Halo: Forerunners

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Corvette, Henrietta)

“We have boarders. Troop bay hallway.” Rommel paused. “Magnetizing that section.” Suddenly, the metals in the armor of the boarders, that had protected them for so long would turn against them. Pinning them to the floor. Weapons were ripped from their hands and clung to the floor with a deathgrip. “Activating counter measures.” Auto-turrets descended from the ceiling, based on older Covenant designs with a smattering of human weapons. Then they began to fire, attacking the helpless Spartans and soldiers below. It had taken months to rip out the floor plating and install magnets underneath it, but it had been well worth it. The Defiance was a deathtrap for any boarders.

Henrietta paused as one the engine indicators on the display next to her command chair flashed out. “Commence emergency procedures. I want those engines safe. “ The engines outside the Corvette would begin to…withdraw into the craft at a reasonable rate. After all, Henrietta had access to the historical record. She knew about the trick on Reach. Like heck was she going to let someone do that to her baby. “Deploy fighter countermeasures. We do have some left right?”

“Swarm one was used up completely. We have some left.” Rommel shrugged. “Thankfully…..” Another swarm of drones rocketed out of the side of the Corvette, guided by the unerring calculations of the holographic German general. They were small and very very fast. They could only be detonated by a trigger from Rommel…..they were basically guided missiles controlled by a superior intellect…and they were all heading towards the Boardsword. It would shoot some down of course, that was inevitable, but there were a lot of drones, moving at speeds that would have been impossible at the atmosphere.

If it didn’t retreat the little fighter was doomed. The drones couldn’t be fooled into crashing into something, not with Rommel guiding them. They had one mission. Taking care of the annoyance before that had attacked their ships engines, they were in a spread out formation, negating any advantage from splash damage….and the machine guns could only do so much.

OOC:

Maxim of the day: Playing fair is for the French. When you are outnumbered and outgunned, the moral high ground is just a place to put the chemical weapon deployers.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Basilisk

[Axilus Prime]

IC - Defiance - 12:27, Thursday

 

Suddenly, Bruce's armor jerked downward and slammed into the ground, his gun landing less than an inch from his fingertips, which were now plastered down to the ground. The armor was reactive...what could have caused that? He had made no sudden movements downward, and yet he fell to the ground, unable to move. This wasn't the armor deactivating either, a Spartan could lift his own armor even without the reactive layer, to some degree. He grunted and heard the same from behind him, a sign that the others had fallen over behind him.

 

Next came red directional arrows on all of their HUDs as turrets rained gunfire on them from above. They had only seconds before a shield break. His Suppressor, magnetically held to his back, pressed down on him--

 

Magnetism. That was the problem. Using the neural link between a Spartan and his suit, he released his Suppressor, causing it to slide down his back to his legs, trying to get as close as possible to the ground under the influence of the magnetism. It was all very quick, though not as quick as the draining of his now half-down shield. "Magnetism! Crank up your weapon holster magnets, now!"

 

With the sheer strength that attracted the metal in their suits, the magnets in the floor now repelled the Spartans upward by the backs and hips of their armor. Magnetic fields conflicted and pushed, straining the armor. This had to be stopped, quickly. Bruce swung his body around at random, using the magnetism to move frantically and be shot less. Finally, he managed to grab on to a turret, then deactivated the magnetic holsters in his suit, crashing to the ground--along with the turret. It was ripped from its mount with a flash of sparks and hit the ground with the red and blue Spartan.

 

Soon, the other Spartans caught on and did the same. Some were not as lucky. Three Spartans ended up crushed in their armor when they landed. Their shields had been too weakened to survive a drop even that low. Despite the fact that the nuisance of the turrets was gone, the magnetism remained a problem.

 

---

 

Lasky cursed under his breath as the engines retracted. Remember Reach. Clearly, these Covenant had done the same. He flew away from the drones, knowing full well what they likely were. That kind of thing would do much more than blow his engines when he was in a small one-man fighter like that. He opened a comm. "This is Captain Lasky. Infinity, are the laser batteries charged up again?"

 

As they had realized how the Corvette was maneuvering, the Infinity had begun to turn starboard a long time ago. Now, they were once again within firing distance, and bombarded the Corvette. "Yes, sir!"

 

Lasky began to fly at random, just trying to avoid the drones. They wouldn't crash into anything, but Lasky's speed in the Broadsword would be able to keep pace. Hit-and-run would work nicely on that Corvette's engines if it tried to maneuver again. "Just avoid hitting towards the back of that ship's starboard side, and we'll be good. Lasky out!"

[ZTG]

IC: ZacPulling out his knife, Zac headed behinds the Watcher, and jumped, sending his knife in to make the kill.

[Axilus Prime]

IC - UNSC Infinity - 12:27, Thursday

 

The knife slammed right between the Watcher's circular wings, providing a satisfying pop for Zac. A perfect Watcher assassination. Unfortunately, that satisfaction soon turned bitter as he realized that by prioritizing the Watcher to get rid of that Battlewagon, he had allowed the Crawlers to fire on him.

 

One with a downed shield had to work hard and fast to save his own life, after all. Three Crawlers pounced while firing, ready to tear the Spartan's armor off and chew his flesh.

Edited March 29, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[ZTG]

IC: ZacD*** it please work! was what the spartan thought. He quickly tossed a frag into the group of Crawlers and pulled out his Hard Light shield to give him some defense till his shields recharged, "We have Crawlers, we need back up!" Zac yelled out to the others, as well as commincating on his radio,

[Axilus Prime]

OOC: Zac, few people ever hold up a hardlight shield long enough to notice, but the timer for how long it takes since the last time you were hit for your shield to recharge freezes when the shield is up. I won't continue to attack you until one of the other players responds though, so you could get some help.

 

After all, I'm not actually trying to kill your chars.

 

Yet.

 

IC - UNSC Infinity - 12:29, Thursday

 

The Crawlers scratched menacingly at the shield as they took some minor damage from the grenade, which had bounced off the ground and exploded in midair a bit away from them. Screeches, gunfire, and claw scratching echoed throughout the room.

[ZTG]

OOC: Seems pretty much one of my only options when we have a Zerg rush composed of Crawlers.

[Axilus Prime]

OOC: There are only 7 of them, I think that's the most I've ever seen one Watcher summon.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Corvette, Henrietta)

 

“Clever of them, oh, very clever….nothing compared to Montgomery of course, but then who could compare to that?” Rommel appeared to be talking to himself as much as Henrietta. “No matter, countermeasures are deployed. They will not survive this.” The Spartans, still restricted in their mobility, heard something racing down the corridor towards them. Some might have tried to raise their weapons, but the magnets had pulled them to the floor. They were defenseless. The sound of engines grew louder…and the magnets deactivated just as two mongooses rounded the corner in front of them and the one behind him. Four vehicles total.

