>>4147510

"Thermal imaging suggests forty-two hostiles, that breaks down to four elites, a dozen jackals, and the rest are grunts. We still have a full stock of special weapons, so we can use them to soften them up. Engagement priority will be to hit officers first, hopefully, that should cause the grunts to break and run." You explained the enemy's numbers to the assembled soldiers. And you noticed a number of differing reactions. A couple of the lower-ranked marines seemed worried by the number of enemy soldiers they were facing, some of the sergeants seemed confident, but both your XO and the lieutenant kept neutral expressions.

The room was silent for a couple of seconds, before the senior ODST asked the most pressing question. "So, how are we going to handle this?"

>You would perform a combat drop, using the prowler to knock the base's defenders off balance long enough to deploy your troops nearby.
>You would deploy your troops nearby, and have them assault the base on foot as the prowler provided fire support.
>Ask for alternative approaches. (roll 1d100)
>Other (write in)

>>4147512
>You would perform a combat drop, using the prowler to knock the base's defenders off balance long enough to deploy your troops nearby.

Hard and fast is the only way we win here

>>4147512
>>You would perform a combat drop, using the prowler to knock the base's defenders off balance long enough to deploy your troops nearby.

>>4147512
>>You would perform a combat drop, using the prowler to knock the base's defenders off balance long enough to deploy your troops nearby.

>>4147512
>>You would perform a combat drop, using the prowler to knock the base's defenders off balance long enough to deploy your troops nearby.

"We don't have the strength to perform a regular ground assault without a high risk of getting bogged down. We'll have to hit them fast and hard." You answered, before sending a cue through your neural implant to Diana to switch over to the next projection. The projection on the holographic table dissipated, before reforming into a projection of your prowler. "The prowler is armed with Streak missiles and point defense cannons, we'll use those weapons to bombard the Covenant base and the defenses before we land. The Prowler will touch down just long enough for the ground forces to disembark before taking off. The ground forces will then advance hard and fast.

"That's gonna stop us from using our heavy weapons, and that's an advantage that we really need. A regular ground assault with fire support from the prowler would give us the time we need to leverage our advantage in heavy weapons." One of the sergeants pointed out, but you had an answer to that. You would have given it, but you were beaten to the punch,

"And in that time the scientists that they are holding hostage will be killed and our only reason for going in there will go up in smoke, we have to hit them quickly. Grenade launchers should be the best possible support weapons in this op, rocket launchers and sniper rifles will be too heavy and unwieldy." Your XO answered him, before suggesting that they only take grenade launchers. You nodded at her assessment, the grenade launchers would have a lot of versatility, while also being light enough not to weigh the soldiers using them down.

"How many people do you want us to go in with? We have armed crewmen that we can mobilize for more boots on the ground, but those extra bodies are gonna slow us down. The extra firepower may be worth it, though it also may be useful to keep them as a reserve force." Lieutenant Antonwicz asked another question, you noticed that he wasn't giving his opinion on the operation yet, though you guessed that was because he wanted to wait until the end before giving his opinion.

>Only send soldiers! You need to move quickly, so you can't afford to waste time with substandard soldiers.
>Send in the crewmen! You need as much firepower as possible if you want to wipe the Covenant forces out.
>Other (write-in)

>>4147814
>>Only send soldiers! You need to move quickly, so you can't afford to waste time with substandard soldiers.

>>4147814
Soldier's spear head, crewmen take and hold to deny the enemy flanking them readily. basically a wave 1 then wave 2 assault.

>>4147814
>>Send in the crewmen! You need as much firepower as possible if you want to wipe the Covenant forces out.

Need a tiebreaker

>>4147814
>>Only send soldiers! You need to move quickly, so you can't afford to waste time with substandard soldiers.

>>4147814
>Only send soldiers! You need to move quickly, so you can't afford to waste time with substandard soldiers.

"I only want marines and helljumpers down there. We need people who can fight effectively. If needed we can keep the armed crewmen as a reserve force, but I'm not about to throw them into the meat grinder if I can help it." You decided to only deploy your best. And you meant that in the most blatant way possible. When you and rambler one had been attacked while escorting the main ONI base's survivors, the majority of the casualties were suffered by the armed survivors. You didn't know if that was due to a lack of combat effectiveness, or because the spec-ops elites were specifically targeting them, but you weren't about to

Antonwicz was silent for a couple of seconds before a dark look crossed over his face. He looked up at you, before asking a one-word question. "Everyone?"

"Everyone who can reasonably fight. I'm not throwing headcases and heavily wounded into the firing line." You clarified, casting your mind back to the probable cause of the lieutenant's worries. You still had a traumatized helljumper in your interrogation room, you didn't trust him to not crack in a fight.

"What about you? You're not in good shape, and from how you're shifting around, I'm gonna guess that you haven't gotten any real treatment." Antonwicz gestured to you, and you realized that for all of your attempts to seem fine, the experienced officer had seen right through it. He had hit the nail on the head, but apparently, he thought that you would join him ground side.

"The captain isn't heading out on this mission. He is wounded and his presence isn't required." Dyad answered for you. You gave her a sidelong look, but she seemed set on ensuring that you didn't throw yourself into the fight.

"With respect ma'am, it's his decision. And given his body count, we could use the extra gun." Antonwicz reminded her of the facts that your rank allowed you to make the decision on if you were going to head groundside. And there was also the fact that you had blown through a few of the spec ops elites on your own.

"If an extra gun is needed, then I can take his place. But the fact remains that he is not in a combat effective condition." Dyad insisted, crossing her arms as if to reinforce the fact that she wouldn't stray from her point.

"And a good number of the marines we'll be sending on this mission are wounded, including myself. We can't just leave people out because they're wounded." Antonwicz insisted, taking the opposite side of the argument with just as much conviction as your XO.

>Join the attack! Once your wounds have been seen to you'll be good to go.
>Stay back! You have almost died once on this damn mission, you're not about to risk it again.
>Other (write-in)

>>4148199
>>4148199
>>Stay back! You have almost died once on this damn mission, you're not about to risk it again.

I'd be more of a detriment than a help, that said feel free to use any of the covvie tech I scavenged. if I have too I might join a reserve force, but honestly I don't think it's a good idea in any way shape or form. Besides i'm only moving because of the drugs I'm still running, i could fall out at any time and with a cooked internal via plasma sword I'm not going to move fast.

>>4148199
>Other (write-in)

Can we get a patch-job done that'll see us long enough to get through the mission and off-planet? We have the whole trip back for surgery..or to get loaded into a cryotube and wake up in an ONI-lab.

>>4148199
>Stay back! You have almost died once on this damn mission, you're not about to risk it again.

We might be space Rambo but I think we’ll be needed on the prowler

>>4148208
That would be having your wounds seen to. Penetrating plasma wounds have a tendency to cook organs into not working, so while a patch job will see you through the mission (with the help of certain drugs and some medical equipment) you'll need to have surgery in a suitably well equipped ship and some time in order to almost fully fix the injury.

>>4148199
>>Other (write-in)
We'll stay with the reserves

>>4148199
>>Other (write-in)

Stay with the back up. If the marines absolutely need help, we will go after them

>>4148219
Slap on some bondo and bailing wire then.
>>4148225
>>4148220
And we call shotgun in the remaining Rambler.

>>4148220
>>4148225
>>4148228
Backing.
Can't wait to go out hopped up on chems and carrying extra stims. How many morningcall canisters can we carry at once?

>>4148245
Today is a beautiful day to Rip and Tear.

File: Cocainum.gif (721 KB, 299x165)

721 KB GIF

>>4148253
>marines need back up
>Here comes the back up

File: MaliciousShotgun.jpg (36 KB, 720x408)

36 KB JPG

>>4148260

>>4148219
After we do our strikes, can we return to active camo in case the covenant dropship returns? We might be able to get the drop on them if we can.

"I'm only moving thanks to a cocktail of drugs LT, I'd be detrimental to your combat mobility. I'll get a patch and I'll deploy with the armed crewmen if you really need the support. Feel free to use any of the covvie tech I scavenged, it should give you a bit more firepower to play with." Going in with the first wave would cause more issues than it was worth. Staying back would allow you to keep control of the mission without putting everyone at risk. Besides, if you were really needed then you could lend your skills to bolstering the armed crewmen.

"In which case, I'd like to ask for XO Dyad to be assigned to assist us in the attack." Antonwicz accepted your decision, and instead jumped on the chance to get your XO into the fight. You knew that the lack of bodies was an issue, but this seemed to take it to another level.

"Dyad?" You asked for your XO to make the choice. While the benefits of your decision to go ground side at the main ONI base could be debated, it was still entirely your choice to go. And you decided that it would be your XO's decision on

"Your call boss, but just keep in mind that I've got the same qualifications as you, remember?" Dyad smiled as she killed all chances of you not taking responsibility for if she was deployed or not. You sighed, before making your decision.

>Deploy Dyad! Antonwicz is right, they need every gun possible on this one.
>Keep your XO! Dyad has proven too useful to just throw into a gunfight.
>Other (write-in)

>>4148331
>>Deploy Dyad! Antonwicz is right, they need every gun possible on this one.

>>4148331
>Deploy Dyad! Antonwicz is right, they need every gun possible on this one.

>>4148331
>Deploy Dyad! Antonwicz is right, they need every gun possible on this one.

>>4148331
>>Deploy Dyad! Antonwicz is right, they need every gun possible on this one.

If she gets critically injured, I am gonna be pissed

"Alright, grab some gear and follow the lieutenant's orders once we're done here. You're going down with them." You decided after a couple of seconds of thought. like it or not, the lieutenant needed every healthy soldier he could get his hands on. If that meant strapping your XO in marine armor, giving her a gun and throwing her in, then that was what you had to do.

"Good to have you on the team, XO." The ODST officer welcomed your XO to his motley crew with a smile. He seemed genuinely happy to have some more help, though, given the state of your marine compliment, you were pretty sure that he would take anyone who had passed marine training.

