Well Enough Alone
A group of Jackals and Grunts run through a swamp, panicky and obviously in retreat. A pelican dropship flies in through fog and rain, and touches down.
Flight Captain Carol Rawley speaks through coms. "The last transmission from the Captain's dropship was from this area. That was over twelve hours ago. ...And we've been unable to reestablish contact with the Captain or his team."
The Master Chief and Ash hop out of the Pelican, with First Lieutenant Ruby Rose and Second Lieutenant Asher Rose.
Ruby looks around with her sniper, then turns to Asher. "Are you sure you're fine."
Rose waves off his sister. "Ruby, I'm fine." He puts a hand on his right side.
"You sure, soldier?" Ash asks. "A wound like that can take weeks to heal."
"I'm fine, sir. We don't have the luxury of me waiting to heal for a few weeks." Rose readies his shotgun.
"I'll keep an eye on Rose Two's condition." Auntie Dot says through coms.
"Let's move." Chief says to the three behind him.
"Right." Ash nods and takes the DMR off his back.
Rawley takes off and speaks to the group through coms. "When you locate Captain Keyes, radio in, and I'll come pick you up."
"Keep an eye on your motion tracker." Xi calls out. "The enemy can hide anywhere in this forest."
The group move forward and they find a crashed Pelican.
"No signs of life on board." Xi informs. "But I am picking up a transmission, but I can't locate the source, to much interference around."
Ash and Chief investigate the dropship. Rose kneels to the ground, as he undims his helmet, and finds several sets of footprints, human and non-human.
"Find something?" Ruby walks over as she takes off her helmet and swipes her black hair, with red tips, to the side.
"Hmmm... Footprints." Rose says. "The human one is dryer then the Covenant footprints."
Ash and the Chief walk back to the two ODST.
"Anything?" Chief asks.
"Just footprints, sir." Rose informs. "Human and Non-human. It looks like our soldiers made it out of the crash before the Covenant found them."
"Good work."
Suddenly an explosion goes off in the distance. The Two Spartans aim their weapons towards the sounds. Ruby quickly puts on her helmet and Rose dims his.
Chief takes point as they move through the swamp and they find a crashed Covenant Spirit, with a few Grunts and Jackales climbing out of the wreckage.
The group guns down any Covenant Survivors and move on. The group moves across a bridge and Ash sees several shadowy figures running around on the top of the cliff to his right.
"Xi?" Ash calls out.
"They appear to be friendly- Huh, they just disappear off radar." Xi says.
"Keep your eyes peeled." Ruby says as she scans the cliffs with her sniper.
The group reaches the other side of the bridge and they hear assault rifle fire nearby.
"Someone must still be alive." Rose says.
The group investigates and see a mob of Grunts and Jackals fleeing from a large entrance. A frag grenade explosion throws a Shade turret through the air.
The four open fire onto the fleeing Covenant and swiftly eliminate them. They moves into the entrance, only to find no one.
"What in the world?" Ash questions as he looks around.
"Must've moved further in." Rose suggests.
"Let's move." Chief orders and they go further in.
A lift arrives for them and they all get on. Ash activates the lift and it takes them down into the depths of the structure.
"From what I can gather, this place is massive." Xi informs. "So many underground networks that lead under this swamp. We could get lost down here if we're not careful."
The lift stops and the group moves further in. The group passes through several large rooms and many smaller ones inside the structure, filled with Unggoy, Kig-Yar, empty Shade turrets, discarded weapons, and dead bodies - both Marine and Covenant. Curiously there is no sign of any Elites, alive or dead.
In some rooms, Kig-Yar and Unggoy gather at the doorways as if expecting an attack. In one room, the Chief discovers a strange green-yellow substance falling from the ceiling. Ash goes over to a green-yellow puddle and kneels down to it.
Ash dips a couple fingers in it and holds it up. "Xi?"
"Unknown." Xi informs.
"This place is giving me the creeps." Rose shivers.
"Grow up, Asher." Ruby says.
"Hey, I'm like several minutes older than you!"
"Then stop acting like a baby."
Ash flicks the strange substance to the side and the group continues on. They come to an area blasted with gunfire and scorch marks, there is the sound of shattering glass in the distance.
A lone Marine sits leaning against a wall, M6D magnum pointed at them.
