In the ensuing chaos and fiery shock, Richard was faintly aware of a garbled buzzing. Buzzing? It was his radio. Of course.
He looked back at the radio, cursing his thoughtlessness. The radio! Finally, comms were back online. "UNSC frigate Sunbreaker to all UNSC troops, we are severely damaged and in need of immediate assistance. We will be forced to commit a tactical retreat if we do not receive assistance!"
"Patch me through," Sarah ordered, pacing the cockpit. When the signal connected, she immediately began to explain "Sunbreaker, this is spartan B133. Fireteam phoenix is available to assist, over,"
"Copy that, spartan. We're holding out for reinforcements now,"
"Reinforcements?"
"Yes. The plan has changed, commander. The admiral believes that we have the covenant on the run. If this is all they have, we can stretch forces and destroy the cruiser."
"What's the plan? Can we help in any way?"
"The plan is to continue as is. A Marathon-class cruiser is on its way to back us up. Maintain your position and assist the ground forces until it arrives, over." Sarah heard these orders. Her mind registered them. It told her they were sound. Her body almost followed them. It was only when the great, sleeping beast roused that she disobeyed.
A CAS Assault Carrier had engaged its weapons. From the belly of the beast, a single, enveloping blast of plasma smashed into the ground.
On impact, the world shook. The pelican buckled in the air. "Is that what I think it is?" Derek cried.
"Assault carrier, dead ahead! Hold onto your helmets, this'll get messy!" Richard heaved the pelican around, thrusting as fast as he could away from the all-consuming energy. The carrier continued to fire, blasting a world-eating energy torrent onto the UNSC forces on the ground. They wouldn't even have time to scream. Sarah had to look away. The thought of those soldiers, those people...Plasma like that didn't burn. It turned the foes into so much glass. Sarah was glad the others couldn't see her face. All of this...it was too much to bear. Aaron approached her, a hand on her shoulder. "Commander, we need to do something."
"Like what?" Derek cried. "Have you seen what's out there? Commander, tell the frigate and the reinforcements to turn around and bug out."
"And abandon those defenceless soldiers on the ground? I think not!" Marie cut in. "Derek, you cannot be so cold!"
"Oh I'm colder than you realise, lieutenant. When it comes to not dying, that is,"
"Whatever you're gonna do, commander, do it now! I can't hold her together in this!" Richard's voice quaked and he struggled with the controls. The glassing beam was scorching the earth and scattering glass and dirt and debris. This was swirling in a boiling maelstrom of air and steaming rain. The beam was so unimaginably hot, it was brewing a tornado and storm clouds. Harsh, biting winds snatched the sand and glass and rain, whipping it around like a flail. It plinked against the hull like deadly hail. Sarah's heart was palpitating. This was suicide. Derek was right, they should leave. Live to fight another day, fight the covenant on their own terms. Except..."We won't have a better time than now! I don't know where that carrier came from, but you can bet there are more. We will need every ship and soldier we can spare."
"So leave now! We can come back another day!"
"No! The last thing that carrier will expect is for us to stay and fight." Sarah connected to the frigate again. "Negative on that directive, Sunbreaker. Draw the fire of that carrier as long as you can. We'll deal with it."
"Commander, are you crazy?" Derek exclaimed. "They'll tear us apart before we get within a hundred metres of that thing,"
"I agree commander," a voice said. Admiral Ball, Sarah assumed. She sounded younger than expected. "My frigate is damaged. I cannot continue evasion against a carrier and the cruiser. Not to mention, what was your plan, I wonder?"
"My plan will take too long to explain," Sarah lied. The truth was, if she explained, no-one would do it. "The important thing is to spare as many troops as we can. Give us time to kill that carrier, and we'll do it!"
"The commander has a point," Aaron added. "Taking out a carrier will break the backbone of the covenant on the planet. If there are further covenant reinforcements, we should aim to eliminate the inital force ASAP." Sarah didn't let Ball reply. She had made her choice. Stumbling to the cockpit, she said to Richard, "Get us in close. We're boarding the carrier."
"Understood." Richard once again whirled the pelican around, racing to the carrier. His hands were trembling. "Permission to speak freely, commander?"
"Granted."
"This is suicide."
"I appreciate the concern, I really do. The truth of the matter is, we don't have a choice. Where are the hangars?" Sarah said, menace creeping into her tone.
Richard sighed. "There's two main bays. One near the mid-section, another above the engines at the rear,"
"Not that it matters," Derek called in. "Either way, we die. We'll be shot down or killed by a legion of covenant."
