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Killer Instincts
Posted By: Commander Demitri Wolf<evo_343@hotmail.com>
Date: 13 August 2005, 4:56 am
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"It was disgusting," I had told Cookie, "The horrid Beast of a thing was inside my mind, I tell you, the most awful things I've ever endured."
The Pillar of Autumn, or the Geriatric as Lester called it, was the objective of the mission. They had been given orders from Silva to excavate anything of use; food, ammo, guns.
Cookie guided his bird, Pelican Echo 136, gracefully over the land and towards the downed ship, "My co-pilot died on the Autumn you know." He said suddenly.
Lester sensed that they, like he and his former co-pilot, were close, "I'm sorry to hear that, I hope I can be half as good as he was."
"She," Cookie replied, "my fiancée Sara. I'm sure you'll do an admirable job, Sir."
There was an awkward moment of silence that was quickly broken by Cookie, "There she is, the ole' relic, best be getting' down to 'er."
Twenty Minutes Later / On the plain surrounding the Pillar of Autumn
Lester gunned the Warthog and its engine roared in response, the vehicle was one of five that they were transporting at the current time. Accompanying the Warthog brigade slightly further back were three Scorpion MBT's.
Cookie was sitting in the back, the floor around him littered with magazines for weapons and the weapons themselves, either in crates or strewn about separately.
Another 'Hog sped past and Lester got a look at the driver, he knew him, it was Private Terry Hamilton, a Helljumper.
He turned to face them and grinned, plasma scarring had disfigured the right side of his face, "Tez! What happened buddy?" Lester yelled over the roar of the engines.
Hamilton said one word and gunned his 'Hog, "Ambush." Lester's hands tightened on the wheel. That was one word he knew only too well.
He plunged his foot down on the accelerator and honked the horn, "Come on Tez, don't let that stop ya, first one back to Alpha Base buys the other a bear when we get off this godforsaken ring and back to Earth!"
Terry honked his horn too and soon they were racing back to the base as soon as the 'Hogs would allow.
Cookie leaned over, "Sir, normally I wouldn't condone this activity, but right now, I'm just gonna say 'floor it'!"
Not long to wait, soon his defences will be down and his body will become mine.
Soon, soon it will all be over, for soon they shall all be gone.
"Is it true what they say, Jak?" the short Kig-yar hissed, "Has the vermin been freed?"
His taller companion's diminutive head twitched slightly, "Supreme Commander 'Fulsamee seems to think so, why else are we on full alert?"
There was a far off rumble and the creatures cocked their heads sideways to see where it had come from, "Humans!" Jak cried and flicked his arm, a glowing half-dome plasma shield spat out of a wrist mounted device.
He bounded down the hill with his companion at his heels, "Hurry Tek!" he saw a Black Ops Unggoy and called to him, "Must hurry, Humans!"
The aged Unggoy, rather than follow as others of his race would, waddled up the hill and drew a plasma pistol; Jak saw him but wasn't going to die saving a stupid old Unggoy.
The Humans gained ground in their vehicles quickly and the stout creature charged a burst, he waited until they were close enough and then he released it.
The shimmering green orb short through the air and crackled as it hit a driver in the chest, the human vehicle he was in rolled over and crashed, throwing the driver, he passenger and their cache of explosives free.
They hit the ground as one and the heavy vehicle came down on the C-4, a second later there was a flash of light and a tumultuous bang and shock wave, when the dust settled there would be only a giant crater.
"Ha!" cried the creature, moments before a Human in an adjacent vehicle raised a metal object and sent a volley of projectiles into his stomach.
The armour took the brunt of the attack but sent him rolling down the hill, it wasn't long however before the Human tidal wave was over him and the powerful wheels of a Warthog crushed his weak body and killed him.
"That's for Hamilton, you mangy alien bastard!" Lester yelled, another friend had been killed, and the Covenant were going to pay dearly this time.
He accelerated again and eyed the fleeing Jackals, he wanted their blood, he was going to make sure they didn't kill anymore of his fellow soldiers.
In his peripheral vision he saw Cookie, his face registered mixed shock and anger, he was a good friend of the Helljumper too, and was right behind Lester in getting revenge.
His defences are down, I strike now; another to our cause.
