Chapter Eleven

Orbit above Meridian

Moon of Hestia V, Hestia System

Aboard Solemn Penance

April 2nd, 2548

Spartan Commander Christopher Jones stumbled to the floor in the hallway leading toward the bridge of Solemn Penance. This was the third time. His insides were eating away, he could feel it. Sweat dripped from his head as he coughed up blood. The pain was excruciating but he wasn’t ready to die, the mission wasn’t complete. Both Sergeant Samuel Kendrick and Lea Styles helped him to his feet as he caught his breath.

“Chris, look at me.” Samuel ordered. “You’re going to die if you keep this up. Let us put you down, take out the son of bitch and let the Covenant have their way with us. At least he’ll be dead.”

“No” Jones blurted.

“For the third time, Sam” Lea yelled. “let it go, he’s our Commander.”

“And friend.” He shouted back.

“He makes the decisions, not you, now let him do his job.”

“Enough!” Jones yelled out. “You guys act like I’m already dead.” He looked at the two of them. Sam let him stand straight.

“I’m going to take out the Prophet and you two will evacuate, is that clear?” He said.

“Yes, sir.” Samuel said in disapproval, Lea nodded.

Jones looked around as he prepared to continue walking. They hadn’t seen any Covenant since he was injured. Surely the bridge must have been aware of their presence, but no one was insight.

“Something’s wrong.”

Samuel and Lea walked toward the end of the hall where it circled left. Down the hall on the other end were doors.

“Just a little further” Lea informed Jones.

“Good, lets get moving before Covenant show up.” He ordered.

The Spartans marched down the hallway, their weapons ready. Jones kept the energy sword in his hand and at his side. His vision blurred every now and then and his suit systems used most of its power to keep him from going into cardiac arrest. Lea and Samuel lead the squad as they reached the doors stopping before they opened. The three of them looked at one another. Each one of them were determined to see this mission complete there wasn’t a doubt about that but Jones knew his time was up so he was to make sure he killed every one of them. Then he nodded.

Lea and Samuel breached the bridge as the doors opened. Several Elites and Brutes stood with the Prophet near the immense window which displayed what appeared to be the remnants of an Anchor station and the Sevenfold Gates pursuing a Covenant Cruiser which was heading to Meridian. They’ve already began to invade, Jones thought. Grunt and Jackals all faced the scene not noticing the Spartans entrance. Lea and Samuel quickly assassinated every one of them as Jones slowly approached the remaining Covenant keeping his hand on the hilt of the energy sword.

The Prophet was suspended on some type of flotation device. Despite his training, he was surprised to see how small the alien appeared to be but knew not to be deceived. The Prophets were cunning to say the least. It was rumored it wasn’t just guidance that they provided but an ideology which demanded resolution no matter the means. This theory hinted the Covenant believed in a type of religion one which the Prophets formulated. If Jones managed to kill this Prophet, despite what the Ultra-Zealot’s tactics, he knew things would change and possibly end the battle at Meridian. Even if the Covenant managed to rally their forces and continue to fight another day, it would be remembered in human history that humanity was able to take out a Covenant leader surely destroying the notion they were gods. This was the mission Spartans would dream of…

“That is the Sevenfold Gates, you say?” The Prophet said to the Captain, an Elite Zealot. Jones looked back at Lea and Samuel who had already begun to position themselves behind him. Most of the Covenant in the room were already dead all that remained were several Brutes and Elites almost double the amount they faced in the docking bay.

“Yes, sire” the Elite Captain replied.

“Fire at will.” The Prophet said his voice soft, delicate and slightly sadistic.

The Elite Captain turned to face his operators and realized they were all dead. Jones pulled the hilt from his hip and ignited the energy sword. Every Brute and Elite pulled their heads around, faster than he thought they could. He threw the sword directly at the Prophet, the blade twirling in the air. The closest Elite jumped in the way of the sword impaling him, his body slammed into the Prophets chair sending both the Prophet and the chair in two directions. The Prophet yelped as his face hit the floor.

