Chapter 295 — Boarding Action
Outside one of Cascade's hidden Planetary Defense Laser installations, the sound of powerful thrusters echoed across the mountains as several Iron Legion units descended from the sky.
Suspended beneath them were enormous launch pods.
They were far larger than the standard drop pods used by the Adeptus Astartes. Thick layers of reinforced armor covered every surface. Additional maneuvering thrusters had been mounted along the sides, while the entire frame had been strengthened with enhanced impact systems. Every alteration served one purpose.
Delivering Gaius through the shields and hull of a Covenant flagship.
The Iron Legion carefully lowered the pods onto a newly constructed launch platform beside the Planetary Defense Laser facility.
Tony had transformed it into something entirely different.
Massive magnetic rails stretched the length of the platform, surrounded by heavy power conduits and capacitor banks. The structure resembled a Magnetic Accelerator Cannon more than anything else.
Except this weapon wasn't designed to fire a slug.
It was designed to fire Gaius.
Above them, the Covenant fleet continued maneuvering in orbit.
Below, Iron Legion units completed their final inspections. Mechanical arms checked every clamp, every magnetic restraint, and every power connection. Diagnostic lights flashed across the launch platform as system after system reported ready.
A few moments later, Gaius arrived.
Now he stood fully encased in brilliant Auramite armor.
Golden plates reflected the floodlights surrounding the installation.
Mounted on his back was the Iron Jetpack, its engines dormant for the moment.
His red robe had been stored in the Parcel System to make room for the jetpack.
Behind his helmet, the Iron Halo floated silently.
Both of his gauntlets were encased within massive Power Fists.
The red gemstones embedded within each knuckle glowed faintly, humming with restrained energy.
Before approaching the pod, Gaius stopped briefly.
The additional launch pods still rested nearby.
With a simple motion, each disappeared into his Parcel System.
Only one remained.
The one that would carry him.
Without hesitation, he stepped inside.
The pod's armored restraints immediately locked around his auramite armor.
Heavy external clamps secured the pod onto the magnetic launch rail.
Status indicators illuminated one after another.
Red.
Amber.
Then finally,
Green.
Every system reported ready.
A moment later, Tony's voice echoed through the pod's internal speakers.
"Gaius."
Gaius remained silent.
He simply waited.
A holographic display activated inside the pod, projecting the battle above Cascade.
The Covenant flagship had repositioned.
It had withdrawn farther from the planet.
Not enough to abandon the engagement.
But enough to reduce the effectiveness of Cascade's Planetary Defense Lasers.
Tony continued speaking from the command center.
"The Covenant flagship has pulled back."
Gaius studied the tactical display without speaking.
Tony folded his arms as he stood before the massive holotable.
"The first volley weakened its shields."
"But not enough."
"The launch pod won't penetrate them in their current state."
Gaius continued studying the projection.
His own assessment reached exactly the same conclusion.
The flagship's repositioning had changed the engagement geometry.
The shields remained too strong.
Another volley would be necessary.
Tony looked toward the tactical display again.
"I'll have Jarvis fire another concentrated volley."
The tactical projection immediately highlighted the Covenant flagship.
"All available Planetary Defense Lasers."
"One target."
"The flagship."
Commander Osman watched quietly from across the room.
Marcus remained equally silent.
No one questioned the decision.
Everyone understood exactly what Tony intended.
He continued explaining.
"The ship is too far away for the lasers to hit at full power."
"The beams will lose some effectiveness over that distance."
He paused briefly before finishing.
"But it should still be enough."
Across the display, firing solutions updated one after another.
Each of Cascade's thirteen hidden Planetary Defense Lasers acquired the same target.
The Covenant flagship.
Jarvis projected another series of calculations.
Projected impact values rotated slowly through the air.
Tony frowned slightly.
"The problem is the impact."
He enlarged the damage projection.
"Even after the shields are weakened, you'll still hit residual shield energy before reaching the hull."
"The pod will get through."
"But it'll take a beating doing it."
Large sections of the launch pod turned red within the simulation.
"The pod will be heavily damaged."
"Possibly destroyed."
"After impact, you might not get a second use out of it."
Inside the pod, Gaius answered calmly.
"The pod only needs to survive once."
Tony let out a slow sigh.
"Yeah."
"I figured you'd say that."
Around the command center, several officers exchanged uneasy looks.
Even after witnessing the first volley, the plan still sounded unbelievable.
Launching one man directly into the Covenant flagship bordered on insanity.
To Gaius, however, it was simply another assault.
Tony finally looked toward the tactical display.
"Jarvis."
"Prepare the second volley."
The AI responded immediately.
