Chapter 44

With the departure of Axel, Lieutenant Commander Bradley started researching the underground compound. Researchers specializing in forerunner technology were being brought in to research everything within the compound. Over the course of the next few days, the researchers discovered that the computers within the compound were active, and they were able to interface with it.

Though some computers such as the one that Axel used were inactive and no longer usable. And for the one that could be used the researcher had never interfaced with a Forerunner compound, so they had to figure out how to work the consoles.

Admiral Parangosky was informed about the litter altercation between Axel and Lieutenant Commander Bradley, which made her a little disappointed that Lieutenant Commander Bradley would take such rash actions. Yes, she did tell him to make sure that he finds out what Axel was looking for and if he found anything to report it to her. But she did not expect him to carry out her orders in such a manner that he disregarded the two stars that Axel had on his uniform.

Still the Forerunner compound that they had discovered was a huge find for the UNSC. So far, she has been watching Axel's career and she has tried to stop his influence multiple times, but he was just too popular. Whether it was within the UNSC or within the colonies, his name was known by Billions.

The people of Harvest had referred to him as the savior of Harvest or the Hero of humanity. And he was also smart, so doing anything directly to him would not be ideal. But he would not always be protected by fame and his intelligence, and when that time comes, she will strike him down directly and force him into submission.

For now, she would appear like she supports him on the outside, but on the inside, she would always be scheming to take him down and protect her current position.

Leaving aside Admiral Parangosky and her plans which are doomed to fail, Axel had plotted a course to the coordinates that he received from the Compound on Arcadia. The place in which they were going was in uncharted space, meaning that humans had not explored that area of the galaxy yet.

The trip was to take 2 hours in Warp which meant that the planet was far from any human charted space. As he was in Warp, he had received a message from Admiral Cole stating how he was promoted from Vice Admiral to an actual 4-star Admiral and was placed in charge of defending the Outer colonies from the Covenant.

He had split the fleet up to operate within various systems across the outer colonies, while the Forerunner vault on Harvest had been successfully taken before the Covenant could do any research. Also, the Covenant had not returned to Harvest yet and had been quiet since they were defeated the first time.

As the Leviathan continued its warp travel, Axel immersed himself into the ship's logs and strategic reports, focusing his prodigious mind on possible defense tactics against the Covenant. Each strategy was calculated, examined, discarded, or archived for future use.

With the help of the onboard ship AI Avia, Axel was able to run through thousands of simulations and scenarios, finding the best course of action for each one. The ship's bridge had turned into a chaotic war room with holographic screens projecting maps of star systems, naval formations, and Covenant attack patterns. His team worked tirelessly to provide the necessary details and information for his calculations.

Axel continued to strategize until finally, the Leviathan arrived at its destination. They were several light-years away from charted space, in a system untouched by human exploration. Unknown celestial bodies floated around them as they navigated through uncharted territories.

In front of them was the location where the coordinates had led them to. "Admiral, we have arrived at the coordinates, but I don't know where we are exactly" Reported Avia.

"That's fine we are somewhere in uncharted space so naturally you wouldn't know, for now focus on scanning the surface of the planet" Ordered Axel.

A few moments passed before Avia chimed in with her findings, "I have completed a planetary scan, Admiral, and the readings are quite erratic."

Axel sighed "It was to be expected" said Axel to himself. He did not remember the name of the planet from memory, but he did know that it was a Forerunner shield world. On the outside it was overrun with the Flood which is the crazy readings that Avia is getting.

While on the inside was where the Forerunner installation was located. And since much of the planet surface was overrun by the flood, that would prove to be a problem. And this was not some video game where he could train squads and send them to die against the Flood. But the presence of the Flood was interfering with orbital scans preventing him from finding where the Forerunner installation was located.

It was a tough decision to make but he wanted to see how they would do against the Flood and see how bad the surface looked.

"Avia deploy troops to the surface; we need to find out what's happening on the surface and set up a base" Ordered Axel.

"Aye Admiral" said Avia as she prepared the Marines and MCUs for deployment.

The ship was buzzing with activity as the marines and the MCUs began preparing for deployment. The MCUs, towering machinations of war purpose-built for these types of hazardous offensives, were set to deploy first. They were to establish an initial defensive perimeter on the surface and assess the situation before human troops arrived.

One by one Pelicans and transport ships left the Hanger of the Leviathan escorted by Longswords. Once they breached the atmosphere the camera feeds displayed from the Pelicans revealed the surface of the planet which looked highly volatile.

As they were flying looking for a clearing to land some strange creatures had appeared flying at them "Pelican 2 are you seeing this" Asked the pilot for Pelican 1.

"Yeah, I'm seeing it, what should we do" Responded the pilot for Pelican 2.

Before Pelican 1 could respond, Axel had chimed in "You are free to engage, Viper team light them up and protect the Pelicans" Ordered Axel.

Viper team acknowledged and had shot their 120mm ventral guns at the flying creatures. At the same time the flying creatures had shot their own projectile at the Pelicans before they were shot down which penetrated the hull.

"This is Pelican 3; my windshield has been cracked by a projectile from the creatures" reported the pilot for Pelican 3.