"Thanks, I can't let him have all the fun, now can I?" Dyad thanked the helljumper, before poking some fun at you. You laughed at the joke, which helped to break the tension in the room. Briefings didn't need to be so tense after all.

"Alright, back to the briefing." You insisted after a couple of seconds, the sound in the room died down fairly quickly after that, allowing you to continue. "Once the prowler's dropped you off, we'll cloak and move to a holding position nearby. You'll be able to call us for some fire support, but it's going to be dangerously close, so only call us in if you have no other options."

"How do you want us to take this? Is this a smash 'n grab, or do you want the place sanitized?" Antonwicz asked for clarification on what took priority, the ONI scientists in the facility, or wiping out the Covenant presence.

>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way.
>Kill them all! The chances of getting the scientists out are slim, so settle for torching everything.
>Other (write-in)

>>4148551
>>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way.

>>4148551
>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way.

>>4148551
>>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way.

Rolled 27 (1d100)

I can't wait for our first one of the thread.

>>4148551
>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way.
But if things go to shit and the scientists are dead;
>Make Stalin look like a fucking joke

>>4148551
>>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way.
Win or lose, shit's going to be good.

>>4148559
>Smash and grab! Get to the scientists, get out, kill everything along the way

"Smash and grab only. Get in, grab the scientists, kill everything along the way." You gave him the mission profile. With only your marines planetside, there wasn't much of a chance that they would be able to wipe the base clean. So you had them prioritize extracting the scientists.

"And how are we meant to extract from there? A combat drop might work to get us in, but it might not be the best way to get us out once we've kicked the hornet's nest." Antonwicz asked for the final piece in the puzzle, the way out. And his point was fairly valid, once the Covenant knew that their base was under attack, the chances of you being able to knock them off balance with another missile strike were slim.

"Last known inventory for the site noted a small number of warthog LAVs left in the base's inventory. We could use those to get far enough away from the base for the prowler to pick us up without being shot at." Dyad suggested, bringing up a holographic projection of the base's last remaining vehicle stockpile. Four M12 warthog utility jeeps, all of them lacking turrets and armor plating, but still having a large enough bed to cram a few people into.

"Assuming that the 'hogs are still in working order. They've probably been sitting around there for years without maintinance. Hell, I wouldn't be suprised if some of them have been pulled apart for spare parts to keep one or two of them running. And that's not accounting for any damage that the Covenant may have inflicted on them." Antonwicz laid out his issues with using the apparently available warthogs fairly simply. You just didn't know for sure what condition they were in, so relying on them to get your marines out wasn't a good idea.

"It's a far better option than throwing our only way off this rock into the firing line again. We can't run the risk of badly compromising the ship's stealth coating." Dyad countered by pointing out that any damage sustained by the prowler would reduce your chances of escaping Arcadia. If the rebels didn't spot you, then the lurking Covenant ship would.

>Mount up! The less damage you can take to the prowler's sensitive hull, the better.
>Pick 'em up! Antinwicz is right, you shouldn't rely on an asset that isn't you can't verify.
>Other (write-in)

>>4149727
>>Pick 'em up! Antinwicz is right, you shouldn't rely on an asset that isn't you can't verify.
We take out the shade turrets and be mindful of any fuel rod guns then we should be fine.

>>4149727
>>Pick 'em up! Antinwicz is right, you shouldn't rely on an asset that isn't you can't verify.

>>4149727
>Pick 'em up! Antonwicz is right, you shouldn't rely on an asset that you can't verify.

>>4149727
>Mount up! The less damage you can take to the prowler's sensitive hull, the better.

>>4149727
>>Pick 'em up! Antinwicz is right, you shouldn't rely on an asset that isn't you can't verify.
If the Hogs are around maybe we'll change the plan but for now keep it like this

>>4149727
>Pick 'em up! Antinwicz is right, you shouldn't rely on an asset that isn't you can't verify.

"We'll pick you up. We should be able to nail the shades and the fuel rod guns before you go in, and the rest of their inventory won't be able to shoot us down. If we need to, we'll stop off and try to repair whatever damage we can before heading back into orbit." You decided to keep it simple, and not rely on the hogs. If the vehicles were still there and in working order then, you were sure that the marines would make use of them. But until the condition of the vehicles could be confirmed, you wouldn't plan to use them.

"Alright. How many people do I have to work with?" Antonwicz asked to know about just how many soldiers he had to work with.

"You have fourteen combat-effective soldiers, including you and me. That breaks down to ten uninjured soldiers and four mildly wounded soldiers. If you want, we can bulk that out to twenty-one people if we include some non-essential armed crewmen and more severely wounded marines." Dyad briefed her temporary superior officer. You were sure that it was weird for the lieutenant to have a lieutenant commander under his command, but given the situation, it wasn't something that couldn't be justified. Besides, nobody had voiced any concerns about it, and as long as both of them played nicely then you wouldn't have anything to worry about.

"No, fourteen people will work. We'll need to give people some painkillers in order to get the wounded working as best as they can. We'll arm up with a mix of shotguns and assault rifles, along with a couple of under-barrel grenade launchers. I'm gonna guess that you'll want to keep your gun?" Antonwicz asked for your shotgun. And you felt a bit reluctant to give it up. It had seen you through the last engagement, and it was definitely powerful with the right ammo, but the marines would need it far more than you.

>Keep your shotgun! It's seen you through one fight already, you want it for the next one.
>Let them take it! They're gonna make a lot more use of it than you are.

>>4149938
>Let them take it! They're gonna make a lot more use of it than you are.

May Dyad be blessed by the /k/ube.

>>4149938
>Let them take it! They're gonna make a lot more use of it than you are.
Only if Dyad takes it. Suggesting a 2-1 slug to buck load if possible.

>>4149938
>Let them take it! They're gonna make a lot more use of it than you are.

>>4149938
>>Let them take it! They're gonna make a lot more use of it than you are.

>>4149938
>>Let them take it! They're gonna make a lot more use of it than you are.

You unslung your shotgun, taking your trusty weapon off your shoulder and checking it. You confirmed that the weapon was unloaded, before handing the weapon to your XO. Dyad took the weapon carefully as you spoke. "I recommend a two-to-one mix of slugs to buckshot."

"Thanks boss, I'll try not to break it." Dyad smiled as she thanked you for giving up your weapon, before checking that the weapon was unloaded and slinging it over her shoulder.

"Thanks sir. I've just got one more question, where are the scientists located?" Antonwicz thanked you, before asking about where his objective was located.

"The scientists are being held in a storage room on sub-level two, the service floor underneath the motor pool." Dyad answered him, before pulling back up the holographic image of the captured base. She highlighted the position of the scientists in the depths of the base. The ODST officer stared at the projection for a couple of seconds, before coming up with a plan.

"Alright, or best way in will be to assault the base's front gate. If Diana can open the door for us, we'll push in and straight into the motor pool." Antonwicz explained his plan in brief, using his finger to trace out the approximate route that his men would take on the way. You watched as he continued to explain his plan. "We can verify the status of the hogs on the way, but our priority will be reaching the main service stairs located on the south-east main wall. Once there, we'll descend into the service floor beneath and we'll advance to the room that the is holding the scientists. Once we have them, we'll head out the way we came. Sound good?"

>Agree with the LT's plan.
>Suggest something else (write-in)

>>4150088
>>Agree with the LT's plan.

>>4150088
>>Agree with the LT's plan.

>>4150088
>Agree with the LT's plan.

>>4150088
>Agree with the LT's plan.

>>4150088
>Agree with the LT's plan.

"Sounds good." You agreed with the ODST's plan, as did everyone else in the room. You knew that the idea was fairly bare-bones, but such simple plans left a lot of room to be flexible. They could adapt on the fly without putting the next steps of the mission in any great danger.

"Ok, we're done here. Everyone with me, we'll take some time to prep, though we should only need fifteen minutes at least, and an hour at most." Antonwicz called the brefing to a close, before ordering everyone out of the room. They were all under his command now, and you didn't stop them. Instead, you waited for them all to leave before clutching at your side. You had tried your best to suppress the growing pain from your wound, and you let it all out as you groaned in pain. The painkilling drugs were waring off quickly now.

"Captain, I'm noting an increased pain response to your current wound. Is everything alright?" Diana asked you pressed on your wound, and more specifically, on the mass of solid biofoam that was stuck inside you. It was still rigid. but moving it around even slightly caused you to grit your teeth in pain.

"I'm fine, though we'd better get this sorted quickly." You assured your AI, before making for the door. You needed to get going, dwelling on your wound wouldn't get you anywhere.

>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.
>Head down to the armory! You need a replacement weapon, just in case.
>Head to the bridge! You need to be ready to command the operation.
>Other (write-in)

>>4150205
>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.

>>4150205
>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.
We can get another shotgun or grenade launcher in a hurry if we have to.

>>4150205
>>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.

>>4150205
>>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.

>>4150205
>>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.

>>4150205
>>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.

>>4150205
>>Get patched up! You need to be ready in case you have to deploy.

>>4150205
https://youtu.be/nOlvCkmDbq8 Deploying Captain Wells.

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As soon as you left the meeting room, you turned right and headed aft a few meters to the prowler's small med-bay. The room itself had been mostly ransacked in order to provide treatment to the wounded in the hanger. In spite of that, the large auto-surgeon in the middle of the room had been left intact. You walked into the room and locked the door after you, before making your way over to one of the automatic scanners. The small holotank in the room flickered into life, revealing your AI's glowing red avatar for the first time on the ship. Diana waited for a few seconds as you carefully removed the bandages over your wound before commenting. "Finally, you're actually seeing some sense. Though I suppose it's better late than never."

"I'd appreciate less sass. How bad is it?" You asked your AI as you tossed the bundle of bandages at one of the bins in the room. The bundle landed nearby, but you didn't bother to pick it up, instead, you simply stood still as the machine in front of you scanned your wounds. Giving your AI a good look at your wounds.

