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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 15, 2009 8:09:57 GMT -5
Vince leapt out of his Warthog, Rob and Harry following closely behind. He held his PT-18 rifle steadily in both hands, it may not have been the ideal weapon for the situation, but it would have to do. Sonya's enthusiasm to the troops wasn't joined by Vince, nor Rob or Harry, yet the spirit remained.
Vince moved into the doorway that lead into the MAC station and hastened the troops behind him into the large room lined with hallways leading in separate directions. The Marines began dragging equipment from around the room toward the large, thick metal door to provide cover from the imminent attack. Vince and his fellow ODST's took cover beside three Marines stationed on the right of the door.
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Post by blackskull on Mar 15, 2009 17:39:05 GMT -5
Rodrìguez walked out to a virtually intact Mongoose hidden on the outside of the building, holding his battle rifle in his left hand and a couple of grenades in his right. He placed the grenades in a compartment in the mongoose and got onto it. He saw the Warthog in the distance, speeding away. "Damn Covenant, always attacking when I'm settled and relaxed. And the other soldiers, so serious, as if this is the end of the world" he muttered to himself. He sometimes felt as if his mutterings were someone else talking to him. It made him feel a bit better. He chuckled briefly, but then turned his mouth into a sneer, and sped away towards the Warthog, still holding the battle rifle, loaded.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 19, 2009 16:15:38 GMT -5
"Go in." Sonya commanded to her team of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, watching as two moved forwards and pushed open the door, swinging their blasters round to stop the chance of any sort of ambush on them. There was none, however, and Sonya took one last look behind at the approaching dust trails of the approaching second team of Troopers before entering, leading her team in. The building was lit up, which was a good sign, however Sonya found the main hall deserted. She was pleased, however, to catch site of makeshift barricades and bullet doors slammed down at the entrance to the main operating sides. Striding over to one, Sonya hammered her gloved fist upon it, crying: "Open up! Reinforcements from the United Nations Space Command!" Sonya couldn't see those scrutinising her and her team, who were looking around apprehensively, however she could feel their gaze. She began to worry if the Brutes had already taken it, and were waiting in ambush behind...
Such fears were dispelled as a pale, slightly nervous faced scientist opened up the door, ushering them in as if every second were valuable and the Brutes were already there. "There's another team coming," Sonya said, "so be ready." The scientist looked at her, slightly bemused, as if he couldn't really comprehend what was going on, before he seemed to steel himself, and nodded. Sonya guessed he was behind using and maintenance of the MAC cannon, as well as making sure all the other systems connected to this one were working fine. Stepping over to the surveillance systems, which monitored the land around, Sonya leant over one, the scientists seeming to part easily before her military confidence. Sonya surveyed it, her eyes widening as she saw a Brute dropship wheeling down, the Phantom firing upon the station in what was merely a gesture of contempt as three more swooped down; the pink, circular blasts leaving black marks on the shields as their energy dissipated.
Sonya swore, loudly, causing some of the scientists to raise eyebrows with shock. There was a clatter as the guards of the station came down, saluting with cries of "Reporting for duty, ma'am", yet Sonya barely acknowledged them past what was required, so intent was she at watching. The Hornets weren't there, yet, and so the Phantoms would get away with a free drop this time, much to Sonya's ire. Next time, however, it'd be a different matter. Now, though, they had the problem of the Remnant forces they'd dropped off to contest with, forces which were rapidly making their way towards the MAC main station, and Sonya knew other forces would be doing the same to each station. If Rodrìguez wasn't careful then he and his forces would be allowing the Brutes easy access to the station; Sonya, however, trusted him to enter quickly and seal the way behind, and not do anything stupid. "Alright, Covenant Remnant forces coming. Non fighting personnel, keep somewhere safe for the time being. United Nations Space Command forces, it's show time."
