Chapter 8 NAME "Shit Happens" Part 3

Giga wrote:

(pilot) "We are above the designated area."

Thanks, everyone ready.

(Lance) "Yes we are all set."

Good not get going. When you are on the ground regroup and head to the location. When close get into groups of three and search the area. I will come from the north and meet up with you guys. I want no targets left alive.

(Forest) "Hooyah."

This is your first major mission since we left. Be on your guard. Good hunting.

=Torres closes Lances pod door. He steps back and presses a button on the wall of the pelican. The sound of the pod being released is heard. Torres watches as one by one the ODST squad drops to earth=

Take me four clicks north.

(Pilot) "Yes sir."

When I leave get in contact with anyone on the floor and see if you can provide assistance of pick up.

(Pilot) "Will do."

=Torres salutes the pilot=

(pilot) "We have arrived."

=Torres steps to the edge of the pelican's open hatch. Looks down=

Ready to see if the armors new gadgets work.

I know they will. Tiberus open a comms with the hurt marine and see if you can get a message to him. We need an exact location. Tell him we are on the way. If he replies use that to single him out.

Sending now.

=Torres leans foward and leaves the pelican in the air. While falling he starts to dive=

Remember at..

I know, I know.

=Torres plummets to the surface picking up speed as he goes=

The ground is closing.

Trust me. I know what I am doing.

*Sighs*

=Torres levels out his body mid-fall. As he does a small parachute releases on his suit, on his back, arms, and legs. The parachutes start to slow him down as he decends=

Tiberus cut the chutes.

But sir you are still going to fast.

Tiberus do as I say.

Fine but remember there are two of us in here.

=The chutes detach and fly off=

Initiating armor lock.

=Torres curls up into a ball as his sheild starts to glow=

What are you doing.

Making an entrance.

=The spartan continues to fall almost reaching the ground. At astounding speed he reaches the ground=

*Boom*

=The sound of an explosion is heard. The covenant in the area all turn toward the explosion and watch as Torres emerges from wrecked wraith=

Ahh that smarts.

You are psycotic. You could have killed us.

But we aren't dead are we.

=Torres steps out or the broken wraith and looks at the army of covenant in his way=

So have you sent that message to the P.O.W

Yes, awaiting reply.

What, a location?

yeah I know, I know

I'm in the prison compund, corridor B4 of it.

You'll be here soon, good.

=I hear the wraith explosion=

Yeah now I know what you mean

(Dormii)
Negative, Marine. Where is your CO?

=blood starts to pour from open holes in my suit=

(Dormii)
Sir, I am ready to fight.

=i start to fall over but correct myself. My vision goes blurry again and again as I try to stay conscious, in a way=

Sarah-A great cause!? Those are my people down there!

=Another cackle=

Draco-What is so funny.

???-She still believes that. They are her people.

Sarah-Who are you.

???-Why do you care. I will die today, I am sure of it.

Lynn(aims her rifle towards him)-Answer her.

=The man raises his hand=
=The guards turn towards him=

???-No matter how hard you try. We shall not die.

=He lowers his hand, the guards open fire=

(Dormii)
I said, I'm fine, sir.

(Dormii)
I'm not UNSC, Marine, I'm just helping you.

=everything then swirls and goes to black. I fall backwards with a loud crack of my armor hitting the ground=

Someone tell me where Draco is. I don't care which of you it is. Just someone tell me. He may in the same state and i don't feel like leaving more people to die.

main command building

=puts dormi on the strecther and takes him to the grav lift=

I begin to walk off.

Code:

I'll pull up a map of the city. See if i can get you the quickest route.

Yeah. You do that.

=Draco, Lynn, and Warren run forward, firing on the guards=
=He activates the blade=
=Cutting into the group=
=Warren brings out his AR and begins riddling the oppositions bodies=
=Lynn takes her BR and fires the three round bursts=

=Soon the room is covered in blood and corpses=
=The tattered remains of the cloaked man lay on the ground=

=Sarah walks up to him, removing the hood=
=She shakes her head=

Sarah-Axel...One of my fathers assistants...

