>>5964443A few seconds later, you realize that the lieutenant had left that way open for a reason. With what seemed to be a clear shot to the hangar, the incoming squad rushed down the corridor, hurrying to attack the marines before they could get a foothold. They were almost to the hangar when one of the pelicans that had just finished unloading troops gunned it’s engines, rising to the upper level of the hangar. The gunship’s pilot wasted no time, unleashing the full fury of the ship’s nose-mounted chaingun down the corridor. Of the 20-strong squad, only a handful were close enough to alcoves or intersections to dive into for cover. The rest suffered the same fate as the ones who tried to hold the hangar, and they were cut to bloody ribbons.
The pelican kept firing down the corridor as the other gunship in the hangar lifted off, and quickly vacated the hangar. A few seconds later, another pair of gunships -one tucking itself neatly underneath the hovering bird- entered the hangar, and disgorged their squads as the troops already in the hangar engaged the second inbound squad, halting their advance by pouring literal fire down the corridor with flamethrowers. Courtesy of your marines in hellbringer armor.
“All right longinus, you’ve got a better tactical read than us. Think we should keep reinforcing the hangar, or should we go on the offensive?” Lieutenant Norden asked, and you quickly reviewed what data you had to work with.
From what you could see, the engineer and armory staff groups were still doing what they had been before. One group of engineers was by the hangar, another was making their way deeper into the ship, and the armory staff was continuing to set up fortifications around their armories.
But the Covenant boarding teams -down from around 160 personnel to around 120 or so- were doing something interesting. Of the large group, you had to break them down further into three sub-groups. The first one was the teams that were making their way towards the armories, and who’s only reaction to the obvious boarding had been to set up rearguard units while they continued their way deeper into the ship. The second group were the ones actively engaged with the marines around the hangar you’d secured, ranging from the survivors of the upper floor squad, and the pinned-down middle floor unit. But the larger third group, composed of the units that held the aft two hangars and the remaining reserve force, were mustering into a 60-strong unit. Though you had no idea what they were doing.
>Keep sending in reinforcements! 40 marines just aren't gonna cut it if that 60-strong unit comes knocking.>Send a squad to do something. (intercept engineers, attack an armory, or something else?)