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If I Were Your Hero - Stage 4
Posted By: soulguard<gouldbowman@hotmail.com>
Date: 22 August 2005, 6:06 pm
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Stage 4: Hit it, Red Squad!
Northern Suez Canal;
Covenant Beachhead
02:45 October 21, 2552
Port Said, Egypt
Surprise was the only element the platoon had against the overwhelming covenant arsenal.
In the dark of night the eight pelicans cruised at an ultra low altitude, desperately trying to stay out of the covenant scanner range. The moon sat high overhead and sparkled brilliantly upon the silver lines of the covenant cruiser in the distance. Darkness would be their cloak, and it would be the key to them sneaking into the city undetected. The port city of Said was slowly coming into view as the sky glowed with mortar fire. Skyhawk and Seraph fighters battled in the skies overhead, while local marines fought off the alien advance as best they could.
Eric placed his hand to the side of his helmet and stood to his feet. He walked to the tail of the pelican ramp and a red light filled the bay.
"Red Squad, lock and load." Eric addressed the squad as he listened to the communication from his helmet uplink. "Roger, Jason. Red Squad will hit in five. We'll setup an LZ for the platoon while Blue squad finds the local brigade." Eric pulled his hand away from his helmet and looked over his squad. This was his team, twenty new recruits fresh from training and had never seen combat. With the exception of himself, Wesley and few soldiers, his whole squad was wet behind the ears.
"Listen up. The covenant has a beachhead. We're breaking in and taking it back. First priority is to establish an LZ for the rest of the platoon. Once we clear the LZ the platoon will come in and pull up our rear. Then we'll deploy and take on the covenant. Wesley, form up the squad!"
"On it!" Wesley hopped up from his seat and tapped several marines on the shoulder. He split the squad into two groups of ten. He looked at Rose and smiled at her. "Stick with me." The ramp on the pelican hissed as it opened and one of the marines slammed his fist against the wall near the rear door. A heavy chain gun, stationed on a hanging arm, unlocked from the side wall and the marine swiveled the massive gun and took aim out the rear.
"Squad formed serge!" Wesley shouted over the roar of the engine.
Eric nodded and then placed his hand to his helmet communicator, "Juggernaut, ETA till dust-off?"
"LZ dead ahead. ETA two minutes, sergeant." The pilot of the pelican stated in the com. Luckily, Eric was able to get the best pilot out of Mombasa camp Charley to fly his bird, knowing full well that the battle would be pointless if his men didn't get to the target. Juggernaut had experience on dozens of drop missions during the war, mostly on colony worlds that were eventually glassed. However, he was able to make it out of all the previous encounters. Eric looked over his young squad and cocked a wicked grin.
"When we touchdown you'll break into your assigned fire team and cover each side of the street." The thud of mortar blasts was getting closer and closer. Two marines vomited as the pelican shifted from the shockwaves. "Stay low and sharp! I want Rocket boys to the front, now. You'll give us some clearing. When you hit, hit hard, and don't let up." More mortar blasts rocked the Pelican and the young nerves of Red squad began to rattle. Eric maintained his posture and never looked worried. "If it's not human, kill it. Brute, elite, dog, or squirrel; I don't care! Kill it!"
"What if I find a puppy, sarge?" Wesley chuckled.
"You find a puppy I hope it bites you in the ass." Some of the marines laughed while others struggled to maintain their sanity. The quick words eased some of the tension in the squad but that didn't last long. "Move up!" Everyone jumped up and grabbed the hangers overhead. Eric moved down the line, checking all twenty of his marines and letting their names burn into his mind. He stopped at Rose and saw that she was barely keeping it together. Her nerves were completely shot, she was trembling, and her pupils were fully dilated. He was happy to see her scared, because the added adrenaline would keep her alive even if she was shot a few times.
The rear speaker on the pelican sparked to life as Juggernaut shouted; "LZ is hot, two wraiths, four ghosts… the platoon is breaking off and waiting for your all-clear, sarge. Dust off, give him hell marines!"
