human
Fire - Lacuna Coil
The last ten years had been, without a doubt, the most exhilarating in the history of man kind. It had taken them over a hundred years to go from the moon to Mars, and then nearly another fifty just to reach the edge of their own solar system. And then in 2148, everything had changed. They'd not only discovered the existence of another race, it had apparently been a far more advanced one than even themselves, and this same discovery had allowed them to unlock the Mass Relay hidden inside Charron, Pluto's moon. The galaxy had opened up for them, and humanity had gone forward with the same pioneering spirit that they had displayed since the dawn of their existence.
But even though the answer as to whether or not there was life out there in the galaxy had been answered, it was replaced by a thousand others. Where were the Protheans now? With the ruins they found dating back thousands upon thousands of years, it was obvious they hadn't returned for some time. Were they the only ones? And would the Protheans or any other race they encountered be friendly or hostile? It wasn't until 2157 that some of these questions were answered, though in a far less ideal way than most would want. The human race was under attack by an unknown alien race. They had attacked and destroyed a group of ships, with only one managing to escape to warn the Alliance. Retaliation was swift, but no one was nave enough to assume the threat was gone.
Sure enough, the aliens attacked again, and broke through the meager defense the Alliance had scrambled together as quickly as it could, and took the planet of Shanxi. This time, the Alliance was determined to stop this attack that seemed almost like an invasion in it's track, and sent out the Second Fleet under Admiral Kastanie Drescher. Among the Fleet was the ship the SSV Chatahoochie, which was an impressive vessel despite it's amusing name, captained by one Henry Chase. The Fleet was going to take back Shanxi, there was no question to it.
The space around Shanxi was abuzz with activity. Starships fired on one another and transports took down squadrons of marines to fight on the ground, and star fighters zipped about, engaged in spacial dog fighters. Among them was the fighter crew of the Chatahoochie, a ten man crew captained by Vincent Lawrence, called 'Hijack' by his team.
The youngest pilot, at 22, was the captain's own daughter, Artemis Chase, called 'Fire Bird' by her crew for her red hair and attitude, and 'Princess' by others, though none would dare say that to her face unless they were a masochist who liked getting their teeth broken. More than a few eye brows had been raised when Artemis had been transferred onto the ship captained by her father, but she'd worked hard to prove herself, and nobody could say that her father treated her more delicately than anyone else. In fact, he seemed harder on her than the rest of the ship's crew, but there was still suspicion and resentment from some of the crew who needed an excuse to dislike the pilot. She was good, the top of her class in flight school, and one of the best around at all, not that anyone told her that for fear of giving her already inflated ego even more hot air, but she seemed to know it all the same.
The squad wasn't engaging unless they had to though, in fact they were carving a path through the high orbit dog fighting, flying in a tight formation around a larger jet, a bomber carrying exactly the kind of cargo one would expect a bomber to carry. Breaking through the fight and into the atmosphere, Artemis chewed a piece of gum to help relieve the pressure of descending to the planet. Her ears popped repeatedly thanks to the gum she was chewing, and in her ears music played loudly, making the racket of the air rushing over her jet more of a dull roar by comparison. The music dimmed for a moment as Hijack came over the collective comms of the squad and their charge, Alright, target is only ten minutes away, we'll be there in no time. Begin descent.
They all kept their eyes pealed for any enemy aircraft, they were under orders not to engage except for in self defense, but none came to meet them. Artemis' screen lit up as in the distance, a black dot came into view on the ground. The UI targeted it for her, and began to read out all the information it had on it. Target in sight, the bomber's pilot came on, Dropping in 5-4-3-
The transmission was interrupted for Artemis as her jet's VI came to life, Targeting detected, she was informed by that annoyingly calm, proper female voice. It had always annoyed her how damn stuck up VI's sounded. She'd program the thing to say something more like 'oh shit some one is about to shoot at you' if she could get away with it. I got an eye on me, Artemis told her squad, barrel rolling out of formation to try and shake off whatever was trying to get a lock on her.
She hadn't even pulled out of the maneuver when she felt her jet jerk around her, shaking violently and a glance to her right showed her that half her wing was missing, a thick black plume of smoke pouring from the 'wound' as she spiraled out of control. Artemis knew from the ground it would look like a black streamer twirling from her fighter. Right wing's gone, her voice was surprisingly calm, but she was chewing on her gum like a horse chomping at the bit, Can't maintain altitude.
Turn on your locator, Hijack told her, sounding just as calm, We'll send a shuttle for you ASAP.
You better, I hate sand, Artemis answered as she pressed a few buttons on her terminal that activated the locator in her seat. Ditching now, see you in a bit, she reached overhead and pulled the lever to activate the ejection process, the glass canopy of her fighter popping fry and flying off, the cabin filling with a rushed torrent of wind. One last button was pushed and with a loud pop andhissshe was ejected out of the falling jet, her parachute activating and letting her fall lazily towards the brown, barren landscape.
