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Post by Coconut on Mar 8, 2009 3:27:16 GMT -5
Sonya Cassus had died on Installation 05. Sonya Cassus had been shot down with her husband. Sonya Cassus' soul had fled to the far corners of the galaxy. And yet this semblance of her lived on, filled with anger, grief and sorrow for what she'd lost. Every minute of her dreams at night was filled with the pain of losing Jonas, or those last few seconds of his life as he turned to her, grinning in that way she'd so loved, before the Covenant blasts had struck him again and again, making him spin his arms without control like a doll, falling to the ground with his eyes still open in a mocking imitation of life. She'd continued the war, had Sonya, not running or fleeing; he wouldn't have wanted it. They'd given so much, and got so little after his death. Sonya was not a mother, and at twenty-three years old she was a widow.
She commanded a team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, she'd commanded them for some time during the war and commanded them still. With this new, unstable galaxy, they'd be needed and so training exercises would be needed. Sonya buried herself in training exercises, her hard exterior shielding the sadness she felt beneath. At the moment, her team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers was engaging in a training exercise on Arthulia IV, the Last Outpost, in the furthest reaches of United Nations Space Command space. What lay onwards? Only the Covenant Remnant and the unknown. No, no none had travelled that way since the last Arbiter, Gaius Hellenes and the rest of the Ad Infinitum project had dissapeared all those years ago. No, Sonya Cassus trained her Orbital Drop Shock Troopers for the possibility of an attack, not to travel into the unknown. The Covenant Remnant had launched only small raids and attacks, easily repelled. Let's keep it that way. Sonya thought, grimly.
The warm, sun baked earth of the exposed hill beneath was covered with vegetation, most of it grass, interspersed with swathes of brown, dead land, perfect for practising landing and using the Warthogs to move quickly to areas in. She'd armed each team with paintball guns, non-lethal, and more than two tags to the torso or head meant they were out, five to the limbs. Rob Jarvis, her second in command, commanded the second team and the three Warthogs that made it up, whilst Sonya commanded the first. There were, of course, limits to the areas the hogs could go, but apart from those Sonya knew only that the 'enemy' Warthogs were some mile to the north. Paint grenades and paint rocket launchers were also issued to the teams, to make it more lifelike and realistic. Rising, Sonya took to the wheel. "We ready?" She called.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 8, 2009 3:57:27 GMT -5
"I call shotgun!"
Vince pulled himself up into the vehicle all UNSC troops had used at least once... the signature of the UNSC; the Warthog. He looked to his right to see one of his quad members jump into the driving seat and grasped the wheel quickly. The Warthog shifted weight once again as the second member of his squad jumped onto the back and mounted his weapon on the steel bars above Vince and the other squad member who was known as Harry. For training purposes, the Warthogs had been removed of their chain guns and been replaced by a replication that fired balls of paint in the place of live ammunition.
Vince pulled his Battle Rifle up from his side and steadied it in both hands, of course, it too was a replica, firing paintballs instead of live ammunition, but it was all Vince needed.
"Lets move, Harry." He said, looking down the sights of the Battle Rifle for any movement from the opposing team.
The squad Vince had recently been placed in had been divided in two for training purposes, Red versus Blue, in a way. They were three man teams, the objective was simple, eliminate the opposing team.
Vince remained still as the Warthog jolted to live and began picking up speed as it drove through the bushes and trees ahead. The chosen battlefield was quite large, Red team was position in the North, Blue, in the South. Vince had been given command of Blue team. The Warthog leapt through the air as it cleared the tree line and landed on the ground with a bump on the other side of the rather steep hill before speeding forward once again, heading north.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 8, 2009 4:41:34 GMT -5
The hog roared into life beneath Sonya's fingers, Sonya enjoying the feeling of almost power she got from revving it up, the side gunner armed with a paint rifle whilst the gun on the back would fire paint too; had been outfitted with a setting that allowed it to do that, although they could switch it back to the proper firing setting if they needed to. Which they wouldn't. As the Warthog quickly filled, the other two doing the same, the cries of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were silenced to provide stealth. It may have been only a training exercise, but the Orbital Drop Shock Trooper's were taking it seriously, as well they should be. As the other two Warthogs fell into position on either side of Sonya's, as her wingmen, Sonya smiled. The other two female Orbital Drop Shock Troopers were in her group, one as her side gunner and the other in another Warthog.
