Chapter Sixteen: Control For The Tides
Chapter 16
Few hours to current events
The rest of the Equestrian forces carrying vehicles finally arrived. Hours of into the fighting and the downtown of the Griffin Capital was being targeted by artillery. The many streets and buildings were destroyed or heavily damaged. The Equestrians were able to take the first part of the streets quite easily due to the first attacks were orbital strikes. Twilight ran down an alley way where the corner of a building was missing from an explosion. She met up with three other Guards. She leaned against the wall and peaked around the corner. She flinched back when two bullets barely missed her. One of the Guards was concerned.
“Are you alright your Highness?”
“Y-yes… I’m fine.” She knew that was a lie. She was nearly killed again like in her previous battle. Looking across the street was a turned over truck with Lunar Guards firing at a building. “Okay-” said Twilight as she turned to the two guards. “-the Lunar Guards are distracting the Griffins inside. We’ll break in this building here and attack them through the window.” The Guard nodded and passed on the orders to the other one. The Two rushed over to the door and took position. Twilight stood behind one of the Guards. One of the Guards kicked the door open while the other one threw a flash bang. After the grenade went off, the three entered the building.
“No don’t hurt us!” The three stopped at the voice of a female. Twilight exited the room she was in, which was a storage room and entered the hallway. She stopped at the sight of many Griffin civilians. All of them were holding each other fearing the worst. Twilight looked around for a moment before speaking.
“Fuck.”
Three hours before current events
Celestia was walking back from her previous engagement to oversee the preparation of the mobile base. She and Jason entered a trailer box that was acting as the base. The computers were set up and distance radios were up and running. After looking around Jason turned to Celestia.
“Looks like you’re all set up.” Celestia nodded and replied to the Spartan.
“Yes we are. We have taken the first ten or fifteen blocks. We still have much land to conquer before we reach the castle.”
“I already have the Carrier bombarding the other side of the city. No escape for the king.” A Guard entered the base. He bowed quickly and alerted the Princess about something. She nodded. Jason then took a few steps closer to the princess asked. “Got some news?”
“Yes. Twilight and a few other Guard assault teams have found civilians still in downtown.”
“I thought your Intel has confirmed no civilians within the warzone Celestia.” The Princess was annoyed by his tone of voice. She took a moment to calm down before speaking again.
“I’m aware of that Spartan. Unfortunately we were wrong.”
“So what’s next?”
“We are evacuating the civilians to this side. This way we can remove them from danger.”
“Just hope none of the civilians are spies.”
Couple hours after finding the civilians, Twilight has also managed to gather a number of Guards staggered around the city. Twilight has been out of combat a few blocks back, which worried Twilight. Three Guards entered the next building that was a hospital. Immediately the first room was occupied with more civilians. Twilight then entered the building when one of the Guards called the Princess.
“Damn.” She then turned to a Guard. “Corporal?”
“Yes your highness.”
“How are the other rescue groups dealing with the civilian situation?”
“Still evacuating. Reports do show a decrease of civilian sightings.”
“Okay. Search the rest of the hospital. I’ll call in another group to help. This might be the largest group we have encountered.” Moments later the Princess exited to the main lobby and stared down a large window and spotted many Griffins rushing towards them.
One hour later
The Breaking Habit was still orbiting the planet and periodically providing orbital cover. All five UNSC ships were above the Griffin Capital. Alex has received orders to report to the pod bay for drop. He was in a room with about forty other ODSTs. Alex received news that Twilight was trapped in a hospital with all of her support cut off by the Griffins. The situation has become worse when the Griffins have fire upon their own people. The Equestrians were now deep enough into the city for UNSC ground support. What better way to introduce ground support than the soldiers trained to hit the ground hard and sprint into combat? Andrews walked into the room holding his helmet.
“Alright troopers! As you know we are in orbit in an unknown sector. We have little to no Intel on this planet. As you have been informed, this planet is inhabited by Humans. The thing about this planet is that the Humans here seems to be centuries behind us in technology. Here we have images of the Humans we’ll be fighting with.” Images of the Equestrian Guards in armor. The next sets of armored people were the Griffins. “I’ll have Alex here explain on the details of this mission. As you know he’ll be leading the first strike when we drop.” Andrews nodded at Alex. He nodded back and walked up to the center of the room.
“Okay.” Alex pulled up a map of the hospital and its surrounding area where Twilight was trapped. “We are dropping at this location. The Equestrians are trapped inside with Griffins closing in. We take the position and push them back. Hard! We will not have any way of evac or areal support until the area is secured and Command is green. We get one shot. Let’s show these bastard who they are fucking with.” After a few minutes of explanation the rest of the battle plan, the ODSTs walked over to their pods. Alex’s pod opened exposing the single seat. He placed both weapons on holders and he sat in his pod. When he entered the vehicle, the doors closed and the pod began to move into position. As it moved over the hanger doors, the screens on the door activated. Captain Moss was on the left and Andrews was on the right. Captain Moss began speaking.
“Troopers. You have the green light from Home Defense Fleet to engage on this planet’s war. The faster the better. Not only will we return home, but we’ll also have another branch in the UNSC Colony. Andrews will report to me while Sergeant Garcia leads the first assault to secure the Equestrians side.” Captain Moss logged off while Andrews took over.
“You heard the Captain. Garcia what other Intel can you give us.”
“Pretty much all the Intel I gave you. The Equestrians’ or any armor on this planet is out dated. Our weapons should have no problem getting pass the armor. Standard combat drop. Hit hard and take down the Griffins. Save the Equestrians inside the building and the civilians.” The light inside the pod turned red followed by a beeping sound before the latched releasing the pods. Alex’s pod was the first to be dropped followed by multiple other pods. The ODST looked around his pod for a moment before grabbing onto the handles. A few moments after drop, the pods entered the atmosphere and began to heat up from the lower part.