"I did not authorise you to speak, sergeant major, so shut the fuck up unless spoken to!" Sarah roared. She seemed larger. Not taller or broader, simply more. Her presence silenced the murmuring doubt on the ship. Sarah paused to breathe, then, glowering at Derek, asked, "What sort of tech can we expect near the respective bays?"
"Near the rear, you've got engine control and the slipspace drive. If you detonate that, we've got an extinction-level event on our hands. The mid-section is a safer bet. The energy projector and most of the extra gear-tanks, ships, guns and stuff. Maybe it'll split the ship too, who knows?"
"Can you kill it?" Sarah asked, calmer now.It took a long time for Derek to answer. "I...Shit, commander, I don't know," Derek shrugged.
Sarah scowled. "That's not good enough. I need an answer."
Derek was quiet for another moment, then he looked up. "Yeah. Get me inside, get them off me, I'll bring her down."
Radio contact was re-established with the frigate and Sarah explained. "We get inside and blow it up. You don't need to know how, but we'll do it. What we need is for you to draw the carrier away,"
"I already said no, commander. Now get back here and we can retreat. You are endangering the lives of everybody on this planet with your hair-brained schemes!"
"We're damned if we do and if we don't, admiral. Like it or not, we need your help. Give us a distraction and a signal, then break off."
"I won't do it!"
"Then we'll do it alone! Court-martial me when I get back, if you like."
"If you get back," Ball corrected.
"Oh for God's sake!" Sarah cried. "Admiral, we're going in. If you're leaving, go now."
She shut off the connection. Walking back into the troop bay, she said, "We should get to work." Sarah looked at her team. No one said anything. Did they have any private, subordinate thoughts? Probably. In Derek's case, definitely. In their shoes, she would...what would she do? In her mind, she hoped she would obey, like they were. But, the past conversation with Ball brought that into question. The major difference, she supposed, was that they trusted her. She hoped. "I'm trusting you all today, phoenix. Do your jobs and we'll make it through,"
"What are our jobs, commander?" asked Marie. "Pardon the rudeness, but you have not been entirely transparent with us regarding our purpose." Sarah started to explain, briefly, for the sake of her own vigour. If she hesitated now, she'd lose all momentum. And so would they.
Admiral Ball wasn't confident. When the spartan had cut off the connection and continued on, Ball had hesitated. If her strength of conviction was so strong to endanger her life, the lives of her teammates, and her reputation? Maybe she had faith in the plan after all.
"Continue with the commander's plan," Ball said. Everyone on the bridge froze. Simultaneously, they had all reached the same realisation. They were going to die. Ball had been adamant the plan would fail. If she didn't believe it could work, why should they? The lives of everyone on the ship were in her hands, but maybe the spartan was right. What else was there to do? The first battlecruiser was heavily damaged, courtesy of their efforts. Maybe they could destroy it, but not with an assault carrier breathing down their necks. Reports told her of a second battlecruiser, somewhere in the system. Two battlecruisers and an assault carrier. She didn't like those odds. "Bring us away from the cruiser." The crew looked in confusion and she repeated herself. "Admiral...If we break off now, the shields might recharge,"
"I'm aware. Transfer manual control to my neural lace." Her face began to feel numb, her eyes stung and a visual network of the ship's systems appeared before her. The ship was her, and she was it.
The battlecruiser remained still at first, suspecting a trap. The frigate had them defeated and yet it ran? Surely it was a trick...The shipmaster decided otherwise and began the pursuit. He watched the human ship engage their thrusters, firing wildly.
The humans were fools! They were attacking the carrier? The shipmaster held back a biting laugh, engaging the thrusters in full strength. "Engage full power to the thrusters. Prepare two torpedoes. We will cleanse this world of these putrid vermin!"
Ball smiled, relishing in the chase. It wasn't cat and mouse, it was a cheetah hunting a lamb. Her only chance was in the covenant being unaware of her secret weapon. The assault carrier also seemed stunned, as it didn't fire. Perhaps they expected the frigate to collide with them? It was entirely possible they would. She was willing to risk it. "Admiral, I've detected two plasma torpedoes on our tail, should we break off?"
"Negative, draw them in closer," she replied. Her mind felt elsewhere. Ethereal. Like she wasn't really speaking or thinking.
"Affirmative admiral." The ensign sounded unsure, but he obeyed. Plasma torpedoes were bad news. They could tear covenant cruisers apart, and for a frigate to be hit by two? It bode better to purge the thought.
Screaming sadistically, the torpedoes sailed through the low atmosphere, snatching away the wind between them and their target. They were hungry. Trailing unstable plasma, they were biting Sunbreaker's heels when it was mere metres from the carrier. They practically brushed the hull, until the frigate shockingly dived below the carrier, the upper deck shattering on impact. The daring frigate trailed smoke, ash and debris, but it was functional. Less could be said of the battlecruiser. Unaware of their proximity, the damaged cruiser had smashed into the hull of the assault carrier, exploding into a fiery mess of flaming purple chunks of armour plating. The comically oversized lumps of ruinous plating sank to the earth like hail, launching up piles of freshly burned glass.
