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Helljumper Reach Campaign by Spartan-507
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Helljumper's Reach Campaign, Part 1
Date: 8 January 2005, 11:08 PM
The alarm rang all throughout the UNSC cruiser Saratoga, waking the entire crew. Down in the barracks of the 105th Division(the Helljumpers), D company, Sgt. Bob Smith cursed silently to himself. Corporal Matthew Caceres sat wide-eyed on his cot," What the hell is going on now?!". "Ease up Marine", said a gruff voice down the end of the barracks. It was their Lieutenant, Mike Shaw. "Whatever reason the Commander woke us up for, I'm sure as hell that it's a good one." "It better be", said yet another voice. This time it belonged to Lance Corporal Eric Gutierrez. Then the intercom blasted, "All combat personnel report to battle stations. Repeat, all combat personnel report to battle stations. This is not a drill. Repeat, this is not a drill. Reach has come under attack." By the time the announcement was over, all the Helljumpers were already gone. After about 4 and a half minutes of running to their battle stations, they suited up in theirr full body armor. Sgt. Smith grabbed 2 Pistols and one MA5B Assault Rifle. The companies sniper, PFC Anthony Gonzalez grabbed a sniper rifle,two sound mufflers and a fully loaded rocket launcher. "Alright men, the Covenant think that they can have Reach. Well, we're here to let them know that the only thing they can have is a swift kick in the ass. Now lets drop feet first into hell" said Shaw. The men responded with a quick "Hoorah". They loaded up into their HEV's and braced themselves for the sudden lurch all drops like these had. As they were just about ready to drop down to the South Pole of Reach to defend the generator that powered the Orbital MAC guns, they got a new order from Commander David Terrance." Marines, the Covenant cruiser, Hailing Glory, has crash landed just north of the city of Apacanopo. We're sending you there to stop them from creating any civilian casualties." Shaw responded "Roger that, sir."
As the pods dropped toward their destination, Sgt. Smith remembered that his wife was on a business trip in Apacanopo. He hoped that he would get to her before the Covenant. After a few short minutes, the pods finally crashed onto the surface of Reach. PFC Armand Ruiz approached the Sgt. and reported "Sir, drop successful. No casualties. we've landed about 3 miles west of Apacanopo". "Thank you, Private" Smith returned. As they neared Apacanopo, they recieved a communication. ".....all over. They're overwhelming us. We can't protect the generators...longer. They've also got a new soldier here. Something called Elites...wicked strong and.. oh shit, look out behind you.....". The communication failed. "Was that to us, Loot?" asked PFC Robert Byrnes. "Well, in a matter of speaking, no. It was directed to everyone in-system." reported Shaw. Sgt. Smith was just about to say somehting when they recieved yet another communication, this one directed to them. " Hey boys, need a ride?" 3 Pelicans came into view, 2 carrying Warthogs, and one carrying a Scorpion battle tank. It wasn't enough to carry all of them, but it will do."Thanks" said the Sgt. He mounted the guner seat of one of the Warthog, while Ruiz manned the turret and Caceres drove. Shaw boarded the gunner seat of the other LRV, and Gonzalez mounted a side seat on the tank while Byrnes drove the thing. Those who were fast got a seat on one of the vehicles, while the others walked alongside the tank. In total, there were 14 men in D Company, and one woman, PFC Melisa Perez. As they entered Apacanopo, they were greeted by a barrage of plasma fire, and a sea of mortar blasts from 3 Wraiths down the street. Gonzalez opened up with the rocket launcher, eliminating one of the Wraiths and damaging another. The remaining Wraiths answered in kind, delivering mortar after mortar of blasts, finally killing PFC Joe Pykins and ripping apart PFC John Mahvoic. About 14 Jackals ran down the street, plasma pistols charging. just as Anthony was about to fire another salvo of rockets at the Wraiths, a bolt hit him square in the chest, causing his rockets to take out an entire truck. Ruiz put the petal to the metal, trampling 9 of the 14 Jackals into paste. The remaining ones were then