[The Drop]
They kept telling you that going feet first meant you were the best. The elite. The ones no one could touch. As soon as you saw that HEV, you knew…you knew that was a bunch of BS. I was strapped in, locked inside of a metal coffin with a few screens, a big window and my rifle on my right. It wasn't exactly the most comfortable experience I've ever had.
"Ladies and gentlemen, Felum is your worst nightmare. The whole damn moon is crawling with covenant, and they aren't going to let it go. That being said, the area surrounding the moon is an area we desperately need to control if we're going to be able to cut the Covenant's supply chain. HIGHCOM and ONI have determined that the only way we'll be able to control who uses slipspace jump around these parts is to completely eliminate the Covenant threat in the area. That's where you come in."
I didn't really know what to think. I suppose I was used to suicide missions at this point. "Feet first into hell," and all that. Danger's in your job description, especially if you're an ODST. I wasn't aware that I was just ONI's meat shield, though. That was it. Our mission was simple. "Get to the main compound near the center of the base we'll be invading, and remote wire five HAVOKs all throughout the base. Nothing survives, not even the damn roaches."
"Roaches don't live on Felum, sir."
"Neither will you."
The hull of my little person pod started heating up rapidly. Steam and superheated oxygen rolled off the side of the window, and the fire of re-entry was in plain sight. This was always supposed to be the fun part of combat drops, too. The two video screens on the sides displayed my commander's and the medic's HEV units. Both of them bugged out with static. I craned my neck to see what was going on. They'd both launched at a funny angle. Two degrees off center. Enough to send them smacking into each other and breaching the hull of the HEV. Sure, they had about fifteen minutes before their air ran out, but by then they'd be dust in the atmosphere. "Lots of fun," I said to myself. It was a shame. I liked them both.
The red turned to dark blue, all of the sudden. We were inside the atmosphere. The ONI spooks had decided to drop us in at night. Supposedly it made us harder to spot. I doubt it. Those elites can see anything. Trajectory said I'd make landfall in 90 seconds. Either I'd stick the landing and regroup with my squad, or I'd end up like pancake on the side of the drop zone. I had a minute and a half until I found out.
[Special Delivery]
I woke up maybe two minutes after the initial contact with the dirt. Damn, that really hurt. I looked around. The window was cracked beyond all hell. When my ears finally came back, I could hear the familiar sounds of gunfire and cursing. I was definitely a bit late to the party. I punched the emergency release and saw the door fly straight up and off. I looked over at my rifle. The barrel, once long and stout, was now bent at the slightest angle. "Seriously?" Great. Feet first into hell without my fangs. I had no choice though. I grabbed the pistol from my leg strap and jumped out of the HEV.
The field was all kinds of pretty colors. Purples, yellows, blues and reds. And pinks. Don't forget the damn pinks. "Have to find my unit," I said breathlessly, running over to a low part of the field. There was all kinds of hell going on and I could contribute virtually nothing to defend myself. The VISR kicked in, flashing red all over the place. I turned my head at sixty miles an hour, looking for that precious green outline. I'd found it. Four. Four out of 55 soldiers from the 105th Special task force had survived two minutes after the initial drop. Wait. I'm still here. Make it five then. I had no time to waste. The mission had obviously gone FUBAR, but I didn't want to die knowing I'd just sat on my ass instead of acting. I suppose this is what the commander called "Medal runs."
"It's when you do something so outrageously stupid that you're bound to get a medal. But they usually give it to your girl or your mother." Charming fellow, my commander was.
Rounds from plasma pistols and fuel rod cannons pulverized the area immediately surrounding the drop zone. I was still basically unarmed, so I slid down and grabbed an M7S Silenced Machine gun from some poor bastard who got stuck in the face. The Cartridge was still full. The guy didn't even have the chance to get a shot off. I ran over, as fast as my armored legs could carry me, to where the other four shock troops were. "Jackson! Is that you? What the hell is going on here?" Funny. I thought he'd be able to tell me.
I started returning fire, aiming to pick off grunts and Jackals, mostly. Cheap kills, but the more fire off our backs, the better. "The commander and the medic in charge never made the drop. Smacked straight into each other!" We were eating through the ammo we had pooled, fast. Suddenly, the guy immediately to the right of me took a fuel rod to the chest and we all flew twenty feet. My VISR went white for a few seconds, and then came back. When I woke up, I was the only one still breathing. Well, this isn't good. I could barely move from all the shock, and my ears were ringing like there was no tomorrow. There probably wasn't.
The strange thing was, now that everyone was dead, the field was deathly still and silent. All the enemy grunts, jackals and elites seemed to have scampered off somewhere. Better there than here, I supposed. I managed to get to my knees and drew the M6 pistol I had out. Suddenly, the air around me started shivering. The tell-tale sign of a spec-ops elite unit. I sighed. I was definitely dead. There were four of them. All of them were wielding energy swords. This must have been the mop up crew. How long was I out? Wait…there wasn't time for any of these questions. The elite facing me spoke. "Heretic, your time has come. You shall now be judged by the will of the ancients." I emptied my clip, but the elite just stood there, letting his shield absorb all the puny rounds. The elite to the left of me kicked my arm and made me drop the spent weapon. I was now completely defenseless. The one in front of me kicked me square in the chest. I was on my back, and totally helpless. Oh god. He raised his sword and brought it straight down on my head.
Or, at least he would have, had he the chance.