Chapter 20 Staring out into the intense battle before his eyes, Admiral Hood turned to his officers, all sitting at their stations, typing away commands into their consoles. His eyes didn’t hold the same light they did when he entered the battle, his optimism leaving, hope fading. “What is our status compared to the Covenant armada?” “Sir, they outnumber us about…they have six ships for every five of ours. It’s much closer than Cortana originally predicted. We may be able to tip that balance soon.” Very optimistic, but unrealistic. The chances to do that fall with every ship we lose. They continue to send boarding parties to Earth and to the orbital stations as well. How we’ve managed to stay in orbit, I can only guess. But soon they will overpower this station, and the others, and the fleet will have no backup. With the number left now, it’s only a matter of hours until they do. The lack of sleep and old age had caught up threefold on his face, almost looking like a wrinkled dog’s face. But nothing but death would shake him from the intense focus he had while looking at the tactical display, showing the entire space battle on the simple two dimensional board. He searched for a way to bring victory to his people, but with the larger number of Covenant vessels there, it simply seemed impossible. They were outgunned, outmanned, and outclassed. And even if they did win, what about the next armada? Surely the Covenant had more vessels to attack with, as they had one this size destroyed at the Unyielding Hierophant, and there must have been more. This fight might be in vain. That thought repeated over and over in his head, when his lieutenant’s voice brought him back to reality. “ONI central is requesting that you give all command over to them immediately, and they will eliminate the threat now. I don’t know what they mean, but I’m not getting any more intel on it.” What are they up to? If I refuse to agree, they can’t do anything, not now. But what can I do? Maybe they have a solution, but they are hiding it. Is it worth the risk? “Ok, they have full authority over the operation, clearance alpha gamma epsilon 369. But I want to be immediately told in any changes with the fight out there. Understood? “Yes sir. Sending message now.” The Cairo fired another round, the huge ball of depleted uranium traveling at a fourth the speed of light. The thought of it traveling so fast took his mind off the battle for a moment, a moment desperately needed now. According to Einstein’s theory of relativity, the mass of the projectile increased significantly due to the huge velocity, as did the momentum, and thus, the damage. Not only that, but it appeared smaller to anyone watching it, making the target unaware of how truly powerful the blast was. A direct hit was almost a sure fire guarantee that the target was to be obliterated, or at least not leave the battle without a huge hole in it. “Admiral, encoded messages are being sent through to all allied vessels. It says to bring all Covenant forces as close to sectors 21, 24 and 27.” “Sectors 21, 24 and 27? Nothing is in those sectors. Why would they-” The admiral’s brow scrunched closed, his eyes looking from side to side as though to find the answer. Sectors 21, 24 and 27 were placed off limits during battle preparations. That means that they put something there, waiting for the battle to turn ugly, and ONI would come in and save the day. But the only thing that could work would be…“-Order all ships to avoid those areas immediately! There are nuclear weapons there, and all those ships will be damaged or disabled!” “Sir, we’re being jammed! No communications can be sent.” “What? From where?” “Scanning…sir, it’s coming from within the Cairo.” A look of anger warped the admiral’s face, as he walked with heavy-set fists through the control panel. The line-up of officers continued to work, typing away strenuously to solve whatever problems they were dealing with. All but one. Picking up his pace, Hood came to the man’s console, seeing a dark screen. The officer sat cross armed, obviously waiting for the Admiral to find him. “I order you to get rid of that jammer immediately!” “I’m afraid he can’t do that admiral”, a voice spoke through the speakers on the control. The familiarity and coolness of it alarmed Hood, and only a single thought came through his head, as his teeth gritted and the other officers stared and watched. His face appeared on the screen as it lit up, a smile across his face sent a chill down Hood’s spine. That smile was frightening, constant through every word, never wavering, as though to seem pleasant. But there was more to that look, something hidden, something making this man in complete control of the situation “Colonel James Ackerson.” “I’m glad I haven’t been forgotten, even that’s what I’m sure you’ve really wanted for quite some time now. Isn’t that correct?” His voice stayed calm and steady, never wavering from its coolness. It heated up the admiral, unable to keep calm himself with complete control, but safe for the time being. “Ackerson, you will not get my fleet destroyed. Not on my watch.” “I’m sorry admiral, but my hands are tied. You gave over all your command functions over to me just a minute ago. And I’m simply working for the best interest of human society. I would suggest that you and your crew leave that station while you still have a chance. It will be difficult without any systems functioning.” “When I get my hands on you, I’ll-” “Don’t worry, you won’t. Chances are that I’ll be considered a huge war hero from my bravery while you are forgotten, honorably discharged, and moved to some remote estate where nobody will ever find you. You should be thanking me. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a war to win.” “Ackerson!” But it was too late, the screen died, killing the image of Ackerson’s stupid grin from the space station, possibly for the last time. A headache brewed within the admiral’s head as he ran into overdrive, thinking of anything that would solve this problem. Anything that could help in any way, but nothing came to him. As though a brick wall had been placed in front of his thoughts, it allowed him no insight to save his fleet, and threatened to tumble onto him. “I want a way to contact the fleet, and I want it now! If we don’t warn them, most of the fleet will be gone, and the rest of it will be immobile from the EMP blast, including this station.” But it was no use. The tactical display showed the fleet doing just as they were ordered, collecting a large portion of themselves and the Covenant vessels into those sectors. They were almost full, those sectors crawling with more ships per square kilometer than he’d ever seen before. That’s when it struck. A huge blast ripped through those vessels, tearing through Covenant and Human alike. It blew away every atom of their hulls like dust in the wind, disintegrating every trace of metal and flesh. Only the large explosion was visible, and only for a moment before anyone looking could not watch any longer, for the intensity of the blast was brighter than the sun. The admiral covered his eyes with his arm, yet still tried to watch. The futile attempt only led to a momentary blindness and disorientation, and the universe disappeared for a moment. Then the shockwave came at the Cairo, shaking it violently, and all electronic devices died without a trace, no way to repair it so quickly. This meant every single system aboard the Cairo was gone, including life support and possibly the backup generators, which may have been on due to the damage received. “Do we have any power left?” “I’m not sure sir. And even if there was, turning on the equipment might spend it.” “Fine, I’m ordering the evacuation of this station. We’re sitting ducks up here without any power, and it’ll take a week and an entire crew to fix her, and we don’t have that kind of time. Everyone get to the evacuation pods, and if you find any other personnel, inform them to do the same. There’s not much we can do now.” He looked back where the three explosions took place, and something reflected from it into the corner of his eye. Squinting as best he could, the Admiral made out his worst nightmare: Covenant battle cruisers, still intact and now moving out of that sector. Oh hell, without any more ships to defend, they’ve got a straight shot at Earth! The ships grew larger, and his eyes widened when he saw why. “Covenant ships on attack vector, heading straight for us! Get the hell out of here now!” The bridge filled with panic, all officers now crazed in search of some way to sustain themselves. But Lord Hood had no time to ponder this, as he himself was caught in the frenzy, running towards the closest known escape pod sector available. The pearl white halls and small and seemingly insignificant call sign’s of each hall- and walkway flew past his old eyes as another streak of color among the vast reach of pure white, seen in all directions. Each escape pod in the immediate area had already been launched or destroyed, and the admiral ran towards the next section, his heart pounding like never before. Stopping was the only thought in mind, yet he could not and did not. Each second wasted was another second for the Covenant to rid of more Humans, he thought. More Humans that would fight back take a life or more, never give in. Yet his heart pounded his chest as though ready to escape, and run itself to the escape pod instead of its host body. The thought almost brought a smile to his face, but no effort was made in the direction of humor, only of life, and sustaining it.

