Doctor Halsey watched the footage back again, for the third time that evening. Thirty-Five millimeter coilguns did absolutely nothing to that beast of a creature. Admittedly, the UNSC loaded them up with HE, expecting to fight a wyvern the size of the stuff the Imperials flew at them and the UN forces gathered near the Gate, not something of this size and with this much armor plating.
Halsey needed to get a sample of that thing's hide to check it. Thirty-Five Mil HE doing nothing to armored targets was not unheard of, but doing nothing to a target with what was pretty much a layer of hard, plate-like armor thick enough to repel the blasts and high-speed projectiles was something she intended to fully study when she got the opportunity. That also meant taking the thing out in order to autopsy it, or at least retrieve tissue samples.
Primary concern wasn't it, right now, even as the UNSC was launching Longsword fighter-bombers on a headhunting mission for the damn thing. Their main priority right now was finding out if Third Platoon was alive and if they'd managed to rendezvous with the friendly UN Task Force. The Broadswords had bugged out before they had a chance to witness any sort of interaction.
Halsey marched down the main path of the base, toward the Airfield. Around her, Marines, Army and other personnel prepared for the worst while Air Force birds lifted off in pairs from the double runway, with the most launched craft so far being the Longsword. The UNSC fully intended to bring that piece of shit down from the skies if it harmed their troops, just like they did when Zorzal thought he'd be coy and slashed the doctor's arm.
She rubbed the injury, which had scarred annoyingly enough. A reminder, Doctor Halsey thought, of one of the first missions undertaken with her at the head of ONI. Gazing up at the sky as it filled up with squadrons of hunter-killer aircraft and drones, not to mention Pelicans meant for SAR, the good doctor pondered how far they'd gotten in these past few years here. They'd found chunks of technology, items of interest and two new allies in the form of the Warrior Bunnies and the Dragon-Born.
Certainly, the last group was coming closer to them. Halsey murmured to herself, "The Imperials have been getting bold again, it would seem..." as she looked over the datapad detailing recent Imp incursions in the area, per the reports of the security team she'd ordered with the staff around the controller crystal. Halsey hummed, then allowed herself a small smile.
'Controller crystal' was a term given by the staff operating in that area to the Slipspace Flake encased in the mountain. It worked similar to a controller for the Gate, as it seemed, alongside the other, presumably similar matrices located in the surrounding areas of the continent. Areas that Halsey would need to explore if she hoped to find out just how the Gate was affected by Slipspace and how it, as an interdimensional portal, worked.
She watched three Wombat drones loaded for bear launching from the tarmac, burning at full throttle past the walls of the FOB and veering right, toward where the UNSC convoy had gone. Each carried several heavy-duty air-to-air missiles designed to bust even the heaviest Covvie aircraft with one hit. A scaled bastard hat attacked her men would certainly not last long against that much high-impact explosive ammo striking it. Even so, the Longswords that would follow behind the Wombats had even heavier payloads in their arsenals.
Halsey sighed, settling herself down as she realized she was trembling. This wasn't the time for her to act this way. The crew of this exploration, which had grown into something beyond its original scope, had grown quite tight-knit. Marines and Army knew each-other and they knew medical, Navy and Air Force staff. Scientists pretty much knew everybody and everybody knew them. Same for the Warrior Bunnies and the more recent addition of the Dragon-Born.
Speaking of those who were born with partial scales and actual dragon wings, but were humanoid, Doctor Halsey watched as a cloaked figure floated above the base before she slowly began her descent. Pulling her hood off, Jeanne appeared in front of the doctor, her face grim. She spoke, "Doctor... You have my sincerest apologies..."
"What happened, madam Jeanne?" Halsey raised a brow.
"I'm certain you've heard the rumors of an elder Fire Dragon being awake," She stated. Halsey nodded, somewhat surprising the woman, before she showed her the footage of their aircraft engaging the damn thing. Jeanne blinked, then sighed and said, "I was afraid of this..." before inquiring, worried, "Are the Lieutenant and his force alive? Is Delilah alive...?"
"We're looking for them as we speak, madam Jeanne," Halsey replied, "Air Force assets have begun scouting the path they took toward the first meeting with the UN, but it will be a while before we're aware of where they are exactly, unless they manage to call us via Radio... Which I hope they will, soon. I'd like to know where to direct our SAR aircraft without having to rely on the drones."
"SAR?" Jeanne inquired.
