HRP reboot - Chapter 2: On the Run

The December shuddered as the ghost winds of the upper atmosphere slammed into her side. The cameras were directed down at the camp, centered at a certain tent.
Siri watched, wanting to be there right now.

By the end of the day, the Covies were no longer a threat on Waltari. Their ships had been destroyed, and their ground-forces were scattered, isolated and either being hunted down or shepherded into groups to be taken out all at once. There was enough room now for pelicans to begin airlifting patients from the camp up to the ships in orbit, with the most critically wounded being sent first. Lin and the rest of Dragon were on the list of secondary priority patients, so they wouldn't be out of there for a while at least. Which was fine with Lin....it gave her time to figure out what the crystal was for. Borrowing a data pad, she plugged the data-crystal in......and was surprised to see if was a message from Siri. Why am I not surprised? she thought to herself as she listened. Not sure if I should be ecstatic or angry. She didn't try seeing me until I was out cold.

~John "Cobra"~

"That's it boys. It's over," I say to my ODST team in the comms. I pause to take a shot at a grunt running away in the distance. He falls to the ground, sending up snow around him. I stare through the scope for a few more seconds, then waste the rest of my clip into his dead body.

"John! You just said it. It's over. Calm down," Jake says, standing behind me. I turn, to see that the whole team is already behind me. Gordon is already calling in a pelican.

"Good job guys." I see everybody looking around, and I know what's coming. I flip my mask up and prepare for the question.
"Where's Garza?" Hughes asks almost on queue.
"He-" The words stop coming out. I can't speak. Instead, I Garza's dog tags out of thee pouch in my vest.
"What happened?" Jake asks.
"A sniper got him," I say, watching the pelican hover down toward our position.
"You never see the one who gets ya," Phillips says, sighing.
"I saw him though. Get on the bird. Most of us need medical attention," I order, trying to forget about Garza.

As we walk toward the pelican, I kick a grunt lying on the ground. I start walking by, but then I see it move. It's still alive. I kneel next to it, as it turns to look me in the eyes. Something starts to come out of his mouth, but my knife in its chest stops it. It keeps staring, still alive. Next I stab the knife further up in its chest, then I slit the alien's throat. I start to pull out my pistol.
"John! Get on the plane or we're leaving without you!" Jake yells.
"If any of you leave without me, you will be severely punished." I turn back to the grunt, only to see it taken out by a DMR bullet. I slowly step onto the Pelican, staring at the snowy ground.

Despite the battle having come to an end, Spartan Z-091 had yet to be assigned to a ship or unit. However rather than obsessing over the ineptitude of her commanders, she busied herself with cleaning the gore, blood, dust and filth from her armour. It was no easy feat, despite the icy conditions, she still have found herself bogged down in urban fighting against the Covenant.
The rag she had found was already beyond filthy, but it stubbornly kept doing the job. This Spartan would have stood out starkly in the medical facility, firstly there where no visible injuries and the second where the numerous battlefield trophies that still hung from her. The barbaric practice of taking trophies from the slain aliens was something this particular Spartan both actively encourage yet also felt great pride in doing so. It showed off her kills, giving proof to some of those she had slain in the field of battle.

As the December prepared to move down and hide eithin a mountain range, General Krenshaw had finally arrived with the fresh wave of ships. Hailing from the UNSC Starseeker, he was coordinating the ground forces. A grizzled veteran, the man was coordinating the effort to get all the UNSC forces regrouped after their victory.
"Sir, five Pelicans are left out there. We got one inbound late due to unknown circumstances."
"Get me the reason later. For now, find me those Innies. After I thank them, I want them detained for trial."
"Yes sir."

~John "Cobra"~

At the medical camp, I sit there awake, watching as they work on my leg and arm. A cigarette hangs out of my mouth, the smoke rising to the top of the tent. My team is scattered across the rest of the camp, since they only have minor injuries. I have the worst injury of my whole team. Except for Garza of course.
After what seems like hours, they are finished. The only reason it took so long was because they had to keep leaving due to more seriously injured patients coming in.

