M6: Battle for Refuge (Ground)

[Deleted]

Captain Brad McCauley,
COmmanding Officer, UNSCS Enterprise, MGC-066,
Enterprise Bridge

"Successful slipspace to Refuge, sir." said Lieutenant Commander O'Reilly. Brad had snatched the man from the Kong, and the man liked 'flying' the cruiser. Brad looked up from the holotable, and turned to the communications officer, Lieutenant Sevchenko. "Sev, let admiral Klix know we've arrived in the system, and that we are coming up on the Iowa from her port side." he said, before he got to his chair, and sat down in it. Then he said "Athena, what's the situation?" He asked the ship's smart AI, named Athena, after the Greek godess.

"Captain. It seems that an electro-magnetic pulse has been used in the city. I am unable to come into contact with the marines. Furthermore, I am detecting several Covenant ships. So far, they have not engaged our fleet." The AI replied with her British accent. She may be Greek, but she sure doesn't talk like it, thought Brad before saying "Alright. Thanks." Brad did not like this one bit. Especially because his son was down there.

First Lieutenant Mike "Barbie" Barbara,
Pelican pilot

"Barbie!? Barbie! You okay?" Mike heard the sweet voice of the pelican's crew chief, and opened his eyes to see her and Joker looking over him. He remembered taking his pelican down, and after a sudden blast he lost control and crashed into an appartment building. Mike shook his head, and sat up. "I'm fine", he said with his southern accent. Then he stood up, took his sidearm from the holster, and shouted at the lieutenant standing just outside the building, "Yo LT! Seems like we're coming with ya!"

Second Lieutenant Robert McCauley,
Commanding Officer, Third Platoon, Alpha Co.,
Somewhere

"Okay, devil dogs! Let's get a move on! We have an objective!" Robert shouted to the remainder of his marines. The crash decimated just under an entire squad, and he had reorganized the survivors into two, slightly larger squads. They were initially tasked to make contact with one of the army units to organize the evacuation of some civvies. But then they crashed. Afterwards, Robert found out that it was an EMP that fried everything, as all his electronics were down.

A few minutes later, they were taking cover against a building when suddenly he heard a sound. "FLASH!" Robert shouted, and a few moments later, the reply "THUNDER" echoed the now empty street. When the men appeared, six total, Robert told them to stick with his platoon, and continued to walk to their objective, using an old fashioned map.

[Martial Virtue]

Lieutenant Colonel Adrienne Jackson, UNSC Marines

City of Refuge

In hot water

"Colonel, get down!"

Sergeant Costigan shouted the words just before a sharp rumble came from one of the side alleys - and as he'd already intimated, it didn't sound like friendlies this time. Quickly positioning herself behind the rubble she'd sat on moments ago while she'd had her head injury looked at, Jackson was half-lying on the other side of the debris now, holding her battle rifle tight to her chest as she listened. Her head still swam a bit, but not so much that it was a major handicap; just an inconvenience. And that damn dumpster rattling sure isn't helping, she thought.

Wait, dumpster? The hell?

Adrienne turned over onto her stomach and reached up over the debris, just enough to take a look at what was happening. That's when the dumpster finally burst out of the alley and the firing began. 

"Everyone take cover and return fire, now!" the lieutenant colonel ordered.

Assault weapons opened up in the same instant, countering what the Covenant were dishing out. The enemy's offensive didn't seem like much in comparison to what the Marines and Army personnel were sending towards the moving dumpster, but for the moment it didn't matter. That giant trash receptacle was one hell of a shield, and Jackson knew it was going to take more than bullets to get the alien bastards flushed out into the open.

Leaning into SFC Glover next to her, Adrienne shoved his shoulder and yelled above the din, "Pull the pin, soldier! We need that thing out of commission!" Or at least stop it before it's on top of us, she added silently. 

Glover licked his lips and nodded. "On it, ma'am!"

Normally Jackson would've done it herself, but she didn't trust her coordination enough to handle explosives right now. A grenade falling short or missing its trajectory altogether was not something she was willing to risk, and she'd admit to her own shortcomings long before putting her Marines and their Army counterparts in danger just to prove a point. She knew her limitations, especially after confirming what she thought about having a good concussion from Doc Daly, and at least with this, she was going to stick within those bounds.

Still, she smirked now at the still-oncoming dumpster, staying just low enough in the debris pile to be out of harm's way from the rounds still being fired at them. They won't know what hit 'em.

Beside her, Glover finished priming the frag he took off his belt and threw it.

A new, louder noise coming from somewhere in the blocks ahead sounded at the same time, making Jackson suddenly stiffen, trying to figure out what it was. The answer was apparent soon enough as a cloud of gray dust and particles swept through their street in a rush. A building collapse, she thought. Shit.

It turned out to be a blessing in disguise, though. Now, the small band of UNSC servicemembers had a second advantage in their own fight - it would be difficult for the Covenant to see the grenade coming at them in the manmade fog. 

And no one deserves that surprise more than you, Jackson thought bitterly. See you in hell.

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

City of Refuge

In what was once a street

Hacking up a lung, it took the young second lieutenant several seconds to realize he'd been knocked to the ground in the blast. He still wasn't really sure what the hell had just happened. All he knew was that he was suddenly covered in ash, greedily breathing through the stuff to get at any oxygen still left in the air, and his visibility had just dropped to something not much farther than his own boots. Fuck, he thought. We're cooked.

"Attaboy, Lieutenant," a gruff male voice said beside him, reaching out through the fog to pound him hard on the back. "Cough it out. Nothing but some plastcrete, son. All up in your lungs, ha! You can tell your momma about that when you get home. I'm sure the colonel'll be proud of her boy."

Even in the haze Gabriel recognized the voice - it was Gunnery Sergeant Justin Reeves, the most experienced NCO in Hawk's platoon. Thus his platoon sergeant...and also a huge asshole.

Fuck off, old man, was what Gabe wanted to respond. What he said instead was, "I'm...good, I think, Gunny. There's just...not a whole lot of air left in the air, if you know what I mean."

"Yep. Building collapsed just a few blocks from here, sir. That'll do it."

Gabriel always got the feeling that Reeves said "sir" in a kind of private joke way. But he shrugged it off and finally pushed himself back to his feet. He hated to admit it, but the pounding on his back had helped him regain his normal breathing rhythm again. "What's the...rest of the platoon's status?"

Gunny Reeves snorted. "What do you think, kid? Buried in the debris cloud like you."

"Right." Brushing dust off his rifle, the second lieutenant added, "Well, let's get everyone gathered up again. Check that no one was hurt."

"On it, LT."

Gathering up his Marines again proved difficult in the big gray cloud that had descended on them, but they hadn't been scattered enough to start to be completely out of touch with each other. Slowly, Gabriel got his squad leaders organized, and they, in turn, went about collecting their men and women. Other than loud coughs coming from everyone, no one seemed hurt.

We must've been just far enough way not to get hit by really big debris, Hawk thought.

Once assembled in groups that Gabe couldn't necessarily see through the haze but knew were there, the lieutenant issued his orders. "All right, Marines. Obviously we can't continue to go the way we planned. The road we were heading through is blocked by the rubble now. We've got to find a way around. Keep your heads on a swivel and make sure you keep your ears extra sharp - it's going to be hard to see much beyond a few feet, so you'll want to hear the enemy before you see them. If you wait till then, it'll be too late."

The Marines appeared to acknowledge, mostly through their squad leaders acting as a mouthpiece for all of them. Satisfied, Gabe nodded to himself.

"I'm also willing to bet we've got some friendlies trapped in the worst of this muck. So let's be on the lookout for them, too, and help our own where we can."

[Buzzkill]

Lieutenant “Buzzkill” Adams
Ground - On the Move
Pelican CL-2512-T3 – Out of Commision

It did not take them long to get to the dropship wreck. Buzzkill did not mind the idea of going back to it. Unlike many who treated their birds like babies, Buzzkill had very hard realities put to him as he was shot down for the fourth time. He had learned his lesson long before amonst the first times he hit the ground, but those days he just looked at the Pelican like a piece of equipment, no different then his sidearm or his helmet.

Taking in the crash, Buzzkill thought he did fairly well. The Pelican was at least all still together, and not split into two pieces. That single fact probably kept them all alive. In addition to hitting the buildings at the point they did. If they hit a full wall that wasn’t thin and full of windows, they may not have been so lucky.

The group went about getting the wounded up, which was not great. Seaweed was determined to have a broken femur, the pain of which alone could have knocked him out. Still it was better that he was alive.

Buzzkill moved up to reach into one of the overhead compartments, which had not emptied itself into the cabin. He pulled out several standard “Health Kits”, which would drastically improve their medical supplies at the command position. ”These aughta help.” Buzzkill said. ”I’ve got about ten a these."

But now they suffered from another problem. Between them there were nine mobile, four who needed assistance in moving, and a giant mass of supplies.

”Colonel, I think we gotta make two trips here. We don’t have manpower to drag these guys and the supplies. But, the canisters are all still here.” Buzzkill pointed out that all of the canisters were still hanging off of the back.

It may be dark by the time they got it all back, but it would be better then leaving it all. If they worked fast, they’d get there long before any nearby Covenant got a whiff of their position.

[NinjaBoss]

ODST Private Moe Keating
Slightly west of easternmost ODST LZ

Moe dropped to the ground, his back to the wall next to the doorway. Gabby stood in the same position on the other side, weapon ready and standing attentive. They had heard sounds from inside, shouting, grunting, and gunfire. Some of it was Covenant. Some of it wasn't. So they were going in. Gabby wasn't technically his Commanding Officer, but considering it was just him and her and he was a Private, her a PFC she was giving the orders.

"You ready Private?"

"As I'll ever be." He replied. He would be thankful to get out of the rain anyways. He would like to be relieved from the dark as well, however with all electronics down he doubted that would happen short of starting a fire. And that definitely wasn't going to happen.

"Alright then, on my mark," She said, "One, two three, MARK!"

Moe turned on his heel toward the door and lashed out with his left boot as hard as he could, knocking the door clean off its hinges. Normally that didn't happen, but the building being in the state of dilapidation it was in, the door gave quite easily. Easier than he thought. Looking into the room, he did see a few small fires and chunks of rubble from the walls which he assumed was the result of an explosion, probably a frag grenade. Two grunts leaped in the air as the door gave, obviously startled.

