Woohoo! Page 4! also... [b][i][u]Chapter 14[/u][/i][/b] Vano Tynamee stared hard at the human weapon in his hand. His four fingers wrapped uncomfortably around the crudely shaped handle of the pistol. His broken mind mended as the sudden reality struck him. He activated his communication device and sent a message to the nearby cruiser [i]Sovereignty of the Ancients[/i]. His words were muddled by spurts of blood, the wound in his stomach wreaking havoc on his body. "This is Field Marshall Vano Tynamee of the Zealot team in sector twelve of the human planet 'Reach.' We have failed to retrieve the data, as the humans have destroyed it." He stopped to cough violently as his body shook with pain. He tried to calm himself, but his anger rose to a climax. "I request retaliation! Burn this mountain into a crater! I am the last of the team, and I have been dishonored. Your Fleet Master lies dead at the hands of these humans!" He coughed again. This time his throat gurgled with blood, his anger receding as he accepted his fate. He spoke slower and quieter with difficulty. "I haven't any time left, and I regret that I will not be alive to see this mountain fall. Do not take pity on this dying warrior. Make haste to right the deaths of this team. Swiftly punish those responsible for our defeat." "You may have taken this final pawn, humans," He spoke to himself, "but you forgot to account for the events outside of the board." With that, he removed his helmet and steadied his grip on the strange human weapon. He opened his mandibles wide as the cold steel pressed itself against the roof of his mouth. "Checkmate." He chuckled as he pulled the trigger. ------- "So, how many of those elites have you managed to take out?" I asked the Commander as we made our way back to the infirmary. "Including that one, it should be four. That just leaves one." "So, there was that elite, then the two by the equipment storage room -" "Wait, we only killed one by the equipment room." The Major cut in. "There were two elite bodies there." I assured them. "One was right next to the other, both of them killed by energy swords." "We need to go back and see." Collins decided. "If what you say is true, then we have cleared the elites out of this mountain." We turned around, heading back to the two bodies. Luckily, they knew the way. I didn't want to get lost again. ------- Ship Master N'las Garumee replayed the message once more, anger welling up inside of him. Each painful cough from the Field Marshall only hardened his nerve as he turned his ship around. The Zealot team may have failed, but [i]Sovereignty of the Ancients[/i] would not. That mountain would be reduced to rubble if it took days, although N'las knew that it would only take a matter of minutes. "Prepare the plasma beams, brothers!" He spoke fervently to his crew "Our Zealots have failed! We must avenge their deaths and prove our worth. Forward! For the Hierarchs!" His crew roared in affirmation, working the controls of the massive ship with ease as their lifetimes of training led their fingers to action. R'las grinned with anticipation. He had been waiting for action like this. He would not leave that mountain standing. ------- The Commander stood, confused, over the two bodies. There was, of course, the Fleet Master's body, but there was also another elite. "How could this get here? We only killed the one." The Major asked, confused as well. "It's not the one that I shot." Tanner chipped in. "It's not the one that I killed either." The Major replied "That is, unless it was carried all the way over from the Officer's Wing." "I don't really care [i]how[/i] it died." The Commander stated "I only care that it [i]is[/i] dead. If it isn't one of the four that we've already killed, then our work here is done. I don't care if it killed itself. I don't care if one of the other elites killed it. I don't even care if some other marine killed it. I just know that it's dead. It's over. Let's just get back to the infirmary, and then we can worry about getting the power up and running again." Seeing the truth in his words, we couldn't help but agree. We turned back to the infirmary, once again entering the dark labyrinth of CLINIC Base. This time, however, we knew that it was safe, and a certain peace seemed to wash over us. The whispering was over, and the we all talked joyously in the now uncharacteristically dark halls. The Zealots were dead, and CLINIC Base was ours again. ------- Luck ran her fingers across the dents that peppered the pelican's hull. She had landed on a neighboring mountain with a clear view to CLINIC Base, and had been giving her new pelican a thorough inspection. She was still bitter over being shot down by banshees at the Covenant encampment, and she wanted to make sure that this new bird was up to snuff. She stepped back into the cockpit and was double checking all her controls and dials when she saw it. Glancing through the hardened glass, the smooth, purple hull caught her attention. A Covenant ship was approaching CLINIC Base. -------

