HALO: A shot in the dark

Started by Gladiator0161, August 21, 2010, 06:48:32 PM

Previous topic - Next topic

0 Members and 1 Guest are viewing this topic.

Gladiator0161

#200
Chapter 4: Recuperation and Retaliation

Gladiator 0161
Loc: Manhattan, New York. Somewhere near Kips Bay, on Tunnel Highway 495.


As soon as Gladiator had buckled in Patric, and jumped onto the Gunner's station that housed a swiveling M41 mounted chain gun, Valkyrie floored the gas pedal. The tires squealed in protest as the liquid cooled hydrogen IC engine roared powerfully. The back end of the all terrain armored jeep swerved left and right, fishtailing until it's massive tires gripped the pavement and jolted the vehicle forward. A big scar of tar marring the concrete where the vehicle had sat. Gladiator hung on through it all, bending his knees slightly so that he had a lower center of gravity, so that he wouldn't be thrown from the jeep. In seconds they were flying out of the garage's entrance and onto the street, Gladiator whooping excitedly, and raising a fist in the air as the jeep sailed through the air for a few seconds, and then landed roughly back on the ground. Plasma fire from Grunts and their Brute commanders sailed through the air, and splashed against the armor plating around them.

Spartan 0161 gripped the handles of the M41 chain gun tightly, riding out the near hair pin turns that Valkyrie was making in order to avoid a Brute that had suddenly leaped in front of the vehicle, leveling it's "Spiker" weapon. The Brute weapon was as garish and menacing as the creatures that wielded it, two razor sharp blades jutted out like fangs on the bottom of the weapon, while it's main function was to spit red hot rods of metal at you that could measure up to a foot and a half in length. It was an aptly named weapons by the UNSC forces, and a fitting weapon for the huge gorilla like aliens. The Brute never got the chance to use it though, as Gladiator fired at the alien warrior, bits of vaporized concrete and tar flying up around it as the 17.7X99 millimeter rocket propelled rounds punched the ground at it's feet. Valkyrie whipped the jeep around, tires skidding and squealing as she drifted the vehicle into the creature. The alien roared defiantly to the end as the Warthog slammed into it, shredding it's face to pieces as it's leg's were forced into an unnatural position and buckled, finally succumbing to the strength of the 'hog.

Gore smeared part of the windshield and Valkrie's armor, turning both a purplish blue. Red IED tags splayed on the bottom right of Gladiator's HUD, warning him of incoming enemies closing fast. He whipped the chain gun around just in time to see two Ghosts tear around the corner, and bear down on their position. The two alien craft hovering about 30 inches off the ground, opened up their main weapons, whitish blue plasma whizzing past the Warthog on either side, and splashing against the side and rear bumper. He opened the mounted chain gun up, the bullets streaking a trail of red and orange as they pummeled the road in front of the two pursuing alien craft. Both alien craft were being driven by Elites, and one sped up, easily passing past the gunner's position on the Warthog and sidling up to the driver's side. Gladiator had no time to switch targets though, because the other Ghost kept him busy as plasma passed dangerously close to his head. He ducked down farther into the gunner's station, and continued to pour hot lead at the remaining Ghost. Suddenly Valkyrie braked hard, tires roaring in protest, slamming Gladiator into the divider between driver and passenger seat and the gunner's station as the g-forces ripped the turret grips away from his hands, only to be ripped forward again as she slammed her foot on the gas.

Floundering his arms in a wheel motion to keep balance, he grabbed for the turret and hugged it close once he grabbed on, bracing himself against the divider. He felt the impact as the Warthog hit the Ghost but, only heard the crunch of metal impacting on metal. The other Elite didn't have time to correct itself and plowed into the back of the Warthog. The blue and gold Spartan didn't hesitate, he cut the Elite down before it had a chance to get away. The 17.7X99 millimeter bullets shredded through the Elite's shields like paper and splattered the aliens blood all over the seat as the bullets ripped through it's body, and into the fuselage. The Ghost dropped away sparking on the ground before catching on some debris. Flipping end over end, it crashed into a parked truck, nestled comfortably in the driver's compartment. Gladiator smirked and sent a hail of bullets it's way for good measure to make sure the vehicle was useless. A handful of bullets ripped through the fusion reactor compartment and a moment later a purple plume of fire rose into the sky. A second after that, the gas tank that had caught the rest of the bullets, caught flame and left both vehicles a popping pyre of circuits and glowing metal.

The vehicle jounced as the tires hit the uneven pavement leading into the tunnel of Highway 495, and everything went dark.

Maelyn

With a long, drawn out sigh, Ashley leaned forward, head in her hands, and wiped her fingers over her eyes.  They were burning from staring at the screen in front of her for so long.  Taking a deep breath, she pushed herself away from the console before her and stood, stretching her tired limbs in an effort to relieve the kinks. 

Looking around the room, she took it all in.  There was simple, standard shelving along the back wall, creating four short aisles filled with a multitude of various weapons and other provisions.  Beyond that, the only other items in the room was a desk and four cots.  A long staircase lead up into darkness, ending at a door that eventually lead to the chaos that reigned outside.  Cement floors and walls made the room feel stark and cold.  But what else do you expect from a military bunker? 

She’d been here for well over a week and hadn’t spoken to anyone but herself – verbally at least.  Loneliness was seeping in and she missed the human contact she’d taken for granted till now. 

Looking down at herself, Ashley grimaced at her attire.  She still wore the same faded blue jeans, black tank and red vest she’d arrived in a week ago.  While they looked only slightly worn and dirty, they could definitely use a wash, as should she.  She longed for a change of clothes and a long, hot bath.  Since she wasn’t sure how long she’d end up here, she’d had to make due with sponge baths.  Unfortunately, that didn’t help the state of her hair.  Her normal pale blonde locks looking stringy and unkempt as she ran frustrated fingers through it while she worked, which was why she currently had it up in a high pony tail to keep it out of the way.

A soft ping sounded from the console and she returned to the seat she’d occupied so often of late.  Strings of code flew over the monitor – meaningless to most, but Ashley was no novice.  Her fingers alternated between tapping rapidly over the keys and pressing various items on the touch screen while her eyes were steady on the incoming data.

In the midst of her deciphering the line commands, a second stream became noticeable, cleverly hidden beneath the first in an elegant pattern she could almost admire.  But said admiration was cut short when she realized what it was – a trace.  Cursing, she moved faster, back tracing the hack until she found its origin.  When she did, a cold chill shot down her spine.

Springing into action, she raced around the room, grabbing the pack she’d prepared in advance, throwing a few last minute items into it before slipping into a jacket and shrugging the pack on over it.  A few final items went into her pockets and she tucked an M6A Magnum into the holster at her side.

Glancing around the room, she tried not to panic, fingers clenching into fists as she tried to calm her nerves.  She really didn’t want to do what she was about to do, but she had no choice.  Fear nearly overwhelmed her and she wondered how the others in her family dealt with it day in and day out.  She wasn’t like them.  Ashley wasn’t a soldier and, until now, had never been in such a tenuous situation before. 

Taking a deep breath, she returned to the desk, leaning over to tap out a quick message and engage the emergency program she’d written for just this occasion.  Line commands few over the screen for just a moment before it started to blink, groaning once or twice as the virus she’d activated did its work. 

Turning, Ashley made her way quickly up the stairs, grabbing an M7 submachine gun and the SS/M49 sound suppressor attachment from the rack on her way.  At the top landing, she knelt down and pulled a panel from next to the door.  Twisting a few wires together, she secured them and tapped on the COM pad inside before replacing the panel with a slight smirk. 

Standing, she put her ear to the door and listened.  She knew there wasn’t anything there or her sensors would have gone off, but she did it anyway.  Hearing nothing, she gently opened the door, peeking out and assuring herself nothing was waiting to chop her up into little pieces.  Stepping out, she quietly made her way through the corridors to the outer door, again peeking out the door before exiting.

What she saw shocked her for a moment.  Sure, she’d seen pictures of warzones, but she’d never been in one herself, so she wasn’t prepared for it all.  It was eerily silent all around, something unheard of especially in the heart of New York City.  The city was in ruin, it seemed.  Sure, many of the buildings still stood, but they were riddled with rubble, garbage and who knew what else.  Ashley really didn’t want to think about what else.  Her stomach was already in knots, fear threatening to cripple her.  She didn’t want to consider the multitude of lives lost all around her.

With still trembling hands, she swallowed hard and started down the road, sticking to the walls and more hidden paths as best she could.  Sure, she wasn’t very good at the whole stealth thing, but it was better than just traipsing down the middle of the road, she was sure. 

The sun was high as she’d started out.  She made her way as far along her memorized path as she could, stopping only twice to rest and replenish her body with water and a power bar from her pack.  It was slow going, as she knew it would be, but she had to keep going.  She didn’t think she’d arrive at her location by evening, having left too late in the day, but she wanted to get as far from her previous location as possible.

She heard them before she felt the warning vibration in her pocket.  In the distance she heard vehicles of some sort.  She wasn’t sure if they were friendly or not, but she suspected the latter.  So, moving more quickly, she ducked into the closest building, an apartment complex from the looks of it.  Making her way through the lobby, she found a small office in the back.  Closing the door, she knelt down by the window, propping the submachine gun against the wall, and reached for the COM pad in her jacket. 

Just as she’d suspected, the sensors at the bunker had been breached.  Her eyes flew to the window and she looked out, scanning the horizon until she saw it.  The sound was only a faint, rumbling whisper as she watched the fiery smoke billow into the air in the distance.  It was quickly gone, but she knew what had happened. 

“Thank you, Zane,” she whispered, grateful for her brother having talked her through the setting of the explosive charges.  The trigger computations and setting the wires had been easy, but Zane, her oldest brother, was the true demolitionist in the family.

Wishing he were here, she considered her next move.  How long would it take them to realize she hadn’t been present when the bunker blew?  Wiping a hand over her brow, she sighed, fatigue starting to overtake her.  Looking around, she considered staying where she was, but decided to move from such an insecure location for the evening.  It would be getting dark soon and she wanted to find a safe place beforehand.

Exiting the office, she found the staircase and proceeded cautiously down into the basement level.  It was musty and dirty, but she thought it might be more secure than above ground.  Following the pipes, she found the boiler room and scoped it out.  It wasn’t a nice option and would probably be uncomfortable as hell, but it seemed safe enough.  Dropping her pack, she grabbed a few items from it and set to work. 

Twenty minutes later, she had a semblance of a motion detector outside the door and was ensconced inside.  She sat on the floor, knees to her chest and arms wrapped around them as she tilted her head back against the wall.  Tears made tracks in the dirt on her face as she quietly cried, soft sniffles sounding in the room as she lamented her situation.

Sushi

#202
"This is Kilo One-Niner, tangos are pushing hard. Requesting CAS on grid one-five-five-six, how copy?"

"Affirmative Kilo One-Niner. Big bird is en route. ETA two mikes."

2nd Lieutenant Michael Sibley had his face pressed into the rubble as he crawled over to his radioman. He had to shout to be heard over the immense din of outbound gunfire. "Krasnivich! What's status on close air?"

"Yeah! Two mikes sir!" The radioman fired another burst from his MA-37, then scrambled back into cover as the weapon clacked empty. Sibley gave him a slap on the shoulder and proceeded further down the line. After their Pelican had pancaked out in the big apple, every Covvie small-fry in the area had scrambled to try to wipe the Army troopers out. Twenty had climbed out of the wreckage - they were down to thirteen able-bodied and a handful of wounded. Their first big step had been pulling the M247 out of the Pelican wreckage and getting a healthy stream of twelve-point-seven slugs down range.

Running out of ammo would probably kill them faster than not having enough guns blazing, realistically. The Lieutenant slid behind a wrecked sedan that their medic, Otto "Doc" Fischer was posted behind. He was probably the most ammo-conservative of all of them, but even now he was glad to receive the few magazines Sibley had to offer.

The ironic part was that the lieutenant couldn't even use the same magazines he was distributing, carrying a heavier M392 and a pistol. At close range, he would be reliant on the "burp gun" he'd picked off one of the dead pilots. The other, Warrant Officer Archer, had simply taken up a discarded MA-37 and joined the battle. She had given good support to Sergeant Ward as he ran the SAW.

What could he say? When the shit hit the fan, some just did their job. Not that anybody was skimping out on effort - in their tight perimeter amongst wrecked vehicles and the rubble of collapsed buildings, there was nowhere to avoid the oncoming Covenant. They had been fortunate the covvies lacked the assets to use their wraith mortars, and the banshee fighters were struggling against UNSC aircraft for control of the sky.