 

Before they could react, the driverless vehicles were amongst them. The C4 strapped to the vehicles detonated, filling the hallway with an explosive blast. The plasma grenades that had been placed all about the vehicles scattered, clinging the ceiling, the floor and the Spartans. Then they too, detonated. The magnets reactivated after that, pinning whatever wounded that had managed to survive to the floor.

 

The bridge shook once more and Henrietta allowed herself a curse. “Rommel! Clear the board!”

 

The AI grinned and made a show of drawing a luger pistol. “The heavy artillery then? Most excellent.” Emerging from the Corvette, missiles and rockets would headed towards the turrets that were currently making life difficult for the Defiance. These projectiles were special however; they were each tipped with an anti-matter charge, of the kind used to wipe out space stations. Missiles and rockets were fast in the atmosphere and in space…in space and at this range, the chances of interception were nil.

 

They impacted their targets and the starboard side of the vessel was rocked by a massive explosion. The hull would survive. The turrets were not so lucky. They had less armor, less countermeasures. A small out of date Corvette had just effectively wiped out the starboard turrets of the Infinity. The fightercraft fleeing from the drones would find itself faced with a difficult choice. The anti-matter devices were small, easy to store and launch. They were also quite effective.

 

It could run headlong into an antimatter explosion, or let the drones catch up with it. The little devices were fast and the slightest change in course would give them the opening they needed….

Edited March 29, 2013 by Basilisk

[Light]

IC: "I'm trying to deal with a more immediate problem HERE!" Beth ducked under a sword slash, bashing her assault rifle with full Spartan II strength as she straightened, pulling the trigger. If the sheer force of the gun to the face didn't kill him, the bullets in the mouth would. Hopefully the others could deal with the hunters before they came around the corner...

 

IC: Johnson kicked the Knight's body off of him, hopping up and starting to fire at the Crawlers.

[Axilus Prime]

OOC: Body? Promethean Knights disintegrate on death.

 

Anyway I'll respond when the others do so I don't use the Hunters in the wrong way and end up breaking time or causing a paradox.

IC - Defiance - 12:31, Thursday

 

As the Infinity continued to bombard the Corvette, rocking it with explosions just like it had right before Henrietta cursed, the Spartans had fallen over again soon after the magnets had deactivated.

 

Bruce spotted two Mongoose light assault vehicles on his radar, then looked forward. He cursed and yelled, "Back up!" He scrambled to push back and pull everyone close enough with him, but he was interrupted by another yell.

 

"Back up?! There are two more behind us!"

 

At this point Bruce could see the explosives. But how--stupid radar. I should have taken Sensor, now we couldn't react properly! As small explosions vibrated the room, either that or simply the Mongooses speeding towards them, a massive explosion struck the Corvette and shook it. Those Spartans that had managed to stand again now fell over as the Mongooses flipped over, exploding on each other. Small damage struck the shields of the Spartans on the front and back of the formation, which suddenly frightened Bruce for a second. Wait--those weren't explosion flares

 

"Stickies! We gotta move!" The Spartan who had tried to warn everyone realized he had a blue flare on his face, which exploded, shattering his helmet and skull while blasting another Spartan to a wall. That Spartan was lucky enough to survive, but ten others were not. The sheer number of Plasma Grenades ensured that no matter how many bounced off the wall or missed, a substantial death toll was in order.

 

"Argh..." Bruce, now shieldless, pushed himself up again, and pushed the thought of his fallen comrades from his mind. Like the Spartan-II's, they had to maintain focus to win. "I think it's over." Immediately, he was contradicted by his body slamming into the ground. Yep. Of course. It was never over before you had been pushed past your limits for the 30th time...

 

A Spartan next to Bruce lay with an Incineration Cannon in front of him, likely stolen from a Promethean Knight Commander during the battle on the Infinity. "Hey, I can sort of reach the trigger..."

 

"Yeah, sure, that's nice, Paul. We all know our trigger fingers don't have metal coverings."

 

"Yeah, and half of us don't have coverings on any of our fingers. Can you imagine trying to snipe with metal plating on your trigger finger?"

 

"I can imagine trying to snipe when my body's plastered to the ground. It's not fun."

 

---

 

Lasky flew straight for the Infinity, hoping that someone would come and shoot down the drones that were behind him. His course was a straight line, making it possible for him to keep pace with those drones, which were slowly gaining on him. Just when he spotted an approaching Broadsword, a massive blue explosion halted the gunfire that was shaking the Corvette. The turrets...they had been destroyed!

 

The explosion right in front of him, ready to burn off his Broadsword's hull so it could irradiate and incinerate his flesh, Lasky pulled up. Now the charges were gaining on him at an alarming rate. To his right, a group of missiles were doing the same. Just as he was about to turn left, it hit him. Not the explosion. The realization that they were from that approaching Broadsword.

 

The charges collided with the missiles, creating a large explosion not too far from Lasky, destroying his engines and sending him spiraling away. He checked if the comms were still working, and to his relief, they were. "This is Captain Lasky, I need a Pelican to hook onto my Broadsword! My engines are shot!" He then sent a private transmission to the pilot of the Broadsword. "Thanks for the save." He got no reply back.

 

Bruce received a transmission from Lasky, still pinned to the ground. "Not very well, sir. We're pinned to the ground by magnets, and only eleven of us remain. We started with twenty-four, and we can't move."

 

"Then we need to find a way to take out those magnets. Hold out and don't be afraid to call for help, Spartan. Some help's already on the way." He ended the transmission and contacted the other Broadsword again as a Pelican loaded with a standard payload of Spartans hooked onto his Broadsword. "Corvettes have a structural weakness at the top because they need the landing pad. Just fly over there and strike! Then, make your way to the ship's bridge. I won't be going anywhere until you make it in there and we can give you these Spartans to help."

 

"Understood, sir." The Broadsword began to bombard the area with missiles, blowing a hole in the top of the Corvette by the time he got there. It landed incorrectly due to his angle of approach, the result of needing to fire so much just to get through. The Broadsword crashed, lodged inside the Corvette at an angle, over the corpses of splattered Elites, Jackals, and Grunts. A few, still living, moaned in pain, while the rest began to fire. Small-arms fire did nearly nothing to the vehicle, and soon, the Pelican arrived, dropping eight Spartans to help on the Broadsword in case of magnetic floors. A few headshots later, the Spartans had taken down the stragglers in the room.