The pelican rotated 180 degrees as the rear of the pelican placed the marines in direct view of the battle ahead of them. The brutal sign of war was thrown into the young squad's faces, as they all peered out of the pelican's rear ramp. Two ghosts spotted the bird and began speeding toward them with their plasma guns blazing. The marine manning the swivel chain gun pulled the trigger and the gun hummed a metallic tune. He chopped down several Jackal patrols before they could get clear of his arsenal, and then he turned on the two ghosts; laying a hailing rain of suppressing fire.
"Rocket boys, take two and two!" Eric shouted. He pointed at the two forward ghosts and then the trailing ghosts. The two rocket holders stepped up to the ramp. The metallic tune of the chain gun echoed between them, and they fired their Jackhammer's explosive cargo. The missiles homed in on the two ghosts and took them out. Then they took aim at the two trailing ghosts, but as they aimed Eric screamed to the rest of the squad, "Go, go, go!" They couldn't stand and watch; they had to move out. Red squad piled out of the pelican's rear bay as plasma and gun fire erupted around them. Two rockets streaked over the marines' heads and blew apart the two ghosts. The squad then split into two fire teams; ten to the left and ten to the right. Eric pulled up the rear, and the two rocket boys quickly jumped from the pelican and caught up to their teams.
It didn't take long for the covenant wraith tanks to spot the pelican. One of them quickly spun around and began spraying its massive plasma mortars into the area. The squad was already clear, however, and the pelican flew off into the night sky.
Eric and his team took to the street, and pushed towards the looming wraith tanks. The tanks had yet to spot them, as it fired toward the fleeing pelican. The street was littered with burned out warthogs and various civilian vehicles, and that made for excellent cover as the two teams closed in. Buildings were smoldering from an earlier covenant barrage, and it was clear that the covenant had taken complete control of the city. Marines were most likely scattered throughout the small port city, fighting as best they could.
Eric crouched and quickly ran to the front of the left side fire team. He looked to the opposite side of the street, and held up two fingers in the direction of the Wesley's fire team. He then pointed to the right side wraith tank and made a fist. Wesley received the instructions and understood. He looked back and waved for one of the rocket launchers to move up the line. Eric did the same with his team. The rocket launchers quickly raced to the front of each line and took aim. Two Jackhammers simultaneously streaked into the air, each hitting their targets with deadly accuracy. One of the tanks exploded upon impact as the jackhammer hit its exposed mid section, but the other wraith took a direct hit on the heavily plated forward section and rocked backwards; remaining intact.
"Shit!" Eric cursed, but the two rocket boys took aim and each fired another volley at the single wraith. It turned and fired one plasma ball from its mortar cannon before the two jackhammers impacted it again; the combination of the two heavy explosives left only a smoldering hunk of burning blue plasma in its wake. The mortar blast soared toward the fire teams and exploded harmlessly in the center of the street. Several Brute patrols quickly began running toward the commotion. Eric spotted the Brutes coming and circled his hands over his head twice, as he looked toward Wesley and his team.
Wesley pulled his team close and they quickly cut through a crumbling building just off the road. Rose was in the center of the team and followed the group without a problem. Eric realized that now he had to distract the oncoming Brutes with a diversion while his other fire team flanked them. The Brutes were close, but he had some time. There were fifteen Brutes and nearly a dozen Jackals that were about to pounce on them, and he had to form up his team. Oddly, there were no Elites.
"Cover the street. Spread two by two and take blind shots at the Brutes and Jackals. Once Wesley and his team get behind them, I'll call the charge. We'll catch them in a cross fire. Go, go!" The team quickly scattered, no longer trying to conceal their locations. They quickly broke into pairs and took cover. They started firing at the oncoming group of Jackals and Brutes, trying to hit them but mainly just trying to get their attention. The Jackals lowered their shields and screamed high pitch shrieks, as their Plasma Pistols sent waves of charged plasma at the team. Plasma grenades darted the air and several marines quickly relocated.
