HRP reboot - Chapter 2: On the Run

=heads back into the other room and talks to the woman=

would you mind going with me associate here so he can assess your injuries?

The Falcons were closing in, their turrets manned and ready to fire. Four in total, three had standard mini-guns while the fourth was armed with a pair of grenade launchers. Soon they came within sight of the carnage below, as the ODST's and Marines fought to hold the station. Without signaling the friendly forces, they immediately opened fire, main guns peppering the hulls of the dropships. The Falcon with the grenade launcher focused on the rear most forces, boxing them in between the troops and the hovering gunship.

Daniel looked up, and saw the Falcons there at last, three of them performing strafing runs on both the dropships and ground forces. They did more damage to the troops than the ships, but at least they drew their attention. "We've got air-support, keep the pressure on them!" he shouted. Ozren fired another rocket, this time at a Spirit that turned to leave. He hit the anti-gravity generators of the ship, causing it to fall down to the ground atop an unfortunate Covie squad. It didn't explode, but it was useless now. However, the elation was shortlived, as a pair of Hunters emerged from behind the rubble, along with more troops deployed by another ship. "Dammit.....pilots, target those Hunters before they slaughter our position!" Daniel barked into the comm. One of the Falcons dipped low, descending to bring it's guns to bare. Instead of firing at the entrenched humans though, the Hunter pair raised their weapons and shot at the Falcon; one shot hit a turbine, the other hit the cockpit and melted through the glass and killed the pilot. Without control and running on one turbine, the Falcon, now on fire, spun around in midair as it fell to the ground. The area before the ODSTS was now littered with bodies and wreckage, providing more cover for the aliens.

Anna nodded slowly. "Might have to help me I don't think I can move on my own" She informed them. //

Emma cheered and whooped at the explosions until one of the falcon's was shot down. "Holy moly" She whispered before firing her final grenade launcher round. It detonated harmlessly in front of one of the Hunter's. This was naturally much to her horror, but it was not what made her leap from her cover. Dropping the spent weapon, she heard the whine of a primed plasma grenade just before it landed in front of her. With no time to lose, Emma jumped out just before it detonated. Bits of super heated rock pinged off of her armour and she sprinted rapidly, sliding into the narrow cover provided by a shallow impact crater. Drawing her side arm she popped up and fired, emptying the whole clip into a Jackal. Plasma bolts whistled past her, "You guys can't shoot to save your lives!" Emma taunted seemingly unafraid of the danger. She ducked back down and huddled into the dirt as she reloaded.

~John "Cobra"~
As the banshee falls through the air, my team flees toward my position. Out of the corner of my eye, I see two hunters shoot down a falcon. I watch as the hunters turn toward the other troops positions. I see that my team is almost to the cave, and reload my sniper. "Stay here! I need to help them!" I yell to them, stepping out of the cave.
"John! Get back in the cave, or I'll shoot you myself!" Jake yells. I ignore him and continue to head towards the troops.

Something tackles me from behind. I turn over and shove it off. It's Jake. He pins my left leg down, and sprays biofoam in the new wound. Pulling me back to my feet, he shoves me back in the direction I was going.
"Go ahead, but we're coming too," he says, motioning for the others to follow.
"You guys get in cover with the other troops and help them, alright? I'm gonna go take out the hunters." I turn around and walk straight toward them, only to be tackled by an invisible elite. Its energy sword comes on and flies up in the air, ready to strike.

The fight was turning into hell. It was the only way Daniel could describe it. Explosions were plentiful as grenades were lobbed and dropships crashed, taken out by the remaining Falcons. If they could hold on a little longer......he felt something behind him, and turned to see that Chris had arrived, shotgun ready. "Looks like a real mess sir!" she said. He could only nod. The constant machine gun fire from the Marines had stopped, as they needed to reload; Dragon squad, cover the Marines while they reload! Oz, how many rockets you got left?" "Down to my last pair sir!" Ozren shouted as he quickly tried to reload. There was a sniper shot from above that hit one of the Hunters in the space between their head and shoulder, the round tearing through the worms that made up the creature. It roared in pain and anger as orange blood and bits of worm dripped down from the wound, and its bondmate roared with it, bringing it's gun to bear. She anticipated the move, and aimed her next shot right down the barrel of the Hunter's cannon. "Open wide," she said as she squeezed off a round. The bullet screamed through the air and into the gun, and out of pure luck right as the weapon was being fired. The fuel rod exploded in the gun, causing the other rounds to explode with it and blow off the Hunters whole arm. It screamed in more pain, using the shield on its other arm for support as it came to its knees. Before it's partner could do anything, two more grenades were thrown and they detonated, bringing the behemoths down.

"Hoo-rah!" shouted one of the Marines, and his fellows let out cheers of their own.....before a round from a carbine took the life of the Marine who let out the 'Hoo-rah.' There was no time to mourn, as the fighting once more continued.

~John "Cobra"~
Everything starts to move in slow motion. My life flashes before my eyes as I watch the energy sword swinging down through the air. Suddenly, two grenades go off nearby. The elite and I both look, and see that both of the hunters are dead. Now's my chance. I swing my fist up, getting the off guard elite in the face. He rolls over long enough for me to pin his energy sword hand down.

