The Official 405th RP

[volkov]

"It's for the greater good" the doctor said. "For one life sacrificed, many can exist." (doctor)
"It was only a child, your bred him knowing full well he was doomed," he responded. (Volkov)
"Well, yes, that was his purpose. But your not paying any attention to the principle. With his life many were saved. If you leave now it will all be in vain." (doctor)
"That doesn't make it right. And I don't believe it was for the greater good. If you had merely explained the situation to him and his parents and let them decide for themselves, then your goals would be pure. What you did was deceitful and murderous. I will not follow you." (Volkov)
"Take some time, think it over, your being irrational. Return to your quarters, we can talk later." (doctor)

The vision faded as the small ships computer brought Volkov out of his daydream nightmare. It had located a distress signal, Volkov glanced at it in thought, but turned the warning off.

"Sorry bud, I've got enough problems of my own," he muttered. "Besides, I don't really feel like being found, not yet anyway, not by you." He put the ship on silent mode and continued to drift, hoping to be uninterrupted while he continued to reflect on what had come to pass.

 

[helios]

"Alrighty then. Engineers, how much of the ship do we have left?" John said.
"We've go most of engineering, the mess, obvoiusly, about three four man berths and the observation deck." A tall man in black coveralls said.
"Is there any way we could start transmitting some sort of signal? Or get control over the engines? And If I'm right and we've got half a MAC cannon, is there any way we could get it working?" John's mind was working in overdrive, a sure sign that he needed something caffinated.
"We could rig something up in the observation deck. That's about in the center of what we've got left." The same tall man said. A ODST spoke up.
"Me and some of the other guys could go EVA, to see if there's anything much left of the rear command blister. We could seal off a corridor, and use it like an airlock. A few of the engineers could come with, and tell us what to scavange."
"Sound good. Co-ordinate with the Engineers. Anyone with medicat training, see me, and we'll get helping the injured, get some grub together, and see if we can make this hulk habitable. Oh, and could someone deal with the lights." John said, dismissing the survivors.
A group of about four people came up to him, and they got on with it. It turned out that no-one was injured, and the meal-prep machines just needed a quick reboot, and were soon spitting out the hot, nutritionally sound slop they were used to. It didn't look like much, but it tasted just fine. Taking several containers of it, John went to the Observation Derk
The ODST-Engineer group brought several consoles through and began setting them up. The tall man who had spoken up before came over, wiping his hands, and spoke.
"We've got a signal transmitting, and the EVA scavanged enough consoles to use for engine control, communication and, if we can get the MAC going, firing control."
"Good. Set 'em up, and we'll see what happens."

 

[SPARTAN II]

Though not unconscious, SPARTAN-079 had willed himself into a deep, restful state of being.

It was just one of many techniques that had been taught to him and his fellow SPARTANs during thier early training back on REACH. Putting oneself into an almost-meditative state (still conscious enough to be subtlely aware of one's surroundings) helped to drastically reduce one's metabolism and breathing, which he hoped would make his oxygen supply last a little while longer.

He was brought out of his near-slumber by a very faint crackle of static over his headset. He couldn't make anything out, and it was barely audible. Perhaps whoever it was wasn't well enough in range for his suit's comm array to pick up a clear signal. Or, perhaps they were broadcasting on a different frequency than what he was using, and so he was just picking up the residual feedback from the back-and-forth comm chatter.

Or, worst case scenario, the power supply in his suit was starting to give out. He glanced at his HUD, the battery charge read at 45%. Still good for at least another twenty-four to thirty-six hours. That also meant there would still be ample power to properly operate the built-in comm equipment. It had to be they were broadcasting on a different frequency, then.

He thought back to the charge left in his power supply for a moment. Given the type of power source used to power the MJOLNIR armour suits, he and Ardrosa must have been drifting out in space for quite a long while. A suit could operate independently without replenishment of power or oxygen for a couple weeks, at least. Had they really been out here that long? He couldn't be sure.

After dwelling on these hypotheses for a few minutes, he looked around to see where the source of the static could be. Craning his head far to the right, he could see a Pelican dropship slowly coming toward him, behind and slightly to the right of him. As it came upon him and could see the stunned expression on the pilot's face, just before he lost sight of the cockpit and saw only the light armour plating on the underside of the rear storage bay.

A moment later, the SPARTAN felt a slight jarring motion as something (or someone) hit him from behind. He heard a faint metallic click and he saw himself starting to pull away from the asteroids and debris strewn about him. Next thing he saw was the tail end of the loading ramp leading into the storage bay creep into view from the bottom of his visor. The interior of the storage bay switched from red to standard lighting as it was re-pressurized.