She watched her fighter spiral and swerve until it finally hit the baked sand with a tremendous bang and rending of metal and a plume of smoke, while Artemis drifting downward. As she got about half way down she released the seat that she had been strapped into and that held her locator, freeing her to brace and roll as she hit the ground with a grunt and a plume of sand and dust.
gpt
"All wars have first blood...its stains the books of history and our minds forever. First blood is forever, no cover, no cloth and no amount of rain will get rid of it. Only time will fade it from our memories." Anonymous
War is many things to many people. It is the sin of existence to further one species from another. To survive it is necessary to gain resources. To prosper is where war is at its darkest; and is an inevitability that cannot be escaped. Thus the concept of total war stems from; when one is presented with an enemy you cannot hesitate. Swift action must be taken or as swiftly it can take your life. The first thing a Turian is taught in boot camp is to overwhelm your enemy. Total war means superiority on all fronts that the enemy is forced to accept your terms. The Hierarchy wanted to make that known, especially when you rain down orbital debris upon your enemy. A choice that darkened the mind of humans...but to a Turian it was simply the best military choice to prevent casualties on the Turian front.
It was supposed to be simple, retake Shanxi, secure the relay and colonize the alien species. Turian's had never been faced with the human spirit and they were paying for it dearly. The posters, the propaganda and the patriotism...he saw the signs right in front of him. There were more humans in the galaxy somewhere and they would be angry. It was already enough problems getting food and supplies; but now at gates of the sky two galactic powers fought for superiority. It was now the Turian's using guerrilla tactics to keep fighting and moving...now they were losing ground. How did our pride lead us to this...
All was peaceful along the dunes and the crags jutting out of the sand. Until a platoon of armored figures were running for nearest cover they could slide behind. The creatures stood over six feet tall but their armor signified a collective, the 26th armiger. The armors were wrapped in shades of sand with black wraps. The soft glow of lights in the armor were covered to prevent exposure. Ten of them began moving in fluid motion, a set of engineers began putting turrets along the extending crags. The turrets with spider like legs quickly attached with a sticky substance then the legs drilled into the substance for stability. Each soldier began did what they could before everyone's comms rang with the deep voice of the current commanding officer. "On my mark...3...2...1..." Each soldier double checked his weapon and dug in waiting for the onslaught.
"Mark!" There was no time to think, no time to register there was simply time to act. The object was to reach the Modrus Compound in one piece. Camrun Adrailus, Sergeant of the 26th Armiger Legion, was doing all he could to make that happen. Holding his Phaeston rifle he fired in six shot bursts. The ferocity of the human counter offensive was something he imagined, but nothing like this. His eyes were a stronger shade of blue as the HUD on his chest assessed the situation. Anti infantry weapons moved up and artillery were being applied miles away to force them back now. The last squad, Zulk squad, started slowly moving back with Camrun. Not one back was turned as the soldier's that dug in began opening fire. The night once again lit up as Phaeston fire rang out with follow up rifleman picking targets. Camrun was the last one to find cover as enemy bullets flew past him. As the enemy fire almost overwhelmed his shields, the back of his shoulders and legs burst with concentrated jets. His body rolled backwards and landed behind an outcrop of rock.
It was the first time he got to sit down and think for a moment. His black face paint was was speckled and scratch. His HUD display began to show his enemy was slowly losing interest. The Turians lost a lot of ground today and and it made him clench his fist. Before his mind could be burdened any further he concentrated and spoke through his communicator. "Sitrep!" The automated reports came in first then the following from his direct reports. The voice of his squad mated followed suite.
"Sarge we're losing them but we've been hit hard. We lost contact with Cota Squad thirty minutes ago." The rest was all being thrown at him rapidly. They were losing the fight in the sky as communication began to thin. All the data showed him what they needed to know...they were losing. Somehow in the chaos though he managed to find clarity. Camrun spoke with courage, putting the fear deep inside; there would be time for fear later. "Priority is one is don't get shot, priority two we need shelter." He sent coordinates to his squads. It was a hollowed out cave system built into a hill side. Underground and safe from arial bombardment; it could give them the time they need to recuperate
Camrun and his platoon didn't have much time as the sky began to howl unnaturally. The sound of roaring jets and altitude decreasing on a vehicle. No squadrons were reporting in the area. By all means his unit had been lead into a trap. The world suddenly became quiet as he stared at his death with no fear. Didn't even close his eyes as he slowly stood up. By chance, AA guns had found the ship and provided them salvation. The rest of the Turian platoon continued to unload weapons and hold the line. The distraction of a bomber claimed the life of three more of the platoon. The spray of blue blood went against his armor and it brought the fire in him back.
