Halo: Fireteam Phoenix

Chapter 22: Victory or Death

Aaron followed a trail through the ghostly hallways. Like a fairy-tale, except shell casings and bodies replaced breadcrumbs. He swelled with a sick pride that they acted so ruthlessly. So far as he could tell, Eric had been the only casualty.When he finally caught up, the others had reached the door to the control room. "Aaron, just the man I wanted to see," Sarah said. She looked past him, then back at him. "What about Eric?""A brute got him. Chieftain, actually." He tossed the dog tags to her. "He did well." She caught them without really looking, running a finger over the steel. She kept her eyes fixed on the middle distance. It had been a while since they lost someone. Eric had seemed so tough, he couldn't have died, surely? He had that immortality a good leader always should. "No time to mourn," Sarah said, passing Marie the dog tags. "You saved his life in New Belgrade. You should have them.""Thank you," Marie said. She ran her thumb over the stamped letters. This was all that remained of Eric. It was morbid, holding the memory of a man in her hands.Whilst the spartans dwelled on Eric's death, the others had rigged charges on the door. They stacked up either side of the door, ready to storm the control room. "This makes me miss Derek," Marie said."Tell me about it," Sarah said. Her eyes glazed over for a second, then she snapped back to it. "Actually, don't." The last thing she needed was that.The explosives detonated soon after, launching the doors into the room in a cloud of ash and smoke. The squad's weapons erupted in a flash of gunfire. Purple haze filled the room as the covenant returned fire with equal ferocity. "Move in!" Aaron ordered, firing at the covenant on the raised central platform. Ruby, Deuce and Aaron were the first in, drawing fire away from the door. From their secure position, Sarah, Marie and Connor held back, supporting the approach.After a short skirmish, they had cleared the bridge. The speed of the attack and the dual assault decimated the defenders. "2, Deuce, get to work securing a perimeter. Lieutenant, you're on watch duty." Sarah pointed as she spoke. "Ruby, you and I will...Ruby!" A camouflaged elite stood behind Ruby. Sarah raced up the ramp to defend her. It raised its weapon to separate Ruby's head from her shoulders. Sarah continued screaming as she powered into the elite. She hit the elite like a rocket, sending them both through the guard rail and onto the floor below.The impact knocked the air from her lungs. Sarah struggled to catch her breath as she skipped across the floor like a stone. They both struggled to recover first, clawing their way to the deactivated energy sword between them. Sarah got there first. She gripped the hilt and flicked her wrist to activate it. Before she could bring the blade down, the elite pierced her knee with its energy dagger. With a scream and a jet of blood, Sarah went to the floor. As she went, Sarah clenched the elite's forearm and dragged it from its crouched position to the floor with her. They traded many solid blows, crying out from the brutal impacts. Something broke in Sarah's chest and she pulled her head back and sucked in air. Without realising what she was doing, Sarah slammed her helmet into the elite's skull, sending up a gout of blood. It flinched back and spat blood. Dazed, it didn't see Sarah take up the energy sword and plunge it into its chest. It didn't die fast enough. Sarah slumped back, exhausted, but the elite had a final trick literally up its sleeve. With one final effort, the elite slashed Sarah from neck to navel with its energy dagger. They hit the floor, one dead, the other almost there.Sarah's vision was blurry and the slightest hint of light sent rays of pain shooting into her skull. Her chest felt like she was on a bed of nails, and every breath racked her with agony. Speaking of her breathing, it was laboured and wheezy. Shivering, she felt herself lift off the ground. Was she ascending to heaven?"Commander. Commander, can you hear me?" A voice asked, echoey and unclear. She croaked out what she thought was a yes. To the others, it sounded just like a croak. Another voice joined the first. Female, and panicked."Commander, look at me. Look at me, keep those eyes open. You're gonna be ok. Alright? You'll be alright, just don't close your eyes. Don't close those eyes for me, ok? You can pull through this." The