Futuristic Halo: Operation SHATTERED SKY (IC - CLOSED)

[queendilettante]

Davis shook his head slightly and sighed before looking over to Private Camila Prieto. "Go easy on the throttle, private." He said, chuckling briefly. "I'd rather not test the strength of our roll-cage."

Camila rolled her eyes behind her visor at the Sergeant's comment instead of rolling the car. "Yes sir," she called back curtly in an effort to avoid any further questioning of her driving. Private... she couldn't help but dwell on the rank and the ease with which it left the Sergeant's lips. As if she could be compared to just another lowly grunt in the cogs of this god damn mach-

She cleared her throat in an effort to recenter herself. Just be happy you're not in prison anymore, Cam. She gripped the wheel a little bit harder than before and continued to press on. Truthfully, the mission was a bit of an afterthought to her. After all, anything assigned to a private wasn't going to be something she hadn't already experienced ten times over. Even so, she knew better than to zone out in a way that would - or even could - endanger the mission.

Davis decided to break the silent inside the canopy; "How are you holding up, private?"

Camila could feel the weight of his eyes from behind the visor. "Just fine, sir." she responded, once again curtly. She refocused herself on driving for another half a mile or so, but once she saw the tops of buildings in the distance, she felt obligated to try and keep the socialization going with her superior. "How does everything look for you? Are we on track"

 

[Viper Actual]

The sergeant sighed. "It's about as well as things could be, Covenant invasion and all." Davis looked over at Camila, his visor now opaque; "I'm not sure if it's much help but, believe me, we're not abandoning the people of Verent. Right now though we need to stay low."

Davis turned forward. "The captain has a plan. He always does."

*


​

Fifteen minutes later...

Mountaineer's Rest - Town

The scrim-covered scout hog rolled up next to the parked Mongoose sitting on the outskirts of Mountaineer's Rest. Sergeant Davis pulled open the netting and disembarked unceremoniously with his BR-55 in hand. Upon approaching the pair of troopers standing next to the much smaller but more nimble ATV he greeted them with a nod. "Troopers."

Lance-Corporal Tremell returned the gesture. "Sergeant Davis."

Currently both vehicles were parked on a slightly wider stretch of dirt road leading into the town which then split off with one path leading into the town's central warehouse and the other leading towards the highway which overlooked the town from its position alongside the summit's ridge-line. The town itself had been built around a domed two-story building outfitted with a wide assortment of dishes, antennas and powerlines which followed the roads and stretched for miles around and down the mountain.

Surrounding the two main structures were some dozen houses. Varying in size and design, most were either two or three stories tall and were based on concrete foundations and metal beams paired with wooden panels and lighter sheet metals for walls. It was unusual for smaller settlements to have anything taller than single-story structures though with how uneven and limited the terrain was it was safe to assume that the initial settlers had built vertically to save precious space.

The street and general space between the structures was limited and would most likely only be able to fit smaller offroad vehicles. This was reaffirmed by the fact that most of the houses seemed to reserve the first level as garage/parking spaces.

Davis offered the now silent town a brief glance. "Anything?"

"Nothing," said Tremell, shaking his head. "If there's anyone left they're most likely hiding underground."

Davis grunted and nodded. "Let's make sure we don't grab anything from someone still hiding. If they want to take their chance here it's up to them, we don't need to make it more difficult by taking half of their supplies." He paused and looked over his shoulder as Camila approached. "Prieto and Bassett: Check the warehouse. Load up anything you find on the hog. Got it?"

Solar Daddy
queendilettante

*
​

Mountaineer's Rest - Highway // ONI facility - Final approach

The final stretch to the facility was quiet and tense. Upon reaching the summit the team also came upon a paved road with marking lights and electronic signs.
Originally built for ONI's facility- disguised as a subsidiary campus for Verent City's School of Applied Technical Sciences- the paved road had been expanded on with smaller paved roads leading into the nearby township of Mountaineer's Rest and dirt roads leading to various farms, barns, automated JOTUN maintenance shacks and more.

In comparison to most settled worlds the pioneers and farmers of Verent had it relatively easy living off the land as long as you had the technical expertise.

As the team approached the facility some members would be able to look down on the town which was sitting on a series of plateaus surrounded by jagged rocks formations. Between the crowded, narrow streets and the various wind turbines there wasn't much space to land anything larger than a Hornet unless your intention was to spear any disembarking infantry.

In a way this was positive for the team though as they neared the facility it became obvious that any pilot worth his wings would land his, her or their craft at the large parking lot next to the facility entrance; With only a number of smaller two-seat vehicles left the parking lot offered little cover but otherwise a pristine position to deploy infantry and vehicles- which unfortunately was a key element of the Covenant's military doctrine when seizing control of a sector.

The facility itself was of moderate size. A small checkpoint with two guard huts, a curved roof and electric roadblocks controlled the only way into the facility which was surrounded by a tall reinforced fence equipped with security cameras and proximity sensors.

Beyond the checkpoint were a U-shaped courtyard and a smaller parking lot for administrative staff and VIPs connected to the three main buildings. A nondescript fountain dominated the courtyard and was lined with flowerbeds, showcasing some of Verent's more colorful flora.

Sitting at the center of the compound was the main building that served as a administrative center and as a locale to maintain the disguise as a technical campus. The exterior was a mix of white plastic paneling and metal detailing. A large '01' in a smooth font was painted on the top-right corner of the structure with signage and symbols related to Verent City's SATS painted or engraved on, near or around the building entrance and the fountain.

The second building- a rectangular structure to the right of the main building- was fashioned in a similar style. Doors leading into the structure however were few and of sturdier, military-like models. It had plenty of windows a suite of communication arrays with the latter covering most of the roof. Like the main building it too had a number painted on- in this case '02'.

Lastly was the third structure. It appeared to have no ground-level entrances aside from a large and heavily reinforced basement-level garage door wide and tall enough to fit a Scorpion MBT with ease. The buildings facade consisted of grey metal panels coupled with concrete walls and corners. Windows were few and looked more like reinforced observation-/firing-ports.

A curved skyway with robust-looking window panels connected the third building with the admin one which limited access to it in a fortress-like fashion. Though the pair of resident demolitions experts of the squad would most likely point out that the skyway rested on four very slender strut-like supports- a easy target for most handheld explosive weapons or munitions.

The hogs pulled up on the checkpoint and after some brief tinkering Grey remotely disabled one of the automatic roadblocks to allow passage. Black scoffed at the sight of the complex and shook his head. "Hello, Spook City."

"They're a moat away from completing the image of this place," he said as he got out of the now parked warthog and adjusted the sling on his silenced MA5K. Black approached the stairs leading into the admin building but stopped after one step just to glance over his shoulder and make sure that the others were still with him.

"Alright team, let's get to it. Intel's a bit shoddy on the exact whereabouts of the weapon but I'm willing to bet a week of shore leave that we'll find it in the concrete and metal bunker-looking thing."
He paused, grimaced and yanked his rifle sling quickly which made it loosen further.

"That said we're splitting up. At least two in every building in case someone opportunistic decided to break in or if someone on ONI's payroll decided to get a bit too clingy to their workstation. Weapon is priority one though, everything else comes second." As Black continued to ascend the stairs with his carbine shouldered the team comms crackled to life;

"Donnell and Wellington you're on the second building! Let's double-time it, people!"

Grey nodded and gestured towards King. "Agent. You're with me."

As the team dismounted and regrouped on his position Black stacked up next to the door and pulled out a all-black keycard that bore nothing but a single barcode on one side. He nodded towards Lyster- the team's breacher- before swiping the card and shouldering his rifle all with one smooth motion.

The entrance doors parted way to reveal a grand lobby. At the center of it were a wide reception desk and behind it were several doors and stairs leading up to the second floor. The entire space was lined with benches, electronic screens and signs while the upper floor seemed to consist of some smaller office areas and conference rooms. A pair of metal detectors chimed as the squad of troopers and spooks poured into the lobby with their weapons raised though everything else seemed silent.

Nobody was in the building.

Meanwhile, at the second building, things were just as empty; Upon entering the two troopers would be welcomed by hastily evacuated office spaces, cubicles and conference rooms though if they listened closely enough they would be able to detect a faint buzzing coming from the second floor. Perhaps it was worth checking out? Though with the number of obstacles spread around the troopers would need to exercise great caution when clearing the office complex...

Worthlessplebian
ONI
AEONmeteorite
DrabberRogue
Calibutcher
0stinato
Kenshin772

 

[Kenshin772]

The sound of the Warthog's engine was almost deafening as the squad descended the other side of the hill into the town of Mountaineer's Rest, or at least it seemed like it to Doc as she watched the sharp rock formations on the side of the Highway. With her hands white knuckling the pistol grip of her DMR Doc raised her weapon and rested it on the top of the Hog facing the vic's 10-11 O'clock position slowly scanning in a left to right pattern. As the first set of structures came into sight Doc began tapping her left foot in a steady nervous tick. Soon enough though the buildings returned to sharp rocky formations as the team made the final approach to the facility and the tapping stopped.

Once past the Checkpoint Doc rose in her seat using the central railing over the middle of the bed to stabilize herself long enough for the Hog to come to a stop then she spilled out over the side hitting the concrete with a loud rattle of gear. She had seen from the top of the hill that the facility had a large security wall making securing the site's entry easy. "Rose, Hayworth, set up a side channel for your short ranges. use channel 40 that'll be our fireteam's radio net" she ordered as she set up her own side channel.

