Level 5: Live for today, die tomorrow

Central Ethiopia
620 miles North of Mukutan, Kenya
November 1, 2552

Driving throughout the day and into the night, the small squad and their Black Ops leaders were slowly being taxed on ammo and stamina. Eric paced the interior of the Meg-5, his Assault Rifle fully loaded and ready to go. In a seat near the front of the civilian transport slept Corporal Hall and Private John. Across from him slept the Airman Tsueng. The three soldiers had been awake for the entire ride so far and had finally lost to their exhaustion. Private Jackson now manned the helm while Black ops 05 watched from the roof. Black Ops 08 slept at her side. They had long cleared the mountain path and were now a mile ahead of the Flood and slowly gaining more distance; but they made sure to leave the monstrous creatures presents to play with.

"Confirmed another detonation, 19." Melanie stated as she zoomed into the distance with her mask binoculars. Several fire plums ignited in the distant early morning air. "Nothing like a few pounds of Lotus mines to clear your head."

Eric Yawned. "Distance?" Everyone had taken a short nap but him, and the lack of rest was starting to show.

"Roughly one mile back." Melanie replied. "I placed them one mile apart, as were your orders."

"Oh… right." Eric sighed he sat on the edge of a seat.

Melanie climbed down and walked toward Eric. "Get some sleep. We still have about another days worth of driving before we get anywhere near Egypt. The Flood aren't going to catch us at this point, if anything happens, you'll know it."

Eric lowered his rifle and flipped on the safety. "Private Jackson, how you doing up there?"

Jackson threw up a thumb, "Clear sailing ahead. We should be nearing a small city in about two hours. We can fill up our empty hydrogen cells there. Otherwise, we only have another eighty miles or so left."

"05, wake me if anything happens. You have the squad." Eric rolled back in the seat, and was instantly unconscious. Melanie stood over him for a second watching as he held his rifle closely to his chest. Eric wouldn't need much rest, he was never a deep sleeper, but considering his wounds and lack of food, there was a chance he'd sleep for a long time. It was good for him.

Melanie walked to Jackson's side at the driver's seat. "If you get tired, don't hesitate to wake up Corporal Hall. He's got next duty at the wheel."

"Yes Ma'am." Jackson smiled. "I'm good for now." Melanie patted him on the shoulder and walked back to the roof.

Mathew sat up as Melanie approached. "19 give you squad duty?" He questioned as he stretched.

"Yeah. We're going to drop a few more mines for the Flood to play with, then we'll stop at the next town for fuel."

"Sounds like a plan, Chief…" Mathew paused after realizing his punctuation error. Calling Melanie Chief was the appropriate call sign, but it was awkward referring to Melanie in that way; it reminded everyone of Kim and how they always called her Chef. "Sorry 05."

"No, it's fine. It's stupid that I haven't moved beyond it." Melanie gazed into the distance as another explosion flashed behind them. "If the squad is going to survive we have to get past these memories. Kim's gone."

Kimberly Peters was indeed gone, and Siren was not a worthy replacement. It was great having Siren call the shoots for that brief battle on the Seed Ship, but an AI is nothing but digital information translated into a human form, she was not her real sister. Kim's death lead to many things once Eric took over the reigns. His first act of duty was defending their ship, The Rogue Fantasy, from a Covenant boarding party, and immediately after that incident he terminated all of their future missions and split the squad. The Black Ops no longer existed until Covenant found Earth. Eric made contact with all the surviving members of the squad and brought them back together under the disguise of "Red Squad". Not even the UNSC Brass knew that a team of ten would be able to infiltrate a Covenant controlled city, take its ship, and find the Elite home planet. Not only that, but Eric had managed to convince Colonel Ackerson to send out their dry-docked ship with a NOVA bomb. It was hard to imagine the squad coming so far after Kim's death. She was a leader, sister and best friend to them all. And to Eric she was a lot more.