Pulling out my knife, a smirk crosses my face. I slam the knife down, but not at any vital part of him. Instead, I cut one of his four mandibles off. He screams in agony as I go for another one. There is yelling from behind me, but I ignore it. As I go for his third mandible, plasma flies past my head. I quickly finish the elite off, with a knife to the forehead, and lie down on my stomach.

My team starts firing at the four grunts up ahead of me, taking three of them out. I jump to my feet, tearing the fourth one apart with my SMG. As I reload, I notice more enemy troops moving in. I run toward the other humans, screaming "Come on!" to my team.

Emma was delighted that the Hunters where dead. It was two less enemies for her to worry about. She popped out of cover to fire, bringing down a pair of grunts before beginning to reload. She inserted a fresh magazine and brought the pistol about to fire again at a advancing Grunt, her finger tightened on the trigger but the gun simply clacked. Jamming. The Grunt did not have this problem and fired his plasma pistol, at the same time Emma tossed her pistol at the Grunt striking it in the head, surprisingly killing it. However the alien had managed to get a shot off the ball of plasma striking her in the chest. Emma swore painfully, staggering from the impact of the round, shakily she brought her hands to the wound that smouldered and they came away sticky with scarlet blood. Before she could react any further, she had been exposed out of cover long enough for the Covenant to get a bead on her. Emma let out a cry of "God damn it" as she collapsed backward onto the earth. She forced her head up to assess the state of her injuries. Two wounds in the chest, one of her left thigh, one on her right shin, three on her right arm. "Ah..." She said painfully as Emma drew her combat knife with her left hand, she still had weapons left, that knife and one single grenade. "I'm hit..." She tried to cry out but all that came out was a whisper more that a shout for aid.

~John "Cobra"~

We dive into cover, just in time to escape a plasma grenade.
"Everybody okay?" I ask slowly.
"The ODSTs are here!" a marine says gleefully, reloading.
"The cavalry has arrived, but the horses are dead already. Don't get too excited," I respond, pulling my sniper up again to take aim.

The rest of my squad opens fire, picking off enemies one by one. I see two grunts, on behind the other, and take a shot. They both collapse. An elite comes out of cover, ready to through a plasma grenade. I drop him before he has the chance. A carbine round flies past my head. I don't flinch at all, and instead find the jackal that fired it. I drop him. Next, I see another elite coming out of cover with an energy sword. He turns invisible just as I prepare to fire.
"We got an elite ready to sneak up on us. Be prepared," I shout, taking my eye out of the scope for a second. When I put it back in, I see a slight disturbance in the scenery. It starts to grow larger, until I can see it without the scope. Pulling my pistol out, I sit back and take aim. The disturbance grows larger, and suddenly an elite appears. I unload my clip into his face, dropping him to the ground.

The turret was reloaded, and firing resumed. Daniel was contacted by the commander of the firebase, and was informed that a pair of SkyHawk Jumpjets that had finished an operation were now being rerouted to defend the relay. They would be there in a few minutes, less than the wait for the Falcons. They just needed to hold on.

"Dragon Squad, we need to hold this position just a little longer!' "No shit!" was all Ozren could say, emptying the last rocket round at a group of charging grunts. Dropping the rocket, he switched to his SMG, squeezing off bursts and dropping targets. Chris moved forward, using her shotgun to push the enemy back, while Lin, now in a new position, fired off more rounds. But they were, all of them, running low on ammo. And still being forced into a tight spot.

Emma could see the UNSC positions, they where so close but too far away for them to be able to reach her. Her fragile cover would only protect her for a few minutes longer, criminals don't go home. The words of an ONI operative echoed cruelly in her ears. Emma felt herself chuckle though, there was only one thing for it. The others might be able to get out of here. But this was the last battlefield for her. She played dead as the Covenant advanced, holding her breath and waiting until a cluster of grunts lead by an Elite marched past firing at the UNSC. Focusing all her strength she shot up plunging her knife into the back of a grunt, while her right hand tossed pulled the pin out of her frag grenade. Dropping it to the floor, she pulled a plasma grenade off of the dying grunt and primed it. The elite by now had turned round and shot her pointed blank with a needle rifle. The round punctured her right lung but did not stop the grenade from flying true and sticking to the elite's chest. There where two detonations and dust obscured the view for a second before revealing the dead aliens and a torn, dying form of a single ODST. "F.." She mumbled as blood bubbled at her lips, "For... The UNS...." The last letter died in her throat as death claimed her eagerly.

~John "Cobra"~
"Changing mags!" Jake yells over the gunfire.
My crosshairs focus on a distant jackal with a carbine. After I gently squeeze the trigger comes the satisfaction of watching the jackal tumble out of his tree, hitting every branch on the way down. I spot another one nearby, and I put aim at it. I pull the trigger, but all I hear is a *click*. I'm out of ammo. Pulling the magazine out of my gun, I feel a bit of blood splash on my face. I turn to the left, and see Garza fall onto his back, a hole straight through his chest. I slam the magazine back into the rifle, and aim quickly. My finger pulls the trigger as hard as it ever has before. I don't even watch to see if the jackal fell or not. I just drop my gun and turn to the body lying next to me.

