Chapter One

The sun.  Sergeant Sean Reilly hated the sun.  Especially in godforsaken Africa.  Temperatures were incredibly high, an all-time record, in fact, here in Kenya.  That didn’t help his squad’s morale, especially with the constant raids the Covenant were sending at Eisenhower Military Base.  That last attack had killed thirty Marines.  Thirty.  Even with the Chief back in action, the UNSC was struggling in many areas.  The Allied lines were weak, after all.  The sweaty Marine raised a gloved hand and picked up his battered BR55 Battle Rifle.  He shook the sand off of its black stock and replaced the magazine with a fresh clip.  Sean heard a pair of heavy boots clank up behind him.  He turned around.  It was Private Miguel Lopez, a young buck from Mexico.  Had just joined up with the UNSC.  Hell.  What a time to see your first action.  Breaking out of his web of thoughts, Reilly just noticed Lopez had saluted.

            “Sergeant Reilly, sir!  Radar control says area is clear!  The Covenant must be regrouping,” Lopez stated.  “What does that mean for us?”

            Sean took off his helmet and ran a hand through his greasy brown hair.  He stood up.

            “I don’t have a clue, Miguel.  All of this ambush crap is confusing HQ.  I’m just guessing we’ll stay on standby alert, but you and I both know that we’re too weak to hold off another full-scale attack.  Hopefully the 7^th Division will send some reinforcements, but don’t expect ‘em.  Stay tough, Marine,” Reilly finished.  Miguel snapped to attention, then turned and walked back inside into the air conditioned Command Central.  Sean turned around and stared out into the horizon.  A skirmish was going on out there, somewhere, because he could see the smoke out in the distance and could hear the rapid fire of concussion missiles and plasma.  Wherever it was, it wasn’t here.  Reilly was thankful for that.  Suddenly, a loud and clear voice came over the loudspeakers.

            “Attention!  All UNSC officers!  Report to the war room immediately!  We have a situation!”  it blared.

            Oh boy, Reilly thought.  That wasn’t good.  Maybe that skirmish out there wasn’t so far away, after all.  Sean looked down at his watch.  Two o’ clock.  Nice.  His shift was over.  The sergeant stood up and headed into Command Central.  The massive room was buzzing with hundreds of Marines dashing everywhere, prepping themselves for battle.

            Not good.

            Sgt. Reilly jogged over to a tactical communications technician and tapped him on the shoulder.  The man turned around, annoyed.

            “Listen, sir, I don’t have time for chit-chat.  We’ve got an entire assault to coordinate here.”

            Sean shook his head.

            “I just came back from watch duty.  What’s going on?”

            The technician rolled his eyes.

            “If you were on watch, didn’t you see it?  Our boys are in a major engagement five miles away!  They’re pushing us back!  We’ve gotta reinforce them.  Jesus, you boneheaded infantry never have a clue what’s going on around here.”

            The man spun around in his chair and went back to work on his computer.  Another voice started yelling over the loudspeaker.

            “Attention!   First through ninth platoons, report to your designated Pelicans!  You will be briefed en route to the battlefield.  We are reinforcing 5^th Battalion.”

            Reilly cursed and started sprinting to Hanger 3G.  He was, of course, in 9^th Platoon.  What a lucky day for him.  Sean bee lined through a service hallway and dashed into the hangar, where the Pelican was waiting for him.  A Warthog was attached to the bottom of the ship. He hopped in a seat, next to some of his other squad mates.  Private Dillon, another rookie kid, nervously gripped his MA5C Assault Rifle.  His face was pale white.  Reilly patted him on the shoulder.  He understood how he felt. 

            The aircraft lifted off and rocketed away.  Sean looked out the window to see over two dozen other Pelicans flying in formation.  The UNSC meant business.

            A small television screen flickered to life, and showed a grim looking man in a uniform.

            “Marines!  You are about to encounter one of the largest Covenant task forces in Africa.  We’re responding by giving them all we’ve got.  It’s a risky move, but it must pay off.  If we lose this engagement, we’re going to lose a good portion of our forces.  We’re also buying time for the Master Chief.  We need to keep this load of crap out of his way.  He’s got enough going on.  Not that he believes we have to.  But, did any Spartan falter in the line of duty?  No!  We must stand strong.  You are Earth’s last line of defense, troopers!  Let’s give ‘em all we’ve got!  Oohrah?”  he finished

            “Oohrah!”  the brave troopers on board the Pelican responded.  The screen turned off.

            About five minutes later, the UNSC reinforcements had arrived on site.

            Reilly’s Pelican screamed close to the ground, barely evading countless plasma shots from Anti Air Wraiths.  A Pelican next to them wasn’t so lucky.  Half a dozen of the green projectiles slammed into it, making the craft explode into a ball of fire.  The remains slammed into a rocky flat, and skidded across the battlefield.  Reilly’s Pelican pilot decided that enough was enough, so he slammed on the e-brake, turned on the green GO! light, and the members of 9^th Battalion began to charge out of the vehicle.

            Miguel, who was also on board Sean’s Pelican, nodded at Reilly and ran outside.  Dillon gave the Covies a rebel yell and went out right out after Miguel.  Sergeant Reilly jumped into the driver’s seat of the Warthog, and allowed two other soldiers to man the turret and ride shotgun.  He then floored the gas pedal.  Wind whipping in his face, Sean drove straight into the fury.

            The gunner on the ‘hog let loose of volley of bullets, and the man riding shotgun furiously fired his Magnum at nearby Grunts.  They responded rapidly.  Charged plasma pistol fire ripped into the right side of the car, burning holes into the poor trooper’s chest and leg.  He screamed desperately.  Reilly grabbed his Magnum and emptied the clip at the suckers, successfully pounding a squad of them into submission.  Tossing the pistol onto the shotgun seat he grabbed the steering wheel and made a hard right, rumbling over a small hill and narrowly avoiding Spiker fire.  Sean watched in horror as a Banshee made a sudden turn towards the Warthog and released a volley of plasma, which hit the gunner twice in the shoulder and rocketed him off the turret.  Reilly began to turn the ‘Hog around to save him, but an instant later a Brute Chopper ran over the downed marine, spraying blood and God knows what everywhere.  Cursing, Sean jumped out of the green vehicle and raised his Battle Riflle.  He sprayed hopelessly at the god damned animal, but it was to no avail.  He slammed a new cartridge inside his weapon, and checked for any more enemies.  In less then ten minutes, Reilly’s whole day had turned into a living hell. 

 

Chapter Two

            Sean looked at the battered Warthog behind him, then the screaming wounded man in the shotgun seat, and finally at the remains of his 50 cal. gunner.  He felt dizzy, sickened.  The battle around him raged on, but Sean continued to stare in disbelief at the two men.  Reilly shook his head and turned on his comm.

            “This is Sergeant Reilly of 9^th Platoon!  I have a man wounded in Sector 2-2!  Request medic, over!”

            Static came over his headset, then a female voice responded.

            “Sergeant Reilly, this is Medic Station Bravo.  We’re in Sector 7-3.  Do you have a vehicle?”

            “Uhhh…yeah, I’ve got a ‘hog.  Give me the GPS coordinates!”  Sean responded.

            “We’re uploading them to you now.  Good luck, sir.  Bravo out.”

            Reilly clambered back into the driver seat and floored it.  He glanced over at the injured trooper.

            “What’s your name, kid?”

            “Aghhh…Elson, sir. Private Rick Elson.”

            Reilly made a hard left and continued driving across the bumpy terrain.  According to his GPS, they would be at the station in two minutes.  Thank God.

            “You hang in there, Private,” Sean said.

            Reilly pulled up to the Medic Station, if you could call it that.  It was really just a few tents placed near a small rocky overhang.  Sean picked up Rick and placed him in one of the tents.  A female medic with long brown hair came rushing over with her kit in hand.  She wiped some sweat off her brow, and opened the kit.  You could tell it was used often.

            “I’ve got some pain killers in here, just enough.  When did he get hit?” 

The woman was stern; Reilly could tell she wasn’t a rookie.

Sean scratched his head.

            “About ten minutes ago.  Stupid Grunts.  Since when could they hit anything?  I thought they were easy to kill.”

            The medic looked up at Reilly and smirked.

            “Everyone gets lucky sometimes, sir.”

            Reilly nodded, and began to walk away when a small, panicked Marine bumped into him and scrambled toward the medic.

            “Out of my way! Corporal Lauren!  We gotta get out of here! NOW!”

            Sean turned around. 

            “What the hell is your problem, Marine?”  he shouted.

            The small man turned around and gave a hasty salute.

            “S..sir...there’s a whole mess of ‘em coming!  A…a whole mess of ‘em!”

            Sean frowned.

            “What’s coming?”

            “Wraiths!  Brutes!  Banshees!  We’re done for!” the man replied.

            “We can’t retreat!  We have wounded here!”  Reilly replied.

            The man shook his head quickly.  His eyes were darting back and forth nervously and his legs were shaking.

            “They took out everyone!  We had three platoons up there with armor support!  We…we just were mowed down!  We didn’t stand a chance.”

            The medic Lauren stood up.  Her icy eyes glared at the scared soldier.

            “I will not leave my wounded, cadet,” she said quietly.

            The man looked down at the ground.

            “Well…I’m leaving!  You two can die here if that’s what you want!  Hope you don’t care if I use your Warthog, sir.”

            The cadet jumped into Sean’s Warthog and started the engine.  Sean raised his Battle Rifle, and aimed it right between the man's eyes.

            “Cadet, stand down!  I will blow your head off if you move another inch!  Freeze!” Reilly shouted.  "I've never been more serious."

            The man shook his head and began to drive away.  Sean put his finger on the trigger, but he didn’t have to kill the Marine.  The Covenant beat him to it.

            Out of nowhere, it seemed, plasma mortar fire slammed into the ground all around the station.  Several hit the fleeing ‘Hog, instantly creating a huge ball of fire and making metal scraps speed in the air like daggers.  Reilly hit the deck and looked over at Lauren.

            “Do you have a weapon, Corporal?”  he shouted.

            Lauren nodded, and quickly grabbed an SMG out of a tent.  Reilly got up and climbed to the top of the rocky overhang, taking cover in a small crater.  He could see the Wraiths still firing away and about a dozen Brutes charging at their position.  In the sky several purple aircraft darted through the smoky haze.  Banshees.

            Why is the Chief never where I’m stationed?   Sean thought.

            Lauren dove into the crater right next to Sean, panting.

            “I called for backup, sir.  I don’t know when it’s coming, though.”

