1:36 A.M. Palamok_Tunnels
Unknown_Designation: Sergeant Major Briggs Stiller

It’s pitch black, and Stiller’s fast-roping deep into a crevasse, too fast in fact, too much for his own good, but its the only way hes going to survive. Its better on the rope, than back up there. He can feel the burning sensation against his palms, the slight fear of his rope breaking at any point, and the constant lightheaded feeling: It seemed like it would never stop, until the impact of the ground made his back teeth chatter. He’s the first down, and he could hear the thuds of his teammates hit the ground seconds later. The first thing he does is switch on his night-vision, and he can clearly see his squad A.O.K. He checks his TeamBio status, and all are checked for green, their vitals skyrocketing, but still green. They’re all a little exhilirated from the last encounter.
Suddenly, Stiller’s HUD flashes, a checkpoint designating a thick limestone wall. Its the only thing standing between him and Shadow Squad, and he didn’t have the time to calculate the charge needed to blow it. Shane and Julie took positions directly on the sides of the wall, while Damon and Colin take their flanking positions. The whole team flashes green status lights, when Stiller immediately sticks the charge into the wall, but its easier said than done. The wall’s covered in what Stiller hopes is brown mud.

Seraph gets on the comlink, while Stiller frantically tries sticking the charge against the wall. "You having fun Panther?" Seraph shot out, his MA5K Carbine flushing most of his voice.
"Can’t rush an artist..."
"You want to tell that to the Drones?"
"Patience, Shadow." Come on, come on! Stick the wall, will you?"Almost got it!"
"A lot of drones..."
"I hear you, Shadow."
"In your own time Panther. No pressure, none at all!"
"Clear!"
Stiller makes way next to Shane and flattens himself against the cavern walls, and before he knew it, theres a white light and flying dust and rocks hitting his armor for a second. The next Stiller saw, the doors were blown inward somehow, ripped apart, billowing alot of smoke.

"Shadow Squad - Clear to enter. Take take take." Stiller barks into the comlink, while Shane and July prepare to fire.
"I thought you’d never ask." Vern was the first to fall in, blind firing his assault rifle at the ongoing hordes of drones, followed by Smokes who seems to be missing a weapon. Tanner starts in third, but stops suddenly and runs back out, until he’s seen dragging Sheila inside the cave, part of her leg armor was missing, and it was bleeding. Seraph was the last to come in, and he pauses at the entrance spewing his MA5K Carbine into a clump of Drones trying to make it through the narrow corridor. He drops an empty clip and hides behind cover, slapping in a fresh clip.
"Throw an incendiary!" Seraph yells, and Stiller’s not sure who he said it to - Shadow Squad, or Panther. Regardless, he slides towards the entrance, and tosses a live incendiary grenede down the corridor, and clasps both hands on his helmet, over were his ears should be.
His helmet is supposed to protect against high decibels, but the explosion was to much to take. The fire from the incendiary easily fried the bugs, and collapsed the midsection of the soft foamy-like interior of the corridor. The heat passes against both Shadow and Panther squad for a whole minute, and its takes another few minutes before someone decides to move.
Everybody is shaken, and most of Panther and Shadow squad are huddled in a circle around Sheila and her wounded leg. They all tend to it and keep warm, even after the incendiary heat wave they can’t help but feel so suddenly cold. Seraph and Vern are the only two unshaken ODSTs besides Stiller. Vern’s visor is broken, fragmented peices remain on the rim of his visor. Seraph’s armor is covered in dust and claw markings, and on his side the head of a spear is shown penetrating only his armor.

"So Captain, we got an exit plan?" Stiller asked, folding both arms across his waist as he looked to him. Seraph does the same, and peeks over at the squad.

"Its a work in progress old friend. I’m still trying to get through to Roxy, but somethings jamming the signals." Seraph said, motioning back to Stiller and Vern. "So the NIGHTMAREs struck again, and set us up?" Vern asked, leaning a bit to the right to get a better view of Seraph’s intial face area.