Just join, it has the whoel stroy from start to now.

Can somebody please pm me all of the new installments until august 3 because I' going to be in Egypt from today until then. I have no internet in Egypt. So when I get back I can just check my pms and there are all of the installments I missed.

normally, i'd come up with excuses...well, i guess i will anyways. it was memorial day, and i didn't finish the chapter. i know that i delivered 3 just a day ago, but they've all been out for quite some time now. only minor changes have been done to them, as some of you may have noticed. but, being that tomorrow is my senior ditch day, and that i probably will end up doing nothing but playing halo and doom anyways, i'll make it a necessity for me to finish chapter 20. it'll be great, and i'll give you guys a bit of a preview on it. shows, the master ONI plan, as well as the outcome of the Cairo and of the pilots, Helstrum jan and sach. its already 6 pages long, and only half-way through. you'll see the reason some places were cleared out, if you remember, and there's a suprise coming at the end.

A real active camo? Cool! P.S - don't forget about these new cameras on guns which are directly connected to a HUD on a soldiers helmet visor. It allows troops to look and fire round corners.

Decapitaor, You should play and beat ghost recon 2. You unlock movies about soldiers of the future. The armor, weapons, computers, and a bunch of other things. The army is actullay tryong to make a camo, that will change colors with the enviroment, so there u go.

sorry for the double post, but here is the technical crap about the armor: The key component of liquid armor is a shear thickening fluid. STF is composed of hard particles suspended in a liquid. The liquid, polyethylene glycol, is non-toxic, and can withstand a wide range of temperatures. Hard, nano-particles of silica are the other components of STF. This combination of flowable and hard components results in a material with unusual properties. "During normal handling, the STF is very deformable and flows like a liquid. However, once a bullet or frag hits the vest, it transitions to a rigid material, which prevents the projectile from penetrating the Soldier's body," said Dr. Eric Wetzel, a mechanical engineer from the Weapons and Materials Research Directorate who heads the project team. To make liquid armor, STF is soaked into all layers of the Kevlar vest. The Kevlar fabric holds the STF in place, and also helps to stop the bullet. The saturated fabric can be soaked, draped, and sewn just like any other fabric. Wetzel and his team have been working on this technology with Dr. Norman J. Wagner and his students from the University of Delaware for three years. "The goal of the technology is to create a new material that is low cost and lightweight which offers equivalent or superior ballistic properties as compared to current Kevlar fabric, but has more flexibility and less thickness," said Wetzel. "This technology has a lot of potential." Liquid armor is still undergoing laboratory tests, but Wetzel is enthusiastic about other applications that the technology might be applied to. "The sky's the limit," said Wetzel. "We would first like to put this material in a soldier's sleeves and pants, areas that aren't protected by ballistic vests but need to remain flexible. We could also use this material for bomb blankets, to cover suspicious packages or unexploded ordnance. Liquid armor could even be applied to jump boots, so that they would stiffen during impact to support Soldiers' ankles." In addition to saving Soldiers' lives, Wetzel said liquid armor in Kevlar vests could help those who work in law enforcement. "Prison guards and police officers could also benefit from this technology," said Wetzel. "Liquid armor is much more stab resistant than conventional body armor. This capability is especially important for prison guards, who are most often attacked with handmade sharp weapons."

well i wouldnt say all that, i mean, i the year 2025, the typical marine battle suit will be: liquid armor (hardens on impact) and HUD helmet, a high power sniper/battle rifle with a 30 bullet mag. and an almost weightless combat/throwing knife. i looked up the liquid armor, its a little heavier than normal body armor, but a hell of alot stronger and better.

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] hellmunky Disregarding everything everyone has said about the subject of the survival of a black hole, I'd like to point out a few things. 1. There is no physical evidense of a black hole (Just looked it up. They have some evidense using radio waves). 2. The elements we have now are numbered 1-112 and 114. And 61, 93-112 and 114 are all man made, radioactive materials with a half-life. 3. Current scientist only expect to get to number 118. 4. This is all 500 years into the future. 5. A material that only bonds to itself well, such as the 'noble' gases, is emensly strong (either that or very weak). 6. All the man made elements had to made with a partical accelorater, that sped the atoms at near the speed of light. 7. All radioactive have a half-life. The more protons the shorter it is. The shortest is .24 milaseconds. That's numbedr 114. If it was number 274 it would be around .0000000000000000000000001. Conclusion: There is not enough evidense to support any of the proposed theories and/or hypothesis's. My Conclusion (speculation): Not enough evidese but, listen to this. If it was a real black hole (if they exist), he would most likey not survive. But then again we are talking about the Forerunners here. We all know they have vastly supierior technologie than either race. I'm guessing that they made an artifical black hole that could be deactivated to reveal the structure. Most likely not but maybe possible.[/quote] Like u said this is 500 years fron now, alot could happen. U have to have an open mind, especially for Science Fiction

GREAT, just has good has they were before. Keep going!!!!