voice drifted away. As it faded, so too did Sarah.They gathered around the Spartan. "Sarah, Sarah you'll be ok. Can you hear me? You'll be ok!" Ruby was shaking her almost lifeless body."Commander, stay with me," Aaron said, his voice low. He was speaking to her alone. He looked up. "Do we have anything for her?""Nothing. Best we can do is apply pressure and hope," Deuce said, leaning against the wall. Aaron swore and nodded. "Ruby, keep pressure on that as best you can. Lieutenant, help her." He stood, moving to secure the room. Marie sat with Ruby, an arm over her shoulder. Sarah was still, her pulse faint. Ruby was still holding out hope, feeble pressure still on Sarah's open wound. "It wasn't your fault, she knew what she was doing."Sarah abruptly sat up and swivelled her head before she fell back to the floor. She moaned, thrashing in pain. "Aaron. Get me Aaron!" He raced over, kneeling next to her. He held her head in his hands, staring at her from beneath his helmet. They'd removed hers to check her breathing, and her pale complexion was almost the colour of ash. Her eyes were sunken and bloodshot, her cheeks hollow. She was shaking, her teeth chattering. "I'm here commander.""Goddammit Aaron, for once listen to me as a person. You're in charge now. Do what needs...needs to be done. Promise me." As she gasped her final breath, her eyes rolled back into her skull. Aaron pressed his head to her own as it lolled. "I'll see it done. You have my word." Without another word, he removed her dog tags and replaced her helmet on her head. Ruby let out a dry sob, pressing her head against Marie's chest. Marie brushed her shoulder gingerly. "She's gone. We have to stay focused, we have to move on," Marie whispered. Whilst Ruby sobbed the others plotted their next move.Aaron was pacing the command deck as he observed his motley crew. Deuce was stood to one side, watching the others. Aaron liked him. He was like himself. Cold. Capable. He'd do his duty. That was the most important thing. Aaron couldn't guarantee he'd be alive to see this mission finished. If he corked it, he wanted Deuce to pick up the slack. He, like himself, could see it done. Ruby, he liked less. She was abrasive, chatty, and paid too little attention. It would get her killed. Marie had changed. Since the crash, she had been quiet. Distant. Aaron was worried that it had all been too much. That it might have broken her. She seemed far too eager to see the suicide mission through to the end. He almost laughed at that. They'd been on suicide missions since they were children. Even so, Marie had always valued her life. The lives of others. It was unnatural that she be like this.Connor concerned him also. He'd taken far too many risks since his friend died. Aaron smirked at the absurdity. He was musing over their fatal flaws when none of them would survive the next few hours. Focus. Strength. Life. None of that mattered now. Only duty. Speaking of duty, it was highly unlikely they could even jumpstart the ship, nevermind take the fight to the covenant. It wasn't a cheerful thought.Aaron finally stood still, his team standing opposite him. Ruby was stable enough to stand and hold her rifle, and the other two were stoic as ever. Connor was a little jittery, but he remained still under Aaron's gaze. As he was about to speak, a voice rang out. "Anyone home?" It was Felix. A visibly tired, beaten Felix, but Felix nonetheless.They all glared at him. Some angry, some proud. All disbelieving. Marie spoke first. She turned to face the mercenary, storming towards him. "You bastard!" She hit him so hard he hit the floor, winded. "I deserved that. I admit, I deserved that," He said, nursing his jaw. "But I left for a reason!" For this, he received a kick and another chorus of "You left us!" "Because you were sending people to their deaths!""They chose to come!" She kicked him again. "They were brave. Not like you!""I made my choice. Against everyone else, I chose to act how I saw fit!" She kicked him again. He cried out. "And I was wrong!" Marie aimed another kick but stopped, mid-swing, when she heard this. Felix was, at this point, broken. He prepared to be beaten to death. Surprisingly, she showed mercy. Marie grasped him by the scruff of his neck and lifted him to his feet. "You will admit that?" "Yes. At the end of the day, there was no choice. We would all die anyway, and we might as well take some of them with us.""You