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Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch. 1 by S7NN3R
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Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch. 1
Date: 19 February 2005, 2:16 AM
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon
Chapter 1: System Error
SYSTEM ERROR
"Huh? What the...Hey, boss, we've got a problem."
"What is it this time, Sergeant?" 2nd Lieutenant Craig Commenus asked sternly.
"I uh, don't know. The terminal just says SYSTEM ERROR. I tried to re-boot it, but the things frozen," Gunnery Sergeant Dan Corisca said.
This was the fifth time today the computers had screwed up. He was getting sick of all these damned malfunctions. First the ventilation system to E-barracks screwed up and everyone there had to be evacuated. Then power went down in the armory, and that had to be fixed. The complex had been needing to be re-supplied for months, and it was no wonder it was falling apart.
The Zama Military Complex was one of the oldest known UNSC colonies in existence. A collection of moons and large asteroids that orbited around each other, the Zama Complex was on the border between Sol and the Epsilon Eridani system.
Established shortly after the Jovian Moons Campaign, the complex had been in existence almost two hundred years. All the moons and most of the large asteroids had been terra-formed and made into a livable set of colonies.
However, time takes its tolls on everything, and after the centuries, the colonies were slowly starting to break down.
Sergeant Corisca, as well as an additional five thousand Marines were stationed on the largest of the moons, Zephyrus. Zephyrus was roughly thirty thousand kilometers high and wide. It also was home to about two million civilians.
And now, like all the other colonies, it was falling apart. Thankfully, the Covenant hadn't yet attacked it.
Gunnery Sergeant Corisca had been stationed there for two years. He was of a medium build, 6'5", one hundred and eighty pounds, brown hair, dark, almost black eyes. He hated being on the station, and wished he had his old station back aboard the destroyer Vanquisher.
"Did you try the emergency back-up code yet?" Lieutenant Commenus asked.
"Yeah, I did, and still no response. I'll call command post and see what the problem." Corisca replied. He walked over to a wall mounted COM system, and selected the Command station, three floors above them. There was static, followed by a male voice.
"Command station, what's the problem?"
"Command station, this is Computer station Alpha, we've got a problem with the terminal that monitors the power generators, can you get us back up?" Corisca asked.
"Hmm, well I'll see what we can do," the man at Command station asked. "Uh, nope, seems that there's something wrong. I'll send a man down there to see what the problem is. Command station out."
"Over and out," Corisca said.
"Hey, Corisca," Lieutenant Commenus said. "The monitor to E-barracks is down."
"E-barracks again? I'll go down there and take a look."
"I better go with you, this shit is just getting ridiculous."
After taking the elevator down to the personnel level, Sergeant Corisca and Lieutenant Commenus personally inspected E-barracks.
"Nothing here. Son of a bitch!" Commenus exclaimed. The pair started to walk back towards the elevator back up to Computer station Alpha.
"Hey, you two, wait up!" someone shouted from behind them. Corisca turned and saw that it was Private first class Manuel Delgado. He was one of the newest recruits to Zama complex, born and raised on the colonies. He was tall, 6'9", and light, only a hundred and fifty pounds. He had black hair with brown eyes, and had an SMG slung to his hip.
"What is it, Private?" Commenus asked.
"I need a ride up to Command post, can I get in with you guys?" he asked.
"Sure, whatever," Commenus said, and hit the 'door open' button. The doors opened silently, and in a flash, Commenus was cut in half. His eyes widened in shock, and the top of his torso slid off the bottom half, and plopped to the ground on top of a pile of his own entrails.
Floating in the air, as if by magic, was a glowing blue plasma sword.
"Holy shit, man!" Corisca shouted, shocked.
"What the fuck! Oh my god! Jesus, Mary and Joseph!" Private Delgado yelled. He hopped back and grabbed for his SMG. "Get down, Sarge!" he yelled, and opened fire on the invisible object.
Corisca through himself to the ground. Delgado emptied the SMG clip, and reloaded. A Covenant Elite materialized out of thin air, holding a sword. It had been filled full of bullet holes and fell to the ground, dead.
"What the hell was that!?" Delgado exclaimed. "Jesus Christ man! Jesus Christ!"
Corisca slapped him across the face. "For God's sakes, shut up!" Corisca shouted. "Listen, we've got to get up to the Command post and tell them that the Covenant are here, that we need help."
"The Covenant? Here? B-But why?"
"I don't know, but we've got to warn them, warn everyone. But first..." Corisca walked off towards A-barracks. He opened one of the doors to the weapons locker and took out two shotguns and a pair of Magnum pistols.
"Here," he said and handed the shaking private a shotgun. "Take these. Now let's go."
The pair of Marines stepped into the elevator, but not before kicking the remains of the dead Elite out. Delgado made the Sign of the Cross before hitting the 'up' button.
After a few minutes of silence riding up the elevator, it stopped at Command station. The elevator doors opened with a silent snik, revealing the horrors that lie beyond.
"Oh, my God..." Corisca muttered as he looked at the Command station. There were dead bodies everywhere. Most were missing appendages, some entire sections of their bodies. Blood pooled everywhere on the floor. Entrails were strewn about like Christmas lights. Decapitated heads stared blindly up at the roof.
"Damn..." Corisca murmured. "We're too late."
A door opened at the far end of the room, and three black armored Elites came through, energy swords shimmering.
"Infidels!" the lead Elite shouted. "Your blood shall wash away the taint you've left on this Holy Land!" The Elites charged towards them, yelling alien battle cries.
"Open fire, Private!" Corisca shouted. He grabbed his shotgun and aimed it at the lead Elite. He squeezed the trigger and his arm flew back. The lead Elite dropped dead. Delgado fired his shotgun twice, and a second Elite fell down. The third Elite came rushing towards him. Corisca fired his shotgun and it fell down a foot from him.
Corisca walked over to the nearest console. He pushed the dead body of an Ensign off of it, and tapped a few controls.
"Attention: To all remaining UNSC personnel. This complex, Fire base Epsilon, has been taken over by Covenant forces, all personnel should report to the main armory. Gunnery Sergeant Dan Corisca out." He tapped several more buttons. "There," he said to Delgado. "I set it in an encryption key, so that it only used UNSC codewords. Now let's go."
The pair exited out of the room the way that the Elites had came in. They headed down several flights of stairs before they came to the sub-basement. The armory was just down two levels which could be reached by an elevator at the far end.
"Come on, let's go," Corisca said. The elevator doors at the far end opened and five Elites came running out.
"Open fire!" Corisca shouted. He squeezed the trigger a half dozen times, and two Elites hit the floor. Delgado fired four shots and another one fell down. One of the Elites that was still standing fired its plasma rifle before falling over. A shot strayed and hit Corisca in the leg. He fell over, screaming.
"Damn!" Delgado shouted. "You all right Sarge?"
"Yeah, now keep firing!" He fired off another pair of shots, and the last Elite hit the ground. Blood pooled from Corisca's leg onto the floor. He moaned in agony, clutching the wound.
"Damn, that looks bad, can you make it, Sarge?" Delgado asked.