YEa Go ROCKETS. By the way SB i have an idea about a new type of rocket launcher, i call it the infantry suppresor, or the ISR (no association with the IRS) so it shoots out the rocket right? But on impact the rockets head explodes and sends thoudands of titanium A shards into those dang covies. Waddya think?

arrrr!!! i've got 3 chapter's out, although they're all chapters that everyone's seen before, with some changes. i don't want to sound like i haven't done any work at all, but, the night is no longer young, and my eye is twitching...lol, no, i'm not complaining. but i think i'll get the next chapter, the new one, number 20, up later today.

Chapter 19 0750, Sept. 17, 2552/North American Continent/ East Los Angeles district Pulling the Spartan to his feet, he received the smile gesture, which he returned graciously. “Status?” “Sir, the Covenant have a perimeter around their Prophet, and they just went through the underground part of that base”, pointing to his recent abode. Fred keyed his radio. “Blue two and three, meet up at the center and bring along all remaining marines.” Watching Fred look down at the monstrosity that brought him so close to death, yet again, he stared at the orange stains on the Hunter. His vitals were in normal parameters, with only an increased heart rate. Other than severe burns on his right leg and lacerations on both of his arms, he was in great shape. Will and Linda ran up to the two of them, both nodding to Fred and gesturing to his savior. Fred looked behind them both, only to see Linda shaking her head, and all three took a moment of silence. “Permission to assume command, blue one.” Fred looked back at the downed Hunter. “Permission granted, Master Chief.” Fred patted him on the shoulder. “It’s good to have you back, John.” “It’s good to be back.” He walked in front of the group, and turned back to his team. “Looks like I missed out on the new weapons parade. Grab whatever ammo you need, as well as grenades. Will, drop you’re sidearm and grab that Hunter’s Fuel Rod Cannon. We’re going after them.” ****** The heavy breathing of two Brutes blared through John’s internal speakers as he and Will sneaked down the corridor nearby. Peeking around the corner, he stole a glance of the room, spotting seven Brutes, nine Elites, 14 Jackals, a Hunter pair, and around 20 Grunts and Drones. He set his suit’s radio to receive only F-band signals, and the voices of hundreds of Covenant troops came through. About to speak, he stopped himself, remembering that he was on his own, and didn’t have Cortana’s abilities at his disposal. Recapping the room, a discrepancy fired off warnings in his mind. The room was quite large, able to hold a force at least triple the size, yet they bunched together as though the empty space pushed them away from one another. Drones covered the ceiling, flying to and fro. Jackals crowded together on one side of the room, with the opposite wall yielding to the Grunts. But John’s problem with the scene was how the Brutes and Elites stationed themselves, on the far sides of the room. The Elites were obviously uncomfortable, standing strangely and in complete silence, watching everything that happened in the room, while the Brutes simply disregarded all protocol and conversed noisily, laughing, grunting, and snorting. And the Hunter pair stood in the middle of the room, simply separating all. Their massive bodies seemed to protrude from the room, as though they didn’t belong at all. A reckless grunt ran into one’s leg, and looking up to its head, it fell backwards. They took no notice to it, even as it scattered off. Before getting on the Forerunner ship, the Covenant was in disarray, firing upon each other, meaning that a civil war might ensue. The forces here on Earth, however, seemed to be ignorant to what has been happening, but the tension was still present. Turning to Will, he pointing to his gun, to Will’s Fuel Rod Cannon, then to himself. Will handed it over and readied the QQ22 on his shoulder, just as John did with the Radioactive doomblaster. John new better than to take away a new toy. Looking across the hall, John unclipped a grenade and pointed at it, then to the room. Fred grabbed one of his own and gave the thumbs up. Holding it with his left thumb and forefinger, John held the other three fingers up as a countdown. His middle finger dropped, then index, then… John’s speakers played a deep voice, and translated them from a Brute. Focusing on what he was about to do, the voice slipped by him, but his gut told him to stop and wait. He’d learned long ago to trust it, as all the Spartans have, and it saved all of them numerous times in battle. The reaction from one Elite caught his attention, however. Making a cutting motion with his left arm to tell his team to back down, he turned the volume up and listened in. “What did you say,” an Elite yelled across the chamber. “See, they are hard of hearing as well,” the Brute captain said to his group, who broke out into laughter. The Elite, wearing golden armor, began approaching the center of the room, followed by the rest of his Elites. The Brutes did the same following their captain, and the Hunters stepped out of the way. The two leaders stood only inches away from each other. The Brute turned from his group to the Elite, and snorted. “I will rip your arms from their sockets, then your head from you body.” “And I will open your chest and take your heart, while you live, and you shall watch it be crushed in my hands.” Both growling, John’s finger fell as he flung off the grenades safety pin, checking his calculations, and threw it at the ground only meters ahead of his position. The grenade’s internal countdown mechanism started as it hit the ground, immediately counting down from three. At two seconds, the noise it made against the ground registered among several Jackals and Grunts, who looked about to find the source. At one second all Covenant forces became alert of the possible danger, excluding the Brutes and Elites, their leaders still staring each other down. At .1 seconds left, the grenade blocked their view of the two captains from each other. Its explosion propelled the groups of Elites and Brutes across the room, killing many instantly, as well as sending a rippling shockwave to all present. John flung his arm forward and rushed in, firing a wad of radioactive plasma at the confused group of Jackals. Behind him Will had unleashed two bursts as well, firing the newer weapons rockets at high speeds, scattering the Drones and hitting a Hunter. The sound of two rifles came from around the corridor, dropping more Drones and the other Hunter. Grunts yelled in fear and ran, one in continual circles, until John took them out with his second rocket. Will let out another burst towards the Elites, disintegrating one that was directly hit as it vanished from existence, while the blast killed the rest, who stood to close together. He jumped back for cover, now that his shields were completely vaporized, and waiting for the recharge. John dropped the Fuel Rod Cannon and pulled out his BR55 to clear any remaining targets, only to see Will fly across the room and crack a self portrait into the wall behind. Averting his eyes to Will’s previous position, the sight of three beserking Brutes came into view. Charging towards him, two tripped over themselves and stopped completely, one after the other, with the deafening sound of .50 caliber bullets leaving their chambers. Only one directly ahead of him continued its pursuit, as John clutched a plasma grenade from his belt and readied it behind his back. He dropped his gun and bent his knees, putting most of his weight on his right leg. When the Brute was just a meter away, John pushed off of his right foot and flung himself into the air, sticking the grenade onto his adversaries’ snout. It gave out a shriek as John leaped for cover, grabbing at it, perhaps willing to give its nose for its head, yet time showed no pity. As the body landed and pinkish blood fell to the floor, the Spartans regrouped. Climbing out of the wall, Will picked up his Fuel Rod Cannon and joined his team. Fred and Linda stared uneasily upon him, never seeing anyone take a direct hit from a Brute before, while John checked his vitals. “You alright,” Fred asked. Will ran his hand along the fist-shaped depression in his chest, and looked to the wall. “Perfect. Just wondering which dent made more damage.” Linda chuckled and Fred pat his back. “Will, your vitals are sporadic.” John knew his Spartans wouldn’t lie to him, let alone about something this important. “Suit malfunction?” “Probably. Internal systems show normal, but the suit to suit transmitter may be damaged.” “We’ll worry about that later. Let’s keep-” He stopped mid-sentence, feeling the floor vibrate just before his shield fully regenerated. Holding up a fist for his team to wait, he checked the seismic activity. It tripled, and was increasing. “They’re coming this way,” John warned. “So let’s get out the welcome mat.”

