Chapter one everybody.
THE FATE OF ALOYSIUS
CHAPTER ONE: ALOYSIUS
Location: Paragon system. Orbit over Aloysius. UNSC Battleship Inferno
1st June 2539.
Captain Marsh stood on the deck of his beautiful ship. And the pride of the Fleet. Inferno could go toe to toe with any known Covenant ships and scrape a win. Boasting 500 ODST’s, 100 Scorpions, 250 Warthogs, a full battalion of Marines and three MAC cannons, she was indeed a force to be reckoned with. Marsh was looking into the beauty of Space. The distant Stars, the ships moving into Fleet position, and the planet itself, Aloysius. Clear blue Ocean covered over half of the planet, and it was the Ocean with a few small, green landmasses that he could see from this side of Aloysius. He often thought about the mysteries of life while facing such beauty. He also thought about his life a lot. A voice cut through his daydreams. “Captain, we’re picking up high frequency chatter on the E-Band.” Marsh frowned.
“The E-Band? What are they saying?” The Ensign offered his seat and his headphones to the Captain.
“Listen through that Sir.” Static blared for a second, followed by distorted voices. After a few buttons were pressed, everything became clear.
“Admiral Swanson calling through to all UNSC ships of the Caesar Battlegroup. Slipspace ruptures detected and a large number of hostile vessels have appeared behind the moon. We can’t listen in to their coms, but we can assume they aren’t coming here looking for a vacation spot. All of you form up in Pincer formation around the Moon. Inferno will be at the front, Swanson out.”
Marsh stood from the seat, gave the headphones back to the Ensign and turned towards his Navigational Officer. Lieutenant Hokiwa. “Hokiwa, plot a course to the Moon. Keep in front of the Pincer, we’re spearheading the attack.”
“Roger that Captain!” She replied in a firm voice. Her fingers began rapidly typing and the ship changed course. Marsh looked out of the viewscreen and saw the Fleet turning towards the planet. And far off in the distance, was the Moon. The Ensign at the Com panel, yelled suddenly. He stood quickly off his seat and the Headphones dropped onto the floor, dangling from the wire. But even from the deck, the Captain could hear a faint screech emanating from them. “Sir, something just started screeching! I think the Covenant are blocking communications.” He walked over to the com panel and shut it down.
“Marcus?” The ships A.I. appeared on his holographic pedestal.
“Yes Captain Marsh?”
”Can you reverse the signal and boost the receptors out towards the moon?” The A.I. pondered for a fraction of a second.
“I can try Sir, it won’t be easy however.”
“Just… Do your best Marcus.”
“Of course Sir, I will update you shortly.”
Marsh had manoeuvred to the head of the Fleet and was edging steadily closer to the Moon. Marcus appeared again, in a flood of green light. “Captain Marsh, I have reversed the signal. Communications should be blocked for the Covenant. They can’t communicate, but they won’t notice I have jammed them.”
“Good job Marcus, and the Receptors?”
“Working Sir, however, this task won’t take up as much energy as the last required, so is there anything else you would have me do?”
“Yes, when you boost the signal, listen in to their communications; see if you can patch them through to the Fleet.”
“Of course Sir, working.” The hologram disappeared. For a dumb A.I. Marcus was quite useful. And Marsh didn’t know what he would do without that A.I. who took the appearance of Winston Churchill.
“Ensign, try the Coms again, according to Marcus, they should be up.” The Ensign switched them back on again. This time, there was no interference.
“All clear Captain. I’m going to send a message to the Fleet, is that okay Sir?”
”Do it, tell them that we have jammed Hostile communications.”
”Working Sir.” Marcus reappeared.
“Captain Marsh, change frequency to 44587.13847.”
“Ensign? Have you sent that message yet?”
“Just about… And, she has been sent Sir.”
“Switch frequency to 44587. 13847”
“Yes Sir!” More buttons were pressed and a few dials twisted. He put the headphones on for a brief moment. He nodded his head and offered them to Marsh. “Sir, we have ‘em.”
Marsh put them on. All Alien messages coming through were being translated to the latest in UNSC translation software. So some parts came out in English.
“Unbridled Rapture; move next to Divine Spirit. The Alien Scum are approaching. Our Scouts say so, now hurry or I will fire on you for mutiny.”
