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Dreams to Nightmares.
Posted By: Seth Elkins<Xboxboy13@cfl.rr.com>
Date: 13 April 2007, 2:46 am
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Carson grabbed his MA5B assault rifle, took the magazine out, checked his ammunition, and slammed it back into his weapon. He was stationed on the destroyer In Amber Clad as just one of the marines who was asked to guard useless things, mop floors, and wait for the ship to be boarded. Until Earth was attacked, then in an attempt to follow the massive Covenant carrier that docked in New Mombasa. In Amber Clad jumped into its slip space stream, and followed them to installation 05. So now Corporal Carson Thompson was on the second ring world, preparing to retrieve what Sergeant Johnson called the Index.
The Pelican dropship that was carrying the 12 soldiers in first squad touched down in between a canyon, on the left cliff, there were 4 platforms leading inside a structure that, as recon said, had the Index. "Go go go!" Sergeant Johnson shouted as the first of the two dropships touched down on the first platform, the 11 marines and Captain Miranda Keys piled out and into a room with odd structures most of the soldiers had never seen before. Gliphs and pictures filled the walls; there was a platform that lead up to a large square stone. Sergeant Johnson found a holo panel on the stone, taped it, and steam released from the stone as it rose into the ceiling, leaving a hole going deeper into the structure.
"Thompson! Get me a hook line going down this hole, on the double marine!" Sergeant Johnson shouted, Carson took a wire wrapped around a small pole with a hook and a glow stick on the end, and threw it down the hole. It fell 10 meters, hit a slope, and slid down until it fell down another hole. "long way down Sarge" one of the marines from second squad said. "Alright Fernier, your up first, everyone else, follow him." Johnson said firmly.
After working there way through corridors, halls, and what seemed like a maze of rooms, they ended up in a room with small robots, hovering robots, fast little buggers, but didn't seem harmful. The two squads continued through the installation until they came upon a room with bright white holes in the walls, some with blue lights marking them, and others with red. Before the sergeant knew it the bright holes were spiting out the same robots he had seen on the first halo construct, flying machines with three booms and a central eye. "Contact! Johnson shouted, he remembered when these things turned on him after the chief found the index on the first halo, and how hard they were to "kill" so to speak.
The first squad took up firing positions, second squad attempted to destroy the white holes the machines were coming from. A hose of bullet fire washed over the first wave of machines, they had no shielding thankfully, but were still a threat. Carson leveled his assault rifle and opened fire, he hit his first target along with two other marines, and with there combined fire destroyed one of the machines. Under combined fire the machines began to come down, constant yellow laser beams struck the cover the marines were hiding behind, a soldier screamed in agony as her left arm was melted from her elbow down.
After four minutes of fighting, which seemed like hours in combat, the room was clear. Two wounded soldiers, none dead, the system they developed of taking out the machines was quite effective. As each machine came out first squad would direct there fire on it in teams of three, while second squad destroyed the bright holes they were coming from. A tactic that would help them in the rooms ahead.
They found another stone with a holo panel on it, Sarge taped the panel, steam rose, and the stone lifted once again. They went deeper into the structure, and as the got further, the smell began to get worse, and the air turned a foul gassy green. The soldiers landed on the lower level expecting to find more machines, but what they found was a larger room, with the machines, oh yes, the machines were there alright, fighting a group of mutated, grotesque monstrosities. The Sergeant was half tempted to order a retreat, after his near nightmare with the creatures in the crypts of the swampland on 04. Where his entire squad was taken by these…monsters, and he was forced to fight his own way out.
Before the Sergeant could muster an order one of his soldiers cried out "Ahg, get it off me!" another proclaimed "What the hell are those things!" as another said "There everywhere! On the walls, past the left hallway! We have to fall back!" Johnson barley had time to think, he saw a short hallway, with a narrow entrance but large interior. "Everyone into the hallway, follow me!" He ordered.
They entered the hallway, which after they entered was a room, still with a narrow entrance, which would prove of strategic importance. The small bulb shaped creatures entered first, but were quickly destroyed by fast controlled bursts from assault weapons fire. But the group of forty that just entered doubled as the next group came through the room, but they too were destroyed.
The barrage continued for what seemed to Sergeant Johnson as days, but was only thirty minutes after he checked his combat watch. They had to keep moving, retrieve the Index, and make it back to In Amber Clad ASAP. When it seemed all clear he gave the order, and the twenty four marines moved out of the hallway and into the larger room they had previously occupied. The marines thought it was all clear, when a flood combat form leaped from a ledge above and landed on a marine's back, bit into him, and cut into his back with his long tentacles, the soldier screamed in pain and fell to the ground.
Two other soldiers turned and fired at the monster, and it went down without question. The one marine stood back up, his arm was lying on the floor before him, he was in shock but didn't make any noise but the words "mmuh, mmuh." Before he had the opportunity to say anything more, an infection form leaped onto his arm and rammed its knife like tentacle up the marines cut off limb, and into his spine. The marine roared again and fell to the ground unconscious. The others shot the infection form but the damage was done to the young soldier, a death only worthy for a criminal, and a hero had received it.