"All units move to my coordinates, Zulk Squad on me." The squad found their way to Camrun. They all look exhausted doing their best to hide it; they had been on the run now for what felt like days. "Well brothers it seemed that the spirit of the fate decided to smile at us. We don't get the honorable death today; but that bomber may still be alive and compromise our position. We need a confirmed death, subdue if able; the human could be useful." One of Camrun's men spoke up suddenly.
"We should just put em down. Prisoners just a liability waiting to happen." Camrun was quick to stare him down; his response was as sharp.
"The only liability I see is my sharpshooter not following my orders. Did they forget to teach you chain of command?" The soldier shook his head. "Good, because I hate having my time be wasted. Move out." The four soldiers began to move east of the platoon towards the crashed ship. As Camrun walked though he was soon met with the aftermath of the encounter. The sands were covered in the thick blue tar like blood of his people. Shrapnel littered the sand as did the remains of spent thermal clips. There was no time to get the bodies now; there would be a time for prayer later. Camrun for now focused on his objective seeing the cloud of black smoke up ahead. He pushed back his exhaustion a little longer...just a little further...
Camrun eyes became slightly brighter, a slight effect of the cybernetics in his eyes. Feeding him direct data from his HUD. The display of his world gave him access to necessities. The world held a soft glow of green as the ocular adjustments made the world zoom in. The team moved relentlessly in the unforgiving sands, it was no walk in the park. The Armiger legion made quick work of the terrain with matching boosters just Camrun's. Soon enough though they were moving every so slowly approaching the wreckage from the distance. Their training served them well as the exposure was tougher to manage. With what they had they took into two teams and moved around the perimeter hoping to pin them in.
Camrun and his squad mate ducked behind crag from the sand. Ever so softly he spoke into his comms. His eyes only revealed the glow of the human moving. The outline gave him only few clues to work with. Each one was served well. Camrun could make out the detail of a uniformed soldier. Not as tall but it was still hard to tell from the distance. A soft whisper in the comms came through from the other team. It took them a bit of time to hone in directly not wanting to expose their position or advantage.
"One contact is all I'm seeing. No other in range bio signatures." Camrun steadied his breath as he mulled over the whole scenario. The possibility of failure and success danced until pure will focused on the mission. "On my mark..." He spoke and prepared himself to move in on scene with weapons drawn.
From the other side a rifle scope exposed more then Camrun's zoom. The Sharpshooter, he saw the frame something seemed off. Muting his comms he softly spoke "I don't know about this one. Seems like nothing but trouble." He focused the zoom again keeping his shot ready. Meanwhile Camrun and his men were ready at the last soft whisper through comm. "Mark." Camrun popped over the embankment softly sliding down the sand.
His voice would ring heavy with the authoritative tone and the unique sound only a Turian could make. Camrun did not know if she would be able to understand but if they were a soldier they would soon learn with enough guns on her. "Human...we have you surrounded. Put your hands behind your head and get down on your knees. You have ten seconds to comply..." The options were set on the table for the human soldier.
human
Damone - Out Here All Night
Artemis just lay sprawled on her back for a moment in the hard packed sand, staring up at the pale blue sky where she could see distant flashes and streaks through the atmosphere as the orbital battles raged on. She would much rather be up there, in the action, than stuck down here, grounded, her wings clipped, but what could she do? Certainly not just lay here. So she sighed and sat up, pulling off her helmet, her red hair mostly back in a pony tail but with the process of pulling off her helmet it was left a bit disheveled. She let down her hair and then put it back up, not particularly wanting her hair in her face right now, and got to her feet, putting her helmet on the hook on her belt.
That out of the way she looked around a bit, seeing the black column of smoke to her west, turning to look the way she had come, from the base to her east, getting her bearings. To the north just a ways was a long ridge of jagged sandstone rocks sticking out of the ground like broken bones through skin, the closest thing to shelter around here. Artemis sighed, already beginning to sweat in the blasted sun, but still had one last thing to do before she could find some shade to settle in. The seat she had been ejected in lay not too far away, so she walked over and turned it over so it's back was facing up, unzipping the back to reveal that it was almost more of a compartment than an actual seat.
Inside were provisions; a flare gun, a fire arm, some MRE's and a canteen of water, as well as a few other items to complete her survival gear. Last but not least though was her locator, she pulled it out, the device was just big enough for her not to be able to close her hand around it, and doubled as a walkie talkie radio, broadcasting her signal but also able to pick up radio chatter on the right frequency, so she could hear if some one was close enough to be putting out for her. The red light was supposed to be blinking, indicating it was broadcasting her signal, but it wasn't. Every so often it flickered, but for the most part, it was dark. That made Artemis scowl, muttering insults and threats at the thing under her breath as she shook it and slapped it against her palm, about the extent of her electronic expertise.
