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If I were your hero - Stage 1
Date: 29 July 2005, 6:47 pm

Stage 1: Something's at the door…

PCI Industries Repair Center
08:45 October 20, 2552
New Mombasa, Kenya

"You're late, Eric!" A sharply dressed woman shouted at the main entrance. Her hair was cut short, her nails glowed brightly red and her matching black DuTan dress suit gave her a powerful presence. She tapped her finger on the wall of the door, blocking the black man's entrance. She was a gorgeously shaped woman with long legs, tight hips and a well toned upper body. Her butt and breasts weren't bad either. "Stop staring at my chest Eric, and tell me why you're late, again!"

Eric couldn't help staring at her chest. The diving neckline on her suit practically begged him to glare at the top of her cleavage, and the fact that she didn't cover up only made him more interested. She was a Spanish woman with a full blown American attitude; meaning she was quick witted, hot headed, fast paced, and always on her toes. An attractive woman but not Eric's type, but still she was damned attractive.

"Eric!" The woman stated strongly.

"Sorry." Eric replied. Eric waved his hand near the door and a green light signaled that he was cleared to enter. "I overslept."

"You seem to be doing that a lot lately." The woman responded. The two began to walk down the hall to an elevator. The hallway was quiet, and only a few janitorial staff personal walked the halls. "I know it's asking a lot of you to come in early, but with the Covenant threatening to find Earth the Military has been pushing our buttons hard."

"You look nice this morning, Rose." Eric added, ignoring the work talk that Rose was tossing around. Rose was quiet for a second and folded her arms across her chest as they stopped in front of the elevator.

"Also," she continued, "they've requested a double order on the Mark VI armor plating. I called Tokyo and they sent the parts this morning, local time. We should have it by noon."

"Always work with you, isn't Rose?" Eric questioned. He stuck his hands into his pockets and stared deeply into his mirrored reflection on the elevator door. His age was quickly catching up with him. He noticed a grey hair in his mustache and then counted three more. He was in mid thirties and in no way felt old, but he was finding it harder and harder to run ten miles without stopping; something he could have easily done ten years ago.

"We aren't in college anymore, Eric." Rose replied. "We have a job to do, and there is a war going on, remember?"

"Yeah, I know." Eric sighed. He lowered his head and ran his hand through his black curly hair. He needed a hair cut but hadn't had the time. "Have you been into the lab yet?"

"No, I hate being in there alone." Rose responded. The elevator door opened and they stepped in. Eric pressed his hand onto the controls and a green button appeared at the bottom of the elevator's control display. He pressed the secret button and the elevator quickly began its long run into the depths of New Mombasa.

Rose sat on a nearby bench and crossed her legs. She delicately began to play with her nails, not giving Eric any attention at all. It was a long and quiet journey. Rose sat to one side of the elevator while Eric leaned against the wall of the other. Eric couldn't help but look at her. She was a year younger then he was, but she hadn't changed since he first met her in their freshman class so many years ago. The only sign of age she ever displayed was that she wore a simple pair of glasses in order to read. Eric was startled out of his gaze by a quick burst of static from the elevator's speakers.

"Please hold for ID check." Said the voice over the speakers. The elevator came to a slow stop and the ID pad on the elevator's control panel suddenly turned red. "You first, Lieutenant Raynord." Eric stepped to the control and firmly pressed his hand against the plate, and the ID screen changed to green.

"You're next, Ms. Santos." Rose stepped over with a quick sigh, and repeated the gesture. The ID screen quickly flashed blue twice, then a solid Green. "Okay. All elevator parties have been identified for first security check; Lieutenant Eric Raynord and project leader Ms. Rose Santos. Door's opening."

Beyond the Elevator door was a long tunnel which was well lit on all sides. Only one door was ahead of them, and that was their office. But in front of that door stood three Marines dressed in formal attire, and each had a BR55 Battle Rifle slung over their shoulders. As Eric and Rose stepped out of the Elevator the three soldiers quickly pulled down their guns and took aim.

"Come on guys, is that really necessary?" Eric questioned. The soldiers remained silent. ONI took no chances of a military breach within their security, and until the two had finalized their ID check they would be watched closely. These soldiers had full authority to shoot anyone, if they so much as sneezed oddly.

"Beginning secondary bio-scans." A voice stated over the hallway intercom. "Please stand still." The elevator door behind Eric and Rose closed, and the faint hum of machinery was heard behind the walls. "Body scans complete. All's clear."

"Sorry Sir, we have our orders." One of the soldiers stated. The Three soldiers quickly saluted Eric and he quickly returned the gesture loosely. "How are you today, Ms. Santos?"

"Please call me Rose, or Doctor." Rose stated as they began to walk toward the entrance. "We go through this every morning, but every morning you call me Ms. Santos… I'm not that old, Wesley."

"Sorry Rose." Wesley stated. He slung his rifle over his shoulder and handed Eric a data pad. "It's all the training." The door behind the Marines opened and a dark room lay beyond.

"Sure, training." Rose stated as she crossed the threshold to the room. Eric smiled at Wesley and nodded his head with a quick smirk. He waved the data pad and followed Rose into the room as the door closed behind them.

"Damn that's a woman." Wesley stated to the other two soldiers at his side.

"Yeah, and every morning she dreads seeing you." The soldiers laughed.

The underground facility was another of the Office of Naval Intelligence's secret research facilities; however it was a smaller one. Inside the dark room were several more marines, dressed in semi-formal attire and sitting at desks. The security chief sat a desk with several monitors displaying the hallway, the exterior of the above ground building and several other entryways inside the facility.

Rose and Eric walked throughout the mazes of doors and cubicles until they reached their destination. They each placed their hands on the sides of the door and a green light flashed above them. The Titanium-A door hissed with life as it slid open. Nearly six inches of the metal separated the ONI research lab from the rest of the facility. Rose and Eric walked in before it completely opened. They approach a glass wall that overlooked the lab and reached for their lab coats.

"Feels like I just left here." Eric sighed. Rose stood in shock as she looked the room over. All the parts that they had left unassembled had been completed.

"What the hell?" Rose stated in a shocked tone. She quickly pulled on her white over coat, and hopped down a small step of stairs into the research lab below. Eager to see what had happened she jogged to a nearby table which was covered in parts. "Who finished these?"

"Two guesses." Eric laughed from above.

"But you said you were going to leave last night, right after I left." Rose added with a curious gaze.

"Yeah, well, I didn't." Eric smiled, as he slowly began to walk down the stairs. "It's not like I have a life outside this place. I grabbed a bite to eat, but came back and finished up."

"That's why you overslept." Rose stated as she looked over the MJOLNIR Mark VI arm guard. "Final assembly was supposed to be done today for those other three Spartans. These small system upgrades should…" She stopped in mid sentence and looked up at Eric. "Sorry. Thanks for doing this Eric."

"Does this mean I can go home?" Eric laughed. Rose shot him an awkward gaze and sighed.

"For a Marine, you sure don't act it." Rose smiled. "It's reassuring that you haven't changed much. I guess the Military couldn't break your spirit."

"They tried." Eric responded. He then realized that they had been working together for nearly two weeks, and had yet to really talk.

"We can take it easy until those parts from Tokyo get here." Rose stated as she put the arm guard on the table. She walked toward Eric and sat at an adjacent desk. "I still can't believe you finished all six. What do we do with our time now?" Rose stated as she slouched into her chair.

"Those ONI suits will get here for another ten minutes, so we could make out?" Eric grinned.

"It didn't work in college, it won't work now." Rose laughed in return. She felt comfortable around Eric and it reminded her of old times, like when they first met in college.

"Thought not." Eric sighed. "Well, I know the frequency for the Award ceremony aboard Cairo Station. We can check that out."

"I guess so." Rose sighed. "At least we get to see what the full Mark VI looks like."

Eric walked over to his computer and typed in his password and Personal Identification Number. The screen flashed to life and he quickly connected his chatter to the computer. After a few key strokes the screen flickered to life and the command deck of Cairo station appeared on screen.

"Guess we're early." Rose stated. "Oh, there's the Spartan and fleet admiral what's his face. Do you know the others?"

"The woman, no, but the black guy I know all to well." Eric grinned with a soft chuckle. "Avery Johnson. He was my bunkmate for a while, before he was shipped off to Paris IV. We lost touch after that, but he was sick for awhile after that. Last I heard he was assigned to the Pillar of Autumn. Looks like he's a Sergeant Major now, still on the front lines, I see." Eric paused and looked the screen over. "Looks like they're finishing up, but something's wrong."

"Wait, they're all leaving." Rose stated with a sigh. "I couldn't see the armor that well. Can you follow the Spartan?" Eric typed in more commands and the camera switched to the outer door of the command deck. "There he is, with my beautiful arm bands. We programmed the entire weaponry database for those, and every gun he grabs will instantly be uploaded to his HUD. But I wish he could get these upgrades we made, their much faster with the data transfer…" But something caught Rose's eye, something that she wish she hadn't seen. "Why is he picking up a gun? Why are they all arming themselves?"

"Oh God." Eric gasped. "They're setting a defensive perimeter around the command deck."

Rose gripped Eric's shoulder tightly as she leaned closer to the screen. She didn't know what his military gibberish meant, but she knew what battle prep looked like. Each soldier was positioning around the Spartan and taking cover. She could see the eagerness and fear in their eyes. Suddenly there was a knock at the office door and Rose was startled. She grabbed her heart and exhaled. She reached for the door controls and the massive door opened. One of the security officers yelled into the room.

"The global defense grid is hot!" The soldier yelled. "The global warning alarm is sounding above ground! It's the covenant, they're here!"

"Rose!" Eric screamed as he watched in terror as several small creatures burst into the room where the Spartan and the soldiers were. Rose quickly turned back to Eric's side as the guard ran down the stairs toward Eric's desk. They all watched as the Marines cut down the first wave of grunts but then several larger creatures followed. "Elites." Eric mumbled. He watched as the chief, surgical took down the towering aliens and then signaled for the marines to advance. Eric turned off the connection and lowered his head. His eyes were wide with horror. The covenant had found their home, they had found Earth.

"Where was that?" The guard asked, in a terrified tone. "Was that here? Oh God, oh God I don't want to die!"

"Relax." Eric shouted. "That was onboard the Cairo; one of our Orbital Defense Mac stations."

"How did you get that transmission?" Rose asked. "I'm sure they would have turned off any public broadcasts once the covenant arrived."

"All soldiers know the video frequencies onboard stations." Eric replied. "It's the only way to watch any good TV while in space."

"So you hacked in?" Rose questioned sarcastically; already knowing the answer. "What should we do?"

"Nothing." Eric replied. "We hope that the UNSC can hold them off, otherwise things may get messy." A sudden beep caught everyone's ear. It was coming from Rose's personal Chatter. She reached into her pocket and walked away from the group, talking softly into it.

"Sir, I'll go back to my desk." The guard stated.

"Tell the Marines to stay sharp." Eric stated to the Guard. "I'll notify ONI for support here. Things may repeat as it did on Reach."

"Sir?" The guard questioned, curious as to what Eric meant.

"Nothing, get to your post." Eric sat at his desk and picked up his Chatter. He thumbed through the interface until he saw a familiar set of numbers. He entered the numbers and a deep male voice echoed into his speaker.

