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Out of the Frying Pan... chapter I
Posted By: ONI_operative_343<zattack89@aol.com>
Date: 24 August 2004, 10:22 PM
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1600 Hours, August 17, 2541 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Eridani System, Goombatu Swamps,
planet White
Corporal Byrne wasn't a neurosurgeon. But as the 14.5x 114mm APFSDS slammed into the Jackal's bony head, he couldn't help but be proud. He nudged his spotter.
"And my mom thought I was gonna be a doctor! Ha!" He announced in a hushed tone.
Private Parsons arched an eyebrow.
"Ya still got three more down there. One more of your late friend there, and two of the little guys."
"I see 'em."
In a matter of seconds Byrne whittled that number to one remaining Grunt. The clumsy little alien was now running about the clearing, shouting incoherently and flailing its arms about. Bugger aint even smart enough to take cover thought Byrne. He kinda deserves this. The Grunt paused for a split second to sniff the air, which was when the Corporal gave the S2 AM's trigger a slight squeeze. The ground behind the Grunt became splattered with a light blue colored blood and the alien toppled to the ground, lifeless.
"Good thing we got the sensors set up before they arrived. Anything else movin down there, Private?"
Parsons shook his head. "Negative sir, area clear."
A nod from Byrne. "Both sensors operational?"
"Yes sir."
"Right. Let's get back to the hog."
Both Marines stood up and tried to wipe the mud off their armor and gear. They had been lying in the mud for what had seemed like ages, when in reality it was a little less then an hour. Byrne had to patiently cover Parson's back as he set the equipment up, and a technical problem with sensor number two had almost blown the entire operation. If Parsons had been occupied with it for another few minutes, the Covenant patrol they had just eliminated would have emerged from the forest right on top of him.
Cautiously they made their way through the jungle, without further enemy contact. Soon they had found the Warthog, right where they had left it, hidden by large fern fronds. Parsons move the shrubbery aside and grabbed hold of the LAAG turret's handles.
He swung himself up, shouting, "Ready to roll!"
Byrne took hold of the wheel and started the machine up. Before going he accessed the Hog's small computer mounted on the center console and linked the sensors they had just installed into the motion tracker unit. He then forwarded the information back to HQ. The rear tires splattered mud out the back end as Byrne gave the Hog gas, and soon they were rolling at a fast pace along the trail. Suddenly, the computer started to beep. Byrne stole a glance at the screen and managed to read the error message that was flashing in red and white.
"Shit," he muttered, but kept driving. Maybe the jungle is too dense and the info wasn't received by HQ... Or, is this damn thing having problems? A million different scenarios ran through the Corporal's head. ... Or maybe... Covenant? Destroyed the HQ? He almost laughed at that one. But now that it had crossed his mind, it wouldn't go away. He slowed to a stop, and tried transmitting the data once more. He sent it, then a minute later the same screen and beeping returned. Another error. HQ wasn't receiving the data.
"Sir! What the hell is that?"
Byrne snapped back into reality. "Damn computer isn't working or something..." But he trailed off when he realized what Parsons was talking about. Up ahead a large, a massive blurred figure was shrouded in the mist... and what look like two green eyes were getting intensely brighter. For a second Byrne thought it was one of the legendary giant crocodiles that were said to inhabit the planet, but then he realized the truth. It was some sort of Covenant... he could focused his eyes more and saw two different masses, and two plasma weapons charging. Byrne swung the wheel to the right, slamming the accelerator to the ground. Parsons opened fire with the chain gun.
Bullets pinged off the shielding of the massive aliens. The one on the right, furthest from the hog, launched its plasma bomb. Parsons could feel and hear the air crackle as it raced past him. The shot had been slow and was a spilt second behind the hog... but the sheer heat had burned Parsons. He cried out in pain and Byrne swore intensely. The second alien had a much cleaner shot. Although it missed the Warthog, it had impacted on the tree the hog was now roaring past. The blast was unavoidable; it melted the tires on the right side and sent the hog barrel-rolling to the left.