Brutes and Elites gathered around the injured Prophet creating a wall of force. Each one of them armed and ready to battle the Spartans. Jones stood straight acknowledging he was outnumbered. Lea and Samuel stepped beside him with their weapons ready.

“This doesn’t look bad” Samuel commented.

“You’re right, it looks terrible.” Lea replied.

Jones stared at the enemies in front of him, looking at each and every one of them believing he was there to end their lives. The looks he got in return were of violation and hatred, humanity was a parasite, disease in their eyes and the idea made Jones feel somewhat sane thinking it justified his actions for such brutal combat. The Prophet smacked away the Elites hands and sat up rubbing the blood off his face. They were vulnerable, Jones thought. It shouldn’t be too hard to finish him off. Then he coughed catching blood on his glove; he was dying and knew this would be his last fight.

“Well” He said “We didn’t come here to talk.” Immediately he flipped backward as plasma bolts and projectiles flew his way, and landed on a Brutes body. He lifted it up for cover as Lea and Samuel leaped to the sides behind crates.

Jones picked up the Carbine at his foot and raised it over the Brutes thigh then opened fire, several rounds hit the heads of Brutes popping off their caps. Lea and Samuel finished them off returning fire. the Carbine cartridge depleted and was launched from the rifle making a popping noise as the gases released. He reached over the Brutes body and unbuckled his utility belt and threw it over his lap then reloaded and began firing again giving Lea and Samuel cover fire. The two Spartans exchanged looks and began leaping from cover to cover in a sequence that looked like a choreographed dance of some sort. The Elites analyzed their movements and began to pace their shots. Plasma bolts skinned them both and they landed heavily on the metallic floor then hid behind cover.

The Elite Captain turned toward his squad and ordered them to take the Prophet out of the area. Brutes tossed their weapons and charged at the Spartans. Lea was first to encounter one, shooting it repeatedly with a Needler until they clustered together and exploded leaving a gaping hole in the animal’s shoulder; his body limp on the floor. Samuel was thrown from cover as a Brute slammed into the crate he was sitting behind. Attempting to reach cover, he crawled on the floor but was grabbed by the Brute and tossed into several crates near the corner of the room. One of the crates had an energy sword, he grabbed it as the Brute charged and rolled onto his back driving the energy blade into the sternum of the alien. He roared as blood oozed from his body and his body dropped on the Spartan.

Jones was prepared for the two Brute charging him because he knew how fragile he was, too much movement, especially on the sides, would cause tear and he would literally be torn in half if they got a hold of him. Holding his left side, he flipped forward landing on one of the Brutes shoulders. He squeezed his legs and twisted to he left breaking the Brutes neck. As the body collapsed, the other Brute caught his body and grabbed jones’s legs and pulled him off. Jones felt his side burning again but the adrenaline was overpowering his dying body. The Brute lifted Jones above his head meaning to throw him. Jones punched the Brutes head several times until he dropped him. He sat up against a monitor and noticed an Elite hovering over him. Blood spewed from the Elites chest as its back exploded from a plasma grenade Lea and placed there. Still holding his side, Jones stood grabbing two plasma grenades from the Elites utility belt. He looked for the Prophet and found him being escorted toward an exit on the far right. He ignited one of the grenades and tossed toward him but it stuck an Elite and he dived away from the Prophet ensuring his safety. The grenade exploded sending the other Elites and Prophet into the exit and it closed behind them.

Jones looked around the room to see several more Elites still standing and his Spartans fighting them phenomenally. Suddenly a sharp burning sensation pierced his back and out from his chest was an energy blade. The bright blue plasma flickered in his eyes as Jones stared helplessly at the object. As is it was pulled from his body, he forward twisting that way he fell onto his back; he wanted to see his killer but no one was there except several distortions in the air. Slowly the Elite Captain stepped forward deactivating his camouflage. Jones looked deep into the eyes of the Elite only to find nothing. The Captain was un-phased when taking lives which settled with Jones uneasily. This was what separated animals from men. Even with his training and skill every time he killed apart of him died. Even with his hatred toward the very Covenant that was wiping out his species he still felt something empty inside grow larger. But this Elite, his eyes were dark and reflected nothing. No gesture displayed emotion unlike the Ultra-Zealot. I guess not all Elites are the same, he thought.