(Continued) “Yes chief!”, they all yelled in unison. These men, as well as their fallen comrades, have truly proven themselves, Fred thought to himself. He turned to see Linda reloading her Rifle and Will carrying the Jackhammers and running past him. “Linda, after Will’s done, find secure positions for all the marines.” She nodded, and turned to start her search. Turning back to the marines and Will, Fred knocked on Will’s back, letting him know he was going into his suit to make field repairs. Always the Spartans practice while not in combat, they managed each other’s Mjolnir armor systems constantly, knowing its importance. “Alright marines, lets move! We don’t have all day.” Immediately following Linda, they double-timed it out of sight, knowing the next covenant attack could come at any time. Finishing the repairs as best as possible, Fred reinserted Will’s shield generator back into his armor, closed the hatch, and knocked twice. Only moments later did he hear the rhythmic hum let off by it, and see the electric flickering of Will’s shields. Always a good sign. “Shields up at 50% and holding. Thanks, having no shields was not very fun.” He knew exactly what Will meant, running around knowing that any single shot could take any one of them out. Although they never relied on their shields to save them, the Spartans certainly appreciated having them, and found it more and more difficult to go on missions without using them. “Sir?” Fred turned to see the Sergeant, standing straight with his hand extended towards him. “Sir, it’s been an honor serving with you. I wanted to let you know that all of us are glad to have you on our side.” The man’s face shone bright, and his hand was grasped by the great metal grip of the Spartans gauntlet. Very few ever shook hands with a Spartan, knowing that their hands could easily be broken with even the gentlest squeeze. Anyone who did, however, was always accepted by the Spartans, and this Sergeant would be no exception. “The honor is mine, Sergeant.” With that, the Sergeant nodded, then turned and returned to his post. “Chief, ETA in 30 seconds. And sir… good luck. Comm. station 37 out.” Letting out a sigh, Fred grabbed his weapon and started walking towards the large building that had once been their base. “Linda, Status.” “All marines secure and waiting, sir.” “Good. Will, I want you to coordinate all marines with Jackhammers where and when to fire. If necessary, set them to fire at only your target and just order them when to pull the trigger.” An acknowledgement signal blinked on his HUD, and Fred ran into the base, holding his back against the wall. The dropships were coming into view now, and the amount was unbelievable. He’d never seen so many in his life. His long range sensors were completely full with red targets, and he turned it off because it would be useless against the amount of Covenant he was about to face. “Turn off you’re FOF tags. Let’s make sure they can’t tell who we are unless they see us.” With a force this big, the only possible attacks that would do any damage was guerrilla tactics. Of course, their mission was only to take out one thing, but it would be guarded heavily. He turned his external speakers to full blast to make sure all his marines would hear him. “Marines, do not open fire until the Prophet has exited its ship and I give the signal. I want all of you to take out anything that stands in front of it, and make way for Blue 2’s sniper firing. All marines with Jackhammers, do not waste you’re rockets. Only fire when ordered by Blue 3. From now on, we’ll be on radio silence. Once that ship’s down, open the gates of hell on them.” The sound of several marines yelling could be heard in the distance, obviously feeling as he did about disposing their enemy. At least 30 more dropships came into view since he gave his last orders, and all forms of Covenant troops were on the ground. Looking through a crack in the wall he leaned upon, hundreds of Covenant were gathering. Scout groups were running through the area’s he and the others had been only moments ago, scurrying around bodies of both Covenant and Humans alike. Scanning the sky for the ship with the Master Chief, with Jon, he scoped a small triangular vessel growing at a great rate. But he couldn’t worry about that now, he needed to focus on getting that prophet. He restarted his radar tracking, knowing that no one in his team was coming to him, and set it to a 10 meter radius. Immediately he saw yellow dots all around the perimeter, meaning they were below the base. There was only one way in the base since he rid of all ladders, and it was a narrow passageway about 5 meters from him. Gun pointed towards the passageway, the ground shook, which had to be the vessel landing. Closing a fist and holding it in the air, he alerted his team to wait, not knowing how long it would take to get the prophet out or whether it was coming at all. A single red blip on his radar circled the perimeter of the base twice now, and was coming back to the open side. Fred checked his gun quickly and saw the ammo was full, but also checked the cartridge to make sure. Damn glad for these ballistic rounds. Suddenly, six more blips came into view, all coming through the open side. He pawed a grenade, but kept a steady hand on his Gritter, pointed at the head of any Elite that may walk through. They started closing in on him. 9 meters, 7 meters. Looking through the scope, he stayed cool and sharp, not flinching a muscle, not breaking a sweat. An orange fin popped into site, and just as the head of the short Grunt came into site, it didn’t even have time to react before 3 bullets pieced its skull and erupted its entire methane-filled suit, instantly incinerating all behind it. Looking back through the crack, 3 teams of Elites, Jackals, and Grunts headed towards that same opening, now littered in the burning carcasses of their comrades. They came in standard formation: Jackals wielding energy shields in front, Grunts and Elites behind. Of course, the size of the passageway would force them to change their formation, but to Fred, they were just as cooked as the previous squad. When they were 8 meters in, he tossed 2 grenades down the route, and enlarged the body pile. Checking the ship, a large crowd of Brutes stood in a strange formation, all huddled very close to each other, as though they were making a perimeter around… Throwing his hands up holding his two remaining fragmentation grenades, Fred lobbed them as far as possible, both landing in that perimeter. One bounced on the floor and exploded, and the other bounced off one helmet, then another, and detonated above them. Immediately 4 rockets fired on that position, as well as 10 sniper rounds going as fast as possible. Jackals holding Beam Rifle’s appeared out of nowhere and fired off 3 shots, all which hit their targets. Another burst of rockets went out, one less than there should have been, and it blew several more Brutes away. More plasma charges came from the ground, and loud screams from his marines were heard in the distance. The Brutes moved with haste, and with their great height blocked any possibility to view the Prophet. They headed straight for him, or at least the base. Standing up, he dropped his rifle and brought up 2 plasma grenades and aimed both, sticking two Brutes directly in their faces, decapitating them only moments later. But the group kept up a constant pace, and even the third and fourth barrage of rockets didn’t slow them. Hearing more marines screams, Fred scoped a Jackal sniping and took it out, then another, and 4 more. His role shifted to support, and he needed those marines more than they could ever imagine, yet now he wasn’t even sure if any were left. Only 15 meters from the base now, Fred knew he had to get out of there. Any route he had, however, would mean instant death. With the amount of Covenant snipers in the area, it’s a wonder that any of them were still alive. With that, he concluded the only way he could go. Right in the middle of it. Setting his shields to be only above his knees and his gun to single shot bursts, he went back to the far wall, then ran towards the edge. After 3 steps he reached top speed, and he jumped at the fourth. Just before he hit the ground, he set his shields only to the soles of his feet, making him basically levitate on the ground. This kept him moving at the same speed and he wouldn’t slow down until he hit something or he fell over. Both of which would mean he was dead. Going through the middle of the battlefield, he fired each 3 burst round at another Jackal wielding a Beam Rifle, killing them before they even knew what had happened. Plasma streaked past him, all missing due to his high speed and constant moving. After taking out at least 17 Jackals, one directly in his direction shot his foot, kicking it up in the air. Almost losing his balance and his gun, he twisted almost inhumanly to it and shot off its head, feeling the plasma scorch his skin. More shots came from behind, and on one leg, he turned again and answered to their calls. Only then did he stop with a sudden thud, cracking the bones in his neck and back. Not even being able to turn around, a huge blue arm grasped him and cut off his breathing and kept him in place. Just as everything turned black, the strangle-hold came off, and he fell to the ground, panting for air. He looked up to see his savior, only to see an image barely visible due to the sun behind it. “What can I do to help, Blue one?”

