- davidfazz243
- |
- Exalted Legendary Member
And so, Achronos lifted the banhammer high above his head, exclaming "You shall not sully these forums again!" And with one, deft blow, he brought the banhammer down upon the offender, and slew him.
Bah, what's the point? You're only goingt to troll, flame or E-raip me.
2 minutes later, UNSC carrier Severance, Hangar bay, above madrigal.
"Holy mother of..." Avery thought, as he walked into the Severance's cavernous hangar bay. He stood, aghast, at the sheer size of it, filled from end to end with every military vehicle and aircraft he could think of. They were all so new, so pristine too. The severance had only just rolled out of Reach space dock, and it showed.
He walked in further, between rows of Pelican Dropships. Each one had a line of Marines behind it, waiting to board. They looked agitated, itching for action, and none of them noticed the sergeant as he walked past. Scorpions manoeuvred in behind them, ready to latch onto the Pelican's versatile fuselage, and be transported down to the surface.
He watched pilots run to their aircraft; loaders hurriedly attach rocket pods and Chainguns, and petty officers carry ammo to them. Some pilots were already loaded and waiting for the order to go.
Avery cast his eyes to the end of the hangar. In a solitary corner, a crowd of marines and crew gathered around four Elephant mobile bases. He wondered how the hell they were going to get them to the surface of the planet as a huge shadow passed over him, and he snapped his head upwards. An Albatross Heavy transport. So that's how they were doing it. The Albatross could easily carry an Elephant, but they were rare. Most were moved to the inner colonies, for helping to build ships on earth and Reach. The Admiralty most really need this ship, he thought.
"Sergeant!" Called a voice from across the hangar. "Sergeant! Over here!" He turned to face the voice. It was a young flight officer, equipped in full flight gear. "I'm your ride to the surface, sir!" Avery walked over to him, and was beckoned to follow.
They weaved through the hustle and bustle of the hangar, in between Pelicans, Scorpions, and Warthogs. He bumped into a few people on the way, but they just carried on walking. Finally, they reached their destination: A battered pelican, close to the hangar doors.
The pelican had patches welded all over it, and Avery worried whether it would hold in atmosphere, but he guessed he'd have to trust it. "Hop in the back, sir, and we'll get under way in a few minutes."
Keen to show he was still up to the job, Avery leapt into the back, before the ramp had even lowered. "Jesus..." Said a voice next to him. "Didn't know the old man could do that..." He turned, astounded that a marine could make such a comment. "Name, Marine?" He asked, in a short, sharp command.
The marine turned to him, a pixie-like smile on his face. "Corporal Robert DeChant, Sir, fifth engineers. We can make you a walking stick from little more than a shower head and some bone." A larger, thicker built marine aimed a kick at him.
"Sorry sir, DeChant's always been a bit... Cocky." Avery faced this marine, and said "Don't worry about it. I'm sure we can get him into shape. And you are..?" The marine kicked DeChant again, and replied "O'Connell. Michael O'Connell. Sir." He was about to reply when he heard the rumble of a scorpion engine, getting closer to them. "Ah, here she is." Came a voice from the back.
He turned, and watched one of the ugliest Scorpions he'd ever seen roll up to the Pelican. It was heavily modified; the track covers had been taken off, and the tank had spares of everything strapped to the side of it. The turret had a large box welded to the side, presumably for extra ammo. "She?" he said, as two loaders attached it to the pelican using electro-magnets.
"Yes, she. Her name's Dora." An explosion of laughter erupted around the pelican.
"We brought her over from Charybdis IX, before DeChant and his friend here showed up." The pilot he'd met before radioed in from the cockpit. "Sergeant, we're moving out. I need you in the cockpit."
Johnson moved forward through a small door in front of him. "Sit down, strap yourself in." The pilot hit a button on the panel above him, and Avery felt a slight moment of acceleration as the dropship raised from the floor. The ship's AI, Celeste, appeared on the holotank.
