CHAPTER 22

"Enemy camp is a few hundred meters south." Victor said over helmet to helmet communication.

Margaret nodded and covered the rear side as the others quietly dispersed behind Black Four. She caught up with them into a cave, more lit up than the one before. Four made a motion with his hand towards a small avian like force. "We've got Jackals" said, Black Two

Standard recon sort. Jackals were biologically adapted as assassins and scouts. While frail and easy to kill straight-up, could be incredibly dangerous if any of them weren't careful. There was three Jackals in front of them, possibly more around the cave, maybe around the corner

"Take 'em out quietly"

they nodded and pointed their submachine guns in the direction of the jackals

One placed her sidearm upwards and toggled off the safety.

Three muffled coughs from the shadows, three kills. The Jackals went down silently with the exception of a slump against the rocky ground and the splat of a small burst of purple blood and brain matter.

"Pacified" Victor said, remarkably cool and calm

Margaret took point and inspected their weapons, which were Covenant handheld Needle Munitions Launchers, an alien weapon with sharp crystals of unknown origin, that were brutal against armor and soft targets, firing explosive needle rounds at an alarming rate of fire that could dangerously combust into a target if too many shots were landed. Thankfully, their new "energy shielding", though weaker than intended, were enough to provide adequate protection, though Margaret was eager not to test that theory, nor was the rest of Black Team.

One took point, and the rest followed behind her, she slumped behind some rocks when she heard the distinctive humming of a Covenant Impulse Drive. A Phantom, as it passed by an opening above her.

A chitinous craft with a dual drive system and two side hatches to deploy Covenant Infantry, which also were commonly mounted with a Plasma Cannon on either side, gravitationally locked beneath its underbelly was a large nest-like structure, the glowing plasma charges that were encased bulged a ghostly cyan across the night sky as the Phantom passed on.

out of the shadows, their armored forms materialised and formed, they moved on through to the end of the cave. Where the camp stood.

The Four Spartans were positioned on a higher ground overlooking across what was more fortress than camp. The sleek purple nanolaminate plating standing out from the grey rock canvas. Oozing cyan glowing in the meadow below.

Across the terrain there was a good collection of alien defenders, Elite Warriors and their grunt thralls, two jackals who were fighting over a hunk of meat, and another nibbling raw on a fish. It's hollow eyes and elongated jaw with furiously sharp teeth snapped at each bit of meat left on the bone.

Three more jackals overlooked across the meadow, two wielding plasma pistols with another wielding an elongated weapon that eerily resembled a sort of long sword with a trigger and guard, the covenant particle beam rifle, a weapon very similar to humanity's own sniper rifle. It's cylindrical power cell glowed magenta as the tri goggle headed jackal turned and scanned across the terrain with it.

A clump of grunts were slumped over the rocks, some were carrying plasma charges, others were slacking and were sleeping against the rocks.

Margaret made a slicing throat gesture and they all readied their weapons, unleashing deadeye accurate, muffled gunfire into the aliens. Brief flashes of gun fire cut through the shadows.

After the area was clear, She moved ahead and placed a disruptor charge onto the curved automatic door of the structure, she detonated it and she marched forward, weapon ready, she winced as a plasma blast swerved over her head and her visual optics adjusted to the brightness.

She emptied the entire clip into the source of the energy weapon, a blue armoured elite fell down dead. She killed a veteran red armoured elite and three grunts with a quick grenade and a short burst of gunfire to its head, overlapping the protective energy shielding and armour, smashing bone and reaching brain matter.

Two, Three and Four followed up on the rear, Sweeping left and right, gunning down straggler grunts with relative ease.

SPARTAN BLACK Team functioned with uncanny synchronisation to each other, at times, she didn't even need to explain orders or develop strategies, they just did the task quickly and efficiently.

"Well, so much for the element of surprise, thought we needed these silencers!" Otto joked

She slapped another 60 round clip into the side magwell of the weapon and marched forward, "we can introduce ourselves here and there, Three"

Roma appeared from behind her flank, "textbook, areas pacified"

She nodded and then nodded towards Otto, who was already moving to establish a C-12 in the main power supply of the base, being a large plasma battery.

After a large red flash from the charge armed warning and after Otto did what he thought was best way to conceal the charge, satisfied he joined the others outside.

They quietly withdrew from the Covenant outpost. Making their way towards higher ground.

after climbing onto the top of the clearing. Covenant reinforcements had arrived, in a force of elites and Jackals, likely the recon groups deployed from the site. A Phantom flied overhead and behind them too. Dropping off more.

Margaret made a three finger gesture, then turned it into a fist and brought it down.

Otto nodded and thumbed the charge detonator, the entire thing went up in a purple haze of plasma fire.

The Phantom dropship was unlucky to have been close enough as plasma and shrapnel cascaded at it, causing it to drift and smash against the wall of the cave, bringing a hail of rocks down on it, it smashed against the floor in a smaller explosion.

Black Team opened up, Margaret herself killing jackals in groups of two and threes. After the bulk was depleted and they had the time to reload, they slid down the surface and cleared out the rest in cover, Otto marched over towards the wrecked alien dropship, and mercilessly filled the surviving crew with AP rounds. Margaret could hear the ignition of Methane fuel tanks and scared yelps of the grunts who were operating the side door plasma cannons on the dropship.

"That ought to make 'em think twice, maybe even three times and send another detachment" Otto laughed.

Then let's get clear before they do" Margaret said back, they climbed back out of the steep cave and fell back into the abyss of night.