Cath

The Cradle

“Oh yeah, thanks. Never thought of doing that.” Thebes replied acerbically, motioning for the team to move to the edge.Their suits did protect from falls, but it was what happened after the falls, if they were split up, that worried him. He’d already lost one operator after five successful years, and he’d object to anything that could lead to losing another.

The Sacred Band maneuvered the scientists to the ledge and then stood either side of them at wide intervals, guns in front of them pointing straight upwards. 595 assumed their stance, looked down the line and once she was happy everyone was ready, she spoke up. “Ok. We’re ready for transport.”

Nothing happened right away. The winged beasts chattered quietly, watching them curiously. And then, after a fraught few seconds, the bull sitting on the deck closest to them flapped into the air. He passed over the top of them, grabbing Rareth around the middle with his muscled back legs. He dragged the Datius off the edge, soaring down into the valley below before gradually gaining height.

“Looks terrify-” Dr Wetherall didn’t get to finish before another winged creature swooped down from the nest above and grabbed him. 595 filtered out his shouting and screaming from the comms channel. Creatures grabbed Nirann, Athena, Dr Ngata, the rest of the Sacred Band and finally her.

The Agent had always thrived on adrenaline and thrills, so she yelped with pleasure, drinking in the scenery from above as thermals whooshed past her. “Everyone alright?” Thebes asked. “All fine back here.” 595 answered, trying not to wiggle in the creature’s iron-clad grasp. “Hey look! There’s a settlement in the forest!” Dr Ngata called. 595 looked down at the fuzzy marker the scientist had placed.

True enough, there was a clearing in the forest below, with some low clusters of crude buildings centred on some kind of totem pole. “I hope we can salvage our recordings, dear boy. This expedition has yielded a gold mine of data.” Dr Wetherall observed, having calmed down a little bit, though his voice was still strained.

The Cradle

“Gift horse or not, I don’t like it. It gives these things a chance to split us up, drop us into the jaws of some other alien killing machine.” Thebes sniffed, staying where he was. A cargo bot idly nudged into his back until he gently pushed it away.

“The alternative is hiking through another dark forest. And, judging by the distance still to go, more obstacles after that. Together, we’re one of the most effective combat systems in the galaxy, but how much more can we really take? We’ve already lost one of our own, barely made it out of that marshy valley alive.” 595 reasoned.

The Agent lowered her weapon and edged further out, turning to look at the large winged creature who was studying Rareth with some interest. She cleared her throat, unsure how to address the voice. It wasn’t clear whether it was inhabiting the beast before them, or was coming in from afar. “Do we have your word, that you will transport us safely, and together?”

”These ones will transport you safely. We must meet as soon as possible.” The voice replied.

“If i may...with the comms mast now working, we could request they spawn in flyers for us to use instead?” Dr Wetherall ventured. “You can fit two of the Barbarossa’s slimmest utility models onto our four by four slate at a time. This means we could have enough seats for everyone in a couple hours…”

”No external signalling. It is forbidden.” The voice clamoured. 595 tapped the opaque alloy of her visor with two fingers and looked at Rareth. The weaker elements of the team were running out of steam - they needed to resolve this mission ASAP. “Ok. We’ll ride with these creatures. How do you want us?”

“Stand on the ledge. These ones will grasp you like prey.” 595 looked back at the Sacred Band and scientists. “Saddle up - that’s an order. Someone have the cargo bots follow along behind.”

The Cradle

595 surveyed the valley as the team and cargo fanned out just inside the cave entrance. The good news was that the beacon had grown closer now, perched on the shoulder of a mountain on the opposite side. The bad news was that some kind of forest separated them from their goal.

From what she could tell in the low-light, the trees in this forest were different from those surrounding the lake earlier. They were much taller, and didn’t seem to glow with any of those eye pods at first inspection. That didn’t stop 595 loathing the thought of a romp through the middle of it.

The Agent stepped slightly out of the cave entrance and looked through the sight of her beam rifle at the cliffs straight above her. She could make out a lot of commotion further up, with some large bodies fidgeting in and among large crevices. She didn’t need Dr Ngata to conclude that the landslide they’d just facilitated may have agitated this group.

“See a way down?” Thebes asked, watching Rareth closely. Just then, that same alien siren noise erupted in their comms channel. Quieter than before, but still very disruptive. 595 went onto high alert with the others even though, somehow, she had felt it coming moments before. When she refocused her sighting on the cliffs above, the flapping and cawing had stopped. Instead, she could see dozens of heads watching them. “You are closer now. These ones will carry you to me. We must be quick.” a familiar, andryogenous, synthetic voice returned to their private channel.