"Lieutenant Raynord, I guess you've heard the news." The voice stated.

"Yes Sir, I've secured this channel." Eric softly spoke into the chatter. "This is much sooner then we planned. I thought the Spartans slowed them down?"

"We knew the Master Chief and his squad did some damage, but nothing was set in stone. We have no clear knowledge of the full size of the covenant's fleet."

"I understand, Sir." Eric replied doubtfully. "How goes the fight up there?"

"A covenant ship got through." The voice stated. "Something's not right about this attack. This isn't a full scale assault, so I believe that they are searching for it. I've ordered several Marine details to your facility underground. The ONI Officials that are usually there with you will be picked up and carried away. I'm glad you got to work early today. I'm leaving you in charge to protect the artifact. Be advised Lieutenant, their coming directly at you."

"They'll kill me before they get the artifact, Sir." Eric replied. The chatter went quiet and Eric stood up. He turned and Rose was standing practically on top of him.

"What did he mean they're coming directly at you?" Rose questioned.

"That box that those ONI guys have been toying with over the past few days." Eric stated as he pointed to the far side of the room. "There's a artifact in it, some form of Forerunner Technology for all I know, but Section 3 may know more. Anyway, the Covenant is coming for it."

"Here?" Rose tearfully questioned. Eric looked at her, puzzled at the terror on her face. He reached into his desk drawer and pulled out his side arm; a M6C Magnum. He dropped a clip into the handle and primed the chamber, cocking it smoothly, and then quickly tripped the safety as he slid it into the holster on his back. He had never seen Rose afraid of anything. She was an athlete in college, a fearless boardroom debater, and had faced off against some of the most hated Admiral's within the UNSC, but now she was terrified. "I have to go… I … I got to get out of here!"

Rose quickly stormed up the stairs and exited the room; Eric was following closely, pondering on how to calm her. She reached the security desk was stopped by the ghostly white face of the security chief. He was in horrific shock as he grabbed Rose and held her at bay. He was sweating horribly, a cold sweet, and Eric could tell that something was wrong.

"You can't leave, Doctor." The guard stated in a nervous stutter. "The Marines have set up defenses upstairs and they're coming down the Elevator now. They said that the Covenant Carrier just stopped above us, directly above us." The guard looked like he wanted to vomit and pass out.

"Rose, come here." Eric stated. He grabbed her by the arm and looked into her eyes; she looked like she wanted to scream but couldn't. "If you want to die, do nothing, but I know you better then that. We have some of the best equipment in the world at our fingertips, and I'm going to show you how to use it. First up the BR55 Battle rifle, she's got a kick but I know you can handle it."

"I don't want to fight, Eric." Rose stated as Eric unlocked the weapons closet. He ignored her as he proceeded to put the heavy metal into her arms.

"When you load it, give it a good slap, pull back the hammer to prime it and you're good to go." Eric stated as he pointed to the various points on the rifle. "The counter displays your ammo, when it drops below ten you need to duck and reload. Only keep shooting if absolutely necessary. The worst thing you can do is run out of ammo in the middle of a firefight. That last click can be heard by those Elite bastards, and they'll know to charge you."

"I don't want to fight, Eric!" Rose shouted tearfully. She dropped the gun and fell to her knees; sobbing uncontrollably. The guards wasted no time raiding the locker and passing out the weapons and armor amongst themselves. Eric leaned over and placed his hands on her shoulder.

"Then I guess you want to die." Eric stated. "Because I know you don't want me to try and protect you. That would put you in my debt, and I have to make you sleep with me to repay that debt." Rose looked up and cocked her head to the side. She was astonished that he could joke at a time like this. "So what's it going to be, beautiful? You want to learn to shoot, or do you want to sleep with me when this is all over?" Rose slowly stood up, cradling the bulk of the rifle in her arms.

"What do I do?" She sobbingly asked. She fought back the tears but couldn't stop them from flowing.

"Damn, you really don't want me, do you?" Eric laughed.

"Contacts, multiple covenant contacts inbound!" The shout came from the security guards desk and everyone ran over to see the battle that was raging overhead. Marines were firing heavily at the Covenant assault group that was bearing down on them. The exit to the building was being flooded with plasma and rifle fire. Eric pressed the com button.

"Wesley, open the door and get the turret guns online." Eric stated to the young Marine in the hallway. "Once all of our support troops get down here, shut the Elevator down, and set it with a charge. Blow the hell out of it. Nothing gets down the elevator shaft. You get me?"

"Roger that, Sir!" Wesley stated.

The tunnel was filling with Marines and Wesley quickly appointed them to their positions. The door into the ONI facility opened and Wesley spotted Eric and Rose standing at the security desk. He could see the terror on the Rose's face, and understood her fear. She was a civilian and never trained for combat. The one thing a soldier knew was that you fed off your fear, and let it motivate you to survive. Flight of Fear is what they called it, and marines were trained to harness it. It would sharpen their senses, make them focus harder and sharper, and in some cases make them dull to pain and injury. He knew that the feeling was most likely overwhelming Rose.

"Okay maggots, let's do this. Get inside the main facility and hunker down, this tunnel is the only way in from the building upstairs. Joe, take some troops and secure the back door, it's our only escape route, but I don't think the Covenant know about it. I want GP turret guns in this tunnel and hard shell'em. Get some bunkers out here. There's some bugs at the door and they aint coming in, move, move, move!"

Eric turned to Rose and smiled; "Let's show you how to shoot."

To be continued...

If I were your hero - Stage 2
Date: 2 August 2005, 2:03 pm

Stage 2: Guns, grenades, sharp sticks… a shiny crystal thing

PCI Industries Repair Center
10:23 October 20, 2552
New Mombasa, Kenya

The weapons locker door opened and Rose appeared from inside. It wasn't the best dressing room, but it was sufficient. Dressed in black fatigues and battle armor, Rose continued to dry her eyes as the soldiers and guards around her patiently waited for the battle to come to them. The ODST modified battle armor was clunky and Rose was having a hard time adjusting it properly. She had spent the past ten minutes fighting with the belts and straps while she was in the weapons closet. She had thought about letting Eric help her dress into the armor, but chose to wing it on her own. Rose scanned the room with her eyes and tried to find Eric, but she couldn't find him.

"Is he in the lab?" Rose questioned to herself. A marine dressed in grey fatigues approached her and began to grip several of her belts; tightening them. Rose felt a little concerned, she had no idea as to who the man was, but it soon dawned on her. "Eric?"

Rose had never seen Eric in his fatigues, and he didn't look like his normal casual self. Eric now appeared massive in build and strength. His shoulders seemed to expand with every breath, and his face displayed no emotion.

"How's that?" Eric asked as he adjusted one last clamp on the armor. Strangely, Rose felt comfortable. The suit seemed to hug her every curve and the armor was lighter then she thought.

"It's okay." Rose softly stated. "Why is my suit different then yours?"

"I'm a marine." Eric stated. "You're a civilian. I have to maintain the uniform of my regiment, but you don't. The ODST armor is made of a denser material, which can absorb more plasma fire. It's heavier then mine but you won't be facing direct combat; if I can help it."

"LT, incoming info on the box!" Wesley yelled across the desk. "Topside reports that it's getting heavy up there!"

"Roger that Private!" Eric responded. "Rose, stay near the Lab no matter what happens from this point on. If I tell you to close the door, get in the lab and seal it. Lock yourself in and hide. I'm not going to lie to you… they are going to get down here. We weren't ready for a head on assault. Just do like I told you; point the gun, squeeze the trigger, and stay low. We'll do the rest." Eric walked away from Rose and double timed it to the security desk

Rose wished that Eric would have given her some comforting words, but what he said was the truth. The covenant would come and they would kill them all. So many other worlds had fallen to the ruthless aliens and now it was Earth's time to die. She walked to the lab door and sat down just inside the threshold. She loaded the BR55 rifle with a clip and slapped it in tight. She pressed the clip-release and the ammo fell out and into her hand. She then slapped the clip back into the rifle and repeated the steps. Over and over again she repeated what Eric had taught her, and she wasn't going to stop until the battle started or the gun broke. She wasn't ready to die. A tear began to swell in her eyes but she forced it back.

"Say again Sergeant…" Eric shouted into the microphone.

"Damn it Raynord, you haven't lost your hearing yet." Sergeant Johnson shouted over the channel. "You must be putting up one hell of fight over there, the covenant just dropped off a Scarab and it's making its way across town toward you! Commander Keys has me airlifting artillery and babysitting the air-boys. I just left the Master Chief and Cortana at the Bridge to try and slow that damned Scarab down. Once I'm done babysitting, me and my boys will come and set up a blockade at the city water center. It's about two blocks from your location, but that Scarab has to go through there to get to you. But be advised, that Carrier above you is carrying a Prophet, so there's no telling what they're planning."

"A Prophet?" Eric questioned.

"Stop repeating me." Johnson retorted. "So why in the hell is your building so important?"

"Can't say Sergeant." Eric replied cautiously. "Just know that it is important that we hold our ground."

"Roger that Lieutenant, ONI never shares anything." Johnson chuckled.

"Give them hell, Sergeant." Eric replied with a chuckle. The channel went quiet and things became even more complicated knowing that a Prophet was on board the Covenant Carrier. Something wasn't felling right about this and Eric felt a cold shiver tingle up his spine.

"What now, Sir?" Wesley asked. The marines all turned and looked to Eric, waiting for a response.

"The covenant is pulling back!" The shout cut across the security desk speaker and the marines nearly broke into cheers. "Their forces are pulling out of the building… think… we…" The video feed and the sound became choppy, and eventually faded.

"Damn!" Eric muttered. He knew his senses were correct. The prophet sent out a Scarab to draw away most of the fighting. Eric had already figured out the covenants tactics. The Scarab tank was only a diversion, in order to draw away most of the Marine support troops that were inbound. That Prophet was trying to buy himself some time. It had worked flawlessly. The covenant had just pulverized the building with plasma fire from the Carrier. Communications were down and there was no way to alert Sergeant Johnson that the tank was merely a decoy. What looked like a retreat was simply the covenant's way of clearing space. The underground facility began to rumble and soon the lights cut out. An explosive groan of metal and rock began to echo throughout the darkened facility. Marines lost their balance and stumbled loosely about the room. Eric staggered in the dark toward the Lab door and reached out until he found Rose.

"Eric!" Rose shouted into the dark.

"Hang on!" Eric replied. The emergency lights turned on but the room continued to shake. For two minutes it didn't stop but suddenly everything became calm.

"What the hell was that?" A marine shouted in the dust filled front hallway. The emergency lights created an eerie atmosphere as silhouettes of Marines walked about assisting each other to their feet.

"Wesley report?" Eric shouted. He stood to his feet and walked to the lab door, leaving Rose cowering in a corner. He verified that the lab's thick Titanium-A doors were still functioning and continued walking to the front.

"All heads still attached, sir." Wesley sharply replied. "What was that?"

"A bad sign." Eric mumbled. "It's about to get hot in here. Lock and load marines!" The marines all hustled to their positions and loaded their weapons. The grind of metal against metal echoed throughout the rooms and the front hall. Two .30 caliber GP turrets were stationed at the security desk, ready to lay waste to anything that came into the elevator hallway.

