One Big Hellhole
Author's Note: Hey people. My first EVER fanfic, hope you guys enjoy. Everything here is just off the top of my head about Halo and one lost ODST... I don't own Halo.
Happy reading, and please rate and review!
Seriously. Do it. It's my first time, any help would be very much appreciated.
I.
The alarms in the HEV, or Human Entry Vehicle, blared and flashed red, giving out a blood-red glow inside the cramped interior. I tried to get the straps that secured me to my jump seat loose, but it was useless. The whole damn unit was in deep shit ever since we launched from the Ukulele.
The ceramic skin of the pod had peeled away, exposing me to the elements. I was kitted in full ODST armor, but the slipstream still tore at my helmet, trying to wrench my head upwards.
God dammit...
*Flashback*
"Thirty seconds to launch, squad three. Stand by." I anxiously waited, twitching in my jump seat, desperately wanting the thrill of free fall. After a while, I heard a shout. "Squad three, go go go!" The Lieutenant in charge of the drop bay's voice was enough for me. I bashed my whole hand onto the big red button marked "Launch", a big, sloppy grin on my face.
The HEV shuddered violently, and then I felt the acceleration of thrusters as the pod dropped free from the Ukulele. I couldn't look back because of the tight straps holding me to my jump seat - there was no window up top anyway - but I knew the rest of the squad had dropped right behind me.
Two displays came online right in front of me, and I tapped my hand with ease over the control panel that was on the armrest, having done this many times. First Lieutenant Thomas Carter's helmet showed on one, Staff Sergeant Leslie Blake's showed on the other.
The squad leader had briefed us already aboard the ship. The mission was practically suicide. But we all knew that when we volunteered for this act. Now, the squad leader was giving out orders over the team freq. The pod's comm. gear squealed slightly, now that we were slipping through the beginning of Utarus' atmosphere.
"Alright, listen up, boys and girls. This is what we're gonna do. We are going to hit the dirt, take that rickety-ass Covie base down there away from those Sons-of-Bitches, and slowly spread out from there. Oorah?" The squad leader knew how to spice up the Helljumpers' mood, as vague as he was.
There was a refined chorus of "OORAH!".
We fell through the upper atmosphere of our target planet. I looked at the readings from my HEV's displays and my HUD, making sure there was no problem. I was eavesdropping on a "private" conversation two team members were having on the team freq.
"So anyway, this bitch with the thick glasses walks right up to me, looks me in the eye, and says, 'you have no idea what you have just done.' I just stared at her when suddenly-" the Marine's voice was cut off into static. What the hell-
My eye was already glued to the radar screen showing the blips of my teammates around me. One blinked off, followed swiftly by two others. Then, the pod next to me exploded. The shockwave knocked my pod slightly off course, and the computer compensated.
"Triple A fire, brace yourselves!" someone shouted.
I hastily gripped the two control sticks, jerking the pod sluggishly away from another burst of Covenant Anti-Aircraft Artillery fire. The HEVs were never meant for maneuvering, but it had to be done.
Blips were still blinking off the radar. My pod tumbled end over end, the air disrupted by the AA fire, as well as my own speed.
Something must've fried some of my maneuvering thrusters, as I soon found I couldn't slow down that well. There was a muffled whump as the drag chute deployed, albeit a bit late as my pod had already dropped to 2000 feet. The ceramic skin that coated the outside of the pod was peeling away from the immense heat.
Only a handful of ODSTs remained. Staff Sergeant Blake's display had gone dark, and the squad leader's visor was cracked.
"Helljumpers, hit the ground as fast as you dare! We need to get down there ASAP!" As if we didn't already know...
Still, I keyed in the override code into the HEV's computer. The drag chute jettisoned early, the rapid landing procedure kicking in. The numbers were the absolute limit for a human, and many died in the impact. But every second we were in the air was another chance for those AA guns to blow us out of the sky.
Suddenly, more AA guns opened up. The squad leader screamed, a mere split second before his display went dark.
All remaining friendly blips winked off the display just as I wrenched the control sticks sideways, with half my pod being blown away as I did so. So much for that Jackhammer missile launcher.
The squad leader's scream was still vivid in my mind.
*Flashback ends*
I tore out my combat knife from the side of my suit, finally able to cut myself free from the jump seat. With every display in the pod fried, I only had my HUD to tell me my pod's status. The altimeter read 500 feet. I had seconds left. With myself free, I hastily wound several of the torn out wires together, not an easy task with gloves on. I did it, a moment before impact.
I barely felt the decelerating burn from the pod's thrusters before the impact knocked me unconscious.
101010101
I woke, coughing out some of the dust coating the inside of my throat. My whole body ached. With a groan, I sat up, carelessly bumping my head against the pod's cover.
Wincing from the pain, I looked out the front window. Or what was left of it. It seemed clear. Looking around to see what gear I had left, I tried to contact the Ukulele.
"Ukulele, this is Corporal Kenneth Martin of ODST squad three. Our squad's been annihilated, over." My suit didn't seem to be working too well, or maybe the Covies were jamming transmissions. Something came back in reply, but it was too garbled for me to make any sense out of it.
"Ukulele, this is Martin. Did not make any sense out of your last transmission. The Covenant is probably jamming transmissions. Will advise when appropriate. Martin out." It was useless to try and make any sense out of their reply.
I grabbed the M7S submachine gun sitting next to my seat, and after checking it for damage, I started to prime the explosive bolts to blow the pod open. I needed my spare gear, and as far as I could tell, I was alone.
The hatch exploded with a bang. I hopped out of the pod, sweeping the SMG around and covering the immediate outside. No hostiles. I took a while to wrench the MA5C assault rifle from its compartment inside the pod before approaching the left side of the pod, wanting to get my survival pack and giving my armor a quick check on the way.
