Private/Closed Bootleg Bros. Ultimate - The Banished Campaign (Act 1)

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak
Arcturus Pit - Early Morning
One turret down, 4 to go, all of which were now shooting at the Mantis. The bulk of them were in the pit, and so had an angle on the open cockpit of the Ghost. Kazaaak zero-turned to the left and activated the ghost's thrusters, launching him forward towards the pit. In spite of being briefly slowed down by some trees, the ghost was able to punch through into the main section of pit.

Pushing forward, Kazaaak drifted around some trees, using them as cover between him and the shade turret in the center- although still taking damage from the ones at the entrance- before he reached the foot of the platform. Kazaaak turned the ghost left and deactivated the thrusters, drifting up the incline to get behind the turret!

Kazaaak fired plasma at the turret, breaking the shield and destroying it. He was now being fired on from behind by the remaining turrets, made worse by the fact that the Ghost was now on the top of the platform, making it more susceptible to fire. Zero-turning and activating the thrusters, again, Kazaaak drifted around a landing platform to get a better angle on the remaining Shades.

 

[Fraseandchico]

JULIAN

With Kazaaak flying drifting away for cover and safety, the AI knew that the bug was drawing plenty of attention, which seemed to almost relieve JULIAN of any consequence for his own shooting.
"Perfect," He mused - Had the robot required breathing, it would have held off for a moment as it realised that the attention was now likely being drawn towards Keyes. "...Not perfect." JULIAN added, realising that this would likely be considered a moment that 'required revealing' himself. And take it as such a moment, the SPARK did.

The SPARK slid out from behind the tree it used as makeshift cover, raising the Beam Rifle once more - Attempting to take advantage of the foes still being focused on Kazaaak - And attempted to reach a suitable position to fire upon the Jackal Snipers, acting to draw not only their attention away from Kazaaak or Keyes, but also the attention of other foes in the area - Then move for cover.

 

[comic]

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Kaminski kept up with what he could, firing well-timed shots at every opportunity, but the Banished contingent in this area was surprisingly strong. He was wasting bullets on brutes and jackals, their own defenses stalling him, leaving the marine to only deal any real damage to the grunts.

Copen took the opportunity to punish the defending phantom, heavy bullets slugging across its surface. The pilot turned the bow of the ship quickly, the vehicle’s side now facing the mantis. The grunt stationed on the port beam with its plasma turret opened rapidfire, spewing a hail of plasma out towards the mantis - only to be quickly eliminated by an equal spray of hot 20mm lead. Blue bioluminescent blood exploded in the interior of the phantom as the plasma turret was ripped apart.

“Shit, okay, maybe a bad idea,” Kaminski grunted as he pulled on the belt to ground himself with the movement of the mantis. “Why the hell are there so many of these bastards?”

The jackals held back, taking defensive positions to lay down suppressive fire as the brutes moved in front of them, ordering the grunts to be the ones to actually get close to the mantis. Almost all of them were compliant and stupid.

Kaminski had taken out only a few more grunts but the rest were converging on them.

Copen’s targeted dropship turned its bow around again, this time to face the starboard side to the mantis and let the next turret-mounted grunt let loose through the trees.

The mantis was tough, but it was a big target, and plasma scoring was piling on, the damage mounting up. A few screens flickered in front of Copen, one console sparking for a moment. He let loose the second silo, another five 30mm rockets flashing through the air as he set them out toward the isolated phantom. At its distance, it saw the attack coming, the dropship swerving on anti-gravity to drag it out of the way. Two rockets passed by, nearly grazing it, but the other three struck right at the exposed core.

An eruption of hot blue plasma burst out of the phantom, almost like a contained miniature supernova in detail, balls of plasma cascading to the forest below as the phantom shuddered, rolling backward through the air. It remained in the air however. Yet as its smoldering hull reoriented to start firing—a white light blinded the horizon for a brief moment as the phantom erupted in an even mightier explosion, its entire frame bursting apart, sending melted and twisted metal sailing through the air in every direction, the explosion more akin to a scream than a boom.

The was one down, and Kaminski had managed to take out a few more grunts in that time. However, they were upon them, several starting to leap for the legs of the mantis, bony hands clawing to grasp the metal and start heaving themselves up.

Grunts: 17
Jackals: 12
Brutes: 12
Phantoms: 2
​

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Kazaaak’s maneuver forced him into a nearly-cornered position, though he managed to take out another shade turret along the way. Yet after a second, as he turned to fire at the next turret nearest him, the one right beside his ghost suddenly shook, then erupted in a contained explosion of blue light, sending shrapnel falling into the pit - and exposing Kazaaak to point-blank shots from the second shade on the same level as he.

The ghost was great for how the mantis had been using it, but with focused fire so close, he’d quickly find that its defensive capabilities really weren’t anything special against plasma. And now, his stunt was drawing the Banished ground units back to this side of the pit, rather than the exterior.

Keyes had to flatten himself against the shadow of the wall, watching as brutes and grunts rushed right back to where they’d been before, firing their weapons up at Kazaaak. They hadn’t noticed the captain - yet. The freed marines were forced to find cover to avoid getting spotted, still weaponless for the moment.

JULIAN exposed himself to fire at the sniper jackals and draw their attention, a particle shot piercing through the skull of one and dropping it. Only a couple others took notice, moving quickly to defensive positions to return fire on JULIAN, though the others seemed too focused on Kazaaak to take notice.

If the mantis didn’t move quickly, the ghost wouldn’t survive another second under such conditions.

Grunts: 12
Sniper Jackals: 5
Jackals: 4
Brutes: 13
Shade Turrets: 3
​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Copen
​

One down.

As Copen suspected, the chain reaction from destroying the Phantom’s power core was more than enough to put it out of commission. That left two more of the dropships, but as both Kaminski and the Mantis’ systems pointed out, there were more urgent matters at hand - Banished infantry were gathering all around the mech, opening fire on the large target.

“Something must have gotten their attention beforehand…” Copen theorized. It was likely the earlier presence of the rest of the team, he figured, though the exact cause didn’t matter right now. Shaking off the troops near the mantis as soon as possible would be best. “Hang on!”

As he said that, the cyborg pressed down on the big red button in the cockpit, and the Mantis raised one of its legs before quickly slamming it back down. In an identical manner to before, the earth in front of the mech would erupt for a good distance, Copen having aimed the stomp in an attempt to reach the jackals that were slightly further away, or at least force them to back off as anything in front of them (and likely directly around the Mantis) was suddenly uprooted.

His focus on the ground troops was only made clearer when the missile launcher was pointed downwards, Copen now aiming primarily at the brutes as he began to fire missiles upon them, trying to clear out the more resilient opposition before they could further gang up on the Mantis. As he did so, the cyborg directed the mech to step away from the infantry, and once another good opening in the trees presented itself, iX would switch targets, opening fire with the chaingun at the nearest Phantom.​

 

[Fraseandchico]

JULIAN

The AI let out a small sling of curses, with unclear targetting - This was due to the miminal success in regards to redrawing the attention of the snipers, both ways. In that he had drawn any attention to himself and simultaneously too little attention. Not only that, but it wasn't as though he could shift strategies completely on his own - All he could was continue to follow Keyes's orders from before since they were not currently in contact.

As JULIAN could only watch, the SPARK peeked out of cover, taking a few shots in the process and certainly feeling the sting - But aiming and firing upon some of the Jackals who were focused on Kazaaak still - As they were not focused on JULIAN, it would be less likely they would avoid the shots in time, after all, but he could only fire a few at this time aas Overdrive was still cooling down and he was too far away for a Nova...

 

[Psymallard]

Spaniard Representation
-Tiberium Woods-
Peeking out from some foliage behind them, David began to fire bursts of plasma from his pulse carbine at the backs of the group of jackals assailing the Mantis.

...

The swordsman had heard a ruckus on the way to the rendezvous point. He had a mind to avoid it, but he and Bisenti came to the conclusion it was likely an ally in trouble. Thus, David was convinced to investigate. Sure enough, the person riding on the back of the mech was identifiable as a UNSC marine.

David had shed some of his unnecessary junk under a nearby tree root, such as the skull and his second shield gauntlet, and then continued on to the edge of the clearing. Under the cover of darkness, he positioned himself behind the jackals. Those slippery suckers were the most frustrating to fight thus far, and he imagined it went double for something as relatively sluggish as a mech.

And, that brought him to this moment. His barrage of superheated gas lined up nicely with the earth-shaking stomp aimed at the same targets, effectively catching the group in a pincer attack. He feathered the trigger for a moment, at least until the element of surprise had worn off. Once it did, he cast his pulse carbine back into a bush and drew his machete. He had just gotten it, and by golly it was going to taste blood before daybreak.

