Journal Entry, November 27th, 2552: Lieutenant Gates

The Covies attacked Earth. Everyone thought humanity would be safe there. For some reason, they focused on New Mombasa. The Corps didn't care why, they just deployed everything they had into the city. I got orders from Colonel Hawkins to recon the New Mombasa Police Headquarters, so I gathered my squad and got on the Falcon. It was a four minute trip from the Iroquois to the HQ, but our trip was only about 30 seconds in when we were shot down by Banshees. We hit the top of some buildings hard and had to bail before the bird lost power completely and plunged into the streets. It was just me, Rios, Harris, and Jackson. We went rooftop to rooftop for hours, but wherever we went the sky was full of Covies. Eventually a Phantom came out of nowhere and dropped a platoon of Brutes and a Hunter on our rooftop. We capped off around 15 and killed the hunter, but then Rios took spikes in his shoulders and his right knee. Harris was the medic, so Jackson and I laid down cover fire while he ran for Rios. A sniper put a needle in his head. I used the last three rounds in my battle rifle to kill the sniper and picked up some ammo from Harris's body. he only had two clips left. Then a Chieftain finished Rios with the bladed side of his gravity hammer. Jackson and I ran for it. We ended up in an office building somewhere. The Chieftain followed us there. I didn't even know Brutes were that smart. He smashed through a door and hit Jackson with his hammer. He hit the wall hard and didn't move. Then the Chieftain came after me. I emptied the clip through the battle rifle's barrel and took the bastard's shields down just before he grabbed me by the neck and threw me against the wall. When my vision started to go black, I knew I was in trouble. I used something I had picked up in basics. My mind screamed at my body "You are not a corpse, and this is not your grave. Your are a Marine! GET THE FUCK UP!" I slowly pushed myself up onto my hands and knees. The Brute saw me and slammed me against the wall. As his hand clamped around my neck, I could smell his putrid breath as my eyes slowly focused. With my right hand i reached down my leg and tried to unclip my M6. The bastard saw me and screamed in my face. Just as I was about to pass out from lack of oxygen, I heard a shotgun blast. The Brute went down on one knee and my feet hit the ground. I unclipped my M6 and brought it to his head.

"No means no!" I emptied the clip in a matter of seconds. After the adrenaline wore off I realized how bloody I was. A Marine with a shotgun came out of an office.

"You don't look so good."

The floor seemed to fly up and hit me as I blacked out.

I woke up and instinctively reached for my magnum, but it wasn't clipped to my leg. I looked around for it and saw it nearby. I reached for it, but stopped when I heard a voice behind me.

"Your awake, then."

I turned around to find a marine standing over me with a shotgun.

"Who are-"

"Corporal Sheppard, Sir." He spoke in a British accent.

"How long was I out?"

"About thirty hours, Sir."

"Damn!" The Covenant was probably in control of the city by now.

"You lost a lot of blood. Lucky for you, your buddy over there has the same blood type as you."

"Jackson?"

"I guess."

"Is he alive?"

"No."

"So it's just us then."

"Yeah."

"Lieutenant Gates." I extended my hand to him and he shook it.

"Wheres my-" he handed my my battle rifle and bag of about 15 clips.

"Where'd you get these?"

He shrugged. "Other guy didn't need 'em."

A banshee flew over and we took cover. It circled a few times and we held completely still. Then it left. We didn't stay long. We were going rooftop to rooftop when a Phantom flew overhead. We were on an open rooftop with no cover, but the Phantom just ignored us. It hovered over a rooftop nearby and dropped a platoon of brutes and three Chieftains. When they hit the ground they started firing immediately.

"Whoever's on that rooftop needs support. Let's go," I said.

"Agreed."

We ran. We found a single Marine with an assault rifle fighting off two Platoons of Brutes. We ran in cowboy style with guns blazing. Brutes started dropping like flies. When my Battle Rifle ran dry, I pulled out my magnum and my knife and continued fighting. After I finished another brute, I turned and saw the Marine get kicked by a Chieftain and fall to the floor. The bastard raised his hammer, but that's as far as he got. Sheppard jumped on his back and started beating him with his magnum. I ran in front of him and shoved my knife into his throat. He started screaming, but stopped when I twisted the knife. Then he came down on top of me. I tried to push him off, but he was too heavy.

"Get this son of a bitch off me!"

They got him off me and helped me up. I looked at the Marine we had just saved. His helmet was lying on the roof a few feet away. He had short black hair and brown eyes. He was a little taller than me and maybe a year older and his skin was too dark for him to be European.

"Who are you?" Sheppard asked him.

"Sergeant Contola." He had an American accent.

"I'm Lieutenant Gates, that's Corporal Sheppard. What're you doing here?"

"Got knocked out and my unit thought I was dead. They left. A few hours later I woke up. I've been moving through the city ever since."

