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Discovery of an Enemy, Chapter Seven: Part I
Posted By: russ687<russ687@hotmail.com>
Date: 30 June 2004, 6:02 PM
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________________________________________________________________
Chapter Seven: The Third Party
1515, July 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)
System Designation Classified, Planet Codename Milestone
McCollum grunted in anger as he heard the communications between the two fire team leaders of the squad comm. link. He half hoped that Lt. Kren would find nothing at the bottom of that hole so they could get off this planet, but he knew if that were true this whole mission, as well as the death of a good Marine, would all be in vain.
The jogged down the entrance tunnel toward the large room and his mind switched to other matters. Right before he turned the corner, he heard the report of sightings of Covenant troops at the surface, and he wasn't sure whether he should be glad that the creatures were now gone or worried that they had spotted the Covenant.
But wasn't this the way it always went? Bust your ass over flooded jungle hills, get attacked by some unknown creature, then get assaulted by wave after relentless wave of attack by those creatures, then discover that humankinds arch enemy was now joining the party. This was like going to hell and back, then turning around and going to hell again.
McCollum activated the comm. link as he broke out into the large, cavernous room. "Sergeant Brooks, what's the situation?"
"Not good, sergeant. The el-tee is not responding to our calls."
"How long ago did he go down?" McCollum asked, coming into sight of Fire Team Bravo, guarding the entrance to the small tunnel that their CO and Fire Team Alpha went down.
"Ten mikes, maybe more."
McCollum cursed under his breath as he came to a halt before the team of Marines. He knew that they would not survive an instant with two Covenant frigates closing in, and if they did, they would never make it out alive. In all reality, the extraction was not going to be successful, but nothing would stop the ODSTs from trying.
"Fire Team Alpha, get out of the tunnel so I can get by. Sergeant Brooks and I will go under to see what's going on." McCollum order over the comm. link.
The Marines filed out of the small tunnel as Brooks got to his feet.
McCollum stopped for a moment and thought. The situation could not delay anymore; if any of these Marines were going to survive it would be by leaving now, before the orbiting frigates could launch fighters. He hated this, but he knew it was the right thing to do. It is what Lt. Kren would have done.
"Ryder."
"Sergeant?" The Corporal replied.
"You're coming down too. Sergeant Spencer, assume command of First Squad, take them to the surface, link up with Lt. Meyers, and get in the evac ship. If we don't contact you in five mikes over the comm., get the fuck of this planet." McCollum called out.
Spencer stared at the Gunnery Sergeant.
McCollum walked over and set his hand on the young sergeant's shoulder. "Listen to me," he said quietly, "the first priority is getting these men, and the information we have, off this planet. I am not about to make this whole fiasco an exercise in futility, do you understand?"
Spencer nodded, his eyes hard.
"Take your men to the surface, inform Lt. Meyers of the situation, and get off this planet. They're your responsibility now, pull them out alive."
The sergeant nodded.
McCollum looked up and motioned for Brooks and Ryder to follow him into the small tunnel. He could fell the tension the two Marines behind him were feeling; they knew what was at stake here, that they were putting their lives on the line while the rest went to the surface for extraction.
But he also knew that these two Marines, as would any other of the platoon, would follow their leaders to the death. It was a virtue that Lt. Kren built on and emplaced. These men were not just Marines, or former Force Recon members, or Orbital Drop Ship Troopers.
They were the men of D Platoon, Special Warfare Company, Third Battalion, Ninth Regiment, First Marine Division, Third Marine Expeditionary Force, UNSC.
___________________________________________________________
Meyers had ordered both squads to take cover among any nearby Covenant objects, even if most of them were destroyed or scattered across the field. He knew that the rules had now changed, and they were going to be exchanging fire, to just giving it. The last thing he wanted to see was his men get mowed down by plasma fire because there was no cover.
