M5: Rumble in the Jungle

[MrKill]

Sergeant Pain
Crashed Pelican
Conscious

The radio burped and sputtered out, erupting into a dark black smoke and sparks. How had the radio been damaged? His transponder was probably damaged from the collision with the ground when the Sergeant was flung free from the pelican's troop bay - yeah, that's probably what happened. Regardless - he was still confused, oblivious to the smoldering boom microphone and completely unaware of the smoking UNSC issued handheld radio attached to his chest mesh.

He rolled to his chest and let out a cough before trying to reply VIA the broken communication channel. "Negative copy," The Sergeant begun. "To the unit that previously attempted to contact me through the radio I did not receive your transmission." The Sergeant finished, breathing heavily. It was starting to come back to him, slowly. The sound of a weapon going off in the near distance was when Pain realized he needed to move, and quickly.

He produced his M6G painfully and stood up, swaying from left to right before falling to his knees. He forced himself up and finally realized his radio was toast. He opened up the vest pouch and discarded the radio. Sighing, he also realized his boom microphone had caught on fire somewhere. He ripped the device from it's socked and pulled until the cord came out of the helmet. It was, though lightly, burning. A visible flame was not seen.

"What," The Sergeant started to say, "fucking way do I go." He added, musing over the possible destinations. He turned towards the burning pelican and begun to walk almost nearly pleasurably, too confused to realize the full situation at the time.

[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]

"Cease fire. Cease fire," Mark shouted after Cuu had opened fire and nearly coldcocked the Jackal from behind with the butt of his rifle. "Cease fire. If those snipers had wanted us dead, they would have had ample time to do it," He'd understood where Cuu had come from, that mindset of the enemy had been a target painted in the cross-hairs and there had been no room for compassion as they wouldn't show compassion for anyone though through his years to decades in the field he'd realized the enemy hadn't been some cold-hearted monsters...at least most weren't and that even those they labeled as the enemy were often caught up in a zealot crusade led by those of larger egos. Crossing over to where the Jackal had fallen after being nearly coldcocked, Spade knelt to make sure the alien hadn't been too harmed from the Private's over-enthusiasm and if he'd been able to helped the Jackal to his feet. He'd been surprised when the Jackal had slipped from his grip after they'd made it past the ring of fire, and had actually motioned for him to stay put while the alien had rescued the remaining marines inside along with the supplies they'd left behind. Compassion worked both ways, he'd realized, and the Covenant or at least the Jackal species had been more open-minded to it.

"We may have more rifles, but we have more injured while the Jackal team here has fewer numbers yet have no injured. I know in the War we have to fight them and they have to fight us, but even common sense weighs in on these types of situations. Our Jackal friend here was signaling for his pals to not open fire on us," Mark explained noticing a reading on his HUD identifying the marine that had been outside the ring of fire, a Sergeant Pain. "The Jackal's even helped in retrieving the remaining of our injured from the fire, that should count for something," The lone marine had apparently managed to make it to his feet, and had begun approaching the group. "Glad you could join us, Sergeant. How are you holding up?"

"I hope you know what you're doing," he whispered turning his attention to the Jackal he'd helped to his feet before trying to convey that in the Jackal's own language albeit loud enough only for them both to hear. The effort of manipulating his larynx to mimic that of the avian-like alien's own language had seemed to put an extra strain on his own hoarse voice a result from nearly a decade of training young recruits at Ft. Lewis' boot camp, and with that in mind Mark fervently hoped the Jackal's friends from the Phantom had been of the same mind of reason.

[Ward, J.]

Ward and his team aided a handful of the wounded through the break in the flames caused by the tossing of drag grenades to clear a path. It had been a smart, yet dicey move, and it'd paid off. A fact that Ward was supremely thankful for.

The man he was carrying groaned and requested that he set him down for a moment. The Corporal obliged, gently assisting him in sitting down on the ground. Once his hands were free of the wounded Marine, he grabbed the stock of his MA5B and ripped it from its place on the magnetic backplate of his armor. With a quick check to make sure the safety was off and that a magazine was loaded, he ordered Furby to stand beside the Marine while he caught up with the main group, of whom had for some reason stopped. His dark brown eyes fell upon the Jackal prisoner staring into the nearby brush with a look of a deer having heard a noise nearby.

A moment later Ward saw what it was it had been staring down. A small fire team-sized group of Jackals emerged from the brush, weapons at the ready. Jon instinctively shouldered his weapon and took aim on the nearest alien, keeping his finger off the trigger only because he noticed their prisoner flagging the aliens down. It extended its arm and splayed its hand in the universal sign for stop. It squawker at its brethren, likely trying to reason with them with the hopes they wouldn't open fire. With the worst case scenario playing through his mind, he silently ordered Krieg and Allens to set up a base of fire on the aliens and communicated to hold their fire until he gave the order.

As he turned his attention back to the scene, a blur of movement caught his eye. "He's calling for reinforcements!" Ward heard PFC Cuu exclaim and the Marine cocked the alien in the back of the head with his rifle, knocking it to the ground and opened fire on the Jackals.

So much for diplomacy, Ward thought bitterly as he scrambled for cover in the event the aliens retaliated. Once behind a nearby felled tree that had been thoroughly burned and damaged by the raging fires, but was no longer aflame, he heard the voice of Lieutenant Sorelson. He is either the most trusting and diplomatic officer I've ever seen or down right crazy, Ward mused. He has my vote for ambassador between us and the Covenant if they ever change their tune.

Somehow he found that idea highly unlikely to happen.

When the Jackals didn't seem to be shooting back, and the prisoner was helped back to his feet, Ward slowly emerged from cover. Allens glanced over at Ward and gestured to him in a way that said "what the fuck?!" before pointing towards Cuu. Ward simply shrugged. Beats me...

Despite the fact a hail of plasma fire hadn't rained down upon them, Jon kept his guard up and slowly approached the Lieutenant from behind. If the Covenant did decide to open up on them, he wanted to be in a position where he could push the fatigued and aging officer out of the line of fire.

"El-Tee, I hope you're right about our prisoner's friends over there," Ward said, his grip tightening on the weapon, "Because despite what Big Bird might've said, I don't think they'll believe him much after just witnessing him get knocked to the ground and being forced into cover by Cuu's rifle fire."

He glanced over at the PFC who seemed to be staring at. Ward splayed out his hands to either side of him as if to say "what?" "Just bein' honest."

[Lawson, S]

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



As the whole group came through the now broken fire line they move a little and soon the Jackal began to squawk towards the bushes and without hesitation Private Cuu clocked the Jackal over the head, dropped to the ground and fired towards a group of Jackals that had just emerged from the brush.

If Lawson hadn't had his rifle half slung because he was helping others, he would have joined in but just as he got his rifle up and ready along with facing them just a fraction of a second earlier he would have fired but he stopped when lieutenant Sorelson interrupted him with "Cease fire. Cease fire," Lawson almost fired but relented at the last second because he had been ordered to. The lieutenant followed with "Cease fire. If those snipers had wanted us dead, they would have had ample time to do it," Lawson finally lowered his rifle and got his finger off the trigger but it remained on the trigger guard. Lawson waited for something to happen waited for other marines to just kill them, so far no one did.

The Lieutenant began a mini speech "We may have more rifles, but we have more injured while the Jackal team here has fewer numbers yet have no injured. I know in the War we have to fight them and they have to fight us, but even common sense weighs in on these types of situations. Our Jackal friend here was signalling for his pals to not open fire on us," "what the absolute fuck is going on" he though He looked over at Corporal Ward, who after allowing the Lieutenant to finish his talking of which Lawson had only partly heard stuff about "we have more Injured" and "they have less" These only made Lawson more wanting to finish the job. 

"El-Tee, I hope you're right about our prisoner's friends over there," Ward had a small pause,  "Because despite what Big Bird might've said, I don't think they'll believe him much after just witnessing him get knocked to the ground and being forced into cover by Cuu's rifle fire." Ward finished off. "I'm with Ward Sir, its better safe than sorry."Lawson said who soon shifted and kept crouched but came facing towards the Jackals more and semi shouldered his weapon just pointing it enough down as to say "Fuck up and you die."

[Frazer]

UNSCS Preston, Virtue-Class Attack Carrier
Captain Frazer York

As the battle raged on the battle below the Preston stayed in orbit around the planet. Frazer walked on to the bridge, Tom the executive officer saluted as he walked past him to his captains chair. Frazer sat on his chair as he looked towards the A.I Pedestal. "Tiffany whats the status on the fighting on the planet below?" Tiffany came up on the A.I Pedestal and turned towards Frazer.

