Chapter 1

The Office of Naval Intelligence needed a team for a special mission. They would need to have the punch of a tank battalion, the speed of cavalry and the stealth of an assassin. Of course the job would go to Spartans, specifically Red Team. As a squad long accustomed to operating independently of other Spartans and their usual support structure, they were a natural fit. They would be going to Rand. The planet Rand had been colonized late in humanity's expansion, and by the time the Covenant was encountered it was still barely settled. When Covenant scouts were spotted nearby, the planet was entirely evacuated. As a result, it survived mostly undamaged.

The Covenant did something strange at Rand. Instead of glassing the planet to wipe away any trace of humanity, they parked their ship over the capital and sent troops to the surface. A Covenant cruiser hovered in place while its crew searched for something. What they were looking for, no one could say, but if the Covenant wanted it, humanity needed to prevent them from getting it. That's where Red Team entered the picture. The Covenant had left the planet's infrastructure mostly intact, including its orbital defense cannons. If they could be powered up, the cruiser would be a sitting duck. That could only be done from the surface. The Covenant had repurposed the power plants used to beam energy to the orbital cannons, and the power would need to be diverted back into the weapons. That was Red Team's primary objective. Meanwhile, an ONI stealth ship would wait in orbit and control the cannons once they were activated. If all that went as planned, Red Team would search for what the Covenant was after, in the process mopping up any Covenant troops remaining on the surface.

It was a dangerous mission with a questionable chance of success. Red Team would need to reach the surface undetected or else be shot down on the way. Then they would need to fight their way to the target power plant, which would no doubt be guarded by a strong Covenant force. If they got that far, the ONI ship in orbit would need to destroy the cruiser before being detected, or before it destroyed the cannons. With that done, Red Team would still face a considerable Covenant force on the surface, one likely to fight fanatically. There was also the threat of the arrival of Covenant reinforcements. It all looked very precarious, but Spartans never did care about the odds.

Red Team was loaded onto an ONI stealth ship and immediately set out for Rand. They were told little. They did not know the name of the ship or its crew, presumably for security, though it seemed a little ridiculous. They only knew the captain by the first name Frank. It was a strange first name for a woman. The ship arrived near Rand, dropping out of Slipstream Space on the far side of the system's star to avoid detection. Still silhouetted behind the star, the ship set a course that would put it in orbit around Rand without any further control inputs to avoid giving away its position.

Red Team geared up. They had been provided with special active camouflage to supplement their Mjolnir armor. When activated, it would partially drain their shields, but would also make them effectively invisible. Just before it was time to depart, Frank arrived with another surprise. "The boys at R and D gave me one of these." Frank said, holding up a device that looked similar to a Covenant plasma rifle. "Reverse engineered Covie tech, it fires plasma like theirs but it has replaceable batteries. In a pinch it can also charge off your shield." Frank went through the motions of demonstrating how to change the battery. "So, any of you ladies want it?"

"I'll give it a field trial." Blake said. She would usually appropriate a Covenant when the opportunity presented weapon anyway. Frank handed the gun to Blake. It had a similar form factor to a Covenant plasma rifle but with modifications to better fit a Spartan-sized and shaped hand. Frank handed over half a dozen batteries in a convenient pack that would magnetically attach to Mjolnir armor like standard ammunition. Frank walked out, leaving Red Team to complete their preparations.

Given the fluid nature of their mission, it was difficult for Red Team to decide which weapons would be appropriate. They decided to go with what they were most comfortable with. Ruby packed a customized sniper rifle – the bipod replaced with a long blade – and an assault rifle. Weiss armed herself with a Magnum and a DMR. Blake also selected a Magnum to go with the experimental rifle. Yang decided on subtlety, a shotgun and a rocket launcher. Given the variety of armament carried by the squad, they should be ready for anything.

Red Team's specially outfitted stealth Pelican descended slowly through the night sky. The pilot spotted a suitable landing point and put the craft down in a thickly wooded ravine. It would wait there, hidden by the foliage, until Red Team was ready to exfiltrate. The target power plant was mercifully close. Only about two kilometers of hilly and forested terrain separated Red Team from their objective. They needed to be in position near the power plant by dawn so they could attack with the sun at their backs.

They should have been able to reach the power station with plenty of time to spare, but they just made it. The terrain was much more difficult than the orbital images and maps had implied. It was a rush, but by go time they were ready. The power plant was located at the edge of the forest, in the center of a shallow valley that formed a natural bowl. Ruby found a rocky outcrop that would provide a good vantage point during the first stage of the assault. Though it was exposed, she would be difficult to see with Rand's sun directly behind her. She crawled prone to the edge and waited for the other three who had spread out along the edge of the forest. With some help from their stealth systems and the dense flora, they would be practically invisible until they launched the attack.

