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Fort Underworld by K. Beitzel and J.B.
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Fort Underworld Pt 1
Date: 9 June 2010, 3:09 am
Author's Notes: This was originally just a little bit of practice for the both of us, but it turned up something worth sharing. Please let us know what you think, take the time to comment and provide feedback, we really appreciate it.
This was written in a Role Playing forum, but we feel it works well as a story once put together.
Enjoy.
Fort Underworld by K. Beitzel & J.B.
The Pillar was grounded and the Covenant were now swarming over the anomaly, aptly dubbed "Halo". Small clusters of UNSC personnel were scattered throughout the installation, most of which were searching for more survivors; others chose to hole up in the mountains within small fortresses carved out by ancients.
One such fortress; hidden beneath frosted peaks and shrouded in fog, had not seen any sign of Covenant life for over a week. Beyond the main entrance was a braid of tunnels, virtually undetectable under the ice and stone which led to two large sections hidden beneath the ring's surface, where it was warmer.
Most figured it was close to some kind of reactor or boiler room. Some ventured deeper to investigate, only to find locked doors.
There were enough provisions for at least another week and a half in the caves, but scouts often did not return from above the fog.
Alexis was certain the CO was just sending the weakest to their deaths.
She looked up from her boots to watch yet another marine leave for the surface, uttering a small sigh. She wondered when she would draw the short straw. She leaned against a crate of scrap metal and stared at the roof. It was so peaceful under the peaks, so hard to believe that on the surface, there was a war going on.
There was a soft hiss from the double doors as a marine emerged from the locked sub-sections.
"Rodriguez, your shift."
Alexis stood straight, "On my way," she paused in front of a man thumbing through a pile of reports, "Sir, I don't know how long we can keep that thing down there.."
Sgt. Richardson, the man left in charge of 'Underworld', looked up from his makeshift desk, "Then get rid of it. We don't need more mouths to feed down here."
Alexis rolled her eyes, she didn't know why anyone captured it in the first place. "Yes, sir."
"While you're at it, find out if it's edible. I heard they taste like chicken." Richardson added with a smirk. Alexis hoped to God he was joking.
Sergeant Major Decker was already standing next to the captured Jackal's room when Alexis arrived. He crossed his arms and tapped his fingers on his shoulder impatiently, as if he was becoming anxious in the absence of something to kill.
"Heard Richardson talking about eating this thing. Don't think he's seen it then, eh? Little bastard's a twig, even for a Jackal." He nodded towards the room behind him. "It's sleeping right now. Didn't want to, but considering the blood loss and the fact that I had to whack it about with the old rifle some before it'd stop trying to cut my throat out for bringing it food, I think it's body got the final say-so."
Decker hefted his MA5C and pulled back on the bolt to make sure a round was chambered. It never hurt to be careful.
"Anyhow, what's the word? We're not killing this thing, and we're not eating it either. ONI would shit themselves if they found out we iced a tier-three asset, and I don't want to be on the receiving end of that. You wanna look at it, look all you want, but try and kill it and I'll put a 7.62 UNSC in your skull quicker than lightning. Same goes for Richardson.
"Besides, shouldn't we be more worried about figuring out what's what? When's the last time we heard from Keyes or Cortana? I hate fighting blind. Tends to get you killed really quick, and I don't have any intention of dying here."
Alexis listened to the soft hum of the installation for a moment, and wondered why none of these Forerunner structures had steps. They were forever coming across ramps.
She snapped back to attention when Decker cleared his throat loudly.
"No, Sir. No word yet."
She looked past Decker to the small doorway, thumbing her belt absently. "Any idea on what's further down? Does the Jackal know anything?"
Decker shook his head. "Nah, don't think so. Not like we can tell anyway, unless it secretly speaks English or you have a translator who speaks bird. Personally, I say we run a few sensor sweeps of the catacombs ourselves, maybe snake a few optical cables down. Whoever built this place didn't just make a giant storage fortress for nothing, and since we're doing something between jack and squat right now, my curiosity is starting to get the better of me."
Decker's gut emitted a slow, mournful groan.
"My appetite's starting to get on my nerves too. Did that incompetent little prick of a Sergeant in the other room make contact with everyone else yet or not? I've got some extra supplies I always bring with me, but nothing more than a couple days' worth." He began playing with a loose round as he spoke, his boredom becoming very evident.
"I'm almost starting to hope we get attacked. Always wondered if the big ones taste like calamari."
Alexis smiled and shook her head, she would never get used to the small talk with the men in the UNSC.
She unslung her rifle and leaned against the wall, "It's unsettling isn't it? The tranquillity." Decker grunted in agreement.
She rubbed her shoulders against the warm corridor wall and added, "It makes you wonder why nobody else is coming near this place. Can they not find it? Are they not looking?" she glanced toward the door behind Decker, "Or are they avoiding it?"
Assault fire cracked from the upper levels, followed by yelling, catching the attention of the two marines below.
"Get that shit out of here! Now!" Richardson's voice rang through the chamber.
Alexis caught a glimpse of the happenings when a crewman triggered the sliding doors above. A flash of grey and tan, and the doors closed once again.
She jogged toward the door, "I'll be right back." she called, "Make sure bird brain stays asleep."
The double doors opened once again, revealing the mayhem. There was what looked like an un-armed and un-armored Elite leaping about the chamber, hiding behind the men and women to avoid being shot.
It also appeared to be eating something..
"Kill that wretched thing!" Richardson barked. Alexis noticed his desk was a mess, and his cigar wasn't at its usual resting place. The Elite passed Alexis and the smell of tobacco filled her nostrils. She stifled a laugh, disguised it as a cough, and waited for it to pass again, being sure to have the door behind her open.
"Come on kid, let's go." She muttered, tracking it with her eyes, "Sergeant! Heads up!" The Elite ploughed into Alexis' body, taking her breath for a moment as they slammed against the wall. Alexis used the momentum of their bounce to force the young Elite into the hallway, and down the ramp. They tumbled end over end until they reached the landing at the bottom where she kept a firm grip on the creature's neck and right arm.
