M5: Rumble in the Jungle

[Cabel]

[51st Marine Assault Regiment: Alpha Platoon, Alpha Company, First Lieutenant Mark Seamus “Spade” Sorelson: Tropical Planet: Southwestern Column and Flank: Currently: Ground-side: Downed Oblivion One-One Pelican Crash-Site]

The headlock had surprised him which it shouldn't have he tried to take a few more steps while fighting off the marine that had grabbed him, but his grip started to loosen as his vision swam. The pressure of the marine against his back sent pain anew through plasma burns he'd sustained, and found he'd been more or less carried out of the bloodtray through the hatch into the blazing jungle beyond. His efforts to struggle free had been futile from the combined exertions from earlier, and though he hadn't been able to tell the rank or even identity of the marine that had grabbed him he'd find out after the fact when they'd make it back to safety. The impact against the ground had been jarring causing him to throw up a little, forcing the last bit of water that had been in his stomach to come churning up in his wake.

Rolling over or at least an attempt to balance himself on one arm, he'd be thrown on his side by the Pelican exploding had thought he'd felt the ground tremble though that could have been his imagination. The explosion had kicked the wind out of his lungs, and hadn't helped the plasma burns any. Gasping for air after the hard kick to his lungs, he'd cough violently before managing to push to his feet. Looking around, he'd find the pelican engulfed in fire with bits and pieces of the hull strewn about everywhere and a burning pond of aviation fuel surround it. His eyes searched the burning wreck site, the make-shift triage area, the little morgue, and finally the young man Cuu that had been warned them all about the encroaching flames and the leaking fuel bleeding from multiple lacerations including an ear. Holding his side while being careful of where he'd stepped, Spade crossed over to where the young marine lay and tore bits of his own uniform sleeves and the duty tunic to make make-shift tourniquets or at least bandages the man could press down on over the lacerations.

"Easy, son. I may a stubborn old mule, but you saved my life and the lives of every marine here," Mark said, coughing off to the side a bit clearing his lungs of the smoke. He'd immediately attempt to douse the fires licking at the marine's armor and uniform with dirt and what remained of his duty tunic. Since his battle armor had been rendered to only a breastplate and shoulder guard, he'd slip the armor off and slipped his duty tunic off to use that as a way of smothering the flames leaving a sweat-soaked short-sleeved marine green undershirt tucked into the issued pants. "Press these over the source of the bleeding, and don't let up. I'll try to find some biofoam or a medkit around here in one of these crates," He'd stand after crouching to look around the small clearing despite the raging inferno nearly surrounding them for any available medkit while searching the crates that had fallen free from the Pelican for any available medkits. In his search, he'd found the crate of smoke grenades including the very grenade he'd placed atop the crate had remained there untouched. Pocketing the smoke grenade, he'd search a nearby crate to find it full of medkits. Taking one of the kits out of the crate, he'd set atop the crate opening it to find a bottle of biofoam to bandages to morphine and other staples of a medkit. "Corporal Ward, Private Barrington, have any of your men with medical training tend to the injured and those that don't have that training search our little clearing here for medkits along with anything else that may be useful. Those with medical training should tend to our wounded, while those that don't have the training can help in any way they choose. Water and medkits are the two priorities. I sent a request for a CASEVAC to be sent to these coordinates, but I haven't heard anything back. I've set a NAV Marker just in case,..." he'd began, coughing a bit more and finally felt he'd been able to breath a little easier. The plasma burns still hurt like hell and he doubted he'd be invited to the beach again, but he'd live at least and the men in the clearing had been his sole responsibility. He'd make sure each one of them made it back to safety, and the wounded...the ones that had survived received the best medical care the Corps provided.

He'd return to where Cuu lay or rather sat, and knelt before opening the medkit. He'd had some medical training due to the special forces training he'd put in for a while back, but he hadn't been had the dedicated training of a Corpsman and a Corpsman had been something the group had been lacking. Checking each of Cuu's injuries, he'd carefully take the roll of bandages from the medkit and with steady hands began applying them over the sources of bleeding. Taking the bandages, he'd carefully roll them around Cuu's head covering the punctured ear before pinning the bandages in place with small harmless clips. He'd apply the bandages in the same manner around Cuu's limbs before pulling up Cuu's medical history on his HUD through the neural lace standard with all UNSC personnel, and checking the meds in the kit to insure none could lead to an allergic reaction in the man he'd take out one out of at least several patches of Polyseudomorphine to allow the painkiller to be placed on the skin rather than injected through the skin itself. With the larger pieces of shrapnel, he'd carefully removed those pieces with tweezers from the medkit while he left ones that were set deeper in place. He'd use his training, and the first-hand experience from hiking the forests that surrounded Seattle growing up, to treat Cuu's injuries and even stopped the bloodflow. Reaching over to a nearby open crate of water-bottles, he'd pry one of the bottles loose and twisted the cap before handing it to the man. "You're in shock. Drink it, and don't be bashful,"

"That goes for the rest of you, and the injured. Find crates full of water bottles in addition to the medkits, and stay hydrated. If the wounded can't hold the bottle, hold it for them but make sure they drink," he shouted to the others.

"I'm going to inject you with some Polysuedomorphine to help ease the pain, but I can't give you something to put you under. I am sorry, Cuu, but until the dustoff arrives each of us has to stay alert. Can you do that for me?" Finding an unmarred patch of skin with a vein underneath, he'd rub the area with rubbing alcohol from kit and slipped the patch on after stripping it from its wrapper. He'd press down on the patch light enough to make insure the medication seeped through the skin, and that it stayed put. "Tornado X-Ray to Assassin X-Ray, be advised. The area is now fully engulfed save for a little clearing surrounding the burning wreckage. Tornado X-Ray to Assassin X-Ray, copy? ...copy..." he began, in an attempt to warn the pilot of the CASEVAC only to find he hadn't even heard static. "I'd like a pizza delivered to...damnit, my radio's been destroyed,"

(OOC: Mark's helmet cam, helmet mic, and personal radio within the helmet were destroyed by his striking the ground followed the explosion of the Pelican. Facian (Bep) and I worked something out, something rather interesting so...if no one would start shooting Bep's character it may lead to something interesting for both sides)

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Spotter
Hiding in the brush on the outskirts of the crashed pelican crater, about to be under fire(gun and actual) and terrified.

Still looking over the burning wreck Bep moved up a hand to cover his nose as the smell of fuel got more and more overpowering. He would have to leave soon or the building heat to his side would turn into actual fire and the humans weapons wouldn't be the only danger. But his luck of not being spotted and living were both about to take a downward turn.

First the retreat was sounded - along with the words of encouragement that anyone left behind would die...Gulping as he played those words over again in his head he held his head a little and tried to tell himself that it wasn't true, the Field Master was just trying to keep them focused to fight harder, but he jumped a little when the same Field Master sent him a reply for his scouting. He was surprised that anyone had been receiving his feed, but it was none other than the Field Master. Quickly clearing his throat he nodded as he looks back up to the hoomans.

"Understood commander, falling back to Corvette."

Shutting off his radio he was moving his hand to turn off the feed when he noticed one of the humans turning to look in his direction...then turning to look at him with rifle raised. Widening his eyes he quickly rolled to the side, the feed showing his plight as the humans automatic weapons ripped through his former cover. His abandoned Carbine flung back into the forest hissing and leaking green gas as it had been perforated. Thanking all the gods he knew he was on his knees to start running when he heard a loud crack beside him. Looking away from the gunfire he could see the massive base of the tree beside him had been riddled like his rifle...and was starting to come down right on top of him.

Flight overtook his better judgment and he dove backwards to try and diagonally avoid the tree. Unfortunately this brought him into the clearing and in full view of the humans soldiers. But for now Bep was too busy looking at where the tree was falling and it was right for the burning aircraft. Squawking out a nice loud swear Bep threw himself face down on the ground and covered his ears as the tree impacted.

The explosion and sound washed over Bep like nothing he had experienced before, his sniper headgear was ripped from his head and flung back as it sparked and sputtered, completely destroyed. In a stroke of Luck Bep had landed in a small depression, so only the side facing the explosion as damage, his right side ear bleeding a little as he could feel the heat intensify. He waited a good few seconds until he was sure the explosion had stopped and he slowly pushed himself up with a arm as he got onto his hands and knees, one hand over his bleeding ear as a bit of purple blood dripped down his head.

Taking long breaths as his vision slowly refocused Bep finally took a second to take stock of his surroundings and now realized where he was and how up shit creek, to use a human term, he was now.

Fire raged all around the clearing, the fire trapping him inside with a squad of wounded and likely pissed marines, and all of them could currently see him. All he had on himself was a 1/5 charge plasma pistol, a survival knife, and basic supplies. While the humans had lots and lots of guns. The dull green skinned and green bandana jackal could only stare at them as it was frozen in terror about twenty feet from the marines and ten feet from the inferno behind him...this is it, I'm dead...

(So recording equipment busted; the last image would be humans firing then the sounds of a explosion, Bep is on hands and knees bleeding from the right ear trapped in the clearing by fire and marines.)

[Ward, J.]