Now in regular gravity, SPARTAN-079 turned himself over onto his back and brought himself up to a sitting position against one of the vacant seats in the storage bay, giving the armour-clad UNSC marines staring down at him the "thumbs up" signal. He took notice of the marine -- whom he surmised was actually a specialized ODST given the colouring and style of his armour -- who was handling some armour diagnostic equipment and addressed him.

"I'm alright, soldier. Thanks much for the assist, though. My AI and I were beginning to wonder if anyone would actually come along."

At that, he stood up and extended his hand in a gesture of appreciation to thier unexpected rescuers.

"Just what are you doing out this far, anyway? What's our current position?"

 

[Assassin716]

I just looked at the spartan and gave a thumbs up on his armor diagnostics, and extended a friendly hand. I thought the Spartan might have taken my hand off with the rumored One Ton Armor, but once again to my surprise it felt completely normal pulling him up; no doubt about it, he was pulling in his own weight.

The Spartan looked around the cargo bay of the pelican, noticing the rest of my squad. "You alright', I asked.

"I'm alright, soldier. Thanks much for the assist, though. My AI and I were beginning to wonder if anyone would actually come along. Just what are you doing out this far, anyway? What's our current position?"

'Yeah, your really lucky you armor diagnostics showed only four minutes of oxygen left. I'm lieutenant Akalar, we received your distress signal as soon as we dropped out of slipspace. As for what we are doing way out here, well we received a bigger distress signal from the UNSC Frigate Banewulf, which if i am not mistaken you were probably stationed with. Anyways were heading down to the landing site of the Banewulf on Makos, we have gotten word that Titan's Pride is also out here so we're not alone.' I replied. 'Hold on for a sec', I switched to the Incarnate personnel com channel. 'Commander, your not going to believe this but we just picked up a spartan. We are going to re-dock with the Incarnate to get the Spartan some medical attention and re-depart for ground contact with Omega Squadron', Static could be heard over the com. 'Affirmative Lieutenant, but you might want to get your charlie asses hurrying we've got bigger fish to fry, Covenant Loyalist Ambush is easiest way to say it,' Valstaff replied. 'Roger that Commander. Okay Spartan 79 we have got to get you up to par your no good to us if your exhausted, we have technicians that can get you up to 100% optimal efficiency in a few.'

The Pelican's engines roared to a small hover as the hangar doors to the Incarnate closed and the Hangar re-pressurized.
Lab technicians immediately came running through the bulkhead blast doors waiting to see the Spartan. The Pelican rear blast door opened and I helped the Spartan down into the technicians hands. They escorted the Spartan back through the blast door as it shut closed. the engines of the Pelican died down. I gave a hand signal to my squad and we all exited the Pelican. I was getting instructions of when we would have to launch as Kayln was receiving intel from my Omega squad that they can't even land. So looks like we are having to pod down.

My squad and I ran through another pair of blast doors and across the hall was were the HEVs were stored. I entered my pin code on the wall and the door opened, in the room lined forty-five HEVs, I grabbed the first one and the rest of my squad of seven got in the adjacent ones. Kaylns voice could be heard from speakers on the inside of the HEVs.

'Lieutenant we will be coming over exact orbit drop location in eta fifty seconds good luck,' she said.

I thought to myself, we dont need luck.

 

[Spartan137]

"$#!T. She's blasting the canopy." Justin signaled to Zach to move out of the way and disgard the rebreather he held. Leaping away from the pressure door, he watched as Weyland opened the door and pushed herself out.

"Whoa! She can hold pressure without EVA equipment!" It was Erika whom had spoken over the COM.

"137 and 102, get her to the airlock, ASAP." Nick was watching from a camera on the underbelly of the craft.

Green light.

As Weyland left the safety of the pod, 137 gripped her around the waste with one arm and used the other arm to yank on his tether, propelling him towards the Longsword. Zach gave him a moment and followed. As they reached the boarding ramp, he pushed her in and disconnected his tether. Gripping the edge of the ramp, he grabbed Zach's tether, disconected it and pulled him up. Typing the command code into the console, he sealed the door.

Primal Weyland collapsed on the deck from exhaustion.

"Hope you breath our air, Weyland. Your not getting anything else." Justin had spoken over his speaker's. "Sir, Weyland is on board."

"Roger that. Erika, get us on the fastest heading to the Titan's Pride."

 

[leegrisham]

Eerie and his special ops were making short work of this Covenant band.
While their primary objective was the eradication of the remnants Eerie had wanted to capture at least one to grill for information. Seeing as how this unit was down to only fleeing grunts, he knew that would be impossible.
His energy sword's battery was depleted; he drew his plasma rifle and fired off a few bursts removing their motion from his radar.
"Report Team"
Three of his four HUD lights, an innovation that the Elites integrated from the Humans, blinked green everyone but Ramo' Phitemee had survived.
Lucky him, Eerie thought to join the ancestors in glorious battle.
"Come in Eerie, Repeat Come in", Eerie’s thoughts were broken up by a com link message from Splendor's Vengeance.
"This is Headmaster Alse 'Narodee we have changing priorities, repeat mission critical adjust! A human drop ship was hit about two clicks from your position in Sector C, Subsection 7 you are to break off and investigate the crash. We are also receiving faint distress signals from a Human frigate, there seems to be a lot of activity from the region, we are currently triangulating coordinates continue with your objective but be advised we may have a quick evac coming up."
"Understood." Eerie boomed.

