Cyberpunk: Spartan Walker

Chapter 77 The Battle of Zhonghaina Blue Star ([-])
The bridge of the Yongzhu.

The internal structure of the Yuanqiu is projected on the holographic sand table, and several key points are marked with red dots.

Tommy glanced at the Leech boarding ship group rushing towards them through the display screen. Thanks to the desperate struggle of the Long Sword interceptor squadron, otherwise there would not even be this two-minute combat deployment time.

"Lieutenant Hicks, how long will it take for the reactor to come back online?" Tommy asked the sweaty Lieutenant Hicks.

"I'm not sure, sir." Lieutenant Hicks held up his slipping eyes. "The engineers are already working hard to fix it. We need more time."

Tommy nodded to express understanding, and then looked at Lieutenant Anthony, who was standing on the other side of the holographic sand table. He was the commander of the Marine Corps on the Yongzhu - although Tommy was in charge now.

"Lieutenant, the Covenant's goal is very clear. They want those two crystals." Tommy waved his hand and pulled out the images of the two crystals to show him, "If you can't get the Yinchu to move, here is Our cosmic graveyard.”

"There are only about 500 combat-capable marines on board the Yuanzhu, so we should concentrate our efforts and focus on protecting a few key points." Lieutenant Anthony, who had a beard and a bald head, said with a sullen face, "Put the two Leave the crystal in the officers' club next to the thickest outer titanium alloy armor, and then send heavy troops to guard it, so that we can buy us enough time."

He felt very bad about the urgency of the situation, and discussing tactics with a Spartan from Military Intelligence made this feeling even more intense.

"Lieutenant, I agree with your idea of ​​concentrating on protecting key points." Tommy changed the topic, "But sticking to the officers' club won't delay it for a long time. Pessimistically speaking, it's hard for me to imagine that the Marines can stop four enemies. Impact on hunters.”

He stared into Lieutenant Anthony's eyes and said, "We should move and fight."

"'Move and fight'?" Lieutenant Anthony couldn't help laughing out loud because he felt ridiculous. "Sir, I don't mean to offend, but you may have been in the Military Intelligence Bureau for too long and are not familiar with the ground battlefield."

Ignoring the sarcasm in his words, Tommy explained to him: "The Covenanters are very powerful, but we must also give full play to our familiarity with the terrain at home and our local firepower advantage, and keep moving to consume the opponent's Have the strength to buy more time.”

"Oh?" The lieutenant showed a playful expression, "Do you have any ideas?"

"Except for the magnetic accelerator cannon, this is the place with the strongest firepower on the Yuanzhu." Tommy pointed his finger to the side area of ​​the ship, "The hangar."

The Wasp, Scorpion, and Warthog can't travel in space, so they're all scrap at this point.

The lieutenant was stunned, and the expression on his face changed, and finally turned serious, "I really didn't think about this, but in the hangar, since our spaceship can go out, then the beasts' spaceship can also come in, we don't necessarily have it. Firepower advantage.”

"We can have the firepower advantage for a period of time." The Spartan warrior removed the M41 machine gun from the Warthog armored vehicle in the image, and then moved the Scorpion tank and Wasp to both sides. "This is the guarantee."

Tommy continued: "When the enemy deployed armored troops in the landing area, we immediately retreated, passing through multiple advantageous terrains, fighting and retreating, until we finally defended the officers' club. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" Lieutenant Anthony stood up straight, his bald head shining under the bridge lights.
-
Yongzhao infirmary.

Rebecca excitedly fiddled with the BR55 combat rifle in her hand, clicking its safety off and on again, causing the ammo meter screen showing "36" under the scope to flash.She then pulled out the magazine and looked closer, confirming that it was filled with brass-colored M634 experimental high-charge semi-armor-piercing rounds.

With the powerful combat capabilities given by the ODST battle suit and biochip, she can't wait to fight side by side with Tommy.

Next to him, Dr. Jonson was sweating profusely as he fiddled with the two crystals and sighed from time to time.

"Doctor, let's just hide those two crystals. This spaceship is so--so big," Rebecca made an "incomparably huge" gesture, "Those aliens will definitely not be able to find it."

"You can't hide it, little Rebecca." Dr. Jonson took out two new small lead glass jars from the nearby laboratory and put two shining crystals in them respectively. "They are as bright as the night. The lighthouse in.”

