Sergent Stryker
The_Angel_of_Death
Join Date: 2003-11-19 Member: 23184Members
Join Date: 2003-11-19 Member: 23184Members
Johnathon Stone nervously licked his lips before putting on his helmet, his hands noticeably shaking as he buckled it on his head. All around him fellow marines were following suit, many were going through their own personal rituals before an insertion. Lopez muttered a short prayer under his breath, held a small silver cross to his lips for a moment, then hid it under his shirt. Krauss was cleaning his weapons for what felt like the fifth time in the last hour, the big german looked at his broken-down LMG with love in his eyes. Stone could see each piece was in immaculate condition, a fact the german took great pride in and showed off at every oppurtunity.
Bizon was leaning back against the bulkhead in full gear, his LMG resting against the wall. He held a datapad in his hand and was reviewing the mission, lost within the words. As Stone looked around he could see many of the other marines in the squad were also going over the mission objectives, many of their faces grimly soaking up the facts.
"Feel your hands already shaking, newbies?"
The marine who entered the sleeping area had all his gear on, but the horrible scars to one side of the marines face instantly indentified him as Sergent Stryker. The old sergent's armor was even battered looking, with faded remants of green slime here, welded patches on his back, and a vicious looking slash ran along the front.
"Just wait till' you hear the scampering of claws along the ceiling..." The sergent stopped in front of Stone. Everyone in the barracks stopped what they were doing, watching how the young, unproven private would handle the intimidating sergent. Stryker leaned forward ever so slightly, so close that Stone could smell this morning's chow on his breath.
"You know how I got this?", the sergent pointed at the slash across his armor. Stone could now see that the slash must have ran deep, the welding could not hide that the wound must have easily ran into the flesh below.
" I ran into a Fade in the keith incident. I was leading a squad into one of the infestations, when suddenly this man-like creature came swooping towards me, his arms held above, like this" the sergent held his hands up slightly, his elbows bended as if they were imiginary sycthes.
" He must have been from me too you, I can still smell his rancid breath and see that fearless look in his eyes. But, I raised my shotgun and gave him a shot square in the stomach...sending him sliding across the floor." Stryker smiled underneath his visor, as if recalling the memory brought him great pleasure.
" Then I remember the cries of my teammates as I realized we had walked into an ambush. From behind the small Skulks had came swaming from out of the vents, must have been about a dozen of them." Quickly the smile fell.
"We tried to pull back, but a few of my boys ran into this web. A few of them were taken without even firing a shot. I pulled together my men, but then the gas came. It burns so bad , some of my men didn't even make it back. Dropping lifeless as we ran back to base...
" I tried to carry them back, but I could hear their cries and their claws scraping across the walls. We can around a corner and a wall of these spike trees stood before us. They seemed harmless enough, until they started hurling these massive nails at us." The sergent's hand fell to the poc marks stiched across his armor. His hand trembled slightly as he was brought back to that horror filled day.
" We managed to get back to base, only to find the comm was crying in his chair. It was his first day on the job... cost a lot of good marines their lives for he could get a little experince. Experince, huh, the comm didn't even have to shave I bet. That's when that SOB from before can swooping back from the dead at me. I can still remeber how not a scratch was on his body where I shot his less then a foor away...after that I can only remeber hitting the ground. A faint pounding sound could be heard in the distance, I was told afterwards that the huge onos were all outside. Woke up six months later in sick-bay...found out more then half my squad was dead " The sergent fell silent for a minute, then realizing all the men were watching him. He straightened his back and squared his jaw.
"Just think, private. You volunteered for this..."
Bizon was leaning back against the bulkhead in full gear, his LMG resting against the wall. He held a datapad in his hand and was reviewing the mission, lost within the words. As Stone looked around he could see many of the other marines in the squad were also going over the mission objectives, many of their faces grimly soaking up the facts.
"Feel your hands already shaking, newbies?"
The marine who entered the sleeping area had all his gear on, but the horrible scars to one side of the marines face instantly indentified him as Sergent Stryker. The old sergent's armor was even battered looking, with faded remants of green slime here, welded patches on his back, and a vicious looking slash ran along the front.
"Just wait till' you hear the scampering of claws along the ceiling..." The sergent stopped in front of Stone. Everyone in the barracks stopped what they were doing, watching how the young, unproven private would handle the intimidating sergent. Stryker leaned forward ever so slightly, so close that Stone could smell this morning's chow on his breath.
"You know how I got this?", the sergent pointed at the slash across his armor. Stone could now see that the slash must have ran deep, the welding could not hide that the wound must have easily ran into the flesh below.
" I ran into a Fade in the keith incident. I was leading a squad into one of the infestations, when suddenly this man-like creature came swooping towards me, his arms held above, like this" the sergent held his hands up slightly, his elbows bended as if they were imiginary sycthes.
" He must have been from me too you, I can still smell his rancid breath and see that fearless look in his eyes. But, I raised my shotgun and gave him a shot square in the stomach...sending him sliding across the floor." Stryker smiled underneath his visor, as if recalling the memory brought him great pleasure.
" Then I remember the cries of my teammates as I realized we had walked into an ambush. From behind the small Skulks had came swaming from out of the vents, must have been about a dozen of them." Quickly the smile fell.
"We tried to pull back, but a few of my boys ran into this web. A few of them were taken without even firing a shot. I pulled together my men, but then the gas came. It burns so bad , some of my men didn't even make it back. Dropping lifeless as we ran back to base...
