"Please repeat that message Polaski" Johnson said calmly. "Bravo advance 4, I have been ordered to extract you. We are to link up with the truth and rec. once clear of the blast zone. I am at 34,84 on the sit map, we've got a repeat transmitter going from a 40 meter range. Once you've reached that I'm going quiet. The covenant are scanning the airwaves as we speak. Got all that?" "Affirmative warrant officer, brew us up some coffee while your waiting, Out." Nervously joked Johnson.
He looked over his men with his scanner to see how they where doing. Harold was in the best shape as usual, he stood; looking up at the opposite side of the ring world. Adam was covered in rotting blood both human and covenant, however other than a gash in his shoulder, he was fine. He was currently trying to clean all the goo off of his rife from when he had driven it into an elite's chest. Harold sat clutching his open flesh, alone as usual. He was by far in the worst shape, on account of a flood fired pistol round that had planted itself in his side and detonated, as they did. The roughly 3cm cubed hole had been filled with bio-foam to stop internal bleeding, but the marine squealed with every step……… not that that was anything unusual with Harold. Johnson chuckled to himself, which got strange stares from the men. But jokes aside, the man wouldn't last too long on foam alone. Johnson knew that the only hope Damien had was if there was a medic aboard Polaski's bird. "Looks like our lucks' finally getting better men. I've just had word that there's a pelican drop ship that's got room for 4, 50 meters from here. I can almost taste our freedom"
"All due respect sir, but how the fuck are we supposed to find a single drop ship 50meter away when we couldn't find a god dammed covenant cruiser that was in plain sight" Damien moaned. Harold snapped. He withdrew his combat knife, barged into Adam, to knock him aside and put the sharp edge to Damien's throat in a motion that looked asif it had been rehearsed a thousand times. Johnson was completely shocked by the sudden outburst, he scooped up his rifle and aimed it at Harold.
"I swear Damien, if you don't close your mouth this second, I'm gonna slice out your voice box a feed you to the flood an-" started Harold with a twisted smile on his face, which hovered above the marines left ear. Then his face turned to horror, he twitched, making a small cut in the paralysed Damien's neck. Then he fell to the ground as if his skeleton had just been torn out , just short finishing his last ever spoken sentence. Adam got to his feet and unclipped his side arm, aiming it at Damien, thinking he had shot the ODST. "I didn't do it! Look at his leg!" shouted the now even more heavily bleeding Damien. Both the Sergeant and Adam rushed over to Harold. They arrived just in time to see a bulbous infection form twist violently on the humans leg to brake the tendril it had just used to short circuit his brain and fill his blood with flood DNA, through the nerves in his leg. After doing this it then moved it's way up to his ribs almost seeming to hover, when there it revealed a razor like edge and began to saw through skin and bone. Adam was stopped from trying to grab it by Johnson.
"Leave him. I don't want to risk contamination marine, plus he's as good as dead." Johnson turned his back to the horrific scene. "Finnish them, that's an order"
Adam opened his mouth to protest but it was shut again in disgust as the balloon like creature tunnel into Harold's chest cavity, to become the sole operator of the once human body. Adam lined his shaking pistol up with Harold's head and fired twice, then aimed at the close to fully submerged parasite and emptied the entire clip into it, taken by both rage and despair. After the pistol had clicked multiple times, he threw it to the floor and doubled up, vomiting on the cold hard rock on which he stood.
The three humans stopped in suitable looking cover, Damien limped behind the other two and wheezed erratically, Johnson got to one knee opened a COM channel. "This is bravo advance 4 leader, to Polaski. We are within 35 meter of your bird and are approaching from the south. Out"
"Bravo advance 4, this is Polaski. After this transition I am cutting power, I repeat cutting power until your arrival. We can't wait forever sergeant, you've got 30 mins. I'm sending Private Locklear to rendezvous with your squad ……… yes Locklear that means you can go and blow shit up…… Polaski out. Johnson clicked off his COM and sighed. He gave Adam the order to cover their backs. This meant the planting of all 9 of their "claymore V7's" and the wiring of all but 3 of their grenades; Johnson wanted this to be their final run and did not want to be flanked in the process. "Its do or die time men."
Glorp slowly opened one eye, he wanted to know why he wasn't dead yet. 'Sunee lay motionless on the floor, he was oozing with blood and surrounded by rotting corpses. But Glorp could see that the functional flood had gone. With this new revelation He spun to find lired also motionless, he quickly waddled over to the orange clad grunt. "Lired!" He squealed, while prodding his comrade's down turned face. He was asleep. Glorp was so happy he jumped up into the air before kicking the grunt awake. "what?….. is it my turn at the food nipple?" "Comon get up!". Lired shook his head and his eyes crumpled up as he remembered where he was.