As Black issued the squad it's orders Doc tapped Grey on the shoulder "I'll take my fireteam and set up security, radio me if you need medical. pass it on to Black when you get to him" With a quick step Doc turned to the back of the Hog and caught Wellington before she ran off to join Donnell "Give me a call over radio if you two need medical" she repeated speaking without her radio on.

With her precautions dealt with Doc commed over 40 "Hayworth with me, we'll secure the checkpoint, Rose." she paused turning to the silent marksman "Find a roof, when you do call us and we'll set 360 security from on high."

DrabberRogue
Viper Actual
AEONmeteorite

 

[Calibutcher]

The droning rumble of the tires moving over the road was mostly all Bret could entertain himself with. That and Blacks orders to the others. He kept focused on the roads though, especially as they started ascending into the mountains and the turns grew sharper and the roads steeper he pressed into the throttle up the hills and he tapped the brake as he wound around corners. They crested a hill and he was greeted by the view of mountaineers rest. It seemed more like an outpost than an actual town but perhaps that was because it was so empty now. The lack of people made it only a shell of its former self.

Bunny refrained from speaking at all the entire trip, even when Bret seemingly wished for the silence to be detonated as much as he was capable of doing so to buildings. For a long section of the ride, she kept her eyes glued to the hog's driver. If he moved, she moved, she thought. Her constant watch of him didn't stay though when it dawned on her that his visions were far more limited than hers while he focused on driving. From statue to living again, Bunny moved in an abrupt fashion, nearly bumping those about her as she looked steadfast at their surroundings. Her head merry-go-round from forward, left, behind, right, and forward again. She kept up this routine all the way till they arrived.
Bret pressed on down the hill maneuvering the tight corners without incident. They paused at a gate and he looked around for a moment to see if they could pass another way, but he caught Grey working at something and the gate opened soon after. He followed the lead hog in and pulled into a suitable parking spot. He prepared to disembark only to be interrupted by Gray who tapped him on the shoulder. He looked down and saw a plastic card being proffered, he took it with a nod.

He pulled himself out of the hog and smoothly made his way back to Ambur to retrieve his launcher. “Right here Bunny.”

Bunny stood, waiting for others to leave the vehicle, but swung herself around upon hearing Bret. She moved her elbows down, letting the launcher move away from her, and passed it to him. The analysis continued when she departed the hog. Her eyes traced random nooks and crannies, ones that normal civilians would think little about, but certainly meant life or death in her mind. Something weak there. Another thing strong here. What size of explosion would be needed? What is the best position? How far they'd need to run. Bret took the launcher and turned to scan the horizon while he waited for her to disembark in turn before moving out. She kept mulling until Bret passed her by and she moved to follow, though came to halt when Doc spoke to Bunny directly. It was loud and clear. A single sentence could speak thousands of words. More than anything, it was a kind of reassurance granted to Bunny. She gave a terse nod to Doc. Pivoted on her heel and continued on.

New questions. New thoughts. New mental hoops Bunny's brain tossed her into. A circus of ingredients creating different outcomes for what seemed like entertainment, rather than survival. If someone could plop into her mind now, they'd be rolling laughter at how scatterbrained she was and how much a single thought could multiple infinitely.

Radio if either of them needed medical? The thought was good. Bunny debated if Doc would even be able to make it in time. So the answer was clear, don't get hurt and don't let Bang get hurt.

Considering her decision and commitment to the situation, a new distraction managed to latch onto her. It held a different kind of significance. The courtyard they passed held flowers. Flowers. Colorful, complicated, dainty things that held little to no purpose besides looking pretty. And while she wore armor, scuffed by previous battles and held with her weaponry and other equipment made for destruction, she found herself enchanted and moved to the fountain. Bunny crouched at the flowerbeds upon arrival. Her helmet hid her soft smile. She reached out and gingerly picked one, holding it between her pointer finger and thumb, then stood up again.

With a living marvel such as this, Bunny could have forgotten that lives had been taken by her hands.

Hearing they were about to clear a building he slid the launcher over his shoulder until it clicked into place on his pack. He drew his pistol and made his way through the courtyard towards building 02. He led ahead of Ambur and planted himself against the wall next to the door's controls. He looked across the threshold and expected Bunny to be there across from him but saw no one. His head swiveled back towards the courtyard trying to see where she had gone. He spotted her quickly standing by the fountain with a flower in hand.

His eyes glazed over for a moment as he reflected on a memory when he took his daughters to a flower garden, the two ran around gleefully but it was his youngest, Samara who had stopped to look at a single rose in a shaft of light. The young girl then had been so enamored with the single flower, just as Ambur was now. Bret shook his head. “S- Bunny, Get over here double time.” He pushed such thoughts away and looked back to the door.

Bunny’s head popped straight up and she moved to look over her shoulder. There she had a brief court meeting of sorts in her head. Should she keep the flower or leave it behind? Her jaw clenched and with a sigh, it slipped from her grasp and spun to the ground, then she jogged over to Bang, positioning herself on the other side of the door.

“Your lead, I’ll be right behind ya.” He swiped the card and the door whooshed open gently. Ambur moved in swiftly as the door opened and Bret followed right behind her the two cleared the room sweeping their guns in an arc until they both looked directly ahead. He thumbed the light on his pistol to get a better look at some of the dark corners of the room. He was met with only the view of empty chairs and desks. Scattered papers and the occasional overturned seat. He let out a low, “hmmm,” before pushing a bit deeper into the room. Nothing out of sorts, but the number of cubicles and amount of office space made it clear to him something here had been important enough for a decent number of people to work in the facility.

“Room clear,” he announced and pressed forward to a cubical.

Bunny didn’t follow, nor did she go search something out herself. Her brows knitted and she tilted her head while her eyes kept to the ground. The faintest buzz. It kept constant somewhere above the two. “Bang,” she urged, but didn’t say anything and only pointed upwards.

“What is it, Bunny?”

“There’s a buzzing above us.”

“Rodger, let’s check it out.” He looked around before identifying the stairwell. He waved for her to follow him. He stopped at the bottom of the stairs and pointed his gun upwards. Bret indicated the same direction with his head. “You’re in front again, Bunny.”

Bunny moved past Bret, taking slow, concentrated steps. The railing wasn’t screwed in right. The furthest stair on the left had a chip in it. There was a squeak five steps in. Every detail noted while she moved.

 

[0stinato]

The eyes of a trained commanding officer, upon nearing the facility, would be picking up on tactical locations, entrance and exit points, viable cover and more, all for the purpose of best directing his squad and keeping them efficient rather than alive. Alive was nice and all, but come on, it wasn’t always realistic. Although, that depended on who you asked and, remembering Black’s declaration to return Corporal Hayworth to the 65th alive, perhaps Black was one of those commanders that prioritised life over anything else.

Whatever he prioritised, he was hard to get a read on. Now, Lyster wasn’t the kind of trooper who would go digging into the information of an ONI agent, so he wasn’t achingly curious about Black, but he had learned over the years that taking an accurate judgement of those commanding you was advantageous: identify a strong commander, and you know to leave the decisions to her; identify a weak one, and you know to trust yourself and command those around you.

To that end, then, knowing Black would be important. Given what he’d said so far, especially about Verent city and its likelihood of falling to the Covenant, he seemed to be trustworthy. Though, he could have said something else in addition.

Verent city’s likelihood of falling was certain. Don’t try and save the city. Save whatever civilians you can, rip the Covenant forces apart and… what, commander? And do what?

What’s the likelihood of us falling?

As the unspoken, silent question flickered like a flag in Lyster’s head, he came to a stop, slowing the hog gently and glancing back at Uzi. Was he lucky he hadn’t had to do anything? Or was this one of those moments where it was too quiet?

There was Grey too, exiting the other hog. What was her deal?

No time to think of that now.

Focus on Black, who’d given him a nod. The nod.

Lyster kept quiet, bringing his shotgun up with one hand. Best thing for a breacher to have upon entering a building. While he rounded the LRV to join Black, he took in the environment. The main splash of colour hadn’t drawn only his eye either, as one of the other troopers was getting familiar with it.

And just what the hell did she think she was doing?

There was one reason to look over at that flowerbed, and it was for quick, instant visual information gathering. Reap the scene before you, and reap it quick: point one, no tell-tale signs of Covenant activity (no plasma burns, no philistine footprints over petals, no whiffs of methane brushing the pollen); point two, understand the terrain (possibly a slower surface of travel than the surrounding ground); point three, what’s actually there (flowers just about thriving, a visiting Verentian bee). All that in a matter of moments, in one or two glances.

His gaze lingered on Bunny. His mind went back to that one thing he wished Black had said, been honest about, if he’d thought about it. What’s the likelihood of us falling? What was the estimate of all of us, half of us, even just the ONI agents, making it back after this mission? Those odds could be calculated, at least to a rough degree. It’d be an intensely human calculation, taking in the preferences and capabilities of each ODST and running them against a simulated mission difficulty, but it could be done.

But… then again, Lyster realised as he joined Black, people weren’t like him. Not many people wanted that information. If Bunny was already distracted by something so normal and boring as a flower, then hearing those odds probably wouldn’t help her focus on the mission. Should he feel sorry for her? No, no he shouldn’t. He should question, but only to himself, what the hell she was doing on the mission in the first place. Was she just a buy-one-get-one-free deal with Donnell? Or, to think realistically, she was on this mission because she had something to offer that hadn’t been seen yet.

Though so far, the only justification for her picking a damn flower was if she was a field botanist. He snarled.

