yellowthirteen | The Fourteenth Sortie [Action]

[He was just going to the store to get a few groceries. It wasn't far. Just around the corner. He would've been there and back in a few minutes, and he left during a lull. But when he got near the store, he found himself in another place entirely.

It looked a lot like Farbanti, the Erusian capital. He could easily tell this from where he arrived; near the district that had been completely sent underwater when the Ulysses asteroid fell. Unfortunately, he couldn't have arrived at a worse time. The sounds overhead were that of ISAF fighters, presumably including Mobius One, yet Thirteen wasn't able to see any of the aircraft above. Strange, but perhaps it was just ambient noise.

No, the more immediate threat came from the advancing ISAF soldiers on the ground... all of whom were hostile. They waste no time opening fire at Thirteen as he ducks around a corner. Armed with only his handgun, Thirteen is stuck in a familiar town. He had to find a way out of here, one that didn't involve him getting shot.

Anyone in the vicinity of the general store could be pulled into this simulation, which might make for some fine culture shock to those not used to a modern setting. It could be that they stumbled into this the same as he did... or it could be someone intentionally looking for danger. Either way, Thirteen could probably use some backup in escaping.]

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[The assault rifle is a welcome sight. He can't help but smile to himself for a brief instant as he grabs that rifle and the two magazines.

But he's quickly all business again as he takes aim with the rifle and returns fire back against the ISAF soldiers that are firing on Daisy's position.]

[Likewise, in the instances the Spartan has to get out of cover, she takes down the threats that aim against the Pilot. Sometimes intentionally exposing herself so the troopers pay more attention to her than to Litchi's friend.]

We've got to get out of here, Major! More will be coming!

[Thirteen squeezes off a three round burst followed by two semi-automatic shots at the soldiers that are advancing toward their position.]

Don't have to tell me on that one! This is my home turf, just gotta find the way out of this battle!

[Thirteen gestures down an alleyway nearby.]

We can take that alleyway to get to a different street!

Get there! I'll cover you!

[The moment she sees a fire team reload, she bolts towards them, smashing them with the sheer force of her armor, and finishing the last one with a kick.

She grabs the ammunition -they were going to need it-. And fires to distract the ISAF troopers before she follows the Major.]

[Thirteen doesn't think. He just moves as Daisy creates a distraction, into the alley, as fast as his legs will take him, until the alley comes to a T junction, where he checks both corners and then turns to the right and uses that corner to turn around and provide cover for Daisy as she follows.

...Of course, knowing the SPARTAN she'll have no trouble making it there faster than he did.]

[Once Yellow Thirteen is on the alley, providing covering fire, SPARTAN-023 fires a few shots before she runs back to the Major's position. She takes a few grenades from the soldiers she had downed.

A few bullets deflect upon hitting her metal plates. She decides to get out before they decide to use stronger weapons.]

Really missing explosive gear now.

[She reaches the Major's position and fires a few shots against a few pursuers, before standing ready to follow him.]

I hear you, Daisy.

[Thirteen signals for her to follow him again. The alleys will take them deeper inside the city for a few moments before they emerge in the waterfront district...

Here, about 25% of the city... is underwater. Skyscrapers stand out of the sea, which drowned an entire district. It's a haunting sight for Thirteen to look at, an injury that was seemingly unique to Farbanti. He hesitates for a moment when he sees it, but then waits for Daisy to catch up.]

[She follows the Major, her weapon above him. She remembers the dangers of Urban combat, so her muzzle keeps watch of rooftops, windows, and other high areas. There were too many places where they could be taken by surprise.

Though none of it compares to her reaction once she sees the submerged district. It's surreal.

Likewise, Daisy hesitates for an instant, before she continues following the Major, the cannon of her rifle checking for threats beside or behind them. If they got past this section, the water would slow them down.]

What just happened here?

...It happened years ago.

[He keeps pushing forward along the side of the waterfront, heading away from the center of the city.]

The Ulysses asteroid impact. Flooded a quarter of the city and devastated most of the area around it. ...This whole area had to be rebuilt.

[His tone is... dark. Grim. The incident in Farbanti alone killed tens of thousands. Wounded a lot more. And Daisy can probably imagine the horrors that were on the ground after it happened. And she might be able to guess Thirteen saw a lot of it first hand.]

[He was a survivor.

She had heard of asteroids impacting colonies, but this is akin to seeing a glassed planet. To endure through something like this, to see millions of lives end in one instant...

The Spartan follows the Major in silence. Whatever he remembered of this place, they would need it go get out safely, back to Litchi. Any more, and his morale could drop the more he remembered from that day.]

[Truth be told, he remembered that day almost every day. It was a bleak time. And the recovery from it was horrible for everyone. The Erusian attitude during the time was markedly depressed. There wasn't a lot of hope and a lot of people suffered, many in silence.

He coped how he could. The memories still haunt him, but they weighed less on his mind these days. Farbanti had been this way long enough for it to be... almost routine to him. So he pressed on along the side of the waterfront. He spared a glance between two skyscrapers in the water, though.

What Daisy might recognize as a Trident ballistic missile submarine was parked out between the skyscrapers in the water... it served as a temporary hiding place for the boomer sub. It was tough for ISAF aircraft to hit at that angle. The sub seemed inactive though... probably just part of the simulation's terrain.]

[No person ever forgets these things. The Chief herself had been under Paprika's watch for therapy, and she wished there were more people that could both accept these services and give them. But it's always things like these that resurface it in this place. Always an act of the Malnosso.

She takes note of the submarine and its' position. It made sense for a vessel like it to take place in a protected area, though she has only seen weapons work in the Battle Dome. Watching the towers, her caution taks place.]

We better move fast. Those towers could be sniper nests.

They are.

[He quickly answers, quickening his pace.]

They're ours.

[In this simulation, the Spartan remembered that they wouldn't be friendly.

She quickens her pace with that of the Major, and her weapon checks for threats in the buildings. If she didn't see the snipers or their bullets, she wouldn't hear them coming before it was too late.]

There has to be another alley.

The Fourteenth Sortie [Action]

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