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 20, 2009 14:47:22 GMT -5
Vince remained knelt behind one of the small barricades that provided he and Rob cover, his weapon in his hands, balanced. Explosions suddenly erupted outside, the unmistakable sound of Plasma turrets could be heard above all else. The Phantoms where here.
There was a moments silence, everybody in the room had their weapons pointed at the large, barricaded metal door ahead. The silence continued for a minute or two, before a small blue, burning light appeared at the top of the door and slowly progressed its way down. They were coming.
"Sonya! We got company!" He shouted, checking his weapon. It was in fine condition and fully loaded.
"Alright boys and girls, lets light em' up!" Vince said, aiming down the sights of his rifle at the door as the blue light slowly reached the bottom and disappeared.
There was a large explosion as the base doors were sent soaring backwards into the room.
The scene was now a battlefield, bullets were soaring in every direction, lead and plasma alike.
Vince aimed down the barrel of his rifle as a stray brute attempted to make a flanking manoeuvre past their front line defence. Vince fired five shots, watching as they ripped into the beats fur, spilling blood out of its wounds and sending it to the floor, dead. A second approached behind, only to be swiftly killed by Rob. Vince fired another five shots into a Brute's chest, sending it squirming to the floor in agony, he then fired at a second Brute, sending a barrage of bullets straight through its leg, causing it to drop to the floor.
There was a flash of red as three plasma shots smashed into Rob's chest, sending him sprawling backwards onto the floor. Vince fired in the direction of the shots and killed the Brute before moving down beside Rob.
Vince placed his hand on Rob's throat, praying to find a pulse. He rolled his fingers over Rob's eyelids and rose back up behind the cover, spraying the remainder of bullets in his clip at an approaching brute, who dropped to the floor in a heap.
"Fall back!" Vince shouted, picking up Rob's personnel tags and retreating down the hallway, a handful of Marines following him. Plasma shots suddenly began soaring down the hallway, slamming into the back of a Marine and killing him instantly, two others stopped to fire back, only to be slaughtered by the advancing Brutes.
Vince came to a stop around the corner and signalled for the Marines behind him to take positions on either side of the corridor.
"Sonya, we could really use some help here."
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Post by Coconut on Mar 21, 2009 6:57:10 GMT -5
"Get back inside." Sonya ordered, swinging her body around and bringing her rifle to bear on a charging Brute, watching as the bullets tore through his armour and sent the plates flying backwards, exposing his head so that she could drop him with another blast. Turrets sprang into action on either side of the corridor, spraying the charging Brutes with fire and slicing through the bodies of some of them, their bodies wheeling round and falling with loud, sickening crunches. A berserk roar echoed from one Brute, who hurled the body of his fallen comrade with incredible strength, striking an Orbital Drop Shock Trooper next to Sonya with it's great bulk, a sickening crunch as the corpse with the Orbital Trooper stuck behind it striking the wall. The Trooper cried out once, then slid down, his neck broken. Sonya swore, throwing a fragmentary grenade down into the mass of charging Brutes and watching with satisfaction as it exploded, a trail of smoke winding up and shrapnel wreaking terrible damage in the flesh of the Brutes. "Go!" Sonya cried, her Troopers swarming out to mob a nearby Brute and beat him in with their weapons.
Where was Rodrìguez? Sonya hoped he'd be coming, soon, and hadn't been ambushed by Brutes and so killed. Damn Brutes; seemed they hadn't had enough of fighting in the Human-Covenant War. If they lost Arthulia, Sonya would be angry to say the least. The Covenant Remnant, at least, however, didn't have a Prophet leading them. Without cohesion, they were merely an annoying threat that broke stuff without aim or purpose. "Evacuate the scientists!" Sonya roared; more Brutes were coming yet. A gaping hole had opened up on Sonya's right, the ground some fifteen feet below. Through it, Sonya could see the next MAC cannon in the line slowly rotating, to face them... What was it doing? It seemed to be... charging. No. It couldn't be... The Brutes had taken it intact. They were firing it. Somehow, they knew how to use it. As the muzzle began to glow, Sonya roared: "Jump!" Leaping forwards, Sonya leapt for the hole, her body flying through as she felt the sizzling heat of the MAC cannon's blast soar overhead.
