At first Hunter's life flashed before his eyes, then again startling a scared group of people with guns in the dark was a good way to almost get shot. Other then almost getting shot, he was first met by this mixed unit's medic. He was glad that someone like this was still alive, though she seemed rather young, or maybe it was the fast she was so short. He almost asked about her age, but remembered something a friend of his told him during basic training. Short girls are at the perfect height to punch you in the balls. So he figured he'd hold off asking her any questions like that while she was attempting to fix her up. "Sorry about all of that, commotion." Revering to just walking out of the brush without warning. "Just got excited to see other people I guess..." He walked closer to the medic, though it was at that time when he realized how close to death he actually came that day. He was covered in blood of at least two different species, and his uniform was covered in plasma burns. "The blood's not mine. I don't know who it used to belong to, but it's not mine. The burns are though. Just do something to help it from getting infected and can handle it when I get some time to sleep." He tried to speak to the medic. A couple of his words were starting to slur though, he was physically and mentally exhausted. He wouldn't let that stop him though, he was too stubborn for that. Though he did get a little bit more awake at the sight of a nice shinny needle.

He brought his attention to the ODST when he started speaking. Eventually he responded to another remark about his poor idea of walking into an armed crowed of uneasy people. "Again, sorry about that. Name's Private Hunter P. Mudak. Secondary marksmen of Birdock team. Third Marksmen of my entire squad. You need someone shot I can probably do it. Might need some more caffeine first but I can probably do it still." He was trying to sound confident, he was glad it was dark enough that no one could see his eyes. He can only imagine they are probably bloodshot by now, that happened a lot when he was stressed and exhausted.

He motioned back to the medic. "You have a name? Or is the girl working on making sure I don't die secretly a machine who is getting ready to plant a probe inside of me? Because surprisingly I am not into that kind of thing. SO knowing now would be nice." He said this jokingly, trying to make a crappy situation better.

The ODST mentioned something about moving on to a new objective. Hunter zoned out for a moment, only catching the end of it. He said something about a rally point of some kind, were they going to take out a base? Or set up an outpost of some kind? That would be a nice change of things. Hunter was motioned to again though, about guns and ammo. "I'm armed sir, rifle's a bit beaten up but it still works. And I still have a good backup if it comes to that sir, I haven't used it since I made it to the ground yet." He had another back up, but fighting aliens with a small survival hatchet didn't seem like a fun idea.

---

---

At the mention of her nickname, combined with the way it was spoken, Defort and Toogood couldn’t hold a short outburst of laughter. ”The fuck did you do to earn that moniker?” Defort managed to stammer amongst outbursts of laughter before suddenly sobering up. ”Honestly though, am I the only one who finds it unnerving that someone with that nickname is in charge explosives? And you can drop all that ceremonial nonsense, we grunts are all equal here in the mud.”

During the conversation, Edward noticed the armywoman kept looking at him in a weird way. Was there something wrong with him? Perhaps his helmet suffered some damage somewhere he didn’t notice? ”Right, this.” he snapped his fingers as the realisation finally struck him and cleared his visor, revealing his face. Despite his calm demeanor, it was clear from his expression just how exhausted and worried he was. ”Harper, Edward. So, if you know about this outpost, I take it you also happen to know which way it is? Because we are a little bit lost.”
”Completely lost, to be accurate.” Sheridan appeared from behind Edward and joined the conversation. He removed his helmet to wipe sweat off his forehead, presenting the same troubled expression. ”Do you have any idea what we can expect once we get there, like possible medical aid. Do you know how far it is, or what the terrain looks like? One of our men is injured.” He gestured to Nero’s leg, the right greave looked like someone dropped an anvil on it. ”She has to be carried and it’s getting quite exhausting, not to mention we are essentially down three people because of it, so I hope you are at least a decent shot.” John slid his helmet back onto his head and was about to say something else, but stopped abruptly as a transmission came through. The entire team paused to listen to Chariot 9-4’s transmission. ”That settles that, then. Chéreau, I assume you heard that as well. Since you know the most about this outpost, you and Ed will take point, Wrench and Lineman will follow, carrying Miranda. Notso and I will watch our backs. Stay around five meters apart. If we come under fire, we’ll hold until Wrench and Lineman get some distance, than follow. Otherwise, avoid contact. You two in the front make sure not to rush too far ahead. The sooner we get to that damn outpost, the sooner we can finally sit down and stretch our legs. If we’re lucky, someone will finally tell us just what the bloody hell is happening.”
The ODSTs polarised their visors again and formed according to Sheridan’s instructions. Edward mustered up an encouraging smile. ”After you. If you run into any trouble let us know immediately.”