"Take a look at this Eerie", Ugco called to Eerie.
Ugco 'Uodoree was relatively new to the forces; he was a Minor Rank and had Blue armor with less sophisticated shields and camouflage. It was rare for a 'rookie', as Humans call them, to be put into a SpecOps force. Ugco however had tons of potential and was as fierce as a Headmaster in battle.
"What is it?" Eerie responded.
"These grunts were carrying crates of this." Ugco held a piece of metal about as large as his palm up.
Upon first inspection it glinted but then when you changed its angle it seemed completely dark and void of light as if it had completely absorbed all the energy from around it. It was another STRANGE artifact of these horrible rings.
"This is very odd indeed. With the prophets and elites are gone from the Covenant where would they get the idea to mine strange minerals? The remnants couldn't possibly have the competency to create new technology." Eerie wondered aloud.
"The engineers must have devised some use for it!" Ugco exclaimed.
Eerie held his hand up to silence any more speculation, "What this is or what it is for is no matter to us, we have our orders and that's what we will do. Secure a piece of this for inspection later and prepare to move."
3 lights blinked acknowledge.
"Engage active camouflage and prepare to move C,7 Humans in trouble, be swift and silent."
Eerie didn't enjoy giving commands but he would serve his duty no matter the assignment. He faded from visibility and began to shuffle down the creek, he wondered why even deploy ground troops, the battle group could have easily glassed the whole ring and moved on...
Maybe the strange element was the key, maybe more intelligence was needed on the remnant... either way Eerie had one objective, to destroy the covenant here and now to save these humans, that’s what he was going to do.

 

[Sigma LS]

“Well, I guess everybody’s showing up to the party.” Erin commented as Bertrand told them some splitfaces were headed toward Bravo team’s crash site to assist. It appeared that the Covenant had been in an underground forerunner structure, possibly some sort of test facility like a proving ground for the basic ring technology, that they were unable to identify from orbit. The hell if he knew. They had a name for just about every piece of forerunner tech and the translation usually came out as “ring” or “installation’ The elite’s were there on some sort of special ops mission, and the humans were probably screwing things up for them.

Mike slapped Erin on the back. “Surprised yet? Haha! ”

Bertrand radioed the Titan’s Pride to tell them Alpha and Charlie teams would be splitting up. Charlie would head to Bravo’s location with their Troop hog and Alpha would continue in their Rocket hog to one the other crashed piece of the Banewulf that was transmitting a distress call. It was lucky the planet had a thin barely breathable atmosphere or the survivors would have surely burnt up on re-entry.

Back up on the Titan’s Pride, Dufraine scowled at the battlemap. “I knew Valstaff would jump in here as fast as he could. He was always a humanitarian like that and a glory hog. We’re barely here for an hour and he’s already waving those fancy new Katanas in front of my face. What does he need that kind of firepower for on a simple assitance mission? He’s taunting me I tell you.”

“Don’t worry about it sir, we’re all just here to help.”, Aislyn said calmingly.

“At least Gold Team is back on board with whatever that thing they picked up was. I want them all put into quarantine until medical checks them out. It will give them all a chance to chat anyway. I want to know as much about that thing as we can without taking it apart.”, Dufraine


“Because Spartans are always so talkative.” Aislyn and half the bridge crew snickered. Aislyn then put on a straight face. “Sir the Banewulf wreckage on the ground and rear section just out of orbit do not account for all of the signals. Those that the probe sent to us match other wreckage sites scattered accross the planet’s surface. I have gotten one well resolved insignia in a photo I took of one of the crash sites. The wreckage appears to be years old, it’s amazing any of the power has kept up at all.”

Dufraine chewed on his pipe. “My god, it’s in english.” The writing read. “U.S.S. John Henry”

 

[Spartan137]

The mdical team had just left the small, airtight chamber that was located within the Titan's Pride. Primal Weyland and the 4 SPARTANs had been moved there and placed in quarintine. Each SPARTAN had removed their helmets and were each sitting on a cot. Weyland had been tranquilized in order to complete the medical exams. The SPARTANs had already recovered.

"Why do you think she's here?" It was Zach who had spoken.

"Beats me." Erika was leaning her head on the bulkhead, dosing. "Why don't you ask her."

As if on que, Weyland had begun to stir.

"Good morning. How do you feel?"

