The Official 405th RP

[Assassin716]

UNSC Prowler Angel's Delight shimmered across the sky unnoticeable, its metal hulk blended with the sky, as the new enhanced stealth generator cloaked the ship. The ships hangar bays mysteriously opened up in the sky allowing the retreating pelicans to take refuge. The marines all pilled out and were immediately escorted to the med lab, where wounds and injuries could be treated. Omega Squad had made it on a pelican when they voxed in, most of the warthogs were picked up when they had an evac, but it took an extra eight minutes. And right now we don't know if we are short on time. I felt the ship begin to push of hard to starboard, the ship was most likely going to hang around the other side while the battle escort ships dealt with the covenant cruisers. A UNSC Prowler was meant for informational recon, supplying data to the flagship and recording data for ONI.

'We must get you to the Protocol Armory for preparation,' 562 said.

I was taking a breather outside the ramp, Bethany laying against my shoulder. 'Why does it have to be me?' I asked.

'My neurological scanners show that you have endured extreme stress but show no signs of penalty to the state of mind or the body, I have also scanned your brothers and sisters as well, and they to are fit for the retrieval of the Ion Core.'

'Okay catch me up here, what do we have to do and what will happen once we do it?' I added.

'You and your siblings must prepare in the protocol armory with the correct equipment, when that has been fulfilled you will have to travel through the infrastructure of a vault and access the Archives which houses the Ion Core, only a reclaimer is allowed to hold this item, as my protocol dictates that both of us might be infected, it has deemed the Core would be safe in a Reclaimers hand. Further more installing the Ion Core within the subparticle-transfusion generator.' she replied.

'And....?' I continued.

'And therefore restarting the planet, the continents open allowing lifeforms...the floods food to die. Granted the forerunner structures will be completely safe, as they are need to keep my units safe from harm.' She added.

'How long will we have to escape the complex, before the cycle restarts?' I asked, with a sigh.

'Approximately five minutes and twenty-three seconds!' she said with a delight.

I walked over to the wall com and inserted a chip, it copied what was on it and I sent it to the bridge. I activated the com, Captain...'

'This is Captain Sequia of the Angel's Delight, we have received your copied recording and going over it now, i have no authority over you and your squads Lieutenant, if you are wanting orders, we will have to contact Admiral Valstaff.' She said.

'No worries Captain, we know what to do...' added.

'Very well soldier...Good Luck!' she replied.

I turned from the com station and saw my two squads, I would have liked it if I had my whole division, but the others were on the Incarnate, and we wouldn't have enough time. 'Alright ODSTs this is a serious mission, and I am not going to put you in danger unless your crazy like me and don't give a rats ass as long as we help protect humanity. Am I right?'

'SIR YES SIR,' they all replied at once.

'Now if you are coming along for the joy ride, go grab a weapon,' I nodded toward the back off the hangar, where the extending wall weapons cache opened.

Both of my squads got up and walked over picking up their favorite weapon and grenades and headed back. I took off my helmet, and they responded by removing theirs I gave them, each and everyone of them an appreciated smile, which was of course rare for them to see. They all walked up the ramp and into the pelican waiting for me. I turned back and whispered something into Bethany's ear, a tear drop rolled onto her cheek, and she left the hangar. Soon after two other pilots came in and headed to the cockpit of the pelican. The ODSTs slapped their helmets on and I went to the weapons caches in the back and retrieved a BR-55, and I looked at my back and Malinda was still there, I grabbed extra ammo for her and made my way back to the Pelican. I saw Bethany in the hallway through the bulkhead and mouthed the words, "I Love You," and she mouthed them back. I took a few seconds to stare at her and I climbed back into the Pelican.

Now remember what you read here is you reading it, not your characters...so dont make them react to this because they were not present to acknowledge the information, just a reminder.

 

[helios]

"I'm going for a walk. Don't ask why. I just am."
"Sir, take this!"
He caught the Helmet that was thrown towards him. John left the 'Bridge' through a coridor that led to what remained of the front of the ship. His bootsteps echoed through the empty hall. Noticing a glint on the floor, he bent. This was slightly difficult due to his armour, but he managed it. The glint was a pair of dogtags. He lifted them to eye level and placed them on his palm. Staring down at the small rectangles of metal, he read the inscription:

<blockquote>[/indent]Name: Housten, Jack
<blockquote></blockquote> Date of Birth: 03/12/2534
<blockquote></blockquote> Bloodtype: O-
<blockquote></blockquote> Callsign: Ares

</blockquote>ID No: WM548 7624 9X

John felt a raw sensation at the back of his throat. He felt his windpipe constrict, and tears come unbidden to his eyes. Sobs began to wrack his wirey body. He curled involuntarily into a ball, wedged between the harsh grating of the floor, and the cold, unforgiving bulkhead.
"He was only eighteen. He was only eighteen." he moaned, everytime he had breath enough. In his clenched fist he grasped the only remaining evidence of Pvt. Jack Housten. This was all that remained of someone's Son, someone's Brother. The tears that wracked his body were for more than just John, they were for everyone on the Banewulf. John felt the ship shudder. Wind began whipping around him, startling him out into the real world.
He looked down the coridor, and saw, instead of a grey-red metal bulkhead, a black hole. On instinct, he jammed on his helmet.
He grasped the handholds on the wall, and hauled himself towards the door. He pressed in the code to close the door, and began to haul himself through.
The dogtags in his hand slipped out, and, not quite knowing why, he grabbed for them. He lost his grip, and tumbled down into the void. He smashed his head as he flew out, sending him into oblivion.


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John Woke up. The familier metal surrounds to which he had become accustomed had gone.
Okay, the three steps. One, Where am I? He looked around. From his vantage point, face down on the ground, he could see sand. Something in his mind clicked. I'm on Makos.
Next step. Who am I? I am Staff Sergeant John Edward, Callsign Helios, of the UNSC marine corp. And step three, What just happened? He thought. I just got thrown out of the Banewulf, then knocked out, and now, I've just woken up. Obviously I've just fallen from orbit. By rights, I should be dead, burnt to a cinder on re-entry. Obviously, I'm not though. Man, God must want me alive for something.
John rose slowly to a crouch, and looked around. There was nothing but reddish sand. He stood up fully and looked around. No-one around. Suppose I should get to where-ever the pelicans evac-ed all those people to.
He chose a direction and began walking, A lone ODST, armed with nought but a pistol. A single black figure on a sea of red.