The ground was solid and firm, well baked over by the sun, and so the Warthog moved speedily over it, the dry grass supple and flexing and not tearing up beneath the thick, rubbery tires of the Warthog. The noise would be unable to be hidden from the other Orbital Drop Shock Trooper team, however hopefully they'd be upon them by the time they realised. They'd both cover ground very quickly, and Sonya expected to see them some time within the next minute... There. Over on the brow of another one of the smaller hills a lone Warthog had risen up over the brow, some way ahead of it's colleagues. She recognised the man in the gunner seat as Vince, Harry with him. "There." She said, her voice sharp, but her side gunner was ready, flipping out a paint rocker launcher and firing off three shots in quick succession, before the Warthog. The Warthog was moving straight forwards, and stood little chance, as the projectiles came at it.
One struck the Warthog in it's side, sending it shaking slightly as it struck it, the other catching it again and the third flipping it, sending it rolling away. From what Sonya had seen, none of the Troopers had been covered in paint, however the rules of the game would mean that they wouldn't be able to use the hog any more. "Ura!" The gunner cried, as Sonya's hog moved over to pick off any of the survivors from the Warthog "explosion." The other two moved over to combat the other two Warthogs, and Sonya smiled. After this, her Warthogs would have a clear run at the 'enemies' flag, assuming all went well. "Ready weapons!" Sonya cried, watching the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers pick themselves up out of the "wreckage" of their downed Warthog. The machine wasn't too badly damaged, she could see. It was only paint.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 8, 2009 4:55:51 GMT -5
Vince scrambled to his feet and pulled Harry along with him, attempting to reach the third ODST trooper. As Vince drew near, the opposing Warthog spun around and took aim, he threw himself left, pushing Harry down as he moved. The third soldier was gunner down by the Warthog and officially out of the exercise.
Vince and Harry pulled themselves up and made a dash for the nearby tree line, a large formation of boulders was perfectly placed to hold a position. Vince could hear a second Warthog approaching quickly, followed by the loud fire of the turret mounted on it's back. Paint shot into the air and slammed around Vince's feet, ripping up the dirt and grass as they moved. He leapt forward and rolled behind the boulders as he and Harry drew closer before pulling his Battle Rifle up to his chest and peering around the large rock for a shot. After a moment, the opposing Warthog turned its side toward Vince and Harry's position in order to provide the side gunner a clear shot. Vince pulled down on the trigger of his rifle and watched as five paint balls erupted from the barrel and soared into the chest of the ODST soldier, who fell out of the Warthog and tumbled to the ground.
"One down" Vince said, reloading his rifle as Harry began firing upon the second Warthog, the thirds location was unknown.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 8, 2009 5:12:07 GMT -5
The other Warthog had come under fire, however those under Sonya's command remained fully 'alive' within the boundaries of the training exercise. As Sonya circled the overturned Warthog, circling round the three survivors, the paint turret strafed the Warthog they were using for cover, striking one down at the same time that same man was shot in the chest by a side gunner. One down, two to go. Wheeling away so as to allow her troops time to recover without having to come under fire from the two Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, who would still be dangerous, Sonya allowed the side gunner to squeeze off another few blasts at another of the other Warthogs, which had just overturned one of her teams. To her dismay, Sonya noted that her team's Orbital Drop Shock Troopers from the hog had all been shot down, putting the other team two men above Sonya's.
Gritting her teeth, Sonya accelerated the Warthog down the hill this time straight on towards the other Warthog, the other one assailed by Sonya's remaining machine, as her side gunner let fire with a paint projectile from the rocket launcher. A blotch of coloured paint blossomed like a flower on the grass as it missed the Warthog, however the second struck the windshield and sent paint over it, clouding the view of the troopers inside. The Warthog veered off at a mad angle, viewing blocked by the paint, before the windshield was dis attached. This, however, left the driver open to fire from Sonya's team, and so the side gunner began to scrub at the screen in order to clean it. Sonya's gunner, however, had different ideas, shooting him down and stopping his efforts there and then. However, the gunner of the opposing Warthog then had a clear shot at Sonya's gunner, taking the opportunity to drop him to the ground, 'dead'.