"Kilo, we spot your IR beacons. Hold onto your seats." There was a low rumble that announced the arrival of the UNSC fighters - much smaller than Longswords, high, rear-mounted wings and prominent cannons marked them as Skyhawk ground-attack fighters. There was a deafening belch as the first made a strafing run, tearing huge craters into the ground and slaughtering exposed covenant. Damaged and intact vehicles alike detonated under the barrage, even as antitank missiles ripped into the packed road. Sibley spotted a final Skyhawk pulling up hard, then a set of oblong weapons separating even as drogue chutes deployed to stabilize them. "Oh, shit. Get down!"

He dove behind the nearby wreckage of a civilian vehicle and exhaled sharply. The bombs detonated with a bone-rattling slam that hurled Sibley away from the vehicle and showered the entire area with debris. The Lieutenant pushed to his feet and spat out some of the dust that had settled in his mouth. Moments later, his head was nearly clipped off by a haphazard plasma blast. The officer reflexively shouldered his rifle and squeezed the trigger. Through the weapon shook, he couldn't hear if it was actually firing. Sibley realized the ordnance had left him nearly deaf. "MOVE UP!" he shouted, hoping his men could hear him.

The Army's finest fell a skirmish line and pushed through the debris, using the dust cloud of the bombing run to mask their advance even as they laid down an unforgiving hailstorm of gunfire. Sibley fired at any target that presented itself - one moment he was ventilating the methane pack of an unlucky grunt, the next he was taking the hat off of a weakened sangelli warrior. Rockets and grenades were used liberally to clear out dug-in covenant warriors, accompanied by whoops and taunts as the army troopers advanced. When they were halfway down the road and the dust begun to finally settle, Sibley got a notification in his HUD that Krasnivich was patching the CAS pilots to him.

"This is big bird. What's the BDA, kilo? Need another pass?"

"Negative, big bird. Good effect on target. Do you have eyes on what's down this street?" Sibley asked tersely, scanning the relatively still battlefield.

"Going in for another pass... shit, we've got a lock signal-" A lone fighter hurtled just meters above the infantry and pulled up hard, dumping a blinding array of flares and chaff. A purple Banshee flyer speared through the cloud and matched the human pilot move-for-move, filling the air with long bursts of plasma fire. A few of the superheated bolts ripped at the lightweight structure of the Skyhawk, and suddenly one of its engines burst into flames. The pilot fought to maintain altitude, but the human fighter rolled once and exploded across an apartment building.

There was a moment of terrified silence, and the advance rolled to a stop. Sibley looked to his left, then to his right. Doc policed covenant grenades and weapons off corpses. Krasnivich poked nervously at his "spanker" while his buddy Ward fed another drum into his SAW. Archer had her eyes glued to the sky. They all flinched as a fuel rod exploded across the street, and another Banshee screamed for altitude, a vengeful Skyhawk close behind. They weren't going to have much support from here on.

"Fuck," Archer said with finality

The lieutenant sighed. "I don't know about you, but I want to get off this fucking street. Hooah?"

The response was unanimous, if ragged. "Hooah!" Kilo platoon, Delta company, 7th regiment of the 22nd Airmobile Assault Brigade moved out in earnest.
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Lieutenant Sibley plopped into his face for what felt like the dozenth time that day. As soon as the radioactive projectile exploded behind, he stood back up, mashing trigger on his DMR and pinging rounds off the thick armor the hunter. When the weapon ran dry, he ripped a grenade from his web gear and hurled it high into the air, watching the explosive impact at the thing's feet and engulf it in shrapnel. Needless to say, it wasn't happy. It spun to aim at the officer, and the giant cannon on its arm glowed a sickly green.

He took a running leap over the nearest object and rolled into a pile of rubble as the projectile streaked past him. "Krasnavich! Ward! Lock them up!"

"Hooah!" A moment later the staccato of an automatic 7.62 started up again, and the covenant shock trooper growled with anger. Sibley changed magazines in his DMR, took a breath, then took off running. He emerged from cover with his trigger finger working fast, trying to nail the exposed flesh at the side of the hunter's armor. When it turned to face its tormentor, the hunter was blown apart by a well-aimed rocket. Sibley safed his weapon and took a long drink from his canteen. The ragged elements of Kilo platoon were emerging from cover and doing similar. The battle to rendezvous with the cut-off units they were to reinforce hadn't been easy. They had lost another three men from a combination of brutal covvie bombing. One was killed by a grunt that had tackled him with a live grenade in each hand.

They were all on edge, and the break was much needed. Sibley removed his helmet and poured the rest of the canteen over his head before stowing it. When he looked down the road again, he saw a sight that made him forget everything he'd seen in the past day.

Something that looked like it had been a human body was flying through the air. It lingered in his sight for a second before it met a wall with a sickening crunch. A moment later, an ear-splitting roar filled the air, and the ground shook with the pounding of a very big, and very pissed off covenant beast. There were frantic shouts from the other troopers as another green projectile arched through the air and exploded across the terrain.

Sibley had forgotten a very simple rule; hunters always traveled in pairs. He peered around a corner, and found the enraged covvie feet away, leveling its assault cannon at the flimsy cover he was behind. The soldier's mind went to all-out survival mode, and he stepped aggressively from cover, skipping a grenade at the hunter's feet as he fired round after round into the beast's face.

When the grenade went off, Sibley fell onto his ass, and a burning sensation on his legs told him he had gotten shrapped by his own weapon. But he had to kill the hunter. He rose and immediately dove forward, narrowly evading a haphazard swipe directed his way. He ran behind it as it fired wildly, unloading the rest of his rifle magazine into the orange flesh between the thing's armor plates. In the frantic battle, he hadn't even stopped to consider the gunfire had died down from his men. The DMR went empty, and no longer capable of protecting him, it went discarded on the ground. Sibley ripped an M7 from its holster on his side and fell into a dead sprint to get around the lumbering beast.

He was out of ammo, and quite nearly out of time. His lungs were burning, his legs were leaden, and it was becoming increasingly difficult to operate the fine controls on his weapons. Sibley gave one last burst of speed and rolled past the hunter, spraying wildly into the orange flesh on its back. He fired and fired until the M7 too, ran empty. Though the covenant beast was still on its feet, the soldier saw he had tore a gaping wound into its back. He grasped the last grenade on his suspenders and lurched toward the pained hunter. With a grunt, he shoved the grenade deep into the wound channel, trying to ignore how the orange worms flowing in the thing tried to grasp his arm. He mashed the arming stud and staggered away, but the hunter spun and clipped his shoulder with its cannon.

That was enough to send Sibley hurling through the air, until a brick wall finally stopped him. He fell slack onto the ground, his vision flashing white.

The next thing he knew, Doc Fischer was kneeling beside him, peeling away the armored undersuit in his uniform. His side didn't hurt as much as he thought it would have, but he couldn't move his arm very well.

"You alright, Mike?"

"Yeah, I think..."

"You fried that covvie shit, el-tee. You should be proud."

Sibley nodded dumbly, only cringing as Fischer pulled shards of the grenade from his leg and administered spurts of biofoam. It took him a couple seconds to formulate a coherent question. "How bad am I fucked up, Doc? Don't bullshit me, either."

Fischer paused, adjusting the blood-soaked gloves he wore. "You're not bad, considering. DeMarco, Haley and Scott got killed instantly by that thing. We have four critically-wounded and one fading fast. We called in a CASEVAC for them, Mike. You're flying out with them too."

The lieutenant shrugged free of the medic and looked for his rifle on the rubble around him. "Say again, doc? I don't think I heard you correctly."

"Mike," Fischer started quietly. "We lost almost everyone."

"Fuck!" The lieutenant took his helmet and threw it, watching it feebly bounce off the wreckage of a sedan and roll to a stop. "One stupid cockup and we lost everyone! God damn it!"

"Mike, there's wounded and battle capable that need you to lead them. You can't lose your cool like this."

"Bullshit, doc. We're fucked anyway." Somehow, Sibley managed to stand, though he immediately collapsed against the wall. The sound of rotors chopping into the air was apparent, and he craned his neck upward. A single UH-144 with a prominent red cross on its side pulled over the street and flared for landing, its single spotlight searching the area. He realized that he hadn't even noticed it was dark out until the light had come on, and it was plain he was in no state to lead. "Get those casualties loaded. We're going to move out soon."

"Roger." Fischer collected his medical equipment, then left to help the evacuation.

Sibley watched as the crewmen aboard the Falcon loaded the limp corpses of Kilo company, then the wounded on metal stretchers. They shoved out several crates of supplies and took off moments later, leaving the area shrouded in darkness. He forced himself to his feet again and limped over to the surviving troopers. Krasnivich, Doc, Archer, Ward. "Lick your wounds people. We're going to move two klicks before we set down for a six-hour sleep rotation. Unpack those crates, strip ammo off abandoned gear and get moving."

This time, there were no 'hooahs.' Just nods and knowing glances as they got to work.
"—in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there. Except my boss is a woman, I was a chick in the 40's, I hate everyone equally, and there's no one alive who can comprehend my sexual preference."

Gladiator0161

#203
Gladiator0161
Loc: Manhattan, New York, on Tunnel Highway 495 enroute to 40th Street


Gladiator sighed as he was able to relax a little bit, though his fingers still remained near the triggers to the mounted machine gun, he looked up to the dark reinforced concrete ceiling. He felt the subtle drop in temperature and remembered the darkening sky outside just before they'd entered the tunnel, a storm was on the way. I need a vacation he thought as he whirled the gun around to face the front, fairly certain that nothing was going to attack them from behind now that they were out of the buildings and on the main stretch of protected highway. He swiveled the turret in a slow circle, making sure there weren't any nearby Banshees that were going to get the drop on them, and then pulled up the map of Manhattan on his HUD as his helmet connected with the Mega City's AI Traffic controller. The image fizzled a few times but, the information sprang up on his HUD a moment later. The stretch of highway they were on would have a turn-off that went down to 3rd Avenue, where they could take a left to East 34th street, or a right to the much closer East 40th street. Another thing was that East 40th was one of the main roads through Manhattan, and led between the Theatre District and the Garment District and then ended with the Lincoln Highway all of which was South East of Central Park.

Any survivors, and probably a fair amount of soldiers would be there, fighting the Covenant no doubt. He had to marvel at the architecture of the bridge-like tunnel that spanned the expanse between Manhattan island and New York's mainland. Two gracefully curving support struts on either side of the structure stabilized the frame while four support legs held the behemoth up above the water. The body of the structure was enclosed to provide protection from the lightning storms that were common due to the large quantities of metallic substances used to build the mega-city. The walls had large twenty foot view screens that displayed the conditions outside, the images provided by video cameras mounted in the skin of the structure. It was a remarkable, and indeed beautiful feat, if not a bit wasteful and arrogant. Some big wig had had it built practically for fun a number of years ago, rumor had that it had been built to provide people with more hope during the Rebellion. Then Covenant Human War had begun shortly after. It had made local news including some of the planets in the Inner Colonies but, otherwise the man's name had died in the light of more serious matters. Now it was just Tunnel Highway 495.

Only the best in technological engineering from the worlds wealthiest Gladiator thought with a wry smile before returning his thoughts to more serious matters hopefully Private Fry, and Addie will be nearby and we can pick them up he thought as he switched his comms to TEAMCOM so that Valkyrie could hear him "Valkyrie, turn right on 3rd Avenue, head to East 40th, if Private Fry and Addie have linked up, they'll probably head there. I'm going to try contacting her again and get a progress report. Over."

"Rodger that" was Valkyrie's easy reply. Not slowing in the least Valkyrie took the turn-off and rounded the winding corner on two wheels, leaving two black marks on the road where there should have been four. Gladiator hung on and even managed a smile underneath his helmet as he found the maneuver a little amusing, and fun. Who needs the Covenant to kill you when Valkyrie's behind the wheel? he thought with a grin as he switched his comm frequency to the one Addie had used before, confident that some of the radio sensors built into the concrete that dotted the ceiling were still in working order. He leaned towards his right to counterbalance the vehicle and help the 'hog settle a little faster. There were a few moments of bouncing and fishtailing but, soon enough Valkyrie leveled the all terrain vehicle out and again they were off at breakneck speeds. Trash and other debris blew past them as the wind started to pick up now that they were out of the bridge-like tunnel.

