Chapter 332 - 329 — Breach

Chapter 332: Chapter 329 — Breach

Chapter 329 — Breach

The impact was severe.

The massive boarding craft struck the Covenant flagship’s weakened shields at high velocity.

For a fraction of a second, the remaining energy barrier held.

Then it collapsed.

BOOOOM!

A blinding flash spread across the impact point as the craft tore through the failing shield and slammed into the flagship’s outer hull.

The reinforced prow crumpled against the armor.

But the craft’s momentum did not stop.

It continued forward, forcing its way through the damaged section of the hull.

Layers of plating buckled and tore apart.

Structural supports snapped under the enormous force.

Internal shock absorbers overloaded almost immediately, struggling to dissipate the impact as the craft drove deeper into the vessel.

The collision was felt throughout the flagship.

The entire ship lurched.

The decks shook violently.

The sensation was almost like an earthquake traveling through the vessel, except it had no ground beneath it, only thousands of tons of structure being forced apart by the impact.

Crew members were thrown from their stations.

Equipment tore loose from its mounts and slammed across the decks.

Some consoles shattered against the walls.

Ceiling panels broke apart and fell into the corridors.

The floor beneath several sections buckled.

Bulkheads groaned under the sudden stress.

Emergency lights flickered violently before several sections plunged into darkness.

Then the flagship’s internal systems fought to stabilize itself.

Inertial compensators activated at full capacity.

Structural systems attempted to redistribute the stress.

Emergency bulkheads began sealing automatically.

But the damage had already been done.

The boarding craft had driven several decks into the vessel before finally coming to a stop.

Another deep tremor passed through the ship.

BOOM.

A section of the forward structure collapsed.

Across the flagship, alarms erupted.

"Structural breach!"

"Forward section damaged!"

"Multiple compartments losing pressure!"

"Bulkhead failure on decks four through seven!"

"Seal the affected sections!"

The Covenant command deck shook hard enough to throw several officers against their restraints and consoles.

Regret’s gravity throne shifted violently sideways before its stabilizers managed to correct it.

He gripped the armrest and stared at the tactical display.

The ship had been struck.

Not merely damaged by weapons fire.

A human craft had physically punched through the flagship’s weakened shields and outer armor before burying itself several decks inside the vessel.

The command display filled with warning indicators.

A portion of the forward structure had gone dark.

Several internal systems had stopped responding.

Pressure alarms appeared across multiple compartments.

Emergency bulkheads continued sealing throughout the damaged sections.

Then another report arrived.

"Impact penetration confirmed!"

Regret’s eyes narrowed.

"How deep?"

The officer checked the structural readings.

"Four decks."

He hesitated.

New data appeared.

His expression changed.

"Correction."

He swallowed.

"Five decks. The craft is lodged between the forward service levels."

The command deck fell silent.

The flagship was the pinnacle of Covenant naval engineering.

Its shields had absorbed sustained fire from the human fleet.

Its armor had endured repeated impacts.

It had been built to survive battles that would have destroyed ordinary vessels.

Yet a single human craft had just punched through its defenses and physically buried itself inside the ship.

Regret’s fist tightened around the armrest.

"Seal the damaged sections."

"Already attempting to."

"Isolate the impact zone. Cut power to the affected decks and deploy security teams."

"Understood."

Regret looked back toward the tactical display.

The human fleet continued firing outside.

But his attention was no longer on the battle beyond the hull.

Something was inside his ship.

Regret already knew what, or rather, who, it might be.

The golden warrior.

The same creature who had boarded the previous flagship and destroyed it from within.

The possibility alone made his grip tighten around the armrest.

"Deploy every available security unit."

His eyes remained fixed on the damaged section.

"Find him."

Inside the boarding craft, the impact had finally come to a stop.

Everything was dark.

Smoke drifted through the interior.

Warning lights flickered along the walls.

For several seconds, nobody moved.

Then Gaius opened his eyes.

The restraints had held.

He looked toward the others.

"Titus."

Titus released his restraint.

"Intact."

"Metaurus?"

"Intact."

The other Bladeguard Veterans gave their confirmations.

The Dreadnought remained completely still.

Its enormous armored frame had barely shifted despite the impact.

Gaius looked toward him.

"You?"

The Dreadnought’s vox gave a low mechanical rumble.

"Entirely functional."

Gaius nodded.

The collision had done exactly what he intended.

They were inside.

He turned toward the front of the craft.

"JARVIS."

Static answered him.

Then the AI’s voice returned.

"We have successfully penetrated the Covenant vessel, sir."