"Fighting has got a lot more intense on the planet sir and in the space around us our ship count is at two Carriers including us, three Cruisers, five Destroyers, seven Frigates and twelve Corvettes plus with Implemented fighter squadrons. The Covenant have one CCS-class battlecruiser, one Destroyer, six frigates, nine Corvettes and implemented fighter squadrons helping them. There is also Kig-yar ships that account to one Cruiser, four Destroyers, six frigates, thirty four corvettes and Implemented fighter squadrons. What are we going to do sir?"

"Thanks Tiffany, right Wilson turn on a channel, ship wide." Frazer said as he got off his seat and walked to the comm button. 

"Channel is on sir."

"This is Captain Frazer York of the UNSCS Preston, we are awaiting further orders." Dean then turned off the channel and Frazer walked over to the holo table and looked down at it.

"Lets hope we get out of this alive." Tiffany said as Frazer awaited orders from the other UNSC Ships.  

[iamsteelius]

Kig-Yar Minor Nak
Behind Cover, hoping not to get riddled with bullets

    "Brothers! Don't fire! These humans spared my life, it would only be right for us to avoid conflict here!" shouted the sniper. Oh thank the Gods, Nak thought, we could not survive a gunfight. Just as Nak was about to shout an order, human gunfire started. Nak dropped to the floor, shouting, "Do not return fire!" A few seconds later it thankfully stopped. He heard the humans shouting but ignored it. Nak told Top, "Go get Zax and find another opening. I'm going to try something." As Top darted off Nak cursed loudly. If this doesn't work he's as good as dead.

    Nak waited and then saw Top and Zax set up near a hole in the fire. Nak then raised his rifle and threw it over cover. He then squawked to his file, "If they shoot or do anything, open fire on them. Aim for any explosives you see lying about, then the humans. Only on my order. Until then, stay completely out of sight." Nak then threw himself over the cover, hands in the air, into the open with way too many soldiers with guns. Nak slowly picked up his rifle and began to walk to them, pointing his weapon down.

    About a quarter of the way there, it was time for his bluff. He stopped and looked at Cad and Maj and squawked, "Don't open fire." He turned to Top and Zax then said the same thing. Then Nak looked to two other spots that had no one there, but still repeated himself. Hopefully, the humans would thing there were more than simply five of them. It was a simple but a somewhat effective bluff. Nak then squawked to the sniper. Realizing his serious condition, Nak growled but kept his composure.

    Nak breathed deeply, knowing what he was doing could get him executed. He looked at the human standing closest to the sniper. The human seemed dangerous but somewhat, protective over the Kig-Yar. Maybe he just wanted a fair trade. He pointed at the downed sniper and then himself. He then drew his energy cutlass, presented to them, and pointed at him. Nak then grasped it by the very hilt and held it out. He knew humans liked alien technology, so this was the best he could do. Nak then sqauked to the sniper, "If you got any useful ideas, feel free to tell me." Nak was there presenting the energy cutlass in one hand and holding his Needler Rifle in the other, hoping to the Gods that the bluff and the offer was going to work.

[BetaWülf]

Jiralhanae Captain Garatus

As he headed for the inner circle of the Covenants defenses through the forest he heard weapons fire, as he got closer he heard Kig-yar and Humans. He tugged his human prisoner along behind him as he crept as silently as he could towards the fighting, he stopped not too far away from the shouting and peeked over a large rock. As he looked he saw several humans who had apparently captured a Kig-yar, and across from them was a group of Kig-yar. They had apparently called some sort of cease fire from the looks of it but some of the humans were being pretty hostile, especially to their prisoner.

As he peered over the boulder he had forgotten about his human prisoner who had been walking in a circle tugging at the leash that connected to its wrists, as it paced impatiently it stepped on dry stick that cracked causing Garatus to snarl as he whipped his head around, he cursed under his breath knowing the humans probably heard him.

[MrKill]

Colonel Johnathan B'Sheau Killinger
UNSCS Down and Dirty
Paris Class Heavy Frigate

*One hour previous to the last post*

"Quite a day, Colonel." Someone said.

Killinger rolled over and sighed. The 'do not disturb' sign was clearly forgotten - until he realized who was standing in the door frame to his cot the Marine Senior Officer was resting in. He had been given a small room meant for communications. It was a cubicle with a terminal along the wall, enough for John to get some rest.. Technically John has the same rank as a Navy Captain but the Lieutenant Commander had the authority since he was the commanding officer of the frigate and in a completely different chain of command.

"Lieutenant Commander," John replied. There was no purpose to be informal. Despite not having the same chain of command - Killinger was a higher rank than the Navy Officer, but the point was mutual for obvious reasons. "And yes, it's been one heck of a day."

The man nodded. "Just wanted to see how you're doing. We're heading back to the fleet now and we should be there soon, so rest up and get ready to be redeployed in a pelican. We'll insert you as soon as we exit slip-space. Less then a day to go, maybe a couple of hours."

"Better start resting then," Killinger joked. "Shoo... shoo."

The memories were still fresh in his mind. He was pulled back and redeployed onto a planet under siege just to be redeployed again to the planet we was pulled back from. Situational irony could not describe it more. He left one planet just to show up on it again.

He'd have to talk to Colonel Jason Brody when the Down and Dirty exited slip-space. The man was, logically, at the Marine Forward Operating base - if it was still standing.

Sergeant Terrance Pain
Near the crashed pelican
Confused...

*Present time*

"Yeah," The Sergeant replied coldly, unaware that he was talking to a superior officer as he walked past the older man. He was also completely oblivious to the Jackal that the Lieutenant had caught. He approached a Marine who looked familiar to McAllister.

He approached the marine and spun him around, but it wasn't McAllister. On the Sergeants half broken hud he could read "--ARD", but the rest of the name was cut off. The Sergeant looked the man over and shook his head. "Sorry," He said, before walking off to the right towards the line of standing soldiers.

None of them looked like McAllister, though.

One of them, a Marine laying on the ground with a MA5C by their side, was McAllister.

And she was dead.

The Sergeant dropped to his knees, wiped some blood away from his forehead and turned aggressively so he could lay on his back. He shook his head again, thinking that his entire squad had been killed off in the crash. His selective thought patterns were dangerous, however, as he was still completely unaware of the Covenant's presence - and his side-arm was still produced.

But the heat...

Yes, the heat.

It had become hotter here, quite a lot hotter in fact. The Flames were closer and it was getting harder too see.

"McAllister!" Pain called out... Where is she? He thought.

And he completely forgot that the marine laying next to him was, in fact, McAllister - KIA.

[Arbiter124]

Private Hunter Knight
Rising from the flames... Sorta.

"Move to the Pelican crash site!" James ordered the Fireteam. Hunter nodded, and kicked into action. He lazy vaulted over a fallen tree trunk and towards the fire, the only way to get to the crash site.

Hunter raced through the brush, sinder falling and staining his armor, his skin boiling from the heatwaves coming from the raging inferno surrounding him. He caught a glimpse of Andre, moving fast despite the LMG in his large hands. Hunter tried to veer off and join him friend, but a small line of fire made the Private's fear take over, and he stayed on the path that he was on. He kept running through the firey brush, the whizz of bullets in his ears and the almost mystical sight of plasma still racing through the air like some sort of magical bolts from a video game.

"Shit... Shit... Shit..." Hunter snarled to himself as the flames started growing higher and higher around him, coming closer, becoming more threatening. Orange tendrils reached out towards his arms and his legs, in what seemed like an attempt to grab him and pull him into the hellish fire.

He stepped on something metal.

The object that he kicked against was heavy enough that he flew forward, and smashed his chest onto the ground, in a safe patch of brush untouched by the fire, but still soon to be engulfed. Suddenly, he started coughing. It was uncontrollable, and he instantly knew that the smoke was the doer of this. Hunter rolled onto his back, and opened one of his pockets on his BDU. He ripped out a piece of cloth, and opened another pocket, bringing out a bottle of water. Twisting the cap off and tossing it into the dirt, Hunter poured water onto the cloth and pressed it against his nose and mouth. It acted as a weak defense, but it would help for the time being.

Hunter sat straight up, and saw the dark blue tint in the brush, at the edge of the flame. The urge for excitement and the lure of curiosity won the young Marine's attention, and he crawled over, grabbing the object.