"Take 'em out trooper!" Gabby said calmly, and Moe began to do just that.

Firing three short bursts, each consisting of roughly five to six rounds, the grunts lay on the floor, one obviously dead, the other clutching its side and groaning.

"N-no..... please..... Sangheili...... make me....... never wanted......"

The creature spoke, but trailed off there, obviously dead, or close to it. They strode into the room, and Moe caught a flash of movement out of the corner of his eye. Turning, he saw Gabby giving the hand signal for get down and move quietly. Dropping into a crouch, Moe reloaded his weapon, tossing the empty clip into a pile of rubble and litter nearby, kicking a little bit of dirt over it to make it look more natural. No sense in telegraphing their presence, he supposed. They slowly stepped forwards into the building, what looked like an old recreational center. They must've entered into a back entrance of the game room, as broken pool tables, ping pong tables, tv's and the like lay scattered about the room. Turning the corner, Moe realized Gabby's suspicions were right; There were more Covenant inside.

Along with something-No, someone, Moe had least expected to find here. Cars. And it didn't look pretty.

"Christ, Keating is that-?" Gabby began to ask, but Moe merely nodded, cutting her off. A brute and three jackals surrounded him, obviously done bludgeoning their comrade to death. They must've forced the grunts to stand guard, as Moe had been lead to believe the other races didn't like them that much. He wondered why.

"Goddamned bastards!" Gabby cursed. "Let's kill them Moe. Every. Last. Fucking. One."

Firing his weapon, he aimed primarily for the brute, something he saw as larger, scarier, and more dangerous than the rest. His first burst contacted with its back, and it began to turn around, before three more burst of fire hit it in the chest, one from Moe, the other from Gabby. The brute stumbled, before Gabby rushed in the room rather foolishly, drawing her combat knife and tackling it. She brought the knife down anywhere she could, again and again and again.

"You! Bastards!" She screamed, in a fight of rage.

Moe had no choice now but to draw his sidearm, sliding his MA5K into the straps on his back. Pulling up the M6G pistol, he fired one clean shot after the next, covering Gabby. Each jackal fell to the ground, but Moe had wasted the whole clip in doing so. He supposed his accuracy went down when in a desperate situation and firing as quickly as he could. Slapping another clip into the handgun and dropping the empty one, this one quite carelessly, he holstered the weapon and slowly stepped towards Gabby, who was still stabbing, though the brute was obviously dead. He placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her out of her fit of rage and causing her to look up.

"It's dead." He said, quite bluntly. Then they heard a groan.

"Moe.... Gabby..... 'at you?" Cars said, his voice hoarse and barely able to pronounce the words.

"He's alive!" Gabby, said and ran over towards him.

"What happened to you? Are you alright?"

"N- 'eed 'edic" He replied, and moaned once more before falling unconscious. Moe then grabbed a can of biofoam and handed it to Gabby, who began to administer the healing foam. He then began to search for some sort of way they could carry Cars to a medic. Finding one would come later.....

[Huka]

Minor Chata 'Aquiree
Outside of Covenant Territory

The four Minors crawled slowly ontop of a shop building, poking their heads abit over the ledge to see better. Chata blinked as he saw the six humans of the city's protector uniform; three of them held rifles, one a shotgun, and the rest held their pistol sidearms with obvious anxious expressions on their short faces. The aquatic Sangheili clicked his mandibles before tilting his head to Moi, "I don't like this."

"Of course you don't." The larger male chuckled softly before pattting a dark-faced Thesu, who gripped the edge of the ledge white-knuckled in the humiliation of doing this. "C-can we just go to one of the posts to try getting a needler?" Moi squeezed his shoulder some, "No."

If Sangheili could frown, Thesu would have his lips past his chin and the Wodam clansman pats his back. "Gods bless. We'll be watching you from here." Moi whispered with a cruelly teasing matter. Thesu looked pleading to R'od, who clicked his lower mandibles in the Sangheilian form of a shrug, and he switched to Chata, who was still staring. "I'll watch your back, Thesu." Chata said with a nod. Feeling more better, Thesu nodded and the two started to creep away back to ground-level.

***

(NPC) Army Corporal Darek Hander
Survivor Recovery 

"There is no way we're going to find survivors, sir." Darek whispered to the commanding Sergeant, holding his rifle tightly as his brown eyes glanced left and right nervously. He felt like he was being watched and that wasn't good. "The Covies probably killed them by now."

"Have you seen those big gorillas? I never seen anything like it." A whimpering private said, looking down the barrel of his own rifle, the rain peddling him and his bare head. "Yes, yes. The Covenant is on the planet and we are trying to get as many men and women as we can. Without numbers, we won't have a chance against the freaks." The Sergeant said, tapping his fingers on his shotgun as his dark grey eyes scanned the area, looking for the slightest of disturbance.

Suddenly lifting his weapon when he heard some debris rolling down a old Mac Dan's Sweater shop, the Sergeant narrowed his eyes and he felt Darek and Frank at either of his side with their weapons up as well. "See something sir?" Darek whispered but the veteran was quiet, continuing to stare at the corner of the store.

There was nothing...but Darek knew something was waiting in the veil of the rainy darkness. "Let's keeping moving." The Sergeant ordered and slowly started to stalking backwards. The sounds of running water into the drainage started to take over the tropical raining in his ears, certainly not helping the squad.

The squad was making a slow but alert movement to the corner to hurry back to the others, but suddenly a lance of pink sliced through the air and the Sergeant's head. No one knew until his limp body splashed. Spinning around with wide eyes, Darek gasped, "Sarge!"

Instinctively moving into cover, Frank paid for his slow reaction and received a sudden barrage of pink-purple quills into his thickly armored chest. Knowing the coming explosion from vids, Darek rolled behind a half-collasped bench before a gory explosion shook the ground for a split-second. "Squad, mov-" Darek was about to say when he saw the younger men already running. Cursing under his breath, he sprang up and saw something huge at the corner of his eye. Lifting his rifle as he turned his upper body to the dark silhouette, the Corporal found himself staring at the tight abs and lower armored chest of a blue Elite. His finger was on the trigger when a hand slapped the rifle down hard and sprang back up to connect with the infantryman's chin, sending him spiraling through the air and slam hard on the river-softened concrete.

Choking some as he felt like his neck was twisted some from the savage, yet seemingly effortless, backhand. Derek looked up as the Elite, almost seeing the annoyed expression on its ugly face and the clenched fists tight as he stomped towards him, splashing water under his large boots. Derek isn't going to die today!

Grasping his own hand, Derek found his rifle gone and looked to see it just a few feet away from him. Quickly trying to gather himself, the Corporal was slipping under the heavy river under his fingers and slipped once or twice before managing to roll to his side, only for the toes of the alien's boots to slam against his ribs hard like a soccer ball.

The blinding pain lasted for a split second and Derek found himself on the other side of the street, back against the curve and eyes down at his gun; which was farther away now and at the alien's feet. The two traded looks and back to the gun, back to each other and back to the gun. Derek knew about the wierd electro pulse had affected everyone, even the Covenant weapons from the Sergeant's words, but to see a Elite armless was funny to say the less. Slowly reaching back and undoing his M6J/C's holster clip, the knowledgeable soldier grinned and mocked, "Can't pick it up can you? I guess our metal feel like fire to your ugly fingers to even refuse to touch it, eh?"

The Elite snarled with a spreading of its mandibles, showing its dripping fangs and angry eyes glaring at him. Just then a familiar explosion could be heard nearby, Derek looked to see pink mist popping in the rain-covered distance and this distracted him long enough for something hot to pierce his shoulder.

Shouting out in pain, the Corporal hissed as he looked at the smoking hole and the blood oozing out. Not plasma...or a needle. Snapping his sight to the Elite, he found it to be holding his rifle with a grim determined look in his eyes. "No way..."

An alien chuckle left the creature's throat before more bullets came flying. Needless to say the pain was new and unexpected until one more ended it all.

***

Minor Thesu 'Qorahee

Thesu looked at his new weapon and examined it with some disdain. It felt...wrong. The human rifle was about the size of a plasma rifle, but abit longer and the trigger was fit into a claw-large guard. Recoiling...not bad. It'll take some training to get use to. The downside is ammunition. Humans and their primitive weapons. Lifting his head to look at the bullet-raddled body of his adversary, Thesu cringed and approached the body. "Eww..." He complained, grabbing the olive clothing with the tip of his claws and rolled the bloody body over before policing its pouches. Mmm rations bits...looking like dry bread with some kind of pasting between them, ammunition but too small for his weapon. A pistol that he immediately just tossed aside to run down into the city drainage...ah! Here it is. About five of the ammunition clips. Taking the belt from the corpse, he slipped the clips back in its respective pouch and slung it over his shoulder like a bandolier.

"Excellent finding, brother." Moi chuckled, making a frustrated Thesu turn around to look at his lance-brother, who was just putting his needle rifle on his back while R'od remained silent. The minor gave a click of his mandibles, "I don't think the Major will approve of this."

"You're right." A unwelcoming voice said, on the edge of irk and disappointment, and all eyes were on Chata and the tight-faced Suf behind him, gripping the rigid Minor's shoulder firmly. "What do you think you four are doing?" He asked with a firm growl, but no one had a chance to answer when a Yanme'e flew over here, screeching out orders from the Field Master to return to the digsite.

Unknowingly all of them swallowed. "We will continue this later." Suf said before pointing a claw towards the site of the artifact, "Move out."


Field Master Til 'Muramai
The Digsite

No sooner after he dispatched the Yanme'e, Covenant soldiers started to return the heart of their operation. The Field Master stood on some stable rumble with his arms behind his back and head to the failing day, his hearts drummed softly to the thought of Muram's bone-chilling nights. "The hunt comes as the prowlers stalk the unwary..." He mused before a familiar voice caught his attention. The rain-pelted Sangheili looked down from his dramatic perch to one of the Jiralhanae captains; Garatus, the same captain from the Hunt.

A good, honorable, reliable soldier. Til gave a respectful nod, a rare thing for a Sangheili commander to give to a Jiralhanae most of the time. "Yes you may, Captain." He answered as he strided down, his voice starting to get shrill and scratchy with his armor's functions lessened, holding a certain menacing edge to it with his respirator's mechanical rasp.

[BetaWülf]

Captain Garatus

Garatus was slightly unnerved by Til's mechanical voice, having not seen him in some time, but carried on none the less.

