Part VI:
Posted By: DarkZipper<crayolaj@comcast.net>
Date: 17 November 2005, 2:01 am
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Gnarlg sliced every single parasite that moved. He decided that he was lucky that he had only sent himself and twenty of his warriors inside, or else they would have had to deal with many, more dangerous parasites. Sadly, he had already lost twelve of his twenty men. They wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.
He clicked on his radio. "I want one hundred troops (not stationed outside) at my position now! The parasite is becoming overwhelming!" he yelled. "Make haste!" Another one of his comrades went down from a parasite and was shot down before it could fester in his skull. They were down to seven, and him now. The Heretic Leader was beginning to regret this drastic step that he had taken.
The Arbiter was surprised at how few troops there were in the facility as he traveled deeper into it. Perhaps they had been called somewhere else; but where else should they be sent? He sliced a Heretic Grunt in half and bolted to a console to open the hanger door so that a phantom with reinforcements could drop in. He pressed his finger to the hologram as the phantom slowly edged inwards. Another Heretic Grunt with a fuel rod cannon began firing at the phantom from the floor above him, but he was quickly taken out by the phantom's powerful weapons.
As the phantom dropped their reinforcements he picked up the fuel rod cannon and examined it. There were eight shots left in it, so he decided to save it in case he needed its great power later.
The reinforcements arrived in mere minutes and The Heretics quickly took out the parasites in the area. Then Gnarlg and about ten other soldiers traveled onto a large elevator. He had ordered more soldiers to follow him when another elevator arrived. It was a rather painless ride downwards.
Most of the parasites were quickly dealt with by the helpful sentinels. He had never been more thankful for those machines. Not only were they unlimited in number, but they were the ultimate Flood killing machines.
Finally the elevator screeched to a halt and he and his ten warriors slowly edged towards the entrance as they heard the next elevator descending. When they walked into the next room they were greeted by an enormous horde of infection forms.
They were inside a laboratory with two computer consoles across from each other on the bottom of the two floors. Luckily reinforcements quickly arrived, and they set up two stationary turrets to hold off the Flood (or the Covenant if they were crazy enough to follow him) while he traveled deeper into the parasite filled facility.
"That stench… I've smelled it before." The Spec Ops Commander whispered to the Arbiter. As they quietly walked into the facility they came upon a tank filled with small creatures floating inside. They looked a bit like small infection forms of the flood.
As they moved into the next room they heard a battle going on below them. They couldn't see who or what was fighting through the fogged glass though.
As they traveled further they came upon a chamber filled with bodies of Heretics… and Flood!
"What happened here?" An Elite asked almost to himself.
A small Grunt shivered in terror at the sight of the corpses. "Me have bad feeling about this." He said.
Another Grunt looked at him rudely and spoke to him. "You always have bad feeling! You had bad feeling about this morning's food nipple!"
Gnarlg and his few remaining warriors that had reached him were safe for now. They were in a large room with ramps that led high above them. They decided not to find out where they led in fear of finding more parasites. The vast room had a red light and a more peaceful feeling then the other darker areas of the facility. At the back of the room there was a door with a shield covering it. They decided that this was for the best.
He walked up to a computer terminal, and saw security cameras that showed the Arbiter and other warriors in the first chamber. They have quite a journey ahead of them.
He activated a hologram projector so that he could taunt them. He was going to have fun with these fools as they stepped into their graves.
A floating orb entered the room, and an image of The Heretic Leader formed there. An idiotic Grunt believed it to be the real thing.
"See! Heretic!" He and another Grunt began to fire at it, but the Spec Ops Commander quickly alerted them to the Heretic's true form. The foul Heretic began speaking with his fouled tongue.
"I wondered who the prophets would send to silence me." He turned to the Arbiter. "An Arbiter… I'm flattered."
The Spec Ops Commander was not intimidated. "He's using a holodrone. He must be close," he said to his troops. Then he turned to the Heretic "Come out, so we may kill you." He said threateningly.
The Heretic Leader merely laughed at his threat. "Get in line."
The holodrone deactivated, and the Arbiter heard something. It was faint, but it sounded like something was… slithering. "Stand firm," said the Commander. "The Flood is upon us."
Gnarlg almost laughed out loud at the Commander. He underestimated the Forerunner's technology by thinking that he was close by. He walked up to his second in command who had been with him since he had first walked in.
"This room will be our base of operations," Gnarlg said. "There are no parasites here, and-" The Heretic Leader almost jumped five feet in the air as an infection form latched to the back of his comrade's head. Gnarlg simply pulled the thing off of him and crushed it in his hands, "Are you all right?" he inquired.
"Yes Leader." He said. Then, more infection forms began to fall from the ceiling. The peaceful feeling of the room immediately deteriorated. "Sir, I will access the computer and unlock the door leading out of here!" You will probably fare better there!"
So, his second in command began to fiddle with the terminal furiously as Gnarlg and his warriors made a perimeter around him. We won't be able to hold this position for long! I never should have led my men into this horrible place! Why was I so selfish?
The sentinels began to pour into the room and assist them. They formed around his men and took the majority of the beatings from the Flood so that The Heretic Leader and his men wouldn't have to.
Gnarlg and his men stood shooting for what seemed like an eternity, until they finally ran out of ammunition… and sentinels, and were forced to merely beat the parasites with their weapons. The only ones left were him, his second in command on the hologram computer, and another brave soul.
"Sir!" The Heretic at the computer exclaimed. I've opened the door!" He died. An infection form had just overtaken him. It had probably been attached to him, feeding on his brain, for at least thirty seconds. Then his other warrior died.
He crouched down and lunged to the open door, his only escape, running at full speed. Then the entrance into the horrible red room opened, and the Arbiter and his men came through!
"Heretic Boss! You see, you see!" a Grunt exclaimed with excitement.
They opened fire on him as he fled, but Gnarlg made it behind the door, and immediately activated the shield as the Arbiter raced towards him.
He smirked at the face of true heresy. "This will save me from the storm, but you will be consumed." At that, the door closed and he could no longer see the Arbiter.
Gnarlg turned around and saw another unopened door. Thankfully it was locked, but could be opened from the inside in case the Covenant found a way to reach him. He was safe… for now.
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