The colour drained out of Lester's face and was replaced by the bloodshot colour he had shown a few hours earlier.
He looked at Cookie and snarled at him, the pilot recoiled suddenly and fell into the back, his hand subtly slipped over a loose M6C pistol.
Lester turned back around and faced the Jackals; Cookie whipped around and placed the barrel of the gun on the driver's head, "Pull over Lester!"
He snarled again and with lightning speed grabbed Cookie's arm and ripped the pistol from it, he yelped in pain as his wrist dislocated and Lester pointed the gun over his shoulder and fired twice.
Cookie was hit in the chest, he fell and laid still. Gasping for breath he patted his stomach; the bullets had lodged in this breastplate and knocked the wind from him, but he was still alive.
Lester grinned and urged the Warthog faster as he closed in on the two Jackals.
Tek was sucked under the wheels first, the 'Hog hit his body and bounced over it like a speed bump, Jak was next, his spine snapped as Lester hit him head on.
The infection was jubilant and Lester's face conveyed his controller's feelings with a deadly smirk.
But deep in his sub-conscious mind the real Lester was fighting back. It was something in there, his will power and sheer determination to regain control or his rock solid sense of loyalty and duty to the Corps perhaps, but whatever it was it had put him back in control. For the moment.
He looked over his shoulder and saw Cookie on the ground wheezing, "Are you ok?"
Cookie's eyes filled with fear, "Stay away from me you, you monster." He stuttered
Lester was expecting this, "That was the Flood, it's in my body, in my mind, I have control now, but I'm not sure how long that will last."
He held out a hand and Cookie took it, albeit reluctantly, and Lester pulled him up into the front and handed him the pistol, "I can't control it, god knows what I could do if it takes over again and I'm not stopped.
Cookie knew where he was going, "No, I won't do it, we'll get you back to base and the medics will fix you up."
"There's no time, I can feel it, and it's getting stronger again. I'm trying to stay in control but it's winning, I don't know how long I can last, just do it; shoot me."
Lester kept driving steadily, "I'll pull over and you can do it, it'll be ok, just pull the trigger."
There was silence for a moment and Cookie nodded, understanding, "Ok. If it's what you want, I'm sorry John."
The Commander slowly applied pressure to the brake, but then the Flood consciousness poured back into his mind.
He spun the wheel sharply and the 'Hog went out of control, the M6C clattered to the ground as other's shot past, horns blaring and mouth's cursing.
Cookie realised what had happened and tried to see through the cloud of sand that the tires were spitting up. He saw Lester and punched him in the face, hard, for his own good.
It was terrible and heinous to beat an innocent soldier, let alone a superior officer, but he knew if Lester was in his shoes he would have realised where his duty lay, he raised his arm and swung again.
Jonathan Lester felt the repeated blows to the face and wreathed in agony, but the creature shared his pain, if it was destroyed he had a chance of survival. He felt the presence in his mind weakening but then it surged stronger, its varying strength exhausted Lester.
He found it odd that others infected by the Flood became walking dead, quite literally, while he remained at least partially in control and his body wasn't as badly mutilated.
Another blow to the face brought him back to reality and he felt the Flood slip back into the deep recesses of his mind as it recovered from the vicious attack.
Cookie raised his arm again, "No, it's…Cookie, it's me." Lester croaked and the man lowered his fist.
Lester pounded down on the brake and the Warthog swerved and came to a stop, "Next time," he panted, "next time it takes over, don't hold back, I think if it's in control and you keep beating me while I allow it to take over, we can destroy it."
He bled from his wounds and coughed up blood, his nose was broken in two places and his face was a shade of bruised green, "Next time though," he joked, smiling weakly, "lay off the face a bit."
Cookie smiled and took a deep breath of air, he tried to explain but Lester cut in, "Don't worry about it; I would have done the same thing in your position, thank you."
"Your more than welcome, Sir."
The pain, it is like nothing we have felt before, it hurts me to my core, to our core.
My brethren, the Flood, be swift in your eradication of the Humans and the Covenant, we will live and rule the Universe, and we will defy all those who oppose us.
The Forerunner had a place for us in their great plan, though we were, in their eyes a monstrosity, we will rise and be born again!
Their dead will provide able hosts for you, and soon, soon we shall conquer them all; soon we shall reign supreme and unopposed.
