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 Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:42 pm
"I don't plan to go rouge, but some things need to be finished" Warren didn't even know where that sentence came from, but he was starting to grasp a small picture. "Ashton, I'm going to need a favor from you. Keep a eye on me" He replied. He looked down at his Battle Rifle and stared at the ammo count. His head getting lost in the digital image, he felt at peace. He snapped himself out of it, to hear Ashton's answer.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:43 pm
The pelican continued to rattle and shake in the gravity well of the installation as they were finishing their approach. What seemed like immense, unending metallic structures stretched into the distance, outlining craters and arches of cyclopean size. The pelican entered a large opening in one of the grey metal surfaces, slipping unnoticed into the maze of metal alloys as the bright glow from it's engines washed across many surfaces, lights and shadows playing to create viscous motion and a feeling of dread in the darkness.
The pelican continued onwards, the others following in vanguard formation as the opening widened to accomodate their passage, light showing vaguely in the distance. The pelicans continued for almost five minutes, and the grew almost painfully slowly, testament to the scale of the design on the installation. Finally, the light seemed to increase and suddenly blossomed as the pelican crossed a threshold into the inside of the installation. What could only be described as sunlight began to shine through the cockpit's windows, and the pilot cried out.
"Captain Lee, you may want to come up here sir!"
Lee gingerly undid his safety straps and crash webbing, then took two tentative steps on the still shaking pelican's bulkhead. Immediately adapting to the rumbling, he strode to the front of the vehicle and felt his jaw drop to the floor as he took in the impossibility of the scene before him.
Gardens.
Gardens everywhere. From what he could see right now, the inside of the installation was empty, an infinite sky stretching away into the distance, the other side not even visible from their current position. The ground was covered by lush plant life, marvelous gardens sculpted and set in the gently sloping hills and valleys of the installation. Small buildings were visible here and there, dotting the countryside but enhancing it's natural beauty rather than taking from it. There was no doubt about it, this installation had been made by the same race responsible for the Halo weapon.
Except this wasn't just a ring world. It was as if someone had built a cage around a sun and then grown plants on the inside of the cage. This was on a level that could only be described as magnanimous. They were inside of a Dyson Sphere.
Lee closed his eyes, unsure of what to believe for a few seconds, and then opened them again to find that the scenery hadn't changed. Grunting, he muttered an old Chinese proverb under his breath and patted the back of the pilot's chair.
"Captain Lee to all Pelicans, set us down within a mile of the entrance we came through. Able, strap on your boots because we have a lot of ground to cover. Bring whatever rations you can, it's going to be a long search."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:49 pm
"Jesus Christ...." Ashton was recieving video feed from the Captain, and he just about s**t himself with what he saw. An honest-to-God Dyson Sphere... The surface area of a planet, except protected behind a metal wall from all sides. The lush green, vibrant yellows, brilliant blues and light tans let him know this was an extremely varied and well-kept environment, and it was likely to have artificial gravity to keep them all from falling "up", headfirst into the sun.
"Uhh, Angel? ...You're getting all this, right?" He asked tentatively.
"I can't get enough of it... I'm estimating a size at excess of Twelve Thousand kilometers internal diameter."
Well, Hell. What are we supposed to be able to find here?
"Sir, Angel also suggests that this Dyson Sphere may have had a cloaking or minimizing field around it. Our sensors thought it was a helluva lot smaller than it really is, and given the fact that they built this damn thing, I wouldn't second-guess that the architects couldmake a measley cloaking field."
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:55 pm
[James Mitchell]
James snapped out of it, he didn't really like to think about. He remembered when he his family was attacked; his sister and mother were killed first. His father was killed trying to buy James time to escape, which he did. He tried not to think about it but it just wouldn't go away. James closed his eyes and thought about something else. He thought about all of the Intel reports he had read, then he remembered one in particular. It was about 'the flood'. He shuttered at the thought of those parasitic bastards.
James forgot about that and remembered his home on Earth. He had a girlfriend when he enlisted. She used to write him letters every week, but after two years the last one came. She had meet someone else, is how she put it. He remembered they feelings from that, guilt, sadness, hatred. He didn't really care anymore though. He just forgot about it and thought of the mission. "The calm before the storm." James whispered.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:02 pm
Seth listened intently, his mind being brought back with a rush at the Captain's words.
Seth moved his right hand up and padded down his pockets making sure he was carrying plenty of rations. Protein and energy bars, water. He would be alright.
Looking from side to side he confirmed with the soldiers around him, "We good Marine?"
"Yessir." Came the replies.
Alright. Opening up a private channel Seth contacted Dansmith, "How are the boys Dansmith?" He asked, inquiring to the health of Able company.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:10 pm
"As healthy as we can be right now, sir. Some of us may have s**t our pants, though, at seeing this damn thing." Ashton was still at a loss of complex thought, the thing encompassed all, blocked out all meaning, all cohesion... Installation 79 was simply gargantuan, and he was nothing before it's majesty. what the hell are we here for, if this is what a bunch of dead guys canbuild?!