"That was the signal!" Richard cried, slamming the pelican to full speed. Sarah cheered, "Ball came through! We can't let her down now, spartans, so buckle up!" The occupants were flung from their seats, cringing as their flesh pulled and stretched in the absurd speed. "Slow down! You'll get us all killed!" Derek exclaimed between strained breaths.
"If I slow down, those cannons will rip us apart"
"If you don't, we'll hit the hull and do the cannon's work for them!"
"Shut up and let me fly!" The engines wailed from the sheer force of speed expelled from their jets. The spartans wailed in fear and excitement, and above it all, adrenaline raced through their veins, threatening to burst.
Richard brought the pelican up. The assault carrier had a bulbous protrusion near the front. The rear of the ship was roughly ovular and, where these two parts met, a gargantuan rectangular hangar was present. Gaping doors on either side provided ample room to guide the ship home. All he had to do was hold the pelican together. "Come on girl, don't let me down!" The pelican screeched. This would be her last flight. No way it would fly again after today. Or the next landing. Speaking of, Richard finally guided it home. The hull scraped the floor. The pelican flipped and erupted in flame and metal and ruin. Then everything went black.
Pain. Raging pain. Bashed against the wall, the floor, the roof. Which was which? How could they tell? Flames licked at their feet and sparks rained down their faces. A dull groan worried her, but what did it matter? She was dead anyway. She had to be. Life couldn't hurt this much. Darkness and pain. Then light, a peering light fingered across her face. The rubble pinning her to the floor was shrieking, moving! Something was shifting, someone. Richard? Richard. "Richard!" She cried deliriously. He pressed a finger to his lips. "Shhh, they don't know we're here," He shifted his weight under the crumpled sheet of metal. His knees were close to buckling. Marie dragged herself free, lowering the ruined wing back down carefully. Her heart was racing. Richard had saved her! What a cliche...No, she had to focus. "What...what is the plan?"
"Try and find everyone before we get caught in a bad situation," He said, ignoring the obvious fact that their situation couldn't be much worse.
Aaron had successfully extricated himself, immediately getting to work clearing the hangar. With extreme prejudice. Aaron shouted into the din, receiving no reply. That was until a flash of green plasma exploded from a grunt's pistol. Aaron took the brunt of the attack, gasping in pain. He lashed out with a left hook. The impact hit the grunt like a small train, catapulting the tiny creature into the air. A streak of milky blue blood arced from its severed neck. More began to fire, flooding the room from the upper balconies and the multitudes of doors. Cocking his shotgun, Aaron got to work.
Meanwhile, Marie had been trawling through the wreckage for any site of Sarah. She struck gold when she found the cockpit of the craft, but her heart sank as she saw the gaping hole in the glass and no sign of the commander. Her already racing heart almost burst from her chest when she heard a thump. It didn't much slow when she realised it was what remained of the grunt Aaron had obliterated. Marie was roused from her distraction by a cough from the ship. Wheeling around, Marie saw Richard's head peeking from the glowing hole in the side of the Pelican. "Marie? Any sign of the commander?"
"Negative, have you found anything?" Shaking his head, he disentangled himself from the cables that he had become caught in, putting his crushed helmet back on. "I'm opening a live video feed to the squad, bear with me." As he said this, he began the transmission. 4 small windows appeared on his HUD, each showing the other Spartan's face and view. "Phoenix 4 to fireteam phoenix, sitrep, over,"
"Phoenix 3, operational," Marie said.
"Phoenix 2, operational. Hangar's flooding with targets, you might want to hurry," Aaron growled. The crack of his shotgun echoed through the hangar and the transmission. "Phoenix 5, I'm pinned under something. Need some help," Richard nodded to Marie and they clambered onto the outstretched wing of the downed pelican, racing along the unsteady hull. He reached the centre of the hull and jumped. This sent the ship rolling.
It tumbled down as Richard slid down the wing, firing all the way. As he reached the floor, he rolled to absorb the impact, crashing into an elite moments away from piercing Aaron from behind. The wreck of the pelican smashed into the remaining forces streaming through a door. As it came to rest, a deafening racket pervaded throughout the cavernous hangar. Aaron tugged Richard to his feet. "You good?"