A few hours past and the sun slowly crept up in the distance. Mathew looked ahead of them and saw a smoldering town lay just ahead. "Jackson, you see that?"

"Yes sir." Private Jackson replied.

Melanie stood at Mathew's side and looked toward the town. "Private, find a station that's not burning and pull in. 08, wake the others. It's time to play." Mathew dropped down into the transport and kicked everyone's shoes, waking them instantly.

Eric snapped to focus faster then the others, almost as if he was already awake. "Status."

"We've made it to town, but the whole place is smoldering. Looks like the Brutes may have used it for target practice." Mathew said as they moved to the front of the Meg-5.

The Meg-5 slowed as it entered the edge of town, and Eric watched as they slowly maneuvered around smoldering warthogs and scorpion battle tanks. The small town was one hell of a battlefield, as everyone could see the remains of downed Covenant Phantom in the distance.

"Looks like me missed the fight." Eric muttered. "Hall, John, 08 and 05, hop out at the edge of town and lay out a mine field with the last of our mines. Stay in radio contact. When the Flood come into view meet us three blocks north." The group grabbed their gear and jumped out of the transport. John lost his balance and fell face first into the dirt on the side of the main highway. As he stood he realized he was standing in a pile of melted human remains.

"God!" He shouted as he staggered backwards. He frantically dusted the decayed flesh from his uniform.

Melanie saw the panic on John's face. "Private, get up here and give us a hand!" She laid three spare mines on the crater filled road. "Time check! Forty five minutes until the Flood catch up!"

"Noted!" Eric replied over the short wave communicator. "Jackson just did a fuel check. According to our map, if we can not find a working Hydro station, we will have to make our stand here. There isn't another city close enough with the fuel we have left. Be ready to look for a defensive station. Twenty minute countdown."

"Mark!" Melanie replied over the com. "In twenty minutes we will begin defensive search." She looked at John. He was beginning to calm down and laying the two Lotus mines cautiously on the road. "Plant the mines ten feet apart, and don't activate them until it is in place!" She reaffirmed the Marine.

Mathew jumped up and raced to another mine location, covering it with a dusty pile of body fragments. "Last one. If we're going to stay here then we should get all of the mines out of the truck."

"Stay positive, 08." Eric reaffirmed. "We've found a station, I'm checking it now… shit! It's dry. We're moving to another location."

"I'm out!" John shouted as he covered his last mine on the highway. Corporal Hall looked up in amazement that the Marine got the job done so fast. "What now, Ma'am?"

Melanie looked up and over her shoulder. There were several three and four story buildings inside of town, but most were crumbling under their own weight from the firefight that had sacked the town previously; none of the buildings looked sturdy enough to use a defensive position. "See if you can find something that isn't about to fall over! Make sure it is at least three stories high!"

"On it!" John hopped up, brushed the dust from his knees and ran into town. "This place was hit hard. Looks like a major battle happened here. There are jackal bodies all over the place, and Grunts; lots of Grunts."

"Just keep your head low and your eyes sharp!" Melanie replied over her com. "There could be enemy units around." She quickly planted a mine in the dirt on the side of the highway.

"I'm done." Mathew added. "I'll go and back him up. You two are on watch… slow pokes."

"I'm not slow! I had more Lotus mines then any of you." Melanie countered with a scowl. Hall remained quite and focused on his last mine.

"Second Hydro station is also dry. Looks like most of them were blown up by heavy plasma fire." Eric stated over the team channel. "Ten minutes left. We're still searching."

Melanie looked up and saw a large dust storm moving toward her. It was still in the distance, but it was getting closer. "Looks like the Flood picked up speed! Damn. Be advised, people, the Flood are less then Fifteen minutes away!" She stood and waited for Corporal Hall to finish.

"Shit!" Eric cursed over the channel. Not only were they unable to find extra fuel, the Flood had caught up to them faster then they thought. This was the last straw, they could no longer run. "We are aborting fuel search! Get to a defensive station now! We'll use the transport as a Trojan Horse."