There was some commotion upstairs, and Richardson emerged at the doorway, "The bloody squid took my last cigar!"
Alexis laughed softly, still catching her breath, "Do you really want it back, Sir?"
"Hmph." Richardson turned away from the hallway, obviously indifferent to what Alexis and Decker did with it, "My fuckin' desk! Alright get cracking, I want this place spotless in 20 minutes!"
The Elite uttered a gurgle and a hint of fear surfaced in its eyes.
Alexis looked from the Elite to Decker, "Still wondering if they taste like calamari?"
Fort Underworld Pt 2
Date: 14 June 2010, 8:53 am
Author's Note: In hindsight, Riko (the jackal) is pretty useless, but he is the secondary objective in the mission I suppose.
Decker stormed out of the room to see Richardson's command center in chaos. Marines scurried about as the Sergeant screamed at them to get his "office" reorganized. Decker grabbed Richardson by his neck and slammed him into the nearest wall.
"YOU! We're all trying not to STARVE to death here, we have enemy combatants on-site, and you're worried about your God damned DESK?" Richardson was unceremoniously thrown to the ground as Decker pointed at two Marines entering the room, rifles scanning the area for hostiles. "You two, you're with me. Get some flexcuffs and stay sharp. Alexis, hold that damned thing down, we're on our way!"
A few minutes later, the Marines had the Elite restrained and unconscious, courtesy of a sharp smack to the face by Decker's assault rifle. He turned to face Alexis as he ran a hand through his hair, smoothing it out. "Any idea of where that squid came from? Doesn't look like it was trying to infiltrate our position, but you can never be too careful around aliens. For that matter, what the hell are we going to do with it?"
Decker paced back and forth down the hallway, flexing his fingers as his adrenaline rush slowly subsided. "I know ONI is going to want this one for sure, even more than that Jackal. Looks different too - non-combat garb, not as big as the bastards we kill for our day job. Of course, getting it out of here relies on us surviving long enough to actually get extracted. What do you think?"
"Maybe it's just hungry? It had a good feed on Richardson's cigar before I caught it." Alexis nudged what was left of it across the floor, "As for where it came from, I know about as much as you do, but look at this." She brought up a small display showing friendly tags in the area, "There's us.. then there's the elite." There was an extra blip in the room they were standing in, "It must have been the thing taking marines on the surface, it's been undetected this whole time because it's been holding friendly tags. God knows what it did with them, I can't see anything beyond the upper chamber on my scanners."
Alexis frowned slightly, "It has no blood on it.. well, no human blood. Either it's a clean killer, or those marines are still alive somewhere."
As she came to, Hyla wished hard that she would wake up back on her shuttle, no Humans and no Covenant. She opened her eyes, blinking against the light of the room. Her brain was swimming, her vision half-purple from a bleeding tear duct, the voices above her muffled by a concussion.
The small room was warm and vibrated softly beneath her, almost alive. She tried to sit up but the butt of a rifle pressed firmly to her shoulder, keeping her in place.
"Good morning sleeping beauty." Alexis leaned on the rifle a little, "How's your head?"
Hyla's head rolled to face the other marine, he was the one who hit her. He did not kill her. He saved her life.
"Hey, Decker, I think it likes you." Alexis grinned.
Hyla looked back to the marine holding her down, "Gaar.. ma.."
"Excuse me?"
The elite thought for a moment, recalling what she had learned, "Food."
"Figures." Alexis removed her rifle, switching out for a sidearm as she reached into her pack for some jerky. As it was removed from the pouch, the acute meaty smell made Hyla's mouth water. "You can have this.." Alexis said, dangling it over the elite's head, ".. if you answer our questions first."
Hyla's stomach growled audibly. She looked back at Decker, hoping he would show her another mercy and give her some food instead.
"Ask this thing if it knows what's going on out on the ground. And for that matter, ask where she got the IFF tags. If there's Marines out there in the cold, we're not going to leave them." Decker nodded towards the door. "I'm gonna go deal with Richardson."
By the time Decker got back up the ramp and into the main room, Richardson had already settled down back behind his desk. Decker kicked his chair as he came in. "Hey, asshole, officer on deck. Be glad I'm not in the mood to be picky right now."
Richardson shrugged a bit and continued to puff on his cigar, apparently unshaken by Decker's recent abuse.
"Anyway, you finish those scans of the catacombs I asked you for?" Decker asked. Richardson leaned forward and laid out a sheet of paper on his desk. "Not much of interest, Sergeant Major," he said. "Well, except this." Richardson pointed at a small figure under the readout for the lowest floor, three stories below them. "There's something down there. Appears to be organic material of some kind."
"Some of ours?"
"No way, they're below body temperature. If it's ours, they're dead, and the dead don't move. Personally, I say we investigate. I think Pvt. Rodriguez can probably make a breaching charge to open the door so we can get a look around without damaging what's inside. Hey, maybe it's edible."
Decker smirked a bit. "That'd be nice, wouldn't it? A little foreign cuisine never hurt anyone. Sounds like a plan, we'll get moving once she's done interrogating the squid."
"Glad to see you're not opposed to the idea, sir. I'll round up a squad of volunteers to assist you. Oh, and uh, no hard feelings, Sergeant Major."
Decker chuckled as he went back towards the makeshift interrogation room, pointing a finger back at the young Sergeant. "Hey, that's MY line."
Alexis stood straight as Decker re-entered the room, "Sir. This elite claims that our scouts are alive, or were when she last saw them. She says they're in another chamber parallel to this one."
Hyla stood, with some difficulty, and bowed her head to Decker, "You are the Merciful Decker. I give my respect to you and hope to receive yours as well."
"She asked who you were.. my apologies, sir." Alexis burned with shame that she had slipped her CO's name to the enemy. In her defence, this elite didn't seem like any she had seen captive before.
"It also forfeited this IFF tag." Alexis handed it to Decker, "Ensign Geoff Kensington. One of the first to escape the Autumn. She killed him before we managed to get to his escape pod. Must have missed it on our initial head count."
