- Skulblaka
- |
- Intrepid Heroic Member
An assassin will always carry on, even after death.
SECTION V: No one gets left behind.
Part 25.
New Mombassa, 21st October, 2552. 0126hours.
Michael stirred. He tried to remember what happened but couldn't until he looked down to see two holes in his armour and his own dried out blood sticking around them.
He was lucky.
His armour slowed down the bullets enough so only their tips went through his skin and his blood clotted quickly. The pilot grabbed a nearby couch and attempted to pull himself up, but he had lost too much blood and as a result had a lot less energy and his arms gave after a few seconds and he slammed back into the ground.
Then he heard a sound, like some animal would make and he assumed it was Covenant. As Michael was a pilot he had been in very few encounters when he was fighting the Covenant on the ground. The times he had, he didn't see much of them. It was the same for the vast majority of UNSC pilots, they knew very little about the species of the Covenant, they knew their names but didn't know what they sounded like or even what some of them looked like.
The room began to light up as the walls reflected the light from whatever entered the room. The creature walked in front of Michael at the other side of the room and Michael was surprised to see that it had some sort of a shield, a bluish green colour that pulsed out to the sides.
A Jackal.
Michael could tell just from its shield as they were the only Covenant species to carry them but the other telltale sign was its birdlike head. The Jackal hadn't noticed him yet and Michael began to look around for a weapon. He saw a pistol a few metres away and began to pull himself towards it. Slowly he approached it, putting one hand in front of the other and dragging himself towards it until finally, after what felt like forever to him, he could reach the small gun.
He grabbed the barrel and pulled the gun to him, then taking out the magazine to check ammo he found it almost full. He rolled onto his back and aimed down the gun at the Jackal, then pulled the trigger, letting off a deafening sound in the quietness of the night. The recoil nearly broke his hand but he wan able to put the gun down as he watched satisfactorily as the Jackal crumpled to the ground, dead.
However to Michaels dismay, another Jackal ran in from outside. He picked up the gun again as the Jackal reached its fellow, dead Jackal. Michael aimed but before he could shoot the newcomer began screeching into something on its shoulder and turned so its shield faced Michael. The pilot couldn't shoot as the aliens shield now blocked him. If he did shoot the bullet would deflect from the shield and alert the Jackal to his position.
Michael waited for a chance to strike. The Jackal just wouldn't move so he could get a clear shot. No sound was made and Michael forced himself to quieten his breathing so his enemy didn't hear. Finally the Jackal turned around and Michael quickly fired his gun, killing this Jackal and causing it to fall on the other one.
Being sure that more Covenant would soon arrive, Michael again tried to stand. This time he has a lot more success and managed to stand. He walked forward slowly, using the furniture to support him and quickly made it to the exit to the street outside.
The street was illuminated by the few working lights that lined the side of the street. As he exited Michael noticed a sharp drop of temperature but continued out. He needed a plan, he needed a way to get out of the city and for this he would need help. The pilot knew that in his current condition he would never survive on his own.
***
Even with the Banshees, getting out of the city would be a difficult task. Several new Covenant ships had slipped in above the city and these four Banshees were not heading on any known flight path, not to mention that James, Stephen and Sarah hadn't a clue how to fly and as a result were swerving around and occasionally diving towards the ground.
Narr couldn't help them as he was busy replying to a number of questions asked by the incoming frigates. The hardest part of it was that he was posing as a Brute, something unheard of for an Elite to do. Narr knew that what he was doing was honour less in the eyes of other Elites but he and his family never cared much for honour and cared more about survival especially now that the Great Journey had been exposed as a lie.
A banshee nearly hit him and he swore at the pilot, James, while doing his best to sound like a Brute. He made an excuse, saying that he was training these 'young Brutes' how to fly and so far they appalled him. After that the flow of questions began to slow. It wasn't unknown for new pilots to be trained over a captured city and fly off their flight path.
The Banshees now approached the desert. Then Narr picked something up on the comm channel. A Jackal in the city had been killed by a human survivor. He listened for a few minutes then heard a second shot, killing the Jackal that had been transmitting the message. He replayed it for James and closed all comm channels.
'That is the pilot that went down human,' Narr said, 'we can go back for him but the city is swarming with Brutes.'
'How do you know it's the pilot?' asked James.
'Because of the position he is in. He is close to the edge of the city.'
'We'll go back. No one gets left behind.'
Narr turned the external comm channels back on and got a flood of questions. He replied asking for permission to land and kill the enemy in the city, which was granted as soon as it was asked. The Elite flicked a switch and the other three Banshees were put on autopilot for the journey back into the city.
It wasn't long before they arrived. Like human autopilot, the Covenant autopilot could not land so Narr and the three humans had to do it themselves. Narr, who was used to flying Banshees, easily landed however it was a big problem for the others in this dark.
Narr watched as James slowed his Banshee to minimum speed, and almost immediately dropped out of the sky. Luckily he was only a few metres up or the Banshee would have been wrecked and James would have died. Stephen went next and was much more cautious. He skimmed against the street below, making a high pitched squeaking sound, and lowered speed. Not perfect but better. Sarah was last and landed similarly to Stephen.
'Where to?' asked James once he exited the Banshee.
'Follow me,' replied James, 'It is a few buildings in.'
'We call them blocks,' put in Stephen once Narr was out of earshot.
***
The train stopped a few kilometres from Voi. Two marines dismounted and scanned the area using night vision they had brought with them. Seconds later the train's power went out. Marines with flashlights under the mussels of their guns turned them on, everyone else stayed put, unmoving and watching to the best of their ability for trouble.
Wilson turned his flashlight on last and pointed his assault rifle out the window watching for anything. The air glimmered for a moment, like the light bended around that particular spot, but went as soon as it appeared. Wilson waved it off as he thought it was only the lights reflection on the glass window.
'Watch yourselves outside,' called a marine after the two other marines outside, Wilson could tell from the insignia on the sleeve of his uniform that he was a Lieutenant, more than likely the highest ranking person here besides Adam, who was unable to stand, let alone give orders. 'Hey Jason, Max, you two alright out there?'
Silence.
No response came from outside and the marines pointed their flashlights at the doors, watching for any sign of trouble. The Lieutenant signalled for Wilson, who was closest to him, and another soldier who was standing beside Wilson, to follow him outside. They followed and Wilson readied his gun, pointing it ahead of them as they left the train. He followed the Lieutenant around to the front of the train and found the track uprooted, forcing the trains breaks to activate.
However what he didn't see at first glance was the two bodies lying against the front of the train. The Lieutenant saw them first and quickly retrieved their night vision, while looking for the cause of death. It took only seconds to find, four spikes poking out of the necks and chests of both marines, Brute handiwork. The Lieutenant knelt down on the ground and put the night vision goggles on over his eyes. He scanned the area and half a second later started shooting into the night.
Wilson and the other marine pointed their guns in the general direction the Lieutenant was shooting, illuminating an uncloaked Brute. The air shimmered behind the brute and Wilson started firing at it, quickly unveiling another Brute. The gunfire drew two marines from inside the train to their position however between shots the lieutenant told them to go back inside and get everyone else out, that it wouldn't be long before Brutes surrounded their position and pinned them inside the train.