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Pride and Honor Part 3
Posted By: Tom Murphy<tompinkypoint5@hotmail.com>
Date: 10 January 2002, 11:58 pm
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"Be on the ready Marines! The doors will open in approximately three minutes!" A million clicks of cocked guns filled the air. In three minutes we would be heading into a dense rainforest like area. The most heavily guarded area on the planet. The Marines thought they had no reason to fear. I knew the truth though.
Two weeks before today we had been sending messages across the radio back to earth that we thought were safe. However one of these messages had been intercepted. The Covenant had cracked the code and now knew everything, but the arrogant bastards in charge, (besides the chief) thought we could take them on anyway.
The Covenant knew where we planned to land, how many troops we had, and most of all, they knew about the shields. My thoughts were interrupted by the huge sound of the doors opening and the Captain yelling something to us. Once again we all began running out of the ship. Not I though. I was checked for special talents and they assigned me to sniper for this battle. So I let everyone rush past me and timidly stuck my head out the doors looking for a good tree.
When I had found one and positioned myself perfectly, I stuck the scope near my eye, closed the other tightly, zoomed in twice and looked for a target. I found one. A gold Elite. The captain of the first Covenant battle force. All around him I could see little Grunts falling over, as the 'turtle' moved in closer.
I aimed directly at his head, and fired. But somehow, before the bullet reached him he moved, jumping down off the rock he was standing on. He was killing a Marine that had tried to rush them. One hit in the back of the head with the Elites gun and the Marine was down.
I aimed again. Being careful this time, because the last shot may have given away my location. This time I aimed for his eye. I waited one moment, though I'm not sure why, and fired. The kickback on the gun was more than I had expected and it rammed back into my cheek and made me only hit the arm of the Elite.
"Dammit," I whispered to myself. I aimed once more, being wearier of the kickback, but noticed a Grunt next to him was looking straight at me. It fired three times sending the plasma balls flying toward my face. I aimed quickly at its head at fired and watched only a second of it falling limply to the muddy ground. I brought my shield over my face and felt three taps against it and the shield warm up slightly.
I could see the Marines who weren't part of the turtle running back and forth, ducking and rolling, and always firing. Yet they were being killed quicker than I could count by elites. Luckily there were no Hunters this time.
Suddenly I heard an insanely happy shrieking of a Marine behind me, and the tiny hum of an engine. The humming drew closer and I pulled my eye away from the rifle to see what it was. Two Marines were driving a warthog straight to the massive cluster of Covenant, screaming enthusiastically the whole way. The one in the back fired like he was the only one on the battlefield, perhaps taking out more Marines than Covenant. However the driver seemed to know what he was doing, and plowed through the forces, missing very few, and clearing an entire row out. Skidding and turning hard he was taking out more Covenant than we may have the entire battle.
Then one plasma bolt struck the gunner, who mouthed a yell and held down the trigger and kept firing, this time only getting Covenant. Then another plasma bolt and another, and another, and he keeled over onto the gun and died pulling the trigger down, firing bullets into the air.
More plasma was fired at the jeep, this time at the driver who wasn't as easy to hit. He skidded and veered often, making him a difficult target to keep up with. Yet finally, after taking out many more Covenant, plasma balls came in from his left knocking him out of his seat and onto the ground.
Then battle just stopped. The turtle stopped moving, the Marines stopped firing and the Covenant gathered around the driver's body bending over as the leader did something to it. The Marines just stared at the truck, which sat motionless except the gun that just fired into the air continually.
The gunner's body just lay slumped on the gun, holding in an upright position, so it remained firing into space. Finally, the Covenant, all stood up straight and watched the Gold Elite, whose arm was purple with blood. In his other hand however, he held something. He yelled something out in his language to us, and chucked whatever it was into the air, and over to the Marines.
I pushed my eye up to the scope so I could see what it was that was now sailing through the clouds. I caught a short glimpse of it, and realized it was the driver's heart. The air was ripping blood from it, and the pressure turned into more of a flattening ball, than a heart. I looked at it without the zoom and watched as it landed with a thud on the ground next to a Marine, who looked at it, than looked at the Covenant with extreme hate.
"Die you fuckers!" He yelled, and began charging straight at them, firing non-stop. He reached the front line and hit the Grunts around him with the butt of his AR furiously. He took out three or four, but they fired at him and hit him. One shot and he was still up, killed to more. Another shot, and he was still up, killed three more Grunts. He swiped at a Grunt with his shield sending it onto the ground with force. One more plasma bolt came which he blocked with his shield, but then the captain snuck up behind him, grabbed his head and neck, and turned hard.
The man fell to the ground dribbling blood.
