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The Dagon IV legend by Duckfoot



The Beginning
Date: 30 October 2003, 4:10 PM

_______________MESSAGE_______________

###INCOMING###

From: Colonel J G Johns
To: Lieutenant H G Thompson
Send date: *Classified*
Receive Date: *Classified*
Subject: Dagon IV

&^^^^^^^&
Unencrypting Code
&^^^^^^^&

START MESSAGE

Lieutenant Thompson,

You may have heard of the fall of the Shaft System. We are now pulling back towards earth. I am now requesting that you are present in the final operation in the area. After the covenant found we were retreating, they split their fleet, one part cutting off our fleet, and the other half began glassing our few remaining colonies. Our navigator has set a course for Dagon IV, a mostly icy world. I will only REQUEST your assistance, as I cannot order you to command this mission. I would like you to take nine of your men, and Infiltrate the covenant ship Reach, rescue Captain Archer, and destroy the covenant craft.

Once again, I must stress that I cannot order you to take part in this operation; it is of your own free will.

If you wish to be part of this, then please send me a Note by the fourteenth with names of your personnel.


John

END MESSAGE


_______________MESSAGE_______________

###INCOMING###

From: Lieutenant H G Thompson
To: Colonel J G Johns
Send date: *Classified*
Receive Date: *Classified*
Subject: Dagon IV

&^^^^^^^&
Unencrypting Code
&^^^^^^^&

START MESSAGE



Colonel,

You know very well that I could not resist such a mission. I have chosen my men and I shall include their files with this note.

See you on Dagon IV.

Harry



END MESSAGE



## ATTATCHMENTS ##

File #21-414124

Name: John Smith
Rank: Lieutenant.
Gender: Male
Age: 23
Role: Rifleman


Name: Lucida Arthy
Rank: Corporal.
Gender: Female
Age: 22
Role: Demolitions


Name: Christopher Jackson
Rank: Sergeant
Gender: Male
Age: 35
Role: Pilot


Name: Frank Jones
Rank: Sergeant
Gender: Male
Age: 29
Role: Demolitions


Name: Alexander Johns
Rank: private
Gender: Male
Age: 24
Role: Warthog driver


Name: Gillian Hess
Rank: corporal
Gender: female
Age: 27
Role: Sniper


Name: Gregory Zhan
Rank: sergeant
Gender: Male
Age: 31
Role: Warthog gunner


Name: Tai Klik
Rank: private
Gender: Male
Age: 17
Role: Close quarters


Name: Louise Fright
Rank: Corporal
Gender: Female
Age: 25
Role: Pilot




"Bring her down Louise!" I screamed over the noise of the pelican engine. We had docked temporarily in a small Delta class cruiser; the smallest in the UNSC fleet. With only 12 archer missile pods and a weak MAC Gun, it was vulnerable to a covenant attack. The second pelican, guided by the expert hands of Christopher Jackson, entered the hangar. As it docked, the other five of my crew spilled out, idle chatter emanating from their midst. From my pelican, Four pairs of eyes stared unwaveringly at me, unafraid of the upcoming mission. "Clear out marines!" I shouted, and before the words had left my lips, the highly trained crew sprang from their seats, and sprinted to follow their comrades, who had reached the hangar door.

The armoury was bristling with excitement as we walked in. There were whispers echoing around the room, eyes following our every move. Tai, our close quarters expert handled a brand new shotgun he had found in a box, and Gillian Hess eyed a .50g snipers rifle, the brand new rifle from Earth. The demolitions people, Frank and Lucida, picked up hand grenades, and looked towards the tightly sealed fireproof locker in the corner that carried R906G; the high explosive used to fill archer missiles. I picked up my favourite: the M6d pistol. As my men saw my select my weapon, they quickly chose their own and prepared to leave.

I was walking towards the Mess when there was a sudden vibration throughout the ship, and a hissing sound seemed to come from the roof. The intercom sounded out, and shook me as I heard my name mentioned. "Lieutenant Thompson, report to the ###..." Taking this message to end with bridge, I sprinted to the nearest lift, and ran in slamming my hand on the bridge button. A few moments later, the lift doors hissed open, revealing the bridge entrance directly ahead of me. I entered the door, which closed with a snap afterwards, and the captain stepped out from my side, shocking me.

"Lieutenant, we need a favour," he started" we're near Dagon IV, and there is a covenant patrol ship..." Before he could finish, his eyes switched to the front view pane, and he yelled out. He pushed me into the door from which I had come from, and he followed shortly after, crushing me with his weight. There was a massive explosion, and screams could be heard through the solid titanium door. The captain's actions were quickly explained by a glance at the glass pane that separated the bridge from the corridor. Inside the room, there were bursts of plasma flying towards the crew, burning their flesh and causing them to die a horrendous death. The Captain snatched up his pistol and pressed a red button nearby. An alarm went off and marines went flying past to retrieve their weapons. "Get to your ship!" the captain shouted above the noise, and I hesitantly turned round to tell my crew.