 

The pilot exited his Broadsword. "More will be coming. We need to make it to the bridge controls and stop those magnets. Be ready." As all the Spartans stood on the Broadsword's wreck, in case the floors here were magnetic too, they waited a while to see if more enemies would be sent at them. A few Spartans realized who was leading their squad and stared.

 

The Chief was back.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[ZTG]

IC: ZacThe Spartan turned and saw that the other Spartan was busy handling the Crawlers, hopefully that was distracting them,. He could see his shield was running low, and his normal shield was half way charged. It would have been full, but he had to keep himself from dying, that way the figh could keep going. In case that some weren't giving up on him, he placed his hand on the shotgun, and readied to himself when the Hard Light shield lost all its energy.

Edited March 30, 2013 by Zacax: The Gunsmith

[Axilus Prime]

OOC: Zacax, just wait for the others in the room to reply. I can't actually attack you without messing up time until they respond. If it goes two days (real time) without a response from either of them, I'll work something out so you can continue to fight.

 

Now for the next plot step...

 

IC - Defiance - 12:35, Thursday

 

The Pelican flew away from the Defiance, leaving Chief and his Spartans on board. A landing bay opened for the Pelican, which boosted full speed to reach it as bombardment from Concussion Turrets and Plasma Cannons from Phantoms started to damage it. Fiery explosions slammed into the Pelican's sides and disappeared, with no oxygen to sustain the fires. The damage remained, though, clearly shown by the exposed frame of the Pelican's wings.

 

Lasky's Broadsword was hit, tearing off a wing and the entire aft end. It nearly swung off of the Pelican's bottom. The sound of bending and straining metal filled the captain's ears, but finally, the Pelican was able to get into the landing bay. A Phantom followed closely, blasting a hole in the empty troop bay of the Pelican. The Spartan piloting the Pelican tried desperately to get out of the cockpit, pushing the button repeatedly. The controls were unresponsive, so he bashed it open with the rear of his Rocket Launcher. He stood, turned around, and fired twice at the Concussion Turret. It came off just as Lasky used the comm system to order the troop bay doors closed. The Phantom's cockpit warped and dented until it was smashed off by the relentless force of the metal doors. Angrily, the Elite Ranger inside jumped out and fired a Fuel Rod Cannon, killing the Spartan with a powerful shot to the chest.

 

Lasky was able to smash his way out of the Broadsword cockpit after enough tries, then picked up the Rocket Launcher from the dead body of the Spartan. He whirled around to get behind the smoldering wreck of the Pelican and Broadsword when fuel rods flew at him. They smashed into the wall, exploding threateningly, but he managed to reload the Rocket Launcher and fire at the Elite.

 

He dove aside, narrowly avoiding the rocket, but was struck dead-on with the second shot. Lasky tossed aside the empty Rocket Launcher, took the Fuel Rod Cannon for self-defense, and made his way into the ship hallway. No sooner had he done so than a series of massive explosions rocked the Infinity. The entire hallway began to explode, sucking air out violently. Lasky grabbed on to a door handle and dropped the cannon, slamming his fist on a button. Assault Rifles flew out the door, but Lasky adamantly held on and pulled himself into the room, then shut it again. The air was thin, but it was enough to survive getting to the next door.

 

The captain fell over on the way, as tremendous explosions raged outside the ship. Only one hostile ship had that kind of firepower. Lasky hurried to the ship's bridge.

 

---

 

The Marine who had been operating the turrets was now helpless to defend. Battlecruisers approached the Infinity, to which his only response could be the deployment of several frigates. They met the Covenant assault head-on, at least matching it equally, but the main problem was still blasting the Infinity full force. The Infinity could barely turn with damaged engines and the pressure of being shot. "Captain!" he called through the comms, "We're under attack! It's the Vengeance!"

 

Lasky received the transmission and replied back with orders, falling over again.

 

The Marine switched comm channels and relayed a message directly to a certain Spartan's helmet. "Chief, you need to get on that assault carrier! Take four Spartans and leave four to help the boarders on the Corvette! Captain's orders!"

 

"We can't take a ship that size with only five Spartans."

 

"We know, you'll be getting reinforcements soon! A new Pelican's headed for your location, just--will that thing stop shooting for ONE MINUTE?!"

 

Clearly the situation was a problem. "Understood, awaiting transport." Without turning around, Chief addressed the Spartans as the Pelican approached. "Four of you, with me. We're boarding that ship and getting reinforcements later. The rest, help rescue the Spartans trapped here."

 

Three Spartans stepped forward, and one reluctantly followed afterward. The Pelican arrived, opening its troop bay, and Chief led them on board. When the troop bay closed, the pilot briefed them.

 

"All right, men! Captain says we got half of something that the Covies want! Probably some magic toothpick or a free ticket to their Great Pilgrimage or somethin' like that, but we're getting on board that ship, and taking their half instead! And if we run into ol' ugly Jewel Umdaman or whatever he was called, we kick his sorry rear right back to Monday!"

 

The pilot's vigor reminded Chief of another one he had lost. Johnson...Cortana...no. This was not the time to think about Cortana. This was the time to save the Infinity and everyone on board. Time to fight.

 

The Pelican flew between the battlecruisers deployed by the Vengeance, shooting down Phantoms easily. Chief manned the turret on top, firing tank shells to back up the low firepower of the side turrets. One Spartan who had volunteered to come with him remained in the troop bay, sitting on the ground while eight others sat on the side seats. A Phantom began to exit the troop bay. "Now!" Chief yelled to the pilot through the comms. "Boost and proceed to insertion!"

 

Proceeding to insertion...just like on the Didact's ship...just like when she died. This time, it would be the Covenant who died. Chief fired as many shots as possible on the Phantom when the Pelican flew right across its starboard side. The Phantom exploded after several shots from the starboard side turret on the Pelican crashed into it.

 

The Pelican landed in the hangar, one of few actually passable landings. When the hangar bay doors closed, the pilot turned the Pelican around and fired the Spartan Laser several times, aided by tank shells and machine gun fire. The doors exploded violently, setting fire to the Pelican for a brief second before the vacuum of space snuffed it out. The Spartans came out. "Whew! That should make it easy for our reinforcements!"

 

Chief advanced into the first hallway, leaving the others behind. By the time they realized he was gone and followed, he had already opened the first door and begun to fire his Battle Rifle at the Covenant forces, shooting their heads with ease. The Spartans quickly followed up and fired as well.

 

"Quit hoggin em all!"

