52 days second cylon war
Kobol
Excavation site
Staff Sergeant Eric Flint Colonial marines looked around the dig site was crawling with nearly two hundred marines and naval personnel. The mile high walls of ice still not quite believing he was on Kobol. The last two months had been a whirlwind of activity looking at his new armor and futuristic assault rifle with a digital display. He shook his head almost two months ago when his company had almost been wiped out protecting a civilian bunker on Scorpia and now here he is on the ancient homeworld of humanity.
Watching the engineers and other marines digging out the Pelican they had found half of his mind began to wander. The ODSTs recommended him for advanced combat training for over a week on Scorpia focusing on the important stuff, weapon maintenance and tactics and drop procedures. He had made dozens of drops from the Artemis.
Then being assigned to a Berzerk assault carrier Poseidon during the Battle of Scorpia. The carrier had been disabled and boarded; their cylons had been overrun before they left the airlock and then they led a counter boarding through the open airlock and fought tooth and nail for over twenty minutes before capturing the Cylon operated Manticore. Evacuating the Poseidon surviving crew and continuing the fight aboard the newly named Posiden's Trident.
Then the Picon ground assault his company fought over a small town north of where fleet headquarters had once stood clearing the town of over a hundred Cylons and their human skinjob commanders. During the battle they had uncovered survivors from a local school in the basement shelter of an apartment complex, almost a hundred people mostly women and kids. The majority of the men using recovered military and civilian weapons had fought to the death to keep the women and kids hidden.
His service was recognized with a promotion and a new duty assignment as one of the crew of the Colonial Navy frigate Minotaur. Which led him here, he shivered in the freezing cold. They had been told that a group of humans even older than the ancient Kobolian ancestors had ships here that were buried in ice over multiple millennia
His eyes focused again as the icy Pelican came into view, "Any idea how they got here?" Eric asked.
A nearby Marine also assigned to security rather than dig duty answered him "Higher up has no idea from the tap code we know there are three people inside a navy squid and a pair of marines." the marine said holding out a hand "from your Colony flag your from Scorpia's ground forces right? I'm First Sergeant Gene Ruiz from the Hawaii."
Eric started to reach out for the offered hand but stopped abruptly and came to attention "Sir, Staff Sergeant Eric Flint of the CNS Minotaur."
The first sergeant chuckled, "calm down kid, besides this is still technically a combat zone, what did we teach you about rank in combat?"
At the reminder Eric abruptly resumed a normal stance with a nervous shuffle of his feet "no saluting or reaction to superiors to ensure they are not targeted by enemy snipers or spotters..sir"
"Textbook answer Sergeant." said Ruiz "as for your question we will just have to ask the crew once we get them out."
Eric stood there awkwardly next to Gene for a few minutes as the pelican's rear was finally freed from the ice allowing the panel with the emergency release to be opened and pulled. As the doors opened they ground to a halt with less than a inch opening. A couple of marines grabbed the cracked door and began to pull it open.
As they did The door suddenly opened wide and dozens of ...things flooded out burying the eight marines. Eric stood in a confused stupor as he watched the needle-like thing on the nose of the things stab down into the marines' throats causing them to scream in surprise and pain, even as others started skipping towards others nearby.
Gene yelled "Fall back, Fall back!" even as he lifted his rifle towards the things swarming the marines trying to get a clear shot. Out of the corner of his eye he saw the first of what looked to be horribly injured humans began limping out.
"What the Frakk?!" came the panicked cry as another marine fell under the torrent of bubble things.
Eric lifted his rifle and fired at one of the things flying toward him even as others elsewhere also began to fire. The bubble thing detonated with enough force to throw him back a step. Looking around the marines that had been opening the pelicans hatch were convulsing even as the three things lifted their weapons and pink needles shot out impacting a naval crewmen a few feet away. As the man fell, the dead man exploded into a pink and red mist.
Gene turned his DMR towards the thing shooting and put a trio of bullets through its skull. Eric watched it fall as he opened up on more of the little balloon things. A little explosion with each kill.
Around the excavation site marines and Naval personnel continued to fall. Eric emptied the rest of his mag into a walking thing holding an alien weapon shooting bolts of blue that set people's clothes on fire and melted metal. Dropping the empty magazine he grabs a new one from his harness, as he goes to rack the bolt he sees movement out of the corner of his eye.
The thing he had watched Gene put three bullets into its head was getting up. Eric looked at the thing in confusion seeing the three tightly grouped bullet holes in its misshapen head. The not so dead things blank eyes locked onto Eric's and it started running towards him.
"Frakk frakk frakk frakk" Eric said over and over as he lifted his MA5B pulling the trigger. Watching the bullets slam into the things stomach to no effect. As it neared Eric took a step backwards and the loose ice and snow gave way causing him to fall still shooting.
As he fell he still watched in a detached "i'm going to die" mentality as the bullets started working the3ir way up the things torso as he landed on his back the thing jumped Eric saw the misshapen thing falling towards him and brought his rifle up again and pulled the trigger. Three shots went off before the bolt snapped on a empty chamber.
The last bullets in his magazine tore through the things chest and it spasmed mid-air falling right next to eric. In his panic he rolled and with the empty gun still pointed trigger depressed but not shooting he threw the rifle at the thing and drew his pistol. Just before he could pull the trigger Gene Grabbed his hand punching the side of his helmet "Get your fuckin head in the game Marine."
"B…b…but Sir." stammered Eric "they don't die you shoot them dozens of times and they just don't die!"
