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Project Myrmidon- Part 4
Posted By: spartan shot<farfrompuken191@cs.com>
Date: 19 December 2009, 12:21 am
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Hangar bay of Fort Camelot. Planet Reach. July 20, 2545.
I stood in the cheering crowd of ONI personnel. The nineteen Myrmidons stood deactivated around the large hangar. Ackerson stood on a catwalk with several others. He popped the top off a champagne bottle and poured himself a glass. Everyone held their glasses up in the air.
"Everyone, the Myrmidons have successfully destroyed the Covenant sensor station and gave them something to fear" Ackerson announced. "They will now think twice before glassing another planet!"
Everyone cheered. If they truly believed this one operation would make the Covenant fear us, then they shouldn't be commanding our forces. Sure, Operation: TROJAN HORSE was a success but Operation: TORPEDO was a disaster. Every Spartan-III was killed with the exception of two. Still both missions were accomplished. As much as I hated it, I admitted to myself that Project Myrmidon would be a great asset to the UNSC. Still, something was not right.
Bunker beneath the DeCorzo home. Earth. July 28, 2545. 10:32 P.M.
I walked past the security door and into the bunker. Fhajad was in his usual spot in front of the main screen. Lennon was being projected on the pedestal. He was sitting on a stool playing a guitar.
"So how was it?" Fhajad asked.
"Well Ackerson's drunk with victory and ONI's kissing his ass" I said. "He's talking about mobilizing more robots now."
"Mobilizing more units?" he asked.
"Yeah why?"
"He can't do that."
"Why?"
"Take a look at this."
Fhajad brought up a file containing the details on the Myrmidon.
"Weapons, armor, memory, tactics, etc. Notice anything unusual?"
I looked over the files again.
"Not that I can see."
"That's because you can't see it!" said Fhajad. "The one thing that's missing from the files is the cost of these weapons. I looked over the prices of all the components. Guess how much a single Myrmidon costs."
I looked at the screen for a moment, then back at Fhajad.
"Somewhere in the high billions?" I asked.
"Try a full quadrillion."
A string on Lennon's guitar snapped. He looked over at Fhajad and ran some calculations.
"A full battalion would bankrupt the UNSC!" he said.
"It's enough to bankrupt it five times" said Fhajad.
"Actually it's more than twenty times" said Lennon.
I remembered the footage of Operation: TROJAN HORSE.
"One Myrmidon was taken out by just two Wraith mortars. This weapon can't be worth it's price."
"How ONI didn't see this is beyond me" said Fhajad.
Lennon brought his hand to his forehead and his eyes widened.
"Sir, the motions sensors for the outer perimeter have gone offline" he said.
"What?"
"Showing security feed" he said.
Except for a few lights in the backyard, all we could see was darkness.
"Night vision" I ordered.
The screen turned green. Still, we saw nothing out of the ordinary.
"Thermal."
It turned black and white. Fifteen armed men were lurking in the bushes.
"I'm tracking an additional ten more in the front yard" said Lennon.
"Get my family down here now!" I yelled.
"Of course."
I ran over to the left wall of the bunker. Behind a glass shield was a small arsenal of weapons and ammo. After entering a code on the adjacent keypad, the shield slid up into the wall. I grabbed an MA5C Assault Rifle off the rack and shoved a fresh clip in. I also grabbed an M7 SMG and slung it on my shoulder.
I turned around and saw Fhajad holding his M6C/SOCOM. His hands shook but if he concentrated hard enough, he could steady himself and hit even the smallest target. Leila ran down the ramp holding Lucy and John's hands. The door slammed behind them and locked.
"Their inside" said Lennon.
The security feeds from within the house played on the main screen. I looked at the men. They were in full black tactical gear and carried suppressed weapons. Some were carrying satchels.
"C-12" I whispered. "They know."
That soon became obvious. While some of them scourged the upper floors, five men went straight for the basement elevator.
"Disable it Lennon" I ordered.
"Already done" he replied. "Sir I'm detecting several plastic explo-"
"I know" I said.
One by one, the cameras turned to static. They were being destroyed. I looked at Leila, then at the kids. John was about four feet tall with short black hair. Lucy looked like her mother. She was a little taller than John and had long blonde hair. The two sat behind a computer console. Leila had grabbed a shotgun off the rack and stood next to me.
"How many?" she asked.
"Twenty five."
"Lennon, can you do anything from here?" she asked.
"This is not a starship" he said. "It's not like I can vent the air."
"Damn it Lennon" I yelled. "Reroute power from these generators to electrify the elevator doors."
"You know I don't condone violence" he said.
"LENNON!" I yelled.
"Right" he said.
"Hmm. Two made contact with the door and received a 900 volt shock. They are dead" said Lennon. "Five are currently gathered in the elevator. They're cutting the floor."
"When they're at the bottom of the shaft release the brake" I said.
"On it."
A full minute passed before we heard a soft thud. The elevator had dropped.
"Eight are dead at the bottom of the shaft" said Lennon.
"Ten down" said Leila.
"Lennon, electrify both the security doors" I said.
We waited about three minutes before Lennon gave us an update. Another four men had been given lethal shocks from the doors. These guys had to be with Ackerson. He had finally found Fhajad after two years and was about to bring me down along with him. But I was not about to let my family die because of me. We were getting out of this alive.
Lennon warned us of an imminent explosion within the next minute. Our last line of defense was gone. I looked around the bunker. John and Lucy were hiding behind a computer console in front of the main screen. Fhajad sat in his wheelchair in the aisle between the left and right consoles aiming up at the door. Leila and I were kneeling behind an overturned table aiming up the ramp. We waited.
