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Subject: [story] Escaping New Mombassa (part sixteen is up)

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Not yet. Mabey in around 5 - 10 parts

  • 06.07.2010 9:20 AM PDT
Subject: Escaping New Mombassa

Battlefield 3 MASTER RACE
Mass Effect 3 MASTER RACE
Skyrim MASTER RACE
Coup MASTER RACE
Chrome MASTER RACE
I program games, that's all you need to know.

Wow I am absolutely amazed!

  • 06.07.2010 7:10 PM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Part 23.

New Mombassa, 21st October, 2552, 0014hours.

Michael began to slow down. He had been running flat out for the last five minutes and he needed a break. He looked back and saw two Phantoms hovering over the downed Longsword. He stood panting for another minute before running towards the city again.

As Michael reached the cities edge he reached an old park. It was the size of a small football pitch, one goalpost stood upright on the far side, untouched by the war. The other goalpost was lying in pieces over the ground, the burnt out remains of a Warthog remained in its place.

Across this side of the pitch, signs of the war were ever present. A Ghost lay overturned in a crater on the ground, plasma scorched grass was still smouldering around it. The bodies of marines lay amongst dead Covenant soldiers, all bloodied or burned. A Scorpion tank had its barrel bent sideways, two dead Hunters lay beside it.

The other side of the park however was untouched. An abandoned ball still remained at the back of the goal. It was almost as if the line drawn down the centre of the pitch protected the peaceful half from the war torn half. Michael remembered his time growing up here.

When he was eleven he joined the local football team. They practiced on this very pitch and he remembered that one year on they won the New Mombassa cup for the first time. That final match Michael remembered scoring the winning goal, making the final score two to one. Michael took one final look around before continuing on.

He moved into the city, through suburbs he knew very well stopping only as a dog bolted across the dimly lit street, tail between its legs. Michael stopped only briefly before continuing down the street towards Mabuka station. He turned a corner and was surprised to see two people around it. In the dark Michael couldn't make out if they were marines or ODSTs but from the mask they wore over their face he assumed they were with the New Mombassa Police Department.

'I don't care what the commissioner said, the cities swarming with Covenant and even if we did make it down how would we get out alive?'

'I don't know Frank but still, we have to make sure he's dead and-' the man stopped talking as he noticed Michael, 'what have you heard.'

'Nothing,' lied Michael, 'I just got here.'

'Alright,' grunted the man. 'You come with us, might be able to help.'

'Where exactly are you going?'

'That doesn't matter,' shouted the NMPD officer, 'all that matters is that we are going. Just follow us.'

Michael nodded and as the men began to walk, he fell in behind them. They were talking about the commissioner, and if it was who Michael thought it was that meant that these people might be about to cause more trouble than the Covenant.


***

Three thousand Covenant were squashed into a two square mile area. James surveyed the sprawl, searching for a possible opening the marines could sneak through. Both Phantom and Spirit dropships entered and left the area every few seconds and it seemed impossible to slip through unnoticed.

The small group had to take cover as a large Covenant ship flew over the sprawl and hovered over the centre. Its gravity lift activated and several Covenant vehicles dropped down, followed by even more infantry. Seraphs and Phantoms streamed out the ship bays in the side of the huge ship and just as the last one left the carrier accelerated up towards the battle James assumed was raging in space.

James, Narr, Sarah and Stephen lay in the top floor of a small building, looking out through a large gaping hole a wall once was. A Seraph patrol from the cruiser flew over the building, making a loud whining sound and causing the building to shake. James grabbed a nearby railing but continued to watch the area.

'I don't think we're going to get to Mabuka anytime soon,' observed James, 'We'll have to go around this mess.'

'Is there not another way out of the city?' asked Stephen.

'I don't know,' replied James.

'There is one way,' put in Narr, 'we could take some Banshees, make my Banshee head of the patrol. I know what to tell them.'

'And where do you expect us to find four undefended Banshees?' asked James sarcastically.

'There are several down there,' said Narr as he pointed at the Covenant sprawl.

'Any better ideas?' asked James, 'no? Well then it looks like we're going on another suicide mission.'


***

A spike grenade lodged itself in the wall just beside Adam. He ran to it, pulled it out and through it back at the Brute that through it first. It detonated in midair, sending spikes hurtling in all directions. Adam ducked behind a wall as the spikes flew past however the Brute took most of the blow, losing its shields as a result. A quick three burst shot from Adam killed the alien.

Adam ran for the Chopper the Brute had dismounted. He got on and carefully experimented with the controls. Once he was satisfied he drove the vehicle in the direction of Mabuka station. It was hard work controlling the Chopper due to the walls and debris in this part of the city but soon Mabuka station was in sight and so was a huge battle that was raging there.

A Brute appeared on the road in front of Adam. Instead of wasting ammo he powered up the Choppers thrusters and ran the Brute over. Adam fired the cannons at a group of Brutes that the marines had managed to pin down. The Brutes tried to avoid but were too late as the shots hit them and detonated, killing them all.

Two Choppers sped around the station and straight at Adam who quickly reversed to get out of the way. He accelerated the Chopper after one of the enemies and after a few shots from the cannons, killed the driver. One of the marines from the station ran out, dragged the dead Brute out of the drivers seat and mounted the Chopper.

Adam turned his vehicle to see the second Chopper turning around behind him. The enemy Chopper fired its cannons and Adam barely had enough time to power up his Choppers thrusters to avoid the incoming projectiles. The enemy Chopper exploded suddenly as a rocket from the marines hit it, however a large chunk of the now destroyed Chopper flew at Adam's Chopper and smashed into the front, destroying the wheels.

Adam got off the Chopper and made a run for the Station. A grenade landed a few feet to the left of Adam and he jumped down, just avoiding the explosion, however Adam was still blanketed with mud and debris from the blast. He crawled forward, clutching his MA5B assault rifle as he attempted to get back on his feet.

A nearby Brute roared and fired its Spiker. Most shots missed but one penetrated Adams ballistic armour and lodged in his gut. Adam keeled over, firing his gun. He hit the ground and looked up to see the Brute move in to kill him. The Brute stopped and aimed down at Adam but just before he took the shot several marines gunned him down.

