Here's an early Christmas present -- a nice, long fun filled part of Memoirs.
:)
Part 4 - Whole world ablaze
I awoke to the smell of burning.
As
if a switch had been thrown, I threw off the coarse sheets provided by
the police department, and leapt out of the bed. I gave a yelp when I
saw smoke trailing down the stairs outside of my cell. Had some idiot
set the building on fire? Where the hell was the fire department?
Growing
worried, I grabbed the heavy steel bars of my cell and began to rattle
them. No good; the door was sturdy. Still, I beat on the bars loudly,
calling up the stairs.
"Hey! I'm still down here! Hey!" I
shouted at the top of my voice. No answer, and more and more smoke was
trailing down the stairs. Didn't most jails have a system where a fire
alarm would automatically open cells? Why wasn't this system working,
and better yet, where the hell was the ring of the fire alarm?
The
first slivers of smoke began to trail in my cell, and I grew worried.
To avoid breathing in the choking smog, I ripped off my shirt sleave
and tied it around my mouth.
"Help!" I cried, giving one last tremendous push on the bars. All that resulted was a louder rattle.
Was
Commissioner Jiles really leaving me to die down here just because I'd
insulted him before? I wouldn't have put it past him -- he could easily
claim that there had been no way for his men to get safely down to my
cell afterwards.
I looked around the small block I was trapped
in. The only other possible exit was a steel window embedded near the
top of the cell, and that was covered by a barrier of bars too. I was
stuck.
Suddenly, I heard a noise at the top of the stairs. Feet scurrying. Immediately, I renewed my attempts to draw attention.
"Down here! Help!" I screamed, the smoke was beginning to make my voice faint.
To my relief, I heard footsteps stagger down the stairs quickly. Then, standing at the doorway was commissioner Jiles.
Something
was wrong, I could tell that immediately. The commissioner's usually
stoic face was wide eyed in a look of shock, and his hands were moving
frantically behind his back.
"Jiles?" I asked uncertainly. The
commissioner turned to face me with a crazed look, mouth opening and
closing as if he was trying to speak. Then he toppled face first to the
floor, and I saw why.
Buried deep within the commissioner's back was a knife forged from plasma.
No. Not here. Not now,
was all I could think as I stared in fear at the lifeless corrupt
commissioner. A set of keys hung from his belt. The problem was that
his body lay several metres away. There was no way I'd be able to reach
that.
And then my worst fears were realised. More footsteps
trudged down the staircase outside my cell, but these were not the
light steps of a human wearing shoes. They were the heavy steps of
armoured hooves, affixed to alien legs.
The trio of Elites came into view. One was coloured a burning crimson, and the other two were garbed in blue armour.
The Covenant had found Charon VI! And they were attacking!
The crimson coloured Elite -- evidently a Major -- sniffed the room distastefully, before turning to the Minor on the right.
"Clear
the room of this putrid smog," the Major growled. There was something
familiar about his voice, but I couldn't place it. The Minor drew a
spherical device out, pressing a button. He then dropped the sphere to
the ground, where it began to pulsate.
For an irrational moment
I thought it was a grenade. Then I used logic -- why would the Elites
blow themselves up? Logic prevailed, for the sphere did not explode.
Instead, all the smoke in the room was drawn to it, like water in a
plug hole. The smoke disappeared inside the device.
Whilst I was
grateful the smoke was gone, it was less of a pro and more of a con.
For now, if the Elites happened to glance my way, they would see me
clearly.
And see me they did. As the trio began to move down the
corridor outside the cells, one stopped, sniffing the air. Then, his
eyes snapped straight to mine, murder burning dreadfully in his. His
companions followed his gaze, and saw what he was looking at.
"A
human?" one of the Minors questioned, coming up to the cell. I forced
myself not to look away -- I knew Elites admired bravery. Perhaps if I
did not baulk, they would kill me quickly, rather than torturing me
before hand.
"Trapped like a canary in a cage..." the second
Minor growled, running a large, alien hand across the bars of the jail
cell. Somehow, I found my voice.
"Surely you wouldn't be so
dishonourable as to kill me unarmed and defenceless in this cell?" I
questioned of them, the pitch of my voice rising as I finished the
sentence. The two Minors stared at each other.
