Author's Note: LOL, I've always wanted to write a Halo story! Dedicated to my buds. (Changed your names, but you should still be able to recognize them.)
P.S.
Nellz is in the second chapter.
Disclaimer: I do not own Halo.
A Thousand to One
By EnigmaticPseudonym
Chapter One- Kilo Team
Location: Onboard USS Decisive Force
Time: 1645 Hours, Columbus System Time
The view from the Observation Deck was magnificent. Columbus Seven was a sight to behold.
The planet hovering in front of the approaching human fleet was dotted from pole to pole by hundreds of cities. Coniferous forests would grow in the expanses between the cities. Columbus Seven rotated on its axis at the same speed as its orbit around the sun. One half was perpetually bathed in light, and the other was covered in a velvet cape of darkness. The cities within the borders of the Yin (Dark) Hemisphere were powered by the Yang (Light) Hemisphere who had built acres of solar mirrors and panels.
Due to this arrangement, the whole planet would glitter. The sunbathed half would shine as if a light had been directed at a diamond jeweler's display case, and the dark half would glow with the beauty of fireflies in May. Both were divided by a thin band of lavender twilight that encircled the planet. Columbus was to the UNSC, as Stalingrad was to Josef Stalin during the 1940's—it symbol of the might of the United Nations Space Command. Losing the planet to the Covenant was not an option.
"Covenant have entered the Colombus Seven's orbit. General Quarters! All UNSC Marines prepare to land on the planet's surface."
Location: Surface of Columbus-Seven (Evacuated Planet-Wide City)
Time: 1700 Hours CST
Since the drop from orbit two hours ago, the chaos around Sergeant Jonathan Mates morphed into a steady rhythm of ra-tat-tats, booms, and agonizing screaming. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers around him were receiving an incredible beating; plasma discharges were met head-on with torsos and limbs, burning most of them beyond recognition. Men he had trained with were being ripped apart by the Covenant forces defending the planet.
All he could do to prevent an unwanted release of stomach fluids (as his helmet retained liquid sickeningly well) was grip harder on his M7 submachine gun and focus his attention on the HUD NAV Marker that pointed out the ODST's next objective—hovering directly above a heavily fortified Covenant forward outpost. It used to be the city hall of Sector Seven, isolated from the rest of the city by a road and a band of grass 50 meters wide that encircled the building. Now, it provided a major obstacle for the first wave of Marines dropped on Columbus-Seven's surface.
He swept the avenue before him with a calm eye. Buildings ranging from two stories to skyscrapers lined the destroyed stretch of asphalt. This particular sector off the planet reminded him of his home city back on Earth, New Manila. In fact, a quarter of the planet was blanketed with concrete, steel, and now, craters. It was a perfect kill zone since the buildings bordering the road provided overlapping arches of fire, but the Hell Jumpers of the archaic 101st Division had their tenacity to thank for as they secured the sector block by block.
Sgt. Mates sprinted towards the heavily fortified objective trying to gain ground. Molten slag and destroyed vehicles forced the ODST to constantly veer left and right. At about 100 meters from the objective, he was met with a wall of heated plasma that threatened to burn him off of the face of the planet. In a heartbeat, Jon dove behind an overturned Warthog to dodge the stream of plasma fire from a Shade. His helmet clacked against the scorched hood of the recon vehicle. He switched his COM's frequency to the one used by his squad; Jon had lost radio and visual contact with them when the HEV pod hit the ground.
"Kilo-Two, status report!" the sergeant roared. Private First Class Charles Franc answered the call first.
"Kilo-Two-Four. Charlie here, sir," a voice whispered over the radio. "I have a clear line of sight from my position to the Covenant stronghold. Position is SW150-20 from the objective. Awaiting further orders." The sniper from Michigan was the quietest in the squad, talking only when he has to and making a noise only under direct orders. His personality made him a natural for becoming a sniper. Behind the scope of a modified-for-stealth SRS99C-S2 AMB Sniper Rifle, you'll never see or hear him, even if it's too late. Jon placed a NAV marker 50 meters South West, 20 meters up.
"Good to finally hear from you, Charles."
Another ODST jumped over the corpse of a dead Elite and joined the Sergeant behind the Warthog. The newcomer fired the remaining rounds in his M7 SMG over the makeshift cover and quickly reloaded. Corporal Tommy Lai nodded at his team leader. Although the Taiwanese-American was second in command of the squad, he focused most of his attention on gunning down any enemy, be it an Elite or a Hunter, in his way.
"Kilo-Two-Two, reporting. Glad to see you're still alive, Jon," he said. Tommy tilted his head in the direction of Charles. "Hey! Charles-man is still alive! I haven't seen you since we boarded the Decisive Force a month ago. You still don't have a girlfriend?"
"Wow," Charlie replied in a sarcastic note. "You made it after the drop. Should I spare this planet of your existence and finish you off?"
"No need," Tommy replied jokingly. "The Covenant'll do it for you." Charles, two city blocks down the avenue, shifted his aim from the Corporal's head to his previous target: a Spec-Ops Elite manning a Shade.
"Wait a minute," Jon whispered. "Where's Law and North?" Tom shrugged in reply.
The familiar whisper from Charles crept out of both Jon's and Tom's helmet speakers. "I've found them; they're on a 'Hog and are heading towards you."