"After all of our technology failed after the blast, I realized our lack of heavy weaponry." Garatus said trailing off at the end, hoping to not seem ungrateful for the Covenants mighty gifts, but continued on. "We started dropping trees to construct simple catapults."

"They work by sitting a log with a groove in it in the middle on top of two tree forks cut down, then we put another log in the groove with a spoon shaped construct attached to one end, then a pair of the larger races like us," Garatus said, gesturing to himself and Til "can fire it by pushing down as hard as we can." Garatus said, waiting a moment to let the idea sink in before continuing.

"We have constructed six, but I would not dare to set them up without permission, it would be disrespectful." Garatus said, bowing his head.

[Wax™]

Second Lieutenant Justin Jenkins
Seventh Marines; Delta One-Actual
Temporarily in charge at HQ

It had been half an hour or so and as per Colonel Killinger's orders who should shoot a green flare into the sky via an MA5C, moving over to a sofa where he had placed one earlier he took it in his hands and made his way back to the roof, as he stepped out he was almost instantly soaked from the rain that had gradually began to pick up, however it didn't really seem to bother him just yet.

Justin slid the 40mm green flare round into the grenade launcher of the MA5C and pointed it toward the sky before pulling the triggering mechanism, shooting a green flare into the sky, Justin didn't really want to do it but he was given orders to and he would fulfil those orders, especially from his fathers best friend. Slinging the MA5C back around his shoulder he made his way back into the building and made his way to the second floor where a Private had started the fire-place in order to keep warm.

"Make sure that's the only fire you light Private..." He said giving the Private a nod, who nodded in return.

Justin heard a light and muffled crash from downstairs just as he finished speaking, raising a brow he removed his MA5C and made his way downstairs cautiously, despite the fact that he knew the lower level was guarded, as he got closer downstairs he could hear the voices of men speaking among each other as well as women so he slung his MA5C back around his shoulder and made his way to the front door, as he got t here he was greeted by what look like two squad strength's of Marines, one of them was from his Platoon, lead by a Sergeant Clair Hunt, whilst another looked like it was from the same Company but a separate platoon, there was also a fireteam of army rangers as well.

"Sergeant... Nice of you to join us here." He said with a smile directed towards the woman.

"Afternoon Lieutenant." She said with a smirk in return.

"The pair of you post your men around the perimeter of the building, I wan't everyone to be in pairs for maximum security... Sergeant's if you will join me on the second floor." He said before making his way back up to the second floor.

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Second Lieutenant James "Ripcord" Lancaster

Falcon Pilot Voodoo Two-Nine
Falcon out of commission
North-West scattered army unit
Feeling like a grunt.

Ripcord wasn't sure what was worse, having crashed for the first time, or the fact he was having to fight like a jar head now. The E-M-P had hit before night fall, he was guessing it was an hour after nightfall they had woken up, the falcon being crashed into some kind of shopping mall. They decided to leave it behind, the fire-team of Green Berets having only suffered one causality. Ripcord was told to take his weapon and armor, which he hadn't had to wear since boot camp.

They were on the other side of the shopping center, moving away from the crash site, in about ten minutes, the DMR that the First Lt. was using was handed over to Ripcord so he could actually aim with his gun. As they came up to the very end of what was a small store, they began to round the edge A fist came into the air as the First Lt. whispered back, " Unknown contacts, right side of the street." Lifting his MA37, aiming as best as he could at the unknown group, he called out the first part of the phrase all army units were told to know, incase of this event. "Flash!" Echoed throughout the area as the Unknown group turned, a "Thunder!" could be heard as they started to approach.

The 1st-Lt waved an all clear and began to round the bend, just as needler fire began to spray at the squad in the open. Some of the shadowy figures dropping as they took hits.

"Hostiles, at our Ten, open fire."

As lead from the beret's rifles tore through the forest, Ripcord looked down his sight, he spotted a towering figure that looked like an elite. Taking a deep breath, he squeezed the trigger twice, letting off two rounds. The first knock it's head back, as the second tore through it's skull, sending up a small plume of blood as it crumpled where it stood. needler fire ceased as the screams of a grunt being tore apart could be heard in the distance. 

"Clear!" was all the squad heard as they rushed over to the other fire-team. The Sergeant in charge saluting as Ripcord dropped to inspect the wounded. He confirmed one as KIA, and as he inspected the others leg, he thought to himself. If I make it off this dam planet i'm transferring to the dam marines.

[Frazer]

Captain Frazer York
UNSCS Preston
Virtue Class Attack Carrier
Orbiting above Hope

Frazer awaited the reply from the Admiral anxiously. It finally came through. "For now Captain, All we do know is there is a giant bubble of EMP. Scans aren't penetrating and visual suggests that the city is in ruin. I can only hope for now that some of our marines have made it through." Then pausing. "Keep looking for a way to penetrate that shield. Vardy out."

"Well this has gone one hundred percent more weird." Trayner said as she navigated the ship to a stop. Tiffany came back on the A.I pedestal.

"Tiffany have you got any ideas on how to get through that shield?" Frazer asked as he walked back over to the holo table. 

"Non at all sir. I will try and see what I can find out from the Iowa's and Kilimanjaro's A.Is." Frazer again nodded for Tiffany to dissapper from the pedestal. Frazer needed her more then ever. Wilson swung around on his chair to face Frazer.

"Sir incoming message from the Hibernian." Frazer nodded to have it played. 

"UNSCS Preston this is the UNSCS Hibernian, do we have any update on the situation of Refuge?" Frazer quickly paced up to the comms table. He hinted at Wilson to allow a reply. 

"UNSCS Hibernian, this is Captain Frazer York of the UNSCS Preston. We have little to no intel on whats going down on the planet below. All we do know is there is a giant bubble of EMP. Scans aren't penetrating and visual suggests that the city is in ruin. I would contact Admiral Klix for orders as hes your fleet Admiral. Sorry I couldn't be much use. York out." Frazer walked back over to the holo table. "God one of these days we will have actual intel that helps us." Frazer said in an annoyed manner. 

"Things will work themselves out Cap. Plus we have Tiffany on the case, have you ever seen her fail?" Tony asked.

"No I haven't. But this is strange, I only hope she comes back with information that helps." Frazer moved back to his chair. He waited for Tiffany to come back on the pedestal with information. 

[Martial Virtue]

Second Lieutenant Gabriel Hawk, UNSC Marines

City of Refuge

Walking through what's left of the streets

The young twenty-year-old lieutenant had a lot of things on his mind as he tread carefully through the debris- and rubble-filled streets ahead of his platoon. This had been one hell of a day so far. I thought my first deployment was bad, crashlanding in that damn Albatross, he thought to himself. Doesn't hold a candle to our Pelican coming down hard and then nearly having a damn building land on top of us right after. 

Some day. Gabe wondered if his parents had had missions like this too back in the day - or even when they were deployed now. They've both been in the Marine Corps for over twenty years. Must've seen a lot of shit. Much worse than this, probably.

For the moment, though, he felt lucky to be alive and in one piece. He was glad his Marines were as well. He knew it was likely that many others hadn't been so fortunate with all the Pelicans that came down in the EMP blast. Adjusting the clear combat glasses on his face - grateful for those, too, so that the dust in the air hadn't entered his eyes - he gripped his assault rifle tighter and trudged on. Head in the game, Hawk. Listen for sounds...friendly or otherwise.

"Sir? What's up?"

Hawk did a double-take as he realized Staff Sergeant Reicher had come up beside him. She was walking along close enough that he could see most of her features even through the gray haze. She was pretty, with short brown hair under her helmet and deep blue eyes, but much older than him and all business when they spoke. He admired her for her professionalism and expertise, and her willingness to help him along as he continued to develop and come into his own as a platoon leader. She wasn't easily rattled and she knew her shit. He saw her as a mentor, much more than Gunny Reeves whom he should've technically turned to first for things like this. He was grateful for her presence in his unit. 

"Nothing, Staff. Just thinking."

She snorted good-naturedly. "Don't think too hard, LT. It'll distract you from what's in front of you. Can't see much through this cloud and it could easily be Covies at the end of this block rather than Marines or Army. Even civvies can be bad if they're armed and scared."

Gabriel nodded. "Duly noted."

Slowly they moved deeper through the maze of city streets, the air getting thicker and thicker - so much that Gabe tied a rag from his pack around his nose and mouth to breathe better. Still no sounds yet, though - friendly or otherwise.

"We must be getting closer to where this thing fell," he said to the staff sergeant from under the cloth.

"Roger that, sir. See all the big plascrete chunks on the ground, too? That building dropped like a rock."

"Yeah. I hope someone around here's still alive."

Finally they reached the end of the road. In front of them stood another building, damaged but still upright from the collapse of the one across from it. To the left was a huge pile of debris they wouldn't be able to get around without some dangerous climbing, and Hawk didn't want to risk injury to his platoon unless the situation was truly dire. To the right, there was still some debris but it was more manageable to go through. He veered right.

"HHHHHHIbbbleeabbdoouuu..."

Gabriel instantly lifted the weapon in his grip out of pure reflex, heart pounding in his chest. "What the hell was that?" he asked Reicher.

"Not sure, sir. It's coming from the rubble."

"Aw, shit. It's a fucking Marine. One of ours." He quickly lowered his gun and grabbed the staff sergeant by the arm. "Come on, let's go help."

"Wait one, sir. It'll be better if I get the rest of my squad."

"Right. Do it."

Even with the loud noise the wounded Marine had emitted, it still took the lieutenant a couple of minutes of searching to get to where the man was in the pile. He'd seen a portion of him from the street, enough to know where to look, but getting to him had been difficult due to the positioning of the debris. The Marine was under a huge slab of plascrete, and it would take some muscle to get him out.

Thankfully, Reicher appeared at the same moment with the rest of first squad in tow. Rifle slung over his shoulder now, Lieutenant Hawk turned to his own Marines and pointed at the slab.

"I want one of you on each corner of this thing, and two in the middle, one on each side," he ordered. "Let's get this man out of here." Grabbing hold of a corner himself, with Reicher on the other end and the remainder where he'd placed them, Gabriel grit his teeth and said, "Now, lift!"

