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Author Topic: Precious Cargo - Chapter 13 - Rocking and Rolling  (Read 1878 times)

Offline jokerman

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Precious Cargo - Chapter 13 - Rocking and Rolling
« on: November 27, 2009, 11:56:36 PM »
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The following story is copyrighted material and all rights belong solely to the author.  Any reproduction or republication of any or all of this publication without the explicit and expressed written consent from the author is strictly forbidden.
</boring stuff>



Chapter 13 - Rocking and Rolling


The hogs drove single file down the pass and onto the beach spaced tens of meters apart.  Turning to the right, the column followed the waterline for several kilometers.  The group then came to a large rock formation that reached down nearly to the edge of the water.  On the other side of the rocky divide, the beach opened up a few hundred meters inland and the Spartan saw the Forerunner installation on the far edge of the interior side.  The building was embedded in a cliff and had entrances on different levels.  The renegade former Covenant troops had chosen a site that was easy to defend for their new base.  

As they emerged around the rock formation, the General increased speed and continued driving parallel to the beach and installation.  All hogs followed suit accordingly causing an increase their spacing.  Grunts and Jackals jumped at the surprise appearance of the hogs and ran to their posts yelling and screeching.  “Hit ‘em hard!” the General yelled and each hog began to fire as they also came into view of the base.

As the General’s hog came near the middle of the beach in front of the base, the General turned sharply to the right and headed straight for the center of the installation.  The rest followed the lead hog’s tracks and stayed in single file, making a large “L” shape.  The Chain Hogs attacked the Grunts and Jackals that were on the beach and the Rockets launched to the enemy troops on the different levels of the cliff side.  A few Grunts ran to the Plasma Turrets and began to shoot.  A voice from the radio yelled, “We’re taking fire!”  “Take out the turrets!” came another voice.

The Elite was steadily firing the Chain Gun as the hogs sped up the beach.  The Spartan took aim with the Rocket Launcher and took out one of the Plasma Turrets.  As the line of hogs came close to the end of the open area near the base, the General yelled, “Beginning break…  Now!”  

Suddenly, the General’s hog turned to the right and the second hog turned left heading away in the opposite direction.  Each subsequent hog drove to the same spot and turned alternating right and left, following one of the two leaders.  Suddenly the single column was now splitting into two parts making a “T” formation close to the base.  The Blue Team followed the General going one way and the Red Team followed the Red Team leader in the other.

Within a few seconds, the General again yelled, “Now!” and veered at a near 45-degree angle to the right.  The Spartan saw the Red Team’s hogs turn the same to the left as each team continued to follow their leader.  Now the formation was almost like an umbrella, with a curved “T” at the top near the Forerunner installation and an “L” as a base or handle near the beach.  The Elite turned his gun to the back and continued to fire at the increasing number of enemy troops that were pouring out of the base.  

Mid way to the water, the General commanded, “Close it up!” and turned almost 90 degrees as they headed to the end of the remaining single column of hogs that were still turning away from the beach.  As the last hog in the procession turned to face the installation, the vehicles from the Red Team came almost straight for them.  Passing the Red Team’s hogs on the right, the Spartan saw that the two teams were making two concentric circles of hogs, one inside the other traveling in opposite directions.  The hogs nearer the compound were firing close while the hogs near the water aimed higher on the cliff side.

Each hog was within touching distance of their counterpart in the other circle.  The private and team chatter was carefully orchestrated and brief.  The Spartan noticed weapons and ammo were being tossed between the two teams’ hogs as they passed.

As the General’s hog began to turn away from the beach and the Spartan was again beginning to face the base, he looked through his Rocket Launcher’s site to the top of the cliff.  “Banshees about to launch!” he yelled just before he fired a rocket.  “Where are those Hornets!” the General demanded.

“We thought you’d never ask us to come out and play!” came a voice over the Spartan’s helmet.  Reloading the rocket launcher, the Spartan saw five Hornets flying in a ‘V’ formation coming from the other side of the cliff and toward the battle.  Their arrival surprised the enemy by coming from behind and on the opposite side of the action.  Firing weapons, the Hornets took out the Banshee as it was meters from the ground and joined the fight.  Concentrating on the upper levels of the cliff, the Hornets began to make short work of the enemy and quickly removed their capability of flight.

As the General’s hog was headed inland again, a voice over the comm said, “Brutes hitting the beach!”  Calling to the driver of the Red Team leader’s hog, the General said, “Get ready Captain.  Meet me at the 12 o’clock position.  On my mark we’ll Make the Gate.”  The Spartan then heard the female Captain say, “Red Team, speed check!  We have a date with the Blue Team at noon and we don’t want to be late!”

