The Rise: A Post Covenant War Story: Mission Two

Paarthurnax and his warriors had recently boarded their Phantom, they had all their weapons in the Phantom. They got prepared before heading out. They had heard that the humans were gliding down, and that they would take out the insurgents, on the other side of the Planet.

"All set Officer"

"Okay, drop the landing gear. Roll us out...There we go. Ascend to thirty-three thousand feet when we are out"

"Yes Officer"

Paarthurnax looked out the side of the Phantom, as the main doors started to close. His warriors were getting all there gear ready, by cleaning all of their weapons. They had recently seperated from the humans ship, and were now ascending to the estimated altitude.

"Aegir, we have seperated from your ship, and are now heading to our objective point. We wish you the best of luck human, and we will see you on the other side, Paarthurnax out"

Paarthurnax headed into the cockpit and overlooked the operation. His Pilots were currently ascending to the estimated altitude, it would be a short while, until they reached the destination.

"Warn us of incoming targets, we want a clean operation"

"As you wish Officer"

"Good"

Paarthurnax walked back into the main deck, with his warriors preparing.

"Okay, you all know what we are doing, so do not fail me on this one brothers, we shall wipe them, as though they are excrement from out boot!"

"Berootoo!"

"BEROOTOO!"

All of his warriors again cheered, as they were loading Fusion, and Plasma Coils into their weapons. Paarthurnax anticipated this mission, a lot. Paarthurnax grabbed his Beam Rifle, and looked out of the small opening where the Plasma Turret was. He started firing, to get practising.

(Markov)

=Instead of taking my usual route to the hanger, I went another way around, then when I was in the hanger I saw the Pelican described in the note, I then approached it. The back door opened up and I saw a Marine, he looked different from all the others, I guess that's a clue=

Marine? I was told to board this Pelican, is that correct?

(Marine)

Yes sir, please, an Officer wants to talk to you in private. I'm sorry but im going to have to take your firearms.

(Markov)

If they want my firearms this is more personal than a meeting, I truthfully wonder whats in store today.

Alright, is this thing going to be flying out to space or something?

(Marine)

I don't know, im just one of his body guards if that makes any sense, he doesn't tell me everything you know.

(Markov)

Well if it does fly to space good, I don't want my team to catch up with me.

=I boarded the pelican, and saw the Officer sitting in the back, this is going to get interesting=

Nic wrote:

I looked at Hawk. "We're gliding in."

=I grin and pump my fist=

Very very good, sir!

=I try to suppress the grin under my helmet=

=i was a little nervous, but I didn't let it get to me=
Aye, sir. Ready when you are.

Paarthurnax placed his Rifle back onto his back, that was enough practising. He walked back into the cockpit, an he stared at the Pilots who were working well.

"What is out status?"

"We are at thirty-two and a half thousand feet, and we are about to enter unknown airspace Officer"

"Excellent work brothers!"

Paarthurnax grinned and looked out of the huge window. He could see nothing but a huge Forest, with a lot of very tall trees.

"Give me contact with Aegir"

"Right away Officer. Here"

"Thank you. Aegir, come in over?"

Paarthurnax Verassee wrote:

Paarthurnax 'Kai Verassee
Special Operations Officer
Phantom

Paarthurnax placed his Rifle back onto his back, that was enough practising. He walked back into the cockpit, an he stared at the Pilots who were working well.
"What is out status?"
"We are at thirty-two and a half thousand feet, and we are about to enter unknown airspace Officer"
"Excellent work brothers!"
Paarthurnax grinned and looked out of the huge window. He could see nothing but a huge Forest, with a lot of very tall trees.
"Give me contact with Aegir"
"Right away Officer. Here"
"Thank you. Aegir, come in over?"

"What?" I say as I motion for my squad to equip the new state-of-the-art gliders.

=i go over to the glider and start hooking it on. It's a bit awkward as I get it on, but it's mostly just me being me and shaking. It goes around my waist, over my shoulders, around my legs...it's all probably meant to help you control it, and I was trained in it's use, but it's still hella uncomfortable=

Oh, I really am not going to like this...

