Sergeant Vick: Part 5 and End
Posted By: Helljumper<Pittklipse@aol.com>
Date: 26 May 2004, 11:07 PM
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The rescue team found the body of the late Lance Corporal Singer. Vick approached the body as several Infection forms were busy digging into his back. The platoon sergeant raised his M90 shotgun and gentle squeezed the trigger. He absorbed the recoil and then lowered his weapon. Vick knelt next to the body as the rest of the team moved up. Singer was a good Marine. Next week, the now deceased Lieutenant Sanders was going to present the Corporal with his Sergeant chevrons... What a lost? The Staff Sergeant's grievance was interrupted by PFC Gordon.
"Hey Sarge, we should start heading back to the landing bay." There was a strong sense of urgency and fear in the Helljumper's voice. Gordon held the motion tracker out for the Sergeant to see. Red blips started appearing one by one until half the screen was filled with contacts.
Vick cursed to himself and stood up. He pulled the plump act back, ejecting the empty shell, and pushed it forward thus loading a fresh shell in the chamber. "Let's get the fuck off this ship Marines," he said backing away from Singer's lifeless body.
"How far out are the contacts Gordon?"
"Thirty meters Sarge,"
"Private Grey you're on point, double time back to the docking bay. Let's go Marines!"
Fire Team Charlie broke out into a run as Infection forms started dropping from air vents in the ceiling. The air became filled with the sound of footsteps as Combat forms emerged out of side passages. The Marines fired their weapons as they ran.
A Combat form leapt into the air only to be met by an eight gauge shell from Vick's shotgun. The loud sound of assault rifle fire cut through the air followed by the scream of Private Grey as an Elite Combat formed emerged from a side passage and tackled the Marine. The creature bought its deformed right arm down on the Helljumper's head, crushing his skull on contact.
Private Chisman held the trigger of his MA5B and spat twenty six 7.62mm armor piercing rounds into the creature that killed PVT Grey. Stopping for only a second to grief over his friend, he continued running as PFC Gordon and the unarmed Flight Officer Jones passed him. Chisman struggled to change his magazine as he ran. The adrenaline in his blood caused him to run faster until he caught up with Gordon and Jones.
Sergeant Vick was slower than the others as he turned to fire at the Flood forms behind him. He lost count of how many shells he had fired. He turned again to fire but the shotgun just clicked. Fuck! He tripped over the dead body of PVT Grey. He landed and slid as his ballistic armor scraped across the deck. He turned over onto his back and instinctively reached for his M6D pistol with his right hand and Jones's pistol with his left.
Three of the closest Combat Forms received two clips of 12.7mm semi-armor piercing high-explosive rounds from twin pistols before dropping to the deck in their own green blood. Vick climbed to his feet and ejected the empty clips. He replaced the pistols to their locations and grabbed his shotgun off the ground and continued running. At the end of the hall were the surviving members of Fire Team Charlie. They knelt and leveled their assault rifles towards Vick.
He instinctively made a tactical drop to the ground, using his shotgun to break his fall. Bullets passed over his head. He rolled onto his side, pulled a grenade from his belt, pulled the pin, and threw it toward the rushing Flood. The grenade exploded as Vick started to crawl under the hail of bullets to the rest of his team.
Pelican pilot Jones knelt behind PVT Chisman and PFC Gordon. The loud roars of their assault rifles were hurting his ears. He wanted to move away from them but was scared and weaponless. All he could do was watch as the Flood absorbed the bullets and continued forward. They were getting closer. Fear started to over take him and he started to panic.
The MA5B bullets were soon answered by plasma bolts. Jones could see that several of the Combat Forms had plasma pistols and rifles. Blue and Green superheated energy bolts started landing around the two Helljumpers and the Warrant Officer.
Jones started to panic. He stood up and turned left then right trying to decide where to run. A plasma bolt hit him square in the chest. The force pushed him against the wall. He started to feel weak and hot at the same time, but there was little pain. His back slide down the wall and left a trail of crimson blood on the purple, Covenant wall.
A grey haze filled the pilot's vision. He looked down at his blood soaked hands. The plasma stilled glowed green as it burned through his organs. Jones began to choke and cough up blood. With each cough, he felt weaker until he didn't feel anymore.
Corporal Powell, leader of Fire Team Delta, knelt behind the purple, Covenant cargo crate. He shouldered his MA5B assault rifle and aligned the targeting circle displayed on his Helmet Mounted Display with the group of Grunts coming into the docking bay. He squeezed the trigger in short controlled bursts as green bolts of plasma flew around him. Several plasma blasts impacted the cargo crate. The supercharged heat from the melting crate washed over Powell. His body counteracted the heat by increasing the Corporal's perspiration. Sweat developed along his forehead and absorbed by the red bandana tied around his head.
A Grunt with a Needler braved Powell's 7.62 rounds and fired its weapon. The young Marine ducked behind the crate as the razor sharp projectiles impacted the crate. He looked to his left at the two dead members of his Fire Team sprawled out over the crates they were hiding behind. Another Helljumper was wounded and the squad's medic was seeing to his wounds.
A sharp pain erupted in the Corporal's side. He turned to his right to see a faint stream of pink that curved around the side of the crate. Looking down he saw the pink crystal like Needle sticking in his side. Instinct kicked in and he shielded his face with his arms as the single Needle exploded.
