Tales of the I66 Firefighters:
Part 1: The Lost Platoon
When the round started, we all took our positions. Garry drove the warthog to my spawn point and picked me up. Ben got ready to hijack a chopper. Our remaining player, who we only called rookie because he had only recently joined the team, grabbed the spartan laser and Sniper. He was unreal with those two weapons.
The whole team was still until we heard the familiar "Set start, Tough Luck on". Garry burst into action and drove a familiar circuit around Lost Platoon, while the Chain Gun I was on continued to rattle, leaving Grunts dead. Ben quickly killed a brute and took his Chopper, and started running over enemies. The Rookie was using the sniper to kill brutes, and the laser to destroy Wraiths.
When the second round started, Ben drove all 3 of the choppers that were on the map under the stairs, in-case any of the other vehicles we were using were destroyed. "Catch On".
I barked at the vehicle drivers to be careful around Grunts, as they could easily be stuck. Garry was confident that we were okay, and so was I, as Garry was an excellent driver. He thanked me for using the turret on the warthog. I could have easily went and taken a chopper, as I would have got more points.
One the final wave of the second round, all of the Brute Cheiftans had Fuel Rod Cannons and Gravity Hammers. I screamed at The Rookie to use his laser against them, but he refused. The laser was for wraiths ONLY. I told Garry and Ben to take evasive manuevers, and only use the vehicles guns to attack the cheiftans. Garry circled Two cheiftans from a distance, and I fired continously into them.
After countless minutes of dodging and weaving, attempting to avoid the fatal hammer blows the Cheiftains were throwing at us, something amazing happened. The Rookie had managed to take control of a Wraith and proceeded to destroy anything in its path. He killed both cheiftains with ease and asked us to get in.
When we were safely back at the Warthog Spawn, I told Garry and Ben to get in the Choppers we had stored earlier and help us fend off attacks. We needed to keep this Wraith intact, considering it was the only way we would get out of here alive. We circled the Platoon for a few minutes, killing anything that stood in our way. We ignored the announcer's voice for a long time, until we heard the one thing Firefighters dont want to hear: "Black Eye On". We needed to get out of the vehicles.
We all met up mere seconds later at the main building. We climbed the stairs and Ben took his familair position with his Splazer and Sniper. I told everyone else to get a Plasma Pistol and any other weapon. Myself, Garry and Ben ended up using the same weapons: Plasma Pistol and Silenced Magnum. We waited. "If someone is hurt, let an enemy come up the stairs so the injured can melee" I said. "But under no circumstances is anyone to go down those stairs unless your ammo clip is completely empty".
"Garry, take the back entrance. Shout if you see anything Major coming up. Major Being Cheiftains or something big". We waited for a long time, knowing the enemies would eventually come up. With Black Eye on, Bottle Necking enemies was the only way we had a chance. After ten minutes, only a few Grunts had dared come up the stairs, which was quite ironic. We had no problem holding them off. After half an hour of holding off just Grunts, we heard the epic sound of "Reinforcements".
"Something bigs coming your way guys" Rookie said. "Really Big". We huddled up together with our weapons ready. It was then we heard the chilling, terrifying and familiar sound of a ferocious creature. The most dangerous thing to meet when Black Eye was on. A Hunter. It roared and charged up the stairs, swinging its arms wildly. Rookie jumped up onto the metal supports above the upper story, where only the Hunters Plasma Cannon could reach him. He took out his Splazer and attempted to fire. But nothing happened. Empty.
Rookie jumped off the supports behind the Hunter. He attempted to run downstairs but was hit straight in the face with a Gravity Hammer. He toppled over. "ROOKIE!" I roared, and ran past the hunters. I ended up face to face with a Chieftain. He swung his hammer, but I ducked and tackled him to the wall. He picked me up and threw me down the stairs. But I could feel no pain, only anger. I fired some charged Plasma Pistol shots at him and ran at him once again. I managed to knock his helmet off before he knocked me up the stairs with his Gravity Hammer. I landed at Garrys feet.
