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Attack on Sol (Part 12)
Posted By: Slit Throat
Date: 7 July 2004, 1:25 AM
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Corporal David Nunéz fired his SMG at the oncoming group of Covenant and ducked behind a twisted pile of metal to reload. He and his squad were screwed and David knew it. This patrol had dropped out of nowhere.
The Grunts had opened fire immediately but were cut down quickly by the Marines. The Brutes were another story. Five of his twelve Marines had been dropped by the suppression fire of the huge, gorilla like aliens.
His squad had killed two of the aptly named Brutes but there were at least six more hosing the Marines with plasma fire.
Nunéz was brought back to reality as a plasma grenade detonated three meters behind him, blistering his back and generally scaring the hell out of him. He peeked over the pile of metal and fired off a few rounds at the Covenant. They needed to hold this position.
"Marines, hold your positions. Bunker down and return fire," Nunéz yelled. He was answered by a flurry of fire, but not from his squad. David looked over his shoulder and saw four tall figures in green armor reigning death on the Covenant. He knew instantly that they were Spartans. Evidently, the Covenant did too as their barrage of fire slowed to widely spaced single shots and their attack stalled. Frag grenades landed in their midst, both from the Spartans and rejuvenated Marines, and blew the surviving aliens to their rewards.
The Master Chief watched as the surviving Marines emerged from cover. One, a corporal, walked up and saluted. The Chief realized that it was David Nunéz, on of the Marines he and his team had rescued from the Covenant cruiser in New Mombasa.
"Nice to see you again sir," said Nunéz. "We wouldn't have been able to hold them off much longer."
The Chief gave him the courtesy of returning the salute. "Corporal. How is the city's defense holding?" The Marine's face became grim.
"There are only a few small squads left. The Covenant hit so quickly that all our major defenses were destroyed within the first hour. There seems to be something important going on over at City Hall. Most of the Covenant forces are located in that vicinity."
"That's where we're headed," said the Chief. Nunéz stared at him. "Admiral Hood is pinned inside the building. It's our job to get him out." Nunéz nodded in understanding then glanced at his squad.
"Permission to accompany you sir. My squad and I would like to get a little revenge."
As he had on the cruiser, the Chief weighed the options. Was the extra firepower offered by the Marines enough to balance the risk of them getting killed or overcome by battle rage and jeopardizing the operation? Cortana, however, took the decision out of he Chief's hands.
Using his external speakers, the A.I. said, "the insertion will be too dangerous without the enhancements and armor the Spartans have; even with them it will not be easy. However, there is the question of extraction. General Ketin in New Mombasa believes it would be too risky to send a Pelican for extraction, so we will have to find another way out of the city. If you and your squad could do that, we would be much obliged."
Nunéz considered this, then nodded. "We'll find a way out for you and the Spartans ma'am. I'll notify you when we have it secured." He saluted again, motioned to his squad and they jogged off.
The Chief pulled up a map of the city onto his HUD and checked the location of City Hall. He then turned to the other Spartans and signaled for them to move out.
City Hall lay about five kilometers north of the Spartan's position. The Chief decided to take the most direct route, straight through downtown, knowing the the Admiral's position could become compromised at any minute.
Many of the skyscrapers that had dominated the city's skyline were gone, replaced by piles of rubble. The few remaining had been used for target practice judging by the gaping holes torn in their outer walls.
The farther into the city the Spartans went, the fewer intact buildings there were. They also encountered fewer Covenant patrols. Remembering what had happened in New Mombasa, the Spartans moved along cautiously. Their caution was justified.
Two blocks from the coordinates of City Hall, the Spartans turned a corner into a huge plaza. It was at least half a kilometer across in each direction and, in the center, the silver white dome of City Hall rose into the morning sky, seemingly floating on an ocean. An ocean comprised of thousands upon thousands of Covenant troops and artillery.