Chapter 18 0600, Sept. 17, 2552/North American Continent/ East Los Angeles district “Move that equipment double time! Get the western perimeter secure! And where are those stationary guns?!” Fred’s voice roared through his external speakers as he barked orders to the marines assigned on the northern corner of the entire perimeter to finish setting up the encampment. He needed the surrounding area clear and ready for a major covenant invasion, perhaps one that has never been witnessed in such a small spot, simply to ensure that none got through and found whatever they were looking for. Fred’s orders were to make sure the Covenant was on a suicide mission. With only 300 marines to his disposal, his arsenal was extremely shorthanded compared to the coming force. Fortunately, he had learned many tactics of how to defend a small base with a small force against a much larger opposition and be able to hold out, if necessary, indefinitely. High-comm had been generous enough to give at least double the required armaments, if not more, as well as a promise for reinforcements. He knew, however, that the reinforcements would not come. Fred knew that the only way the covenant could land their forces was to have their dropships directly over the LZ. Therefore, he set Will in charge of dispersing all of the M19 SSM Rocket Launcher’s, or Jackhammers, to as many marines capable of using them, and positioning them for peak performance. He had to take out as many dropships as possible before they could touch land. He also knew that Covenant forces would come from the ground as well, and even though the area was next to a plateau and surrounded by mountains, some would come through there. Linda gave sniper rifles plus extra ammo to all marines she saw fit, which was not many. She took over 100 rounds for herself, which scared Fred slightly scared, but in this situation, there was no such thing as ‘too cautious’. Her job was to make sure that anything non-human that stepped foot in a kilometer radius of the encampment was taking a dirt nap before it could even think of pulling the trigger. She also put all snipers in perfect positions all around the base, where even Fred had trouble spotting them. “Chief, ETA in 30 seconds,” blared through his MJOLNIR armor suit, coming from a nervous officer, probably still green. “Acknowledged. Keep me informed warrant officer. Spartan -104 out.” Another 20 minutes might not be enough to secure this new stronghold, but he didn’t have a choice. The Covenant were coming, and he was throwing the welcome party. “Marines, we have incoming contacts!” A sergeant stood on his post, and yelled, “Everyone ready to kick some ass?” Cheers burst out, some of laughter, some of agreement, and all wanting to do just that. Watching the marines, Fred couldn’t help but think how sluggish and reckless they were. Of course, Spartans worked much more efficiently than everyone else because they were simply trained to, but he couldn’t help but worry about them. They couldn’t win this fight. He pulled up his roster, seeing all the names of his team. They won’t win. No, Fred told himself. These marines were just as able as any Spartan, he repeated to himself. But the doubt still laid thick in his mind. He looked up, staring at the big blue sky, its color taking hold of his eyes. For the moment, he was at peace, but he new it would be short lived, like the calm before the storm. The moment, however, would be savored. Only then did covenant dropships appear over the mountains, blurring the sky. “Sir, we have visual contact. ETA in five, four,…” “Will, initiate phase one.” His acknowledgement light came to life on his screen, and Will’s voice broke out loud and clear. “All personnel with Jackhammers, lock on and fire at all targets on my command.” Fred could feel the anticipation build, as he cocked his battle rifle. “Fire!” Moments later, they screamed from their launchers, leaving a smoke trail behind. Fred counted 20 before they impacted on their targets: seven on the front two, four on the third and two on the last. The front two started falling, and didn’t make it past the plateau. The third, had been spun around, and continued flying in the opposite direction. The last, however, stayed on course. It came to the epicenter of the encampment, with a blue light emanating from its center. Fred had to act quickly. Ground forces this early could really diminish their chances of holding the base. “Will!” “On it, blue one.” His voice stayed hard and cold, just the way it should be. “Mendez, Scarfield, Jones, and Franky, fire volley two.” As they fired, Fred could see Elites coming down the