We were nearly back to the infirmary when my comm started buzzing. "Roland! Roland, this is Luck! Can you hear me!" "I hear you, Luck. What is it?" "A damned cruiser, Roland, heading straight for the mountain! You need to get your ass outta there fast!" The others heard that too, and we all fell silent, instantly doubling our pace to get to the infirmary. "Hang tight, Luck, but be ready to get over here at a moment's notice. We need to evaluate things here before we do anything." "OK, Roland, but hurry, that cruiser won't take long to get here." As we entered the infirmary, my heart sank. The rows of beds seemed to go on forever, coughing and moaning the only sounds besides the words of the nurses, who were few and far between. The Major motioned us over to a specific bed, where a man with his head wrapped in bandages lay. As we approached, he started scribbling onto a sheet of paper. [i]Who else have you found, Commander?[/i] He wrote. "Staff Sergeant, this is Lieutenant James Duncan, Corporal Benjamin Bishop, and Sergeant Jonathan Roland and his squad. Sergeant, this is Staff Sergeant Nelson, the highest ranking Non-Com in here." The Commander explained. On impulse, I saluted, realizing afterward that he couldn't see it anyway. [i]Hello, Sergeant.[/i] Nelson wrote [i]Are you injured, or did you come here to help fight off the Covenant?[/i] "I came here when I received word that this base was under attack. We carried the Major here when he was injured." [i]Well, you're all back. I take it that means you got them?[/i] "We didn't get 'em all, but they're all dead, regardless." Collins assured. "Our next step will be getting the power back on, if possible. We've got some bad news that we need to get to HIGHCOM." [i]Bad news?[/i] "We may have eliminated the Covenant here, but there's a cruiser heading this way." [i]Damn... But they want the data, so they wouldn't dare do too much damage until they have it.[/i] "Yes, we destroyed the data, but they can't know that. They'll continue to hit us with all they've got until they find out. We need to get a message to HIGHCOM to send reinforcements, and we need to get the power back up. I have a feeling that this mountain is going to turn into one of the biggest battles on this planet." [i]Get with Nurse Balehnco. She'll get the other nurses organized to get the rest of the patients to whatever safety we can find. There are also six more floors like this. They need to know.[/i] "We can send a message to HIGHCOM through Roland's pelican, but how can we contact the other floors?" "There's a universal intercom." A soft voice cut in. Turning, we all noticed Nurse Balehnco standing behind us. "If you can get the power back on, you can speak to everyone in this entire mountain with it." She looked around to Duncan, Bishop, my squad and I, and held out her hand. "I'm Rebecca, by the way, Rebecca Balehnco." We all shook her hand and introduced ourselves. It was strange introducing ourselves like that. Over the years we had all grown used to the detachment that soldiers had to other people. It never came down to names, being a soldier was the only identification we needed with regular people. This was a welcome change. "Where is the intercom?" I asked. "It's in the main office of each floor. There's an AI that runs this facility, and he controls the intercom, among other things." She replied. "What other things?" Collins added. "Blast doors, power distribution, defense systems -" "-This place has defense systems?" "Yes, the UNSC always suspected that the Insurrectionists would attack this place, especially since this is the biggest military hospital on the planet. They made sure to make it as impregnable as possible. I don't know what kind of armaments it has, but Asclepius will know." "Ascelpius?" "The AI, he took his name from the Greek God of medicine, the guy with the snake-entwined staff. When the power went out, though, he should have lost all control over the facility." "Alright then," Collins stated "that AI is top priority. We need to get the power back so he can be reactivated. Lieutenant, you and Corporal Bishop will take Jinn down to the generators and get them up and running again." "Yes sir." Duncan saluted "Are there any injured engineers here that can assist? I have a pretty general knowledge of mechanics, but I may need someone with more extensive experience." "Nurse Balehnco, can you check for injured engineers among the patients?" "I'll get started." She replied, walking away to begin. "Sergeant Roland, take two others to the main office and retrieve the AI module. You need to bring the AI back here. When the power comes back on, he can get the message through to the other floors." "Will do, sir." I answered, motioning to Stone and Reynolds to follow me. "The rest of you," Collins continued, speaking to Tanner, Young, and Strauss "you'll get to assist me in setting up makeshift defenses and finding a way to keep the remaining patients safe." He was beginning to organize them when we left for the main office. All fear for the place was gone now, replaced by a sense of sheer urgency. We remembered the path back to the office, and Stone was grateful that he wouldn't be crawling through the vent this time. We were only a few paces from the infirmary when I opened my comm with Luck. "Luck, this is Roland. Can you patch me through to HIGHCOM?" "I should be able to, yeah. I take it you want to tell 'em about this cruiser?" "Exactly. How close is it, Luck?" "It's hard to tell, the things are massive, so it looks a lot closer than it is. I'd say you've got an hour or so before it's on top of you." "We think we can hold out, at least for a while. This place has defensive measures that should help us repel a direct attack by ground forces. I need to get reinforcements from HIGHCOM if we want to last long, though." "I'm workin' on it, Roland. I'm sure they're a bit busy at the moment, it may take a while to get a hold of them. When I've got them on the line, I'll patch them through to you." "Alright, and I'll patch them to the Commander." "Commander? How much brass is down there, Roland?" "Not much, Luck, it's just him and the Major, at least on this floor. Let me know when you've got HIGHCOM." "Will do. Keep yourself busy." "You know I always do." With that, I terminated the link, and focused my attention once again to finding the main office. ------- [Edited on 08.14.2011 7:18 PM PDT]

