M5: Rumble in the Jungle

[Huka]

Field Master Til Ra'ha Je'at 'Muramai

His remaining eye scanned at those presence; Sorsa and his Syalekgolo, the Arbiter, the huragok that seemed to be apart of the engineering creche and Ra'ah's lance. "Brothers, we have lost a fine warrior...and many others today. Right now, getting off this planet is our main concern." He said, looking at them to make sure they understood, "The humans are just a nuisance as usual. They stand in the way of our objective and they will be swept aside like small insects towards a undeserving meal. We will make sure that they do no reach our communications array or the Imperial Admiral and we will exterminate all stand in our way of salvation." 

Prompting the human skull into his bare hand, he displayed the gruesome trophy. While another would be sick at the sight, Til felt it was a natural as holding a cup, the blood and juices leaked between his talons as they curled and started to sink in the bone.  "All who stand in our way; Human, Imps, and their infernal Demons! We will aid our brothers and make sure our duty is complete with blood and merit as compliments and if the Demons appear before us again, this time, they will face the wrath of reticent fervor!" 

 Then he crushed the insignificant trophy in his hand, splattering bone and brain matter everywhere. "Are we clear, Brothers?" he asked, rubbing his claws together.

***

Fleet Security Commando Officer 'Kasamee, Assigned Overseer of the Communications Array

 Officer 'Kasamee looked in the general direction of the humans' assault. Damn, they are almost done. He thought in his head as his finger twitched at the trigger of his carbine. The afternoon sun glazed over his dark crimson armor and his helmed face scanned to his fellows, just then a Special Operative materialized infront of him. If he was a less experienced soldier, he might of struck the soldier in the face but he was completely calm. "The array is complete, sir." He said with a gruff voice. "Excellent, tell the Huragok to begin the signal." The officer ordered. 

 The Operator clicked his mandibles, "Already done, sir." The two looked at the sizable spire that matched a little over half of the tallest tree in the territory, the surrounding trees around the device were cut down by plasma and hard workers enough to make a signal up to the void of space. 

 "May the Gods give us salvation." The officer said and the Special Operator nodded in agreement while the workers cheered as the spire pulsed its signal.

[Ultra Quor]

Sangheili Ultra Quor 'Natrunai

Covenant Baricade

There was still the inconsistent pattern of gunfire exchanged from both sides, sporadic action was going to be as quiet as it would get even if the aggression had momentarily died down. Taking advantage of the lull, Quor and the warriors under him traversed the twisted alloy to move closer to the front lines, a venture that would have been difficult only moments before. A small cracking noise in the distance followed shortly thereafter by a small burst of projectiles. They grazed over the shields covering his left shoulder, the shields reverberating and flickering before settling to a normal state, the humans could take their pot shots, it would serve no use to them in this moment. Navigating the wreckage and the makeshift barricades, Quor set down in one of the makeshift trenches, ever so kindly dug out by a large shard of the downed corvette. Xsa set up to his right, scouting the clearing created by the crash landing, watching for enemy movement to relay back to his superior, he immediately took note of the sound and trail signature of the human's mechanical long-range precision weapons fire.

"We know ourselves to be the superior force, why must we wait and let those vermin dictate to us the flow of the battle.." Xsa spat, unamused as he continued his survey.

"I understand your frustration, brother, but in our current situation we must hold fast.. we are not in position to strike at this time, so for now we wait for them to come close, they shall not break our line." Quor returned to his Major Domo, he was new to personally being on the defensive against the human forces, but the predicament called for patience, the humans may lack superior firearms and technology, but primitive firepower is still firepower all the same, and the humans had many a sight on their location.

"Between them and us stands an effective dead zone, until we have contact with our reinforcements, we have to assume that they are trying to do the same as we formulate our defense, only from the sound of it.. they will have the advantage in that regard for the time being. Over pursuit of your honor at this very moment will only grant you a premature journey to the gods with no tactical benefit whatsoever. I would much rather find my honorable end, should it come to it, having dragged down many with me." Major 'Yahmee quickly followed with his diagnosis of his fellow Major's overzealous aspirations and intent.

Whatever was going to happen was going to happen soon, Quor had never found the humans to be overly patient, even in retreat. Quor readied his Plasma Repeaters to an all too familiar sound.

"The humans are beginning to re-engage."

Quor looks over his shoulder, peeking over the short wall of displaced soil and splintered trees. The sound of combustion enginery roared to life in the distance as he could make out the progression of the armed vehicular motorcade cavalry in its fast paced approach. The combined creche prepared for the assault as the sound of yelling and jeering vermin drew ever nearer. Nishum were always persistent, annoyingly so. Like insects, crush ten, and soon you would be dealing with hundreds should they be left unattended. Even in great numbers, the Ultra was not about to be part of a force responsible for failure in holding the defense against the rag dolls and their outdated toys.

"HOLD UNTIL THEY ARE WITHIN YOUR THREAT RANGE AND THEN OPEN FIRE, AIM STRAIGHT AND TRUE, LEAVE NO ADVANCING NISHUM STANDING. IF THEY STAND, CONTINUE TO RAIN FIRE UNTIL ALL THAT STANDS IS THE SMELL OF CAUTERIZED FLESH. BURN THEM DOWN UNTIL THE FLORA TAKES ON THEIR SCENT FOR AN ETERNITY... PRAY THAT YOU DON'T MISS BROTHERS, BECAUSE IF YOU DO... I WON'T!"

The imposing Sangheili boomed to his creche, they would fight the honorable fight and stop the advance in its tracks or face an enraged creche leader in failing to do so. Any human foolish enough to charge the barricade would have their very existence erased from the history of the suns and skies.

Unggoy mounted whatever vacant mounted guns were left, Carbines were at the ready, the occasional Concussion rifle littering the formation along the scrap, the Qikost weapon had proven effective at slowing the four wheeled advance in the past, Sangheili technology was always a cut-above. The Arbiter and General Ekdo were dead, and while Quor would shed not a tear for the former or his relative in the Field Master due to their 'Muram blood, he would see to the highest amount of kills possible to avenge their deaths.

(I made this last post under the assumption that there has not yet been a followup relay as to the status of the Arbiter)

[Arbiter124]

Tibur 'Muramai

Holy Arbiter

Moving to Kill

Tibur nodded to his Cousin. He likely wouldn't have accepted that speech coming from anyone but Til. He didn't feel the need for motivation, as his honor powers his every need. Regardless, the Arbiter gave what looked like the Sangheili equavilent to a smile, and started to back away from the two Field Masters.

"Spread out. Our skills will be needed across a wide array of the Jungle. I'll meet up with you later, Zealots." Tibur spoke, turning and trotting off into the woods. He began a full fledged sprint through the woods, searching for anything and anyone that may need assistance. 

He heard the turning of wheels.

A human transport, not far off at all. A grim smirk was pasted on the Storm's face.

Perfect.

The Arbiter crouched low in the brush, seeing the headlights not so far off. The warthog was barreling through the terrain, obviously moving to Covenant lines. Tibur gave a low huff coming from the empty space between his mandibles, and activated the Blade of the Storm. The red energy flashed on, and the Arbiter lunged out from his space. The Driver screamed veering to the right in order to avoid a swing from the bright red sword. Unfortunately for the Human scum, trees were very common on the planet, and the jeep slammed into a trunk, coming to a stop. The Machine Gun attached to the back of the transport pivoted around to face Tibur, and unloaded the deadly bullets. Tibur made no sound, rather lunging in a roll to land in the cover of a fallen tree. Bullets slammed into the wood of the Arbiter's cover, sending chips flying in all directions. Armed with just a sword, Tibur activated his weak active camouflage system, hopping over the trunk. The Marine still fired upon the trunk still, thinking that the Sangheili was still there. Tibur moved in a slow trot, coming right up to the turret. 

