Familiar of Fire

Ch.5: Discovery

Louise was sitting in the academy's dining hall with Saito, her family, minus her father; and over a hundred nobles and other civilians being guarded by the soldiers that came from the great behemoth now above the academy. Louise had heard her father had fought in one of the nearby villages with the queen's knights and Firearms Brigade; they had heard that the village was now aflame from the demon army. No survivors. Louise's mother was grief stricken the most; she had married Louise's father out of love, not wealth or respect. Cattelya was like her mother sobbing out of sorrow and fear. Elenore was the only one keeping a straight face of the group. She felt that since she was the eldest sister she had to remain calm and unnerved by the events. However, inside she cried the most as she loved her father as much as her mother did. He had always been there for her, especially when her lover left her for someone else. Unfortunately for her one of the marines noticed her standing amongst the group and decided to open his big mouth.

"Is there a reason your family is cryin', and yet you remain there, scowlin' and unmoved," a soldier in ODST armour asked?

"I am the eldest sister, I must remain strong and set an example for my sisters," Elenore answered; her mood and voice giving nothing away. "I am a noble; I don't have the luxury or time to mourn even if he was my father. Her voice cracked at the last part of the sentence.

"So thats where the little brat gets it," another soldier stated beside his comrade. Elenore fumed at them.

"Excuse me?"

"The little pink haired one, she's like you; a pain in the ass and truly sad to look at," the first soldier answered. "I think your poor dad is turnin' in his grave, knowin' that you don't give a damn. This made Elenore crack. She stood up and walked towards the man, tears in her eyes, and attempted to slap the soldier. The soldier simply grabbed her wrist mid slap. Elenore quivered in anger.

"DON'T YOU DARE SAY I DON'T CARE, YOU WHELP," she screamed at the soldier. "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LOSING A LOVED ONE AND SOMEONE IMPORTANT IN YOUR LIFE! The second soldier looked like he was going to slap her into next Tuesday, but was stopped by the first soldier raising his hand. The other soldier backed off; this was his fight, figuratively. The first soldier tightened his grip on Elenore's wrist, causing the girl to wince.

"You had better watch your words Bitch or you'll end up like a grunt without its methane tank," He depolarized his helmet and looked at the young woman. He was slightly younger than the woman, Caucasian, had grey eyes and a small scar going down the centre of his lip to his chin. "And like I told your sister when she decided to lip off to my teammate; don't go sayin' thin's you don't know anythin' about. He let go of Elenore and walked away from them. Elenore gathered her composure and sat down beside Louise and Saito again. The soldiers made a glance back at her and shook their heads. Saito spoke to Elenore.

"Elle, you gotta be careful; if these guys are anything like the soldiers from my home, they don't take that sort of crap from NOBODY. Henrietta would be in as much hot water as you are if she said something like that as well."

"Be quiet familiar, your opinion does not matter to me,"

"Just don't say I didn't warn you," Saito said as he held Louise while she sobbed in her sleep. Elenore didn't show it, but she felt a little guilty at being rash at those soldiers. God knows what they've been through and how much they've suffered. She simply sat there and contemplated whether or not to actually mourn, and whether or not to apologise to the soldiers.

Lt. Andrew Ricky was running through the streets of the flaming town. His new companions, keeping up with him; barely, and keeping a wary eye for Covenant troops. They were about half a mile from the city exit leading to the academy. Ricky was about to order a quick breather break, when one of the girl's head exploded.

"SNIPER," He yelled as he dove into an alley for cover, shooting at the spot where the shot came from. He managed to get to cover with the others. He took a quick peek out the side of the alley and managed to spot the shooter. It was a jackal with a beam rifle on the top of a building, across from them, at a crossroad one building down. His SMG was too short range for the shot, and his pistol had no scope. He looked around the street, in cover, to see if there was a weapon he could use. He nearly jumped for joy when he saw a dead Elite with a carbine beside its body. He turned to his now smaller team.

"Okay, I need you to fire at the top of the building, across from us at the cross roads," he told them. "Mean while, while you cover me, I'll grab that carbine and blow his head off. The three newcomers looked sceptical.

"Our muskets aren't that accurate," Agnes told him. Ricky pondered a second and pulled out his SMG and pistol and gave it to both ladies.