"Good. We are entering unknown airspace, estim-"

A voice is heard in the background.

"Incoming targets, two. None vessel. Big enough to be pods!"

"Wait Aegir. Scan now!"

"Detected threat! CLUSTERS!"

"HOLD ONTO SOMETHING BROHTERS!"

Two loud bangs are heard over the communicating device.

"What was that?!"

"We have been engaged! Main engine one of two is gone. More traced!"

Paarthurnax holds onto the Pilot's seat as the Phantom is thrown back.

"Stabilise!Aegir...We have been engaged! Were going down!"

"Thrust two, engines lost. Open fire, open fire!"

"No shoot. I have no visual!"

"More pods coming at our six!"

"This is Phantom Kaar...Going down...I repeat going down!"

Paarthurnax looked to his Pilots as they savaged the controls, but nothing was working.

"Mayday...Mayday...Mayday!"

Crackling was heard over the Communication's device.

"We've just lost the elites." I said, slowly. After our investigation, we'll have to see about getting to them.

=i say nothing, but suppress a grin on my face=
Ready to jump, sir.

Paarthurnax placed the communication device back and ran back into the main deck. He saw his Minors fighting off whatever it was with the Plasma Cannons attached to the Phantom. Even though the Phantom was spinning out of control.

He ran back into the cockpit, as another thud came, and it sent him flying back into the main deck. He was against the back panel, and all he could see was the Phantom upright and things went flying everywhere. Both engines had been disabled and they had lost ALL control off the Phantom.

"We are dropping fast!"

Paarthurnax tried to get back up but could not, he looked to the right as it exploded and he saw one of his Minors shoot backwards. The Zealot was nowhere to be seen.

"Brace for impact!"

The Pilots tried to regain control, but it was too late, they had reached the trees, and the Phantom fell straight through it, hitting branch after branch, and bits of metal flying everywhere. No-one knew, what happened, it all went dark...

Now with Sparrow, Trident and Whisper, as we walk down the hall. “We're investagating water, right?”

=I was walking with the rest of my Squad, which was Whisper and Sparrow, and the uhh... New kid?=

We're investigating some bunkers. Echo's looking into the water.

We reach the hanger and all equip the M-SPEC Re-entry Packs.

We're infiltrating through the tunnel system and seeing whats down there.

We walk to the edge of the hanger

See you down there boys.

I take one second to make sure all seals are locked down and ran and jump off of the edge. I feel the pull of the planet below and free fall through space, enjoying every single moment. I burn through the atmosphere, not caring where my squad is. The Re-entry pack's shields die away after i've passed through and i feel the rough jerk as the opposing thrusters engage. I slow down, almost to a stop in the air and enjoy the weightlessness of the moment before another rough jerk as the parachute opens and catches the air. I slowly drift down to the earth below, wishing to be a bird.

Garth wrote:

=i say nothing, but suppress a grin on my face=
Ready to jump, sir.

=I strap the glider on grinning=

This is Hawk. I am ready to rock and knock some heads, sir!

=I pat Rubble on the shoulder=

Don't worry. This isn't going to be a too vomit-inducing insertion. Not one bit.

=I secure my glider pack as I try hard to suppress a happy grin=

=i chuckle and add some sarcasm to my voice=
That makes me feel SO much better.

=i make the smile gesture on my helmet and wait=

Garth wrote:

=i chuckle and add some sarcasm to my voice=
That makes me feel SO much better.

=i make the smile gesture on my helmet and wait=

=I look at Rubble and return the gesture, trying hard not to grin under my helmet=

Take it easy Hawk...take nice deep breaths and relax. Focus on what will happen now, not the past

=I calm myself as I wait for the go order=

= asks for some spare flashlights and some glowsticks from requisitions area and after getting them stores them in a water proof pouch on his leg then heads back to the ledge=


=had jumped right after sparrow and follows her lead and sees everything working as it should=

being in the sky's always nice

(Markov)

=I sit in front of the officer, and the doors close. He pulls out what looks like two ammo clips and something I did not expect at all, it somewhat freaked me out a little. What he pulled out was an energy sword handle, I pulled back into the chair, those things weren't to be messed with at all=

What the hell!? Where the fuck did you get that, that, thing!? And those ammo clips have incendiary bullets in them?! Who the hell are you?

