A/N: I am Sincerely sorry for leaving you all with that update. I swear to you if I had known I would have fixed it immediately. My computer or the site feels it's necessary to piss me off & they are doing a very good job at it. Once more I am so sorry.
The legend of Spyro: A new beginning.
Chapter five: Fight or flight.
Heavy, metal on metal footsteps was all that could be heard as a figure entered an office room that housed his commanding officer. "Drake, good to see you're still alive. I wish that I could give you good news but, unfortunately I have another mission for you." The man stated offering a reinforced chair to the heavily armored man. "Thank you, sir." Drake stated before taking a seat. "What's the mission admiral?" Drake asked, his tone never changing. "Scouting mission to a new system found a planet that had once been used as a colony by some form of alien life. A team of scientists & archeologists is waiting for you & your team before moving into the structures to investigate. Your mission is to protect the two teams & assist them in any way possible as well as make a note of anything interesting that catches your eyes or ears." The admiral answered. "Why send a Spartan with a team? Why not send a large, ODST & Marine squad?" Drake questioned curiously. "The scientists requested you personally. We aren't sure how they heard of you, but that can't be helped now. As it stands now your team consists of fifteen ODST's & twenty five marines. If anything goes wrong out there you are to pull out, full retreat is that clear?" The admiral questioned looking Drake in the eyes through the visor. "Understood sir," Drake replied standing & saluting his superior officer. "By the way Drake, your weapons have been loaded onto the pelican that will take you to the cruiser assigned to this mission. Your team is already there waiting for you, you might know some of them." The admiral said with a grin before Drake left his office.
Walking out of the building the Spartan headed toward the landing area where, just as the admiral had said, two squads of soldiers were waiting for their squad leader for this mission. As Drake approached the two groups none took notice of him, instead choosing to continue their argument that is until Drake cleared his throat. "I'm guessing you all are my team." Drake stated. "That would be us sir." Answered a rookie that, Drake recognized. "What seems to be the problem soldier?" Drake asked. "Nothing much sir, just the usual squabble between us ODST's & the marines sir." He answered. Drake let out a low sigh. "Is this going to affect the mission?" He questioned the entire group. "Sir: no sir!" Was the; collective reply. "Good, I need you all at a hundred percent if this mission is to succeed without a single loss on our side." Drake stated confidently. "How can you say that? No fight goes without casualties." A marine stated. "I didn't have a single loss to a team under my command during the war with the Covenant. Mainly because I ordered them to remain in cover in sniper positions that gave us the advantage, most of them had DMR's, Magnums, or sniper rifles which, either distracted the covies or killed them with a few shots. I see that most of you prefer the assault rifle which changes things a bit, but if you do as I tell you, you should get back here alive if a little worse for the wear." Drake stated turning back to the only team member, the rookie carrying the sniper rifle. "Is anyone else good with the sniper rifle? If so I want a show of hands." Drake questioned, seeing only a few hands go up in each group. I want you all carrying one when we hit the planet even if it's not your primary weapon, it's better to have it & not need it than to need it & not have it. Now load up." Drake said walking up the loading ramp of the pelican drop ship.
After several hours of seemingly pointless conversations & shots at the Spartan, which were returned in kind to the soldiers who had stated them, the cruiser finally exited slip space. The planet in front of them looked similar to earth but there were a couple key differences, one of them being that the planet was mostly earth with a couple large areas of water that were drastically smaller than the oceans on earth. "Alright ladies & gentlemen, when we hit planet side we will be meeting up with two groups, I want a perimeter set up around the camp, weapons at the ready & remember to always check your targets." Drake stated pulling the large trunk effortlessly onto his shoulder.
After the pelican touched down the marines & ODST trotted down the ramp guns raised checking their line of sight for any & all hostile forces. "Warthog: coming down." Announced; the pelican pilot. "Clear for drop Jester." Drake replied. "Copy that, Warthog loose, good luck out there boys & girls, stay safe." Jester stated as the pelican returned to the cruiser.