"Your right kidney has been cooked, and badly too. You've also suffered burn damage to your liver, gallbladder and large intestines. You also have injuries to your small intestines, duodenum, and pancreas. But with stem cell therapy that should clean up well. Right now, the biggest issue will be sorting out that liver and removing your destroyed kidney." Diana assessed, before moving on to your burned left arm. You hadn't removed the bandages over it, simply because you could get your shirt off without removing it. "Your arm is a far simpler affair, you have severe burns over most of your left forearm, so a basic patch should suffice until we can arrange a course of dermacortic steroids or for a skin graft."

"So, not bad, but not terrible. How quickly can you fix it?" You asked as you began to unbutton your shirt, the whole thing was probably a write-off anyway, so there wasn't much point in being careful with it. But you had come this far, so you decided to continue.

"Well, we'll need to use a course of drugs and a small blood filtering unit to handle most of the damage, but it should be workable. Ingesting and digesting food may also be an issue, but the onboard medical-grade food synthesizer should be able to provide adequately tailored meals. Even if it looks and tastes like baby food." Diana explained as you made your way over to the automatic surgery table. The AI warmed the machine up, moving the various robotic arms around to confirm their range of movement and to properly calibrate them for the upcoming surgery.

>CONT

>>4150496

"How quickly can you get it done?" You asked as you sat down on the bed, the medical-grade bed gave just enough give to be medically comfortable, without compromising the surgery. You rubbed your wound again as you sat down, soon the pain there would be mostly gone, but you weren't looking to going into cryo with a set of wounds either way.

"That depends on the kind of anesthetic that you want to use. Pseudodesflurane would give you the quickest turn-around time due to its rapid onset-offset rate. However, due to its low potency, it may not fully put you under, and we both know the issues with that. Polysevorane is a safer option, but you'll be under for around an hour, with a decent chance that you'll need another half an hour on top of that before you return to your full faculties." Diana explained your options as you attached the heart rate monitors and other bits of surgical observation equipment. You had a basic choice. You could either choose the pseudodesflurane to go through the surgery quickly, but at the risk of waking up in the middle of it. Alternatively, you could choose the polysevorane to guarantee that you wouldn't wake up in the middle of it, in return for being down for an hour and a half at best.

>Take the pseudodesflurane! You need to be up and running as soon as possible.
>Take the polysevorane! You need to be fixed up, even if it takes a bit longer.

>>4150500
>>Take the polysevorane! You need to be fixed up, even if it takes a bit longer.
Surgical pain is no joke, and I trust our XO to get the job done.

>>4150500
>Take the polysevorane! You need to be fixed up, even if it takes a bit longer.

>>4150500
>Take the polysevorane! You need to be fixed up, even if it takes a bit longer.

LT said it could take up to an hour to get ready, so let's give him all the time he needs.

>>4150500
>>Take the polysevorane! You need to be fixed up, even if it takes a bit longer.

"I'll take the polysevorane, if we're gonna do this then we might as well do this right." You decided, before lying down on the medical bed. The matress underneath you flexed and moved underneath you ad Diana actively calibrated it to provide the maximum amount of support possible for the surgery. As she worked, you took the chance to order something else. "Send a message down to the LT and Dyad that I'm gonna be under for a bit, they can take their time with their preparations."

"Message away. Please put on the mask, located on the pedestal to your immediate right." Diana confirmed that she had sent the message before directing your attention to the mask sat right next to your head. You reached over and put it on, you guessed that polysevorane was a vaporized anethstetic, so the mask was probably needed.

"I am administering the anesthetic now. Can you count back from ten for me?" Diana wasted no time releasing the gas as the surgical machine whirred into life around you. The pair of large robotic arms moved at a dizzying pace as the lenses on the camera mounted above you began to dial in."

"Ten. Nine. Eight... Sev..en.. si.." You barely managed to count past six before the anesthetics knocked you out. The rapid-acting drug quickly metabolized into your blood and rushed to your brain, knocking you out in only seconds.

>roll 1d100

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>4150771
Let's get up asap.

Rolled 16 (1d100)

>>4150771
I feel like there's a lot more riding on this roll than I'm comfortable with.

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>4150771

Rolled 57 (1d100)

>>4150771
Could be better, could be worse.

Rolled 21 (1d100)

>>4150771

Well, here we go...

Rolled 53 (1d100)

>>4150771

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>4150771
oh no

>Roll 1d24

Rolled 24 (1d24)

>>4150771
Shit. Is this how many hours we're out for?

>>4151554
I hope this is a very good thing.

Rolled 18 (1d24)

>>4151550
Uhhhh, ight then.

Rolled 16 (1d24)

>>4151550

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[b]You are Lieutenant Commander Dyad[/b], and you have just been summoned to the prowler's small medical room. You had been gearing up with the prowler's tiny marine compliment when Diana -the ship's temporary AI- had called for your presence. You had walked in to find the room quiet, well lit, and only inhabited by one other person. Your commanding officer, captain Norman Wells -the brave idiot who never seemed to run from a fight- lay silently on the sole medical bed in the room. His wounds bandaged and wrapped, and a peaceful look on his face. You would have thought he was dead, if not for the steady rise and fall of his chest, and the beeping of the EKG machine that was monitoring his vitals.

Aside from the captain, the only other thing in the room that could be considered a person was his surgeon. Diana -or rather, her avatar- sat cross-legged on the small holo tank next to the medical bed, watching over your CO. You made sure that the door behind you was closed, before addressing the AI. "So, what's wrong?"

"It would appear that the captain has suffered a severe reaction to the general anesthetic used in the surgery. It's nothing that will have long-term health implications. If I had to guess, based on his recent drug intake, I would assume that the polypsudomorphine in his system increased the effectiveness of the polysevorane. I have already attached a blood filtering device to him to ensure that there aren't any reactive substances being sent to his brain. But there isn't much I can do to make him wake up any faster." Diana briefed you without turning her avatar to face you, not that she really needed to, the AI wasn't limited by such physical things. The AI's voice was projected from a number of speakers positioned around the room, which was something you could never get used to.

"So, how long do you expect him to be out?" You asked as you slowly walked over to your commander's sleeping body. Aside from a couple of small specks of blood that had seeped through the bandages over his torso wound, the captain's wounds seemed to have been freshly treated.

"I would estimate around eighteen hours, which is why I've called you here." Diana explained, before her avatar finally stood up, and turned to face you, her holographic eyes locking with yours. "With captain Wells currently asleep, command authority falls to you until he wakes up. How would you like to proceed?"

>Continue as planned! If needed, you can command the mission from the ground.
>Excuse yourself! You need to fill in for the captain, but the mission needs to go ahead.
>Wait for the captain! You can't leave the marines, but at the same time, you can't leave the bridge without an officer.
>Other (write-in)

>>4151632
>Continue as planned! If needed, you can command the mission from the ground.
I'm sure the Lt can remain on the bridge. The mission was his idea so I don't think he'll abandon us.
M16 come home

>>4151641
SF capture soon/eventually

>>4151632
>Continue as planned! If needed, you can command the mission from the ground.
>Put Diana in charge of the ship until the captain awakens or we return, whichever comes first.

>>4151645
Here's hoping it's sooner rather than later. I don't think I can handle another event if it doesn't.

>>4151632
>>Continue as planned! If needed, you can command the mission from the ground.

And this is the story of how we lost our XO to Sangheili special operatives.

>>4151632

>Continue as planned! If needed, you can command the mission from the ground.

dyad is HOT 10/10 thunderhead

>>4151632
>>Continue as planned! If needed, you can command the mission from the ground.

Was rolling a 62 really that bad to knock us out for most of the day?

>>4151881
I bet the DC was 70 or 75

>>4151899
>>4151881
Seems weirdly high for medical procedure based on known science and not experimental, but I'm not the QM.

>>4151901

Keep in mind how fucked we were, organs cooked.

>>4151924
and we need a new kidney when we get back to civilized space

"We'll continue as planned, it's what he would want." You decided to keep going with the mission you had been given. While the captain was asleep, you wouldn't take the chance to go against his orders.

"Understood, I'll send a message to lieut-" Diana began, only for you to cut her off.

"No. I'll be joining the marines groundside. I need you to take care of the prowler." You ordered the AI as you readjusted your armor. You knew that there were regs against what you were planning, but you weren't about to violate the trust that Wells had put in you.

"Lieutenant commander, protocol dictates that one command rank officer should remain on the bridge to oversee the operation." Diana tried to lecture you, but you waived the AI off. You weren't looking to have a lecture on proper regulations from a glorified secretary program.

"Lieutenant Karmann can fill in if you want to insist on it, but we don't have enough marines to start off with. I'm needed down there." You pushed your point through to the stubborn AI. Diana's avatar shrugged at this, though you guessed that was her taking your insistence as a direct order.

"If that's your decision, then there isn't much I can do to stop you. I take it that the marines are ready?" Diana asked, the AI probably already knew the answer to that question but was checking to see if you thought they were ready for the upcoming fight.

"They were almost finished when you called me up, so I'd assume that they're ready to move." You stated, before checking to see if you were ready to go.

>Check your gear! You ought to make sure you're ready for a fight.
>Check the plan! You need to make sure you have a full understanding of everything that's going to happen.
>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.
>Other (write-in)

>>4151924
Yeah, but plasma wounds aren't exactly new or uncommon.

>>4151934

>Check your gear! You ought to make sure you're ready for a fight.

>>4151934
>>Check your gear! You ought to make sure you're ready for a fight.
>>4151935
With flash cloning getting new body bits replaced is about as difficult as getting your wisdom teeth removed.

>>4151881
>>4151899
>>4151901

A 62 would have worked as the DC was 40, but all rolls are best of 3, and a 2-5 on a d100 is a crit-fail that invalidates the highest roll. That left the only other roll as a 16, which was a fail.

>>4151934
>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.

>>4151934
>Check your gear! You ought to make sure you're ready for a fight.

Bring knife, medkit, and duct-tape.

