Forsythe
Tim the Yeti
Alby47
FourtyTwo
Jamesyco
Izurich
Cath
AndyC
EliteCommander
PilatusI'm in if you'll have me.
Starlance Member
Status
User has no status, yet
Bio
User has no bio, yet
Most Recent Posts
You're not alone.
”We will all die a horrible, untimely and painful death and my, or I guess our squad now, will follow soon.” He completed Srin’s unfinished sentence. “Just a day at the office, no? Perhaps I should have listened to father’s advice and been a cook.” he grumbled, returned the rangefinder in the appropriate pouch and jumped to his feet, reaching for the transmit button. ”Tube, find a decent foxhole and wait for us, we are going to see if the outpost is safe. If we don’t return, head back into the woods, report it to Chariot and try to meet up with them.”
”Don’t do anything stupid in there and return at the first sight of trouble. We can’t afford to lose any more people.”
Edward sprinted across the open field until he reached the first wall. Waiting for Srin, he peered over the wall, only to find another one, bigger and intact about fifty meters from the one he was at. ”Looks like a killing field. Unlike this one, that wall over there is intact as far as I can see. The outpost seems to have power, too. No way but forward. I just hope there’s not some guy with a happy trigger finger on that wall, human or alien.” The space between the outer walls and the outpost itself was probably meant to force anyone trying to get to the outpost to cross open ground. A feature as old as the term ‘fortification’ itself. Sadly, that meant they would have to do so as well. He was about to get out of cover and begin the trek when he froze, an ugly thought worming its way into his brain. ”Wait wait wait. Call me paranoid, but this looks like a perfect place for someone to put up a minefield. I know I would. You’re an explosives expert, right? Do you have a metal detector or anything that would alert us to any mines in the area, just in case there are any. A few hundred of them, I’d say.”
Letting Srin take the lead, Edward kept looking over his shoulder every ten or so seconds, but it simultaneously allowed him to observe the outpost itself. ”I thought it would be bigger as a central base.” he murmured. ”Looks like it might be quite cramped in there.” Step by step, they neared the outpost and with it, hopefully, some safety. ”Lead on, I’ve got our backs.”
@Amaranth
I'm interested, but Jinxlynx raises a good point. Might be wise to come up with at least a basic setting first so people have something to work with.
Sign me up if there's still room.
John quickly linked the latest addition to their team with their VISRs. A few seconds later, a yellow triangle with Srin’s rank and surname appeared over her head and a list of basic medical information was added to the team roster. A blue diamond with a four-digit number popped up on their HUD’s heading tape, indicating the direction and distance to outpost Sierra. ”Some good fortune, at long last. I feared it would be much farther than this.”
Edward walked through the woods silently, straining his ears to catch any sound that would indicate hostile presence. Fortunately for them, it was easy to distinguish human from Covenant firearms. Once they got back deeper in the woods, he actually felt safer. At least there was some concealment, even solid cover, unlike the open field they just set out from. He just hoped they wouldn’t have to spend the night there, as it would likely get pitch-black and relying solely on visual aids could lead to problems. After a few minutes of silence, curiosity got the better of him and he spoke up quietly. ”What exactly happened on Fumirole? Been fortunate enough to avoid that one, but I overheard some pilots talking about it. They said it was quite a shitshow. And what was that about some Colonel’s Warthog? That sounds like an interesting story.” He didn’t ask about the airlock incident she mentioned. The thought of being airlocked always sent a cold spear through his guts, even with his armor’s EVA capability, albeit a limited one. Seeing what exposure to vacuum did to people made his stomach twist. “Not to dig through your life like some shrink, but as I understand it, you’ve survived your squad getting wiped twice. And if one or more of us is ears deep in shit with you covering us, I’d like to know whether you’re just lucky and that nickname is ironic, or if you’re the type to run and hide while your squad gets ripped apart. No offense intended.”
Outpost Sierra outer perimeter
Coming up on the outpost, the squad stayed in the woods in case the outpost was occupied by a hostile force. Edward scanned the outpost with his range finder before handing it to Srin. ”I wouldn’t exactly call that a well fortified position, would you? I’m not sure if it’s half finished, or half destroyed, but it’s definitely seen better days. I can’t tell if anyone’s home though, friend or foe. What do you see?” he paused and let Jinxie take her time. ”Perhaps we should leave the squad here and go see from up close? You never know what you’re gonna find until you take a look, right?”
@Amaranth
...We all have our own lives to handle, and I can clearly understand that this is the time you need for what is important. Take all the time you need...As you said, take all the time you need. If you need a few months, so be it, we're patient.
