The Rise: A Post Covenant War Story: Mission Two

Garth wrote:

Naughty Hawk. Saying a bad word like that.

=i chuckle lightly, trying to ease the tension=

=I look back and give Rubble the smile gesture=

=I then go peek around a corner=

Shiesse!

Uhhhh...I hate to be the bearer of bad news. It seems that we are not alone here.

=i stack up behind Hawk with Aegir next to me=
How many?

Garth wrote:

=i stack up behind Hawk with Aegir next to me=
How many?

=I sneak a peak around the corner again=

Four contacts...Don't know if they're friendly. Wait for my signal.

=I slowly approach, fingers near the trigger just in case=

=i held my SMG ready, waiting=
On your call.

Garth wrote:

=i held my SMG ready, waiting=
On your call.

=I slowly edge up and see who the contacts are=

Gruss Gott...its Hotel Squad

=I creep up and see the MJOLNIR armor on them=

=I give Rubble the signal to move up=

"Do not let down brothers!"

"Push on!"

"Pathetic humans!"

Paarthurnax threw a Plasma Grenade towards the enemies and it blew up throwing four enemies to the floor. He sprayed his Plasma Rifles into the fray and hit a few enemies knocking them screaming into the floor. He evaded fowards and planted three Plasma Charges into that room. Thirty minutes had passed and they had cleared three quarters of the right side of the encampment.

"Onwards we go brothers!"

They had proceeded into the courtyard and moved to the next building whilst being shot at from the crossfire. They moved into the opposite side and planted more Charges in there. Another squad up ahead. His entire Lance had taken cover behind turned over tables and furniture.

"Attack!"

A Special Operations Minor, by the name Kain Nar 'Rano, charged with his sword into the enemies, he had taken a lot of damage but had taken three others along with him. Kain dropped to his knees. Paarthurnax sprinted over to him and rested his hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay brother?"

"Indeed. I can still fight!"

"Glorious. ONWARDS!"

Paarthurnax ran out into the hallway and planted two more Charges, along with his Lance. He had run out of all Charges, now he hoped that Vee had done his. He led his Lance out into the Field, nearing the back of the Camp. Vee and the Minors were meeting them there.

"Shipmaster. The objective has been complete. We need pickup!"

"...I read you. Phantoms inbound!"

I try my comms. "Hello, can anyone hear me?" But no, just static. I find myself lonely. I get up, walk a bit. I see a animal. It was very small,blue, four legs and a tail and a head. It was barely visible, but it had these glowing green eyes. It looked up at me, and to be honest it looked kinda cute. But soon I realized I was hurt. It's left hind leg was broken. I couldn't just leave it there, could I? Plus I was bored, so we both win.

Just a bit of biofoam, a bit of bandage.

After I fixed it. "So, where do you live?" I sigh, realizing I was talking to a animal out of complete boredom. I pick it up, it was scared at first but it came around. I go back to my crash site. Playing with the creature.

=i crouch and move up, Aegir following. I keep my SMG ready=

-We'd reached the high ground by now, and I looked around.-

So were exactly did the new kid land?

Garth wrote:

=i crouch and move up, Aegir following. I keep my SMG ready=

=I move up and tap one of them on the shoulder=

Hotel is that you? This is Echo Squad.

=I raise my fist to halt Rubble, just in case something went wrong=

"Form a formation. A Semi-Circle"

His Lance listened to his instructions and formed a formation around him. He could hear shooting, both bullets and plasma. The transport was at least ten minutes away.
A few moments had passed, until his eyes were drawn to a spot. There they were.

"There. SUPPORT THEM!"

His Lance rushed over to the Zealot and the Minors. Paarthurnax remained in his position, and equipped his Beam Rifle. He aimed towards the enemies coming out. He noticed that the Zealot had no shields. His Lance got infront of them, so that their shiellds could recharge. They retreated to his position. Enemies constantly appearing and engaging in the warfare.

"Do not let this up brothers!"

He looked to Vee.

"Could to see you brother. Is it complete?"