When the black crystal releases energy, it also activates the blue crystal. The Cherenkov radiation they emit is a natural navigation point for the Covenant.

"Hey, since it's a lighthouse, why don't we just blow up these things?"

"No." Dr. Jonson turned around and glanced at Rebecca helplessly, "Although I haven't figured out what is hidden here, there is no doubt that it contains very advanced knowledge, and it is even more advanced. The 'sacred object' of the 'ancient sages' that the Covenant people are pursuing might be the key to reversing this war, and we must not destroy it until the last moment."

"Okay." Rebecca shrugged, "Doctor, you have the final say."

The pressure door opened and Tommy walked in.His tactical belt bag was stuffed to the brim, and his body was even wrapped with tape full of magazines and various explosives.

"Dr. Jonson, these two crystals need to be moved to the hangar. Rebecca will take you to a safe place to hide until the battle is over." Tommy looked at Rebecca, "Becca, take the doctor to the lower deck. Go, Ellie will guide you.”

Dr. Jonson nodded in agreement, knowing that she would be useless in the upcoming battle.

Tommy was about to take away the two crystals, but found Rebecca staring at him angrily, as if she wanted to skin him alive.

"No!" the girl shouted at him.

Tommy frowned, feeling that she was too ignorant to act like a little girl at this critical moment. "Becca, the Covenanters are different from the gang members you have fought before. They are even stronger than me, with more advanced weapons and a strict military organization. They cannot be defeated by just shooting."

"I know." The biochip has everything humans know about the Covenant.

"Then take Dr. Jonson away quickly. If it's too late, it'll be too late." The head-up display on Tommy's helmet was connected to the external camera of the Yongzhu. In the picture, the Covenant's Leech boarding ship gradually broke through the Long Sword interceptor and The defense line formed by point defense guns rushed towards the ship, so there was a little anxiety in his words.

"I said I don't want it!" Rebecca took a step forward and shouted.

"Becca, you-"

"Tommy Price, you bastard!" she pointed at the Spartan and cursed, "What do you think I am? A dwarf who can only hide behind you?!"

He didn't expect her to say that. Tommy was stunned in place for a moment, opening his mouth but unable to say a complete sentence.

"No, I don't mean that."

"Then why don't you let me fight?" She said louder and louder, and finally she was almost roaring, "Just because I'm your girlfriend?!"

Tommy was left speechless, and that was exactly what he thought.

"Hmph! I'll kill them all myself, I don't need your protection!" Rebecca turned around and walked straight to the pressure door of the infirmary.

Tommy quickly grabbed her, "I was wrong, I was wrong."

Rebecca turned her face away from him.

"Go to Lieutenant Anthony in the hangar." Tommy turned her around and helped her put on her helmet. "He will arrange your combat position."

"Uncle, if you look down on me again, I'll beat you up!" Rebecca broke away from his hand and walked out of the infirmary quickly without looking back.

Watching her disappear around the corner, Tommy couldn't help but sigh, he was such a bad boyfriend.

"Dr. Jonson, I'll arrange for someone to send you there." He turned around and said to the doctor.

"I have my own legs, so I don't need anyone to send them to me." Dr. Jonson walked over directly and patted Tommy on the waist, "Colonel, don't die, little Rebecca will be sad."

The pressure door slid open and she left the infirmary.

Tommy picked up the two crystals, thought about it, and turned on the communicator.

"Lieutenant Anthony, a soldier named Rebecca will report to you later. Arrange a position with the strongest bunker for her."
-
Hangar No. 漼杌.

The noisy and hot hangar in the past is now extremely quiet, and all the various armored vehicles parked inside are gone.

Various bunkers are placed on the edge of the landing platform on the second floor of the hangar.Some of these bunkers are empty weapon racks, and some are scrapped titanium alloy plates. Behind each bunker is often a three-person fire team, and each fire team is equipped with an M3 anti-aircraft machine gun taken from the Warthog armored vehicle.Rebecca ran on the landing platform on the second floor of the hangar, passing through one machine gun position after another, until she reached the edge of the landing platform and came to a Hell paratrooper lying in front of a machine gun.

"Corporal Aurora?" Rebecca patted her.

"Ah, yes," Corporal Aurora, who was concentrating on the airlock door in front, was startled. After taking a closer look at the petite "Hell Paratrooper", he asked softly, "Who are you?"

