Tales of a Dragon Rider

[Star_Dragon]

Okay, for those who are new to this story, READ FROM THE FIRST CHAPTER! those who have done so already: Here's Chapter Nine...

Chapter Nine

A Plan of Action

Kylet’oran was about to hold a council of war when Unthoiz and two other dragons joined them. Unthoiz was concerned to see that his son had been wounded, but with Keedar backing Kylet’oran, Unthoiz settled down. Then, the council could begin.

“Okay,” Kylet’oran started, placing the intelligence dossiers on a makeshift table. “From what I was able to learn, the Flood escaped the destruction of the Ark on a Covenant CCS-Class Battlecruiser, the Forerunners’ Glory. At first, there was little more than a handful on the bridge and in the engine room. They crashed here, at Bruma.”

“Well, that explains why I never heard from the Northern Goods & Trade shop in Bruma for so long.” Dar-Ma remarked.

“Exactly,” Kylet’oran said. “The Flood infected everyone there. Now, it is known that the Flood use any weapon they can lay their hands on, so I assume there was an armory somewhere on the ship. Since then, the Flood have been going out in groups to capture bodies and bring them back to the ship.”

“That doesn’t sound like the Flood I fought,” John stated.

“The Flood infected something intelligent enough to control them. This intelligence has been gathering up enough bodies and weapons for one purpose…” Kylet’oran said.

“The Sith ship.” Unthoiz finished. Kylet’oran nodded.

“Exactly. They want off this planet. The Forerunners’ Glory is too damaged to ever be spaceworthy again, so they want another ship.”

“That’s not the only problem,” Unthoiz said, “The Sith and the Phayders are launching an assault against the imperial city. If they capture or kill Emperor Septim, Tamriel will fall under their influence.”

“Not only that,” one of the dragons added, “but the Sith are Sieging the Human-Covenant landed hybrid ship, a Hybrid-class Assault Battleship called the Allied Assault. With half of their forces helping defend the imperial city, they’re outnumbered and could use the help.”

“We also received word that the Galactic Republic has sent aid to this world, and they are currently holed up in a Venator-class Star Destroyer near Mournhold, on the continent of Morrowind.” The other Dragon stated.

“Okay,” Keedar said. “We need a plan. We all know that we need to divide this team.”

“That’s right,” Kylet’oran put in. “John, you’ll lead a team to destroy the Forerunners’ Glory. Without their leader, the Flood will be lost and confused, and eventually die out. San, Keesha, Falco, Katt, you’ll go with him.

“Voro, Krystal, you two will go help our allies on the Allied Assault. Gather as much support as you possibly can. Try to get Mazoga and her rebels to help you, also.

“Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar, Deinonychus, you three will help our allies in the Imperial city. Like I said to Voro and Krystal, gather as much support as possible. Once you have a sizeable force, hit the enemy from behind—at their camp, then drive forward. Unthoiz, they’ll need some of your dragons as air support.

“Keedar, you, Atton, Unthoiz and I will meet up with the republic forces and launch a strike on the Sith ship. They have most of their forces tied up on multiple fronts, so it should be somewhat easy. The real trick is holding the ship. After we take the ship, the Sith will have most likely sent a distress call to their allies all over Tamriel.”

“So the Sith and the Kemorainians will come running back to their ship.” Unthoiz surmised.

“Yes,” Kyle said. “When they learn that their ship was attacked, they will launch an operation to take it back. We’ll have to hold them off until all our allies can arrive to take the pressure off.”

“Well, we’re obviously not attempting a frontal assault; that’d be suicidal.” Unthoiz stated.

“No,” Kylet'oran answered. “A small team is going to slip inside and disable the ship’s weapon systems. Once the weapons are down, the Republic is going to send what they can to the ship. Not everything, but enough to take the ship, which, like I said, should be fairly easy. The Dragons will take care of their armored support as well as disable their hangar bays.

“Once we take the ship, we’ll have to hold it. As I said before, once the enemy figures out their ship was taken, they will launch an operation to take it back.”

“How are you going to get into the ship?” asked the blue dragon next to Unthoiz. “The Sith and the Phayders will most likely recognize your face.”

“Atton will go in disguised as a Sith Colonel. I’ll follow him under cloak.” Kylet’oran replied.

“What if the Sith sense your presence?” the blue dragon inquired. There was a moment of silence before John answered,

“They won’t.”

“How do you know?” Unthoiz asked.

“The AI in my armor, Cortana, had already hacked into the enemy communications network.” John replied.

“So?” Atton said.

“From it,” Cortana said through John’s armor’s exterior com system, “I’ve learned that the enemy’s dark jedi, however few there were, are all out with the various Sith and Phayder forces on Tamriel.”

“Okay,” said the green dragon next to Unthoiz, “How is Atton going to disguise himself as a Sith Colonel?”

“The Sith colonel he’s going to impersonate is currently holed up in a safehouse four clicks south of the ship.” Kylet’oran stated. “He hasn’t been seen before by the rest of the crew, and the ship’s CO had requested him to be his first officer. I can only assume that the colonel is packing up and awaiting transport.”

“Shifting the conversation to my task,” John said, “How will I enter a Flood-infested CCS-class Battlecruiser and destroy it?”