Ward watched as the alien sniper rolled out of the way of the incoming hail of bullets. The consequence of the Marines' suppressing fire was a tree--already degraded from the blazing inferno--being torn apart at its base and collapsing beside the pool of avionics fuel. The pool of liquid instantly caught ablaze and the Pelican quickly ignited into a ball of fire. The force of the explosion knocked Ward flat on his ass as wood chips and other pieces of shrapnel rained down upon the humans.

"Goddammit! Is everyone okay?!" Jon exclaimed, his voice laden with concern.

"Good to go," replied Furby.

"I'm up," Krieg reported.

"I'm fucked up, but I'm up," Allens shouted with a grin on his face as blood ran down his cheek.

Ward shook his head with a scoff. "That looks like a flesh wound."

"Yeah, to my beautiful face!"

Ward shook his head again, this time more exaggerated. He then turned towards Lieutenant Sorelson, who called his name. When the officer was finished handing out his orders, Jon ordered Allens and Furby to provide medical assistance to the wounded. Krieg was left to watch the perimeter.

Ward was about to hunt down a crate full of water when he spotted something out of the corner of his eye. He craned his head to the left only to be met with the injured visage of a Covenant Jackal. To be specific, the same Jackal they'd almost eviscerated a moment ago. It looked to have taken some damage from the ordeal. Blood dripped from wounds all over its body as he stood on its knees.

Immediately reacting, Ward raised his rifle and pointed it at the alien. "Contact twelve o'clock!" he exclaimed and quickly approached the wounded alien with his weapon trained on its chest. As soon as he came within ten meters of the alien he stopped. "Get on the ground, you freak! Drop your weapons!"

While it was an odd decision to take the alien prisoner, it wasn't unheard of. Every part of his body screamed at him to pull the trigger, but something told him not to. Perhaps the Jackal would be worth something to the humans. Though, if it wasn't, it was of no consequence to him.

It'd just end up shot. Which meant that it was one more alien he didn't need to worry about. Besides, at the moment, any of the other Marines could just shoot the damned thing despite his efforts to render it captured. And if that happened? He wouldn't lose sleep over it, that was for sure.

[Jakob]

Private First Class Cuu Wen

Cuu was too confused to stop the lieutenant from touching him, though every time he did, Cuu felt a bit more angry and the feeling slowly returned again. His eardrum must have been burst, though the idiot seemed to think a small shrapnel cut on it was the cause of the blood pouring out. When he heard the words 'put you under', the palm of his hand nailed the lieutenant's chest, sending him back.

"Get the feth off me." He said, wiping the dirt off his pants and slowly making his way to his feet, he stumbled to the side, the world spinning for a moment. Eardrum was definitely burst. He hadn't had a burst eardrum in years, back home, during a rave. He thought of the girl he took home for a second before he shook his head again, everything was too foggy and confused, he couldn't let his stupid gakking thoughts get the best of him.

After a bit more stumbling, he found his balance and stood for a moment, and then began carefully walking. When he looked back up, a jackal was sitting in the clearing with gun pointed to his head. Before the lieutenant could complain about the push or say anything at all, Cuu upholstered his magnum and walked up to the creature, flicking off the safety, he shoved past the marine and began to squeeze the trigger.

[Cabel]

[51st Marine Assault Regiment: Alpha Platoon, Alpha Company, First Lieutenant Mark Seamus “Spade” Sorelson: Tropical Planet: Southwestern Column and Flank: Currently: Ground-side: Downed Oblivion One-One Pelican Crash-Site]

"Hey...," Mark began after being punched in the chest and pushed away from Cuu. He hadn't quite expected the Private to react quite that way, but he should have. "Ow..." Quickly sitting up gasping for air again, he'd overhear the shouts from Corporal Ward and the others about a contact. Looking over his left shoulder, he'd catch sight of the lone Jackal with Private Cuu draw his sidearm. Reaching over, he'd grab the MA5C tearing it loose from the remnants of his own ballistics armor and scrambled to his feet. Mark slipped the sling attached to the rifle over his shoulder and checked his own M6B Magnum still in its holster. Grabbing a nearby water-bottle from an open crate, he'd double-time it across the clearing to where the marines and the Jackal stood. Catching up to where Cuu stood, Mark had planned on placing his left hand on the Private's sidearm when shooting pain forced him to reconsider. He'd landed hard on that shoulder and at an odd angle when the Pelican had exploded, and it hadn't been so much the arm as the shoulder. He'd had his shoulder dislocated many times over the years that he'd come to identify the telltale signs, and he'd been certain he'd dislocated that shoulder. If I'm lucky, I won't have to put in for a cybernetic replacement. He'd been certain from the shooting pain in his side under that arm, he'd bruised a few ribs from the explosion though without a Corpsman's eye he hadn't a way of being certain how severe or how many ribs had been bruised. "Private, lower the sidearm. Lower it, but keep your sidearm handy. I'm not saying we're going to make an alliance with the Jackal, only a brief truce under the circumstances. If that Jackal had wanted to kill us, he would have earlier. I think he's in the same jam as we are. I haven't known my instincts to lie, and it's not as though we have any other alternative or a proper brig cell on hand,"

Looking at the flames behind the lone alien the UNSC had code named Jackals for their avian appearance, flames licked at the trees while engulfing the underbrush making the clearing feel more like an oven. Raising the MA5C level with the Jackal's chest, he'd lower it and offered the unopened bottle of water to the alien as a gesture of trust at least for the time being. "It's alright. It's only water...you look like you need a bit of hydration there," he said towards the Jackal, hoping the alien understood at least a little of their language. "My helmet-mic, camera and radio were destroyed from the force of the explosion. Even my helmet's visor and HUD are messed up. I doubt this fellow knows where a local radio repair place is around here, and for one he looks more frightened of us than we are of him,"

"Even if my request for a dustoff made it past this blaze, I doubt the pilot's crazy enough to land his bird or even have it hover over this blaze. We might have to cross that line of flames and hoof it to a friendly unit nearby if they haven't fallen back," he said. "If any of you have discovered a motorpool I hadn't been particularly privy to, we'll need the extra set of hands to carry our wounded out," His bare arms lay covered in a sheen of sweat, and each time he'd inhaled hot air filled his lungs. He hadn't wanted to think of what the injured marines from the downed Oblivion-One-One Pelican had felt with the increasing heat.

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Spotter
Held captive at several gunpoint's in a clearing surrounded by a Inferno - completely petrified

Only able to watch as the humans turned their eyes on weapons on him Bep quickly raised his arm that wasn't covering his bleeding ear and held it in front of him, trying to keep the murderous creatures at bay. It didn't work; Bep quickly falling onto his side as he tried to crawl backwards away from them. He froze through when a human stopped in front of him with weapon drawn, it shouted something at him, something if he could understand he would barely be able to hear with his one good ear over the roar of the fire. But after the weapon remained raised he noticed he wasn't dead. After staring dumbfounded at this realization for a second he quickly smacked the pretty much useless pistol off his thigh then kicked it away, hoping it would improve his chances. Returning his free arm to his front he held it in front of himself a little as he breathed deeply, still trying to figure out why he wasn't dead yet.

But then another human stepped forward, it looked a lot more determined as it strode quickly forward and took out its cannon pistol. At first Bep hoped that he just wanted to point his weapon at him too, but after he pushed past the other human, walked right up in his face, and set the now warm steel of the barrel right against his head that was shown to be wrong. Squawking, almost squeaking, quietly in fear he stopped moving and watched through his right eye as the humans face showed no pity or remorse. He could see the trigger starting to get pulled and shut his eyes as he expected to be executed right here.

Slowly opening his left eye when he noticed that once again he was still alive he could see and feel the heat still, and there were the sounds of more voices...Opening his right eye he could see the weapon was still pressed against his head and he was being forced to lean back as it was being held there with some force. But the human that had been dragging other humans out of the aircraft was talking with the one that held his life in his hands...Why were they talking?

Why did they stop? They were supposed to laugh and only make it quick if they were in a hurry - normally it would be slow torture, or so he had been told...

He watched as they kept talking, not daring to move as the pistol was still resting against the side of his head. So when the sweat wet water bottle was offer to him the only response he could give was a few blinks as he breathed in and out through his nose quickly, his heart hammering away as he trembled - his life was now being decided in a language he couldn't understand and all he could do was watch through one eye as his blood kept dropping down his neck.

[Ward, J.]

For a moment, Ward honestly believed the Jackal was a goner. PFC Cuu made his way to just a few feet away from the bird-like alien and raised his sidearm with a fierce look of determination about him. The man's finger slowly squeezed the trigger. He anticipated the thundering roar of the pistol that would precede the alien's brains being ventilated onto the grassy soil.

However, Lieutenant Sorelson saved the Jackal's life. If he hadn't seen it and someone had told him that a Marine First Lieutenant saved a Jackal from almost certain death, he would have laughed at them. But here he was, witnessing it with his own two brown eyes. He wasn't sure how he felt about the situation.

He felt no elation over the creature's life being spared. For all intents and purposes he hated the creature. If Cuu had shot it, he wouldn't have felt anger or regret for not stopping him. He would have, in all honesty, likely congratulated him on a clean kill.