There was a blistering explosion as the MAC cannon controller behind her exploded, flames licking at her jumpsuit and raising the temperature. But the suit held. It's purpose worked. As Sonya rolled on the ground to extinguish the flames, wiping her visor to clear it, she looked up at the blackened hulk of the MAC cannon above. They'd destroyed it. No more would the MAC cannons fire. The Brutes could land troops as and when they pleased. Arthulia was as good as lost. Now, her duty was to evacuate whoever else was left on the planet. She hoped Rodrìguez was alive; he'd be able to help. Not many of hew crew had survived. Vince, Harry, Ryan? Anyone? Sonya set about, searching, hastily. They needed to be found, and quickly, before more Brutes came.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 22, 2009 3:07:59 GMT -5
Vince continued firing as the loud roaring of the MAC cannon turning became apparent. Harry was knelt beside him, firing round after round at the brutes, dropping a last before rising to his feet. Vince did the same, the heart stopping sound of the MAC cannon facing them charging confused Vince, why the hell were they aiming it here? There was no time to elaborate, Vince watched as Sonya leapt through a hole in the wall and tapped Harry on the shoulder, pointing in the direction of it.
"Lets go!" He shouted above the noise around him, moving slowly to the hole, firing as he moved to cover Harry as he approached. Vince suddenly felt great pain in his arm as he stood in the deformed hole in the wall that played as a doorway of escape, causing Vince to fall backwards, blood leaking from the wound that had skimmed his shoulder. All Vince could do was watch as Harry appeared in the hole he had fallen from and was absorbed by flames as the second MAC cannon fired, causing a massive explosion above Vince as he slammed into the ground on his back.
His armour absorbed most of the kinetic energy from the fall, but the damage in his shoulder was severe. It took a moment for Vince to come in terms with what had transpired, Harry was dead, gone forever. Vince glanced at his shoulder, a large orange spike had torn right through his flesh and embedded itself in Vince's body. A Brute Spike weapon shot, Vince realised it was. He lay back and looked around frantically, hoping Sonya was alive.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 22, 2009 3:43:39 GMT -5
There. Vince's body lay, in a heap, some way away, and Sonya breathed a sigh of relief as she found him. Yet he was in a bad way; he lay, clutching his shoulder, a Brute spike embedded in it. Sonya knew that, if she removed it, he could die of the blood-loss, but if she left it in... Gritting her teeth, Sonya pulled open her jumpsuit, glad she was wearing a vest like top over her underwear. Well, not for long. Gritting her teeth and tearing large stretches off it, she proceeded to pull out the spike and quickly tie the cloth around the wound, to staunch the blood flow. As with all Orbital Drop Shock Troopers she had a field medic kit in her suit and, drawing the small pack out, she proceeded to thread the stitches through the needle and set to work on Vince's arm, working with speed as well as accuracy. The Brutes mustn't find them. Although Sonya's suit was still hanging open, she had better things to worry about than her modesty; Vince was in a bad way, and she doubted her body would be leading the list of his priorities.
"There." She said, to him, as she stitched the wound up and bound it again with more strips of cloth, sealing her suit again and pulling Vince up by his other arm. She fashioned him a sling for his injured arm with the remaining cloth, tying it to the buckles on his suit which were handily placed as if for this purpose. The buckles, however, weren't there for that reason. "If you need to use a weapon, I suggest you use your good arm. You should, however, just about be able to use the other one." Sonya looked around, the clouds of smoke from the destroyed MAC cannon shielding them from Brute eyes. "For now, though, we need to get out of the base and start defending the civilian transports. If Rodrìguez has any sense, he'll be on his way doing the same." She dropped to the ground, pulling herself forward along the earth, as she searched for some sort of transport. "Mongoose." She breathed, her voice ecstatic. "Bingo."