" I tried to carry them back, but I could hear their cries and their claws scraping across the walls. We can around a corner and a wall of these spike trees stood before us. They seemed harmless enough, until they started hurling these massive nails at us." The sergent's hand fell to the poc marks stiched across his armor. His hand trembled slightly as he was brought back to that horror filled day.
" We managed to get back to base, only to find the comm was crying in his chair. It was his first day on the job... cost a lot of good marines their lives for he could get a little experince. Experince, huh, the comm didn't even have to shave I bet. That's when that SOB from before can swooping back from the dead at me. I can still remeber how not a scratch was on his body where I shot his less then a foor away...after that I can only remeber hitting the ground. A faint pounding sound could be heard in the distance, I was told afterwards that the huge onos were all outside. Woke up six months later in sick-bay...found out more then half my squad was dead " The sergent fell silent for a minute, then realizing all the men were watching him. He straightened his back and squared his jaw.
"Just think, private. You volunteered for this..."
Comments
The squad of marines thundered down the small corridor in two columns, their various weapons held across their chests as they glared inposingly through their visors at any civilains they passed. Their grim faces scared the civilian personal of the dropship, sending many of the white clad scientists and personal into their quarters, peeking nervously as the men trod by. At the head of the column strode the intimidating Sergent Stryker, his trusty shotgun held at ready as he lead the men towards the docking bay.
The marines quickly arrived at the mammoth docking bay, many of them had only seen it once or twice and yet were still amazed at the sheer size of it. The small squad of marines peered around in wonder at the ships at filled the area. Small fighters, looming bombers, reconnaissance craft, and even a few of the bright orange rescue ships could be seen here and there. Sergent Stryker paid the aircraft no attention and continued on towards the back of the docking bay, the men racing to catch-up, not wanting to bring the sergent's wrath upon them.
After dodging a few ammunition carts that wizzed by, the men arrived before a beat-up old dropship. Scorch marks from atmosphere entry could be seen all over, giving the black paint a grungy look. The man who stood before the ship looked in no better condition with his cover-alls covered in grim, his black oily hair in a rumpled mess and a unlit, but half-chewed cigar hanging from his mouth.
"You Stryker?" The man asked from behind his cigar. Stryker looked the man up and down, noting the lack of discipline.
"I am Sergent Stryker, you are Captain Kruss?", Stryker watched with disgust as the man reached up and pulled the cigar from his mouth, a string of salvia trailing it.
"Yes I am Captain Kruss, get your men onboard. There is an officer on board who will speak with you and your men." Stryker turned and motioned towards the men, who trodded up a lowered ramp.
" You will be inserted here." A skinny, pale officer pointed at the rooftop of a massive complex on the hologram as it slowly rotated. All the marines in the darkened room leaned a little closer to get a better look. Stone looked at the small little landing pad, noting how they would be perched a couple stories up in a planet known for it's high-winds. Winds strong enough to blow a man over the railings.
"Sir, why can't the phase gates just insert us into the complex?" Stone spoke the question that many of the marines were thinking.
The officer blinked for a second, caught off guard by the question. His thin beedy eyes seeming to go off focus before he snap them back up to the men he was briefing. He was a man not used to being questioned, let alone by a private.
"Becuase the entire complex is dead, without a single surge of electricty in it. Our computers have a hard time calculating where it even is, due to the sand storms. Let alone where to phase you in." The officer lectured in an arrogant tone, not even raising his head to answer the question as he spoke.
"You don't wanna end up with one half of you sticking out of a wall, do ya Stone?" Stryker asked, a smug grin underneath his visor. The marines laughed nervously, imagining that fate upon themselves.
"So there is no lights or any systems on at all?" Krauss' thick accent could be heard from across the table.
"Affirmative, that is why you are entering the facilty to get the power back on and report any Kharra activity." The officer was clearly aggrevated at that last question, his eyes darting over to Sergent Stryker who merely grinned back.
"Need to spend less time with your weapon and more with your datapad, I doubt she will get jealous." Stryker watched as the german faded into the shadows of the room, the redness of his face apparent even in the low light. This was all much to the amusement of the marines who laughed loudly. The officer shook his head at the men and without missing a beat continued with his briefing.
"You will have no reinforcments or supply until power and the nanite system is back online. Until then your only link with us is the dropship that will hang in orbit. I will be in the dropship awaiting your reports on Kharra activity and will advice you on how to proceed. Dismissed."
Stone felt that lump in his throat get even harder as he saw the dropship fly away into the angry red sky. Letting out a little breath he tighted his grip on his LMG and turned to face the rest of his squad. They were atop of a large landing pad that hung suspended over the dark complex below. The howling wind was so loud he could barely hear Sergent Stryker bellowing commands through his helmet intercom.
"Smith!! Get those Centurions and make sure you don't drop them. If you do it's your ****!!"
Since there would be no power they would have to go in with stone-age type technology. CX-120 Centurion sentry guns. These required no turret factory and ran off the nanite system. This meant they would work in the complex, but would have limited ammo. Stone could barely make out Krauss slinging a huge dish over his shoulder, their eyes and ears for the next hour or so.
"Stone get those sensors! Yeah I'm talking to you!" Stone shook his head a little and looked for the sensory packet. He saw the small square pouch tossed in the corner with a bunch of other misalaneous equipment. Reaching down he took the pouch by it's sling and tossed it over his shoulder.
"Fall in men!"
The squad fell into a loose column, Stone found himself near the middle along with the other marines who had to carry equipment. Sergent Styker was near the front, his shotgun held comfortablly in his right hand while he read a datapad in his left. He was looking at a map of the complex, it was rather old dating back atleast ten years, but as far as he could tell it was accurate.