came back to admit you were wrong?""Well," He drew his sword. "I came back to fight, too. If you'll have me?""I...of course.""So I'm back in your good books? Although, if that's the welcome I get, I'd rather I wasn't," Felix remarked."Don't push it," Marie warned, wagging her finger. "Where was I?" Aaron asked, his irritation clear in his voice."Knowing you? About to ruin everyone's spirit. Allow me to take responsibility!" Felix grinned beneath his helmet. "There's a whole load of aliens coming our way I thought I'd warn you about. They seemed pretty pissed, on account of me killing their friends and you stealing their ship, and all. So you stay here and hold the bridge. I'll cut them off in the hangar accessway""Like hell I'll stay here while you run off and escape on a banshee!" Ruby raised her gun at Felix. He had his back to her, already halfway to leaving. When the gun clicked, he raised his hands in surrender. In a slightly irritated voice, he asked, "Why would I have even bothered to come back if I was just gonna run off again?""You tell me," Marie replied, walking towards him "I shall accompany you. I am worthless here, and this way I can keep an eye on you.""Get going. Keep contact," Aaron snapped, waving his hand to dismiss them. He turned, his eyes locking on Felix. "One last thing. If you try anything, I'll cut you down without hesitation""Don't think it'll be easy," Felix replied. Without another word, he followed Marie out. Aaron was dismissive of the threat, but Ruby was livid. "Fucking mercs. What were they thinking?""Felix is a good soldier. We need more of those," Deuce replied, tinkering with the console. They had managed to power up the engines and now the ship was humming with the force. "We don't need good soldiers. We need heroes!" Ruby said."Heroes don't exist. Not in our line of work. We want killers, and Felix can kill better than any of you," Aaron declared. "Deuce, you seem to know how to pilot this. Get us into the air. Ruby, try and figure out how to empty this ship of all the stuff we can. Release drop pods, flush out airlocks, scuttle the banshees we have, turn off life support in areas. We don't need any more gear or covenant than we already have. Connor, help where you can. I'll carry on fixing this door.". They all saluted and continued their work.Felix and Marie were racing through the corridors, killing any covenant that stood in their way. "Just like old times, eh?" Felix remarked."Old times? It has been but a matter of days," Marie replied, stopping. "Felix, I trusted you. I thought that you had enough honour and kindness to stick it through.""Stick it through? Do you know how insane you sounded? 'Let's round up all the people on the planet and throw them at the covenant. We'll all die, but that doesn't matter!'" "And yet you returned?""To save the big guy. I saw an opportunity, and I took it. I broke off when you all fled, and I searched far and wide for some hope of escape. Something. Anything. But I didn't find it.""So you came back?""Yes. If this was all we had left, then I supposed I'd see it through." Marie was silent for a moment, processing his logic. "Fine. But if you try and run again, I'll kill you myself.""You and the big guy threatening me? I am popular today."Back on the bridge, they had secured the area. Aaron was sat on the command chair, observing the team. They'd soon gotten the hang of it, to everyone's surprise. Deuce was piloting, Connor had taken remote control of the cannons, and Ruby had managed to turn most of the ship into an empty wasteland. A good start. "We're going to have to use our initiative here because we're massively outnumbered. So, don't make too many mistakes and prioritise," Aaron began. "When we break orbit, make for the nearest cruiser. Hit it in the engines first, then the cargo hold.""Not just hit it anywhere?""No, that would take too long and be too costly. We don't need to destroy all these ships, just damage them. A cargo hold is a lot of gear to lose, and without engines, these ships will be stuck over Haven for a while."As they broke the atmosphere, they saw the planet as it burned. Haven was scarred with ruinous glass plateaus and cracked earth. They kept their focus, pushing the thought from their minds. Everyone except Connor. He stood, his mind in turmoil. In a moment of brashness he had never felt before, he stormed out of the bridge. "Where are you going?" Deuce asked."To