After a few minutes from entering; the chutes released slowing down the pods. After slowing down to a certain speed the latched holding onto the pods and chutes release sending the pods into a free fall. Inside his pod, Alex looked at one of the screens on the door. He noticed a meter measuring the distance before hitting the ground. The ODST grabbed his rifle and placed it on his back. He then held onto his SMG as he prepped for impact. Not long after the drop-pods finally hit the ground. The pods beeped allowing the ODSTs to hop out and engage in combat.
The battle only took less than an hour before the Griffins were driven away from the hospital. Twilight walked out of the building with Rainbow Dash close behind. She pushed Alex without knowing it was him. Three ODSTs raised their rifles but, Alex signaled not to shoot.
“What the hell was that?! First the UNSC says no ground support then you just show up out of nowhere!” Alex let out a chuckle and removed his helmet before speaking to Twilight.
“Well damn Twilight. If I knew you were going to be pissed, I would have just stayed up in orbit.”
“A-Alex?”
“Who else.” The Princess rushed and locked the ODST in a hug.” The face of the ODST flushed red as he looked down. When his attention moved up, he noticed some ODSTs leaning towards one another whispering something. All of his years in the military, he knew exactly what they were saying. “O-okay Twilight. I get it you missed me.” She looked up and said to him.
“Didn’t you?”
“I’d be lying if I said no.” She smiled back at his answer. “Uh…moving on. This area is secured. Let’s get these civilians out of the warzone.”
The ODSTs and most of the Guards gathered the civilians and helped the injured. Luna was unfortunately pushed back and was going to rally point with Twilight at central command. The civilians were at first scared of the ODSTs upon hearing about Alex’s involvement. Soon the many Helljumpers showed care of getting them to safety. Twilight left a few guards at the building to keep it in Equestrian control. The march was about nearly three hours to return to command. Upon entering, the Guards of all factions were already used to seeing one ODST but seeing many of them had given them hope. Celestia, Luna, and the Spartan exited the trailer. Jason was actually surprised.
“What the fuck?” The Spartan walked up to the ODSTs, Guards, and civilians. He then approached the leading ODST. “Report.” Andrews nodded and began speaking.
“ODST Lieutenant Andrews of the 505th battalion.”
“Lieutenant Serra-254. But I’m pretty sure you knew that already.”
“I did. Good thing the Sergeant filled me in.”
“Sergeant?”
“Yes.” Andrews turned back. “Garcia.” Alex walked up to the two.
“Spartan.”
“Garcia? Weren’t you arrested?”
“I was. And no I’m not mad.” Andrew interrupted the two.
“Okay we get it. Spartan.” Jason looked away from Alex and turned to Andrews. “Captain Moss has more Intel.” Celestia walked up to them after enjoying the sight of the other ODSTs.
“Spartan what is going on?” Alex spoke to her since she clearly did not recognize him due to having his helmet on. At the same time Jason left the two to contact the Captain.
“Hello Celestia.” She stopped in surprise.
“A-Alex?”
“Yes.”
“I-I thought you were-”
“Locked up. I know. Lord Hood pardoned me.” She let out a smile before speaking to Alex.
“I’m glad you are here with your um…”
“Let me guess. Not used to seeing more than one ODST.”
“Well… yes. That’s true. It’s just Lord Hood was specific about not supplying ground forces.”
“I don’t know anything about that but, I’m here.” The Spartan waked up to Celestia and Alex and got their attention.
“Catching up you two?” Celestia and Alex turned to the Spartan. “I’ve got more news Celestia.” The Princess raised a brow before replying to the Spartan.
“What is it?”
“The ODSTs aren’t the only support we are getting.” The Spartan made a head movement indicting to look up. When they turned, they noticed multiple Pelicans descending towards them. Some carried Warthogs and others were carrying Scorpions. There was one vehicle being carried by two Pelicans at once. Celestia was unfamiliar with the vehicle but, Alex knew exactly what it was. Beside those Pelicans were two more Carrying two Cyclops each (Halo Wars 2 style). The two Pelicans lowered the vehicle and released the vehicle onto the ground. Alex walked over to the Spartan.
“Sir? What’s with the Kodiak?”
“Captain Moss wants you to escort the Kodiak to the top of a hill a few blocks down. The top has a clear view of the Castle. Being at the top of the mountain we can bombard the castle.”
As Alex and Jason discussed the debriefing, Celestia realized the many UNSC Marines rushing out of the Pelicans and taking formation. Other soldiers began setting up their own command center. She compared the armor being worn by the Spartan and the ODST to the Marines. As expected the armor was different on the level of the soldiers. The Marines wore armor protecting the torso and shoulders. Armor also protected the lower legs and thighs. Each Marine also wore the standard helmet with ballistic shades. Alex and Jason on the other hand wore armor covering their entire bodies aside the Spartan that was equip with more superior armament including energy shields. The amount of Marines in the area was worrying her again. She did not want her guards to worry either. Luna on the other hand walked over to Jason and asked him.
“Jason?”
“Yes Luna?”
“What’s with all these troops?”
“UNSC has supplied us with Marines and vehicles to help us here. Did you not ask for help?”
“Yes but, I did not expected this level of help.”
“Well that’s why we are here?” Celestia decided to add onto the conversation but was stopped when a Guard caught her attention. After receiving news, she intervene the conversation.”
“Sister!”
“Yes.”
“Cadence is deep in the city. Her passage to advance was stopped by a makeshift wall. The Guard says it is heavily protected and Cadence does not have the fire power to break through.”
“That sounds bad.”
“It’s worse. Her exit is cut off. She is surrounded.” Jason over heard the conversation and called the Carrier.
“Breaking Habit. This is Spartan-254.” A female crewmember answered the call.”
“UNSC Breaking Habit. We hear you Lieutenant.”
“Can you locate a wall with in the city that is not the castle?”
“I’ll do what I can.” The woman scanned the area and found a few makeshift walls until she spotted a group of Guards surrounded. “I’ve seem to locate a skirmish near a wall.”
“What’s on the other side of the wall?”
“The hill Captain Moss wants the Kodiak to be positioned in.”