"They're just like your guns only more power and ammo. Just aim and squeeze, and make sure you don't poke your head out too long or you'll lose it." He said to them; they remained sceptical, but nodded. "On my mark, cover me. He had his back turned to them and counted his fingers down from 3...2... "Mark!" Ricky yelled as he ran from cover and narrowly avoided a beam aimed for his chest. The two women popped out of cover and began firing at the jackal; he ducked into cover to avoid the incoming fire. Ricky ducked and rolled as he grabbed the carbine. He took aim in a kneeling position, and waited for the sniper to poke his head out. The girls ran out of ammo in their clips; the jackal took the advantage and aimed his rifle at the blonde haired female human. His finger hovered over the trigger and squeezed; then darkness, as his brain exploded.

The beam skimmed past Agnes' head, clipping some the hair on her right side. She jumped; startled at how close she came to death, because of her stupidity at not returning to cover. Ricky stood up and motioned them to follow him. They complied and when Agnes passed by Ricky, she received a light smack upside the head. She turned around and glared at him. He stared her down.

"You almost lost your head; when I say keep your head out briefly, I mean briefly," he scowled at her. "You'd be dead right now if I hadn't taken the shot when I did. When we get the chance, I'm going to make sure you, your Firearms Brigade, and the Queen's Knights get some proper training and discipline. Agnes lowered her head, knowing she had screwed up and was saved yet again by the man in armour. He walked past her and lightly said to her. Nice shooting though; I couldn't have made it to the rifle, let alone take the shot, without you. She turned to look at him and received a pat on the shoulder. Good work soldier. He continued walking ahead of them and she let out a small smirk once his back was turned, but noticed that she was blushing. They continued walking for about ten minutes until they heard a noise.

"What's that buzzing noise," the nobleman asked. Ricky listened and then widened his eyes in fear.

"Buggers, hide now," he ordered them. Ricky dashed into a window and hid inside the building. Agnes the nobleman and the female musketeer ran for an alley. The musketeer tripped as she entered the alley way. She and the other two companions saw a swarm of beetle like creatures fly overhead and through the streets. They waited for 3 minutes until the swarm left; but unfortunately for the musketeer, one drone spotted her and decided to save the young woman for himself. The drone dropped down about 3 feet behind the prone woman. She grabbed her musket and fired at the red armoured bug. The drone's shields flared and he leapt at the woman and managed to grab her leg. The drone bit into her leg; the woman screamed in pain. Agnes fired her musket at the drone, but it shrugged it off with annoyance. Agnes grabbed her comrade's hands and tried to pull her away. The drone sunk the barbs on his arms into the poor woman's leg. Agnes pulled along with the nobleman, but only ended up tearing the girl's leg, as it tugged on the barbs. The Drone let go and pulled out its pistol; it had had enough interruptions and decide to eliminate his pest problem. The drone, however, never finished his thought; for he did not notice the tall figure come up behind him, wraps arm around its neck, and plunged a Machete into its head(AN: I forgot to mention this, but yes Ricky does carry a machete around with him).

Ricky tore the blade out of the, now dead, alien. He flicked so as to remove most of the blood. Ricky went over to the musketeer that been attacked and examined the leg; it was a mess. The barbs had torn into her muscle tissue and shredded a good portion of her shin muscles. Her Achilles tendon was practically snapped in half and the drone's venom was slowly working its way into the girl's system. Granted it would take days for the venom to become lethal, but it needed to be removed now, and he didn't have the necessary medical equipment. Bio-foam wasn't going to fix this leg. He looked at Agnes and shook his head.

"It's a goner," he explained with a small trace of sorrow in his voice. "I don't have the expertise or equipment to fix it and it will be too late by the time we reach the academy, especially if we're trying to carry her. He pulled out his machete. We have to take it off or else she'll die from the venom and infection before we make it, and I don't leave soldiers behind. Agnes nodded. She went over to the girl and held her head against her and shielded the girl's eyes. Ricky pulled out a wooden cylinder with rope wrapped around it. He handed it to the young musketeer. Bite down on this, it will help. She nodded and bit down on it as she turned her head and looked away. Ricky inhaled and exhaled. He swung his machete over head with tremendous force, hoping to end it in one clean swing. Fortune smiled on the man as he removed the leg from the down in one swing. The musketeer squealed as she bit down on the mouthpiece in pain. Ricky took out some Bio-foam and morphine and applied it to the wound. He then removed some gauze from his med pack and wrapped around the stump of her leg. After managing to stop the bleeding, the girl was placed on the nobles back and carried her piggy back style. The group then continued their journey towards the academy.