He activated his sword. The Marine looked at the flash of red energy, in confusion, and then in a sick realization. The rest of Tibur uncloaked, and he swung his sword. It boiled through both the turret and the knees of the Marine, sending both of weapon and the screaming human toppling to the forest floor. Tibur paid no attention as he looked towards the Marine who hopped out of the passenger, aiming his pistol. He fired three shots, all of which bounced off of the Arbiter's powerful armor. Tibur lunged at him, grabbing him by the neck and slamming the human into a tree. The Nishum buckled awkwardly and twisted to get out of Tibur's grasp. A wave of enjoyment came over him at the Human's struggle. 

He heard a gun cock behind him.


Tibur instantly threw the human his was pinning to the tree behind him, letting the piece of shit slam into the driver like a ragdoll, both of them flopping to the ground. Tibur twisted around to face them, and moved faster than he had ever before, stabbing his red tinted blade into the Driver. He lifted the human into the air, watching with sadistic delight as the human's body boiled through the blade on its own, eventually falling to the ground in a heap of burning flesh and skin. The Arbiter laughed, and felt a prescence behind him. He turned quickly, swinging his fist and making contact with the other human, breaking its spinal cord and skull with ease. The thing toppled to the ground, also dead. Tibur laughed sickly, but was cut short of it when he heard a groaning noise. He turned around, to see the legless human trying to crawl away on his stomach. Tibur laughed, waltzing up to the human, de activating his Energy Sword. He used his clawed boot to turn the human onto his back, who looked at Tibur with fear that made the Arbiter's bliss increase.

"What... What are you?" The Human questioned. Tibur let a laugh escape his mandibles, before he shot down to face the Human, his one fiery eye staring into this Human's hazel colored eyes. He stared at the human, letting rasped, low huffs come from his throat. Then, quickly and without warning, he let out a toothy roar, sounding more like some sort of Alpha Predator than a civilized being. The roar was inhuman, and barely sounded like a Sangheili. Primal is really the only word to describe Tibur's voice at the moment. 

The human screamed back, his in fear. Tibur let his roar draw out for several more seconds, before standing up and lifting up his metal boot, slamming his massive clawed foot on the Human's face, the wounded Nishum's head splattering all over the forest floor as if Tibur just stepped on some juicy fruit.

***

S-III Drake A124

RAPTOR-001

Meeting up with A319

Drake nodded to his ally, turning walking up to the Petty Officer. He looked over Gary's armor, to see for any wounds. After a quick run down, he came to the conclusion that both Super Soldiers were fit for battle. Drake turned to begin walking to the Covenant lines, when he heard a flap of wings. It was faint, but it was there. The SPARTAN twirled around quickly, raising his shotgun with one hand and firing one spread fire burst, the bullets splattered in the leaves above him and near the trunks, shattering branches as well. He looked up into the leaves, to see anything. Nothing at first, but then... Green blood dripped from the leaves. Drake let his shotgun hang at his torso, unsheathing his machete and readying his M7 SMG. He took one more step.

A Drone, clad in its signature forest camo'd green shell, charged from the leaves, coming straight at Drake. Another came from the brush, flying towards Gary. Drake charged, using a rock as a stepping stone to jump up, swinging his machete in a stabbing motion. The blade came in contact with the Drone's stomach, latching onto the bugger. Drake hung in the air as the Drone flapped its wings frantically flying randomly in air, clawing at Drake's SPI armor. The SPARTAN held on tight as the Drone flew through the leaves, both soldiers snapping branches easily as they went. Drake saw the glimpse of another Bugger pouncing at him. He aimed his SMG desperately, firing a large portion of the clip into it. The Drone made a screeching sound, and dropped down to the jungle floor below, in a bloody heap.

"Gary! Take out that other Drone!" A124 Snarled as loudly as he could, still gripping his machete in air with the Bugger. Finally, RAPTOR-001 twisted his blade, messing with the internal organs of the Covenant Soldier. It screeched in a clicking sound, and began to spin in air, dropping to the ground. Drake put both feet on the Drone's chest, and pulled his blade, sloppily tearing it from the torso of his foe. He flew to the ground, falling into the leaves below. The Drone spun wildly, smacked into a tree with a snapping sound coming from its back, and plopped to the ground, limp. 

Drake stumbled to his feet.

[BasedGoody]

Japkip
Unggoy Major

"Here is my story!" Japkip proclaimed loudly to the other Unggoy, seemingly away from real combat. They watched with gleaming beady eyes, seeming to be desperate with all the knowledge that Japkip holds in his tale. 

"On this ship," The Major said, motioning towards the wreckage, "I played a pivotal role in the removing of the fleshy walkers." A Minor clapped playfully. "Me and my file were a brave bunch, a great group, a triumphant team, a... You get it. Anyways, I was the Major, and I led two strong Minors who would do anything for us, and an Ultra who guided my life from the start. You see, I wasn't really accepted as a part of my file until Styub swooped in and saved my life. It was a stormy day in a large swampy-like area and many lots of enemies. A bunch of fleshies tried to kill me! Luckily Styub went in and took a bullet headed for my face. He survived too! How spectccu-culr is that?"

A minor gasped in awe. 

"Yes it's true! Now we get back to the ship. On the ship we were being led into battle with some of the Mcaleckeleggos. They were big and strong. But I don't think they liked us that much. OH! I almost forgot about the General! The General was my best friend and we liked a lot of the same things. He was in battle with us and he killed many humans. I killed like, um, well that's not important. The important thing is that we were going to take the bridge! It was going to be really tough work. The General sent us in with the Mcgeckoleggos to clear out the humans in the hallways because he knew that we were that strong. I'm happy he believed in us, but unfortunately we hit some trouble too."

The Ultra, Yeggup, went from standing up and crossing his arms to sitting down, struck in awe at the story.

"What kind of trouble?" He asked.

"I'm geeeetting there!" Japkip whined. "Anyways, we saw some humans, and the Mcleggos killed them. But then some got away and brought in even MORE humans! There were a lot. We tried to defend a room but we thought we were going to die.`That's when my friend, a minor, Yidded, was shot and killed in the line of duty. He tried to cover us, but instead was piledrived with bullets and regret. We had little time to mourn over his loss, as The General came in to save us! I knew he would come back for us. He brought many friends too. We destroyed the humans and pushed on to the bridge. Now I had this nifty Plasma Rifle, but I lost it when the ship, like, died. Continuing, We moved on to the bridge and started killing things. Unfortunately the General left. He must have had more important things to do."

"That's when we decided," Japkip continued, "To run away and find the General. We left our friends in combat and started moving down the halls. We met a Sanjelly, a blue one, who helped us against a team of humans. After that we pushed on through the ship, only to find about a billion fleshies! They murdered our friend Sanjelly, and we were pinned. Me, Styub and Wabip knew this was it. Then Styub, my best friend in the world, suicide charged to give us time to escape. I will never forget him for his bravery. Wabip and I moved on through the halls to find yet another group of Covenant! This time they were led by a bright red Major."

"Wow!" The Major of the file said.

"I know. Moving on, we and our newfound friends got into a fight with some humans. It seemed we were winning  so me and Wab didn't really worry. That's when the worst thing ever happened. A human grenade came sailing through the air and right towards me. Wabip refused to let that happen, and dove on the grenade. It saved my life, but ended my last friend's. The Major and I continued on, and eventually I went my separate way to get back to the hanger, because I heard we were leaving. Anyways, when I got there, I noticed a two Sanjellies. One was the General! I rejoiced, but not before noticing the other. He seemed angry, and cut off the General's arm. Sadness overwhelmed me and I started to run to his aid."

