(Loki) The Veins of Ragnarok (Closed)

They were close now. All that was left to do was to get the troops on the dropship and get out of here. That could be tricky.

The marines emerged from the crumbling tunnel into the frigid embrace of the planet's surface. The wounded were loaded onto the Kodiak first as the nightmarish Maw wrestled with the other one. Urbanski winced as he saw the Maw clip the Kodiak, and a thought struck him simultaneosuly. If it managed to take that one out, then it'd either turn for them or the Mako, which was a sitting duck without a gunner. As a nearby marine from the stranded team stated her intentions to join the Mako, he said crisply over the radio, "Copy that, Rajapaske. Dobrescu, Alves, Utomi, let's give her some covering fire." The other Kodiak wouldn't be able to provide covering fire until it got out of that spiral, so their small arms would have to do. To the pilot of that struggling craft he said, "Kai! We're going to distract that big motherfucker for a couple seconds so it won't take another swipe at you. Once you're stabilized, start hitting him again before he has time to go after us!" Rajapaske would likely be at the Mako and able to provide fire by then as well. Moving slightly away from the shuttle and the marines running towards it (of course, they couldn't fire from the landing zone or they'd risk the entire team and the other dropship), he was joined by the three marines he named. They opened up on the Maw, careful to remain in a loose formation, lest its acid (or the monster itself) hit more than one of them. Of course, their rifles couldn't do much harm to the creature, but that wasn't the main idea of the diversion. "Stay mobile, we don't want to sit still for this son of a bitch," he said to his team. "Once we have his attention be ready to bolt."

Urbanski's plan was to draw the Maw's attention away from the Kodiak for a moment so the pilot could recover from the spin and regain altitude without further interference from the Maw; then the Kodiak (and the Mako, with Rajapaske on the gun) could start hitting it again and it would certainly get its attention with the heavier ordnance it fired. By then most of the marines would be onboard, Rajapaske would be on the Mako, and he and his fire team could run back to the Kodiak and board it without fear of the creature's interference. As the first of his Vindicator's incendiary rounds cut their way through the frozen atmosphere and struck the Maw, he hoped the plan was as workable as it seemed - it was the best he could do in a few seconds. They'd lost one man on the rescue team already, and he wasn't planning on losing anyone else.

The pilot was a little too busy to respond, but he'd heard the scattered com chatter.

Come one you tin piece of crap, its just a kiss from an oversized earthworm-oh shit!

The Maw, flecks of acid visible visibly dripping from its proboscis, was making another lunge for him. He put the kodiak in a dive, the leviathan not far behind, when the sound of weapons fire could be faintly heard over the monster's unholy shrieks.

Urbanski's orders were swiftly followed, the marines covering Rajapaske with practicted efficiency, one of the rescued survivors fighting alongside them, weapons going full auto. Nothing less would suffice if they were going to draw the beast's attention.

The driver for the Mako turned to meet Rajapaske half way, even as Jormungandr paused mid lunge, its massive bulk shifting to address the new threat.

"Hurry! Get on the gun!"

The pilot shouted, access hatch sliding open to the controls of the primary gun.

It was time to bring on the thunder.

Rajapaske dove into the Mako, her heart pounding with the thrill of being so close to death. She immediately settled into the seat, her shoulder knocking against the vehicle as it accelerated again. Her hands flew to the controls, implants carrying the holos to her preferred positions, the turret sweeping across to focus on the towering monstrosity.

"Firing," She announced. Looked like 'fire at will' at the moment.

The reticle hovered over the thresher maw. She grinned tightly. The air in front of the mass accelerator cannon's mouth was squeezed blue, the sound cracking over the ice of Loki. A MA round cut through the air toward the maw.

"Eat that," She muttered, firing the machinegun.

"WE HAVE TO GET OFF THIS PLANET! KEEP FIRING! KILL THAT SON OF A BITCH!" She howled as she left the caves- Waiting to ensure everyone else left as well. "We need to get going! Command, what's your situation?"

Had they not been protected by their sound dampening head gear, the marines might have suffered significant strain in their ears. As it was the, the scream that rippled from the Maw hit everyone like a barbed mace. If they survived, they would always remember that penetrating shriek of rage and agony.

Rajapaske had hit something sensitive.

Jormungandr, its hot blood steaming as it was exposed to subzero temperatures, thrashed about, its massive form causing the soil and ice to undulate in response, before the monster turned it attention the offensive prey that had suddenly marred it.

It would have lunged, crushing everything as it sought vengeance, before Communications crackled, and a deep voice was heard on all frequencies.

"Marines, get your heads down."

The Yorktown, which had been circling like an angry vulture for the last few minutes, apparently unable to assist directly, lit up as several death bringing rays of light, too fast for the human eye to track. The Maw, which had suffered minor wounds thus far upon its chitinous bulk, found itself being torn apart, the upper half of its body exploding with gore, drowning the surrounding ice with torrents of scalding ichor.

Finally, the light show ceased, and for a moment, the beast stood resolute, unconvinced of its demise, before it fell, the oily carcass tumbling downwards with gruesome finality.

A moment later, the voice of Captain Primeaux broke through the silence once more. "Apologies for the wait. We needed to safely calibrate the GARDIAN system to a lower output, before risking firing near any of you. We're coming down for a pick up now."

And just like the Yorktown began to descend, to retrieve the Makos, and if necessary, pick up the marines directly.

"I .. wow. That soldier deserves a medal! We read you, Yorktown, thank you for the assist! Worm is, well, wormfood! Area is clear, provided there's no larger worm out there." She knelt down, placing a beacon down on the floor at her feet. "Setting a pickup beacon for us now!"

As the thresher maw flailed and finally fell, Rajapaske took a big, gasping breath of filtered air. She dropped her hands from the gun's holo controls as the driver swung the Mako in an arc to get ready to drive up the ramp of the frigate coming in to pick them up, before tugging off her helmet. The Mako's interior was warm and her forehead prickled.

She rested her head against the metal behind her and waited, feeling exhaustion settle into her bones. She just hoped Bach and Hammond would be okay.

All she wanted right now was a shower and sleep. She'd settle on a sleeper pod.