grav-lift, ready to start the massacre. The missiles impacted as the Elites were halfway down the lift, breaking its beam, as well as the ship. They fell at least 20 feet, barely landing on their feet. And just as they looked up, their own ship showed them who was getting massacred. “Hell yeah!” and “Woo-hoo!’ were the cries heard all around the base, as they watched the scorching dropship burn. When the small battle seemed like a huge victory, familiar sound ringed through Fred’s internal speakers. “Sniper”, yelled a marine, as others ran for cover. Looking across the field, he saw one marine, holding a sniper rifle single-handedly, and looking through the scope. Then he fired. The force of the shot hurled him off his feet, and Fred double-timed it to him. “Sir, bogie down.” The man was at least in his 40’s, clutching his chest and his rifle, when the life faded from his eyes. Only then did Fred realize how they would win: from people like this man. Moving his arm aside, his chest revealed an overlarge cavity, with the heart having a huge gash in it. Even with no life in him, he still took out the target. No ordinary human could achieve such a feat, yet this marine did so with ease, defying both science and logic. He grabbed the name tag off the marine’s uniform, and clipped onto the sniper rifle he had just picked off the ground. “Sir, this is comm. station 37. More incoming dropships. We estimate…15, sir.” “Acknowledged”, his voice hard as diamonds. We’ll win because we will it. Because not even death can stop us from it. “Marines, mount up!” The real fight was on its way. ****** Panting wearily, Fred kept upright so not to appear exhausted, not wanting to look tired in front of his marines. All 12 of them. They hunched over crates, lying on the ground, or keeping themselves up with their guns. He keyed his radio to Will and Linda. “Status Report.” There was a short pause, but his fatigue kept him from fearing the worst. “Linda reporting. Haven’t been spotted yet, but I’m almost out of ammo. Awaiting orders.” “Will here. My shield generator is down, all lotus tank mines are gone, and all I’ve got is three Jackhammers each with full ammo for each, and the QQ22 is empty.” “Understood. Both of you report to my position. Linda, grab whatever ammo you need, and pick up any more rifles you spot on the way here. Will, bring those Jackhammers and give them to any marine able to take it. The good sergeant left quite a bit of ammo for us all, so don’t let go of a good weapon too soon. Fred out.” Walking over to the final twelve, one sergeant immediately started to rise, and the rest followed suit. “At ease, marines,” Fred announced. He didn’t need them to get up on his account, and they needed the rest. They would be back in action soon enough. But at the moment, they were happy just to stay seated, a couple letting out a sigh of relief, others giving a quick grin. Suddenly his radio blared. “Chief, this is High-comm. Station 37. You have incoming dropships, unknown amount, coming in from all vectors, as well as an unclassified vessel.” John. “Warrant officer, we cannot take another barrage. The third wave wiped out nearly our entire platoon. If we don’t get reinforcements, we won’t be able to hold the line.” He heard static, the kind made from the shifting of headsets, meaning that someone higher ranked would deal with him. “Chief, this is Major General Strauss. I want you and all remaining marines to get into secure positions and wait for the Prophet to come out. Once it’s out, kill it.” “Understood.” This mission was suicide, and he knew it. The only problem would be getting the marines to go along with it. With no reinforcements, he didn’t know what to expect. He, as well as the rest of the Spartans, had never been on a mission that wasn’t considered suicide by someone. Unfortunately, he wasn’t giving the orders here, only relaying them. “Marines, listen up! The Covenant is bringing their biggest wave yet. We, are not to engage.” Every marine showed bewilderment, looking at each other, saying things like “Say what?!”, and “No Way!” Fred grinned, seeing they were willing to give everything for this fight. “Don’t worry marines, you’ll get you’re chance to get some more kills. Our goal, however, is to take down a Covenant leader.” “Hey”, one marine called, “He’s mine. “Don’t even thing about it”, another broke in. “I’m gonna make a trophy out of its head and place it on my mantle at home for the kids to see.” “You’ll all get you’re chance. At the moment, everyone needs to find a secure place to hide until the Prophet hits ground and is away from its ship. Only on my signal will we engage.”