"Uh oh." A Minor whispered.

"I ran close, but before I could, my only friend left put a Needle Rifle in his mouth and killed himself. I yelled out and ran to his body. There another General came and told me to leave. I said okay, but not before stealthily taking my friends energy sword. Now I have it right here." japkip pulled out the silver object while the Unggoy gathered around.

"That's my story." Japkip said, "I'm all out of friends."

Gary A319
Jungle

Gary yelped as the drone tackled him to the ground, and they wrestled each other until Gary was on top. He pulled out his magnum and put it up to it's face, but not before another bugger pounced on him, knocking him to the ground. The SPARTAN fired randomly with his magnum, catching one in the leg. It dropped to the ground and prepared to lift off again. Oh no you don't. Gary thought, and leapt onto it. He grabbed a wing and pulled with all his might, ripping it off. The second drone attempted to charge in.

Gary pulled out his combat knife and turned to the second drone. They came at each other in a head on collision, ending with the drone twitching on the ground, a knife in it's head. The SPARTAN spun around and found his Assault Rifle. He dove for it and spun around to find the drone with only one wing making a sad attempt to fly. Gary lifted up his gun to his shoulder and sprayed at the bugger, sending it limp in seconds.

"I got it Drake. You good?" The SPARTAN asked, spinning to his comrade. Suddenly a large weight hit him in the back and he was sent to the ground. Gary twisted to see the face of a drone ripping at his armor. He extended his fist and punched the bugger in the face, sending it flying off. It began to retreat into the woods, but a few bursts from Gary's AR sent it to the ground once again. 

"Jesus." He muttered, and turned to Drake again.

[Arbiter124]

Tibur 'Muramai

Holy Arbiter

Moving to Kill

The Arbiter sprinted through the trees, with an Energy to kill that rivaled or even beat the Female Skirmisher's aggressive nature. Although, as Arbiter, Tibur generally had a more aggressive nature than anyone in the Covenant, even those loud and obnoxious Jiralhanae.

The Arbiter leaped over branches and logs with ease using his massive amounts of strength. Sword still drawn, Tibur cut through vegetation in his way with ease and with grace, despite his large size and blood staining his armor. At least it was Human blood, and not his own. Tibur ran through the brush to a clearing, to see a group of Unggoy sitting down, talking with each other. One Unggoy Major seemed to be telling them a story, or ranting on about something at the least. Tibur looked at them, and then snarled loudly, roaring at the Unggoy in his animal like voice.

"GET UP AND GET IN THE FIGHT, CANON FODDER!"

A volley of bullets whizzed by Tibur, forcing the Arbiter to crouch down, and roll into cover behind a large boulder. He searched on the ground for a weapon, and when he realized that the Unggoy were the only ones armed, he grunted in aggrevation. The Grunts seemed to be frozen in fear. Tibur snarled at them.

"SHOOT BACK, FOOLS!" He snarled, poking his head out to see the issue. 

By the gods.

A Lance of Imps. Five Grunts and the Arbiter versus a dozen imps. Tibur grumbled to himself. 

He flashed on his bright red Energy Sword.

This should get interesting.

[BasedGoody]

Japkip
Unggoy Major

Japkip yelped and dove behind cover, he didn't have a weapon. The other Unggoy seemed to be nervously firing at random while Japkip sat back looking around for some sort of Plasma Pistol.

"Oh no no no..." He whined and spun around to see a mass of humans charging in. The Unggoy jumped out of cover to look for a weapon. He searched behind crates and in wreckage but nothing came into view. All he had was the energy sword.

Maybe...

"Ha! No." He thought, and continued to look around while bullets whizzed around him.

[Deleted]

Ultra Yrai 'Vedolmee
Barricade
Unknown Planet

Yrai continued to fire, his aim unwavering as he spat superheated gas at the unfortunate soldiers below. He was a shining figure in the whirlwind of blood and death enveloping the Corvette. Everything seemed to be going to plan - the Sect had responded well to the shift in power, and none of the lines had been broken so far. They were a well oiled machine, dedicated to protecting their Zealots, their leaders. 

[yellow] "Do not relent! Destroy the human scum!" [/yellow] Yrai roared, his rifle continuing to sear the flesh of the hesitant. It was looking up.

[Arbiter124]

Tibur 'Muramai

Holy Arbiter

Fighting off the Imps

A furious Tibur sat behind his boulder, the Imp's deadly bullets chipping off of his stone piece of cover. Although their weapons were very primitive and overly complicated, even Tibur admitted that they were very deadly, and he would prefer not to get hit by one of those shots. The Arbiter activated his camouflage, looking towards his four fingered hands as Tibur's claws seemingly melded with the ground, spreading like a sickness all over his body. His camo gauge was very short when compared to the Special Operations Elites, so Tibur had to move with speed and purpose. He counted to three and rolled out from the rock, keeping low to the ground to avoid the bullet volleys but still moving into the brush. Once he hit the dense Jungle, he realized the situation. The Imps were right at the brink of the forest, only feet away from Tibur. 

He gave a grin of delight.

The Arbiter flashed on his bright red energy sword, in which and ODST only a yard away from his yelped at the sight, turning to face his soon to be killer. Tibur gave a dark, sadistic laugh, and brought his massive leg up, pushing outwards with it and making direct contact with the Imp's chest. The series of cracks that followed were beautiful to the Arbiter's ears, and the Imp flew backward, rolling and sinking into the brush, out of sight on the forest floor. Tibur laughed, and turned to see an ODST wielding a machete right next to him, swinging it. Tibur was only quick enough to bring one metal gauntlet up, but his powerful armor was still enough to parry the Blade. The Nishum stumbled back, and looked up to see the 'Blade of the Storm' boil through his chest, cutting him into two uneven pieces that crumpled to the ground in a burning heap of flesh. 

The Arbiter pivoted around, and ran towards two more ODST's, who turned and aimed their guns towards him.

"FOR THE PROPHETS!" 

[Spartan 999]

Field Master Sorsa Ra'ha Je'at 'Xirsasai
In the forest with Til 'Muramai

Sorsa eyed Tibur as he moved off to wreak havoc against the humans once more. He was somewhat grateful the Arbiter was still alive, as it would boost morale, not to mention the benefit of having another warrior who could potentially match a Demon in single combat would give them a large boost to their defensive abilities wherever he went.

The Zealot turned to face Til, at the same time bringing up a holographic map of the area on his forearm mini-computer.

"There appears to be a decently sized human convoy nearby with a lance lead by Major Domo Ziin Shal'toree flanking it." He informed his half-brother. "Shall we provide...assistance...for them?" Sorsa inquired with an eager tone.




Petty Officer Second Class Luke-A191
In an SOEIV en route to the rest of Raptor's location

Petty Officer Second Class Luke-A191 gripped the arms of his somewhat cramped seat inside the HEV as it shook violently. He'd been late going to the launch bay, but it wasn't entirely his own fault.

Damn freak electrical fire. The SPARTAN-III thought morosely. As he neared within TEAMCOM range, he switched it on to try and contact the two members of Raptor already on the ground.

"Raptor One and Two, this is Raptor Three. I'll be landing approximately half a kilometer from your current position shortly."

Luke inhaled deeply, then exhaled. Almost fourteen seconds later, the pod crashed through a weak spot in the canopy and slammed into the ground. The hatch blew open automatically. The practically invisible Luke sat there for a few moments with his M7S, scanning the immediate environment outside to ensure there were no enemies. When he was satisfied, he magnetized the SMG to his thigh and stepped out of the HEV. He grabbed his sniper rifle and chambered a round, then set off towards his team's waypoints.