greeted with a storm of molten lead from the Warthogs' chaingun. Smith then sprayed the bodies still struggling to get up with an entire clip from his AR. Only one of the Wraiths was still operating, thanks to the Scorpion's main weapon. More and more reports of these "Elites" kep flooding in, but none gave a direct description. One tried to send an electronic picture, but all that came through was a bunch of badly pixilated pictures of something. Then, an ear-splitting explosion shook the city. The Helljumpers looked up and saw a UNSC cruiser hurtling down towards the south. A communication from the downed ship was intercepted."Mayday!Mayday! This is Commander David Terrance of the Saratoga. We are going down." the ship then disappeared into the horizon, followed by a faint rumble on the ground. "Damn, damn, damn, damn!" screamed Sgt. Smith. As they turned the corner of the block, the Warthog screeched to a halt. Something was looking at them. It was looking at them from 4 blocks away. It was a Scarab. "Fall back, fall back!' ordered Smith. But the Scorpion still turned the corner. The Scarab's "head" was glowing a violent green. Anthony screamed "Everybody off!!" the ones riding on the sides jumped off, but not Byrnes. He was struggling to get his harness free and open the hatch. "C'mon Byrnes move your ass!" shouted Smith. Byrns opened the hatch, and got up, but it was too late. A green beam of plasma stuck the tank. Smith saw Byrnes' outline for a millisecond, then it disappeared. The tank melted and exploded, sending liquid metal everywhere. Then the Scarab started it's way towards them.
Helljumper Reach Campaign, Part II: The Elite
Date: 12 January 2005, 12:58 AM
The Scarab kept coming closer, even though they were moving from it at top speed. The street where the Scorpion had once been was still smoldering. "Hey Sarge!" yelled Corporal Gutierrez, "Why don't you call in an air strike?" Before Smith could respond, Shaw jumped in. "Because Marine, the blast from the reactors on the Scarab would take us with it". But Smith disagreed. "Sir, it's worth a shot, regardless if it takes us with it. As long as there is a chance that it'll be destroyed, I'm willing to risk it." "Alright Smith. But I ain't gonna be the one who possibly condemns us to death. You're calling in the air strike" responded Shaw. "Fine with me Loot." He began his communication. " This is Sergeant Smith of the 105th Division, D Company. We are currently being attacked by a Scarab. Requesting an immediate air strike. Over". The response came almost immediately. "This is Colonel Nelson Roque. We are currently inbound. Over." "That's all I ask", said Smith.
Colonel Nelson Roque and his wingmen had just accomplished taking out an entire squadron of Seraph fighters when he got a request for an immediate air strike by a Helljumper Sergeant. He locked on to his signal and granted the request. "Let's go kill us a Scarab, men!" His three-man crew rolled aside and zoomed toward the surface of Apacanopo. As soon as they arrived, they instantly saw their target. It was kinda hard to miss a Scarab wrecking everything in sight. "Alright boys, lock your Archer missiles on and fire just before it discharges it's plasma." His wingmen gave a steady "Roger that."
Lt. Shaw looked up and saw the three Longsword fighters zoom into the city. Then something else attracted his attention. The Scarab was going to fire again. "Pedal to the metal boys! NOW!" The warthogs zoomed around the corner. Shaw expected to hear the plasma eating up the asphalt. Instead what he heard were nine simultaneous explosions. When they reached the end of the block, they looked at the Scarab and saw it just sitting there. Then Gonzalez realized they were too close to it. "Sarge, we're to fucking close. Move us out now!" Even though a subordinate just ordered him, he still obeyed. Smith told Ruiz to move it. They did so just in time. Plumes of blue were erupting all over the Scarab. Then it detonated into a massive fireball of metal, plasma and ash. "HOLY SHIT" screamed Caceres, but no one could hear him over the explosion. By the time the smoke cleared, the only thing that was left of the Scarab and the 3 city blocks around it were blue fires and massive craters. "Damn", Smith whispered, "Hey thanks Colonel." "No problem Sergeant" returned the Colonel.
