Let the cool fight begin
His every nerve was on fire, he didn't know what it meant to feel pain but right now. His head hurt, he felt a tingling up his spine and his skin was curling. Not even his mind seemed to work properly, his very often calm and intellectual mind which normally didn't allow emotions to get involved in the important stuff. Not anymore, the only thing that he really saw was the being in front of him. He should have seen the ONI building behind it, the alien ships above them slowly advancing and the army on the ground all around them that had yet to advance.
But he didn't.
The only thing he could see was the being in black armour. Alt kept his arms raised, ready for what was next. The attack did come not even a moment later, the being launched itself at him. The force of the impact against his guarded boxing stance was enough to knock him back by a few steps but he held his ground. He looked past his raised hands to see the enemy come at him again, this time he acted. He parried the attack with his right hand, causing the enemy's fist to swing wide, leaving his side open. Alt swung with his head hand and it connected with the alien... with this man's helmet and he smashed into the ground, sliding away from him as he did so.
There was a moment of silence from all around them, the man stayed down for far longer than he needed to. He knew he should have pressed the attack but he just stood there and watched as the man slowly picked himself back up, completely fine. His back was facing Alt then, he looked out to all the different aliens who starred at him in shock. At least he thinks it was shock, still hard to tell with aliens.
The man turned to face Alt, his guard was relaxed. Again, Alt knew that he should have pressed the attack but he was just frozen with nerves from this whole encounter. The man brought up his heavy armoured hand stroked the outer cheek layer of her helmet, no doubt trying to feel the scratch that was left there from his fist.
His hand fell back to his side as he looked at Alt, knowing that something was going to come again. Alt brought his hands back in a similar stance to how it was last time, his eyes briefly glancing at the small computer on his wrist. Noting the pings from all the UNSC personal still making their way to roof of the building, without his helmet he had no way to talk to anyone so he would just have to hope that Khane and the other ships in orbit would be able to do their job without him.
The man moved so fast that Alt almost missed him, he came at him again but unlike before. It wasn't all strength, there was skill there as well. The man came at him with a right jab, which was blocked, a left which he leaned back in order to dodge. As Alt as about to move in for a swing, the man turned his whole body and kicked. The foot connected with Alt's stomach and he was pushed back a few meters, his feet digging up the concreate as he tried to stop himself. He rushed forward again, not allowing Atlas a moment to attack himself, something he used to his advantage.
He ducked under the large swing and moved forward slightly, he wrapped both his arms around the man's torso and lifted him into the air, Alt tilted his body and fell backwards with force. The man's head went into the concreate but he wasn't down for a moment, thankfully Alt was able to get to his feet first and was able to get a strong knee to the face of his opponent. The force of the blow caused the man to fly into the air and crash back down hard into the ground near the other alien forces.
Now that the fight was in full swing and all the nerves and fears that Atlas felt where starting to fade away, he started to grow more and more easy around the enemy. What use was fear and nerves in the middle of a fight, at the beginning, sure. After, most likely. But during? That was how you die, second guessing yourself around the enemy is only going to make things harder.
Atlas lunged for his enemy with a great leap but the man was able to roll to the side and picked himself up with a great deal of speed that only he himself could match, before Atlas had even moved past the point where the man was knocked down. The man was able to move out of the way, get up and grab his ankle. Alt felt himself being brough back and slammed into the ground, then up and down again somewhere else. Thankfully no matter how hard he hit the ground, it was still just concrete so it couldn't do too much to him.
The final time he was tossed in the air however, he didn't come down. It took him a moment to realize that he was thrown high into the air, since he wasn't too badly hurt in that last blitz. He tried to re-balance himself but it was tricky as there was nothing to stand on. He was only able to barely flip himself right before he neared the ground, though that was the least of his concerns.
Just before he could land on his side, the enemy dashed forward punched him right in the chest. The force of the blow was strong and Alt found himself flying through the air back into the city, he could just make out the start of the bridge that led to the ONI building and the army of aliens standing along the coast on either side of it before he felt something at his back and he knew that he just got through several think layers of concreate and was being pushed back further into the heart of the city.
Khane was moving none stop around the central command table of the Ajax, going over everything she could in order to better execute the plan they were following. As of the moment, she was seeing that the last of the personal from what was remaining of the ODP's network and being transferred onto what was left of the planets defence fleet. As of the moment, all they had left to help evacuate what was on the ground where three standard Frigates, one corvette, two destroyers, one Halcyon and Marathon heavy cruisers. For what was left an entire planetary defence fleet, it was a scary thought. Thankfully none of those present on board the ships objected to much when she arrived and started to give orders. Well, they did but that stopped when they were told about what was happening on the ground and the orders came from the Atlas contingency itself.