Stone glanced over the beaten railing down below. He could see that pieces of cat-walk had fallen, not too mention some pretty heavy fire damage had been done through a large portion of the complex.
"Might as well have gone in through the roof." Stone said, sending a chuckle through the squad. Even Stryker laughed a little, noting also how many holes were large enough to fly the dropship into.
Slowly the squad inched down the catwalks, stopping only when they saw the possibility of collapse. A chance none of them wanted to take being perched around a hundred feet of the ground. More then once a particulary strong wind rose up, once almost blowing one of the marines over the railing and knocking a few to their knees. But after a few minutes the squad came to a door that was clearly marked: Headquarters.
"Stone get over here." Stryker yelled from the front. Stone quickly passed the sensory packets over to a marine who accepted them with a grunt. Stone pushed his way to the front of the squad to the closed headquarters door. Sergent Styker stood there, punching madly on the keypad next to the door handle.
"You're 11-C, right? Know your electronics?" The Sergent questioned, not even looking away from the door as he punched away.
"Yes, sir. Give me a second and I can get it opened." Stone replied as he reached into one of his pouches and pulled out his datapad. Pulling some cables out from the top he walked over to the keypad, plugging them into the keypad.
"This is nothing, I was breaking into these when i was a k...."
From behind a shotgun roared, quickly follow by the chatter of a couple LMGs.
"Cease Fire!! Cease Fire!"
Stryker ran over to where the marines were shooting moments before. All the marines were now peering over the railing. Lopez was quickly loading more shells into his shotgun, looking over the edge as he quickly muttered a prayer.
"I'll get you!" Lopez leaned over the rail and fire blindly into the sandstorm . All the marines close to him tensed noticeably, looking more nervous as they considered the possiblity that the gunfire could bring unwanted attention. Stryker, without breaking his fast pace, swung his shotgun down into Lopez's stomach. Sending the marine doubling over, his shotgun clattering onto the catwalk.
"Next time, you will obey my orders!!" Styrker stood over the cowering marine his shotgun not aimed directly at the man, but close enough to get his point across.
"What happened, Krauss?" Stryker turned to the big german who stood nearby.
"As we were walking a huge bat flew from out of the sand. Lopez swung around and took at shot at it, hitting it full-on. It still dove on him and looked like it bit him, but it was only for a second and then he flew down there." The german nodded below the catwalk. Stryker looked down at the still cowering Lopez, he could now see that blood was leaking from his arm where a considerable piece of armor had been torn-out and the flesh bitten into.
"I got the door open, sir." Stone called from the front of the group. Styker reached down and yanked Lopez to his feet, staring for a moment at the marine before moving back to the door . The marines were all searching the sandstorm for another hidden threat as Stryker passed by to stand before the dark door. He couldn't see past the threshold of the door, realizing that they would be blind he turned to the marines.
"Shoulder lamps on."
The marines reached up and flicked on their bright lamps. A few a moments later a cry could be heard and a few men could be heard coughing violently.
"Gasss!!" One of the marines struggled to cry, before he hit the ground. All over the marines could be heard crying for help. A thick cloud hung over where the marines were, then a strong gust of wind kicked up and the men could feel clean air coming back.
"Get them through the door!!" Stryker yelled charging forward and grabbing the nearest marine by his armor and tossing him forward. Stryker heard a familiar flapping and looked up into the sand storm. Putting his shotgun at ready he could see a bat-like creature swooping out from above, he couldn't make out the features but he already knew what it was. A lerk..
The lerk came diving on them fast, realizing that his spores were of no use. Stryker breathed slowly and lead the lerk with his shotgun, waiting until the creature's horrible screeching features could be seen. Boom!! His shotgun leapt back into his arms and then the training took over. In just a few short seconds he pumped at least three shells into the bloody falling carcass. It was then that the horrid ambush began.
"Get through the door!!" Turning back Stryker yelled at the squad. The marines quickly began to hurry back towards the door, many carrying wounded or equipment. Stone quickly brought his LMG up to bear and stared into the angry red skies, his heart pounding madly as he listened for any sign of enemy. It was then he heard the rattling of claws, it wasn't above them, but below them. Looking through the grating he saw with horror a small dog sized creature looking back at him him.
"Underneath us!!" Stone cried only to see it was too late. From all along the sides the small beasts were leaping over at the marines. The chatter of machine gun fire lit up the catwalk at the marines tried to single out targets. A few cries of anguish could be heard as either skulk or a stray bullet found a marine. Stone brought his LMG up and let a short burst out into one of the skulk, watching as the rounds splattered along it's back, sending it sliding underneath the safety rail to the complex below. A fellow marine stood on the opposite side of the headquarters door and helped Stone put out covering fire for the retreating marines.
Sergent Stryker was in the rear of the column, his shotgun roaring as he blasted skulk after skulk. He was shoving shell after shell into the weapon, carefully he lead the beast before letting a shower of buck shot splatter into them.
A cry in front of the sergent spun him around to see the two marines in front of him topple over the railing. One was helping the other to walk, when a skulk leapt on top of them. One of the marine's scream could be heard as he made the treacherous fall to the complex below.
Stone saw the two men fall, noting painfully that one of the men was Krauss, his sensory dish still strapped to his back as he fell.
