Turn 3: Captured

[Mr. Death]

A handful of Strogg were bull rushing from the way they'd came, as Godchild soon noticed. He barely had time to bring up his blaster and watch the projectile connect with the leading squib's face.

"Our 6!" He shouted to the squad
He shot four more times into the chest of another one rushing at him, but it didn't seem to phase him. The Strogg batted him sideways, sending him through the air into the wall. He rolled over just in time to evade a massive foot to the skull. He shot four more times, dropping the monstrosity.

"I repeat! OUR SIX!!!" He looked at the injured FNG. He needed to be protected. The meds would make him groggy, luckily he had adrenaline to dull the grogginess.

[Shadow]

Hayek rolled from the corridor he had eliminated the 20 strogg soldiers from and charged the group that was attacking from behind, jump kicking the lead strogg and creating a domino effect through the ranks. He squeezed the trigger and attempted to kill them all before they could rise.

[Cartwright]

"Thanks Doc... I needed that." Krause said, his spirits a little more uplifted now that he knew he could get back into the fight.

The Marines aimed for the Strogg Brutes and fired. The combined fire was bringing the horde of enemies to their knees. Cheers of accomplishment could be heard. More Strogg Soldiers rounded the corner and more were shot to the ground. The Marines slowly advanced, Krause also contributing to the fight now.

The Marines eventually made it to the communications center and entered inside. To their horror, they saw the torso's of humans being used as power sources for the many computer systems inside. The heart and torso of what appeared to be an Earth-born dog was being used as a power source of the antennae's that relayed the communication signals. The butchery they saw shocked them.

Hayek merely pushed past the Marines and walked up the communications main computer hub and began typing in commands. He had used this before and knew how to work a Strogg communications console. He beamed a transmission to the Normandy requesting the immediate destruction of the Strogg Destroyer. It only took a mere seconds before a response had been sent.

Hell Hounds,

You have exactly ten minutes to get off that vessel before we blow it to carbon dust. Double time it off that ship and proceed with the mission as planned. Normandy, out.

Ten minutes... that was not exactly their most enjoyable timeframe of escape. Though, it was possible. The Marines had ten minutes to reach Hangar Bay Six, which thanks to Krause, was where they discovered the frigate to be located.

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[Mr. Death]

"Well fuck me sideways running boys" Elias laughed at the FNGS. One helluva first mission, though his had been worse. The torso's hadn't shocked him, he was used to that kind of shit.

"10 minutes aint a lotta time Hayek. . .We'll have to triple time this group if we're going to make it" He looked at Krause
"That un's gonna need some help soon. . .He's hurt, he probably won't be able to keep up with the squad on his own. . .Don't leave without us" He said, going to help Krause.

[Shadow]

Shadow took point cutting down what stood in their way and kept a steady pace for the others to follow, he was beginning to recall the ship he had eliminated on his own and wondered how he'd done it before... The gunfire brought him back from the strange dream-like state and he kept going. Near completely unscathed except for the torture he'd received earlier and running off of nothing but the will to survive...

[Cartwright]

The Marines eventually made it to the hangar. Three minutes were left on the clock. They needed to escape and fast. If they did not, they could kiss their hides fairwell. The Marines boarded the frigate, the lieutenant boarding last. The lieutenant and staff sergeant headed to the bridge and ship started up.

Two minutes...

The engines began to power-up. The roar could be heard and anyone near the engine rooms felt the ship shaking wildly. Those towards the bow felt nothing, only hearing the roar that audibly broke the cancerous silence that had befallen everyone.

One minute...

The ship began to arise. The pilots' hit the boost on the afterburners and the ship sped out of the hangar.

Thirty seconds...

They were almost out of the blast range. They just needed to move a little faster and they would escape. Just a little faster. The pilots' hit the afterburners to full throttle. The ship progressed in speed.

Ten seconds...

The frigate was out of the blast range and Space Station Armageddon was in sight and getting larger on the viewscreens. The sound of an explosion could be heard and the aft viewscreen showed the sight of a fire-engulfed metallic mess that had once been a ship. The Normandy's Phase Plasma Torpedoes had worked. The Marines cheered. Soon, they would have their mission accomplished and would receive some much deserved R&R.

<Actions>

[Shadow]

Hayek grinned then relaxed taking an unused chair but didn't loosen his vice-like grip on his gun. "Semper Fi..."

[Cartwright]

"Semper Fi, mate. Good job." The lieutenant said, patting Hayek on the back.

"You saved our arses out there, man."

[Mr. Death]

Godchild was in the chair next to him. He had begun to patch himself up.
"Helluva day, eh?" He laughed

"We escape from the jaws of death once more my friend" His one eye showed he was exhausted, but he would never let his comrades know that. He couldn't. He was their protector.

[catfiend]

Krause let a long sigh. Thank God it was over. His face showed a sign of relief and he seemed to have more self confidence. He probably showed over 15 fucking emotions through this entire mission, he wasn't going to let that happen again. Next time, he was going to be a hard ass, gun toting fucker that would kill anything that got in their way.

"To the Sergeant for saving all our asses from being buttfucked by Strogg!" Krause cheered.

[Shadow]

Hayek grinned, "Yeah, one more time... And to think we could be resting and relaxing on a beach right now... Instead we're still in a giant metal box on route to a bigger metal box... I better get a damn medal for that shit... And why didn't they take you for personal torture, lieutenant?" Hayek sounded a little paranoid but that wasn't too strange for him. "Thanks Krause, but I gotta save my family. No need to praise me for doin that."

[Mr. Death]

Godchild gave the FNG a hard cycloptic glare
"Sit your ass down, boot, there's nothing to celebrate about this" He said

"We lost a good man today. . .And none of this should've happened" His cool and calm reserve had gone, now he was getting pissed.

"We had a victory yes, but it shouldn't have had to come to this. Damn egg heads" He said, standing up and kicking his chair over. He'd won again. Dunn had died. He'd lost again. He began walking out. . .

[Cartwright]

"I dunno. Maybe you looked more appealin' to them!" The lieutenant said, laughing at his joke.

[Shadow]

"Hah... Maybe they remember me." He shrugged. "Elias get back in here and calm down. People die and Dunn was a great soldier but we have to keep moving and pushing through. Let's give him a moment of silence in his memory..."

[catfiend]

Krause's face showed that Godchild was right, who were they to celebrate the death of a soldier? "Godchild's right. . . We did lose Dunn."