[BasedGoody]

Gary - A319
Jungle Floor

"Raptor One and Two, this is Raptor Three. I'll be landing approximately half a kilometer from your current position shortly." Gary listened to the words of another Raptor and smiled. The drones had cleared the area, and only the bloody carcasses were left. He hopped over to one bugger whose neck made a strange gurgling sound to pull out his combat knife, which complied with a strong yanking and another spurt of blood. He slipped it into its holster on his shin. Gary grabbed his Assault Rifle and dropped the magazine. He pulled out a second one and notched it into position before cocking back the handle.

His Magnum had enough ammo in it for the clip to stay in, so he just kept that on his thigh holster. He clipped the Assault Rifle on his back onto his back and adjusted it so the handle would be within quick reach. His HUD licked onto Luke's waypoint and he turned to Raptor 1.

"Drake, our buddy Luke is here. Let's meet up with him before moving on, eh?" Gary said, and without waiting for a response started towards the Third Raptor.

Japkip
Unggoy Major

A Needler! Ha! Japkip thought gleefully, picking up the Covenant SMG. It fit into his hands and he remembered the feel of the handle. The Major spun around towards his enemies, only to see the Arbiter slicing one in half. Japkip's beady eyes widened, before getting back to combat. He fired a burst of Needles at the Imps, which were simply ignored and dodged. One of the humans locked eyes with the Unggoy, and he gulped. The Imp aimed a Battle Rifle and fired. Japkip dropped behind cover as the shots ripped through the air above him.

A second volley chipped the crate he hid behind and bounced off into the air. The Unggoy lifted his hand above the crate and fired another burst of Needles. His head peeked up to see them all lodged in a tree his nemesis hid behind.

"Help!" He yelled as three more shots bounced off of his cover. I'm so dead...

[Arbiter124]

Drake A124

Raptor 001

En Route to Luke's Location

Drake looked at his new partner walking off, and a wave of disrespect filled his body. With one swift movement, the SPARTAN-III lunged at Gary, brought his leg in front of the SPARTAN-III, and pressed his hand against Raptor 002's back. Pushing forward, he forced the SPARTAN to the ground. Before Gary could recover from the ambush, Drake's boot came in contact with his ribcage, with enough force to knock the SPARTAN onto his back, facing Drake. Raptor 001 then placed his boot on Gary's chest, pinning him, and leveling his Shotgun with Gary's face.

"Listen close, Gary. I know you're new to this whole 'Not the only badass' anymore, but you need to realize that you do not call the shots. I was assigned to Raptor as our leader, and I will be as such. Don't you ever cross me like that again. It will make things a lot less smooth between us." Drake ordered, stepping off the SPARTAN-III and keeping on the move to Raptor 003's location.

Tibur 'Muramai
Holy Arbiter
Killing the Imps

Tibur ducked low, forcing his body under the large brush as the Squad's lightmachine gunner sprayed at him with his huge weapon, the bullets shredding leaves and tearing bark off of trees. Tibur invisible, moving through the brush low and fast, like a Shark hunting a surfer. He moved with an elegance of stealth that was rare for him, since he preferred open combat. The ODST kept firing his weapon, but to no avail. Tibur exploded from the brush beside him, and the Imp screamed, fear filling Tibur's ears. The Arbiter's hand flew forward, grappling onto the ODST's neck, and lifted him up, eye to eye. The Imp dropped his gun and clung his two small hands on Tibur's wrist, kicking in air, helpless. 

"You will die by the hand of the Arbiter..." Tibur snarled, bringing his face inches from the ODST's. 

Tibur heard a click, and twirled around. He saw two Imps standing several feet away, guns aimed at him. Tibur roared, and brought the Imp he held between himself at the two other ODST's just as the triggers were pulled. Blood exploded on the screaming Imp as he was torn apart by the waves of bullets. Some lucky shots hit Tibur, but simply bounced off of his armor. Once he heard the click as the two Humans went to reload, Tibur tossed the body at them, letting the destroyed flesh land on the two Imps. Tibur moved up to them as they scrambled to their feet. One Imp made it up and aimed his weapon, only to have Tibur's huge metal boot make contact with his head in a roundhouse kick, tearing it off with Tibur's seemingly unimaginable strength. The second stood up, only to have the Arbiter's blood red Energy Sword swing and make a slash at his chest, sending the Imp flailing to the forest floor, disappearing into the brush. The Arbiter's one eye darted to the left, to see a lone ODST firing at one of the Unggoy. The Arbiter turned to a branch, and ripped it off, he aimed it carefully, and tossed it towards the ODST. The branch hit him, and the Imp stumbled onto one knee, stunned. Tibur turned around, hoping that the Unggoy could finish what The Arbiter started.

[BasedGoody]

Gary A319
Jungle Floor

"Hm. Did not realize walking to reinforcements was a sign of disrespect if you were going to do it anyways. Listen Drake. I know you're the leader," Gary grumbled, pushing himself up. "But that was just the slightest bit uncalled for. How's about we said it for the DAMN COVENANT?" He said, stressing his last part. After that he went silent, waiting for a reaction. Tension hung in the air. His HUD showed that their partner was getting closer. They had never met before and he wanted to meet his new teammate. 

Gary heard rustling in the woods. He swiveled around and aimed his Assault Rifle. Nothing. He turned to say something to Drake, but before he could, something growled. The SPARTAN turned again to the noise, to find a pair of bright green eyes staring at him. They were level with his, and him and the 'creature' stood face to face. That is, until the glowing eyes moved up, and up until the clearly native monster was at least fifteen feet tall.

"Drake..."

Japkip
Unggoy Major

Kip's beady eyes lurched out of cover to see the human out of cover. His whole body shivered, this was his chance! The Unggoy's meaty hand jumped out from behind the crate and opened fire with the Needler. Five shots flew towards the Imp, and he noticed a second too late. Three shots lodge in his shoulder, and he ducked the other two. The Major heard him yell in pain. Did I get my first kill? He thought excitedly. Nope. The Imp jumped up again, all three Needles ripped out, bandages covering the wounds. 

"Darn." He mumbled, and hid behind his crate as another volley of bullets smashed against his cover.

[Huka]

Field Master Til Ra'ha Je'at 'Muramai

The Zealot watched his cousin rush off into battle with bloodthirsty vengeance and chuckles dryly before looking to his half-brother, who turned around to show him the map of their territory. Instinctively looking down at the war-glyphs as they moved and he heard Sorsa's eager suggestion, Til responded by slipping his helmet over his face and waited for the mechanical wheezes to end, signaling that he was linked in with his HUD and back-tank. "Of course, we can't let the infantry have all of the fun, can we?" He jested in familiar warrior joy and for the first time in this skirmish, pulled out his plasma glaive from his cuisse. With a rub of his outer thumb along the grip, the staff extended and ominously flared its plasma blades.

[Deleted]

Sangheili Ultra Vinza'za 'Wodamai
Covenant Barricade

The defense was going to plan, but casualties were still mounting around Vinza'za.  Mostly Unggoy and a few Kig-yar, but the Ultra knew as fatigue set in and the battle wore on the numbers would increase.  Despite this, for every Covenant soldier that fell they took many Nishum with them.  This would be a long and bloody engagement for both sides...Vinza'za just hoped the fleet would arrive in time to stay the obliteration of the Covenant groundside.  In any case the Covenant were cornered and filled with fervor, making them a dangerous opponent while they continued to fight.

