Chapter 17, 2552 Town of Reach ONI building 2000
Matthew sighted his scope on top the ONI building he was blending in with the darkness of the night with his ODST armor. He did not fear the dark it gave him and the other ODSTs an advantage they had upgraded suits from deep inside the ONI caverns underneath the base. Their armor was better, and so were their senses. Mostly the sight, the new VISR mode helped outline objects for up to a thousand yards. and it was the perfect way to see the covenant without being seen. Everything a couple yards away was outlined. The dark was somehow brighter as well.
"Sighted Recon unit reporting in, Ace paused and continued, Sir the Recon group is coming back and it looks like they have survivors coming in on warthogs!", Ace broadcasted over the comm.
A few seconds later Commander Lance replied, "Good work son, ODSTs be ready to help those marines that are arriving. Ace turned off the comm and tapped Matthew on the shoulder they were both prone and Ace only had his zoom on the new helmet.
"Hey do you see the seargeant or the corporal, because I can't see crap!?", Ace asked questionly. The squad he was with got blown to bits he remembered the highway and shuddered at the thought, he did not want to lose any of his new sqaudmates.
"Yeah sarge is bringing up the rear and Jack is already helping out the wounded get off the warthogs.", Matthew stared at how many wounded there were, it looked like the whole platoon was beaten within inches of death. They all bore the face of anguish and suffering, but strangely not defeat.
"*** must of been some battle we missed!", stated Ace, Matthew nodded slightly as a reply, he was still looking through his sniper scope.
"Yeah how did they ever make it out I wonder?", put in Matthew, a Captain came up as Matthew zoomed out, Ace glanced and began to stand, Matthew did likewise.
"At ease men, both men stopped and got into a crouch position with one knee down at the order the captain continued, Troopers as you know that your fellow sqaud mate has been injured badly, well he has made a full recovery and is going to be up soon!", The captain seemed happy that a trooper made it through.
"Hell Yeah!", Ace had gotten up with a great spark, a fellow buddy had pulled through and in times like this Ace knew they needed everyone. Captain at the sight of Ace and Matthew getting up and high-fiving chuckled and left.
Ace clicked his team speak channel on and spoke with a new sharpness, "Hey Sarg, Jack you will never believe whose still alive!".
"No way Usenski is pulling through that lucky", as Jack tried to finish Seargeant Addison cut in,
"Nice now Usenski can quit laying around and do some work around here, that kids to lazy!". Everyone laughed and chuckled. When the sqaud finished helping unload the last of the wounded OSDTs they went to chow.
"MMM my favorite M.R.Es that are frozen solid!", Jack cracked the joke and the sqaud laughed they were in the dining hall or a make shift one at that.
"Yeah shut it or else I will take it Corporal!", Seargeant ordered jokely around. Everyone laughed and Jack tried to make another smart remark, but was cut off, the comm went on Commander's voice came on,
"Troopers as you know Reach is lost, a few soilders instantly got brought back to reality from their happy realms and bristled at those words as if someone spat in their face the commander continued,
"Now as you know Reach is crawling with baddies and it is near impossible to keep fighting, our last satelite before going out reported a massive covenant movement!", the Commander paused so the words sank in a deep within the troopers hearts, to deep. They knew they were finished.
"Now as you all know that we transported the wounded down to the medical bays deep within the caverns of this building, we ourselves are about to go down their as well.", The Commander paused again, and hope flared within every marine and ODST in the room.
"Tomorow many cruisors are going to be here outside the city and drop many covenant troops off, by the time the troops will get here will be about 1600 hours.", the Commander this time without pausing continued his speech, "Now we have word spartans are coming here too and rendezvousing with us and going deep underground, they know a way to get off this planet.". Every ODST and marine stood up with adrenalin and hope. They cheered.
"Wait just a minute we need to help the spartans and the remaining ODST platoon make it here first!", Commander Lance broke in to the troopers little celebration.
"They will be in our area within an hour or two, we need to be ready to assist them, from the transmission it looks like the covenant are hot on their behinds, and we are going to help them, now troopers finish your meals and be prepared for tomorow we are fighting hell its self!", The Commander barked into the michrophone and every trooper stood up and applaud.