Not that they could simply cut and run away, she didn't doubt that there would be some on board those ship who would want to run the first chance they got but thankfully the one in charge, the captains of those ships new that they had a duty to protect humanity, whatever the cost "Ma'am" Ensign Phillips said from her right "the last of the evacuees have boarded and the ODP's are lighting up the rest of the targets now"
"Understood" she said back and she leaned forward and pressed one of the many different keys that lay around the table "This is Ajax to all ships, enter spear head formation and make planetfall" she ordered and received a lot of green lights from the rest of the ships around her own. Spearhead was a simple enough term, all the ships where now heading straight downwards towards the planet, right on top of the ONI installation and the enemy ships that were nearby. When they got close enough, every one of them would fire their MACs right at them and based on what data came back from humanity's first engagement with these Bastards. Multiple MAC rounds from all of these ships should be enough to take them out.
She could feel the engines of her ship beneath her feet begin to rumble even more and when she looked out the window, it was clear that they were now facing the planet directly "ETA until we're within firing range?" she said out loud to no one in particular.
"Two minutes ten seconds captain" a random voice said and she didn't pay much mind.
"Ma'am, word from Sergeant Diggs. Atlas is encountering resistance!" another voice shouted out to her other side, when she heard that however. Her entire body turned to find the source, it was a woman who had her back to everyone as she looked closer at her monitor.
"Patch him through" she immediately said back as she moved to another side of the table. She didn't even wait to see if the woman listened before she pressed one of the keys "Sergeant Diggs, this is Ajax. How copy?" she asked into the radio.
"SOLID COPY AJAX!" the sound of the Sergeant shouted out through the cockpit "EVERYONE BACK INTO THE BUILDING, EVACUATION FORMATION UP THE STAIRS!" he added clearly not speaking to her anymore.
"You said Atlas is encountering resistance, what kind?" she asked back, keeping her voice as clear to hear as possible, knowing that it would already be difficult for him to hear her considering he was in the middle of a fire fight.
"I don't know!" he shouted back "there was some big fucker in black armour. Next thing I know Atlas is getting his ass kicked, those two are destroying the city more than the aliens are" he told her.
'shit' she mentally cursed to herself, this was the worst possible outcome that they could have had. So was no fool, she read every file that she needed to read for this mission. Including everything she was allowed to know about Atlas, which is why she knew damn well that having another one of his people not only be alive but also with the enemy was one of the worst things that could have ever happened "do you have eyes on them?" she asked as the front windows of her ship began to glow red as the heat from entry started to take effect.
"EYES ON!?" he shouted back as the sounds of weapons fire continued "are you joking?! Those two are fucking blurs, they're bouncing around everywhere, they're tearing down the buildings. Not to mention turning every alien around them into fucking mush"
"DID YOU SEE IT AT ONE POINT!" she shouted back at him as quickly as she could.
"Maybe for a few seconds after they started fighting but that's it! I've got my own shit to deal with at the moment! DOWN!" he added as a loud blast came through the radio "CALL ME BACK WHEN THE PELICANS ARE COMING!" that was the last thing he saw before the line went dead, no doubt from his end.
"Someone, get me a link to Sergeant Diggs's helmet cam! And you" she turned and pointed to one of the two guards that were taking position near the door "go get Stevens, I want him here on the double!" he didn't even bother saluting before he turned and ran out of the bridge.
"Ma'am, I have the feed. Patching it through now" a very blurry image came through onto the command table and all Khane could do was watch as she made out what looked like a narrow staircase and lots of fire.
At the very least it seemed that the humans were using the building to their advantage "start going back over the mission, I want to see this fucker in black armour" she added back and before she could get another word in, someone else shouted out towards her.
"Ma'am! Rader systems counting over seventy enemy ships making their way towards the facility! They're abandoning their positions all over the planet!" another officer called.
She turned to see who gave her that news but all she saw was the backs of four different workers all glued to their screens trying to work as best they can "ETA?!" she shouted back.
"At current speed, four minutes" she was told, that was not something they needed. They didn't have the manpower or the numbers to fight that off, they couldn't use the ODP's because they were covering the escape route from whatever enemy ships were left in orbit.
"What's the ETA till firing range?" she asked again.
"One minute Ma'am" another voice called.
This would need to be the fastest evacuation in history for this to work.
Diggs just hung up the radio and raised his weapon, the assault rifle firing a burst right into the armour on one of the larger aliens that tried to get through the narrow doorway. It took an entire round to get through the fuckers shielding and armour both, thankfully the thing dropped dead with his final bullet "I'm out!" he shouted blindly before he ejected the mag and moved to put another in its place.
