Chapter 2
February 4, 2531 / 15:48 / Harvest
Forge’s
Warthog skidded to a halt. Smoke rose on the horizon, where Alpha Base
was marked on the ‘Hog’s NAV. “Ah, damn,” he groaned. With a slight ‘click,’ he radioed the Spirit of Fire.
“Captain, Alpha is toast,” he said as he took a quick look around,
“There’s nothing for me to pull back to. Suggest you hold that backup
for a while.”
He waited for a moment, and then his comm hissed as the Captain replied, “We need to turn that around Sergeant, Serina, what's our status?” The AI’s voice came through, somewhat clearer than the Captain’s, due to being digital.
“Sir, we've got a lot of troops retreating from Alpha Base.” Her voice then took on a more suggestive tone, “If Sergeant Forge can regroup with them, our numbers may be sufficient to retake the base."
Forge
groaned. “Why do I always get put on clean up?” He then clicked the
respond button, “Roger that, I'll round up any and all survivors and
get Alpha back.”
He then threw the Warthog into full throttle.
The wheels spun on the ice, causing the vehicle to fishtail violently.
Soon it gripped, and the ‘Hog rocketed forward. The road ahead was a
broken, twisted mess. Rubble from fallen Orbital Tethers, destroyed
vehicles, and broken segments of road made for a difficult trip.
Forge
saw a group of five Marines in the distance as they fought behind an
overturned Warthog. He gunned the ‘Hog to ram it violently into the
group of Elites that had the Marines pinned. The steering-wheel shook
violently in his hands as the tires grinded at the Elite’s body armor.
The vehicle came to a rest after making the Covenant troops into
roadkill. He smirked at the Marines. “You boys from Alpha?” he asked.
A
Marine, a Corporal from the looks of him, approached the Warthog. “We
were the first ones out, sir,” he responded, “Mind if we hitch a ride
with you? We lost one of our ‘Hogs.”
The Sergeant nodded with a grin. “Fall in behind me, we’re taking Alpha back.”
The Corporal climbed into the turret of Forge’s Warthog. Forge had taken a variant from the Spirit
that featured a gauss turret rather than the standard Light
Anti-Aircraft Gun. A second Marine climbed into his passenger seat,
while the final three recovered the tilted Warthog.
The two Warthogs sped off across the ice. “Tango…ne-four, you need…out of here!” Forge’s radio crackled, the transmission broken up due to battle.
“You heard them, boys,” he shouted over the rumble of the engine, “time to provide an escort service!”
The
Warthogs raced on to aid the downed Marine squad. The Covenant forces
never stood a chance against the combined firepower of a LAAG, Gauss
Cannon, and eight MA5B’s. No sooner had they helped the Marines right
their two downed Warthogs than the radio hissed again. “This is Tango-three-three. We are under heavy fire, that turret is chewing us up!” a Marine desperately shouted over the channel.
“Good
grief,” Forge groaned, “It never ends, does it?” The Marines chuckled
as the continued on the broken road towards the signal’s location. As
they arrived, one of the Warthogs raced ahead. “No, wait!” Forge
shouted over the comm.
Bright indigo plasma lanced through the
vehicle. The super-heated gas warped the metal and shattered the glass.
Several bolts lanced through the engine block, which caused the vehicle
to explode violently.
“Damn!” Forge swore as he hit the wheel of
the Warthog. “All units advance cautiously! Focus M9 grenades at the
base of the Shade turret; roll them if you have to.”
Forge drove his Warthog to a higher but safer location. “Corporal,” he ordered, “Bring the cannon around!”
The
Marine nodded, and the Gauss cannon swiveled to face the Shade. Three
grenades went off under the craft, which severely harmed the Elite
manning it.
The Corporal fired off two shots. The Gauss round
lanced through the turret, the superheated air that surrounded the
rounds melting the edges of the metal. The turret pod that rested in
the tripod base crashed down heavily as the grav-lift supports failed.
The pod went up in a blue flash of plasma-flame to incinerate the
turret’s operator.
Forge smirked briefly as his gunner cheered
enthusiastically and threw a fist into the air. “Don’t get too excited
yet, Corporal,” the Sergeant said grimly, “We’ve still got Alpha to
clear out.” As he said that, a group of Marines headed over to his
Warthog. “You boys out of Alpha too?”
One of the Marines nodded,
“Yessir, T-33. Damn Covies wrecked the whole place; there’s nothing
left. We got out just in time, but the boys in Bravo-fourty three
weren’t so lucky.”
“Head back towards Alpha Base,” Forge
instructed, “We’re going to work on taking it back. Your brothers won’t
have died for nothing.”
The Marine nodded gratefully. “Yessir,
will do, sir.” He turned to his squad. “You heard the man, fellas, fall
out! We got some clean-up work ahead of us, so check your clips and
keep a frag handy.”
