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The Story of Private Maszk by Ronnie Maszk
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The Story of Private Maszk: Part 1: That Beautiful Smile
Date: 27 June 2007, 5:12 pm
"Good morning, honey," a voice spoke as my eyes slowly opened and light poured in, blinding me. I recoiled, quickly throwing my arm across my face to shield myself; blinking numerous times to quicken the adjustment my eyes needed. "Oh, haha, honey. It's okay. Here, I'll turn off the light." It was my wife, Emily, speaking, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The light went off and I relaxed, my arm falling back to my side.
"It's fine…and good morning to you too, beautiful. Have you started the coffee?" I could finally make out my wife's face in the dark. Her beautiful, porcelain face was pressed against the pillow while she lay there staring at me with that gorgeous smile of hers stretched across it. We had gotten married right out of college, and then I had joined the UNSC, although it worried her so much. She was always so afraid that I would be killed in combat, like most of the soldiers nowadays. Things have been so hectic since the Covenant came along. But I felt I had to do my duty. The one thing I remember my father repeating often was that if he could go back and do his life over, he would join the armed forces.
"Of course. You stay there I will get you a cup." Emily sat up, pulled the blankets off of her legs and swung them over the edge of the bed. She stood up and her thigh and butt muscles tightened. I smiled. She strode out of the room, looking over her shoulder at me and smiling again. I rolled onto my back, and stretched my whole body.
"Time to get up, Ronnie. Time, to, get, up!" As I sat up, I coughed and spat a ball of snot out of my mouth and into the bedside garbage. Looking around, my eyes caught a black bag hanging from a hook in the corner. My uniform all pressed and ready for my big day today. I was to be shipped off to combat somewhere, name escapes me now. I do remember the name of my transport ship, though… The Pillar of Autumn .
"Here's your coffee, sweetie. Now get up and get ready…it's your big day today." Her voice cracked, and I could see her eyes were already welled with tears. I opened my mouth to speak, but she beat me. "I'm going to miss you so much. I love you. With all of my heart, Ronnie, I love you." But through her tears and the shaky voice, she managed a smile. That beautiful smile…
"Ah, much better." The cool shower water had soothed my aching body. It also calmed me down. In a few hours, I was going to be on a ship, going across the galaxy. And not long after that I would be in combat. The thought did terrify me, but I just thought about my father. Another thought crept into my mind, a terrible thought. What if we are ambushed by a Covenant fleet? I had heard the stories. Hell, who hadn't? Stories of 3 or 4 UNSC ships, unable to even take down one Covenant frigate. Millions dying in a second as the Covenant glassed their home planet. But I had to think positively. I pushed the thought away.
"I love you," I whispered as I watched Emily from my rear-view mirror. I exhaled sharply, and put the car in drive, accelerating away. The drive wasn't too long, roughly 15 minutes. I hurried inside to the lockers, only to find there was no one there. "Oh, shit. I'm late? I'm late?!" I checked my watch, 10:18. "Three goddamn minutes." I bolted for the Hangars, nearly dropping my bags. Pushing the Hangar doors open, relief washed over me as I saw my squadron in the corner of the large room. There were forty of us…the best damn Marines they could put together. Sadly, I still had no friends in my squad, although it seemed like everyone was friends with everyone.
"Maszk, where the hell have you been, boy?!" The Sarge was a big man, about 6 feet, 4 inches, and easily 260 pounds. He could put a hurting on anyone he chose. Unfortunately, today it seemed he had chosen me. He sucked on his little cigar, piercing me with those little beady eyes.
"Um, sorry sir, the wife was a bit hysterical." I looked down immediately after saying it, afraid he would see the lie caught in between my teeth. I slowly looked back up. The Sarge's face had gone from a very serious death stare to the widest grin I had ever seen. His laugh was hearty and full, but was cut short by a terrible coughing fit. "You okay?"
"Fine, boy. I'm quite fine…however your pussy whipped ass ain't," he spoke as he spat out black matter. "Ah…whew! It's time boys, get on the rock…and if you absolutely feel the need to, you may kiss the ground. It may be the last time you see it." And with that…we were off…off to save our race.