“Good. Thank you.” Jason then turned to Celestia. “Celestia?” The Princess lifted her hand in front of her sister letting her know to give her a moment.
“Yes Spartan.”
“The street Cadence is in happens to be the road to my objective. We’ll break through that wall. That way you can have you troops concentrate on taking the city.”
“A-are you sure?”
“Yes. We can handle this.”
“Okay.There is a weapons factory not far from there either.”
“One thing at a time. Let us save your niece. .” Jason walked away from the two. “Sergeant!”
“Yes.”
“We have a situation.”
“Oh.”
“Princess Cadence it surrounded by the Griffins. Plus it also leads to our objective.”
“Shit. So you want me to get there.”
“Oh yeah. I want you on a Cyclops and escort our toy there. Take out any resistance and try not to break it.”
“You want to drive that thing? It’s been years since I ran a simulation!”
“You’re an ODST. You’ll figure it out.” The Spartan stepped away from the ODST. Alex sighed before he was approached by two Marines.
“Sir?” Alex looked behind him to respond to one of the Marines.
“Yes.”
“The Cyclops is ready for you.” Alex looked past the Marine. He inspected the mech thinking how long it has been since he was inside one.
“Uh… thanks.” The ODST walked pass the Marines making way towards the mech. Alex then opened the front of the mech exposing the interior. The ODST then climbed inside the vehicle and closed the front. The HUD on the vehicle activated as soon as it closed. He ran a quick start-up diagnosis as he began to get familiar with the controls. It took him about five minutes to remember how to somewhat control the vehicle.
It took about twenty minutes to gather to Marines. Two were to operate the Kodiak and drive it down the path. Three other Marines along with Alex were to escort the vehicle with the Cyclops. Around the vehicles are about ten other Marines to provide ground fire. Twilight and twenty other Guards also decided to join in the attack. Luna, Celestia, and Jason were to join them about an hour after they left. Alex contacted Twilight through the radio.
“Hey Twilight.”
“Yes Alex.”
“Try to be careful. These Marines have orders to help. Try to keep up. The UNSC might be a little fast for you.”
“Don’t worry about me Alex. I’ve got this.” Alex then opened his open channel to the rest of the group.
“Alright. Let’s get moving. Princess Cadence is in dire need of help and the Griffins will not make it easy for us to reach her.” The Group began to leave the base. The Guards only stared at Cyclops walking by them with the Kodiak close behind them. Inside the Cyclops, Alex looked around the street. The paved roads had craters and vehicles were on fire from the firefight that took place before he arrived. A small group of Guards and civilians ran past the group away from the warzone. One more the scenery felt familiar to the ODST.
Some time later
A Cyclops rushed forward as it readied his right arm turret and aimed at Griffins behind a turned over car. The mech fired at the car and then tackled the vehicle killing the Griffins behind the car. The Marines and Guards then engaged the battle to break through defenses. Just over an hour of travel and the group has met many resistances from the Griffins. Twilight was able to hear additional gun fire coming in the front. At that she figured they reached Cadence. Twilight decided to radio Cadence.
“This is Princess Twilight calling Princess Cadence. Do you read?” The return call came quickly. She heard Cadence’s voice with the sound of battle coming from the background.
“T-Twilight! I-Is that you?!”
“Yes. Cadence are you okay?!”
“Not for long! We have nearly lost all of our troops. We need he-ahhh!”
“Cadence? Cadence!” She looked in front of her. She did not know what to do if she lost her. Not thinking clearly she shouted an order. “Guards! To battle! We need to save Cadence!” Alex heard her call. He used it Cyclops mic.
“What?! Twilight wait?!” His call for Twilight failed. “Shit! Cyclops units. Move forward and assist. Protect the Princesses and take out that wall. Ground forces proceed on the escort. Meet us once the threat is over.” He heard his fellow units acknowledge his order and rushed forward. Alex led the charge to save Cadence and Twilight.
Cadence rolled between two cars for cover as she grabbed onto her right shoulder. She looked at her hand and found blood. She then observed her surroundings. The Guards were desperately trying to survive the attack. With her remaining strength she tried to get up. Unexpectedly the Griffins behind her were attack by two Cyclops. She only stared at the mechs attacking the Griffins. As the battle on the ground continued, the Griffins on the wall changed their attention to Cyclops.
A Griffin Knight ran down the makeshift ramp to grab a rocket launcher. The Knight then ran up the ramp once more and aimed at one of the Cyclops. His aim was true and hit his target. Unfortunately his attack did minor damage to the mech. The Cyclops readjusted his aim and hit the Griffin. The other mech then rushed at the wall and charged at it. The wall then shook violently and the stability began to shatter. The second mech did the same thing. The second collision finally caused the wall to collapse. The Griffins on top fell while the rest of the Griffins that were on the ground began to fall back. Twilight and her Guards joined the battle while the medics aided the remaining Guards. After pushing the Griffins back, Twilight ran to Cadence. She found her rest against a car.
“Cadence!” Cadence smile and said with a strained voice.
“H-hey Twilight.”
“Are you okay?!”
“I’m fine. Griffin did hit me.” Twilight crouched down and moved Cadence’s hand to look at the injury. She noticed that Cadence was hit twice on the shoulder and was losing blood quickly.
“I’m sorry for being late.”
“It’s okay Twilight. I’m more worried about that.” Twilight turned around.
“Oh yeah. The uh… that’s UNSC.”
“UNSC? But I thought-”
“We did too. But Alex is here to help so.”
“Wait-wait-wait. Alex? As in your boyfriend?”
“Yes.” Twilight quickly realized Cadence’s trick and tried to correct herself. “I mean no!” Cadence let out a laugh but stopped when she shifted to hard and ended up hurting herself.
“OW!”
“Serves you right!” A Cyclops positioned in front of the two and the front opened. An ODST exited the vehicle.
“Ladies.” Cadence recognized the voice.
“Well hello Sergeant. Good of you to join us.”
“Glad to be back.” Alex then turned to Twilight.
“How is she?”
