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Pilots Life: Chapter 1-Alpha Squadron
Date: 18 October 2003, 12:34 AM

"Cover me I'm going in," I said as I fire walled the throttle and sent my fighter into a dive towards the space station. I switched weapons control over to plasma torpedoes and triggered a pair of shots at one of the stations massive gun batteries. The first torpedo blasted into the shields, overloading them and scorching the big gun. The second drilled into the gun, detonating inside and causing the gun to swell up then burst outward in a fiery explosion.
"Break port Lead!!" a voice crackles over my headset. I react instantly, executing a sharp turn and a half roll as plasma bolts burned through the space I had just occupied. My evasive maneuver dropped me onto the tails of the two erstwhile hunters. The ships were Reaver-class fighters. They split up, one making a slow turn to the right the other going harder left. The idea was to draw me after the slow one while the other maneuvered in behind me for the kill. I made as if to follow the slow fighter, but ruddered hard left. The second fighter jittered in my brackets and I fired. The plasma bolts from my fighter burned deep into the enemy ship. It must have touched off the missile magazine because the ship exploded in a giant ball of roiling plasma. I turned to pursue the second ship but a plasma torpedo from one of my squad mates had already turned it into so much space junk.
"Thanks Three," I said
"No problem Lead," said Three.
"Form up on me, we're making a run at the station."
"Roger"
"Understood," Five said.
"Affirmative L.T.," said Nine.
"Link your torpedoes in pairs and use my targeting data. Fire two volleys on my mark" A chorus of acknowledgements followed, but I pushed them out of my mind. Switching weapons control over to torpedoes, I dropped my targeting brackets on the stations thin center. I dived towards the station, rolling to evade the gunner's shots. My computer beeped a solid lock. "Mark"
Twelve missiles streaked out from points around the station and converged towards its center. Twelve more followed the first group. The first volley slammed into the shields, which turned opaque trying to cope with the massive strain. The collapsed and the roiling ball of plasma rolled across the hull, charring the surface but doing no serious damage. The second volley slammed into the hull, tearing open bulkheads before detonating inside the station. The huge blast ate away at the superstructure, until the station snapped under the stress. The two pieces tumbled away venting atmosphere and bodies, while fires raged internally. The few remaining fighters scattered towards the planet.
"Mission accomplished," I said into the comm., "Lets head back to the fleet guys." We formed up and jumped into Slipspace, on a course for our fleet.

* * * * * * * * *

We dropped out of Slipspace...right in the middle of a huge battle. The entire fleet was under attack by a massive Covenant armada!!!!!!
"Holy Shit!" someone said.
"Cut the chatter," I barked into the comm. I immediately scanned the area and located a small human ship the Davy Jones that was cut off from the rest of the fleet. The ship was under attack by a covenant cruiser and its small complement of fighters. The ship was holding out, but I knew that would not last long.
"All right," I said, "We're gonna introduce ourselves to Davy Jones's friends. Three flight will engage the fighters, while the rest of us go after the cruiser with torpedoes. Understood?"
"Yes sir," said Nine, the leader of Three Flight.
"Ready to kick some ass," said Five, Two Flights leader.
"Right lets do this!" I kicked my fighter into high gear and screamed in towards the fight. Three Flight broke off to engage the fighters while I led my eight remaining fighters in towards the cruiser. Scanning its shields for weaknesses, I located a fluxuation in the shields near the bridge. "All right," I said, "This is what we do. Form up into two waves. Link torpedoes for dual fire, and fire one volley at these coordinates." I punched a button that sent the coordinates to my other fighters. "Break up into wing pairs after that and make runs at your discretion. Be careful to avoid their missile batteries."
"Understood", said Five
Two Flight formed up and roared in towards the cruiser ahead of me and the three other fighters in One Flight. At 5 kilometers, they fired, and two blue streaks leapt from each of the fighters and streaked in towards the ships bridge. They pulled up hard and we fired as soon as they were clear. I yanked back on the control stick pulling up and skimming across the surface of the cruiser. Behind me, the first eight torpedoes detonated against the shields. The shields turned opaque as they tried to absorb the tremendous shock, then collapsed. The second volley of torpedoes slammed into the ships hull. The explosion ripped open bulkheads and sent armor plates spinning off into space. One torpedo, guided by fate or skill, slammed thru two decks and detonated inside the ships bridge. The explosion totally obliterated the bridge and vaporized the command crew, temporarily depriving the ship of command.
I pulled up from the hull, and looped back, heading for the port missile battery. I juked around in an effort to avoid enemy missile locks. I centered my brackets over the missile turret and fired. The two torpedoes slammed into the turret and exploded violently. A second, more massive explosion rocked the ship as the missiles inside the turret detonated. A huge piece of hull snapped off and tumbled away into space.
"Lead," Two's voice came over the comm, "My sensors show engines powering up in the forward docking bay."
"I copy, I'll handle 'em." I said. I swooped low over the hull, heading for the docking bay. I arrived just as four fighters emerged from the hangar. I dropped in behind them and fired a missile at the lead craft before they knew I was there. I switched over to plasma cannons and bracketed one of the other fighters. He tried to shake me but I stayed tucked in behind him. I tightened down on the trigger and sent three pairs of verdant green plasma bolts converged on the craft. The shots punched deep into the cockpit, and the entire ship shuddered violently and began to disintegrate, sending pieces of itself flying every direction. Meanwhile my missile had turned the lead craft into a rapidly dissipating ball of gas. As I turned to follow the two remaining fighters, shots slammed into my aft shields. I banked hard left and checked my sensors. They showed two more fighters just emerging from the hangar, and they were tucked in on my tail. This was not good, not good at all.

A pilot's life: Chapter 2 Fallen Angel
Date: 19 October 2003, 4:28 PM

As I dove towards the ground, I glanced at my sensors. They showed the fighter still tucked in on my tail.
"Damn this guy is good!" I thought to myself. As if to confirm this, he fired four shots at me. The shots penetrated my shields and tore into my fuselage. My engines shut down with a whine and the craft began to tumble end over end towards the ground. I tried to eject, but my ships electronics had been totally fried, leaving me helpless as the ground rushed towards me. I felt a sickness rise in my stomach, but knew that would only last for about 20 more seconds.
15- The ground was close enough that I could make out clumps of trees and a little stream.
10- I can see the individual trees now.
5- I close my eyes tightly.
1- The ship jolts violently and there is the sound of tearing metal. A second jolt slams my head against the side of the cockpit, and then there is only black...

I came to some time later. The smell of smoke filled the cockpit, and my head throbbed painfully. I hung sideways in the safety harness. Looking out thru the cracked canopy, I saw only the sky and a some distant treetops. Shaking my head to clear it, I hit the release on the harness. I dropped sideways, then climbed out of the cockpit thru a hole in the glass. I stood up shakily and looked around.
I was in the middle of a valley. A small clear stream ran nearby, winding along in between the rocks and scattered trees. I turned to look at my fighter. It was an absolute wreck. The only recognizable part was the cockpit, which was lucky for me. The port wing was badly twisted, and the other wing lay on the ground about 100 yards away. The engines were completely slagged, and the plasma cannons were both bent out of alignment. Pieces of my fighter were scattered all along a plowed out strip of earth stretching about 200 yards back. I shook my head slowly, and thought, "How the hell did I survive this? I should be dead!"
I climbed back into the cockpit and retrieved my pistol belt. Fastening it about my waist, I took the gun, loaded it, and flicked off the safety before re-holstering it. I took a moment to consider my options. I could either wait here to be picked up by someone, or try to find some other human survivors. The first idea was dangerous because the Covenant would most likely send a search team to make sure I was dead. The second idea was fine, but I had no idea where anyone might be. I decided to head higher ground so I could get a better look around.
I turned and began walking towards a nearby rocky outcropping. Suddenly, a trio of Grunts leapt out from behind some nearby bushes. They leveled their plasma pistols at me, and one called for me to surrender. Acting on instinct, I dove sideways and rolled behind a nearby rock. They fired reflexively, but were way of mark. I yanked my pistol from the holster, rose and fired off two rapid shots. One of the shots blasted a hole in the leaders chest. He looked down in surprise, then slumped over dead, blood oozing from his wound. I ducked back down as a plasma bolt hit the top of my cover, spraying me with heated rock shards. I popped up again and squeezed of a shot. The bullet hit the second grunt in the head, and he dropped like a sack of bricks, his head gushing bright blue blood. The third grunt lost his nerve and tried to run. I rose and fired, trying to kill him before he could escape and warn his comrades. The shot shattered his life support gear. He fell too his knees, gasping for breath. He struggled to rise but instead he collapsed forward, twitched once and died. I rose cautiously and walked over to examine the bodies. They were all stone dead, and I was about to leave when something caught my eye. The leader had a pair of shiny silver orbs on his belt. I recognized them as plasma grenades. I gladly appropriated them, knowing they could come in handy if I encountered anymore Covenant. Having retrieved the grenades, I continued on towards my destination. After a short arduous climb, I reached the top and gazed out at the valley.

* * *
I stepped out from behind the one of the many rocks surrounding the lifeboat. I had spied it from my lookout point and decided to head towards it in hopes of finding survivors. I had made my way cautiously along the stream towards it, stopping now and again to make sure I didn't have any unwanted company. There were however, no Covenant forces nearby, and I made it to the lifeboat without mishap. My hopes were diminished as I stepped into the clearing. There was no sign of any survivors. There was however, a large amount of supplies lying around on the ground. I lifted a backpack that lay nearby and examined the contents. It contained about two weeks worth of food, a flashlight, two first-aid kits, and a trench knife. There were also two large empty pockets on each side of the bag. Looking around I spied an assault rifle next to the life pod. I walked over and picked it up. The gun was in working order and I decided to keep it. I also grabbed about 60 pistol rounds and 200 rifle rounds and stuffed them in the empty pockets on the bag. I grabbed a pair of fragmentation grenades and clipped them to my belt.
After arming myself, I took a moment to look around. There was no sign of anybody being here. There weren't any bodies or footprints, and there was no blood either. However, it was obvious this tub had been occupied at some point. The question was, where were the passengers?
The sound of gunfire erupted from the rocks to my right startled me out of my thoughts. There was an alien roar, followed by the painful scream of a human. I ducked back behind the lifeboat as four Marines came barreling out from behind the rocks, closely pursued by a pair of Elites with plasma swords. Acting fast, I whipped up the assault rifle and triggered a long burst at the closer Elite. Most of the shots reflected off his shields, but they soon collapsed. He staggered as two 7.62mm bullets tore into his left arm, then a third bullet slammed hard into his chest and he collapsed in a heap. The second Elite turned and I knew I was in trouble, since I had little chance of defeating a 9-foot tall Elite in close combat. He charged towards me, plasma sword swinging. As he swung his blade horizontally in an attempt to decapitate me, I rolled forward and kicked upwards. My feet connected with his belly and he doubled over in pain. Regaining my feet, I turned and clubbed him hard on his fragile head. He dropped to the ground with a moan. The four Marines, who had been hiding in the rocks during the fight, now approached me.
"Thanks a lot Lieutenant," exclaimed one of the men, "I thought we were done for!!!"
"I was glad to help," I replied, "Is this your lifeboat?"
"No, sir" replied a second marine, "I'm Sergeant Evans, this is Corporal O'Brein and Privates Walker and Louis. We were sent down here from the Chesapeake to find downed pilots and survivors from lifeboats. We had just finished searching this lifeboat and were leaving when we were jumped by these two."
"Any idea what happened to the passengers?"
"No sir, we think they may have headed south, out of the valley. We were headed that way when we were jumped by smiley and his friend here," said Evans, nodding towards the two dead aliens.
"Do you mind if I join you? I was shot down and I've been looking for friends for a while."
"Sure thing, we would be glad to have you along sir." He replied.
"Right, grab some spare ammo and anything else we can use, then let's move out!"
I reloaded the rifle while they collected what ammo and supplies they could. Then we set off, making our way south out of the valley and into the vast land beyond.