Everything was blurry. Every sound I heard was distorted. I lay on the ground, not physically able to get up. I heard a sniper shot, and heard Ben shout "Yes, I got the Chieftain! Silly bastard wasnt wearing a helmet". I saw Garrys shape above me. "I need Biofoam NOW!". I felt a strange feeling as the hole in my chest slowly filled up. The world started to come into focus. I stood up slowly, testing the strength of both my legs. I was fine.
I stared around at the Dead Hunters and Chieftains, wondering how Garry and Ben had taken them out without any powerful weapons. Garry, seeing the wonder in my face, Held up a Gravity Hammer. "Took this off the Chieftain you almost killed". He walked downstairs and swapped out his Gravity Hammer for his SMG he had left downstairs and called for extraction. "Objective complete. Set complete. Game Over".
The Pelican landed and we hopped on. I grabbed a Pistol and a Rocket Launcher which we kept in the Weapons Cache. When I got bad looks from everyone I just responded with: "I have a bad feeling". The pelican took off, but not before we heard the familiar "Whoosh" of a Banshee. "BANSHEES FAST AND LOW"!
I woke up beside the wrecked Pelican. I heard noises and shouts from behind me, clearly inhuman, but I ignored them. I climbed into the wreckage and started searching for survivors. I remembered Garry Jumping out of the Pelican just before we got hit. He must have killed himself. I found the pilots body in the cockpit, but Ben was nowhere to be found. It was then that I realized what the Aliens had been shouting. I clearly heard an Elites voice before I climbed into the Pelican. "We have him". Ben. They had Ben.
There was only one place in the Uplift Reserve they could have taken him. The Hub on the way to the space elevator. I crawled out of the Pelican and headed towards the Warthog. I had no gunner, but I didn't care. I drove for a few minuntes until I came to the entrance of the Hub. I climbed out of the warthog and climbed a nearby ladder. From here, I could see Ben. He was lying unconscious in the main room. I raised my rocket launcher and fired. Just as I fired, I sprinted forwards, fast as I could. I was just behind the rocket, but stopped just before the rocket hit. I saw the Elite Officers body fly across the room. I had taken care of the most dangerous enemy in there, but there was more.
I dived behind a crate as a small group of Brute Majors came to investigate. I waited until one of them Broke Away, and grabbed him. I shoved my combat knife into his neck, and dragged his body backwards. The other two Brutes looked around, trying to find their friend. During the chaos, I ran behind both Brutes and slit ones throat, diving behind a barrier immediately. His friend stared around, terrified. But soon his terror turned to anger, and he went Berserk. He ran at the crates and broke each one of them, trying to find me. Killing a Brute in Berserk Mode was incredibly tricky, and I needed to get behind him.
I stood out from the barrier and called to the brute. He turned around and ran at me. I stood as still as time, waiting. Waiting. Waiting. NOW! I dodged behind him, and stabbed him in the back of the neck. I quickly ran out the door, towards Ben. I woke him up, and handed him a Magnum. When we got outside, we were terrified. On the Horizon was at least four hundred Brutes, accompanied by thousands of Grunts and Jackals. It was over. We were dead.
The familiar "Whoosh" sound of the Banshee was back. We heard it fire, and closed our eyes. But the next thing we heard was screaming. Of Brutes. I opened my eyes to see the Banshee killing the Brutes in front of us. It landed in front of us, and Garry stepped out.
He explained that he had jumped out of the pelican, and hijacked the Banshee. He used it to secure a Falcon, which would be our way out. We jogged to the Falcon and took off. "Garry" I said. "Ya?" he answered. "That Banshee thing, was it true?" "Of course,how else do you think I got it"? "Well then" I said, "You better put that in your Fileshare".
Part 2: The Journey
We arrived at the HQ an hour later. We were greeted by Sergeant Johnson, and told we were wanted in the Briefing room. When we arrived, we found a surprise. The Rookie. He was alive. "It takes a Hell of a-lot to keep a FireFighter down" I told him. "Welcome Back". We were then briefed on our next mission:
"Master Chief is expected to hit the ground somewhere close to Sierra 117. The area is heavily populated by Covenant forces. We need you to head out towards that area, and use the Heavy Weaponry we are about to give you to destroy the Covenant Comm Tower just outside the Sierra 117 zone. This will stop them dropping in Hunters, Drones, and Chieftains, even though there is already a Brute Chieftain situated at the Water Plant north of Sierra 117, which the Covenant are using as a base. Once the covenant have been stopped, we need you to get back here as quickly as possible. We are counting on you".