            Sean sighed.  “We’ll have to do our best.  Aim for their heads!”

            Heart pounding, Sean peered down the scope of his BR55, and opened fire.  The Brutes responded immediately, using Brute Shots and Spikers.

            Spikes and explosives landed all around them.  Lauren let out a stream of curses.

            “Can it get any worse?” she screamed.

            Sean continued to unleash burst after burst at the enemies.

            “Never, EVER say that!”  he shouted back.

            One brute clad in blue armor finally slumped over, dead.  Unluckily for the pair of Marines, it did get worse.  A single Brute Chieftain appeared through the smoke with a Fuel Rod Gun.  He raised it, and began to fire.

            The ground shuddered with the impact of each projectile of plasma.  Rock fragments scattered everywhere.  Sean and Lauren continued firing, but the Brutes kept advancing.  Reilly could see their snarling faces, their yellow, rotting teeth.  Then, the worst sound ever created was heard by Sean.  The sound of an empty clip.  Reilly reached down to grab another one, but there were none left.  He cursed.

"Lauren, we've got a problem."

       

Chapter Three

         A Brute Captain roared and dove at Sean.  Lauren sprayed at him, but the bullets just bounced off.  Reilly rolled out of the way and kicked him in the chest, but the enemy didn’t budge.  He reached down to his hip and pulled out his knife.  The Captain raised his fist and smashed Reilly in the face.  Dazed, Sean swung his knife wildly and jammed it into the Brute’s right eye.  He reached for the Spiker in the Captain’s holster, but the injured beast grabbed Reilly’s wrist and threw him Into a boulder. Screaming, the animal ripped out the bloody army knife and tossed it aside.  Lauren started to change her SMG clip, but the Brute kicked her in the gut, knocking her over and making the SMG pop out of her hands.  Now two more Brutes jumped into the crater, roaring and shouting.  One picked up Lauren’s gun and bent it in half, then began to club her with it. Sean, with his whole body shaking, a large gash in the back of his head, and bruises all over his body, decided that he would finish this fight.  Slowly, he shook off his pain and started to crawl.  The Brutes didn’t see him.  The blue Captain grabbed Lauren by the neck and looked her in the eye.

            “Worthless scum.  Have you learned now what the raw power of the Brutes can do to you?”  he asked.

            The female medic opened her eyes.

            “Go…to hell,” she responded.  The Brute spat in her face, and growled.  Sean slowly stood up, took a grenade off his belt, and pulled the pin.

            “You might want to look behind you,” Reilly said.

            A brute in gray armor turned around, shouting.  Sean took the grenade and shoved it down the monster’s throat.  Seconds later, his neck and head exploded into a million pieces of flesh and blood, showering all of the combatants in gooey liquid.  Lauren thrust her arm forward and punched the Brute Captain in the face.  He released the woman and fell to the ground.  Reilly grabbed the downed Brute’s Spiker and shot it once, impaling the Captain’s head to the dirt.  He spun around and fired several more rounds at the remaining Brute, but his armor blocked all of the projectiles.  Sean lunged forward and sliced the enemy’s neck open with the weapon’s blade, then fired several times into its chest.  Reilly finally lowered the weapon, then glanced over at Lauren.  She was bruised, but not badly hurt.

            “Jesus, Sergeant…nice work,” the medic said.  “You do know, however, that there are nine other Brutes somewhere out there, and those Wraiths too…we need to get out of here the Captain’s buddies show up.”

            Reilly nodded, and pointed to the sky.  “I think our ride just arrived.”

            Three Hornets came speeding through the smoke of the battlefield, firing their machine guns and concussion missiles, making short work of the remaining Brutes and Wraith battalion.  One of the Hornets made a dusty landing, and the two Marines that were riding on it hopped off the side of the aircraft and rushed toward Sean and Lauren.

            “Sir! You and the medic better ride with us…the Covies have more stuff coming.  We’ll take you back to base,” one gruff soldier reported.

            “What about my wounded?” Lauren asked.

            “A Pelican is inbound to pick them up!  They’ll be fine,” the Marine replied.

            Reilly and Lauren got on board the Hornet, and the other Marines joined them. As they flew through the afternoon sky in formation with the other aircraft, Sean looked down to see dozens of UNSC vehicles battling twice as many Covenant units.  He winced as a ghost ran over an entire squad of fleeing UNSC infantry.  Reilly had no idea how the Chief was faring just after his return to Earth a few hours ago, but the Marines weren’t holding well in this section of Africa, that was for sure.

            The rest of the trip proved uneventful, and in roughly twenty minutes, Sean was back at Eisenhower in a medic center with Lauren, being treated for their various wounds.  Sean was telling their story to the doctor.

            “…we managed to down one Brute when I ran out of ammo.  That’s when a few charged us.”

            The male doctor raised his white bushy eyebrows.  “And you managed to kill three in your injured state in close quarters combat?”

            Reilly nodded.

            “The two of you deserve medals for your heroism.  Because of your actions, nine wounded men were saved.  That’s something to be proud of, you know.”

            Lauren sighed.

            “We’re just doing our jobs, Doc,” she stated.

            The white haired man stared at them for a minute, then broke out of his web of thoughts.

            “Well, I’ve treated both of your wounds…walk around for a few minutes and see how you feel.  Otherwise, I think you can still stay in the fight.  You’ve suffered no critical wounds,” the man said.

            Lauren and Sean both stood up and left the white room.  As they walked down a corridor that led to Command Central, Sean turned to Lauren.

            “You know, I never introduced myself, did I?  I’m Sean Reilly.  You can call me that, not Sergeant, Lauren.”

            Lauren glanced at Sean and smirked.

            “O.K., Sean.”

            The two heroes entered a buzzing Command Central.  Men and women barked orders at each other.  A large computer screen in the center of the room read “9^th BATALLION RETREAT OPERATION” in large red letters.  Sean sighed.  His job was never easy.  Suddenly, a high ranking officer walked briskly up to him.

            “Sergeant Reilly, good to see you made it.  Sorry, but your job’s not over yet.  Our support operation went to hell.  Turns out only your Pelican and 3^rd Platoon’s got to the insertion point successfully.  We lost the rest to AA fire.”

            Sean’s mouth went dry.

            “Sir, how many did we lose in 9^th Platoon?”  Reilly asked quietly.

            The officer looked at his shoes and shuffled. 

            “Thirteen killed, two wounded, and one MIA.  You’re the only one who walked back in this base on your own two feet, Sergeant.”

            Reilly’s face turned white as milk.

            “Sir…did Lopez make it?  What about Private Dillon?  Is he okay?”

            The officer cleared his throat.

            “Private Lopez is missing, Sergeant.  Private Dillon…he’s dead.”

            Sean felt like he had all of the air sucked out of his lungs.

            “Well then, sir, I won’t let Lopez suffer the same fate,” Reilly murmured quietly.

            Sean saluted, and then loaded a fresh clip into his BR55.  It was time to get moving.  Again.

Chapter Four

            Sean walked to Briefing Room A, where a group of officers were seated around a long steel table talking quietly.  One of the men, a General Hutchins, stood as Reilly entered the room.

            “Excuse me, Sergeant.  This is a classified meeting that you are not…”

            Sean glared at Hutchins.

            “Sir, I have a man MIA out there.  I need permission from you to locate him and get him out of the war zone.”

            Hutchinson took off his white hat.

            “I don’t know if I have the men to spare…I’ve got my two remaining Pelicans in evac operations, my half dozen Warthogs out there fighting swarms of infantry, and one Scorpion battling a armor battalion.  The Hornets are tied up fighting Banshees.  There’s nothing left, Sergeant.  We’ve lost.”

            Sean started to protest when he heard the heavy metal door swing open.  He turned around to see a towering ODST stroll inside and salute.

            “Did someone need reinforcements?”  he asked.

            General Hutchinson’s jaw dropped.

            “Since when did I call for an ODST platoon to arrive?”  he questioned.

            The black armored trooper took off his helmet.  He had a large scar on his face that reached from his chin to his forehead.  His expression was grim.

            “We just finished whooping some Covies east of here, and picked up your radio signal.  My guys are here to help.  Where do you want us?”

            Hutchinson motioned towards Sean.

            “We have a Marine who went MIA earlier today.  I don’t have all of the info for you, but the Sergeant can fill you in.  Now, if you excuse me, I have a retreat to coordinate.”

            As they walked into the Command Center, Sean glanced at the ODST.

            “So…how many guys did you bring with you?”  Reilly asked.

            The ODST didn’t answer for a moment, then muttered, “Four.”

            “I need to grab some more ammo for my BR55,” Sean stated.

            The black armored trooper nodded.  “Fine.  I’ll wait outside.”

            Jesus, talk about a scary dude.  thought Sean.  He turned right and walked into the supply depot.  Opening an old rusty medal crate, Sean pulled out a dusty belt filled with Battle Rifle clips.  Clipping it on, Sean grabbed a Magnum and shoved it into his holster.

            This time, when I run out of ammo, I’ll be prepared.

            Just as Sean reached to grab some new frag grenades, he heard someone walk through the depot door.

            “So you think you’re going to just leave me behind, huh?”

            Reilly turned around.  It was Lauren.

            “What, you’re coming too?” he asked.

            Lauren smirked.

            “Yeah, but this time I’m getting something better than that crappy old SMG.  Toss me a ’55.”

            Reilly grabbed a Battle Rifle and some ammo from the weapons rack and handed it to Lauren.  He nodded.

            “Let’s get going, then.”

            Lauren and Sean walked outside into the hot African sun.  The five ODSTs were standing, still as rocks, watching the two Marines exit the base.

            Lauren blinked, then whispered, “Holy s**t, these are some serious guys.”

            One ODST turned his head and stared at Lauren.

            “We get that all the time.  I wonder why,” he said.

            Lauren looked at the ground.

            “Whoops,” she muttered.

            Reilly stepped forward.

            “O.K., let’s cut the crap.  Who’s the commander here?” Sean asked.

            The ODST who first walked into Eisenhower Base stepped forward.

            “I’m Lieutenant Kern.  My squad is one of the most elite in the UNSC.  We don’t tolerate failure here.  You listen to me.  Understood?”

            Reilly and Lauren both shouted “Yes, sir!” at the same time.  Lt. Kern nodded. 

            “Alright then.  Here’s our transport.  Stick with me, people."

            A battered Pelican with the name “Night Hunter” painted onto it landed in a small clearing, just outside the walls of the base.  The group of Marines and ODSTs sprinted towards the hatch and clambered inside.  A fifty caliber machine gun was attached to the back.  Lt. Kern pointed at the weapon with a gloved hand.

