Pelican drop ship Echo 287, 01:00, Installation 01
The back of the pelican held two squads of ODSTS and a single spartan in green armor. The troopers talked between themselves, not having seen Captain Thomas' face before, and placing bets on his age.
"I don't know. Cryo has to have delayed it. What do you think, sarge?" One of the lieutenants asked his squad mates.
"I think you should be lucky the cap ain't tossed you out the back yet and made you swim. You know he can hear everything you've said, right?" The following silence was sobering for the troopers who had forgotten just how far the Spartans had been augmented. Thomas didn't often take his armor off for a multitude of reasons, but he did enjoy the feeling of wind and the smell of clean air. He turned and addressed the sergeant then.
"Long as it's not taken too far, I could care less. You and the men ready?" The half dozen troopers rushed to put their helmets on, and the rest chuckled at the embarrassment of their fellow soldiers. Thom took a deep breath, lifted his helmet to his head, and sealed himself inside with a twist. When he turned to look back at the troopers, he felt the Pelican shudder from the impact of AA fire. The pilot spoke over the radio, letting them know they were in for a firefight.
"Batarians got AA on Plateau's, can't get around them." Thomas moved to the cockpit, opening the doors and peaking out past the pilot at the multitude of flak rounds whizzing at them. Thomas pointed at the canyons running around and below them, then hatching an idea.
"We'll go under them, dive into the canyons, then yank us up and over the edge. Once we're out, dive back under and well call out when the AA's been dealt with," The nod he got from the pilot told him they weren't happy with the plan but would follow it. Headed back to the hold, he quipped to the troopers, who all had heard the plan over the radio.
"Hope you all skipped breakfast." The comment was punctuated by everyone's stomach leaping into their throats as the nose of the pelican violently dove into a canyon to avoid the AA fire. The next minute was filled with hard turns and more than one loop as the pilot, nicknamed "Daredevil," proceeded to show he had a blatant disregard for everyone's breakfast. When their hearts dropped into their boots, they all got ready to move. The Rear of the Pelicans drop bay opened and showed the sheer vertical drop below them as the ODSTs held on for dear life. Once the Dropship leveled out, the sound of gunfire could be heard, and the red flashing light above the rear door turned green. An auto turret deployed from the ceiling, and the pilot swerved around the bird. The second the ship began turning, all of those in the bay had stood up and began moving for the exit. In a move that had been practiced over a thousand times, and before the turret even got a lock on, the troopers had booked it out the door and engaged the enemy. The auto turret only opened up once everyone had cleared its line of fire, and even then, it only got a short burst off before the pilot closed the door and deactivated it.
"Echo 287, dive back down. We'll take care of the guns." The pilot gave a short affirmative and took off back into the canyon after the spartan gave the order. The team pushed to the meager cover afforded to them, scattered crates and makeshift camp walls. Clearly, the batarians thought they would be here for the long term. The ODSTS were poking out from the cover every few seconds and took down several of the hostile contacts when one of the officers began shouting orders out.
"Release the varen. We aren't going to let the mutts sit on their asses while we get shot," the order was quickly followed by the sound of howling and shouts as the alien dogs began bearing down on the troopers. The ODSTs had not been prepared for a pack of vicious creatures to charge them, and it became difficult to target and take down the numerous wild animals.
The Spartan was busy trying to reach the officers who had given the order when one such animal blindsided him as it crashed into his side and began trying to tear out his throat. The armored gauntlet was all that it closed its jaw around. Thomas had been thrown to the ground, and his AR had flown out of his hands as he grappled with the beady-eyed animal. It released his arm for another bite at his neck, only for the Spartan to grab its upper and lower jaws and YANK. With a snap and a crunching sound, the beast got kicked away, and the Spartan turned over to reach for his assault rifle. Another varren was upon him as he grabbed his AR and got the butt of the weapon smashed into its skull for the trouble. The beast was only stunned and was given time to recover as a third climbed the armored back of the Spartan after he reached his knees.
Two turned into three, and by the time the Spartan had clawed the varren off his back, two more lunged for him, and he was surrounded. He caught one by the throat and crushed its windpipe before throwing at another that had been trying to circle him. The other bit into his shoulder, causing his shields to flare up and begin dropping. The Spartan shoved his assault rifle into the offending creature's gut and pulled the trigger quickly, disemboweling it before throwing it off and turning to open fire on the others. The varren had a similar idea as they had charged again, the leader being a dark red color instead of the black and white on the others.