She sighed, and put it in her pocket to mess with later, hopefully her squad had marked the coordinates of where her fighter had gone down. Either way, she had to get out of the open, so she strapped her pistol to her thigh and pulled on the backpack that the back of the seat converted into with her rations and started walking towards the outcropping of sand stone rocks that were nearby. Artemis stopped short though when some one shouted at her and she looked up to see a turian, quickly followed by other turians, all of whom were armed, coming out of cover with their weapons trained on her.
Her sharp green eyes blinked and while she had no idea exactly what that turian was saying, his speech sounding to her like just a bunch of growls and clicks, she got the idea. The signal for 'hands up' was apparently universal. So that's what Artemis did, raising her hands quickly, but she didn't go to her knees, not catching that part of his command. Alright now, no need to go acting hasty right? she asked, trying to sound cordial. Then a faint sound reached her ears, and she realized it was her helmet's comm. She wasn't sure who was talking to her or what they were saying but she knew it was some one from her squad, they'd probably tried to get her on her locator and when they couldn't, were trying her helmet instead.
Artemis tried to think of some way to get it back on, but she suspected she'd probably get shot if she tried. She just stood there for a moment, thinking, but she didn't have to do anything it seemed as the dull roar of fighter engines reached her and she realized her squad was coming back. She glanced up just in time to see them flying in attack formation before she took advantage of the distraction and snatched her pistol off her thigh, firing a shot almost blindly at the turian who had spoken before rolling quickly to her left behind a boulder just big enough for her to take cover behind.
She jammed her helmet back on and caught Hijack speaking, -providing cover fire, copy!
I copy! Artemis told her squad quickly, I'm alright! Light 'em up! She barely had the words out of her mouth before the air was filled with the snarling whistle of her squads fighters shooting down on the turians.
gpt
Camrun held his weapon with intensity, now that he was closer he could see what he was dealing with. That fire red hair, he had never seen anything like it before. Such a strange evolution for a creature; perhaps it was for distraction. The irony would fall upon him soon enough. There was indeed a language barrier so he let the ten seconds slide for now. She seemed far younger then the others he had met; however he could not say much he didn't know but he was more then likely close to her age if not a year or two older. Slowly he took another step forward he tried to vocalize the words. "Sl...Slowly..." It was difficult to get his vocal chords to curve the right way. Her voice was soft and though he did not quite understand her her tone told him a different tale. She was hiding something but it would be too late as his eyes fell upon the helmet with a beeping and signal sound of some kind.
The whole squad became quite familiar though as Vernez suddenly saw the incoming bird. "Incoming fighter! Get to cover South East." Vernez activated his amp and suddenly a shimmer of energy allowed him to go invisible. His new target now had to be the armor they were dealing with. The three ground units including Camrun now had to recover as each one put their jets to use. However instead of finding a single cover they moved constantly bursting from spot to spot. One of the soldier as he found new cover activated his amp. A sudden build of heat gathered on his right arm and he flung the bolt of fire at the armor in the air. The engineer Hulrus kept his cover for now as the action caused him to take a round in his shoulder. The bullet went through, a small blessing left his lips. Vernez would attempt to coordinate with Hulrus take a shot at one of the engines as the firebolt connected. For Hulrus and Vernez to make this shot it was easier said then done but that never stopped them before.
Camrun being the closest had to take the brunt of the machine gun fire. His shield was soon compromised and to make matters worst his Phaeston rifle took hits making the weapon useless. He was forced to burst past Artemis and to her left quickly rolling over some of the plane debris. He was lucky enough not to get hit by the aircraft. One of Artemis bullets graze the side of his head though cutting into the exoskeleton and now the black face paint and blue of his blood began to mix. He began to seethe in anger but he remembered he had men to lead. "This is Zulk Squad, lock onto my coordinates. Enemy aircraft has us pinned down, I repeat request assistance. As he spoke he pulled out a Carnifax Hand Cannon from his belt and began to fire the powerful rounds at Artemis trying to give himself some cover.
"Sergeant, all air craft tied in operations, we have to keep the skies clear." The comms came from the nearby headquarters.
