(David Pov)
…As the private and I finished the march across the snowy tundra, we found the rally point. It was a barren area not dissimilar to the rest of the surroundings. The only difference was that the coordinates were for a spot in between the dunes of snow, giving the entire task force concealment while we waited for the stragglers.
And seeing as no one else had arrived, it appeared that we were the first two to make it.
"Looks like we won the race," the private, Jenkins, as he was called, said.
I nodded, acknowledging his words. I had to wait for the rest of my team, but I could at least scope out the area around.
I climbed one of the berms laying on my belly, half submerged in snow. I pulled a pair of binoculars from a pack on my side and looked through their lenses.
I scanned the horizon; thankfully, the blizzard had appeared to have stopped, giving far better visibility. A look to the west and east showed nothing, only a blanket of white. Behind our position, I picked out small images of ODSTs and one or two Spartans closing in on our position.
But ahead I couldn't help but scowl beneath my helmet.
Three Phantoms flew low in formation above the ice. We were safely out of their range and they were headed away… but they were in a hurry.
'Don't tell me Beta objective is compromised,' I thought quietly. It was true that the main goal of this mission was to destroy data and render the facility inoperable.
That was only two-thirds of Alpha team's objective.
"Anything good on?" a familiar voice spoke beside me. I glanced to my left, finding Daisy. A couple more ODSTs had arrived along with her. Seems the rest of the task force was beginning to reach the rally point.
Putting down my binos, I turned to the berm and slid back down it, Daisy doing the same.
"Three Phantoms moving south, and they were in a hurry," I turned to her.
She pulled her MA5B from her back. "And here I was beginning to think that this mission would be boring."
I shook my head. "And we are on a time crunch."
"What happened?"
I jabbed my thumb to the "green" ODST, "Me and the private ran into a patrol. We took care of them, but their buddies will start looking for them soon if they haven't already,"
Daisy shook her head helplessly, "Well, what can you do?" she shrugged, and I could nearly hear her smirk as she spoke, "Wouldn't be worth doing if it was easy, right?"
I sighed, "Whatever you say, Mendez."
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"Alright, who are we missing?" Johnson asked the crowd.
"Franklin and Cherenkov are no-shows. Seeing as we are dark on coms, no one knows if they are lost, dead, or just late," the ODST corporal replied.
There was a murmur in the rest of the soldiers, and I saw this dragging on, "We can't wait. Covenant have already found this facility and are more than likely inside it as we speak," I said, silencing the whispers.
I turned to two random ODSTs beside me, "You two stay for another 30 minutes. If there's no one still, then regroup with us," I turned to Johnson, the leader of the ODST element, "Is that fine with you?"
He nodded, "No complaints here," he said
I moved back to a certain spot, the exact spot of the coordinates. There the snow was unnaturally flat, completely level to the planet if one ignored the boot prints on top of it.
I crouched down and wiped a foot of snow off to the side, revealing a circular flat hatch. UNSC was printed in the center. The grey steel stood out against the white backdrop.
"Damn," an ODST to my right whistled, "Guess that solves our infil."
"Looks like it," the Corporal glanced at the entrance, "It's locked from the inside. Jax, get the torch-" he began to order an ODST.
Before he finished, I grabbed the outer edges of the hatch and lifted. Mjolnir flexed in sync with my augmented muscles, and with a quick groan of metal, the locks shattered along with the hinge on the opposite side of the hatch. I tossed the metal door to the side where it instantly sank a foot deep into the snow.
I turned back to the place the hatch had been and peered down into darkness. The natural light from the nearby sun was just enough to shine light on a service ladder that led down deeper into the pitch black.
"Alpha on me," I said, pulling my MA37 off my back.
Johnson stepped forward, "Watch out with the ladder. No guarantee that it will be able to hold the weight of your armo-"
THWOOP
Before he finished, I hopped into the space behind the ladder, deciding to take the quick way down. The sound of me cutting through the stagnant air echoed through the tube
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(Aside)
The ODSTs as a whole paused watching the hole as David jumped in.
A moment later:
THUD
"Bottom's clear," S-003's voice came over the local comms
Then, one by one, the rest of the Spartans followed, doing the exact same as their leader. The last, Jorge, looked at the ODSTs and shrugged, "What can you do? After all, it is the quickest," then he vanished as well.
The shock troopers looked around at each other, then one stepped forward, "I am taking the ladder," he said before sliding down the sides of the ladder toward the bottom.
Johnson sighed, shaking his head, "Damn Spartans, always gotta be jumping off of something,"
Jenkins beside him nudged him, "Actually, sir, we kinda do the same," alluding to his job as an ODST.
Johnson sighed again.
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Once the rest of my team had reached the bottom, I paused before grabbing Cal and Daisy, leaving Sheila and Jorge to watch the surroundings.
"The Covenant is nearby and could already have compromised the facility," the two looked at me seriously. "Me, Jorge, and Sheila will go with the ODSTs to accomplish the primary goal of the operation. But you two need to secure the data by any means necessary. Am I clear?"
Daisy snorted, "We'll get it done."
Cal nodded, "You can count on us."
I heard the ladder to the surface wobble as I sensed an ODST closing in on the bottom. I reached behind my helmet and pressed a recessed release. A small titanium cartridge clicked free from the Mjolnir's memory housing. Barely larger than a thumb, it contained enough encrypted storage to justify an entire battlegroup risking their lives.
"Put the research on this. After that, I don't care how, but make sure that data is unrecoverable," Daisy reached up and took the chip, placing it into a spot near her heart.
"Cal, you have the schematics of this place," she nodded. "Then go ahead, get to level eight ASAP," the two gave a final nod before sprinting off down the tunnel we were in and disappearing into the darkness.
"Just us then?" Jorge asked cocking his head to the side.
"Looks like it," Sheila said as I moved over to them.
"Dave, if you don't mind me asking, why is it the three of us that are always stuck with the main force?" Sheila asked
"Would you prefer Daisy stick around them?" I popped a thumb behind me in the direction of the ODST who just got off the ladder.
"SEND THE NEXT ONE!" he shouted up the ladder, not caring that this was still a stealth mission.
Jorge shook his head, chuckling as Sheila laughed, "No-well maybe. Think there are some insurrectionists among them?" she asked.
"I'd doubt it," I said, shrugging, "After the incident during Operation: SILENT STORM, ONI has probably started keeping a closer eye on who they put with Spartan teams."
Jorge spoke, acting unconvinced, "I don't know, maybe I should ask each of them to be safe," he eyed the second ODST getting off the ladder.
I shook my head. "Yes, because I am sure they will be willing to answer any question you have regarding their allegiance with the utmost truthfulness," I said sarcastically before knocking his pauldron.
"I am not that scary, am I, Sheila?" Jorge asked as I walked past them.
"Hmm, you're about as scary as a black hole or a teddy bear," Sheila said as if she were still deliberating, "Haven't decided which." She shrugged.
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The chatter faded as more and more ODSTs reached the bottom of the shaft. Boots clattered against the metal grate as they shuffled around. Helmet lights ignited along with flashlights on the ends of guns.
Johnson reached up and pulled the hatch back over the lid of the ladder before he came down, dowsing the tunnel in darkness. The only way left to move was forward, deeper into the facility.