Chapter 8 NAME "Shit Happens" Part 2

=Construction of the new academies did not take long. In fact, most of the facilities already existed, and simply had to be re-purposed. As for the simulation rooms, those had to be built based off the bridge rooms of the new ships. The same was done for the fighters. The first rooms, which totaled around ten, were done within the day. Another hundred would be finished in the week. As for the ships and fighters themselves....... Production on the fleet had been temporarily postponed, until enough personnel had been properly trained to serve as a crew. Production on the fighters though, was allowed to continue, and at this point over a thousand fighters had been made. However, only a hundred troops were able to fly them, and half of them were reassigned to train new pilots=

I open my eyes again and realise im stood in my doorway.

Dammit! These blackouts are getting really annoying. Why didn't you wake me up.

Code:

Erm....No physical body....

I glare at nothing and she chuckles.

Whatever. Lets just go find someone.

(Sarah and Company)
(Draco)

=They exit slipspace=

Calen-Alright, lets get this done.

=Repent moves into position above the planet=
=Comms to the soldiers=

Draco-You have been briefed on this mission. Helljumpers to your drop pods.

=The ODSTs begin loading into the pods and ready themselves for the fall to hell=

=the troph cloaks and starts to enter atmo a good ways out side the city's limits=

i found a large fuel dump and a sensor relay let me know when to launch the drone

(Jason)
=I was in Osea, sitting down at a newly opened diner. With the delivery of meat products, the people of Haven were finally enjoying burgers, steaks, chicken tenders.............and in my case, an honest to god cheese burger=

(Dormii)
=after chatting with Lana and Kurbis a bit, i went to the hanger. I started prepping a Pelican for takeoff to the planet=

(Lana)
=I had decided to go dye my hair again. Kurbis came with, but I told him to wait in the bedroom while I did. "Don't want to ruin the secret, now do we?" I had told him. I was currently in the process of putting the dye in=

(Sarah and Company)

=They head down to the planet=
=More precisely, Stoika=
=Comms=

Sarah-We'll come in with reinforcements.

=They open comms with Stoika and dock in=

Sarah-It may be a bit.

(Warren)

=Comms to all=

Begin, please. We need this done.

(Draco)

Helljumpers, begin drop to the surface.

=Pods are released, heading down=

=the troph uncloaks and fires a massive volley at the targets causing massive explosion and the bays open and the swarms of drones drop of the racks and head off=


took out the main sensors and fuel dumps outside the cities now they have to use whatever is in the vehicles tanks still alot tho

-Freemont-

=Soldiers begin flooding the streets=
=The pods make contact with the ground, ODSTs dropping out=
=Gunfire exploding throughout the city=

=starts firiing small missile barrages at targets=

(Dormii)
=i launch my Pelican and fly into what could easily be described as a maelstrom. I piloted the Pelican past certain hostpots, giving strafing runs as much as I can, but ultimately continuing on my way towards what looked like a very good target for some a lot of casualties on the rebel side. I steered towards it and began firing=

-Freemont-

=The explosions rock the ground=
=Killing off any soldier in the area=

(Draco)

=Comms=

Zeru!
Calm down on the missles!
We want them dead, yes.
But we dont need to destroy the entire city!

=He shakes his head and leaves the room=
=He heads out with Lynn and Grace to the hanger=

(Sarah and Company)

=They manage to gain the assistance of the soldiers of Stoika=
=They are currently in vehicles en route to the warzone=

(Dormii)
=i fly up to the building and use the chaingun to wipe off any AA turrets that may pose a problem. A few of them shoot me, well, the Pelican, but it manages to stay in the air. I turn it around and drop the ramp. I put it in hover mode and jump off the Pelican onto the building. I curse myself for forgetting to bring my rifle, again, but I move over to a rooftop door and kick it in. I wait to see if there is a counterattack=

-Freemont-
-Dormii's Position-

S-Go Go Go! Get to the top!

=The clunking of footsteps are heard=

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=The load up and lift off=
=They head down to the planet=

(Dormii)
=i extend my arm blade and wait when I hear the clunking of footsteps. I know the door will make them funnel up here, but I know that once I strike, it will need to be fast so they don't try to use grenades. I climb up on top of the door frame, hoping it can hold my weight and not give me away. I spread out along the top, distributing my weight evenly. I also activate the wrist blade Senox gave me, the energy dagger on my wrist. I wait for them to reach the top and the first one or two to exit the door=

-Freemont-
-Dormii's position-

=The squad gets up the stairs and exits through the door=

S-Clear!

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=They lower down, into an intersection=
=The Pelican comes under heavy fire from the surrounding troops=

Draco-Get ready! Lowering the ramp!