He pulled it up, heavy, but doable. He stood on one knee and examined his finding.

Sharks used these. Plasma Rifles? Yes, Plasma Rifles. He'd already lost his Assault Rifle, so this would have to do. Hunter aimed the thing, and couldn't find a trigger. He'd have to check it out later, as right now he needed to catch up to his fireteam. Hunter stood straight up and charged back into the clear spots of the forest fire.

He made it to the crash site to see a crushed pelican under a tree, his fireteam, some others, and...

The Asian.

The cause of the fire.

Suddenly, Hunter felt something he doesn't feel often. Anger. Blood ran through his body, boiling under his pale skin. The Private grew a twisted snarl on his face, and he walked towards the Marine.

"You little bitch!" Hunter yelled towards the Asian, pointing his finger. James turned to him, a look of surprise on his face.

"Hunter!" The Corporal scolded as if he was Hunter's parents.

"He's fucking insane, James!" Hunter turned to his leader, putting his arm down. "This dude is the reason the fire happened! He almost killed me, you, and a lot of other people!" Hunter shot a look of hatred towards the Asian.

"I wouldn't be surprised if this wasn't the first time the lunatic has pulled a stunt like this."

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Prisoner Bargaining chip
Praying to the Gods that this works without anyone else opening fire.

Bep smiled when initially neither side opening fire. This may actually work without any of the helpful humans or my comrades dying. He never would have guessed that humans we're this open to speaking, it started to open his mind to what the humans we're really like. But unfortunately this epiphany was shacked right out of his head as The Determined One smacked him to the ground with a good loud crack.

Groaning quietly as he twitched on the ground Bep could now only hear muffled shouting from both sides as his head spun and his hearing rung. Gunfire started and quickly stopped, Bep hoping that it didn't mean that his fellows had been quickly executed while trying to be peaceful. Holding the back of his head with one arm he slowly pushed himself up and tried to look around through hazy vision at what was happening.

He could still see his fellow Kig-Yar, and the leader of the file seemed to be trying to make peace and a deal with the humans. He admired his bravery...and slightly craziness to try and rescue one of his own. Rubbing his eyes as the other Kig-yar got closer he stayed on his knees as he was still a bit worse for wear - though he could at least hear again as his fellow asked him for advice as it looked like he was either turning himself in or trying to bargain for his life.

He tried to respond to his fellows question but stopped when he probed his tongue around and spit out a tooth that The Determined one had knocked out for him before shaking his head and trying again. "We are both at their mercy, but the old one is rational and helped me. He will likely let us live...thank you Brother." He added at the end as he looked to the Helpful human and hoped that this gesture of peace would allow everyone to keep living.

Glancing to the side as even more humans showed up Bep gulped. The humans could now easily overpower the Kig-yar and kill or capture all of them. Not only that but one of these new humans was really loud and making lots of big gestures. He edged a little away from this shouting man that seemed to be in cahoots with The Determined One with how much they were apparently talked as he moved closer to the Nice one, looking back at him now with worry and fear instead of hope. One word from the humans and he and all his comrades would be executed either on the spot or tortured later.

But his hearing and eyesight we're both still a bit foggy; so he didn't hear the twig snap or see Mr. Pain - two outliers that could really mess up this exchange.

[Deleted]

The last hour hadn't been kind to the Marines that called themselves Oscar Company. The Covenant had inflicted massive casualties upon the unit; there were so many wounded that all the company's corpsmen had been recalled to the rear of the offensive line where a casualty collection point (CCP) had been erected. Medical supplies were running low and only being used on the most severe cases in an effort to keep them alive. The lack of air superiority meant that medical evacuation of the casualties wasn't possible unless via land, which took an ungodly amount of time for the transports to reach them.

A grim realization had been made: most of the severe cases wouldn't make it.

So the corpsmen tried to make their passing a painless experience.

In Sergeant Stone's neck of the woods, the situation wasn't much better. First fire team had left roughly an hour ago in response to a distress call from a Pelican drop-ship that had gone down in the woods. They weren't answering his repeated hails over the radio, which worried him. The many plumes of black and white smoke billowing from the woods did little to settled his nerves.

To make matters worse, shortly before Ward's team had left, third fire team had been completely wiped out by Covenant air support. That left only himself and the four exhausted and battered members of second fire team out of the total of twelve (not including himself) Marines he'd started with.

Luckily the Covenant air units had been dealt shortly after Ward and his team had gone into the woods. Fourth platoon, which served as Oscar Company's weapons platoon, had sent their rocket jockeys up the line to dispatch the Covenant air. In less than five minutes the Banshees that had been harassing them were reduced to smoldering piles of scrap metal. It'd been the first bit of good news since the new battalion XO had taken over calling the shots and orchestrated this accursed plan of splitting the Marine forces up.

However, despite how terribly the situation had deteroriated for O-Company's Marines, it seemed that the rest of the UNSC forces hadn't shared in their crummy luck. Roughly fifteen minutes ago the Covenant had done something that Thomas rarely ever saw; they retreated. After managing to push the embattled Marines of the company back a fair ways they suddenly just disengaged and ran off in the direction of their crashed Corvette. The feeling of relief that washed over the grizzled sergeant had been a very welcome one. The respite granted to them by the Covenant allowed the company to lick its wounds and report in to the Forward Operating Base.

So far word hadn't come in yet on what Command intended to do with the unit. To say Oscar Company remained to be a combat effective unit would be entirely a false statement. Second platoon alone had been reduced to two squads of varying numbers and if they were to be ordered to push the advantage, would need to be reconsolidated in order to be even minimally combat effective.

Right now Stone sat on the ground with his back against a fairly large rock, his trademark MA5B assault rifle propped up against it beside him. His helmet was between his legs and the uniform underneath his armor was drenched in sweat. He probably smelled like someone who hadn't showered for a week and felt like he'd just run a Marathon. Clenched in his right hand was a canteen filled with lukewarm water, of which he'd been sipping on for the past ten minutes.

Off to the left about a dozen meters or so was second fire team, led by Corporal Washington. He'd ordered them to remain on flank security for the company in case the Covenant decided to come back and attempt to finish the job they'd started. The makeshift CP that had been erected nearby was abuzz with activity. The company commander and executive officer had gathered the platoon leaders and their sergeants to discuss the unit's course of action.

Best thing ta do is ta pull us back ta the FOB 'n use us as base security while our wounded are tended ta, Stone mused. He wiped a bead of sweat away and took a particularly large gulp of the water in the canteen. While the sergeant was curious about what the CO and Command intended to do with the unit, the majority of his thoughts and worries were pooled towards Two-One Alpha. He hated not knowing what was going on around him and he was worried about the safety and well-being of Ward and his men. Why weren't they answering his hails? Had their equipment been damaged? Were they within range of a Covenant jammer? Were they dead?

These were the questions that plagued his tired mind.

The blur of motion caught in his peripheral attracted his attention. He craned his head in the direction of the movement and was met with the visage of Second Lieutenant Durant, second platoon's commanding officer. Too exhausted to stand up unless he absolutely had to, Stone remained seated. The veteran officer's expression was that of concern.

"How'd the meetin' with the head honchos go, sir?" he inquired, staring up at the man.

The lieutenant shrugged. This caused Stone to arch his brow on obvious confusion. "We've received word that Troop 'Hogs converted into ambulances are on their way to take some of our wounded personnel off of us. Reports have come in saying the Covenant retreated all the way back to their ship and have reconsolidated their defenses there. Covenant reinforcements have apparently arrived and are being engaged by the Fleet, and Jackal pirates have shown up."

Stone chuckled, which elicited a worried stare from his commander. "So the same 'old shit as usual, huh?" the aging NCO said with a hint of some optimism in his voice.

"Something like that," Durant replied, and then added to Stone's dismay, "Any word from Alpha?"

Stone heaved a heavy sigh and shook his head. He ran a hand through his short cropped hair and turned his eyes to the canteen in his hand. He took another swig of the warm, clear liquid and then twisted the cap back on it and stowed it in the pouch attached to his utility belt. "Ain't heard nothin' fer the past hour now. Ward's startin' ta worry me, I'll tell ya that right now. If he's out there 'n alive, I'mma kick his ass fer not answerin' the damned radio."

"And if he's not?" Durant asked, his tone grim.

Stone paused, caught off guard by the question. It took him a long moment to contemplate it and his answer. In the end, he said, "Then I wanna be the one ta tell his folks. I know his pappy well."