He put it to its grave in the back of his mind and took up his rightful place as breacher, stepping into the building ahead of Black, putting all his trust in his reflexes. The reflex to bring the shotgun up, and the secondary reflex to hold off shooting if what he saw was a civilian.

But it was all just one big cavity. Despite being completely enclosed in his armour and helm, Lyster could almost feel the sharp clinical stink of such a place.

Was this too quiet?

Discover the weapon. That was the mission.

‘Sir, I’ll take point and head for the skyway. If your bet’s right about the bunker, I’d rather be playing on the same terms,’ Lyster spoke into his comms with Black. ‘Best to conduct thorough sweeps as we go. Last thing we want is a honey-trap.’

Speaking of honey… the Verentian bee was said to be an omen of good luck, wasn’t it?

If only he believed in such things.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

Once the facility entered visual range, King popped the latch of the early warning beacon's case. He did a quick inspection, calling upon his technical expertise as the communication's specialist. Then he lifted the device over his head and tossed it out the back of the vehicle. Normally, you wouldn't throw something out of a speeding vehicle, but these things could take quite the beating so no skin off Joseph's teeth about it. The remainder of the trip towards the ONI facility— which was cleverly disguised as Verent's local academia for technological doodads—King stood and braced himself against the arch which. Even through his helmet's minor air filtration unit, King could take in Nature's aroma. Particularly those variegated flowerbeds. He would have liked it here, these mountains would have made for an excellent retirement spot.

But the natural beauty of the land had been overshadowed by the apparent lack of human life. A ghost town on plateaus, flanked by rock formations that almost seemed like an ossuary. All the more reason for King's task and duty. That being retrieve the weapon & make sure none of this leaks. King took a listening to Black's explanation of their orders. Weapon being priority, etc, etc. He also noted his comment on civilians or other ONI personnel. Should it come to that, King might have to deal with that. His hand grips the ridge tighter. Then exhales. Sometimes... I'm.. Before he could conclude his thoughts, the Hog stopped and King reflexively disembarked. His mind is concluded for this mission, no turning back now.

Following this coterie of boogeymen and soldiers, King took note of the "Oh-Two" building and the presence of the communication arrays on top that seemed to designate it as the comms building that ONI facilities had, if things go FUBAR then Joseph knew that this building might become crucial. Covenant employing jammers is not unheard.

Black had ordered them to partner up, likely for clearing purposes. Before King could even make a decision, Agent Grey had designated King as the battle-buddy. "Yes, Ma'am" He complied immediately. The entrance into the building had been quiet. The grand lobby, quiet. Quiet, quiet, quiet until.... Quiet. This place is as dead as a doornail. King noted that Lyster had decided to take the skyway. According to the layout of this place and Grey being the data specialist, then King assumed that next objective was data retrieval. Seeing as how this place likely only had "shell information," that being information that is meant to keep up appearances. "Data retrieval, right? Looks like Lyster is taking the lead, I'll follow then you." It wasn't because King thought lowly of Grey, that he suggested for her to take the rear. It was pure tactical thinking, keeping the valued member of the roster behind in case something shot them up from the front of the one way skyway. The vulnerability to this is an ambush from behind but with how the rest of the team is spread out, means that an ambush is unlikely at best.

 

[Viper Actual]

Hayworth knocked his knuckles against his helmet twice before nodding in response to Doc taking the lead. It was supposedly a gesture of good luck among the new generation of ODSTs, though in reality all it did was hint to his fellow squadmates just how green he really was. "A-firm, ma'am!" He gave Rose a quick jab to the chestplate. "Let's hustle!"

"I'll take my fireteam and set up security, radio me if you need medical. pass it on to Black when you get to him"

Grey nodded. "Roger, good thinking." She said before tapping King on the shoulder as a signal to move. The two of them joined behind the main team entering the admin building as Donnell and Wellington moved to clear the office complex. She raised her SMG upon entering and scanned the top floor while a smaller arsenal of weapons combed over every detail inside the lobby itself.

‘Sir, I’ll take point and head for the skyway. If your bet’s right about the bunker, I’d rather be playing on the same terms,’ Lyster spoke into his comms with Black. ‘Best to conduct thorough sweeps as we go. Last thing we want is a honey-trap.’

"Clear!" Yelled Black. He lowered his carbine and gestured for Uzi to take up cover behind the reception before looking over at Lyster. "Understood, trooper. Watch those corners." He looked over at Grey as she and King moved past the reception and towards the stairs. "The others?"

"Setting up overwatch as we speak," replied Grey without stopping. Black nodded and casually walked over to the back of the reception desk. Several monitors were still online and one user- a 'S. Jenkins'- was still logged on. "This is Black. I'll be overseeing operations from the main lobby," he announced over the squad communications. "Call out if you find anything."

ONI

*
​

Skyway

Upon reaching the upper floor of the admin building Lyster, King and Grey made their way over towards the skyway connecting it and the bunker-like third building. Interior signs placed around above the skyway entry identified it as '03/X', though none of the signs hinted at what 'X' meant. A small security station was positioned to the left of the entryway though its lone occupant had left it in a hurry with the desk and small armory locker next to the desk having been emptied in quite a hurry. Loose ammunition from an M6C were spread out around the floor alongside one or two trampled down ammunition cartons and sign-in sheets for visitors.

Grey eyeballed the security station but didn't utter a word as she remained closely behind Lyster and King. While not exactly physically frail, it did feel comforting to have backup on the spot. Her mind almost went to distant memories of less-than-stellar operations in the past but a notification ping from the security terminal made her refocus quickly.

Curiously, the monitor showed a map of Mountaineer's Rest albeit with some added ONI notes to it- most likely for internal use. Perhaps it would be valuable to investigate or perhaps the team should continue across the skyway?

0stinato
Worthlessplebian

*
​

Office Complex

As the lethal duo crept up the stairs Bunny would be the first one to lay eyes on the upstairs interior;

Much like the ground floor the second floor consisted of office cubicles, though less in number and far less cramped. There were also a large rectangular-shaped conference room in one corner and a kitchen/pentry-area in the other. Curiously, a section of the upper floor was walled off with the only entry being a pair of sliding glass doors. Normally they'd require a keycard to grant passage but surprisingly both doors were jammed with its controls still smoldering and buzzing after someone or something had struck it. Next to the door was the text "Communications Hub - AUTHORIZED PERSONNEL ONLY" in bold print against the milky-white wall.

From their position the room appeared mostly dark though one or more monitors were illuminating parts of it. A loud sigh was briefly heard from inside.

Calibutcher
AEONmeteorite

*
​

Admin Building - Rooftop

Upon scaling the lone maintenance ladder found on the right side of the structure, the overwatch team would find themselves on the rather large roof. Up here they could see most of Mountaineer's Rest (or at least the side facing the ONI facility) as well as the entire perimeter of the ONI facility. The sharpest and highest peaks of the Jigsaw Mountains prevented them from seeing Verent City though they could barely see the silhouette of its space elevator stretching far up into the sky.

The roof itself was relatively uninteresting;
Beyond signs that identified electrical panels, maintenance hatches and warnings about moving parts there were some ventilation ducts and smaller antenna on the roof. A large hatch occupied the center of it all though it bore no identifying markers or symbols except for the text 'ADT-01' written in very small letters in one corner of it.

A small rumble echoed through the air and if observed the team would be able to see a salvo of missiles being launched from one end of the city to the other- most likely as a way to halt the Covenant advance- though aside from distant explosions there was no way of telling how effective they were.

DrabberRogue
Kenshin772

*
​

Admin Building - Checkpoint

Rolled: 4

The two guard shacks that made up the checkpoint were modest in design, space and decoration. Appearing more civilian than military, both shacks could only fit one security guard each and both contained a single L-shaped desk, a terminal most likely connected to a rudimentary reception- and sign-in system and a smaller terminal that controlled the roadblocks, protective covers for the windows (which were currently not deployed) as well as intruder alarms and spotlights in and around the entrance.

Both shacks were mirrored to eachother but the one bearing the 'WELCOME - PREPARE IDENTIFICATION'-sign on the right side of the road had a sign-in sheet and a list of expected visitors whereas the shack on the opposite side had a small monitor for observing the parking lot.

Contents of the guard shacks were limited beyond that;
The previous occupants had left behind a coffee mug with the print 'World's Best Mom' in the right shack and a small reading tablet inside the left one. Sign-in sheets were dated to the day of the invasion and showed some external visitors though no name stood out and there was no description that could tell the nature of their visit.

Luckily for Doc, Rose and Hayworth the touch-screen terminal for all the security measures was unlocked and blinked idly with a green light to signal that it was indeed open.

 

[Worthlessplebian]

As the tenacious trio trekked to the turnpike, the telecommunications specialist, King kept his head on a swivel like his other two fellows. So far, it had been empty. But with times like these, his mind recalled the teachings of his instructor. Fortunately, there are always signs. Before any trap is sprung, it must be prepared, primed, and armed. He started in his head, echoing his instructor's voice. And that countering a trap is more difficult than actually anticipating it. Regardless, they had reach skyway. The messy situation appeared out of place, in King's mind. What could cause the security guard to suddenly bolt as if there was another entity here? That thought caused King to look over his shoulder past Grey, but there was nothing out of the ordinary.