=He lowers the ramp=

Draco-Taking point.

=He runs out, the jackel shield up=
=It begins to change to red=

(Sarah and Company)

=They reach the limits of Stoika=
=Greeted with fire from the enemy troops=

(Dormii)
=i drop down, impaling two of the soldiers through the helmet. I throw them off at the remaining soldiers before they can turn around and start cutting at them, hoping they don't get an alarm out=

-Freemont-
-Dormii's position-

=The two that had not been killed scream out on their comms=

S-Enemy spotted! Top of control post four!

=One manages a dodge while the other opens fire with the AR=

=The soldiers nearby become alerted and pour into the building=

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=The Pelican catches fire, about to explode=

Draco-Forward!

=The three go forward=
=Firing at the enemies=
=The shield collapses=
=They dive for cover behind a destroyed car=

(Sarah and Company)

Calen-Son of a! Carson! Open fire on them!

Carson-Sir!

=Carson begins firing upon the enemy and vehicles=

=a solo drone sees people pinned down on it's forward cam and angles it's main gun and fires a large quick burst from it's main gun strafing their attackers before loosing a few missiles at a couple aircraft listing up=

(Dormii)
=i hack into their comms just as they finish the comm=
Dammit....

=i duck under the fire and cut off the soldier's arm. I spin and eviscerate the soldier on the ground. I grab the rifle off the ground and check the ammo supply. 24 rounds=
Well, crap....

-Freemont-
-Dormii's position-

S-I heard gunfire!

S2-Lets move out!

=The clunking is heard again=

S-Spread out!

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=They see the drone and return fire unto the remaining enemies=
=He takes out a smoke grenade=

Draco-Grenades. On my mark.

=They take out a grenade each-

Draco-Mark!

=They toss them out=
=Soon smoke fills the area as well as two explosions=

(Dormii)
Dammit, dammit, dammit!

=i hack into their comms again=
Guess who.

=i send a banshee scream through the comms and then run down the stairs, holding the rifle=

-Dormii's position-

=The soldiers drop from the pain=
=Screams can be heard=

(Sarah and Company)

Carson-Sir! More coming!

Calen-Of course!

=A second warthog comes from behind=
=Driving is Sarah=
=Warren is on the chaingun=

Warren-We have your six!

=He opens fire=

=After many desperate emergency comms from the UNSC Flying Fortress, one last is sent. A video comm from the helmet of Vatel. It comes in as static. Guns blazing, Vatel, Cort, and Greave run with a few ODSTs trying to escape the Flood on the ship. One Helljumper disappears beneath a hail of infection forms. The rest keep running onward. Eventually they get to the end of a long hall. The door at the end was sealed shut, and they had no way of escape but to fight their way out. The lights flicker, and a deep bellow is heard from the middle of the ship. There is a large crash, and they are all knocked onto the the ground. They get back up, and begin firing again. Greave runs out, and switches to his sidearm. He is hooked by a long tentacle among the oncoming horde. He tries with all his might to cut it. Just as he does so, he is taken down by five or six combat forms. Cort, who had forgot his helmet in the panic, remains pokerfaced among the chaos. The door behind them is heard opening. Vatel turns in time for the camera to catch a wave of infection forms fall down upon them, before cutting to static=

(Dormii)
=i comm the others=
Anyone in need of a bit of disorientation for the enemy?

=i go down the stairs into a relatively large group of enemies. I open fire on them with the rifle, which I had a hard time of telling how many I killed, seeing as how they were all on the floor. I brought my blades to bear again and dived into the mass, cutting and slashing, sending blood and gore everywhere=

=notices several missile batteries and comms the others=


guys we have a massive group of sams on a building can't hit them cause they're too clost to civilians

=As the UNSC Flying Fortress lied in ruins, partly ablaze in the middle of absolutely nowhere on the grassland planet, something began to happen. The ship seemed to have yellowing vines growing around it. Through the top of the split ship, a large mass of flood was visible in the center. The tentacles growing around it began to pull the vessel together. Infection forms and other flood creatures sprawl around inside the ship and on the outside of it's hull. The engines fire back up, and the ship begins to rise again=

=Training of the ship personnel was going smoothly. By now, a suitable skeleton crew had been formed for the main ship, now dubbed, Silver Hawk. At the same time, the number of skilled fighter pilots increased, and now what once was hundred, became 2,000. Ironically, there were not enough fighters at that point, so production was increased=