>>4151940
Oh, 5 is a critfail? I thought the point of moving to a d100 from a d20 was to avoid the constant 5% critfail chance.

>>4151947
It is and we have, at least judging by last thread. Wouldn't be Halo if someone didn't die or get mutilated every paragraph.

>>4151947
We couldn't agree on if a critfail should be an auto fail, or if it should just invalidate the highest roll. So we compromised and had a nat 1 be an autofail, while 2-5 invalidate the highest roll.

>>4151962
Can't wait for the salt when a 5 invalidates a 99.

>>4151962
Yeah I remember this, after one of our failstreaks...

>>4151971
>one of
It didn't stop until last thread when we outperformed ODSTs.

You checked over your equipment, making sure that everything was intact and in order. Your armor was a set of intact marine BDUs and combat armor. Granted, a lot of it had been taken from marines who had been injured, but who still had specific equipment pieces that were intact. But an intact kit was nothing to pass up, even if it had been picked from the wounded. The only part that hadn't come from someone who was dead or wounded was your helmet, the marine standard unit was already upgraded with an officer uplink module, which would allow you to keep tabs on objective markers, teammates, and known enemy locations.

The captain's shotgun was your primary weapon, the seven-shot weapon was already loaded with a mix of slugs and buckshot. While the weapon had served the captain well, you'd be lying if you said that you thought that it would be just as useful for you. While it would certainly be useful for blowing through enemies at short range, the long lines of sight when entering the base and going through the motor pool would leave you at a disadvantage. An assault rifle would kive you more consistent results at a variety of ranges, was easier to make follow-up shots with, and would give you a lot more ammo to play with. But it lacked the raw firepower of the shotgun, so maybe it was worth it to keep the captain's piece.

Your second weapon was a fairly standard M6B officer pistol. Unlike the large SOCOM-C variant that the captain liked, the B model was shorter, lacked a suppressor, and featured a more common-place smart scope. If you kept the shotgun then it would probably have to fill in as your main ranged weapon. But even if you swapped out the shotgun, you were comfortable enough with the pistol. The smart scope let you snap-shoot with a decent degree of accuracy, even if follow-up shots were difficult. You supposed that you could swap it for something else, but you didn't think it was nessicery.

Aside from that, you had a pair of frag grenades, a knife, and a small medkit. The knife was there for close encounters, and while many in the UNSC saw it a little more than dead weight, the captain's most recent kill proved that with enough violence it could be just as effective as some five-hundred plus years ago. The grenades were nothing special, and at the same time, they weren't controversial in any way. Who could argue with half a kilogram of high explosives? The medkit was probably the most controversial thing however, as you had already thrown out a lot of the bandages and doubled-up on painkillers and synthetic adrenaline. It would be enough to quickly patch up some wounds and to keep you moving, but aside from that, there wasn't much in there to patch up major wounds.

>Swap something out! (write-in)
>Check the plan! You need to make sure you have a full understanding of everything that's going to happen.
>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.
>Other (write-in)

>>4152096
>>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.

>>4152096
>Check the plan! You need to make sure you have a full understanding of everything that's going to happen.

>>4152096
>>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.

>>4152096
>>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.

>>4152096
>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.

>>4152096
>Better grab that lucky roll of duct tape :^)

>>4152155
This

>>4152096
>Get ready to go! You're ready to go, so there's no point in waiting around.

>>4152155
Definitely this

>>4152096
>get ready to go!

Despite the limitations of your kit, you were satisfied enough with it that you decided to run with it. If worst came to worst, you'd just grab a weapon from one of the marines. With your equipment in order, you turned to leave the medbay, only to stop before you left the room. You turned back and walked up to your comatose captain, before gently patting him on the arm.

"Sleep tight, boss. I'll be just fine." You assured your sleeping CO with a gentle smile. Wells didn't respond, his breathing remaining steady and strong. You just sighed, before silently leaving the room.

The walk back down to the now-cleared hanger bay was steadily interrupted as the last of the critically wounded were carried up to the cryo bay. The people with wounds too severe to be treated on the ship would be put in cryo until you reached a UNSC medical facility that could take them. Hell, the captain [i]should[/i] have joined them, but his insistence on getting a patch and staying up killed that option. And with him still under general anesthetics, putting him into cryo would be unsafe. The rest of the walking wounded had already been transferred into a temorary triage room in the mess hall, where they would be out of the way. This left the entire hanger bay and the adjoining modular bays open to what few marines left.

The marines were already spread out between two squads, each one containing an even mix of marines and ODSTs. The soldiers were armed with a mix of shotguns and assault rifles, giving a lot of short to medium range firepower in a fairly mobile platform. The only one who didn't conform to that weapons load was the only other commissioned officer in the hanger. Lieutenant Antonwicz saw you and immediately walked over, his M7 SMG held loosely in one hand. He got straight to the point. "How's the captain?"

"Completely knocked out, he won't be leading. So I'll be taking the reigns." You answered the lieutenant in a low voice, making sure that it would be harder for the rest of the marines to hear. The last thing you wanted was for them to get even more worried about the mission. In an attempt to disguise the news you were giving, you picked up a random roll of duck tape and shoved it into one of your spare pouches. You hoped that it would brush off any interest from the waiting soldiers.

Antonwicz didn't react too much to the revelation that the only person commanding the mission was going to be throwing themselves ground side with him. Instead, the ODST officer just kept his mind focussed on the mission. "Still want me to lead?"

>Take full command! Having two officers on the ground is a recipe for disaster.
>Deligate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

>>4153822
>>Delegate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

>>4153822
>>Deligate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

>>4153822
>>Deligate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

>>4153822
>Delegate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

>>4153822
>>Deligate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

>>4153822
>>Deligate command! You need to keep your attention focused on the wider battle.

"You still have command. I'll have enough to worry about as-is, I don't need to take on more responsibility." You decided to keep it simple and keep it separate. The captain at least had access to a command neural interface to help him keep track of everything in a fight. You didn't have that luxury, so you'd do it the old-fashioned way.

If the ODST was pleased by the turn of events, you couldn't tell thanks to his armor. Instead, all you got was a nod and an agreement. "Sounds good. You're with me, I'm not having another officer run dick-first into a zealot."

"You know that the boss didn't plan to find that zealot?" You tried to defend your commanding officer, only to get a disgruntled snort from the hell jumper.

"Yeah, I'd believe that if he did the rational thing and ran away from the eight-foot-tall alien psychopath." Antonwicz brushed off your defense of the captain, before turning and walking back over to his men, you were about to follow him to continue the conversation when your headset chirped into life.

"Lieutenant Commander, as we are about to begin the assault, would you like me to begin the missile attack before we begin our approach, or as we are approaching the base? A pre-approach volley would give us the ability to re-engage any targets we miss before we lose the ability to engage them, however, the extra warning time would give the Covenant a few second warning of the attack, allowing them to start moving their troops to defensive locations." Diana didn't bother to wait to see if you were listening before laying out your options. You had to quickly change-track and listen closely, though you supposed that the AI was banking on that. "Engaging the base as we approach the base will only give us one shot to destroy our targets before we are too close to the ground to fire the missiles, but it would deny the Covenant the chance to move their troops around before you hit the ground. If needed, we can use the point-defense guns to engage enemy stragglers. But keep in mind that we only have limited ammo for them, so their usage should be limited."

>Hit them BEFORE you approach! You need the insurance.
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

Hard. And. Fast

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

Gives the best chance to actually save the scientists, yeah?

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.
wish we went with the pelicans so we could use them as CAS

>>4154961
>>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

WHERE IS MY AIR SUPPORT

>>4154961
>Hit them AS you approach! You can't waste any time.

"Fire as we're approaching, we don't have time to wait." You ordered the AI as you made your way over to the waiting marines. Already they were starting to muster into their squads, and then further into their individual fireteams. Antonwicz waved you over, and you joined him alongside a few marines.

"Understood. Now onto the matter of how much firepower you want on target. Due to only having a small number of streak missiles aboard, I need to know how much of our inventory you want to be expended in the pre-landing bombardment." Diana logged your order, before moving on to her next question as the marines made their final equipment checks. One of the marines -a younger guy who would have looked more at home on a college campus- offered to check your gear, but you waved him off as the AI continued. "I expend the bare minimum number of missiles in limited, pin-point strikes against the Shade turrets covering the base. This would leave a large amount of or inventory available for later use in fire support and assuring air dominance, however, it would inflict the minimum amount of damage on the base, leaving you with more to deal with down there. Alternatively, I can use the entirety of the ship's missile stocks to bombard the base. This would provide more than enough firepower to completely destroy the shade batteries and inflict significant casualties on the occupying Covenant forces. However, it would leave no missiles for fire support, interdicting enemy airborne reinforcements, or covering your retreat."

"Is there a happy middle ground?" You asked as you performed your final checks on your equipment. You patted down each pouch and ensured that everything was secure as you listened to your AI.

"With only forty-eight missiles that aren't even designed for this mission, there isn't much wiggle room. I have categorized a number of potential targets ranging from obviously inhabited infrastructure to strong points and areas where Covenant forces are hiding behind weak walls. But you'll still have to decide if you want me to go for obvious targets or targets of opportunity." Diana's answer left you with even more to consider. You had to balance between inflicting enough damage to ensure a safe landing for your men, while keeping enough munitions in stock to take out incoming reinforcements and to secure your escape. You shook your head as you examined the captain's scraped shotgun, decisions like this almost always caught you out...

>Hit the Shades ONLY! You need to preserve as many missiles as possible. (roll 3d100+10)
>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard. (roll 4d100+10)
>Hit the obvious targets and the targets of opportunity! You need to safely inflict a lot of damage. (roll 4d100+20)
>Hit everything! You need to guarantee that they are knocked off balance. (roll 4d100+30)

>>4157312
>>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard. (roll 4d100+10)

Rolled 88, 52, 84, 10 + 10 = 244 (4d100 + 10)

>>4157312
>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard. (roll 4d100+10)

>>4157312
>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard. (roll 4d100+10)

Rolled 72, 27, 97, 34 = 230 (4d100)

>>4157312
>>4157360
forgot my roll

Rolled 25, 70, 4, 78 + 10 = 187 (4d100 + 10)

>>4157312
>>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard. (roll 4d100+10)

>>4157312
>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard.
Good rolls.

