Halo: ODST Private Calum Showpire
677th Marine core ODST's based on UNSC frigate The Lady Justice. Six man squad
Squad leader Master Sergeant Leo Grover
Corporal Walter 'Walt' Goldwin
Private first class Calum Showpire
Private Greg Tetson
Private Li 'Li' Pyandao
Private Obadiah 'Obi' Shamal
Prologue;
Incoming ONI mission Statement… Covenant forces have invaded planet Osiris and occupied the city of Downmarket… UNSC frigate The Lady Justice cleared to deploy ODST unit at given coordinates… The Lady Justice then to set down main forces to the north of Downmarket to begin counter offensive to retake Downmarket…
Mission statement to ODST squad leader.
Priority 1: Assess civilian casualties to local population and assist surviving population in all areas.
Priority 2: Report, through central city terminals, current Covenant strength and/or any information that may assist counter attack.
Priority 3: Weaken (eradicate if possible) any Covenant forces within the city of Downmarket to assist counter attack.
Priority 4: Find any and all information regarding the Covenant's continued presence in Downmarket.
End mission statement…
Chapter 1: Deployment.
The squad leader's deep voice burst out over the ODST intercom "Feet first into hell!" The traditional battle cry of the ODST's which was repeated by the other five members of the squad before all deployments. Private First Class Calum Showpire gave his battle cry and grinned a wide grin from within his drop pod. Years of elite training, countless war's and firefight's risking terrible injuries and death but still he loved his job and couldn't imagine himself doing anything else.
The mission debrief was fairly simple, apart from the fact they had been given strange drop coordinates, and now his squad were moments away from being deployed over the dark skies of Downmarket. The thrill of mortal combat was almost upon them. Showpire's grin faded as the countdown to deployment began and he braced himself for the extreme g-force his body was about to endure.
"5…" Thoughts of home flashed through his mind.
"4…" Images of childhood friends.
"3…" Memories of his parents.
"2…" Old feelings of girlfriends in easier times.
"1…" Showpire recalled himself from his lapse into old times and took a deep breath.
"Drop" The g-force against his body was incredible but he had experienced it many times before and he knew that breathing was the key to staying conscious. The pod cleared Osiris's atmosphere in a burst of heat and light and now the only things he could hear were his team mates breathing hard into their mic's and the rushing of the wind outside his speeding dropped pod. As usual this landing was going to hurt but before the ODST could prep himself for the pain a loud metallic bang sounded somewhere above his head and emergency lights flashed on inside his pod. The squad leader's voice opened above the rush of sounds "Showpire what the hell just happened to your pod?" His drop pod had now begun to spin adding to the g-force drop effect and causing the Private considerable trouble in answering. "Don't know Sir. I think my pod might have malfunctioned. I'm spinning." Every word costing him incredible effort and leaving him breathless.
Private Shamal could just about see the trouble through his tiny window. "Sir. It's Obi. Showpire's pod has lost one of its couplings and one of his breaking rockets has fired. He's drifting of course."
Corporal Goldwin's voice was etched with worry. "We are still miles above our LZ by the time he lands he could be out of comm range. We..." But the squad leader cut across them all. "That's enough! Showpire you still with us? Showpire?"
The troubled ODST could hear the words of his friends but he couldn't respond. The last thing he saw before he fell into unconsciousness, thanks to excessive g-force, was the laser range finder on his pod went from miles to just a few hundred metres in the blink of an eye.