(OOC- Yes I realise that John is on the wrong planatoid. I just thought It could make an interesting plot twist, for him to try to find an HQ that just isn't there. Says something about the futility of human life. Or something. Could someone come to pick John up? I kinda need John to be moved somehow to Makis[that is, the habitable planetiod], just don't teleport him. The movement Just needs to be feasable, and I'm not exactly up to making a new character or two, just to move John.)​

 

[leegrisham]

Eerie watched the horizon and the two squads of Elites pushed forward along with the human warthog. The wraith was anything but comfortable to pilot but it was the safest position in armor. Eerie didn't know what was ahead but the Remnant thought the mining station was very important. Hopefully there wouldn't be much resistance and this battle would be over fast. Eerie was ready to get off this rock - fast. After he heard the news that the Flood had been confirmed on this planet Eerie thought he couldn't get away fast enough. Eerie hoped that this outbreak grew slowly or at least he finished his mission soon enough to get off planet side. The Elites had set percentage points for out breaks of the flood at which they wouldn't allow any thing off the planet for fear of contamination.
The warthog and spectres darted around in front of the two wraith tanks.
The ghost and banshee had advanced a good distance ahead by now, they would reach the mining station far ahead of the rest and recon the area.
"Sir, the Covenant has set up a tight barricade around the mining facility." his recon party reported.
"What does the resistance look like?" Eerie responded.
"There are a lot of troops there: Brutes, Jackals and Grunts. We count about eight Hunters in the ranks as well. We have spotted mortars and turrets but no sign of enemy armor." the recon replied.
"Hold you positions out of range and wait for us to arrive, do not engage until my order." Eerie said.
A few minutes passed as the armor group topped the hill and the mining facility came into sight. The enemy troops must have been nervous, the sky lit up with plasma as they Covenant began firing their mortars and turrets. The Covenant were firing their weapons outside of their effective range, their plasma bolts fell harmlessly to the ground a few hundred yards in front of the Elite armor group.
"Humans hold your position, you should stay at a safe distance, your limited range projectile weapons will do little good here. -- Banshees move into bombing formations, target the mortars and turrets first. The wraiths will move in and begin to mortar the lines, spectres and ghosts stay back with the humans until we have the lines softened for you!" Eerie issue his commands.
The banshees formed up into a flying V and made a high altitude pass over the lines. The banshees flew at a distance that they were safe from the arch of the mortars and also from the poor shooting of the grunts on plasma turrets. Eerie could hardly see the trail of the banshees until they fired their fuel rod cannons, then green illumination made them all visible. It looked like a green death that rained upon the Covenant lines.
Eeries reticule turned red in his HUD and the fingered the trigger to his Wraiths mortar, the ground shook and dust and debris flew as the mortar left the wraith. A second defining boom echoed his as the other wraith fired off its mortar. The two huge balls of plasma were beautiful as they wobbled through the air. The plasma reached the top of is arch and began drooping back down onto its target. Bodies flailed and gear was sent flying as huge splashes of blue flashed; the mortars had hit their mark.
The wraiths were notorious for their bombardments, they could fire around one mortar every two seconds, Eerie and his group were maxing their wraiths out. The sky was full of sailing blue blobs.
"Spectres, Ghost, Humans - MOVE IN, be swift and deadly!" Eerie growled.

 

[SGT Razor]

It was getting late. Razor could barely see where he was driving, or if he was driving in a straight line. There were no lights on this dead planet to give him any reference. The only lights he could see were the ones from the Elite craft.
"Sir, you're not going to believe this."
"What is it, Li?"
"It seems the Titan's Pride has been hit. They're abandoning ship."
"God help them."
"What happened?" Boomer's voice could be heard over the comlink.
"Titan's Pride was hit." They're voices came in unison, surprising them all. They could swear Boomer was going deaf. It has to be rough on your ears every time you fire the weapons he uses.

The Elite entourage started to slow down. Large buildings lit up a number of aliens. Brutes, Jackals, Grunts, Hunters. There were too many to count.
"What's going on?" Anderson came out of what seemed like a deep sleep. "Why are we stopped?"
"We're here."

"Humans hold your position, you should stay at a safe distance, your limited range projectile weapons will do little good here. -- Banshees move into bombing formations, target the mortars and turrets first. The wraiths will move in and begin to mortar the lines, spectres and ghosts stay back with the humans until we have the lines softened for you!"

"Hey, who died and--?"
"You have a better idea, Boomer?" Andy interrupted. There was a pause. Boomer just stared at his boots. "That's what I thought." It was a spectacular display of plasma volleys; almost like the fourth of July back home. The blue balls smashed into the ground with the brightest shades of blue and green. The soldiers grinned bigger and bigger with each explosion, especially Boomer, not taking into account that these explosions could take their lives in less than a heartbeat.

"Spectres, Ghost, Humans - MOVE IN, be swift and deadly!" They snapped out of their trance.
"Always am." Razor replied. The Warthog made a smooth desent down the red sands of the dusty hill.

 

[helios]

John stumbled through the red sands of Makos, unaware that he might be the only living person on the red rock. He looked towards the horizon, shielding his eyes with is gloved hand, towards the dark blur between red sky and red earth. His throat was dry, and he longed for a drink, having exhauseted his suits water supply. He would have to wait till the suit managed to reclaim some of his bodies own water. Lowering his hand, he continued. The dunes proved no barrier to John, yet the endlessness defeated him.

Hotel-9 desended slowly into the atmosphere of Makos. The Pelican held a recovery team of four; a medic, a scout, a techie, and an infantryman, to provide support and heavy lifting. The techie worked the scanner, feverently scanning the ground for any signs of life.
"What are we doing here?" the infantryman, 'Gunner', asked.
"Apparently something fell here from the Banewulf. We're here to see what it is. Or was." The medic, 'Stone', replied.
"I've got something." the techie, Aaron cried. "I got a lifesign at 8499 south, 1327 east." The pelican swung towards the reference.

