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Fragments of Halo by Fenrisc
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part1:Fragments of Halo
Date: 11 October 2003, 4:52 PM
Ian permitted himself a quick look over his shoulder as the warthog sped along the beach, towards the structure that housed the silent cartographer. His men had retreated back into the structure, while he and a few other teams with warthogs had stayed behind on the beach to buy them some time.
A rocket hissed past the warthog, bringing Ian's attention back around to what his LAAG was facing; a horde of hideous creatures like the kind that had overrun the makeshift base that the survivors from the pillar of autumn had set up upon their arrival on the ring-world. They had washed over the main defensive perimeter like a flood of ugly, decaying flesh. Those marines who couldn't possibly make it to the drop ships in time had fought a desperate delaying action so that others could get away. As the drop ships were pulling away, Ian had seen the drop ship next to his brought down by rocket fire. The extra warthog it had carried would have been useful, not to mention that Ian had known a few of the marines on board.
The LAAG shook violently as Ian fired into the swarm, sending limbs and other pieces flying, but with no visible effect. The warthog was pulling away from the creatures, but not nearly as quickly as Ian would have liked. As the big gun on the warthog continued to fire, Ian looked over his shoulder again. His warthog climbed the natural embankment that lead to the main structure, while another team's warthog climbed the embankment from the other side of the structure. As Ian looked, he noticed that the gunner on that warthog was draped over his LAAG, not moving.
Keeping the trigger on the chain gun depressed, Ian braced himself as the warthog ran over one of the explosive creatures that had been standing on the platform outside the structure. They usually released a swarm of the small, infectious creatures when they died. As the back bumper of the warthog cleared the creature's bulging torso, Ian ducked behind the shield on the LAAG, waiting for the explosion. Instead, the second warthog, approaching the main entrance of the structure from the opposite direction, rammed into the side of Ian's warthog, no longer under the control of a conscious driver. As Ian's warthog lurched to one side from the impact, the ugly creature behind it exploded in a shower of little infectious creatures.
Ian's warthog flipped up and over, flying through the structure's main entrance. Ian himself was thrown from his gunner's position. He flew through the air, and bounced off the wall at the end of the hallway inside the structure, collapsing onto the floor. There was a ramp that turned right off the main hallway that Ian knew led down into the structure, and to the team of marines waiting to close and seal the door leading deeper into the structure. As he stood up, his felt a stabbing pain in his side and chest. Probably a broken rib, he thought.
His warthog had come to rest upside down inside the structure's hallway, not far in front of him. Ian's driver was starting to climb out of his seat, but his side gunner was nowhere to be seen. The passenger from the second warthog writhed in the large doorway of the structure, biting off his screams in short grunts. He was covered in blood, but still trying to crawl further into the structure. Ian limped past his driver, moving as fast as he could towards the wounded marine. He was almost there when he saw the infectious little creatures from the large dead one swarming towards his fallen comrade.
Ian hesitated for a moment, then reached out and grabbed the wounded marine by his collar, drawing his sidearm at the same time. He screamed as he drug the marine into the structure:
"You can't have him, you little bastards!"
Ian fired wildly with his sidearm, hitting a few of the round, ugly little creatures. They were almost on him when Ian's driver opened up with an assault rifle, tearing apart the remaining little organisms.
His driver followed as Ian ran past the upside down warthog, and towards the ramp leading down into the structure, half-carrying the wounded marine behind him. As they were turning the corner towards the ramp, a series of plasma bolts barely missed them, striking the wall at the end of the hallway. Ian didn't have to look back to know that the horde that had been chasing his warthog knew where he was. The three marines moved down the ramp as fast as possible as a rocket exploded at the end of the main hallway. They arrived at a landing and another ramp down to the left. Ian tripped and fell as they exited the last ramp, falling into the small room that housed the closable door.
He caught sight of the marines guarding the door, although he knew they wouldn't move to help him. If they did, they might be overrun before they could close the door. Ian was vaguely aware of the full-auto roar of his driver's assault rifle in the enclosed little room. He was firing wildly back up the ramp they had just come down, although Ian couldn't see what he was firing at. The driver ran out of ammunition after a few seconds, and cursed as he threw his rifle up the ramp. He turned and ran towards Ian, the wounded marine, and the safety of the door.
"Come on!"
The driver's voice held the strain of desperation as he grabbed Ian and helped pull him to his feet. Ian drug himself to his feet, strengthening the grip on the wounded comrade. He stumbled towards the still open door, spurred on by the roaring noise one of the creatures made as it emerged from the ramp he had just limped down.
The driver brought the creature down with about half a clip from Ian's sidearm. He had grabbed it as he was helping Ian to his feet. The Ugly thing fell in a heap and twitched. Ian made it through the door with his wounded comrade, helped along by strong hands from the team of marines just inside the door. Ian's driver put two more rounds into the limp creature at the bottom of the ramp, then turned and ran for the door as the team of marine guards fired past him.
More of the mutated things poured down the ramp, some firing stray shots from human and covenant weapons. The driver stumbled through the door, having been grazed by more than a few rounds from the team covering his retreat. As soon as the driver's feet were clear, the team closed the door. There would be no more survivors.
Finally safe, Ian let his head fall down to rest on the cold metal floor of the structure. What were they going to do from here? They couldn't stay in the structure forever.
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