 

[comic]

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

The Mantis raised a leg.

The surrounding grunts came to a stop. “Oh poop,” one said. Amazing last words.

The leg slammed down, a gust of kinetic energy expelling from around the mech as the ground burst apart in a line in front of the mantis, grunts sent flying in every direction. That dealt with almost all of them. However, one brute seemed to have been anticipating this, the one who’d ordered the grunts to surround the machine in the first place. He charged like a bull toward the mantis as it rose back to its full height, recovering from the stomp.

The jackal group had a little more time to react than the grunts, moving quickly to dive out of the way, a few still getting propelled through the air, one breaking its back against a tree - before another tree uprooted from the stomp fell on it.

Quickly following were the missiles, Copen not having time to charge up another silo, so releasing individual rockets to suppress and break the line of brutes. Several went flying as balls of fire erupted with each point of contact, illuminating the greenery around them - but the charging brute had moved past the range of fire, leaping into the air, covering surprising ground before slamming a free hand into the back of the mantis, digging his claws into the metal, successfully grabbing hold with a laugh as the mantis moved away from the immediate area.

It had been a bit of a massacre, the ground troops almost decimated in their assault, though the remaining two phantoms kept firing - and Copen was in range of the wounded one now.

In the chaos of Copen’s stomp and retaliation, David and Bisenti had arrived on the scene. The spaniard opened fire on the jackals, taking advantage of their exposed backs - and their disorderly leaps out of the stomp’s way, allowing him to score a few, plasma tearing open their thin flesh and bone into blackened material. With the ground troops seriously beaten down, David advanced with his machete as Bisenti offered supporting fire with his own pulse carbine.

“Shit- shit!” Kaminski shouted, glancing behind to see one of the brute’s arms swing over the edge of the mantis, and the alien started to haul himself up, fanged mouth cracked in a crooked grin as his angry eyes locked onto the marine. Kaminski swiveled on the spot, holding on as best as he could to take aim with the rifle, letting a round slug into the brute’s shoulder - to little effect, claws digging into the top of the mantis to stay steady.

With a charge, throwing himself forward, the brute rammed his other shoulder into Kaminski, throwing the marine off the side of the mantis - before he stopped, his belt catching him and dropping him to the edge of the mech’s top, Kaminski’s DMR flying elsewhere. His arm had been nearly ripped off.

Immediately, the brute plunged his fist through the open hatch to attempt grasping at Copen, razor sharp claws raking dangerously through the tight cockpit.

David and Bisenti, meanwhile, had a moment to capitalize on, as the ground troops hadn’t been clued in to their presence yet, still focused on the retreating mantis as the phantoms fired blasts to tear apart the forest and reduce hiding places for Copen. Their backs were to the recently-arrived team, and Bisenti wisely held fire for the moment now that the initial attack was over, following behind David as they closed the distance to the Banished, most of which were already setting after the mantis again, some with limps, some loudly complaining about a boo-boo (a grunt, namely).

Grunts: 5
Jackals: 7
Brutes: 8
Phantoms: 2​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Copen
​

Switching targets to the ground troops seemed to have been a good choice - the combination of the stomp and missiles had cut their numbers in half, and some of the enemies that had survived the onslaught had been noticeably injured. That made things a lot easier on the Mantis. Satisfied with that outcome for now, Copen held down the missile trigger again, charging up the silo as the mech grew close enough to attack the damaged Phantom, aligning its sights with the dropship.. Some damage was still piling up on the Mantis, but things were looking far better than before––

“Shit- shit!”

Raising a brow, Copen glanced over his shoulder just in time to witness Kaminski nearly fall off the mech, having been suddenly attacked by a brute. He had utilized the Mantis' blind spot to his advantage, now lashing out at iX with his claws. The cyborg was able to shift forward enough to avoid being grabbed, though the brute's claws still tore along the cockpit's interior, ripping through some of the metal and through the pilot seat. A gash was left on Copen's back, which while somewhat mitigated by Break-Shift's durability, still left noticeable and lasting damage to his armor.

Copen grit his teeth, letting go of the controls to reach for the M95 - causing the Mantis to stop and fire the charged silo at the wounded Phantom, though not as precisely as he'd wanted. Grasping the shotgun, he whirled around to take aim at the brute, before iX fired out two blasts in quick succession at the ursine alien to dispatch him before he could cause further damage.​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak
Arcturus Pit - Early Morning
Most of the turrets were dead, but the Ghost was in serious danger, as one was right next to it! Pulling the thrust trigger, Kazaaak rocketed forward to get away from from the turret, ending up near the platform another turret had previously been on. Noticing the large amounts of Banished chasing him, the pirate decided that he had done enough in terms of actually blowing up defenses- and that taking the enemies away from the pit was the best idea.

"HEY YOU NERDS!" he shouted at the nearest available group of enemies. "EVEN THROUGH THE SCREEN ON THIS THING I CAN SEE THE SCALES ON YOUR ARMS! ARE YOU SURE THOSE AREN'T TUMORS? AND YOU!" He swivelled the ghost to another group while moving backwards. "YEAH, YOU! THAT MOHAWK! DID A BLIND MAN GIVE YOU THAT HAIRCUT?"

Enemies suitably enraged, he turned around and moved away from Keyes and the marines. Occasionally he would swivel, fire some shots, and then swivel back to keep leading the enemies away. Snipers be damned, Kazaaak was going to be a distraction and a damn good one! As long as he didn't stick his head out or something. Though he did jiggle the ghost to throw off the snipers.

 

[comic]

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

JULIAN took advantage of the yet unawares snipers, firing once, then twice, using the trees to block the shots of the two jackals focused on him. His shots struck true, eliminating two additional snipers. The two focused on the SPARK trilled, calling the attention of the other jackals toward him.

The last sniper focused on Kazaaak listened, refocusing itself to fire on JULIAN as the four jackals on the ground moved quickly to depart from the main defense force and began scaling up the steep wall, toe claws shredding away at stone and earth as they rose rapidly to reach the robot before they assembled with their gauntlet shields, peppering JULIAN’s area with plasma shots.

Kazaaak’s taunting was funny (not to the Banished) though somewhat unneeded, given he was the central focus of almost the entire Banished presence in the pit. Still, his momentary pause evoked an unfortunate opportunity, as what seemed to be a stick was lobbed through the air - and it landed against the hood of Kazaaak’s ghost, jagged edges around the stick enabling it to stick to the metal, embedding into the surface.

A spike grenade.

It erupted, hot shrapnel and smaller tungsten spikes spraying the immediate area and tearing open the ghost’s forward hull in an instant, allowing dark smoke to billow out from inside, a good indicator to get moving, which the mantis proceeded to do.

The ghost sputtered as it moved, but its performance didn’t yet appear hindered. Shots flew left and right, this way and that, Kazaaak doing his best to backtrack out of the pit and weave around the copious amounts of focused fire - though he had zipped his way back up towards one of the first shades, the turret already opening rapidfire on him at close range in an attempt to put the ghost down.

“Sissy!” one grunt yelled after Kazaaak, throwing back an insult after one of his fellows was practically vaporized on the spot by an array of plasma bolts from the mantis’ ghost, his tactics having taken down a brute as well.

With Kazaaak and JULIAN still doing their best, and efficiently maintaining Banished attention, Keyes skirted around the cliff peninsula to begin his approach toward the second group of marines. The first group, meanwhile, were allowed to collect discarded or mounted weapons, ammunition, and explosives. The first contributing thing they did was lobbing several spike grenades up at the two shade turrets positioned overlooking the pit.

Needless to say, they didn’t last long.

Grunts: 11
Sniper Jackals: 3
Jackals: 4
Brutes: 12
Shade Turrets: 1​

 

[Psymallard]

David Kavarr
-Tiberium Woods, <1km of Copen-
Ah, and they hadn't even spotted him yet- how fortunate.

The jackals were in his weight class, but their slipperiness in a wide-open area such as this would make it hard to engage them in melee once they realized the Spaniard was among them. The grunts... were too pathetic for him to focus on. They were armed and dangerous, and David knew not to underestimate them, but punching down on such sorry little specimens really wasn't his style.

The swordsman opted instead to choose the scarier-yet-slower brutes. Kavarr stalked through the underbrush. Not particularly stealthily... but after not being noticed so far, he realized he really didn't need to duck his head when there was the spectacle of a rampaging mech in the area. He emerged in a brisk walk, locking onto one of the uninjured jiralhanae. The wounded ones would be just as dangerous, David knew from his limited experience with the aliens, but he figured taking out one of the fresh ones when he had the element of surprise would yield the best results.