As soon as it hit the ground, another one of those bigger fuckers stepped over the dead body of its fallen comrade and turned to face him, it was speaking in some language that he wasn't going to bother to try and understand but what he could clearly see was the handheld weapon it was carrying. He was still reaching down to his armour in order to grab another magazine, but he wouldn't have enough time. It raised the weapon right to his head and he knew there would be nothing he could do about it. A loud bang echoed from behind him, the alien's head recoiled backwards as its blue blood splattered against the wall "I got you Sarge! Move up" a voice called from behind him.
He didn't wait for a moment before he turned and moved back up the stairs, as he did, he could see three of the squad at the top of the stairs with their weapons aimed down at the narrows spot where the aliens were coming from. One of them carrying a sniper, not something you wanted for close quarters true but it a long and narrow space like this. It would do some good.
As he moved he reloaded his weapon and didn't look as the guys fired again over his shoulder trusting them to have his back. When he reached them, he tapped two of them on the shoulder and they moved up while he and another stayed in place, making sure that they covered the rear of the retreat "remind me to thank the one who designed this building" he said as the two opened fire as a handful of smaller aliens with the handheld shields started to come though.
Without waiting for a moment Diggs reached for his belt and pulled out a grenade, normally he would have already been shot way too many times to through it but his comrade, Lux was covering fire for him while he did so. He threw the explosive, and it bounced off the far wall, going further then it normally would due to their elevated position up the stairs. When it fell to the ground, it was just behind those two aliens with the beak like mouths.
Thankfully it seemed like they couldn't withstand a grenade from point blank range. This building really was saving their asses, it was designed to be a fortress for whatever was inside and with that, the staircases were surrounded by thick concreate walls that were separated from the rest of the building, these things were built first and everything else was just built around them. So if there was ever a fire or an Earthquake or an attack. These choke points would do a world of good for the defenders.
Which is exactly what it was doing now. Thankfully they still held the roof due to all the anti-air they had when the attack started so while their own air support may be gone, they were doing a good job of keeping the enemies away. Of course, that only lasts as long as the large capital ships hovering over the city didn't come for them because then they really would be fucked "CLEAR!" a voice called from behind them and as one the two started to move backwards up the stairs, their weapons pointed backward at the spot they just were as they made their way up to the next turning point.
These stairs were not the standard four by four that other buildings would have. These where long stretches that wrapped around the entire building, with doors on the right that connected to each floor. Now all those floors where empty due to two things, the elevator system had been completely destroyed due Diggs's own squad ordering them to be blown up so there was only one way to the roof and the group of soldiers at the very top of the shaft who were constantly firing downwards at the first sign of these Bastards or throwing grandees down there. Meaning that there was only one way up now and they had it covered.
When the two reached the next turn, Diggs looked past it a saw a long line of different injured soldiers, ONI personal and civilians all standing on the stairs waiting for the all clear from above so they could begin the evacuations "ALRIGHT ODST's! HOLD THE LINE HERE!" he ordered as everyone with a gun aimed it down the stairs ready to do what they could, at the very least the more advanced armour and weapons the aliens had shouldn't mean much here.
Diggs and four of his guys held a firing squad formation, two kneeling down and two standing up. Ready for whatever was coming. At least that is what he thought, until the wall in between them and the spot at the turning point they just were exploded inwards. For a split second he thought that it would be a type of artillery but stopped that when he remembered that it was the leading theory that whatever these eggheads have is wanted intact.
That theory was supported even more when the dust cleared and sunlight came through from the outside. Diggs could see Atlas stuck in the wall on the right of them that separated the outer shell of the building to the inside of it. He was stuck in a 'T' position as he was dug into the concreate wall, thankfully he didn't seem to be injured as he quickly tried to move forward but before he could, the large figure in black came through the hole he just made and slammed into him.
Atlas and the unknown went right through the building and out the other side. That wasn't something he needed to worry about, no that was through the large hole in the building that left them open to fire from the outside "TAKE COVER" he shouted as quick beams of... whatever those aliens used as ammo came through the hole that seemed to originate from the buildings along the coast 'snipers' he thought to himself as he moved hoping that others would listen.
He felt the water hit him first, then not a second later was the armoured fist of his attacker. But he wouldn't let that stop him, while the two sank to the bottom of the ocean, just shy of a couple dozen meters due to them being close to the coast. They continued their fight, the water not doing anything to slow them down as they moved. Atlas ducked under and kneeled the enemy in the stomach, brought both hands above his head and slammed them downwards onto his head. The force of the blow creating shockwaves that pushed the water away from them before it slammed back down, the immense pressure doing nothing to them.