"Roger!" Came a unified reply. Everyone began looking for anything large and sturdy enough to be used as a defendable position. The transport turned and sped back to the southern side of town to meet the group. It accelerated down the debris covered street, swerving to avoid the smoldering cars, tanks, and explosion craters.

"Got one!" John replied over the frequency. "Seems intact, all floors are dusty, but defendable."

Corporal Hall stood as he finished planting the last mine. He then raced into the town. Melanie held back, watching the Flood distant approach, and gave Hall some time to get ahead. She zoomed into the distant dust storm and frowned at the sight of the monstrous creatures. The Flood had restocked their army, consisting mostly of wild animals which were no longer recognizable. Melanie turned and began a full sprint, kicking up dust with every step. She turned a corner and spotted Mathew and Corporal Hall in the street waving her forward. They were standing in front of the building which they would use as last stand.

She slowed and looked the exterior of the building over. "Perimeter check?"

Mathew nodded back. "Base of the building is open, holes in nearly every wall, but there is only one staircase going up all four levels."

"It will have to do." Melanie sighed. "Move as much heavy material to the third floor as we can. We blow the staircase and use the top two floors as our nest."

Mathew nodded. "Agreed." He raced inside and began to plant cluster grenades on the base of the stair case.

"19, you copy?" Melanie stated.

"Loud and clear. I'm gathering the last of our gear with Tsueng. Get John and Hall to give me a hand. You fall back to the street edge and watch for the Flood."

"Roger." Melanie looked to Corporal Hall. "Sergeant is inbound with our gear. Get the Marines and help him load everything into the building." She turned and sprinted toward the edge of the street, striding over dead bodies, craters, and smoldering warthogs. Melanie was the fastest of the Black Ops, and the most patient. On numerous missions her speed was the difference in being overwhelmed or a clean getaway. She approached the main street, leaned backward to a resting position and slowly lowered her posture until she was sliding on her bottom. She slid on the dusty road until she came to a rest at the side of a pile of rubble. She looked up and over the rubble as the Flood approached the edge of town. She quickly did the time and distance math in her head, "Mine field detonation in two minutes!"

"Roger that." He knew Melanie didn't exaggerate on time. She was always spot on with her calculations. Eric shouldered as many rifles as he could, as did Airman Tsueng. Their pockets were bursting with grenades, spare clips and side arms.

Jackson drove the Meg-5 as fast as he could through the debris cluttered street, turned a corner and spotted Corporal Hall in the middle of the street. "We're here. Please exit in an orderly fashion and thanks for riding." His nerves were wrecked, but he was still able to crack a joke; taking a note from the Black Ops. He stopped in front of the building and began to pickup ammo as well. Eric had already jumped off the Meg-5 and was racing into the building with as much as he could carry. Tsueng followed. Hall jumped on board with John and began to gather what they could. The race against time had begun.

Inside the building Eric climbed the stairs and dropped his ammo on the third floor. He quickly surveyed the building. All of the windows were burst open, an easy entry point for infection forms, but hopefully they were high enough that the combat forms could not jump inside. He scanned the side rooms from the stairwell, everything was the same. This was going to be hard to defend, but possible. He looked up and noted that the squad could fall back to the fourth floor.

"Last grenade." Mathew mumbled as he planted the last of his cluster grenades.

Eric jumped down the stairs as Hall and the others filed inside. "Is that the last of it?"

"Yes sir!" Hall mumbled as he ran past. "We cleaned it out."

"05, status." Eric chimed into his com link. Suddenly the building began to rumble as a massive series of explosion thundered outside. Loud shrieks echoed throughout the town as Eric stepped beyond the building door. He looked to Melanie's position as she began to race back toward him. Behind her was a massive swell of dark black smoke from the mine field.

"The Flood have crossed the mine field. They're on their way."