Rolled 45, 47, 66, 83 + 30 = 271 (4d100 + 30)

>>4157312
>>Hit everything! You need to guarantee that they are knocked off balance. (roll 4d100+30)

Rolled 43, 38, 86, 80 = 247 (4d100)

>>4157312
>Hit the obvious targets! You need damage, but you shouldn't go overboard.

Rolled 47, 73, 67, 31 + 20 = 238 (4d100 + 20)

>>4157312
>Hit the obvious targets and the targets of opportunity! You need to safely inflict a lot of damage. (roll 4d100+20)

Did we ever get a pic of Norman?

"Hit the shades and any targets of opportunity. Just make sure to keep some ordinance for fire support and air interdiction." You ordered the AI to take a bit of liberty when picking her targets. You still needed to strip out the enemy defenses -that couldn't be avoided- but aside from that, if she could make the shots count, then you wouldn't mind if she dipped a bit more into your reserve.

"Understood, loading target profiles," Diana assured you, before addressing the rest of the marines on the comms network. "All marine forces, be advised. We are beginning our landing approach, please get ready to deploy."

"Everyone to their positions, behind me ma'am." Lieutenant Antonwicz ordered you and the marines as the prowler started to shift. You felt the ship's movement in your gut and had to account for it as you jogged behind the lieutenant. You knelt behind him as a series of loud thumps emanated from one of the closed mission bays. You guessed that was from the Streak missiles being launched

"Shade turrets destroyed, though attacks against targets of opportunity have not proven sucsessful. It would appear as if the base's external walls have been reinforced." Diana gave her report as the prowler dropped from the sky. You couldn't hear the sounds of enemy fire hitting the hull, so you assumed that they were knocked off balance for a bit.

You didn't have much time to savor that, as the prowler's hangar bay door opened with a hiss that was soon drowned out by the sound of rushing air and burning thrusters. The main cargo ramp extended and slammed against the tarmac of the old logistical hub that had once served as ONI's main haunt on the planet. Just a few dozen meters away, you could see the external walls of the captured UNSC base. If you were lucky, then maybe you'd be able to reach it before taking fire.

"Push up to the base, move, move, move!" Antonwicz ordered, and both of your squads got up and ran out of the Prowler's hanger in under ten seconds flat. A few seconds later, the prowler was already lifting off as the marines started firing on the few Covenant forces in sight. The grunts fell quickly, the assault-rifle fire having punctured their bulky pressure suits. The Jackals, on the other hand, responded quickly, with the spindly soldiers retreating under the cover of their shields and blind fire from their own plasma weapons. Fire stitched the air around you and the marines as you advanced, but only one person was hit as you reached the firebase. The wounded marine slammed against the wall and was quickly seen to by the sole medic as the ODST officer gave his next order. "Stack up! Shotguns first."

>Take point! You need to leverage your shotgun to it's best ability.
>Hang back! You aren't looking to run into a machine gun nest.

>>4163964

>Take point! You need to leverage your shotgun to it's best ability.

>>4163964
>>Take point! You need to leverage your shotgun to it's best ability.

>>4163964
>>Take point! You need to leverage your shotgun to it's best ability.

>>4163964
>Take point! You need to leverage your shotgun to it's best ability.

>>4163964
>>Take point! You need to leverage your shotgun to it's best ability.

You quickly made to shove your way to the front of the stack, only for the lieutenant to try and stop you. You shot him a glare, before gesturing at your shotgun. You both got each other's point; he let you go while you took up position behind the pointman. You got into position just as the massive gate doors into the base hissed open and slowly started to descend.

The internals of the former UNSC firebase was dark and sporadically lit by the few lights that had survived the initial assault on the base. The marines snapped on their weapon-mounted torches, illuminating the darkened corners of the building with bright lances of light. Large chunks of the ceiling had fallen through, leaving chunks of concrete scattered around the cavernous room. In spite of the obvious damage, you could still see what ONI had done to the place. Close to the door was a small motor pool, where the small inventory of warthogs remained parked, even if a couple of them had been damaged by fallen debris. Behind that was what looked like a combined service and supply bay that encompassed the rest of the subterranean floor, complete with what looked like some sort of automated repair and servicing station built out of a dozen or so robotic arms, some gantry cranes, and other assorted robotic units looted from a vehicle assembly building. It didn't take a genius to figure out that it was probably the only thing that was keeping the small motor pool up and functional.

"Keep moving, we'll check the 'hogs on the way out. Alpha, bravo, split along the walls and move to the service stairwells." Antonwicz ordered the marines past the waiting vehicles and deeper into the base as the door closed behind you. You kept your shotgun up as you passed into the maze of crates behind the 'hog bay, scanning for targets. You didn't have to wait long, as the weird barking sound of angry grunts started to fill the room as you approached the stairs, you quickly took cover behind a crate and raised your shotgun in the direction of the

The first pair of grunts died to a hail of slugs and shells, their pressure suits perforated by dozens of rounds. This gave reason for the rest to advance with a bit more caution, but they didn't break as you had hoped. You had to duck behind cover to avoid a pair of needle rounds as the jackals supporting the grunts made their presence known. Unlike their stout comrades, the Jackals actually seemed to know what they were doing, as they used their energy gauntlets to provide mobile cover for the grunts to move between crates, before diving back into cover before darting away. Within seconds, your rapid advance had come to a standstill.

>Shoot the grunts! You have to thin the horde out! (Shotgun, pistol, grenade [x2]) (roll 1d100+20)
>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (Shotgun, pistol, grenade [x2]) (roll 1d100+5)
>Stay on guard! Those elites are still out there. (roll 1d100-10)
>Do something else! (write-in)

Rolled 80 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>4165605
>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (Pistol)

Rolled 92 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>4165605
>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (grenade [x2])

Rolled 69 (1d100)

>>4165605
>>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (Shotgun)

Rolled 21 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>4165605
>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (Shotgun, pistol, grenade [x2]) (roll 1d100+5)

>>4165605
>>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (Shotgun, (roll 1d100+5)

>>4165637
Beautiful. I see our ground combat luck continues on.

Rolled 27 + 5 (1d100 + 5)

>>4165605
>Shoot the jackals! There are fewer of them, but they know what they are doing! (Grenade [x2])

File: AAAAAAAAAH.gif (477 KB, 800x450)

477 KB GIF

>>4165663
We must remov ayy.

Thinking quickly, you snatched a frag grenade from your webbing and primed it. You didn't have much of a chance to push up on the enemy due to the sheer volume of fire filling the air around you, but this was the perfect time to start throwing grenades, as the enemy would probably be thinking the exact same as you.

"Cover me, I'm fragging!" You called out to the nearby marines, you poked their weapons out from around cover and started firing blindly, hoping to buy you the seconds you needed to throw the grenade.

You took your chance and lent out of cover to throw the grenade. You had less than a second to pick your target, but lady luck had apparently decided to bless you with a perfect target. Stood maybe ten meters away from you were a pair of jackals using their shields to provide cover to another one of them armed with a rifle. You tapped the grenade again, clearing the grenade's set fuse time so that it would explode on impact. With the grenade set, you sent the little ball of explosives on its way.

The results couldn't have gone any better if you had tried, the rifle-armed jackal poked around one of the shields just in time to take the grenade to the chest, the impact-set grenade went off the moment it slammed into the avian bastard, practically vaporizing all three of the aliens. The blast did something else too, namely badly damaging a support column that they were stood next to. The damage was enough to cause more of the ceiling above to collapse, raining concrete from above on nearby covenant forces. Jackals jumped out of the way of the larger chunks, leaving grunts to either be crushed or dazed by the slabs of concrete.

The marines took the opportunity without hesitation, advancing with rifles raised and slaughtering the aliens as they went. It didn't matter if the enemy could fight back, if they drew breath then they would draw a muzzle. In under a few seconds, the ambush was over, with humanity scoring another win.

"Good frag ma'am. Everyone else good?" Lieutenant Antonwicz congratulated you, before checking to see if there were anyone who was injured. You all knew from your helmet readouts that someone had died, as one of the teammate markers had winked out.

"Martinez is down, needle to the chest got him." One of the marines stated, tossing a set of dog tags to the LT. With the operation going the way it was, that would probably be the only part of the marine to return home.

"Let's not join him, keep pushing!" Antonwicz ordered the marines into motion, and you had a couple of seconds to decide on if you wanted to stick around as ordered, or if you wanted to leverage the fact that you had the highest rank to go join up with the other squad.

>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.
>Join bravo squad! You can't have all of the officers in one squad.
>Snatch something as you go! There's always time to loot (roll 1d100-10)
>Do something else! (write-in)

>>4169292
>>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.

>>4169292
>>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.

>>4169292
>>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.

>>4169292
>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.

Can we tell the Marines to grab the jackal shields? If they're still operational those will be useful.

>>4169292
>>4169384
This.

>>4169292
>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.

>>4169384
>>4169518

Supporting this

>>4169292
>Stay with the LT! You shouldn't go running off, it'll cause problems.

>>4169384
Pretty sure thats wasting time

>>4170620
No, stopping to search and loot the bodies is wasting time. Telling the marines to grab the jackal shields if they're still working is 5-10 seconds to acquire tech that can prevent combat ineffectives that will slow us down and reduce our firepower.

>>4171574
+1

"LT, tell the marines to grab jackal shields if they can. They should give us a bit more of an advantage. Tell anyone using them to wear them over armor just in case they overload." You recommended as you ran back to the corpses of the jackals you had killed. Thankfully, the jackals had inadvertently shielded their gauntlets from your grenade, leaving their valuable shield gauntlets mostly intact aside from some scratches. You pocketed one, before carefully securing the other to one of your armored vambraces. The captain hadn't been able to get a pair for himself and had suffered when his gauntlet overheated and burned him. You weren't about to make that mistake.

