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The End of the Beginning

In the year 2540, the Human-Covenant War erupted tearing the delicate fabric of peace that blanketed the universe. In 2552, the human forces, the UNSC or the United Nations Space Command initiated the SPARTAN II program in which 200 children were specifically augmented with chemicals and rigorous training to increase strength, agility, etc… to make super-soldiers. Although these soldiers were outstanding in combat in space, on land, and even in the air, their numbers dwindled to a lone SPARTAN, Master Chief 117. The humans’ main fighting force were the UNSC Marines and ODSTs or Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. The Covenant fighting force was built like a hierarchy with Elites, Jackals, Hunters, and Grunts. They were also eons ahead of their human enemies. Instead of using projectile based weapons, the Covenant used plasma weapons which worked by sending small bursts of super heated plasma capable of burning through Class 3 titanium depending on if it was fired by a plasma rifle in the hands of an Elite or a plasma turret on a Covenant flagship. The UNSC lost control of 27 of its planets being left with only Earth itself. The UNSC was planning to make an enormous counter attack recapture the planet of Trines. Unfortunately for Anton Morrison, his was one of the first SpecOps ODST platoons to land on the gritty dusty planet of Trines.


Chapter 1: Luck


Luck. Unfortunately for Sergeant First Class Anton Morrison of the 105th ODST Platoon, he had none. As the commanding officer for his platoon, he would be the first to be on the ground. Like most of the men in his platoon he was armed with the standard BR-55A3 assault rifle, the M90 shotgun, an M6C pistol, as well as a 9 inch blackened durasteel combat knife. However, unlike most other platoons, the 105th ODST Platoon was an elite unit, designed to infiltrate behind enemy lines and was considered the best of the UNSC Special Forces. The 30 man platoon would enter the atmosphere of Trines via HEV (Human Entry Vehicle) pods and impact approximately 2 miles away from Loven, a small city with a military base still under UNSC control. Anton looked around at his men as they performed last minute checks of their equipment and their pods. Anton talked to them via the COM (communications) set integrated inside the ODST helmet. “All right men, our target is eliminating opposition of the UNSC outpost Jericho and regrouping with the UNSC marines stationed there. Details will be on your D3 (D3- miniature computer located inside the ODST helmet.) Stack up and haul ass. I’ll see you planetside.” The 29 ODSTs entered their pods in unison, as Anton typed in the launch sequence for the pods and quickly entered his pod and sealed all compartments. He knew that this HEV was his one way ticket to hell.

Chapter 2: Base Camp

2330 hours March 3, 2560
Location: Atmosphere above Planet Praia

Anton felt the HEV pod burning up due to the atmosphere entry. He looked at his temperature gauge and saw it slowly rise all the way to 113°F. Beads of sweat poured off of his face and he nervously licked his lips. He had done these entries more than he could remember, but the feeling of fear always coiled up in his gut. He gripped the assault rifle in his hands for extra comfort waiting for the inevitable thump of the parachute and the jarring landing. Thump! Anton felt as though his teeth had been rattled out of his mouth. He quickly pressed the eject button on the side of the pod, activating 4 explosive charges to blow the front door off. Once the platoon secured the area, they began to scout out the military base. Anton quickly barked “Jackson, Stern, get your asses over here. I want you to secure a line between me and those Marines over there pronto. Private Stern, use your sniper scope to watch for any movement at all. If you encounter enemy resistance, take them out quietly, this is a simple recon mission, not an invasion.”
At least not yet… thought Private Corey Stern. Corey quickly attached silencers to his S3AMR99SC sniper rifle and his M6C pistol. He set the sniper rifle on the bipod on a grassy knoll. Corey watched though the 10x magnification scope as several Covenant attempted to rush through the door, only to be ripped to shreds by a grenade and several hundred armor piercing rounds from a stationary chain gun. Corey began to assist the beleaguered marines and began to pick off the more powerful Elites who stood at a height of 8 feet tall, and were enclosed in full length energy shields. The ODSTs were only equipped had a very basic form of energy shielding as well as a PDA or Plasma Dispersal Armor suit. Corey placed the crosshairs of the sniper rifle in the center of an Elite’s head. He held his breath and pulled the trigger and watched as the 14.5mm sabot round brutally crushed the Elite’s shields and pierced the Elites face. A purple mist lingered where the Elite’s head had once been and then dissipated. As Corey began to line up another shot, plasma fire began to whiz all around him.
Lance Corporal David Hansen saw as light blue plasma fire began to burn the foliage around Corey’s head burn to a crisp. He quickly checked his BR-55A3 to see that he had rounds in the magazine and rushed over to Corey’s position. Using the 2x scope attached to the assault rifle, he began to place shots at the offending Grunts who were firing wild shots with their plasma pistols. He watched as the electronic ammunition counter dwindled to 00. With robotic precision, he ejected the magazine and slapped in a fresh one. Just as quickly as the firefight had started, it stopped. David swept the area with his rifle watching for any movement at all. He was certain they would come back, so he remained there until dark.