Approaching each other head on, the General’s and Captain’s hogs met at the top of the circle closest to the base.  “Mark!” the General yelled.  Suddenly, the two Hogs turned together and both aimed straight for the water, side by side.  Each subsequent hog followed their respective leader away from the base splitting the circle in two.  “Gate hogs, follow leaders speed and tighten it up”, the General commanded as the hogs splitting the circle closed their spacing and slowed down.

As they reached the water, the end of their followers sped past which opened a section at the bottom of the circle for the leaders.  “Gate hogs, resume attack speed and spacing!”, the General yelled as the way at the bottom of the circle cleared.

The two leaders drove several meters past the tracks the hogs had dug into the sand and then the General yelled, “Open it!”  The two leaders then turned right and left away from each other, Blue Team followed the General to the right and Red Team followed the Captain to the left.  The other hogs followed as the leaders took them almost twice as wide as the previous formation.

As the last of the hogs turned away from the base to zoom toward the water, the Brutes, Jackals, and Grunts chased after the retreating hogs and followed them toward the beach.  The General saw the chase and yelled, “Lock ‘em in!” as he again turned to the base.  Both lines of hogs moved away from the water and began to enclose on the advancing enemy, swallowing them into their trap.  Over a hundred of the enemy was enveloped in the much larger circle as the two columns closed the gate near the Forerunner installation.  

As the two lead hogs came together, the General yelled, “Captain!  Turn ‘em in three!”  The Captain of the Red Team then yelled, “Red Team… Abooouuut Face!”  All of the Red Team hogs spun 180 degrees as if they had turned on a dime and sped back the way they came.  All hogs were now going in a clockwise rotation as a single much bigger circle with the Captain of the Red Team now immediately in front of the General.  

The Spartan looked at the group of bewildered renegades caught in the middle of the hogs.  All of them began to huddle toward each other, not knowing where to run.  As the Spartan looked out of his side of the vehicle at the confused mass, the General said, “Blue Team and all passengers with side arms, keep out guests in check and any that attack, mow them down.  Leave them if they stop or surrender.  Red Team, keep concentrating on the base.  Don’t let any more out and support the Hornets.  Hornets, let your eye in the sky keep us covered and begin to clean up the area.”

Most of the huddled enemy stood watching helplessly as the hogs kept them corralled.  One or two Brutes charged the circle but were immediately cut to pieces by Chain Gun fire.  Most of the Grunts and Jackals covered their heads and held their collars, afraid that their heads would be blown off in a chain reaction if they moved and one of them got hit.

Coming around to the right side of the beach, the Elite jumped out of the gunner’s position and ran for a cave in the hillside.  The Spartan and General looked at each other.  “What is he up to?” the General demanded.  “I have no idea”, the Spartan answered.  Just then, Ghosts, Choppers, and Prowlers emerged from the opposite side of the base.  “We got company!” a voice yelled from the other side of the circle of hogs.  “Gun!” the General commanded his passenger.

Removing the safety restraints, the Spartan stepped on to the seat with his left foot and the top of the windshield with his right.  Waiting for the hog to go over a nearby bump, the Spartan then leapt to his left, doing a mid air cartwheel over the seat toward the back of the hog.  Upside down, the Spartan grabbed a handle of the gun with his left hand and pulled himself down.  As his feet hit the deck, he locked them in with a single move and turned the gun to the attacking vehicles.

The General yelled a command, “All passengers, drop and keep control of the penned enemy.  Gunners, concentrate on our new guests!  Gauss Hogs, break formation and light up those enemy vehicles!”  

Shots rang out and hit their targets en masse as each hog passed the newcomers.  The gun began to heat up under the Spartan as he pelted the passing enemy.  The Gauss Hogs went directly toward the Covenant vehicles and joisted with surgical accuracy, keeping them from holding position and taking out the passing hogs in the circle.  

As the Spartan’s hog again neared the base, the General yelled to his gunner, “Spartan, follow that Elite.  I want to know what he is doing!”  “Will do!” the Spartan replied.  The General continued, “Gunner needed at the two o’clock position!”  An armored figure near that part of the circle began to run and a female voice over the radio said, “Meelisa ready sir!  Hair up and dressed to kill!  See you at two!”

Approaching the cave that the Elite ran into, the Spartan jumped off the hog to the left.  Rolling out of the way of the approaching hogs from behind, the Spartan looked up to see the General’s new gunner swing into to the passenger seat and take the gun without slowing down.  

The Spartan quickly began sprinting to the cave as he heard the explosion of a Prowler and the celebratory yelling of his comrades.  Concerned about the intentions of the Elite and remembering the discussion aboard ship about ‘The Hunt’ and the Elite’s ‘Last Meal’, the Spartan increased his pace.


« Last Edit: November 28, 2009, 06:54:44 PM by jokerman »

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