The being let out a punch from the ground that hit him in the leg causing Alt to fall forwards, Alt had a mouth full of sand but before he could even try and spit it out his enemy grabbed the back of his neck and slammed him down into it harder and harder causing massive shockwaves to happen around them. On the fifth one Alt able to kick backwards and connect with his chest and he was sent flying backwards, as he recovered from the attack Alt landed a powerful upper cut that knocked him into the air. At least it would have done if he didn't immediately grab his leg and start to spin around.
He did that faster and faster until the water around him started to turn as well, creating almost a small tornado of water, then he let go. The alien was catapulted out of the water and back towards the city, not wanting to lose his own advantage over him, Alt quickly jumped forward following him. He cleared the ocean floor easily enough and had a moment to make out that those big ships were getting closer to the ONI building, it wouldn't be much longer now until it would be right on top of them and they wouldn't be able to get out in time.
But he couldn't afford to focus on that, he had to trust that the others would be able to look after themselves and get the mission. When he turned back to find his opponent, his eyes widened at what he saw. Alt was heading for the roof of a mid-sized building, exactly where his enemy was but he found out to late that he was being set up. The enemy was standing there ready for him with a large concreate piler ready to be swung. He only had a small moment to widen his eyes before it smashed into his face and even though he went through it, his momentum was gone and so was his balance.
He missed his landing point and he flipped uncontrollably through the air and towards the ground. He thought for a moment that the landing wouldn't be too bad but then as he could see the building he missed, he made out the black armour coming towards him.
He felt the first connected with his face and his speed towards the ground got much faster. When he made contact, the ground churned underneath him and he moved for what felt like a mile before he slowed down. With his face in the ground he couldn't see what was happening around him or make out what was happening. His face hurt, his muscles ached, and his head was killing him.
But he couldn't let that stop him, he wouldn't allow himself to beaten so early on. This war had just started and if he fell now then humanity was already over. He slowly picked himself up and only just made it to his shaking legs. He caught the scent of the ocean and he could feel the sun on his skin. When he turned around, he only just the saw the ONI building in the distance before a large force was smashed into his chest.
Just like that he knocked back down into the ground with the enemy on top of him delivering blow after blow to his chest. Each one creating a large shock wave and making his body burry itself into the ground, he was only just able to reach up and grab an incoming fist to briefly stop the attack but he couldn't stop the other fist that hit his face.
Alt's face twisted sideways from the force of the blow forcing him to look out and see the ONI building in the distance, a large hand met his neck and he couldn't move his head. Completely at the mercy of the one on top of him who ripped his hand out of his grip and had it pulled backwards, ready to punch him right in the head and knock him out. From there he would either be killed or taken away to god only knows where.
But time seemed to slow down around him as he looked closer at the ONI building, he could see it so clearly from here. He could see the aliens that were crossing the bridge, the people on the roof and the anti-air missiles that were shooting down the ships but most of all. He could see through the small hole that they made in their fight, he could see the ODST's that were holding the line against the approaching aliens.
And failing.
The hole in the wall gave him a great view of the corner of the stairs where the line was holding, though only barely. It was all happening in slow motion for him, he could see the bullets being fired into the aliens shields who were simply getting closer and closer to them. He could hear the screaming from the soldiers but also the civilians, the innocent people who just wanted to live their lives in peace. He could watch them now, the panicking dozen or so people that are the only ones left of an entire planet, scrambling the try and get further up the stairs while Diggs and his lot try and hold the enemy back.
His eyebrows lowered and a deep-seated anger set within him, these aliens came for them. They attacked them without any warning or reason and for what? Conquest, resources. He didn't know, but what he did know was that he couldn't think of any reason that would cost this. Two entire worlds that were full of life just wiped out and those where just the ones he knew of, these aliens could have wiped out who knows how many more.
Alt's breath became hitched as he thought about it and to the one standing above him, the one who seemed to be leading them. He grit his teeth and started to snarl slightly as he forced his head to turn despite the hand around his neck and face the enemy he brought his fist down upon him.
But he didn't care about that, the rage that was building within him as he thought about all who died here for no reason. He could feel a great heat emit from his own eyes and just before the only other person of his race he knows of could bring his fist down. A power the likes of which he has never felt before blasted outwards from his own eyes and landed dead centre of his enemy "AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" he screamed in anger as the blast came out and even when it stopped, he didn't.
Alt shot to his feet and moved forward; he caught a glimpse of the damage he had caused. A large gash going from the being's right shoulder down to its hip, it was dripping molten metal and the enemy looked at itself in what could only be surprise before he looked back up at Alt who was already on top of him. He punched him again and the being was knocked even further back, getting closer to the line of aliens that were in the process of crossing the bridge. Though when they both got close enough, they all turned to face the two.