He peeked over an overturned Covenant crate and brought his binoculars up to his eyes. The Covenant force was not impressive, but it was nonetheless a Covenant force. The scout party consisted only of five Elites, ten Jackals, and a couple dozen Grunts, nothing his Platoon could not handle.
What worried the lieutenant were the frigates orbiting high above them. While they were probably some of the smallest ships in the Covenant fleet, they still held enough firepower to vaporize them, and enough troops to flood them just like the assault the Marines had just gone through mere minutes earlier. Ammo was spread thin among them as the two squads waited quietly among the Covenant ruins.
He hunched back down behind the crate when he heard the squad comm. link crack to life. "Foxtrot Sierra, this is Foxtrot Oscar."
Meyers thought for a moment in puzzlement; the call was not over the LRISC, but rather of the squad comm. link. Whoever it was must not be underground anymore. Did First Squad finally get finished under there?
"Go ahead Foxtrot Oscar." Meyers responded through the comm. link.
"Is Lt. Meyers available?"
"Speaking." Meyers replied, looking back at the structure entrance.
"Sir, this is Sergeant Spencer, in appointed command of First Squad. I have orders from the Platoon Sergeant to bring all First Squad members to the surface, save four, for immediate evac."
Meyers almost stood up when he heard the message. "What? Where's Lt. Kren?"
"Unknown, sir."
"What about Sergeant McCollum?"
The reply was not enthusiastic. "Sir, he and two others went deeper underground to try and find Lt. Kren."
Meyers cursed softly as he thought. This put him in overall command of the platoon. "What was Sergeant McCollum's orders?"
"To evac ASAP, sir."
Meyers turned back around and peeked above the crate. The group of Covenant was making their way cautiously into the field toward them. At the rate the aliens were moving, they had less then five minutes before shooting began. "Copy, hold your position sergeant."
Wessern looked at Meyers from a few meters away. He motioned if he should call Delta 4-1 for the evac.
Meyers remain motionless while he contemplated the situation. Half of him wanted to run back down there and try and find his CO too.
"Yes," he said under his breath, nodding.
Wessern pulled out the headset for the LRISC and began talking.
Meyers leaned back against the crate. His mind and training told him they needed to evac; most of the platoon was ready to go, and they were being surrounded by Covenant forces, either on the ground or in the atmosphere. The tactical situation was that of retrograde.
They needed to pull out.
___________________________________________________________
1515, July 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)
Aboard ONI Stealth Frigate Valiant Knight,
in orbit around Planet Codename Milestone
Captain Rayford breathed heavily as he watched the two Covenant frigates descend into the atmosphere. He was not really concerned about them bombarding the planet; he knew they would never do that, especially to a planet they value so much. What worried him were the tiny specks leaving the frigates.
Drop-ships.
"Sir, a total of eight drop-ships are moving in toward the structure that the Marines are at." The Operations Officer announced.
Rayford nodded. The Valiant Knight was now getting close to the two frigates, much closer then any of them wanted. The tension on the bridge was growing, and so was the fear that the Marines aboard the planet were not going to make it off.
"Sir, incoming transmission from Delta 4-1." The Comm. Officer announced.
"Patch it through." Rayford ordered.
The slightly static line opened and was broadcasted through the bridge speakers. "Victor Kilo, this is Delta Four One, we have been requested to evac the Marines and are moving in now. Reports are that we may have to remain on station after the evac for some reason, but we should be back in space in no more then ten mikes."
Rayford nodded and gestured towards the Comm. Officer.
"Copy that, Delta 4-1, Victor Kilo clear."
The captain leaned back in his chair and thought. Never did he think that this would be easy, even if his ship was stealthy enough to sneak around, or even if they were equipped with top-of-the-line equipment that was still in its testing phase. But he never assumed that the situation would crash down in a matter of minutes, and the entire mission would be jeopardized.
