Chapter 8 NAME "Shit Happens" Part 2

(Dormii)
Anything useful, I might add.

Cor- Well, so far the search yeilds nothi-

=Just then a marine who was trying to pry open a very large and heavy-duty covenant container screams and fires his AR. Vatel and Cort look over=

Mar2- JESUS! WHAT IS THAT!?

=Two or three creatures, which at the distance appear as greenish-yellow balloons, jump out at the Marine. He manages to hit two of them, and they pop in midair. The other clings to his face. He flails around screaming=

(Sarah and Warren)

=He goes down, reloading=

Warren-We're running low!

Sarah-Not my fault you cant aim!

Warren(comms)-Calen! Where the fuck are you!?

Calen-We had a slight problem.

Warren-What kind of problem!

=She stands, grabbing what she can=

Sarah-Fallback!

=He stands and they run off. Bullets fly past them=

=tries to keep his footing as the quake hits and comms the others=


we got a problem here a large earthquake

(Dormii)
=i extend my arm blade and run at the flood forms. i reply to Zeru=
Yea well, I got a flood.

=The marine drops to the ground in agony, trying to remove the flood form from his face as it shoves its barbed tentacles down his throat, tearing apart his esophagus on the way down. It attempts to open the marine wide enough to squeeze itself down his neck and into his stomach. Vatel and Cort fire at it, as about twenty more scurry out of the container and out of sight=

(Dormii)
=i get close enough and stab the infection form. I kneel down next to the Marine=
I am sorry....

=i stab the Marine in the head, killing him instantly=

=Vatel and Cort run up to Dormii and the mutilated and bloody marine. Cort crouches down beside Dormii, trying to determine exactly what the fuck just happened. Vatel looks around the area=

Vat- What the hell were those things!?

-Freemont-

=The city begins to fight itself=
=Neighboring military town Stoika begins to send the troops under Calen's command=

Calen-God damn! We just got Freemont up!

=Civilians are running around frantically=
=Some taking arms against the opposing force=

=Time passes and they all find each other=

Calen-God damn it!

=He punches Warren=
=Sarah blocks the fist=

Sarah-Listen to me. This can get much worse.

Warren-We dont need to fight each other.

Carson-We need backup. Who knows how many followers they have.

Sarah-We might..be able to get some help..

*snore*

=i hug Lana tight=

(Dormii)
Flood. A Parasitic whatever-the-fuck that infects any and everything and turns it into a super weapon. Take a Spartan, and remove the internal organs, that's about half the capability of a Flood form.

(Lana)
=i rest my head on his chest and fall asleep=

Vat- What!?

Cor- Is it safe to take any samples? I feel the need to study it further.

(Dormii)
=i stand up=
Last time someone did that, we almost lost a planet. You don't study this, you kill it. It adapts to ANYTHING. If it gets in you, you are dead. There is no coming back.

Cor- Alright.

=Cort waves over some Helljumpers with large metal tanks on their backs. They aim at the Dead flood forms, and Vatel and Cort back away=

(Sarah and Company)

Calen-Who.

Sarah-Technically, my ex-boyfriend...

Calen-What.

Sarah-Yeah...

Calen-Wait, That Dante guy you kept talking about?

Sarah-Yeah

=She stops and begins thinking of him=

Carson-Guys! I hear them!

=They run off=

(Dormii)
=i back off from the bodies=
May your souls rest in peace...

=The two helljumpers fire their flamethrowers from a few yards back, near Vatel and Dormii. The bodies erupt into a bright red-white fire as the chemical sludge of the Flood Forms is burned away, along with the flesh and blood of the Marine. The smoke rises slowly into the sky before vanishing high above them=

Cor- What a shame. I would have liked to have gotten a sample for study.

(Dormii)
No, you wouldn't.

Cor- No harm could have come of a dead creature.

(Dormii)
Depends on what is dead.

Cor- What do you mean by that?

=Vatel, now a few yards behind them, starts mumbling to himself=

(Dormii)
=i turn my head to look at him=
Can a creature survive without legs, arms, a head, and half of a body?

Cor- Of course not.

(Dormii)
Tell that to the flood.

=A look of amazement and excitement comes across Cort's perpetually expressionless face, hidden behind the Visor of his helmet as it glows with the reflection of the fire=

(Earth)

(In the Homeless Shelter)

Brute: There's an intruder in the base, follow me!

=The Brutes follow him out of the room=

hmm... a grav lift, looks like the only way I can go as well

=I go up the grav lift into the Brute leaders throne room=

Brute leader: He's here! Kill him!

Shit!

(Dormii)
If you are thinking what I think you are thinking, don't. They can't be controlled.

Cor- Well, if what you say is true, i can see why.

