[Halo] Onyx Wind

[Erik Vale]

"Gnomere, this is Onyx-3 we hear you loud and unclear. Gnomere, Onyx-1 can you two please try and clear that signal."

Gnomere also stops her driving protocols, trying to clear the signal. Argyle has to adjust his driving, but only slightly.

Spoiler

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Gnomere (Computer Use): (1d20+16)[31]
Argyle (Pilot):(1d20+6)[22]

[Erasmas]

Valen uses his suit's AI to try and establish a stronger connection to the Dawn Evader while he keeps an eye out on their surrounding area. Valen's AI seems to glitch, but luckily his efforts were aided by those of Gnomere and soon Valkyrie can be heard loud and clear. After being briefed of the turn of events on-world, the motherly AI is silent for a few seconds. She then replies:

"Six and Seven will be acquired at a later time. For now, we move on with the mission and then we get the rest of you boys out of there."

"Trust me, V, we won't be here one second..."

"Hold that thought, Captain! I'm detecting enemy movement just over the next hill from your location! Their trajectory will be intersecting yours on the other side of that rise... the scanners are picking up three targets, one of which is something big."

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Computer Use:
(1d20+4)[5]

[DoctorFaust]

"Damn. Shouldn't we, I dunno, slow down to try to get the drop on them or something? Or do they already have a visual on us Val? Either way, we should probably get ready for a fight," he says, putting actions to words as he pulls down his rifle and checks the sight.

[Erik Vale]

Suddenly noise starts comming from Argyle's end of the comms.
"Plans Agreeable."
"Tactically maybe."
"Phantom dropship with Banshee escort deemed most likely,John, slow down and veer right and keep your door gunner towards the hill. This unit will accelerate up the hill for a closer look and attempt to draw off any banshees. It is suggested the Guass riffle is charged and waiting for the Phantom, should one be in existance."
[Valen]"Are orders acceptable?"

Already, Argyle begins speeding and bringing up the expected Covenant formation to position himself.

Spoiler

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Driving Roll
Argyle: (1d20+6)[23]
Iaoch Help: ((1d20+6)[17]-10)/2
Gnomere Help: ((1d20+8)[18]-10)/2
Total: 30

Tactics shouldn't be neccesary, you can roll if needed.

[Erasmas]

"It is unclear as to whether they know you are there already or not... but I would assume that they have been sent to intercept, as they are making their way towards the road, north of your position."

You hear the hum of the magnets charging up inside of the Gauss cannon as Argyle spouts the very words.

"Way ahead of you, just get me a target."

The two Warthogs veer away from one another, breaking their single-file formation and moving away at a difference of nearly thirty degrees. When Arygle's Hog crests the hill... what he sees was not what he expected. Instead of the Covenant forces being in the air, they were hovering over the ground. The three purple shapes adjusted their path immediately - two Ghosts accompanying and much larger vehicle... a Wraith.

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Alright... it's that time again, gentlemen! Intiatives please!

[Erik Vale]

Immediately after clearing the hill (and the ground for a moment) Argyle starts swearving off the hill, and then down the side as if having reconsidered.

"****."
Everyone receiving a veiw from Argyle's camera (which happens to be everybody) knows why.
"Outrunning if feasible-"
"But not advisable, Keep going around to flank, I'll try and draw off the ghosts... Perhaps we can keep one as a scout vehicle.

Driving on, continuing down the side of the hill, he begins setting tac markers for best aproach (updating based on covenent reactions) and targets.

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Innitiative Roll
[roll0]

Tactics Roll
Gnomere: [roll1] (Covenent is Knowledge Complementry, so by your ruling, +1/2 of 8)
Argyle: ([roll2]-10)/2
Total

Driving Roll
Argyle: [roll3]
Gnomere: ([roll4]-10)/2
Iaoch([roll5]-10)/2
Total:

Iaoch will use Flare on the pilot of the ghost on the side of the guass hog's aproach.

[Erasmas]

The two warthogs crest the hill, becoming airborne for several seconds as the new situation dawned on all five of the members of the Spartan III group known as Onyx Wind. Calculations ran wild, servos and reflexes whirred in harmony to begin producing immediate reactions and adjustments. For a moment, things seemed to switch to slow motion, as if time itself seemed to reluctant and sluggish to catch up.