help the people down there,""Down on Haven? You're kidding me? Get back here!""Let him go Deuce. I can handle the guns, or Ruby. The ships practically empty now anyway," Aaron said.Marie and Felix bumped into Connor after the first wave of covenant forces had attacked. The bodies littering the hangar were many. They threw a lot at Marie and Felix, but they held out, reusing the covenant fortifications against them. To deadly effect. "Connor? What are you doing here?" Marie asked."I need a Banshee," Connor said coldly. Crouching behind a low wall, he started firing at the phantom entering the ship. "And you think we have one to spare?" Felix asked."What for?" Marie asked."I see some up there." Connor pointed at the many banshees strapped to the roof. Marie persisted. "What for, Connor?""And how do you suppose we get them down?" Felix chuckled. This was crazy. "What are you doing Connor?""Like this." Connor concentrated his fire on the lock that held the craft up. As it snapped, the entire rack curled in against the ships, bending them into unusable masses of metal. When it seemed it couldn't get worse, the mangled rack collapsed. Most of the banshees exploded in unison, leaving a tremendous heap of detritus. The hangar protection shield faltered for a moment as the rubble and fireball smashed into it. Their feet slipped from under them. They all flew towards the door at incredible speed, swept off their feet by the overpowering vacuum. Felix snatched a weak hold onto the pillar supporting the catwalk. He cried out as Marie reached out, grasping his leg. "What the hell do we do?""Hold on maybe?" Felix replied."Not now!" Marie snapped, as the air rushed from her lungs. The rushing vacuum snatched Connor away into the hangar void. As he neared space, the shield reactivated, leaving him in the air. For the brief moment he was hovering, he felt elation at being spared such a painful death. Then his stomach filled with dread. He was fifteen feet in the air with nothing to land on.His free fall was short, the wind biting at his baggy clothes. Then he hit the ground, and his vision flashed red. Pain shot up his legs and into his body, leaving him reeling in shock. Somehow, he was still alive, and even more surprisingly, conscious. His screams were ear splittingly painful, matching the intensity of his agony. Waves of pain throbbed through his body, drawing attention to his shattered limbs. Looking down, he saw the mess he had become. The knees had shattered apart, leaving a mismatched, jagged mess of bone poking through the skin. His feet were a meaty mess, flesh pouring out of his boots. His green combat trousers were soaked black from the copious amounts of blood leaving his body. He felt himself slipping in and out of consciousness, the world turning black...Felix rocketed back to the catwalk as soon as pressure returned to the hangar. Marie peeked over the edge, almost slipping when she saw Connor. "Connor! Are you okay? Can you hear me?""He doesn't look okay, but he's moving," Felix remarked blithely, ignoring the shocked look Marie gave him. "We'll be down in a second, hold on!""You will be down in a second, it makes no sense for both of us to go," Felix said."Fine! But if anything gets near us, there will be hell to pay." Marie raced through the silent hallways to reach the bottom floor. Thankfully, she didn't encounter any covenant. When she finally arrived, she was panting from her pace. Locking eyes on Connor, she started to run, not even stopping when the next phantom turned up. "Connor, are you awake? Can you hear me?""I, I'm alive. I don't know how long for." He spoke with a fevered tone, shaking with each word. The very effort caused his already bone-white skin to turn a shade paler. His appearance worsened when a green smear of bile left his mouth. He almost choked, vomiting from the pain. Marie hefted him up, his hand clutching a pistol. Her arms were outstretched to support his body. He fired half-heartedly to keep the covenant following them busy. Felix was doing work, but it simply wasn't enough. "They keep coming!" "I had noticed!" Marie replied, looking back at the horde following her bloody trail. "Connor, I must put you down. I will thin their numbers. Try and return to Felix. If you cannot, remain wherever you get to and I will come back for you." Connor struggled to crawl up the incline. In the meantime, Marie had kicked up two plasma rifles and began firing