With his left hand, he reached over to Lyster and tapped the trooper on his shoulder. "Watch that point," He whispered cautiously to the breacher—instructing him to hold position and his eyes peeled towards the entrance to the 03/X building, then spoke to Grey. "Agent, on that terminal." Ordering Agent Grey to make use of those data wizardly skills while he investigated the mess that was left behind. Taking a knee, King investigated the scene before him. The ammo wasn't spent and some of that cartons haven't even been opened or were opened by the force of hitting floor or from being stomped. Whoever was assigned to this position, had been overpowered with fear or inexperienced. King picked up a bullet as an aid to help him in visualising the scene. His head turned towards the monitor, imagining a man in his early thirties to middle forties. A sight on the cameras had spooked which, in a panicked state, caused him to hastily retrieve a rifle and ammo from the cabinet. But if he was that stressed, then that meant the entity or sight moved too quickly to be an average man. Dropping the bullet carefully, King moved on to analyse the check-in records. Maybe, this will give them a sign as to who remained in the building. Or at least, the 03/X.

 

[Viper Actual]

Skyway

"Agent, on that terminal."

Grey nodded and lowered her SMG as she stepped up towards the security station. She walked past King as he took a knee next to the scene whereas Lyster took up position next to the entrance.

Rolled: 6

The loose ammunition was relatively clean. Based on their compact size and from one of the cartons which had survived from being trampled mostly intact the rounds appeared to be standard-issue UNSC armor-piercing rounds for an M6C- also known as the 'Magnum'- with the number of cartons containing enough ammunition for at least three full magazines. Upon closer examination King would also be able to see that the dates scribbled onto the sign-in sheets were those of last week and those of the days leading up to yesterday.

Because they too had been trampled down some of the names weren't fully visible and some had even been covered in smudges of dirt. The sign-in sheet for the day before was empty right up until the hour of evacuation, though it listed a 'G. Harek' as the security officer on-duty at the time.

"Look," said Grey as she switched the tab on the terminal from the map of Mountaineer´s Rest to a camera recording showing a pair of Warthogs entering the facility. Timestamp was less than ten minutes old and at the bottom of the screen a red triangle flashed alongside a message saying 'SECURITY BREACH'.
Grey switched tabs again and switched to the electronic mail which seemed to be messages from the local ONI administrator, guest IDs and- most recently- a mail from a 'Felicia Harek, Traxus Heavy Industries' which contained the following;

Subject: EVAC

George,

Where are you? I'm at the spaceport. Can't get a hold of Anna or Will. Did you evacuate yet? Troopers here are saying that the aliens are circling around the city right now!
Call me on my communicator when you read this- I love you.

F



This mail was automatically controlled by the Office of Naval Intelligence for spam and/or hazardous contents.

Grey frowned and glanced at King. "My bet is that he's still inside the building, though I'm not sure why he didn't leave with the others." She shrugged. "No hints to the reasoning behind that I'm afraid." She looked at the map and shook her head. "Nothing interesting here- all of this is in our dossier. I'll wipe the terminal now, if you don't mind."

Meanwhile Lyster, still posted at the entry to the skyway could observe that the skyway itself was mostly empty. One or two M6C cartridges could be seen from this distant but beyond that it was empty. Curiously, the door on the other side was wide-open and had a flashing but otherwise silent red alarm above it. Unfortunately from this end of the skyway it was impossible to make out any details of what was contained beyond the open door.

0stinato
Worthlessplebian

 

[Kenshin772]

With Hayworth Hot on her tail Doc lead the way back to the Checkpoint gate and pointed toward one of the guard houses "Check that one for anything useful, if you find something that can close the gate hit" She ordered as she moved toward the opposite shack. Upon entering Doc gave the simple shack a quick once over. At a quick glance Doc could see that the security officer that was here when the evac order was given left in a hurry leaving paperwork and a half empty Coffee Mug adorned with 'World's Best Mom' at her station. Looking out the front window down the Highway Doc did a quick scan of the terminal and she was in luck. The console was left unlocked and with a few taps on the touch screen terminal she made the window's protective covers come down with a rattle as the shielding worked it's way down the window. "Found a terminal, closed the window's shielding and I'm about to close the gate." She said over her Fireteam's radio net "Hayworth anything of note?"

Hayworth Nodded once when Doc gave the order and moved to the left side guard shack. Stepping into the shack Hayworth scanned the L-shaped table and identified a tablet, unlocked at that. With the same enthusiastic glee that all troopers share when they come across electronics in the field Hayworth grabbed up the tablet and fingered through it finding that it only contained a sign in list for workers and guests. As he looked through the list nothing immediately stood out to him but data filtration was not his forte. The sudden crackle of his short range radio made him flinch but he suppressed it before anyone noticed "I found a tablet, just -uh- sign in records. and uh" He paused and looked around the shack stopping on the console that controlled the window's shutters. "Window controls" with a touch of a button Hayworth activated the shack's shutters letting them down with the light screeching of the wheels in the tracks.

Doc nodded her head and pressed the gate control button causing the gate to shriek to life as it began running through it's track. "Alright, run that tablet to Captain Black maybe the ONI guys can find something." Doc spun on her heels and stepped out of the guard shack looking toward the three main structures for Rose but there was no sigh of him. "Hayworth, when you get that tablet to Black regroup on what ever roof Rose found." Doc stopped for a second and watched as Hayworth gave her a thumbs up and began jogging toward the entrance of the Admin building and she switched over to squad net. "Black, Hayworth is headed your way with a Tablet, we found nothing special but maybe you can with your ONI eyes." With a sigh Doc switched her radio back to her Fireteam net "Rose, check in."

 

[Calibutcher]

As the top of his head cleared the final stair he started scanning the room he had not heard the noise Bunny did yet but that was not surprising. Years of demolition had not been kind to his hearing. All the same, he listened, straining to hear the noise she did. As he scanned the room it was quickly apparent this was empty as well, still, he kept his gun up and stayed vigilant as he looked about the room being sure every corner and crevice truly was clear. His visor tilted as a new sound caught his attention.

He spotted the doors and the broken controls. It was easy enough to piece together, someone was in the Communication hub. A small bit of relief found him as he considered the noise to be human in origin, not Covenant.

Bunny’s eyes whipped back and forth. Continuously feeding her brain with information of their surroundings. Her head came to essentially a screeching halt though when she saw the text. A small, “hah,” sounded from her and she loosely gestured to the words. “Can’t go in, we’re not authori–” Bunny zipped her mouth as she heard the sigh and felt Bang tapping her shoulder. She shifted and put eyes on him where he began using hand signals. He instructed her to move around the room on the opposite side of him and they would both stack up by the doorway.

He began creeping across the room placing each step with a careful heel-to-toe motion being mindful not to step on anything noisy. He made it near the doorway and readied himself to kick the door open. He looked at Bunny and gave a slow nod to indicate he was ready.


When she was ready he stepped forward and kicked the door so it would slide back into the wall, he used the momentum of his kick to carry him into the room and started clearing the room from left to right. As soon as he spotted the individual in the room he started shouting. “Get on the ground!” He pointed the pistol center mass and kept shouting the command, “get down right now!”

 

[DrabberRogue]

The ride from LZ to AO was already a blur in Jace's mind by the time the warthogs came to a stop in front of their objective. A few moments stuck out to him. A chuckle at Uzi's jab, a brief initial exchange with Hayworth, the periodic chatter concerning the mission, but all the rest was drowned out by rolling hills and pastoral farmland. A moment of particular interest had been when Doc, his new fireteam leader and the medic by her golden visor, snooped on whatever Grey was looking at. He wasn't in a position to peek himself, being situated on the opposite side of the vehicle, so he was glad someone else had voiced their curiosity.

In hindsight, as he stepped off the warthog and looked up at the ONI facility towering above them, choosing not to recon the position first had been the right decision. They were short on time, and there didn't look to be any immediate opposition to their arrival. He was already scanning the rooftops and upper floors by the time Doc started giving orders, evaluating the best positions from which to provide overwatch.

Channel 40
Still looking roof-ward, Jace silently reached a hand up to the side of his helmet, setting up quick access to his team's side channel. Meanwhile he listened to the orders being given around him, his gaze shifting first to 'Fortress-03' before settling expectantly on Doc. Sure enough she told him to find a roof, and with a nod the sniper began moving towards the buildings. Initially he followed a ways behind the rest of the squad, who themselves were stacking up to breach the facility, until he spotted signs of a maintenance ladder leading to the roof. Bingo. While the squad breached and cleared, Jace made his way around the side of the admin building, staying close to the wall and carefully watching building 02 for any non-ODST contact. It may have been Bang and Bunny's responsibility, but he didn't want to get ambushed while they were still clearing.

Once he was satisfied that the windows didn't have eyes, the crimson marked trooper stowed his rifle onto his back and climbed to the roof. From there he quickly made sure that he was alone, hand on his holster, before turning his attention to the one thing that stood out about his perch. A large hatch situated on the center of the structure.

ADT-1

Curious, Jace knelt down to have a closer look, scrutinizing the small lettering that marked its corner. Without much else to go on, he lifted a hand to key his comms. Only he was interrupted by the sound of rumbling echoing from over the mountains. His helmet tilted up to watch as missiles arced through the sky, tracking their trajectory with a muted awe. There was something gleefully majestic about the sheer destruction artillery could bring to bear. When observed from a distance, anyways. He could only hope the missiles were effective as they disappeared behind the peaks, followed shortly by the thunder of their impact.