Valen, throws his weight to the left in order to spin his Gauss turret to his right and rises to his full height to bring down the barrel of the gun and points it directly at the Wraith tank, just below to plasma cannon's mount. The shot strikes slightly off its mark, but blue sparks fly from the purple tank nonetheless at almost the very moment that the thump from the Gauss cannon could be felt.

In the next instant, the Hog slammed down into the sandy ground, the deep treads of the vehicles' tires biting into the loose soil. It bounced with the impact as it recovered and then began cutting to the right into a flanking maneuver.

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• Valen's Attack:
  (1d20+12)[15] (Attack Roll - versus Wraith)
  (4d10)[15] (Damage - Gauss Cannon)
• Wraith Defense:
  (1d20+5)[20] (Pilot Check - to attempt to avoid, -2 because of Guass' velocity)
  (1d20-4)[0] (Defense Roll - versus Valen; Pending a bonus, based on above Pilot Check)

[Erasmas]

Argyle has Gnomere flare the driver of the second Ghost, an Elite in green on black Ranger-style armor. It seems to not work, however, perhaps because there was too much of the Warthog's frame in the way. Argyle himself continues to drive while calculating tactics based on previous knowledge and training in dealing with the Covenant. Instantly, every member of Onyx Wind receives slight adjustments and tweaks based upon his tactical advantage.

John attempts to avoid a soft spot in the sand, but fails to calculate for the extra weight of his two teammates onboard with him and puts the rear passenger-side tire right into it, spinning in place for what could prove to be critical moments before the other three tires compensate for the loss of traction and regain the forward momentum!

Wraith launches its blue plasma charge up into the air, arcing it in the direction of the Gauss Hog, as it moves into a "rear strafing" position in order to support the Ghosts. The lobbed attack misses by less than twenty meters, instantly cratering the sand and sending it and glass high into the air.

The second Ghost approaches the Gauss Hog from the side, concentrating his shot on the clearest target he has... Volsung! {Awaiting defense roll from Volsung}

The first Ghost slides into position behind the Chaingun Hog and begins assaulting Sammael. Two of its plasma blasts hit true, causing the sniper's shields to shimmer but does not deplete them entirely.

Sammael returns fire, hitting the Ghost with four out of his five rounds and dealing a lot of damage to the Ghost. The purple vehicle begins to smoke from beneath the right "wing" of its front.

Spoiler

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Covenant

• Ghost2:
  (1d20+5)[11] (Pilot check)
  (1d20+6)[23] (Will save - versus Gnomere's flare)
  (1d20+8)[15] (Attack roll - versus Volsung {if not flared})
  (4d4)[8]
• Wraith:
  (1d20+5)[9] (Pilot check)
  (1d2)[1] (1=Gauss; 2=Chaingun)
  (1d20+8)[14] (Attack roll - versus {random hog})
• Ghost1:
  (1d20+5)[12] (Pilot check)
  (1d20+8)[22] (Attack roll - versus Sammael)
  (1d20+2)[12] (Defense roll 1 - versus Sammael; pending bonus from Pilot check)
  (1d20+2)[10] (Defense roll 2 - versus Sammael; pending bonus from Pilot check)
  (1d20+2)[21] (Defense roll 3 - versus Sammael; pending bonus from Pilot check)
  (1d20+2)[13] (Defense roll 4 - versus Sammael; pending bonus from Pilot check)
  (1d20+2)[12] (Defense roll 5 - versus Sammael; pending bonus from Pilot check)
  
  Onyx Wind
• John:
  (1d20+17)[18] (Pilot check; +4 from Argyle's Tactics check)
• Sammael:
  (1d20+4)[6] (Defense roll - versus Ghost1; recieves a bonus of +1/2 normal benefit from Argyle's Pilot check)
  (1d20+12)[22] (Attack roll 1 - versus Ghost1)
  (4d4)[14]
  (1d20+10)[17] (Attack roll 2 - versus Ghost1)
  (4d4)[7]
  (1d20+8)[27] (Attack roll 3 - versus Ghost1)
  (4d4)[12]
  (1d20+6)[12] (Attack roll 4 - versus Ghost1)
  (4d4)[11]
  (1d20+4)[17] (Attack roll 5 - versus Ghost1)
  (4d4)[12]

[Erik Vale]

"Advisory: said Aim at the Pilots, not the Ghosts."
"Let them fire where they may."
"Initiating spin, Hold to the turret Samual, moving to assist."
"Hold close."