[HollowSaber]

: Corporal Jake Furrow :

: Refuge, Dome Construction Zone :

: Nova Squad:

    Hard, wet concrete turned to mushy grass as Jake made his way across the front lawn of an abandoned house and around its side. The building, a testament of human ingenuity, stood firm amongst all of the destruction around it. Out of all of the other homes on the street, this one was one of the few still standing and it did so gloriously. Jake had noticed several Army bodies around its entrance and plasma burns were plastered all across its outer walls and near the windows. The house had done its best to protect those who had taken shelter within its walls and it had done so with every piece of wood that was put up to make its form. It could only do so much though, and the fortress was unable to protect the soldiers when the Covenant broke down the front door. Even so, the building looked ready to take another beating for whoever choose to enter its shell.

    The Trooper elected to deny the building’s offer of security and gave it a gently tap as he entered the backyard. The building had done its job as a home and a base, and for the men who had been killed inside of it; the house now had a duty to be a resting place. Jake had no right to disturb it. The ghosts which lingered had already seen enough blood.

    With a hard shove, Jake lowered his shoulder and slammed through the rear gate, bursting it open and giving him access to the small forest at the back of the residential zone. Jake performed a quick sweep of the muddy grounds with his pistol raised before he was sure it was safe to move forward. As he navigated through the trees, his boots acted like suction cups in the mud. Each step was sucked into the clutches of the saturated ground, forcing Jake to exert more strength with every step he took. It was exhausting and Jake started having issues after a while. The mud seemed to thicken and his boots sank even deeper into its grip. Going from running on solid, flat concrete to such an unstable thing was aggravating to say the least, and it was only getting worse as Jake finally cleared the small collection of trees and popped out by the field near the massive dome he had begun moving towards.

    When the trees cleared and Jake was able to see his destination, Jake was filled with energy and joy. He grinned, churned his feet through the mud, ignored the fatigue that was building up in his legs, and kept moving forward. Safety and rest was just ahead of where he was. Each step brought Jake closer to the building, and each step made him smile wider. The mud was no match for the determined Trooper. Initially, it had Jake in its grasp and was pulling him deeper and deeper into its tiring hold. Now it was nothing but a defeated enemy that the man was stomping over.

    The building grew and grew in Jake’s eyes until it filled his visor. The Trooper reached his right hand out and placed it firmly against the outer wall of the dome and then leaned against it tiredly. The hard part was over and now he had a chance to breathe. It had been a while since his pod dropped and the EMP hit and the Corporal hadn’t got a single chance to relax. Sure, he got to lay down in a building and look through a scope for a while, but his mind was still rolling; he was still working. Now there wasn’t a single Covenant soldier in sight and not a soul he had to worry about. He could let his mind calm and let his body relax for a moment, but only for a moment.

    Holstering his pistol, Jake made his way around the building to the front where a large construction site had been created. There were several large vehicles around and piles of building materials scattered in neat, organized clusters. Jake didn’t realize it at first, but it seemed all of the equipment was for the actual dome itself. The massive structure had looked completed from the back but now it hardly looked the same. There was still a visible skeletal structure in some places and it looked like the interior was in shambles. However, Jake had a feeling that it wasn’t all to bad. Hopefully it was completed enough that he’d be able to use it as a place to hide out for a while. For now though, he had some looking to do.

    The Trooper turned away from the dome and made his way over towards the construction equipment. Amongst the vehicles were a pair of dozers, one huge and one small, a few crane vehicles, forklifts, ATVs, excavators, and transport trucks. There were also a few warthogs, but they had been stripped of their turrets and made into regular flatbeds. It was safe to assume that those vehicles wouldn’t be moving for now due to the EMP, so he would have to be forced to look elsewhere for transport. That was when the ODST looked towards the pile of materials. The Trooper decided to climb up on top of the larger bulldozer and knelt down; giving himself a birds-eye view of what he had to work with.

    Thankfully, the civilian workers had organized what they had and made looking at everything much easier. There was a large pile of sheet metal, sheet rock, piles of wood beams and planks, stacks of girders, and multiple collections of pipes. Near the piles were also places where the construction workers actually mended the materials to suit what they needed. They were even happy enough to leave a lot of their tools behind. For Jake, that was good. He didn’t have the strength to bend metal, but he had the tools to cut them. Even if a saw didn’t work, it was still sharp enough to be used manually. If it meant sawing away for an hour, Jake would do it.

    The ODST flexed his jaw and looked behind him towards the opposite side of the vehicles. There, four stacks of tires of various sized and even an extra two sets of treads were lying in the mud. He took a quick count of the tires that were there, made a note of their different sizes, and then looked back at the materials in front of him. He stared at the pile of wood for a moment and let his mind mull over a few ideas. Then, it hit him. The idea popped up as if a freight train had smacked him upside the head.

    Jake nodded and climbed down the roof of the dozer and made his way over towards the tables the construction workers had been using. He picked the one which was beneath a small plastic canopy to keep the rain off him and then pulled out his maps. The Trooper flipped them all over and set his back down on top of them. He unzipped the smaller compartment, snagged one of the three pencils he always carried as if he was a school kid, and pulled one of the maps out from under his backpack. He flipped it over, giving him a blank white space, and got to work.

[Huka]

Field Master Til 'Muramai
Digsite

 The Field Master looked at the Captain without a hint of movement from his somewhat lean body, listening to his every words and taking the proposal of catapults from the Jiralhanae. When he was done, the Sangheili gave a low chuckle; it was of fair amusement instead of possible mockery to the lesser soldier. "I know how a catapult is constructed and managed, Captain. Believe it or not, Sangheili once used it ourselves. Perhaps not of the same sturdy wood as your homeworld..." The Zealot said, slowly stepping down and looked at Garatus before stroking one of his smooth gas-distributing tubes in thought, "Very well, we can use the rubble of this city to our advantage. Perhaps keep them as defenses to the Artifact, unless it is needed for heavy artillery." 

 After a moment of afterthought, Til nodded before unleashing a fatalistic laugh to the irony of the situation, "Brilliant. Without the gift of the Gods, we are forced to use ancient means of defense." And the Jiralhanae are the most primitive creatures here...

 Looking to Garatus, Til looked over him again as if examining his very being and waved his hand sagely, "Keep up the good work, vigilance, and beneficial thoughts to our holy mission, Captain. Fine rewards are given to warriors like you." With that said, the Zealot started to angle his head around again to the gathering soldiers and felt abit uneasy. Uneasiness that had his talons twitch and grab his blades, but the presence of the currently all-seeing Yanme'e helped his paranoia some. 

[Deleted]

ODST Sergeant John Redsont
Dome Construction Zone
(I swear to god Kenny, someone better take my guns)

John thought he was imagining it at first, perhaps the rain was making him see things. John blinked a few times and squinted hard to assure himself what he was seeing was the real thing. There, behind a series of cinder blocks, appeared to be an ODST, out in the open, waving their arms trying to attract attention. John was at a lost of words, there were literally dozens of patrols outside, and any one of them spotting the ODST would endanger all their lives. John instantly ran out into the rain in a low crouch towards the ODST, he covered the distance quickly before leaping over the cinder blocks and pinning the ODST to the ground. That's when he realized three things, the first was that it was a women, and that he recognized her from of his detachment. The third was the awkward part, John had pushed her down at the chest, so his hand was rest on her bosom. John sprang up in a fluster of rage, confusion and embarrassment. He looked at her in frustration before speaking.

"Corporal Kafuka, care to tell me why you're waving your arms like a bird in the middle of a combat zone with covenant patrols surrounding us?" John asked in an angry tone as he noticed another ODST with her.

It was another ODST John recognized, from the same squad as Faith. His name was Nathan if John remembered correctly. John glared at Nathan and was about to give him a stern lecture when he noticed a shadow behind him. It was a humanoid figure, one that made John curious because it was on top of a bulldozer. 

"How many people are hiding here?" John asked aloud looking directly at the figure.

[Kenny]

Corporal Faith Kafuka
Being Lectured

    Due to her reaction times being nothing special, the ODST was quickly slammed into the ground by someone she recognized as her Sergeant. 
So THAT'S where the person in the other building went, she thought as she noticed a... certain pressure.
She stayed silent as they each got up, noticing his embarrassment and ignoring it as he began yelling. She waited him to finish before making her response.

"Now Sarge, after your little 'stunt' back there I don't think you're in any sort of god damn position to be demanding things and insulting me you damn pervert." She paused as she stuck her finger at his chest and put her head to his. You could practically see her eyes turn red as she continued.
"You walk in here, defile me, act like fucking NOTHING happened and then continue to yell at ME for trying to regroup in this forsaken city."

It was at this point she completely stop and froze in the position she was in. It didn't take more than a moment for her finger to start trembling and the sound of giggling to come from inside her helmet. A second later she had erupted into full scale laughter and embraced the sergeant for a hug before taking a step back.

"Don't worry sir, it's no big deal to me! I'm single anyways." She added as she took off her helmet and winked. She adjusted her signature hairclip before looking back at her commander.

"Though what do you mean by hiding? It's just me and Nathan over there of course. We've just been looking for others for we aren't wandering through the streets like flowers in a sauna." She finished, smiling gleefully. 

[MrKill]

1LT. Kyle Killinger
Alpha Company, First Platoon; First Battalion, Seventh Marines
Hope; Refuge

The Lieutenant slid along the wall, the water nearing closer as he held his M6D out in front of him with the barrel pointed outward - a recently equipped silencer adding some length to the side-arm. The chirping and squawking only meant one thing, and this wasn't a dream he was experiencing - the Covenant were near and probably in numbers, and it was doubtful there were any Marines or Army personnel around. Great. Kyle thought, peeking around the edge of the building.

Two grunts and a Jackal were walking down the roadway, apparently having a conversation. With the translation suit in his helmet dead the Junior Officer had no idea what the alien fuckers were even talking about, but he could assume it had something to do with the enemy they were going to face falling from the sky and the lack of resistance after that.

Kyle raised his side-arm and aimed towards the Jackal, leading his targets' pace slightly. The silenced M6D round rang out with a silent puff, punched through the alien birds skull and hit the light post behind it. The round sparked off and splashed into the water, the Jackal following. The bird slide beneath the slight waves before resurfacing to be carried away by the current. The two grunts remained oblivious that their comrade had fallen, the noise masking the splosh the Jackal made.

Kyle aimed for the second grunt and practice switching targets quickly, before firing four times. Three of the bullets found a target, and one grunt hit the ground dead. The second, shot in the chest, ran squeaking in surprise. Kyle fired a 'oh shit' bullet but it missed and hit the side of a building before the grunt disappeared behind the corner.

