Post by Spartan 999 on Oct 23, 2012 7:10:10 GMT -6
London, England, Earth, October 31st, 2552, 1949 Hours, Military Calender
During the Battle of Earth
“Dropping you in 3 mikes.” The Pelican pilot said over the COM, flying high over the city and slowly descending.
“Excellent.” Gabriel-099, also known as HELL 1, grunted. He was sitting in the driver seat of the Warthog being carried by the dropship, while the other two Hellspartans leaned back comfortably in their respective positions. His armor was practically covered in spare shotgun shells, and he wore a belt of grenades for the M319 grenade launcher on his leg.
On the gunner position lounged Adam-115, HELL 2. He was the other original member of the team, and had a thing for fire and explosives. Typical of Adam, he had an M7057 flamethrower buckled down to the floor of the gunner position for when they were finished with the 'Hog.
In the passenger seat was the newest member of the team, a SPARTAN-III called Teresa-A129, her callsign being HELL 3. She had previously been a Headhunter, but was later reassigned to Project EREBUS upon showing both suitable genes for wearing MJOLNIR armor effectively as well as somewhat psychotic tendencies. Needless to say, she fit in well with the SPARTAN-II's.
“Always hate waiting...” Adam muttered, twirling his machete absentmindedly. The hilt of the melee weapon was colored black with random red highlights. At the head of the handle was a custom carved white skull with green orbs placed in the eye sockets. Essentially, it reflected the Hellspartans' armor that was painted a multitude of different colors, officially known as “Armor Livery Dazzle Camo”.
“Tell me about it.” Teresa said, checking and rechecking her battle rifle. “At least this drop should be funner than the last.”
“Eh, that one.” Gabriel groaned, rolling his eyes. He remembered when those weird stealth Hunter-like things had boarded the Pelican when they were still a few klicks from the LZ. It didn't need saying that several seconds later, the dropship was in flames and the Hellspartans had to walk the rest of the way; worst of all, they hadn't even managed to kill either of the creatures.
“Thirty seconds to destination.” The pilot interrupted as the Pelican dropped lower.
Gabriel leaned forward and started the jeep, Teresa racked the bolt on the BR, and Adam rechecked the two tethers connecting the turret to his chest armor. The dropship went even lower, nearly scraping the side of one building.
“Three...two...drop!”
The clamps holding the Warthog released, dropping the vehicle right in the middle of a raging firefight. Gabriel turned the wheel and pulled on the gear shift, sending the jeep into a drift.
An Elite Minor up ahead heard the noise and turned around. Fortunately for the alien, it had good enough reflexes to shake off its initial shock and attempt to jump over the vehicle. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. The side of the Warthog clipped his knees, shattering them. As it tipped forward, Adam kicked the Elite in the side of the jaw, sending it tumbling away.
Indigo blood painted the side of the 'Hog and Adam's right leg while the crumpled body of the Minor thudded to the ground as the jeep raced on. A Grunt soon suffered a similar fate to the Elite's, in that it got sucked under the tires and came into view behind the Warthog as a phosphorescent blue pile of gore.
Teresa fired a burst from her battle rifle, taking down a Jackal as they passed, while Adam poured rounds into a small fireteam of Grunts. Gabriel spun the wheel quickly, moving the 'Hog out of the way of a thrown plasma grenade. The jeep roared as it raced towards a ramp-like piece of debris made by a collapsing building. The wheels spun furiously while in the air before screeching loudly upon slamming into the road on the other side.
“Damn, this never gets old!” HELL 3 crowed, chuckling maniacally. An unidentifiable limb from one of the many aliens the Warthog ran over knocked into his chest, spattering his torso and lower visor with dark blood. He merely cackled louder and continued to send a storm of lead the Covenant's way.
The Warthog swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding a fuel rod blast. Gabriel maneuvered the vehicle through the debris-cluttered street, eventually turning sharply down an alley. When the 'Hog came barreling out the other side, it faced a hail of plasma and needles.