Once the last of the critically injured were on the pelicans and away, the remaining patients were now beginning to be loaded onto the newly arrived pelicans. Dragon squad was already aboard one, with Lin loaded on a stretcher (she was capable of walking really, but there were rules on how to transport the patients). They didn't leave yet, as they were waiting for other patients.

Saoirse typed commands in, the frigate settling safely into the mountain range. Perfectly placed to monitor the camp and remain hidden from sight, the December waited patiently, Siri keeping track of Dragon Squad through hijacked Biosigns.
"So..."
"We all can get R&R. Once we find Lin's destination we can all relax and remain hidden."

Wolf came in behind Dragon, Alexia limping along on crutches, and refusing to bow to injury. However, Lily's injuries required she be put on a stretcher, but she wasn't too happy with it. Of course, those of Wolf who were walking were still laughing.

Lily gave a glare, "If I wasn't injured, I'd sack the damn place till I got my sake. You know me..." Jose laughed, "Yes...we know no one would dare get between you and your sake." Lily was frowning, but it only made the three men laugh all the way up to when they got on one of the evac Pelicans.

She sighed, "You aren't going to live that down, will you?" The three men shook their heads, as well as Alexia, who was chuckling in the background. For Wolf, it would be an interesting ride off the blasted ice ball.

Once the pelican was loaded up, the dropship lifted off into the air, it's destination a UNSC MED Corps ship. It was one of several that had been called on to help evacuate the wounded, both soldiers and civilians. The dropship Dragon was on, was among the last to be called back to the ship before it soon made the jump to slip-space, it's destination......randomized at first, as per the Cole-Protocol. But ultimately, it was going to return to Reach.

Of course, the December knew all the protocols.
Lifting off, it ran. Outrunning a destroyer, it jumped randomly.
"Reach....Head to Cesaro, in the Regulus system."

The December exited slipspace somewhere.
"Charge and jump."
"Yes ma'am."

The battle had ended to early, for Major Sinflare this presented a terrible problem. She had managed to regroup with the remaining Innies not just those who made up her famed raiding party. However since most had fought against the Covenant in some way, their strength and numbers where depleted. Her mission was unsuccessful largely due to the fact that a UNSC fleet was in orbit.
For the moment, despite being hampered by injuries, exhaustion and the large numbers of Innies, Kilian had almost effortlessly evaded detection. Her luck could not last forever and there was no way that even she would be able to beat the UNSC here.
The howl of a brutal snow storm provided cover yet also was deadly in prolonged exposure they where hiding in the shattered ruins of a mining town. It was here that Kilian discovered that she was the highest ranking Insurrectionist left on the world, catapulting her from the command of several hundred men and women to now over three thousand. The storm provided some cover from the UNSC who where no doubt hungrily looking for them or more importantly her. Kilian had called together unit leaders and discovered the capabilities of her forces. Most of them where injured, some suffered from frost bite, rifles where one between every seven fighters, little ammunition remained, little food and hardly any medical supplies. It was a hopeless situation to be in. If the cold didn't kill them, then hunger and their injuries would. There would be no glory in fighting the UNSC here, only a drawn out death. Sighing in defeat, she knew that she must contact the UNSC and surrender to save the lives of her soldiers. Perhaps if it was just her, Kilian would have gone down fighting rather than choosing surrender. She had expected some objection for the unit leaders but none came, in their eyes she saw her own war weariness reflected back at her, despair and hopelessness at their situation. Seeing that their was no options left, Kilian contacted the UNSC. "This is Major Kilian Sinflare of the 1st Insurrectionist People's Cavalry, currently Acting Commander of all Insurrectionist Forces on this planet I wish to discuss terms of surrender" She was doing this out of concern for the well being of those under her command, Kilian just hoped the UNSC wouldn't massacre them all.
//
By now the Spartan had finished removing the blood and gore from her armour and decided to once more move around the camp. Entering one of the tent she spotted someone who was smoking, walking over she inquired. "Hey got a spare one of those?" She removed her helmet revealing long dark green hair that was clearly dyed and a surprisingly human face for a Spartan, one that also seemed to express a great deal of emotion when compared to most other Spartans. No doubt she was well aware of the rivalry between ODSTs' and Spartans but was not bothered or concerned by it.

