HRP reboot - Chapter 2: On the Run

"I'll try Siri. But goddamn, you make it very hard to try." And then she returned the kiss.

Siri nodded.
"I know."
She then pushed away. "So strap in. We have to get you out of here soyour ship can escape. More covenant may arrive."

"If they're not on their way already...." Lin said as she strapped in next to Siri. "And just for old times sake, I am going to cop a feel from you before I go,"

Siri blushed. "Ok..."
She glanced at her maid uniform...hoping Lin didn't grope too hard.
It wasn't exactly...dammit, it was a breakaway one used for dancing. Not exactly a real one like she really would like right about now.

"And don't worry, I won't grip hard.....much." Her anger was still there, but it died down a bit beneath a smirk.

"Even if you did...you deserve to be a bit rough..." Siri held her arms away. "Go ahead..."

Lin.....did more than just touch Siri over her dress. She leaned across, unclipping the straps and pressed her lips against Siri's, and pressed her agains her chest, while the other tangled itself in her hair. When she broke the kiss, she looked into her eyes again. "Don't just remember me. You better survive whatever crazy shit you do."

Siri of course kissed back, whimpering at the squeezing. When Lin broke away, she was panting slightly.
"I hate being on the run...Now I'm feeling like going to my bed." She looked sad. "And Lin...I'll come back to you. I swear." She looked around, then stopped. "Do you have our picture on you? I...I can leave a message on the back of it."

Lin's face went red. "Uhm......I don't actually have the picture anymore Siri. After you, well.....left, I tore it up when I got angry."

Siri looked hurt...but leaned down and grabbed her bag, which she stupidly left there. Diggin through it...she pulled out her copy.
"I saved it on my PDA...so..."
Grabbing a pen, she wrote "I love you. Always." on the back and held it out to her.
"Don't lose, or rip, this one up...Please..."

"I'll try not to." Lin said, taking the picture and stashing it in her pocket.

Gently pushing Lin into the troop compartment, Saoirse looked at Lin carefully.
"If I end up getting myself killed Lin...know that...every moment with you was worth it. Ever single moment was worth it. Even the moment I thought you were going to slap me."

The door closed, the Pelican began to lift off.


"Sorry for the dealy Captain Oswald; Pelican had a malfunction. Musta been from that lovely missile you threw our way." Rika said sarcastically.

Oswald didn't exactly buy it, but he couldn't argue now that his soldier was coming back. The hangar doors opened allowing the ship to come in.

"If you die Siri.....just know I'll probably be right behind you," Lin called out as the ship came to a stop.

Landing, the ramp lowered.
"Don't lose that picture. Please."

Once she was off, the ship didn't even gain altitude. it roared out of the hangar and entered the Long and Dark December, which pulled away as the Hornet approached.
"Save your allies, Yang. They are more important then us." Rika said to them over the comms.

Five minutes later, the Slipspace engines would be charged and ready.

Jaryd reentered the coordinates for Athera, then promptly spun around in his chair. "Now can someone please explain to me why we went BACK to two UNSC Frigates we had just managed to escape from, and not only that FIGHT BACK AGAINST A COVENANT SHIP?" He didn't yell, didn't scream, yet, just raised his voice enough to show off his annoyance and frustration.

"Saoirse needed to speak to Lin. We managed to save the day, and get them to owe us one." Rika said. "Now jump."

The frigate entered slipspace.

Jaryd punched the button then looked back at Rika, not angry at her personally but she was the only one to respond to his questioning. "I don't care if it was the head of the UNSC! We just risked our asses, and the ass of December so she could have some one on one time with her girlfriend. We got lucky and damn well could've been killed!"

"Next time you fall in love with someone we'll let them think you utterly hate them when we escape. Saoirse has destroyed a life she had something in, that she could change whenever she wanted. So going back for her is the least we can do, becase without her, we wouldn't have a ship, an AI, and the expertise to actually fix this damn thing." Rika snapped back.