"Sierra six three six, this is sierra zero one six one. We're going to be a little early getting to the RV point, what's your status?" Gladiator said trying not  to laugh of the image of what he must have looked like with his arms cartwheeling like he'd done when he'd almost been thrown from the Warthog only a few minutes before. He could hear the automatic fire of MK5 series Assault Rifle up ahead, and pulled up the traffic cam feed for East 40th street. There was a squad of ODSTs fighting along side some Army grunts and Marines, they were pinned by the Covenant. Mostly Brutes with their Jackal and Grunt lackeys. What he saw next stole the breath from his lungs. Civilians. There were still civilians in the area being evacuated. If he counted right, the UNSC was defending at least thirty civilians. Why here? What were the Covenant after in New York? and Why hadn't these civvies been evacuated already?

Gladiator looked up as the sun began sinking low on the horizon as an explosion shook the earth somewhere farther up past East 40th. He briefly caught the sight of a fireball rising over the rooftops. He estimated that the explosion had been somewhere between four to eight blocks away from their current position. He went back into the traffic cam network, the mega city's AI helping him locate the source and putting the feed on his HUD. He rewound the video to a few hours before the explosion and saw what looked like a Human girl exit the bunker before the military base went up in flames "What the-?"

Lieutenant Joseph Garrison: 123rd Infantry Division
Loc: East 40th street, Manhattan, New York


"Goddamn covvies keep blocking us! What the hell are they after?!" Joe yelled to his buddy Diggs over the sound of his unit's combined Assault Rifle fire. "How the hell should I know?!" Diggs shouted back "do they need a reason to kill us? They never have before!" Joe just grunted in response and filled another Brute full of lead, dropping it to the scorched and broken pavement. Crystallic shards from Needler fire, Plasma fire, and metallic fire from the Brute soldiers Spiker weapons filled the air only to be answered by the full automatic fire from the UNSC forces Assault Rifles followed by the dull thumps of their thrown grenades. Both Human and alien cries filled the air as warriors on both sides caught enemy fire and died. Their infantry team was ducked down behind abandoned cars, destroyed alien vehicles, and hastily placed barricades all fanned out in a crooked line.

"A little help here!" Jones suddenly cried to his left forcing the Lt to turn and spray the area in front of the Petty Officer with hot lead, downing two Grunts, and wounding a Brute that had made more progress than it should have. The wounded creature went down to a knee, and Jones popped up at Garrison's nod as he reloaded his weapon, and fired the rest of the clip from his Magnum into the beast's leathery forehead, dropping it for the count. "Getting low on magz!" Hughes cried from his position behind a barricade on the sidewalk. Similar cries came from the other soldiers around them. Suddenly a roar drew his attention back to the battlefield and he looked up into the red eyes of a red maned Brute as it stood defiantly atop the car he'd taken cover behind, it's weight slowly crumpling the roof of the vehicle. Garrison pointed to the Brute with two fingers and yelled "Fire!" the combined fire of eight soldiers toppled the large alien backwards onto the back of the car, raising the front of the car a foot off the ground. The bumper clipped Garrison's chin and he fell back, then shook his head to clear it, and reloaded his weapon. A split second later twin plasma grenade explosions sounded from opposite ends of the street as two pairs of Grunts made a suicide run and crashed against the Army soldier's barricades, destroying the barricades and killing the two soldiers at the opposite ends of the street. All six remaining soldiers refocused their attention on the remaining Covenant preparing to rush their position.


EMO

#204
http://images3.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120420211243/halo/images/5/53/Halo_4_visuel_render_5.jpg


Oebr shoved through days worth of war wreckage on the outskirts of a human city called 'New York'. His maroon and gray SpecOps armor was in need of upkeep, but these long weeks after his brothers betrayed him have given no time for rest. He had to align with the humans, to help them stop the covenant.

"How long are you going to hide in shadows heretic?" Bellowed the voice of his Jiralhanae pursuer. He was not far from the furry beast, and would enjoy the kill, but his energy sword was depleted. "I have ripped apart more of your brothers than you care to imagine!" The beast taunted.

Oebr moved behind a ruined weapons drop, but his failure to observe his surroundings led to a clanging tin can. He herd the massive footsteps as the beast approached and at the last moment kicked in his Active Camouflage. The brute threw the human vehicle to the side and his face showed confusion as he stared blankly at the ground.

With all of his strength Oebr twisted his body, striking the brute in his jaw with the knob on the hilt of his sword. The force was enough to stagger and daze his opponent, which was exactly what he was hoping for. The proud sangheili ran, propelled himself from a sturdy metallic cylinder and landed on top of his mark, knocking the brute over and pinning it's arms. With a roar of blood lust he swung fist after fist until the beasts skull caved in and continued swinging.

After the adrenaline subsided Oebr stood and took the Jiralhanae's Mauler. "Your entire existence was worth less than a single Lekgolo." He told the limp body as he stalked away.


It was not long before Oebr had found the cities main streets and a simple four block exploration had him navigating like a pro. He took to the shadows and easily avoided the patrols of Loyalists. They did not understand what they were doing, they were blinded by their pride, and they would suffer for it.

During his exploration the Sangheili found a human communications device, a distress signal that had yet to be activated. He found a building top far from patrols, set up a place to rest, and activated the beacon before retreating into shadows of the night and hoping for the best.

ashia starstreak

The woman watched as the Spartan lifted himself off of the medical bed and take his leave. His speed had left her dumbfounded for a few moments as she was unable to comprehend just what was going on. Her confusement however, quickly turned to anger and she threw the nearly empty canister of bio-foam in her hand upon the cold floor. "What the hell is he doin'!?" she growled turning toward Sling.

Shana didn't pump the giant with bio-foam just so he could get up and run off in a hurry. He was still injured no matter how he was currently feeling. The lack of concern for his own body agitated the woman. Though it was a nice gesture toward the group, it was also foolish. Lifting one side of her upper lip the marine bared her teeth in frustration and balled up her hand. The knuckles stung as she flexed it. Only when the ODST announced his grave news to her was it able to distract her from her destructive needs if only for a moment.

Her facial expression went blank as her green hazel eyes moved away from the elevator door to stare upon Sling. Her vision shifted back and forth from one eye to the other as she pondered just what he meant. His words were not foreign, and yet it felt as though he was speaking tongues.

*****

O'brian was having trouble grasping what he had just witnessed. He was fidgeting, unable to keep in place. Taking a step forward only to step back once more. His hands rubbed the smoothness of his helmet. The young soldier kept mumbling his previous words as his brain continued to evaluate the incident. "What the hell..." As if the reality of just how easily someone's life can be taken had just now hit him. Half the squad was now dead and they had just been deployed a couple days ago. When would the mission end? Was he going to make it?

This wasn't what Echo's 2nd platoon leader had expected either. Jacobs didn't know how to handle it nor was he sure how to snap O'brian from his trance. Shana had unknowningly killed a teammate, the Sergeant would have to report it.  Bringing a hand to his comm unit, Jacobs tried the woman once more, "Shana.." he began, but stopped as his eyes wandered to the smoldering enterance of the mall. He stared upon the large man in the doorway and brought his attention to him instead. Leaving his comm on by accident. "Sir, Sergeant Jacobs of Echo Company reporting in as requested by Admiral Bane. My squad and I have come to assist you." the man reported glancing to Smith and O'brian.

Momentarily, O'brian had forgotten all his worries at the sight of the black and red Spartan that stood not even five feet from himself. Slowly a dumb smirk found its way to his face and he just could not wipe it free. Standing up straight, the lanky soldier stood to attention. Spartans were just something mighty special to O'brian and not even he knew exactly what it was. Maybe it was how they each were known as a legend, perhaps in a way he looked up to them himself as Jacobs did to Shana. One thing he was certain, however, with a Spartan within their group, O'brian had just tripled his chances of survival and that put his simple mind back at ease.

Smith stared upon the tall marine with a raised brow. Finding O'brian's sudden change in attitude amusing he shook his head rolling his eyes. ..seriously?.. was all that came to his mind at the dramatic switch that had just occured in not only his team mate, but the area itself. The battlefield was truely an interesting setting and Smith took a mental note of it as he wondered how it would affect him in the future. Saving further investigation for later, the Private focused upon their surroundings. If it was one thing he learned from training it was to never assume any place was a safe place. Turning his assault rifle over in his hands, Smith looked over to Hunter in silence.

Before Hunter could respond to Jacobs, the Sergeant's comms came to life. "Jacobs? This is Private 1068689. You tell that behemoth to slow down before I break his other leg! Bio-foam does NOT mean he's-" the Sergeant shut off the comm before the woman could finish and smiled upon the Spartan. "Shana sends her love." he told him bending over to pick up his rifle. The woman's words hinted at him that Hunter had been the injured super soldier that had been mentioned earlier. Jacobs felt better about the titan's health knowing Shana had took to his injuries.

*****

"Hello?..Jacobs..come in, over." Shana talked into her headpiece. When there was no response, she first thought he had shut off his comms, but then assumed the hole in her helmet was interfering with her connection. Her eyes met Sling's once more before she averted her attention to the elevator. What he had revealed to her made her feel uncomfortable to be around him. So she left him to wander into the elevator shaft. Her eyes wandered to the ceiling, but it was much too high to escape it to chase after Hunter.

Switching on her flashlight on her helmet she investigated the area. Shana didn't like to be left without a firearm and was hoping to find one in here. With a little bit of luck she had discovered both of her own firearms here. The short woman bent over and picked up her assault rifle. Out of such a mess she was in, the sight of her most valued item always placed a soft smile upon her lips. She inspected it thoughtfully, running a finger along the chipped framming as she played back the memories that had caused such damage.

MA37; an older model of the assault rifles first introduced in 2437 played a big part of her life. It was not just something she could replace. The MA5 were more popular, but she trusted her gun. The very idea of loosing it made her upset. Maybe it wasn't as effective against covenant, but it saved her ass plenty of times and that's all that mattered.

Full ammo, just as she left it from last night. Placing it upon her back, the marine picked up her sidearm to place it on her calf where it belonged. The calf wasn't the normal placement of a handgun, but it seemed she used her secondary knife more often enough that this unusual placement was right for her. Returning back to the injured ODST, she waved him toward the medic bed, the duct tape around her wrist danced around her forearm loosely. Shana bent down to pick up the bio-foam canister and shook the contents to create a judgement of just how much was left.

She prayed he wouldn't bring up the incident with her grenade, but knew she'd have to face the topic later. There was nothing that could rightly be done about it at this time anyways and she didn't need to deal with that on top of everything else that was happening around her. In an attempt to avoid it, she said, "Come on, let's see if I can fix ya up."

"A knight in shining armor is a man who has never had his metal truly tested."

Hunter Phoenix

Hunter looked at the squad in turn, noticing that there were fewer of them than before, not counting the one that had just become a part of the buildings decoration. He felt sorry for them, they were just marines doing their job. They didn't deserve this kind of war zone. He smiled when Jacobs mentioned Shana

"Yeah I bet she does, come on, the area is clear for now, follow me and keep quiet in case there are Covenant in the upper levels"

With that he turned his back on the group and walked back towards the elevator shaft, keeping his eyes and ears open for the sight and sound of any forces that may be about to descend on them. Reaching the shaft safely, he grabbed hold of the cables and held them to the first marine

"We're currently based down at the bottom of here, go down slowly and announce yourself, I get the feeling Shana is going to be jumpy and we don't want to lose anymore of you than we already have done"

He waited for the first marine to take the cables.
Where Will A Creature Of Darkness Hide If Not In The Shadows Of The Night.

Maelyn

#207
Gasping, Ashley’s eyes popped open and she sat up with a start.  A sound came from her left and she froze, listening intently.  After a moment, she realized it was just a tiny rustling and heard a small squeak.  Turning on the flashlight she’d clutched in her hand while sleeping, she shined the light in the direction of the sound and sighed.  It was nothing but a rat, no doubt rummaging for a warm place to sleep or perhaps attracted to the food in her bag. 

Shooing the rat away, she stood, stretching her tired muscles from the cramps she’d gained while sleeping on a hard, concrete floor.  She was sure there were beds and running water above, but it had definitely been safer here.  A soft mattress was a fair trade for her life.

Still, she did make use of the running water, finding a bathroom on the ground floor where she was able to clean up a little before heading out again.  As she stood in the bathroom, drying her face with a paper towel, she considered her next steps.  Now that she was topside and in a fairly safe location, she should see if she could contact any of the military in the area.