Hearing his name, Rose snapped back to the mission at hand. "Check. Roof is clear, there's a maintenance ladder on the right side of building one." He answered in a crisp, professional tone, glancing at his HUD to double check that he was on channel 40. "There's a large hatch up here, marked Alpha-Delta-Tango-One. Maybe the spooks would wanna know about it?" Jace went on to suggest, his formal tone easing up a bit towards the end of the transmission. His first thought had been to contact Black directly about the hatch, but as Doc spoke into his ear he figured he probably shouldn't go over her head. Establishing a good working relationship with the team lead was important after all.

Viper Actual
Kenshin772

 

[Worthlessplebian]

King shifted through the crumbled paper of sign-in documentation. Only one visitor of note in the last few hours being a G. Harek; which isn't surprising, the probability of someone sticking around isn't that low. Though he did pity whoever decided to pick the magnum. Well, against human targets, it would be enough. Grey then caught the comms specialist' attention. Standing up, King leaned over to see what Grey has found. The recording of their arrival did not surprise him, ONI is known to use automated security systems such as cameras, etc, etc. Guess Black, or Grey, or maybe even himself should have thought about parsing an all-clear code.

Reading the mail did irritate King. Of all the... King bitterly thought. A disgruntled sigh escaped him as he gave the go-ahead for Grey to wipe the terminal. Once she was finished, King nodded for her to get into position behind him on the door stack. Once, they're all settled in, nice and cozy. King signaled to Lyster to pop that sucker open. Not destructively, mind you—that would spook George Harek and attempt to fight for his life. But quiet enough, fast enough, to where they can go in, sweep the room and hopefully not have to put down George if he becomes a threat.

King was the first to go in and sweep his sector of the room. The rest, he trusted would follow behind him.

 

[Solar Daddy]

Bassett saluted the CO with a crisp "Sir!" Before readying his weapon in a casual grip. "Let's get moving, maybe we can find some Covvies to kill." He walked towards the aforementioned warehouse, checking corners and alleys as he passed the buildings. He clung to one side of the street for protection as he moved, keeping vigilant. Once he reached the warehouse, Owen gave it a quick scan with the light on his assault rifle. Not seeing any signs of plasma damage or forced entry, he assumed it was clear from the outside at least. He stepped up and pried the door, though it barely budged. "Prieto, could use a hand over here."

The door swung open with a loud creak and a metallic pop that gave away the age of the building, or, at least the state it was kept in. Once it was ajar, Owen readied his rifle again and enabled the light to pierce the room; nothing but pitch dark lay beyond the bounds of his light except the faint silhouettes of high windows along the walls. Inside, he could see stacks and rows of boxes and shelves, parts and supplies. He couldn't tell if the mess was from the owners, or from previous inhabitants rifling through the contents to find valuables. The thick layer of dust surrounding most things hinted towards the former, though. His rifle scanned the room, ensuring no Grunt popped out and attempted to punch a glowing green hole in his torso. his VISR lit up the room enough to tell generic shapes, but the flashlight was what ensured he wasn't just seeing ghosts out of clothes piles.

"I'll cover the right, you head forward and see what you can find. Shout if you encounter any trouble, I won't be far." Owen gave a curt nod to Camila, stepping forward into the dark. He checked any shelf or storage he could in the hopes of finding anything useful for his fellow soldiers or the civilians they were guarding. Owen was particularly on the lookout for foodstuffs. Can't keep a population alive without it, so Owen made it his top priority. If he didn't find a decent amount in the warehouse, he'd head over to a few nearby dwellings and see if he could scrounge in there. He'd be careful not to take anything from holed up civilians, of course. Everyone chose survival in their own way and Bassett wouldn't be the decider on that matter.

 

[Viper Actual]

Admin Building - Lobby

Corporal Hayworth jogged into the lobby and nodded towards Black and Uzi- of which both were positioned behind the reception- before handing over the tablet. "Thank you, corporal. Return to your post." Said Black as he grabbed the tablet and plugged in a small device into one of its sockets. Hayworth nodded and gripped his weapon with both hands before exiting the building where he linked up with Doc and followed her up the ladder.

Meanwhile, inside the lobby, Black watched a the tablets start-up screen finished loading. A couple of lines of code followed by a miniature ONI-symbol signaled that the decryption device had worked its magic and neutralized any firewalls and anti-virus software installed on the tablet.

Rolled: 6

Surprisingly, the tablet contained more than just audio books;

Hidden within a secure folder protected by two security programs were digitized entrance logs, security keys and codes for the ONI facility. It would appear that the tablet had belonged to one of the senior security officers working there though their name was hidden behind a personnel ID. Curiously, the files also contained local guidelines and several digital handbooks for dealing with security leaks, hostage situations, bomb threats and even hostile insurgent activity directed at the site.

While all of the above helped shed some light on the facility's day-to-day routines Black was particularly interested in one of the handbooks regarding the usage, maintenance and capabilities of 'M8 Automated Defense System - "Wolf Spider"' turrets to defend key ONI assets and installations. Curiously, Black noted that the ONI facility on Verent employed no less than five of these turrets for close-protection duties alongside an alternate variant designed and equipped to track, engage and destroy airborne targets.

Muttering something to himself, Black reached for his radio. "Doc. Hayworth. This is Black. The recovered tablet was a goldmine of intel," he said while still scrolling through the digital handbook and its accompanying notes. "Looks like this facility has several automated defense turrets in case things gets dicey. Lucky for us you just handed me the security codes, though if I'm reading this correct then they can only be remotely activated from a secure terminal within the third building across the skyway."

"Good work."

Kenshin772
DrabberRogue

*
​

Skyway

Upon wiping the terminal clean Grey fell in behind King and Lyster. The large and bulky ODST took point as the three of them ventured across the skyway to the open door. Splashes of red covered their bodies as they reached the far door and the alarm above it. Inside was a brightly lit room covered in white plastic panels and filled with expensive equipment of varying shapes and sizes. Parts of the initial room were obscured by some of the larger machines though as Lyster and King entered- followed closely by Grey- they could see several dirty bootprints on the otherwise clean white floor.

These prints led to another door which, presumably, led into another room. Aside from the buzzing of machines and the faint whispers of fans and other cooling equipment the building was silent.

That is, until a metal tray fell on the floor in the other room followed by a muffled curse.

Grey raised an eyebrow and nodded towards King and Lyster as she fanned out to cover one angle on the door with her SMG, though she would leave the actual breaching to those with armor and actual firepower.

0stinato
Worthlessplebian

*
​

Office Complex - Second Floor

As Bret and Bunny entered the room with both speed and force the individual inside had barely any time to react, be it verbally or physically. They had more or less managed to turn around when Bret started barking out orders at them upon which the startled person- a man in his late fifties dressed in a loose-fitting ONI suit- threw both of his hands into the air and dropped down onto the floor comically fast.

"Don't shoot!" He yelled with a distressed tone as he seemingly automatically spread his legs apart and locked his fingers on top of his head.

The man offered a brief glance upwards, causing him to sigh with relief and visibly relax. "Thank god, you're UNSC." He allowed himself to let out a nervous laugh. "I've been trying to get in touch with UNSC forces for hours now but this damn communications hub refuses to cooperate."

Upon inspection, the large multi-screen terminal inside the room showed error messages and clear warnings that whomever this man was he lacked the neccessary privileges to activate any of the facility's remote communication systems. According to the main screen the man had one more attempt to log in before the terminal would seize up and notify local security. Regardless, whoever he was it was clear that the man shouldn't be inside this room much less inside a ONI facility that had supposedly been evacuated.

By now Bret's and Bunny's respective HUDs would've been updated with information from their current built-in ONI data packages which helped identify the man in front of them as 'K. Langdon, Junior Tech Assistant, Security Class 5'. According to some additional information briefly shown on their HUDs users of SC5 were at the very bottom of security authorization, making this man very expendable and very out of his depth.

Calibutcher
AEONmeteorite

*
​

Mountaineer's Rest - Warehouse

The warehouse was brutalistic if not very practical in design and layout. Mostly steel and concrete, the structure stood out from afar with its multiple doors (both person- and vehicle-sized) and small array of charging stations for electrical vehicles and JOTUN transport vehicles. A rather large but faded and weathered logo depicting a classic pickaxe crossed over with a shovel and adorned with a wreath seemed to be the local company logo though the name underneath had endured many a harsh seasons to make it completely unreadable.

Upon entering, Bassett and Prieto entered the dust-covered warehouse. Most of it was a side-effect of all the grain-proccessing though some parts of the warehouse had clearly not been used in quite a while. Walls, shelves and large spacious areas were used to store drums of water and fuel, crates of grain and other farm products as well as spare parts for the multitude of automated JOTUN vehicles used to tend the fields. Some crates were marked with both text and icon, revealing that they either contained or had contained potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages and more.

What stood out however in the warehouse was the large 6x6 all-terrain vehicle packed beyond reason with crates of food and cans filled with (presumably) water and fuel; Dirty tire-tracks led to one of the vehicle doors and looked relatively fresh in comparison to the rest of the room. Even more interesting were the rolled up green and tan camouflage canvas strapped to the top of the vehicle alongside a jury-rigged long-range radio device.

Before Owen could investigate further something was pressed against the back of his helmet with a loud clink.

"Make one wrong move soldier-boy and you'll pay dearly," said a dark voice behind him. "That right there is the muzzle of my rifle. Now, as much as I'd love to put one of you UEG loyalist motherfuckers down like the rabid dogs you are I'd rather take my supplies and leave without getting into a firefight."

"Comprende?"