“That you’ll have to figure out on your own,” Kylet’oran replied. “While the Sith knew the Flood were on the ship, they had never been anywhere near the ship. Every strike team they sent there never returned.”

“As for destroying it,” Voro added, “You will have to detonate the ship’s main reactor, like you did with your ship on Installation 04.” After a long moment of silence, Kylet’oran asked,

“Any other questions?” Another moment of silence answered his question, and he said, “Alright… watch your backs, and we’ll meet at the Imperial city at the conclusion of our missions.” With that, the group split up and headed off to their objectives…

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Great job!

[Star_Dragon]

Thanks, Julius! And to those still reading, here's Chapter Ten...

(WARNING: Graphic Post. DO NOT read if you are weak, faint of heart, squeamish, or anything of that sort!)

Chapter Ten

Light Fuse, Run Away

John, San, Keesha, Katt and Falco stopped by Kylet’oran’s armory at Hackdirt so that Falco could get an upgrade in weaponry, as John knew it was close to impossible to kill Flood with the S2-AM Sniper Rifle that Falco had, and that Reman Disruptor Rifle he had just didn’t pack enough of a punch. After equipping himself with a heavily-modified HK G36K and a TDT Series 7 Flechette Cannon (AKA “Flak Cannon”), and putting a boatload of ammo for all of their weapons in an ammunition materializer, the group headed north to Bruma. John didn’t want to run the risk of anyone on his team, especially San or Keesha, being shot out of the sky in a Banshee, so he materialized an M12 Warthog LRV and two Covenant Ghost attack Hoversleds.

Getting up the Jerall Mountains to Bruma was somewhat difficult, with bandits and wild animals here-and-there, and the obstacles that were all over, but as they came upon the entrance to the Jerall caves, Cortana had the entire group stop.

“I’ve managed to access what’s left of the Forerunners’ Glory’s computers. From the security systems and by looking at the damage schematic of the ship, those caves lead up to a house. That house is gone, but there is a hole in the hull where the house used to be that we can use to get into the ship.” Cortana explained. Everyone dismounted their vehicles, unlimbered their weapons, and cautiously entered the caves.

The trip was boring to say the least. They rounded corners, went through doorways, and finally came upon a ladder. They all climbed up and came out in a basement, found the ladder leading up to the house , climbed it, and came out in the ship.

Surprisingly, the corridors were upright, giving the implication that the ship had crashed upright. John took two steps and noticed movement on his motion tracker. He knew that aside from his team, that there was no one else on the ship but the Flood, and knew he was about to have company. John raised his MA5C, ready to fire, when a sole infection form came around the corner, spotted the team, and rushed for them. John, being the first and fastest to fire, popped the infectious bastard like a balloon.

After a moment, the team went door to door until they came upon a detention area.

“We must be in the Brig,” Cortana said. “The Bridge must be nearby.”

“This brings back memories,” John muttered. Cortana knew he was referring to the time when he rescued Captain Keyes from a Covenant ship on Halo, and—

Almost as soon as Cortana thought of this, the Flood came out to play. Katt opened up on them with her StG44 and tore two combat forms apart before San saw Flood come out from the opposite direction and opened fire with her M700. The first form to fall under the firepower of San’s shotgun was a Carrier form, who took two overlapping blasts to the humpback bladder it carried, deflated like a whoopee cushion, and spewed its two surviving infection forms. Keesha then took action and blew the pesky infection forms away with short bursts from her Steyr Aug A3 while her mother was busy blasting combat forms.

Falco ducked to avoid getting whacked in the head with what looked to be a pipe, unlimbered his Flak Cannon, pressed the muzzle into the creature’s belly, and pulled the trigger. The ionized flechettes tore the beast in two, hurling the upper half over his back, and the lower half was thrown back. Falco rose, unaware that his back was drenched in the gray-green ichor that was flood blood, and blew an Ex-Dunmer right out of his boots.

Then, as soon as the violence started, it stopped. John, with Cortana’s guidance, led the team toward the bridge. They came around one corner and stopped to see a swarm of flood holding a convention at an intersection. Everyone primed a grenade and threw it, and then ducked back around the corner to avoid being hit with the flying shrapnel. There were five explosions, and the others rushed around the corner, ran past the gore-splattered intersection, rounded another corner and nearly got blindsided by a pair of Carrier forms. Both were taken down by the combined firepower of John’s MA5C, Keesha’s Steyr Aug A3, San’s SRS-900, Katt’s StG44, and Falco’s G36. The next ten seconds after the carriers went down was spent popping pus pod infection forms.

After the last infection form was popped, the group continued on toward the bridge. Opposition from the Flood was fairly light, up until the group got closer to the bridge. Apparently, that was where most of the Flood were congregated. While John’s motion tracker painted a swarm of movement, the Flood seemingly refused to attack. It was as if they were waiting for something.

