Chapter Two
1000 HOURS, SEPTEMBER 20 2569 (MILITARY CALENDER) \
SYSTEM: CLASSIFIED, CAMP IRONHORSE
PLANET: CLASSIFIED
Questions zoomed through Brimstones mind as he looked at the scene before him, but one question stood its ground. How did they Covenant Loyalists find them? Planet ERROR: CLASSIFIED was so secret that only top brass at ONI knew where it was, and the Separatist Council. The Loyalists being here was by chance was severely unlikely but the separatists ratting them out was even less likely than that.
He stood there in confusion for a few more moments till a plasma bolt melted part of the door, causing him to rush for cover. The rest of his team met up with him and waited for orders. "Alright so we have a situation if you haven't noticed and nothing but pebbles to defend ourselves" Brimstone said looking over the cover. He cursed as another bolt went by his head and made him return to cover "So far all I see are Jackals and Grunts, but there are a few brutes out there. Take this as a stroke of luck, because our rounds can at least hurt them enough to make them stop moving for a little. I want everyone to head for the Major's office. He has real ammunition in a large safe and would probably be heading there" He said gaining acknowledgment
Brimstone counted to three and started running, firing at the group of grunts to keep there heads down. Smash just ran up to the group screaming and mowed them all down before crushing there heads beneath his hooves "If you guys aren't gonna kill the fuckers, I will" He said as he started to walk again. Brimstone popped out of cover and took the legs out from a group of Grunts before turning towards Smash "Smash get back in line! This isn't a time for one of your stupid contests!" Brimstone snapped. Smash just waved his hand at Brimstone and continued to try and fight the Loyalists when suddenly a brute came barging out of the door that Smash was standing by throwing him to the ground.
Smash spun around and unloaded the last of his magazine into the brute but it did nothing. Trying to crawl away he reached for his knife, only to have his hoof stomped on, causing him to drop it. The brute raised a mauler to Smashes face, shrugging off the hail of fire from the other Spartans before he was suddenly engulfed in a sea of plasma.
The plasma came from one of the Elite DI's, who then gave a sharp victory cry before continuing on. It seemed as if the Elites had there own weapon catches in there barracks because they were now pouring out of there barracks, fully armed and ready to take on the hoard. Taking this chance Brimstone ran and dragged Smash into cover before bucking him in the face and pulling him up by the collar, staring him down "Now when I say get in line, I mean get in line! You could have died right there and there is NOTHING we could have done about it!" He said dropping him.
Smash just laid there and wiped his mouth "Sorry about that Sarge... It won't happen again" He said sounding sincere. This was the first sign of actual combat that any of the Spartans have ever faced, so staring down the barrel of a live weapon knocked some sense in the usually brash and careless Smash.
Taking the shock that the troops went through as an opening, Brimstone lead his team to the Major's office with minor events and piled inside. They where a little worried when they noticed that the Major was not there, but were relived when they found an open weapons safe. "Alright team, load up with your usual gear, pack heavy on ammo. We don't know when we are going to get a chance to resupply." He said, switching out his training gear for a standard issue BDU, as did the rest of his team.
The gear his team used was rather unique for each of them. Brimstone had however made it mandatory that they all carry the standard issue MA5B ICW so that they could swap out magazines in times of need but after that there equipment was as unique as they were. Smash carried the M90 8 gauge shotgun, and as much ammo as he could carry, going as far as to fill a saddle bag with ammo. Amethyst just grabbed a standard issue BR55HB Battle Rifle, and stocked up on medical supplies. Star Shine picked up a M392 DMR, and a disassembled SRS 99C-S2 Sniper rifle, and ten magazines for it respectively. Click, living up to his name packed everything he could get his hands on. His signature W/AV M6 Spartan Laser that was modified to be able to switch out batteries on the go, along with some Lotus Anti-tank mines, TR/9 Antipersonnel mines, two dozen M9 grenades, and somehow, a stripped down Shiva class nuclear warhead, which cause Brimstone to gawk for a moment.
"What the fuck are you going to use that thing for?" He asked as Click casually put it in his bag "And a better question is why the fuck is there one on base!" He said, causing Click to look at him and shrug "I requested a nuclear warhead so that I could familiarize myself with them. Major approved and I was supposed to start my advanced training on it next week." He said. This made Brimstone's jaw drop "You don't even know how to work that thing? And your still bringing it with us!" He said, causing the rest of the team to look at the small argument going on. "Please Sarge, you think I am stupid? Advanced training as in learning how to defuse them or build one. I learned how to operate a nuke enough to use safely two years ago" He said giving Brimstone his famous 'your an idiot' look.