"Hey Loot, when are we gonna get to the Hailing Glory crash site?" asked one of the privates. "Son, the landed 8 miles north of Apacanopo. It'd be a walk in the park if they hadn't already deployed their troops before we got there." This bickering continued on for about half an hour as they made their way through the city, clearing it of the Covenant scum. When they sent Smith, Gonzalez and Caceres out to see if any surprises awaited them around the corner, they discovered something sickening. There were at least 14 dead Marines on the ground. And something else was there too, staring at them with a cold menacing look. It was covered in blue armor and Human blood. It held some sort of new Covenant plasma weapon. But its most distinguishable feature was it's mouth. There were four mandibles, each also covered with blue armor. It was easily over 8 feet tall. "Sarge, what the fuck is that thing?" asked Caceres, half intrigued, half terrified. "I have absolutely no idea." But in reality, he did know what it was. Or so he thought. He knew this was that Elite alien he had heard so much commotion over(by the way, if you read Fall of Reach, you will see that the Humans first encountered Elites on Reach). Anthony slowly whispered as he took out his pistol, "Alright, I'm gonna go for the head." He aimed and pulled the trigger, and the bullet made its way to the creature's eye. But instead of being greeted by a shower of blood, Gonzalez was greeted with a faint shimmer all throughout the Eilte's body. It roared in defiance, and fired.
Lt. Shaw watched as the three scouts that he sent to look around the corner stopped dead in their tracks. "What the hell are they doing?" pondered Shaw as Gonzalez raised his pistol and fired. Then he heard a roar and saw a high rate of plasma fire streak toward the crew. Caceres reached for his pistol, but a plasma grenade beat him to it. He flung the gun and it exploded. Smith fired his assault weapon and cursed to himself. Then Shaw saw what was causing all the commotion. It was some sort of new Covenant foe. It was an Elite.
Sgt. Smith fired his assault rifle as the Elite charged toward him, guns blazing. The Elite's shield seemed to be an exact replica of the ones he had seen on the Spartan-II's in vids. The Elite's shield finally failed, and a barrage of shredder rounds tore the alien apart. After the fight, Smith noticed that his shoulder's armor plate was smoldering. He checked around to see if any more of those bastards were around. It was all clear. "Smith! You all right?" yelled Shaw. He replied with a curt nod and walked back toward the Warthog. He knew there were more of these "Elites" in Apacanopo. He just hoped they wouldn't run into them. He also wondered if his wife had made it safely somewhere else. He hoped she did. If she hadn't, the Covenant had hell to pay.
Helljumper's Reach Campaign, Part II: The Elite
Date: 14 January 2005, 3:31 AM
The Scarab kept coming closer, even though they were moving from it at top speed. The street where the Scorpion had once been was still smoldering. "Hey Sarge!" yelled Corporal Gutierrez, "Why don't you call in an air strike?" Before Smith could respond, Shaw jumped in. "Because Marine, the blast from the reactors on the Scarab would take us with it". But Smith disagreed. "Sir, it's worth a shot, regardless if it takes us with it. As long as there is a chance that it'll be destroyed, I'm willing to risk it." "Alright Smith. But I ain't gonna be the one who possibly condemns us to death. You're calling in the air strike" responded Shaw. "Fine with me Loot." He began his communication. " This is Sergeant Smith of the 105th Division, D Company. We are currently being attacked by a Scarab. Requesting an immediate air strike. Over". The response came almost immediately. "This is Colonel Nelson Roque. We are currently inbound. Over." "That's all I ask", said Smith.