A pilot's life: Chapter Three-Swamp King
Date: 21 October 2003, 12:35 AM

"This is why I transferred out of the Marines," I thought to myself as I waded through the thick black mud of the swamp, the four Marines trailing close behind. It had been two days since we left the valley and so far, we had found no survivors. The only thing we had found was a massive swamp and the occasional Covenant patrol. We were all starting to doubt that we would find any survivors.
"Hold it lads," said Corporal O'Brein, "I think I have something...yes, there is a beacon signal about 2 miles north of us. It's real faint, and fades in and out, but I think it is one of ours."
"Whadda' you think Lieutenant, should we check it out?" asked Sgt. Evans.
"Might as well," I said, "It's not like we got anything better to do at the moment."
"Good point," he said grinning.
Having decided to investigate the signal, we turned north. We trudged on, making good time despite the thick mud. We stopped every so often to check our position, and reached our objective in about 1 and a half hours. Signaling the other Marines to halt, Evans and I crawled within 10 yards of the clearing from which the signal originated. We heard low voices speaking in the clearing, but couldn't see anything. Easing up I took a quick look and my heart sank at what I saw.
Standing in the clearing was a group of Covenant. There were a lot of them, about 15 grunts, along with three Jackals and two Elites. I informed Evans of the situation and he grinned saying, "Hell, that's nothing, I could take them all with one arm tied down. Take my gun I won't need it."
I shot him a dirty look and said quietly, "Sure, you do that while we go around them, I'll be sure to come to the funeral."
"Why would you want to go to a Covenant funeral?" he asked quizzically. I just shook my head.
"Come on," I said. We crawled stealthily back to the three other Marines and informed them of the situation. They all laughed when Evans continued to insist he could take them all on unarmed.
"Quiet you," I growled menacingly, "We have work to do, so lets get to it. Walker, you'll give me your sniper rifle and take my assault rifle. Then you go with Evans, loop around north of them, and get set up to fire. O'Brein, you and Louis will come with me and set up to fire from the south. I am going to take out the Elites with the rifle. As soon as they both go down, open fire. Try to get the Jackals first, and worry about the Grunts last. Understood?"
"Yes sir," said the four men. Walker and I swapped weapons then he and Evans moved northeast around the clearing. I led O'Brein and Louis to the position where I had earlier surveyed the clearing with Evans. I told O'Brein to set up at that spot, and put Louis about 30 yards to the right of him. I then walked over to a spot in between the two. I kneeled down and activated the scope on the rifle. Taking careful aim, I centered the crosshairs over the first Elite's chest. Holding the weapon steady, I slowly tightened my grip on the trigger.
The Sa-52 rifle is a large, somewhat bulky weapon. It has a low ammo capacity and a slow rate of fire. It is also very loud. However, it makes up by being very accurate and powerful. It has the ability to punch thru an Elite's body shielding and armor with a single shot, making it a potent weapon. My shot, well placed, slammed straight thru the Elite, armor and all, and hit a Grunt standing behind him. Both dropped to the ground, a look of surprise frozen on their faces. The second Elite turned towards his dead comrade in surprise. He opened his mouth to shout, and the back of his head exploded in a spray of gore as my second shot went into his open mouth. He dropped without making so much as a gurgle. Before he had hit the ground, the four Marines opened up from their positions around the clearing. One Jackal went down as a burst of fire almost cut it in half. The second Jackal was blown apart by a frag grenade, which exploded directly behind him. The blast also took out four grunts. The third Jackal's chest exploded in a spray of blood as I shot him in the back from five yards away. The remaining Grunts, frightened and confused, were cut down as they stood paralyzed in fear.
"Move in," I called to O'Brein and Louis. We moved forward, guns at the ready. We emerged into the blood-soaked clearing at the same time as Evans and Walker appeared from the other side.
"Well, that was fun," said Walker, "can I have my rifle back sir?"
"Here you go private," I said, handing him the rifle.
"Look," said Evans pointing to the far side of the clearing. I turned to look. A Pelican drop ship lay on its side. Its Cockpit was shattered and there was plasma scoring along the top. Its port wing was missing and there were weapons lying around it. I walked over and looked in the cockpit. The emergency beacon light was flashing on and off. Shit.


* * * * * * * *

"Now what," I thought, "Once again we've showed up too late." I shook my head and climbed off the Pelican. Turning to O'Brein I asked, "You getting anything new?"
"Give me a moment boss," he replied. He put his headphones on and fiddled with some dials. His eyes were closed tight in concentration. After a few minutes he removed the headphones and said, "Well, there's a ton of radio activity far to the east. I can't be sure who it is, but it definitely is not a distress beacon. If you want my guess that is where the Covenant are coming from, but still..." He shrugged, "it could be some of our guys are in trouble."
"Aww, don't listen to him Lieutenant," said Walker, who was throwing rocks across the clearing, "He ain't heard nothing, we'll just end up on a wild goose chase again."
"You listen to me mate-"
"That's enough!!!" I barked "We have enough problems already without us arguing. We are here to look for any survivors and to aid them as best we can. Therefore, we will be investigating those signals!! Understood Marines!?!"
"Sir yes sir!!!" The two men shouted.
"Let's move out then, we got a long ways to go!"
Walker threw the rock he had been holding and stooped to pick up his rifle. The rock sailed across the clearing, bounced twice, and sailed between two trees and disappeared from sight. CLANG!!!!!!!!!!
All five of us whirled around towards the sound. Rifles ready we moved carefully towards the gap thru which the rock had flown. Easing cautiously thru the trees, I saw something that made my jaw drop. Sitting there, just 10 yards away from where I had hid when we attacked the clearing, was a Scorpion Battle Tank. It was so well camouflaged that we had missed it completely, mistaking it for a large clump of shrubbery. Giving a shout of pure joy, I clambered up onto the monstrous steel behemoth. Locating the hatch over the driver's compartment, I yanked it open and, upon finding it empty, climbed inside. I fiddled around, and tried to start the engine. With a throaty roar, the engine came to life!! I took a moment to familiarize myself with the controls. I then turned on the external intercom and said, "All right guys lets saddle up!"
The four Marines clambered eagerly aboard the four tread pods, and we set off east towards whatever was the source of those radio signals.

We were about a mile away from the radio signals source when I picked something up on the radar. A pair of fast moving Ghosts was headed our way. "Great," I thought, "If they get much closer we will have to take them out."
"Alright," I said into the intercom, "Heads up ladies we have a pair of Ghosts approaching fast. We need to keep them from warning their buddies that we are here, so be ready to take them or their drivers out."
No sooner did I finish speaking than the two craft burst into sight. I traversed the turret and tracked the lead scout. I pressed the firing stud. The tank shook as it fired its big 105mm cannon. The shot hit directly under the speeding hovercraft. The explosion engulfed the tiny purple craft and incinerated the pilot. The hover drives short-circuited and the now powerless craft thudded nose first into the mud. While the cannon reloaded the Marines opened fire from their perches on the tread pods. The pilot of the Ghost managed to bring the tail of his craft out of their line of fire. However, his armored front offered no protection from the 12.7mm x 99 tri-barrel gun mounted next to the main cannon on the tank. The ripping burst tore open the front of the craft and detonated the fuel cells inside. The following explosion of plasma completely vaporized the Ghost and its pilot.
"That'll teach the bastards," said someone over the comm, probably Evans. Before I could comment on that however, a new voice broke thru the comm waves.
"This is fire team Charlie requesting assistance, repeat this is fire team Charlie requesting assistance from any human forces in the area does anyone copy?"
"Fire team Charlie, this is Second Squad, we're on our way," I said into the radio.
"Roger," replied the speaker, "We'll hold 'em off as long as we can, but you better hurry!" I hooked the radio back to its mount and gunned the tank back into gear, roaring towards the beleaguered Marines 6 miles away.

A Pilot's Life: Chapter 4- Desperate Battles
Date: 24 October 2003, 12:50 AM

"Here we go again!" I thought as the tank crashed out of the tree line and into a wide field. On the far side of the field, surrounded by large rocks, a group of ten Marines was fighting a losing battle against a swarm of Covenant. There were a pair of mortar tanks nearby us, and they were pounding the Marines long distance. I keyed the intercom and spoke. "All right ladies dismount. I'm going after the tanks and you don't want to be riding shotgun with me if I get hit."

The Marines clambered off the tank, and crouching low in the grass made their way towards a squad of Jackals setting up to try and flank the Marines in the field. Meanwhile, swung the turret around and centered the targeting brackets over the closer tank. I hit the firing stud with my thumb and the felt a rumble run through the tank as the heavy cannon fired. The tank had been facing away from me, and the shot drilled through the tanks thin armor. The internal detonation of the shell blew open the top hatch and sent the tank drivers remains sailing out. Smoke billowed out of the hatch and the barrel of the gun. The tank dropped to the ground with a thud. The second tank, now aware of my presence, side slipped behind the burning tank while the cannon reloaded. Unable to see my enemy, I simply gunned forward and ran into the dead tank. It was smashed flat under the treads of my much larger Scorpion tank. The second tank, having nowhere to hide, fired a shot point-blank at me. The shot was ill aimed, and it reflected off the armored turret without doing any damage. I returned fire and the shot hit the barrel of the tanks gun just as it prepared to fire. The explosion melted the barrel, and the tank tore itself to pieces when its own shot detonated inside the barrel.

