HRP reboot - Chapter 2: On the Run

"Well there's no worry there.....think you lost every shred of dignity you had a while ago," Lin teased. "Still, don't worry. Not going to make you do stupid shit just to make me happy."

"I'd do it too." She slowly put her head on Lin's shoulder. "I'll do anything to make this up to you."

"Well....what do you say to a dance?" Lin asked.

Siri looked happy.
"I'd love to."

Dragging her girlfriend to her feet, Lin brought them to the dance floor to dance with the crowd, both of them staying close as they moved to the music.

Siri kept her eyes on Lin, smiling happily as they moved.
"So.." she said over the music. "Don't suppose we could....dance our way into a private booth?"

"Look around," Lin said. "There are no private booths here!"

"A girl can dream!" Siri replied. "Don't suppose...you wanna leave early? I...I'd like tomtalk privately...before...well, before you get meon my back and at your mercy!" Siri giggled.

Lindsey had been blending in well to the club, getting along just fine until someone pushed one of her wrong buttons. The next thing the man knew was that a fist had connecting with his chin flipping him over onto a table, blood spraying from his mouth. The man's friends stepped forward to defend their friend, one of them nose being crushed under a swift right elbow to the face before collapsing to a punch to the groin.
Scanning, she span around kicking another in the ribs, the man staggered but before Lindsey could finish the attack she was stopped by someone wrapping their hands round her neck as if in an attempt to choke her. Tucking her head into chest, she raised her arms and using her hands plucked his hands from around her neck striking from above. Taking a step back to her right, she struck out with her left palm, impacting on the soft, vulnerable groin. The attacker's head snapped forward at which point it was snapped back using her left elbow striking upward swiftly. The man crumpled but Lindsey it appeared had picked a fight with a rather large crowd who up until then had been rather startled by the fight. Yet then just as it looked terrible, the entire bar descended into madness, the club fighting amongst itself. Sliding down a stair railing, Lindsey began to make her way towards one of the exits, fighting anyone that came in her path as she went.
Fighting those who where drunk was too easy, their uncoordinated movements made them easy prey for expert strikes. However near one of the exits Lindsey found herself embroiled in a bitter fight unable to escape, as each time she beat one or two opponents down it seemed another three would take their place. Luckily for Lindsey she was quite good at fighting multiple opponents.

Rha' Taydumee looked out the front portal of the Eternal Perdition, his pilot gently operating the controls as the Ultra watched him. The Exoneration had been left in control of a Major momentarily, so that Rha' could lead this small scouting mission. Though the Type-56 Ground Support/Ultra Heavy Deployment Platform had barely left the safety of the CPV-class Destroyers shields yet, Rha' showed no irritation, as the crew prepared itself onboard the ship.

Turning on his heel and making way to the lower platform, the Sangheili Ultra watched a pair of Unggoy Minors pushing supply crates up onto the top platforms, both filled to the brim with weapons. Rha' had ordered and ensured the exact weapons to be brought on this mission - Type-31 Rifles, Type-51 Carbines, and Type-50 Sniper Rifle Systemsformed the basis for long-range and scouting, Type-33 Light Anti-Armour Weapons and Type-52 Guided Munitions Launcher/Explosives designated for anti-vehicle scenarios, and Type-25 Directed Energy Rifles, Type-33 Guided Munitions Launchers and Type-25 Directed Energy Pistols for basic infantry. And, of course, a nice assortment of Type-1 Antipersonnel grenades were to be loaded on, though Rha' hoped the operation wouldn't require the use of such devastating weapons.

As Rha' made his way down the ramps, many other Unggoy pushed their loads up to the top level, while the ones on the lower level finished up loading their cargo. Plasma batteries, supply cases, and Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapons were all over the place, as Unggoy bickered with the Sangheili commanding them to move. Rha' showed no interest.
He looked over at the Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapons. Four of them would be more than enough when the ship entered atmosphere, giving it a vast degree of firepower when the side ports of the ship opened up. However, if Rha' was lucky, he wouldn't need any degree of air support or combat - it would only take a single landing to secure a zone for the other ships to come in and begin deployment.

