- MaxRealflugel
- |
- Elder Mythic Member
Well here it is, Part 3 of the 5 part Finale...enjoy.
Part 24 Overall
Deck four of the Shadow of Intent
Kelly covered the left hand side of the curved corridor, HHAG at the ready. Linda walked steadily behind her whilst John and Fred moved ahead. Ceris-the accompanying Elite-walked further behind them with another six of his kind.
Though equipped with weapons that would normally cause even a Spartan to seek cover, the Elites were rightfully cautious of this new and dangerous threat.
Kelly moved passed another open doorway that lead into a separate corridor, she swept left and right with her HHAG until she was confident the area was clear, and then she moved on.
Linda had slung her 99SRSD-Sniper Rifle on her back, and had opted for the more deadly and effective HHAG. The only reason she even carried the Sniper Rifle still was due to the unique Covenant design of the assault carrier. The Shadow of Intent was filled with loading bays, winding corridors and open plan chambers that made it ideal for long range engagements. But if she encountered the Scourge in this particular section the HHAG would be the perfect choice for a close range engagement.
Linda swung around to cover the rear, where Ceris was located. He gave a respectful nod before she turned her attention back to the front of the group.
Unlike the Spartans, who used the protruding organic shaped bulkheads for cover as they moved, Ceris instead walked along the centre of the corridor.
Linda knew the Elites were far from stupid and assumed it was an act of defiance, presumably in retaliation to the Scourge boarding. The Elites were extremely proud of their flagship and were determined to show that.
Linda looked on as Fred and John moved in perfect unison, each Spartan in the team covered their respective arc of fire, but John and Fred moved forward like a pair of armoured twins, each of them perfectly accommodating the others movements.
Then as they rounded the corner to the next section they both suddenly stopped.
John raised his hand as a gesture for everyone to stop and take cover.
"Enemy, left corridor," John reported.
"How many, Spartan?" Ceris asked, his mandibles clicking in anticipation.
John carefully poked the barrel of his HHAG around the corner of the corridor and used the optical link to assess their numbers. In the small section of the extended corridor was the familiar sight of the Scourge vessel, but with just its nose visible. Around it were a collection of differently equipped aliens, all with the same slow shuffle for a walk.
"Fifteen to twenty, but they all seem to be equipped differently to one another. Some have short barreled weapons, others have long barreled weapons. There are even a few with nothing at all."
"Do they have anything resembling our Hunters?" probed the Arbiter on the COM.
John glanced at the display again to double-check. "No."
"Then allow me to send you some of my own."
"I thought they sided with the Brutes?" John said.
"Some of them did, but not all. They fight for different reasons."
Fred quietly moved over towards John. "I saw the footage of your fight with these things. We'll have to be fast or use a distraction, before they know what's happening."
John thought for a moment. The aliens that he fought with on the Forerunner shield world were slow to learn and slow to react and, more importantly, he didn't have any other Spartans to think about.
Fred shook him from his thoughts. "The Hunters are here."
John turned around to see a pair of Hunters walking along the narrow corridor. Their shield arms were angled in an odd position so they could fit, sided by side, in the corridor.
"Ceris," John started, "Ask the Hunters to use their shields as their primary weapon."
Ceris nodded and began talking to the pair of walking tanks.
"Kelly, do you feel like a warm up?"
Kelly raised her head. "Always," she replied.
"What do you have in mind?" Fred asked.
"Kelly, I'll send you in first, but you'll have to be damn fast. There's another corridor section at the end, head for that. Ceris, you send the Hunters in after she's clear. I need them to go wild in there and take out as many of them as possible, after that we'll move in and take down the rest. You ready Kelly?"
Kelly moved up level with John and Fred, followed by the pair of Hunters.
John found it odd to be knelt down at the corner of the twisting corridor, with his back to a Hunter, but if they were now allied with them, all the better.
"Stand by, Kelly."
John continued to watch his enemy as they wandered around in the large open corridor. They were making no attempt to seize the ship or kill the crew, why?
"Go!"
Kelly sprinted off in a lightning quick reflex of muscles. She rounded the corridor and saw all of the aliens in an almost relaxed posture. But they quickly changed when they noticed the Spartan dash past them.
They were far too slow and Kelly rounded the second doorway at the end. The remaining aliens readied their weapons and headed off to follow, but they were stopped by a deafening roar as the Hunter pair came stomping through sweeping their shields from left to right. Several of the aliens were almost cut in half as they were hit; others were knocked to the floor, only to be trampled on a second later.
Six of the aliens raised their weapons to fire at the Hunters as they barreled through the crowd. Then they all dropped to the floor, all of them with gaping holes in their armour.
John and the rest of Blue Team moved past the Hunter pair, HHAG's smoking.
Upon seeing John, despite his armour covering his face, the aliens let out a screech.
They were quickly silenced as each of the Spartans emptied several magazines into the screaming figures.
They all died very quickly.
John walked through the pile of broken bodies, giving each one a well aimed shot to the head for good measure. "Arbiter, the threat has been neutralised," John sounded.
"I am glad to hear that, Spartan. Make your way back to the command deck. We will be heading for the other ship as soon as our shields are operational."
John wanted to get down to the surface as soon as possible. Ash and the others would be on the receiving end of a much larger force. "We need to get down there, now."
"There is no way to ascertain the status of their ship to ship weapons, Spartan. It could be the end of us all," replied the Arbiter.
John could understand the Arbiter's position. He had one of the largest Covenant ships at his disposal, and despite being fearless in nature he was far from stupid. Loosing a powerful asset in an attempt to destroy the Scourge ship would be a foolish act.
"What about the rest of the fleet?" John asked.
"Battered and bruised, Spartan. Many of them are experiencing power fluctuations due to the Scourge beam weapons. It will be some time before we can reorganise the fleet again. I can, however, provide you with a number of Spirit drop ships, a company of Elites and a Scarab."
John smiled. "I'll take it."
"Very well, Ceris will take you to the main hangar bay. I'll drop the scarab once we are in position."
John followed Ceris along the purple-blue corridor to the main hangar bay. The scarab would be a welcomed gift. But then his attention changed to Ash, Olivia and Mark. He needed to know how the fight was going.
"Ash, status report!" John barked on the COM.
Static washed the channel for several seconds until the panting breath of Ash broke through.
"Heavy casualties, strong enemy presence, Scourge ship intact but holding off at three kilometres," a long pause betrayed Ash's usual aura of confidence, things were obviously bad down there, "assistance required."
John wondered why the Forerunners had failed to act and why the Scourge vessel hadn't simply blasted the UNSC forces to pieces.
Maybe the Scourge want the Forerunner technology for themselves, he thought.
"Help is on the way, Ash."
There was no reply, but John didn't wait for one. He simply followed Ceris to the waiting line of Covenant drop ships.
The drop would be hard and fast, the fight would be difficult and the enemy would number in the hundreds.
Good odds for a Spartan, he thought.
To be continued