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:19 pm
"Don't get too star-blind Dansmith. You out of all people need to keep your head. Just listen to the Captain, and do your duty. We can star-gaze and s**t ourselves in awe later." Seth's tone was business like, but he had serious concerns. He didn't want the company's main medic to go busto on them. That had happened to him before.
Different place, different time, different medic. But the mentality was the same. "Just keep your head in the game Dansmith, and keep an eye on Henry. Make sure he doesn't wander off." Seth commented, half jokingly. He did notice some odd behavior from Henry, he seemed very...bold in his ideas. Bold is good, but it also makes you stand out, and on a battlefield that's never good.
Angel's broadcast came in just as Seth finished speaking, movement?
Radioing to Captain Lee, Seth spoke quickly "Captain, do we have visuals?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:20 pm
Static came over the Marines COM systems before Angel spoke up, "I'm picking up lots of movement. Stay sharp; I'll try to help as much as I can."P O S T _ 9 0 0 0
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:27 pm
As the pelican landed, Lee checked the external feed and sensory data from the pelican. All green, the area looked pretty clear and resembled a wide grassy courtyard. The air was almost identical to the perfect composition for carbon-based lifeforms and the light wasn't harmful in any way. Three more seconds passed before the Captain clicked his mike and slammed the hatch release. The doors of the troop bay opened, and as the ramp fell forwards it landed with a soft thump on the gently lulling vegetation.
"Copy that, Angel. Alright marines, round up by platoon and await further orders.
Seth, I want you to take four men and set up a defensible perimeter while we work out the details. Got that?"
The other marines in the pelican had already walked out and were looking around at the incredible sight that extended all around them. Like children, almost, they looked up at the sky and pretended to grasp the installation's artificial sun. Closing their hands around it as if to contain it's light. Lee sighed and trodded out into the clearing.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:34 pm
"You heard the man, marines! Gawk at it one more time, and I may inject you with a diharettic instead of morphine!" Ashton called out to the lower-ranking Privates, PFC's, and Cpl's in the Company. He jumped out of the Pelican, and landed at a run. He trotted to a stop in a small bushey clearing, with forrests and hills surrounding them. there was a large meadow that surrounded a massive metallic structure. Ashton wondered if this is what it felt like to be in the Belly of the Beast.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:39 pm
Warren stepped out of the bird only to be baffled at what he saw. Several questions were answered, but more questions took there place. He looked around at the scenery, and asked himself whats next. He had no idea where to look now, what do I do now? His mind was racing, he started spinning in circles. Suddenly his head started blasting with pain. Felt like his brain was exploding, putting itself back together, and exploding again. It did this cycle of pain every second. He fell to his knee's and blood started to drip from his nose. His vision started going blurry and then black.
He woke up and found himself floating inside the installation, about 7 meter's off the ground. Looking down at mass chaos of people running around. "Where are they all going to?" He said out loud. The world went black again and then he saw a building, a small shed of some sort, inside it was filled with computers of some type. All the lights flicking on and off, making beeping sounds. He seemed to focus on one smaller computer, looked like terminal of some sort. He touched it and his world went black again
He awoke and found himself lying on the ground and looking up at marines surrounding him. "What the hell just happened" He groaned.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:44 pm
Lee was just about done getting used to the installation's gravity as he heard Warren collapse onto the grass nearby. The Captain was about to ask someone to pick him up when the marine got back up, seemingly fine.
So far, so good. Everyone was out of the pelicans by now, and assembled by platoon and squad in the small clearing in front of him. As operations went, this one was going by slowly but surely.
"Lee to Angel, you got a triangulated fix on the Distress Signal yet?"
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:45 pm
[James Mitchell]
James unbuckled himself and stood up. He hopped out of the pelican's troop bay and landed on the grassy terrain. "s**t, it looks just like home." James said aloud. He brought his MA5C to bear just incase of any 'unwanted visitors'. James checked, though he didn't see anything but the other pelican at the moment.
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Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 5:48 pm
Jumping out of the Pelican, Seth gave a quick response to Lee, "Yes sir."
Trotting along, Seth surveyed the area briefly, "Karr, Dansmith, Henry, Mitchell, you're all with me!"
Seth trotted a ways to Dansmith's side, "Dansmith, Henry take the west, I want you to give me status reports of the best defensive areas you can find, get a handle. I want you boys high and able to see for miles."
"Henry, you get that?" Looking around he saw Henry slowly getting up from the ground, he looked groggy, Seth felt a groan, "Get it together Marine, we've got to move!"
Turning to Dansmith Seth gave him a meaningful look.
Turning to Karr Seth gestured, "Karr you're going solo, I want you northeast, something comes up I want you to bug out and fall back to Dansmith and Henry."
Finally Seth looked at the Marine known as Mitchell. "You're with me Mitchell, we're going South."
With that Seth looked at the group, "Head out Marines."
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