Gene picked up Eric's empty rifle and pulled a fresh magazine from his harness and reloaded it "look it's not moving right?"
Eric, not taking his eyes from the thing on the ground, holstered his pistol and took his reloaded rifle back. "No….sir."
Gene took a step closer and used the barrel of his rifle to move some of the mutilated flesh around the chest "look."
Eric took a slow step forward and looked closer "isn't that…."
From the three bullet holes in its chest the splintered fragment of a balloon's legs could be seen sticking out. "Aim for a high center mass shot."Gene said "looks like these balloon things push themselves inside and use the people as puppets."
"What about the people?" Eric said "is there any way to remove the balloon?"
"I'm no doctor." said Gene "but there's no way something this big can just rent a spot inside you without removing whatever is in the way. Heart and lungs at the least."
Eric nodded "it makes sense." something moved out the corner of his eye. "Oh shit."
One of the five marines that had opened the pelican's hatch was getting up followed by the others. Eric's jaw dropped as the people's limbs began to convulse even as they stood and a flower began to bloom from their gaping mouths. One arm sprouted a tendril whip like appendage. Even as they turned towards other people they picked up their rifles and began shambling forward.
"Hawaii-Actual this is Marine 3-1." called Gene over the radio as he fires a few bursts into the newly risen things over Eric's head, as they shoot a naval crewman down in a barrage of gunfire. "The pelican contained…fuck i dont know we have muliple marines and squids down request evac and cover.!" he dropped his empty magazine and quickly slammed a new one in.
One of the newly risen things jumps over Eric and Gene to land on a Marine mid reload and both Eric and Gene fire into the things back causing it to let out a warbling cry and fall on top of the female marine. By this time everyone is over the shock and fighting back,
"Get back, Sargent" called a marine, leading several others past them, giving Gene and Eric a chance to roll the heavy thing off the woman who was bleeding badly from a nearly amputated arm.
Pick her up, I'll cover you!" calls Gene picking up the things assault rifle and begin using both weapons to hose down the things.
Eric picks the woman up as she screams in agony as the last strip of meat holding the arm on separates and the severed limb falls to the frozen ground. He looks around as he lets his assault rifle fall on its strap to draw his pistol. "Behind you!"
Gene turns both assault rifles on the thing just as it jumps towards him over the four marines shooting both the ballone and misshapen things in all directions. It raised a shotgun above its misshapen head. The rifles spit out several rounds and the thing's legs take the bullets to almost no effect as both weapons slam on an empty chamber.
A single gunshot and the thing has a hole blown clear through its chest, both Eric and Gene turn to look to see the one armed woman hanging on Erics shoulder holding her still smoking pistol in her hand she spat a glob of blood "Fuck you."
Eric grinned as she holstered her pistol "Great shot."
Gene holding a rifle under his arm reloaded each rifle in turn before bending down over the thing pulling the shotgun from its mutated hand. "Agreed" he said pulling a small bandoleer of shotgun shells from the former marines belt. "Cover me." he said pulling a knife from his belt
Eric the wounded marine and the four that had run past watched their surroundings shooting anything that came too close. Eric helped the woman reload her pistol and froze watching as Gene cut into the base of the things skull and removed a thumb sized gore covered device with a port attached. Seeing Eric's look "our cerebral implants record a ton of information we need to know what happened to these marines and just what the hell these things are."
Eric just nodded, lifting his gun to shoot a misshapen colonial navy officer he recognized from Minotaur. He hesitated seeing the semi familiar face and jumped as the woman shot it with her pistol.
The gunshots were more scattered and distant as the ground forces were being overrun by the creatures. Just as turbine screams made them look up to see a squadron of longswords flash past followed by three pelicans.
The two dozen survivors watched as the longswords dropped bombs and missiles on the swarming things allowing the pelicans to land and take the survivors.
Gene and Eric waved their people aboard even as the Longswords made Strafing run their heavy gun stitching long gore lines in the creatures,snow, and ice.
POV change
Twenty minutes later Captain Brian Jackson looked at the report in disbelief as the few surviving wounded were taken to the Colossus for treatment. Out of the two hundred personnel less than thirty survived to be recovered. "How the fuck did this happen?"
—-
Authors note
So ladies and gentlemen the flood makes their appearance im thinking i did a pretty good job with the combat emergence and everything i hope it was a thrilling read so let me know what you think
Reviews
Guest agreed that's one thing that pissed me off in the book: the flood when Major Silva wanted to bring live samples of the flood for UNSC RnD the truth and reconciliation as well as all the data they had collected on the flood would have been more than sufficient. With a contagion that dangerous you don't take it home you burn it.
Chronus maybe maybe not just have to wait and see what happens to cain
Guest yes anders and the rest were recovered in either the first or second caprica raid the cylon civil war is happening earlier than canon too i believe i mentioned the start around 40-45 somewhere i think but i'll be doing another cylon chapter either next to build suspense from this chapter or the one after that.
Guest Galactica is with the fleet over Kobol ch. 57 figured they were close enough to Kobol it would of been wrong to send them back to the colonies for refit and further repairs IF i decide to keep the galactica as it is in the story bc i am still furious at apollo for losing the pegasus to save the galactica it would of been different if he had jumped in to help the Galactica's crew evacuate but to willingly throw away the better ship to save the ship that was halfway turned into a museum the day of the attacks is just asinine.
Until next time enjoy and remember this has all happened before and will all happen again so say we all.