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Part 1: Survival Is A Bitch
Date: 12 October 2005, 2:56 am
Sergeant Cochran paused and slowly, began to move backwards. He kept walking until his back hit the wall of the concrete bunker, and he brought up his shotgun, ready for anything. Four dead Marines lay not far away, their bodies scorched from the plasma barrage that had hit them.
First came a single grunt, which he made quick work of, blasting the small alien's innards on the far wall of the closed in bunker. Next came three grunts, he fired twice and they were added to the ugly painting he was working on.
Content with the death of four grunts, the Covenant bastards finally tossed in a few grenades, just as he knew they would. Cochran was already halfway up the ladder leading to the middle level of the bunker. He traded glances with Private Ellington, who was crouched nearby, and quickly began to shove some more shells into his shotgun, which had been decorated with some blue colored grunt blood, paying homage to the fellows he had killed just seconds ago.
Ellington adjusted the stock of his SMG and crawled forward towards the ladder shaft that went downwards. He peeked over the edge of the hole and saw that a few more grunts had been sent in. Cochran had a look as well, then began firing randomly down into the hole. High-pitched screams were heard, and then, silence.
Cochran was struggling to pull a grenade from his belt when he saw Pvt. Ellington going for another look. Before he had time to shout, Ellington had stuck his head over the hole. Hundreds of blue plasma bolts hit Ellington's face in a matter of seconds, then Cochran heard the familiar sound of several plasma rifle's overheating. He grabbed his fellow marine and pulled his limp body away from the ladder.
Ellington's face had been literally melted off. Parts of his brain were exposed and Cochran dropped him instantly, feeling the warm vomit as it came up through his esophagus. He puked on Ellington's corpse and then crawled backward, far away from the ladder. The disgusting after-taste filled his mouth and his eyes got watery.
"Fuckin greenhorn." He muttered, glancing over at the private's vomit and blood covered corpse.
Cochran remembered Ellington and how he had laughed only an hour ago as they were mowing down grunts. They had both been laughing, hell, the whole platoon had been laughing. That was before they encountered the scarab and the waves of Covenant that came shortly after, and before everyone had make a break for it, leaving them in small, separated groups.
He was a seasoned veteran amongst scared greeners. He had seen men die and been so close to death before that even now, defending Earth, he was prepared for death. His family had been glassed long ago on a planet whose name he had nearly forgotten. Most of his friends were dead, the few who were still alive, Harland, Parker, and Jones, two of whom were scattered somewhere else in Mombosa, fighting.
He now clutched his grenade with both hands and looked towards the hole. He gathered himself and pushed those memories aside, and tossed the grenade down the shaft. Then he brought his shotgun up, ready for the next alien bastard he had to kill. Suddenly he heard Corporal Pacelli over the comm.
"Elli? Sarge? You guys still alive?" Pacelli asked, his voice shaking.
"I am." Cochran replied.
"SARGE! Thank God, I thought I was all alone. Did Ellington get tagged?" the corporal asked.
"Yeah, he's dead. Just us. How is it going up there?" Cochran asked.
"I've got one rocket left and three rifle bullets. Two BR clips. How about yourself?" he replied.
"I'm fine on ammo. Any dropships come in?"
"No sir, no Covies at all have moved in, just the ones surrounding the bunker. A couple snipers tried to hide, but I got them." Pacelli said.
"Good. We need to start thinking about our escape. This bunker is getting overwhelmed and even if we do hold them off for a while longer, eventually they will just call in some tanks or dropships and blow this bunker up." Cochran told him.
"Damn, you're right." Pacelli said quietly.
Suddenly, several plasma grenades flew up from the shaft and Cochran was on his feet and moved toward a small barricade for cover from the blasts. Seconds later, two elites were up the ladder and blasting randomly at everything in the small room.
Cochran reached for a grenade, but he was out. He remained quiet, risking only a quick glance over the top of thin barricade. One blue armored elite and one red. Both of them had plasma rifles but the red armored one had a laser carbine slung on his back. One of the elites moved towards the barricade, identifying it as the only place in the small room where a human could hide.
The blue-armored elite leapt over the top of the barricade and began to fire. Cochran greeted him with a shotgun blast and then followed up quickly with a melee attack with the butt of his shotgun. The elite screamed as he died and the alien's corpse impacted against the wall.
Cochran smirked. Even the elite's energy shields couldn't take a shotgun blast at point blank range. Cochran heard the next elite as it began to move towards him. The elite was clearly angry and it flanked the left side of the barricade, firing its plasma rifle in bursts. Cochran picked up the small barricade and shoved it against the elite, pinning it against the wall for a few seconds, then he grabbed his shotgun up from the ground, its barrel scratching on the concrete floor.
The elite had pushed the barricade away by now, but it was too late and Cochran shoved the barrel of his shotgun into the elite's face and blasted its brains everywhere. He ran back to the shaft and heard an elite coming up the ladder. He hung his shotgun over the shaft and fired twice, hearing another elite and a grunt or two die.
"Pacelli, get down here now. This is our chance to get out of this bunker."
"Yessir." Pacelli said into the radio and Cochran heard him throw the rocket launcher down the ladder leading to the third floor of the bunker. He picked it up and then watched Pacelli hop down with the sniper rifle on his back and his battle rifle in his right hand.