"Stey back!" The Marine yells. "Stay you're not turning me into one of those things! I'll blow your brains out! Get away from me. Gaaaaahh! Aaaaaahh! Don't touch me, you freaks! I won't be like you, I'll die first! Find your own hiding place, the monsters are everywhere! Play dead! That's what I did...played dead. They took the live ones... Oh God, I can still hear them!"
Chief tries to comfort the Marine and urges him to return to the surface, but the Marine ignores him and crawls into a fetal position, whimpering.
"What the fuck happened?" Rose questions.
"Swear." Ruby says.
"I've seen this before." Ash sighs. "Back on Reach... I hope he made it out."
The group leaves the sobbing marine behind, and make their way into the room past him. The room is covered in dead Covenant bodies, blood, bullet holes and plasma scoring. Some areas of the floor are blackened with blasts from explosions. In some areas, small flecks of a greenish substance are found on the floor.
"What happened here?" Xi questions.
"What ever did this, I hope it is not here still." Rose mutters.
Chief finds a partially shattered walkway and the group follows him as they ascend to the second floor. An assault rifle lies on the ground, pointing like an arrow towards the entrance of a room marked with ominous red Forerunner glyphs. The door appears to have been forced open.
The group passes a dead marine, and walk down a ramp. They come to a door that has been recently forced open by a UNSC spoofer.
The two Spartans approach the door cautiously as the two ODSTs watch the back. Chief listens for any movement inside. Chief nods to Ash and said Spartan goes to type a command into the spoofer, but a noise goes off behind him and he looks to the two ODSTs, they have their weapons pointed up.
"I think somethings still alive down here." Rose whispers.
"Keep your eyes open." Ruby whispers.
Ash then turns back to the door and opens it. When it opens, the body of a Marine falls, and Chief catches him.
Ash swiftly moves into the room with his weapon up as he looks around. He looks back at the Chief and nods. Chief sets the Marines body gently down and the two ODSTs walk backwards into the room and shut the door.
The floor is covered in human blood. Discarded UNSC weapons litter the floor. Ash notices a helmet lying on the floor, and, crouching, moves swiftly towards it. Once there, he surveys the room one more time, places his rifle on the floor, and picks up the helmet. The name "JENKINS" is stamped across it. There is a large, jagged hole punched through the top of it.
Ash sighs and shakes his head. He examines the helmet more closely and notices that the helmet recorder, near the Head-up display, is still intant.
"I can find out what happened." Xi says. "Just retrieve the disk and insert it in the back of your helmet."
"Right." Ash takes the M4 field disk out of of the helmet and inserts it into a socket in his helmet.
"I'll transmit the visuals to you all." XI informs.
"Receiving visual transmission." Auntie Dot informs.
> OPEN RECORD VIEW [2552.5.27.5:52:56 L]
> Pvt. Jenkins, Wallace A.
> PLAY >
The view switches to a night vision-enabled recording. Jenkins looks around the inside of a Pelican. There are several other Marines seated in the dropship with him. Flip music, Johnson's favorite genre, blares over the cabin speakers.
"Why do we always have to listen to this old stuff, Sarge?" Private Manuel Mandoza asks.
"Watch your mouth, son." Staff Sergeant Avery Junior Johnson warns. "This "stuff" is your history. It should remind you grunts what we're fightin' to protect."
"Hey... if the Covenant wanna wipe out this particular part of my history, that's fine by me."
"Yeah..." Private Bisenti agrees. "Better it than us."
"You ask 'em real nice next time you see 'em, Bisenti." Johnson says. "I'm sure they'll be happy to oblige."
The Pilot then speaks to them through coms. "LZ looks clear! I'm bringing us down!"
The Pelican descends to the ground.
"Go, go, go!" Johnson yells.
> FFW >>
> PLAY >
The Squad advances through the swamp towards the same structure the two Spartans and ODSTs are in.
"Stay close, Jenkins!" Johnson orders.
They reach the entrance and sweep their weapons across it, wary.
"Mendoza! Move it up!" Johnson orders.
Mendoza advances in a crouch, gun at the ready.
Johnson speaks to Jenkins. "Wait here for the Captain and his squad, then get your ass inside."
"Sir!" Jenkins looks behind the squad.
"Okay, let's move!"
The fireteam heads into the structure.
> FFW >>
> PLAY >
Inside the room where the two Spartans and ODSTs encounter the Paranoid Marine, the squad stands around an Elite carcass. Its chest is torn wide open.
Private Mendoza is examining a similar corpse on the left hand side of the scean.