"I've got multiple targets!" Wesley shouted to the marines as he looked over the security stations motion tracker. "Their coming down the elevator shaft… they're freaking floating down!" The marines began to mumble as nerves began to become tense.

"A gravity lift?" A marine muttered. "We're so screwed."

"I didn't give you permission to cry, marine." Eric shouted. He looked over his shoulder and stared at Rose. She was doing exactly as he told her; lying prone on the ground, her gun aimed and ready while still sitting inside the lab door, nearly thirty feet behind the marines.

"Torches on the door!" A marine shouted as sparks began spitting from the elevator door. The sparks stopped and the marines hunkered down, as they all took aim at the singed metal doors of the elevator. There was a loud thud on the, followed by another and another.

"Nobody's home, you bastards!" Wesley shouted. The elevator doors finally gave and the shiny blue armor of a Hunter barreled into the hallway. The massive hulk created a ghostly shape in the dimly lit corridor, as it barely was able to walk down the hall.

"Mow the field!" Eric shouted. A roar of shells filled the tunnel as the Marines let loose with everything they had. The Hunter ducked behind his shield and raised his cannon. Eric new the bullets from their guns wouldn't be enough but one of the .30 cal shells managed to find a soft spot in the Hunters defense. The Hunter roared in pain as the hot lead pierced his mid section and exploded out of its back. The creature lowered its guard, making itself an easy target. The marines quickly brought down the massive beast. Another hunter quickly stepped into view but his weapon was already hot and primed to fire.

"Damn it!" Eric thought to himself. He dropped to a knee and ripped a grenade from his belt. He then smoothly popped the pin and tossed it down the hall. It detonated in front of the Hunter and the beast reared back, stunned. "Lay into that hunter!" The .30 cal turned and spewed lead into the soft tissue of the Hunter, dropping it to the ground with a massive thud. But the battle wasn't over. Plasma bursts began erupting from the purple light of the elevator shaft, as Jackals lead Grunts and Elites into the hallway. The Jackal's shields were slowly fading from the constant fire of the marines, but when one Jackal was killed another quickly stepped into its position. Marines tossed grenades down the hall and were rewarded with a satisfying thud, as Jackals shrieked in pain. But the all too familiar flare of plasma grenades began darting the hallway toward the encamped marines.

"Raise the barricades!" Wesley shouted. Suddenly several metal combat barricades reared up from the floor and the plasma grenades paths were impeded. The metal barricades rocked backwards from the detonation of five grenades. The marines lowered the metal slabs and returned fire. Two marines dropped to the ground as kneedler rounds exploded in their chest. But the Marines didn't falter. Two more soldiers stepped up and took their positions.

"Ok, you Covenant bastards, show me your next hand." Eric softly said to himself. The roar of gun fire and plasma singes drowned out his thoughts at times. The more they fought, the more the aliens pushed, and it felt like the Covenant would simply try to wear them down. "They're desperate for this thing."

"More Hunters!" Wesley shouted over the rattle of gun fire. Another Hunter charged into the tunnel with his shield up and his cannon foaming with radiation. The .30 calibers turned and fired, but this time the deadly accuracy of the Grunts came into play. Six plasma grenades streaked passed the Hunter, by mere inches, and landed at the feet of Wesley and his front line. "$hit!" Wesley cursed as he grabbed a marine and tossed him back. Wesley barely had to the chance to jump away when the plasma grenades exploded, tossing him and several other marines backwards.

"Step up!" Eric shouted to the second line. "Get that barricade raised! Hurry!" The marines ran up to the metal bulks that lined the floor, but it was too late. The Hunter fired his cannon into the mass of human flesh, killing six of them and wounding another. The massive creature roared as he crossed the threshold into the facility. Several Grunts ran in under him and began spraying the room with plasma fire. Elites and Jackals soon followed.

"Okay you bastards." Eric stated. He pressed a button on the security desk and wall mounted turrets sprang to action. Several Automatic Turrets began to lock targets in the room. The AI that controlled the guns instantly recognized the alien threat and began to track their movements. Two guns hung above the front security desk and two guns were stationed on each side of the door, behind the Grunts and Hunter.

"Hold them here!" Eric shouted to the Marines at his side. The marines and the auto-turrets quickly began to make short work of the Grunts, and the Hunter had no defense against the guns at his back. He fell to the ground before he could fire a second shot from his large cannon.

Eric knew the auto-turrets would come into play but he hoped that it wouldn't. The AI that controlled the aiming system wasn't the best program in the world, and because the facility was so small, ONI decided it wasn't worth giving them a smart AI to assist them. But using the auto-turrets meant that more energy was being used from the backup generators. They would eventually run out of ammo and power.

Eric put a round from his battle rifle into a grunts head as it ran into the room and then looked back at Rose. She was pulling Wesley's unconscious body into the lab area, along with some of the other wounded marines. Eric quickly turned back as an Elite stormed into the room with its plasma sword primed to kill. The auto-turrets fired at the grey armored Elite and its shields took the majority of the damage. The Elite tried to take cover and ran toward the security desk. It hopped over the security desk's counter and came face to face with a dozen marines. The plasma sword swung wildly at a nearby marine, slashing across the soldier's chest, but the Elites weakened shields made him easy prey for the other marines. The Elite crumbled to the ground lifeless as the marines held their ground.

"I'll have to shut down the turrets or we'll be in the black." Eric stated over the constant tatter of gun fire. "Hold that door." The marines stepped forward, tossing waves of grenades down the hall in order to hold what little ground they had. The auto-turrets whirled to a stop, and Eric raced to the door with the rest of the marines. "Give me a hand." Eric stated to one of the Marines that was holding back. They each grabbed the GP turret and carried them back behind the security desk. "Reload these two guns and position them inside the lab so you have a clear shot at the lab door. We're going to have to fall back soon."

"Yes sir." The marine replied. He quickly began scavenging ammo and carried as much as he could into the lab. Rose only watched in confusion as Wesley and two other soldiers lay next to her.

"Ma'am, well need to move the guys out of harms way." The marine stated. "This lab is now our last stronghold."

"I'll move them while you get the rest of the ammo." Rose replied. She knew that the end was near, but she had to do her part. She quickly tossed Wesley's arm over her shoulder and grabbed his belt. She then began to drag him down the stairs and toward the back of the lab. Her physical strength was an asset she was grateful for at that moment; all that working out she did was finally paying off. She hustled back to the top of the stairs and repeated her trip with the other soldiers. It was a slow process but at least she wasn't sitting around waiting to die.

Grunts began to storm into the hallway, tossing grenades into the room with expert precision. The marines were being forced to fall back as their numbers continued to dwindle. And with the portable .30 caliber GP turrets no longer a factor, the Elites and the remaining Hunter began their charge down the hall.

"Damn, another Hunter!" Eric shouted. He tossed his last grenade and tapped his men on their shoulders; only six remained at the door. "Fall back to the lab, maintain cover fire." Eric picked up what ammo and guns he could carry and fell back to the lab door. He tossed the guns to the marines that were already inside and began firing down the hallway toward the door. The six marines heard the bursts of fire from behind and began to fall back. Once inside the lab Eric noticed that the Elites were beginning to storm into the facility, lead by the massive Hunter.

"Rose!" Eric shouted over his shoulder. "Turn on the security turrets!" Rose quickly jumped up and ran to her work desk. She powered up the computer and accessed the security protocols. She then powered up the auto-turrets. The turrets near the security desk sprang to life and began to fire wildly at the nearby covenant forces, but it didn't take long for the Elites to disable them.

"They just went of line!" Rose yelled up to Eric. As she looked she could see that Eric was now under heavy fire as two marines tumbled into the room. The last marine tossed a few grenades toward the approaching covenant squad as Eric waved his hand over the door plate. The massive door slowly closed and sealed shut. Eric slid down the door and exhaled heavily. It felt like he hadn't taken a breath during the assault.

"What now, LT?" The marine that tossed the grenade asked. He sat beside Eric and pulled off his helmet. "How long will this door hold?"

"It's pure Titanium-A." Eric replied. "It's ten inches thick so it should hold a while. All we can really do is hope that the Covenant don't break it down before our reinforcements show up."

"If we get reinforcements." The marine added as he hung his head. As much as Eric hated to admit it, he was probably right. The covenant had a Carrier full of supplies and troops, hovering over their heads, and with only a cruiser class shell of Titanium-A and eight marines stopping them from getting what they wanted. Eric really had his doubts that support was coming. A soft thud tapped against the door and Eric thought that perhaps a grunt was banging on it, but reality was that it was a Hunter. Not even the massive strength of a Hunter would be enough to topple the door. The covenant would eventually bring in some other means to get the door down.

"How did they get down here, LT?" Wesley stated as he slowly began to sit up. He cradled his head as Rose assisted him. "I mean, we're two hundred feet underground and directly beneath a building."

"It was an energy projector." Eric replied. "They have them on the bigger ships. It's the same thing they did on Reach."

"Reach, Sir?" The marine questioned. Eric then realized that only a select few within the marine core had been debriefed about the survivors on Reach.

"There were a few survivors that hid in a mountain and they informed us of everything that happened." Eric countered. "They told us how the covenant blew out a mountain in order to get them, and then used their gravity lift to get down to them.

"Okay, so there's really know way to stop them?" Rose questioned. She stood to her feet and walked towards the black box. She then hurled the small box on top of a nearby table and entered several key strokes on the lock pad.

"What are you doing?" Eric stated. He quickly stood to his feet and walked down the stairs to Rose's position.

"They want this damned thing and their going to kill us all to get it." Rose said as she continued typing numbers onto the lock's data pad. "I say we cut our losses and give it too them."

"We have our orders to protect this thing." Eric sharply stated.

"And how will we protect it when we're dead?" Rose screamed. Her last entry worked and the black box cracked open. A bright pink light radiated from inside the box and illuminated the room. "If we give it to them we may live, but if they take it we die."

"Doctor, I'm going to have to ask you to step away from the box." Wesley stated as he cautiously stood to his feet. He raised his side arm and pointed it Rose's head. "I hate this as much as you, but that thing may be the difference in this war. We have to consider that, and our lives are not as important as the fate of the world."

"Sorry, Wesley." Rose softly stated as she opened the box door wider. "I'm not that noble. I'll take my chances." Rose couldn't help but feel that Wesley wasn't the only one with a gun pointed at her. She slowly looked around and noticed that three other marines were looking down the barrel at her. "I take full responsibility, if we get out of this. But I don't think any of you want to die down here."

"What makes you think they'll let us live once we give it to them?" Wesley snapped. "They've slaughtered every human that they've came into contact with. If you give it to them I highly doubt they'll smile and shake our hands after words. This is treason!" Wesley squeezed the trigger on his Magnum. The bullet pinged off the side of the black box and Rose froze. Her hands had nearly gripped the crystal, but Wesley's warning shot stopped her from fully grabbing it. "Those covenant bastards will pry that crystal out of my cold dead hands before they get it. There is no way in hell I'll give it to them! Rose, if you touch that crystal I swear to God I'll kill you!" Wesley took aim at the back of Rose's head.