"Hop on the back." Sonya called back to Vince, his arm preventing him from being able to drive, obviously. "Here, I'll help." Sonya reached out and grabbed Vince's foot, lifting it up and moving her other arm onto his other thigh, lifting. With the motion her hand slid up his leg to rest on his buttocks, and Sonya inwardly groaned. "Oh shit..." She thought. "Here we are, chased by Brutes, and I have my hands of some guy's arse..." Sonya chastised herself. "It's a job!" She thought, rationalising it, as she pushed him onto the Mongoose and tried to act as if nothing had happened. "Here, use your other arm to anchor yourself onto the Mongoose. You may want to tie yourself down, whilst I drive. It could get bumpy, especially if we're attacked. We'll try and find some better transport back at base." Sonya stood there, waiting to make sure everything was okay before boarding. "That good?"
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 22, 2009 3:58:33 GMT -5
The pain in Vince's arm was bearable as Sonya approached to treat his wound, ripping up her under shirt and treating his wound.
"I don't usually get this far on the first date," Vince laughed through the pain, noticing her half naked body beside him as Sonya was causing intense pain by patching up his wound.
Vince reluctantly moved onto the Mongoose with Sonya's help and took her advice to hang on. Vince braced himself with his right hand, the left being held steady by the brace surrounding it. The sound of the Mongoose's engine rang out through the battle in the distance. Vince doubted he would be able to use a rifle with his arm at the moment, he withdrew his sidearm and replaced the clip, holding it in his left hand in case Sonya needed support while driving. Vince tapped her on the back, signalling he was ready.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 22, 2009 4:07:03 GMT -5
Sonya smiled at the jibe, knowing it was important to keep Vince's morale up. "Yeah? Well, neither do I. This one must be different." She laughed, slightly, glad to hear the sound of it again. The comment itself, although small and insignificant, was rather symbolic; Sonya hadn't said anything like that since Jonas' death. It had been too long... Too long indeed. "I'll try and avoid enemies." She said, climbing into the driver's seat. "Confrontations, in just a Mongoose, aren't desirable anyway, and definitely not in our current state." Sonya fired up the engines, wincing at the sound, as she moved it forwards into acceleration, the ground bumping beneath her as she called into her comlink, softly: "Rodrìguez, where the hell are you?" She hoped he was safe; backup was what she wanted and, indeed, needed right now, and the United Nations Space Command would need all the men they could get in order to clear out the people on Arthulia IV effectively. It needed to be done fast, before the Brutes consolidated their victory over the MAC line.
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Post by blackskull on Mar 26, 2009 15:58:43 GMT -5
Rodrìguez rode on his mongoose, leading three warthogs behind him, two with a machine gun mounted on the back and one with a gauss cannon. All were filled with marines. In total he was in command of 9 troops. Not many compared to the brutes, but he had hand-picked these few from hundreds. He'd entrust them with his life. As they neared a MAC cannon, four brute prowlers appeared from the back of the building. Rodrìguez swore. They held back as the prowlers sped towards them and started firing. A shot hit the front of one of the warthogs. The warthog rolled a few feet back and the engine stalled. It started smoking as the driver frantically tried to restart it. The prowlers approached quickly. The air was tense, then filled with relief as they heard the engine roar. The driver smiled, these were tough machines. The prowlers were less than 60 feet away, as the 3 gunners let rip. Two prowlers were immediately hit, one exploded. The other two carried on, then one of their engines caught fire. The last remaining prowler hesitated, then pulled back and retreated. Another one of the downed prowlers exploded, but the brutes in the third one bailed out and retreated before it could be repeated again. A series of chain fire from the warthogs saw them killed, falling to the ground. Rodrìguez grinned, this is why he'd picked them. He heard gun-fire behind him. He gave the order to return to the base, taking out the remaining Covenant forces on the way.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 27, 2009 15:17:06 GMT -5
The Mongoose sped onwards, as Sonya attempted to avoid the Brutes in the gloom that had descended. Noises of conflict some way away reached their ears, however Sonya didn't think they were close enough to trouble them, or to be near the base. Indeed, the United Nations Space Command defences seemed to be holding intact, for now, although all they really needed was to ensure that their was a way off-world. She was dimly aware of the injured Vince on the back of the Warthog, however she knew reaching the base quickly was imperative. "Stop." From the gloom in front, two men loomed out and, for a moment, Sonya thought they were Brutes, before mentally reprimanding herself. Of course they weren't; the voices were different, for a start, as was the body shape. As Sonya saw them get closer, she realised they were Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. "Identification?" Sonya breathed a sigh of relief, exhilarated from the fast drive. "Orbital Drop Shock Troopers commander Sonya Cassus." She said, raising the identification badge. "And an ODST." She added, pointing at Vince.