Jaryd grumbled. "There's only so much we can actually repair and if we keep going into dangerous situations like that, at some point we're going to get hit in a spot we can't fix, and then it's pretty much all over for living a life of our own! As much as I would love for my hypothetical girlfriend to think I still love her after I run away from the people who treat me like a tool, I would prefer to be alive to tell her that in person rather than a petrified and slow-roasted corpse in the middle of dead space with a note in my hand saying I'm sorry!" He spun back around to keep an eye on his console. "This is why I hate people."

"Then you know what, go jump out the fucking airlock." Rika said. "If you hate people, then fuck off back to the UNSC. They hate you too, so they'll send you far away from them. You get to go kill stuff and be alone. Your choice. Either you stop acting like an emo brat or we'll remove you."

With that, Rika resumed checking for places to land.

Jaryd bristled. He routed control over to Requiem and got up. "I'll be in maintenance." He growled as he walked off. He needed something to work on, something to build and create or modify and alter. He needed machinery to be all around him, to feel and hear the life of cogs and gears surrounding him to calm down. Rika was right, but he'd be damned if he was going to listen to another person again.

As the Covenant Cruiser's two pieces were drifting in space, John contacted Marcus, "Marcus, this is John. Captain Yang isn't letting anyone know what's going on over there... Is everything okay?"

Captain Yang sat on the bridge, "Captain Oswald, this is Yang. Covenant Cruiser is... well, torn in half. How was the little show from the Rebels, Captain?" He chuckled a bit, knowing it took a long time for them to leave.

Doc called out to the rest of Achilles, "Hey! We're needed on the bridge. DOn't ask why, but the Captain wants us there, ASAP!"

Marcus opened his comm, nodding curtly. "Well...this tin can took a beating, John," He looked around at his troopers, each sagging with relief. Jose had been scrambled to provide assistance to the medical team aboard the ship, and he had willingly went. "But...all present and accounted for. We're battered...but I think the only thing really wounded is our skipper's pride."

Marcus smirked at the statement. Plus...the statement that the Spartan had broadcast echoed in his mind. Maybe next time...we can have a chat, Spartan. That is...if I'm not dead by the end of this war.

Athera was ok.

Until the Fire Nation - I mean Covenant arrived. As the Long and Dark December headed there via slipspace, the Covenant gpassed the five major cities, leaving the rest of the agricultural world untouched. Elites went groundside and started to execute the colonists.

As colonists hid in fear, Elites hered any survivors they found, and as all but two Corvettes left orbit, Grunts and Jackals tore into the survivors who were caught, and as those who hid quaked in silence, the screamssounding loud until abruptly cut off.

"This is Oswald, Yang. We're heavily damaged, and have a few casualties. We're in no condition to pursue, at least not if we're headed for a fight. Engines and slip-space are still good, so we'll head back to UNSC space, get repairs underway. You can pursue them if you want, but we're out of this hunt. Oswald out."

The sound of metal boots on the floor resounded through the hallways as Jaryd walked on. His pistol was held securely in his hand, giving him something to examine and inspect on his way to maintenance. With any luck he could experiment with various bits and gadgets, see what could work or might work given the proper tools and parts. He didn't have anything particular in mind, just something, anything to calm him down. He wasn't even going to bother asking if Siri had gotten the parts for his rifle, at least not yet.

Yang tapped his foot, wondering whether or not to keep at the chase, or go with the Hammer, to make sure they get their repairs. One choice, they can 'escort' them, or they can follow the December so they won't lose them again.

After Doc yelled at the others, they ran to the Captain's quarters. Yang was sitting there thinking on what desision he should make, but first he needed to speak with Achilles Squad, "Men, I know what I'm going to do. I am going to have you five, go after the December. I'll get the Hornet as close as I can... but not to close, because if Oswald and I are ever going to get that ship back... we're going to need both ships to disable it, and since you guys are the squad that I trust the most, and have the most confidence in... I'm sending you out there to follow the ship. If you can, get aboard it. If not, I'll ask Oswald if he can spare some units to do this mission with you. Understood? Besides, this ole girl would be flying blindly out there. Her sensors are cut short, so we need minor repairs."

Doc- "Understood sir!"

John- "Let's get packing gentlemen! MOVE! MOVE!"

Yang waved them away to get ready, but he needed to contact Oswald first, "Oswald, I'm going to go after them, but with one of my top ODST squads. I'm going to drop them off, and then meet you back in UNSC space. We can't afford to lose that ship, not even for a second. Let me know what you think."