From her bag, she extracted a small device which she curled in and around her ear then adjusted the small extension against her neck.  She then dug out her COM pad and tapped a few keys to connect it to the ear piece before recording a message.   

“Uh…Mayday.  Mayday.  Mayday.  This is Ashley Foster…PFC Foster.  I’m en route from Grand Central in Manhattan across the bridge to the bunker Middle Village.  I’ve not come across any hostiles yet, but any help would be appreciated.”

A few seconds later, she’d looped the recording to play back on all frequencies.  Now she only had to wait and hope for a reply. 

In the meantime, she had to get out of here.  Pocketing the COM pad, Ashley shrugged on her pack and retraced her steps to the entrance of the building, careful to make as little noise as possible and to scope the area before exiting onto the street.  The sun was starting to set and she wasn’t sure how far she’d get, but she wanted to keep moving and get to the bunker as soon as possible.

With the sun dipping down behind the buildings, she was debating if she should have stayed where she was for the night or continue on and pull out her night vision.  The bridge she needed to cross was only a few blocks away and she wondered if it was being manned by friend or foe.  She’d have to be careful and keep on her guard.

Turning the corner, she froze her in her tracks, her eyes widening as she stared.  Sure, she knew what it was, logically, but her brain wasn’t quite firing correctly.  As much as she’d seen of their enemy, it had all been on vid screens.  In real life, it was even scarier. 

She watched as the grunt before her turned its head.  Ashley could tell the exact moment he saw her as he burst into action, causing her to do the same.  Raising the M7 with trembling hands, she cocked the first round and fired.  A spray of bullets emitted from the weapon, some hitting the grunt’s left leg while the others missed their mark. 

Instinctively, Ashley ducked back around the corner as the grunt reciprocated, blasting multiple shots of blue plasma fire into the wall inches from her head.  The  Taking a deep breath, she tried to calm her racing heart before leaning out to assess the situation.  The grunt was making its way toward her.  She could almost hear her brother, Damien, in her head, his calm, even toned voice whispering advice and encouragement.  In reality, she was just remembering all the training she’d done with him, but she’d take what she could get if it helped save her ass, even the disembodied voice of her older brother.

She again raised the M7, her grip steadier than it had been.  Inhaling and gathering her courage, she quickly side stepped and fired.  This time her shots were more on target and in seconds, she could see pale blue liquid seeping from the holes in its chest in the fading light before it collapse face first onto the ground. 

Ashley held the gun at the ready for another few moments, wanting to make sure it was dead.  She then scoped the rest of the street she was on.  Grunts moved more in packs, she recalled, so there were more than likely others nearby.  She had mere seconds before they’d show, she surmised, and when they did, she wanted to be in a more secure location. 

The best she could think for the moment was to get inside one of these buildings, so she darted into the shop just a few yards from where she was.  It was some sort of convenience store.  The windows were blown out and the place was a mess, but she was able to duck behind the counter for some semblance of cover.

It was only a few seconds before she saw a pair of grunts lumbering down the street, their massive arms swinging and helping propel their movement toward their fallen comrade.  Swallowing hard, Ashley debated if she should stay hidden or attempt to kill these as well, but when she saw what turned the corner behind them, she made her decision. 

An elite, or so her brothers called them, had joined the pair.  Much taller than the short and stocky grunts, she knew they were much harder to kill.  They had better armor and shields than the grunt she’d taken down; making her wonder if she could do it. 

Shifting slightly to get a better look, she felt her leg brush against something before the sound of something falling to the floor touched her ears.  Cursing, she glanced out and yep, the trio had heard it and came to investigate.  Wasting no time, she popped up from behind the counter and let out a burst round, aiming for the two grunts, before ducking again behind her cover.  The sound of her own firing was quickly echoed by the enemy’s as they reciprocated.  Thankfully, her cover held and all they’d done was kicking up a bunch of debris as they hit the items surrounding the counter.

Popping up again, she sprayed them again, noticing one grunt had gone down while the other limped, but the elite was still rushing at her.  Yelping as he fired right on her, she saw she’d nailed the other grunt in the upper torso.  She quickly hit it again, emptying the clip into it to make sure it went down.  It started to fall just as she dashed behind cover again, refreshing her ammo amid a shower of debris.  She knew a few of her rounds had hit the elite, but with its shielding, she wasn’t sure how much more it would take. 

Her next burst gave her hope, though.  Her aim was true and she littered its chest with bullets, at least one having hit home as she noticed the creature jerk back on impact.  Unfortunately, this seemed to send it into a rage and it leaped at her position.  Screeching in fright, Ashley curled herself into the corner and continued to fire.  It landed with a loud crash, busting the counter in two and smashing its head into the paraphernalia on the wall display.

Ashley froze.  She was against the wall, legs curled under her and weapon up, ready to fire again if it moved, but it didn’t.  She couldn’t see or hear anything.  The entire area went eerily silent.  Choking on a sob, she lowered her weapon, hands trembling as she stared at the body of the creature she’d just killed.

Michael Corvus

#208
1930 HOURS, OCTOBER 27, 2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR) \ SOL SYSTEM,
PLANET EARTH, UNITED REPUBLIC OF NORTH AMERICA, NEW YORK, NEW YORK

“Oscar Two Bravo, Oscar Two Bravo, this is Echo Six Romeo, over.” Staff Sergeant Julius “Caesar” Russell had been attempting to establish radio communications with his platoon leader, second lieutenant James Bostic, since he went off the grid during the initial phase of the mission. As he took cover behind the crumbling expanse of concrete that had once been part of office and computer supply building, he waited for several long minutes to pass before he keyed SQUADCOM again, repeating his call, “Oscar Two Bravo, Oscar Two Bravo, this is Echo Six Romeo, do you read, over?” He was met with static. It had been the same with FLEETCOM and HIGHCOM ever since they’d dropped into New York. So far, the only COMS they had going for them was TEAMCOM. In other words, Caesar and his squad were only able to communicate with each other thanks to the COMS jamming initiated by Covenant forces.

Around him, the other members of Delta Squad scanned their surrounding area, their weapons leveled and their heads on a swivel as they searched for signs of the lieutenant, or anyone else from the failed op, all the while maintaining optimal situational awareness. The Covenant patrol at the next intersection was just like the last three they’d bypassed in the last several hours as they carefully picked their way through the shattered remains of New York.

“I’m picking up something,” Private First Class Spryidon Pyrgos said as he adjusted the dials on the sophisticated, hand-held electronic device, attenuating the static out of the weak signal originating from a nearby building. Glancing up, he gestured toward the crumbling building beyond the intersection of Lexington Avenue and E 51st Street. ”There.” A nav marker appeared on delta squad’s TACMAP, indicating the Cornell University.

Corporal Ljutimir Cernos turned his SRS99D-S2 AM sniper rifle toward the ruined University, adjusted the bipod on the rubble to stabilize the weapon, and peered through the scope. He carefully dialed the scope in, shifting his sights over the debris for visual confirmation. “Spider, you are sure? I no see the Lieuten… erm… Boss,” he said in his broken English, thick with a Croatian accent, still unused to calling the Lieutenant “Boss”, as his CO preferred. Although Lucky was no stranger to this war, nor to the ODST for that matter, he was new to Delta squad. Lucky’s transfer from Charlie Company came shortly after Sergeant Chatur Rakha, Delta’s former sniper, was killed in action during the Battle of Reach.

“Well, Lucky,” interjected Lance Corporal Dieter Koenig, in customary sarcastic fashion, “I’m sure he’s not going to be standing out in the open holding up a sign that says ‘Yoo Hoo! Lucky, it’s me… da Boss man’ and waving his arms at you.”.

“Anyone ever saying to you… you am too much talking,” Lucky asked as he cast Jaw a contemptuous glare through the de-polarized silvery-blue faceplate of his ODST helmet. 

“Why do you think we call him ‘Jaw’?” Lance Corporal Tatiana Alvarez chimed in with a soft chuckle, her MA5D sweeping their more exposed left flank.

Settling into position, Jaw brought his M739 LMG to bear before he glanced back to the squad’s lone female member for a moment. Returning his attention to the intersection ahead of them, he quipped, “Shouldn’t you be… I dunno…” he waved his hand out towards the carnage of buildings before them in haphazard fashion, “…reconnoitering something somewhere, Crush?” She replied with an amused grin and an air kiss sent in Jaw’s direction.

“How you are gettting your calling sign, Crush,” Lucky asked without pulling his focus from his scope as he continued scanning the building Spider had marked over the squad’s TACCOM.

“Yes, Crush please share with Corporal Cernos here how nearly aaall the men - and even some of the ladies - in the 66th MEF seem to have a knack for finding themselves inside your…” He paused and glanced back to Crush with a smirk on his face,”…quarters?”

There was an almost indiscernibly soft chuckle from Crush as she shifted slightly. She kept the sites of her DMR trained on the Elite, outlined in red in her HUD by her VISR. The Elite was sifting through the rubble of the building half a block from the University; NYPD’s collapsed 17th precinct. ”Keep jawing and you’ll learn first hand exactly why I earned my call sign.” She gestured towards Jaw’s crotch with an open hand, palm up, and then squeezed air, tightening her hand into a fist and twisting before she yanked her hand back to get her point across.

”Oooh, Crush. You dirty, dirty girl,” he teased, the soft sounds of blowing her a kiss quietly heard over TEAMCOM.

“You have no idea, Jaw... and you never will."

Jaw elbowed Lucky with a smug grin on his face. "Ya see that, Lucky? She wants me. It's just a matter of time now before I have on her back, purring like a Guta in heat."

While Jaw and Crush persisted with their banter, Caesar had been scanning the building’s perimeter for thermal signatures and friendly IFF tags. He had also accessed a TACMAP of the local area, including Cornell’s most up to date blueprints. Reaching out a gloved hand, Caesar gave Jaw a firm slap against the back of his helmet. ”Shut the fuck up and act like you belong in this unit.”

”Feet first into hell then back again,” Jaw replied with practiced bravado. Crush simply smirked and rolled her eyes at Jaw before giving her full attention to her MA5D and the Elite at the other end of her barrel.

Caesar carefully moved to Spider’s position. Spider was also new to the unit, a rollover from what used to be Alpha squad. Crouching beside him, Caesar placed his hand on the younger Marine’s shoulder, letting the weight of his Galilean rest upon his lap. ”Spider?”

”Yeah, Sarge,” he said triple checking the readings on his equipment, making sure he wasn’t getting random feedback interference that merely mimicked the appropriate signal response. ”It’s a looped signal with lots of static, but I’m definitely getting weak, groundside signals over the UNSC E-Band."

”Put it on audio,” Caesar said, his expression stern.

There was a series of hisses, pops and static, silence, then the loop repeated. ” It’s hard to say with all the interference the Covies are throwing at us, but I think it’s UNSC transponder freqs… standard distress signal.”

”It could be Boss,” Crush said, following the Elite with her weapon as it moved back to the Covenant checkpoint at the intersection. There were thirteen of them in all, as far as they could see; Three Sangheili , four Kig-Yar, and six Unggoy. Thermals weren’t picking up any other heat signatures outside and, short of going inside, there was no way of knowing for sure what was inside the nearby buildings.

”Or it could be a trap,” replied Jaw.

Caesar nodded as he studied the situation. The possibility hadn’t escaped him. ”Either way, we’re gonna check it out. Whether it’s Boss or not, there could potentially be someone who needs our help… and that’s what we’re gonna do. So, let’s all stay frosty and do what we do.” He called up an overview of the area, sending it over the TACCOM as he laid out the plan. ”Crush, I want you and Lucky to move into this building here,” A nav marker blinked into existence on the HUD over the Sotherby Institute of Art on the corner of Lexington and E 51st, across the street from Cornell. ”Reconnoiter the area surrounding Cornell and mark all hostiles over TACCOM. I want you two to find a sweet spot on one of the upper floors and rain down death and destruction. Crush, assist with your DMR, but you’re main job is to watch Lucky’s back once he gets set up.”

”You got it Sarge” she replied crisply as she moved into position next to Lucky, preparing to make the move when the order was given.

