Mombassa
Mombassa
(Headlong/Turf)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Halo game series or the contents of its fictional univers. Those are owned by Bungie and Microsoft. Neither do I own the original Brutus "Brutal" Howell character, who is mental property of Stephen King. All other specific characters are of my creation, however.
"Three Queens." said Lance Corporal Joseph Carson as he added three facedown cards to a pile of more facedown cards. He and five other UNSC Marines were gathered around a box which served as the card table for their tent, which served as the sleeping quarters for 2nd Squad, 1st Platoon, Golf Company, 2nd Battalion of the 507th Marines Regiment. The six Marines gathered around the "card table" were in fact 2nd Squad's four riflemen and two close quarters combat (CQC) specialists. Carson was one of the two riflemen in Fire Team Charlie, his best friend Private Alton Foley was Charlie's CQC specialist.
"One Queen." Foley said as he took his turn and laid one card facedown in the pile.
"Bullshit." said Private Cotton, a rifleman in Fire Team Delta. Foley turned the card he'd just played over to reveal a Three of Diamonds, though the suit didn't matter. He grunted in frustration as he was forced to take back the card as well as the whole facedown pile and add it to his hand.
"Two Aces." said Private First Class Copeland, the Delta Team CQC specialist.
"Bullshit." replied Private Kelly "Legs" Leggard, the other Charlie Team rifleman and easily the more attractive of the two women in 2nd Squad. Copeland made a buzzer sound with his mouth before turning the cards over and showing off two Aces.
"Wrong." he said before Legs took them and added them to her hand.
"So who's winnin'?" asked a new Marine as he entered the tent through its flap.
"Wesker." Foley said as he used his cigarette to point out the second Delta rifleman, who grinned with pride as he showed off his two-card hand. "You gonna join in the next one Hatch?" Foley asked the new arrival.
"Naw, I'll pass." said Corporal David "Hatch" Hatcher, the Fire Team Charlie Leader. Before anyone could make another move, the other female Marine entered.
"2nd Squad! Brutal wants to see us outside, now!" cried Corporal Valance, the Fire Team Delta Leader. Moaning, groaning, and protesting the Marines dropped their cards and exited their tent to find Brutal.
Sergeant Brutus Howell took a drag on his cigarette as he waited for the two fire teams in his squad. He was a big man in his thirties, his hair was naturally white due to a pigment mutation similar to albinism. It contrasted starkly with his black moustache, but it was his size and bulk that earned him his nickname of "Brutal". His tendency to kick people's asses when they deserved it might have also contributed, but…before he could dwell on it anymore, the eight Marines under his command arrived and plopped onto the ground before him, oblivious of the activity around them. They were in the company headquarters, stationed in the section of New Mombassa that 2nd Battalion had been assigned to. The African city had become an abandoned warzone ever since the Covenant landed, the only life in its streets were Marines and Covenant warriors engaged in heavy urban warfare, fighting for their very lives and, in the UNSC's case, their very existence.
"Listen up boys and girls." Brutal started once everyone was situated. "3rd Battalion's about to make a strike east at an important Covenant field HQ. Unfortunately, there's an artillery unit hammering them and keeping them distracted. It's estimated that a squad will be sufficient enough to eliminate this particular threat, but 3rd Battalion can't spare any squads to destroy the position. Since 2nd's close enough for rock and roll, it's been chosen to volunteer a squad to go. G Company was chosen…unfortunately, there's only one squad in Golf that's fully manned and operational." The six junior enlisted Marines began grumbling amongst themselves. "We'll head in on a Pelican, move to the position silently and on foot, destroy it, report back that we destroyed said position, and ride the bird back here." Brutal explained. "Valdez will be going along with us." he added, meaning Crewman Apprentice George Valdez, the 2nd Platoon Corpsman. "It's simple and straightforward. Let's head out Ricky Tick, Marines. Our ride leaves in ten minutes."
Eight minutes later, the nine Marines were assembled at one of G Company's launch pads. They all wore their standard armor, save for Brutal who had replaced his helmet with a patrol cap as most sergeants did. On the magnets on the back of his torso armor was an MA5C Assault Rifle. This weapon was also used by Corporal Hatcher, Lance Carson, Foley, and Cotton. Corporal Valance, Wesker, and Legs were each armed with a BR55HB SR Battle Rifle. Foley had an M90A Shotgun on his back. Copeland and Doc Valdez were armed with an M7 SMG each. All of the Marines had an M6G Magnum on the magnets on their thigh armor. They were all ready, and when they were deemed such, they boarded the passenger hold of one of the Pelican dropships. Fire Team Charlie took four of the five seats on the left, leaving the one closest to the cockpit open for Brutal. Delta Team took the right seats, Doc occupied the seat across from Brutal's. Sergeant Howell himself was in the cockpit discussing the plan with the pilots to make sure everything was set. When it was clear things were indeed set, he took his seat in the back. At the appropriate time, Pelican Victor Three Seven took to the skies and headed north towards their target, located in the crappy part of town: Old Mombassa.
