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Third Marines, Harvest Campaing: Chapter Two.
Posted By: Andres<andres_vera2000@yahoo.com>
Date: 8 January 2005, 11:34 AM
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Bradley, David F.
Rank and organization: Private First Class, Company A, 1st Battalion 3rd Marines 1st Marine Division. Place and date: 14 February 2530, Lyon, Dijon Colony Epsilon Eridani System Entered service at: Marine Recruiting Station at Wash, North America. Birth: Washington, North America, Earth. Citation: For conspicuous gallantry and exceptional courage in the face of grave danger during the assault on Lyon. PFC Bradley charged into the enemy lines, saving the life of Spartan Chief Petty Officer Rose 065 who was pinned down by enemy small and mediums arms, killing ten grunts, three Jackals and Two Elites. PFC Bradley showed the best of him self, the Marines and the UNSC
Two weeks before
USNC Navy, 1st Fleet.
SAV (Space Assault Vessel) Oman
1st Marine Expeditionary Fleet.
Slipspace heading for Harvest. 2520
Admiral Cole had taken the Covenant and won round one, three planets had been glassed, only five remained. One of them had been taken by the Covenant, the Marines were going to take it back.
Colonel Dan Harley entered the briefing room of the vessel, he was commander of 3rd Marine Regiment. This had not been his first combat operation, he had been shot three times in the line of duty, he was the only winer of both the Colonial cross and the parliment medal of Honor. The First Marine Division officers were going to be briefed, most officer didn't even knew where they were exactly.
"Good.... Whatever the hell it is now Dan, never can figure out what time it is on space". Said General Dukakis, commander of 1st Marine division.
"Sure sir, you know. It helps having a watch". Said Dan, the CO laughed at the comment.
A number of Officers and Sergeants Majors sat in Chairs around a table. "Listen up!. We are going to take this rock by force, Dijon its name is. Four Covenant Carriers were here before Admiral Cole took them on, deploying hundreds of drop ships" He noticed the smiles in some of the officers and sergeants.
"It was a tough fight, remember this was only the first contact, intel is still weak. As you know this must be only the beginning" A hologram appeared over the table, a three chinned creature appeared, wearing a golden crown, looking very, very ugly.
"The will of the Gods is that you are to be destroyed, we are their instrument". The Officers and sergeants looked at each other, this was the weirdest thing ever. "Dam, so we have a Jihad... again?" said one of the officers, the whole room laughed.
"They don' look so tough". Said the General.
"If I may General -said a Navy Lt. Commander who had a ONI patch on his shoulder- these creatures do not look physically strong, still their ships showed a level of technology centuries ahead from ours. I can't tell you what to expect down there, however one thing is for sure this is the biggest threat humanity has ever feared". Said the Commander. In all the briefings Colonel Harley had been ONI always knew something, this situation made him nervous.
"Let's get down to business. The covenant landed here, this continent called Galilee. The whole area is under their control.
3rd Marines is leading the invasion. 1st Battalion will land first near Lyon, a 2 million soul's city. Contact was lost with the city shortly after the invasion by the covenant. Expect the worst Gentlemen".
Without answering questions he turned around and left. The Officers started discussing the mission. He went to pray and plan the job ahead.
***
"Alert, Alert. This is the Captain speaking; all hands man your battle stations". Alarms joined the captains voice.
Bradley was in a coma after last night PT, the whole battalion had been in pre-deployment training during the past week, the last part of their five year training that started as soon as the covenant apeared, since basic Bradley hadn't been so tired. Sergeant Anders had gone mental against the company, pushing everyone to the envelope of both physical and psychological stamina breaking the Marines spirit, Bradley opinion was that this wasn't the way to prepare men for battle, Bradley would find out soon enough how wrong he was wrong.
Bradley jumped out of the bunk bead, pulled the rifle out of the rack on the bed, grabbed handle on the drawer under the bed, pulled, opening showing his personal belongins, he gently suited up, once in full battle gear he looked inside the room, there was only two meters of separation between the two walls were the bunk beads were, until they eye can see. The Marines of A Company had jumped out of the bunk beads, some changed into their battle gear, others had slept in their battle gear checked it again, they moved like a well oiled machine as this drill had been practiced time and again.
The 200 men and woman of A Company pulled their riles, submachine guns, jackhammer launchers and crew served weapons of their racks, Bradley cleaned his standard issue assault rifle MA5B.