 

---

 

Four Spartans cautiously advanced in formation, ready to defend themselves. Scorpions were all around the room...but no troops seemed to be coming through. This was strange. The Corvette was either slightly undermanned, or full of traps.

 

Bruce received a message from the group's leader. "We're in the ship, tracking your IFF tags. We'll get to the bridge after we exit this vehicle bay and try to take down the magnets."

 

Vehicle bay?! Bruce immediately responded. "Get to cover! The vehicles here can operate themselves!"

 

---

 

As the battle raged inside the Infinity, slowly, the Spartans seemed to be defeating the boarding forces. It was just as well. Lasky rushed to the ship-wide bridge comms and pressed a button. "Calling all Spartans! If you have killed all hostiles in your area or are about to, make your way to some Pelicans! The Master Chief is on board the assault carrier that's bombarding us, and he needs reinforcements! If you don't want to board, get to the labs immediately and defend the Forerunner artifact! Hurry!"

 

OOC: Time to pick your roles and fight! Have fun, everyone.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

Two Mgalekgolo, one Zealot. One Spartan II, dislikes killing, one Spartan IV, showed up out of nowhere. Then myself. Think, Ilja, think, don't just let yourself run crazy, that's how Jonathan went down.

 

Quick breath in, quick breath out. In again, out again, hold. Heartbeat, slowing. Backpedal, gun up. Take quick recon of situation: Beth on Zealot, taking him down quickly. Mgalekgolo, unaccounted for. Fuel rod cannon fire coming in, roll back, roll back...Ilja grabbed Tony, pulling him back away from the blasts as well. Ilja ended up rolling back from the shockwave, though his armour had protected him from injury.

 

Minor damage to outer plating, fixable. Hopefully Tony's shields held up.

 

Ilja was back on his knees in no more than half a second, a spare grenade he'd grabbed from Tony's belt area in hand. The pin had been bulled, and in a moment, the spoon flew out as Ilja released it, the grenade slamming into the ground and bouncing up to one of the Mgalekgolo's unprotected central areas in about half a second, while he brought his assault rifle to bear on the other, firing upon it while it was still up and trying to aim to fire. Even if it brought its shield to bear, that would give Tony time to toss a grenade underneath it, and Beth time to kill the Zealot she'd just tried to fight.

[ZTG]

OOC: Ignore.

Edited March 31, 2013 by Zacax: The Gunsmith

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Henrietta , Defiance)

“I’ve never been so happy to see a Covenant warship in my life.” Henerietta's grin was nearly splitting her face, facing the Master Chief in pitched combat was the last thing she wanted to do. It was even on her list, right after jumping into a supernova. The man was a hero, and she’d left ONI because she was tired of what they did to heroes…..and how they made them. “Rommel! Hail that ###### ‘Mdama! Give him my thanks!” ‘Course, now what amounted to a death machine on legs was heading towards him, but nothing ever went exactly as planned, besides, this met much less pressure was being directed at her paltry little vessel.

In the landing bay, just as the warning was sounded, the barrels of many different weapons were suddenly pointed at the Spartans. Tank cannons, miniguns, plasma weapons….enough firepower to wipe them out. Then a holographic form flashed into existence in front of a Scorpion tank, dressed in a uniform not seen for hundreds of years and sporting a thin German accent…..but most disturbingly of all, considering the vessel they were on, was his appearance. He was human. “Erwin Rommel, gentlemen, you have proven yourself to be worthy foes before. I implore you….lay down your weapons. This vessel does not make a habit of abusing prisoners. Otherwise I shall be forced to….take lethal action.” He gestured to the Scorpion Tank and its smaller, but still deadly friends.

In the hallway, the Spartans heard another set of engines approaching, distinctly different from those they had heard before. The Spartans were boxed in, two Ghosts on each side, each laden with explosives and fully capable of using deadly force. A pleasant, German voice would fill their ears as they took the sight in. “Destroying them would only rain plasma grenades down upon you I’m afraid.” The Ghosts were currently on an unmagnetized section of the floor, allowing them to move freely. “I advise you stand down. Surrender. This battle is over for you. There need be no more bloodshed.”

Edited March 31, 2013 by Basilisk

[Axilus Prime]

IC - UNSC Infinity - 12:41, Thursday

 

The Zealot's slash slid right into thin air, robbing him of the feeling of a good strike burying itself in the flesh of his target and coming out the other side. He roared, but was interrupted when his mandibles slammed into each other, pushed by the rear of an Assault Rifle. The storm of bullets slammed into his shield, breaking it and shooting him in the face. The spray of blood from his mouth splashed onto Beth's visor until he fell down, dead.

 

Curses. Curses, screams, and pain. Fifty times over, at the least. But the others planned vengeance.

 

The Hunter felt an explosion slam into over fifty of its worms, knocking it back. Its foot slammed down behind it, but then forward again. One foot after another. A hundred worms, and a hundred contractions. Again and again. Forward. DIE.

 

The second Hunter felt vibration. Not the vibration of speech, or of itself, but of bullets dealing some damage to its armor. It raised its shield and charged a blast as the bullets simply bounced off, then fired when Ilja's clip was empty.

 

The first Hunter was now charging at the Spartans, shield held out in front of it, charging a blast. It would shoot at close range, or it would smash with its shield. The collective rage had to go somewhere, it felt, and so it would release it as painfully as possible.

 

Lasky's transmission reached the ears of the Spartans, and the Hunters. To the Spartans, it was an order that had to be carried out as soon as possible, and that meant taking down their massive attackers. To the Hunters, however, it was only a distraction, and one that every last worm in their bodies thoroughly ignored.

 

---

 

The Crawlers assaulting Zac's hardlight shield scratched, bit, and fired until the shield was red, but one suddenly popped in an explosion of burning orange liquid and metal. The other two brought down the shield, but were eventually killed as well. Johnson's gunfire had done the trick.

 

They heard Lasky's transmission. The area was cleared, and all that remained was to choose offense or defense. The battle's most crucial point was already beginning.

 

A massive explosion suddenly dented the wall. The shock wave shook the entire room, to the point that they both fell over. The bombardment hadn't stopped.

 

---

 

"They can what?!" Guns of all kinds were suddenly pointed at the Spartans. They held formation, knowing that it was key to their survival. "You know what to do..." he whispered, when suddenly, an AI hologram appeared in front of the Scorpion right in front of them. Wait. That was a human, not a Sangheili. That accent...no, not Sangheili. Not at all, or even close. Seemed to have clothes from the same century as Roland...