(Officer)

I am the experimental tech specialist, authorized by ONI to make you my official testing unit. Now, the only thing is. Well, I really can't explain this any better, but I thought that you might want to try these things, I mean, you do like high tech. Now, all I need you to do is sign the contract, basic things like if the bullets explode in your hand its not my fault.

(Markov)

=I sat there for a moment, shocked at what I was hearing=

Uh... Sure, but what about my team? Ill be missing the drop!

(Officer)

No worries, now to use the bullets they are SMG rounds only. The energy sword was taken from an elite after it raged, we kept this in special storage for testing, and we haven't made it very far, we need to get information about it, so I said why not get a live exercise test.

(Markov)

All right, ill do it. But im still not sure where you would expect me to get these SMG's.

(Officer)

=I hand the Spartan two custom made SMGs, they looked fancy silver=

(Markov)

=I take the two SMG's and the energy sword, I was a little nervous=

Alright, I guess ill see you after the mission?

(Officer)

Good, now get to your team, don't answer any questions about the gun or the energy sword, got?

=I looked as the Pelican door opened=

Alright, get to your team now and get those glider suits on.

(Markov)

=I looked at him and then got off, headed towards the gliders. Once I got there I put mine on and waited patiently=

I had always enjoyed free falling from space. I like to think while falling. I'm free from everything, so it's a good time. I had been thinking about a bunch of random, unrelated things. But I stopped thinking. I realized I was going off course. I had hit a space rock. I tried my best to come back into course. I couldn't, I was already in the atmosphere. =Over the comms= “Commander! I'm not going to land in the LZ. I've fallen off course.” I've now landed.

=I was the last to jump. Sparrow, Whisper and the new kid had gone first. I hated flying... Or anything to do with it. And now I was about to jump... It was a bad idea. There was always the chance of going astray and landing in the middle of nowhere. It was just a bad idea. But who was I to argue? I jumped, and well... I fought back the feeling of throwing up. It was lots of fun.=

I notice the DZ about half a mile west of us. The wind however was blowing against us. I couldn't take a chance of us being too of course so I hit the comms

Squad, on the count of three. Cut your parachute lines. The heavy impact armour will save you from hurting yourself as long as you follow proper procedure. Look for a clearing as you fall. Try to spread out and not group together. You know why we look for a clearing? BECAUSE IT'S PROPER PROCEDURE!! THREE!!

I cut my parachute lines and drop like a rock towards the earth. Wielders comm reaches me

Don't worry about it. Activate your IFF tag once you land and ditch any non-essential gear. We'll locate and guide you to us once we land.

=cuts his line and lands in a small clearing with a pond=


i'm good landed near a small pond

I comm back. “Yes commander” I cut my parachute. It takes about a minute to land. For a second, oh shit goes through my mind. I land fast and hard. Breaking braches, hitting several body parts. I land hard, but the impact armor does what its made for. I jump up, pulling my twin magnums from they're holsters. I scan the area, clear. I immediantly activate my beacon.

Garth wrote:

=i chuckle and add some sarcasm to my voice=
That makes me feel SO much better.

=i make the smile gesture on my helmet and wait=

"Right, these are for low orbit drops, so first we have to actually get to the planet before drop. You know the drill, jump when you can." I Walk toward an unmarked ship, an experimental stealth ship. It was meant for stealthy drop offs.

=i nod. I head to the 'stealth ship' ship and enter. Positioning myself so that when the time came, I could jump out the bird when we were ready.=

Nic wrote:

Garth wrote:

=i chuckle and add some sarcasm to my voice=
That makes me feel SO much better.