Adam lay on the ground, spike still in his gut. The pain was immense but he tried as best as he could to ignore it. His attempts were futile however and the pain began to spread into the area around the wound. Four marines ran over, two crouching down and firing upon incoming Covenant while the other two got down beside Adam. One of the marines pulled the spike out of Adams gut while the other filled the wound with biofoam, hurting for a few seconds but finally relieving the pain.

A marine picked him up and began carrying him back towards the station. The other three marines grabbed their weapons and ran after, giving covering fire to Adam and the marine carrying him. The pain returned as the wound pressed against the marine carrying him. Adam turned his head to see a plasma grenade detonate near the marines and send mud flying up into the air, the marines were not affected and continued running towards the station.

More marines at the station popped out of cover and began firing at the Covenant around the incoming marines. Finally they made it and Adam was laid down near a crate well inside the safety of the Mabuka Stations walls. Adam looked around and to his dismay saw only seven marines defending the station. He tried to stand but was only partially successful so he leaned against the crate for support. A marine ran over to him and gave him an SMG.

'Here, take this and if any Covenant come in, shoot the hell out of 'em.'

'What are we doing here?' asked Adam.

'This is being used as the last rally point in the city. Were taking a train and leaving soon. Be ready,' with that the marine ran back towards the entrance and began firing out upon the Covenant again.


***

  • 06.26.2010 1:16 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.


Wilson ran across the road for cover. He made it just as the Covenant patrol rounded the corner and marched down the road. They passed Wilson's position however they failed to notice him. After waiting another few minutes, just to be safe, Wilson got up and continued on the Mabuka station.

He had made it through the main body of Covenant forces alone and without alerting them. There were several patrols out of the Covenant camp and he had to be careful of these. Wilson moved quietly but fast through the abandoned city.

He looked at the rows of houses and buildings beside him and saw that most of them were damaged in some way, many of them missing walls or having large gaping holes blown into them. Some of the houses no longer existed and the only thing that showed they were there was the pile of rubble or sometimes the partial remains of a wall.

Wilson approached a group of bodies of UNSC marines. He looked at them and found huge scorch marks on their armour and exposed body. He crouched down and searched the bodies for weapons or anything else he might find useful. Several MA5B assault rifles were lying to a side and Wilson took the clips of the guns and added them to his collection. He also found two grenades and a S2AM sniper rifle, which he took in place of his pistol. He might not have been a good sniper but he knew how to use the gun.

He stood up again and looked around. Seeing a railway track at one end of the street, he ran towards it. A small fence was in between Wilson and his target but he easily climbed over it. On the railway track he looked down to see a huge battle raging at Mabuka Station. Wilson readied his Assault Rifle and began running down the track.

  • 06.26.2010 1:17 AM PDT
Subject: [story] Escaping New Mombassa (part twenty three is up)

Haven't finished, but I got up to the 3rd chapter. Es muy bien!

[Edited on 06.29.2010 8:08 PM PDT]

  • 06.29.2010 8:08 PM PDT

Battlefield 3 MASTER RACE
Mass Effect 3 MASTER RACE
Skyrim MASTER RACE
Coup MASTER RACE
Chrome MASTER RACE
I program games, that's all you need to know.

Great!

  • 07.01.2010 2:36 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

thanks everyone. I'm going to Swansea soon but I'll try to get a part up before I go

  • 07.01.2010 12:56 PM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

I took a small break that turned into a month. Sorry everyone who read but here is part 24!!

Part 24.

New Mombassa, 21st October, 2552, 0053hours.

The man called Frank stopped and raised his arm as a signal for Michael and the other NMPD officer to stop too. Michael looked around. To his left was a tall building, smaller than most of New Mombassa's huge skyscrapers but still a very large building. Near Frank, Michael saw the entrance leading into the building, it was a normal sized door with the small Superintendent avatar visible just above the centre.

'We're going in,' said Frank, 'Sub-deck nine is where we're going.'

Frank nodded towards Michael and motioned for him to go in first. The door automatically opened as Michael approached. He stopped and looked in, scanning for hiding Covenant but his search was cut short as Frank jabbed the butt of his gun into Michaels back causing him to stumble forward.

The room was long and dark with only a single light working, even this was flickering however. From the small amount of light Michael had to see he saw that the room had been ravaged. He examined a nearby chair to see several claw like scratches in the wood. A couch that was nearby was in a similar state, the wool inside had been ripped out through tears in the outer layer.

One the two lights flickered on behind Michael. He turned around to see that Frank and the other man had entered the room. Just before the pilot turned back around something hard and fast knocked into Michael, propelling him across the room. He hit the far wall and fell back hitting the floor hard. Gunfire echoed around the room and after a few high pitched screeches the weapons fire ceased. Michael grabbed a nearby table but the legs were damaged in the same way as the rest of the room and couldn't support Michael's weight. The legs broke and once again Michael hit the ground.

The other NMPD officer ran over and put out a hand for Michael who took it. He pulled Michael up and pointed towards the other side of the room where the barely recognisable remains of a human lay amongst several Drones. 'Franks dead,' said the NMPD officer, 'now it's very important you tell me what you heard.'

'I heard that you need to check and see if someone's dead,' answered Michael.

'Then you know too much,' said the man who quickly pulled out a pistol and shot Michael twice in the chest propelling him backwards and causing him to hit the ground. Michael hit the ground and felt numbness rush over him as the NMPD officer walked away. Michael watched as the man pressed a button for an elevator and stepped into it as it arrived. The doors closed and Michael's vision blurred before he blacked out.

***

James and Narr crept forward towards the small Covenant outpost where the Banshees rested on the ground. James quickly peered around the corner of the wall he and the large Elite took cover behind. A quick surveillance of the area showed that the main defence was in the form of four lightly armed Brutes. Several Grunts were also present but James didn't count them as a serious danger.

James hoped the Brutes couldn't see well in the dark and he was thankful for the night vision goggles he picked up in a supply depot a few minutes earlier. He reached down into his pocket and pulled a laser pointer from its depths. He quickly flickered it on and off twice, this was the signal to Sarah and Steven who were in a position to snipe.

