- soulguard
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- Exalted Mythic Member
“I’ll need a full tech setup, three data pads, various power uplinks, and someone who knows how to handle high radiation material. If I had the right supplies, I could fabricate parts. Just by looking at these suits, I see where I went wrong on a few designs. The power flow of the arms and legs is directly correlated to the suits abdominal servos. I can boost leg and hand power by … ten percent maybe. I know what to do, I just don’t have the tools to build them here.”
“My my, you do know your stuff.” Catherine smirked as she pushed her glasses up on her nose.
Major Rawlings turned away from the group. “I had Songnim transfer all their resources to Camp Eden when the second wave of Covenant ships arrived on Earth. You’ll have the full cooperation of their staff at your disposal. Also, there have been some weapons upgrades in the past few days, be sure to update the database accordingly, Rose. Doctor Halsey, you can stay as long as you need, but the Flood data is needed on Level 41.” The major opened the door to the Box and watched as Rose happily examined the two Reclaimer’s armors. Doctor Halsey sat hovered over her shoulder, both of them as excited as two children that had been given new toys. Yet Major Rawlings did not agree to their enthusiasm.
“All my life I have protected this shrine.” She thought to herself. “Forgive me for allowing them to dishonor your holly resting place, but for us to survive we must Reclaim what we have lost.” Major Rawlings walked out of the Box with a heavy weight upon her heart.
“I can do this.” Rose happily cheered to herself. “I can do something useful.” She was happy beyond compare. She wished that the ONI security nuts had let her see the suits before the war had started, she was sure that things would have been different, and the Mark V and VI could have been one man armies. But she couldn’t bark over facts she couldn’t changed. She thoroughly examined the suit and was assisted by Doctor Halsey for nearly an hour, but soon Catherine had to leave. Several tech officers arrived with a massive load of material for her to use and she began to work. “Eric.” Rose thought to herself. “I’m doing it… I’m being useful.”
- - - - - - - -
Black Ops Crash Site
Central Africa
October 29, 2552
Eric tasted blood, but he wasn’t sure if that was the reason why he was waking up, it could have also been the intense pain rolling throughout his head. Face down in a puddle, Eric slowly pulled in his arm, testing to see if anything was broken. Arms were okay, neck felt intact, legs were hurting but moveable, and with that he rolled over and opened his eyes, blood stained his mask; a large amount of blood.
He reached up and unlatched the seal to his helmet, only to find that it had completely split open. Cold water dripped onto his neck and sent a chill down his back; whatever the damage was it appeared mostly external as his senses and nerves were still in one piece. He pulled the helmet off to get a better look at the damage to it, and as he examined it he realized that it was a miracle he was still alive. His helmet must have taken the majority of the impact.
“How long was I out?” He questioned aloud. He dropped the helmet, let the cool water of the small pond wash over the back of his head and gazed into the twilight sky. Was it morning or late afternoon? Eric had no idea of time. He motioned to sit up, but his blood pressure was too low, he became increasingly dizzy as he rose, and was forced to lie back down. “Lost too much blood.” He softly whispered.
Eric sat motionless, fighting the urge to lose consciousness again. He had to stay awake. He had to live. He didn’t want to die like this, alone and separated from his team. Avoiding death was what he had done for so long, so many times he was on the edge of battle and yet walked out with only a few scratches and bruises, but this was not a firefight. He was not going to let his last enemy, a plane crash, be his end. But no matter how hard he fought it, he couldn’t overcome his body’s need to reserve energy. In mid thought, his body went numb, his heart slowed, and he slipped into darkness.
“Eric?” Kim’s voice radiated in his ears. Kim sat in front of him, as beautiful as the day he had first met her. She held a sniper rifle in her hand, with the barrel pointing upward, and the stock resting on the floor. She was cleaning the weapon, though she was covered in sweat and out of uniform. He remembered this moment. It was the Tylon campaign, the first mission the Black Ops had been assigned. Tylon was a hot desert world, primarily a mining colony and was at one time filled with colonists, but like so many worlds, it was one of the first worlds to be erased by the Covenant. Kim was wearing a large white shirt, stained in sweat, with her black fatigues unbuttoned to her waistline. The rest of the squad was on patrol with Melanie 05, leaving Kim and Eric alone. It was a welcome break, and one of the very few times that they had to spend together; as they struggled to keep their relationship a secret.