"Get back here and up the stairs, tell everyone to hold their fire until the Flood pass by." Eric climbed into the Meg-5 and turned it around. He put the back of the Meg-5 toward the approaching tidal wave of monsters.

"19, what are you doing?" Melanie questioned as she stood next to the transport.

Eric looked at her. "Prime the mines that you placed inside. What's the range of your remote?"

"Five hundred yards." She questioned. She had a bad feeling that she wasn't going to like what Eric was doing.

"Get inside the base. Don't blow the staircase until the flood come inside. I'll make them chase me."

"No way, Sergeant! You are not going to be the bait!" Melanie roared. "Turn on the auto…"

Eric looked in his rearview mirror, watching the corner where the flood would eventually appear. Time was tight. "It doesn't have auto controls. Plus the street isn't long enough to lead them far enough away. Someone has to drive this thing and turn the first curve." Eric looked at her. He couldn't see through her mask, but he knew what she was thinking; she was either very pissed off, or sulking. "I'll find a way to get clear of the blast. I'll use the roof tops to make it back to you guys. Now go! That's an order!"

"There are ten mines on board, 19." Melanie stated as she backed away from the Meg-5. "You need to be at least two hundred feet away before they detonate, and you will still be knocked off your feet at that range. But any closer than that and you will be engulfed in the heat." Melanie turned into the building and closed the door. Eric sighed and looked out the window as the first hideously disfigured creature turned the corner. He pulled out his side arm, stuck it out the window and fired at it. The creature turned toward him and began to charge. Without delay hundreds more came into view, all running at full speed toward him.

"Why am I beginning to think this was a bad idea?" Eric sighed. There were hundreds of them, and even more in the dusty wake that the first few hundreds were making.

"Because it is!" Melanie stated over the com. "There's still time! Get inside, and we can fight them together."

"Sorry 05. It's my turn to shine." The first flood form slammed into the side of the transport, and Eric stepped on the accelerator. He slowly pulled ahead, but made sure he didn't get too far away from them. He swerved to avoid the smoldering warthogs and craters, and the flood began to climb all over the Meg-5. The powerful six wheels of the Meg-5 continued to steam forward, even with the Flood clinging to its sides. Eric could hear the creatures on the roof, gargling for more flesh. He turned the corner and stepped on the gas, tossing a few of them off the roof. He ran over a few more, crushing them beneath the massive tires. The sound of broken metal echoed inside the Meg-5 and gargles echoed behind Eric's ear. He turned in his seat, firing several rounds into what looked like a lion. The creature's internal infection form burst and it fell lifeless to the floor behind him. Several more creatures climbed into the transport as Eric jumped from the steering wheel and climbed to the roof. The Meg-5 began to slow down but maintained a forward progress. Eric pocketed his side arm and pulled down an M90 shotgun.

"Time to get close and personal." Eric mumbled. "05, stand by on detonation. I am exiting the Meg-5 now!"

"Roger that! Two hundred feet, 19. Watch your ass!" Melanie shouted into the com. She climbed the stairs and zoomed into the area where the Meg-5 had finally stopped. She couldn't see anything because her vision was obscured by another building.

Eric fired into a nearby combat for, a creature he couldn't identify. The body nearly crumbled from his first round. He pumped another shell into the chamber and finished off another. He then jumped clear of the Meg-5, dived through a broken window of a building and quickly raced up the fragile steps to the roof. He looked around, trying to see if he could jump to another roof top, but nothing was close enough. He looked over the side as infection forms began to climb up toward him while combat forms charged into the front of the building; in order to make their way up the stairs. This was as far as he could go.

"05, I'm clear!" Eric shouted over the com as he ducked his head at the far back of the roof.

"Eric…" Melanie whimpered as she clicked the remote.

Ten Lotus Anti Tank mines detonated instantly inside the back of the Meg-5. It sent superheated flames and tones of pressurized air into all directions. Hundreds of Flood forms that had swarmed near the Meg-5 Safari Transport instantly vaporized. Melanie was thrown off her feet, even though she was nearly two hundred yards away and inside another building. The base that the squad had created began to rumble and everyone had to gather their footing.

