Halo: Minorca Saga/Chapter Six

UNSC LIVINGSTON, ALPHA CANIS MINORIS SYSTEM, APRIL 13TH, 2551 (MILITARY CALENDAR)

Jamal breathed deep, and looked over at Gabriel. The pair had survived probably one of the most perilous operations ever attempted to date. They had crashed right into the heart of a Covenant ship, fought and killed dozens of them. It wasn’t until after they were recovered that they discovered the true extent of their operation: the ship had run, in panic, it was venting atmosphere, and more than a few things on it were blown. It had retreated, however, not before dropping its payload of ground troops. The first reports were streaming in; UNSC forces engaging the Covenant, fighting bravely, and more often than not, dying. They were going to ground, to engage an enemy that they all hated. Helen had already suited up, carrying her Jackhammer launcher in one hand, an MA5B Individual Combat Weapon System in the other, as well as magazines of ammunition. Gabriel laughed, and then got up, grabbing more ammunition for his SRS, as well as his M7, taking along a spare suppressor. Jamal stood up after Gabriel, then took boxes of shotgun shells, as well as magazines for his prized M6D, which Gabriel still had.

“Thanks, bro. That thing saved my life…”

“No problem! That’s what we’re all here for.”

However, the celebration wouldn’t last long, as the ship turned and gunned itself towards Minorca. Within minutes, they were burning through the atmosphere, with dozens of UNSC ships behind. After landing, Natasha activated the prototypical active camouflage, and the three SPARTANs disembarked. The Covenant had come… and it was time to fight.

Gabriel decided that he had chosen a very good position overlooking one of the main valleys that the Covenant had landed in, dozens of pods and assault craft impacting the ground, then unloading their deadly cargo. Gabriel knew his part, and steadied his breath, practicing the Zen that he had taken up, and fired.

When he did, a firing pin slammed into the back of the 14.5mm Armor Piercing Fin Stabilized Discarding Sabot round, sending the dart and its casing flying out. In less than a second, the casing broke away, and the arrow screamed towards its target at over two-thousand meters per second, leaving in its wake a vapor trail, that Gabe followed right until it impacted on a red Elite, sending his body crumpling to the ground. Satisfied, Gabe turned his attention to another Elite, this time, one in a silvery-white armor. He was about to fire when he saw that one of the units had spotted him, and turned his attention towards them, cutting them down in short order. When he turned his scope to find his first target, he could not find that Elite. Wondering if he had seen something, he turned his attention towards a Blue Elite, and continued his deadly hail of fire.

Helen had braced herself against an overturned Warthog, reloading her Jackhammer for another shot. After doing so, she turned, and fired in the middle of a cluster of Elites, and after hearing a satisfying explosion, as well as several screams, she turned to fire another round when a plasma bolt impacted her armor. The Mark IV, without shields, was just pure metal, and it was scorched. However, the painkillers automatically went out, and coupled with the adrenaline, she barely felt it. She fired again, and watched as the rocket hit the Elite that had shot her, sending its body flying into hundreds of pieces, in a cloud of smoke. After doing that, she threw down the smoking tube, and picked up her MA5, laying down a volley of fire, killing several Grunts as they attempted to set up a plasma turret, falling down into their own blue blood, methane tanks punctured. She quickly refocused her attention, and saw one of the blue Elites as it attempted to hit her across the face. She dodged, tripped the creature, and then filled its face with a full magazine, puncturing the shields, and then blowing out whatever brain that was contained within. She was about to engage another unit when Jamal blew them away, making the “Spartan Smile” gesture, before switching to his pistol and sniping one of the blue ones, using the M6D’s optical sight.

Jamal switched back to his shotgun to engage the aliens that had moved in closer, and blind fired around the side of the ‘Hog, heard a loud scream, then fired again, and heard a dying moan. He pumped his shotgun, sending another shell into the barrel, and battered an Elite across the head before filling it with buck shot, scattering blood and skin in various directions. Recovering, he attempted to knock one Elite off it’s feet, however, due to its strange physiology, kicking it behind the knee joint didn’t do a thing, and the Elite attempted to knock Jamal out before its skull exploded.

“Nice shot, Gabe!”

“Haha, I saw his brain fly out!”

Following the short exchange, Jamal turned around and prepared to engage when his COM crackled and the voice of Admiral Stanley, sounding very angry, boomed though the Mk. IV’s speaker.

“Azure! This is Admiral Stanley. The ONI boys say that they’ve discovered something; the Covenant is searching for it. Go to their location, and scout ahead of them. They’re afraid, so be prepared for any contingency, Stanley, out.”

Jamal flipped over to the TEAMCOM, and ordered Azure back to the Livingston, where they boarded a Warthog, and proceeded to the ONI unit’s coordinates.

What is it?