"Man down!" I scream, reaching for my biofoam. Before I spray it inside, I put my fingers to his neck. There is not pulse. This man died because of me. I slam my biofoam into the ground next to him, and pick my rifle back up. I start picking off targets quickly, and relentlessly, trying to forget the fact that Garza is dead.

The reunion in Wolf Squad an hour or so ago was...bittersweet. Alexia had a minor injury suffered during the drop, so the pace of their movement was slow going. The snow fall letting up had been a bit of a blessing, but it also incurred some problems. A minor skirmish with a small Covenant patrol slowed down their progress, but the squad moved on after they took out said patrol. Markus regrouped the squad and moved forward, only to now be hampered by a larger group of Covenant.

Mitchell was quick to point out, "And these guys got air support." He then pointed up above them, and before Markus could let out a curse, the air was split with plasma fire, and the squad took cover. The sounds now erupting were of plasma fire and the chattering of assault rifle fire being aimed at the Covenant.

Mitchell asked, "Sarge...how we're going to get around this? Cause if we don't take out those Phantoms...we're screwed." Markus yelled back, "That's stating the obvious, Mitchell. Luna, cover Mitchell." The sniper quietly opened fire, drawing their attention. "Mitchell, light them up!"

Mitchell gave a nod, "You got it, sir." Mitchell then unloaded a pair of Rockets into the nearest Phantom, sending the dropship tumbling from the sky. "Sir...what are you going to do?" Markus said simply, "I need to make a call. Wolf, buy me some time," and as if on cue, the Covenant advance surged. The result was the increased tempo of fire from Wolf.

Markus got a hold of Dragon's frequency and said, "Dragon this is Wolf, you there?" Markus pausing to fire a burst at the incoming Covenant, "You run into as much trouble as I have? Cause I'm about to be up to my neck in Covenant."

lemme help you

= helps her into the next room and leaves her with dan then heads back to the bridge and sits down and brings up the AI =

follow that ship that left earlier but stay out of detection range and stay cloaked just incase

"WE'RE ALREADY UP TO THE CROWN OF OUR HEADS IN COVENANT!!!!" Daniel screamed back into the radio, as he continued firing at the Covenant, not noticing everything else around him. He was distracted though when missiles from seemingly nowhere impacted the sides of the Covie dropships, sending them crashing to the ground. He followed the trails, and saw the SkyHawks, roaring towards the airspace. "Well about fucking time," he breathed.

~John "Cobra"~
"I said man down! Jesus, did anybody hear me?" I scream, ripping the next clip out of my gun. That's when I realize that nobody is near me. My whole team had moved to different cover. All that's left is just me and Garza. My rifle falls from my hands again, and I turn to the lifeless body. I rip the dog tags off, and reload my gun.

The next four shots I take are with the dog tags still in my shooting hand. The tags are still warm. The next four shots kill four jackal snipers. I shove the dog tags into my vest pocket, and go to reload again. That's when I realize I'm down to my last two mags.
"Almost out of ammo!" I say into the comms.
I reload, and start to slow down again. The sight of Garza's body is starting to leave my mind, allowing me to shoot better again. I take out two elites, a jackal, and a grunt before going to reload again.

Anna gasped from agony as she was moved. She was left alone with Dan, watching him curiously everything seemed to be knew, or in fact was since she couldn't recall anything.

Markus sighed, letting loose another burst at the Covenant, "Could you send those flyboys over our direction? Cause the situation isn't improving on my end." He cursed as a burst of plasma fire whizzed past his shoulder, sending him deeper into cover.

He then yelled at Mitchell, "What's keeping you, Mitchell?" Mitchell quipped, "The whole fucking Covenant Air Force, that's who. Why don't you bitch at them."

~John "Cobra"~

I decide to save my last mag for later. I pull out my SMG, and slump back into cover. I lean there against a rock for a few seconds with my eyes closed. I hear the high-pitched sound of a plasma grenade as it flies by. My eyes opening wide, I dive out of cover, and into the open, snowy ground. I hear the explosion, and jump back into cover, lying down even lower this time.

Flicking my visor up, I pull out a cigarette. I light it up and put it in my mouth, closing my eyes tighter this time. I'm not giving up... I'm just taking a break. I tell myself, letting the darkness consume me.

"Sadly no Markus, we've got our asses on a priority location, and those jets are here to protect it. So you want that protection, get your asses over here." Daniel paused for a moment, before hailing the Falcons. "Pilots, I've got a team of ODST's pinned down and in need of extraction. If you can, pick them up and drop them down here, we need the help." All he got was a green light for confirmation, and one of the Falcons split off towards Wolf squads position.