=She holds back the tears and stands=

Sarah-I..thank you and your friends...Our forces....should be able to hold the rest back.

=As the sentence escaped her lips. Reinforcements from Stoika, Octan, and Vanguard arrive into the city. Pushing back the forces=

=During the fight, the enemies had managed to break his shields=
=Bullets had pierced the armor, he is standing, barely=
=Lynn turns to him with a smile, quickly fading=

Code:

There. Got it. Uploading now.

I increase my pace, following her route and cutting through the occasional building.

=Draco drops to the floor=
=Lynn and Sarah cry out=

Lynn-Draco!

Sarah-Dante!

=He manages to speak=

Draco-Im......fine..........

Lynn-We need to get him out of here.

Warren-Ive got him.

=He walks up to him and lifts him up=
=Lynn helping=

=They all head out of the building=

I duck under a fallen beam and see Draco being carried out of a building. I recognise one of the figures with him so i run over.

Lynn! is Draco okay?

=She turns to face her=

Lynn(shaking her head)-No. We need to get him out of here. Hes hurt.

Grace-Shelby! Its so good to hear your voice again! Did you forget about us? =she begins to laugh but stifles herself=

Grace! I didn't see you there. Of course i didn't forget, there's been a lot of....complications since we last met. I'm sorry for the way we departed, but please, lets discuss this later. How bad is he hit?

Draco-Im...fine...

=Lynn looks at him=

Lynn-Hush.

=She looks to Shelby=

Lynn-Hes been shot. Multiple times. His shields broke and he took a lot of damage.

Sarah-Cmon! Quit the chitter chat and lets get him to a medical area!

Can i help in any way?

Lynn-Anything you can do would be appreciated. I...dont want him to die..

=They start to head off=
=A Pelican not to far off=

=He passes out=
=Blood still coming out=

=arrives at med bay=


-on comms- i've got medbay prepped for your arrival

Night?

Code:

I can't see anyway to help other than what they're already doing. Unless you let me pilot.

Not a chance.

Code:

Theres your answer then.

I get on board with them.

=Warren takes the pilots seat=

Warren-Alright, thank you for flying today.

=He lifts off, Sarah telling him where to go=

=the shield doors of a hangar open for the pelican=

(Dormii)
=During my time in the medbay, I dreamed, or thought I dreamed, or something similar. I saw everyone's face. Everyone going about their days, not worried about me at all. No thoughts were directed at me, no concern or feelings at all. I felt like the world was driving past me, ignoring me, and no matter what I did or tried to do, nothing mattered; no one cared. I screamed and clawed, but no one noticed. I was trapped in my own body=

=starts operating on dormi after takin off the armor=


your always getting injured

=They had arrived in the hanger of the Trophaeum=
=They all moved fast to the medbay=

=Once there they removed his armor and Grace and Sarah began operating=
=Lynn at his side watching=

Grace-We cant work with you hovering Lynn.

Lynn-Im not going to leave.

Grace-You need to, he'll be fine.

=She shakes her head and sighs=

Lynn-I love you, Draco.

=She heads out to wait=

=As the day went on, more ships were completed. Haven's new, human fleet, reached a total of 20 ships, though there were still only enough trained crewmen for 15 ships. Of those 15 ships, 4 were destroyer class vessels, and the rest were frigates=

(Dormii)
=i could feel something inside me, moving, cutting, sewing, but I couldn't do anything to stop it. I couldn't scream, I couldn't move, I couldn't do anything to give any indication that I was still alive other than breathe=

(Nexumil Ship)

(The Dokter) (Speaking in Nexumil) The Human... Great results.

=The Human is disfigured, almost 'melting'. The Human seems to 'scream' in pain.=

(The Dokter) We need more subjects. Vivo, Veven, Vieob, fetch more Humans. Dead or alive.

