Gray Team, Chapter 2 Options

[Agent Griff]

So this is the beggining of chapter 2. I hope you will like Preston and his rather awkward personality. He is inspired from the personal frustrations I'm sure we all had at one time or another.

~~~
The Pelican dropship finally landed after an hour-long descent from the Atlas. As Randall and Mike got off, Mike threw a quick glance towards the sky thinking about Quinn's fleet which was leaving them to fend for themselves. Even though he regretted leaving the safety of the ships above, he wanted to find his "brother" just as much. So did Randall.

As soon as they got off the Pelican, Randall ordered the pilot to maneuvre the dropship somewhere where it would be out of view. Stealth was of the essence. Covenant ships could appear any time, and Randall did not want to risk being discovered. As soon as all the necesary preparations were made, Randall, Mike and the 6 Marines accompanying them went off to find Tom.

Meanwhile, in the cave, Tom was having a rather odd discussion with his new found companion Preston.

"So you mean to say that there was a colony here, and that you were one of the colonists?" Tom asked, perplexed by Preston's reply to one of his questions.

"Yes, how many times do I have to tell you so you can believe me? I was a member of the colony, until...until it happened." Preston said with a rather fearful voice.

"What happened? Was it when the other colonists dissapeared?" Tom asked.

"Yes...yes it was. I don't really know what happened. I just found myself, lying on the ground and bleeding and they were all gone. A strange smell was in the air, it didn't feel like something...natural. I looked for days and days but I couldn't find them. They might not have been very nice to me, but at least I wasn't alone. I didn't know what to do after they dissapeared." Preston said with a rather confused voice.

"So how did you end up here?" Tom asked. His suspicions grew with every one of Preston's replies.

"I...um...I...don't actually remember. I just woke up in this cave one morning. The colony was miles away and I didn't remember how I had gotten here. Before I found you, I used to wander back and forth between the colony and this cave. When I found you, I decided to drag you here, since the cave was closer. If you want, we can go back to the colony though it isn't in a pretty good state." Preston said.

"Hm, now that's pretty odd. Durendal, run a check and see if what he's saying is true. Back to my questions, what did you do with my weapons?" Tom asked, after asking his AI to see if what Preston was saying was true.

"They're in here, in the cave. I held them for you since you were unconscious. You can have them back, I have no need for them anymore...I mean, I don't need them." Preston said after gasping quickly. It seemed that he did not mean to say something.

"What do you mean...you don't need my guns anymore? What did you do with them?" Tom asked in an edgy voice.

"Nothing...nothing...I mean that there are no...um, lifeforms on this planet to warrant a need for...weapons. Here, take them. They're all yours." Preston said.

"Hm, I think I'll just go...rest a little. I want to be by myself and think. You...go back to whatever you were doing before I woke up." Tom said as he left Preston. Tom started thinking that Preston was to blame for the dissapearance of his fellow colonists. Tom also wanted to contact his "brothers" as soon as possible to see if a rescue team had been sent.

As soon as Tom had left, Preston began mumbling something to himself. After a while, he started talking to himself in an eery way.

"That went...well. Don't you think?" Preston said. After a short moment of silence, he started talking once more. "No, I don't think he's figured it out yet. But I don't want to be here when he does." After a while of silence, he started talking again. "No! It's your problem! I don't want anything more to do with it! We shouldn't have done what we did from the start! It was too extreme." Preston said with an angry tone. After a while he started talking once more. "Oh, just shut up. I'm tired of you. I'm alone because of you! I have no friends because of you! It's just your fault. Leave me alone."

As Preston was arguing...with himself in the other chamber, Tom was trying to contact Randall and Mike.

"Yes, I detect the presence of both Grendel and Achilles. And they're also rather close-by. I'll try to contact Grendel. Anything else?" Durendal asked Tom as he was doing what was asked of him.

"Yes. What did you come up with regarding the colony Preston was talking about?" Tom asked.

"I found something regarding a minor facility here exploiting some natural gases. All contact with it was lost several years ago, after which it was officially shut down. There are some official records regarding the colonists, but they are limited. I can't find any mention whatsoever about any Preston character. There are only some 12 personnel listed." Durendal said.

"Hm...strange. What do you think of this Preston guy?" Tom asked.

"I find him rather harmless, yet potentially threatening at the same time. I find it highly suspicious that he was the sole survivor after the dissapearance of the other colonists." Durendal said. Durendal had a built-in tone analyzer which analyzed the tone in which someone spoke, deciding at the same time if the person was lying or not. Based on this, Durendal was an accurate judge of character and motive.

"I don't think we should linger here too much. The sooner we're away from Preston the better. Have you managed to make a link with Randall?" Tom asked, returning to the most important manner at hand.