The Covenant seemed to be using this area as their attack HQ. Small domed tents had been set up for the Elites and long, tube shaped barracks for the Grunts. Most of them were set up around the front of the building, but there were a few square metal barracks behind City Hall. Wraith tanks were set up along the perimeter and a large group of unmanned vehicles sat just outside the ring of tents. One manned tank sat just a few hundred meters away as it patrolled the perimeter of the camp.
The Spartans ducked back around the corner to avoid notice. Evidently, the driver of the Wraith did not seem them as there was no roar of a plasma mortar being fired.
The Chief waited a few minutes, then peeked out again. The Wraith had moved off a few hundred more meters to continue its patrol route. Another tank was approaching the Spartan's position, however, and the Chief was forced to duck back to avoid being seen.
The Chief turned to the other Spartans. They appeared as shocked as he felt.
"Well," said Will, "I don't think there is much chance of fighting through that."
"There does not seem to be any chance of sneaking in either," continued Fred. "The patrols are well organized and thorough; they'd see us for sure."
"What if we were to draw them away from City Hall with a diversion?" asked Linda. "It would make the tanks move away and, most likely, a large number of troops."
"And while they're away," mused the Chief, "we could sneak past the rear guard into the building. There will most likely be many troops inside City Hall as well, so getting in might be the easy part. As for the escape... we might have to rely on the old sewer pipes again." The other Spartans nodded in agreement.
"Fred, you and Linda will create the diversion. Make it loud. Will, you're with me. I'll post a NAV marker at the rendezvous point. Lets move!"
Fred hefted the Jackhammer launcher and sighted on the Wraith tank as its patrol route brought it near the concrete wall he was using for cover. Linda was station twenty meters away, behind a pile of steel girders in a small crater caused by a mortar impact. As soon as the Wraith blew, she would take out as many Covenant soldiers as she could before they locked on to her position.
"Ready?" asked Fred. Linda's acknowledgment light winked on. Fred steadied the tube and fired.
The rocket impacted the side of the tank near the unarmored rear, destroying it instantly. Immediately after the explosion, four shots rang out killing two Elites and Grunts near the other vehicles. Another quartet of rounds split the air as Covenant soldiers appeared from their quarters to investigate the disruption.
The other active Wraith tank moved into view around City Hall and prepared to fire. Fred steadied the launcher for a second shot and pulled the trigger. The Covenant tank tried to dodge the rocket but the explosive hit just above the cockpit, killing the pilot and severely damaging the vehicle.
More sniper rounds made friends with Covenant brains as Linda's accuracy took its toll. From the buildings behind City Hall, Brutes appeared and began running toward Fred and Linda's position. Linda unleashed another clip on the huge aliens, downing four with headshots. She reloaded multiple times, using each clip to its maximum. Finally there were only five Brutes left.
Linda dropped four with headshots but the last Brute roared in anger and fired its grenade launcher. Fred saw Linda dive to the side as the grenade impacted where she had stood a moment before. Another grenade impacted and blew away what remained of her cover.
By this time however, Fred had reloaded. He sighted on the ground at the Brute's feet and fired. The Brute turned in surprise to see the rocket hit the ground and explode. When the other surviving Covenant saw the body of the Brute go flying in the air, they scattered. It was at this moment that an orange NAV point appeared on Fred's HUD, pointing to a location in the rear of City Hall.
Fred stood and jogged over to Linda. She shook her head, "almost got me again," she muttered. "I need to be more careful!" She nodded to show she was all right and began jogging toward City Hall. Fred followed.
The Master Chief saw Fred and Linda approaching and signaled for them to follow him. Will was waiting outside the broken down door that led into City Hall.
The diversion had worked perfectly. Stunned by the loss of their armor support and many soldiers, the remaining Covenant had moved to the front of the building, out of sight of Fred and Linda's former position.
When they reached the door, Will gave the Chief a salute and said "all clear Chief." The Chief nodded and stepped inside the dark interior of City Hall. They had made it past thousands of Covenant troops, but he knew the hard part was only beginning.
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