The red flames quickly vanished and charcoaled smoke swarmed the air. Buildings that were already fragile toppled over and crumbled from the explosion and shockwave. Melanie stood to her feet and looked out the window, keeping her head down. She watched as two buildings crumbled as their bases were completely wiped out by the explosion.

"Sergeant, do you copy?" She softly questioned into the com. She watched as more of the Flood began to swarm into the explosion area. Eric had done a great deal of damage to the flood numbers, but there were still many of them left. They continued to race past the squads hiding spot. Eric had done his job as the bait. The Flood's limited intelligence could only tell them to go toward the commotion; they didn't attempt to check inside any of the other buildings. "Eric, can you hear me?" She mumbled again, but there was no response on the Black Ops frequency. He was either dead, or unconscious.

"This is Sangheili scout team from Abu Simbel. Does anyone copy near that explosion?"

It was a communication coming in on another channel. Melanie looked at Mathew to respond. She continued to try and reach Eric.

Mathew switched channels. "This is the Black Ops, we copy. Who is this?"

"Thank the Gods we have found you. It is Gridolee, we have arrived to get you out of here. We are approaching the explosion from the North."

Mathew hung his head and placed a hand on Melanie's shoulder. "Your timing could have been better."

Melanie held her head down as her eyes swelled with tears from behind her mask. "Eric, answer me. Please. Eric?"

A thunder clap echoed in the distance. A familiar sound that Melanie and Mathew new very well. It was the sound of a distant M90 8 gauge shotgun. Eric was alive, and fighting. From the top floor Melanie glared out the broken window and zoomed into the mass of dust. She then saw two successive flashes in the distance; weapon discharges.

"You see that?" Melanie questioned.

"Hell yeah!" Mathew locked and loaded his gear. He looked over his shoulder at the rest of the group. "Hall, you have command. Get to the roof and wait for Evac. Once we go outside, the flood will come in. Blow the stairwell and wait for the Elites to arrive."

"Eric if you can hear me, we're coming! Stay alive!" Melanie raced down the stairs and looked out the bottom window. A Combat form dived through, knocking her over. She kicked out at the mass of flesh and tendrils, sending it through a crumbling section of the wall. She then fired her assault rifle into the mass. "Hall, get upstairs and call the Elites! Go!" Corporal Hall swiveled and turned up the stair to the third floor, he then looked at the rigging for the grenades along the staircase. Each grenade was attached to a thin rope. He grabbed the line and waited for the two Black Ops to clear the room.

"Good luck, Sirs." Hall saluted. The Black Ops were determined not to loose another member of their squad, and they were going to face impossible odds to do it. "Scout team, we'll meet you on the roof. The Black Ops are going after the Sergeant."

"Understood. What has happened? Where is the Sergeant?" Gridolee questioned over the com.

Mathew helped Melanie to her feet and the two of them dived out the window. Three flood forms charged instantly. They stood side by side, raised their Assault Rifles and fired into the three creatures, mowing them down easily. They then sprinted forward, crossing the street toward the sound of Eric's firefight. The flood heard the commotion and some turned toward Mathew and Melanie, but others went into the building where the rest of the squad waited. An explosion sounded from inside as Corporal Hall detonated the stairwell. Immediately after the explosion Mathew and Melanie could hear secondary weapons discharges as the Marines began to defend themselves against the Flood advance. They were on their own, but luckily they wouldn't have to wait long.

"Corporal Hall, status!" Mathew shouted into his com as he fired into a pair of hideously misshaped creatures.

"Flood are coming in and trying to jump up to the third floor. We're holding them at bay. Jackson and Tsueng are on the roof waving for the Elites. We're fine, Sir. Get the Sergeant!" The com faded and Mathew focused on the task ahead.