The starman whipped out the stun baton he'd found as well. He held off until activating it until just before he jabbed it (electrical end-first) into the alien's lower back. If not to harass and weaken any potential energy shielding, it'd cause the beast to stiffen up as David flourished his machete overhead. He meant to swipe the blade across the back of the brute's neck as deep as the blade would go.

 

[comic]

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Copen took some damage from the brute, but his quick response with the shotgun put an end to that problem. With the first blast, pellets shredded across the jiralhanae, causing him to shout - and the second blast finished the job, tearing open his face.

The brute stumbled back, slipping off the edge of the Mantis to the ground. The silo’s premature release launched only three missiles rather than all five, something the wounded phantom managed to swerve out of the way as the other continued firing on the now-stationary mech while most of the other ground units closed in again.

David jabbed his stun stick forward, ramming it into the exposed part of his targeted brute. The electricity pumped into the alien, who let out a snarl as his body jerked a little - but it was quickly apparent that the stick wasn’t giving off the kind of juice to immobilize such a creature.

The brute quickly turned, swinging his arm about in a sweeping motion for David, the limb instead catching the machete’s blade rather than the neck. Still, the lightly-armored arm allowed the composite sword to land a blow, its nanite-sharp edge slicing cleanly through the hair, skin, and meat - before it stopped at the bone of the brute’s forearm. He let out another snarl, now yanking his arm away as he spun his body, now swinging with his other arm to try and backhand David away, the brute turning to face the spaniard.

His retaliation was short-lived, as Bisenti opened fire with the spiker he’d collected. Superheated tungsten spikes plunged into the brute’s torso, knocking him a pace away, the spikes lodging in his body, melting through armor and flesh. The third sound that came from the alien was a groan as he looked down at the damage in momentary shock - an opening for David.

However, this drew the attention of the other nearby brutes and jackals, all quickly turning their attention upon Kavarr and Bisenti.

Kaminski grasped his belt with his free hand, considering his options for a moment. “I’m dropping, Copen,” he called to the android. “Give me a sec... to get clear... in case you wanna stomp again...!”

The marine released his hold on the belt and dropped to the ground, trying to angle his legs to soften the blow, collapsing in a heap for a moment as his BR75 dropped beside him. Thanks to David and Bisenti, most of the ground heat had been lifted off of Copen and Kaminski. Only the grunts and a couple brutes were still in pursuit, forcing Kaminski to scramble back to his feet despite the pain, grabbing the MA40 as he set the BR75 on his back, spraying lead towards the foes as he limped backwards to suppress them.

Grunts: 5
Jackals: 7
Brutes: 7
Phantoms: 2
​

 

[ArmedBlue]

Copen
​

The universal translator did its job once more, making short work of the intruding brute, leaving his body to fall off the Mantis. For a moment, Copen thought to help Kaminski back onto the mech - though the marine quickly informed him of his plan, dropping to the ground somewhat roughly. Plasma shots began to rack up damage on the Mantis again, prompting the cyborg to grab hold of the controls again, moving away from Kaminski's landing spot.

Cover was growing few and far between thanks to the ongoing conflict, forcing the Mantis to take more blows than necessary as it pivoted around the Phantoms. Leading with the chaingun again, Copen let loose a storm of lead towards the yet undamaged Phantom, aiming to expose its core while he charged up the rocket silo again.

This time, the cyborg directed the Mantis towards the Phantoms once the missiles were ready to go. With the gap closed somewhat, he would fire out the missiles at the wounded Phantom, letting the chaingun rest only when the other projectiles were in flight.​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak
Arcturus Pit - Early Morning
In spite of a grenade, the Ghost continued to function. Having killed a few of the foes chasing him, Kazaaak refocused on the turret. Turning as he moved, the pirate drifted around the turret as he had for the previous ones, firing plasma until it was no longer a threat. Rotating again to face the group, Kazaaak continued to pull away from the pit... when he had an idea.

Instead of feathering the trigger for the plasma, he began firing it in bursts, allowing the shots to spread out a little before he refocused them. This way, instead of only attacking one at a time, the mantis could damage the entire group of foes at once! As he did so, he moved the Ghost around unpredictably, making full use of it's ability to move in all 4 directions.

 

[Psymallard]

David Kavarr
-Tiberium Forest-
The weapon slid cleanly slid through matted hair and muscle like nothing, and David couldn't help but silently remark on how much he loved this blade already. With a grin, he leaned back, limboing under the Brute's backhand. He came back up with a stab towards the Brute's neck. He had no patience to kill this one with a thousand cuts, even if he did thoroughly enjoy this exchange.

The Spaniard knew better than to stick around for the beast's retaliation, especially if it was in its death throes. So, in the same instance, he planted his boot on the jiralhanae's knee and then kicked off to get some distance. Though the distance would save him from the alien's massive strength, it invited fire from the many aliens that had now turned to face them. Both he and Bisenti... he wasn't sure the marine would thrive under such heavy fire, but David had himself to worry about right now.

He weaved through the initial fire and twirled the deactivated stun baton back into his belt. Then, the swordsman activated his shield gauntlet. He continued to try and weave through the fire best he could, sparing the shield's charge for any plasma that came too close for comfort. In this manner, David ran down another brute, hoping the beast's huge frame would discourage reckless fire from its comrades while they were engaged in melee.

 

[Fraseandchico]

JULIAN

A successful two kills drew the attention of the last Jackal Sniper that had been focused on Kazaaak to JULIAN, and the enemies began to approach - Even the AI knew his tree-based cover was quickly struggling against sniper fire whilst other Jackals began to approach, a fact that made him curse the instructions given to JULIAN by Keyes before this mission.

But, at least he had a failsafe to this; Nova was to be used in emergencies of high damage and nearby enemies when it wasn't to destroy the SPARK, as to prevent any further attempts at capture (A fact that had been avoided on JULIAN's initial capture by the loss of contact with XCOM surprising and temporarily preventing action). It snuck it's head out of the tree-based cover one last time, the SPARK did, firing off another 2 shots at the Jackal Snipers, and saw the others getting closer...

So, it'd wait for those Jackals to get even closer. They wanted to ascend to face the SPARK, so be it; It would suddenly slip out of the trees right as they fell apart, running straight at the Jackals.
"Ever wanted to explode?" JULIAN could only mock as electrical energy flowed throughout at a high speed.
Iniatiting Nova Protocol - Permission has not been granted by CE Lily Capt. Keyes.
ERROR!
No command available. Passcode required.
******
Passcode confirmed. Confirm Nova Protocol activation?
YES

Nova Protocol Active

A powerful blast of energy would extend from JULIAN right after, aimed to defeat the Jackals or at least surprise them.

But right after, the body would freeze up - Now that he actually had someone who could order him nearby, JULIAN could not afford to consistently pull stunts like that. The SPARK locked up slightly - It wasn't painful, nothing like that, it was more like being placed in time out.

 

[comic]

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

JULIAN took opportune shots at two of the three remaining sniper jackals. His first particle beam was a bullseye, dropping one sniper. However, the second and third jackals were quick to dive into their own cover: more trees. Their nimble and speedy response rendered the second particle shot null.

Plasma was ripping apart the tree the SPARK had taken cover in, something that gave no reprieve. The four advancing jackals chittered excitedly together as they pushed forward, moving slowly from the cover of their shields.

The machine suddenly burst from cover, barreling himself right through the charred remains of the trees he’d been using. “Ever wanted to explode?” he asked them as he rapidly closed the distance, electricity arcing over his chassis.

The subsequent blast, right in front of the shield wall, was unleashed. The expulsion of energy broke through the gauntlet shields, overloading them as the blast propelled the four kig-yar back through the air, dropping over the side of the short cliff.

The last two snipers peered out from cover before they shared a glance. They smelled opportunity.

Kazaaak’s idea, using the ghost’s spray to potentially land more shots wasn’t a bad one, but he’d find that it didn’t produce the results as good as he’d hoped. The plasma blasts weren’t confined to a linear path, nor horizontal. The more wild the shots that sprayed, they could go high or low. Quite a few started to plunge into the ground in front of the mantis, and without any focused fire, most of the Banished that did get struck for one of the stray shots were able to come back from it mostly fine, their armor taking the brunt of the plasma scoring. He managed to only really take out another grunt, as well as a brute whose damage had been stacking up.

One brute pulled away from the group, moving to the side to pull out a communicator. Bringing it up in his paw, a hologram flickered before another jiralhanae appeared. “Warden, Arcturus Pit is under attack!”