"Come on, Sergent!" Stone yelled to the lone marine on the catwalk. Stryker dashed forward, but was forced to stop dead in his tracks as a strangley familiar creature swooped towards him. Stryker saw the fade and wasted no time reminiscing and let out a war cry as he started pumping shell after shell into the fade. Still it kept on coming even though huge chunks of it's flesh were being blown off in the process. Stryker fired his last blast at an arms length away and was then caught up in the deadly embrace of the creature. Fearing to hit their sergent the men at the door could only watch as the two broke through the catwalk's railing and fell below.
"Close the door! Close the door!!" Stone could hear himself yelling. The men scrambled through the door and slammed it shut. Their shoulder lamps the only source of illumination at they fought to get to the keypad.
Through the door they could still hear the valiant Sergent Stryker fighting with his foe, his sidearm echoing through the cold steel. Stone locked the door down and slide up against it, his lamp light showing the frightened faces of the marines before him. In his ear he could hear a calm, yet still arrogant voice.
"Situation report marine."
Stone could feel his heart beating madly in his chest and his breath came out from under his visor in labored breathes. He pulled himself to his feet and backed away from the steel door, pulling his LMG to his shoulder. As his shoulder lamp cut through the pitch black of the room he could see the other marines were doing likewise, many also with their LMGs trained on the door.
"Situation report, marines!!" The officer in the dropship's voice questioned. For a few moments none of the marines answered, but then Corporal Bison stepped from the darkness.
"Situation is bad, sir. We lost Stryker and a few men, along with a lot of our equipment." Bizon answered, his eyes and that of the entire remaining squad were focused on the now silent door.
"Corporal Bison, you are now acting sergent. Get your men to the headquarters level. There you will find a back-up generator that will light up that level and hopefully we can pull up more accurate maps of the complex." The officer ordered and there was a moment of silence following.
"Understood, sir." Bison turned and tapped two marines on the shoulder and using hand signals motioned for them to watch the corridor behind them.
"Stone, you are now a corporal. Lopez switch weapons with Stone."
"Sir, do I have to? What if another of those monsters come at me. What about me!! I bleeding to death and those monsters probaly smell my blood!!" Lopez was noticeably panicking beneath his visor and his moments were very jerky. His arm was bleeding heavily and was still untreated, leaking down the side of his armor and dripping onto the floor.
"Yes, Lopez. Do not question me again!!" Bison shouted taking a step towards the trembling Lopez. Needing no more incentive Lopez quickly pulled the strap over his head and handed the shotgun over to Stone, who handed over his LMG. Stone looked at the shotgun in his hand and cycled the action once, smiling under his visor at the crisp sound.
His smile was short lived. A sudden boom hit the steel door, echoing down through the corridor the marines were in. All the marines quickly brought their weapons up and listened as another boom hit the door. This time a slight dent popped up in the middle of the steel, sending the closest marines a few steps back. The fear was gripping the squad as their imaginations ran wild at the thought of what was beyond the door.
"Men let's move out. Johnson, Marx, Lopez, Star, you're under Stone. Stone set-up some mines and then meet us at headquarters." The newly promoted Sergent Bison ordered, breaking the hold of fear on the men. The men quickly reached down and picked up what equipment they still had, eyeing the door as the impacts were becoming more violent, twisting the door's metal more with each hit.
"Johnson, you still have the mines?" Stone shouted across the room as the pounding became more intense. Johnson quickly nodded and pulled out the small cannister that held the explosives. Swining the shotgun ont his back, Stone reached over and popped the top of the silver cannister and handed half of the explosives to Johnson.
"Marx, Lopez, Star, cover us." Stone shouted over his shoulder, seeing the rest the squad's lights bobbing down the corridor, before vanishing around a corner. Kneeling down Stone and Johnson started placing the mines along the floor and the walls like they were taught in the academy. Slowly moving down the corridor as they planted. The covering marines were a step behind and kept their lights on the now badly mutalated door.
"We're all going to die!!" Lopez screeched as the door bent inward, letting some of the harsh red light into the room. Lopez and turned ran down the corridor, sobbing as he ran.
"Damn you, Lopez!" Stone yelled as he planted his last mine on the wall. Looking to Johnson he saw the marine had also put down his last one. Between the two of then they had dropped a dozen of the explosives up and down the halls.
"Let's get the hell of here!" Stone shouted and reached back to pull his shotgun to him. No sooner had the words left his mouth then the door blasted off it's hinges. For a moment all time seemed to slow down for the marines. Stone could see the massive horned creature in the doorway, it's huge bulk blocking out almost all light. All along the top of the doorway skulk were ready to spew out. Then time returned to normal and the only sound Stone could hear was his own yell.
"Fire!!!" Stone shouted at the top of his lung. The onos took a step forward and was lost in the explosion that follow as it tripped a mine. The skulks nearby were obliterated, quickly turning to a bloody green mist that showered the marines. But still they came, swarms of skulks started flooding from out of the doorway.
The handful of marine were quickly retreating down the corridor, the LMGs constantly chattered as the marines just fired into the doorway that had turned into a fountain that spewed skulks. The mines were now going off at a regular intervals as the skulks just charged forward towards the marines. The explosions blew pieces of skulks down the corridors, raining limbs and fluid onto the marines.
Stone was methodically picking out skulks that slipped through the few remaining mines, his shotgun shredding their bodies into a gory mess. Looking over his shoulder he could see only darkness and no sign of the rest of the squad.
"Ammo count!!" Stone shouted through his intercom system.
"I'm on my last mag!!"
"I got one more, here!"
