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The Fight for Bravo Base; pt. 5- Enemy Reinforcements
Posted By: ONI_operative_343<zattack89@aol.com>
Date: 30 September 2003, 12:29 AM


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The Purification Sacrifices was holding orbit above Sigma Octanus IV when the message came through the BattleNet. The Elite manning the radio port was shocked. From what he'd been told, the entire squad sent down to Yavin II was killed by the Humans, except for 8 of his own kind, and a extra squad of mixed troops that were in a dropship, which was hidden in the forest. The chain of command led down to a Major Elite, who had requested that reinforcements be sent to the moon. Under normal circumstances, such an order from a lower-ranking officer would be dismissed, but the alien who received the message thought it was urgent enough for the Prophets to see. To think that a group of Humans, four or five if he remembered correctly, were destroying his own... unbelievable. He ordered the nearest Grunt to take charge of the radio, then set off down the hall towards the Council of Masters. With luck, he would run into the ship's Commander and the Prophet on board.

"Watch it Marine! You almost hit that damn tree!" yelled Sgt. Reed. Hack grinned then swung the Hog to the left, falling back in line behind Lynch and Jessemans' LRV. It had been about one hour since the four surviving Marines had found their Sarge alive near the edge of the woods. They were all shocked, but reality soon fell back into play. Covenant reinforcements could be arriving within the hour, and they all knew that. As they bounced along the rough terrain, Hack and Reed exchanged their stories. Hack told him about the Wraith, the swarm of aliens, and surviving the assault, while Reed told him about surviving the Warthog crash, Banshee attack, and Covenant patrol squad. Both Marines were shocked at what the other had gone through.
Over the radio came Jesseman's voice. "Hey Sarge, where's that other Hog? I'm stopping for a sec; hold on." Up ahead the warthog slowed to a stop. "Well Sarge? We gonna go find it?" he asked.
"Nah. POS it totaled; plus, I grabbed the Medkit. It's worthless."
"Roger." Lynch began speaking. "...But what about the ammo..?"
"Jammed."
"Oh. Never mind then."
This time Martelli spoke up. "What ever happened to Stockwell?"
At this all four Marines looked to Sarge. He shrugged his shoulders. "Lord only knows. Never found him; we got ambushed first."
"Oh."
"Oh shit..." said Hack, starring down at the radar on the Hog's display. "Hey Sarge, did you manage to take down that Banshee..?"
Reed was speechless. He glanced down at the radar. One big read dot was moving in from the south... fast...
"We've got company!" Hack shouted.
Jesseman swore and started his Hog back up, as did Hack. Martelli and Lynch scanned the skies, watching the treetops for the appearance of the enemy fighter. Reed picked up his Plasma Rifle and switched it on. The Warthogs were soon moving, but the Banshee was gaining. It's screeching engines could be clearly heard above the two Hog's engines. Seconds later, plasma ripped through the treetops, scorching the ground behind the Warthogs. Hack and Jesseman wove through the trees as Lynch and Martelli positioned themselves for a clear shot. The Banshee was above the canopy, firing down. And the hog's gunner seats couldn't reach the angle to hit it. Both Marines kept they're guns aimed just below the fighter, waiting for it to line up with they're sights. Just then the vehicles emerged into a large clearing. And there to greet them were a few very surprised Covenant warriors gathered around a dropship.

The Purification Sacrifices deployed 17 dropships to the surface of Yavin II after hearing of the Human retaliation. The Prophet onboard the cruiser also added three Wraiths, five more Banshees, and nine Ghosts for armor support. The surface-bound aliens included four Hunters, 31 Grunts, 19 Jackals, and 27 Elites. The Covenant troops were sure that the Humans stood no chance. The small moon would be taken, and serve as a key base for Covenant troops once the attack on Sigma Octanus IV began. For now, The Purification Sacrifices was serving as a scout ship; its new cloaking system was being tested, and so far the ship's presence was unknown to the Humans, except for those on the moon. Soon the rest of the Covenant fleet would arrive, but the Sacrifices' goal was to establish a base on the moon, then deploy all remaining forces onto Sigma Octanus IV. And with a Prophet watching his every move, the ship's Commander decided to use brute force to wipe out the remaining humans. Maybe it was overkill... but the Commander loved the feeling of battle. He was filled with anger and motivation with every passing fight. It was as if he lived to fight, and fought to live. Those Humans will pay he thought. How dare the defy us! He anxiously awaited the call that would announce his victory. The incoming BattleNet message both surprised and pleased him. Apparently the Humans had run into the dropship holding position on the moon. Still, he waited, not knowing whether or not to recall the 17 dropships loaded with troops and vehicles. Only a few Jackals and Grunts, and maybe two Elites were planet-side to fight off the Humans. If those Humans got lucky, he thought, then I'll still need those reinforcements down there. The Commander turned to the Grunt at his side and ordered him to stay with the Elite monitoring the BattleNet. The Commander wanted to know the second the Humans were destroyed, from either the planet-side troops or reinforcements. He was certain this would be the end of them.





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