 

[Assassin716]

*Kachunk*...*Kachunk* the noise of the clamps holding the HEVs were releasing one by one until my pod was the last one. A few seconds delayed and *Kuchunk*, the clamps on my Pod was release. I flipped on some motivational music for my team to hear, it always relaxed us on our way down. The eight pods began to heat up in their decent to the major crash site of what appeared to be the middle section of the Banewulf. The pods all hit down on an open hill surrounded by a lush forest. The hatches all blew forward as plasma began to ran down on the squads position.

'Micheal shield now!' I yelled. I then saw within a few seconds a bubble shield had opened up and my squad was safe for the moment. We took our time calculating where the plasma fire was coming from. I indicated to Micheal, Jason and Hollie to flank left 90 degrees from our position and lay down cover fire for me, Ryan, Stephanie, Dan, and Steven. With in the next few seconds we readied our BR-55s and MA5Cs, *TSSK* the shield ran out of energy and the plasma began to vomit forward once again. I could hear the return-fire of battle rifles hitting enemy targets, and by the loud grunting sounds I was pretty sure it was a Brute Pack.

---
'Sir, I have just received a slipspace transmission from fleet com it seems you have been promoted,' Kayln said, while projecting her self on her pedestal.

'What is it this time another Vice Admiral position, I wont accept and they know that already!' Valstaff answered.

'Well sir it appears your new rank is Vice Admiral, and if you don't mind me saying it is befitting of you,' She continued.

'I guess I can deal with it,' he replied. Klaxon Counters began flaring. 'Kayln status report!'

'Captain we have three covenant cruisers heading to our position, I have the five MAC turrets ready to fire, including the Nuclear Launch Tubes...If you would like i can have the Goliath MAC Cannon ready to fire in three minutes,' she said quickly.

'$#!T, It shows here on the battlemap that Titan's Pride is not to far, have them make course to our location for reserve back up. Im guessing Dufraine isn't all to happy to see me. Oh well he'll have to get used to it. Send some reinforcements down to aid Lieutenant Akalar, and see if that Spartan will be able okay to participate as well. And give me firing solutions to the Covenant Loyalists Bastards, when they reach eight kilometers fire the MAC Cannons, we will save the Goliath for last.'

'Yes sir calculating...Solutions at optimal distance, firing sequence will initiate at nine kilometers,' she replied.

Hmm I'm not to worried the Incarnate has stood up to at least seven Covenant Carriers, it was mainly due to the new technology infused with the Incarnate, especially the Goliath Cannon. The Goliath can was basically a Orbital MAC Gun with a ship built around it. The excess pressure and heat was vented through the engines which allowed a burst in speed when needed. The Incarnate was more than match for these Covenant Bastards, three Assault Carriers versus a UNSC Super Carrier, it was time to see what this beauty can truly do for the UNSC as a Flag Ship.

 

[volkov]

Volkov sat in silence, guilt starting to win him over. He couldn't help but wonder how he would of fared had he set off a distress signal while another ship ignored him. He knew this was not the time to do anything rash, but he couldn't stand much more.
"Damnit" he muttered, preparing the ship. Within a few minutes he was getting close enough to have radio contact, but as he flipped the radio on a chill ran down his spine. It seemed the distress signal had already been found, and much worse, there was a lot more activity in the area then he thought possible.
"See how far that got you?" he sarcastically said to himself. He thought it was only a matter of time before the other ships making the radio chatter noticed him, if they hadn't already, he would have to either run, or go silent and be a sitting duck. He scanned the area quickly and found some asteroid fields. He turned the ship and charged for them as quickly as possible, hoping to blend in with the floating rocks.

 

[Primal Weyland]

((As a note, 137 - what you're doing is borderline-modding. Please don't act on my character or assume any action has been taken onto her without asking first. I'll comply to this once only, but in the future, please. if you have anything you need to do, please RP it.))

Primal growled as she opened her eyes, hearing snippets of dialogue before she even did so, sighing as she sat up and swung her legs to sit on the edge of the medical cot. She had no need of sleep, but even so, her body felt tired, as though she hadn't used it in a while - perhaps a side-effect of being in space for such a period of time, or perhaps due to the tranquilisers she'd been given without warning.

The wolf bared her teeth at the armored figures, recognising the one who had rescued her as she slid from the cot, padding over to him and jabbing a finger accusingly at him. She realised that she was completely naked - all of her modesty was apparent for the entire world to see, and her tail flicked around in agitation. She'd preferred to take away missions nude - the cramped atmosphere of her shuttle meant that she often ended up removing the basic layers of clothing she usually wore anyways, and she'd been rescued bare as it was.

Another source of surprise was the fact that her rescuers were in fact human, as she had expected. This could make things much more easy.