John walked slowly along the red sand, his vision bluring slowly.

Hotel-9 sped across the sands of the red Makos. Aaron's eyes were glued to the screen of his scanner, hoping to see a sign that they were getting close.
'Sticks', the scout, was in the cockpit, with the pilot. She scanned the horizen, hoping to pick out the target before Aaron.
"Hey, Sticks, Seen anything yet?" Stone called. She swung her head around, to look at him, saying,
"Nope, nothing yet." She turned her head back outside. A small speck appeared.
"Check that. We got something."
The Pelican swung ever so slightly towards the speck. The speck grew bigger, slowly taking the shape of an ODST.

John collapsed on the ground, aware of a groaning sound coming slowly towards him.

Hotel-9 landed, opening the rear door. The team flooded out, Sticks and Gunner securing the area, with Aaron and Stone coming in behind, to check on the unconscience body.
"Who is it, Aaron?" Sticks asked.
"Gimme a sec. It's Staff Sergeant John Edward."
"His life-signs are stable, lets get him on board." Stone said. Stone and Aaron lifted John on board. Once Gunner and Sticks were on board, Hotel-9 lifted off.
"Where to know?" Gunner asked, as Stone and Aaron tended to John.
"Makis." Sticks replied.


(OOC: Can you say Dues Ex Machina?)

 

[Spartan137]

(Yes! It's back! Weyland, this is the only thing I can think of doing, as I need to bring the Pride down, so sorry if you don't like the outcome... feel free to take over the Longsword pilots and Dereks.)

"Lieutenant Dereks, please report to the bridge immediatly." Dufraine clicked off the radio and surveyed the bridge, now illuminated by the red glow of the emergency lights. Letting out a sigh, he turned to his Ops officer. "How long do we have before we reach the ground?"

"13 minutes sir..." His Ops officer broke off, and he wasn't surprised. The recent battle and constant flirtation with death had taken a toll on all of them. "Perfect. Contact one of the Longswords and tell them that a Marine officer and a... wolf-like creature will be boarding them. Tell them to ready for a quick hop over to the Incarnate." Dufraine thought of the condition of the wolf, wondering if her compartment had survived the fighting. The projecter round had done a lot of damage.

The Lieutenant arrived on the bridge and snapped off a quick salute. "Sir, you called?"

"Yes, I need you to head over to the hangar our guest set up shop in. Take her to the Longsword in dock 9-C and let the pilots take over from there."

"Sir, yes sir." Dereks quickly turned and briskley walked down the corridor.

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Dereks quickly thought over his single memory of the female wolf as he walked through passages littered with debris, wounded officers and corpses. He was forced to back-track twice to avoid the depressurized compartments before he finally reached the hangar.

Opening the hatch, he immediatly recognized the stench of death. Peering around, he saw that the vehicles and surrounding equipment had been thrown off their racks and had collided with the personell within. Climbing inside, he looked for any sign of the wolf. He searched for a tedious minute before a nearby crate slid off a pile of debris and he recognized a white paw that could only belong to Weyland. It flexed and went slack. Sprinting over to the pile, he tore a pile of debris off the creatures unconscious form and hauled her up and over his shoulder. Grunting under their combined weight, he moved off in the direction of the aft hangar bay were the Captain had said the Longsword would be waiting.

Once they reached dock 9-C, he turned towards the entrance ramp were the pilot stood weighting. The pilot, Corporal Dean Shepherd, clicked his COM and the ship roared to life. He helped carry Weyland into the cockpit were they set her down at the aft end of the compartment. Shepherd slid into the seat alongside his co-pilot, Ensign Jim Darius, and sealed the hatch. Dereks wrapped his hand around a grip and made ready for launch.

After the Longsword completed it's prep cycle, it launched itself out of the bay and into the fire strewn space.

 

[Assassin716]

I took a few seconds to stare at her and I climbed back into the Pelican. I hit the blast door ignition button, the ramp began closing and 562 Repentia Acolyte floated through before it closed. You could hear the magnetic locks as the warthog was attached. I looked at my Squads, each one new exactly knew what we were getting ourselves into. It was like the duty of Spartan-117 to protect humanity. It was our turn now. The pelican rumbled as the engines flared to life. The hangar doors opened allowing the pelican to withdraw and head back into the fray on Makos. The planet was consumed in chaos, battles were being fought all around the rocky planet. The pelican began to descend rapidly, the pilots looked about atmosphere and noticed two loyalist seraphims heading toward them. They were immediately shot down by two Katanas.

Over the com system i heard the pilot. "Don't worry we got your back."

I walked back to the personal bay area and looked as everyone was staring at the purple light bulb floating in mid air.
'Alright, Repentia so where is this Assembly Complex you keep talking about', I asked.

'The Assembly Complex is where construction and repairs are constituted. The Complex was made to supply reclaimers with sufficient equipment and support, to complete the task of retrieving the Ion Core. We need a flight arrangement path thirty-five degrees north into the mountain range. The complex will be twenty miles within the mountains.' Repentia replied.

I walked back into the cockpit and gave the pilots the new plotted course. I turned back and looked at my squad, all of them knew we were in for a rude awakening. I had known all of my ODSTs, they were like family. And i wasn't about to let this terror of the flood ripe us apart. 'Alright everyone weapons check', I yelled through the bay. I watched as they all began a simple diagnostic run on they're weapons. I pulled malinda from the rack, i pulled out the cartridge taking a look at the 50cal sniper rounds that laid inside. I slide the cartridge back into the rifle, and took a look through the scope. I checked all the settings and adjustments as well, making sure they are to my specification.

The Pelican had ascended to skim across the sky above the mountains. The pilots had noticed something peculiar about the mountains. They had inner constructs built within the rocky mountains. Entrances could be seen every now and then poking out. The Pelican came down to a small plateau of snow leading to an entrance unlike the others. This one was evidently sealed, bolted, in order to keep something out, and my guess was the flood. The Pelican came to a small hover above the snow and my squads filed out, I made sure Repentia exited before me.
'Alright take to the sky, we will call for evac when ready', I yelled over the com as i walked over to the side of the pelican. One of the Pilots gave me a thumbs up.