"Stand down Private!" Eric finally cut in. Rose exhaled heavily after hearing Eric's voice. For a second, she thought Wesley was about to do her in. "I'll handle this."

"Sir, no sir!" Wesley replied. "My orders come directly from Section III, and I will not stand down unless you take control of this situation by closing that box." Eric was stunned by Wesley's words, but he knew that ONI would put someone on the inside, but he never imagined it was Private First Class Wesley Williams.

"So you're the one reporting to ONI over our heads?" Eric turned.

"I had my orders, Sir." Wesley replied.

"Lower your side arm, soldier." Eric demanded. "That's an order!"

"Will you close the box, Sir?" Wesley sharply countered; maintaining his aim at Rose.

"I will do what I deem necessary to protect that artifact!" Eric shouted. "And putting a gun to a woman's head is not the way to do it. Lower your sidearm, damn it!"

"Sir, I can not do that until you show that you are willing to protect that artifact, and not hand it over to the enemy!" Wesley turned and faced Eric; glaring at him sharply. Rose cautiously looked over her shoulder and noticed that Wesley was no longer looking at her, but still had the gun aimed at her. She took the chance.

Rose grabbed the crystal, ignored the tingle that ran up her arm from touching it, and dashed across the room. The crystal was the size of a toy ball and weighed practically nothing.

"Rose!" Wesley shouted. His heart dropped from the shock that she actually did it. Wesley took aim and fired a round near her leg. The bullet split the air around her calf, but she didn't stop. She hopped a desk and ran to the door. She quickly ran passed her desk, and typed in the command to open the lab door. Eric then grabbed her by the arm, but Rose was already in the act of running and slipped out of Eric's grip. The door slowly hissed open.

"Eric, close the door!" Rose screamed. She new that she only needed a small opening to toss the crystal through, and by the time Eric entered the command she would have given the covenant the crystal. The door slowly opened and the Marine sitting at the door finally realized that what he was seeing was really happening. Rose had taken the crystal, was being shot at and was running at him. Not to mention that the door he was leaning against was slowly opening.

The marine turned and could see the glaring eyes of an elite peeping through the partially opened door. The door continued to open but stopped as Eric entered the command on the computer. The massive Titanium-A slab was only open wide enough for hand to barely fit through. The marine could hear the chatter of Elites and Grunts out side and quickly stepped away from the door.

"Stop her!" Wesley shouted to the marine. Stunned, the marine turned and saw Rose running up the stairs toward him. He simply gazed at her with confusion and shock.

"Grab her!" Eric shouted as he fondled with his computer to close the door. "Get the Crystal!" The marine snapped out of his daze and grabbed Rose by the shoulder, but the damage had been done. Her hand was empty as the crystal fell into the crack of the door. The door closed and sealed, and everyone in the room fell silent.

"Rose…" Eric muttered; cutting through the dead silence. Rose collapsed to her knees and began to cry again. The marine that had grabbed her, still held her in his arms; contemplating what had just happened.

"I didn't want to die!" Rose screamed. Two minutes of silence filled the air and once again the room began to rumble, but this time it felt as though the ground itself was moving. Everything was being tossed around the lab, and it was nearly impossible for the small group to keep themselves from being thrown about. Rose grabbed the stair railing and held on for life, but her grip slipped and she hit her head on the wall; blacking out instantly.

To be continued…

If I Were Your Hero - stage 3
Date: 10 August 2005, 6:55 pm

Stage 3: Close your eyes, you'll be dead soon

New Mombasa Creator Site
12:23 October 20, 2552
New Mombasa, Kenya



      "I can't believe what I'm seeing." A marine gasped as he overlooked the massive creator that was once New Mombasa. There was little doubt in his mind that nothing could have survived, but he had his orders to search and rescue.

      "At least it beats being in space right now." Another marine added.

      "Load up the Pelican, you two; double time." The commanding officer quickly snapped.

      The old city of Mombasa had become a refugee camp as wounded civilians and marines wondered into the city. Some of the survivors were barely out of range when the Covenant carrier entered slip space in the heart of New Mombasa, but others were wounded by the covenant ground attacks around the city.

      Medical tents lined the river as Pelicans patrolled the skies over head. What was once a sprawling city of commerce and technology was now a smoldering creator with plumes of ash and dust still settling in its core. Emergency aid was sent from all over the world, but only the local branch of UNSC and Marine ground forces were allowed to assist in the cleanup. Despite the Covenant carrier leaving Earth, a large fleet of Covenant cruisers still remained just within the kill zone of the Mac Guns; the Earth forces couldn't let down their guard.

      As the Marines took to the air to begin their S and R detail, a nearby communication's officer flagged down his commanding officer.

      "Sir, I'm getting a wide burst communication for assistance. Sounds like survivors."

      "Who the hell actually survived this mess?" The commanding officer questioned. Even though they had been told to search for survivors, no one actually expected them to find any.

      "Unknown, Sir. The signal is being sent off of a chatter frequency, and it's really weak because of the left over sub-space distortion. Whoever he is, he can't receive my transmissions because the chatter net throughout this region is pretty much useless."

      "Can you send a direct transmission over the UNSC Band?"

      "No. I've tried. My equipment is fine, but those chatters really weren't designed to function without the chatter net." Even with that statement the communications officer smiled gleefully as he looked over his equipment. "But the good news is that I can track that signal."

      "Good job soldier. Pinpoint their position and signal the nearest S and R team to get there. At least someone survived this mess."

                                                 *      *      *      

      Darkness consumed the room as Rose slowly opened her eyes. It was so dark that she couldn't tell if her eyes were open or still closed. Her head felt heavy and despite all attempts to stand, she had no feeling in her body. Her first thought was that she had broker her neck, but she slowly began to feel her fingers move. Her next concern came from the numb feeling she had against her head. She gingerly raised her arm toward her face and felt a warm liquid against her skin; it was clearly her own blood. She confirmed that it was blood when she touched a scar on the top of her head. She was bleeding horribly, but the more she examined it she became aware that it was only a deep gash; hopefully there wasn't any serious head trauma. She reached out into the darkness of her immediate area and felt a wall. She needed to elevate her head, and since she was slowly regaining full control of her body, she slowly pushed herself up and leaned against it.

      "This is Lieutenant Eric Raynord, to any UNSC patrols. Do you copy?" Eric's voice was echoing throughout the darkness of the lab, and Rose tried to focus on the direction it was coming from but gave up.

      "Do you think they'll come looking for us, Sir?" A marine questioned in the dark.

      "I hope so. I'd just like to know what the hell happened out there. If it was a nuke we'd be dead from radiation by now."

      "Eric, are you ok?" Rose's voice echoed throughout the darkness.

      "She's still alive." Wesley sharply stated. Rose wondered where he was, but locating him was a futile attempt.

      "We'll deal with that later, Wesley." Eric replied.

      "Sure we will. Never mind that if we do get out of here, we're all going to hang for treason." The sarcasm in Wesley's voice stood out prominently.

      "Rose, where are you?" Eric stated into the darkness. He held up his hand and turned on his chatter. The dark blue light from the chatter's tiny keypad dotted throughout the room. "Can you see my chatter?"

      "You're directly in front of me, to the right. I'm against the wall." Eric cautiously pushed through the darkness while bumping into tables, desks, chairs and stepping on unknown objects; the small blue light of his chatter providing no visual aid. "I'm here." Rose softly whispered as she grabbed Eric's pant leg.

      Eric knelt down and grabbed Rose by the arm, and felt his way to her face. He then felt her warm blood on his hands. Without saying anything he quickly reached into his satchel and pulled out an emergency medical kit. He fumbled with it in the dark, but eventually found a compound of biofoam.

      "Where's the wound?" Eric stated softly, but Wesley was within earshot.

      "On my head, just above my hair line." Rose mumbled.

      "Is she okay?" Wesley questioned. The sound of concern was very apparent to Eric, and slightly confusing. Eric chose to ignore his question, and focused on cleaning Rose's wound.

      "This is going to hurt." Eric whispered to Rose. He unwound a bandage spool and sprayed the contents of the biofoam onto it. With the field wrap ready, he then placed his left hand on Rose's head, maneuvering around until he felt the loose skin and matted hair of her injury. Several thoughts went through his head as he found the open layer of skin, but he didn't want to think about anything other then stopping the bleeding. He parted Rose's hair as best he could in the dark and with his right hand he firmly pressed the bandage spool and biofoam mix onto her head.

      The foam quickly mixed into Rose's skin and blood and instantly stopped the bleeding. It increased the coagulation of the exposed blood, but the pain it created exploded from Rose's lips as she screamed. She reached up and gripped Eric's arm, pulling him closer to herself and moaning as the pain intensified. Eric then wrapped the bandage spool around Rose's head and cradled her in his arms. It had been awhile since he had done a field wrap, and never had he done it in the dark, but Eric felt that he had done a good enough job and that the wrap should hold until they found a way out or were rescued.

      After a few moments Rose stopped moaning and sighed as the brunt of the pain passed her by. She relaxed and rested her head against Eric's shoulder. She was relieved that he was close to her and she wasn't sitting alone in the dark, but her thoughts quickly turned to Wesley.

      "Wesley? You alright?"

      "Does it matter?" Wesley replied. His tone was crisp and Rose could tell that he was still angry. And she understood perfectly why.

      "Are you injured, Wesley?" Rose stated. She was stern with her tone and Eric chuckled to himself when he heard her. Even though Wesley wanted to kill her, she was still trying to help him. This was a little confusing to Eric, and he thought about the concern Wesley showed a few minutes ago.

      "No. My wounds are emotional." Wesley's response was filled with sorrow and for a moment Eric felt that Wesley was angry that he hadn't killed her, but something about the way he spoke made Eric feel that there was a hidden meaning behind his words.

      "I'm sorry, Wesley." Rose replied softly. The way Rose said those three words made Eric realize that there truly was more going on. Rose lowered her head, hoping that Wesley would respond, but none came. She closed her eyes and rested against Eric's shoulder. He had taken off his protective armor and was holding her closely. His grip was firm but tender, and she could hear his breathing.

      Time seemed to slip away until a loud thunder came from outside. The clatter of metal upon metal clanged throughout the room and suddenly light streamed in. The light seemed as if it came from all around them, but the light was only entering from the entrance. As all of their eyes adjusted, pain shot through their heads as they struggled to shield their eyes from the sun's blinding light.

      A shout came from the light. "Hello! Is anyone in there? Hello!"

      A marine sitting near the entrance was the first to respond. "Thank God!"

      Wesley's eyes finally adjusted but the light was still blinding and painful, but he managed to look the room over. Two of the marines that were in the room with them had already stood up and were making their way toward the door. He then saw Eric and Rose sitting only a few feet away, holding each other. Rose was looking back at him with a heavy face and the top of her head wrapped in a blood soaked field wrap. She then buried her head into Eric's chest. Wesley understood what she was feeling. In some ways he wished it too; that they could stay in the dark and be oblivious to the outside world. But reality was awaiting them just beyond the bent doors of the lab. ONI and the UNSC brass were not going to be happy to hear what had happened.

      Wesley was the first to stand up as he pushed aside a chair that had fallen at his feet. Eric watched him as he gingerly walked across the debris toward the door. Eric and Wesley exchanged quick glances, and in that brief gaze they both shared unspoken words.