Colonel Nelson Roque and his wingmen had just accomplished taking out an entire squadron of Seraph fighters when he got a request for an immediate air strike by a Helljumper Sergeant. He locked on to his signal and granted the request. "Let's go kill us a Scarab, men!" His three-man crew rolled aside and zoomed toward the surface of Apacanopo. As soon as they arrived, they instantly saw their target. It was kinda hard to miss a Scarab wrecking everything in sight. "Alright boys, lock your Archer missiles on and fire just before it discharges it's plasma." His wingmen gave a steady "Roger that."
Lt. Shaw looked up and saw the three Longsword fighters zoom into the city. Then something else attracted his attention. The Scarab was going to fire again. "Pedal to the metal boys! NOW!" The warthogs zoomed around the corner. Shaw expected to hear the plasma eating up the asphalt. Instead what he heard were nine simultaneous explosions. When they reached the end of the block, they looked at the Scarab and saw it just sitting there. Then Gonzalez realized they were too close to it. "Sarge, we're to fucking close. Move us out now!" Even though a subordinate just ordered him, he still obeyed. Smith told Ruiz to move it. They did so just in time. Plumes of blue were erupting all over the Scarab. Then it detonated into a massive fireball of metal, plasma and ash. "HOLY SHIT" screamed Caceres, but no one could hear him over the explosion. By the time the smoke cleared, the only thing that was left of the Scarab and the 3 city blocks around it were blue fires and massive craters. "Damn", Smith whispered, "Hey thanks Colonel." "No problem Sergeant" returned the Colonel.
"Hey Loot, when are we gonna get to the Hailing Glory crash site?" asked one of the privates. "Son, the landed 8 miles north of Apacanopo. It'd be a walk in the park if they hadn't already deployed their troops before we got there." This bickering continued on for about half an hour as they made their way through the city, clearing it of the Covenant scum. When they sent Smith, Gonzalez and Caceres out to see if any surprises awaited them around the corner, they discovered something sickening. There were at least 14 dead Marines on the ground. And something else was there too, staring at them with a cold menacing look. It was covered in blue armor and Human blood. It held some sort of new Covenant plasma weapon. But its most distinguishable feature was it's mouth. There were four mandibles, each also covered with blue armor. It was easily over 8 feet tall. "Sarge, what the fuck is that thing?" asked Caceres, half intrigued, half terrified. "I have absolutely no idea." But in reality, he did know what it was. Or so he thought. He knew this was that Elite alien he had heard so much commotion over. Anthony slowly whispered as he took out his pistol, "Alright, I'm gonna go for the head." He aimed and pulled the trigger, and the bullet made its way to the creature's eye. But instead of being greeted by a shower of blood, Gonzalez was greeted with a faint shimmer all throughout the Eilte's body. It roared in defiance, and fired.
Lt. Shaw watched as the three scouts that he sent to look around the corner stopped dead in their tracks. "What the hell are they doing?" pondered Shaw as Gonzalez raised his pistol and fired. Then he heard a roar and saw a high rate of plasma fire streak toward the crew. Caceres reached for his pistol, but a plasma grenade beat him to it. He flung the gun and it exploded. Smith fired his assault weapon and cursed to himself. Then Shaw saw what was causing all the commotion. It was some sort of new Covenant foe. It was an Elite.
Sgt. Smith fired his assault rifle as the Elite charged toward him, guns blazing. The Elite's shield seemed to be an exact replica of the ones he had seen on the Spartan-II's in vids. The Elite's shield finally failed, and a barrage of shredder rounds tore the alien apart. After the fight, Smith noticed that his shoulder's armor plate was smoldering. He checked around to see if any more of those bastards were around. It was all clear. "Smith! You all right?" yelled Shaw. He replied with a curt nod and walked back toward the Warthog. He knew there were more of these "Elites" in Apacanopo. He just hoped they wouldn't run into them. He also wondered if his wife had made it safely somewhere else. He hoped she did. If she hadn't, the Covenant had hell to pay.