Durant nodded. In that instant his demeanor changed and he even managed a smile. "The Gods'll look over him. Oden has his back."

While Stone didn't share the lieutenant's beliefs, he appreciated the sentiment and his attempt at cheering him up. He thanked the lieutenant and then stood up, groaning slightly as his legs creaked and popped. "I'm gonna walk the perimeter, sir. Raise me on the comms if ya need me."

With that, Stone retrieved his rifle and marched off. He stopped only briefly to get a report from second fire team, and then carried on to walk along the perimeter.

[MrKill]

Colonel Johnathon B'Sheau Killinger
Pelican Gamma Four-One
En-Route to surface

"Gamma Four-One to Down and Dirty[/color] hanger control," The pilot began. Killinger was linked into the channel, hoping to hear the destination of the pelican. He had been loaded up inside the troop deployment pod with a full platoon that would serve as reinforcements to the teams on the field that were getting weak and if need be - a personal platoon for Killinger. "We are ready for dust-off with VFR, hanger control."

"Visual Flight Rules confirmed, Gamma Four-One. Hanger Bay One-One right is available for your departure. Head one hundred meters relative heading zero-one-one away from Down and Dirty before proceeded to the planet to avoid potential detection from the ensuing Naval Battle, how copy?" The controller replied. Killinger was startled. A Naval Battle?

When he arrived there was only UNSC ships in the system! Damn it... He needed a briefing.

"Copy that, control. Departing heading zero-one-one. Closing primary hanger door, depressurizing..." The pilot said. The UNSC worked in a different way than the Covenant. Killinger had seen Seraphs fly out of the shields before, but the UNSC didn't have that luxury. An aircraft had to cycle from the hanger bay, into a hanger stall and finally into the vacuum of space. The only aircraft that got lucky were the LongSwords, who had a huge landing bay ready for them within the superstructure of a vessel. Their hanger bays opened and they flew out. They didn't have to cycle like pelicans did. "Opened secondary hanger door, throttle open and we're gone, heading one-zero-zero away from the Down and Dirty[/b]'s set indicators."

"Copy that, Gamma Four-One. Enjoy your flight and god-speed!" The controller said before the radio channel snapped shut.

And Killinger was back on his way down to a planet that previously saw him deployed on. He was still kinda confused about that, trying to figure out why the UNSC needed to pull Killinger back just to deploy him on another planet... Just to transfer him to another ship and deploy on the same planet for the second time.

The first few minutes of the flight were soft and smooth, but as soon as they reached the planets atmosphere it started to get shaky - more so than last first time Killinger was deployed onto the pelican. A private started chirping and swearing over the clattering of loose ammunition create in the webbing above their heads. Killinger rolled his eyes, tad annoyed and a tad frustrated that the platoon of Marines rushed their job. Of those creates came free that was twenty pounds of ammunition flinging around the troop bay - and it could become fatal.

He hoped for the best during the decent.

"Colonel, you might want to take a look at this." The pilot said and the canopy opened a few moments after that, almost like an invitation. If Killinger didn't get the hint he would have needed running lights and someone flagging his movements to indicate that there was somewhere he needed to go. Killinger stood carefully, wobbling like a penguin, though much faster then their slow pace, through the heavy turbulence towards the canopy - grabbing the mesh above his head while other Marines remained quite expect for the one yapping private.

"Shut up!" Someone said, and the troop bays talkative atmosphere died. These Marines weren't ready for what was coming to them. They were trying to focus on something that, in Killinger's opinion, couldn't be focused on until you hit the battlefield. Enjoy the ride if you could, if this was enjoyable to anyone.

By the time Killinger saw what the pilot was referencing it was almost too late. Smoke had nearly reached their pelicans noise. They were hanging over it like a piece of paper in the wind floating above trees, or a butterfly suspended over a rose with a light breeze. It wasn't beautiful, not at all, but it was cool to see. The smoke created loopholes as the pelican's co-pilot snapped a picture with his tactical pad.

The pilot engaged his flight mode and the pelican arrow'd through the smoke like a bullet streaking towards it's target through rain. Killinger glanced back towards the troop bays extended deployment pod and glanced out the small window on the closed ramp. The swirling smoke was, again, cool for once. A moment of blue sky followed by grey/black smoke followed by a moment of blue sky.

Though Killinger had to wonder what he was missing. If a fire had started he could only assume something was burning, and that something was usually UNSC vehicles. He wasn't surprised that a fire had been burning but he could only imaging the heat. He'd have to order troops away before the heat fried them. A forest fires heat, internally, could raise to above lethal levels.

"Sir, we've got movement on the sensors. A pelican is broadcasting a beacon. Pelican 'Oblivion One-One' has crashed and there are apparent survivors aboard. It appears five minutes have survived the impact. Orders?" The Pilot asked. It was a VFR flight - meaning the pilot could technically land, gather the survivors and head to the FOB. It was a good idea, actually.

"Create an opening, Captain, and get us down there. We'll initiate search and rescue, bring the wounded aboard and return to the FOB. Call down a naval surgical team - we'll probably need them on the surface if the fleet is engaged." Killinger responded.

The Captain jumped to his tasks, ordered his co-pilot to make the calls and proceeded towards the pelican. Killinger returned to the troop bay.

"Okay, Marines. Change of plans. We aren't reinforcing the Marines just yet. We've got a downed bird and about five moving survivors on the sensors. We're going to land, pick up the survivors and casualties and then return to the FOB where you'll prepare to redeploy." Killinger said, sliding his BR55HB off his back. He slowly pulled the bolt back to check if his weapon was loaded - it wasn't. He pulled the charging handle all the way back and was satisfied to see a round had slid into a firing position.

A few minutes later he could feel the pelican decelerate and start to hover. A few moments later, sure enough, the troop bay ramp lowered. After that the infamous call from the pilot shouted out, "Hit it, Marines!". Killinger was the first boot on the ground, again, as he landed through the smoke on what appeared to be the right side of the crash if it was pointing north. A fire-team of Marines landed next to him and the pelican cut a little bit of power - using the smoke from the burning nearby fires to conceal its-self.

The Colonel stepped towards the pelican, examining the tree that had fallen on the mid-section of the bird. The smell of leaking fuel raised his attention. The pelican would literally explode if a spark had landed, in this heat, by the proximity. He waived two Marines to the left and right as they fanned out but what concerned him the most was the lack of visibility. The Colonel could only see past, and slightly at that, the fallen tree.

"We've got standing survivors here!" A marine heading towards the left shouted, moving in to check the mans vitals.

[BasedGoody]

Barry Barrington

Barry unhooked a pouch from his BDUs and pulled out a white and red pack. He sliced it open with his knife and pulled out a long cylinder. White and orange. He pulled down his balaclava down to his neck and stuffed it into his mouth before fishing around again in the pocket. Nothing. It was empty. Panic swept across Barry's face as he patted down his body.

"DAMN! All of this USELESS AMMO and I don't have a God-Damn lighter!" He grumbled. Suddenly one landed in his lap.

Harry coughed as he replied.

"I don't know why you'd need the thing. It's a gajillion degrees out here."

Barry narrowed his eyebrows before putting the cigarette away. Bad idea anyways, just something to distract him. Suddenly a loud voice piped up.

"YOU LITTLE BITCH." 

Barry flinched and spun around to see a marine with some sort of teenager 'come at me bro' look flaring his arms to his side with his chest puffed out. He jumped up and walked over to watch the ensuing one-sided battle. Before he could though, he heard the other pelican.

"Whu-?" He mumbled as dirt kicked up into his face.

[Ward, J.]

Ward raised his weapon an inch higher when one of the Jackals that had appeared hopped out of cover after tossing his rifle. He wasn't exactly sure what the alien was up to, but if it had any hostile intent, he would make sure it didn't succeed in its plans. With a quick glance to his team and some swift motioning with his hands, he ordered his team to be ready and scan the surrounding area for signs of trouble. The other Jackals weren't in sight, and something told him he was standing in the middle of a kill zone.

Not exactly a welcomed feeling, all things considered.

Without warning and to his utter surprise, Ward felt hands on his shoulder, and in the blink of an eye he was spun around. His eyes fell upon a badly injured sergeant, the IFF tag on his HUD identifying him as "PAIN". Ironic considering the state of the man standing before him. The sergeant muttered an apology and walked away from him. Concerned, he took a step forward and said, "You okay, man?"

