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"Creedance squad, move up!" Hammer waved his hand forward, and his marines and O.D.S.T.'s made a mad dash for cover like he had ordered, advancing the front lines. If they could capture their little part of hell, the entire operation would be a whole lot easier. Michael heard a metallic thunk and turned on his left side to see what it was, grimacing at the pain in his legs from running. There sitting diagonally out of the ground was a Brute Grenade threatening death to those around it. He quickly grabbed it and yanked it hard out of the ground, and tossed it into the air above the enemy brute's positions.

The grenade exploded and molten spikes rained down upon the Covenant fighters, piercing a grunts methane tank and causing a small explosion. Spike pierced armor and brute's fell to the ground wounded, only to be dispelled and added to the enemies KIA statistics with a quickly two round burst to the head. Michael chinned the communications device and switched to COMPCOM,.

"All squad leaders, this is Cloverfield; Creedance squad is moving up. Black Bear; confirmed hostiles moving en route to your position, over."

Seth paused to listen to the transmission and fully grasp the situation. "Roger that Cloverfield, Black Bear out." Seth replied his voice was grated, filled with smoke and dust from the battle.

Seth gestured at Bishop to round up the squad and advance them to the wall--double time.
He himself began trotting behind the man taking a few pauses to survey the battlefield.
Ahead Seth saw the Tank blow a hole through the Covenant wall and begin it's march through. That's more or less what Armors were made for. Blowing s**t up and pushing through. Like an advanced siege engine.

He heard semi-distant howls from the Brutes. Seth got on his COM adressing the remaining Marines who were searching the battlefield for survivors, "Move up Marines! Advance to the wall!" He ordered them. A few remained out of protocol, on established turrets and other defensive points.
The rest however advanced forward into battle.

Seth himself reached the Wall, "Bishop, get Alexander and a spotter up on that wall. Have him take out priority targets. The rest of you you're with me." Seth switched COM channels to address the Captain, "Wasp this Black Bear, Cloverfield reports enemy movement to our position from the south. We need to take out that AA now before reinforcements arrive."

Seth arrived after the tank had rolled through the entrance along with hordes of Marines to meet the now defensive Brute installments.

Seth glanced behind him to see Bishop and the rest of his squad minus two. The Marines all looked grim, none seemed too worse for ware. But he saw in all of their faces that they knew this battle wasn't over yet.

"Let's go!" Seth ordered as he too moved through the large hole the tank had made, and into combat.

Matt started to move up with the tank and he went behind the barricade. He pocked his head out and saw Mitchell get hit. Matt hopped over the barricade and started towards James but a brute with purple armor popped out. Matt raised his new shotgun at beast and shot 2 shells at it. The brute yelled and punched Matt square in the chest. Matt hit the ground hard and the brute went in for the final blow but Matt shot it in the head. He got up and coughed some blood and finally reached James. "Hey man i got you,"Matt said still coughing up blood.

[James "Joker" Mitchell]

"I'm fine." James said, stood up, grabbed his MA5C, and plucked the spiker round out of his right shoulder.

James signaled for Morrison to provide covering fire and got ready to move. Mitchell sprinted toward the wreckage of a downed Banshee and took cover behind it. "On me." Joker said into his com to Morrison and moved up toward a small hill.

James advanced to the aqueduct position and crouched below the sound of MG fire and reloaded his rifle. James fired on some advancing Jackals; he took down two before the remaining four got in phalanx formation. "s**t!" James cursed and flung a grenade at the formation, only to be reflected of a luminous shield of plasma.

James with his left hand raised the fuel rod cannon on his back and fired off a large spherical blast of green plasma. The Jackals, attempted to scatter but it was to late, the were scorched by the plasma, James smiled as the felt his wraith envelop them in a fiery hell. "Good night, ya' bastards." James said triumphantly.

James checked the weapon, one shot left. "Better save this one." He muttered and checked his assault rifle. Twelve rounds were left in it, he had four clips left, he figured he was in the clear. Normally this would be his last one, but he grabbed a lot more than usually when they were in Crow's Nest.

James figured they would begin advancing again soon. He steeled himself for the inevitable march towards the AA battery.

Seth and his squad moved to the center of the wall, in between the Tank and Karr's squad, "We're making a hole right through the middle ladies." Seth announced to the squad, "Books, set me up." Seth ordered pointing towards a spot on the wall.

John Yale, a corporal and average looking Marine, one whom Seth hadn't worked with directly before stepped up and began planting charges at the base of the wall.

Seth turned to face the rest of his squad, "We've got three-oh-first reinforcements on their way, right now we need to start pressing these Brutes. Creedance and Wolf squads are to our right flank, and the Armor and Laconea are to our left. We're pressing through the middle."

Yale continued his preparations, Bailey had migrated towards Bishops position in the mock-huddle and the others were tightly knit.

"With the Armor on one side and two squads on the other the Brutes will be occupied. Our opposition shouldn't be overwhelming," Seth paused, knowing full well that some of the Marines already considered the possibility he was about to mention, "However, if the Brutes decide to Blitz they'll go for the weakest point-- that's us. Our job then will be to hold them until the Armor and other squads can take them from behind...If this happens we hold the line no matter what. They are not going to be allowed to get through."