=The three V's nod and head off out of the ship.=

=had finished up hours ago and starts to administer a drug to help wake him up=

(Dormii)
=I screamed and screamed, but no sounds came out of my mouth. The images I saw bled away into darkness and I saw a person, standing in front of me. He looked like me, but without the scars. He did, however, look older, much older. He stood with something akin to confidence, but without the physical strength to back it up=

'Dormii. I would like us to talk, just you and me.'

Let me guess, you are inner me, who only comes out in times of weakness?

'In a way. I'm Mali, your subconscious. We've met, but you won't remember them, or this, once we are done.'

=i walked closer to him and jabbed a finger into his chest, but it was my organic hand, my original hand, not my current robotic one. I stopped and looked at it=

Wha-What? How?

'This is your mind, Dormii. Well, the shared space between your control and mine.'

=i looked back to him=

Are you saying, that I am dreaming?

'In a way. Not how you would think of it, but yes.'

=i think for a moment and we appear in an open field. I think again and we are back inside the Trophaeum. Again and I have the Dream of Luck back=

Cool.

'Indeed, now, before we go too far, I would like you to know that Zeru is trying to wake us up. I am having the immune system attack the drug and destroy it, but, should you wish to wake up, I will let it happen.'

=Grace removes the final bullet out of the nine that had gone in=

Grace-He'll be out for awhile.

Sarah-God...I...really need to go...

=Warren had been waiting out with Lynn=

Lynn-I hope he's okay..

Warren-From what Sarah had told me. I think he will.

Lynn-What can you tell me about them?

Warren-From what i could understand. They had only officially 'gone out' for a day or two. Nothing happened.

Lynn-Oh... =she looks back and then to Warren= He's such an idiot sometimes. =she smiles=

(Dormii/Mali)
'Give me one second. Zeru really wants to wake you up.'

=Mali fades out for a moment and then fades back in. In between that time, I sat up in the real world and looked at Zeru with glazed eyes. I gave him a shushing gesture before laying down again and closing my eyes=

What did you just do?

'I politely told Zeru to go away.'

He know it was you?

'Maybe.'

=i chuckle with Mali in the dream world=

Okay, so, what did you want to talk about?

=i walked around the dream version of my beloved fighter craft that I wrecked on a stupid accident=

'Well, you, and your standing in this group.'

What about it?

'You are doubting whether or not to stay. You are also debating whether or not to talk to Shelby about being Jay-'

=He starts walking around=

'and you constantly worry about whether or not you can live a normal life.'

=i stop and glare at him=

Leave. Jay. Out of this.

=leaves medbay=

(Dormii/Mali)
'I will include whomever I wish. This is a discussion that must be had.'

I said, leave, her, out of this.

=my fist balls up in anger=

'No.'

=I swing at him in, if it would have connected, would've knocked him sideways from a hit to his temple. Instead, he grabs my arm and throws me over his shoulder. I land on my back and spin, on my hands, aiming to trip him. I hops over my legs and steps back as I jump up to my feet=

'Stop fighting, this will get us nowhere.'

Then do not talk about Jay. I will handle her on my own.

'This is part of the discussion. You cannot.'

Yes, I can!

=i throw a volley of punches at him and he blocks them all, he sends some at me and I block those. We continue for some time before stopping. In the real world, my heart rate increases and the plates on my arm twitch rapidly back and forth, clicking and clacking=

=finds Warren and Lynn=


so what now

=He turns his head to Zeru=

Warren-Sarah and I are leaving back for Freemont. Whatever the fuck that was. It didnt end with Axel's death. That much is for damn sure.

=He looks back into the medbay=

Warren-I hope your friend is okay. Thanks for your help.

=He walks off into the medbay for Sarah=

=Lynn watches as he leaves and heads off to the messhall=

Lynn-You'll be perfectly fine.

Torres we have captured a faint signal. The message is overrun by static.

Not good enough. Well we will just have to find her the hard way.

=Torres continues down the path, nearing the homeless shelter=

Too many building for hiding. Tiberus use the satellite and give me a map of the surrounding area.