Argyle suddenly spins the verhicle, weapon in one hand, turning to open fire on the ghost.

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Shooting: (1d20+2)[19] (-8 Taken to shooting)
Iaoch flares the pilot of the ghost right in front of me.

Driving
Argyle: (1d20+2)[3] (-4 Taken)
Gnomere: ((1d20+8)[14]-10)/2
Iaoch: ((1d20+6)[11]-10)/2
Total: 6. I see myself spinning out, fliping, or accidentally crashing into the ghost.

[DoctorFaust]

Volsung lets out a grunt of air as the warthog lands heavily, the skidding as John regains control throwing off his aim. Whirling, he snarls "Keep the damn thing steady!", before turning back in time to see a Ghost bearing down on him, the front cannons already flashing as bursts of plasma rocket towards him. He jerks back just as the first of the bolts connect with the frame of the Warthog, impacting in a staccato pattern and burning holes in the door besides Volsung. He stands up in the seat as the Ghost passes, firing off three shots at the crack in the body in an attempt to kill the driver without damaging the vehicle.

[Erasmas]

The first of Volsung's needles shatters on the forward-facing hex-patterned armor of the Ghost, though his second and third find their mark. The Elite pilot wavered momentarily as his shields danced with a golden light, indicating that they were still present for the time being.

The secondary gunner, situated in the plasma turret with his upper half protruding from the Wraith, swiveled around on the Gauss Hog and opened fire. His barrage opens up, missing twice and hitting twice, however he suffers a critical misfire on his last shot and he has to begin switching out the plasma cell.

Valen trains in on this and targets the gunner this time, trying to eliminate the addition firepower until they could get a more vulnerable target on the large tank. His strike hits the Elite directly in the head, causing him to jerk about violently from the potency of the shot. He roars in anger as he recovers somewhat feebly, and regains his grasp on the gun.

Argyle slams on the brakes and cuts the wheel hard, spinning it into a skidding arc that opens up his side of the Warthog to the Ghost, allowing him and Gnomere both a clear line of sight to their enemy. As the Hog drifts sideways through the sand, sending up a fanning fountain of blue particles, Argyle extends his Brute Spiker out of the driver side opening and opens fire, hitting the pilot of the Ghost with four of his five shots. Four red hot, glowing metallic spikes embed themselves into the enemy. However, the Chaingun Hog's slide then causes its front passenger tire to catch a rock. The momentum of the upper part of the vehicle, plus the weight of its two passengers and the mounted turret, cause the Hog to roll! Sammael, his reactions razor-sharp, ducks out of the shoulder supports for the .50 cal and uses the pitch of the vehicle's turret deck to launch himself clear. He removes his sniper rifle from his back in mid-air and tucks and rolls when he lands, coming to a stop on one knee.

Luckily, Argyle likewise felt the maneuver going south and bailed at the same time as Sammael. He put his feet underneath him on the floorboard and reached up for the roll bar above his head, putting force into all three points of contact and launching himself skyward and free from the tumbling vehicle. Spinning vertical slightly while in the air, he tucks his legs up to allow the tire to pass under him without making contact. The Spartan likewise lands on one knee, his Spiker still in his hand.

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Covenant

• Wraith Gunner:
  (1d2)[1] (1=Gauss; 2=Chaingun)
  (1d20+6)[12] (Attack Roll 1 - versus {random hog}; -2 for distance)
  (4d4)[9]
  (1d20+6)[24] (Attack Roll 2 - versus {random hog}; -2 for distance)
  (4d4)[9]
  (1d20+6)[19] (Attack Roll 3 - versus {random hog}; -2 for distance)
  (4d4)[9]
  (1d20+6)[23] (Attack Roll 4 - versus {random hog}; -2 for distance)
  (4d4)[10]
  (1d20+6)[7] (Attack Roll 5 - versus {random hog}; -2 for distance)
  (4d4)[11]
  (1d20+1)[13] (Defense Roll - versus Valen; -1 for last Pilot check)
• Ghost1:
  (1d20+6)[21] (Will save - versus Gnomere's flare)
  (1d20+3)[16] (Defense Roll 1 - versus Argyle; +1 for last Pilot check)
  (1d20+3)[12] (Defense Roll 2 - versus Argyle; +1 for last Pilot check)
  (1d20+3)[6] (Defense Roll 3 - versus Argyle; +1 for last Pilot check)
  (1d20+3)[7] (Defense Roll 4 - versus Argyle; +1 for last Pilot check)
  (1d20+3)[10] (Defense Roll 5 - versus Argyle; +1 for last Pilot check)