"If you see a dead jackal with an intact shield, grab it and hand them out to anyone with a shotgun. But don't grab anything else, we need to move." Antonwicz took your recommendation and ordered it to the rest of the marines as you joined back up with the rest of the squad. It only took a minute for the marines to make it to the stairwells that lead down into the depths of the base. The LT gestured for you and a marine to check the stairs leading up, and you snapped your shield on as you advanced up. Fortunately, you didn't have to go far before finding out that this route was secure. The door into the floor above was blocked off by rubble, and the stairwell up to the second floor had collapsed, guaranteeing that anything trying to make the jump would either make enough noise to be heard or would simply shatter their legs after missing the jump.

"Clear!" You called back, before returning to the LT and the rest of the squad. You arrived in time to hear the LT give his next orders.

"Bravo, split off some of your men to cover your stairwell and hold at the bottom for my signal." The LT ordered the sergeant of the other squad, before addressing you and the rest of alpha squad. "Alright, I need volunteers to hold this point. Any volunteers?"

>Hold the stairs! You need to make sure that the way out is held.
>Stay with the LT! Your shield and shotgun combo doesn't work well for holding a position.

>>4173068
>>Stay with the LT! Your shield and shotgun combo doesn't work well for holding a position.

>>4173068
>>Stay with the LT! Your shield and shotgun combo doesn't work well for holding a position.

>>4173068
>Stay with the LT! Your shield and shotgun combo doesn't work well for holding a position.

>>4173068

>Stay with the LT! Your shield and shotgun combo doesn't work well for holding a position.

>>4173068
>Stay with the LT! Your shield and shotgun combo doesn't work well for holding a position.

"I've got a spare gauntlet here for any volunteers." You told the squad as you pulled out the shield gauntlet that you had pocketed. One of the marines -a corporal Kendo- walked up and took the waiting gauntlet, attaching it to himself as another squadmate took up a position on side of the doorway. Once they were set up, the rest of the squadron descended the stairs.

"Diana, we're heading into the lower levels. What's it like up there?" You radioed the prowler's AI as you descended deeper into the base. Thankfully, the Covenant hadn't seen fit to destroy the comms relays built into the base. Even if they had, you were sure that the prowler's starship-grade transmitting and sensor systems wouldn't have had much trouble going through the damaged concrete of the base.

"All Covenant forces in the base are mobile. Some of them are taking up positions to defend against us sending in further reinforcements, but the majority of the enemy forces defending the base are rapidly converging on the motor pool." Diana briefed you quickly, before giving you her advice. "Be advised, given the current strength of the enemy forces, it may be a smart idea to destroy one of the stairwells, and concentrate a full squad on defending the other."

"We've kicked the hornet's nest and the Covies are converging on us. Diana's recommending that we blow one stairwell and leave a squad on the other." You relayed what the AI had told you to the LT as you reached the bottom floor of the base. The pointman stopped at the door and waited as the LT talked.

"What would you choose? Keeping one stairwell covered lets us concentrate our forces, but the Covenant can do the same thing. Covering both gives us more options, but leaves both stairwells with fewer people guarding it." Antonwicz asked for your opinion, turning to face you. Though you couldn't read his expression very well due to the one-sided visor built into his helmet. The dented, scratched and abused helmet mounted the command uplink unit that allowed him to better keep track of people through walls. Hell, you were sure that he had a program running to keep him alerted of if one of his men encountered a particularly large group of enemies.

"Why are you asking me? This is your op and area of expertise." You asked the ODST why he wanted your decision, though you had a feeling that he would just order the opinion out of you if he wanted to.

"If your calls are good enough for the captain, then it'll be good enough for me. So, tick-tock hinge." The LT gave his reason, before playfully teasing your rank and the fact that a lot of people in your position spent most of their time nodding complacently at their CO's orders.

>CONT

>>4173428

>Secure both stairwells! Having an alternative way out ready will be useful in case one of the stairwells gets overrun.
>Only hold one stairwell! If destroying one will help to secure the other, then losing your ability to keep the Covenant guessing will be worth it.
>Leave both stairwells undefended! You can hit your target with both squads and then fight your way out as one.
>Other (write-in)

>>4173430
>Only hold one stairwell! If destroying one will help to secure the other, then losing your ability to keep the Covenant guessing will be worth it.
A choke point is a double edged sword but I think it's a better idea than reducing our reguard's strength.

>>4173430
>Leave both stairwells undefended! You can hit your target with both squads and then fight your way out as one.

>>4173430
>Secure both stairwells! Having an alternative way out ready will be useful in case one of the stairwells gets overrun.

>>4173430
>>Leave both stairwells undefended! You can hit your target with both squads and then fight your way out as one.

>>4173430

>Only hold one stairwell! If destroying one will help to secure the other, then losing your ability to keep the Covenant guessing will be worth it.

>>4173430
>Leave both stairwells undefended! You can hit your target with both squads and then fight your way out as one.

Honestly, making a chokepoint does us dirty since we have to head back out later. Best to make the Covenant split their forces.

>>4173430
>Leave both stairwells undefended! You can hit your target with both squads and then fight your way out as one.

"To be honest sir, I'd suggest pulling all forces away from the stairwells and concentrate our attention on getting the surviving scientists out. That way, we can pick and choose a way out without having to worry about facing a large number of Covenant troops waiting in prepared defenses for us." You gave the ODST a third, less obvious option. Pulling back provided a few options that neither of his choices provided and at the same time, retained a few advantages.

"That'll leave us with nobody there to warn about incoming forces. We'll be caught off guard when they decide to push. Not to mention that they will be able to hit us from two sides after getting down here." Antonwicz pointed out, but you had a couple of ideas on how to handle that.

"Then leave mines and traps by the entrances into and out of the stairwells. If you really want to, then pull the people at the top down here so that we can respond quickly if the Covenant decides to push them. Right now, all the only purpose they'll serve as will be speedbumps, and we can't afford that." You suggested. Standard UNSC frag grenades could be fitted with an electronic trap kit, turning them into small motion-tracking mines. And you were fairly sure that a couple of the marines were carrying actual mines with fuse kits, so those could be used as standard.

"Kendo, Niho, Eichman, Walliams. Set laser tripping grenades, mines or any other kind of explosive traps at the doorways leading in from the motor pool before falling back to the bottom of your stairwells. Bravo, send someone up to your boys to give them mines. Otherwise, continue as planned on my mark." Antonwicz issued orders for the marines above you and the other squad, before turning his attention to the rest of the squad. "Dakar, head upstairs and give Ken and Niho your mines. Dyad, you have point. Stack up on the door with Velkey, enter on my mark."

"Wilco." You replied, before taking up a position on the right side of the door. While it meant that you'd have to present your whole body in order to get your shotgun up, it allowed you to lead in with your shield as you entered, giving you cover from enemy fire. The rifleman on the opposite side lacked the stollen enemy gear, but you assumed that he would follow you in.

"Dyad, Bravo, enter on my mark. Three, two, one, MARK!" Antonwicz called out the mark, and you threw the door open with your left hand, pulling it back into cover just a second before plasma fire streamed through the doorway.

>Push in! You're just asking for a grenade here. (roll 1d100)
>Frag the corridor! You need to dislodge them before you go in. (roll 1d100-10)

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>4173633
>>Push in! You're just asking for a grenade here

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>4173633
>>Push in! You're just asking for a grenade here. (roll 1d100)
please no plasma burns

>>4173641
oh lordy

Rolled 88 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4173633
>Frag the corridor! You need to dislodge them before you go in. (roll 1d100-10)

Rolled 28 + 10 (1d100 + 10)

>>4173633
>Frag the corridor! You need to dislodge them before you go in. (roll 1d100-10)
Fingers crossed.

>>4173645
>>4173647
Negative mods are rolled as 'dice+1d100+-10'
>>4173642
>72
Thank you.

Rolled 43 (1d100)

>>4173633

>Push in! You're just asking for a grenade here. (roll 1d100)

>>4173655
I know, I'm just tired, and usually realize it right after I hit post. Hindsight is nat20 after all.

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>4173633
>Push in! You're just asking for a grenade here. (roll 1d100)

>>4173678
No worries, just wanted to make sure a newfriend didn't need help.

You snapped on your shield gauntlet on, before shoving it into the doorway, your body following behind it. You didn't raise your weapon, instead, you hid as much of your body behind the shield as you could. You spotted the force of Covenant troops stood around a dozen meters away behind a hastily set up barricade, firing plasma rifles and pistols at you. The force mostly consisted of grunts, but you could see the telltale green beams of carbine fire, indicating that there was a jackal or two there.

You couldn't stay out of cover long, as the Covenant had poured enough fire into it that your shield was starting to collapse after even a few seconds of exposure. You didn't have much choice of where to go other than behind a nearby storage crate, which you knew wouldn't hold up to enemy fire for long. The shield gauntlet snapped off just a scant second before you were fully behind cover, letting a few plasma bolts pass close enough to you that you could feel your skin burning from the proximity. You quickly threw your left arm out away from you as the jackal shield overheated, spewing hot plasma and melting parts of the armor. You gritted your teeth as you felt the skin underneath burn, but you felt fine knowing that the burns wouldn't be too severe. either way however, you didn't think that the sheild would be coming back online for a while, if at all.

You could hear the sound of plasma bolts hitting the other side of the crate, and you knew that you didn't have much time left before they would punch through. You quickly noted your options. Behind you was the entrance to a corridor leading away from the fight, which you could get to without exposing yourself to enemy fire. But you didn't know where it would lead. Alternatively, you could try and frag the Covenant position and see what would happen from there. Though from the sounds of distant rifle fire, Bravo squad was facing resistance of their own.