Can't let it get away! Kyle pushed off the wall and started sprinting down the road, the Grunt running like an animal now. It was much quicker than Kyle was, extending the distance every second and Kyle knew he couldn't catch up. He stopped, raised his sidearm and was about to shoot when a German Shepherd launched its-self from the left of the grunt and caught it by surprise. The dog managed to take it down and viciously bit into the alien creatures neck.

Not wanting to find out who owned the dog - which was able to kill the grunt by tearing into its unarmored neck - Kyle bailed by diving into the harbor water. He wasn't going to waste a bullet on a dog, and he didn't have many bullets to use. The canine, however, spotted Kyle and jumped into the water after him. The Marine went to draw his side-arm when he realized he had it equipped when he dived into the water... and if he didn't have it the ocean consumed it.

"Well shit." He said quietly and produced his combat knife. The canine, however, swam almost delightfully. Kyle realized the dog once it approached. He confirmed his suspicious by reading the collar on the dog, which had a pair of UNSC tags. It was, after all, his fathers dog.

"Crazy son of a bitch, Axle. What are you doing down here!"

The canine, obviously, never responded. Axle was trained to be deployed with UNSC forces, but not as a combat asset. Against the Covenant the dog was fairly useless and was used more to detect abnormal things such as bombs, . Clearly, though, his dad had trained the dog for lethal take downs against the smaller races of the Covenant - but even then Axle had the element of surprised. If the grunt had been armored at the neck, Axle would have been dead.

"Crazy ass dog."

COL. Johnathon Killinger
Seventh Marines
Hope; Refuge

"Maybe," John said. "Or we can shove all the supplies onto the netting and pull it back." He added, looking at the webbing of the pelican in thought. They could cut it down, put all the supplies and drag it behind them. It would help restock the RV point, but they'd need to return for the supplies in the resupply capsules. John nodded in satisfaction.

"Cut the netting down, put the supplies on it and we'll drag it with us if we have too. You're right, though. We'll need to come back again for the rest but this way we'll maximize our efforts and leave more bodies the ability to return fire if we come under fire."

John moved away from the pelican crash and into the next building. He put his back against a wall and slid down until he was sitting on the office floor. He put a hand on his forehead and gripped his nose with his pinky and thumb. The headache that had decided to invade his mind was getting worse. He took his helmet off and rubbed at his temples before standing back up.

Ne needed a breather, though. The stress of knowing that your unit suffered colossal casualties was mounting, and John could feel his heartbeat. It felt like it was getting slower and slower, almost like he'd have a heart attack if things didn't improve but there was no time to have a heart attack, and his Marines couldn't afford it. John steeled himself, but continued staring into the darkened sky.

A green flare shot up at the RV location, they'd been already gone for half an hour.

"We need to hurry it up," John said. "We've been gone for roughly thirty minutes."

"Axle?

[Deleted]

ODST Sergeant John Redsont
Dome Construction Zone
(Is looking for an excuse to shoot Kenny)

John closed his eyes and took a deep breath while the corporal acted it out her bit and gave him a hug. He knew about Kafuka's behavior, and if it wasn't for the fact she was a decent soldier, John would have had her discharged for things like this. John also had more important things on his mind as he watched the shadow leave the top of the bulldozer and walk over to a plastic tarp cover. John removed himself from the Corporal's hug and began to slowly follow behind with his pistol out in front of him. John poked through the tarp with his gun and saw the figure in the dim light, another ODST by the looks of it. John swore to himself that if this one tried to hug him like Kafuka or try to hit him with a sledgehammer, he would fire with extreme prejudice.

"A wierd time to be drawing don't you think?" John said as he stepped inside with his pistol lowered, "The name's John Redsont, ODST Sergeant, and who would you be exactly?"

John asked this as he glanced at the paper on the table. John couldn't quite make it out from where he stood but it seemed to be a plan of sorts. If this ODST was planning a strategy, John would of course want in on it. It certainly beat hiding out in the rain with three ODSTs and the construction workers while they were surrounded by covenant. As John holstered his pistol, the construction workers appeared from behind him, seemingly confused about what was going on. And in all honesty, John was confused himself, hoping the ODST in front of him would clarify his plan.

[Buzzkill]

(Just get us back there Kill. We’ve got what we need)

Lieutenant “Buzzkill” Adams
Ground - On the Move
Pelican CL-2512-T3 – Out of Commission

”Ahh.” Buzzkill replied to the idea that the Colonel had presented. ”Didn’t think of draggin’ em.” Buzzkill said. He took out a knife and quickly removed the netting that was there. I supposed they could have the rear man on each of the stretchers have a net to drag and that would triple their carrying capacity. They may move a bit slower, but it would save the time, though not the energy.

Buzzkill laid the nets out for them to use quickly. They were set up well and flat so that they could lay the equipment they needed down onto them. And then he moved back to see what they could get.

There was a lot of equipment on the Dropship, but they could not take everything. The power of the UNSC, and all civilized races, revolved around their technology. Everyone was in trouble on this specific battle. Buzzkill would have preferred a method to actually get the equipment moving, such as a loading vehicle. But they were back to basics here.

”Here’s an idea. We got weapons.” Buzzkill started as he grabbed up as much ammunition as he could. ”So we just bring the food for em.” he suggested. They could easily bring all of the ammunition they had, the weapons themselves they could leave.

Buzzkill and the others loaded up the nets full, lined their pockets, and strapped themselves ready.

”There, now we don’t gotta come back, unless we gotta pressing need for gun power.” Buzzkill said to the Colonel. He was ready himself to help the dragging. ”Ready to go Colonel.” Buzzkill announced, as he waited for the Colonels signal.

[iamsteelius]

Private Jacob Alenan

In the Rendezvous Zone


    After the Sergeant decided they would hold down at the RZ, things went bland fast. A corpsman set to work with Deacon, doing what he could while the Sergeant went around, learning the house and people. Wolfram set down a duffel bag of supplies, more MREs than anything, and began sorting it out with the other supplies. Jacob had to give up two of his grenades and most of his ammo. He kept his spare pistol hidden, figuring he’d rather be well armed than fair. All the while, Alper kept vigilant watch from one of the windows and talking, though mostly to himself.


    The light of the flare soaked Jacob in green light for a little bit, reminding him that’d he’d been sitting there, drumming his fingers on the DMR for thirty minutes. Jacob grumbled quietly, wondering why they were still here. Sure, missions suck, but at this point, he wouldn’t mind hauling crates. He mostly just thought about what was going on, hoping things didn’t get worse for the UNSC. They were doing alright for the time being, though. Surprisingly.



Kig-Yar Major Nak

Executing his second worst plan



    Nak thought the plan was going rather well, as strenuous as it was. He pushed against the impossibly heavy dumpster, breathing in dust, wracking his lungs. The shroud of debris would’ve handicapped Nak’s senses, except he was a Kig-Yar, with keen eyes. Some days, he thought, it’s good to be me. This was right before, of course, Nak felt something round underfoot. Before he could even guess what it was, he slipped over it, bashing his head into the dumpster. He squawked loudly, his head hurt too much to think, so he shut his eyes. Suddenly, an arm wrapped around Nak and pulled.


    Someone in the file began to shout, just as something exploded and he felt a shock wave of heat wash over him. Nak felt himself skid against the floor, then the feeling of being dragged. He grabbed at the arm around him and tried to stand. He put a foot underneath himself and pulled away from the person dragging him, rolling on his stomach. He heard Top’s grave voice, saying, “Sir, get up. We need to go.” Nak got on his knees and opened his eyes.


    He was in an alley, once again. Top was taking cover at the entrance of the alley with a Needler and energy cutlass, avoiding gunfire and firing back. In front of Nak was Zax, standing with Nak’s Needle Rifle. Nak took Zax’s hand as she began to speak. “They threw a grenade. If you hadn’t yelled when you did, we wouldn’t have known. Top started pulling you out when it went off. I grabbed Lir’s gun as I jumped out. The others are dead.”


    Nak just shook his head, his shoulders heavy. Yet another group dead, under his command. Damn it all to oblivion. He sighed deeply, the breath wracking his entire frame. Zax helped up Nak, saying, “Some Yan’me were flying toward the artifact, probably aiming to regroup. Top is providing rear cover, while we move up.” Nak nodded and began to move down the alley, towards the artifact.He hated to leave Top in danger, but he was more than capable. Just as he was about to turn and yell for Top, he heard a disturbing sound, metal tearing, flesh ripping and a squawk. Nak shut his eyes and kept running, Zax at his side.


    As they were a comfortable distance away, Nak near collapsed into a wall, heavy from pain, exhaustion, and grief. Zax sat next to him, breathing hard. She eventually asked, “Why did we leave Top,” her voice quiet, “Sure, it’s risky and slow, but wasn’t he a friend? He shouldn’t have to die alone.” Nak sucked in a breath and stood. He looked in the direction of his dead file.

Nak then spoke, his voice unwavering, “Top was a friend, damn good one at that. He’s also a good shot, and a survivor. I imagine that shot didn’t kill him. Just sat him down. One thing for sure,” he said, pulling his only remaining cutlass out, “I know he didn’t die alone.” Zax nodded, and they both began to move. She thought Nak was getting a little sentimental, but he had yet to get her killed. Yet. Surprisingly.

[HollowSaber]

: Corporal Jake Furrow :

: Refuge, Dome Construction Zone :

: Nova Squad:

    Scheming was starting to become a daily thing for Jake. Whether it was on the ground with his feet wet or on a ship trying to find a good place to sneak off and sleep in; his mind was almost always searching for some way to better his situation. On ships, it was much easier as the only thing he had to worry about there were superior officers stumbling in on him sleeping in a vent somewhere. Here in the middle of a steadily worsening storm on a planet with Covenant crawling all over the place, threats were everywhere. Even as Jake stood at the table, fixated on the project before him, his eyes were constantly attempting to check behind him. He listened to the pitter patter of the rain on the tarp and it sounded as if someone was nearby. However, Jake kept to himself. He needed to focus and unless someone, or something, walked in on him; he would remain focused.