Onyx Wind

• Valen:
  (1d20+12)[20] (Attack Roll - versus Wraith Gunner)
  (4d10)[32]

[DoctorFaust]

John puts the Warthog into a flat spin as the Ghost passes, jamming the handbrake down and furiously spinning the wheel. He gets the car running parallel to the Ghost that just flew past them and jams it back into drive, the wheels burning two strips of scorched earth into the landscape. He then floors the gas and takes off after the Ghost, turning from the wheel only to quip "That steady enough for you?"

[Erasmas]

The Wraith tank pivots slightly and lobs another shot in the direction of the Gauss. John sees it coming and calculates its trajectory, swerving just in time to avoid the thing and leaving yet another crater in the dusty ground. Valen and Volsung both felt the heatwave from the plasma impact wash over them.

The second Ghost also narrowly avoids the friendly fire from the tank and continues to lay into Volsung. Two of the plasma bolts make contact, popping the medic's shields.

The Elite piloting the initial Ghost slows as the Warthog flips and the moment both Spartan eject from the vehicle, he points his path towards Sammael and boosts. The sniper has no time to get to his feet and the purple vessel slams hard into his midsection, knocking the wind and most of the ability to respond out of him. The impact alone nearly finished him off, but Sammael had one last action to take. Gripping ahold of the front right wing with his left hand, the weight of the Spartan put more than a little drag on the Ghost, causing it to slow tremendously. The Elite leaned forward and attempted to smash the hand Sammael was using to hold on with. Instead, the sniper changed his grasp to the wrist of the unsuspecting split-jaw. He then realized what OW-013 already knew... that his armor had become entangled within the front of the Ghost and he could not go anywhere. The Special Ops-styled Elite, wearing Maroon and Gray armor, began to laugh in a low, gravelly voice...

"You should not have come here, human. It is good that the soil on this planet is loose, so that your friends will not have to toil in order to bury you beneath it."

"A Spartan... is never buried... by his friends... When a Spartan dies... he buries himself... among the rubble and the corpses... of his enemies."

Sammael leads the Elite's stare with a glinting shift of his own mirrored red visor. When the tall creature looks down, he sees why the Spartan has maintained such a smug attitude despite dying. There, tucked firmly against the plasma reactor of the Ghost, was a solitary UNSC fragmentation grenade.

The Ghost, the Elite, and Sammael are lost in the next instant; gone in a pink and purple ball of fire and plasma. When the smoke and explosion fade, there is little more than the crumpled ruin of all three, charred black and twisted.

Spoiler

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Covenant

• Wraith:
  (1d20+5)[7] (Pilot check)
  (1d20+8)[23] (Attack roll - versus Gauss Hog)
  (10d8)[44] (Damage, if hit... splash for half)
• Ghost2:
  (1d20+5)[20] (Pilot check)
  (1d20+8)[20] (Attack roll 1 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[8]
  (1d20+8)[13] (Attack roll 2 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[10]
  (1d20+8)[26] (Attack roll 3 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[11]
  (1d20+8)[22] (Attack roll 4 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[9]
  (1d20+8)[13] (Attack roll 5 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[9]
• Ghost1:
  (1d20+5)[6] (Pilot check)
  The bit with Sammael is more DM-BS... no rolls, still stream-lining here!

Onyx Wind

• Gauss Hog:
  (1d20+11)[30] (thanks to John, here's to hoping it's a miss!)

[DoctorFaust]

Volsung continues fires off a few more shots at the Ghost that John is chasing, letting out a whoop of joy as the last appears to fly home, disregarding his shields glowing a brilliant gold and then completely failing, with one last plasma bolt burning a scar into his chest plate.

Then Sammael explodes.

In less than a second, he has turned and started yelling out commands to both John, getting his attention by hitting his helmet and pointing towards the growing smoke cloud, and his AI unit. "John, I need you to get me over to them now! Doc, try to contact Acolyte and get it to check Sammael's status if it's still functioning. Run everything you say through my translator chip if you have to. [Secure Channel]Valkyrie, this is unit R-36 reporting. We have a possible Leonidas 2 contingency. Requesting tag for possible extraction and medical support.