Kig-yar had started engaging the Human's snipers, relieving the rest Acolyte Creche from the deadly high velocity bullets.  The 'Wodam Clansmen stood, his white armor gleaming in the light of this system's star.  His combat harness was in rather pristine condition, other than some mud and dirt that had caked itself to the lower left side of the chest piece.  He looked over his section of the barricade, watching his soldiers fight valiantly.  They were still fresh and the fight was far from over.  Vinza'za watched as another group of Human vehicles broke through the forest, pressing right for a section of the barricade that was somewhat devoid of cover.  Banshees streaked overhead, dropping glowing jade orbs onto the Human's and sending a few vehicles crashing violently about.  Ghosts and Revenants moved to engage, but the Human's pressed onward. 

The Ultra took several shots at the lead vehicle, managing to hit the driver in the torso and send him swerving.  One of the smaller two-manned vehicles did his best to avoid the larger one, to no avail.  The little ATV slammed straight into the side of the machine-gun mounted vehicle.  The two men died on impact, simultaneously flipping the other vehicle over.  Other soldiers took the opportunity to fire on the still-living occupants.  Despite the mayhem, the rest of the Human's continued to press towards the barricade.  Vinza'za thought they might actually reach the defensive line as he continued to fire at them.

"All soldiers of Acolyte Creche, take out those vehicles now!  We cannot allow them to breach our lines and hit us from the back!  Throw everything at them!" Vinza'za commanded over the comms. 

[Huka]

Major Q’ai ‘Muramee
Covenant Barricade


Hearing the new Creche Commander’s words, the crimson armored Major ‘Muramee didn’t have to told twice. “Yikas! Burn the humans down!” He commanded through his own helmet’s comlink and the orange-garbed Unggoy immediately started to fire his energy cannon’s plasma at the treelines where the humans were coming from.

When one of the daring warthogs passed into view, he squeaked in defiance and fired at its wheel, watching the front wheels burn and tear apart from the assault. The driver tried to move away from the plasma but the busting wheels made its vehicle uplift on the side. It was glorifying to watch the warthog turn and fall on its side.

“Got one!” Yikas cheered with a pump of his arm, his voice high from his methane-pumping mask and adrenaline. “Good,” Labus answered calmly nearby as he fired a burst of his plasma repeater through a human soldier and roared, “Now keep shooting!”

Q’ai ignored the two as his eye stared through his particle beam rifle’s scope and watched the humans maneuver in the trees, trying to avoid plasmafire and the flying debris and flames from the factions’ vehicles. He looked until he found a human with a sniper rifle like himself, laying low amongst the debris and vegetation. Deal with those…

It took a moment for the human’s eyes to angle towards him as if sensing Death coming and was greeted with a slice of particles spearing through its helmed head with a mist of blood. Its comrades panicked, now knowing they were under the sights of a marksman. Chuckling sadistically, Q’ai moved his rifle and fired twice, ending two more lives before wisely letting his weapon cool down but Jhao quickly assisted, firing his carbine in two quick successions.

 "Let see a Kig-yar make that." He boasted proudly, quickly moving to another position to assist their brothers-in-arms. The lance's Unggoy were low behind cover, shooting bolts or overcharged shots at the humans and trees. Terrible shots but they did their position of herding the humans to their leader's sights, nearby Major Yeg fired a fine line of needles from his needler, and screeched in triumph when sharp projectiles embedded into a human, who screamed in its gory death.

[deceit]

Ra'ab signaled the rest of the lance, "let us follow the zealots until we are given further orders. Don't get in their way, though." He ordered. They followed, trying to match the zealots vigorous pace. Following in the wake of the arbiter, Ra'ab could see that battle had been met up ahead. "Assist." He called out. Jib and Lebit took up positions nearby, using their range to their benefit and keeping themselves unrevealed.

Ra'ab took cover by a large hewn out log to assess the situation. ODST's, the units who dropped from pods much similarly to the way that Sangheili dropped from their Corvettes, littered the area. It seemed as though they had gone from the offensive to the defensive as the Arbiter ripped through them, his shields overpowering the shots that were laid his way. He scanned the battlefield for anybody who actually needed help. The arbiter seemed well enough on his own. Behind the arbiter, a human was trading fire with a lone Unggoy. The Unggoy had a Type 21 Needler and was sporadically firing. Mostly, he was missing, and the little guy seemed to be in a panic.

Ra'ab slowly crept out to the edge of his cover, surveying the task at hand.

The Unggoy and the human were 25 meters from him. He'd be coming up on the humans left flank, an easy kill if he could get within five meters without being noticed. Unless he got shot from someone. He saw more enemies, but none of them were particularly concerned with him. They were far enough away that once he got the first one, it would be difficult to hit the rest. Impossible, if they all turned, which he was sure they would. He got on his comms real quick.

~*~

"I'm going!" Ra'ab called to his allies.

He raced at the ODST who was exchanging fire with the Unggoy huffing as he went. His plasma pistol was in his hand, but he didn't want to give away his position until he reached nearer. If he fired now, the rest of the humans would penetrate his cover with group fire, it was only a weak log. No, he needed to get closer before he took cover.

15 meters, his eyes turned to see the rest of the ODST's. None of them seemed to notice quite yet. He was in good shape, his long Sangheili legs carrying him the distance rapidly, his hoof like feet squealching and leaving heavy tracks in the mud.

8 meters. The humans noticed him, they called to their buddy.

5 meters, the ODST that was shooting at Japkip suddenly turned around, weapon bared, firing. The bullets pinged off of Ra'ab's shield, absorbing the kinetic impact. He fired his plasma pistol at the human, but the ODST dived out of cover, too far for Ra'ab to reach. Suddenly, the more distant ODST's fired at him. He was too far from the human now. Ra'ab dived behind the tree that the ODST had been behind, "UNGGOY!" He yelled, "Shoot him NOW!"

~*~

Major Jib pointed, "On the left, firing at Ra'ab, take him out."

Lebit silently acknowledged, aiming his Beam Rifle at one of the farther out ODST's who could still hit Ra'ab from his angle. He took only a second to aim, then suddenly jerked as a focused beam of light shot from him, hitting the ODST directly in the face-plate of his helmet. The scorching hole bore straight through his head, a confirmed kill.

"Good, that should be all for now, relocate." Jib ordered. A sniper who stayed in the same position after taking a shot was a dead sniper.

e

[Deleted]

Sangheili Ultra Vinza'za 'Wodamai
Covenant Barricade

With the threat of vehicles puncturing the defensive line gone, Vinza'za again turned to the Human's along the treeline.  From the slight movement he could see it seemed there was a considerable number of them still pushing the attack.  The Ultra sighted in another Human Lance laying suppressive fire on a group of Kig-yar down the line.  He zoomed in, focusing on one of the Human's who was firing bursts from an LMG.  Vinza'za pulled the trigger twice, hitting the Human twice in the side of his body and sending blood pouring out of the wounds.  He had not died, however, and rolled behind a tree.  Probably being treated by one of the medics. What is the honor in that, little nishum? He thought as the Human's fired on him in retaliation.  Three shots struck his helmet, and three more struck the smooth metal that he was hiding behind.  He tried to return fire, but more bullets pelted his shield's and forced him to duck into his cover.  He moved along the trench, splashing through a puddle of vibrant blue Unggoy blood as he sought new
cover.

