The tension and excitement in the air was contagious, Frank and his team waited outside the large military base, they had remained undetected by not just the Nova base, but also the attacking Marauder pirate convoy.
Although the convoy was large and made up of various vehicles, Frank and his team weren't scarred one bit, they may be heavily out gunned, the convoy had about 35 pirates, while Frank only had 26 on his side, however he had superior weapons, and not only did they have the high ground, he also had air superiority.
This was very important in any battle, old or new, wars were won in the air. It was what made the American army so formidable, especially after World War 2, America began working on air superiority aircraft, the A10 Warthogs, F-18 and F-22, not to mention the Predator drones and the Apache helicopters.
These provided America with years and years of dominance in military skirmishes, Frank had moved half his team to the opposite side of the Nova base, this had the main entrance to the Nova base in between the two groups.
As the pirates moved in, Franks team also moved, they moved in a formation that would allow them to create a typical kill zone, they would surround the convoy on three sides, the Nova base ultimately became an anvil, once it began the convoy would have no chance.
Frank's team had various weapons, allowing for adaptability to sudden changes, they had ballistic as well as energy weapons, laser weapons were perfect against enemy vehicles, Frank was a cautious man, like Fury, he planned for everything.
The Punisher was already a one man army, even though, in his series in the MCU may have shown him just waltz into a gang hideout or mafia compound guns blazing, what they failed to show was the amount of planning he did before hand.
Frank Castle was a Marine, Special Forces Marine, he knew where he was going, any place he went he knew the facility, house or compound better than its owners. It was how he was able to, alone, walk into a base of 50 mafia members or any crime syndicate, kill all the bad guys and walk out alive. He was a beast on the battlefield.
The pirates hooted and shouted loudly as they neared the base, they were confident in their assault, this wasn't their first time doing this. Marauder pirates shouldn't be confused for Ravager pirates, although both were space pirates, Ravager's did have ethics, they were still pirates but there were things they didn't touch, slave trade and children they stayed away from.
It was how Yondu got kicked out of the Ravager group, they found out he and his crew had been kidnapping children for Ego, even though they were Ego's very own children, and Yondu didn't know till just before he was sent to get little Peter Quill, that Ego was killing the children he brought.
Even though Yondu quit and never delivered Peter to Ego, he was still banished from the Ravager Alliance and had to become a stand alone group.
Marauder pirates were different, they were the lowest of the low when it came to the pirate groups, they enjoyed chaos, when the Bifrost was destroyed the Marauder pirates wreaked havoc across the realms, this was what kept Thor from Earth.
Various Marauder pirate groups attacked worlds in the wake of the Bifrost being down, it was Asgard's primary means of travel, with it down the Asgardian troops would take time to respond. Marauder pirates were flesh and drug peddlers of the galaxy.
They were vicious and cruel, making up several races who were considered low-life races due to their race's deeds as a whole. Violent races, even amongst themselves. Unlike Ravager pirates who commonly group up and work together, they were even known to come to each other's rescue, Marauder pirates however had no issues stabbing other groups in the back.
So once the convoy attacked the base, Frank and his teams had no hesitation in showing no mercy to these pirates. Although the Nova base was heavily fortified, the pirates had been prepared, they dealt in a business that was very lucrative after all, so they could afford decent weaponry.
Had Frank and his teams not been there, the base would've fallen, with just a single shot the convey took out a defensive tower and was going after the main gate, once inside they would be able to get to the residential section with ease and end the conflict quickly. Unfortunately for them, Frank and the UNSC now had their rules of engagement requirements fulfilled.
The cheers and shouts of excitement from the pirates after they had caused destruction to their target were short lived, in moments those same shouts that were full of passion and hunger for violence, turned into screams of pain, fear and confusion.
Frank and his team moved with precision and purpose, Frank loved overkill tactics, similar to using blitzkrieg tactics. By the time the pirates knew what was happening, most were already dead, what little offense they mustered, was met with energy shielding and defensive armors that their hand held weapons couldn't even dent.
Had they been able to use the weapons mounted on their vehicles, then things would've been different, but Frank made sure that the vehicles were disabled right from the start, he had lost many friends on his previous team, now he knew why so many of his team members had died. Even though he had nothing to do with it, he wasn't the commander after all, he still felt responsible.
Now that Frank is in command, he was extremely thoughtful of the situation, he knew, for his men, those heavy guns were the biggest threat, so they were the first to go.
The Nova Corps troops who were stationed at the base looked at their monitors, they had been sweating profusely since their comms were down and couldn't call for reinforcements thanks to the pirate convoy. They thought themselves doomed, their families on base would suffer the most, but as soon as all hope seemed lost, the situation changed in an instant.
The pirates vehicles suddenly exploded, in those rare few seconds after the explosion, as the pirates brains had to recover from the concussion they suffered from being in or around the explosion, Frank and his team killed most of the pirates before they could register they were under attack.
Frank used various tactics, as if he was a magician, and the battlefield was his stage, he used misdirection and various 'slight-of-hand' tricks to completely throw off the pirates. He had a few ships just fly above the pirates sporadically, keeping their focus above, making them think the attacks came from the ships, this made them unaware of the dangers below.