Eric spotted two Jackals attempting to break into his lines. He quickly pulled the trigger on his battle riffle twice, and both of the bird like creatures dropped to the ground as exit wounds parted their heads. His team was doing well, but they weren't going to be able to hold off the whole group. Eric took shots at more Brutes and Jackals with deadly precision as he hoped Wesley and his team would break through.
* * *
Private Wesley Williams and his fire team of nine marines quickly, but quietly, worked through the rubble of the crumbled building. The group could hear Eric's team firing in the distance and knew that they didn't have much time. Wesley tossed up his fist and the team froze in their spots. He looked ahead and saw a large gap between the building, and even in the dark he knew his team would be exposed. He stepped forward and saw several Brutes lobbing grenades toward the other team, almost forty yards away. They needed to move further up the street and get behind the enemy formation, and they had to hurry because Covenant reinforcements were most likely on the way.
Wesley stepped up to a nearby window that overlooked the battle on the street. He then tripped the safety on his sniper rifle and took aim at the Brute closest to his position. His team would have to cross the clearing in order to make it to the adjacent building, and if the brutes spotted his team then their position would be in jeopardy. He'd have to risk shooting the Brute if it saw his team, and while his SRS99C sniper rifle was relatively quite, the Jackals had sensitive ears and would easily hear the discharge. He took aim at the Brute's head, but kept both eyes open so he could see if any of the other alien creatures would spot his team.
Wesley whispered, "Rose, take them over. Go one at a time." Rose looked at Wesley as if he lost his mind and nearly yelled no, but refrained from talking.
"Move it. We don't have time!" Wesley urged. Rose stepped through the debris and looked to see if the coast was clear. The Brute turned his head and looked away. Rose sprinted as fast and as quietly as she could, and hopped through a hole in the wall of the neighboring building. She landed inside and looked back to see if she was clear. The Brute hadn't noticed her and she stepped deeper into the room. Another marine jumped in behind her; startling her. Rose nearly screamed but swallowed the air that had formed in her lungs.
"Is the room clear?" The marine asked. Rose paused, not knowing how to answer. She simply shook her head in an approval. "Good, move ahead to the next room and check it out, I'll be right behind, babe." The marine stated. He had a heavy Australian accent and Rose quickly peered at his name badge; Marks.
Marks was a clean cut man, tall, and young. Rose could tell that he was barely in his twenties. She walked away from Marks as he peered out the hole and waited for other marines to pile in. Rose opened a nearby door, and peeped inside. The room was empty so she pushed it open and stepped through. She looked around, but ducked down and avoided the windows. Her instincts were screaming at her to find a corner and hide, but the adrenaline pumping in her body was hoping something would happen. She crossed the span of the room and spotted another door. She slowly pushed it open and her eyes came face to face with two deep pink and white eyes.
The jackal scout was frozen in shock and Rose didn't know how the alien creature would react. Rose's first instinct was that she was looking at some strange bird, but the creature was wearing clothes and bore technology unlike anything she had seen. It was close, too close, and if she wanted to she could have kissed it. Her heart raced and mind filled with possible ways out of this situation, but she knew that stealth was the key to getting beyond this point.
Rose blinked and the creature reared its head back. It opened its mouth as it raised a plasma rifle. Rose knew that it was going to yell, and she had to stop it. Before the creature could exhale, Rose had grabbed its snout and slapped the gun from its hand. The Jackal wasn't very strong, but it was stronger then she thought the thin creature would be. The jackal grabbed Rose by the arms and tried to free itself. It stood up fully and Rose realized that the oddly shaped creature was a few inches taller then she was. She dropped her rifle and quickly unbuckled her combat knife. The jackal grabbed her head and Rose's helmet fell off. She struggled to hold the creature's beak shut as it pulled and tugged her all over the room. The knife finally came free and she swung the blade blindly. The knife struck the Jackal's throat and purple blood squirted on her side.
