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Halo: Psychic (Chapter Two)
Posted By: Stephen McMurtry<bomberman1@fuse.net>
Date: 3 February 2007, 1:05 am
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Chapter Two
0400 Hours, November 4, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Sol System, Planet Earth Central America, Isthmus of Panama
Joseph's company was at the end of its rope. After eight hours of crawling through jungle brush and evading Covenant patrols, the UNSC Marines were tired, wet, and hungry. A sense of paranoia had grown within each and every soldier, forcing them twitch at random times and pull out their weapons.
Sergeant Kelsey held up his hand, the sign to stop all movement. The strike force stiffened, fearful of being discovered by the Covenant. If the alarm sounded, the forest would be crawling with battalions of Covenant, all hoping for a promotion by capturing the intruders. That meant almost certain death for the soldiers.
A pair of Brutes stumbled through the rainforest, flattening the undergrowth as they went. Charles Hudson and Jacob Lange, two of B Squad's best snipers, held up their silenced SRS99C Sniper Rifles, sighting through the scope and waiting for the signal to fire. Kelsey waited until he was sure the Brutes weren't being followed. Once sure of their position, he flicked his fingers forward. Two muffled cracks sounded through the tropical paradise. The Brutes turned around, prepared to fight and charged the marines. Two seconds later, they fell realizing they were dead. Kelsey signaled again, and a group of marines ran over and hid the bodies in the roots of a tree.
The company moved on, staying off the beaten path.
Argor grunted, a Brute's sign of impatience. He had waited the necessary ten minutes for his squad to return. His headdress swayed in the wind as he prepared to carry out his plan.
Those stupid humans think they're sneaking up on us, but I know better.
"They're trying to destroy our fuel depot. Take up positions outside the clearing and wait until they are all in before you attack," ordered Argor in his race's harsh tongue.
The assortment of Brutes, Jackals, and Elites moved off into the woods to find a good hiding spot, oblivious to the watching UNSC soldiers.
Meanwhile, the strike force ducked away from their vintage point on top of the ridge, scared of a sighting that would end their mission.
"Okay, they know we're coming," started Kelsey, "This complicates things. Each man will have to take out one or two Covenant units before we can enter the depot clearing. Beta Company will pick off any stragglers. Make a perimeter, kill, and move in."
"Sir, yes, Sir!" yelled a young marine who sheepishly lowered his voice after realizing his mistake.
The companies moved off and separated, preparing for the operation.
Joseph followed a gently flowing stream down the ridge. He jumped off a small bluff and landed softly. Up ahead were two Jackal snipers with Particle Beam Rifles. He pulled out his silenced M6C pistol and crept up slowly. Taking aim he shot one in the head without a sound and silenced the other with a knock to the head from his pistol butt. Joseph covered the bodies with ferns and waited for the signal.
His drill sergeant, giving up on the helljumper idea, had him taken to special ops. But Joseph just wasn't aware enough. He would always be killed from behind. The sergeant constantly yelled at him to turn around. TURN AROUND!
Joseph spun around, just as something thudded to the ground. An Elite lay dead on the ground, his finger reaching for the trigger on his Covenant Carbine. Joseph looked up and saw Jacob waving from the top of the ridge.
Six Brutes ran out next to the fuel depot, dragging what appeared to be an injured Brute Chieftain, and called for any remaining Covenant to reinforce them, none answered. Knowing they would get no more help, they threw plasma grenades into the trees, setting them ablaze. They formed a circle, pointing their Brute Shots at any UNSC Marines that might break cover to escape the flames.
Behind the Brutes, blocked from their view by the fuel depot, was a soldier creeping up to the tank with a charge ready. Two more brave soldiers ran out, MA5Ks, modified versions of the MA5Cs, blazing as a distraction.
One of them yelled to the rest of the company, "Get to EVAC guys, we'll handle this!"
Joseph knew what would happen, along with the rest of the battalion, so he started trudging back up to the ridge. He soon found his progress blocked by flames, though. He looked around for an escape route.
Trapped between a hammer and an anvil, great.
He saw the stream he had followed down and stepped in. He submerged himself and dragged himself along the bottom to avoid the flames. Joseph surfaced and continued to the top of the ridge, looking back to see the progress on the depot front.
The Brutes fired. Their grenades killed one marine and injured the other, though he kept on firing. Two Brutes fell beneath his courageous onslaught. By then, the marine with the charge had planted the bomb and set it for twenty seconds.
Then the explosives marine made an obscene gesture at the Covenant and screamed, "Suck this you big, hairy Brutes! How's this for messing with out planet."
