Chapter 3
Leonis Minoris…
The planet stuck out like a sore thumb in the blackness of space. Green shades covered the entire planet with very few blue spots. Jonathan noted this, as well as the three covenant carriers currently orbiting the small planet. He sighed from his observation deck, this battle would be a slim victory, and would have to involve a surprise attack.
There was a knock at the door before someone came in. It was his second in command, Captain Anders. “What do you plan to do? Our firepower is excellent, but we still have no shields, and we need to be in close range. It seems more suicidal then anything.”
Jonathan looked at his calculating friend. The Spirit of Fire’s disappearance, which included his niece, Ellen, had obviously created a more cautious man. Before he would’ve been all for a direct assault with this new piece of technology, but now he wanted to go home. “Terry, we’re going to have to catch them off guard.” Terry scoffed. “Good luck avoiding those sensors, they’ll spot us before we can even send out pelicans.”
Jonathan smirked back at his friend. “This is why we need a diversion, an entire army of it.” He smirked as he looked down on the planet’s surface, then back to Terry. “Alert the troops, every able bodied Soldier is going down there to save those cities.
***
Afanasi rested his head against the pillow, his leg in burning pain. Even through the meds, he could still searing plasma that pulsed through the rest of his body. He thought back to that elite, it could’ve easily killed both of them. He sighed right as the alert signal went off and the commander’s voice came up. “All able bodied men are to gear up and report to their pelicans; we’re going to save those cities.”
He wasn’t going to waste this chance; he was a soldier and one who had already proved himself an able officer. Slowly, he sat up hanging his legs over the bed. Ignoring the pain of the plasma wound, he slipped his boots on and limped down to the launch stations.
***
John was already down there by the time the alert started, he had already loaded up when he saw Afanasi limping down towards his own drop ship. “Aren’t you supposed to be in the med bay?” John spoke first. With a smirk, Afanasi retorted, “he said all able bodied men, it’ll take more than a few plasma wounds to stop me.” John laughed, “Well said Lieutenant.” And they boarded the pelicans together.
***
“These humans have more tenacity than I believed.” Suon looked down to the planet, which was already under fire by the massive alien alliance. “Never underestimate an opponent, even with weakest can fight back for their lives.” His new superior approached behind him. In the wake of the attack, Suon had been promoted, and the new Silver armor of an Ultra glimmered. The sword of his former superior was attached to his leg armor, as well as several plasma rifles. He looked back to his superior, the shipmaster himself. “I will be joining the battle soon.”
***
The pelicans reached the grounds of Leonis Minoris already in combat. The rough landing was to be expected so close to the fight. Several ships had already gone down and the fight began as bloody as ever. John dropped out with a commanding shout to follow. He set foot on the cold grass, storm clouds overhead. The Sergeant sighed, “This is going to be a long battle...” Assault rifle in hand, he set out with his platoon. They marched out, the tank battalions right behind them.
***
Kill all the heretics!” Untotemadus cried as human forces retreated from the slaughter. His Jiralhanae team advanced forward in force. “None shall escape the might of the covenant!” as he spoke, a shell collided in the building behind him. The smoke cleared and he looked outward towards the edge of the city before another shell slammed into a wave of his troops. He heard his captain behind him, “Call back the banshees!” he turned back to the troops. “Advance! Take their artillery by storm!” The covenant forced charged the defensive tank line, only about a third of the invading covenant size.
Banshees soared over head, there objective to take out the artillery shelling the friendly forces. “Objective targeted, headi-“static interrupted the transmission as a missile slammed into the fighter and destroying it completely.
***
Sheperd smirked as the heat seekers blew their beloved air support out of the sky. He deliberately hid the few wolverines they had behind the tank force. That air force wouldn’t even get close. On top of that, shelling the city would cause massive casualties for the covenant. He held that knot in the stomach that destroying the city was wrong; he knew that it would save the lives of thousands to destroy an already unpopulated city.
***
“The clever creatures” Untotemadus remarked. “Very well, tell the command ships to drop the reinforcements right on top of them.” He looked onward toward the tank line. “Continue advancing.”
The carriers began to loom overhead, overshadowing the entire battle line. Hatches opened and drop ships began their decent to the battlefield.
***
“Keep up the pressure, We-“ Shepard was interrupted with a loud boom that wasn’t a tank shell. He looked to his left. A tank was destroyed instantly, in its place, a drop pod unlatched, and an elite stepped out, immediately opening fire on the nearest human. Several more drop pods crashed down, their coordinates were set over the tanks and wolverines.
“D*mn, they turned this fight into a skirmish.” Shepard remarked as he opened fire on the nearest elite. The warrior fell after a rain of bullet only to have two more pop in its place. Another quickly sprang behind him. Shepard quickly turned, but too late as he was struck in the head with the butt of a plasma rifle.
