Pvt. Adam Pivinsky tried not to panic as he felt his HEV launch free of the main ship. In the metal cacoon of the Washington's Last Stand he felt safe, even from the plasma torpedos of the covenant. Somehow as he drifted into space waiting for the metal pod's thrusters to set in he felt like a newborn being cut from its umbilical cord, and all safety that it represented. Pvt. Pivinsky was in no way fresh to combat, he and his unit had fought the Covenant on 4 major ground based conflicts and played major roles in the battle. He had seen his fair share of the war, and the shares of a few other people. No he relished battle, savored the chance to once again feel the adrenaline pumping through his veins, feel the pulse of the rifle as it spat metal death at the enemies of the Human race. He knew that every Covenant soldier that fell under his fire was one more that would not live to kill another Human. His family had been on Harvest, and he'd been fighting ever since to get some fraction of pay-back.
He could feel the thrusters on his HEV kick in, propelling him from the Washington towards Earth. The battle in space was turned in Earth's advantage after a few well placed SHIVA class Nuclear warheads wiped out three covenant flagships, but the odds were far from even. The covenant had launched troop incursions on three major Earth cities, New Moombasa, which from all reports was now nothing but molten metal and slag, New York, and Beijing. The Core had launched immediate counter-attacks, but they were hard-pressed to contain the Covenant, and thats where the ODSTs came in. Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, or Helljumpers as they were more commonly referred to, were sent into the roughest regions of the most dangerous battles. Next to the Spartans they had the best operating record of the entire Core.
But even those battles which they had won seemed insignificant now, as though all the battles they had fought were for naught now that the Covenant had found Earth. Pivinsky shook his head clear of any negative thoughts. Clutching his issued rifle tightly he began to feel the shell of the HEV heat up. Helljumpers were called so because the temperature the HEVs achieved while entering an atmosphere could get upwards of 100 degrees Fahrenheit, sometimes fatally, which is why only the bravest entered the ODST. He heard the voice of his commanding officer, Sgt. Amelia Sanders, come over the ODSTs' com link.
"Do we go head first into battle?" She yelled more then asked. Pivinsky could feel the sweat dripping down his back like a small river. The outer layers of the HEV were beginning to peel away and fall as molten rain to the ground below. Still he fought the heat and drew in a painful breath, in unison with the rest of his squad he yelled back over the com.
"No, we go feet first into hell!" Came the squad's equally enthusiastic reply. Pivinsky could sense the emotional strain in everyone of his teammate's voices, he had been with them for too long to not recognize them. Each one of them was like a close brother or sister, he knew them all. He was riding into battle with his family. They were set to land in a field east of New York, preserved by the city's founders in the decayed region of the city. Records showed that it was at some point a major part of the city, but over the years expansion had made it an empty plot of land. The area once known as "Central Park" was their hot zone. It was a squad of about 30 tough as nails soldiers. Each and every one of them was as eager for the battle as Pivinsky was.
The chutes on the HEV's deployed and their descent slowed. He counted the moments as they fell. 10 seconds, 20 seconds, if there had been a strong Covenant resistance anti-air fire would have blown them down to molecules by now. His pod's warning sirens went off and Pivinsky braced himself. The pod struck solid ground and he swore his teeth shook free for a few moments. The door to the pod opened with a hiss of venting atmosphere and he stepped out into the day. The glare of the sun was dulled by his helmet as he lifted his rifle and surveyed the area in front of him. His teammate's likewise came out of their HEV's broken husks and scanned the surrounding environment. After all were accounted for Sgt. Sanders dropped a NAV point on their helmets scanners. Soon the entire squad met by a large pond, laying down a plan.
All thirty ODSTs hit the ground safely, very fortunate, Pivinsky hoped it was a sign of things to come for this mission. He jumped as a hand landed on his shoulder, slapping him good heartedly. He turned to look into two brilliant green eyes belonging to his best friend Pvt. Maria Mendez. The two of them had been through boot and battle together, and were as close as brother and sister, maybe closer, but the war left Adam no time to think of that.
"Balls lodged up your ass?" She asked with a smile.
"At least now they're safe from Covenant fire." He replied, flashing a smile of his own. The joke was an old one, dating back to their first jump together, but one that they still laughed at.
"Any idea what Sarge has got on tap for today?" She asked looking over the heads of the other soldiers. Of the 30 squad members, 10 were guarding the perimeter, leaving the other 20 to crowd around a single sargeant as she layed down the plan.
"As far as I can tell we're in for a simple HR." Pivinsky replied. HR stood for Hit and Run, which had shown itself to be a good strategy for dealing with the Covenant, dealing enough damage to cripple them but not enough to draw full attention to themselves. Sgt. Sanders came over the Com Link just then, her sharp voice cutting into them all, making them unconciously stand at attention.