The Ride to Dagon IV
Date: 3 November 2003, 4:07 PM

The door slammed shut behind me and nine weapons were held to my head. "Chill! Its me!" The cold steel of corporal Hess's rifle was lifted from my head, and she began to explain. "Sir! The covenant have been attacking..." But no explanation was needed. There were bodies of several grunts and a jackal littering the floor, and there was a burn mark on Klik's uniform. I looked at my team, and could not see any injuries, so we cleared out.

What we hadn't seen was a group of elites waiting for us outside. The Elites were fast, but we were faster. Speeding bullets burst from our guns, cutting down the elites before they could react. "They must have broken from the bridge," remarked Tai, his polished shotgun now smoking. "No, I don't think so." I stated, " That bridge door is fifty CM thick! They must have broken in at multiple areas." We all drew in a breath, as we knew that the Covenant must be in large numbers. "Come on, Let's go!" shouted the warthog driver, Alex. As we ran out towards the hangar, we met a few covenant squads, and eliminated them with only a minor injury in return.

As we reached the massive door that sealed the hangar, Frank remarked that it was unusual to find it locked, as normally it was bustling with crew entering and exiting. The logic of it all did not kick in until the open button was pressed, and the doors slowly went through the opening mechanics. I suddenly remembered the impact before the bridge, and I realised why there were no crewmen going in or out of the hangar. I saw the expression on my corporal's face as he peered into the rapidly opening gap between the two doors. I moved for a better view. All I could see was dead humans covered in plasma burns. And then I saw the Covenant. Hundreds of them crammed into a small hangar. Looking at us. All armed. It seemed to kick in to both of us at the same time. All weapons were raised and fired in a blink of an eyelid. A single volley was fired before we all ran for cover. Gregory Zhan swore as a bolt of plasma flew past his face, singing his perfectly combed hair. Through a small gap in the pillar I was hiding behind, I could see that the covenant were slowly advancing towards us, mostly Jackals and elites. "Frag out!" screamed Frank Jones, who had two grenades in his hands, and he threw them in the midst of a group of jackals, blowing them to hell.

In the middle of the firefight, I spotted our pelican. It seemed to be intact, so I ordered my squad to advance towards it. They bravely turned round and advanced towards our ship, dodging from cover to cover, letting off rounds as they did so. Louise reached the modified pelican first, and she ran inside towards the cockpit. There was a single elite who seemed to realise what we were doing. Letting off a long stream of plasma towards us, he bellowed a warning to his friends, who began a charge towards us. The last of us piled in the rear of the ship, and the engines fired up, lifting us up and out of the hangar.

"Sir! We did it!" Exclaimed Lucida, exhilarated that we had taken on so many covenant with no casualties. "We're not out of this yet," John stated, with a grimace. I followed its gaze, and saw some of the strange new covenant fighters. Ever since the fall of reach, these new craft were appearing. They are best described as jagged longsword, with a strange pattern on the top. My daze was shaken from me when the first stream of plasma hit the pelican, knocking me from my feet. "Positions!" I shouted, over the noise the pelican was making. My well-trained crew quickly jumped to their positions, manning the four guns that the pelican had with smooth efficiency. I took my position at the top of the pelican, above the cockpit where I could shout orders to the pilot. "Sir, they're going for a pass from 6 o clock." said Louise, the pilot. "Roger!" I replied. The fighters were in a tight delta formation, and they let forth an accurate burst of plasma from far outside the effective range of our gun. My sights went green when the ships were within range, and four double streams of bullets went speeding towards the covenant ships, knocking one of them into a vicious spin towards Dagon IV. "Five minutes" came the tense estimate from Christopher, the Co-pilot.

"They're coming round for another pass from 12 o clock." Remarked Gillian, who was manning the front gun. I touched the lever to turn round, and saw they were closer than I thought. They had already started sending a stream of plasma towards us, and the range was point blank. The pelican could not stand the stress of the plasma, and engines three and four failed, sending the pelican into a roll, which was corrected by the skilled hands of Louise. "we're going in!" she screamed. "Brace for impact!" came the more relaxed voice of the co pilot, while the whole ship began to vibrate. As we hit the ground, the whole world went black.



Death (part 3)
Date: 26 November 2003, 3:55 PM

The bright white light entered my eye. There was a shadow over me. The scorching sand made my back scream out in agony. There was a blurred image of a face in front of my eye. It all flooded back to me. The mission. The ship. The crash. I sat up with a jump, then, unable to support the sudden weight, my body collapsed onto the desert floor again.