All three Hellspartans slumped and, in Adam's case, crouched while aiming the turret roughly where the main enemy unit was and firing while shouting obscenities at the Covenant invaders; smaller targets weren't as easy to hit, after all. Gabriel changed direction so the Warthog was speeding along behind a wide stretch with rubble that mostly covered the vehicle from the oncoming fire.
A Jackal located on a floating platform, armed with a Covenant carbine, pulled the trigger several times times. The first whizzed by Adam's head, the second impacted against his shoulder, and the third dented the small shield on the turret. Teresa located the other marksmen and fired, clipping the rifle with a burst before drilling three rounds into the alien's chest.
“Can you make us any more of a bigger target!?” Adam snarled, ducking to avoid more incoming fire.
“Don't tempt me.” Gabriel replied.
Plasma splashed against the side of the Warthog, melting the armor in some places. Three blue orbs followed them, shot out by a plasma launcher. Both Adam and Teresa fired at the blobs of volatile plasma, causing them to destabilize and detonate in the air.
Gabriel stepped on the gas and grinned as the Warthog vaulted over a hole, subsequently pasting half a squad of Covenant. A severed Grunt's head bounced off the windshield, spraying it with glowing blue blood. Gabriel turned on the wipers, which quickly cleaned the mess off.
“Better.” He muttered, glancing at his HUD momentarily. The objective was nearing. The fighting slowly seemed to die down as they continued driving.
After almost two and a half minutes of silence, Gabriel brought the Warthog to a screeching stop just in front of an impassible barrier of junk. He hopped nimbly out, M45E drawn and ready. Teresa looked up high, while Adam sweeped low with the turret. After several seconds of searching for any potential threats and not finding any, he unbuckled himself and stepped off the back. He unlatched his flamethrower, then grabbed and primed it. A malicious sneer formed behind his visor as he stepped up next to Teresa and Gabriel. The SPARTAN-III reloaded, the clip sliding into the receiver of her rifle with a satisfying metallic click.
“Oh, that's just not right...” Teresa muttered, glancing over to the side to see the charred bodies of children who were evidently dressed up for a Halloween party of sorts inside the ruins of a building. One even had a barely recognizable MJOLNIR armor costume.
“Damn. That's horrible, even by my standards.” Adam remarked, head tilted slightly. “But I think we should save mourning the dead for later.” Both he and Teresa looked over at Gabriel. HELL 1 shook his head slightly at the still smoking corpses, then readied the shotgun in his hands.
“Move.” Gabriel said, skirting to the side of the debris and easily traversing it. Teresa and Adam flanked him, weapons at the ready. From almost half a kilometer away, they could hear the sound of a Covenant AA cannon firing--their primary target.
A minute later, they were inside a mostly destroyed building that was at the bottom of an incline which had the cannon perched on top. The top section turned slightly, then lit up as a large bolt of plasma was shot rapidly towards an aerial dogfight taking place off in the distance.
Underneath the Covenant weapon platform meandered a large group of guards lead by Brutes. In unison, the Hellspartans grinned wide, predatory grins. This was the part they enjoyed the most, the surprise attack upon completely unsuspecting enemies that had no reason to believe that three somewhat psychotic Spartans were about to butcher them.
“I don't think I have to say this, but: terminate with extreme prejudice.” Gabriel said before sprinting forward. As one, the Hellspartans vaulted over a destroyed tank, weapons blazing--in Adam's case, literally. A jet of searing fire roared into a group of Grunts and Jackals, setting them ablaze. They shrieked incoherently, flesh burning away. A methane tank exploded, instantly killing those who were still alive.
While this happened, Gabriel fired his shotgun three times, taking down the shields of a nearby Brute and blasting a hole in its chest, then taking down a running Grunt. Teresa focused on those up ahead, her pinpoint aim spelling the death for two Grunts, a Jackal, and a Brute Major.