Jon watched as the sergeant knelt down by a corpse and then laid down beside him, shouting something that was incomprehensible to the young corporal. Ward slung his rifle and dashed over to Allens, ripping the medkit from off his person, and then made a beeline for the wounded NCO.

He knelt down beside him and set the medkit down. He undid the snaps and opened it up, readying it for use. The sergeant looked to be in bad shape, likely a result from the Pelican's crash. "Sergeant, can you hear me?" Ward asked, his voice laced with concern.

The corporal retrieved a small flashlight from the kit and clicked it on. He then proceeded to shine it in Pain's eyes, though angled slightly downward as to not blind him entirely. "If you can hear me, follow the li-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the roar of a Pelican's engines met his ears. Jon dropped the flashlight and stood up, looking up towards the sky in hopes of catching sight of the vehicle.

No dice. The smoke that hollowed into the air was far too thick to make a visual of anything. However, a few moments later a pair of Marines appeared as if out of no where, and they turned around and shouted back to somewhere. The feeling that welled up inside Ward was of both excitement and relief. Finally someone had come to rescue them.

"Sir! Friendlies," Ward shouted excitedly. "It's a rescue team!"

[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]

Keeping a close watch on the Jackal that approached them with a plasma blade at the ready, Mark kept his guard up. Even with the heat along with the exhaustion he'd felt since his rough landing, Spade had been a toughened marine taught to kill or be killed and more importantly to think on his feet. Sweat dripped from his brow stinging his eyes, but he remained firm next to his Jackal friend. The notion that had surprised him had been the Jackal had offered the plasma blade, the cutlass if his eyes hadn't played tricks on him since he'd never been one for the more refined art of fencing although if he recalled the bit on pirates in his own world's history the blade sort of looked like and the fact the avian-like alien had offered without any strings attached had been something he hadn't expected. The gesture had been the universal one for a trade, a bartering of sorts between the two groups. Big Bird's cousin thinks this is a trade? It seems not all of the Covenant species want us dead, though if I find feathers in my next MRE I'm going hunting. He knew the boys at R&D would have a field day with a plasma sword, since they'd never been able to make the things work long enough to make a difference and that there had been few specimens left intact following an engagement. While the prospect of taking a Covenant prisoner back to the UNSC base for proper intelligence gathering had been an objective for any marine, the fact he might be able to take back an intact plasma blade had been a gem that overruled that.

"Thank your cousin for his offer, and it's accepted with open arms. I'll let you go back to cousin now,..." he began doing his best at the alien's language when the snapping of a branch caught his attention. His ears honed in on it even above the din of the fire, and he'd gripped the MA5C with his good hand and fervently hoped the Jackals understood it hadn't been about them. "Eyes open," he shouted in English to the rest of the Marines before turning his attention back to Big Bird. "Did your cousin bring anyone else with him? Aside from whomever he has in the trees?" he attempted to convey in the alien's language. Closing his eyes briefly to clear them of the sweat from his brow and to clear his frequently swimming vision, he noticed with an increasing concern he'd barely been able to make out the basic lines in his HUD. A series of new IFF tags winked into existence on his HUD, and at least one he'd recognized as his Company Commander Major...no, Colonel Killinger. When had he been promoted, he thought, but figured he'd save that question for later after they had managed to make it to the Battalion HQ or aboard a waiting ship. "Glad you could make it to the party, Sir. Do mind the heat, and I think there's someone else in the trees that these local boys didn't bring to party. Hold your fire, Sir. I'm not sure I believe it, but the Jackals are willing for a trade, but keep your finger near the trigger. I do think something else has become curious about this little party," he shouted in English. Feeling a bit of bile or whatever else had been in his stomach working its way northward from his stomach hadn't been exactly a feeling the old Marine had expected, and though he tried to keep it in had to lean to his left side to hurl.

[MrKill]

Colonel Killinger
Pelican Crash Site
Finally...

The Colonel lowered his weapon and allowed the BR55HB to dangle, from the sling it was attached to, off his chest as he moved quickly towards his old friend, Lieutenant Sorelson. The man had radio'd him but all Killinger received was static until "Hold your fire, sir. I'm not sure I believe it, but the Jackals are willin-" cut through the radio channel. The Lieutenant's radio had to have been damaged, so he would investigate what was happened.

He rounded the nose of the pelican and entered a visual range. His HUD flashed two new IFF tags. A Corporal Ward and a Sergeant Pain. Ward shouted something but the sound of the pelican drowned the Corporal's comment out, at least for the Colonel. He was probably calling out the Marines arriving so it was logical to assume that was happening.

He approached the younger marine and crouched with him. "Corporal. The pelican is back that-a-way about fifty meters. Get this man on the pelican," The Colonel said. His HUD was displaying the medical condition of the Sergeant and it wasn't good. He streamed the same information to the Corporal so he could see what was wrong. He Sergeant had four broken ribs, a cracked skull and various smaller injuries.

The Colonel nodded, shook the Corporal's shoulder. "Good job, Corporal." With that he was off, heading towards the Lieutenant. It was clear by the time he got there that something was going on. The Lieutenant had a Jackal near him and for a moment on his approach angle it looked like Sorelson had the Jackal pinned, but it wasn't the case.

Another Jackal was also approaching.

"What the hell is going on, Lieutenant?" Killinger asked when he noticed the approaching bird holding a weapon. Killinger instinctively produced the powerful M6D Magnum. The sidearm alone could kill an Elite with a single magazine or less and in the hands of a Marksmen, like Killingers, it would a five round kill on an elite with the blue armor.

He approached cautiously. He signed for the four other marines to circle the area and see if they could find more. Where there is one there is usually another, and from that other is another. He put two plus two together, fortunately. A Jackal was approaching the Lieutenant slowly, as if a non-hostile intent, but it was still dangerous.

Killinger had been briefed. He knew the 'Kig-Yar' weren't always working for the Covenant. About a year ago a Frigate commander successfully traded with a 'Kig-Yar' Captain who was not a member of the Covenant, so it was possible these Jackals were a part of what ever that group of Jackals came from. The idea stuck in Killinger's mind but he continued to watch the two Jackals. Two plus two equaled, in this case... trade.

Killinger shook his head. He had a job to do, but if there was a trade then he needed to see what it was. He was an honorable Marine. If they followed through with the trade then so would he, though he'd remain couscous of the item in particular. Killinger was momentarily distracted by the fire now climbing across the tree that had fallen on the pelican.

"Hurry up," Killinger said, producing a cigar from one of his chest pouches. He walked over to the fallen tree and located a smaller flame. The intense of the heat was drying out his eyes quicker than he could brink for more moisture. He put his cigar on the smaller flame and waited until it caught, which was only a few seconds. With his Sweet Williams cigar lit he returned to the Lieutenant, blinking hard but slow to try to moisturize his eyes a little.

But he had a cigar now.

[Ward, J.]

It seemed that life still had a few surprises in store for the Corporal. After having a Jackal surrender and then another Jackal, most likely the leader of the fire team that had shown up, handing a Covenant weapon over to Lieutenant Sorelson, he had began to think there was nothing that could surprise him anymore. Hell, even the sight of a rescue team hadn't been so much a surprise as a relief to him. They would finally be getting away from the blazing forest fire that had apparently been birthed by PFC Cuu.

However, when his eyes fell upon an older Marine, outfitted in full battle rattle, that his HUD identified as "KLGR," and showed that he was a full-bird Colonel... well, that took him by surprise. Though, it was a very welcome surprise.

The Colonel stopped beside him and Ward straightened up a bit. He felt somewhat nervous since it wasn't every day a corporal stood in the presence of a colonel. Especially one that approached said corporal and stood beside him. Colonel Killinger ordered him to take the wounded Sergeant Pain to the drop-ship that was waiting for them. He forwarded a list of everything that was apparently ailing the NCO on the ground before him.

It wasn't very optimistic. Though, corpsmen had fixed people up in worse condition than Pain.

He then placed a hand on his shoulder and shook it, congratulating him on a job well done. That's gonna go to my ego, Ward thought with a grin. He gave the Colonel a curt nod and replied, "Aye, sir. And thank you."

With that he glanced to see if there was a Marine nearby that could help him. The person closest was the Marine who had shown a great deal of hostility to Private First Class Cuu. IFF pegged him as "KNIT". Jon made a judgment call, deciding it was probably best to keep him and Cuu separated for the time being. "Private... Knight, get over here and help me with hauling this guy to the evac bird."