"No, go on, get the others," he said. He dragged himself over to a nearby supply closet. "I'll be all right," he set down a box of shotgun ammo. "Now go." Delgado stood there, looking concerned, but then turned and ran down the corridor towards the elevator.
"Better get comfy," he said to himself. He took out a cigarette from his pocket, put it in his mouth and lit it.
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch. 2 Pt. 1
Date: 22 February 2005, 3:25 AM
Chapter 2: Rub Vigorously
PFC Manuel Delgado double timed it down the corridor to the armory. He had met no resistance since he had left Gunnery Sergeant Dan Corisca, bleeding, two levels up. That meant that there were either no enemies on this level, or they were still hidden, waiting to strike. He only hoped that the Sergeant was safe as well.
He rounded the corner and found the armory entrance. He opened the door and leveled his shotgun, expecting an Elite to pop out and cut him in half. Instead, he found six Marines and four Naval personnel.
"What's going on here?" a man asked. Delgado turned and examined his rank. The man was a Chief Petty Officer. He was lean and fit, with black hair that was graying at the temples. He had a pistol at his waste and a sniper rifle slung over his shoulder.
"Didn't you hear the announcement? This facility has been infiltrated by the Covenant. We have to hold them off and get help."
"But we can't do anything," the Petty Officer began. "There's probably hundreds of them!"
"Stand down, Marine," said a man in a stern bark. Delgado turned and observed his rank. The man was a Brigadier General. He was old, and had lost most of his hair. He had a solid band of grey around his temples. He was still fit though. He had an M9D pistol and an SMG on his waste. "I'm Brigadier General Gunter Black, and I have command of this situation," he turned to face Delgado. "Do we know how the Covenant got here, Marine?"
"No sir, they took us entirely by surprise. Sir, I've got a wounded man two floors up. He's bleeding badly, and I don't how long he can hold out against the Covenant on his own."
The General sat down on a crate of emergency rations. "Hmm," he murmured. "It's two floors up to get from here to him. And then it's another floor up to get him to the medical wing,"
he stood and addressed Delgado. "We'll go and get him," he turned and looked at the other men in the room. "Marines, we're going on a rescue mission. Select your weapons, because we're leaving in five minutes."
Meanwhile, two floors up, things were going poorly for Sergeant Dan Corisca. Elites were coming in waves. The bodies of their dead littered the floor in an ocean of purple blood. He was almost out of ammo, and only had two round left for his shotgun.
And to make matters even worse, he had just smoked his last cigarette.
Another Elite, this one a golden zealot, appeared in the doorway, holding an energy sword. Corisca shouldered the shotgun and fired a shot at the Elite. Its shields flickered and went out, and the Elite charged at him. Corisca fired his last round and the Elite dropped dead. It dropped its energy sword, and collapsed onto his waist.
"Ungh!" he moaned. The carcass was crushing his body. He started to push the dead body off, when another Elite entered the room, this one in jet black armor, holding an energy sword. The Elite lifted his sword up, preparing to bring it down right into Corisca's head. Corisca brought the shotgun up above his head, and turned away. The Elite roared a triumphant battle cry, which was drowned out in a hail of gunfire.
"Huh?" Corisca said, stunned and confused. He looked up to find that the Elite was dead on the ground, withered under the storm of bullets. He propped himself up on the barrel of his shogun, and hobbled out into the hallway. He looked towards the elevator, and saw Private Delgado behind the controls of a machine gun turret. There were four others with him, two marines and two Naval personnel.
"Good to see you, Private!" Corisca shouted down the hallway. Delgado picked up the machine gun and slung it over his shoulder.
"You alright, sir?" Delgado asked, with genuine concern.
"Don't call me sir, I'm a working man. And to answer your question, yes. I'm fine," he replied. He frowned. "Is this all that's left?"
"No, there's six others that we know of. General Black went to secure the Communications room and call for help, and Chief Petty Officer Zach Jacobsen went to secure the power generators. We, however, are going to the Med Bay."
"All right then, let's move out! The Med Bay down the hall and up a flight of stairs."
The Marines moved down the hall. They could see the stairway up ahead.
"There's the stairs," one of the Marines said. They turned to go up the stairway, and met with a hail of plasma shots. One of the Naval Personnel, an Ensign, was cut down in the fire.
"Damn!" Delgado exclaimed. "Fire in the hole!" He took out a grenade, primed it, and threw it up the stairwell. He was rewarded with an explosion and an end to the gunfire three seconds later. "Valdez, check Norman," he indicated the Ensign that had been shot. "Johansen, Vendanski, take point." The two Marines went up the stairway.
"All clear up here!" Vendanski announced. He fired a shot from his BR55 Battle Rifle into the tangled remains of an Elite.
"He's alive!" Valdez announced. "But just barely. We've got to get him to Med Bay now."
"Give me a hand with him, Valdez," Delgado said. He lifted the Ensign by his head, and Private Norman took his feet. They carefully walked up the stairway and down the hall. Corisca came hobbling along after them.
"Here it is, Med Bay," Corisca announced. Private Vendanski opened the door, and Privates Valdez and Delgado set the wounded Ensign onto a cot. Sergeant Corisca sat down on another cot.
"Is there a doctor in the house?" Private Johansen asked, jokingly.
"I'm a doctor," a soft, female voice said. The voice had severely startled Johansen, who gave a little jump and tightened on his SMG. A pale, female women emerged from the medical supply room. "I'm Dr. Dreyer," she said. The Doctor was tall, almost 5'11", and thin. She was beautiful to behold, with curly, dark brown hair that went down to get shoulders. She had piercing brown eyes and a pair of glasses. She wore a white lab coat and held a clipboard with medical papers on it in her right hand.
"Let me see the patient," she said. She set the clipboard down and walked over to the injured Ensign. She checked his pulse, and then his blood pressure. She lifted up his shirt, and turned away.
"This man is in critical condition. Low pulse and blood pressure, and he has plasma burns on forty percent of his body," she said. "You two," she pointed to Privates Valdez and Vendanski. "Go into the Medical Supplies Room. I need you to get me some wraps, bandages, some needles, a vial of kemphetamine, hydrogen peroxide, Betodine solution, some Isopropyl, and bio-foam" she said. She wrote all the supplies down on a piece of paper and handed it to them.
"Here," she said and handed them a key. "You'll need this to get the hydro-peroxide and Isopropyl in the supply cabinet." The two Marines ran into the medical supply room looking for the medicines. Dr. Dreyer moved over to examine Sergeant Corisca.
"Laceration of the thigh," she said. "And minor plasma burns. There's some bleeding, but for the most part you're okay. I'll stitch you up and fill you with bio-foam as soon as I'm done with this man."
Valdez and Vendanski came out of the supply room a minute later, holding the medical supplies. "Here you are, ma'am," Valdez said.
"Thank you, private," the doctor said. She removed the Ensign's shirt, and began working.
Several hours passed while the Doctor worked on Ensign Norman. At 9:37, she removed her white rubber gloves, which were by that time covered in blood. She threw the gloves into a trash basket and sat down on an empty cot.
"There's nothing more I can do. We'll have to wait and see,"
"Hey!" Sergeant Corisca shouted. "What about me?"
"Of course, Sergeant," Doctor Dreyer said. "Private Delgado, go get some bio-foam, a needle, and some stitching thread."