The Jackal stumbled backwards but still held onto Rose. She then charged the beast and ran her blade into the base of its jaw. The jackal's eyes rolled backwards as the blade penetrated through to its brain. The creature's lifeless body began to fall backwards and pulled Rose on top of itself. The body hit the ground and released Rose from its grip. She heard the soft gargle of air bubbles from the slash across its throat, and she let go of the creature's beak; leaving the knife deeply penetrated in its neck. She pushed away from the Jackal and slid into a corner and stared at it for several seconds before Marks walked into the room.
Marks walked up to the Jackal and kicked it while chuckling, "Stupid Jackal. You got him good, babe. It must have been a scout." He turned and looked at Rose as she sat frozen in the corner; her eyes focused on the lifeless corpse in front of her. "Hey babe, you killed it. Don't sweat the knife work, it's a bloody way to kill'em, but affective." Marks reached down and yanked the blade from the Jackal's throat, and the creature's leg twitched. Rose sprang up from the corner and took the knife out of Marks' hand, and with one continuous movement she jammed the blade into the jackal's head. Two more marines had walked in and saw the display. They were impressed with Rose's speed. "It's dead, babe." But Rose didn't care.
Rose's eyes were fixed on the Jackal's face. She couldn't turn away. She had killed the invader with her own bare hands, and instead of being horrified she felt a since of joy. She was exasperated that the creature had invaded her home, and killed many of her kind. Rose smirked at the blood that dripped from the dead Jackal's head. The creature's life was in her hands, and she took it; killing the creature was an almost pleasurable feeling.
Wesley and the rest of the fire team walked into the room as Rose hovered over the lifeless corpse. She twisted the blade in the Jackal's skull and then forcefully ripped it out. She wiped the purple blood drenched blade on her pant leg, and jammed her combat knife into its sheath.
"Move people." Wesley softly muttered to the team as he walked into the room. Time was still crucial, but he was wondering what had happened. The team had gathered around Rose and she was hovering over a dead jackal. Marks took point and lead the fire team through the rest of the building as Rose picked up her battle rifle and helmet. "What happened?"
Rose adjusted the strap on her helmet and replied; "I got my first kill."
Wesley saw the wicked gleam in her eyes. All of Rose's fears were gone, and he could see that she was now anxious. Very few marines actually stared into the eyes of the enemies after they had made the kill. Rose had peered into her victim's eyes as it died, and it left her with a sense of gratification. Death is not the type of thing someone should enjoy seeing, no matter how angry they are. Wesley didn't like the look in Rose's eyes, but he ignored it, for now. Wesley and his fire team pushed on and eventually reached their destination, which was the rear of the Brute formation.
* * *
Eric stepped up and put a round into a Brute's thick hide. The beast seemed unaffected by the shots and pointed his Brute shot at Eric's position. Two massive blasts exploded just beyond the smoldering car that Eric was hiding behind, and the explosion tossed him back. His team rallied to his aid and buried the Brute under constant fire. Eric sprang to his feet and ignored the ringing in his ears. The Brutes were pushing hard, and the Jackals were putting up an impressive defense. Eric's team was at a stand still, but that was all they wanted to do. They were buying time and it had paid off.
Explosions began to scatter throughout the Brute's formation, and their line was broken. Jackals began screaming and running in all directions. The Brutes began to turn on each other, thinking that their own team was shooting at them, and by the time they realized what was happening their numbers were cut in half. Brutes fell lifeless to the ground as Wesley's quick eye sliced his sniper rounds through their heads with pinpoint precision. Eric spotted the signal, a red light flashing at the rear of the Brutes formation. He pulled out his light stick and replied to the signal. His com would have been much easier to use, but orders were orders. During firefights the com channels were to remain closed until the area was secured. This was because the covenant was notorious for sniffing UNSC radio bands.
"Move in, leathernecks!" Eric shouted. The Brutes were pinned down and surrounded. Wesley and his sniper rifle put down any Brutes with heavy weapons, and his team charged the rear of the Brute's lines. Jackals tried to take cover behind their shields, but found it nearly impossible as gunfire came from front and behind.
