1/8

Hot food, hot showers, one person to a bunk, walks in the country side … if they transferred me to the 212 as a punishment than I'll take another, please, Hall thought as he toweled off, the squad they gave me ain't bad either. They should've known giving a N7 any unit would immediately win him respect.
Hall put on the new BDUs before going for breakfast, the company he was assigned to was going on patrol later that day and didn't want to waste time with coming back to change.

In the mess hall he filled a plate and made sure to grab some toast, what he couldn't stuff between the two slices of bread he quickly devoured between gulps of coffee. He dumped his tray with all the other dirty trays and left mess while still eating his makeshift sandwich to get to the armory to be suited up as soon as possible.

Marine Standard armor, Marine Standard weapons, an extra pouch of grenades, and a complement of extra gear to carry: Rations, a quick repair kit for the weapons, patches for the armor and a med kit. Hall collects a helmet normally used for deployments in oxygen rich environments that had some poison gas, lighter than carrying a tent and works just as well just in case we get stuck out there overnight. Bao and Rodriguez, the senior two in the squad, come into the armory, Rodriguez telling some hunting story that highlighted how good a shot he is.

"… I swear it was at least 900 yards away! Sure shots at that distance aren't impossible but I did it on a civilian rifle without the targeting assists."

"And you hit it right in the heart," Bao said dryly, clearly bored of hearing this story again.

"Then boom, it fell right over," Hall offered without looking up from securing gear to his armor.

Rodriguez rubbed the back of his neck, "Yeah … I take it I've told this story before."

"I think this is the tenth time I've heard it and I've only been in the company two weeks," Hall attached his shotgun to the back of his armor then looked over to the soldiers in his squad and continued, "You two need to get suited up quick, new guy comes in today."

"Aren't we on patrol in an hour?" Bao asked pointedly.

"Yes we are," Hall responded while making for the door, "and in that hour we get a new guy."

2/8

Twenty minutes later Hall entered the barracks to collect anyone lagging behind to try to get an early shot at the new guy. Higgins and Mitchel were in the barracks, Mitchel seemed to be milling around like he was looking for something and Higgins was putting on boots in full gear. "The fuck you two?" both jumped up and stood on the line in front of their bunks, Higgins with one boot untied, "you geared up and came back, wandered around bare foot and didn't notice Higgins? Too bad for you, new guy isn't making it today."

"Sergeant, does this mean I'm still the new guy?" Higgins asked.

"You really are a candidate for OCS, Higgins, if you can't figure that out on your own. Thirty seconds and I want both of you outside." Hall stalked off back to the outside.

Bao, Rodriguez, Mitchel, Higgins and I make up what is a squad on paper and is little more than a large fireteam. Fortunately we're essentially a do nothing unit. Hall pushed open the door to the outside and wandered over to the assembly area, before he rejoined his squad Mitchel and Higgins ran by and formed up with the other two.

"As you noticed, new guys not here, lucky him gets to miss out on today's stroll in the park." The squad chuckled, "this is not a combat patrol, I want weapons out but safeties ON. We don't need any bad press from accidently shooting some poor farmers kid."

The squad responded, "Hoorah, Sergeant."

"Looks like we're rolling, let's go."

3/8

Eden Prime was and is a carefully planned development project. The roads long and straight with little to slow ground traffic down and forests were preserved when possible. The endless fields of crops without a tree in sight was a farming technique left on Sol, those fields let too much wind blow constantly so more trees and large shrubs were planted along roads to cut down on wind and absorb sounds of vehicles, beautiful but a tactical nightmare.

Hall took his squad around the outside of the tree line. The main body of the company walked along the street. This continued until the road entered one of the mentioned forests and what probably saved Hall and his squad from the sudden death of the Geth ambush. Gunfire erupted all along the road side and several explosions went off decimating the company. Hall and his squad weren't even noticed by the Geth until his squad was flanking them with grenades and assault rifle fire. The broke up the ambush while destroying the Geth flank, this caused the Geth to pull back and let the company reorganize. Still under fire the company jump into a dry seasonal creek bed.

"Sure wish we had an orbital platform," Hall said, squatted down behind a rock, while he was waiting on his assault rifle to cool off, "or a million grenades would be cool, too."

"Hall," The lieutenant yelled over the screaming din, "we don't have time for what you wish we had!"
Geth fire raked their position; anyone that dared a peek without squeezing a few rounds first would receive concentrated fire.

The lieutenant got a brief message off before getting hit by sniper fire and going down. Someone might have checked him for a pulse or tried to save him if a massive ship had not made a slow atmosphere fall and made a terrible screaming noise as it got ready to touch down on the planet.