Delgado fetched the supplies and brought them back. The doctor first filled up the wound with bio-foam, and then stitched up the wound. The entire operation took forty-five minutes.
"Thanks, Doc," Corisca said. "By the way, how did you manage to avoid the Covenant?"
The doctor sat down on a chair, and began to tell her story.
"I was in the rec-room when I first heard the announcement that the Covenant had attacked. Me and my nurses started to go to the armory like the announcement said. We were getting out of the elevator, when the Covenant attacked. Both my nurses were killed before my eyes."
She paused to wipe away a tear in her eye.
"I...I..." she stammered. "I, I don't want to talk about it anymore," she said and wiped away another tear running down her cheek.
"It's alright," Delgado said. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to."
"Thank you," she said.
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch. 2 Pt. 2
Date: 22 February 2005, 3:26 AM
Chapter 2: Rub Vigorously Part 2
Brigadier General Gunter Black and his team of three Marines had been walking for almost half an hour before they arrived at the Communications Room. The two Tech Officers that had been there had already been killed, one was beheaded, and the other was dead on the ground minus his left arm.
They had encountered light resistance on their trek to the Comm. room. A pair of invisible Elites and four Grunts were all that they had had to face.
"Looks like the Covenant have already been through here," one of the Marines, a Chief Warrant Officer said.
"Stow it, Alberts. This is no time to joke," said Master Sergeant Darwin Towers. The Sergeant had been on Zephyrus since he was in the Corps. He was of medium build with black and white hair. His dark skin was starting to show the first signs of wrinkling. He shouldered his Battle Rifle and looked around the room for any cloaked Elites.
"Alberts, cover that doorway. Deshcain," he pointed to the third Marine. "Cover the elevator."
General Black moved over to the central communications terminal and holstered his SMG. He typed in a few commands and a password, then spoke into the microphone. "This is Brigadier Gener-" he stopped speaking. He looked over at Sergeant Towers. He made a slashing motion across his throat, and pointed towards the elevator.
"We've got company, guys," said Corporal Deshcain. He stepped back away from the elevator and leveled his shotgun. Warrant Officer Alberts took a grenade from a pocket satchel. Everyone in the room was silent and they could hear the elevator rising. Everyone moved to the back of the room.
The elevator door came to a halt at the Communications room. The four men in the room held their breathes.
The doors parted, and a single human exited. The entire room was taken aback in surprise. The human limped forward, supporting himself on his sniper rifle. There was a large gash across his forehead, where blood ran in a snaking river down his head and onto the floor. There were several bruises and gashes on his body. He clutched the arm he was holding the rifle with with his right hand. Blood trickled from under the hand. His black-grey hair was covered with blood and gun-powder.
"Jesus son, what happened?" General Black asked.
"We were ambushed," he said, and collapsed onto the floor. His sniper rifle clattered to the floor beside him.
It was Chief Petty Officer Zach Jacobsen.
General Black checked his pulse. "He's barely alive. I don't know how long he'll last," he said. He walked back over to the comm. panel and took the microphone again. "This is Brigadier General Gunter Black, authorization code Bravo Sigma Seven One Three, calling from the Zephyrus Fire Base Epsilon. The Covenant have infiltrated this station and we require assistance. Over and out," he set down the mic, and checked back with Jacobsen. The Petty Officer had regained his consciousness. Black knelt down and cradled his head.
"Sir," the wounded Marine said, and managed a shaking, jittery salute.
"Son, I need you to tell me what happened to you and your men,"
"Yes sir. We were guarding the power generators. I stationed two men at the door incase they came through there, and me and another Marine were at the elevator," his eyes fluttered. "We heard a clatter and an Elite dropped out of the air vent above us. Don't know how he got in there, damn thing was huge!" he coughed up blood.
"Don't strain yourself, son," the General told him. "Go on."
"We turned and opened fire on it. More of the bastards burst through the door, killed the two men. They opened fire on me and my other man. He got stuck with a grenade, blew him all to hell. I got into the elevator, when one of those things cut me in the arm with one of their swords," he coughed again. "Then I got hit in the chest with one of their plasma guns. I hit the close doors button, but not before one of them nicked me in the head with a shot. I came here, to warn you," he coughed up more blood. "To warn you that the generators...the generators are in danger."
"It's alright, son, its alright," the General said. Jacobsen's eyes fluttered again, and then closed. Black checked his pulse.
"He's dead," he announced.
"Sir," Warrant Officer Alberts said. "If the Covenant take out the generators, the elevators will go dead."
"You're right, saddle up men, we're heading to Med Lab," the General said. He laid Chief Petty Officer Jacobsen's head on the ground, and picked up the sniper rifle. At that moment, the lights went out. The control panel flickered and then went dark. The team heard footsteps coming up the stairway. A pair of Elites burst into the room.
"Open fire, men!" the General barked.
The lights went out in the Med Bay, then came back on three seconds later, slightly dimmer.
"What the hell?" Sergeant Corisca said, sitting up and grabbing his shotgun.
"The power went out," Doctor Dreyer said. "The Medical Bay has its own generator in the supply room incase the power goes out."
"Why'd the power go out?" Private Valdez asked.
"Covenant," Lieutenant Johansen said.
"I'll check the door," Delgado said. He pulled out a mirror, and slid it under the door at an angle. "It's the other team," he announced. "The ones that went to the Communications Room. They've got a body." Delgado opened the door for them.
"Thanks, son," General Black said. "Where's the doctor?" he added.
"Here," said Doctor Dreyer.
"Get this man into a cryo-tube, stat. We may be able to save him if we survive this."
The doctor took the body over to a cryo-tube and put him in. She sealed the hatch and sat down again.
"What's the situation, sir?" Corisca asked.
"The Covenant took out the power generators. I sent a message, but I don't know if anyone got it."
"What about the other bases?" Corisca asked. "And the city? What about the civilians?"
"Unknown," Black said bluntly. At that moment, Ensign Norman woke up.
"What the? What happened?" he asked, sitting up and looking around.
"Rest," Doctor Dreyer said, forcing him back down.
"Is there any way to get to the other bases?" Delgado asked.
"There should be some Warthogs down in the garage, three levels down. You could use those," Black said.
"Alright then, we're moving out!" Corisca said and stood up. "Delgado and Vendanski, you're with me. Towers, you, Deshcain, and Valdez come with us. Alberts and Johansen, stay here and protect General Black and Doctor Dreyer. Understood?" They all acknowledged.
Corisca and his team left the med bay. Delgado tipped a wink to Doctor Dreyer, which she returned. Corisca was the last one out. General Black grabbed his shoulder on the way out, and he Corisca turned to him.
"Yes, sir?" Corisca asked.
"Be careful out there, okay son?" Black said.
"Okay, yes sir." He turned and left the room, locking it behind him.
"Be very careful," Black said quietly, solemnly, and closed his eyes.
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch.3
Date: 19 April 2005, 12:01 AM
Chapter 3: Skillets and Butter
"Contacts dead ahead!" Sergeant Towers announced. "Lots of 'em," he added. A team of Grunts and Jackals were stationed in the garage, they turned and shouted in surprise as the six Marines entered the room. They fired their plasma weapons, and boiling plasma hissed through the air. The Marines ducked back around the doorway. A plasma grenade exploded and destroyed the metal door.