~John "Cobra"~

I walk around, waiting to see some of team mates. After a while of pacing, I decide to take the time to resupply. You never know when the covenant will try to attack the camp with the few numbers they have left.

"Hey, you know where I can get some ammo?" I ask a nurse walking by.
"Over near the LZ. You'll find crates of ammo scavenged from the field. Don't take too much," she answers, walking into a tent.
I stroll over to the LZ, just in time for a pelican full of injured marines comes in. I help carry one of the stretchers to a tent, then jog back to help with another one. After this is done, I start digging through the ammo. There seems to be a lack of sniper mags, but I take what I can find. Most of them have a few bullets spent, so I take more time to reload them. Next I look for SMG ammo. I find some. And plenty of it. After my ammo's okay, I go up to a guard position next to a marine sniper.

"How you doin' up here?"
"Pretty good, Sir. A little boring though," he responds, looking back at me.
"How about you go grab something to eat, and I'll take over 'till you're done. If anybody asks what you're doing, tell them an ODST ordered you to."
"Yes Sir!" he says, practically jumping out of his seat.
"No need to call me Sir either." He climbs out of the tower and heads to a nearby tent.

After a few minutes of discussion, she received the cigarette and thanking the man left the tent. Smoking it softly, she moved quietly out into the chilly air. The calm was weird, after so many days spent in bitterly fought urban battles she found that she was shaking. It took a great deal of skill to try and hide that.
One could not imagine an urban hell, it was impossible to describe, chaotic, maddening. It was something that forged survivors and broke men as easily as a marine might snap a twig. Secretly she was glad to be free of it... At least for the time being.

~John "Cobra"~

I stare through my scope, almost wanting to take a few more covenant down. I pretend to shoot one behind a tree, then look at a rock and take down another imaginary enemy. Then I look to the right, and I see an actual grunt standing there. I take my eye out of my scope for a second, confused, then look at it again. There are more of them now. Heading toward the camp. They're sending their last forces for our injured. Those cowards.

I aim at what looks like the leading elite of the squad, and take his head off. It stops them in their tracks, but more come out behind them. "We're under attack!" I yell, taking a few more enemies out. They start to fire on my position, so I duck behind cover.

"Hope that kid's a fast eater. I need cover," I say under my breath.

~John "Cobra"~

The Plasma starts to eat through my cover, and I don't think I'll last much longer. Finally the marine's face pops up from the ladder. He climbs up and sits in cover next to me, waiting for the plan.
"You good with that gun?" I ask.
"I'm good enough that they issued me one. Couldn't tell you much more than that."
"Okay. You and I are both going to pop up and look as fast as we can. Spot which covvies are firing at us the most, and come back down."
"Yes Sir," he says, readying himself.
"Don't call me that I said. On the count of three. One. Two. Three!" both of us pop our heads up, and I spot at least six enemies laying down heavy fire on us.
"I saw some," the marine says, preparing his rifle.
"At least six or seven. Spread out as much as you can in this tower. We need to come from a different angle or they'll take out heads off."
"Yes-" He almost calls me Sir, but stops short. He shuffles to the other end of the tower, and I shuffle to my end.
"On the count of three, we pop up and take out one enemy each. Yell out which one you have. One. Two. Three!"
We both pop up. "I got the jackal by the rock!" he yells. "I got the elite," I say. As I go to fire, I see the jackal taking aim at me. I fire, dropping the elite, and the marine fires. He misses, and the jackal pulls the trigger. The shot from the carbine grazes the side of my helmet, sending me onto my back.