Eric led his fire team and he quickly readjusted his aim. With three quick bursts from his rifle he split the heads of two Brutes and a Jackal. The Brutes were hard to take down, but head shots made them as weak as Grunts. Eric took cover and reloaded his rifle as the rest of his team pushed on. He then turned and continued his charge and spotted the second fire team coming from the opposite side of the Brute's formation. Oddly enough, Rose was leading the charge.
Rose fired her battle rifle as best she could, and while her aim was not the best, she made up for it with aggression and repetitive shots. She emptied a clip into a Brute and it crumbled under its own weight. Another Brute began to pound the ground in frustration and charged at Rose.
The Brute was barreling toward her with a mad rage, but Rose never took her eyes off of the massive beast. She popped the empty clip from the riffle and let it freefall to the ground. She reached around to her ammo pouch and pulled out another magazine. She smoothly jammed the fresh clip into the rifle and ripped down the hammer. Other marines were firing into the beast's hide, but the enraged Brute ignored the burning in its flesh and growled with determination to kill the human that was in its sights.
Wesley spotted the Beast as it ran toward Rose, but his sniper rifle was empty. He struggled to get another clip out and angrily cursed under his breath that he let Rose run out into combat.
Eric ran through the enemy line as he watched Rose reload her rifle. He kicked a nearby jackal and ran passed it. The other marines were supplying Rose with cover fire but the Brute simply ignored the shots. Eric ran as hard and as fast as he could. He pulled up his rifle and took aim, but he could only get a clear shot at the Brutes back, which would only piss off the beast more. Eric knew that only a head shot would drop the enraged beast, and even though every marine in Wesley's team was shooting at it, it would take several rounds to kill it. He cursed to himself that he didn't warn his squad about how to bring down Brutes.
Rose released the hammer and the rifle's ammo counter sprang to life. Thirty-six displayed on the screen and Rose raised the gun. Taking aim at the massive ball of fur and muscle that was about to steam roll her into the pavement. Rose roughly calculated the beast's weight and speed. It was coming at her fast and it would surely kill her if it hit her. The Beast lunged out and Rose rolled to her side. The Brute missed Rose completely and couldn't stop its forward momentum. Rose raised her gun and fired several rounds into the creature's side, but it continued to turn and ran back at her. It was fast but too heavy to make sharp turns. Rose took aim again but a sudden snap rang past her ears and the Brute fell to the ground lifeless. Rose turned and saw Eric lower his gun slightly, but he quickly turned around and rejoined the fight.
"Nice shot, Sarge!" Marks shouted as he ran to Eric's side. The two teams converged on the remaining Brutes and Jackals and made short work of them. Rose spotted two Jackals trying to flee the scene and cautiously took aim. She zoomed in on the scope and took aim at the Jackal's heads; killing them from a distance. She didn't waste ammo that time, and realized that her aim would have to improve if she was going to live through the war. Wesley came down from his snipping position and jogged to her side.
"You ok?"
"Just a little pissed I've never shot a gun before, and I thought it would be easier. I really need to work on my aim." Rose leaned the riffle barrel onto her shoulder and walked toward Eric and the rest of Red Squad. Wesley was taken back by her words. He expected her to be fearful, because she should have realized that she almost died. One swipe from that Brute's massive arms would have been enough to kill her, but she seemed unaffected by it. Wesley straddled his sniper rifle over his shoulder and followed Rose toward the squad.
"Hey Sarge, the area is secure." Wesley shouted. "And I got six kills; all Brutes!" Wesley laughed.
"You want a prize?" Eric replied sarcastically. "Fan out the squad and clean up any stragglers. Belinski, get your ass over here with that scrambler." A young white man with red hair trotted to Eric's side. He shouldered his radio and pressed a series of key strokes.