Mathew and Melanie pressed forward as the mechanized assault rifle hummed at their shoulders, signing the song of death. Rows of combat forms turned under the firepower until Melanie's ammo display read zero. She hated to let the gun run empty, but the flood were everywhere, and the repetitive clicking of the automatic rifle resonated with a cold lump in her throat. As quickly as she could she released the spent magazine and slapped in another, but before she could pull back the hammer of the MA5C a flood form slammed into her. They fell back and Melanie landed on her back with the creature on top of her. Her combat knife sailed free from its holster and she jammed it into the mesh of flesh and rotting organs. She luckily popped the fragile infection form inside the decomposing flesh, and pushed the mass to the side as she stood to her feet.

Mathew gave her as much cover fire as he could, but a tentacle slapped across his back sending him face first into a pile of dead Flood forms. He stood and fired at the creature as he gathered his senses. Melanie reached down and helped him up as the Flood continued to flow at them. They quickly ducked into a nearby building and Melanie dropped a fragment grenade at the door. Ten Flood combat forms went sailing into the wind as the grenade detonated. The two of them brushed off their injuries and ran through the crumbled building. Mathew neared a wall, noticed that it was partially cracked and kicked it. It gave under his strength and the sound of the distant M90 got louder.

Melanie looked to make sure the room on the other side was clear and then rolled through. "Eric!" She shouted, but heard no reply. The room was still dusty from the explosion and filled with debris from the collapsed building; broken walls, windows, and staircases that lead no where. A gargled wash of words sounded in the room and she raised her assault rifle. Movement beeped on her motion tracker and the flood charged out of the shadows. She fired in a controlled fashion until Mathew was at her side. While Mathew fired she exchanged weapons and readied her M90 for close combat. She dropped the assault rifle to the dusty floor, knowing that she was already on her last clip. To the standard soldier the improvements made to the MA5C Assault Rifle were minimal at best. The MA5B was the work horse of the Marines and UNSC, and it had practical uses for nearly every situation. But to the Black Ops, the difference between the 5B and 5C was beyond measure. They all felt the change, the heat from the weapon vanished faster, the rounds fired smoother, and accuracy was increased to nearly twenty feet even with a high rate of fire. Melanie hated to let the "Spray and Pray" weapon drop from her hands, but without ammo it was only as good as a metal pole.

She peeped around a corner and saw several flood forms jumping upward at a higher level, but when they jumped they were blown away by a figure in the shadows of the upper level. Eric had the high ground, and was shooting at the Combat forms that braved to jump at him. Melanie smiled knowing that Eric was alive, but she couldn't see him.

She lobbed a fragment grenade into the pit of combat forms. "Fire in the hole!" She shouted as the Flood looked toward her. Before they could charge toward Melanie's position the grenade detonated, sending Flood fragments in all directions. Mathew and Melanie jumped into the room and covered the door leading outside.

"Incoming!" Mathew shouted. "Get 19, I'll slow them down." Mathew took a knee at the door and loaded his last clip into his assault rifle. "Come into my web, said the spider to the fly." With each flood that entered the distorted door, he fired a controlled burst from his MA5C into them. They were cut down easily by the assault riffle's close proximity, and high rate of fire.

"Eric!" Melanie shouted as she looked up. She shouldered her shotgun and climbed the tattered debris. She finally reached the upper area and looked into Eric's bloody eyes. "Oh my god…" She gasped as she raced toward him. She tossed several large stones off of his chest and legs. He had both hands on his M90 and blood dripped from ears, nose and mouth. He was too close to the concussion of the Lotus mines, and some of the building had fallen on top of him. "Mathew, get up here!"

Mathew didn't like the idea that Melanie had called out his real name. That was a sigh that she was frantic and not thinking too clearly. "On my way, 05." He slowly crept backward firing at the door and then tossed his gun to the ground when the ammo was spent. He turned and jumped several feet, before grabbing an outcropping. He then began to climb up to the level with Melanie and Eric. He ignored Eric's injuries and helped her clear the rubble from him.