"Yes. I have planted all of mine"

"Then it is complete. Phantoms are on the way"

Paarthurnax, Vee; the Minors and the SpecOps Lance were still battling the Humans, or the Insurgents. There were a lot of them. Paarthurnax looked up and saw the Phantoms. There were two.

"The Phantoms have arrived. Let us go!"

Paarthurnax retreated to the Phantoms as they swept down collecting the warriors. The Infantry on the Plasma Cannons providing stable support. After a few minutes, everyone were aboard.

"Wort, wort, wort!"

The Phantoms lifted off, ascending to thirty-three thousand feet.

"This feels like a trap." Aegir says, breathing heavily. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Hawk, they aren't moving." I made the observation, they weren't moving at all. It could be that it was just their armour set up it place. Or perhaps the armour was locked. Either way, the smell of the sewer was steadily becoming replaced with the a more metallic odor.

Paarthurnax made sure that everyone was aboard. Everything was fine, he was able to relax.

"Where are we heading Officer?"

Paarthurnax looked around. He then gave the Pilots the co-ordinates.

"The mountains over there"

"Right away"

N wrote:

"This feels like a trap." Aegir says, breathing heavily. His heart was pounding in his chest.

"Hawk, they aren't moving." I made the observation, they weren't moving at all. It could be that it was just their armour set up it place. Or perhaps the armour was locked. Either way, the smell of the sewer was steadily becoming replaced with the a more metallic odor.

=I take a step back and ready=

Smells like ozone in here...that's definitely not a good sign

I'm with you on that sir. This is was too easy.

=I check all the comm fequencies and hear nothing but static=

This isn't good at all...

=I hear the tell-tale click of a weapon and see a small glow=

=I yell to the squad=

Flamethowers! Hit the Deck!

=I then see a rush of flame come forward as I splash into the water=

=queue slowmotion sequence=

Everyone went for the sewer water. I could hear the click of the flame-throwers trigger, the pause before the gas or liquid filled the barrel, the rushing of the said matter through the barrel, meeting the flame or spark at the end of the tip, igniting the substance into a flame. The flame rushed by, it roared as it passed. The water was deeper than I thought, I sank to the bottom and landed with a dull thud.

They were half way there. Paarthurnax was sat on the deck. He unloaded the Plasma Coil in his Beam Rifle and popped another in it. He did the same with his Plasma Rifles. There was no contact with Aegir's squad. He got worried, although he knew that they would be okay.

"Nearing Officer. Five minutes"

"Affirmitive. When we get close, I want you to drop the engines, and drop the throttle. We want it to be a silent drop-off"

"That is possible, and will be done"

Paarthurnax contacted the Special Operations Minor in the other Phantom.

"Kaine. I want you to prepare the warriors. We are five minutes away"


"As you wish"


"We land in a while warriors. We must remain vigilant and remain strong! We must follow our Officer and together and we shall continue our march to glorious salvation!"

A lot of cheers spread throughout the second Phantom.

=i dive into the water as the flames roar. I wait for the flames to pass before sticking my head out, having to jump up in order to break surface. I quickly sink again=

=I look up out of the water and curse under my breath=

Sheisse...a freakin ambush

=I hear the flamethrowers start to sputter as they begin to run out of fuel=

So much for the element of suprise...

=i look up through the murky water, the light from the flame throwers had dimmed, it was dark, and the VISR had a limited ability in the water. I tapped HAwk on the shoulder, we didn't have much time, but we could stay in the water and move stealthily whilst under it. It just meant we had to be extra careful, making sure we had adequate oxygen levels and not staying under for too long. I tried to say this to HAwk, but speaking underwater made my voice sound odd. I wasn't sure if he got the message. =

N wrote:

=i look up through the murky water, the light from the flame throwers had dimmed, it was dark, and the VISR had a limited ability in the water. I tapped HAwk on the shoulder, we didn't have much time, but we could stay in the water and move stealthily whilst under it. It just meant we had to be extra careful, making sure we had adequate oxygen levels and not staying under for too long. I tried to say this to HAwk, but speaking underwater made my voice sound odd. I wasn't sure if he got the message. =

=I turn around and give Aegir a thumbs up=

=I then make a motion for the squad to move forward as I crawl along to bottom, trying not to throw up=

=Echo squad crawls along the bottom of the pipe, the ambushers shining lights in the water trying to find them. But the water was too dark; even with light, seeing anything from the ledge would be difficult. The occasional shot was fired into the water, but none came close to the squad. We moved silently through the water. These were the kind of missions that Aegir was trained for. But something felt off, something was not right, something was wrong. He had a feeling that whatever his squad would find, it would be horrifying.=

We finally reach the top of the hill.

