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0947 Hours, Camp Gaia, (Military Calendar) July 5th, 2553
Lance Corporal Zachary Denison crouched against a wall and then sat down. He pulled out a pack of cigarettes and then had one to soothe his senses. He had just seen two of his men die to the maelstrom of Covenant fire and his best friend fatally wounded. War is hell, he thought to himself as his cigarette dwindled down to just the butt. Zach tossed the cigarette and then got up. He grabbed his MA2B and another extended clip from the armorers. He marched over to a squad of Marines talking on the airbase's field next to a column of Warthogs.
Zach was just 19. He was trained over a period of two months at Ft. Benson on the moon of Llunett. He weighed in at a mere 178lbs and was nearly 6'tall.
The conversation was apparently just beginning. The fire teams all looked at eachother and listened to the briefing. The team commander, a sergeant, was apparently an experienced warrior and a fierce fighter. He was scarred with plasma burns and cuts. His hair that was traditionally gray was now matted and looked as if it were brown (so much for Rogaine). As for the rest of the team, they all looked very green.
Zach was not green. He had seen combat before and knew the Covenant's tactics. Since they knew they had superior numbers and strength, they would run in head on charges. Explosions went off in the background and in the measly base's defenses and trenches. Everyone except for Zach, the sergeant, and another guy in their little crowd winced and flinched at the booms. Zach could see the Longswords off in the distance commencing gun-runs on the Covies; their advances cut down from rivers to streams to trickles. The Marine's snipers would finish off the rest of them. This process had continued since 0450. The Covies seemed to be slacking off now.
The team commander then commenced his speech. "The Covies will undoubtedly take this position by force and they by doing so will achieve the ultimate victory. But it's our job to prevent this event from happening. By our intell, the Covies will be comin' up through the ridge between those two mountains. From our knowledge, they have three elements of twin Ghosts out on their recon picket. The rest of the bastards are on foot. The terrain through them hills is rocky and hazardous; making it the perfect place to set up ambush. We'll have two elements of three 'Hogs'. Corporal Maddox's colomn will take the adjacent side of the mountain while we take the left." "Where's Corporal Maddox," piped out one Marine. "His column is makin' its way through the masquerade to this base. As soon as he gets here, we'll depart and head out."
Zach walked over to the base's armory and got out extra frags and clips for both his assault rifle and his pistol. Zach's assault rifle was a special kind. On Llunett, their base had been attacked by a Covenant patrol. It wasn't much but it took the base by suprise. The Covies had managed to take out a couple of ODSTs. In the furry, he picked up a SOMA-2B and had used it ever since. On the front, instead of a light, it had a laser aiming module and a shotgun. The gun used 5.56mm carbide green-tip ammo that pierced right through the Covies shields, not counting the Hunters though. The gun was about half as small as standard MA-5B and was lighter too. But it packed a punch. Anyway, Zach felt blessed to have the little demon by his side.
Maddox arrived with a full team of Marines and his column of Warthogs. Every-so-often the lead 'Hog's passenger would fire off a rocket at a passing Banshee. The new heat/thermal lock systems destroyed all of the comers. "Alright, let's mount up!" Zach ran up to the lead 'Hog' in the Sarge's colomn. He got behind the 'Hog's new 25mm chain gun. The jeeps began to speed off and rumble down the rocky trail and roads.
While they sped down the old dirt road, Zach asked the Sarge, "What's your name sir?" "Sergeant Elias." "Yeah," replied Zach. The driver in the lead jeep in Maddox's column spotted Covenant Shades. "Look! Up on the ridge!" Zach opened up with shredder rounds and destroyed most of the Covies computing systems. The Grunts manning the position were ripped apart while the others screamed and ran away. Before the ridge ended, a little atrium sort of thing came out above them. A squad of red armor Elites released a hail of fire on the convoy with the Covenant's newest rifle, the Bolt Rifle. The Bolt Rifle fired a concentrated burst of energy at the target at a maximum velocity. The gun also had a scope. It was their version of a sniper rifle.
The first bolt hit Sgt. Elias's last jeep in the column. The wheel imploded in a sound-shattering burst while the axle grinded against the gravel and rock. It sounded like a woman screaming while giving birth. The other bolts concentrated themselves on the jeep's body the way a wasp would an intruder to their home. The bolts burned through the jeep's door and were a luminous green color. The jeep finally came to a halt while the convoy came to a screeching stop. The men jumped out while the gunner laid suppressive fire. The Elites fired again and hit the jeep's gunner. He fell in a pool of his own warm, red blood. His uniform stained and his consciousness seemed just to slip away. That was the last he would see of the Covenant. The rest of the convoy halted while the gunners shot up the atrium and the gunners and drivers got out to fight. Zach ran out and toward the crippled jeep and its crew. He wouldn't let these men die in vain.
"Give me a jeep Elias, and me and my men'll wait until the freakin' air cover arrives." "Dammit Maddox! Get this man a freakin' jeep!" "Yes sir," he replied while he pointed to a crew to get over to his position and hold out with him. The Elites took another volley of pot shots at the convoy. They all missed thankfully for them. "Alright, Denison we're outta here. The rest of the convoy gotta secure that ridge," said Elias. "Alright," said Zach. The convoy mounted up and sped away.
