Well, it's not about you Pheonix, but here's chapter 2
Chapter Two
10 December 2583; Military Calendar
On board UNSC Vigilant, Slipspace
“Any questions, Spartans?” Major Stevens asked of the four super-soldiers in the room.
“Sir, I’ve got one,” it was Sergeant Major Thomas-3B-019, one of the four, “I know we’re using that new Pelican variant to get down planetside, but how in Hades are we supposed to get out, especially if we have survivors? That thing can barely lift us and the ‘Hog in the first place.”
“If necessary, the dropship can make multiple runs to the surface, or we can just have you abandon or destroy the M12,” was the Major’s response.
“Oh, never thought of that,” Thomas replied, slightly embarrassed by his question.
“Cheer up, Tom, this is good news. I might get to blow something up,” his comment eliciting a groan, the team’s demolitions expert, Charles-3B-047, chimed in with a big, boyish smile.
“That does not give you permission to overload a fusion reactor or detonate thirty kilos of C12 for the hell of it, Sergeant,” Stevens shot the man a glance.
“Sir, with all due respect, you take the fun out of life,” Charles sunk back into his chair.
“Your welcome Charlie,” Stevens stood and briskly salute the men, “You are dismissed. Good luck and Godspeed. Bring back something useful.” With that goodbye the major left the room.
Standing up, Anthony addressed his men, “Well, you heard the man. Suit up, Spartans.”
60 hours ago
Saunders City, New Cyprus
Corporal Lee Nguyen lay on the roof of a two story building in Saunders City’s southern quarter. His muscles were now tense as he had heard the Army LT’s transmission and began to brace himself for his second round of battle that day. Lee had been onboard the frigate UNSC Peacekeeper for the first minute of the space battle, more or less until they had realized that the human ships were outnumbered at least fifty-to-one. The ship’s captain ordered all non-essential personnel off the ship, hoping they might have a better chance of survival on the ground. Along with his squad and a few others he did not recognize, he climbed on board a D-77H2 Pelican and the craft headed for ground. That Pelican was the only one of the four from Peacekeeper to reach the planet. Every single one of the others, along with the lifeboats, had been shot down by marauding Seraphs.
Now on the ground, he could avenge the hundreds whom he had served with on that frigate and make these Covenant pay for their crime. Revenge would be sweet.
“Okay, contact in five,” the man lying beside him, a Private Vick Meyers, said.
“Roger, lock’n’load,” Nguyen responded tersely, the tension now evident in his low voice. Meyers pulled back the charging bolt on the M247 he was manning while the corporal hefted an M144, the latest generation of UNSC infantry anti-armor systems. The M144 consisted of two tubes housing 102 millimeter heat-seeking rockets stacked vertically atop each other. They were attached to a thin box on the left which housed the fire control and optical sight, this in turn was connected to the firing mechanism and the shoulder rest. Each man was ready to bloody an unscathed enemy force.
A moment later the came the call over the radio, “Bandits inbound from the southeast! Weapons free! Weapons free!”
Shifting slightly, the Marines focused down to the southeast. Various teardrop-shaped craft came into view. Some where the slightly smaller, faster Seraphs streaking in for the first runs against the human ground positions. Behind them were the larger Phantom dropships hauling troops and vehicles to finish what the flyboys had started.
“Marines, ignore these Army pukes and save your fire for the Phantoms. Your rounds will just bounce off the Seraphs. Do not wait for my signal, shoot the second the SOBs are in range,” Lee ordered as he keyed his radio. He then selected what appeared to be a Phantom and began following it with the launcher’s sights, ready to fire the second it came within the eight-hundred meter acquisition range.
Corporal Nguyen would not begin the battle that day. This was the job of a squadron of Air Force fighter pilots who streaked in on the enemy formation, cannon blazing and missiles loosed. Several explosions punctuated the dusk sky as the first kills of the night were scored. The first engagement ended quickly, with the two surviving UN fighters breaking off and running from the superior hostile numbers. Now it was the job of the ground troops to hold New Cyprus.
The Phantom Nguyen selected was about a kilometer out when the leading Seraphs began their strafing and bombing runs. Rolling balls of plasma and streaks of crimson light raining on the urban center were answered by fountains of deadly orange-yellow tracers ripping up from the anti-aircraft positions throughout the city. As quickly as it began, the airborne attacks ended as the Seraphs took up orbiting positions around the city, waiting for the ground forces to call in their next series of targets.
A growling noise began in Lee’s ear as his target slipped into range. He waited until the range indicator signaled six hundred meters, and when it did, he fired. A first rocket lanced out, followed two seconds later by a second. It took the rockets a total of three seconds to cover the distance to the dropship and the result was spectacular. The first rocket skipped off the Phantom’s frontal armor, detonating just above the craft. Forced down slightly by the explosion, the pilot of the ship found himself in a position to have the second missile slam into the forward nacelle of his left engine. A fireball ripped through the port side of the Phantom as it lazily rolled over and fell to a violent crash into a small building on the city’s edge.
Grimacing, Lee discarded the empty tubes and slung the rest of the mechanism on his back as he did not have any more rockets. He knew that there very well could have been several Army troops in that building who could have just been killed by his actions. Shaking his head, he discarded the thought. Such things would eat him up if he dwelled upon them, and he could not allow that in this environment.
Now the radio chatter suddenly intensified as screams from men throughout the city reported hostiles hitting the ground and demands for reinforcements that would not come arose. One particular word caught his attention, Brutes. What he knew from training was that the average Brute was big, hairy and at least five times stronger than any normal human on the battlefield. Lee felt the hairs rise on the back of his neck and a shiver roll down his spine. Though he knew that Brutes were going to be the most likely of his adversaries, he had held a small hope that they would not be. He felt another emotion he had not truly felt in years, he was scared.
A staccato of gunfire erupted off to the pair’s left. “What the-?” Meyers swung his machine gun around to face the noise. In the street below, a squad of Army personnel had just opened fire from inside a building on something the pair of Marines couldn’t see.
Nguyen swore, “That’s the CP!” Activating his radio, he continued, “Lieutenant Shafer, what the hell is going on down there?”
Static buzzed from his headset, “zzz-venant infantry, whole-zzzz-platoon just popped up. Zzzz-it!” A brilliant green projectile shot out and slammed into the building. It was followed by two more and a hail of plasma fire.
“Meyers, detach that gun and move, we’ve got to get down there!” Lee switched back to his radio, “Wilkins, Morales, this is Corporal Nguyen, form up at our position the CP is under attack!”
The voice of Lance Corporal Morales responded, “Negative sir, we’ve got our hands full. Phantom just hit ground about fifty meters from us, and- crap! Turret has us pinned, can’t move!”
Wheeling back to his right, Nguyen saw the flashes from the Phantom’s plasma cannons. How’d I miss that thing coming in? he fumed at himself. Looking back to Meyers he lowered his voice, “Looks like we’re doing this alone.”
"Whoever said the pen is mightier than the sword never encountered automatic weapons."
-General Douglas MacArthur
The Pheonix War: Pheonix Rising:
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