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Derelict, Shadows of Threshold: Prologue
Posted By: Steve Geibe (AKA LoneSniperSG)<LoneSniperSG@yahoo.com>
Date: 7 March 2004, 4:10 AM
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0500 Hours, July 18th, 2552 (Military Calendar) / Sigma Octanus IV, Firebase Charlie
Sergeant S. M. Geibe peered out of his tent. He squinted through the haze surrounding the base, and could barely make out C'te d' Azur's skyscrapers in the distance.
Firebase Charlie was located near an abandoned hi-rise apartment complex, six kilometers north of the city. The complex itself was one that had been bombed out, to say the least. The northern face of the building was so badly damaged that it was a miracle the structure was still standing. In the middle of the building, a hole had been blasted clear though, probably from a plasma mortar.
Lieutenant Hawkins had given clear standing orders that no more than two people were to be anywhere in the building at one given time.
A wise order, given the situation.
Geibe stretched and yawned then retreated into his tent. He threw on his fatigues, his boots, then grabbed his tags and hat. He pulled the bucket hat on to a snug fit, and dropped his tags around his neck.
One set was his; they were shiny and pristine. The others were tarnished and old. They were his father's tags.
He, like his father, had joined up with the Marine Corps the first chance he got. One difference, his father had fought rebels, pirates and traitors. Steve was fighting a totally new enemy, which threatened all of humanity; the Covenant.
He slung his rifle over his shoulder and snapped his holster to his belt. He thought for a moment, then set the rifle back down near the entrance to his tent.
The ground was soaking wet and muddy. Geibe's boots squished through the rain-soaked park. He stopped and looked for other Marines, saw none, and continued on his way to the Mess, where the smell of breakfast beckoned to him.
He scarfed a quick meal of eggs, bacon and flapjacks and coffee, then returned to his tent.
He saw a flash of orange armor inside. A Covenant Grunt had somehow managed to sneak in. Geibe slipped through the tarp and sneaked up behind the Grunt. He kicked the little thing in the ass, and sent him to the floor. The creature was weaponless and stared at Geibe like a little kid. Geibe drew his pistol and aimed it straight at the bastard.
"What the hell are you doing here?" He shouted.
"Please! Don't shoot!" The Grunt said, in butchered English.
Geibe clicked on his COM and whispered into it. A minute later, a Private came in behind him, saw the Grunt, then leveled his rifle at the thing. The Grunt panicked and flopped to the floor, covering its head. Geibe kicked it in the side and it squeaked. The other Marine handed him a narq-injector. Geibe stabbed the injector into the Grunt's skin, tranquilizing it.
He grabbed the body and heaved it outside in the mud. The Private walked up behind the Grunt and shot it. He picked up the body and threw it atop a pile of other bodies. "I really hate this shit." Geibe muttered.
Geibe stomped on the accelerator, and the LRV's tires screeched on the concrete street. Plasma bolts flew over his head as the Covenant tried to nail his 'hog. The Gunner in back was able to take care of most of the infantry, but neither of them was prepared for what lay up ahead.
Two Covenant mortar tanks hovered around, spewing their mortars around. In front of them was a line of Grunts and Jackals, and the bastards were lined up tightly. Geibe gritted his teeth and sent the Warthog racing at the line, and the tanks.
Private Hathorne fired his S-2 AM at the line, taking down Jackals and Grunts like they were toys.
Two mortars screamed in at them. Geibe swerved just in time to make them miss. A wave of heat washed over them as the mortar slammed into the ground, two meters behind them.
He hauled the wheel over and turned onto an adjoining street. Plasma Scoring and blast craters were everywhere. On the side, he saw an M808B Scorpion. The machine gun was slag, but it was otherwise intact. He steered the hog in behind it and got out.
"Gary, you're with me. Hathorne, you're on the side," he shouted.
The two marines obeyed and jumped in.
A mortar flew in at them, and Geibe froze. "Shit, this is it."
By some sheer grace of god, a large slab of duracrete fell at the right moment and blocked the incoming mortar.
Two SkyHawks screamed overhead, and the wraiths detonated in an inferno of plasma and fire, as the Scorpion Missiles impacted on their armor.
The tanks were strong, but the missile was stronger.
The 50mm cannons on the SkyHawks blazed as their gunners made pulp of the Covenant Infantry. The line tried to fire back, but they could do nothing against AA rounds. Methane tanks exploded and Jackals were cut in half.
Geibe looked up and saw one SkyHawk burst into flames and crash into the second. They slammed into the ground, atop the carnage they had just wrought.
A hidden Wraith Tank had taken its chance at a shot, and got lucky.
Geibe fired up the Scorpion and navigated to the source of the mortar. They found atleast fifty Covenant ground forces massed in a small plaza.
Overhead, dropships roared in and prepared to unload their troops. Geibe didn't let them have that chance. He took over weapons control and fired the main cannon at one of the ships. The round tore into the cockpit hull and detonated inside, killing the pilot.
The dropship fell, and locked with another, dragging it to the ground as well.
The ships mushroomed upon impact and wiped out a third of the infantry. The tank pilot fired at the ODST's. The tank couldn't move in time, forcing the Marines to bail out.
Geibe barely got out in time before the Scorpion erupted into flame and molten metal.
The remaining infantry spotted the three Marines and charged, plasma weapons at the ready.
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