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Seth could hear a clunking of heavy footsteps. Suddenly at his side was a SPARTAN, he didn't know which one it was, and he didn't care in particular.

The SPARTAN strode up next to him, leveling it's weapon and firing into the crowd of Sentinels hovering menacingly.

Seth let go of the turret he had been so sparingly using immediately and began to retreat back to the spot Karr had designated. Around him other Marines ran, some retreated, still firing.

Seth found a Sentinel eying the Marines as they retreated and let loose a hail of rounds into it's central eye. The machine gave a twitch; Seth kept firing as he slowly retreated, with quick bursts, concise with each squeeze of the trigger. Eventually the Machine fell, in a brilliant burst, it's parts seemed to drop, the animate now still.

Seth kept moving back until he found himself at the Nav Marker. "Captain, Karr, What's our Status?" He asked over the COM as he now aimed at Sentinels who had circumvented the AA perimeter.

His HUD countdown timer read: 1:00

Fred grunted as Karr's orders crackled on his helmet speakers. Anyone could man a turret, and having the spartans man stationary defenses was in effect negating one of their main advantages in this engagement:
Mobility.
He had learned through experience, from the moment his team had jumped into the Onyx system, that the only way to survive the Sentinel's onslaught was to keep moving. The Spartan-III's decimation at the hands of the Sentinels was enough to prove that. Even now, Halsey's sense of loss was obvious in the slightly sad look she gave each of her children. Fred didn't like that look. It didn't suit the proud doctor.
Letting loose another burst from his customized battle-rifle he watched as the explosive slugs impacted on the machines' golden energy shields, detonating on impact without directly harming the Sentinels but causing a pause in their organized slaughter by forcing them to bunch into each other. It didn't matter, though. At least a third of the marines that had woken him lay either dead or dying, and the thousands of Sentinels pouring in through every visible crack in the bay's ceiling were endless in comparison. A rumbling sound began to vibrate in the back of Fred's mind. With these odds, he wasn't so sure that surviving Onyx had any meaning...

Lee observed the field from the corner of his vision. The AA turrets, as of yet unmanned save for four, were surrounded by enough crates and forerunner architecture to get to easily enough. What was going to be difficult, however, was defending them. Choosing that time to take action, he rose and began sprinting to the nearest unmanned turret when Karr's orders came over the radio.
Spartans... On the turrets? What is he thinking? Right idea defending Halsey, though.
"Belay that order, spartans. Secure Halsey immediately, then perform a quick relay of each AA tower to get it running. Make sure someone is manning it, then proceed to the next turret.
Everybody else, switch to Hollow-Point Ammunition or Explosive-tipped."
The Captain finally arrived at the turret, about ten seconds after he had began to run. He quickly spotted a nearby marine to man the turret, a man who had been applying pressure on a squadmate's jagged wound.
"Why isn't that turret firing, marine?!"
The man shook as his hands remained on another marine's chest, slick with blood.
"The only thing keeping Elaine together right now is my hands, sir."
Lee cursed as he took the marine's place, and the worried looking man began firing with the turret.
"Medic! We got a chest wound over here!"
This marine hadn't been hurt by the sentinels, she had been hurt by the fall as she had ducked to avoid the blast, landing on a sharp corner and breaking two ribs. Lee continued speaking his orders as he went through the process or organizing a proper defense. A nearby medic responded to his beckons, and Lee ran off for another turret, this time with two marines in tow.
"This is hopeless, sir. There's no way we can fight that many of them!"
"Not now, soldier! Get your s**t together and run! You're in charge of the next turret!"
"DUCK!"
The three marines ducked as a beam of red sliced right across where their heads had been moments ago. Lee continued to run without stopping as one of the marines collapsed, his head a burning pyre of charred meat. This was getting difficult.
Seth's voice came over the radio. Asking a question who's answer was getting worse every second.
"Our status is waiting, Lieutenant. Until Evac get's here, we're sitting ducks."

Seth took a breath as he heard the Captains reply. "Aye" He muttered in assent under his breath.

Responding to Orders Seth looked around the field for the farthest Turret. There were three Marines pinned down behind a crate and a wall corner, being fired upon by five Sentinels.

Seth dashed over, running was hard, not from physical stress, but mental, emotional. This whole fight--if it could be called that-- was hard.

When he got close enough loosed two grenades from his side belt in succession one soon after the other. As he pulled the first he slammed it against his hard belt, priming it, and letting it loose. He did the same with the second.

the first grenade detonated just above one of the five sentinels, sending it flipping and twisting, it's red eye flickering on and off. The second was caught prematurely in the beam of another Sentinel and detonated, doing little harm to the Machines.