Private Vendanski through a grenade around the corner. An explosion was heard, followed by a dozen sharp shrills. Sergeants Corisca and Towers spun around and opened fire on the room with a pair of SMGs. Grunts fell like grass in a mower, but the Jackals created an impervious shield wall. Corisca emptied his clip and threw a frag grenade at it. It exploded, and body parts went up in the air like confetti.
"All clear in here!" Corisca announced with a grin. "Now let's get to those Warthogs," he added. There were two Warthogs in the room, one had a standard chain turret, and the other had a gauss rifle turret. The gauss rifle one seemed to have more armor, and it had spikes on the front of the chassis to impale troops unfortunate enough to get in its way.
"Oh!" Private Deshcain said, and walked over to a corner.
"What are you doing, private?" Sergeant Towers asked.
"Getting' one of these babies!" he announced, and hefted up two rocket launchers. He handed one to Private Delgado, and kept the other for himself. He hopped into the passenger seat of the chaingun Warthog. Sergeant Towers got into the drivers seat of the Gauss Warthog, Delgado got in its passenger seat, and Corisca took the gunner position. Vendanski and Valdez got in the other Warthog.
"Okay men!" Corisca shouted. "Let's move it out!" Towers revved the engine, and they drove out of the garage.
"How far is it to HQ?" Corisca asked Towers.
"We're not going to HQ just yet," Towers said?
"What!?" Delgado exclaimed.
"We're going to the landing docks to see if they've got any Pelicans, then we go to HQ.
"Okay, whatever," Corisca said. He swiveled the turret around to check for enemies. The other Warthog caught up to them and matched their speed. Corisca shouted over to Vendanski.
"We're heading over to Headquarters," they rounded another corner, "follow us."
"Roger that," Vendanski acknowledged.
"Hate to break up the party," Towers announced. "But we've got trouble!"
Directly in front off the two oncoming Warthogs was a convoy of Covenant Shadows, with a pair of Phantoms close on their tales.
The four Marines opened fire with their turrets and rockets. The first Shadow exploded under the combined fire of Gauss Rifle, chaingun, and rocket fire. A plasma bolt whizzed directly over Delgado's head.
"Oh hell," Delgado screamed. "We're going to die!"
"We're not going to die, son," Sergeant Towers said calmly. He rounded a corner, and spotted a pair of Hunters in the middle of the street.
"Then again," Towers added. "I could always be wrong about that."
Corisca and Valdez fired on the armored behemoths. One of them fell only after sustaining four Gauss Rifle hits to the front. The second one charged forward, and smacked the Warthog Vendanski was driving. It spun out of control and smashed through the window of an office building.
Towers turned the Warthog around and drove back towards the other Hunter. It roared a battle cry, lowered its shield, and charged. Corisca fired off two Gauss shots before Towers drove over it. There was a sheering sound, followed by a bump, and they rolled over the Hunter. Towers looked back around at the front of the Warthog.
"Damn," he cursed. The iron spikes at the front of the Warthog had been bent at a forty-five degree angle. The trio remounted the Warthog, and set off towards the building where the other Warthog had crashed.
Private First Class John Vendanski awoke in a daze.
"What the hell?" He muttered. He looked about the destroyed room he was in. Shattered fragments of glass littered the floor. Fires sparked in several places. A T-shaped beam had collapsed to his left, and the blue carpet was blackened with ash and dirt. Ferns in the corners of the room, and several paintings were melting on the floor.
Vendanski sat up amidst the chaos and confusion, and got shakily to his feet. He took a step forward, and collapsed in agony, clutching his left leg.
"Oh God, it hurts!" he moaned aloud. He could feel by the way it was bending it was broken. He crawled over to the partly destroyed Warthog. He looked in at the passenger seat, and saw that Corporal Lechins was dead, slumped over, clutching his Rocket Launcher in a death grip.
He looked under Warthog and saw a pair of camouflage pattern fatigues sticking from underneath the Warthog's front left tire, no doubt belonging to the crushed body of Private Valdez. Terror gripped him as he observed his fellow soldier's horrible fate.
Vendanski crawled along the ground, cutting himself on broken glass. He pushed aside a small piece of rubble in his path, and crawled outside to the open air. He saw the other Warthog speeding towards his area.
"Hey!" he shouted. "Hey guys, I could use some help over here!"
Sergeant Towers acknowledged him and parked the Warthog nearby.
"What happened to the other men?" Corisca asked.
"Dead, Sarge. And that Warthog isn't going anywhere either."
"Okay. Shake a leg, Delgado, let's get Vendanski into the back with me." Corisca said.
Corisca and Delgado helped lift the injured Vendanski into the back of their Warthog. He crouched there, holding an SMG.
"Let's get down to the landing docks and get a Pelican before the Covenant blow em' all up," Towers said. Towers did a U-turn and drove toward the dock yards. It was a short, one-half kilometer drive to the docks. A pair of Pelicans remained when they arrived. Two scores of burning rubble marked the spots where the small fleet of Pelicans and Longsword fighters had been. A team of seven Marine regulars were guarding the entrance to the docks. There was another thirty men behind the entrance, in the main dock.
* * *
Alka Akazomee' donned his shining black armor. He selected weapons from his personal armory. He selected his favorite plasma pistol, and three extra batteries for the weapon. He picked up an energy sword, and clipped it to his waste. He took a stealth-field generator as well.
The last thing he selected was his custom built Carbine. Modified to hold extended ammo clips for longer firing, an upgraded scope that zoomed to 2x, 5x, 10x, and 14x magnification, and a silencer to make sure that his victims never knew what hit them. He grabbed a double-handful of clips for the weapon, and dropped them into a bag attached to his hip.
He turned on his shield system, and moved into the docking bay of the cruiser, the Inquisitor's Blade. A pair of Phantoms hovered on each side of the bay, and a quartet of Banshee escorts were parked on the ground. He took the grav lift to the lower level, and stood at ease next to his Banshee. It was his job to infiltrate the headquarters of the human colony and find information that might lead him to the holy artifacts buried deep within the planet.
"Attention to Attack Squad Alpha," a voice said, emanating from speakers on the walls. "We will be entering the atmosphere of the planet in five minutes. Get to your vehicles, soldiers."
A minute later, the Elites of Alpha Squad had assembled in the hangar bay, a total of twenty of the warriors. Also in the group were four Hunters. Alka stood facing them, waiting for the leader of the raid to show up.
A tall figure moved into the hangar. The Elite walked with a relaxed, almost arrogant stride. Its golden armor reflected the lights of the hangar, making it seem like he was cloaked in a halo of light. He stood next to Alka Akazomee', and began a speech to his soldiers.
The Elite was Carna Carkaz'umaa, leader of a thousand battles, each one victorious. He had shed the blood of hundreds of humans, and even boasted that he had once killed one of their mysterious Demon warriors. Of course, these claims were unfounded without proof.