"He is right,
although we could make an exception just this once," the one on the
right suggested. The other Minor nodded, and together they both drew
swords out, looking back incredulously at their Major.
"Do we have permission to end his life noble one?"
I backed away from the jail door, knowing that there would be no way to avoid the two burning swords in the end.
To my surprise, the Major shook his head, eyes burning into me with a familiar intensity.
"Leave," he commanded to two Minors, whose eyes widened, swords deactivating.
"I
beg your pardon Major?" the one on the left asked, disbelief clear in
his voice. The Major stood taller than the two, and stared down at them
angrily.
"Go! I will deal with this human myself, and then catch you up."
Oh, just great.
The
two Minors looked at each other for a few seconds -- they seemed close,
perhaps they were brothers, or even twins -- before leaving down the
corridor. The Elite Major followed their progress until he was certain
they had left through the door at the end. Then he turned to me, and to
my surprise he wore a smile.
"Well well human; it would seem
fate is not without a sense of humour," the Major said to me, regarding
me with interest. It was then I realised who this Elite was, and why he
seemed so familiar.
"Ras?" I inquired.
Ras had been an
Elite back at Harvest me and my squad had taken into custody, to help
us get alive through the building. Instead of killing him as the
marines we rendezvous with wished to do, we had instead ordered that he
be taken outside and freed in return for being cooperative. Back then
he had worn the golden armour of a zealot.
"It is indeed me.
You are lucky it is I who came across you...Farm-Boy is it?" Ras asked
of me. I shook my head, still slightly wary.
"No, it's Master Sergeant Archer now."
Ras chuckled, looking envious.
"Congratulations
on your promotion then. I was not so lucky. After the council learnt of
my failure to protect your Commerce building upon Harvest, I was beaten
and stripped of my rank. Still, I could be dead had it not been for
you, which would have been much worse."
I nodded, keeping a firm eye on the sword hilt at his side.
"So what now Ras? Will you kill me?"
Surprise crossed the Elite's face, and he shook his head strongly.
"Kill
you? Of course not, you spared my life years ago. It would take a far
greater cad than I to end yours now," Ras assured me. I let out a
breath I hadn't known I'd been holding. I then turned to the staircase,
and saw the orange glow of fire at the top.
"The building's on fire. You just gonna let me burn to death?"
A
look of indecision crossed the Major's face for a moment, before he
steeled his expression, drawing out an Energy Sword. I jumped back from
the door, thinking he was going to kill me. Instead, Ras sliced the
steel bars with the plasma protruding from the blade, which crumpled.
Like a hot knife through butter.
Ras then grabbed the bars, and
gave he heave, bending the near molten metal. Soon enough, a human
sized hole was affixed firmly in the centre of the cell door.
"Quite the opposite. Here, climb out."
Gingerly,
I edged my way towards the hole. Keeping an eye on Ras the entire time,
I slowly climbed through, and a moment later I was stood next to the
taller Elite. He smiled down at me.
"Thanks." It felt weird standing next to an Elite who was behaving benign towards me. He laughed.
"Think
nothing of it. Well, think something of it. For I have repaid the
favour I owed you and your squad human. The next time we meet, I shall
not be so kind. Now here, take one of this building's rifles."
Ras
passed me a Battle Rifle he drew out from his back. I stared at it in
surprise, noting with pleasure that it contained a full magazine.
"You want me to kill your forces in the city?" I asked Ras, more confident now I had a weapon. The Elite's look grew sombre.
"Do
I want you to kill them? Nay, of course not. But I am a firm believer
in fairness. If the Covenant soldiers in this city cannot outgun you,
then they deserve to die."
That was honestly brutal, but it made sense in a way. Still, I regarded Ras with suspicion.
"How do I know you won't follow me when I leave?" I demanded of him. His brow rose.
"Why would I do that?"
"I
don't know -- maybe to find my full squad. Maybe you want to take
revenge on us all for getting you demoted," I mused, keeping the rifle
aimed at Ras, who nodded slowly.
"A valid concern. But an unnecessary one. I have nothing but warm feelings for you and your friends."
"How can I know that for sure?"
"You
can't. Only trust me." Ras wore an uncertain look, as if he was
questioning his decision to free and spare me. I wrestled with my
worries for a while, before coming to a decision.
"I've got a better idea."
