Ah, Chapter 4. The shortest chapter yet. I think it's also the slowest. Oh well, it's necessary for the building of the story. S-Day is upon them! The Storm is coming!
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The sounds of plasma weapons being readied woke Clyde up from his slumber. His eyes were bloodshot, he was not ready to be awake. He slowly stood up and put his armor back on, piece by piece. Somebody knocked on his door.

“It’s open.”

Voro entered the room and shut the door behind him. He had a plasma rifle in his hand, and another one on his left thigh.

“Come, brother! The storm will arrive when the sun is at its highest, or so it’s been told.” Voro quickly exited the room and joined dozens of other Elites who were making their way for the deck of the outpost.

Clyde placed his helmet on his head quickly. Zeta powered back up.

“Good morning, Clyde. How did you rest?” Zeta’s voice seemed tired.

“I slept alright.” Clyde slammed the door shut as he exited his room. Elites filled the hallway entirely, each one proud to fight. “Could’ve used a bit more though.”

“Same here. Are you prepared for the storm?”

“Not really, seeing as how I don’t even know what this storm is.” Clyde tried his hardest to break into the center of the herd of warriors, each and every one of them prepared for the sun’s peak.

The Spartan finally reached the top of the outpost and broke out of the Elite herd. He approached Volo, who was staring at the rising sun.

“Volo, have you heard anything on Spartan 217?” Clyde tapped on the Elite’s shoulders to get his attention.

“Nothing yet. Most of the scientists are out here anyways, preparing with us. Almost everyone in this outpost knows how to fight, and if you know how to fight, you will be there to help us. That us our way.” Volo turned back towards the hot sun. “Time is running short. We will need to act quickly.”

The last of the Elites crowded themselves onto the top deck. Clyde had not seen the entirety of the inner outpost, but it must have been huge. It didn’t even seem logical to station all of these soldiers in this outpost, based off of its size from the outside. There was hardly any room on the upper floor. Clyde huddled right next to Voro, who stood on top of a rather short pedestal. The Elite toward over all of the others now, and rose his hands to grab the attention of his audience. Everyone was silent. Clyde could hear the wind eroding the sand.

“Elites! Let me have your attention! Today is the day we have been waiting ever so patiently for. Today, when the sun reaches its peak, the storm is expected to hit.” Volo pointed towards the center of the sky with his plasma rifle. All of the other Elites pointed upwards and chanted. “Luckily, not only do we have dozens, maybe even hundreds of soldiers at our beck and call, but we also have a human. Not just any human, a Spartan Super Soldier. Clyde.”

The Elites chanted for Clyde, raising their plasma rifles into the air.

“We have known that this day would come for a very long time now, and it is finally upon us! Do not be afraid, do not tremble under the might of the storm. We have trained years for this. We are prepared! We have an entire arsenal of weapons on our hands! Plasma Rifles, Pistols, Carbines, turrets, and of course, the Swords!” Volo unleashed his sword into the air. All of the other Elites did the same.

“Wow, looks like these Elites are even more prepared than I thought.” Zeta was surprised. She had never, in all of her active years, witnessed a sight more marvelous and fearsome as this.

“And now Elites, we begin. You have all been assigned your battle stations. Head to them, quickly! We don’t have much time! Make sure you are fully prepared! We will shed blood in this war, and some of us may even fall to the might of the storm, but we will continue fighting, for honor!”

The upper deck became a madhouse. Elite’s rushed here and there, all trying to get to their battle stations. Elites were pouring down the stairs, revealing their feet to the dry hot sand. Clyde watched as the Elites prepared. He remained still however, waiting for orders from the Elite. Volo hopped down from his pedestal and turned towards Clyde. He grabbed him by the shoulders.

“Clyde. You are a Spartan. I trust you will find your own battle station. I am in no position to give you any orders. Good luck, soldier.”

“Good luck to you too.” Clyde was scared. Not for his life, but for his new friend’s.

The two nodded at each other and split apart, waiting for the storm to hit.

An hour passed. The sun was now at its peak. Every Elite Clyde could see looked straight up at it. He did the same.

“It is time!” They all shouted. The shouts were mostly in unison.

Clyde looked out into the distant sky. The puffy, white clouds began to break apart slowly. Whatever it was, the storm was coming, and everybody seemed prepared.

“They’re here! Get ready! Take those Phantoms out with the turrets! Fire as soon as they become visible to your eyes!” Volo jumped on top of a taller pedestal, one usually used as cover for the soldiers on the top deck.

It was clear to Clyde what the storm was now. It was not a tornado or a hurricane of any sort, it was Covenant. Hostile Covenant.

“Phantoms, eh? This will be a piece of cake!” Clyde shouted to Volo, who had a Fuel Rod Cannon in hand.

The clouds broke apart completely, revealing the storm. But the storm wasn’t a Phantom. Nobody was prepared for what actually tore the clouds in half.

“This is worse than I expected.” Volo lowered his weapon, frightened. “That’s a Cruiser!”