My squad and I began walking towards the entrance. Repentia followed closely to me, and began asking questions as to why there is so much activity in the sector. All I could answer with was, an un-ending war. We stood in front of the four story high entrance, which looked every type of conceivable way of being locked.

'Hold on while i grant you access,' Repentia said. She floated up to the top where a red marked symbol stood, and Repentia began, what looked like to me as shooting it with a laser. The doors opened after about fifteen seconds.
'I welcome you reclaimers to my Armory. Please follow quickly so we may acquire your protocol equipment.'

We followed into the dark cavern, when I took a step into the structures lights immediately flashed on. Revealing a rather large infrastructure. With a main corridor branching off into smaller ones. We followed 562 Repentia down the main hallway into a circular room with a pillar erecting in the middle. 562 began unlocking the pillar vault. We knew when she was done when, pistons could be heard and small panels began sliding, revealing armor lockers.

'Yo sarge, this armor is basically a skin suit!' Dan yelled.

'This suit is a qualified containment prototype V.I class 12 combat skin. It heightens all aspects of its wearer, including speed, durability, and strength. And the combat skins usefulness comes from it defending the wearer from any flood contamination spores.' Repentia continued.

I began stripping my armor and eventually came to my skivvies and slid into the skin suit. Immediately i felt the suit, dive into my nerves, like a hundred needles just stabbed me. But after a few seconds the immense pain subsided, im guessing the suit works by itself. I took a few moments to get used to it and donned on my ODST armor once again.

'You are equipping your obsolete armor?' 562 asked.

'Hey if this skin can do all that you say, there should be no problem with extra protection,' I answered.

It took a few minutes to get the combat skin on and re-don their armor once again. When we were all set, 562 escorted us to the weapons stash. We looked around and noticed some recognizable stuff like the sentinel beams that were attached to the quiet sentinels. There was something that looked like a missile launcher which the Enforcers must have had carried on their chassis, but it looked too cumbersome for us. We decided to take two beams and headed out.

 

[Spartan137]

"I want all unnecessary personel evacuated! Get to your designated escape pod and drop when ready!" Dufraine gave his crew their last orders as the Titan's Pride entered the atmosphere. A orange glow accompanied a sudden jump in bridge temperature.

"Sir, the Pride has begun reentry. Firing thrusters and engines as necessary." His Ops officer had regained control and had made strides to make up for her actions. "Estimated time to touch-down is 7 minutes.

"Copy that." Looking to his engineer, "Will the Pride survive an impact against the surface?"

He pondered a moment before replying. "Eh... yes sir, the Pride's super structure SHOULD survive, but I can't say the same for the engines and a couple of other sub-systems. We'll loose hull integrity on the lower decks and more than likely a fair number of Archer pods. But I think she'll make it."

Time for one last order, Dufraine said to himself. "All right. Anyone who wants to get off now, go. Take the escape pod just aft."

His crew just looked at him. "We're not going anywhere, sir." It had been, to his surprise, the Ops officer who had spoken. Nodding, "Very well then. Let's put this thing down."

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"We're nearing the Pride's predicted LZ! ETA 4 minutes!" Nick winced as the pilots voice crackled over the COM, just a bit to loudly.

"Roger that. Set us down in those nearby foothills to avoid getting crushed." The Pelican tilted and banked to the hills. "Zach, any action near the Covenant vessel?" Zach's light flicked on. "Old fashioned shoot out?" Again, the light flicked on. "Good. Give us a warning if the Covenant start to move.

He was about to address the rest of his squad when the temperature in the blood tray leapt. Leaning out of the back, he spotted the Pride, alight with flames.

 

[leegrisham]

Makos Ground
There were large plumes of dust as the ghosts and spectres moved towards the mining rig, the warthogs most of all. The human transports all used torque to drive and propel their vehicles. It was the contact with the ground, the tires picking up and displacing earth that caused such a dusty mess.
A few seconds passed as the light vehicles reached the target and began circling it, spraying the enemy troops with fire. Eerie used the zoom in his visor to get a better look, he could see the flash of the LAAG cannon on the warthog it illuminated the whole vehicle. He saw the ghosts strafe back and forth with a purple fire pouring from the front. Everything was going to plan; he throttled up his wraith and began to close the distance between his bombardment point and the mining facility.
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Makos Orbit
Alse and Johnson stood watching the projection of the space battle, they watched as the UNSC Titans Pride began falling slowly towards Makos.
"Sir a few of the covenant ships have broken away and are heading for the surface, they are moving into position above the mining facility" Johnson said, "That will put them too close to our troops to safely engage in naval battle."
"Very well move into firing range of one of the other cruisers we will not let these covenant scum survive." Alse said.
"Sir we are finally receiving a message from the battle group"
"Put it on screen"
Another screen popped in view above the Covenant Cruisers. It was the Headmaster of the Sanctified Forge battle group

"Alse I regret to inform you that we are unable to provide assistance at this time. Shortly after you made the slip space jump from Ringworld 2 in chase of those brutes we meet a heavy resistance, the attacks are powerful and coordinated. The Covenant have found a new weapon or power source of some kind we are having a difficult time containing them and are awaiting arrival of another battle group to aide. I understand the Flood to be a more pressing issue but to run at this time would only ensure our destruction. I have relayed your message to all available ships that might be able to assist you. I'm sorry and good luck."