We helped the crew set up the Pelican for the Journey ahead. We attached a Scorpion Tank to the bottom of the Pelican, Ready to be dropped with the push of a button. We installed 4 drop pods in the Pelican, and Brought up some of our scavenged Power Weapons, and Placed them in the Weapons Cache. After a few hours, we got ready to leave. "Before we lift off, grab whatever weapons you need, and get in the Drop Pods. That way, If we are hit, we can drop quick, and work our way to the Comm Tower" I said. The rest of the group nodded. "We are ready to go".
I grabbed a Sniper Rifle, Energy Sword, Plasma Pistol and Magnum from the Cache. I fitted them comfortably, and sat in the Drop Pod. "Activate Comm System" I said. Four faces flashed up on Screen. The top one was my own. The two to the Right were Rookie's and Ben's. The one to the left was Garry's. "ETA 15 minutes" the Pilot said.
Suddenly, Alarms were going off. "Prepare to Drop Team, It appears we have been hit" I said. "Launch in 3, 2, 1...". I pushed the button, and The Drop Pod separated from the Pelican, and fell. It hit the ground and I jumped out. "All clear" Garry Said. We checked our ammo, and headed North.
"Covenant camp, 1.2 kilometres North" I said into the Radio. "Roger That" Ben answered. I was perched on top of a hill, staring down the scope of my sniper, checking out the camp. "Doesn't seem to be much" I said. "Just a few Grunts and a Brute. Ill take them out from here". I fired 5 quick shots, and 5 bodies hit the floor. "All Clear" I said. "Move up".
We headed past the camp, and scavenged ammo off some Dead Soldiers Bodies. "We need to split up" I said. "Me and Garry will attempt to find the Pelican, we need that Tank to destroy the Comm Tower. Ben and Rookie, you two head North towards the Comm Tower, and take up Long Range offensive positions. Scout out that base, and report back every Ten Minutes". "Yes Sir!" Everyone answered, and we headed our seperate ways.
"We dropped out here, so we should go West" I said. Garry just laughed. "Or" he said, "We could go towards the smoke I can see in the distance to the East". I looked up at the Black Cloud of Billowing smoke. "Fine" I said. After a few minutes of walking, we found the pelican. It was surrounded by 4 brutes. Garry took out his combat knife and looked at me. I nodded, and drew my energy sword. We approached carefully, taking one step at a time. Garry Went to the two Brutes on the left. I took the two on the right. With one easy slash, both were dead. I looked over to see Garry wiping blood off the Knife.
"Garry, you drive and control the main turret, ill take the machine Gun turret". He nodded at me and hopped into the Drivers seat. "We have found the Comm Tower" I heard Rookie say over the Radio. "Okay dude, were heading your way" I replied. Halfway to the objective, we met a Covenant Recon Squad. This consisted of a Wraith, and Three Ghosts. The Tanks main turret ripped through two Ghosts and the Wraith, while I finished off the last Ghost and some ground infantry with the Machine Gun.
We arrived at Ben's location soon after. I exited the tank, and took up position with my sniper. I aimed down the sights and scouted out the base. "Garry" I said over the Radio. "We have a Problem". "Whats wrong?" he asked. "Shade Turrets, Anti Air Wraiths, Grunts armed with Fuel Rod Cannons. They are Heavily armed, and will tear the tank apart. But I have an idea." I ran back towards the area where we killed the Recon Squad, and found the Ghost I had left intact, killing only the driver with the Tank's machine Gun. I hopped in and silently made my way into the Base. There was no security on the outside, but there was too much on the inside. I left the Ghost behind a building, and drew my Energy Sword. I crept around the back of the barracks, and climbed in a window. I set about silently killing everyone in the base, which was surprisingly easy. The only thing I had a problem with was a Gravity Hammer weilding Brute Chieftain, who wanted a melee battle. A sniper shot to the face finished him off.
I gave Garry the all clear, and he proceeded to destroy the tower. Roughly a minute later, I saw a flaming figure fall overhead. "Good luck Master Chief" I said quietly, and called for extraction.