With this in mind, John and the team approached the door to the bridge slowly and cautiously. He forgot that the door was proximity activated, and the door sensed their presence and slid open to reveal an almost empty command center. Strangely, John’s motion tracker showed all clear. The only thing on the bridge was…

John recognized the beast that sat on the raised platform in the middle of the room; he had seen it before, when he was on Installation 04, when the Flood were trying to use the Covenant ship Truth & Reconciliation to escape. It was supported by thick, gray-green columns, like a spider’s web. It was fat, bloated, and far too large to be a carrier form. This must be the intelligence that was controlling the Flood, John reasoned. Was it a threat to them? He didn’t know. He saw no legs, arms, or tentacles that it could use to attack them.

Then, an idea hit him;

“San, Keesha, you two are Jedi, right?”

“Yeah, why?” Keesha asked.

“Because I’m thinking you two could use your force powers to control your lightsabers and cut those… wires, or whatever they are.” John replied. Both Keesha and San nodded, activated their lightsabers, and threw them. Using the force, they controlled their lightsabers as they cut through the thick columns. Too late, John realized this was a mistake. As soon as the last column was cut, the beast fell off the platform, splattering onto the deck, and a swarm of Flood attacked from behind.

“Head for the controls! From there, I can initiate a detonation of the ship’s main reactor!” Cortana urged. The group ran for the raised platform, ignoring the foul stench that emanated from the gigantic beast’s fallen body. It obviously wasn’t dead, which compelled Keesha to leap onto its nerveless body, slice it open, and pull the pins and throw four NRP57 grenades into the wound. After that, she back-flipped off in time to avoid a flying combat form, and the grenades detonated. Flood blood sprayed everywhere, and the flood stopped for a moment, as if disoriented.

Taking this opportunity, Katt, Falco, and John opened fire on the beasts. They just sat there as the bullets tore them apart one by one. Then, as if a switch had been thrown, the Flood attacked not only the team, but each other as well.

“Done! We have ten minutes to get out of here before the reactor blows!” Cortana announced. As the team ran, blasting everything that moved, Katt asked,

“Couldn’t you have given us a little more time?”

“I couldn’t,” Cortana replied. “I wanted to make sure that no Flood form escapes this ship!” The group headed to their entry point at a dead run, blowing away any Flood form that strayed too close. They dropped through the first ladder with two and a half minutes left on the clock, slid down the second into the caves, blew away a pair of carrier forms, and ran to the exit of the caves. Not bothering to open the door, John used his enormous strength to kick the door down, and the team headed to the vehicles, got in, and headed away as the clock hit 00:45. Seconds later, the Forerunners’ Glory disappeared in a purple-white thermonuclear explosion. The sphere expanded for a full minute, sterilized the terrain under it, and winked out. John brought the M12 to a stop, and Katt and Falco stopped their ghosts alongside him. John heaved a sigh. The threat of the flood was over…

[Guest Julius Quasar]

Wow....soooo awesome!

Great job!  I love the descriptive detail, even if it's "Graphic", it's still awesome for those who can handle the gory stuff (I personally like the gory stuff).

[Star_Dragon]

Okay, Julius, here's Chapter Eleven!

Chapter Eleven

Battle for the Allied Assault

Krystal and Voro had gathered 250 men and women from all over Tamriel, Mazoga’s rebels among them. Each was armed to the teeth with firearms taken from a Sith armory that was raided north of Anvil. Using several captured dropships and troop trucks, the company of rebels headed to the Hybrid-class Battleship Allied Assault, the ship the Human-Covenant alliance had landed. The ship was currently holding position above the ruins of Kvatch.

Initial recon flights indicated that the gate was heavily guarded, so an air strike was in order to eliminate the Phayders standing guard there. Once the gate was breached, the troop trucks would head in and unload their troops, led by Voro, while the dropships would drop off their troops once the trucks were clear. Krystal would be leading the troops on the dropships.

Once inside Kvatch, the group would make their way to the gravity lift, currently held by the Sith, and re-take the gravity lift. Once that is done, half of the company would board the ship, led by Voro, and link up with the crew and commanders of the Allied Assault, the Arbiter and a Human by the name of Admiral Simmons. They would then hunt the Sith through the corridors of the ship.

Petamee, having survived the attack on Cheydinhal by the Flood, now was afraid to return to the Sith Centurion. Not only was his attempt to capture and kill the marauding Jedi weapon master and his squad a total failure, but they even went on to destroy their base of operations in Cheydinhal and every trooper directly under his command was dead. So, he led the attack on the Human-Covenant alliance’s ship. The marauding Jedi cared a lot about these soldiers, as they were from his universe. He was sure to come.

In fact, he was already on his way; the desperate radio traffic coming from the gates of the ruined city testified to that. He hummed a Kemorainian battle hymn as he set the trap at the gravity lift. His honor would be restored, he would keep his head, and who knew? A lot of Phayders had been killed in the offensive against this world, so a promotion might be in the offering. He could only wait and see…

There was a flash, followed by a loud bang! As a fragmentation grenade went off. A Kemorainian screamed, an assault weapon fired, and an Orc yelled,

“Let me know if you want some more!”

“Excellent work!” Voro said. “Post a lookout there and there, a sniper there, and make sure no one comes this way!” That said, Voro had the company radioman call in the dropships with Krystal and her company. The dropships weren’t that far away, so the wait for reinforcements wasn’t that long. One by one, they touched down, discharged their passengers, and left until all of Krystal’s company was on the ground.

