Halo: Fireteam Phoenix

Chapter 16: Collapse

The frigate was no longer the same. The lone banshee fleeing New Belgrade had view of the massacre. A battlecruiser pelted Sunbreaker with plasma shells. Wailing banshees snatched away the armour, swarming like flies. Valiant, useless flashes of gunfire. Overwhelming purple light. The frigate was defeated. On approach, Marie and Felix went cold. They passed beneath the looming shadow of the battlecruiser. Marie, holding onto the banshee wing, prayed to whatever gods there might be, that they go unnoticed. Sunbreaker fought on but had to flee the battle. The firepower was too much. The losses too costly. It turned away from the swirling, catastrophic maelstrom. The flickering thrusters pushed it away like driftwood from a hurricane. The battlecruiser let them go. The frigate was doomed. The battle was won. New Belgrade burned. Another beam joined the burning as the battlecruiser left Sunbreaker to its fate. A certain spartan still remained in Novi Sav, the second city being evacuated. Alongside the few remaining marines present in the city, he needed to be evacuated. Since New Belgrade was, seemingly, the focus of the covenant attention, Ball deemed it an acceptable risk to extract as many people as they could. Inside the tower, Aaron ran up floor after floor. Exhausted from the exertion and stress of the day, he couldn't make sense of anything. The thundering rain outside wasn't right. The grey sky swirled like he was drunk. His mind was on overdrive. Unfortunately, so were the covenant. He burst through a door. Not even a second later, a hunter tossed him like a ragdoll. The shards of door hadn't hit the floor before Aaron flew.Through the air, shattering solid wall. The impact broke his shield, the harsh yellow crackle stinging his tired eyes. It felt like his spine broke, too. His shotgun was nowhere to be seen. Probably somewhere in the rubble. Sitting up, Aaron glared at the gargantuan hunter. He took a moment to steady his spinning head, then rolled away from a swing of its shield.Rising, he adopted a combat stance. On the balls of his feet, arms raised. As the hunter threw its body weight towards him, it had its charge cut short. A glassing beam shattered the world outside and the tower staggered. The hunter overswung. The shield smashed a wall and lodged itself inside. The hunter pulled, roaring as it tried to get free. Aaron was unsteady. Lucky for him, the hunter was more so. Ramming into the hunter's chest, he sent it flying through the wall. The adjacent room's floor had collapsed and the pair threw blows as they fell. Aaron pummelled its soft stomach.Hunters were a hive-mind of worms, working together to form a giant creature. Weakpoints in there armour exposed the worms and Aaron knew exactly where they were. He plunged a fist into the stomach, tearing the worms into stringy giblets. Aron hit the floor first. The hunter, or what was left of it, came second. The immense weight pinned Aaron and he cried out as orange blood flushed over him. He hardly heard Sarah's strained voice. "Phoenix 2, this is phoenix 1. I am on site for evacuation. Do you read me phoenix 2? Aaron, are you down there?" Grunting and groaning, he strained his arms. His muscles screamed, powering through the challenge. With one last tremendous effort, he pushed the body trapping him away. Aaron stood up, his hands resting on his knees, panting. His eyes streamed. He glanced up, cursing under his breath. Covenant chatter on the floors above. The ponderous footfalls of a great hunter. The sound of impending doom.Through the hole in the wall peered a pair of elites and a second hunter, enraged by the death of the first. They grunted, leaping down to face him. The first elite dashed forward. It didn't even bother to fire its weapon. Had it tried, it would not have had chance. Aaron didn't know he was doing it until after it happened. With an open palm strike, he shattered the elite's spine. Tearing the plasma rifles from its cold hands, the weapons energised Aaron. Plasma bolts ripped through the air. Shattering windows, scorching floors, putting holes in the walls and scarring the room. After the initial barrage, Aaron broke off. He was outnumbered and exhausted. He knew he needed to move and he needed to finish this. Fast. A harsh, alien sound accompanied a sick green flash. A