Seth was aware of Yale getting up, and putting his backpack back on looking a bit nervous. "You ready Marines?" Seth asked giving the entire group a firm confident look.

They all remained silent, but Bishop spoke up immediately, "Yes sir." He said in his solid voice. Seth could see that the others were ready. But Bandoleer was a grim squad. They did what needed doing, no matter what. When one said they were ready, it meant the whole squad was ready.

Seth and the Squad moved away form the wall for the blast radius, Yale looked to Seth, who did not meet his gaze. Instead, Seth's eyes were concentrated on the battle that lay on the other side. "Blow it." He ordered.

Yale flipped up the casing and squeezed the trigger down hard. Seth averted his eyes for the deafening and blinding explosion. He waited for the debris to fall and then began to move, "Bandoleer, move up!" He ordered, BR55 level.
As they advanced there was a confidence and firmness in each one of their footsteps. A deadly grim promise in each boot. No matter what happened, Bandoleer would hold.

Dansmith, the forward units have broken through! The wall is breached, and we have Armor incoming from the west, and Bandoleer Squad is approaching from the South. That AA gun is as good as toast! Ashton looked up, straining his eyes to see clearly through the alternating harsh-bright from the glaring African sun and the choking-black of the multitudes of wrecked vehicles and burning bodies. There were C-12 explosive scorches located in tandem with a whole lot of nothing: they had blasted clean through the wrought-iron and concrete barricades that had controlled the Aqueduct system, and now their passage was clear.

That is, it would have been, if it weren't for the Brutes and Banshee's shooting at them. Plasma washed over them as a formation of four Banshees screamed over Creedance Squad, and a man screamed quickly to Ashton's left, before vaporizing in a green-ionized shockwave, courtesy of a Banchee's Heavy Fuel Rod. The concussion blasted Ashton sideways, but he slammed into some of his squadmates. He picked himself up to find that Master Gunnery Sergeant Catherine and Commander Hammer both had taken the hit.
"Sorry, sirs!" He called, then scrambled up and layed down a string of suppressive fire into the hole, knowing damn-well that he would hit something eventually.

"No Sir," Morrison responded. He took out his shotgun and loaded it. "Dont worry Janovek, we got your back," Matt said trying to reasher the marines. But the PFC knew that the problity of Janovek making it was slim, him and Mitchell were good, but they were only human.

Lee waved his thanks at the tank's operator as the lumbering machine tore through the shield phalanx of jackals that had gathered at the eastern breach. For now, the wall would hold. He turned on the hole and began running back along the line, tapping the shoulders of the MG nest spotters as he went.

"Come along, boys, this wall's going to be safe for a while. Wolf squad, gather at exit 64-D!"

Marines began to form a line behind him, as most of the troops who had been with him since the initial assault had survived to understand why it was that people like Lee got promoted. It was because they were good at what they did, and in doing well motivated those around them to give their best, coaxing victories from battles that would have been declared losses by most observational strategists. The Captain continued to rally troops until most of Delta had caught up, an entire platoon's worth of men now waiting anxiously in the aqueduct's relative safety.

The other companies made it as well, and now the battle was squarely in the UNSC's favor. Three entire companies of marines and ODSTs were pouring through and over the wall, sniper groups and firing squads methodically and ruthlessly picking off targets at an alarming speed. The covenant encampment that had been just moments ago been alive with movement and the burning lights of plasma fire was now smoldering with craters and dotted with scores of bullet holes. Dead brutes and the dessicated corpses of grunts and jackals lay here and there, the last resistance coming only from the defenders on the AA battery itself. From the massive structure's central hub, plasma fire continued to rain ineffectively on the sheltered marines, and as the tank advanced far enough to let off it's first round, the AA battery suddenly lurched and tilted as the first armor-piercing round glanced off the gun's protective plating.

The plasma fire stopped as the defenders were tossed sideways into each other by the sudden imbalance, and Lee could hear his helmet mike spark to life as Hammer's orders came in loud and clear as day.

"THIS IS IT, MARINES! PUSH FOR THE LEGS!"

The exit slammed open as Winter ran out the door first, almost immediately gone in the smoke and fumes that were flickering about the pockmarked landscape, and the other marines followed as everywhere, from 4 points in the long aqueduct's wall, reinforcements began to pour out and onto the field. The green flood of human forces exploded into action, dodging incoming banshee fire, turret fire, and jackal fire as they all charged across the field. Somewhere in the distance, Lee spotted Hammer's armored form leading a charge on one of the legs, run into an occupied bunker, and summarily dispose of all the opponents left inside. A few seconds later, the radio flickered to life again.

"Creedance squad in position. Setting charges."

Lee continued running, his legs pumping as fast as they could, and soon found himself at the front of another charge, a stray beam rifle blast vaporizing the dirt next to his foot and spraying him with steam. Crouching lower, he managed to dodge fire long enough to run up to an unoccupied plasma turret nest, jump off the brute corpse that was lying there, and take cover against the wall that he rolled to. A fire team of incoming marines opened fire on an opponent down the alley and Lee took the opportunity to slip sideways through the derelict building, swapping his shotgun for the assault rifle slung across his back. Peeking into the street that the alley opened onto, he noticed the brutes still clinging desperately to the AA battery's leg, desperate to defend it even as they were hopelessly outmatched. A smile crossed the Captain's face as he thought of the situation's irony.