"Search and Rescue. Medical aircraft," Halsey noted, then pointed at a Pelican with a red cross on its side lifting off. Jeanne hummed, nodded, then looked to Halsey as the Doctor mentioned, "I'm certain the Lieutenant, Delilah and the Third Platoon are safe, madam Jeanne... Knowing the Lieutenant and his proclivities, they could just be having dinner with another group of locals."
She certainly hoped she was right, honestly, but that mattered little right now, "Eitherway... Can you assist, miss Jeanne?"
"I can try to help find them..." She said, "I'll join one of your search teams... Let me know if they call via Radio."
"I will," Halsey nodded.
The two parted ways, with Jeanne marching up to one of the SAR aircraft to join them as a sort of 'organic drone', Halsey assumed. She didn't know the exact biology of the Dragon-Born like she knew that of the Warrior Bunnies. Thorough research on the matter had been conducted on both live and dead specimens from among the ranks of Her Highness's caste, with her permission, of course.
Lots of things Halsey needed to consider right now. Not enough time to consider them all, she thought as she marched back to the command center. Inside, she saw the Colonel and Admiral talking via holographic coms. The Admiral noticed Halsey's arrival and said, "Doctor. Just in time. We were discussing certain issues regarding more troops being redirected toward us."
"Are we receiving the equipment I've requested?" Halsey inquired, "For the Contingency."
"Yes," The Colonel nodded, "A full artillery brigade, a company of Grizzly tanks, a bunch of experimental LAVs and even more air assets and ammunition that we can repurpose to take down the bigger things on the planet, like that freaking Dragon that's probably stalking our men as we speak. Not to mention stuff to deal with the... Alternate Universe forces over yonder by the gate if things get ugly."
"Here's hoping they won't," The Admiral commented.
"Agreed, Admiral..." Halsey replied, "What are we looking at in terms of other reinforcements?"
"Half of one Marine division's getting redirected from hunting the Storm Covenant, another Company of M808s should be coming in with a Phoenix-class refit soon and we're getting a squadron of Mantises... Basically, we're going to need to expand our base even further, turn it into a small city, considering command wants us to have our own small army here," The Colonel explained as he walked around the holotable and picked up a tablet, "As for the Empire... Lord Hood's thinking of either taking them out of the picture or attempting to open negotiations with them."
"The latter would be preferable to the destruction of an entire country that seems to act much like the Romans did," Halsey noted in a murmur, before stating, "I've been considering options in opening communications with the Empire again. Taking into account the fact they have not attempted to raid our people again after that defeat their crown prince experienced some years ago..."
"How are local assets in the Empire doing?" The Admiral asked.
"The ONI agents are in-country and performing scouting jobs as we speak," Halsey replied firmly, "However, gentlemen, I'd like to focus on the matter at hand now. We need to recover our men and women, or at least ensure that they are safe. I will get into contact with General Hazama to ask if his troops have seen ours, but I'd suggest you prepare to deploy whatever assets we need as a QRF... In case we need to rescue Third Platoon."
"Understood," The two men replied.
"What will you be doing, doc?" Inquired the Colonel.
"Preparing myself to go find them..." Halsey replied, a hint of guilt behind her words, "Seeing as I sent them out to this operation underprepared..." and she turned to see the Master Chief walking in, his weapon stowed. She nodded, "Master Chief. Perfect timing..." before offering a faint smile to the man and turning back to the console, "Join us. We were considering ways to find our missing force..."
"Doctor," He nodded, then saluted the two officers, "Admiral, Colonel, sirs."
"At ease, Chief," The Admiral saluted back and smirked. The Colonel nodded.
"If I may make a suggestion," What sounded like the voice of a young doctor Halsey stated. Chief lifted his right hand and showed his open palm. From it, the holographic microemitters in the glove activated. A whirlwind of blue pixels soon formed into the shape of a beautiful young woman with long blue hair and an actual labcoat and uniform beneath said labcoat for a change. She smiled, "One I'm sure you've already thought of, doc... Send us out?"
"Hello to you as well, Cortana," Halsey nodded, "You've certainly changed your appearance."
Cortana shrugged, still smiling as she went on to explain "Figured it'd be rude for me to go around quote-unquote 'naked' all the time," beofre turning to salute the two higher-ranking officers. She looked to Halsey again, then said, "Blue team still hasn't gotten their assigned work, Doctor." arranging the collar of her labcoat. It was strange to see Cortana 'dressed' for a change.