~John "Cobra"~

"John!" I hear through the gunfire. My eyes open immediately.
"Just taking a smoke break. What's up?" I look over and see Phillips standing there.
"Smoke break? I haven't seen you for at least seven minutes! And whats up? We're trying to fight covvies, but we're down to 5 men because of you."
I jump to my feet and tackle him to the ground. "I tried to save him, man! I was out of ammo! I didn't kill him! I DIDN'T KILL HIM!" I scream, tears starting to fall from my eyes.
"I didn't mean that! I was talking about you dozing off over here, man!" he shouts back in my face.
My body goes limp, allowing him to shove me off.
"I didn't kill him..." I mumble, leaning back against the rock.
"What is wrong with you, man? You gone crazy! Get up and kill some covvies!" he says, standing back up.
"It could have been any of us. It could've been you. It could've been J-"
"Don't worry about Valencia! He's perfectly fine! Snap out of your mental breakdown and get back to sniping," he shouts, charging toward the enemies.
"What is wrong with you, John?" I ask myself, jumping out of cover with my SMG, and following Phillips.

A swarm of inaccurate and wildly fired missiles lit up the Covenant from behind, as many missed as those that managed to score a hit. Suddenly the sound of a bugle being played echoed across the battlefield. The aliens, stunned from the rocket blasts almost turned round, those furthest back found themselves taken down by rifles and pistols, or crushed under a hoof. It was an entirely unexpected attack.
One that could only have been committed by an incredibly cunning and sly commander. Four dozen horse mounted rebels rode down the Covenant from behind. Any other foe and they would have let the UNSC forces be slaughtered. Yet there was only one enemy the Kilian hated more, no despised more than the UNSC and that was the Covenant.  She rode at the head of the cavalry, bayonet attached to the crude bolt action rifle which had been turned into a make do lance. Her horse a oily black beast shouldered a grunt aside. "Protect the UNSC! No mercy to the alien!" Her voice echoed across the battlefield, next to her rode a Insurrectionist who played the bugle still. The Insurrectionist cavalry where surprisingly effective, Kilian had been at first unwilling to commit to fighting the Covenant here. She had lost many good men and women already today, losing more helping the UNSC was not something she wanted to do. Kilian had to do it as they where human.

Markus sighed and went back to the radio, "If you got something to pick us up...we'll gladly hitch a ride." He then looked to Mitchell, "Well...don't just stand there...get that sky cleared. We got a taxi coming in, and I don't want their asses shot off." Mitchell nodded, "Copy that, sir. Clearing a lane." He then yelled at the Covenant, "Sorry boys...but you gotta move." He sent a couple of rockets at the second Phantom, who responded in kind, sending a burst of turret fire.

Despite the effort Wolf was putting up, the Covenant that were firing on them were close to overrunning them.

~John "Cobra"~

Phillips and I charge toward the covenant, his shotgun firing and my SMG firing. Suddenly, the enemies are being hit from behind. I can't understand anything that they are saying, but I figure out they are insurrectionists pretty quick.

The battlefield turns almost silent, as the insurrectionists yell their speech or whatever. I pull out a grenade and toss it into the distracted covenant, before grabbing Phillips and bringing him to cover.

Five minutes.

The UNSC Iris already in orbit, the Long and Dark December moved at a distance. The Sabre and Longsword were preped, Rika in the Sabre and Michael and Lina in the Longsword. saoirse vectored in to the relay.
Requiem changed her voice. "This is the UNSC Tyranny's Fall, we are four minutes out from the relay. Longsword is launched and our point defense weapons are ready. Batten down the hatches."

=has the ship stay out of scanning range and starts surveiling the ongoing conflict and brings up the ai again=

check and see if there is any covie ships in the area

With the SkyHawks in the area, it became much easier to deal with the Covenant; while the strike fighters took care of the dropships and helped clear up the airspace, the marines and ODST's on the ground were given more room to deal with the alien ground forces. "Okay now that we have some breathing room," Daniel said. "This is Sergeant Lampert of Dragon Squad; may I please get an ID on the friendly forces in the immediate vicinity?"

It made a nice change to not have to worry about the UNSC air force for once. This did not mean that Kilian let her guard down, she skewered a Jackal on the end of her rifle and flicked the dead alien from it. The cavalry had by now begun to spread out, attempting to encircle the Covenant and link up with the UNSC forces. They had sustained casualties, plasma blasts and needles made short work of both horses and the riders alike. Insurrectionist body armour seemed to fail to provide even a basic level of protection against anything that wasn't a bullet.
Kilian's helmet and most of her body armour where scavenge UNSC equipment that had been taken from a dead marine scarcely two days previously, so she could hear the transmission. "This is Major Sinflare of the 1st Insurrectionist People's Cavalry" She liked to give a fancy name here and there, it worried the UNSC command higher up. "For this you can consider us allies our quarrel is with the alien scum who burn our worlds" When she said our she meant humanity's worlds not the war for liberation between the UNSC and the Innies.

Even with all the bullets and plasma flying around, Daniel still took a moment to do a double take as he heard the word 'Insurrectionist.' "And Innie? What the hell are you doing here?" He realized though that she already explained why she was here. "Okay, let me rephrase: Why do you care what happens to us?"

Kilian frowned at his question before responding. "First it's Ma'am to you and secondly if the UNSC loses the Covenant kill everyone, Innie, civilians and UNSC alike and I don't like seeing civilians killed, that's why I care" It was a temporary truce for she had no doubt that the UNSC would turn against her without a moment's hesitation. Her cavalry's shock was beginning to wear off as the Covenant slowly recovered. The increased fire they received as a result began to take it's toll. Soon the cries of horses and the screams of injured Innies joined the sound of battle. Kilian trusted in her raiders to hold their nerve and keep fighting, they had no choice. She fired her rifle as her horse reared up, missing her intended target just.