Ward knelt down beside Pain again and placed the flashlight back into the medkit, before attaching the side of his thigh armor view the magnets. He then attempted to communicate with Pain in hopes he was coherent enough to understand what was being told to him. "Sergeant, evac bird's here. Myself and the private are gonna carry you to the Pelican. You'll be back at the FOB in no time and the Doc's will get you fixed up in a jiffy."

As Jon prepared to lift the sergeant onto his feet and take him to the Pelican, a single thought lingered on his mind. I sure hope there's a corpsman aboard that Pelican.

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Prisoner
Back to being terrified as the Humans seem to come out of the woodwork.


Watching the Helpful Human carefully as his fellows tried to bargain for his life Bep was reminded of the old stories he had been told back on the asteroid. How old Kig-yar clans would trade valuables for slaves or warriors to strengthen their own forces or for important members back. He was surprised that a sword was being offered, he hadn't the slightest idea of what the humans would want with a weapon like that when they had guns or their own knives to work with. He had never seen a human carrying a energy cutlass around before...it was all very odd. But the Helpful Human seemed to really like the sword, or at least his expression showed it. So it looked like he was going to be released and not killed by the humans. Letting out a breath he smiled a little, not being killed by the humans would be a nice change...now he just had to think of out to avoid Ado back at base so he wouldn't be killed there - if he made it back.

But his smile was quickly dashed from his face as a pelican flew overhead and started to descend. More humans meant more chances he would be shot before the helpful human was able to stop them. Once the vehicle landed he watched, frozen in fear, as several fully healed and very armed humans jogged out of it and approached them. He looked back at the jackal in front of him and got a bit lower to the ground.

"Tell your Lance to flee or get into the open! The humans won't like finding them armed and hidden...We are surrounded now..."

Soon the humans had caught up with the wounded group and Bep made sure his hands were able to be seen in front of him and he stayed on his knees as the apparently leader walked forward and started talking with the Helpful Human. They seemed to know each other, which was good, meant that the Helpful one could hopefully try and convince his friend to not shoot them. But when the new Tall Human saw his fellow with the sword he quickly pulled out his pistol and shouting at some of the other humans to move in. Gulping again Bep tried to keep his breathing under control but it was easily apparent that he was scared.

All these new guns around, and he feared for his comrade and his lance too. He had come to try and save his life and may now get killed for their choice...

[iamsteelius]

Kig-Yar Minor Nak

Approaching the pelican, realizing things are going sour fast

    Nak was thankful that they seemed to realize that this wasn't an attack. He stood there with the cutlass outstretched, hoping they were going to take the offer. Unfortunately, another human drop ship showed up, bearing more humans. Nak worried that these humans wouldn't be as sensible as the others. Nak remained calm and held his ground, hoping nobody had to die, namely him. He then saw the calmer human begin to attempt to speak in the Kig-Yar language to the obviously dazed sniper. Had the situation not been dire, Nak would've laughed. It sounded so odd to hear a human make such noises. That thought left as a new human pointed a large pistol at him. Nak understood the words "Thank" and "cousin". Nak was impressed by the human's ability to learn, even if it didn't make sense.

    Thankfully, the sniper began to speak. "Tell your Lance to flee or get into the open! The humans won't like finding them armed and hidden...We are surrounded now..." Nak nodded and slowly called out to his file. "Everybody come out, we're surrounded." With grunts and curses the rest of his file came out of cover, keeping hold of their weapons, staying about ten meters behind Nak. As they gathered, Nak looked at the human then covered the barrel of is gun, showing there was no violent intentions. Nak was right there, the target of every human gun in the vicinity, and he stood proud, knowing this might be the last thing he every does.

    At that point Nak heard a snap in the trees to his side. Nak turned, worried everything was going to fall apart then and there. Possibilities raced through the Kig-Yar's mind. A human sniper? A Sangheili? A massive killer insect? An overzealous Unggoy? Nak's panicked mind thought, any of those can get my entire file killed. Nak shook his head, trying to calm himself. There was only one thing he could do. There was only one person who could see through the thick underbrush. Nak knew this could get them all killed, but he had to find out. Nak gulped, turned and then called to Zax.

    "Zax, I need you to come out here with your shield off." called Nak. Zak promptly yelled, "Are you sure that's a good idea." Nak drew a breath then squawked a string of obscenities at Zax. Zax promptly darted at Nak keeping low to the ground. When he reached Nak, Zax threw his arms in the air. Nak shook his head. "Put your arms down, NOW!" whispered Nak, angrily. Zax obeyed, but kept looking at the humans. Nak comforted him, saying, "They haven't shot at us yet, so calm down. Now, I heard a noise over in those trees. Look and tell me if you see something." Zax nodded and looked in the trees.

    Nak began scanning the humans seeing any signs of threat. The sniper was hurt, but the humans seemed to have patched him up well. Nak saw how divided the group was and then felt a little sorry for them. Besides the new batch of humans, so many people were injured or dead. Those were probably their friends. Nak then gave a small chuckle, realizing his was risking everything for a stranger. Nak then strengthened his resolve.

    He saw that the man smoking the cigar was a little to calm, maybe arrogant. He was either dumb, or extremely experienced. Nak stopped and thought about his file. when Zax piped up, saying, "Nak, I see something. But I'm telling you right now, nobody's going to like this." Nak growled quietly to Zax, "And what's that supposed to mean?" Zax looked at Nak, wide eyed and slightly shaking. "It's a Jiralhanae Chieftan, and he doesn't look happy about the situation." Nak looked at the sniper, who most likely heard, and said, "I hope you have something, because I'm out of ideas. Or at least good ones."

[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]

"Easy," Mark said reaching over to rest his hand on the Jackal's shoulder to calm his nerves or try to in the Jackal's own language. "They're not going to open fire, but they're not letting their guards down,"

“What the hell is going on, Lieutenant?” he heard Colonel Killinger ask on approaching the group.

“It’s a trade, Sir. We patched up one of their own that had been injured from crash of Oblivion One-One, and the one we’ve called Big Bird has helped in carrying some of the wounded and supplies from the crash-site. These birds in front of us are his cousins, and I don’t believe they mean us harm,” Mark explained, his voice growing hoarse by the minute. “We tried to get as many of the marines from the wreck before it blew,”

“Hurry up,” Colonel Killinger said again, after lighting one of those Sweet Williams Cigars of his. Mark had only been able to assume his old friend had lit using one of the flames rather than his own lighter, and it even reinforced why he hadn’t picked up the habit. Though, to be fair, even if he picked it up after this operation it wouldn’t have done anything to his voice. He had to have been the only marine, at least among those from his graduating Platoon from Basic whom hadn’t given into a vice such as smoking the Sweet Williams Cigars or in finding a permanently reserved stool at the Officer’s Club, and that hadn’t bothered him the slightest. If he’d started a vice, he’d never had heard the end of it from his wife Alyssa or his mother or both.

Stepping closer to Big Bird’s cousin holding the offered plasma blade, Mark let Big Bird whom he’d come to know as a friend despite the language barrier loose to rejoin his cousins. The family relations of Jackals hadn’t been something he’d wanted to dwell on, since if anything the closest he’d come to avian-species even back on Earth before the War had been eggs for breakfast.

“Let your cousin know he’s a good man,…bird…make it a compliment,” he said, attempting to convey it in Big Bird’s own language. “I hope you don’t think I’m rude, but I don’t even know your name. You can call me Spade,” As he reached out slowly to take hold of the plasma blade, a gesture he viewed as respecting the young Jackal while returning Big Bird back to his own people.

[Arbiter124]

Private Hunter Knight

Thoroughly Confused

Hunter was just staring at the Lieutenant, every now and then shooting a glance at Cuu to make sure he wasn't going anywhere. The Private was still trying to understand the situation. What this a hostage situation? This was war! Why didn't they just shoot the Scrawnies! What do the scrawnies have that they needed? At the arrival of the Colonel, Hunter stiffened and gave a salute, which was followed by his still dumbfounded look. Hunter saw another younger looking soldier, and walked over, nudging him with his free hand, the other gripping the plasma rifle that he still had no idea how it worked.

"Yo, name's Private Hunter Knight." Hunter introduced himself, giving a welcoming smile, which turned into a look of curiosity. He pointed at the Lieutenant, and then cocked his head at the group of the Scrawnies, looking back at the soldier.

"Mind explaining what's going on, dude?" Hunter asked the other Marine.