"Hey Bradley, how you feelin" asked Thomas, his best friend in the corps.
"Like if an alien race wanted to go to war with us, how do you think that feels like" Bradley answered.
"I don't know, I haven't been there before" Said Thomas.
"All right Marines, get ready for deployment" ordered the batallion commander, Dan Harley.
The Marines formed into squads, the squads into platoon and platoons according to number in the company, Bradley was in first squad, first platoon.
"Marines aten hut!, foward march!". Captain Karl Muller, the A Co. commander ordered.
"Time to go medieval on ET's ass!" Said Sergeant Bill Anders.
"Hooo rah!". The marines shouted by reflex.
Bradley walked behind Thomas to the exit, the door of the room opened, they walked in four rows, each row representing a squad of twelve each, four of them forming a platoon it been separated by its commander, turned right at the exit and walked through a corridor to the ships train station, wagons were waiting there for the marines, only sixty men cloud board at a time, first platoon barded the first.
The train went through a rail over the ship, it exited the tunnel into open space, the zero gravity lifting the marines from the trains floor. Bradley grabbed a handle on the roof, it felt like if we were fish on a can, every one on top of each other.
"This is the last real action you are gonna get Marines, I'll normaly charge for this, but this time is for free" Said Sergeant Anders.
BRadley watched the fleet, the first contact with covenant had not gone as good as some in the UNSC thought, hundreds of ships and fighters navigated in space, dozens of wreckages of both Covenant and human vessels littered the space. The planet was to their right, it was a beautiful rock.It had three continents surrounded by clear blue oceans, too bad this visit was not a pleasure trip, it was a business. The train entered back inside the ship, the micro gravity kicked in, the Marines hit the ground in unison.
"I sure hope that is your rifle Bradley". Said Anders.
"C'mon sarge, you aren't that cute" answered Bradley
"He's right sir, I sure hope the Covenant is prettier than you!" Thomas joked in the back.
After a few minutes they reached a hangar, crews were working on both the attack pelicans and the old fashioned ones Pelicans. Skyhawk jets were taking of from the flight deck after the hangar.
They unloaded, forming up again in platoons parallel to each other.
"All right Marines!. Can I get an alleluia!." First Sergeant Anders asked. "Alleluia!" said the Company.
"Company this is your first combat op, remember what you've been taught and you may live. You will be the first to see them up close. Let's show them what humanity calls a can of whop ass." Anders said, enjoying him self.
"Ho rah" Said the Marines. Bradley looked at some of his comrades, they were petrified.
"Captain Muller, they are all yours" reported the Sergeant as he salutedd.
The Captain walked forward, examined the company and said "We will go in first, secure an LZ, then the rest of the battalion will follow, Orbital Drop Shock Troops are already dropping at a special target, lets try to catch up. Sergeant get them on board!". The Captain ordered.
"Hurrah!, get on the birds marines, first platoon take the first one, second the second one and so on, move!". The Marines replied with a big hurrah as they boarded the Pelicans.
Bradley strapped the seat belt. Thomas was seating next to him, Cruz in front, Monique two rows down, Ford and Juliet were on the exit. A Warthog was secured in the rear of the Pelican. "This is Ensign Chance, welcome to Pelican zero-three-two. Remember that UNSC has no regultaions for this flights, you can do what ever you want, but if you mess up my bird I will fuck you up!-the Marines laughed at the joke- Crew chief prepare for departure, we are moving out" The intercom made a bleep sound and went of.
The ground crews exited the hangar as it vented the atmosphere, the door of the hangar opened the pelicans rolling to the flight deck, the door then closed again. The six Pelicans carrying the company exited the hangar, leaving the Assault Vessel behind. Through the windowBradley cloud see through the window a number of Longsword an Dagger fighters escorting the landing pelicans.
"Get ready for entry" said the Ensign.
As they entered the atmosphere the crafts began to shake. "We are at 70.000ft, ETA to ground is ten minutes, no AA fire coming in. Looks safe." The Ensign flying the craft told the men. After two minutes the shaky descent turned into a smooth ride. "We are at fifteen thousand feet, get ready for the gee force at five k". The marines looked at the digital altimeter on the cockpit door, ten thousand... 7... 6... "Igniting boosters now!". The boosters stopped the aircraft almost immediately, 5Gs gave the Marines a red out. Once the Marines regained concience they looked out through the windows, the LZ was a grassy field twenty feet long that had some tiny ridges surrounding it.