Vinza'za went prone on a raised pile of dirt, bringing his Carbine to bear.  As he did so, two rockets streaked by from along the treeline.  One struck a deployable cover under the plasma turret, and the other one flew above it but still dangerously close.  Much too close for the Sangheili leader's liking; he knew how valuable the turrets were to the defense.  With the eye of a Hunter, Vinza'za quickly searched for the attacker.  It took but a few moments, the Ultra able to locate the silhouette of the somewhat bulky rocket launcher and it's operator.  He was half behind a tree, reloading the weapon and undoubtedly preparing for another go at the turret.  The Ultra waited patiently for the Human to get into position, which he did so by crouching to one knee and sighting his target yet again.  Just as the Human was pulling the trigger, Vinza'za let out a single shot from the carbine.  It pierced the Human's body armor, cutting through tendons in his shoulder.  The Nishum spun, finishing his trigger pull which sent the rocket straight into the tree he had been hiding behind, about fifteen meters up.  It exploded brilliantly, causing the tree to go up in flames.

[Spartan 999]

Sorsa Ra'ha Je'at 'Xirsasai
Near a UNSC Convoy

"I knew you'd agree." Sorsa grinned widely as he plunged into the forest. "Major Domo Shal'toree, Field Master 'Muramai and I will be aiding you in taking down the human convoy you are stalking." He said over the com system.

"Acknowledged. We will wait to attack until you arrive."

"Many thanks." The Zealot cut the transmission and focused on sprinting through the forest. He ducked under a felled tree, slid over a rocky outcropping at the top of a short dip, and used low-hanging branches as handlebars to vault to a farther position, all of which he managed to do fairly stealthily, everything considered. They arrived at Ziin's position within a few minutes. Sorsa was only breathing slightly harder than usual from the tense race through the forest.

"Ah, you arrived sooner than I had anticipated." Ziin said, his head tilting back to look up at the much larger Sorsa. "If you are ready, I have my lance in position. We may strike on your command."



Petty Officer Second Class Luke-A191
Near Gary's and Drake's Position

Luke looked through his sniper rifle's scope as a preliminary caution scan of the area up in front. The heat of the forest played havoc with his thermal imaging, but it did help a bit with the intensely shadowed places in some parts. He was close enough to Gary and Drake that he could see their HUD indicators bob up and down slightly as they maneuvered around the terrain. Then, he saw Gary's flash yellow upon being assaulted by...something. He almost contacted them, but the warning ended a second later.

Of course, shortly after that, both their indicators went red. He swept the immediate vicinity around them and spotted movement several meters from Gary's position. Something, not a Hunter or Drone, rose into partial sight. It was massive from what he could tell, and it seemed to be facing the other two Spartans.

Without hesitating, he opened fire. Time simultaneously slowed and sped up for a few moments as his high reflexes kicked in. The sniper rifle's silencer rendered the shots unheard, especially in the din of the jungle. Four rounds slammed into the creature's right side. He didn't care what the thing was; unless it was a Scarab, that would have hurt. He continued firing until his extended magazine was empty, then reloaded and aimed once more in case it was still alive.

[Huka]

Field Master Til Je'at Ra'ha 'Muramai

Following right after his war-brother after seeing Ra'ah's lance follow after his cousin, Til flourished and had his staff right behind him, retracted for now to keep from obstacles to slowing him down. Jumping high over the fallen tree as Sorsa slid under, bouncing right off to land next to the ex-Special Operator, and easily followed.

His hearts raced solemnly, his lungs burned as his respirators were taken by surprise by the sudden activity, but they adjusted to it, pumping more cool chemicals to sooth the burning. When they arrived to the location of the Major Sangheili, whom was immediately recognized as a hunter clansman.

He haven't had the pleasure of properly meeting Shal'toree, but he knew of the clan. While Muram was of the desert hunting grounds, Ziin was in his element here and was intrigued to see him at work.

When the two stopped, the Field Master was breathing raggedly for a moment before controlling his breathing back to its usual. "I am most eager to spill more of the Shalliks' blood." He said with a shrill hiss and clasp of his empty fist, then he felt the pounding of his adrenaline. At first he thought it was from his run and early kills, but the feeling was too familiar. Something that immediately reminded him of Templar's Rest...

***
Major Q'ai 'Muramee

 Lowering his comlink's volume to a bearable volume, Q'ai fired his particle beam rifle one more time, and praised the Spirits that his shot pierced through a human missile operator's abdomen and spinal cord in the distance. Checking on his weapon's ammunition, it was good for a couple more shots. "I am joining the battle." He called as he put the rifle on his back slot before jumping into the trenches along with the rest of his lance. 

 The vehicle plague soon stopped for the Covenant for now, but the Humans continued their tireless assault like wild, and smart, Unggoy. Looking around, he found a fallen Minor and took his plasma repeater before firing in controlled bursts. Immediately he scolded the weapon, it wasn't as effective as a carbine or needle rifle, but it was adequate of melting his enemies down.

 "Show no mercy!" Labus roared in fervor as he rolled into a deep crouch as he fired his own plasma repeater with a furious flurry, catching a couple humans in the legs, foolish enough to be in his range and sight. However the Adant warrior wasn't done yet, practically jumping back to his feet, he twirled to the side from a fierce counterattack with a flare of his shields by the rest of the fallen humans' lance, he primed a grenade and thrown it through the air. 

 Q'ai took a moment to watch the holy flare swore through the air and landed by the lance. The weak creatures quickly rolled away but one was caught and burned from the radius of exploding plasma. Whilst the others recovered, Jhao was quick to take advantage, spearing them through with radioactive bolts from his carbine. "A fine distraction, brother." he taunted a annoyed Labus, who clicked his mandibles and retreated back to cover as more bullets struck at him.

 Chuckling, Q'ai took the time to maneuver to a more favored position and narrowed his sights before blasting again, but the smell of a burning tree caught his attention. Making a quick look around and saw the burning wood, the Muram's senses sped his heart for a fight-or-flight reflex. "By the Spirits..." He whispered, when a Muram have that evolutionary gift, it was the coming of an ambush...or something worse. 

 This fear was answered with a terrible roar through the trees as they screamed to their premature tearing, the harbinger of something big.

[BetaWülf]

Jiralhanae Captain Garatus

He stalked half crouched towards the distant comms tower hoping to make contact with reinforcements, dying on this planet wasn't what he had in mind. His pack brothers trudged behind him as he walked, they were less than pleased by all this exercise, Durkus wheezed as he ran. Valorus was the most fit after Garatus, the rest of them were about the same except for Durkus of course who fell behind the rest of the pack. Garatus sighed as he thought of all the training he'd have to put them through if they survived, which he doubted somewhat. Other covenant forces based in front of them and ran past them as they headed towards the tower, it was nearing.

Garatus had to jump over an Unggoy to avoid stepping on it, while the others had to maneuver around the rest of that lance. The ran towards the comms tower as it got closer and closer, hopefully they could defend it while someone with the knowledge of how to correctly use it sent a message to reinforcements. They reached the tower itself but knew not how to use it, Garatus let out a deep throaty howl to rally nearby troops, Jiralhanae or otherwise. He looked at the controls and furrowed his brow trying to figure it out, he knew how to use basic consoles but this was far more complex, a Sangheili or maybe even an Unggoy might be able to use it. He turned to the rest of his pack.

"Any of you know how to work this thing?" he said raising his eyebrow. They looked at each other then back again then shrugged. Garatus sighed as he placed his hand on over his face, he looked up as he heard a distant roar of tremendous volume, the rest of the pack snarled and looked in the direction of the noise.
"What was that?" Gargantum said looking to his comrades.
"I don't know, maybe someone should go see?" Jorum said, he turned to Garatus. Garatus rolled his eyes, he knew that they all wanted him to do it.
"I'll do it, ask next time" Garatus said. He ran off in the direction of the noise while his pack guarded the comms tower.