"Lets do this." Pacelli said sternly.
Cochran smiled, swooped up Ellington's SMG from the floor, tucked it in his belt, and then slung the rocket launcher over his shoulder and brought the shotgun up to bear.
Out of all the Marines in his new platoon, Cochran had liked Pacelli and Parker the best. Pacelli was a greener, a new Marine. Parker on the other hand, was a veteran, like him.
Without another word, Pacelli had tossed a grenade down the ladder and only seconds after the explosion they were both back down in the first level of the bunker, finishing off the stunned survivors of the blast. They quickly took positions inside the bunker and fought off the forces stationed outside who had little cover except for a few energy shields that had been quickly thrown down.
After they had cleared a good number of them they rushed out of the bunker, back to back, shooting everything in sight. Cochran saw a grunt hop in a parked ghost vehicle and dropped his shotgun, brought up the rocket launcher, and sent a rocket into the ghost before it had even turned to face them. Dropping to the ground, he grabbed his shotgun and killed a lone grunt survivor that had charged them.
Pacelli meanwhile, was taking careful aim at three grunts that were running from the bunker. With three shots they were all downed and the two Marines surveyed the area, making sure no Covenant were hiding, and began to move quickly towards cover. The bunker had been located on a beach and they moved quickly toward the city of Old Mombosa in an attempt to find cover.
"That went rather well." Pacelli said enthusiastically.
"What, you expected us to die? The last thing they were prepared for was an attack; Covenant bastards didn't realize they were dealing with true Marines. They figured we would hide in that bunker until they came in there and cleaned us out, like rats." Cochran said.
They reached a building and rested there. It had been some kind of clothing store with a large curving glass window in front and some fancy couches, where they both laid down. The glass was shattered and clothes were strewn about the floor. Several civilian corpses lay nearby, and one Covenant grunt.
"Some civs decided not to evacuate, damn fools…" Cpl. Pacelli muttered.
Cochran tried to reach someone on the radio, and he eventually did. Parker was still alive, and so were four Marines that were with him. Apparently they had been chased through the streets and finally forced to hide in some half-destroyed building. Cochran said he sort-of knew where they were and would contact him again in a few minutes and he tried to reach HQ.
The channel was a mess; apparently the MAC stations were being destroyed one by one by suicide boarders. The Covenant forces had concentrated their landing in Mombosa and nearby. Some said they were clearing a ground base. What Cochran did find out, however, was that this wasn't even close to being the full invasion. That sunk in, and he could only shake his head at Pacelli.
"We need to get moving soon. If we can link up with Parker and the others we may be able to get out of here. There are various other companies of Marines operating throughout the city, from what I heard they are fighting that same scarab right now. It's heading for New Mombosa, and we should do the same." Cochran said quickly.
"Yes sir. I just hope the two of us can make it through the city to Parker and the boys." Pacelli said.
"We will have to rely on stealth and speed. There are undoubtedly a bunch of Covenant patrols and scout groups scattered throughout the city, what we need to do is avoid them. Hopefully there is a pelican able to pick us up, cuz it's a long ways to New Mombosa, and from what I hear, the streets there are flowing with Covenant." Cochran replied.
"Fine with me, I'd rather run than…" Pacelli was interrupted.
All of the sudden, a loud noise made Cochran and Pacelli dive to the floor. Cochran peeked up above the leather couch he had been sitting on and saw two large shadows on the ground, the shadows were moving towards them and the enemies began to come into view.
Hunters.
Against All Odds Part 2: Cat and Mouse
Date: 17 October 2005, 11:11 pm
Hope you all like this one :)
-----------------------------
Cochran traded his shotgun for Pacelli's battle rifle and looked up over the couch again. He could see them all now.
Four hunters, one elite, six jackals, and ten grunts were present among the group. The hunters were on each corner of the group, providing an almost 'armored escort'. The elite had silver armor on, meaning it was an 'ultra' or one of the more badass warriors and higher-ranking officers. Cochran sighed silently and made some hand signals to Pacelli. Pacelli turned pale and clenched the shotgun with fear, his knuckles going white, but he stayed alert.
Cochran had another look and saw that the patrol had stopped near the front of the building. Four grunts clambered about over the glass and walked into the building to check for humans. The grunts were talking amongst themselves, jabbering in their squeaky, annoying language. Three of them went immediately past the two marines, heading for clothing racks.
One however, searched the front of the store near the sales signs and ads. The grunt then went towards one of the civilian corpses and surveyed it, turning it over with joy and making excited noises.
Sgt. Cochran risked another look outside. The patrol was standing there and the elite seemed to be somewhat annoyed by the time it took for the grunts to search the store. The hunters looked around, surveying every area around them for possible threats. Their massive armored bodies were intimidating and Cochran knew that if he was found that there would be no way to win a fight against them.
The grunt got closer and moved into their direct line of sight. The building was dark so the grunt strained to see, and moved behind the couch, out of sight from the patrol. Cochran reacted quickly, jabbing his combat knife in the back of the grunts head and setting its corpse down quietly next to him.