      Wesley would have to report everything that happened during the battle to his ONI officials, and Eric would have to account for his actions. The two men looked away from each other and Wesley exited the building. The sunlight burned through his eyelids and he quickly tossed up his hands. It took forever for his eyes to adjust to the light and when it did all he could see was dust and hills.

      A marine grabbed Wesley by the arm and lifted him out of the partially buried remains of the lab. Everything was gone; the hallway, the elevator shaft, the building, and the city. Wesley felt a cringe in his stomach and he looked back and saw energy burns all along the exposed section of the lab exterior. Part of the lab was still underground, buried beneath bedrock and cement. The ship grade Titanium-A had saved their lives but the rest of the city was gone. Buildings had vanished and nearly two hundred feet of bedrock had been removed; only a crater remained. Wesley stood next to one of the marines that had just exited the lab and the young soldier slowly turned his shocked face toward him.

      "Sir, what happened? How could the covenant do this without using a nuke?"

      "I don't know." Wesley replied. His mouth was still open when Rose and Eric walked out of the lab, being assisted by two marine medics.

      "Lieutenant!" A marine shouted from a nearby pelican. "They need you at Mombasa camp Charley for debriefing, sir. They said that you are to bring your cargo ASAP. I'm here to give you a ride sir. Your personnel are free to tag along for the debriefing." Eric knew what 'cargo' meant. They wanted the crystal artifact.

      Eric nodded to the marine and looked to Rose. She was crying again, as she looked around the crater. She felt partially responsible for everything she saw. Eric looked to Wesley and the marines that had survived the assault with him, and contemplated the next course of action.

      "Excuse me, but what happened here?" Wesley asked a nearby medic.

      "The covenant did a slip space jump in the city. You guys were lucky. We lost everything in the city, and even a few platoons stationed around Mombasa were wiped out from the shockwave. Those Covenant bastards, they'll pay for this."

      Eric overheard the medic and so did Rose. She had stopped crying and was slowly coming to terms with what she had done. Wesley was staring at her, but not with anger or hatred; his eyes were filled with disappointment. Eric looked the group over and decided that there was no point in standing around, if they were going to face the firing squad then now was the time to do it. Eric turned toward the group and shouted over the roar of the pelican's engines.

      "Alright marines, load up. Medical units, you can patch us up when we're in the air. Everybody get on the Pelicans, double time. I want a clean up crew to come back and grab all the MJOLNIR parts that can be found."

      "Sir!" The group all replied. Eric was clearly the senior officer at the site and once they exited the lab he assumed command.

      "El-tee, what about the cargo?" Wesley asked, clearly referring to the artifact. His gaze was strong and brewed with tension. Eric felt his eyes burning into him and looked to Rose.

      "I'll deal with it. Load up!" Everyone climbed into the back of the two pelicans that had lined up around the lab facility, and the engines fired. The fully loaded pelicans did a partial vertical take off. They then nosed up and slowly rose as they gained momentum and sped away from the center of the crater. Eric stood on the ramp of the pelican and looked over the ruins that circled the area where New Mombasa once stood. He then noted that the massive Geosynchronous Tether had also been wiped out. The supply elevator to the orbital space stations had been cut, and Eric realized that refortifying the space stations would be difficult and time consuming without it.

      Other thoughts ran through his mind as he gazed over the horizon. His friends, and everyone he had worked with at the ONI facility were dead. None of the security guards had survived the battle underground, and most of the lab technicians, that weren't considered important personal, probably didn't get out of the city. So many lives had been lost. Eric was use to seeing death, he was a soldier, and the covenant had been killing off human colonists all of his life. He joined the marine core on his eighteenth birthday and never looked back to his old life. The thought of Earth being wiped from existence made him feel uncomfortable. He wanted to fight this war, he wanted to help humanity survive, and if the UNSC officials didn't hang him for treason, he was going to do everything in his power to fight the covenant menace.

      The two pelicans soared toward Mombasa's base camp and landed within five minutes. The pilot's had already radioed ahead and notified the base of the survivors, and Eric wasn't surprised to see the ONI brass waiting at the landing zone. The pelican slowly lowered to the ground, sending dust in all directions, as its massive engines roared to a halt. Eric sprang from the ramp of the pelican and saluted the officers that stood before him. Wesley and the other group of marines all fell in line, and saluted as the medics assisted Rose out of the pelican. Her field wrap had been removed and a cleaner wrap had been applied.

       One of the ONI officer stepped forward and addressed the group, "At ease gentlemen. We will debrief quickly. If you will all follow me." The officer then pointed to Rose and the medics and stated; "Take Doctor Santos to the medical block, and after she's cleaned up, take her to the shelters. She's seen of enough of this war."

      "Sir, if I may speak?" Wesley quickly snapped. The officer agreed by nodding his head and Eric could only lower his eyes as his gut began to turn. "I believe it will be best if Doctor Santos accompanied us to the debriefing. It concerns the cargo." The officer looked at Rose with a stern gaze and agreed.

      The group all walked to a nearby building which was protected by troops on all sides. Stationary guns lined the roof and snipers were resting in several of the windows. Eric quickly thought that all of the security around the building was a clear mark of its importance; and during wartime it wasn't a good idea to label your command bunker so clearly. It was an obvious bombing target.

      As they approached the door of the building their hands were checked with ID scanners. Inside was a mixture of ONI officials and high ranking UNSC brass. A table was littered with maps of Kenya, neighboring waterways, and ocean charts. Various fruits and beverages also decorated the table as the group of high ranking men and women tossed around heated debates on the battle at hand.

      Wesley, Eric and their marine compliment all saluted as they walked in, but none of the brass paid them any attention. That is until one of the ONI officials questioned them.

      "Where's the box, lieutenant?" The gray haired woman questioned. Wesley and Eric recognized her as the head of the project team that studied the artifact. She led the team that came to the lab everyday and studied the crystal. "You were ordered to bring it."

      Eric stepped forward, "Ma'am, the cargo was taken by the covenant assault. We defended as best we could but…"

      "But nothing!" Another man shouted. This man was slightly younger, wore the brand of a major within the ONI ranks, and was more threatening with his tone. "If you defended it then you should all be dead. That … cargo was worth more then your measurable lives. I have no reason to be here if this is all you have for me. Good day gentlemen." The major stormed out of the room, followed by several other ONI officials. Eric felt slightly relieved that he was gone. The major matched a man that he knew by name and rumor only; Major Standish.

      "What happened down there, lieutenant?" The project head questioned. She sat at the table and gazed at Wesley out of the corner of her eyes, but kept her focus on Eric.

      "Ma'am." Eric began. He retold the battle inside the facility and how his men fought bravely. He then arrived at the part where they locked themselves inside the lab. The project head then waved her hand cutting the story short.

      "You're stalling, lieutenant." She softly stated. The other ONI officials and UNSC brass became even more eager to know the full details. "How did it end up in the covenants hands, while you and your men lived to tell this tale?"

      "I gave it to them." Rose softly stated from her seat. The room filled with rumbles of disapproval as the officials became enraged.

      "Why did you do that?" The project head questioned strongly with an astonished tone. Her voice cut through the uproar with a rage that startled everyone. Rose froze and slowly lowered her head. She had faced off against admirals and ONI officials before, but never in a situation where she knew she was wrong.

      "They would have killed us, and I didn't know what else to do." Rose pleaded.

      "Private, anything to add?" The project head asked as she turned and gazed into Wesley's eyes. Wesley was frozen in shock and could barely muster the strength to speak.

      "No ma'am." Wesley stuttered. Eric and Rose were a little surprised that Wesley didn't say anything.

      The project head was well beyond the limit of containing her anger. "Private, are you aware that her actions, as well as your own, constitute as high treason? You have no secrets from us Private! If she goes in front of the firing squad, you'll go as well! We know everything about you and Doctor Santos!" Eric cocked his head back swiftly and looked at Rose; questions flooding into his mind.

      "He had nothing to do with this, he tried to stop me!" Rose shouted.

      "Shut up, Doctor! Don't think for a moment that we are not aware of the power of female seduction. You're relationship with Private First Class Wesley Williams has been under investigation for quite some time." Eric gritted his teeth and simply listened. "You may have kept the details of your involvement with the Private a secret to some, but within our ranks we can not afford to let such acts go unnoticed."

      "If I may interrupt?" A UNSC official questioned. The older man walked to the project heads side and looked to the marines that survived with them. "Does one of you men have your Recorder Chip on hand?" The surviving marines looked to each other and one of them shock his head yes, and pulled the chip from his helmet recorder. "Could you please queue it up in that terminal?" The marine nodded and walked to the terminal. He inserted the chip into the terminal's digital reader and began to play back the data from the battle.

      "Lieutenant, explain what we're seeing?" The project head stated.

      "Ma'am, this is just before we sealed ourselves in the lab." Eric stated as the marines point of view showed a covenant assault team pushing down the hall. It quickly shifted and the marine began to race toward the lab, he turned and threw a grenade and the door to the lab closed. The quality became fuzzy and the screen once again shifted as he took off his helmet. Everything that was said was easily heard, and everyone recognized their voices. Soon the picture darkened and you could no longer see what was going on, but you could hear what everyone was saying.

      Every word was crystal clear; Wesley shouting, Eric demanding Wesley to drop the gun, and Rose disobeying Wesley's demand to close the box. There was a loud shout as Wesley screamed, then a gunshot, followed by tussling and then a loud hiss as the doors opened. Rose yelled to Eric to close the door, and Wesley shouting to the marine to stop her. The screen began to glow pink and soon the roar of the Elites was heard. The pink glow faded and the sound of the door closing filled the speakers.

      "Enough." The project head fumed as she placed her left hand to her forehead. "Turn it off. This is clearly treason. Private, there is no doubt that your threat toward Doctor Santos was true, but at the time you couldn't bring yourself to actually kill her and protect the artifact. Had you not had a relationship with her then perhaps you could have affectively stopped her. Lieutenant Raynord you should have stopped her from even trying to open the box. And Doctor Santos, you gave the covenant an artifact that could very well cost us this war, and all of our lives." The project head lowered her head and sighed. "Marines, you are dismissed. Locate the command bunker two clicks north, and find a new squad. As for the rest of you; Private First class Wesley Williams, Lieutenant Eric Raynord, and Doctor Roselyn Santos, you are all hereby found guilty of conspiring with the enemy, according to the United Nations Space Command and Office of Naval Intelligence Terms of War. According to this doctrine, the highest ranking official on the scene has the right to deal with you, without the approval of the committee, in any way they see fit." The head then turned and looked to the UNSC commanding officer. The naval officer was a Lieutenant Commander and was clearly torn about what to do.

      "This is interesting." The man stated. "I have never made such a decision as dealing with traitors, and the only possible decision is death by firing squad." Eric remained focused and didn't let the commander's words phase him, but Wesley and Rose were clearly bothered by it. The room was quiet, no one wanted to agree that the punishment fit the crime, but no one spoke against it either. "Lieutenant Eric Raynord, you were in command of defending the artifact, crystal thing. Do you have anything to say on your behalf?"