The door blew off it's hinges and flew over our heads. I looked up the ramp. Two cylinder canisters rolled down and hit the table.
"Cover your eyes!" I yelled.
The flash bangs went off. My ears rung but I could see fine. I got up and took aim. One soldier ran in and fired. We all fired. Fhajad was concentrating his hardest to steady himself. Even though he was disabled, he held the advantage of being where the enemy wouldn't expect him. If someone ran into the bunker, they would be shot in the side by Fhajad and in the front by us. They had virtually no cover.
Two more men ran in. Again, we lit them up. I counted in my head. There were eight left. I saw another one in the door frame. This one had a riot shield. He ran towards us and was shot in the ankle by Fhajad. He staggered, but kept the shield straight. He then fired at Fhajad, hitting his arm. It would've been a fatal hit if Fhajad hadn't shot him in the eye a split second before. Fhajad dropped his sidearm and held the wound.
There was a short pause. No one had entered in ten seconds. I knew they were up to something. It turns out I was right. Four frag grenades rolled down the ramp and hit the table. Without thinking, I grabbed Leila and jumped over a console. The grenades detonated.
After the explosions, all I heard was screaming. My vision was blurry. I managed to make out a few things. The main screen turned from blue to black and showered sparks onto the floor. Fhajad was on the floor, alive but hurt. I heard several muffled bursts of gunfire and a woman scream.
"Get up!" someone shouted.
A man stood over me with a suppressed SMG aimed at my head. Slowly, I did as he ordered. Leila was being pressed up against a wall with a gun to her head. I saw the bodies of four more soldiers laying on the floor. Lennon had disappeared from the pedestal. One soldier stood on the top of the ramp, aiming at Fhajad.
I looked up at the security camera mounted in the corner of the room near the ceiling. I nodded. The lights then shut down. I drove my fist into the man's face and knocked his weapon from his hand. I then brought him to the floor and snapped his neck. Light was being emitted from gunshots all over the room. The lights flickered back on.
Fhajad had managed to roll under the table and out of the line of fire. Leila was in the same place as she was before only her guard was dead and she was sitting against the wall with a bullet in her gut.
"Leila!" I shouted.
"Shut up" said the soldier.
He had changed his attention from Fhajad to Leila. He stood at the top of the ramp and aimed at her head with his SMG.
"I'll gonna kill you all" he said. "starting with the pretty one."
I saw his grip tighten on the trigger. All I heard was a muffled shot. It didn't come from his weapon though. Leila was still alive. Blood trickled down from the side of the man's head and he fell down the ramp. John stood behind the computer console aiming Fhajad's pistol. I stared at him in disbelief. I then ran over to Leila and knelt next to her.
"Oh my God" I said.
She held her hand over the wound. Blood poured out.
"The bullet went out the other end" she said. "I'm alright."
I picked her up and walked over to Fhajad. John and Lucy had helped him back on his chair.
"They'll be more soon" he said.
"I know" I said. "We need to get out of here."
"Where will we go?" asked Fhajad.
"I don't know" I looked at Leila. "We need to find a doctor."
Fhajad's eyes widened.
"I know where we can go" he said.
High Charity. Prophet's Inner Sanctum.
Supreme Commander Xotenlee stood before the three Prophets of the Covenant- Truth, Mercy, Regret. He had just shown the footage of the attack on the sensor station and was presenting a hologram of one of the robots.
"What an abomination" said Regret.
"How did they manage to destroy the station?" Mercy angrily asked.
"They caught the defenders by surprise" said Xotenlee. "The Field Commander was too incompetent. As I just showed you, only one was destroyed."
"Indeed" said Regret. "Make sure he is executed."
"I shall se to it" replied Xotenlee.
He pressed a button on the holographic projector and shut it down.
"Supreme Commander, come forward" said Truth.
He did as Truth asked. He walked over towards the Prophet and stood before him.
"Let me see your hand" said Truth.
Xotenlee did as the Prophet asked.
"Mock me once more and I shall see that you are serving slop to the Unggoy. The other hand!"
Xotenlee hesitated but did as Truth asked. He showed him his fist then opened it revealing a cross seared into his flesh.
"What is this?" asked Truth.
"A battle scar, Holy One" he replied.
"I have seen that symbol before" said Truth. "It is the religion of the humans!"
The other two Prophets hovered over and observed the wound.
"How did this happen?" asked Mercy.
"During our first campaign against the humans" said Xotenlee.
"This is heresy!" said Regret.
"Heresy?" asked Xotenlee. "A human surprised and branded me with this shameful mark."
"Be that as it may, you still carry a traitorous mark." said Mercy.
"Noble Hierarchs, you know I am no heretic. I would never turn my back on the Great Journey."
"Allowing a human to scar you in such a way is punishable by death. That symbol is the Mark of Shame tenfold!" said Regret.
For once, Xotenlee was terrified. He had hidden that scar for so long. Having the Prophets themselves discover it was the worst luck possible. He thought of what would happen. Would he be demoted? Would he be executed? Or would they make him an Arbiter?
"My brothers, calm yourselves" said Truth. "Yes. This scar is treason. But, he is too valuable to be just cast aside."
"What would you have done to him?" asked Regret.
"He should be executed!" said Mercy.
"No" said Truth. "Supreme Commander, we have recently received word of a fleet of human ships amassing near one of our planets. Lure them away. Destroy them, and you shall be pardoned. But if you fail, then you shall be cast aside before the Great Journey."
"I shall not fail you Holy Ones" said Xotenlee. "My faith is strong and I will do your bidding without question or flaw."
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