They pressed forward, completely shattering the Covenant group's front defense with a wave of fire and accompanying hail of bullets. The Hellspartans didn't walk in unscathed, though. Adam's shields went down and a carbine round bounced off his thigh. He subsequently burned the offending Brute to a crisp before taking cover.
Just as the Hellspartan's shields were finished recharging, Teresa blind-threw a flashbang over her piece of cover. Gabriel followed it with a frag grenade and several blasts from his shotgun, the resulting explosion and shot bursts killing several Covenant. Dark maroon blood sprayed on his visor, partially blinding him.
“Wonderful.” He muttered, ripping a leafy plant out of the ground to wipe the tacky substance off. He reloaded, the shells sliding into the top of the M45E with small clicks.
Teresa rolled back from an Ultra's attempt to slash her with a spiker as it attempted to flank her. She responded by firing her battle rifle on full auto, taking the Brute's shields down. Gabriel finished it from his position, blasting the alien's head off after Teresa dropped to the ground. She wiped some blood off her weapon, then reloaded.
Meanwhile, Adam was in the process of flanking the Covenant from the opposite side the Ultra came from. His flamethrower burned down another Brute, the large alien screaming in agony as the fire consumed it. Gabriel and Teresa took that as their cue to press forward.
Within seconds, the last of the Covenant beneath the cannon lay dead, the smell of charred flesh spreading through the air. All three Hellspartans were pretty much soaked in gore from the top of their fishbowl-like helmets to the bottom of their greaves.
Adam wiped some purple Jackal blood off his large visor with a near-comical squeak, then spoke up. “You guys ever see how Covenant blood really compliments our armor?”
“Yeah, somewhat.” Teresa said, looking up at the underside of the cannon. “So...”
“Adam, you want the honors?” Gabriel inquired, smirking under his visor.
“Why yes, thank you--”
Dual earth-trembling roars sounded as a Hunter pair exited a nearby building, interrupting Adam. They banged their shields against the earth, then charged their assault cannons.
“This should be fun.” Teresa said, diving out of the way as two streams of green gel speared through the air. She grabbed a plasma grenade from the ground and rushed to the right, avoiding another stream of burning green.
Gabriel pounded shot after shot into the lead Hunter's shield, each impact barely staggering it, but at least kept it distracted while Adam moved inconspicuously forward, crouched low to the ground. Gabriel evaded a stream of incendiary gel and quickly started to reload. With that, Adam charged and pulled the trigger on the flamethrower.
A spray of fire billowed out at the Hunter, lighting the entire front of the Hunter ablaze. The alien gestalt shrieked, whirling and rushing towards the offending Hellspartan to try and smash him into the dirt. He ducked and rolled to the side at the last minute, one hand drawing and priming an incendiary grenade. The Hellspartan then hurled the grenade at the Hunter's unprotected back, where it burst into flames.
The Hunter roared in agony, arms flailing randomly before it faceplanted into the dirt. Smoke rose from its body, filling the air with a powerful stink.
The second Hunter bellowed in rage as Teresa skirted to the side and stuck the taken plasma grenade on it's back. Knowing it was doomed, the Hunter tried to grab the Hellspartan, but wasn't quick enough. Its entire upper body detonated, orange blood misting everywhere while small bits of worm plopped to the ground.
“So, about the AA cannon...” Gabriel said pointedly, a spattering of orange now adding to the symphony of different colors on his armor.
“Right.” Adam jogged back underneath the cannon. He slid the flamethrower on his back, then picked up a discarded brute shot and some ammo for it. He aimed up, waiting until it started to vent heat. When the bottom opened, revealing a greenish-blue core, he poured grenade after grenade at it. It finally detonated after seven grenades, the systems overloading until it exploded violently. The charred “barrel” of the cannon blew off and tumbled away, rolling down the incline.
The doors the Hunters came out of slid open again, revealing a small pack of Brutes. They roared in anger at the sight of the carnage and destroyed cannon. Their outrage quickly turned to surprise when a grenade whizzed into and detonated in their midst, the EMP lowering and taking down several shields.