"I beleive so. I’ll check in with Roxy once we get off this planet. I can’t beleive I didn’t recognize the name! Palamok is the Drone’s homeworld, and why would a distress beacon be all the way inside a hive?!" Seraph became very agitated with himself, and placed two fingers under his chin thinking.

"Wheres Angel and Raptor Squad?" Stiller asked, greiving for a moment. "Angel Squad is 3 levels above us, they’re working their way to the surface and the rendevous point near the cocoon. We lost contact with Raptor Squad hours ago, and found Kern and Joel dead near the acid pools. We couldn’t reach the rest of the squad. Only short distance communications work in here." Seraph pointed out, not looking up from the ground as he thought intensely.

"Military Equipment. Always works." Vern said sarcastically as he shook his head.

"And now about that exit plan." Seraph began, finally looking up and arming his MA5K Carbine. "Angel Squad left a trail for us to follow. They carved the paths we should take with ’X’s and it should be pretty cleared out from there. According to Angel Squad, they received a message from Raptor squad, and they must’ve been close by to get it. We’re going to split up, while staying on the inital path and find Raptor Squad. Am I understood?" Seraphs exit plan seemed a little risky, but noble. No one gets left behind.
"Understood sir!"

several minutes after split-up.

Movement catches Stiller’s eye up ahead, and then its gone. He begins looking through his Battle Rifle’s scope checking that it was just his imagination, then Shane gestures towards another of the five tunnels facing us. Panther Squad moves up, and take the tunnel second to the left marked with an ’X’. Good, at least Angel cleared most of the tunnels. From here on in, who knows whats in the next tunnels.
"Shadow Squad here. Angel cleaned up pretty good here, we haven’t run into anything yet. How are you guys holding up?" Tanner spoke into the comlink, in a silent tone.
"Nothing I hope. I detected movement a while ago, but whatever it was, its gone. We’re moving up prepared though, over." Stiller replied, and beckoned Colin and Damon towards the opening, checking to all sides. Everything was clear, and they all moved through the giant open space, littered with exoskeletons and sand, debris and fallen pillars. Theres something not right about this place, even if the sunlight shone directly down into it...
"Omph-Omph-Omph." A constant beating sound was barely made out through his helmet, and Stiller halted the squad. What the hell is that?... Stiller thought, looking across the entire circle. A circle. And thats when it hit him.
He looks up overhead, and theres more Drones around than he thought. A lot more. And they’re already diving for the Squad. He sprays two above him and more come out of a tunnel up above. Theres no cover overhead for his squad, and he orders himself and the squad the only thing he can do: Run.
He opens fire with his Battle Rifle, nice and early, because if he lets them get to close they will claw through their armor, and stab with their spears. Even still, Drones latch onto Stiller’s back, and he can feel their sharp claws, their stinging teeth, and the penetration of a small spear. He heard their unnatural cries of agony as Stiller ripped the small Drones apart. It was true, the Drones on Palamok are different, way different. They’re more aggressive, more deadly, and there were millions of them, Stiller was really beginning to doubt if they were going to make it out alive.
"Shane! July! Over here!" Stiller spoke into his comlink, and even though all he could see was his own feet running, he can hear rapid fire. "Shane, July you receiving me over?"
Not so much silence as an absence of a familiar voice, until a few fragmented crackling shouts of "...Down! We’re pinned down over here!"
"Who!? Where are you guys? July? Shane? Colin? You receiving over?" Stiller shouts into his comlink, running into another cave tunnel. Suddenly the cave tunnel collapses from an explosion that rattled Stiller’s armor, and hes trapped on the inside, with only one way to go.
He just lost contact with his squad. So now he knows his Squad is somewhere in these tunnels, as well as Raptor Squad. Angel and Shadow Squad are too far away to communicate and compromise a rescue mission, and all Stiller has is a few BR Clips, an M9 Sidearm, and a MA5K Carbine. He’ll manage. And the only thing standing between him, and squads Panther and Raptor is a few short of a million angry Drones, and he doesn’t have the time to calculate the chances of surviving.

Nobody gets left behind.

End of: Part 1