He nodded at Pacelli and the two of them moved silently toward a clothing rack not far away. One of the grunts turned its head towards them, and jabbered something at another grunt. Together the two grunts began heading directly toward Cochran and Pacelli.
Cochran ordered Pacelli to hold his position, and he moved quickly to another clothing rack, flanking the two grunts. The grunts moved in between two racks to reach Pacelli, but Cochran was ready for them. Pacelli was on the ground, motionless, playing dead.
One of the grunts raised its plasma pistol and took aim at Pacelli to make sure he was dead. Cochran put his combat knife in the alien's back and jammed his foot down on the other grunt's head before it had time to respond or even acknowledge what happened. He pinned the grunts head to the floor and then jammed his knife into its forehead, killing it quickly. The grunt had only managed a quick squeak.
Cochran stood up and Pacelli got up from the ground and smiled at him. Suddenly Pacelli said something and tackled Cochran. A fully charged plasma bolt flew over both of them and Pacelli pulled out his friend's SMG and killed the alien.
"Uh-oh." Cochran managed to say, seconds before the first blast.
Pacelli scampered away further into the building and Cochran dove to the ground and looked under the clothing rack. All four hunters were charging up their fuel rod guns and the elite was shouting and pointing toward the inside of the building. The jackals took a defensive stance and the grunts formed up behind them.
Cochran gathered his senses and followed Pacelli. The blasts kept coming, rocking the building and hitting random places. Clothes flew everywhere and parts of the walls crumpled. A cash register exploded near the counter towards the back. Pacelli already had his sniper rifle out and he was taking aim. The barrel stuck out between some clothes, barely noticeable.
Cochran moved to the other side of the building and took aim with his battle rifle. He heard the first shot and saw it hit the nearest hunter right in a thinly exposed area of orange skin near the neck. The hunter let out a very low and loud moan and then fell to the ground. Luckily, the Covenant hadn't seen the vapor trail because of their panic.
Now the elite was firing and the grunts and jackals moved into the building, but the hunters continued their barrage, focusing it on the sides as the grunts and jackals moved through an aisle in the center of the building.
Cochran watched as the grunts and jackals got closer and closer to Pacelli's position. He aimed at their sides and quickly took down three jackals. The jackals quickly identified where the fire was coming from and turned their shields, only to be blasted in the back by Pacelli's shotgun.
All the jackals were down and the grunts scattered and shouted in quick panicky squeaks. The hunters adjusted their fire and Cochran winced as the shots flew towards Pacelli.
The corporal moved quickly though, and dove behind the counter just as the three shots destroyed his former position and one of the grunts that was unlucky enough to get in the way. He took aim again and brought down another hunter. This time, the Elite saw the vapor trail and pointed. Two green explosive plasma missiles zipped towards the counter. Pacelli dove to the ground and the counter exploded around him; wood and the marble countertop flying everywhere.
The two remaining hunters moved up, walking into the store slowly with their shields up, and they continued firing. Cochran crouched further into his hiding place and saw another grunt fly up as it was hit. A grunt ran into him by mistake and he beat it down with his battle rifle. Then he took aim as one of the hunters exposed its backside. He aimed carefully and put two bursts into the orange flesh. The hunter fell.
The remaining hunter charged through the store at full speed, knocking through a wooden table and a clothing rack to get to Cochran's position. The hunter busted through another rack of clothes and came at him full speed. Cochran rolled just in time as the hunter used its shield to knock in the wall. It turned around quickly to avoid giving him a shot at its weak area. The hunter charged again, and Cochran stayed still, firing rapidly at the exposed neck area. He missed and hit the armored head and raised shield and this time he had to strafe to the left to avoid being crushed by the hunter.
He tripped over a knocked over table and fell to the floor. The hunter closed in on him and he wouldn't have time to move so he unloaded the last of BR clip into its front side, but it did nothing to the beast. Tossing the BR aside, Cochran laid into the hunter with his SMG.
Just in time, Pacelli appeared behind the armored beast and put a shotgun shell into its back. The hunter fell forward and Cochran managed to crawl out of the way in time to avoid being crushed by its massive corpse. Pacelli grabbed his friend's hand and pulled him up.
Cochran stood dazed for a few seconds, but the sound of Pacelli shooting a grunt brought him to his senses.
The last grunt charged Cochran and he emptied his SMG into it, then tossed it aside, out of ammo. Rolling forward, he grabbed his formerly discarded BR and shoved the last clip into it.
"Good work." Cochran said, patting his friend on the back and taking a deep breath. They were both drenched in sweat and alien blood.
Pacelli looked outside the store.
"The elite is gone." He reported.
Cochran heard the sound of a plasma sword igniting and a split second later saw the end of it jam through Pacelli's stomach. Pacelli fell forward, impaled by the energy blade, and the elite pulled the blade out, laughing.
Filled with rage, Cochran fired at the elite and slowly moved backwards. The alien shrugged off the bullets and charged him, letting out a terrifying battle shout.
Cochran dodged the first strike and then rolled backward, putting another burst into his enemy. The elite moved forward and swung at him. The blade barely missed Cochran's arm and instead hit the battle rifle, cutting it in half. Cochran threw the destroyed weapon aside and stood before the elite, weaponless.