@Amaranth

---

Pfc. Chéreau grinned at the laughter of the two men. Sure they were probably making fun of her but she could take it. Kept morale up anyway. The follow up question had her tap her chin in thought before answering, "Well, there was the incident with the Colonel's Warthog, and the airlock on that frigate, my first squad on Fumirole..." her voice trailed off after that before restarting excitedly, "I guess that makes you guys my unofficial third squad! Third time's charm as they say." Punctuating her comment with an uproarious laugh at her own joke, Srin cleared her throat at the other ODST's clear attempt to get them back on track. "Right, OP Sierra is a bit back in that direction. I can put a waypoint down for all of you to see if you'd like to link me into your squad's VISR. I'm not sure what it's like there now, but it's supposed to be the Forward Operating Base for all UNSC on Oman, it was however, half completed the last I'd heard."

Jinxie shifted her weight to her other foot and shrugged. "It's still probably the best chance we have." Before she could say anything else though, the whole discussion was interrupted by a transmission from Chariot. Move to OP Sierra. That was seemingly the gist of it. At least her standing orders were updated. The Trooper nodded at the conclusion of the broadcast to no one in particular and looked back at the ODST who joined the conversation late. "I've been known to hit what I aim at." It was mostly true. Truthfully, if she had a choice she'd ditch the MA37. She was a better shot with the M6 anyway and the less ammo she had to carry, the more explosives she could. Of course it was the Army, and she didn't really have a choice. So here she was, lugging around an MA37 (one that wasn't even hers!) She probably looked quite silly using an outdated rifle compared to the ODSTs' advanced weaponry and gear.

Srin nodded to Sheridan and unslung her weapon before making her way to the front of the group with Edward. Jinxie was not looking forward to another trek through the dense woods. It was rough enough engaging the Covenant on an open field, in close quarters like this it was near suicide. Regardless of her inner thoughts, Jinxie smiled at Edward's encouragement. "I just hope we don't run into anymore Covenant. One patrol was enough for me."

@Starlance

---

"I really need a new job..."

Negan Jerico. A name that used to mean something in the UNSC. Now, I guess that it's not worth more than a kilobyte of data in the Terra-bites of UNSC files. I'm alone, on this god forsaken planet, surrounded by monsters and men alike. My squad is dead, including Sonia for all I know, the last person I saw alive.

---

7 hours earlier...

"Hay boss?" "What is it, Danvers?" "Why are we doing this job?
Why not just blow the place to high hell?" "Because the enemy has a shield generator, you idiot." "Calm down, Sonia. We don't need to be fighting each other yet." Yeah, I don't particularly wan-". Moris was cut off by the sound of the drop pod entering atmosphere. "Okay everybody,
get on your toes, we're about to be in a fire fight." I prepared for the impact but then I heard an explosion. I looked up and a Covenant Corvette came out of hyper-jump. I was in awe when, in one shot, the corvette was brought down by two broadswords. "Look out!"

---

Presently...

I was running through a abandoned research facility, hoping to find another human. All I found up to now however was covenant scum.
I'm screwed if those Skirmishers find me I thought. I had saw a large group of skirmishers searching the loading dock of the facility. I was certain that a human was in here, because I haven't heard any gun fire yet. But Whether I find someone or not is completely up to chance.