“You look like you haven’t been doing to well.” Kim continued. She stood up, and placed the gun to the side. Her face was dirty, smudged with grease and sweat. “Is the heat getting to you? We should probably get you out of those clothes then, eh?” Kim smiled, looking at him seductively. Eric wanted to talk, but the words wouldn’t escape his lips. Kim reached out and grabbed the base of his shirt, and began to slide it upward over his head. He felt at peace in this moment, happy to see Kim again, before her untimely death. This was a good time, even in the midst of the war, he was happy. He pulled the shirt from his head, and looked at the woman before him.
Kim was gone, replaced by the woman that had always captured his fantasy. “Will you teach me how to fight, Eric?” Rose questioned. Roselyn Santos was taller then Kim, but their build was almost identical. Rose’s Spanish complexion was strikingly alarming, as well as her fully endowed features. Yet something wasn’t right, Rose was not with the Black Ops on Tylon, she was busy working on the Mark V program while on Earth. No, something wasn’t right at all. His dreams were being jumbled, but was this a dream?
Rose leaned in toward him, kissing him softly on the forehead. “Don’t let me stay in this war without knowing how to fight.” She pulled away and lifted a gun, a small pistol, and placed it into Eric’s hand. She slowly came closer to Eric again, this time with her eyes closed and lips puckered as if to receive a kiss. Eric slowly obliged, closing his eyes and pressing his lips against hers. The embrace was filled with passion and he pulled back, thankfully for the sudden sign of affection, but once again the woman had changed.
Melanie smiled happily back toward him. “This is life, and Kim would want you to move on. She knows how I feel about you.”
Eric awoke to the thump of metal meeting metal. He rolled his head to the side and noticed that he was no longer lying in a puddle of water, but he was bandaged and resting inside the twisted hull of a Pelican. Someone had found him. He was alive, and his dream was most likely the result of him blacking out. The banging was coming from outside and he watched as two figures walked past.
It was night out, and a soft rain was falling in the area. Eric sat up slowly, but again became too dizzy to rise. A hand cradled his head and eased him back to his metal resting place.
Melanie glanced into his eyes. “You lost a lot of blood, but we were able to stabilize you. You need to rest. We don’t know when we’ll get picked up, and I wasn’t able to find another med kit. Do you understand me?”
“Yeah.” Eric grumbled. He was happy to see her, though he struggled hard to push the dream out of his mind. “Where are we?”
“Unknown. The Pelican is fried; zero communications uplink. We barely have short range signals. 08 is out gathering supplies and looking for more med kits. The Marines are working on trying to figure out our position, and the ODST is digging a trench in case the wrong search team finds us.”
“What about you?”
“Fit as a fiddle.” She smirked. “I blacked out on impact, but nothing a good slap to the face didn’t solve.”
“No really. How are you doing, Mel? It’s me, Eric, not 19. Right now I’m not your CO, and we aren’t Black Ops. I’m your friend.”
Melanie smiled as she looked down at Eric. “You should know better then to ask a girl a question like that. Thank God I’m a tomboy. If it wasn’t for that I’d be crying my eyes out right now.” She chuckled softly. She noticed that she was toying with Eric’s bandages; girlishly fidgeting. She clinched her fist to shake of the childish behavior.
“And why would you be crying your eyes out?”
Melanie looked away. “I lost my sister not too long ago, Eric. I don’t think I can handle losing you in the same year.” She quickly looked back down at Eric. “But that would only bother me if I wasn’t so much of a tomboy.” She quickly stood. “Orders, 19?”
Orders, she asked. They were once collegiate friends and Eric had dated her older sister. But on top of all of this were the unspoken words that existed between them. It was not as complex as flirting, nor was it as simple as a familial bond. Melanie and Eric had experienced many sensations together; happiness, loss, heartbreak, and pain. For them, nothing could be as simple as giving in to their emotions, but for them there was no option in doing this. Eric understood that there was no way Melanie would ever step over Kim’s grave.