CHAPTER 9
Jason watched silently from a small hill, the Covenant had set up a strong defense surrounding the Forerunner structure. He saw various Wraith tanks, as well as Bashee patrols. Scattered on the ground in front of the structure were multiple Shade turrets. Ghosts and Spectres made constant ground patrols, not to mention the massive hoardes of Grunts and Jackals. The Elites were nowhere to be seen. Jason looked back at the remaining strike force, there were 20 of the 50 ODSTs, well at least that were able to fight. And only 2 of his Spartans died, leaving him with 232 Spartans.
Jason checked his ammo count, he had about 4 more clips for his Assault Rifle, and 6 more for his Battle Rifle. He had his Snipers set up in various spots, waiting for his signal. Recently Scorpion tanks and and Warthogs arrived, 5 Gauss and 5 normal. Jason ordered the Spartans to set up Missile pods to take care of Banshees if they drew too close. Jason knew that attacking now would be suicide, it would be similar to Pickett's charge during the Civil War in the United States back in the 1800's. They would get slaughtered. So Jason had been watching them for hours, waiting for te perfect opportunity to strike. The large open field didn't show any cover for miles in each direction. This planet was devoid of any vegetation or animals, and yet it still held an atmosphere, that was mostly oxygen. Its surface was composed of mostly Onyx, it was smooth and black. This planet must have been artificially made, which was another reason Jason was uneasy. Especially with the recent events on Onyx, which he was fortunate enough not to experience.
His Spartans stood tall and firm, the star reflected off their armor and gave them a paranormal glow, almost as if they were spirits. Jason smiled he knew victory would mean many casualties on their side, but then again it was only by chance that this many survived their first suicide mission. Jason always remembered what Lieutenant Ambrose said to him during training. And a memory of his old instructor appeared in his mind, and Jason allowed himself to relive his final day with his instructor.
Mendez had a pleasant look on his face, despite the hell he had given them over the past few months. Ambrose stood tall and proud in front of the 300 Spartans. Mendez spoke first.
"Do not focus on the death of your comrades, the minute your attention is derived from your mission, you will die."
Although he was harsh, the Spartans respected him because no other soldier in the UNSC would dare to even look at Spartans the wrong way. Ambrose looked at the group and then his attention was focused on Jason.
"You will see your allies fall, but remember they will not die. Spartans never die."
Jason knew he was talking about the publicity act for Spartans, and even though that was the case, these words struck Jason deeply. The low thrum of Pelican engines could be heard in the distance and Jason knew his time training was over. The Spartans moved towards them.
Mendez shouted at the group, "None of you are heroes, so don't be one on the battlefield!"
Jason shook his head and came back to reality, he knew they weren't heroes, he knew they can't just rush them, he needed to put together a small team of Spartans to attack the Covenant from behind. Their SPI armor should provide enough camoflauge to wreak some havoc on the Covenant frontline. Jason lifted his Assault Rifle, stared at it for while and then threw it away. He took up one of the Energy Swords that was lying on the ground after the battle in the dark. He holstered the sword and moved to the other Spartans.
"Alright listen up! I've got a job that needs to be done if we want to get to that structure. We need to flank the Covenant, so I'm taking a squad around their forces and we're going to take them out. Once we've made a good enough distraction everyone else needs to move in."
All of the faceplates stared at Jason, "So who's going?", every single Spartans raised their hand. They knew if a job had to be done, it must be done no matter what te cost.
Jason picked his old friends, as he knew the capabilities of all of them. Francis, Dorson, Cindy, Tim, and Mike. The Spartans that he had made friends with in training, they all stood beside him and were willing to die if it meant stopping the Covenant. "Alright activate your suits we're moving in."
The Spartans' suits soon blended with the environment, and the small team moved across the open field towards the Covenant. They were careful to move fast but quietly. A Covenant ghost passed right in front of them, and they moved much faster after that. The Banshee patrol moved over them and the Spartans moved behind a Shade turret. Jason watched the Grunt and when it turned away Jason snapped its neck. It didn't even have time to yell. Cindy hopped in the turret, "This should be good enough", she whispered and they realized that they were at the end of the Covenant defense perimeter, which was good news for them. Next to them was a Wraith, and they silently moved towards. Tim ripped open the hatch revealing a surprised Elite. He tossed a grenade inside and the Elite was dumbfounded by the aftershock, Tim put one quick round into its head with a Battle Rifle and tossed its body out. Tim hopped in and now they were in control of the situation.
Jason, Francis, Dorson, and Mike moved towards the center where the Grunts were. Mike and Dorson tossed a couple of Grenades and the hoard of Grunts was blown apart. This finally caught the force's attention. Jackals fired on their position, and Wraiths moved in as well. Since Jason and Mike were still in camoflauge they passed the approaching force. While the other four held them off. Jason gave his signal to Kyle, and the ODSTs with the rest of the Spartans raced towards them, Sniper fire from the various Spartans whizzed across the field striking multiple Jackals. Mike jumped on the back of one of the Wraiths and tossed a Grenade into its core. When the grenade exploded the Wraith was engulfed in a plasma eruption. Mike released his camo and started to shoot at the Covenant Jackals while they were attacking the others in the group. Jason still scouted for the Elites.
When the rest of their force reached their position victory was in their grasp. The Gauss hogs picked the Banshees out of the sky, while the Gunner Warthogs made quick work of the Grunts and Jackals. The Scorpion quickly destroyed the Ghosts, Spectres, and Wraiths. And the UNSC was in control of the battle, or so they thought.
Jason had found the entrance to structure, it was a massive metal door with various glyphs all over it. Jake had found Jason and they stared at it. The ODST reached for the door and a voice erupted from the door. Jason raised his Battle Rifle and Jake signaled him to lower it. Jake listened to it and then replied.
"Discursive Bias, we have eliminated the Covenant, you need to let us in."
"<Ah yes I sense no Covenant at this installation, but I fear more is on their way, and they are coming quickly.>"
"You must let us in, we need to gain control of this structure before they do."
There was no answer from the door this time, but a rumble soon started to shake the ground and the door slowly started to open. When the large door finally opened a ton of Sentinels flew out but they did not fire at Jake and Jason they simply atched te horizon.
"<Please Reclaimer, enter, there is much to be done; my sentinels will help your allies.>"
Jake and Jason moved into the entrance, and as the door closed behind them they saw an outline of a massive force moving over the horizon. The battle for the structure had begun.
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I beg to differ Stud, I found a couple. TM, you do more excellent work. Keep it up, I have underlined and bolded (?) any mistakes I found. Happy writing :)
SPQR! An ambitious historical project, coming soon. Check the Library for early version test writes. Recommended for anyone with a love of history.