#pfmission4

[unit-pegasus]

Observation Deck Crew: Summary

Lyra, Concord, Bismarck, Pegasus, Sage 

Lyra was joined by Pegasus at the Observation Deck, upon hearing from Providence that infiltration through the roof was imminent. Sage arrived quickly. The Covenant soldiers did too, when the wall separating the Deck from the rest of the ship was breached. Covenant began to spill from the gap, distracting the trio from the new threat: Covenant infiltrating the ship through the Ejection Escape Pods. These pods are situated near/in the Deck, as the Deck is close to the outside of the Equinox and so would normally be a decent evacuation point. The Pods eject directly into space - the Covenant used them to enter the Deck without causing any trouble involving the vacuum of space and the Deck, aka their target. By doing this, a means of escape was also compromised. The A.Is were quickly swarmed, and on Sage’s command, Pegasus sent a vague distress call via radio. Concord responded promptly, making his way to the Deck. Concord urged the A.I to retreat, and alerted Bismarck to the issue. Retreat is at this point very difficult, as they are surrounded and vastly outnumbered. Meanwhile, Pegasus receives a shot to his built-in needler, detonating his remaining ammunition. His arm is destroyed, and he sustains damage to his left side (shoulder, waist, hip, part of chest, neck, likely part of his face too). The explosion causes Sage damage to her face, but aside from that, the impact has mostly affected the opposition. Pegasus is knocked over and Bismarck arrives, who advises the group to move to a smaller area. He also contacts Dover, who intends to offer further assistance with Leo by his side. (However, circumstances do not permit this.) At this point, the lights and power are reactivated by Cheyenne’s EMP. The connection between A.I and Agent is restored.

Sage has trouble reaching Montgomery. Lyra disregards the reconnection for the most part. Pegasus, however, is overwhelmed.

Concord urges Pegasus to reach the entrance of the Deck, before seeking out Sage and Lyra. He advises them to follow to the Entrance as well.

Pegasus senses that elsewhere, Annapolis is in distress and manages to remotely activate her Armour Enhancement. He then blacks out and collapses due to the stress of re-connection and the consequential panicked activation, likely emphasised by mental stress and his physical trauma.

Meanwhile, Sage's machine gun becomes jammed and she switches to the less efficient needler. She refuses Concord's command and blasts a hole in the wall instead, opening an area to crawl through and defend from.

The group heads through the hole, and Bismarck defends as they do so. He uses a grenade to activate the sprinkler systems, before using his Armour Enhancement to electrocute the covenant soldiers. He then crawls into a vent and falls asleep/becomes unconscious.

Lyra wishes to leave Pegasus behind, while Concord notices Bismarck's absence. He seeks out Bismarck, who is asleep in the vent. He then transmits a message to Helena via radio, alerting her that Bismarck is injured. Together they venture toward med bay, leaving Lyra and Sage. They gimp their way downtown.

Sage is able to reach Montgomery and wishes to find and assist him. She picks up Pegasus' body, and brings it into the hole. She informs Lyra that she has an idea - now that the power is back, there is the possibility of F.I.L.S.S being able to eject what remains of the escape pods, cutting off an access point to the Covenant soldiers. She then leaves to find Montgomery.

Lyra acts on Sage's suggestion, before taking Pegasus to Restoration.

[agent-salem]

Radio: Alpha/All

Agent Salem: [muttered, but still audible] What in the ever-loving fuck just happened?

Agent Salem: Alpha, come in. What's your status and [static] location?

Agent Salem: And what is the status of Sheila?

[unit-leonard]

A Part of Life | Leo & Dover

What exactly had happened?  It all followed suit so quickly, Leo wasn't even sure he understood.  This was supposed to be Alpha saving the day, this was supposed to be their moment of glory and all of them were going to get recognized for this accomplishment.  

Sadly, that wasn't the reality that was playing out.  Everything was like a blur.  Sacramento ordered the A.I. to transmit to their implants in their Agent's body and leave their physical forms behind.  This was a suicide mission.

He remembered staring in disbelief at Sacramento as she barked orders left and right.  He remembered watching Boston as he flew the Pelican.  He once again remembered being called the pet name Mufasa.  That was one of his first lessons on human pop culture.  His transmit back into Dover's body was delayed.  Blue eyes watched a horror scene unfold just before glancing back at his young partner, and in an instant he was in the comfort of Dover's mind.