Before
Ras could react, I shot the spherical device lying on the floor next to
him. It exploded, and the smoke it had gathered in fired out in one
concentrated blast, engulfing Ras. He howled in frustration, unable to
see, and I shot him three times, intending to take out his energy
shields. They dropped, and I ran up to him, dealing the Elite a heavy
blow in the jaw.
Ras dropped to the floor, unconscious. Almost
immediately I felt bad about what I had done, and then, smacked myself
on the forehead when I realised one thing -- the building was still on
fire.
Could I leave the Elite there? It's what I should have done, I know. But I couldn't -- not after he had just saved me.
Frantically,
aware of the flames creeping down the staircase, I searched the
unconscious Elite Major. Eventually, I found what I was looking for.
Plasma grenades!
Dragging Ras' heavy body aside, I took one of
the grenades and set it by the wall inside a cell. The concrete was
thick, but hopefully the grenades would be able to blast through it.
They
did, and ripped apart several other cells too. I looked out into the
Charon VI sky with a gasp -- Covenant ships sailed above. Any UNSC
resistance on the planet had long been swiped away; and Charon VI was a
planet without much military support anyway.
Shaking free of my shock, I turned around to face Ras. The Elite would be heavy, but hopefully I'd be able to drag him out.
As
I began to attempt pulling Ras out by his shoulders, I knew it would be
futile to attempt. The Elite weighed a ton. Dark thoughts were creeping
into my mind about leaving him -- flames were drawing ever closer --
but I quickly dismissed such ideas.
Then I heard footsteps
outside. I turned around to see the outline of a human, staring at the
hole I had made. Then he stared at me, eyes growing wide.
"You!" he exclaimed, frozen with evident shock. I frowned in confusion for a few moments, before I took a close look.
A scar above his right eyebrow, dirty blonde, long hair, a rough beard. About 30 years old, maybe a bit older.
It
was one of the men who'd tried to mug me the other night; the one who'd
robbed my debit card. The police hadn't been able to find him.
"Small
world eh?" I growled, pointing my battle rifle at his chest. The mugger
began to perspire profoundly, his own firearm -- an M6C -- stuck
uselessly at his side.
"Listen, I'm sorry for what I did. Man's
gotta make a living somehow right? Please don't kill me," the mugger
begged, weeping openly. I made a noise of disgust.
"I'm not
going to kill you. But I need you to help me do something. Way I see
it, you owe me something," I told the mugger, who was blinking through
tears. He suddenly began shaking his head violently.
"Get stuffed, I am not fighting the Covenant with you!"
I laughed sharply, shaking my head.
"You
may have to do that anyway mate, if you want to get out of this city
alive. But that's not what I mean. See this Elite here?" I pointed to
Ras. If possible, the mugger's eyes grew wider.
"You knocked out an Elite by yourself? ***. You out of bullets or something? Want me to finish him off?"
One question after another. Jesus.
"Yes, no and no. I'm not out of bullets, so don't you get any funny ideas. No, I want you to help me drag him outside."
The mugger then nodded with comprehension.
"Ah, I see. You want me to help you toss him in the river? Might want to tie some bricks or something to his feet first."
This was one seriously twisted mind.
"For Christ's sake, I'm not killing him! I just want you to help me drag him outside, and then we'll walk away."
There was silence from the other man.
"What?" he finally questioned, flabbergasted. The flames were drawing ever closer to Ras' body.
"Just
do it!" I bellowed, shooting a single round just before his feet. The
mugger yelped in shock, before grimacing and moving up next to me. I
grabbed one of Ras' shoulders, and the mugger grabbed the other.
Together, we began to pull the heavy Elite out of the building, through
the hole I'd created.
Finally, the Elite was lying safely on
the river bank, still out cold. He'd stay like that for a few hours at
least. The mugger and I breathed deeply, both of us worn out. I looked
back at the police building, which was a burning wreck. So was the rest
of the city.
Skyscrapers were alight and crumbled, the flames in
the distance projecting colossal shadows of Covenant soldiers onto far
away buildings. A hazy substance hung in the air. I took a look at the
highway above the police building, hoping to God it was clear.
No
such luck. Wraiths glided along the highway with a hum, with Covenant
forces walking alongside them. Well, we certainly weren't going to be
able to use a vehicle to get around.