"All right ladies and gents, the Covenant have a Scarab walking through good Ol' New York, New York here, and its our mission to take the bastard down." Pivinksy and Maria exchanged looks, a scarab was no easy enemy for a squad of tanks to take down, let alone a squad of Helljumpers. "And before you start bitching like the babies you all are at heart, Intel shows this scarab was injured by a Longsword and is currently inoperational, all we have to do is go in and secure the thing." The entire squad let a collective sigh of relief out. Sanders stood up and started issuing orders.
"We're gonna go as a collective. I want heavy weapons up front and snipers keep to the back, watch the tops of buildings for those lil' Jackal bastards with the beam rifles. Everyone else is to keep overlapping fields of fire clear should we wade into something." The squad acknowledged this and began to spread out. Pivinski and Mendez walked side by side, talking over a private Com Link.
"What kinda cake walk do you think this is gonna be?" Maria asked him as they started from the park. "I mean, if there was a Scarab down don't you think the Covenant would have sent in some sort of Recon by now?" Pivinski checked his Battle Rifle to make sure the chamber was clear before answering.
"I dunno, if there was some kind of trouble I think those spooks up at ONI would have said something." He replied. "I'll admit its weird them just sending in one squad of ODSTs to take a scarab. No tanks or anything..."
"I think theres something about this mission Sarge hasn't told us." She said as the exited the park. The old buildings of New York loomed before them like monoliths of a forgotten time. They had been abandoned long ago, deemed unsuitable to be lived in. Now they were there as a memorial more then anything else, to an age past.
She was about to continue when Adam held up his hand, signaling for silence. Maria fell silent and aimed where he was looking. It was an old alley between two buildings, a green dumpster filled half of it's width. Both of them leveled their rifles. Pivinski looked into the darkness, and saw nothing. Just as he and Mendez were about to turn back he switched his helmet to Infrared. The blazing outline of a simian like creature could be seen in front of the dumpster, looking his way. Without thinking twice Pivinski let a three shot burst out, tearing half of its head off and breaking the Invisibility.
The entire squad fell silent and into ready positions, scanning the area for the source of the fire. Sgt. Sanders ran up to Mendez and Pivinski. Looking down the alley at the fallen Grunt she patted Pivinski on the shoulder and went back to where she was.
"Scan the surrounding alleys for more grunts, switch to Infrared to find the bastards." She said over the Com Link. Mendez and Pivinski walked up to inspect the fallen grunt. There was no sign of a weapon, only an odd sort of communication device. Pivinski picked it up and looked it over.
"No sign that it's a weapon, all thats on here is a map." He said looking at the screen. It appeared to be a map of the ruins of New York, with a single bleeping light on it. Next to the light appeared to be coordinates of some sort. Pivinski stood up and turned, intent on showing it to the Sargeant, when a familiar sound came to his ears. It sounded like a Covenant machine whining, he knew it from somewhere he just couldn't place where. Finally it struck him like a rocket, but before he could say anything the plasma mortar landed in the middle of the formation.
Seven of his squadmates, of his family, were instantly vaporized. The explosion blew a hole in the street the size of a small car and shot molten asphalt into the air, as well as a few ODSTs. They were thrown against the sides of buildings, some were knocked unconcious, while others were awake enough to dive into the nearest alley. Too used the battle to be shocked by the sudden death of his friends, he used the adrenaline fear pumped into him to fuel him for the battle. He and Mendez clung to the wall as the sound of another plasma mortar hit the ground, but there was noone in its path and the only hazard was the molten goo it sent flying through the air.
Pivinsky risked a look around the corner, the road they were on opened up to a courtyard, and judging from the direction of the plasma mortar, a Wraith was lying in wait. A group of Jackals came into view at the end of the road moving in a phalynx formation. Their shields were almost overlapping and a frontal attack would be too dangerous, but only to the unprepared. These weren't fresh-outta-boot Marines, these were tough as the bullets they shot Helljumpers, this was just another exercise. Without breaking cover two ODSTs threw grenades from the alley, they bounced off the walls of the buildings and landed directly behind the Jackals. After the sound of two thumps little bits of Jackal were flying everywhere. Another Marine broke cover and shot down the one who had lived, hitting the Jackal in the back. The bullets tore out of its chest and took half of the alien's innards with it.
It didn't matter how many Jackals the squad killed, the Wraith was still in the courtyard waiting for them.
"Alright, Addler, Brown, move up with those Launchers and take that bastard out. Everyone else give suppressive fire." Came Sgt. Sander's voice over the Com Link. Her voice brought Pivinski back to Earth, reminding him that he was still a Marine, and that he still had a service to perform, even if it was killing Jackals. He and Mendez came out from the alley along as the others came from theirs. All of them had their rifles focused on the entrance to the courtyard moving forward slowly. As they approached the courtyard the ground began to vibrate and a light humming filled the air. Suddenly the Wraith appeared in the opening to the courtyard, its Grave thrusters allowing it to move sideways.