From where he stood it was impossible for Owen to determine whether or not the man behind him could live up to his threat, nor was it possible to see if there were anyone else inside the warehouse besides Prieto.

PFC Camila Prieto however would hear the loud clink from the other side of the warehouse but was currently concealed by a large shelf containing nothing but large and robust storage crates. Besides the faint voice of a unknown man there was a smaller, thin shadow stalking behind a set of boxes in front of her. Whoever they were they were not an adult person nor were they as stealthy as they seemed to believe.

She would have to make her next move very carefully, lest she risked getting detected by the two unknowns inside the building.

Solar Daddy
queendilettante

 

[Calibutcher]

Even as the man turned and raised his hands Bret's finger increased the pressure against the trigger until the man promptly dropped to the floor and began to obey his orders. The grey ONI jumpsuit made it easy enough to identify him as non-combatant and even more so as something, not a threat. All the same, his pistol remained trained on the man for a time as he waited for his HUD to update him as to who the man was. The visor hid his face from the man but his serious expression turned to a scowl as he heard how Langdon had been trying to use the comms. He glanced up at the computer screen and took a moment to read the messages there. It took him a few long seconds as he squinted at the screen but soon enough he realized the disaster that had been narrowly avoided.

“You idiot.” He stopped pointing the pistol at the Tech and raised it to a ready position. “Bunny watch the door.” He reached down and hoisted the man up by the arm. “Don’t touch that computer again or I will fry you long before the covenant will.” He kept his tone even and deadpan, no room for jokes in his voice now. He pushed the man towards the door. “Long-range brings Covies and if you failed the last code there this station would send out a signal and bring them anyways. Almost killed yourself, Langdon.” His voice finally changed tone as he finished his statement.

Langdon blinked twice as the broad-shouldered ODST hoisted him up like he was nothing. A surprised "Whoa" escaped his lips followed by wide-eyed staring in complete bewilderment.

Bunny kept at the door, doing as she was told, and listened to Bang lecture the man. She nodded in tandem with his words. Sure, she wasn’t as wise in years, but she knew well what mistake the stranger had made. She scrunched up her nose though, her expression still hidden by her helmet, as she saw Bang pushing Langdon toward the door. “What are you doing?” she asked and twisted her body toward them. “Where are you bringing him?”

“He’s with us now. Can’t leave 'em here to cause more trouble. Besides, he might know things.” Bret shrugged.

Langdon blinked once more and used his scrawny arms to adjust the glasses on his face. "Wait, I am?"

He glanced at the big ODST. "I do?"

“Things?” Her right shoulder lifted as she pulled back her head. “Then ask him here.”

“We finish clearing the building first. Report to Black and then questions.” Bret continued to speak about the man as if he wasn’t simply standing there in front of him.

Bunny narrowed her eyes “And drag him around with us? That’s foolish. What do you suppose we do if we’re attacked? We aren’t equipped to protect him. Ask the question and we leave him here once we are sure he can’t contact Covies.”

“If we leave him here he will keep trying to.” Bret pointed at the monitor with an open palm.

"Wait, n-" Langdon managed to say before getting cut off.

“Then we destroy the comms.” Bunny shifted, moving her shotgun toward the same monitor he gestured toward.

“Too risky. Could still send a distress signal if we do that.”

Now silent, the scrawny ONI tech raised a hand silently as if asking for permission to speak. His eyes darted back and forth between the two troopers.

Bret's eyes and visor locked onto the raised hand. He tilted his helmet looking at the man in confusion. “Are you raising your hand? Spit it out.” He swatted at the man's hand.

Langdon lowered his hand and nodded. "Sorry, uh, look, I didn't know what else to do. I was on a remote maintenance work and when I got back everyone was gone."

He paused, his expression now having turned into one of fear. "Next thing I knew there were Covenant ships bearing down on Verent City."

"Look, I promise to not get in the way or anything. Just don't leave me here. I barely finished ONIs mandatory SERE-training, how would I survive by myself with Covenant running around?"

“Good enough,” Bret shrugged and looked at Bunny, “He’s coming along.” He turned his gaze to Langdon. “Stay behind me.” He motioned for Bunny to head back out, he turned on his short-range. “Agent Black, It’s Donnel. Building 02 is secure. We have a surviving member of the compound we are bringing your way.”

Langdon made a poor faux-salute and nodded. "Sir, yes sir." He moved to grab a small messenger bag off of one of the chairs inside the room before crouching behind Bret as he waited for new orders.

There was an audible sigh over the squad comms. "Understood," replied Black with a neutral tone. "They better have a good explanation for staying behind."

Bret scoffed before replying. “Where do you want him?” As he continued following Bunny who led the way across the office towards the stairs again.

Bunny definitely used the cover of her face as a means to turn it sour with no one noticing. It didn’t sit right with her. Extra baggage. He held no information that would benefit them, as far as Bunny could tell, and had little ability when it came to survival. It’d be best to just leave him somewhere safe and have a separate team pick him up.

"Bring him to the lobby, I'll take it from there." Said Black. "Black, out."

“Solid copy, Bang out.” was his curt reply. Bang looked over his shoulder to confirm Langdon was still where he was supposed to be. Right behind him and staying low. “C’mon Bunny lets get him to the lobby in building 01.” He paused a moment as he thought about the barrage of questions Langdon was about to endure. Then he pressed on behind Bunny as they moved back to the first building. They had done their job, now they would anchor in the main lobby until new instructions.

Bunny didn’t like it. She kept a level glower directed at Langdon’s messenger bag. She didn’t want him bringing anything but himself downstairs. While her observations clouded her movements sometimes, she still considered this one objectively reasonable when compared to the flowers outside. She eventually did bound forward, taking position to help with the added person. Her attention fleeted away from their surroundings. On top of what Black to say, at least, if questions weren’t asked about the bag, Bunny had plans to do so herself.

Even so, a part of Bang’s mind began to churn as he considered how he could use explosives to get into the third building. Surely he packed enough on Big Dawg for such a task. He grinned beneath his visor at the thought.

 

[Solar Daddy]

"I comprende," Owen said back with a bit of annoyance in his voice. Owen cursed under his breath when he felt the barrel press against his helmet. He was better than this, he should've swept more thoroughly. Now he was in a potentially fatal situation in a dark storehouse. He just hoped Prieto was nearby and would offer assistance. In the meantime, though, he decided to try and talk his way out of the situation. He lowered his assault rifle and spoke as casually as he could with a gun at his head. "We're not here to steal or harm," He assured the man. "We have civilians trying to evacuate the area. We're low on food and stocks, so I was sent here to try and collect things to sustain the civilians. I'm not here to steal from you; now that I know you're here, I'll leave without taking a single thing. Unless you'd be willing to donate for helpless refugees who need food." He tried to guilt-trip the man a bit with that last sentence. Trying to play off his role in the UNSC as a peacekeeping force or a sustenance supply run op would paint Owen in a better light. He'd be fine leaving the building without anything other than his life.

"Of course, you're welcome to join the civilian evacuation effort. Staying here may not be the safest place for you." While attempting to subdue his assailant was the last thing Owen wanted for a poor civilian stuck on a planet getting glassed, Owen wasn't about to let him just murder an ODST in cold blood. He didn't think very highly of himself, but Owen knew his death would be better served saving others than at the hands of some shmuck who didn't like the UNSC.

 

[Kenshin772]

Hearing Black's report about the tablet put a small pep in Hayworth's step as he exited the Admin building and rejoined his Fireteam lead at the building's roof access ladder. While it wasn't visible through his visor had a shit eating grin when he arrived at the ladder "Hear that? 'Goldmine'." Before he could boast any further he received a quick jab to his chest from Doc.

"Yeah, yeah don't let it go to your head Hayworth." Doc joked as she stowed her DMR on her back "Now up the ladder, when you reach the top I want you watching south-south east," Doc paused as she began climbing the ladder and started again over the Fireteam's short range "Rose point that rifle of yours west focus on the Highway and the buildings, try and avoid being next to any of those turret hatches" with that Doc reached the roof and moved across to the opposite side of the roof taking up position above the Skyway. "Glass roof, that'll be useful for entry if I need to get down there in a hurry" she thought to herself as she pulled her DMR off her back and set about watching the North-North east.

With the Fireteam set Doc let out a small sigh as she watched out over the jagged mountains around them the low drum of distant explosions still audible through the echoes of the bombardment, this atmosphere could be nice if not for the fear of death around every corner. The report over the squad channel about a survivor was a surprise to Doc but she restrained herself from chiming in; as she was still expecting a conversation with Grey and Black back aboard the 'Tangible Excuse' which she was not looking forward to. As Doc began to scan the Northeast she pointed her attention direct east for a few moments and spoke up on her radio "Hayworth, every so often throw your attention direct east, I'll be doing the same; if either of you see any Covie activity call it out over squad net, anything else keep it between us. If it really needs the Captain's attention I'll radio it after we've made that call."

 

[Worthlessplebian]

From the red strobing light, that bathed his body and the bodies of his two comrades, to an immaculate room of white plastic along with expensive electronics. King was surprised at the relative, orderliness of it all. He was sure that G. Harek would be hiding here, yet it seems that this would not be the case. He moved through the room purposefully along with the agent and trooper in tow. His eyes occasionally glanced at the machinery. He knew one or two of them, but the rest is as alien as the covenant. That aside, King suddenly spotted the dirty tracks of a fleeing man. It must be Harek's, King concluded. When suddenly the clattering clank of a metallic tray filled King's ears from the opposite room. Which was followed by a muffled curse.