Hyla stepped forward, but Alexis cut her off, "Please.." she stared into Decker's eyes, ".. I ended his suffering. He was wounded, broken in many places. No feeling in his lower half.." she looked down remorsefully, ".. he.. begged for death."
Decker clenched the dead Marine's tags in his fist. "You kill my men, kidnap my scouts, and ransacked this garrison? And you have the nerve to call me merciful?" he snarled as his patted his M6C's holster and closed the short gap between himself and the Elite. "I ought to ice you where you are. Count yourself lucky that someone else has more important plans for you." He quickly cocked his right arm and slammed his fist into the alien's face, causing it to cry out in pain.
"Of course, that won't stop me from exacting a little vengeance for the dead," he hissed. "The dead can't speak, and their murderers don't get to speak for them. Their comrades do, though. You know my name already, now remember my face. If they're lucky, it'll be the last thing the rest of your race ever sees. But for now, I think we're even. Just remember that sometimes, mercy is only an excuse to extend punishment."
Decker turned to face his subordinate, who was clearly shocked his violent outburst against a prisoner of war. "Alexis, get this damned thing out of here. Throw it in one of the empty rooms and lock it down, and meet me on the entrance to the lower catacombs in five. Bring explosives and some ammo. God knows what kinds of uglies we might find down there."
The room became very cold as the muffled yelling of the Merciful Decker faded away.
Hyla had tried to make them see. She wasn't like her brethren, these Covenant beasts. She didn't even know what this Covenant stood for, only that she was hated deeply for it.
Hyla dropped to her knees.
She couldn't let herself succumb to sorrow. She was still alive, but this didn't keep the tears from welling in her young eyes.
Hyla looked over at the beaten Kig-Yar, half-crouched with claws poised and teeth bared, "I'm certain you're aware, I am of little threat." She tried to keep her voice as elegant as possible, "I am Hyla Ra'onu. What do I call you?"
The jackal only hissed in reply and dropped into another fevered sleep.
Fort Underworld Pt 3
Date: 14 June 2010, 9:28 am
As requested, Alexis met with Decker at the lower level entrance, her rucksack full of whatever explosives she could put together, and a few extra clips of AR ammunition. She wasn't yet sure if she liked where Decker was going with his plan, but anything had to be better than sitting on their asses all day waiting for a rescue party that would never come.
She saluted and dumped her pack against the wall, hands on her hips, "This could cause a cave-in you know.. assuming I have enough explosives to rattle this cage."
"Cave-in sounds fun. Always liked digging." Decker cracked a slight grin, which was met with nothing more than a cold stare from Alexis and her marines. "No? Alright, let's just blow this door. Get down that hall, set a shaped charge on the 'hinge' and let's crack this thing."
As Alexis went to work setting up the breaching charges, one of Richardson's marines piped up. "Uh, sir? What exactly are we looking for in here anyway? Who knows what kind of crazy things the Covvies might have waiting in there for us? Shouldn't we be holding down the fort and waiting for Keyes before we make a move?"
Decker stiffened a bit. He wasn't used to having his commands questioned until right before his troops thought they were going to die. This could be a bad omen, he thought. "I don't know what we're looking for, Pvt. Thompson," he said. "All I know is that I hope it's edible. We've held our position long enough, and it's pretty clear that any survivors from the Autumn aren't coming - they're either dead or out of radio contact. Hopefully it's the latter. Nonetheless, stay frosty. God knows what we're going to find down here, but we have enough firepower to kill anything that comes our way."
The marine nodded. "I hope you're right, sir."
From down the hall, there was a slight beep as Alexis finished arming the charges. "Everybody get clear!" she shouted as she ran towards them. "Get around the corners, away from the blast!" As she rounded the corner, Alexis charged her MA5B's bolt, prompting Decker and the others to do the same.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!"
The hallway shook slightly as the door was blown apart. The change in pressure sucked the dust and glass shards into the next section down, like poking a hole in a sarcophagus.
As the dust settled, Alexis came forward to inspect the room, "Clear.." she called back, a little disappointed, "Just a bunch of crazy symbols on the walls."
She pointed up at a red marking that glowed eerily from the other end of the room, next to another door. She checked the wall either side of the entrance, the markings were different, and glowed yellow. There were also two more doors, one left and one right, neither of the doors had markings, but their lights were red, indicating that they were locked.
It was another dead end, and she didn't have enough explosives to just try another door at random. If they blew another open, it would have to lead to something worthwhile.
Alexis signalled for the others to come in, "This would be great if we were looking to add crew quarters down here.." she muttered, slacking her AR against her shoulder, ".. we might need some military grade air freshener though, it smells like something's died."
"Got your problem right here, Rodriguez." A marine was inspecting one of the near corners, "Moss, probably from the fog or something. Slippery stuff."
"There's no way moss could smell this bad.. God, that's awful.." she covered her mouth and nose to try and block the stench of the weeping cracks in the wall, "Sarge, I have one good bang left in my pack, do you want to try going in further? 'Cause uh, there's nothing in here except this.. stuff.. and I'm sure as hell not gonna eat that."
"Damn." Decker kicked at the sludge on the floor, then shook his foot violently. "Well, I'm sure some boot polish will clean that right up. Guess we should get ba-"
"CONTACT!" Thompson stiffened and raised his rifle towards the ceiling. "Oh fuck, man, oh fuck..."
A number of strange creatures began dropping down into the room as the Marines all raised their weapons to a combat-ready position. Bulbous and green, the fungus-like animals resembled large squid, and Decker's squad couldn't help but stare as they began to swarm towards them. It was all the time the infection forms needed to pounce on their first victim in millennia. Thompson screamed as they jumped onto him and began punching their tentacles into his spinal cord.
Decker's rifle roared into the swarm as Thompson fell, still screaming. "PULL BACK, DAMN IT, PULL BACK!" From the corner of his eye, he saw Alexis grab PFC Hall by the scruff of his neck, just out of reach from the advancing horde. Decker tapped his headset as he reloaded, running back up through the hallways. "RICHARDSON, COME IN! HOSTILE LIFEFORMS ENGAGED ON FLOOR TWO, WE HAVE A MAN DOWN, REPEAT, WE HAVE A MAN DOWN, COPY, OVER?"
