Equispartans

The members of Fireteam Crimson sped past the Mammoth, under heavy fire from the Covenant artillery. Chris swore as he fired with his Battle rifle at groups of Covie infantry. Evan swerved to dodge a plasma blast and yelped.

“Chris! we got contacts!”

“Confirmed!” Grant said, sniping an Elite.

“Move it, Fireteam!” Chris said, blasting away.

Several more plasma shots streaked past and nearly scrapped the Mammoth. Chris swore and dove back into cover.

“CRIMSON!” Palmer’s voice echoed over the Radio. “GET THOSE GUNS DOWN NOW! WE CAN’T HOLD MUCH LONGER!”

“We’re trying, Commander!” Chris replied, shotgunning an Elite who had tried to hijack the Warthog.

“You had better hurry the FUCK up, Crimson! Our lines aren’t going to hold forever!” Palmer replied.

“Evan! Double-time! We need to get to those guns out of commission NOW! Chris barked, shooting at a group of Grunts.

“Copy that!” Evan said, gunning the engine. Shooting past a group of Covie infantry, Evan drove like a madman. As the fireteam sprayed a wall of bullets at entrenched Covenant, Zag looked around him. The sky was a dull black and gray, a result of the smoke and horrors of war. Destroyed vehicles littered the ground. Plasma shots and bullets streaked past in the distance. Zag was taken aback. When he had arrived on this world, he had admired its color. Now, it was a warzone. Zag cleared his head and continued to fire, his anger fueling him.

“We are nearing the gun positions. I suggest we speed up.” Ramos said over the fireteam comms.

“Easy for you to say!” Evan said, continuing to gun the engine. Then, the Tyrant guns came into view. Chris swore.

“What is wrong, Crimson?” Zag said, taking down an elite with a headshot.

“Those Tyrants have to be destroyed from the inside. We have to…”

Chris’s statement was cut short as a plasma shot streaked, hitting near the Warthog. Evan overcorrected, causing the Warthog to flip. Throwing the inhabitants, the vehicle rolled and crushed a few Grunts before slamming into a doorway, sealing it.

“FUCK!” Grant swore as he dove and dodged the incoming plasma fire.

”Entrance is sealed! We can’t get in!” Ken yelled.

As soon as this was said, the Warthog came hurtling towards them, thrown by an unknown force. Emerging from the smoke came a pair of Hunters. Groaning loudly, they began to fire.

“SHIT! Crimson! Focus fire!” Chris yelped. Taking up battle stances, the team fired mag after mag at the hulking Hunters, to no avail. Then, Six dove out of cover and charged. The Hunters focused fire on him, sending green fuel rod blasts hurtling towards him. Dodging the blasts, he jumped up and over the first Hunter, throwing a frag grenade as he did. The grenade flew true, bouncing up and into the hunter’s rear armor plate. Performing a double backward roll, he looked up as the grenade exploded. The remains of the hunter fell to the ground. Six then leaped backward to dodge the second Hunter’s charging form. He then leaped over to the now-dead warthog. Swiftly turning the engine on, he began to push. The Hunter charged and slammed into the wreckage. Six flinched, but he kept pushing. He kept pushing until the Hunter was pinned against the wall of the Tyrant. Taking a frag from his hip, he pulled the pin and shoved it into a hole in the hood. Diving away, he stood up as the grenade exploded. The explosion detonated the fuel in the Warthog, causing a chain reaction. The explosion tore through the gun, imploding the core. The gun exploded, throwing shrapnel and bodies into the air. As the explosion ceased, Six turned around and looked at Fireteam Crimson, who were standing behind him. Six turned and smiled underneath his helmet.

“That’s how it’s done.” Six said.

“Well, that’s all well and good, but how are we getting out of here?” Ken said. At that moment, the familiar drone of a Pelican was heard. Viking-01 landed near the wreckage and opened the door. Chris nodded to Six, and as the Fireteam boarded, the radio erupted.

“Just in time, Crimson. The covies are still fighting, though a bit more half-heartedly. Get back to the main line. We’re not done yet.” Miller said, and he saluted Chris over the video comm.

“We never are, Miller.” Chris said as the Pelican soared towards the darkening sky.