Chapter VII
Planet Iridanus, Polaris System
0320 22 January 2540
Downtown Rubidard, Delfanus
I had taken a moment to survey the situation. Our forces were engaging in very close combat for at least two hours now with only a quarter of my forces remaining. With coordinated attacks with armour support, we were able to tear our way to Golf-Romeo 13. We had charged at every line we came across, but the Covenant had barely given a care to what we were doing. Only forces needed to barely hold their right flank were sent, as if the acropolis was the main priority rather than to take this world. So far, neither side had given even an inch to their foe on that plateau. Other than that, the covies seemed content to hold position without the slightest flinch of an attack. For that reason, I let my forces regroup in the protection of the surrounding hills, putting sentries near the crest and having tanks fire into the mosh pit that was the Covenant defenses. I decided to contact the Brigadier General.
“Sir, are you there?”
No response.
“Sir, I repeat, are you there?”
No response.
With that, I had decided to check out how the rest of my squad is doing.
“Gilbert, what’s the G2?”
No response.
“Hey, GILBERT!!!”
“Quiet down there dipshit.”
“… what’s up, now?”
“Well, Harper, I’m still battling the Covenant over here, like a good soldier would do.”
“Hell, I did that, and got the extra credit too.”
“Oh, and what would that be.”
“Banged up Diaz’s wife.”
“Dude, that ain’t extra credit, that’s just initiation to become a Daemon. Everyone here had done that.”
We broke a chuckle.
“Damnit guys!!!” Diaz roared. “Next chance I get the both of you will be missing until someone finds you in—“
“Well, Diaz,” I explained “if she wasn’t so hot, maybe we wouldn’t talk—no, we’d still bang her, because she’s your wife. How a vixen like her hooked up with a hunchback like you we’ll never know.”
Diaz’s response was just wave after wave of swearing.
“Done yet?” was my reply.
“Almost…”
Several more swear words inundated the comm. waves.
“Now?”
“***, you guys are lucky the Cov—“ radio transmission broke off there.
“Well Gilbert, as we were?”
“Heh. God love him. He knows we don’t. Where are your forces Harper? I can’t see them anywhere.”
“I should be at Golf-Romeo 13, right next to you.”
Several moments passed with sounds of clicking and buzzing.
“Harper, activate your beacon.”
I clicked on a button hidden on my wrist. More moments of clicking and buzzing pursued.
“SGT!!!! You ***!!!”
“Huh!?!”
“Harper, you’re at Hotel-Romeo14!!!!”
I was wondering why the explosions at the acropolis were louder and the buildings downtown significantly larger.
“So what does that mean?”
More clicking and buzzing.
“It means you’re nearly surrounded. The Covenant had infested your whole area.”
“What the hell! I thought Antimon forces were supposed to have the right flank covered!”
“I thought you had heard. They crumbled an hour into the attack. You’re all by yourself up there.”
“Well, where are you forces, Gilbert?”
“I’m back at Foxtrot-Romeo12. The Covies are putting up a hell of a fight.”
“Damn.”
“I’ll try to cover the exposed opening. See if you could help me pinch the forces in between.”
“Aye. Just give the word. So, heard anything about Zulu.”
“Sorry there Harper. I’ve haven’t heard a word since the charge.”
“Aye.”
“Just have your forces ready to pinch.”
“Charging or tactfully outgun ‘em.”
“Surprise me.”
I took a couple to think.
“Let’s have fun at the shooting range. They’re unlucky bastards to be entrenched in a valley between us. Plus, I don’t want my obviously superior men to dice up your entire force accidentally in close quarters.”
“Just make sure you’re alive by the end of the day. Gilbert out.”
I decided to rally my forces.
“Soldiers, listen up! We bit far into the Covenant line. So far that we’re surrounded by them on every flank but the one we tore through. Too bad for them.”
A cheer broke out, consisting of ‘Hell yeah!’ and ‘Damn right!’