He could see many of the aliens only have just the right amount of time to duck out of the way before his own enemy was thrown through one of their larger tank like vehicles, ripping it in two. Alt didn't even take a moment to enjoy the look of horror on their faces, no doubt only a fraction of the fear that the people of this planet felt when they first arrived.
He moved forward again just as his enemy was picking himself up, Alt blinked in front of him and brought up his right fist slamming it right into the enemy's face and he went back into the ground. He brought his leg back and kicked him in his mid-section, he flew through the air and back down the street further into the city centre. He could feel the fire of the enemy weapons on him but he didn't care for them, he jumped forward and was ready to fight him further.
When he arrived through the dust covered streets, he found the one in black picking himself up but it was noticeably slower than before, like the damage Alt did to its armour was affecting it somehow. But how could that be? If he was calmer then he would have thought about it more but he wasn't and he didn't. When Alt reached him he brought his fist back and he struck with a powerful blow, it hit the enemy's head but a lot lower than he had before.
He struck the peace of the metal that seemed to be placed over the alien's mouth and connected the helmet to the rest of the suit. The alien flew back for what seemed like a mile. He crashed hard into another large building, he was about to follow him in and finish this but stopped when a loud siren could be heard from above.
Looking up he could see that the alien ship was advancing towards the ONI building but there was more to it than that. It looked like the ship was rocking from side to side and on the side of the ship, he could see that the shields were flaring up, like it was being attacked. He needed to get back. He knew that, but he just couldn't stop himself from looking right at his enemy, he looked through all the dust, the debris and found his target who was kneeling on the ground neck to a broken and bent bank vault door.
His breathing was hazy as he wheezed from his spot on the ground, he could hear the sound of some sort of respirator barely working and was clearly broken but that's not what got his attention the most. No, that was what he saw with his eyes. The black carapace that formed the helmet started to shift and become transparent allowing Alt to see his face for the first time. It was so human, was the first thing he noticed. His eyes where green, he had a military style buzzcut that he's seen a thousand times before.
He reached up and grabbed his helmet, it wasn't strong like the metal he thought it was. It seemed to peel around his fingers like hot plastic before it snapped back and folded itself away back inside the torso of the armour. He looked around for something but stopped when Alt saw that he was looking right at him, the two simply starring at each other "You... cannot... stop this...Kal-El" he snarled and Alt's lips parted as he took a breath, clearly not ready to be spoken to in his own language "for every human you save... we will kill a million more... the Mantel of Responsibility... for all things... belongs to the Kryptonians alone"
Before Alt could react to anything he just heard the loud rumble was heard above he turned upwards just in time to see the large ship tilt to the side just before a large blast came from multiple points and he could make the connection that MAC rounds just went through multiple sections of the ships hull and they were heading right towards them. Alt only had a moment to use his speed to get out of the area but that didn't stop him from looking behind him as he did so and in slow motion, he could see that one of the MAC rounds started to go through the roof of the bank building and Alt looked away before he could see it hit his enemy dead centre.
"Multiple direct hits Ma'am!" an Ensign shouted from their position within the side of the bridge. Khane didn't move from her spot in front of the command table as she looked at the alien ship burst into flames go down onto the city.
"All ships! Concentrate fire on secondary target!" she ordered before she turned to one of the many different officers before she turned back to the table and made the radio call to Diggs "Sergeant, be advised. Air support is en-route. Highlight priority targets and prepare for exfil" she said back.
"BRIDGE!" the radio shouted back at them quickly "Target the bridge" he ordered quickly.
Not seeing any reason to argue, she complied "UNSC destroyer 'Maidens Wrath' target the front yard of the ONI installation. Wipe everything not in that building out" she then ordered quickly and got a green light from the other ship.
She could see from the table that it broke off from its formation and made its way towards the ground level and started to fire its smaller weapons on the ground in front of the ONI building "enemy fire incoming!" someone called from her side. She turned her head and looked out the front window, while she and every other ship in the formation were pointing directly downwards towards the ground, they were fine due to the ship's artificial gravity.
They also seemed to have an advantage due to the primary weapons of the aliens ships being located on their sides or undeath them pointed downwards. Though that didn't mean they were powerless, Khane could see multiple attack cannons being fired at them and unlike the enemy, they didn't have shields.
"HOLD FORMATION!" she shouted into the radio to all the ships "we won't get another chance to take this thing out! Launch all fighters and drop ships! Get those evacs underway now!" she turned away from the window and back towards the table just in time to see that all the small ports on her own ship where emptying and within the formation she could see many more green dots with different call signs where being added.