James heard the faint sound of two hisses in the air and then the resulting clang as the shots hit two Brutes in the head. Two more hisses and two more resulting clangs killed the remaining Brutes. James and Narr sprung up and rounded the corner, guns blaring. The Grunts had barely enough time to look at their killers before they were filled with lead and plasma.

A Hunter appeared from behind a building and was closely followed by another. Their huge guns were already glowing green, a sign that they were nearly fully charged up. James saw an opening in one of the Hunters armour and started shooting the exposed body, however only a small few shots hit their target before the Hunter moved its huge shield over its body, protecting it from further attacks. This however caused the Hunter to lose the charge of its cannon.

As this was taking place the other Hunter fired its cannon at Narr. The Elite jumped and missed the initial shot however as the ball of Green plasma hit the ground behind him, it exploded sending a splatter of plasma at Narr. His shields were almost depleted as a result. Narr looked around. He saw the four Banshees only a few metres away and made a break for them. He reached the first Banshee and quickly pulled himself in and took off into the air.

James heard the wailing sound of a Banshee and looked up to see it fire its plasma cannons at the first Hunter. The alien tried to block the plasma using its shield however the large amount of plasma raining down on it melted through its shield and its body. A pool of orangey yellow appeared under the now dead Hunter. The second Hunter however was not happy about the death of its fellow Hunter and bellowed a war cry at James before rushing at him, pushing a destroyed warthog out of the way.

The Hunter charged forward and two shots from sniper rifles hit the armour, causing a ringing sound. The Hunter however did not stop and James began shooting at it too. Most shots found their mark but had little effect at the giant alien. James jumped to the side just as the Hunter reached him, swinging its shield and smashing James in the leg sending him spinning in the air. Narr's Banshee swung around to attack the Hunter, this time he fired the fuel rod cannon attached to the underside of the Banshee. The shot hit the Hunters exposed back, killing it instantly.

Sarah and Steven had arrived and were in the process of carrying James, who could no longer use his leg as the bones had been totally shattered, to the Banshees. Narr landed his Banshee as the marines arrived. He got out and helped James get into another Banshee before showing the marines how to fly the vehicles. They learned quickly from Narr and very soon they were all in the air.


***

The Covenant forces around the station began to dwindle but so did the small group of marines fighting to defend it. The marine who had given Adam the SMG had been hit by an overcharged plasma shot a few minutes earlier and several Grunts swarmed in. Adam had fired his SMG, cutting down many, before another marine took the downed marines place.

Adam looked around the station again and looked at the small train that would hopefully bring the group out of the city and into the town of Voi. Adam then noticed what he hadn't noticed before; several people were huddled in a corner of the train, clearly civilians. They must have been the last few left in the city.

'Hold your fire!' shouted someone from outside and the marines inside complied. A new marine ran in through the door on the left east side of the building. Adam immediately identified him, it was Wilson. The marines began shooting once he was in but not as much as before. Finally they stopped and the marine who appeared to be in charge began speaking.

'Marines its time to move out,' he began, 'several more Covenant ships have just slipped into the city. We can no longer wait for any more people to come here as we are now losing two marines for every one that arrives. We go now so get ready.'

'The other two are probably dead,' said Wilson as he got down and helped Adam up, 'James and the others can find a way out themselves.'

Wilson helped Adam over to the train and soon everyone was ready and inside. One of the soldiers had gone into the front and plugged a small chip into the control pad. The train began to move, slowly at first but soon it began to pick up speed and it wasn't long before they were out in the desert and approaching Voi.

  • 07.31.2010 6:37 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

SECTION V: No one gets left behind.

Part 25.

New Mombassa, 21st October, 2552. 0126hours.

Michael stirred. He tried to remember what happened but couldn't until he looked down to see two holes in his armour and his own dried out blood sticking around them.

He was lucky.

His armour slowed down the bullets enough so only their tips went through his skin and his blood clotted quickly. The pilot grabbed a nearby couch and attempted to pull himself up, but he had lost too much blood and as a result had a lot less energy and his arms gave after a few seconds and he slammed back into the ground.

Then he heard a sound, like some animal would make and he assumed it was Covenant. As Michael was a pilot he had been in very few encounters when he was fighting the Covenant on the ground. The times he had, he didn't see much of them. It was the same for the vast majority of UNSC pilots, they knew very little about the species of the Covenant, they knew their names but didn't know what they sounded like or even what some of them looked like.

The room began to light up as the walls reflected the light from whatever entered the room. The creature walked in front of Michael at the other side of the room and Michael was surprised to see that it had some sort of a shield, a bluish green colour that pulsed out to the sides.

A Jackal.

Michael could tell just from its shield as they were the only Covenant species to carry them but the other telltale sign was its birdlike head. The Jackal hadn't noticed him yet and Michael began to look around for a weapon. He saw a pistol a few metres away and began to pull himself towards it. Slowly he approached it, putting one hand in front of the other and dragging himself towards it until finally, after what felt like forever to him, he could reach the small gun.

He grabbed the barrel and pulled the gun to him, then taking out the magazine to check ammo he found it almost full. He rolled onto his back and aimed down the gun at the Jackal, then pulled the trigger, letting off a deafening sound in the quietness of the night. The recoil nearly broke his hand but he wan able to put the gun down as he watched satisfactorily as the Jackal crumpled to the ground, dead.

However to Michaels dismay, another Jackal ran in from outside. He picked up the gun again as the Jackal reached its fellow, dead Jackal. Michael aimed but before he could shoot the newcomer began screeching into something on its shoulder and turned so its shield faced Michael. The pilot couldn't shoot as the aliens shield now blocked him. If he did shoot the bullet would deflect from the shield and alert the Jackal to his position.

Michael waited for a chance to strike. The Jackal just wouldn't move so he could get a clear shot. No sound was made and Michael forced himself to quieten his breathing so his enemy didn't hear. Finally the Jackal turned around and Michael quickly fired his gun, killing this Jackal and causing it to fall on the other one.