"That doesn't explain why the Covenant wants to kill you so bad."

"Yeah. I recovered an A.I. from an ONI lab. They told me it was really important, and that it's name was Alpha. The Covies have been trying to kill me since I left the lab."

"How're you doing on ammo?"

"I'm down to my last two clips."

Sheppard threw him a bag. "That should help," he said.

"We need to get back to Marine lines. That is, if there's Marine lines left to go to," I continued.

Sheppard was the only one with an idea.

"I saw a Pelican go down near here. It could still be operational."

"Can you fly a Pelican?"

"Well, no."

"I can," Contola said.

"Really?"

"Well, I ran a few simulations during basics."

"Let's just hope the pilot is still alive."

We moved out. Contola took point. We found higher ground and took a look around. Sheppard found smoke and pointed it out to us. We got going, but Banshees were patrolling everywhere. It took about an hour to get to the Pelican. By then, the brutes had killed the crew. Thankfully, there was a sniper rifle nearby. Contola picked it up and capped them all. We got to the Pelican, and it was barely operational. Then everything started exploding. I could barely hear the screaming of the suicide grunts over the explosions. Contola got up and started shooting and I followed, but Sheppard was wounded. We fought off the attack, but Sheppard needed medical attention. The Pelican was somehow still operational and Contola got it in the air. As soon as we took off we had Banshees all over us. The Pelican had a machinegun in the back. I used it until it ran out of ammo. Then I picked up the sniper rifle Contola found and took out another banshee.

"Contola! get us the hell out of here!"

"Working on it, Sir!"

"Work harder!"

A plasma round hit me in the shoulder and i hit the floor of the Pelican. I quickly picked up my battle rifle and unloaded it into a banshee and watched as blue flames erupted all over it. Then I pulled out my magnum and finished it off. There were still six Banshees behind us. In less than a second, four of them exploded and three Longswords came in behind the other two and brought them down too. Then they came in over the radio.

"This is Woodpecker Actual calling unidentified Pelican. Identify yourself!"

I took off my helmet and put on the Co-pilot's headset.

"This is Lieutenant Gates of the UNSC Marine Corps. We have wounded and a Tier-One Asset aboard. We need an escort to the UNSC Iroquois."

"I'm sorry to inform you of this, Lieutenant, but the Iroquois is toast. We'll escort you to the UNSC Euphrates."

"Damn! Copy. Adjusting course."

I checked on Sheppard. He was unconscious, but still breathing.

"Contola! Sheppard needs medical attention fast! double time!"

"Hold on to your teeth, Lieutenant!"

Contola punched the afterburners and nearly left me behind. Sheppard woke up. I went over to him.

"Were are you hit?"

He gestured to his whole body.

"That doesn't help."

I took off his helmet to check for a concussion, but his hair was too long to see anything. I put his hand on a wound on his leg and told him to keep pressure on it. Then I went up to the cockpit. I saw the giant shadow that was the UNSC Euphrates looming over us and went back to check on Sheppard. He was unconscious again.

"CONTOLA! Hurry up and land already!"

"Doing so now, Sir!"

I felt the jolt of the Pelican landing and hoisted Sheppard onto my back, feeling the burn of the plasma wound on my shoulder. I walked off the bird and handed him off to the medics. Next thing I knew, I was being laid down on a stretcher and walked into the critical ward. I kept telling the docs I was fine, but they just told me to stay calm. eventually one slipped a mask over my face and I passed out.

I woke up after treatment and was told to report to the command bridge. I did, and found Contola and Sheppard waiting. Colonel Hawkins was there too.

"Well if it isn't the War Hero himself."

"Sir?"

"You lead these two Marines out of a Covenant-controlled zone, did you not?"

"Yes, Sir, but-"

"But nothing, Lieutenant. That's the story ONI has issued you, and that's what happened. There was no A.I., no overwhelming Covenant resistance targeting you three specifically, no ONI personnel on scene when you landed to recover the A.I. that doesn't exist. Are we clear?"

"Yes Sir."

"Your being promoted to Captain, Gates. The war department seems to think that we need soldiers like you. While I disagree with this, It's my formal duty to congratulate you."

"Thank you Sir."

"Any questions?"

"No Sir."

"Good. Dismissed."

We got up to leave.

"Not you, Sheppard."

"I'll see you guys later."

As I walked out I noticed an Elite on the bridge. I thought it was strange, but I figured I could ask Sheppard about it later. I haven't seen him since I left the bridge. Contola went back to his unit. I had almost everyone in the battalion ask me what happened, and every time I just repeated the story ONI gave me. What I remember most about New Mombasa is how calm I was the whole time. It didn't make any sense. On Reach, I was never this cold in combat. I guess this is just the soldier I became. And according to the UNSC, this is the soldier I need to be.