back at the covenant. The plasma rain sent volumes of blood from the singed flesh of the opposing force.A jackal rushed with its shield raised, expecting to absorb the unrelenting force. It did not expect Marie's boot to its head, bursting its skull like an overripe grape. Marie kept the assault at bay until her rifles spluttered, drained of power. She threw them into the writhing mass of covenant, ducking behind cover. Instinctively, she primed a grenade. Tossing it from hand to hand, she jumped from cover, throwing the grenade in a smooth arc behind the bulk of the force. In the tight hallway, it was impossible to avoid the explosion. It detonated, flames licking at their bodies and sending limbs flying, trailing plumes of blood.Marie nodded, satisfied that she was in the clear for now. She soon caught up with Connor, who had left a long trail of blood behind him. He was face down, panting like a dog. "Come on, I'm getting you out of here," Marie said, picking him up like an oversized baby, bolting off up the stairs. "Felix! Felix, we're back! Don't shoot!""Get him sat down and keep him stable!""With what! We have nothing now." Marie laid the man down against a wall, kneeling before him. "I found this, don't ask where. It should stop the bleeding." Felix never stopped firing, kicking a medical kit towards them without even looking. "Thank you," Marie said, snapping back into action. Her steady hands opened the kit without a fuss, staining the pristine white shell with blood. Her gloved hands gripped the pristine scalpel in an iron grip.With deadly precision, she cut away at the blackened fabric to reveal the gouged, wounded tissue beneath. "Mon Dieu," Marie whispered, her eyes welling with tears. Connor hissed in pain at the aggravation of sensitive skin. "Connor! I am sorry, I forgot." Marie rooted for painkillers of some sort. A long, sharp needle of morphine lay before her eyes. "I hope you do not mind needles," Marie joked as she jabbed his arm with the cold metal. Immediately, he began to relax, the pain numbing. Marie started to speed up in the work, trying to rearrange the broken bones into a somewhat workable form. Whilst she did this, Felix was blasting his rifle as quickly as he could to stem the ebbing flow of covenant. "I think we might almost be through," He laughed, finishing the last covenant in the hangar. He was laughing even when the final phantom crashed into the hangar, blasting plasma at them all.The roar became louder as it came nearer, slowing as it reached their level of the hangar. "Phoenix 2, this is phoenix 3. We have almost secured the hangar bay, but we need more fire on the phantoms.""It's Deuce. We don't have anything to spare. A carrier is hitting us hard. You need to hold it yourself." Marie sighed, putting her scalpel aside. The phantom opened the troop bay, dispensing a large group of Zealots brandishing energy swords and invisible elites. A final elite dropped from the phantom.It settled the elites into a battle focus. Clearly, it was a leader. Felix's jaw dropped and he lowered his weapon in disbelief. "The fleet admiral?" He fired until his gun clicked empty. When he ran out of ammo, he dropped his gun and emptied his revolver, but it didn't faze them. Realising he'd kicked the hornet's nest, he drew his sword.He dropped from the catwalk, his rockets slowing him as he landed. Without a second thought, he stepped into a duel he was woefully unprepared for. He fought well, holding his own, but was unable to finish them off. The zealots grew impatient, but they couldn't strike the mercenary. The admiral, seeing his men in disarray, growled in fury and tackled the mercenary. With Felix preoccupied, the zealots turned to Marie and Connor. They started up the hallway, leaving Marie and the dazed Connor to fend off a batch of fearsome opponents. "If I survive this, I'm going to kill you!" Marie spat, raising her gun.Aaron sat in the chair, directing their blows. "That cruiser, the shields are down on its rear!" From the viewport, they observed the battlefield. The fleet they faced was a terrifying detachment. Five CCS battlecruisers, countless corvettes, and one CSO-class supercarrier. One battlecruiser was burning, but most had taken superficial shield damage. Instead, they focused on the corvettes. With a solid hit of the mining beam, they could split one in two.A CCS had moved to hit them while three corvettes pushed their flanks. The