>Throw a frag! Hopefully, you can get the covies to stop shooting for a bit. (roll 1d100-10)
>Fall back! Even if the corridor leads nowhere, you can rely on concrete to soak plasma bolts for a while.
>Other (rwite-in)

>>4173736
>>Throw a frag! Hopefully, you can get the covies to stop shooting for a bit. (roll 1d100-10)

Rolled 97 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4173743
>>4173736
derp

Rolled 69 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4173736
>>Throw a frag! Hopefully, you can get the covies to stop shooting for a bit
>>4173746
nice

Rolled 96 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4173736

>Throw a frag! Hopefully, you can get the covies to stop shooting for a bit. (roll 1d100-10)

ground luck continues, it seems
you just know everything is going to go to shit back in space though

With your only other method of advancing no longer working, the only way for you to get back into the fight was to somehow stop the Covenant forces from shooting long enough for you to advance. And given that nobody seemed to be up for talking, you only had one choice left. You waited for your shield generator to stop venting deadly plasma, before plucking your last remaining grenade from your belt. You primed the grenade as you announced your intentions over the radio. "Frag going out!"

With that, you threw the grenade out of cover. You tossed the grenade from a low crouch, ensuring that you were as far under the enemy fire as you could. Fortune seemed to favor you as you threw the device, as the Covenant fire let up for just a second as the first shooters ducked back into cover with overheating weapons as their comrades lent out to start firing. You managed to throw yourself back against the wall just in time, as a flurry of rounds was sent your way. But in spite of all of that fire, they failed to stop the grenade.

You heard the roar of the grenade going off, and in such close confines, the pressure wave hit you like a hammer. Thankfully, there was enough room for the pressure wave to disperse enough to stop your own weapon from turning you and the marines into chunky salsa. Almost immediately, the fire abated. Your frag must have landed right on them, though you didn't know how badly they had been hit by it.

>Lean out and check! You should have a bit of time before they get back up again.
>Charge the barricade! You've bought yourself an opportunity, now you need to use it. (roll 1d100)

Rolled 55 (1d100)

>>4173797
>>Charge the barricade! You've bought yourself an opportunity, now you need to use it.
Who dares wins. If we die in space I vote we do another quest where we play as an ODST or something.

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>4173797
>Charge the barricade! You've bought yourself an opportunity, now you need to use it. (roll 1d100)

Rolled 84 (1d100)

>>4173797
>Charge the barricade! You've bought yourself an opportunity, now you need to use it. (roll 1d100)

>>4173808
Nice. We're going to get one shot by an assault carrier soon as we leave atmo.

You quickly rushed out of cover, your shotgun raised and ready as you sprinted up to the broken barricade and it's less than healthy defenders. Your grenade had killed most of them, but there were still a couple of grunts and a jackal still breathing. You pumped a slug into each grunt, before finishing off the jackal with a buckshot shell. You counted four grunts and a jackal among the dead. All but one of the grunts had been armed with plasma rifles, which was surprising, as it was rare for grunts to be given more than a pistol or a needler.

You looked over the barricade to see your objective in plain view. The doorway leading into the storage room that housed the captured ONI scientists. The door was open, and the way was clear. But it wasn't without danger. As further down the hall, you could see the defenders of the barricade that was holding up Bravo squad turn themselves to face you, and just behind them was Bravo squad itself. They were only just reacting, so your time to make a choice was running out quickly.

>Rush the room! You need to secure those prisoners as fast as possible. (roll 1d100)
>Grab a gun and shoot! You need to kill those aliens before they get to cover. (roll 1d100-10)
>Take cover! You need to leave this one up to your squadmates.
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>4173859
>>Rush the room! You need to secure those prisoners as fast as possible

Rolled 98 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4173859
>>Grab a gun and shoot! You need to kill those aliens before they get to cover. (roll 1d100-10)

Rolled 78 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4173859
>Grab a gun and shoot! You need to kill those aliens before they get to cover. (roll 1d100-10)

Rolled 99 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4173859
>Grab a gun and shoot! You need to kill those aliens before they get to cover. (roll 1d100-10)

damn, son

Sounds like the usual UNSC experience. Go even or even win on the ground get fucked in space

>>4174042
This quest is so canon it doesnt even know it, but the dice do

You didn't stop to think, you needed to kill those aliens while they were still exposed. Your shotgun wouldn't work, so you let it drop in its sling, freeing your hands to take up one of the Covenant plasma rifles lying around. You snatched the weapon up and fired at the most lethal alien left. Your first shots went wide by a meter, so you corrected your aim and caught the sole remaining jackal in the chest. The blue bolts of plasma blew the avian alien apart, flash-boiling blood and vaporizing internal organs. The grunts were even slower to react than the jackal, so you had enough time to pour fire into the back-mounted tank of one of the grunts. The large, fin-like methane container exploded from the sudden piercing heat, cracking open the environmentally sealed armor of the victim. Shrapnel from the blast slammed into another nearby grunt, staggering it long enough for you to rip it apart with another burst of plasma bolts.

You had to dodge behind cover as the final grunt fired at you with his plasma rifle. You waited for the fire to abate, before leaning out of cover with your stollen weapon raised. The grunt had been waiting for you, but in its eagerness to kill you, it had forgotten about the squad of angry marines behind it. The short alien didn't manage to get off another burst, as a marine lept up onto the barricade that had previously been holding his squad back, and emptied a full magazine of assault rifle rounds into the grunt's back. The 7.62 rifle rounds punched clean through the grunt's armor, exiting through its torso in a shower of blue blood.

"Clear!" You called back to your squad as you tossed the overheating plasma rifle away. The short, blue weapon clattered to the floor, the superheated gasses venting from it burning marks into the floor where it melted the concrete. The marines ran up to join you as someone in the room ahead of you let out a blood-curdling scream. At least one of the scientists was still alive, but from the sounds of it, you didn't have long before that changed.

>Rush the room! You have to save those scientists. (roll 1d100)
>Wait for the squad! Rushing in will just get you killed.
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 23 (1d100)

>>4174771

>Rush the room! You have to save those scientists. (roll 1d100)

Dice don't fail us now

Rolled 37 (1d100)

>>4174771
>>Rush the room! You have to save those scientists. (roll 1d100)

>>4174795
>>4174801

Dice back to normal I see

Rolled 41 (1d100)

>>4174771
>Rush the room! You have to save those scientists. (roll 1d100)
Dice pls

>>4174815
Fuck

Rolled 4 (1d100)

>>4174771
>Rush the room! You have to save those scientists. (roll 1d100)

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>4174771
>Yell "Frag out" as loud as we can and throw the ducktape roll in.

File: 64011342_p0.jpg (207 KB, 1000x1534)

207 KB JPG

>>4174795
>>4174801
>>4174815
Dyad's new look
>>4174836
Not a bad idea, backing.

>>4174836
Please more rolls for this. Itd be hilarious if it succeeds

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>4174836
rolling for this for shits and giggles

>>4174836
Backing
But when I did this in a tabletop, it was a medpack and I claimed it was a satchel charge.

Rolled 14 (1d100)

>>4174897
Forgot my roll.

You didn't wait for the rest of the marines to catch up. Instead, you charged the room, your shotgun raised and ready. You quickly rounded the room, only to find yourself looking into a charnel house.

The scientists lay bloodied and still in the room, deep slashing wounds poured blood over the floor where they lay. And there, standing in the middle of the room, was their executioner. An elite. If your memory served you well, the alien warrior was a low-ranking minor. Still, the alien was superior to the jackals and grunts you had faced only seconds before. The alien held a scientist up by his neck with one hand, and in the other hand, he held the blade that he had used in his bloody slaughter. The blade was buried into the struggling scientist's gut, delivering a slow but mortal wound.

You tried to raise your shotgun to shoot, but the elite tossed the dying scientist at you. You didn't have tome to dodge out of the way, and the body slammed straight into you. You fell to the ground as the elite raised a plasma rifle at you, leaving you with no time but to act.

>Run away! You can't survive long when staring down a barrel. (roll 1d100-10)
>Shoot him! The body should soak a couple of rounds for you. (roll 1d100-10)
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 92 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4174901
>Shoot him! The body should soak a couple of rounds for you

Rolled 83 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4174901
>Shoot him! The body should soak a couple of rounds for you. (roll 1d100-10)

Shotguns were made for close encounters.

Rolled 71 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4174901
>>Shoot him! The body should soak a couple of rounds for you. (roll 1d100-10)

>>4174916
>>4174917
>>4174922
...This shotgun is an Artifact or some shit.

>>4174930
100% Emperor approved. Kills ayys or your money back.

>>4174916
>>4174917
>>4174922

We taking this shotgun with us no cap

>>4175125
ONI: 'We'll forgive your inability to retrieve our scientists...if you remand The Shotgun to our custody for study.'

File: wort an asshole.png (125 KB, 353x480)

125 KB PNG

You knew that you couldn't get the corpse off you in time to get out of the way of the elite's shots. So instead, you imply levered your shotgun up and pulled the trigger. Your first shot shattered the upper prong of the plasma rifle, before carrying through into the elite's arm. The shields over the elite flared as the round bounced off, but most importantly, his main method of killing you was gone. You pumped another shell as the elite threw away the ruins of his weapon, and pulled a wicked, single-edged blade from a sling on his back. You fired again, this round punched clean into his gut, shattering his shield and ripping through flesh. You slammed the forend back as the elite charged, and kept the muzzle pointed at his oversized head and the trigger pulled back as you slammed the forend forwards.

The buckshot shell went off exactly as you had hoped, though the thing that really went well for you was the fact that it slammed straight into the alien's exposed face. Fifteen pellets thundered out of the barrel, ripping flesh, bone, and brains. The top of the elite's head went one way, but his body kept going with its remaining momentum. You knew what was going to happen next, and you scrambled to get the scientist's body off of you. But you were too late, as the corpse of the elite fell on top of you. The impact winded you, and if it wasn't for your armor then you were sure it would have done worse.