It was then that the Sith decided to launch a counter-offensive on the rebels. A grenade detonated, sent two Bosmer sprawling to the ground, and a flying wedge consisting of Sith commandos and Special Forces attacked. The rebels took cover, and Krystal activated her lightsabers. Voro threw a pair of plasma grenades into the midst of the enemy formation. One grenade fused to the faceplate of a commando’s helmet, and he yelled,

“Get this thing off me!” as he danced about. The other grenade stuck to a Sith grenadier’s belt of grenades, and when both grenades detonated, they ignited all the other grenades the Sith were carrying and incinerated those close enough to the blast, and sent four others through separate walls. After a moment, Mazoga jumped up and called out to the rest of the troops,

“What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation? Let’s go!” Inspired, the two companies jumped up from cover with Voro and Krystal and headed off.

The fight to the gravity lift was somewhat easy. As the two companies fought, they linked up with surviving squads of Covenant troops and UNSC marines. However, when they reached the gravity lift, Krystal ordered them all to stop. She sensed…

She immediately knew what was wrong; a Phayder had set a trap for Kylet’oran here. No doubt the Phayder was surprised to see that Kylet’oran wasn’t here. So what was he waiting for?

Krystal slowly rose from cover and stepped cautiously into the open and immediately jumped back as a Disruptor Sniper shot fired. The shot left a scorch mark where she had just been standing, and this triggered some sort of trap, as Sith assassins suddenly appeared out of thin air. As they charged and were cut down in a hail of bullets, disruptor blasts, and energy bolts, Krystal reached out with the Force and sensed the sniper’s location. As he fired a second shot, Krystal, in a deft, lightning-fast move, moved her lightsaber to deflect the disruptor bolt back where it had been fired from…

Petamee saw the move, saw the disruptor bolt get deflected back at him, but was unable to move. Instead, he just sat there, staring as the disruptor bolt came flying at him. In that moment, just before he was disintegrated, he felt a sense of warm relief. At least this death was better than what his superiors would have had planned for his failure…

The Sith assassins were cut down in a matter of seconds, leaving the company led by Voro to board the ship. First, a small platoon led by Voro would use the gravity lift and secure the area for the rest of the company. Once inside, the company would split up into platoons led by a few Covenant or UNSC troops to hunt for the Sith. Voro’s hand-picked troops would go with him to the bridge to meet with the Arbiter and Admiral Simmons.

Voro and his platoon of hand-picked troops stepped onto the gravity lift, waited for a moment, and were sucked up into the ship as if through a vacuum. Inside the ship, they hung suspended a foot off the ground for a full five seconds, then hit the deck. The two Kemorainians on guard were surprised to see them, and before they could react, they were shot dead. Voro and his platoon spread out, searching the area for any other targets, and after they determined there were none, Voro sent the “all-clear” signal down to his Company XO, a Sangheili named Ado ‘Rolamee. Platoon by platoon, the company arrived on board and headed down a hallway.

Voro and his cohort headed down one such hallway, with one of his platoon’s Sangheili leading the way, a red-armored veteran named Soha ‘Unamee. He knew the ship well, and knew every shortcut to the bridge that was buried deep inside the vessel. He was off-duty during the time of the attack, and his friends had been killed during the initial strike, and he was eager to return the favor.

Soha signaled everyone to stop as they reached an intersection. Slowly, he peeked around the corner, primed a plasma grenade, and tossed it. There was a flash of blue light, accompanied by a resonate boom, and he signaled the platoon forward. Apparently, the Sith had established a checkpoint at the door to the shuttle bay. As the platoon entered the bay, a well-aimed energy bolt lashed down and hit Voro in the head. His energy shield saved him, though, and he looked up, raised his Plasma carbine, and returned the favor with a plasma bolt to the Sith trooper’s head.

Grabbing his plasma rifle, Voro ordered everyone to activate their energy shields, and as soon as he said this, the Sith attacked from every direction at once. Plasma sword in one hand, plasma rifle in the other, Voro killed the enemy as if on autopilot. One Phayder tried to blindside him, only to be cut in half. After a fierce firefight, the enemy retreated, allowing Voro and his platoon to continue on to the bridge.

The Bridge area, thankfully, was still under allied control. They had beaten off several attacks. The Arbiter, who knew Voro, greeted him as such.

“So,” Admiral Simmons said, “You fought through the Sith’s rear flank? The com chatter we’ve intercepted it filled with reports of you and your troops. We could definitely use someone like you.”

“What’s the task?” Voro asked.

“We need someone to lead a team to the Security complex and activate the ship’s interior defenses. We’ll send some of our troops with you.” Simmons replied. Voro nodded to acknowledge him, and a squad of Spartans and Sangheili appeared. Voro led his troops out of the bridge, headed to the security complex…

[Guest Julius Quasar]

The other grenade stuck to a Sith grenadier’s belt of grenades, and when both grenades detonated, they ignited all the other grenades the Sith were carrying and incinerated those close enough to the blast, and sent four others through separate walls.

^ That part was awesome! Good job!

[Star_Dragon]

Sorry for the wait, I had to sign off for a bit [to play KOTOR, hehe...]. Since there was a quick reply, I'll post the next chapter...