“The escaped prisoners?”

“Yes, I believe so!” the brute growled. “We haven’t finished dismantling the operation, and Chak ‘Lok’s favorite pet is still down there!”

The Warden bared his fangs for a moment, a physical sign of his frustration. “The prisoners wish to bolster their ranks... it’s their best shot at targeting the apex... get your men inside, barricade the doors. Don’t let them in!”

The holographic image cut out, and the brute tucked away the device, letting out a loud bark. “Fall back!” he bellowed. “Into the pit!”

It was a sudden shift, as the pursuing Banished were quick to obey, save for a few grunts that were slow on the uptake. What remained of their forces started to move back into the put, heading directly for the doors into the facility itself.

By now, Keyes had freed the second group of marines, and as the Banished forces charged right back in, he got ready for a fight - only for the Banished to completely ignore him and their escaped prisoners, charging their way back for the facility.

The captain still fired at them where he could, trying to at least take a few grunts down. They must have realized their defense wasn’t working, so they were falling back to another defensive line, trampling over anything in their way. The armed marines were smart to clear out of their path while still laying down fire, taking a few more grunts and even a brute on the way.

This was confirmation that the battle had been one, and now another awaited them.

The two sniper jackals were the only ones left out of the pit when the call to fall back had been announced. Seeing JULIAN’s status, they seemed hesitant, wanting to capitalize on his condition... before they slunk backwards into the trees, disappearing into darkness.

Grunts: 6
Sniper Jackals: 2
Brutes: 11
​

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Copen sought to one-up the undamaged phantom. It was clearly the most capable of the original trio, and again, it proved to be attentive. Or at least its pilot was. Like before, when the chaingun spat out lead, the phantom moved its body, positioning its side to take the damage - resulting in another grunt’s death, who’d been stationed on the opposite turret as the earlier splattered alien.

As the rocket silo of the Mantis began to glow, charging up the missiles, the damaged phantom started to move, drifting quickly through the air, positioning itself in front of the undamaged phantom just as Copen fired.

Five missiles struck true, and this time, there was no momentary delay. It was immediate, the sky lighting up with another scream of machinery as the phantom erupted in a ball of blue fire, parts of metal flying in every direction.

That left the final phantom, still barely damaged during the firefight. Yet its pilot seemed to understand the situation, and with the Mantis still operational... it swung around and started to fly away, quickly gathering speed as its glittering shell started to quickly camouflage against the starry sky.

Meanwhile, David and Bisenti were doing what they could against the remaining ground forces, of which there were still a fair few. As David cleared distance with the brute he was fighting, Bisenti let loose another spiker round, dropping the brute for good.

With the two men exposed, the Banished split their gunfire between them. David’s response was an energy gauntlet. Bisenti’s was to duck between some trees and use the cover of night to conceal his tracks, moving to a new position to give David further aid, as the Spaniard was a lot more interested in close-quarters combat.

The brute he’d chosen to focus on seemed likewise inclined. “You wish to challenge me?” he gruffed, tossing his weapon aside - and kicked off from the ground, rapidly closing the distance between them to swing an overhead arm down at David, knowing his own physical strength could break the gauntlet’s shield in one direct blow. Following that quickly with his other paw, trying to grab Kavarr by the leg and yank him toward the ursine alien, ending with the snap of jaws as the brute lunged his head forward, yellowed fangs gnashing through the air to clamp on what he expected to be David’s leg.

Grunts: 5
Jackals: 7
Brutes: 6
Phantoms: 1
​

RUBIKIS ISLAND APEX​

—Day 2 Early Morning—​

The Warden glowered at the holotable. These escaped prisoners were proving to be a handful. Had his forces been at full strength, he doubted this ragtag group would have even managed to reach the surface of Grakken Prison. Now here they were...

The holotable depicted the island, displaying battlefield diagnostics. Much of it was going offline. He’d lost that human-made F.O.B., evidently. His troops had never managed to crack into its systems, not that he’d put much effort into the matter, they’d simply piggybacked off of its signal. And now he’d lost two phantoms... an annoying amount of ground troops... and Arcturus Pit was crumbling.

Chak ‘Lok wouldn’t be happy about that last one.

“Warned you,” Mae Kraa stalked into view, cocking her feathered head at the diagnostics. “Said they would be problem.”

“A problem you would find a solution to,” the Warden replied, not even looking at the t’vaoan. “I see no solutions from you.”

She hissed at that. “Suggest glassing. You reject!”

“I am not glassing this island, not while my brothers in arms defend it!” the brute snapped, taking a step towards Mae Kraa. The skirmisher hunkered, backing away from him. The Warden snorted, satisfied at her response to his physical threat, before he crossed his arms. “It matters not. This is not the human Admiral, or the Redfield Uprising. They are small, weak, and isolated.”

“If Rubikis knew...”

“Chieftain Rubikis!” Gorbak corrected with a bark. “He does not need to know. For if he does, it will be both our heads. Better to settle the matter now, and tell him when the news will be pleasing to hear... pull back any of our exterior forces, bring back what you can to the apex. We will depart this wretched island at the break of dawn.”

Mae Kraa let out a low hiss, clearly annoyed, but bowed deeply in acknowledgement before she turned and made her way out of the command tent.

Even with bolstered numbers, Warden Gorbak had little reason to doubt they could do any significant damage to the apex before they left. He was surrounded by his best troops, all in one place. Once they were gone, the island would be glassed, and the prisoners would be a distant memory.

Grunt Conscripts: 44
Assault Grunts: 9
Grunt Mules: 12
Jackal Freebooters: 23
Sniper Jackals: 9
Jackal Majors: 5
Jackal Skirmisher: 1
Brute Warriors: 68
Brute Majors: 25
Brute Captains: 2
Shade Turrets: 10
Blisterbacks: 6
Phantoms: 6
​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak
Arcturus Pit - Early Morning
The massive amount of enemies that had been pursuing Kazaaak just... turned and left! They went back into the pit! They even ignored Keyes and his group of marines! "What the- HEY! GET BACK HERE!" shouted the mantis, as he moved the ghost after the seemingly-fleeing banished forces, firing as he did so.

As he passed the marines, he slowed down and turned to them. "Why aren't you guys chasing them? We could thin their numbers down! They only have so many guys!" With that, the mantis surged forward again, continuing to chase the grunts and brutes all the way into the pit and up to the doors, firing the entire time.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Copen
​

A blue explosion rocked the clearing, scattering metal everywhere as the damaged Phantom burst apart. One more remained.

Following the destruction of the second Phantom, Copen set his sights on the third, only to find that it was already speeding away, clearly not liking its odds against the Mantis even with the damage it had racked up. It would be en route to the processing center or apex, certainly to report the development and allow the retreating Banished to prepare better for a future assault.

He'd have to just deal with that in the future.

Looking over the battlefield, the cyborg took note of Kaminski continuing to fend off the Banished infantry – as well as David and Bisenti, who had now joined the fray. It was good to know their own mission had seemingly worked out well, not to mention he wouldn't be accidentally firing at his allies now that he was aware they were here.

Swiveling the Mantis' chaingun around, Copen aimed down at the Banished units furthest from his allies, before he began to rain lead upon the troops. No missiles were fired out this time, as he figured the potential for collateral damage would be too high. He'd best keep things simple – the sooner they were done here, the sooner they could head north and help the others in raiding the processing center.​

 

[Psymallard]

David Kavarr
-Tiberium Woods-
“You wish to challenge me?”

The Spaniard beamed like a madman as the savage alien requited his love for the art of melee. Perhaps he was a madman, staring down a charging jiralhanae with a smile. Especially since he didn't react to it in any other capacity. At least, not until the brute raised its arm. Only then did David spring into action. In one swift motion, he deactivated the energy shield, ducked, and twirled underneath the monster's arm.

Trailing behind him was the machete, which he aimed to carve into the underside of the Brute's arm as he brought it down. Ideally he would sever a ligament in there.

"¡¡Olé!!"

The swordfighter cheered, and just as quickly, he spun his machete around to jab into a gap under the brute's shoulder pad. He understood the machete was not a stabbing weapon as much as he was used to, but the primary purpose of this was to help him up as he jumped and rolled across the alien's back. He would take advantage of his agility advantage as much as possible to disorient the stronger being. To end it off, he went for one more slash before backing off to ready for any further retaliation.

If at any point the roll was made impossible, Kavarr would opt to dash backwards and slash at the monster's groping hand to relieve it of a couple fingers.

 

[comic]

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Seeing Kazaaak up close for the first time, the marines were quick to level their weapons at the mantis despite his words. “Hold fire, he’s with me!” Keyes called, hurrying over - and Kazaaak took off after the Banished. “Wait- stop!”

