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All Roads Lead To Sol...Despite What The Map Says: Chapter 10
Posted By: S7N<n.j.r.jones@brighton.ac.uk>
Date: 10 August 2003, 5:17 PM
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Chapter 10
1750 Hours, April 13, 2547 (Military Calendar) /
Derias System, Derian Prime Theater
of Operations
"How many, how far?" Raynes muttered. Covenant patrols were one thing, but if it was an extermination force, the squad could be in for some heavy fighting.
"We counted six Grunts, two Jackals, sir." Fincher replied "Looks like a patrol. They were about two hundred metres West of here sir, coming this way. I'd give them a few minutes before they are on us"
Raynes thought for a moment. Engaging the patrol could bring more Covenant forces to their position, and without support from Bravo or Echo teams they could be in hot water if things got ugly. They'd have to be quick with this. Grunts were easy to take out, but Jackals were a different story. Their shields proved impenetrable, and the only way passed them was to either use grenades or flank them. Using Grenades in a tight space like they were in now could result in more human casualties than alien. They'd have to flank the bastards.
"Harland, Fincher, I want you two taking up flanking positions. Taylor, pick your spot, but fire only when I say so." Grace nodded to him. "I want the rest of you in a staggered line. Engage only on my orders, no grenades or explosives. Lets move people!" Harland and Fincher darted off into the woods, ducking behind a bush some fifty metres away. Grace shimmied up a large tree, settling twenty feet off the floor on a large branch. She rested her sniper rifle on an overhanging vine and tensed her body. The rest of the squad lay on their stomachs just behind the tree, their weapons locked and loaded.
Raynes stooped down next to Manny, bringing himself to his stomach. The ground was soft from the thick grass and gave Raynes room to settle. He readied his rifle and waited.
It wasn't long before they heard squawks and squeals from the two alien species as they neared. Despite constant reminders from ONI spooks to look out for new technology or new races within the Covenant, in all the years Raynes had been fighting them, Jackals and Grunts were the only two species he had ever come across. He hoped there were no more, as these two proved hard enough, though he had heard rumours of an Elite race, who controlled the military aspect.
If there was an Elite race out there, he hadn't seen them, but then again, Jackals were more than enough to deal with, and besides, when the ground forces did beat them back, the planet got glassed from orbit. The noise of the aliens, though still faint in the distance, was easily audible above the swaying trees and bushes.
"Keep it together, people," he whispered into his mic. "Short, controlled, bursts, concentrate on one target at a time."
The squeaks and grunts gained in volume, then abruptly stopped. "What's going on, Corporal?"
Harland's voice came back over the frequency. "I have no idea sir, we can't see them, but we heard a lot of commotion." Raynes raised his head and peered over the log he crouched behind. Fifty metres away, he could just about make out the shapes of Fincher and Harland in the distance, their armour reflecting the sunlight slightly. He saw Harland's helmeted head turn to look at him. He couldn't see the expression on his Corporal's face, but he knew something was up.
The Covenant were up to something. But what? They probably saw the drop ship fly overhead, but they couldn't possibly tell that they were here, at this position. He ducked back down and waited. Ten seconds went passed. Then twenty. A full minute passed and still nothing. Raynes knew something was amiss.
"Harland, Fincher, check it out."
"Sir, yes sir," they both replied over the com. He peered over the green foliage in front of him and saw two distance figures slowly move out away from them. This was getting creepier by the minute. First, dead Covenant, and the possible presence of an ONI agent, and secondly, Covenant that just disappeared into thin air. He turned back to see where Harland and Fincher were but could find no trace of them at all. They were gone from sight.
"Harland, Fincher, check it out." Raynes' voice boomed over the com. Harland replied, then shouldered his assault rifle, making ready to come out from cover. He tapped Fincher on the shoulder, indicating for him to move out. The Private inched forwards, his gun aimed low, slowly coming out from behind cover. He stopped two metres away and held his hand up. Harland released his breath, then moved quickly to the other side of the Private, stopping a metre or so away from him in a crouched position. He glanced over at Fincher, the other man's attention focused totally on the area in front of him.
The forest moved around them, trees swaying nonchalantly in the wind, bushes rustling from invisible hands. The noise played havoc with Harland's hearing, and he didn't know if he was hearing a Grunt sneak up behind him, or simply a tree blowing over his head. His eyes darted backwards and forwards, not sure where to look. He held his left arm out and moved it forwards. Fincher nodded and moved up several metres, stopping behind a bush, giving a quick wink to Harland before turning to face forwards.
Harland rushed forwards, passing Fincher, and into a small clearing, where he came face to face with a Jackal. And it was only gut instinct that stopped him from firing and giving his position away. In that split second of coming eye to eye with the beaked face of the alien, he could tell it was dead. It hung a few centimetres off of the floor, a thin wire wrapped round its neck and attached to a branch above. He stepped back and noticed there was another Jackal strung up next to it. The creatures that stood around 5'8" seemed to be taller than normal, probably because they were stretched out from being hung off the floor by their necks.