    Still, after hearing a few strange noises, Jake had become uneasy. He began to look over his shoulder more and he started to lose his train of thought occasionally. As he stared at the paper in front of him, the image the Trooper had in his head was starting to fade. He hissed at the changing of imagery and finally reached to his hip. With a hard tug, he ripped his pistol out of its holster and slammed it onto the table. The loud bang of the impact and the following silence helped the man relax. His mind had sprung to life as his ears filled with noise, and now the rain was starting to calm him like it had been doing so before. Issues with the image persisted but it was easier to maintain his visual. With a huff, Jake returned to his sketch.

    However, as if the world wasn’t already bothering him enough, Jake suddenly heard someone shout. The ODST shut his eyes, irritated, and set his pencil down. His mind was tired, and physical fatigue seemed to be catching up with him. That didn’t mean it had the right to play tricks on him though; that just wasn’t fair. Jake was simply trying to complete his duty and finish his mission, how was that so difficult all of a sudden? From the very moment he entered the atmosphere of this planet, Hope, his operations continuously fell through one after another. For once, he just wanted the world to shut up and let him think. Unlike the last missions where he could improvise, this one was taking him a bit more comprehension and understanding. He enjoyed doing such but these circumstances were far to annoying. It was starting to get on his nerves.

    Suddenly, a footstep echoed in Jake’s ears. The ODST immediately snagged his pistol and whipped around, turning about his heels as he moved to look at the cause of the noise. He clutched his pistol with both hands and steadied his finger on the trigger, ready to fire the instant he saw purple. To his surprise, Jake found himself aiming at another human; another Orbital Drop Shock Trooper to be exact. It took a moment before Jake’s body reacted, and he slowly lowered his weapon but he kept two hands on the weapon. Jake hid behind his pitch black polarized visor and used it to conceal himself. He couldn’t do much about his chevron or name, but he could at least protect his face for the moment. The man also kept himself between the other ODST and the paper he was writing on. For now, he didn’t want anyone to know what he was doing. Even if it was a superior, as the Trooper in front of him had several more stripes.

    Though, Jake never even had to survey the person in front of him for any of that trivia. Without hesitation, the other Trooper asked about Jake’s actions and then introduced himself. Sergeant John Redsont, a name Jake hadn’t heard of. It didn’t matter in the end, as this “Redsont” probably hadn’t heard of him either. Unless rumors and echoes about his reputation spread further than just the top of the food chain. If that was true, then him hiding a sheet of paper would probably look much worse than it currently did. Should this ODST know of Jake’s constant and never ending schemes of large scales, all of which he completed of his own accord, then hiding a piece of paper would make it seem like he was up to no good again. If the other Trooper didn’t know a lot, than it may just look like Jake was hiding information from a superior. Either way Jake would probably get in trouble if this were any other situation but if he had to choose; Jake would rather get in trouble for his second guess. It didn’t matter though, as he would be forced to communicate to this Sergeant at some point seeing as he had been spotted.

    “So… what will it be…?” Jake thought as his eyes slowly made their way from the Sergeant badge to Redsont’s own eyes. It seemed he had no choice for now. He’d have to play it safe though, as the amount of knowledge of the situation the Sergeant had could either benefit him or hurt him.

    “Corporal Jake Furrow, Nova Squad, Sir. I’m drafting up a plan to remove the source of the EMP from Covenant hands.”
    “Yes, keep it secret…” Jake hid the fact that the source was Forerunner, and hopefully it would keep the Sergeant from freaking and taking over the Corporal’s OP.

    “For now, I need some space and request to be given some, Sir. If you wouldn’t mind, I also need some extra hands gathered to assist with what I have planned.” Jake didn’t want to use force or threaten the man in front of him, but Jake honestly didn’t trust him too much. The Covenant were known to be on the planet, but there could be a potential threat of Insurrectionists. If this man was truly UNSC, then Jake would need to figure it out. If not, the magnum he held was ready to fire and Jake didn’t plan on being kind.

[NinjaBoss]

Sangheili Major Domo Zahn 'Vignarlee
Artifact Excavation Site

Zahn growled to himself, bringing Cuhl back out of her thoughts and causing a momentary lapse in the Unggoy's game.

"What is taking so long?" He said, his patience growing thin. This was most unlike him, as the rest of his lance could tell. He had to remind himself that he was a trained Sangheili warrior, and the quest to honor was not quick or easy. This managed to calm him, though only a little. He sure wished that his superior officers would hasten the process of giving out their orders, however. This waiting was growing tiring.........

Unggoy Ultra Zaxax
Artifact Excavation Site

Zaxax sat down, relieved of finally leaving his feet. He had sought out another Sangheili, but apparently word had reached the Ultra of the regrouping at base camp. The Ultra had returned, albeit alone, and for this Zaxax was relieved. He supposed he could've just never said anything to anyone about the Sangheili and the lance of humans they had found, but the danger of the nishum would still be there. And Zaxax felt like he had a duty to fulfill. He may only be an Unggoy, but he is an Ultra, and you don't become an Ultra for sitting back, doing nothing and sucking on a feeding tube. But his worries were over, so he sat, and lay in wait of their new orders. He hoped they would come quickly, though not too quickly. He wanted to sit and rest for a little while before being thrown back into the heat of battle.....

ODST Private Moe Keating
Near North-Eastern Scatter Army Units

Moe set down the makeshift stretcher they had set up for Cars, then checked the alleyway.

"Clear!" He called back, then lowered his rifle and picked up his end of the stretcher again. Carrying Cars was a bit of work, and Moe wished there was somewhere they could just sit down for a while. But without a medic, that wasn't going to happen anytime soon. Slowly moving out into a large, open area, Moe and Gabby were careful to stay as low as possible, and not subject themselves to the complete openness of the area. A little more difficult, yes, but worth it all the same.

"Who's there!?" A voice called out, and Moe nearly dropped the stretcher. Reminding himself that Cars was on it, he set it down carefully, though still rather hastefully. Drawing his rifle, he pointed it in the direction of the sound, Gabby behind him with her MK-280 out as well.

"This is ODST PFC Gabriella Miller. Identify yourself!" Gabby yelled, and a slight moment passed before they received a reply.

"Army troopers William and Billy Dennis, Private First Class." Came their answer, and two men slowly stepped out of the alley, their weapons lowered, though still clutching them tightly.

"You can call us Will and Bill though. Nice to meet some friendlies out here. You seen the green flare a few klicks out?" They asked. Moe slowly shook his head, and the two army troopers shrugged.

"We're assuming it's friendlies, though it's a little difficult getting to the location. Been holed up here for quite a while now, and the Covenant killed the rest of our squad. Nice to meet you troopers out her though. Could be some help."

"You know where a medic is?" Gabby asked, simply and quietly.

"A medic? No, but there might be one over by the green flare. How come?" The army men asked, before seeing Cars in his brutal state. A shocked look grew across their faces, then they moved over towards them.

"You need some help with that? Come along, the flare went up this way!" Will Dennis said, and him and Moe began carrying the stretcher, Gabby and Bill Dennis covering them.

[Deleted]

Second Lieutenant Robert McCauley
Commanding Officer, third platoon, Alpha Co.,
Moving towards friendlies... Hopefully

"sir! Flare, east." one of the young privates observed. Robert looked at the map, and then asked how far it seemed. The private told him that it would be, maybe 500 meters from their position, going east. Robert looked at the map, and determined that it'd be quickest to take a direct route to the flare, to hopefully find friendlies. "Okay, okay, platoon. We are oscar mike to whoever popped that flare. Get ready to move in zero-one mike!" Robert said to the men with him.

First Lieutenant Mike "Barbie" Barbara,
Pelican pilot,

The pilot followed the other lieutenant, and after a while they made it to the RV point. "So... Do we have any rifles left, by accident? You see, the gremlins took my baby down, and we were unable to gather our equipment. Thus, I am stuck with this M6A, with only the clip it has loaded." he shouted around to just about anyone that could hear him.

[Deleted]

ODST Sergeant John Redsont
Dome Construction Zone
(Oh great now I have Kenny and Saber)

John raised an eyebrow at the corporal's response. The guy knew about the EMP source, which struck John as very important information. There was also the corporal's plan in the works. John decided that for the moment he would help the corporal with his plan and nodded.

"Well there seem to be a few construction workers hiding out here, so I'll see to rounding them up for you. But you know the source of the EMP? I take that it's the covenant's tech doing it? I don't suspect it to be an easy feat with us running blind but seem to have a plan so carry on." John said as he turned around and saw the construction workers from before. 

John smirked as he saw them and cleared his throat. He needed to gain these guys' trust after that little stunt from earlier. And it certainly didn't help that one of them was still carrying the sledgehammer from before.

"Alright, we've got a plan but we need the help of every person with a construction background. Are there any others hiding out here with you?" John asked a deep tone hoping it would making it seem more important.

"No. We're the only one's here, everyone else either ran or was evacuated. Why what's the plan?" One of them asked with a ting of annoyance in his voice.

"Classified. For now you guys are gonna follow any orders Corporal Furrow ask of you. We do this right and we just might make it out of this situation in one piece." John said with a smirk.

[Arbiter124]

Hunter Knight

UNSC Private

Settling in

"Come on, big guy." Hunter mumbled as he pulled on Andre's arms, dragging him with effort out of the pelican. They had crashed in a park, which included trees littered around, a playground, and a basketball court. He stepped down slightly as they exited the rear of the vehicle, and the still disorientated Andre was lightly set down by his carrier, who in turn went to join his fireteam leader.

"Everyone's alright. No one's too wounded to move." James and Chaz both looked at Hunter, before James nodded and looked back towards the PFC.

"We move to the river. The city will be way too hot, so we'll move through the sewage lines. We'll move towards the Colonel's position, and once we're there, go back to the surface."

"Sounds like a plan." Chaz responded, before tapping his DMR and walking over to the others.

"Let's go, pussies," He started, which earned a rolling of Riley's eyes. "We're headed to the river. The sewers, to be more specific." With that, Hunter, Riley, and Andre stood up, and James brushed by them, leading the group. Chaz rushed forward to join the Corporal's side, good little dog that he was.

"I really wish I could get the chance to give Chaz a piece of my god damn mind - AGH!" Andre's comment was cut short by his bloodcurdling scream. Blood splattered against Hunter's face, and Andre collapsed on the ground next to him, wailing.

"Shit!" Hunter cursed as bright pink lines flew through the air, needles sticking into trees, benches, and Andre's shoulder. Hunter raised his assault rifle and fired blindly as he rushed backwards.