”Jaw, you run your SAW from here. Spider, you’re going to flank left on that checkpoint,” another nav marker indicated a spot along Lexington Avenue that ran between Cornell and the office supply building, behind a commuter bus that lay on its side surrounded be several civilian vehicles that could be used for cover. ”This should provide you with sufficient defilade.” Another nav marker blinked over the Double Tree Hilton Hotel on the opposite side of the intersection. ”I will move with Lucky and Crush to this location, then proceed across Lexington to flank the right side of the checkpoint, here”. He glanced up to his squad to make sure there no questions. Everyone reviewed the plan, committing it to memory without question. ”We’ll get these fuckers caught in a crossfire and they won’t know which way the attack is coming from or how many of us there are. They’re not going to know what’s hit ‘em. Maintain radio silence until the assault has begun. Give the green light over TACCOM once you’re in position. Take out the Elites first. Lucky, target Spider's first contact, Crush, you target mine. We’ll bring down their shields with burst fire, and then you’ll put a bullet in their brainpans. Jaw… rape these fuckers up the ass with your SAW."

”Now you’re talking my language, Sarge,” Jaw said with a wicked grin, feeding a fresh drum into his M739.

"Wait for my signal before we show these assholes how the Delta Demons operate and then we’ll give these bastards some ODST hell… send ‘em off to meet their fucking gods in little pieces. Oohrah?”

”Oohra,” came the collective response.

Caesar grabbed Lucky and Spider, looking them both in the eyes. ”Helljumpers in Delta don’t die without permission, understood?”

”Yes, Sergeant,” they said in unison.

Lucky thought he saw a hint of a smile on Caesar’s face just before his visor polarized, obscuring his features.

”Alright, move out, Demons,” Caesar ordered his squad, leading Jaw and Spider from their cover.

Without another word, everyone moved as one; a highly trained, finely tuned killing unit. Lucky and Crush bolted across E 51st Street and disappeared into the building while Spider stalked from his cover to the nav marker in the middle of Lexington Avenue. Caesar waited for Spider to get into position before he followed behind Lucky and Crush, moving through the lobby of the building before he crossed Lexington and slipped into the Hilton.

Lucky and Crush began clearing their way up to the roof while the rest of Delta squad moved into position at the intersection. Satisfied that the building was clear, the two made their way back down a couple of floors where Lucky began to setup a hasty sniper hide for the two of them. Crush secured both entrances into the large, abandoned room with M9 HE Frag grenades attached to tripwires to ensure that no Covenant would get the drop on them while they were busy from their sniper positions, active camouflage or not.

Lucky and Crush’s squad icons flashed green over the squad’s TACCOM, letting the rest of Delta know that they were in position. Jaw yanked back on the charging handle of his M739 LMG, sending the first round into the barrel before flashing his icon green on the TACMAP. Spider flashed his icon green, leveling his Battle Rifle on the Sangheili nearest to him, and then waited for Caesar’s signal.

It was the calm just before the shit-storm of lead and plasma that was soon to follow. Everyone tensed as they awaited Caesar’s signal. Lucky zeroed his sights in on the Sangheili nearest to Spider’s location while Crush targeted the one close to Caesar, both of them aiming for their large heads. Caesar knelt down behind a slab of concrete that used to be part of a wall and shouldered his Battle Rifle, taking aim at the nearest Sangheili.

Somewhere off in the distance there was an explosion, ”probably another element of the op kicking some Covie ass,” Caesar hoped. The explosion got the attention of the Sangheili and Kig-yar and caused the Unggoy to dance about with nervous excitement.

Caesar calmed his breathing, inhaling slowly and deeply before he exhaled easily. In the pause before he inhaled his next breath, he squeezed the trigger sending a three round burst into the large alien. It’s shields shimmered and faltered for moment and then it’s head exploded as Crush sent the 7.62 X 51mm round racing from her DMR and tearing through Sangheili's weakened shields. It's head exploded like a watermelon, sending a spray of gore washing over the nearby Kig-yar and Unggoy.

At the same instant, Jaw began hosing the checkpoint with armor piercing 7.62 x 51mm, killing two Kig-Yar and three Unggoy and sending the rest scattering for cover. Spider let loose with a three round burst almost right on top of Caesar's, the second Sangheili's shields sparking and glowing. Lucky's round from his sniper rifle nearly tore the Elite in half. The remaining Sangheili roared in defiance, whipping its plasma blade to life as it fell back, regrouping behind thick, concrete barricades. It was obvious they had no idea where the attack was coming from, and so they focused their attention on the more obvious threat; Jaw and his M739. Caesar rushed forward from his cover to a charred Scorpion tank, pressing his back against the ruined armor while Jaw kept them pinned down. On the opposite flank, Spider made his move as well, closing the pincer movement in for the kill.

Jaw's M739 ran dry and he dropped down behind his cover. "I'm empty! Reloading," Jaw called out over TEAMCOM. The Sangheili, thinking it had the upper hand now, raised up, a plasma grenade primed in its hand. It reared back to hurl the grenade when Caesar stepped from behind his cover and sent a wall of lead into the Elite's shields. It roared with fury and turned to face the new threat, but before it could toss the grenade, Lucky fired off a shot that penetrated it's shield and severed it's arm at the elbow. The arm fell to the ground at its feet, the grenade still cooking off in its hand. Kig-Yar and Unggoy scampered to get away from the grenade, but it exploded before most of them could affect a get away, sending body parts raining down on the surrounding area. The few Unggoy that did clear the blast radius where quickly gunned down by Caesar and Spider.

Caesar cautiously moved to all the carnage, lifted his helmet briefly, and spat on the Sangheili. "All clear, Delta. Rally on me, on the double." he called out over TEAMCOM.

Crush slung her DMR across her back, wielding her suppressed MA5D instead. As Lucky folded the bipod and stood from his kneeling position, one of the tripwires triggered, exploding the M9 HE Frag grenade and sending shrapnel into the pair of Sangheili attempting to stealth their way behind the ODSTsl. The concussion flung Lucky into the nearby wall, where he slumped to the floor, the air stolen from his lungs. The active camouflage sizzled and wavered before it failed completely. The leading Sangheili fell to the floor, dead. Its partner snapped it's plasma blade to life and lunged at Crush with a feral roar.

"CRUSH! LUCKY!" TALK TO ME," Caesar bellowed as he glanced up to the high rise.

"Bit busy at the moment, Sarge," Came Crush's calm reply just moments before the towering Sangheili plowed into her. The force of the impact sent her MA5D flying from her grasp and soaring through the window, hurling towards the street below where it shattered upon impact.

"CRUSH," Lucky screamed, regaining his composure as she was buried beneath the much larger alien, it's plasma blade reared back for the killing blow. It turned to look at Lucky when he yelled then gave an ominous laugh. Crush was struggling just to breathe beneath the immense weight of her attacker. With one hand she reached up to grab the Sangheili's wrist, no doubt in the hopes of keeping the blade at bay. Her other hand strained to pull her M6S Magnum from it's holster along her thigh, but the alien's leg had her arm pinned just inches away from her sidearm.

"Lucky! Shoot the son of a bitch," she screamed to her squad mate.

Lucky had already brought his MA5D to his shoulder and fired a long string of continuous fire into the creature's face. It's shields sparked and glowed as it shifted to face Lucky, freeing Crush's other arm in the process. It swung it's plasma blade towards Lucky, easily ripping free from Crush's grip. The blade sliced through the weapon like a hot knife through butter. Lucky tossed the ruined assault rifle aside and drew his M6S.

"Puny hooman. Now you die," the creature growled before laughing once more.

Crush pressed the barrel of her Magnum against the bottom of the Elite's mandibles. "You first, squid face," she taunted her assailant just before emptying half a mag into it's head just as Lucky fired off a quick string of rounds into it's face. It collapsed in a heap atop Crush, spilling it's indigo blood all over her.

"A little help here, Lucky? Get this filthy piece of shit off me!"

Lucky holstered his sidearm and keyed TEAMCOM. "We are being okay, Sergeant. Couple of.... squid faces... are knowing why Crush is getting her calling sign."

Caesar shook his head with amused chuckle. "Poor bastards. Now quit dickin' around and get your assess down here on the the double you two. Delta, ammo check. Police any ammo you can find. We're going inside to find that signal."
My O/O's | My A/A's | My Characters
The Oath of The Drake
*Currently Only Seeking Group Games*

EMO

Oebr stayed low by the edge of the roof top after the explosion had sounded. The elite was in shield watching as a bunch of humans took a company of Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unngoy. The first to fire did so from a building, taking out the Sangheili Minor's shields, and another shot took it out from a higher position in another building.

His attention faded from the aspects of the battle to the appearance of the humans and trying to figure their reasons for being there. The small group hardly changed position as the Kig-Yar and grunts were picked off and the Sangheili weakened. Where they there for the signal? It was possible even with the Covenant signal disruptions in place. Or were they there on a prejudicial hunt, a team to wage war against as many of the Covenant as they could trying desperately to save their world?

An explosion brought his focus to the building where the gunner had taken the first elite with a very accurate shot, he could not see the cause, or the result but assumed the best after the two who had entered, exited from the low end.

If they were here for the signal, he would have to be prepared and surprising humans with guns never ended well for anyone so he shut down his active camouflage, sat the mauler on the ground where the humans would most likely come through, took five paces away, and took a stance that conveyed a lack of will to fight, with his head low and hands shown.

Gladiator0161


Gunnery Sergeant Desmonde "Sling" Rockwell
Loc: Mall Emergency Medical Room, New York City, New York


"What the hell is he doin'?!" Shana yelled before turning to him his words to her finally hitting home. Sling merely shrugged and hoped that his message had gotten through to Hunter "My guess...being a Spartan" he replied as he hobbled over to the medical bed. He watched the emotions play across Shana's face at the news. He could only wonder what was going on inside her head at the news. For a few minutes, it looked like she was trying to figure out what he had said, as if he had been speaking a foreign language. But a glance to her clenched fist told him that his message had gotten through. He felt sympathy for the woman. She hadn't meant to kill a "friendly" and in reality it hadn't been her fault entirely, the Marine that triggered the trap had been careless, and that carelessness had cost that person their life. Now Shana, in all likelihood was going to be court-martialed and punished when all this was over, and the incident put on her record for all to see.

He watched as she regained her composure and the anger at Hunter flooded back into her features, causing her face to flush as she commed someone named 'Jacobs', apparently the commanding officer to the team of Marines up above, telling him in no uncertain terms that she was not happy with Hunter's carelessness with his injuries. Despite himself Sling smiled, clearly amused by the change in the small Marine before him. Apparently though she'd been cut off because she was tapping her helmet com and looking to the ceiling. She wandered over to the wrecked elevator and turned on the flashlight on her helmet, gazing up the shaft, no doubt following the Spartan's progress. He briefly wondered if she was going to climb up after him but, to his surprise she didn't. Instead she shuffled around the wreckage searching for something, and a few minutes later lifted her well used and well worn MA37 clear of the debris. Sling depolarized his helmet and crossed his arms "So, am I supposed to watch you all day or are you eventually gonna fix my leg up?" he said, watching as Shana smiled upon sight of the weapon, running her fingers over the dented frame. Her mind seemed to go somewhere else for a second before she turned her gaze on him, and holstered the old Assault Rifle on her calf. She motioned for him to get on the bed and bent to pick up the biofoam canister "come on, let's see if I can fix ya up" was her simple reply as she shook the canister to gauge how much remained inside.

"What? No snappy comeback? No insults?" he said as he scooted backwards and used his good leg to hop up onto the bed, using the Gravity Hammer to help keep his injured leg off the ground. He tried to twist his body around without bumping his injured leg but, that was easier said than done. He could barely move it below the knee now. Despite the searing pain he willed himself to lift the injured leg at the thigh, and set it down gently upon the mattress. He collapsed then, all his energy spent. Shana moved up to the bed to begin her work a moment later, he placed a hand on hers "It's not your fault. That damned greenhorn shoulda been more careful" he grunted through clenched teeth.

Sushi

Valkyrie smoothly applied the brakes, slowing the Warthog to a stop. She drummed her fingers on the wheel. The video feed had popped up in her HUD at the same time as Gladiator. "Think we've got innies again?" She referenced the infamous insurrection that they had all been commissioned to fight years ago. They all had memories of that conflict - sometimes very unpleasant ones.

The real question was, what did they do to help the situation. They had a Spartan in need of medical care that they would have to lug around in a combat zone. She was a pretty good driver, but Valkyrie knew her limits. "I don't mind fighting. But we need to get Patric some medical care first."
"—in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there. Except my boss is a woman, I was a chick in the 40's, I hate everyone equally, and there's no one alive who can comprehend my sexual preference."