"Looks like were on our own Johnson."
"Yep. Sir, we are in range of the Covenant Cruiser." Johnson replied.
The enemies ship glowed down its lateral lines and plasma collected at one point, a huge bolt shot towards the Sanctified Forge but dissipated against its shields.
"Return Fire!"
Plasma gathered along Sanctified Forge's lines and gathered into one point, so similar to the covenant ships but much more concentrated, the Elites had learned from the modifications the AI designated "Cortana" had performed on a stolen ship. They learned to concentrate their plasma blasts and improve its deadly power. The beam shot out a small solid streak across space, it was high at first but them moved downwards, the covenant ships shields popped static wove around the ship, and the plasma beam hit the top middle of the ship and began slicing through it easily. The covenant ship separated with debris bodies and atmosphere spraying out everywhere.
Alarms sounded in the control panel of the Sanctified Forge as the overheat indicator flashed, this was normal now every shot was so powerful that the older transistors would over heat after firing. Not a problem since one shot could destroy a ship or two if they were lined up right.
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Makos Ground

Eerie saw a small garage door begin to open, he saw ghost and choppers sitting in a line ready to leave.
"Heads up enemy vehicles coming out ...." he paused as he marked the area with a way point "here."
"Put some artillery on it, NOW!"
The ground shuddered as the two wraiths released bursts of plasma. The burning balls of destruction hit the mark as soon as the first wave was leaving the door. Concrete and steal sizzled and melted away, the Covenant vehicles exploded and the force of mortar combined with the explosion sent vehicles flying high into the air, flipping topsy turvy and flinging bodies back to the surface.

Out of the sky came a great beam of light, burning plasma towards Eerie's location, it touched down destroying the other wraith in their party.

They are firing on us from orbit.... , Eerie though, "Get inside the structure! The Covenant is firing on us from orbit!" Eerie COMed.
Eerie throttled his wraith to full and barreled for the structure, he only hoped that the covenant wouldn't fire on it too.

 

[helios]

(OOC: I'm lost with the whole Makos/Makis thing. These guys are going to the one where everyone else is, and where the flood are attacking)
John hummed the Score of the Helljumpers theme as the pelican's windsheilds heated red. It was a familier feeling, although he was used to increadible G-forces crushing his body. Sitting in the side seats of the troop bay was comfotable, and quite relaxing. He checked his rifle again, something he usually couldn't do in an HEV.
"How we doing?" He called to Aaron, who was standing by the pilot.
"We're coming up to one of the buildings on the ground. Sensors indicate that a large Elite-Human force is nearby." he called back.
The windsheilds cooled into an icy blue, then paled into a clear sky. John unbuckled himself, and stood up. He nudged himself past Aaron, to look outside.
A massive purplish-blue Plume erupted from the sky, like an inverted volcano, Plasma crashing down onto earth, scorching it with a burning splash.
"Holy..." John gasped. "The Covenant, they're trying to glass the planet!" The pilot hailed the Incarnate, relaying the message.
"They know. they'll do what they can, but we're more or less alone down here."
"Okay, See if you can get us into the building. Hopefully, the Elite-Human force made it in there." John said, taking charge. The pelican swung slightly, racing the potential of another plasma bombardment to the building.
They set down inside a deep alcove in the side.
"Anything out there?" John asked Aaron.
"Not that I can tell."
"Okay. Hotel-9, you get back to the Titan's Pride, keep ferrying people down. The rest of you, grab what you need, anything you will need, and anything else you think might be usefull, so long as you can carry it." The fire team collected various equipment from the racks inside the bay. John found his favourite weapon, the shotgun. He had no personal attatchment to any specific shotgun, only to the type itself. He strapped his Assault rife to his back, making sure it would stay still, holstered an SMG and his Pistol, shouldered a pair of demo packs, and hefted his shotgun.
"Let's move."

 

[Spartan137]

"10 Seconds to impact... 5... 4... 3... 2... 1..."

With an immense explosion, the Titan's Pride firey hulk slammed into the desert planet at Mach 3, sending all left inside smashing into bulkheads and walls. Sirens went off throughout the ship, and Dufraine's head spun as he pulled himself off the deck and into his command seat, just in time to see the rocky hills approach the Pride at incredible speed. But the hills weren't moving: they were.

The Pride slammed into the bedrock, bringing it to an immediat halt. The forward view port shattered, and hot desert air streamed in. Fire extinguishers coughed into action, fighting the inferno throughout the vessel. Dufraine reached under his chair to the extinguisher and moved to assist in saving his ship. He wasn't about to let it die.

As he looked over the wreckage, he noticed that only he and his engineer had survived the crash.

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"Holy S#!T! The Pride is down! The Pride is down!" The pelican pilot was screaming over the radio as the massive shockwave slammed into the aircraft that had just taken off. Nick was thrown against the port wall, momentarily putting stars in his vision and forcing his visor HUD to stutter. The Warthog dangling in it's mooring cleats was nearly thrown clear.

"Hang on!" The pilot lit the afterburners and began the flight towards the Titan's Pride. "I'm going to drop you guys of and look for any survivors!"

Nick didn't respond. Giving his team the hand order to climb into the Warthog, Nick checked his IFF and mission records to see who had survived. The numbers were grim.

Climbing into the Warthog, he noticed a dust cloud in the distance. Kicking his helmet magnification to maximum, he recognized the dreaded shapes of Choppers and Wraithes.

There was going to be a fight.

 

[Assassin716]

'Vice Admiral we have an incoming transmission from UNSC Prowler Angel's Delight,' Kayln stated.

Valstaff pondered for a second. Too much was happening too fast, it was alright, he had worked under more stress than before. But right now waiting on the opposite side of the planet for covenant to make a move was asking for trouble. Not only that but the Elites launched an attack, no immediate threat faces them as the reports came in, they defeated their oppositional forces. But scanners concluded that the loyalist covenant fleet hadnt moved too much.

'Alright Kayln, patch through to screen four', Valstaff asked.

The screen popped up with the Captain Sequia of the Angels Delight.
'Vice Admiral, we have some footage we think you need to see. Its in regard to your ODST 1st Lieutenant Commander Akalar.' She continued. 'Sir we will be awaiting your orders.'

The screen blacked out and a recording started. The soldier number and rank indicated it was recorded directly from Jahrad Akalar. The image faded from black to the desert planet of Makos, his teams were progressing in a SAR mission. The shot turned to look into a room filled with scattered weapons, the armory. The camera began looking around, and immediately turned around back into the hallway...where a limp shadowed figure emerged, the flood was here. Controlled fire bursts erupted from off camera, and a second volley of bursts emitted in synchronized fire. The flood bellied over and Akalar had obtained a UNSC issued flamethrower and burned the body.----The Recording cut and fast forward. It was in a pelican, there was what looked to be a monitor floating in front of him, detailing the events that were to transpire on Makos. The camera blackened and ended.