"I am." Rebecca thought for a moment that she didn't seem to have a military rank, so she just said randomly, "Rebecca Major."

After hearing this, Corporal Avora quickly stood up at attention without hesitation and said to her: "Sir! Are you here to take command?"

Seeing her reaction, Rebecca couldn't help but nodded guiltily, "Corporal, don't be too showy, aliens are about to break in."

"Sorry sir, I didn't recognize you." The corporal lay down again.

Rebecca poked her head out from the bunker and took in the situation here: the hangar of the Yuanqi can be roughly regarded as a hexahedron. She was facing the No. 1 side, and a row of exhaust gates embedded on it directly connected to the hexahedron. Towards space, it is used for the entry and exit of Long Sword interceptors and Pelican troop carriers; adjacent sides 2 and 3 each have an entrance to the elevator of the deployment bay platform, which has now been sealed by a thick titanium alloy explosion-proof door; 4. Surface No. 5 is the upper deck and lower deck respectively; Surface No. 6 is the deck with its back, leaving only an airlock door on the second-floor landing platform for personnel to enter and exit, and the others are sealed.

Rebecca retracted into the bunker and looked at the M41 machine gun, and her hands suddenly became itchy.

"I'll operate this machine gun," she took off the BR55 combat rifle from her back and handed it to Corporal Avrola, "You cover me."

"As ordered, sir."

"Boom!" A huge explosion came from behind the airlock door in front of Rebecca, shaking her whole body.

The hangar was filled with the smell of metal being melted by high temperatures, and the temperature here was gradually rising.

"Marines, the outermost airlock door has been destroyed, prepare to engage the enemy." Tommy's voice sounded in the communicator of everyone here.

Rebecca couldn't help but become nervous, sweat seeping from her forehead and sliding down her cheeks.

A dazzling blue light began to emerge from the center of the airlock door a few hundred meters away from her, and a "sizzling" sound echoed in the silent hangar.Half a minute later, the airlock door was penetrated and then collapsed, and groups of Covenant troops led by elite warriors poured in.

Although she had long known what these aliens looked like through biochips, Rebecca was still secretly surprised when she actually saw their ugly appearance.

The tall elite warrior in blue armor took the lead and rushed into the hangar in a daze. When he found that there was no one here, he grinned and began to scream "hoho". He continued to rush forward while calling the Covenant people behind him to come in.

It was followed by six Grunts. It was about 150 centimeters tall. It stood upright on its feet. Its skin was bumpy, scaly, and covered with disgusting yellow spots. Its yellow and purple fins extended from the top of its head to its upper limbs, which were round and round. The eyeballs protrude from the slender head.

The last ones to appear were three gnolls who were as skinny as dead branches. Their heads were like vultures. The green energy shield they held in their left hands covered most of their bodies. The plasma pistols they held in their right hands emitted fluorescent light.

"Don't shoot, let these beasts in," Tommy ordered.

Group after group of Covenanters gathered on the deck, and soon the number reached hundreds.

Rebecca looked at the densely packed aliens, took a breath, and gently pressed her finger against the machine gun trigger.

"Free fire." Tommy's voice was as cold as ice cubes freshly transported from the North Pole.

The three Marines carrying the SPNKR rocket launcher slightly stretched out their upper bodies, and six high-explosive shaped-charge missiles immediately shot out, followed by a deafening explosion and a rising red fireball.The mutilated limbs were thrown high and rained on the heads of the stunned Covenant people around them.

The smell of gunpowder smoke and the strange stench of Covenant blood penetrated Rebecca's nostrils. She poked the muzzle of the M41 anti-aircraft machine gun out of the bunker, pointed it at the Grunts and Elite warriors almost everywhere, and then suddenly pulled the trigger. .

Not only her position, but other machine gun positions located on both sides of the landing platform on the second floor of the hangar also let out frightening roars. The angled barrage formed a fire net that could tear everything apart.

Under the cover of crossfire, the bright light of the energy shield being broken and the groan of the Grunts falling continued to appear in the Covenant army.Under such a terrifying offensive, only sporadic plasma beams that were not accurate were shot at the high platform, burning the titanium alloy plate used as a bunker into molten iron and dripping down.