Being sure that more Covenant would soon arrive, Michael again tried to stand. This time he has a lot more success and managed to stand. He walked forward slowly, using the furniture to support him and quickly made it to the exit to the street outside.

The street was illuminated by the few working lights that lined the side of the street. As he exited Michael noticed a sharp drop of temperature but continued out. He needed a plan, he needed a way to get out of the city and for this he would need help. The pilot knew that in his current condition he would never survive on his own.


***

Even with the Banshees, getting out of the city would be a difficult task. Several new Covenant ships had slipped in above the city and these four Banshees were not heading on any known flight path, not to mention that James, Stephen and Sarah hadn't a clue how to fly and as a result were swerving around and occasionally diving towards the ground.

Narr couldn't help them as he was busy replying to a number of questions asked by the incoming frigates. The hardest part of it was that he was posing as a Brute, something unheard of for an Elite to do. Narr knew that what he was doing was honour less in the eyes of other Elites but he and his family never cared much for honour and cared more about survival especially now that the Great Journey had been exposed as a lie.

A banshee nearly hit him and he swore at the pilot, James, while doing his best to sound like a Brute. He made an excuse, saying that he was training these 'young Brutes' how to fly and so far they appalled him. After that the flow of questions began to slow. It wasn't unknown for new pilots to be trained over a captured city and fly off their flight path.

The Banshees now approached the desert. Then Narr picked something up on the comm channel. A Jackal in the city had been killed by a human survivor. He listened for a few minutes then heard a second shot, killing the Jackal that had been transmitting the message. He replayed it for James and closed all comm channels.

'That is the pilot that went down human,' Narr said, 'we can go back for him but the city is swarming with Brutes.'

'How do you know it's the pilot?' asked James.

'Because of the position he is in. He is close to the edge of the city.'

'We'll go back. No one gets left behind.'

Narr turned the external comm channels back on and got a flood of questions. He replied asking for permission to land and kill the enemy in the city, which was granted as soon as it was asked. The Elite flicked a switch and the other three Banshees were put on autopilot for the journey back into the city.

It wasn't long before they arrived. Like human autopilot, the Covenant autopilot could not land so Narr and the three humans had to do it themselves. Narr, who was used to flying Banshees, easily landed however it was a big problem for the others in this dark.

Narr watched as James slowed his Banshee to minimum speed, and almost immediately dropped out of the sky. Luckily he was only a few metres up or the Banshee would have been wrecked and James would have died. Stephen went next and was much more cautious. He skimmed against the street below, making a high pitched squeaking sound, and lowered speed. Not perfect but better. Sarah was last and landed similarly to Stephen.

'Where to?' asked James once he exited the Banshee.

'Follow me,' replied James, 'It is a few buildings in.'

'We call them blocks,' put in Stephen once Narr was out of earshot.


***

The train stopped a few kilometres from Voi. Two marines dismounted and scanned the area using night vision they had brought with them. Seconds later the train's power went out. Marines with flashlights under the mussels of their guns turned them on, everyone else stayed put, unmoving and watching to the best of their ability for trouble.

Wilson turned his flashlight on last and pointed his assault rifle out the window watching for anything. The air glimmered for a moment, like the light bended around that particular spot, but went as soon as it appeared. Wilson waved it off as he thought it was only the lights reflection on the glass window.

'Watch yourselves outside,' called a marine after the two other marines outside, Wilson could tell from the insignia on the sleeve of his uniform that he was a Lieutenant, more than likely the highest ranking person here besides Adam, who was unable to stand, let alone give orders. 'Hey Jason, Max, you two alright out there?'

Silence.

No response came from outside and the marines pointed their flashlights at the doors, watching for any sign of trouble. The Lieutenant signalled for Wilson, who was closest to him, and another soldier who was standing beside Wilson, to follow him outside. They followed and Wilson readied his gun, pointing it ahead of them as they left the train. He followed the Lieutenant around to the front of the train and found the track uprooted, forcing the trains breaks to activate.

However what he didn't see at first glance was the two bodies lying against the front of the train. The Lieutenant saw them first and quickly retrieved their night vision, while looking for the cause of death. It took only seconds to find, four spikes poking out of the necks and chests of both marines, Brute handiwork. The Lieutenant knelt down on the ground and put the night vision goggles on over his eyes. He scanned the area and half a second later started shooting into the night.

Wilson and the other marine pointed their guns in the general direction the Lieutenant was shooting, illuminating an uncloaked Brute. The air shimmered behind the brute and Wilson started firing at it, quickly unveiling another Brute. The gunfire drew two marines from inside the train to their position however between shots the lieutenant told them to go back inside and get everyone else out, that it wouldn't be long before Brutes surrounded their position and pinned them inside the train.

  • 08.13.2010 12:12 PM PDT

Don't cross the white line.

"Give a man a fish and he'll eat for a day. Give a Halo regular a fish, and he'll complain about the taste, color, type, size, where you found it, how you obtained it, whether or not you'll give him more fish later, and I don't know how many more things.And then when you give him another fish, he'll complain that it's not exactly like the first fish. Rinse and repeat."

I'm up to Part 10, loving it so far!

  • 08.23.2010 5:42 AM PDT

Up to part six, and I felt bad for not commenting yet ^^ Great job bro, you inspire me o.o

  • 08.23.2010 3:59 PM PDT
Subject: [story] Escaping New Mombassa (part twelve is up)

Oh and by the way, I saved this thread<3

I just finished part 9 and now I'm going to go write a story lulz

  • 08.23.2010 4:27 PM PDT
Subject: Escaping New Mombassa
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No matter how many seals are killed by sharks a year, it never seems to be enough :D

So I'm picking up this fan fic. You have some errors in the first three that I've read so far. Spell check ftw. Anyway, slow down a little, throw in some detail. Other than that you're doing pretty good :D

  • 08.23.2010 7:30 PM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Thanks everyone. It gets better around part 15 I promise.

Part 26.

21st October 2552, 0142hours.

UNSC temporary command centre, Voi.

'Commander we may have a problem,' one of the technicians said, 'see this here, that's the last train to leave New Mombassa, its stopped, possibly ambushed.'