"Not yet. There seems to be a storm outside which is causing interference. We'll have to wait for it to pass." Durendal said.

"Very well then. As soon as this storm passes, we're out of here." Tom said as he lied down to rest.

While Tom was waiting for the storm to pass, Randall and Mike were exploring the nearby landscape. They had made their base camp inside the Pelican, which had been nestled in between some rocky outcrops. As they searched more and more for Tom, they were hit by the storm which prevented Durendal from communicating with their AIs. Wishing to take cover, they dashed for the nearest rocky outcropping.

Soon enough, they found a small cave. Curious to see what was inside, Randall, Mike and the 6 Marines entered. As they made their way further and further inside the cave, the enviroment was beginning to have an eery purple colour about it. Wires and metal soon started appearing as well. Before they could realize it, Randall and Mike had ended up inside the ruin of the Sacred Promise. Inside, they found the mangled remains of hundreds of Covenant and the burnt remnants of their once-mighty ship.

As the squad explored the ship, they also found some Covenant ship-board computers which were still working. The controls however were too alien for a human to wield. Based on their surroundings, Randall and the others figured that they were inside what used to be the bridge of the ship. As they explored further, they also discovered a small box-shaped apparatus of a bright colour. It stood out between the charred purple metal around it.

After a few minutes of tinkering with the device, Mike managed to activate it. From the noise it made, it was clear soon enough that the device was a black box which recorded the final moments of the ship. It started playing a recording of the final moments of the ship. Everyone stood and listened in awe.

"DAMAGE CONTROL: Fire! Fire! Multiple hull breaches aft of meridian control surfaces, decks seven through twelve!

CAPTAIN: Jettison chemical weapons stores and take all other weapons systems, deck four through sixteen, offline.

WEAPON CONTROL: Doing so...

ENGINEERING: [simultaneous with above] It is done!

CAPT: Bring Devotion in close to protect our dead zone... request additional fighter support from Commitment and Patience...

COMMUNICATIONS: Devotion, this is Sacred Promise... request close support our stern. I repeat. Sacred Promise requesting close support our stern.

COMM. (Devotion): Sacred Promise, this is Devotion... will arrive in 1200 seconds. This is Devotion, in transit now-arrival in 1190 seconds.

COMM.: Commitment and Patience, this is Sacred Promise... request additional fighter coverage. I repeat. Sacred Promise requesting additional fighter coverage.

COMM. (Commitment and Patience): Sacred Promise, say again... your signal is breaking up.

NAVIGATION (Commitment and Patience): [overheard] Contact alpha has fired its main weapon!

DC (Commitment and Patience): [overheard] ...solid projectiles closing at 18 kilometers per second. Their trajectory will carry them through main engineering and drive section... brace for impact!

COMM.: [simultaneous with above] Commitment and Patience, this is Sacred Promise... are you receiving me? Over.

NAV. (Commitment and Patience): [overheard] I've lost attitude control...

DC (Commitment and Patience): [overheard] Engineering is gone, Sir! Main drive is offline-I'm reading a fuel cell rupture! Fuel cell rupture, Sir!

CAPT. (Commitment and Patience): [overheard] Sound general alarm! All hands abandon ship!

COMM.: [simultaneous with above] Commitment and Patience, this is Sacred Promise... are you receiving me? Over.

COMM. (Commitment and Patience): [overheard] squeal! {Sound is most likely communications equipment failure due to near instantaneous vaporization of ship.}

NAV.: Commitment and Patience has suffered full fuel cell containment failure - brace for impact in 5... 4... 3... 2...

{Interruption: Klaxons and other warning sirens activate}

DC: Hull integrity compromised on all decks aft of meridian control surfaces!

NAV.: [simultaneous with above] Drive control completely offline!

CAPT.: Sound general alarm! All hands move forward of meridian, prepare to abandon ship!

NAV.: Sir! We are accelerating towards primary planet!

DC: [simultaneous with above] We have a catastrophic over-surge event in drive section! Main drive has entered runaway state!

CAPT.: Set shields full forward! All hands abandon ship! Engineering; jettison fuel cells!

NAV.: [simultaneous with above] We will be entering the primary planet's atmosphere in less than three minutes... still accelerating, Sir!

CAPT.: All hands not yet evacuated prepare for emergency atmospheric landing!

DC: Sir, structural integrity is under 63%-we have multiple hull breaches spanning several decks-the planet's atmosphere is apparently stable...

CAPT.: [simultaneous with above] Redirect 20% shields aft, if we survive atmospheric entry you may distribute shields as you see fit.

NAV.: Brace for atmospheric entry in 9... 8... 7... 6...