(Dormii)
=i nod=
So, shall we continue looking for Covenant stuff? There is nothing we can do about the flood other than kill them as we see them.

Vat- Alright.

(Dormii)
=i realize my arm blade is out. I retract it and roll my shoulder. The plates on my arm go from what I just realized was closed with twitchy movements to half open and closed. I turn to walk off=

(Earth)

(In the Brute Leaders throne room)

Brute Honor Guards......not good, unless....

=I scan the area for any plasma barrels

Time to say your prayers Honor Guards

=I shoot at the plasma barrels killing the Honor Guards=

=I throw a frag grenade at the Brute leader which kills him=

Now to escape

(Sarah and Company)

Sarah-Shoot. Forgot something at the house.

Calen-What is it?

Sarah-A projector type thing.

=He looks away=

Calen-I found that.

Sarah-Yes! did you bring it?

Calen-No.

Warren-Cmon! I have a transport we can take.

Carson-What is it?

Warren-A Longsword.

Carson-...UNSC...

Warren-Yeah, Ill...tell you about it later.

(Jason)
=I had gotten to bed, and was asleep for maybe a few hours, before Miri's voice woke me up as she whispered in my ear=

(Miranda)
Good morning Jason, Do you know what today is?

(Jason)
=I had no freakin clue=
Uhhh........your birthday?

(Earth)

(The Brute Base)

Shit! They've found me!

=The Brutes throw me into the energy shield prison but I just have enough time to send out a distress signal=

Now.... I wait for my rescuer.

Not fully knowing what to do. I decided it would be a good idea to visit the Armory. If there was one, that is. But then I realized that Matt had weapons on his ship. So after my ID was verified I decided to go back to the ship and equip myself. After all, a dragon cannot use weapons, they don't have opposable thumbs. Which brought back to mind what happened to Matt. I theorized that the temple he wandered into was active, and that the technology hidden in it somehow planted the stem cells of a dragon into him and accelerated the growth of those cells. What was curious to me, however, was how those cells replaced the other cells. Then it hit me, I had forgotten about the function of DNA. Somehow, through some means of exposure or insertion, the original genes of the Dragon were spliced into the stem cells nucleus, and then accelerated. But if that was the case, it would mean that Matt himself would age much more quickly than a natural born dragon. So how quickly would he age? How old could dragons live for? where was the original Dragon whose DNA was now being forcefully put into trespassers? Would memories come with that DNA?

I had questions and no one could answer them. I had equipped myself with his weapons, of which I had an idea on how to use. With my recent evolution I had apparently also latently learned how to use the submachine gun and assault rifle effectively. Of the knowledge I gained from it, I was curious as to why such knowledge was had in the first place. I wasn't even technically human, why should I have learned to use such trivial things? It was all very confusing. Sort of. It wasn't really confusing, it was just I did not wish to fully dwell on the matter.

I had left the ship yet again, this time armed with Matts old weapons. Also, I had a brace that had a port on it. It was designed for an AI to be carried. I thought it would be a good idea to strap it around Matts neck, so that he still had Kyle to talk to. Well, sort of talk to. I had an idea on how to make Matt be able to speak again, in his current form. It required, however, technology that was not on this planet, or even possessed by any nearby ships. Sophia had informed of this when I expressed the idea to her. She said that the nearest possible location was a Lab i had once worked in. That lab, moreover, was more than a few systems away, and would take more than a few days to get to, even via slipspace jumps. I sighed as I found someplace to sit and ponder. I never liked having something so solid, so close at hand, and so unable to be had.

(Sarah and Company)

=They cross into the city=
=Blood spattered walls=
=People being lined up in a firing line=

=Shots continue firing=

Sarah-What...what do they expect to accomplish...

Warren-I dont know. My lady.

=They continue running, searching for the docking station=

Calen-Tell me more about that Longsword, Peace.

Warren-Like I said. Later.

(Miranda)
=I could actually feel the scowl form on my face=
Uh, no. Try again. And make sure you get it right this time.

(Jason)
=Okay, that scared me a little, so I had to think, really hard, what she was getting at. Then, it hit me=
It's the four year anniversary of our relationship.

=Man did I feel like the world's worst boyfriend. I mean, who forgets the anniversary of how long you and the person you love have been dating? (Short answer: Me)=

(Miranda)
=The scowl didn't quite fade away, but it was still there, under my smile=
Yes it is. So, what are you going to do for me?

(Jason)
=If I didn't answer correctly, I had a good feeling that my balls would suffer the consequences. So, I went with the safest answer=
It's a surprise.

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=They had stayed on Repent=
=Unknowing of the goings on of the planet below=
=They are currently in the messhall, eating=

(Sarah and Company)

=Calen grabs Warren and pins him against the nearest wall=

Calen-How about now.