A cool liquid splashed over my sunburnt face, and I opened my eyes.

" Sir, the crash..."

There was no need to finish that sentence. I raised my right hand weakly, signalling for him to stop. The limp body of Louise Fright was in a terrible state. She was obviously dead. Even from this distance, you could see the terrible injuries she had sustained in the crash. There was a large spike of metal protruding from the now destroyed pelican. It went right through the body of Louise. Blood still dripped from the fresh corpse. From what I heard from my crew, Frank Jones had also been killed in the crash.

"Is the warthog good?"

"Yeah."

The mood was sober and quiet. The entire crew buried the bodies, and then went to work excavating the warthog from the wreckage. When it was done, we all managed to fit on, all in complete silence.

The only noise was the steady roar of the engine. The wheels gripped on the loose sand and sent it flying from the rear of the vehicle. The sun was setting on the horizon, and the entire crew stared at the red orb, silently paying a tribute to the person who had guided us to this planet.

We reached the base at midnight, the spotlights easily picking us out from the bland desert floor. The twin doors swung open as we reached the entrance, and the marines inside broke away from a path. Warthog escorts then led us to the vehicle hangar, which was filled with more warthogs and a few Scorpions. We stopped at the large doors at the end and piled out.

We entered the command room to unwelcoming stares from the command crew there. The curious eyes of some of the younger crew scanned our party. The only stare that did not have a suspicious expression was the commander.

"Lieutenant!"

"Colonel!"

The stony expression of Colonel Johns broke into a smile as my eyes met his. We had been at marine college together, and we were best friends ever after. That was until about three years ago, when he just kept getting promoted, and it was harder and harder to keep contact.

"Where's Louise and Frank?" He asked, his sharp eyes scanning the group that had just entered.

Silence was all he received in return, and he got the message.

"Well...we've sorted out plans of the covenant ship, and there's a Pelican waiting for you in the aircraft hangar. Armoury is on the second floor, and vehicle hangar is on fourth." He said, with a glazed over look in his eyes.

" Where do we get food?" I enquired

"Seventh floor," he answered. Just then a man ran up behind him and whispered something into his ear. He stiffened and his eyes widened.

"Lieutenant. We need you to get down to third floor. A man has been found dead..."

He did not have time to finish, as a marine by the door suddenly flew through the air, landing in two pieces on the floor in front of us. From the position where the man was a few seconds ago came an unmistakable roar and a flare of plasma. A camouflaged covenant elite.

The elite's path was easy to see. The glowing sword of plasma flew through the bodies of crewmen left and right. Several lifeless corpses hit the floor before anyone could react, but when they did, such a lethal volley of bullets hit its unshielded body that there was not much left to examine when it was dead.

"Thermal" I said to my crew. We all reached behind our heads and brought forward our goggles. The room seemed clear, the crew who were left alive in a bright red, and the remaining parts of the elite a rapidly fading green.

"To the armoury!" I shouted, and my men sprinted out of the room and down the corridor. I heard gunshots, and followed them, stopping to lock the door to the command room, so that nobody could get in.

It was all a mess. Elite blood was splattered all over the walls, and there were human bodies scattered around the floor, blood dripping from their lifeless corpses. My team were stood still, watching the motionless elite bodies carefully through their thermal vision.

"Move out!" I shouted, and instantaneously all of my team stood up and sprinted forward. We ran to the door that showed the symbol for an armoury, and I typed in my personal code, and the door swished open.

There was movement inside. There was nothing there, yet I saw movement. I flipped down my thermal goggles, and I saw the source. The covenant elites were crowded around a body. A human body. We opened fire on them before they even had a chance to react. Their limp bodies sprawled on the floor. I headed towards the body that the elites were crowded around. It was bloated and misshapen. There were lumps running up and down its body. The now lifeless face still held an image of extreme pain. I turned away.

We took as much ammo as we could carry, and then went to the hangar. The hangar was deserted.

"This isn't good..." John Smith murmured.

"Sir...I know this isn't the time but...I have a really bad stomach ache." Alexander moaned

"You're damn right." I said.

"I choose that one." Christopher said. I followed his gaze, and I saw the one of the new Puffin dropships. It had two chainguns, and a missile rack underneath its stubby wings. The streamlined shape and special engine allowed it to travel for short distances underwater. It had room for up to fourteen passengers.

"We'll have that one." I muttered quietly.

A few minutes later, we blasted off from the deserted hangar into the blackness outside.


~#Authors note#~

Hi. I was just wondering if anybody wanted me to make cliffhangers at the end of the parts. Oh, If anybody asks about how tall I am ONE MORE TIME I will personally shoot them. Or something like that.

~#End of note#~

P.S. don't put P.S.'s on your comments. It pisses me off.





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