            “Reilly, man that weapon!” he shouted.

            Sean instantly slung is Battle Rifle over his shoulder and loaded the gun.  Then he turned his head and looked at Kern.

            “We don’t even know where Lopez is, and we’re taking off now?” he shouted.

            The lieutenant nodded at Reilly.

            “We’re heading for a Covenant base.  Our pilots picked up a message from Brutes that said they are holding a UNSC Marine and are going to execute him.  Judging that Lopez is the only known trooper MIA, there’s a pretty good chance that’s him.” he said.

            The Pelican lifted off and rocketed through the air towards the Covenant outpost.

            Kern stood up from his seat.

            “Listen up, people!  Here’s the plan.  I brought my sniper rifle with me.  When we enter the vicinity of the base, Sgt. Reilly will lay down suppressing fire with the fifty.  That will give us time to move in and take cover in the high savannah grass.  I’ll take out a couple of tangos with my weapon, and then we’ll lay low for a minute.  The Night Hunter will circle around and fire missiles at the two Wraiths that are known to be stationed at the base.  When those two tanks are destroyed, Reilly will be dropped off at the rear of the outpost and infiltrate the building, while the rest of us distract the Covenant infantry that attack.  Understand?”

The troops responded with a resounding “Yes, sir!” and Lt. Kern sat down again.  Sean coughed as the Pelican flew through a cloud of smoke, then nearly yelped in shock.  Directly above them was a squadron of Banshees!  Immediately, he tilted the heavy machine gun upwards, and pulled the trigger.  The aircraft instantly responded by barrel rolling to the right, then returned fire.  Hundreds of plasma projectiles darted towards the Night Hunter.  Lauren, Lt. Kern, and the other ODSTs began to fumble around in the open hatch of the Pelican, trying to keep their footing.  One volley of plasma slammed into an ODST, and his dead body collapsed to the floor, smoking.  Lauren cursed and began screaming at the pilots.

            “Close the hatch, d*mn it!  Close the hatch!”

            Another plasma shot ripped through the co-pilot’s seat and hit him in the head, instantly killing him.  The remaining pilot fumbled around aimlessly.

            “Oh God, oh God, oh God!”  he yelled.

            His hands were shaking, and the Pelican began to spiral out of control.  Lt. Kern regained his balance and pulled a lever on the control panel.  It was supposed to close the hatch.  But it didn’t.  The door was jammed.  Suddenly, the Pelican went into a nose dive.  Sean desperately clung on to his machine gun as Banshees continued to pepper the aircraft with plasma.  He watched in horror as another ODST was hit by one of the shots, who fell to the floor, screaming.  Sean reached out to grab his hand, but Sean slipped and the ODST tumbled out of the hatch and fell out of the aircraft screaming, and landed with a resounding thud.  The Night Hunter now skimmed dangerously close to the ground.  Suddenly, a Fuel Rod Gun’s payload ripped through the Pelican’s cockpit, blowing the pilot apart and sending glass, metal and flesh everywhere.  Seconds later, Reilly heard a tremendous crash!, and then his world went black.

 

Chapter Five

           

            Sean opened his eyes and cautiously lifted his head, which was throbbing with pain.  He noticed his wrists were chained to a concrete wall.  He glanced around at his surroundings.  He was in a small storage room lit by a single light bulb, closed off by a solid steel door with a dusty window in the center.  Desperate, Reilly shook his arms and twisted his wrists, trying to escape from the shackles.  Sean screamed in desperation.  He had been captured while he was knocked out.  A Brute’s voice boomed outside of his cell.

            “Scum!  Get to your cell!  You’ll be executed along with the rest!” he yelled.

            “Get the hell off me, you hairy piece of crap!”  a female voice responded.

            The Brute roared, opened the steel door to Sean’s cell, and tossed the woman inside.  Then Reilly heard the click of a lock, and the monster stomped away.  Sighing, the bruised female Marine raised her head and grinned.  It was Lauren.    

            “Well, fancy seeing you here,” she said.

            Reilly grunted.

            “That sucker didn’t even bother to chain you?” he asked.

            She shook her head.

            “Guess not.  Everybody gets lucky sometimes.”

            “Either that, or they’re just stupid.  Where’s Kern?”  Sean questioned.

            “They put him in solitary confinement under guard by half a dozen Brutes.  When the Covenant task force came to capture us, he attempted to escape and went for his Magnum, but a Chieftain beat him down.  They’re not taking any chances with him, I suppose.”

            Reilly looked at the cracked ceiling, thinking.

            “Is this where they’re holding Miguel, too?”

            “Yes, but he’s being held on the third floor.  We’re in the basement right now.”

            Lauren sighed and punched the jail door.  She turned and looked at Reilly.

            “So, how are we going to get out of here?  You got a spoon?”

            Sean laughed sarcastically.

            “I’ve never been in a situation like this before.  Usually I can pull some kind of trick out of my helmet and beat these suckers.”

            Lauren had an obviously sarcastic look on her face.

            “What, you mean you don’t usually pull a grenade out of your rear end, and shove it down a Covie’s throat and escape?”

            Reilly smirked and remembered how he had saved Lauren from the team of Brutes only a few hours before.

            “Well, before I do that, you’ll have to get me out of these cuffs.”

            “That could be a problem,” she replied, “Since I don’t have the key.”

***

            Lt. Kern lay sprawled out on the ground, his helmet tossed aside and his face bruised.  His Brute interrogator loomed above him, glaring at him with fire-red eyes.  The monster raised his foot once more and stomped on the ODST’s gut.  Kern winced.

            “What is the human scum’s latest plan?” he growled.

            The lieutenant gasped for air, then whispered for what seemed like the twelfth time, “Tyler Kern, Lieutenant, United Nations Space Command, Orbital Deployment Shock Trooper. Serial Number 1-1-3-2-6-7.”

            The enraged Brute pulled Kern to his feet and slammed him into the concrete wall.  Snarling, the beast spat on him and clawed his left cheek.  Blood instantly spurted out and trickled to the ground.  The Brute’s disgusting yellow teeth were bared, his lip curling.

            “Now…tell me your plans!  Are they sending more troops to attack us?  Answer me!” he shouted.  Kern just grimaced.

            “You’re going to have to do more than that to break me,” he muttered.

            The interrogator stormed out of the room, and returned a minute later, carrying with him a long, bloody knife.  In his haste, he left the door open.  The Brute held his weapon in front of Tyler’s face.

            “Give me the information I desire…or I shall carve your eyes out of their sockets!” he rumbled.

            Kern bowed his head and whispered very softly.  The Brute was confused, and moved closer.  “What did you say, scum?”  The ODST looked the captor in the eye and then stated, “I said…you should’ve put me in cuffs.”

            Kern lunged forward and twisted the Brute’s wrist, snapping the bone and making it useless.  The long blade the Brute was clutching clattered to the floor.  As the beast howled in pain, the lieutenant scooped the knife up and made one sweeping motion with it, slicing open the Brute’s throat.  Quick as a hawk, he ripped the rusty keys that opened all of the cell doors off of the monster’s belt.  The Brute’s holster was empty.

            ***.  I could have used a Spiker right about now. Kern thought.

            Bending over, the lieutenant grabbed his dented helm and placed it over his head.

            Here comes the hard part:  slipping past the rest of the guards and rescuing the rest of my surviving teammates.  This isn’t going to be fun.  Or easy.

            Tyler peeked out into the hallway.  It was clear. Stealthily, he moved down the corridor until he came to a corner, where he stopped.  To his left was a dead end.  To his right, Kern could see two Grunts leaning against a short stack of steel crates.  To his relief, Kern could see there were no Plasma Grenades on their belts. The pair of enemies were also looking opposite of where he was crouched.  The lieutenant dropped his knife, making a loud rattle echo through the hallway.  Grinning to himself, Kern picked up his weapon and waited.  It was only a matter of time before those two aliens would head in his direction to check out what had made the mysterious sound.  Then he could get them “out of the way.”

            The two guards cautiously moved towards Kern, oblivious of just who was waiting around the corner.  Screaming a deafening war cry, the ODST sliced the knife through the air and instantly beheaded the lead Grunt.  Blue blood sprayed everywhere. Twisting the bloodied dagger away, Kern kicked the second guard in the chest and lunged upon him, knife raised.  The alien trembled in fear.

            “Pl…please!  Don’t kill me!  I…I surrender!  I…I can help!  The other…he was cruel to me!  Have mercy!” it cried.

            The lieutenant lowered the knife slightly.

            “And what the hell makes you think I can trust you?  After all these years…your armies slaughtering my race…killing my friends…my mother…my wife…you want me to show you mercy?” 

            The alien gulped.

            “We didn’t…I…I’m a new recruit!  I never did anything like that!  I just arrived on Earth!  If you let me help you…you can escape, I swear by the gods!”

            Kern laughed.

            “To hell with your gods…they mean nothing to me.  How will you help me get past the Brutes, then?  By yelling at them?  ANSWER ME!”

            The Grunt began to sob.

            “I could use…my plasma…plasma pistol…”

            Tyler pulled the alien to his feet.

            “Where are the other prisoners being held?” he asked in a low, angry voice.

            The Grunt looked relieved that he had not been killed.

            “A sergeant and a woman Marine are being held on the floor below…I do not know what happened to the first prisoner that my leaders were going to execute…I am sorry, human!”

            If those animals killed Miguel, there’s going to be hell to pay, the ODST thought to himself.

            Kern studied the cowardly Grunt for a moment, and thought of the Covenant task force that had entered his house and shot his wife to death with plasma weapons.  He had tried to save her…but a d*mn Jackal punched him in the face and knocked him out.  The Covies looted the house, then scurried away.  The moment he woke up and saw his love’s dead body, covered in burns…he was filled with a quiet, hateful anger.  From that instant on, Kern had decided to join the UNSC and battle these b*stards to the last…God, how he wanted to kill that Grunt standing in front of him right now…but, something was stopping him…it wasn’t fear…could it possibly be pity?  Pity for a creature that had no place in a war like this?  Tyler considered the Grunt’s fate in agony for a few more seconds, then made his choice.

            “Thanks for the info,” he muttered.   

            The Lieutenant raised the handle of the knife over his head, then clubbed the Grunt guard with it, instantly knocking him out cold.  Sighing, the ODST picked up the alien’s dropped plasma pistol, and slipped the knife into his belt. He then continued to advance down the hallway.  Sweating, he made a hard left, charged down a flight of stairs, and somersaulted through an open doorway.  His pistol raised, Kern spotted a lone Brute guarding a door at the end of the hallway.  He was carrying a Brute Shot.