“She’s bleeding quite a bit Alex. It’s going to take some time to get her to command.” The stepped closer to Alex and said to him nearly crying. “She’s actually losing a lot of blood. I don’t think she’ll make it.”
“That’s not good.” Alex placed his hand on the left side of his helmet. “This is Sergeant Garcia requesting an evac. Princess Cadence and a few Guards are injured and need medical attention fast. Any Pelicans available?” There was a brief moment of silence before a female pilot answered.
“This is Omega-828. There’s some enemy air control but I can make a stop.”
“We’ll cover you when you’re at our position.”
“Roger that. Be there in five.”
“Roger that.” Alex turned to Twilight. “Pelican is on its way. We should get them ready.” Alex grabbed his biofoam from his life-pack. “This will keep her stable unti- ” Alex was cut off by a bullet hitting the can. A rifleman in a chopper missed Alex. The chopper then turned and used its main gun. The men took cover as the Marines and Cyclops fired at the Griffin vehicle. Six more choppers showed up. “Protect the Kodiak!” The Marines and Cyclops formed a perimeter around the Kodiak. Alex and the Guards aimed at the glass of the cockpit. The mechs were able to take down a few choppers down. Not long missiles flew over the UNSC and Guard troops taking out the remaining choppers. The Pelican hovered over the soldiers and gave areal support. The UNSC comms went off coming from the Pelican.
“Your evac has arrived! Whoo!” Twilight sighed in relief. The Pelican landed on the ground and the troop-bay doors open. Two medic troopers exited the Pelican to help the Guards. One medic immediately approached Cadence with a can of biofoam. In a few minutes the injured guards and Cadence were on the drop-ship, while two uninjured Guards stayed with Twilight. Alex radio the Pelican.
“The Guards and Princess are in. You’re clear Omega.”
“Roger that. I’ll drop them off command. We have other orders to assist on evac.”
“We have more injured?”
“UNSC has minor numbers. Injured Guards not as expected. We do have more civilians to evacuate.”
“Roger that. Fly safe airman.”
“Fight hard Helljumper.”
One hour later
Two Marines took cover behind a wall and fired their weapons as the last remaining Griffins were driven off the hill. Two of the Cyclops has suffered damages of the enemy and were left behind to be picked up by Pelicans. UNSC did not want any tech to be left behind. Unfortunately it took a lot of fire power from the Griffins side to do so. The Kodiak suffered minor damage but nothing too severe. The vehicle took position on the top of the hill and the outriggers expanded and stabled itself. Alex walked next to the Kodiak and climbed on the top. He opened the hatched where the two Marines were sitting.
“Alright troopers. Fire at will. Make sure the king does not escape. The Carrier has the back side covered we have the front.” One of the Marines answered Alex.
“Understood sir.” Alex closed the hatch and hopped off the Kodiak and looked down to the other side of the city. He used his helmet scope to scan the area. “Ah fuck.”He contacted command on his discovery.
“Sergeant Garcia calling UNSC command base.” Spartan-254 immediately answered.
“Good to hear from you Sergeant. What’s your sit-rep?”
“Kodiak is in position. But I see a problem?”
“That is?”
“There is a river that divides the city. It’s heavily protected by makeshift walls, light and heavy armored vehicles and infantry.”
“That’s too bad.”
“S-sir?”
“Leave the troops in that position. I’m sending your next coordinates. You’ll meet with your squad there. Time for you to go behind enemy lines.” Spartan-254, Luna and Celestia have just finish taking down the last defenses of a factory. Equestrian Intel said there were weapons and ammunitions inside. Celestia and Luna ordered their Guards to stay outside and protect the entrance. Jason opened the door and entered the factory with is guard up quickly searching the area for hostiles. Nothing in sight and his motion tracker only showed his position in motion “Clear!” Luna and Celestia entered the after the search. Luna looked around the room not feeling comfortable. She walked close to the Spartan.
“Um… Jason?”
“Yes Moonbutt.”
“Is it me or is it too qui- did you just call me moonbutt?”
“Yes, and if you were asking what I think you were asking, yes it is too quite.”
“I’m going to take the catwalks. Better shot with the sniper you loaned me.” As Luna ran for the stairs, her sister heard a noise coming from behind a door. Jason on the other hand entered a room thinking he can find a manifest of the weapons. Celestia leaned against the door for a moment before opening it. Celestia slowly entered the room but was stopped by a large hand. She was then thrown across the room. In the other room Jason crouched down to read a few papers. He saw a red dot on his motion tracker.
“Got you now little man.”
“Little?”
“Stand up!” Jason looked back at the Griffin who was taller than the ordinary Griffin. Jason stood up but still towered over him. The Griffin was shocked at the height of the Spartan. Panicking the Griffin swung at the Spartan. Jason pulled the arm as the Griffin threw his punch and knee kicked the side of the ribs. The force of his attack broke his ribs and then was thrown to the wall. Jason left a dent in the helmet and then threw the body out of the room. The Spartan walked out the room to see Celestia fighting the same kind of Griffin. Celestia was struggling and was thrown to the ground. From above Luna fired the sniper rifle. The bullet blew the head of the Griffin right off. Jason walked over took a knee to Celestia to check for injuries.
“You okay?”
“I…I guess.”
“What are these guys?”
“Kull Griffins. They are bigger and their strength and height is incredible. Well actually falls short compare to you.” More Kulls entered the room running towards the two. Luna fired her rifle to keep them away. Jason stood and ran at the Kulls. The first Kull he kicked in the chest, he spun around and back swung another with his left hand. He punched another Kull and then spun kick in the head. The Spartan then jumped in the air and superman punched the last Kull. The Kull flew to a wall and collapse. The first Kull he kicked was getting up from his encounter with the Spartan. The Kull grabbed his sword and pulled it out of the sheath. Jason not wanting to deal with him grabbed his Energy Sword. The two charged at each other. The Energy Sword cut through the steel sword and the Griffin’s body like nothing. Jason and Celestia heard additional gun fire coming above them. Four other Kull Knights fell to the ground. Jason looked up the catwalk where Luna waved at him. Jason waved back and turned his attention to Celestia and helped her up.