"Ultra, I have what you requested."
Rha' turned around to see a Sangheili Minor coming up to him, in his hands a large golden object, which Rha' took as it was handed to him.
"The Jiralhanae did not wish to part with this, but for their superior they will have to. There are jammers and regenerators stationed on the ship, and the pilot has stated that the ship is prepared for slipspace."
Rha' nodded, growling a little as he felt the final passenger setting down in the ship - a Jiralhanae Stalker, stationed by the Prophets to ensure that Rha' follows the commands of his leaders perfectly. Rha' didn't like this for more reason than one, a key being that this additional crew member knocked the populace up to fourty one, one more than the Sangheili Ultra was comfortable with. Two Mgalekgolo, fifteen Unggoy, thirteen Kig-Yar, ten Sangheili, and a Jiralhanae. The ship was getting more and more cramped every moment.

"Tell the pilot to begin the journey."

Before Lin could respond, a fight broke out at the bar. Lindsey it seemed was celebrating in her own fashion, and the club erupted into chaos. Bouncers rushed to the fight, moving to quell the scuffle with some even barreling into Lindsey and tackling her to the ground. "Come on," Lin said and grabbing Siri's wrist. "Let's slip out, go back to your place."

Siri headed out, but lost her wig ducking a punch.
"Shit!" She quickly dragged Lin out the door, leading her to her car.
"You drive, I have to hide my head in your lap." She had her purse over her heae, mostly blocking her black locks. "Shit shit....idiots fighting..."

Lindsey was knocked to the ground, feeling herself take a few blows. She bridged her hips and flung the bouncer off of her as she rolled to her right. She scrambled to her feet and broke through a gap in the crowd, escaping into the night. She left the sounds of battle behind her, she had been hit pretty bad by the bouncer but it was all minor things in comparison to losing your right arm to the Covenant.

Daniel Chris and Rin lost sight of Lin in the chaos. The club was closing in response to the fight, and people were being herded out but none of them could fine Lin. Rin was keeping tight lipped out her sister and Siri, but she silently hoped that Lin would at least come back to see her at the apartment.

As for Lin, she took the car keys and got in the driver's seat. "How about you just stay in the backseat and stay down; I don't want to risk you trying any funny stuff in my lap Siri."

"I wouldn't do that....and it's a two seater." She pointed out. Slipping in, Siri laid her head down...then reached for a scarf and gagged herself. She gave Lin a pointed look and waited.

Rolling her eyes, Lin turned on the car and started to drive. "You're gonna have to tell me where to go though Siri," she said.

Siri touched the navigation, which flickered to life and pointed the way to the hotel.

Nodding her thanks, Lin started driving, following the directions as she drove down the street to the hotel. Meanwhile, her friends and sister had hailed a cab, heading back for the apartment. And that......that was when things took a turn for the worst. A fleet of Covenant ships, no more than twenty-five, emerged from slip-space into the Cesaro system, near the moon. The collection of ships, their combined mass in slip-space had triggered an alert from the nearest scanning outpost, and a message was sent to FLEETCOM. But the nearest help was hours away, and the ships already began moving in, dropships being sent to the surface. Hell was about to descend on the colony, and the vacation cut short.

Siri relaxed in Lin's lap, and moved so she looked up. She brought an arm up to touch Lin's side, unable to speak due to the self-inflicted gag.

Lin took a moment to look down, about to say something when the city alarms went off. They were a lot like the alarms and sirens one heard when there was a tornado on the way, or when a nuclear alert was in place and one needed to get to a fallout shelter. She pulled over, looking to the sky, and letting out a groan and the words "No no no no....." as she saw Covenant dropships and fighters streak across the sky.