"I'm low too, sir!" Marx called, cutting down a skulk as it's bloody corpse flew by. Reaching into his pouch the marine scrambled to pull out a mag. Stone watched in horror as one of the skulks leapt forward and collided into the marines face. Marx was knocked off his feet and he started screaming as the beast started tearing at his face with it's teeth and claws. Stone saw this and did what he hoped his fellow marines would do for him. With cold precision he fired at the skulk, killing both the marine and the creature.
"ONOS!!"
Stone spun around in time to see the massive creature charging down the hallway, trampling any skulks that ran before it. A on the mine went off next to it, it's blast not even slowing it's incredible pace. Stone knew when to fight and when to run and this was a time to run.
"Run!!"
The marines ran as fast as they possibly could down the hallway, their shoulder lamps bobbing down the hallway. They had no clue where they were going and Stone could hear the onos' roar and the scraping of the skulks claws as they scampered along the walls and ceiling in pursuit.
A painful deathwail came from behind and Stone looked over his shoulder to see one of his men fall under a cluster of skulks. Stone continued to run blindly down the corridor, hearing only another pair of boots thudding behind him. As the marines rounded a corner they came to a wide, yet pitch black room. Scanning wildly with his shoulder light he saw a old lift.
"Get to the lift!!"
Stone raced to the lift and leaped into the metal cage. Stone looked up to see Star come charging towards the lift from the corridor, a few skulks in close pursuit. Yanking his shotgun up to his shoulder Stone carefully targeted behind the fleeing marine. The gun rocked back into his shoulder as he blasted the trailing skulks, quickly firing and reaquiring a target.
"Get in Star!! I'll cover you!!" Stone yelled. Stone put a few more shells into his shotgun and watched as Star leapt into the lift. The marine was panting heavily and was covered in blood, red and green colored.
"We don't have any power to get this working!!" Star fired a couple of rounds off with his handgun at a skulk that rounded the hallway.
"Then die fighting like a Marine!!" Stone shouted over the blast of his shotgun. The skulks were now flooding from out of the corridor in a river. The two marines couldn't put enough fire out to stauch the flow of skulks and the creatures were quickly piling up around the lift.
"I'm on my last mag Stone!!" Star cursed as he slid another clip into his handgun.
"I got a few shells left before I'm dry." Stone watched as a skulk leapt straight at him, it's claws extended for a killing blow. Then it vanished as the a load of buckshot blasted it out of the air, it's body flying into the lifts cage between the two marines.
Then the most beautiful sound the marines had ever heard hummed slightly in the background. Ever the Kharra seem to slow their vicious assualt as the lights in the Headquarters level flickered dimly to life. Stone noticed out of the corner of his eyes the lights on the lift's control panel flicker slightly.
"Here, take this." Stone quickly tossed his shotgun over to Star. Quickly Stone's hands danced over the panel and the lift lurched to life. Even through the cries and screams of the skulks the two marines could hear the ponderous approach of the onos. Then lift slowly raised and looking over the edge of the cage the two could see a blood soaked onos charge into the lift room, knocking skulks aside as it saw it's escaping prey. With a roar of anger the onos ran forward toward the cage and jumped into the air, colliding into the slowly lifting cage.
Stone toppled forward, nearly falling out of the lift onto the onos below. He gripped the edge of the crushed cage, his feet dangling mere feet aware from the gaping maw of the onos. Scrambling out of fear he yanked his handgun from it's holster and started firing into the open mouth of the creature. The rounds splashed into the mouth and brought fourth a tremendous roar from the now infuritated onos. It's prey was escaping and it had hurt him....
Star finished blasting the few skulks that had scrambled onto the lift and now reached over to help pull Stone into the lift. The two fell onto the mangled cage's floor of the lift, both breathing heavily. Stone looked over at the corpse of the skulk he had mutalited earlier for a moment before kicking it through a hole in the lift's floor where the onos had gored it.
"How much ammo do you have?" Stone asked as he slammed a fresh mag into his smoking handgun. Star merely shook his head and left the also smoking shotgun on the floor beside him.
The two sat in the lift for a few minutes, listening to the whine of the engines as it raced up to the headquarters level. Letting out a lungful of air Stone rose to his feet and looked over the edge of the lift. All along the walls he could see the skulks trying to keep up with the lift as they scampered up the walls in pursuit. Star stood up next to Stone looked over the edge, then up where he could see a rapidly approaching lighted doorway. Reaching up to his shoulder he removed his combat knife from it's sheath. Stone looked over at his fellow marine who merely shrugged, giving Stone a nervous smile.
The lift finnaly came to the lighted doorway and the two marines approached the door. Stone stood in front of the door with his handgun, looking over the edge at the rapidly approaching skulks, while Star punched the keypad. After a few agnoizing seconds a beep sounded from the keypad and the door slid open...
It seemed to move inch by inch, revealing a thin blinding shaft of light. Then slowly the marine saw something that made their hearts jump. The barrel of a LMG...
Stone and Star watched as the door slid open to reveal the entire marine squad posed in front of the door, every LMG trained on them. For a moment the two parties just stood and stared at each other. Then a voice from within the squad voiced what everyone was thinking as they looked at the blood drenched marines before them.
"What the hell happened to you, guys?"
Stone and Star just stood dumbfounded for a moment, staring back at the small battery of LMGs still pointed at them. Then they were snapped back into reality as one of the marines yelled "GET DOWN!!!"
Instantly the two battle-weary marines threw themselves onto the hard floor, landing in a plastic clatter that was quickly drowned out by gunfire. Both men rolled over onto their backs, watching as a hail of tracers wizzed overhead, coming so close that they could feel the heat. Looking to the doorway they watched as a Fade fell from the onto his back in a bloody green mess before sliding off the edge of the walkway.