Scouts? Marsh looked out of the view screen. There was nothing there. Just the Moon and the Stars. “Marcus, can you increase radar frequency by enough range to reach the edge of the Moon?”
”Working Sir… Done.” Marsh turned towards the radar panel. Lieutenant Alexander stared intently at the screen.
“Sir there are… Small flickers? I don’t know what they are, but something keeps coming and going real fast. Take a look for yourself Captain.” Marsh bent over the screen and saw (As the radar went over them) A few very small red flickers appear.
“Yep, those are enemy all right. Marcus, how accurate are you with weapons?”
“Very, would you like me to target their reconnaissance?”
“That would be appreciated Marcus.” The ship vibrated as the cannons came online. Very faint thuds could be heard as the incredibly powerful depleted Tungsten rounds fired into Space. A small fireball cut through the relative darkness of Space. And then two more. Marcus stopped firing the very millisecond the last fireball erupted.
“Anything else you would have me do Sir?”
”Yeah, fire the bloody MAC like that and we’ll win a victory.”
Chapter Two
Caesar Battlegroup
Location: Paragon system. Orbit over Aloysius, close to Aloysius’ moon: Norse
UNSC Battleship Inferno
1st June 2539
“Captains log; Date- 1st June, 2539. We have cornered what appears to be a moderate sized Covenant fleet. Norse is providing them with a lot of cover and puts us at a tactical disadvantage. After jamming their communications with the shipboard A.I. Marcus, we heard one of their ships trying to communicate with its fleet, we assume this to be the flagship, and it threatened a nearby ship with destruction if it continued to ignore orders. A few minutes later, we saw the burning wreckage of one of the ships stream out from behind Norse. We let it pass and tightened our grip around the Moon. Orders from Admiral Swanson told us to attack. I’ll update later. Captain Marsh out.”
Inferno was leading the left wing and the Admirals Heavy Cruiser Blitzkrieg led the right wing. Marsh coughed and turned towards a holographic Winston Churchill. “Marcus? Do you have control of the gun?”
“Of course Captain Marsh. Charge is at 100% on all three guns and we are ready to fire on demand.”
”Excellent work Marcus. Ensign Steele, any new communications? Enemy or friendly?”
”No Sir… Wait! Picking up high amounts of chatter on the Covenant side. It seems they have broken our jam. There seem to be a lot of confused messages as to why their flagship fired on one of their own. And now, they are moving into position against us.”
“Hokiwa, increase speed to the engines by 15%.
”Aye, aye Captain!” Her fingers danced across the controls. She would be imperative for their survival. Marsh saw Norse drift out of view, and be replaced by a Covenant Frigate. Its lateral sides faced Inferno and they were charging their Plasma torpedoes. They glowed a dark Orange colour first. “HOKIWA! EVASIVE MANOEUVRES!”
Even more rapid typing sounded through the frantic Bridge. “Sir, message from the Blitzkrieg!” Marsh hurried over and donned the headphones.
“Swanson so Marsh, fire on the Frigates covering the left, converge one MAC and a salvo of Archers on all three Frigates, then pull back and let the Destroyers do their work.” Marsh pulled off the headphones and turned back towards the viewscreen. The guns were glowing white. And then, they discharged. Lightning fast, they streaked towards the Inferno. “Marcus, fire at will!” The holographic Winston Churchill, flashed Red for a brief second, before turning back to green, as the MAC fired. A MAC round flew towards the Frigate, three streaks of plasma slammed into the ship.
Heavy rumbling sent Marsh tumbling to the floor, and several bridge crew to the ground. Marsh grabbed hold of the railing around the viewscreen and hauled himself up. “Damnit, Harrison; what are the damage reports?”
“Sir, we are picking up heavy fires down in the Cafeteria and several hull breaches from Deck 7 downwards.”
Marsh smoothed back his brown hair and realised he had lost his hat. He decided to ignore his breach of uniform for now.
“Good.”