Before it reached him, a burst from a BR brought down the leader, and several more followed as the ODSTs had managed their own batch of varren and regrouped with the Spartan to assist.
"Little close there, huh, captain?" The cheeky response from the sergeant reminded him that he would not have to fight alone and that he would always be more effective with backup. A nod from the spartan told the ODST all he needed to know. He appreciated the assist and would return the favor.
"Hostiles caught me trying to flank around. I couldn't get a shot at their officer. We'll have to keep pushing up and run him down." The ammo counter read 26 on his MA37, so he chose to forgo reloading it. The rest of the unit all looked no worse for wear, and the batarians hadn't pushed, so they chose to cover some ground. Moving quickly in an arrowhead formation, the squad covered ground and took the chance to put down the feral varren that came their way. They pushed further into the Batarian's makeshift base camp and saw the forerunner structure not too far off.
They ended any hostiles who got between them and the library without mercy. The batarians kinetic barriers were too weak to be effective against the UNSC's weaponry. When they did struggle against one of the batarians, it was an officer or a tech specialist. They made it a point to interrogate this one and captured him swiftly. While he didn't know how they found the ring, he knew their admiral was desperate to get a hold of it and had taken several teams into the library, thinking it was the command center. Once the officer had spilled his guts, they turned him loose, and he started running. They had stripped him of his arms and armor and planned to look into the Kinetic shielding tech he had once they were back on Eternity.
"looks like they set the guns up on a hill around this next bend. They'll know we're coming," The sergeant stated as Thomas eyed the cliff face. They were on a path that would lead them around and under an archway. The spartan ordered the Group to a halt and studied the cliff face next to them.
"Then we'll have to get the drop on them. Start climbing." With that, he holstered his AR and began making handholds with his fists and climbing the sheer face of the wall. After a few seconds, the ODSTs followed behind him, some using his handholds and others finding their way up the jagged rock face. The top of the cliff had a clear view of the space the Batarians had set their AA up. Three guns had been set up, dual-barreled heavy machine guns on gimbals to track air targets. It was not cannons as they had thought, but still a decent threat with concentrated fire. A line of barricades had been set up to prevent anyone from advancing around the bend, and several Batarians stood guard. The far side of this position showed they had set up a bridge to cross the chasm between here and the Library. They hadn't advanced across for some reason, but the Spartan wasn't one to give them the chance. It's better to strike while the iron is hot.
"Prep frag grenades. Lob them behind the barriers and cover me." The sound of pins being pulled told him his orders had been heard, and the spartan prepped one of his own, aiming for one of the guns in the rear. He raised three fingers and dropped them one at a time, counting down. The last finger dropped, and ten grenades were chucked over the Batarians' heads. Only one noticed but could only let out a miserable scream as they went off. The blast cleared out more than half of the enemy, and the Spartans boots hit the ground seconds later as he sprinted into the enemy from the side. They were in disarray after the grenades detonated. Thomas slammed into them like a hammer into red hot steel. The ODSTs opened up on them with their battle rifles and SMGs a moment later.
Thomas ducked around one batarian's tonight hook, pressed the barrel into his temple, and pulled the trigger once, scattering his thoughts across the sand before ducking back into cover. His current goal was to reach the AA guns and destroy them before they could turn the heavy weapons on them. He burst from cover and shoulder-checked the batarian that had tried to flank him, driving the man's ribs into his chest cavity and killing him. Twelve rounds left, and three short bursts later, he was back into cover and shoving a fresh magazine into old reliable. Less than 10 meters to target now, the Spartan decided it was do or die. He could still hear the ODSTs laying down lead like it was going out of style, so he turned and ran for the nearest gun.
The batarian who was using it did not take kindly to being thrown over the nearby cliff and screamed the whole way down. Thom decided to use the turret to take out the other two and began swinging the gun around as a batarian on the last gun finally figured out how to depress the barrel. The Spartan got his rounds off first despite the unfamiliar controls. It turns out weapons are easier to figure out than doors, and he shredded the poor bastard who had tried to be a hero. The gun he was mounted on detonated in a blue flash, and the second quickly followed. The ODSTs had mopped up the last of the batarians and started climbing down as the Spartan covered them with the gun, and when they reached the bottom, he was approached by the Sergeant.
