"Serina, where are you leading us? The Covenant are right behind us!" Forge yelled as plasma bolts shot overhead. "I've scanned the area. The best defensible position is an impact crater a few clicks south along the highway." Serina said, highlighting a crater on the map. "Get to that crater! Do not engage the enemy behind us! Keep moving!" Forge yelled as Carter stopped every few meters to blow the head off any Elite that got too close.
Ever since they'd abandoned the base near the Spaceport, they'd been running to stay ahead of the Covenant army that had swarmed the city. The base going nuclear did thin their numbers significantly, but they continued to chase after them.
As they got closer to the crater, one of the scouts sent a message back. "Sgt Forge, the crater is FULL of Covenant. A few Elites and dozens of little bastards." He said as Forge got to work. Getting into the driver's seat of the Gausshog, Forge floored it as he led the charge into the crater.
The Elites could do nothing but throw themselves out of the way as Forge ran over the Grunts. This didn't keep them alive much longer, as Carter and Red Team hunted them down before they could cause a problem. As soon as everything not Human was dead, Forge got to work having the Marines clear the area so that Serina could drop off the Firebase.
Carter and Red team grabbed the Scorpion and positioned it in a spot where it could provide covering fire for them and the base. They then started digging in as Carter went around placing mines.
"I see you guys have already set up shop." Forge said as he drove over to see what they were up to. "We have basic cover in place for when others arrive. Red Team is going to hold things down here while I go and see if I can round up any strays." Carter said, helping them get a few things set up before leaving.
It didn't take him long to find a pair of marines hiding behind some rubble. He stopped to point them in the right direction before going to look for more. He didn't see much: a few destroyed Warthogs, dozens of dead marines, and Covenant crawling all over the place.
Shawn took out any patrols that came his way while also directing UNSC stragglers to the Base, though he didn't stick around to see if they made it. "Spartan-118, this is Forge, do you read?" "Loud and clear, what do you need, Sergeant?" "Serina's figured out what the Covenant are building out here, it's a heavy plasma mortar!" "Send me the coordinates and I'll check it out." "Great, sending now. Oh, and don't stick around, Spartan team Omega is on the way to help us out!"
Following the coordinates sent by Forge, Shawn is not only able to find the Emp'seam-pattern Antlion (Heavy plasma mortar). He's also able to find the Covenant Base that's supplying the construction, as well as spitting out dozens of Covenant soldiers.
"Forge, I found the mortar and the base building it, sending imagery now." A pause as Forge probably looked it over. "Great! Mark it for Serina in case they want to use the MAC, but for now, head back to base. Omega is almost here."
Taking out more Grunts on the way back, Shawn arrives to find the base up and running as Forge starts organizing the attack. "You're with us, Shawn. Forge wants us to target Heavy infantry and vehicles. Keep them away from everyone else." Jerome tells him as a few ODSTs notice Shawn as well.
"Are they going to be a problem?" Shawn asked, tilting his helmet at the increasing number of ODSTs looking at them. He quite liked the Helljumpers, but he wasn't going to let them push too far.
"They had a bit of a disagreement with Douglas, but it should be fine," Jerome said as Alice snorted. "He gave the guy a concussion, pretty sure he won't be shooting for a while." Shawn didn't doubt it, even during training, Douglas had a bit of a temper to him; they all did at first, his was the only one to stick around.
Deciding to ignore the ODSTs for now, Shawn got ready, refilling ammo and grenades as they waited for Omega Team to attack from the city so they could wipe out the Covenant Base when they were distracted.
'Status update.' [Major loss of Human life sustained, Covenant forces mostly occupied in the tropical region of the planet, but a significant force has been sent to deal with USNC forces in Arcadia city, including your group. Recommend immediate withdrawal.] 'Maintain cloak activated, continue to observe Covenant forces, alert me if their ship starts to come this way.' [Affirmative]
"Omega Team has started, let's not let them have all the fun!" Forge's voice rang out over the radio as Shawn and Red team took point, taking out a Hunter pair before going ahead, leaving the Warthogs to deal with the Grunt swarm.
"Omega, this is Red. Coming up to the base, got any ordinance you can spare?" Jerome called Omega, which was quick to answer. "No, but if you can overload their systems or crash a vehicle into something important, we'd appreciate it!"
Taking that idea and running with it, Shawn and Douglas both chased down the closest Ghosts, flinging the Grunt pilots into the air before they proceeded to wreak havoc in Covenant lines. Not to be outdone, Jerome and Alice grabbed a few fallen fuel rod canons and went to town, targeting anything that looked important on the base itself.
The base did have a shield, so despite 10 Spartans going to town, the shield still held firm by the time Forge and the others arrived. "Looks like we got here just in time, boys! Light it up!" Not needing to be told twice, ODSTs and a few Marines used the last of their rockets as the two Scorpion tanks sent round after round into the shield, hammering it until it finally shattered.
"Fallback now! Spirit your clear to take the shot!" Forge yelled as everyone scrambled to get away as several Archer missiles slammed into the Covenant base and the Heavy Mortar it was building. "Anything left, or do we need to do another flyby?" A longsword pilot joked as Forge thanked him, rolling over to the smoldering remains of the base.
Close by, Omega team, Red Team, and Shawn were having a little family reunion, sharing stories of what they've been up to since the start of this war. Omega has been sent all over the Outer Colonies, taking out small groups of Covenant that are slowly growing larger, as well as any Insurrectionists that were trying to take advantage of the chaos.
Seeing so many Spartans, the ODSTs were naturally less than happy but wisely kept it to themselves. They'd heard about what one of those 'freaks' had done to a trio of ODSTs, and it was only a kid; these were full Spartans, capable of going toe to toe with Elites. The Helljumpers were strong, but even they knew better than to tangle with so many 'freaks' at once.
"Thanks for the help, Omega." Forge said, saluting Omega-1, who nodded, "Happy to help. We'll be leaving now, plenty of work to do." He nodded as they left, ready to help civilians and terrorize the Covenant.
"Spirit of Fire, this is Forge. The base is rubble, as is the Mortar that was under construction."
"Great job, Sgt, we're bringing you all back now. Something else requires our full attention; you'll be briefed on board."