"Get the hell down!" a marine shouted as he pulled another younger Marine into cover as an explosion nearly ended his life. Vick flinched from the explosion and gritted his teeth as he looked around their bunker. Marines from other positions were forced to fall back to them and now six Marines filled the bunker. Things were getting hotter when another wave of covenant forces arrived. Ammo was low and the group was forced to fire only when they knew they would hit.

"The hell are we supposed to do damn it!?" another Marine asked as he loaded another magazine into his rifle. Vick wondered the same thing, what were they supposed to do? They were low on ammo, no help was coming and finally they were about to be surrounded. He looked around the bunker to find his answers, but he only found even more confused and scared Marines. Was there anything they could do? Vick lowered his head with dread as more rounds from the covenant flew over his cover. Were they going to die here?

Just as Vick was close to give up the radio came to life. He snapped his head to it with wide eyes as he heard a voice. He crawled to the radio as the other Marines simply stayed in their cover. He scrambled for the radio and took a deep breath as he listened to the mans instructions. "Outpost Sierra..." he muttered to himself and looked around the room. "Do any of you guys know where that is!?" he shouted dover the battle. A thin Marine nodded as he flinched from a close plasma shot.

"I-I do! I helped escort supplies there!" Vick and the other Marines felt a bit of relief. Though one of the Marines faltered with a worried expression.

"How are we getting out of here though!? This place is nearly surrounded!" the thin Marine shook his head and pointed pass the bunkers doors.

"We should be able to slip into the forest before the covenant have the chance to overrun us, but we gotta be fast!" Vick nodded and turned towards the radio.

"This is Private Vick Carson from Fire team Jackal of the USNC Marines, we hear ya loud and clear from outpost Charlie and are heading to outpost Sierra! Over!" looked around the bunker.

"Alright Marines, its either wait here to get killed by those ugly bastards, or make a break for it! Which is it gonna be!?" Vicks fellow Marines were quick to choose as they all readied themselves by the bunkers doors. The thin Marines took a deep breath as readied himself for the run and looked back to the group.

"Keep moving no matter what!" was all he said before bolting out of the bunker and towards the outposts back entrance. Vick and the other Marines were quick to follow. His heart raced, his breathing was heavy and his fear was nearly maddening as he raced towards the forest with his fellow Marines next to him. Rounds flew over their heads and a few explosions nearly got them, but soon enough the Marines were able to reach the forest. Vick burst through the foliage and a sudden laugh escaped him. It was a laughter of relief. The group never halted their sprint and soon enough the others began to join Vick in his laughing fit. They made it, though they were all aware the worse was far from over, they were all overjoyed to have escaped that hell hole. Now the group began to make their way to their new outpost, but unaware of the large covenant force that was currently forming behind them.

@LetMeDoStuff

---

---

John quickly linked the latest addition to their team with their VISRs. A few seconds later, a yellow triangle with Srin’s rank and surname appeared over her head and a list of basic medical information was added to the team roster. A blue diamond with a four-digit number popped up on their HUD’s heading tape, indicating the direction and distance to outpost Sierra. ”Some good fortune, at long last. I feared it would be much farther than this.”

Edward walked through the woods silently, straining his ears to catch any sound that would indicate hostile presence. Fortunately for them, it was easy to distinguish human from Covenant firearms. Once they got back deeper in the woods, he actually felt safer. At least there was some concealment, even solid cover, unlike the open field they just set out from. He just hoped they wouldn’t have to spend the night there, as it would likely get pitch-black and relying solely on visual aids could lead to problems. After a few minutes of silence, curiosity got the better of him and he spoke up quietly. ”What exactly happened on Fumirole? Been fortunate enough to avoid that one, but I overheard some pilots talking about it. They said it was quite a shitshow. And what was that about some Colonel’s Warthog? That sounds like an interesting story.” He didn’t ask about the airlock incident she mentioned. The thought of being airlocked always sent a cold spear through his guts, even with his armor’s EVA capability, albeit a limited one. Seeing what exposure to vacuum did to people made his stomach twist. “Not to dig through your life like some shrink, but as I understand it, you’ve survived your squad getting wiped twice. And if one or more of us is ears deep in shit with you covering us, I’d like to know whether you’re just lucky and that nickname is ironic, or if you’re the type to run and hide while your squad gets ripped apart. No offense intended.”