=Torres comes up a small group of covenant. A scouting squad=

Connecting to the nearest satellite. This might take a while.

=Torres throws a grenade into the group. From hearing the grenade hitting the ground they all turn there attention toward it. Seconds later a loud bang is heard and the covenant are killed in the explosion=

Torres, my scan are complete. Dowloading the data now.

=Torres runs into an alleyway and takes a knee=

Good the map. Now here seems to be the most activity in this area.

=Torres looks up as a result of hearing nearby footstep=

Seems they have found their missing scouts.

=Torres inches to the corner of the building he is behind and looks at a group of brutes looking at the ground where the scout team stood. He then goes back to looking at the map=

Tiberus pinpoint our location and set a waypoint. We are headed to this location.

=A marker is made in Torres's VI monitor=

There seems to be considerable activity there. A direct assault will be trouble some.

And that is the exact reason we had a custom version of the elites camoflouge installed.

=Torres heads to the location, sneaking by unaware force in the process=

Tiberus there will most likely be other POW's we need a huge diversion. Contact the ship and tell them to send the grizzlies to Lance location. Likewise contact Lance and tell him to head to our location aswell.

Sending message. Where should this diversion be at.

=Torres looks at the map again=

Hear in this area, big enough for them to fit in but small enough to not get ambushed.

=Torres finally reaches the complex=

Activating camo.

Sir, received a message from Lance. They are waiting for the drop and are heading our way. He will message when he is in the vicinity.

Good.

=Torres sticks close to the walls. Silently walking to the entrance. He sees two brute guard patrolling. Waiting for an opening he gets behind one of them. He watches as one of the brutes turn around and take the other out with a stab to the jugular. He lets the body drop so that the other brute hears. The second brute turns around and is stunned when he see his fallen comrade. He rushes over and see the gash where the knife cuts=

Behind you.

=The brute hears his voice and turns around quickly. All he sees is the spartans knife plunging into his skull=

Now to hide them.

=After hiding them in a nearby alley he heads to the door. Carefully he opens the door so that he doesn't notify and enemies nearby=

Tiberus scan the building. I need a blueprint.

=Torres enters a small room and waits for the download to finish=

Sonar scanning complete. It seems that any sign of this prisoner or any for that matter are her in this area.

Thanks.

=Torres leaves the room and heads down the intertwining halls=

I am picking up nearby communications. It seem that further on there is a group of brutes. How will you proceed.

With an explsion of course.

*sighs* Scanning. It seems that we have 5 guards to deal with. There are two patrolling near the entrance of the area. A brute cheiftan guarding the rooms where our target is at and the other two are on the other side of the room.

Ok thanks.

=Torres get on the wall by the door. He takes out his shotgun and pumps it preparing himself for a fight=

(Dormii/Mali)
=We fight for what seems like hours, but is really only a few quickened heartbeats in the real world. After we fought for a bit, we stepped back and looked at each other=

I don't feel tired...why.

'This is your mind. The mind is limitless. It's the body with the mind which is limited.'

What? N...nevermind. Just talk.

=a chair appears and Mali sits down, looking at me. At this point, my heartbeat has slowed and the plates on my arm have slowed their twitching=

'You are starting to have doubts about whether or not you should stay with the others.'

No, I am not.

'Yes, you are. I see you thoughts form and fall like you watch water move. You cannot hide anything from me, Dormii.'

=i sigh=

Fine, I have had those thoughts, okay? It's not safe, not anymore.

'What has changed?'

Nothing, I just don't feel like they are safe around me anymore.

'Again, what has changed?'

I just told you, nothing.