The MAC smashed through the Frigates shield and entered the side of the ship. The sides crumpled inward and the ship bent a little bit. Atmosphere leaked from the hole and smoke poured from inside it. The MAC exited out the other side and spun around in the vacuum of Space, its once lethal velocity reduced to a harmless spin. The Frigate leaned towards Norse and began being pulled in by the Moons gravity. As the Frigate dropped out of sight, Marcus flashed red again, and a loud thump shook the Bridge. Another MAC streamed towards the second Frigate, which was still trying to recover from Marcus’ communications jam. It showed its bow to the Inferno and the MAC entered into its nose. Explosions tore through the ship as the MAC carved out a messy path through the ship. The stern of the ship blew outwards in a massive explosion. The Frigate tumbled through Space, completely dead. Another Frigate was facing away from the Inferno. A small MAC round from a Destroyer hit it, breaking its shields and causing light damage to the hull. Marcus fired Archers A through to D and watched intently as they headed towards their target, marking their path with a criss cross of white vapour. Hundreds of small explosions appeared on the hull of the Frigate. They blossomed into larger explosions and the ship was left completely charred by the barrage. It just sat there, disabled.
Marcus looked at Marsh with a smile on his face. Orders completed Sir, suggest we pull out and let the Destroyers deal with the Covenant Flagship.”
“Acknowledged Marcus; Hokiwa, withdraw immediately. And Marcus, how are the MAC’s?”
”Yes, Sir. Moving now.”
“Well, Captain Marsh, the first MAC is full and the other two are halfway done.”
“Marcus, do you think we could fire another round as we leave? At the Covenant Cruisers surrounding the Flagship?”
“Yes, Sir. Calculating… Reduce speed by 35% Lieutenant Hokiwa and get us on a Right sided spin.”
“Okay Marcus,” Her fingers tapped in a small series of commands. “Done, whenever you’re ready.”
“Captain, I will be able to get a clean hit on the Starboard side of the Flagship in exactly 12.38 seconds. On your orders of course.”
“Do it Marcus. And Steele, send a message to Swanson, tell him to open a barrage on the Flagship. We are about to launch a MAC round on it.”
“Working Sir.”
The Battleship edged backwards, the Destroyers passed it on the left. And around the defensive ring of Cruisers, there could be seen the smallest of gaps. Marcus flashed red and another thump came from the fired MAC gun. On the crooked viewscreen, Marsh saw the white bolt heading towards the hole. He crossed his fingers. Exhaling deeply as the MAC round passed through the hole. Cheers erupted around the bridge and the shields on the Covenant Flagship flickered and fizzled out. A Cruiser next to the Flagship exploded and collided with another Cruiser. The Flagship fired, only to hit the passing Cruiser which had just been disabled. Plasma boiled away its interior and it vented most of its atmosphere. It drifted away from the Flagship. And just before they lost view of the battle to Norse, they saw a MAC impact on the Flagship, and it was pushed back by the sheer force of it. Marsh smiled and turned to his crew. We won a victory today, due to Marcus. It doesn’t look as though we have taken any serious damage and Most of the enemy ships have been taken out of the fray. Good Job Bridge, we can sleep soundly tonight, knowing that Aloysius is safe.”
“SIR! Oh ***! How did we not notice that before! SIR! I have found multiple dots on the radar. Very small, seems to be hundreds of Dropships and fighters. Heading down to the surface of Aloysius!” Alexander looked towards his Captain with desperation etched onto his face.
“Marcus? Are they out of range?”
”Yes Captain Marsh. It would be fruitless to fire at them now.”
“Steele, alert the Fleet and Marcus? Prep the Marines, we’re going down there.”
Chapter three
Invasion Force
Location: Paragon system. On board UNSC Battleship, Inferno.
1st June 2539
“Captain Marsh, three Covenant ships jumped out of the system. We expect they will be back with reinforcements soon. So, I suggest you deal with the threat on the ground.” Marcus glowed orange and then amber as he calculated the amount of time needed to do this operation. “It will take us about an hour to prep the Marines for battle, 20 minutes for them to be in the launch craft, and roughly ten minutes until they touch down. At least ten minutes for the ODST’s.” Marsh scratched the stubble on his chin.
“Marcus, have them ready as soon as possible, launch Red and Blue Squadrons to head down and give bombing runs and support to the local airforce.” Marcus bowed in response and his hologram flickered off.