Daniel Chris and Rin heard the sirens, and saw the ships. "Fuck!" Daniel yelled. "Where the hell is Lin?" Rin, unable to keep silent anymore, said "She's with her girlfriend, Siri. I saw them in the club earlier, left them at a table but I don't know where they are now!" Chris looked at her, dumbfounded. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

Siri was up and ugagged. "Go left. Heas for the water. December will meet us and we can track Daniel and Chris's NueralNets. Rin should be with them." Siri reached into the glove compartment and withdrew a gun. "I left it one here and a small one in my purse. It's all i got Lin."

Lindsey stopped running, she had almost made it back to her own hotel when the sky lit up. "Mother of God..." She whispered. With that she was sprinting forwards once more, past the crowds of terrified people and rushing into her hotel. Lindsey entered the room, her own room in this place and opened her duffel bag. Despite everything, she choose to dress in her ODST uniform, as if an act of defiance or maybe she wanted to die looking like a soldier instead of a civilian.
At the bottom of her bag, was a magnum pistol she had not put it there but no doubt her father was behind the placement of the weapon. He had enough pull to get such things cleared. Picking up the pistol, she checked the clip. Just the one clip of ammunition, pulling the slider back she thumbed the safety off and inserted a round into the chamber. Throwing on her parade cap, Lindsey exited the building deciding to head to the local Police HQ, that would be she hoped where the rest of her squad would head to. If not, the ODST believed she could get weapons and armour from there.

"Dammit.....it'll have to do. I can probably get outfitted when we reach th--HOLY SHIT!" she screamed, as a giant ball of plasma, ship weaponry, impacted the tower ahead and on the left. The plasma burned through and detonated, sending debris reining down on them. Lin swerved, turning down a different street as glass metal and concrete fell on the street they'd been on, destroying cars and gouging their way into the pavement. "Fuck, are you hurt?" Lin asked.

"Okay, Chris, Rin, we need to get to the Police HQ. If we're lucky, they have weapons and armor to spare. We need to move, and hope we find Lin in the process." They nodded, and quickly set off.

Siri had been hit with a small piefe of debris, a cut on her cheek. "Just a scratch. I'm fine Lin."

Lindsey battled through the crowds, explosions raining down all around her, people screaming, fire licking at the buildings. It was like a vision of hell, paradise had truly fallen.
The Police HQ when she arrived, burned, flames crackling licking at the sky. Squad cars lay on their sides, blackened by soot and by fire, bodies of police officers lay scattered about the place tossed like a careless child with toys. Holstering her pistol, Lindsey approached one of the bodies, the armour mostly intact and began to strip the armour from him.
The officer would not need it any more, even though the Police HQ was pretty much gone, Lindsey decided as she slid herself into the armour that she would remain until her squad mates arrived.

Chris Daniel and Lin arrived at the same time as Lindsey, finding her stripping one of the corpses. "Lindsey!" Daniel shouted, to get her attention. He and Chris joined her, Rin staying under cover. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, while Chris set to getting armor and weapons off the dead cops. She hated it.....but if they were to survive, they needed to make sure the deaths of the officers were not wasted.

"Alright, keep it that way," Lin said as she tried to speed along....but they were stopped soon. Cars were packed onto the streets in a traffic jam, and people were running everywhere. No one was driving now, and it was useless to try. "Get out, we need to run!"

Siri grimaced, kicking her shoes off. "We need to get up high." She slid a comm piece out of her purse and fitted it on her ear.
"Requiem, home in on me. I got Lin. I need a dropship dispatched. I want the December to hold underwater. We'll usenone ship to find the others." She made sure her gun was loaded, then threw away the purse of makeup and a fake ID, but tucmed the money chit into her bra.
"Alright Lin. Pick a building and let's climb."

Lin was about to pick a building, when the all too familiar sound of a Covenant dropship was heard. A Phantom came from around the corner up ahead, plasma cannon firing as the bay doors opened and Grunts and Jackals came jumping out, their own weapons firing as they gunned down civilians. Cars turned to slag, exploding as the fires struck their engines and flying into the air. "Come on!" Lin said, grabbing Siri's wrist and dragging her into a nearby building.