The Marines rode in contemplative silence for several minutes, almost an hour, actually. Then Victor Three Seven reached the LZ, landed in an abandoned parking lot, and offloaded the 10 Marines (technically Valdez was a sailor in the UNSC Navy, but this wasn't a time for technicalities). As soon as their feet hit pavement, each Marine crouched in their appropriate position to cover the LZ against an unexpected attack. None came. When all ten were dirtside, Victor Three Seven went airborne and climbed to its standby station. All was quiet in the streets of Old Mombassa as the Marines moved out on foot. They still had a ways to go, but they had plenty of time. Their movement was quick and silent as they slipped through the streets like shadows. At one point, Sergeant Howell raised his hand with his fingers open to halt the squad. After flashing the appropriate hand signals, he and the rest of the squad dove into various pieces of cover and concealment. Several moments later, a Jackal squad walked by on their patrol before disappearing around a corner, unaware of the humans they passed.
The artillery position was simply three Wraith tanks, all currently unmanned. Mulling about were several Covenant soldiers. They were mostly Grunts, but there were some Jackals and a few Brutes. Not many altogether, enough that with the right attack, 2nd Squad could destroy them with little effort. Using stealth, Fire Team Charlie split into two teams and set satchel charges under two of the closer Wraiths before taking a position that gave them excellent fire on the infantry. Delta remained hidden behind a wrecked car. From his position, Brutal saw that the last Wraith had an open hatch. When he was sure they were ready, he nodded to Delta Team. Copeland, who had the best throwing arm in the whole platoon, then stood and primed a grenade before hurling it into the air. It arced at just the right moment, and had just entered the hatch of the third Wraith when it detonated, setting off a chain reaction of explosions from within. Corporal Valance then pressed the button on the detonator she held, causing the other two Wraiths to erupt into flames of blue and orange. The Covenant began looking about in confusion and panic. As the Brutes tried to restore order, they were cut down by Charlie Team. When the rest turned to face the human attackers, they were hit from behind by Delta Team. After several moments of sustained fire, the last Grunt dropped dead. Charlie emerged from its position and manually ensured the area was secure while Delta covered them. Corporal Hatcher flashed the clear sign, and Brutal ordered the squad to regroup.
"Anyone hit?" he asked as the others gathered about him.
"Me." Foley said as he held up his arm to reveal a light gash caused by Wraith shrapnel. As Doc set about patching it up, Howell contacted their ride.
"Victor Three Seven, this is Golf One Two, do you read me?" he asked into his comm.
"Roger that One Two, we read you loud and clear." came the reply.
"Three Seven, radio Golf Six Actual and inform him the artillery position is neutralized. We're heading to the LZ for exfil, how copy?"
"Solid copy, One Two, we're on the way. Over and out." With that, he rounded up the Marines, and they headed back the way they came. This time, they made sure to neutralize the Jackal Patrol.
The Marines entered the Pelican, and were making small talk as they sped back to base. None of them expected what happened next. Before Foley could finish explaining why he deserved to get laid the most out of the entire squad, the Pelican was jarred as something exploded. The pilots began crying over the radio, screaming the necessary codes and phrases signifying their current location…and the fact that Victor Three Seven was going down.
When Carson regained consciousness, his back hurt. He was able to move, so he doubted it was broken. It'd probably just been hurt in the crash. He looked up to see Hatcher unfastening his safety harness and helping him up to his feet. Doc Valdez was kneeling down to do the same with a slumped over Wesker when he noticed something. Doc reached out and pressed his first two fingers against Wesker's neck, held them there, then dropped them and sighed.
"Status reports, Charlie Team?" Howell asked as he stood and rearranged his cap.
"We're all here." Corporal Hatcher said as he helped Foley to his feet as well.
"Delta?" asked Brutal as he looked to their side of the passenger hold.
"Wesker's dead." Valdez said. He sighed again before removing Wesker's pouch of BR ammo and tossing it to Corporal Valance. He wasn't going to need it anymore.
"Doc, make sure everyone's okay. First person he clears, head outside and set up a perimeter. Anyone else who gets cleared, head out and help hold that perimeter. If Doc gives you the red light, stay inside." Brutal ordered before he disappeared into the cockpit. As Doc set about his triage work, Sergeant Howell moved the pilot's body so he could get to the radio controls. Setting the channel to the right frequency, he spoke into the mic.
"Golf Six Actual, this is Golf One Two, are you receiving me, over?" he asked. There was static for a few seconds before a voice replied.
"Roger that One Two, we read you. What's happened?"
"Golf Six, Victor Three Seven has been shot down, both pilots are dead, and I have one Marine KIA, the rest are being checked on medical status. We require another pick up at these coordinates, over." Brutal said as he used the dashboard computer to send the coordinates to Golf Company's Command Post. After several more moments of static, the reply came through.
"Negative, One Two we cannot send a bird to those coordinates. HIGHCOMM has just declared that section of the city a condemned sector and will initiate the Hammerdown Protocol there in roughly seventy-two hours, over." Howell's face paled considerably.
"Say again, Golf Six, did you say the 'Hammerdown Protocol', over?"
"Affirmative, One Two. They've pulled out all UNSC personnel in that area and will carpet bomb it into rubble to destroy the Covenant in that area. Hold one moment, over." Static overcame the line for so long that Brutal thought they'd lost connection or had intentionally cut it. He was proved wrong by the voice's return.
"One Two, this is Six Actual, there is one last friendly position in the condemned zone. It's evacuation had been postponed, and they won't be pulled back for forty-eight hours. We're sending you their coordinates, if you make it there in time, you can hitch a ride out with them, over." Brutal glanced at the computer screen and memorized the coordinates.
"Copy that Six Actual, my men and I are headed there now. Over and out." Brutal shut off the radio, sighed, and left to inform the others.
