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By the Skin of our Teeth Part II
Posted By: Kyle Stegerwald<poltava_7@hotmail.com>
Date: 10 October 2004, 4:32 AM
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The night was cool and pitch-black- all I could see as I stepped out of the barracks was tracers flying overhead, plasma bolts searing off-course into the mountains, and behind all of them the inky void pockmarked with stars. We had been rudely awakened by an advance guard of the alien force- they came wailing and screeching through our token defenses and nearly took the whole damn base- if it hadn't been for a few alert snipers and a single tank crew, we might have been dead by now. But now the situation was becoming more desperate by the hour, as legions of foes converged on our base, testing our defenses, probing, waiting for the right opportunity to strike, but all the while holding their main force in reserve.
I breathed in one last time and reached up to the top of my helmet- and pulled my night vision goggles down on my face. Instantly the world took on a more sinister and dark aspect- outlined in green were my comrades, kneeling in a semicircle around me, and behind them were platoons of men rushing to the front, weapons at the ready and boots crunching softly on the gravel. I watched them for a second and then motioned quickly for my own men to follow me. I started out at a light jog towards our positions, a hundred yards from the base. It was currently being held by a skeleton crew that was spread out along a line four times to long for its' size. We relieved them, set up our heavy weapons, and waited for the next wave of aliens to come.
We weren't a moment too soon.
Almost directly after we had set a new belt of ammo into our heavy machine gun, what seemed like a horde of aliens charged us, plasma slicing cruelly through the dark night and screeches piercing the eerie calm that had come before. The rat-a-tat-tat of our machine guns and assault rifles drowned out the screams of their wounded, and our fragmentation grenades sent aliens arcing high into the sky and brightened the entire battle scene like the sun had descended suddenly to our position, and just as quickly vanished. Snipers took aim, machine gunners laid on the trigger, and the rest of us laid low in the trenches and took potshots. Once more, we knew when to fire and when to wait up until things were down to the wire.
I could hear, after the alien attack floundered, our comrades on either side coming under heavy attack. I could hear the screams of our fellow soldiers- I was so close I could almost feel their pain. But, for all I knew, we were miles and miles apart. We didn't dare move, we didn't dare show a sign of life, lest the Covenant see it as a sign that we wanted more. Soon after that, we saw the Pelicans lift off from the base, most likely filled with machine guns and bombs. Our ad hoc air force swept swiftly above us, heading for the aliens' staging base. I, via the night vision, could make out their formation- they were in a modified delta- the Pelicans seemed to be protecting a Longsword interceptor with a large payload strapped underneath it- I knew it was a tactical nuclear device.
The radio in the bunker flared to life with confused chatter and shouted commands. I rushed to it, and heard the base communications officer halt the chaos and send out a curt, brief message: "You've seen it. Cover your eyes, Marines. Dawn is about to come." And then the radio fell silent, and I threw myself at the ground to the prone position, screaming at the top of my lungs to my men to crouch down and cover their eyes.
A bright flash appeared in the middle of the night, a rapidly expanding ball of flame that glowed and smothered all in its' path. I waited for the familiar flush of heat and the rush of wind, and it came, blowing past me, seeing to drive me over the very edge of sanity, and then came the rushing back of the heat and the light, carrying me back again. Breathless, I got up and looked around. I was woozy and dazed from knocking my head on the cold concrete floor, but otherwise lucid. I knelt down, picked up my rifle, and slowly moved outside. In front of me was one of my snipers, still prone and very angry.
"Where the hell did we get one of those!?" he inquired violently, springing up to his feet and massaging a bruised neck with his hand. I shrugged, and said:
"You've got me. Maybe they were saving it for a special occasion." The sniper grumbled and returned to his position. I flipped on my night-vision goggles, and saw the Pelicans returning from their bleak mission, minus four of their original number, and one smoking and flaming so badly that I doubted it could ever be reliably flown again without serious and time-consuming repair. I walked among the trenches, knowing that we had got off amazingly easy tonight- that we had played our trump card, and that the remnants of the alien force were rapidly fleeing. I figured that we had four hours until dawn- four hours until the aliens figured out what had happened, diverted forces from other sectors, and attacked us in force. So, I did what anyone else would have done in my position.