Alright, everyone look for his IFF tag. If he's more than a mile out, we'll pick him up later. We're delayed as it is.

=picks up a faint signal=

i think it's around 1000 yards out

=I move quickly through the forest now. I had faced no opposition on the walk before, but I had to make it into the town that was aways out=

"When you were standing on the wake of devastation. When you were waiting on the edge of the unknown. With the cataclysm raining down. Inside's crying save me now. You were there, and possibly alone"

=He continues to hum the song=

=i resist the urge to shoot back up at our pursuers, but that would've made things worse, not better. I simply follow the others as best I can, following the blips on the motion sensor=

I'm continuous playing with my animal. I decided to name it Aregormir, a dragon name in a book I used to read before I was taken. As a bit of irony. The little guy was extremely playful, his little legs running around like mad. I keep laughing at his energy. "Now if you fight the covenant, you wouldn't have nearly as much energy." I completely forget where I am at. The little guy kept me cheered up. "You know what, let me know if you see anything." I chuckle at myself. "Where do you think you'll go after I leave huh?" I jumps up onto my head. "I guess that'll work." I laugh, it seems to laugh to.

=I crawl though the sewer and start to see a bit of daylight=

Yes...our exit out of here

=I pop the hatch, bring it inside, and beckon the rest of the squad=

And yet I still smell like dog crap...

Scorch wrote:

=I crawl though the sewer and start to see a bit of daylight=

Yes...our exit out of here

=I pop the hatch, bring it inside, and beckon the rest of the squad=

And yet I still smell like dog crap...

=I follow Hawk up and out of the sewer.=

"Well shit."

No pun intended.

=i followed after the others, quickly checking that all my gear is intact and working=

Garth wrote:

No pun intended.

=i followed after the others, quickly checking that all my gear is intact and working=

=I shake myself and get rid of the moisture on my armor=

Everyone okay? Well apart from smelling like a walking outhouse, of course?

=I chuckle to kind of lessen my nerves=

I'm good. Everything's working. Everything but comms.

=i shake off some of the water=

Alright. He's too far out. Tri, comms.

He hands me his comm unit and i put it on for a moment.

Kid? If you're hearing me, sit tight. You're too far out and we're gonna proceed with the mission. If you can, contact command, organise our transport out of here. Alpha squad, out.

I pass the comm unit back to Trident.

Alright, thats where we left the marker to the tunnel system last time. So thats our first destination.

I point to a smoke cloud rising from the burnt forest not too far away.

Let's move out.

I continue playing with Mir, knowing my comms are down. I look back at my helmet, then the area around me. The little guy finally tires out
I grew bored in about two minutes. I pick him up, and put him on my head. "They couldn't have taken this long to find me."

We walk through the dense undergrowth, slowly getting hotter and hotter. I hear Trident complain about the heat but we press on, eventually coming to the edge between burnt and fresh wilderness.

Right. Our marker is....

I pull up a little map of the area and pinpoint the marker.

That way, about 20 metres too. Good work guys.

We make our way over there and stop outside the tunnel system. It hadn't been covered up yet luckily for us.

Alright. We go in one at a time, head first. Use your knife to poke around before moving onwards if you're in front just to make sure you don't hit any mines or traps. It's going to be pitch black down there, so don't expect to see much.

I shrug off my jacket, taking my pistol in one hand and the knife in the other. Slowly i lower myself into the hole, taking time to check for anything hidden. God it WAS dark in here. I yell back to the other two.

Alright, get a different tunnel. there's a few around here. Head on down and activate markers, make sure to keep track of each other. We'll map the tunnels as we go.