“Thank you Lieutenant.”
“No problem.”
“I got a glimpsed in the other room. The factory is empty.”
“Must have emptied the factory either when we arrived or when we began the orbital strikes. Probably explains the soldiers and armor next to the river.”
“That’s not good.”
“We’ll retreat for now. Couple hours before night fall. Alex has a special mission. ”
Night fall has reached the land. Alex and his squad were inside a building near the river. He cautiously opened a curtain to observe the outside. Not long Andrews and Luna entered the room. Luna sat on a sofa as Andrews took the center of the room. Alex waved at Luna and she returned the gesture. He and her spoke to not use her powers when around UNSC.
“Troopers!” The ODSTs turned to their Lieutenant. “Alright.” Andrews dropped a device on the floor. A map of the Griffin Capital appeared in a form of a holo-map. “We have three Guard factions uh… Alex.”
“Oh. Uh. Lunar, Crystal, and Celestial.”
“Right. The three factions are marching towards the river to try to push ahead. Along with the failure of destroying a factory since it was empty .The Equestrians have found an airfield with captured Guards. Objective. Destroy the vehicles, ammo, and attempt to rescue. We along with Princess Luna’s forces are going to infiltrate behind the lines. Nothing out of line for an ODST.” One of the ODSTs commented something about Luna.
“Wait the pretty princess is joining us. Why. She’s better off staying behind sipping on tea!” Luna stood from her seat.
“Really… insulting me.” The ODST stood up and walked up to the princess.
“Yeah. Is that a problem?” She looked at Andrews. He took a deep breath.
“Come on Jackson lay off.”
“Why? She’s too pretty to be here.” Luna chuckle.
“One I will not be joining you. I’m just here for my Guards. Two, if I pick any UNSC soldier it’ll be the Spartan.” With the comment, the ODST took offense.
“What! The Spartan! Really!” At that Luna walked across the room, prepping to return to her previous mission.
“Yes.” She then turned to Andrew. “Are we ready?”
“Almost.” Andrews motioned his head at Alex. The Sergeant stood up and took the floor.
“Okay troopers. Our two squads are going to be integrated and be taking two routes. There is a sewer entrance across the river. Andrews will be in one team. I’ll take the other team.” Andrews formed his team while Alex and three ODSTs entered in another room. In the room Twilight, Midnight and another Lunar Guard were inside. “Twilight?”
“Hey Alex.”
“So I guess you’re with me.” Alex then turned to Midnight. “Oh hey Midnight.”
“Helljumper.”
“Alright. Well. Let’s gear up. This is going to be quite a night.” Alex walked to one end of the room and kicked a steel crate. The crate opened reveling weapons. Alex grabbed a Battle Rifle and a suppresser. He spun the suppresser onto the custom barrel and placed the rifle on the magnetic gun holder on his back. He then picked up the standard M7 suppressed SMG. Finally was the M6C/SOCOM pistol. His fellow ODSTs were equipping themselves as well. There was loud thumping sound approaching them. Alex turned around to find the Spartan in the room.
“It’s time Sergeant.”
“Understood.”
“Hold on. Here.” The Spartan had two devices. The ODST grabbed the first object. An active camouflage. The second object was an Energy Sword. Alex was hesitant on picking up the weapon. A weapon responsible for killing millions of his kind and killing his friends.”
“I’m not comfortable on taking this.”
“Don’t know how to use it.”
“No. It’s just… this thing killed so many of our kind.”
“I know. But you’ll need it. These Griffins don’t know how to go against this.” Alex slowly reached for the Energy Sword. “Good. Now get going. Once you are near the airfield, contact me.”
Within the hour the Equestrians have launched their attack to push ahead. In another position the UNSC Kodiak was firing in the front of the castle and the front line. With the Two sides engaging a firefight the two stealth teams began their mission. The teams walked up to the sewer entrance that was closed. One of the ODSTs walked in front of the seal. He grabbed four small orbs and threw it on the seal. The orbs heated up to a cherry red color and followed the circumference of the seal. The seal fell in the water along with the four orbs allowing a passage for the teams. Alex and Midnight took point and entered the sewer. Unlike the ODSTs, the Equestrians did not enjoy the unpleasant smell coming from the thick foul water. Alex activated his night vision so he can see his area. The two teams walked up a fork in the path. Andrews took the right path while Alex led his team to the left.
Meanwhile in orbit
The Crew in the Breaking Habit Carrier were monitoring the battle on the surface of Equis. Many crew members observed and recorded the battle tactics and fighting style of the natives. Many found it odd that the Guards and Knights were equip with swords even though they used firearms. Further observation showed the natives will alternate on using the firearms and swords depending on the combat situation. Against Covenant, the method would be useless. The UNSC also monitored the other cities where the other countries allied with the Equestrians were fighting.
One city was nearly under the E-ally control. Visuals on the other hand showed enemy forces marching towards the capital. Captain Moss wanted to keep little ground forces to engage in major battles but, he did not wanted to use anymore missiles. MAC rounds on the other hand he had plenty. He decided to use one round to cut off the path and avoid the potential of his troops to be attacked. A crewman stood from his seat and approached the captain.
“Sir?”
“Yes?”
“What do you want us to do after we attack?” The Captain Moss looked at the screen on the table. “Contact one of the Frigates. Maybe they can donate some troops down below.”
Back on the surface
Spartan-254 and Princess Luna were back at command after hours of ensure their side of the city was in their control. Luna instantly rushed inside the medical tent to check on Cadence after hearing she was injured. Celestia was sitting beside her niece who was sleeping when she noticed Luna entering the tent. Celestia stood up to meet the two. Luna instantly asked her sister.
“How is she?”
“She’s stable for now. She has a broken rib, broken collar bone, and broken leg. Plus a few bullet wounds. She would have bled to death if the Pelican did not transport her here in such speed.”