SECURITY: [simultaneous with above] Sir, still no response from engineering!

CAPT.: What?!

SEC.: [simultaneous with above] There are no life-signs in engineering and I'm reading all fuel cells are still on board!

NAV.: [simultaneous with above] 5... 4... 3... 2..."

With the recording over, the squad could only think about the fate of the crew of the ship. One thing however bothered Mike greatly. What if the captain was still alive. The Ship Master of a Covenant ship was always a foe to be reckoned with. Unbeknownst to Mike, and the rest of the squad, a few of the crew members had survived the crash and Fleet Master Kusovai was among them. Kusovai, together with Voro and a few other Elites had survived the impending crash and were now recovering from the shock of crash landing on the planet.

As the 2 different groups were exploring the ship for 2 different purposes, the humans trying to discover as many things about it as possible, and the Elites trying to get off, a meeting would inevitable...
~~~
I hope you liked this part of Gray Team.

[Agent Griff]

The next part.
~~~
Back on the Brute-controlled CCS Battlecruiser Pious Vindicator, Bracktanus received a report from the Brutes he sent to the surface of Caleston to collect Kusovai and Voro. He was furious because of the delay caused by Kusovai's resoluteness in hunting down the Spartans himself.

"So the coward won't come to terms with his incompetence. Very well then." Bracktanus growled. He then continued with a slight smile. "The Prophets gave me full authority to deal with this situation. If the cowardly Elite won't leave the ruin of his former ship, we will drag him out by his mandibles."

"He has gathered many Elites with him, chieftain. They might try to resist our attempt to capture their leader." One of the other Brutes grunted.

"He can have all the Elites he wants, he can even have the Grunts on his side. That will not stop us from dragging him up to our ship. And if they resist, we will use deadly force against him and his motley crew of warriors. Now get back to your duties." Bracktanus said with a menacing growl. The other Brutes quickly got back to whatever their duties were.

Meanwhile, back on the planet's surface, Mike and Tom sneaked back towards their cave a whizzing sound could be heard in the air. At first, it was faint, even for a Spartan's accurate hearing, but it got more and more detailed as moments passed. The 2 Spartans soon realized what the sound was: a Wraith mortar!

The Wraith Battle-Tank was the main Covenant heavy vehicle used in ground engagements, the counter-part to the UNSC M808B Scorpion Main Battle Tanks. The projectiles the Wraith fired however, were more like mortars when compared to regular projectiles. It fired very large bolts of plasma encased in a magnetic field up into the air. These bolts then rained down on enemy troops with tremendous force. Because the Wraith fired in an arc, rather than line-of-sight, this vehicle's attacks were very dangerous. The mortar could bypass most defenses that its enemies had established. The Spartans were about to experience the power of the Wraith first-hand.

As the first Plasma bolt fell it shattered a nearby boulder which the Spartans had passed by moments before. Another bolt then fell. Then another. A Wraith bombardment had just commenced. It seemed that the Covenant had found the Grunt which had been buried by Mike and that they were now aware there were humans in the area.

Mike and Tom soon engaged in a sprint towards the cave, in an effort to evade the bombardment. As they ran they could see Plasma bolts exploding behind them in wide blasts of blue flame. It all seemed like a surrealistic painting, yet it was painfully real. A Plasma bolt soon fell right in front of the Spartans, sending them flying into the air. As soon as he could get back up on his feet, Mike started looking for Tom. Tom was doing the same thing. As soon as the dust settled, they could see that they were within feet of each other. They then set on. The savage howls of Covenant search parties could soon be heard, baying the Spartans to engage in combat.

The Spartans were above the Elites however when it came to battlefield savvy and awareness. They could never be enraged by religious fervour like the Elites were, and they never had fits of fanaticism like the Elites sometimes had, letting go of their ranged weapons and attacking the enemy head-on in a fit of rage. No, the Spartans were calm and collected, almost like machines. They were always methodic in anything they did, from fighting to checking their equipment. They never left anything to chance.

As soon as they were past the immediate danger of the Wraith bombardment, Mike asked his AI, Achilles, how far they were from the cave. Achilles was a novel AI. He was configured using the personality of the ancient Greek warrior Achilles and, much like his name-sake, was quite overconfident and eager to engage the enemy and gain glory.

"About 1 kilometer. Still we should be reconsidering about turning and facing the enemy, much like I did during the glorious siege of Troy." Achilles said with clear eagerness in his voice.

"A very glorious battle in which you died, am I right?" Mike asked as he was running. He had these sort of sarcastic responses like a reflex, something which could annoy his superiors.

"Well...yes. Whatever, I died, but I did it in glory. As proof of that, I'm still remembered to this day in a rather good light. From my sensor readouts, the Covenant should only outnumber us from a number upward of 10 to 1. Rather manageable odds if you ask me." Achilles said, once again hoping to convince Mike.