"I thank you for rescuing me, but in the future, you will refrain from sedating me unless you have asked me beforehand. Now, I have several requests."

Without even waiting for the burly, armored man to respond, she continued, turning on her heel to pace the cold deck, growling as she absently ran a pawfinger over her right hand, feeling the assimilation assembly just hidden under her arctic-white fur. The ship air was still and she put her nudity behind herself - They wouldn't have any clothes to fit her lupine form, and besides. If they found her physically attractive, they showed no signs she could tell.

"First, I will ask for confirmation of the destruction of my escape pod. The technologies within are highly sensitive and cannot be allowed to fall into foreign hands."

She paused for a second, taking in a deep breath. She could tell that these armored humans were soldiers, and probably more intelligent than they were letting on in their appearace - she reminded herself to calm down and treat them as equals lest they throw her out of the nearest airlock.

"Second, I wish to speak to the superior officer aboard this ship. I must ascertain my location and situation if I am to begin finding a way home."

The wolf paused again, biting her lip as she remembered home - Unimatrix Zero Five. the Collective. Her mate. With a nother deep breath, she continued, willing her tail to hang still.

"Finally, I ask that you direct me to the nearest ship's tailor so that I may have suitable garments made. While I do not personally experience modesty, some of your crewmembers may find my current appearance... distracting."

 

[Spartan137]

SPARTAN-137 held up his hands in defense as Nick began speaking.

"Calm down. We didn't order our quarantine. None of us did. And unfortunately, I am the current commanding officer in this situation. I will call down to the Captain of this vessel, but you'll need to be patient. As for clothing, try there" Nick reached underneath his bunk and pulled out a set of ward clothing, estimating the size. He held it out to Weyland.

"I'm afraid that your *Ahem* appearance isn't the only thing that will distract the crew. We've never encountered anything like you before. Your pod was indeed destroyed. We were attempting to tow it back to our ship, and it nearly disable the fighter. But, we may as well introduce ourselves. I myself am Nicholas, otherwise known as Nick. The women to my right is Erika, the man to my left is Zach, and the man who got you to our vessel is Justin. It's nice to meet you.", Nick.

"Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to call the captain." Nick stood up and moved to an alcove in the room. "Captain, this is SPARTAN-024. Our guest has a few requests that we think we should respect. First, we need our Quarter Master to bring her some fitting clothing. The other is that she wishes to speak with you."

 

[leegrisham]

"Eerie this is Headmaster Alse. We have made contact with the Humans they are awaiting your arrival at the crash site. I have pinpointed the location of the crash and have send you a replacement warrior and supplies"
Eerie saw three streaks come through the atmosphere - droppods with warrior and weapons fell from the heavens. Soon after that a waypoint appeared in his visor pointing him and his squad in the exact direction of the wreckage.
"We have confirmed signals from at least 3 UNSC Cruisers the Banewolf partially destroyed, Incarnate, and Titans Pride. We are handling things in the skys."
"Headmaster Alse out."


"Johnson!" Alse barked.

Johnson was the Splendor's onboard AI. This AI chose it's own apperance and attitude after searching logs of information and finding a certain Human Seargent that it simply loved named Johnson. This was very unusual for an Elite AI to take on Human charateristics, but since The Great War there had been a lot of advances in Elite technology. They had come a long way since the prophets oppression

"Yes, Sir", Johnson replied gruffly.
"Change our power from stealth over to normal, we may have a situation on hand. Ping our position to the UNSC make sure they have our signature - I don't want to get caught in a crossfire - make sure they get data maps of our location, purpose and what we have discovered so far." Alse commanded.
Their purpose was simple, eliminate all covenant forces, of course Alse knew what had been discovered was nothing, reports of Covenant squads, mineral mining, nothing extraordinary.
"Sir, I'm bringing the ship out of stealth now, I have pinged our location and datamaps are being broadcast on secure channels, our engines are at 50% warm, and ..." Johnson paused ... "I am picking up several blips, sir they appear to be Covenant. Three Cruisers approaching UNSC Incarnate at engagement speed."

The Covenant had not know that Alse had been there. The Splendor was a new prototype cruiser that could run stealth as long as it was completely still and diverted all power to the stealth generator. It took emense amounts of power to cloak an cruiser size ship. So while he could not manuever in stealth he could orbit in stealth and allow his troops to work on the ground.
When these Human ships dropped out of slipspace the Covenant must have decided to take a first strike and give their troops time to evacuate.
Alse laughed, this will be fun to watch he thought to himself. His cruiser wasn't ready for battle, with engines at only 50% he would only be able to put around lazily.
I hope the Human ships can hold until I can provide assistance.

 

[SPARTAN II]

"Yeah, you're really lucky, your armour diagnostics showed only four minutes of oxygen left."