The machine gun in her hand roared and trembled. Rebecca experienced the pleasure of tearing them into pieces and couldn't help laughing loudly - fighting the Covenant is not that difficult after all!
A few minutes later, with several three-round bursts from Corporal Aurora, the last visible elite soldier hiding behind the pile of corpses was also eliminated.The Marines guarding here cheered loudly to celebrate their victory in the first battle.
-
Tommy leaned on a beam on top of the hangar, staring silently at the deck covered in bullet holes and the blue-purple blood of the Covenant.

He turned on the communicator and asked the bridge: "Lieutenant Hicks, how is the reactor situation?"

"Sir, we encountered several technical difficulties and a small Covenant force there, but everything is going well for the time being, but we need you to delay for a while." Lieutenant Hicks replied.

The Covenanters were not fools. Their boarding vehicles rushed towards the Yuanzhu from all directions, making it possible for ambushes to be found in every part of the ship.However, the crystal that has been emitting radiation is the best beacon, and the main force of the Covenant pours into the hangar from the outside like moths to a flame.

He looked at a certain beam at the top of the hangar, where two crystals were placed as bait.

Tommy's private communication channel was opened with a bang, and Rebecca's proud voice rang out, "Uncle, don't worry now. Let me tell you, the Covenanters are not that strong. You guys are exaggerating." Passed."

Just as he was about to reply, there was a loud roar of engines and the sound of broken doors, and then three "U"-shaped landing craft suddenly emerged from the tattered airlock door and hovered over the hangar.The plasma cannon carried on it fired a burst of fire at the machine gun position on the landing platform on the second floor. The purple plasma beam overturned several M41 machine guns.

The Marines were so suppressed that they could not lift their heads. From time to time, someone would be hit and then let out a horrifying scream, and the strong smell of burning human flesh filled the air.
-
The Sangheili warrior Bel'Vatumi, who was invisible and clinging to the edge of the wall, was thankful for his caution. As soon as he entered the hangar, he activated the active camouflage device of his armor and escaped.

There is really no honor in being unilaterally slaughtered by humans, so he decided to hide temporarily and wait for a turn.

Bell looked around at the pile of corpses, but did not find the Anggoi named Pipilu. He was probably torn apart by human kinetic weapons.

The "U"-shaped landing craft suddenly flew in, and the plasma cannon suppressed the humans.

His upper mouth opened slightly, revealing a bloodthirsty smile, but the smile soon froze on his face - the titanium alloy explosion-proof doors on both sides of the hangar were suddenly opened, and four Scorpion tanks rushed in, smoothbore The cannon fired so violently that the ground shook.

The landing craft was hit by a cannonball, and the Sangheili warriors on the side who had not yet jumped off were turned into ashes before they could even scream.Dazzling purple flames flashed past, and the landing craft crashed onto the deck with a "bang", causing the hangar to become extremely hot.

"The evil heretic!" Bell wanted to roar loudly, but didn't dare. He could only make a small and soft hum, "Who is commanding here?!"

Although the Covenant often suffered losses in ground battles, they had never been beaten like this.

At this time, he noticed a figure flashing on the hangar beam.

The familiar armor style startled Bell - was it "that" demon?
No, the armor is the wrong color.

The Sangheili warrior narrowed his small yellow eyes and looked at this special human.He could confirm that this was a special human warrior of the same kind as "that" demon, and it must have been responsible for such exquisite battle command.

I saw it jumping off the beam, chatting with a human officer for a few words, and then left here.

"Sir, have you seen it?" Bell uploaded the recorded video to the battle network, then turned on the communicator to contact the field commander, "We can't get the sacred object unless we deal with the human soldier."
-
The Scorpion tank troops deployed on both sides of the hangar really worked, and the unfavorable situation was suddenly reversed.

"Sir, the defense line in areas 23 to 25 is about to be breached! We need support!" The marines guarding other areas of the Yuanzhu sent a signal to Tommy for help.

He glanced down. The bombardment of the Covenant landing ship just now caused a lot of casualties here. Deploying personnel from here would probably be a waste of time.

Areas 23 to 25 are less than two areas away from the engine room. Once the Yongzhu is lost, it will become a lamb to be slaughtered that has lost its mobility.

Tommy's fingers tapped unconsciously on the beam, making a slight "thunk" sound.

The situation here is generally stable. Lieutenant Anthony is also a very capable officer. There won't be any big problems if he is given the command. It seems that he has to go there alone.

He jumped off the beam, handed over tactical command to Lieutenant Anthony and hurriedly left the hangar.

(End of this chapter)