"Marines set-up a parimeter! Wong weld that door." Sergent Bison's voice called from down the corridor.
The two men were quickly lifted to their feet by their fellow marines, then quickly hustled towards Bison. Bison ran up to the two, badly hidden concern on his usually cold impassive face.
"Where's the rest of your men, Stone?" Bison asked, gripping Stone softly on his shoulder. Bison looked at both of the marines, amazed at the transformation the two had through in less then a hour.
Both of the marines were soaked in blood of both red and green color. Star had lost his LMG and was still gripping his knife as he glanced all around frantically in search of hidden enemies. His armor had a few deep gashes through it, revealing red, bleeding flesh below. With the adrenaline was wearing off, Bison also could see that the man limped slightly from a wound along the back of his leg, the blood was slowly dripping down his leg on the floor.
"All my men are dead except for me and Star." Stone stated matter-of-factly. As Bison looked at the marine he was startled to see Stone he had undergone the most dramatic transformation of the two. He had lost his helmet somewhere in the last hour and his short blonde hair was caked in blood on one side of his face. His armor had a splash of green along the front and a minor scratch to one side. But the cold, hard look in the man's blue eyes told of the horrors the marine had gone through.
"Johnson, Marx? What about Lopez?" Bison pressed softly. Bison couldn't help but take a step back as he saw Stone's eyes flash dangerously at the mention of Lopez.
"Lopez ran...he's out there with the Kharra."
Stone jerked a thumb behind him at the lift and no sooner had he motioned to the door had two marines peering over the edge opened fire. Bison's head jerked at the sound of the two machine guns chatter. The two marines were quickly pulling back into the doorway, now not bothering with burst and were now firing full-auto.
"Wong, weld that damn door!!" Bison turned from Stone and shouted at the marines standing around the door. Stone looked over his shoulder and saw that the door was slowly sliding shut. A marine still fired out of the ever-closing doorway. The moment the door slammed shut, the marine fell onto his back in a scream of pain. The other marines raced up and pulled the injured man from the door, while another ran up with a hand welder.
The room went deathly quiet except for the cries of the injured marine and the slow steady crack and sizzle of the welder. At first the marines could hear an almost inaudible clack of claws, then the sound was all around the door. For a moment all sound stopped, even Wong stopped his welding for a moment. It was then the men heard a sound that would haunt them the rest of their life. A arrogant monsterous chuckle came from behind the door
"Wong, finish up. Star, you're a medic, right? Get on that injured man and then take care of yourself." Star nodded absently and limped over to where the marine lay. As Star approached the man he could not help, but grimace at the wound the man had taken.
In the center of the man's chest a large spike protruded from his armor, blood openly leaked from the sides of the projectile. Star snapped out of his daze and kneeled next to the man, flinching for a moment as he felt his leg protest with a powerful burning. Reaching down he got a firm grasp of the spike.
"I'm going to pull on three, okay? 1..."
With one powerful tug he yanked the spike out of the man armor. The marine kicked his legs a little and let out a powerful sigh, but never once crying out. Star reached over and popped open the front of the marine's armor and removed his helmet. Revealing a blood soaked green TSA issue shirt underneath, using his combat knife he cut open the man's shirt, revealing a gaping hole in one of the man's pectoral muscles. Assessing the wound, Star reached into one of his blood-stained pouches and took out a white packet.
"We have no medpacks, due to that fact the nanite system is down, marine. This is going to sting a little, but I have to neutralize any poison." Star slowly told the marine as he ripped open the pouch with his teeth, spilling out a smaller white pouch and a needle. The marine looked at the needle with a look of fear, but no one would blame him for it as they looked at the huge needle.
Ripping open the smaller packet, Star leaned over and sprinkled a white power onto the wound. The marine hissed a little though his teeth, then a little more as Star rubbed the powder into the wound with a cotton swab. Looking at the marine he motioned to the men who stood by to hold him down. Then reaching into another of his pouches he pulled out a bit and offered to the marine who gratefully accepted. Then with a sigh Star pulled out the needle and tapped it, the fear was now apparent in the man's eyes. Then with medical precision he plunged the needle into the wound, sending the man's body recoiling wildly as the chemicals burned through his body. Finnaly the marine calmed down and spit the bit out of his mouth.
"That's a tough marine..." Bison said idley to Stone. The entire squad was either watching or listening to the treatment. The skulks outside even had quieted down for the moment. But it did not last for long for the marines could hear their claws scatching on the outside of the door once again.
"Finished, sir." Wong snapped off the welder's crackling. Bison nodded his head and turned to Stone.
"Get the squad formed up and ready to move. I'm going to contact the temporary HQ that is set-up at the command center. Get Kellian's helmet and get the intercom up, don't want you out of the loop on this one Stone." Bison said while he reached up and turned on the intercom in his helmet. Stone wandered over to where Kellain was getting wrapped up in a bandage, taking the now drowsy marine's helmet.
"Here, sir. Me and Maddock found this in the lift and figured you would be still needing it." The marine offered Stone the beat-up, bloody shotgun he left in the cage. With a grin he accepted the weapon, but realized he had no ammo.
"Need some shells, sir? We're low, but we have scrounged a couple up for you. Gave them hell didn't you?" The marine asked, a smile underneath his visor as he handed over a pouch of shells that was brimming full.
"You know it....these Kharra are learning to fear us marines mighty quick." The marines standing around laughed a genuinely. Stone chuckled with the men as he buckled on his helmet, quickly connecting to the communication channel.