fuel rod beam liquidised the room in running, burning explosions. If he looked hard enough, Aaron could see death in the blinding glow.He fled through a door and they followed. The elite gained on him and the hunter fell behind. Thundering elephantine footsteps faded, replaced by rapid panther strides. With his number of foes halved, Aaron turned, bringing the plasma rifle down on the elite's head. Both the skull and rifle shattered. The corpse collapsed like a sack of stones. In death as in life, it was another obstacle. In his way. This had been a thinking, feeling creature. It had hopes, dreams, a past, a present. But no future. Had had taken that. Leaving the thoughts behind, he continued running. His feet touched the floor above as a tremendous thundering sound rang throughout the city. The steel supports creaked, dust and debris crumbling from the roof. Desks sprayed loose paper and plaster, filling the room and obstructing his view. Pressing on through the maelstrom of chaos, yet more yawns from the building slowed his progress. Plagued with doubts, he powered on until, finally, the floor gave way.Heavy concrete tumbled down, crumbling onto the covenant below. The landslide took everything with it, including both Aaron and the floors beneath. Ahead of him, the window had fallen apart from the tirade, flinging the rubble into the abyss below. Without much hope for finding a grip, Aaron thrust out a hand. To his surprise, he felt himself judder to a halt. He had caught a metal cable protruding from the rebar. It groaned, bending from his weight, but it held.Slamming his fists into the concrete, he made his own handholds. His path secure, he began to climb. It was slow, painful, tiring work, but it was progress. The building continued to fall away, great shards of construction falling away. Tremors sheared the city apart.When he reached the summit, Aaron collapsed. Rolling onto his back, his chest rose and fell like a piston. Delirious, he hardly considered the speck at the corner of his vision. To his mind, the many black flecks floating in the air were dust.In truth, it was Sarah and her pelican. Weaving through the falling rocks and rising ash, she cut through the carnage. Heat from the melting crust of the city sent the pelican haywire. Rising columns of scalding hot air gave way to falling plumes of cold sky.The ground itself ran like a river. Hot, glowing magma oozed through the surface. Torrid lava bathed the city in a flickering orange light. The air hissed and shimmered. Everywhere, burning. Red beams and deafening thunders. Noise and red and heat as the city burned. From their cruisers, raining down red glassing beams, the covenant laughed.As the first speck grew larger, Aaron finally understood it was no dust. Indeed, a pair of specks joined it, far closer, moving far faster. Close enough, loud enough, to identify as phantoms. The pair of ships drew near, circling him. They pulled close to the rooftop. Elites poured from the troop bays, surrounding the lone spartan. With effort, Aaron raised his knife. Rolling his neck, he looked at the encircling alien force. Practically unarmed and running on fumes, he honestly had no idea how he could escape. He had no hope. That did not, however, mean he had no fury. That, he had in droves.He swung for the nearest elite. It hadn't expected the attack, nor had it expected it to be so fast. With the force of a train Aaron brought his knife down, to much the same effect. Two halves of the elite fell to the floor, connected by stringy flesh. Aaron snatched up a plasma pistol, paying the horrific violence no heed. He had done worse. Earlier today, in fact, he had punched a jackal into a wall. Fragile, bird-like bones crumpled like paper against a steel girder. He had fell upon the covenant with the fury of a tiger, throughout the day. He had saved people. They had been too afraid of the bloodstained mass of metal annihilating covenant to thank it. Even so, he had tried. He fought bravely and he fought well. The marines had no qualms focusing on getting civilians out. All they had to do was stay out of Aaron's way and pick up the pieces. But, in the end, it had been for nothing. Their pelican, ferrying people to the evacuation shuttle, had been hit. Passing over the shuttle, the thrusters gave out and the dropship fell from the sky. When it hit the evacuation