Duncan, Bishop, and Jinn stared at the broken generator. As Duncan circled the surprisingly small equipment, he noticed the cut. Water pooled on the floor below the missing section of the cooling pipe. Without water to cool the small fission reactor, it quickly overheated and shut down. Only the battery-powered control console stayed on. "Here's the problem." Duncan informed the others "The elites sliced the coolant pipe, we'll need to reattach it. Look for a blowtorch in the toolbox over there." With that, Bishop and Jinn turned to the mechanical toolbox that was normally used for routine maintenance. "Got one!" Bishop exclaimed before long, tossing the device to Duncan. Duncan turned the thing over in his hands, recognizing it as the same tool he had used years earlier to repair a malfunctioning warthog. Immediately, he saw the problem. "This thing is old, the batteries are lithium rechargables. It may have been useful in the past, but it's obsolete now. They're dead, and we need the generator to charge them up again." "Great..." Bishop replied sarcastically, "What else could we use to fix it? Anything?" "...I don't know." Duncan admitted as he activated his comm "Commander, this is Duncan." "Lieutenant," the Commander's confident voice boomed into Duncan's helmet "the power isn't up yet, what's happened?" "The elites sliced off the coolant pipe, the generator would overheat in seconds if we turned it back on. We have a blowtorch to reattach the piece of pipe, but it needs power that we don't have. Has Nurse Balehnco found anyone that can help us?" "There's one man, but he's blind. He'll have to help you from here, if he can." "It'll have to do, the tools here are outdated, all of them old-fashioned lithium batteries. The charges only last a few hours, and they've been sitting here for a long time." "I'll get him on the line, Duncan, you just sit tight." ------- We approached the main office once again, passing easily through the destroyed door. "Either of you two know what an AI looks like?" I asked Stone and Reynolds. "I've never seen one." Stone replied. "Don't they look like people?" Reynolds pried. "They do when they're on, but this one is off. What we're looking for is the AI's containment chip. If this place wasn't so torn apart, it'd be much easier to find. Looks for a console of some kind, the chip plugs in to that." We proceeded to turn over pieces of drywall and ceiling that had fallen from either the elite's sword slashes or the explosion in the air duct, hoping to see something that could be remotely recognized as a console. I started around the desk, sliding the half-smoldering papers from the black-speckled wood surface. "Roland, I've got them!" Luck's voice cut in over the comm "Send me through to the Commander." I pulled up the comm controls on my wrist computer, and sent the connection to Collins. I would still be able to hear the conversation, but he would be the one speaking. "Hello, who is this?" Collins' voice came in loud and clear. "Commander, this is Tracey Lukenowski, Sergeant Roland's pilot. I've got a connection to HIGHCOM." "Alright, send me through." I heard a slight pop as Luck terminated her connection and connected it to her link with HIGHCOM. "This is General Kaiso, who is this?" An older voice with a heavy accent questioned over the new connection. "Hello, General, this is Commander David Collins at CLINIC Base." "CLINIC Base? What's the situation, Commander?" "Our power's been cut. A small team of elites somehow got into the generator room and disabled them. They were after some data here, but we managed to take them out." "No power? Have any of the backup systems activated to keep life-support running?" "No sir. All patients who were on any form of life-support are now dead. Most of the staff are either dead or in hiding, and we have no contact with the other six levels. The worst news is that there is a cruiser heading right for us, trying to get this data. We have, at most, twenty soldiers in fighting shape. We need reinforcements if we want to keep the wounded out of harm's way." "Most of our troops are deployed, Commander. This whole planet's one big hell-hole. I'll see what I can muster up and send them your way. It won't be soon, though, CLINIC is quite a distance from us. Hold your position as long as you can." "I will. I hope it doesn't take too long. If it does, I'm afraid that your men will be picking bodies out of the rubble instead of fighting." "I fear the very same. Don't let those fears become reality, Commander. Godspeed." With that, the connection was severed, and we were once again alone. "Hey, Sarge," Stone called, breaking the silence "I think I found it." Approaching him, I recognized the edge of what appeared to be a holographic dock for and AI, something I hadn't seen in a long time. Feeling around the device, I found the small indentation and pressed inward. There was a quiet click as the chip popped out of the console and into my hand. As I held it in my hand, a small, blue figure appeared above the chip. "Quickly!" He said with urgency "There are Covenant inside the facility!" "We know, they've been dealt with." I assured. A look of relief flooded over the AI's face with the news. "Good, but the power is still out. I don't know how they avoided detection until the generator room." "It doesn't matter now. What defenses does this facility have?" "CLINIC Base is equipped with blast doors, a few automated turrets by the hangar, and is surrounded by a strong ferromagnetic alloy to protect against minor plasma weaponry... I thought you said that the Covenant were dealt with." "They were, but now their friends are on their way." "Ah, well in that case we need to get the power up and running, so that I may activate the defenses and notify the other six floors of the situation." "That's why we're taking you to the infirmary. Hopefully the power will be on by the time we get back there." "Of course. Have you considered moving the wounded soldiers? I estimate that 37% of the patients in the facility will have perished in the absence of life-support. The remaining 63% should be moved to the lower floors once the power returns, I'm sure our team of trained doctors and -" "-Your doctors and nurses are gone. Only a few stayed with the patients." "Oh, that is an unexpected development. I will have to reevaluate possible evacuation plans when we arrive at the infirmary." "Well, then, let's get moving, shall we?" "Of course." Asclepius replied, ending the conversation by turning the small holographic chip off. ------- "...And there are no tools in there with power cells?" Corporal Hall asked over the comm. He had been the only marine in the infirmary with mechanical knowledge, as he was an mechanic for the UNSC before being transferred to active duty. "Nothing but lithium, we need to find another way to reattach the pipe." Duncan answered. "Well... is the pipe intake our exhaust?" "How can I tell?" "What direction is the pipe coming from?" "It's coming from the floor, and going into the generator." "OK, so it's intake. The exhaust will go upwards, as the water will turn to steam to cool the fission reactor. I may have an idea, but it may involve you getting a little wet." "I can deal with wet. What do ya' got?" "If you simply hold the pipe in place, enough water should get to the generator to keep it running for a little while. You can use the power to charge the blowtorch, and then you can permanently put it back into place. Do you have anything that could be used as a temporary sealant?" "The bandages on my arm should work." Jinn spoke up. "I only need the top half of them, and they're watertight, to prevent bleeding." "It'll have to work." Hall continued. "Just get the pipe into place so that you can turn the generator on. It will only run for a few minutes, but it should give you enough time to get the torch charged, if only a little bit." "Alright, we'll try that. Can the torch be operated while its battery is charging? We could weld it back into place while the generator is up." "It would work, yes, but the water would prevent the pipe from getting hot enough to weld it back." By this time, Bishop and Jinn were already putting the pipe into place, and had the blowtorch plugged in. "OK... Do you have any idea how to get this thing back on? It's like the console is written in a foreign language, I'm not getting a word of it." "No clue, you'll have to toy around with it a bit until it turns on. Don't forget, science is 90% luck and 10% knowledge." "Yeah, and 50% math... Let's just hope I'm still good at pushing buttons." -------