"....yes, Sergent. We have set-up the centurions all around the command center."
"Good, get those sensors up and down the halls, not to mention put a few mines at the blast doors if you could, corporal." Bizon ordered.
"Yes, sir. We have also managed to dig up a few files from the central computer. It seems that this wasn't a mining complex, but some sort of research center. It seens that the Kharra....wait what was that?" The voice at the command oupost stopped for a moment and the squad listened as they heard voices shouting in the background. Then suddenly a massive explosion could be felt and a rumble shook the squad.
"What's going on Drake?!" Bison yelled. The men could now hear gun fire and shouts in the background. A death cry could be heard and another explosion shook the complex.
"Marines! Let's move out!!" Bison shouted to the squad who needed no motivation to take off down the dimly lighted corridors. Even the injured Killian and Star kept up with the group, both bearing the pain in a way only TSA marines could. Frantically the marines ran down the hallways, listening to the combat being carried out by their comrades.
"Craig, behind you!!"
"Ahhhhhhhhhh"
"Pull back!!"
"I need ammo!!"
"Ohhh, my god!! Franklin!"
"Get some!! Get some!!"
The firefight seemed to be just around the corner and was growing in intensity. The marines pushed their bodies to the limit as they pushed harder and harder, feeling their lungs burning and their legs tiring. After what seemed like an enternity the squad rounded a corner to come before the twisted mangled blast doors of the Command Center. Without breaking pace the squad just charged forward through the twisted metal opening into the battle beyond...
Ive sat here staring at the screen for the last 4 minutes, waiting for an idea of what to write to encourage you. And I still can't, so I'll just say, don't give up. Not now. You've pulled me into the story and I don't want to be left hanging here.
Eh. I guess that'll have to do.
I wished sergent stryker didn't die (or did he... dun dun dun).
Dustin Michaels
The command center was divided into a bottom and top deck. The bottom deck was where the complex's electronic systems were controlled from the circular computer stations in the middle of the large room. The top deck could be reached by a ramp and it was here where communications could be sent and recieved, it also held one of the only windows in the complex. The huge glass let in the errie red light from outside, illuminating the bloodbath that was quickly becoming the command center.
As Stone ran through the managled blast doors with the rest of his squad he could see the few survivors holding out on the top deck. A swarm of skulks were charging up the ramp, or over the side of the rails onto the upper deck. A fade or two could be seen swooping into the fray on the top deck, and few lerks were hanging in the rafters, pumping their deadly gas at the survivors. A few of the rescuing marines ran through with their guns blazing, their tracers racing through the air to pick out random targets.
"Form-up and move forward!!" Bison yelled through the intercom. The marines formed into a half-circle and began walking into the fray. All around the marines were sweeping the lower deck with their devestating fire. Their tracers whipping across the air in a beautiful display that shredded the attacking Kharra. The Kharra turned from the surviors on the upper deck and started their main attack on the new attackers. Lerks above began firing their gas down at the squad, sending many of the marines reeling.
"Get those, lerksss..." Bison ordered as he stumbled forward. Star hearing the order pulled his barrowed LMG to his shoulder and let a burst rip into one of the overhead lerks. The creature's death cry could be heard through the gunfire for a moment before it toppled off the rafter to the marines below. Stone brought his shotgun to his shoulder and pumped a shell into a lerk that swooped overhead, sending it slamming into a wall with a thud.
"FADE!!" One of the marines yelled as the horrible creature came swooping from above, his arms held in that deadly pose. In one powerful swipe the creature cut the marine down, the blood spraying out in a long gush, showering the nearby marines that began firing at the creature. The rounds began peppering into the Fade's body, yet the monster kept on coming towards the squad. His powerful sythe like arms raising up and down as he ravaged through the men, their screams echoing through their intercom.
Stone pushed aside a marine who stood between him and the fade. As Stone looked at the creature he saw that the Fade was truely a creature of pure horror. He could the blood slick down the blades that made up the arms and the long sharp teeth that seemed to be pulled into a evil grin. The squad's fire had mutilated the fade's body and it's green blood was spattered all over the walls. For a moment, fear took over Stone and all he could imagine was his death from those massive blood soaked blades.
Then he pushed through the fear and the training took over. In a practiced motion he brought his already smoking shotgun up to his shoulder and took aim at the creature's chest. It was now only feet away and he could see it lifting it's arms for the deathblow, he could almost see the joy in it's black eyes. Then the shotgun rocked back into his shoulder and Stone watched as the fade's shredded body was tossed backwards in an explosion of green blood, it's arms flaying wildly in the air as it slide onto the blood soaked floor. Stone quickly ran up to the fallen fade and aimed his shotgun point-blank at it's face, before it fired once more, sending a spray of green blood into his face. That fade's not getting up, Stone thought as he viewed the bloody mess.
"Get up to the..." Bison could be heard clearing his throat in the intercom "...to the survivors!!"
The squad slowly began moving up towards the upper deck, their fire tearing apart the small bodies of the skulks that leapt towards them. A few marines could be seen falling underneath the hurtling bodies, their cries not lasting that long as fellow marines ended their pain mercifully. After what seemed like an eternity the marines managed to get up the ramp, fighting their way up through the mounds of bodies that littered the base.
