A hunter fired its cannon through the opening, it was slightly deflected by the Spartan's makeshift shield, and made its way into the room. The explosion sent Stone flying through the air, and slamming into the wall on the opposite side of the room. He looked towards the cloud of green smoke, the ODST who had just spoken to him was nowhere to be seen, and the wall he had been standing by had a gaping hole in it, fringed with white and orange molten metal. The hunter had by now made his way to the Spartan and his makeshift shield. The hunter slammed into the metal barrier, sending the Spartan backwards, the huge piece of alloy falling onto him, more than enough to crush any of the other marines. The Hunter put one of its massive feet onto the Spartan's impromptu prison, and raised its massive arm cannon towards Stone. "Get down!" A familiar voice yelled over the chaos. He complied just in time for a rocket to fly overhead, striking the hunter in a massive explosion. Pieces of heavy armor plating and worms filled the room as Stone looked up to see two figures enter the room with heavy weapons. Before he could do anything, his vision clouded, and he blacked out. ---------------------------------------------- I reloaded my rocket launcher, and finished off the rest of the hunters near the opening. The lieutenant carried the large box of mines to the opening, and spread them generously across the floor. I fired another rocket, and watched a crowd of grunts disappear, the methane in their tanks aiding the explosion. Pieces of their armor ricocheted outward, and dispersed the shields of some of the nearby elites. I turned my attention from the fiery battlefield and made my way to Keiichi. "You still alive under there?" I yelled under the massive hulk. A muffled response was all I got. I nodded, looking with apprehension at the wall that pinned him, t was much too heavy for any of us to lift, the Spartan would have to get himself out of there. Almost as a response, it started to shake, slowly moving to the side as the Spartan used all his strength to slide it off of him. I gave Duncan a nod, and he began ushering the others into another room, away from the fire of the Covenant, now that the entrance was guarded by explosives. As they left, he began to unpack an automated turret that we had snagged from the room below us. As he finished, it began firing at a curious grunt, ending its life before it got to the mines. I looked down, and the Spartan was now visible, his head bleeding he moved the wall aside, finally uncovering himself enough to stand. He staggered into the other room, his arm over my shoulder, giving what little support I could give to a man that large and heavy. Duncan was right behind us, carrying the unconscious body of Lance Corporal Stone. "Luck, you still up there?" I asked over the comm. "Almost there, Roland... LZ...hot...better...ready to...out here...arrive.." She replied, the electromagnetic interferance from the plasma fire distorting the signal. I tapped into the systems array, which was much more powerful. "Say again, Luck" "I said I'm almost there, but the LZ is hot, you better be ready to haul ass out here when I arrive. Damn, Roland, I can see the smoke from here, you sure cooked up a firestorm this time." "Well, you know my style, Luck. We'll be ready, give us a signal when you're about to touch down." "Will do." with that, our conversation ended, and I turned towards the rest of the soldiers. I opened my mouth to speak, when a signal came in over the comm. "Duncan, Roland, this is Wesley. I'm finished up down here and heading back up. We've got five minutes 'till this thing blows, your ride better be here soon." "Five minutes!" I yelled back, "That's cuttin' awful close!" "That was the longest I could set it for, Sergeant, I'll explain once we're outta here." [i]If we get out of here.[/i] I thought. "Luck, you need to double time it over here, we have five minutes until this whole place blows." "Come again, Roland? Did you say-" "Yes! Five minutes! How long will it take you to get here." "Well, normally it'd be about 7 minutes, but, since we're pals and all, I guess I could do it in three." Luck replied, her humor taking point, despite the circumstances. "I'd get ready if I were you, Roland. It's gonna be a quick touchdown." An explosion shook the building, an unfortunate Covenant soldier had wandered a little too close to the mines, a mistake he wouldn't be able to make again. "I'm on it." I answered hastily. I turned to the rest of the men. "OK, we've got five minutes to get outta here, and a transport here in three. When she touches down, we're gonna need to get through the doorway and into the dropship as quick as we can." I looked around. Frank Young was still alive, the last civillian left. Reynolds was still there, and was helping Stone wake up. Duncan and the two other remaining ODST's were still enigmatic behind their visors, and a fourth, whose visor was shattered, stood expressionless by his comrades. The Spartan, Keiichi, stood tall, his head no longer bleeding, even more mysterious than the ODST's, and twice as deadly. "Spartan, will you cover our exit?" I asked. "I'd be glad to, sir, but I'll need a helmet. That Pelican's gonna kick up a lot of dirt, and a helmet will allow me to see what I can't, and shoot them through the dust." A moment of silence filled the room. "Take mine." All turned to see the owner of the voice was Duncan. I was in disbelief, [i]an ODST reaching out to a Spartan?[/i] "It should interface with your armor, similar to how it does with ours. Take it, you'll need it more than I will." Keiichi accepted the helmet, and put it on. I didn't doubt that he felt more comfortable with a helmet on. There was no more time or sentiment, as a voice sounded in my ear. "Roland, I'm touchin' down, get your asses out here before they take out my bird!" "Our ride is here, men! Let's get outta here!" "I'll hold up and grab Wesley." Duncan asserted. "Get in that pelican." I followed the Spartan to the doorway. He pulled out a pistol, and fired a single shot to disable to automated turret. In a single, fluid motion, he pulled a grenade and tossed it into the sea of mines. The ground shook from the explosion, but the Spartan didn't slow down, he ran through the flames as the pelican lowered into our view. He shoulder a DMR and began firing through the dust. The rest of us ran towards the dropship. Two stray shots took down an ODST each, but the rest of us made it through. I manned the machine gun turret in the back, and Reynolds, Stone, Frank Young, and the ODST took seats. The Spartan hopped up, and took a seat with his legs dangling out of the back. "Hold up, we've got two more coming!" I yelled to Luck. "Well, they better hurry up, I need to get outta here!" She lifted the pelican a bit and began spinning around, firing the chin-mounted machine gun at the Covenant. I reciprocated and fired the turret, the Spartan taking shots as well. "Sir, we have one minute until detonation." The Spartan advised me. "Duncan, can you hear me!?" I yelled into the comm. No reply. Then I remembered that Duncan didn't have his helmet, he had no comm. "Wesley!? Where are you?" "On the way, just out of the elevator." I looked at the doorway and waited. "Roland, we need to get outta here!" Luck yelled frantically as the pelican took more damage. "I see them sir!" Keiichi shouted. I looked and he was right. They were there, running full-speed out of the doorway. "GO!GO!GO!" I ordered Luck. She hit the thrusters and began lifting off as Wesley and Duncan jumped. The Spartan grabbed their arms and pulled them both in. We were safe, for now. I sat down and rested my head on the back of the seat, letting myself relax, however long it would last, it was almost peaceful. I closed my eyes, and waited for the troubling night ahead. [Edited on 10.13.2010 2:06 PM PDT]