Gladiator0161


Gladiator rewound the video and paused it when the girl was in a clearer frame. His eyes scanned her body looking for anything that might have said "Innie" to his instincts but, nothing was triggered. She looked like any other civilian to him but, that didn't necessarily mean anything. Insurrectionists were trained to blend in, and disappear. Since most of them didn't have the funding or the weaponry that the UNSC had, they had to rely on hard hitting Gorilla warfare tactics, and unfortunately it worked pretty well. Something didn't sit right with this girl though. How was she able to get into a military bunker? As far as he knew they had encryptions and security measures that were pretty near unhackable. Not that that seemed to matter much to the Covenant AI's. Gladiator sighed, computer hacking and security programming was all well above his head, he preferred more substantial security measures. Like a man with a gun "Could be" Gladiator said in reply to Valkyrie's question "we'll only know that if we catch up to her though but, that'll have to wait. Like you said, we have a man down and he needs medical attention, and we also have a Spartan and a Marine that need to link up with ..."

"Spartans! Over here! This is Lieutenant Joseph Garrison from the 123rd infantry, we could use your help clearing out some Covenant squatters if you've got the time" the voice of a young man broke over the Comms interrupting Gladiator. The Spartan looked over to where an Army officer was waving at them from the next block over. "Is there any place the Covenant isn't?" Gladiator muttered into his mic before looking at the back of Vlakyrie's helmet and then looking to Patric, still unconscious in the passenger side seat, as he tried to decide what to do from here. Both himself and Valkyrie could fight but, Patric was in bad condition, and Gladiator didn't like the idea of going into combat with such a vulnerable comrade. Could they hide him somewhere until the action was over with? He began looking for just such a place when his thoughts were interrupted again.

"This is Spartan six three six, I'm closing on Private Fry's location, and may have come across some more friendlies. Over." came the curt reply from Spartan 636.

"Rodger that 636. Link up with them and then shift it towards our location as quick as you reasonably can. We have a man down that needs medical attention ASAP. We're going to help a group of Army grunts defend some civvies near our location, then we'll be heading your way. Over." Gladiator responded eyeing a covered dumpster and jumping off the turret station, the Warthog bouncing as his heavy frame hit the street feet first. He walked over to Patric and gently lifted him out of the 'hog "this is no place for a soldier but, you should be safe here until the fighting's done with. Shouldn't take long" he said to the other Spartan's unconscious form as he gently placed him inside the dumpster and closed the heavy lid.

He fast walked back to the Warthog and pointed in the direction of the Army grunts "Let's go rescue some civvies."

Sushi

She considered the scene in front of them before pressing the gas. They started out slowly, picking up speed. There was the idea of setting up the puma to be a stationary weapon to help their defense, but that plan reeked of plasma grenades. They weren't sure what had the soldiers pinned down, and waiting around to see would lose their initiative.

There was a time to cower in a trench, and a time to go all-out. "I want you to get that gun working as soon as we clear this corner," she said.

Lieutenant Garrison gawked as the spartan yanked on the handbrake and turned the wheel hard right, skidding past him in a cloud of tire smoke. The clatter of the mounted machine gun had heads turning as Valkyrie weaved around obstacles in the street, plowed through a sangheili warrior and performed a hard handbrake turn, reversing direction and hurtling back up the street, cleaning out what covenant they had missed. The incoming fire was thick now, but the army grunts that had dug in were firing in earnest too, emboldened by the display.

Valkyrie glanced over a Gladiator to make sure he was still attached to the vehicle. When she turned back, an elite with a plasma rifle loomed huge on the driver's side, latching onto the frame. It's fist smashed into the side of her head, rocking the spartan in her seat. Her vision flashed white, but before the elite had time to capitalize on the moment of weakness, she released her seatbelt, braced her feet against the frame of the Warthog and leapt clear, slamming into the alien. "Fuck you."

The sangheili hit the ground with a crunch. Valkyrie drew back her fist and punched it in the head, hard enough to shatter its armored helmet. When it tried to aim its plasma weapon, she cleanly broke the arm and jammed the rifle into the base of the alien's skull, mashing the trigger. Needless to say, what was left could not be described as combat-ready. She turned back to where the Warthog had been, only to see it roll to a stop halfway down the block, Gladiator still running the machine gun.

"Sorry bout that, Glad." She took off at a sprint for the vehicle, unslinging her rifle.
"—in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there. Except my boss is a woman, I was a chick in the 40's, I hate everyone equally, and there's no one alive who can comprehend my sexual preference."

Gladiator0161

Gladiator nodded to Valkyrie's order "Rodger that, ready when you are" a moment later they carefully rounded the corner, starting slow and then picking up speed. They skidded right past the lieutenant and Gladiator opened up the mounted chain turret, cutting down a row of Grunts, and their Elite commanders, as Valkyrie smashed a Sangheili warrior that tried to block their path. Suddenly an Elite jumped onto the driver's side and punched Valkyrie in the side of the head. Valkyrie shook it off cursing and leapt onto the Elite, removing the alien and herself from the vehicle before Gladiator could swivel the turret around and cut it down.

Seeing Valkyrie had things in hand, he continued to man the turret as the Warthog rolled slowly along cutting down whatever alien was stupid enough to raise it's ugly head. Plasma pinged off the vehicle but, the cover fire from the army grunts behind him did alot to discourage the alien's return fire. Gladiator looked to his radar off the corner of his eye and spotted movement. Suddenly every instinct told him to duck. An Elite's energy sword sizzled overhead bare centimeters where his head had been a split second ago. Gladiator swiveled the gun around trying to get away from the deadly energy weapon, the turret's barrel slammed against the Elite's side unbalancing it and knocking it off the Warthog. Swinging the turret around so that it faced the front of the 'hog again, he pulled the DMR rifle from his thigh and while keeping ahold of the turret grip with one hand turned, set one foot securely on the edge of the bed, and put two bullets into the recovering Sangheili warrior. The vehicle jounced as something heavy landed on it, and the Gladiator heard the distinctive snap-hiss of another Energy Sword coming to life.  He turned just in time to see a Elite in red armor crouched on the cab, one two toed foot resting on the windshield's frame, and the other on the bar separating the driver's seat and passenger's seat. It roared at him, it's four pronged mouth opening wide to reveal sharp single rowed yellow teeth. Gladiator hunkered down, raising the barrel of the turret just as the Elite stepped forward in preparation to strike, and pulled the trigger. The turret's high powered ammunition made mince meat out of the Elite's chest, spraying purple blood into the air, creating a purple mist as the blood was evaporated due to the heat from the high powered bullets ripping past. The aliens corpse was ripped in half from the chest up as gravity took hold and pulled the corpse down as the Spartan continued to fire.

Gladiator could feel his blood pressure spike along with his adrenaline, as it again dawned on him how close to death he'd come just then. He shook his head and cleared his mind, continuing to fire at the remaining aliens as he turned the turret left, right, up and down, firing at every alien that moved in short controlled streams, as he felt himself drift into the familiar numbing "zone". Soon the Warthog slowed to a stop, and gently bumped against the side of a building. Everything went quiet a moment later, except for a ringing in Gladiator's ears from the onrush of his body's reaction to his latest of near death experiences. Time seemed to slow but, the ringing in his head was constant. Before he knew it, Valkyrie was there climbing back into the blood drenched driver's seat. Only then did it dawn on him that she had said something a couple of minutes ago. He took a glance at the carnage in the street, the mixing colors of alien and human blood, and the sheer amount of bodies that littered the street, alien and human alike. He looked back to Valkyrie as a final shot rang down the street from one of the soldier's magnum side arms, the sound itself seeming to shake him back into reality. Gladiator cleared his throat "sorry Valkyrie, did you say something?"

"Daaaamn Spartans!" the voice of an obviously impressed army grunt rang out over his headset "I'm glad you're on our side!"

"Glad you enjoyed the show" Gladiator said, a small smile coming to his lips, one that he didn't quite feel due to the amount of civilian deaths around them "now get those civilians to safety before more Covvies show up." He rested a moment against the mounted turret as Valkyrie turned the 'hog around, letting his lungs fill with air and his heart slow, before stepping off the turret station. Walking over to the covered dumpster, he raised the lid and carefully retrieved their unconscious team member, and fastened him back into the passenger seat. The exhaustion and hunger was beginning to get to him again, up until now, he'd been able to ignore it. Now, he didn't know how much longer he'd be able to survive without some food and some sleep if they kept this pace up. His stomach growled, futilely reminding him of how much he needed food to replace all the energy he'd expended since he'd started this mission. The little bit that he'd had during the mission hadn't been nearly enough. With his head pounding due to a lack of nutrition and an over expenditure of energy, his thoughts were in a fog. Everything except their current mission, and their surviving team members was hazy now. He walked back to the turret station on the Warthog and climbed back in, taking a firm hold on the trigger guards. Gladiator looked around to confirm that there were no living enemies, and that the army soldiers were back on their way again. They were.

Gladiator nodded to Valkyrie "let's go."

ashia starstreak

Jacobs nodded his head to the Spartan and motioned to his team to follow the giant into the building. He looked back and observed the garage a final time before following Smith in through the blackened door. The smell of burnt carcass tickled his nose hairs in an unpleasant way. Rubbing a finger against his nostrils, Jacobs ignored the urge to cough and instead cleared his throat. Loosing another cadet wasn't something that the sergeant was happy about, but he felt slightly relieved.  Jacobs cursed himself for such an emotion. It was selfish and inconsiderate. He was better than that...he will become better than that. He looked to O'brian and couldn't help, but think slightly negative. ..if I can survive this private..if I can make him better..I can become a better leader to my troops.. he thought.

Offering the young marine a smile he placed his hand upon the privates back and urged him down the cables. "I have your back, private." Jacobs told O'brian. ..I will make you better...

The lanky soldier grinned back and gave his sergeant a light pat upon his arm. "Thanks Sarg." He said and looked to Hunter. Nodding to the super soldier, O'brian reached for the cable and slid his way down the shaft. Not realizing just what Jacobs had in mind for him.

After getting the nod off from Jacobs, Smith placed his rifle upon his back and reached for the cable. Hesitating, his brown eyes glanced back. Releasing the elevators cord, the private pulled his rifle off his back and aimed it toward the broken glass windows near the staircase. "Enemy sighted!" he exclaimed, pushing the safety off of his gun. He waited for a command or the enemy to make the first move.

Whipping around, Jacobs pulled forth his own gun, but before he could make an order a grenade came at them.  "Grenade!" was all he could muster as he dived to his left. Smith instinctively dived to the right.

"There he is!" a grunt squealed, his grubby finger pointing to Hunter. His covenant buddies rushing into the building, an elite growled seeing his grenade had missed the mark, hitting the floor between the marines instead of on them.

*****

Shana looked down upon the ODST in silence to his words. Her eyes stared into his a moment before backing away from him to start the scan of his body. She said nothing to his attempt to make her feel better, as the machine's light ran over the man's body, the marine instead changed the subject and reported, " Your shin is broke inward and your knee has been chipped. Did you get stepped on? Any more pressure on that leg we'd have internal bleeding, or even a compound fracture...I have no sanitation to pull out that shard, but I can push the shin back into place with bio-foam and numb your knee. Even with these quick fixes it is not recommended you stand on it based on higher risk of that shard causing more damage."

The woman looked around the room, placing a hand upon the knife on her shoulder. There were no medical equipment to help with this injury. Cabinet's empty, there were no bottles of alcohol, not even a damned lighter. Taking her hand away from her knife, she left it in its sheath on her shoulder armor and walked back to the ODST. "If you carry a flask or lighter, now is the time to hand it over before I pump the last of this can into your leg." she told him.

"A knight in shining armor is a man who has never had his metal truly tested."

Gladiator0161


His green eyes followed Shana's face as she battled some inner demons. Whatever she was thinking about, it apparently hadn't been resolved. Shana didn't say anything in return to his attempt to comfort her, not that he was expecting anything, so he just remained quiet and left her to her work. She went over to the scanner and activated it, a moment later she reported that his shin bone had broken inward, and he had a chipped knee. Even worse, she didn't have the necessary tools to pull out the shard, or fix his leg really. They were just temporary fixes. That was fine by him. He could do with a temporary fix for the time being. Shana asked if something had sat on him and he laughed "Damn Doc, sounds bad, and here I thought I was invincible, guess not huh?" He took off his helmet, ran a black glove through his sweat slicked dark hair, and chuckled again despite the pain he was in "As a matter of fact i did get sat on. By a big damn building. It was while I was trying to cover Spartan Lance. Damned Wraiths bombed the building we were in and brought it down with us inside it" he turned the helmet around and touched a small stud on the side of the helmet, activating the flashlights on either side of the helmet that had been built into framework. Next he tore his combat knife from it's sheath on his chest and held the handle of the combat knife out to Shana "Here, use this..should be sharp enough for ya. I'll hold the helmet up so you can see."