"You know, I was kind of hoping that you weren't going to do something like that." Lieutenant Antonwicz announced as he walked over to you. You could hear the sound of heavy footfalls as the marines rushed into the room. But the ODST officer instead loomed over you, his visor depolarized enough to allow you to see his smug expression underneath it.

"Get. This. Thing. Off. Me." You grunted from underneath the pair of corpses as you tried in vain to shove the elite off. The LT chuckled to himself but waved a pair of marines over to pull the elite up long enough for you to wiggle out from underneath the scientist. They dropped the body once you were clear and on your feet.

>Check on the scientists! Surely you can save some of them? (roll 1d100)
>Take up a defensive position! The Covenant is surely going to push you now.
>Contact Diana! How are things looking from her position right now?
>Start looting! Maybe you can find somethign useful. (roll 1d100)
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 25 (1d100)

>>4175240

>Check on the scientists! Surely you can save some of them? (roll 1d100)

Rolled 46 (1d100)

>>4175240
>Check on the scientists! Surely you can save some of them? (roll 1d100)
>Contact Diana! How are things looking from her position right now?
>Grab the blade

Rolled 76 (1d100)

>>4175240
>Check on the scientists! Surely you can save some of them? (roll 1d100)

>>4175240
>Check on the scientists! Surely you can save some of them?

>>4175240
>>Check on the scientists! Surely you can save some of them? (roll 1d100)
>Contact Diana! How are things looking from her position right now?

File: medic marine.jpg (204 KB, 1087x2080)

204 KB JPG

"How are the scientists?" You asked as you walked into the improvised prison room turned charnel house. The floor was slick with blood, and the air was heavy with its scent. Many of the scientists were slumped against the far wall, markings around their wrists told you that they had once been shackled, though apparently, the Covenant had decided to keep the bindings rather than leaving it on their victims.

"Lotta blood here ma'am, I don't think anyone survived." One of the marines stated as you walked over to one of the scientists and took off your helmet. You lent in close to the scientist's mouth -listening for any sign of him breathing- as you checked his pulse.

"Think again private, get a medic in here!" You yelled over your shoulder as you felt the weak pulse and labored breaths of a survivor. You quickly moved on to the next scientist as the medic arrived, and other marines started to actually check if any of the scientists were still breathing. After a couple of minutes, the LT walked into the now bustling room.

"So, what are we looking at here corpsman?" Antonwicz asked the only medic available for the mission, who had quickly arrived after you had called him and directed most of the marines present to help him. You hadn't been spared from this assignment, as you were ordered to keep pressure on a female scientists' gut. The scientist weakly groaned as another marine wrapped up the stump of her missing leg.

"Looks like seven survivors out of ten, all with major lacerations to their guts. I've got some of your boys holding pressure on their wounds and helping the worst wounded with BVMs, and another actually helping to patch up some of the less fucked civvies. But it's going to take a while before we're ready to move." The medic called out from the other side of the room, where he was busy treating the first scientist that you had found, his arms deep inside the man's innards. None of the scientists screamed, but from their expressions, you knew that was only because they lacked the energy to do so.

"What's the hold-up? Can't we just stick them full of biofoam and handle them when we get to the prowler?" Antonwicz asked as your marine helper finished wrapping up your patient's leg, before moving up to start bandaging her torso wound. She was fortunate in that regard, as the slash across her gut was one of the least severe, so all it would take would be the combined attention of you and the marine for her to survive.

>CONT

>>4175414

"That's the plan. But it takes time to properly pack wounds like this, even with biofoam. Your men are helping, but if we don't do this properly then they're gonna bleed out on the way. Hell, we'll have to tube 'em once we're aboard anyway. We're stretched thin as it is, so we'll have to come back to them during transit if we have enough supplies left over." The medic replied as he removed his hands from the scientist's gut, and pulled a set of bandages over it, letting another marine wrap more around the wound as he changed his gloves in preparation of attending to his next patient.

"How long do you need?" The LT asked as the marine finished wrapping the scientist's wounds, blood already starting to seep through the bandages. But they weren't there to stop the bleeding, instead, they were there to contain what would go in next.

"If you aren't crowding me, then I'd say..." The medic paused as he harshly shoved the nozzle of a biofoam canister into the scientist's gut, finally coaxing out a scream as the biofoam sealed his wound. The medic ignored this and kept spraying the medical foam in, before sticking him in the arm with a pair of single-use injectors. The scientist slumped, but his eyes remained open and alert as the medic moved on to his next case, already back to speaking with the LT. "Seven to ten minuites, if you can stop crowding me and let me work. I'll send your boys out once they're no longer needed."

>Stay with the wounded! You need them up and moving as soon as possible.
>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.

>>4175419
>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.
>Quivkly ask how many elites have been tallied, don’t want any stealth boys ganking the medic.

>>4175419
>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.

>>4175419
>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.

Can we get Diana to make some passes with the guns, or drop some missiles on the Covenant as they form up on the stairwells?

>>4175419
>>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.

>>4175419
>>4175423
Backing.

>>4175419
>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.

>>4175423
Support

>>4175419
>Join the defense! If the medic needs time, then you have to buy it for him.

"I'll help, I'm not much use here." You announced, giving enough time for the marine wrapping the scientist's wounds to take over applying pressure to the wound before you got up.

"Just don't charge them. Jesus Christ, you're just as dumb as your boss." Antonwicz moaned as you wiped your hands on your trousers and followed him out of the room. As you walked back to the barricade that you had fragged, you decided to get a readout on just what the Covenant were doing.

"Diana, how many elites are left and where are they?" You asked the AI as you pulled out your shotgun, but you held off from reloading it as you waited for the AI's response.

"There are three elites left. One is holding position in the motor pool, while the other two are moving towards the stairwells." Diana informed you just seconds before you heard a pair of muted thuds. Small clouds of dust and debris fell from the ceiling as the explosions reverberated through the compromised structure of the base.

"First mines have gone off. They're pushing both stairwells." One of the marines announced before a single, louder explosion went off from the stairwell you had descended down. The marine amended his statement. "Secondary mines on alpha's stairwell have gone off, they're pushing there, not at bravo."

"Doc, we're out of time. Send up everyone you can spare." Antonwicz ordered the medic, before addressing everyone left at your barricade. "We're the only line of defense here people. Let's not mess this one up."

You nestled yourself behind a set of crates just a scant second before the first grunt ran through the doorway. Only to be blown to pieces by a claymore mine. The next grunt in died to a hail of gunfire, as the marines hosed down the doorway. The marine next to you tried to fire his grenade launcher into the doorway, but the moment he peeked out of cover his head was blown off by a carbine bolt. The sudden appearance of an enemy sniper forced you all to take cover long enough for the Covenant to start streaming through the doorway, firing wildly as they advanced.

>Shoot the grunts! You need to thin them out. (roll 1d100)
>Shoot the jackals! The longer they live, the more marines will die. (roll 1d100-10)
>Get another weapon! Your shotgun is practically useless here. (pistol, assault rifle [+grenade launcher], plasma rifle, covenant carbine)
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 59 (1d100)

>>4175661
>>Shoot the grunts! You need to thin them out

>>4175661
Is grabbing nother weapon a concurrent action or is it completely separate?

Rolled 62 (1d100)

>>4175661
>Shoot the jackals! The longer they live, the more marines will die. (roll 1d100-10)

>>4175661
>>Get another weapon! Your shotgun is practically useless here. (pistol, assault rifle [+grenade launcher], plasma rifle, covenant carbine)
Plasma rifle

>>4175684
It's a separate single action, concurrent actions are separated from mainline actions by a line

Rolled 4 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4175661
>Shoot the jackals! The longer they live, the more marines will die. (roll 1d100-10)

>>4175713
Well, that's great I guess.

Rolled 34 (1d100)

>>4175661
>Shoot the grunts! You need to thin them out. (roll 1d100)

>>4175661
>Get another weapon! Your shotgun is practically useless here. (pistol, assault rifle [+grenade launcher], plasma rifle, covenant carbine)

Rolled 13 (1d100)

>>4175661
>Shoot the grunts! You need to thin them out

You quickly started firing, sending slugs downrange as fast as possible into the horde of grunts that streamed out of the doorway. But the combination of an atrocious set of sights, slugs, and having to constantly worry about incoming fire ensured that you didn't manage to kill even a single one of them. Sure, you scored hits on a couple of grunts, but they were grazing at best. Arm wounds wouldn't cut it in this fight.

"Can someone please get a grenade over there?" You asked the assorted defenders as another man fell, he screamed at the plasma wound that seared his arm, before passing out in shock.

"On it!" One of the marines called out, before tossing a grenade high over the barricade. The device bounced off the ceiling and barely made it halfway down the hall before coming to a stop and exploding. Spreading its shrapnel and shockwave between both sides in the fight.

"Congratulations, you're now banned from using those." Antonwicz commented as he took the marine's remaining grenades away, before turning to look at you. "Think you can make another throw?"

"Even if I had a grenade to throw, I'm not sure that I could make it through all of this fire." You replied frankly as you reloaded the captain's shotgun again. You cursed slightly at the weapon's single-tube setup, rather than the more common double-tube system on most UNSC shotguns. You were stuck spending more time reloading the damn weapon than firing it.

"Here, just in case you change your mind." The LT tossed you the grenades he had confiscated from the other marine. The small bandolier came with a pair of frags and a flashbang, which you affixed to your belt before recocking the shotgun.

>Shoot the grunts! You need to thin them out. (roll 1d100)
>Shoot the jackals! The longer they live, the more marines will die. (roll 1d100-10)
>Throw a grenade! You need to hit the enemy while they're clumped up. (roll 1d100-10)
>Get another weapon! Your shotgun is practically useless here. (pistol, assault rifle [+grenade launcher], plasma rifle, covenant carbine)
>Other (write-in)

Rolled 72 - 10 (1d100 - 10)

>>4175999
>Throw a grenade! You need to hit the enemy while they're clumped up. (roll 1d100-10)
FIRE IN THE HOLE