We made it all the way back to the infirmary without a peep from Asclepius, and Collins was waiting for us at the entrance, behind one of the many walls he had built from extra beds and medical supplies. "I take it you got the AI?" He asked. My answer came as I held up the chip. "Good, Duncan and the others should have the generator back up soon." "Roland, this is Luck." a familiar voice sounded in my ear. "That cruiser is right on top of the mountain. The thing is huge, I can barely see the edges of it." "Let's just hope they wait a bit to send in their troops." I replied. Suddenly, the power popped back on, the ground humming with the buzz of the generators. The patients that could cheered, but their cheers subsided as the ground continued to shake. It wasn't the generators. Luck's voice came in once more, but this time full of panic. "Roland! Whatever you've got, they don't want it. They are glassing the mountain! Roland get somewhere..." The voice faded away as the roar of shaking earth drowned it out completely. Nurses started screaming as patients fell out of their beds. I watched in frozen horror as the walls around me cracked, the long, spider-like gaps extending into the stone floors as the shaking intensified. Instinct finally took over and I dove for whatever cover I could find, taking cover under a gurney as Stone, Reynolds, and the others did the same. "Damn lunatics!" I heard the Major yell "They're bringing the whole damned mountain down!" Before I could answer, the ceiling started coming down, chunks of the mountain crushing anything they landed on. The bone-shattering thuds of the impacts rattled me until my mind went black. ------- There you go, 13 and 14. At this pace, 15 shouldn't be too far off.

Crap, that was quite a release. Very, very awesome. Your revelation at the end really caught me offguard. Bring on Chapter 15!