Meanwhile Evans and his men had reached the Marines, who were now down to seven. They were currently under attack, but were now holding their own. I turned to head that way and lend them a hand, but a shot exploded against the side of the tank, giving me other things to think about. While I had been focused on the tanks, a Hunter had crept near, and had now begun to fire his fuel rod gun at me. Unable to fire due to his proximity, I opted to run him over. He tried to dive out of the way, but I swung the tank sideways. The tank collided with him and he staggered, and was then crushed to death under the treads of the tank. I then swung about and lurched forward towards a trio of Elites and some Grunts that were charging towards the Marines. I fired, and the shot exploded right in the middle of the running aliens. The blast sent the Grunts flying in every direction, and shrapnel cut two of the Elites in half. The second Elite turned and ran towards me. He pulled out a grenade, armed it and dove under the treads, sacrificing himself to take out the tank.

Acting fast, I hit the emergency hatch release. The hatch shot open immediately, and I literally jumped out of the tank. I took off at a dead run, trying to distance myself from the explosion. The blast was monumental. The shockwave lifted me up and sent me flying 15 feet. Luckily, I landed without serious injury. The whine of a high-powered engine filled the air, and I turned to see a Pelican drop ship touching down next to the nine remaining Marines. They all scrambled to get aboard. One of them went down when a stray plasma bolt hit him in the leg. The Pelican, fully loaded began to liftoff without me!!!!!! Shouting and waving my hands, I ran towards the craft. It was hopeless, and the craft pulled up and away, leaving me behind.

I continued to run, figuring that I could fight better from the safety of the rocks. When I was about halfway to the rocks, an Elite began taking potshots at me from across the field. I pulled out my pistol and fired blindly in his direction, causing him to duck to avoid the shots. That gave a few more seconds to get to the rocks safely. I barely made it to the rocks as plasma fire blasted the dirt all around me. For a moment I had the distinct feeling that I was being toyed with. I forced that from my mine as I moved towards a small open clearing within the large rocks. There were two Marines there, both dead. An assault rifle lay on the ground next to one of the bodies. I picked it up and checked to see if it was loaded, it was. All of a sudden, the other body moaned. He wasn't dead after all. I ran over to the Marine, crouching next to him and pulling out a first aid kit from my pack. "Where are you hit?" I asked him.

"Left leg," he said, wincing in pain, "Just below the knee."
"I'll have you fixed in a jiffy," I said. I quickly bound the wound, then gave him a shot of morphine. I then handed him an assault rifle that lay nearby, along with some ammo. Then we sat there and waited. It wasn't long before I heard voices approaching, chatting idly. Obviously, the two Elites weren't expecting any trouble. They were quite surprised when they walked into the clearing and saw two armed humans there. Their surprise didn't last long, as we cut them down with long bursts from our guns. Unfortunately, the sound of the shots brought swarms of Covenant running.

A pair of Jackals stepped into the clearing and I cut them down with two short blasts. Five Grunts leapt out from behind the rocks across from the wounded Marine. He cut two down as they turned towards me, and I got two more as they turned back towards him. The last Grunt was torn to pieces by a lethal crossfire from our two guns. I reloaded my gun just as two more Elites entered the area. I let of a burst that caught one of them high in the shouldered, spinning him around as he dropped dead. As I turned to fire upon the second Elite however, a powerful blow t my shoulders sent me flying. A third Elite had snuck up behind me and hit me hard in the back. The blow knocked me across the small clearing. I landed hard, my head hitting a rock. Pain flashed through my skull and my vision swam. I rose slowly, and I was just in time to see the Marine fall unconscious when the second Elite clubbed him upside the head. I swung my rifle up and let fly with a burst that cut down both of the aliens where they stood. Two more Elites came charging in and I managed to cut one of them down with a wild burst of gunfire. I tossed aside the now empty gun and pulled out my pistol as the second Elite fired his plasma rifle. I shot him six times in the head and he fell, his gun still firing. One of the shots hit me in the arm, and I dropped the pistol with a curse. More aliens entered the clearing. "Come and get me you bastards!" I shouted at them, charging forward in a suicidal rage. I fought like a madman, but there were too many of them and I was soon overpowered. I felt a heavy blow to the side of my head, then I felt nothing as darkness claimed me.


* * * * * * * *

I regained consciousness much later. I sat up slowly, shaking my head to clear the continuous buzzing sound. I took a look around. I was in a box shaped room that was about 15 feet long, 10 feet wide, and 18 feet tall. The ceiling, walls and floor were made of a strange green metal that I was unfamiliar to me. One side of the box was open, but across it a pale blue energy field flickered across the gap. Across from me, on the other side of the room, I could see another room like mine, occupied by another human. In the area between the cells, I counted five sleeping grunts and one Elite Major pacing back and forth. A tell tale shimmer in the air also belied the presence of at least one cloaked Elite.

Getting slowly up, I staggered towards the energy barrier. The room had eight Holding cells in all, four on each side. In the room I counted about eighteen Grunts, two Elite Majors, at least two Cloaked Elites and one Elite Commander, clad in gold armor and carrying a plasma sword. Shaking my head, I hobbled back to the wall and slid to the floor. As I sat there, watching the guards pace back and forth, I heard a voice coming form the room next to me.

"Hey buddy," said the voice, "You awake?"
"Yeah," I whispered back, "But I dunno how long that'll last; I got one hell of a headache."
"It'll pass. By the way thanks for helping me earlier. I thought I was done for."
"Well, I was screwed anyway, so it didn't really hurt to help."
"Yeah, but you sure as hell got guts though."
"SILENCE!" bellowed one of the Elite Majors. He had overheard us and now stood outside my cell. "Do not speak unless asked to do so human scum!"
"Whatever you say squid head," I growled back at him.
"Fool," he growled, then pressed a button on his wrist. The barrier between us collapsed. I rushed towards him, fist cocked back to punch him, but he blocked it and backhanded me. I stumbled backwards and he followed me, landing two quick punches in my mid-section. Some of my ribs cracked under the blows and pain shot up my side. I fell over backwards, gasping for breath.

"That will teach you to respect me you infidel," he laughed at me. He turned, and began to walk out of the cell. I struggled to my feet, and lunged after him. Just before I hit him, he re-activated the barrier. Unable to stop I slammed full-tilt into the electric shield. A surge of energy shot through me, and the next thing I knew I was laying on the floor on the far side of the cell from the barrier. My whole body ached, and my head pounded. My vision slowly faded, and I felt nothing more.

I came to again, lying on the floor of the cell. My headache was gone, but it had been replaced by a dull ache in my side. I sat up quickly, and pain shot thru my side, causing me to gasp in pain. Wincing, I stood up slowly. I stretched my legs a little, and then I noticed a tray had been placed in the cell. On it was a bowl containing a gray gelatinous substance. Next to it lay a small cup filled with something that smelled like motor oil.

"No way am I eating this," I muttered. Just then, the barrier deactivated, and the Major stalked into the cell.
"I would recommend that you eat," he said, "You'll need your strength to survive interrogation." He hoisted me bodily to my feet, and fastened a pair of cuffs around my wrists before leading me out of the cell. He turned towards a trio of Jackals standing nearby. "Take him to Chamber C."

The Jackals nodded and one of them shoved me towards the door. I stumbled and started walking. We left the chamber and stepped into a hallway. I was taken down the hall to another door. It opened to reveal a large chamber. It was a monochrome gray and was lit only by a pair of lights overhead. In the center was a chair fitted with restraints. On the far side of the room was another door.
I was pushed into the chair, and one of the Jackals fastened the restraints. Then all three walked over to the door thru which we had entered. One of them tapped a button on his wrist-gear twice. Immediately, the other door whooshed open and the Jackals snapped to attention as an Elite Commander stalked into the room. He ignored them, instead focusing his attention on me. He eyed me for a moment then spoke.

"I have some questions I need you to answer," he said in surprisingly good English, "Cooperate, and you will find your stay here far more pleasant. However, if you don't cooperate and you can be assured that the remainder of your life will be painful and unpleasant. Do I make myself clear?" I didn't reply, so he moved on.
"What can you tell me about this?" he asked, showing me a holographic image of a Knife-class fighter, similar to the one I flew.
"Nice picture, can you give me a copy?" I said.
"Wrong answer." He growled. Then he hit me hard on my side. I cried out in pain as the blow struck my already cracked ribs.
"Now, I will ask you again..."

The next few days passed in a painful blur of interrogations and beatings. I did manage to break a corner off my meal tray. When the Grunts that brought me my food asked what happen to the tray, I told them that it had been like that when I got it. The Grunts weren't smart enough to tell that I was lying, and they left it at that. I spent the day sharpening the piece as best I could. The next day, the Major again came to the cell and put the binders on me. The three Jackals again took me out of the room into the hall. When we were halfway down the hall, I reached into my side pocket and pulled out the metal piece. I faked a stumble into the guard on my right. He shoved me the opposite direction, and as I moved sideways, I brought the sharp edge of the metal up and drove it into the head of the guard. He gave a cry and fell as blood spurted from the fatal wound. Not I spun around and kicked out, catching the guard behind me full in the jaw. The blow dropped him temporarily out of the fight. I dove on the last guard as he tried to bring his pistol around to target me. The blow caught him of guard, and the pistol dropped from his hands. I swung my bound hands around at his head. The blow missed his head, instead hitting his throat. The power behind the swing collapsed his windpipe and he started to choke. I grabbed his shield and whirled around, just as the guard I had kicked fired his pistol. The shots hit the shield and almost shorted it out. Before he could fire again I stepped forward and swung the shield like a weapon. The blow knocked him to the floor, and I followed up by bringing the shield down on his head, crushing it. I dropped the shield and stood there for a second, catching my breath. I bent and retrieved the binder control mechanism from the Jackal I had stabbed. I tapped the button that deactivated the binders, and they faded away. With my arms now free, I scooped up one of the plasma pistols. I then walked to the door that led to the interrogation chamber. It whooshed open as I approached, and closed behind me. I walked over and crouched by the opposite door, the one that the interrogator came through. After I charged the pistol to overload, I tapped the button on the control pad twice. The door whooshed open and the Elite stalked in, then halted in surprise when he saw that the chair was empty. Before he could act, I fired the overloaded pistol into the back of his neck. The powerful shot blasted through his shields and burned through his neck. He dropped to the ground with a whimper.

"Serves you right asshole," I muttered. I walked over and searched his body. I found two plasma grenades and a plasma rifle. I dropped the pistols in favor of the rifle and also took the two grenades. I then went back out the door to the hallway. Seeing the hall clear, I proceeded down to the door to the brig, intent on freeing the other humans.