“Thank Faust. What about her remaining Guards?”
“Only seven returned.”
“Oh no!”
“The Griffins are not backing down.”
“It’s their home land, we already knew this was going to be difficult.” The two heard a beeping sound coming from Jason. The Spartan lifted his left hand to expand the motion taker’s radius on his HUD. His motion tracker detected large yellow spots nearing their position. Jason rushed outside of the tent being followed by Luna and Celestia. The three kept their attention in the south looking upwards. Now worried, Luna tapped on the chest plate.
“What is it Lieutenant?”
“I’m reading multiple movement.” A moment later multiple Pelican flew over the city. Four had Scorpion tanks on the back while fifteen others had Warthogs. Five others did not have any vehicles. Jason contacted the ship in orbit. “Spartan-254 calling the Breaking Habit.” Captain Moss immediately answered.
“This is Captain Moss. What is it Lieutenant?”
“What’s with the Pelicans going north?”
“We have the Griffin’s ally troops marching towards you. I have troops to intercept.”
“I have enough troops here to deal with them.”
“Negative. Concentrate on the city. Send Scorpions towards the river and support the Equestrians.”
Two hours later
The group has been traveling in the sewers for some time. A few Guards have vomited because of the foul stench in the water. Alex spotted his destination and grabbed onto a ladder and climbed up to a manhole cover. He attempted to push up but the cover was seized in its rim.
“Fucking hell!” Alex inspected the area around the manhole cover. “Damn rust.” Alex then grabbed the Energy Sword. The ODST only stared at the weapon. Images of him and his fellow soldiers being attacked by Elites with Energy Swords flashed in his mind. It took a minute for him to activate the weapon before he decided for it and turned it on. The Sword pierced the rim and he cut around the circumference of the cover. “Watch yourselves.” The Guards and ODSTs did so and backed away. When he finished the manhole cover fell. Twilight hid behind one of the Helljumpers in case of a splash. The splash did happen and hit the soldiers. One of the ODSTs shouted.
“What the fuck!” Alex let out a chuckle and shouted back.
“I warned you.” A thought then hit Alex when he realized he just made a hole. “Bring that manhole cover up.”
“Why?”
“We need to cover our tracks.” Alex exited the sewer and he searched the area. “Clear! Come on!” Two more ODSTs climbed up with their guard up. The last ODST and the Guards along with Twilight climbed up. “The building to the left! Go! I’ll weld the cover.” All except Alex and another ODST stayed in the middle of the street. “Okay. Jackson you got the cover?”
“Yeah.” The ODST used a magnetic handle to place over the hole. Alex grabbed a troch from Jackson’s life-pack. The ODST made quick welds around it. Jackson switch his view on his HUD he saw motion on his radar. “Shit! Sergeant!”
“I know. Go the welds are already holding I’ll finish. Go!” Jackson did so and left while Alex continued to mickey mouse the weld. The last thing he need was a knight to fall down the hole and raise the alarm. When he finished he knew it was too late. He activated his active camo and moved to the sidewalk. Many Griffin Knights were escorting tanks (similar to the Leclerc tanks) and other armored vehicles down the street. Alex walked over to the building where is team entered and closed the door. The other ODSTs and Guards stayed in cover. He walked over to Twilight. He deactivated his camo. “This is bad.” Twilight jumped in surprised.
“Ahh! What the hell Alex?!”
“Sorry.”
“We have a problem.”
“What is it.”
“Contact Princess Celestia. I’ll contact Captain Moss.”
Celestia and Luna were a few blocks behind the line of fire. The two just finished speaking with Twilight. The Griffins had more troops than accounted for. There were just not enough soldiers to take the field. Jason just finished his conversation with Captain Moss. Jason entered the room the Princesses were in.
“I can tell by the looks of your faces that you just heard the news.” Luna sighed and replied.
“Yes we did. We did not realize that the Griffins had more troops inside the Castle.”
“The Kodiak is blasting the front with a Pelican supplying it every other hour. The Griffins must have another entrance.”
“I actually believe that.”
“How so moonbutt?”
“Well we have the mountains. You’ve experience being inside the mountain yourself. I don’t see why the Griffins won’t have a secret route.”
“That’s what I’m worried about Luna. I don’t know if you heard but, we have Intel that other soldiers that were in route here were intercepted by the Pelicans.”
“Other soldiers?”
“Some of the other cities have fallen to your ally control.”
“How did that go?”
“They retreated and the Pelicans were successful in intercepting. They are position to intercept other stranglers.”
“Good. We can’t handle more Knights.”
“I have other news.”
Alex elbowed a Griffin on his side and then pulled the body over his shoulder. Once on the ground the Helljumper stomped on the head. The team took out a spotting group on a rooftop of the build outside the airfield. One of the ODSTs crouched down and approached the ledge. She grabbed her sniper rifle and she called Alex.
“Airfield in sight sir.”
“Good.” Alex contacted Andrews. “Hey Andrews where are you?”
“We are about a mile away from the airfield. It’s not looking good for the Equestrians.”
“What do you mean?”
“Did you see any vehicles moving towards the river?”
“Yeah. A whole army.”
“I don’t think the vehicles you saw have scratched the top of their arsenal.”
“Shit. Then what do we do now?”
“For now? We take the airfield and save those Guards. If it’s not looking good then we do something drastic.”
“Drastic?”
The Griffin Knights have begun their attack on the defensive line formed on the river by the Equestrians. The Equestrians started the attack with their tanks to break the wall. The UNSC supplied support with the few Pelicans to slow down the Griffin defense. The other Pelicans were assisting on removing injured troops from the battle. Many Guards were behind walls and vehicles hiding from the enemy bullets. The numbers were dropping on the Equestrians side. Celestia and Luna did not have another solution to counter this besides to retreat. Celestia’s only reaction was to run over to Jason.
“Spartan! What do we do?!” Jason was limited the number of Marines and ODST on the ground to help. If the fight was a lost then he’d be ordered to pull out of planet side.