Adam and Teresa fired their brute shot and battle rifle, respectively, while Gabriel reloaded his grenade launcher. When he fired again, the explosion killed one of the last two Brutes. The single remaining Major attempted to flee back up the stairs inside the building, but was cut down by a prolonged BR burst.
“Up the stairs!” Gabriel ordered, sliding the grenade launcher onto his leg and drawing the shotgun. After they had ascended the nine-story staircase, fighting a Brute squad on the way, they found themselves confronted by seven enemies: four Bodyguards, two Captains, and a Chieftain.
Adam threw down a pilfered bubble shield, blocking the incoming rain of enemy fire. The Chieftain rushed forward, screaming in a battle frenzy. Gabriel dropped a grenade inside the shield as the Hellspartans backpedaled out the opposite side of the bubble.
When the Chieftain entered, it was knocked back by the explosion, shields flaring. The same explosion also destroyed the bubble shield unfortunately, which left the three exposed to the other Brutes. At the same time, they activated the advanced active camouflage built into their armor, vanishing.
The Brutes filled the space around the Chieftain with spikes and carbine rounds, being careful not to hit their leader. Oddly enough, there was no shimmer of active camouflage being distorted by weapons fire hitting it.
Two seconds later, a grenade launcher fired, taking down a few shields, a flamethrower burned down one of the Bodyguards, and a knife found the throat of a Captain. The remaining four Brutes fired wildly, but were quickly taken down with quick jabs and strokes of melee weapons.
Gabriel uncloaked and faced the Chieftain, the alien bellowing in rage when it whirled to find the last of its pack dead. He fired as rapidly as he could, sending twelve shots down at the charging Brute. Several hit, the last bursting the Chieftain's shields. He ducked under the first hammer swipe, then hopped back when the backswing came, the blow knocking his shotgun away.
In retaliation, he pounced forward, knocking the Chieftain to the ground. Both combatants were holding onto the shaft of the gravity hammer when Gabriel headbutted the Brute. The Chieftain roared in his visor, spraying blood and saliva over the silver-colored material.
The Chieftain jerked to the side and succeeded in getting Gabriel off itself, but the Hellspartan ripped the hammer from the alien's hands to go skidding away across the roof. They got to their feet at the same time, Gabriel smirking in amusement.
The Chieftain attempted to tackle the Hellspartan, but Gabriel slid between the Brute's legs and flipped around. He jumped on its back, left fist clenching. A short blade extended from his wrist, which he promptly buried in the Chieftain's collarbone.
He then flipped over the Brute's shoulder, dragging the knife down the Chieftain's chest. Blood sprayed out from the long wound, coating the front of the Hellspartan's armor. He withdrew the blade, then plunged it into the alien's abdomen twice before tugging it out and attempting to slice its throat. The Brute caught his forearm, then snapped it forward, hitting Gabriel in the visor with his own gauntlet.
He staggered back, then successfully double-kicked the Brute in the stomach as it charged. When he fell back, he put his hands behind his head so they touched the ground first. His body coiled up, and suddenly unwound, springing him upright and onto his feet again. Blood spurted from the Chieftain's wounds, and a piece of some kind of internal organ could be seen through the gash. Blind to the pain, it moved forward and wrapped its arms around Gabriel, attempting to crush him. He kicked it in the stomach, which worked in loosening its grip, then elbowed it in the face.
“Happy Halloween, ya mike foxtrot.” Gabriel growled, grabbing the Chieftain's arm and hurling the alien over his shoulder and off the roof. The Brute flipped once in the air, its roar of fury ending suddenly when it hit the ground below with a solid thud.
When the Hellspartan looked over the edge, he saw the Brute lying spreadeagled on the back of one of the Hunters, the spines protruding from its torso. A small pool of maroon gathered under the corpses, dimly reflecting light from the retreating sun.
Gabriel retrieved his shotgun and reloaded it, then looked at HELL 2 and 3.