Private First Class Max Arthur looked down at his watch. Ten minutes to go. He nervously gripped the safety bars holding him in place. The green light illuminated his face. Sweat dripped down his face, and he exhaled deeply. Donning his helmet, he checked to see if his MA5K was in place. It was there, next to his M19 SSM Rocket Launcher. The speaker burst with static, and then the voice of Marcus came through. “ODST’s, prepare to be dropped. Pelicans, leave with your troops approximately 20 seconds after the ODST’s.” Arthur checked to see if he was secure, and then held his breath and closed his eyes. He opened them slightly, as he heard a slight hiss. The door had completely sealed. “This is it! Why did I sign up for this bull?” He thought, as the HEV pod sunk slightly. He jolted, and then the light turned red. More hisses came, but from the floor this time. And then, he dropped.
His stomach felt as though it had been left back on the ship. The screen that allowed him to see outside the HEV, showed the Moon, Norse; stunningly beautiful in the darkness of Space. But Arthur was too busy holding on to the safety harness and praying to God so that he didn’t die. The HEV rattled madly, and he was jostled about in his harness, luckily it held him in place, otherwise he would have broken every bone in his body by now. An alarm wailed, and he opened his eyes in fear. He was straying off course. On the viewscreen, he could see the other HEV’s drifting slowly to the side. He heard another alarm. “Jesus! What now!” He looked at the screen. It read “Time to slow descent”. He grabbed hold of a ripcord and felt heavy resistance as he tugged it with all his might. The HEV vibrated hellishly for a second, and then it was calm. He heard a snap, and the HEV shook again. His stomach was left behind once more, and seconds later, his harness snapped and he smashed his head into the ceiling of the HEV.
He awoke to the sound of his com blaring. “Arthur, come in. We are waiting on you, what’s your current position Arthur?” He felt very groggy and he struggled to keep his eyes open. He heard an explosion outside, and that was enough to wake him. He pressed a yellow button on the wall, and the door burst open. Sunlight filled the small, enclosed space, and his helmet darkened to reduce the glare of the sunlight. He pulled a lever next to his MA5K. The bars holding it in place retracted with a whir, and he pulled back the clacker (LOL!) on the Assault Rifle before doing the same for his M19 SSM, and took in his surroundings. He was in a jungle of some kind. Birds could be heard in the trees and it seemed very quiet. But then, there was the distant crump of a bomb going off. Birds took off from the trees in fright, and the radio blared again. “Arthur! Pick up, where are you goddamnit!”
Arthur lifted up the radio and spoke into it. “Sergeant, I’m somewhere in the forest.”
“Arthur? Oh good, we thought you’d ran off. Gone AWOL, but that’s not important anymore. We are waiting for you at the Creek, what’s happening on your end?”
”I got dragged away from you guys. I’m probably a few miles out at most. I have the Creek on the TACMAP; I’ll be there soon Sergeant.”
“We’re heading in. We’ll set a rendezvous near the fighting.”
A NAV appeared on Arthur’s HUD.
“Yes Sir, moving now.” Arthur switched off the radio and hefted it onto his back. He put the strap for the Rocket Launcher around his waist so that it would fit under the Radio. There was a lot of weight on his back, but he could manage.
He looked once more at the HEV and turned towards the looming trees. He stepped into the dense forest, and soon the HEV was lost from view. He heard another explosion; closer this time. He doubled his pace. He heard sonic booms. Looking up, just through the canopy of the trees, he could see a new wave of HEV’s coming down. And just behind them, were Pelicans. He sighed and finally didn’t feel as though he would be taking on the whole Covenant army alone. A rumble sounded in the distance. And then it built to a drone, and then a gargantuan roar. The ground shook, and a Longsword fighter zoomed over him, inches from the tops of the trees. He heard a large series of explosions. So, the Longsword’s were performing bombing runs? That would explain the explosions.
He heard a rustling in the trees. He dropped on one knee and aimed his MA5K through a gap between two trees. Shadows danced around the floor as the gentle breeze wafted the trees around. On any other day, this would have been a beautiful experience, now; it was distracting. He saw movement go by the gap. He aimed at the side of the tree, and a lone Grunt emerged from the side. It sniffed the air, and made to walk back. Arthur pulled the trigger back a little, but took it off when he heard an Alien voice. Deep, and intimidating. The Grunt barked and squeaked in reply. A noise very similar to a “Huff” was heard, and the Grunt began to walk back. Arthur stayed close behind it, and took cover behind the tree. Leaning around, he saw more Grunts; about five, and an Elite. It shouted out orders every now and then. Arthur looked on with interest, when the worst thing that could happen, happened.