Valstaff stood up from his command post. He turned to the bridge. 'We are now going online to Magenta Code 5132 Alert, we need evac our forces and prioritize enemies.' He knew what Akalar had thought, he knew what had to be done. 'Patch me to Captain Sequia.'

Sequia emerged on the screen.
'Captain i want you and your crew to initialize an emergency evac of Makos, collect any UNSC or Friendlies down there and merge with the battle group once complete.' Valstaff ordered.
'Sir does that include your ODSTs Vice Admiral,' the Captain asked.
'No, they have their mission, you will pick them up once they have completed their task.'
'Understood Admiral!'

The Screen went black.

'Sir there is an enemy Covenant engagement, they are glassing sector alpha 291. It appears we have UNSC troops and Elites down there. And...Oh My God the Titan's Pride has made landfall.' Kayln reported.

Crap...Valstaff thought. The planet is going to restart, whatever that meant, and there was still troops down there. Not to mention Dufraine and his men were still down there.

'Alright, Kayln i want a projected heading thirty-five degrees starboard. Notify the Battle Group to follow our lead but take no action unless i give direct order. And...Fire up the MAC Cannons.' Valstaff said in a confident smile. 'Lets show these loyalist bastards what we got.'

'Sir, our projected heading will enter us just within the atmosphere. The MAC solutions will be a little more extensive with a gravity pull.' Kayln replied.

'I know... Its exactly what i want. We wouldn't have the necessary range to engage them from here unless we use the planets gravity well. Get me a firing solution on that Loyalist ship in the atmosphere. We are going sling shot the MAC rounds with more force, which should be more than enough to take it down...one at most two shots should be needed.' Valstaff continued.

'Understood Admiral, calculating solutions.' Kayln replied. 'Sir, we also have confirmation of EVAC from Angel's Delight they are sending available transports top side.'

'Thats good, but we need to work faster, before those soldiers are glassed for good.' Valstaff replied.

------------------------------

'Come reclaimers we can take an access route', Repentia stammered.

Me and my Squads followed 562 out of the weapons armory and down a hall. In the room was a giant cavern with only a floating double decker platform. We continued up the ramp and onto the floating platform, 5620 lead me to the front and indicated for me to touch the holographic panel. As I did, the platform activated and gravity repulsars began moving us forward.

'Weapons check!', I yelled.

My soldiers began running a quick check on their items, a few moments later green lights flashed on my HUD indicating everything was okay. The floating forerunner Gondola continued down the tunnel entering darkness. Our helmet sensors can read light and so the HUD automatically switched to night vision.

'What the hell was that!,' Micheal yelled. The rest of the ODSTs turned to see what he was yelling about.

'Micheal, what the hell are you talking about?' I asked.

'I heard something, a gurgling type of sound...', He replied.

'Crap! ODSTs Zeta formations now. The ODSTs scrambled to the inner deck, taking cover behind the pillars holding up the top deck, or crouching behind a wall. The Gondola tilted for a second, slow foot steps could be heard.

Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. A sentinel appeared from the dark and began assaulting the flood that boarded the gondola. More and more of the flying rescuers emerged from the dark escorting the gondola through the dark caverns.

I noticed something running past me, i turned to see a flood combat form wailing on Derek. I opened fire on the flood, holding the trigger down unltil my counter read twenty, nearly took half a clip to take it down. Derek flashed green on the HUD display. I knew this ride wasn't going to be easy, but then again when ever is an ODST's life ever easy.

 

[Spartan137]

A massive explosion rattled through the Titan's Pride.

"Sir! Hydrogen for the reactor has just detonated! Structural integrity at 29%! We can't control the blaze!" The Titan's Pride's chief Engineer, Andrew Ryan, was again at his control station, attempting to fight the fires that had ignited in the ship.

"Sound general quarters and the respirator alert. Give them 15 seconds, then emergency dump the liquid coolant in the affected areas. Seal the bulkheads." Dufraine thought of the men that would more than likely be trapped inside, but he needed to save any others and provide a haven for any soldiers planet-side.

"Sir, Gold team is approaching in a Pelican from the North West, they are requesting that you send out all remaining soldiers to take up firing positions around the Pride. Apparently, there is a Covenant cavalry approaching." Andrew left his seat to look out the forward view port, now just a hole in the wall. "Looks like 40-50 vehicles. Choppers and Wraithes."

"Order all remaining forces out of the ship and dig in. Contact all surviving escape pods and Dropships and order them to the Pride." Dufraine moved to a weapons locker and pulled out a BR-55. Checking that he had plenty of ammo, he wedged himself in a bulkhead near the view port and aimed his weapon through. "I'm going to take a few of these bastards with me."

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Sitting in the driver's seat of the M12 LRV Warthog, still dangling underneath the Pelican, Nick fired up the engine.

"Okay, go ahead and release the clamps." Almost immediatly, the Warthog dropped away from the Pelican and fell the 30 feet to the desert floor. It hit dirt and instantly sped off towards the Pride. Erika, in the gunner's position manning the LAAG, racked the charging handle, ejecting a single round with a satisfying clack. Justin did the same with his M247 in the shotgun seat.

*INCOMING FIGHTERS* the Warthogs computer chirped at him and, sure enough, a Seraph and a pair of Banshees streaked over head, dropping their payloads on the loan 'Hog. Nick casually steered out of the way, allowing Erika to pepper their shields with .30Cal slugs.

Coming alongside the Pride, they drove around the starboard side of the vessel to the opposite side where the attack was headed towards. Nick sighed in releaf when he saw that Marines and ODSTs had already poured out of hangars and docking hatches and taken up position in the rocks that had been thrown aside by the massive vessel. M19 SSMs were seen everywhere, and a number of turrets had been set up around the still hot hull. Bunkers had been built all around the rocks.

Bringing the vehicle to a screeching halt near what Nick thought was the command post, he leapt from the vehicle and sprinted inside the hastily erected titanium bunker. A few command screens sat, flickering. He was surprised so much equipment had survived. He looked around and realised that he was the ranking officer.

Orders where needed.