"We didn't exactly bring any demolition charges. How do you wanna scrap this thing?" The Spartan dismounted the turret and looked around the heavy weapon. It wasn't bolted to anything, and the edge wasn't too far off. From the looks of it, they dropped it out of a transport and set it up where it landed. The Spartan walked to the side of the AA gun and began pushing it. The weapon slipped off the edge and into the abyss below a few moments later. Over the radio, an indignant shout from their Pelican pilot.
"Hey, watch it. Didn't anyone ever teach you guys not to litter," the question was heard over the sound of jet engines approaching as the drop ship made its way up and over the edge of the cliff. The last of the ODSTs had climbed down by now and made their way over to the Spartan, who radioed the pilot.
"Echo 287, return to Eternity and wait till we call for evac." A salute was the pilot's reply, and he took off. "Spearhead actual to Eternity, we've secured an LZ, and I need a defensive position set up. How copy?" The orders were received by Eternity, and he got confirmation a few moments later.
"Copy that Spearhead, defensive position marked on coordinates. We'll send a unit down shortly." Thom shouldered his rifle and turned to head for the bridge to the library. Static filled his radio then, a message was coming through, but the signal wasn't strong enough to reach him clearly. There was a single word that made it through that he was able to pick out. "Flood." Thoughts ran through the Spartan's head, and he became increasingly worried for the ODSTs that had arrived before them.
"We need to go. NOW." As he took off in a sprint, the ODSTs were startled but only lagged behind for a second before they Sprinted after him. As he ran, he contacted Eternity.
"Spearhead to Eternity, possible flood outbreak at the library, requesting Decon unit immediately." The reply from Eternity gave him at least a little reassurance that they would be able to contain this, and if he hurried, Charlie Seven could still be alive. He pushed harder until he heard his allies struggling to keep up. He slowed until they caught up and continued running at a pace they could keep up. His light jog still made the ODSTs pale, but they pushed forward to the Library and its only entrance. Unlike Installation 04, this Library had a physical door they could make use of.
The ring was purpose-built to be completely barren of all but the smallest forms of life to make weapons testing entirely safe. Biomass could be grown to make hosts for the flood in limited tests, but the monitor wasn't fond of testing with them as all the tests would end chaotically. That meant there was no need for extensive containment features like the other rings. Any flood that escaped would face only sand and legions of sentinels to destroy them.
The spartan ran to the library's towering doorway as several sentinels began whizzing past to the entrance. The HUD showed he was browsing through a dozen different inventories for a weapon drop and found one he felt would come in handy.
"Authorization for drop pod number 1-9-00F, Clearance code R-095. Designating landing zone."
"Weapon drop confirmed, eta 20 seconds." The marker on his HUD turned green, and Eternity launched a drop pod from one of her mac guns 15 seconds later. As the group neared the doorway, a massive Enforcer sentinel flew in, and the pod slammed into the sand near the entrance, causing the spartan to come to a stop in front of it as the door blew off. It revealed a specially modified NA4 Defoilant Projector, and as the spartan strapped its fuel tank to his back and replaced his Assault rifle into the pod, he was given stares from the ODSTs, who were beginning to question his sanity.
"Uh, captain, what exactly are we expecting to face in there?" The Spartan had moved into the gaping doorway, with the squad following behind when he answered.
"The flood. Anyone up for barbecue?" this was punctuated by the hiss of gasses escaping the barrel of the weapon before the pilot light sparked to life and lit up the Spartan's armor. The chill spread through the squad, who had not received the same transmission as the Captain, and made them hesitate to follow. Several crashes were heard from behind as more pods slammed into the earth and revealed a plethora of heavy weapons for the squad to pick from.
"Pick your poison quickly. We have a squad to rescue." It took only a couple of moments for the ODSTs to find weapons that suited them. One strapped himself with an M247H machine gun, while another grabbed the M41 SPNKr and its ammo. Two others grabbed shotguns, another pair grabbed M73 Light machine guns, and another grabbed an M319 Grenade launcher. They quickly noticed that all of the weapons they took had incendiary ammunition. The group followed Thom to the entrance, each step sending them further into the dark. Nine separate headlamps were switched on to illuminate the dark hallways. The designers of this facility cared not for adequate light sources, apparently. As the group pushed further in, they could only hope that Charlie Seven could hold out for the second time that day.