Chapter Twelve

Tamriel Fights Back

Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar and Deinonychus gathered more support than they thought they would. A mixed legion of Tamriel’s finest troops had been waiting for the right leaders to lead the attack on the enemy lines, having stolen their weapons and ammunition. They wanted someone who had fought the Sith before, which meant that Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar and Deinonychus were all best suited for the job.

The Sith had four encampments around the imperial city, one of which sat near the bridge over the moat surrounding the imperial city. First order of business was to take control of those encampments. The first three would fall relatively easy, as they were lightly guarded. The fourth one, however, would be a tougher nut to crack. This encampment was run by a Dark Jedi, and he would have to be taken care of before they could move on. However, this job was made somewhat easier because of the fact that this dark jedi had no lightsaber.

Because of this, M’raaj-Dar would take care of him, since he was a skilled swordsman. Once all four camps were taken, the legion would press forward, led by Dar-Ma and Deinonychus, driving the Sith to the bridge, where M’raaj-Dar’s group would intercept them. From there, they would push forward until the Sith surrendered or were eradicated.

With the initial planning out of the way, the legion waited for dawn…

Lieutenant Cody Short spent a restless night in his tent. All through the night, he felt that something was about to go wrong. His CO, Captain Fellarn, didn’t feel that way, and dismissed Cody’s feelings as “fearful paranoia.” Maybe the captain was right. But the feeling didn’t go away, even as the first light of dawn approached.

An explosion at the communications tent rocked him from his cot. He quickly rushed into his uniform, grabbed his trophy Mandalorian Assault Rifle, and rushed outside. The Captain was off-duty when this sudden attack came, as half his face needed a shave. He was armed with a Heavy Repeater Blaster, and searched for a target. A PFC approached the captain and was about to say something when a disruptor bolt disintegrated him.

That’s when Cody saw a shimmer behind the captain. Instantly recognizing it, he shouted,

“Captain, on your six!” Too late. The invisible assailant laid into him with an M32A2. She then equipped a fuel rod gun and fired what looked to be a random shot, but Cody soon realized that the shot was directed at him. Before he could avoid it, however, it struck him square in the chest, burned a hole the size of a dinner plate, and threw what was left of his body to the ground like a useless toy…

While Dar-Ma launched her attack on the northernmost camp, and her XO launched an attack on the eastern camp, Deinonychus launched a near-simultaneous attack on the enemy’s western camp. Using his claws, he silenced the sleeping guards in the communications tent. He then set radio-detonated explosives near the equipment, stealthily exited, and detonated the explosives.

While the other two opted for an old-fashioned frontal assault, Deinonychus preferred something more... artful. He was a Velociraptor, after all. He preferred to make a coordinated assault that left the enemy confused and disoriented.

While the enemy didn’t have too many troops for his force to handle, they did have a trio of Kemorainian Annihilator Mortar assault tanks and a few Mandalorian Canderous Assault Tanks. That’s why he had three UNSC Cobra Gauss tanks and three UNSC Grizzly Heavy Assault Tanks with their weapons trained on the enemy vehicles. The Cobras had their M66 Gauss cannons trained on the Canderous tanks, while the Grizzlies had their 90mm High-Velocity guns trained on the Mortar tanks.

When the enemy communication gear blew, Deinonychus knew he had only seconds before the enemy tanks began firing. He suddenly heard a reverberating roar, and a 90mm HV shell slammed into a mortar tank with a loud craack! The ungainly vehicle opened up like a red flower, burped pitch-black smoke, and nosed into the ground. Deinonychus then heard the echoing screech of a UNSC Cobra’s M66 Gauss Cannons firing their high-density slugs. One such slug hit the turret of a Canderous tank, the sheer velocity of the projectile tearing the turret off.

Two more mortar tanks were blown apart by the Grizzlies’ 90mm guns, while three more Canderous Assault Tanks were annihilated by the Cobras’ Gauss Cannons. That was the signal for Deinonychus’ assault force to attack. Not all at once, however. He had his unit split into smaller groups and positioned around the enemy’s camp. While each group charged in one at a time, Deinonychus, armed with his A73 Disruptor, began looking for the camp commander. It wasn’t long before he spotted him: A Sith Major that was apparently sleeping when the attack came; he wasn’t wearing his uniform shirt.

Deinonychus, in typical Velociraptor fashion, bellowed his screech and charged for the Major. The Sith Major, now aware of him, turned to face him, and was almost immediately knocked on his back. Deinonychus quickly jabbed the twin Triclonium blades into the Major’s chest and fired the disruptor. The blades kept him pinned to the ground, while the disruptor shot at point-blank range disintegrated him. As the Major disintegrated, Deinonychus searched for his next target...

Having killed the Dark Jedi running the southern camp and taken control of the camp, M’raaj-Dar and his force were already in the process of setting up an ambush for the retreating Sith and Kemorainian forces. He had already received reports that the other three camps had been taken, and they were now moving across the water towards the imperial city. All in all, this phase of the mission took no more than two minutes and thirty seconds.

The ambush was ready as Dar-Ma and Deinonychus signaled M’raaj-Dar, saying that they had entered the city and were now attempting to drive the enemy out. Only time would tell if they were successful...