Deciding not to argue now, Daniel pushed Dragon squad to advance and shove the Covenant back. It looked like it was going to work, like they had the battle won. But then something happened; Ozren, who stood on Daniel's right as they both fired at the Covenant, thought he saw a flicker of motion, dust and smoke in the air disturbed and pushed aside. Then, he felt a white hot, stabbing sensation pierce his chest, melting through his armor and searing his skin. Stunned, he looked down to see the rapidly materializing blade of an Energy Sword, cloaked moments ago. Then came the hand, the arm, and soon the rest of the armor clad Elite, as it growled at him, speaking in it's alien tongue. Then it swung its arm up and the blade cut up and through Ozren's armor and body; from the center of his chest to the top of his head, he was cut open and nearly in half. There was no blood, the heat from the blade cauterizing the wound. Daniel, and the rest of Dragon Squad became aware the moment they saw Oz's vitals flatline. Daniel was the first to see, as he turned around and saw his friend cut open by the Elite, and he screamed in rage as his friend was killed. Bringing his weapon to bare on the Elite, he fired on full auto, the rounds deflecting off the shields uselessly as the alien came towards him.

"OZZ!!!!!" Lin screamed as she saw him flatline. She aimed her rifle down and at the Elite, seeing him move for Dan. She fired one round, then another, the bullets breaking through the shield and tearing into its armor. With the shield down, Dan was able to get his shredder rounds through and into the flesh that showed on the Elite, the skin exploding and turning to mulch. The alien screamed in pain and was forced to his knees, but Dan was out of ammo. Before the Elite could even crawl though, Chris had stepped over. Beneath her visor, her mouth was stretched into a thin line and her face drained of all blood, white in fury as she brought her shotgun up to the alien's head. She had no words, no witty one liners.......there were no words spoken as she pulled the trigger and blew the Elite's head off.

Kilian's horse cried out in pain and it threw her off as it fell over. The impact of the ground stunned her at first, knocking the wind out of her chest. A jackal stood over her fallen horse, her rifle was out of reach she rapidly drew her side arm and brought the alien down with a single shot, the bullet blowing the brains out of the back of the bird like skull. Holstering her pistol, Kilian grabbed her rifle and stood up.
All around her, the Insurrectionists fell, either shot off their horses or dismounted as a result of their horses being slain or throwing them. Turns out needle rounds and plasma bolts shredded horses better than UNSC bullets had ever done. "To me!" Kilian yelled attempting to rally her soldiers, who where scrambling in the dirt being pinned down behind their horses or where ever they could find cover. Without their horses the raiders where pinned down, their out dated fire arms and poor body armour proving to provide little challenge. "Rocket launchers!" A trio of the inaccurate rocket launchers opened fire. The missiles swirled in the sky impacting short of the enemy. "Keep firing!" Kilian ordered as she rolled over her fallen horse to take cover behind him before placing her rifle on it and firing. Right now she wished that they had the UNSC assault rifles, rather than these poor fire arms that where of Insurrectionist making. The machinegun was prone to jamming even though it packed a punch if it could hit something. Right now it was jammed otherwise she would of heard it's distinctive retort. She could only hope the UNSC forces where doing better than they where, pinned down as they where by superior fire power they could not perform a tactical withdrawal. It was fight here or die from enemy fire as they fell back.

"Dammit!" Lin cried, pounding the floor with her fist as she lay in her perch, grief and anger welling up inside at the loss of her squadmate, of her friend. Even as that went on, the fighting below continued. Daniel and Chris were the first to recover, letting their rage boil up and fuel their motions; as Dan reloaded, Chris pumped round after round into the oncoming Grunts and Jackals, a wordless cry of rage bubbling up from her throat. The Marines spread out from the entrenched position, rifles firing as they joined the ODST's in killing the enemy. Their turret continued firing, until a well tossed plasma grenade arced through the air and stuck to the gun. The gunner didn't have anytime to move as the grenade detonated, consuming them in a ball of blue-white fire. "Steve!" one of his friends yelled, turning back to the explosion. It allowed a charged bolt of green plasma to strike him in the back, burning through his armor and spine, sending him to the ground dead. The Falcons above came in low to give more covering fire, chainguns firing and ripping the Covies to pieces. Taking advantage of the low altitude, one of the grunts wielding a plasma launcher fired a salvo at the airship. Three of the bolts missed but the fourth stuck to the right turbine, detonating in a flash. With the pilot alive though, they managed to control the descent, albeit barely and crashed the left side of the Falcon against a pile of rubble. The gunner on the left was injured with a broken leg, but his counterpart on the right had a clear line of fire on the Covies. After taking a moment to shake off the crash, they thumbed the trigger and set the chaingun on the enemy, tearing them apart.

"Command this is Lampert! We are taking casualties here and the Covies keep coming! We need immediate ground reinforcements stat!" Daniel shouted into the comm.

