--Archaeus-- To the Ground Below [i]Chapter 8 -[/i] One Final Effort (Part III) \\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\\ Jackson backed away from the staircase a few feet, and launched his smoke grenade onto the second floor platform above, while I tossed mine down at the ground towards the beginning of the staircase. Soon, smoke filled our entire area, and once we thought that the Juggernaut couldn't see us, we made a break for it. All of us ran up the stairs to the second level, and once we reached the top, the beast began to fire on us again. He didn't know exactly where we were at, so I guess he was just shooting around until he hit us. All of us managed to reach a small room, which was presumably a kind of control center for that hanger. We ducked under the large console that was in the room, and hoped that the Juggernaut didn't launch missiles at us. It was maybe another minute more, and our Alpha allies have yet to arrive. I made the decision to rush for the Destroyer's turrets and use them all on the Juggernaut. "Marines, you still have your smokes?" "Yes sir, Sergeant!" "Good, throw them in front of us towards that other staircase that leads to the Destroyer. We're going to enter the ship and use it's turrets on the Juggernaut." The marines then threw their grenades towards the ground and the staircase, and once the smoke was up, we made another break for it. As soon as we reached the other staircase, we heard a very loud roar of the Juggernaut, as well as the sound of missiles leaving their pods. "RUUUNNNNN!! He's firing missiles!" I screamed to everybody. I didn't move so quickly in my entire life. I never bothered to continue to walk down the stairs. I simply jumped over the railing, dropping about twenty feet to ground level. Once I hit the ground, Jackson and Aiden landed beside me, while at the same time, we heard the sounds of another marine screaming in pain and agony. We looked up at the staircase to see the marine was covered in red plasma that was eating away at his skin, burning him alive, through flesh and bone. As he ran down the stairs, he tripped and fell, his head hitting the railing and snapping his neck backwards. Not a second later, the remainder of us rushed for the opened hatch of the Destroyer, which seemed to be activated, luckily. Once we entered, we rushed to the right side of the ship and entered the small pods which a single person can operate the turret from. "Everybody grab a turret! We're not leaving here without the Alphas, and that Juggernaut isn't good for our health right now!" I climbed into a pod and into the large chair, which locked me in place by a belt that wrapped around my waist, the chair spinning 180 degrees to reveal a HUD behind me. It started up, and I soon got a visual of what was outside the ship. Once the turret readied, a handle sprung from the ground of the pod, containing a strange squishy hole in the front. It was similar to what you would control a helicopter with. I can only the assume the hole was the trigger for the turret. I gripped the handle, and put my right index finger into the odd squishy substance. I looked up to see that the Juggernaut was readying himself to fire on the ship, so I quickly tried to figure out how to shoot the cannon. I messed with the odd mechanism for a few moments until a I clenched my right hand accidentally, which somehow fired the turret. "Clench whichever hand has your finger in the hole! It'll fire the turret!" I shouted to Jackson and Aiden who were using the turrets next to mine. I quickly began firing on the Juggernaut, while Jackson and Aiden began shortly after. We pummeled that thing with rounds. I can understand if it is able to withstand one turret, but THREE of his own turrets must be difficult to manage. "Keep on him, men! We have to defend this ship at all costs! Ceteris still has a minute and thirty left to get here!" As the countdown got closer and closer to zero, I got even more nervous, but not once did we let up on the Juggernaut while waiting. I don't see how it could've survived our bombardment, but it did. Suddenly, a rocket was fired from the Juggernaut, hitting the left thruster of the Destroyer. "We've been hit! It got one of the thrusters! Ceteris better get here now, or else we're not leaving!" Screamed Aiden, hoping the ship will hold longer. We continued to blast him full of plasma, when there was a sudden explosion in the wall by the control center. What climbed out of that hole would surely send us all to meet death. It was bigger than a Juggernaut, stronger than one, and had the fire power of a Victory-class Beta warship. It was a giant mech! It stood over thirty feet tall, and looked humanoid, having two arms and two legs. "Holy shit! What the hell is that thing, Sergeant?!" Screamed Jackson. "I don't know, just keep shooting the... wait a minute... It's Ceteris!" At the top of the mech lays the cabin where the pilot sits. It's a kind of clear glass, and inside of it sat Ceteris, with his Zealots riding on the back of the machine. Within a few seconds, the mech turned to the Juggernaut, while the Juggernaut also turned to the mech. The Juggernaut tried to launch missiles at the mech, but it had shields that deflected the missiles before it even got close. The mech then pulled it's right arm up and began to charge a rail gun that was mounted on it, like the one usually used by a Destroyer. Before the Juggernaut even had a chance to get into cover, the mech fired its rail gun, leaving nothing but a giant hole where the Juggernaut was, as well as some pieces of its armor laying around that hole. We stopped firing the turrets, while the Zealots riding the mech ran to us. They ran to the back of the ship and in through the hatch, one seemed to be carrying the speaking device. "What in the hell is that machine, Zealot?" I asked. "A prototype. Humans, we must leave now!" "Wait, Ceteris still needs to get on! We can't leave him here!" I shouted at the Zealot. "He will come, human! He is waiting for be ship to get airborne!"