"Do you want to go on a search and rescue mission?" Halsey inquired, looking between the SPARTAN and the AI.
"Better than sitting on our butts all day, waiting for something to pop up... Plus," Cortana grinned, "Chief wants to see a Dragon."
Halsey looked to John, narrowed her lips, then sighed and nodded, slight amusement in her voice, "Make sure you know the risks, Master Chief. Tell your team you are to depart in thirty. Load as much anti-armor equipment as you can bear to carry on your persons, as well as on the Pelican. I will send the preliminary reports from the pilots to Cortana for you all to read."
"Thanks," Cortana nodded, "We'll get moving, then."
"Keep in radio contact and report the moment you found them," Halsey ordered, "I'll keep my communications online at all times and will be listening on every frequency for you and them," and she patted down her labcoat. The Spartan and AI both nodded before saluting the two officers and doctor again and departing. Halsey looked to the two men and said, "Provide me a list of the equipment we may be receiving soon. I'd like to know what to expect. Until we find our men and women... I shall be in my office."
The two men let the doctor be, watching as she departed for her room...
A lot to handle for one such as herself, the two thought in unison, but unaware of each-other. The Colonel looked to the Admiral, then continued, "Now... There's the matter of that Slipspace Echo you detected two days ago..."
"Ah, yes. That..." Murmured the Admiral.
The two convoys had been loaded with the severely injured as the vehicles rolled out toward the UN FOB on Alnus Hill. The medics and corpsmen present tended to them, trying to keep the injured stable enough for transport. Aboard the transport situated behind the leading Abrams, Kuribayashi looked down at one of the two wounded UNSC Marines they were transporting, watching as their Corpsman worked with Kurokawa to keep the man stable.
Part of Shino wondered if she should say something about this, about them. The implications of their existence swirled around inside her head and made her partially sick to her stomach, because it brought forth a lot of uncomfortable stuff regarding what the UNSC had to do to win their War. And that. The War. Shino had read how bad the combat had gotten. Never had she actually seen what these people must've seen aside from the games.
She swallowed, tugging at her collar as she saw herself grow paler in the faint reflection on the window of one of the transports. The Marines before her were part of the reason she had joined the SDF. She blinked, looking at the partially-burned Marine laying in front of her and wondering just how many of his people got the same treatment, not from some magic lizard, but from their enemy. She narrowed her lips, then a small smile crept up on her lips.
She was pretty much standing in front of her heroes, though. The boots on the ground in that godforsaken Space War against a genocidal group of alien bastards and traitorous humans. And these people managed to survive as far as this. It was an inspiration, honestly. She eyed the Elf next to Kurokawa afterward, watching as the girl utilized a shimmering orb to aid in the healing.
Tuka Luna Marceau was her name. Her dad was in the AAV in the back, tending to some of the wounded High Elves with another Corpsman from the USMC, while the UNSC vehicles brought up the rear of the AAV, the Gauss 'Hog with its weapon turret pointed at the sky just in case the enemy was gonna come for them. That damn thing had injured and killed a lot of people in the High Elf village.
"Kuribayashi," She heard the Lieutenant's voice and came out of her stupor. Looking forward, she saw Itami loking at her, slightly concerned. He asked, "Is everything alright?"
"I... Yeah," She nodded, "I'm just a... Bit surprised at seeing humans like these folks..."
"You sure look like you know us," The UNSC Corpsman stated as she checked the Marine's pulse. She gazed at Kuribayashi, then stated rather bluntly, "'Least the look in your eyes gives off that vibe. Wanna talk about it? Ivanov here could use a lil' something to distract him from what I'm assuming is the still-subsiding pain of having a chunk of his body caught in napalm vomit."
"Nah," Kuribayashi answered hesitantly, "I think I'm just gonna try and process everything a bit more if that's alright with you folks," before asking, "How's he doing?" and tilting her head to the soldier. The Corpsman shrugged, then showed the burn mark on the man's hip. The heat had melted the skin and charred it, with portions of red muscle visible beneath the bandage.
"His pulse is erratic, but I've given him a dose of morphine... Should hopefully settle his Ruski ass down before long," She sighed, then looked to Kurokawa and said, "You've got good hands. Would make for a helluva surgeon in Civvie life. Ever think about it?"
The gentle girl gave the Corpsman a small smile, before saying, "Maybe... But, right now, I'm needed in the SDF."