There were three Alpha members left behind on that Pelican.  That was three too many.  There were so many deaths that day, and it brought Leo to the realization, once again, that very well could have been Dover up there.  Leo's physical body had been destroyed, but his program had been protected and was still in working order.  He could see the explosion and the mess around them, but it was too much to take in all at once. 

 Right now, all the A.I. wanted to do was embrace his Agent....which probably wouldn't happen even when he got a new body, but he'd find his own sort of Leo way to express his appreciation.

Leo ached.  He didn't have a body and no capability of experiencing pain anyway, but there was a throbbing sensation as he tried to find words.

[Dover?  Say something.]

Hearing his Agent's thoughts in response to his own would be comforting, he decided.  

[Say anything.  I need to hear you.]

[callmeorion]

Plan B - Self Para thingy maybe

There were things happening. All of the time Orion had been alive, he had understood the world to be orderly. That there would be cause and effect easily predicted. That he could run scenarios and logically proceed.

That the world made sense.

It no longer did.

Something had gone wrong with Pisces. Orion did not know what; he could no longer get a response on the radio. Whatever was going on, it was out of his reach. His logic did not help him. His intelligence would not serve.

Two of his brethren had died.

It made no sense. And yet it was true. A completely illogical, completely ridiculous situation was now a fact. Two mechanoids had died. Their entire race had just been thrust into the realization of mortality.

And now Pisces might be lost as well.

But Helena was right.

There was nothing he could do about whatever was happening. As much as it frustrated him. As much as he...felt. Felt without a name, without any knowledge as to how to contain them.

Felt as though he was drowning in it, was pushed under, was filled so much larger than his corporeal form could hold.

Orion did not like this sensation. He did not enjoy the emotions he had no name for. The pain that seemed to settle in under his synthetic skin and creep through him like a deadly ache.

He could do nothing about that. About his dead brother and sister, about the emotions, about Pisces. About Leo. About Helena.

But he could do this.

Orion crept closer to the underbelly of the ship. He'd taken a page out of Bismarck's strategy and had climbed through the ceiling until he'd gotten closer. Dropping down onto one of the Covenant grunts, Orion wrapped his arms around the soldier's neck, leveraging the weight in order to twist it sharply, snapping it and riding the soldier down to the ground. 

His arm was up, Needler firing through the next two enemies, blasting their heads into nothing more than gaping holes. And then the hallway was quiet. A small opportunity that Orion took. Turning the corner, Orion carefully considered the situation.

Two elites. Half a dozen smaller soldiers. And beyond them, Orion could see two ships docked. If he was smart, if he was careful and calculating, he would come up with a plan that involved stealth. Deception. Perhaps funny hats.

Instead, Orion took all that rage, all that worry, all those indescribable emotions, and he attacked. His canon blazed, over and over again, Needler firing.

He got through the first wave when his Needler ran out of ammunition. Orion did not hesitate; he lifted his other arm, grunting when a spray of bullets from the side ripped through his leg. 

That was unfortunate.

Orion opened fire with his machine gun. His plasma canon was firing, over and over again, and Orion barely noticed his own wounds. The swing from an electric blade took off half of his jaw; another pulse of fire blasted holes into his torso. 

The hallway was a deafening tunnel of fire, of screams and chatter, of blood and burning chunks of Orion's form. But eventually he was stepping over bodies. Eventually he pushed forward into the first ship.

He had ten grenades left. Orion rigged half of them under the control panel, pulling the pins and running out the hatch with an explosion licking at his heels. The second ship, then. Almost done.

But of course it did not go as planned.

As Orion set the last grenade, as he pulled the pin, he looked up to find five Elites standing in the doorway. Blocking his exit.

He would not be escaping.

[Helena, I apologize. But I'm afraid my timing was a bit off.]

Orion closed his eyes. Focused on her, on their link.

On joining her.

And then the explosion ripped through. And the world was on fire.

[agent-charleston]

Radio: All

Charleston: Wh-wh-what a-about B-b-boston? S-sacra!

Charleston: Pl-please wh-what's going on!

[callmeorion]

Implant Communcation - Helena

Mechanoid Orion: You should know that your armor has dropped to eighty percent. Your heart rate is elevated to levels that cause me concern.

Mechanoid Orion: Are you secure?

