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Halo 2: Revenge of a Spartan, Chapter 9
Posted By: LostRock<shadow@macfleet.com>
Date: 22 August 2003, 6:12 AM
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"CHARGE!"
The Grunts and Marines, led by the Master Chief, blitzed the Covenant that stood before them. The Brutes and Jackals came forth from the smoky hulks of the destroyed Creeps.
The Grunts let their Needler rounds fly, and they immediately glided towards the two nearest Jackals. One of the aliens held his shield in front of him quickly, deflecting the pink needles. The other was not so lucky; the shards stuck into his body and tossed him around in a tiny explosion.
Another trio of Grunts smartly overcharged their plasma pistols and let the large green rounds go on the remaining Jackals. The Covenant were able to put their shields in front of themselves in a protective formation, but it was no use. The powerful plasma immediately disabled the blue shields, and the Jackals were completely vulnerable. Another volley of plasma, and the Jackals were nonexistent.
Meanwhile, the Marines were also faring well against the Covenant. The Brutes, with no supporting infantry, were suddenly vulnerable. John and the other humans quickly surrounded the enormous aliens, and with a few well-placed shotgun rounds and a thick volley of automatic fire, they were dead.
"The GLF doesn't seem like the average Grunts we come across," Cortana said to John. "I daresay they're even mored skilled than the Covenant spec-ops Grunts."
John grunted in agreement, then spoke up to the Grunts and Marines.
"We have no time to lose. Let's get to the subway."
There were a few "Yessirs" and the assault team moved on.
With the help of Cortana hacking into some of the still-intact spy satellites that weren't destroyed in the initial Covenant attack, the humans and Grunts were able to safely make their way through the quiet streets of the city. They needed minimal casualties for the siege of the Empire State Building.
"Approaching subway entrance," Cortana later said. "Use caution."
The team walked tentatively to a corner of a building that hid the nav point indicating the subway entrance. John looked out, and there was a squad of Covenant guarding the stairway leading underground: a pack of not-yet-liberated Grunts, plus a trio of Jackals and an Elite.
The Spartan turned to one of his Grunts and said, "gimme a plasma grenade."
The former Covenant reached in his armor and presented the blue-orange device. John took it, and turned back to the stairway. He estimated the Covenant to be about 75 feet away, and made a strong lob to one of the Jackals, though with his augmented strength it was nothing but a gentle toss.
Like onboard the Covenant ship earlier, there were a few seconds of panic in the Covenant group, and then they were no more. The Master Chief motioned the assault team forward, and they had taken not a dozen steps when Cortana said, "Alert! Massive movement coming from beneath us! The Covenant must've heard the explosion! Fall back to cover!"
With noticeable anxiety in their steps, the Grunts and humans quickly ran back to their previous position. They then turned around and crouched by the corner of the skyscraper.
What happened next was much like watching blood spill from a fresh wound. Dozens of Covenant spilled from underground; Elites, Brutes, Jackals, Grunts, and a pair of Hunters looked around to see who had killed their guard.
"Oh, Jesus Christ," moaned one of the Marine privates.
"Stuff it," growled a sergeant.
"How many rockets do we have left?" said the Master Chief.
"Six between the three of us, sir," said a Marine, referring to himself and two others."
"Target the Brutes and Hunters. We'll clean up the rest," said Cortana.
A few seconds later, the rocket gunners sprung into action, and sent three, then another three 102 mm surprises straight towards the Hunters and Brutes. The Hunters quickly met their end, as did the Brutes, but some of the latter aliens were only wounded.
The other humans and Grunts sent their grenades flying.
"Frag out!"
"Fire in the hole!"
"Heads up!"
The remaining Brutes were decimated, as well as the other soldiers around them. The Master Chief's SMGs took care of the Covenant stragglers.
With no time to waste, the human-Grunt force ran down the stairs and past the ticket booths, then vaulted over the gates. They then found themselves in the lobby of the station. The usual graffiti and grubbiness was present there, but so was a pile of Covenant equipment in the corner of the lobby. The team inspected the cache, and was pleased to see there were plenty of guns and grenades.
The Chief turned and noticed that a few Grunts had found shoulder-hoisted fuel rod guns, who squealed with joy. They called their fellow aliens over, and had them assist with the bulky weapons. John watched carefully. First, the Grunt holding the gun held some kind of safety trigger. Then, the assisting Grunt would press a small button on the back, and the fuel rod gun was good to go.