Brimstone just decided to give up before he looked even stupider and picked up his gear. He picked up two M7 SMG's and as much ammo as he could hold as well as a bandoleer of grenades. He grabbed five tins of Bio Foam and waited out by the door as the rest of his team formed up. Now that they were deadly they could move out and be effective for the most part.
"All camp personnel this is Major Young broadcasting over the emergency announcing Code Bloody Arrow. All surviving personnel retreat to Twin Fork Ridge. I repeat all Personnel we are under Code Bloody Arrow, fall back to Twin Fork Ridge. This message shall repeat. All camp personnel this is..." suddenly blared over on the E-band causing the team to stop dead in there tracks. "Bloody Arrow?" Star Shine asked, looking at the rest of the team. "Haven't you paid attention in class at all?" Snapped Click "Bloody Arrow means that all friendly positions have been over run! We've been routed and Twin Fork Ridge is obviously our best bet for a fall back point." Click said keeping watch for enemy troops.
Brimstone swore to himself before turning to the rest of the team. "Alright guys this is how we are going to do this. I want a single file line, loose column with ten meters between each of us. Smash, you take point and Star Shine will cover our rear. I want radio silence, so unless your dying or dead I don't want a single peep from the radio. We are going to move out and flank around the rear of the camp, sticking five meters from the tree line till we get to the east side of the camp. Then we are going to make a bee line to the rally point and hope that there is some back up there, or at least an interstellar radio or AI that can get us in contact with someone who can get us off this damn rock. Classified information or not I think the military spent way to much money on us just to leave us here without a fight" He said, gaining acknowledgment from the team.
Taking one last look at the terrain Brimstone and the rest of the team took off and sprinted to the forest. The team quickly lined up and started moving to there destination. The Forrest was quiet for the most part, but the enemy patrolled the area around the base, forcing them to avoid a fire fight.
They soon found them selves just at the bottom of Twin Fork Ridge, but saw no sign of the camp personnel. He did however see a small clearing and raised his hoof, spinning it in a circle to get his team to rally up. When they were all with him he took the risk to open up his TEAM COM "Alright, I don't see any of the camp personnel but that doesn't mean there not here. I am going to walk out into that clearing and broadcast on the open channel. If that doesn't stir the rally point then they're not here" He said looking at them. Smash took this moment to speak up "You know Sarge, if the rally point can hear it, so can the Covies. Are you sure this is such a good idea?" He said looking around for hostiles. Brimstone shook his head "I'm not sure, but it's the best I have so unless anyone else has a plan that's what we are left with" He said looking at his team. They all remained silent, and Amethyst shrugged as if to acknowledge him. "Right, then I want you guys to take position and cover me. I don't wanna get shot out there" He said standing up and approaching the clearing.
As he waited for the team to get into position he surveyed the area. Large rocks that fell from the ridge were scattered across the base of the cliff, providing cover some small arms fire, but leaving them screwed if they had any explosives. He heard his COM click three times, the signal that his team was ready before opening the Channel. "Attention all UNSC and Separatist forces on planet ERROR: CLASSIFIED. This is Sargent First Class Brimstone looking for any remaining personnel. I am waiting in the clearing just north east of the Rally point. I repeat, Sargent First Class Brimstone waiting North east of rally point, over" He said. He awaited a response and was quickly Pinged on a secure channel. "Sargent Brimstone, this is Major Young and boy am I glad to hear your voice! I got someone coming to pick you and your team up" He said before the channel went dead.
Suddenly a small portion of the rock face fell away slowly to reveal a closed metal door. Slowly the door opened and on the inside was a lone soldier waving the team in. Brimstone and his team quickly hurried into the door and the soldier closed it up once they were inside, leading them down to what seemed to be a military base that was rather new. The soldier lead them up to an elevator at the end of the hall, which was guarded by four marines, two of which were manning AIE-486H Heavy Machine Guns. "The Major will be waiting for you at the bottom of the lift Sir" He said before turning and running back to the entrance. Brimstone just pushed the button and entered the lift, followed by his team. Pressing the button to go further underground, the lift began moving.