“Let's keep moving. The Covenant aren't gonna wipe themselves off the face of the Earth.”
During the Battle of Earth
“Dropping you in 3 mikes.” The Pelican pilot said over the COM, flying high over the city and slowly descending.
“Excellent.” Gabriel-099, also known as HELL 1, grunted. He was sitting in the driver seat of the Warthog being carried by the dropship, while the other two Hellspartans leaned back comfortably in their respective positions. His armor was practically covered in spare shotgun shells, and he wore a belt of grenades for the M319 grenade launcher on his leg.
On the gunner position lounged Adam-115, HELL 2. He was the other original member of the team, and had a thing for fire and explosives. Typical of Adam, he had an M7057 flamethrower buckled down to the floor of the gunner position for when they were finished with the 'Hog.
In the passenger seat was the newest member of the team, a SPARTAN-III called Teresa-A129, her callsign being HELL 3. She had previously been a Headhunter, but was later reassigned to Project EREBUS upon showing both suitable genes for wearing MJOLNIR armor effectively as well as somewhat psychotic tendencies. Needless to say, she fit in well with the SPARTAN-II's.
“Always hate waiting...” Adam muttered, twirling his machete absentmindedly. The hilt of the melee weapon was colored black with random red highlights. At the head of the handle was a custom carved white skull with green orbs placed in the eye sockets. Essentially, it reflected the Hellspartans' armor that was painted a multitude of different colors, officially known as “Armor Livery Dazzle Camo”.
“Tell me about it.” Teresa said, checking and rechecking her battle rifle. “At least this drop should be funner than the last.”
“Eh, that one.” Gabriel groaned, rolling his eyes. He remembered when those weird stealth Hunter-like things had boarded the Pelican when they were still a few klicks from the LZ. It didn't need saying that several seconds later, the dropship was in flames and the Hellspartans had to walk the rest of the way; worst of all, they hadn't even managed to kill either of the creatures.
“Thirty seconds to destination.” The pilot interrupted as the Pelican dropped lower.
Gabriel leaned forward and started the jeep, Teresa racked the bolt on the BR, and Adam rechecked the two tethers connecting the turret to his chest armor. The dropship went even lower, nearly scraping the side of one building.
“Three...two...drop!”
The clamps holding the Warthog released, dropping the vehicle right in the middle of a raging firefight. Gabriel turned the wheel and pulled on the gear shift, sending the jeep into a drift.
An Elite Minor up ahead heard the noise and turned around. Fortunately for the alien, it had good enough reflexes to shake off its initial shock and attempt to jump over the vehicle. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough. The side of the Warthog clipped his knees, shattering them. As it tipped forward, Adam kicked the Elite in the side of the jaw, sending it tumbling away.
Indigo blood painted the side of the 'Hog and Adam's right leg while the crumpled body of the Minor thudded to the ground as the jeep raced on. A Grunt soon suffered a similar fate to the Elite's, in that it got sucked under the tires and came into view behind the Warthog as a phosphorescent blue pile of gore.
Teresa fired a burst from her battle rifle, taking down a Jackal as they passed, while Adam poured rounds into a small fireteam of Grunts. Gabriel spun the wheel quickly, moving the 'Hog out of the way of a thrown plasma grenade. The jeep roared as it raced towards a ramp-like piece of debris made by a collapsing building. The wheels spun furiously while in the air before screeching loudly upon slamming into the road on the other side.
“Damn, this never gets old!” HELL 3 crowed, chuckling maniacally. An unidentifiable limb from one of the many aliens the Warthog ran over knocked into his chest, spattering his torso and lower visor with dark blood. He merely cackled louder and continued to send a storm of lead the Covenant's way.
The Warthog swerved to the right, narrowly avoiding a fuel rod blast. Gabriel maneuvered the vehicle through the debris-cluttered street, eventually turning sharply down an alley. When the 'Hog came barreling out the other side, it faced a hail of plasma and needles.