The Private glanced back to see Andre still laying in the grass, and three avian creatures advancing, only one holding a weapon.

Scrawnies.

Hunter looked at his retreating team, and then back towards Andre. He cursed under his breath as he started running back towards his friend, firing his weapon on automatic and yelling at the top of his lungs. One of the bullets caught the shooter in the rib, and he collapsed onto one knee, letting out a deep, rasped screech. One of the other Scrawnies pushed the wounded one aside, wrenching the gun from his hands, and turning back to Hunter, who had now reached Andre.

"You stupid fucking idiot!" Hunter growled as he pushed his weapon into Andre's hands. The wounded private took the weapon, and held it awkwardly, careful about his shoulder. Hunter grabbed both of Andre's biceps and began pulling him along in the grass, as Andre kept firing Hunter's rifle.

They were halfway to the exit of the park when the terrible clicking sound reached there ears.

"Dry!" Andre managed through clenched teeth.

"Right hip! Right hip!" Hunter nervously shouted back over the sound of needles whizzing by. Andre's right hand struggled to rip open the pocket, and slowly took out a clip of ammo. He shoved it into the feed, and the blue zero flashed, now having a reassuring six next to it.

"Let em' have it!" Hunter shouted, and Andre complied. One of the unarmed Scrawnies were torn into dark purple, fleshy pieces before collapsing in a heap. Andre screamed, and dropped Hunter's rifle for what seemed to be no reason. Hunter looked at him in anger, before looking up and see the other unarmed Jackal, charging on all fours.

"Shit, shit, shit..." Hunter muttered as the creature closed the distance. In seconds it was only a few feet from them, and it lunged. The thing sailed gracefully through the air like an expert predator, attacking the weak link in the herd of prey. Hunter was about to close his eyes when the Scrawnies eye exploded into purple, the body twirling through the air and slamming onto the ground next to them. Hunter turned to see Chaz, his DMR pressed against his shoulder.

The three soldiers moved as quickly as possible out of the park, as needles exploded around next to them.

[BetaWülf]

Captain Garatus

Garatus was relieved that the Field Master was not displeased with his idea, and giddy practically when he was told that it was good thinking on his part, but he maintained his composure, not showing his internal giddiness externally.

"Thank you Field Master" Garatus said bowing his head.

He returned to his soldiers and ordered the placement of his catapults, he ordered four put up, two for reserve in case the Humans try attacking from another direction. The four placed were aimed in the direction of where the Humans 'Military' started out and would be coming from mostly, after they were placed Garatus ordered the gathering of rocks and debris, they would actually need something to fire after all.

"For our most holy empire my brothers!" Garatus said raising his weapon into the air, he couldn't help but think of Cad as he spoke, a small smile drew across his features.

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Second Lieutenant James "Ripcord" Lancaster 

Falcon Pilot Voodoo Two-Nine 

Falcon out of commission 

In the forest on the top of the map, east of the northwestern army unit
Hating the army now

His DMR raised as he passed by the trees, the 1st Lt. had put him on point as they moved through the forest. Keeping the wounded soldier in the middle of the group, the two grunts they had picked up were covering their flanks, as the 1st Lt. followed up the rear, and the other berets flanking him. Ripcord was hating the army now, he joined to be a pilot of falcons, and now he was a grunt on the ground. Quietly sighing to himself. I need to quit bitching. 

As they passed another cluster of trees, Ripcord spotted a pair of silhouettes that had the shape of jackals ahead, their backs to them he dropped to one knee and raised a fist. The 1st Lt. coming over and addressing the issue. 

"We go around, we don't need to engage two scouts when we can avoid them. We go deeper into the forest instead."

His scope lined up with the right jackal's skull Ripcord was irritated with what the 1st Lt wanted to do.

"So your gonna take us deeper into a forest, where there could be more covvies lying in wait, instead of dispatch two scouts quickly with a DMR and moving along the current path we are taking?"

"We can not afford to let them know we are here, 2nd Lt. We would be out numbered and out gunned insta-."

Looking away from his sight he snapped at the 1st. Lt.

"We're in the middle of a dam EMP bubble you idiot, their plasma weapons don't work, our weapons do, what we need to do is fill them with lead and keep moving. Know that's what i'm gonna do, because we need to find the Marines that dropped down onto the planet."

He looked around at the troopers, he saw most of them were scared, even this Lt's berets had that look of fear in their eye. He turned to the 1st Lt, as he blankly stated.

"I used to be the same rank as you, until some idiot captain gave my FW orders to go on a suicide mission, well I didn't go, was court martial, won it, but was demoted and sent here. Now you can follow me and help find the marines, or you can go into the forest and die within a few days trooper. Your call trooper, same goes with the rest of you."

Slowly, the army troopers they had rescued came over to his side, as two of the berets also joined him, leaving the 1st Lt. and his 2nd Lt. standing by themselves.

"I see, well then, we know who weren't cut out for the berets then," turning to face his 2nd Lt. "Lets move out trooper." 

They took off into the forest, as Ripcord ordered the other Marksmen into position. They dropped the jackals within a split second of each other and proceeded through the forest, moving closer to the road, hoping to spot something that could help.

[Huka]

Field Master Til 'Muramai
The Digsite

The Sangheili gave the Jiralhanae captain a nod of respect and acknowledgement to his gratitude before watching their setting up to the catapults for a moment. "At least some are willing to work with us." He said outloud, returning to his perch to look at the gathering soldiers. More and more were returning but he narrowed his eyes some to the unrest that started to plague the troops, hearing the murmurs and edgy tones of some officers, nevermind the main troop. The Unggoy seem satisfied to be out of the dark wet streets for now and the Kig-yar...they were a individualistic bunch and orders to them was simple to them as children. One of the Mgalekgolo pairs approached him as one before bowing lower with their spines quivering, "More than half of the Sect have returned, All-seeing Scholar. Do you permit us to gain all attention?" They questioned with a unified voice, language sounding like vibrations that shook to his very soul and he understood them easily. While his brother was more in tune with the multi-formed juggernauts, Til made sure to understand almost most of the Covenant client species' languages, out of respect and surprise. Several complaints and possible assassinations were quells thanks to such open-minded insight. 

Til stroke his helmet's beak-like front, "No...give them another quarter-unit. If they appear late, you will arrest them and bring them to me afterwards for punishment." He said with a glare to the Mgalekgolo, but his malicious look was to those who didn't answer his summons immediately. He was more concerned about the Jiralhanae Chief and his more...wild ilk. The Field Master was sure R'ha will deal with that. 

"Yes, Mighty Conqueror of Fortitude." They spoke once more before standing and lumbering off with their visible eels pulsing in syncing communications. Inhaling a lung's fill of his healing gases, the Sangheili was starting to feel the ease of breathing coming back to him again. Several rotations under this mask and suffering its medications was starting to pay off as his healers described. Maybe...the Huragok might be able to fix his scars too afterward, but one can dream.

[deceit]

Tansy would be fine. Ra'ab Xirsasee did not know much about healing or Unggoy anatomy, but he knew wounds. Tansy's wound would hurt, but the bullet had gone through and it wouldn't be the end of him. They wrapped it so it wouldn't bleed out and the flourescent blue blood of the Unggoy would clot quicker to block the wound, then he ordered Rigby and Ransy to help the Unggoy move. Ra'ab looked around the building for any weapons that could find.

The room, the first room they could find, was rather small. Ra'ab had to hunch slightly to get through the doorways. If he had been born a much larger Sangheili, he would have a difficult time. Inside they were greeted with a dry atmosphere and a rather inviting, or waht he assumed would be inviting if he were a human, set-up. This apartment had been rather untouched by the covenant, or raiders. A couch on top of a rug ( which Tansy had stained with his Unggoy blood ) and in the corner of the room a box that he had seen in human homes before. It was some kind of viewing screen, probably for playing visuals, such as broadcasts. Sangheili had broadcast systems and screens as well, but nothing so primitive and unshapely as this. He found the kitchen area, and let the Unggoy's ransack the cupboards for some snacks. Hopefully it wouldn't give them any indigestion issues, but he knew they would be getting hungry, they'd been out on patrol for quite a while.

In the back there was a restroom area, and then the bedroom. He'd ransacked the entire room, but had found nothing until he opened the closet door ( it was one of those annoying slider doors, and he'd used too much force and broke it off, causing NamNim to scamper in to see what was going on ). Ra'ab saw nothing of note, until he yanked a away some dirty clothes to reveal something shiny laying on the ground. He picked up the long piece of metal. It was about three feet long with a slight curve, rather sharp on one edge. It was a lot different from the Sangheili variant, but he understood the general concept of what the tool was. He'd found a sword. And it was in fair condition, as well. He raised it up to his eyes and inspected it closer.

It was slightly ceremonial; there was an engraving along the thin blade that he did not understand. A slight curiosity came to him, but he managed to pass that by. The weapon was light, and fit him well. A Sangheili sword, which were largely primitive compared to the gifts of the Gods and completely out of date, would have been larger and heavier. Ra'ab never used, or even held, a real Sangheili sword, but he knew that this would be considered more of a knife than a sword to a real Sangheili warrior. He grunted, and decided to keep it with him.

When the Kig-Yar returned from their ransacking of the house, they had found another rifle, slightly larger, but also bolt action.

"Are we ready to move---" He was suddenly cut off as Ransy hobbled over,

"Leader, enemy, enemy!" Ra'ab and the Kig-Yar went quiet, trying to follow the Unggoy. NamNim was standing outside of the doorway peeking around the hall. Ra'ab joined him. He slowly poked his head out. Down the hall, a small figure was creeping along in the opposite direction. They wore a black-suit and held an SMG. If Ra'ab was not mistaken, these were ODST troopers.

ODST's were known to be worthy opponents. On the whole, braver, stronger, faster, and smarter than your typical human. At the very least, braver. Ra'ab put his head back as another trooper rounded the corner, turning to come his way. He didn't think the human saw him, "back." He whispered.

The entire Lance packed themselves into the one room while Ra'ab sat near the doorway. His orders were for them to hide for the moment. He crouched quietly behind the door.

There was no way for them to know how many of the humans were out there. It could be just the two, or it could be a whole platoon or firing squad. They were going into each room and searching the building. Which meant they would find Ra'ab and his lance. What to do? An engagement could end badly. Very badly. With no weapons and no shields, Ra'ab didn't want a full on engagement.

