September 4th, 2551 (Military Calendar)

Centauri Seven

1900 Hours

Is it awake doc?"asked Sergeant Donald Casper.

"No. It suffered a severe gash to the shoulder. It'll recover in time but for now it better rest." Chief Petty Officer Drake replied. The Jackal on the exam table before them had several nasty wounds and was out cold."You never told me how you found it."

"We were been on patrol about twenty miles north of here. Our motion trackers picked up movement over a nearby hill. When we investigated we found this Covie being attacked by those things."Casper replied."What about our other patient?"

They both turned and stared at bolted titanium door on the wall behind them. Drake stood and walked too the door followed closely by Casper. The doctor stopped and stood infont of it and opened a view port on the security door. He pulled back the slide and looked into the tiny four-foot by four-foot room. Chained by it's arms in the middle of the room was horrid looking bi-pedal creature. It had clearly been human at one time, but was now something else entirely. It's skin had grown a sickly brown and thick tendrals began to grow from it's wrists. It's head had become mishapen and its neck craned slightly to it's right. As the visor slid open on the door it raised it's eyes and met the doctors gaze. Suddenly the creature sprang to it's feet and leaped at the door growling and screaming. The Doctor doctor sighed and slid the visor shut.

"No change?" Casper asked.

"None. He hasn't improved one bit." the doctor said and sighed again."At least I have-"

Drake was suddenly cut off has the Jackal on the table began too stir. Casper ran over to the bird like alien and leveled his MA5B assault rifle at the things head. The Jackal opened it's eyes and rolled it's head to the side and looked down the barrel of Caspers gun. Drake moved up beside him and motioned for him to put his gun down. The doctor kneeled beside the creature and asked, "Can you understand me?" The alien soldier was clearly nervous but hid it well. It stared at both of the humans and squaked something in its own tounge they couldn't understand.

The doctor looked at Casper and said, "Get the major."

Five minutes passed as the alien made more innane babble the doctor couldn't understand. When finally the the company's CO, Major Edwin Villa came in through the med bay doors Sergeant Casper marched closely behind him carrying a portable holographic display with him. They walked too the restrained Jackal, ans Casper put the holo-projector on the the doctors medical tool table and clicked it on. The image of a Japanese man in cerimonial robes standing with his hands behind his back.

The Villa looked at the AI's image and asked,"Majordomo. Translate what I say." The Majordomo nodded, and Villa turned his attention back to the captured alien."You are now a prisoner of the UNSC Marine Corps. You are in a medical detention center. When your wounds have suffiently healed, and been properly interrogated, you will be shipped to Prisoner of War facility. Until then you are in my jurisdiction and you will answer every question I or my men ask you. If you do not I will have you shot ." The Majordomo translated Villas words, and the Jackals eyes widened in fear, but that fear wasn't at the CO's words. It looked at the hologram and started jabbering in its species tongue. It seemed jumpy but unaffectd by the prescence of the Marines.

The Japanese AI turned an shook his head, "He doesn't seem to fully grasp his situation. He says his name is Dak. He requests permission to return to his Covenant unit and inform them of a new threat."

"Then this 'Dak' is truly crazy if he thinks I am going to let him go to report our position to his people." Villa said with an amount of amusement. "Tell him, I will not releas him, nor allow him to inform his men of our location!"

The AI repeated what the Major said, and listened to the aliens reply."He says you misunderstand. His unit is already aware of our prescence. That was supposed to be their mission objective. Apparently our camp is on some kind of Covenant holy ground. And his units orders were to remove our,'Species Taint', from this spot. Apparently this new threat is something not human, something he didn't expect to encounter." Majordomo paused and continued to listen. When the jackal finished, the AI continued,"I believe he is referring to thess strange mutations that have been probing our perimeters at night."

The Major tensed. They believed these creatures were a new Covenant bio-weapon, but it appeared that even the Covies were fighting these things now. "Ask him what he knows of these things. Ask him what the are?"

The AI queried Dak with the question, and listened intently to it's reply,"He says they are demons. Enemies of their 'gods'. He says we should leave this valley while we have the chance."

"Why?" asked Sergeant casper, still standing behind Major Villa.

"Because," the AI replied turning his attention towards Casper, "he claims our base is directly over these creatures lair. And they are coming too consume us."

Corpral Wallace finally made it too the fallback point, and was astonished at what he saw. Out of the ten men he had led towards Bravo Company's base, only four had survived the ambush. When they saw him walking up they stood too attention and saluted. He crisply returned the salute and walked back up to a nearby tree and leaned against it and dropped his pack and MA5B assault on the ground.

Behind him, Private Jenson asked."Sir. Permission to speak freely?"

Wallace tuirned,"Granted."

"What the fuck happened out there!?" Jenson snapped.

"I don't know. But we had our asses handed to us." Wallace replied.

"What next, sir?" Private Corwin asked.

Wallace looked at Corwin and smiled. This man had just been through hell, yet he was still somehow managing too keep his cool."We make our way too Bravo Base." He turned and picked his rifle back up, and put another clip into it and loaded a bullet into the chamber.

Corwin stammered a bit,"Sir. I don't think we can complete our mission."

That sentiment was joined by Jenson."We should focus on staying alive sir."

Wallace looked at Jeson and glared. "We are. Bravo Company is the nearest UNSC forces for three hundred miles. We are low on ammo and only have two days worth of rations. If we don't make it too Bravo Base, we're dead. So get some rest and regroup your nerves. We move back out in an hour and this time we're moving quickly and quietly."

"Sir. yes sir." The marines said in unison.