[url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=58998445&postRepeater1-p=1#59017004]Link to previous chapter[/url] Pure unfiltered light ricocheted from the vultures' thick ceramic armor. panzie dodged a volley of gunship and hornet fire, then sprinted into the main building. The gunships and pelicans began to close distance on the hold of the temple. A few of the monks had rocket launchers trained on the ships. opening fire, they launched a volley of rockets at the flying monstrosities. Built in countermeasures deterred most of the shots, the thick armor of the vulture adsorbed the remaining rockets. Undeterred, the monks took turns loading and firing rockets. Hornets dropped as they were hit with the heat guided rockets, one crashed into the bulk of a vulture in a burning wreck. it slid off the gunship's hull harmlessly. nearing the wall, a pelican began firing its built in autoturret. The pinging of bullets was followed by the agonizing screams of several wounded monks. Smaller monks dragged those unable to fight into the building. Panzie searched in vain for his rocket launcher, but could not find it. After a minute of frustration, he decided he would have to fight it out then look for his weapon. Slamming out of the door, it was not a pretty site outside. Monks lay where they had been gunned down. The wall had since been cleared by the gunships now above it. Monks were firing their weapons from windows in the temple itself. Rogue was crouched behind a barricade on the wall. A gunship aimed its weapons toward her. With a strong burst of muscle, panzie launched himself straight into the air. Then slammed his hand into the wall of the temple, creating an imprint in the stone for use as a handhold. He continued to do this, creating a make-shift climbing path. Noticing the armored warrior scaling the wall, the gunships fired on panzie. High explosive shells sent shrapnel pinging against his armor. A cloud of flame erupted above him, but he pushed through its burning hearth. Nearing the top, panzie gave a final heave and threw himself onto the roof. The tall building gave him a wide viewing vantage point. Outside of the gates, the pelicans had landed and were unloading troops. The sheer number could take the temple by themselves. Ahead of him, the five vultures were firing at small pockets of monk resistance. With a snarl, panzie stepped back, then sprinted toward the edge facing the nearest Vulture. Muscle, tendon, and blood worked together to launch panzie the thirty yards to the vulture floating at around the building's height. With a resounding "bump" Panzie landed on the vulture. Willing strength into his arms, he grabbed at the corner on an armor plate, then flexed his arms. Pulling with might that would astound many, Panzie strained himself to pull off the nearly 600 pound armor plate that was attached to the hull of the ship. With a groan, the armor bent then pulled off. Revealing much softer metal. Kicking it, panzie punched a hole through the hull. Releasing a small amount of the vacuum sealed air. A bungie trooper fell back in surprise, then raised his sub machine gun. Before hie could, panzie kicked him in the skull. The soldier's head slammed into the far wall with a bloody "cruck". Panzie turned his head toward a sign pointing to the cockpit. A long hallway lined with pipes and wires led to a large room filled with computers and bungie pilots. Several noticed panzie and pulled sidearms from their holsters. Thankfully, panzie's armor could easily deflect such small projectiles. The group of pilots unloaded their pistols into panzie, only to be met by loud ricochets and wasted bullets. Wit wide eyes, most of them ran for the nearest hatch and parachuted out. A single pilot remained. He was staring at panzie and shaking. panzie looked at the man, then out the window of the cockpit. This vulture had stopped firing, but the others were still pounding away. below, bungie soldiers were firing rocket launchers at the thick wooden outer gate. They were doing severe damage. Panzie turned his attention to the nearby floating fortresses. One could not possibly outgun the others. With a snap, panzie had a plan. He turned to the frightened pilot, then held him against a wall. "Charge all weapons and put the engines in overdrive" he said into the scared mans face. Outside, Rogue fired her pilfered assault rifle into the wall of advancing troops. The look of fear and beateness in their faces proved they had been brainwashed or tortured into this work. A burst of fire from her rifle took a pair down in a spray of blood and dirt. One kicked before he stopped breathing. The wall of advancing troops easily outnumbered the few remaining monks. Ammo was all but out, They probably had less than a hundred rounds between the entire defensive line. Above, four of the vulture gunships hovered, firing on the walls of the temple. Craters and sagging walls told of the pilots' relative success. With a click, Rogue's assault emptied itself. She was out of ammo. Assault rifle chatted from a few monks before they too became silent. Realizing the opponent was out of ammo, the advancing line of bungie soldiers halted. With a loud "hooouh" They dropped their weapons on the ground. Then, pulled a small device from their hips, and activated them. Rogue now stared at between ninety and a hundred energy sword wielding madmen. With a collective scream, they charged the line. Knowing they couldn't hold out against such an onslaught in the open, Rogue cried for the monks to enter the temple behind her. Some who hadn't heard were quickly cut into shreds by the advancing line of troops. The others had entered the heavy metal and wood door behind rogue. Rogue thanked them for fixing her, then turned her attention to the advancing troops. A short man lunged his sword at her solid white unarmored abdomen. With a clack, she slammed her rifle into his head, then grabbed his sword. She gutted a nearby soldier before he could cut her. she grabbed his sword as well. Swinging the swords in a beautiful dance, heads fell under her. A pair charged her and the first pinned her. The second lunged for a slice. A primal instinct in Rogue dictated her next response. With lightning speed, she shot her head around and bit into the man's face. An agonizing scream erupted from him as she chomped and gnawed his face into a bloody, bony mask. He fell to the ground. The man pinning Rogue looked into her face. What had been a sentient warrior was now a pitch black eyed monster. A movement of her arm unhinged her swords from his hold, cutting his arms off in the process. Charging headlong into the mass of soldiers, she took them off guard. Swinging her blades in a circle, several cried as limbs were removed, or were simple killed by the deadly slash. Above, the non-firing Vulture inched its way to the nearest one. A slight lazy curve. It collided with the nearest one and Panzie could be seen jumping to a third as the first exploded in a deafening roar. Fire filled the sky as the pair of heavily armored gunships hurtled to the earth. Panzie punched through the glass on the third and threw what looked like a sack of potatoes through the hole. An huge explosion wracked the inside of the third Vulture's cockpit, It began to shift lazily toward the ground. Panzie flew toward the fourth. The two remaining Vultures began firing on each other. Below, Rogue stepped over a fallen body brandishing her pair of swords.in front of her, soldiers gave her a wide berth. If they were afraid before, they were overtaken by absolute terror now. Cuts and small stabs covered rogue's arms and legs, but she didn't seem to notice. A single soldier charged her and was halved longwise. To them, rogue was a shark demon from hell, her pitch black eyes seemed to thirst for the souls of all she could grab. Her jaws were filled with blood an strips of torn flesh. She charged the line, and several ran. One man stood his guard and was immediately stabbed through the chest, his bloody coughs sent droplets across Rogue's face. With a scream of delight, she tore into the man's stomach. Despite still having nearly an army of soldiers left, the others turned to flee. Bodies of their comrades littered the ground. The soldiers began to run, Rogue's mouth filled with saliva as she ran them down. [Edited on 04.16.2011 12:10 PM PDT]