Exiled soldiers

"Snipers, what do you guys have?" Ken, sitting behind a ridge with Palmer next to him, asked over the company radio, encoded to prevent Covenant remnant eavesdropping. It had been a few hours since touchdown, and the Spartans had reached a ridge above where a UNSC beacon was coming from, though with a shit load of Covenant down there.

"Well, we got tanks," Josh said. "More accurately, the type 26 and 58. For those uneducated, that would be those you saw in the feeds for Reach and the ones for Osiris and Blue team, respectively."

"Copy that," Elegance said.

"Yeah, we also got what looks to be a few ghost squadrons, numbering from three to five, two Locusts, three phantoms," Brendon said. "And fuck our lives, they have a Scarab. Anyone have an idea on how to take it out without dying?"

"What's around it?" Ken asked.

"I'm seeing a few methane mines and a few huragok recharge stations."

"I say we blow 'em up," Michael said. "All the plasma could melt the legs of the thing; make it useless."

"Let's keep that in case we need to," Palmer said. "Far as I can tell, they don't know we're here yet."

"I could go in invisible," Twilight said over the radio. "Though someone would need to walk me through how to sabotage the reactor on it without it blowing up. We may have steam engines bck home, but even with those we know an engine explosion can be bad."

"Can't risk it," Ken replied. "They may have assholes with thermal. I doubt your spell hides heat, Twi."

"It doesn't," Elegance said. "Maybe me use my disguise abilities?"

"May have code words," Bella said. Yes, just about everyone was using scopes, from a magnum to a sniper, and surveying the camp so they can get as much sight as possible. "And besides, you guys don't know how these guys talk when it comes to Forerunners. Only ones you can pretend to be, El, are the Elites or Brutes, and the former is an honor based society, to the point they'd rather commit suicide than be captured, or fanatical as a satanist is with hell in the latter."(1)

"No idea what that means, but I'm assuming it means that plan probably won't work."

"Bingo."

"So we're stuck here?" Spike asked. "Great."

"Not if we blow the Scarab," Josh said. "Which is bound to be heavily guarded, so we can't go in stealth."

"Big boom? Michael asked.

"Big Boom," Ken agreed. "Everyone that doesn't have a pure marksman weapon-which is to say SMG, Assault rifle, and Magnum owners- pull out, and get ready to go in. Twi, El, once the fireworks start, go invis, and find some Carbines, go high, and help provide cover fire. Snipers, DMs, and those with BRs, stay here for as long as possible. Michael, if you don't have one, get a long ranged one, and get ready to fire on one of the explosives. Those going down, move in quiet."

"Roger." With that, everyone moved or stayed, depending on their loadouts and assignments.

Though it was tricky business, those that would be at the tip of the assault made it positions where they were protected from the line of sight of the Remnant units. "Snipers, ground team is ready," Ken said after ten minutes of movement. "At least, I think so."

"Yeah, you are," Michael said. "Loading HEAT rounds now."

"HEAT rounds?" Twilight asked.

"High Explosive Anti Tank," Josh explained. "Essentially armor piercing combined with explosive."

"Oh. Forgot about that from when I was looking up different ammo types."

"No problem," Josh said. "Michael, fire on my mark."

"Copy. Got a Recharge station surrounded by plasma batteries in my sights. Just give the word, Shadow."

"Shadow?" Elegance asked.

"His call sign," Ken explained. "Mine's Specter."

"And bring the hell, snipers."

"Boom mother-"BOOM!! The last part, though unheard due to the sniper report, and the less than a second later explosion of the Engineer recharge station, creating a chain reaction that utterly destroyed the Scarab, was clear. "All spearheads, you are clear to kick some ass up close. Get me a beam rifle, will ya?"

"If any survive the fight," Josh said. "You heard him, people! Kill their asses!"