As Saoirse stepped out of the Pelican, she looked at her hands.
"Ow."
The woman actually started crying, falling to her knees. Lin's promise, her hands, all of it broke her.
So she just stayed there, crying.

As the Long and Dark December went through hyperspace, the twelve hour trip seemed to drag on. Athera was the closest place to go from their last location, and right now, it was going to take forever.

So Rika and Ren absconded to their room as Michael and Lina left Requiem to fly, heading to the hanger to use whatever they found Saoirse on the ground crying.
"Saoirse?!" Lina was beside her. "Are you...oh. Michael! Grab the medkit!"

As Michael retrieved the medkit and slid down beside them, Lina grabbed it from him and opened it. She started to dress the woman's hands. "What did you do?"
"Banged the console." she choked out.

Michael went to go check. "Damn. This ain't gonna be fun to clean."
As he ran off for rags, Lina helped her up. "Let's get you to bed." She said softly, starting to lead her away.

A little while later and he was there. Jaryd opened up the room, the dim lighting used for emergency lighting casting shadows over every little bit of metal and wire, creating odd dynamics with the new light from the doorway into the large area. A quick flick of the lights and everything lit up, banishing away the darkness that obscured the details. He picked his way through the piles of scrap and debris to the center area, his little workplace where he often tinkered and toyed with things. He had to search around to find the tools, everything having been knocked around during the fighting.He took out his pistol and started taking various bits and pieces of things from the piles and holding them up to the small frame of a weapon, trying to see what could fit and still keep the weapon useful.

As Lina settled Siri into bed, after helping her undress, she went back down to the hangar to help Michael.
Together they tackled the Sabre they had nicked from November, aiming to make it...better.

"Go after them Yang," Oswald said. "We can't afford to waste any time. We'll head back, you go after them."

Meanwhile, in the hangar bay, Lin was being seen to by a medical team, though it was rather pointless. The rest of Dragon had gone down to see her, check if she was okay. Daniel, upon seeing her, practically pulled her into a brotherly hug, glad his comrade was okay. Chris had questions.....but they could wait.

Jaryd dug around in the piles of scrap, reaching deep into them with his armored up hands to grab and pull on tiny bits of metal and other components. With his hand he held a few random scraps of metal up to the frame, altering the outline and shape of the pistol. He held them in place along the barrel creating a sort of pan look to the sides, while holding them vertically would allow for a little more protection at the expense of only slight visual obstruction. He cast the pieces aside and looked for some electronics. A small flashlight was put on top, then discarded as it wouldn't serve a decent enough purpose and hindered more than anything. A busted and bruised up brace was held onto the back, creating a makeshift stock for the pistol, but the way it would have to be put on would obstruct the slide and again be more of a hinderence. A small pile appeared behind him from discarded bits, piling up on top of his tools.

Six hours later, Siri awoke to find a warm body pressed against her. Looking down, she found Rika was snuggled into her stomach. The girl had this fondness of that particular area for some reason.
Siri stroked Rika's hair, pulling the covers over her head.
"When you're safe, you'll have to mommies...I promise."

Six hours later, Jaryd had created a small pile around him, temporary pieces of electronics held in place by wires and string all over his pistol. It wasn't gorgeous, it wasn't elegant or deadly, it was just an idea he had used to clear his mind. He held up his pistol and aimed it at the wall, then promptly undid all of the components installed on the firearm. The little pieces clinked and clanged on the floor, making metallic sounds that reverberated around the room as they rang. He stood up and holstered the pistol on his leg, heading for the door.

Once things had been settled, on how both ships would proceed, they parted. The Hammer retreated, falling back into slip-space on a course for UNSC territory. It would take some time before they got back, and by all accounts the ship would be out of all fights for weeks, a month at best. But Dragon squad was far from out of the fight. If things went as expected, they would be transferred to anther ship, and given a mission related to the war.