 

"Well, Rommel, we've got some lethal action too. Want to take your chances?" Not as lethal when you weren't killing anyone...but heck, the fewer vehicles these Covies had...wait. Human AI, right. These weren't Covies. The Spartan put two and two together, then sent a call to the captain of the Infinity. "Sir! The Corvette's human! Innies!" He briefly sent the message, then returned his focus to the situation at hand.

 

Lasky got the transmission at the bridge. Well, whatever the Corvette was, the assault carrier was Covenant. There was no mistaking it. The Didact's Vengeance.

 

And some innies had allied with it.

 

---

 

That was no Sangheili accent, despite the presence of their light assault vehicles. Humans were on this ship. Suddenly, Bruce's train of thought was broken by an outcry from the Spartan next to him.

 

"I don't give two ****s about survival when surrender's the only other option! I can fire this here Incineration--"

 

"Stop! Everyone has the individual right to sacrifice his own life, but if you do that, you'll doom us all. There are people behind us!" Bruce nearly filled with rage.

 

"I'm sure they all think the same!"

 

"I think the same, but wake up! They don't. We surrender. Now." Bruce looked at the Ghosts. "We surrender."

Edited March 31, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[Canis Lycaon]

IC: Meredith Black

Meredith ran through the hallways, shotgun at the ready. A Promethean Knight was ahead of her. She raised her shotgun and fired it at the Knight, killing it swiftly. The body dissolved, leaving only a Light Rifle behind. Meredith picked it up, and continued to run.

 

She got to a lab, and entered it. She said, "I am here to guard the Forerunner artifact."

[ZTG]

IC: ZacAfter the Crawlers were felt with, Zac felt relief, but still remaining focus. But... No focused enough to stand on his own two feet when the whole room began to shake. He fell onto the floor and tried to get back up, being on all his fours now, "This **** better end soon!" Zac yelled,

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

Even though Ilja would never be stupid enough to fire until his mag was empty, he chalked the emptiness of his mag up to having reloaded with a halfway empty one. Backpedal, reload, thirty-two rounds back into the rifle. One Hunter moving for him and Tony, the other...

 

Oh, happy day.

 

When the Mgalekgolo that had charged up a blast fired, hereby referred to as Mgalekgolo 2, Ilja merely ducked and rolled out of the way of Mgalekgolo 1. A moment later the explosion from #2's Fuel Rod Cannon blasted into #1, dropping that one to the ground. Ilja didn't take the time to determine if it was dead before he threw his last grenade over its unmoving mass to land at #2's feet.

[Light]

IC: Beth had been protected by the Zealot's body.

 

From the physical damage, that is. The blood and shattered skull impacted her visor, and the Spartan II staggered back, suppressing the urge to hurl. She was fine temporarily, but her emotions would go nuts after she finished this fight.

[-Golden Knight-]

IC: The hallway was littered with the bodies of marines and Covenant. Most of the combatants were either dead or in a different part of the ship now. A red light on a door beeped steadily. All was quiet in the blood-splattered corridor until the sound of metal penetrating metal pierced the silence. The door slowly slid back into it's compartment as an intimidating armored soldier stepped out.

 

Behind him were several corpses. The bodies of an Elite Minor and several Grunts were scattered all about the room. An ONI agent was slumped over an overturned table and two marines were lying in the center of the room. The Spartan glanced back before stepping over the corpse of a marine pulling out his shotgun.

 

"Private Evans reporting. Is anyone near my location?" The Spartan said over the comm channel. He pumped his shotgun and prepared to move out.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Nebula 2.0

[Axilus Prime]

IC - UNSC Infinity - 12:45, Thursday

 

A trembling, jittery woman in a lab coat rushed to Meredith. "Oh, thank heavens you're here! The Covenant are starting to break through!"

 

Across the room, a door had a metal bar dividing it. Under the bar, glowing fingers pulled. The glow persisted as doctors helplessly tried to fire their Magnums with their eyes closed in fear. The door was being pulled apart, which allowed Meredith a glimpse of the red helmet of the Elite prying the door open. Suddenly, its shield popped, prompting a quick retreat. An Elite Warrior slammed his hands onto the door, pulling it apart further as his energy shield began to glow. A Beam Rifle shot struck a doctor in the face, now that enough of the door was open for a Jackal to begin to fire.

 

Alien laughter filled the room as doctors began to drop dead.

 

---

 

A Spartan rushed into the room, helping Zac and Johnson to their feet. "Hurry! Get out of this hallway and help out somewhere! Captain's transmission, remember?"

 

The room stopped shaking, with only an occasional tremor strong enough to make a vase fall off a shelf...for now.

 

---

 

OOC: Do not fill in the other players' posts with unintended meanings. The Hunters most certainly were not aiming to betray each other.

 

Granted, I hadn't thought about the empty mag thing, so I'll go with it. But never, ever, do that again in this RPG.

 

IC - UNSC Infinity - 12:45, Thursday

 

The grenade blew up, sending the Hunter's foot back. It landed on the first Hunter's leg, causing a slip. The worms all contracted by reflex, but it did not work.

 

The first Hunter's head turned to face Ilja, and below it was an outstretched arm. No Hunter was weak enough to die from a single grenade and a Fuel Rod. A Fuel Rod flew from it right for the Spartan-III, and in the time it took him to react, both Hunters got to their feet.

 

As soon as he had finished, the second Hunter had already fired another Fuel Rod at him.

[ZTG]

IC: ZacZac nodded as he grabbed his weapons and decided to bring the Rocke Launcher just in case. He was just carrying it for now, someone else could use it.

[Makuta of Time]

OOC: I guess it's time for a little action

 

IC(NPC):

An Jackal came in behind another, and fired his needler at the doctors. He came out of the room and put his shield up as he was ready to fire upon a Spartan.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Henerietta, Defiance)

 

“Wise choice my fellows. Wise choice. I am deactivating the magnets. You will throw your weapons down and accompany the Ghosts to the brig. Any attempt to deviate from the path they set will be met with summary force. I go by Erwin Rommel by the way, a pleasure.” True to his word, Rommel deactivated the magnets, freeing the Spartans from their impromptu prisons. “Don’t try any last minute heroics. Your fingers so much as twitch on those triggers and you’ll be right back on the floor. I do hope we understand each other.”

 

In the hanger, the holographic AI indulged in a deep belly laugh. Then he activated the magnets built into the floors, the Broadsword the Spartans were standing on suddenly shook as it was pulled down by the magnets, destabilizing the surface they stand on completely and tossing them onto the floor….where the magnets promptly pinned them. “You are in no position to threaten me Spartan. Escape is impossible.” On cue, Autoturrets descended from the ceiling and considering how high the ceiling was, that trick with the armor wouldn’t work, or so Rommel calculated. “Surrender. It’s over.”