[Erasmas]

Two of the needles previously embedded into the pilot of the remaining Ghost, pop, depleting the rest of his shields. Volsung's volley continues, hitting the Elite twice more. The medic relays his directive orders to John, who nods silently.

The Wraith's gunner seems to finally get the cell changed out in his plasma turret, sliding the glowing blue canister home with an audible whid-jzz (even from this distance) as the weapon comes back online.

Valen cries out at the explosion of Sammael and the initial Ghost. He then trains his Gauss cannon once more on the recovering turret gunner seated in the Wraith, charges the magnets, and fires. The steel slug rips through the air and through it's target. Without shields to prevent any of the damage, the bullet leaves behind a hole in the Elite gunner that a Marine could easily put their fist through.

Spoiler

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Covenant

• Wraith Gunner:
  (1d20+0)[12] (Defense Roll; -2 for last Pilot check)

Onyx Wind

• Valen:
  (1d20+12)[17] (Attack Roll - versus Wraith Gunner)
  (4d10)[32]

[Erik Vale]

For a moment, Argyle stood stock still. He was locked down as surely as if something had turned his suit off.

Then he turned to face the wraith, and another moment of panic comes to him just before the Gauss round slams through the Elite.
Thank god for the little things.
Staying away would do no good, and a ground charge would simply leave him with a similar fate to Sam.
Suddenly, he burst forward in a storm of speed, and leapt at the tank screaming with primal rage so loud that it could strike one deaf, if Gnomere didn't immediately turn off his speaker system, sending him silen, he was aiming for the hatch just above the pilot (Should it be completely out of reach, he will activate his jump pack to keep aloft).

((I will delete this if the Wraith is two far to land on within this round or early next.))
And when he lands, he slams his spiker down upon the hatch seeking to bash it down into the pilot.

Spoiler

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Jump towards the Wraith. Iaoch will also 'cast' Jump.
Argyle (1d20+28)[35]
Iaoch Adition: (1d20+4)[18]
Total: 39, If the Wraith is withing 69ft (Running Jump, So I think thats the distance, 39+Distance ran) I land it. Otherwise he will use his jet to stay aloft.

To hit roll if I need it to land where I want to (Using Ranged)
(1d20+10)[21]
Hitting the wraith with my spiker

To Hit: (1d20+9)[20]
Damage: (2d4+4)[7]

[Erasmas]

Argyle jets through the sky, narrowly avoiding a hastily attempted blast from the tank as he closed with the vessel. The Spartan bashes against the hatch to the Wraith, eventually pushing in the center of the metal plate enough to expose several edges of the thing. Now, it would take nothing for him to grab one of those and tear the whole damn thing off.

[DoctorFaust]

John reacts to Volsungs shouting in stunned silence, putting the warthog into another turn to send it towards the pile of smoking rubble that once was a Ghost. He recovers enough, around 5 seconds after the turn, to say "What the hell made that thing go up like that?"

[Erasmas]

As Argyle bashes on the hatch to the Wraith, the pilot points the cannon as low as he can and fires the cannon into the ground immediately in front of himself.

The last Ghost continues to lay into Volsung, the Elite trying desperately to take him down before the Spartan won the exchange.

Spoiler

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Covenant

• Wraith:
  (1d20+5)[22] (Pilot check)
  (10d8)[39] (Damage... splash for half)
• Ghost2:
  (1d20+5)[24] (Pilot check)
  (1d20+8)[16] (Attack roll 1 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[16]
  (1d20+8)[24] (Attack roll 2 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[8]
  (1d20+8)[22] (Attack roll 3 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[11]
  (1d20+8)[17] (Attack roll 4 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[10]
  (1d20+8)[20] (Attack roll 5 - versus Volsung)
  (4d4)[8]

[DoctorFaust]

Volsung crouches farther down into the cabin of the warthog as the distinctive sound of a plasma cannon being charged starts to build. He waits a few seconds, and not seeing any bolts of plasma going by, stands.

This turns out to be a bad move.

As he does so, bright blue bolts of deadly energy fill the air around him, three of them burning straight through his chest piece and out the other side.