Grounded and temporarily dazed, He looked up the see the elite pointing the rifle at him, ready to fire. He closed his eyes, it was over, and he fought bravely, trying his best to lay out the plan they had already laid into motion. Then, a shot rang out.
Shepard opened his eyes. He was deaf from the shot, but not dead. The elite above him fell over dead. He quickly stood up and looked behind the line…
***
“And that makes us even.” Afanasi smirked to himself as he adjusted the scope on a new target, crouched in the grass. In a bloodbath, a sniper feels right at home. He fired another round into the chest of an elite, saving a few allies with shots.
Just suddenly, one final crash landed on the battlefield. But the sound came from behind Afanasi. He quickly turned to see a lone drop pod right behind his position. The latch sprang open, and out stepped an elite, clad in silver armor. He spoke in alien tongue, not decipherable to Afanasi, not that it mattered to the Lieutenant. His attempt to aim, however, was cut short as he narrowly avoided a blue ball of fire that nearly clung to his leg. He rolled down an incline as the opponent gave pursuit. With an injured leg however, he wouldn’t be able to make it far.
***
Suon looked at the human as it attempted to limp away, he could easily take him down with a few shots of his rifle, but it wouldn’t be enough. This was now redemption, he recognized the face of the creature, and only his fallen master’s sword would make his redemption.
He quickly used the speed of his species to his advantage, catching his opponent almost immediately. He drew his sword and swung upward, and Afanasi only blocked by raising his sniper rifle to block the blade long enough for him to jump away, at the cost of his now sliced in half weapon.
Afanasi landed painfully on his seared leg and he cringed in pain, he wouldn’t be able to do that again. This was his last stand; he quickly drew his pistol and opened fire, which only phased off the powerful elite’s energy shield. The opponent stepped forward and swung horizontally, which Afanasi successfully ducked the sword, only to get kneed in the chest. The hit sent him on his back in the dirt, the elite’s hoof quickly stepped on his chest, causing more discomfort.
Suon raised his blade towards the target; this was going to be his redemption. He thrust the blade forward to down his target just as a drop pod came crashing down right short of their position, the impacting knocking the blade off course and forcing him off of Afanasi.
With a glare, he turned toward the drop pod, expecting a miscalculation of his own troops. The pod, however, didn’t look covenant at all. It was a human pod! The hatch shot open and forward straight towards Suon, who only narrowly dodged the projectile. He drew his rifle and fired into the smoke covered pod, only to find that it was empty.
Whatever inside the pod was still there around him. He slowly and cautiously looked around, his blade in one hand, and a plasma rifle in another. Then, from behind the pod, a grenade was lobbed just below his feet. He rolled just out of the way of the explosion, only to have a rain of bullets hit his shielding. He backed up and opened fire back towards the bullets, but quickly only hold out so long before being forced to find a rock to cover behind.
***
Afanasi, now unable to move from the pain in his chest in leg looked to his left, towards his savior. Shiny green armor shown even through the smoke, and a orange visor made the MJORNIR Mark 4 armor obvious what this was. He had been saved by a Spartan.
***
Suon sheathed the energy sword and drew another plasma rifle. Clearly, this opponent was much tougher than the rest, and would require all his energy. He quickly turned from the rock and opened fire with both rifles, which was returned with a rain of fire from Smgs, both combatants charged towards each other, which met in the center as a clashing point. Suon made the first move, tossing his emptied plasma rifle at the Spartan, who effortlessly strafed right, holstering his smgs and throwing a massive punch toward the Sangheili.
Suon quickly blocked the first shot, only to have the momentum nearly break his arm. He underestimated this new foe’s strength, but used the momentum to his advantage, throwing 2 tons of armor over his shoulder. The Spartan easily rolled into the landing and turned around, drawing his smgs and pointing them towards the Elite, who had already drawn his 2 remaining plasma rifles. The standoff ceased only was the Spartan was forced to find cover from a hail of fire from a covenant drop ship bringing down more reinforcements.
***
Shepard looked around him as the melee was drawing to a close; his forces were drawing thinner and thinner as this last stand become more and more obvious. He sighed and gripped the rifle in his hand and looked towards the nearest opponent he could see, a brute laughing heartily at the slaughter. Several rounds shot off and the brute let out a yell as the rounds grazed him, one in the eye, and he retreated back into the crowd. The final clicks of his assault rifle made clear his ammo was now empty.
***
“The humans are losing their ground; this fight will be ours in a matter of an hour or so.” The elite at the controls turned to the shipmaster. “Good, the prophets will be ple-“The shipmaster was interrupted as a large shell slammed into the carrier, immediately followed by another and another shot. The ship shook each second as a new quake shocked through it, eventually the structure collapsed, and the carrier exploded.
***
Shepard looked up to see what the loud explosion was, and immediately rejoiced. It was the covenant vessel, now being dropped into the atmosphere, and the enlightened in its place, ready to open fire on the next one.