"That's fair," She replied, then looked to Tuka and said, "The heck's that you're using? Healing magic?"
Tuka looked to her, then tilted her head forward, replying shyly, "Of a sort..."
"Right," Shino hummed, then looked to Itami and said, "Lieutenant. We should probably warn Coda village and help them evacuate as well before we go any further. That Dragon looked like it was just going on a mindless rampage in the middle of everything," words to which Itami and the others aboard the vehicle looked to her. The man nodded and picked up the radio transmitter.
"Attention, all HITMAN Three and UNSC assets, this is Three-One, broadcasting on short-range, convoy-wide frequency. We're stopping to assist the evacuation of the Village of Coda. We can't let these people die to the Dragon. Send the most wounded forward in one transport back to our FOB and provide it an escort. Requesting help from the Third Platoon for this matter," Itami pretty much ordered.
"Roger, Hitman. We'll stop at the village and pack the heavily wounded with my Corpsman," Voiced Richard over the com.
"And our MTRV can probably haul them out to safety, provided we clear it out of all the other supplies in the back," Torres added calmly. Good. They had a plan already in motion to execute and more people to rescue. The convoy rolled forward into the town, much to the surprise of everyone inside, before the Marines and SDF dismounted. Torres and the others started telling people to prepare to evacuate, warning them of the Dragon and the likes.
The moment the civilians heard of the Dragon, they started packing without pause, with the SDF and UNSC soldiers aiding them and guiding them to carts and to any vehicle that they could use to safely deliver them home. The MTRV, meanwhile, left with a Warthog in escort, both of them moving at top speed toward the FOB. As this was going on, Torres approached Lieutenant Samuels, who was fiddling with their long-range, part of which had melted.
"No long-range to contact allies?" He inquired.
"Nope..." Sighed the man, "I'm trying to reroute the broadcast through the secondary relay. Most of our vehicles carry Short-Range Radios for convoy com with the command vehicle hauling the long-range for this one. We got some of the older kit handed to us for this exploration... Don't even know how the fuck the fire got to it while it was in the HEMTT."
"Fire can get into a bunch of weird places, honestly," Torres shrugged. He then looked over to the left, to see the Warrior Bunnies led by Delilah, all of them a bit singed, but alive. He asked, "Do you guys usually employ girls with rabbit ears in combat roles...?" with a hint of concern, causing the UNSC Lieutenant to snort and look up at his USMC Counterpart with a smile.
"It's a really long story," He replied, before setting aside the tools with which he was trying to repair the Radio. He stood up, picked it up and said, "Walk with me."
The Lieutenant of the UNSC Marines had begun explaining to Torres and, later, to Itami as the boy joined, why the UNSC was on the planet in the first place while they walked over to the UNSC HEMTT and slid the radio back inside. Noticeably, the vehicle's windows were still hot to the touch from the Dragon's burst of flames and part of the tarp was singed. One of the windows had burst, letting the flame through and probably melting not just the radio, but the right-hand seat upholstery as well. It did. The seat was pretty much bare.
The three Lieutenants looked over toward the Warrior Bunnies, with Itami grinning and saying, "You know, I saw them before, but I didn't wanna comment..."
"They're under our protection, so to speak. Guess they're more looking to become full-fledged UEG citizens, fast-tracked via service with our military units," Richard shrugged, "I'd welcome them openly, honestly. I'm not sure some of my other, older comrades would..."
"Had problems with xenophobia before?" Itami inquired, surprised.
"Justified ones, at that..." He murmured, "Our foe, the Covenant, did some really bad shit to us. Many people haven't forgiven even the ones who decided to ditch them and serve with us, help end the war quicker," he then stated. Tilting his head toward the Warrior Bunnies as Delilah was helping a family carry their supplies to their cart, he stated, "But these girls are different. Open to working with us... Hell, even welcoming us into the mix. We landed right next to their homes. Sure, there was slight friction at the start, but..."
"Yeah," Torres nodded, "I get it..."
Itami looked to see Kurata approaching, then snorted, "And there goes Sergeant Kurata..."
"Guy has a thing for girls with animal traits, I'm guessing?" Richard inquired, somewhat weirded out. The two allied Lieutenants nodded, with Richard wincing and chuckling, "Ah, the good old Otaku subculture never really dies, does it?" before garnering looks of shock out of the two of them. He shrugged, "Not me. My Sergeant, Rosie, is into some of the old, twentieth and twenty-first century shit. Calls'em 'classics' up to a point."
