HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED
HOLDING THE LINE
I had to be the worst Marine ever. Here I was, a fresh new corporal in my barely used
rust colored Marine armor and grey jumpsuit. My name is Alyxander Baron, and my
team had been demolished because I couldn't do my job as a sniper. I may have been
the best sharpshooter on my squad but when that SPARTAN woman called my radio, I
got distracted. She had been my best friend through my service. We had even grown up
together and were enlisted together. Now I wish things had been different between us.
Because of our friendship, the cloaked Elite snuck behind my team and cut them all
down with his sword. They died on this cursed ring world called 'Halo' because of me,
and now I was going to die here as well. My black hair was crusted to my forehead
while sweat and dirt tried its hardest to flow into my brown eyes. I was cowering behind
the remains of a Scorpion tank and the barricade that halted the Covenant from entering
the canyon where our base was. All I had left was 600 rounds in my Assault rifle and 40
rounds for my Sniper rifle. I didn't have time to properly calculate my odds as I loaded
another 4 round clip into my Sniper rifle. I lined up a shot with an Elite Minor and pulled
the trigger. The bolt flew back and the bullet was away. The heavy caliber round pierced
the Elite's
shoulder and neck and he fell. His energy shields were useless when it came to a well
aimed shot. My helmet radio began buzzing.
"This is SPARTAN-1569/B, can anyone hear me? Is Alpha Base still standing?" the
voice of that SPARTAN rang in my ears once again and I squeezed the handle of my
sniper. A round flew through the air again, passing through a Grunt's head and an
Elite's torso. Her voice spoke again. "This is SPARTAN-1569/B, I repeat. Can anyone
hear me?" she spoke with such authority. It almost sickened me. Her voice was so soft
and weak when she had spoken to me before. Why had she picked me? Why had she
distracted me? I pushed the questions back out of my head as I fired the clip's last 2
shots, dropping another Elite and a Jackal. The empty clip clattered to the ground.
"36 rounds left…" I mumbled as a fresh sniper clip found its way into the Sniper rifle. I
ducked down as plasma fire flew my way. I looked down the long canyon while I waited
for the barrage to end and tapped the side of my helmet, enabling my radio. "This is
Corporal Baron. I read you loud and clear SPARTAN", I said to the SPARTAN woman.
A sigh of relief came from the other end of the radio.
"Alyxander, thank goodness you are alive", she said. Her name was Samantha. She
was the reason my team was dead. "How many of your Marines are alive? Is Alpha
base still operational?" Samantha asked. I shook my head even though she couldn't see
it.
"I'm the last Marine at the line. Alpha base is being evacuated and they said they will
send any available reinforcements to me. The canyon is too long though. They won't
reach me in time", I said quietly. Silence followed as I raised my rifle and looked over
the Scorpion tank. The Covenant attack group had already passed over one of my old
holding points. I couldn't give up any more ground. This is where I would die. I raised
my rifle and emptied the clip into 4 Elites, dropping them like sacks of bricks. "32 rounds
left…" I mumbled. I reloaded and fired again. I missed one of my shots and the rest
found their way into a Jackal that couldn't raise his shield quick enough. I kept counting
down the number of rounds I had left. I was almost done. As I reloaded, a plasma bolt
slammed into my shoulder, knocking me over. I hissed in pain as the energy burnt my
skin. It had knocked my shoulder plate off and made a neat hole in the fire resistant
jumpsuit. The skin there was now red and burnt, blood starting to come out as the heat
from the blast began to cauterize the wound. That was the only upside of the plasma
energy. Samantha's voice suddenly rang in my ears again.
"Alyxander, we are coming to back you up. We'll attack them from behind. How many
are left?" the female SPARTAN asked in her gentle voice. I smirked and laid my head
down on the dirt for a moment to let the pain in my arm go down. I knew why her voice
had changed. She knew they wouldn't make it.
"I'd say about 120 aliens left. I could thin their numbers a bit if you'd like", I said with a
small chuckle. I was so near the end, why not laugh a little? Samantha acknowledged
and said that my reinforcements would be there soon. She reassured me that I could go
home and see my family after this, if even for a short while. That hammered the last nail
in my coffin as I let out a full blown laugh. I didn't tell her why though. My family was
dead. They had been dead for a long time.
"I understand. Hey Sammy", I started.
"What is it Alyx?" she responded quietly.
"I forgive you for this", I said before turning off my radio. I grabbed my assault rifle and
slung it over my back before lifting my sniper again and firing every shot I had into the
oncoming Covenant. When my sniper ran out of ammo, I threw it to the side and jumped
over the barricade. I raised my assault rifle and fired the 60 round clip into the aliens,
taking out a few grunts, Jackals, and Elites. All the while, Samantha was screaming in
my ear for me to answer her and to get to safety. I ignored her. I wouldn't be called a
coward. I'd rather go down fighting then to lose to these split jawed slime balls. Plasma
shots pelted my chest and legs but I kept advancing. All through the pain I advanced.
My chest piece was damaged beyond repair and my Assault rifle was about to run dry. I
counted down the shots.
"30…20…10…1…0…" I counted down and when I reached that final number, the
sound of canon fire and Pelican engines reached my ears. I smiled as the Covenant
began to fall back only to be met by heavy weapons fire from a SPARTAN and her
Special Forces Marines. I fell into the blood soaked dirt as my vision became fuzzy. I
could see black boots running towards me. I was being lifted and a SPARTAN helmet
was staring at me. The black armor looked almost white as the light from the sun beat
down on me and as my vision started to cut out. Samantha had removed her helmet
and was running while carrying me. Her screams for me to live were muffled and
becoming quieter. I could barely feel her tears falling onto my face. We arrived at the
Mobile Medical Station but I knew it was too late. Samantha hovered over me while the
medics tried to keep me alive. I looked at Samantha as the light in my eyes started to
die. With my last breath, I spoke again.
"I forgive you…even if there was nothing to forgive", I mumbled just loud enough for
her to hear. She was crying again. My vision went dark and I felt at peace. I know
Heaven isn't the place for a Marine but for now I was content with the peaceful sleep I
was in. I had left the world behind me. I held the line to the very end.