded into a ball of fire as Manny's final round penetrating one of its fuel pods. The wreckage spun in the air, spilling molten metal into the ocean where it sizzled and smoked.

He looked on in disbelief at what he had just witnessed, then he snapped back to reality and went to the back of the pilot station and saw Harris looking equally as awe struck as he must have. They exchanged glances for a split second and then Harris sprinted up on top, the Jackhammer launcher slung over his shoulder. Manny jammed the throttle forwards and grabbed the joystick, feeling it mould to his touch through his gloves. The boat roared and shuddered forwards, parting the water and jetting off at an alarming speed.

"Where the hell had that come from?" Harris yelled. "It couldn't have been following us for all that time could it?"

Manny glanced at the taller man as he steered the boat due East. "I think that's exactly what it did. It probably thought that we might go back to Firebase Bravo, or even better, HQ. Then it could radio in our position and we'd get blitzed left, right and centre." He whipped sweat from his brow. "He could have radioed in before he attacked us for all we know. There could be a dozen ships on their way."

Harris winced as he poked at the cut on his forehead. When they had gotten in the Warthog, he had slapped a bandage on it, but it had come off in the Banshee attack. Crusted blood caked his forehead. "So what now? We go to wherever and try and find a drop ship back to the Fair Weather?" Harris mumbled.

"That's about the size of it." Manny replied, sighing heavily. "I don't know what else to do." They stood in silence as the boat jolted over the waves, watching the sun get lower and lower in the sky, until it was an orange globe on the horizon, smothered by the glistening ocean ahead of them.





Oma 'Kitomee swung his Banshee attack-ship in a tight arc, bringing it down low over the ocean. The small craft skimmed the waves, accelerating away from the land he had previously been circling. He checked his radar and noticed the three ships behind him had cut into a tight formation, with two either side of him and one in the centre, not metres apart from them. One of his men had spotted a human vehicle, what they called a "Warthog", driving along a dirt track whilst on patrol. He'd given the pilot permission to tail the vehicle, to see if it led them back to their main base of operations, something he had wanted to do himself but his orders were to patrol the coast.

He and his four ships could have easily destroyed the vehicle but what would be better than to call in the position another human camp to his superiors? They had already hit two, completely decimating them, or so the reports had said. 'Kitomee had kept in contact with the pilot, and followed two kilometres behind him, in case he ran into trouble. When a report came back that the humans had stopped and were inspecting a "boat", he ordered the Banshee to attack, but had subsequently lost contact. And on reaching the point of his man's last transmission had found nothing but the wreckage of his downed aircraft and the "Warthog", and no sign of the "boat" or the humans.

What could have been a stroke of genius on 'Kitomee's behalf had turned into a slight annoyance. If his superiors found out he had deviated from his patrol and lost a ship in the process, he could face a court-marshal, or even a jail sentence. Another plan had formulated in his mind, one which involved finding and destroying the humans who had cost him a good pilot. Of course, he would have to modify his report a little so it looked like he hadn't broken from patrol. His men wouldn't take much convincing to lie to the higher-ups, and they were eager to kill something that day.

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