"Somehow," Both Itami and Torres murmured, "We ain't surprised."
One of the Warrior Bunnies took up talking to Kurata as the groups continued helping the civilians load up in their carts. The officers scattered to help their troops deal with the refugees, Richard marching up to a family to help them load up their own cart with the necessary supplies. The line of horse-drawn carts now stretched across the entire main street of the village, while the UNSC and SDF's vehicle crews kept their eyes peeled at the sky, the gunner of the Gauss Hog ready to let rip several shells into the creature if it came swinging at them again.
Stavrov marched up and down the line, making sure that the people were moving fast with the preparations. She was followed by a pair of SDF troops, while Rosie stood guard near the rear with her shotgun in hand, guiding what seemed to be a cart of civilians. Beside Rosie sat Rory, who was surrounded by the children of the place. As she approached, Stavrov inquired, "How'd you sneak all the way back here, Apostle?"
"Long story," Rory chuckled, "But I figured I'd come greet the children, at least."
"Fair enough," The girl noted, then turned to Rosie, "What's up, Sarge?"
"Just have a naggin' feeling we'll be in deep shit soon enough," She murmured, then sighed and said, "They're all yours, Stavrov. I'll go check on the El-Tees at the front."
"I dislike people having those kinds of feelings," Rory commented, "For they are usually right," and then she looked upon Stavrov. She asked, "Any news from the trio of lieutenants belonging to this new makeshift task force?" as she leaned her halberd against her shoulder, looking the girl straight in the eye. The Russian shook her head, hefting her rifle over her shoulder. She looked past Rory, to see a young girl, maybe fifteen? She was in blue and white robes and carried some sort of staff with a blue gem at the top. Beside her was an elder.
Rory looked back, then said, "Huh... A Mage and his apprentice."
"Mage?" Stavrov asked just as Torres and Itami were marching toward them.
"A magician. They can wield the powers of the elements, but to a limited degree..." She explained, "Nothing world-bending, mind you."
"Cool..." Stavrov noted, before both of them paused as they heard a scream and the neighing of a horse. All of them turned to face the noise and ran toward it, including the young mage apprentice with blue hair and eyes. She rushed forth with Rory and the soldiers, only to see a young girl knocked on the floor with an injury to her head. Kurokawa and the USMC Corpsman were tending to her while the horse writhed on the ground, the cart it was carrying overturned.
"She's got a skull fracture and possible internal bleeding," Kurokawa said quickly as the little girl grew pale.
"Getting out an anti-inflammatory and prepping to load her up into the truck," The USMC Corpsman said. The two paused, however, when the mage apprentice ran up to them and took a knee, lifting her hands in front of the girl and chanting something in a murmur. A faint emerald glow appeared in front of her hands and the two saw the girls stir. The two UN medics smiled, looking to the girl...
Before the horse neighed angrily, standing to its feet as it foamed at the mouth. The two girls gasped, both going for their guns as the horse almost started stampeding, stomping its two hind legs into the ground, before standing up on them and preparing to bring its front hooves down onto the Mage Apprentice's head. The young girl's heart seemed to stop, her mouth going agape as she looked fearfully at her oncoming, possible death.
Thunder rippled, bullets tearing through the horse's chest cavity. It fell to the floor, dead and bleeding. They gasped, looking back to see Lieutenant Samuels standing there, his assault rifle's barrel still smoking. He ordered quickly, "Get the girls up and out of here! Everyone else, mount up, now! We gotta move before we do wake up with the damn Dragon bearing down on our heads."
With the other Lieutenants agreeing immediately, the staff of the escape convoy marched forth, loading up into their vehicles once again, while the civilians followed them out slowly. Rolling on forth, the UNSC, USMC and SDF soldiers kept their eyes peeled for anything that may prove a threat to this hundreds-strong convoy of Refugees needing help. Midday slowly turned to afternoon once again while Itami and the other Lieutenants remained on active radio while also trying to ping the UNSC to see if they responded or had troops anywhere.
"Been three hours since we started this trip and the sun's beating down on our heads like hell," Murmured a disgruntled Torres, to the approving groans that came as replies from the entire convoy section that had Radio. Ahead of them, a short expanse of arid land awaited. He sighed, murmuring over the radio, "Should've fucking joined the Tank Corps..."