Ace, Matthew, Jack, and seargeant Addison scarfed their M.R.Es so fast that they almost choked on them. Every trooper and ODST in the hall were doing the same, afterwards they slipped on their armor and went outside. They informed the Commander they were ready early and began to set traps for the covenant troopers, little surprizes, as Jack called them.
"Ok we got to move back some covenant troopers are converging on our position!", Jack spoke on his team channel, with a steady voice. He set a waypoint to retreat. Him his squadmates and two other squads, had held out in a building a klick from the ONI building. The Commander was smart he placed a platoon worth of troopers across to klicks from the base. Three sqauds to a building. A waypoint was set for al the sqauds in the building when things got to bad they retreated to them and helped the other aquads in that building. The run to each building was a good five hundred yards.
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"Go!", called Matthew from behind his sqaud, while everyone ran out of the building through the fire exit door matthew stayed inside firing giving them a few extra seconds of cover. Matthew popped in a new clip activated zoom, two elites one minor and the other a Major ran from cover hoping to make it to the building. Easy pray thought Matthew and fired two rounds and killed them both with pentration to the head.
"Go, second sqaud!", Matthew called out to the second sqaud that was suppose to go. Matthew was watching looking for the elite in gold armor who was leading the atack to distract the last battalion from helping the spartans and the last platoon. They wanted to try to cut off the spartans and ODSTs and kil them. The Commander had devised a plan to make a defensive wall of troopers hiding inside buildings. The platoon was going to make it into the UNSC controlled territory and follow right along the inside of this defensive wall all the way back to the ONI building. When the platoon went past a house the troopers would join the ranks of the platoon and fall back with them and detonate the buildings filled with C-12 shaped charges.
After Matthew was sure he and the sqaud were clear they made a run from the building. Ace looked up into the sky the only thing that he saw was blue energy motors traveling slowly through the air. They shelled the building where Matthew was in. Ace took out his MA5C pulled the cocking mechanism satisfyingly and looked over the blockade they had set up. A jack hammer left the tube right next to Ace and raced down the street and straight into the wraith as it fired a motor. Before the motor left the wraith the rocket slammed into it an exploded and was doubled in force as the wraith overload with plasma and erupted into a volcano of blue boiling plasma. The grunts and jackals screamed, while the elites tried to organise them.
"Go Matthew covenant armor support down you have to move up!", seargeant Addison screamed into the local channel concerned for his squad mates safety. Ace with Jack jumped over the blockade and ran together to meet up with Matthew. The second squad of ODSTs came in an jumped behind the safety of a warthog. The new squad did not need to be told what to do they quickly braced themselves.
"We got you covered boys, move up!", the leader of this second squad screamed over the sound of gunfire. Ace and Jack gave a nod and jumped from behind cover and took off towards Matthew.
Matthew was running full speed, he had never run before so fast. His equipment was jumping all over him while he ran. It was heavy, wheezing he kept up with the third sqaud. They took cover behind a alleyway. Matthew took a breath and looked out from the corner, he saw another wraith move into position and begin the shelling again except this time at a distance were rockets could not make it.
"***, hey sarge we have a wraith problem!", Matthew called over the channel with an irratation in his voice.
"We can't do anything about it, sorry you and that third squad have to run the covenant are coming here and we are getting bombarded hard by the wraiths!", seargeant Addison broke the hissing channel and spoke. Matthew looked at the squad and nodded. They got the message and stood up and shaped up.
"I have a rocket left, we could distract the covenant we might take it out!", a squad member with a deep voice and a scar on his helmet spoke with enthusiasm.
"No don't be stupid, the covy pricks would shoot it down before it got within a hundred yards laddy!", the seargeant of the squad spoke with a heavy irish accent.
"It is worth a shot.", Matthew broke in on the ODST. The qaud looked at him.
"If we distract it and go around we could do it, this alleyway leads through many others and comes out close to the wraith!", Matthew spoke with determination. Matthew sent the data from the town map to the sqauds. They looked at it and agreed. At this time Ace and Jack ran intot the alleyway breathing greatly.
