AN: Just to be clear, the first 3 episodes will focus on the ODST's journey, the crossover stuff will come in afterward.
Episode 2
Log 22 of ODST Jacob Philips, 105th Division. Date: Unknown. Location: Unknown.
"It's been 12 hours since I woke up from the crash. I did a little exploring during that time and I came across floodlights and equipment. After that I saw... well, I don't really know how to explain it. So let's just move on."
"I've scoured every inch of the crash site, but I still haven't found the rest of my squad. I'm assuming that they were scattered during the crash." Philips walked up to the top of the hill that overlooked the way out of the valley.
"So, I'm going to go and find them."
Log End.
Beginning the long march through the wilderness, Philips eventually arrived at the fissure that broke through to the other side of the rock wall. He had discovered this passage during his scouring of the rest of the valley after the events that had happened yesterday. After canvassing the whole gorge and finding nothing, the ODST private had taken a brief nap in the ruined Pelican, before deciding to venture further into this unknown world.
Gathering all the supplies he could find, Philips had stuffed them in his backpack and was now paying the price for it. He had marched with heavier loads in basic training, but never this far or for this long.
The environment wasn't helping his mood. Though there were plants growing and breathable atmosphere, there was a noticable lack of any other fauna. The whole planet felt completely deserted which was rather disconcerting.
After walking for what felt like an eternity after going through the fissure, Philips found himself on a relatively flat plateau. Most of the greenery was gone, replaced by stone and dirt. Thankfully, Philips discovered a Mongoose ATV lying against a boulder, and after doing a quick check, found that it had been from the Pelican and was almost completely undamaged.
'At least I don't have to walk anymore.' He thought as he set to work patching the few things that had been broken during the ATV's fall. Thankfully, most of the damage was superficial and soon the Mongoose was ready. Lashing his backpack to the rear of the vehicle, Philips drove off through the wilderness, enjoying the quick ride in spite of himself.
After another hour of travelling, the ODST came across the first signs of actual civilization on the planet: a network of metal fortifications, looking exactly like a UNSC military base (minus the notable decals). As Philips explored the interior, he was surprised to find that the computer systems were still working, despite the fact that the area was abandoned. Trying to access the databanks proved fruitless however, so Philips continued towards a group of crates surrounding a cliff.
Dismounting his Mongoose, Philips discovered an entry through the crates only to find that there was nothing here. Suddenly, everything flashed (AN: I'm just going to call these events, flashes, considering that was the effect in the series) into the same orange color from yesterday and once again, Philips found that he was not alone.
A whole crowd of people were gathered in the middle of the courtyard overlooking the cliff, none of whom were looking at the ODST behind them. Their attention was at the edge of the drop, where a woman in a purple suit was perched on the edge of the cliff, while a man in yellow armor was speaking to her.
"Ashley, what are you doing?" He asked with concern and fear.
"I can hear her. She's in my mind and she wants us dead." The woman, Ashley, replied in an unusually quick pace.
"Ashley-"
"Stay away from me!" Ashley said to the man in front of her. He chose his next words carefully.
"Ok, but we're here to help you. You need some help." He said consolingly, but Ashley wouldn't listen.
"I won't let them take her from me." And before anyone could react, Ashley hurled herself off of the cliff without a sound. The man who had been talking to her rushed to the edge, as another couple of onlookers came up right beside him.
"I can't believe it," the yellow-armored man whispered, his voice husky, "she's dead."
"Hey man, come on Kevin," said the guy to his left, "It's not the end of the world, it's only-" He trailed off when he noticed that the man in front of him was crying, "I-I'm sorry."
"It doesn't matter," Kevin replied, as the tears poured down his face, "She's gone. She's gone."
The world flashed again as the orange tint disappeared, leaving Philips alone in the courtyard. Mulling over the events he had just witnessed, especially Kevin's dialogue and reaction, the ODST could reasonably conclude one thing about this whole scenario.
"He loved her."
Whoever Kevin was, he had clearly been in love with Ashley. But that was the only thing he could reasonably determine. He still had no idea what the hell they were talking about, or any idea as to what happened in this world.