      "Sir, only that if I am to die, then let me die fighting. We need every man we can against the Covenant, and while mandate may demand that we deserve to be shot, I say let us die on the battlefield. The situation got out of hand, I understand that, but in reality sir, the covenant would have gotten their hands on that crystal no matter how hard we fought. I'm not agreeing that what the Doctor did was correct, but it happened, she wanted to live and we lost control of the situation. Allow us to fight, all of us. Put us on the front line. Sir, let us repay our error in battle." Eric spoke clearly and without fear. This was all Eric wanted; a chance to plead his case and get to fight for his home.

      Eric's words gave the Lieutenant Commander something to contemplate. Everyone was fully aware that they weren't truly traitors. They were simply victims of their emotions and one woman's desperation to live. But the punishment for treason was death, and this left the commander with a rather large decision to make.

      The commander turned to all the officers in the room, "One thing is for sure, we really should look beyond this situation as if they are traitors. I think most of us here know that the loss of that crystal isn't at all that bad, seeing that we cracked its code several weeks ago." The commander looked to the project head and she frowned angrily. "We can discuss that information in private. But none the less, an act against Earth was committed and I agree to the Lieutenants terms." A heavy sigh echoed across the room; no one wanted to see them die.

      It was the human condition to live, and if put in the situation how many wouldn't have done the same. Even the best soldiers could crack under overwhelming conditions, but a civilian with no training was bound to do whatever was necessary to survive. Despite the commander's decision, the project head had nothing to say, she simply sat in silence.

      "If there are no objections, I hereby reprimand PFC Williams and Lieutenant Raynord with full demotions." The commander addressed as he lit his pipe. He took a deep puff and exhaled the light grey smoke into the air. "First Lieutenant Eric Raynord, demoted to Sergeant, your skill and leadership will be needed out there. PFC Wesley Williams you are hereby demoted and repositioned to Marine core Private. You will serve directly under Sergeant Raynord." The commander then focused his attention to Rose and stared at her deeply. "As for you Doctor, you have no training in combat but you are fairly physically fit, as evident in your ability to out maneuver four marines. Therefore, you'll be assigned to Sergeant Raynord's squad on the front line. He can position you however he feels. Pray young lady that this past battle is all the covenant intends to do, however unlikely that is."

      "Sergeant, you are all dismissed." The project head stated abruptly. She was clearly not happy that the commander disregarded her anger. Eric saluted the brass and the ONI officials then escorted Wesley and Rose out of the room. Once the door closed behind him the officials began barking and shouting at each other over how the situation had been handled.

      Wesley walked ahead of Eric and pushed the doors open to the outside. He inhaled heavily and vomited on the sidewalk. He leaned against the building and gasped for air. He was happy to be alive, but the pressure from dealing with all the higher ups and then hearing the words 'firing squad' had torn him up inside. He was grateful that he held it in until he got outside.

      "I'd rather face the covenant any day." Wesley gasped as he cleared his throat. Eric and Rose walked out and gave Wesley a quick glance. Ross looked to Eric but he didn't share her gaze.

      "Private, take Rose to the medical block and I want both of you to get some rest." Eric commanded. "Keep an eye on her and don't let her wonder off. The brass in there let us go, but they may change their minds if they see Rose wondering around on her own."

      "Yes sir. We're going to put this all behind us, right Eric?" Eric was silent for a turn but looked back at Wesley and Rose. Rose was hanging her head and was clearly exhausted, but partially embarrassed. Her secret relationship with Wesley had been exposed, and she knew how Eric felt about her.

      "Five hours of R and R." Eric replied. "Get some grub and sleep. That's an order." Eric turned and walked away. Rose was somewhat shocked at Eric's demeanor. Where was the funny man she knew from college, and would flirt with her? Eric would always tell her that everything was going to be alright, but the military version of Eric was strict and proud. Even when they worked together she had never seen this side of him. The military had indeed changed him, and Rose was finding it difficult to find the man she once knew.

      Wesley quickly ran up to Eric and jumped in front of him; "If you're going to be my CO, then I need to know that we're going to put this behind us? Rose and I were only together for…"

      "Marine, I gave you an order." Eric cut in. "Take Rose to the medical block, now!" Eric pushed passed Wesley and headed down the street. Wesley simply watched him walk off and turned to Rose.

      "What did you say to him?" She asked. Wesley walked over to Rose and kicked a can that was lying about.

      "It's not important. Let's go." Rose and Wesley walked off toward the crowded medical block, and watched as refugees and marines cluttered together as they awaited news and information about survivors and the status of the Covenant attack.

      "You know, for a second I thought you were going to shoot me." Rose stated, in an attempt to lighten the mood. Wesley turned and looked at her.

      "For a second, I didn't think you were going to do it. And in that second, you did. That's why I didn't kill you." Wesley's words cut deep into Rose. She understood what he was saying and realized that things were different between them. "Just drop it Rose. We've got bigger things to worry about now." Wesley and Rose continued walking and vanished into the crowd of soldiers and civilians.

                                                 *      *      *      

Marine barracks
Charley Camp
16:20 October 20, 2552
Mombasa, Kenya


      Wesley was startled awake from the sirens that were echoing throughout the city. It was the all too familiar sound of the global alarm system. The covenant was coming and this time, they weren't coming with a small cluster of ships. Wesley sat up and quickly jumped from his bunk, tossing on his gear and doubled checked his weapon. He looked at Rose and she was sitting up, but her face was flushed; she was horrified.

      Male and female marines quickly ran in and out of the bunks, grabbing gear and getting dressed. The air was thick with tension as Rose nervously dressed into her uniform. She was immediately enlisted into the marine core as a warrant officer. She brushed aside her nerves and pulled the bandage off her head. Wesley watched as she tightened her belt and pulled on her body armor. He marveled at how well shaped she was and was thankful that the two of them were able to remain somewhat close friends, even after their relationship ended. The one thing that troubled him was that he could no longer enjoy her company; Rose gave a great back rub, and was wonderful at other things.

      Rose snapped her chest armor and shoulder guards in place. She had seen Eric adjust it once and quickly recalled how to do it. The marine fatigues were easier to prep because the ODST uniform she wore earlier was much more complicated.

      Wesley tossed her a helmet and the two ran out of the barracks with the rest of the platoon. They had been assigned to it earlier in the day and were now about to meet their Commanding officers.

      They fell in line and Wesley pointed out were Rose should stand. She quickly stepped in line behind Wesley as the complete platoon of forty marines gathered. Wesley turned around and looked her over making sure her gear was in check and noticed that she was trembling uncontrollably.

      "Relax, this is easy part." Wesley quickly chuckled.

      "Easy for you to say." Rose nervously returned. Wesley turned and looked toward the front. The el-tee walked out with Eric and another man close behind. The lieutenant of the platoon was Jason Morganton, and his two sergeants were Justin Rodgers and Eric Raynord.

      "Sergeant Raynord, break them in please." Rose quickly found Eric at the front of the group and her eyes never left him.

       Eric stepped in front of the platoon and began to bark orders, "Listen up and listen good! The covenant has begun their assault, and some ground forces have broken through, but the MAC guns are keeping the majority of their fleet at bay. We have our orders to report to the front, and since we're a new platoon they're sending us to lead an assault, but we've got one hell of a flight ahead. Were going north so break up into your squads and load up those Pelicans. I want prep completed and dust off in ten… you get me?"

      "Yes sir!" The platoon of 40 marines sounded off in unison. Wesley was surprised when he heard Rose give a shout and felt that she was picking up on the drills pretty quickly.

      "Stop staring at me and get to work, leathernecks!" Eric walked away and the platoon quickly began to hustle loading gear into the nearby pelicans that had already begun their preflight procedures.

      Rose continued to feel awkward at Eric's words. His tone and aggression was unlike anything she had known of him. Even during the battle underground he had seemed poised and in charge, but now he seemed even more in control and leadership seemed to come to him naturally.

      "Rose, stick with me, we've got ammo duty." Wesley stated as he began a light jog to a nearby bunker. Rose stuck close behind and didn't notice Eric watching her.

      "It's a damn shame what happened to you, Eric." Lieutenant Jason Morganton stated. "No matter what the brass may say, you're always going to be a first lieutenant in my eye."

      "I appreciate that, Jason, but let's keep to protocols. I don't want to cause any confusion amongst the men. Besides, your rank says it all. When we hit the LZ, my squad will go in first, no matter how hot. Those were the conditions past down from the brass."

      "You know that's a suicide run." Jason added. "I'll come up with a better strategy before we get there. It's a long flight." Jason turned to his other Sergeant, Justin Rodgers, and passed the young man a data pad for the inventory. "Double down on that list, Justin. We can't afford to forget anything."

      "I'm on it." Justin returned. The three watched as the platoon hustled throughout the camp. They were loading the pelicans quickly and swiftly as two Scorpion MBTs rolled around the corner and toward the 8 pelicans. The platoon was going into combat fully equipped and with as much personal and artillery as they could manage. Soon after the Scorpions were docked under the Pelicans, four LRV Warthogs sped into the clearing and prepped to be connected to the Pelicans. Two warthogs bore the three barrels of the M41 turret. The other two warthogs were loaded with GUASS cannons, and were quickly becoming a favorite amongst the marine that were lucky enough to get them. The marines had just recently begun to nickname the GUASS cannon, Spits.

      Without warning, the twilight sky began to part as a covenant cruiser sped toward the ground. The massive silver hull glistened in the sky, and if it wasn't for the fact that it was a Covenant ship, it might have been a beautiful sight. The ship was deathly silent as it soared toward them. It then leveled off and flew several hundred feet above the marine barracks, but continued to speed away from the area. A dozen Skyhawk fighters quickly darted across the camp in pursuit of the massive ship. The marines all gasped for a moment, but knew that they had to hurry. They continued to secure all their gear and equipment; filling the pelicans as best they could.

      There was no denying that the covenant had arrived on Earth, and the MAC stations were having a hard time stopping all of the ships. Other covenant cruisers and carriers were also breaking through the high orbit kill zone, as more and more of them were spotted entering the Earth's atmosphere. This was it, this was the day the inhabitants of Earth had always feared. The covenant armada had arrived.

If I Were Your Hero - Stage 4
Date: 22 August 2005, 6:06 pm

Stage 4: Hit it, Red Squad!

Northern Suez Canal;
Covenant Beachhead
02:45 October 21, 2552
Port Said, Egypt


      Surprise was the only element the platoon had against the overwhelming covenant arsenal.

      In the dark of night the eight pelicans cruised at an ultra low altitude, desperately trying to stay out of the covenant scanner range. The moon sat high overhead and sparkled brilliantly upon the silver lines of the covenant cruiser in the distance. Darkness would be their cloak, and it would be the key to them sneaking into the city undetected. The port city of Said was slowly coming into view as the sky glowed with mortar fire. Skyhawk and Seraph fighters battled in the skies overhead, while local marines fought off the alien advance as best they could.

      Eric placed his hand to the side of his helmet and stood to his feet. He walked to the tail of the pelican ramp and a red light filled the bay.