Part of it scared him. A few years ago he had been a naive and relatively timid individual who wished ill on no one and had a thirst to fight. A major contradiction if there ever was one, really, but it was who he was. Had he really changed so much that it wouldn't bother him when an unarmed enemy surrendered and was murdered in cold blood?

It made him think.

And he wasn't liking the answers he was coming up with.

As the situation calmed down (relatively speaking), Ward lowered his weapon slightly but still kept it at the ready in case the Jackal decided it had a bright idea of trying to escape. His eyes met with its own and he frowned slightly.

It looked frightened. Down right petrified. It was a look he was sure he'd never seen before in a Covenant soldier. The Jackal reminded him of a caged animal that had been beaten by its captors. The look he saw in its eyes was something he was sure he would never forget; if only because it was so rare.

Curious as to whether or not the damned thing could understand them, Ward took another step forward. "Do you speak English? Can you understand me?" Ward asked.

Accompanying his words, Ward pointed at the alien and then himself. He then pointed at his mouth and then splayed his hands in a questioning manner. Finally, he pointed at it again and then again at himself, and the nodded and shook his head--basically instructing it to nod yes if it understood or shake its head if it didn't.

He hoped that it understood him.

[Jakob]

Private First Class Cuu Wen

Cuu just about pulled the trigger when his senses kicked in again, he waited another half second and the lieutenant stepped in his line of fire. If he had shot, the lieutenant would be on the ground, dead. The man offered the creature water, and Cuu spat on the ground. Disgusted. He would put a bullet in the mans back, having caused him so much trouble. Then the rest when they turned on him, finishing with his knife out and slowly torturing the creature like he normally did unless he was in a hurry, but he would rather get a medal and a pat on the head first.

He looked over to the man next to him in disbelief, when he lowered his assault rifle and suddenly looked guilty. Cuu knew the look well and spat at the mans feet, his magnum still pointed at the back of Spade's head.

"You're fething kidding me? You're sympathizing with some gakking beaked freak? You think the birdy wouldn't have taken you out in a second? You think he was there so he could fuck around?" He growled out the words, he wasn't in the mood to be disagreed with, and he didn't want to fuck around with captives and nice nice time. "And how the feth do you think he will know English? He's a fucking alien, half of the UNSC doesn't know damn English." He shoved past Spade and leaned over to smack the canteen away from the things mouth.

He sent a kick shortly after, straight into the creatures ribs. He heard a satisfying crack and raised his boot again to curb stomp it.

[Cabel]

[51st Marine Assault Regiment: Alpha Platoon, Alpha Company, First Lieutenant Mark Seamus “Spade” Sorelson: Tropical Planet: Southwestern Column and Flank: Currently: Ground-side: Downed Oblivion One-One Pelican Crash-Site]

Holding the water bottle near the Jackal in his right hand and seeing how the language barrier had still existed, he'd raise the bottle up to his mouth and without removing the cap exaggerated the drinking motion. Mark hoped the alien had been able to at least understand that given the language barrier though if they survived the inferno he'd sign up for a course to learn the Covenant language. "Easy, boys. Lay off your triggers and aim those things elsewhere. Keep your weapons handy, and your fingers near the triggers. We're not out of the woods, and it's only growing hotter,"

"We'll have to get that ear looked at. It looks like it nearly took his ear off, but I'm sure he won't let me get near him until you take your scopes away from his head," Mark said towards the marines of Corporal Ward, Private Barrington and Private First Class Cuu. "If you open fire in this clearing, you'll only make it even hotter. I don't know about you, but I'd rather not have rounds set off by the heat ricochetting around in here with us,"

The flames had reached some of the ammo stored still relatively untouched within the flaming wreck of the Pelican triggering the ammo to fire harmlessly into the rest of the flames, but a single round struck the side of a crate to slam into Mark's upper-left arm.

"Mother...fartknockers!" he swore having exhausted his vocabulary of the other choice words, looking over at the stray round that had struck him. Normally, he would have felt the intense stinging from it except with his left shoulder dislocated he hadn't felt a thing. "Damn, right in the center of my UNSC Eagle tattoo. I'm getting prettier every moment on this mission,"

Noticing Corporal Ward had lowered his own weapon to approach the petrified Jackal, Mark felt a little more at ease except for the fact a tattoo he'd had for nearly thirty years had been marred by one of their rounds. "If we were worried about the Pelican's crates of ammunition stores, I can safely say they aren't a concern anymore,"

Turning his attention back to the Jackal, he'd try to gesture for it to follow them to a make-shift medstation where a few medkits had been gathered. They had to get the Jackal's ear checked out, and patched up before the alien lost hearing in it. The bottle had been knocked out of his hand or rather smacked out of his hand by Cuu which Mark understood had been piss'n'vinegar about killing the frightened Jackal, but the Lieutenant had come to realize they were not murders. They were not monsters, not like how the Covenant perhaps perceived them to be, and that the being before them had been as much flesh and blood as they were.

"Stand-down, Private. Stand-down. We are not murderers, and while I understand...fully understand where you're coming from that the Covenant must be eliminated, it is the same with everyone that wants to challenge the UNSC to a brawl. I know where you're coming from because I used to instruct recruits at Boot, at Ft. Lewis in Washington State back on Earth that the enemy did not feel or think the way we do. We are not monsters, as this poor creature thinks we are. Look at him, Private. Look at him. He is afraid. He's afraid that we will torture him, that we will kill him. It is a look I have seen billions of times on countless worlds against the Insurrectionists, and now against the Covenant. They feel as we do. They fear the same thing. I know you do not understand the succor we are extending to him, but you will down the road. You will come to see this moment, and you will understand. Now,...my arm is killing me. I must have a red target sign painted on my back that I don't know about because I've been shot at by Covenant gunners, landed on a branch in the wrong way and have been hit by our own ammunition," he almost laughed, if it weren't for how true the entire situation had been. "A time may come when we encounter this fellow again on some world, and he may remember this encounter. He may help or take us down depending entirely on what you do, Wen. I won't order you to stand down or attempt to change your views, but I am asking you to let this Jackal live. He's in the same predicament, hurt, and far from his fellows,"

[Ward, J.]

The sudden outburst from Cuu startled Ward, ripping his attention away from the injured alien before First Lieutenant Sorelson. He shook his head at the Marine's words, but said nothing to the man. He partly understood where the man was coming from, but he also knew that he could be conveying his thoughts more tactfully.

However, when the young PFC knocked the water bottle away from the Jackal and delivered a kick to its rib section, that was when Ward deemed that he had gone too far. While he had no love for the aliens and had no qualms killing them, he remembered the core values and, most importantly, the Code of Conduct he was sworn to uphold. Part lf that Code of Conduct covered the handling of prisoners and he knew that was torture was strictly forbidden.

And he was fairly certain the Code of Conduct didn't discriminate based on the species of the prisoner.

Lieutenant Sorelson attempted to calm Cuu down and reason with him. Despite his attempts, the private raised his leg in the air over the Jackal in an attempt to curb stomp it. Instantly reacting, he dropped his rifle and hurriedly marched over to behind Cuu.

Jon wrapped his arms around the asian and yanked him away from the Jackal before pushing him a few feet away. The Corporal then took a few steps to the right, standing directly between Cuu and the Jackal. "I don't know what the hell your major malfunction is, Marine, but you better square yourself away. The Lieutenant's right, whether you believe it or not. Beyond that, the Code of Conduct dictates we treat all prisoners with dignity and respect."

Ward glared at the private, his face creased in an expression of annoyance. "I am a Corporal and I will not be talked up to by the likes of you. Way I see it, if you don't like how things are being handled, you can submit your complaints into the complaint dispenser. More accurately known as your ass. Now you can either go aid the wounded or you can stand guard in case there are more Covenant on the way."

The last line was meant to hit Cuu home. "And lastly, I don't know about the Lieutenant, but when we get back I'm going to pass up a report on your unprofessional and insubordinate conduct through the chain-of-command. They're gonna hear about this little incident."

[Jakob]

Private First Class Cuu Wen

Cuu smiled, a smile that he felt exposing the scar even more, his lips split in half. The kid was snotty, a little bitch. Acting like he was some old vet when he wasn't even older than Cuu. He noted his rank, his name, his face. He noted the smell of his breath and the look in his eyes, the way he held himself, the build of his body. He looked at him with cat eyes, his smile stretching from ear to ear.

The marine was muscled, mildly for someone his size at least. Though he wasn't very toned and Cuu had the strength advantage. His hands slowly found the sides of the mans sides. They gripped tightly for a moment, pressing in and squeezing the man's muscles, he might have been nicer if he hadn't been called a boot. That made his smile somehow wider.

He threw the marine off him, a bit harder for him because of his wounds, but he still did it easily enough. He found his feet soon after.

"The code of conduct," he said it with a slight tinge of disgust. He probably had more years than the little conduct humping shit, he wasn't one to be talked down to in such a manner. "Says that all human prisoners are to be treated with dignity and respect. Aliens don't get the privileges, guess you should fething reread. Kid." He smiled even wider, leaning down.