"Copy that Decker, what the hell did you do down there? We've got some kind of alien fungus swarming all over us now; we've taken heavy casualties and are pulling back to the holding cells! We made contact with Echo 412 and 351 for immediate evacuation and fire support, you'll have to meet us at the mountain sum-" Richardson's report was cut off by a blood-curdling wail.
Decker hissed a string of obscenities under his breath. "Rodriguez, use that last charge to blow the ceiling at the end of this hall! We're snagging those tier-threes and getting the hell out of here." As they crested the ramp towards the next level, Decker slammed a new magazine into his rifle. He could hear Rodriguez arming the charge already, but there was no way she'd be quick enough. He crouched and aimed towards the swarm as it skittered upwards after them. "Covering fire!"
Alexis was slapped repeatedly by flecks of slime as a chain reaction ran along the group of infection forms, popping them all one after the other. She worked as fast as she could, she wanted to be out of there before any more of the squidlets appeared. "There, that should do it."
"Rodgriguez! Heads up!"
She looked up in time to see what was left of Thompson before a fist slammed into her face, knocking her back into the wall. Dazed, she tried to scramble free, but Thompson had wrapped three long tentacles around her leg.
Alexis looked back, saw he was unarmed, and kicked his chest. There was a soft "POP" as the infection form inside the cavity was crushed. His body shuddered and then fell.
"Time to go!"
Alexis got to her feet, firing her sidearm at the infection swarm, but she couldn't possibly kill enough of them, they just kept coming. The swarm stopped long enough to consume Thompson's body a second time, re-animating him. He screamed and shook violently, it made Alexis sick, but there was no saving him, she had to get out, they all had to get out of this place.
She passed through the door connecting the two sections and held her ground with Decker and Hall just a bit beyond it.
BEEP. BEEP. BEEP. WHUMP. The three marines were thrown backward by the explosion, it packed a little more punch than Alexis anticipated. The chamber below shook and crumbled on top of the oncoming infection swarm, crushing everything in the hallway.
The three marines took this opportunity to run.
"Sir," Alexis panted, "by the sounds of it they're up top as well. You got a plan?"
Hyla heard some commotion above shortly after the rumble below. It didn't sit well with her.
"Hey. Hey, Kig-Yar.." She shook Riko trying to wake him, "Dama.. figures. Well, I'm not leaving you here."
The young elite pulled the Jackal into her arms, then inspected the door. It wasn't designed to be a cell, no locking mechanism whatsoever.
Hyla shook her head, feeling a bit stupid. She could have gotten away this whole time. She punched the green touch-light with a sigh, securing her hold on Riko, then peeked out of the door.
The human female and the Merciful Decker were sprinting up the ramp, ".. Dama.." Hyla muttered, expecting to be shot.
Decker pounded his way up the ramp, occasionally peeking back over his shoulder to make sure they had shaken the creatures - at least for now. Coming to the end of the hall, he peeked through the small peep-hole on the door leading into what was once Richardson's command center. Marines convulsed and screamed as infection forms took control of their nervous systems and began to mutate their bodies.
"Damn...what the hell are those things doing to them?" He looked around, trying to find an exit. "There, to the right of his desk. That door goes back towards the cell block. Any survivors are going to be in there, and the elevator out there is probably the only way out. Soon as I open this door, run like hell - don't think, just act. Ready?"
Alexis and PFC Hall nodded quickly. "Ok...go!"
The door slid open with a hiss as the three Marines darted out. Every combat form in the room twitched and turned towards them, wailing eerily as they gave chase. Decker turned and opened fire into the crowd as he ran. "Go go go!" More infection forms continued to leak into the room after them, their tentacles eager to find new flesh. As Decker reloaded, one grabbed hold of his pant leg. "God damn it get this thing off me!" he screamed as Hall turned and sprayed a quick burst into the creature, popping it violently as Decker resumed his sprint.
As they neared the door, Decker continued to hear gunfire. He turned only to find that Hall had lagged behind to slow down the horde, burning through MA5B ammunition at an astounding rate. "Hall, hurry up!" he shouted. Hall turned towards him, only to be swatted down by a combat form, allowing the festering wave of infection forms to swarm him. His screams echoed through the chamber, his last breath a plead for help. Decker turned and started back towards him as Alexis slipped into the exit door. "HALL!"
Alexis grabbed Decker by the sleeve and pulled him into the doorway. "Leave him, he's gone," she told him in an oddly cool tone. Decker knew she was right, and backed into the next hallway towards the cells as he fired a few bursts of his own into the writhing mass, hoping one of his bullets would spare Hall a fate worse than death.
"Shit man, I lost two more... I... shit, shit, shit." Decker cradled his helmeted head in his hands as he slumped against the wall. "Damn it Sarah, I promised..."
Alexis slapped him across the face, jarring him from his daze. "Sir, with all due respect, snap out of it. What happened to Hall and Thompson wasn't your fault, but if we fall apart now, there's not gonna be much hope for anyone up there." She thumbed toward the roof.
"Yeah... yeah, you're right." Decker slowly stood back up, using his empty rifle as a crutch. He gave a slight sigh as he planned their next move. "We need to regroup with the survivors. Richardson said they fell back to the holding rooms. When we get there, wake the big one up and arm it. Tell it that it can either carry the little one out, or we'll leave it for those things to carry it out. And let it know that if it so much as looks at me the wrong way, I won't hesitate to put a 12.7mm in the back of it's skull. I'll rally the troops and get us prepped for evac. Meet us back at the elevator in five."
Once Alexis split off down the left hallway, Decker clenched his fist around his rifle's hand grip, and slid a fresh mag into the magwell. Nobody else would die here today. Not if he could help it.
Fort Underworld Pt 4
Date: 20 June 2010, 11:41 pm
Alexis threw herself against the wall next to the doorway and tossed her sidearm to the elite. Dumbfounded, Hyla stared at the marine.
"Can you fight?" Alexis asked, batting off a stray infection form.
