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An Unggoy Life: Chapter 27: 3rd Ring of Power
Posted By: CrazyGrunt<thomas-hoskins@comast.net>
Date: 29 September 2005, 11:49 pm
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Halo 001, aboard Ark
When Nugga woke up, he was lying on his side against a console aboard the Ark's bridge. He looked around, and saw that the Covenant soldiers gone, and that the UWSC troops were just regaining consciousness.
The Master Chief was standing guard at one of the entrances to the bridge. Three ODSTs had the second entrance covered. Nugga noticed that one of the ODSTs had burn marks on the chest armor. Nugga figured it must be the squad commander who got hit by the plasma bolt.
Nugga got to his feet and saw that Lovu was alright, as was the rest of his team. The Spec ops Forces had sustained two Unggoy casualties, and the ODSts had lost one soldier.
"Everybody move out!" Sergeant Johnson shouted, " We have to get the Index before anyone else does!"
Ghazghkull stood at the conn onboard the Gorka and Morka, watching the holovid of Halo 001. It was a perfect circle, except for the huge bulge that was High Charity, which was about a seventh of the ring's diameter.
"Grand Overlord Ghazghkull," called Warlord Morfang over the ship's Comm, "The hordes are ready to begin teleportin' down to the surface of the ring. You coming along, or should I lead them?"
"I will be leading this War horde," Ghazghkull answered, "And you will be leading the first strike. Are the Speed Freeks ready?"
"Ya," Morfang replied.
"Zagdakka, gather my bodyguard," Ghazghkull instructed the his fleet's Spaceboss, "There's gonna be blood tonight!"
Near the control room on Halo 001, there was a brilliant flash of light. The Flood horde standing guard were blinded for a few seconds, which was what brought their downfall.
As the light died down, the Flood saw a colossal Ork war horde, made of billions of Orks, standing in front of them. A battlecry rose from its ranks and the Orks began to run headlong in the Flood's direction. Tens of thousands of Shoota Boyz were in the lead, their weapons decimating the Flood horde, and the Stormboyz providing air support, while behind them the Slugga Boyz ran as fast as they could to get a bit of hand-to-hand combat. Within three minutes, the Flood guarding the control room were reduced to nothing but a memory.
The Orks began to set up a perimeter around the control room, the perimeter being made of old Forerunner canisters they had found.
At that point, Ghazghkull teleported down from the Gorka and Morka, and took a look around at the control room.
It had looked exactly as the control room on Halo 004 that Grievous had described to him before starting the operation of getting the Ark. He turned as Morfang came walking toward him.
Morfang was clad in the traditional Mega-Armour a Wralord usually wears, complete with a twin-linked rokkit launcha and pincer style power claw.
"The attack was a complete success," Morfang annouced, "We suffered no causalties whatsoever."
"Excellent," Ghazghkull said in a confident tone, "Has the Great Despot launched Varga's Drop legion yet?"
"Yep," Morfang replied, "Shall I have the Burning Death Speed Freeks begin elminating the Flood on this ring?"
"Go ahead," Ghazghkull absentmindedly replied.
Morfang turned around, and went to find Zagboss Skargrim Ruknar, the leader of the Burning Death Speed Freeks. Then he stopped, remembering that he didn't know where Skargrim was.
Ghazghkull heard him stop and guessed what he was thinking, so he suggested, "He's probably modifying his Warbike with Orkimedes again int the front hall."
"Thanks," Morfang said, and headed for the front hall.
Miranda Keyes paced the floor of the bridge, wondering what to do. The ships at her command were outgunned and outnumbered by the Ork fleets, and if she had the fleet attacked the Covenant, it would definitely get the attention of the Droid Army fleet. the best she could do for the troops that were stranded on the newly discovered Halo was send reinforcements by dropship.
Lovu scanned the mountainside below her position for any enemy activity with her Particle Beam Rifle. It had been three hours since the remaining soldiers who had been sent to eliminate Truth had left the Ark's crash site. The Flood knew that they were on Halo, and had been methodically searching for them.
They had decided to hide in a fissure on a mountain that had been covered with snow for billions of years, and the Gravemind had an extensive knowledge of Unggoy, Human, and Sangheili biology. He knew they must be insane to hide there.
The remaining troops were huddled inside the fissure, keeping warm with the few glow rods that an ODST had brought. She was a hundred yards away from them now, so if the parasite got her, she would give the others time to escape.
For a split second, Lovu thought she saw the snow under her scope move. She maximized the enhancer, but saw nothing.
"I must be seeing things," she told herself.