Helljumper's Reach Campaign, Part III: The Camp
Date: 14 January 2005, 3:36 AM
Nosa 'Fulkamee looked on as the small group of humans made their way through the wretched city. "This is Commander 'Fulkamee. Human filth is currently in route toward Sangheili Camp Four. Alert all Sangheili in the area and prepare them for attack." 'Fulkamee clicked his mandibles and hoped the Humans got there faster. He loved the thrill of a kill.
Private Armand Ruiz kept the Warthog going at a decent pace. He hated rushing into a battle. He hated it almost as much as he hated the Covenant. Almost. "Hey Ruiz, what's are ETA to the crash site" hollered the Sarge. "Sir, at this rate, we'll be there within 14 minutes" he responded. That's good, Smith thought to himself. But he hated the idea of leaving the city without first finding his wife. An idea he kept to himself, because right now, his men needed leadership.
As they turned the corner, Shaw noticed that there were plasma burns all over the road. And they still smoldered. The Covenant had been here recently. But the fact that there were none in sight was odd. "Wait Marines, stop here", ordered Shaw. He knew this was a trap. He could almost smell it. His fears were confirmed when he heard the whimpering of some overly eager Grunts. "It's a trap! Pull back now!" But by that time, the entire group of waiting Covenant was already running towards their position. When they tried to reverse the Warthogs, four Ghosts blocked their paths. Those who were on foot instantly engaged the enemy, throwing grenades, bludgeoning them, or any thing that would stop them. The Elites were back, this time in large numbers. Smith counted at least fifteen Elites scattered around the area. He saw many different colors; a few red, blue and one solitary gold armored Elite. He took aim and fired.
Commander 'Fulkamee felt his shield shimmer as the Human's barbaric ammunition bounced harmlessly off of him. He started firing at the Human, but it dodged his attack. It lobbed some sort of explosive device at him, which 'Fulkamee caught and threw back at another group of Humans. Their screams as they were ripped apart were soothing to 'Fulkamee's ears. He again spotted the Human. He was just about to toss a plasma grenade when a loud explosion near him caught his attention. He looked around for the source, but instead found himself looking at his own legs. With the remaining air in his lungs, the Elite Commander belted out a short, painful scream.
Gonzalez smiled as he saw the gold Elite ripped in half. He laughed when he heard it scream. You deserved it, motherfucker, he thought to himself. He holstered the rocket launcher, and drew out his sniper. Things were starting to get interesting. He took aim at yet another Elite, and, with a precise shot, blew the alien's brain, if it even had one, to oblivion. But then three of the Elites spotted him on the second story balcony of an apartment and focused their fire on him. Hey, one plasma shot to the chest is enough for today, he though as he leapt off the balcony and crouched behind a dumpster.
Shaw had had enough. The Ghosts had already crushed two of his soldiers. They weren't gonna get another try. He grabbed a Lotus Antitank Mine from the back of the Warthog and attracted the vehicles' attention by firing at them. He placed the Lotus on the ground, armed it for proximity explosion, and hauled ass. He had barely run 6 yards when a loud BANG reached his ears. He was knocked off his feet by the explosion. When he sat up, a flaming Ghost carcass landed near him. The others were nowhere to be found. For once that day, the Lieutenant was truly happy.
As the last of the Elites went down by a barrage of rockets, courtesy of Anthony, they finally reached the corner of the street. Smith saw no enemies in sight. In case it was another trap, he ordered Gonzlalez to perch himself on top of the roof of a nearby gas station, just incase. As they walked down the street, the crew heard a lady screaming. They looked to their left at an abandoned hotel, when a woman ran out, two Hunters in pursuit. "Son of a bitch" muttered Smith. He swapped weapons with Shaw in order to receive a shotgun, and went after the Hunters. "Yo, dipshits, over here!" He fired a round at them. "Yeah, I'm talkin' to you!" The first Hunter abandoned its "hunt" and went after Smith. Smith greeted him with a belly full of lead when it tried to club him to death. The other Hunter, however, was smarter. It lobbed plasma at him at a terrifying rate. The only way it was stopped was when Gonzalez found the opening in its neck and fired. It fell with a satisfactory thud. After he swapped weapons again, Smith went to check on the woman. "Hey, are you al…." He stopped mid-syllable. The woman looked back at him and said "What's the matter?" He said "I..", stopped again, then decided to remove his helmet. When he did so, the woman said "Oh my God. Chris?" Sergeant Smith had finally found his wife.