Parsons was in too much pain to hold on, and screamed for the last time. Like a rag doll he flew a few feet through the forest, until his body made contact with a tree. There was a sickening crunch as he literally wrapped around it, crushing almost every bone possible. He hung there for a second then slipped to the ground, pulverized.
Byrne was thrown directly to the ground. He rolled once and landed on his back just in time to see the hog flying over him, on its side. It mowed down a few smaller trees and tore a cut through the jungle's undergrowth as it landed upside down and slid. It came to a rest up against a large boulder. The tires on the right side were dripping melted rubber, pieces of the window shield littered the area, and the smashed LAAG gun lay a few feet from Byrne, the barrel bent and snapped at the end.
He propped himself up on his elbows, then stood. Nothing broken, thank God he thought. Just then he heard the clanking of armor from the direction where he had swerved off the path to avoid the Hunters. They were coming after him, and quickly too. There was no time to search the area for Parson's MA5B or his own S2 AM. He checked to make sure his M6D pistol was in his sidearm holster and found not only that but one frag grenade still clipped onto his belt. He turned away from the direction the aliens were approaching from and broke into a run, thrashing blindly through the forest.
1423 Hours, August 18, 2541 (Military Calendar)/
Epsilon Eridani System, Goombatu Swamps, outside Mute Tunnels,
planet White
Byrne was almost back at HQ. He had slept for a few hours during the night in the safety of one of the swamp's massive trees and had been on the move since 0706 hours. The Corporal had managed to outrun the massive aliens that destroyed the Warthog and killed Parsons, and had not encountered any other alien. Even the swamp life seemed to be missing. Usually the swamp would be full of noise but today only a few scattered bird calls were to be heard.
By now the Corporal had reached the beginning of the Coastal Mountains. Over the mountains, the Goombatu Swamps slowly start to disappear, and the jungles are replaced with beaches and ocean. Right over the mountain and Byrne was back at HQ, which meant food, shelter, and 400 other Marines to help kill Covenant with him. But Byrne wasn't going to hike; not unless he had to. The Mute Tunnels, he realized, I could get a ride into base!
The Mute Tunnels ran through the mountain range and led right to the HQ. It was the way Byrne and Parsons had taken the Hog to go replace the sensors back in the jungle. The main tunnels were each three lanes wide, and a sub tunnel that ran on the west side of the main tunnels was made specifically to move two Scorpion MBTs through at once. All three tunnels had maintenance passageways that connected them to each other, which were located at intervals throughout each separate tunnel. The tunnels were well armored; millions of tons of concrete, a few meters of titanium a battle armor, and the mountain itself protected the tunnels from attack.
Inside, the tunnels were broken down into sections by titanium reinforced blast doors. If a security breech or fire was present anywhere in any tunnel, the problem could be isolated and dealt with later. Byrne knew all this, but he couldn't possibly care less. It would only be a few more minutes before he broke out of the dense jungle vegetation and caught sight of the security outpost in front of his passageway home.
After fifteen minutes, Byrne was almost to the edge of the forest. He could see the mist starting to drift more easily through the tree trunks. However, his visibility of the sky was still cut off. If he could have seen through the canopy and caught a glimpse of the smoke rolling all over the hills, he might have been better prepared for what he saw next.
Corporal Byrne crashed through the last shrub and burst out of the jungle. However, he stopped dead in his tracks when he saw the security outpost. Or, what was left of it. One whole side had been obliterated on the second and third floors, exposing that side of those levels. Otherwise, the building was still erect. The front hadn't been blown away, and the back and other side of the structure had been built into the mountain, so Byrne knew they couldn't have taken damage. That would mean the few tunnels from the outpost to the tunnel would have survived as well.
A few smoldering Warthogs lay burning in what was once the parking lot, and the carcass of a Scorpion tank sat by it's tunnel, its barrel was smashed downward, and smoke issued from its trashed engines.
Byrne blinked in disbelief. But... How?
Suddenly a Marine's worst fear appeared from the MBT tunnel. It swerved to avoid it's former adversary, and continued on down its path. The Wraith tank chilled Byrne to the bone. Dropping back into the cover of a nearby bush, he froze, not moving a muscle, until the tank had glided past his position and disappeared along the path.
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