Outpost Sierra outer perimeter

Coming up on the outpost, the squad stayed in the woods in case the outpost was occupied by a hostile force. Edward scanned the outpost with his range finder before handing it to Srin. ”I wouldn’t exactly call that a well fortified position, would you? I’m not sure if it’s half finished, or half destroyed, but it’s definitely seen better days. I can’t tell if anyone’s home though, friend or foe. What do you see?” he paused and let Jinxie take her time. ”Perhaps we should leave the squad here and go see from up close? You never know what you’re gonna find until you take a look, right?”

@Amaranth

He smiled at the trio, who seemed somewhat prepared, if not exhausted already, to move to Outpost Sierra. The OP itself wasn't as far as he'd have predicted, but that still didn't mean it was going to be a difficult journey. However, the timing seemed to be near perfect. The main covenant forces within this sector were nothing but distracted from Outpost Charlie. The distraction was the best chance they would get in getting to their destination alive. The only major threats that could hinder this small group's chances would be either a patrol or one of the Elite Militants. These Sangheili foes were deadly alone, even to a group. Lucas surviving his encounter must've been a fluke, if not a less-experienced militant as he encountered. He hoped for the sake of these people that they too wouldn't have to face them, or worse.

As he led on, he made sure that everyone was behind him regularly. The journey itself was starting to become long, minutes after minutes passing by for what seemed like forever. On the move, Lucas made sure his communications equipment was almost low in volume, as well as non-responsive to anyone else. Whilst this could worry most about whether or not he was alive, it was the only chance this group had at maintaining an almost invisible presence of this battle-torn valley in which they needed to cross. There was comfort, finally. It was the first time that Lucas had actually had an ease of mind since the disaster of his vessel, leading to the forces being left behind. Nothing felt like it was going to make any sense to the others, but Lucas understood from a tier of experience what being left behind meant and why the order to leave was given. The final vessel of the UNSC would have never survived alone. Not anymore than the other two had.

With this in mind, Hickery turned back, after a few hours of walking, finally speaking to his fellow survivors. They were good people it seemed, minus some of their mishaps with how they talked to one another. Most of them made small talk for most of the way, but avoiding patrols and search-parties left them silent for a vast majority of their journey. A warthog would've been nice, or any mode of transport, but sticking to the forest instead of any of the open hills or valleys at their disposal would have rendered most vehicles useless.

"So I take it that this is your first time being stranded?" At first, he got no response, allowing him to continue his short monologue that made him feel alone. "It happened before to me; my last major operation as a marine. Being the technical soldier I am, I was sent with the 84th to retrieve what they called `valid data`. Long story short, it was called the waning days of the 84th once it was finished. Even ODSTs weren't powerful enough to save us. I wasn't supposed to be extracted, but I was. It wasn't scheduled, just a stroke of luck that my squad was spotted by a fleeing Pelican. Just shows that we shouldn't give up. Sure, our vessels are gone, but one escaped. Who knows, maybe it can warn Reach of the issues here and send backup. If not...we can go down completing our objective."

The silence at first was daunting, but it provided some leisure to the silence that plagued the group for so long. Lucas never thought he'd be in a situation far worse than during Operation Mortar Flash. Being encircled and slowly cut down was one thing, but at least in this scenario every UNSC operations base was spread out, not slowly being enclosed by the enemy. There was a chance to fight, this time.

"You guys ever had a sweetheart? I know it's personal, but apparently talking about loved ones can give you a goal to aim for. I'd say one myself, but there hasn't been anyone for me ever. You're probably not surprised, which is the sad part. Now that I'm here, and determined not to leave until I've followed my orders...Doesn't look like I'm getting one."

The small talk was both warming and depressing to some degrees. Lucas wasn't exactly the social-type during his younger life. Hell, it even leaked into his early military service. The only people he eventually grew attached to were his squad in the 84th. Most of those in the 84th who were teamed with him were also promoted to the ODST Branch, where a few actually ended up joining his Squad that led to this mission. Unfortunately, most of them would be dead, or missing at the least. No one knew where they were. Lucas wanted to know where they were.