As the familiar drone of a Warthog's engines began to crescendo, both the sergeant and the corporal stood up. Their heads rotated left and right to find the source of the sound. They looked at the direction they came from and hoped to see the familiar green chassis of the light recon vehicle.
"Uhh…Sarge?"
"What is it Marine?"
"With all due respect, sir… Put your ass on the ground." Charlie shifted his aim from his incoming squad mates to the roof deck of the city hall. The rifle in his hand murmured Pzzt when he pulled the trigger, forcing a bullet to rip through the air at sub-sonic speeds. A Jackal holding a beam rifle lost sight of his target—the driver of the Warthog heading away from the city hall—as a 14.5 mm armor piercing round drilled a hole through his skull.
Both Lai and Mates followed the sniper's command and crouched down. A warthog zoomed over their heads—almost smashing the Hell Jumpers' heads into a mushy pulp. The vehicle performed a 180 degree-turn when the wheels hit the ground, skidded to a halt, and revealed the driver and gunner. Private First Class Richard Northton turned his head and faced the man behind the mounted M41 LAAG.
"Told you we could clear that 'Hog!" Rich said in a light British accent.
PFC Midas Lau, a Hong Kong-born ODST, knocked his fist against Rich's. "Hell yeah! I owe you a beer!" Both began to laugh heartily, at least until they saw who were behind the 'obstacle'. Both men apologetically waved at their team leader and drove the recon vehicle next to Sgt. Mates. They hopped down from the vehicle, shouldered their M7's, and approached Jon in a low crouch.
"Kilo-Two-Three, ready to get some!" exclaimed Midas.
"Kilo-Two-Five, alive and kickin'," Rich added.
"Glad you could join us, Midas. You too, Rich," Jon said as the knuckles of his gauntlets met those of Midas and Rich. Tommy 'greeted' the two as well.
Rich keyed his COM, "Hey Charlie! Thanks for covering us back there."
"No problem. It's what I do," Charlie replied in his signature ice-cool tone.
"Sarge! What the hell happened to 'ya? You look half-dead!" joked Midas.
"HEV pod ricocheted off the side of a building and crashed sideways onto the street. Good enough explanation?"
Laughter erupted from the squad. A strong brotherhood was formed when they first met at a Middle School in the Shanghai Star System. They supported each other through thick and thin and were inseparable. At least until the Covenant glassed the planet and their families were forced by the Cole Protocol to perform blind jumps all over Human-controlled space.
A decade later, the five ended up in the same company after signing on to the Hell Jumpers. Command quickly saw their potential and placed the men in the same squad. Individually, they were normal soldiers made of flesh and bone. Together, they constantly defied the odds and were considered as one of the best Spec-Ops squads the "Screaming Eagles" could offer. They earned the designation "Kilo-Two" which dictated the odds they preferred—a Thousand to One.
"In trouble… Delta Foxtrot… One-Niner-Zero… please respond," cried a female voice. The message ended in static. All five members of Kilo Team stood up to try to get a better signal.
Tommy's forehead crinkled in deep thought. "Delta Foxtrot One-Nine… That's the designation of bridge personnel on the Decisive Force."
"My god. That means that the DF went down!" Jon frantically zeroed-in on the frequency of DF-190 and activated his COM. "This is Kilo-Two-One, Sgt. Jonathan Mates. Please respond Delta Foxtrot."
"Kilo-2-1, this is the pilot Lieutenant Liz Ferdinand."
"What happened?"
"The Decisive Force received massive damage in orbit and everyone onboard had to abandon ship."
"Is anyone else with you?"
"We have Admiral Tuye too-yeh) and most of the bridge personnel here with us. We're holed up in a bank near the Western side of Sector Nine. The Covenant are shooting everything that they have at us."
"Stay put, we're in Sector 7. We'll be right over."
"Son, this is Admiral Harrison Tuye. You have to get here as fast as you can. We have information stored in our AI that could help turn the tide against these Covenant SOB's."
"Roger that, Admiral, sir. Kilo-2-1 out." Sgt. Mates configured his objectives list. The NAV marker over city hall disappeared and reappeared over Sector 9.
The squad formed a semi-circle around the sergeant. Tommy was the first to speak up. "What's the game plan, Jon?"
"The bridge personnel of the Decisive Force have been forced to use an escape pod to land on the surface. They have taken cover in a bank within Sector 9. The Admiral has ordered us to recover the crew of the DF and the AI in his possession."
Midas nodded to show his understanding. He said, "So it's a search-and-rescue op, then?"
"That's right. I'll take Midas in this overturned Warthog, and Tommy will take Rich in the Warthog you guys brought over." He drew two squares five centimeters apart and drew three lines bridging the two. "These three lines represent the major highways connecting the sectors. The highways will be heavily guarded, so we'll have to take the old mining route. ETA in Sector Nine will be 1743 Hours."
"What are we waiting for?" Rich asked. "Let's get to it!"
"Charles, join us at our current position. Pick up an SMG along the way while you're at it."
"Roger that, on my way."
"Kilo Team, Rules of Engagement will be 'Infiltrate.' Silencers only and do not fire until fired upon. Move out!"
TO BE CONTINUED…