"All Planetary Defense Lasers reporting ready status."
"Target lock confirmed."
"Awaiting authorization."
Silence settled across the command center.
Tony watched the flagship for several long seconds.
Then he quietly spoke.
"Fire."
Instantly, thirteen hidden Planetary Defense Lasers discharged.
Brilliant beams of energy erupted from Cascade's surface and raced toward orbit with perfect precision.
Aboard the Covenant flagship, the Sangheili Fleetmaster observed the battle with measured composure.
The first volley had inflicted losses no human colony should have been capable of causing.
Several warships had suffered severe damage.
One cruiser had been destroyed outright.
Another had endured catastrophic structural failure after repeated strikes.
The humans possessed hidden weapons.
Powerful ones.
The Fleetmaster had already adapted.
The fleet had spread apart.
Formations had shifted.
Distances between ships had increased.
The flagship itself had moved farther from Cascade.
Not out of fear.
Out of necessity.
The Planetary Defense Lasers remained dangerous.
But they were still energy weapons.
Greater distance reduced their effectiveness.
The farther a vessel remained from Cascade, the more punishment its shields could absorb.
The tactical display continued updating.
Dropships descended toward the planet.
Ground forces were already deploying.
The destruction of the hidden laser installations had become the highest priority.
Soon the threat would disappear.
One Sangheili officer stepped forward.
"The fleet has successfully repositioned."
The Fleetmaster gave a slight nod.
"Good."
"The humans will gain little from another volley."
The officer bowed respectfully.
Before another word could be spoken, alarms echoed across the bridge.
Several Kig-Yar technicians immediately focused on their sensor displays.
One suddenly looked up.
"Energy surge detected."
The Fleetmaster raised his eyes.
Another laser volley.
Expected.
Predictable.
And now,
Ineffective.
Or so he believed.
The tactical display highlighted thirteen energy signatures rising from Cascade.
Then every beam altered course.
Every one of them.
Toward a single destination.
The flagship.
Several officers stared in confusion.
One finally voiced the question everyone shared.
"Why?"
The Fleetmaster remained silent.
Another officer frowned.
"The nearer vessels are more vulnerable."
"They remain closer to the planet."
"Their shielding would suffer greater damage."
Simple physics supported his reasoning.
The flagship was no longer the easiest target.
Yet every laser ignored the other ships.
The Fleetmaster narrowed his eyes.
Something about this felt wrong.
The first beam struck.
Blue energy rippled violently across the flagship's shields.
The bridge trembled.
Then another beam impacted.
Another.
Then another.
The shields held.
They did not collapse.
But every impact drained them further.
Warning indicators spread across multiple displays.
The Fleetmaster watched the shield status carefully.
The humans were not trying to destroy the flagship.
Not directly.
That realization arrived a fraction of a second before another alarm erupted.
A Kig-Yar technician shouted across the bridge.
"Object detected!"
Every eye turned toward him.
"What object?" the Fleetmaster demanded.
The technician stared at his console.
"Single projectile!"
"Extreme velocity!"
A tiny contact appeared upon the tactical display.
It was almost insignificant beside the massive Covenant vessels.
Yet its speed was extraordinary.
It wasn't a missile.
It wasn't a fighter.
It wasn't a dropship.
It was something else entirely.
The tiny contact continued accelerating directly toward the flagship.
One officer stared at the display.
"What is that?"
Another warning followed immediately.
"Impact predicted!"
At that exact moment another laser struck the shields.
The already strained energy barrier fluctuated.
For the briefest instant,
A gap appeared.
The launch pod reached it.
Residual shield energy slammed into the reinforced pod with enormous force.
Any conventional craft would have been torn apart.
Any ordinary human would have died instantly.
The pod continued forward.
Its armor glowed under the tremendous energy discharge.
A heartbeat later, it smashed into the flagship's hull.
The impact echoed throughout multiple decks.
A violent shockwave rippled through the vessel.
Warning sirens filled the corridors.
Damage reports flooded the bridge.
Several crew members lost their footing.
One console exploded in a shower of sparks.
The Fleetmaster remained standing.
His eyes never left the tactical display.
The projectile had not bounced away.
It had not disintegrated.
It was inside his ship.
His mandibles tightened.
"Nishum."
A Sangheili insult meaning "intestinal parasite" or "worm." It was the word many of them used for Humanity.
Humanity.
The humans had hidden powerful weapons.
Now they had somehow forced something directly into his flagship.
His first assumption was obvious.
A bomb.
Perhaps some new boarding torpedo.
Some kind of sabotage device.
The impact alone had been violent enough.
Several officers instinctively braced themselves.