When we arrived at base, there was yet another surprise waiting for us. "Dean" Johnson Barked. "A Woman by the name of Doctor Halsey is here. She wants to talk to you and Garry". Halsey, the woman who had invented the Spartan Programme. There was only one thing she could have wanted. "Hello boys, how are you? I have a favour to ask. We need you to go through the augmentation process, become spartans, and test out a very special peice of equipment for us. We need your full cooperation, and nothing less is accepted. If you do not understand, are afraid, or not willing, then leave". I looked at Garry. We both nodded in unison. "This way then" she said.
I felt sleepy. The IV connected to my arm slowly circulated a liquid around my body. Everything went black.
I woke up a few days later. I felt sick, groggy, unwell. But it didnt take long to recover. I felt my strength, speed and stamina increase. I felt almost invincible. Garry was the same. Doctor Halsey did numerous tests on us, and constantly tested our speed and agility. "I think you are ready" She said. "The peice of equipment we want you to test out is what we believe to be a time machine. Its calibrated for three months before the Fall Of Reach. We need you to get on Reach, and retrieve a Data-Con package that got destroyed. We ordered the package to be destroyed by a group of Spartans we called: Noble Team. The package was highly valuable, and has very important data on it, but we were afraid that Covenant may get their hands on it. If this machine works, you will travel back, infiltrate the base, and grab the intel. When its done, the machine should automatically calibrate itself, so dont worry. We have new weapons, armor and equipment for you also. You will both get a set of Mjolnir mark V armor, a Designated Marksman Rifle, A Focus Rifle, a Magnum and an Energy Sword. Is all this understood"? she asked. We nodded. "Then get going, we have no time to spare".
Part 3: Reach
"Are you ready to leave yet?" Doctor Halsey asked. "No, we need to talk to Rookie and Ben". Myself and Garry went down the hall into the Barracks. We explained to Ben and Rookie what was happening, and asked what they were going to do next. "Well I am joining a squad of ODST's" Rookie said. "Their leader is a guy by the name of Buck. They are dropping down on New Mombasa. I will be using one of Doctor Halseys time machines to get back there". "What about you?" I asked Ben. "Me, well I have been transfered to a sniper squad, who will be attempting to assassinate the current Prophet. After that, I dont know."
We put on the strange machines and told Doctor Halsey we were ready. It was a strange feeling. It felt like a large weight was placed on my chest. After a minute, my feet touched the ground. Grass. And stone. I looked aroud. It was the planet Reach, during the main invasion. I could see a group of Elites in front of us. I shoved Garry and told him to get down. We carefully walked past the Elites and moved up. "Thats the bulding with the files in it. Once we are in, we get the files and..." I didnt get much further. The building in front of us, the one with the files in it, had just blown up. And out of the wreckage stepped six Spartans. Spartan III's.
I thought about approaching them, but how would they believe what we had done. We needed to report to Dr. Halsey and tell her the mission had failed. "Dr, the building has been destroyed, we got the time frame wrong. Maybe you can calibrate the device to go back further". Silence. No voice. Then a strange, deep, bellowing voice sounded out. "We have your Doctor. She will die now. The covenant has victory once more". The radio cut out.
"We need to calibrate this thing ourselves" I said. "No problem" said Garry, "I can do it". Within an hour, that strange feeling had come back, and we appeared outside office. "Well that was a failure of a mission" Garry said. We moved slowly into the office, hoping she was alright. "Doctor?" I said. "Are you in here"? Nothing.
There was a strange shuffling noise. We turned around quickly, and saw an Elite Zealot jump out at us. We has weilding a Red Energy Sword. Garry blocked his attack, and I tackled him. He hit a wall, and jumped off. He swung his sword, and missed Garry by an inch. I jumped back and tried to dodge, but hit a wall. But then I saw it. 3 dead bodies. Doctor Halsey, Ben and Rookie. I cringed, and turned around, to see the Zealot shove his Energy Sword into Garrys Chest. "NOOOOOOOO!" I roared, but it was too late. "You die now" the Zealot said. he swung his Energy Sword. I tried to duck, but couldnt manage it. He drove his Energy sword through my head, and everything went black.
