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An Unngoy Life: Book II: Chapter 35: Sabotage and Assassinations
Posted By: CrazyGrunt<thomas-hoskins@comcast.net>
Date: 20 November 2005, 8:31 pm
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Unggoy Colony Alpha, Europa
Nugga walked along the streets of the Unggoy Colony Alpha, quite relaxed. Since the atmosphere was methane, Unggoy didn't need to wear their rebreathers. Nugga turned and walked into the hotel he had been staying in for R&R, feeling the sheer joy of shore leave. He headed straight to the hotel room where he and Lovu had been staying at.
Lightyears away in the Omega system, near the supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, the medical ship Eternal Life was orbiting Omega IV, the only planet fit for human habitation in the binary system. A young Unggoy security guard named Inku was making his rounds. The medical ship was two spheres connected by a single corridor big enough for a Lekgolo to walk through at full height. The larger of the two spheres was three miles in diameter, with a hangar large enough for a three Phantoms to fit inside it with plenty of space between the wingtips. The smaller of the spheres was the bridge, equipped with long-range scanners that could detect the least amount of life a lightyear away. The ship was staffed by a mixture of Unggoy, Huragok, Humans, and a handful of Sangheili.
As Inku rounded the corner, he noticed the fluorescent stains of blood on the walls of the corridor leading to the crew's quarters. Normally he wouldn't have paid any attention to the bloodstains, but the medics never used the crew's hallway as a shortcut to the emergency room. He followed the trail of blood into the crews quarter's. He looked inside.
Seven of the Eternal Life's personnel lay on the deck. Three of them were Huragok, who Inku realized were dead as soon as he saw them. All three were cut in half. The other four were Unggoy. Two of them lay on top of each other, both of their rebreathers ripped off there backs and Inku guessed that they had been lovers. Their bodies lay on top of one another in a primal position. The third Unggoy lay in two pieces, not counting its rebreather. The fourth Inku recognized as the ship's newest Comm officer,who lay propped up against one of the many doors in the darkened hallway, the head four feet away from Inku's foot. He stepped back, then dashed over to the intercom panel in the wall on his right.
"MEDICS! CREWS' QUARTERS NOW! HURRY!" Inku shouted into the microphone. The Sangheili on intercom duty relayed this message to the Medics, then to the Eternal Life's captain, who ordered the Comm officer to send a message to Earth requesting assistance. Unknown to the captain, something watched him with satisfaction as he gave the order.
Nugga twisted away from Lovu as the Holopad on their bedside table activated. How annoying, Nugga thought, just when I get a chance to be alone with Lovu for a few hours, somebody calls us. He reached over and hit the talk button. Then he rolled back to Lovu.
"Ahem," an annoyed voice said from the Holopad, so familiar that Nugga almost jumped out of bed with surprise. "I see you two have been having a good bit of R&R." It was the Pillar of Autumn II's AI, Cortana. "Unfortunately, the military has to cut short your instincts' progress and has ordered you to be at the spaceport at 1200 hours, Earthtime, sharp for the departure of the UWSC Phantom that came to pick you up. New mission, but I'm not allowed to tell you over an insecure line. Transmission terminated."
Nugga glanced over at the clock. It was 0903 hours Earthtime, so they had almost three hours before they had to leave. He pulled off the covers and got out of bed to begin reattaching his armor. Lovu did the same.
At 1150 hours, they were ready. The two of them waited at the terminal as the Phantom docked with the spaceport. When the Phantom's door opened, they hurried inside.
As the recently repaired Pillar of Autumn II traveled through Slipspace, 5th Platoon and the Imperial Unggoy Protectors were being briefed on their new mission.
"The medical ship Eternal Life is the only ship equipped with advanced medical equipment in Omega system." Cortana began. "Two days ago, one of the guards found five of it's personnel dead, and two seriously injured. Both point to the logical conclusion that there is an enemy presence on board."
"So what you're saying is that we have to find this dangerous stowaway and kill it?" Major Dalton asked. "Why not just send in a squad of marines?"
"Because two of the personnel found dead were behead and cut in half." Cortana replied. She disappeared as the ship reentered normal space.
A few minutes later, she reappeared. "Your transports are ready for departure. I advise you to use caution when searching the ship. Enemy is to be assumed heavily armed and extremely dangerous."
Cortana had gotten the second part of her warning correct. In the ventilation shafts of Eternal Life, three Terrorist Droids hid. Painted space-black and built close to the design of Grievous' body, their purpose was to inspire fear into the enemies of the Forerunner. Armed with laserblades, they were a dangerous force to fight head on.
