Chapter 4: Exodus Part 4

I approach cautiously

Dorm...Dormii?

=i freeze, i try not to make any noise=

Please, no. I don't know what to say.

I sigh

Either you come out or you can risk never seeing me again without having said goodbye

(He gathers up some ammunition)
(He delivers it and stays at the pelican)
(He takes a pill, then checks his weapons)

I can't. If I leave, I become a threat. To you. To Draco. To Ash. Everyone. I don't want my dream to have a chance of coming true.

=i raise my head to look at her=

Fine. Yeah i get it.

I storm away

=i watch her leave. frustration at myself builds. i punch the wall, creating a small dent and splitting my knuckles open. i put my head back=

Dammit! Damn this life! Why did I do that? Why?! All I do is hurt people. Jay, Draco, Snow, everyone. Why do I have to be this way?

Why can't I have a normal life? Why can't I just have a nice quiet life? WHY!? What did I do to deserve this? DO YOU HEAR ME, GODS?! WHAT DID I DO?! WHY DID I GET THIS LIFE?! IF YOU TRULY INFLUENCE THIS UNIVERSE, WHY DO I LIVE WITH PAIN AND SUFFERING?! WHY DOES EVERYTHING AROUND ME ONLY GET WORSE?! HUH?!

=i don't realize what i'm doing until the rifle goes off, ripping open my leg. i was kicking the wall of guns. the one i built fell and went off=

I hear the noises and his yelling but just simply put two fingers up at him as i continue walking off. I reach the pelican and notice Draco. I force a smile.

All done?

(He finishes the inspections)
(Finishing up with the mini-gun)
(He sighs)
(He looks up to find Jay)

@Jay
Yeah, we got enough firepower to start a complete war back here

(He smiles)

=i lie there, my leg bleeding, my arm bleeding, my knuckles bleeding. i roll over, and reach for my knife, only to realize that it isn't there=

Blood for my blindness
Burns for their pain
Screams for us damned

=i manage to stand, and i grab some wires from the nearby electrical box. i wrap them around my arm and turn on the power. they start to burn my skin. i fight a scream for as long as i can, but one gets out=

aaaaaAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH

I grit my teeth

Good. So i'm fl....flying yea...yeah?

(He stands)
@Jay
If you want.
But I can get Andrea to auto-pilot the pelican to the destination.
Less work for us

I'd rather fly thanks.

(He raises his hands)
@Jay
Okay, Okay.

(He gathers his weapons)
(Hops aboard the pelican and offers Jay a hand)

(He sighs)
Better not to ask
she will tell me when she is ready

(He takes a seat)
(He sighs again)

I begin to take off.

Hol....Hold Tigh....tight.

We begin to burn upwards and the pelican shakes as we leave the atmosphere.

Frigate ah...ahead.

I turn on the auto-pilot and go into the back. I smile at Draco.

Sorry

(He takes off his helmet)
(He smiles)
@Jay
Its okay.
Tell me what happened

I shake my head

It doesn't ma...matter. All th...that mat...ma...is important is ge...getting you and A...Ash on your way.

=I close my eyes as the small needles prick on the inside of me=
=It is hard to breath, even when my lungs have been plugged up and bones being super glued back on=

=the power starts to go out. i kick it and it keep going=

BLOOD FOR MY BLINDNESS!
BURNS FOR THEIR PAIN!
SCREAMS FOR US DAMNED!

=the smell of burnt flesh fills the air=

BLOOD FOR MY BLINDNESS!
BURNS FOR THEIR PAIN!
SCREAMS FOR US DAMNED!

=my heart starts beating faster, my eyes widen and dilate. a circuit is made, electricity starts flowing through me. my other hand grabbed the box, allowing the current to go through and down to the ground=

Deis ducente non dividendae, meo amo.

=i scream, long and hard, until my lungs burned. i see lights dim and brighten. i finally let go and collapse=

(He looks at her)
@Jay
Alright.

(He sighs)
(He puts his helmet back on and waits)
(Rage of Poseidon plays)

I pull his helmet off.

So what happened between you and Ash then. When she decided she wasn't coming?

@Jay
Hmm.

(He remembers)
Well. I went up to the Phantom that Nikolaus, some doctor, was using to take us to his ship.
He said something about Ash's past and didnt want me in there.
I left, came back, and Ash was acting strange.
As if he dropped a huge bomb on her.

Hmmm. Well that is strange.

I ponder with a puzzled look on my face

So who is this Nikolaus then?

@Jay
I personally know nothing of him.
Grace does though.........
Doctor Nikolaus Oehlburg is his name

Describe him? When did he come? Why did he come? How did he know we were here?

(He raises his hands)
@Jay
Im sorry, but I do not know.
I was looking for Ash when Dormii and I found a............secret door.
It opened and there Ash and Nikolaus were.
Other than that nothing much.
He was very hospitable though

Hmmm. Well that is interesting then.

I stand up again and head back into the pilots seat before slowing the pelican down and landing it in the hanger bay of the Frigate.

Here we are. Start unloading everything and setting up.

=Watching the operation on Snow from my office near the lab=

Sophia. give him a sedative when the operation is complete, then put him in the padded room, with the restraints on.

Sophia: of course doctor, and shall I send the history of information to Ashlie Rebecca Cole?


yes. do that as well, thank you.

(He begins to unload everything)
(Weapons)
(Food)
(Water)
(Ammo)

(After some time passes)
(He begins to set everything up)

=I see the woman administer a shot, putting me to sleep for a short while=

As Draco begins to unload i head on over to my sabre and pat the side.

Missed you.

I turn to Draco.

Wish me luck.

I climb into the Sabre and take off, activating the camo panels.

