==/-\== USS Gott ==/-\== There was nowhere to go. The small squad of marines had been caught in an ambush with Xchi all around. Cortez glanced to his left and noticed Jacobs was visibly shaking, barely able to hold his weapon steady. He couldn't blame him, "breath", he said wiping his sweaty palms on his trousers. Jacobs gave a weak smile and took a deep breath. Walsh had formed the men into two firing lines with a few meters in between to allow for some maneuverability. "Alright Marines, You wanna live forever", the Major yelled out as the bugs came in closer. "FIRE!" It didn't take much time for the Xchi to reach the team. They didn't seem to mind walking directly into deadly phaser fire. Suddenly one of the bugs broke through the line. Grabbing the flamethrower Cortez opened up on the bug. "HOLD THE LINE", he yelled as as the bug screamed in pain. Burning to death didn't look like fun. Turning back to the front Cortez continued to rain an inferno upon the attacking Xchi. By twos the Xchi ran head first into the flames becoming engulfed while the rest of the line finished them off with phasers. It wasn't like before when they were afraid of it. Now they didn't seem to care. Out of nowhere a deafening explosion rocked the corridor. Turning around Cortez saw a gaping whole in the side of the ship sucking out a few Xchi into space.. He grasped frantically to something to hold on to but was unable. Letting go of the flamethrower he watched as it was sucked out into oblivion with him right behind. Luckily a force field appeared just in time, causing him to fall to the ground with a thud. The rupture in the hull had disoriented the bugs only for a second and had actually worked in their favor since now the hallway was clear of debris making it easier for them to move. Cortez quickly stood up and pulled his rifle from around his back and readied it for use. That's when he saw Jacobs lying on the ground in a mangled mess with Ra'nar standing next to him. Seeing that the teams flank was although under heavy assault, still holding under Walsh's command, Cortez took the initiative and ordered the rest of the marines to launch a counterattack. The bugs had successfully been stopped and from what Cortez could tell only about half a dozen remained. "Lets mop em up", was all he said and began pushing towards the Xchi with three other marines. Quickly the team rounded the corner where the remaining bugs were at. "SHIFT RIGHT" Cortez yelled as one of the bugs charged towards the teams left side. The marines quickly moved out of the way and pelted it with phaser fire. "Click, Click...Clik", was all that Cortez felt coming from his rifle as the lone Xchi stumbled forward towards his prey. Barely managing to duck out of the way of the monsters first mandible he was unable to escape its second swing. The bugs razor sharp claw sliced into his forearm causing him to grunt in pain. The rest of the men continued raining fire onto the bug but it wasn't till Cortez rammed the butt of his rifle into its face that it finally fell to the ground limp. Grabbing the hand phaser from his belt he continued to fire at the two Xchi that were remaining and they were both soon dead also. "Alright, fallback to the line", Cortez said as blood streamed down his arm onto his pants. As the four men came back around the corner they were all relieved to see that William's team had finally arrived and they had the remaining Xchi surrounded. Unfortunately in the midst of battle Cortez had failed to clear the hallway before pressing the attack. It seemed one of the fallen bugs who he had believed to be dead was only faking it. He watched in horror as its mangled body stood up and charged both Major Walsh and PO Williams who were only a few yards from it. He barely had the chance to raise his weapon and scream out half of a warning when the bug reached its target. As it impaled Williams, Major Walsh went flying headfirst into the nearby wall. "Shiiiiit", Cortez screamed as he and the rest of of the team literally destroyed every piece of the bugs body. Once the weapons fire died down Cortez watched as his friend Gary Williams from Indiana struggled to find his last breath. A few moments later he was dead. "Sorry man", was all he could think to say. Looking over to Major Walsh who was still laying on the floor unconscious he just stared quietly and shook his head. Still trying to get a grasp on what just happened his mind got lost in despair. "Corporal", he was awoken as Ran'ar appeared and began wrapping up his arm, "Cortez you ok", the cardassian asked. "Uhh..yeah", he answered after a few seconds, trying to shake off the feeling that this was all his fault. After Ran'ar finished patching up his arm, Cortez picked up PO Williams rifle which was laying on the floor, soaked in blood. Fumbling in his belt he placed in a brand new ammo chip. Slipping his hand into his belt pocket again he pulled out his whiskey flask and guzzled down what was left of it. Taking a deep breath he placed the flask back into his belt and leaned back against the wall. Moments later he noticed Lt. Scott motioning for him to come closer. Which he did. ==/-\== End Log ==/-\== Corporal Richard Cortez ODA Weapons Specialist USS Chimera