His words fell on deaf ears. There was no telling what enemy forces were within the facility. Surely not all of them had been caught outside.

Kazaaak opened fire on the backs of the aliens, plasma tearing through a few more grunts and a couple brutes, cutting them down as the doors into Arturus Pit slid open to greet them - and a heavily-armored jiralhanae stepped out. Carrying a giant hunk of metal, some kind of weapon, the brute sneered at the sight of the fast-approaching ghost.

Standing a head taller than the other brutes, this one bared his fangs as he opened fire, the weapon he was carrying revealed to be some kind of turret weapon, a barrel at its forefront spinning rapidly before molten chunks of metal began to spew out of it, flinging into the ghost.

The vehicle’s frame was shredded through like paper, molten metal tearing apart the ghost with each strike, and in only a couple seconds, the ghost would erupt in a blue explosion, overwhelmed by the Brute Captain’s Scrap Cannon. Kazaaak’s best bet would be to leap out of the cockpit, or be engulfed in the plasma fire.

The remaining brutes and grunts rushed past the captain as he continued to fire with his scrap cannon, each individual piece of molten scrap exploding when it came into contact with something, white-hot bits of shrapnel spraying over the immediate area. Keyes and the marines were forced to rush for cover to avoid the extremely lethal and rapid shots of the scrap cannon.

“God damnit,” Keyes grunted, pressing his back against the wall of the pit. He’d never seen a weapon utilized like that before. It had to be a Banished invention.

Grunts: 3
Sniper Jackals: 2
Brutes: 9
Brute Captains: 1
​

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Copen set his sights on those that remained.

The Banished were screwed.

As David engaged in his aside battle with the brute warrior, Copen directed the mantis, opening fire with the chaingun and mowing down the units around the battle. Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes were torn apart, and the very few that survived Copen’s sweep (a couple jackals) were mopped up by Bisenti and Kaminski.

That left only one enemy, which David did battle with.

He avoided the first swing, slashing counter to it. This time, with the intended blow landing, even the brute’s dense bone didn’t stop the nanite sword. Cleanly, the brute’s right hand was removed, halfway below the elbow. This seemed to piss off the alien more than pain him, as he followed with his original move, but the machete’s jab hit a sweet spot - a particular nerve.

The brute winced as he involuntarily jerked his arm back, David following up with a roll over its back and follow-up slash. This second slash almost missed as the brute wisely moved himself forward. The blade’s edge nicked the brute, dropping hairs rather than body parts.

It was here that the alien realized he was alone, head snapping left then right. He stamped his foot on the ground and, with his remaining hand, he procured a cluster of plasma grenades - all three of which he activated, closing his fist tightly. The fizzle of hissing plasma emitted out of and around his fist, giving the impression of a powered-up punch as the brute flipped around and kicked off from the ground, lunging toward David as he threw his fist out, not to strike the Spaniard, but as close to him.

Instead, the brute would strike the ground, timing it with the plasma grenades detonation, using the tripled explosive to his advantage in an attempt to take David with him, the brute letting out a triumphant laugh as he did so, unhindered by several tungsten spikes that plunged into him, courtesy of Bisenti.

Brutes: 1
Phantoms: 1 (escaped)

​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak
Arcturus Pit - Early Morning
Curses in several languages rang out from the mouth of the mantis as he leaped out of the now-shredded ghost, desperately trying to escape the fire of whatever that turret was. Landing and running further, the mantis got to a point of cover as soon as he could. "That was a very bad idea," he said to noone in particular, before beginning to form a new plan.

The ghost was gone, and that brute needed to die as soon as possible. Barely poking his head out of his cover, the mantis fired Needler shots at the brute, arcing them up in hopes of hitting him in the head. If the brute were to turn to fire at Kazaaak, he would immediately duck back behind the cover, and try to move to another one before it was destroyed by the cannon.

The goal was less to actually kill the brute, and more to distract it and turn it away from Keyes and the marines. They had more firepower than Kazaaak did, so they would be able to actually do something about it- maybe toss a spike grenade, perhaps snipe it? Actually, speaking of snipers, Kazaaak began to wonder what JULIAN was up to. Hopefully he hadn't been taken out...

 

[Psymallard]

Tiberium Woods
David Kavarr realized immediately what the Brute was doing and began backpedaling.

"Oh, ¿qué carajo? You are no fun!!"

Though the Spaniard was initially presenting himself as somewhat careless, urgency struck him as the Brute sprung towards him. David rushed on a perpendicular path to the Brute's trajectory. Then, just before the Brute struck the ground, the swordsman reactivated his energy shield and knelt behind it for full coverage from the encroaching blast.

"...Coward."

BOOOM!!!

David was flung backwards, rolling through the leaves and rocks rather roughly. His shield gauntlet was fried, but he was unscathed save for handful of bruises and cuts. Better than needing a skin graft.

"Oughhh..."

The starman laid there for a minute with a grin on his face. He raised the machete into the air, watching it glisten in the dim light of the clearing. It was so beautiful he could kiss it... but his hygienic standards prevented from doing so at this current moment. Speaking of hygiene, he could really use a hot bath right about now. And some new clothes.

 

[ArmedBlue]

Copen
​

With everyone's combined efforts (and most definitely the Mantis' 20mm chaingun), the Banished ambush had been successfully dealt with. The Mantis came to a stop, returning to its neutral position as Copen climbed out of the cockpit, leaping off. His thrusters activated as he fell, allowing him to land safely nearby Kaminski.

"Good work," he called out to David and the marines, already looking over Kaminski to check on his condition. "Is everyone alright? I wasn't expecting opposition in such large numbers... not here, at least."

He looked over to the other two for a moment – it seemed Bisenti had gotten an upgrade to his armor, and he and David both carried new weapons with them. Though... was David lacking a shirt?

"I take it your search for gear went well?"​

 

[comic]

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

The scrap cannon was an endless barrage, tearing up everything it came into contact with as the brute started to slowly backpedal. His angry eyes noticed the needler crystals headed for him, and he activated his thermal shield, the red-orange energy enveloping him. When the blamites struck, they shattered against the shield, only slightly weakening its integrity without dealing the necessary supercombine.

He turned his weapon, the scrap cannon now starting to rapidly shred through Kazaaak’s defense. Before it could be reduced to nothing, however, the brute captain ceased firing, and the doors to the interior closed shut, sealing him and the others in with him.

And finally, a silence fell over the pit. Banished bodies littered the area, some still steaming. Jacob Keyes emerged from his own cover, looking quickly around for any immediate threats, but he found none. Eight marines emerged with him, all successfully saved from their captors. Kazaaak was okay, and JULIAN...

The captain noticed him standing at the top of the cliff. He seemed unaffected by the firefight, which was a really good sign.

“Alright, kid, we have a moment!” Keyes called up to the Guardian. “Grab the corporal and bring her down!”

He knew the Banished wouldn’t emerge for a moment. They wanted the humans to make the next move. More than that, staying here was risky enough. Those Banished could hide in that hole for a while, and other forces could be sent from the apex to attack them. Once that attack was udnerway, the forces inside the pit could efficiently box them in, force them into a two-fronted battle that was very unlikely to win.

Where were the two teams he’d sent out? Hopefully they hadn’t been overwhelmed...

“How many humans are still inside?” Keyes asked, turning to one of the marines.

“Sir,” the marine snapped a salute. “The rest of our platoon, and likely a few others.”

The captain let out a small sigh. He couldn’t just leave those men and women to their fate and try to flee the island now... not yet. He paused his thinking for a moment to glance back up the cliff. “Kid? You hear me?” He called up.

No answer. The Guardian had yet to appear with Lorens.

He smelled trouble. “Kazaaak, head up there and figure out what’s keeping him,” Keyes turned to the mantis. “Be careful.”

—ENEMIES—
Grunts: 3
Brutes: 9
Brute Captains: 1

—ALLIES—
CPT Keyes, Jacob
+CPL Willis, Daniel
+CPL Jackson, Reginald
+PVT Evans, Jason
+PVT Pickens, Jim
+PVT Toomes, Lindsey
+PVT Kirby, Jack
+PVT Matthews, Matthew
+PVT Myers, Kyle

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

“Shit, ese, you’ve got balls like a spartan.”

As David was lying there, he was approached by Private Bisenti, who offered him a hand back to his feet. He very clearly did not have an accent to go along with the Spanish words he spoke.

The brute had been entirely consumed in the explosion of his own making. Nothing remained, his body atomized.