      "Red Squad, lock and load." Eric addressed the squad as he listened to the communication from his helmet uplink. "Roger, Jason. Red Squad will hit in five. We'll setup an LZ for the platoon while Blue squad finds the local brigade." Eric pulled his hand away from his helmet and looked over his squad. This was his team, twenty new recruits fresh from training and had never seen combat. With the exception of himself, Wesley and few soldiers, his whole squad was wet behind the ears.

      "Listen up. The covenant has a beachhead. We're breaking in and taking it back. First priority is to establish an LZ for the rest of the platoon. Once we clear the LZ the platoon will come in and pull up our rear. Then we'll deploy and take on the covenant. Wesley, form up the squad!"

      "On it!" Wesley hopped up from his seat and tapped several marines on the shoulder. He split the squad into two groups of ten. He looked at Rose and smiled at her. "Stick with me." The ramp on the pelican hissed as it opened and one of the marines slammed his fist against the wall near the rear door. A heavy chain gun, stationed on a hanging arm, unlocked from the side wall and the marine swiveled the massive gun and took aim out the rear.

      "Squad formed serge!" Wesley shouted over the roar of the engine.

      Eric nodded and then placed his hand to his helmet communicator, "Juggernaut, ETA till dust-off?"

      "LZ dead ahead. ETA two minutes, sergeant." The pilot of the pelican stated in the com. Luckily, Eric was able to get the best pilot out of Mombasa camp Charley to fly his bird, knowing full well that the battle would be pointless if his men didn't get to the target. Juggernaut had experience on dozens of drop missions during the war, mostly on colony worlds that were eventually glassed. However, he was able to make it out of all the previous encounters. Eric looked over his young squad and cocked a wicked grin.

      "When we touchdown you'll break into your assigned fire team and cover each side of the street." The thud of mortar blasts was getting closer and closer. Two marines vomited as the pelican shifted from the shockwaves. "Stay low and sharp! I want Rocket boys to the front, now. You'll give us some clearing. When you hit, hit hard, and don't let up." More mortar blasts rocked the Pelican and the young nerves of Red squad began to rattle. Eric maintained his posture and never looked worried. "If it's not human, kill it. Brute, elite, dog, or squirrel; I don't care! Kill it!"

      "What if I find a puppy, sarge?" Wesley chuckled.

      "You find a puppy I hope it bites you in the ass." Some of the marines laughed while others struggled to maintain their sanity. The quick words eased some of the tension in the squad but that didn't last long. "Move up!" Everyone jumped up and grabbed the hangers overhead. Eric moved down the line, checking all twenty of his marines and letting their names burn into his mind. He stopped at Rose and saw that she was barely keeping it together. Her nerves were completely shot, she was trembling, and her pupils were fully dilated. He was happy to see her scared, because the added adrenaline would keep her alive even if she was shot a few times.

      The rear speaker on the pelican sparked to life as Juggernaut shouted; "LZ is hot, two wraiths, four ghosts… the platoon is breaking off and waiting for your all-clear, sarge. Dust off, give him hell marines!"

      The pelican rotated 180 degrees as the rear of the pelican placed the marines in direct view of the battle ahead of them. The brutal sign of war was thrown into the young squad's faces, as they all peered out of the pelican's rear ramp. Two ghosts spotted the bird and began speeding toward them with their plasma guns blazing. The marine manning the swivel chain gun pulled the trigger and the gun hummed a metallic tune. He chopped down several Jackal patrols before they could get clear of his arsenal, and then he turned on the two ghosts; laying a hailing rain of suppressing fire.

      "Rocket boys, take two and two!" Eric shouted. He pointed at the two forward ghosts and then the trailing ghosts. The two rocket holders stepped up to the ramp. The metallic tune of the chain gun echoed between them, and they fired their Jackhammer's explosive cargo. The missiles homed in on the two ghosts and took them out. Then they took aim at the two trailing ghosts, but as they aimed Eric screamed to the rest of the squad, "Go, go, go!" They couldn't stand and watch; they had to move out. Red squad piled out of the pelican's rear bay as plasma and gun fire erupted around them. Two rockets streaked over the marines' heads and blew apart the two ghosts. The squad then split into two fire teams; ten to the left and ten to the right. Eric pulled up the rear, and the two rocket boys quickly jumped from the pelican and caught up to their teams.

      It didn't take long for the covenant wraith tanks to spot the pelican. One of them quickly spun around and began spraying its massive plasma mortars into the area. The squad was already clear, however, and the pelican flew off into the night sky.

      Eric and his team took to the street, and pushed towards the looming wraith tanks. The tanks had yet to spot them, as it fired toward the fleeing pelican. The street was littered with burned out warthogs and various civilian vehicles, and that made for excellent cover as the two teams closed in. Buildings were smoldering from an earlier covenant barrage, and it was clear that the covenant had taken complete control of the city. Marines were most likely scattered throughout the small port city, fighting as best they could.

      Eric crouched and quickly ran to the front of the left side fire team. He looked to the opposite side of the street, and held up two fingers in the direction of the Wesley's fire team. He then pointed to the right side wraith tank and made a fist. Wesley received the instructions and understood. He looked back and waved for one of the rocket launchers to move up the line. Eric did the same with his team. The rocket launchers quickly raced to the front of each line and took aim. Two Jackhammers simultaneously streaked into the air, each hitting their targets with deadly accuracy. One of the tanks exploded upon impact as the jackhammer hit its exposed mid section, but the other wraith took a direct hit on the heavily plated forward section and rocked backwards; remaining intact.

      "Shit!" Eric cursed, but the two rocket boys took aim and each fired another volley at the single wraith. It turned and fired one plasma ball from its mortar cannon before the two jackhammers impacted it again; the combination of the two heavy explosives left only a smoldering hunk of burning blue plasma in its wake. The mortar blast soared toward the fire teams and exploded harmlessly in the center of the street. Several Brute patrols quickly began running toward the commotion. Eric spotted the Brutes coming and circled his hands over his head twice, as he looked toward Wesley and his team.

      Wesley pulled his team close and they quickly cut through a crumbling building just off the road. Rose was in the center of the team and followed the group without a problem. Eric realized that now he had to distract the oncoming Brutes with a diversion while his other fire team flanked them. The Brutes were close, but he had some time. There were fifteen Brutes and nearly a dozen Jackals that were about to pounce on them, and he had to form up his team. Oddly, there were no Elites.

      "Cover the street. Spread two by two and take blind shots at the Brutes and Jackals. Once Wesley and his team get behind them, I'll call the charge. We'll catch them in a cross fire. Go, go!" The team quickly scattered, no longer trying to conceal their locations. They quickly broke into pairs and took cover. They started firing at the oncoming group of Jackals and Brutes, trying to hit them but mainly just trying to get their attention. The Jackals lowered their shields and screamed high pitch shrieks, as their Plasma Pistols sent waves of charged plasma at the team. Plasma grenades darted the air and several marines quickly relocated.

      Eric spotted two Jackals attempting to break into his lines. He quickly pulled the trigger on his battle riffle twice, and both of the bird like creatures dropped to the ground as exit wounds parted their heads. His team was doing well, but they weren't going to be able to hold off the whole group. Eric took shots at more Brutes and Jackals with deadly precision as he hoped Wesley and his team would break through.

                                          *      *      *      

      Private Wesley Williams and his fire team of nine marines quickly, but quietly, worked through the rubble of the crumbled building. The group could hear Eric's team firing in the distance and knew that they didn't have much time. Wesley tossed up his fist and the team froze in their spots. He looked ahead and saw a large gap between the building, and even in the dark he knew his team would be exposed. He stepped forward and saw several Brutes lobbing grenades toward the other team, almost forty yards away. They needed to move further up the street and get behind the enemy formation, and they had to hurry because Covenant reinforcements were most likely on the way.

      Wesley stepped up to a nearby window that overlooked the battle on the street. He then tripped the safety on his sniper rifle and took aim at the Brute closest to his position. His team would have to cross the clearing in order to make it to the adjacent building, and if the brutes spotted his team then their position would be in jeopardy. He'd have to risk shooting the Brute if it saw his team, and while his SRS99C sniper rifle was relatively quite, the Jackals had sensitive ears and would easily hear the discharge. He took aim at the Brute's head, but kept both eyes open so he could see if any of the other alien creatures would spot his team.

      Wesley whispered, "Rose, take them over. Go one at a time." Rose looked at Wesley as if he lost his mind and nearly yelled no, but refrained from talking.

      "Move it. We don't have time!" Wesley urged. Rose stepped through the debris and looked to see if the coast was clear. The Brute turned his head and looked away. Rose sprinted as fast and as quietly as she could, and hopped through a hole in the wall of the neighboring building. She landed inside and looked back to see if she was clear. The Brute hadn't noticed her and she stepped deeper into the room. Another marine jumped in behind her; startling her. Rose nearly screamed but swallowed the air that had formed in her lungs.

      "Is the room clear?" The marine asked. Rose paused, not knowing how to answer. She simply shook her head in an approval. "Good, move ahead to the next room and check it out, I'll be right behind, babe." The marine stated. He had a heavy Australian accent and Rose quickly peered at his name badge; Marks.

      Marks was a clean cut man, tall, and young. Rose could tell that he was barely in his twenties. She walked away from Marks as he peered out the hole and waited for other marines to pile in. Rose opened a nearby door, and peeped inside. The room was empty so she pushed it open and stepped through. She looked around, but ducked down and avoided the windows. Her instincts were screaming at her to find a corner and hide, but the adrenaline pumping in her body was hoping something would happen. She crossed the span of the room and spotted another door. She slowly pushed it open and her eyes came face to face with two deep pink and white eyes.

      The jackal scout was frozen in shock and Rose didn't know how the alien creature would react. Rose's first instinct was that she was looking at some strange bird, but the creature was wearing clothes and bore technology unlike anything she had seen. It was close, too close, and if she wanted to she could have kissed it. Her heart raced and mind filled with possible ways out of this situation, but she knew that stealth was the key to getting beyond this point.

      Rose blinked and the creature reared its head back. It opened its mouth as it raised a plasma rifle. Rose knew that it was going to yell, and she had to stop it. Before the creature could exhale, Rose had grabbed its snout and slapped the gun from its hand. The Jackal wasn't very strong, but it was stronger then she thought the thin creature would be. The jackal grabbed Rose by the arms and tried to free itself. It stood up fully and Rose realized that the oddly shaped creature was a few inches taller then she was. She dropped her rifle and quickly unbuckled her combat knife. The jackal grabbed her head and Rose's helmet fell off. She struggled to hold the creature's beak shut as it pulled and tugged her all over the room. The knife finally came free and she swung the blade blindly. The knife struck the Jackal's throat and purple blood squirted on her side.

      The Jackal stumbled backwards but still held onto Rose. She then charged the beast and ran her blade into the base of its jaw. The jackal's eyes rolled backwards as the blade penetrated through to its brain. The creature's lifeless body began to fall backwards and pulled Rose on top of itself. The body hit the ground and released Rose from its grip. She heard the soft gargle of air bubbles from the slash across its throat, and she let go of the creature's beak; leaving the knife deeply penetrated in its neck. She pushed away from the Jackal and slid into a corner and stared at it for several seconds before Marks walked into the room.