Seth dove for cover of a crate, opposite one of the three Marines, "You three, hit High!" Seth ordered. The Marine closest to him gave him a look of acknowledgment and brought himself out of cover, leveling a shotgun at the sentinel, he fired, a ripple of a shield went across the sentinel's body. The other two marines peaked out and began to fire, it's shield flickered and dwindled. They didn't stop shooting until it had burst.

Seth himself opened fire, simultaneously at the lowest hovering Sentinel, the debris from the higher one and the explosion had heavily damaged it's shield, it only took three bursts from Seth's gun and the Machine crumbled.

There were only two left and the four Marines made short work of them, ducking, firing, it was like clockwork.

Seth gestured toward the AA turret, "You!" he said gesturing toward the Marine with the shotgun, "On there- you two cover him!"

They did so, Seth then scanned the area, he saw a Marine firing wildly into the Sentinels, Seth ran up to him and slapped him twice on the shoulder, "You're with me!" He yelled at the man, and headed off to the next turret.

His HUD countdown read: 45

The SPARTAN's were in position. Now, Karr's next phase will go into effect.
"All marines! Grenades; up and over! All of em!"

He unlatched the 2 grenades from his belt, primed them and chucked them to the centerpoint of where the grenades were aimed.

"Fall back to the NAV! SPARTAN's; lay your fire down the hardest. we can get the from behind!"
Explosions laced the floor, and covered parts of the room in smoke. The Sentinals, who were reading new signals from the grenades, turned and fired at the new heat sorce.

Within the explosions, several sentinals were blown into scrap; others disoriented.

Anthony dived behind the mass of the Pelican's corpse. Regaining his footing he noticed a chute in the sealing, and his mind clicked into play. That was probably where the Sentinals were coming from.

"SPARTAN! Under the Aft wing, there is a Missle Pod. I want you to grab it and fire at designated target." He barked into the COM.

Retriving his signal beam light from his vest pocket, he flashed it at the chute, registering as a target on everyones COM's.

Seth heard and felt the eruption of missile fire and the presence of their long awaited evac.

"Let's go Able! Our plane just arrived Get on the ship ASAP! They'll give us cover fire, MOVE Marines!"

Seth keyed his COM to Karr's channel, "Karr, make sure Halsey and the SPARTANs get on board, it may seem callous," Seth took in a half breath, scanning the area--combat fresh in the air "But they're priority."

Seth turned and gestured towards scattered Marines, "You five, get on the Bird now!"

Switching his COM over Seth addressed all of Able who had been in the meeting room, "Dansmith, if you're in the condition to do so, I want you to take whoever you can and do a quick sweep for survivors and get them on board. A quick sweep Dansmith we have a very small window. You have less than half a minute. Get it done." Seth hoped that would be enough time to get survivors on board, and short enough so that they weren't all overrun by Sentinels. Their evac had some heavy firepower, but ammunition can run dry.

"Yes, sir, wouldn't dream of leaving anyone behind!" Ashton signaled to two privates who looked to be a little better off than not.
"You two, with me! Take these stims-- norepinephrine and glucose, down the hatch, boys! We're on heavy lift detail!"

Dansmith ran as fast as he could between bodies, cover, and weapons-fire. Dodging obstacles wasn't easy when you were scanning over 1000 square meters for survivors, while getting shot at.

Sprinting between several super-conducting towers and AA turrets, Ashton called out to the men:
"There! Down low, behind that busted crate! Maxwell, you grab him!"
Stooping to grab an injured marine, half of his body covered in third-degree burns and mising his right leg from the knee down, Dansmith stumbled and fell down a small ramp, to a half-deck lower: mainenance access.
"Gerard!! Gerrard, I know you're up there! Take him-- go, go, go!!" Dansmith handed off his load to the second Private who had been following him, and began scrambling back up the ramp. As he crawled, he accidentally stepped on a pile of bodies, knocking over a few dead marines. He didn't know that doing so would uncover two injured, but alive, marines. "Argh, God!! I'm hit, medic, you gotta help!!" One of them cried out, reaching his hand. The man's guts were cradled in his blood-slick hands, and he struggled to sit up without the aid of his abdominal muscles, which were completely severed from nape to groin, revealing the tear from which his innards spilled.

Dansmith noticed the other marine was lying unconsious, a blunt-impact injury to her bloodied head: a nearby fallen conduit appeared to be the culprit, having been lanced by Sentinel fire and, along with other debris, fell to the floor and showered the hapless marines with deadly effect. He was about to tape up the gutted marine when a stray, if doomed, Sentinel landed a killer blow into the prone man's shoulder, coring and boiling away half of his chest cavity from the inside out. He let out a small pained moan, spurted blood, and died.