'How long since it stopped?' asked the Commander. He had arrived at the base a few hours ago but since then hadn't gotten a moments sleep. He was tired but at his age, he had every right to be.

'Four minutes just now sir,' replied the technician, 'if we're going to do something, now is the time to do it.'

Ronald pondered what to do next. He thought back to a similar incident when he was a Captain during the war against the insurrectionists. He hesitated and hundreds of civilians were massacred by the terrorists, he couldn't let that reoccur here.

'Tell Sergeant Jackson to prepare his squad and get two Pelicans ready, they leave in five minutes.'

'Sir, yes sir.'

Commander White walked across the small room. Only four people were present, three of them having coordinated most of the evacuation of New Mombassa from this very room with limited resources available, the fourth, himself, had only came for a visit a few minutes earlier as he was no longer needed elsewhere. He had come down expecting to find tired, weary eyed men but instead found that all three were fully alert, responding to the slightest problem. It was people like these that would win wars like this one.

'The squad is ready and moving to the Pelicans,' stated the same technician.

'Good, alert me once they reach their target, I'm going for a quick rest.'


***

New Mombassa city.

The street lights began to dim and finally go dark. Michael found it hard to find his way in the poor lighting but he persevered and was making progress towards his target, his home. Michael wanted to go there for two reasons; the first was that his dad kept an old designated markmans rifle, or DMR, in the basement of the house in case of emergencies. It had been kept out of reach from Michael as he grew up but he knew how to use the weapon.

Michael knew that there was a good chance that his father had taken the gun as he fled the city, however even if the gun wasn't there Michael had another reason, an old mobile phone he had hidden under the floorboards of his room. He remembered the day he had stormed out of the house for the last time after another row with his parents about staying out with friends late. He left the house and never returned, forgetting his phone which was hidden away from his parents, they hadn't agreed with him having it. He was sixteen at the time.

Michael leaned against the wall of a building. He leaned out and took a quick glance at the street. Nothing moved in the darkness so he turned the corner fully and dashed down to a blockade of sandbags he ducked behind. He took another look at the street but still nothing moved, everything was silent in the darkness, only the moon provided scant light in the overcast sky.

The Covenant were nowhere to be seen and this worried Michael. Earlier it would have been hard to manoeuvre in the city without having to kill them but now the Covenant were nowhere to be seen. Michael jumped over the barricade and continued to run towards anything that could provide cover. Behind one of these barricades he found an assault rifle, however it had only a few rounds left in the magazine so he left it where it was.

Michael was nearing his old home now. He passed his old school and began to approach the housing estate he lived in. He reached the entrance and took cover at the sight of a Jackals glowing shield. After a few tense seconds he readied his pistol and sprang up firing, taking the Jackal by surprise and killing it instantly.

The gunshots rang through the silent city. Any Covenant soldiers would now be looking for him and he knew it. Michael quickly ran towards the house he once lived in. It took him a few seconds to remember which house it was, here in New Mombassa like much of the planet, houses were identical.

The pilot sprinted towards the house, quickly bursting through the unlocked door and into the kitchen which was straight down the hall from the front door. There was minimal light inside the house but Michael remembered that a torch was always kept bolted onto his father's DMR. From the kitchen Michael quietly went through another room and down the stairs into the pitch black basement below.

Michael couldn't see anything in the basement but stumbled around until his hand grasped what felt like the butt of a gun. He dragged the object off its shelf and after a few seconds held it correctly. It was a gun but not the DMR his father owned. This was a Battle Rifle commonly used by the UNSC marines corps. Michael was happy to find a flashlight attached to this gun too and he switched it on revealing a spacious basement. Michael turned towards the stairs. He had one last stop to make.

In his room, Michael pulled up the floorboard he hid the phone under. He remembered what he was told on Reach as he trained to be a pilot, just get any old phone you can find and tune it in into frequency seven-nine-five, that's the UNSC emergency frequency and it's constantly monitored by an AI or someone else, depending on what planet you were on.

He found the phone and turned it on. This phone was one of the old versions and required his fingerprint to be accessed, he obliged and placed his finger on the screen, grunting satisfactorily as it turned on. He quickly accessed frequencies and tuned it in, then called and got a response almost immediately.

This is Commander White of the UNSC defence force, if you're human you better tell me quick and if you're Covenant, I'm going to personally hunt you down for waking me from the first few minutes sleep I've had in the last few days.


***

The three humans followed Narr through the dark abandoned streets of New Mombassa. It wasn't long before they reached the building Michael was last known to be located in. Narr was already inside by the time James, who was bringing up the rear, arrived. He proceeded inside to find two dead Jackals but no sign of the pilot they were searching for.

'Now what?' asked Stephen who seemed to be getting more annoyed by the minute.

'Come, he can't have gotten far,' said Narr who walked back out into the street.

Stephen looked at James who just shrugged. Relentelesy the ODST walked out after Narr and was immediately followed by Sarah and James. It was cold outside after being in the building but the soldiers ignored it, they had a pilot to find and they had to find him soon.

James sat down on some steps while Stephen began pacing up and down the street. Narr however remained unmoving in the street, pondering what to do next. James checked his ammo counter of his assault rifle, twenty three. He ejected the clip and pressed in nine more bullets leaving him with a full clip but very few rounds remaining in reserve.

Suddenly three shots rang out in the cold silent night causing James to jump up clutching his gun. Narr looked up in the air and began to run towards the source of the shot, not caring if the humans were following. By the time James realised Narr had gone, the elite had traversed half the streets distance and Sarah was following suit. Stephen however couldn't run due to his injuries and James wouldn't leave him. He decided to stay with Stephen instead of searching for the missing pilot.

James walked to Stephen who was starring after the Elite, disbelief evident on his face. He looked at James and shook his head before sitting on the ground.

'Damn Elite, should've known he'd have run off,'

'He's on our side,' replied James.

'We don't know that, just because he's been going around with us all day killing aliens doesn't mean he's on our side. I mean we've been fighting Elites for nearly thirty years now, what makes him change sides now?'

'I know it's hard to trust him but he's helped us so much today that we have to trust him a small bit for it.'