The Brutes, acknowledging their predicament, ran into the forest trying to escape the explosion. Carrying their leader the entire time. The explosives marine, knowing he wouldn't have time to get away, ran over to comfort his squad mates who created the diversion. Meanwhile, the Brutes found a rock to shelter behind and threw Argor over. Just in time to save his life, but not theirs.
The remaining marines had all regrouped at the top of the ridge. They looked down to see the explosion.
BOOM!
The depot exploded, killing all the Brutes but Argor, the three marines that orchestrated the explosion, and two soldiers from Beta Company that were trapped between the depot and the forest fire.
That brought D Squad down to nine troops, B to thirteen, and A, Joseph's new company, to twelve.
The marines packed up and left for the extraction point.
Argor groaned in pain. Had the humans destroyed the depot? Were his blood brothers alive?
He tried to sit up but couldn't, it hurt too much. Two members of his tribe were scanning the forest, looking for something. He let out a yowl to attract their attention. The Brutes looked up, surprised, then joyous having found their leader. His tribe mates ran over, cursing those who had injured their leader. They gently picked him up and carried him respectfully to their Phantom, making sure not to disturb his headdress.
After two hours of fighting their way back through the tropical forests, Joseph's company wearily reached their extraction point. They hopped into the blood tray of the Pelican and took a short flight back to their temporary camp in San Juan, Puerto Rico. They had six hours of rest before they left to fight in the re-taking of the COE in Cuba. Their battalion and another battalion of helljumpers would take the Elevator to stem the flow of Covenant troops from space and allow UNSC armor to land. An invasion force of heavy armor was already there, but it would take them about a day to break through the jungle. By then the Covenant might be too well fortified.
The UNSC sure is worn thin. Earlier in the war, we would only get one mission a week. I feel like a Spartan doing all of these ops.
Joseph dozed off, dreaming of his wife in Frankfurt. He shuddered when he thought about losing the campaign in Europe.
No, we won't lose. I'd go up against a Hunter if I could guarantee her safety.
With that one glimmer of hope he drifted off to sleep.
1250 Hours, November 4, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Sol System, Planet Earth Caribbean Ocean, near Cuban Coast
The Pelican was a flurry of activity. Commanding officers yelled orders to troops in preparation for the coming invasion. Bursts from the radio depleted what silence was left onboard.
Joseph looked out the cockpit window towards the island of Cuba. It was a mass of activity. Marines and armor moved around the beach as if they were chasing their own tails. MR-50 Scorpions, the UNSC's artillery units, lined the beach and lobbed shells at the Covenant installations surrounding the COE. Meanwhile, M808B Scorpion MTBs powered their way through the dense jungle. Warthogs followed in the wake of tree stumps. Squadrons of Shortswords and Longswords prepared for take-off on nearby aircraft carriers. The boats were antique, but they were cheaper and easier to deploy than an in atmosphere UNSC carrier.
Their Pelican landed and deployed all the troops but Joseph's company. It lifted off and carried them into the jungle.
The radio hummed to life, barely discernable over the steady thrumming of the engine, "Pelican One, this is A-wave. We'll pass you in a minute or two. My fighters and I will neutralize any Covenant air support. That way, you can land your company and get out. B-wave will cover your retreat. Over."
"Roger that A-wave. Pelican One is signing out," their pilot ended and turned around, "Okay boys, you know the drill. Clear the elevator's landing area so Command can get some big guns in there. There are two anti-air installations you need to get rid off. Clear out the enemies so Corporal Johnson can shimmy in and blow those things up. Any questions?"
"No, sir!" yelled the company. The excitement of the coming battle was already coursing through their veins.
The pilot chuckled and turned around. He saw the designated deployment point and touched down. The marines hopped off and waved goodbye. The Pelican lifted off and exploded. Joseph looked over and saw a Scarab battle platform charging up its laser and eyeing its new target.
The Scarab fired right into the center of the deployment area, throwing Joseph's company everywhere. Almost all of the troops were thrown against trees and had their bodies snapped in half like twigs. Joseph, the Johnson boys, Kelsey, Jacob, Charles, and five other soldiers had survived. The Scarab began to charge up its laser for the third time in less than a minute.
He looked up, praying to God for the last time and saw what appeared to be a shooting star.
The ODSTs are finally here. Just in time.
The lead drop pod came sailing through the atmosphere at incredible speeds. A tail of fire had already formed behind it. Twenty more appeared all centered around the leader. The Scarab walker stopped charging up its beam. The pilot was obviously interested in this new sight.
The lead helljumper yelled over the comm, "I hope you guys remember me. Since, I am taking out a Scarab all by myself. Oo-rah!" His HEV accelerated and crashed right into the center of the Scarab. The battle platform was forced to its knees under the extreme pressure from a pod hitting it at thirteen hundred meters per second. The ODST's drop pod exploded and killed the entire body of Covenant troops inside the Scarab. He died laughing.
