//------------------------------// // Two. Twenty-Three: It Shouldn't End this Way // Story: Sins Never Die // by CodenameOne //------------------------------// Two. Twenty-Three It Shouldn’t End this Way “My Wing-Kin await your command, my Lord. Like a wall, we stand, poised to strike at the human-dominated city of Manehattan, and their Griffon compatriots. Their fear will be as tangible as our steel and fire” Aldurmaax boasted over the radio to the Zealous Faith, as it lied in wait behind the mountain range next to the occupied Equestrian city. “Fight strongly, and never relent” N’por ‘Tuma replied, leaning back in the command chair. It was a new day, and the Zealous Faith had seen her repairs. Now they were ready to attack once again, this time inserting themselves deep in the heart of Equestrian territory. This was to be it, this would be where they saw the true power of the Covenant Empire. The Griffons had already seen some of N’por’s glassing, and the Princesses had seen a demonstration, but they had not seen the full might. They would see from their doorstep the blinding glow of plasma, feel in their being’s the heat from the glass that once marked stone and masonry. “It will be as you wish, my lord.” Aldurmaax was a useful idiot, but his Dragons were strong. Powerful. N’por was impressed, but he still had a holy duty to integrate them into the Covenant. He had every intention of glassing all of the planet and dragging the worthy back to High Charity. N’por would admit only to himself that he believed the Div were equal to the Sangheili, and that they were not a lesser race like the rest of the Covenant’s species. Though I may not have to force them to join. It is likely Aldurmaax would gladly lend over control of the Div when we win this war, if my knowledge of the Dragon Code is correct. “We are ready, Aldurmaax. Launch the attack” N’por commanded, as the Faith’s engines came to life and they began to edge around the rim of the mountain range, the expansive metropolis coming into view. Adam Kuyaki leveled his M6D sidearm, standing on the line. He regulated his breathing, keeping the sights level. The polymer frame grew warm in his grip, and his palm started to sweat. Left eye squinted to focus the sights the Captain pressed the pad of his finger to the trigger, and squeezed. BAM! PING! “Haha! Perfect score! Got all 7 shots in the center ring” Adam remarked, dropping the empty magazine from the pistol and clicking a fresh one home, sending the slide into battery with the slingshot maneuver; pulling on the slide to release the catch. He had come down to the Kabato’s shooting range to refresh his marksmanship fundamentals, like the UNSC service code dictated naval soldiers do twice a month. He only had to qualify with the issued sidearm, as that’s all officers needed generally, but he always practiced with every small arm in the ship’s armory; MA5B, MA5K, BR-55, M90 CAWS, M7 SMG, SRS99C-S2 AMB, and the M6D. For history’s sake Adam would also shoot his relic firearms from his personal collection, an array of firearms from throughout humanity’s history that he had spent a great deal of credits collecting. The pride of his collection being a Charleville 1766 musket, his particular model having been made in 1774; one year before the American Revolution. He found the old-world weapons kept his perspective. “You shot well, Captain” Excalibur declared, appearing on the nearby plinth. The AI stood with his usual avatar; Knights of the Round armor with no helmet, his face modeled after the legendary King Arthur himself, though Adam understood much of Arthur’s legend was literary invention and folklore. “Thank you, Excalibur” Captain Kuyaki responded. It had been a harrowing few days since the battle with the Covenant ship; the beating they had given the Kabato only exacerbated by the in-atmosphere Slipspace explosion that nearly rended the Destroyer apart. Repairs had been administered by the Griffons, with nearly an entire supplemental layer being applied. The Covenant cruiser had not been seen nor heard from since then, though Kuyaki and Chancellor Steelbeak believed it to be hiding away in the Dragon heartland. “Patrols are returning soon, sir. We will know of any news of the Covenant cruiser and the separatist Dragons when that time comes” the AI declared. Adam began to police his empty weapons, returning them to the armorer for cleaning and storage. The Captain cleaned his own M6D before returning it to his holster, leaving the armory promptly thereafter. “Very good, Excalibur. When they return redeploy the unmanned drones to continue the search. Get us on a course to Canterlot, and send word ahead to the Princesses” Captain Kuyaki instructed. “Done, sir.” “What is our armament status?” Adam asked as he reached the elevator, punching the button for the bridge. The doors slid closed and the car began to ascend. “Limited. 