"Disengage!" Sonya cried, veering away from the other Warthog as it moved over to take her teams other Warthog. "Take the turret!" She cried to the side gunner, who clambered up and jumped into it, gunning at the downed Warthog they'd been firing at some few minutes ago, before they'd attacked the other Warthog. Vince and some other Orbital Drop Shock Trooper were still taking cover inside it's remains from Sonya and her Warthog, however Sonya's gunner was also engage with firing rockets at the other Warthog which had followed them in an attempt to protect Vince and the other Orbital Drop Shock Trooper. Sonya gritted her teeth; no surprise, Rob was driving it. The quicker they picked off Vince and the other trooper the quicker they'd be able to focus on defeating Rob. If he was defeated, the other Warthog would be easier, especially if they had Sonya's teams other Warthog to assist. As Sonya's gunner strafed the 'wreckage', Sonya kept her eyes open for signs of Vince and his companion.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 8, 2009 5:23:06 GMT -5
Vince noticed Sonya's Warthog approaching the tree line and signalled for Harry to to take it out.
Vince watched as Harry pulled the large rocket launcher off his back and loaded a massive paint projectile into the first barrel. He aimed the weapon through a gap of two boulders and fired the first shot toward it. The projectile veered sharply off course and smashed into a tree roughly fifty yards away. Harry cursed and reloaded his weapon while Vince began laying down cover fire at the now approaching second Warthog.
Harry let the second projectile fly, Vince watched as it sped at the second Warthog and exploded the paint all over it's windscreen, causing it to plow into a nearby tree, forcing the soldiers to vacate the vehicle.
Harry loaded his final shot and aimed down at Sonya's Warthog before pulled down on the trigger and sending the projectile soaring in a perfectly straight line toward the vehicle.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 8, 2009 6:33:17 GMT -5
The sound of the Warthog's engines filled Sonya's ears despite the heavy black helmet she wore over her blonde hair, the smell of fabric and the feel of padding comforting for her as she stormed at the two remaining Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. Her gunner dropped Harry quickly, however not before Harry had let off a blast with his paint projectile launcher. There was a loud whoosh, and time seemed to slow as Sonya watched the glistening ball of solid paint, with a liquid inside, slice straight towards them. If Sonya were to try to veer to get out of it's way, the Warthog would be struck side on, and might even flip. This meant, then, that Sonya would have to take the blast full on. "Brace for impact!" She cried, for the benefit of the gunner who fell flat onto her stomach in the back of the Warthog, as Sonya ducked down beneath the dashboard whilst keeping a hand on the wheel.
The projectile caught Sonya's Warthog just below it's lights, stopping it dead in it's tracks and sending jolts through it as it lifted up, threatening to tip or roll. Gritting her teeth, Sonya fought the wheel to keep the Warthog steady, as it landed with a crash that sent vibrations through her bones. The front of the Warthog was resplendent with a new colour of paint, fluorescent red making it stand out vividly. "Keep Vince busy!" Sonya cried to the gunner, who'd had the resourcefulness to leap back up and begin strafing the area Vince was in, as Sonya wheeled away allowing him to give a full side on salvo at Vince, the smacking sounds of the paint balls striking the Warthog not nearly as satisfying as it would have been to hear Vince swear, angry that he'd been shot. Surprisingly, Sonya's other Warthog had been shot down, all of it's occupants bar one now out. "Get in!" She cried, watching the man run and jump into the seat of her side gunner.
Accelerating with a jerk, the man jolted in his seat at the quick acceleration, before steadying himself and firing at the last remaining Warthog that had lifted itself up over the hill. Sonya watched Rob swear with a grin as his side gunner was dropped by Sonya's new side gunner, as the two Warthogs passed and released a salvo of paint fire at each other. Sonya's gunner, however, had the resourcefulness to lock her gun on target before dropping down, covering herself from being fired. Sonya ducked down behind the door, shielding herself with her arm as they passed with a roar, watching as the locked gun on her Warthog took out their gunner, who jumped off the Warthog and lay on the ground in an imitation of death. Sonya's side gunner, however, had nowhere to hide, and so had been shot down and jumped out the door.
Now, however, Rob was on his own in a Warthog, and she presumed he'd head for Vince to pick him up. She wouldn't allow that. "Scope in on Rob!" She cried to the gunner, who'd picked herself back up and knelt in the back, scoping in a gun on Rob's retreating head. There were a few sharp, quick cracks and she heard Rob swear over the noise of the engines as paint blossomed all over his back, enough to 'kill' him. With anger, Rob jumped out the Warthog, letting it roll away, before lying on the ground himself. Sonya grinned with pleasure. "Alright." She said, now more relaxed. "One of them left. Two of us. Let's pin him down." The downed Warthog was only a few yards forward, now, and as Sonya approached she slowed down the Warthog, in position. "I want a chance to end this personally." She said, watching the area in front of them in case of a surprise attack. "If I flush him out, keep firing."