Drake A124
Moving to Engage

Drake trotted through the forest with ease, gliding passed trees and vaulted over large roots with ease, such grace that would have rivaled the Jackal troops and their agility. The SPARTAN-III had his shotgun off of safety and ready to fire at any ambushers.

After a pack of Drones and giant monster Tigers, Drake was really ready for anything.

The group was heading to the crashed pelican siting, hopefully to save some Marines. Hopefully. Something told Drake that such a crash, along with the amount of Covenant in the area, meant that any survivors were just sitting ducks waiting to get picked off by some Hungry Brutes or Jackals.

Suddenly, Drake's HUD flashed on the Colonel's waypoint, showing Killinger's location to be at the crash site. That made Drake slow down into a jog, bringing up his hand to signify the rest of RAPTOR to do the same.

If the Colonel was present at the Crash site, a fair amount of soldiers were likely accompanying him, which meant RAPTOR's presence was not needed there. Drake slowed to a stop, and spun on his heel to face Luke and Gary.

"Alright, change of plans. The Crash Site is already occupied by enough Marines to recover any stragglers. We move to the Covenant Lines. Let's get a move on, RAPTOR." Drake ordered at his two subordinates, brushing passed Gary and leaping over a root, heading over to where the Marines core soldiers were assaulting the Corvette.

It didn't take long to reach the fire. 

The habitat changed from a thick and hot forest to absolute hell as the team entered the blazing heat of the forest fire. The SPARTAN rushed passed turned over Warthogs, dead troopers, and stragglers who were moving up to the lines. Soon, Drake reached Marines who were behind cover, firing at the faint sightings of Covenant. Emerald Green plasma and diamonds of white plasma flew through the air, splattering on trees and burning through leaves.

Drake landed in cover behind a large tree trunk safe from the fire for the time being, and blind fired with his tactical shotgun, pulling the trigger once, pulling back the pump, and firing again. The SPARTAN-III didn't see where it hit, and he started stuffing more shells in the feed.

"RAPTOR! Light em' up!" Drake snarled, firing more shots with his weapon blindly.

Skirmisher Commando Rex
Recovering

Rex's eyes fluttered open.

He saw blurry images of Rol and Tek, Loh was also seated in a chair on the opposite side of the room. He was laying down, he knew that much. Rex groaned and tried to sit up, but the stinging pain was too much. He growled, and Tek forced him back into what was a sad excuse for a bed. His head turned over to look at the floor, and he saw his Commando-Class helmet there, laying at the side of his bed with his chestplate and neckplate. He looked down to see that he was shirtless, only strings of cloth wrapping around his ribs, where blood was stained.

What had happened.

Rex growled wildly, and tried to sit back up, ignoring the burning pain in his ribs. Tek tried to force him back down, but Rex would have none of it. He thrashed out, and Rol stepped in, the two struggling to keep Rex from falling into a rage. They each took one of Rex's wiry arms and forced it down, pinning the Commando on the bed. The Skirmisher still thrashed wildly.

"Who did this to me!?!" He hissed towards Rol. 

"We... We don't know. We found you like this, bleeding out in the Jungle far earlier." Rol tried to explain to the raging Commando.

"I am going to kill them!" Rex roared, but calming down slightly.

Loh stepped in, "Rex, you're in no position to fight. You have a fractured rib, and you've been bleeding way too much. You're lucky to even be alive. You would have bled out if a scouting lance hadn't found you. Thank god they were Kig-Yar too, or who knows what would have happened."

Rex shook off Tek and pulled away from Rol, falling off of the bed and onto his knees.

"I will fight."

"Rex..."

"I will fight." Rex snarled, reaching over to grab his Commando gear.

He would never find who was responsible. But he would kill as many Nishum as possible.

[BetaWülf]

Jiralhanae Captain Garatus

As he Crouched behind the boulder a Pelican arrived and he thoroughly regretted stopping to check the noises from earlier that turned out to be the Kig-yar. He peered out once again noticing a higher ranking human, a Colonel he believed. He also noticed that a Kig-yar had apparently become aware of his position, staring wide-eyed at the Captain. Garatus wasn't sure what to do exactly, a human Colonel would be a priority if seen on the open battlefield, but this was different.

Knowing he was going to probably going to get himself and the Kig-yar captives killed he sighed briefly before looking at his human prisoner and shrugging when it stared at him.

[Jakob]

Private First Class Cuu Wen

Cuu hoped he hit one of the fethers, hoped more that everyone else shot too and killed their captive. The new kid even looked ready to shoot when the lieutenant screamed in that voice of his not to, annoying bugger. A Jackal popped out with a sword and Cuu squeezed the trigger when his senses told him to stop, the lieutenant immediately walking into his view. One of these days he was going to squeeze anyway... regardless, the Jackal flipped his sword over and offered it to the lieutenant.

"What." He said when he saw the display. He glanced over and saw some zombie... no, just a sergeant, stumble over and grab Ward's back.

"What." He said again, preparing to shift his aim over to the dying man.

"You little bitch!" Cuu looked over to see the private from before come storming over like a prissy shit. Cuu was fairly sure he could snap him in two.

"What." Then there was a rumbling and a Pelican began to descend, a colonel came strolling out into the inferno, all cigars and arrogance.

"What." Then the Jackals began to leave the trees, and when Cuu adjusted his aim again, he saw something else in the bush.

"Wha- Fething Brute! I knew this was a fething trap!" He quickly raised his rifle and fired his second trigger, aiming a launched grenade at the brute hiding in the bushes.

[Soulstep]

2nd Lt. Geoff Alexander Blake Mkvenner
Tornado-Four-Actual
Aboard Pelicans Venom Five and Venom Six

The two Pelicans crested the rise, coming into view of the increasingly crowded crash site of Oblivion One-One. The pair banked right, lowering in altitude as they cruised down to the rather odd LZ. 

"This is Tornado-Four-Actual to, uhh, nearby UNSC ground forces, Tornado Four inbound. What's going on down there?" Geoff reported and asked over the COM, exiting the Pelican's cockpit to rejoin the first half of his platoon in the troop bay. Sgt. Becker was present here with Third squad and half of First Squad. The rest were on the other Pelican, accompanying Second squad. It had made more sense to split the platoon evenly between the two dropships than leave one with a smaller contingent.

"Uhh, LT, we got Jackals down there. Don't look hostile, sir." The pilot reported, prompting Geoff to quickly return to the cockpit, leaning over the co-pilots chair. Sure enough, there were the avian aliens Geoff had seen several times in training. Supposedly more mercenary than other Covenant races, but still, the only thing the Covenant had ever done for him was glass his planet, so he was suspicious to say the least. "Alright, take us down, but keep an eye out in case we need to bug out." He ordered, then headed back through the door. "Okay, unless the situation changes, don't shoot any Covenant down there unless they make a move." He broadcast to the platoon. He didn't need to be telepathic to know Alvarez had just said something unpleasant about him over on the other Pelican.

Seconds later, the two Pelicans touched down, all three squads of Tornado-Four disembarking, some Marines sweeping for contacts, others aiming at the possibly rogue Jackals. Geoff moved towards the already-present Marines, very quickly recognising his direct CO, First Lieutenant Sorelson. It didn't take much longer to notice the Colonel as well. "Sir!" He barked, managing (just) to check the motion that screamed at him to salute. But he was in a combat zone, so the regulations clearly said to not do so for the obvious reason that it draws attention.

"If I may, sirs, what is going o-" Geoff began, but was promptly cut off by a PFC screaming about a Brute and launching a frag. Geoff, following training, dropped down to one knee and brought his Battle Rifle up to a firing stance.

[iamsteelius]

Kig-Yar Minor Nak
In front of the cluster of marines, content nobody died yet

    
    When Zax told Nak it was a Jiralhanae, Nak immediately thought it was over. Now that Zax informed him that he seemed passive, Nak realized that the situation was in Nak's hands. He was glad that finally, after all the tension, they were getting the prisoner and not dying.While this should have been in perplexing, Nak finally understood. Everybody was in the exact same predicament, where nobody felt like killing each other. Except the angry one sulking in the back. Or plotting, it was one of the two. Nak ignored it and grabbed hold of his fellow Kig-Yar, in a hopefully reassuring manner. Everything was finally going well. Until the angry one pointed his gun at the Chieftain.