(Jason)
=The Council and I met again. It was a unique meeting this time: we began discussing plans for expansion to the surface. Well, half of us were. The other half had to convince them that our numbers were still to little to populate the whole of Haven's interior, let alone the surface. The argument was won at that point, and I walked out of the chambers. I didn't head straight for the Serenity though. I wanted to check and see how the Tower's security was progressing. On that note, I could not help but feel impressed: the guards wore silver combat skin, class 2 in ranking. They bore the standard stun pistols, as well as the military pulse pistol. To be honest, I could not help but compare them to Earth's classic literature, of fabled knights that wore gleaming armor, and defended the centers of power=

=Vatel lay on the ground, a flood infection form now in control of him. He could still see, feel, hear, taste, and smell, and even had some control over select parts of his body. He looked over to the horror show that was Cort's mutated flood self. He did not know if Cort was 'awake' or not. He hoped not. The flood form that had embedded itself in Vatel's back was poking and prodding around inside his body, its tentacles creeping around beneath his skin. It was causing him immense pain, especially in the spine and at the base of his head, where the infection form had slid a tentacle or two up his spinal chord and into his skull, having its way with his brain. He wanted to scream, but couldn't. He just lay there, praying that it would all be over soon. He tried to mouth a few words to Cort, 'Kill me'. Cort, or what was once him, seemed to give a slight nodding motion as it sat near motionless across from Vatel. He felt the need to cry. He hadn't since he was a child. Or had he? He could feel the tentacles in his skull. He could feel his memories being twisted and ripped away as the Flood inside him went about its sloppy feast of information. He tried with everything that he had to simply hold on to what mind he had left. Eventually, he was fighting just to think. He tried to think about his past some more, about the last time he saw his mother. Then the thought hit him. He could not remember his own name. He again felt like he was going to cry inside. He was then abruptly yanked to his feet as if he were a puppet with thick cables for strings that ran through every vein, artery, and capillary of his disgusting clump of vaguely human-shaped rotten flesh that somehow passed for a body. He and Cort began their march with the other combat forms towards the center of the ship. The walls were thick with greenish-yellow sludge, and the air was thick with the stench of infected corpse. As they went on, he saw some little spores in the air. They reminded him of butterflies, the way they seemed to float about the air without any real direction or objective. This made him happy inside, if only for the briefest moment=

(Miranda)
=Molly and I took a walk through the city of Yuktobania. It was actually a lot of fun: the shopping centers had expanded in product choices, and they opened what looked like an arcade of some type=

(Jason)
=As I kept walking, I ended up outside, standing on a patio. The view was fantastic: snow-capped mountains stretched upwards in the distance, clouds forming near the peaks. Further on, the horizon curved upwards again, a reminder of where we truly were=

=As they approach the center of the ship, they feel and hear a noise like a heartbeat. The closer they get, the louder and more obvious it gets, as if all of them are beating in sync with it. They enter the middle of the ship, where a large tentacled mass of flood resided in the center of the room. It spoke in a slow and deep, yet very loud voice. The voice seemed not to be spoken, but to somehow be in their heads=

Greetings, my children.

=It went on to tell them of what they were to do, how they would expand, etc. Vatel tried to look around the room, seeing the walls covered in the same sludge, with spherical pods growing out of it. The ship jolted as it ascended into space, and went into a slipspace jump=

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=Comms=

We're dealing with some of the opposition right now.

Lynn-Please leave a message after the scream

=They run into the smoke=
=He activates the blade and begins slicing at the enemy=
=Lynn grabs one delivering an uppercut=
=Grace listens as the battle goes on, firing towards any noise=

(Sarah and Company)

=The tallest buildings of Freemont can be seen=

Sarah-We're almost there!

=Enemy Hornets begin flying in from the left=

Calen-We've got Hornets!

=Warren and Carson begin focusing the fire on them=
=Stoika's aerial reinforcements begin to help=

(Dormii)
Okay, be careful, some of it may get into your systems.

=i open a widespread hack of their comm system. I immediately get a loud mess of orders and gunfire and everything. I mute it all and send my voice over it=

Ding...dong...ding...dong...

=i trigger the loudest possible scream through the comms. I could picture old men in bunkers collapsing onto the ground as their ears are assaulted with a noise that they haven't heard in years, young men in trenches scrabbling at their helmets in pain, and various other things associated with the Scream=

THE WORLD HAS AN OWNER ALREADY! LEAVE! THEM BE!

=more drones launch from the ship and head to intercept the rebel hornets=

-Freemont-
-Outer city limits-

Adel-We've got reports of Stoika soldiers comin in. Kill 'em off.

Soldiers-Sir!