The radio crackled on. “Arthur, Arthur, come in!” The Grunts screamed at the sudden outburst, but the Elite fired straight at the tree. Plasma boiled away a part of the trunk, and small splinters flew past his head. Arthur cursed and unstrapped the radio; he threw it out from behind the tree. The Sergeants voice cut out suddenly as plasma set the piece of equipment alight. Arthur looked out from the tree, the Grunts had formed in a little group and all had overcharged weapons. The Elite was aiming very carefully at the tr- WHOOSH! A plasma bolt slammed into the side of the tree, inches from Arthur’s face. He pointed the MA5K around the tree one handed, and blindfired a clip at them. A screech rang out, followed by several moans. The Elite made a startled, gargling noise. Arthur peered out again. A Grunt lay dead, covered in blue blood, and as it fell, its plasma pistol overcharged into the Elite. He also wounded two other Grunts, who had discharged harmlessly into the air. He threw the empty clip to the ground and slapped home a fresh one. He side stepped out from behind the tree and fired small bursts at the shieldless Elite. A round pinged off its head armour, grazing it, another round hit it in the tendon, and the Solar Plexus. It dropped on one knee, and tried to raise itself up; using its Plasma Rifle as support. Before it could rise shakily from the ground, a final bullet popped its eye, and entered its brain. It spun and landed on its front. Blood seeped out from its body. The remaining two unwounded Grunts ran deep into the forest. The two wounded tried to crawl away. A boot to the neck finished them off.
The radio continued to burn. Good. The thing *** near cost him his life. A hum of an engine began to come from above him. He looked up and saw a Pelican hover over him for a second. It tilted to the right and sped off. He continued to head towards the NAV marker. Only another two Miles. Another Longsword passed over him and bombed a large section of forest. He chuckled at the thought of BBQ Grunt and was caught unaware by the charred armour of a Hunter. He rounded a corner, completely unaware. It roared a challenge at him. He froze in his tracks. Its armour had been burnt off at some places. Most around the chest and mid-section. Its Fuel Rod gun seemed to be completely broken, with a leak of green gas escaping from a hole in its side. It raised its metallic “Arm” and brought it down on the place where he had been stood a second before. He had instinctively rolled back when he saw it move. Still in a crouch, he fired a few round into its exposed armour. Orange blood sprayed out and it gave a low growl. It charged and brought its shoulder down to tackle him. And with something that strong, it would kill him. He side stepped and fired a large burst into its exposed back. It stiffened and spun around, missing him by inches with its shield, amazingly fast.
He sprinted past it, feeling the air displace as its arm almost decapitated him. He kept sprinting, and while he did so, he swapped his MA5K, for his M19 SSM. He dug his heel into the dirt, spun and fired without aiming. A surprised roar rang out, before Arthur was tossed backwards by the force of the explosion. His HUD flickered repeatedly. He hit the side of his helmet and it stopped. The M19 lay two metres away from him, smoke pouring from one the barrels. He looked over to where he fired. There was armour scattered everywhere, and the whole forest looked covered in Orange blood. He laughed once. An unsure laugh, a shocked laugh. And then, he whooped and pumped his fist in the air. He crawled back up and walked over to the gooey mess that was once his most deadly enemy. “Did you enjoy that you Alien ***?! Huh!? He fired his Assault Rifle into the mess and spat into it. Slinging his M19 onto his back, he continued towards the NAV, a lot happier than he had been.
Location: Third Fleet of Joyous Deliverance.
Covenant Flagship Last Doubt.
14th cycle, the Age of Reclamation
Ship master Masa’Veregee slammed his fist into the command consol. He turned to his operations officer, growling, “How did they defeat us?” He slammed his fist down again, making a few Unggoy twitch in fear. “We should have out classed them!”
Maro’Shinoro shook his head, “The rest of the fleet was rash, and they underestimated the vermin. By the prophets, I do not believe they will make the same mistake twice.”
Masa clenched his fists, resisting the temptation to punt one of the Unggoy across the bridge. “What is the status of the other ships?” The ship master glided over to his navigation officer, staring over the smaller Sangheili’s shoulder.