What made the entire situation look even more futile was the fact that only one of three structures were investigated; only one. What if the Marines didn't find anything at this location? What if there was nothing to gain from this mission? He was not a pessimist, and had been through many fruitless missions before, but none of them had the same feeling about them. This mission was different for many reasons, but the fact that this was the first planet that any human ship had encountered that harbored Covenant forces was still there, and the mystery behind it remained unsolved.
He reached over and took a sip of coffee. Regardless of this all, the one thing left to do was leave. And hopefully leave with everyone they came with.
___________________________________________________________
1518, July 21, 2552 (Military Calendar)
System Designation Classified, Planet Codename Milestone
Lieutenant John Abrams nodded as his copilot relayed the evac request by the Marines. He manipulated the duel joysticks and brought the Blackspear out of the hover from behind the low ridgeline three kilometers away from the field. The black ship eased up effortlessly into the air and banked toward the field, passing up into the thick clouds.
"Infrared," Abrams said as the view in front of him went gray.
"Roger," Copilot Lieutenant Weisfield replied, switching on the Forward Looking Infrared system so they could see where they were going. The Heads-Up-Display flashed a dull blue as the contours of the terrain became visible around them. Three kilometers ahead was the heat source of the structure, as well as scattered heat sources from the Covenant base.
At the edge of the field was a slowly moving mass of infrared feedback, which the computer analyzed and classified as Covenant forces. The rough formation of Grunts, Jackals and Elites moved slowly towards the structure. It was only a matter of time before the Marines and this scouting party began shooting.
"Weisfield, send the Marines as message, tell them we will pick them up in 90 seconds right at the structure entrance." Abrams said, both his hands occupied by the two maneuvering joysticks the made the craft fly. The UAS-9A was a handful for the pilot, and operations without a second pilot would be impossible, since the controls required two hands. The advantage of having this system, though, was an unlimited amount maneuvering capabilities.
The copilot nodded and flicked a switch on the console above their heads. "Foxtrot Sierra, this is Delta 4-1, prepare for evac in 90 seconds. I say again prepare for evac in 90 seconds. LZ location is at the structure entrance."
___________________________________________________________
Wessern hit the activation button as he heard the transmission come in. "Copy that Delta 4-1, Foxtrot Sierra clear." Wessern then flipped a channel and performed and normal operation procedure, completely forgetting that it probably didn't apply here. "All Foxtrot units assemble at the structure entrance for evac on my mark."
Every Marine on the surface stopped what they were doing and waited for the order. Wessern looked over at Lt. Meyers, who held up his hand.
"Standby, corporal." Meyers said, looking up into the sky.
Somewhere up in the thick clouds the slight noise of the Blackspear emitted. He scanned the sky for any sight of the black craft, hoping that the 90 second estimation would be closer to thirty.
Then the black craft popped out of the clouds. Meyers almost gave the signal but noticed that it was not heading toward them or the structure, but rather towards the tree line, where the Covenant were.
Meyers watched as it banked into a strafing run and the twin MK IVA3 cannons opened fire at the Covenant. The explosive rounds sent plumes of water into the air as hundreds of rounds blanketed the area where the Covenant were. A few Marines yelled in appreciation as the craft pulled out of the run and into the air. Only a few plasma rounds tried to follow the craft out.
He gave the thumbs up to Wessern and the message went out over the net. The Marines turned around and moved cautiously toward the entrance tunnel of the structure as the Blackspear turned and headed directly at them.
Meyers was starting to feel a ping of guilt in his gut, even though he didn't know why. As a leader, the commander of the platoon, he needed to make sure he could save as many lives as possible. He needed to look out for his men, ensure their safety, to do what was logically right for the greater good.
But he didn't want to leave those four Marines here, under the surface. Of course they were going to stay on station for as long as possible, but he knew that it wouldn't make them come out. It wouldn't make them all go home together.
He sighed as the Marines set up a security circle around the landing zone. He knew what it was like to be left behind; to feel that gnawing sensation in your stomach as you watched your only escape leave.
But he couldn't change the situation, as much as he hoped.
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