"Warriors of the Covenant!" Carna barked. "We are about to embark, on a glorious mission. We will clean the taint that the humans have brought to this planet. We will obtain the holy artifacts that the Forerunners left for us. This battle, will be woven into your family's battle tale, and will be sung about for years to come."
The warriors roared mightily, and it filled Carna with pride to be leading such an elite group of soldiers.
"To your posts, warriors," Alka barked. The Elites entered their Phantoms and boarded their Banshees. The cruiser was hovering roughly a kilometer above the surface of Zephyrus. The blast doors of the bay opened slowly. Clouds raced past outside the bay door. Alka climbed into his Banshee and boosted out of the room.
Alka piloted the flyer straight down through the clouds. He bloodstream was filled was adrenaline as he plummeted through the atmosphere. He cleared the lowest layer of clouds in seconds, and could clearly see the human city below. He checked his radar and saw the Phantoms and Banshees behind him in a Delta formation, with a Banshee in front, and both Phantoms and the other Banshees in a straight line behind it.
Alka continued spiraling through the air. He was filled with exhilaration as the sky rushed past him. He could clearly see singular targets at that point, buildings, bunkers, tanks. The ground seemed to be rushing up to meet him. His Banshee howled audibly as he moved with one hundred meters of the ground.
Down below, the unwary humans began to notice him. They looked up at the sky. Marines that milled about the Zama complex stared gock-eyed at sky as Alka approached them.
Seventy five meters.
A Marine jumped into a nearby Scorpion tank.
Fifty meters, Alka thought. The tank began to track the free-falling Banshee.
Twenty five meters, and the Banshee was dropping fast. The tank operator rolled into a good firing position.
Ten meters.
Alka pulled the Banshee out of the spiraling dive at the last possible second, and brought it skimming parallel to the ground. The tank operator had been about to fire when the Banshee pulled up. The operator had begun to hastily correct his aim, when the fuel rod round hit the cockpit of the tank. The tank exploded in a shower of sparks, instantaneously killing the Marine inside.
Alka's Banshee screamed over the tank even as the fuel-rod round hit. A dozen Marines looked up and fired at the aircraft. A thousand rounds whizzed past the Banshee, but non of them hit the fast flying craft.
Alka felt the gravity on him double as he banked sharply and came back around to fire at the other Marines. He closed on them in seconds, fired his fuel rod gun, and unloaded both plasma cannons on them. A score of bodies fell, and he fired his fuel rod cannon again just as he pulled out of the bombing run. The second shot destroyed a communications tower, which fell and crushed three Warthog LRV's below it. Alka zipped over the destruction and turned to re-join his squad.
He piloted his Banshee above a Phantom. They descended over the headquarters of the military complex. He landed the Banshee on top of the building. The two Phantoms emptied their loads of troops onto the top of headquarters.
Alka un-slung his carbine, and swept the area, looking for targets. Satisfied that the area was clear of targets, he motioned for his troops to move over to a hatch leading into the building. He opened the hatch. It lead down a double flight of stairs into a wide corridor.
"Activate your active camouflage. Use your comm. channels only when necessary."
He received several acknowledgement signals. He activated his camouflage, as did his soldiers, and they all but faded from view. Alka moved cautiously down the stairwell, sweeping left and right with his carbine. He reached the bottom of the stairwell and moved through the corridor. There were several doors in the hall, and he didn't know which one to take.
Alka called up a display of the complex on his HUD. From what he could tell, there were two routes to the control center of the room. One was an air vent that led to the room, and the other was a slightly longer route through the hallways. The path through the hallways would likely be filled with hostiles, not to mention they'd have to move slower. It would be the most dangerous, so he'd split his forces and lead the hallway route.
"Teruka'," he signaled one of his subordinates. "Take four warriors and get to the control room through the air vents. The rest of you," he selected six Elites. "Follow behind me, engage enemies on sight. But try to keep it quiet," he said.
His team acknowledged. Five Elites moved through the air vents and disappeared from Alka's motion sensors.
"Alright team," Alka said. "Let's move out. This way to the control room."
The team of Elites moved cautiously down the hallway, moving in a slowly in a crouch. He rounded a corner, and saw three doors, one to the left, one to the right, and one in the center.
He detected faint blurs on his motion tracker behind the doors to his left.
He put away his carbine and brought, and activated his energy sword. He motioned for the others to do the same. Six other swords flashed on. A veteran laughed deeply as his sword flickered on.
"Shhh..." Alka cautioned. He thought the fact that he was cautioning his people for the massacre that was about to occur was amusing.
Alka bashed through the wooden door to his left with the sword. A thousand splinters sprayed in a terrifying explosion. The dozen unarmed Marine regulars in the room turned in surprise, there former stoic faces collapsing into absolute terror. The seven Elites flooded into the room, energy swords flashing as they cut through armor and flesh. Five Marines fell in the first ten seconds. Four more were bi-sected from lightning fast attacks a moment later. Another Marine was ripped to shreds by the iron hard nails of a very brave Elite veteran. The two remaining Marines made a break for the door, but were cut down before they got within five feet of it.
A commando Elite laughed as the red human blood ran off his shimmering shields. Alka deactivated his sword and shouldered his carbine. The Elites exited the room in a hurry. Alka heard footsteps coming from the middle room. Alka signaled his men to be at their ready. The footsteps grew louder, and then the middle door burst open. A trio of Marines with shotguns ran screaming into the room.
"What's all the hub-up, bitches?" One of them inquired as it fired its shotgun, dropping one of the Elites behind Alka to the ground. Alka fired off three shots from his carbine, hit the offender in the head, and put him down in exchange. Another Elite went down under multiple shotgun rounds. A Marine fell under a barrage of plasma fire. The final Marine died in the explosion of a pair of plasma grenades.
More footsteps thundered down the stairs behind the middle door. Two more Marines came pounding into the room, both armed with a pair of SMGs. Bullets and plasma filled the air. An Elite fell under the heavy fire of four SMGs. One of the Marines stopped to reload both SMGs. Alka seized the moment, grabbed his energy sword, and lunged. The blow eviscerated the Marine, his guts spilling to the floor. Alka spun left, grabbed the second Marine by the wrist, and twisted. The Marine fell to ground, screaming as his wrist broke. Alka brought his sword down onto the Marines neck, severing the head from the body. Blood sprayed out of the Marines jugular and carotid.
Alka signaled his remaining troops to take a minute to reload. He gave himself a minute for his long suffering shields to recharge, and slapped another extended clip in his Carbine. He checked his mission clock. Total Elapsed Time: Twenty-three units. He radioed in to Carna.
"Excellency, this is Alka Akazomee'."
There was plasma fire on the other end, followed by a burst of static. Carna's voice finally came on. "Go ahead," he said.
"Excellency, we are en route to the control room of this facility. Hopefully they will have information leading us to the Holy Relics in this system."
"Understood, Carna out," the COM snapped off.
Alka faced his remaining warriors. "Spread out and search the building in pairs of twos. We should regroup in the control room in no more than thirty units," he said. "Forward warriors! And fear neither pain nor death!"
The Elites split up and moved away like ghosts. A crimson armored veteran followed Alka down the center stairs. Another pair moved through a nearby air vent, and a last pair entered a room to the right.
