Five Brave Souls
This story is dedicated to my friend Dan, who came up with this great story (originally as a machinima), but was never able to get it made before Halo 3 came out .Thanks for letting me be part of the project, and for "novelizing" it.
Disclaimer: I do not own the video game series Halo, or any of the contents of its universe. I only co-own the central characters.
Part 1: The Helljumpers
With an explosion, Private Rowen scored a direct hit on the Ghost. Reloading his M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Launcher, he ducked back behind cover with the other six surviving members of 1st Platoon, Bravo Company of the 502nd ODST Battalion. Of the original 35 Orbital Drop Shock Troopers stationed in the outpost on the city limits, all but thirteen had been killed within two minutes, but four had been killed in action by the mass amounts of Covenant. The main threat was the Brutes. Those damn Brutes. Of the remaining seven soldiers, there were two riflemen and a fire team leader (all armed with the MA5C Individual Combat Weapon System Assault Rifles), the platoon corpsman Crewman Apprentice "Doc" Merven (currently reloading his M7 Caseless SMG), the 2nd Squad's Bravo Team heavy weapons specialist Rowen, the platoon sniper Corporal Ryerson, and the platoon sergeant, Staff Sergeant Cardell (the only survivor using a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle). Currently, these seven ODST's were taking cover in a bombed out building that had served as the armory of the outpost, before the bravo kilos and the golfs showed up.
"Sir, we got a Grunt squad moving up on the left, they're trying to flank us!" cried the fire team leader as he was reloading.
"Dammit!" cried Sergeant Cardell in response as he took down a Jackal. "Alright, here's what we-"
"Sarge! We got a Banshee incoming!" cried Ryerson's voice over the comm. channel. The sniper himself was currently prone on the roof and taking out targets of opportunity when he noticed the enemy air support. Now he was moving into a vent that would provide cover from the Banshee while still giving him a field of fire on the enemy.
"Shit, we gotta open a hole and get outta here." Cardell said as he flicked the charging rod of his rifle. "Corporal, take your men, flank right, and hit the Covvies from the side. Stay under cover, watch out for that Banshee. Move on my mark. Ready?"
"Yes sir!" replied the fire team leader.
"Okay, three, two, one, mark! Covering fire!" With that the three ODST's moved out to the right while Cardell, Merven, and Rowen covered them. Bullets flew, plasma soared, and the firefight continued for several minutes…longer than it should have taken.
"What the hell's takin' them so long?!" Rowen cried as he lifted his Assault Rifle and fired, his rocket launcher currently on his back.
"Corporal Lansom, what's your status, over?" Sergeant Cardell asked into his comm mike. He received only static.
"Ryerson, do read me?" Cardell said into his mike. "Do you have visual on Lansom and his team, over?"
"Negative, Sarge, I have no visual on any friendlies. Just waves of furbags and Grunts, over." Ryerson replied before taking down one of the aforementioned furbags.
"Alright, see if you can move into a position to gain visual, over."
"Roger." Ryerson replied before emerging from his hiding spot and running along the roof and down a set of stars. Now inside, he moved along the hall and past several windows before turning a corner and continuing. Soon, he came to a part of the wall that had been destroyed. Stopping, Ryerson didn't even have to use his scope to see the three new bodies on the ground below. Then, without warning, a bluish purple beam of light and energy flashed before Ryerson, causing him to dive to the wall to his left.
"Sarge, Lansom and his men are dead. The Covvies got a sniper covering this flank. Most likely a Jackal, over."
"Roger that." Sergeant Cardell replied. Turning to Rowen, he asked "How many rockets do you have left?"
"Four, sir."
"Alright, here's the plan," Cardell spoke into his mike, addressing all three of the other survivors. "Ryerson, can you take out that sniper?" Ryerson looked around the debris and noticed a hole in the wall at floor level. Going prone, he had a clear shot at the sniper, who was, in fact, a Jackal.
"Affirmative."
"Good. On my mark, Rowen will take out the enemy air support, you take out that sniper, and Doc will lay covering fire. I'm gonna head for the motor pool, get us a ride, and pick all three of you up Understood?" The replies were all affirmative in that regard.
"Alright, on my mark: three, two, one, mark!" With that, Sergeant Cardell ran out to the left, firing Battle Rifle bursts at the Covenant as he ran. Rowen stepped out far enough to get a view on the Banshee. With a squeeze of the launcher's oversized trigger, the aircraft was blown out of the sky. He then ducked back behind cover and raised his Assault Rifle for obvious reasons. Ryerson applied the appropriate amount of pressure on the trigger to quite literally blow the brains out the back of the Jackal's skull.
Staff Sergeant Cardell darted down an alley and ran, his eyes focused on the general direction of the motor pool, what the men called the "40 car garage". Though he encountered a few Grunts along the way, he was able to make it into the driver's seat of an M831 Troop Transport Warthog without any trouble. Gunning the engine, he maneuvered through the streets at breakneck speed (always taking the time to run down a few Brutes along the way, of course). With a jerk of the steering wheel and a push of the brake, he skidded to a stop directly in front of Merven and Rowen's position (which had been joined by Ryerson while he was gone). The three mounted into the rear seats before Cardell turned the wheel, and gunned down the streets, passing/mowing any Covenant in his way, praying that they never met a Hunter or Fuel Rod Gun equipped Brute along the way. His prayers were granted, and soon, the four ODST's were out of the combat zone, and headed for the HQ.