Hyla wrapped her long finger around the trigger of the pistol, aimed at the heart of an infected marine and fired once. He fell and was consumed by more squid-like infection forms. "Yes, but this weapon is not effective against the swarm."
"That's what this is for.." Alexis raised her rifle and sprayed the pile of filth. Like popcorn, the bulbous jellies exploded one after the other, leaving a gap to run through, "We're meeting the Sergeant at the elevator, let's go. Double time!"
Hyla followed Alexis through the mess of wounded and infected, being careful not to slip on the slime coating the floor. The door before them opened, leading them down a ramp to another door leading to the chamber housing the elevator. It failed to open.
"Dama!" Hyla cursed, "Locked, quarantine protocol."
Alexis kept her rifle trained on the still-open door to the main section, "Can't you override it? You elites are supposed to know all about this Forerunner bullshit!"
The young elite looked at the console on the door, "Yes. Give me a minute."
Two carrier forms squeezed into the doorway above, "We don't have a minute! Get that door open! Now!" Alexis fired into one of the carriers, causing it to explode with the force of a grenade. The second carrier was sent flying down the ramp, right into Alexis' arms.
The door slid open, "Got it!" Hyla chirped, "Let's get- oh no.."
The throbbing infection form had thrown Alexis to the floor, and was swelling, ready to blow. Hyla hitched the still-unconscious Kig-Yar securely over her shoulder and grabbed Alexis' arm, wrenching her free of the bubbling carrier form. Hyla tossed Alexis and Riko into the room, shutting the door after them, then turned in time to see the carrier burst like a giant balloon, flinging her backward into the door and showering her with slime.
Alexis stood, dumbfounded. She had been a second from death, and an alien had taken the hit for her. She frowned, Decker would be royally pissed about this, but at least she still had the jackal.
She nudged it with her boot, "And why the hell aren't you helping?" but the Jackal didn't wake. With a heavy sigh, Alexis dragged his unconscious body to the central elevator and sat with a thud beside him, "Well, here's hoping Decker has more luck getting his group out alive, huh?"
Hyla blinked through the muck, her head was swimming yet again and her body felt tingly. She groped around for her weapon, found Alexis' AR and blindly got to her feet. Her ears were ringing from the explosion, and her vision was clouded by the slime. It reeked of death.
She remembered her objective. She had to get out, she had to join the others. She turned to the door and punched in the combination to the lock. Just as she was about to confirm it she felt the probe punch into her neck. She cried out in pain as the infection form wrapped its legs around her neck, forcing its way into her body. She reached back, gripping it by its feelers, and slammed herself against the door repeatedly. It only drove the needle-like probe deeper into her neck, the pain was unbearable.
She slammed her fist on the console, opening the door, "Human!" she gurgled before falling to her knees.
"Holy mother of-" Alexis got to her feet and sprinted over, snatching back her rifle, "Eat someone else's tier-three asset you slimy son of a bitch!" with that, she slammed the butt of her rifle down on the infection form, crushing it. Hyla peeled its remains from her neck and painfully removed its probe, any longer and she may have succumbed to the will of the infection.
"You alright?" Alexis offered a hand.
The elite stood, shakily, and wiped muck from her face, "I hope so.. what now?"
"We wait for the Sergeant. Three minutes, then we leave. In the meantime, we watch this doorway, none of those.. things.. get in. You understand?"
Hyla nodded in agreement.
"Here." Alexis picked up her sidearm from the gory mess lying by the door and handed it back to Hyla, "Don't lose this, it could mean the difference between life and death." Hyla nodded in reply. "Now, watch the door, carefully. Friendlies could be coming through any minute now, we don't want to blow their heads off by accident."
The flash-lights of numerous MA5Bs illuminated the hallway as Decker approached.
"Ion!"
Decker slowly came around the corner, hands raised, and gave the counter-sign: "Atom." The Marine closest to the door didn't lower his rifle. "Sarge... is that really you?"
Decker's eyebrow rose quizzically. The Marine got the hint. "So what's the plan then? I ain't staying in this shit any more, man. No way."
"The plan, Marine, is exactly that. We're getting the hell out of here. Evac birds are already on their way, and I've got someone working on the elevator to get us topside." Decker patted his rifle and checked the chamber. "And if anything gets between us and the summit, well, sucks to be them."
The Marine still didn't seem convinced. "With all due respect, they just took out our whole damn command center, sir. It's down to just us four, your guys, and the package. How in the hell do you expect us to-"
Decker cut the soldier off. "Private, I will not have you question my authority when I need everyone in this fight! We're rendezvousing with Rodriguez and the squid whether you like it or not. I don't care if you approve, I only ask that you obey. Are we clear?"
"Crystal, sir."
"Good. Now grab whatever you can, because we're getting out of here, all of us. The ODSTs may go feet first into hell, but today we're all going to walk out of it in one piece."
Decker and the remaining Marines soon found their way into the elevator chamber, where Hyla was still watching the doorway, weapon raised and pointed at the humans. He slapped the sidearm towards the ground as he passed. "Point that God-damned thing down, squid. Rodriguez, we're all here. How's the elevator coming along?"
Hyla slammed her fist on the locking control and discarded her weapon, kicking it at the group, "It isn't 'coming along', Sir." she quoted with her fingers, "If we didn't watch this door for you, there would be nobody here to secure the chamber. Your welcome party would consist of these.. abominations.. and you would be consumed."
The elite glared at Decker, "You are in charge, you passed the order to shake this hive?"
Decker squared his shoulders, "I gave the order to bust open the lower chamber, yes."
"With no regard to the multiple warnings? Can none of you decipher the glyphs left by the Forerunners? Do none of you know what they mean?" She looked around at the group, who stared back, stupidly. Hyla sighed heavily with frustration, "Of course not, otherwise we wouldn't even be in this mess.."
Alexis blinked at the sudden outburst from the elite, then cautiously eyed her CO. He stood silent, knuckles white as he gripped his weapon.
"Fe'het.. watch the door." Hyla muttered, wiping goo from her cheek as she trudged toward the centre console, "I'll start on the elevator.."
