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Stage 2: Guns, grenades, sharp sticks… a shiny crystal thing

PCI Industries Repair Center
10:23 October 20, 2552
New Mombasa, Kenya

The weapons locker door opened and Rose appeared from inside. It wasn't the best dressing room, but it was sufficient. Dressed in black fatigues and battle armor, Rose continued to dry her eyes as the soldiers and guards around her patiently waited for the battle to come to them. The ODST modified battle armor was clunky and Rose was having a hard time adjusting it properly. She had spent the past ten minutes fighting with the belts and straps while she was in the weapons closet. She had thought about letting Eric help her dress into the armor, but chose to wing it on her own. Rose scanned the room with her eyes and tried to find Eric, but she couldn't find him.

"Is he in the lab?" Rose questioned to herself. A marine dressed in grey fatigues approached her and began to grip several of her belts; tightening them. Rose felt a little concerned, she had no idea as to who the man was, but it soon dawned on her. "Eric?"

Rose had never seen Eric in his fatigues, and he didn't look like his normal casual self. Eric now appeared massive in build and strength. His shoulders seemed to expand with every breath, and his face displayed no emotion.

"How's that?" Eric asked as he adjusted one last clamp on the armor. Strangely, Rose felt comfortable. The suit seemed to hug her every curve and the armor was lighter then she thought.

"It's okay." Rose softly stated. "Why is my suit different then yours?"

"I'm a marine." Eric stated. "You're a civilian. I have to maintain the uniform of my regiment, but you don't. The ODST armor is made of a denser material, which can absorb more plasma fire. It's heavier then mine but you won't be facing direct combat; if I can help it."

"LT, incoming info on the box!" Wesley yelled across the desk. "Topside reports that it's getting heavy up there!"

"Roger that Private!" Eric responded. "Rose, stay near the Lab no matter what happens from this point on. If I tell you to close the door, get in the lab and seal it. Lock yourself in and hide. I'm not going to lie to you… they are going to get down here. We weren't ready for a head on assault. Just do like I told you; point the gun, squeeze the trigger, and stay low. We'll do the rest." Eric walked away from Rose and double timed it to the security desk

Rose wished that Eric would have given her some comforting words, but what he said was the truth. The covenant would come and they would kill them all. So many other worlds had fallen to the ruthless aliens and now it was Earth's time to die. She walked to the lab door and sat down just inside the threshold. She loaded the BR55 rifle with a clip and slapped it in tight. She pressed the clip-release and the ammo fell out and into her hand. She then slapped the clip back into the rifle and repeated the steps. Over and over again she repeated what Eric had taught her, and she wasn't going to stop until the battle started or the gun broke. She wasn't ready to die. A tear began to swell in her eyes but she forced it back.

"Say again Sergeant…" Eric shouted into the microphone.

"Damn it Raynord, you haven't lost your hearing yet." Sergeant Johnson shouted over the channel. "You must be putting up one hell of fight over there, the covenant just dropped off a Scarab and it's making its way across town toward you! Commander Keys has me airlifting artillery and babysitting the air-boys. I just left the Master Chief and Cortana at the Bridge to try and slow that damned Scarab down. Once I'm done babysitting, me and my boys will come and set up a blockade at the city water center. It's about two blocks from your location, but that Scarab has to go through there to get to you. But be advised, that Carrier above you is carrying a Prophet, so there's no telling what they're planning."

"A Prophet?" Eric questioned.

"Stop repeating me." Johnson retorted. "So why in the hell is your building so important?"

"Can't say Sergeant." Eric replied cautiously. "Just know that it is important that we hold our ground."

"Roger that Lieutenant, ONI never shares anything." Johnson chuckled.

"Give them hell, Sergeant." Eric replied with a chuckle. The channel went quiet and things became even more complicated knowing that a Prophet was on board the Covenant Carrier. Something wasn't felling right about this and Eric felt a cold shiver tingle up his spine.

"What now, Sir?" Wesley asked. The marines all turned and looked to Eric, waiting for a response.