"..which is weird, right?" Private Kappus asks as Bisenti prods the Elite with his foot. "Something tore open its chest and scrambled the insides."
"What's that?" Johnson asks. "Plasma scoring?"
"Yeah... I dunno. Maybe there was an accident. You know, friendly fire or something?"
Captain Keyes approaches the squad. "What do we have here, Sergeant?"
"Looks like a Covenant patrol." Johnson informs. "Badass Elite units, all KIA."
Keyes looks down at the dead Elite. "Real pretty... Friend of yours?"
"Nah, we just met." Kappus says.
> FFW >>
> PLAY >
The squad, along with Captain Keyes and his own squad, stand outside a locked door - the one the Spartans and ODSTs has just came through.
"Right. Well, let's get this door open." Keyes orders.
"I'll try, sir..." Kappus says. "But it looks like these Covenant worked pretty hard to lock it down."
"Just do it, son!"
"Yes, sir."
Kappus removes a spoofer from his pocket and sticks it to the door. He punches a few keys, and the door opens. He waves the squad through. Bisenti takes point through the door, Jenkins close behind him, and the rest of the squad fans out around him. An odd rumbling sound is heard.
"I've got a bad feeling about this..." Mendoza mumbles.
"Boy, you always got a bad felin' about something-" Johnson gets cut off by his coms going off.
Corporal Lovik speaks through coms. "-Captain, Sarge- *static* can you hear me?!"
"What's going on, soldier?" Keyes asks.
Lovik speaks in panic. "We've got contacts - lots of 'em - but... they're not Covenant... They're just tearing through us - what the?! Oh, nooooo...!"
A hissing sound is heard through the coms before it goes static.
"Corporal?" Johnson calls out. "Do you copy, over?" He gets no response. "Mendoza, get your ass back up to Second Squad's position, and find out what the hell is goin' on."
"But sir-" Mendoza tries to argue.
"I don't have time for your lip, soldier! I gave you an order!"
The group hears a noise.
"Sarge!" Kappus calls out. "Listen!"
The odd hissing noise grows louder and louder. Everyone scans the room, trying to find the source of the strange sounds.
"What is that?" Jenkins questions.
"Where's that coming from, Mendoza?" Johnson asks.
"Everywhere..." Mendoza replies. "I don't - there! ¡Mira!"
Mendoza points to a nearby door, which has just exploded outwards. Small squid-like creatures swarm from it.
"Ahh... augh" Private Riley yells. "Get it out! Get it out- augh!"
Riley lies on the ground, one of the Pod infectors attached to his chest. Bisenti tries to pull it off him.
"Hold still, hold still!" Bisenti yells.
Bisenti pulls the creature off of Riley, who goes limp. Bisenti struggles with the creature, which is now trying to infect him.
"Let 'em have it!" Johnson yells.
The Marines and Captain Keyes open fire, to little effect. Pod infectors swarm them with overwhelming numbers.
"Sergeant, we're surrounded!" Keyes yells.
"God dammit, Jekins!" Johnson yells. "Fire your weapon!"
"There are too many, Sarge!" Mendoza yells.
"Don't eve think about it, Marine!"
As the chaotic firefight continues, Mendoza dashes for the exit, abandoning his fireteam.
"Yo, this is loco!" Mendoza yells as he runs away.
"Get back here, Maine!" Keyes yells. "That's an order!"
The Marine squad is overtaken, still firing, while their blood sprays as Pod infectors continue to crawl onto them. Another group of infectors drop from the ceiling, right between Johnson, Keyes and Jenkins.
"Jenkins!" Johnson yells.
Several infectors attack Jenkins, blocking out his helmet cam. The screen cuts to black.
> UNEXPECTED HALT X [WND/INCAP/KIA? Ref.a4 3d.3]
> END RECORD VIEW [2552.5.27.6:39:23 L]
Ash removes the chip from his helmet, and lets out a breath, he tosses the chip to the ground.
Rose bends over and puts his hands on his knees. "What was that?!"
Ruby leans against a pillar. "I've never seen anything like that before."
"Xi?" Ash calls out.
"I-I don't know, I'd have to ask Cortana, she's the one that has all the data on this ring now, remember?"
The flood noises begin again and everyone readies their weapons.
The Flood
Ash looks back to the door they came through and it's now locked. "Crap!"
Three doors holding dozens of Pod infectors break open one at a time, their inhabitants attacking him.