"Irving, watch her in case she tries to leave without us. Not that she would make it very far without an escort.." Alexis added warningly.
With a growl, Hyla began the process. The encryption was far more complex than any of the other doors. "Get comfortable. This may take longer than I first anticipated."
Decker crossed his arms and arced his brow slightly. "How long, exactly?"
The elite turned and jabbed a long finger in Decker's direction, readying a retort only to be cut off by a Marine pressed against the door.
"Sarge...out there. I can hear them. Coming. This way." Decker could practically feel the tension in his voice as the soldier whispered. He made his way over to the Marine and did a quick sensor sweep. Decker's tracker buzzed to life, showing a large, pulsing swarm slowly crawling towards the elevator shaft.
"Of course. Nothing can ever be easy. Get it together Marine, we're going to get out of this alive. Walters," he barked, "what did you and the boys manage to pull out of camp before you bailed out?"
Cpl. Walters kicked the lid off a large footlocker he and another Marine had carried into the room. "We grabbed this from storage once we heard we were under attack. Haven't had a chance to look inside until now." Walters pushed aside the lightweight foam packing material covering the contents and frowned. "Looks like a M247 with a couple of box mags, extra MA5B ammo in various flavors, and shotgun shells. Not that those will do us any good without shotguns."
"The ammo. What types of ammo are in there?"
"It's mostly armor-piercing, standard issue FMJ shit. Other than that, there's four baggies worth of JHP and one or two bags of shredder rounds - JHCs, that's good stuff, but frankly sir, I'd much rather have had this thing be full of welding torches."
Decker scratched his chin. There was enough ammo in the crate for a holding action, but an extended firefight would be suicide. "Here," he said, grabbing the two bags of shredder rounds. "There's five of us, six counting our lady friend over here and seven if you count the squid. We're going to split the ammo in here; I want everyone to load two magazines. First mag will be thirty rounds shredder, then thirty rounds JHP. Second mag will be all JHP, and anything left over we'll fill with armor-piercing. Those anti-personnel rounds should give us the advantage, at least from the start. I'll man the two-forty-seven and set up in the center of the room. We'll have you and everyone else hunker down behind whatever you can find, make that doorway a killzone. If nothing else, maybe we can clog the door with their bodies until this thing finishes with the elevator." He thumbed to Hyla who scowled back.
"Sounds like a plan to me, sir." Walters grabbed the munition packs and began relaying Decker's orders to the remaining Marines.
Decker attached the box magazine to his new M247 and sighed as he muttered to himself. "For all our sakes, I sure as hell hope we live long enough to find out if it was a good plan."
Fort Underworld Pt 5
Date: 21 June 2010, 12:16 am
As her fingers dashed across the display, Hyla added, "Try not to draw attention to yourselves. That door is locked down with a very complex code. Short of blowing it apart, they aren't getting in here very quickly."
Alexis picked up the sidearm Hyla discarded, holstered it, then prepped her AR for battle. "I dare say that these things are attracted to movement, or sound." She whispered. "They all woke up after we popped the chamber, the shockwave must have travelled through the mountainside, and if it's smell.. well, we're covered in enough gunk to cover it."
There was a muffled cry from outside, followed by metallic pounding from behind the door. One after another, the Flood broke their limbs on the metal in an effort to bring it down.
"Well, at least we know they can't decrypt door codes," commented one marine.
The Flood continued for at least a minute before the commotion outside subsided.
"You think they gave up?" another marine whispered.
Alexis shook her head, warningly. There was no way these abominations would just give up.
Another cry bellowed from the neighboring chamber, deeper and more powerful.
Thump-thump-THUMP-THUMP-THUMP.
The door buckled as if struck by a wrecking ball, then a long, chitinous blade cut a gap in the metal. Alexis jumped clear before the bladed arm slammed into the wall beside her. "Everyone get back!"
The marines opened fire, spraying the behemoth with lead. It raised its blade arm threateningly, seemingly unaware that it was taking fire, then opened up, spitting infection forms all over the floor.
Alexis hosed them down quickly, then reverted back to the tank, which was now trying to squeeze through the gap. "Focus on that thing! Don't let it through that doorway!" Alexis called out, "Hyla! We need an exit!"
"Working, just hold on a little longer.." the elite replied through gritted teeth.
The Flood juggernaut unleashed another wave of infection forms before punching a second hole in the door. It had enough leverage to remove the metal completely from its bearings, then tossed the hunk of metal at the nearest two marines, crushing them easily into the floor.
"HYLA!"
"I'm trying!" Hyla snapped back. She slammed her hands on the console in frustration, "Dama! ACTIVATE!"
The console flashed white, and displayed a new screen, 'Drones Active: Cleansing Protocol Initiating'.
Three panels slid open on the surrounding walls, glowing brightly from inside. One of them gave a high pitched whine, and from it came a metal drone, somewhat resembling a curled up spider. Two more came from the adjacent ports.
Hyla looked back to the display, 'Cleansing: 0% - Quarantine Active - Please Stand By...'
The drones turned toward the oncoming Flood, smoothly, chittering to one another. One of the drones flexed its 'arms', considering the tank form for a moment, then shot a hot beam of fire right down its throat.
"Get down!" Decker threw Walters to the ground as the alien drone scorched the infected abomination that had made it's way into the chamber. "Hey, squid! Wrong button!"
Hyla continued to tap at the panel as she growled. "These constructs are friendly, human. Make the most of them while I take down this lock system."
Decker fired off a rapid string of obscenities before resting his LMG on a turned-over crate and adding fire to the maelstrom. "Fire! Fire everything! Kill that son of a bitch!" The creature wailed under the torrential, combined fire of Marine and machine alike as it stumbled backwards, then collapsed near the entrance. Alexis and the two Marine survivors let out a whoop as it twitched twice before falling silent for good. The celebration was short-lived, however.
"Ammo check!" Decker shouted as he dropped an empty box magazine before kicking it across the floor and snapped a fresh one into place.
"Two full mags left, Sarge, twenty-two rounds left on this one," Walters reported.