The roar of plasma fire at first sounded like a distant nightmare, but acting from instinct she dosed the cigarette on her armour, before placing her helmet back on. Her feet where already moving in the direction of the battle, clearly it was where she would be most needed. She drew her smg and took cover next to a tower. Her preference for close combat was not a ideal for defending the medical encampment at this time.
She fired a short burst, bringing down a grunt. Plasma fire impacted nearby splattering onto her shield causing it to flash brightly. "Ah for the love of all things holy can't you aliens come closer so I can cut your head off!" She retorted emerging from cover, firing in full auto from the hip.

~John "Cobra"~

"Are you okay?" the marine yells, kneeling next to me.
"Good thing you're young, I say, looking up at him."
"I'm not sure I know what you mean..."
"You have time to learn. I'm in my thirties and I screwed up like that earlier today. That's why we only have six men in our team now."
"I'm sorry..."
"Don't be. Just shake it off and kill some covvies!" I yell, getting back up to take down the jackal that almost killed me.
"Get down!" the marine screams as a plasma grenade comes flying toward us, its sound ringing in the air. Thinking fast, I pull out a grenade of my own. I pull the grenade up as if I were going to catch the plasma grenade. It sticks to my frag, and I throw it back as fast as I can. There are two explosions above the enemies, causing them to dive to the ground.
"Take 'em out now! They're on the ground!" I yell, as both of us jump up and start going to town.

"Hey you two in the tower!" The Spartan yelled up at the two snipers in the tower. "Focus your fire on the Elites!" She opened fire, bringing down a Jackal before deciding to reload. Spartan attempted to charge out but was forced back to take cover again, a lucky plasma bolt taking down her shield but merely scorched the paint off of her left shoulder armour.
"Give me suppressing fire!" She ordered, firing out of cover again. This was not the kind of battle she was used to, open ground, wide spaces... This was not the kind of hellish battle she had spent most of her life fighting. Her training for fighting in it was taking a rather long time to come back, especially after several years of just prolonged urban combat.

~John "Cobra"~

"You heard the lady," I say to the marine while both of us reload.
I jump up and start taking down elites. One at a time. I don't even miss a shot. The marine takes down three in four shots. Still pretty good.
"Slow down there. You'll hit more. I don't mean take too much time, just don't rush it," I tell the marine while we stop to reload again.
The next time we pop up, each of us takes out four targets.

"Good job" She told the marines before drawing her knife, she resisted the urge to strike at the enemy. But rushing forward was suicide. However... Her job was to lead assaults, to take on the enemy in close quarters no matter the personal risks to herself. Leaping out from behind the cover of the tower she rushed forward, heedless of the danger to herself. The knife she threw into a Grunt before drawing one of her throwing axes which she tossed into a Jackal. Plasma fire splattered off her shield, but it did not stop her from kicking a grunt with a mean roundhouse before emptying her clip into an Elite.
The weapon clacked empty and she tossed it into a Grunt before drawing a knife and another throwing axe. The presence of the Spartan seemed to draw the Covenant fire away from the marines,the injured and the ODSTs. This did not stop her from dancing a lethal dance of death, with blood slicked weapons the lone Spartan brought down the Covenant like wheat before the scythe. But with each movement, each hit, her shields fell until they vanished with a pop. From then on, the Spartan's armour took a pounding. "Come on!" She yelled at the Covenant. "Is this all you possess?"
Her armour listed the numerous damages it had sustained and the injuries she was taking. This fight for her would be over soon, if there was no end to the enemy.

~John "Cobra"~

"What are you doing!" I scream to the spartan, staring through my scope. I take out a jackal taking aim at her. "Marine, try to cover her. Don't let her die." I take out another Jackal, then see an elite coming up behind her with an energy sword. She doesn't see him. She is in the middle of stabbing another grunt. I fire at the elite, but it move out of the way, causing the bullet to whiz by the Spartan. I fire another bullet, but he moves again. It only hits his back. He brings the sword up, ready to swing. Another soldier will be dead because I ran out of ammo. I stare through the scope in horror, only to see the Elite get its head blown off. I look at the marine next to me, and see him breath a sigh of relief.