Forge and his small squad of Warthogs sped on
ahead of the Marines. There was a slight crunch off to Forge’s right as
one of the ‘Hogs ground its way through a rouge group of Grunts. “Eugh, there’s Grunt bits all over the grill!” The radio crackled as the driver complained.
Forge
cracked a grin, though it quickly fell as Alpha Base came into view. A
shimmering blue forcefield blocked the entrance to the abandoned base.
Forge furrowed his brow, and then drove straight at the barrier.
The
field seemed to bend inwards for a brief moment before it sprung back
into place. Forge’s Warthog scooted back and the tires screeched
against the frozen pavement. “Damn,” he swore. “Vehicles can’t get
through this thing.”
As he was getting ready to leave the Warthog, his radio crackled. “We’ve seen those things before, sir. Infantry’s clear to get through, but anything mechanical is somehow kept out.” A Marine from T-33 said, “ONI
thinks it has something to do with the engine’s vibrations; it somehow
makes the field harder, so weapons pass right through. Sit tight, we’ll
take care of the generator.”
“Thanks much, soldier,” Forge
said, “just don’t carry an alarm in your back pocket.” He grinned as he
joked with the squad. A chuckle came over the comm.
“Will do sir.”
The
Marines passed through the barrier with only minimal resistance. Soon
the short bark of MA5B’s could be heard, though they quickly stopped. “That thing's too strong,” the Marine said to his squad, “Use grenades!” Several smaller explosions were heard, followed by a larger one. The barrier blinked a few times before clearing entirely. “Jackals!” a Marine shouted.
Forge threw the Warthog into drive. “Barrier’s down, let’s do this, gentlemen! Open fire!”
The
bird-like aliens rushed at the squad of Marines, their Plasma Pistols
glowing menacingly. The Marines took aim and fired their Assault Rifles
in short, controlled bursts. The trio of Warthogs raced by, the two
LAAG’s and the Gauss Cannon made short work of the Jackals, which freed
up the road for the Marines.
Forge’s Warthog skidded to a halt as
they entered the base. The other two followed suit. “Hold position,”
Forge ordered. On the horizon two Wraith tanks sat in the middle of the
base. This might get ugly, Forge thought. He quickly radioed the Captain. “Spirit of Fire,
this is Forge. We’ve got heavy armor on the horizon; two Wraith tanks.
We can’t proceed without clearing that mess up, and I’m all out of
Scorpions.”
After a while, the response came. “Air support en-route, Sergeant,” Cutter’s voice said over the radio, “They'll take out the armor; the rest is yours.”
“Roger that, Spirit,” Forge responded, “I’ll hold position.”
Forge
waited anxiously, hoping that the Wraiths didn’t notice them. Soon a
scream of supersonic-speed approached the battlefield. “482nd to Sgt. Forge; package delivery in progress,” the radio crackled, “Enjoy the show.”
The
Marine’s view turned to the sky, and a cheer broke out as two
Shortsword bombers shot overhead. Several bright flashes blinked on the
bottoms of the bombers as they released a carpet-bomb payload. The
explosives buried two lines into the ground that lead up to the
Wraiths; some of the missiles embeded in the surprised Elite’s vehicle.
A second later, the explosives detonated, cutting a swathe of
destruction in their path.
The Shortswords lanced overhead again.
The wake from their wings dug artful curls into the thick black smoke
that billowed from the Wraiths’ wreckage. The Marines gave another
cheer, anxious to clear out the rest.
“Roads clear boys,” Forge
shouted, “Let’s pick up the hitchhikers!” The small army charged into
the base to quickly engage the Covenant forces. Several Grunts were
lead by a significantly smaller number of Elite warriors. As soon as an
Elite fell the squad of Grunts that followed would scatter, utterly
bereft of discipline.
The small Covenant army was quickly mopped up. The UNSC forces took few casualties. Either they’re sloppiery, Forge thought as the final Elite fell, or we’re a little better. He looked to the Corporal on his turret and cracked a grin. “Well, that was the most fun I’ve had all week.”
The Marines chuckled, “Whaddya mean, sir? I’d have a load of fun if I got to rescue a few Marines in distress.”
“Well,
let’s face it Corporal, you’re not much of a damsel, no matter how
distressed.” The Marines chuckled, soon being interrupted by the radio.
“Sergeant Forge, situation?”
Forge hit the radio, “Spirit of Fire, this is Forge. Area Clear, situation normal.”
A
Pelican dropship thundered into the base that brought more Marines from
the battlefield. Forge held the radio closer, having to speak louder
over the noise, “Orders?”
The radio fuzzed back, “Though Alpha
Base is ours again, you may want to scout the area, Sergeant Forge.
Professor Anders has located a foreign structure that the Covenant has
worked hard to uncover. Serina will upload its coordinates to your NAV
immediately.”
“Roger that, Spirit,” Forge responded, “I’ll radio back with the reconnaissance shortly. Forge out.”
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