Gah, so I've been really busy in the last month, since the semester started, and haven't had much time to write. I did have the chance to start the next chapter, but it's only about half-way done. I do have another beach trip this weekend, so I should be able to finish it then. Hopefully I won't keep you waiting too much longer.

That's okay. I'm prepared to wait. The next chapter should be really interesting.

yeah... classes have been keeping me a lot busier than expected... I have half of the chapter finished, but I have yet to find a way to tie that half into the next chapter. ..and now Skyrim is out... Still, not a day goes by that I don't think about this chapter. I have had tons of ideas, but none of them have fit so far. It's only a matter of time before I find the right puzzle piece, so that I can get the ball rolling once again...

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Gr33n Knight ..and now Skyrim is out... [/quote]Oh, man... none of us will ever get anything done now.

Well, I'm finally tiring of Skyrim, so I can get back to writing... again... I also read Primordium, and a few other assorted books, so I'm kind of itching to write... we'll see what happens

Good to hear!

You have a new reader. Read all of the chapters, there really good so far, can't wait for the next chapter

About time, damnit, Green! I'd thought you'd abandoned us... :(

Great stuff, amazing last chapter so far!

I started to read your story and nice job.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Gr33n Knight There you go, 13 and 14. At this pace, 15 shouldn't be too far off.[/quote]...Let's just forget I said that... Anyway, after over 6 months of procrastination, distraction, dragonslaying, and all kinds of stuff, Chapter 15 is done!! At this pace, I'll be to Chapter 20 by 2014... In all honesty, this story has been churning in the back of my mind for months now. Finally, I had the time to sit down and write, and this should be enough to get me back into only somewhat long time periods between chapters. I've been really focused on my classes this semester so that I can keep my scholarship, but I'm finally getting into the rhythm of assignments, and will have time to write. Now that I've made excuses and promises that I can't keep, it's finally time for Chapter 15. It's a tad short, but the chapters will get longer as I get back into the habit of writing... I hope... [quote][/quote][b][u][i]Chapter 15[/i][/u][/b] Luck watched in horror as the mountain crumbled under the assault, her voice hoarse from screaming Roland's name into the comm. Her mind shut down from utter helplessness, and her legs wobbled as she fell against the outer hull of the pelican. She snapped back into clarity just in time to see the approaching shockwave shake the trees between her and the mountain, many of them being ripped from the ground by the force of it. Standing back on her feet, she dove into the pelican as it was hit by the blast. Luck grabbed a harness in the pelican as the ship was thrown into the air, crashing down into a grove of trees on the other side of the hill. Grabbing Roland's Assault Rifle off of the ground, she crawled out of the overturned pelican and through the trunks of felled trees, making her way back to the clearing she had landed in. She rose to her feet and saw the burning mountain, the top half of it gone completely. Smoke rose from the trees around the it as they spread the flames. The Covenant ship was already leaving the area, its job done. "Roland!" She tried once more over the comm, receiving nothing but static, the glassing beam disabling all nearby electronics with an EMP. Pulling the useless earpiece out, she stepped forward, and began running to the mountain. ------- As I lay unconscious in the rubble, my mind was flooded by memories. I watched myself wake up with a start as explosions rang in my ears. I was back on the [i]Resolute[/i], not long after Jericho VII was glassed. The Covenant had followed us from the planet, and we now drifted over the surface of Harvest, which had only recently been won back from the aliens. I pushed open the glass of the cryo-pod and looked around as all the marines rushed to get dressed and ready. Sense kicked in and I followed suit, my body aching. Private Williams was next to me, and saw the discomfort on my face. "Freezerburn, eh?" He asked. Apparently, being frozen caused aches and sores to develop in areas where skin came into contact with anything else. Most marines dubbed these lesions 'Freezerburn,' and it was something you got used to. I ignored Williams and continued getting dressed. Down towards the end of the room, something caught my eye, and I turned to see the Spartans emerging from their pods, still in full armor; they loomed above the rest of the soldiers. They quickly left the room, weapons drawn. "What's going on?" I asked Williams, confused by the relative calm of the marines in the chaos. "The Covenant are here." He stated plainly. My stomach tightened as I realized the situation, the feeling soon replaced by