=i make the smile gesture on my helmet and wait=

"Right, these are for low orbit drops, so first we have to actually get to the planet before drop. You know the drill, jump when you can." I put on the Orbital Re-entry pack.

=I nod smartly=

Aye, aye sir.

=I strap on the re-entry pack, enter the ship, and make ready to jump=

Just remember the training and let it do the work...

I tap the Pilot on the shoulder signifying that we were ready for flight. The ship is released into space and we begin to enter atmosphere.

"Echo, as you know we are going to try and find out what happened to Hotel squad, and if we can, get any information on GTC."

I drop into a small-ish clearing myself and receive numerous comms from everyone. They're all good. I hit my IFF marker aand ditch the suit and pack, making sure to take my pistol from it.

Alright squad, re-group on me. New kid. Stay where you are for now.

The Phantom had fell straight through the Forest, ruining many trees and crashing through hundreds of branches. A lot of scrap metal pieces lay around the crashsite, the Phantom was not fully on the ground, it was suspended between the trees by the canopies, though it was still very much intact, it being at a forty five degree angle and all.
A lot of the Phantom's items, such as weapons and that were all trashed, much on the inside and much on the outside. There could be only one possible culprit, the Insurgents.

Paarthurnax was startled awake some twenty minutes after the crash. Much was dark, and his head was hurting, he noticed his health bar was in the red, which was not good. He looked around, and he saw quite a few bodies, all Sangheili. He noticed that both the Officers lay dead, as well as one of the Pilots, dangling from his seat.
Paarthurnax was stuck against the back panel, he attempted to get up, but could not. He made sure he had his weapons, and dug both sheathed blades into the deck of the Phantom, he did this until he reached the cabin. He had done so, he released the Pilot dangling, and got into his seat, the Pilot fell lifelessly to the back panel.

"Gods above"

He could see that nothing worked, both engines; thrusters and fuel gauges were either damaged or destroyed. He looked to his left, to which he saw the pilot. His head was, caved in, blood was everywhere.

"Ushruk itsuri"

Paarthurnax climbed back out of the cabin, and back into the deck, and tried to figure out how he was going to get out, his Phantom being suspended at some height and such.

Shelby wrote:

I drop into a small-ish clearing myself and receive numerous comms from everyone. They're all good. I hit my IFF marker aand ditch the suit and pack, making sure to take my pistol from it.

Alright squad, re-group on me. New kid. Stay where you are for now.

“Yes commander.” I release the impact armor guards. It drops to the ground with a thud. I catch movement to my right. Immediantly my gun is on it. But its just wildlife.

I take notice i'm in a very tree crowded area. -No room at all- I sigh, scan again. I acess my situation, I have no armor in a dense dangerous forest. =over the comms=
“Commander, May I have permisson to find a more defensable location?”

I comm him back while i'm waiting for my squad

Stay out of the trees.

He rammed the doors of the Phanom open, they got jammed and the controls were destroyed. He looked over the side, it was quite a drop. Before making the jump, he looked back, and made sure he had all of his weapons and equipment, and did a final sweep, on whether anyone was alive. That was a negative, everyone was dead.

He got to the edge of the Phantom doors. He looked down, at the amazing drop. He jumped into the air and committed a free-fall. The wind blew into his helmet and went all around his face. He smiled, and was loving every minute of it. Paarthurnax unsheathed his blades and put them straight into the nearest tree, ripping it to pieces, but slowing him down in the process, an amazing technique in any case.

“Yes ma'am” I immediantly begin moving to the right, I go prone into several bushes/shrubs. Keeping my breathing to a low, barely moving.

=I'd landed, and was just glad to be back on the ground again. I got rid of the suit and pack, shook my head and started walking towards Sparrows location. It was yet another planet full of... Plants. And we'd probably end up burning it and destroying half a forest... But whatever.=

Paarthurnax had reached the Forest floor, in every direction that he looked, there was just vegetation and trees, and plants. It was very confusing, everywhere looked the same. Paarthurnax checked his hood, and saw that his health bar was in the green, which was an improvement. He headed towards the insurgents camp, hoping that the Minors and the Zealot, used their common sense and headed there.