Eric said nothing, but raised his shotgun and fired his last round into a combat form that had jumped up. The creature popped in a green mist of mucus. He then threw the gun to the side and sat back.

Melanie cupped Eric over her shoulder and stood. "We have to go higher."

"I'll cover." Mathew grabbed Melanie's M90, loaded it and waited for more flood to jump up. He knelt at the edge of the outcropping which was once the top floor and looked into the pit below. Flood combat forms were circling the floor beneath. Melanie practically carried Eric's semi-conscious form to the opening, and onto the remains of the roof.

She looked around and saw the ferocious hulk of the dark purple Phantom. "Scout team! Scout team, this is Black Ops 05 requesting immediate Evac. What is your status?"

"We have just picked up the last of your team, we are now moving toward you."

Melanie zoomed in and watched as the Mirratord twin blades cut down Flood combat forms that had climbed to the roof. Behind the large Elite ran corporal Hall and Jackson; firing their riffles to give Simyaldee cover as he raced toward the gravity lift. The trio made their way into the phantom, and it slowly turned toward them as its mounted plasma cannons fired into the nearly vast sea of combat forms on the street below. It stopped over Melanie's head and the gravity lift powered up.

"08, the parties over." Melanie stated as she felt the lift pulling her upward.

Mathew turned and jumped up to the roof. He then dived into the blue light with a heavy sight. "Man these parties are starting to get dull." They entered the hull of the ship and the phantom's engines powered to full, leaving the swarming Flood numbers littering the small town's streets. As the phantom flew out of view, the Flood slowly turned and continued their migration north.

Melanie aided Eric to a corner floor. All of his earlier wounds from the pelican crash had reopened, and several new wounds covered him. Blood was soaking into his uniform as Melanie examined him. She pulled her monitor from her hip pocket and plugged it into Eric's suit.

"Left leg broken, a concussion, internal bleeding…. what is it with you and getting massive injuries?" Melanie questioned.

Corporal Hall came closer and sat at their side. "That Spec Ops Elite said that we're heading toward Abu Simbel. It'll be about a forty five minute flight. Can he make it?"

"I don't know." Melanie stated as she examined Eric's wounds and began to fill them with Bio-foam. Normally he would have reacted to the pain, but Eric had passed out long ago.

The rest of the group sat along the side of the phantom's troop bay as the front door opened. Palab waddled into the bay and stood at Melanie's side. He inspected the site of his human friend and showed great concern.

"He okay?"

Melanie watched the monitor. "No, Palab. He's not okay." She sulked as she watched his heart rate begin to fluctuate. "He's far from okay." Normally Melanie would have been happy to see Palab, she found Grunts comical and oddly cute; as long as they weren't shooting at her.

Palab looked at Melanie and then stared at Eric's wounds. He then felt his arm itching again, and scratched the green skin on his arm. The skin was dry, but thankfully the wound was getting smaller. The Grunt King looked at the other humans, letting their appearance soak into his mind. Oddly enough, most humans looked the same, accept for the Sergeant, his skin was dark and that made him easily recognizable. The humans looked mentally exhausted and surprisingly unemotional after being rescued from the clutches of the Flood.

"This you new pack?" Palab questioned to Melanie.

Melanie pressed her last bottle of bio-foam into Eric's leg and huffed. "For now. But once we arrive at Abu Simbel we'll be joining the defensive. We'll be fighting with you."

Palab liked the idea, but he knew that it wouldn't be the same without Sergeant Raynord. The human that had taken the Sangheili "Trials" with him was unconscious and on the verge of death. Palab looked at the palm of his hand and rubbed the scar that the Sangheili had given him. He and Eric had both taken the "Blood Oath"; vowing their lives to the pride of the Sangheili.