Edited April 1, 2013 by Basilisk

[Makuta of Time]

IC(NPC):

The Elite then opened the doors all the way, but his shields went out. He took out an energy sword and stared at the doctor standing next to Black. His mandibles slightly opening, as if to show him growling.

[Axilus Prime]

IC - Defiance - 12:47, Thursday

 

Bruce stood and dropped his Lightrifle, then pulled out his Suppressor. The thought of firing it crossed his mind, but the risk of getting the others shot was too great. He tossed it down, then looked to his left. The Spartan with the Incineration Cannon was about to fire.

 

Immediately, he punched the side of the cannon, sending it out of the Spartan's hands. "Commit suicide when you're alone if you want, but not here!" He looked back, seeing the other Spartans dropping their weapons as well, then looked back at the Ghosts.

 

Why did he look back at the Ghosts? No one was in them. The AI certainly wasn't. But at the same time, Bruce was human, and his mind subconsciously wanted to link that voice to a physical form.

 

"Pleasure, huh? I wish I could say the same." Bruce received a transmission, using his neural link to his suit to switch to private comms. No one in the room could actually hear what he said next.

 

---

 

The Spartans crashed to the ground, sending a private comm to Bruce. "Floor's holding us down!" He received the reply, telling him what to do. As the Spartans activated their magnets and stood on thin air, repelled by the ground, it came to their attention that the room they had fallen into had a much higher ceiling.

 

A circular room, like the one SPARTAN-B312 had entered upon boarding a Corvette in nearly the same manner. The difference here was the fact that instead of Elites, they were up against turrets and vehicles with perfect aim. But this could be made to work. The Spartans observed the situation, changing the angle of their arms. "Surrender...see, that's going to be a bit of a problem." This was a gamble, and the Spartan knew it. But he wasn't doing this for himself. He was doing this for some friends.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Rommel, NPC, Defiance)

“Yes. You blowing a hole in the side of this fine vessel did put a damper on the occasion didn’t it?” Rommel’s voice was light and casual, as though a gigantic battle that could determine the fate of all civilization as they knew it wasn’t raging outside. The Ghosts began to move forwards, boxing the Spartans in as they moved down the halls….and just around the corner; the Spartans would get the first look at their captors. A phalanx of humans in pure black ODST armor and Jackals stood in the path of the Ghosts….and then stepped out of the way, making way for the Ghosts. “Don’t mind them. Had to have a backup plan in case you figured something out, you lot are very inventive…..”

In the landing bay, Rommel’s holographic avatar smiled….and then the AI deactivated the magnets. Sending the Spartans crashing to the floor, a nanosecond after that, he reactivated it. “Already seen that trick. There are two ways this can go-you can keep trying and I can keep slamming into the floor until there is just some interesting remains left in your armor….you can surrender. “ The third option, calling in Vehl and comrades, went unsaid. No need to warn them after all. “We’re having a special in the brig anyhow. Try the soup.”

Edited April 1, 2013 by Basilisk

[-Golden Knight-]

IC: Q advanced slowly through the hallway. The Spartan was quick and cautious, taking any possible cover before confirming that the area was clear of any enemies. He opened up the comm channel again, hoping someone would answer as he checked his shotgun. He still had 1 shell loaded in, and 4 on his person.

 

"This is Private Evans. Is anyone in my general vicinity?" The Spartan said into his comm channel. His voice was calm and measured.

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

One thing the Mgalekgolo would soon learn was that Ilja was an opponent who did not long stay in one place. When the grounded one fired, Ilja had already moved away from that spot, to get to a better position to attack the one still standing, and that one as well missed him in his continued movement. And as soon as the one that had been on the ground stood up, but was still vulnerable, Ilja opened up with this assault rifle at the Mgalekgolo's unprotected "neck" and midsection.

 

Time to send more viscous, orange blood flying, and time to rip some worms apart.

[Axilus Prime]

IC - UNSC Infinity - 12:47, Thursday

 

Q received a reply almost immediately. "No, but get to hangar bay 13-37! You need to gather up some Spartans and board that supercarrier!" The ship shook again, nearly toppling the Spartan. The number of Spartans able to go to the ship or the labs was small, but it grew with every small victory they achieved.

 

Outside, the Infinity returned fire with missiles, trying to bombard the carrier's shields with MAC cannons from the deployed frigates as well. Huragok on board the Infinity were deployed to the aft, where they began to open panels to repair the engines from within the ship. They needed to be able to get the bow of the ship facing the Vengeance for a powerful counterattack with the main laser batteries, but the Huragok had to stay inside. Vacuum was not kind to anything that was both flimsy and filled with air.

 

---

 

Bruce shook his head. Yeah, sure, like they hadn't shot the Infinity, allied with the Covenant, and blasted off a bunch of turrets. The Corvette shook as one or two frigates out of the large force attacking the Vengeance used their starboard turrets to attack it. Bruce could not help but inwardly smile.

 

And so, it was true. The human voice of the AI, the accent, the sheer genius of these people. Innies. Rogues. Whatever they were, they used to be on his side. He switched his helmet mode back so they could hear him. "So. You used to be with us."

 

Inventive. For a moment, Bruce felt slightly guilty. Could he have thought of any strategy? Was there really a way they could have forced them to need the ODSTs and Jackals?

 

The eleven Spartans walked past the guards, looking down and back at the Ghosts. As they walked, basically helpless, they wondered how the other Spartans were doing.

 

---

 

Blue flashed out in front of the four Spartans as they fell, face-down, right between them and the ground. They ended up suspended in position again, which took away the sense of relief they had at being on solid ground. Still, they felt a bit more confident now.

 

The leader saw the minuscule drain on his Armor Ability meter return to full charge. Hardlight Shield was a rather efficient ability, one reason why he and his fireteam all had it. "If that's the best you've got, feel free to try it all you want."

 

---

 

The Hunter's worms caved and writhed from the bullets until it raised its shield again and began to charge up a blast. The one next to it fired another Fuel Rod to the area where Ilja was about to run to, meaning he would have to change direction to avoid being hit.

 

The other Hunter let its shield down again and fired when Ilja undoubtedly moved. They had figured by now that this Demon was not incompetent, and would not simply allow himself to be hit, if at all possible to avoid it. But with this tactic, it might not be so avoidable after all.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

There would be one thing the Mgalekgolo most likely wouldn't account for, however, and that would be unorthodox tactics. Did Ilja jump away from the first blast? Yes. Did he jump straight back? No.