A Pilots Life: Chapter 5-The Jailbreak
Date: 29 October 2003, 12:17 AM

Everyone had always told me that my impulsiveness would get me in big trouble one day. They were right. Without stopping to formulate a plan, I pulled out the two plasma grenades and opened the door. I activated one of the grenades and tossed it through the door at the nearby Elite Commander. He started to shout, but then the grenade went off and blew him apart. I quickly tossed another grenade into the chamber, and it stuck to a startled Grunt. "Get it off! Get it off!" he screamed in panic running around helplessly. The grenade detonated, killing the Grunt three other grunts. The explosion must have hit another grenade, because there was a second explosion that killed one of the cloaked Elites and five more Grunts. Out of grenades, I pulled out the plasma rifle and sprayed some shots at a trio of Grunts off to the left. Five of the shots stopped in midair, accompanied by and anguished roar. The cloaked Elite that had been standing nearby materialized as he fell to the ground with two smoking holes in his chest. I fired more shots as I sprinted into the room and this time, the shots hit their intended targets. The three Grunts dropped to the ground, smoke rising from their wounds. I fired again and this time the shots hit their intended targets. I scrambled behind a nearby pillar as plasma bolts from one of the Elite Majors hit the floor next to my feet. I leaned out and sprayed some shots at him, but he too ducked behind a pillar and the shots missed. I now had a big problem. If I didn't get rid of him soon, he would be able to sound the alarm, and I would undoubtedly die. I fired more shots at him and this time, a few connected and his shields collapsed. He returned fire, and one of the shots hit the plasma rifle, making it useless. I dropped the rifle and picked up a plasma rifle from a dead Grunt nearby. I charged the pistol and let fly, aiming to the right of the column. The shot went straight, then curved sideways as it homed in on the Elite's heat signature. There was a cry from behind the pillar, and the Elite fell out from behind the pillar, his chest gone. The few remaining Grunts lost their nerve and tried to run out the door. I cut them all down quickly. The remaining nine Grunts tried to make a run for the door. I cut them down as they tried to open the sealed door.

I waited a full minute, and when nothing moved in the room, I slowly stepped out from behind the pillar. I walked cautiously to the far end of the room. I approached the control panel for the cells, and after scrutinizing it for a while reached to deactivate the cell barriers.

"LOOK OUT!!!!" The shouted warning sent me into action and I quickly ducked sideways. I wasn't quite quick enough however, and the Elite Majors fist clipped the top of my head, sending me reeling. He started to follow up but I was ready and I blocked his punch with the plasma rifle. I brought my leg up in a kick that connected with his midsection and he doubled up as the air woofed out of him. I swung my plasma rifle towards his head, but he anticipated me and dove forward. His head caught me in the stomach and I was knocked down, the plasma rifle flying from my hands. He swung brought his fist down hard, but it hit the floor as I rolled sideways out from under him. I kicked my legs out and managed to trip him up as turned towards me. He toppled over as I sprang to my feet and dove for a plasma pistol on the ground nearby. I got my hands on it and rolled on my back to fire. The shot missed, and before I could fire again he kicked the pistol out of my hands then he slammed a fist into my stomach. The air rushed out of me and my vision swam. I had just enough wits left to block his next blow. I butted him in the face with my forehead and he cried out and rolled off me. I scrambled unsteadily to my feet, pain flashing sharply across my stomach. As he started to rise, I lashed out with my foot, catching him solidly in the ribs. He dropped back down, as I continued to kick him over and over again. I kicked him over and over again, shouting obscenities at him.

"Calm down man," said one of the Marines, "He's dead."

I stopped kicking the guard and looked at him. He was dead all right, his mouth hung open and his ribs were broken in so many places that his chest felt like jelly. I walked away from the corpse and went over to the cell control board. I hit the button and the barriers faded away, freeing the Marines. They came tumbling out of their cells, laughing like a bunch of school kids. A Marine jogged up and saluted, then asked if I was all right. I recognized him as the Marine I had bandaged up in the field just before I was captured. I told him I was fine. Then I turned to the rest of the Marines.

"All right guys, we're not out of this yet. Everyone grab a weapon and get ready to move out." The Marines obeyed and armed themselves with the pistols, rifles, and grenades of the dead guards. When they were all armed I told them to fall in. They lined up and stood at attention. I walked slowly back and forth in front of them. I then stopped and said, "Okay, I think I have a way to get us out of here. If we can get to a drop ship I can fly us out of here. Shoot anything that moves and we'll get out of here in one piece."

With that, we ran out the now unlocked door into the hall. A pair of Elites were preparing to charge in just as we came out. We opened fire on them at close range, and they went down hard. Turning right, I lead the Marines down the hall towards a bend at the end of the hall. Rounding the corner, I collided with a pair of Jackals. I jumped backwards as they cried out in surprise.

"LET 'EM HAVE IT!!" I shouted. All the Marines opened fire and the two Jackals dropped to the ground, there bodies riddled with plasma scoring. We charged forward and through another door. Plasma fire erupted from down the hallway, and one of the Marines fell when a shot evaporated his head.

"FIRE IN THE HOLE!" shouted one of the Marines. He chucked a plasma grenade down the hallway. It detonated, sending the Elite flying down the hall. We charged around the junction, then took cover from a pair of Jackals that were at the far end of the hall. I leaned out and sprayed fire back and forth over their shields. The energy surge was too much, and the shields shut down. The other Marines opened fire, burning the two aliens down.

We passed through ha door and stepped into the bridge. The Marines spread out, firing on the move. The surprised bridge crew was quickly wiped out, though the Elite Commander did manage to decapitate one of the Marines before he was killed. We left the bridge and charged down another hallway. We quickly dispatched the five Grunts standing in the hall, and we moved unopposed into the docking bay.

Plasma fire erupted from the far end of the bay, and the Marines returned fire, ducking behind the crates stacked by the door. While the Marines covered me, I deactivated the clamps holding one of the drop ships in place. I dropped onto the top of the shuttle and climbed into the cockpit. I familiarized myself with the controls, I charged up the plasma turret. I sprayed fire back and forth across the Covenant while the Marines clambered into the ship. When they were all aboard, I shut the doors and gunned the engine. I started to fly out, when an energy barrier appeared, barring the exit. I swung the turret around and fired at the flight control station next to the hangar opening. The blast melted the station and blew up the field generator. With the barrier gone I gunned out of the hangar into space, weaving back and forth to avoid the gunfire directed at us. I aimed the ship towards the planet below and shot away from the Covenant craft as it scrambled fighters after us. The fighters mercilessly assaulted the craft. I returned fire with the plasma turret as I attempted to evade the shots. I wasn't very successful at evading the shots, but my sustained fire destroyed three of the fighters. The last one was smarter, staying slightly above the drop ship, where the turret couldn't hit him. I tried to roll, but he easily stayed out of my line of fire. I pulled up, as if to try to loop away from him. He followed the maneuver easily. What he hadn't expected was the sudden dive that brought him into my line of fire. A trio of shots from the turret burned all the way through the fighter, which suddenly flared into incandescence. With the fighters gone, I brought the drop ship around and headed down towards the surface of the planet below.

* * * * * * * *

"That's not good," I said to no one in particular as the drop ships engine began to cough and rattle. Red lights started flashing across the board, and even though I couldn't read the script, I knew it was bad. I cut back the throttle to prevent the engine from exploding from stress. I turned on the intercom and spoke, "Fasten your seat belts. I'm bringing her down and it may get a little rough."

The bulky craft was dropping rapidly and starting to roll to port. I wrestled with the controls and managed to correct the roll. I aimed the dying craft towards a flat, snow-covered field. I brought the ship to a hover in the center of the field, and was about fifteen feet above the ground, when the engine cut out. The craft dropped straight down, slamming into the ground. The craft jolted hard, and the sound of tearing metal. I punched the intercom on and said "Oops, sorry about that guys."

"You better be sorry," one of the Marines grumbled loudly. I laughed and punched the intercom off. After hitting the button that opened the two side hatches, I climbed out of the cockpit and dropped to the ground. The snow was almost waist deep, and the air was freezing. I turned as the Marines clambered out of the craft. They were unhurt, except a couple with bruises from the rough landing. One of them approached me, he stopped and saluted. "What now Lieutenant?" he asked after I returned the salute.

"Well, the fleet has run, so we won't have get any help from them. There should be at least one command shuttle down here and survivors off wrecked ships. We need to locate the command shuttle, and work from there. But where would the shuttle be?" He started to answer, but was drowned out by a high-pitched howl. We looked up as a pair of Banshees flew overhead. They turned around and came back, planning to make a strafing run on the bunched up Marines.

"SPREAD OUT!!!!!!" I shouted as loud as I could. The Marines scattered, just as the Banshees fired. Their shots missed, melting the snow and further destroying the drop ship. The Marines fired as the Banshees flew past. Several plasma bursts converged on one of the Banshees, and it spouted black smoke. It plummeted out of control and slammed into a hillside and exploded. The second Banshee decided to exercise the better part of valor, and flew off in the other direction.

"As I was saying," the Marine spoke again, as if nothing had happened, "We don't need to find a command center. All we need to do is find a long-range transmitter, then we can broadcast a distress signal."

"Good idea, but where would we find something like that?"

"Your guess is as good as mine sir," he
replied, "but we could just pick a direction and start searching."

"Whatever works," I said. Then I turned to the Marines, saying "All right ladies, lets move out. We're going to go look for some friends." I pulled out the plasma pistol from my pocket, and after checking to make sure it was undamaged. I turned and started marching through the snow, heading for a nearby hill. The Marines followed closely, and we soon reached the top. I looked around, and spied something interesting. Below, built into the side of a hill was some sort of structure. It was hard to tell from the distance, but it appeared to be unoccupied. I turned to the Marines and said "Okay, that's our destination. We need to move fast and careful. Keep your guns ready, and yell if you need help."

"Yes sir!" the Marines said. With that, we moved down the slope. Guns always up, we leapfrogged from tree to tree and rock to rock, staying as low as possible in the snow. The only sound was that of the snow crunching underfoot as we silently listened for the sound of approaching engines. When we were about halfway to the structure, we heard a steadily growing whine of high powered engines. As one we dropped into the snow as a drop ship passed overhead. When it was gone we got back on our feet and continued forward. We reached the structure quickly and stood with guns ready in front of the entrance. Not wanting to speak, I held up to fingers, and pointed forward. Two Marines moved in, staying low as we covered them with our guns. When they signaled all clear, we moved in behind them. We searched the small room, and moved into the next one.

The room was big, and the walls were lined with computer consoles. Most were off, but a few of the screens and controls were lit up. Strange looking lights hung from the ceiling, and the floor was made of a strange looking alloy. At the far end of the room there was a pair of closed doors. We moved in cautiously again, hugging the walls. We checked between and behind all the computers. However, the room was empty. Feeling somewhat safer I turned and spoke to the Marines.

"All right," I whispered, "One of you stay here with me. The rest of you guys check behind those doors. When you are through searching, or if you encounter any hostiles, come back here."

"Yes sir!" They whispered back. Then four of them went of to search the remaining rooms, while the last soldier remained behind with me. I turned towards one of the active consoles and said "All right, let's try to figure out what sort of place we are in."