And they were at least four or five, he guessed. Humans always moved in groups, even the quiet ones. So when this ODST comes into the room, he'd likely have back-up.

Ra'ab waited as silently as possible. Nobody moved an inch, and his large form was cradled in the corner of the doorway.

You could hear a pin-drop in the silence, and Ra'ab, for a moment, admired the stealth capability of the human.

And then he saw it. A black boot stepped through the doorway and in front of Ra'ab. It stopped there for a second. A second black boot went forward, and then a whole ODST trooper stepped into the room. He didn't see Ra'ab, he couldn't from his angle, unless he turned around. But the two troopers had no reason to believe this room was any different than most of the others yet.

Ra'ab held his breath, staring, hoping the second trooper was would step forward as well.

The first took four steps forward, and aimed his gun into the kitchen area. He held a hand signal, Ra'ab assumed it meant to either come in or leave. The second ODST trooper took a step into the room.

And the first trooper started to turn around to face him.

Ra'ab launched himself from his corner, bowling the nearest trooper over with his superior size and tree trunk of a leg. The trooper crumpled down, being launched with extreme force into the wall, his head caving a hole in the wall. While the first Trooper was disoriented Ra'ab rushed the second trooper, who had his weapon leveled at Ra'ab, until an Unggoy suddenly screamed, hitting the trooper at Waist level with a body slam. The ODST stumbled, but kept standing, and squeezed off a few shots. Ra'ab ducked to avoid the spray of fire, which hit mostly the ceiling but also the wall around him. Ra'ab raised his one arm and swiped with the sword in his hand, stabbing it in.

The glass of the ODST troopers helmet caved in as the blade made its way into the troopers face. Ra'ab stabbed the trooper a second a time, this time forcing the blade through the throat just to be sure. The trooper hit the floor, hands clutching his face and neck, before dying. Ra'ab turned to see the other trooper standing up and firing. But before the trooper could get a shot off from his battle rifle, four needles hit him square in the chest as Reevar came around the corner with his Needle Rifle and plugged four perfect shots into the poor bastard. Ra'ab breathed out a sigh of relief as he shut the door to the apartment and locked it up.

He moved everyone away from the door just in time for a series of bullets to slam through the door, raining on the parade.

"Out!" Ra'ab ordered, "Out the balcony." Luckily, they were all on the first floor. They escaped the building, and disappeared into the rain.

Ra'ab didn't know if there was an enemy platoon, but with this large amount of rain, fog, and debris, they would have a hard time getting any shots off unless his Lance ran right in front of them.

"Just run!" Ra'ab ordered, "All the way to the dig-site." He turned to flee, and heard many shots gunshots. The humans were on the balcony, and he heard them calling for back-up.

This was not a fight that Ra'ab was prepared to engage. It was time to return to base, for many reasons. Chiefly among them, his own safety.

[Faclan]

SSA-012 - Yanme'e Swarm
Returning from their assignment to the Field Marshals side.

The large fly around circuit had been successful! The swarm quickl reconvening toward the Covenant zone. The Pelican that had crashed proved to be empty, which annoyed the female Soldier, the humans must have left in a big hurry. But there was a mission assigned to them so she didn't inspect any further as she continued her rounds. All the Covenant they had seen had the message delivered to them, and thankfully most of their allied forces seemed to be smart enough to avoid conflict while they were severly weakened. But they knew there will still some of their forces still out further, but all of them were currently under fire, and flying slowly overhead while trying to shout out a message would both likely not be heard and likely only put them in danger. But after all the flying SSA were all exhausted now. But they pushed on and managed to make it back to the middle of the Covenant zone as they began to land, one at first, but the others slowly started to arrive as they landed on a wall near the Field Master.

The first landed one waited for the conversation between the Field Master and the...ape to finish before he bowed like before; arms crossed and wings extended as they ducked down. One could easily see the strain on all of them as they landed, flying for that long in the rain with no technological assistance took it out of them all, and they would need to rest in case they were needed again. "Assignment completed My Lord, requesting permission to rest, but ready to be deployed if called upon." The first landed said, waiting in the bow until they were addressed as the rest tried to rest on their perches, winged humming as they shook the water off that was clinging to them.

(NPC) Nas - Kig-Yar Markswoman for Cads file.
Stabbing for her life.

After what seemed like forever Nas's hand grabbed her knife handle, and she pulled it out, fear evident on the bird like face as it failed to activate, like everything else. Thankfully the human had been surprised by her rifle throw and had been knocked over. Or else she was sure she would now be dead. But now the human was getting back up, and she tried to get up on her knees and flee, not liking her chances in this fight. But the wet rubble they were both on made her slip, and she only succeeding in wasting time and how having her back to the human again as he was now on his feet.

Squawking in fear again she tried to turn around but was knocked flat as the human fell upon her. Offing as the air was knocked from her lightly armored chest she hissed and made other odd noises as she tried to stab backwards into the human now pinning her, desperation gripping her as she couldn't tell if she was even hitting anything. But she kept stabbing, praying that it would work or she would soon see if Cad was right about the Journey. The needles flying by unnoticed by both as they fought for the right to live.

(Poor Chicken :<, do what you must do Stubbs)

Cad - Kig-Yar Major.
Moving toward possible allies, slowly.

Only glancing up as the human rifles rang out Cad offered a small prayer to Kops soul for The Journey as he went back to closing his eyes and gripping his teeth as he tried to overcome the searing and stinging pain in his legs to keep moving himself and Pad out of danger. Thankfully the rain hadn't reached under the bridge or he would have likely slipped and not be able to rise as Pad whimpered quietly as her left leg was stuck at a sickening angle. He would try to comfort her but right now he was just focusing on survival. But even he had pain limits and eventually collapsed, breathing long and deep as he curled up into a ball and held his legs. He didn't know how he had avoided breaking them, but it didn't mean he had escaped without injury.

He barely heard the sounds of his saviors trying to help as the humans above started to panic. Stopping trying to look over the edge to see their escaped quarry, but Cad had managed to drag them both far enough under to avoid detection as they both laid there. The humans quickly either leaving or getting out of the highway with little cover as Cad and Pad laid under the bridge, trying to get a hold of their pain so they could try and see what had saved their lives. But it would be clear for a observer that they wouldn't be able to go far by themselves.

Eugenius - Jiralhanae Advisor
Observing the proceedings and 'helping' Garatus.

It was a testament to the Jiralhanae that their tech still functioned after the Holy Flash. The Silver Elder currently sat beside the excavated artifact as he wrote down what had happened in his book as well as what the artifact looked like. He hadn't read of anything like this before, but it was still mostly buried, so maybe it would reveal its identity once unearthed. But he still noticed down what he could see in case the worst should happen and they were unable to save it. Time had taught Eugenius to always at least consider the worst so it wouldn't surprise you. But with his note taking complete he returned his utensil to the bag hanging from his Bandolier as well as his journal. Retrieving his staff he used it to help pull himself back up to his feet as he turned from the artifact and decided to go check on how his Nephew was doing.

Moving toward the Field Master he just missed their conversation as a bunch of Yanme'e started to land beside them both, he ignored them as he moved past the Field Master, bowing his head slightly as he gave a simple. "Master Til," before heading after Garatus. He respected his fellow Elder on the field, and although he was fully aware of the tensions between both their races, he also knew enough about Til to give him the respect he rightly deserved as a commander and also for living as long as he had with the injuries he sustained.

But for now he focused on Garatus and his pack as he stood a little distance off and observed their work. The Catapults were a good idea, plenty of ammo around for them as well, especially if they were willing to use some of the non-functional plasma equipment to try and make explosive ammunition for them. But that would be after making sure they were functional. But, Eugine noticed as he started to move toward Garatus, they were in poor positions to provide defense for the artifact or troops. Once beside Garatus he 'tapped' the top of his helmet with his staff, a hit that would likely knock a Unggoy or Kig-Yar out, as he nodded at them. "Good work Nephew...but with the heavy rain you need to set them up on higher ground, or you'll only endanger the sky trying to fire at targets you cant see."

[McStubbsberry]

Private Scott Lugar
Hope
Seeking Blood

Scott didn't notice the needles that harmlessly flew over his head. He was in his own do or die scenario, it was now or never. The slim creature hopelessly struggled under Scott's weight, its pathetic attempts at trying to stab him were futile. This wasn't the mindless beast Scott was trained to hate, it wanted to live just as much as he did. It almost seemed the difference between him and the alien was the physical make-up. 

"Dammit." Scott muttered to himself. The Private turned his blade over and hit the creature in the face. "This is your one chance to survive you ugly little shit." In hopes that he didn't kill it, Scott quickly got to his feet and moved in with the army unit who were currently taking cover.

[BasedGoody]

Kig-Yar Sniper Web

"Shit." Web muttered watching the Kig-Yar comrade get knocked-presumably-unconscious. He followed the Marine assailant down with his scope and pulled the trigger - to no avail. His eyes widened and he panicked for a minute, looking at his weapon. He almost thought that his Needle rifle was deactivated before he came to his senses and realized he was out of ammo. The Sniper reloaded and looked back down the sights. The marines on the bridge had now mostly figured out what was going on, and turned to Web.

The Kig-Yar squeezed the trigger about three times inaccurately before he got pinned down by the humans. Bullets whizzed by him and he shuddered slightly with each shot. His spotter growled slightly and motioned for them to move down. Web nodded and crawled backwards and down a staircase to the bottom floor, and then out the door.

They hid in the shadows of the building and looked around for their target.

"Ah! There." Web pointed. The wounded Kig-Yar were still trapped.

"On my go, we're moving to them."

Sergeant Garrett Gizinski

"AHK!" The Sergeant yelled as the Marines pulled the slab off of him. He pulled himself up to a sitting position and launched himself back so his saviors could drop the heavy object. It fell to the ground with a thud. Gizinski's eyes widened in pain and he looked to his arm. It looked hideously snapped. His forearm splintered and one half of the bone was sticking out of his skin. There was no blood as the wound was clogged by the milky white bone. 

"Son of a-" He bit his tongue and closed his eyes tight for a second. After he looked around at the others and smiled slightly. "Thank you. I thought I was going to die under that thing." Suddenly he stopped short, "Wait, did you see any other survivors? Anyone? I was with- oh, what's his name from the pelican crash and the rest of my squad. Anyone?"