 

Where did he go, you might ask?

 

Well, he'd already reloaded, and now he ran towards the second Mgalekgolo to fire, having dodged under its first shot and getting up close to it, while its shield was still down. Now he placed his assault rifle to the creature's midsection, unleashing fully automatic fire of 7.62mm rounds upon it, while reaching up with his other hand and proceeding to rip yet more Lekgolo from the 'neck,' using its body and armour as a shield from the other. He figured he had about one second before the Mgalekgolo would crush him.

 

Time to hope that this, combined with the damage from earlier, would be enough to finish it off. Otherwise, at least he was buying time for the other two to run off.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Rommel, NPC, Defiance)

The guards made no reply, but the chatty German AI made up for it. “In a sense, I work for the captain and the captain has a grudge against ONI a mile wide. In fact…….incoming downloads. I assume your helmets have a display? I have some files you’ll be interested in seeing. The more people who know about it, the less of a chance they can cover it up by killing us all. Practical no?” The Spartans helmets, if they had such a capability, would suddenly download a few files from the server aboard the Defiance. These files detailed the Spartan project, II and III in particular, noting the extremely young age of the kidnapping victims and the fact that ONI essentially sent six-year olds to die en masse during the Spartan III program….followed by a download covering ONI’s involvement in starting the Civil War that had resulted in the Elites fragmenting. “You can see why we’re not exactly on the best terms with them right now. “

The holographic avatar in the landing bay sighed. “I’d hoped to avoid this…” The magnets deactivated once more, slamming the Spartans into the floor….and then, their weapons, as soon as they hit the floor, would appear to simply fly from their grasps. Then they would be wrenched to their feet by an invisible force. “Meet Vehl and his compatriots. You can’t see them but they can certainly see you…” Rommel activated the magnets in another section of the hanger, pinning the Spartan's weapons to the floor. “You are disarmed and are currently being manhandled by an invisible foe. The being I am based off of commanded panzers in Africa. Four stubborn soldiers don’t really worry me.”

On the bridge, Rommel's smaller avatar shot the captain a concerned look. "We are under fire. It's relatively light and we could likely go toe to toe with the attackers....but...." Rommel left the rest of the statement unspoken.

"Move closer to the Infinity. Bring out the engines. If they attack, reel em back in."

Rommel saluted. "As you wish mein captain." It made sense, the closer they got the flagship, the greater the chance the frigates would hit their own vessel, forcing them to ceasefire.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Basilisk

[Axilus Prime]

IC - UNSC Infinity, Defiance - 12:50, Thursday

 

The Hunters were now unsure of what to do. As Ilja approached one Hunter, the one next to it could not reach an agreement. Its Lekgolo tensed in rage and confusion...then...

 

'Screams' of pain, understood only by the Lekgolo in both Hunters. Rage filled the Hunter as his bond brother collapsed in pain, unable to sustain its combined form, and fell down dead. Ilja saw the Hunter fall down to the side, as a shield being swung down at him took its place.

 

A loud vibration much like a growling roar filled the room, emanating from every exposed part of the enraged Hunter's body.

 

---

 

Images filled Bruce's display, images of the Spartan project his strength descended from. Children being kidnapped...augmented...not even knowing what they were getting into. The names....so many names, some of them familiar. John-117.

 

Bruce was immediately reminded why the rumors that Rommel had just confirmed did not give him any hatred toward the UNSC. "It wasn't right, Rommel. But that was ONI. Why betray the entire UNSC? Those shadowy ****s don't even operate legally. And I can't hate them for it. Are you aware that the main reason any of us are alive revolves around the existence of these Spartans? The end doesn't always justify the means, but in this case, to me it does."

 

As he spoke, he observed the files about the insurrection on Sanghelios. Resources, illegal dealings, weapons. Bruce momentarily filled with rage. This could even have something to do with why Mdama was so powerful.

 

"Look," he said as the files stopped streaming, "if you want to take out Osman or some ONI people, be my guest. But leave that Halsey and the rest out of it." In truth, Bruce wasn't in much of a position to say such things, but he couldn't hold it in. It was worth a shot, regardless.

 

Suddenly, his focus was shattered. What. What did he just say?!

 

"We'd like to join you. This is unacceptable." A Spartan behind him stepped forward, and was followed anxiously by five more.

 

No! Surely he had to be joking. Bruce sent a private comm to all the Spartans in the room, save for those who had stepped forward. "Delete those files and tell no one what you saw! If you're wondering why, I've already said it to this Rommel guy. We'll be executed if we tell anyone anyway, and that's if we're lucky enough not to cause the destruction of the UNSC!" As they did so, Bruce sent another private comm to the Spartan who had started the defection request.

 

"Is this a trick?"

 

The Spartan whirled around and punched Bruce in the face, taking down his shield. He allowed the shield to regenerate as the red and blue Spartan jumped back. The punch was mainly for emphasis. "No, it isn't a trick! And if you have any sense you'll do the same as I do!"

 

This was not good...

 

---

 

Camo camping little...

 

In the dim lighting of the room, which couldn't have much lighting when a Broadsword had crashed into it and knocked out a bunch of power lines and lights, the shimmer produced by active camo could not be seen. It was too late regardless, as they were now held by invisible foes.

 

However, that wasn't the end of it. "Well. I guess we surrender...or we die." The Spartan sent a private comm to the rest of his team, who began to laugh a bit. "Well, we're out!"

 

Blue flares appeared in each of their hands, and before the invisible aliens holding them from behind could react, they had been thrown right at them. It was, after all, not hard to judge where someone was by their hand position.

 

The plasma grenades stuck to their targets, who could die alone or take the Spartans with them. Either way, no one ever survived a stick...and the Spartans knew it. "See ya!"

 

---

 

Bingo.

 

The captain of the UNSC Supernova pressed a button on the ship's bridge. "Send in Broadswords en masse, they're getting ready to move in close again." While it was still safe to do so, the relentless bombardment did not cease.

 

A Marine on the bridge pressed a button. "Firing main battery at hostile battlecruiser, sir!"

 

"Good." The captain smiled as the Covenant ship in front of them went up in flames, its entire bow end brutally ripped apart.

 

A squad of fifteen Broadswords sped towards the Corvette, firing missiles as soon as it was within the farthest firing range. Accuracy wasn't exactly easy from this range, but with every second, the Broadswords came closer, and so fired more accurately.

Edited April 1, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[Light]

IC: Beth ran around while it was distracted with Ilja, aiming her blood covered rifle at the weak point on its back and opening fire.