apprehension. This was my first chance to get revenge for my sister's death. I picked up my new Assault Rifle and slammed the clip into the back of the weapon. "You [i]do[/i] know how to use that thing, don't you?" Williams asked, concerned. "Only one way to find out." I answered. I didn't want to mention my training in the Insurrection, so I figured that a natural proficiency with weapons would be a better explanation. We formed up around Sergeant Yang, and I caught a nod from Corporal Walker as he stood across from me in the impromptu circle around the Sergeant. "I've received word that the Covenant are sending pods in our direction." He began "I don't know what they want on this ship, but they're boarding us for one reason or another. We only need to hold them off until support from Harvest's surface arrives. Only one Covenant ship is here, but all of Harvest's ships are docked for repair from the recent battle, so we're on our own against it. I want you to spread around the ship, keeping an ear in on the comms to hear word of nearby breaches. If everything goes to hell, get to the hangar and get out, you may be able to make it to the surface." Everyone nodded in understanding, but nobody spoke. "Geertz, Stockholm, Walker, Butler, McEwen, Linwood, and Rowe, each of you will take a squad. Williams, Van Lindle, and Hersch, you're with me." "Good luck, Rook." Williams said quietly as he followed the Sergeant out of the room. I instantly moved over towards Walker, the only familiar face in the room, and was soon joined by Privates Green and Sennett. After brief introductions, we made our way to the mess hall. The mess hall was eerily quiet, a stark contrast from how it had been before everyone had gone into cryo storage. With no direction to go, and no chatter over the comm, all we could do was wait for something to happen. Green sat down at a table by the entrance, and began rubbing his knees, which were sore from freezerburn. "I don't know if I'll ever get used to cryo-pods." He stated. "Every time I wake up in one of those things, I -" The wall next to Green exploded as a Covenant pod crashed through it, tearing the table to shreds, and crushing Green. As we all reacted, raising our weapons towards the pod, an elite leaped out of it, sending a bolt of plasma into Sennett's skull. Walker lobbed a grenade as I turned over a table for cover. "We have a breach in the mess hall!" Walker yelled into the comm, barely audible over the thud of the grenade. "I repeat: Breach in the mess hall!" I peeked over the table and fired at the elite as the grunts began to pour out of the pod. Walker tossed another grenade and made short work of the majority of them as I continued peppering the elite with bullets. A blue streak arched over us and stuck to the table behind ours, giving off a faint whistling sound. We dove from cover as the grenade detonated, leaving only a molten crater where we had just been. The elite took the opportunity and let the plasma fly as we got to our feet. I leaped onto a nearby table and began hopping from one to the other to avoid the shots, Walker following suit in the other direction. As the elite tracked me with it's weapon, Walker made a wide arc, coming back at it. When it realized that, Walker was already leaping at the alien, combat knife drawn. As he impacted the powerful creature, his knife dug into its shoulder. As the pair hit the floor, the elite crying out in pain, the remaining grunts opened fire on Walker, who quickly rolled over with the elite, putting it between the plasma and him. The elite grabbed Walker's wrist tightly, snapping bones as his powerful grip compressed them. Before he could do any more damage, however, the grunts' shots hit, the plasma searing the elite's armored back and tearing their way into its chest cavity. As Walker pulled himself away from the now dead elite, I turned and opened fire at the few grunts that remained, finishing them off easily. "Bastard broke my wrist!" Walker cursed, clutching his mangled hand. I got a quick look at the injury before another explosion sounded behind us, another pod breaching the wall. We turned and fired, but Walker was unable to aim with his left hand. Knowing that I couldn't take them alone, we turned and ran. More marines were on their way, and would be able to fend them off. Once in the hallway, I turned to make sure that Walker was alright. He wasn't there. Peering back into the mess hall, I saw him on the floor, his back hit with plasma. I was alone. I primed a grenade and tossed it towards the crowd of Covenant, not sticking around to see the results. I ran through the halls of the ship, unable find any other marines. As I stumbled through the carnage, I scavenged an earpiece from a fallen Corporal. The comm was filled with screams, desperate requests for help as the Covenant breached the ship from every side. The sound slowly died down as the Covenant did their work, a pit forming in my stomach as I listened to the marines falling, one-by-one, to the might of the Covenant. [Edited on 02.19.2012 10:49 AM PST]