Ooglaie was approaching the briefing room with his second, Jugger. They planned to be in the second assault wave against the humans at the so called academy. They entered the briefing room were 12 zealots, 20 ultras, 30 Major Domos and a Councillor awaited him. He nodded to them and sat down while Jugger stood. A zealot grumbled.

"Is there a problem Hagomee (hag-oh-me)," Ooglaie asked?

"Yes, I am somewhat offended that you bring this...underling in our presence during a war meeting," the zealot commented. Several Ultras and the Majors all glared daggers at him.

"Jugger is more a warrior than you are a zealot, is my XO, commands one of the finest units of Unngoy Kig-yar and Sangheili; who all respect him I might add, and has saved my hide more times than I care to count. So if you have a problem with him you have a problem with me, and if so then remove yourself from my sight," Ooglaie snarled. The zealot was slightly taken aback from the hostility. Jugger smiled inwardly at his comrade's loyalty.

"My apologises shipmaster I was out of place,"

"Yes you were, but let us continue with this meeting that Councillor Gorappee (goh-rah-pee) has called," he waved his hand to the councillor.

"Thank you shipmaster, as you all know the humans are preparing for a siege against our forces; a fairly lengthy one I might add," he activated a holographic image of the Tristain academy. "As you can see they have set up a surprisingly secure base of operations. They have heavy anti-aircraft, sizeable artillery and mortars, plenty of bodies and mechanized support, and a lengthy and thick trench line in front of the entrance of the academy filled with anti-vehicle, air and infantry nests. He zoomed in on the trench line with consisted of three trenches. The first filled with mostly infantry and nests, the second filled with some mortars and anti-vehicle along with infantry. Finally the third was thick with tank support, mortars, infantry, anti-infantry nests, and anti-air nests. They also have three bases surrounding the academy, two of which are focused on relieving and reinforcing the academy whilst the other focuses on power and retrieving the necessary resources to continue fighting; all heavily defended. The academy itself is split into sections. He changes the hologram into an overhead view. The inside of the academy walls had four sections. The walls themselves are defended by infantry, anti-air and the local military. The inside of the walls are worse than the trenches. Anti-air is far too thick to land within, and their tank support could tear most our infantry apart before they could clear the walls. They seem to be evacuating civilians from several platforms they have set up in the different sections of walls; for every batch of civilians that are evacuated, fresh troops and supplies are dropped off on the return trip.

"Not to be rude councillor, but is there a point to all this," one of the zealots asked?

"I was just getting to that, as you all know are ship is crippled from the recent hit and run the human ship made on us, and it will not be able to support the ground forces," the councillor continued. "Their ship will however be there to support them, and their air support has grown since are seraphs made runs on their infantry. He paused a moment and waited for them to take in all the information. Due to a recent discovery, from a scan we did on the academy, I request that the assault be held off for an additional day or so. The other Sangheili all looked at him as he had turned into a Huragok. He brought up a new image of the academy, but this time it had an underground tunnel system leading towards what looked like a facility. Ooglaie nearly jumped out his seat in surprise.

"Are these readings correct Councillor," he asked the Councillor?

"I have reviewed it several times over; there is no mistaking what you all see in front of you,"

"If this is true than that would mean..." One of the zealots began to ponder out loud.

"But how, this is a different dimension, there's no way..." an Ultra said to his fellow companions.

"Is it possible this is what we have been searching for..." one Sangheili started.

"And the humans have simply desecrated this place..." another finished.

"FOR THE LOVE OF THE HOLY RINGS, WILL SOMEBODY TELL ME WHAT IS SO IMPORTANT," Jugger screamed! Ooglaie returned from his stupor and looked at Jugger a little embarrassed.

"My apologies, Jugger, I forgot you are not as accustomed to these particular scans as I am," Ooglaie explained. "You see these scans are used to locate certain artefacts. These are the same scans used when we located the human world Harvst. Jugger went bugged eyed.

"So what you're saying is that..."

"Yes old friend, that beneath the academy is a Forerunner facility,"

(AN: DUN DUN DUUUUUUUNNNN. Sorry for the late update, but University takes priority guys, plus I have other hobbies that I need to attend to as well. Anyways give me some CREATIVE feedback and what you think PLEASE REVIEW)