[callmeorion]

Radio - Leo

Mechanoid Orion: I just [static] --omething you would do.

Mechanoid Orion: My-- [gunfire] [Covenant roars] chances of survival are approximately twelve percent-- [static]

[agent-honolulu]

THE GRACE OF MONSTERS : SELF

She had seen an eclipse once. Back when she was Pippa (was she still Pippa? She had, of course, retained her corporeal form, but had she shed the mannerisms and attachments and become permanently, irrevocably, a soldier? Where they singular and not intertwined?); back when she clung to lengthy hair and childish ideals, a previous age that seemed as far away as the mythical cities that they spoke of in ancient texts and legends.

She had watched the world grow unnaturally dark in a mere moment, the whole of Earth sitting in the moon’s shadow, and she imagined mother Gaia crossing her long legs and closing her eyes, enjoying the temporary shade.

This was not what the eclipse felt like.

The light was taken away from her, quickly, without warning. All at once it had been stolen, before being replaced with a pulsating red light. The ground beneath her shook, and Honolulu realized it was because the cracks of Hell had opened up, demons spilling forth from the crevasses.

She was one of the lucky ones. She’d been training in simulation, full armour adorning her otherwise vulnerable skin, when everything shut down. She would have protection, weapons. The targets before her would no longer be flashing mirages, darkly-shaded replications of scaly alien creatures. Instead, the reality would be before her, bleeding blue and purple instead of blinking into nonexistence.

She heard them before she saw them. Feet pounding against the lacquered floors without the sacrosanct respect the Freelancers gave it; screams preceding and dotting throughout their arrival. Her back was flattened against the wall, her gaze still soaked in red as she peered through the door’s window quickly, waiting for the barrage of Covvies to pass. They trooped on without glancing through the small glass apparatus, leaving Lulu to breath in her own silence. Her fingers reached for the handle, moving to turn — nothing. It didn’t budge, refused to tweak, not even a wink of a movement. She tried again, jiggling the apparatus more harshly. It had to move. She had to get out.

She wasn’t getting out. The emergency generator had locked her in; even after she manually typed in her personnel codes three times, there was nothing. FILSS had shut her out from the battlefield, refusing her entry to the stand she was to take. “C’mon -” It was grunted from the pits of her stomach, mixed with the noise that accompanies heaving as her brows knitted together, growing furious and panicked. The small piece of metal was nearly wrenched off as she jerked away, cursing. “Fuck -” It was a word that very rarely left her lips, but with no one to hear her, it came out again. “Fuck! No!” Her hand reached up to rake and claw through her hair, but it was only met with the cool metal of her helmet.

She didn’t feel caged. She didn’t feel scared or alone; she felt useless. Wasted. Her thoughts raced through the ship’s pulse-holding inventory. Providence and Monty and Virgil, where were they? Acadia? Annapolis? We’re they holding their own, had the Covenants found them - what about June, who was surely without armour or weapons, was she okay? She had no way to know, with her radio blocked off - she’d asked FILSS, stupidly, to shut it off while she trained for no distractions - with no one in her sight. They could be dying, and she was useless. She would not be useless. She would not allow them to die. Not like Zelda. Not again.

Her armoured shoulder drove into the door, slamming in with force, creating a large echo and an immediate pang. Nothing moved but her skull rattling her brain. She gritted her teeth and heaved again. More force. More strength. More noise. “C’mon - ” And she pushed, and she pushed, again and again and again. She heaved the full contents of her bones against the door, pitting flesh against mechanics, as time would always reduce all things. Only whe. Her chest was heaving with effort did she take a step back, drawing her gun and aiming it at the locking mechanoids. Her own breath was heavy in her ears. Her heart was heavy in her chest.

She’d never been a great shot, but she met Freelancer standards - that in itself meant more than the scared soldier. So when she aimed at the edge of the doorframe and pulled the trigger, she hit her mark. The metal was corroded from pure heat, allowing her hand to finally wiggle some free space; enough to get a hand through, than an arm, and - it was nearly ripped from its socket, something heavy and weighted pulling viciously on her vulnerable arm. With a cry she wrenched free, but not alone. The ugly face came soon after, trying to jam itself through the opening space. She’d drawn them to her with her loud noise, and they honed in like predator to prey. A great, vibrating sound emanated from the other side of the door, and she realized with shock that it has been a war cry from the Covenant so minutely separated from her. It had been so great she felt the shriek in the marrow of her bones, reverberating in the soles of her feet. She groaned again, a noise she couldn’t help but hiss as she strained to thrust the door back. They were coming for her, clawing from the other side like demons coming for the archangels.