Chapter 3: Twilight

The high pitched whine of Anton’s night vision goggles annoyed him slightly, but this integrated pair of goggles might just in fact save his life if he was snuck up on by a Covenant Elite or worse Elite SpecOps. The platoon had already erected tents and 4 sniper posts with one sniper in each post along with 2 riflemen. Anton pushed back the thick foliage and stepped over a large log. He began to walk to the guard post when a twig snapped behind him. His reflexes took over as he swiveled around leveling his rifle. His finger attempted to squeeze the trigger, when an alien elbow smashed into his helmet. His computer generated display shuddered as his head jerked back. He quickly switched his night vision goggles to thermal vision and he saw an eight foot Elite wielding a Marine’s worst nightmare. A plasma sword.
Anton could see the Elite smile grimly as he brought his rifle to bear only to realize that the plasma sword had sliced the rifle clean in two. He quickly reached into his shoulder holster and brought out his SiG Sauer M6C pistol. The gunshots merely bounced off the Elite’s shield, but the hardened tungsten core .357 rounds hammered a tattoo on the Elite’s chest sending the alien sprawling, and breaking down the Elite’s shields. Anton knew time was of the essence, so he attempted to reload the pistol and called for backup when the Elite tackled him. Suddenly a 3 round burst reverberated throughout the night air, and the tense muscles of the Elite relaxed. Corporal Michael Reynolds pried the Elite off of Anton. Anton quickly noticed the sounds of pitched battle, and he quickly slapped in a magazine into his pistol, and joined the fight.


Chapter 4: The Last Mile

Anton activated the laser sight on his M6C pistol and snapped off four shots at the nearest alien and immediately began to rally his squad. The remaining 21 ODSTs left fought their way to Anton’s position professionally placing their shots and conserving ammunition. Anton knew that the UNSC Marine outpost Jericho approximately 1609.344 meters, or exactly one mile away. He set the rally point at the outpost and over his COM set he stated the one word he swore he would never say in the heat of battle. “Retreat. Fall back to rally point outpost Jericho. Fall out immediately.” Anton had salvaged an MK48 assault carbine with three clips of ammunition, and made a run for the outpost. He knew and all the other ODSTs knew that it was their last hope. The ODSTs cleared the mile in 8-9 minutes, however only 12 were left.
Anton and the 12 ODSTs arrived at the outpost only to confront a new adversary, a pair of 14 foot tall 1 foot thick durasteel doors. They were the only entrance to the compound, and Anton’s diagnostics detected no life signs within the compound. The only way inside was to have a technology specialist crack the keypad and bypass security to open the doors. Technology Specialist Daniel Robertson quickly attached a cord to his palm pilot and began to hack the outpost’s security programs. Daniel Robertson opened a COM channel to Anton and said “I have good news and bad. The good news is I can hack the code. The problem is that it will take roughly 5-9 minutes.” Anton swore under his breath, and then ordered his soldiers to take positions in the foliage to provide some cover for them to fire from. An electric blue bolt of superheated plasma whizzed past over Anton’s head causing him to duck. It would be the first of thousands for those harrowing 10 minutes.

Chapter 5: “Just give me one more minute…”

Anton slung his depleted carbine across his shoulders and groped for another weapon. Although he was considered an expert marksman, the aliens were firing from a position over 500 meters away. The only remaining weapon at his disposal was his pistol and it was about as useful as throwing rocks at the aliens. He managed to find another four clips of carbine ammo and placed them next to him. He retrieved the carbine and placed another magazine into the chamber. The carbine’s ammo counter glowed cool blue and read 60. Anton peered through the scope and began firing.
Daniel knew he was getting close to breaking the code and he feverishly began to hack with a new vigor. Daniel called out on his COM set, “Just give me one more minute…” and vaguely heard a reply from Corey Stern, “My ass…” Daniel disregarded the comment and with exultation clicked the ENTER button on his computer screen. The near indestructible doors slid apart noiselessly. Daniel entered the outpost with a grin on his face only he could see.
“All right everybody, fall back into the outpost, and get into defensive positions.” said Anton over the COM set. Anton watched with relief as the thick doors slid closed. He allowed himself the pleasure of walking through the outpost to check on supplies. Anton grinned as he saw the near-full armory filled with M84 Scorpion rocket launchers, grenades, mines, and various types of assault weapons. Anton also dismally noticed that the food supplies were only good for 4 days maximum. However, there were three HDMVs or Heavy Duty Military Vehicles otherwise known as Warthogs. The Warthogs were 4 passenger vehicles with 1 driver, 5 seats, and a seat on a turret. The turret was a tri-barreled air-cooled .50 caliber machinegun with a rate of 750 rounds per minute.
Anton placed the carbine on a rack, and picked up a BR55 assault rifle outfitted with a GA3 40mm grenade launcher. Anton felt comfortable with the assault rifle’s heavy weight and activated the electronic ammo counter. The display glowed blue and showed 36 rounds. The ODSTs around him were doing the same thing as they restocked ammunition and new weapons. Anton dropped his rucksack and began to disassemble his new assault rifle with his shotgun close by in case of a surprise attack.

P.S. PLEASE LEAVE COMMENTS BECAUSE I DON'T KNOW WHETHER OR NOT TO CONTINUE THE SERIES. I ALSO REALLY HATE WRITING IN CAPS, BUT IT'S THE ONYL WAY TO CATCH PEOPLE'S ATTENTION.
Thanks,
Derek Strueger

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