Turning back to his squad, three of whom had already jumped into the warthog, Drake set the trunk on the ground & opened it revealing his assault & sniper rifle, the magnum hand gun, & the Covenant gravity hammer & plasma sword. After placing each weapon onto the proper magnetic strip Drake issued the order to move out. Roughly fifteen minutes later the squad arrived at the researchers wide spread camp. "This won't work, I need some of you to help rearrange the camp & whatever you do, do not touch their research. Let them handle that. The rest of you I want you to set up a perimeter as best you can." Drake ordered as his squad walked, or in the case of the warthog passengers rolled into camp. Turning to the first person that approached him Drake shook hands with the woman. "I'm glad they accepted our request, I was afraid they would send someone else. I am Catherine Wright, lead scientist for this expedition. If you will follow me, the head of the Archeologists is waiting for you in the meeting tent." Catherine stated with a smile. "Lead the way." Drake replied as part of his HUD changed to Raven's video screen. "Well, she's pleasant. I half expected we would be greeted like a wild animal." The A.I. stated with a grin. "People will surprise you a lot. You should have learned that by now, especially after everything we've been through." Drake answered after making sure he wouldn't be heard outside his helmet. "True, but something tells me they have a surprise waiting for us." Raven countered before her screen disappeared. 'For our sake I hope not, I hate surprises.' The Spartan thought to himself as he followed Ms. Wright into the meeting tent.
As he entered the meeting tent the first thing to catch his attention was the projections of a large city & the thermal imaging checking for any signs of life. "No bones in the street means it wasn't a war & the fact that we can't get any heat signatures out of the buildings means either the creatures that live in the city don't put off heat or the city is abandoned. What do you think Catherine? I think we should leave that alone until we get to the city & with our new friends we should be able to do that by tomorrow." Catherine stated as she pointed out Drake to her co-worker. "Drake this is Jonathan Kirk, lead archeologist of the expedition." She said introducing the man. "Nice to meet you, before we get too into this meeting however I want to make one thing clear I want to be packed & ready to move out in a few hours to cover as much ground as we can before nightfall. Now, what was the purpose of this meeting?" Drake asked hoping it would be a simple matter. "Well, aside from briefing you on the details we have uncovered without going into the city, I wanted to introduce you to the other leader of the expedition." Catherine answered looking to Jonathan & holding her hand out to him. "Here you go." The digger said as he placed the chip in her hand. "This chip contains everything we have learned thus far. Creatures, plant life, air & water samples. As well as: the results to go with them. Basically everything your team might need to know about this place that we have discovered as well as some things that you need to be on the lookout for. A couple of our co-workers have gone missing & we haven't recovered the bodies, we think that whatever took them can camouflage its self & that it hides its prey while it feeds." Jonathan stated with a shuddering look around.
As Drake looked around Raven switched his HUD to infrared & when that turned up nothing beyond the human occupants of the camp it changed to thermal imaging which once more turned up nothing new. "I can't find anything but humans, so we should be fine for now." Drake stated hoping to put the man at ease. Good to hear, as for the meeting I think we're done. I'll inform my men that we'll be packing up soon." Jonathan said as he left the tent. "I need to inform my people as well, it will take us a bit longer to pack than the archeologists. They haven't found much yet, aside from the fact that there are tunnels throughout the area that lead to some chamber that we can't open from out here." Catherine said with a laugh. "If that's the case the city you want to investigate may not be uninhabited like you thought. I'm going to run recon on the city; my unit will remain here on defensive detail." Drake stated activating his active camouflage module. Walking out of the tent Catherine cued her comm. links for her fellow scientists. "Pack up ladies & gentlemen, every sample, every specimen leave nothing but the beds & tents unless instructed otherwise by the soldiers." She instructed as she looked in the direction of the city. 'Good luck Spartan & stay safe, we may need you later.' She thought before she turned back to the task at hand.
Trudging through thick brush & surprisingly large mosquitoes, which Drake avoided to the best of his abilities, The Spartan arrived in the city close to nightfall. "So much for: moving as far as possible by nightfall. Why is it always my plans that the universe decides to fuck up?" Drake asked himself aloud. "I don't know, but whoever you pissed off up there you should really apologize." Raven teased earning an un-amused look & a quiet sigh from her Spartan. "Oh come on, you know I was just teasing. I know you humans have your beliefs & I have no right to judge you on that, it just makes no sense to me that you all can put every ounce of faith in something you can't see." Raven stated, earning a questioning look from Drake. "Don't even say it. I can be seen & heard & therefore I am real & if you want to question that, I can make your life a bit more miserable." Raven stated angrily. "Okay, okay, how about we don't argue right now & we drop this debate until a later date?" Drake said hoping to avoid "technical difficulties." Raven growled but didn't argue any further. "Activating thermal: & infrared imaging. No signs of any life forms on either end of the spectrum & no noises aside from the creaking of the trees & local wildlife." Raven reported with a look that said she was working on something. "What have you got Rea?" Drake questioned using the nickname he had given her during one of their missions. "Nothing, I thought I sensed another A.I. like me, but that would mean that my creators didn't just leave & not come back, they abandoned me. Why would they do something like that? I did everything they asked of me & they just threw me away like yesterdays trash." Raven stated feeling angry & betrayed. "Maybe they did, but you're with me now & I don't plan on letting anything happen to you & if I can help it I will never leave you behind, I swear on my life." Drake stated hoping it would calm her down. "I know you would, that's why I chose to go with you that day you found me on Daedalus prime." Raven stated with a slight grin. "How do you always know how to cheer me up?" She asked knowing he wouldn't answer.