The two Troopers considered it, before nodding; this woman seemed to be who she claimed and, besides, she had the identification. They couldn't exactly question that without questioning her authority itself, something they couldn't do. "Make your way through. The base is some way behind the lines." Sonya nodded. "Thank you, Trooper." It seemed they were about to let her past, before one asked her, his young voice nervous: "Have you seen the Brutes, sir?" Sonya shook her head. "Not nearby." Noticing the young age, and the anxiety in his voice, Sonya made her voice reassuring. "I'm sure you'll be fine, mate." She clapped him on the back, the young man's body language making him seem slightly startled as he did so. "There's some tough troops around, and remember. We go feet first into hell. If fate decides we'll die, we die fighting." Sonya raised her chin, remembering how Jonas had died. The man seemed cheered by her words, his bravado giving it away. "We'll burn the bastards out, sir!"
The Troopers moved out of the way as Sonya increased the speed of the Mongoose, safe for now. They were inside the perimeter set up by the United Nations Space Command, meaning they were safe, for the moment. It was imperative that they got the refugees and civilians off-world, who were already being shipped off as she knew. If there were Brute attacks of this magnitude on other areas of the planet, however, they'd have a problem. Luckily, though, she doubted that there was; fleets of this magnitude were generally the entirety, and so concentrating them all in one place was to ensure they'd overwhelm the enemy. Not good tactics, though. If the United Nations Space Command had have had additional troops, the Brutes would have been destroyed. Sonya gritted her teeth. Sadly, they didn't. The gloom was beginning to lessen, now, the lights of the base visible in front of her. Sadly, the air support wouldn't be able to be used in this fog; they wouldn't be able to see a thing. As they entered the base, Sonya turned back to ensure Vince was safe, parking the Mongoose rapidly.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 28, 2009 3:26:15 GMT -5
Vince just about fell off the Mongoose as Sonya brought it to a roaring stop. His arm suddenly hurt a lot more then it had ever before, painkillers would have been nice, but unfortunately, they were in the middle of a battle.
The fog surrounding them in every direction made Vince nervous, the Brutes could come from any way they wanted and the UNSC wouldn't know until shit got bad.
Slowly, Vince moved himself off the Mongoose and holstered his pistol. The fog seemed to be getting thicker, which meant the brutes had more cover. Vince awaited Sonya's lead, she was in charge here, his squad was dead... all of them. It was then the painful memory of Harry's death hit him, puncturing a hole through his heart, it would seem. He dismissed his feelings and focused on the situation, he needed to keep it together.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 28, 2009 9:18:00 GMT -5
Sonya found the Commander outside, marshalling the troops as they came in. Leaving Vince on the Warthog and striding over to the Commander, Sonya saluted smartly, clicking her heels together and pressing the hand into the position. "MAC line lost, sir. The Brutes overwhelmed one cannon and used it to destroy our position. There was little we could do, sir. We lost contact with Rodrìguez men; we've got no idea where they are, but we don't think they're dead. The First Arthulian Expeditionary squad, however, are all dead, sir, excluding myself and Trooper Vince." The Commander swore, before issuing commands to Sonya. "The Brutes have concentrated their attack here; the rest of the world was given time to flee. Thankfully they aren't so well organised, however, and we've been able to evacuate the forces off world. It's time you two got going as well." The Commander nodded. "It's been a pleasure serving with you." Sonya saluted stiffly. "You too, sir."