The Spartan looked over her shoulder seeing an Elite fall back minus it's head. Perhaps it was the scream of one of the guys in the tower that she had heard earlier? Or maybe it was the fact that her death would be meaningless. She withdrew to the base of the tower, seeking shelter behind the base of it.
She bled from at least four different wounds, this was not the first time of being injured. But she did not want it to be her last injuries... The day she ran out of them was the day was listed MIA. The Spartan slowly slid down the tower, no it was not death... Merely her waiting for the enemy to close, for her shields to recharge, then she would once more join the fight. A glorious battle. "I didn't get my trophies" She muttered to herself, before yelling. "I forgot my damned trophies!" It seemed that the Spartan was not bothered by her own injuries.

~John "Cobra"~

"Good shot." That's all I can let out before reloading and looking back through my scope. I watch as the Spartan retreats back to the base of the tower.
I tell the marine to keep firing, then slide down the ladder. I kneel next to her, pulling out the biofoam.
"Decided to smarten up, eh? It was that marine up there who saved you by the way. You should thank him later."

Despite everything, she found herself chuckling at his words. "I excel at assault why waste my talents at range? I'm V by the way" She informed him before placing a can of biofoam into one of her wounds and spraying it in. The Spartan flinched. "All things holy in the world this stuff stings worse than a plasma burst"
Unlike most Spartans, she spoke her mind regardless.

~John "Cobra"~

"Call me John or Cobra. Your choice. And I'd rather you take them out slower and survive then go on a suicide mission. Your choice though." I stick out a hand to help her back to her feet.

"Cobra? What kind of name is that for a sniper?" She excepted the hand and pulled herself to her feet once more. "I always get suicide missions one less would not bother me and besides it was something for moral" V laughed quietly and said in a hushed voice. "We had better return to battle or people will begin to think an ODST has a crush on me"

~John "Cobra"~

I chuckle, pulling out my SMG to take out some of the closer enemies. I spot a few Jackals in the distance, ready to take us out. "Hey! We got some jackals in the distance. You mind taking them out?" I yell up to the marine.
"Sure!" He starts firing, and within seconds I don't spot anymore jackals.

"Time to get back into the fight" She tells John as she emerges from cover for a second, firing a short burst from her own smg to bring down a Grunt.

~John "Cobra"~

I pull out a frag grenade, tossing it into a large group of covenant. It explodes, sending the bodies flying. I pull my SMG back up, taking out a few more grunts. I hear a few shots from the tower, and suddenly remember the marine.
"Hey, you got a name?" I yell up to him.
"Kennedy!" he yells back down.
"Okay. If I yell that, I want you to snipe the targets I list. Think you can handle it?"
"I hope so," he says, going back to sniping.
"Wait. Start taking out the enemy snipers. That'll help us a lot."
He starts dropping distant jackals with perfect headshots.

"If you boys get any better I might have to buy you a drink" V called to them both, firing her smg in short burst before taking cover to reload. Slotting the fresh magazine in, she kept up the volume of fire, shields flaring occasionally from enemy rounds.

~John "Cobra"~

My SMG makes its distinct 'out of ammo' sound. I decide to switch back to my sniper and use up whatever ammo I have left. Spotting an elite in my scope, I put the crosshairs over its head. Suddenly, it flinches to the side, blood flying out of the side. I put the crosshairs back over its head and drop it.
"That kill was mine!" I yell up to Kennedy.
"It would've bled out if you didn't finish it off," he yells back. We both get back to sniping.

"This is stupid of them! It's like a shooting range" V commented switching to her shotgun, one of her preferred weapons of war. She found herself laughing almost, this was far different way to fight a battle than the ones she spent most of her time fighting. "This is too easy! But you ignorant alien fools! Why are you even here? We could all be home but no you choose to die and cause death!" V had few filters, always speaking her mind even when the rest of her continued to operate, shotgun blazing.