Copen meanwhile was quick to check on Private Kaminski. Following the conclusion of the battle, the man had doubled over, hands on his knees, to catch his breath. “I’m alright, quit fussin’,” Kaminski waved Copen away, maintaining more of that ‘tough guy’ persona he’d shown.

At the iX’s first question, however, Kaminski rose back up to his full height. “They seemed to be huntin’. We interrupted ‘em. Means the captain and his team were through here. Probably. Can’t imagine anyone else dumber than the lot of us trampin’ through these woods in the dead of night.”

 

[Psymallard]

Tiberium Woods
When the ringing in David's ears stopped, he heard the familiar voices of Bisenti and Copen, the latter being a bit further away. He turned to face the marine, his grin sustained. The Spaniard took the offered hand and groaned as he was brought to his feet. The next sound out of his mouth was a whistle, marveling at the carnage wrought by the mech. Then, he shed his spent shield gauntlet and turned to his favorite cyborg. ...In this world, at least.

With a wave, David hollered back, "No better than your excursion! I see you have found yourself accompanied by a lovely angel of death!"

His words referenced the mantis, but though he praised it, the mech had clearly seen better days. The damage it sustained made it seem unfit to go into another battle, and it'd probably need repairs. They didn't have time for that. At the moment, the walker would seemingly best be used as an overqualified transport.

Time... it wasn't on their side, so David didn't stand there for long. He hurried to collect his items from the forest. First the plasma carbine, which he supplemented with some energy packs from the fallen Banished, and then the skull and additional shield gauntlet. Adrenaline wore off partway into his search, and he groaned as his body ached from the minor damage it had taken. When he had everything, he jogged over to Copen and Kaminski.

"I suppose your luck is not that impressive, considering you had tramped headfirst into sixty soldiers after discovering your treasure. Regardless, it was a good find." David nodded. "Shall we?"

 

[ArmedBlue]

Copen
​

Kaminski's assessment sounded accurate – it was what iX himself had theorized earlier. Since the Phantoms and ambush team had been searching around here when the Mantis arrived, it likely meant Keyes' team hadn't been detected elsewhere until that point. That was somewhat reassuring.

At David's praise of the mech and its performance, Copen briefly glanced at the Mantis. "...Yeah. You could say that."

The Spaniard quickly turned to searching the fallen enemies to stock up on gear, reminding Copen that he should do the same. It wasn't something he tended to do, given his usual weaponry was both highly reliable and didn't depend on traditional ammunition. Regardless, he knew what items he did want to grab before setting off, wading through the Banished corpses.

A plasma pistol was fairly easy to find, replacing the one he'd previously dismantled to get the Mantis operational. Ammunition for the M95 was harder to come by, picking up only a couple of shells. Finally, like David, he also went to pick up a point-defense shield gauntlet, which would be helpful in blocking damage at any range. Equipping it onto his left arm, Copen briefly activated the gauntlet to get a feel for its weight and functionality.

Using a shield again... felt slightly nostalgic.

With that done, he returned to the others, giving David a nod in response to the man's remarks. Propelling himself with his thrusters onto the Mantis' cockpit, he hopped into the pilot seat once again. Even with the damage it had racked up, it could surely be valuable for a while longer, at least for raiding the processing center.

"Let's go."​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak

The Brute ceased firing, and Kazaaak exited his cover to find the blast door sealed. The battle was won, mostly. Kazaaak glanced at Keyes' squad of marines and saw 8 marines, none injured. That meant no casualties, which was good, as the entire point of this was to get the marines out. There was some conversation, and then Keyes turned to Kazaaak.

“Kazaaak, head up there and figure out what’s keeping him," he spoke, pausing for a moment. “Be careful.”

The pirate thought for a moment, realizing that Keyes was talking about the Guardian. "Will do, cap'n," the Mantis replied as he made his way back to the cliff they came from. It was unlikely that the Banished had diverted any forces to fight the Guardian when he wasn't even doing all that much, just protecting a wounded soldier. Regardless, he moved quickly.

 

[comic]

DETOUR​

—Ambush Clearing, Day 2 Early Morning—​

As Copen returned to the Mantis, Kaminski opted to stick groundside with Bisenti and Kavarr - he was feeling rather tender after that close-call with the tackling brute. The HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System (more commonly called “Mantis”) was battered, plenty of its joints starting to unceremoniously spark, but it remained operational, by design. The mech was intended to function despite severe damage, and while it had certainly sustained quite the assault and looked loose for wear, all systems remained operational.

A testament to its engineers more than anything.

The escaped phantom would undoubtedly spell trouble down the line. Not only was it likely returning to the apex, but it would surely rally a greater contingent of forces to harass them soon, and if the Mantis was destroyed in that fight, it would make for quite the uphill battle.

Bisenti, Kaminski, and Kavarr hurried after the Mantis as it stomped its way through the forest, clearing a path for them in the darkness as they moved towards Arcturus Pit.
​

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

Keyes stationed two marines, Willis and Pickens, to guard the blast doors and stay weary of any changes. The other six marines, Jackson, Evans, Toomes, Kirby, Matthews, and Myers, set about looting what they could from Banished corpses, as well as their prefibs in and around the pit.

The captain turned his gaze upward toward the clear sky. The faintest tinge of color seemed to be touching the overhead celestial bodies. He took that to mean dawn was approaching, and dawn was typically rapid in its onset in almost all the planets he’d been to.

They needed to hurry. Without the cover of dark, they were sitting ducks for the greater Banished forces.
​

Kazaaak wound his way back up into the trees overlooking the pit, passing by a few jackal corpses along the way. Yet as he retraced his steps back into the small hiding spot he’d last seen Guardian in, at the time with Keyes and Lorens, he found...

Nothing of the dumbfaced knight.

The immediate assumption was that they’d moved, maybe something had forced them back, but Kazaaak would be quick to notice something on the ground, and any small degree of investigation would reveal it to be Corporal Lorens. The woman had been covered by some leafy branches in a poor attempt to conceal her. She was clearly breathing, but also still out cold.

Claw-marks also seemed to be fresh in several surrounding trees.

There was no trail to follow, but it wasn’t difficult to put several pieces of the puzzle together.
​

(co-written w/ Cardboard)

Heavy footsteps echo through the darkness. Careful footfalls, deliberately taken. The cell is just as dark, but also cramped. The large torture machine takes up most of the space, filling the center of the cell. A one-way energy barrier covers the entrance. From the interior of the cell, it appears red, yet from the exterior it’s colored blue, signifying which direction you can step through, and which you cannot.

Someone occupies the machine, strapped into it with carbon steel braces. The machine hums softly, waiting to be used. The man within has already experienced what it can do, the entire prior day consisting only of pain.

The heavy footsteps come to a stop on the other side of the energy barrier. A tall figure stands opposite the machine-mounted man. His breathing is faint.

Silence falls over the room, lingering for several moments, before it’s broken by the deep, regal tone of the alien observing the captured human.

“Human.”

The man doesn’t move. His head hangs low, his breathing shallow but steady. He says nothing, so the alien continues.

“You have fought well. Hold your head high. This is no place to show weakness.”

The man is silent for a moment still, before his head slowly raises, as though he’s only just realized his interrogator was there. “Well, howdy doody to you, too.”

The figure watches on for a second, before he steps calmly through the barrier, emerging on the prisoner’s side of the wall. Dim light catches on the sleek armor of the Sangheili. His mandibles split open as he speaks, his golden eyes piercing into his prisoner.

“I am Chak ‘Lok. My roles within the Banished is torture and interrogation, both of which I find success and pleasure in,” he greeted, his tone remarkably polite and formal. “The machine you are in is known as a Defiler. It is designed to fry your internal organs, singling out individual cells within your body. One by one, you become atomized from the inside out. A slow process. Agonizing. Most humans would be screaming and crying, begging for mercy... not you. I appreciate that.”

“Huh...” the prisoner breathed. “Chak ‘Lok.”

He struggles to raise his head to look back at the elite interrogator, not really getting a good look in, the light too dim. He’s quiet for a moment, shared by his captor. Yet he seems to focus on something... before returning to the conversation.

“Well, Chaky, ah do aim t’please... Unfortunately, my body’s already been pretty well atomized. Overall, I’d rate it, eh... well, I’ll be generous. Four-point-five outta ten.”

Chak ‘Lok gave a humored chuckle at that. “Good. Then you will find more time within favorable, I'm sure. I had them cease operation an hour ago, we prefer to leave men like you in for days. But I wish to learn more about you, preferably before your brain is liquified. I know you are not UNSC. Judging from the technology you possessed when you fought the Warden's men... I would wager you come from a primitive world. Or... perhaps cast back? Your weapons are crude, modified, and old. You reek of radiation. Your world has known nuclear annihilation. One of our species has a story much the same, before they were uplifted.”