“Allied forces are going to be filling the hole on our left, but the covies in the valley are the only thing that stands between them and us. In half an hour, we’re going to unleash hell on them; so much so that the valley will be a river, a river of purple and blue.”
More cheering and hollering came.
“Suit up men, victory is in sight“
This was the loudest cheering yet. The unanimous ‘Huzzah!’ could probably been heard by the surrounding forces.
I tuned in to fill Gilbert in.
“SGT, be here in half an hour, eh?”
“Sounds good. At my pace, I’ll be there in about 20.”
“At 0400 hours, we’ll begin bombardment, 0430 hours, we’ll start engaging in combat.”
“No complaints here. Just make sure you’re ready. Give me a visual feed on the target.”
I looked over the hill, “AI, activate visual feed.”
Nothing turned on.
“AI, activate visual feed.”
Again, nothing happened.
“Trouble at home, Harper?”
“Damnit, Gilbert. Must’ve been destroyed when that elite clocked me. Hold a sec.”
I pointed at a Daemon nearby, “You, get over here!”
“Yes, sir!”
He ran to my position and got down next to me.
“What now, sir?”
“Get a visual feed going on the Covies down there.”
“Aye. AI, activate visual feed.”
I linked to his HUD, and sent the visual to Gilbert, as well.
“Hmm…. Looks like the Covies are setting up defenses.” Gilbert analyzed.
“They are putting up a lot of shades, but their defense pattern is so erratic. Why are they setting up so many gaps in the defenses?”
“Looky there, Harper. Why is everyone running around? They’re preparing for something, but what?”
“Hmm…”
“Do you see what I see?”
“Where?”
“On the platform, slightly levitating.”
I looked around for a moment. !!!
“Are you serious!?!”
“Hell yeah, perfect opportunity.”
On the hovering platform, there was a Commander elite that looked to be running the show down there. A crimson elite beside him, though, had the assigned body guards. He had two Honour Guards beside him and a zealot to his right. Why didn’t the Commander have any guards?
“Do you still have the sniper rifle?”
“Yeah.” I replied.
“Pick him off.”
“I’ve got an even better idea. Let me call in a Scorpion, and maybe we can take out the whole lot.”
“Wilco.”
I called up a Scorpion tank from my armour pool.
“Pilot, I want a shell directly at the command group.”
“Yessir!”
It took the driver and gunner several moments to perfect the firing data.
“On my word soldier… FIRE!!”
The earth under me shook tremendously as the high velocity shell screamed toward its target. Direct hit! The shell tore through the side of an Honour Guard and went through the shin of the other until it impacted on the platform and blew. The shrapnel of the shell shredded apart the Major elite and several minors and grunts nearby with no hassle at all. The Zealot blew back with limbs tearing apart at the joints. Anything else could not be seen due to the smoke.
“Hell yeah…. What!?!”
After the smoke cleared, the commander remained. The platform was scraps of metal blown across the area, and anybody on it dead, but the Commander remained in the same place he was standing just seconds below. All he did was just phase blue, but returned to his regular colour moments later. All he did was look straight at me; I could feel his eyes penetrating through my visor. We both stared intently at each other as if we were could kill each other with the thought of doing so. He grinned.
“Damnit! Harper, it’s a hologram. We have to move quick, before he puts his plans into action! Go—“ transmission cut-off there.
“INCOMING” someone shouted.
All of a sudden, wraith shots filled the sky and were bombarding my forces. Everyone scrambled to avoid, but some were unlucky to dodge one, but by doing so jumping into another one, being vaporized instantly. Craters we left everywhere, and some of my forces took cover in there. I ran to take cover in a cave in the side of a hill that a wraith shot had made. It was thirty meters away. I ran, and shrapnel from an exploding tank threw me off my feet. I gazed at the sky. The stars were so nice. The snow, dawdling about in the sky, was starting to cover me.