Ruby could see her squad mates' positions on her HUD. Yang was in the center, almost directly below Ruby's position. Blake was about fifty meters to the left and Weiss fifty to the right. "In position." Ruby radioed. "Go on my shot." Their icons blinked green on Ruby's HUD, indicating their confirmation of the order. There were Covenant positions spread all through the power plant, but the soldiers manning them, mostly Elites and Grunts, looked bored and unfocused. It made sense given that there were not supposed to be any humans on the planet, let alone humans who would be launching an attack. Ruby scanned the enemy defenses, looking for a leader. Decapitating the enemy forces at the outset would make the entire assault much easier. An Elite wearing gold armor strode across an elevated walkway that connected two buildings. He appeared to be overseeing the site. That made him a perfect target.

Ruby took aim at the Elite, exhaled, and fired. The high caliber, armor-piercing round from her rifle crashed through the Elite's head in an explosion of blood, brains and skull fragments. The bullet continued past the target and struck a parked Ghost, generating a brilliant explosion as the vehicle blew itself apart. Yang rushed out of the forest, crashed through the fence that surrounded the power plant, and drew her rocket launcher. She fired the first rocket. It sailed slowly through the air and struck a hovering platform that held a turret and its gunner, blowing the whole thing to pieces. Her second rocket was on the air before the first hit. It slammed into the station where Grunts refilled their methane breathing tanks, creating a massive explosion that vaporized a dozen nearby enemies.

An Elite in Red armor tried to rally the panicking Grunts. Ruby fired, striking the Elite in the chest. It clutched at its fractured armor as blood spurted from the wound. Ruby put the Elite out of its misery with a shot to the neck that severed its head, save for a flap of skin. The surviving Elites, all of the lowest rank, tried desperately to form up their squads. Squinting against the sun, one spotted Ruby, her position given away by the contrails left by each of her shots. It pointed, and the nearby Grunts that were not fleeing in terror turned their weapons on her. Ruby pushed herself back away from the edge as balls of plasma smacked into the stone and flew overhead. Weiss used this as a distraction. She leapt over the fence and steadily advanced on the squad, landing headshot after headshot with her DMR until they were wiped out. Another nearby Covenant squad spotted her and attacked before she could reload. Weiss drew her Magnum and efficiently eliminated each enemy.

Her attackers subdued by Weiss, Ruby was able to resume sniping. A mixed squad of Grunts and Jackals, led by a gold armored Elite, burst out of the power plant's main building. They split, half attacking Yang and the other half attempting to flank to Yang's left. Ruby shot the gold Elite in the knee and it crashed to the ground with the bottom half of its leg severed. A second shot struck it in the top of the head, the round slicing all the way through the length of its body. Yang charged the attacking Jackals and Grunts with her shotgun. The Grunts turned and fled, but she caught one in the methane tank, setting off a cascade of explosions that killed them all. A lone Jackal remained, ducked behind its shield. Yang charged into it, knocking it onto its back. She pressed her shotgun to its head and fired. Weiss was in greater difficulty. The flanking Covenant force was itself flanked, hit from the side by a hail of plasma rounds. Confused, leaderless and fearing friendly fire, they froze in the open. They made easy targets for Blake, her experimental weapon working perfectly. Finally realizing the situation, the survivors tried to flee but were picked off by Blake and Ruby.

Suddenly, the door to the power plant's loading dock exploded out in a green flash. A pair of Hunters stomped out, firing their massive cannons at anything that moved. A green bolt sizzled over Yang's head as she stood to fire. Her first rocket hid the offending Hunter in the chest, reducing it to a pile of shattered armor and orange goo. She fired her second rocket at the other Hunter but missed wide. It turned on her and charged. Yang stood her ground, waited for the Hunter to get close, and leapt over its head. The Hunter slid to a stop and turned to face her. Its cannon charged, glowing bright green. Ruby aimed carefully and fired. Her shot found a gap in the back of the Hunter's armor and scythed through its body. As orange liquid squirted out the entrance wound, the Hunter fell flat on its face. Its cannon fired straight into the ground, blowing the Hunter to pieces. The power plant was secure.

Ruby regrouped with the rest of Red Team at the entrance to the power plant's control center. Being an installation built primarily for military purposes, the control center was located in an underground bunker. Yang lead the way as they entered the dimly lit staircase that led to the bunker. In several hundred pounds of armor, there was no way to do it quietly. Their footsteps echoed loudly off the concrete walls, and every sound was amplified by the surroundings. At the bottom of the stairs, twenty meters below the surface, was a heavy metal blast door. It was open and Red Team was able to enter the bunker proper.