"Pays to be in a fuckin' tank, don't it?" Laughed Edward from aboard Misfit 1-3's tank. A series of expletives left Torres's mouth in another language that the two other Lieutenants knew about. Richard laughed, while Itami shook his head, pulling his helmet over his eyes to shield them from the sun as they traversed the arid landscape. Kurata to his right wasn't sure how to take it.
"This was supposed to be a shortcut, right?" Kurata asked as he scanned the skies.
"According to Lieutenant Samuels's translator, that's what the Village Chief said..." Itami replied, looking up. He squinted, trying to shield his eyes from the sun while still looking toward it. He hummed, then said, "I can't believe we're dealing with a refugee convoy. I thought Fukushima was the last time I'd have to deploy like that... But, then again, those were our countrymen."
"You were at the Fukushima evac, Lieutenant?" Shino inquired as she held onto one of the kids that were loaded into the back of the transport. Itami nodded, to which she said, "Wow... How bad was it?"
"Geiger was clicking continuously, but the rads weren't awful where I was... What was awful was having to do SAR after the rads dissipated a bit," He replied, then murmured to himself, "Never thought we'd see something nearly as bad as Chornobyl when we wound up with the SAR duty... But when Mother Nature decides to be evil, you can't exactly do much to contain her."
"I guess that's..." Shino sighed, "Yeah... I get it."
The vehicles rolled on forward, while the Lieutenants and the gunners of the 'Hogs kept their eyes pointed up at the sky. Itami hummed as he looked back at the lengthy convoy, then murmured to himself, "Something doesn't feel right..." before squinting once again at the sun. He hummed as a shadowy dot appeared in his vision, before it grew and grew...
He gasped, then cried out, "INCOMING! WEST! HIGH!" over the radio.
The Fire Dragon emerged over head, letting out a mighty roar as the flap of its wings kicked up dust. Before its open mouth could spew out fire, it was met by a barrage of rounds. Fifty caliber rounds and several slugs from the barrel of the Gauss gun on the lead hog struck it, with the Gauss round puncturing the thick hide of the monster and causing a simmering, blue-ish blood to spill onto the floor.
"All combat vehicles! Defensive formation!" Richard barked, "Transports, bug out ASAP and do your best to protect the civvies!"
The Dragon reeled, pulling its head back as a billowing fire seemed to glow in its throat. Torres swore as his AAV banked to the left, to engage the monster, before stating, "BREATH INCOMING!" as the dragon let loose a belly full of napalm toward the convoy. A line of five civilian carts that didn't get to move out of the way was caught in the blast, the people inside incinerated.
"No!" Cried one of the Marines manning the 50cal gatling gun on a hog, "You fucking big lizard BASTARD!" He cried as he brought the gun about and opened up on the wings as they were folding up. Fifty-caliber rounds bounced off some of the scales, but also tore parts of the membrane that it used to fly. It wasn't much, but the trooper called it out, "HEY! HEY!" waving toward the Japanese LAV.
The gunner on the LAV saw him pointing at the wings as the Dragon let out another roar, staggering back, then hummed and smirked. He lifted a thumbs up and nodded, before swiveling the gun about and raising it. The meaty chunk-chunk-chunk-chunk of the M2A1 Browning fifty cal echoed throughout the valley as the Dragon tried to ready another breath.
The Abrams swiveled about, with Staff Sergeant Edward Welkin eyeing the bastard through his commander's sight. He demanded, "There's the fucker! You got it, Smith!?"
"Sighted in right on the fucking chest!" He called out. He barely heard the first syllable of the word 'Fire' from his commander before squeezing the trigger, the tank rocking and slowing slightly as the gun spewed the empty shell out of the breech before the loader slammed in a fresh round. In the meantime, the shell struck, but not the midsection as the gunner had hoped. Rather, it hit one of the wings, causing the thing to snap at the bone.
The Hog's Gauss gun followed up with a volley as the driver drew balls to the wall, pushing the vehicle at maximum speed. Several rounds punctured the creature's midsection as it let out a scream of anguish, building up another blast of fire. Within the transports and on the Hogs, Marines and SDF let loose rounds from their rifles, with Rory watching them engage from aboard Itami's vehicle.
She pushed her way forward, to the driver and Itami, then barked, "Its eyes! Fire at its damned eyes!"
The Elves inside the AAV all poked out alongside the Marines, firing their own bows and arrows at the creature, including Tuka's father. The AAV's 40mm grenade machine gun also bricked the damn thing with High-Explosive rounds, knowing full-well it wasn't gonna do anything beyond pissing it off and distracting it. Torres laughed as he said, "EAT FUCKING LEAD, YOU BIG PILE OF SHIT!"
