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Desperate Measures Part II (Revised)
Posted By: Jack Lang<Molotovsniper@hotmail.co.uk>
Date: 5 June 2009, 7:12 pm
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Aboard the UNSC Frigate, Flights of Fancy, Commander Adam Baldur paced. He did not like this plan; there were too many variables, too many flaws.
By positioning themselves on the dark-side of the Moon they were invisible to Covenant sensors. But they were also blind. If the Longswords failed, if the enemy were stronger than anticipated, they were screwed.
Baldur also lamented the lack of Shiva warheads. The weeks long battles in the upper atmosphere and orbit of Earth had depleted the UNSC's armoury of nuclear warheads to nil.
He nervously fingered the strap of his wristwatch as he looked at the luminous countdown superimposed upon the mainscreen. Not long now.
"Prepare the MAC firing solutions, bring all Archer pods online."
The bridge crew sprang to attention and began the frenzy of activity that preceded any battle.
Now they just had to pray that the ship was where they had left it.
Get the Kamikazes in their pods, and bring engines online. Charge up the Slipspace drive, we'll need to get out of here damn quick."
In the launch bay black Human Entry Vehicles were lined up in columns, their frontal casings still open. Inside the Helljumpers of the elite 105th Shock Troopers smoked final cigarettes and shouted messages to their pod mates.
The mood seemed light, but it was lie. The ODSTs were scared shitless by the suicide mission that they were about to undertake.
A door opened and a tall trooper entered.
"Officer on deck."
The Helljumpers straightened in their pods, then relaxed as Major Alex Airiman removed his helmet. The Tanned Australian was a kind CO. Shock Trooper units had always been more lenient with discipline, and Airiman was considered more lenient than most. He strode purposefully towards the open pods, and the mood of the room perked slightly. Without a word the Major swept his hazel eyes over the soldiers and nodded. That was they needed.
The recoil of the Frigate's MAC shook the whole vessel, and the vessel swayed and rocked as they dodged sporadic enemy fire.
"This is Commander Baldur, we are nearly in position. Gear up Helljumpers, and Godspeed.
The Frigate accelerated forward, thrusters blazing as they manoeuvred to avoid the minimal enemy fire.
The pods launched, ablaze with fire to stop side motion, and increase forward motion.
Commander Baldur Saluted the brave soldiers he was sure he had sent to their deaths.
The HEVs slammed into the part-melted decks of the Carrier, punching through weakened floors before coming to a halt.
Frontal plating burst away from the pods and a variety of weapon muzzles were thrust outwards just in case of hostiles. Not that there were any-vacuum had seen to that.
Of course that didn't matter to the blue visored warriors that now emerged, they had more than fifteen minutes of air-plenty of time to reach a pressurised compartment.
Major Airiman stepped out of his pod and unclipped his weapons. He checked his pistol was still holstered, then slung his SRS-99D S2 AM (S) over his shoulder before picking up his silenced MA5K.
Deft hand motions were the signal for the midnight warriors to start moving. Clambering over the debris that cluttered the floor they reached the first door, Airiman offered up silent thanks that the floor still had artificial gravity despite the damage. In zero gravity this would have been hell-even with the thruster packs.
The cracked and dented doors slid open, releasing a torrent of atmosphere that almost swept the Major off his feet, he steadied himself on a chunk of melted walling and swung in to the new corridor rifle raised. It was empty and Airiman signalled so to the warriors at his back, they began to fan out to cover the area. Silently and efficiently they moved into position and covered the next door.
The door behind closed and the squads waited until the atmosphere had returned and the pressure stabilised before moving forward.
Blending with shadow they infiltrated the outer corridors dodging the few patrols with ease then came to the first objective. Airiman nodded at a young corporal who removed her helmet.
Running a hand through sweat darkened blonde hair-slightly longer than regulation, a fact the Major overlooked-she retrieved the data chip embedded into her wrist gauntlet and began wiring it up to the Covenant data port.
A door hissed open and four Grunts and a Brute walked through. The Grunts were equipped with full-encased suits and were holding various pieces of machinery while the Brute was outfitted in fully enclosed jump pack armour.
Every single soldier held their breath as the Covenant warriors turned to the left and began to proceed down the corridor away from the squads.
The connection completed the ONI 'Smart AI' began its hack of the Covenant systems, by the time the Grunts were a quarter way down the corridor it had completed its hack.
"Hack complete, The necessary Covenant systems are available, and I must say an improvement on my previous record."
The Grunts jumped as if stung and the Brute whirled on the spot with surprising speed, performed a near comical double take and reached towards his belt.
Four of the humans began raising their guns but they were too slow, a spike punched into the shoulder of the closest Marine and swung him around, pinning him to the wall.
Silenced BRs sighted and fired. The Brute's head vanished in a mist of blood and gore that splattered the dumbstruck grunts. More coughs and the Grunts were history.
"I apologise, I was not aware that I was compromising our safety."
"Can it Aileana."
The Major glanced at the Pinned Marine
"Sir, I'll be fine, just cut me free of this wall"
He nodded and the Corpsman began cutting the wickedly sharp spike to free the soldier.
Only then did Airiman look at the holographic AI
"Well?"
The AI looked humble and worried
"Don't worry, it didn't strike a vital, He'll be fine. No permanent harm done."
"Very well, I have disabled the Covenant sensors across most of the carrier, and opened up a route that is relatively free of enemy forces, you will still face resistance but better odds than most battles."
"We're Helljumpers, epic odds for normal Marines are standard for us." He looked around.
The closest warriors grinned. "Oorah sir."
The Major hefted his MA5K and walked through the door, his warband at his back as they went forward feet first.
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