      Marks walked up to the Jackal and kicked it while chuckling, "Stupid Jackal. You got him good, babe. It must have been a scout." He turned and looked at Rose as she sat frozen in the corner; her eyes focused on the lifeless corpse in front of her. "Hey babe, you killed it. Don't sweat the knife work, it's a bloody way to kill'em, but affective." Marks reached down and yanked the blade from the Jackal's throat, and the creature's leg twitched. Rose sprang up from the corner and took the knife out of Marks' hand, and with one continuous movement she jammed the blade into the jackal's head. Two more marines had walked in and saw the display. They were impressed with Rose's speed. "It's dead, babe." But Rose didn't care.

      Rose's eyes were fixed on the Jackal's face. She couldn't turn away. She had killed the invader with her own bare hands, and instead of being horrified she felt a since of joy. She was exasperated that the creature had invaded her home, and killed many of her kind. Rose smirked at the blood that dripped from the dead Jackal's head. The creature's life was in her hands, and she took it; killing the creature was an almost pleasurable feeling.

      Wesley and the rest of the fire team walked into the room as Rose hovered over the lifeless corpse. She twisted the blade in the Jackal's skull and then forcefully ripped it out. She wiped the purple blood drenched blade on her pant leg, and jammed her combat knife into its sheath.

      "Move people." Wesley softly muttered to the team as he walked into the room. Time was still crucial, but he was wondering what had happened. The team had gathered around Rose and she was hovering over a dead jackal. Marks took point and lead the fire team through the rest of the building as Rose picked up her battle rifle and helmet. "What happened?"

      Rose adjusted the strap on her helmet and replied; "I got my first kill."

      Wesley saw the wicked gleam in her eyes. All of Rose's fears were gone, and he could see that she was now anxious. Very few marines actually stared into the eyes of the enemies after they had made the kill. Rose had peered into her victim's eyes as it died, and it left her with a sense of gratification. Death is not the type of thing someone should enjoy seeing, no matter how angry they are. Wesley didn't like the look in Rose's eyes, but he ignored it, for now. Wesley and his fire team pushed on and eventually reached their destination, which was the rear of the Brute formation.

                                          *      *      *      

      Eric stepped up and put a round into a Brute's thick hide. The beast seemed unaffected by the shots and pointed his Brute shot at Eric's position. Two massive blasts exploded just beyond the smoldering car that Eric was hiding behind, and the explosion tossed him back. His team rallied to his aid and buried the Brute under constant fire. Eric sprang to his feet and ignored the ringing in his ears. The Brutes were pushing hard, and the Jackals were putting up an impressive defense. Eric's team was at a stand still, but that was all they wanted to do. They were buying time and it had paid off.

      Explosions began to scatter throughout the Brute's formation, and their line was broken. Jackals began screaming and running in all directions. The Brutes began to turn on each other, thinking that their own team was shooting at them, and by the time they realized what was happening their numbers were cut in half. Brutes fell lifeless to the ground as Wesley's quick eye sliced his sniper rounds through their heads with pinpoint precision. Eric spotted the signal, a red light flashing at the rear of the Brutes formation. He pulled out his light stick and replied to the signal. His com would have been much easier to use, but orders were orders. During firefights the com channels were to remain closed until the area was secured. This was because the covenant was notorious for sniffing UNSC radio bands.

      "Move in, leathernecks!" Eric shouted. The Brutes were pinned down and surrounded. Wesley and his sniper rifle put down any Brutes with heavy weapons, and his team charged the rear of the Brute's lines. Jackals tried to take cover behind their shields, but found it nearly impossible as gunfire came from front and behind.

      Eric led his fire team and he quickly readjusted his aim. With three quick bursts from his rifle he split the heads of two Brutes and a Jackal. The Brutes were hard to take down, but head shots made them as weak as Grunts. Eric took cover and reloaded his rifle as the rest of his team pushed on. He then turned and continued his charge and spotted the second fire team coming from the opposite side of the Brute's formation. Oddly enough, Rose was leading the charge.

      Rose fired her battle rifle as best she could, and while her aim was not the best, she made up for it with aggression and repetitive shots. She emptied a clip into a Brute and it crumbled under its own weight. Another Brute began to pound the ground in frustration and charged at Rose.

      The Brute was barreling toward her with a mad rage, but Rose never took her eyes off of the massive beast. She popped the empty clip from the riffle and let it freefall to the ground. She reached around to her ammo pouch and pulled out another magazine. She smoothly jammed the fresh clip into the rifle and ripped down the hammer. Other marines were firing into the beast's hide, but the enraged Brute ignored the burning in its flesh and growled with determination to kill the human that was in its sights.

      Wesley spotted the Beast as it ran toward Rose, but his sniper rifle was empty. He struggled to get another clip out and angrily cursed under his breath that he let Rose run out into combat.

      Eric ran through the enemy line as he watched Rose reload her rifle. He kicked a nearby jackal and ran passed it. The other marines were supplying Rose with cover fire but the Brute simply ignored the shots. Eric ran as hard and as fast as he could. He pulled up his rifle and took aim, but he could only get a clear shot at the Brutes back, which would only piss off the beast more. Eric knew that only a head shot would drop the enraged beast, and even though every marine in Wesley's team was shooting at it, it would take several rounds to kill it. He cursed to himself that he didn't warn his squad about how to bring down Brutes.

      Rose released the hammer and the rifle's ammo counter sprang to life. Thirty-six displayed on the screen and Rose raised the gun. Taking aim at the massive ball of fur and muscle that was about to steam roll her into the pavement. Rose roughly calculated the beast's weight and speed. It was coming at her fast and it would surely kill her if it hit her. The Beast lunged out and Rose rolled to her side. The Brute missed Rose completely and couldn't stop its forward momentum. Rose raised her gun and fired several rounds into the creature's side, but it continued to turn and ran back at her. It was fast but too heavy to make sharp turns. Rose took aim again but a sudden snap rang past her ears and the Brute fell to the ground lifeless. Rose turned and saw Eric lower his gun slightly, but he quickly turned around and rejoined the fight.

      "Nice shot, Sarge!" Marks shouted as he ran to Eric's side. The two teams converged on the remaining Brutes and Jackals and made short work of them. Rose spotted two Jackals trying to flee the scene and cautiously took aim. She zoomed in on the scope and took aim at the Jackal's heads; killing them from a distance. She didn't waste ammo that time, and realized that her aim would have to improve if she was going to live through the war. Wesley came down from his snipping position and jogged to her side.

      "You ok?"

      "Just a little pissed I've never shot a gun before, and I thought it would be easier. I really need to work on my aim." Rose leaned the riffle barrel onto her shoulder and walked toward Eric and the rest of Red Squad. Wesley was taken back by her words. He expected her to be fearful, because she should have realized that she almost died. One swipe from that Brute's massive arms would have been enough to kill her, but she seemed unaffected by it. Wesley straddled his sniper rifle over his shoulder and followed Rose toward the squad.

      "Hey Sarge, the area is secure." Wesley shouted. "And I got six kills; all Brutes!" Wesley laughed.

      "You want a prize?" Eric replied sarcastically. "Fan out the squad and clean up any stragglers. Belinski, get your ass over here with that scrambler." A young white man with red hair trotted to Eric's side. He shouldered his radio and pressed a series of key strokes.

      Wesley stepped up to the rest of the squad and stated, "Fan out by two's and cover a one block radius from the LZ. Sound off if you hear anything." The marines paired off and headed into all directions. Rose stuck with Wesley and they walked directly up the road where they had started their attack on the Brute's rear flank. They stepped over the fallen bodies of brutes and jackals in silence, and kept a sharp lookout for covenant reinforcements. It was dark in the shadows of the buildings and Wesley peered into the depths of them. He and his team had just left that dark alley so he wasn't too concerned with it. Wesley wanted the sun to come up and began to feel a little worried about the darkness. Rose remained silent and thumbed the safety of her rifle on and off.

      "All signals scramble, sarge." Belinski stated. "You can transmit now." Eric placed his hand on his helmet and tapped a small, nearly invisible, button.

      "This is Red Squad to platoon, all's clear. The LZ is an open skirt, fall in anytime." There was no reply, but suddenly eight pelicans appeared in the sky. The dark exteriors of the pelicans meshed with the nighttime sky. They turned on their exterior lights, making themselves visible as they descended onto the landing zone. The first pelican landed and several marines sprinted from the ramp. Lieutenant Jason then stepped out and saluted Eric. The other pelicans landed and begin dropping their heavy cargo of tanks and warthogs, before they too descended to the ground.

      "Damn good job." Jason shouted. "Any casualties?"

      "About three wounded with minor plasma burns in my fire team. Not sure about Wesley's team. Nobody seemed severally injured, so we can patch them up after the area is secure. The squad held up pretty fine considering this was their first real battle."

      "What about the woman?" Jason questioned. "She's never really trained for this."

      "Rose? No need to worry about her. She had a close call back there, but she's tough. She can hold her own." He looked over the area and spotted Wesley and Rose surveying the dark alleys. He could barely see them through the dimly lit street of the city, but he could recognize Rose's hips a mile away. She was walking casually, which Eric thought was odd considering the battle that just happened. Her loose sway meant that she was relaxed, and no longer scared.

      "Call in your officres, Eric." Jason quickly stated. "I got some news, for your squad." Eric looked at Jason with a crooked gleam, because he knew what was coming next. Most likely, Jason had already received news from the higher ups, and it was probably a new mission.

      Eric tapped his helmet com twice and stated, "Wesley, Rose, Peters, and Hicks, fall back to the LZ for debriefing, double time. Red squad, maintain perimeter check." Eric tapped the com again and it went dead. Eric spotted Rose and Wesley as they approached, and he noticed that Rose had purple blood stains on her armor. She had a really close call, but luckily came out of it alive.

      Eric walked closer, "You'll never get that stain out. Any injuries?"

      "Only my pride, sir." Rose stated with a smile. She was glad to hear Eric say something nice, instead of hearing him bark orders the way he had been for the past fourteen hours. She wanted him to be proud of her, but the fact that he saved her from the brute began to nag at her. She didn't want to slow him down, and she didn't want Eric to get injured because he was trying to save her. She didn't want to be weak.

      The more Rose thought about being the weak link in the squad, the heavier her expression became. She slowly started to sulk. Eric noticed the change in expression, but for now he had to ignore it. Sergeant Justin Rodgers of Blue squad ran up to the group and nodded to Jason.

      "Now that we're all here." Jason added. Jason was looking nervous, and Eric could see that he was bothered about something. "We'll need to clear this area for at least three more blocks. The UNSC wants to use this area as a stronghold to take back this covenant beachhead. We've got a division in route, so it's going to get crowded here. But you'll be glad to know that we already have our next assignment." Jason nervously scratched the back of his head.

      Eric smirked, "Don't hold out on me now, Jason. Just say it." Jason pointed toward the center of the city and then up into the sky. His finger stopped on the smooth lines of the covenant cruiser.

      "The UNSC wants that ship. Our Platoon has been ordered to breach it, and seize command. But, we're getting assistance from the UNSC brass. Apparently, they think we need help."

      "Well that's just great." Eric knew that going against a covenant cruiser, and its full compliment, was a suicide mission. "Are they going to pull a Spartan out of their hat?"

      "Yup." Jason grinned. Eric could only cock his eyebrow in disbelief.

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