Just then someone slid down the Elevator cable, he was expecting Hunter but, what came into the crashed Elevator car was another Marine. Then he heard the dull thump of a grenade going off "Let me guess...the Covvies are back? Splendid timing on their part. Never can get a damned break in this god forsaken war can we?" he looked to the Marine first then to Shana as he spoke. Shaking his head, he flipped the flashlights off, put his helmet back on, and activated the drone he had set up for security. The drone's single built in air propeller lifted it from it's perch and glided effortlessly a meter above Hunter's head, allowing the ODST to see the new arrivals. An Elite and at least three of it's Grunt underlings. He looked to Shana "Break time's over. The Covenant have found us again" he said trying to sit up and be prepared to move again.

Sushi

Valkyrie eyed Gladiator as he checked the area one last time, then slung himself into the Warthog. He was tired, and so was she - as soon as the adrenaline had worn off, the leaden feeling was returning to her limbs. She opened a private comlink with him so the Army troopers around wouldn't hear their conversation. "You want to escort these guys and get Patrice some medical help? It'd be a chance to get some sleep."

People liked to believe a Spartan could do anything. But armored suits and genetic tinkering couldn't eliminate biology. Even 117 had taken naps on long missions. A good warrior knew when to fight, and when to save up for the next fight. They were running low on everything - ammo, grenades, sleep.

Their Puma didn't look like it had too much fight left in it, either. Running over covvies had put a serious dent in the underbody, and the blood-caked windshield needed a cleaning very badly. She was fairly certain the LAAG was burning out its barrels and running low on ammo at the rate Gladiator was firing. Valkyrie probed the gas, revving up the engine a few times. "I promise the drive will be easier."
"—in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there. Except my boss is a woman, I was a chick in the 40's, I hate everyone equally, and there's no one alive who can comprehend my sexual preference."

Hunter Phoenix

"There he is"

Hunter looked around to spot that a Covenant Elite had thrown a grenade which then landed between the ODST's. Reacting quickly, Hunter pushed the closest members away.

"GRENADE!!! EVERYBODY DUCK AND COVER"

Hunter then dived out of the way, taking a couple of marines with him. The grenade exploded a couple of seconds after he ducked. He wasn't sure if any of the marines were taken with it, he would find out once this was over. He opened up his make shift comms to Shana

"Block up the entrance, Covenant are in the area, repeat, Covenant are in the area"

The reaching for his rifle that had fallen a few feet away, he rolled for cover and then turned to open fire on the aliens overhead.

"Marines, cover and fire upon any hostile forces that move"
Where Will A Creature Of Darkness Hide If Not In The Shadows Of The Night.

ashia starstreak


Getting to his feet, Smith rushed to the nearest wall and crouched down. He pointed his rifle to the ceiling allowing a few seconds to calm his nerves and heart beat before standing up. Smith aimed his weapon and took a quick look around the corner. Squeezing the trigger he let off a few rounds into the closest grunt ceasing only when the enemy began shooting back. Retreating back out of their view, the private waited for the firing to momentarily stop.

Jacobs rolled toward the center of covenant sighting. If it were not for Smith's firing, the sergeant was sure he would have been hit. He made a mad dash to the mirror image of the other staircase, plasma whistled past his head only to change its focus upon Smith. Jacobs slid into cover behind a rounded wall and aimed his battle rifle at an elite. His armor shimmered upon receiving his bullets, however, his actions only angered the creature. He whipped out a plasma sword and ran at Jacobs. Reloading, Jacobs gave the elite a couple more bullets but, he only growled at Jacobs as he came near.

"Fuck.." the sergeant mumbled and turned his back on the elite to run from him. The human hadn't a chance in outrunning an elite and before he had gotten a yard, the marine was cornered. Pulling out his M6D magnum, Jacobs faced the elite and rolled in between his legs as his sword was swung. Aiming up, the soldier pulled the trigger, but the elite was not going down that easy and as he turned to face Jacobs he swung at him again forcing the human back into the center of the battlefield stage.

A grunt waddled his way closer to the center, his gun had been aiming for Hunter when he noticed Jacobs return into better view for all covenant to see. As he turned to fire at the sergeant, Smith grabbed onto his pistol and yanked him closer. Startled, the grunt stumbled toward the private and was punched in the face.  Falling to the floor, his shell kept him from landing on his back, but did not save him from the marines knife sinking into the soft spot of his neck. He lifted his massive arms in defense, but his body went limp before it did him any good.

*****

Shana was slightly shocked to say the least. Baffled at most, she wasn't sure if the ODST was toying with her or if he really wanted her to cut him open with an unsterilized object.  With mouth ajar, she turned on her own flashlight on her helmet and held Sling's chin between an index finger and thumb.  Turning his head she peered into his ear. He had his helmet on, but that was not the point she was making. Blowing onto the helmet she released Sling and turning her eyes toward the elevator doors she said, "Hmm, just as I suspected, hollow."

His heavy boots hit the top of the elevator with a dull thud as he came down. Releasing the cable, O'Brian took a couple of steps around before turning on his flashlight on his helmet to see. As it clicked on the flooring beneath him creaked and cracked. The explosion from above released loose rubble and plummeted down the shaft. The private stood still a moment and the elevators roof began crumbling beneath his feet. His green eyes stared up at the objects coming at him and as he lifted his arms to cover his head he fell through the collapsing roof into the elevator cart. Dust and smaller debris fell atop his head, but nothing of any real damage touched the marine. Coughing out the dust he had inhaled he looked up from his seat on the floor into the hole in the ceiling, a beam had landed perfectly in place saving him from the larger rubble that could have fallen through.

"Phew.. that was close!" he said standing to his feet. O'Brian dusted himself off and walked into the med bay only to abruptly stop and hold his hands up in surrender. "Whoa.. friendly."

Shana lowered the rifle she had prepared in waiting to see the new arrival. Recognizing him, she was reluctant to put it upon her back again. Upon hearing Hunter's comm come into her ear piece, she placed the rifle in its place on her back and pushed the button to talk back to the Spartan. "This is Echo Private 1068689, elevator entrance is secure, over." The woman looked back to Sling.

"A knight in shining armor is a man who has never had his metal truly tested."

Gladiator0161

#220
Sling laughed, and then grimaced in pain for the action as Shana lifted his chin and pronounced his head hollow "Can't be picky in a war zone Marine. Besides, it's clean. Haven't used it on anything yet, so get started already before we get into more trouble than we're already in. I wanna be in fighting shape soon as possible. Got more Covies to kill and they're certainly not gonna wait." He held his helmet over his shattered knee, and motioned for her to start in cutting an area so she could get the shard of bone that was lodged in his leg "Just do the best you can, I'm game for a temporary fix." Not really looking to anyone in particular, or talking to anyone in particular he muttered "I'm no use like this, just getting in the damned way and slowing everyone down".

Looking over to the Marine that had just dropped down the elevator shaft as debris rained down on him he said "You there, Private, what's the word top side? Seen any more of our friends up there?"

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Gladiator nodded to Valkyrie's suggestion "Sounds like a plan. We could use the rest" he said in response over their private line. He held on as Valkyrie began to turn them around so that they could catch up with the soldiers. No one questioned their reappearance and for that he was grateful. About twenty minutes later, after a couple pockets of small resistance that the soldiers thankfully cut down quickly, they arrived at a building with a small contingent of medics and more soldiers occupying it. The building was heavily fortified with barriers, mounted turrets, and ammo crates. A team of medics came up to the battered 'hog, noting right away that Patric wasn't well. After the two Spartans carried him inside, and set him on a makeshift bed, Gladiator collapsed onto the floor beside Patric's bed for a moment. Moving Partic into the building where the medics could work on him, had used the last of his energy reserves. Everything was beginning to blur, his head pounded, and he felt dizzy. Gently, someone coaxed him up onto the bed across from Patric but, how he found the strength to move he didn't know. He knew what this was in the back of his mind.

He was starving, he was dehydrated, and he was exhausted. In short, his body was beginning to rebel and shut down on him in return for all the abuse it had taken for the past few days.

Suddenly, he had to get his helmet off, it was getting too tight. Gladiator grabbed his helmet, and pulled it off roughly, setting it on a table beside his bed. He breathed in a lungful of fresh air, his blue eyes staring up at the ceiling before looking around for Patric and Valkyrie. Upon finding them both, he laid his sweat slicked head against the pillow, and fell into a very deep sleep within a few moments. In those moments, Gladiator didn't dream, his mind was too exhausted and had no energy for that, and he made not a sound as he slept, his handsome features probably the most peaceful they'd been in days. Anyone looking upon him without the helmet, would probably have concluded that he was in his early thirties. Gladiator had a strong jaw, a cleft chin with a scar along the side of it, high cheek bones, and black cropped hair that was slick with sweat, making it shine in whatever light was in the room. A jagged scar came across on his left cheek while another scar marred the middle of his right eyebrow and continued onto the top of his right cheek. A thorough examination of his body would no doubt reveal more scar tissue, most of which would be on his back, shoulders and chest, with a few dotting his arms and legs from his past battles but, if anyone moved him, he didn't feel it. He was completely out. In fact, he barely groaned as the medics removed one of his gauntlets, and stuck an IV into his wrist that would provide him with the much needed missing nutrients his body needed.

"Hey doc, weren't these guys supposed to be invincible or something?" a marine said gesturing to the slumbering behemoth in the blue and gold armor "Looks like they were wrong huh?" he said laughing.

The doctor just shook his head "they're still Human you moron, now shut yer trap Kowalski, before you get it slapped off by one of'em!" he said turning to start his work on the Spartan in white and gold armor, beginning first with gently removing his helmet.

The marine though just waved his hand at the doc "yeah sure, what are they gonna do? Snore on me? Geez! What a bunch of wimps!" he said turning around and beginning to walk out of the room "So much for our super soldiers. Super soldiers, what a laugh."

Sushi

Immediately after arriving, Valkyrie had helped offload Patric, move Gladiator to some place safe then... went to a campfire with UNSC personnel standing around it. She traded some packs of cigarettes and some scavenged covenant weapons for some basic hygienic essentials. Luxuries? Sometimes.

With all that sorted, Valkyrie found a quiet corner that seemed relatively clean. She checked the spare rocket tubes for her weapon, one-by-one, verifying their "use-by" dates and ensuring all the moisture seals were intact. The spartan turned to her rifle next.

The MA-5K was made as more of a personal defense weapon than something used for hundreds of rounds in a protracted battle. It showed. The flash suppressor she had installed was burnt to a crisp with muzzle blast and the exterior was caked with carbon fouling. Valkyrie stripped the magazine and cleared the chamber, then knocked out two cross pins. The upper and lower receiver came easily apart, then the bolt group itself slid out. Valkyrie let it sit plastic tub of solvent while she ran brushes through the barrel. There was enough copper fouling in the bore that the rifling was nearly smooth.

And the gas regulator was even worse. On a normal MA-37 or MA-5, the gas tube was over the barrel, in the housing for the sight unit. Here, it was still above the barrel but recessed, requiring rudimentary dis-assembly to get to. It had a wider setting and a shorter tube than the standard gas system, meaning when Valkyrie pried it open, the fouling was significant. Chrome-lined metal was baked black.

Whereas many S-IIs made it a point to ignore physical pain and strain until it started to impair them, weapons were babied and given detailed care. And oftentimes, wear on their equipment remained as an odd sort of reminder of their situation. It was bizarre.

When all her weapons were cleaned and cared for, Valkyrie found an isolated spot and laid out a bedroll to sleep on, even if just briefly.

"—in any other circumstance, you might have had a point there. Except my boss is a woman, I was a chick in the 40's, I hate everyone equally, and there's no one alive who can comprehend my sexual preference."

Hunter Phoenix

Hunter kept ducking his head out from behind his cover, putting rounds into grunts each time, reducing their numbers but there were still a lot of them about.