"Give me some AA cover, we won't last long if more come for me." Camrun couldn't help but wonder, there was response to get her was so fast. The Alliance had ships to spare, it made the situation all the more desperate for him. "Sergeant ETA on AA support will be five minutes." He knew they didn't have that time, he only had one chance. If he could subdue the human and use her as leverage he might be able to get that air support off them. Camrun made a gamble and his amp began to pulse there was no heat to come from his armor, infact a light frost seemed to build up on his arm. Once his shields returned he boosted over the cover several meters in the air and threw down a cold sphere at Artemis. The bolt of energy seem to go right for her. If it missed Camrun would still try to rush her.
human
Artemis flinched as one of the turians returned fire on her as she hid behind the boulder, not bothering to pop back out and fire again. Her squad would take of them before she could, and it would be stupid to expose herself in any way right now. She just had to keep her head down and stay out of the way. It was a very different experience being on the receiving end of those guns, well, not completely on the receiving end, but not being the one firing them, and not in the relative safety of her fighter's cock pit. Flying a fighter wasn't very safe really, here on the ground if you got shot it would hurt like hell and might kill you, but flying, if your fighter got shot or even you did, you were basically fucked, especially if you're in space.
That was part of the game though, and why most pilots were adrenaline junkies and slightly insane. You almost never met a meek or cautious pilot. They were almost all loud and gregarious with a lust for adventure and pushing their limits. Artemis was no different from this, but she had no desire to get shot so she stayed in cover, holding onto her pistol in case she needed it. She almost didn't notice the turian's attack though until a strange shadow fell over her. Artemis looked up, the visor of her helmet thankfully having some sun-blocking qualities to it so she wasn't just instantly blinded, to see the turian she had shot at jumping right over her.
She turned quickly and raised her pistol, ready to shoot, but that sphere of ice was hurtling right at her. Before she could react, it hit home, and Artemis stumbled back with a yelp, starting to fall, but froze, literally, mid stumble. The ice spread over her jump suit and her helmet, encasing her, preventing her from moving at all. She tried to struggle but she couldn't even more her limbs, the only part of her she could move was her head instead her helmet, but with her helmet frozen in place, even that was extremely limited. Artemis started to panic, trying to see the turian, an impossible task with her limited mobility and only the window of her visor to see out of. Artemis was sure she was about to die, that he was going to kill her.
Hijack! she gasped, I think I'm done! This fuck has mefrozen! I can't run!
gpt
Camrun had made contact, his prey had now become frozen in place though it would only be a few seconds before it would give way it would be all the time he needed. Finding his footing again he prepared the his jump jets for a boost forward. He made a quick dash towards the red haired woman, his timing ever so carefully calculated. As he got his max running speed his pressed down on the thrusters; as he did so he pulled back his arms making room for the energy tech blades to come out of his gauntlet. For a moment he seemed like an angel of death with his cold eyes suddenly becoming alive. He knew he was going for the kill and all the thrill in his blood told him to take it. Camrun began to yell at the top of his lungs as he closed the gap. Until a noise broke his concentration.
Hijack heard Artemis loud and clear, he wasn't about to let it end like this. Putting a sudden stop to the ships momentum he let the back of the ship give the twist he needed as he rained hellfire down on the Turian soldiers. A sliding of mechanism and openings suddenly revealed a volley of mini missiles that spiraled out towards the Vernaz and his spotter. All Vernaz could do was roll and fall to the next plateau, his body launched by the explosion. He made a rough landing on his side feeling a snap in his shoulder. Vernaz eye only twitched and began moving again as fast as he could. A moment of weakness could mean his life or worst.
All the while Hulrus had began working through a holographic keyboard display on his amp. This was going to be a one sided fight if he didn't thing of something. He ran with the idea before thinking it through. Overheat coding and encryptions began to enter the CPU of Hijack's ship; the timing could not have been worst as another volley of missiles left the ship. With the heat giving way it made maneuvering all the more difficult and his targeting reticule fell in the general area of Camrun and Artemis. The missiles were not about precise accuracy, a targeting laser guided their course.
Camrun nearly had given in to the rage inside of him ready to stab both of the tech blades into Artemis. However seeing the incoming volley it would get him killed, the choice should have been easy redirect. His mind went to the human frozen about to be killed by friendly fire. The strange juxtaposition of Camrun's kill and a horrible fate danced in his mind. There was no time for thinking like this he would get them both killed. As he stared at the fire haired woman the rage suddenly faded, no one deserved to die like that. He pushed the jet boosters as hard as they would as he spun past the first few.
Just before he made contact into Camrun the blades faded and he simply grabbed this human woman. One of the missiles landed right where the human and turian causing Camrun to go into a spiral as his shields could only take so much. Camrun's eyes went wide as he felt something solid go into his back by passing the armor. For the time he could barely register it past the shell shock. It was a rough landing for the two of them as they rolled like a barrel coming to a stop past a dune of sand. As they finally slowed Camrun had to let go as he felt the heat in his arms and legs begin to burn. Artemis was released and she saw the alien face to face now; he was shell shocked alright like he just got a punch in the jaw and was still recovering.