The small force of Insurrectionists continued to fight on despite heavy losses, this was largely due to their faith in Kilian but also because they were in a position where there was no escape unless they kept fighting. She could hear the frantic UNSC chatter and gritted her teeth, one option remained. "All units prepare to advance! Fix bayonets!" She glanced over at her soldiers seeing them slowly perform the order due to how little cover there was for them to crouch behind. "Machinegun keep them suppressed, the rest of you wait for my signal" She paused to take a deep breath before letting out the cry of... "For Freedom!" The Insurrectionists stood up from behind their cover and charged out towards the Covenant, screaming, yelling and roaring. Klilian led the way, the churned up earth, wreckage and craters impeded their progress. The charge slowed as a result, fighting their way through the mud they proved to be easy targets for Covenant. Everywhere Kilian looked Insurrectionists fell, blasted by grenades, the charged stalled and stopped completely. Insurrections sought cover among the wreckage and craters. Despite heavy casualties sustained, they where at a better range and soon made the aliens pay dearly for the loss of life sustained in the charge. Kilian found herself in a small crater shared by two other soldiers one of who was badly injured. "Molotov time!" Kilian ordered knowing she could not afford to pause to care for the wounded just yet. At least a dozen Molotov cocktails landed among the aliens, killing a few, injuring others and the fire drove them out of cover. "UNSC hit them now!" Kilian ordered. "Take out the ones in the open!"

Even with the help from the rear, it wasn't looking good. There were still a large number of Covies, Grunts Jackals and Elites. The only thing the molotov's did was piss them off, as the Elites began charging the Innie's, shields flaring from the flames but holding strong. Even as that happened, the remaining grunts continued towards the entrenched soldiers. "Lin! Keep your cool, and take out those heavy hitters!" Daniel yelled, which seemed to trigger a moment of dark humor as a fuel rod exploded near him. He was out of the kill radius, but the force of the blast still lifted him off his feet and into the air, sending him flying back several feet where he fell to the ground in a heap, the air knocked out of him. "Daniel!" Chris screamed. She lobbed a grenade at the grunts, her last one, and it exploded. "Fuck!" Lin said, as she aimed her rifle and took out more of the heavy weapon grunts. But now she was down to her last magazine, and it was all looking to be a loosing fight without reinforcements. But then the SkyHawks made a strafing run, and cut down the grunts and Jackals with a round of fire from their miniguns. And it looked like the battle would be won. The Falcon armed with the grenade launcher moved to cover the Innies (a fact which still stunned the pilot) and its crew fired at the Elites. Almost comically, some of them were tossed into the air as the grenades detonated and threw them around, others simply blowing apart like water balloons.

"Do you read? Lampert are you there?" Command said as it tried to contact the knocked out sergeant. "Pelicans are on the way with extra ground forces. ETA three minutes."

Markus and Wolf fought the Covenant for who knows how long at this point. Everyone didn't need to speak what was already on their minds: they were running low on both ammo and time. Fortunately, fate seemed to smile upon them as a Falcon swooped in, its guns chewing into the Covenant on the ground, the Phantom crashing into the ground in a brilliant ball of white hot fire and shrapnel. Mitchell raised a fist, more out of relief than celebration. Markus then yelled over the radio, "There's our ride, Wolf, time to saddle up."

Wolf was all to happy to follow orders, gladly wanting to get out of the hell hole they were in. They boarded the bird, Markus then going to the pilot, "Can you take us to Dragon's position?" The pilot said, "It's a bit hot there, but we can get you there." Markus said, "Then get us over there, man. Don't spare the horses." The pilot, taking his cue from Markus, lifted the bird off and headed straight for Dragon's position.

When the Falcon got to Dragon's position, what greeted their eyes was a scene straight out of hell. Markus then got on the radio, "Dragon this is Wolf, we're approaching your position, ETA 30 seconds." He then said to Wolf, "Wolf, lock and load, we're coming in hot." The clacking off receivers racking in rounds echoed in the Falcon's troop bay as the thumping of the rotors echoed in their helmets.

They then heard it from the pilot, "Wolf, you got ten seconds to dirt. Give 'em hell!" And they indeed would.

Never before had Kilian been happy to see Falcons but now she was delighted. However she did not have time to enjoy the destruction wrought onto the enemy. An Elite was knocked over from a blast, his shield failing. With a cry she rose out of cover and bayoneted the beast. "Take it too them!" The remaining Insurrectionists let out another cry and followed her. The result was a rather chaotic close combat battle against the Covenant. She plunged head long into battle ducking under a strike by an Elite with a sword. Her own bayonet snapped off it's shield, however another Innie brought it down with a round from his rifle. Kilian fired her rifle taking out a Grunt. The mud and churned up earth was effecting both sides, the fight turn out to be more a wrestling match where both sides threw themselves head long against the foe, attempting victory by sheer slug punches. The Elites however where more than a match even if hampered by the mud for the exhausted, rebel troops. "Fall back! Fall back!" Kilian ordered seeing a fresh wave of aliens approaching for the growing fight. The Innies scrambled away carrying their injured. The single machinegun covered their retreat, inflicting heavy causalities on the Covenant that followed. Kilian had intended the retreat to be a tactical withdrawal, but it became a route. "Go go go! Fall back! Get out of here!" They had done their best to aid the UNSC but their resolve was broken and Kilian was not going to make them fight any more in a battle they couldn't win. The Insurrectionists moved as fast as they could, she sent no message to the UNSC as far as they would know the Innies where fleeing. Quitting the field of battle as it were.