But as his small-talk with them had ended, they reached the top of what seemed to be a narrow hill, and a sight of hope appeared in front of them. Seeing itself, carved mostly into a mountain and within a cave-system, the rocks of Oman in front of the survivors bared what seemed to be a fully-fledged and working site of life and activity. Buildings hidden behind deployed and strong walls surrounding this mountain, which had an entrance to show its important areas underground. He could see it now. They could see it now. One of the best chances of survival, right in front of them. Only a mile away, into the mountain ahead...laid Outpost Sierra.



"And what of the final vessel? How were we to be so idle as to let it pass under our nose? We should pursue it, take it down before it can reach the military planet of the apes and bring an invasion force." The voice of one of the three Ship-masters in his face spoke wildly. They were outraged by the decision their own fleet-master had made in leaving the final ship. There was questioning for the past hour, and yet the steady superior remained high in his chair and position. There was no reason to argue against him. Under any circumstances, that was.

"To think they'd promote a forerunner archaeologist to our fleet. Your ways as a ship-master were questionable enough, but we cannot tolerate anymore mistakes. If this idiotic artefact is so important to you then why allow risks like these to vio-" A heavy fist slammed down, silencing the room. It was usually rare to see the officers go against a figure so notorious amongst the Covenant Navy's ranks, but these ship-masters seemed too weak-minded to even comprehend his own position. That's what brought a smile to the face of the fleet-master. He knew that what he was doing was to plan. Everything was to plan. And when it wasn't, he relied on his sheer brutal nature to push everything back into line. It was the reason his ships were mostly in tact and still alive, even after such a dire ambush like the one faced on Oman.

His armour clinked against one another, heavy but protective to its core. There were few respected fleet-masters who had the time to forge their own armour such as himself. After his noble actions on hunting down three demon (Spartan III) teams with only a small band of his own militants, his prize was the adjustments to his ceremonial armour that symbolised his rank. To compensate for other military victories, the creation of the Militants was shown to be his own personal bodyguard. This was Grazo 'Lovamee...This was the brutal collector of the Sangheili race.

The Militants were more of a showcase of power, in his mind. Like how the San'Shyuum had their Honour Guards, 'Lovamee had his Militants. They were originators of the Zealot ranks, but outfitted with specialised gear and used for retrieval and guarding missions. However, the fleet-master preferred to use them for his own means, such as hunting down enemies from the shadows. They were a force to be reckoned with, even alone. Those who were in the Militants were mostly the closest or most trusted Sangheili comrades 'Lovamee had. One of these was his own brother. The command of the Militants was almost always given to 'Lovamee, but he had trusted one of his own ship-masters to take that mantle for one mission.

Eventually, Grazo 'Lovamee stood in front of the two complaining ship-masters, whilst the rest from his fleet watched from the outskirts of the encounter. It was definitely a verbal clash between political giants, but one that was always going to favour one side. The superior let out a smug chuckle, looking around at the quiet ship-masters surrounding the trio. Eventually, his deathly-low tone let out words of response.

"A fine bit of criticism, my brothers. But if you were so against the plan, you could have chased after the vessel yourself, but you didn't. That'll be because deep down, you know I plan for this to happen." He turned around, arms crossed behind his back with a iron grasp. "That vessel won't reach the planet it seeks. The place the apes called Reach has finally succumb to an invasion force. It's not going to get any reinforcements, because all the reinforcements are going to be required to defend that wretched planet. But this assignment of accomplishment reminds me...You question my ability to command. Tell me, what happened to the Militant team I gave you?"

The room fell silent for a bit, until the superior Sangheili snarled with impatience. He knew the answer, he just wanted to remind the ship-masters who complained how hypocritical they were, and to give him an opening to show his true reasoning for being a ruthless shipmaster.