"Yeah,"
"Then let's find the commander and 5 and move on,"
Marie had extricated Derek and lead him to the others. They quickly scouted the area, with no sign of Sarah. Her helmet camera was only giving static. They had established the hangar as mostly empty but soon to be brimming with covenant. It was a rectangular shape, with three balconies circling the walls. Each was a storey higher than the other.
Littered around were various vehicles and weapon crates. The spartans were arranged around the remains of the access ramp of the pelican. The rest was scattered around the hangar, roughly following the trajectory of the ship's impact with the floor, then the wall. "What do we do?" Richard asked.
"There's no time to search for her. 5, do you have what you need to destroy this ship?" Aaron asked.
Marie stared at him, gasping in shock "The commander is alive! I cannot believe you would leave her!"
"I agree with Marie here," Richard said.
"Course you do," Derek snorted. Everyone shot him venomous looks, and she shrank back. Ignoring the interruption, Aaron continued. "We can't be certain the commander is alive. We also know our mission and have all we need. We continue the operation and evacuate. Should we locate the commander, by all means, we will rescue her. But it is not, I repeat, not, our primary objective. Am I understood?"
When everyone nodded, Aaron continued. "3 and 4, you remain here, secure the perimeter and an escape vehicle. 5, with me."
The remaining two spartans stared at Aaron as he stormed away. As he went, he tore the rear turret from the pelican, lugging it like an LMG. Soon enough they had acquired a functional phantom. "Can you drive this?" Marie asked.
"I'll have to try," Richard said. Looking back, he aptly observed, "the pelican doesn't exist anymore." Satisfied, Marie started digging in the rubble for Sarah. After ten minutes, she gave up, sitting back down in the phantom. Richard had become familiar enough with the craft, able to move and fire the main cannon proficiently enough. "I don't like this," he said suddenly. Marie looked at him. "What's wrong?"
"We're in the hangar of an assault carrier and it's so empty it might as well be abandoned. Something's wrong,"
"Perhaps the lieutenant commander has managed to draw their attention?"
"That's too much, even for him. No, something else is off." He paused, looking out of the troop bay window.
A rush of needles and plasma fire riddled the space where his head had rested less than a second ago. "Fucker! Marie, get on the gun!" He ran back to the cockpit and decoupled the Phantom, firing wildly into the squad of elites. The torrent of plasma gouged thick holes in the floor. Hot, molten metal ran in sticky puddles, searing an elite's leg. With its flesh welded to the floor, it was a sitting, screaming duck for Marie to pick off. Eventually, even after much effort from Richard otherwise, the craft started to sink lower, shaking from the continued fire. Richard felt it careen into the hangar wall, knocking aside a support pillar.
It toppled with a booming crash. Sections of each of the balconies crumbled. The phantom was trapped beneath the deluge and rapidly dropping to the floor. Richard hobbled into the troop bay and pushed himself and Marie out.
The pair landed next to the door Aaron had left through. Richard coughed, blood flecking his shattered visor. He pulled himself up and took Marie by the arm, heaving her through the threshold. As they passed, Richard fired a burst into the lock. The door slammed shut just as a pack of ravenous elites bared down to execute them.
The hallways were littered with the remains of the covenant Aaron had slaughtered. Blood stained every wall, puddling on the floor. Some dripped from the roof, splattering off their armour. Ankle deep in the filth, the spartans found no door Aaron hadn't prised open to get at the covenant inside. "So much for prioritising the mission," Richard muttered. Eventually, they found him.
The discarded turret was abandoned in a mass of shell casings. Bullet holes were torn into the door before him. Aaron pummelled the metal, barely denting the smooth purple surface. Finally, he roared in frustration, picking up the turret and launching it at the door. They heard an ear-splitting crash, the turret shattered...but the door was intact. Aaron burned in fury.
"Lieutenant commander?" Marie approached with her arms out wide, as one does a raging animal. As the words left her lips, Aaron stood up straight, his fists trembling. "Any ideas?" he whispered, looking away. Without realising he'd done it, Richard reflexively stepped in front of Marie. "5?" Richard said hopefully.
By the time Richard and Marie had explained their presence and prised the information out of Derek, tensions were high. "What do you mean we can't break it?" Aaron said in disbelief.
"We've got no bombs. At all. That's specially made, not standard issue. I've never seen a door like that before in my life," Derek remarked.
"Then we work our way around it. We've made it this far, so we can double back and figure a new way in," Richard said, trying to alleviate the tension. It didn't work.
"Well in case you didn't notice, we're locked out?" Derek mentioned."We can't go back either, because you lost our way out to a pack of elites," Aaron added. It was clear from his tone he disapproved of their retreat.
"The commander is still missing," Marie said, hoping to redirect the aggression to a common goal. Richard sat down outside the door, sighing as the discussion flared up once again.