"I heard about some alien lovers way out, got together with the squids and the jackals and had some fun. You one of those lovers, corporal? You loving the aliens so much you wanna fight for them? I can tell we will be great friends if you think me not liking the aliens that slaughter millions is deserving of a report on 'unprofessional and insubordinate conduct.' And I'd like to see that over the fact I saved our good lieutenant's ass." His hatred for the lieutenant seemed to evaporate, Ward now in focus in his mind.

He was about to continue on when he heard something in the burning brush, turning, a marine stumbled through.

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Spotter Prisoner Punching bag
On the ground in great pain and trying not to get beaten to death.


Bep could have screamed out in joy when the gun was finally removed from his head, but he kept silent as the humans shouting back and fourth at each other. They seemed to be split on what they wanted to do with him - kill him fast? Slow? Throw him into the fire and eat him? Speaking of that fire it wasn't dying down any, but not like he could try to move away with so many of them there still with weapons. But they continued to debate as the dragging one seemed to be offering him the water again. Blinking to make sure he wasn't imagining it he slowly reached out to take it, before the determined one leapt forward and smacked it away, before going at him again.

Screaming out in pain Bep clutched both arms around his chest as one of his ribs was broken and the other badly cracked. Collapsing onto his side he looked up through watery eyes at the same humans boot now over his head and a look of glee on his face. Raising a hand slightly he whimpered out a plea for mercy, not to die - though to the humans it would just sound like normal squawking and clicking sounds - before the human was thankfully thrown off and Bep allowed to live.

The speeches would probably make him feel really good about his chances if he could understand them but rather he just laid on the forest floor, tears dripping with his blood as he held his damaged rib cage.

He looked up after they had all stopped shouting and asked for mercy again, but halfway through his plea another human joined them in the fire...he just prayed to The Gods that he wasn't like the determined one.

[Lawson, S]

Corporal Scott Lawson, Lost in the area surrounding the crashed pelican. has lost his fire team.

Lawson stumbled through the burning forest shouting for his team, "VLAD!?, MADDIE!?, HOWE!? SOUND OFF!" After a few minutes Lawson stopped after he heard a large explosion and followed in its general direction, "Fucking hell its hot... What the hell is going on down here?".
Lawson Soon reached down for his canteen and drank the remainder off it contents. After a Few minutes of walking though the inferno around him Lawson began hearing what he thought were the words of a very pissed off NCO something along the lines of reporting and conduct.

Lawson stumbled close and close until he could make out a second voice that Lawson only caught the last part of the speech "...aliens so much you wanna fight for them? I can tell we will be great friends if you think me not liking the aliens that slaughter millions is deserving of a report on 'unprofessional and insubordinate conduct.' And I'd like to see that over the fact I saved our good lieutenant's ass." "what the hell is going on?" Lawson though as he moved closer he could see two marines looking as if they were about to have a brawl.

As he Made his way into the clearing and saw the on fire and somewhat smouldering ruins of a pelican he caught his boot on a exposed root and feel straight onto his face. "AWW FOR FUCKS SAKE MATE!" He shouted at himself. Lawson quickly realised he looked like a complete fool and struggled to his feet his face and everything else covered in sweaty dirt. surprised at first to see a live Jackal, he thought over it for a bit, maybe it was a prisoner maybe that's what the argument was about.

Soon after standing up he saw the Lieutenant and gave him a lazy salute and then began "What are we chucking a wobbly about mates?" he said as he unslung his rifle and held it lazily in front of him awaiting the response to his question.

[Ward, J.]

The brustling of leaves and snapping of twigs caught Ward's attention, and his hand instinctively fell to the nickle-plated handgrip of his sidearm. He kept his eyes fixed on the segment of the forest that appeared to have yet to spark into flames, as it sounded like that was where the sound originated from. A moment later a corporal, looking to be to be around his age, stumbled out of the brush to the ground while shouting expletives at himself. His IFF identified him as LWSN, which he automatically assumed stood for Lawson.

When the Marine stood up he first faced Lieutenant Sorelson and executed a half-ass salute. Ward cringed a bit at that. Way to make him a target for the enemy. He shook his head ever-so-slightly at his fellow NCO. The Marine should've known not to salute an officer in the field. Though, admittedly, given the circumstances, it probably just hadn't crossed his mind that it might have been a bad idea.

The newcomer turned to and gestured at both Ward and Cuu and asked them in a thick, conspicously Australian accent, what their argument seemed to be about. Ward immediately recalled he had been in the midst of arguing with the PFC. With a sigh, he said, "Don't worry about it, man."

Right now wasn't exactly the time to be fighting each other. This was a situation that could be dealt with later, in a more secure setting. Glancing over his shoulder to the Lieutenant, Ward asked, "What's the plan, sir? I can try to raise Tornado X-Ray on comms, but I dunno if the transmission will even reach with all that's going on. Either way, one way or another we need to get out of here so that a corpsman can look at the wounded. And we still need to figure out what to do about the prisoner. Do we kill it or keep it?"

[Deleted]

Jackal Sniper Pair 
Mog and Gek
Holding the last ring

Mog soon got bored of watching the troops retreat into the final ring and let his partner watch the treeline for troops. Soon a console near him began playing the live feed of one of the Jackel spotters. Well, almost live. He saw a a crashed human drop ship, a Pelican. The feed showed some gunfire, a blur, and soon the feed cut.

"Look." Gek said, lifting a scrawny finger into the air and when Mog looked up, he saw a bloom of black smoke and flames. More smoke rose in the air, and Mog just hoped that the rest of the humans in there were dead. Suddenly the sound of a engines coming towards the barrier could be heard. Phantoms came rushing through the treetops. Three Longswords followed them. They fired a few missiles at the Phantoms. One was knocked low, and crashed into the trees. It didn't look like it was very far from the plume of smoke caused by the exploding Pelican.

Another Phantom was blown into oblivion, creating a large, blue bloom of light before disappearing again. One missile flew through the fume and zoomed towards the barricade. It's fuel started running low, and began to sputter before falling into the treeline. The AA turrets began to fire, nearly hitting our own drop ships. The Longswords fell away, disengaging their pursuit.

[Cabel]

[51st Marine Assault Regiment: Alpha Platoon, Alpha Company, First Lieutenant Mark Seamus “Spade” Sorelson: Tropical Planet: Southwestern Column and Flank: Currently: Ground-side: Downed Oblivion One-One Pelican Crash-Site]

"Stop that. Don't salute an officer in the field,...you're making both of us a target by doing that," he replied to the newcomer Corporal Lawson's salute without returning his own since he hadn't wanted to be shot at again. "It's alright, son. At ease, Corporal. The situation is very FUBAR. How many men did you bring or are you the only one? Oh, forget that. As you can see, Corporal, we're in an oven with survivors from a downed Pelican," He hadn't mentioned the Jackal and instead crossed over to where the Jackal lay collapsed. "You can try, Corporal Ward, but with this heat...I'm with you. Our field radios may not have the strength to punch through this heat interference. If you think you can get a signal out, be my guest,"

"The fact is, we need to stop bickering and treat our wounded," he having crossed over to where the Jackal had collapsed to kneel next to the the injured alien. Carefully, he'd show the alien his right hand to prove to the Jackal he hadn't had a concealed weapon or any cruel intentions. Mark hoped the Jackal understood his meaning, and slowly he'd help the Jackal to his feet before heading over to a small make-shift hospital they'd established where many of the medkits had been gathered.

Helping the Jackal take a seat, he'd use his good hand to open a crate of water bottles he'd hand one to the Jackal twisting the cap off for him and once the alien had taken possession of the bottle Spade opened a nearby medical kit. He'd take it slowly with the Jackal before visually checking the alien's more notable injuries. Mark had noticed the Jackal had favored its right side while he'd helped the alien to his feet, and without making any sudden movements tried to gauge the extent of the injuries without harming the alien further.

"I won't hurt you. I know the language barrier's making things difficult and I know you're frightened. I would be too if the roles had been reversed, but I'm only trying to help you," he said in a non-threatening and friendly way hoping to assuage the Jackal's anxiety. "If you can, show me where it hurts. I'll do my best to patch you up,"

"To answer your question, Corporal Ward, we're going to see if he will be willing to help us get far enough out of this oven. A pair of extra hands wouldn't hurt, and once we're far enough we'll figure out what comes next. Someone get some biofoam and spray it in my left arm. I'd do it myself, but I dislocated that shoulder. I can't feel a thing," he said.

[Lawson, S]

Corporal Scott Lawson, in the area surrounding the crashed pelican. has lost his fire team.

"Don't worry about it, man." The corporal told Lawson, after which he began talking again, "What's the plan, sir? I can try to raise Tornado X-Ray on comms, but I dunno if the transmission will even reach with all that's going on. Either way, one way or another we need to get out of here so that a corpsman can look at the wounded. And we still need to figure out what to do about the prisoner. Do we kill it or keep it?"