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=He grabs one, he slices the right arm off and fires the Hydra into his chest=
=Lynn spins ones arm and brings it against the back, she takes out her pistol and fires a shot=
=Grace takes a grenade and tosses it into a group, once it goes off, she runs towards the sound=

(Sarah and Company)

=As they move on, they can see a large battalion ready to halt their progress=
=Falcons fly forward, beginning to work on them=

I sigh as i wonder the unfamiliar hallways

Why do i feel all alone.

Code:

Because there's no-one else here

Don't be a smart-ass.

Code:

You asked.

It was a statement. Never mind. Where the hell is everyone.

Code:

Maybe they've gon...

I mute her and sigh before continuing onwards.

(Dormii)
=i finish up on the last of the rebels, a few of them managing to stand up before I cut them down. I send out an open comm, daring the rebels to come attack me=

This is Dormii. Marking secure building now. Anyone nearby need assistance?

=i put a waypoint down and wait for a response=

(I sleep as we are in Slipspace)

=Dreaming=

(I look to see a large crowd)

A riot....not again

(I edge a little closer to the crowd)

(I look into the crowd)

(I see my father)

No...no...this can't be right

(I see my father leading the crowd, holding a rifle)

Don't do it, not now

(APCs roll in, and troops carrying riot gear gather)

(I dare myself to move in closer)

(The troops move in closer, and a standoff occurs)

(The sound of a rifle breaks the silence, followed by screaming)

Trooper: (Yelling) DISPERSE NOW!!

(The mob moves closer)

(The trooper mutters something and canisters fly into the crowd)

Oh crap! GAS!!!

(The crowd breaks as troopers start breaking up the crowd)

(I turn around coughing and see my father being taken away)

(I scream, waking up as I do so)

Why me? Why was it me?

(I bury my head in my arms, trying not to cry)

=In search of a new source of food, the now flood-controlled UNSC Flying Fortress comes out of slipspace near the last know location of the 128th Ikilis Talon. At first, the Talon does not fire, thinking that it is simply UNSC seeking aid. The ships dock with eachother, and flood pour into the Ikilis Talon. The 128th Spartans are no match for the already swelled flood horde. they quickly take over the ship, gaining many new combat, carrier, and infection forms. All of the flood, including the central mass, move into the Ikilis Talon and abandon the much smaller UNSC Frigate. The mass moves into the center of the ship, and within hours, the ship becomes a hive sprawling with flood. The mass speaks again. Vatel and Cort were near midship when it did=

Now, my children, we must expand our empire beyond this lowly ship. We must take hold on a planet. Where shall we go now?

=The flood-infested Ikilis Talon jumps to slipspace=

(The Nexumil Ship) (On Olympus... I think)

(Doctor) Tyuueii? Ilkoeion... Tyirioeie pluies thegy threinklebni?

(Doctor 2) Tyuilllee.

(Doctor) Tyueuroei! Yuie okelell imjip!

(Doctor 2) I klowowu!

=Doctor 2 walks out of the 'lab'. The Doctor looks around his lab. Old... Not the safest place... But it worked. And now the human was ready to be tested on.=

(Dormii)
=i get the comm and reply=
Yea, understood. I'm on my way.

=i run back up to the roof and into the Pelican, still somewhat intact. A few people had shot at it, which is unsurprising. I lifted off and headed up into the atmo to get a better view=

(Jason)
=the next day, I headed for the military training center. In addition to training some of the new recruits, I wanted to try out the new weapons. I had picked up one of the new pistols, and I wanted to see how it really felt, recoil and all=

(Dormii)
=i see what looks like a good assumption of missile launcher and I plot a strafing run on it. I come up on it and loose off a volley of missiles. I can't tell if it worked or not as I banked away, but I came around for another pass just to be sure=

(Jason)
=at the firing range, I tried the pistol. Holy freakin shit. There was a target, that was maybe a solid foot, of steel. One shot from the pistol, boiled through the whole damn thing. I just found my new favorite gun. After target practice, I stripped off my armor, and trained the recruits in hand to hand combat. I had to slow myself down considerably, but even then, only 2 out of every 8 trainees gave me a run for my money, and I went up against maybe 64 in total. Do the math=

(Dormii)
=i make another pass, finally destroying it=
Yea, I saw that, Zeru. Thanks.

=i turn towards another tower and hover. I unload chaingun burst after chaingun burst into the launcher compartment, hoping for a missile to be set off=
C'mon you bastard, explode...

(Jason)
=I decided to move to the airfield, and try my skills at the fighters. First though, I had to have a talk from one of the pilots on how to properly fly these things, which seemed irrelevant; the controls had been fashioned from UNSC Skyhawk jump-jets, and I already had training on how to fly them. Well, at least the memory of how to fly them=

=moves directly over the city=