Inside the isolation chamber:
"My lord is omniscient and omnipotent... Hahaha, you will... you will... ugh!"
Despite receiving a significant dose of sedatives, Littrell gradually regained consciousness. However, just as "he," or rather "it," attempted to laugh and continue speaking, the technicians had already begun "dissecting" him, preparing to study his physical structure.
Of course, the technicians were careful not to "kill" him directly.
Meanwhile, Chris, Ice Claw, Night Howl, and the others in the observation room watched the scene, contemplating how to extract useful information from Littrell.
Athena, who had just entered the observation room, seemed to notice something unusual and warned everyone:
"Everyone, this... heretic before us is likely bait, meant to lure the Investigation Department into capturing him.
Our location might be compromised, so the priority is no longer interrogation or research. We must immediately prepare the base for combat."
"He doesn't have any tracking or listening devices on him," Ice Claw remarked with a frown.
"No," Chris said, his brow tightly furrowed. "Lieutenant Athena is right. This guy is already under the influence of supernatural forces and is no longer an ordinary corrupt official."
Chris turned to face Athena, who stood tall at 2.4 meters, and added, "Lieutenant, although I don't have the clearance to fully understand your Supernatural Phenomena Control Division's jurisdiction, we've dealt with similar incidents before.
Therefore, you should take temporary command, and we in the Investigation Department will do our best to support you."
"Thank you for understanding," Athena acknowledged, appreciating Chris's support. She continued:
"Based on the information we have in the Control Division, it's clear that this individual has been corrupted by Chaos, which explains the physical mutations that give him the strength to rival your investigators.
Moreover, his constant references to 'my lord' indicate that not only he but also Kinsler, whom your department has been tracking, and likely many officers in the Mombasa Police Department, have been corrupted and influenced by Chaos.
If that's the case, Team Leader Redfield," Athena said, shifting slightly to look at Chris with a serious tone, "then the enemy may have already extended their reach across the entire city of Mombasa, putting millions of residents at risk.
So, not only do we need to prepare this base for combat, but we also need to notify the Atlas fleet in the Eridana system and have them head straight to Earth to assist.
At the same time, we must request the company to communicate with the UNSC because if this is mishandled, not only Mombasa but the entire Earth of Universe-08 will be in danger."
"You're the acting commander of this base now. It's all up to you, Lieutenant Athena," Chris responded without hesitation.
"Understood," Athena nodded, turning to the surveillance camera in the upper right corner of the observation room. "Cortana, notify the company fleet in the Eridana system immediately and inform the boss of everything happening here."
With that, Athena walked toward the sensor-operated door leading to the observation window.
Swish—!
As the door slid open, Athena entered the disinfection chamber. Once the disinfection procedure was complete, she walked into the isolation chamber and raised her left hand, placing it on Littrell's head.
"Oh?"
Littrell, weak and barely conscious, noticed the incredibly beautiful "woman" standing before him, and his eyes lit up, clearly intending to say something vulgar.
However, before Littrell—who served some unknown Chaos entity—could speak, a faint golden light erupted from Athena's palm.
Boom—!
Instantly, a fiery red flame engulfed Littrell.
Within two seconds, he was reduced to ashes, never getting the chance to utter another word of filth or insult.
After dealing with Littrell, Athena turned and spoke through the observation window to Chris and the others:
"Team Leader Redfield, please gather all special ops investigators in the base immediately and prepare for a defense. I will coordinate with the Grey Adjudicators to face the threat."
Moments later, on the surface:
The clear, cloudless night sky made the bright moonlight even more visible, providing excellent visibility.
Southwest of the base:
Nine Pelican dropships, belonging to the Mombasa Police Department, were rapidly approaching the base's location.
The Pelican, a versatile and cost-effective aircraft, came in various models. Military, police, and rescue variants were especially popular.
Unlike many East African cities in other universes, Halo's Mombasa was a top-tier metropolis. As a result, the Mombasa Police Department had ample funding to purchase large numbers of Pelican dropships.
The officers on board, preparing to assault the base, were elite SWAT members equipped with the best personal gear and weapons in the city.
In reality, when Chris and his team had set out to capture Mombasa's biggest corrupt official, Kinsler, they had underestimated him. Kinsler had cleverly exploited public perception, hiding in plain sight, pretending to be scared and cowardly.
This façade caused Chris and his team to relax slightly, thinking Kinsler was just another hard-to-catch pest.
Littrell, acting as bait, had lured them into revealing the location of the Atlas base on Earth.
Following that, apart from the airborne squadron in sight, the UNSC's 6th Army Division, stationed near Mombasa, dispatched an infantry regiment and two armored battalions to the base.
Additionally, the night sky was filled with the "meteor shower" of Helljumpers performing orbital drops.
The Helljumpers' motherships—three Charon-class light frigates, which looked similar to the Paris-class—adjusted their trajectories to provide ground support after the orbital drop.
This massive operation showed the respect the UNSC was giving Atlas.
The UNSC's 6th Army Division leaders, along with the captains of the three Charon-class frigates, intended not only to wipe out Atlas's forces on Earth but also to capture valuable personnel to use as leverage in negotiations with Atlas.
After all, the UNSC's top naval commander was still in Atlas's hands.
Moreover, the UNSC desperately needed a victory to turn the tide of their increasingly passive position.
However, the officers of the Mombasa Police Department, following Kinsler's orders, had a more "simple" goal—to provoke a direct conflict between the UNSC and Atlas and try to cause large-scale casualties.