Pushing those thoughts out of his mind, Philips returned to his Mongoose and soldiered on. Finding a gravel pathway, the ODST made his way down until he came across a couple of unmarked concrete military bunkers. Dismounting from the ATV, Philips was surprised to find that the front gate into the main building was wide open, and as he stepped through the threshold, another flash occured.
Once again tinted orange, Philips saw that the bunker alarms were blaring and the fortifications were now inhabited by soldiers, one of whom was speaking into a computer panel on the catwalk overlooking the courtyard.
"Sarah, I need you to open the gate right now."
"But commander," a female voice replied, "wouldn't that break protocol? It was by your decree after all."
"Damnit Sarah," the commander yelled, "We don't have time for this! Open the fucking gate!"
A soldier interrupted the commander, "Sir, she's broken through."
"Shit. Open fire!" Right as the commander gave the order, a tank rolled into view from a tunnel that led deeper into the complex. A soldier on a mounted turret started shooting the tank, but the armored vehicle retaliated with it's main cannon, killing the soldier instantly.
The tank's rampage continued unabated for a time, until a whistling noise was heard. The commander and a squad of soldiers were perched in a watchtower, carrying rocket launchers. All of which were pointed at the vehicle.
"Take this you fucking bitch!" The commander shouted as the squad unleashed a salvo of rockets. An instant later, the squad was blown to bits by the tank. The flash ended at that exact moment, allowing Philips to take in everything that he had seen.
The questions just kept piling up, and the ODST had no idea how to answer them. Surveying the damaged facility, Philips could see signs of a battle, like he had just witnessed, but no bodies and no sign of that tank.
Moving along through the complex, Philips found an entrance into the building and walked down the stairs into the basement. Arriving in a well-lit hallway, he slowly walked through it but stopped when he heard voices.
"What the... Hello? Is anyone there?"
The cacophony of whispering voices continued and no matter how much he tried, Philips couldn't comprehend what they were saying. Continuing onwards, Philips reached a corner in the hallway, turning to the right, the whispers fading as he did so.
And Doc was right there.
In the middle of a closed room, underneath a light fixture, was the prone form of the squad medic. Dressed in standard ODST BDU, Doc had custom painted his shoulder pads with white paint and a red cross within the center of it.
"Doc! Are you all right?" Philips rushed over to the body lying down in front of him, checking his vital signs and manually checking his pulse. "Oh God, Doc." Philips stood up, looking down at his fallen comrade.
"He's dead." The lights flickered off and turned on a second later. Doc's body had disappeared, but Philips became aware of heavy breathing coming from behind him, causing him to turn around.
"Doc?"
He was standing there, breathing heavily. His visor was unpolarized and Philips could see the blank look in the medic's eyes. "Doc, are you alright?" Doc lunged at Philips, grabbing him by the neck with both hands.
"Doc, what are you doing?-agh!" Philips choked out, gasping for air. But the medic's only response was to tighten his grip on Philips.
Doc's POV. An unknown amount of time earlier.
"Damn. Fucking communications are blocked." Doc sighed to himself, then looked up towards the concrete bunker in front of him. "I might as well see if that place has a radio."
Running up through the gate, Doc quickly took in the damaged environment, realizing that any communication equipment would likely be beyond repair given the level of damage this place had sustained.
Stumbling onto a passage that led into the interior of the base, Doc travelled down through it and into the basement, coming across the hallway that his squadmate would discover later.
As Doc shuffled through the hallway, a cacophony of whispers bombarded his senses, yet he was unable to make out what they were saying.
"Hello? Is someone here?"
The whispers died down, allowing Doc to make out another noise: crying emanating from the room at the end of the hallway. Cautiously advancing in case this turned out to be a trap, Doc turned the corner and saw a figure in green armor crouched on the floor. The sobbing was coming from this man and Doc cautiously approached him.
"Excuse me, Sir? I'm a doctor, do you require assistance?"
The figure stopped crying as Doc spoke, and an inhuman howling roar filled the room. The lights flickered off and back on, and the figure had disappeared. Panicking Doc spun around and saw the man he was just talking to, standing right behind him, his hands having become claws.
The figure in green lunged at Doc, as everything went black.
Reviews are always welcome and I'll try to get the next couple of chapters done before the end of next week.