After what seemed like hours, I finally saw movement. As I drew nearer, I recognized the figure as an elite. He gave one last look around, and entered the pod. The Covenant were leaving. A feeling of relief washed over me. Then I realized why they were leaving. Turning from the pod, I ran for the hangar. They had what they wanted, this ship wasn't going to last much longer. Vague memory guided me through the halls as my lungs burned from the strain. My mind blocked out the bodies of the marines that littered the hall, psychological blinders keeping my focus on escape. Finally, I reached the hangar, only two pelicans left. "Come on, kid!" Luck called from the hangar floor. "We need to get the [i]hell[/i] outta here!" I leaped down the stairs in a desperate attempt to get there faster. The second pelican belonged to the Spartans, and they were waiting as well. Looking toward the exit, I saw the Covenant ship let off a blast of plasma. As it raced towards us, I neared my escape. It slammed into the ship as I dove for the pelican, grabbing hold of a hydraulic lift as the atmosphere was sucked from the ship. "Pull him in!" I heard someone yell as my hand slipped from the lift, the pull of vacuum picking my feet up into the air. As my hand released its grip, a firm hand grasped my shirt, tossing me into the pelican. I grabbed a harness as I turned to see the Spartan. "Get out of here, now!" his deep voice ordered, the door to the pelican already closing. I looked up to see Luck next to me, a different pilot at the helm. Looking through the windshield, I watched a fiery streak pierce the Covenant vessel, a slug from a Mass Driver on the surface of the planet. As the adrenaline subsided, my fatigue came in fast, vision fading to black as I lay on the cold metal grating of the pelican's floor. My eyes drooped and I dissolved into unconsciousness. "Stay with me, kid!" Luck's voice sounded in the blackness "Kid! Jonathan! Jonathan!... Roland! Stay with me Roland! Roland!... ------- "Roland!" a much older voice rang in my ears as I came around. "Roland!" Luck's voice came again, this time louder. I felt a pressure in my hand, and my eyes opened. As my vision came back, I saw Luck pulling me from the rubble, Collins standing close behind her. "Roland, you alright?" Luck asked me, relief showing on her face. [i]Never better[/i] I tried to joke, but only coughs came out, my lungs purging the dust from my body. I looked around and saw Nurse Balehnco tending to a few survivors. Young and Tanner were supporting the Major between them, and Reynolds was helping the Nurse. I coughed again, this time able to ask a question. "Where's Duncan? Stone, Strauss, Bishop?" "Stone and Strauss are further up in the rubble, looking for more survivors. We haven't found the ODSTs yet. They were in a different part of the complex" Luck answered solemnly. As Luck and I struggled to pull the rest of me out of the rubble, I realized how few had survived. Only a handful of the injured lay, moaning, on the jagged rocks. Many more bodies lay silent, too few sheets to cover them all. I looked myself over, finding no wounds. Amazed, I looked back at the small crater that I had just been exhumed from, the gurney I had dove under mangled by the weight of the rock. That gurney had saved me, holding enough pressure away to keep me from being crushed. Looking down to my wrist, I noticed that my wrist computer had once again been wiped by the EMP. I pulled out the AI chip that housed Asclepius, the light in the center no longer lit. "The EMP must have wiped him" Nurse Balehnko noted as she passed by, her tone soft and sympathetic. "Are you sure you're good, Roland?" Luck asked once more. "Yeah," I answered, sliding the AI chip back into my pocket "thanks. See if you can help search for more survivors." Luck gave a somber nod and walked off in the direction of Strauss. I looked back again at the gurney, running through the map of CLINIC Base in my mind. Following the floor plan of the demolished labyrinth, I tried my best to recollect the location of the generator room. I surveyed the rubble that surrounded me, looking for any sign of the ODSTs. After a few minutes, I heard a muffled pop behind me. I stopped, keeping the sound of my own footsteps from interfering. Silence, then another pop. I turned and tried to trace the sound, not sure what it was. Suddenly, the familiarity of the sound rang in my ears: it was gunfire. I got down on my knees and started tossing pieces of the mountain out of the way. Finally, an arm burst from the stone before me, and I pulled Duncan from the rubble, closely followed by Bishop and Jinn. Both ODSTs removed their helmets and took deep breaths. "Took you long enough!" Duncan managed to speak "We were running out of ammo." The Lieutenant, gave a brief smile and we joined the others, looking for any other survivors. ------- We all sat, huddled, around the bonfire as the cold night set in. I saw Nurse Balehnco through the flames, her head resting on Reynolds's shoulder. Her responsibility to the injured soldiers was over. All of those that were pulled from the rubble had perished before sundown. Her tears shone a glistening red and orange as the fire flickered before them. Next to her sat Luck, staring into the distance with a look of sorrow on her face. Duncan, Collins, and the Major sat around a radio, half-crushed by the rubble and fried by the EMP, they had little hope, if any, of getting it to work. The others: Bishop, Strauss, Tanner, Jinn, Young and Stone were moving the bodies, laying them in rows to be buried in the rubble. I sat in shock, still half in disbelief from the sudden and unexpected attack. My eyes strained, unfocused, into the dark night sky as my mind refused to function. Suddenly my eye's caught on a light. What was it? A shooting star, a chunk of space debris arcing through the sky? I absentmindedly pondered the light until the sound grew loud enough to notice. Almost as if a switch had been turned, all focus turned to the approaching light, and the Albatross attached to it. As it came in closer for a landing, struggling to to find an area flat enough to do so, the realization appeared to sink in, and looks of relief washed over a few of our faces. Our reinforcements had arrived, but only in time to count the dead. I was glad that they were late. There would have been nothing they could have done against a glassing. Those of us that survived only did so because of the mountain in the Covenant's way. The rubble shifted as the immense weight of the aircraft settled down a few meters from our fire. I stood, looking over to Commander Collins as the door hissed open. Salutes sprung up all around as General Kaiso himself stepped onto the crumbling rock. His eyes scanned our small group, lingering on Collins, then me, sadness weighing visibly on his brow. Collins took the first steps towards the Albatross, and Duncan, Salvich, and I followed suit. "Are these all the survivors?" He asked once we were close. "Unfortunately, sir. They torched the mountain. The entire base collapsed on top of us. Those of us that are still here are luckier than most." Collins answered. "That, I can see." Kaiso sighed, his eyes gazing past us to the rows of the dead. "If I'd have know what the outcome would be, I'd have brought water and bandages, not bullets and explosives." Kaiso looked at each of us, then spoke again. "I have room on the Albatross for your group. My men will spend the night burying the dead. These men fought to their last breaths, despite their wounds. They at least deserve a burial. You four and your men have earned a rest. We'll dust off in the morning, and I'll take you back to HIGHCOM." We nodded, gave another round of salutes, then turned to spread the word. As we walked back to the bonfire, Kaiso addressed Collins once more. "Commander," Collins turned back to the General "do you think we can win this war?" Collins stood silent for a moment before sounding his reply. "I don't know General. What I do know, is that every single one of these men fought to their dying breath to protect the rest of us, and that I will gladly do the same." Collins swept his arm in the direction of the deceased. "Can the Covenant say the same? General, I don't know whether or not we can win this war. But I do know that the Covenant are going to have to go through hell to make us lose it." "I hope you're right Commander." The General nodded slowly as Collins' words sank in. "For all of our sakes, I hope to God you're right." [Edited on 02.19.2012 1:18 PM PST]