"Gah, Jesus." Dansmith quickly yanked off the man's dogtags, hefted the unconsious marine so that she was hefted over his back, and double-timed it to the IIC.
"Fifteen seconds, Lance Corporal! Move, move, move!!!!"

Ashton glanced ahead to see that only one of the Privates had made it safely back to the IIC: yet another stray round had eliminated the other one, leaving the man's rescued soldier moaning on the ground beneath his body. "Dammit! Gerard! Get that man and yourself onto the IIC, on the double!!" Ashton sat his marine down in a seat on the IIC, strapped her in, and bolted after the other marine who lay helpless on the floor, Sentinel fire buzzing over his head. Roadie-running as fasst as he could, Dansmith scooped up the man, cradle-style, and hurried him back to the IIC.

Michael squeezed his finger on the trigger of the MA6B, applying pressure enough to send the shredder rounds flying towards the silver beings. McKay was doing a good job of keeping the trillions of Sentinels busy while they got everyone on board, but he just didn't know how long the kids could hold out. Apparently ONI had packed inside the IIC two pulse lasers that weren't supposed to be used unless an emergency. Well it was starting to look more and more like an emergency as the Spartans and the Marines dragged their bleeding and dieing comrades on board to safety. No where's safe. Major Lipton knelt down next to where Hammer stood on the defensive and brought with him a whole knew meaning to ripping a new a** hole. On his shoulder he held a Weapon/Anti-Vehicle Model 6 Grindell/Galileian Nonlinear Rifle. In short, he held the UNSC's equivalent to a Hunter's arm-mounted cannon. Out of the corner of Michael's eye he saw G/GNR begin to charge, red light emitting from the large barrel in the front.

With a kick the G/GNR launched it's lasers in triangulatory trajectories slamming into a large work-model Sentinel, one that was far larger than all the others. The heat from the laser licked at Hammer's armor, squinting to keep his eyes from being harmed from the harsh light. "Sir, I'm detecting two intelligence signatures within the network of the installation. Give me a moment, I'm going to triangulate their positions." Michael grunted and dived away as a laser launched in the spot where he had once been. Lipton was already charging another shot to take down a second work-model Sentinel. "Put names above the heads of friendlies while you're at it."

"Yes, sir." Only a second later, Michael pulled back behind cover to check and see who was still out in the bay and when he decided that no one was there, he signaled to Lipton and Lipton got on board. That was when he heard the scream, and the sound of blood evaporating; it had come from McKay. "Sir, there are two A.I.'s on board the IIC!" Michael hadn't turned so fast in his entire time serving in the UNSC, but by the time Angel finished her sentence he was already at the door to the cockpit. The door slid open and Michael stepped inside hastily, stopping just far enough from the door that it could close.

A Monitor floated above the carbonized body of McKay, their only registered pilot on board the ship. "Reclaimer, denounce these actions and submit to the protocol! You must go into cryo-sleep!" Michael wasn't up for putting up with s**t, especially after many of his men and women had died inside the ********' Hell-Shell. He should have placed some well placed rounds into the Monitor, frying it's circuits and sending it to whatever hell would accept it, but he didn't. Michael dropped his MA6B and grabbed onto the left side of the Monitor with his left hand, "what are you-?" and drove his right fist through the bulbous red orb of the confused intelligence. Michael grunted in satisfaction as the Monitor no longer worked, it's circuits no longer able to perform their functions without the Matrix. It fell to the floor no longer a threat, but now just a piece of metal. He tapped a button locking the door to the c**k pit, and strapped himself into the chair. In the momentary lapse of gun fire, the Sentinels had advanced much further than he'd liked toward the IIC.

Michael flipped the switch closing the hatch door, and grabbed the throttle pushing it forward. The IIC lifted up into the air, and Michael let loose with the 21mm Cannons. Sentinels bounced away as bullets pinged off their hull and the ship ripped through their ranks. It was finally out, they were finally going to get off the installation. Fortunately enough for them the Sentinels instructions were not to leave the bay until all the reclaimers were dead with the exception of one. No one in that bay was alive, and so the Sentinels could not leave without further instruction from Transient Shadow, now a useless metal soccer ball. It would be an easy ride all the way back to the Monterey. "Angel, I'm going to plug you into the IIC while I check the status back there" he tapped a few buttons setting the IIC at a cruising speed. "OK, yank me." Michael reached back and pulled the data chip from his helmet feeling the cool sensation drain from his body, and then inserted it into a slot near the throttle. He felt the ship take a hold of it's own so he stood up and grabbed the Monitor like he was holding a shopping bag. With his free hand he tapped the unlock button on the ship's c**k pit door and stepped through, letting the door close behind him.