"Manageable...if we weren't equipped to lay mines and hide around. Now just shut up and speak when spoken to." Mike said rather annoyed.

"Just like the Trojans...they were cautious like this and now look what's happened to them. The laughing-stocks of history." Achilles said in a rather melancholic voice.

Soon after the short conversation with Achilles, Mike and Tom reached the cave they used as a base. There, they found a few of the Marines playing a game of cards with Preston. The atmosphere seemed quite relaxed, opposite to what the situation was outside.

"Ah...Tom...your friend just left. He said he was going to place a few more mines near the cave." Preston said.

"He just left? Didn't he hear what was happening outside? It's raining plasma outside, and he's gone to lay mines?!" Tom asked with a rather angry voice. "I assume he took the rest of the Marines with him."

"That's right." one of the Marines playing cards said.

"Well, I hope they'll be careful out there. Covenant patrols are up and about and who knows where they'll search next?" Mike said with a cautious voice. He wasn't as angry as Tom was, yet he was still concerned about his brother's safety.

"Let's hope for the best. Now...would you guys care to join us? They're not paying us enough for this stuff and it's not like we actually have something to spend our money on...except gambling of course!" the same Marine said. He was a tall afro-american Seargeant who was the leader of the Marine fireteam. Always talking back at his superiors. Apone was his name.

"No harm in an innocent game of cards, right Tom?" Mike said as he sat down and joined the game.

Mike and Randall had gotten to know the Marine fireteam after the time they had spent together. They were a colourful bunch, begining from their leader, Apone. The other members of the squad were Corporal Ramirez, a mexican Marine with a colourful background, Private Jin Tae, a Korean Marine, Private Drake, a regular American, Private Griffin, another regular American and Private Bazzi, a Marine from Lebanon. Out of all the Marines, the ones who got on best with each other were Private Griffin and Private Drake.

"I'm out." Ramirez said as soon as Mike sat down and started playing cards with them. Ramirez had a resentment for Spartans, considering them freaks.

"But you haven't finished playing." Apone said, trying to convince Ramirez to keep playing.

"No, I haven't...but I don't want to play on. End of story. You can play as long as you want...with whoever you want." Ramirez said with slight disgust in his voice.

"What do you mean by that, Corporal?" Tom asked.

"Nothing...Spartan." Ramirez said, adding resonance to the word "Spartan".

"It better be nothing." Tom said with a somewhat menacing voice.

"Was that a threat, freak-show?" Ramirez asked with an aggresive tone.

"It is now." Tom said as he started heading towards Ramirez in a menacing way.

Seargeant Apone stood up and grabbed Tom, trying to separate him from Ramirez. He wasn't doing this because he was trying to keep their group united, rather he was afraid of what might happen to Ramirez. Tom, angered by Ramirez's insult, simply pushed Apone to the side, knocking him down. As he got within a few feet of Ramirez, Mike stood up and grabbed Tom. Tom once again tried to simply push Mike to the side, but he forgot he was grabbed by another Spartan. Angried by Tom's attitude, Mike pushed Tom while tripping him at the same time. Tom was simply sent hurtling to the ground.

"Enough is enough Tom! And you, you better calm yourself as well since you could have been killed right there where you are standing." Mike said towards both Tom and Ramirez.

"This idiot just insulted me Mike! Do you want me to just sit there and let him say all that trash about me?" Tom shouted as he got up, whinding up as if to punch Mike. He quickly calmed down however.

"We're in a life and death situation, stranded on an alien planet, and you two want to kill each other? What if one of the Covenant patrols heard you screaming? What then? I'll tell you what happens, they'll come in here and kill every one of us." Mike said, almost shouting at Tom. He had gotten extremely angry.

"I...I guess you're right." Tom said with a somewhat dissapointed voice.

"That doesn't mean we're friends now Spartan." Ramirez said, trying to spice things up once more.

"You watch your back if you know what's good for you, Jose." Tom said with hate in his voice.

"My name's not Jose." Ramirez said.

"Mine's not freak-show either." Tom replied.

As Tom and Ramirez continued to argue, Seargeant Apone got up, still shaken because of being thrown to the ground by Tom. Mike came to him and helped him up.

"Sorry about this sir." Mike said.

"Boy...your friend doesn't know his own strength. Is Ramirez dead yet?" Apone asked with some regret in his voice.

"No, I separated them. It did require a bit of pushing on my part, but I managed to stop them from killing each other in the end." Mike replied.

"Well, it goes to show, nobody pushes a Spartan around!" Apone said with a chuckle.
~~~
That's it for this part. Comments appreciated.