"Right, Hawk, sit-rep?" Aegir says, panting.

N wrote:

"Right, Hawk, sit-rep?" Aegir says, panting.

=I pull up my HUD TACMAP=

Well, apart from smelling like walking piles of shit, We're about a half kilometer from the water station sir.

=I take it down=

And we still have no outgoing comms. Business as usual, sir.

At least we can blow stuff. That's a start.

=i make the smile gesture while shaking water out of the SMG and grenade launcher=

Paarthurnax and his Lance jumped out of the Phantom, who were quickly followed by the Zealot and the Minors. He looked ahead and saw the Insurgents base wuite a distance away.
He looked back towards the Phantoms.

"Very good warriors. Return to the CCS"

"Very well Officer"

Paarthurnax watched the Phantoms pull away. He removed the Det. from his utility and held it firmly infront of him. He smiled as he looked towards the base.

"Ushruk itsuri!"

He pulled the trigger hard and a massive explosion happened. The air was full of blue Plasma. The sound was deafening.

"A divine sight. Divine"

"Right, well, let's go to that water plant."

I wait for them to show up. They don't, so I wait more. About five minutes goes by when I see movement to my right. -Forget it, I'm moving.
Just a sitting duck here.- I grab Mir, place him on my head. "Don't fall" Both pistols out, I walk in the direction of the movement. Just a another animal. Except this one was huge. Looked kinda like a bear, four legs, huge body. I smile, shoot it twice in its feet, as it falls I shoot once more in the head. I reload. "Where do you think I should go?" He doesn't move, just resting. I laugh and head out toward the hill described previously.

N wrote:

"Right, well, let's go to that water plant."

=I give Aegir a nod=

Aye sir. You take point this time.

=I motion for him to go up front=

=I'd found a tunnel entrance, after moving some of the burned debris from the previous Bombing. It was really hot, did I mention that? I opened up the tunnel entrance, and looked around. Whisper was still looking for his, so I climbed on in. It was dark. Really dark. I grabbed hold of my knife, for safety of course, and tried to see if I could see anything. But of course, it was dark and I couldn't see anything. It was great... Just great. I began to move forward, slowly.=

The explosions were still happening, even after a few minutes had passed. Each and everyone of them were enjoying the fantastic sight. Of the fuel burning and the burning bodies and weapons and Plasma.

"Why have we come up here Officer?"

"Down this valley, is an Intel Outpost, run by the Insurgents here. We are going to eliminate the forces there and steal all of the intel"

"Sounds easy enough"

"Only if it were. Everyone settle down, let the storm clear, and then we will attack at night!"

Scorch wrote:

N wrote:

"Right, well, let's go to that water plant."

=I give Aegri a nod=

Aye sir. You take point this time.

=I motion for him to go up front=

I nod, "I'll mark the…" The HUD marker shows up but cuts out. "The NAV system isn't working."

I continue crawling my way into the tunnel system, checking the maps every now and then and watching the flashing dots that represented my team moving along their retrospective tunnels. It was slow, hot and dirty work. But we eventually got a lot of the tunnels mapped and met up in the widest area we could find.

Alright. So, either we're missing something. Or the way out collapsed. Or there's really no point to these tunnels.

N wrote:

Scorch wrote:

N wrote:

"Right, well, let's go to that water plant."

=I give Aegri a nod=

Aye sir. You take point this time.

=I motion for him to go up front=

I nod, "I'll mark the…" The HUD marker shows up but cuts out. "The NAV system isn't working."

=I check my NAV and get static as well=

And I thought this couldn't get any worse...

=I pull out my pistol and looked down the HUDs scope=

Hey, Aegir...you might want to take a look at this.

=I gesture and point in the direction of the plant=

"What is it Hawk?"

N wrote:

"What is it Hawk?"

=I look at a structure in the middle of the plant=

I don't know what to make of it, sir.

=I give him a pair binoculars from out of my hardcase=

Take a look for yourself, sir.

I doubt they'd build tunnels without a reason... And I guess these could just be sub tunnels, but there has to be a reason...

It could be a trap. They could've laid loads of explosives underneath us.