"Reloading complete!" someone shouted from behind her.
"All ships! Fire at will!" she saw a barrage of MAC rounds being fired and all of them landed on the roof of the enemy ship and much like the first ship it burst into flames and crashed into the ground.
There was a brief cheer going around the bridge as they all saw it crash and burn and Khane wouldn't lie. She felt a large amount of satisfaction at the sight 'that's right, burn you bastards' she thought to herself before remembering that there were far more coming "form defence position Echo-Seven around the ONI installation, we have incoming from all sides"
And that was true, even now when she looked at the overhead radar systems coming from the ODP's above them. She could see exactly thirty-seven different contacts all heading towards them from different points around the globe. There is no chance of surviving them if they took too long with this "all dropships be advised we are in the mother of all rushes, we have no time at all for this. Get onto that roof and fill up as quickly as possible, when you are full go to any hanger. I don't care were!" she ordered them all as every single ship they that began to make a circle formation around the ONI base ready to fire in every direction. Thankfully the one advantage they seem to have over the enemy is that their weapons pose a longer range and so they can fit them before they were attacked.
The ground beneath them rumbled as the entire building shook. Diggs kicked out with his foot and hit one of the smaller aliens in the face, which seemed hard enough to knock it down the stairs "bridge is out, ground forces. Dropships are making their way to the roof now. Begin evacuation" a voice called into his ear.
"Solid copy Ajax, egg heads are moving onboard now" the voice he didn't recognise sounded, he assumed it was what was left of the ONI personal that were guarding the rood with their cannons.
"We're nearly done now people!" he shouted as he and the others continued to fire but ammo was running low, that much was clear to see. Though some small saving grace was that the snipers that were shooting them from the opening in the wall where going, along with whatever building they were in. He didn't know what brought them down, it could have been Atlas and whoever he was fighting or it could have been what was left of the fleet as they destroyed the alien ships above the city, it didn't really matter. He was just happy that they caught the break, it gave them the time they needed to make this a kill chamber.
Though it wasn't easy, with less and less ammo. The closer the alien could get, not to mention the more chances they would have to fire their own weapons back at them. The plan was they go back up the stairs much like they did before but they would wait here until the evacuation was complete. Protecting the rear guards as best they could, he gritted his teeth as he fired his assault rifle, aiming for the bigger ones while the others did the same.
They kept this up for another few minutes, he took a moment to look over his shoulder and see that the large line of people was starting to move forwards up the stairs thankfully, meaning that they were being taken away on the Pelicans. It would only be a few more minutes now "Sergeant, do you have eyes on Atlas?" Khane's voice came through his helmet.
Diggs gritted his teeth as his weapon used up the last bullet, tossing it to the ground, knowing full well that no-one had any spare ammo. Pulling out his pistol he shouted to the others "MOVE UP!" he said as they group of four started to slowly back up the stairs and around the corner. He threw a grenade down the path they just where, bouncing it off the wall in order to get it around the corner "Negative, no signs of Atlas" he said back as the four ODST's reached the top of the stairs and the next corner that would lead to the roof.
Just before he could place himself in the same position he was just down a couple of steps. He saw something over his shoulder, it was a small blue ball that let out some smoke, it went past him and stuck to the wall behind his group. He could hear the winding up of a high-pitched sound before a large explosion came from it. Diggs was knocked backwards down the stairs, and he didn't stop until he reached the corner they just left from. He hit something hard on the way down that started to fall with him though he didn't know what and at that moment he didn't care.
When he landed on something solid, he assumed the corner turned. He only had a moment to pick himself up, lifting off his helmet as he did so. Knowing it was useless now based on the large crack it had. He brought himself to his shaking legs.
"PEOPLE! WE ARE LEAVING!" Diggs shouted at the top of his lungs from his place at the bottom half of the stairs, hoping that those at the top would here him. One of those bigger fuckers was right in front of him bringing its arm back ready to swing that glowing sword of its towards him but before he could. The Sergeant moved forward, wrapped his arms around the alien's torso and pushed with all he had. Thankfully it seemed to be enough and the two went tumbling down, knocking over all the other aliens that seemed to be in their way.
"SARGE!" a voice cried from behind him but he paid it no mind as the two large bodies rolled.
"RETREAT!" he shouted as the two came to a stop at one of the turning points of the large flight, he quickly picked himself up and the alien did the same. He brought his fists up and punched the alien in the face, he almost recoiled as he did so, the pain in his hand from his own blow was considerable "GET THOSE CIVIS OUT OF HERE!" he ordered without looking back. He ducked under the swing that the alien gave him made a double job for the alien's torso, at least he thought it was a torso, ignoring the pain in his fists as he did so.