Gaius looked toward the tactical display.

"Damage?"

"The boarding craft has sustained significant structural damage. Several external systems are no longer operational."

Gaius glanced around.

"And the flagship?"

"Severe structural damage localized around the impact section. Multiple internal compartments have been compromised."

Gaius nodded.

"Can we communicate with the assault vessel?"

"Yes. Communications remain functional."

"Good."

He looked toward the sealed doors.

"Open them."

The mechanism struggled.

The impact had distorted the doors.

The massive doors were made of thick, reinforced metal, their heavy frames wedged tightly into the damaged bulkhead. They were built to withstand explosions, pressure loss, and the force of boarding actions, but the collision had bent them inward and jammed them in place.

Titus and Metaurus stepped forward together.

They positioned themselves on opposite sides of the sealed doorway.

Then they raised their armored legs and kicked the doors at the same time.

The impact thundered through the corridor.

The huge metal doors buckled violently.

A second kick followed.

With a deafening shriek of tearing metal, the doors were ripped from their mounts and flew outward into the corridor beyond, crashing through the smoke and scattering debris across the deck.

Smoke poured into the craft.

Beyond them was the interior of the Covenant flagship.

The corridor had been devastated.

The force of the impact had torn through the passageway.

Sections of the walls had collapsed.

Covenant equipment was scattered across the deck.

Several bodies lay among the debris.

A ruptured conduit sparked overhead.

The air was filled with the smell of burning metal and ozone.

Titus looked out.

"That’s quite an entrance."

Gaius stepped through the breach.

"Make sure they remember it."

The Bladeguard followed.

Then the Dreadnought emerged.

Its enormous frame filled much of the damaged corridor.

The floor groaned beneath its weight.

For the first time, the Covenant defenders who had rushed toward the breach saw what had entered their ship.

A giant in gold armor.

Four heavily armored warriors in blue armor stood behind him. Two carried shields and power swords. Titus held a chainsword and bolt pistol, while Metaurus wielded a double-edged power axe.

And behind them,

Something even larger.

The Dreadnought stepped forward through the smoke.

The Covenant line hesitated.

Only for a moment.

Then the plasma weapons came up.

Gaius drew his weapon.

"Brothers."

The Bladeguard raised their shields.

Titus lowered his stance.

The Dreadnought’s weapons powered up.

Gaius looked down the ruined corridor.

"Break through."

The Covenant opened fire.

The corridor erupted with blue plasma.

The Bladeguard advanced into it.

Their shields absorbed the first impacts.

Gaius moved behind them.

The Dreadnought followed.

Titus raised his bolt pistol.

BOOM.

The first round struck a Covenant warrior squarely in the chest.

The impact tore through its armor and sent the Sangheili staggering backward.

Titus fired again.

BOOM.

Another warrior dropped.

Beside him, Metaurus advanced with his plasma pistol raised, the weapon glowing as it charged another shot.

THOOM.

A ball of superheated plasma struck a shielded Sangheili.

Its energy shield flared violently.

The warrior staggered from the impact.

Metaurus fired again.

THOOM.

The shield collapsed.

The next plasma bolt struck the exposed armor and tore through it.

The Sangheili fell.

The two Bladeguard Veterans moved alongside them, their storm shields raised as plasma fire crashed against their protective barriers.

Titus and Metaurus continued advancing.

Titus’s bolt pistol steadily picked apart unshielded targets and weakened enemy shields through repeated hits.

Metaurus’s plasma pistol dealt with the more heavily protected warriors, each shot hitting with considerably greater force.

BOOM.

THOOM.

BOOM.

THOOM.

The corridor filled with the sounds of gunfire and the flashes of Covenant plasma.

Gaius and the Dreadnought did not need to strike a single blow. With storm shields locked and pistols cycling in steady rhythm, the four warriors ahead carved through the Covenant line like a siege engine. The defenders folded before they could even establish a position.

Gaius simply walked behind them, the Dreadnought’s heavy footsteps thundering at his side. Neither needed to force their way forward, the path was already being cleared for them.

Occasionally, a plasma bolt slipped past the two shields and struck the Dreadnought.

The impact splashed across its armor, scattering sparks through the corridor.

The ancient machine did not even slow.

Another shot struck its shoulder.

Nothing.

It continued walking at the same deliberate pace.

Gaius received several shots as well, but they produced little more than flashes against his armor.

He paid them no attention.

His eyes remained fixed ahead.

The four warriors continued their advance, steadily cutting through the Covenant defenders.

For the moment, the enemy had no answer for them.

~~~

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