He ducked his head out one more time and saw that the sergeant was in trouble, out in the open and with an Elite bearing down on him with the intention of making the marine bacon slices. Ducking back in to avoid the fire that was coming his way, he assessed the situation in his head and then shrugged.

Jumping out of his hiding spot, he launched himself into the enemy ranks, dodging as much fire as he could, letting the rest bounce off his armour. Soon he was ascending towards the sergeant. He came up behind the advancing Elite which was almost within touching distance of the sergeant now. There was no time for anything fancy, so he launched himself at the Elite while shouting

"Sergeant, roll out of the way"

He tackled the shocked Elite rugby style around the waist and they flew towards the sergeant, he didn't have time to look at whether the marine had moved out of the way in time or not, he pummeled the Elite with his fists, hitting its chest and face.

They flew off the stage and hit the ground, the impact taking the wind out of both them for a couple of seconds. Hunter rolled away and got up slowly, his bound ribs stinging a little bit. He took a couple of breaths and then steadied himself, ready to take this enemy head on. Then he realized that he didn't have a weapon to hand, fortunately he saw that the Elite had dropped its energy sword when he tackled it, so it looked like it was going to be a melee.

"Bring it insect breath" he yelled at the Elite. Steeling himself for its charge.
Where Will A Creature Of Darkness Hide If Not In The Shadows Of The Night.

ashia starstreak

Shana stared at the ODST a moment longer before reluctantly taking his blade. Ripping open the area of pants covering his knee Shana massaged Sling's exposed skin in circular motions feeling for anything abstract. In no way did she bother with a sensitive approach as she stabbed the blades' point into his knee and take out the piece of bone. Flicking the shard off the combat weapon Shana laid the bloody knife down and placed the bio-foams tubing into the fresh wound. She pressed on the nozzle until the mixture of blood and bio-foam oozed its way out to close the hole. Side stepping toward Sling's shin she shook the can once more and was not convinced she had enough to finish the fix. Shana instead walked back to the computer screen and rescanned the soldier to make sure the knee was at least set. "I cannot guarantee a fix on your shin at this time. The bio-foams' canister is nearly empty." She reported as she stared at the screen before her, eyes scanning what she had done to his knee.


Though O'brian clearly heard the question Sling had asked him, the private did not answer until Shana had finished her work on the ODST. With mouth ajar he took a moment to think then answered, "it's just the Sarg and two others up there right now."

*****

Hearing the spartan's instructions, Jacobs dived into a forward roll and rushed over to join with Smith. Retrieving his battle rifle, the marine aimed for the elite entangled with Hunter but could not get a clear shot. He kept his aim steady and waited for a clearing but had to turn away to shoot at incoming enemy forces.

"Cover me!" Smith called out as his ammo ran empty. Only when the Sargent replied, "Covering." Did he reload his assault rifle.

With an angry caught off gaurd grumble the elite in Hunter's face took his first heavy swing at the spartan.

"A knight in shining armor is a man who has never had his metal truly tested."

Gladiator0161

#224
Meanwhile at the same time half a world away in New Mombasa, Africa..

"kzzz...they've got me cornered and I'm low on ammo..kzzzk..if you can hear me I'm on sublevel 9..kzzz...."

The ODST crept through the bowels of the Mega City's seventh sub-level, following their ONI squad leader's last known position, and he still had two sub-levels more to go to get to Captain Dare. Two sub-levels filled with Covenant. So far, he'd been fortunate as "Rookie" tracked his team through New Mombasa. He'd come across mostly street patrols, which had mostly consisted of two Brutes, four Grunts, and maybe a pair of Jackal Snipers. That wasn't to say that he'd had it easy. He'd come face to face with death more times than he could count on this mystery mission, and from the look of Romeo's sniper rifle that he found hung on a telephone line, none of the squad had had it easy. Ofcourse, he'd approached his brushes with death with his customary stoicism, silence, brushed it off and pushed on. A couple hours later he was on the 9th sub-level after fighting through a horde of Drones, or "Buggers", as the Marines liked to call them, Brutes, Grunts, and Jackals. The confines of the sub-level had definitely made things interesting, as there was little to no room to move very far. Fortunately, there had been cover, support pillars, massive computer towers, and concrete work stations.

Taking a quick security check of his surroundings, the ODST backed up to the sealed door slowly, and nonchalantly knocked on the steel hatch. A second later, he was greeted by a pretty blonde and a magnum pointed at his helmet. Her eyes went wide with surprise, as she slowly lowered the gun from his head "It's you..I thought..nevermind" he saw disappointment in her eyes for a second but, she masked it well as she briefly looked away from his visor "what was your name again?" As usual he didn't answer. A second later something moved further down the hall, both of them raised their weapons in a flash. "Inside! Now!" Captain Veronica Dare ordered, Rookie didn't argue. They walked further into the Data Center "this way and keep quiet" this again from Dare "some idiots blew the building at the top of the shaft, and woke the whole hive."

Rookie rolled his eyes though he was careful not to move his head. Like he'd ever had a problem keeping quiet.


Meanwhile at exactly the same time halfway across the world in New York City, New York on 40th street..

Gladiator0161

"This is Lieutenant Stacy of the 110nth air force squadron, we have two confirmed jammer kills. Repeat. Two com jammer kills. Enjoy the radio traffic everybody!"

"This is Admiral Bane of the Hercules. Good job son, now get up here and join the fight, we've got more of those Covenant bastards trying to get past what remains of the blockade and we need all the help we can get.

"Rodger that Admiral, on our way.

Somewhere within the inky blackness of Spartan 0161's consciousness, he heard the radio traffic over his helmet's communicae receiver but, the only indication that it had even registered with him was a light shift of position on the bed. He was awake but, his eyes were so heavy they didn't want to open. His arms and legs felt like lead weights. Hell, his body in general was just heavy with exhaustion. It was only through pure determination that he even managed to open his eyes again after a half hour nap, and resist the nearly overpowering urge to fall right back asleep. Feeling something stuck in his arm, he begrudgingly lifted his arm to get a blurry look at whatever the object was. Gingerly he felt along his naked forearm and felt something like plastic embedded in his arm. His eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, his training and instincts kicking into overdrive at what his brain perceived as a threat. His blue eyes locked onto the IV needle and followed the plastic line connected to the needle to the bag, remembered where he was, and laid down again.

Only then did he notice the startled medic beside him, clutching some kind of electronic pad to her chest "sorry" he said casually, as if it was nothing. After taking a moment to get comfortable, he noted that his helmet was relaying coms traffic and picked it up to listen in. It sounded as if the fleet were in a hell of a firefight up there. He looked to the medic who was once again looking at her pad, though she was now doing so at the foot of his bed "So, what's our prognosis doc?" he asked as lightly as his deep voice would allow.

"Don't you want to know what your diagnosis is first?" she asked looking up at him, a confused expression on her face.

"Dehydration, starvation, exhaustion, light concussion, beat all to hell, and one hell of a headache" Gladiator said lightly waving the diagnosis away as if it hardly mattered.
"Uh..yeah, but, there's more.." she started.
"Anything broken or that's gonna keep me outta the fight beyond a few hours of bed rest and some food?"
"Well..I dunno. That depends" she said crossing her arms over her chest.
"On what?" the Spartan said placing his helmet back on his head and flipping through the com frequencies, and stopping on one that was looping a distress signal.
"On whether you and your men are going to follow the doctor's orders" she said rolling her eyes.
"You and these guys from the Hercules? Admiral Bane send you?" Gladiator asked trying to sit up.
"Y'know, for a guy with a concussion, you're pretty sharp" she said sarcastically making the huge Spartan chuckle. Soon his head was spinning though from sitting up, and he had to settle back down onto the bed.
"Might wanna add dizziness to that list for me" he said lightly.
"Great idea genius" she said shaking her head and fiddling with her pocket until she found a small bottle of pills and handed them to him "here. Take two of these now, and two every couple of hours. Now, get some rest. That's an order."
"I will, but, after I sort this distress call, get a location, and check up on my team" Gladiator said curtly, leaving no room for discussion as she set a couple bottles of water down on the small folding end table next to his bed.
Giving a frustrated sigh, the doctor turned around and just shook her head "Spartans."

Gladiator ignored her and bore into his COM systems as he attempted to track down the source of the distress signal, and amplify it. Despite the Covenant COM Jammers being reduced in number, the COMs were still a mess as UNSC forces transmitted just about everything over different COM frequencies. He heard everything from backup requests, to ammunition statuses, to force deployments over the TACCOM line, to the cries of the dying. War was horrible in every way but, it's what the Spartans were made for. In actuality the whole thing barely phased him anymore. If anything, the fact that such horrible conditions barely phased him worried him more than anything. Shrugging off those particular thoughts, he renewed his efforts in tracking down the distress signal's source. It was blasting over every COM frequency but, he could barely make it out with all the noise. Finally, he found a channel and was able to hear the entire thing for the first time.

“Uh…Mayday.  Mayday.  Mayday.  This is Ashley Foster…PFC Foster.  I’m en route from Grand Central in Manhattan across the bridge to the bunker Middle Village.  I’ve not come across any hostiles yet, but any help would be appreciated.”

Calling up the Mega City's A.I. the Spartan II had it track the whereabouts of one PFC Foster, starting with the Middle Village bunker, and working it's way back to her last known position using the various security cameras in the city. Within seconds he had her on his HUD, a live feed being displayed for him from a diner across the street from the shop she was currently curled up in. He recognized her immediately after the camera zoomed in on her shocked and terrified face. He'd spotted her making her way through the streets sometime earlier. Noticing the edge of a COM pad in the pocket of her red vest, he smiled.

"PFC Foster, this is Sierra zero one six one. Turn to TACCOM frequency two five nine and await instructions. Over," Gladiator waited a moment, looked at his live feed and then repeated his message just in case she was too emotionally distraught to catch it the first time. It was clear from the way she curled her body away from the Elite laying on the shattered remains of the counter, and the expression on her face that she was civilian, not a soldier. The fact that she'd managed to kill four Grunts and their Elite commander impressed him greatly. Most people just ran, cowered, or were paralyzed with fear upon sight of the aliens of the Covenant, they didn't fight them and win usually. It occurred to him then that she must have had atleast some training with firearms "Repeat, this is Sierra zero one six one calling PFC Ashley Foster. Turn to TAC COM frequency two five nine and await instructions. Over."

Turning his coms over to his SQUADCOM frequency he said "Gladiator to Shana, Sling, Sierra 435, and 636. Sit rep! Anyone still alive out there?"

Gunnery Sergeant Desmonde "Sling" Rockwell
Loc: Mall Emergency Medical Room, New York City, New York

Sling looked at the Marine as she reluctantly took his knife and ripped open his pants at the knee. This is gonna hurt like hell he thought as he tried to mentally prepare himself for his last minute "surgery". He gritted his teeth as Shana's hand massaged the skin over his knee cap, searching for the bone shard lodged in his knee. When she found it, he groaned through his gritted teeth but, nodded his head to her to continue. As she stabbed his knife into his knee and worked it under the cap so she could have room to remove the shard, he cried the most painful ear piercing cry he'd ever made. Sweat beaded on his forehead as his body threatened to go into shock. He could feel his life's blood pouring down his calf and pooling under his leg as she dropped the knife, pulled the bone shard out, and filled the hole she'd made with biofoam, or what remained. As the biofoam began to cool his bleeding knee and numb it, he gritted his teeth and laid back with a loud sigh, and letting out the breath he hadn't even realized he'd been holding.

A moment later, he nodded at the Private as he reported that it was just his sergeant, and two others fighting up there. Trembling a little from the pain, he nodded and said "Thanks Shana..now..get your ass up that shaft and help our boys out. Sounds like they could use back up." Looking to the private once more he said "You private..come here."

The Private did as he was told, coming within a few feet of the ODST making Sling smile through a grimace "Closer". The man looked reluctant but, eventually did so, standing beside the wounded ODST. Grabbing him roughly by the collar of his uniform Sling brought the young man's face up to his own "I so much as hear that I screamed like a girl outta you, or any of your buddies..I'm gonna find you and cut off your balls with my knife and then, I'm gonna feed them to one of those squid faces out there. Understood?"

Seeing O'Brian's eyes go wide and then nod quickly a few seconds later was priceless. He smiled and said "Good, now get up there and help them out. I'll be up shortly" he said grabbing his two remaining weapons, his Mauler, and his trusty M6C/SOCOM pistol, then laying back to gather his strength for a minute.