The rest of the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers landed and made introductions with the soldiers remaining in Sergeant Kelsey's squad.
"Hello, I'm Lieutenant Bryan Robinson. May I ask yours?" asked the lead ODST.
"Good afternoon, I'm Sergeant Kelsey. This is Joseph," he said pointing to him, "Colin and Nick are right here, and Jacob and Charles are over here." The Sergeant continued the introductions pointing everyone out.
"Well met good sirs," replied the Lieutenant smartly. He started introducing the rest of his squad.
Kelsey, growing impatient, put an end to the pleasantries and commanded the squads to move out.
He signaled for the Helljumpers to movie into a flanking position. They promptly obeyed. Kelsey then signaled for the rest of the squad to move out, cutting right up the center.
His sergeant had finally hit the nail on the head. "Vehicles," he had started, "Are the pinnacle of modern military combat. You can love them, but watch out for them. WATCH OUT!"
As loud as he could, Joseph yelled, "STOP!"
A Ghost flew by on patrol, right where the squad would've been if they hadn't stopped. The driver noticed the noise and started to turn around for a second pass. Jacob stood up and dropped the driver like a fly. Two Elites, who had seen the dead Covenant driver, ran over to their position, sniffing the air like bloodhounds. Some shots rang out through the forest as the flanking ODSTs issued kills to the unlucky recipients.
Sergeant Kelsey motioned the squad to move forward into the complex. The ODSTs ran over and hinted at a warehouse in the center of the area. The combined squads took out troops left and right to make it to the destination. Once the soldiers were in the warehouse, the sergeant began to lie out the plan.
Nick was instructing another soldier in the art of blowing stuff to smithereens. Two mixed forces of Helljumpers and Marines would head towards the anti-air installations, each with an explosives man. The brass, or as much brass as lieutenant and sergeant were, would stay in the warehouse and monitor the Covenant battlenets for signs of commotion, in which case they would order their appropriate squads to just blow up everything they could as a distraction and then focus on the AA.
Joseph was put in an observation position so he could radio the commanders the information of the battle.
Both of the squads moved out to their respective installations, encountering little resistance as they went.
Argor turned and yelled at his battalion, just as a bullet whizzed where his head was only moments ago, "Fall back! There are too many of the humans. We will hold the elevator itself. To me, my fellow Covenant!"
His soldiers joined him, and they began their retreat. Argor swore as an artillery shell decimated his force of loyal Elites.
Stupid Schism. The Elites were some of the most competent soldiers, except for Brutes of course.
The remaining Grunts and Jackals scattered but stayed on their objective, running as if the Prophets had abandoned verbal abuse and started to whip them like the dogs they were. They were almost there, but two explosions shattered his troop's advance, they stood there, dumbfounded as their AA guns smoldered like smores in a campfire.
"Keep running," demanded Argor. The squad continued on seeking revenge.
"Okay, good job men. The relief force will be here soon, so let's pack up and move out," ended Kelsey. He was relieved that the operation was finally over.
Movement near the door made the squad look up. Argor and his soldiers were there, and they were wondering, in a pissed off kind of way, what a group of humans was doing in their warehouse. Argor stood tall and majestic, like a king envying over his lands. The Brute motioned and the entire Covenant force charged like an angry sea upon the bluffs of New Mombassa. That's when the relief force came.
"Send 'em to hell, boys!" yelled the Admiral, hanging from the drop bay of the Pelican. He was dressed in a combat suit, and he looked pretty healthy as far as the admiralty goes.
The battalions charged, the Scorpions fired, and the Warthogs drove.
Oh, what a relief force it was.
The ensuing battle, or slaughter more like it, was a testament to why the Covenant would never vanquish humanity's light. It was a swan song about why Alexander the Great, Attila the Hun, and Dwight D. Eisenhower had down what they did. It was because humanity was here by some divine providence, and they believed in what they had accomplished was right and just. Humans could not be moved. Not by plagues and sickness, nor by war and peace, not even by terrorism and bad government. Humans suffered through the worst of times and the best of times, but they powered on. Their Creator, to do this right now, endowed them with all of the strength they needed.
Oh, What a relief force it was.
Joseph waved goodbye to his wife and child. His leave was finally over, and he was excited to get back to his friends and comrades. The taxi pulled up and he stepped in and drove off.
"Oh, by the way," started the military driver, "the Admiral has asked to see you for a special meeting. Apparently, your joint action Robinson and Kelsey has caused quite stir in Command. Because there are some Covenant to kill, you'll be re-deployed on numerous ops and countless missions, but who cares, you're the best. Welcome aboard." The Admiral turned around and shook his hand. "Captain."
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