Paarthurnax sprinted through the forest, faster than any Leopards that ever existed. He jumped over the collapsed trees, and evaded through tough vegetation. Until he reached the border of a camp. It was the Insurgents Camp, and it was absolutely massive, too big for him to take alone.

"Shipmaster, this is Paarthurnax, come in over"

Paarthurnax awaited a response from his Shipmaster.

I hear some voices. “I think it's over here.” In such a quiet whisper I second guess myself if that's what it said. I hear very slight movement noises. I stay low, and comm. “They know where we landed, be on alert.”

N wrote:

I tap the Pilot on the shoulder signifying that we were ready for flight. The ship is released into space and we begin to enter atmosphere.

"Echo, as you know we are going to try and find out what happened to Hotel squad, and if we can, get any information on GTC."

=I ready up and nod=

Aye sir. Jump on your word.

"ETA five minutes." Aegir prepares for jump.

Ready, sir.

=i wasn't looking forward to this at all. It was a jump out of a perfectly good airplane into open air. Not my idea of a good entrance=

"Greetings Paarthurnax, this is your Shipmaster, go ahead?"

Paarthurnax smiled and returned the communications.

"I have reached the objective point, however I cannot take this base of operations on my own. The Phantom had an unexpected landing, both Officers are dead, although the Minors and the Zealot, are nowhere to be seen"

"This is not good brother"

"Indeed"

"So what is it you need warrior?"

"I cannot take this base on my own, hence why I must ask you this. I request a lance of Special Operations, or an Invasion force, however the losses may be large"

"Why is this?"

"There are a lot of defenses, tanks; automated turrets; falcons; and a lot of Infantry with a lot of weaponry Shipmaster, it will be a difficult task"

Paarthurnax awaited a reply, him needing this a lot.

"Accpeted, prepare for orbital transition"

"Very well, I will not fail you Shipmaster"

"I am sure you will not"

Paarthurnax jumped up in glee, and settled down and waited for them to arrive.

=I nod and ready myself=

Ready to go, sir.

=I breath deeply to settle my nerves and wait for the drop=

=Over the comms= "Its getting close, whatever it is. Permission to move." I look around, only hearing slight vegetation movement. -No time for an answer, I gotta move- I very slowly move backwards out of the bushes. Once i'm out, I move toward where Sparrow's IFF tag location.

=heads to sparrows location keeping one blade out incase anything comes at him=

The Hatch opens, and we jump.
"Spec-ops time!" Aegir shouts as he leaps from the ship.

=i jump out, into open air. Hawk follows suit. We start gliding towards our objective. I look down/back at my chest and see everything is staying in place. I look ahead again, and do my best to stay on course=

Garth wrote:

=i jump out, into open air. Hawk follows suit. We start gliding towards our objective. I look down/back at my chest and see everything is staying in place. I look ahead again, and do my best to stay on course=

=As I jump, I feel my stomach drop and then memory take over=

Keep your approach right and don't alter your trajectory...

=I look at the planet come up below me, adjust my angle, and check the altimeter=

LZ 5 klicks and closing sir.

=i angle a bit to stay on track. A bird or something whizzes by, squawking=
Shit...I hope that doesn't raise any alarms...

I stealthly move through the vegetation. I have both pistols out, ready for anything. I hear a twig snap, then another from behind me. I continue slowly, every once and awhile I look behind me. Then in a quiet almost unaudiable voice. "The man should run, now" I turn completely around, looking everywhere. "Who are you?" In a quiet but firm voice.

=I'd walked for a while, and was pretty close to Sparrow's location. I looked around to see if I could see anyone else, but I didn't. I was walking while I looked for anybody else... So I wasn't concentrated on where I was going... Then the next minute I found myself sliding down a hill towards Sparrow's location. I wasn't making much noise.... I hoped so anyway...=