=In orbit over Haven. A group of the human made ships sits in formation=


(Jason)
=What seemed like a week passed (though the calendar showed it had only been three days.) At this point, we now had the remaining ships fully staffed, and now, we were getting ready to have a group of the ships go on a shakedown. The group consisted of the Flagship, Silver Hawk, as well as a group of two destroyers, and two frigates. Problem was, we had no real idea on where to go, as far as shakedown destinations went. However, I decided that we'd head for Olympus, and show the guys the new ships. Besides, it was friendly territory, with zero chance of anyone attacking us (well, at least once we identified ourselves) For this small assignment, I was aboard the Silver Hawk, as de facto captain. I missed the Serenity, but i decided to bring along Molly, Gabby, Kenny, and Miranda. I had Molly serve as secondary navigator for the Hawk, while Gabby and Kenny served as mechanical advisers down in Engineering=

(Molly)
Everything looks good, captain. Engines are green.

*Weapons Officer*
Shields and weapons are green sir.


=Last to speak was the Silver Hawk's navigator, Lieutenant Carter. He was the star pupil of the Academy, and David and I chose him specifically to serve as the navigator for this ship=

*Carter*
Coordinates locked in, sir. We are good to head out.

(Jason)
Alright, then let's get moving.

*Carter*
Aye aye. Entering slip-space in 3...2...1.


=The Silver Hawk, and the rest of the ships, entered slip-space, all of them heading for Olympus=

I had apparently fallen asleep. I awoke in a sort of daze, like I had missed something.When I awoke, however, I was surrounded by flood stalks. They looked like organic plants, that were more closely related to the octopus. Or perhaps a carnivorous plant. Regardless, I was surrounded by the Flood. I wasn't threatened by them, however, rather they simply moved and danced around me. Not literally of course, but you get the picture. I could hear screams of the men falling to the flood. The parasite. A green mist fell off of the stalks, or so it appeared, I had little doubt that it was some sort of solution that helped the flood grow, some sort of growth factor.

I could feel the ground rumble beneath me. I did not stand, for I feared any movement seen as hostile would be treated with a capital punishment. I raised myself slight from the ground and sought the details of my surroundings. I was no longer in the UNSC camp with Matt, the Dragon. I was now near the center of a flood-like terrain. Thy moved fast when they had the backing of a Gravemind. I could feel it's presence. It was a tangible feeling, it's mind was everywhere, it's eyes were everywhere.

A flood-form approached me. Upon inspection the flood-form was derived from some marine, for his or her armour had been incorporated into the form. When it spoke, it sounded like the scratching of certain stones. the voice was not annoying, but it was a little bothersome, perhaps it was just this form that spoke this way. The Gravemind wanted me to visit. I wondered then, what the age of this form was. Was it of the time of the forerunners? was it of the time of the Precursors?

=Sarah and Warren had departed the ship and went back to Freemont=
=Once there they had reestablised their presence=

=Organizing strikes on the other towns being controlled by the unknown enemy=

=Lynn had entered the medbay again=
=Walking to Grace=

Lynn-How is he?

Grace-Stable condition. He'll be fine. He's just sleeping.

Lynn-Good...

=She takes a seat next to Grace=

Lynn-Wonder what he's dreaming about.

-Draco's Mind-
-Zayne's Center-

=He looks around through the dark realm=
=He hears footsteps behind him, running=
=He dodges to the right as a blade slices, illuminating the area=

=walks into medbay=


these two hold the record for most times injured still haven't beat the worst injured record tho

=Lynn glares at Zeru=

Record.
Is it some sort of contest.
Some sort of contest to see which of you can be pushed back until you reach the peak of death.

=She looks back at Draco=

You dont know him.
He's hit that too many times to count.

=She brings her hands up to her face, thinking of all the times she sat by his bedside as he was recuperating=

-Draco's mind-
-Zayne's Center-

=He laughs the maniacal laugh=

Zayne-Hows it feel to be with your first? How does it feel.

=He runs up, somewhat faster now than all of the times before, slicing upward=
=The blade breaks the skin, sending a pain through his body=

Zayne-To be close to death, once more.

(Jason)
=The slip-space drives on the ships, while not truly Forerunner, were without doubt faster than any ship in the UNSC navy. We arrived in the Olympus system a half hour after we left Haven. I already had my communications officer hail the ships in orbit around Olympus, and identify us=