The elite laughed again and watched as Cochran retreated towards the half destroyed counter. The elite jumped three meters into the air and landed on top of the counter, swiping at Cochran. Cochran ducked under the blade and sprung forward over the counter and past the elite, narrowly missing a downward swipe.
The elite turned around and faced Cochran, who was now against the back wall. The elite charged him and stuck out its arm. Grabbing Cochran by the throat, it slammed him against the wall and held him there, slowly raising its blade.
Cochran saw the alien's ugly mouth form a smile and then lash out as to bite him. The alien laughed again when Cochran flinched and began to speak.
"Now die, human." It said and raised the plasma sword up to cut off Cochran's legs and slowly kill him.
"How the hell can you speak English, you son of a bitch?" Cochran screamed, afraid for the first time. The elite didn't even listen.
Suddenly Cochran heard the crack of a sniper rifle, and the elite dropped him in surprise. The alien's shield flickered off and it angrily turned towards the mortally wounded human on the ground. Pacelli held the sniper rifle there, in one hand, shaking. He looked up at the elite and spat blood onto its boot. The elite beheaded him, and gave Cochran time to react.
Cochran tackled the elite from behind and forced his elbow into its armored back. He kicked it in the face and managed to wrestle the plasma sword free from its grasp. He began to bring the sword down upon the alien when it punched him and knocked the sword out of his hand.
The elite threw Cochran off of him and got up; marching toward him angrily, ready to beat the shit out of the pitiful human.
Cochran dodged the first punched and hit the alien with a right hook to its four jaws. Then he hit it again in the stomach and had time to hastily remove the helmet from its head. Cochran followed up by kicking it to the ground, and he began punching the elite in the face. He hammered at the alien bastard, punching until his fists were covered in purple blood. The elite couldn't see because it was blinded by its own blood, so it struck wildly but Cochran beat it into the ground.
Finally, with one last punch, Cochran felt the alien sag to the ground. He stood up and finished it off with a downward stomp, crushing what was left of its face.
Cochran coughed and stumbled in pain. He ignored it and moved toward Pacelli's corpse. This pain wasn't even close to the kind he had felt before. The kind of pain he had felt on Sigma Octanus IV when one of those explosive needles had exploded and re-decorated his insides. It was still a mystery to him how he had survived that. It was mostly due to his friend, Corporal Harland's quick thinking. Harland was still a corporal. Cochran had been a private at the time, and now, thanks to several things, he was a sergeant.
He and Harland had both received the Medal of Honor for what they did on Sigma Octanus. Fincher and Walker, the other marines who had been with them, wouldn't have made it out alive were it not for Harland and himself. Cochran had shot down a banshee after Walker froze up, and saved all four of them. Over the year he kept in touch with Harland and was stationed with him again several times. He heard that Fincher had died, and he lost track of Walker, never hearing from or about him again.
On that mission they had lost their lieutenant, just as they had on this mission. Disintegrated by a giant scarab, just like the rest of the platoon. Once again, Cochran had gotten lucky and somehow survived.
Cochran grabbed his shotgun from the ground. Three shells were in it, and he found a fourth one on the ground nearby. Afterwards he found the elite's plasma rifle that it had dropped in favor of the plasma sword. He grabbed the plasma rifle and then tucked a plasma pistol under his belt, with his shotgun slung on his shoulder. Lastly, he grabbed Pacelli's dog tags and put them in his pocket.
"Time to move out." He said to himself.
He hung to side of the street, moving carefully. Twice he had been forced to hide because of patrolling ghost vehicles and one because of a phantom dropship flying overhead.
Cochran keyed his comm. and ducked beside a trash dumpster.
"Parker? You read me?" he asked.
"I hear ya, pal. Almost here?" Parker replied.
"Yeah, I think. Covy patrols are forcing me to move slowly, sorry." Cochran said.
"No problem. Pacelli doing alright?" Parker asked.
Cochran took several seconds before he replied.
"He's dead. Patrol got him." Cochran answered.
"Damn… Well at least you are still alive. Remember we are in a one story office building with a red sign, shouldn't be hard to miss. Get here soon, there's been an increased number of patrols in the area. Is that your fault?"
"Yeah, I think I pissed them off." Cochran said, chuckling.
"Heh, good job. Once you get here, I think we should start moving towards New Mombosa to link up with some of the Marines there. This part of the city is largely under Covenant control and its been blown to shit by their mobile artillery." Parker told him.
"The Covenant have mobile artillery?" Cochran questioned.
"Yeah, they have dropped a couple cannons in the city and they are more powerful than several wraiths combined and have a much larger range. They can also rotate but once they drop them its hard to move them. We've blown one of them up with fighters so far, but the bastards have banshees and seraphs guarding them." Parker explained.
"Wow. I'll be there soon. Another ghost patrol is coming, better hide." Cochran said. The comm. went silent and a single ghost moved down the street. Cochran took cover inside a small building. The ghost went by slowly, then boosted and turned the corner. Cochran left the building, sprinting to the other side of the street. He spotted the office building and the red sign out front. He began to run towards it.
"Hold your fire to the Southwest, I'm approaching now."
"Affirmative." Parker replied.
Cochran ran inside. Parker greeted him warmly and the other Marines waved.
"Its about time." Parker said, then looked Cochran over. He was covered in alien blood.