“Hey Chaky, your folks don't smell too fine yourselves.”

Chak 'Lok seemed humored again. “They aren't mine. I can forgive your ignorance... you haven't met any like me thus far. Do you bear a name? Or, as some humans I have met, do you prefer a title?”

The prisoner swallows, seeming to be regaining some of his strength as the conversation goes on. “Since you were polite enough to give me yer name, I guess I can tell you mine. I'm Blake. Where I'm from folks call me Courier Six, or the Courier. I figured you were different from the others. You sound different.”

He paused, thinking. “...Y'know, where I'm from, it's considered polite to look a man in his eyes when yer interrogating him.”

Chak ‘Lok’s hand reaches out, scaly dark claws of four digits, a thumb on either side of the hand, and two large fingers. The elite grabs his head and lifts his gaze, leaning in, letting his glowing golden eyes lock with Blake’s.

“Damn...” Blake blinks. “What do they feed you folks?”

Chak ‘Lok carefully lowers Blake’s head back down. “The other races would like to eat you and your kin, though my people have refined tastes. We use grains and spices to improve the appeal of our meats. We use smoke and fire to tender it, give it flavor and longevity. I personally favor grilled meat. Culinary interests are something my people and yours share.”

“Oh, nice. I think I've got a few good recipes you'd enjoy. Are humans your primary meat source?”

“We favor game, not man. There is a herd animal on my home planet called Colo. I find it most appealing.”

At this point, Chak ‘Lok began to slowly pace in front of Blake, eyeing him with interest. “The device on your arm. I am told it is attached to you. A cybernetic extension, perhaps?”

“What, this old thing? I suppose you could call it that.”

“So to dissect it, I will need to remove your arm, yes?” The Sangheili stopped pacing as Blake fell quiet for a moment.

“Ah... Chaky. If you want those recipies, you could just ask.”

The sangheili’s head tilts slightly as he lets out another small chuckle. “I have enjoyed our discussion, though I do still have purpose here. I would like to keep you alive longer. If the device can be removed without taking your arm, then your life won’t be stunted. If not...”

Blake’s return to silence told the alien what he needed to know. “I see you grasp the weight of this. I will perform the surgery myself, I can guarantee it won't be lethal. The pain and trauma cannot be helped, though you have proven to me you can handle such degrees.”

Blake maintained his silence for a moment longer, long enough that Chak ‘Lok seemed to find the conversation over as he turned away, the energy barrier flickering, turning blue in color and giving more light to the cell.

Then the cowboy began to chuckle, slowly at first, before he let out a loud laugh. “You’re a real son of a bitch, aren’t ya?” He laughs again, shaking his head. “I’ll give you this, Chak ‘Lok... you’re good at your job. A real artist. It takes real talent to hurt people, huh? But... you’ve got me backed into a corner with no other play to make...”

Chak ‘Lok looks back at him for a moment, and a beeping noise comes from the device on Blake’s arm. The Pip-Boy’s bio-lock deactivates, and becomes noticeably loose.

“It’s all yours, Chak ‘Lok...”

The alien approached Blake, grasping the exterior of the Pip-Boy and pulling it gently from Blake’s arm. He turns it over in hand, giving it a brief visual inspection. “I reward cooperation, Blake. Yours will not be forgotten”

With that, the sangheili turned and stalked out of the room as calmly as he’d entered. Silence, darkness, and loneliness settled back in from the cowboy as seconds ticked into minutes, and minutes ticked into hours. Then into days...

He was losing track of how long he’d been here... but at least they weren’t throwing on the defiler anymore.​

 

[Fraseandchico]

JULIAN

He was unsure. That was unusual. Why was the AI unsure? That was not supposed to happen.

Right. That was why he was unsure - His view was of the ground. His body- No, The SPARK - was locked into position, and the head faced the ground.
...Was he supposed to see something? A quick glance at the lines of code indicated something was supposed to be in front of him.
He was locked because of using Nova without permission while still connected to orders. Perhaps it was related. Maybe, had he been in contact with XCOM, Lily would use a moment like that to contact him and speak with him, telling him off for disobeying orders or something (Or, perhaps, to express concern for him using a potentially self-damaging move of his own accord, a possibilitiy JULIAN completely ignored).

Finally, after what felt like an eon to an AI who despised being stuck in one spot, the SPARK stood up straight again. JULIAN took in his surroundings - It appeared the battle had ended? JULIAN could not spot any immeadiate foes out here. But before he could make a decision, it aappeared It had made a decision of it's own - The SPARK moving to join Keyes swiftly.

It took JULIAN a moment (in his own 'mind', anyway) to decide what to say, before...
"So, I see the firefight has ended. We really need to work on some kind of long distance communications as long as I am forced to obey commands." A pause. "Turns out, the body doesn't respond well when I use the one password to a move I do know, in order to bypass commands, and locks down as a sort of childish 'Time-Out'. Funny that."

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Blake - Courier Six

"Ohhhhhhhh~"

The boredom was the worst part.

"I hear that train a comin',
it's rollin' 'round the bend.
And I ain't seen the sunshine since I don't know when"

No, that wasn't true. The defiler was the worst part.

"I'm stuck in Folsom Prison, and time keeps draggin' on.
But that train keeps a-rollin' on down to San Antone."

Actually, was it? If being stuck in the defiler really was the worst part, why did he occasionally keep bugging the brute? It only ever ended with him turning on the defiler.

"When I was just a baby, my momma told me 'Son,
always be a good boy, don't ever play with guns!"

The defiler would always get turned off eventually. So it had that going for it, he supposed.

"But I shot a man in Reno, just to watch him die.
When I hear that whistle blowin', I hang my head and cry."

One thing for sure, the food? Not the worse. Surprisingly, better than most of the rotten pre-war junk he's a had to eat. Probably got human meat in it, but eh, what can you do.

"Take it away, Chubub!" Blake said, gesturing for the grunt guarding him to keep singing. Despite how much of a one-track mind these little guys had, Blake found himself looking forward to those grunts guarding him. At least they would actually talk to him.

...

There was something going on. Something different about today. He could feel it, literally. Slight vibrations in the floor, shaking the defiler a little bit. Strange glances and expressions from passing guards. Something was happening.

He had to stay sharp. Today, especially. Blake relaxed, as much as he could in the restraints of the defiler, and waited. But who said that a bit of singing was out of the question, to help pass the time?

 

[comic]

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

“Positively hilarious,” Keyes replied in his usual tone of voice. He only seemed to have the one. “Forgive me if I don’t cry tears of mirth at your misfortune, son.”

The sound of a distant horn rang through the air. The same sound the phantom had made earlier, when it had set upon them back at the prison. “They’ll be sending another wave soon. Better find some cover. Just stick close to me for now, neither the Covenant nor the Banished seem invested in radios. None I know how to use, anyway.”
​

Chubub, one of the unggoy stationed to guard the incapacitated Blake at this hour, let out a shrill sound like a cat dying - but it was actually, in fact, his singing voice.

“Me bet there rich folk eatins!” he screeched. “In a fancy dinner car!”

The second grunt beside him, Wikpit, bobbed his head and tapped his hoof.

“They’s prolly drinkin they’s coffee, and smokin dem BIG CIGARS!”

They were god-awful singers.

This deep in the base, what Blake had learned was called ‘Arcturus Pit,’ the guards were scarce. As far as he could tell, there weren’t even any other prisoners on this level. The unggoy offered some break in the silence and boredom, but the solitary brute guards he usually had cycling through were much less accommodating or sociable.

Chubub and Wikpit were thicker than wool. They knew very little, and often contradicted themselves, making them pretty unreliable to get information from. Despite this, Blake had been working them for as long as he could, gleaning any piece of information he could at any possible avenue.

What else was he going to do, anyway?

Their terrible singing was helpful, though. Nobody else wanted to hear it, so when they stood guard, they seemed to be totally alone on the entire floor. He’d found other uses for their singing as well...

“How’d the rest of the song go...” Chubub paused, screwing his face in some seriously intense concentration that was liable to overload his fun-sized brain.

“Somethin’ somethin’ me can’ts be free!” Wikpit claimed loudly. “But these people keeps a-movin’ and that’s what torturin me!”

“Yeah, that’s it!” Chubub nodded eagerly—and proceeded to howl those same lyrics.