 

[helios]

John crept down the deep Forerunner styled hallway. The four ODSTs followed closely. Stick stopped beside him.
"Sir, no disrespect or anythin but, I was wonderin, do you have some kinda nickname, or something?" She looked at him, and waiting for a moment, blushed. She had her visor sheilding turned down low and John could see he face. He chuckled.
"I was just thinking. I tend to go by John mostly, but my callsign is Helios. Why do you want to know? And why do you have your visor sheilding turned low?" He asked curiously, looking at her.
"Oh, no reason. And it helps me see better when there's not much light." He nodded and started back down the corridor.
"Sir! The pelican's returned! The pilot says the Titan's Pride's hit earth!" Aaron called. John spun around.
"Any survivours?"
"Yeah. But it's under attack, and they need all the men they can get!" This wasn't good. On the one hand, they were close to the Human-Elite force that was sheltering nearby. On the other, they were definatly needed by the Titan's Pride.
"Damn. I don't know what to do. What d'you guys think?" The group shuffled around uncomfortably. Gunner spoke up.
"Personally, I think we get back to the Pride. They need us more. The guys here got Elites, they can take care of them selves."
"Fair enough. Anyone else got any ideas? No? Okay then, we're going to the Pride." The group returned to the pelican, which lifted off, taking them to the intact Titanium-A hulk. The pelican landed, and the group clambered off. John went over to the nearest soldier.
"Whose in charge?" the soldier pointed at a large figure. John stared for a moment, and recognised the shape. It was a Spartan.
He walked over to the shape and saluted. The Spartan saluted back. His armour was different to the few John had seen previously, but was obvoiusly Mjolnir. John himself was wearing a dirivative of that armour.
"Sir. I am Staff Sergeant John Edwards, previously of the Banewulf. I'm now placing myself under your command."

 

[leegrisham]

As Eerie closed the distance to the mining facility he watched the sky burn. The atmosphere was engulfed in flames as the Covenant cruiser pushed down to the surface. The ship was moving fast, the Covenant was scared-in a hurry - Why wouldn't they be? They were out numbered, out gunned and in the middle of a flood outbreak but whatever was in this facility was very important to them. Even with all their fervor and drive even the Covenant knew when to run from a battle, so whatever was in this place was enough to make them stay and fight.

Dust and debris filled the air as the ship came closer and closer to the surface Eerie couldn't see the structure anymore - he just drove in the direction it used to be.

The deafening roar of the cruisers engines died down and the dust began to settle, the cruiser had stopped and was hovering a few hundred feet above the facility the mid section of the ship began to glow a deep purple, static filled the air, a purple beam lurked slowly down into the middle of the structure. No sooner than it touched ground 2 pairs of hunters, followed by Brutes, Jackals and Grunts. Eerie stopped counting at 30 - a bad situation had just turned much worse.

Eerie jumped out of the Wraith and hunkered down below a concrete strut of the facility. He set a waypoint on top of him for his team to meet up. Eerie hoped to maintain radio silence he hoped that his human companions could see his waypoint - but he wasn't sure if the two technologies could interface. The most important thing now was to fortify inside the structure and try to survive Covenant reinforcements

 

[Zenzeigan]

((sorry for pointless post... will read WHOLE thing then continue))

 

[Primal Weyland]

((Read the whole thing before entering. That's not open to debate - read it, get the full story, THEN enter.))

 

[Spartan137]

"Sir. I am Staff Sergeant John Edwards, previously of the Banewulf. I'm now placing myself under your command." The ODST was the first reinforcements the Pride defense group had recieved. Nick was relieved, and snapped off a return salute.

"Good to see you, Sergeant. If you haven't seen already, the Brutes seem to have decided to launch a pretty fair sized assault on the wreckage. Move your men to cover the Pride and try to stay low untill I give the order. If you've got any M19s, ready them, and pick up a few more if you need them." Nick let the ODST leave and turned to the rest of the command personel. "Grab as many vehicles as you can from the Pride's storage bays and place them in the rocks. Make sure each 'Hog has a gunner and driver and tell the Scorpion drivers to use anti-vehicle rounds untill they Brutes come on foot." He ducked out of the bunker and walked towards Ericka and Justin. "Justin, take up position towards the Pride's aft and ready the men down there. Ericka, you do the same at the forward section. If you can, check and see if Dufraine is still alive. I will stay here."

The two SPARTANs spoke in unison. "Sir, yes sir." Justin climbed out of the M12 and jogged aft, while Ericka slid into the driver's seat and drove towards the cockpit.

Nick climbed on top of the bunker and grabbed a spotter's scope. Peering through it, he saw that the vehicular formation was being led by a large gold brute with a gravity hammer slung on his back (Do NOT kill him. He's mine). After viewing the formation for a moment, he turned his attention to the sky in time to see a large number of Spirits and Phantoms break through the distant clouds, each flanked by a single Seraph. "All SAM teams, be warned: multiple boogies approaching. Dufraine, if you can hear me, I request that you try and get the auto-turrets active. We're going to ne-" Nick was cut off when a trio of spikes slammed into the rock above him, showering him with pebbles. "All units, be advised. There are snipers in the area, more than likely camoflauged and carrying beam rifles and those new spike snipers. Keep your heads down."

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"Dufraine, *CRRRKK*, I request that you try and get the auto-turrets active. We're going to ne-*CRRCK*" Nick's voice crackeld over the COM speakers with a considerable amount of static. He looked to Andrew. "Give me a moment, sir. I'll try to activate them."

"Good. I'll try to get Aislyn back on line." Dufraine moved back to the holopad that the AI normally filled. Sitting on the deck, he pried an access panel off and began tinkering.

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Spikes were beginning to impact all around the soldiers surrounding the Pride. Nick had ventured his head up, only to have had it nearly taken off by one of the Brute snipers. Wraithes where beginning to lob mortars at the entrenched soldiers, but the rock cover managed to protect them from most of the rounds. All the same, a fireteam near the outer fringe of the rocks had been directly hit. He had watched as the marines all fled the trench, burning.

"Zach, try and take out that sniper." Nick spoke as another marine was picked off by a large, 12 inch spike that had hit him in the chest. His status lighted blipped and a number off explosions sounded around the ship, telltale signs of Zach's M99.