"All ships, prepare for planetary descent. Checking atmospheric seals..." The AI paused. There were a huge number of ships in the hangar bay, and it obviously took a lot of runtime to check them.
"All seals read green. Hangar door opening... Now." A large hiss of air emitted from the bay, and the doors flung open, revealing a beautiful close-range view of madrigal. The Co-pilot gasped at the sight, his mouth open in awe. Avery just saw the tactical picture; they'd moved closer. Meaning the ships had taken up defensive positions already. Things were moving quickly. Very quickly.
The same time, Longsword 213, Convoy Sierra, Above Madrigal.
James felt the explosion before he saw it. The shockwaves rippled through his longsword, the Bat out of Hell and knocked the ship spinning. He finally regained control, and watched as the troop transport TT-94 burned neon blue against the pitch black of space. -blam!-, he thought, as he cast around for the source. Nothing. "What the hell?" Another explosion and another ship burned. "Jesus Christ!" He shouted out loud.
A covenant ship de-cloaked to his starboard, and the comm. Channels flooded with reports. Some screamed as the ship fired upon them, others shouted damage reports, and others called for orders. "-blam!-... -blam!-... -blam!-!" He shouted, as he slammed the control column to the left.
A point laser blasted past, burning part of his wing, and causing air to hiss away. "Computer, Lock it down!" He heard some clunks through the fuselage, and watched as the air levels returned to normal.
He spun his ship around, and fired what missiles he had left at the ship. The missiles exploded against the ship's shield, doing nothing. "Ah. -blam!-." He said, as the ship turned to face him. It looked bigger now, more menacing. Blue plasma collected at it's side, and discharged at him. He screamed, throwing the ship into a diving turn. Of course it was hopeless. Covenant plasma tracked a target with deadly efficiency.
The plasma dived after him, twisting, boiling and bubbling blue death.
James kicked the thrusters into full speed, and closed on the nearest ship.
He cried out on the Ship comm. "Help! God Damn it! If anybody can hear this! I have a covenant ship on my tail, I need assistance!" He clicked it off, desperately waiting for a reply. Dodging and weaving, he tried to shake the plasma off his tail. "Roger, Longsword 213, hang tight. We're coming. Cruiser Red Dawn, out." A sense of relief pulsed through James. Someone was out there, looking after him. But it wasn't over.
He headed straight for the cruiser, feeding more power to the already red-lining engines. The cruiser before him turned to face the covenant frigate. A blinding flash of light emitted from the cruiser, which recoiled from the shot. James spun the Longsword, Just in time to watch the round pummel through the frigate's shields, and into it's hull. It spun, and the plasma chasing James seemed to stop in midair. James kept moving however. He didn't want to be caught short by anything.
He darted toward the cruiser, charging straight toward its open shuttle bay."Oh god, stay open. Please stay open!" Another laser shot past, clipping his tail. He spun, but the ship kept going, due to it's momentum. He recovered from the spin as another laser shot past, hitting the rocket pod on his left wing.
The pod exploded with tremendous force, knocking James senseless. He shook himself, trying to regain his composure.
It took him a moment to realise he was rolling, and rolling close to the Red Dawn he tried to regain control; found the controls slack to the touch. He yanked hard on the stick, to counter the roll. Again it wouldn't respond. What the hell had happened? Looking around, he saw the worst sight a pilot could see; he was missing both wings. Thinking, that was the key. He had to think about his situation.
He cut the throttle, and the spinning slowed, then stopped.
Saying a silent prayer, and turning in his seat, James watched as the Red Dawn finished off the enemy frigate. "Erm... Captain? I could do with a pick-up." He waited. Five minutes ticked off his clock. Finally, the comm. unit crackled to life. "Don't worry, son, we'll help you out." The comm. clicked off again. "And remember: This is two you owe me." James enjoyed the banter with the captain. After being alone, spinning off into space, calling out for help, having someone to talk to reassured him. James lay back into his chair, turned off the lights in the cockpit, and fell asleep.
[Edited on 04.10.2010 2:28 PM PDT]