Halo: Sacrifice
Plot: The Covenant have found the Sol System. They are advancing towards Earth, attacking any humans on any planet standing in their way. They land on Mars, the last stand for UNSC Army soldiers and ODSTs to buy Earth some time. All bets are off, all past reputations are wiped clean. It's now or never.
A/N: This is my first fanfic in a long time and I'm glad to be telling this story. I put a lot of work into developing the characters, the battles, and making sure it could fit into the Halo canon. I hope you enjoy the story and feel the emotion that I strived to put into this!
0500 Hours, 16 October 2552 (Military Calendar)
UNSC Encampment, 50 Kilometers from Chiron
Mare Erythraeum, Planet Mars
Sol System
"Do you ever stop and think if the Covenant will kill us all?"
"I'll be honest with you Gordon, I take it day by day. Since you're asking me today, I'll say it won't happen. But if you ask me another day, I may have changed my mind."
Corporal Ben Gordon gazed at Sergeant Milo Riley as he answered his peculiar question. They were both in a bunk house, with three other soldiers. They were all apart of the same team, Echo Team, a crucial part of the 17th Shock Troop Battalion. They all had their history, before and after the Covenant entered their lives.
"You think they'll find Earth?" Gordon asked.
Riley laid back onto his bunk and said, "We might never know. We can only hope, that's how I see it. You gotta make the best out of the good situations, because they are way too damn few and far between."
"Hoorah."
Gordon and Riley turned around to see Roman Cooper, a Lance Corporal and the rookie of the squad, rise up for the conversation.
"I'll be writing that one down Cooper, that must be the seventh time I've heard you speak since you got on this damn planet!" Riley proclaimed with a laugh.
Roman Cooper, though a skilled sharpshooter, was a rookie to the squad and the war. He had never been in an major engagements with the Covenant, but that doesn't mean he didn't know what they're capable of. He was silent more often than not, constantly living his team role and saving his breath for when it counted.
"We got quite the team now Riley, do you ever think of that?" Gordan asked.
"I do. I've been apart of this team for I don't know how long, but this is the best combination of men we've had so far. We know our roles and we live up to them. Sure we might have some differences or problems to cope with, but in the end we get the job done."
The other two soldiers of Echo Team were catching up on their sleep and missed out on the strong compliments from the Sergeant. They were Corporal Wes Hunter and Staff Sergeant Nathan Whitney. Both had been apart of Echo Team for quite a while, and they both had their own story.
"Call this eight Riley, what's up with Hunter and Whitney? I never heard of their backgrounds." Cooper asked.
"Well Hunter has been in this team for longer than anyone. He was leader at one point too, if you can believe it. But then he got demoted because he would do sick things with the Covenant bodies. Like burning them, shooting them, and even cutting them."
"I still can't believe that's worthy for a demotion, it's the damn Covenant! They kill us and burn our colonies, but we can't serve them up what they deserve in the afterlife?" Gordon replied.
"I agree with you to an extent Gordon. But we shouldn't be wasting all of our ammunition on dead carcasses unless we plan to dig the bullets out. It's a waste of resources and a lack of self-control."
Suddenly the door to the bunk house opened. The three awake soldiers stood fast and saluted, which woke Hunter and Whitney up. Quickly they rose as well to salute Major Grant Russo.
"At ease men, you know how sore I get about that saluting nonsense."
The five soldiers sat back down on their bunks.
"It's only protocol sir, not much we can do." Riley said.
"Well you wouldn't be doing that protocol if the Covenant were about to glass the ground you stand on, so why do it at all?"
"Don't go telling my men that they shouldn't salute now Russo, not every officer is as open as you." Whitney said, now wide awake.
"Your men? As far as I'm concerned this team is mine, you're just the temporary leader!" Russo chuckled.
The soldiers laughed as well.
Grant Russo was the previous leader of Echo Team and his previous actions as well as his natural military instinct awarded him a promotion to commander of the whole Battalion. Russo saw the same instinct in Whitney as High Command saw in him, and promoted him to Team Leader.
"Now back to business. There have been reports of Covenant forces in the solar system. Nothing confirmed as of yet, but stay on your toes. No one knows if they are here for certain, or if they'll even attack here. Just remember your training and be ready for anything."
"I wouldn't be surprised if it were just a transmission error sir. It would take longer than a month to go from Epsilon Eridani to Sol, wouldn't you think?" Gordon asked.
"We don't know, but in any case be alert. I'm going back to the Command Post to talk with Colonel Ackerson. Perhaps he has some thoughts as well."
The five soldiers moaned as the sound of Ackerson's name. No matter what had occurred with the Covenant, reputations were never wiped clean.
"Enough! He may be an Army Colonel, but we're all apart of the UNSC. We're all human, no matter what. Dismissed." Russo said.
The five soldiers proceeded to wake up completely and prepare for any tasks that may arise that day.
That's the first chapter, hope you liked it. I'll start working on Chapter 2 tomorrow and get it posted as soon as it's perfect!