"Been busy?" Parker said. Cochran nodded and sat down against the wall. He recognized the four other Marines inside, but he cringed when he realized the medic had been killed. Parker noticed his disappointed face.
"It's a sturdy crew. The medic and heavy weapons specialist are dead but we should be fine." Parker reassured him. Cochran nodded and made a quick mental list of who was still alive.
Himself.
Pfc. Parker.
Pvt. Colburn.
Pvt. Borrail
Pvt. Heber
Pvt. Collins
Parker was the only veteran among them. Borrail and Colburn he remembered were both pretty good pals and were amongst the better marksman in the greener platoon he had been assigned. Collins was better with close range weaponry and Cochran had never seen him smart off. Heber, a fellow with Arabic descent, had been the real quiet one. Borrail and Colburn were loudmouths however; he had never heard Heber say anything more than a reply to a command. Then again, he had never fought beside Heber much.
"You all have enough ammo?" Cochran asked. They all nodded, and Parker noticed he was using Covenant weapons and tossed him a spare SMG and a couple extra clips. Cochran threw aside the plasma rifle and nodded to him.
"We ready to move?" Cochran asked. They all replied 'yes sir' and Cochran led them out the door.
They moved quietly and hung close to one side of the street whenever they moved. Cochran thought about it for a while and decided that Borrail was a Gaelic name, and of course Colburn was British. Parker was of course American and Heber was Hebrew or something. His own name was British, he knew. Last names and their origins had always fascinated him.
All this thinking forced him to miss something vital. Parker told him to stop. He did and then saw what they were all looking at. In the middle of the street, dozens of Covenant lay slaughtered; only one human corpse was found. Parker was crouched next to the human corpse and looked up as Cochran approached.
"ODSTs." Parker said.
"They must be heading to New Mombosa as well. Its nice to know we have Helljumpers clearing a path for us." Cochran replied.
"Damn. They don't mess around." Borrail said, surveying the pile of Covenant corpses.
They continued moving and Cochran compared the Helljumper's work to his own when he was with Pacelli. He could have been a Helljumper, he knew this, but he never wanted to be one. He didn't want to die, that was the reason why. That's what he had told himself long ago, but now he couldn't think of a reason to join them other than he really didn't want to. He was tired of fighting, tired of killing. All he was doing now was surviving and following orders…
Cochran looked through his binoculars at a large tunnel up ahead. That was the way to New Mombosa. Stationed in front of it were a good number of Covenant troops, and one wraith tank. Several ghosts were parked nearby the cluster around the entrance to the tunnel, and several elite officers were talking.
He tried to reach someone on the medium range comm. channel and finally did.
"Who is this?" Cochran asked.
"This is 1st Lieutenant Rander. I'm an ODST. What is your name and rank?" the voice replied.
"Sergeant First Class Cochran. I've got five other Marines with me and we are trying to get to New Mombosa. What is your position?" Cochran asked the ODST.
"We are located in a building overlooking the entrance to the tunnel to New Mombosa. I have two men with me. We are in the diner, try to get here but do not get seen." Lt. Rander ordered.
"Understood." Cochran switched off the comm. "Let's move, gentlemen."
Against All Odds Part 3: The Punch That Breaks Your Knuckles
Date: 23 October 2005, 7:39 pm
I hope you enjoy this one.
-------------------------------
Part 3: The Punch That Breaks Your Knuckles
Cochran, Parker, and the other surviving marines moved into the small building that stood on a hill overlooking the entrance to the tunnel. Three Orbital Drop Shock Troopers stood there, nodding at each one of them as they entered. As the last Marine entered, Lt. Rander stood up to brief them.
"Welcome. Our mission was to clear the entrance to the tunnel leading to New Mombosa so that groups of surviving defenders like yourselves could move into the city easily and merge with other units. From what I understand you were under the command of Lieutenant Hillgred and your mission was to hold the northern part of Old Mombosa. Is this correct?" Rander asked.
"Yes sir. We met a scarab and Lieutenant Hillgred was killed, sir. This is all that's left of our unit." Sgt. Cochran said, his head down.
"That's unfortunate that Lt. Hillgred was killed. And you encountered a scarab, you say?" Rander asked, seeming surprised.
"Yes sir. It's most likely moved on by now. It tore our platoon apart and separated most of us, but I managed to find these guys and get the hell outta there." Cochran explained to him.
"Those bastards are powerful… I'm surprised HQ didn't send a pelican to get you all out of there." Lt. Rander said.
"I asked for one, but they can't commit any to this region. It also seems, of the three platoons deployed in this area, ours is the only one with any survivors…" Parker said.
"Damn. Well I hate to put you to work again, but like I said, you need to get to New Mombosa and we need to clear that tunnel. I lost one man when we touched down, so we are going to need all the help we can get. You boys are now under my command and for the time being I need you. The Covenant keep dropping more and more troops here to defend this tunnel; something we weren't prepared for." Lt. Rander said.
"First, I would like you to meet the team." Rander told them and motioned toward the other two Helljumpers. He pointed towards one of them who was holding a sniper rifle.
"That's Private Roderick. He is our sharpshooter and team scout." Roderick nodded at them, but his helmet was on so none of them could see his face. Next, Rander motioned towards a fellow who was toting a jackhammer rocket launcher.