Helljumper's Reach Campaign, Part IV: The Hailing Glory
Date: 14 January 2005, 9:41 PM
Sergeant Bob Smith couldn't believe his eyes. Him and his squad had almost made it out of the city, with Smith presuming the worst about his wife, when she emerged from a vacant hotel, two Hunters in pursuit. After saving her, he removed his black helmet and revealed himself to her. She couldn't believe here eyes either. Not only did she find he husband while Reach was being invaded, he also saved her from two Hunters. "Hey Yvette, are you all right"? asked Smith. "Yea, I'm fine." She replied. Then they kissed.
Meanwhile…….
Ship Master Nula 'Pilanee sat aboard the Pious Inquisitor as it orbited Reach. The generator in the south pole of Reach that powered half of the Orbital MAC guns had been destroyed, leaving half of Reach virtually undefended. "Bring the ship around to new coordinates: declination minus zero zero zero point two zero." Ordered ' Pilanee. That course would bring them down to the upper stratosphere of Reach, where they would commence plasma bombardment procedures, or, as the Human filth had dubbed it, "glassing". "Sir, ETA is 6 units" reported his second in command, Commander Jorna 'Hujamee. "Wonderful" returned Nula, "charge all plasma turrets to maximum to 110 percent. I want them ready by the time we reach the coordinates." But as they were hurtling toward the coordinates, they received a mayday. "This is Ship Master Juka 'Porlanee of the Hailing Glory. We have crash-landed on the surface of Reach. Casualties are heavy. Humans are inbound. Requesting immediate reinforcements." Nula responded, "I'm sorry, but all we can give you are seven Special Operations Sangheili. We will deploy them by way of drop pods." "Understood", replied Juka. "Get those Sangheili to the drop bay now. We will be flying over the location in 2 units. Go now." Ordered Nula. "Sir, I alerted them during the message. They are already on their way." Returned Jorna.
Back on Reach…..
" Thank God you guys came by." said Yvette. "No problem ma'am." Replied Shaw. "Are you sure you're all right, babe? asked Smith. "Yea, I'm fine. Don't worry." she replied, and again kissed him. "Alright Marines, let's move out!" ordered Smith. He re-attached his helmet and handed his wife one of his pistols. "Just in case" he said. He was just about to get in the Warthog when Gonzalez piped in. "Uh, sir. We have incoming vessels, or projectiles, um, coming in really fast just over us." Smith looked up and saw what looked like seven meteors rocketing toward their positions. "Oh shit. Everybody, get back now!" he ordered. The "meteors came closer into view. Shaw noticed they looked more like pods than meteors. They all landed with a thud and broke the asphalt underneath them. The Helljumpers grabbed their weapons and aimed. The pods popped open and, accompanied by white mist, seven heavily armed, black armored Elites came out. The Helljumper opened fire, and the fight was on.
When the first hail of bullets hit the Elites, they all hid behind the pods to allow their shields to recharge. When they re-emerged, one of the Elites was greeted with a rocket. The blood sprayed over another Elite, which threw a plasma grenade towards Gonzalez. The grenade attached itself to his grenade pouch. He broke it loose, and hurled it back at the Elite. It caught it and was blown to smithereens. Then one by one, the remaining five Elites dropped their weapons and pulled out some sort of stick. Then the stick started glowing a light blue and then some sort of sword was formed. Private Armand Ruiz ran up to one of the Eltes, only to be cut in half. The other unfortunate person who had been to close, Private Michael Kingsley, tried to run. The last thing he saw was the front of the blade come out through his chest.