A long corridor led deeper into the bunker. With Yang in the lead, Ruby second, Weiss third and Blake watching the rear, Red Team carefully made its way toward the control center. About halfway there, they passed through a doorway, transitioning from the narrow corridor to an open catwalk that hung over the primary fusion reactor. The reactor made a reassuring whir, and the status lights on various parts of the apparatus all showed it to be working properly. Finally the catwalk terminated at a closed metal door. This one was locked.

Yang waved for the others to stand back. She pointed her shotgun at the door's mechanism and fired, generating a deafening metallic clang and a shower of sparks. The door stood unmoved. Yang examined the door for a moment, her body language betraying her frustration. She took a step back, then lunged into the door with her shoulder. The lock was wrenched from the door, still in place, as the door fractured from the impact. Unable to control her momentum, Yang stumbled into the control room.

Two Elites were waiting inside. They drew energy swords and charged at Yang. She ducked as the two slashed at her, their blades swiping just above her. With her shotgun she blasted one of the Elites in the chest. That Elite staggered back as his shield popped. The second Elite attempted to slash at Yang again but Ruby caught its blade with the blade on her sniper rifle. She wrenched the Elite around, positioning it in front of her gun. She fired and the shot ripped through the Elite's midsection. It let out a pained scream as Ruby grabbed it by the sword arm, twisted it around, and stabbed it in the throat with its own weapon. The first Elite recovered and lunged at Ruby. Yang grabbed the Elite by the leg and dragged it to the ground atop her. She caught its wrist as it tried to stab her, and the two struggled for control of the blade. The struggle ended with the Elite on top. Weiss rushed forward, pressed her Magnum to the side of the Elite's head and fired. The explosive round blew the top of the Elite's head off, covering the room in its brains and blue blood.

"Maybe just kick the door in next time." Weiss advised.

"I had it under control." Yang said. She did not. Her hot-headed approach had left her off balance and put her in unnecessary danger.

"We'll talk about it later." Ruby said. "Blake, reroute the power."

Blake nodded and stepped up to the control panel. She tapped in a few commands, and the reactor audibly increased its power output. The gauges read green and confirmed the orbital cannons were up and running. "Ready to fire." Blake reported with a thumbs-up. "Let's get to the Pelican."

In orbit around Rand, the ONI stealth ship detected a spike in power to the orbital cannons in Sector 1. They were ready to fire. "Upload the firing solutions." Frank ordered. The order was carried out and the cannons began to slowly rotate toward the Covenant cruiser. Unfortunately the ship had given away its position.

"Banshees inbound." One of the ONI officers warned. "The Cruiser's main gun is powering up." It would be a race to the death.

"Drop some mines and get us out of here." Frank commanded.

The cruiser won. Its main gun powered up and fired a massive blast of plasma. The boiling projectile sped toward the ONI ship and found its target. The plasma easily melted its way through the ship's thin armor and sliced it in two. Seconds later, as the ship's systems ran out of control, the reactor overloaded, resulting in a brilliant explosion the effectively vaporized the vessel.

Moments later it was the Covenant's turn. The orbital defense cannons, now in position, fired their deadly payloads. The first hit was blunted by the cruiser's shield, which flashed and popped but prevented anything more than superficial damage. A second shot from another cannon was much more destructive. It burrowed through the ship and straight into its reactor. Escaping plasma cut its way through the ship, opening up fissures that extended all the way to the surface. Finally it exploded, leaving several large chunks drifting in formation, soon to fall into and burn up in Rand's atmosphere.

Red Team made it out of the bunker in time to see a brilliant explosion that lit the sky, brighter than the sun. It was followed soon after by another. There was no time for the distraction. Covenant reinforcements were on the way and Red Team needed to be gone when they arrived. They rushed off in the direction they had come, heading for the Pelican and exfiltration. When they arrived, they found the Pelican's pilot sitting on the ground, leaning against the side of the craft. It should have been powered up and ready to fly.

"Why aren't you in the cockpit?" Weiss asked.

"The ships are down." The pilot replied with a sense of hopelessness.

"Ships?" Ruby asked.

"The Covenant cruiser and our ride." The pilot explained. "The fuckers got one shot off, and of course they blew up our fucking ride."

"Did the crew make it out?" Blake asked.

"Nope, all dead." The pilot sighed. "We're all that's left, and we're stuck here." He formed his fingers into the shape of a gun and pointed to his head. "I hope you saved a bullet for me. I'd rather blow my own brains out than wait for the Covenant to kill me."