The other twenty three marines continued deeper into the installation, encountering flood, and loosing men everywhere they went. On occasion they would run into a group of the machines that would fight the monsters for them, but there was always a winner, and thus would always be something to fight afterward. They entered a dark room, that was more grimy than all the others, the green gas filled the air thicker than the others, there were fleshy piles of bodies lying on the floor and on the walls. But there were no hostile flood in sight, the eighteen marines moved further into what looked like the flood stronghold. The moved deeper into the dark room, "Just two clicks ahead on the same level Sarge." Said the tech that was with the group.
Then, before the Sergeant could get out an order, flood began to rain from the roof above. He tried to raise is MA5B to his shoulder to shoot a combat form off one of his marines but didn't have the chance as one of the monsters landed and whipped the rifle from his hands, the sergeant gripped his sidearm, raised it, and fired two shots into the beasts chest. The rounds nearly blew the flood on his feet, Sergeant Johnson pivoted to a fifty degree angle, and shot down another combat form charging at him. He turned to see the carnage that was taking place, marines fought in hand to hand combat against the creatures.
Johnson saw a marine get cut nearly in half by one of the muscular tentacles, another marine had an infection form ripping into his neck. Two soldiers stood back to back with twelve gauge shotguns blasting anything that came there way. The good Sergeant picked up his assault rifle, and began shooting at whatever enemy he could make out in the massacre that was occurring.
Corporal Carson Thompson felt an infection form attach to his ankle, he felt a jerk of pain as its razor sharp tentacle pierced through his skin, travel up his leg, through his torso, and tap his spinal cord. He screamed in pain, and fell to the floor.
Sergeant Johnson bent over and vomited, he had never been through such intense combat. His muscles ached, his bones felt like they were going to snap, and mentally, well, mentally he was ok. Only four soldiers remained, Mackenzie, Perez, Sergeant Johnson, and Miranda Keys remained from the two twelve man squads, bodies lay mangled and mutilated on the floor. The two marines worked around the room, collecting dog tags. "Listen up! We still have a job to do marines! Move it out, on the double!" Somehow Captain Miranda Keys was still living, none of the marines could believe that the navy officer was still alive, but the Sergeant thought she had to much of her father in her.
They continued on through the structure, encountering small groups of flood as they went, nothing to bad. Then finally, they made it to the Index. "Mackenzie, Perez! Guard the entrance." Johnson said. Captain Miranda Keys walked out into the room, saw the Index, but couldn't reach it. She spotted a fleshy large tentacle, grabbed onto it, and let herself down to grab the object. It rose from its casing, "Gotcha!" Miranda said as she swung at the T shaped item. The tentacle Miranda was holding slipped, and felt a sudden jerk as Sergeant Johnson caught the falling fleshy rope.
"You know, your father never asked me for help either." He said sounding out of breath as he tugged on the tentacle. "The index is secure." Miranda said. "Mackenzie, Perez, how's the exit? Yah here me marines!" Johnson looked at the Captain, "we got trouble" he stated as he leveled his rifle, Miranda raised two Sub machine guns. Sergeant Johnson looked around and began to move slowly around the room. "Damn!" he shouted as he spotted a cloaked Elite rush towards him. He fired two bursts from his weapon, the aliens shields flickered but stayed intact. The enemy soldier overpowered the Sergeant, and grabbed him by the shoulders. "How you doin." Sergeant Johnson said sarcastically as the split faced alien head butted him.
"Sergeant! Stay down!" Miranda shouted, and began firing her weapons at the Elite. His shields flared as he began to run for cover, the bullets followed him for 4 meters before he ducked behind a crate. "Johnson! You alright? Johnson!" The captain shouted, but got no reply. The beast jumped from above and landed, Keys tried to turn and fire, but the Elite knocked the weapons from her hands and was about to go in for his kill when she was shocked and sucked away from his reach.
"Excellent work arbiter, the Prophets will be pleased." Said a low, distinct voice. A tall, furry Brute walked out from the shadows. "The Icon is my responsibility!" said the Elite. "Was your responsibility! Now it is mine." Three Brutes approached the Elite. "A bloody fate awaits you and the rest of your incompetent race. And I, Tartarus, chieftain of the Brutes will lead the way to the great beyond." The Brute said bluntly. "When the prophets hear of this, they will take your head!" The Elite claimed. The Brute replied, "When they learn? Ha-ha, fool, they ordered me to do it." The warriors stared into one another's cold black eyes, the Elite was stunned, and a moment later literally as a ball of electricity zapped into the Arbiter, he was pushed back, and fell down into the dark abyss that lingered below the room.
Corporal Carson Thompson awoke, he felt a sickening hunger, for something, he didn't know what, but it made him want to gag. He tried to raise up, but was unable, he had no control over it. he was trapped in his own body. Then he felt it, another conscience lingering in his mind. Then he remembered thing from his past, they were the brightest, bluntest memories in his mind, then, they were gone, forever. He tried to scream, but nothing came out of his mouth, he was locked in a nightmare, and unable to wake up. Fighting to regain control but unable, tucking his memories deep in his head but felt them being sucked away from his mind, he was dead but alive. And as he thought about it, he would much rather be dead.
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