leading battlecruiser was preparing to hit the commandeered ship with all it had. "Take us over it, and charge up the main cannon. We fly over the top, release our drop pods and then blast the cannons into the piece connecting the forward bulb and the main body." They put the plan into action as the bridge doors slid open.They all glanced back when they heard the noise. Nobody stood in the doorway. "Stealth elites. They've sent a hit squad sent for us," Deuce said, not breaking his focus on the ship."I'll deal with them, you kill that carrier," Aaron said, standing up from the chair and pumping his shotgun. The slight shimmer of the air ahead of him gave away the foe, and a quick blast of buckshot sent him tumbling down the ramp into another comrade. The latter, pinned under his comrade, posed no threat to Aaron. He swiftly dispatched the elite. "Any sign?" Aaron asked, racking the pump on his shotgun. Another two elites emerged from behind the pillars, swinging their energy swords in tandem. Aaron ducked the predictable blows, firing into one elite. The other spun around with his weapon still drawn, forcing Aaron to duck under the blow again, jumping back up with his fist raised. The blow to the elite's chin snapped its neck backwards with a sickening crunch. "Clear?""Seems it to me, no-one's dead""That was too easy. Keep your guard up," Aaron said. His head swivelled through the control room, searching for foes.Back in the hangar, Marie had almost pulled through. Taking the advantage, she had fired at three of the downed zealots, killing one and injuring the other. The third dodged the shot and restarted his charge at her. Another shot dispatched him, sending brain matter across the deck. The remaining three had wizened up, rolling aside from her view. "Still with me Connor?" She asked, not breaking eye contact with the hallway."Yeah, I'm still here." His voice was weak.The three elites rushed as one. Marie hit one, sending him flying across the deck. The other two reached her before she could fire. She dropped to a knee and flung the charging the elite over her body. Drawing her combat knife, she buried it in the armpit of the elite closest to her. The grounded foe to her rear got back to his feet and swung his sword at her skull. Only a short burst of pistol fire from Connor saved her life.Ducking her head at the sound of the bullets, the angled swipe passed harmlessly through the air. Marie brought her head up, crashing it into the stomach of the elite. She then grasped its body, slamming it into the wall. The impact dislodged the sword from its hand, leaving the elite defenceless to Marie blows. The flurry caved its chest. With her last drop of strength, Marie dragged it away from the wall. Heaving with all her might, she sent it flying from the catwalk to the scarred hangar floor. Exhausted, Marie dropped to her knees. The elite landed in a battered heap on the floor, pooling azure blood on the grey floor. This didn't distract the two duellists, focused entirely on their opponent. Felix was swinging with his sword at the Elite, who feinted past the attack and hit the mercenary in the side. This didn't stop him from following through with the swipe and catching the elite on the shoulder. Breaking the lock they had on each other, both combatants stood a few feet apart, legs bent and ready to strike.The elite struck first, shocking Felix by twirling the glowing blade at his left side. Felix parried the blow-just-but a successive barrage of blows from the elite's offhand all struck true. They struck gold, breaking a rib and bruising his skin. Felix leant back and grasped his chest in pain. Stars danced before his eyes, the colour draining from the world. He could hardly raise his sword and block the next attack. Sucking in a deep breath, he counter-attacked by swiping his leg into the elite's knee. He smirked as he felt the blow crack the bone. A roar from its mouth told Felix he was back in the running.Connor was fading further, his bleary eyes unfocused. Marie's palms were slick with sweat. "Hold on," she assured. The spartan jumped down onto the phantom hovering below them, swinging the pair from the roof to the cargo hold. Marie crouched into the cockpit, plunging her blade into the neck of the pilot. Grasping the controls, she locked it into autopilot. "Stay here, I will not be long," Marie whispered as she returned to the ledge, peering down at the battle below.