[Star_Dragon]

I have no idea if anyone's still watching this, but here's Chapter Thirteen!

Chapter Thirteen

Taking the Centurion

Meeting up with the republic forces was easy. Picking out a group of highly-trained, highly-experienced soldiers capable of doing the job that befell them was better. Ambushing the Sith Colonel and assuming his identity was flawless. Entering the Sith ship undetected, that was a real trick. While Atton headed off to meet with the ship’s CO, Kylet'oran and his team headed to their objectives.

The plan was no longer to disable the weapons entirely. Now, thanks to a suggestion by Keedar, the plan was to temporarily disable the weapons until the ship was under allied control. Joining the assault on the Centurion was a company of UNSC Marines with two Grizzly Heavy Tanks and two Scorpion Main Battle Tanks, along with a squad of Warthogs and a fire team of Cougars, along with fifteen Sparrowhawk attack aircraft. With them, a company of Covenant forces, complete with four Type-25 Wraith Mortar Tanks, three Type-52 Wraith Anti-Aircraft Tanks, two Scarab Assault Platforms, fifteen Banshees, and a squad of Ghost attack hoversleds. Both companies were led by Voro ‘Zamamee and Krystal, returning from their successful mission on the Human-Covenant Hybrid ship Allied Assault. Also returning was John-117, San, Keesha, Katt and Falco. They had just returned from their mission to destroy the Forerunners’ Glory. Joining them, Fox, Slippy, Amanda, Lucy and Fox and Krystal’s son, Marcus. They had brought everything with them through the TDIG Rift; their Arwings, their Landmaster, and their weapons.

While Kylet'oran and his team moved stealthily throughout the ship, silently taking out Sith troops along the way, Atton made his way to the bridge...

Atton walked onto the bridge of the Sith Centurion, Came to attention upon sight of the ship’s CO, and saluted.

This brings back memories, Atton thought. He was then greeted by a flood of memories of his time as a Sith assassin. The time before he had met the jedi exile.

“Colonel Rodger Wurtz, reporting for duty, sir!” The ship CO, a human from Korriban, turned to face Atton.

“Colonel Wurtz, I’m Vice Admiral James Karath… you know, like Saul Karath, but no relation.” As the admiral went on explaining why Atton—known as Rodger Wurtz—was chosen to be first officer of the Centurion, Atton wondered how long it would be until the weapons systems were down…

Kylet’oran had just silenced the guards guarding the weapon control computers. Taking the ID card, he logged in to the computer and shut down the weapons. As the weapons were shut down, one of the troopers on Kylet’oran’s team set off a signal, initiating the attack.

The signal was received by Voro and Krystal about two clicks away. They were waiting to receive the signal to attack, and now that they had it, they wasted little time initiating the assault. Fox, Marcus and Lucy led the assault from the air in their Arwings with Unthoiz and his armored dragon squad, Slippy and Amanda led the armored assault in the Landmaster, and Krystal and Voro led the infantry support.

As the Air squadrons tore the enemy’s artillery apart, Voro and Krystal jumped up from cover, waved their troops forward, and led the charge. The object here was to get as many troops as possible across what would be a Sith killing zone and into the Centurion. Krystal had thought they would make it, thought that they would have a clean run, up until a shadow passed over them. Krystal looked over her shoulder to see a Y-shaped Kemorainian dropship settling in for a landing behind them.

Yelling into her mike, she ordered over her company’s command frequency, “Rocket and Fuel Rod jockeys, put everything you have on that dropship, and do it now!” Not even two seconds later, a barrage of 102mm rockets and glassy plasma projectiles rained down on the Kemorainian dropship, blowing it apart and killing the inhabitants. With that out of the way, the companies ran the rest of the way to the Centurion…

The bridge crew, thanks to Atton, had already been taken care of by the time Kylet’oran and his team got there. With the bridge crew under lock and key, the group just had to hold the bridge, eliminate an unknown number of hostiles, and wait for the assault force to reach the bridge. First, Atton and Kylet’oran used their force powers to stack crates like firewood to create bunkers, one of which sat on a walkway that split the bridge in two. Bunkers were created on the left and right sides of the bridge, also. Then, with Kylet’oran and the republic team behind each of the bunkers, Atton went on to use his Sith ID card to disable the Centurion’s internal defenses.

It was then that the first wave of Sith troops attacked the bridge. Kylet’oran dropped the first few with well-placed bursts from his MA52B. The enemy fell back to the entrance and tried to gun down the republic soldiers at that point, so Kylet’oran lobbed an M9 HE-DP grenade into the doorway and ducked. The grenade detonated with an echoing wham! And blew the Sith in the doorway to hell.

A squad of Phayders tried to sneak into the bridge, but Kylet’oran not only sensed them, but saw them with a pair of heat-sensitive goggles. He threw a plasma grenade into their midst, listened as one of the Phayders screamed in surprise, and watched as the grenade slaughtered the entire group. Kylet’oran reloaded his weapon, and steeled himself for the coming onslaught…

By the time the sun went down, the allies had most of the ship under their control. All that was left was the bridge and the engine room. While the bridge, thanks to Kylet’oran and his team, was lightly guarded, the engine room was a tougher nut to crack.