"Fire Bird come in do you read me? I've lost sight, I repeat I've lost sight." Though her helmet took some damage the comms were still working if barely. Camrun was took focused on the pain all over his body. The counter measures in his suit kicked in the jets on his arms and legs detached leaving a trail of searing smoke. Their was an odor of burned flesh and a metallic smell of blood in the air. A trail of blue blood left from the shrapnel wound in his back began to pool as Camrun didn't move immediately. The human and turian both now doubt shared a ringing in their ears from the explosion.
In that strange desperation, a laugh began leaving Camrun. Perhaps a bit delirious from the mini concussion, he was looking right at her helmet...he knew he forgot something today.
human
She could hear the turian who had frozen her roaring, coming right at her, and the pilot tried to struggle free from the restricting hold of the ice encasing her. Artemis knew he was going to kill her, though with the angle she had frozen in, she couldn't actually see him, but she didn't need to to know what it sounded like when a predator was going for the kill. She couldn't free herself though and her green eyes shut tight, bracing for impact, for the end. This was certainly not how she imagined she would die, she had always thought that if she didn't die in her fighter, she'd make it a pretty good age, she had never thought she'd be killed on the ground by an alien.
Then all hell broke loose, and finally she could feel the ice beginning to crack, she was able to move her arm at last, panting heavily from her struggle to free herself. She finally fell over, just as the missiles began to fall around them. Artemis tried to get up but she was still mostly encased in ice, and she realized that now she was more likely to be killed by her own side. Hijack stop! Your missiles are hitting too close! I repeat, friendly fire is not how I want to die! she snarled over her comm, but they were already loosed, she knew he couldn't just take them back.
Artemis became aware of the turians rapid approach, her eyes going wide as she thought once again that he was going to kill her, but instead she felt him grab her, a large portion of the ice breaking off of her, and they went tumbling. She found herself right against the turian, staring at him through the visor of her helmet. Artemis had never seen a turian this close before, and if it weren't for the extremely distracting ringing in her ears she might have found him a bit fascinating, that and the very dangerous and deadly situation she was in really didn't lend to the best time to study her enemy in such a way.
She became aware of Hijack's voice in her ears, though he sounded muffled with how her ears were ringing. Artemis rolled away from the turian a bit, she'd ended up on top of him so she just rolled off, ending up on her back, though she didn't move any further than that. I'm alright, she told her squad captain, you guys don't have the fuel to keep this up and one of them has me, just head back to the Chattahoochee. Over. About then the turian started... well she wasn't sure what he was doing, it took her a moment to realize that he waslaughing. It was probably one of the strangest things she'd ever heard.
There was a pause and she knew Hijack was being stubborn, but then he spoke, Sorry Fire Bird, we're heading back then. Try not to get yourself killed with that smart mouth of yours. Over.
No promises, over and out, Artemis breathed, sitting up finally and pulling her helmet off, looking over at the turian. He looked pretty banged up.
gpt
The Turian began to stir as his training began to conflict with his shocked state. Forcing his body to push itself, the more clarity he found also brought pain. A groan attempted to force itself out. Camrun pushed his weakness away as best he could, but he was still young. Malnourished, no sleep and continued patch ups were taking its toll. Slowly he rose to a knee, trying to gain his bearings until his eyes found the human. A ferocity suddenly returned and his groan became a growl. There was such a strange mix of anger towards himself and these humans. Camrun should have just let her die...but he knew he was lying to himself saying he had the grit to kill her. She did not deserve death yet, fate had let her slip through it would seem. The Turian thought himself ready for any engagement, but this was a little tricky and not his department.
As he stared for a moment he then realize the sound of the aircraft was fading away. No more missiles and no more gun fire, before anything else he had a job to do. "SITREP!" Hulrus still surprised by the result of his doing cleared his voice and spoke up. "The new meat is unconscious, but he'll be fine. Varnez is coming my way he took a hard fall. We need to move soon Sergeant, were in no shape for a fire fight."
The Turian was glad to hear that his squad made it. Zulk squad lives to tell the tale. "Copy, detaining prisoner, hold your position be ready to move in ten minutes." Did she send it away? Why would she do that? It was the the sound thing tactically, but he still understood the shame in giving up. The way her eyes burned she was meant to go down swinging. He'd seen that look enough times in his life to recognize it. Something he imagined many a time for himself.
There was a slight pause as Hulrus realized that the human was still alive. He did not question Camrun, they had gotten this far together and it meant something to Hulrus. "Copy that Sergeant." If it hadn't been sent away one of his men may have ended up dead. It rubbed him the wrong way but he was grateful.