I walked over to the console and looked at the screen. The writing was strange, written in what looked like a child's attempt at Covenant script. I tapped a couple of buttons and the screen changed, projecting what appeared to be a map of the structure. According to the map, the doors led down hallways to a pair of large chambers. From what I could see, the chambers were storage facilities, and one of them contained an elevator. "Interesting," I said, "I wonder where it leads to. Wherever it goes, I think I'll lock it down and wait till we contact the command shuttle before investigating. I turned to the Marine and told him to follow me. I then went through the door the Marines had entered earlier. I jogged down the hall and stepped into the chamber. The Marines spun about as I walked in, guns ready.

"At ease gentlemen," I said, "I have found out something interesting." I told them about the other chamber, and the elevator. "I believe this facility is neither human nor Covenant, but that it belonged to a race that was here before us. Furthermore, we will lock down that elevator and wait till we contact the command shuttle before searching down there. In the meantime, check these crates for food or anything else we might find useful. We are going to stay here for a while and see if we can find out anymore about this structure."

I turned and left the room. I walked through the door, across the computer chamber, and through the other door. I stepped into the room and walked over to the elevator. I found the controls, and after fiddling around with them I managed to lock the elevator down. I then returned to the main chamber. The Marines had found some food and had brought it into the chamber. They also brought a few crates that contained a variety of human and Covenant weapons. I swapped my plasma pistol out for a shotgun, and also got a couple of ammo cases. When we had all armed ourselves, we sat down on the empty crates and ate some of the food from the crates. It was a bland, gray paste that was similar to the food back in the brig. We were hungry though, so we ate it despite its unappetizing appearance. When we had finished eating, we set up a guard system. Two men would be posted in the entrance chamber, and one more would be up in the computer chamber. The remaining three would either sleep, or explore the computers and the supply rooms. The guards would change every four hours, giving the other Marines a chance to rest. After setting up the system, I lay down on the floor to sleep, my shotgun lying nearby.

* * * * * * * *

Four hours later, the three men on duty woke us up. I stood, feeling much better after getting some real sleep. I grabbed my shotgun and went into the entrance chamber. I walked into the entrance chamber, accompanied by Corporal Jones. We stood together behind a hastily erected barricade, chatting back and forth. After about two hours however, we stopped talking and just sat there, looking outside into the night and listening for movement. Time seemed to crawl by, and I was beginning to get sleepy. I was starting to nod off, when the sound of snow crunching underfoot snapped me wide awake. I stood up, peering out into the darkness. The steps continued, and we soon heard voices, more than one, approaching. We looked out, and I could barely make out the dark shapes against the snow. As they came closer, I could see that it was a pair of Grunts, speaking to one another in English and looking quite lost. As they neared, I could understand what they were saying.

"I don't think this is the right way, it doesn't look familiar"

"I know it isn't the right way, but it's getting cold and we need some shelter, and this is the only shelter around."

"I don't know, I think we should..."

"We can't do anything else. We will freeze to death soon if we don't get out of this cold." They continued to talk as they walked towards the entrance.

I singaled Jones not to fire. He nodded in return and we both crouched lower behind the barrier as the two aliens approached. I heard footsteps coming around my side of the barrier. One of them stepped suddenly out from around the barrier. He stood there for a moment, but before he could speak I stepped forward and crushed his skull with the butt of my rifle. He dropped to the ground with a groan. The second Grunt tried to run, but Jones tackled him before he got far. He grabbed its neck in two hands and twisted hard. The neck broke with a snap and the unfortunate Grunt went limp. The Marine stood after he relieved the Grunt of its weapons. I did the same, then we dragged both of the bodies outside and buried them in the snow. We went back inside and I wiped away the blood while he ran to inform the others of what had happened. He returned shortly after, looking excited.

"Sir! Private Johnson thinks he's found the transmitter, he's going to broadcast a distress signal." He said excitedly.

"Good. Go back in and get the others. Have everyone but Johnson and Lathier come out here, in case the Covenant detect the transmission and investigate."

"Yes sir," he said. He turned and ran back into the structure, then returned shortly afterward, accompanied by three of the other Marines. I put them in position and instructed them to remain undercover and to wait for my command before firing.. A few minutes later, Johnson and Lathier joined us.

"I sent out a distress call," said Johnson, "and I got a response from a Pelican that is nearby.
Unfortunately, the Covenant picked up the signal and they will be here soon."

"Good work, now get undercover. Wait for my signal before firing." I took my own advice and ducked behind the barrier next to Jones, my heart pounding.

The whine of engines from outside heralded the arrival of enemy drop ships. Their turrets swiveled towards the structure as settled to the ground and dropped off their load of troops. The enemy soldiers approached cautiously, weapons ready. Peering around the barrier, I could make out four Elites and twelve grunts. When they were within ten yards, I rose and gave the command, "Fire!"

A Pilots Life:Chapter 6-Making a Stand
Date: 29 October 2003, 1:27 AM

The Marines, strategically positioned to have overlapping fields of fire, opened up on the aliens crowded together in the entryway. Caught massed together in the lethal crossfire, they never stood a chance. Two Elites died instantly as plasma bolts burned away their heads. The Grunts tried to scatter and were cut down quickly. One of the Elites managed to get off a handful of shots, one of which hit Jones in the shoulder. We responded with a barrage that tore the Elite apart. As his companion was cut down, the last Elite opted to charge the barricade. I rose and fired my shotgun point blank at his face. His head blew apart like an overripe melon, spraying brains and gore everywhere. His headless body collapsed atop the barrier. I turned to Jones and examined his wound. It wasn't deep, and I bound it easily with a strip of cloth from my jumpsuit sleeve.

Just in time, as two more drop ships arrived and deposited more Covenant, including two Hunters. They charged forward, and we scrambled away from their guns. One of the hunters charged me, swinging his shield towards me. I rolled sideways, trying to dodge the blow. I partially succeeded, but the glancing blow still knocked me into the wall. Stars exploded in front of me as I hit the wall and slid down. The Hunter roared with glee and charged forward, bringing his shield down to crush me. Acting fast I kicked off the wall and slid on my back between his legs. I fired two shots into his back before he could recover. Florescent orange blood sprayed everywhere as he fell to the ground with an anguished roar. I scrambled to my feet as a Elite charged towards me. The shot collapsed his shields. I stepped forward and kicked him in the gut. As he staggered backward from the blow, I brought the butt of the shotgun down on his head. He dropped to the ground, his skull shattered. I dove behind the barrier as a stream of plasma bolts tracked towards me. I stuck three more shells in the chamber, just as an Elite came charging around the barrier. I fired two shots which caught him in the chest and hurled him backwards to the ground. I rose tossed a frag grenade at a cluster of Grunts. The explosion scattered them and I charged forward through the gap as bullets and plasma filled the air. A Jackal stepped forward, bringing his pistol up, and his head evaporated under a hail of bullets from one of the Marines to my right. I rolled sideways, dodging some needler rounds that had been tracking me. Regaining my feet, I turned and snapped off two shots at an Elite standing to my left. His head evaporated in a bloody mist and he slumped to the ground. The weapons fire died away as the last of the attackers was killed. I returned to the barricade, reloaded my shotgun, and prepared to fight some more.

Again more enemy troops were dropped off, and they stormed in, guns blazing. We fell back under the onslaught, regrouping in the computer chamber. Upon seeing us flee they charged forward, shouting with glee. The six Elites quickly outpaced the sixteen Grunts accompanying them. Overly confident, they were caught completely off guard when we spun about and opened fire, cutting all six of them down at close range. The Grunts tried to run, but they were unable to escape the trap. We cut them down as they ran. Then more Elites charged in. One of them had a plasma sword. He stormed forward and swung his blade at Jones. The blade cut the Marine in two. The Elite turned towards me and charged. I pulled the trigger, but the gun just clicked. The gun was out of ammo, and the Elite was moving too fast for me to reload. He stepped forward, bringing his sword around to decapitate me. I put up my hands and shut my eyes, bracing myself for nothingness. A shot rang out and I heard a bellow. I opened my eyes just a crack. The Elite was dead, one of the Marines had shot it in the back. The plasma sword was embedded in the wall, only two inches away from the side of my head. I almost fainted. Suddenly, I heard a sound that I never expected to hear again, the engine of a Pelican drop ship. We ran outside as it touched down in the snow. Six Marines piled out of the back and ran to meet us. I informed them of the situation, and they in turn told the pilot of the Pelican. The ungainly ship took off, headed for the command shuttle. We retreated back inside with the six Marines and set up to repel more attacks.

* * * * * * * *

"That's the last of them," said Johnson as he shot the last Grunt through the head. After being reinforced, we had repelled six more waves of Covenant. The final attack had almost succeeded, we had lost three men, including Lathier and Jones, and had retreated into the computer chamber. From there we had managed to defeat the attack and retake the entrance. However, we were getting low on supplies and needed relief.

We heard the sounds of rapidly approaching diesel engines. A minute later, a pair of Warthogs came flying up to the entrance of the structure. They were followed by a pair of Scorpion tanks, and three transport Warthogs. All seven vehicles were fully loaded with Marines. They quickly set up a defense at the entrance as three Pelicans arrived. They touched down and their passengers disembarked. "Wow, we must have struck s nerve with someone at the shuttle," I said to Johnson as some of the Marines began unloading supplies off of the Pelicans. It was then that I noticed a man flanked by two Marines approaching us. As he approached I saw that he was a Captain. I snapped to attention as stopped in front of us. He returned the salute, and then said "Lieutenant James Patterson?"

"Yes sir, that's me!"

"Would you be so kind as to take me on a tour of this facility?"

"If you'll step right this way sir," I said walking into the structure. I led him through the foyer and into the computer chamber, which was bustling with Marines. "This is the computer chamber. The door on the left leads to a supply chamber, and the door on the right leads to an elevator."

"Where does the elevator lead?"

"I am not sure sir. I didn't want to investigate until I was able to contact a command shuttle and get reinforcements. Now that reinforcements have arrived, I'd be more than happy to lead a team down there to investigate, with your permission of course."

"That won't be necessary. We will send a team of specialists down there to investigate. In the meantime, you will be sent elsewhere. We are forming a resistance movement to harass the Covenant as much as possible. You are going to help us do that."

"Does this mean I will be flying drop ships?" I asked hopefully.

"I am sorry, but you won't be flying. We have more than enough pilots. Since you proved yourself to be an excellent leader, you will be in command of a squad of Marines."

"Oh," I said disappointedly, "When do I meet them?"

"Go back to the entrance and find Pelican Alpha-316. It will take you to the command shuttle. You'll be introduced to your men there. Now get moving Lieutenant!"