"The covenant is pulling back!" The shout cut across the security desk speaker and the marines nearly broke into cheers. "Their forces are pulling out of the building… think… we…" The video feed and the sound became choppy, and eventually faded.

"Damn!" Eric muttered. He knew his senses were correct. The prophet sent out a Scarab to draw away most of the fighting. Eric had already figured out the covenants tactics. The Scarab tank was only a diversion, in order to draw away most of the Marine support troops that were inbound. That Prophet was trying to buy himself some time. It had worked flawlessly. The covenant had just pulverized the building with plasma fire from the Carrier. Communications were down and there was no way to alert Sergeant Johnson that the tank was merely a decoy. What looked like a retreat was simply the covenant's way of clearing space. The underground facility began to rumble and soon the lights cut out. An explosive groan of metal and rock began to echo throughout the darkened facility. Marines lost their balance and stumbled loosely about the room. Eric staggered in the dark toward the Lab door and reached out until he found Rose.

"Eric!" Rose shouted into the dark.

"Hang on!" Eric replied. The emergency lights turned on but the room continued to shake. For two minutes it didn't stop but suddenly everything became calm.

"What the hell was that?" A marine shouted in the dust filled front hallway. The emergency lights created an eerie atmosphere as silhouettes of Marines walked about assisting each other to their feet.

"Wesley report?" Eric shouted. He stood to his feet and walked to the lab door, leaving Rose cowering in a corner. He verified that the lab's thick Titanium-A doors were still functioning and continued walking to the front.

"All heads still attached, sir." Wesley sharply replied. "What was that?"

"A bad sign." Eric mumbled. "It's about to get hot in here. Lock and load marines!" The marines all hustled to their positions and loaded their weapons. The grind of metal against metal echoed throughout the rooms and the front hall. Two .30 caliber GP turrets were stationed at the security desk, ready to lay waste to anything that came into the elevator hallway.

"I've got multiple targets!" Wesley shouted to the marines as he looked over the security stations motion tracker. "Their coming down the elevator shaft… they're freaking floating down!" The marines began to mumble as nerves began to become tense.

"A gravity lift?" A marine muttered. "We're so screwed."

"I didn't give you permission to cry, marine." Eric shouted. He looked over his shoulder and stared at Rose. She was doing exactly as he told her; lying prone on the ground, her gun aimed and ready while still sitting inside the lab door, nearly thirty feet behind the marines.

"Torches on the door!" A marine shouted as sparks began spitting from the elevator door. The sparks stopped and the marines hunkered down, as they all took aim at the singed metal doors of the elevator. There was a loud thud on the, followed by another and another.

"Nobody's home, you bastards!" Wesley shouted. The elevator doors finally gave and the shiny blue armor of a Hunter barreled into the hallway. The massive hulk created a ghostly shape in the dimly lit corridor, as it barely was able to walk down the hall.

"Mow the field!" Eric shouted. A roar of shells filled the tunnel as the Marines let loose with everything they had. The Hunter ducked behind his shield and raised his cannon. Eric new the bullets from their guns wouldn't be enough but one of the .30 cal shells managed to find a soft spot in the Hunters defense. The Hunter roared in pain as the hot lead pierced his mid section and exploded out of its back. The creature lowered its guard, making itself an easy target. The marines quickly brought down the massive beast. Another hunter quickly stepped into view but his weapon was already hot and primed to fire.

"Damn it!" Eric thought to himself. He dropped to a knee and ripped a grenade from his belt. He then smoothly popped the pin and tossed it down the hall. It detonated in front of the Hunter and the beast reared back, stunned. "Lay into that hunter!" The .30 cal turned and spewed lead into the soft tissue of the Hunter, dropping it to the ground with a massive thud. But the battle wasn't over. Plasma bursts began erupting from the purple light of the elevator shaft, as Jackals lead Grunts and Elites into the hallway. The Jackal's shields were slowly fading from the constant fire of the marines, but when one Jackal was killed another quickly stepped into its position. Marines tossed grenades down the hall and were rewarded with a satisfying thud, as Jackals shrieked in pain. But the all too familiar flare of plasma grenades began darting the hallway toward the encamped marines.