Camrun was still breathing heavy, mostly in anger from the searing pain of his arms and legs being burned. He raised his right arm and a flicker of energy brought the circular holographic display. He then looked to her then back to his device...it became apparent of his frustration. His finger began to type along the holographic patterns appearing in characters Artemis would likely not understand. Camrun had been surpised before that is for sure. "Damn...stupid...blown up by missles..." The sounds his vocal chords were like metallic chirps vibrating rapidly through slowling air. Half of the frequencies her ears would not be able to ever hear without assistance. Then with struggle he forced himself to say. "Huu...man" A one sided conversation as he began talk faster with fervor like he was in an argument.
The literal translation was not so elegant as his omni tool spoke in Turian. "Sorry please choose the language you wish to translate." Camrun once again tried to say the word. It chirped back at him and his he then yelled at his tool. "Human...is that right?" This went on for another thirty seconds as one of his eyes twitched ready to just grab her and drag her. Luckily he finally figured it out as the device began making a variety of sounds. "Skje...MOI...TEV...test...test...test." From strange alien voices to now resembling a robotic human male. Camrun spoke deliberately to the device trying to think of the simplest phrases. Knowing how newborn their understanding of human language was, he failed to realize what ground he was breaking by doing this. "You understand?" The robotic voice found the means to communicate.
Camrun looked her in the eyes as he spoke deliberately, perhaps too exaggerated. "Understand me you can?" As he spoke the plating on mandibles twitched and his eyes stared with intensity. "Understand...you want to live...don't be foolish....understand?" The words he truly spoke were a bit more cryptic, probably best he she didn't hear that. "Hurt? Hurt?" As the translator helped him he could not help but began but to try to understand the human anatomy. No protective coverings on the skin. No spines, the finger nails didn't look like they could do much harm. That hair, he couldn't understand why it kept gaining his attention. The only time he saw hair was on animals. Truly it was the most unique aspect of this race.
The Turian peered at her inquisitively and took a deep breath. This followed with quick breaths through his nose. He smelled blood and followed the scent to catch a glimpse of the wound on his back. "Ahh Vrek!" Without missing a beat the program attempted to translate speaking in Turian
"Unknown matching translation, please try again." To which Camrun without thinking he spoke back, spinning his head towards the omni tool "Shut up!"
The device found a crude human equivalent. "Eyes up sky, quiet!" The inflections of in the words in no way matched. Camrun then shook his head to that last part then tapped the pause on the program.
human
Artemis wasn't exactly sure why she wasn't dead, she was sure that turian was going to kill her, so why had he saved her instead? So far, turians didn't seem as prone to taking prisoners as humanity was. They did of course, but 'live and let live' didn't seem to be their general policy. Yet here she was, sitting in the sand next to this turian, a bit battered and exhausted, but alive. Artemis had always thought that she would probably die at some point of her service, though not on the ground, she always imagined herself getting her fighter shot up and dying in a blaze of glory. Dying on the ground seemed so... ordinary. So she was glad that she might have another chance at dying the way she wanted. If she made it through her service alive, then she'd have to adjust her plans, but until then, the sky was where she wanted to die.
He finally seemed to come out of the dazed state of pain he'd been in, speaking to himself, though she figured out after a moment he was likely speaking to the rest of his team. Then he was tapping at some glowing thing on his arm, that drew Artemis' attention pretty sharply, the young woman watching with a mixture of curiosity and apprehension. He had saved her, but she clearly didn't think that that made him necessarily trustworthy. Then he was chattering away again, his language sounding like a bunch of metallic chirps, clicks, and growls to her. Artemis just watched, her brows drawn down, leaning away from him a little, not sure what in the world he was doing.
He seemed to be getting a bit upset and the pilot started to scoot away from him, not trusting the very intense look in his eyes, then finally as he spoke, another voice joined in, that same sort of calm, robotic voice like VI's used. It took her a moment to realize that he was speaking and the device on his arm was trying to translate, the key word being 'try'. Still, she got the idea, so Artemis nodded when he asked her if she understood, the arrangement of that sentence making him sound like Yoda. Ah, yeah, I understand, she answered dubiously, eyeing him suspiciously, then he basically told her not to do anything stupid if she wanted to live, which drew a sigh from Artemis, Yeah yeah, I get it, now can you please stop staring at me like you want to rip my face off?