"Yes sir!" I said saluting. I turned and jogged back to the entrance. I asked a Marine where Pelican Alpha-316 was. He pointed to the farthest of the three ships. I jogged over and climbed in the back. Once I was aboard the big ship lumbered into the air and headed for the command shuttle.
* * * * * * * *
"Right this way sir," said the Private. He had been waiting for me when we landed and now led me through the cave system that was now home to the command shuttle. We passed through a handful of checkpoints before arriving at our destination. The Private stopped and said, "Here we are sir."

I nodded my thanks and walked over to the small prefab barracks building at the end of the cavern. I opened the door and stepped inside. The room was small, with four double bunks lined up on the left wall. At the back of the room was a door that led to the bathroom. The room was empty, but the presence of stowed gear showed that that was only temporary. At the far end of the room, there was a single cot lying apart from the other beds. Lying atop the cot was a suit of neatly piled armor. On the ground next to the cot lay a folded blanket and a small black bag. I walked over to the bed, picking up the helmet that lay on the pile. The name "Patterson" was stenciled in white across the back. I put the helmet down and opened the bag. Inside were some spare clothes, a razor, shaving cream, toothpaste, a toothbrush, some soap, and some deodorant. I took the bag and walked into the small bathroom at the back of the shelter. I shaved, scrubbed myself clean, and put on some clean clothes. I walked back into the barracks and, after stowing the bag, put on my armor. I had just finished suiting up when the door opened and in walked the squad.

They were all young men, probably no older than twenty. They were all tall and physically healthy. Two of them were so similar in appearance that I guessed that they were brothers. They were all talking loudly and didn't notice me sitting at the end of the room. I sat there for a moment, but when they continued to ignore me I rose and bellowed, "Attention!"

They finally noticed me, and immediately snapped to attention. I stood and walked over to them. I then went to each man and asked for their name. When I had learned each mans name walked back to my cot and spoke. "My name is Lieutenant Patterson. I am your new CO. We have been given the task of harassing the Covenant wherever possible. We leave in one hour so get geared up and report to the main armory in fifteen minutes. Understood?"

"Yes sir!" They bellowed back.

"Good, then get to work." I said, turning and striding from the room

A Pilot's Life: Chapter 8-Dead Wrong
Date: 12 November 2003, 4:01 AM

****To anyone who may read this series I am sorry for the delay. I have been sidetracked a couple of times by work, and have had problems with my computer. Hope you enjoy this one. ****





"Damn it's cold," I said as I lay concealed in a cluster of rocks that overlooked the valley below.

"You sure as hell got that right," grumbled Private Williams, the squad's heavy weapons specialist. We had been partnered up on guard duty, and now sat watching the snow filled valley below. We were awaiting the arrival of a large convoy of troops destined for a Covenant command post. We were under orders to attack the convoy and do as much damage as possible.

"I think I got something," said Williams.
"Where," I asked quickly.
"Over there, just to the left of those trees, it looks like a pair of Ghosts."
"You're right, there's a pair of Ghosts down there. I bet that they're acting as scouts for the main body." Sure enough, the Ghosts were followed by a number of transports and tanks, as well as a number of other Ghosts. They were proceeding slowly through the valley in a long, weaving line. We got up and ran back to where the rest of the squad waited with our three Warthogs.

"All right, the Convoy's approaching!" I informed them, "Let's saddle up and give them hell!" The Marines hustled to their Hogs and climbed aboard. Williams jumped into the driver's seat on the closest Hog, while I jumped up to man the heavy gun on the back. Since the convoy would undoubtedly have some tanks in it, we had been given a Hog modified for anti-tank work. It had heavier armor, and the LAAG had been replaced by an M60 AGL, giving it enough punch to take out a tank. When everyone had loaded onto the Hogs, we roared down into the valley towards the convoy. We closed on the convoy quickly, shooting towards a pair of tanks towards the front of the convoy. The gunners on the other two hogs opened fire at maximum range, scoring some hits but doing no real damage. As we got closer, I centered the guns sight over the lead tank and squeezed the trigger. The big gun barked loudly, and two shells exploded against the side of the tank. The tank slipped sideways in an attempt to dodge the incoming fire. I tracked the movement however, and two more shots slammed into the tank and it detonated in a huge fireball.

"YEEEHAAWWW!" shouted Jackson from the turret of another hog. We shot past the burning tank and I swung the turret around and slammed three shots into the second tank as we passed by. The tank went dark and dropped to the ground.

"Ghosts on the left!!" shouted Williams. I spun the turret towards the left and aimed at the leader. I fired just as Williams whipped the Hog to the right to avoid hitting a rock. The shots went wide, though one did hit a transport in the cockpit, stopping it dead. I muttered a curse and realigned my target. This time the shots connected and the Ghost exploded spectacularly. I turned to get the second Ghost, but it careened out of control as a gunner from one of the other Hogs killed the driver. We swung back around and ran along the length of the convoy. I kept up sustained fire, destroying two tanks and three transports. As Williams swung around for another pass, I discarded the spent ammo drum and replaced it with a fresh one. I yanked the bolt back and slammed it forward, then swung the turret around and tightened down on the trigger. I tracked fire up the side of one of the transports, and it exploded when one of the grenades hit a fuel cell. Williams swung the Hogs to the left, barreling through a group of Elites that were unloading from the back of one of the transports, scattering them like bowling pins. I swung the turret right and fired three shots into the back of another transport as the door opened to disgorge troops. Blood and guts sprayed through the partially open door as the shells exploded in the overcrowded confines of the cabin. Still holding the trigger, I swept fire across a quartet of Hunters that had jumped out of one of the transport. All three went down, but not before one of them got off a shot that blasted Private Littleton out of the side seat of one of the other Hogs. He hit the ground, rose quickly and began to run after us. Suddenly, he gave a cry and his face contorted in pain. He fell to the ground, his back a smoking crater.
"Damn it!!" I shouted. Yet another eager youth was killed under my command. I went ballistic, holding down the trigger and spraying rounds everywhere. I emptied the entire drum of one hundred shells in about ten seconds, destroying three transports and forty soldiers on foot. I was starting to reload when a shot hit me in the back, dumping me forward into the side seat. The armor absorbed most of the damage, but my skin still blistered badly. I bit back a curse as I struggled to right myself in the seat. By now we were past the convoy, and Williams was preparing to turn the Hog around for another pass.

"Forget it," I shouted at him, "We'll get torn apart if we make another pass. We did what we came here to do, now let's go." Williams nodded and stopped turning. We shot away from the convoy, heading back towards the hills above the valley. Four Ghosts tried to pursue us, but they gave up after two of them were destroyed by lethally accurate fire from the two LAAG equipped Hogs. With the pursuit gone, we sped into the relative safety of the surrounding hills.

* * * * * * * * * * *

We continued to drive for twenty minutes before coming to a halt above a small valley. Searching the hillsides, we located a large well concealed cave. After parking the Warthogs inside, we set a sentry and after starting a small fire, we settled down to rest. I tried to get some sleep, but couldn't. I was haunted by images of Littleton's death. Images of other men I had known flashed through my mind, Jones, Lathier, and others, all of them lying dead on some hellhole of a planet. Shaking away the disturbing images, I walked over to the mouth of the cave. I sat down there and began cleaning my pistol with a small rag. After polishing the pistol for almost a half-hour, I rose and walked out into the dark. It was snowing lightly, and I stood watching the small snowflakes float slowly to the ground. Memories of a life before the war came back to me. I remember going hunting in the forest near our home in Montana, our dog leading the way. I remember fishing down on the docks at summer time, seeing who could catch the most fish for dinner. I longed to be back home with my brothers, instead of out here fighting in this stupid war. Wishful thinking, my brothers had both died on the Pillar of Autumn two and a half years ago, just before I entered the service. Though I knew they were dead, no one would tell me how they died, which made me wonder if they were dead. I have often thought to myself that maybe, just maybe they are still out there... Pushing aside these thoughts, I turned and walked back into the cave. Inside I found Williams and Jackson, the squad's sniper, engaged in a game of cards. Seeing me approach, Williams turned and said, "Care to join us for a few hands of poker Lieutenant?"

"I'm not very good, but okay." I said. I sat down and they dealed me in and the game commenced. Ten hands later, I was in possession of five packs of cigarettes, two chocolate bars, a pack of gum, and an IOU on William's next paycheck.
"Didn't you say you weren't good at cards?" asked Jackson.
"I'm not good at cards, but people say I'm lucky."
"You got that right!" grumbled Williams.
"You two get some sleep, I'm gonna go and relieve Benson as sentry."
"Sure thing sir." The two men stood and walked to the back of the cave to get some sleep. I grabbed my shotgun and walked outside. I sloshed through the snow towards Benson's sentry post. When I arrived, he gladly swapped places with me, and he headed quickly towards the cave and the fire inside. I watched him go, the settled down with my back against a small tree. I scanned back and forth, my eyes alert for any movement in the snow. After two hours, I began to grow sleepy. I tried to stay awake, but my eyes were heavy, and I soon fell into a deep sleep.

I awoke a half hour later from a pleasant dream that included a warm bed and a soft pillow. I sat up quickly, wondering where I was and what had happened to my bed. The sudden shift dislodged the snow in the branches of the tree, and I was buried under a small mound of powder. The cold snow brought me full awake, and I remembered where I was. I started to stand, when I heard the sound of footsteps in the snow. I went absolutely still, my eyes scanning back and forth for the source of the sound. I wasn't difficult to spot, a dark silhouette against the snow moved slowly towards the entrance of the cave. I studied the figure for a moment, noting the jerking, staggering gait. When the figure was about ten yards away, I called out in a clear voice.
"Halt! Identify yourself!"

The figure stopped immediately. It turned slowly towards me, and stood facing me. I got the feeling that it was studying me. Suddenly, the figure gave a loud, gurgling yell and lurched towards me, moving with frightening speed despite its awkward gait. Filled with sudden apprehension, I put my shotgun to my shoulder and took careful aim. I slowly tightened on the trigger, and the shotgun bucked against my shoulder. The flash gave me a brief impression of long arms and yellow skin, and the creature staggered backwards with a startled bark. It quickly recovered and it lunged towards me again. I fired again, and this time the shadowy figure dropped to the ground with a gurgling death cry. At that moment, the other men came running out of the cave, guns ready. They had heard the shots and rushed outside to see what the problem was. I walked over to the shadowy figure, and turned on my guns light. We were utterly unprepared for what it showed us.

It almost looked like a human, but it was definitely not one now. The head had been pushed back between the shoulders. Its skin was a moldy yellow, and was torn in many places, revealing rotten organs underneath. Its legs were mangled, bone protruded from the knees and they were bent at an odd angle. Its left arm was twice as big as normal. The fingers were long and whip-like, and sprouted from the wrist. The other arm was short, almost stunted, and the torso was swollen. From a patch of brown lumpy skin on the shoulder protruded a cluster of tentacle like antennae. The whole body stank of rotted flesh, and thick green blood stained the ground around it.
For a long moment nobody spoke, we just stared at the grotesque...thing lying on the ground in front of us. Finally, Jackson stirred and spoke in a hoarse voice, "What the hell is it Lieutenant?"
Yeah, as if I had the faintest idea...