Siri followed, weapon ready.
"Find a landing pad or get to the roof!" Siri shouted. "Rika is bringing in the dropship in five minutes!"

As the two ran into the building, more people joined them as they tried to outrun the Covenant. Some were shot down, plasma burning into their backs or needler rounds exploding and sending bits of them everywhere. Moving for the stairs, Lin and Siri moved against the torrent of people running down as they tried to get higher.

Siri grimaced.
"Almost free to run." She muttered to Lin. "We need to get somewhere less crowded dammit."

"Shipmaster, we are ready to land when you command it."

Rha' waited, listening as he watched the city begin to burn, his troops firing the heavy Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapons down into the crowds and streets, mowing down civilians and militia alike. The Unggoy screamed with glee as they fired down on the prey below.
The Sangheili stood by the large side ports, watching the enemy as they held their guns tightly in their grips. The Mgalekgolo simply waited.

"Ultra Rha' Taydumee, commence land operation."

The Ultra grinned, in the disturbing way Sangheili do, before hammering the large purple metal pillar by his side.
"It is time! Cleanse the heretics!"
The army began to stir, as the large reticule near the rear opened up and let the gravity lift start up. Rha' held his Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle tight, before jumping down.

With a thud he landed, and soon cam many other Sangheili, Kig-Yar, and Unggoy. Waves of plasma began to flood over the fleeing humans, as Rha' watched and waited before hearing the sounds of two monolithic beings coming down behind them.
The Mgalekgolo.
In two great beams of pure green energy, the fleeing humans were put down with ease.
"Leave none alive! No beggars or prisoners! All shall feel the burn of their heresy this day!"

"Less crowded in a building full of panicked people, yeah fat chance of that happening Siri!" Lin shouted as they kept moving up the stairs.

"Landing! Here!" Siri pulled Lin over. "Here." She found a terminal. Plugging in, she began typing.
"Just keep me covered. I'm gling to access the Superintendant."

Rha' watched as the Sangheili lead lances and files into the crowds, dozens falling to their might. But the simple massacre of civilians was nothing - that could be achieved easily with but a simple plasma bombardment. As the Mgalekgolo pushed past him and began to clean up, Rha' eyed the area around him, before snarling happily.
"Here! Unggoy, here."
Rha' moved over to a nearby wall, and with him came a squad of Unggoy, carrying proponents of the typical Covenant hacking technology. Soon they had setup, and Rha' began to access the human device.
"The humans are foolish to use such devices to control their whole city. Are they so pathetic that they require these things to care for them?"
Before long, Rha' had gotten into the matrices, and left the rest to his team.
"This info is important to our commanders. Do not fail me Unggoy."

The large metal shield of a Mgalekgolo threw a man up against a building, his bones shattering and his life ending. The two beasts burnt more and more of their prey down, before Rha' finally caught up with them.
"Further! Clear this street out! Secure the area for further deployment!"

"You can do that?" Lin said as she covered the stairs.

After they had rendezvoused with Lindsey, Daniel Chris and Rin left to try and find Lin. Everyone but Rin was outfitted in armor and carrying a weapon, but even so they kept to cover as they moved through the city streets. Gunfire could be heard everywhere, both bullets and plasma, as the city lay under siege.

"I know AI. I built Requiem." She frowned. "There. I got a liason opened...give me some more time and I can try and use the Superintendant to cover our backs and hopefully help your squad."

"Time's not a luxury we can afford Siri!" Lin yelled. "What happened to getting to the roof?"

"Got it!" She pulled a handheld out of it. "Now run!" She said. "I got the Superintendant to start closing firedoors behind us once people are out of our level. I've also initiated other protocols! It should slow them down and buy Ein and the others time to get to safety or find a n entrenched position!"

"Not sure they're going to be able to entrench themselves that well. We don't have any weapons on us," Lin said as she ran up the stairs.