All three Hellspartans slumped and, in Adam's case, crouched while aiming the turret roughly where the main enemy unit was and firing while shouting obscenities at the Covenant invaders; smaller targets weren't as easy to hit, after all. Gabriel changed direction so the Warthog was speeding along behind a wide stretch with rubble that mostly covered the vehicle from the oncoming fire.
A Jackal located on a floating platform, armed with a Covenant carbine, pulled the trigger several times times. The first whizzed by Adam's head, the second impacted against his shoulder, and the third dented the small shield on the turret. Teresa located the other marksmen and fired, clipping the rifle with a burst before drilling three rounds into the alien's chest.
“Can you make us any more of a bigger target!?” Adam snarled, ducking to avoid more incoming fire.
“Don't tempt me.” Gabriel replied.
Plasma splashed against the side of the Warthog, melting the armor in some places. Three blue orbs followed them, shot out by a plasma launcher. Both Adam and Teresa fired at the blobs of volatile plasma, causing them to destabilize and detonate in the air.
Gabriel stepped on the gas and grinned as the Warthog vaulted over a hole, subsequently pasting half a squad of Covenant. A severed Grunt's head bounced off the windshield, spraying it with glowing blue blood. Gabriel turned on the wipers, which quickly cleaned the mess off.
“Better.” He muttered, glancing at his HUD momentarily. The objective was nearing. The fighting slowly seemed to die down as they continued driving.
After almost two and a half minutes of silence, Gabriel brought the Warthog to a screeching stop just in front of an impassible barrier of junk. He hopped nimbly out, M45E drawn and ready. Teresa looked up high, while Adam sweeped low with the turret. After several seconds of searching for any potential threats and not finding any, he unbuckled himself and stepped off the back. He unlatched his flamethrower, then grabbed and primed it. A malicious sneer formed behind his visor as he stepped up next to Teresa and Gabriel. The SPARTAN-III reloaded, the clip sliding into the receiver of her rifle with a satisfying metallic click.
“Oh, that's just not right...” Teresa muttered, glancing over to the side to see the charred bodies of children who were evidently dressed up for a Halloween party of sorts inside the ruins of a building. One even had a barely recognizable MJOLNIR armor costume.
“Damn. That's horrible, even by my standards.” Adam remarked, head tilted slightly. “But I think we should save mourning the dead for later.” Both he and Teresa looked over at Gabriel. HELL 1 shook his head slightly at the still smoking corpses, then readied the shotgun in his hands.
“Move.” Gabriel said, skirting to the side of the debris and easily traversing it. Teresa and Adam flanked him, weapons at the ready. From almost half a kilometer away, they could hear the sound of a Covenant AA cannon firing--their primary target.
A minute later, they were inside a mostly destroyed building that was at the bottom of an incline which had the cannon perched on top. The top section turned slightly, then lit up as a large bolt of plasma was shot rapidly towards an aerial dogfight taking place off in the distance.
Underneath the Covenant weapon platform meandered a large group of guards lead by Brutes. In unison, the Hellspartans grinned wide, predatory grins. This was the part they enjoyed the most, the surprise attack upon completely unsuspecting enemies that had no reason to believe that three somewhat psychotic Spartans were about to butcher them.
“I don't think I have to say this, but: terminate with extreme prejudice.” Gabriel said before sprinting forward. As one, the Hellspartans vaulted over a destroyed tank, weapons blazing--in Adam's case, literally. A jet of searing fire roared into a group of Grunts and Jackals, setting them ablaze. They shrieked incoherently, flesh burning away. A methane tank exploded, instantly killing those who were still alive.
While this happened, Gabriel fired his shotgun three times, taking down the shields of a nearby Brute and blasting a hole in its chest, then taking down a running Grunt. Teresa focused on those up ahead, her pinpoint aim spelling the death for two Grunts, a Jackal, and a Brute Major.
They pressed forward, completely shattering the Covenant group's front defense with a wave of fire and accompanying hail of bullets. The Hellspartans didn't walk in unscathed, though. Adam's shields went down and a carbine round bounced off his thigh. He subsequently burned the offending Brute to a crisp before taking cover.