The Elite stepped forward over Jones as his vision narrowed. This is it, this is the end. The Prophet was still alive, his squad still fighting and the Captain of Solemn Penance was ending his life effortlessly, how unfortunate...Anger built up inside him and his instinct to fight to the death had kicked in. As fast as he could, he reached over his chest retrieving his knife stabbed the Elites leg dropping him to one knee. Then he stabbed the Elite in the arm causing him to lean further until he finally attempted to jam the blade in his skull but the Elite had grabbed his hand and broke it. Jones let out a scream which got Lea and Samuel’s attention.

He stared into the eyes of his killer as the Elite Captain stabbed him in the side he had been shot; blood spread along the floor and Jones was becoming cold. A yell came from behind him as the Samuel charged the Elite. He was immediately stopped when a Brute Chieftain leaped from one of the higher platforms and slammed his hammer onto the floor sending a shockwave that launched Samuel incredibly fast into the window. The impact had knocked him out. In his final moment, Spartan Christopher Jones watched as the Elite Captain walked to the exit the Prophet left through and he faded away. Jones stared upward through the alien windows watching the stars twinkle in the distance. He remembered the times his father would take him to watch the stars at night. It was one of his most beloved memories and he wouldn’t have chosen any other thing to see before he died. It was perfect…

Lea snapped the Elites neck that was holding her back. She saw Jones lying on the floor and sensed no heartbeat. Samuel was fine but unconscious.

“Fine” She smirked. “You want me, come get it, Ape.” She said to the Brute Chieftain. He stood straight raising his ridiculously large gravity hammer. His maroon armor glistened in the low lighting reflecting the blues and purples that made up most of the Covenant architecture. He stood roughly twice as tall as Lea and was about three times as thick. The gravity hammer was practically her size but none of this meant a thing. She was quick and was stronger than the Brute might suspect so she kept her ground. The Brute Chieftain’s expression grew anger seeing Lea standing still. He roared as he lifted hammer and charged Lea. She leaped onto the hammer as he swung and round-house kicked him in the face. The Brute dropped the hammer and stumbled backward. Lea landed smoothly on the ground in almost a crouched position. She kept low that way the Brute would have to bend over to grab or hit her. Irritated, the Brute charged Lea on all fours and leaped to her. She picked up the gravity hammer and slammed It onto the floor sending the Brute flying across the room. As he landed his armor plating broke off with electrical flickers enclosing each piece.

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The weapon was certainly state of art, Lea had never come across something so powerful that literally shattered the technology of her armor. If she had sustained a hit from this thing she wouldn’t be able to move because her armor would shut down, implying she survived the hit in the first place. It was a nasty weapon, to say the least, and it was hers now.

The Brute stood from the pile that was once his armor. He looked directly at Lea realizing his misfortune and huffed.

“Come’ on, what’s wrong?” Lea taunted. “Not scared, are you?”

The Brute paced forward and then walked side to side picking up several weapons along the way. Lea charged the Brute and used it to block the incoming fire then slammed the hammer to the floor again only pushing the Brute back a few feet this time. But it was enough to distract him. She pulled the Needler from her hip and showered crystal projectiles directly into the skull of the animal until his head exploded from his shoulders and his body collapsed on the floor. Lea stood up straight realizing she was the only one left alive in the room and tossed her depleted weapon to the side. She ran to Jones who was undoubtedly dead. She knelt next to him looking in his eyes which were locked in place. Putting her hand over his face and closing them she fought the urge to cry. He was dead; her Commander, and her friend. It felt surreal. After so many victories it had to end this way with their mission yet to be completed. She leaned over his body and kissed his head then leaned back sitting on her legs.

The room full of the dead was beginning to overwhelm Lea. She screamed as loud as she could but kept the tears on her face from growing. Samuel sat up from the glass that surround him. He panicked until he found Lea slouching next to Jones and he knew he wasn’t dreaming. Lifting himself up, he limped toward Lea and scoped the room. Everything was dead and the Prophet had escaped. He looked harder trying to find the Elite Ultra, the Captain of the ship, but he was nowhere to be found. He killed Jones then, he thought to himself.