The large amount of pain flooded his nerves causing them to go numb. Powell couldn't feel the pain and forced himself to look at the damage. A fist sized chunk of flesh and bodily tissue laid in a pool of his own blood. The site caused him to scream.
"Doc" Paley tried to calm down the wounded Private in his arms. PVT Kant had received an overcharged plasma bolt to his chest, and the Marine's ballistic armor did little to stop the shot. Paley already knew that the blast had punctured Kant's left lung. With the Private trying to scream and his constant twitching, Doc had no way to treat the wound.
PVT Kant held tightly to Paley's arm as he gasped for air until he suddenly stopped. The Marine exhaled his last breath and released the medic from his grip. Doc stared at the dead man. Not another one. He crossed himself and recited a quick prayer.
Corporal Powell's loud scream caught the medic off guard. He turned to see his fire team leader holding the side of his torso as crimson blood poured though his fingers. The sound of gunfire had stopped and the only sound was that of Powell's screaming. Doc ran over to Powell. Arriving at the young Marine's side he pulled his medical pouch in front of him and started searching through it. Finding his last bottle of bio-foam, he took it out, disconnected the cap, shakes it, and started applying the white foam over the wound. The morphine in the foam caused Powell to stop screaming and he began mumbling inherent words. The bio-foam was followed by a white medical gaze pad and bandages. At least I saved one.
Platoon Sergeant Vick reloaded his M90 Shotgun as he jogged. Following close behind were PVT Chisman and PFC Gordon. Down the hallway he could see the door to the docking bay along with the dead bodies of Covenant soldiers. Bullet holes in the walls and floor mixed with the bright colors of the different alien bloods. He entered the docking bay as a Grunt with a Needler was trying to seek around the side of the cargo crate fortification. Vick quickly ended the creature's life with an eight gauge shell.
On the other side of the crates he found "Doc" Paley treating Corporal Powell. The medic looked up at Vick.
"He's fine for now, but he lost a lot of blood. We need to get him back to the Pontiac's infirmary for a blood transplant."
"Okay, but where are the others?"
"Over there," Paley pointed to the other dead members of Fire Team Delta.
"What happened?"
"Three Covenant squads tried to take the docking bay."
"Let's get the fuck off this ship."
The D77-TC "Pelican" dropship, piloted by Warrant Officer Carly Harrison, shook slightly as it landed aboard the Pontiac. Staff Sergeant Vick helped Corporal Powell to his feet as the rear ramp of the dropship started to open. The fluorescent lights of the landing bay washed into the troop bay. The Marines filed out of the Pelican expecting to be met by a medical team.
Standing outside of the Pelican were three Marines in green plastic bio-hazard suits. Over their suits were the standard issue body armor and equipment belt. MA5B assault rifles were slung over their right shoulders. The bio-hazard full face mask contained a hose running from the front across the chest and around to the back where it met an air filtering unit. The Marines on the left and right wore MP bands around their left arms while the man in the middle had a Captain insignia on the front of his helmet.
Vick led his Marines forward. The Captain held up his hand signaling for them to stop. The platoon Sergeant struggled with Powell's full combat weigh. "This man needs to be taken to the infirmary ASAP sir." Vick said staring at the Marines blocking his way. The Captain spoke through the bio-hazard suits mask. The voice was distorted but still audible. "Take these men straight to quarantine." The Military Police at his side moved forward and confiscated the Helljumpers' weapons.
No one resisted. An officer gave an order and they followed the MPs through the landing bay. Vick could see a company of Marines in bio-hazard suits in formation standing in front of several squadrons of Pelicans. He hoped that they weren't being sent to the Flood infested cruiser.
Captain Locke watched through the bio-hazard face mask as the MPs escorted the ODST away. He hated having to do this but it was standard UNSC procedure and the Major had ordered it. Walking over to his company, Locke was met by his XO Lieutenant Morris and First Sergeant Williams. The trio walked over to the assembled company of 150 regular Marines. They positioned themselves in front of their men and stood at the position of parade rest along with the rest of the company.
Out the corner of his eye, Captain Locke could see the man approaching from his left. Without looking he knew who it was, Major Ackerson. He snapped to attention and called the company to attention. Major Ackerson positioned himself in front of Captain Locke. The Captain saluted and the Major returned one. Ackerson was dressed in the standard green, Marine officer dress uniform with the tan shirt and tan tie. He had an extensive amount of citations above the left breast pocket and his Major ranks glistened in the soft white light. Captain Locke spoke first.
"The surviving Helljumpers are on their way to quarantine sir."
"Good, just like I requested... Now for your mission briefing, it's quite simple. I want... I mean the UNSC wants this Covenant cruiser. We were premature for sending in only a platoon of ODST but that's beside the point. We know that the ship is infested with these parasitic organism referred to as the Flood. I don't care if there were ghosts and demons aboard that ship, I want it. My suggestion is to establish a CP in the docking bay that the ODST went in and then send a full strength platoon to the bridge and another one to the engine room. Once those areas are secured, we'll send in another company to start eradication swipes throughout the ship."
"Aye, aye sir."
"Oh and Captain another thing."
"Yes sir."
"ONI would appreciate it if you could capture a live specimen of the Flood for research."
"Consider it done sir."
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