Just as the Hellspartan's shields were finished recharging, Teresa blind-threw a flashbang over her piece of cover. Gabriel followed it with a frag grenade and several blasts from his shotgun, the resulting explosion and shot bursts killing several Covenant. Dark maroon blood sprayed on his visor, partially blinding him.
“Wonderful.” He muttered, ripping a leafy plant out of the ground to wipe the tacky substance off. He reloaded, the shells sliding into the top of the M45E with small clicks.
Teresa rolled back from an Ultra's attempt to slash her with a spiker as it attempted to flank her. She responded by firing her battle rifle on full auto, taking the Brute's shields down. Gabriel finished it from his position, blasting the alien's head off after Teresa dropped to the ground. She wiped some blood off her weapon, then reloaded.
Meanwhile, Adam was in the process of flanking the Covenant from the opposite side the Ultra came from. His flamethrower burned down another Brute, the large alien screaming in agony as the fire consumed it. Gabriel and Teresa took that as their cue to press forward.
Within seconds, the last of the Covenant beneath the cannon lay dead, the smell of charred flesh spreading through the air. All three Hellspartans were pretty much soaked in gore from the top of their fishbowl-like helmets to the bottom of their greaves.
Adam wiped some purple Jackal blood off his large visor with a near-comical squeak, then spoke up. “You guys ever see how Covenant blood really compliments our armor?”
“Yeah, somewhat.” Teresa said, looking up at the underside of the cannon. “So...”
“Adam, you want the honors?” Gabriel inquired, smirking under his visor.
“Why yes, thank you--”
Dual earth-trembling roars sounded as a Hunter pair exited a nearby building, interrupting Adam. They banged their shields against the earth, then charged their assault cannons.
“This should be fun.” Teresa said, diving out of the way as two streams of green gel speared through the air. She grabbed a plasma grenade from the ground and rushed to the right, avoiding another stream of burning green.
Gabriel pounded shot after shot into the lead Hunter's shield, each impact barely staggering it, but at least kept it distracted while Adam moved inconspicuously forward, crouched low to the ground. Gabriel evaded a stream of incendiary gel and quickly started to reload. With that, Adam charged and pulled the trigger on the flamethrower.
A spray of fire billowed out at the Hunter, lighting the entire front of the Hunter ablaze. The alien gestalt shrieked, whirling and rushing towards the offending Hellspartan to try and smash him into the dirt. He ducked and rolled to the side at the last minute, one hand drawing and priming an incendiary grenade. The Hellspartan then hurled the grenade at the Hunter's unprotected back, where it burst into flames.
The Hunter roared in agony, arms flailing randomly before it faceplanted into the dirt. Smoke rose from its body, filling the air with a powerful stink.
The second Hunter bellowed in rage as Teresa skirted to the side and stuck the taken plasma grenade on it's back. Knowing it was doomed, the Hunter tried to grab the Hellspartan, but wasn't quick enough. Its entire upper body detonated, orange blood misting everywhere while small bits of worm plopped to the ground.
“So, about the AA cannon...” Gabriel said pointedly, a spattering of orange now adding to the symphony of different colors on his armor.
“Right.” Adam jogged back underneath the cannon. He slid the flamethrower on his back, then picked up a discarded brute shot and some ammo for it. He aimed up, waiting until it started to vent heat. When the bottom opened, revealing a greenish-blue core, he poured grenade after grenade at it. It finally detonated after seven grenades, the systems overloading until it exploded violently. The charred “barrel” of the cannon blew off and tumbled away, rolling down the incline.
The doors the Hunters came out of slid open again, revealing a small pack of Brutes. They roared in anger at the sight of the carnage and destroyed cannon. Their outrage quickly turned to surprise when a grenade whizzed into and detonated in their midst, the EMP lowering and taking down several shields.