"Raise the barricades!" Wesley shouted. Suddenly several metal combat barricades reared up from the floor and the plasma grenades paths were impeded. The metal barricades rocked backwards from the detonation of five grenades. The marines lowered the metal slabs and returned fire. Two marines dropped to the ground as kneedler rounds exploded in their chest. But the Marines didn't falter. Two more soldiers stepped up and took their positions.

"Ok, you Covenant bastards, show me your next hand." Eric softly said to himself. The roar of gun fire and plasma singes drowned out his thoughts at times. The more they fought, the more the aliens pushed, and it felt like the Covenant would simply try to wear them down. "They're desperate for this thing."

"More Hunters!" Wesley shouted over the rattle of gun fire. Another Hunter charged into the tunnel with his shield up and his cannon foaming with radiation. The .30 calibers turned and fired, but this time the deadly accuracy of the Grunts came into play. Six plasma grenades streaked passed the Hunter, by mere inches, and landed at the feet of Wesley and his front line. "$hit!" Wesley cursed as he grabbed a marine and tossed him back. Wesley barely had to the chance to jump away when the plasma grenades exploded, tossing him and several other marines backwards.

"Step up!" Eric shouted to the second line. "Get that barricade raised! Hurry!" The marines ran up to the metal bulks that lined the floor, but it was too late. The Hunter fired his cannon into the mass of human flesh, killing six of them and wounding another. The massive creature roared as he crossed the threshold into the facility. Several Grunts ran in under him and began spraying the room with plasma fire. Elites and Jackals soon followed.

"Okay you bastards." Eric stated. He pressed a button on the security desk and wall mounted turrets sprang to action. Several Automatic Turrets began to lock targets in the room. The AI that controlled the guns instantly recognized the alien threat and began to track their movements. Two guns hung above the front security desk and two guns were stationed on each side of the door, behind the Grunts and Hunter.

"Hold them here!" Eric shouted to the Marines at his side. The marines and the auto-turrets quickly began to make short work of the Grunts, and the Hunter had no defense against the guns at his back. He fell to the ground before he could fire a second shot from his large cannon.

Eric knew the auto-turrets would come into play but he hoped that it wouldn't. The AI that controlled the aiming system wasn't the best program in the world, and because the facility was so small, ONI decided it wasn't worth giving them a smart AI to assist them. But using the auto-turrets meant that more energy was being used from the backup generators. They would eventually run out of ammo and power.

Eric put a round from his battle rifle into a grunts head as it ran into the room and then looked back at Rose. She was pulling Wesley's unconscious body into the lab area, along with some of the other wounded marines. Eric quickly turned back as an Elite stormed into the room with its plasma sword primed to kill. The auto-turrets fired at the grey armored Elite and its shields took the majority of the damage. The Elite tried to take cover and ran toward the security desk. It hopped over the security desk's counter and came face to face with a dozen marines. The plasma sword swung wildly at a nearby marine, slashing across the soldier's chest, but the Elites weakened shields made him easy prey for the other marines. The Elite crumbled to the ground lifeless as the marines held their ground.

"I'll have to shut down the turrets or we'll be in the black." Eric stated over the constant tatter of gun fire. "Hold that door." The marines stepped forward, tossing waves of grenades down the hall in order to hold what little ground they had. The auto-turrets whirled to a stop, and Eric raced to the door with the rest of the marines. "Give me a hand." Eric stated to one of the Marines that was holding back. They each grabbed the GP turret and carried them back behind the security desk. "Reload these two guns and position them inside the lab so you have a clear shot at the lab door. We're going to have to fall back soon."

"Yes sir." The marine replied. He quickly began scavenging ammo and carried as much as he could into the lab. Rose only watched in confusion as Wesley and two other soldiers lay next to her.

"Ma'am, well need to move the guys out of harms way." The marine stated. "This lab is now our last stronghold."

"I'll move them while you get the rest of the ammo." Rose replied. She knew that the end was near, but she had to do her part. She quickly tossed Wesley's arm over her shoulder and grabbed his belt. She then began to drag him down the stairs and toward the back of the lab. Her physical strength was an asset she was grateful for at that moment; all that working out she did was finally paying off. She hustled back to the top of the stairs and repeated her trip with the other soldiers. It was a slow process but at least she wasn't sitting around waiting to die.