It was a different kind of torture. Probably why the brutes seemed to be okay with letting the grunts guard the entire floor by themselves.
​

 

[PaprusTeuton]

Kazaaak

The Guardian was gone. Lorens was concealed, and alive. Claw-marks filled the surrounding area. There was no trail. It didn't take an Engi to figure out what had happened. Kazaaak immediately rushed back to the cliffside, and called down to Keyes. "Guardian is gone! Lorens is alive, but I think the Banished found Guardian and took him!"

The gigantic mantis rushed back over to Lorens to check on her condition. If she wasn't too harmed, he would attempt to pick up the injured marine and bring her down to the rest. He would also double-check for any sign of Guardian... but he didn't have much hope.

 

[Captain Cardboard]

Courier Six

In between the choruses, Blake sang the guitar solo of the song.

"Well if they freed me from this prison, if that railroad train was mine,
I'd bet we'd move it on a little further down the line!"

Blake joined back in, the three singing the last verse together. Even if the grunt's singing was bad, it truly wasn't the worse that he had heard. Granted, they were no Dean Domino or Marty Robbins, but they were for sure better singers than the Super Mutants on Black Mountain Radio.

"Far from Grakken Prison, that's where we want to stay.
We'd meet up with our buddies, we'd blow these fools away."

In the weeks he had been stuck here, the Grunts hadn't been able to give him much intel. He had been able to figure out some stuff. The name of the prison, the fact that there were other prisoners here with him. Even that he was considered a 'favorite prisoner' by the Warden. (If this is how the Warden treats their favorites, I'd hate to see how they treat their enemies, amiright?). Blake hadn't seen a sign of any other prisoners, but he knew they were here. So Blake had been trying to get the message out to them.

Chubub and Wikpit were the only means he had. So he had been trying to use them the best he could. And the best way, he figured, was by their singing. They quite enjoyed it. So Blake had been teaching them a few new songs. They were very, very similar to the songs he knew, albeit with a few choice lyrics changed. It was a slow process, trying to establish some form of contact with the other prisoners.

But Blake had time.

Blake leaned back in his restraints, letting out a laugh.
"Very nice, partners! Y'all always absolutely knock it out." Blake said to the the pair of grunts. "So! You two learn any new songs, lately?"

 

[comic]

THE COURIER​

—Arcturus Pit, Day 2 Early Morning—​

“We ask one a’ yous humans,” Chubub replied as Wikpit let out a strange snort, like a pug trying to breathe, before he began to pick at his butt. “They not know no singing stuffs! Well, ‘cept one of ‘em...”

“Heheh, yeah!” Wikpit agreed loudly, and proceeded to sing very off-key. “I don’t wanna leave him nooooow! I don’t wanna even hooooow!”

“But that whole song,” Chubub sniffed. “Big short!”

“You big short!” Wikpit snarled.

“Nuh uh!”

“What you mean ‘nuh uh’!?”

“QUIET!”

A sudden booming bark rattled through the entire floor, a deep and low growl, like if a Yao Guai had been given a voice to speak with. The heavy footfalls that shook the metal ground came after.

Chubub and Wikpit were very quick to close their mouths, their orange eyes going wide as they stood rigid on either side of the energy barrier. After a few seconds, the brute was revealed to Blake. He’d never gotten a good look at any of those that had been guarding him, as they always stood off to the side and mostly ignored him (save for one time he bugged the crap out of one enough for it to turn on the Defiler. The Courier wisely didn’t do that again.)

This brute didn’t seem to be anything special, just another one like those he’d encountered before his capture. He’d never even seen the Warden, still, though Blake fully understood it was Chak ‘Lok that made him the ‘special prisoner.’

That elite had told Blake he awarded cooperation, but so far, he’d yet to see any sort of reward for giving away his one and only Pip-Boy.

The brute raised a great woolly arm and pressed something. The energy barrier shut off, the light collapsing away, and he strode in. Blake got a good whiff of the brute’s scent, his pheromones overpowering. The Mojave was full of disgusting smells, but the brutes were a whole other kind of stink. It was like a combination of a Super Mutant, a dozen wet dogs, a decaying feral ghoul, and the undeniable stench of dried blood that clung most prominently to Caesar and his Legion.

It seemed particularly strong in this instance, as though the brute (who appeared distressed) gave off a stronger stench with his emotions. That, or this one just never showered. Ever. Probably whole severed limbs stuck in that matted fur.

“Human,” the brute snarled, stomping forward. He had a crude weapon drawn in his other hand, two blades welded to its bottom. “The Warden has commissioned your transfer.”

His lips split into a wide, sharp-toothed grin. “Chak ‘Lok needs a new pet...”

He reached a bloody paw up, though it seemed coated in purple blood, not red. The lighting made it difficult to tell otherwise. For a moment, it seemed as though he would grasp the restrained Blake, and the dark glint in the brute’s eye indicated as much... before he pulled a release clamp on the side of the Defiler, and in one swift movement, Blake was dropped unceremoniously to the ground, free of his constraints.

“Get up,” the brute snarled. He evidently wasn’t very fond of humans. Without even giving Blake a moment to actually do as commanded, the alien roughly kicked his tree-trunk of a leg for the courier’s side. “Get up!”

Wikpit and Chubub watched from nearby, trying not to make their gazes obvious as they were clearly terrified by the brute, who then proceeded to reach down to grasp Blake by the back of his neck and toss him toward the exit of the room. “Move!”

Raising his spiker, he threatened to jab the spikes forward if Blake failed to move in time, despite the fact he’d been unable to use any of his limbs in any capacity for quite some time now.
​

Kazaaak was unable to find any other sign of Guardian in his second lookaround. There had clearly been a brief struggle of sometime, and the kid had probably tried to conceal Lorens from what had found them with the brush, but he’d likely been captured as a result. No body meant he was still alive, at the very least. There was no telling how far he’d been taken now... but the only place he could have possibly been brought to was the Apex.

So if they were fast, there was a chance they could free him from his captors just like yesterday.

Kazaaak managed to pick up Lorens, who was still out of it, but winced a bit as she was lifted. The wound she’d suffered from the earlier jackal was far from healed, despite what Keyes had done to stop the blood flow and bandage it.

Speaking of, the captain performed a quick round check with his new squad of marines. Eight was far from advantageous, but he’d taken one marine any day over none, so eight would do just fine. Keeping these men and women alive and getting them off this island was the hard part.

And there were more, beneath them, in the actual pit. What even was this meant to be, if the prison had been on the south side of the island? Nobody seemed to know. A few people gave the captain funny looks, like they were seeing a ghost. He didn’t pay it much mind. They were shaken, only god knew how much they’d suffered at the hands of the Banished.

“We’re dug in, sir, but they’ll have the high ground,” Cpl. Willis said, holding a pulse carbine close to his chest. “There’s an operational ghost nearby, but all the shades are down and... it doesn’t look good, sir.”

Jacob knew that, but he didn’t voice it, giving the marine a nod. “Thank you, corporal,” he sighed. Getting a few marines stationed above with particle beams wouldn’t be a bad idea, but any brutes would pick up their scent immediately and single them out. Defense would be difficult, but also relatively their only option. They could use the prefab structures for basic cover, as long as they’d hold, and try to find a way inside of the facility and through the Banished defenses within.

With JULIAN sticking close to Keyes, at the captain’s orders, he began to move around the pit, visually inspecting every square inch he could see, for any kind of possible advantage that could be found, no matter how small. He was worried, for so many things. He’d always been caught between a rock and a hard place, it was simply how the Covenant War had taught him to operate, but Keyes felt particularly... alone and disadvantaged here. More than he’d ever been. Stranded on Halo, he’d thought he’d grown used to that feeling.

This place was even worse, and it was just one damned island. He had no ship, little personnel to speak of, and a slew of new unknown variables to consider that had never been an option before. New aliens he’d never seen, robots he didn’t fully understand, and allies he wasn’t sure he could rely on, namely David. The man rubbed Keyes the wrong way, reminded him of an Innie through and through. He likely even was, but being so outnumbered, did nothing about it.

...Private Bisenti could hold his own, should things get out of hand, hopefully.

And the Guardian, that armored kid had been taking nasty hit after nasty hit since they’d escaped Grakken Prison. It was miraculous that he was still alive, let alone kicking - at least, he had been. Kazaaak hadn’t found him, which meant he’d either been killed, captured, or worse. At the very least they hadn’t lost Lorens. Medics were indispensable in war, and he’d need her for whatever came next.

“What’s your sitrep on the situation, JULIAN?” Keyes asked the robot, looking at him. He assumed he wouldn’t need to give him permission to speak freely, since that was one of the things JULIAN seemed to be able to do of his own volition. It just seemed to be taking action was the only thing currently out of his own decisive power.​