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Fight for New York|Chapter 1
Posted By: MrPibb<stateman12@yahoo.com>
Date: 20 April 2005, 12:55 AM
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1430, June 3rd,2552(revised date, military calendar)Aboard Pelican drop ship Golf 134 above NY,NY
Captain David Ariens peered out the open hatch of the Pelican. He watched as the gentle waves rolled back and forth in the Atlantic Ocean below him. The sea air was thick with humidity, and the warm noon sun illuminated his face, which should have been bathed in shadow by his standard green Marine helmet. Off to his left, about half a mile, were the shores of eastern New York, the water lapping at the beaches. If this had been a normal day a year ago, David would have suggested that he and his troopers go surfing at high tide during their relaxation time, something rarely done except on exceptionally beautiful days, because his squad usually spent their spare time honing their already expert skills. On a normal day, he would have smiled at the site of the ocean, but this was no normal day.
David's grizzled, 31 year old face was set in stone with a mixture of grim determination and a look that said he was deep in thought, but not to deep. Suddenly, a bright streak of purple plasma flashed by the open hatch of the dropship. Ariens felt the air rapidly heat around him, and two more of the white-hot gaseous followed the first. The Pelican rolled somewhat sharply to port and starboard, to evade any more incoming fire, but there was none. The aft hatch began to slid out and up, sealing off the fuselage. David strode to the cockpit, his step thrown off some by the gentle rocking movement of the Pelican.
"One minute to el-zee" the pilot announced over the comm.
Ariens glanced out the look at the massive city ahead of them. Once a magnificent metropolis of towering glass skyscrapers, New York was now a war zone, its many towers broken and some still on fire. Numerous fires arose from the hundreds of thousands of smaller buildings that dotted the island, and countless anti-aircraft bursts, both human and Covenant, dotted the sky.
David felt remorse for his home city well up inside him, and regret for the millions that had died there. But there was nothing he could have done to stop it anyways, he knew. David pushed those feelings down, and replaced them with a sense of responsibility. He turned, and gazed at his men.
"All right troopers, lets get ready to rock and roll,". And with that, he yanked back the cocking level on his battle rifle and set slid his helmet on.
The other Marines readied their weapons. Corporal Luke Handson took in a breath, and slapped a fresh magazine into his S2-AM sniper rifle, pulling back on the charging handle. Staff Sergeant Henry "Gunny" Ganson, so named because the rest of the veteran personnel joked he'd never make it to Gunnery Sergeant, pumped the slide on his 8 guage shotgun, loaded with special "hippo" rounds, fabled to be able to bring down a hippo with a single shot. He kissed the barrel of his trusty weapon. Second Lieutenant George Abram and Warrant Officer Neil McHenry both checked their battle rifle's chambers to make sure they were clean, then chambered a round.
The rest of the ten-man team, made up of relative rookies, checked and readied their weapons.
"All right, we're coming in, hold on to your bacon," the pilot exclaimed over the comm.
David felt the Pelican descend rapidly as it flew in between battered buildings. The Marines un-locked their shoulder harnesses, and stood up, facing the stern of the ship. The Pelican settled to the road below, not extending the landing gear.
Major Sanders, the pilot, punched a button on the console in front of him. "Hatch down, go get em Marines!,". The hatched dropped away, exposing them to the debris-strewn street outside, and the Marines rushed out into what would be their first engagement.
David and the rest of the squad jogged around the Pelican, and down the street. The drop ship took off as rapidly as it had landed, and not two kilometers out several glowing purple shards, as long as a mans forearm, ripped into the cockpit. The shards exploding a split-second later, blowing the apart the entire cabin. The Pelican sharply nose-dived, accelerated and slammed into the ocean below. David and the rest of his Marines looked back at the sound of the crashing Pelican. "What the hell-?" exclaimed one rookie Marine, but his words were cut short when a flurry of needler rounds impaled into his back. He yelled out in pain for a second, then the crystal needles exploded, instantly killing the Marine.
"Ambush!"
David yelled, and dropped to one knee, rolled behind the wreckage of a car, and brought his weapon to bear, the rest of his Marines taking shelter behind various vehicles.
"We've got Jackals and fat boys!" Ganson yelled to his Captain.
Plasma burst from the aliens weapons scorched the vehicles, and needler rounds flurried about.
"How many?" David queried quickly.
"Looks like eight of em, Cap'n" "Gunny" replied.
"All right Marines, wait for their weapons to overheat, then pick your targets".
Everyone replied with an "Ooh-rah". Seconds later, the fire stopped. "Now!" .David peeked out form his cover, aiming his weapon at the conglomeration of Covenant soldiers. For the briefest moment, he saw the Grunts and Jackals wave their overheated weapons, and reload their needlers, before he let loose along with the rest of his troopers. His first three-round burst tore through the head of one of the Grunts, spewing bight blue blood onto the street. The Grunts immediately fell, overcome by a wall of lead and two shotgun blasts. Three of the Jackals remained, the shots fire at them ricocheted harmlessly off their energy shields.
Handson ripped a fragmentation grenade off his webbing, primed it and slid it across the ground toward the vulture-like Jackals. The explosive device settled just behind them as the Marines ducked behind their cover. The explosion was deafening, but they'd heard louder. The Jackals were both blown high into the air along with their own severed limbs, and fell back to Earth with wet smack. "Its all clear!" one of the Marines yelled, and David poked his head out.
"Check the bodies, grab any plasma grenades you find, they could come in handy,"
The squad complied, and rushed to the exterminated Covenant ambush group. There wasn't much left of the Jackals, but they were able to recover eight grenades from the deceased Grunts, and pocketed them.
"All right squad, lets make our way to Alpha Base"
.And with that, the squad made its way towards their destination.
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