[quote]Here it is! Please critic![/quote] [quote]Chapter 10: The sky is not a parking space[/quote] "Can you get us out of here any fast?" yelled Pulse over the comm to the evac Pelican's pilot. "I'm already overdoing the engines; if we go any faster we'd be falling" "Keep going then. This bird armed?" "Nay, all she's got is 40mm rotary cannon". Damn, thought Pulse, talk about old. "Where are we headed?" asked Pulse. "UNSC Playboy. Wet Navy. We're going to touch down and get these civilians into an evac ship." Pulse nodded as he stared out the rear window. He saw the city in the distance, burning under the Covenants glassing beams. He lowered his head in frustration, knowing Shadow was out there lying in the streets. He hit his fist against the rear door of the Pelican. "Trooper. We have a problem. A BIG problem". Pulse ran into the cockpit, his heart racing. When he saw the cruiser, his heart dropped. He wasn't looking at the ship, looming above the surface. Pulse was watching the hundreds of banshees, pouring out of the launch bay. "'ll do my best to avoid 'em, but their pretty agile." "Do you know how to fly a Phantom?" "Well, I ran the simulation if that's what you're asking". Pulse eyes leapt with glee as he stared at the pilot, and uttered a command even the craziest ODST wouldn't think about. "Take her into the ship. Let's see how well these bastards can fly without their engines." Pulse gripped the side of Pelican as it lurched sideways, narrowly avoiding a fuel rod blast. "Listen up Civilians! We're going straight into the belly of the beast to teach these Covenant sickos a lesson! Grab a pistol from the overhanging compartments and get ready to defend the Pelican." They cheered as they grabbed a weapon, obviously excited to be helping out in the war. Poor people, thought Pulse. They didn't know about the nuclear properties Covenant engines had when a Pelican detonated near them. Pulse rocked forward as the Pelican lurched downwards. His face smacked into the drop ship's floor. "Ugh... What the hell happened!" roared Pulse over the sound of Pelican's front gun, firing round after round at the agile air-craft of the Covenant. "Fuel rod, hit us in the wing. We're losing altitude; we only have one shot at this bucket of bolts into that landing bay" The Pilot took a sharp intake of breath. "Ugh! Plasma bolts popping everywhere around us. I can't hold her! We're going down!" Pulse got up and sprinted to the cockpit. He tried to think of a way he could save the Pelican, but his mind was frozen in terror. He could drop thousands of metres from the surface in a pod, but he couldn't handle a crashing Pelican. That's when he noticed the Gravity Lift underneath the ship, going to the surface. "Aim for that Purple light! It's the only way we'll get into the ship!" Pulse yelled into the Pilot's ear, as a flash blinded both of them. It passed quickly, but when Pulse opened his eyes his heart dropped. The Pilot had been hit squarely in the chest by a plasma round. "Oh crap" ***************************************** I awoke in a ditch. The first thing I noticed when I opened my eyes was that it was much colder than I had expected. I got up, my arms feeling like lumps of rock. I shook myself to get the blood pumping, and blew in my hands to keep some body heat. The parts of armour that hadn't been stripped off me did little to insulate my body. After several minutes of body exercises, I stood up. My legs felt like jelly, and every step I took to get out of the muddy ditch made my legs scream in pain. I rolled onto my back as I got out the ditch. And received a kick in the stomach. "Get up now!" a familiar voice yelled into my face, breaking through the fog that encased my mind. "Come on kid, get up! We need to get out of here!" Flame said urgently. I raised my arm, and got a hand from Flame. "Ugh What happened?" I asked. "We got caught by some lady and her giant. I managed to give him a kick in the crotch, before using the emergency knife in your suit to cut my bonds. That lady ran outside once she saw me beat up her protection. I don't know what happened to her, but I heard her scream as a Phantom flew off. I managed to carry you outside of the city limits. I put you in that ditch in case we were attacked, while I got some rest. Now, let's start paying back Flame! Let me get on your shoulders!" Flame eagerly came towards me, obviously trying to hitch a ride. I stepped back. "In your dreams old man. Now, what's the plan?" Flame removed his helmet, a slight grin on his face. He pointed at a ridge. "Go over that ridge, find a vehicle capable of space flight, and link up with Anchor 8. We can