[Huka]

Fleet Security Commando Officer 'Kasamee, Assigned Overseer of the Communications Array

Materializing from his active camouflage after the Jiralhanae Captain left his own pack to investigate the unknown roar that quaked through the forest, Officer 'Kasamee aimed his carbine at one of the simians who dared to touch the communications array's control console. "Get your dirty claws away from that." He growled under his helmet.

Then three Special Operators, in their space-black armor, appeared around the pack as well with plasma rifles and energy swords ready to kill, being deprived of their duty as infiltrators and assassins to guard the array by Field Master 'Muramai's orders. However, 'Kasamee lifted a hand to yield his more secretive brothers from doing anything rash. 

 The former workers of the communications array was put on defense finally, armored and armed, many went to the frontlines to assist while a few lances remained to patrol around the immediate area on the reports of falling human orbital pods from Kig-yar and Jiralhanae scouts.

 He didn't want to kill allies, even the Jiralhanae, but the Commando was very testy from being stuck here. He could understand the beasts' need to send a signal, but that action have already been played. A signal was going out to Covenant space, or at least should be. The Huragok just hovered around, one of them working on the signal, constantly trying to improve on its output, just for the challenge of it. 

 "I suggest you step away from the console, Jiralhanae." he said, more calmly than before, holding his carbine one-handed against his hip. "This area is under my direct command and wardship by the command of the Holy Zealots until told otherwise, if you seek to protect it, then you will do so by keeping watch for any humans or Demons." 

 

[BetaWülf]

The Pack of Jiralhanae Captain Garatus
Valorus sneered at the Sangheili Commando, how dare they bear arms against other Covenant soldiers. He would have loved to rip them apart just to show them how "Superior" they really were. The tension was high and the Jiralhanae had their hands poised ready to defend themselves if necessary, but it wouldn't be much of a fight against special ops with energy swords. Jorum stepped forward with open hands raised and a smile on his face.
"Our Apologies brothers, we knew not of your orders we only meant to aid in the effort of reestablishing contact" Jorum said being as gracious as possible.

[BasedGoody]

Unggoy Ultra Yaddap

The Ultra sat motionless. Kayab started touching Yad's feet awkwardly, sort of wiggling each toe and then ticking the center. He made a sort of whispering giggling noise as each toe moved. Tab watched on with a strange look on his face, first at Kay and then back to Yaddap. Suddenly Yaddap snapped out of his daze and turned his head towards Kay.

"What are you doing?" Kay leapt back three feet and started murmuring. 

"Oh! Um, nothing, I was just..."

"No, really. That was creepy. Why were you doing that?" Yad pursued.

"I..." Kayab hung his head in defeat. "I'm sorry."

"Punches." Yad said, and punched out and hit Kay on the shoulder. He whined, but took the bulk of it. Suddenly an explosion went off nearby and Yad leapt to his feet Needler ready. Tab followed and aimed his Plasma pistol at the dent in the earth. A burst of human gunshots rang out and the file dove behind a group of three Covenant Crates. Human war cries found their ways into Yaddap's ears. He peaked out and fired out four shots, sending two marines diving in opposite directions. A third sprung out from behind a tree and shot at him. The Ultra ducked milliseconds before they slammed into his cover.

[Huka]

Fleet Security Commando Officer 'Kasamee, Assigned Overseer of the Communications Array


 Looking at the representing Jiralhanae, his eyes looking up and down at him from underneath his helmet, 'Kasamee sighed gently and jerked his head, ordering his fellows to lower their weapons while did. "Understandable..." The Sangheili said as his eye glanced at his HUD's identifications of the speaking simian, "Jorum, we have our SOS in route now. For now, we just need to defend this array at all cases." 

 Showing enough trust in the Jiralhanae to look around the area as if expecting an attack anytime now, a couple of the Special Operators vanished again and went back to their business while the others stayed with their commanding officer. "Since you seem so eager, you will make sure the array is not damaged." The Commando said, returning his visors to the pack, watching each of their reactions, while the terrible noise seemed to get closer to the frontlines. 

 Personally he hoped it stayed up there...

[Deleted]

Sangheili Ultra Vinza'za 'Wodamai
Covenant Barricade

Vinza'za had done everything in his power, but it seemed his luck had run out; A rocket popped another mobile cover just below the turret, and the second hit the thing dead on.  The Human's accuracy was admirable, but the event dismayed the Ultra all the same.  A Kig-yar's sniper shot brought the guilty Nishum down.  All the same, as the fight would now be that much harder in this sector.  The God's will not let us fail! the 'Wodam hunter thought as three radioactive shots sailed out of his Carbine.  They cut through the chest of a Human, dropping him quickly.  Fire peppered the ridge that Vinza'za still lay prone behind.  The buzz of passing bullets mixed with the plumes of dirt that kicked up into the Sangheili's face, causing him to quickly edge his way back down into the trench.  He could feel fatigue starting to set in slightly.  As he made his way down the trench, he noticed it seemed that the fog of war had thickened immensely.  The fire the rocket had caused seemed to be spreading, and it was starting to affect visibility slightly.  He hoped it would not become cover for advancing Nishum.

[Ward, J.]

Corporal Ward, J., en route to Primary Objective
Location: Crossing LOD

The rumble of the M12 LRV "Warthog" met his eyes as he applied gas to the engine. Oscar Company had landed and set up defensive positions along the western perimeter. Fighting holes were dug, sensors placed, and even a few machine gun emplacements were erected for the time being. Afterwards the command had been passed down from command elements to move out in preparation for an assault on the downed Covenant Corvette. To say Corporal Jonathan Ward was nervous would be an accurate statement.

They were on a wayward planet; far from the lines of human space, attempting to neutralize a hostile force and capture their leader in one piece. While the cards dealt so far were in favor of the human forces--Ward had the feeling things would not go so smoothly as time progressed. The very real possobility of Covenant reinforcements clung to everyone's minds, but no one dared mention it.

Ward wasn't sure if the Powers That Be had considered that option. Though, at the moment it mattered little to him. His focus was directed on keeping his men alive and getting off this forsaken world in one piece.

Second Platoon had been instructed to take point for the rest of the company. The company headquarters elements were staying behind at the FOB while the rest of the company deployed outside the wire. Consequently with their platoon being lead in the convoy, their Warthog was lead vehicle.

The vehicle shook as it rolled over a charred, felled log that had been knocked over from the orbital bombardments. The convoy was just entering the thick jungle, following the route the rest of the UNSC forces had taken on their way to the Corvette. Ward checked to make sure his radio was connected to the company frequency--currently being used by all elements of the convoy for ease of communication between subordinate units and the company command elements--and keyed his microphone.

"Oden Two-One Alpha to Oden Two-One, be advised: we're crossing the line of departure now. Up ahead looks clear to me. How copy?"

The gruff, deep southern drawl of his squad leader blared in his ears. "Roger, Two-One Alpha; keep yer eyes peeled 'n don't screw anythin' up."

Ward scoffed and shook his head. Sometimes he hated Sergeant Stone. Even in a situation like this the man couldn't resist the urge to make a crack directed at him. The voice of the man sitting beside him, riding shotgun, pulled him from his tboughts.

"Soo... giant bugs, huh?" Lance Corporal Jayson Furby asked, his best friend and second-in-command of the team. He was obviously trying to distract Ward and defuse some of the attention; though, it was disguised as a simple innocent question. He knew his friend all too well.

"Yeah," Ward replied flatly. "Some of 'em are airborne, others crawlers. According to reports most of the airborne ones appear to be hostile. One of the other units along the edge of tree line had a man down because of one of them. He was evacced back to the fleet for treatment."

"Good," interjected Private First Class Allens, who was manning the rear gun of the 'Hog. "If they're already giving us trouble, maybe the Covenant are having the same problems. I wonder what Elites must taste like."