            One thing’s for certain – this guy’s not getting away alive.  Of course, I might not make it through this one, either.  Especially with this terrible gun.

The pistol hummed as Kern charged his shot.  The green light of the plasma reflected off of his visor as the ODST took steady aim.  Releasing his breath, the lieutenant released the trigger and fired.

            The green projectile hurtled into the Brute and disintegrated the power armor it was wearing.  Roaring in shock, the beast raised his Brute Shot and opened fire.

            Chunks of concrete hallway were shattered into a countless amount of pieces as Kern dodged the explosive rounds.  Ditching his plasma pistol, he pulled the gore-covered knife from his belt and brandished it.

            Man, this is a joke!  How the hell am I going to pull this off?

            The Brute reached down to his belt and pulled out a Spike Grenade.  Grinning viciously, he threw the device as a fast as a bullet.  The lieutenant leapt backward as it landed by his feet with a thud.  Tossing his blade aside, Tyler reached down, pulled the grenade out of the ground, and chucked it at the Brute with a mighty throw.  He scored a direct hit.  A single spike pierced the alien’s forehead, then the weapon exploded with a resounding boom!  Kern hit the deck as shrapnel and Brute flesh sprayed in all directions.  Smirking, the ODST leapt to his feet. Stopping over his former enemy’s body, he grabbed a set of keys off his belt. Standing back up, he dashed down the hallway.

            Halting at the final steel door, Kern peered inside the window only to see Lauren looking right back out.  She took a few steps back, and Kern found the correct key and opened the cell door.  The ODST stepped inside the cold room.  Reilly grinned.

            “Well, maybe you Hell Jumpers are as good as they say.  But I could have done better.”

            “Jesus, Sergeant, just be glad I was thoughtful enough to rescue you.  Plus, who was the one that actually escaped from his cell?”  Kern crouched and unlocked Reilly’s cuffs with another rusty key.

            Sean grunted.

            “Fine, you win…but we still have a task to accomplish.  Miguel is still in the building somewhere.  We need to get him out of here, and whether he’s dead or alive…we leave no one behind.”

 

Chapter Six

Sean, Lauren, and Kern sprinted down the pock-marked hallway, heading for the staircase that would take them to the first floor.  Lauren glanced at Tyler.

“So, just how are we going to charge into Miguel’s cell and rescue him?  The only one who has a reliable weapon is you,” she stated.

The heroes began to jog up the concrete stairwell.

Kern nodded.

“The Covenant must have confiscated all of our weapons.  That means that they’re holding them somewhere, and that’s probably the first floor.  The Brutes probably didn’t bother to carry them farther, since they were already dealing with us at the time.  Hopefully, we get lucky.”

Panting, the soldiers stepped into the first floor hallway, where the Grunt guard and his partner’s carcass were still sprawled out on the floor.

The three soldiers came to a screeching halt next to the Grunts’ bodies, and Kern, crouched down next to the beheaded carcass. 

“I never thought of this before.  If those aliens were on guard duty in this building, then one has to have the schematics for it on him.  That means we could find Miguel and escape much, much faster.”

            The ODST first searched the knocked-out Grunt private who had given Kern his much-needed information on where Reilly and the corporal were imprisoned.  He didn’t have any luck.  Shuffling over to sergeant, Tyler went through all of his pockets, and finally pulled out a palm-sized holographic projector.  The machine was made of stainless steel, and on the side of the disc like object was a single blue button.  Praying for the best, Kern pressed it.

            An all-blue representation of the building appeared, hovering over the metal disc.  Excited, Tyler called over Sean and Lauren, who rushed over, eager to see what the lieutenant had found.

            Sean squinted at the model of the outside of the building, and marveled at its complexity.  They were looking at a live feed of the outpost:  Wraiths hovered idly, Brutes barked orders, and Jackals and Grunts scurried about.  On the roof of the building, he could make out three Jackal snipers armed with Beam Rifles, along with two Grunts manning plasma cannons.  Just outside the main entrance to the compound stood a Brute Chieftain armed with a Fuel Rod Gun and Gravity Hammer, the latter of which was placed across his back.  A dozen other Grunts carrying Needlers and Plasma Pistols stood ready in a staggered formation.  All of the Covenant forces looked alert and ready, as if they were expecting something.

            “D*amn, there’s no way in hell that we’re going to shoot our way out of this one,” Reilly mumbled.  Lauren nodded.

            “You’re right.  If the Night Hunter had been able to make it to here, we would have had a chance, especially with the .50 cal and the attached missile launchers.  Plus, we would have had six other commandos giving us some covering fire,” she said roughly.  Tyler grunted.

            “The situation has changed…along with our tactics.  If we had sent Sergeant Reilly in alone while we suppressed the main guard, he probably would have died.  No one man can handle that kind of garrison outside of that cell.  Even the Chief would be wary of that situation.  Trust me.  I fought with him in Mombasa,” he stated.

Lt. Kern touched the holograph again, and repeated shuffling through the cameras until they came to a feed located on the fifth floor of the building.  A group of Brutes, a few Grunts, and a handful of Jackals were stationed in a semi-circular perimeter outside of a large steel door about six cells down the hall.

            “Bingo.  That’s where Miguel is.  Now, how the hell are we going to bust him out?” the lieutenant mused.

            “We can’t.  Not by ourselves.  We need backup, and that’s not happening.  They took our radios…Lieutenant, does your helmet-communications system work?”  Reilly asked.

            Kern shook his head.

            “No…I tried to contact HQ when we crashed, but my comm was all static on every single channel.  No help is going to come.”

            The three troopers stood silently in thought for a moment.  Then, a soft tapping noise made Lauren look up curiously.  Suddenly, a squad of four Jackals carrying energy shields and Plasma Pistols stepped around the corner and yelled in surprise.  Cursing, Kern dropped the holo-projector, which dropped to the floor with a Crack!

            Green plasma fire screamed toward the UNSC soldiers, and in desperation, Sean charged towards an adjacent wooden door and slammed into it.  The door crashed to the ground in several pieces, and Lauren and Tyler quickly followed, the latter grabbing his Brute Shot and taking it with him.

            With Kern covering the doorway with his Brute Shot, and Lauren hugging up against a wall with the captured Plasma Pistol, Reilly assessed the situation as fire was traded back and forth between the combatants.

            They were standing in a large, musty room, filled with rotting wooden crates, ancient furniture, and old papers.  Under all of the mold and grime, Sean noticed there were no exit routes.  They were trapped in a big closet.  Reilly cursed.  Why the hell am I always in situations like this?

Sean wasn’t the only one having a bad day.

***

            “Headquarters, this is Bravo – One.  I’m in position.”  Captain Alex Christophe crouched behind an iron crate outside of an abandoned warehouse.  Snapping his MA5C Assault Rifle into position in front of him, he switched off the safety and aimed down the sights. There was a short period of static, and then a crisp voice responded to his message.

“Copy that Bravo-One, we read you loud and clear.  Retrieve the intelligence information and head to the extraction zone.  You’ve got exactly four minutes to complete the objective.  If you don’t make contact with us within that time, we will assume that your team has died.  That will initiate Plan B.”

“And what would that be?” Christophe queried.

“A squadron of Longswords will blow this building to hell.  Sorry to give you such a short time frame, but we have too many objectives, and too little time.  Get your job done.”

 The line went to static once more.

Alex sighed and motioned forward with his hand.  Instantly, three other Marines wearing high-tech HUD equipment and carrying MA5s sprinted forward and stacked up against the steel door of the building.  Carefully, the Captain maneuvered to the door and placed a breaching charge on the handle.  Taking three steps back, he pressed the detonator clipped to his belt.

With a thunderous boom, the explosive detonated. The door was flattened in an instant.  In one fluid motion, the soldiers charged inside and opened fire.  A cluster of Grunts and Jackals were mowed down as the bullets sprayed throughout the narrow entrance. 

“Clear!  Clear!”  shouted Private Vickson, who was Christophe’s best rifleman.  Alex nodded, and then kicked open a wooden door covered in bullet holes.  It was pitch black inside.  “Flashlights! Now!” 

Four bright beams of light appeared and pierced the jagged darkness inside.  Very slowly, the commandos advanced forward, checking their corners. 

“Uh…sir, it looks clear.  Let’s get the hell out of this ro...”

Suddenly, A Brute emerged from the shadows with a Gravity Hammer, roaring.  The gleam of flashlights reflected off the weapon as it smashed Vickson’s skull in, making a sick crunch and sending the corpse tumbling into the darkness.  The Marines went into a state of pure fear.

“SH*T! SH*T! SHOOT THE B*STARD!  SHOOT HIM!” roared Christophe.

The soldiers desperately tried to slow the monster down, but the power armor it was wearing merely made the shots bounce off with a Ping!

Alex cursed several times, and then dove out of the way as the Hammer crushed another one of his teammates.  He finished off his clip, slamming a new one inside the weapon.  The Captain fired a few more bursts at the Brute, cringing as another Marine was slaughtered. 

“PULL BACK!”  he shouted.

It was too late.  Alex’s last teammate screamed in terror as the deadly melee weapon sent him to his death.

Christophe hugged up behind an old wooden desk, and turned off his flashlight.  He could see the doorway in which he had entered.  If he retreated, the mission would be a failure.  Glancing at the timer that was running in his heads-up display, Alex nearly vomited.  Two minutes and twenty seconds remaining. 

The loud wheeze of the Chieftain’s breathing gave the Captain the chills.  As long as Christophe didn’t move, the Brute wouldn’t see him.  However, if he just sat here, he would fail his mission.  So, Christophe had no choice.  Failure was not an option. 

Mustering up all his courage, the Captain stood up and activated his flashlight.  The Chieftain was about five yards away from him.  Screaming, he slammed his finger on the trigger, and let loose a stream of lead.  The bullets continued to thud against the beast’s armor, appearing to barely affect the alien. Suddenly, the power armor collapsed.  Alex, in surprise, lowered his weapon in disbelief.  The Brute was shocked, and stood still for a moment. 

“Go to hell,” the Captain muttered.

Christophe raised his MA5C and pulled the trigger.  The only response he got from the rifle was a muffled click.  In horror, Alex glanced down at the ammo counter.  A 0 was displayed on the pale blue screen.