Then he asked if she was hurt, and set to looking her over, making the pilot frown at him, I'm fine, just tired, she had no idea how much of what she was saying was coming through. Clearly the turians had gotten some understanding of their language from the prisoners they had, but it had only been a few days and his translations were shoddy at best so obviously they hadn't mastered it yet. Then things went weird again and he seemed to give up for the time being, Artemis shaking her head as she struggled to her feet.
gpt
Camrun's omnitool picked up her next few words picking up some of the meanings, her face told him more then the words. His face softened slightly as he closed his eyes for a moment feeling the pain in his back now. She spoke of being tired and his eyes slowly opened he took a pained breath slowly. He forgotten the last time he had eaten, hopefully the compound had some reserves of food left. He looked over her items on her not seeing weapons. Most of it he did not know what it was. He spoke again in his strange language, the fire in his voice was not as strong this time. "You don't know what tired is." He looked at his surroundings for a moment and the fire fight still happening in the distance. The sky still filled with chaos from the battle over head. For a moment he simply looked lost. Perhaps it was the blood loss but their was a glaring truth in his face. Help was not coming any time soon, but why...why were his men left to the slaughter like this. Where were their reinforcements? Something was no right about this, Turian's believed in overwhelming force, for the last few days though Zulk squad had been using guerrilla ambush tactics. Using every last resource to hold back the Alliance advance.
There were many things Camrun had been told over this fight. Contradiction after contradiction was staring at him in the face. There were many ideas in the mind of this Turian. The glaring one hit him like a ton of bricks, possibly allowing him to save the lives of many of his men. A prisoner would give them a bartering chip, he knew of other humans at the compound. The more prisoners they had it would at least give them room to maneuver. The glory of this battle was but a mirage to him now; the meaningless nature of this battle ever apparent. He lacked the energy to be as angry as he felt; but that didn't stop him soon getting up on his feet. The alien had made a decision and he soon pulled out his Carnifex Hand Cannon. The weapon held a caliber of a .45 magnum but the weapon looked as if should be held with two hands like an SMG. Camrun didn't pull a weapon yet just watched with a half glazed look. He spoke quickly and the interpreter provided assistance.
"Follow me...you and I will speak soon." Though exhausted he still was not going to turn his back on her. He watched her carefully as he lead her back to the other Turians in his squad. Vernaz was getting help from Hulrus, popping the aliens shoulder back into place. Vernaz's spotter was finally waking up, a Turian wearing a white and grey suit with yellow lights along the spine. Melkar had been a back up spotter for Vernaz, but he was one of the best emergency medics Camrun had seen on the field. The Turian medic held an elegant array of facial tattoo markings. When he saw Camrun he got up and pulled his omni tool creating a holographic projection of Camrun. A series of lights in the shape of a grid went over Camrun's body. A flashing red dot appeared on the inside of the right torso the hologram.
Camrun's translator was still in affect picking some of the conversation between him and Melkar. "Internal bleeding in lungs, must apply suction now. Won't make it without." The armiger soldier nodded and looked to Hulrus. The engineer without second thought began watching the human woman. The engineer didn't need to to much, a spider like contraption jumped off Hulrus pointing a small fire arm at Artemis. The only thing Hulrus had to do was pat her down for weapons. The only thing Hulrus was trained to recognize was the radio, unknowing of the locator beacon. "Sudden movements ill advised." The turret spoke at her with a chuckle from Hulrus. Camrun's armor began to open in the back, it revealed his powerful frame with more of those strange plates. A good portion of his back was covered in that thick blood. The shrapnel had fragmented with the collision of the shield and his armor. Several shards were still in his back, but the primary shard was several inches into his back. Camrun took deep breaths preparing himself for something it looked like.
Melkar checked his equipment and pulled a metallic cylinder covered in a disposable tube. Popping the cap of the safety seal, Melkar patted Camrun on the back twice before a liquid sprayed from a compartment of the medic's wrist. The sound of a sizzle could be heard, Camrun barely flinched. It was simply the warning shot for what was about to happen. Before the treatment could be applied, Camrun began to speak. "Trade the pain for life, I offer to you spirits. Let me fight once more. Hold death back." Melkar then quickly apply the cylinder into the wound. Camrun muffled a scream, gripping his fist but he kept standing. The metallic cylinder turned into sections, sizing itself to the wound; its purpose became clear. The a temporary vacuum using Camrun's breathing began to slowly pushed the blood out of his lungs. The soldier looked as if he was starting to choke for a moment before he took a breath once again. Melkar put the finishing touches quickly. The soldier's armor began to reassemble and click into place.
"All good. Need surgery." Melkar's crude translations came through the holographic device once more. Camrun then turned to face his men. Zulk squad all turned their heads to Artemis in unison. Then the men looked to Camrun and his explanation was as simple as the translations. "Must stay alive." Vernaz had to hold his tongue but soon enough the men all nodded in unison. The unit all began to move ahead the spider mech keeping watch on Artemis. Camrun stayed in the back for now keeping first watch over Artemis. He chose to keep her alive, his responsibility now. Keeping the hand cannon in his grasp he began walking with Artemis. It would be a hike to the compound but it was not far now. Though wounded, he was not slowed down much. Annoyed from the burns of his overheated burst jets, otherwise he just glanced over at Artemis from time to time. Crudely he spoke into his translator.
"Do have name?" The robotic voice spoke once again for Camrun.