=Carson and Sarah stop=

Carson-Sir! We cant afford to stop!

=Calen looks at Carson=

Calen-Shut up.

=Warren looks at Calen=
=He struggles free, punching Calen=

Warren-Ill tell you how. Former Fuckin UNSC Spartan Two.

=Calen takes the punch=

Warren-Now cmon. Now isnt the time for this.

=Calen wipes some blood from his mouth and they start up again=

(Dormii)
=i decide to send a recorded message with a medium priority, which, in hindsight, probably won't be the greatest thing to do, to Draco and the others=

Hey, guys, not to alarm anyone, but, we have a small Flood problem. If you come down here, be on the lookout. A few infection things escaped, but we can't do anything about them right now. Anyway, just letting you know.

(Miranda)
=I knew he was bull-shitting me, but I liked watching him squirm. Hey, he was a Spartan, and now in control of a Forerunner world. Who wouldn't want to see him squirm?=
Okay. I can't wait to see what it is.

=I got out of bed, and left the room for the kitchen=

(Jason)
=I just stayed in bed, curled in the fetal position, too afraid to move. Hell, if she found out that not only did I forget it was our anniversary, but that I had nothing for her, she'd rip my balls off, and make me chew them=

*In his quarters from returning from the surface earlier*

Sir we have a urgent report from Dormii on the surface. I would advise you to hear it.

What is it?

=Tiberus plays the message to Torres=

He doesn't seem to worry that much haha. Ok send some pelicans down to make a perimeter of where the assumed flood threat resides. I want soldiers with flamethrowers down there. Also send a message to our nearest Sanghelli ally, we might need that portion of the planet to be glassed. We can't let that parasite spread.

Got it...also we have a confirmed report of a distress beacon in the next cluster. A UNSC soldier is help prisoner on a brute controlled planet.

Ok send a message to the others that I am leaving for earth. Get everyone ready. Plot a course for earth.

=The ship leaves the vicinity of the planet and jumps to earth=

(Draco, Lynn, and Grace)

=He recieves the comm and replies=

Alright.
Is there anything else I should know.
Andrea has been picking up a strong increase in UNSC activity.

(Sarah and Company)

=They arrive at the docking station=
=Ships leaving=
=Ships being blown to pieces=

Total War.

=Warren leads them to the Longsword=

Warren-Cmon!

=He fires on a few enemy soldiers=
=They load up and prepare=

Warren-Shit! Its gonna be a minute!

(Dormii)
=i reply to Draco's comm, the light flashing as it indicates an open channel=
Oh, yea, a detachment of some UNSC are here to establish a trade port as well. We are trying to be peaceful, for a change.

(Draco)

Hmm...
An utter change...
Dont let your guard down, Dormii.
They could be trying something.

=He stands=
=Addressing Lynn and Grace=

Draco-Care to join in on some fun.

Lynn-Always.

Grace-Whatever.

=Lynn and Grace stand and they head to the hanger=

(Sarah and Company)

Sarah-Hurry!

Warren-Alright. Safety is the main concern. We will return.

=They undock and head off=

(Dormii)
Since when do I ever let my guard down?

=i put some humor into that last statement=

(Draco)

Right, we're coming down now.

=They enter the hanger and grab a Pelican=
=They head down=

(Sarah and Company)

Calen-So, where is this ex-boyfriend of yours?

Sarah-Uh...

Carson-You...dont know...

Sarah-I do! I just forgot the coordinates.

Warren-Well...thats nice...

Sarah-Yeah...

=Warren stands from the pilot's seat and heads back=

Warren-You should be here..

=Cort walks over to Vatel=

Cor- You alight?

Vat- Im fine. Let's head back to base. And have the Flying Fortress pick up what has already been salvaged.

Cor- Alright.

=The marines begin bringing all the containers they took into one place. The Flying Fortress moves over the area, and transports begin taking the cargo up to the ship. Cort and Vatel load up into a Transport Hog. Vatel looks over to Dormii=

Vat- You coming?

(Jason)
=I had no idea what I was going to do, and very little time to come up with something. I mean hell, I may have been dating her for four years, and yes, I even proposed to her. But I was the farthest thing from a romantic guy. Hell, I'd probably need lessons on how to be that guy. Unfortunately, my balls were in a vice, and the only way I could get them out of it, was to somehow pull off a perfect anniversary day for Miranda=

(Sarah and Company)

=Warren gets to an area towards the end=
=A panel on the wall=
=He places his hand on it=

*Access code, required*

Damn.

=He thinks=
=He presses in the numbers=
=A section pulls into the wall, revealing a set of armor=

You may come in handy again.