Attacking with a renewed vigor, the Hammer-wielding Chieftain lunged forward.  Alex somersaulted away as the Grav came thundering downward.  With a clatter, the Captain heard his last spare Assault Rifle clip slip out of his belt.  Alex could feel the thundering shock wave adjacent to him, which split the clip in half. Small pieces of concrete rocketed towards him, but Christophe wasn’t harmed.  The Brute screamed in annoyance.  Alex tossed the MA5C aside and whipped out his Magnum.  Sprawled out on his back, he raised the pistol above his chest with both hands, and pulled the trigger twice.  The bullet casings fell to the floor with an echoing clatter. A short snarl followed, and the Chieftain collapsed onto the floor in a heap.  In awe, Christophe crawled forward to examine the body.  The head had two large gouts of bone and flesh missing from it.  Blood oozed out onto the hard concrete.  With a small sigh of triumph, the Captain checked his timer again.

 Fifty-five seconds remaining.

Instantly panicking, Alex activated his headset.

“Headquarters!  The objective cannot be achieved!  I’m pulling back!

Christophe received only static in response. 

            The Captain spun around and began to sprint towards the doorway.  Just when things couldn’t get any worse, a Brute clad in blue power armor wielding a Spiker appeared in the doorway, blocking all sunlight with his tall, imposing body.

            “Die, human scum!” he screamed.  The monster held down the trigger on the lethal weapon, and a spray of thirty spikes cane screaming towards Christophe.

            Alex ducked and dodged the first few shots, then vaulted over a wooden crate in order to avoid another group.  He could hear the cracking of the wooden box as a dozen more projectiles slammed into the Captain’s cover.  More skimmed inches from his head.  One even skimmed off the top of his helmet.

            Now Alex was running faster than he had ever thought he could in his entire life.  His heart pounding, he smashed open a doorway with his boot and dove inside.  A cluster of glowing spikes pierced the doorframe and perimeter around him.  The soft glow of sunlight permeated the room from an ancient window. Completely focused, the Captain turned, raising his Magnum.  Aiming down the barrel, he fired a trio of shots back at his foe, which suppressed the Brute for a blessed instant.

            Sixteen seconds remaining.

            The Brute reloaded his Spiker and continued to pound the room with projectiles.

            Christophe fell backwards and knocked his head against a cold, titanium object.  Dazed, Alex reached out to investigate what he had just collapsed onto.  His fingers grasped the glowing rectangular container, and he ripped it open.  As Alex squinted to analyze what this was, a spike landed a hairs-breadth away from his ankle.  Recoiling instantly, the captain held it up to the sunlight that gleamed through the musty window.  It was a single data chip.  It was the intel. 

            Three seconds remaining.

            Alex shoved the chip in his pocket, and then sprinted for the window.  The Captain heard the roar of jet engines above him. A squadron of four Longsword Interceptors dropped out of the clouds, and in unison, released a volley of rockets towards the warehouse.  Screaming for his life, Alex dodged one last pair of Spiker rounds, and then leapt through the window…

Chapter Seven

          The pilot of Longsword Echo 2-5 watched his squadron’s missiles impact the building with a tremendous explosion.  Chunks of concrete and steel soared through the air like thousands of speeding arrows.  The entire warehouse, along with everything fifty feet around it, burst into flames. 

            “HQ, this is 2-5.  We have a direct hit on the target.  Mission is a success.”

            “We read you 2-5.  It’s a d*mned shame we couldn’t recover that chip…I still think the brass made the wrong call on this one…”

            “Orders are orders.  Where do you want us next?”

            “There was a group of Marines and ODST dispatched to rescue a trooper gone MIA.  Recon the area and see what happened to them.  We lost contact roughly half an hour ago."

            “Copy that.  We’re moving there now.”

            The Squadron made a sharp right, and then soared north.  After a few seconds, the space craft were tiny specks in the atmosphere, nearly invisible to the naked eye.

***

            Kern cursed as he fired his last remaining round from the Brute Shot.  Glancing to his right, he saw Lauren continue to pump plasma at the Jackals to nearly no effect.  In frustration, she moved slightly away from her cover.  Plasma pelted the area around her.  Kern and Reilly cursed at the same time.

            “Get the hell back, Corporal!” Sean shouted.  Lauren didn’t budge, and charged another shot.  Reilly began to shove her out of the way, but it was too late.  A plasma projectile grazed her shoulder, burning through the armor and charring the skin.  Instantly, Lauren slumped to the ground, cursing roughly.  Reilly pulled her back into the room.  The two remaining Jackals took this as an opportunity to charge.  Energy shields raised, they sprinted towards the door.  Kern lopped off a head with the Brute Shot’s blade, then sliced another’s feet off.  Moaning in pain, the bird-like creature began to crawl away, but Sean brought a heavy boot down and smashed its skull in.  The area was clear.

            Kern and Reilly immediately turned and crouched next to the wounded medic.  She pulled a small card from her pocket, and handed it to Sean.

            “Just in case…have my backup info card for the record.”

            Reilly glanced down at the information.  A list was printed in tiny black text.

United Nations Space Command Marine Corps

Corporal Lauren Harley, 12^th Division, 9^th Platoon

DOB: March 9^th, 2531

Home: Baltimore, Maryland, United States of America, Earth

Status: Unmarried

Kin:  Ann Harley (Mother); Peter Harley (Father); Christopher Harley (Brother, KIA); Thomas Harley (Brother, KIA); Steven Harley (Brother, KIA);  Miranda Harley (Sister, KIA).

           

            Sean’s mouth went dry.  All of Corporal Harley’s brothers and sisters had been in the service…and all of them had died fighting the Covenant.  He quickly glanced away and slipped the card into his vest pocket.  Lauren looked at Reilly with sadness in her eyes.

            “You don’t need to pretend you didn’t see my family’s record printed on there, Sergeant.  It’s okay…I’ve learned to deal with it as time goes on.”

            Lieutenant Kern pulled a white cloth from a pouch on his belt, and began to wrap it around the wound.  Lauren winced.  Sean still stood there, speechless.

            “But Lauren, I don’t know what to say. I…”

            Lauren cut him off.

            “Like I said, sir – I’m alright.  Let’s figure out a way to escape so I don’t get ‘KIA’ printed next to my name, too.”

Ten Years Ago…

Planet Trident IV

An eleven year old Lauren Harley sat uncomfortably in a rigid wooden chair, reading an ancient book her mother had given to her for her birthday:  a classic called Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. She was so tired of life on this planet.  She still didn’t understand why her family had left their safe and cozy apartment in Baltimore three months ago.  Her dad had tried to explain to her the reasons for leaving…his business needed more workers on the other colonies.  After all, times were tough, and he did work for a weapons manufacturing company.  But whatever Daddy said happened.

The only part of being trapped in a walled-in titanium compound surrounded by tanks and soldiers was that she got to see her big brothers Steve and Tommy from time to time.  Except, they were different now.  Both of them looked so ragged, and so serious.  Tommy especially had been a jokester back home, before he enlisted, anyway.  Lauren hated the Covenant with all her guts.  They had ruined her childhood, and there was no starting over.

Slapping her book shut and placing it on the wooden floor beneath her, Lauren retrieved her jump rope from the closet and skipped towards the front door.  As she began to twist the handle, she was knocked to the ground as a UNSC soldier barreled through the doorway at the same time.  He was dressed in full battle gear, helmet on and shotgun in hand.  He extended a strong arm and pulled Lauren to her feet.

“Where are your parents?  Are you alone?” he questioned.

“I…I…think they’re at work.  But why are you…”

The soldier shook his head. 

“No time to explain!  I have to get you out of here!  All civilians need to be evacuated!  Follow me!  NOW!”

Heart pounding, Lauren followed the soldier outside, where a Warthog was waiting.  The soldier helped her into the passenger seat, and then manned the machine gun on the back.  The driver stomped on the peddle and roared down the street.

“Corporal, take us to Airfield 2-7!  That’s where the Pelicans are!” the gunner shouted.

“Got it, Sarge!  Any idea how much longer we have until the b*stards break through?” the driver questioned.

“We’ve got roughly ten minutes before our fleet falls apart…then the ground troops will start showing up,” the Sergeant replied.

Lauren’s mouth went completely dry, and her already racing heart went even faster.

“We’re…under attack?” she asked, with obvious fear in her voice.

The Corporal glanced at her with worry in his face.

“Don’t worry.  The Marines are going to protect you.  We’re going to get you out of here,” he said gently.

Lauren wasn’t so sure if he was telling the truth.

The Warthog screeched to a halt as the vehicle neared a gated barricade guarded by a dozen soldiers carrying various weapons.  A tall, burly man with an unshaven beard unlocked the gate, and waved the ‘Hog through.

As the Sergeant drove down the gravel road that led to the Airfield; Lauren spotted hundreds of soldiers running about; along with engineer crews preparing Hornets for battle.  A column of Grizzly Tanks lumbered past her, on each armored vehicle sat a handful of grim-faced Marines.  Even farther inside the base, a huge crowd of perhaps 100,000 people pushed and shoved towards a row of five Pelicans.  Around fifty Marines, shoved back, trying to control the mob. 

The Warthog screeched to a halt, and Lauren and the two Marines hopped out.     

“Stay here, kid!  Don’t move!”  the Sergeant growled.

Raising his shotgun into the air, he fired once.  The crowd went silent.

“Everyone remain calm!  We have the entire perimeter locked down, and this airfield is secured by dozens of missile and machinegun emplacements.  We’re safe, and if we all remain calm we can all…”

Suddenly, a trooper riding on a Mongoose zipped into the airfield.  He nearly tripped over his own two feet as he hopped off.

“Get the hell out of here, people!  The Covenant has broken through!  They’re landing troops!  Come on!  Move, move, move!”

The mob of civilians went into chaos once more.  With a mighty effort, they pushed back the Marine guard and stormed onboard the open Pelicans.  The Sergeant sprinted back over to Lauren.

“I’ll take you to the airfield north of here!  You’ll never make on those Pelicans!”

Lauren sobbed with fear as the Marine dropped her in the passenger seat of the Warthog again.  The gun emplacements around her thundered to life as hundreds of Banshees poured out of the clouds.  Fuel Rod Cannon shots slammed into the docked Pelicans, turning each one into a ball of flames.  Plasma projectiles mowed down hundreds of innocent people.  Lauren leaned over the side of the vehicle and vomited.

A pair of Hornets attempted to stem the growing tide of enemy aircraft, but within seconds, they were destroyed.