Alka and his partner crept down the stairs, looking for any humans. A window at the bottom of the stairs overlooked a courtyard of stone below. A score of dead Marines lay dead in the courtyard, dead eyes staring blankly into the sky. A Phantom touched down in the courtyard, and emptied out a pair of Hunters and several Elites.
Alka continued down the stairs. It seemed to take forever before he reached the bottom. An insta-crete blockade had been hastily erected in front of the door to the control room. A trio of Marines crouched behind the barrier, carrying BR55 Battle Rifles and MA5B Assault Rifles.
"Open fire! Open fire!" One of them shouted. Bullets filled the air, and pinged off of Alka's shields. He threw himself behind a wall. The veteran Elite he'd traveled with took a full clip from an MA5B to the chest. His shields broke, and he staggered under multiple bullet impacts.
The Elite grabbed his energy sword, and roared a battle cry.
"No!" Alka shouted, but it was too late. The other Elite ran screaming at the Marines, but died as a trio of rounds from a Battle Rifle knocked his helmet off, and sent him spiraling to the ground.
Alka grabbed and primed a plasma grenade, swung around the wall he'd been hiding behind, and threw it at the center Marine. The grenade adhered to the Marines helmet. The human grabbed at his helmet, trying to rip it off. The other two Marines jumped away in time. The grenade detonated, and blew a huge chunk out of the insta-crete barrier.
Alka targeted the nearest Marine with his carbine, and fired five shots into the Marines abdomen. The human collapsed to the ground, his face already growing white. The other Marine turned, grabbed a frag grenade, and threw it straight at Alka. The grenade detonated in front of Alka's face, sending dust and grime into the air.
The Marine yelled in triumph, and was shocked to see Alka charging at him with his energy sword. The Marine fired off his Battle Rifle, but the shots went high and wide, screaming over Alka's head. Alka leaped over the barrier, pounced on the Marine, and drove his sword straight into the soldiers stomach. The Marine's eyes widened, and his body went limp. Alka allowed the human's body to slide off his sword. He opened the door on the other side of the barrier, and found himself standing in the control room.
Several Elites stood guard. A dozen human bodies littered the ground. A black armored commando approached him.
"Excellency," the Elite said, his head lowered. "We have found the locations of a human held facility. It is likely the Holy Artifacts we were looking for are located below the facility."
"Below the facility?" Alka inquired.
"Yes, Excellency. It appears that there are mines below that particular facility. The mines continue downward longer than any mineral deposits could be located. We are positive that that is where the Artifacts are."
"Indeed," Alka said. "Okay then, let's get down to the ground floor, there's a Phantom located outside. Let's move, warriors of the Covenant!"
"Yes, Excellency," they answered in unison.
Alka radioed Carna. "Excellency, we are en route to the Artifacts as we speak. I recommend we rendezvous there."
"Indeed," Carna replied. "Very well, meet you there."
"Of course, your Excellency," the channel snapped off. Unbeknownst to Alka, Carna Carkaz'umaa laughed deeply. It was to be his finest hour. And nothing, not the humans, not the Flood, not even his own men, nothing, short of the hands of the Forerunners themselves would stop him.
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch.4 Pt. 1
Date: 19 April 2005, 12:06 AM
Chapter4: Vaminos!
Towers parked next to the gatehouse. Corisca and Delgado hopped out and approached the nearest marine.
"Who's in charge here, Marine?" Corisca asked sternly.
The Marine shifted uneasily on his feet. He had a bandage wrapped around his forehead, and gripped his MA5B assault rifle with white knuckles. His green eyes showed the signs of fatigue, and his dusty brown hair was grayed with gunpowder. The Marine stammered.
"Uh, that'd be Major Fitzgerald. He's over by one of the Pelicans, Bravo-335, I think," he pointed over in the direction of one of the Pelicans. Corisca and Delgado moved over to the Pelicans while observing the other Marines. They all had dead, far-off looks in their eyes. They all seemed to be border-lining on shock.
Corisca couldn't blame them, given the stuff he'd seen today, he was surprised he hadn't frozen up.
The docks were a massacre. Thousands of spent brass casings rolled around on the ground, reflecting the golden sun. A pair of destroyed Wraiths smoldered outside the dock walls. Large meter wide plasma burns marked the concrete walls and floors of the docks. The bodies of fallen Covenant were stacked in piles, while the bodies of fallen Marines were lined up neatly, covered in tarps. The destroyed Pelicans billowed streams of black smoke. Heat from the wreckage could probably be read by sensors clear out in space.
Corisca approached Major Fitzgerald. The man was middle-aged, slightly over-weight, with a thick, black mustache. He had a bandage around his mid-section. He held a plasma rifle, and had an M6Db pistol at his side. Corisca and Delgado saluted, and the Major returned the gesture.
"Where you boys from?" the Major asked gruffly. His accent was slightly Polish.
"Sir," Corisca began. "We came from Fire Base Epsilon. I have a critically wounded man back in the Warthog, and he needs immediate evac to a ship-board med-bay."
"Hm," the Major began. "I understand your situation son, but we're all in the same boat here. There isn't a UNSC ship for light-years. It take at least three days for the nearest ship to get here."
"Sir," Delgado began. "Permission to speak freely?"
"Granted. Speak your mind."
"Sir, what the hell happened here? This is a massacre."
"A massacre, eh? Well I got some bad news for you," he said grimly. "This was just round one. The main invasion force should be arriving here shortly."
That was quite possibly the worst news Corisca had gotten all day. There were less than forty Marines left to defend the docks. Another wave of Covenant would quite possibly wipe them out.
"How much longer till they arrive sir?" Corisca asked.
"Oh, an hour I'd say," Major Fitzgerald said. "Two, tops," he added.
Two hours, Corisca thought. Two hours till he had the biggest battle of his life. There was so many preparations to be made, and so little time.
"Sir, permission to try and fortify our position?" Corisca asked.
"Permission?" Fitzgerald said bluntly. "You don't need permission to try and save our asses. Go right ahead."
"Yes, sir."
The final fortifications to the landing docks had been made. And it came just in time. A quintet of Covenant Phantoms touched down just outside the landing docks, followed by a trio of Shadows close on their heels.
Sergeant Dan Corisca looked up from behind the insta-crete barricade that had been put in place. The Phantoms emptied their troops, dropped whatever vehicles they had, and took off. The Shadows parked, driver side forward, and dropped their troops.
"Alright, men!" Corisca shouted. "This is what we're waiting for, now let's get em'!"
Corisca shouldered the rocket launcher he was holding, and fired both rounds straight and true at a pair of Hunters. The behemoths fell to the ground, orange blood pooling into the earth. A steady crack crack crack from S2 AM sniper rifles filled the air, and Covenant warriors fell in ones, twos, and threes. A Shadow exploded under two cannon shells from a Scorpion tank. Charging Covenant soldiers fell under hundreds of 7.62mm rounds. A captured Covenant Shade turret lay suppressive fire onto the area below the docks.
Corisca thought that the battle was going perfectly, until someone shouted, "Banshees!"
The prophecy was true. A dozen Banshees flew through the sky like obese mosquitoes. Fuel rod rounds impacted Warthogs, sending geysers of flame into the air.