"Private Winslow. He is our heavy weapons specialist and he is now our demolitions expert as well, taking the place of the man we lost. And I am Lieutenant Rander, team leader." He finished, and nodded.
Parker and the rest of the men introduced themselves, and then they got down to business.
"Winslow is going to fire first and take out that tank, then the turrets. Roderick will eliminate any enemy snipers and then attempt to bring down some of the officers. Thing is, we only have three clips, that means twelve shots. There are eighty-five Covenant up there by the entrance. Elites go down first. No hunters, mostly grunts and jackals." Rander explained.
"How the hell are we going to get across that wide, open stretch of dirt between us and them? There is hardly any cover!" Collins objected.
"You are right, that's why you guys are going to hug the concrete wall on the left while we take the right. We only really have to worry about the elites once the snipers are taken out. Some of the elites have carbines, but the grunts and jackals all have plasma pistols and rifles. Needlers can fire very far but are inaccurate so we should only have to worry about the elites as we close in." Rander explained.
"Once your time makes it to the enemy position I want you to engage immediately and cause as much chaos as possible. We will be approaching in the open so hopefully this will draw the fire away from us. After both teams get there its simply us pushing from both sides on the center. We should be able to clean them all up nicely. Air support is unavailable so we will be alone out there. Any questions?" Rander asked.
Everyone replied 'no sir' and then they began to move out.
Winslow took out the tank like an expert with only two rockets needed to penetrate that thick armor. Roderick took the two jackal snipers down quickly and then began to take out the elite officers.
Cochran and his team sprinted along the wall utilizing the cover they had and they drew fire as they were supposed to once they got within range. They all threw grenades and tore into the front lines of grunts. Then, faster than anyone expected, the ODSTs engaged. Rander, Winslow, and Roderick found cover and put some good fire on the Covenant.
Cochran kept watching the ODSTs move when suddenly a charged plasma bolt barely missed his head. He dove to the ground and began to focus on his job instead of watching the ODSTs do theirs.
Cochran moved up to take cover behind a flipped over Covenant supply crate as Borrail and Colburn gave him covering fire. Cochran was right in the middle of the grunts now and he used an SMG to mow many of them down rather quickly. The grunts somehow gathered themselves and most of them fell back, except for a few confused and scared individuals who ran off in different directions. Collins took care of them.
Parker moved up beside Cochran and the two of them used their battle rifles to cover the rest of the Marines. Several grunts with needlers moved up to cover their retreating allies and they unloaded their weapons towards the Marines.
Cochran ordered everyone to find cover immediately and he instinctively dove on Pvt. Heber to keep him down. Colburn was caught in the open and took a dozen or so needles in the chest. Cochran turned away, unable to watch, as his insides exploded and the young marine let out a horrible scream as he fell to his knees and died. Borrail raced to help his friend and he too was hit, but by only two needles. Still, that was enough to do damage and the needles dug into his flesh and the pain forced him to the ground.
"MAN DOWN! Shit, Borrail is wounded too!" Cochran said into the comm.
"Keep advancing, we can't let them organize. Choke them!" Rander ordered.
Parker had time to grab Borrail and hurdle him towards cover before the next wave of needles hit. Borrail was going crazy; he screamed out in pain as Collins stuffed him with bio-foam. The young marine soon went into shock and Cochran told him to stay there with Borrail while they moved up.
Hesitantly, Cochran ordered another advance. He moved first, followed by Heber. Parker covered, them shooting several of the needler-toting grunts. There were still two elite officers alive and they were crouched behind cover, watching the battle anxiously.
Seeing that some of the humans had been killed and wounded, they ordered the remaining grunts to charge. Meanwhile, twelve jackals were still alive and they were fighting the ODSTs on the other side.
Cochran was about to advance but he saw a wall of grunts rushing towards him. He exchanged a fearful look with Parker and then ducked back down, narrowly being missed by hundreds of needles and plasma bolts.
"What the hell… they are charging! The grunts are charging. Rander how is your team doing over there?" Cochran shouted into the comm.
"Jackals are almost cleared now, only five left." Lt. Rander reported.
The grunts reached them. Several plasma grenades erupted nearby and Cochran watched as the grunts ran past him, towards the wounded man behind the cover, further back.
With a step and a quick roll, Cochran engaged the grunts, firing his SMG into them at point blank range. He spun around, kicking one behind him and punching one that nearly ran into him from the charge. He emptied his last SMG clip then used his M6C pistol to kill the rest. Parker and Heber used their battle rifles to clear the rest of them around him.
Cochran threw down his empty pistol and brought his battle rifle to bear, turning around just in time to see an elite in red armor coming at him. He was hit hard and knocked several meters back, bouncing like a toy.
Heber and Parker fired at the alien from close range, but it leapt up and moved towards them. Parker scooted back and dove behind the other side of a crate as the elite fired at him. Heber wasn't as quick and the elite hit him in the face with the side of it's plasma rifle and then finished him off with several more shots, stomping angrily on the dead human.