He then looked down to the ground forces, he will now in a state of panic, save for a few brutes and elites, moral of the covenant forces had sunk massively. “Keep up the pressure! There guard is down!” He draw his pistol, his spirit renewed and ready to win this fight.
***
The neighboring ship master, a Chieftain, called out. “What just happened?” “An enemy vessel has just entered are sensor range, we were too busy focusing on the ground assault to catch it.” His navigator responded. “*** those humans!” he only barely had time to finish before his carrier’s shields were under fire from the rapid Mac Cannon. The carrier shook, “We will have to retreat, we can’t engage an enemy we can’t aim at!”
The third shipmaster heard the transmission, and agreed. To engage meant heavy damage and possible destruction to the remaining carriers, even with the shields up. “Very well, sound the retreat, withdraw all officers from the field.”
***
Suon swung his now drawn sword at the Spartan, who easily rolled to the side. He fired the smgs, nearly depleting the shields of the elite before Suon could retaliate with his own fire and maneuver, blocking some fire with his sword, and thrusting it to the Spartans stomach, whoa gain dodged, following up by driving an elbow into the jaw of the elite, sending his backwards again.
Slowly, Suon stood up again, ready to fight to the death, as his honor would demand, until the transmission came in. “Suon Mactamee, you are to withdraw at once.” Suon looked up, his honor would have to wait, and orders were higher than any glory. He looked back to the Spartan, his guns drawn and ready for anything. “We will meet again, demon, I will make sure of that.” With that final word, the teleported away as the dropship flew over head.
***
Aftermath:
The battle finished only a few hours afterwards. The remaining covenant forces were scattered and killed off by the supply of remaining reinforcements and supplies that the enlightened gave. The two ships retreated, the second badly damaged from taking several mac guns before it could fully warp. The third ship was now an empty mass in a crater somewhere south of their position.
The crew docked on the planet’s surface, patching up the wounded. Afanasi lied on the medical bed once again, his wound bandaged, and finally resting up for once. Shepard smirked as he approached his friend, “You know, you have a knack for pissing those people off.” Afanasi laughed in response, “Nah, that guy’s just got a grudge. I’d be dead if it weren’t for that Spartan.” Both of them looked to the super soldier, sitting by himself, examining his gun. He didn’t reserve a single wound from the ecounter, and easily took on the elite that nearly killed them both. “William’s his name, but he usually goes by Spartan 102.” Afanasi sighed and rested back, thinking about the events past. They sacrificed two cities just to save the last one. The scariest part was that he didn’t care; he knew that human life would have to be sacrificed to solve the greater good. Shepard interrupted his thoughts, “I’ll get you something from the mess hall.” With that, he left; both of them would leave this planet changed.
***
The carriers returned to the main force at high charity, most of them shamed. This was a defeat, a pyrrhic defeat, but a defeat nonetheless. Suon walked through the streets of high charity, the news of the defeat of the covenant fleet was a shock, especially to only one ship. He cursed himself for not being able to defeat his opponent. Surely that was the reason the council called him. He entered the chamber and immediately fell to one knee as the hierarchs turned to face him.
“I apologize for my failure to perform the holy mission.” Suon muttered, ready for any punishment that may ensue. The Prophet of Truth spoke first before the council. “One battle is not swayed by a single soldier, there was nothing within your power you could do. Tales of your valor and ferocity in battle have been spread. Is it true you held off a force almost single handedly?” Suon bowed further, “It is true, noble Hierarch.” “Then it is as forth, you are recommended to the honor guard, in a few years time, the true tests of your valor will begin.” Suon looked up, astonished that he would be given such an honor. With a word of praise, he left his spirits higher.
***
“*** that infernal human!” Untotemadus screamed, clenching over the bloody scar fresh over his eye. “My vengeance will not be appeased until that human’s bones are in my teeth!” The Brute snarled as The Chieftain of the Brutes, Tartarus, approached behind him. “You wish more vengeance on the humans?” Untotomadus turned and quickly kneeled. “Nothing would satisfy me more!” The chieftain smirked. “Then you shall have your wish, you are hereby promoted to War Chieftain.” Untotemadus kneeled further in respect of his new title.
***
While the crew rejoiced, Jonathan Klassen only sat in his captain’s quarters, plotting the next root of attack, wondering where the covenant would strike next. Terry walked into with a bottle of wine. “I thought you could use a celebratory cup.” Klassen sighed, “We only won one battle, and only because we caught them by surprise. They can still attack in force at any time.” “Still, this battle of revolutionary in warfare, you destroyed one covenant carrier, and badly damaged another. The UNSC has never been able to do that with one ship.” Terry replied. Klassen smiled, “I guess it was impressive…” He stared down at the picture of his grandson, happy that he may of provided another day of the boy’s happiness.
Next Chapter: Skirmish of the Jungle, The New Species.
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