Meanwhile, at the base:
Scattered among the trees, the scouts used optical camouflage cloaks to hide in advantageous positions, aided by the base's pulse radar to monitor the surrounding area.
Missile silos at the surface entrance quickly opened.
Then—
Whoosh—whoosh—!!
More than a dozen anti-air missiles, loaded with metallic hydrogen, launched into the sky, leaving white trails as they shot toward the Pelican formation.
Within moments, the scouts witnessed the rise of several miniature "suns" that flared and then quickly dissipated.
Whoosh—!
Boom!
The resulting shockwaves, although significantly weaker, still shook the area with deafening explosions.
The elite SWAT officers, possibly corrupted by Chaos and possessing superhuman physical abilities, never had the chance to demonstrate their loyalty to their "lord" before being "vaporized" by temperatures reaching millions of degrees.
Boom—boom—!
However, just as the Pelican formation from the Mombasa Police Department was neutralized, the Helljumpers had already landed in the surrounding forests.
Thud, thud!
The sounds of drop pods opening echoed through the trees.
The scouts, selected from the Investigation Department's special ops team, monitored the positions of each Helljumper on their helmet radars.
Still, they maintained their hidden positions, continuing to serve as the base's "eyes."
Soon, over 200 Helljumpers arrived, forming squads of six and moving to surround the base entrance.
Upon reaching the designated area, several Helljumpers placed demolition charges on what appeared to be an empty patch of ground and then retreated to a safe distance.
Boom!!
"Charge! Charge! Charge!"
"Second squad, move in!"
Following the explosion, the Helljumpers let out a battle cry and rushed toward the collapsed opening.
The second squad, leading the charge, was the first to enter the underground tunnels of the base.
But they were met with the fully prepared special ops team from the Investigation Department.
Rat-a-tat-tat—!!
The distinct sound of hard-light weapons echoed through the tunnels.
Splat! Sizzle!
The rapid, high-damage hard-light beams easily pierced the Helljumpers' armor, severing their limbs.
In an instant, the entire 30-man second squad was down, unable to move or fight.
"Shit! My leg!"
"Damn it! They have laser weapons!"
Most Helljumpers had lost limbs, and some were even cursing out loud as their abdomen or thighs were hit by hard-light weapons.
But some were gravely wounded, and without immediate medical attention, death was inevitable.
The special ops team members from the Investigation Department, however, had no time or inclination to offer assistance. They let their fellow humans bleed out.
Despite their superior equipment, the Helljumpers were no match for hard-light weapons. Even though the Helljumpers had far better gear than standard marines or infantry, it was nothing compared to what they were up against.
Only the Titan power armor, issued to Atlas's Astartes, could effectively withstand hard-light beams, Gauss spikes, and high-energy plasma.
Moreover, the magnetic deflection systems on the Titan armor were particularly effective against energy weapons.
However, even Titan armor wasn't invincible. If hit by a high
-powered energy weapon or subjected to concentrated fire, it wouldn't provide absolute protection.
Realizing that continuing the assault was futile, the Helljumper captain in charge of the operation immediately gave the order:
"Hold the line! First, third, and fourth squads, set up defenses on the surface and wait for reinforcements!
Everyone else, search for any other exits and pin them down here—victory is ours!"
"Oorah!"
The Helljumpers, still brimming with morale, shouted in unison and followed their captain's orders.
Meanwhile, Chris's special ops team didn't advance recklessly.
Before long, the UNSC 6th Army Division's main force had arrived via ground and air vehicles, deploying around the base.
A thousand infantry and dozens of main battle tanks, led by the Scorpion, took positions to eliminate or capture the Atlas personnel "hiding" inside the base.
Additionally, local Mombasa news agencies had sent civilian aircraft to circle the area and provide live coverage of the event.
The UNSC's air patrol units allowed the media to operate freely.
Having been burned by media narratives before, the UNSC now seized the opportunity to publicly display their siege operation, confident they could turn the situation to their advantage.
The first news helicopter to arrive above the outskirts opened its side door, allowing the camera crew and reporter to capture the scene more effectively for the live broadcast.
Strapped in for safety, the female reporter looked toward the base entrance and reported:
"Dear viewers, we can see that the soldiers have surrounded the hidden Atlas outpost.
It seems both sides are in a standoff at the moment, but there was intense fighting earlier.
While we can't see the full details from here, it's clear that the UNSC has completely trapped the Atlas personnel inside the outpost.
Surely, the UNSC is confident and capable of eliminating the threat in Mombasa and bringing peace to the... wait, what?!"
The reporter was suddenly startled by a commotion at the base entrance.
Rat-a-tat!
The sound of rapid gunfire echoed from the entrance.
After a moment, the reporter regained her composure and continued her report:
"Oh my God, viewers, did you see that? A woman in strange clothing is fighting UNSC tanks with her bare hands! And—wait! I can hear gunfire, but she doesn't seem to be affected at all!"
As the reporter spoke, the cameraman zoomed in to capture the unfolding scene, broadcasting it live to all the citizens of Mombasa—and the UEG audience watching the news program.
Through the reporter and cameraman's lens, viewers could just make out Athena, dressed in a white robe and golden armor, wielding a shield and spear as she "strolled" through the ranks of UNSC soldiers.
The Greek goddess paid no heed to the soldiers firing at her. Instead, she focused her attention on a nearby Scorpion tank and kicked it with a powerful strike—
Boom!!
The 40-ton behemoth flipped over as if it had been kicked by sheer physical force.
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