A startled cough is broadcast to the rest of the squad as he falls, toppling out of the car and onto the dusty terrain.
"
****! Running diagnostic scan." comes a cry from the Doctor. "Oh gods, this does not look good. Three holes through his right pectoralis major and lung, he's going into shock, and the suit's shutting down around the wound. Someone, help!"
No…. go to….Sammael. Run protocol 1…1….7"
"Dammit, he blacked out. Flooding areas with biofoam and administering painkillers. Valen, we may have Leonidas 5."

[Erasmas]

Valen cursed as he saw Volsung fall from the Gauss Hog's passenger seat. This is all going wrong. It shouldn't be this way. This is all my fault. You led them into a deathtrap, Valen... you killed them all. The determination that played across his face could not be seen. The clench of his jaw tightening and the grinding of his teeth could not be seen. The bulging of the veins in his temples and the hairs on his body standing on end could not be seen. All that could be seen was the calm emotionless shell of Mjolnir armor pivoting to the remaining Ghost and firing the magnetically-powered turret at his command.

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Covenant

• Ghost2:
  (1d20+9)[12] (Defense Roll - versus Valen; +7 from last Pilot Check)

Onyx Wind

• Valen:
  (1d20+12)[17] (Attack Roll - versus Ghost2... c'mon baby!)
  (4d10)[32]

[Erik Vale]

Reaching down into his handywork a little hurried, Argyle rips of the cover of the pilots compartment, glaring down at the Wraiths pilot. He currently had the problem of no sheilds.

Wanting to cause as much pain as possible, Argyle ignored procedure and shield warnings, and reached down to punch the Elite while Iaoch electrified Argyles Gauntlets.

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(1d20+9)[11] (Punch)
(1d20+9)[18] (Shocking Grasp, +3 if pilots wearing a lot of metal. If I can only do one, use shocking grasp)
Fist Damage: (1d3+4)[6]
Shocking Grasp Damage. (1d6)[6]

[Erasmas]

Argyle tears away the purple plate like it was a sheaf of paper, tossing it aside. Looking up at him through the hole he just made was a very angry-looking split-jaw... on second thought, they were always angry-looking.

"Do your worst, filth! But know that when you die, that your unrighteous soul will suffer for eternity in the abyss of the unworthy! You will never..."

His rhetoric was cut short by O23's hand as it pummeled him across the face as a jolt of electricity bolted down the Spartan's arm and into the Elite.

Spoiler

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Wraith Pilot:
(1d20+2)[14] (Defense Roll - versus Argyle; 1/2 AC bonus {in vehicle}, no bonus from Pilot check {inter-vehicular combat})

[DoctorFaust]

The smell of cooked meat filling the cabin of the warthog was John's first clue that something was wrong.The cry of pain from Volsung as he fell was another big one.

He puts the warthog into a series of small turns in an attempt to shake off any tracking fire. The warthog straightens out in the final approach to where Sammael exploded, but John starts to swing around after he hears the Doctor asking for help."Like hell I'm not going back. Valen, grab hold of something, I'm pulling a bootlegger," he mutters, slamming the handbrake on, spinning the car back towards Volsung.

[Erasmas]

"You got it."

John pulls the Warthog into a 180-degree turn, the large wheels of the vehicle kicking sand high into the air. He rights the Gauss Hog, rapidly approaching where Volsung was lying upon the ground, not moving... plasma wisps still rising from him, reminiscent of a spirit leaving a corpse.

Meanwhile, the pilot of the Wraith abandoned his attempt at driving or firing with the vessel after Argyle's electrified punch. He shook his head to regain his surroundings and then reached a hand up in an attempt to make a strike of his own.

"Grrrr-yaaaa! Demon-magic! You are a non-believer and must perish before the eyes of our prophets!"

Spoiler

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Wraith Pilot:
(1d20+6)[13] (Attack Roll - versus Argyle)
(1d6+3)[4]

[DoctorFaust]

Volsung's back arches, stretching to the breaking point as he struggles to suck air into his lungs. As he struggles up into consciousness, the sound of coughing fills the airwaves momentarily before the Doctor mutes him. It takes a few more seconds, but eventually the airwaves crackle with the sound of his radio starting back up as his voice, weaker than ever, begins to broadcast.

"Anyone get the plate number of the Ghost that hit me?"

[Erasmas]

As John had spun the Hog around and headed back towards Volsung, Valen leapt out of the gunner turret and sprinted his way back over to Sammael.