“Only two other ships survived the attack ship master.” Zera’Meghara said, looking intensely at the holographic displays. “They all report ground battalions launched.”
This raised Masa’s spirit a little. If the ground assault was successful, then there would be no need for the Humans to protect the planet. “Good,” he said, tuning back to the forward view screen, “Send word to the Prophets that Joyous Deliverance requires a new supplement of ground forces and more cruisers in order to complete our mission.” The Sangheili at communications nodded and set to work. “We shall wait… once the Human’s guard is down, we shall destroy them in the name of the Great Journey. We shall not be denied our prize. Ready the ships, we must ready for the arrival of our reinforcements.”
Location: Force of Particular Regret
Aloysius, Approx. 1 Klick from UNSC Outpost 11
Age of Reclamation
Vesa’Refmemee barked orders at a squad of Unggoy, moving them closer to the human base. The vermin had set up inside a large concrete structure, with a massive steel door. Vesa ordered the Unggoy to cut into the door so that his troops could move in. The major tensed, his gold armor glinting in the midday sun. All had gone well so far, the prophets will be done. Even so, something nagged at the Sangheili, making his actions cautious.
A squat Unggoy waddled over to Vesa, his voice scratchy and dry. “We’re almost through Field Master, the vermin’s defenses will fall!”
Vesa grabbed the Unggoy by the throat lifting him off his stubby feet, growling, “Do not underestimate the Humans, I believe we have yet to see what they have in store for us.” He threw the little animal down, causing it to squeal and scrabble back to its feet. “Break through the barrier at once and send in the Kig-Yar, we shall strike them down when they try to escape.”
This Kig-Yar rushed into place as the door buckled inward and fell over. Quickly, they made their way inside, igniting their wrist shields on the interior. Vesa flinched as gunfire erupted inside the structure. Moments later Kig-Yar were running out of the building with their hands flailing. Vesa growled again, lifting his plasma rifle to the opening, waiting for Humans to poor from the building. A lone man rushed the door, his rife opened on full. Bullets littered the air, taking down a few Unggoy.
The man froze when he saw Vesa. His jaw dropped, rifle still raise and pointed straight at the Sangheili. Vesa grinned, firing one shot into the humans arm. It screamed, unloading its weapon into Vesa. Rounds reflected off of his energy shields, ricocheting into other warriors. The Human clutched his arm, falling to the ground.
Vesa strode over to where it lay, reaching down and picking the Human up by its scrawny neck. The man’s face went pale as his feet left the ground. He gasped, the air escaping from his lungs. Vesa leaned in closer, eying the man before grunting, “Your race… is doomed.” The next thing the human did, was laugh. Vesa stared ant him, perplexed at the odd emotion. Suddenly a loud noise broke the odd laugh, followed pain in Vesa’s chest.
He dropped the Human in reflex, looking down where it hurt. Two fine holes stood out against his golden armor, blood already running down it. He looked up and saw the Human raising a small pistol. Vesa had underestimated the Human race, he pondered this slowly as the Human casually put two rounds into the Sangheili’s head.
The rest of Vesa’s warriors either fled or opened fire. Needler rounds impacted the Human, and yet it kept laughing. The Man just kept on laughing, right up until the rounds imploded. Vesa’Refmemee was no more.
Chapter four
Messages home
Location: Paragon system, orbit over Aloysius, UNSC Inferno
1st June, 2539
Private Bard switched on the video camera, and hurried back to his bunk. Sitting on the edge of his bed, he looked into the camera and gave a little wave. “Hey Mom, I just wanted to send you an update. Umm, I’m going into combat in three hours. I know what you read in the news about a lot of our soldiers not coming back but, the Aliens are in pretty small numbers. I should be okay.” He smiled quickly before turning more serious than he had ever been. “But, if something does happen to me and I… And I die.” He paused for a second. “Then, just remember I died for a good reason. I wasn’t a wasted life. And, I love you Mom, and tell the others I love them too. Bobby, Adam and Dad. And, goodbye Mom. I hope I make it back. Wish me luck.” He waved to the camera and turned it off. He ejected a disk and sealed it in an envelope. Kissing it, he stored it in his pocket, shoved on his combat boots, his helmet, his green fatigues, and walked out through the sliding door.