Grunts began to storm into the hallway, tossing grenades into the room with expert precision. The marines were being forced to fall back as their numbers continued to dwindle. And with the portable .30 caliber GP turrets no longer a factor, the Elites and the remaining Hunter began their charge down the hall.

"Damn, another Hunter!" Eric shouted. He tossed his last grenade and tapped his men on their shoulders; only six remained at the door. "Fall back to the lab, maintain cover fire." Eric picked up what ammo and guns he could carry and fell back to the lab door. He tossed the guns to the marines that were already inside and began firing down the hallway toward the door. The six marines heard the bursts of fire from behind and began to fall back. Once inside the lab Eric noticed that the Elites were beginning to storm into the facility, lead by the massive Hunter.

"Rose!" Eric shouted over his shoulder. "Turn on the security turrets!" Rose quickly jumped up and ran to her work desk. She powered up the computer and accessed the security protocols. She then powered up the auto-turrets. The turrets near the security desk sprang to life and began to fire wildly at the nearby covenant forces, but it didn't take long for the Elites to disable them.

"They just went of line!" Rose yelled up to Eric. As she looked she could see that Eric was now under heavy fire as two marines tumbled into the room. The last marine tossed a few grenades toward the approaching covenant squad as Eric waved his hand over the door plate. The massive door slowly closed and sealed shut. Eric slid down the door and exhaled heavily. It felt like he hadn't taken a breath during the assault.

"What now, LT?" The marine that tossed the grenade asked. He sat beside Eric and pulled off his helmet. "How long will this door hold?"

"It's pure Titanium-A." Eric replied. "It's ten inches thick so it should hold a while. All we can really do is hope that the Covenant don't break it down before our reinforcements show up."

"If we get reinforcements." The marine added as he hung his head. As much as Eric hated to admit it, he was probably right. The covenant had a Carrier full of supplies and troops, hovering over their heads, and with only a cruiser class shell of Titanium-A and eight marines stopping them from getting what they wanted. Eric really had his doubts that support was coming. A soft thud tapped against the door and Eric thought that perhaps a grunt was banging on it, but reality was that it was a Hunter. Not even the massive strength of a Hunter would be enough to topple the door. The covenant would eventually bring in some other means to get the door down.

"How did they get down here, LT?" Wesley stated as he slowly began to sit up. He cradled his head as Rose assisted him. "I mean, we're two hundred feet underground and directly beneath a building."

"It was an energy projector." Eric replied. "They have them on the bigger ships. It's the same thing they did on Reach."

"Reach, Sir?" The marine questioned. Eric then realized that only a select few within the marine core had been debriefed about the survivors on Reach.

"There were a few survivors that hid in a mountain and they informed us of everything that happened." Eric countered. "They told us how the covenant blew out a mountain in order to get them, and then used their gravity lift to get down to them.

"Okay, so there's really know way to stop them?" Rose questioned. She stood to her feet and walked towards the black box. She then hurled the small box on top of a nearby table and entered several key strokes on the lock pad.

"What are you doing?" Eric stated. He quickly stood to his feet and walked down the stairs to Rose's position.

"They want this damned thing and their going to kill us all to get it." Rose said as she continued typing numbers onto the lock's data pad. "I say we cut our losses and give it too them."

"We have our orders to protect this thing." Eric sharply stated.

"And how will we protect it when we're dead?" Rose screamed. Her last entry worked and the black box cracked open. A bright pink light radiated from inside the box and illuminated the room. "If we give it to them we may live, but if they take it we die."

"Doctor, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the box." Wesley stated as he cautiously stood to his feet. He raised his side arm and pointed it Rose's head. "I hate this as much as you, but that thing may be the difference in this war. We have to consider that, and our lives are not as important as the fate of the world."

"Sorry, Wesley." Rose softly stated as she opened the box door wider. "I'm not that noble. I'll take my chances." Rose couldn't help but feel that Wesley wasn't the only one with a gun pointed at her. She slowly looked around and noticed that three other marines were looking down the barrel at her. "I take full responsibility, if we get out of this. But I don't think any of you want to die down here."