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

However, Ilja didn't let the now-dead Mgalekgolo fall to the ground completely. He brought up its shield and the arm with it, his armour creaking and straining. When the second Hunter's shield collided he let out a grunt of effort, feeling a hairline crack run up one of the bones in his right arm, though his armour and will kept him holding the shield up, despite his pain, his boots both mag-locked to the floor and just generally digging into it, giving him what he needed to remain in place. Locked for a moment, Ilja waited until the Hunter started to level its assault cannon, when he thrust the shield straight for its exposed midsection, a full-body movement as he had to thrust it like an over-large, long, spear blade-shaped sword.

 

With no shield in its way, though that was currently heading for the still-living Hunter's midsection, its own shield came to the floor, cutting into it and stumbling Ilja back, though he still pulled out his pistol, ready to make one last attempt to defend himself if this attack didn't succeed in severing the Mgalekgolo's fake, metallic spine, and killing a sufficient number of Lekgolo to take it out of action.

[Havelock Vetinari]

IC (Henrietta, Vehl, Defiance)

“Fighters incoming mein captain, I am activating our anti-aircraft defenses and deploying countermeasures, I hope you know what you’re doing.” Rommel paused for a moment, accessing the needed programs. Outside the ship, plates on the hull flipped up, revealing a mixture of UNSC and Covenant anti-aircraft weapons. Guided missiles, plasma and such as….all guided by the ruthless accuracy of a Insurrectionist A.I. Mixed in with the sheer firepower deployed by the Corvette, an anti-matter charge was deployed, mixed in with some of the remaining nuclear drones. The chance of the enemy detecting it amid the AA was miniscule. The nuclear drones were detected of course, and made priority targets. Something Rommel used to his advantage, using them to guide the enemy’s attention away from the anti-matter charge….until it was directly in front of the enemy fighter formation. Then it exploded, consuming them utterly.

The Defiance rocketed forwards, snuggling up to the side of the Infinity. Firing upon it with MAC cannons or any weapon would do just as much damage to the Infinity as it did the Corvette. “Not bad. If I do say so myself. Shall I prepare the boarding parties?”

Henerietta nodded, poring over the casualty reports from this little operation. “Yes…..” She shook her head. She didn’t like losing her people.

In the hallway, a few of the guards raised their weapons. Rommel’s voice filled the hallway. “That’s the spirit. If you stop beating on each other these fine gentlemen….” The defecting Spartans would get a HUD update highlighting the guards, will take you to one of the briefing rooms. They’ll fill you in on the nitty-gritty. We’ll have to do some background checks, determine your ethical…..outlook, before we welcome you in, but I rather suspect that won’t be an issue. As for the rest of you…continue on with these Ghosts. Not to worry, we won’t hand you over to the Covenant. I hope you like uninhabited worlds though. You’ll be spending time on one.”

Vehl staggered as the grenade hit his armor, thinking fast, he activated his energy sword…and sliced the armor…and no small part of his skin off. A few of his men had time to repeat the action, leaping away from their doomed comrades just as the explosions consumed them and the Spartans. Vehl rose to his feet and looked at the charred hole where the Spartans and his men had once been. What had the point been? They would have treated them well. Would have simply dumped them on some planet for the UNSC to find….and instead, the humans had elected to cause him and themselves pain.

Some members of the species were simply insane. He looked at his remaining comrades….of those who had been close to Spartans, one remained. Those who had been farther from the Spartans had been much more fortunate. “Come. We must prepare.”

Edited April 1, 2013 by Basilisk

[Axilus Prime]

IC - UNSC Infinity, Defiance - 12:56, Thursday

 

The Hunter's shield slammed into the shield of its brother. It felt like it had been forced to hit itself, a part of itself it cared about more than the part it was in reality. Such was the nature of bond brothers.

 

But now the part he was felt pain. Bullets slammed into its back from behind, and it reared up in pain. It thrust out its elbow at the Demon behind it, but it was too late. A distraction. In pain, the still-living Lekgolo churned as the entire midsection of the Hunter was sliced in half. The spine dented and orange blood poured out of the Hunter's midsection.

 

It crumpled to the ground, dead. Now, it was time for Beth and Ilja to make their choice. Time to defend, or to attack. The captain's orders remained the same.

 

---

 

Clearly irritated, the captain of the Supernova put in a transmission to Lasky. "Our Broadswords can't come close to that Corvette. Permission to hit it with a HAVOK nuke?"

 

Lasky rushed to the comms. "Negative! We have boarders on that ship!"

 

The Supernova suddenly took a hard hit from one of the turrets on the Vengeance. "Then how long until you can turn that ship?"

 

"Ask the Engineers!"

 

---

 

The defecting Spartans followed the ODST guards, noting that their HUDs identified them as allies just like the ODST HUDs did. What the UNSC did was unacceptable.

 

Bruce resisted the urge to assassinate them, knowing what would happen if he did. At least these rogues had no intention of killing them. Bruce said nothing to Rommel, instead trying to figure out how he could give aid to the UNSC in his condition. He sent a private transmission to Lasky. "Sir, Spartans Stone, Wellington, Anderson, Smith, Jordan, and Grace have defected to the rogues." Outside, the situation seemed like it wasn't improving. Something had to be done.

 

Behind Bruce, the four remaining Spartans looked uneasy, confused, or outright angry. They had sided with the UNSC, agreeing with Bruce's small speech, but now they weren't sure what would happen. What if the UNSC didn't find them for weeks or even months? Their built-in comms could receive transmissions from the Infinity, but they couldn't send them.

 

OOC: Whoops, thought the boarders were already on the ship. Fixed it.

Edited April 2, 2013 by Axilus Prime

[otter]

IC-Ilja:

 

Minor damage to outer plating. Hairline fracture in right arm, risk of becoming worse: 30%, rising with increased probability of extra battle. Assault rifle tossed aside, two magazines left for it.

 

Jerkily, Ilja stepped over, bending down and picking up his assault rifle. He tossed aside the empty mag it had, popping another in. Three moments after bending down his vision blurred up for a moment, his skull pounding.

 

Minor damage to cranium, possible concussion. To much rolling around from near-misses of assault cannon blasts.

 

He set his pistol bag on its magstrip on his thigh, pulling up his assault rifle, turning to Beth and Tony.

 

"You guys head back for the labs," he growled at them. "You both would be more suited to single emplacement fighting than I am. I'm going to head up and fight some boarders. If all goes well, I'll see you later. If not..." He shrugged.

 

"Good luck," was what he said, before he turned and began to run down the hall, his multiple layers of photo-reactive plating helping him blend in again, now that he was away from the myriad of explosions that had been his last battle.