"I suggest you make your way to the transport." Commander Throll said, his Slavic beard suddenly appearing rather grey compared to what it always had been before. Sonya shook her head. "With all due respect, sir, I'd prefer to go with the 'Bolts in the Hornets and see if we can find and rescue Rodrìguez and his men." Throll frowned. "There's a thick mist out - it'll be hard navigating, with low visibility, and high chance of ambush. They might not even be alive." "Feet first into hell, sir." Throll smiled, mirthlessly. "Damn right." He nodded. "Acknowledged, Trooper." Sonya saluted, once, before turning. Running back to the Warthog, Sonya picked up Vince and carried him over to the Mongoose, trying to convince herself that the feelings she was getting from carrying him were only ones of pride at carrying a professional companion. "We're going out with the 'Bolts in the Hornets to rescue Rodrìguez and his men." She said. "You're arm won't be letting you fly, so I'll strap you to the wing."
Sonya set about tying Vince to the Hornet, making sure he was attached properly and that his injured arm was strapped tightly to the wing, leaving only the other one free, to wield a weapon. She took a rifle from the ground nearby, and placed it into Vince's hand, clenching the fingers over it with her own as she did so. "If you see anything, shout. If there's any danger or anything of the sort, shout, and I'll see what we can do. If you see Rodrìguez or his men, once again, shout. There'll be a lot of us; we'll be safe. If we're destroyed, they'll have to destroy all of us first." She smiled. She'd taken her helmet to talk to the Commander, and it was still held under one arm, her blonde hair free in the wind as she looked at him. His visor was up too, for some reason. "We'll be okay." She whispered. "You all sorted and ready to go?" She asked, looking at Vince as she said so.
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Post by Auzzie Legend on Mar 28, 2009 9:35:22 GMT -5
Vince held the rifle as firmly and steadily as he could before his gaze turned to meet with Sonya's. Slowly, Vince leant forward, his lips touching with Sonya's softly, demonstrating his affectionate feelings he had been given over the time he had briefly known her.
Vince slowly pulled his head away, leaving Sonya in a bit of a confused gaze, yet a relaxed look twinkled in her beautiful eyes.
He watched as she quickly moved into the Hornet, placing her helmet back over to conceal her face. Vince did the same, sliding the visor on his helmet down softly and releasing the safety from his weapon as the Hornet began hovering above the ground, causing the grass below to splinter out in all directions, constantly battered the the intense wind caused by the twin engines on either wing.
"Lets do this." Vince said, cocking his rifle and aiming straight ahead.
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Post by Coconut on Mar 28, 2009 10:06:06 GMT -5
Sonya's mind raged with a torrent of questions as she felt, again and again, the touch of Vince's lips on hers, that kiss, the soft brushing of lips. What had she done? Was it right? Had she betrayed Jonas? She shook her head, angrily. Jonas was dead, and no amount of crying would bring him back. She couldn't betray him; he'd have wanted her to go on. Perhaps it was time to start again; Vince was a nice enough man... Kicking the Hornet into gear, her Hornet rose in time with the others, like a great flock through the mist. The humming of engines was peaceful as the hornets set out, zooming over the land through the mist. "Up ahead." The voice of the man through the comm channel made Sonya start, lost in her thoughts. "Smoking engine. It's about blow." Sonya craned her neck, looking forwards, as the Hornets carefully surrounded the area. "I think it's them; search the area."
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