Daniel unfortunately couldn't make out the message. He was too preoccupied with trying not to fall unconscious. Chris moved to his position, never turning her back on the enemy. "Medic!" she yelled to the Marines, praying one of them was a medic. "I need a medic over here!"

That was it, she was out of sniper ammo. Her only weapon was the SMG, and at this range it was useless. Sorry Siri, she thought to herself as she got up and made for the stairs. She wasn't going to sit back and watch her squad die; she would save them......or die with her friends.

The squad of Marines fell back, moving for the Chris and Daniel. Two of the marines grabbed Daniel, arms looped under his armpits as they dragged him back to the door into the station. The rest, including Chris, supplied them with covering fire.

Ten seconds later the Falcon hit the dirt and Wolf come out fighting, their assault rifles cutting into the Covenant. Soon they saw how untenable the situation was getting there, and fell back and into the station with Dragon and the Marines, helping in a fighting retreat.

That, and they had their own wounded to take care of, and they'd rather not have any more wounded than they already had. They continued on through the door of the station to make sure they kept their wounded safe.

Out of the frying pan and back into the fire...so it seems.

The Innies where completely routed, organisation broke down and panic rippled through the remaining fighters as terror gripped hold. After all they where not proper soldiers, Kilian skidded to a halt in the mud seeing that their retreat was getting them nowhere. She attempted to rally her soldiers, "Innies to me! Rally to..." Her words where interrupted by a short burst of plasma rifle fire, three rounds struck home impacting on her body armour. She fell back into a water filled crater, slain or merely stunned it was hard to tell. A great cry of anguish went up from the Insurrectionists, those closest to her grabbed her shoulders and dragged her back, without Kilian's presence the Insurrectionists scattered like a disturbed colony of insects fleeing in all directions. It probably would have been laughable except that apart from a few squads the Covenant had begun to focus on the still fighting UNSC forces.

As the Covenant approached, a wave of heavy fire blanketed them. As a Phantom turned to engage, a quartet of missiles slammed into it, sending it crashing down. A Sabre flashed by, then pulled a tight turn. Behind it came a Longsword, which blasted two Spirits to rubble.
"This is UNSC Tyranny's Fall, sorry for the delay. Provide laserpoint designation for close air support. Bringing point defense guns to bear."
The autocannons barked to life, blasting even more Covenant to pieces. Dripships shredded, and a Ghost moving to cut the Innies down exploded from the Sabre's cannons.
"Saoirse."
Siri looked over to his hologram. "What?"
"The twenty three ODSTs and twelve Marines are requesting information."
"Tell them the truth."

A minute passed. "They request us let them help."
"Show them the armory. Tell them only what they need. Let them take the standard Pelican."
"Done.

Thirty five marines spsprinted from their holding rooms and sprinted into the armory. Picking up what they needed, the marines hurried to the designated Pelican.
"Relay Station, this is Tyranny's Fall. We have a Pelican loaded with ODSTs and Marines en route. One minute."

Saoirse knew Dragon Squad would recognize the December, but how would they stop them? Especially when they were getting their asses kicked?

~John "Cobra"~

Phillips and I watch the Innies start to retreat as their forces are cut down. A few remain in the middle of the covenant. Coming up to take down a few more aliens, I see an innie on a horse, cornered by the covenant. Quickly, I kill the four aliens surrounding him. He looks up, making eye contact with me. The words "thank you" start to form on his lips, but a round from my SMG punctures his lung.
"What was that?" Phillips asks after seeing this happen.
"I've been battling insurrectionists for years. They gave me scars. They killed my friends. There is no way I'm letting one get away now." I reload, and pop up from behind the rock to kill my enemies. Both human and alien.
"We have a temporary truce with them, in case you couldn't tell," Phillips says, popping up.

There is an innie in the distance, trying to retreat on a horse. Covenant are trying to chase him, but they are quickly losing ground in this race. I decide to change the odds, putting a few bullets into the horse. It collapses, along with the rider. The rider quickly jumps up, only to be slain by an elite wielding an energy sword. I quickly take down the elite as well. Phillip looks at me again, but stays silent this time.

Lin made it down the three flights of stairs fairly quick despite her wounded leg, and arrived in time to see the Marines dragging in Daniel. "Fuck!" she yelled, moving to his side. He was winded, thankfully, just stunned from being knocked back. "Lin!" Chris yelled from her spot by the door. "Worry about him later, I need you hear!" Nodding, Lin moved to the door, bringing her SMG up. Most of the Covenant were miraculously dying, being gunned down by friendly fire it seemed. From who though....well, she couldn't tell yet. But then a voice came through over the comm. "This is UNSC Tyranny's Fall, sorry for the delay. Provide laserpoint designation for close air support. Bringing point defense guns to bear."