I got some goddam sleep.
I was shaken awake by the roar of artillery shells some time later- I sprang to my feet, rifle in hand, and peered over the shoulder of my machine gunner out onto the valley floor, now fully lit by the rising sun. The aliens were charging once more, and among their ranks there burst flowers of destruction, great yellow and brown explosions that shot upward and carried Covenant with them, overturning tanks, spattering purple and red blood across the plains. I ran out of the bunker at a crisp pace and took my place on the firing line. The Elites frantically shouted commands and the Jackals formed a tight phalanx of shields, advancing slowly and methodically. Mines and artillery, nor the frequent, desperate strafing runs of our Pelicans did not deter them- they marched onward and plugged the gaps. I could hear the cavalry, though. Tanks rumbled forth from the base and fired salvo after salvo into the alien's ranks, and the Marine snipers took unfailing aim at the officers- the Elites. The heavy weapons overheated until smoke poured from their barrels and clogged the bunkers with smoke and dust- and then we poured water on the guns, loaded up another ammo belt and let rip once more. I fired clip after clip, firing until my hands went numb from recoil. I stopped and looked up and saw a squad of Banshee fighters streak over the mountaintops and make for the base- firing as fast and as much as they could, taking heavy fire from our heavy weapons, anti-air batteries hastily wheeled into position, and even individual Marines, futilely firing at the ship, hoping to score a lucky hit. Two of the Banshees, listing heavily and shot through like sieves, peeled away, lost control, and spun into the ground in a heap of flaming wreckage. I saw a second fleet of Banshees fly low over the horde of their brethren, guns silent, but engines throttling as fast as they could. Once more, we tried in vain to stop them, and succeeded in bringing down three more. They made it over the base, and we saw them all suddenly dive in unison, letting loose with a single small package that none of us had noticed before.
The entire base glowed green- a single, bright flash consumed everything, leaving charred and melted remnants of buildings, equipment- and people- in it's wake. The aliens had played their trump card- and now it was our turn to run. With the entire command and control staff gone, it was safe to assume that we could to whatever the hell we wanted now. I got on the horn immediately.
"Squad leaders, listen up." I paused for a second and let the rest of the leaders get to the radio, anxious now, as the Covenant drew near and our defense became more strained by the second. "We have an opportunity here- the command staff has just been vaporized. There is no one to stop us from retreating. We can survive to fight another day if we head for the hills- there is a base fifteen miles from here, with a full fleet of escape craft." I crouched by the radio expectantly, sweat clouding my brow and fatigue slowly seizing control of my muscles.
"Are you advocating disobeying orders, soldier?" Came a crackling voice.
"Yes I am. Unless you want to die pointlessly here." I responded icily.
"I'd sooner do that then commit treason!"
"Fine, you can stay here. I'm going to live to fight these Covenant another day! When we have the upper hand, I want to be right there, right in the middle of it with a rifle in one hand and a grenade in the other. I don't want to be another memory, another Marine in a shallow grave millions of miles from home!" I screamed, letting loose with all of my pent-up emotion, screeching and yelling and nearly crying from desperation and fear.
"I'm with him, Malone." Said another squad leader, quietly ignoring my outburst. Malone did not respond. I could hear him sulking.
"Fine. Let's go."
I broke the news to my men, and they were dumbfounded. Was this my idea? Yes, it was. Were we disobeying direct orders? Yes, we were. Was it guaranteed that there would be a way out at this base? No, it wasn't. But it was better than standing and fighting here. I looked up and saw the alien horde break all formation and semblance of discipline and charge us at a dead run- swarming and flowing like a tidal wave.
Time to disappear.
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