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The Story of a Marine; Ch. 8
Posted By: Ugly Wimp<uglywimp@gmail.com>
Date: 17 June 2008, 9:58 pm
Read/Post Comments
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Chapter 8
0145 hours, September 24, 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Halo Surface, near Silent Cartographer
The Warthog's tires threw up clouds of sand as it made its way down back onto the beach. Andrew Waldron clutched the triggers of the chain gun, and scanned the horizon for Covenant soldiers. They rounded a bend and came up to several fallen tree stumps. Waldron saw a horde of Jackals and grunts standing in behind the trunks. They heard the `Hog's engine and brought their shields to bear. Waldron fired the gun and the bullets bounced off their over lapping shields. This wasn't going to work. The Master Chief jumped out of the driver's seat and chucked a frag grenade behind them, as did Ryan Link in the passenger's seat. The twin explosions tore the Jackals to bits and sent blood flying. Waldron turned his attention to the elite and grunts running down a past, away from him. He hit several grunts, but the elite's shields saved it from taking too much damage. The Chief followed the retreating enemies up the path, and soon the sounds of gun fire were heard, as another group of Covenant was brought down.
Waldron wasn't anxious to relinquish the power provided by the Warthog's cannon, but he had been standing for a while. After a few minutes, when the gunfire could only be heard in the distance, and seemed very far off, he stepped down and leaned against the rear fender. He only considered speaking with private in the passenger seat for a moment, and then remembered what happened when one made friends in this war. They died. Everyone from his original squad had been killed, as had many of brave men and women he had known. It was at this point that the thought first crossed his mind, What if we can't win? Even after he joined the marines, he and the others were still fed what he now had begun to realize was propaganda. Perhaps they couldn't win, but humanity could not go down without a fight. That sentiment was easy to follow when one stood behind a large gun that sent enemies sprawling should they have that misfortune to wander in its field of fire. But if there was one thing Waldron knew, it was that no one was invincible. When facing the horde of alien aggressors, many drooling with a desire to spill his blood, it was hard not to just run. Stop thinking about this, just worry about right now, he thought, this place was not built by Covenant, and may even hold secrets to defeating them. Right now, just survive. It was, he realized, much more manageable than going down fighting, and so he decided to stick with it.
The minutes ticked by ever so slowing. Andrew looked at his watch. Nearly fifteen minutes had passed, and there was still no sign of the chief.
There was a rumble in the distance and a warthog drove up and Master Chief jumped out with a rocket launcher on his back. "Mount up," he said without offering an explanation. The marines looked at each other and shrugged as they entered the Warthog. The tires spun and the LRV drove back along the beach the way it had come.
The vehicle approached the structure. Andrew thought he saw he large rocks that had not been there before. He squinted, but couldn't make out what they were. The `Hog drove up a hill as two Jackals hissed and turned their shields toward the approaching threat. The Chief splattered one and Link threw a grenade which detonated behind the other and tore him to pieces.
Suddenly the Chief jammed on the gas and the `Hog jerked away just in time to avoid a green orb that detonated where they had just been. Grunts with fuelrods, Andrew thought and began scanning the area behind him. Then he saw them: two lumbering behemoths crouching behind massive chunks of metal. Hunters. He had heard stories about their ferocious tenacity, near invincibility, and tremendous strength.
There was a sudden swoosh and a rocket struck one of the beasts head on. It fell to the ground with a metallic clunk. The second hunter turned its attention from the `Hog to the Chief and roared. But by this point it was too late. A rocket struck it and blew it to pieces, oranges worms regaling on the ground.
The Chief re-entered the `Hog and drove back to the structure. After another wave of infantry, the vehicle returned to the thin hall. This time the door was open. The Chief jumped out. "Watch my six," were his only words as he made his way down a corridor.
After another long wait, Andrew began to wonder if the Master Chief was injured, and if they should rescue him; or worse, if he was dead. The two marines heard footsteps coming down the hall. Both turned, when suddenly a gold armored elite, equipped with plasma sword, rounded the corner and charged toward them.
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