"So that's how they do it," said Cortana, nearly making the Spartan jump.
"I wish you wouldn't do that," said John with exasperation.
"I know," Cortana affectionately replied.
With their newfound ammunition, the assault team plunged into the darkness of the normally active subway tunnel, flashlights on. They did not worry about the trains; with the city under siege, and all civilians evacuated, who would bother running the transports?
Ten minutes later, they came across an abandoned train, probably evacuated during the initial attack. It had been left peacefully enough, but it seemed something had forced its way in: The rear door had been torn off its hinges and lay on the track before them. The tunnel had been too narrow to go around.
"Careful, they could be anywhere," murmured a Marine.
Left with no choice, one by one, the assault team boarded the train. The Marines went in first, careful to guard the Grunts. The scenery was terrifying. Some lights were off, while others went on and off, stuttering. The poles that were normally in the middle of the train had been torn out of their sockets, bent, and thrown to the sides.
They soon reached one part of the train that was completely dark; it had lost all electricity.
"Flashlights on," John whispered.
What happened next could have scared any man on the Earth shitless.
There before the Marines was a pair of Brutes. Their gruesome faces were extra-shocking from the glow of the flashlights. The ceiling was too short for their large bodies, so they were nearly stooped over the Marines before them. They both let out bloodcurdling roars.
Two Marines, not five feet away from the Brutes, gave horrified screams in reply.
"Get DOWN!" John said, quickly pushing the Marines in front of him to their knees. He then brought up his SMGs, and the man beside him did the same with his shotgun. They peppered the giant aliens with bullets, as did the Marines on their knees. Screaming, the Brutes fell back, revealing a squad of retreating Grunts. Another hail of bullets brought them down.
"Son of a bitch! SON OF A BITCH!" screamed one of the vanguard Marines, getting up and spraying the corpses with additional lead.
"Knock it off!" said another man.
The Master Chief snatched the battle rifle out of the crazy Marine's hands. The man once again fell to his knees, then curled up in a little ball, sobbing.
John put a comforting hand on the traumatized man's shoulder.
"It's okay, it's okay," he said softly. He took a canteen from another Marine and gave it to the man. The poor fellow guzzled down the whole thing.
"Feel better?" inquired John.
The man nodded, sniffling.
"Well," Cortana said, "I'm not picking up any more movement. That must've been all of them."
"Right," replied the Spartan. "Let's blow a hole open in the front and get out of here."
"Excuse me, sir," said a human voice behind him.
The Chief turned to see a gangly African-American sergeant.
"Sergeant O'Neal, sir," the Marine said quickly. "Before I was drafted, I was learning how to drive one of these things. Maybe I can get us to our destination quicker, and with the train, we'll have some cover."
"Smart thinking, Sergeant," Cortana commended. "Marines, Grunts: break the windows. We're going in shooting."
Things were quiet in the lobby of the subway station. Jackals paced up and down the floor beside the tracks. Elites stood quietly next to the concrete columns surrounding the floor. Grunts were sleeping softly, curled up into balls. Brutes leaned against the walls, snorting. Hunters stretched their spines.
Suddenly, one of the Jackals perked up. He heard a rumbling coming from down the tunnel. The rumbling was getting louder, louder—then, a sudden squeal interrupted it. Then the squeal got louder and louder...then the sound was right around the corner.
Then it all happened at once.
The last thing the Jackal saw was the Master Chief firing his SMGs—and then the alien's body became riddled with bullets.
As the train kept moving, more and more soldiers were revealed. They were all firing out of the large broken windows of the train. They barely tried to aim—the moving transport gave them a wide volley of fire. Some of the Marines and Grunts tossed a few grenades into the lobby, then brought up their weapons again. Shotguns, SMGs, battle rifles, pistols, plasma pistols, needlers and sniper rifles all roared over the squealing brakes of the train.
The Covenant had just been pulled into hell. All their bodies shook from the bullets and explosions that chewed up their bodies. A rainbow of blood sprayed on the walls of the lobby, rivaling the graffiti.
And the train came to a complete stop.
Sergeant O'Neal opened the doors up for his passengers. Careful not to slip on their spent brass, the Grunts and Marines stepped off the train, inspecting the bloodied and bullet-ridden lobby.
"Good work, team," Cortana said, "No enemy forces detected."
John exited the lobby and made his way up the stairs. When he reached the top, he saw his goal three blocks down.
The Empire State Building.
Satan's Tower.
TO BE CONTINUED
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