shuttle, it detonated the fuel supply and killed everyone aboard. Aaron had had to stand by and watch. He had stared into the flames. Flames fuelled by flesh. Blood and sweat, shed for those people. That flesh. That was all they were. All they ever had been. All that life, all those memories and emotions, gone. In a flash. He wanted revenge. He wanted to hurt the covenant. Filled with a lust for death unlike anything he had felt in years, Aaron had assaulted the covenant. They would see no mercy.Firing at the mass surrounding him, Aaron thrust at the nearest elite. He pulled out the blade, stumbling as it caught on bone. This was heaven to him. Alone in a fight. Impossibly outnumbered, he didn't have to consider if he lost. It was decided for him already. He could kill and kill until he was killed. No more fear. No more worry.Peace.An elite swept Aaron's leg and plunged an energy dagger. Before it could connect, a circling phantom dropped from the sky and exploded. A flash of blue light, purple smoke and a droning wheeze. Rubble fell to oblivion below. The second phantom screeched, slamming into the rooftop. The concrete shattered and blood flew high. Arcs of spurting purple accompanied the phantom's careening collapse. Smears of purple blood followed the ship as it went. It ran along the roof, crushing elites until it tumbled from the edge. The engines dead and the hull shattered, the dead ship did not rise.Sarah's pelican flew back around. It loosed a short burst of gunfire, tearing elites apart. The elite that had come so close to finishing Aaron stood up. Pointing to the pelican, it ordered them to open fire. The order never left its lips.Aaron gripped its arm and pulled it close. He thrust his knife into its neck and smiled as blood gushed down over his arm. Kicking the corpse aside, he pulled himself to his aching feet. The few remaining elites looked at each other. This demon was hard to kill. One charged the lone spartan. It was fast and brave, but foolish. Its foot slipped on the blood and it stumbled. Off-balance, its dagger missed Aaron and he pushed it gently. It went over the edge with a scream.With his back turned, Aaron was an easy target. The elite behind him plunged an energy dagger into Aaron's back. Screaming in agony and burning anger, Aaron snatched at its limbs. His grip caught the wrist of the elite and, without much effort, he tore an arm from its body. The gush of hot blood coated his armour and ran from his helmet.The elite's shocked face stared at him. A hand on its stump, tt dropped to its knees before him, garbling an insult through its snarling lips. Without a word, Aaron rammed his dagger into its neck. A burst of gunfire hitting the floor near his feet garnered his attention. "Phoenix 2, unless you want to die, get on board!" Sarah let her finger off of the pelican's trigger. All the way out of the city, she continued her furious rant. The pelican left the rooftop behind, littered with corpses and burning debris. "You put both of us at risk with that shitshow!" A building collapsed around them. The rubble almost crushed them as they fled. "I stick my neck out for you and you're too busy killing to pay attention!" A fleet of phantoms narrowly avoided them, too intent on another threat. More gunfire. Plasma scorching bodies.A city on the brink of collapse."Commander, we've got company!" The cry for help was almost blocked out by the sudden wail of the banshee engines. Aaron popped off two grenades. The first caught a banshee but barely grazed the second. He dropped to the ground as the plasma bolts flew at lightning speed towards him. "Get the ship on comms, we need support.""This is phoenix 1, we're being hit. Pursuing banshees are tearing us to hell, need immediate assistance.""Understood, phoenix 1. Everything we've got is coming to you, but-""No need, Sunbreaker," Marie cut in. "Commander, I can assist.""Marie? How the hell did you? How the hell can you-""Later!" Marie settled at the edge of the hangar, sniper in hand. "Move out of the clouds. I require line of sight to support." Covenant boarding parties had assaulted the hangar bay of the frigate. Felix covered Marie as she peered into the gloom. Suddenly, a cloaked elite bowled him over and charged, with a companion, straight at Marie.Marie fired into one's skull but was unable to hit the other. The towering