While it was still difficult for many Elites to understand that Palab was no ordinary Grunt, they never questioned the mark upon his palm. Palab looked at the gloved hand of Eric, knowing that beneath the glove was a mark just like his; proof of their brotherly bond to the Elites.

The door parted and Simyaldee walked toward the group. "If the Sergeant is wounded, which of you is in command?" He seemed unaffected by Eric's condition.

The Marines, Airman Tsueng, Corporal Hall and Mathew looked at Melanie. "I guess I am, Simyaldee."

"Good. Come with me." Simyaldee turned and walked back through the door.

"Do what you can, 08." Melanie stated as she walked away. She followed Simyaldee to a separate chamber and he motioned her to a nearby data console. "What is it?"

"The construct, I believe you called it, Siren." Simyaldee sighed. "However, she is not acting normal. We powered her down and thought it would be best to deliver it directly to the humans in Camp Eden. This was our priority mission from Admiral Hood. Also, I must know if the Honorable Human has been infected by the flood."

"No, his wounds are from an explosion and a building literally fell on top of him."

"Then the Flood did not infect him, good. However …" Simyaldee paused and looked at Melanie from the corner of his eyes. "We can stop at the Abu Simbel supply field in order to get the Sergeant immediate medical attention, however…" Simyaldee looked away.

Melanie pulled off her helmet and sighed as she brushed back her hair. "However, he would get better aid at Camp Eden. And delivering Siren is top priority." Melanie sat down in a corner and thought. Stop at Abu Simbel and Eric could get immediate attention, though possibly die if they can not help him, or go to Camp Eden and risk him dieing in transport.

"The honorable human's life is worth saving, but if we stop at Abu Simbel, there is no guarantee that there will be adequate medical teams to help him. Going to Camp Eden will add more time to our travel."

"He's barely hanging on… he may not make it to Camp Eden." She lowered her head and closed her eyes. "I … I can't let this dictate our actions at this point. And with his injuries, he'll need more then a platoon medic to fix him up." She looked up into the massive structure of the Elite.

Simyaldee was the Mirratord Second in command. His armor was marked with countless scratches from past battles. Melanie found it hard to believe that he could be hit by normal weapons; she had seen him fight and knew that he was almost untouchable on the battlefield.

With a heavy head she stood up and gave her decision. "We have little choice. We have to go to Camp Eden."

Simyaldee whispered into his communicator. "Lieutenant Gridolee, tell the pilot to make best speed to Camp Eden. Notify the Camp Defense zones that we are making our approach."

"Understood."

Simyaldee looked down at Melanie and nodded his head. "You made the correct decision. If you had decided to stop at Abu Simbel, I would have been forced to tell you no."

Shocked Melanie questioned. "Then why did you ask me?"

"Because if the honorable human dies you will be left in command of his team, and I needed to know if you were worthy enough to fill his shoes." Simyaldee stepped back. "In leadership, you must think of the big picture. This is something that Sergeant Raynord was aware of; I could tell during his combat orders. He knew the risk of putting lives on the line, but he did it without fail. And you must learn to accept that. After we deliver the Construct, our primary mission will be to protect Camp Eden."

"Right." Melanie sighed. "You don't have to lecture me." She looked to the data module and examined it. "You said Siren was acting strange. Is Cortana in here as well?"

"Yes, both constructs are confirmed, yet their words are strange."

"They seemed fine before we abandoned ship." Melanie looked at the data module and pondered what was going on as the Phantom quickly sailed over the region toward Camp Eden. She walked back to the main bay and sat at Eric's side. She decided to tell the group that they were headed for Camp Eden, a further journey but the best bet to save Eric. They didn't question her words, but they all knew it was going to be risky. Melanie placed her helmet at her side and pulled her flask from her pocket. She rubbed the engraving again, "Do or Die" she whispered to herself. She pulled open the top and began to take as sip, but suddenly remembered that it was empty.

"Damn, I need a drink."

To be continued...

Notes: As always, thanks for reading. Comments always welcome.
soulguard