Fifty yards away from Lovu's position, a Flood-infected Unggoy, the former Jambo resistance commander, Yappa, was running toward her. During the two years on High Charity, Yappa's mind had degraded into brain fluid. His body was now fifteen feet high and nine feet wide. The Infection Form controlling him had reproduced, and now twenty-one sensory appendages were sticking out of his chest. Globular incubation sacs five feet in diameter covered his back, each containing three Infection Forms. The arms were the most interesting mutation, because Yappa's left arm was now covered with whiplike fingers, whereas the right arm had somehow fused with the gun arm of a Lekgolo in Gravemind's primordial ooze. Yappa's body was now a Juggernaut.
Lovu stood up and headed for the fissure, then heard an odd crunching sound. She knew it wasn't her feet walking in the snow, because Unggoy feet didn't make noise when walking through snow. She turned and saw a small pile of snow hanging fifteen feet in midair.
"BIG PARASI-AGH!" Lovu didn't finish the warning because the Juggernaut whacked her off the ledge, and down the mountainside. One of the incubation sacs on the Juggernaut's back popped, and three Infection Forms went after Lovu. Her yell was was not in vain, and everyone hiding in the fissure had their weapons ready when the Juggernaut looked in.
"Merry Christmas!" Thomas yelled, and 5th Platoon opened fire with the rocket lauchers. Twenty-three rockets zoomed toward the massive Juggernaut.
Time seemed to slow, and the Juggernaut dodged twenty-two of the rockets. The twenty-third rocket hit it squarely in the chest, and sent it flying out of the fissure and down the mountainside.
The Juggernaut rose from the snow and began to turn toward them again, then stopped. It turned away from them and headed for High Charity.
Another blast from one of the Energy projectors on High Charity lanced out and struck the Armageddon Flame in the engines. The ship began to careen toward High Charity, unable to stop. Multiple Energy blasts lanced out at the ship in vain as it skewered High Charity.
Grievous walked through the entrance of wall around the Library. A squad of Sentinels flew in his direction, accompanied by the ring's Monitor.
"Greetings," The Monitor said, "I am 001 Ignorant Light. You, sir, cannot be allowed to enter this facility."
"Am I Lord Grievous," Grievous said drawing himself to his full height, "ID code: 'Evil conquers all.' Now take me to the Index."
"Of course Reclaimer," Ignorant Light said, and the pair of them teleported into the Library. Three seconds later, they appeared in the Index chamber, and Grievous retrieved the Index. Then he turned and exited the room, with Ignorant Light close behind.
Holi was walking out in the open on the streets of High Charity in a Flood-like gait. Since her body was mostly Flood now, except for her internal organs, which the parasite hadn't used for incubators. She did, how ever, notice that her abdomen and breasts were getting increasingly large and becoming harder to carry the weight from them.
The Flood weren't going to bother her anyway, since High Charity had been under attack from Orks before the Armageddon Flame had crashed into it. Now scattered Ork troops were scouring the districts, destroying anything that got in their way, while there were at least three platoons of Battle Droids, a company of Droidekas, and three battalions of Super Battle Droids, all being led by Durge.
Holi turned at the sound of footsteps and saw an entire mob of Orks standing behind her. She didn't give them time to begin charging her, because she ran headlong into them, thrashing about, killing as many Orks as she could. A screech came from above the fight, and thirty Combat Forms jumped into the fray.
Ten minutes later, the Ork mob was destroyed, and there was only three Combat Forms left. Holi lay on the ground, playing dead. One of the Combat Forms picked up a Slugga, while the other two picked up Shootas. Then they left.
As Holi got up, she noticed that she was heavier than before. She crouched down on all fours and began walking away from the battlefield.
Then she heard, "All Flood to my lair immediately. It is time for High Charity to depart."
She scrambled toward what she thought was the exit. She had to get off High Charity before it got off of Halo. Unfortunately, she was running toward Gravemind's lair.
On the far side of the city, Ork ships that were refered to as 'Brute Ram Ships' because of their reinforced nose, had finished carving a way out for the Armageddon Flame. The ship began to fire it's reverse thrusters. To Gravemind's surprise, the ship came out with ease, dragging High Charity's propulsion drive with it. Now the Flood was trapped on Halo again.
Nugga walked out of the fissure, and saw three Pelicans heading towards their location. One of the Pelicans landed in front of him, and he saw a Sangheili motion for them to get aboard.
The group divided into it's orginal groups and boarded the Pelicans, and they headed for the Pillar of Autumn II.
Grievous walked into the control room, Index in his hand. He walked up to the controls for the ring, and entered the key code. All of this was done in plain sight of the Ghazghkull, Urgok, and the Great Despot. He turned the Index, and Halo activated.
In a blinding flash, Halo 001, the Droid Army Fleet, and the Ork fleets vanished.
After seeing what had happened to the ring, the Pillar of Autumn II and her task force made a slipspace jump back to Earth.
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