Through his partially shattered & torn helmet, Lieutenant Kennedy felt the hot, dry wind of the Tsavo Highway desert ruins whisk over the exposed right jaw line, left eye & cheek of his face as he approached the descending Pelican. As he surveyed the scene of the resulting carnage Kennedy saw men torn by Brute Spiker rounds. Kennedy stopped at one knelled medic who was looking over one of His ODST, he placed his hand on the medics shoulder; the medic turned & shock his head as he lowered in. "I'm sorry sir, he didn't make it." the medic exclaimed, Kennedy could hear the sorrow in the medics voice; Hucksly was one of his best men.
Kennedy slowly turned his attention to the now touched down Dropship, he placed one foot on the ramp & waited for his men, wounded or other wise, to board before his other foot lifted slowly off the sand & dirt. The Lieutenant hit the door switch & slowly walked to an empty seat in the Pelicans bay as it closed. He heard some of the men shouting with joy over the victory at Tsavo Highway, but he mainly heard the cries of the wounded. "We did the best we could." He heard one of his Squad Leaders say; as he nodded back Kennedy slowly removed his badly damaged helmet, wondering how he survived that Spike Grenade with only a damaged helmet.
The men turned as they heard the Lieutenant's helmet clack against the metal floor of the Pelicans bay, they all stopped their joyous shouting as they saw their "El Tee" hunched over, his arms resting on his knees with his pistol in his left hand. They all felt his depression as the pelican returned to the Dawn. That day they all lost someone close, but they had to pull it together for the next op. They were heading through the Ark Portal.
(this side story is best read if you listen to "Wake me when you need me" by Martin O'Donnell in the Halo 3 original soundtrack)