Everyone waited for the explosion.
Seconds passed.
Nothing happened.
No detonation.
No reactor overload.
No secondary blast.
The silence became unsettling.
The Fleetmaster slowly narrowed his eyes.
If it had been a bomb...
It should already have exploded.
He raised one hand.
"Immediately determine what entered this vessel."
The order spread instantly.
Internal security systems activated.
Sensor networks redirected.
Surveillance feeds began examining the impact site.
Moments later, reports arrived.
"Impact location identified."
The tactical display highlighted several decks beneath the outer hull.
Near one of the troop staging sectors.
Far from the flagship's critical systems.
Interesting.
The Fleetmaster immediately recognized deliberate targeting.
The humans had aimed carefully.
This had not been random.
Another officer reported.
"No detonation detected."
A second added,
"No radiation."
Another followed.
"No reactor signature."
"No significant heat source."
The Fleetmaster studied the reports.
"If it wasn't a bomb..."
He stared at the display.
"Then what was it?"
One officer suddenly spoke.
"The object appears to be some kind of pod."
Attention immediately shifted.
"A pod?"
The officer nodded.
A magnified holographic image appeared above the tactical table.
The object had buried itself through multiple decks before finally stopping.
Its structure was badly damaged.
Large portions were cracked.
Some sections had partially collapsed.
Yet it remained mostly intact.
The Fleetmaster studied the image.
A transport.
Not a weapon.
That realization was somehow worse.
Something had been inside it.
His expression hardened.
"Deploy security forces."
Orders spread immediately.
Throughout the flagship, Sangheili warriors moved toward the impact zone.
Jiralhanae units followed close behind.
Nearby corridors sealed automatically.
Whatever had entered the flagship...
It would be contained.
Several decks below, dozens of Covenant warriors surrounded the damaged pod.
The corridor had been devastated by the impact.
Bulkheads bent inward.
Deck plating had buckled.
Emergency lights flashed overhead.
The damaged pod rested silently at the center of the destruction.
One Sangheili advanced carefully.
Plasma rifle raised.
Another moved around the opposite side.
Several Unggoy deliberately remained farther behind.
None of them wanted to stand closest if the strange object exploded.
For several long moments...
Nothing happened.
Then,
A hiss.
Pressurized air escaped from inside.
Every Sangheili tightened their grip on their weapons.
The damaged front hatch slowly shifted.
Metal groaned loudly.
Then suddenly,
It burst outward.
Not because of explosives.
Because of raw physical force.
The reinforced hatch became a deadly projectile.
It crossed the corridor almost instantly.
The leading Sangheili never had an opportunity to react.
The massive hatch struck him directly.
His energy shields collapsed immediately.
His body followed a fraction of a second later.
The flying metal continued onward.
Several warriors behind him were hurled backward.
Others slammed violently into the corridor walls.
Fragments of twisted metal tore through nearby Unggoy.
Blood splattered across the damaged deck.
The entire front line disappeared in less than a second.
Shock spread through the surviving Covenant soldiers.
Then they heard it.
Thud.
A heavy metallic footstep echoed through the corridor.
Thud.
Another.
Thud.
Every step shook the deck beneath them.
Slowly...
A figure emerged from the shattered pod.
The surviving Covenant warriors stared.
For a brief moment,
No one moved.
The giant standing before them was enormous.
Nearly nine feet tall.
His brilliant auramite armor reflected the flashing emergency lights across the corridor.
Every plate appeared impossibly massive.
Even the Sangheili looked small by comparison.
Mounted upon his back rested an Iron Jetpack.
Behind his helmet floated an Iron Halo.
His colossal Power Fists hung calmly at his sides.
The red gemstones embedded within their knuckles glowed faintly.
The corridor suddenly felt far too small.
Gaius slowly turned his helmet.
His gaze moved across every Covenant warrior before him.
The surviving Sangheili instinctively raised their plasma rifles.
Not because anyone ordered them.
Because every instinct they possessed screamed that the being standing before them was extraordinarily dangerous.
For a long moment, Gaius simply observed them.
Normally, he would never have spoken the words forming in his mind.
But he had learned exactly what the Covenant had done.
Human colonies burned across the stars.
Billions of lives erased.
An entire species pushed steadily toward extinction.
The knowledge had settled deep within him.
It did not cloud his judgment.
It did not control him.
But it had awakened a cold anger he could no longer ignore.
Now the enemy stood directly before him.
His voice rolled through the shattered corridor like distant thunder.
"Alien filth."
The words were calm.
Controlled.
Yet every Covenant warrior heard the unmistakable anger beneath them.
~~~
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