Unfortunately, that didn't seem to do much as he felt a large hand grab him by the back of the neck and pull him up, he quickly on instinct reached out around him and grabbed the aliens hand but it was no use. Not being able to withstand the strength of the alien, Diggs had no choice but to stare right into the enemy's eyes with a snarl on his face. This would be the first time he got a real good look at them and so far... he wasn't impressed. With his free hand he reached out and quickly grabbed one of the four mandibles that made up the alien's mouth and while it struggled once he grabbed hold, trying to move him away but he wouldn't have it. He struggled and let out a yell, he felt the satisfying snap of what felt like bone and the alien dropped him from the pain he must have felt.
Diggs fell to his knees and looked up to see the alien stagger back as a hand gripped its face, or mouth...whatever. The ODST didn't give the alien a moment to think he sprinted forward by a step and jumped into the air. With both his feet extended, with a force he hoped was strong enough he connected with the aliens chest and it fell backwards further down the stairs. He couldn't give himself even a moment on the ground before he picked himself back up and started to move up the stairs. At least that was the plan, before he looked and he could see three of the smaller aliens coming towards him. The ones that he and the bigger one crushed on their way down the flight had picked themselves up and continued the fight.
He let out a mental sigh before he used the anger he was feeling about all of this to give him a surge of adrenalin. The closest to him, the ones with the pyramids on their back seemed to scream as it ran towards him. Diggs didn't know if it forgot it had a weapon or just didn't care, it swung its really large fist at him. These guys where easier to take down then the others, that was true but the problem was that when they were right next to each other. They were pretty even in size but the alien looked like it had much tougher skin, not to mention way more muscle.
Diggs leaned back to get away from the mad swing and was about to attack but stopped when something hit him from his side. He was knocked against the wall and looked to the side to see that the aliens that carried the shield and had beaks and pushed him against the wall, using the blue shield as a barrier between them. Grunting in pain of all the bruises and cuts he sustained over the last hour or so, he used his free hand to reach around the shield and grab the face of the alien. Using his hand to wrap around its mouth and with a surprising amount of ease, keep it shut.
It grunted and struggled against him and while it did so, Diggs used that as a means to bring his leg up and slam it down. Right onto the aliens exposed feet, he wouldn't lie, he felt a great deal of satisfaction as he felt bones break underneath his boot. Though through that pain, the alien was able to shake it's head free and move slightly back. Instead of retreating, it instead moved forward. Pushing its shield to the side, bashing on of his arms away as it did so, Diggs got ready for a type of headbutt, but he was surprised as the alien shot forward towards him with his mouth wipe open.
"AAAAAAHHHHHHH" he screamed as the alien bit down onto his head. While it may not have teeth, the beak was certainly sharp and he could feel the skin around his nose and cheek being pulled, not to mention around the back of his head. The pain was unmatched, but he wouldn't let that stop him from doing his job. Seeing very little in the way of options he reached forward towards the hip of the alien and grabbed what he believed to be a weapon, it was slightly larger than a pistol, purple in colour and had loads of different bright pink spikes sticking out of it. Doing his best to ignore the pain on his face he grabbed what he hoped was a handle and trigger. Aimed it dead centre of the alien's chest and fired.
He thanked god when the alien let go of his head and backed up as spike after spike was embedded in its body. He didn't stop of course, why would he? Even as the alien was at the top of the set of stairs but what he didn't expect was for the alien to... blow up? It was the sheer randomness of the act that caused him to be so stunned for a moment. He looked back at the weapon in his hand for a moment before he turned and faced the alien that tried to charge at him before, without moving from his spot he turned the weapon on it and fired again.
Much like before after the first few spikes hit, the entire thing seemed to blow up and showered Diggs in gore. Rather than be disgusted by all the blood and guts he was covered in, he looked back to the weapon that in his hand "I got to get me one of these" he said before he picked himself back up and looked down the stairs. He saw the largest alien yet, thumping up the stairs with heavy feet. The thing barely fitting in the narrow corridor that the staircase was inside, it was covered head to toe in large silver armour and its right arm seemed to be completely encased within a large cannon like weapon "come on you bastard!" he yelled as he aimed his weapon but unlike before, this time it didn't fire. He tried it again, but it was the same result. Then again and again.
All he could do was watch as the alien raised its large cannon that started to crackle with green energy. He took a final breath as he waited for it to come, hoping that he did enough for the others to leave. Before whatever was about to come, could. There was a large blast against the wall that caved in all that was in front of him. Only his head flinched as the wind and dust washed over him, when he looked closer as all the dust and smoke fell back out the that was just made. Diggs looked closer to see that the huge alien was now just a pile of blood, armour, guts and flesh.