The Corporal driving Lauren’s ‘Hog nearly stood on the gas pedal, and the green vehicle shot towards the now shattered UNSC concrete barrier.  Whatever guards had been there only minutes before were now smoldering corpses.  Lauren dug her face into her hands.

A Grizzly fired a salvo of explosive rounds at a Banshee, instantly transforming it into steaming-hot shards of purple metal.  A squad of Marines hugged up behind the tank, firing their MA5Ds in short bursts.

Lauren gasped as she spotted four Covenant transports hovering closer and closer to the airfield.  The driver cursed.

“Sh*t!  Spirits are inbound!  We’ve got to get out of here!  Fast!” the sergeant cried.

The Warthog zipped off the main road, and drove down a small side alley.  Just ahead of them, a cloud of smoke dissipated, revealing a group of Grunts and Jackals marching straight towards them.  The ‘Hog screamed onward, ramming into the squad of Covenant and instantly killing all of the enemies.  Lauren wiped the alien blood off her face with a sleeve and clutched the Marine driver in fear. Suddenly, a plasma mortar exploded next to them, flipping the vehicle and sending Lauren tumbling through the air.  She crashed into a row of metal trash cans, scraping her limbs and bruising her head.  Lifting her head up, she was horrified to find the Warthog a smoldering wreck:  The Corporal and Sergeant had been blown to bits; and only by a miracle had she survived.  Standing, she ran down the street in a state of shock, unsure of what to do with herself.

A squad of UNSC soldiers rushed out of a nearby home and jogged over to her.

            “Hey…that’s my sister!  She’s alive!” one Marine shouted.

            A tall, muscular man with cropped brown hair and a sniper rifle walked over to Lauren.

            “Sis, it’s me!  Steve!  Your brother!”

            Lauren collapsed into her sibling’s arms and wept.  Another Marine slapped Steve on the shoulder.

            “I’m sorry, private, but we’ve got to haul a*s out of here.  Wraiths are moving in on our position, and none of us are equipped to handle Covie armor.”

            “But Captain, what do I do with Lauren?  I can’t just leave her…”

            At that instant, the ground thundered once more as dozens of Wraiths hammered the ground with their mortars again.  Two Marines vaporized as they took direct hits.  Steve slung his weapon over his back, and scooped up his sister. A second wave of mortars began to smash the area around them.  Screaming, Steve dove behind the carcass of the shattered Warthog.  Two other Marines joined him.

            Lauren gasped in horror as a Wraith rounded a corner and stopped approximately 20 meters away from them.  The Grunt manning the Plasma Cannon snarled and pulled the trigger.  A Marine inches away from her shuddered as the plasma slammed into him – then he collapsed to the ground, a smoking shell of a body.  In desperation, Steve threw Lauren through a shattered window into the house behind them…then was blown to pieces as the Wraith fired its main cannon.

            Lauren scrambled to her feet and ran up the rickety wooden stairs.  Another plasma mortar shot slammed into the house with tremendous force, obliterating the living room where Lauren had sat only moments before.

            Seconds later, a UNSC aircraft roared over the house firing its cannons, blowing the Wraith to smithereens.  There was more gunfire – alien and human – and then another squad of Marines barged inside the shattered home.  Pink spikes slammed into one soldier, and after a fraction of a moment, he exploded into several chunks.  One Marine charged up the steps, turned a corner, and saw Lauren trying to crawl away.  He stopped her.

            “Hey!  Wait!  We’re going to protect you! Stop!”

            Lauren snapped her gore covered face around.

            “No…no you’re not!  That’s what the others said…that’s what Stevie said…and now he’s dead, they’re all dead!  We’re all going to die!” she screamed.

            The soldier started to protest, but loud screams and sizzling sounds echoed from downstairs.  A Marine’s charred body was tossed roughly up the stairwell, then was peppered with blue plasma.  An Elite stormed up the stairs, faced Lauren and her protector, and drew his Energy Sword.  The Marine raised his Assault Rifle, and pulled the trigger.  Bullets bounced off the enemy’s shield, and with a quick lunge, the Elite decapitated the human.  It turned to face Lauren.

            “Die…worthless dirt.  You are but an obstacle in the journey!”

            With slow deliberation, the monster started to stride towards the little girl.  Out of nowhere it seemed, machinegun fire sprayed into the side of the house, mowing down the Elite.  Lauren peered through a bullet hole to find two Warthogs spraying hopelessly at a swarm of Drones.  It had been by mere chance that she had been saved, since the turret gunner had simply missed and tore into the house.  Lauren spotted another window behind her, shattered like everything else in this city.  She quickly hopped out, landed in a small bush, rolled away, and started running down the street.  All around her, the burning remains of Scorpions and Grizzlies poured fire and smoke into the sky.  Yet, at the end of the road there was one small beacon of hope.  A Pelican slowly lowered itself to the ground, kicking up dust and shards of rock.  A handful of Marines hopped inside.  Lauren waved her arms frantically.

            “Wait!  Please, wait!” she screamed.

            The Marines spotted her and waved to get onboard.  Lauren quickly climbed into the hatch and took a seat.  The aircraft rose into the air and thundered into the sky.

            A female Marine, placed an arm around Lauren’s shoulder as the girl broke into tears once more.

            “You’re going to be okay.  We’re going to a spaceship now, and leaving.  We’re leaving this planet forever.  It’s no place for a little girl to stay.  What’s your name?”

            Lauren sat back in her seat, breathing heavily.

            “I’m…Lauren Harley.”

            Recognition flashed over the faces of every single Marine onboard.

            “Oh no,” one whispered.  “We had a Tom Harley in our squad.”

            “When those Ghosts came over the hill, he..”

            “Shut up!  Why the hell would you mention that in front of her?”

            Lauren glanced at the Marine seated across from her.

            “No…don’t tell me…something happened to Tommy, too?  Please…God no!  Why?  Why?” Lauren moaned.

            “Your brother…died a hero, sweetheart,” the female Marine said soothingly.

            Lauren felt dizzy for a moment, and then passed out.

Normal Time

            As Sean and Kern helped Lauren down the hallway, a faint roar could be heard echoing across the skyline.  Reilly glanced out the window next to him, and grinned.  A squadron of Longswords was closing in on their position.

            “Help is on the way,” he murmured.

Chapter Eight

            Longsword Echo 2-5 barrel-rolled to the right to avoid the incoming plasma fire coming from the ground.  Cursing, the pilot keyed his helmet-mic.

            “Squadron, this is Echo Lead!  You are clear to use all necessary means to destroy any Covenant air and or ground forces.  Do not hit the building!  I repeat, do not hit the building!  Friendlies are inside!  We’ve got twenty seconds before Strike Group Alpha arrives on site to bug these guys out!  Let’s make sure this is a win for the record, fellas!”

            Three green lights blinked in the top right corner of his HUD.  The squadron understood.  This op was a go.

***

            Reilly, Kern and Harley hit the deck as dozens of shells fired from the 120 millimeter cannons of the Interceptors slammed into their targets.  Sean winced as a shard of purple metal shot through the thin glass window and pierced the concrete wall adjacent to him.

            “Jesus Christ!  Did the flyboys have to make such a dramatic entrance?” Kern shouted over the thunderous noise.

            “I don’t know, but I prefer drama over nothing at all! They’re buying us time!  Let’s find Miguel and scramble!” Lauren replied.

            Crouching low to the ground, the team sprinted down the hallway towards the next set of stairs.  Sean wiped the blood and sweat that dripped into his eyes.

            The entire compound shuddered as the Interceptors finished off the last of the Covenant opposition with a pair of Scorpion Missiles.  Reilly briefly saw the Longswords through a crack in the wall made by the impact.  As one, the black spacecraft made a one hundred eighty degree turn, and darted off into the smoke and clouds.  Not a single Covenant soldier who was posted outside remained.  Reilly gave a short shout of exhilaration.  Kern shook his head in disblief.

            “I think we’re in for quite a show,” he muttered to himself.  Sean continued to stare outside, squinting.  Through the thick smoke, he could make out three M313 Elephants moving slowly forward, flanked by at least four Warthogs and a pair of Scorpion Main Battle Tanks.

            “More good news, people!  We’ve got an entire UNSC battalion moving in towards our position!  Heavy armor support!  Looks like command means business!”

            Kern crouched in order to peer through the slim crack himself.

            “I don’t get it…where did all this come from?  Forty five minutes ago HQ had nobody left…and now they pull this out of their a*s.  We’ve got to be directly in the way of some new advance…I guess the Elites swooped in and supported us at the front while we were gone.”

            Reilly stood once more. 

            “Let’s move it, team!  The friendlies are going to do their jobs…let’s do ours.”

            And so, the heroes set off once more towards Private Lopez’s cell.  It was time to free Miguel and kill those b*stards.

***

            Captain Will Peterson looked over the group of Marines standing in the Elephant “Skull Crusher.”  They had been through so much together.  They were good soldiers, every single one of them.  Pride swelled in his chest.  The new UNSC advance started right here – with this rescue op.  After that mission was complete and the outpost was destroyed, hundreds of more human and Seperatist forces could punch through and engage the main Covenant ground force so the Chief could get to Voi.  Before anything began, it was time to address the troops.

            “Atten-hut!” he cried.

            Peterson’s troops immediately turned around and snapped to attention.  The Captain nodded, pleased.  “At ease.”

            The Marines relaxed slightly.  They were calm, but still as nervous as hell.  The Captain didn’t blame them.  Taking a deep breath, he placed his hands behind the small of his back.

            “Marines!  In about two minutes, one of the most extensive rescue operations I have been involved in will begin.  Inside of that concrete building are three of your fellow comrades and at least one Helljumper.  A short time ago, a Special Forces team was sent in to rescue one Private Miguel Lopez.  They failed.  Just before they arrived at the LZ, Banshees swooped in and blew their Pelican to hell.  It was only by mere chance that there were survivors.  The ODST believed to have survived the crash is quite possibly one of the finest soldiers the UNSC has had in the past decade.  His name – Lieutenant Tyler Kern.  Kern has been involved in dozens of mission since 2544.  One year ago, he was assigned on a top-secret raid on a Covenant base, the location being classified.”  Peterson paused for a moment, and then continued.  “His squad ended up retrieving thousands of files related to Covie tactics and campaign strategies.  With this intelligence, we were able to save over 900,000 civilians and an entire battalion of soldiers.  This trooper is not expendable.  We owe him our thanks, and I can’t think of a better way to show it,” Will stated.  “As you all know, Spartan 117 is also having a hell of a time capturing Tsavo Highway.  Apparently, those d*mn Choppers can be more of a b*tch than we thought.”