A huge angry cheer erupted into the forest and the turtle began moving again, and every marine fighting more fiercely than ever. I took my aim on the Gold Elite. I pulled my eye about two and half inches from the sight and fired as soon as I had the crosshairs on his head. The Elite let out a huge roar of pain and fell limply forward into a gray puddle.
Once again, the Covenant number were quickly wearing away and the Marines were winning. It seems the death of that Covenant captain had been quite a loss to the Covenant because when they saw him die, many of them gathered around his body sorrowfully. However I did not give them time to mourn, and I shot them all with the help of the other snipers.
The turtle was very close to the Covenant front lines and was just destroying anything that got in its way.
The snipers made it look like the Grunts were suffering a massive disease, because it seemed they were falling down for nothing. And they fell before blood managed to come out.
The first Covenant force was dealt with, but they probably had much, much more. Then I heard loud clicking of metal armor and very low grunts and roars. I knew exactly what it was. Hunters. They all stood in their attack stance, probably about eight feet tall. Two separate groups marched in from each side of the forest, behind what was left of the first Covenant force. There must have been about fifty-seventy hunters. One Hunter, presumably the captain, stood full height and looked like he was talking to them. He was moving fast and looked impossible to hit.
The chief had taught the Marines about the Hunters weak spot. Everyone had the chance to kill them, because they were facing sideways, and the orange was somewhat visible. I aimed quickly. I fired and before my bullet hit my target I saw at least seven other Hunters fall over dead nearby.
Then eight more. And then more were falling than I could count. Eventually the Hunters realized what was happing and turned around forwards. There were still maybe, twenty to twenty-five left.
I switched my aim to their heads and began firing, but it wasn't enough. They managed to get off a good three or four mortars before falling. The mortars were destroying the turtle.
When they hit you could see the Marines not only being burnt by their shields but flying backwards over the heads of the other lines, sometimes even landing on those shields facing up. I took out two or three more until I heard some loud behind me.
The unmistakable hum of a Scorpion. A loud pop, whoosh, and bang. The missile was flung through the tops of the forest trees and right down to the Hunters. However it didn't kill any. I knew it wouldn't. It takes at least two missiles two kill a hunter. The same whoosh and bang. Two Hunters fell this time.
Then more hums, three or four more. From behind the Hunters came two Scouts and a CBT. (Covenant Battle Tank) Then I heard a whoosh; one much different than from that of the Scorpion's missile, or CBT's blue mortar. I looked up and saw a banshee fly over the Marines heads and start firing.
Luckily we had something to counter this with. We brought eight fighter ships with us, and the same pilots who distracted the Battle Cruiser. A moment later I saw them in the sky fighting the banshee. Yet I realized they had five banshees, not one.
It was the most amazing battle I had ever seen, both types of ships maneuvering around with such ease. Swerving around the trees and firing every time the other team came into sight. I couldn't watch this forever and I had to get back to sniping.
I took at two more Hunters and then took a look at the CBT's progress. It was smoking badly but it had almost demolished our turtle. It didn't even bother with the Scorpion which was flinging missiles at it maybe every ten seconds. I saw one more missile fly into it and it exploded in a burst of wild yellow and red colors.
There were only three or four Hunters left now and maybe twenty elites. The Warthog had been knocked onto its side long ago and had run out of ammo. The gunner's body still lay slumped over the gun though.
Now the Marines were losing number fast, and the turtle was much smaller than when it had started. I saw only two Marines fighting outside of the turtle but all the sniper were still alive.
I looked back at the Covenant. No Hunters were left, no Grunts, I saw nothing in the air, the Ghosts now lay as smoking trash on the muddy floor of the jungle. I saw only three elites, who fell in about five seconds.
This wasn't all though. Now we had to go claim the building in which the planet ruler dwelled. I couldn't understand how we would do this with such small numbers.
I started climbing out of the tree but my foot slipped both my legs fell away. My head slid away and I hit it hard on a branch. I could feel blood dripping down my face. I was holding onto a branch my one hand, and I was quickly losing my grip.
I fell. The trees were about thirty feet up, and on the way down I hit brambles and branches and stained the tree with my blood. My vision turned a disgusting shade of pink I dribbled blood. Pain was searing through my body and I landed with a thud and a splash in a small puddle of mud.
I turned my quickly weakening head to the ground and saw the thousands upon thousands of bodies across the muddy floor. The mud was mostly red and so were the puddles. I heard a sort of hum and turned my head up to the sky and saw a drop ship which looked like it could have carried twenty-five thousand people coming onto our body strewn war zone.
Why should I die such a death without honor? I thought to myself. What will happen to man and mankind?
With my last ounce of strength I reached into my pocket and fumbled for my coin, but I dropped and I watched as it fell with a 'sploosh' into the reddening puddle I lay in. Then my vision faded out black.
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