96,000 rounds remaining for the defense cannons, 15 Archer pods, 17 MAC rounds, two Hyperion missiles, and three of the ‘wildcards’, sir” the AI explained over the Captain’s personal speaker. “Thank you, Excal.” The elevator arrived on the bridge and Captain Kuyaki stepped out, the officers snapping crisp salutes as he passed towards the command chair. Strapping himself in Adam looked out over the Equestrian sky, the afternoon sun blazing over the earth, casting long shadows. It would be night soon. The Kabato hovered near the mountain range behind Manehattan, which was located below Canterlot Mountain. As he looked out the viewport Kuyaki saw the Longswords screaming across the sky, coming for the Kabato’s hangars. They looked like they were in a hurry. “Reports are coming in, sir. They will be on your datapad” Excalibur announced. Adam grabbed the device and, sure enough, the notifications were there. A quick tap had Excal producing a cup of coffee, and the Captain tapped the screen to read the first report. “ALERT! Immediate contact, high tonnage!” Excalibur shouted. Adam looked up as the Kabato rounded the mountain range, the Covenant cruiser hovering over Manehattan, horizontally level with Canterlot, though the Royal City lied on the otherside of the mountain. A dark red glow gathered on the underside of the alien ship, discharging. “NO!” Afternoon sky turned to smoke and blood-red fire as the aftershock from the high-impact plasma washed over the Kabato; liquid fire soaked the metropolis, turning the bustling city into a raging hellhole within seconds. Any building not immediately vaporized was crushed or buckled by the immense blast pressure. “FIRE THE MACS!” Kuyaki barked immediately, wanting to catch the cruiser with the shields down. Excalibur loaded the MAC cannons and put in a targeting solution, cannon one firing and spearing the enemy cruiser through the midsection. Cannon two was about to fire when the Dragon High Lord landed on the prow of the Kabato, unleashing fire on the barrel of the magnetic cannon, completely melting a good two yards of the bore, rendering MAC 2 worthless. Not this shit again. “Now damn it, I want that Dragon DEAD! Keep the point-defense cannons on him and do NOT relent!” Adam commanded. The Dragon took off as the Kabato’s auto-cannons fired on him, driving him away. The Covenant cruiser began to turn at the arrival of the human vessel. “YOU WILL KNOW NAUGHT BUT FEAR AND FAILURE THIS DAY, HUMANS!” Aldurmaax bellowed in his dragon tongue. He banked through the dark-red sky as the Covenant ship finished its turn, discharging its plasma turrets at the Kabato. Shifting to the side to avoid the bolts the destroyer was beset upon by several Covenant-aligned Dragons, forcing Excalibur to aim the defense cannons at multiple targets. “Excal, sync the MAC cannon to the Covenant ship’s firing, and launch one Archer pod per MAC fired. Arm one Hyperion, and distribute the cannons evenly among the number of Dragons to maximize ammo usage” Captain Kuyaki commanded. Cannons thundering like drums they arced fire into the sky, felling several Dragons. The Covenant ship warmed its plasma guns again, the Kabato fired. The MAC round lanced along the top hull of the Covenant vessel, going on to smash through the mountain and rain rocks upon the streets of Canterlot on the other side. The first of the remaining Archer pods was dumped on the enemy ship, scoring many hits along the mirror-smooth hull. “Shit! We’ve got to be more precise with our targeting. Excalibur, turn the ship 40 degrees to the right; ensure the Covvie ship follows in turn, and adjust systems to target more vital locations.” As the Kabato turned Adam got on the radio and called out to Chancellor Steelbeak, who had already heard about the attack on Manehattan from surviving soldiers in the city. “Captain! I have already deployed some of my forces to counter-attack the Covenant campaign!” the Griffon leader exclaimed. “Don’t bother, there’s no ground campaign. The Covenant have glassed almost all of Manehattan. I want airships to help contend with these Dragons currently assaulting us” the Captain responded. “As you wish, sire!” The Covenant ship charged its weapons and fired again, the plasma bolts scoring the hull of the Kabato. Simultaneously the MAC gun discharged, the slug boring through the dead center of the alien ship’s prow. The Covenant ship turned and drifted forward, forcing the Kabato to follow in suit, the human ship now facing East. The setting sun blazed behind the Covenant ship, partially obscuring it from vision. As the Kabato finished its rotation Aldurmaax rocketed over the bridge, light glittering off his fiery-orange armor. As this happened, the Griffon skyboats arrived on the scene. Immediately several dragons broke off to engage the Griffons, who opened fire in earnest. With the sun at the Covenant ship’s back Kuyaki ordered the Kabato to lower, presenting the wide underside of the enemy cruiser. The Covenant guns charged, and the Kabato’s remaining MAC gun fired. It was a