After about fifteen minutes the lift came to a stop and opened, revealing the Major, who was accompanied by two marines. Brimstone stepped off the lift, followed by his team and saluted the Major. "Sir Sargent First Class Brimstone and squad reporting!" He said, returning to attention after. "Easy son, no need for royalties such as that now, I'm just glad to see that you and your team made it out of there alive but we have an issue son" He said as he started to walk down a hall and into a make shift war room. The major stood at one end of the table, displaying a holo map of the planet. The major Zeroed them into there current position, and a second holo pad lit up, revealing a ghostly image of an Alicorn.
"Greetings My little ponies I am Celestia, this bases current AI" The AI smiled before the major began talking "Right, now we have two Loyalist cruisers in orbit, which is supplying the troops for this invasion. From what I heard the Separatists who showed up earlier today were followed by one of the Loyalist stealth class ships, which allowed the Loyalists to send a small invasion force, so that means these two are only the beginning" He said "The Separatists managed to cripple the ship to the left permanently before they were destroyed by a joint attack from the two ships. We have to find a way to get off this planet and take out or capture this ship here" He said Highlighting the ship. "After that we need to get ourselves to the nearest human base so as to warn someone of this invasion fleet" He said sighing "Only problem is that the estimated time till the invasion fleet shows up is 48 hours" He said looking at Brimstone. Behind his visor is face remained stoic. "We do however, have an advantage for you to help succeed in getting off this planet in one piece. If you would follow me" He said as he walked out of the room.
The Major led them into what looked like a lab and brought them all to the back. Here there was several sets of strange, intimidating armor, that only a pony could wear. Celestia V2 suddenly appeared on a holo pad and smiled "These are SELENE Mark II Pony battle suit. Designed much like the MOJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor the latest SPARTANS II wear, this suit has a few bonuses added in, as well as the design being more pony friendly" She said as a few scientists started to dismantle the suits and aid the SPARTAN IV's in putting them on. "It is made from the state of art ERROR: CLASSIFIED alloy with a Ballistic Gel under layer. This suit is capable to dispersing medium amounts of covenant plasma weaponry for a small period of time, before the plates need to cool down. The system also has a fully functional shield system to aid in keeping the user safe from harm. The suit also features a photo-reactive layer, which effectively mimics your surroundings radiation signature, allowing you to blend in with your surroundings. Warning though, this layer can only take a few hits before it fails and needs to recharge, which will take several minutes to do unless you drain your shields, causing the two to recharge at a similar rate.The suit comes with specialized wing attachments for any Pegasus operators, and a horn guard to protect Unicorns from losing the ability to use there magic while on the field. It also includes a full HUD which lets you know of your shield levels, team vitals, ammo count as well as spare magazines, and allows you to open a single beam COM link. In addition to this you have a motion tracker that is effective to 50 meters, specialized LED lights, linked for your team to allow an easier response to orders and a small tactical map." She said as the Spartans started moving around in the suit, trying to get a feel for it
"Damn Sarge these things got everything" Smash said flexing inside the suit "I feel as if I can tear a brute in two with my bare hooves" He said chuckling. "I wouldn't advise trying that seeing as a brute dwarfs you drastically" Click said in a smug sounding way. Amethyst just remained quiet, getting the feel for the suit. Star Shine just trotted around lightly laughing "Oh my I feel as if I could do so much in this suit!" She said excited. "Star Shine! This suit covers all those bits" Brimstone said smartly, resulting in him getting a stiff smack to the back of the head. The Major continued to talk to a Scientist and didn't even notice Brimstones remark, causing Smash to get frustrated. "Oh come on! You get away with that and I can't even say pussy without..." "Corporal! four hundred pushups, now!" The Major snapped, glaring at Smash. Smash grumbled and got to work on his pushups. Brimstone opened up a single beam COM with Smash and snickered "I'm just that good Smash" He said closing the link and looking back at the major.
"The Loyalists landed here and here" He said marking two places on the map "But the Grav Lifts are only on when they are transporting troops, so that will be a hard task" The major stated calmly. Brimstone just walked up to the map and noticed something big that could help them "There not using that clearing for what I think they are, are they?" Brimstone asked, the smile on his face could practically be heard through everything else going on. The Major looked at the map confused "Yes they are son, but why do you need there air... You have a plan don't you" The Major said smiling. "Brimstone just snickered "I have a plan to do just a little bit more than get off this planet sir, I'm going to take out that other ship as well" He said taking a step away from the table "And we have exactly what we need to do it" He said looking at Click.
(Oh my sorry about the horrible ending it was just getting so long and I didn't want to give too much away so I had to end it here.... Sorry peeps!)