Hours later in the dark of night Drake returned to camp, though not before making noise in the bushes to test his men. Immediately there were two weapons pointed at him, the two men positioned on this side of camp were attentive to the extreme. Anything besides the normal noise & they were ready to deal with whatever it might be. Deciding that he would rather not get shot at & test how well his men could hit a target, Drake alerted them that he was coming out of the bushes. Stepping through without his active camouflage Drake looked at the two men. "Remind me never to try & sneak up on you two." He stated humorously. "Everything alright: sir?" One of them asked. "For now, yes, tomorrow may be different though; there is something off about that city. How long have you two been on watch?" Drake asked. "About an hour & a half sir." the shorter soldier answered. "Alright switch out when you feel tired, I need everyone at one hundred percent in the morning." Walking into the camp Drake found what he thought was a secluded spot in the camp. Pulling an M.R.E. from the storage compartment that he had added to his armor Drake began preparing it. In one of the packets there was a small container of hot sauce, grinning he remembered one soldier telling him that long before the human race began expanding into space hot sauce was treated like money in the field because the M.R.E's depending on which one you got tasted terrible. 'Professor' as Drake & several others had taken to calling him was one of the men sent on this mission, though Drake was unaware of that little fact until the Marine stepped out of the shadows spouting that very same statement.
Turning to face the stealthy Marine, Drake removed his helmet. "It's good to see you're still alive. How are the men?" Drake asked knowing that 'Professor' wouldn't hide anything from him. "Most of them are good, solid soldiers with time in the field. A few of the others are as green as a new blade of grass." Professor answered. "Then it's a good thing that they were given a somewhat easy mission, what they find here might not shoot back but it's still dangerous." Drake stated. "True, though I don't like this one bit. It seems as though the higher ups sent us here for something else." Professor replied. "I agree, but I haven't seen anything that could be worth sending an archeology team & science division." Drake stated as he returned to fixing his M.R.E. Removing his helmet Drake pulled the Spork from its package & began to eat. "Mind if I stick around, or do you want me to leave?" Professor asked with his back turned to the Spartan. "I would like some time to think things over alone. If I need any advice I will talk to you tomorrow. It's good to see you again Rick." Drake stated using the soldier's real name. "Likewise Spartan, take care." Rick replied before walking away.
Pulling her storage chip from his helmet Drake allowed Raven to project herself at equal height to a Spartan standing at attention. "Glad to finally be out of that helmet; not that anything's wrong with it. It's just good to see things for oneself for a change." Raven stated. "I know what you mean, though seeing it for yourself can also be dangerous." Drake replied. "But that's not why I brought you out like this. I have some questions & I would like the answers if you have them." Drake informed her hoping she was in the talking mood. "Depends on the question, but I believe I can answer them." Raven responded with a serious expression taking over her face. "When you scanned the city did you find any traces of covenant forces or their equipment?" Drake asked before taking a bite of his food. "None whatsoever, not even a trace that they had ever been here." Raven answered. "What about native life in the city?" Drake questioned. "Again: none whatsoever. The only signs of life I found were the spiders that have infested the buildings & there dying prey." Raven replied. "Last question, did you find any trace of an animal that changes colors similar to a chameleon or at least a sign of the archeologists that have gone missing?" Drake questioned hoping Raven had had time to search for friend or foe tags, while also keeping track of his requests. "As a matter of fact I have. They are currently underground in a collapsed tunnel?" Raven answered. "Will they last until morning?" Drake asked hoping the answer would be in his favor." Fortunately yes, now get to sleep or I make you." Raven instructed seriously. "Oh & just how would you do that?" Drake asked seriously, concerned that she had his armor modified in some way. "I have my ways, but if you insist on doing this the hard way I could always send a high pitched shriek through the speakers in your helmet every few seconds until you agree." Raven stated with a childish gin on her face. "I think I'll take your advice & get some sleep." Drake replied placing the chip back into his helmet before placing the helmet back on & lying back against a tree trunk.