"Aim for the eyes!" Itami ordered, "We can block it from letting out another breath!"
The entire defense force of the convoy took that to heart, with the 50cals on the Warthogs already panning up to blast the thing's eyes, staggering it. It still managed to squeeze out a breath blast that fried another cart with no one near it, thankfully. Shino called out, "The Fifties and our rifles ain't doing a thing beside pissing it off! We need something bigger right now!"
"Good thing we kept the Jackhammers!" A soldier from the UNSC called out, hefting one of the launchers on the Warthog. The twin-barreled HEAT-launching weapon belched hot flames out the back as two rockets left the front, arching toward the intended target. One missile went wide as the creature dodged, but the second caught it in its hip, causing it to scream in pain and let out a burst of fire from its mouth and into the sky.
"Fuck..." Murmured Torres as the AAV's fifty laid into the creature's eyes to try and keep its mouth shut. It couldn't fly because of the FUBAR wing and one of its arms and now one of its hips was out of commission and it was losing blood, while they were circling it like vultures as far as the man could see. He hummed, pulled out his radio and tried to cue his mic into contacting the UNSC, but found static for a moment.
He adjusted the radio's transmit system, but still heard static as he saw their allies and themselves engaged with the creature. Touching the knob and twisting it again, the man murmured something to himself, then swore and said, "Come on, you piece of shit, why fail now...?!" before the transmission cleared up, finally. He listened in to make sure he was on the right frequency and...
The Radio net exploded.
"Tally-ho one bandit! Friendly forces are engaged, DANGER CLOSE! Relay that Third Platoon seems to have survived and met up with UN SPECREG Task Force to FOB Kingdom and arm your missiles, boys and girls!" A female voice cried over the radio, "Be advised, any friendly units on this NET:This is TALON-ACTUAL, TALON WING, UNSC Ninety-Seventh Airwing out of FOB Kingdom! We're coming at your six o'clock, carrying enough heavy ordnance to bust that damn flying lizard back to the Mezozoic! Recommend you disengage, else this shit's going beyond danger close!"
"Hahahaha!" Laughed Richard heartily, a clear release of tension from the young officer as cheers also filtered into the radio from Itami's and other vehicles. The UNSC Lieutenant spoke thankfully, "Good to hear your voice, Talon! Sorry we haven't been in contact, our Long Range is busted, but fuck me, are we glad to see you all up high! All convoy escorts and HITMAN elements, keep your distance! FIREWORKS ARE HOT!"
The roar of highly-powerful engines filled the skies above, causing the troopers to gaze up at the sky. Torres gasped as he saw giant, delta-shaped aircraft flying in mid-to-low altitude, their bomb bays open and showing their 'fangs'. Practically cruise missiles, whatever the hell those birds were carrying looked even more menacing than a Tomahawk. However, they first started their volley with high-caliber guns.
As the two birds flew overhead, their main cannons rumbled, rounds tearing into the creature's body and blasting apart chunks of scale and flesh from the beast. Following that up, the heavy-duty missiles were launched from a respectable distance away, impacting the lizard with enough force to tear it into meaty chunks, its head flung sky-high by the detonations of the two explosive warheads.
Torres's shoulders sagged as he looked ahead at the clouds of dust left by the explosion, watching as the what remained of the creature fell onto the desert. Sighing in relief, the man leaned back against his own improvised seat on the AAV as Elves and Marines of his own group let out gleeful cheers at the victory, followed by the civilians in the group. He began to laugh, too, joyous that they'd just escaped being roasted alive as an allied transport aircraft seemed to swing in, colored black and bearing a lot of guns.
The UNSC Marines disembarked, raising their rifles high and cheering, while Torres's own and the SDF came out of their vehicles to greet the allied troopers landing near them. Lieutenant Samuels had barely had enough time to register the Pelican's symbols before he saw the soldiers clad in heavy plate descend from the platform. Beside him, Shino's jaw dropped, while Itami and the others all seemed to take pause at the sight.
"Lieutenant Samuels," The Master Chief spoke as Blue Team disembarked behind him, "Glad to see you're alive, sir."
If the slight squeak Sergeant Kuribayashi let out beside him told him anything, that meant a lot... And raised a lot of questions about her.
Not like Richard didn't know...