"Understood, Pelican 3 maintain formation and be cautious" Axel responded. Shortly after that the Pelican approached their location and started to unload the MCUs, while the transport ships had come in and dropped off some Warthogs.

A small team of MCUs had broken off from the main group to start scouting the area. Axel had multiple screens up watching the situation on the ground.

"Admiral," came Avia's voice, her tone slightly strained. "The surface is more hostile than we anticipated. Detecting multiple concentrations of those strange creatures around our landing position,"

"Continue with the mission Avia," Axel ordered without hesitation. "And once the defenses are set up deploy the marines so we can figure out a way around this interference."

The second wave of marines prepped for deployment. The ship's hold was soon filled with the clatter of armored boots and the whirring sound of weaponry checks.

Meanwhile, Viper team continued their engagement with the flying Flood forms. Projectiles blasted through space around them, and they returned fire with their 120mm ventral guns.

So far things have been going well for them. Or so he thought until the next report came in "Admiral, I am picking up large creature structures all over the area, it's similar to Hive structures and large amounts of creatures are converging on the base" Reported Avia.

"Deploy all Aerial vehicles and get us within the planet's atmosphere, the two destroyers and cruiser will maintain position in orbit and provide fire support, while the two frigates will accompany us to the surface" Ordered Axel.

"Acknowledged, Admiral," Avia responded, her voice as cool as ever despite the increasingly dire situation. The Leviathan rumbled as it directed its trajectory towards the planet's atmosphere.

Axel watched as the feeds from the Pelicans displayed an escalating conflict. The creatures were converging on their position in waves. The MCUs were holding their ground but for how long, that was unpredictable. The Falcons and more Longswords were deployed to the surface for Close air support, but they would take some time to reach the MCUs position.

The marines were the same, as they were en route, but would be a few minutes. Still the MCUs had managed to hold their own with the limited defenses that they were able to set up.

"Viper team, status report," Axel ordered. He continued to monitor the battlefield on his holographic screens, his mind already calculating strategies and countermeasures.

"We're engaging the enemy, sir. They are relentless but we're holding our position," came Viper 1's response amidst the background noise of gunfire and orders being barked.

"Keep at it, Viper team. Your objective is to buy some time for our marines to land on the ground." Said Axel. "And Avia initiate surface pattern Alpha-9."

"Affirmative Admiral." Avia proceeded to issue out orders, her voice echoing throughout the ship.

The frigate pilots gunned their engines, escorting the Leviathan as they pierced through layers of clouds and mist into the planet's atmosphere.

The descent was turbulent, the alien planet's atmosphere buffeting their ship and its escorts. Axel braced himself, eyes never leaving the screens displaying the progressing battle below. The rain of fire from the cruiser and destroyers in orbit was lending some much-needed support to the embattled ground forces but he knew that it was not enough.

"Admiral," Avia reported, her voice cutting through the chaos, "Marines have landed and are deploying. They have split up with some MCUs and are now pushing east from our landing zone towards what appears to be clusters of these hive structures."

"Good," Axel replied. He squinted at the feeds, analyzing the movements of both his troops and those of the enemy. "We need to find a way to disrupt these creatures, break their momentum."

"We could try to target the most concentrated areas with an Orbital MAC round Admiral, but we would need the marines to designate the target," Avia suggested.

"Do it" responded Axel.

"Avia, send a notification to our ground units. Designate the most concentrated areas for an Orbital MAC round."

"Affirmative, Admiral." Avia's fingers danced across her controls, relaying the orders.

"Viper team, I need you to cover our marines," Axel commanded. His eyes flickered over another screen that showed Viper Team's Longswords weaving between hives and enemy fire.

"We're on it, Admiral," came Viper 1's response.

The next few seconds were a blur. The Longswords dipped and darted in an aerial dance of death, drawing enemy fire away from their ground troops. At the same time, Marines and MCUs pressed on through the teeming swarm of alien creatures, their objective clear – mark the enemy's hive clusters for orbital bombardment.

"Admiral," came a voice over the comms. It was Sergeant Major Hawkins, leader of the Marine detachment. "We've designated several of the hive structures for MAC strikes."

"Understood Sergeant Major," Axel replied, his gaze intently focused on a representation of the planet shimmering in front of him. "Avia prepare to fire MAC rounds on my mark."

Dots began to flash upon the holographic map - targets designated for destruction.

"Fire" Ordered Axel.

"MAC rounds firing in three... two... one..." Avia's voice counted down, as the cruiser and destroyers in orbit had fired their MAC rounds at the designated target.

The holographic screens showed the MAC rounds piercing through the planet's atmosphere like fiery meteors, their trajectory unerringly aimed at the marked hive structures. The moments ticked by with a tense silence until...

"Impact confirmed, Admiral," Avia reported, her tone carrying a note of triumph. "Multiple hits on target."

"I am not picking up a strange signal Admiral on the far side of the planet" Announced Avia.

"Copy that, recall all ground troops, and plot a course for that location," said Axel. The Flood structures were interfering with their scanners. But destroying them had weakened that interference allowing them to pick up the signal from the Forerunner installation.

Now it was time to go and claim the rewards.