As Smith watched Kingsley get impaled, he knew they needed something to stop these motherfucking Elites. His first thought was to lob a Lotus anti-tank mine at them, but they might need the last one for another time, if there ever was one. Those swords they wielded reminded him of lightsabers, a weapon used in the classic science fiction trilogy, Star Wars. The chain-gun on the Warthog would be useless because the moment he started firing, the Elites would just hide behind the drop pods like a bunch of pussies. Then it hit him. Even though the Elites would fire at Gonzalez the minute they saw him, he could be a decoy. "Gonzalez, give me your launcher now!" ordered Smith. "But sir, those things will…" started Gonzalez, but Smith cut him off" I don't give a rat's ass what they do, just give it to me. And start running." "But why?" inquired Anthony. "As a distraction. Now get moving Private, that's an order!"
Gonzalez hated this idea. Why did he have to be the damn bait? But whatever, he thought, as long as those Elites die. He jumped out from behind the Warthog and started shooting his pistol. Only one of the Elites turned, though. Just as it was about to fire, a plume of smoke and ash replaced it. The rest of the Elites now turned. They ran together toward Gonzalez, thinking he was the one who had killed their comrade. The same way they ran as a group, they died as a group. Their screams pierced the air, but only for a moment.
"Alright, let's get moving", yelled Shaw. The Warthogs continued their trek, as did the Helljumpers that walked on foot. Smith stayed on the ground so that he could be by his wife. As they worked their way north towards the crash site of the Hailing Glory, they found seven more human survivors. Smith's motion detector suddenly showed eleven hostile contacts. He motioned for the squad to stop. Luckily, they weren't Elites. Just a bunch of scrappy Grunts. They fell faster than a house of cards on a windy day. Smith checked his GPS and noticed they were getting closer to the crash site. 'Yvette, if anything happens, run. Okay? Run." She nodded her head. It was hard navigating their way through the forest, even with GPS. Uprooted trees, knotted roots and other obstacles slowed their progress.
As they worked their way through, the Helljumpers noticed that some trees had their tops chipped off. As they followed the row of broken trees, they got smaller and smaller because of the breaks. Then the forest ended. On the ground was a meter deep trench, made recently. They followed it, and it ended in front of an upside down Pelican. Human bodies had been unceremoniously laid out. There were at least six. The Marines noticed noise on the other side of the Pelican. They drew their weapons and turned.
Sgt. A.J. Johnson heard footsteps on the other side of his downed Pelican. "Marines", he whispered to what remained of his squad, "be ready for anything." He drew his assault rifle and turned, only to be staring down the barrel of another MA5B Assault Rifle. "Son, would you mind removing your god-damned weapon outta my face.", said Johnson, rather calmly. The black armored Helljumper withdrew his weapon and said "Sorry sir."
Caceres withdrew his rifle, and stepped aside. Shaw stepped forward and asked "Sergeant, what the hell are you doing here?" "well sir, HQ deployed me and my squad to the crash site of some Covey ship, but on the way, a stationary plasma gun shot us down. We lost six good men today." Responded the Sergeant. "we tried calling in a mayday, but our radio got lost in the crash. Smith was looking around the squad when he noticed a very familiar face. "Damn. George, is that you?". The Marine, who looked almost exactly as Smith did, save for a scar along his right cheek, looked up. "Hell, I'd recognize that voice anywhere. How you doing bro?" Smith hadn't seen his nineteen-year-old brother since being stationed at Reach. Smith was just about to respond when a loud explosion cut him off. Everyone looked left. There it was. Nestled diagonally along Mt. Gurton. The Hailing Glory was there. And so were hundreds of angry Covenant troops.
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