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Stranded at Home Part 5
Posted By: Dispraiser<dispraiser@netzero.com>
Date: 22 August 2003, 5:39 AM
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The ship was damaged, almost split in half and didn't fire any plasma torpedoes to our great luck, it probably couldn't. The flaming mass began to decelerate and stopped at it's optimal gravity lift altitude. The ship hovered for a second as random BAP shell explosions coursed up its sides, the massive ship's shields howling as they activated in the air. Suddenly a purple glow began to flicker as the gravity lift came online. I stood next to the base of the gravity lift and looked upwards. Suddenly the bottom of the ship shimmered as a troop of infantry appeared and plummeted to the base of the gravity lift. I quickly jumped behind a crate and watched as a large group of infantry landed on the pad. I quickly hurled a grenade into the center of the area, but I only managed to wound a single grunt, the smarter and luckier of the Covenant fleeing before it detonated. I fired into the horde, but there were simply too many of them and too little of us. Suddenly the ships plasma torpedoes crackled to life, and a bolt arched from the front of the craft and broke the crest of the crater before I heard an explosion. Soon afterwards, though, I heard an explosion in the BAP column. Apparently it didn't like them shelling it. Another group of enemies dropped onto the gravity lift before a missile from one of the Longswords exploded on the gravity lift. I looked up to see my savior spiraling downwards, a Banshee following it, ripping the already doomed fighter into more pieces. Another great, but smaller barrage of artillery struck the ship at its base in an attempt to hit the gravity lift. The force field shimmered in defiance, however, and we knew the battle was lost. "Men. It is all over. This is our Alamo, this hill, and unfortunately it is our last stand." The radio cackled the voice of the commander over the sounds of explosions and gunfire, "Our Alamo is for Lunar 4 and all of its people. We fight for liberty, we fight for justice, we fight for Lunar 4. May god be with us and may we let our defiance breathe victory." Though his speech was convincing I knew that the battle was already lost. However, we were Marines, and it was our job to fight to the death to serve our planet. Another set of artillery shells shook the ground as a half dozen artillery explosions coursed the ship, again causing no damage. As the fires of the hellish explosions began to fade and the explosions rang for miles another attack team descended from the ship. This one was smaller showing a break in their lines. They most likely had expended their main attack team and were waiting for more to come from the barracks. I ducked behind a crate and stayed out of sight. Most of the Marines near me were dead and the Covenant were focused on the other side of the gravity lift where some still lived. I took my opportunity and ran for the gravity lift. A Grunt spun around as I landed on the gravity lift and jumped yelling for its commander. Before it could finish its shouts for help I disappeared above it flying upwards at incredible speeds. I flew by a descending attack column. As I flew to the clouds in the sky I looked downwards to see the falling Marine columns. Flaming wreaks occupied most of the former attack battalion, and what little BAPS were left fired randomly at the cruiser. I suddenly noticed that one artillery shell was hurtling at the Gravity lift at the bottom of the ship, where I was heading. I watched the white contrails of the shell trace a line upwards towards me. I closed my eyes in fear that it would hit me. Suddenly I was inside the ship. An explosion echoed throughout. I stumbled after realizing I was still alive and quickly ran for cover. Luckily my assumption was right and no troops were in the gravity lift room, but more were probably on the way. Suddenly a duo of Marines dropped into the bay behind me. I gestured for them to move towards me and began to walk towards a door, hiding behind one of the many purple crates. A light blinked above the door and a bell sounded as a door on the other side of the bay opened.
A confident Elite stepped out as a fragmentation grenade bounced to a stop at his feet and was quickly surprised as his shield vaporized. Pieces of him landed around the landing area. His pair of Grunts following in troupe were wounded by the shrapnel and had time to turn to scream before a handful of rounds killed them both. The door behind us opened and two Grunts and two Jackals stepped into the room, again, expecting nothing, but reacting quicker than their allies. I rolled over the top of the crate and fired three rounds into the group, a Grunt dropping to the ground, its glowing blood staining the walls and its nearby allies. A few gunshots echoed from my allies and the rest of the group was cut down. A door on the far side of the room slid open suddenly and three Elites rolled into the room. I turned to my teammates to see that one was running for the first door that the Elite had come from and that the other was lying against a nearby wall with a hand over his chest. I noticed a trail of crimson blood dripping from his lip and that his hand was speckled with his blood. A barrage of plasma gunfire leapt across the room from the rifles of our foes and pelted the walls near us. The other Marine, whom had made it to safety, was calling for me to come. I turned to the other Marine, a dozen feet away, and I looked at the desperation in his eyes. He gestured towards the door for me to run. I couldn't.
I charged across the open area between the crates as Elites began to fire shots of opportunity at me. The walls in front of me melted away, searing, glowing red metal dripping onto me at times. Behind me a flood of gunfire followed me closely. I ducked behind the crate next to the wounded Marine. I looked over my shoulder and saw that two grunt were charging over the gravity lift. I quickly grabbed my rifle and fired a few shots in their direction, killing one and leaving the other a twitching mass on the ground waiting for death to end its suffering. I grabbed the wounded Marine by the shoulders and dragged him, as quickly as I could, away from the area where he lie. Gunfire arched over our heads and the crackling superheated air in its contrail heated our escape. I held my rifle in one hand firing randomly across the room and the marines shoulder in the other dragging him. It seemed as if every step I took was an eternity, and though I hadn't run even 50 feet I felt like I had run for days on end. A plasma grenade arched towards the room in our direction and we were forced to flee again.
I pressed a pair of fingers against the wounded man's neck, he was wounded and dying, though he would be doing worse no matter what had happened, he could be dead on the surface or dead in that cargo bay, at least now he had some chance of living. My bloodstained hand was the same crimson red as the flames in all of my thoughts, all of my family and friends were dead, everything that I had grown to know was in flames, below me my life was being destroyed. None of us knew what we were doing and no one wanted to be aboard this ship, we all just wanted to go home and live peaceful lives, but they had interfered. That was reason enough to destroy every Covenant soldier. I grabbed more painkillers from the small and inadequate first aide kit that was in my field backpack and dropped two tablets into his mouth while telling him to swallow them. The damp and small room that we were in was annoyingly small and hardly enough to fit one outstretched man. We figured that it was a storage closet of some kind though there was nothing in it, but it was too small to fit an Elite, so it couldn't be a deployment bay, only an unused room or a storage closet of some kind. The unscathed soldier stood in the corner of the room reloading his rifle and checking its parts, a release of nervous tension. I looked down at the wounded man who was breathing his last breaths. I couldn't help but be saddened by his death, it was the first that I was close to. A moment later the last dying breath of the man escaped his lips. Not a single final word was breathed, just death. I checked his pulse to confirm his death.
"What now?" I asked, "Us two versus an entire Covenant ship?"
He paused for a moment, "Yeah, something like that." I grinned, hoping he was just kidding. He looked back at me, "Get your rifle" I suddenly felt like dying...
I leaned against the wall of the covenant ship and peered around the corner nervously. I felt the other man walk into my back, watching the hallway for any movements. Nothing happened for a few seconds so I charged around the corner, running for the next hallway, the final hallway... I slid my back against the wall and peered around the corner again, seeing a simple door. The door suddenly slid shut and signaled that something had walked into the room recently. Now was when it was time to question our plan, it could have been anything, and whatever it was, it was sure to cause plentiful pain..
"So.... Do we have a plan for this room?", I asked.
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