"That's right...They were killed. Because you ordered them to attack an enemy outpost alone...Why do you think I sent in a ground force to take that outpost? Because that's what a good strategist does, not a failed misery of a ship-master. Now if you dare question my authority once more, trust me...I will not make your death quick. I may be an archaeologist, but I'm more of a warrior than you'll ever achieve."

---

The thick underbrush made it hard to see more than a few paces in front of two soldiers. Ideally, that worked two ways. Jinxie wouldn't be surprised if the Covenant had some ultrapowerful thermal imaging or something though. They seemed to always have a leg up on the UNSC in the technology department. Even their explosives were far and away the better devices. The colours were prettier too. Blues and purples and tinges of green as opposed to dull red and orange. Yeah it was a little against regulations but if she spotted some of the aliens' explosives, they were all hers.

”What exactly happened on Fumirole? Been fortunate enough to avoid that one, but I overheard some pilots talking about it. They said it was quite a shitshow. And what was that about some Colonel’s Warthog? That sounds like an interesting story.”

Edward's question cut through the (relative) silence of the forest. No forest was ever truly silent after all. "A flight of Banshees strafed our position. Those plasma cannons tore through us. I had taken a plasma pistol shot to the chest so I was already down by the time they came by. I heard the howl though. I guess they thought I was dead, because they ignored me. Another platoon found us a couple hours later. Well, they found me. I did hear a Spartan took out a Covenant ship singlehandedly that day. Wish I could have seen the explosion." Srin's tone changed back to its normal upbeat sound upon recollection of the Warthog Story, "You know about fusion coils right? The highly controversial and equally as volatile power sources? Well we had just gotten a shipment of them. Only someone had mounted them improperly. So by the time they arrived at our base they were all primed to roll out of the container in a very explosive way. So I volunteered to get them out. I've been around things that blow up my whole life, it just doesn't phase me anymore. Long story short, I got them out safely, but the next day an aide driving the Colonel's 'Hog around took a corner just a little too fast and dinged one of the coils. You can guess what happened. The 'Hog flipped end over end before landing on the wheels again. No one was hurt, aside from the career of the aide. He accused whoever put them there of being sloppy and leaving dangerous equipment around. That was, of course, me. There was a full investigation and tribunal but eventually I was cleared of all wrongdoing. Big waste of time in the end but I did get a funny story out of it."

Jinxie laughed at her own story before turning serious again at the last inquiry. "None taken. I'm not a coward if that is what you are asking. I didn't give myself the nickname. It started out as a joke I think, but every time something out of the ordinary would happen it was blamed on me. Eventually people started buying into the myth I guess. What I'm trying to say is that I don't think I'm particularly unlucky- er I think. I've confused myself now." the Army Trooper cracked a wide smile as they came upon the final stretch to OP Sierra. Accepting the gift of the rangefinder, Srin peered at the partially constructed outpost. "Yeah, I think you and I should take a look. If it's clear, then we radio it in and have your squad bring the wounded one in and we dig in. If it's not clear, well..." Her voice trailed off as she handed the rangefinder back to their owner.
@Starlance

---

@LetMeDoStuff@OrizaSaucer@Delta44

---

Hunter got the impression from the small medic girl that his humor was not liked. He was pretty sure most people didn't like it, but he didn't really care that much. It helped him feel better. Though he did notice the reddening bandages on the medic's arm. It looked very unpleasant, now he wondered if those wounds were just that harsh so that replacing the bandages would be pointless or if she ran out of bandages to replace them? Maybe it was a bad area to do so in, it was dark after all. Not a lot can be done in the dark other then trying to not shoot the wrong target.

Hunter considered checking up on the girl, to make sure that things weren't too bad. Then again he was probably the wrong person for that, he was bad at first impressions and he seemed to really have screwed up the one with her. "I can make a few good shots if need be." He said trying to reply to the comment about the medic's arm. He still didn't know her name...