“We need to leave, Lea.” He said sincerely. Lea sat for a moment longer before reaching over to the energy sword hilt which lay beside Jones.

“Yes, sir” She said standing up letting Samuel see her tears. It wasn’t custom for Spartans to show emotion, not like this, but she loved Chris and he knew that. Probably more than he realized but it didn’t matter. Once your emotions overcome you, your ability to think and command is stripped from you leaving you defenseless. Even though Lea was a Spartan, it didn’t matter, she still had to follow the rules declaring Samuel the leader of the squad now.

“We need to find an exit.” He said looking around.

“We’re not going to pursue the Prophet?”

“He’s most likely not even on this ship anymore” Samuel bent over popping his knee back in place.

“So, we’re aborting” Lea breathed. “I told you so”

“Hey, Chris...” He paused as Lea shot him a glance scarier than anything he had ever encountered; he approached her differently.

“Chris would want us to survive this and save as many people as we can than to sacrifice ourselves for another opportunity to kill a Prophet.” He grabbed her shoulder.

“You’re right” She replied nodding. “I’ll gather weapons”

Samuel watched as she scoped the area. He had never seen her so destroyed before and wanted to do as much as he could to help but the priority was getting off this ship.

“Lea” He said and she turned to face him.

“I’m going to miss him too but we need to focus, ok?”

Lea straightened her posture and forced back the despair then nodded at Samuel.

“If we can manage to make it back to the last room there should be a loading bay near it for Elites.” She said standing before a large panel.

Samuel was loaded with two Needlers and a Carbine when he stepped beside Lea to see what she was looking at. It displayed a hologram that mapped the entire ship. Five hallways leading away from the bridge branched off in several directions doubling and then tripling. Covenant architecture was unique but efficient.

“Here” Lea said pointing at bay that housed Elite drop pods. “If we can get there we can be deployed to Meridian where that Cruiser was headed.”

“How many do you think got through?”

“Not many seeing as Captain Persie pursued.” She said confidently. Samuel nodded and looked along the room floor until he found the gravity hammer and he walked to it.

“It got a souvenir for you” he said lifting it from the floor to show it to Lea. Before she could the silence was broken as a loud but soft voice filled the room.

“You will both will die before you leave this ship”. Samuel and Lea readied their weapons looking for Covenant but no one was in sight.

“You were clever to board my ship and attempt to assassinate me”

“It’s the Prophet” Lea shouted. “He’s broadcasting on all channels, we need to leave now.” She shouted.

“You are all fouls and you will die like the filthy insects that you are”

Ethan tossed the gravity hammer to Lea and they both rushed out of the bridge heading down the hallway they originally had come from. The Prophet voice followed as they soared through the hallways. They came to a bend and the next hallway stretched far. Near the end of it, Brutes, Elites and Grunts filled the poured through the doorway.

“Just swing, Ill shoot.” Samuel ordered getting behind Lea. She held up the hammer as they were shot at. Samuel peaked from the sides shooting the Grunts in the head and then the Brutes. The Elites held back pacing shots at the Spartans but they moved too fast and dodged every single one. Once she was close enough, Lea swung the gravity hammer into the belly of a Brute sending his body tumbling into the rest of the Covenant. She kept swinging as she ran obliterating everybody that met the end of her weapon. Samuel slid on the ground firing both Needlers into the belly of Elites. They exploded in two drenching him in bluish purple blood.

The two Spartans entered the room with the turrets. The bodies from earlier were still there and several more Covenant began to pour from the hallway ahead of them.

“That’s where we need to go” Lea breathed. Samuel looked around and spotted their helmets next to Jones’s. he rushed to them and tossed Lea hers.