There was not much damage, apart from a few scruffs and dings that ruined the light woodland camouflage, and some blackened areas from heat. The suit was still vacuum-proof, and would do fine in a firefight. Stats winked on in the display's corners, slightly slower than usual, and a large compass appeared.
After retrieving the gear, I left the right side untouched, partly because I knew the compartment there held only a Jackhammer missile launcher and several missiles, and partly because I knew that had been blown off by a burst of plasma.
Consulting my satellite image issued by ONI, I visually and electronically verified our original target, not entirely trusting the radiation-exposed electronics. I slung my rifle over my shoulder, beginning the moderately long trek to the Covenant base.
After walking for two hours, the Covenant base was in sight, and it was crawling with Grunts and Jackals.
The base was fairly straightforward in construction. There was an outer perimeter wall, surrounded by energy shields, and there was a large structure in the middle, the center of operations. Guards coated almost every possible advantage point. They would be able to see me coming from a mile away. To get in, I needed a distraction.
101010101
Captain James Marshall of the Ukulele was pissed. He had lost pretty much an entire squad of ODSTs, and the one man who was left couldn't hear his transmissions. Damn the Covenant, he thought.
He did his best not to show it, though, like any good captain should. "Ops, give me a sitrep on Martin's status!" he barked.
The Lieutenant manning the Operations Station, Second Lieutenant Nicole Harper, brushed her blond hair away from her face, typing frantically at her keyboard. "Signal's weak, sir. He seems to be getting ready to attack the Covenant base." Harper tapped away, trying to clear the interference. "Wait, incoming transmission. Patching it through."
Martin's voice, laced with static, rang out in the Captain's earpiece. "Ukulele, request EMP pulse, over. I'm hoping it would get through their shields and bring down their electronics." The transmission ended.
The Ukulele was a prototype frigate, with modest armament, light armor and powerful engines. It also had lots of sensitive stealth technology. It could sneak by an entire Covenant battle group if needed.
One of the features of the Ukulele was to emit either an EMP blast to disable enemy electronics in space, or fire a tight beam EMP directed anywhere. Martin needed that tight beam quickly, or it could cost him his life.
The bridge crew was apparently oblivious to the situation, however. They were staring at the Captain, waiting for orders.
"What the hell are you all staring at? You know the importance of this mission! Give the man his EMP pulse, now!"
The bridge crew snapped into motion, each mumbling an "Aye aye, sir."
Captain Marshall sat back, fingering his temples. This mission was supposed to be a milk run. Damn ONI and their shitty intel.
101010101
I was still waiting for the EMP pulse when I heard footsteps behind me. I turned, raising my SMG.
There was a small patrol of Grunts, each staring at me, plasma pistols glowing a sickly green. Their methane harnesses seemed to hiss with every breath, and I heard loud pants mixed in. One with a shining red harness, unaware I was an enemy, stared at me with its beady eyes.
I opened fire, hosing down three and jumping behind cover before the plasma flew. The 48-round magazine worked wonders in clearing large groups of enemies. Bright luminescent blue blood splattered onto the forest floor. Meanwhile, I heard a growl from an Elite.
I popped my head out of cover, reloading as I did so. There were now about three times as many Grunts and one rookie Elite in blue armor. Shit. This was going to require some thinking.
In this situation, one ODST against a dozen Covenant soldiers did not look promising. The base would be alerted anyway, so that meant I could go loud. I removed the MA5C from my back, a plan already formed in my head.
Jumping out of cover, I threw a Lotus anti-tank mine like a discus into the heart of the enemy formation, spraying thunderous suppressive fire. I ran into a little rock wall and took cover, throwing two fragmentation grenades for good measure while reaching for a fresh magazine.
The timing was perfect. I had taken down two Grunts with the assault rifle, and the three explosive devices exploded at the same time. Twin blasts of thunder coupled with one earsplitting roar reverberated through me, the shockwave shaking me to the core. I stepped out, assault rifle at the ready.
The Elite lay in a pool of purple blood, half his body blown away. Dead Grunts littered the floor, and a few struggled to rise, squawking in fear. I picked them off with a few bursts from my assault rifle.
Satisfied the area was clear, I slotted a fresh magazine into the assault rifle. Where the hell was that damn EMP pulse?
Just then, there was a large crackle of energy, and the Covie base's shields went out. Perfect. I sprinted straight to the nearest entrance, blasting the few Grunts guarding it into oblivion. I made it through just as the blast doors closed.
I slowly advanced, reloading and sending a transmission to the Ukulele.
10101010101
" Ukulele, this is Corporal Martin. I've made it into the base, looks like that EMP pulse overloaded their electronics pretty bad. I'm heading to the command center, based on the schematics you supplied. Can you make contact, over?"
The Captain keyed the button for the comm. "Corporal, this is Captain Marshall, come in, over."
A moment of silence, then, "I read you, Captain. It sure feels good to hear something on the comm. again." Periodic bursts of gunfire could be heard in the background. "Do you have any idea what to do when I take this base, sir?"
"Hold that thought, Corporal. Keep moving forward. You do whatever you need to take that base. The only thing you need to worry about is that damned Covenant structure that took your whole squad down. Understood?"
"Yes, sir." The Captain's voice had been authoritative, but I thought I detected a small waver in his speech.
"Acknowledged, Corporal. Stay sharp, and don't get killed. Marshall out." The connection cut. The Captain's discomfort was still there. Perhaps this was too much for him to take...
I shook my head clear of the thought. It was time to clean house. Smiling, I stood in front of an inner door, MA5C at the ready.
Author's note: SOOOOOO, whaddya think? Not enough action? Not enough talk? Rate, review, subscribe, I don't care.