With that, the first of the winged creatures took flight, circled round their position before landing on an unoccupied part of the ledge. It was large, and fierce looking, with spines running down it’s back and glinting UV eye parts. The Sacred Band trained their weapons on the beast, while 595 kept her sights locked onto their nest.

The Cradle

Thebes looked Rareth up and down. “Alright… Let’s kit up then head out - I want four in front and four out back.” The Sacred Band quickly re-equipped, grabbing new and calibrated weapons from the rack. None of them spoke publicly, many instead choosing to keep their eyes lowered as they sorted their gear. A cacophony of metallic clicks and snaps echoed through the cavern as they fitted fresh batteries and replenished ordinance.

”That was a useful magic trick just now. Is there anything else you can do that we should know about?” 595 sent to Rareth over private comms what Thebes had been silently thinking. She grabbed a spare pistol from the rack and magnetised it to the back of her suit, watching Rareth the whole time.

“Alright, move out!” Thebes ordered once he was satisfied everyone had what they needed. They formed up and began quickly picking their way through the cave system in a tight formation. After a few minutes, they stumbled upon a lone centipede creature from before, gnawing on some flora attached to the waterside rocks. The Sacred Band promptly tore it apart with guns and knives as it tried to flee. They then carried on following the water until they emerged onto another valley on the other side.

“What’s that noise?” Saddam asked, breaking radio silence. A faint cawing sound wafted down from above, mingling with the sound of water falling down the side of the mountain.

The Cradle

Most of the warriors still present instinctively aimed their weapons at Rareth as she stopped rolling. Thebes, who was closest, tapped her with his boot. “How’d you get in here?” He asked.

595 studied the Datius closely from a few metres away. Without looking, she dropped the battery out of her beam rifle and grabbed another from the mobile armoury. “Are you operational?” Thebes continued.

“Get off me!” Saddam growled, wriggling furiously until Knossos released him from his vice-like grip. The sanguine coloured rifleman stood up and went to inspect the wall of boulders. The seal seemed complete, and although they could get through, it would take time. Water from the stream was bottlenecking against the rocks, filling the cavern with water past ankle depth. Knossos checked his readout of the Sacred Band’s suits. “He’s gone.” He murmured.

More rock dust fluttered down onto them and the waiting cargo bots. “We need to keep moving - get out of this cave system.” 595 asserted, looking up at the ceiling to search for cracks.

The Cradle

The whole shelf seemed to explode at once. Not least from inside the swarm of tendrils, with six huge gouts of superheated energy emerging at once. These merged with the bandolier of grenades that detonated underneath the cloud. The creature let out a thunderous screech, which was quickly followed by another earth-shattering crack from underneath it.

The whole shelf began crumbling, with huge slabs falling away from the main formation and sliding down into the valley below in a massive avalanche. This was compounded by boulders falling down the mountain above the caverns as well. A rock the size of a small car bounced off Memnon’s armour while he was providing cover fire. The hit staggered him and cracked his shields. “Get back in here Mem, haul ass!” Saddam, his fire and move partner, yelled, standing just inside the cave.

The heavy gunner was just outside the cave entrance, having moved back out to cover Rareth. He turned and found he was running uphill, as the shelf slowly crashed into the valley below. He dodged another boulder, but abruptly found he could run no longer when a razor vine protruded through his stomach and his feet left the floor. The creature had spiked him with one of it’s longest tendrils as it fell, broken, down the side of the shelf. “MEM!” Saddam hollered raggedly, dropping his rifle and running forward until Knossos tackled him to the floor. The cave entrance was quickly becoming inaccessible due to falling boulders - if they went outside now they wouldn’t get back in.

“I guess it’s just you and me.” Memnon gurgled over comms, as his suit began flashing red. The vine with him attached scraped against the falling rock face, seemingly trying to find purchase as the swarm got buried under the shelf. “Good luck, everyone.” With that, the gunner shut off his comms and the cave entrance collapsed entirely. The surviving team were on their own again, with just tremors from the mountainside to keep them company. After a few seconds, another massive shockwave shook the cavern, dislodging dust onto all their heads.

Halo: Aegis Team

“Got it.” Tar grunted over comms, stopping the incoming Spiker with her foot. She quickly picked it up with her free hand and straight-arm fired it at the Brute Chieftain. She couldn’t get a clear shot, as the pillars were in the way, but she saw when it activated its invincibility module.