Lifting his BR-55 over the edge of the rock he was covering behind, he linked to his scope to see where the Brutes were. 300 meters.

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Time to start the party. All fireteams, open fire. SSMs and SAMs, fire at will."

 

[helios]

"Good to see you, Sergeant. If you haven't seen already, the Brutes seem to have decided to launch a pretty fair sized assault on the wreckage. Move your men to cover the Pride and try to stay low untill I give the order. If you've got any M19s, ready them, and pick up a few more if you need them."
John nodded, and walked off towards what appeared to be an Armoury.
"Okay people, get what you need. Long-range, medium range, short range, whatever. Just ditch the explosives. I've seen too many people injured 'cause of friendly explosions. Once you're ready, take up stations together, preferably on high ground. Keep radio contact with the Spartans, but don't radio me unless I radio first, or its an emergency. I'm going to see if I can find anything inside the Pride." The four saluted, and went to pick up what they needed. John turned towards the Titanium mountain, and gazed up and down its armoured side.
He breathed deep, and strode towards it, seeking and entrance.

(OOC: Yes, he is going to try to find Dufraine. THey were childhood friends, after all.)

 

[Spartan137]

"Okay, ladies and gentlemen. Time to start the party. All fireteams, open fire. SSMs and SAMs, fire at will."

With what seemed to be perfect unison, Justin-137, along with the other Marines and ODSTs rose and brought their weapons to bare, placing both ironsight and scope on one of the many incoming vehicles. Every soldier pulled his or her trigger and hundreds of thousands of bullets filled the air. One chopper took enough direct his to destroy the drive wheel, shredding the main body of the vehicle and throwing the blue Brute flailing through the bullet-strewn atmosphere.

Justin looked down the ironsights of his M247 and let out a series of well placed 3 round bursts, each killing a brute that had the misfortune to sit in the Wraith gunner's seat. He slowly began walking down the sloped earth and around walks, eventually taking up position at the front of the rubble, calmly chopping down any creature that was unlucky enough to not be in a vehicle.

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Nick looked through the sight on an M19 SAM launcher and lined the circle up on an incoming Banshee. He double clicked the trigger and the M19 automatically spat out both of it's missiles. The first was a near miss, detonating just aft of the incoming fighter, showering ground personell with shrapnel, but the second impacted dead center of the crew cabin, blowing the entire vehicle to pieces.

Leaping from the rock he was perched on, he hit the dirt and rolled out of the way of a flurry of Brute spikes, missing him completely. Looking around the rock he had rolled behind, he saw that the first Phantoms and Spirits had already disgorged their payloads, 4 squads of Brutes, Jackals and Grunts. Bringing his Battle Rifle to up to firing level, he fired twice, hitting a pair of Grunts, sending them tumbling.

"You there! On the rock! Put some fire on those foot soldiers" He yelled to a pair of machine gunners, both manning the mounted version of the M247. They both opened fire, shredding the remaining Grunts and a pair of Jackals.

He had been about to sprint out from behind cover when a massive explosion ripped at the other side of rock. A wrecked Chopper had been sent carriening into the rocks. He sprinted from around cover just in time to see a Brute, mouth formed into a wicked snarl, swing it's spiker at him in a viscous attempt to take his arm off. With a leap, he rolled out of the way.

He felt the familiar sensation of time slowing down around him.

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Ericka sat behind a mobile defense bunker that the marines had set up, reloading her MA5C rifle. The screen jumped from zero to 32 when she had charged the handle. The Warthog she had driven to the forward part of the vessel was sitting further up the trench the Pride had formed and the LAAG was firing, full auto, at the Covenant on-slaught. She lept strait up, nearly 6 Meters, and fired in mid air. The Jackals that had had her pinned down with Carbines had no time to adjust their aim and take her as she fell into the midst of them only sprint away as fast as she could to another bunker. But she hadn't left without leaving a present. An M9 HE-DP Fragmentation Grenade lay primed on the ground at the Jackals feet. Sliding to the bunker, she just had time to get under cover before the grenade exploded and the Jackals where sent tumbling through the air.

Banshees screamed overhead, firing into the rocks at Marines and ODSTs who where entrenched and firing at the incoming vehicles. By that time, almost 1/4 of the vehicles had been destroyed, 3/4 had been Choppers. M19 SSMs let out missile after missile, all targeting the Wraiths that where now lobbing energy mortars at the ship. She watched as the blue orbs flew lazily before slamming into the Pride's Titanium A hull, melting it.

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30 Kilometers away, Zach looked through the scope on his Stanchion. He was firing at a rate of 15 rounds per minute, and had managed to disable a number of the Brute snipers that where taking potshots at the rest of his team.

Turning his rifle, he barely had time to see the white-hot spike and move out of it's trajectory. He wasn't sure where it had come from. Switching the scope to it's infrared setting and scanned the area. As he waited, three more spikes pulverised themselves over his head. With each impact, he was closer to locating the Brute SOB. A fourth spike... there! Lying in scrub grass, 15 kilometers away, lay a single Brute, covered in dust colored rags and blending nearly perfectly into the surrounding landscape.

Zach pulled the trigger and the Brutes head exploded.

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Dufraine made a few final adjustments to the Holopad and signaled to Andrew. The engineer nodded and flicked a switch. With a burst of holographic static, the image of Aislyn appeared and dusted itself off.

"Greetings, Captain. It would seem that we are on the planet's surface." The AI hadn't even been active for half a minute and it was already up to speed.

"Yes, that's right, Aislyn. Can you get the cannons on line?" Dufraine unslung his rifle and stood by the pad, waiting for a respons.

"I can, Captain. Taking control of the guns." There was the telltale thumping that indicated the guns had started firing.

Dufraine nodded and walked back to the view port, taking aim at the few Brutes that he could see.

He fired his rifle for nearly five minutes before, too late, he noticed the Brute sniper that was aiming right at him. He started to react, moving subconsciously out of the weapon's range.

The foot long spike whistled past his head, just barely clipping it. However, it was enough force to send his body pirouetting through the air, only to come to a complete halt by slamming into one of the walls. He blacked out.