The two mounted autocannons on its nose opened fire immediately, cutting one unfortunate marine in half, and taking a leg from another. Addler and Brown both let their rockets loose without another thought, they left twin trails of smoke and collided with the Wraith in a brilliant explosion of blue fire and thunder. The autocannons were melted by the Wraith exploding in on itself, but through luck or design none of the shrapnel hit the squad. The Sargeant motioned them all forward, carefully they all inched around the fragged tank and into the courtyard.
It was more of a intersection then anything else, but large enough to hold the Wraith tank and give it room to maneuver. The squad had barely moved 10 feet into the square when plasma bolts filled the air. Marines took cover once again, but not to hide, to provide protection while they offered some pain back for the 9 dead ODSTs. Pivinsky and Mendez were behind a broken down car, ducking as melted glass rained down on them. Mendez hid behind the front of the car and fired off six shots and then ducked again.
"Theres about 40 Grunts across there with some Elites." She said grimly. Her and Pivinsky shared a quick look and then, nodding at each other, they broke cover at the same time. Their guns coughed metal death, each of them unloaded 15 shots, and 7 grunts and an Elite fell. There was a thump as a rocket was fired and after the ensuing explosion and screams the courtyard fell silent. The Helljumpers all stood up almost at the same time. The rocket had hit one Elite square in the chest, blowing him apart and providing the building behind him with a nice purple coat of paint. The shockwave had ripped apart the rest of the grunts and they made short work of what remained.
No marines had been killed in the firefight, something Pivinsky assumed had happened with divine intervention. Suddenly a movement to the left caught his eye. An elite clad in red armor appeared in the road they had just left and, seeing the group of humans, threw a plasma grenade. Sensing it was outmatched it then turned and ran. The plasma grenade made a lazy arc before landing square on Pivinsky's shoulder armor. He didn't think, and when he looked back on it later he would wish there had been a camera to witness it. Unstrapping the flat metal armor he hurled it like one would a frisbee. The armor pad flew through the air, the little grenade holding fast as it spun. The metal pad hit the back of the elites head and sunk into the helmet, but before the alien could fathom what had happened the grenade exploded, sending him to paradise.
There were loud Woops! as the marines in the courtyard crowded around him patting him on the shoulder. Too many babbling marines came at him at once to decipher anything, his blood was pounding so loudly in his own ears that he couldn't have heard them anyway. Finally some order was achieved and the Helljumpers moved through the streets as a collective, closer to their destination then before.
Mendez and Pivinksi were farther to the back then before, they both kept their guns aimed into the alleys as they passed, making sure each one was really empty. The squad advanced for another mile, the going slow and boring, but they didn't sustain any more casualties. As they entered another courtyard, this one larger then the last, Sgt. Sanders held up her fist, signaling for a halt. She checked a small scanner she held in her hand and looked around. Finally her confusion became apparent and a ODST approached her.
"What's the sit Sarge?" He asked in a quivering voice, his eyes scanning the buildings around them.
"There's something wrong with my scanner. The Scarab should be downed here, but there isn't any evidence of it." She said. Pivinski looked around the courtyard, saying there wasn't any evidence wasn't quite true. There were large portions of street destroyed where the Covenant machine had walked, just no evidence of it being injured. The entire squad stood in the courtyard watching the area as the Sargeant checked all of her readings again. Mendez was on edge, she fingered her weapon nervously, waiting for some sign of the enemy.
It was Pivinski who noticed it first, a slight tremor in the ground. Pebbles cast about the court yard started to shake as the tremors grew closer. Too late did the squad realize what it was, and in hindsight Pivinski kicked himself for not seeing the signs. It was too late for the squad. The Scarab rounded the corner of a building, its massive cannon resembled the eye of some mythical beast, giving a bestial appearance. The group of ODSTs tried to scatter, but the Scarab had already gathered the energy it needed and let loose a blast of terrible fury. The entire squad was swallowed in its path, utterly destroyed. The street under them was melted away 20ft, leaving a scar in the ground.
Pivinski and Mendez had lagged behind the entire group and were about 20 feet away from the blast site. They watched in utter horror as their entire squad was swallowed by the beam. All their training, all their missions, could do nothing to protect them from the sheer onslaught of plasma, that destroyed their very atoms. They were still both frozen in fear as the Scarab turned towards them, and began to gather energy again.
Time slowed to a crawl as Pivinski watched plasma gobules float towards the cannon, giving it more energy. Something out of the corner of his eye caught his attention. A warthog whipped around the corner and drove at them. It drove between Pivinski and Mendez and strong hands lifted them off the ground and carried them away. The thunder of the cannon behind them reminded them how close they had come to annhialation. The Scarab began to chase the warthog, but couldn't keep up with the smaller faster vehicle. Finally, they were out of range and the warthog slowed to a stop.