Ty stood perfectly still. There was a fifty fifty chance that the flood had left the area, and were long gone, or they had left and where not far away...well, there was always the chance that they had all stopped moving, awaiting instructions, and didn't appear on his motion tracker. He peeked through the foliage, and froze. A combat form appeared to be standing by a wall, twitching, seeming to be listening to some far away voice as it growled. Ty thought of his dead comrades, how their lives had been stolen, and how their souls were now trapped within the body of a Flood warrior. He growled slightly in anger, hands gripping his rifle tighter, his chest swelling outward. The flood demon twitched in his direction, searching for the noise it had heard. Ty was beginning to shake with rage, and finally, he burst from the swamp, howling a battle cry, baying for blood as he fired his rifle. The first beam sliced into the creature's right shoulder, causing it to reel back from the force of the beam. The second shot ripped into its stomach area, sending a spray of blood, and doubling the thing over. The third shot tore into its left thigh, slicing the leg clean off, dropping the creature onto its back, where it struggled to get up and fight back. Ty walked over towards the thing, and kicked it hard, hard enough to cause internal damage, which few species could do without powered armor, and it was hard enough just to make them recoil from a strike much less hurt them. He kicked it and kicked it, and used his other leg when it got a grip on his ankle. He aimed down, and fired a shot directly into its head. The creature spasmed once, and died. Just to make sure, Ty put a few more shots into it and kicked the burnt hole in its head once. And suddenly, he realized his mistake. The motion on his tracker had stopped, and vanished. A few seconds after the flood warrior died, it returned...only headed towards him. He swore aloud, and took off, looking for the nearest way into the briefing area. There was a door nearby, and Ty darted through it, and whipped around. Raising his rifle, he fired a steady stream of energy, welding the door shut. It wouldn't hold for long, the flood could break it down easily. He ran down the hall, up a short flight of stairs, and into the main hall. Sweeping quickly, he found the briefing room, doors still open from the alarm. He bolted inside, and shut the door, slapping the lock button. He sat down on the table and waited. His motion tracker showed them coming, and soon, his crosshairs were pulsating slowly, indicating nearby movement. It didn't take long for the slow pulses to become a solid glow. The Flood were now upon the installation. It took less than five minutes for there to be thumps in the hallway. Ty stood motionless, rifle aimed at the doorway. He figured that if they got in, and there was more than one, he could just jump out the.... window...behind...him.... and it was too late. A combat form burst through the window at the far end of the room. Ty spun and fired, the beam taking it right in the gut, dropping it quickly. He darted over to the window, a particle grenade in his hand. He took a brief second to aim, and tossed it. The device bounced once, then, it detonated in a crowd of combat forms. Some had time to leap at the window before a wave of white energy washed over them, vaporizing half their bodies or killing them instantly from the force of the blast. Ty made no hesitation in running for the door, quickly opening it, and stepping into the hall. He blasted a flood from behind, the beam slicing the head clean off, so perfect was the shot. Ty smirked, but dashed down to the access ladder that lead to the lone guard tower on the gate complex. He clambered to the top, and grinned. The flood had spared the heavy pulse cannon mounted on the tower, designed to cover the gate. The Flood had moved back into the main area, at least some of them, investigating the noise and firing and the yell. Ty powered the cannon, and strapped into it, and howled a battle yell as he mashed the firing stud. Large teardrop shaped bolts of sizzling white particle energy tore from the weapon, smashing into the flood ranks. A single hit was enough to take even the largest of flood down, so powerful was the weapon. He fired and fired, until it over heated, dead anyway. He looked down the shaft of the ladder and swore. Combat forms were at the bottom. They couldn't climb, but would prevent him from going down. Eventually, they would adapt and "learn" to climb the ladder, so he had only one option. He slung his rifle over his shoulder, and reached out for the edge of the roof. It took him a few seconds to climb to the very top, but he did make it up there, only after the strap on his rifle snapped, causing it to fall. He was short one rifle, but still had two particle grenades, and his energy knife. The building was huge, and he began to Jog north, towards the vechile yard, across the huge metal roof of the building. Rain began to fall, a trickle at first, and a downpour suddenly. He muttered. At least he had escaped from the Flood...until a combat form leapt up in front of him on the rain-slicked roof. It growled and stood there, staring at him. Slowly, it began to walk towards him, growling. Ty thought of his knife...it would be suicide in the rain, so would a grenade this close to himself. He cracked his knuckles, and started to run towards it, raising his fists above him. He howled, and was upon the Flood.