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Marooned Chapter 17
Posted By: Steve Ollett<steveoll@fsmail.net>
Date: 10 July 2004, 3:17 PM
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Apologies to those of you who have been following this series - the recent birth of my second daughter has meant that updates have been a low priority - the need for sleep coming high on that list at the moment.
I was very tired when I wrote this...
MAROONED, CHAPTER 17
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2151HRS 08-OCT-2552 (MILITARY CALENDAR)
SECOND PLANET OF ACKWAZE SYSTEM.
UNDERGROUND FACILITY...
"What's the hold up?" an insistent voice hissed from behind.
Ryan acknowledged Dr Armstrong's interruption with a dismissive wave of his left hand, as he remained focused on the scene that lay before him.
He gazed out upon the enormity of the room, squinting in the dim light as he took in the features carefully. Its' footprint was roughly one hundred metres square - Ryan couldn't make out the exact height of the ceiling as it was hidden in darkness. Six gigantic blue-white crystalline assemblies hung above from an unseen ceiling, describing an equally spaced circular arrangement that must have been over sixty metres in diameter. The six bizarre crystalline 'stalactites' pulsed slowly, bathing the grey-blue tiled floor at the centre of the room in an eerie cold light.
Twin walkways ran along the left and right walls of the room at approximately five metres above the intricately inscribed slate-grey tiled floor, complete with what looked like a safety handrail along the edges. Each walkway had one entrance that allowed access onto it, marked with a pale blue hologram over the door. Thankfully, the walkways weren't connected to each other.
At the end of the room a large doorway, approximately eighty metres or so in width was set into the wall, barely visible in the gloom. The large door - their only exit apart from the entrances up on the walkways - appeared to be closed.
Between them and the doorway lay a sea of crate-like objects of varying size, some of them Ryan recognised as Covenant supply cases and battlefield communication nodes, their purple coloured forms unmistakable from Ryan's previous ground engagements with Covenant. The other cases were composed of materials similar to those used in the construction of the facility.
Ryan instantly recognised the 'room' as the hangar that Dr Armstrong had mentioned earlier, as the design - the size and height, observation walkways and large aperture of the doorway meant that something big could be stored within - something a lot bigger than just supply crates.
The only thing of real value that's missing here is our ride off this miserable rock, Ryan mused.
In the gloomy shadows that ran along the perimeter of the cavernous room, Sergeant Ryan and Corporal Stocks took cover, crouching low over the cold floor behind one of the many large crates that lay in a haphazard arrangement on the floor.
"What have we got, John?" Ryan whispered to his colleague.
Stocks remained silent until he had concluded a long slow sweep of the room ahead of them. His face had a familiar pale green hue as the night vision scope's screen on his Sniper rifle dimly illuminated his features.
Ryan glanced to his right and noticed that a bead of sweat was trickling down from Stock's left temple.
"I've seen worse." Stocks finally answered whilst his gaze remained on the small screen attached to his rifle, "what we ha-"
"What's going on?" Dr Armstrong called from behind again in a low, yet annoyed tone, "We have to keep moving!"
Ryan turned back to see Dr Armstrong together with Dr Muller some six or seven metres away at the mouth of the tunnel that had led them into the gigantic room.
The older man fanatically signalled back at Ryan for him to hurry up.
Ryan responded with his right hand - making a slitting motion across his neck indicating that the doctor should remain silent - before turning back to face Stocks.
"You've really got him pissed off now!" grinned Stocks as he shot a glance back at the two 'scientists'.
Dr Armstrong was furiously tapping away on his datapad whilst Dr Muller began to nervously eye the metal case that he carried with him.
"What have you got?" Ryan asked.
"Walkways on the left and right of the room - about five metres above us - but at least they're not connected to each other." Stocks answered whilst pointing out various features, "Looks like there's at least one entrance on each walkway there so we'll have to be careful of that like before, although I don't see any Tangos' on visual or infra-red up there."
"Escape routes?"
"Apart from the tunnel we just came out of, only the hangar door that is roughly eighty or ninety metres away. The controls are..." Stocks voice trailed off as he scanned again with his rifles' scope, "...located to the left of the door."
"Covenant?"
"Two blue Elites, guarding the door controls." Stocks replied, "A piece of cake except there could more of them hidden in here!"
"Yeah," Ryan sighed, "But what I'm more bothered about is what is on the other side of the door when we finally open it! A battalion of the bastards?"
"I'm just hoping for an empty dropship, with maybe a few sleeping Grunts nearby!" laughed Stocks.
Ryan paused to scratch the stubble on his chin for a moment. "I don't like it. Something doesn't feel right..."
Ryan was about to continue his sentence when he felt a presence next to him. He turned to see Dr Armstrong stood over him.
"I can't wait here for an engraved invitation from those bastards. If you're not going to do anything then I will!" growled the soldier-come-scientist as he levelled his weapon at the distant Elites, "Just like in the old days..." he muttered to himself.
"What the hellare you doing?" hissed Ryan as he got up to make a grab for the pistol in Armstrong's hand, "We're not ready yet!"
As Ryan tried to wrestle the weapon away, Armstrong managed to discharge two shots from the pistol, which were wildly off the mark.
Alerted to their presence, one of the Elites roared a challenge before unleashing a bright blue barrage of plasma fire in Ryan's general direction.
Ryan and Stocks dove for cover, as Dr Armstrong likewise took cover, cursing under his breath.
"Way to go dumbass!" yelled Garrett as he and Private O'Shea lead Karen away from the small corridor's entry to the hangar. They took cover behind several large cases about fifteen metres into the room.
Meanwhile, Privates Collins and Johnson began their advance into the hangar.
Collins sported the MA5B Assault Rifle that Dr Armstrong had carried earlier, whilst Johnson packed the M19 SSM Rocket Launcher that had so devastatingly dealt with the two hunters back on the bridge over the chasm only a few short hours ago.
The second Elite left his companion and made a start for the door controls, some twenty metres away from it.
"Take him down!" yelled Ryan as Stocks allowed the second Elite to cross his sights.
In the dim light of the hangar, the brief muzzle flash and thunder of the S2 AM firing resulted in the sprawled form of the second Elite close to the door controls.
Had the second Elite actually made it to the door controls, the situation would have been no different now as a dull clanking sound of hidden machinery accompanied a series of pulsing green lights along the bottom edge of the hangar door.
The realisation of the situation hit Ryan like a thunderbolt as he looked backwards and forwards between the fallen Elite, the door controls, and the narrow gap growing along the bottom edge of the hangar door all in turn. "The bastards are opening it from the other side!" he shouted as he lobbed an M9 HE-DP grenade over the sea of crates towards the remaining Elite.
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