"I go see If master ok." said Glorp. He was very close to 'Sunee when he slipped on green blood and almost cracked his respirator. He re-righted himself and was greeted by the sight of about a hundred flood infection forms approaching the Elite's body. Glorp again jumped into the air but this time in pure fright Lired started to wail and threw his arms into the air. However before the grunts had time to do anything else the, flood where popped by two streams of green plasma. Both aliens stood perfectly still while their small minds tried to figure out what was happening, they watched on as two Jackals Sped over to 'Sunee and hungrily poked at his flesh. One removed his helmet and prepared to bite into his neck, a finishing strike. Lired and Glorp withdrew from their mental lapses and bombarded the Jackals with rocks, enraged by their savagery towards the fallen warrior. "Claws off, you stinky bird brain basted!" Lired shouted after hurling his empty needler at the closest vulture.
The two gold armoured Jackals shrieked in alarm and activated their shields, while opening fire in the approximate area the stones came from. The grunts dived for cover, Glorp threw Lired a grenade and showed him a count down on his fingers. Those damn dirty birds weren't gonna eat 'Sunne, thought Glorp; he'd fought with his life to protect the grunts, the least they could do was return the favour. The rock above Glorps head was crumpling, but he found courage from somewhere and continued to count down. 5.…4.…3.…2-
"Cease fire at once, or I'll eat you both!" boomed a bodiless voice. The stream of fire stopped and the grunts peered over their cover to see both Jackals stood at attention. A blue Elite stood in front of them.
"How dare you try to eat a fellow covenant, a ranking officer, a Sangheili elite before me!" The elite roared. "Then you fire the other two soldiers we're here to rescue? When we return I shall have you both dis-honrably discharged. One more foot out of line and I will snap your limbs and assure that you are infected by the flood and left to rot within the shells of your own bodies! Now, wake the officer". The Elite clashed his mandibles and strode over to the grunts hiding spot. They looked at each other then got out of cover.
"My apologies, these Jackals are entrust worthy, if you would like I'll let you be the ones to kill them when we get back to the ship"
"What Ship, your mightiness?" enquired Lired with a glimmer of hope in his voice. "The great ship master Orna 'Fulsamee has a vessel still docked here on the ring world, he is taking aborde everyone he can, before taking off. Truly a hero." A Jackal screeched to get their attention 'Sunee now stood. He brushed off skin and bone from his crimson armour and re-booted his shield. After his shimmering blue shield engulfed him, it became transparent.
"You have my thanks brother, my grunts and I would have died where it not for you"
"It is my duty, I need no thanks, sir. A ship is waiting for our return, I have orders to escort any survivors back to it". 'Sunee could hardly conceal his joy. This was it, once he was aboard the ship he would be rated as such to be promoted. He began to imagine what the black or purple armour would look like on him and how strong the shield out put would be, but was shortly interrupted by the blue Elite.
"However... I am not to escort anyone who has not met their mission parameters, may I see your mission log sir". With these words 'Sunee's visions of cutting down humans in his new black armour seemed to fall away from him, into nothingness. He had nether mission log or a completed mission parameter, he was doomed to a public execution spend the rest of his natural life on this ironically named hell, he'd be a zombie within hours. He could lie and say he did the mission but lost the log….no then he'd be tolled to find it. It was all his fault in the first place, because of his stupid day dreams he hadn't heard the objective briefing and left the grunts carrying the log on their own, grunts who where easy pray for the flood. This decision would now ultimately decide his fate, he was to either die or do something about it. 'Sunee reflected on the covenant oaths he'd broken already, this was a desperate situation, one more broken oath wouldn't hurt.
"Sir?" asked the Elite, growing impatient. 'Sunee clashed his mandibles, his decision had been made "The major Unggoy has it". Glorp looked at 'Sunee with great alarm, but remained silent. The blue Elite's impatience faded and he strode towards Glorp, who began to back up in confusion. 'Sunee bent low and retrieved his old empty rifle, he once more tried to consider any more options; other than laying down to die, there was none. The high major ran toward the lesser elite and grabbed his head before quickly delivering a spine shattering blow with the front of the gun, into the centre of his back. The four smaller aliens watched the scene of seemingly random murder with open mouths. Unsure of their reaction 'Sunee turned as the other elites body fell, and aimed at the Jackals. "If you wish to continue living your pointless lives, I suggest you speak not of what I have done and follow my orders from now on." Ordered 'Sunee, now advancing on the trembling creatures. They quickly stood to attention.