The Lieutenant quick replied to Lawson's salute, "Stop that. Don't salute an officer in the field,...you're making both of us a target by doing that," "Gah, Crap I fucked up..." Lawson thought. "It's alright, son. At ease, Corporal. The situation is very FUBAR. How many men did you bring or are you the only one? Oh, forget that. As you can see, Corporal, we're in an oven with survivors from a downed Pelican," The Lieutenant followed on. "You can try, Corporal Ward, but with this heat...I'm with you. Our field radios may not have the strength to punch through this heat interference. If you think you can get a signal out, be my guest," along with, "If you can, show me where it hurts. I'll do my best to patch you up," and finished with "To answer your question, Corporal Ward, we're going to see if he will be willing to help us get far enough out of this oven. A pair of extra hands wouldn't hurt, and once we're far enough we'll figure out what comes next. Someone get some biofoam and spray it in my left arm. I'd do it myself, but I dislocated that shoulder. I can't feel a thing,"


"I'll Do it, and sorry about the salute SOME officers don't like if I don't even try." Lawson said as he move over towards the Lieutenant and pulled out a small biofoam canister and began to administer it to him by flipping out the applicator arm and move over towards his left and and said, "Hold on Sir, it might hurt, so don't go off at me mate, shame about the ink." Lawson then quickly, firmly into the Lieutenants injured left arm at the wound site. "Oh and wouldn't a live one be better for the spooks?, Besides what's the fun in ending it quick, they kill so many of us" Lawson's voice flared a little at the end, "And I doubt the radios will get through that's how I lost my team, and yeah I have No one single fuckin' idea where they are, S." Lawson said to the group more than the Lieutenant after looking towards the private that was in the argument with the now named Corporal Ward.

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Punching Bag Prisoner
In great pain but soon to be feeling a lot better.


Tears still dripped down Beps face as the new human started to talk in a odd sounding voice, but it was all gibberish to Bep as he took deep breaths and slowly felt his side. Wincing as he could feel that one of his rips was a lot shorter than the other he hisses in pain as his fingers slowly probed the cracked rib. Thankfully by now his body had shut down most of its pain receptors to this new pain...he just had to deal with the constant sense of agony as the dragger human walkd over to him and knelt down beside him.

He initially shirked away from the human, thinking that any would turn on him at any moment and finish the job the determined one had started. But, he remember, this had been the one that had stopped him being executed - he was the most on his side of any of them. Nodding a little as the human gestured at him he wiped his eyes quickly then grabbed the humans arm and slowly got up. By now his ear had stopped bleeding but a line of purple dried blood was still down the side of his head, and as he was being helped up he held his broken ribs with one arm and steadied himself on the humans arm with the other. He could still only hear a little of what was going on with only one good ear, but he could still thankfully see and was eventually deposited on a crate near some of those boxes the humans had everywhere.

Still holding his hurt ribs he watched the human in front of him a little, but had his head tilted to the side to make sure the determined one wasn't heading over towards him anymore. He at least wanted a chance to move or do something if he took another swing at him. But when the human held out a container of water at him he tilted his head a little and slowly took it. Making a small cheep and a nod he hoped the human got his thank you. Looking at the bottle a little oddly he squeezed it and jumped a little when the water squirted out of the top, it was a weird kind of flexible material...but for now he cared more for the water. Opening his mouth, showing off all his teeth, Bep squirted a good few mouthfuls into his mouth then set the bottle down slowly as he went back to looking at the man in front of him, with the mean one out the corner of his eye.

The human said some more things as the new one came over and started to spray some kind of white stuff into where the man had been hit. Guessing it was something medical he tilted his head regardless at it. But a fresh bolt of pain from his ribs caused him to hiss quietly as he held it. The human defiantly getting his answer to what hurt with that and the purple blood down his damaged ear's side.

[Cabel]

[51st Marine Assault Regiment: Alpha Platoon, Alpha Company, First Lieutenant Mark Seamus “Spade” Sorelson: Tropical Planet: Southwestern Column and Flank: Currently: Ground-side: Downed Oblivion One-One Pelican Crash-Site]

"I'll do it, and sorry about the salute. SOME officers don't like it if I don't even try," he heard Corporal Lawson say as the man moved around to his left side before retrieving a biofoam canister.

"Don't sweat it, son. You're doing fine, and if you make a few mistakes along the way it's fine. It's expected you learn from them though, but if you managed to find us here you're doing far better than a CASEVAC we requested. I'm not even sure my transmission made it through," Mark replied before feeling the tube of the canister slide into the gunshot wound. The nerves hadn't been set afire, but even with a dislocated shoulder he'd been able to at least feel a little bit of it and now he knew firsthand how painful the application of the biofoam had been and the Corporal hadn't even started yet.

"Hold on, Sir, it might hurt so don't go off at me mate. Shame about the ink," the young Corporal said before squeezing the biofoam from the canister. Mark had wanted to wince from the pain, but in front of the Jackal he had to appear professional or at least amid the ever increasing heat had to at least attempt a stab at professionalism. "Oh, and wouldn't a live one be better for the spooks? Besides, what's the fun in ending it quick. They've killed so many of us," he heard the man's voice flare a tad near the end. "And I doubt the radios will get through. That's how I lost my team, and yeah. I have no one single fuckin' idea where they are,S."

"It's alright, Corporal. You found us, and we'll make sure you make it out of here to find your squad mates. That...does sting more than I thought it would, but it's fine. I can't say I'm going to miss feeling like a set of ribs on a barbecue," Spade said seeing the Jackal jump a little in pain. Reaching into the medkit, he'd take out a few small patches of Polyseudomorphine and hoped the alien hadn't been allergic to it. "I'm going apply this patch to your skin. It's carries a pain-killer, and it'll pass directly through the skin. The pain should lift a few moments after it's applied," Taking the small patch, he'd reach around to the alien's side and gently applied it over the creature's ribs. He'd press down on it a little bit, just to pat it down enough it wouldn't slide off and once that had been done he'd reach back into the medkit. Pulling out a roll of bandages, he'd carefully wrap it around the Jackal's chest and upper torso enough to at least alleviate the pressure on the ribs on that side. Mark made sure to wrap at least three to four layers of the bandages around the Jackal's chest and upper torso to make sure it added a little more support.

"Now, let's see about that ear. I'm only going to check,..." the Lieutenant said before reaching into the medkit for a small medical scope. He'd have to slowly stand to check on the alien's injured ear, and used the scope to see how bad the damage had been. Satisfied, he'd reach into the medkit again and applied some gauze around that ear and made sure the Jackal hadn't been uncomfortable it. Reaching into the medkit, he'd find some rubbing alcohol and poured a little bit of it onto a cloth from the kit. "This is rubbing alcohol, and it will sting. This is to make sure the ear is cleaned, and won't become infected. I'll let you watch. I'll be careful,...you've taken a rough beating. I'd rather have you feel more at ease around us, and hopefully start to heal. If you'd like, you can watch me closely enough to make sure I'm not making any sudden movements and if I do something wrong I'm sure you'll let me know," Watching his current patient, the Jackal, he'd slowly move around to that ear and slowly dabbed ear with the cloth. He'd change his approach if, and when the Jackal if the ear caused him a bit more pain until he'd finished. Setting the used cloth aside, he'd reach into the medkit and unraveled a small roll of bandages. Carefully, he'd apply the bandages much as with the ribs on the alien's side except he covered a part of the alien's head only a little. The entire time, he'd been particularly observant of the Jackal's reactions to even the slightest movement.

[Ward, J.]

Ward nodded at Lieutenant Sorelson after being informed on what his plans were involving the Jackal. He'd given up trying to raise anyone on the comms, only seeming to get static back in response to his attempts. To be honest, he didn't particularly like the feeling of being stranded, and that's how be felt. They had been left alone in the forest and no one seemed to be at all concerned to go looking for them.

Which was surprising to him, considering the circumstances and the amount of people that had shown up to respond to the Pelican crash. With a heavy sigh, he quietly watched as the Lieutenant began to perform first aid on the Jackal. The newcomer, Corporal Lawson, worked on Sorelson at the same time. It didn't look like either patient was enjoying what was being done to them to help them.

"Never thought I'd see the day a Marine would be giving first aid to an alien," Lance Corporal Jayson Furby muttered, having moved to stand beside Ward. "An officer, to top it all off."

Jon chuckled slightly. "Life is full of surprises, Jay."

Furby nodded. "You ain't kiddin'."

The Corporal laughed and then remembered something. He stepped to the side and turned his body to face Furby, making sure that PFC Wen was in his peripheral vision so that he could keep an eye on him. He didn't want the Marine trying to make a move on the Jackal while the El-Tee was working on it. The man had already proven himself quite unpredictable. And while he didn't entirely like the idea of doing all this for a genocidal alien freakbag; orders were orders.

Sorelson wanted the bird alive and he wasn't about to argue with an officer. Especially one who seemed to have served in the Corps for quite a long time. It made Jon wonder if he'd been an enlisted man originally before being commissioned, as he wasn't young like most first lieutenants. He wasn't incredibly old, either; however, Ward would've easily pegged him for at least a Major just by looks at a distance.

"You think that bird brain can really help us out of this shit hole?" inquired PFC Allens.

Ward looked over to the man. Allens was crouched down on one knee wielding his pistol, scanning what was left of the treeline for any signs that there may have been hostiles on approach. Ward shrugged at him and glanced back at the alien. "I dunno," he mumbled truthfully, then returned his attention to the PFC. "But I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Prisoner
Being treated, thinking about how to escape the fire, and having doubts about his future.