He fell in line either way, they had an outpost to get to and he really wanted a real bed. Even though he had done it before he didn't want to sleep in the dirt, that would leave them exposed. Though the situation wasn't all that bad, two ODSTs, a doctor, and himself. They were not in the worst of shape, could definitely be better but definitely not bad. Too bad at least. Worst comes to worse, they could put up one hell of a last stand if they found a good spot to do it. And a lot more coffee. No point in fighting if you were nto awake enough to be able to tell who you're shooting at.

At one point the ODST leading the small team asked if this was the first time being stranded. "Stranded, not exactly no. My first mission we were sent in to gather insurrectionist data from a little out-post in the middle of nowhere. The mission failed and we were picked off in the retreat." He took a deep breath for a moment. "I find this situation much more scary though. Last time the Navy was still around to get us out. And the foes we were fighting were not that good at it. They just got... really damn lucky." He trailed off. He felt the need to try and end this on a positive note, he hated leaving things off on a bad note. "On the plus side, I am still pretty sure we killed more of them then they killed us. They were forced to abandon the out-post after we left." That didn't seem much better in his mind, but it was better non the less.

He decided he would stop explaining war stories, they rarely went well in his mind. Then again, he only had one before this operation. The rest were stories about how he struggled in basic training. Most of the positions he had obtained in his squad were secondary or third positions to take over when someone else wasn't able to. He figured that wasn't something to be proud of.

Hunter would stay quiet until the Sargent asked another question about their personal lives. He didn't talk much between them though due to the fear of getting shot and because he was now struggling to stay awake. He was decent at hiding it but he worried it would show once any fighting started. He knew a few things to look for when a soldier was experiencing exhaustion, he didn't say anything though because he had been on this planet as long as everyone else. As long as his aim wasn't effected too much he'd be fine. He would just need to focus on not falling asleep when the time came.

He figured for this question he would answer anyways. "I'd never heard of that." He replied. Commenting on having loved ones gives you more motivation to get the job done and go home. "But I guess it's not surprising, having a personal reason to survive can make anyone do anything. But personally I don't have anyone either though sir. Parents are back on Sol IV are the closest I have, and I haven't seen them in years. Nor am I in a hurry to either. I enjoy the freedom of the Marines a hell of a lot more then home." He said in a laughing tone.

When most of the talking was done they had started to work up a hill that felt like the tallest hill in the world to Hunter. But the sight at the top was worth every step. On the top of the hill, maybe a mile or so out, lay the entrance to out-post Sierra. "That. Is more beautiful then any girl I have ever laid my eyes on." He said with a cheerful smile. The place is well fortified, could probably be held for a decent amount of time with a full strength squad if worst came to worst. He looked down at it, the adrenaline rush he got from seeing it had almost woken him up completely. "What are we waiting for? Let's get going!" He would wait until the rest of his mixed fireteam was ready to move before going in himself. No need to get himself killed on a friendly mine because he got excited.

---

---

”We will all die a horrible, untimely and painful death and my, or I guess our squad now, will follow soon.” He completed Srin’s unfinished sentence. “Just a day at the office, no? Perhaps I should have listened to father’s advice and been a cook.” he grumbled, returned the rangefinder in the appropriate pouch and jumped to his feet, reaching for the transmit button. ”Tube, find a decent foxhole and wait for us, we are going to see if the outpost is safe. If we don’t return, head back into the woods, report it to Chariot and try to meet up with them.”
”Don’t do anything stupid in there and return at the first sight of trouble. We can’t afford to lose any more people.”

Edward sprinted across the open field until he reached the first wall. Waiting for Srin, he peered over the wall, only to find another one, bigger and intact about fifty meters from the one he was at. ”Looks like a killing field. Unlike this one, that wall over there is intact as far as I can see. The outpost seems to have power, too. No way but forward. I just hope there’s not some guy with a happy trigger finger on that wall, human or alien.” The space between the outer walls and the outpost itself was probably meant to force anyone trying to get to the outpost to cross open ground. A feature as old as the term ‘fortification’ itself. Sadly, that meant they would have to do so as well. He was about to get out of cover and begin the trek when he froze, an ugly thought worming its way into his brain. ”Wait wait wait. Call me paranoid, but this looks like a perfect place for someone to put up a minefield. I know I would. You’re an explosives expert, right? Do you have a metal detector or anything that would alert us to any mines in the area, just in case there are any. A few hundred of them, I’d say.”