Her eyes feverishly scanned the area, back straining against the now half-opened door, muscles rejecting her repeated attempts to forebode the alien entities entrance. Her mind whirled. There was more than one behind the door, surely. But if she kept up in this game of tug of war she was already losing, more would appear. More Covenant to push open the door, more to evade, more to fight, more to consume her. She had to act, now. Feet propped up against an opposite wall for leverage, teeth ground together and bared in exertion, the layer of sweat coating her face was proof of the energy she was expending just by keeping the door close. It constantly rattled behind her, jarring this way and that under the assault of the Covenant. A inhuman hand grasped her by the arm, attempting to tear her through the purgatory they fought over into their hell. Something sharp pierced her armour to the flesh, pulling her though the open slit up to her shoulder. She cried out, but it lasted only a moment.

Utilizing the remainder of her strength, she wrenched her limb back, drawing her gun with a different cry: one of war. "Not - today!" She fired back, blasts sent towards them until they quickly withdrew, howling in their godawful screaming language. One still persisted, now poking his head and neck through, to which Honolulu stepped forward to slam the heavy door on the joints of his muscle. He howled and withdrew, giving her a moment to recuperate, the jerking of his slithery limbs enough to finally complete the release of the door from its hinges. It was time to move.

She powered her suit up, feeling the hum of additional strength course through her. Agility. All she needed. Her energy sword, the preferred weapon, was not present, as she'd been trying to practice with guns and more unfamiliar techniques - but it was enough. It would have to be enough, or she, and perhaps others, would die. Her leg was a full log ramming against the door, the swiftness of her suit sending the creatures behind it sprawling back. There was no rest; one was upon her immediately, thick arm around her covered neck. They thought they had a weak one, small and insignificant. They were wrong.

Her momentum swung him over her, till he lay flat on his back, at her feet. She shot through his heart. The next slammed her against the wall, shoulder to shoulder, and she felt, rather than saw, her armour concave in her left side. Her head knocked against the side of her helmet, rattling her brain, pain shooting throughout her skull. They grappled. He was strong, but she was quick. He slammed her against the only home she knew repeatedly, until her grip on the gun was forcefully released. She was pinned, momentarily, until she found the open spot under his elbow,mucking under and drawing her katana from her back. The blade was sticking through the vulnerable part of his upper spine before he had even turned.

That was when the bullet tore through the lower edge of her leg of armour, the force sending her onto her back just as she'd tucked her katana away. The third one, she hadn't so much as seen. He was upon her immediately, snapping at her neck like a feline over his prey. Under his strength, her armour buckled, pieces concaving just slightly, enough for her to feel cool metal press against her Kevlar underneath. Repaying the favour, Honolulu eradicated his gun, smacking the heavy object out of reach. He manoeuvred her with a savage growl, as if she as lit as a blanket, turning her under him till she was pinned. But her legs swung up regardless, to fast to see, to fast to defend against, and she rolled him; still, she lay upon her back, but her legs twined around the sick creatures waist - or the equivalent - and her arms to his neck. It took her only a moment to snap his neck, grunting.

She was on her feet when the lights returned, flying down the hallway as she restored her radio and raced towards the central point of the Equinox. "Agent Honolulu in; I've broken free from my previous holding place and have disabled and killed several Covenant. I have armour and weaponry, slight damage to armour and dislocated left shoulder, but nothing to stop me." Her report paused to slink along a corridor after spotting another enemy. Her hand inched for her gun; slowly, slowly... Then her radio was off, grainy and loud, bleeding coordinates and jumbled thoughts and pain. It alerted the creature, sending them into another grappling. He raced at her, but she dodged, kicking off the ground enough to flip herself onto the other side of the hall, continuing to sweep under his leg, leaving him incapacitated long enough to send her blade through his heart.

Her voice was louder now, shaky but nit shaken, like a terrible wind ripping through the brush. "I repeat, this is Agent Honolulu, what is the status of the occupants of the Equinox? I have firepower and an able body!" Her call rang out to all who would listen; a seraphim call to those who needed it.