            The Marines chuckled.  The Captain allowed a small grin to appear on his face, which quickly disappeared.

            “However, that’s not my point.  Spartan 117 is a good soldier.  We’re all good soldiers.  Now that the Chief is back, we’ve got a fighting chance again.  Let’s prove that his sacrifices, and all of humanity’s sacrifices, are not in vain. Understood?”

            The Marines snapped a salute and boomed as one voice:  “Sir, yes sir!”

            Peterson saluted back.

            The Elephant’s driver turned away from his controls and shouted down to the Captain.

            “Sir!  Just got word from HQ that several Phantoms are inbound, along with Covie armor and air escort!”

            Will cursed.

            “Any chance that we can recall those Longswords for some backup?” he shouted.

            The driver shook his head.  “Negative!  Echo Squadron was ordered into orbit above Earth.  They ran low on ammo!”

            “Call Headquarters anyway!  Ask for air support, any kind they can muster!”

            “Yes, sir!” the Marine responded.

            Peterson switched his BR55’s safety off and turned back to his troops.

            “Alright, let’s lock and load!  Mitchell, Sirrenberg, O’Leary, you’re covering my a*s today!  Stevens, Barnes, Washington – stick with the LT!  Driver, what’s the situation?”

            “Sir!  Air support’s ETA is ten minutes!  Four AV-14 Hornets headed this way!”

            Peterson nodded.  The driver brought the massive troop transport to a halt.

            “You’re clear to move in!  Give ‘em hell, Marines!”

            The infantry rushed out of the M313 and fell prone in the tall savannah grass.  The Warthogs zipped ahead and formed a perimeter around the building, the craters formed by the Longsword bombing run proving to be no obstacle for the off-road vehicles.  From his position in a small ditch, Peterson couldn’t spot any enemies. 

            Where the hell are you suckers?

            It took about four seconds to find out.  Out of nowhere, a squadron of six Seraph fighters dropped out of the clouds, firing plasma charges and pounding the UNSC task force with an unimaginable fury.  Peterson leapt from his cover and sprinted forward.  His squad, scared out of their minds, blindly stood up and followed him.

            “MOVE!  MOVE!  MOVE!” he screamed.

            Half of a destroyed Warthog chassis careened towards a Corporal positioned to the Captain’s left and tore off half of the trooper’s body.  What remained of him stood standing for a moment, and then collapsed in a gory heap.  An Elephant was pounded into oblivion, taking half a dozen hits and exploding with such power that it blinded the Captain for a moment.

            Covenant infantry poured out of the building’s doorway like a colony of angry fire ants, firing thousands upon thousands of projectiles at Strike Team Alpha.  Peterson dove out of the way as a plasma grenade attached itself to Private Mitchell’s face.  A second later, his head was blown into hundreds of burning, bloody chunks.  Will wiped the fallen soldier’s blood off his face and scrambled towards a boulder.  Private Washington huddled next to him.  The Marine was critically wounded.  A Spiker round protruded from his thigh. 

            “Save me, Cap!  Get me out of…”

            Washington was silenced as his chest was blown apart by a Plasma Rifle.  The Captain popped out from his cover and fired his rifle twice, killing a pair of Grunts.  He rolled back to his boulder and keyed his com.

            “HQ!  HQ!  Do you read?  This is Captain Peterson of the 607^th!”

            “This is Com-Ops, Peterson.  What the hell is going on out there?  We’ve got Covie radar contacts all over the place!”

            “Don’t know where the hell they came from!  Seraphs just dropped out of the sky and are slaughtering us!  We…”  Will ducked as a plasma charge screamed over his head and splintered a ‘Hog into pieces.  “…need support!  Those AV-14s aren’t gonna do jack!  Can we get additional reinforcements, over?”

            The Captain winced as one of the Scorpion escorts was knocked out, turning it into a fiery inferno.

            “Uhhh…I don’t think we’ve got anybody left, so many units are KIA…wait, hold on!  We’ve got a Separatist Unit stationed nearby!  Standby, Peterson.  Contacting them now.”

            Will surveyed the situation that was occurring around him.  Dozens of Marines lay wounded or dead around the field. Only a single smoking Warthog remained in action, and the two remaining Elephants were getting pounded.

            “Marines!  On me!” Peterson roared.  “I want a grenade at two o’clock!  And somebody throw some smoke, God *** it!”  Letting loose a withering amount of lead, Peterson prepped the grenade launcher attached to his BR55.  Taking aim at a large group of Covenant infantry, he fired.

            The projectile detonated with an immensely satisfying explosion accompanied by the dismemberment of a dozen Covenant foes. 

            “That’s right, you b*stards!  Stay off my planet!”

            In earnest, Peterson prepared another grenade.  He turned to face the scattered group of Marines assembled behind him.

            “Alright!  Follow me.  If we can’t get walk through the front door, we’ll bust down the d*mn thing!  Corporal Hill!  I want suppressing fire on the enemy’s left side!  Allens!  Take the right!”

            Plasma screamed over the heads of the remaining Marines.  Crouching to avoid what seemed like an imminent death, Peterson fired his remaining grenade into the heavily guarded doorway of the compound.  A split-second later, a pair of Brutes and a squad of Grunts met their end.

            “Alright!  We’re almost clear!  Move forward!”  the Captain shouted.

            In a moment of high-tension rapid gunfire, the UNSC pushed forward.  They were so close…victory was in their grasp.

            Suddenly, a plasma bomb thundered into  the concrete fortress, followed by another, and another, and yet one more.

            “HOLY SH*T!  THEY’RE BOMBING THE COMPOUND!  DOWN!  EVERYBODY DOWN!”  Peterson screamed.  Massive chunks of concrete buzzed inches away from his helmet.  The captives were dead…they had to be.  Right?

            Hell…this wasn’t over just yet.

***

            Reilly sprinted down the hallway with Kern and Harley right behind him.  The building rocked and thundered as if the world was coming to an end.  Lopez’s cell was just four doors down.  They just needed fifteen more seconds. And a helluva lot of luck.  A pair of bombs detonated twenty yards behind the heroes, obliterating a section of the compound that had existed merely seconds before.  Breathing heavily, Lauren, Kern, Reilly stacked up at the rotting wooden door that would lead them to where Lopez was behind bars.

            “Do it!” Reilly shouted.

            Kern raised a heavy boot and smashed the door in, splintering it into pieces.  Raising salvaged plasma pistols, the troopers swiftly moved into the cell like panthers, checking for enemies.

            “Room clear!”

            “Clear!  Where the hell is Miguel?  Did somebody…oh, holy sh*t.”

            As their eyes adjusted to the dim light, a gruesome scene revealed itself.  Impaled to the wall by a Spiker round, Lopez’s mutilated body hung limply in the cold, musty room.  Blood and gore collected in a puddle on the floor.  Moaning, Sean dropped to his knees in agony. 

            “Jesus Christ…a goddamned Brute slaughtered him…we’ve failed,” he whispered.

            “At least the Sanghieli had some honor when they fought us…these things…are monsters,” Kern said somberly.

            Within seconds, the bombing resumed.  The heroes hit the deck instantly.

            Boom.  Boom.  Boom.  Boom.

            Plasma mortars pounded the outpost again.  Kern cursed.

            “The building’s going to collapse any second!  This place is at least two hundred years old…it can’t take this kind of beating!  Let’s get out of here!”

            In one fluid motion, Lauren pulled Reilly to his feet and dragged him out of the cell.  Foundations began to crumble all around them.  A huge, gaping hole in the wall revealing the chaos of outside appeared directly in front of the soldiers.  They had no choice – it was either jump, or die.  Screaming for his life, Reilly broke free of Harley’s grip on his forearm and leaped for all he was worth.

***

            Peterson cheered as the promised squadron of Hornets buzzed through the smoke and clouds and onto the battlefield with all guns blazing.  The Covenant ground opposition fell easily to the AV-14 machine gun fire.  The Seraphs instantly made a hard one hundred eighty degree turn towards the aircraft, firing plasma cannons in prolonged bursts.  One AV-14 zipped to the right, trying to avoid the incoming Covie fire.  A trio of shots slammed into its left engine, and the craft burst into flames.  It spiraled downwards for a few final moments before exploding into a massive ball of fire in the African Savannah.  The remaining Hornets scrambled into evasive maneuver patterns, trying to escape from the much faster and much more powerful enemy fighters.  Peterson watched helplessly.  Suddenly, a message sounded in the Captain’s headset.

            “This is Echo Squadron.  We’re rearmed and refueled.  We’re returning to your position in approximately three minutes.  Stand by.”

            The seconds ticked by as the UNSC Interceptors approached.  Will just hoped they wouldn’t be too late.

***

            Reilly fell with a thud into a pile of bloody, massacred Grunts.  Rolling quickly away to avoid being crushed by his companions, both Lauren and Kern followed his lead only moments later.  Corporal Harley let out a stream of harsh curses.

            “I hate that part of my job,” she exclaimed harshly.  Kern let out a low grunt.

            “That was nothing.  Try rocketing to Earth in a rickety tin can launched from a spaceship.  It’s like a carnival ride!’ he retorted.  He stood up and pulled Lauren to her feet.

            Sean slapped Kern on the shoulder.

            “Thanks again for pulling our a*ses out of that cell, Lieutenant.

            Kern nodded.

            “Just doing my job, kid.”

            After they had recovered from the shock and pain of the jump, the trio sprinted over to Captain Peterson’s position.

  As they settled into cover in the crater, Reilly shook hands with his superior.

            “Thanks, sir.  Your Marines are some of the bravest I’ve ever seen.”

            The Captain nodded.

            “We paid a heavy price…d*mn.  They killed Lopez, didn’t they?  I don’t see him.”

            Sean stared at the ground for a moment.

            “He was dead before we got to the cell.  He was a good man – he just completed basic a week ago.”

            “D*mn.  The Second Battle of Earth isn’t exactly suitable for on-the-job training.”

            “No, but the tide is turning.  Humanity has a chance now,” Reilly replied.

            Peterson shook his head.

            “I guess you haven’t seen any of the updated intel.  The Chief’s on Tsavo Highway right now en route to Voi, but we’re running out of time.  Truth’s close to uncovering the Ark…or whatever the hell it is.”

            Sean grimaced.

            “I guess we’ll find out soon…”

            Reilly was cut off as another Hornet was destroyed.  Peterson cursed.