Stephen grunted and began to get up. James extended a hand to offer help and Stephen grabbed it, pulling himself off the ground.

'Now what?' the ODST asked.

'Now, we get out of this city.'


***

  • 08.29.2010 3:32 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.


The marines crouched under the windows of the train, occasionally standing up to fire bursts of bullets at the Brutes that surrounded the train. The Brutes had attempted to get into the train twice now but were pushed back both times. Both assaults had been costly for the Covenant forces, taking many more losses than their UNSC foes; however the marines were starting to run low on ammunition and would soon run out.

The Lieutenant had taken command of the UNSC forces once he and Wilson managed to get safely back inside the train; the other marine had been impaled through the neck by a stray spike, killing him instantly. Inside the train, the few civilians huddled together on the ground in an attempt to avoid the raging conflict.

Adam managed to prop himself up and he occasionally reached up to the window with a SMG he was given, firing short bursts at whatever was outside. His bullets were inaccurate however as he couldn't stand to aim the gun and most of the time there were no Covenant soldiers outside his window.

Wilson took a quick look outside and saw several Brutes holding spike grenades, ready to throw at the train.

'Get down!' shouted Wilson throwing himself to the ground. Several other marines copied but most remained crouched under their window, looking confused.

Four loud thumps him the side of the train and a few seconds later a section of the wall blasted inwards killing two marines behind it. Several Brutes rushed in, firing spikers and plasma rifles. Three more marines were killed in the next few seconds, one impaled by a spike, the other two by plasma burns.

The Marines began to fire back and quickly cut down two Brutes, however three more came to replace it. Both sides took losses. Wilson was hit in the elbow by a spike but kept firing with one hand. The marine beside him took a spike through the eye and collapsed to the floor, dead.

Wilson was about to admit defeat when the sound of gunfire reached him from outside. Several of the Brutes exited the train to fight the new threat but it wasn't long before all the Brutes had been killed and a group of marines emerged from the darkness.

  • 08.29.2010 3:34 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Part 27.

New Mombassa, 21st October 2552, 0203hours.

'Commander!' Michael was shocked by his luck, 'this is Captain Michael Green, I'm in the city, my Longsword went down earlier, I need help sir-'

'Calm down pilot, where exactly are you?'

'Forty-nine Luxor street sir.'

'Hold up there as long as you can, we'll get a Pelican in as soon as we can.'

'Thank you sir.'

Michael readied his battle rifle and moved to an upstairs window where he could watch for any Covenant forces that might try to enter the house. Nothing moved outside and he began to lose concentration until a cold, chilling breeze blew in through an open window.

Michael left his position and closed the window. He returned and crouched down, it was then he noticed movement on the street. It had been hard to make out against the black back-drop of the street in the night, but a glint gave it away, whatever it was...

He readied his Battle Rifle and aimed it towards his target until he saw another figure run down the street, this time an ODST. The ODST stopped in the middle of the street and looked around. The other figure came back into view and walked straight for the ODST. Michael looked through his scope and to his horror saw an Elite next to the ODST.

Quietly the pilot backed away from the window and went downstairs, stopping at the front door. He opened it as quietly as he could but couldn't supress a high pitched squeak from its unoiled hinges. After a quick peek out he saw that the Elite and ODST were still in the street, luckily having not heard the noise from the door. Michael pondered what to do in his head.

He had little time as the both figures began walking down the street. He decided to go after them.

'Hey!' he called after the ODST and Elite. They turned to face him as he left the house and proceeded out into the street. He aimed his gun at the Elite as the figures approached.

'Are you the pilot?' asked the ODST.

'I am, who are you, and why is that Elite there?'

'I human am here to rescue you,' snarled the alien.

Michael was taken back by the comment but kept his rifle aimed.

'Please just put the gun down, the Elite has been with us all day, the Covenant has had some sort of civil war,' the ODST said.

Michael lowered his rifle a little and looked at the two figures in front of him. What had he to lose? He decided to trust them.

'There's a Pelican coming in to pick me up,' Michael informed the ODST and Elite, 'we wait here and we leave the city.'

'There's just one thing,' mentioned the ODST, 'we got split up from the rest of our squad.'

'How?'

'We sort of ran off from them...'


***

James and Stephen approached the edge of the city. The roads here had thin layers of sand in areas which blew in from the desert. The two marines walked through a large crater in the centre of the road, on the other side lay the remains of Wraiths, Warthogs and countless other Human and Covenant vehicles. Part of an overhead bridge was atop a crushed Prowler. Very little remained that could be salvaged.

Stephan stopped and leaned against a wall of a building, trying to regain some energy. James, who was ahead, also stopped and turned back towards Stephan who made an awkward gesture with his hand, attempting to tell James he was alright. Stephen hobbled forward towards James, eventually passing him and continuing towards the desert. James followed on but soon Stephen had to stop again.

'I'm sorry,' Stephen choked out, 'I'll be fine... just wait... few minutes.'

'Don't worry; I'm not going to leave you.'

'Thanks.'

They were silent for a few more minutes until Stephen again moved forward. James closely followed him and it wasn't long until they reached the deserts edge. James helped Stephen climb over a small barrier that ran along the edge of the motor way, blocking sand from the desert blowing onto the road.

The sand in the desert was soft and their feet sunk into the ground with each step. They still pushed on but it was apparent to both of them that they weren't making much progress.

They continued for another few minutes until they summited the first of hundreds of large sand dunes. Looking back on the city they didn't see much, it seemed that power had went out throughout the city as no lights were shining at them. James turned and looked towards Voi. It was a large town but several miles of desert lay between them and the town.

They again set off towards their distant target.


***

Wilson stepped out of the train as the new group of marines advanced, flashlights blaring. One of them stepped forward.

'Sergeant Jackson, UNSC marine's corps second battalion.'

'Major Wilson, Alpha squad,' replied Wilson.

'We're here to get you out of here, Pelicans are half a kilometre that way,' said the sergeant pointing to the north.

'Some of these men are wounded and can't walk sergeant.'

'We've thought of that.'