Back in the barracks, Lin sat at her bunk, looking at the number she was left on the picture. She quickly stashed it away when she heard the sound of boots, and saw Chris walking towards her. "Hey Chris," Lin said. "Lin, been looking for you. It's almost time for us to enter cryo, and Daniel sent me looking for you." She couldn't help but smirk. "Come on, if we get there soon enough we can see him get butt naked." She thumped Lin on the shoulder, sitting down next to her. "Heh, yeah, that'll be fun for you," Lin said. "I'll get a better kick at seeing you naked Chris. With looks like that...." They both laughed, getting up and heading for the cryo bay. Lin left the picture in the footlocker by her bunk.

Marcus was far from happy with what happened, but he felt as if he had some pride left. He looked to his squad, the expressions on most of them were...exhausted. He dismissed them to the cryo bay. Marcus knew that he had clocked more time in cryo than any of the troopers under his command. Marcus accepted that as a reality of the war.

Lily lingered for a few moments, a guilty air surrounding her. She took a small sigh, then headed to the cryo bay, feeling a small hole in her heart. She had unfinished business, and she didn't know if it would ever be finished.

Dragon squad, in full this time, assembled in the cryo bay. Stripping and storing their clothes in their lockers, they all entered a pod, and soon entered cryo-sleep. It would be a while before they would wake up, and get their next mission.

Captain Yang sighed, "Alright Oswald, have a safe trip. UNSC Hornet, over and out."

As he looked at his pilot, gave him a nod, and they were going to enter slip space in a moment, but in that moment, Achilles Squad was going to the War Room.

Kyle- "Doc, the Captain isn't even here yet... why do we need to be here?"

Doc- "Because he told me to tell everyone to get here!"

As they waited, the Captain came into the room, "Men, change of plans, we are the only ship, as of now, going after the December. You five are the ones who are going to get aboard, if you can. Understood? Every other Marine group will run a distraction, unless they get in with you. Go to your barracks, we're going to have a long trip..."

They all saluted, and left the room. Nervous, yet excited to do a mission. It would mean either, killing, or capturing Spartans. Either way, they were fighting their own men and women of the UNSC.

=The stealth Corvette had arrived about 8 hours ago, and finished the transfer
approximately an hour before the covenent had appeared and began their attack on Athera. While the corvette was safe due to being hidden on the far side of the moon, cloaked, the Chiroptera was not as lucky, caught preparing to jump to slipspace,
it was promtly enaged and destroyed by a covenent frigate thinking it contained
fleeing civilians=

damm covies, why here of all places

I was settling into this new ship, checking weapons and other controls when Marik spoke.

"Just our luck.  Can't really fire this ship up or else we'd share a zero-G grave with those last guys."

i think we could take out the corvettes but we'd killed doing it so for now we just wait

=moves a box into storage area and sighs=

last box dealt with and find hidden programs yet?

Jaryd left the maintenance bay and started plodding down the hallways towards the messhall. His stomach gurgled lightly, and all but demanded attention. He kept his eyes and ears open, staying alert for anything that would be out of the ordinary.

The UNSC frigate Nevada listed slowly, the engines where cold... Silent as if the ship had lost all power when struck by the Covenant fleet. Now one of the Covenant Corvettes had positioned itself close to the crippled Nevada, unleashing boarding pods and transports. The aliens had managed to seize control of most of the ship, the reactor, slip space drive core, and hangers where all under Covenant control. The Bridge still held out... Barely. A weak, automated signal played from the Nevada in the hopes that someone out there was listening and would come to their aid. Commader Ryan's voice played over the radio on a loop. "Mayday Mayday this is the UNSC Frigate Nevada we have sustain major damage and the Covenant are boarding us, need assistance I say again this the UNSC Frigate Nevada we are being boarded, if anyone is out there please assist" The message repeated. Commander Ryan ducked down behind a console as a spray of plasma arched over her head. The Bridge seemed to be the only spot that they where still holding out. The armoury had fallen a few minutes ago. She popped up and cut down a pair of grunts with a quick burst of smg fire. Most of the bridge crew was dead, only the Commander and several marines held off seemingly endless waves of Covenant. The important thing was the navigational data had been deleted along with the ship's AI. The only thing to do now would be destroy the ship but with the reactor in enemy hands... A last stand on the bridge it had to be instead.