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"This is fire team Alpha to Central Command, come in Central Command." I paused, waiting for a reply, but no voice issued from the radio's small speaker. Six minutes earlier, deeply disturbed by the zombie-like attacker, I had decided to send a report back to the command center. Having received no reply for the last three minutes, I was beginning to feel edgy. I decided to try one last time, but before I could speak a static filled voice burst from the radio.
"Fire team Alpha, this is Eagle one. Do you require assistance?"
"Indeed we do," I said, relieved that I had contacted someone, "Could you get in touch with command a relay a message for us?"
"Will do, give me a minute..." There was a pause, and when the pilot spoke again he sounded worried. "I sent a message but there was no reply. The system may be malfunctioning due to the cold."
"Not likely. If the cold ruined commands comm. gear, then I wouldn't be talking to you right now. Hmmm..." I thought for a moment. "What's you current position?"
"I'm about fifty klicks from your current position. Why do you ask?"
"I was wondering if you could give us a lift to the command center."
"I'm not sure. You're outside my area of responsibility. I am not sure command would be happy if I showed up with Marines from outside my grid."
"It's important Eagle one."
"All right, I'm on my way. ETA is thirty minutes."
"Appreciated Eagle one. Alpha team out." With that, I clipped the microphone back onto the radio and turned it off. I grabbed my shotgun, stood, and jogged over to where the rest of the squad sat near the Warthogs.
"Good news guys. I didn't get through to command, but I did reach a Pelican who is willing to give us a lift to command. He'll be here in about thirty minutes."
"What are we going to do with the Hogs?" asked Williams.
"We'll have to leave them behind along with any ammo and weapons we can't carry by ourselves. Let's get to work."

We moved quickly. Jackson, Williams, and I drove the Hogs deep into the cave where they would be unseen by the enemy. When this was done, we returned and helped the others gather equipment, but not before Williams and I each grabbed a Jackhammer from two of the Hogs. I grabbed two cases of shotgun ammo and attached them to my belt. I also grabbed a pair of frag grenades and a bag of pistol rounds. I then helped the rest of the squad move the extra gear into the cave with the Warthogs. We had just finished the last load when the whine of an approaching Pelican could be heard winding through the hills.

I spotted it shortly afterward, flying in the valley. As I watched I noticed that it was flying faster than most pilots liked, and it was hugging the ground, staying below the hills at treetop level. When the pilot drew even with our location, he banked the Pelican and shot up the hill towards us. As soon as it touched down, the pilot's voice came from the comm., sounding a little panicked.

"Hustle Alpha team, there's a pair of Banshees headed this way." We clambered quickly aboard, needing no further urging. As soon as the last man was aboard, the pilot brought the Pelican up. He made a sharp turn and shot away from the ground, heading north east towards the command center as fast as the big ship could. Not fast enough however. We could easily make out the approaching fighters as they rapidly gained on us. I watched their approach then turned and yelled to Williams, "Get your Jackhammer ready. We're going to have to take them out."

He nodded and shouldered the rocket launcher, the Marines sitting on either side of him moved out of the way. The men next to me likewise got clear as I shouldered my own launcher and waited. The Banshees soon came within firing range, and began firing at the Pelicans engines. I felt the craft shake as some of the shots connected. I quickly lined up my shot, and pressed the firing stud. The rocket shot out of the barrel with a loud whoosh and I felt a wash of heat from the exhaust. The rocket crossed the gap between the Pelican and the Banshees almost immediately. The missile hit my target dead center, punching through the front armor and exploding inside. The force of the explosion tore the ship in half, and the two pieces tumbled towards the ground. The other Banshee simply disintegrated when Williams shot detonated the fuel cells. Before we could celebrate however, the pilots voice came form the intercom.

"You might want to come up front and see this sir."
"On my way," I said into the speaker grid. I handed the Jackhammer to Jackson and went to the cockpit door. I opened it and stepped through, closing it behind me. I then climbed up the small ladder to the cockpit.

"What'd you want me to see?" The pilot merely pointed. I looked out the window where he indicated. What I saw filled me with apprehension. In the distance, smoke billowed up in great black clouds from the area of the command center.
"That's not good," I said.
"Yeah," said the pilot, "To make things worse, my radar has picked up a lot of Covenant activity about four klicks ahead of us. Whatever it is, it's between us and the command center."
"Give that area a wide berth, but continue to head towards the command center."
"But-"
"Just do as you're told."
"Yessir," he said reluctantly.

He swung the ship to the south, on a heading that would take us around the Covenant. Meanwhile I just stood there, thinking hard about the problems arising from this new turn of events. Without a central command to coordinate our movements, the various units harassing the Covenant would be much less effective. Our chances of surviving had just dropped to almost zero. As I stood there, gazing out at the black smoke rising into the air, I though to myself that things couldn't get any worse.
I was dead wrong...

A Pilot's Life:Chapter 7-The Resistance
Date: 13 November 2003, 5:53 AM

The Marines, strategically positioned to have overlapping fields of fire, opened up on the aliens crowded together in the entryway. Caught massed together in the lethal crossfire, they never stood a chance. Two Elites died instantly as plasma bolts burned away their heads. The Grunts tried to scatter and were cut down quickly. One of the Elites managed to get off a handful of shots, one of which hit Jones in the shoulder. We responded with a barrage that tore the Elite apart. As his companion was cut down, the last Elite opted to charge the barricade. I rose and fired my shotgun point blank at his face. His head blew apart like an overripe melon, spraying brains and gore everywhere. His headless body collapsed atop the barrier. I turned to Jones and examined his wound. It wasn't deep, and I bound it easily with a strip of cloth from my jumpsuit sleeve.

Just in time, as two more drop ships arrived and deposited more Covenant, including two Hunters. They charged forward, and we scrambled away from their guns. One of the hunters charged me, swinging his shield towards me. I rolled sideways, trying to dodge the blow. I partially succeeded, but the glancing blow still knocked me into the wall. Stars exploded in front of me as I hit the wall and slid down. The Hunter roared with glee and charged forward, bringing his shield down to crush me. Acting fast I kicked off the wall and slid on my back between his legs. I fired two shots into his back before he could recover. Florescent orange blood sprayed everywhere as he fell to the ground with an anguished roar. I scrambled to my feet as a Elite charged towards me. The shot collapsed his shields. I stepped forward and kicked him in the gut. As he staggered backward from the blow, I brought the butt of the shotgun down on his head. He dropped to the ground, his skull shattered. I dove behind the barrier as a stream of plasma bolts tracked towards me. I stuck three more shells in the chamber, just as an Elite came charging around the barrier. I fired two shots which caught him in the chest and hurled him backwards to the ground. I rose tossed a frag grenade at a cluster of Grunts. The explosion scattered them and I charged forward through the gap as bullets and plasma filled the air. A Jackal stepped forward, bringing his pistol up, and his head evaporated under a hail of bullets from one of the Marines to my right. I rolled sideways, dodging some needler rounds that had been tracking me. Regaining my feet, I turned and snapped off two shots at an Elite standing to my left. His head evaporated in a bloody mist and he slumped to the ground. The weapons fire died away as the last of the attackers was killed. I returned to the barricade, reloaded my shotgun, and prepared to fight some more.

Again more enemy troops were dropped off, and they stormed in, guns blazing. We fell back under the onslaught, regrouping in the computer chamber. Upon seeing us flee they charged forward, shouting with glee. The six Elites quickly outpaced the sixteen Grunts accompanying them. Overly confident, they were caught completely off guard when we spun about and opened fire, cutting all six of them down at close range. The Grunts tried to run, but they were unable to escape the trap. We cut them down as they ran. Then more Elites charged in. One of them had a plasma sword. He stormed forward and swung his blade at Jones. The blade cut the Marine in two. The Elite turned towards me and charged. I pulled the trigger, but the gun just clicked. The gun was out of ammo, and the Elite was moving too fast for me to reload in time. He stepped forward, bringing his sword around to decapitate me. I put up my hands and shut my eyes, bracing myself for nothingness. A shot rang out and I heard a bellow. I opened my eyes just a crack. The Elite was dead, one of the Marines had shot it in the back. The plasma sword was embedded in the wall, only two inches away from the side of my head. I almost fainted.

The handful of Grunts and Jackals that remained fled outside in terror. It wasn't long however, before we heard the sound of more drop ships approaching.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"That's the last of them," said Johnson as he shot the last Grunt through the head. After being reinforced, we had repelled six more waves of Covenant. Between the third and the fourth, we received an unexpected surprise, when six Marines stumbled across is. They decided to stick with us, and with their help we had easily repelled the next two attacks. Then the sixth attack came, led by eight Special Forces Elites. This final attack almost succeeded, we lost three men, including Lathier, and had been forced to retreat back to the computer chamber. From there we had made a last stand, defeating the attack and retaking the entrance. However, by this time we were getting dangerously low on supplies and needed relief. I sincerely doubted that we could withstand another attack.

As if summoned by my words, the whine of approaching drop ships filled the air. As they touched down outside and unloaded their troops, I resigned myself to one last fight. The enemy charged forward, roaring as they came. I rose and opened fire into the massed ranks. Three Elites and seven Grunts fell under the barrage, but the rest continued forward, firing as they came. One of the Marines fell screaming with a smoking hole in his shoulder. I hurled my last grenade at the approaching horde, and ran in a crouch to the fallen Marine. The explosion slowed the attack, and I used the extra time to drag the wounded soldier behind a barricade. Again I rose and fired, taking down two more Elites and a Jackal. Three more Elites fell under the accurate fire of the Marines, and I began to think that we might actually survive. My hopes were dashed as four Hunters stalked forward and began firing their fuel rod cannons indiscriminately upon us. As two more Marines fell, I abandoned all hope of surviving. With nothing left to lose, I rose and prepared to charge forward. Before I could take a step though, one of the Hunters suddenly exploded!! The ripping sound of a heavy machine gun erupted from outside, and two more Hunters fell dead, blood pouring from their wounds. The attack faltered as the attackers slowed, unsure of how to react to this new threat. Another burst of machine gun fire rang out, and the last hunter fell to the ground, his armor riddled with holes. There were shouts from outside, and suddenly Marines came charging in, firing upon the bewildered Covenant. The befuddled aliens were quickly cut down as accurate fire laced into their ranks. They never stood a chance.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Wow, we must have struck a nerve with someone! Look at all the firepower!" I said to Johnson as we stood outside the structure ten minutes later. I could hardly believe my eyes. Sitting before the entrance was an impressive force of four Scorpions and eight Warthogs. We watched as more Marines were deposited at the entrance by Pelicans. As we stood in the snow watching the proceedings, three men approached us. As they drew closer I noticed that they all wore the rank of Captain. Johnson and I snapped to attention as they stopped in front of us. They returned the salute, then one of them spoke.
"Are you Lieutenant Graves?" He said to me.
"Yes sir, that's me!"
"Would you be so kind as to take us on a tour of this facility?"