Wesley stepped up to the rest of the squad and stated, "Fan out by two's and cover a one block radius from the LZ. Sound off if you hear anything." The marines paired off and headed into all directions. Rose stuck with Wesley and they walked directly up the road where they had started their attack on the Brute's rear flank. They stepped over the fallen bodies of brutes and jackals in silence, and kept a sharp lookout for covenant reinforcements. It was dark in the shadows of the buildings and Wesley peered into the depths of them. He and his team had just left that dark alley so he wasn't too concerned with it. Wesley wanted the sun to come up and began to feel a little worried about the darkness. Rose remained silent and thumbed the safety of her rifle on and off.
"All signals scramble, sarge." Belinski stated. "You can transmit now." Eric placed his hand on his helmet and tapped a small, nearly invisible, button.
"This is Red Squad to platoon, all's clear. The LZ is an open skirt, fall in anytime." There was no reply, but suddenly eight pelicans appeared in the sky. The dark exteriors of the pelicans meshed with the nighttime sky. They turned on their exterior lights, making themselves visible as they descended onto the landing zone. The first pelican landed and several marines sprinted from the ramp. Lieutenant Jason then stepped out and saluted Eric. The other pelicans landed and begin dropping their heavy cargo of tanks and warthogs, before they too descended to the ground.
"Damn good job." Jason shouted. "Any casualties?"
"About three wounded with minor plasma burns in my fire team. Not sure about Wesley's team. Nobody seemed severally injured, so we can patch them up after the area is secure. The squad held up pretty fine considering this was their first real battle."
"What about the woman?" Jason questioned. "She's never really trained for this."
"Rose? No need to worry about her. She had a close call back there, but she's tough. She can hold her own." He looked over the area and spotted Wesley and Rose surveying the dark alleys. He could barely see them through the dimly lit street of the city, but he could recognize Rose's hips a mile away. She was walking casually, which Eric thought was odd considering the battle that just happened. Her loose sway meant that she was relaxed, and no longer scared.
"Call in your officres, Eric." Jason quickly stated. "I got some news, for your squad." Eric looked at Jason with a crooked gleam, because he knew what was coming next. Most likely, Jason had already received news from the higher ups, and it was probably a new mission.
Eric tapped his helmet com twice and stated, "Wesley, Rose, Peters, and Hicks, fall back to the LZ for debriefing, double time. Red squad, maintain perimeter check." Eric tapped the com again and it went dead. Eric spotted Rose and Wesley as they approached, and he noticed that Rose had purple blood stains on her armor. She had a really close call, but luckily came out of it alive.
Eric walked closer, "You'll never get that stain out. Any injuries?"
"Only my pride, sir." Rose stated with a smile. She was glad to hear Eric say something nice, instead of hearing him bark orders the way he had been for the past fourteen hours. She wanted him to be proud of her, but the fact that he saved her from the brute began to nag at her. She didn't want to slow him down, and she didn't want Eric to get injured because he was trying to save her. She didn't want to be weak.
The more Rose thought about being the weak link in the squad, the heavier her expression became. She slowly started to sulk. Eric noticed the change in expression, but for now he had to ignore it. Sergeant Justin Rodgers of Blue squad ran up to the group and nodded to Jason.
"Now that we're all here." Jason added. Jason was looking nervous, and Eric could see that he was bothered about something. "We'll need to clear this area for at least three more blocks. The UNSC wants to use this area as a stronghold to take back this covenant beachhead. We've got a division in route, so it's going to get crowded here. But you'll be glad to know that we already have our next assignment." Jason nervously scratched the back of his head.
Eric smirked, "Don't hold out on me now, Jason. Just say it." Jason pointed toward the center of the city and then up into the sky. His finger stopped on the smooth lines of the covenant cruiser.
"The UNSC wants that ship. Our Platoon has been ordered to breach it, and seize command. But, we're getting assistance from the UNSC brass. Apparently, they think we need help."
"Well that's just great." Eric knew that going against a covenant cruiser, and its full compliment, was a suicide mission. "Are they going to pull a Spartan out of their hat?"
"Yup." Jason grinned. Eric could only cock his eyebrow in disbelief.
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