The crew chief opened the door in the rear of the aircraft, he lowered the fifty cal machine gun that was folded on the roof of the pelican, at fifteen feet he pressed a button on the right side of the door, the Warthog fell free from the harness landing smoothly on the field. The belts that held the Marines in the seats released automatically. "Marines get up, let's get out". Ordered the platoon commander, lieutenant Miller.
Ford and Juliet were the first Marines out through the rear dor. Shooting randomly at everything that looked suspicius. Bradley was out of the pelican shortly after, he hit the grassy field in a prone position, he scanned for targets with his MA5B assault rifle, looking for targets, there was none, graveyard quiet as the marines called. Once they were all of the Pelican they secured a perimeter, still no contact.
Lieutenant Miller broke the silence "Marines, XO is in charge, first sergeant Anders and my self will go to the CP to meet Captain Muller. Bradley, Thomas and Monique come with me, lets on the Warthog" said Lieutenant John Miller, a Quantico graduate, Summa Cum Laude son of a leader in one of the top political parties, a fine combat leader.
The Sergeant got in the driver seat, the lieutenant rode shotgun, Bradley manned the machine gun and Thomas with Monique in the rear. The Sergeant drove like if he was in race, rolling the vehicle like if it was a toy through a flat grassy terrain.
"Alpha CP this is Miller, no contact. We'll be there in five"
"Roger lieutenant, we are waiting for you" Capt Muller informed.
After a five minute ride where they spotted some caddle and a farm that looked abandoned they spotted four Marines in a hill that were waving at them, they aproached them slowly. "CP is that way, Captain Muller is waiting for you there sir" a Lance Corporal said.
The company Command Post had two .50 caliber Machine Guns on top, it was a mobile trailer. Captain Muller was there with the rest of the platoon officers.
"Captain Muller, Lieutenant Miller and company first sergeant Anders reporting for duty". The lieutenant saluted.
The captain showed a digital display, the company was in a square shaped perimeter, no red dots representing Covenant troops were displayed, there was something odd though, a question mark on a forest twelve clicks North West. The four platoon commander's stood around the table, discussing the mission.
"Man, I sure hope they are still here". Said the commander of third platoon, lieutenant Frank Xavier.
"Yes, I thought we were going to get hammered as soon as we popped out". Said the CO of second, Lieutnant Ron Potter.
"The rest of the battalion is entering the atmosphere". Said a corporal Carl Finch, the target of many jokes in the company in the COM set.
"What's that question mark?" lieutenant Miller asked.
"An OSDT platoon was dropped there, their last transmission reported they were under attack, after that contact was lost. Miller you take a squad and drive to the woods, find out what happened to there"
"I'll take these guys here in a Warthog, the XO has the platoon, I'll tell them to move to phase line Lancer".
"Ok, move out". Muller said.
Two clicks away
The sergeant drove to the forest through a dirt road, Bradley was cramped in the rear with Thomas and Dominique, maning the .50 cal the good thing about the warthog was its suspension, you cloud jump from fifty feet and it felt only five.
"Two clicks away". lieutenant Miller said as he stared the screen in his data pad. Bradley locked and loaded the weapon simply by pressing a button on the digital screen just on top the trigger.
"Crap, check that out". Said Thomas as he signaled a smoke column on the forest, a bad omen.
"Marines, check equipment. Prepare for contact, go stealth". Ordered the liuetenant Miller.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troops were the best of the best; they all had combat experience of one form or another. They went through the most extensive training of any unit in the UNSC, except the Spartans of course; the thought of one platoon of them being butchered simply troubled the hell out of Bradley and his buddies. It would take a regular Marine company to take on an ODST platoon. The Warthog approached the forest, once it stopped the Marines unloaded. Bradley turned the Thermal Imager on the sight of the 30mm chain gun on top of the warthog, he scanned the edge of the forest, nothing to be seen.
The Sergeant moved his finger in a circle, indicating the group to form a perimeter around the vehicle. Thomas and Anders walked to the forest, once five feet from the forest they dropped they went into a prone position. The lieutenant pointed at me, putting two fingers in front of his eyes, with sings he was asking if Bradley saw something, Bradley shook his head as he saw nothing on the thermal imager.