So for now it seemed that he wasn't going to be brutally tortured and then finally killed in some slow way...like drowing or burning or something equally horrid. Which caused Bep to relax a little, making it a lot easier for the human to work. He helped by removing his light chest armor to allow the human to apply his whatever it was to his chest. The pain seemed to ease a little - he had small concerns that it was some kind of poison but by now he was just doing what the human wanted him to do. If he had wanted him to die he could have already, or just let the other humans do it for him.

Raising his arms a little as his chest was bandaged it gave him a little time to think. Either they would find a way out of this fire or just wait for it to die down. But what would happen after that? With how much aggression the majority of the humans had shown he very much doubted they would just let him walk away once they were free. They would likely take him to the human base...find out what he knew then kill him. Gulping a little at this thought he thought about he alternatives as the human moved up to his damaged ear side - sitting surprisingly still considering how much he was fidgeting around before. Blinking a little as the human kept speaking he reaches up to remove his green bandana and held it tightly in his hands as the human worked.

If he did escape and somehow make it back to the Covenant lines without getting eaten by any more tree snakes or other creatures of the forest; the Sangheili would know that these were human aid wrappings and medicine- and he would likely be executed by them as well. If he got away he would have to remove them, but they would still question and question about what had happened and he had no doubt they would find out he was helped by the enemy when he should have been risking his life to kill them.

Letting out a quiet sigh once the human had finished bandaging up his head he nodded a little and gave a quiet thank you - which was of course gibberish to them all but it was the thought after all. He still wasn't sure what the best course of action would be for him, but even if he wanted to return it would all depend on if the humans let him go, and if they got out of this fiery trap. Glancing over at the tree that had fallen on the human transport he hum a little and could see that it was pretty splintered from its fall and the area around it didn't seem as flame coved as others. Tapping the helpful human on the arm he slowly reached down to his belt and pulled out a plasma grenade, stuffing his bandana into the little pocket the grenade used to occupy. Nodding at the damaged tree he offered it to the helpful human.

"May make a big enough hole to squeeze through, or throw enough dirt to make a escape path...I hope." He clicked out, making sure his other arm was farm away from the arming button so they wouldn't think he was saying some kind of quiet curse or prayer before he blew himself and the human up.

(Probably not the best solution but I couldn't think of anything else he would realistically have that would help since he doesn't carry a shield.)

[iamsteelius]

Kig-Yar Minor Nak

At the crash site of a Phantom, near a downed Pelican

    Nak stumbled out of the Phantom, or what was left of it, cursing to himself. He looked around, hoping his Needle Rifle and his file survived the crash. His rifle was lying on the ground, dangerously close to a fire. Nak reached with his armored clawed, gingerly picking it up. He turned to see Top and Maj approach him. "Where's Cad and Zax?" asked Nak. Maj nodded over her left shoulder, saying, "Cad's there looking for his weapon, and I can't find Zax." Nak looked up and in the trees, knowing Zax was perched somewhere. Nak leaned over, picked up a Plasma pistol and squawked, "File, get over here." Zax leaped from a nearby tree and Cad walked up, grumbling to himself.

    Nak tossed the pistol to Cad, who responded with a snarl. Nak looked at his file and said, "Alright, Top and Maj you lead, Zax stay right behind them and Cad and I will watch our backs. Get your shields on. Head for that smoke, we need to see if anyone else is here. There's no way we're getting through this forest by ourselves." Besides Nak, everyone turned their shields on. Once they got in formation they began to move forward, through the brush. Nak sent a transmission out, "Anybody nearby we're headed toward a large mass of smoke. Meet us there if you want to retreat to the Corvette and survive."

    Nak shook his head. He doubted anyone thought their chances of survival were any better with a Kig-Yar file. Nak grimaced but continued forward with his file. Nak assessed the situation. The Field Master called for a retreat, but there wasn't a chance he and his file would make it by themselves. Nak knew that it was unlikely anybody was still out there, but he though he might as well try to regroup. They stayed in the brush and close to the ground. Though Nak didn't know what was the cause of all of that smoke and fire, he still wanted to be cautious. Whether the Field Master thought so or not, he wasn't going to die out in this forest.

[BasedGoody]

PFC. Barry Barrington

Barry watched as the Prisoner was treated. He then walked over and tapped Ward on the shoulder, smiling a little bit as he pulled down his balaclava. He opened his mouth to speak to the fellow Marine.

"Eh. Thanks for the soldier. Helped out a lot." He said, before nodding and spinning on his heels, walking back out towards his team. Gerald leaned against a tree taking in the scenery. Destruction. Mike laid on the ground clutching his wound, flinching every few seconds. Barry closed his eyes for a minute while he grasped for his canteen, ripping it out from his holster and raising it to his mouth. The last few drop slid down his throat and he moaned in happiness as his everlasting thirst was quenched.

"Barry. What's up with the prisoner deal?" Gerald grumbled out.

"I have no damn idea. Ask someone who was there." He replied, not attempting to be snappy, but just becoming annoyed at the situation. It was getting tough, the fire, the confusion, the dead. It was too much.

[MrKill]

Sergeant Pain
Crashed Pelican
Regaining Consciousness

"Wh-" The Sergeant begun, but stopped. He was laying about five inches away from a tree, back on the ground. He rubbed his hands and felt the trickle of blood running down his forehead and into his left eye, then from his eye and into his ear. He could also feel wet clothing on his left thigh, like he had soiled himself. Pain dropped his hands lazily and lifted it upwards. His hand was red, which meant he was bleeding - but the Sergeant couldn't begun to think about how bad it potentially was.

Dazed.

Confused.

Pain didn't even know where he was, let alone being ready for combat. He remembered talking to a Corporal in his squad before someone reported in the pelican had been hit. Everything else happened so fast. The pelican dipped, crashed into a tree and collided with something else. The force of the last impact Pain could remember sent him flying into the roof of the pelican. Everything after that was literally dark. He couldn't remember a thing.

He knew the area was dangerous, though. Despite being dazed a kid could have put two plus two together in this situation. The crack of dry, burning wood and the glow and smoke from a fire in the distance, though not that far off the horizon. Already grass around the Sergeant had begun to burn away, spreading the wild flames to the trees above.

The area got hazy very quickly. Smoke built up as the heat climbed.

"McAllister!" Pain called out. The Corporal was his second in command if Pain had gone down, but there was no response.

"James?"

"Riley?"

Pain stopped, realizing that everyone was probably dead. Four hundred or so meters away he saw the pelican's tail, engulfed in flames and sending smoke bellowing towards the sky like a signal. Pain rolled to his stomach and pushed himself up, slouching his back against a tree trunk.

He was missing his primary weapon. The BR55HB he carried had been either ripped away during the crash or taken. It was logical to assume that the weapon was ripped away, but Pain wasn't being logical. He grunted, swore and promised to find the being that stole his weapon and beat the shit out of him, her or it with his own fists.

He clicked his radio and sent out a burp of static before his thump slipped on the transponder before he could speak. He groaned again and pressed the transmission key for the second time, "Tornado One-Four to any station," Pain started off. "I'm by the downed pelican and requesting medical assistance. I am unable to move by myself, how copy?"

[Cabel]

[51st Marine Assault Regiment: Alpha Platoon, Alpha Company, First Lieutenant Mark Seamus “Spade” Sorelson: Tropical Planet: Southwestern Column and Flank: Currently: Ground-side: Downed Oblivion One-One Pelican Crash-Site]

The Jackal had tapped Mark's right arm before slowly produced a plasma grenade, a device the majority of Marines from raw recruits fresh from boot to the experience marines had come to both know and loathe. The plasma grenade had a tendency of sticking where it landed including the helmets of unfortunate marines and normally the marines knew enough to avoid them if possible, or to discard their equipment if a plasma grenade had tended to stick though for now Spade hadn't sensed hostilities from the avian-like alien.

"You want me to use this to break the fire line?" he asked, unsure if the Jackal had even the basic understandings of English due to the language barrier. Although, he'd come to at least understand with some context what the alien had said or chirped to an extent. "You are certain about this? It may not work, but anything is worth the risk now," He'd said in English before attempting his best at the Jackal's own language, at least in chirps and gestures. I could be giving the Jackal dimensions to the Playmate of the Month edition for all I know.

"Could someone..." he began when he heard the distinct sound of radio static followed by a weakened voice near an untouched tree or as of yet untouched tree beyond the severed tail of the Pelican. Looking around, he'd try to gain a firm reading of the marine's identity and rank through his HUD though between the ragged display and the fact even looking at it forced his eyes to become sore he had at least been able to gain the man's rank and name though the service number had been illegible. The man lay outside the ring of fire in the woods beyond, at least roughly four hundred meters if his HUD readings had been correct and meant they'd either have to reach him after they'd broken through the clearing or in the more likely event stumbled onto him.