“Not sure! The Carrier has not responded to any of my-” Jason was cut off at the sight of multiple missiles striking the tanks. Jason and Celestia looked back. Many Pelicans were descending to the street. Scorpions and Warthogs were behind dropped off with many Marines. Jason heard many UNSC troops on the radio. He even heard the cliché the ‘Calvary has arrived’ bit. He then heard Captain Moss calling him.
“Spartan-254 this is Captain Moss. Do you read me?”
“Yes. What’s going on?”
“The forces of the enemy have increase. I've sent in troops and vehicles to aid on the battle.”
“I thought we were limited on supplies?”
“I decide how many to deploy. I need you back on Earth when we are done. For now this is all you’re getting. Hit them hard and make them regret that they got their raggity ass army beaten by the corps!”
“Hoorah!”
The Griffin King looked out towards the river where the battle was happening. He further inspected the battle that was taking place; he realized that the UNSC was becoming more involved with the battle. His advisers were running around the room in panic. One of them ran to the king.
“My lord!” The king only started down to his once great city. He took a deep breath and said to his advisor.
“I don’t understand. How is it possible that the Equestrians were able to break through our defenses?
“I-I believe I know why.”
“Really?” The advisor grabbed his tablet and showed his king.
“Our satellites found this.” A recording of the UNSC Braking Habit flew by the satellite. Moments later two small red lights flew towards it. A snowy static screen appeared after it was hit. He was not sure what he just witnessed. He shook his head and spoke to his adviser.
“That’s their secret. Listen here. I want you to prep the rest of our warheads.”
“Sire. I…I do not think it’s possible.”
“And why not?” The advisor then showed his king videos of grounded missile doors being attacked by Archer Missiles and two videos of MAC rounds. He then took a step back at the feeling of defeat. “This…UNSC has taken control of the sky.”
“Your family has been evacuated sire.”
“Good.”
“My lord…I suggest a surrender.”
“Surrender? I will not give up my power!”
Behind the castle beyond the no man’s land formed by the UNSC bombardment was an island with a fortress. The King had one more secret route and he was to use it to flee. The King has contact his allies to fall back to the last fortress for one more stand. Little by little he had certain groups of Knights retreat to the castle to prepare to move to the last fort. As he walked over to a map he heard an explosion coming from his last airfield.
The two teams of Guards and ODSTs ran out of the airfield as the place was exploding. They were successful with their mission and managed to save the Guards that were captured. There were now thirty-five soldiers in total. The large group entered at building. After catching his breath, Andrews contacted Captain Moss. He has informed him to end this battle by capturing the King and has ordered the Kodiak to seize bombardment. One of the Guards that were captured remembered a secret entrance of the tunnels that the Griffins were using to transport them to the airfield. He led the large group to the entrance to the tunnel. For them the ODSTs and Guards did not encounter any resistance.
Inside the tunnel was supported by concrete and pavement roads. Alex and Midnight took point and secured the area for any Griffins inside. Not long after traveling inside, it was obvious that nearly all of the Griffin forces were at the river. The large group walked down the long tunnel hoping it will lead them to the castle. Alex approached a staircase that lead to a door. He used his pistol and shot the lock. He then opened the door. The other side was the Griffin Castle. He closed the door and turned to the others.
“We’re here.” He walked away from the door. “The ODSTs go first to take out the patrol. Then the Guards will join us. We are going after the King.” As stated the ODSTs exited the tunnel and rushed for the wall. The ODSTs opened fire at the Griffins guarding the castle. Inside, the King ran to the balcony. He looked down and discovered the ODSTs taking out his men. A few moments the Guards also joined the fight. The King began to panic and ran back inside. He ordered the Knights inside to take one of the tunnels and report to the fortress.
Alex tried to open the main door but it wouldn’t budge. He looked at Andrews and then he walked to the door. Andrews grabbed a small device and placed it on the center. The ODSTs backed away as Andrews detonated the device. It exploded and destroyed the door. The ODST rushed inside and began attacking the Griffins inside. The Guards then entered the building. Andrews then called out the group.
“Everyone! Teams of four! Divide and conquer! Split.” Everyone rushed to a team. Alex, Twilight, Midnight and another ODST were in one group. “Alex! You find the King. Capture or take him out!” Every team split up to their path. Alex then asked Twilight.
“So where do you think the throne room is?”
“I’ve never been to the Griffin Kingdom. I assume the throne room is ahead of us.”
“Good.” Alex and his team ran to the next room. “Cover me.” Alex opened the door and entered the next room. Twilight was about to enter but the door suddenly closed. Alex turned around and was tackled by a Griffin Knight.
“Alex! AHH!” She ducked when Griffin bullets hit the door she and the other two soldiers ran for cover. Alex kicked the Knight off him. He grabbed his pistol and shot the Knight in the head. Alex then aimed his gun in front of him. The throne was empty. He continued forward deeper into the room. There was a radio on the throne. He inspected the radio for a moment before picking up the walkie. He set his Battle Rifle beside the seat.
“Hello?” There was some static for a moment.
“You! You ruined everything you bastard!”
“And who the fuck are you?”
“I’m King Thoren. King of the Griffins. And you Shadow-Knight. Have been a pain for too long!”
“Shadow-Knight?”
“Do you not understand?
“Oh I understand. Raging war against a country.”
“We had no other choice. The Equestrians are always the world power. Then our trade conflict with Equestria ended in disaster. Our economy has started to fall. And that-that tower! The Princesses have powers and that tower is the source. Who knows what they are capable of! Imagine if we can have that power too!”
“So attacking Equestria and killing innocent people is the answer! And for the record, that tower is not a tower. It’s a Forerunner ship.”
“Ship?”
“Yeah. Even the UNSC knows what that thing is. That’s why we are here.”
“You knew all this time and you still help them?!”
“We only want the ship and your surrender. You killed many civilians in Equestria and you will answer to your crimes.”
“You can try.”
“You’re not challenging Equestria anymore. You’re challenging the UNSC.”