Once he heard the medic's voice over the comms, V21 smiled despite himself and the situation.

"Welcome back, Five. Back on your feet, we have a patient for..."

At that moment, the team leader had arrived at the wreckage of the exploded Ghost.

"Stay that order, R36. No need. Valkyrie, Valkyrie... do you copy?"

"I copy you, Onyx 1. What is your sitrep?"

"We have Leonidas2 and Achilles5. Repeat, we have Leonidas2 and Achilles5."

There is a long pause of radio silence. Finally, Valkyrie responds, a digital waver to her voice.

"Roger that, Onyx Wind. Zeus is recommending planet-side evac."

"'Recommending' or 'ordering'?"

"Recommending."

Valen stops before responding, looking to his team. John jumping out of the Gauss Hog and moving to stand over Volsung, who was still laid out on his back. Argyle straddling the Wraith tank, pummeling the pilot, in the background. And then he turned his black visor down towards Sammael's charred Mjolnir armor, the smoke parting around the Spartan as he stood there like a steel statue.

"Onyx 1; do you copy? Should I engage planet-side evacuation"

Valen turns his attention back to the remaining members of Onyx Wind and broadcasts locally, only to you three; "How about it, Onyx. You wanna go home?"

[Erik Vale]

Argyle growls menacingly at the Elite in place of answering, and starts grabbing him. Slipery elite armour and strengthless blows due to the distance almost throw Argyle off, and then he grabs hold under the Elites under arms, in a position where it's legs can't grab hold of anything.
And the Elite finds itself hurled out of the Wriath, and rolled in front of it.

"Psalm 23,4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil"
Added to the last sights of the Elites life, would be a Sparten slowly walking towards him with a spiker.
"Run little Alien, For as true as you live, you have yet to see a sparten Get biblical."
These words Where for the elite only, but they bleeded into the unit radio as Gnomere responded to Onyx 1, keeping her own voice out of Argyles suit.
"Large Covenant pressence has been confirmed as well as a UNSC agressive population. Even the biggest idiots would have asked for help by now had they noticed, and the Covenent doesn't seem to be being quiet. Also, Onyx-3 has already expressed his desire to end the mission earlier... He is dealing with one last elite now, Threat level is minimal, Elite unarmed, but Argyle seems to want to enter in melle range to beat it to death."

[DoctorFaust]

Johns's Hog skids to a stop several yards from Volsung, absent its diver, since he jumped out long before the wheels stop rolling. Running at a dead sprint, John gets to Volsung in time to catch him as he sags back down to the ground. "Easy mate, you took a hell of a beating. I can carry you back to the car if you like."

"Not pain." grunts Volsung as John heaves him to his feet, staggering a bit before regaining his balance and starting to shamble towards the cab of the Warthog. "Just that I lost another one. Must be the worst medic in the whole damn army. I say we leave."

Don't go blaming anyone Vol. Sammael knew full well what he was doing before he pulled the pin." John lets out a little wince as Argyle's fist hits the elite again, but he continues holding up Volsung until they reach the car. "You were right about the weight of the suit though. But yeah, at this point, we got three KIA and one unfit to fight for a while, been jumped by covies twice, and found a staging ground damn near as big as the one on Reach that was abandoned. UNSC would have to be blind as a bat to miss that fact that the Covenant are gearing up for another attack. I say we take the better part of valor and go report to the up-and-up's."

[Erasmas]

"John, grab the Spartan Laser and paint us an LZ for the Dawn Evader. That spot over there looks good."

Valen bends down and picks up Sammael's remains, carrying him over to where he had indicated. As he does so, he broadcasts.

"Valkyrie, this is Onyx 1; requesting a dust-off at our current location. Coordinates will be marked presently."

"Roger that, Onyx Wind. Preparing for entrance into atmosphere and awaiting coordinates."

Meanwhile, the Elite that Argyle had thrown from the Wraith propped himself up on one elbow. He turned to the side and spat out bright indigo blood.

"You will not have the pleasure of seeing me run, human. Ours is the divine race; the chosen of the universe. Yours is but an obstacle meant to test our resolve and dedication. You are the insects to be crushed beneath the heel of our boots. Kill me; but do so knowing that the undoing of your race has already begun - your temple falls from within. Kill me, that I may ascend."