4/8

The First Sergeant, an older man getting towards the age to retire, wasted no time in taking control of the company. He checked his radio and then the lieutenants radio, both gave him nothing. "Chief, hey, chief!" Ashley Williams rolled out of her cover and over to the First Sergeant, "Comms are down, go find the major and bring me some goddamned help! " The Sergeants attention shifted from the woman to everyone else, "covering fire for the chief on three, two …" he clearly said one but was drowned out by dozens of assault rifles firing at once. Ashley used the opportunity to scramble to her feet and set as much distance between her and the dug in group as she could. Geth attempted to stop the runner but were greeted with concentrated fire from what was left of the company of marines that had dug in a dry creek bed with some more troops behind rocks and downed trees.

"Top Hat, you're ranking now," Hall shouted over to the older man a couple stones over, "The fuck we do now?"

"Williams will be back with reinforcements soon, take your squad over to the right and keep them firing their rifles!"

Hall came back to his squad to see Bao bent over Mitchel. Bao was patching up a wound in Mitchels side before spreading medigel on the wound. Mitchel gave Hall a thumb up before getting up to a kneeling position. "We got the right, pick up your gear and lets move." The four other men picked up whatever they had around them and followed Hall to the right in a bent over run. They sprawled out on a small mound of dirt that accumulated over years of run-off going into the stream when it accepts floodwater. Hundreds and thousands of shots were exchanged and a few attempts to penetrate the lines were made by the Geth, all attempts were repulsed but one thing was certain, the Geth were winning. What the Geth had been doing undeniably was moving to better flanking positions which was spreading the Marines fire thin. Their stretching us out and getting ready to flank us, Hall thought when he saw Williams ran back into their defensive perimeter from deeper into the trees. Once totally behind cover after a dive from above on the embankment the First Sergeant said, "have a report for me?"

Between gasping breaths Ashley managed, "Major's… dead… Captain won't… listen... says everyone's… engaged." Ashley sucked in one gigantic breath and seemed to finally have her breath under control as Hall ran over to join in the conversation, "Captain says to hold position and wait for further instruction."

"Top Hat, we're about to be flanked and are in immediate danger of being overrun, we need out now!" Hall said once Ashley finished her report.

The First Sergeant regarded the two younger NCO's and replied, "We hold to keep these, things, here and keep them from harassing the flanks of the other companies and when they can we'll be relieved."
Hall blinked at the order and then went back to his position.

5/8

"Hey Sarge, how we doin'?"

"Well, Higgins, we're defending this shitty trench and being shot at by robots, how do you think it is?"

"FUBB, we pulling out?"

"I didn't realize we were talking about your girlfriend," Hall responded with a smile which got a few laughs from the handful of other guys still left in the squad.

"Higgins wouldn't know what to do with a woman even if she were willing," someone said from behind a tree.

"Shut up Bao, seriously, we going?"

"We're staying, it seems they want all the shooters up here."

"Even me?" Higgins asked.

"Actually, I need your weapon" Hall laughed.

"That's cold, sarge," Rodriguez said, peeking out from behind a rock.

A few more laughs were had then Hall spoke, "Coffee break is over. Forget all that shit, keep your rifles pointed downfield and we'll get through this, remember what I showed you and make me proud."
In chorus the squad responded "Hoorah"

6/8

A few more minutes of set lines and exchanges of fire passed and Hall decided to press his concern, "Top Hat, their fire was left front and right, now it's just left and front."

"So?"

"Either they're losing numbers or they're massing to attack."

"Cut your paranoid N7 bullshit, Hall."

"Fuck you, it's happening. Let me pull out my Squad and we'll take up position on the rise."

"What rise?" Hall pulls out a map and points to a 15 meter rise upstream of the dry creek bed. "Denied, we need as many bodies as we can get here."

"We'll be able to provide sniper support and covering fire if you need to pull out"

"Denied, Hall" Then, as predicted, a company of Geth pour out of the tall grass and charged the flank of the human position. Wouldn't have mattered now, anyway,Hall thought as he scrambled to his feet to get back to his Squad. "Rodriguez, Bao, Mitchel, shift your fire right, Higgins, watch the left and let me know when something moves."

"Left, sarge?"

"Yes, fucking left" Hall shouted over the rattle of fire, "It'll come soon so just let me know!" Hall focused his attention to the diversion and tried to take as many geth down as possible with his sniper rifle.

Soon the entire Marine Company is firing towards the Geth on the right except for Higgins who watched the left. Higgins soon started seeing lights in the tall weeds moving up on the left, "Hey Sarge, I'm seeing lights off on the left."

"You sure Higgins?"