Arthur crouched low in the shrubs and kept his laser sight trained just above the green foliage. His eye twitched as he saw movement. Pushing the trigger back ever so slightly, he kept a watch. A bark sounded and something fluorescent moved past him in a blur. It was a Jackal Shield. The shield filled his sight, and the Jackal turned its vulnerable side to him. He didn’t hesitate. Pressing the trigger once, he saw blood spray onto the leaves. The Jackal fell down. He aimed downward into the bushes, and fired another two rounds where he thought the Jackal would have fell. He was rewarded by a screech and the sound of a shield collapsing. He edged forward slowly, and aimed his gun at the ground. The Jackal lay on the ground, blood flowing from an ugly wound in its head. And another two wounds in its chest. He made to walk ahead, taking extra special care to tread on the Aliens head.
Bard was in line at the armoury. A Marine in front of him held out a gloved hand and received an M6D Pistol from the Armour Attendant. He checked the magazine, and slotted it into his holster. An MA5B was shoved out onto the tray in front of the bullet proof glass that the Armoury Attendant worked behind. The soldier gave a weary “Thanks” and walked away towards the Hangar. Bar walked in front of the Armoury Attendant and showed him a “Surface pass”. A Surface Pass was what soldiers called the cards given to them that got them permission to fight in the current ground battles. The Attendant looked at the card, and sighed heavily. “Okay, here’s your M6D, and here’s your MA5B. He handed the pistol to him and then shoved the MA5B through a tray. The Attendant saluted and Bard walked off with his new weaponry.
Arthur checked the NAV. Only half a mile left to go. A Pelican suddenly appeared above him. He was deep in the foliage of the forest, and the Pelican thought he was a hostile. Its chin turret whirred. Arthur looked up and rolled sideways as soon as the first bullet emerged. The area he had just been in was covered in lead. He came out of the roll in a crouch; he quickly looked towards the Pelican and sprinted away into the denser parts of the jungle. From what he saw, the Pelican was turning to engage him again. He cursed under his strained attempts at breathing. He tripped over and just lay in the grass. His M19 weighing him down immensely. His M19? He took it off and rolled over onto his back. Aiming upwards, he saw the Pelican come back over the forest, looking for him. Why would a Pelican waste so much time on just one target? He aimed the M19 at the Pelican, and fired a rocket.
Bard got in another line in the Hangar. Pelicans lined the huge room and soldiers stood in lengthy lines to board one. Bard saw a Pelican zoom into the room and land in a designated area. Soldiers moved up and showed their cards to a Lieutenant. He nodded at them and counted the soldiers in the ship. He held out a hand and signalled to the pilots. The ship closed the door and lifted off. Bard stared longingly after it. He just wanted to get down there and kick some Alien ass.
The rocket steamed towards its target and impacted on the left wing. Fire erupted from the wing and smoke belched out from it. Pieces of debris landed around him. The Pelican tilted to the right and began to spin. It gradually descended in this state, and a large thump replaced the sound of the whirring engine. Arthur exhaled deeply and wondered what would happen to him now. Could he plead self defence? He wondered if he should head towards the wreckage. He made his mind up, and headed towards the pillar of smoke that was heading up into the atmosphere.
Bard heard the ships A.I.’s voice blare through some speakers. “Pelican A-22 Spartacus is down. Those waiting for that ship, please move to a new line.” Bard looked up at the board and saw the Pelican name and number. He swore loudly, along with the others in the line, and prepared to sprint to the shortest line. He ran at full speed, and slipped on the metal floor. He rolled to a stop a metre away from the line. Soldiers stared at him, and some laughed. He rose to his feet, embarrassed.
Arthur crawled through the bushes and heard voices ahead. “***, that was UNSC issue weaponry that got us down, who the *** shoots at a friendly?!” Arthur reached the edge of the bushes, and poked his gun through them. He could see two pilots inspecting the damage, and 12 Marines over near the treeline. One of them was propped against a tree with a shard of metal lodged into his ribs, and a very large crack in his helmet. His head was lolling to the side as he struggled to keep consciousness.
“I have no idea, but now we’re down in enemy territory. How the Hell do we get to the front? We don’t even have any weapons. We’re pilots for God’s sake!”