“Not happening.” Alex heard metal clanking on the floor. A sword was on the ground which left the ODST confused. He then looked up and found a Griffin Knight in different armor. Alex walked towards the sword. The King continued.
“Good luck with him. He’s my best guard and swordsman.” Alex picked up the sword and looked at the Knight.
“To be honest I have no swordsman skills whatsoever.” The Knight let out a laugh.
“Should be good for me.” The Knight charged at him. Alex dropped his pistol and lifted his sword. The force pushed Alex back a few steps. Alex swung his sword at the Knight but the Knight was able to deflect his attack. The Knight then swung again. Instead of using his sword, Alex used his forearm. The forearm armor of Alex’s armor deflected the sword. The ODST struggled to keep the Knight on his toes. Alex then thought to himself.
(You’ve got to be fucking kidding me! I can fight a nine foot tall alien but I can’t keep up with this asshole!”) Alex decided to use his knife and changed the scenario. Not the ODST was able to come closer to the Knight. He managed to cut the armor and kick the Knight to a pillar. Alex then ran and jumped in the air with the knife’s blade on the bottom of his hand. The Knight raised his sword but the blade stood little chance. He dropped the sword causing the knife to miss the Knight’s body and he took the opportunity to roll to his left. The Knight spotted Alex’s pistol. The Knight grabbed Alex’s gun and fired. The bullet hit Alex in his armor on his shoulder forcing him to take cover.
At the same moment Twilight entered the throne room. The Knight spotted the Princess and fired at her. He missed every shot he made and picked up Alex’s sword. The Knight then charged at Twilight. The Princess grabbed her sword to defend herself. Unfortunately for Twilight she was unskilled in sword fighting as well. He managed to force Twilight to drop her sword and he kicked her to the ground. At that moment Alex tackled the Knight. The two rolled with Alex landing on his foot and one knee.
“Back for more Shadow-Knight!”
“Yeah. I am.” This time the ODST grabbed his Energy Sword and activate it. “Come at me.” The castle shook. “And make it quick, because it looks like you just lost the fight.”
The battle at the river was short due to more UNSC troops arriving. This set the Griffins in panic as they desperately fought back. A Griffin tank attempted to retreat from the battle as the UNSC and Equestrians finally forced them out of their defensive lines. The Griffin tank fell victim to the Scorpion’s 90mm tungsten missile. In the air, multiple Griffin choppers engage the UNSC Pelicans, Hornets, and Falcons. Even though the Griffins outnumbered them, the firepower and armor fell on the UNSC’s advantage. Equestrians engaged the nearby Griffins in sword combat as soon as they crossed the river. Warthogs sped over the shallow parts of the river and ran over Griffins while the gunners fired upon them.
Realizing the battle is a loss, the Griffins began to fall back to the main tunnel to regroup at the fortress behind the Griffin Castle where they’ll make their final stand. The Griffins suffered too many losses on their own home turf and lost land to Equestria. The Knights and their remaining vehicles entered the tunnels. Jason jumped off a roof top and landed on the front end of an armored car. With his weight and the altitude from where he jumped off was enough to crush the front causing the rear of the vehicle to jump from the ground and spin in the air until it hit a wall. Most of the Griffins began to close the doors to the tunnels. The ones that did not make it through were up against the wall. A few attempted to fight back, while most dropped their weapons and surrendered.
The Guards aimed their weapons at the Griffins as they turned around fearing for the worse. Jason looked at the Guards and recognized the expressions they had. One of them sighed and lowered his weapon and walked up to one Knight. He kicked the back of the leg of the Knight and restrained him. The other Guards did the same a moment later. Celestia searched for the Spartan and asked a few Marines until she spotted him.
“Glad I found you.”
“You do know I’m to only seven foot three asshole here.”
“I’m aware of that.”
“These Knights just gave up.”
“I’m sure that’s because they did not want to be killed.”
In the castle most of the Griffins escape with the King. Some still attempted to kill Alex and his squad while a few smart Griffins surrendered. It took an hour for the ODSTs and Guards to gathered the Knights and staff in the ballroom. As the Guard locked the door, Twilight approached Alex.
“Thought we never finish.”
“Yup. I just wish that fucking king was here. Would have shoved my foot up his ass.” Twilight laughed at Alex’s comment. Princess Celestia, Luna and Jason entered the hallway. Celestia heard Twilight’s laugh and called out.
“Good to hear some laughter after the day we’ve had.” Twilight shouted in joy.
“Princess Celestia!” The two embraced in a hug while Alex and Andrews walked over to the Spartan. Alex asked the Spartan.
“How is it outside?”
“The capital is ours No more Griffin resistance or civilians in danger. Where’s the king?”
“Coward fucking escape.”
“What where!”
“I’ll show you. Oh call the Princesses.” Alex led the Spartan and the Princesses to a balcony. “There it is.” The three looked over the fortress beyond the no man’s land. “So what now.” Luna inspected the land and thought for a moment.
“I have an idea. And it’s crazy since with the Intel we received I assume the Griffins have and what their allies have left are in that fortress over there.” Jason crossed his arms and asked Luna.
“What are you suggesting moonbutt?”
“A marching formation. All Guard factions in their appropriate formation and the UNSC on their own.”
“You do know that’s bullshit crazy right?”
“Yes but what’s to worry.
“An attack form that fortress.”
“Griffins are too proud to give up an opportunity to fight us like this. And you technically have more firepower than we do.”
“Right. I just going to call this in.”
“Hey no stalling.
“Trust me Moonbutt. There’s no way in hell Moss will approve of this.”
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UNSC Rules!
He approved, didn't he.
9000420
Amen to that!
More!!!
9144865
Eh, I’m not too bothered by it. It’s just The Who saying who. It took be a bit but I understood on who was talking to who. :3
9144902
*slams face on to desk.*
Still trying to figure out how to do that properly. English are hard
(The last sentence is supposed to be written wrong)
Lol that’s from halo 3 ODST my favorite from the franchise.
memories.
You forgot the wasp from halo wars.