"What makes you think they'll let us live once we give it to them?" Wesley snapped. "They've slaughtered every human that they've came into contact with. If you give it to them I highly doubt they'll smile and shake our hands after words. This is treason!" Wesley squeezed the trigger on his Magnum. The bullet pinged off the side of the black box and Rose froze. Her hands had nearly gripped the crystal, but Wesley's warning shot stopped her from fully grabbing it. "Those covenant bastards will pry that crystal out of my cold dead hands before they get it. There is no way in hell I'll give it to them! Rose, if you touch that crystal I swear to God I'll kill you!" Wesley took aim at the back of Rose's head.

"Stand down Private!" Eric finally cut in. Rose exhaled heavily after hearing Eric's voice. For a second, she thought Wesley was about to do her in. "I'll handle this."

"Sir, no sir!" Wesley replied. "My orders come directly from Section III, and I will not stand down unless you take control of this situation by closing that box." Eric was stunned by Wesley's words, but he knew that ONI would put someone on the inside, but he never imagined it was Private First Class Wesley Williams.

"So you're the one reporting to ONI over our heads?" Eric turned.

"I had my orders, Sir." Wesley replied.

"Lower your side arm, soldier." Eric demanded. "That's an order!"

"Will you close the box, Sir?" Wesley sharply countered; maintaining his aim at Rose.

"I will do what I deem necessary to protect that artifact!" Eric shouted. "And putting a gun to a woman's head is not the way to do it. Lower your sidearm, damn it!"

"Sir, I can not do that until you show that you are willing to protect that artifact, and not hand it over to the enemy!" Wesley turned and faced Eric; glaring at him sharply. Rose cautiously looked over her shoulder and noticed that Wesley was no longer looking at her, but still had the gun aimed at her. She took the chance.

Rose grabbed the crystal, ignored the tingle that ran up her arm from touching it, and dashed across the room. The crystal was the size of a toy ball and weighed practically nothing.

"Rose!" Wesley shouted. His heart dropped from the shock that she actually did it. Wesley took aim and fired a round near her leg. The bullet split the air around her calf, but she didn't stop. She hopped a desk and ran to the door. She quickly ran passed her desk, and typed in the command to open the lab door. Eric then grabbed her by the arm, but Rose was already in the act of running and slipped out of Eric's grip. The door slowly hissed open.

"Eric, close the door!" Rose screamed. She new that she only needed a small opening to toss the crystal through, and by the time Eric entered the command she would have given the covenant the crystal. The door slowly opened and the Marine sitting at the door finally realized that what he was seeing was really happening. Rose had taken the crystal, was being shot at and was running at him. Not to mention that the door he was leaning against was slowly opening.

The marine turned and could see the glaring eyes of an elite peeping through the partially opened door. The door continued to open but stopped as Eric entered the command on the computer. The massive Titanium-A slab was only open wide enough for hand to barely fit through. The marine could hear the chatter of Elites and Grunts out side and quickly stepped away from the door.

"Stop her!" Wesley shouted to the marine. Stunned, the marine turned and saw Rose running up the stairs toward him. He simply gazed at her with confusion and shock.

"Grab her!" Eric shouted as he fondled with his computer to close the door. "Get the Crystal!" The marine snapped out of his daze and grabbed Rose by the shoulder, but the damage had been done. Her hand was empty as the crystal fell into the crack of the door. The door closed and sealed, and everyone in the room fell silent.

"Rose…" Eric muttered; cutting through the dead silence. Rose collapsed to her knees and began to cry again. The marine that had grabbed her, still held her in his arms; contemplating what had just happened.

"I didn't want to die!" Rose screamed. Two minutes of silence filled the air and once again the room began to rumble, but this time it felt as though the ground itself was moving. Everything was being tossed around the lab, and it was nearly impossible for the small group to keep themselves from being thrown about. Rose grabbed the stair railing and held on for life, but her grip slipped and she hit her head on the wall; blacking out instantly.

To be continued…

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