Shaking the ODST's hand firmly but not so much as to break anything, SPARTAN-079 took a moment to let that bit of info sink in. He hadn't even been monitoring his dwindling air supply while he and Ardrosa had been floating out there. Yeah, he knew it had been getting dangerously low, but not that low. These folks certainly showed up right in the knick of time.

"I'm Lieutenant Akalar, we received your distress signal as soon as we dropped out of Slipspace. As for what we are doing way out here, well we received a bigger distress signal from the UNCS Frigate Banewulf, which if I am not mistaken you were probably stationed with. Anyways, we're heading down to the landing site of the Banewulf on Makos, we have gotten word that Titan's Pride is also out here so we're not alone."

"Hold on a sec", the Lieutenant replied as he spoke to someone on another com frequency.

The SPARTAN noticed the other ODST's still blindly staring at him, so he gave them all a curt nod before sitting down in one of the available seats. The Lieutenant appeared to have switched com frequencies again, as he could now hear the man addressing him.

"Okay SPARTAN-079, we have got to get you up to par. You're no good to us if you're exhausted, we have technicians that can get you up to 100% optimal efficiency in a few."

He nodded in acknowledgement as the Pelican dropship brought them back to the launch bay of the UNSC vessel not far from thier position. As soon as the dropship touched down, the loading ramp opened up and the SPARTAN was handed over to a group of technicians waiting by with all sorts of diagnostic equipment. After a quick once-over with some hand-held devices, he was escorted to the infirmary for a more thorough examination.

While he was given a full physical, his Mk VI armour was taken to the armory, where technicians looked it over and tweaked it here and there to ensure it was back to full operating capacity. They weren't entirely familiar with the shield generator component (it's specs didn't quite match up with what they had on file in the equipment database; unknown to them, it had been retrofitted at Cairo station just prior to the conflict at Earth), but it seemed to be working well above acceptable levels.

Once he was given a clean bill of health, SPARTAN-079 again donned his metallic-green armour. He always felt naked without it, vulnerable in some way. Aside from his daily shower and the five or six hours he slept, he wore it constantly.

As he again interfaced with his suit, he felt the cold, wet sensation of Ardrosa's consciousness share his own. That was something else that he felt uncomfortable without; he'd been paired up with her after his training had been completed on REACH, and so to not sense her there made him feel uneasy, not quite "complete".

"Well hello, stranger. I was wondering when you were going grace me with your presence again."

"Sorry about that, Ardrosa. It was necessary, as the medics and technicians wanted to make sure everything was in working order both with myself and the suit."

"Oh, I know how it goes. That's procedure for you. I did miss you, though."

"Likewise."

SPARTAN-079 always found himself caught off-guard by such comments from her. He knew that in all the time they'd spent together on countless missions they'd developed a bond of sorts, but at times she would get emotional about such things, and he wasn't quite sure what to make of that. It off-set his own non-emotional demeanour, so she'd helped to balance him out in that respect.

"What's the status of the ODST team that picked us up? I'd like to ask that Lieutenant a few questions regarding the situation here."

"From what I know, he and his team went to prepare for an orbital drop. They are most likely already on thier way down to Makos."

"Well, I'm no good to anyone just sitting here. I'd best procure some equipment and join in the rescue operation myself."

The SPARTAN walked over to a comm panel on the wall next to the door leading out of the armory and pressed the button.

"This is SPARTAN-079 reporting in to the Captain of this vessel. I am now ready to join the current operation and request a situation report. Awaiting orders."

 

[helios]

"Sergeant, MAC Cannon online." John smiled. Those words were some that he'd never thought he'd ever hear. After all, it was his brother that had gone for the tatical career.
"How we doing on the Coms unit?"
We can recieve, but transmittings gonna have to wait. We'll need to over-ride the distress beacon and use that. But I'm working on it.
"Excellent. I'm in charge of a ship. Yeah, take that Charlie." he whispered the last part, smiling grimly.
"Sir, We have confirmation of several ships coming this way. Currently unidentified, but I'm working on it."
"Get that MAC cannon aimed at them as best as we can. And hail quickly. I don't want this to turn into friendly fire."
Sir, we have confirmation of the Identities of two ships. The UNSC Incarnate, and the Titan's Pride.
"The Titan's Pride eh, I wonder if Dufraine is still in charge." He mused. The two of them had been good friends at school, and had, up till a year or so ago, exchanged letters regularly.
"Small world, isn't it. Make sure it's them that Pick us up."

 

[Sigma LS]

Dufraine shook his head. “So the Rear Admiral thinks he can draft my ship into his little operation. Just because he has a prototype frigate that’s really a giant MAC gun with some engines strapped on it doesn’t make him any sort of flagship in my book. He’s orbiting Makis, the third planet in the system, saying that old survey wreck is the Banewulf. There are even drop teams down there.”