Sonya paused after getting out, to look back at her gunner. Taking a pain grenade from the rack, Sonya split the very edge and smeared her helmet with a red streak. "Now." She said, taking a number of rifles and blasters. "You'll know who's me and who isn't. Keep up the firing, however, with luck, I'll be able to take him out myself." It was strange, walking, after having being driving in the Warthog, the ground seeming to almost move beneath her, however Sonya's training allowed her to adjust quickly. Crouched low and with her blaster in front of her, Sonya zig-zagged over the ten metres it took to reach the Warthog, before bending down behind it and allowing her gunner to launch a salvo of blasts. With luck, Vince would come out straight into her trap to attack her gunner, thinking she was still in the drivers seat, and so she'd be able to shoot him a few times and so "kill" him.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 8, 2009 6:59:07 GMT -5
Vince laughed a little at Harry who was now lying on the floor pretending to be deceased, he thoroughly enjoyed training exercises, especially when he was alive.
He saw the Warthog a ways away firing on his position, it was time to end this.
Vince pulled his battle rifle up and began moving out of the rock formation, watching as the paint rounds slammed into the dirt around him, spinning up dust and debris from the shells of the paint rounds. Vince began firing frantically as he moved, aiming down the barrel of his rifle as he fired, sending bullet after bullet at the Warthog as he ran, until, finally, a paint shot slammed right into the gunners helmet, spraying bright blue paint all over his visor and causing him to fall down off the Warthog. Vince thought for a moment. Why wasn't the Warthog moving? In that instant, a paint round slammed into his leg, causing Vince to fall down in an instant before frantically crawling behind a tree for cover. It had been a trap, this much was now obvious.
He and Sonya were the only two left.
Vince moved his Battle Rifle to the left and began firing in Sonya's position, which was apparently behind the downed Warthog Vince had been seated in earlier. He continued firing, aiming down the scope with efficiency. He intended to win this time.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 8, 2009 7:28:43 GMT -5
Sonya didn't have the time to return fire, before the communications system at her wrist emitted a loud beep before a short, sharp keening sound, again and again. "Stop exercise." Sonya barked, dropping to one knee. Hopefully Vince wouldn't be idiot enough to think it was a ploy. Before she'd even looked at the communications system she'd recognised the sound, and knew what was up. Arthulia IV was under attack. Looking up to the sky, Sonya thought she could just about discern enemy warships through the cloudless sky, but she couldn't be sure. "Who?" She snapped, into her communications link, the hurried reply of the man at the other end showing her that this was a real threat, and not some raid. "God damn." She swore. "Brute attack on the planet!" She barked, "saddle up!" This wasn't a minor attack. They'd come in force. "Vince, start heaving that one up with Harry!" The 'dead' man rising would have been funny, if it weren't for the imminent attack.
Running out to the centre of the dip, Sonya bellowed out "Orbital Drop Shock Trooper's, saddle up!" Leaping into one of the seats of the Warthog she'd used to attack Vince, which was still standing, she waited impatiently for the paint covered Orbital Drop Shock Troopers to board it and get ready, before accelerating the Warthog off, shouting to Rob behind her: "Regroup at Alpha base!" There was little time, Sonya knew. The United Nations Space Command was far spread across the galaxy, with a great deal trapped on Emerald Cove, so they wouldn't be receiving reinforcements any time soon. All that stood between the Brutes and landing hundreds of troops on the planet were the shields and the MAC cannons that would be controlled by minimal troops. The problem, though, was one Sonya tried not to think about.
The Covenant Remnant had come ready for a planetary assault. The Covenant Remnant had known what they would most likely encounter. It would have made sense, then, for them to have come with weapons that could have overwhelmed the MAC cannons and shields, meaning that the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers would most likely see action. Worst case scenario would see an evacuation order called... As Sonya's Warthog arrived back at the base, she could see it was a hive of activity. Troopers scurried backwards and forwards as Sonya called for reinforcements to join her. They were readying Warthogs, and it would be to the MAC cannon stations they'd go, to make sure the Brutes didn't capture those. If they did, they'd be able to wreak havoc on Arthulia IV, with the United Nations Space Command's own weapons.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 8, 2009 7:38:56 GMT -5
Vince spun the wheel of the Warthog sharply and pulled it to a complete stop behind Sonya as she came to a halt. Harry and Rob both kept their positions, a Brute attack on the planet?! This was totally unexpected. If they were lucky, they might just make it through this, no reinforcements will be coming... this much Vince knew. Defending the planet at all costs was his only priority, if he died in the process.