menace tackled her. The attack stunned Marie. Sprawled on the floor, her head span. She looked up at the elite. It had drawn its energy dagger. The blue glow reflected off of Marie's visor into its face, illuminating the bared teeth of the beast. Marie thought a laugh rolled from its lips.That was until a flash of light shone from a pistol behind the elite's skull. Felix ripped a hole in the head of the alien. He lowered his hand to help Marie up, which she accepted. Marie picked up her rifle, aiming down the high magnification scope. The pelican was trailing plumes of noxious smoke, blocking her view of the banshees following. "You can't take down a banshee with a sniper," Felix said."You can't," Marie whispered. The moment the smoke cleared, she fired three shots. They tore through the armoured purple exterior like wet tissue paper. The craft stopped in mid-air, losing all momentum. It was almost surreal. They sank like stones, disappearing from view. The rest of the crew had cleared out the bulk of the covenant forces in the hangar and gathered to support Marie. Following her example, the remaining forces blasted the banshees with heavy fire. Many exploded or broke off from the force of the assault. Sarah was getting close, but it seemed impossible she could make it. "That pelican is goosed," Felix said."Hush!" The occupants watched with bated breath.The pelican's thrusters were beeping. The windshield was gone. Consoles sparked and spewed smoke. The heat and noise were unbearable. "Thrusters are dead.""I know!" As it neared the hangar, the pelican slowed. It didn't fly the final metres. It glided. When it touched down, it skidded along the bare metal, sending up sparks and smoke. When it came to a stop, the fuselage sagged, like it exhaled a pent-up breath.The engine went dead. Inside the cockpit, Sarah had thrown her hands over her face. Aaron, meanwhile, had thrown himself into a chair. His iron grip loosened as they stepped aboard to investigate. Slowly, Sarah lowered her arms, opening her eyes. Disbelieving she was alive, she pinched herself. It hurt. The shock took over her natural response. First, a short giggle, followed by full blown laughter erupting from her mouth. "Ah. Ahaha...Ahahahahah! We're, we're alive! Ahaha!" The outburst died down, giving her the breath needed to unbuckle her harness. Both the spartans jumped onto the deck, regrouping with Marie and Felix.Sarah looked at Marie. Her back hunched and she seemed...empty. Distant. "What happened?""He...He came back for me." She was hardly able to speak. Felix gave her a look of pity, and spoke for her. "He got the civilians out, and when he came back for us, it was all too heavy." Sarah thanked Felix and glared at Aaron. She was almost daring him to make a snide comment. "Marie, hold it together ok? We'll win this somehow, and I want you beside me." She clambered aboard a small crate, bolstering her already considerable height. "Everyone, everyone!" Sarah got their attention. Not that she didn't already have it. A death defying crash landing tended to do that. "Today has been a difficult ride. We've all lost people, and we'll lose more. What we need to remember is, we can win this. This is our home, and we will take it back. But first, we need to take back our ship." The crowd cheered, charging into main hallway.On reflection, Sarah thought, the main access hallway was most likely not the most effective route to the bridge. This idea came upon her as a covenant platoon pinned them down."Aaron! Can't you think of anything? We need to get out of here!" Sarah was beginning to fray under the pressure. "Negative, commander. We need to keep pushing." Felix looked at Aaron, the sarcastic look on his face visible even through his visor. "Do you fancy charging into that?" He pointed at the exploding air of the hallway.When Aaron remained silent, Felix looked down at his rifle. "Spartan, hit this!" He fired a small grenade from his under barrel launcher. It passed behind the scattered crates the covenant used as cover.Marie let slip a round that lit the spark. The grenade detonated in a fireball, a terrible pyre for their enemy. It erupted in golden flames, searing the walls black and chewing away at the air in hall. It smothered them in oily smoke and cinders.Pummelling any enemies she encountered, Marie was the first to pass through the