King immediately raised his head from behind the battle rifle and simply thought: What the hell?

A stifled sigh is released as King curses ONI's recruitment methods for less-than-important personnel. Activating his short-ranged radio, King reported to Black with their discovery or rather a potential one. "Black, this is King. We got a potential civilian, moving to secure. Over." Quietly, the Outer Colonist spoke. Not wishing to repeat the same mistake that the civilian made. King once again pressed up alongside the door and waited for the team to move into position. He gave a look to Lyster and Grey, then faced forward. "Mr George Harek!" He yelled. "ODST, cooperate or lethal force will be delivered. You have Ten Seconds to reply." He then pointed to Lyster to prepare for a breach, in case Mr Harek is not... that which he appears.

 

[Viper Actual]

Admin Building - Lobby

Standing at the center of the lobby in front of the reception desk was Black with one hand resting on his MA5K and the other placed on his belt. His expression looked less like a pissed off spook and more like a disapproving parent as Donnel and Wellington escorted their newfound friend through the lobby. Black studied the scrawny, rat-faced man from top to bottom and sighed. Using his free hand he massaged the bridge of his nose before straightening up.

"Black, Senior Agent. ONI Section Three." He nodded towards Langdon. "I want to know who you are, why you've disregarded ONI directives to evacuate and what your endgame was."

Black paused to glance at both Bret and Bunny before continuing; "That and why I shouldn't shoot you right here and now for disobeying orders and potentially putting a Tier-1 asset at risk of falling into the hands of the Covenant."

Langdon turned visibly pale following the final statement. The back of his jumpsuit had grown dark from perspiration and his hands were now slightly shaking. He cleared his throat and glanced at Bret before speaking up. "Kevin Langdon, Junior Tech Assistant. I was away doing maintenance work when the call to evacuate came. We have an off-site data storage facility inside the mountain just a rough kilometer from here. By the time I got back everyone had left and our early-warning alarms were plastering surveillance footage of Covenant forces making landfall across every monitor in the facility."

He motioned back towards the doors. "I knew that taking one of the staff cars would be suicide- they can't speed past most civilian vehicles much less hope to outrun a squadron of Banshees so with that in mind I figured I could hot-wire the comms to broadcast an SOS in-case the UNSC were doing sweeps for evacuees."

"Did it work?" Asked Black. Langdon shook his head. "No, sir. The terminal locked up. Your troopers can verify that." He scratched the back of his head. "I, uh, didn't mean to cause any harm. I just want to get off this planet."

Black glanced at Bret and Bunny before looking back at Langdon. "Alright, Langdon. I believe you. Unfortunately for you saving people is not our top-priority but fortunately for you we should have room for you on both the Warthog and the Pelicans coming to pick us up once we're done scrubbing this place."

Langdon sighed with relief and opened his mouth to speak when Black held up a finger. "I want you to make as little noise as possible and stay here in the lobby with me and the other agent. Unless you prefer to walk I'd advise you to keep your mouth shut, your head down and to listen to what we say. Understood?"

The man nodded. "Good," said Black. He looked at the troopers. "Return to the office complex. I want a secondary overwatch position on the second floor overlooking the courtyard and the garage entrance leading into the third building. Dismissed."

Just as quickly as he had dismissed the two troopers Black's attention was then called for elsewhere as King hailed him over the squad comms...

Calibutcher
AEONmeteorite

*
​

"X-Building" - Upper Floor

"Roger, King. Be careful- you are cleared to engage if needed," replied Black over the comms.

Meanwhile as both Lyster and King stacked up on the door Grey followed, positioning herself next to Lyster with her SMG ready. Her eyes and face were completely focused on the door initially though once King spoke up she looked in the opposite direction, opting to watch her teammates backs instead in the event that someone else was inside the lab.

After King's commands echoed throughout the room there was a brief silence, lasting only a mere second or two until a muffled voice was heard from inside;
"Fuck."

A man cleared his throat. "How do I know you're UNSC?" There was another pause. "Wait, how do you know my name? Are you with ONI?"

Grey waved her hand to get King's attention. She held up a flash-grenade and raised an eyebrow. The man continued;
"Look, uh, I don't want any trouble. I'm just doing my job, y'know. Everything's gone to hell but I know I can fix it... I just needed more time, that's all."

There was a new sound, very faint. It almost sounded like sobbing. "I can't find it, shit..."

0stinato
Worthlessplebian

*
​

Mountaineer's Rest - Warehouse

Rolled: 5

The man chuckled. "Nice try," said the man. The pressure from the muzzle pressed against Owen's helmet decreased slightly. "Not a lot of people left up here. Hell, not a lot of people left outside of Verent City in general."

He sighed. The pressure decreased further. "My family has survived for generations without the aiding hand from the UEG and boots of the UNSC- we'll be better off on our own..." The main sounded hesitant.
"Tell you what though, I'll let you grab two crates of food and a can of water. The rest is ours."

Suddenly, the pressure was released entirely. As Owen turned around he'd see a man in his early forties dressed in a dirty jumpsuit bearing the same symbol as the warehouse itself. He had no name tag or other identifying markers on him. His face was rough; A couple of smaller scars and a crooked nose hinted to a rough past whereas a heavy sunburn with clear markings from a pair of goggles alongside strong and weathered hands and forearms told of a hard-working man that spent most of his time in the field maintaining farming equipment.

In his hands were a MA5B though slightly modified with grip tape and with all visible military markings scraped off, most likely by a tool.

The man nodded towards Owen. "You got ten minutes. After that I'm locking up this warehouse so my hijo and I can leave."

Just as he had finished a faint humming could be heard outside. The man gripped his rifle tighter as he looked up and scanned the ceiling. He looked down at Owen, a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Are you expecting company?"

Solar Daddy

*
​

Admin Building - Rooftop

Hayworth nodded as he got into position on the roof, crouching behind a pair of vents in an attempt to conceal as much of him as possible. The young corporal scanned the horizon (or at least what little he could see) from left to right, right to left and then all over again.

Then, suddenly, a ping was sent to everyone on the ONI team;

ONI ERLY WRNG N-443-B - USER ALERT! MOTION DETECTED!

SOURCE: AIRBORNE
SPEED: 90km/h
SIGNATURE: TYPE-26B

USER ALERT!

TYPE-26B = NON-UNSC AIRCRAFT

AERIAL DECOY: [READY]

DEPLOY AERIAL DECOY?
[YES] / [NO]​

Any member of the squad currently posted outside, on the roof or who found themselves near a window would either be able to hear or see the reason for the ping;

Far away in the distance there were not one but to Banshees. Doubling as a strike craft and as a air superiority fighter, the Banshee was a lethal piece of military equipment and especially so in the hands of a skilled Covenant pilot.

Aside from its impressive acceleration the Banshee was capable of sustaining a high rate of fire with its plasma weaponry while its secondary weapon- a bomb- allowed it to engage both static and mobile hard targets.
Should the Banshees decide to deviate from their current course to investigate the facility then there really wasn't that much Black or his team could do to stop them.

ONI had developed some very rudimentary universal jammers in an attempt to counter the Covenant's (presumed) high-speed internal communications but unfortunately said jamming devices had received very little field testing thus far. Even so, Black's team had very limited anti-aircraft capabilities so with all that in mind it was best to hope that the patrol would move on.

Which they did, to everyone's surprise. As quickly as they appeared they vanished. There would have been a sense of relief, hadn't the early-warning system pinged another threat;

ONI ERLY WRNG N-443-B - USER ALERT! MOTION DETECTED!

SOURCE: AIRBORNE
SPEED: 90km/h
SIGNATURE: TYPE-25

USER ALERT!

TYPE-25 = NON-UNSC AIRCRAFT

Coming in with a sharp turn past the largest and most dangerous of rocks surrounding Mountaineer's Rest was a singe fork-shaped Covenant dropship. This particular model had been dubbed 'Spirit' by UNSC forces- a reference to the humming created by its engine and to its ability to show up seemingly out of thin air to deploy Covenant assault squads.

Capable of ferrying troops, vehicles and cargo Spirits were (thankfully) much lighter armed than other Covenant ships and were armed with only one plasma cannon.

Even so, a single Spirit possessed enough firepower to at the very least lay down suppressive fire against any defending UNSC forces while simultaneously deploying ground forces and vehicles.

Those in position to observe it could see the Spirit slowly cruising above the town. While supposedly evacuated, Grey had shown Black (prior to deploying planet-side) some thermal stills taken by the Tangible Excuse which showed that at least a dozen or so civilians had taken refuge within basements and storm shelters- if the faint thermal signatures were to be believed.
Black had made a strategic decision to not share that information with anyone on the team as it'd divert attention away from their true mission which, objectively, carried greater importance in the bigger picture of things.

Unfortunately for the citizens of Mountaineer's Rest the Spirit's advanced sensors must have detected them below. A quick horn-like sound echoed across the plateau and was followed by the turret extending from its mount to sweep for possible targets.
The humming of the Spirit's engine grew louder as the craft accelerated slightly and turned around to align itself with a relatively flat-roofed building near the center of the town.

Both troop bays slowly opened though only one was fully visible from the ONI facility. Inside was a single line of five so-called 'grunts' led by a single 'elite' in polished crimson armor. The smaller and stockier grunts thumped their feet and waved with their plasma pistols in excitement whereas the lone elite was scanning the drop-zone with his blue plasma rifle held in a low-ready stance.