Nice chapter, are you going to continue writing flashbacks in chapters, or was this a one time thing?

I just read through the entire thing on one sit, really enjoyed it!

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] krnlcheese Nice chapter, are you going to continue writing flashbacks in chapters, or was this a one time thing?[/quote]I'm not entirely sure yet. It definitely isn't going to be a constant thing, but I may include a few, possibly for other characters. With the plan I have, there will be at least one more down the line. If there will be more, I cannot say. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] FinFihlman I just read through the entire thing on one sit, really enjoyed it![/quote]Thanks! Glad you like it. More will come, I've been meaning to pick this back up for a while now.

Well, for goodness sake, Green! You're back! With another chapter! Wicked stuff, man. You really lay on the emotion through that one. Well, if you can get a chapter out, I guess I better crack on and get my one done. Gotta love having no time for these things, eh?

Are you almost finished with the chapter?

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] krnlcheese Are you almost finished with the chapter?[/quote]Yes! I know I've been silent for a while, but classes are crazy this semester. Every time I try and put aside time to finish it, something comes up. I've got two papers and three Game Dev projects left, and then the rest of the semester is smooth sailing, so I [i]hope[/i] that I can actually live up to my word at that point, and update regularly. If I can get an hour or two during the long weekend, I should be able to wrap this chapter up and get started on the next.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Gr33n Knight [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] krnlcheese Are you almost finished with the chapter?[/quote]Yes! I know I've been silent for a while, but classes are crazy this semester. Every time I try and put aside time to finish it, something comes up. I've got two papers and three Game Dev projects left, and then the rest of the semester is smooth sailing, so I [i]hope[/i] that I can actually live up to my word at that point, and update regularly. If I can get an hour or two during the long weekend, I should be able to wrap this chapter up and get started on the next.[/quote]Sweet! Will look forward to.

When I get the time I really would love to read past Chapter 2. *in progress* [Edited on 04.21.2012 11:31 AM PDT]

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Lobster Fish 2 When I get the time I really would love to read past Chapter 2. *in progress*[/quote]Ah! thanks for reading, and it is much better after chapter 2, those two chapters were the first things I had written in a long time, so they weren't all that great. The good news is: A new chapter is coming! What!? You mean you're gonna actually post something new!? Yes! I am! I have the entire general plot planned out for the remainder of the story including dates and locations. Now all I have to do is fill those locations with events and actually write it out. Also, I'm out of college for the summer. While I'm still working full time, I will not have anything in particular that I need to do while I'm home. The next chapter that I'll put out will be a bit slow, so I'll probably hold it until I have 2 chapters to put out. I've been really disappointed with how lazy I've been coming up with new material, and I plan on changing that ( for real this time! ). The next two chapters should be written and posted sometime in the next two weeks. I haven't forgotten about this story, and I've thought about it often. It isn't over just yet.