"Yeah you can see…"

Hall cut him off, "Rodriguez, switch to your sniper and come over here, Higgins, replace him and start covering right."

The two men switched positions and Rodriguez pulled his rifle out, "I need you to shoot at the lights over on the left," Hall told him.

"Isn't that a violation of fire control?" Rodriguez, being a good soldier, asked because they were the unit all the way to the right which meant their zone was the right flank, never mind that the rest of the company had abandoned protocol about fifteen minutes ago.

"Yes it is, forget the rule and if you aren't a goddamn hero after this you can say I gave you the order." Rodriguez shrugged and started scoping the left flank.

Rodriguez started shooting within seconds of getting on scope. Hall spared a glance to see a Geth flail from its circuits frying before he returned his attention to firing at the obvious targets to make the Geth pay as much as possible for the diversion.

7/8

One down . . . Two down . . . Three down . . .Hall slipped into a rhythm to keep a constant rate of fire without overheating his rifle. At somewhere in the early teens he heard incoming sniper fire from the left. "Rodriguez, do you wanna take care of that," Hall turned, Rodriguez was missing half of his face, clearly the target of the incoming fire, "shit, Bao, replace Rodriguez."

Bao wordlessly shifted his fire and started shooting.

Two shots in a Geth Drop ship drifted over head for a moment to drop an armature unit right in front of the embattled Marines. It set itself up and started firing its machine gun into the center and quickly followed with a siege pulse which laid waste to the center of the line. "Squad, grenades on the big thing," All four of them pulled out grenades, activated them and threw them once Hall shouted, "Now!" The grenades all found their mark and brought down the shield of the Armature but also pulled its attention towards them. "Everyone down!" Hall yelled as machine gun fire rattled over their position. "One more round of grenades and then belly crawl back into the creek bed. Grenades, now!" All four popped up and threw grenades in the brief break in machine gun fire. Their grenades sailed past the Armatures siege pulse, Mitchel caught the direct blast of the siege pulse, half of him incinerated immediately and the rest of the explosion took Baos arm and ripped open his stomach muscles while throwing him ten feet, trailing blood and intestines. Higgins and Hall were tossed into the creek bed.
Hall patted himself down for wetspots, found none and threw up once he realized he was still alive after almost being blown up. Higgins belly crawled with one arm, his other arm dragged behind him, very apparently broken in several places. Hall rolled Higgins over his good arm which left the broken one across his chest. "Higgins, now you're completely useless to me now," Hall jested before taking the look of a concerned father, "does it hurt?"

"It's fine, I only realized it was broken when I tried to crawl with it."

"Shit, Higgins, I'm sending you as a runner and once you've completed this mission I want you to find a medic for yourself."

"What's the message?"

Hall thought for a moment and said, "212 overrun and destroyed." Hall helped Higgins to his feet only to see Higgins get near cut in half from machine gun fire from a crippled but still dangerous Armature unit. Higgins fell in a bloody heap and was gone before Hall had his med kit out. Hall sat down next to Higgins put his elbows on his knees and covered his face.

Hall uncovered his face when he heard someone crawling up the creek bed toward him. He looked over and saw Gunnery Chief Williams crawling over. "Chief, I'm all that's left of my squad."

"Hall, that makes you all that's left of the company," she managed a tough tone despite being in command of a two man company.

"We're overrun and lost, we should get you out of here"

"I'm not leaving you behind to die," Williams responded quickly.

"Who said anything about dying? I'll cover your retreat for thirty seconds and pull the heat, I've got all the escape and evasion know-how you don't," Hall smiled while putting on the helmet that he'd been carrying, "See you on the other side chief, they've got to have figured out we're done by now and scouts are on their way. No time to argue." Hall picked up his assault rifle, stood and started firing bursts at the scouts that were in the open. He strafed along until the rifle need to cool down and then threw a grenade at what was left of the armature. He ducked down and looked to see if Williams was running or not and saw that she was long gone. He popped back up and resumed firing. Suddenly he felt a sharp prick on his chest and the armor on his back shift. He looked down to see blood running from a two millimeter hole in his armor on the left side. He took a knee and realized he was having trouble with breathing despite the filtration system. Geth fire was tearing at the lip of the creek bed so he belly crawled back to his original position while the Geth were rediscovering that the unit was combat ineffective. I'm not going to escape while lung-shot, Hall grimly thought, at least when they send someone to look for all the dead Marines they'll find my corpse among them.He thought about calling Williams on the radio, to give her the sitrep, but decided against it in case she decided to come back for him.

8/8

He lay down by the other dead Marines and waited quietly to join them. The had one last bloodfilled laugh at something that occurred to him, New guy will be telling the story of how a flight delay made him miss the massacre of the 212.