Cochran struggled to get up. He looked towards Borrail and saw Collins standing over him, firing a pistol at the grunts and kicking and swinging madly at them. Cochran's battle rifle lay too far away to reach so he could only watch as Collins was swarmed by the grunts. Taking another pistol from the unconscious Borrail, Pvt. Collins emptied both of them into the crowd then used a dropped plasma rifle, all the while jumping and dodging about. Finally, the last grunt fell and Collin's collapsed, having taken numerous plasma bolts at close range. Cochran hoped he was okay.
Somehow, Cochran managed to slowly stand up. Parker was exchanging fire with the elite and Cochran had no weapon… except his combat knife. Parker took another hit in the shoulder and fell over, shouting out in pain.
In a dazed attempt to save his friend, Cochran tackled the elite and kicked the plasma rifle out of its hand. He plunged the knife into the alien's shoulder and received several punches to the face because of this. His face bloodied and his nose broken, Cochran no longer tried to defend himself and he suddenly remembered some of his earliest moments, playing with his next-door neighbor and building sandcastles on the beach of his home planet.
The beating got worse and the elite started hitting him in the chest too, Cochran felt as if he was being mashed into a wall and he thought he could feel bones breaking, but the pain was so distant. He was there and yet he wasn't, and he had somehow lost track of what was going on. Now he wished only for the pain to stop and all he wanted to do was die.
Suddenly, the pounding stopped, and he heard gunfire and shouting from close by and felt the elite fall onto him, dead. Finally, Cochran could just lay there… and die…
Against All Odds Part 4: Storm On the Horizon
Date: 23 October 2005, 8:46 pm
-Athens Orbital Defense Platform-
-Hours before the Covenant invasion of Earth-
Corporal Harland stood there on the tram that ran through the station and looked out at Earth.
"Beautiful isn't it?" another marine said.
"Yeah." Harland said weakly, the image of Earth suddenly changed before his eyes to a hellish planet, burning and covered in glass. Nothing alive on it's surface. He snapped back to reality. This is why he had to stop the Covenant, Harland thought to himself.
An alarm sounded.
"What the…" one of the marines exclaimed.
"Wow, I thought we would have more time!" Harland said, taken by surprise.
The tram stopped at its destination and Harland the other marines flooded out of it, running in different directions. Harland scooped up an SMG that was on a crate and stuffed a magnum pistol into his belt. He sprinted down the corridors to get to the rooms where the airlocks were and he managed a quick look out one of the large windows. A dozen or so Covenant ships were moving towards the super-MAC defense platforms. The closest platforms, the Cairo and the Malta, were already firing.
He felt the Athens fire, but kept moving. One of the docking bays had Covenant boarding ships attaching to it. An empty pelican sat there. A dozen or so marines scrambled to find cover and get their weapons ready, but the doors opened and Covenant flew out.
He fired, killing a grunt, but a hail of plasma bolts impacted around him and Harland dove for cover. Everywhere, marines were dying.
The charred corpse of a fellow marine collapsed onto the deck beside him. Harland was on the lower level of the bay behind some supply crates. He saw a grunt come around the corner and killed it quickly. The elites roared with excitement and charged his position.
Harland tossed a grenade over his shoulder and sprinted towards one of the corridors leading away from the hangar. He looked back for a second and saw more Covenant exiting the boarding ships.
Plasma bolts flew past his head as he ran, and finally one hit him in the back. Harland tripped and fell behind a small barricade. The elites thought he was dead so turned back to defending their newly conquered docking bay.
Harland replaced his nearly empty SMG magazine with a new one and sat up, looking over the barricade. Luckily, the weak, mobile armor had stopped the shot to his back. All marines wore it, and right now Harland thanked God that it was there.
Several grunts were moving down the hallway towards him to make sure he was dead. He hid quickly and then kneeled and fired his SMG from over the barricade. Two of them died quickly but the third one returned fire and moved for cover behind another barricade. Harland saw an elite moving towards the hall to help the grunt.
In a desperate attempt to escape, Harland tossed a frag grenade into the alien's path and sprinted around the corner. He kept moving and went up a flight of stairs, hoping to lose the elite that was tailing him. Finally, Harland looked back and saw that the elite was gone. Still out of breath, he keyed his comm.
"The Covenant have taken Docking Bay 14, over." Harland announced over the system wide comm. channel for the Athens Platform. There were several nervous laughs and someone told him that all the bays had been taken except for one. There were 25 of them in all.
There were several other marines nearby and they were preparing defenses after seeing Harland's fear stricken form retreating and hearing his report on the comm. channel.
"Damn." Harland muttered as he imagined the thousands of Covenant that would soon be on board. Suddenly an announcement boomed over the speakers in the hallway.
"Defensive Layer of blast doors will close in two minutes."
Harland turned to look back down the hallway he had come from. Several elites were leading a group of grunts towards the marines. Most of the marines were armed with battle rifles so they opened fire on the group of aliens. Grunts were falling left and right, and one of the elites went down, but the Covenant did reach them and a close range battle ensued.
The Covenant drove the marines back and the blast door closed behind the aliens. Harland and two other marines managed to escape into a larger area with glass railings. It was a sort of recreation room. More marines were inside; most of them were moving towards the hallway and met Harland head on.
"Covies on the way! Fall back!" Harland shouted at them. The incoming marines turned around instantly and found cover. A sergeant kneeled down next to Harland and began to speak into his comm.