"Rocket jockeys!" Corisca shouted. "Concentrate your fire on those Banshees!" A moment later, a score of rockets impacted the Banshees above them, leaving only two remaining Banshees to slowly limp away.
A half dozen Marines had already died in the battle, not to mention a valuable Warthog LRV had been destroyed. More Marines fell every minute as the slowly advancing Covenant troops inched closer to the barricade to the docks.
"Man, this can't get any worse," some fool said. Then, the Wraiths showed up. A pair of Wraiths moved into position in front of the docks, spewing plasma mortars everywhere. A trio of rocket wielding Marines died as a mortar impacted them, leaving a meter deep where they had just been.
"Delgado!" Corisca shouted up to Private Delgado, seated behind the controls of the Scorpion tank. "Take out those Wraiths now! On the double!"
Delgado complied, and three minutes later, the Wraiths were smoking heaps on the battle field.
That left the Shadows and foot soldiers. The captured Shade turret the humans had came spiraling off its post after being hit by a fuel rod round, courtesy of cannon wielding Grunts. The Grunts went down a split-second later, after a hundred 7.62mm rounds cut it to ribbons.
Another Shadow exploded under a pair of rockets, killing a file of Jackals that had been shooting nearby.
Corisca exchanged his rocket launcher for a Marine private's sniper rifle. He targeted a sword wielding Elite that was charging straight towards the dock's gatehouse. The Covenant warrior fell under a quartet of 14.2mm rounds.
A tank shell exploded to the left of Corisca, erasing a charging squad of Grunts.
More of Delgado's handy-work, Corisca thought. He reloaded his sniper rifle, sighted a black armored Elite, and fired. The round punched through the Elite's shield. The alien jumped behind a Shadow.
"Delgado," Corisca said. "Target that Shadow transport." A second later, the alien transport exploded, no doubt killing the sneaky Elite. Corisca reloaded again. Four sniper shots rang out, and three Elites fell.
Major Black came pounding out of one of the remaining Pelicans. He ran over to Corisca.
"Sergeant, we've got trouble," Black said, his face grim.
"What's the problem sir?" Corisca asked. "The battle is going great."
"Not for long,"
Private Delgado got out of the Scorpion, which was taken over by a Corporal, and came over.
"What's the problem sirs?" the Private asked. He looked up as the sky darkened, and his mouth dropped. "Holy shit," he cursed under his breath.
"That's the problem," Major Black said, and pointed at an incoming Scarab.
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch.4 Pt. 2
Date: 23 April 2005, 1:23 AM
"Duck? Where?"
Rear Admiral Christopher Caldwell sat down in the command chair of his ship, the Gates of Damascus.
"Lieutenant Miezko, status?" He asked.
Lieutenant Josef Miezko, the ships operations manager. The lieutenant was slight of build, blond hair, long gangly arms that went down almost to his knees. The lieutenant addressed him without looking up from his station. "Sir, engine status nominal, no anomalies. Weapons at the ready. No new messa-," he paused. His terminal blipped, and a message appeared.
"Lieutenant? There a problem?" Caldwell inquired.
"Sir, a message from Fire Base Epsilon, Zama Military Complex, Zephyrus Colonies," he paused again, examining the message. "Sir, you'd better take a look at this."
Admiral Caldwell got out of his seat and moved to Lieutenant Miezko's station. He leaned over the terminal. The lieutenant tapped a few controls, and a box popped up. The lieutenant clicked it. A deep, gruff voice came out.
"This is Brigadier General Gunter Black, authorization code Bravo Sigma Seven One Three, calling from the Zephyrus Fire Base Epsilon. The Covenant have infiltrated this station and we require assistance. Over and out,"
The message ended.
"Sir," Miezko said. "What should we do?
"Do? We're going to go help them, because it's our duty," Caldwell said. He approached the ship-wide comm. system. "This is Rear Admiral Caldwell to all hands, prepare for battle. All hands to battle stations," he ordered. He turned to the navigations officer. "Lieutenant Alp, set coordinates for the Zephyrus system.
"Aye aye, sir," she said.
"Lieutenant, how long till we enter the Zephyrus system?"
"Exactly four hours, sir,"
"Very well, Lieutenant Miezko, I'll be in my quarters. Alert me if anything arises."
The next few hours passed without incident aboard the Gates of Damascus. Rear Admiral Caldwell spent the time in his quarters, mulling over what to do. First, if there was a Covenant presence there, and they had made landfall, that meant that they must be looking for something. Second, a Covenant presence meant the probability of Covenant capitol ships, and with only one ship, there was very little chance of him surviving.
Caldwell sighed deeply. So many things to do, so little time. The comm. rang.
"Sir?" Lieutenant Miezko said over the channel.
"Go ahead, lieutenant."
"Sir, we've entered the Zephyrus system, and we are in geo-synchronous orbit over the Zama Military Complex."
"Understood, lieutenant," the comm. channel snapped off. Caldwell got out of his chair and exited his quarters. He walked briskly down the corridor to the elevator that led to the bridge. He rode the elevator to the bridge elevator and exited. He walked towards the bridge, and two Marines with shotguns saluted him. He returned the salute without pausing. He entered the bridge.
"Admiral on the deck!" someone barked. All five members of the bridge crew stood and saluted.
"At ease," Caldwell said. They all returned to their posts, but everyone looked tense.
"Lieutenant Miezko, Covenant presence in system?"
"Sir, two Covenant CCS class cruisers in system. Intercepted transmissions report that more ships are inbound.
"How many?"
The lieutenant's face was grim. He gulped. "Estimated inbound ships number near fifty."
Admiral Caldwell visibly flinched. FiftyCovenant ships? That was enough firepower to turn his ship to a smoldering hulk of slag.
"Lieutenant," Caldwell said. "Send Sergeant Burgess to the bridge."
"Aye aye, sir."
Caldwell thought for a minute, pondered if there were any other way. There wasn't
"Lieutenant, where are the Covenant cruisers as of now?"
"Uh, one of them is on the far side of the Ea moon. The other is scanning near the Gaia planet."
The bridge doors opened. A man in a standard UNSC Marine uniform entered the bridge. The man was tall, with broad shoulders. His darkly tanned skin was covered in ghastly scars. He wore a sergeant's cap, and had an M6D pistol and M9D shotgun strapped to his belt.
"You wanted to see me, Admiral?" He asked bluntly.
"Ah! Sergeant Burgess, good to see you,"
"Let's be frank, sir, what do you need me to do?"
Caldwell was taken aback by the sergeant's straight forward attitude. "Well sergeant, I need you to lead a mission," he said, and laid out the plan.
Sergeant Alexis Burgess stood before his contingent of Marines in the Gates of Damascus's cargo bay. The cargo bay, normally barren except for supplies, was filled with almost five hundred Marines.
"Listen up men," he barked. "We are to leave this ship, and assault a Covenant held city on Zephyrus. We will be entering via Pelican dropships and ODST drop pods. Once on the ground, we will break Covenant hold on the city. However, this is a one-way trip. As soon as you leave the ship, there's no coming back. This ship will be jumping out-system as soon as we leave. Because of the high risk of this mission, the skipper has asked for volunteers. All those willing to go, take one step forward."