Worried we would be
spotted, I beckoned for the mugger to follow me into a cluster of
reeds. I'd already decided I would help him, regardless of his past
sins. I was a soldier, and when you boiled down to the core of it, he
was a civilian. I had to help him.
I noticed the mugger had his
hands firmly clasped together, eyes closed and mouth muttering
incomprehensible words. I stared at him.
"You're praying?" I asked the sandy haired man, who returned my gaze with slight embarrassment.
"I am." The mugger was rubbing the back of his heated neck awkwardly. I shook my head in disbelief.
"You know, that's kinda ironic. Doesn't one of the ten commandments say something along the lines of 'thou shalt not steal'?"
"I
don't want to be a criminal! You think I enjoy it? But a man's got to
eat. Got to stay warm in the winter. The UNSC doesn't give a *** about
the poor people in the border colonies," the mugger justified. My icy
gaze melted a little, and I sighed.
"Well, I'm more concerned
with staying alive right now. It looks like we're going to be bandied
together, unless you want to try your hand at surviving alone."
The
mugger cast a fearful look up at the Covenant on the highway, before
looking at the greater city in the distance. He shook his head.
"Please don't leave me," he begged of me. I smiled.
"Don't worry, I never leave a man behind. Can I be sure you won't try to pick my pocket every time I turn around?"
Shame
crept into the man's gaze once again, and he fished around in the deep
trench coat he wore, before drawing out a small object. My bank card.
The man passed it over.
"Figure you want this back," he mumbled. I snatched it out of his grubby hand.
"Thanks," I replied icily.
"Pin never worked none anyway. We're going to be all right ain't we?"
His
expression was a far cry from the one he had worn earlier in the night,
when he'd been in the process of mugging me with his friends.
"Just peachy," I assured. Something then struck me, "so what were you doing at the police station? Turning yourself in?"
"Err...no.
I saw the Covenant ships approach, and knew this was the only place
where I'd be able to find weapons. Only managed to grab a crappy pistol
before I saw some of those huge dinosaur aliens approaching. Scared me
senseless. I decided to steal away along the bank until I saw you and
your...friend." The man gave a meaningful look over at Ras, who was
breathing deeply. I scowled.
"He's not my friend! We've just...met before. Owed each other favours."
There was an awkward pause, and the mugger frowned.
"Right.
Name's Nathan, by the way." The man held out a grubby hand for me to
shake. My own hands weren't much cleaner. I grasped it, noting the
slippery sweat coating the skin. He was very nervous.
"Archer."
We both sighed simultaneously, resting our backs against the rocky bed. Nathan looked over at me.
"So what do we do now?"
I really had no idea. Still, I wasn't about to admit that to Nathan, and so I adopted a confident expression.
"Well,
from my experience, when the Covenant attack a planet, they'll land on
it for a while, deploying troops to search for something."
"Search for what?" Nathan interrupted rudely. I scowled, forcing myself to remain calm.
"I
have no bloody idea! Do I look like an Elite to you? Anyway, they'll
search for a while. Then they'll pull their troops back to their ships.
Finally--" I broke off, grimacing. The man was worried enough.
"Finally what?" Nathan demanded urgently, anxiety clear in his voice. I regarded him bleakly.
"The Covenant'll glass the planet. Heat it up so much that it turns into a big ball of glass. Uninhabitable and desolate."
Nathan's eyes grew wide, his breathing growing more rapid.
"Well can't you stop them?"
I laughed a bitter, mocking laugh. Then I shook my head wearily.
"You
need a full fleet to stop them. And the UNSC won't come. Not to one of
the border planets. Our only hope is to escape Charon VI on an evac
ship," I told Nathan, who cursed.
"And how do we go about that?"
I stood up, reloading the battle rifle in my hand.
"Well first thing's first, we're gonna link up with my squad, get some extra fire power."
"And
then?" Nathan pressed, also stood up now. I was silent for a few
moments, staring blankly at the running river, in which the reflection
of the burning city was shown.
"Then, good thief, we fight our
way through the hoards of Covenant between us and those ships. And we
get off this soon to be dead planet."
"This one has forgotten whether it's heatsink is over capacity. It wonders whether the criminal scum considers itself fortunate" ~ Blasto, the only Hanar Spectre.