The sergeant waved to three of his marines who pulled folded stretchers from their backpacks, which were quickly unfolded. The few people that were not seriously injured inside the train began exiting with the wounded on their backs or in their arms. Two people were to seriously injured to walk, Adam was one of them, and these were quickly put onto stretchers. Another soldier with a broken foot was put on the other stretcher.

Six soldiers went with the stretchers, one carrying each end. These marines quickly disappeared into the night as the others prepared to set off. None of the civilians were injured, just shocked and frightened meaning they would be able to easily keep up with the injured marines.

'Is everyone ready?' shouted the sergeant, 'good. It's a short walk of around five hundred metres to the Pelicans, once we reach them, we'll get you all flown off to Voi where the UNSC has a temporary base. Lets go.'

  • 09.04.2010 3:30 PM PDT

We are, We are, Brothers in arms.

Mumsdollar 1998-2009

If you declare with your mouth, "Jesus is Lord," and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Romans 10:9

Awesome. Just plain awesome.

  • 09.19.2010 4:11 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Part 28.

New Mombassa, 21st October, 2552. 0352hours.

Michael was beginning to get impatient. He again checked his watch, just two minutes had passed since he last checked. The pilot was sitting in a corner of his old home, hands around his knees. It had been almost two hours since they were told to wait, that a Pelican was coming, a Pelican that had yet to arrive.

He pushed himself off the ground and opened the front door to see the faintest signs of light came from the horizon. Soon the sun would rise. Michael looked up and down the street. Narr was standing across the road, looking off into the distance. What he was looking at wasn't known to Michael. Then from behind Narr, the slightest distortion alerted Michael to the presence of the Covenant.

Quickly he pulled his pistol from his holster and emptied his mag into the air behind Narr, startling the Elite, but revealing a Brute. The ape-like alien roared in frustration and fired at Narr with its plasma rifle. Hot red plasma flew through the air but the Elite easily dodged and fired several shots back with his carbine, hitting the Brute twice, once in the chest, another in the head.

The Brute hit the ground, dead, as Michael slammed another magazine into his gun. Sarah ran out of the house, sniper rifle at the ready just as Michael ran back in to retrieve his DMR. As he picked it up, more shots were fired outside the house and Brutes roared back, clearly enraged. Just as he approached the front door of the house, a stray plasma grenade flew past the door, detonating in mid-air.

Outside Sarah and Narr were fighting the Covenant. Sarah had dropped her sniper rifle and had picked up the plasma rifle of a dead Brute. Narr was firing his carbine at any target he saw. Yet Michael found it hard to see any target, most of the Brutes were hidden by their active camouflage, and the ones that appeared were gunned down within seconds. At times like these he wished he had become an ODST. At least he would have had VISR to help him see the enemies.

The air shimmered in front of the pilot and he was thrown back into the house by a hard punch from an invisible enemy. He held his DMR and began shooting down the hallway. Soon after emptying a full clip, he grabbed his pistol again and fired as fast as he could. The Brute roared and appeared just a metre from him as he swapped pistol magazines. He fired again and the Brute fell on top of him, knocking the breath out of him and pinning him to the ground.

He struggled to get out from under the heavy alien but was having very little success. Gun shots rang from outside and the sizzle of Plasma could be heard as it splashed into the tarmac street, melting it. Suddenly an elite cried out, Narr and a Brute roared in victory. Michael renewed his struggle and pushed the Brute up enough to roll out from under it. He grabbed his DMR and ran outside.

Sarah was still fighting the Brutes, Narr however was face down on the ground, Michael didn't know if he was dead or not. A Brute turned to face Michael and got three rounds through its skull another Brute soon got the same. Suddenly Michael heard the faintest sound of a jet engine; he would have heard it much earlier if it wasn't for the loudness of the on-going battle.

Michael's hope had been renewed by this and he fired the remainder of his clip at the nearest Brute. His new hope was short lived however as two shadow transports thured the corner of the street, each carrying a Ghost and two Brutes. Then each Shadow burst into a ball of fire and two Longswords flew overhead. Seconds later the Pelican appeared over the top of the houses, heavy machine guns firing rounds into the Covenant.

The Covenant forces retreated as the Pelican touched down on the street and James jumped out. Michael ran towards the Pelican, however he remembered the Elite, Narr. Sarah was already sitting beside the Elite. She shook her head at James as he approached.

'He's dead,' she said, almost crying.

James nodded, 'We'll bring him with us. Time to leave.'

James and Sarah picked up the dead Elite and brought him to the Pelican. Michael followed them in and saw several other soldiers in the Pelican, two of whom were injured. As Michael sat down, the Pelican took off and brought them away from the city for the final time.


***

One hour, thirty two minutes earlier.

James and Stephen continued to trek through the sand that their feet sank through like water. They had made very little progress so far but they pushed themselves on for fear of what they knew was imminent; the glassing of New Mombassa.

They forced themselves through the sand, heading towards the distant light of Voi. James had his flashlight out now but it gave very little light due to the depleted batteries. Finally he threw the torch to the ground.

'Eight thousand hours my ass,' he said in disgust, 'that's what I hate standard issue gear. Unreliable.'

James looked at Stephan. The ODST had a look of shock on his face.

'What?' asked James.

'It's the sergeant,' Stephan blurted before staggering a few metres and falling over a dark object on the ground. James grabbed the flashlight from the ground and shone it over Stephen, revealing a second ODST under him.

'He's still alive,' coughed Stephen as he rolled off the ODST.

James noticed something half buried in the ground beside the ODST, Ben Dunne. James reached for it and found that it was a flare. The marine thought for a few seconds and looked to Stephen and the other ODST. Both of them looked terrible, Stephen was blood covered and his ballistic armour was cracked in several places. Ben on the other hand was pale and unconscious in the cold desert night. Neither of them had long to live without immediate medical attention.

James popped the cap of the flare, releasing bright green smoke into the air in the hope of attracting any UNSC forces, however James knew the Covenant would come too. Stephen looked at him and nodded, a look of understanding on his face. He grabbed his SMG and held it ready. James quickly moved to a nearby sand dune and took up a sniping position.