"Over here!!!" Corporal Drake's voice could be heard through the gunfire. In the corner a few marines were holding up behind a few turned-over computer consoles. A even larger mound could be seen around the now rescued marines. The bodies of fades, skulks, and even a few lerks could be seen scattered around their make-shift fortress. Blood soaked the survivors and from the shell casings along the floor he could see the marine had been firing every minute. There were also a few marine corpses slumped against the floor, many of their wounds so horrendous Stone had to look away.
"Stone set-up a permimeter." Bison called as he stalked up the ramp, kicking skulk corpses out of the way with a heavy boot.
"You men", Stone motioned to a few marines who were reloading their LMGs, "watch the blast doors. Star!"
Star limped forward, his color was noticeably whiter, whether from loss of blood or the scene of death before him.
"Take care of wounded and patch that damn leg of yours up." Star nodded and ran over to where a few marines lying on the blood soaked ground, many of them knowing they were not going to make it as they held their intestines in with their hands.
Stone walked over to the top deck's railing and looked at the scene of death below him, it looked like a horror movie set. Blood, both red and green, was all over the floor and walls, not too mention even a little was leaking from the ceiling. Bodies of marines were here and there, many with missing limbs, a were decapatated and the blood ran from out of the stumps. Internal organs could be seen spilling from more then one corpse, sending a couple of the nearby marines retching. Shell casing could be seen brightly on the now red floor, in some places they formed small piles and could be used to mark the squad progress as they cleared the room.
The Kharra had bodies everywhere, for every marine dead atleast 8 or 9 had fallen for them. Skulks were the most common with their bodies lying every couple of feet, a few lerks could be seen, their wings fluttering every now and then. Atleast three fades had fallen in the battle, their bodies being shredded from the fire that had hit them even after they had fallen. Tales of them rising from fatal shots were too common in the TSA for the marines too chance leaving one of them alive.
"Stone, get over here." Sergent Bison called from where Corporal Drake had made his stand with the last of the marines in the Command Center. As Stone approached he could hear Bison arguing with Drake.
"We need to evac, immediatley, Bison! Look at this! We have already suffered over an 80% casualty rate. This mission is FUBAR!" Drake was yelling at Bison. As Stone looked around he had to agree with Drake. The squad had landed with 20 men and now they were down to only a handful of surviors. They had low ammo, no medical, no power, and were outnumbered by who knows how many Kharra.
Stone cleared his throat and stepped forward, "Yeah, Bison this mission is over."
Bison stood their for a moment, looking like a man torn between doing what's right and his duty, "Alright...Michaels get on the comm and get that officer to come down and pick us up."
The communications private smiled and almost looked happy as he down the ramp, watching his footing as he dodged the bodies. As Michaels arrived at the console he looked with disgust at the bullet-riddle corpse of a skulk that lied on the monitor. With obvious distaste he sohved the body off the screen, listening as it slide off with a squeak similar to a squegee. The whole room listened as the private called to the dropship above, the transmission filling the silent room.
"This is Alpha, Lima, Zebra. We are requesting immediate extraction, we have suffered severe casualties and are running low on ammunition. " Private michael asked in a anxious voice as if he feared each word would be his last.
"Request denied. Carry-on the mission..." The voice on the other end was that same beedy-eyed officer from the briefing. Sergent Bison didn't let him finish though as he dashed down the ramp and snatched the mic from the private.
"You listen to me, <i>sir</i>. This mission is over, we will not be able to accomplish our objectives." Bison almost yelled into the mic, his voice border-lining on insolence.
"I am a full-bird colonel, <i>Corporal</i>. You will carry-out your miss..." A sudden crack came from the other end, followed by the sound of a body collapsing. For a moment the entire Command Center was silent as the marines listened to the drama that carried out above. Then a voice came from above.
"Captain Kruss, here. The colonel just had an accident, but don't worry he told me to get you boys out of there before his head accidently hit my wrench." The marines in the Command Center let out a cheer and the Captain could be laughing on the other end.
"Roger that Captain. I'll owe you one when we get out of here. " Bison said into the mic, his face beaming a smile.
"I'll pick you boys up at the insertion point."
"Captain, the insertion point is..." Bison was stopped as the lights in the level suddenly flickered a few times before going out completly.
"The insertion point is hot!!! Don't go there!!" Bison yelled futily into the mic. The power had gone out completely leaving the complex once again dead and the squad in darkness, except for the red light that shone from the thick glass on the upper level.
Then Stone heard a sound that he will never forget in all his years. The ponderous approach of an onos...
One thing though: The characters got a BIT confusing, mostly because some were really introduced and developed in the heat of battle. I would say the weakest thing right now is the character development, but I'm not worried <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo--> this story is amazing already, can't wait to see what happens when that onos comes charging in...
<!--emo&::asrifle::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/asrifle.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='asrifle.gif' /><!--endemo--> <!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif' /><!--endemo-->
Sorry about the characters, it was either give them names or call every member of the platoon "marine" except for the main characthers. Don't worry though the marines who survive the onos will be the same for a while and these guys will be more developed and somebody me and you can relate to <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo--> . IF you notice from the time they have gotten off the dropship it's been non-stop fighting, kinda hard to set a postition where they will sit and talk about life when a Fade is coming at you. I will give them some time for that later, plus a little more action <!--emo&:)--><img src='http://www.natural-selection.org/forums/html//emoticons/smile.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='smile.gif' /><!--endemo-->
That makes for a very happy reader right here <!--emo&:D--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/biggrin.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='biggrin.gif' /><!--endemo-->
<!--emo&::onos::--><img src='http://www.unknownworlds.com/forums/html//emoticons/tiny.gif' border='0' style='vertical-align:middle' alt='tiny.gif' /><!--endemo-->