trick. Immediately the enemy guns stopped charging, and the MAC round lanced off the shields as they came back. Careening off wildly the massive slug smashed through a Griffon airship and felled the aircraft. “Ah damn it!” Bounding back the Covenant weapons charged and fired, the plasma projector on the underside lancing the port side of the Kabato, shearing off a large plate of her hull. Hitting the emergency thrusters the human destroyer jumped to the side, out of the path of the laser, and fired the Hyperion. The large missile streaked into the sky and turned toward the Covenant ship. Like clockwork Aldurmaax took off after the enormous nuke, howling in rage and ancient Dragon tongue as he went. Several point defense cannons tracked him, firing all the way. The High Lord was beset upon by Griffon warships as well, the sluggish creations giving the Dragon a moment of pause. Suddenly, sky turned to black, and Captain Kuyaki leaned back reflexively. A hole of pitch opened, burning blue at the edges. The Covenant had opened another Slipspace portal in atmosphere. Three of the Griffon ships were sucked in, and the Hyperion flew right into the void, Aldurmaax banking away and attacking the remaining Griffon skyships. “Good lord! Excal, arm our remaining HAVOK nukes and reload the MAC. Sync four Archer pods per MAC fired. Put us on a course to the left side of the Covenant ship, and disperse our HAVOKS as we approach” Adam commanded, the Kabato moving as he commanded. The Slipspace portal collapsed and the Covenant cruiser came back into view, turning as it too regained view of its enemy. The Kabato glided alongside the port side of the enemy cruiser and the HAVOK mines discharged, soaring towards the Covvie ship. The Kabato roared ahead away from the warheads and turned around. In addition to the rest of the Kabato’s “unorthodox” arsenal like provisions for fighters and Hyperion missiles, the HAVOK mines provided to her were just as special. The HAVOK nuclear missile usually came in two variants; standard and Variant V, meant for use in the vacuum of space. The Kabato was armed with Variant X of the HAVOK mines, which were mounted to remote drone for direct control, or could be allowed to float in atmosphere. The Covenant cruiser had turned around to face the Kabato when Excalibur detonated HAVOK 1, illuminating the blood-red sky in a flash of white, thermonuclear heat slamming the shields of the Covenant ship. HAVOK 2 detonated a second later, shattering the energy shield and sapping her energy supply. With the ship open for attack the MAC discharged, bringing Archer pods in its wake. The ordinance hammered the hull, leaving purple fires in some places as Covenant fuel ignited. “Excal, arm a Wildcard; put it right in the bell of that beast and put her down for good!” Kuyaki ordered, leaning back in his seat. He had the Covenant ship right where he wanted it, and would see this fight finished before the day was over. Then, he could report to ONI and-- The Covenant ship was accelerating. It was rocketing straight for the Kabato. “EMERGENCY THRUSTERS! PORT SIDE!” Adam barked, the destroyer jumping to the right as the enemy cruiser screamed across the afternoon sky. The jump wasn’t enough, and the absolute edge of the bulbous midsection of the cruiser grazed the Kabato, knocking her to the left. As the Covenant ship finished passing, the nose of the Kabato smashed into the end of the midsection, crushing MAC number 2. Finishing a 180 degree spin the human ship was left facing the way she’d come, jet wash from the Covenant cruiser’s thrusters singeing and melting parts of her hull. “Coolant failing. All primary weapons offline. Hull integrity as 28%. Warning! We are in danger of losing the ship” Excalibur declared. The Covenant vessel began to turn, her lateral lines glowing brilliant red. “Evasive maneuvers! Get us out of here and back to Griffon territory. Establish radio connection with Steelbeak and tell him we need his air forces to buy some extra time!” Kuyaki rattled off, as the Kabato turned away, limping. Excalibur pushed the engines to the safest limit that wouldn’t rend the ship apart as she left the battle area. Friendly Dragons arrived at the scene, presumably at Steelbeak’s request, as what airships that hadn’t been felled by Aldurmaax opened fire on the Covenant cruiser. Speaking of which. Surveying the rear camera Adam saw the Dragon in amber clad soar over the mountain and land on a perch in Canterlot, the royal city lightly damaged by falling rock. The Covenant ship trailed in his wake, coming to a stop over the Equestrian capital, blanketing it in a dark shadow. At the base of Canterlot Mountain a blinding red glow marred the spot where Manehattan once stood, casting a hellish glow in the shadow of the Covenant cruiser. The vivid red reflected perfectly off the pearly white marble of Canterlot, the shimmer of heat permeating the air around Canterlot as the vapor wash of the plasma rose over it.