"If you'll step right this way sirs," I said walking into the structure. I led them through the foyer and into the computer chamber, which was bustling with Marines. "This is the computer chamber. The door on the left leads to a supply chamber, and the door on the right leads to an elevator."

"Where does the elevator lead?" asked one of the Captains.
"I am have no idea sir. I didn't want to investigate until I was able to contact someone in command and get reinforcements. Now that reinforcements have arrived, I'd be more than happy to lead a team down there to investigate, with your permission of course."
"That won't be necessary. We will send a team of specialists down there to investigate. In the meantime, you will be sent elsewhere. We are forming a resistance movement to harass the Covenant as much as possible. You are going to help us do that."
"Does this mean I will be flying drop ships?" I asked hopefully.
"I am sorry, but you won't be flying. We have more than enough pilots. Since you proved yourself to be an excellent leader, you will be in command of a squad of Marines."
"Oh," I said disappointedly, "When do I meet them?"
"Go back to the entrance and find Pelican Gamma-315. It will take you to the command shuttle. You'll be introduced to your men there. Now get moving Lieutenant!"
"Yes sir!" I said saluting. I turned and jogged back to the entrance. I asked a Marine where Pelican Gamma-315 was. He pointed to the farthest of the three ships. I jogged over and climbed in the back. Once I was aboard the big ship lumbered into the air and headed for the command shuttle.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *
"Right this way sir," said the Private. He had been waiting for me when we landed and now led me through the cave system that was now home to the command shuttle. We passed through a handful of checkpoints before arriving at our destination. The Private stopped and said, "Here we are sir."

I nodded my thanks and walked over to the small prefab barracks building at the end of the cavern. I opened the door and stepped inside. The room was small, with four double bunks lined up on the left wall. At the back of the room was a door that led to the bathroom. The room was empty, but the presence of stowed gear showed that that was only temporary. At the far end of the room, there was a single cot lying apart from the other beds. Lying atop the cot was a suit of neatly piled armor. On the ground next to the cot lay a folded blanket and a small black bag. I walked over to the bed, picking up the helmet that lay on the pile. The name "Patterson" was stenciled in white across the back. I put the helmet down and opened the bag. Inside were some spare clothes, a razor, shaving cream, toothpaste, a toothbrush, some soap, and some deodorant. I took the bag and walked into the small bathroom at the back of the shelter. I shaved, scrubbed myself clean, and put on some clean clothes. I walked back into the barracks and, after stowing the bag, put on my armor. I had just finished suiting up when the door opened and in walked the squad.

They were all young men, probably no older than twenty. They were all tall and physically healthy. Two of them were so similar in appearance that I guessed that they were brothers. They were all talking loudly and didn't notice me sitting at the end of the room. I sat there for a moment, but when they continued to ignore me I rose and bellowed, "Attention!"

They finally noticed me, and immediately snapped to attention. I stood and walked over to them. I then went to each man and asked for their name. When I had learned each mans name walked back to my cot and spoke. "My name is Lieutenant Patterson. I am your new CO. We have been given the task of harassing the Covenant wherever possible. We leave in one hour so get geared up and report to the main armory in fifteen minutes. Understood?"
"Yes sir!" They bellowed back.

"Good, then get to work." I said, turning and striding from the room.

A Pilot's Life: Chapter 9-Grave Battles (FINALE)
Date: 14 November 2003, 2:03 AM

***This is the final chapter of this series, which will be continued in a new series "Wings of the Dead." This chapter is short and I apologize for that, but I just couldn't write anymore. Hoped you enjoyed reading this series as much as I enjoyed writing it!!****





The Pelicans exhaust kicked up the snow as the drop ship touched down outside what had once been the command center. It was an awful sight. The sickly sweet odor of burnt flesh filled the air. Nearby smoke rose lazily from what had once been a tank, now lacking a turret. Bodies lay everywhere on the ground, the majority of them resembled the creature I killed earlier. Empty bullet shells lay all about, most of them piled next to the bodies of the dead Marines who had fired them. Though a few had died from gun wounds, most of the dead were missing body parts and had long deep furrows in their chests and backs. The snow was stained with blood and entrails. The entire place was the very embodiment of hell.

I jumped off the back of the Pelican, landing in a crouch with my shotgun up and ready. I moved forward cautiously, the rest of the squad close behind me. We reached the entry way, which was also clogged with bodies. The Computer chamber, by comparison, was almost empty of bodies. Finding the room empty, I went over to the body of a Marine that was slumped in front of an active computer terminal. The back of the Marine's head had been replaced by a charred crater, and blood was sprayed over the screen, making it difficult to read the words there. Apparently, someone had managed to translate the writing the computers used, because the words were in English. It was a short, direct message, a request for assistance from any human forces in the area. I reached forward and tapped the "send" icon on the screen. The screen changed immediately, displaying the words "Message Sent."

At that moment, Jackson came jogging up to me, his face pale. "Sir, you may want to come see this." I followed him to the back of the chamber into left-hand storage chamber. What I saw made me sick. The walls, ceiling, and floor were covered with blood. Bodies lay everywhere, most of them human. Many were missing body parts, and one had been torn in half, his entrails hanging out of his body. His mouth was open, his face contorted in a scream of agony. Another body had a gash across the belly, revealing the intestines of the dead man. One of his eyes dangled loosely from its socket, and his neck was bent at an odd angle. While the condition of the bodies was horrifying, it was nothing compared to the eyes of the dead men. Every single corpse had a look of pure terror in his eyes, the look of a man confronted by his worst nightmare. I couldn't take it anymore. I turned, and strode from the room, trying in vain to escape the ghostly images of their haunted eyes.

I don't know when I started to cry, but I suddenly found myself leaning heavily against the wall, my cheeks moist with tears. I struggled to regain my composure, and control of my sanity. My efforts were interrupted by a sound at the door opposite me, a sound I had heard only once before. Through the door came a number of strangled barks and growls, and a loud gurgling yell. I had my gun up and ready in an instant, pointed down the hall at the door. Keeping my gun pointed down the hall, I called back over my shoulder to the rest of the guys, "We're about to have some company!" No sooner had the words left my mouth when a heavy blow smote the door at the far end of the hall. Even as the rest of the squad came running through the door, another blow struck the door with a resounding boom.

"Get back to the computer chamber, we can't fight here. We'll be sitting ducks in this narrow space." We scrambled down the hall as another blow struck the door, this time the door gave slightly, screeching in protest. The rest of the men ran by and turned into the larger chamber, but I paused at the intersection. More blows sounded, and the doors buckled inward. I yanked a grenade from my belt and pulled the pin, being careful not to release the trigger. Another blow struck the door, and the door burst open, admitting a swarm of disfigured bodies through. I hurled the grenade and ran out of the hall. Behind me the corridor was rocked by an explosion, and body parts came flying out of the tunnel. I whirled and dropped to one knee behind a knocked over supply crate bringing my shotgun to my shoulder as one of the horrendous creatures leapt out of the tunnel. It died in midair as a hail of bullets caught it in a vicious crossfire, tearing it to pieces. More creatures were emerging, barking and gurgling as they charged en masse towards us. I half rose and opened fire into the press of bodies. Two of the creatures fell, and a few staggered and kept coming. I fired, again and again as the horde of creatures swept towards me. I fired my last shell, then ducked behind the barrier to reload. I had only loaded six shells, when one of the creatures landed right next to me in a crouch. I snapped my gun up and fired a shot that connected with its midsection. The force of the blast hurled it backwards into one of its comrades. I finished reloading and peeked out from behind the barrier. The vast number of creatures was slowly thinning, as they were picked apart by accurate fire from the other Marines. I began to think that we had a chance after all. Suddenly, a human scream erupted from my right. I spun to see Private Adams, the squads medic, struggling in vain to detach what appeared to be a small crustacean from his throat. In fact, the little creatures were everywhere, swarming towards us like a rising tide approaches a sandcastle. I fired into the carpet of enemies. The things popped when hit by the shots, and their neighbors also exploded in a little chain reaction. Using this fact to my advantage, I pulled out my pistol and fired it into the mass of creatures. A chain reaction of popping bodies started, and pretty soon there was nothing left of them. Our problems were far from over though. From the hall charged another swarm of corpse like figures. Some of them carried weapons, and fired wildly at us as they approached. I snapped of three shots, and six of the horrid creatures fell dead, but others soon took their place, there seemed to be no end to them.

Suddenly, one of the men on the right gave a cry of surprise as Adams's corpse suddenly rose and attacked him. The body swung its whip-like arm, cutting the surprised man in half. The other man next to him turned and fired point blank into the reanimated body, and it toppled backwards with a massive hole in its chest. The Marine was turning to fire at the advancing foes, when a bullet struck him in the head just below his helmets rim. The helmet popped into the air in a spray of blood as his body crumpled to the floor.

* * * * * * * * * * * * *

"Fall back to the foyer!" I shouted during a temporary lull in the battle. The surviving members of the squad complied, scrambling out of the room away from the advancing horde of creatures. I tossed another grenade and ran from the room. The explosion sprayed blood and body parts everywhere, as the shrapnel cut down over a dozen attackers. I dove behind a barrier that lay across the entryway as bullets cracked around me. I rose up and fired of a pair of shots that dropped three more of the creatures, but more kept coming. I started to reload when I felt a hammer blow to my chest. I was knocked sprawling by the force of the blow. I looked down at my stomach. There was a hole torn in the fabric just below my chest plate, and the cloth was stained with blood. The pain was overwhelming, and my vision began to swim. As my mind started to fade, I looked around. Jackson and Williams stood side by side, firing desperately at the mass of attackers. The other Marine, Anderson, lay dead in a pool of his own blood. Suddenly, shots erupted from outside and laced into the ranks of the creatures, felling many. Surprised, I turn my head to look outside. As my vision fades, the last thing I see is a massive number of Marines charging forward, led by a tall man clad in green armor. Then darkness claims me...

THE END

Epilogue: Williams, Jackson and I were saved from the Flood by the Master Chief and the crew of the Thunderchild, who were responding to the distress call that I had sent. After passing out, I was taken aboard the ship and remained in a coma for a month. During that time, I was taken to the Halo colony. I was there when the other Halos were activated, when they destroyed all life in the galaxy. Now, as I sit looking out at the stars, I wonder if it is a good thing that I survived after all.

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