So be it.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 12, 2009 15:55:30 GMT -5
Sonya leapt out of the Warthog, her booted feet hitting the ground with a clunk as the others beside her dropped down too, Sonya running into the base. The various officers and those ranking above Sonya were shouting at one another incoherently, and Sonya ignored them; she'd get her predominant battle plans soon enough, but now she was supposed to be rallying a large squadron to move over to the area in which the MAC guns were situated, as she'd been commanded before. "Move! We have Warthogs outside and we want more; let's get a patrol up and running!" She shouted, clapping her gloved hands and looking from side to side, roughly pushing men and, indeed, women behind her to join the ranks outside. There was one man who she was specifically after, one man who commanded a squad she wanted with her on this. "Rodrìguez Kuzmanovski!" She shouted, looking left and right for the man. "Get your ass over here now, and make sure you bring your squad with you!" He'd better be here on time; if he was lazing around and wasn't ready, Sonya would be annoyed.
((OOC: Please wait for BC to post before continuing.))
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Post by blackskull on Mar 13, 2009 15:49:32 GMT -5
Rodrìguez sighed. He sat cross armed and with his legs lying on a chair in front of him, hearing Sonya's muffled calls. "Here I am with 16 years in the army being pushed around by a woman nearly half as old as me", he mumbled. Grudgingly he slowly got up and grabbed the battle rifle from the side, heading towards Sonya's voice. He was tired and hadn't been having a good day. Then again, he rarely did have a good day.
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Post by Spec-Opp Spartan on Mar 13, 2009 16:47:30 GMT -5
(Ooc I hope you wouldn't mind a Spartan II here but he would be in Spartan III Armor..if no I can throw in a ODST so I will wait for my question to be answered and move on from there)
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 15, 2009 2:47:04 GMT -5
Vince moved his Warthog into position beside Sonya's and passed Harry his Battle Rifle, who in turn reloaded it and held it ready on his lap. Rob had mounted the turret on the back, Vince assumed he had already switched it back to it's original function; to kill.
The scene around them was frantic. Everyone on the planet had been trained over and over for situations like this, but Vince had learnt the lesson that things are far different in the real deal then the training years ago, everyone had to eventually.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 15, 2009 3:07:17 GMT -5
"Rodrìguez!" Sonya shouted, frantically looking around. "Shift your damn ass and get the hell out here; we've got Brutes to kill." She didn't wait for an answer, as she grabbed rifles from the rack and tossed them to Marines nearby. "They'll try and take out the ground defences, starting with our MAC cannons. We need to get over to the main facility for them double time!" She started running back towards her Warthog, turning back over her shoulder and shouting: "Bring your men up behind! If we're ambushed, you ambush the Brutes!" Leaping into a jump, Sonya swung herself into the driver's seat of the Warthog with a display of agility that would normally have impressed her. Today, however, she had more important things on her mind. The Brutes mustn't take out the ground defences, or they'd be able to land troops on the planet and, most probably, gain a foothold. That wasn't something anyone wanted.
The soft, rythmic roar of the Warthog's engines over the grass that was now getting much more solid, the dry, brown earth allowing them to move quickly, helped settle Sonya as she steered the convoy towards the large, looming building that stood on the horizon, just one of many that controlled the defences for the planet. This one, however, was the main one. If this one was destroyed, they could land troops for a mile around and reach the others by ground. They couldn't let that happen. From what Sonya knew, Scorpions would be coming to cover their rear in not too long at all, but they had the obvious disadvantage of not being able to get inside buildings. The United Nations Space Command ships on the surface had moved up to engage the Brute fleet, and Sonya thought there would be Hornet air support following up behind. They, however, had the same problem as the Scorpions about being able to get inside.
The large, black muzzle of the MAC cannon was raised to the sky and, as Sonya watched, it sent two blasts of incandescent golden green fire up into the sky with a sound that was almost like a cartoon style one. The first blast went sizzling past the bow of one Brute ship, whilst the other punched a whole clean through one of it's engines, just clipping the ship. As it fired it's third, and final, a hole was punched right through the center of the ship, which began to veer off and list badly, fires on it's deck barely controlled. "Ooh-rah!" Sonya cried, her call echoed by the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers around, who'd been watching too. Yet the MAC cannon would need some time to reload, as would all the cannons, and so this would be the time the Brutes would be launching an attack. The Warthog fishtailed some as Sonya parked it, before she jumped out and cried: "Get out and secure the building! We're going to have company pretty soon!"
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