Zach turned to watch as he saw two fuel rod bolts speed for the convoy's first vehicles. He looked confused. He didn't see where they came from. Then he saw the green glow from up on the atrium. The jeeps flipped. He saw the driver of Maddox's lead vehicle watch his own death. The jeep came down; the windshield beheaded the poor man. After that all hell broke loose.
Two black-armor Hunters came down from the atrium, their metal armor rattling. The ridge had been penetrated. There was no holding the enemy wave back. The picket of Ghosts came in and beamed up the 'Hogs' with plasma. The infantry wasn't too far behind. There must have been more than 5,000 Covies; the rumble of their footsteps shook the very earth upon which the squad was. Zach got up and manned a chain-gun. The Hunter's armor was still too strong. So Zach switched to shredder rounds. They tore through the armor plating. The Hunters fell and died. The mass of infantry advanced in huge phalanxes. Zach continued firing. The Grunts in the front were all falling over one another, falling over dead comrades. The Elites, who were a bit more agile, didn't fall easily. The Jackals quickly moved up to cover the advancing Covies. "I need artillery at coordinates 9,0 elevation 250," yelled out Zach over a 'Hog's COM. The artillery zoomed overhead. Explosions launched up the interiors of the advance.
Zach hadn't stopped firing the chain-gun since the Hunters came. The barrel was too hot to fire anymore and the ammo supply was running low. He got out and prepared for close in combat. The artillery continued firing. But it wasn't enough to stop the Covies from advancing. "Bring it in 100 more sir! Fire for effect!" The artillery kept firing like a shield. The enemies fell like flies. But they kept advancing.
Zach ran forward and butted a couple of Elites with his rifle. He shot up one that got too close for his liking. He ran to a grove of trees and started picking off Jackals and finally he ran back into the fray. He put a ton of buckshot lead into a Grunt and then devastated a Jackal with a kick that indented its skull. He threw a grenade into a cluster of Elites and watched as they bled and lost their limbs. The artillery kept on splashing the Covies advance. Zach ran forward and shot up a hoard of Grunts. He reloaded the rifle but before the clip was in all the way, three Jackals assaulted him. They came in on three sides. They all began charging their plasma pistols. Zach fired the shotgun and hit the Jackal on his left. He crumpled to the ground. The charged bolt in his plasma pistol hit the Jackal in front of him. He fell down and died immediately. The one behind him though, fired a bolt into his back. Zach yelled out in agony. The pain was immense and nearly unbearable. Zach turned around and shot two shotgun shells into the Jackal. The hoards around him were advancing and closing in on his position. He spoke again over the COM, "Bring it in on our position, sir!" "Alright! We gottcha Mack!" The artillery came in even closer and banged up the Covies.
Zach was horrified when he saw a large 10' tall Brute. The large denizen of the Covenant assaulted him. He used his rifle, which Zach had never seen before, and launched a 'Hog' right at him. Zach rolled out of the way just in time. The jeep crumpled across a boulder. Zach got back up and expended all of his shotgun ammo and all of his assault rifle ammo too. But the beast still charged. He threw down the rifle and picked up his holstered MD-6F pistol. He expended the clip but the Brute still got past. He came up and whacked him with his arm. Zach fell to the ground on his burnt back. He cried out in agony. The Brute hunched over him and was about to finish him off when a shell of artillery blew him up. The shrapnel scarred his right ear. The battle seemed to drain off. Zach looked and saw a Marine. He had no legs. The blood stained the soil and the tree's roots. Zach crawled over to the man.
He had plasma wounds all over and blood was leaking. It was no use to try and save him. But he was tied by his creed to never leave a man behind or to suffer a death of pain. When he got there, the man was a mess. His face was unrecognizable. He pulled the pistol out of his holster and put it to the man's head. He gently squeezed the trigger. The bullet ripped through the man's skull. Zach fell back and leaned up against a tree. He wanted to die and let the killing around him to cease. He wanted the nightmare, the maelstrom, and the hell, to stop and end. He pulled out his cigarettes and smoked another one. He remembered no more.


10 hours later...

"They beat the shit out of 'em sir." "That's nice to know." "Sir, mop up of enemy forces completed." "Good." Zach opened his eyes and saw a group of three people in green armor. He knew exactly who they were; SPARTANS. Another group, a platoon of Marines and a general all marched up to the position. "How is he," asked the general. "He's ok." "That's good. Now young man, you've done an excellent job here and you deserve this." The general walked up to Zach and handed him a Silver Star. "Thank you sir." "No problem. You deserve it. You and your guys killed over 3,000 of them rotten bastards! I've even recommended you for a detail on Earth, Sergeant."
Zach walked on to the beach and stared at the water, holding onto his award. He couldn't wait to go back to Earth, his home. The Master Chief walked up and talked to Zach. "You had a good day today Sergeant." "Yeah. All nice and shit, but did anyone else make it?" "No, sir." Zach yelled and threw the Silver Star into the ocean.

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