--Slip-Space--

The ship Dragon and the other soldiers were aboard was still another day out from the Epsilon Eridani system. Most of the passengers had entered cryo, while the medical staff remained to tend to those who needed constant medical attention and couldn't afford to be put on cryo for risk of freezer burn. Daniel and Chris stayed with Lin, her chest now fully bandaged and the hole in her leg sealed up, both wounds well on their way to healing. She didn't even feel that bad, the painkillers she was on making her feel rather.......well, the best way to put it was she was certainly making for enjoyable company. "Hey.....what are those little squiggly things floating around? They look so pretty," Lin slurred a little. Chris fought to keep a straight face. "I don't know Lin. Maybe you should try and catch one and see what it is." Spurred on by the remark, Lin actually reached out to try and grab one of the floating spots, but to her it looked as if it fazed through her hand. "Damn......little pixies don't hold still."

=had the ship leave the area earlier and was about 15 minutes out from it's destination and was checking on the still ammnesiac women=

how are you doing?

"I'm okay I guess... I'll survive my injuries but I still have no clue about myself I just wish... I could remember my name" She sighed and whispered. "As then I would at least know who I was instead of being... Nameless"

She shrugged and winced painfully. "Serah? I have no memory of what my name was before so yeah Serah is good"

As Lin kept trying to grab the floating lights she saw, her hand slapped down onto Chris' hand in her lap. She didn't remove it though, since she felt warm skin beneath her fingers, a sensation she hadn't felt for a while and in her doped up state she couldn't help but blurt out "You're really pretty Chris." Christ went a little bit red in the face, removing her hand. "Uh...what?" Lin giggled some more. "Strike that. You are hot! I mean I know I've got Siri and all but damn, if you weren't with Dan I would do you with whip cream and a cheery on top Christina," she slurred, voice pitching a little when she said Chris' name. Chris was simply blushing furiously and really wanting Lin to stop talking. "Okay I think you've had too many painkillers Lin, so I'm just going to get you some water and see if that doesn't sober you up or not." And then she quickly left.

Serah nodded slowly before smiling in understanding. "Okay then whatever you guys say as you know who I am so you must be right"

"Okay I trust you" Serah replied quietly, she had no choice really but she had nothing to go from apart from the good experiences she had as these two had rescued her.

=gets a message from IRIS=

Code:

 we are approaching the coordinates given to us preparing to dock now and a ONI rep will escort you to the meeting while ship is being resupplied and rearmed

=stands up=

i'm going to leave you with my associate here and he'll lack after you so listen to him incase something goes wrong

=heads torwards the cargo hold and waits for the ship to land=

Serah nodded the once but said nothing deciding that it was wise to remain silent since she had no knowledge of what was going on.

--Reach--

Once the Shadow's Advent had landed on the surface, ground teams quickly set to work on the ship, doing their job and making sure the ship was still fit for duty. A representative of ONI was there, meant to greet the crew of the ship and escort them to the meeting. It didn't make them special in any way; in truth, there were more urgent reports to be read, more important bits of information to process. But it was standard procedure to debrief the crews of Prowlers, and this team was no different than the rest.

--Epsilon Eridani System--

The medical ship had finally exited slip-space, along with several other ships from Waltari. Now that they could send and receive signals again, the ship began communicating with Reach and the rest of the system, attaining nav data on where they could go, where to dock.

=steps off the ship and looks for the rep from oni and making sure his armor is on tight heads over to him=

are you the one they sent?

"Yes. Please, follow me they're expecting you," he said, turning his back on the armored individual without much care.

=follows the rep=

how long till ship is rearmed?

The officer shrugged. "That's for the dockworkers to decide. Come on, we haven't got all day."

Soon enough, the medical ship was in orbit over Reach, docked with one of the orbital elevators. Patients were unloaded, and shot down to the surface where hospitals waited to take in the wounded. Lin and the rest of Dragon were among one of the elevators, with Lin laying in one of the mobile beds. She had sobered up, and felt a little foolish for what she had said to Chris.