"We have a breach. Incoming Covenant." The sergeant reported. Several other breaches were reported seconds later.
"Understood, we have tracked your position and are sending reinforcements there now." Someone replied.
"Make it quick." The sergeant said and keyed off his comm.
The firing began. The Covenant struggled to find good positions, but they eventually did and only took a few casualties. They returned fire and the marines did their best to keep them back.
"The Malta just exploded… from the inside!" someone reported.
Once more marines arrived to help fight, the battle got less and less intense. Finally, they pushed the Covenant back towards the door, but by this time, the Covenant had planted a charge. The door blew open and hundreds of grunts poured in, commanded by several elites. Marines were being mowed down and the Covenant were advancing quickly.
Harland caught a plasma bolt in the shoulder and fell to the deck. All around him marines were dying. He slowly got up and noticed almost all of his comrades were dead. Suddenly a strong hand grabbed him and pulled him into and empty corridor.
The sounds of grunts grew louder and Harland dared one look around. He was hiding behind a pillar with several other marines. The Covenant passed by them and moved into the recreation area.
Harland was grabbed again and tossed halfway down the corridor. He watched as several other marines in front of him went up a short flight of stairs so he followed obediently. Finally they came to a ladder that led up onto a narrow platform. Half-dazed, Harland simply followed them up the ladder.
Next he saw a small dark tunnel with only a few dim red emergency lights a couple inches above them. The tunnel forced them to crawl because it was so small. Harland attempted to speak but was ordered to 'shut the hell up'.
Finally they left the tunnel and climbed down another ladder. Harland took a look around. They were in the docking bay he had defended earlier. The secret passage they had taken led them over the blast door and past it, into the Covenant held areas.
Silently, they moved towards a pelican dropship in the far side of the bay. The Covenant boarding ship was still attached but troops were no longer coming out and the cleared bay was only guarded by four grunts, two of which were manning turrets.
"Okay, if you have a BR then give us cover. Take out the grunts on the turrets first. The rest of you follow me. Okay, Wade, check thermals." A sergeant told them.
"Shit…" deep-voiced Wade replied.
"What?" the sergeant asked.
"Two stealthed elites against the far wall. They're just sitting there." Wade reported, peering through his thermal binoculars.
"Damn, stick to the plan, but kill the grunts quick and give us cover. In return we will give you cover. After both groups are on the bottom level, everyone move the pelican quickly. If you dick around you will be left behind." The sergeant said.
Harland took his newly confiscated battle rifle and aimed carefully. With one three-round burst he took out the first grunt on the turret. He didn't have time to shoot the other grunts because they were already dead. He didn't even bother with the ladder, jumping off of the platform and rolling to absorb the shock of the four or five meter drop. The sergeant noticed this and smiled at him.
"Marcella hit that switch to open the bay door! Ok good job! Now move! Move your sorry asses!" the sergeant shouted.
Harland did what he was told and dove into the back of the pelican. He noticed a man with a pilot's helmet ran past him and into the cockpit. He heard firing and moved out of the pelican to take cover behind it.
Marines passed him one by one until finally they were all in. Harland glanced back and saw the charred corpse of the sergeant a few feet away. A wounded marine was trying to crawl into the pelican and the elites were moving towards him. Harland ducked as a plasma bolt flew over his head. The wounded marine begged for help but the back door of the pelican was closing slowly.
"Sorry." Harland muttered and turned away from the marine, now hearing screams and cursing. A plasma bolt hit him the back, and almost forced him to his knees because of the burning pain.
Harland tossed his battle rifle inside and dove into the pelican, the door shutting and sealing only a second later. The pelican took off before Harland could strap in. The seven other marines in the back of the pelican were thrown violently as the dropship veered to the left and then upward.
Harland moved towards the cockpit and threw himself down in the co-pilot chair, strapping in quickly. He barely got a glance from the pilot.
"Wow. We just deserted." Harland said in realization.
"No, what we did was survive. The Covenant planted a bomb in the Malta and several other super-MAC stations that exploded." The pilot said as he jerked the controls to avoid incoming fighters and dodge bursts of plasma. The man was covered in blood and sweat.
Harland keyed the rear camera just in time to see the Covenant boarding ships flying away and the Athens Defense Station exploding.
"The Athens just blew." Harland said in amazement.
"Yeah. Tell the dumbasses in the back to strap in because it won't be fun entering the atmosphere at this speed." The pilot told him.
Harland informed them and looked back to make sure. Each marine had a death grip on the nearest safety handles.
"Brace yourselves." The pilot said over the pelican's comm.
"Damn. There's a seraph on us." Harland told him.
The ship rocked as plasma sprayed its tail, melting the rear of the ship. Suddenly a plasma missile erupted in a blue explosion, almost taking off the rear compartment of the ship.
"Guys, move into the inner compartment just to be safe. Do it quickly." Harland said into the comm.
Suddenly the ship veered out of control and Harland was thrown against the side of the cockpit, his restraints barely holding him in. He tightened them.
"What the hell just happened?" Harland shouted.
"The rear compartment is gone. Fu !!!!!!!" the pilot screamed.
Harland hit the wall and went unconscious.
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