The Long and Dark December had finally arrived at Athera, the enemy corvettes changing to intercept as her SHIVA nukes gave off a burst of Cherenkov radiation.
"Incoming covenant! We have one UNSC frigate, the Nevada, under attack!"
"Fireteam Blaze to Pelican. Rika, I need you to take the sabre ane cover them. Requiem, you and me. Let's cover the Pelican.

Siri grabbed the comm. "UNSC Nevada, this is Saoirse Monroe of the Long and Dark December. I am sending help. Hold on. Spartans are coming."
As Fireteam Blaze piled into the Pelican and Sabre, Requiem and Saoirse looked to the oncoming corvettes.
"No shields...hm. transfer all power to MAC. Aim all three shots at the corvette that's alone. Aim the mini MAC and archer pod E at the corvette hoarding the Nevada. Aim for the bridge."

The December turned for a position. "UNSC Nevada. Batten down the hatches. Missiles and our mini MAC have a firing solution on the corvette near you. Requiem. Burn these covenant bastards with a holy fire."
"As always the passionate chess player. Knight takes Pawn."
All three MAC shots roared towards the Corvette, gutting it like a fish. The mini MAC missed the bridge but caused the ship to lurch into 30 archer missiles.
"Six MAC rounds remain."
"Save them. Switch to heavy defense guns and move in close. Cover Nevada until Fireteam Blaze has them.

The missiles had royally fucked up the corvette's hangers, and the Pelican positioned it self at the bridge.
"Commander Ryan, this is RIKA - 136. Is the bridge the only surviving pocket of resistance?"

Commander Ryan barely heard the transmission over the sound of battle. She crawled her way over to the comm station while the few survivors gave covering fire. "Solid copy..." She flinched at a nearby plasma grenade detonation. "We are under heavy attack taking heavy casualties" The bridge entrance was piled high with Covenant bodies but more of them seemed to keep coming. "We canno..." Commander Ryan was suddenly tossed against the side of the console by the blast of several fuel rod gun detonations. She slid off and hit the floor with a dull thump, marines and bridge crew lay dead or dying. Groaning she forced herself to her knees and picked up her smg, firing in short burst to keep the Covenant out for a few moments longer. She had no idea what happened to the rest of her crew, there had to be others still fighting in other parts of the ship. But for what it was worth even with the prospect of rescue... She was alone on the bridge. "Come on! Which of you wants to be the first to die!" She yelled knowing that the aliens would probably be attempting to capture her. Those Spartans better get her quick.

"Commander Ryan, please keep firing. Dont move, and hold your breath."
The Pelican's chin gun roared to life, blasting open the windows and causing and explosive decompression.
Before Ryan would jump, the pelican would position itself to catch her, ramp down and Michael and Lina ready to catch her and clamp on a rebreather until they got back to December.

Commander Ryan glanced over her shoulder and saw the pelican, she did as was suggested and held her breath. She did not expect to survive the transition, she was wearing only her uniform, no body armour or equipment for deep space survival. She was pulled out of the ship by the force of the decompression, her eyes wide with fear and brief awe.

Ryan would find herself in a Pelican, two Spartans grabbing and strapping a rebreather on.
"Stay calm." Lina said. The ramp closed, the ship repressurising slowly.
"I'm Lina. This is Michael and Jaryd."

The Sabre blasted four Space Banshees down with missiles. "December, launch the package. Dock now."
The Pelican entered the hangar and landed with the Sabre. The Spartans held Lindsey fast.
"Hang tight."

The SHIVA impacted the corvette, enveloping it and the Nevada in a flash of light.
The December again aimed at the first corvette. "Fire."

Thirty Archer missiles impacted, breaking it in half. "Excellent. Get us out of here Requiem."

Commander Ryan struggled at first till she felt the rebreather against her face. She nodded slowly to the Spartans. "I'm Commander Lindsey Ryan" She thought it was best that she introduce herself. She did not find any joy however in being rescue, she had still lost her ship and all of her crew. The only joy was the fact that the Covenant would not gain anything from the ship.

=the system alerts the pair to the recent usage of a nuclear warhead and marik rushes to the bridge starting the ship fully up but keeping it stealthed=

we got company dan and from the looks of it they packing some firepower