"Well crap, looks like we've got the cavalry tonight," Lin breathed out. She had a laser-designator on her, she just needed to get it ready. "Give me some cover!" she shouted both to Chris and the Marines. All but one of the Marines, a medic checking on Daniel, moved to provide some cover as she moved out from the safety behind the door to the debris where the machine gunner had been before they were killed. With the designator, she painted targets for the Tyranny to shoot.

As Wolf made it inside, Markus got on the radio, his head turned towards the sky and saw the familiar lines and large form of a ship that had dogged them for months. He decided to take charge and answered, "This is MsSgt. Markus Murand, Wolf Squad. We read you loud and clear."

He then added, "And don't play dumb. There's a few people who know what you look like, December." He then curtly closed the link with the ship. He yelled, "We're getting some back up in a minute people...clear some room for them," and went out to open fire on the Covenant outside.

The December ignored Wolf and focused on the laser designated targets.
"Tyranny's Fall to Dragon - targets aquired. Vectoring strike craft to secondary targets. Paint an LZ for Dropship Echo Twenty Two."
The main guns spat death into the main covenant position, the Pelican in a holding pattern. "We need that LZ now. We can't risk losing these guys." Requiem informed Dragon, his vlice changed so he sounded like an Australian.

"Hey you wanna stand out here in the middle of enemy fire and laze these guys, be my fucking guest!" Lin screamed at the voice, while she continued to paint targets. Chris and the Marines kept her covered, taking down targets that tried to either shoot her or advance on her position. But then a single Elite, not cloaked but still with full shields, came sprinting at her, jaws parted in a roar. Like the one that killed Oz, he had an energy sword out, and came running at her. "LIN!" Chris yelled, aiming her shotgun at the Elite. She fired a round but at that distance it did little more than make his shields shimmer. Two marines saw him and fired as well, one of them wielding an assault rifle the other a DMR. Both guns managed to deplete the shields quickly and even wound him, but not before he reached Lin and swung his blade. She heard Chris scream, and turned to see what it was in time to come face to face with the Elite. The tip of the blade cut a line through her armor, from right shoulder to left hip. It pierced her skin in a shallow cut, seared closed but still leaving her in agonizing pain. Lin screamed, the sound of it resounding over the comm channels. Thankfully the Elite was killed by one last DMR shot to the head but the damage was done, and Lin fell back to the ground. "LIN! MAN DOWN MAN DOWN!!! Command we need immediate reinforcements and med-evac NOW!" Even as she said all that, she ran straight for Lin while the Marines covered her as well.

The Pelican dropped like a rock. As the Longsword drew fire and covered it, the ramp lowered and the marines jumped out. Laying down surpressive fire, two Corpsmen headed for Lin.
"Corpsman Birtrell ma'am! I can't evac her with -"
The pelican roared off, two fuel rod shots impacting the side. It shuddered but held, rising. "We can't let her stay!" An explosion punctuated his words as the Banshee exploded. "When is Command sending in the cavalry?"
He then winced. "No ma'am, she isn't going to die!" He looked back up. "Sorry, bitch is nagging me for updates." He finally managed to fit the last seal on. Biofoam and seaps for suit integrity fixed, he looked around. "Anyone else need a medic! Call out the wounded!"
An ODST settled near Chris. "Private Agraci ma'am! I'll help you get her to the evac point when a Pelican can make it! We don't have the resources to clear the airspace well enough! The frigate is currently retreating slowly due to enemy craft target-"
A boom was heard, and a plume of body parts and machinery rose. "What the hell! That's what the turret on top is? Damn!" He said.

The other marines entrenched their positions. "Who is in tac command!" One called. "This is Captain Montrose, who's in charge?"

When the words "Lin" and "man down" was called out, followed by her scream, Siri screamed with her.
"Someone! Anyone!"
"Birtrell here. I see her."
"IS SHE ALIVE."
"Yes." The man replied tersely.

Cutting the line, Siri took a few minutes to calm down.

=turns to the AI=

pick up anything strange on the unsc comms yet?

Daniel had risen to his feet, having shaken off the worst of being flung through the air. He jogged out of the building, heading to the newly arrived marines. "Sergeant Lampert here," he huffed out. "Command put me in charge of securing the comm relay." He then saw Lin, and he went a bit pale. "What's her status?" he asked, pointing at her.

"Stable. But I want her to some real docs...but our Pelican had to withdraw. When will command send help?" Birtrell asked.
"Captain Montrose here, Seargant. I got twenty three Helljumpers and fifteen jarheads fresh and ready. We've entrenched where possible. Unfortunately the frigate's pulling out. They will try and return but all we got is a single Sabre. Other assets are covering our ship." He gunned down two Jackals. "Your show Lampert. We're just the token forces."

Daniel was silent, as command tried to contact him again and send the news. Then he turned back to Montrose, and pointed to the air. "There's your reinforcements Montrose," he said, as dozens of missiles streaked through the air and took out the Covenant airpower. Pelicans and SkyHawks in the dozens came roaring across the sky towards the locations, firing at every enemy they could lock onto. Daniel just fisted the air in triumph. "Alright let's get the wounded ready for transport! Markus, you still alive? If the answer is yes and it better be, then you and your squad help secure this position to evac!"