This story is coming together nicely now. It's like a little jigsaw! Can't wait to see the new weapons in action. Keep up the good work.

yes, well, i do believe we speak of the forerunners, yet i also believe that scientists, for the most part, are mildly pessimistic. why the hell can't we come up with more elements? not now, and maybe not for another 100 years or more, but eventually we will. and the website was canceled by angelfire because they canceled all free websites for whatever reason. anyways, here's the first of the chapters being posted tonight/this morning. Chapter 17 0530, Oct. 22, 2552 Airborne, ETA 2 minutes East Los Angeles District/North American Continent Nudging the clip into his YDKJ-1327 rifle, Fred looked out from the dropship, staring blankly into the spectacle only a few hundred miles above him. Several explosions shone brighter than the sun, but only for a brief moment, not willing to take away from its glory. The Pelican made a sharp right, making him grab the railing above, and moving several bags of assorted armaments the Spartans had taken along. A sack holding his QQ22 rocket/plasma launcher and at least twenty rounds started slipping, only to be forced back by a mighty grasp. Linda looked up at Will, clutching the bag. “I wanna keep these near me at all times.” Fred smiled as he turned, even though he knew neither of them could see it. But he also knew that they were smiling as well. Yet as he looked at the roomy interior of the Pelican, his smile dissipated, as he remembered how only a month ago, or about three weeks according to real time, he commanded a Pelican filled with Spartans. Now, only the three of them, the Master Chief, and Kelly were all that was left of the Spartans. The time distorting phenomenon that occurred due to the crystal they found on Reach was excessively puzzling, or maybe it’s just me, thought Fred. Even Cortana had only theories, which she herself said showed no promising data. Only Doctor Halsey seemed to understand how it worked, but she never mentioned it to anyone. What he was really worried about was whether the crystal was destroyed or not. Fred understood why they had to leave it, because it warped Slipspace and sent out a signal the Covenant could track, but he couldn’t help but wonder what the Covenant could do with it. If they knew how to use it, couldn’t they just send a few ships back a couple hundred years ago and wipe out humanity? Fred shook his head, knowing that this wasn’t the time to be figuring out their fates. “Status report”, he radioed to both the pilots and his Spartans. “We have dust-off in one minute, chief.” Two acknowledgement lights blinked on his HUD. Fred turned to Linda. “I want you on sniping duty. I don’t want anything non-human able to count to three before getting lead poisoning. Will, take the fragbox and its ammo, as well as the Lotus tank mines. Set them up immediately after dust-off.” “Why does he get all the fun?” After mopping up the remaining Covenant from the first attack, everybody lightened up. Even Will, who was usually quiet. But their fun was short lived, as a transmission cut through. “This is Major General Nicholas Strauss calling all Spartans, over.” Surprised, Fred snapped a look at will and Linda, then keyed in a reply. “This is Spartan -104 reporting, sir.” “Good. Chief, I’m gonna be frank with you. Our intel suggests an unclassified ship headed to your area. We know it’s full of some important Covenant figures, and there are incoming dropships from all vectors to your position. I don’t know or care what they want, but I want you to give them a warm welcome. Any questions?” “Yes sir. Estimated amount of resistance?” The signal broke out into static as they leaped from the Pelican. “I’m sure there’ll be enough for you to have fun. We’ll give you air support and are sending more troops to you. “Acknowledged.” “Oh, and one more thing, chief. The Master Chief is aboard that ship, so don’t fire at everything that comes out of it. Strauss out.” Fred stopped, and quickly turned around to see if the others had heard. Acknowledgement lights blinked, and he tapped his helmet twice and pointed up. Their suits communication system searched for another Spartan signal, and found John’s. “Sorry Master Chief, but you’re already coming in. You’ll reach the atmosphere in 30 seconds. Grab hold of something steady and good luck. Admiral Hood out.” Fred looked back at Will and Linda, figuring out what exactly was happening. “Send an Acknowledgement signal to John; let him know we’re here. Linda, go over to Nav Alpha and set up camp there. Will, go over to Nav Beta and do the same. I want this area secure before the Covenant land.” ****** The Master Chief hung onto the nearest wall, souring through Slipspace on the Forerunner ship the Prophets had taken from Delta Halo. He barely made it onto the ship, and could only hope that it wasn’t headed for Earth. But because the Covenant knew Earth’s location, the chief knew his hopes were in vain. The space outside returned to normal, indicating that they had left Slipspace. But looking outside gave no comfort, as hundreds of Covenant and UNSC battleships fired at each other, and even more floated dead in space. His suit’s radio flickered to life, and a marine’s voice came through. “I’ve got a new contact, unknown classification.” “It isn’t one of ours. Take it out.” It was Fleet Admiral Sir Terrence Hood, who was undoubtedly still on the Cairo Super Mac station, which the chief saw in the distance. “This is Spartan 117. Can anyone hear me? Over.” There was a brief pause, and the Admiral’s voice came over the comm. again. “Master Chief, you mind telling me what you’re doing on that ship?” “Sir, finishing this fight.” “Aye aye, chief. Marine, cancel all firing on that vessel. Master Chief, what is your status?” “Sir, the leader of the Covenant is onboard this ship, in search of something they consider to be a spiritual item. I have no information on it, but I do know that this ship is full of honor guards with upgraded weaponry and shields.” “Hmmm, an interesting turn of events. Alright Chief, here’s your new mission. I want you to capture that leader of theirs. This completely scratches your original mission if you succeed. And find out what this thing their searching for is.” “Sir, with all due respect, this ship should not be allowed to land.” “Sorry Chief, but you’re already coming in. You’ll hit atmosphere in 30 seconds. Grab hold of something steady and good luck. Admiral Hood out.” The Master Chief braced for impact, and waited. His heads up display popped up on his helmet’s screen, and he saw three acknowledgement lights blinking, each on by another member of his team. A big smile broke out on his face, only to be forced away by ship’s violent shaking from Earth’s atmosphere. Barely holding on, he continued to stare at his HUD, barely noticing the outside battle. He sent a reply message, his own acknowledgement signal, to let them know he was there for them, and was coming to help. All he had wanted to do since he left Earth only a few days ago was lead his team into battle, and it seemed that he would finally get that chance. The ship shook again, tossing his body onto the ceiling, making a very loud thud, and waking the chief. He didn’t even get a chance to sleep, and in the one moment of thought, he fell asleep, only to be rudely awakened. After two days of intense fighting, and only a few short breaks for stimulants, the Chief deserved a few hours of sleep, but didn’t take minutes. He always insisted to stay on duty, never showing any weakness. But the bags under his eyes grew heavier by the minute, and at the moment, nothing could possibly hurt him. So he placed his gun on the floor, now that gravity was back, and he sat down, resting his head on the wall. He figured it would take at least five minutes to land, so he closed his eyes, remember how his old CPO Chief Mendez used to tell them, “You can sleep when you’re dead. But if you’re hand can’t hold a gun up straight, your as good as dead. So get some rest.”