conflagration. Her armour scorched to the colour of a morning sunrise. Aaron was out soon after, carrying Sarah on his back. Felix was ahead of him. Sarah stirred. She was coughing, a harsh sound in the sulphuric air. "2, get her out of here!" Marie pointed to the door, raising her sniper. Felix waited with Marie, his rifle nowhere to be seen. He drew his revolver, fanning the hammer as round after round slammed into the enemy.A hot plasma grenade landed near Marie. She leapt away from it, coming into the covenant line of fire. The grenade detonated in a shower of sticky indigo energy, crumbling the edge of the hallway and showering her in circuitry and steel. The massive impact shattered her visor. Felix felt sick as he heard shards of glass spray into her eye.Marie hit the floor with a thud, and splash of fresh blood. It felt like her face was glowing, a shocking pain was all that kept her awake. Awake meant alive. Alive was good. A chattering cry of pure pain rang out. Marie's helmet was ruined. The visor shattered, the plating dented, the metal scorched. With as much strength as she could muster, she launched it into the amorphous covenant mass. Marie sucked in a deep breath from the pain. Felix was falling back, shouting for Marie to follow. He inched back, passing the threshold of a bulkhead. Looking at the others, he shot a last glance to Marie. She threw a grenade, hissing as it rolled past her target. It tumbled into the fractured wallspace. Upon detonation, the ship shuddered like a wounded animal. When the smoke cleared, the source of a rushing, hissing noise became clear. Out of a, now far larger, hole, a steaming jet of gassy fire spewed out. Like napalm, it stuck to everything. Marie lowered her rifle. "Oh, non," she said, as her eyes fell on a spiked purple mass. As Felix backed into the bridge, a flash like a bomb filled his eyes.Flaming gas ruptured through the canisters holding it. The heat was too much for the splinter bomb to withstand. By this point, Marie was in the heart of the storm. Devouring flames. When the bomb detonated, it was an all-consuming bang. The ringing ran out in Felix's ears. He curled into the foetal position and sobbed. After the detonation, silence.In the next room, Aaron heard the raucous racket and sighed. Felix shot up, pounding on the doorway. "Get this open!" Shoving Felix roughly aside, Aaron spoke, his voice level. "She's gone. We will be too if you go out there." Felix pulled away, he pounded on the steel, drawing his scimitar to split the seams. The door opened a small amount. Sighing, Aaron pulled the thick steel open. He kicked Felix back and stepped into the night. Air rushed out into the vacuum and the doors slammed shut. In the silence of space, Aaron heard none of it.It might as well have been Ground Zero. The floor had collapsed, sinking down many floors into the interior of the ship. The cavernous gash was still burning in many places. Scattered debris, limbs and weapons floated in the vacuum of space. Flash-frozen blood passed by his face and Aaron pushed it away. His eyes scanned the wreckage. Marie lay below; almost peaceful in her death. Dropping down to her corpse, Aaron lifted her limp form, climbing the gradual slope. For the last time, he passed through the doors, Felix dragging him in.Aaron set Marie down. Sarah, pressed against a wall, sagged in exhaustion. Aaron leant to close Marie's blackened, bloody eye when she snapped up. "Merde!" Her voice was hoarse. Her eyes bloodshot and her face cold, she felt faint. "What's going on? Mon dieu, I feel ill." Felix let out a pent-up breath, shocked at her resilience. Marie pressed her hand to her tingling cheeks and felt it come away cold. "What changed your mind?" Felix asked Aaron"The fact you wouldn't change yours." Looking down at Marie, he asked, "Are you operational?""Oui." Marie's crawling skin on her face filled her with concern. She was fairly certain half her face was burned away. At the very least, she smelled the acrid stench of burned hair, and her bodysuit had burned away on one palm. With a glance at Sarah, Marie asked, "How'd I look?" Sarah grinned at her with narrow eyes. "Super-hot. Like dynamite." Leaning back, Sarah coughed up a small amount of blood. Aaron put an arm on her shoulder, supporting her. "Hold it together for a few more steps. The bridge is just around the corner."