“We’re going to need these” He said putting his helmet on. He grabbed Jones’s helmet and stood next to Lea shooting every Grunt that came through the doorway. A loud moan came from Samuels right. As he turned to shot, above him on a ledge were Hunters. They jumped down sending Lea and Samuel tumbling. The two Hunters stood straight reaching close to fifteen feet tall before slouching over and charging their weapons. Samuel grabbed Lea and pulled her to him as the Hunter fired a beam of plasma energy into the framework, leaving a gaping hole in which electrical wiring was exposed. Forcing herself up, Lea leaped to the side of one Hunter and then dodged behind when it swung its heavily armored arm. Swinging as hard as she could the gravity hammer sent an electrical force wave throughout the Hunters body literally blowing it into several pieces. Wormlike insets spilled onto the floor sprawling fanatically. The second Hunter charged Lea and slammed into her before he could move sending into the wall nearby. The hammer slid on the floor away from either Spartan. The Hunter then raised its arm and began to swing when Lea slid to the side and climbed on top of it.

“Leave, Sam!” She yelled out. “Get to the drop pod!”

Samuel had no idea what to do. He could stay and fight but surely the Carrier housed more Covenant then they had probably faced throughout their entire career but death didn’t scare him. He made an oath when Christopher Jones formed Alpha Team and that was to save as many lives as possible when given the opportunity. With Jones dead, the Prophet escaping, and Cruisers landing on Meridian, Operation: RED FLAG was being aborted. There was no point to continue fighting here, it was a lost cause but on ground was another story. Samuel got to his feet and began running down the hallway full of bodies toward the drop pod bay. His heart raced and he paced his breathing focusing on getting to Meridian alive. Jones was a great Spartan—an amazing friend and leader. His death would not be in vain, they were going to win this battle, Samuel hoped.

He came to another large room. It was filled with levels of Covenant infantry rushing by. He kept low to avoid detection and hid behind a crate. Removing a Covenant Carbine from the crate, he aimed over it looking for an enemy but found drop pods lined up in rows at the end of the room. The only thing that separated him from them was a large platform reaching over one hundred feet high. Looking around again, he cautiously made his way to the wall and ran along it until he came to the end. He slid down and leaned to his left. Ahead of him were about a dozen Elites gathering around to board their pods. They were talking and planning routes they were going to attack from using a holographic panel which displayed a city on Meridian.

Samuel’s visor scanned the geometry of the cities skyscrapers and terrain then flashed GILROY on his heads-up display. It was one of the largest military compounds on Meridian. Chalybs Defense Solutions provided many weapons and vehicles for the UEG and UNSC, but the base in Gilroy were testing prototypes so eliminating their competition first hand, the Covenant would gain the upper hand.

“I know where I’m headed.” Samuel said to himself checking his weapons.

He had enough Needler ammunition to kill two Elites and maybe enough in his Carbine to kills another 3 or 4, depending on his accuracy. He had three plasma grenades which if he stuck them it could possibly allow him to finish any other Elite in the vicinity. He wasn’t hopeful for an easy fight but was confident that he could kill them quick. Leaning to left again, he ignited a plasma grenade and tossed it onto the panel the Elites surrounded. As soon as it landed, who seemed to be the leader of their squad yelled out and the others tried to run. The plasma grenade exploded killing one Elite as debris and smoke clouded the others. Whipping around his Carbine and resting it on his knee, Samuel panned the scene. He activated heat sensors and found Elites hiding behind drop pods, some even getting inside them. It looked like the leader of squad was killed seeing as they weren’t doing the same things. He ran to the closest Elite and slid the opposite direction it was looking. He leaped up kicking the Elite in the back. The snap was very loud, he knew it was dead. Watching the others surround him, Samuel began firing his needler changing target as the rounds clustered. One by one, Elites exploded, some losing arms and others losing their rib cage.

The needler depleted and an Elite came from Samuels blind spot grabbing him around the neck. The two struggled for a moment as the Elite attempted to snap his neck. Samuel held the aliens arm preventing further strain and dislocation. The Elite tossed him side then they fell to the floor. The Elite was easily larger then he was but their strength seemed on par until the Elite freed his arm and punched Samuel in the chest most likely breaking something because it hurt to breathe. Breathing slightly heavily, the Elite stood and kicked Samuel to the side then walked to signal to the remaining Elites. Samuel lifted his head feeling immense pain cipher throughout his body. He grabbed another plasma grenade and hid it from view. The Elites gathered, seven in total. He killed more than he predicted. Good, he thought. Reaching for another plasma grenade he placed his arm behind his back hiding it from their view.