"Oh, fu-" Rose ducks under an infector that jumped at him and he blasts it with his shotgun.
Ruby fires her sniper rifle at the approaching horde of Flood.
"Don't let a single one touch you!" Xi shouts.
"I'd advise you don't let any near you, Rose Two." Auntie Dot speaks.
A infector jumps at Ash, but her punches it full force with his metal first and it explodes, covering his metal hand in gunk. "Ewww!"
The entrance breaks open. Massive amounts of infectors skitter inside, followed by unarmed Sangheili combat forms.
"Sirs, I think we need to leave!" Rose destroyed an Elite flood form with his shotgun.
"This way." Chief orders as he runs through the entrance with the other three following.
The group runs for a long time, encountering much resistance from the flood and a few surviving Covenant infantry.
The group comes to an elevator they came down on, but as they wait for it to come down, it suddenly falls down and crashes down to the bottom of the facility.
"Fudge!" Ash shouts. "Xi, any ideas?"
Xi makes a few worried noises. "Uh, uh... Ahaha! Here!"
A waypoint appears in Ash's hud.
"It's another elevator, but it does lead down." Xi informs. "But it can lead to another elevator that goes back up. It's a long shot, but its the only way."
"We'll take it." Chief says.
The group continues on through the facility and they arrive at the second elevator. Ash activates the terminal and it leads deeper underground. Unggoy blood is seen painted on the elevator's shaft. At the bottom of the shaft, he's attacked by armed combat forms - both infected Sangheili and humans. This detour forces him to fight his way back up.
The group eventually comes across two Marines armed with shotguns and assault ruffles fighting the flood.
The group clears the room full of flood and the Marines hold their position.
The group reaches the final elevator and Chief activates the terminal.
Ruby and Rose pants in exhaustion as they put their weapons on their back.
"That was horrible." Rose complains. "And my side is starting to hurt from all this running."
"First the Covenant strand us in some backwater galaxy on some massive ring, and now we have to fight these... these... things!" Ruby complains.
"I didn't think there could be anything worse the the Covenant out there." Ash mutters. "Cal, this fight just got a lot harder, I hope your doing fine with yours."
"Guys, I'm picking up a transmission!" Xi informs.
Suddenly Rawley speaks through their coms. "This is Echo 419. Chief, Six, is that you? I lost your signal when you disappeared inside the structure. What's going on down there? I'm tracking movement all over the place!"
The group reaches the top and the two ODSTs ready their weapons again. They walk out to find a trapped group of ten Marines holding out.
It is obvious they used a lot of ammo to escape, and it is all stacked in a pile. Most Marines hold shotguns and assault rifles, one or two have plasma rifles.
"Sirs!" Chips Dubbo runs over to the group. "Thank God you're here. We've been lost out here for hours. After we lost contact with the rest of the mission, we, we headed for the RV point, and then these-these....these things...they ambushed us. We've gotta get out of here!"
Rawley speaks through coms again. "There's a large tower a few hundred meters from your current position. Find a way above the fog and foliage canopy and I can move in and pick you up."
The group advances through the swamp with the Marine squad eagerly following. The flood closes in from all sides. Some Marines are attacked by Pod infectors, and their allies are forced to shoot them.
"I hate everything about this place!" Rose shouts.
"I just hope Caleb and Calynn aren't facing these on the other side of the ring." Ruby says.
The group comes near the tower Rawley was speaking of, an odd blue object and a flotilla of floating robotic automatons descend from the mist.
The robots behind to slice away at any nearby Flood with built-in energy beams, avoiding the Marines. After a few seconds of fighting around the base of the tower, Ash, Chief, Ruby and Rose suddenly disappear.
A few seconds later the four find themselves on top of one of the legs of the tower. The blue object hovers in front of them. The two Spartans instinctively point their weapons at it.
"Greetings. I am the Monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark." The Monitor greets.
The two Spartans lower their weapons. Gunfire is still heard below, and bright beams slice through the dark swamp. The four ignore the commotion.
"Who brought the floating blowing ball?" Rose asks. "...Where's the thumb hole?"
"Someone has released the Flood." Guilty Spark informs. "My function is to prevent it from leaving this installation. But I require your assistance. Come. This way."
The four vanish in a series of gold flashes.
Rawley speaks over coms. "Chief, Six, I've lost your signal! Where'd you go?" Six? Chief!"
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08-23-2023
3240 words