A minute passed then another. Time seemed to slow as a cool breeze covered James in a thin layer of sand. Twenty minutes passed at this stage and James heard the faint noise of a distant, approaching Pelican. Five more minutes passed and James could make out the shape of the transport as it neared.

Then James heard the sound of gunfire as Stephen began firing his SMG. James looked through the scope of his gun and saw two aliens, much like Jackals however with a mane of some sort, like a Lion. These creatures moved much faster than Jackals and appeared stronger too. James fired at the first Jackal-like creature, killing it as Stephen finally killed the other.

The Pelican was now overhead Stephen and began to descend. James began to run from his position however he tripped in the sand and slid down the side of the dune. He slowed his fall with his feet and righted himself, again beginning to run. He finally arrived at the Pelican as Stephen was moved inside the transport ship. Two Marines greeted him and helped him into the back of the craft.

As James sat down, the Pelican rose into the air and headed in towards the city.

'Where are we going?' asked James.

'There is a pilot stranded in the city. We know where he is and we're going to get him out of there.'

  • 09.19.2010 3:05 PM PDT
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Awesome :D

  • 09.20.2010 8:12 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Thanks fluud.

The next part which I am currently editing, will be the epilogue. Its finally coming to an end.

  • 09.21.2010 3:06 PM PDT
Subject: [story] Escaping New Mombassa (part sixteen is up)

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

Epilogue.

UNSC destroyer End game, in orbit around Earth.
30th October, 2552. 1432hours.

'Alpha, Bravo, Gamma and Delta squads are going to be decommissioned Lieutenant. After the events of the twenty-first, none of the UNSC leadership believed the four squads to be elite. Anyone you could find was recruited into the squad to replace a dead member, most of which were just marines you picked off the street. Very few even underwent full military training, and we believe that two of these recruits were insurrectionists.'

Commander White looked at Adam. Disappointment was clearly evident on the young Lieutenant's face.

'Despite all this, ONI is forming two new squads with the same goal as Alpha, Bravo, Gamma and Delta. This time however each member will receive proper training and will get state of the art armour and weapons. However this tactic of recruiting marines to replace dead members must end.'

'ONI has already made a shortlist of all possible members. Your entire old squad is on that list. If you get picked for the final shortlist you will have to undergo a week long training course, and it won't be easy. You're dismissed Lieutenant.'

Adam saluted and turned to exit the room however White stopped him.

'One last thing, Erik, the marine I picked up, he'll make a full recovery from his wounds in around a week.'

'Thank you for the news sir,' Adam responded.


***

Michael looked across the room at the ONI spook. They had been silent since the pilot had entered the room. Michael knew it was some sort of test. Finally the spook spoke.

'Pilot, I've seen your record and also a satellite recording of the battle of New Mombassa. You flew very well out there and even when your ship goes down, you can be trusted to survive and give hell to the Covenant. For that we are interested in recruiting you for a certain project. Will you accept?'

'What exactally is the purpose of this project?' responded the pilot.

'Same as normal with us; classified unless you agree to join.'

Michael thought hard about it. He knew not to trust ONI but he was curious about the details of this project the spook mentioned. He was very tempted not to accept but his curiosity got the better of him.

'I'm in,' he said at last.

'Good,' replied the Spook, 'Here are some of the basic documents about project Sabre.'

Michael studied the sheets he was handed. Most of them were blueprints of the Sabre, a space fighter like the Longsword, just better. Another sheet he looked at contained multiple records of past deployments, he couldn't help noticing Reach at the top.

'Project Sabre was begun in 2539 after it was obvious we couldn't hope to defeat the Covenant. Initial tests were very successful, each Sabre and its pilot were able to take out an average of twenty Seraphs. These successes remained until we lost almost all the data of the project on Reach. One launch site for the Sabre project is situated in what was known as Russia. You'll leave for there tomorrow.'


***

Stephen left the medical ward of the UNSC Dying Breath. After being debriefed from the ship's captain, he walked as quickly as possible to the hangar, where Ben waited for him.

'I see you recovered Corporal,' greeted the Sergeant.

'Ready to kick some Covenant ass again,' Stephen smiled backed.

'That's great news isn't it. We could be dropping sooner than you think though, time to meet the new team.'

The two ODSTs walked down to the end of the hangar where four other ODST's stood, all dressed in full ballistic armour, including their helmets. Two of the ODST's were wearing the legendary Recon armour, used exclusively by Office of Naval Intelligence operatives. Stephen shot Ben a glance and had a grin returned to him. Just as Ben and Stephen reached their new squad, the UNSC admiral, Lord Hood stepped into view.

'You have all been called here today as we have decided you are the best soldiers we have. You have all survived against impossible odds and have proven yourselves on numerous occasions and are hereby conscripted into project Eagle. You are squad one of two squads that will be used to complete high priority missions.'

'I'm going to tell you the truth about the war. Every Spartan but one is either MIA or KIA and the one Spartan we have left is currently on a mission out of system. Not even I have contact with him right now. We need you to replace the Spartans.'

'I know that you will never be as strong as the Spartans were but this is it, we have been pushed back to Earth. This is our last chance. It's either victory or extinction. The other squad is a ground based squad, none of them are ODSTs. You will leave for a short but hard week of training tomorrow. There you will meet the squad two. Good luck soldiers, you will play a big part in the survival of Humanity in the coming weeks.'

With that the Admiral left the hangar and left the ODST's to themselves. The assembled troopers took off their helmets and Stephen saw a few familiar faces. Sarah was one of them and he wasn't surprised. Stephen knew she was a great sniper. Another familiar face was that of a friend he went through training with, Séan O'Connor. He was surprisingly agile for his small body, more than likely the reason he was here. Stephen didn't know the other two but he was sure he'd find out about them in the coming battles.

  • 09.24.2010 1:53 PM PDT
Subject: [story] Escaping New Mombassa (epilogue)

you need to write a book dude

  • 09.25.2010 3:30 AM PDT

An assassin will always carry on, even after death.

I'm thinking of a sequel for this, based during Halo 3...

  • 09.25.2010 2:39 PM PDT

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