Back on the main pirate ship, Adam was testing his strength against the Kronan Grok but was ultimately disappointed, although Grok was strong and sturdy, even a regular SPARTAN in Mjolnir armor could defeat him. So Adam decided to use something that would give himself a harder time, a handicap so to speak, Adam began using his lighting.
Grok was made of rock, so he would be very resistant to lighting attacks, Adam had to focus the lighting into denser streaks to become effective. He dodged and weaved thru Grok's attacks, slamming bolts of lightning into the Kronan. At first these hits had little to no effect on Grok, this caused Grok to laugh and enjoy this game of cat and mouse.
But it wasn't long till he realized who was truly the cat and who was the mouse, each strike became more dense as they hit, the heat from the lighting became more intense. Arcs of lightning littered the bridge of the ship, orange sparks from the metals becoming heated by the lighting fell from above, as it danced and crackled all over Adam's body.
As Adam parried and dodged the mace Grok swung his way, the lighting he fired became brighter and thicker, he suddenly felt something he hadn't felt before today, he felt as if his implant had reached a limit. That was his best description of it, but yet it wasn't like a solid surface, more like a sheet of cloth, it had give, when he pushed on the barrier, it could swell and move, elusive to break. Force definitely wasn't what would be needed to break past this barrier.
Adam knew there were more to the implants that the SPARTAN's received then meets the eye, after all they are based on Forerunner technology. Halsey's ideas for the whole program was heavily influenced by a dream she had and thru her blood she was granted knowledge. It was why in such a short time, not only was she able to get a boost in the augments, making them safer and more efficient than the first programs, she also made the Mjolnir armor, the first true battle armor.
Halsey, like Master Chief, was a reclaimer so it was how she was able to retrieve technology from within, after she had come in contact with a Forerunner device. After coming in contact with the artifact, that night she dreamed of the solutions to many problems that plagued the previous attempted battle armors.
Adam's implants were different, his implants were more Forerunner technology than the ones used on other SPARTAN implants, the originals were also based on Forerunner tech, however they were heavily restricted by human limitations.
Adam was created after the war after all, Forerunner technology was understood much better than previously. The augments can improve and grow, the evidence would be John-117, or Master Chief himself. Unlike other SPARTAN soldiers, John was a Reclaimer, his blood gave him an advantage since he was able to push the augments further since he was able to fully utilize Forerunner technology.
The augments have built in limiters, if they didn't then you could easily accidentally kill yourself with a sneeze, the augments if used properly, the body will be given the chance to adjust to handle the additional power. Like having super strength without durability to match it, your own punch landing on your enemy would break your own arm.
So the implants had limiters, Forerunner technology was extremely advanced, was it not for the parasitic flood they would easily be able to rule the universe with how advanced they were. Genetics was one the areas the Forerunners excelled in.
No longer wanting to put anymore time on Grok, he had also detected Yelena entering the bridge holding a young man by the back of his neck, Adam moved in fast and pulled his light saber, he knew the only way to kill a Kronan was to destroy their core.
This was harder said than done, first you had to find the core, but that wasn't the hardest part, they could move their core to save themselves. It was how, even after The Collector killed Korg, he really didn't, Korg moved his core at the last moment, the core began to slowly change to his face, he had to be carried around from that point on till he would eventually, like Groot, regrow. All he needed was to find an environment where he could absorb similar rock to his core and the process could be sped up.
This was why Adam was using his lighting attacks, to feel the changes in the internal parts of Grok's body, after finding the core, he cut the energy blade deep into Grok's chest, piercing the core instantly.
Grok had been complacent, since none of the attacks were doing much damage before, he had gotten lost in the fight itself, so by the time he felt the danger and attempted to save himself, it was too late.
He let out a final roar, the pain and unwillingness evident in his cry, Grok's body began falling apart, crumbling into a pile of rocks. Yelena walked over carrying a young man, who had stopped struggling to get free since entering the room.
He had witnessed Adam's fight and saw the lighting all over the room, the sight was both fear inducing and beautiful at the same time, he was regretting coming to try to help a girl.
Yelena, who was also now taller due to becoming a SPARTAN as well, walked over, admiration clearly evident in her voice as she spoke, "Hey Boss, I caught this one trying to break into the ship thru the jettison hold for garbage. He says his not with them and was only trying to save his girlfriend, I don't know if it's true, he looks like a pirate to me." Yelena asked as she held the shaking man up to Adam, who was inspecting him skeptically since he definitely looked like a pirate.
"That's cause I am one babe. Just not one of these Marauder a-holes. I'm a Ravager, and us Ravager's stick together, my crew will be here any minute now, and if they see me captured they will do everything to save me. But you seem nice enough, I'm willing to let it slide if you put me down.. please." The man, who was wearing a mask himself over his face, which had three red round glass features on the front, had tried to play tough.
He had actually taken off without permission, his captain had denied his request to come help this world and his girlfriend, so the man came himself, he thought if he made them think he was a scout then they would let him go.
"Oh, you are that important, you seem like a kid?" Yelena asked cutely, which sent a shiver down the mans spine, his hormones were raging, puberty.
The man nodded his head but then said, "Hey I'm not a kid, I'm in my late 20's, I'm the famous Star-Lord! Now unhand me woman, I need to go find Bettia."