“We really don’t have any choice in the matter Captain. He does outrank you.” Aislyn chimed in. “Besides, they did already rescue that survivor out by the asteroid belt before Gold team could get out there. He didn’t become a Rear Admiral for nothing, and this kind of stubbornness is the reason you are still a Captain and not more.” The AI cocked her head to the side. “You’re just angry that the technology in that escape pod was destroyed before we could get our hands on it.”

Dufraine continued to chew on his pipe. “The damn thing was on a delayed self destruct, nearly took out the Longsword as they were towing it back. I just got it too. “ He turned back to the battlemap. “And where did those splitfaces come from, they couldn’t have gotten out here without a ship. Have you tried tracking their offworld communications?”

Aislyn nodded. “This ship’s gear is too old to do so effectively. However, we’re in luck, a moment ago their ship uncloaked and sent us a hailing message… It says multiple Covenant contacts are heading for the Incarnate. Sir we need to get underway, NOW!”

Dufraine cracked his pipe’s stem as he bit down hard. “Ace, I want the Pride at red alert. Move in to support the Incarnate. I want missiles launched at enemy targets as soon as we get in range of the Covies. Save the MAC until you have a 100% firing solution. Let those splitfaces know we’re going to need some cover if we’re going to survive in a firefight with this many enemy ships. The Incarnate can take a couple of hits, we won’t survive that many. Get all of the Longswords in the hanger out there as soon as we close to four thousand kilometers.”

“Captain.” Crewman Norbert interrupted. “The Wolf wants to speak to you. It says it has some demands and wants to meet with you.”

Dufraine turned and looked at the crewman. “We don’t have time for that right now, are you crazy?” He rubbed his temples. “Have Gold team act as its escort. Spartan 024 is in charge of the Wolf until this battle is over, have him act at his own discretion.”

“And what about the rear section of the Banewulf? Should I withdraw the Longswords?” Ace asked.
Dufraine straightened his back. “No, our comrades need their help. Tell them to render aid as best they can. Tow the ship behind Makos if they can seal it up. If not have them act as ferries to Makos’s surface. It may not be the safest place but at least there’s air there.”

With that the Titan’s Pride engines fired as it accelerated around Makos to slingshot toward Makis.

 

[SGT Razor]

(That was my fault. I didn't read Sigma's post thoroughly. I guess I was a little too eager to get into the action.)

"How much time do we have?" The squad leader was getting nervous, and everyone knows that when the leader gets nervous, everyone does. He had to calm himself.

"Uhh... three-hundred meters and closing." What seemed like a whole platoon of Covenant forces came charging over the sand at what was left of the Pelican. Anderson immediately pointed the barrel of his sniper rifle out the crack in the blast door and opened up with the occasional, "Headshot!" or, "Double kill!"

"Li, get back on that radio, see what plans the Titan's Pride has for us," Razor said, scanning the landscape for any type of cover.

"We have to get out of this thing. One 'nade and we're done for, especially with those new ones the Brutes have." Of course Boomer would know these things.

"Titan's Pride, come in. This is ODST Li. We have multiple contacts--"

"Somewhere in the thirties or forties," Andy.

"About thirty or forty. We've requested a hog, and have nowhere to go. What are your orders?" Razor was surprised to see Li so calm in such a situation. Especially after what he just went through. Li winced and coughed every now and then, but that was it. He was lucky. That, or someone was looking out for him. Either way, it was good to still have him. Must be his Asian heritage...

"Andy, stay here and keep them off our backs. Boomer, Li, you're coming with me. Let's get to those rocks."

Three streaks came hurtling down from the sky.

"Sweet Lord, it's raining aliens! We've got drop pods coming in... three of 'em!" Li was limping towards the cover as Boomer kept his laser trained on one of the pods.

"What are you doing?! The elites are on our side!" -Razor

"Elites?" Boomer lowered his weapon.

"Wow, you haven't done this for a while have you?" -Li

"Just a little rusty."

"A little?" Li asked, accusingly.

 

[Spartan137]

"Captain Dufraine wants you to escort the wolf up to the bridge. He says that it's security is in your hands. Be advised, we have currently bumped up our defense status. Over" The bridge officer serving under Dufraine clicked off.

"You guys all catch that?" Nick looked over his shoulder. His men all nodded. "Right. Erika, come with me. You too Weyland. Justin and Zach, go requesition a Warthog from the armory and gear up. I'm going to ask if we can return to our original mission."

Nick walked to the door and nocked on it three times. Over the intercoms, a PFC spoke. "I just recieved a message to let you guys out. Its unlocked, so go ahead."

Nick keyed the command and the door slid open. He placed his helmet over his head and stepped into the hall, motioning for Erika and Weyland to follow. (I will fill in the story from their perspective after Weyland posts.)