A plasma bolt seared through the Pelicans window. The pilots ducked behind it and the soldiers near the treeline ran for cover. One soldier dragged the wounded one behind a large tree trunk. Plasma hit the ground and the trees, throwing up dirt and splinters of wood. Arthur struggled to see the hostiles. The Pelican blocked his view, but he could see the plasma rounds clearly. He had a rough idea of where they were. A green bolt hit the grass inches away from his elbow. He quickly rolled to the side and crouch ran through the tall grass. He rolled to a tree and pressed his back against it. Leaning around the side, he could make out the figure of a Grunt. He fired a few concentrated rounds. A screech rang out, and the figure dropped out of sight. Arthur peeked out again, his adrenaline increased ten-fold after a bolt narrowly missed his face. He heard gunfire clatter from ahead of him. The Marines were finally fighting back. A blue orb sailed through the air, and landed on the Pelican. There was a whine and a flash of blue light. Electricity sparkled in the area where the blue orb had just been before vanishing completely.
Bard walked towards the shortest line in the Hangar. Even though it was the shortest, it still stretched for a massive distance. A Pelican soared into the Hangar. It hovered over the troops and landed on the metal floor. A Sergeant held up the line to check the cards. One Marine jumped on. Bard pushed the guy in front of him, and ran full speed towards the Pelican. Two Marines on board. He passed the halfway point of the line. Five Marines on board. The Sergeant looked up to cries of outrage. Seeing the Private sprinting towards the Pelican. Bard shoved the card in the Sergeants hands as he ran past, and hopped onto the Pelican. Marines tried to shove him out, but the Sergeant pointed his gun at them. “I have been stood here for two hours. And not once, have I seen someone with enough balls to actually want to go down there. Let him on, and good luck Private. The rest of you, CARDS! NOW!”
Arthur crouch ran to another tree. Now he was very close to the Marines. And he could see behind the Pelican. An Elite emerged from the trees and lobbed another plasma grenade. Grunts waddled forward and lay down suppressing fire on the Marines. Arthur propped his gun between the split in the tree, and fired a few rounds. A Grunt grabbed its throat, and thrashed around as a bullet penetrated its Methane mask. The gas leaked out at an alarming rate, and soon enough, the Grunt was writhing on the floor, until it eventually lay dead. Arthur fired another round, and blew off a Grunts finger. It shrieked in horror and clutched its hand as the sheer pain of losing its finger kicked in. Sinking to its knees, the Grunt bellowed. The Elite turned in anger and fired a bolt of superheated plasma into the Grunts face. It melted and the Grunt fell back very slowly, propped up by its triangular back.
Bard ignored the icy looks from the Marines in the troop hold and continued to stare at the floor. The Pelican doors closed and Bard heaved a sigh of relief. Getting into the fight at last. He felt weightless as the ship entered Space. Soon, he would be saving the Human Race, one Covenant at a time.
Arthur watched the Elite go down in a hail of lead, while he killed the Grunts. He looked over at the Pilots, and saw one of them staring right down the barrel of a Needler. The other Pilot dared not move for fear of death. A Grunt shakily held the weapon. Arthur fired a round off, and hit it between the eyes. The Covenant was no more, and the Pilots looked cautiously over the wreckage of the Pelican. The squad of Marines came out while the wounded one was still being seen to. “Someone helped us! We didn’t lay down that much fire.” Arthur chose that moment to walk out from his cover. “Sorry for shooting you guys down earlier.” Arthur said casually as he walked over the wreckage. One of the Pilots looked blank as it sank in. The other one was turning a very angry shade of red.
Bard could see the green of a jungle underneath his Pelican. The speakers clicked. “Touchdown in five Marines, buckle up, it’s gonna get bumpy. There’s a clearing about a mile or two ahead, gonna try and get her in there.” The Sergeant yelled into the Cockpit.
“COPY THAT EAGLE TWO!” An explosion rumbled close underneath them, and a few Shortswords zoomed past, releasing their ordnance on whatever lay beneath them. Bard watched in awe and excitement as the trees were uprooted and burned by the bombs, and he could swear there were the faintest sounds of screaming. This battle was already tough, but it would get tougher.
SPQR! An ambitious historical project, coming soon. Check the Library for early version test writes. Recommended for anyone with a love of history.