Once the Spirit had descended enough the elite barked out his orders before disembarking, followed closely by the grunts that left the Spirit in a much clumsier and far less elegant way.

From the rooftop anyone looking through a pair of binoculars or through the scope of a sniper rifle would also see blurry shapes disembarking from the opposite troop bay, though from the current angle it was impossible to determine just what that might be.

Upon deploying onto a roof relatively close to the ground the grunts and their elite vanished, leaving only the Spirit visible as it closed up, ascended and began to hover over Mountaineer's Rest.

By now the squad communications for the entire team crackled to life;

"We have confirmed Covenant signatures on scan. Donnel and Wellington I want you to double-time it up to the second floor. Grey finish up whatever's going inside there. Rose, Doc and Hayworth; Stay put. Observe but do not engage unless fired upon. I am readying a course for the decoy as we speak but hopefully we won't need it."

Kenshin772
DrabberRogue

(Indirectly)

Calibutcher
AEONmeteorite
0stinato
Worthlessplebian
ONI

 

[Worthlessplebian]

As King reached the count of five, the voice of the trapped man spoke! King's hopes were high. Until he continued to speak... There is no measurement, no words, no scientific method which could describe how quickly his hopes were dashed into the ground. Of all the potentials, why did he have to get a civvie who thinks he knows better than everybody else. Or hell, knows better than ONI. King's attention was grabbed by Grey waving. He looked and saw a flashbang grenade. Perfect, he wasn't in the mood to listen to this guy's sob story. An unstable, paranoid civvie with a handgun that could bore a hole through your head isn't funny. Just as King was about to give the order. An emergency alert via ping was sent to him... Motion Detected, Non-UNSC aircraft... Damn it. King thought.

They've reached us.

The armoured glove on King's gloves grew tighter as his hands squeezed the rifle. His head turned up, looking at Grey and Lyster. He nodded a message to them both, "Pop And Flash!"

The loud bang of the grenade was the cue that King needed. Wasting no time, he charged in while still keeping his rifle primed in case George tried to fire upon him. If he got close, King would let his rifle down by the sling and takedown George by locking his gun hand way, delivering a quick strike to his jaw and take away his magnum.

 

[Calibutcher]

Bunny kept silent as Black began questioning Langdon. Already, just from the first couple sentences spoken, it was evidently clear that this man hadn’t been where he should have been. At least, as far as they could situationally. She began to nod alongside Black’s words, but froze at the mention of taking down this stranger. Bunny took a quick step forward and clenched her jaw. While she may have been fine with leaving the guy, she wasn’t all too keen on them being the reason he held onto his last breath. When she was sure that Black wouldn’t hop right into such action, she loosened her tensity in the conversation and held onto disbelief that Langdon would be saddling up in the warthogs and pelicans with them.


Brets helmet titled at blacks threat towards Langdon. Though he said nothing. Typical of a spook like Black to talk so casually about human life. Even so he had no argument to the harsh words the ONI tech had come dangerously close to scrubbing this mission with his ignorance. Bret straightened out again and listened in to the rest of the conversation. Any questions he had wanted to ask sank away. Black would know the questions that needed to be asked or he would already know the answer likely. Also they had new orders, set up an over watch position. He nodded. “Yes sir.” He turned and waved for Bunny to follow.

Once outside he paused and looked around so far they still had good control of the area. Glancing around his HUD identified friendlies on the roof. He looked back to the Warthog where Big Dawg was still hanging from a bumper. He debated if he would need the ammo carrier a moment before a ping popped on his HUD.

At the notice of Unidentified craft he made his decision. “Bunny inside now!” He moved to the doorway of building 02 at a jog, he lifted his wrist monitor and keyed the command to summon Big Dawg. As he ran the robotic ammo carrier dropped from the bumper and crunched into the ground. Its legs popped out and swung using momentum to right itself. Sensing the speed of its operator it began running to catch up, an impressive feat for something that weighed nearly 400 pounds with all the gear it carried.

Bret still made it to the doorway first. “Bunny get upstairs and start clearing sight lines for us.”

Bret waited for his ammo carrier to catch up. He felt a knot in his stomach as he heard the wail of Banshees. He held the door open as his mechanical dog walked in. The door closed behind them and he felt just a touch safer knowing that the banshees would not spot them inside at least. He paused waiting to see if the banshees would stay or move on. The sound cruised past them and faded into the distance. He started up the stairs when the second ping for unidentified aircraft appeared. He did not pause this time but looked out the window as soon as he could. He kept staring out the window even as Bunny threw items around the room at an alarming rate, breaking panels and dragging desks across the room.

Bunny hopped twice in place before reentering the building. Her heart fluttered from a steady pace to a racing one. She pooled in a breath, held it and released as Bang instructed her further and she marched up the stairs. She didn’t hesitate when she made it back up. They’d already scouted out there and she’d observed enough to remember what was around. She instantly moved to a set of cubicles and used her elbows and feet to kick and thrust them down or to the side. Some broken, some folding against their hinges and a few slid to a wall where there were no windows. While it was swift, the act had been done in complete panic and it wasn’t until she was finished that it had dawned on her that she’d been the one to do it.

“Bang, sights are clear up top.”

He stared out the window a few beats longer eyeing the Spirit as it began dropping Covenant. “Come take a look Bunny.” He moved away from the window and approached Big Dawg.

“Do I want to?” Bunny said half jokingly and half seriously. She was most definitely referring to the Spirit. She almost would have rathered them come across things to shoot at rather than hiding from them. The pressure of keeping hidden while prepping for what may come wrung her with more uneasiness than the fold of battle.

Bunny kept her eyes on the window while she moved to Big Dawg. Bret pressed another button on his wrist monitor. The carrier crouched slightly making it easier to access the Rocket tubes stored on top. He looked at what he had packed and let out a low “Hmmmm…” as of yet the covenant were just looking around. They were not making a direct approach to the base. Yet…

He opened one case of tubes to be ready to load. He wanted to open more but held off. He just wished he had time to place mines or some kind of surprise in case the Covies came for them. Or if they came for Bunny. “We are set here in building 2 Black.”

He looked around at the interior for anything else that may help them. He spotted a door marked Maintenance. He made his way to it and opened the door, where he found various cleaning supplies and a ladder with a roof access.

“Bunny. Come get this hatch open while I keep watch.” He left the door open and returned to the window. He finally removed the SPNKr from its mount and placed it next to the window.

He made one last call on the local channel. “Black, if things go sideways I should be able to disable the Spirit.”

 

[queendilettante]

Is that...?

Camilla struggled from out behind the shelves. As she returned to the center of the room, she closed her eyes and listened more closely to the roar from above. She had heard a similarly growling engine quite a few times over the last 10 years; a growl that would be accompanied very soon by the thud of the disembarking covenant soldiers.

"Bassett, Bassett do you read me?" She began, calling over the comms to the only other soldier she was even reasonably sure was still in the vicinity of her. "Bassett, I think that sound's a Spirit- a covenant dropship. Where are you? We need to regroup ASAP or we'll get cornered."

A thud from above snapped Camilla's attention to the roof. Shit, she thought, looks like I was right. Naturally, she wasn't supposed to know how to identify a Spirit on noise alone, being a "recent recruit" and all, but she'd take getting found out by Bassett over getting killed by an unstoppable hoard of Covenant elites.

Of course, that was still an incredibly likely possibility.

Solar Daddy

 

[Kenshin772]

The warning displayed on Doc's made her heart skip a beat, she turned an eyed Hayworth and Rose for a couple seconds as the Covenant ship became audible from their position. When her heart restarted Doc shuffled over to where Rose was posted up "Keep low!" she commanded as she propped her DMR up against the edge of the roof "Hayworth keep your eyes east, Rose track that fucking Split-lip" Doc's heart began to race as she used her sight to scan through the visible covenant forces.

Hayworth shivered as the sound of covenant engines filled the air he too shared looks with his teammates before Doc's orders came. With a nod Hayworth dropped low crawling on his knees and elbows to the Eastern most section of the roof, With a huff he propped his BR-55 up onto the ledge as he scanned the sky.

 

[Solar Daddy]

Owen felt a growing compassion for the man who previously held a gun to his head. Despite not enjoying that sentiment too much, the man offered to let Owen take some food and water with him; extremely generous considering the circumstances. Bassett felt especially grateful when he saw the small figure behind him. Owen knew he wasn't going to be able to convince the man to go wit him, which made Owen's gut sink a little. He hoped the two could survive the Covenant invasion of Verent, though in all likelihood they probably wouldn't. In fact, once the sounds of the Covenant Spirit outside, Owen figured they wouldn't even survive the night. But it was his job to help protect any he came across, including the man and his hijo. Owen readied his rifle, finally getting his next chance to put down some Covenant bastards.

"Find a nice cozy corner to hide in. Don't come out until I give the order that it's clear, or until you don't hear any commotion outside for at least an hour or two. Stay armed and keep them from getting to the child." Owen gave a curt nod to the man before keying his comms. "This is Bassett. Prieto, regroup at the front of the building, we're going to hold the fort until we can get reinforcements, or until we find an opening to get back to the others outside. Let's hope they haven't been turned into plasma yet."

Bassett moved to the front of the building where him and Prieto entered; he tugged the door closed a bit so it wasn't wide open before peeking outside to get a read on the situation. As he did so, Bassett hailed his comms. "Sergeant Davis, Tremell? This is Lance Corporal Bassett, what's the situation?" He eagerly awaited a reply as he scanned for any movement or blue glowing hues behind the buildings.