Each and every one of the Marines in the room took one step forward. A Marine in the front row tripped and fell to the ground.
"Seems like some of us are more eager than others," Burgess said and chuckled. All the Marines chuckled along, too, even the private that had tripped.
"Okay then, Marines, get to your posts. We make landfall at 0600."
"Bail out! Move! Move! Move!" Sergeant Burgess shouted. "Someone strap a parachute to that hog!" he barked. At 0555 hours, Sergeant Burgess and his Marines had left the Gates of Damascus. He and another twenty Marines had left in a Pelican, Foxtrot-22. They had entered Zephyrus's thermosphere at 0605, along with five other Pelicans, ten Longsword heavy fighters, and close to fifty Orbital Drop pods.
Foxtrot-22 had taken a ground based plasma mortar to the cockpit, killing the pilot and co-pilot. The Pelican came screaming towards the ground like a flaming comet.
The nineteen other Marines in the Pelican with Burgess grabbed a parachute and bailed out of the crippled dropship. Burgess leaned out of the ship, and attached a parachute to the Warthog stowed on the Pelican. He pulled the rip cord, and disengaged the Warthog.
Burgess leaned out of the Pelican again, and pulled back inside as a Wraith mortar shot came too close. He braced himself, and leaped out of the plummeting ship.
Defense of Fire Base Epsilon Ch. 6
Date: 3 July 2005, 8:41 am
Chapter 6: The Village Idiot
The Banshee cleared the enormous sandstone mountain, and approached the Covenant camp. Alka Akazomee poured energy into the engines after clearing the treacherous canyon. He passed over two Phantoms and a large cluster of digging equipment. He brought the Banshee in for a hard landing on the landing pad. There was a construction foreman nearby that rushed to greet him.
"Your Excellency," the foreman said and fell to one knee. "We were not foretold of your arrival. We haven't completed excavating yet. There is only enough room to fit one Banshee into the hole at a time."
"Have you reached the relics yet?" Alka asked.
"Yes, Excellency. We have sent warriors down to investigate, we haven't heard back from them. There might be interference from the ear-" the foreman was cut off mid-syllable.
"Ready me a Banshee, I'll go investigate the relics myself," Alka said and walked off. He only had to wait a short while before a new Banshee was brought to the launch pad and the one he arrived in was hauled away by a team of Grunts."
Alka climbed inside the Banshee, and disregarding the pre-flight checklist, descended rapidly into the cavernous hole in the ground. He descended for a full five minutes before the fuselage mounted searchlight reflected off the shining metallic cobalt of the Forerunners.
There were already several lights planted by investigating parties that lit up the passageway dimly. Alka followed the lights until they ended at a large circular room that was already illuminated by an unknown source. Alka parked the Banshee in the center of the circular room. He exited out of the Banshee, and removed the searchlight from its front.
He flashed the light around the room to get a better look at the room. He was dumbstruck when he saw the large holographic display in the center. He shined the light on the control panel, and moved the other hand to activate the consol.
"I've done it! I've found evidence of the Gods!" Alka exclaimed aloud. A moment later, a plasma bolt shattered the searchlight, making the room significantly less bright. He wheeled around, grabbing his carbine.
"Wrong, Alka, I have found it," said a familiar voice. Alka identified it as Carna Carkaz'umaa's voice.
"Carna!" Alka said angered. "What are you doing here?"
"I am here to claim my findings. And unfortunately, you must die. There are always casualties of war, even when fighting these primitive mongrels. And with you out of the way," Carna fired a volley of plasma at Alka's position. Alka's shields flared, and he leapt behind his Banshee. Carna continued. "and with you out of the way, all the credit for this finding," he finished.
"Come on out, I promise you a warrior's death Alka," Carna said.
"You weak little Grunt!" Alka spat. "All you have done, you have stolen from others. You coward! Your greed overwhelms you, and you would discard all oaths of loyalty and honor, and you would even betray one of your own, just for your own gain!" he continued.
"When will you learn, Alka? Life is all about sacrifices, and for me, I'll have to sacrifice you. Perhaps they will give me the rank of Fleet Master for this discovery!" Carna boasted.
"I've got something to give you!" Alka shouted. He leapt atop the Banshee, and firing his carbine, hit Carna several times. Carna dived behind a pedestal in the room. "Come on out coward!" Alka yelled. Carna swung from behind the pedestal and fired two plasma rifles at Alka. Alka jumped backwards off the Banshee while throwing a plasma grenade. The grenade landed at Carna's feet, who jumped out of the way as the grenade detonated, turning the pedestal he had just been behind into a pile of rubble.
Alka hit the ground and rolled. He sprung to his feet, and jumped behind a basalt pillar. He replaced the half empty clip in his carbine with another extended clip. He peeked from behind the leaned out from behind the pillar, and was met with a volley of plasma fire. The fire chipped away at the pillar, which was slowly dwindling to the size of a twig.
Alka spun around from the pillar, and ran, firing his carbine at what he guessed to be Carna's position. Alka and Carna fired at each other from across the room. Carna caught four rounds to the chest and two to the head, his shields collapsed, and he caught a round through the right arm, sending a spray of purple-black blood jetting into the air. Carna dropped the rifle in his right hand, but kept firing with the left.
Alka caught the full volley of both of the plasma rifles. His shields had collapsed in seconds, and he caught several direct hits to the stomach. Alka fell to the floor, dropping his Carbine. Carna approached him, activating his energy sword.
"Like I said, Alka, there must always be at least a few casualties in war," he said, raising the sword high.
"Yes, unfortunately, this time, you're the casualty," Alka said, grabbing his own sword, and sweeping it across Carna's midsection. It cut through Carna's shields instantly, and left an inch deep cut across the length of Carna's torso.
Carna stumbled back, reeling from the shock. Alka leapt to his feet, grabbed a plasma grenade, armed it, and tossed it in a flat trajectory straight at Carna. The grenade stuck to Carna's chest, and Carna stood in awe.
Carna threw his right hand out in a "stop" gesture. "No!" he exclaimed. The grenade exploding, blasting Carna's body against another basalt pillar. The explosion left a dark black scorch on the ground. Carna was still breathing though, however how ragged. In the explosion, he had dropped his sword, which had been scattered to the other side of the floor. Alka limped over towards the battered Carna.
"Carna Carkaz'umaa's," Alka began. "You have forsaken all oaths of loyalty to the Covenant and your species. I now relieve you of your rank, your command, and now, your life. I declare you a Heretic in the eyes of the Hierarchs, and you will not be rewarded in paradise," he concluded, and, lifting the sword up, brought it down through Carna's throat, sending a warm jet of purple blood against the floor.
Alka limped over to the consol, clutching his burnt stomach. He touched a control, and then two more, and a slideshow started playing. It showed a large burning city, then shifted to warship firing on each other. It shifted again to robed figures laying a coffin down in a tomb.
Alka chuckled. He finally understood. He understood everything now. He fell to his knees, and then forward onto the floor. He struggled to maintain consciousness, but his eyes flickered and darkness started to close in around him. A wide smile spread over his face, as he saw Paradise.
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