(He smiles and sighs)
Luck to you my friend

(He continues unloading and setting up)

=detects a flux of power coming from the armory and heads over there=

hello anyone here?

=i see Zeru approach= Leave me be. I don't deserve this life. I don't deserve Jay.

=walks over grabs him and drags him to medbay=

that's a bullshit reason to kill yourself hell any reason to kill yourself is bullshit

Opinions. All opinions.

=i black out=

=after making sure domri is fine he uses the bases comms to try and get in touch with tar=

tar can u hear me

=Elites in the Training room=

=Elites in the Sparring circles are sparring, in the one closest David, a 2 v. 1 training session is going on, the teacher is yelling at the 1, telling him (in Romanian) to stop getting caught flat footed. one of the rings is empty and in the third (there are three rings) an Intense 1v1 is going on, surrounded by 7 elites, making bets. several elites are training with weapons by themselves, two of the 20+ Intense grav rooms are occupied, the elites doing strange exercises, none take any significant notice of David, its as if he's one of the crew=

David decides to train himself. He grabs a brace to bite down on and slings his rucksack across his back, putting up both arms, even his sore one, and throwing various punches and kicks at the punching bag, all of which very fluent and seeming to be combos.

=after no luck contacting tar he contacts the trophaeums A.I=

elyon i want u to send out a ping do detect where that phantom went

elyon won't that tell them where we are

me yes but it also tell us where they are and not to mess with us

=he starts the system wide scan which pinpoints the UU's location but also alerts it to the trophaeums position=

Rota Xenut: So it is them. The medical records only confirm that. Erda, is the OP ready?

Erda Ryzan: Affirmative, sir. Drop-pods are on stand-by.

Rota Xenut: Good. If all goes to plan, they will think we are just ordinary UNSC soldiers. We will be able to find out about them, if they are the ones. My pod is ready, correct?

Erda Ryzan: ..Yes-sir.

Rota Xenut: Erda? There was hesitation in your voice. Fear not, you have served as my second-in-command for a long time. I am certain you will perform to the best of your ability while I am gone.

Erda Ryzan: *Sigh* Okay Rota.

Rota Xenut: Do not forget. If the time comes, try to think Human. Speak in a fashion, or you risk compromising the rest of our brothers.

*Rota steps into drop-pod.*

Rota Xenut: Remember, I'm Major Hartley now.

=The acting Ship-Captain aboard the Umbrae Umbrorum detects a detection and activates the core for a slipspace jump heading toward a preset destination, unreadable outside of the ship=

=i wake up, in medbay. Zeru treating me= No. No!

=i shove him off and hobble into the hallways, my foot is almost blown off, and bits of bones can be seen through my arm-flesh=

I need to make things right. I need to fix what I've done. I need to atone. For what I did to Jay, both in dream and in flesh, for the ship, for the continent, for what I did to Draco, for what I did to Snow. Everything.

I need to...I need to lose my mind. It's the only way I can think of.

=i put my armor on and start locking away all reasons and feelings into a small dark corner of my mind. i lock away my self-consciousness, my free will. i turn myself into exactly what ONI wanted, a puppet. A puppet that will follow orders without questioning them. A puppet that will fight to survive. my eyes go blank, unfocesed. my arms go slack, my feet shuffle along. i end up standing outside, but not caring. i simply wait for orders=


(question: if we end the saga soon, do you guys have a plan to keep things going? seems to me like we need to about now)

=Ash wonders round her room unknowing what to do or where to go=
I hope Draco's all right... I hope their okay...

=She sighs and sits down on the bed=
I just hope... I like what I find... What could he know... And why..?

*Stares grimly at the flaming wreck of twisted metal.*

Move the wounded into that structure there. It will be a while until we find out where we are. QAI, establish an open broadcast on all frequencies.

=This is Major Tyrone Hartley, we are stranded with no means of transport and we have wounded that need to be treated immediately. Is there any UNSC personnel in there area? Please respond. We have wounded with no means of transport.=

=I awake in a white room.. like a nice bed.. but room sized=
=I look around a bit=

SHIT!

=I grab my chest in pain, although I realized that the bones are now solid instead of jumbling around=

(He finishes unloading and seeting up)
(He goes to the command center)
(He places Andrea inside of the console)

Andrea, If you will

*Yes, my brother*

(He sits down and falls into his thoughts)
(Flashback)
(Five recruits stand in a line. Draco, Lynn, Jack, Damien, Luke)
(General Silva walks up to them)

Silva-Alright recruits, we are gonna play a game. This is your final test to become a Spartan.

Jack-What kind of game sir!

Silva-Survival. Only this is for keeps. The person that kills the other person wins. and becomes a spartan.

Luke-Pardon me sir. But what the Hell!

Silva-You have a problem with that son

Luke-Yes!

(Silva grabs his pistol and fires)
(Blood splashes the wall behind them)
(Luke drops)

all four-LUKE!

Draco-Are you crazy!

Silva-Draco! Jack! your up first. I will be the only one watching. Go to the fight room. Failure to comply. Will lead to death. There is no room for Project Juggernaut for weaklings.

(Draco and Jack enter the room, Silva tells Lynn and Damien to wait)
(In the room)

Draco-I dont want to do this

Jack-I need to find my family.

(Jack rushes Draco)
(Draco grabs Jack's fist and elbows him in the stomach, he throws Jack up against the wall)
(Jack recovers and rushes again)
(Draco repeats the process only delivering a roundhouse kick to the side, breaking two ribs)
(Jack ignores the pain and rushes again)
(Draco grabs his fist and bends Jack's arm behind his back)
(Breaking it)
(Tears rolling down his face)
Draco-Jack I am sorry

(The flashback ends)