The lieutenant ordered Bradley to unload, he set the safety on the chain gun. Grabbed his rifle and locked and loaded by hiting the button just over the handle, the traditional lock and loading sound followed. He walked to Monique, with his head low.
"Dam girl, it seems these guys don't wanna fight us". Bradley said to her, attempting to show no fear.
"Easy stud, I bet its not you they are afraid of". Ouch he thought.
"Get a room when we take the city back Marines, right now shut up. Line formation" Said Miller.
The fire team entered the forest keeping low, after fifty meters the point man, Sergeant Anders raised a fist, lowering his elbow. Bradley threw my self to the ground got his rifle and scanned front, the lieutenant crawled to the sergeant, they exchanged some words with he couldn't hear. then sergeant moved his palm forward in a vertical position, they resumed the movement.
The Marines walked in a line each parallel to each other now, they were four hundred meters inside the forest now. Bradley stopped a second and scanned the forest with his rifle's ACOG (Advanced Combat Optical Gun sight) scope on the top, the scope had a night vision an thermal camera, he then saw the outline of a ODST drop canister.
"We are approaching the drop zone, the beacon of one of the canisters say forward at seventy five meters" said the lieutenant.
The sergeant signaled the group to walk forward, Thomas and Bradley stood straight up, what a mistake they made, like in they were recuits. Machine gun fire erupted ahead, the tracers heading for the squad, Bradley and Thomas dove into a prone position.
"Them humans, right?". Asked Thomas with his head against the ground.
"Think ET haas Machine guns too?" Bradley said.
"Cease fire, cease fire!" Yielded the Sergeant.
The fire just kept coming, the lieutenant screamed into his head set "Helljumpers, cease fire, you are shooting at marines!"
No response as the machine gun fire kept coming in. Bradley tried to raise his head, as soon as he showed it the bastard that manned the machine gun opened up him, he had to roll right to avoid been killed. The Marines were pinned down, Monique got up like a rookie and ran towards the incoming fire, she was trying to be a hero, she shouted that they were humans. She got a round in the shoulder.
"Shit!, suppressive fire". Ordered lieutenant Miller.
Bradley moved the handle over the trigger to full auto and shoot into the incoming fire, a dozen bullets flying into the source of the fire, using the land warrior technology he simply had to raise the rifle, a little display on his right eye showed the sight, it was hard to aim this way but it was better than getting all shot up.
After thirty seconds of fire exchange the machinegun fire ceased. Thomas looked at Bradley puzzled, Bradley placed two fingers in front of my eyes, setting his hand flat and raised it a bit signaling he was going to stand and scan. He got up on his knees, looked through the scope in the direction the fire came from and saw a black suited men manning a PAW (Platoon Automatic Weapon, a weapon carried in a back pack), he didn't stop shooting because he realized they were humans, it was because he was out of ammo.
"Thomas aid Monique, Bradley with me, lieutenant I suggest you report this incident" Whispered the Sergeant.
Sergeant Anders ran to the soldier, Bradley trailing him from the left, both rifles at the ready. The Helljumper was wearing the characteristic CBS (Customized Battle Suite) of the Helljumpers, a special suite designed for troops like these. His eyes were wide opened, shock in his expression, still pulling the trigger. What happened to this battle hardened men? Bradley wondered, what cloud had happened here that he had panicked in this form, he who was with the best. His name tag said Everton, he had a Corporal stripe in his shoulder, his face was painted black, a special helmet that had a goggle covered his eyes, his mouth was opened.
"Hey you asshole we are friendly, what the hell is wrong with you" Bradley said as he punched him in the head. The trooper didn't move.
The Sergeant stopped Brad from punching him againg.
"Where is the rest of your outfit trooper" Said the Sergeant.
The soldier looked up and stared at the Sergeant.
"They are dead, we got hit by all. They were invisibles, they had swords, they killed them all and left. I hid and got out alive, but they are gone"
None of this made sense. Invisible?
"What the hell do you mind by invisible soldier?" The trooper didn't said a thing.
"Elle tee, I strongly recommend that you take Thomas and the wounded marine to the warthog, take this men out with you, I'll find the DZ of the ODST, me and Pvt. Bradley will check out what's going on".
The lieutenant noded, he took the men out, Thomas picked Dominique, she was bleeding too much, the Helljumper had to be pushed in order to walk. They walked west out of the forest.
"Lets move". Ordered the Sergeant
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