Bullets sprayed against the crates and walls around her, with a couple popping her recharging shield. Tar chucked her empty pistol away, holstered her Mauler, gripped her Spiker with both hands and fired downrange at the slowly advancing Human rebels. They dived behind cover, giving her a couple of seconds to think about the last remaining Brute that she could see.

“Don’t commit and stay back!” Tar urged, just as a blow from the gravity hammer scattered boxes everywhere. One crashed into her, knocking her backward and out of cover. She returned fire as a tsunami of bullets popped her shield again. A couple even clanged off her armour before she ducked behind a pillar - right in the path of the Chieftain. Tar swore and assumed an open stance, ready to move in any direction.

The Cradle

The Sacred Band fell back in quick time. They worked in fire and movement pairs where one person ran while the other provided cover and vice versa. 595 reached the cave entrance first and scanned for hostiles inside before sending the bots further into the complex. She stayed near the entrance, clambering onto a rock to shoot at creatures further back as they scrambled over each other to reach the front.

Another ear-shattering scream filled the valley, and a sickly green will-o-wisp emerged over the top of the cliff. It was contained within a massive swarm of vines that seemed to collect up the smaller creatures as it crashed forward like a wave. Razor vines extended ahead of it as another series of sharp cracks came from underneath them. “MOVE!” Thebes ordered, activating one of the grenades on his bandolier then unclipping it from his armour and dropping it on the floor.

The front half of the Sacred Band turned to sprint. Carthage fired an incendiary rocket at the swarm, setting a section of it on fire. 595’s beam rifle splayed over it’s frontage. A small hole appeared where Athena blasted it with her railgun.

The Cradle

Thebes jumped back to his feet, shield recharging after that hit from the ballista. “You heard the lady - fold back to the caves. Lets go!” The Sacred Band didn’t need telling twice. They’d done this sort of thing a thousand times before in the simulator, and it showed. Using their innate awareness of each other’s position and sophisticated battle mapping, four of the team gathered just outside the deployable cover, and another two fell back to protect a line heading into the cave system.

Half a dozen of the creatures mounted the ridge, but sustained fire from all angles kept them from advancing too quickly. Some attempted twistering through to the deployable cover, but were quickly picked apart by a laser focused barrage from the entire group.

“Ok, we’re good to go!” Dr Wetherall called, gently nudging past 595 as she fired into the melee to give the bots instructions. They began moving slowly out of the shield bubble and towards the cave system. 595 looked back to check where they were headed and then followed alongside, firing and walking. “Ngata, grab the deployable cover, quickly!” The elderly scientist snapped, clearly stressed.

Just then, a bloodcurdling roar issued from somewhere close by in the valley. It sounded like metal girders being bent and ripped. It was quickly followed by a sharp *crack* and the ground shifting under their feet. “Everyone move! Double time!” Thebes shouted. He stepped back into the deployable cover and grabbed Dr Ngata as he stooped to deactivate the first module. “Leave it, there’s no time. The whole shelf is going, get into the caves now!”

The Cradle

Saddam and Knossos, who were either side of Rareth, turned and opened fire on her. The team’s second in command tried edging closer, but razor sharp appendages jabbed back and forth in all directions, clashing with his shields. “Fall back from the ridge! We’ve kicked the hornet’s nest.” Thebes hollered, grabbing Athena and hauling her to a standing position right after she took one last shot at another newly formed ballista. “We have to move; how long until we’re mobile?”

“Nearly done here! Ready to move in sixty seconds!” Dr Wetherall gasped, desperately collapsing the transit station down with the help of the two other civilians. The transit station was now packed and hitched to one of the cargo bots. Thebes detected another bolt on the Sacred Band’s sensory net and pushed Athena out of the way. It hit him square in the chest and sent him flying backwards. Another creature exploded over the top of the ridge and vortexed toward Athena. She fired her railgun through it at point blank range, evaporating most of its body and spraying her with black ichor.

595 was staring into space. Despite the dust and low light, she could feel the beating heart of this valley wake from its slumber, emerge from the nest and tear across the marshy plains toward them. The agent was disturbed from her reverie when Carthage palm-tapped her on the back of her helmet. “Wakey wakey! Fire your weapon!” 595 blinked, the sounds of the battlefield draining away from her. She raised her weapon, although it felt like it weighed a thousand tonnes, and sent a solid laser beam blasting into the net of tendrils emerging over the ridge in front of Memnon.

“Take this trolley to the cargo bots, I’ll cover you!” Carthage shouted from over her shoulder, her voice echoing as if she were down a well. 595 nodded dumbly, getting up, turning and nearly stumbling straight into the mobile armoury behind her.