Justin and Zach moved the opposite direction towards the armory. Once they arrived, they both moved to the locations of their chosen weapons. Zach picked up his M99 and an M6G Magnum, Justin grabbed a M247 .50 CAL machinegun and an SMG. They grabbed spare ammo for each and also grabbed Erika's and Nick's equipment. They walked through another door into the vehicle hangar and selected a Warthog. Placing the other SPARTANs gear in the back, Justin climbed into the driver's seat, Zach into shotgun, and drove up onto a causeway leading to the hangars.

"Sir, we have procured a Warthog and are heading to the hangar. We are ready when you are."

 

[Primal Weyland]

The wolf allowed herself a little grin as she was introduced to the other members of this large male's team, appreciating the shorter names they evidently preferred.

"As it is nice to meet you too, Nick. My designation is Primaelus Waelandur, One of Two, secondary command and control of Unimatrix Zero Five."

She hesitated slightly, remembering how little the term meant here, and continued.

"But you may call me Primal Weyland, or Primal if you wish to simplify matters further. As for your vessel, I can only apologise that the methods in which I carried out my orders caused it damage. If you would like, I may be able to repair and perhaps in some way refine your technology within the parameters of my orders."

Then, the radio crackled and the wolf heard for the first time the Captain speak. She sighed a little again as she was referred to as nothing more than 'it', wrinkling her nose up in distaste at the paper gown offered to her and instead refusing it, also discarding her blanket as she padded alongside the tall man. Several members of the crew stopped and stared at her as she padded silently along - unsure as to exactly what they were staring at, but considering the matter of lesser importance as she struggled to keep up.

"I will note," she growled, eyeing up the armored male, "that I will require a small section of this ship to act as quarters - a square six feet by six feet will suffice. I also will require components from which to construct an alcove."

She could sense unease about the ship - her space-dwelling instincts kicked in and she could feel a very slight tilt in the ship as it accelerated and took on a new heading. Crewmen seemed to be rushing around everywhere as they headed to the Bridge, and the closer they got the worse the chaos was. The bridge itself by comparison was relatively serene and calm, and the man standing at the fore of the action seemed no less calm and collected.

Well, today seems like a good day to get some answers, she muttered to herself.

 

[leegrisham]

The terrain had changed from rocky creek bed to rolling hills not a terribly high elevation at any one point but light slopes with a large rock formations scattered through the plain. As Eerie and his crew approached the smoldering drop pods a new Acknowledge light slid in under his others, his new squad mate’s RFID had linked with this Command Center and Auto-Added him to his HUD.
In the other two drop pods was a weapons cache. - They were going to need them - he could see a large crowd down the hill: Grunts, Brutes and Jackals.
Crammed into the first pod were Beam Rifles, Plasma Grenades and Swords and the second had Carbines, Over shields and a turret.
What the hell, Eerie thought as he stared at the crammed pods, usually there is only one, two weapons TOPS in these pods. He shrugged the thought away, it really didn't matter he was happy to have the munitions.
Eerie discarded his battery drained blade and took a new one, he hefted a beam rifle and placed a carbine on his back he ordered his team to gear up, he wanted to make sure they were all well prepared. Humans were good combatants but he didn't know many there were or if there were even any alive..
At that time he heard a loud blast and bright light come from the rocks followed by small arms fire... a hole formed from the front of the Covenant ranks to the back.
Eerie recognized the weapon a SPARTAN Laser; it was the only thing so loud and destructive...
Now he knew they were alive.
The covenant quickly reformed the line; they had jackals up front with energy shields, grunts behind that lobbing grenades and the brutes behind them barking commands.
Eerie radioed his command he knew that this was going to get worse.
"Asle, we're going to need some armor on the ground, repeat need armor on the
ground, Spectres preferred."
The Elites spread about 15 feet between them and opened fire with their beam rifles, "Prioritize targets, High Ranking Brutes First" Eerie commed his squad, all status lights twinkled green.
"Humans this is spec squad Splendor’s Vengeance, we are providing assistance and have armor inbound, Over" Eerie broke radio silence on an open freq hoping the humans would pick up.
Their active camouflage burned away as they fired shot after shot, their rifles over heated but there were still more targets... Eerie hoped that this group did not have reinforcements that would be a bad thing..

It was about that time that he heard something behind him... he had been so intent on sniping he hadn't paid attention to what was behind him, he swiveled just in time to brace for the large plate shield to hit him. He went airborne and he ached all over instantly. He rolled to a stop and stubled upright a good 10ft away from where he began
A Hunter... correction three of them...
**How could he have been so foolish... to let that huge beast sneak up on him...
they had arrived after the other Covenant due to their speed and now his team was
trapped...**
His shield alarm blared in his ears, over shield and normal shields depleted with one swing...
"ARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHHH" Eerie yelled, as he drew his Energy Sword and charged towards the hunter.