Disregarding everything everyone has said about the subject of the survival of a black hole, I'd like to point out a few things. 1. There is no physical evidense of a black hole (Just looked it up. They have some evidense using radio waves). 2. The elements we have now are numbered 1-112 and 114. And 61, 93-112 and 114 are all man made, radioactive materials with a half-life. 3. Current scientist only expect to get to number 118. 4. This is all 500 years into the future. 5. A material that only bonds to itself well, such as the 'noble' gases, is emensly strong (either that or very weak). 6. All the man made elements had to made with a partical accelorater, that sped the atoms at near the speed of light. 7. All radioactive have a half-life. The more protons the shorter it is. The shortest is .24 milaseconds. That's numbedr 114. If it was number 274 it would be around .0000000000000000000000001. Conclusion: There is not enough evidense to support any of the proposed theories and/or hypothesis's. My Conclusion (speculation): Not enough evidese but, listen to this. If it was a real black hole (if they exist), he would most likey not survive. But then again we are talking about the Forerunners here. We all know they have vastly supierior technologie than either race. I'm guessing that they made an artifical black hole that could be deactivated to reveal the structure. Most likely not but maybe possible.

Hey, I was wondering, what happened to your website?

well, you guys sure have alot to say about only 3 paragraph's, which, as i remember before, half of you didn't understand to start off with. agreements, disagreements, and simply "don't do that"'s have been said. lol, awesome. anyways, i'll put it simply: it is possible, because elements can be created, but we simply do not have the power to simply mass produce elements higher than around 100 and keep them stable at the same time. but its very possible, and i don't see why it wouldn't be. so, there you have it. as for the next chapter, it'll be up when you all wake up tomorrow morning. i'm doing another all-nighter, which is becoming famous for me, although i didn't finish the chapter before everyone, at least in the US, was awake. my bad, i just slapped my hand. btw, it'll actually be between 3 and 4 chapters. don't get too excited, as some will have been up for a while already, although with some major changes. like the usage of the new rocket launcher. EDIT= just remembered something. using uranium for nuclear power is a very pathetic form of obtaining energy from it. this is because uranium is unstable and large, whereas atoms like hydrogen and helium are extremely strong and small. if we were able to take apart hydrogen and helium like we do with uranium, the total power the world makes in a YEAR would be nothing compared to what that plant would make in a day. and if it were iron, then it would be an hour. [Edited on 5/28/2005]

THAT WAS FLIPPIN AWESOME!! Dude you should write books! Could you send me the rest? E-mail me at phelan689@yahoo.com. IT WAS AWESOME!!!! :D [Edited on 5/28/2005]

I like how many people are looking into this. The problem is, the passage from the book is based on BAD science. I mean we are talking leeches as a cure all BAD science. Nothing is able to survive the effects of a black hole, except for a larger black hole. If 343 GS happened to be a larger black hole, then everything would be sucked into his gravity well and form in a singularity, which means he could have just flown around acting as a giant vaccum cleaner and destroyed the flood. Black holes cannot be neutralized, the force of gravity is simply too strong, they can capture light, which has almost no mass, and travels at an extreme speed. An element with an atomic number of 276 would not be solid, I would examine the atomic mass and futher debunk the theory, but there is not definative information for the correlation between protons and neutrons on that scale. Also, there is no atomic mass for the largest element, 118. Element 118: Standard state: presumably a gas at 298 K Colour: unknown, but probably a colourless gas Classification: Non-metallic Availability: Not commercially available. That is all a little bit off topic, we don't know how an atom of that size would react. I suppose we would have to know for certain how the universe is created before that. I think somewhere along a nuclear explosion, because it creates some of every element. Of course, what could create a nuclear explosion on such a large scale as to create enough material that just 'happens' to become matter and life, is entirely up to you as an individual. Well, 343 GS isn't capable of slip space travel, which is the only way he would be able to escape the gravity well of a black hole. Even if he were able to create as fast as light speed, which requires an infinite amount of energy (Just like an infinitely small mass is a photon) he would either be forever trapped on the even horizon or he would be sucked in with the rest of the ship. His hovering ablity is a mystery which should not be thought about, because if he is very dense, then he is very heavy, if he has small atoms that don't bond to others, than he would be a cloud. Sigh, best to leave sci fi alone. [Edited on 5/28/2005]

I just put in a lazy link for this page and wanted to see if it works. btw, sir, when do you think the next installment(s) will be up? edit: awesome, it does [Edited on 5/28/2005]

[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Henifer Lope man that chapter was sweet. have some more battles in Israel (like we don't get enough of them here already...) I actualy live in Tel-Aviv and i'd like to people fighting in Tel-Aviv anything[b] other than arabs[/b] for a change. keep it up[/quote] I'm not trying to pick a fight or anything, but is that a racist comment??? Edit: I made the other than arabs part bold Again can someone please pm me the next few installments as they come out until august because I will be in Egypt until then [Edited on 5/28/2005]

man that chapter was sweet. have some more battles in Israel (like we don't get enough of them here already...) I actualy live in Tel-Aviv and i'd like to people fighting in Tel-Aviv anything other than arabs for a change. keep it up