"I'm sorry," he said, turning his attention back towards the Jackal. "You're starting to look better, and...I don't even know what to call you. I can't keep calling you Jackal, or...worse. Oh, here's some more water. We have plenty to go around," He said pulling out another water bottle handing it to the Jackal, out of the dozens of crates full of water bottles laying around the place along with crates containing everything else. "Listen up, marines. We're going to have hoof it out of here quick. I can't tell you how much I hate being the rib special, and I'd imagine each of you would rather be somewhere a lot cooler without the side of beans. Gather anything you can, ammunition, supplies, medkits, water,  rations...we're going not going to be returning,"

As much as it pained him to have to use the plasma grenade, a device he knew the boys in intelligence and R&D would love to have had their hands on, the Jackal had provided it of his own accord. Mark knew what the intel boys had in store for the Jackal when they managed to hoof it back to the base, the alien had been petrified of them and even with his own medical cross-training as part of his special forces training the Jackal 's treatment had only been temporary at best. Even with his decades of training combined with the hatred his species had for the genocidal Covenant, the Jackal reminded him of his own son Jason albeit without the beak and more humanistic appearance. His son had been ten when he'd scraped his knee on a family camping trip to the woods outside of Seattle, and Mark had patched his son's knee with the best of care as any father had to do. He felt guilty for what had been in store for the young alien, an alien that come to trust him with his life and his safety.

"I'll use this only if we need to. We have a few pineapples around here we could use," the First Lieutenant said. "Find any exploding pineapples, we may need them or at least two to break that fire-line," The sound of engines screaming before an explosion nearby caught his attention, and craning his head around he'd notice another column of smoke nearby followed by a shower of purple alloy. The experienced marine fervently hoped there hadn't been any Covenant that had survived the crash, but at the same time knew it might have been the Jackal's only chance if he hadn't wanted to wind up on some operating table.

"Rifles up, and eyes open. Defensive positions, and cover each other. I think a Phantom or Spirit had a collision nearby. Anyone that isn't doing anything at this exact moment, toss a grenade at the fire-line where you see it is weakest. Blast us a hole out of here. Everyone else, grab a Marine and anything else you can carry. Come on, Big Bird. We're going for a bit of a jog, and lean on me. I got you," Mark managed to stuff a backpack full of medkits, water bottles and other things he could find including ammunition, though it hadn't been a fraction of what the Pelican had carried including a plasma pistol of all things. Taking great care, he'd slowly wrap the Jackal's arm around his shoulder. "Marines, grab anyone you can. We are leaving," A marine issued exploding pineapple detonated after being lobbed at what had been deemed the weakest spot in the fire-line, and trying to cover the Jackal's head he'd duck from the dirt that had been thrown from the explosion cutting a hole in the line. "Actually, why don't you do the honors? You'd probably do better than I could in lobbing that glowing blue ball and I believe this is yours," as he handed the plasma grenade and the plasma pistol back to the Jackal before making an attempt at the chirps even at the risk of going hoarse from the process. "I need every man, and alien on the firing line if we're going to stave off your brothers...if there are any from that crash," he said in English.

He'd rush out through the open hole taking care of the Jackal at his side while his own injuries cries out in protest, and Mark figured he had at least third degree burns from the plasma barrage from earlier. There hadn't been a doubt in his mind he'd be laid up in the Sickbay or a Hospital ship for a month if longer, but he pushed that out of his mind as the lives of every human and alien at the crash site had become his responsibility. "Those without someone, keep an eye out and keep your rifles ready," God, my back...come on, you old marine. You haven't given up yet... Each step felt like he'd gone at least several rounds with the old grade schoolyard bullies he'd run into nearly every other afternoon after school hours, but he forced himself along.

[Lawson, S]

51st Marine Assault Regiment, Alpha Company, First Platoon, First Squad, third fire team: Fire team leader: Corporal Scott Lawson Location: Crashed Pelican clearing, team status: Missing

Lawson stepped back and discarded the biofoam canister after it was empty. he soon moved over towards few marines who had been pulled from around and within the wreck as the Lieutenant began speaking. Lawson moved over and looked at the group, then at his surroundings; the on fire and exploded pelican, the on fire trees and everything else and the gear from the pelican and dead or injured marines that lay around. He heard the radio just barely come through with static and was sure that the other would have heard it.

Lawson thought to himself about what he might need, some water he had run out on his way here and began looking for more but all that was left were small bottles to refill his empty pack. Lawson soon went around looking through a few and found a few water bottles which here full, Lawson then emptied them into his water pack and soon heard the explosion of a another craft and saw a new smoke plume and tell tale signs of a covenant drop ship what ever type it may have been had crashed near by.

"Awww shit... Can we just have a nice day in this blazing inferno do we need more of them bloody Covies?" He said as Lieutenant Sorelson ordered. "Rifles up, and eyes open. Defensive positions, and cover each other. I think a Phantom or Spirit had a collision nearby. Anyone that isn't doing anything at this exact moment, toss a grenade at the fire-line where you see it is weakest. Blast us a hole out of here. Everyone else, grab a Marine and anything else you can carry." Lawson then  a grenade being thrown at a smaller part of the fire to open up an escape path which it did. As that happened Lawson had gone over to the injured marines and helped the one or two that could walk on their own up and then began stuffing all of his spare space in his pack, pockets and pouches full of ammo. 

As Lieutenant Sorelson ran into the open hole in the fire with the Jackal with him, Lawson helped those he had gotten up through the gap in the fire then himself along with his rifle being unslung. Lawson began following the Lieutenant weapon to shoulder eyes scanning just waiting and hoping that the Covenant didn't find them knowing that with that alien and all the wounded they were sure as hell dead. 

[iamsteelius]

Kig-Yar Minor Nak
Near the crashed Pelican, outside of the ring of fire

        Nak's file stopped outside a large wall of flame and debris. They crouched behind what scattered debris there was outside the fire. He looked around for a vantage point around or above the fire. Though the trees were burnt, they still seemed climbable. Nak looked at his file and quietly said, "Top, Cad and Maj, stay here and try to find and opening in the fire. Stay to cover and be silent. Zax, come with me in the trees." Zax nodded and he and Nak began to climb the trees a distance from the fire. All the trees in the immediate area were destroyed, forcing Nak and Zax farther out. Nak could hardly see what was going on, but it looked like the fire was coming from some kind of ship. There seemed to be figures moving all around, but there was several gathered in the middle.

    Zax looked at Nak worriedly, "Nak, those are humans. There's a lot of them, but most are wounded or dead. They seem in bad condition. And there's something else." Nak strained to look through the smoke but couldn't see anything distinctive. Zax then said, "Nak, I think they have a prisoner. It's a Kig-Yar." Nak cursed. Not only was his rally point a human camp, it was harboring a prisoner. Nak looked at Zax, "Have Top and the others found a way in?" Zax scanned the ground level, then nodded. "Then we need to stop them from getting themselves and the prisoner killed. 
    
    Nak and Zax leaped down from the trees, hitting the ground running. They darted through the trees, thankful the smoke and fire gave sufficient cover from the humans. As they began to approach the rest of Nak's file, he could see they were thankful hidden behind cover. Nak slid behind cover as Zax stopped at the base of a tree. Top said to Nak without turning, "There's too many humans out there to rush. Also, they seem to be aware that we're out here. They looked spooked." Maj nodded, then added, "They probably think there's more than just us out here. Still,even with their troops mostly down, there's a lot more of them than us." Zax peeked around the tree. "What do you see?" asked Nak.

    Zax shook his head. "He gave them his plasma grenade. Nothing else has changed. I think he's a sniper. It looks like he sees us. Top, try to get his attention." Top looked over the piece of metal he was behind, and looked toward the imprisoned Kig-Yar. Top raised his wrist transceiver and tapped it. He put his arm down and carefully hid while looking at the sniper. "I'm almost positive he sees us, but I don't think the humans have." Nak nodded and thought for a second.

    Nak looked at his file and ordered, "Alright hopefully the sniper still has his transceiver. If not I'm not sure how we can talk to him. In any case, the humans might of seen us. Top and I will stay here.Cad, Maj and Zax go relocate to another spot where you can look in. If worse comes to worse, just shoot at them, relocate, and repeat. Hopefully he knows what's going on." As everyone but Top and Nak left, Nak said, "Alright, let's see if we can talk to him." Top looked at his transceiver and Nak peeked out of the debris, hoping to be unseen. 

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Prisoner Impromptu human supply man/rescuer/and negotiator.
Helping the humans get out of the fire and trying to make sure the most amount of beings live.

Watching the human go over his plan in his gibberish way he eventually took the grenade but then started to talk to the other humans who picked up their grenades and began to throw them toward the fire. Though after issuing orders the human turned back to him and made an attempt at his language. It actually made him smile and chuckle as he spouted some more gibberish but it was at least something funny.

Turning to watch the humans go through with his plan of blasting their way out, something that he suspected they really enjoyed doing, he looked up to see a smoking Phantom screech overhead and then crash a distance off. Biting his lip a little he hoped that no Sangheili were on it, that would complicate things a bit - same with brutes, but if it was jackals or grunts he could hopefully convince them to not fire and return to favor of life to this nice human.