Unfortunately for the Covenant forces on the planet, the UNSC had gotten into the habit of giving colonies, mainly the inner colonies, token forces. Military bases meant to aid in a groundside defense if necessary. So towards the city of Barassa, flew dozens of Pelican dropships, hornets, and falcons. Warthogs and mongoose's drove towards the battle, scorpion tanks charging forward. They spread themselves out to avoid being hit by concentrated fire as they advanced on the city.

Siri grimaced. "We can only hope th-"

Siri nearly was thrown down the stairs when the building shook violently. Debris fell down, and looking up...the stairwell waa blocked.
"Fuck! We need to find another way up!"

"There's more than one stairwell Siri," Lin said. "Let's find another and go up that one. Move your ass!"

"My ass is moving!" She said, hurrying up.

"Yeah I can tell Siri. Jesus take it easy on the sweets would ya, that thing's been jiggling non-stop!" Lin said, her tone teasing despite the mood.

"We get out of here, you can do watever you want to my ass!" She shot back.

Rha' watched overhead as a pair of Type-52 Troop Carriers came in, one carrying four Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicles, and the other carrying Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage. Rha' snarled for a moment as he noticed the Jiralhanae that were being deployed by the Type-52 Troop Carriers Unggoy and Kig-Yar coming down behind them.
"Ultra, we have reports of human defensive forces heading into the city! We need more reinforcements!"
Rha' was swift in his actions, turning and making way towards the Jiralhanae War Chieftain that had been deployed with the Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage. His pack were already raring to charge off into the fray of the enemy, holding their guns and hammers in their ape-like paws.
"War Chieftain, I am Rha' Taydumee, Ultra of the Exoneration. My soldiers have been holding this area waiting for you, and in the time it took you and your troops to arrive the humans have already mobilized their defences. We need more than what your masters have given us."
The Jiralhanae snarled, hefting the huge Type-2 Energy Weapon/Hammer up into both hands before speaking.
"I am Daryus, War Chieftain of the Eternal Facade. My masters have given you this, and you will take it. Do not think the Sangheili are the only ones who can claim a landing strip."
And with that, the Jiralhanae headed off with his pack, into the city, taking with them a pair of Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicles.
"Ultra?"
Rha' sighed, grabbing the hilt of his Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword.
"Bring death to your foes."

As the battle raged on, and Rha' and his host pushed the few remaining militia men and police forces back into their buildings or down to their deaths, the private communication channel Rha' had given his Legion picked up. It was only to be used if the moment required it.
"Ultra! We have been trapped by debris in a human tower! We will continue to bleed them out, but will need a safe extraction!"
Rha' didn't take a second to question it, as he rushed off, leaving the Major in-charge until he returned.
"Give me your location! I am coming!"
As Rha' turned down side-streets and alleys, merely punching and kicking those civilians unfortunate enough to cross his path, he saw a small blue dot on his radar light up, indicating the location of his Sangheili soldier. Rha' drew closer and closer, seeing the human soldiers trying to break in themselves, wanting to help the few humans that remained.
"Embrace the darkness, heretics!"
With two fell swings, the soldiers collapsed, their bodies torn and splayed. Rha' looked at the rubble and growled furiously, lifting his leg up and, in one powerful kick, smashing away the rubble and ruin in his path.

"Ultra! Is that you?"
Rha' turned off his comms for a moment, as his eyed adjusted. The light billowing in behind him from streetlights gave him some degree of sight, but it was still near pitch black. Rha' stepped forward and felt five mandibles wrap around his leg. A human. With one simple stomp, the hand went limp, as the Ultra Sangheili began his hunt.

"That's provided you still have an ass by the end of this," Lin shouted back.

The ground forces moved into the city, engaging the Covenant forces where they could. Pelicans deployed troops and they moved to take strategic locations or secure other landing zones.

Siri stopped at the door. "I threw my heels off. You gotta do the door kicking." She said, covering their six.

In answer, Lin just grabbed the door knob and opened the door, giving Siri a pointed look.

Siri went up.
"Fire doors closed. We should benok for a bit." She moved faster. "Fucking dress!"