scan for the others transponder signals from orbit. I already found the Captain of the Honey Suckle. Died on impact in the city. I found Shadow's and Pulse's pods in a street. Neither was to be found, but I did find a certain stolen shotgun, empty and lying next to a dead Brute. They'll be fine." I nodded, and started walking towards the ridge, when a large object struck me in the back. "Forgetting something?" I flipped over, and found a M7S. A Silenced SMG. "Where would I be without you, oh great Flame?" I joked. "Lying in that ditch over there, dead". I shook my head, and walked over to the top of the ridge. I stopped dead in my tracks. "Flame?" I whispered over the comm. "Yeah?" "I think you should see this" I finished with a choke, as a large Covenant ship loomed in the distance. But that wasn't what worried me. A Pelican was close by the ship, and going down. Flame came over to me. When I heard the choke, I knew it was someone we'd be familiar with. "Pulse, what in god's name have you gotten yourself into now?" Flame muttered. "Well, we better go help him. Ah, over there." Flame pointed at a Mongoose, lying under some rubble. "Get on the back. We're going for a ride". ***************************************** Crack sat on an ammunition tin, staring straight into the visor of the hulking Spartan. "What the hell were you thinking kid!?" the Spartan yelled. Even with his face covered, Crack could feel the crippling glare coming from the Spartan. "I need to get back to my squad" Crack mumbled. He didn't just [i]need[/i] to get back to his squad, he [i]had[/i] to. The only thing stopping him was this Spartan and his gang. The Spartan let out a sigh. He slowly removed his helmet, and stared Crack straight in the face. "I know your situation. Hell, there have been times where I've almost ruined a mission just to get to my teammates. But you need to realise, you're no use to them dead. Now calm down and listen. Our squad is going into that Pelican" He gestured to a sleek, black Pelican in the corner of the makeshift camp. "And we're going to ride it straight to CASTLE Base. You're coming with us. Now, if you give us any trouble, I have no problem getting my pal over there" He gestured to a tall Spartan holding a knife, "to punch you out and strap you down to the bottom of that pelican. Is that understood?". His voice lowered as he finished to a deadly tone. Crack nodded solemnly. "Good. Now get ready, we leave in 3 hours". Crack's shoulders sagged. As he sat on the tin, he wondered why he had reacted the way he did. While he didn't trust the Spartans completely, there was no reason to act like a child and run. [i]The mysteries of life[/i], Crack thought. He rose as the first few drops of rain fell, making small mud puddles on the ground. He would prove to these Spartans he was worth something. He would show them what he had. ***************************************** Pulse pushed the Pilots body out of the pilot seat. Taking control of the Pelican, Pulse directed the Pelican towards the Gravity Lift of the Covenant vessel. He looked down at the diagnostics, and almost flipped. There were 2 critical engine explosions, the bay doors were out of control, multiple fractures were scattered across the hull and to make matters worse the only functioning engine was overclocking, making the Pelican accelerate as it started to fall. No wonder the Pilot was under stress. Pulse suddenly realised something. At current speed, they would fly straight through the Grav lift, missing their chance and crashing. Pulse strained to think of a solution while avoiding the thick plasma fire raining down on him. Abruptly the answer hit him; several strips of metal had begun to peel off the wings, and with the right positing, he could use them to slow down his ascent. "Hang onto your teeth people!" He yelled to the passenger bay, as the Pelican began to violently shake. "Here we go!". A large Purple light shone brightly over the windscreen, blinding Pulse. The Pelican jolted forward, and Pulse felt it slowly rise. They had made it. The Banshees receded into the distance, heading towards New Alexandria. Pulse had no time to relax. He leapt up, and took in the sight of the passenger bay. It was empty. The bay doors had malfunctioned and open mid-flight, creating a vacuum which sucked out its inhabitants. Pulse lowered his head. He wouldn't let them die in vain. He looked up and found just what he wanted, a spare Mongoose engine. Hoisting it onto his back, he grabbed a Battle Rifle from the roof. Cocking it, he slowly exited the Pelican. ***************************************** [Edited on 05.30.2012 1:41 AM PDT]