Their faces, although inhuman to Harland, still had that look of pain and confusion that a person had when they had been taken by surprise. At their feet lay six Grunts, large slice marks down their fronts and backs indicated a stealth attack. All of a sudden the memory of the Shadow Rifle shell flashed into his mind and he turned to yell back to Fincher but never got his words out as something hard slammed into his back, knocking him to the ground.
Pain erupted in his chest and the air was knocked out of him. Trying to force himself up onto his elbows, he felt an immense pressure push him back down to the ground. He tried to turn his head, but felt something cold and metallic rest against his cheek. Desperately trying to see what was going on, strained his eyes, but only saw the forest around him, as well as what looked like the muzzle of a pistol. He twisted his arms round and down the length of his body and tried to reach for his pistol, but a sharp kick from whoever was standing on him stopped the motion, and he grunted in agony.
He was about to give up and faint when the pressure lifted from his chest and he could finally move again. Air filled his lungs and he heard shouting and scuffling. He managed to pull himself up into a half-sitting, half-lying position and saw what it was that had taken him out. A black figure, kitted out in lightweight body armour and a helmet to match, rolled in front of him, the hulking form of Harris grappled to his back. He looked quickly behind him and saw the rest of the squad with their guns raised, but no one fired, mainly due to the fact that they could easily hit Harris as well as their mystery assailant.
Fincher was propped up against the tree, holding a bandage over his forehead, with Greggs crouched in front of him, the squad's Med kit opened out next to him.
The only Marine that wasn't doing anything to aid the situation was Manny, he just stood, his rifle hanging at his side, as he stared at the two figures on front of him. Harland looked back to Harris and his opponent. They had come out of the roll and the black figure now stood at a ready stance in front of Harris, who was approaching warily. The bigger man stood almost a whole head above the black-clad figure.
Harris lunged forwards, swinging a huge fist. The smaller man ducked down in the direction of the swing, then moved around it and came up, striking a double blow to Harris' chest. The big man was forced back a few feet. He steadied himself then launched back in again. He threw his whole weight behind his fist that, if it connected, would probably have killed the other person. But it never met its target. Again, the black suited ninja ducked and weaved, coming up behind Harris. He planted a foot into the back of Harris' knee, sending him to the floor.
The figure stood for a moment, breathing deeply, then turned back to the rest of the squad, leaving Harris lying on the floor, stunned. The helmeted head moved slowly from left to right, finally settling on Manny. Manny just stared back, flashes of recognition passing through his eyes. The tall man's mouth hung open a fraction, and a look of either sheer horror or stunned joy covered his face.
Gradually, the squad began to notice this, lowering their weapons to see what would happen. The helmeted figure seemed just as stunned as Manny did, not moving. Then, slowly, it moved its hands up to its head, and slowly removed the helmet. Harland was taken aback by the face beneath the visor, and he felt his chest hitch. He saw the rest of the squad do the same, as he stared at a man who had more than a striking resemblance to Manny. In fact, they could have been twins, except for the fact that the other man had darker hair, heavier set features, and lighter eyes.
Anger and happiness seemed to contort on Manny's face
"You're....you're dead..." he said, his voice trembling, from what emotion Harland couldn't tell. Manny finally stepped forwards and grabbed the other man, bringing him into his body in a hug. He obliged and wrapped his arms around Manny's frame. The two buried their heads in each others shoulders and Harland heard the muffled sound of laughter. When the two disengaged from each other, Harland saw a tear role down Manny's cheek.
"Would someone mind telling me what is going on here?" the slightly angered voice of Harris bellowed from behind them. Manny wrapped an arm round the other man's shoulders and turned to Harris, who was still lying almost prone on the floor.
"Dan Harris, I'd like you to meet my brother Bradley." Harris' head fell back onto the thick grass, as he released a deep groan.
"What is it with you and your family kicking the shit out of me, Manors?" Harris said, the humoured tone in his voice betrayed the annoyance that played on his face. Brad turned to Manny, a look of puzzlement on his face.
"I'll explain later," Manny replied. "So, you going to tell me why you're not dead?"
"We should probably get moving first," Brad replied, "There is a Covenant task force heading this way looking for you guys." His face turned a little sour.
"We got an RV point to get to, soldier," Raynes said, stepping forwards, a look of anger on his face. He clearly wasn't pleased with the presence of this man. "And you have some things to answer for."
"Well, technically Sergeant Raynes," Brad snapped back, and Raynes was taken aback by the other man knowing his name and rank. "I outrank you." He showed his left arm to the squad leader, the rank insignia of a Lieutenant emblazoned on his uniform. "But, since I am not an asshole, I'll let you keep command of your squad, and you can carry on with your mission."
"That's all well and good, sir," Raynes said, contempt dripping from his words, "but I demand to know why we weren't told there was an ONI presence on this planet."
"If I knew that, Sergeant, I'd tell you." Harland knew how to read reactions from people, and he knew from what Brad had said, he was genuinely telling the truth. And being the brother to Manny only reinforced that. The anger subsided a little on Raynes face, but not by much.
"Very well," he hefted his rifle "but if my men and I have to go through a god damned ONI debriefing when we get home, I'm coming after you," he smiled at the other man, then turned to his troops. "Right, soldiers, stop staring at Manors' long dead brother and get moving, you know what to do!"
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