I have given you live, I, Gravemind, and you shall give live to more, we will crush the naïve and kill the innocent, and claim for ourselves the greatest prize; Earth.
Lester felt the Flood growing stronger again, ready to resurface and take control of his body, "Cookie, it's back," he told his companion who was sipping from a canteen; he wiped the water from his mouth and clenched his fists.
"Be ready for this, brace yourself Cookie."
I am ready sir, ready to destroy this parasitic bastard, sorry if it hurts." Lester smiled and then roared again as the Flood took over him.
Cookie swung and hit it in the stomach; he kept up he flurry of punches and beat the man before him in a bizarre attempt to save his life.
Lester was floating; he didn't know where he was, he felt detached from his body somehow.
A blinding light shone from nowhere and he was running down a familiar path, over a bridge that crossed a lake and through a forest of trees; he was back on Reach.
He saw faces he had forgotten over the years, his family and old friends, members of his first unit.
Another flash of light and he was lying on his back in a paddock, he was fifteen again, spending time with his friends on Eridanus II. He was with people he could hardly remember, suddenly he felt lonely. These people he had known forever and shared so much time with were no longer a part of his life
But the feeling subsided and he was twenty-six, his friends were around him again, they were still on Eridanus, his farewell party; he was joining the Navy.
His friends were married; they all had families and children, except for him.
A final flash, he was in the sky, soaring above the clouds of Reach in a SkyHawk, the radio buzzed, that bastard Ackerson. He executed swift and precise movements and closed in on the testing ground, he did a flyby and then dropped the bomb; it missed, the target kept running.
The Hawk shot through a cloud and he was on Earth, in his favourite country; Australia. He sat on the beach with his new wife and their little girl, looking out to sea.
That was when he told her he was to be leaving the beautiful city and posted on the Pillar of Autumn. His wife's face disappeared and was replaced by a shadowy figure.
He moved forwards but the figure sank further into the darkness, he ran but it sped up, finally he reached it and tried to scream but the sound wouldn't escape his lips.
The human combat form loomed ahead and lunged at him, he sidestepped and grabbed at the creature as it went past and ripped a patch off its uniform.
He gazed down at it and dropped it in shock when he read the name:
Lester, J.
He felt a sharp pain in his side, his name vanished from the patch and the combat form disappeared, he now saw the real world through blurred eyes.
The presence in his mind had evaporated; he was free. He tried to stand but couldn't, he didn't notice the bullet wound in his chest.
He saw Cookie's body at his feet; he was still, blood oozed from a wound in his shoulder.
A familiar face was in front of him, he held a MA5B assault rifle in his hands and the end was smoking slightly.
Frye bent down and looked in his eyes as the colour slowly drained out, "You're ok Lester, just lay still." The words came out distorted, as though being played through an old gramophone.
"I need a medic!" his voice droned in Lester's ears. Reaching down Lester felt something warm on his fingers, he raised his arm and saw blood; his blood.
As his vision became black and white he heard Frye ask him a question, "What was he doing to you?"
Lester looked up slowly and coughed up some blood, "Saving my life." The words came as a whisper from Lester but they hit Frye like a bullet.
"Oh Jesus," he turned to Cookie and checked his pulse, "Quickly! Bio-foam and bandages, hurry the hell up!"
Then it all went black.
Twenty-Nine Hours Later / Truth and Reconciliation / Artefact 'Halo'
Lester opened his eyes and looked around the room; it was empty apart from one bed next to him.
"Rough night?" Cookie joked and coughed; he was attached to a drip but aside from that looked fine.
Lester laughed but it hurt his ribs, "You could say that."
The two men lay in silence for a few minutes, each were thinking of Earth, "So what did it feel like?"
Lester's brow furrowed, "What did what feel like?"
His friend smiled and replied, "Being another of the Flood's unsuspecting victims."
There was an explosion and then a muffled thump, someone yelled that they'd lost the controls and then the ship did a nose-over.
The bow struck, a series of explosions rippled the length of the hull, and the ship, as well as all of those aboard her, ceased to exist.
The SkyHawk soared across the sky and burst through a pure white cloud, Lester sat at the helm and hummed softly to himself, he was finally at peace.
-CDW
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