The Story of Private Maszk II: Headed for Halo
Date: 30 June 2007, 7:09 pm
The explosion and violent shaking of the ship woke me. I shot up, my eyes wide with fear. I exhaled sharply. "They're here," I whispered. Above, alarms were screeching, drowning out the constant voices pouring out of the intercom, calling all personnel to the pods. They were evacuating the ship. Attention, all combat personnel. Please report to your action stations. Fifth Platoon, secure airlocks on Deck Eleven. Fourteenth Platoon, rendezvous with 22nd Tactical at Bulkhead Charlie 14. Smoke 'em if you got 'em! My weapons lay on the table beside my cot. I knew I had to hurry.
The doors hissed, what seemed like steam pouring out from the cracks, opening to a long hallway. And at the end of that long hallway…the pods. I moved cautiously, my gun leveled, ready for anything. My boots clacked across the floor. Might as well scream, 'Here I am'…goddamn floor…goddamn boots. Along the walls were many little closets and holes, places to store things. Places to hide. I watched behind me, my head swinging back and forth. Almost there, almost there. I was nearing the end, thanking God I had made it, when I heard a squeal from behind me. Fuck!
I swung around, already knowing where it had come from. A lone Grunt, its purple head shining in the light, stared up at me. It had its weapon, a Plasma Pistol, down at its side. "Stupid fuck," I spoke through gritted teeth. I wrapped my finger around the trigger, and tugged. 3 rounds impacted on the creature's chest, puncturing its armor and shredding its heart. Blood and bits of bone covered the floor behind. I strode up to it, the thing gasping and coughing, trying to breathe through wrecked lungs. I left it there, left it to suffer.
I rounded the corner, almost running. Hell, almost fuckin' skipping! I made it! But my hopes dropped, along with my stomach. All of the pods were gone. "Aw, fuck you! Fuck you!" There are more on the East Wing, but that was all the way across the ship. Who knows what waits for me in between? But it was my only shot. I turned, and started jogging down the hall when the intercom dinged and a voice boomed out of it.
Bridge to Cryo 2, this is Capt. Keyes. Send the Master Chief to the bridge…immediately.
"Fuck you," a young man screamed as he fired a Covenant Grunt into the floor. The man was well built, standing at 5' 10'', and weighing about 200 pounds. His hair hung loosely out of his helmet, thick and black. His uniform was covered in blood, and his nametag read 'Pvt. Waite.'
"Waite, get the hell over here!" The Sarge was gathering his squad together. "Now…if you haven't noticed yet, we are under attack. But no need to fear, the Captain is bringing out the big guns for this!" The marines gasped, whispering to each other. "That's right, that's right. I'm talking about a Spartan, the Spartan. His is up top with Keyes as we speak. But soon, he will be down here with us. Now, I do not want you to make me look bad in front of him. So you all better partake in the Covenant slaughter!" The marines cheered, raising their fists and rifles into the air. "Now get out there and kill some alien scum!"
The men and women stormed in all directions to patrol and purge the hallways. Gunfire echoed throughout the bottom level of the ship, as well as the victory cheers of the soldiers. Waite went with two other soldiers, a Pvt. Damien Clark and a Lieutenant Amy Yost, down the east hallway. They formed a V, Yost in front, and patrolled the hallway. Right away, Waite was attracted to Yost. "So, Lieutenant. After this is all done with, what do you say me and you go get a drink?"
Yost shot him a disgusted look. "Get your mind on the problems at hand. I am here to protect Earth and kill the Covenant, not mingle and socialize with a pathetic, mindless grunt like you." Clark stifled laughter, looking up at Waite, who shrugged off the last comment and leveled his weapon.
Waite leaned over to Clark and whispered in his ear. "A bit catty, but I'll get her. Trust me," he said with a wide grin on his face. Damien just laughed and shook his head. Ding dong! Combat teams Alpha through November, pull out to nearest evac station.
Yost spun around, "you heard the man. Move it to the Lifepods." They sprinted back down the hall and across the docking bay. "I sure hope there are some left." They neared the pods, relief washing over them. There was one left, and standing in the doorway was all the backup they'd ever need. Spartan-117 waved them in and they pushed their way through. The doors closed, and the lifeboat shot out, rocketing through the blackness of space. The Pillar of Autumn accelerated as Keyes manuevered toward a colossal ring that floated nearby. They were headed for Halo.
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