“Filth” One Elite spoke.

“A Spartan, most likely apart of the unit that tried killing the Prophet.” Another said.

“We should rip his throat out and feed him to the bastard Brutes.” A third one yelled out, folding his hand to a fist.

“No” A fourth Elite said coming forward. The leader certainly wasn’t dead, he was the one Samuel was wrestling with. Baring a signa on his armor plating, he stood confidently as the Elites gathered. Samuel sat up and threw the plasma grenade at the leader sticking him on the chest. The other Elites gasped and Samuel took no time watch and tried to run away. The blast slammed him into a drop pod while ripping apart the remaining Elites near their leader. It was a bloody mess.

Samuel took a moment to adjust as his suit tried to help him recover from broken ribs. The floor trembled as heavy footsteps neared and he looked to his right to see three Hunters coming around from the center platform. Lea was ahead of them sprinting toward him.

“About time” He yelled out holding his chest. The pain slowly getting better.

“Get in the pod, now” she yelled out running toward one she had picked out. Samuel turned around to face a large navy-blue pod resembling a missile. He pressed the round panel in front of him and air released. The front half of the pod opened outward revealing a white gel like substance framed to the shape of an Elite. He stepped inside and the gel formed to the shape of his suit and then closed. Hunters fired at the pod but it wasn’t doing much damage. He was surprised they were so durable, that would have obliterated an ODST drop pod.

Lea struggled for a moment trying to find a way to release her pod but was unsuccessful. She pressed the round panel again and the pod opened. The Hunters fired in her direction but she moved fast enough to get away. Looking hastily left then right, she located a panel which stood from the ground near the front of the room. She ran over to it and tried to figure out what she was looking at. Out of all the shapes she could see one green shape stood out from the others and she pressed it not sure what it would do. Alarms went off and flashed all throughout the room. The display on the panel showed a sequence of marking most likely representing a countdown.

Lea ran back to the pods and opened the closest one and got inside just in time for the floor beneath them to open. The pod air compressed and displayed the landing coordinates. Not caring too much where she was headed, Lea watched as the Hunters were sucked into the vacuum of space. One by one, each pod was launched from the Carrier and Lea watched as her and Samuel left the Solemn Penance.

** **

“Sir, we got Covenant drop pods coming from the Solemn Penance.” Adams advised the Captain.

Their sensors went off as soon the launch was initiated. The Sevenfold Gates had barely broke Meridians atmosphere as it headed toward the super Carrier as portal opened

“Sir, they’re retreating.” Adams assured.

Captain Persie stood at the observation window watching at least a dozen drop pods heading straight for Meridian.

“Where are the drop pods headed?” He asked.

“It looks to be Gilroy sir, our only C.D.S. base on Meridian.”

“Open fire”

Adams looked back at his operator assistant who nodded in return and then fired several missiles. One by one each missile hit a pod and sent them tumbling toward the planet. Only four remained unharmed but Captain Persie was unconcerned as he watched the Solemn Penance begin to jump slip space. They are retreating, he thought. He sat down in his chair seeing the whole battle taking place ahead of him. Three Carriers were still in the battle, one of them was heavily damaged but didn’t seem to be retreating. At least two Cruisers remained in orbit but were probably only hours away from their demise.

“Adam’s get us further into battle, we need to help those still alive.”

“Yes Captain, but four drop pods are still headed to Meridian.” Said Adams. “They’re breaking atmosphere.”

“Leave them be.” The Captain rubbed his chin as he sat thinking intently. After a moment, he stood from his chair and walked to the holo-panel. He caught Adams eye.

“I’m not sure if firing at them was the right thing to do.” Adams said looking at the Captain and then at the Solemn Penance as it was traveling through the portal. Captain Persie glanced at the Covenant ship and then toward Meridian as the pods descended. His mind raced thinking of the things the Covenant would leave behind; nothing…Maybe the mission was a success after all.