Splattered up against the wall, past that where the alien was just standing, he could see a human figure making their way towards him and for a moment he braced for death again. But he let out a long sigh as he made out the features of Atlas coming towards him, the only friendly alien that they had jogged up the last couple of steps and Diggs could see him more clearly.
He did not look good.
'He doesn't look good' Atlas thought to himself as he limped his way up the stairs and towards the ODST, he had massive cuts around his face and he could tell that he had a couple of broken bones as well no doubt. Though he doubted he looked any better "We got to go!" he shouted as he reached the top of the stairs.
His words seemed to snap the human out of his daze and he nodded back at Atlas, he quickly turned and started to make his way up the stairs with Alt right behind him. As of the moment, Alt didn't even want to think about what that... Kryptonian? Maybe, he had no idea and he would think about it later. For now he just used his own body to cover Digg as the two made their way up. When they reached the final corner, he could see a small hatch that opened up to the roof and there was a lot of noise beyond that.
As Diggs went up, Alt stayed in place for just a moment, bringing both his hands together he slammed them into the wall next to him and created a type of cave in that blocked the stairs from those who would follow them. At least for now, jogging up the last couple of steps. He came up to see utter mayhem.
There was around two dozen different people all standing in the middle of the roof, waiting for another Pelican to turn around and open the ramp. When he looked to the other side, he could see that another ship was doing the same. Based on the very quick math he did, it should be enough for everyone to get on board. Diggs was limping towards the centre of the group, two ODST's running towards him as he did so, each wrapping an arm around him and holding supporting his weight.
Just when he thought they might acutely make it out of here. A bright flare caught his attention and before he could even turn his head, a loud shockwave of force and sound hit his ears and through all of that he turned away from the people who were all knocked onto their backs from the force of the wave and towards where it came from. He looked on as one of the large Marathon class cruisers exploded in a massive blast that he was surprised didn't knock people off the roof. If there was still glass anywhere in this city that was intact, it wasn't anymore.
Alt looked on in horror and rage as one of the largest ships humanities has just got ripped in two from oncoming enemy fire. All he could do is watch from his place, unable to help in anyway shape or form as the large ship crashed into the ocean. He looked through the two pieces that just fell, smoke still burning from it as fires danced away on the surface. He did all he could to try and block out the sounds of the people who were still alive, screaming in agony but there was nothing he could do for them now.
He kept on taking deep breaths, ignoring all those around him who were able to get to their feet and scramble onto the Pelicans who only now managed to stable themselves from the shock wave. He looked through the smoke and could see the large alien ship coming towards them, flanked on both sides by more of them. His fists clenched as he looked at them, all the anger that he felt before pouring out of him and threatening to overtake him just like it did earlier. And just like before, he didn't want to stop it.
His breathing grew quicker and quicker, the heat behind his eyes intensified again. He closed them in an attempted to keep it at bay but it was a fools earned, to others, they would see cracks of red like form on his face around his eyes, there would be a force coming off of him that would keep them at bay.
There was just one moment of silence, then there wasn't.
"AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH" he screamed at the top of his lungs as his eyes opened and all that power came rushing out. He couldn't see properly, all he had was red. He couldn't see the force of the attack knocking everyone back a step, the ground underneath him began to turn black due to the heat coming off of him.
And he didn't see the ship he was looking at not being able to stand up to his power, the two powerful red beams struck the ship dead centre and to all others present who could see that the shields flare up as the attack made contact, they didn't last even a couple of seconds before they gave way and lost their power. With them gone, the rest of the ship didn't stand a chance, they still didn't really know what metal the aliens made their ships with but it clearly wasn't enough. If they still had satellites above in orbit then they would have seen the beams go through the front of the ship and not even a second later go out the other side.
What followed was an explosion just as big as the Marathon cruiser gave when it blew up and crashed into the see.
When that happened, the power faded. Alt's eyes returned to normal and he just stood there as he looked at the crashing ship. His vision going blurry as he did so, he stumbled in place and slowly turned around to face the others. He only caught a couple of shocked and scared looks before his body fell backwards and all he could see was the blue and white of the sky and clouds.
At least that was all until, for the first time in his life. He passed out from complete exhaustion"
Damn, I'm not gonna lie, I rushed this more than I would like. As I said in my last story update, I went on holiday so when I got back I ended up doing like 3k words a day so this went up on schedule. I hope you can forgive me for any gramma issues I missed.
Anyway, let me know what you thought of Alt's first meeting with his people and of course the awakening of more of his power.
Next story update: A New Guardian