The Terror Droids had orders to cause as much mayhem on the ship as possible. They waited for the arrival of enemy reinforcements after being informed by their master of the Pillar of Autumn II's arrival. If things went as planned, the Omega system would belong to their master in a matter of days.
Thomas stepped out of the Pelican, a shotgun propped up on his left shoulder. At the hangar entrance stood a Sangheili and a trio of Unggoy security guards. Shit, Thomas thought, why doesn' t the chief have to do this type of work? He knew the answer, but he didn't like it. He decided to go meet with the security chief while the Unggoy Protectors and the ODSTs were unloading the Pelican.
"Inku was the one who found their bodies." The Sangheili said, indicating Inku as one of the Unggoy with gesture of his hand. "It is most likely that he will be targeted next."
As if on cue, one of the Terror Droids burst through the hangar floor. However, it did not attack Inku. Instead, it charged the ODSTs that were still unloading the Pelican.
The ODSTs saw it coming and opened fire with a collection of Magnums, SMGs, and the Pelican's machinegun turret. The Magnums and the SMGs were ineffective against the Terror Droid's armor, but the machinegun turret tore through it like a knife through butter. The Terror Droid fell backwards and landed in a pile of fried electronics.
Krystal walked over to the newly established junk pile. She pointed her shotgun at the 'head' of the Terror Droid. Thomas could almost see the anger on her face.
KABLAM! The shotgun shell shattered the faceplate into millions of shards of unknown metal. Krystal shouldered her shotgun and bent down to clean the fragments off her boots.
There was a screech of metal as the Pelican slid across Eternal Life's hangar floor as it unexpectedly listed to one side. Thomas planted his feet squarely on the ground and tilted his body opposite the sudden slanting of the floor to keep himself balanced. Most of 5th Platoon just landed on their asses as they lost their balance. Krystal was one of them.
"What in the name of God was that?" She yelled at the ship's security chief. The Sangheili shrugged, apparently as bamboozled as Krystal was.
"All security officers," An Unggoy's voice shouted over the intercom. "Captain dead! Enemy on ship!"
"That can't be good." Thomas muttered.
"They'll be heading for the engine room next." The security chief said. "We must hurry."
"They may have already been there." Thomas muttered, then he motioned for 5th Platoon to follow him. "Tell the crew to get to the escape pods, then get aboard the Pelican." The Sangheili nodded, and hit the Comm, saying, "Attention all crew members of the Eternal Life. Abandon ship!"
In the Forerunner structure, Grievous sat upon the High Dark Lord's throne. The throne towered twenty-five feet high, and was painted space-black. It signified all that his cult had stood for. The cult's values; Greed, Envy, Lust, Despair, and Carnage were marked along the throne's peak.
"My Lord." IG-88 bowed, his cylinder-like legs bending to a ninety degree angle before the bow actually occurred. "Jango Fett has the Armageddon Flame, the supercarrier Bringer of Death and the Droid control ship Merciless Executioner ready to make the jump to the Omega system. Shall I give the signal?"
"Do it." Grievous nodded, and watched as the small invasion force jumped into Slipspace.
On the outskirts of the Quinrox Sound, the Ork Hulks Chaos and Mayhem and their attendant fleet of Kill Kroozers and Onslaught attack ships waited for the go signal from Ghazghkull's hidden base. Aboard the Mayhem, the Arch Maniac of Calverna stood in it's box shaped bridge. Like all Ork bridges, it was crammed with electronics and dirty as hell.
The bridge itself was located in the center of the Mayhem, as was the same design for the Chaos, which was identical to the Mayhem in every aspect of the word. The design was a precaution against concentrated fire at the usual location of a ship's bridge, the bow. The Arch Maniac had his Mekboyz attach the bow of the Triumph, the unlucky ship that was the first UWSC casualty of the Armageddon conflict, onto the bow of the Mayhem as a dummy bridge.
The ship itself was about the size of the Dictator, the Great Despot's personal flagship, but twice as powerful. The Arch Maniac had created a crude form of a *Particle Accelerator,* which the Arch Maniac had welded to the undersides of both the Chaos and the Mayhem. Attached to the sides of each ship were Plasma cannons, three per side. The hangars were filled with hundreds of Fighta Bomma in takeoff position.
A face appeared on the holopad in front of the Arch Maniac. It was one of Gahzghkull's communication officers. "Time for some conquest." It said, and the hologram vanished.
"Prepare to jump to Slipspace." He said to his Comm officer, "we leave in five."
He was right. Five minutes later, the Arch Maniac's fleet made the jump to the Omega system.
*Markisallo imagined the Particle Accelerator, I just used it differently*
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