Furby craned his head back at the PFC while Ward briefly glanced at him in the rear view. "Okay, you've got problems, Allens. Some serious freakin' problems."

Ignoring Furby, Allens muttered to himself, "Bet they taste like chicken."

An awkward silence fell over the trio as Ward maneuvered the vehicle through the dense foliage, trying his damndest to remain on the path that had been cleared by the rest of their forces. Fifteen minutes passed in perpetual silence. Ward kept his eyes on the path ahead of them while Furby and Allens scanned the surrounding area for anything that might have remotely resembled a hostile. So far they were fortunate enough not to encounter anything.

Another ten minutes passed by before the faint staccato of weapons fire reached their ears. At about roughly the same time the radio came to life. The voice of Lieutenant Durant, their platoon commander, addressed the platoon. "All Oden Two victors, we're nearing the rear of our forces in the fight. I want fingers on the triggers and heads on a swivel. Let's show these freaks the might of humanity. Over."

Then a second transmission came from Stone. "When we reach friendlies, I want y'all to disperse 'n move t' a position where yer gunners can lay down suppressin' fire. We're gon' cover th' friendly advance until given orders t' do otherwise, over."

Within less than a minute the rear elements on the assault force came into view of Ward's vehicle. The convoy picked up speed and in thirty seconds they had regrouped with the assault force. Lieutenant Durant's voice yet again came over the comms as Ward began to maneuver the Warthog closer ti the front of the assault force's lines.

"C2, this is Oden Two Actual, be advised: we have regrouped with the assault force. Break," the El-Tee said, pausing for just a moment for whatever reason. "Interrogative: what're your orders? Over."

((OOC: Since at the moment Oscar Company is not organic to JTF-77, Durant would not refer to Lieutenant Colonel Duffman or the Colonel as Battalion XO or CO. Instead he would use the phrase "C2" which is a shortened term for Command & Control, which in this case is Duffman and Brody.))

[NinjaBoss]

Zahn 'Vignarlee, Major Domo

    Zahn slowly stepped forwards, walking towards the center of the Covenant fortifications. "Yaddap, regroup with me and Pran, we have more work to do!" He spoke into the battlenet. He motioned for the rest of his lance to follow, and began issuing orders to them as well. "We will regroup with the rest of our lance, and then rejoin Acolyte in the battle against the hominids. Any questions?" He asked, and seeing as there were none, he turned and continued with his current objectives. Zahn then accessed the battlenet once again, this time attempting to reach Vinza'za. "Vinza'za, this is Major Domo Zahn. We are currently headed towards your location, is there anything of importance I should know about?" He then continued towards the location, awaiting his instructions.

[Deleted]

Sangheili Ultra Vinza'za 'Wodamai
Trenches

A Major Vinza'za identified as Zahn contacted him as the Ultra watched chaingun rounds practically cut a Sangheili in half, "Vinza'za, this is Major Domo Zahn. We are currently
headed towards your location, is there anything of importance I should
know about?"

The 'Wodam hunter frowned at himself.  The battle had been going on for a fair amount of time, and yet his soldiers were off moseying about, "Nice of you to appear, Major.  The Plasma Turret has just fallen and we are taking heavy fire.  Make it here with haste, we cannot let the trenches fall to the Human's."

Vinza'za averted his attention to a turret-mounted Human vehicle, attempting to kill the Gunner with four shots from his carbine, before the ammunition popped out.  They all struck the blast shield of the turret, and the Ultra cursed at himself.  A spray of bullets sent more plumes of dirt as he ducked into the trench.  He could see a Fuel Rod armed Unggoy shooting lazily towards the Human's, and Vinza'za roared at him to focus on the vehicles that were suppressing them.  It would not bode well if the Covenant could not relieve themselves of the suppression as it could allow infantry to push across the battlefield and into the defensive line.

[NinjaBoss]

Zahn 'Vignarlee, Major Domo

     "Nice of you to appear, Major. The Plasma Turret has just fallen and we are taking heavy fire. Make it here with haste, we cannot let the trenches fall to the Human's." Vinza'za's voice played through the battlenet, and Zahn heard him loud and clear. He then activated his battlenet, issuing orders to his own lance. "Yaddap, follow me with your file to Vinza'za's location. The hominids are pressing forwards against acolyte, we cannot allow them to prevail!" He then began to sprint in the direction of Vinza'za and the rest of acolyte, Pran and the two Kig-yar in his lance close behind. Moving quickly through the forest, Zahn didn't see a thick tree trunk on the ground, and his foot caught on it, causing him to trip into a forwards roll. He would've landed gracefully like just about any other Sangheili, except for the fact there was something in his way. Making hard contact with this object, there was a loud smack as Zahn collided with.... something. Blinking his eyes in surprise, a large, maybe 12 foot tall, brown and green reptilian creature stood before him. It's skin was perfect camouflage in this environment, a good reason why Zahn didn't notice the creature at first.

    The reptile had large, sharp teeth with multicolored blood dripping from it's mouth, which Zahn assumed was a mixture of hominid, covenant, and whatever other small native creatures on this planet. It growled in anger, and lashed out at Zahn, snapping back in surprise as his energy shield flared against his sharp teeth. Zahn took advantage of it's surprise and rolled to the right, leaping to his feet and firing his plasma rifle at the creature. Then something he had never seen before happened.... the plasma dispersed on the creatures skin, hardly doing any damage. Zahn knew that he was going to need something far stronger than his plasma rifle to defeat this enemy, however he had no time to think as the creature was enraged at his pathetic attempt to damage it, lashing out at him once again. Leaping out of the way once again, Zahn was backed into a corner formed by trees, the creature between him and the rest of his lance. With no grenades left, there wasn't anything they could do besides attempt to run....

    "Shoot the creature, cause a distraction so we can flee!" Zahn ordered, for the first time in his life experiencing true fear. A large salvo of plasma flew towards the creature when it did something even worse than attacking... moved out of the way. Plasma from plasma rifles and pistols instantly made contact with Zahn, dropping his shield and burning holes in his combat harness, purple blood frying and forming a hard shell where the plasma hit. This creature was strong, formidable, and smart, and Zahn stood wounded slumped against two trees because of it. He touched the wounds, wincing in pain, realizing he may have finally discovered an enemy more deadly than the covenant itself. If he was going to reach acolyte alive, he'd need to think of something fast.

[Arbiter124]

SPARTAN-III 1st Lieutenant Drake A124

RAPTOR 001

Drake turned around, to see the two glowing green eyes in the brush, each easily the size of his palm. He raised his shotgun to fire, but several loud shots exploded in his ears, and four smoke trails caused the eyes to close. Drake's head swiveled to see a ridge where Luke's waypoint pointed. He gave a smile, and clicked onto his comm.

"Thanks for that, Luke. Saved us a lot of trouble-"


The creature exploded from the brush, lizardlike, with quills moving up and down his body that resembled the Jackals. The thing was easily as long as a bus, and around the height of a Skirmisher. It snarled, leaping at him.

"Shit!"

Drake his the ground on his back, the monster flying over him, roaring like some Alpha Predator. Drake noticed that the animal had a ten foot long tail follow it, resembling a scorpion's with the blade at the end. Drake rolled to his feet, and vaulted over a branch to get some distance. Turning around, he saw the thing already coming back at him. Drake's shotgun flew up and leveled with the beast right as it jumped. Pulling the trigger once, the pellets splattered onto the Beast's side, forcing the thing to redirect to the right, landing on its side several feet away from Drake. Raptor 001 leveled his shotgun again to fire, and out of the corner of his eye, saw another one of the Beast's. One difference though...

It was going for Gary.