The Sith had set up several automated turrets and used them to great effect on the allied troops, which was why Voro and Krystal mandated that they should find Kylet’oran and Atton before proceeding to the engine room. With any luck, the allies would have the ship by dawn…

[Guest Julius Quasar]

AWESOME!  Looking great so far.  I hope luck is on their side.

[Geo Stelar]

Cool. This is the first time i read it. Confusing at first, but it's great..

Keep up the good work! I like the weapons..

[Star_Dragon]

Just wait... it gets better!

Chapter Fourteen

Preparing For the Final Battle

Dar-Ma, M’raaj-Dar and Deinonychus had driven the Sith from the imperial city by sunset. Consistent with Kylet’oran’s predictions, The Sith and the Phayders had pulled back to re-take their ship. The radio traffic the allies had intercepted testified to that fact. From the sounds of it, they were very worried that the allies under Kylet’oran’s command would find information on that ship that the Sith didn’t want them to find.

Also gleaned from the enemy—thanks to troop manifests and intelligence dossiers taken from the enemy’s camps—were the remaining enemy troop strengths in Tamriel, which, needless to say, wasn’t much. A lot of the enemy strength had been lost fighting the Flood and rebel groups that had cropped up all over the land. According to the intelligence files, the Sith on the Centurion had sent a distress signal to all their allies the moment they were under attack. The enemy then realized that they had stretched themselves too thin, and chose to fall back and regroup.

So, in light of this, the allies rallied their troops for one last assault on the enemy…

Since taking the Centurion, the entire surrounding area had been declared a combat zone, which meant that it was improper for the lower ranks to salute their superiors, lest they identify them to enemy snipers. Still, there were other ways to show respect. After taking the Centurion, Kylet’oran hopped onto Keedar’s back in the hangar and went to sleep. His armor kept him warm, so he didn’t worry about bringing a blanket. By 8:00 PM, he and Keedar were fast asleep.

At 9:00 AM, Kylet’oran woke up, both because of a bad dream and his armor’s alarm clock. Keedar was still asleep, so he got off his back, headed out of the hangar, and stopped in the mess hall to pick up a cup of instant coffee before roaming the ship. Seeing him roaming about, helmet in one hand, cup of coffee in the other, served to reassure the troops. Somehow, without consciously thinking about it, Kylet’oran’s feet carried him outside, where the bunkers were being dug for the Grizzly and Scorpion Tanks. The troops paused to greet the weapon master.

“Morning, General!” One said.

“Hey, General. Nice to see you’re up and about.” Stated another.

“We sure showed them last night, eh General?” One asked. Kylet’oran’s feet then carried him to the hull of the ship, where the Covenant Wraiths were positioned. Several UNSC Machine gun and Covenant Shade LAAG turrets were also positioned there as well as a series of J2329-HAMR Artillery Cannons, as such high ground would offer great visibility should the enemy decide to attack from the ground. A squad of heavy rocket jockeys were also there, in case enemy dropships were sighted.

“Morning, Kyle.” San said as she walked up beside Kylet’oran.

“Morning, San. Sleep well?” Kylet’oran asked as he downed the last of his coffee. San wrapped her arms around Kylet’oran’s waist and rested her chin on his shoulder.

“Yes. Had a nightmare about the Flood?”

“Yeah. You?” Kylet’oran answered.

“Yeah. Makes you wonder if it wasn’t a premonition.” San said.

“Well, I guess we’ll find out soon enough.” Kylet’oran replied. Kylet’oran and San headed down to the bridge, where rotating shifts of tech specialists monitored the com equipment. Atton looked over to see Kylet’oran and San entering the bridge, and walked over to greet them.

“So,” he said, “Do you want to hear the half-bad news, or the really bad news?”

“What’s the half-bad news?” San asked.

“The Sith are on their way. However, their troop strength is far less than we anticipated.” Atton replied.

“How many troops?” Kylet’oran inquired.

                “Three hundred forty-five troops,” Atton responded, “plus two full air squadrons and a squad of Canderous Assault tanks.”

“And what’s the really bad news?” San asked.

“Some Flood forms managed to survive the explosion of the Forerunners’ Glory, and are headed here.” Atton said. “Good news out of that is, they’re being controlled by a necromancer. He’s located in a ruin called ‘Miscarcand.’”

“Okay,” Kylet’oran mumbled, “So we can send a team to eliminate the Necromancer, and the last of the Flood will die out.”

“But who would go?” Atton asked. There was a moment of silence before Kylet’oran said,

“I’ll lead the expedition to take out the necromancer.” Turning to San, he added, “San, you, John, and Dar-Ma are going with me. Get them up and tell them to lock and load.” San nodded and headed off, and Kylet’oran turned to Atton. “How far out are the Sith?” Atton shrugged.

“Half an hour, maybe less.”

“Sound the alarm. I want everyone at their posts, ASAP.” Kylet’oran ordered. Atton nodded, slapped the alarm button, and put in a series of commands to the troops all over the ship. As UNSC Marines, Republic soldiers, Covenant troops and Tamrielic soldiers ran hither and yon, Kylet’oran and his team donned their armor, gathered their weapons, and prepared to head out. There was a battle to win…

[Star_Dragon]

Okay... lemme guess... you all have forgotten about this thread as well?