At the mention of her nickname, combined with the way it was spoken, Defort and Toogood couldn’t hold a short outburst of laughter. ”The fuck did you do to earn that moniker?” Defort managed to stammer amongst outbursts of laughter before suddenly sobering up. ”Honestly though, am I the only one who finds it unnerving that someone with that nickname is in charge explosives? And you can drop all that ceremonial nonsense, we grunts are all equal here in the mud.”
During the conversation, Edward noticed the armywoman kept looking at him in a weird way. Was there something wrong with him? Perhaps his helmet suffered some damage somewhere he didn’t notice? ”Right, this.” he snapped his fingers as the realisation finally struck him and cleared his visor, revealing his face. Despite his calm demeanor, it was clear from his expression just how exhausted and worried he was. ”Harper, Edward. So, if you know about this outpost, I take it you also happen to know which way it is? Because we are a little bit lost.”
”Completely lost, to be accurate.” Sheridan appeared from behind Edward and joined the conversation. He removed his helmet to wipe sweat off his forehead, presenting the same troubled expression. ”Do you have any idea what we can expect once we get there, like possible medical aid. Do you know how far it is, or what the terrain looks like? One of our men is injured.” He gestured to Nero’s leg, the right greave looked like someone dropped an anvil on it. ”She has to be carried and it’s getting quite exhausting, not to mention we are essentially down three people because of it, so I hope you are at least a decent shot.” John slid his helmet back onto his head and was about to say something else, but stopped abruptly as a transmission came through. The entire team paused to listen to Chariot 9-4’s transmission. ”That settles that, then. Chéreau, I assume you heard that as well. Since you know the most about this outpost, you and Ed will take point, Wrench and Lineman will follow, carrying Miranda. Notso and I will watch our backs. Stay around five meters apart. If we come under fire, we’ll hold until Wrench and Lineman get some distance, than follow. Otherwise, avoid contact. You two in the front make sure not to rush too far ahead. The sooner we get to that damn outpost, the sooner we can finally sit down and stretch our legs. If we’re lucky, someone will finally tell us just what the bloody hell is happening.”
The ODSTs polarised their visors again and formed according to Sheridan’s instructions. Edward mustered up an encouraging smile. ”After you. If you run into any trouble let us know immediately.”
@Amaranth
Between his squad and the newfound marines, Edward finally had some time to process the past events. The Covenant seemed to have broken off the pursuit, at least for now, granting them some breathing space. Other UNSC personnel were still scattered around the planet, no doubt merely trying to survive, but making contact for the first time since the retreat was a big boost to morale nonetheless. Not this guy, whoever he was. Either he’s gone thoroughly mad, or he had a plan in the works. However, that plan counted on them getting to outpost Sierra, but neither he nor his squad mates had any idea where it was and, in the heat of the moment while chased by a squad of Covenant, he forgot to ask for any directions whatsoever. Going through their waypoints and briefing notes yielded no results, leaving them with nothing. Edward tried to remember any conversations he might have overheard before the drop, hoping something would come up, but he’s spent most of the time before the drop in the pod bay preparing his equipment. At least they were safe for the moment, with most of the squad watching the surroundings, Notso and Lineman focused on the west side in particular in case some Covenant were left of the hunting party.
Something, or someone, rustled in the foliage and called out, startling some of the troops. Ian and Patrick both turned to face that direction, rifles raised, as soon as they heard the distinctively female voice from the trees. ”No, we’re a secret Covenant infiltration unit.” Ian growled as he realised it was a human, lowering his rifle. ”Of course we’re UNSC. You can tell by the letters ‘UNSC’ plastered all over our damn suits and lack of scales and slash or mandibles, not to mention the small fact you’re still alive.” He finished and turned back to the marines they found.
”What the hell were you thinking coming at us like that, lady? A slip of a finger and you’d be breathing through a new hole in your chest, not to mention I nigh shat myself.” Defort, too, lowered his weapon.
”Where did you come from? Where’s the rest of your squad?”
”And would you happen to know anything about Sierra outpost? Our Squad Leader and both Team Leaders didn’t make it and if they knew where it was, they failed to mention it.”
”We are supposed to pick up everyone we can and head there on-” Edward paused, realizing he did not even know who Chariot 9-4-3 was. ”-on orders from Chariot 9-4. Guess since you’re here, you can consider yourself picked up, unless you have different orders from somewhere else.” With that out of the way, Edward remembered at least some basic manners. ”Sorry, who are you, even?” He finally got a better look at the individual. A thin figure in an army battledress and something that looked like a explosives strapped to various parts of her kit. Perhaps a little too many for his taste.
@Amaranth
I'm still here.
© 2007-2024