Adam and Teresa fired their brute shot and battle rifle, respectively, while Gabriel reloaded his grenade launcher. When he fired again, the explosion killed one of the last two Brutes. The single remaining Major attempted to flee back up the stairs inside the building, but was cut down by a prolonged BR burst.
“Up the stairs!” Gabriel ordered, sliding the grenade launcher onto his leg and drawing the shotgun. After they had ascended the nine-story staircase, fighting a Brute squad on the way, they found themselves confronted by seven enemies: four Bodyguards, two Captains, and a Chieftain.
Adam threw down a pilfered bubble shield, blocking the incoming rain of enemy fire. The Chieftain rushed forward, screaming in a battle frenzy. Gabriel dropped a grenade inside the shield as the Hellspartans backpedaled out the opposite side of the bubble.
When the Chieftain entered, it was knocked back by the explosion, shields flaring. The same explosion also destroyed the bubble shield unfortunately, which left the three exposed to the other Brutes. At the same time, they activated the advanced active camouflage built into their armor, vanishing.
The Brutes filled the space around the Chieftain with spikes and carbine rounds, being careful not to hit their leader. Oddly enough, there was no shimmer of active camouflage being distorted by weapons fire hitting it.
Two seconds later, a grenade launcher fired, taking down a few shields, a flamethrower burned down one of the Bodyguards, and a knife found the throat of a Captain. The remaining four Brutes fired wildly, but were quickly taken down with quick jabs and strokes of melee weapons.
Gabriel uncloaked and faced the Chieftain, the alien bellowing in rage when it whirled to find the last of its pack dead. He fired as rapidly as he could, sending twelve shots down at the charging Brute. Several hit, the last bursting the Chieftain's shields. He ducked under the first hammer swipe, then hopped back when the backswing came, the blow knocking his shotgun away.
In retaliation, he pounced forward, knocking the Chieftain to the ground. Both combatants were holding onto the shaft of the gravity hammer when Gabriel headbutted the Brute. The Chieftain roared in his visor, spraying blood and saliva over the silver-colored material.
The Chieftain jerked to the side and succeeded in getting Gabriel off itself, but the Hellspartan ripped the hammer from the alien's hands to go skidding away across the roof. They got to their feet at the same time, Gabriel smirking in amusement.
The Chieftain attempted to tackle the Hellspartan, but Gabriel slid between the Brute's legs and flipped around. He jumped on its back, left fist clenching. A short blade extended from his wrist, which he promptly buried in the Chieftain's collarbone.
He then flipped over the Brute's shoulder, dragging the knife down the Chieftain's chest. Blood sprayed out from the long wound, coating the front of the Hellspartan's armor. He withdrew the blade, then plunged it into the alien's abdomen twice before tugging it out and attempting to slice its throat. The Brute caught his forearm, then snapped it forward, hitting Gabriel in the visor with his own gauntlet.
He staggered back, then successfully double-kicked the Brute in the stomach as it charged. When he fell back, he put his hands behind his head so they touched the ground first. His body coiled up, and suddenly unwound, springing him upright and onto his feet again. Blood spurted from the Chieftain's wounds, and a piece of some kind of internal organ could be seen through the gash. Blind to the pain, it moved forward and wrapped its arms around Gabriel, attempting to crush him. He kicked it in the stomach, which worked in loosening its grip, then elbowed it in the face.
“Happy Halloween, ya mike foxtrot.” Gabriel growled, grabbing the Chieftain's arm and hurling the alien over his shoulder and off the roof. The Brute flipped once in the air, its roar of fury ending suddenly when it hit the ground below with a solid thud.
When the Hellspartan looked over the edge, he saw the Brute lying spreadeagled on the back of one of the Hunters, the spines protruding from its torso. A small pool of maroon gathered under the corpses, dimly reflecting light from the retreating sun.
Gabriel retrieved his shotgun and reloaded it, then looked at HELL 2 and 3.
“Let's keep moving. The Covenant aren't gonna wipe themselves off the face of the Earth.”