"Mag and a half over here, sir," said Pvt. Nichols.
"One and change, then my sidearm, sir," Alexis called out.
"Great, more enemies than ammo," Decker mused as he fed the ammo belt into his M247's chamber. From down the hall, more of the ravenous parasites and their hosts could be heard swarming towards their position.
His headset suddenly buzzed to life. "Echo 412 to Cliffhanger Zero One, you boys still ok down there?"
"Negative Echo 412, this is Cliffhanger Actual, we've taken extreme casualties and are attempting to transport a Tier Three out of the hotzone, can you assist, over?"
"Affirmative Cliffhanger Actual, we're about...uh...four minutes out from your position and nearly bingo on fuel. Echo 351 is on standby and prepped to provide fire support. Be sure to check IFF beacons before coming up; it's going to get hot and it's kinda hard to see who's who down there."
"Damn," Decker muttered. These things were all giving off the same IFF signals as they were. Going up with them on meant they'd all die - either from friendly fire or from creatures that were once friendly.
"Negative on that, Echo 412, fire on any target transmitting a valid UNSC IFF signal, I repeat, fire upon any and all targets who are transmitting valid IFF signals. No time to explain, you're just going to have to trust me on this one."
"Uhh...roger that, Cliffhanger Actual. We'll go weapons hot on footmobiles tagged as friendly. Be there in three for extraction to Exodus Base, Echo 412 out."
Decker turned back towards his squad just in time to see the alien finish deactivating the security lockdown. "Nicely done squid," he said. "Everyone, we've got friendly birds on the way, but they're going to fire on anything chirping friendly. Kill your IFF tags, stick close, and be ready for anything. God knows these damned things are going to follow us up. Let's move!"
As if on cue, more of the creatures began swarming into the room, and Decker's voice was drowned out by gunfire once more.
Alexis backed up toward the elevator, tossing aside her wasted AR, "Rifle out!"
Hyla picked up a downed sentinel and fired a beam of light into a straggler, slicing it into pieces, "Use this!" the elite called, tossing the weapon to Alexis. "All of you, make haste! I only have a small window of time before the reboot is complete!"
A deep groan resonated from the elevator shaft as the ancient technology came to life.
Alexis looked from the elite to the rest of the marines, "Get over here, on the double!"
The last few bullets slammed into the doorway, sending a chain reaction along the line of infection forms, but the break in fire allowed an infected marine push its ugly head through the gap.
"Hyla!"
"Yes, Ma'am. I'm working on getting some additional cover fire for your comrades." Alexis was shocked that the elite responded so calmly. "But I can not stop the lift, anyone left behind will not have a second chance."
Alexis nodded, and readied herself, holding tightly to the sentinel weapon, "Let's make sure these marines get to evac then."
"Yes, Ma'am." Hyla grinned, slamming a command into the console.
Four more sentinels emerged from the overhead ports, each picking targets and opening fire without a hint of hesitation. A fifth came from the elevator shaft above, decorated with gold plating and elegant Forerunner glyphs.
"Whoa.." Alexis looked over the sentinel major, but after receiving a warning look from her CO, she snapped back to the battle, "Alright! Let's show these sticky fuckers who's boss!"
The lift rumbled underneath their feet, ready to begin its ascent. "Uhh.. never mind. Marines! We're outta time, get over here! Move, move, move!"
"David!" Alexis called, "For Christ's sake, are you coming or not?!"
Decker started backpedaling as he fired into the oncoming swarm, turning to aim at new targets as he dropped them. Backing up towards Pvt. Nichols, he slapped him on the shoulder.
"Go!"
Nichols emptied what remained of his magazine and sprinted towards the elevator as Decker continued pulling back. "Move!" Decker shouted as he tapped Walters' shoulder as well, signalling him to break from cover.
"Any day now, Sergeant!" he heard Rodriguez call from the lift. Decker turned and began running as his M247 ran dry. "Shit!" he growled as he detached the magazine, slapped his last mag into place, and fed the ammo belt back into the weapon. Still running, he quickly looked over his shoulder to see how much distance there was between him and the horde.
A long, whip-like arm greeted his gaze.
Decker fell to the ground in a heap, his weapon loudly clattering across the floor and onto the lift. Stunned but still conscious, he stood up and barely had time to dodge the creature's second swipe. He grabbed his combat knife from it's sheath and stabbed quickly at the monstrosity's arm, spewing pus and coagulated blood across the ground. Behind him, Decker could hear Rodriguez fumbling with his LMG, trying to line up a shot. "Don't shoot, God damn it!" he yelled as the alien charged again. "Alright you bastard, let's dance."
Decker ducked under it's arm as it lashed out, circling behind it. He gave a sharp kick to what was once the back of the creature's knee, causing it to fall as he smashed into it's back and plunged his knife into it's spinal cord repeatedly. The mutated Marine wailed in agony as it lost motor functions in it's lower body - a cry cut short as Decker's boot crushed it's throat before he stumbled the last few meters towards the lift.
Rodriguez handed Decker's LMG back to him as he slid his knife into it's sheath. "Thanks for holding that," he said as the lift whirred to life and began to ascend. "Now let's get the hell out of here."
"Aye, Sergeant." Alexis replied with a slight grin, "All opposed can jump ship."
"At this speed it will take us some time to get to the top floor, I will try to convince some of these sentinels to come with us in case there's anything waiting for us further up."
"If not, I still have this." Alexis burned another flood form in two.
Hyla frowned, "I suggest you save your energy, Ma'am. I am willing to chance that the weapon alone only has a limited lifespan."
The sentinel major broke off from the others, making a beeline for the elevator shaft. Just as the gap closed behind it, the sentinel made it through. It pushed past the marines and nudged Hyla away from the console.
"I hope it's calling its buddies to help out.." Alexis grumbled.
Hyla scowled, "Be glad we got what we did. They were already spreading their resources thin enough. Under less stressful conditions, perhaps I would be given the chance to examine one."