"So Matthew we heard the plan over the local channel, we are up for it too!", answered Jack before Ace could speak. Matthew agreed and went inside the building and climbed to the second story, with him went a member of the squad. They would provide support so no covenant would make it to the alleyway. Two would stay behind two gaint dumpsters and hold MA5Cs. Ace volunteered and the heavily accented irish ODST by the name of Peter agreed as well to do it. Everyone else would flank the wraith through the alleyway and hit the wraith.
Ace crouched behind the dumpster and listened to Matthew informing him if any covenant made it past him and the other ODST and tryed to go for the alleyway.
"Two grunts, a jackal, and an elite, heading your way!", Matthews voice erupted onto the channel. Ace tensed up and he could feel the other ODST on the other wall behind the other dumpster tensed up to. Ace shot the lights out so the covenant could not see. The grunts and jackals ran in at full speed and so did the elite. Ace opened fire when they were halfway through they alley. His MA5C tore into the grunts and hit the jackal before it activated its guantlet. The elites shield took a hit and went out, and Peter took it out with a burst from his BR55.
For ten minutes Matthew and his teammate in the building did not let up fire. Crack! The sniper jerked, Matthew watched as an elite toppled. Crack! The other ODST's rifle went off as well. Two jackals toppled. It went on like this Matthew had sniped ten elites, twenty grunts, eight jackals, and a brute or two. His sniper was almost out. The other guy did not let up his rifle was also hitting alien heads clean off as well. The covenant did not want to advance anymore. Matthew watched as an elite Ultra was ralleying his troops together. He released his breath and squeezed the trigger. It hit, but the elite had moved to check something out. Instead a Major elite dropped with to Matthew seemed like no noise. He was watching when all of a sudden two gigantic hunters came from the far end of the street and began to what seemed like sprint. Matthew stared in horror the Hunters were going for the alley.
"Hunters fall back Ace their coming!!", Matthew screamed ino the team channel. He heard a roar and stopped. Matthew heard a cry and looked next to him. A blade was sticking out of the ODST that was next to him. This blade penetrated the darkness. Matthew satered in horror at the glowing sword. It swiftly exited the ODST's body. The body fell with a thud. Matthew rolled, turned, and looked at wear the sword had met a ghastly alien hand. Matthew's VISR was going to hell. Static traveled across his HUD. His VISR flared and crackled, but did not go out. The sword was close.Matthew brought up his SC sniper rifle and pointed it at the figure, his ammo indacator winked omionously one round left. The ghostly figure turned to him and took a step.
"*** hunters!", Ace cried. He looked up and the other ODST stood up and primed a grenade.
"Might want to do as I do laddy!", Peter chucked the grenade as a hunter turned the corner full speed it did not stop. Or it did not see them. The grenade bounced underneath the hunter and behind it, it detonated. The hunter flew across the alley and skid front first. It was down. Without a moments hesitation Ace and Peter ran out of cover and ran straight for the hunter as it began to try to rise. The blue and orange beast was trying to stand. Ace knew he could not let it stand. He and Peter jumped on the back of the downed hunter trying to avoid the spikes. The hunter stood up and shook off, Peter held on but could not fire his rifle.
"Help!!", yelled Peter inbetween him being shook by the hunter. Ace stood up and ran towards the gaint. the hunter did not notice him till to late. Ace slammed his rifle into the beast's abdomine and sprayed. It roared and threw Peter off he flew further down the alley, skid, then hit a wall. The hunter was took weak Ace saw this as he sprayed his MA5C it ripped through the hunter and it gave a load vibration that Ace fel in his bones and fell backwards. Ace was dazed.
He took a deep breath and held it, as he saw a golden hunter turn into the alley. He studied it quickly the first thing he noticed its front belly was completly armored. This could be a big problem Ace thought. It saw its bound brother on the floor it roared a challange to Ace. He felt a wave of vibration hit him again, it shook his bones. Ace leveled his MA5C the hunter charged...
You can't play halo wars until you see this video
http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation/645-Halo-Wars
I've been perma-banned at bungie.net :(