As the sun rose the next morning Drake passed on the location of the missing archeologists to his demolition specialist & sent him off with a small group of other soldiers to retrieve the missing personnel. As he walked between the tents Drake came across Jonathan standing outside a tent stretching. "Good news, your team is alive but where they are is a dead zone for comms devices. Somewhere they found an entrance or the ground gave way beneath them & they ended up in one of the underground tunnels." Drake informed the digger. "That's great news, has anyone gone to get them?" Jonathan asked receiving a simple nod as his answer. "Good, once they get back we can set off for the city & the real work can commence." The enthusiastic digger said punching his open hand with a fist. "He has a mean right cross." Raven stated in the privacy of Drake's helmet. "Agreed, look him up for me I want everything you can find on Jonathan." Drake replied as he watched him walk away. "You think there's something ONI didn't tell us?" Raven asked. "Always." Was his simple reply.
Hours later the expedition had finally started in the direction of the city. Raven had been silent the entire time which worried Drake somewhat, she had never remained silent this long before & the fact that she was meant that she had found something that interested her to the point that she would dig until she hit rock bottom on whatever subject she was researching.
Several more hours passed & the group had stopped close to the outskirts of the abandoned city, which by no means made Drake comfortable. To him the city felt as though it were a snake ready to strike. "Eyes open." Drake stated as he entered the city. One wild animal had already tried to attack his group which turned out to be a creature with the same description Jonathan had given yesterday. A large cat-like predator with camouflage capabilities similar to a chameleon. He had already pulled his magnum hand gun from its spot on his hip & was preparing to shoot the creature when the scientists asked him to capture it alive. That had been a show the likes of which would never be seen again.
Though the creature was large it was extremely agile for its size & had landed a few blows to Drake's helmet which left Drake with a headache that he returned in a single blow to the creatures head, though the blow did nothing but anger the apparently hard headed creature as it swiped savagely at Drake who dodged the blow by jumping on the cat's back with an arm wrapped around its thick neck in a barely managed choke hold. Standing next to the cat's unconscious form Drake turned his attention to the scientist that requested the live capture. "Next one is all yours, understood?" Drake growled through clenched teeth. The scientist only nodded before the group moved deeper into the city where they eventually stumbled across what looked to be a research facility that appeared to have power. "We'll set up here." Catherine stated cautiously walking up to the main door of the building. Following behind her with their assault rifles pointed at the door were two of the ODST's. Standing to the left of the door Catherine pressed what looked to be the button that operated the door. As it slid open the first thing that caught the ODST's eyes was the pile of bones directly in front of the door.
Slipping on a pair of gloves Catherine picked up the skull. "Looks like a cheetah's skull but the rest of these bones don't make sense. If my assumption is right whoever called this place home was an anthropomorphic cheetah & judging by the size of the skull & what we've seen, I'd wager that they were intelligent" She stated before placing the skull in the hands of another scientist that was gathering the remaining bones. 'Damn, I hope we don't encounter them, could be one hell of a fight.' Thought one of the ODST's.
After the collection was done the ODST's entered the building first giving the all clear after they searched the main room & moved on to the others. Upon entering the control room Catherine immediately began issuing orders to her group, all of whom began testing the equipment to see if it was in working order & if they would be able to use it without problems. The latter being the first question answered as a holo-screen appeared in front of a console, the words written on it were in English. "Ma'am, I think we're in business." Stated one of the science team members. "I see that Collins, nice work. Let's see if we can get a map of the city or another layout of this place, maybe a name or something for it. Sarah, I want you to find out any & all projects these people were working on as well as completed projects & what they were used for." Catherine instructed as she hastily began typing on the holo-keyboard.
As the stars appeared in the night sky Drake had taken watch. The scientists were the only other ones still up & still working on their respective assignments. The moon now hanging directly over head, plainly seen through the thick glass panel in the roof was the only light in the room with one scientist still hard at work that Drake assumed was Sarah, as Collins was male. "What is this?" She whispered to herself & before he could stop her she had done something he would come to wish she hadn't. "Accept." She stated confidently. At that exact moment a bright flash of light consumed the control room & its few residents. Drake, Sarah, & Professor, as well as the rest of the crew & their equipment nothing could prepare them for what they would awake to.