Fort Underworld Pt 6
Date: 21 June 2010, 12:24 am
The elevator began to slow as it reached the top of the shaft, the low whirring of it's antigrav systems tapering off into silence around the Marines. "Enough small talk, ladies, eyes on the prize," Decker growled. "God knows what's up here."
The ancient machinery groaned softly before settling into place with a low thump, and a massive set of doors hissed open in front of the service elevator. Decker raised his hand to block the glare of the sunrise as it crested the mist-covered mountains of Installation 04. As his eyes attempted to compensate for the sudden change in brightness, he could hear the distinct pop-hiss-clank! of Walters deploying green smoke on the makeshift extraction zone.
"Area clear and smoke deployed, sir! Where the hell are the birds?"
Decker scanned the horizon, but couldn't make anything out through the haze. "Where the hell is the evac?" he wondered aloud, watching what remained of his men - and the Elite, who still carried her unconscious Jackal cargo over her shoulder - gaze skyward, looking for a rescue that didn't seem to be coming.
Never willing to completely give up hope, he tapped his PTT again. "Echo 412, Cliffhanger Actual. We're topside, where the hell are you, over?"
"Cliffhanger, this is Echo 412, we're almost there, ETA 60 seconds. Echo 351 is ready to provide CAS if necessary, break. Be ready to go when we get there, we are bingo on fuel, over."
"Copy, Echo 412. CAS is not needed at this time, LZ is marked with green smoke. Cliffhanger Act-son of a bitch! Contact, three o'clock!"
Decker quickly brought his weapon to bear and began pouring fire into the creatures that had followed them up and through the lift room. The few "friendly" alien sentries that had accompanied them in the elevator were quickly torn to shreds by mutated Marines and Covenant wielding the deadly tools of their former occupations. As the Marines tried desperately to hold, Decker became vaguely aware of a distant, worried voice shouting in his ear.
"...do you copy, over? What the hell is going on down there?"
"These goddamned things are shooting back!," Decker yelled over the sound of his M247. "Give me that air cover - shoot everything squawking friendly! Kill all those sons of bitches!"
As if on cue, the massive silhouette of a D77-TC Pelican roared overhead, it's engine wash quickly blasting the fog away from the clearing. A cool-headed female voice buzzed over the radio with the most comforting words anyone had heard in the past twenty-four hours:
"Echo 351, engaging with guns."
The drop ship's nose-mounted 70mm chain-gun etched a line of destruction through the alien lines, tearing the creatures limb from limb. The soldiers whooped and cheered as the horde went from a swarming mass of death to a twitching pile of bodies.
With the imminent threat annihilated, Echo 351's guns fell silent, and it pulled back to circle the area to admire it's handiwork while Echo 412 touched down at long last. Decker sprinted over to the cargo bay and covered the survivors while they climbed aboard the ship. Climbing in after the last man had boarded, he tapped on the pilot's shoulder. "We're all clear, let's go!"
The drop ship slowly rose away from the mountainside and banked east, closing it's rear hatch as it turned away from the landing zone. The pilot gave a thumbs-up as the Pelican continued ascending. "Glad to see you made it, Sergeant Major. We'll get you back to Camp Exodus in one piece."
Decker raised a brow in suspicion. "Exodus? I don't remember anyone talking about a Camp Exodus."
The pilot laughed softly. "That's because there wasn't a Camp Exodus until about four hours ago. While you assholes were holed up here playing with whatever the hell those things were, we lost contact with Captain Keyes. They even sent that Spartan after him, and we lost contact with him too. Some of the other pilots and I decided we were going to get the hell out of here whi-"
"That's dereliction of duty, Lieutenant. You know this. We can't let the Covenant get control of this construct at any cost."
"And they won't get it. Those things you ran into down there - they call them the 'Flood,' and the bastards have been swarming all over the God-damned place like someone kicked over an ant pile. The Covvies are losing ground like it's going out of style, and if they're getting their asses kicked, we won't fare much better. So we're grabbing a damaged Covenant corvette that went down about 90 klicks from here, making some quick repairs, and getting the hell out of dodge before we all end up dead."
Decker's hand went to his hip and curled around the butt of his pistol. "It's still dereliction of duty. You'll be court-marshalled."
The pilot laughed again. "Sounds better than dead, Sergeant. Ask your buddies back there which one they'd prefer to be."
Decker looked over his shoulder at his squad. All but the Elite had fallen asleep, their adrenaline rush long gone. Alexis in particular looked bruised and battered, and both Walters and Nichols were in a pitiful state. Decker's hand slowly moved away from his sidearm. One way or another, they were all dead men, but a soldier's duty was to delay dying as long as possible so he could complete his mission - and there was no way they could complete this mission. To stay would be suicide.
Decker gave a soft sigh and put his hand on the pilot's shoulder. "You make a good argument, sir. I'm in - they can bitch me out later."
"Good," the pilot replied. "I just got a report back from Exodus - the corvette looks like it'll be space-worthy by the time we get there, and they're almost finished loading supplies onto it, so no worries about starving to death before we can get back. There is however, one small problem."
"And that is?"
"Witnesses. Cole Protocol. You know how it works, and you can never be too careful," he said, subtly handing a hypodermic needle and a stubby rod to Decker before flipping the switch to 'ON'. "Do what you have to, Sergeant."
Walking back towards the bay, Decker found the Elite facing away from the cockpit, tending to the unconscious Jackal. "I overheard that you plan to escape this ring-world. A wise decision, even if it goes against every instinct you have as a warrior. As for this one, I know not what you did to him, but this Kig-Yar will not be reawakening for a long while."
"I know," Decker said, extending the Humbler to it's full length. "Neither will you."
Hyla's body convulsed violently as the stun baton cracked against the back of her skull. A second strike caused her to crumple into the floor of the cargo bay. Barely able to move, she rolled herself over just in time to see Decker bring the Humbler down again on her chest, sending burning pain through her body. Decker knelt down next to Hyla's face and removed the safety cover of the needle, quickly tapping it to remove air bubbles before injecting the sedative into her neck.
The last thing Hyla would remember before fading out of consciousness was Decker standing above her, a completely emotionless look on his face.
"Sorry squid. Nothing personal."
-End
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