            “Those aircraft can’t possibly beat Seraphs.  Once the AV-14s are destroyed, we’re sitting ducks for a strafing run.  The problem is, we can’t budge from this position.  Every other piece of dirt a mile around us is held by Covenant ground forces.  We barely punched through to get here.  We’re trapped.”

            Reilly rubbed his bruised shoulder in pain.

            “D*mn…that jump wasn’t a good idea.  Not exactly the position I want to be in when a Covenant counter attack is imminent.”

            Will laughed.

“Welcome to the Marine Corps.  You got a weapon?”

            Sean shook his head. 

            “We lost our plasma pistols during the fall.”

            Peterson grabbed the Battle Rifle of the fallen Marine next to him and handed it to Sean.  He turned to face Lauren and Tyler.

            “You’ll find ammo all over the place.  Let’s just pray the flyboys get here in…”

            The Captain was cut off as a perfect formation of Longswords roared over the UNSC position.  Effortlessly, the sleek black spacecraft broke off from their pattern and prepared to attack.

***

            The pilot of Longsword Echo 2-5 switched on his comm.

            “Alright, this is Alan Gordon piloting Echo 2-5!  Squadron, sound off!”

            “Jenkins here on Echo 3-7!”

            “Echo 4-2 reporting!  Howard is online!”

            “Echo 1-3 is ready for action.  Young is at your command!”

            Gordon’s hand tightened on his joystick as he spotted a Seraph out of the corner of his eye.

            “Bogey at one o’ clock!  I’m going after him!”

            “This is 3-7!  I have you covered!”

            “Jenkins!  Swoop in from below!  I’ll flank ‘em from the left!”

            Gordon’s Interceptor made a hard turn as the pilot sliced through the air to reach his target.  He could see Jenkins flying three hundred feet below him at a similar speed.  The Covenant pilot detected the Longswords moving towards him, so he maneuvered his craft into a quick barrel roll.  Gordon adjusted his course to lock onto his target.

            “3-7 here !  I can’t get a shot!”

            “D*mn it!  Keep trying!  I’ve almost got him!”

            Gordon’s HUD beeped rapidly as his reticule found the fighter.

            “I’ve got a lock!  Fox One is away!”

            Gordon pulled the trigger and a Scorpion Rocket blasted out of the Longsword and into the air.  The projectile followed the Seraph for an instant, then made impact and detonated with high explosive force.  The tear-dropped shaped craft wobbled for a moment from the concussion of the blast, but continued speeding through the sky.

            “The shields are down!  Send it to hell!”

            “Copy that!”

            Gordon watched as Jenkins’ cannons smashed into the enemy fighter.  Bullets ripped through its strong metal armor, and seconds later, it erupted into flames and smashed  into the earth.

            “Bogey down!  Bogey down!”

            “Chalk one up for the good  guys,” Jenkins said coolly.

            “Follow my lead!  I’m picking up two more contacts at ten o’ clock high!” Alan yelled.

            The pair of Longswords snapped  into a tight roll and shot higher into the atmosphere.  Gordon squinted past the bright rays of sunlight and saw a group of two small black dots quickly approaching their formation.
            “Where do you want me, 2-5?”

            “Break off and raise altitude!  We’ll try to lose them in the clouds!” Gordon replied.

            “Yes, sir.”

            Expertly, the two fighter pilots cut off from formation and rocketed into opposite directions.

            Alan was pushed back into his seat by the mere force and speed of his Interceptor.  Glancing down at his radar, he could see a blip headed directly towards him.

            That’s right, you b*stard.  Keep coming this way.

            Gordon manuevered his craft into a sharp slant and dove straight into a cumulus cloud.  He was hidden…but so was the Seraph.  It was all up to their electronic scanners now.  Suddenly, warnings began flashing on his HUD.  A robotic voice began reading the alerts aloud.

            “Alert!  Alert!  Fighter incoming.  Recommend you change course twenty degrees,” it chimed.

            What the hell?  Gordon thought.  My radar says it’s not even…

            Alan broke out of his thoughts as the Seraph appeared out of nowhere and screamed over his cockpit, missing him by about twenty feet.

            God d*mned radar!  Sh*tty thing never works.

            Instinctively, Gordon snapped the Longsword in a short loop and made a complete one-hundred-and-eighty degree turn.  The Interceptor tore out of the clouds and made a beeline towards the separated Seraph.

            “Lights out,” he murmured.  The pilot switched his weapons system over to his 120 millimeters and squeezed trigger.  The cannons ripped through the alien craft, and the Seraph plummeted out of the clouds and towards the unforgiving ground.  Gordon smirked as it was transformed into a fiery inferno.  

            “This is 2-5; another bad guy’s bit the dust.  Jenkins, what’s your status?” 

            “This is 3-7!  I took a hit to my engine!  Bogey is still out there.  Altitude decreasing!”

            “Gordon here!  Can anyone give 3-7 support?”

            There was no response.

            Starting to panic, Alan began cycling through all of the comm channels and repeating his message.  He got the same reply – nothing.  Gordon was about to notify command when a clear reply came from Howard in Echo 4-2.

            “Sir, it’s hard to believe it – but they pulled back!  The Seraphs are gone!”

            “What?  Why?” Alan exclaimed.

            “The Navy’s preparing to make a move at Truth’s dig site.  Maybe the Covenant’s massing for a last ditch defense?”

            “Either that, or they’re just regrouping for another assault.  Stay in the sector and alert FLEETCOM.  Do you have Jenkins’ status?

            “He managed to stay in the air until he made an emergency landing at Eisenhower.  He’s alright.  We’ve got him.  Echo 1-3 is alive too – a Seraph took out his communications receiver.  I was flying as his wingman when his Interceptor was hit.  He’s headed back to the hanger to get it repaired,” Howard explained.

            “Thank God.  Alright, let’s stay on alert until we are updated on the situation.  Nice work.  Now our fate is in Admiral Hood’s hands.

            “No, sir – it’s up to the Master Chief now.”

            Gordon nodded to himself.  The man was right.

***

            Reilly squinted as a group of Pelicans and Sanghieli Phantoms dropped out of the clouds and touched down on Earth about two hundred meters away.  Peterson scratched his head.

            “I didn’t get a call that we had reinforcements.”

            Kern chuckled.

            “I can tell you at least one squad that arrived won’t let you down. Hey!  Adams!  Hampton!  You little b*stards.  I was doing fine without you.”

            Out of the group of Marines and Elites that had arrived, a small group of ODST stood out.  They jogged over to where the Lieutenant was standing.  Adams shouldered his sniper rifle and gripped Kern’s hand.

            “I missed you too.  Jesus, when was the last time we saw action? Delta Halo?”

            “Something like that.  You too, Hampton.  Remember when that sh*tty little Grunt almost shot your a*s off with that Fuel Rod Gun?”

            “What Kern is forgetting is that five minutes before that you saved his tail from those Hunters,” Adams remarked.

            Kern laughed.

            “If you say so.  I think you can get a good position in that rubble over there, it…”

            “That won’t be necessary,” Adams said, cutting him off.  “There’s a situation, and you’re going in with us.  Earlier today, a commando group attempted to recover an intelligence chip – in fact, the same one you helped capture with us on the planet Serenity.  They failed, and so FLEETCOM called an airstrike to erase the data forever.  But that’s the problem – it survived the explosion.  The Covenant called in a recovery team ten minutes later, and re-stole the intelligence.  The question is, why?  We’ve seen everything on there – or so we thought.  There’s more data on that chip.  Something big.”

            Kern swore.

            “What the hell else could be written there that’s important enough for both sides to use elite soldiers to recover it a second time?  That’s old intelligence…we grabbed that over three years ago.”

            Hampton spoke up.

            “Naval Intelligence was close to decoding it last month when a worm was released into the system – every copy that we ever made of the chip was deleted.  The original chip is all that’s left – and the enemy has it again.  My PDA has what we’ve gotten so far, but most of it is so broken that it’s impossible to understand.”

Hampton turned on the power and accessed a hidden file.  Kern’s eyes focused on the document.  It read:

 

The[incomplete]attack[incomplete]successful on Earth, we have discovered[incomplete]Flood[incomplete]the Ark is not[incomplete]victory will be ours.  The safehaven has been breached, humanity is dead.  The Great Journey will begin. 

 

Tyler sighed.  This day was just getting better and better.

 

So, what do you think?  Should I continue?  Let me know, guys.  It's my first fan fic.

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Thanks Ukurse!

Check Out My FF "Insertion Point"
Go Navy! America is still the greatest place on Earth, and it always will be!

not bad

really good when the next one up

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spartan command fighting the good fight on xbox live.
gamertag:xxjtoxx

I could have the next chapter up in a few days.  This one was just the introduction to the story.  I've got a lot more planned for Reilly.

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Thanks Ukurse!

Check Out My FF "Insertion Point"
Go Navy! America is still the greatest place on Earth, and it always will be!

cool keep up the good work

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spartan command fighting the good fight on xbox live.
gamertag:xxjtoxx

thanks I'm glad you like it

 Please keep letting me know what you think.

---

Thanks Ukurse!

Check Out My FF "Insertion Point"
Go Navy! America is still the greatest place on Earth, and it always will be!

Spartan commander, size down that sig.

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xbox Live Gamertag = SBDassassin21

its vary good and  i should know ive tead a lot of fan-fics

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i'm an old guy ... thant likes pong ... ya p-o-n-g ... its a game dumba**

Great story, better than most of the FF's on this site

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Halo: TCW
"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I have no fear because I am the meanest mofo in the valley

Thanks Sanchez, Chapter 2 will be up by Friday.  Keep sharing your opinions, please!

---

Thanks Ukurse!

Check Out My FF "Insertion Point"
Go Navy! America is still the greatest place on Earth, and it always will be!

I've seen Fan Fictions done in segments and as a whole...which way is the best?  I'm not sure whether to finish the whole thing, or release it in parts.  Please share your opinions.

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Thanks Ukurse!

Check Out My FF "Insertion Point"
Go Navy! America is still the greatest place on Earth, and it always will be!

well putting it as a whole is easier (spelling?) to read  because you dont have to go through all the pages to find it but i dont know which way its easier to write because i never wrote a FF

and good job on the FF

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Thats okay, I was just wondering.  I'm glad you like the story so far.

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Thanks Ukurse!

Check Out My FF "Insertion Point"
Go Navy! America is still the greatest place on Earth, and it always will be!

Eh, it's okay. It's phenomenally good for a noob though. I don't mean noob in the offensive way.

 PLZ make more good story

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Just because I Don't have a gun doesn't mean I can't kill you.