    Nak reacted before thinking. He threw himself towards the gun, attempting to get under it. His shoulder bashed against the bottom of the gun as it fired, forcing it to point up. Nak was expecting primitive bullets, so the recoil of the launched grenade knocked him down. As soon as his back hit the ground, he began to think. Nak not only angereed the already bloodthirsty human, he also got in the firing line of so many other weapons. He got as small as he could. Nak then tried to order his file to lower their weapons, but had the air knocked out of him. Thankfully, their weapons were already down. 

    At the same time, Top was thinking when Nak was not. He grabbed the sniper and pulled him back, out of arms range of the humans. Top then dropped his weapon, ordering the others to do the same. Only when on the floor, curled in fetal position, did Nak realize this. He thought, Top seems like a good leader. Hopefully they'll survive under his command once the humans splatter me across the floor. With so many humans and his seemingly hostile reaction, the mission was probably a lost cause. Nak lay there waiting for an assured death, while his file stood back, hoping the mission wouldn't end in a slaughter.

[BetaWülf]

Jiralhanae Captain Garatus

When He heard the human yell he looked to see a grenade whizzing in his general direction. He leapt to right as far as he could narrowly escaping the explosion, he pulled his combat knife out as a plan came to mind involving his linguistic skills.
"Stop!" he yelled over the bushes in as close to the Human tongue as he could. "Tr.. trade, Trade Kig-yar fe.. for human" he said, he then stepped out of the bushes with his knife against his Human prisoners throat, he was crouching kind of so they couldn't shoot him without killing or at least injuring his Marine captive.
"Lat, let Kig-yar go an.. and I wont kill Human. Trade, we trade pe... people" he said hoping they wouldn't shoot, he planned to trick them anyways.

[Jakob]

Private First Class Cuu Wen

Cuu smiled as some other rifles cracked in response, everyone getting on the ground at the sound of battle. The brute stumbled out of the burning trees, saying something in guttural human, Cuu heard the words trade and for human.

The burst of the rifle kicked into his shoulder, Cuu not hesitating to fire. The bullets were in the air and slamming into the brute and his cover before Cuu had a chance to follow his senses.

"Oh feth me." He said when he realized what he just shot, in addition to the Brute.

[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]

When did we get to Wonderland? Mark thought, seeing for his own eyes a Brute Chieftain step out of the jungle taking cover behind a human on a leash of all things with a pretty jagged looking knife pressed against his throat. The notion of a Brute stepping out behind a human hadn’t been the surprising factor, but that the hirsute alien had deigned to speak in the human language and for a trade of all things. The abrupt staccato of semi-automatic to automatic weapons fire brought him to his senses, but had ruined the tricky negotiation that had apparently evolved from the act of helping an injured Jackal. Seeing as how his left arm had been covering his sore ribs, he’d gripped the trigger and guard of the MA5C with his right hand bring the barrel to bear. The situation had indeed spiraled out of control, but rather than his own safety he’d been more concerned about Big Bird’s safety, his cousins and those of the men under him including those brought by Colonel Killinger. Knowing the Brutes rarely traveled alone, the aging Lieutenant had to assume the worst.

Catching sight of the marine that had been in front of the brute being the victim of friendly fire, Spade knew he’d reprimand Cuu for opening fire on another marine rather than trying to wait for an opening for a clear shot of the Brute. There’d be time enough to teach the young Private the finer points of keeping friendly fire to a minimum and in keeping body bags to a minimum, but for the time being he realized the Brute had to be taken down even if meant his own life.

Ducking to the side to protect both Big Bird and his companions, Mark rolled or tried to roll out of the way of the Brute’s line of fire or worse that hammer most of them tended to travel with. The bruised ribs cried out in protest forcing him to wince, as he came out of the roll on his feet. Taking the hand off the bullpup designed MA5C, he’d search for a grenade only to realize like a bonehead he’d allowed most of Fragmentation grenades to roll out of his pack while flying over the Covenant trenches. He’d almost been discouraged when he remembered the four grenades he’d clipped to his belt in mid-flight in hopes of dropping them on unsuspecting Covenant troops. Reaching down to his belt to find the four grenades had remained clipped in place, Mark removed one and pulled the ring before drawing the arm to the side. Taking sight of the hirsute Brute, a Chieftain capable of decimating the entire lot that had come in response to Oblivion-One-One’s aid, the Lieutenant cast the arm to the side with the grenade in hand and while slowly backing up slipped on something…perhaps moss or a rock or even one of the Jackals. Lobbing the grenade more out of surprise than anything, the grenade sailed from his hand and happened to arc at least a hundred feet past the Brute before exploding harmlessly. He’d landed on his backside, and quickly rolled to the side after feeling a root had been digging into his back.

[Faclan]

Bep, Jackal Prisoner shaped bag of worry
Now believes the entire human force has showed up in this little clearing just to slowly torture them - once they reduce the brute to mush with limitless bullet holes.

So dead...we are all so dead.

Not only did even more humans now show up to the area, with more of their flying craft, but more and more humans just kept piling out of them to surrounded Bep and the other jackal lance. And just to put the sweetness in the melon a Jiralhanae showed up and tried to reason with all the humans. Or that's what it looked like at least since Bep couldn't understand the human language he was trying to spew at the numerous humans that were surrounding them.

The leader of the other lance through tried to make a move when The Determined One opened fire. This shocked Bep for a few reasons; Nak was trying to stop him from firing and for the Jiralhanae not to be slain, and the determined one freely fired right toward his own species. He though it was just aliens he hated...But those was quandaries for another time.

He reached out to try and pull his Kig-Yar savior back, but one of his lance pulled him back first. Wriggling free of the one who pulled him back he lunged for the Lance leader and grabbed his upper right arm, trying to drag him away from the murderous Determined One. Unfortunately this put him right in the way of The Helpful Human and he tripped over Beps legs as he was helped to drag Nak back to the rest of his lance. He glanced to the side as he watched the grenade fly way over the brute. Squawking out a quickly apology to the human as he kept pulling Nak until he was with the rest of his lance in the middle of all the humans.

Noting that all the other Kig-Yar had unarmed themselves he quickly took out his nearly depleted pistol and grenade and put them in the pile of covenant weaponry. With that done he quickly sat down with the other Kig-yar in the circle of humans and tried not to pass out from the panic...It didn't work too well and so he took out his bandana from his belt and wrung it in his hands slowly to try and calm his nerves.

Either the Jiralhanae would be killed or run, and then he and the other Kig-yar would be at the mercy of all these humans, and he doubted even the Helpful Human could help them there.

"I....I'm sorry I got you into this brothers..." He whispered quietly to Nek and his lance as he sat with them, right in the middle of the ring of marines with guns.

[iamsteelius]

Kig-Yar Minor Nak
Crouched in a circle of humans, happy to leave things to the Jirilhanae

    As Nak scrambled back to his file thanks to Bep, he considered exactly what was going on. The humans know knew 99% that the Kig-Yar were Covenant, the humans had so many more guns, the Chieftain offered the human for trade, the angry one didn't mind shooting humans, Nak and Bep were even in Nak's eyes and there was probably going to be no more intervention. Bap looked to him and whispered, "I....I'm sorry I got you into this brothers..." Nak shook his head. "Today, I blame the pilots. The ones that crashed," Nak motioned to the downed human drop ship and then the Phantom, "and the ones that didn't. Also, you saved my life there. I thank you."

    Nak then looked towards the seemingly agitated humans and the determined Chieftain. Nak called out to the Chieftain, "Trust the older human and keep watch on the angrier one. I believe the humans don't want further deaths, so they will reason. Whatever happens, I'm glad you arrived." Nak wasn't lying about the last part. Even if the negotiation went smoothly, there wasn't a possible way they could get to the Corvette unscathed. So the Jirilhanae was a blessing and a curse. Nak wished things would stop getting more complicated.

    Nak looked at Bep and his file. Nak quietly stated, "If anything were to go wrong and there was a way out, we need to be ready. Maj, I want you to lead with Zax right behind you. Top and Bep, follow five meters behind them. Cad, you take the back. I'll stay here and make sure you aren't followed. No, I'm not going to sacrifice myself. I'll just stay behind, put them behind cover and lead them the wrong way. Hopefully we can meet back near the crash." Top looked at Nak and said, "I'll stay behind with you." Nak shook his head. "You reacted a lot faster than me so you need to be with them when it goes down." Top grumbled but nodded. Nak then looked each Kig-Yar in the eye, knowing that today, if anyone survived, they'd be ready for pretty much anything.