Nodding as the nice human helped him up he looked over at the hole they had gotten in the fire line and nodded; it would be hot, but it would get them out. But as they started to move he looked back at the human and frowned, Bep could tell he was in pain from helping him, and he almost looked on the verge of collapse. He helped as much as he could so the human wouldn't have to carry him out all the way and once free of the fire wing, covering his eyes a little to protect them. Once free of the inferno he extracted himself from the humans grip and almost pushed him over, putting a hand near the human to try and tell him to stop or wait as he jogged back through the hole in the fire to help the other humans drag or carry some supplies out. By now most of the pain in his ribs had been numbed by the human dose of painkillers he had been given but he knew he would be like the human when that wore off.

Once all the supplies and wounded had been removed from the danger zone Bep mentally slapped himself - The Phantom!. Standing near the helpful human he stood up as tall as he could on his legs and scanned around, just in time to see a jackal arm and transceiver peak out from cover. Thank the Gods it was his fellow Kig-yar; they were good at listening to reason. Moving to some of the other humans he tried to make them lower their weapons as he waved a little at the hidden Kig-yar.

"Brothers! Don't fire! These humans spared my life, it would only be right for us to avoid conflict here!" He squawked out quickly as he stood in front of the humans with guns, hoping that the humans would get what he was trying to do and his fellows would listen to him. He unfortunately hadn't looked around enough to see the wounded human, but right now he was focusing on the possibility of a fire fight, not the sleeper card of the human.

[Jakob]

Private First Class Cuu Wen

Cuu sulked around, sticking close to the lieutenant and occasionally peaking a smile at Ward. He had bouts of dizziness but managed to keep himself from collapsing, though he had to puke into a bush when no one was looking. The inferno was still going on, but it had began to die down in their area and spread to the rest of the jungle. The flames weren't as fierce and trees weren't coming down as often, so that was good.

He had helped shove the wounded from where they were to where they were supposed to be, dragged some people around and kicked those he wasn't sure were dead or alive to check. It wasn't long until a Phantom came screeching overhead and their... prisoner went stiff. Cuu kept an eye on him, carefully following behind as he moved.

Something peaked out from behind cover and the Jackal began yapping like a bird. Cuu guessed he was trying to get the other aliens to stand down.

"Feth! He's trying to get reinforcements!" He shouted, clubbing the Jackal prisoner in the back of the head with his MA5B before diving to the ground. Once he was on the floor, a moment later, he opened up on the Jackals cover.

[Huka]

Aboard SDV-class Heavy Corvette Ardent Sacrifice 

In the Corvette’s somewhat sloped bridge from the crashed ship’s angle, the bridge officers worked diligently, some talking to the assigned units or others keeping their station at full capacity. Just then, the Sensors Officer’s fingers stopped for a second when he saw noticeable changes to the sensors. For a tick, he thought it was more human forces planning to drop more of their kind to bolster their suppressed unit. Then identifications spoke otherwise.

The red-armored Major twitched his mandibles as he quickly collected the data, “Thank the Gods!” He shouted out of excitement, making the younger members of the crew to look at him in slight hope and annoyance. Nearly snapping his neck when he looked at the communications officer, the excited Sangheili nearly shouted, “Quick, report to our esteemed leaders that our forces have arrived!”

Many cheered with clutched fists and roars, even the bridge guards-consisted mostly of Zuko’s Sangheili troops-allowed themselves a moment of clarity as salvation has appeared at their doorstep at last. Immediately, with spirits raised, the operators worked better and faster.

Snapping his fingers abit to focus, the Major quickly delay his previous command to hail the appearing fleet. Nodding, the Minor operator spoke with all of the professionalism that hid his anxiety and impatience to get off this world and away from the humans. “This is Ardent Sacrifice hailing to Covenant fleet flagship; I repeat this is Ardent Sacrifice to Covenant fleet flagship. Do you read?”

That was slight interference for a moment, making the slightly inexperienced soldier’s hearts drum fast, hoping that they do. Finally a serene but almost gurgling voice answered, “Of course, Brother. This is Ship Master Jhen ‘Aquirai of the Task Force of Tireless Seeker, Ship Master Xytan ‘Vadamai have reported of the distress. Link me to your commanding officers.”

“Yes, sir.” The officer said before moving his fingers over the glyphs and in a moment the transmission was sent to the command table in the war room. Til just entered the room with R’ha and the War Priest when the holographic image of a Zealot in the more standardized combat harness with a decorated full-shrouded helmet with slightly wiggling tubes from the side of its mouthpiece, a common sight for Aquir clansmen.

Til walked to the table, his eye glanced at the stump of the Zealot’s right forearm. The glance wasn't to the arm itself, such injuries were somewhat common amongst his brethren, but it was the banner wrapped around it with a knot. The letters UNSC was easily seen, a human banner most likely as a memento and personal prize. His sight moved to the Zealot’s trident, a ceremonial clan symbol of his rank of naval command.

“Greetings, Holy Ones. I am Ship master Jhen ‘Aquirai of the Tireless Seeker, your retrieval have arrived.” He said with a firm salute of respect, his trident pounded into his right breast with a clank. “I am sending a corvette to you now while we keep the Humans’ naval forces away.”

Til didn’t celebrate yet and looking to the R’ha, he didn’t seem so excitable either. The War Priest typically praised the Gods for the splendid timing. Just then, the Ship Master looked to someone on the side and grunted. “What to do you mean more Covenant identification signals have appeared? We were the only ones sent.” He said with slight annoyance.

The Field Master couldn't help but chuckle to that.

---

As the rift of slipspace tore open essentially between the UNSC forces on one side and the Covenant on the other, ragged ships common of Kig-yar designs zipped through first like bees from a hive, they slowed and got into formation with their larger corvette cousins in the middle to serve their command and support and destroyers in the front as their spiked shields.

“Kig-yar mercenary ships.” The Seeker’s sensor officer warned as his console flared on and off at the information flashing, “They’re bearing Covenant affiliation but…wait. Something else is coming out of the rift. Impossible…” “What is it, soldier!?” The Shipmaster demanded, starting to lose his temper to the officer’s dramatics.

“It’s a Supercarrier, sir.” The officer responded, looking flushed. Just as the words left his jaws, the massive ship lumbered through its hole, dwarfing its lesser escorts easily. Sleek and shining from the system's star, with a few scars on its sides from a recent battle. That wasn’t just any Supercarrier…and the Reticant Lance recognized her.

Suddenly both factions were hailed by the new arrival, bringing forth a crackling voice; it was hard to tell if it was male or female on the line but the language was obviously Kig-yar in its chirps and clicks from its barked maw. “Behold the fallen Supercarrier Blooded Coin, Behold a prize possibly better than the Occupation of Tethak generations ago!”

Til clicked his mandibles as the commanders viewed the Kig-yar’s large force, outnumbering both. Finally those thugs appear from their dark corner to test the Covenant in their moment of weakness. Typical Kig-yar pirates.

“Now…you will be rewarded by becoming our bolstered fleet’s first victims. Die well and screaming.”

With that, the transmission ended and the split formations sped towards the separate fleets, their battle formations spearing for a swift and vicious fight. The Shipmaster growled, “Task Force, prepare for battle! No mercy for these blasphemous thugs!” Ending his own connection, the Covenant and Human battle groups prepared to engage.

Til watched as a small segment of the Kig-yar forces went to attack the rescuing destroyer. “Well, brothers. This have just gotten more interesting.” Til commented and the War Priest clenched his fists. 

---

WARNING!!!

A large Kig-yar force under a unknown commander have appeared in the battlezone shortly after the arrival of the Covenant Relief Force, this rescue have become a three-way battle between the three factions. While the bulk of the pirate forces remain in the flank for now, the UNSC and Covenant naval forces are about to face a force equal to a battle group of 45 ships each; consist of mostly corvettes with 6 supporting frigates, 4 Destroyers, and a single cruiser flagship each. 

The Covenant Destroyer Sailing Blade is engaged to a small Kig-yar warband while moving to rescue the overrun Covenant ground forces, phantoms and spirits are inbound for evac with a light choir escort. 

Current Objectives: 

UNSC: 

1) Establish Base Camp (S)
2) Scout Enemy Base and strength (S)
3) Capture enemy Leader and extract to UNSC Kilimanjaro (NC)
4) Destroy Covenant Beacon (NC)
5) Destroy or Capture enemy base for tech and supplies (NC)
6) Stop Covenant leadership from leaving planetside at any cause (NC)

Covenant:

1) Prevent the capture of the Imperial Admiral (NC)
2) Make contact with Covenant reinforcements (S)
3) Protect the beacon (S)
4) Drive the humans from the planet surface (NC)
5) Keep corvette's weapons and shields systems operational (S)
6) Leave this blasted planet and your constant interlopers behind! (NC)

Naval Battle Strengths:

UNSC:

>2 Carriers
>3 Cruisers
>5 Destroyers
>7 Frigates
>12 Corvettes 
>Implemented fighter squadrons

Covenant:

>1 CCS-class battlecruiser
>1 Destroyer
>6 frigates
>9 Corvettes
>Implemented fighter squadrons

Kig-yar (Caculations on either side):

>1 Cruiser
>4 Destroyers
>6 frigates
>34 corvettes 
>Implemented fighter squadrons