[Star_Dragon]

Gotta keep this thread alive... Chapter Fifteen!

Chapter Fifteen

Centurion Siege

Keesha awoke to the sound of the alarm going off. She quickly donned her armor, grabbed her personal weapons, and headed to the bridge. There, Atton, Krystal, Falco, Katt, M’raaj-Dar and Deinonychus were waiting. With them were several other characters she didn’t recognize.

“It’s about time you got here, Keesha. The remaining Sith on Tamriel are less than two minutes out.” Atton said.

“Who are they?” Keesha asked, indicating the others she didn’t recognize.

“That’s Fox McCloud, Marcus McCloud, Slippy Toad, Amanda Toad, and Lucy Hare of the Star Fox team. They’re here to help.” Atton replied. Suddenly, the sound of the HAMR Cannons firing filled the room. As the others left to their separate objectives, Atton approached Keesha. “Keesha, you will be leading the ground troops.” Keesha nodded, knowing the implications. She headed down to the ground with the UNSC Marines, Republic troops and Covenant Soldiers. Aircraft, led by armored dragons and Arwings, flew up overhead to engage the enemy fighters. Slippy and Amanda got into their Landmaster, and began driving it out to the defensive lines. This battle, Keesha thought, is my battle, my moment. She was determined to win at any cost…

Unable to land on or near the ship because of the heavy fortifications, Field Commander Xavee Utamee was forced to land his troops in the field, which meant that his troops would have to advance across open ground, with little to no cover, and without the benefit of heavy weapons to clear the way.

But the wily officer had another trick up his sleeve. Rather than releasing his dropships after they dropped off troops, he ordered them to remain over the LZ and strafe the ground ahead of his steadily advancing troops while the Sith fighters dealt with the enemy’s aircraft. It wasn’t what the transports were designed to do, and the pilots didn’t like it, but so what? Utamee, who saw all aviators as little more than glorified chauffeurs, wasn’t especially interested in how they felt.

Like hovering obscene insects, the dropships drifted down toward the enemy positions and opened fire. A fire team was caught out in the open, and was cut to shreds.

Utamee watched as the enemy was forced to pull out of a firing pit and retreat to their second line of defense. A field officer waved his troops forward, and Utamee led his troops behind them. As his troops rushed past, Utamee stopped next to the now empty firing pit. Something about the excavation bothered him. But what? Then he had it. The rectangular hole was too neat, too even, and had been dug in the last half hour. What other preparations had the enemy made, he wondered?

The answer came with mind-numbing speed as Keesha shouted, “Fire!” The Scorpion’s gunner complied, and the tank lurched as a shell left the main gun, followed by an ear-splitting roar as the machine gun opened up. The explosion, about six hundred meters downrange, blew apart a platoon of Sith troops. A Grizzly fired two seconds later. That explosion erased an entire file of Kemorainians.

Troops cheered and Keesha smiled. Her Father knew that that Sith would foolishly risk a frontal assault, simply because they had no choice. That’s why he had holes dug in the ground to make bunkers for the tanks.

Now, firing with their barrels nearly parallel to the ground, the Tanks were in the process of turning the area in front of them into a moonscape as each shell threw half a ton of soil up in the air and carved craters out of the ground.

Unbeknownst to Keesha, or any other trooper in the field, the third shell to roar downrange blew Field Master Utamee in half. The assault continued, but more slowly now as the lower-ranking officers assumed command and tried to rally their troops...

M’raaj-Dar and his platoon of snipers were having a field day. Plenty of targets to choose from, so none of them squabbled over who got what kill. He ignored the incessant planksht of the HAMR cannons firing, and the chong-ching of the cannons loading their next shell, settled his sight over the head of a Sith noncom and fired his T72. The bullet struck the noncom between the eyes and made his head explode like an obscene watermelon. Reloading, M’raaj-Dar shifted aim and took out a Phayder before spotting an army of new contenders; a tattered rabble of Flood Combat, Carrier and Infection forms. M’raaj-Dar fired at a bloated carrier form, and stared in disbelief as it soaked up the bullet like a sponge and kept moving.

M’raaj-Dar loaded his Explosive caliber rounds, took aim at a combat form, and was relieved and disgusted to see its chest open up like a grotesque flower and hit the dirt. He shifted aim and fired again, this time sending an ex-altmer to the dirt in half. Firing again, he caused a carrier form to explode like a grenade, spewing voracious infection forms in every direction and knocking a Sith Lieutenant on his can. The infection forms swarmed him like wolves would their helpless prey. To end his suffering, M’raaj-Dar shot the human in the chest.

However, with Tanks blowing craters in the ground all around the Flood, HAMR cannons raining explosive shells on their heads, and machine guns pulverizing their numbers, the flood attack force was decimated in a matter of minutes. The remaining sixty-four Sith troopers—soldiers, special forces, noncoms and officers—surrendered, instead of facing total annihilation. The Sith dropships were destroyed, the fighters decimated, and their armored support in ruins. The battle for the Centurion was over...