Letting Srin take the lead, Edward kept looking over his shoulder every ten or so seconds, but it simultaneously allowed him to observe the outpost itself. ”I thought it would be bigger as a central base.” he murmured. ”Looks like it might be quite cramped in there.” Step by step, they neared the outpost and with it, hopefully, some safety. ”Lead on, I’ve got our backs.”

@Amaranth

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Suppressing a laugh at the cook comment, Srin added, "I wouldn't have it any other way. No one else gets to blow so much stuff up so regularly!" After hearing the man nicknamed Tube's response, Jinxie nodded to the air in acknowledgement and watched Edward leap to his feet and dart across the open field. Guess that's why they wanted him on point. Srin took a big gulp of air and prepared herself. Holding her helmet to prevent it from moving and obscuring her vision with her right hand and grasping her rifle in her other, Pfc. Chéreau took off after the Pointman. She wasn't as fast, mostly being weighed down by the copious amount of explosives she was lugging around, the extra encumbrance caused her to slide nearly into the wall.

The Sapper adjusted her helmet and looked over the wall tentatively. The outpost looked half constructed. The inner defences looked fairly complete, but the outer ones were sorely lacking. Srin guessed they had been attacked halfway through construction. It was always best to start in and work your way out when it came to constructing defences, so you have a place to fall back to in cases like this. Looks like that policy may have saved some lives. Jinxie tapped her cheek in thought, Eddie was right. This IS the place for a minefield, but the rest of the outer defences looked half built. The wall was too small and there was no concertina wire. An idea popped into her head.

Jinxie started talking, almost babbling, as fast as thoughts could form in her head. "Standard UNSC protocol is to mark minefields on the battlenet so all ground units can be aware of where they are-" Jinxie tapped frantically on her gauntlet datapad, "-unfortunately nothing is marked here. Whiiiich could mean they either never got around to setting the mines or that they set them but never got the chance to tag the minefield." Srin hopped over the wall and continued, "I don't carry a metal detector which means there's only one way to do this. The old fashioned way!" Landing on the damp dirt of the other side of the wall, Jinxie drew her knife with a flourish and began to carefully slide it into the dirt at set intervals every foot or so. It was slow-going but it beat getting maimed by a mine.

After fifteen or so minutes, she was about halfway done. This was obviously the part of being a demo expert that was the most boring. Aside from maybe defusing explosives. What fun is a bomb that doesn't even explode anymore? Edward made a comment about the base being smaller than he expected. "Yeah, looks like they were interrupted during construction. I wonder if any of my platoon is in here."

Finally after thirty or forty (Srin had lost track) minutes of poking holes in the dirt, one after the other, they arrived at the inner wall. Srin stood up, stretched her back, brushed the dirt off of her knife and put it back with a spin. "Guess they didn't get to the mines. We can always put those in later." Srin patted her pack full of explosives and flashed Eddie a devious grin. "Now, what's our next move?"

@OrizaSaucer@Delta44[@RemipaAwesome]@Amaranth@Starlance@Joker892@Dealdric@LetMeDoStuff

A squad member from bravo noticed movement on the rise up the mountain, were they marines? Soon they approached and began digging holes in the ground with knives, of course, they were being careful, his squad didn’t even bother to check. Lance Corporal smith called up the second lieutenant so that she may assess the situation.
“Ma’am, marines have arrived.” Smith said with an orderly voice, he came to attention as she walked towards him, before he said anything he saluted her, she saluted back, Corporal Xi followed close behind.
“Open up, we want them inside... now.”, she didn’t wait for a salute and instead walked back down towards the yard where a few marines had gathered, the wounded stayed inside with Dean. Smith called up the group of marines outside the outpost.
“Welcome to outpost Sierra, we have food and weapons here, a doctor too if you need him.” He walked over to the gate control box and opened it, a clank and a rumble then the gate was open, he waited for the marines to enter before he closed it again.