Disclaimer: Now the story will take place back in the present time of the war when the Covenant first came to Earth. Although it will randomly jump back to Paul and Connor discussing certain things in his house. Alright I don't own this Bungie does so yeah.
Chapter One
1010 Hours, October 20, 2552 (Military Calendar/
Earth, Sol System (Present Day)
Camp Cole, Kenya, Africa
My story really starts off in the East African Protectorate of Kenya. I was currently sitting in the office of Dr. Snyder. He was the bases psychiatrist. As I stared at a picture of the Doctor with his family at a beach I assumed was on Earth, I thought back about my family and life.
I was born on the Inner Colony planet of Precisian IV. It was a motley back water sort of planet. Its main enterprise was farming. And after Harvest got glassed in 2552, it took over as the main agricultural planet for the UNSC.
Being a farmer I learned many valuable things. But I think the most valuable thing I learned to do was shooting. I had to or the Artic wolves would come in during the winters and eat my families' livestock. My dad was a crack shot in his prime, but age got to him and he was less precise after a while. So it was up to me to defend the livestock and that I did.
I had enlisted right after high school. Literally the day after graduation a few friends and I rode up to the local recruitment center and enlisted. I was the only one that entered into the Army however, all my friends enlisted to the Marine Corp and they ridiculed me about to no end about it.
I don't know where they are this day. Probably dead on some colony world like Reach or Dracus V, where the Marine Corp really took a beating. The average life expectancy of a marine was a lot less then that of an Army Trooper.
I could say my parents were proud I enlisted, but that would be a complete lie. My mom was sad that I would be pursuing a military career. She had planned for me to go to college and earn a nice living. Something she said she hadn't been able to give me. This hit home on me and almost made me regret enlisting, but it was my dad who drove me away. He was furious. He had thought that I would take over the family farm when I was of age. That made me mad. I didn't want to be a farmer. Hell, at least my mother thought I could go to college.
But my father being the narcissistic alcoholic abusive asshole he was thought all I was good for was farm work. He had no faith in me joining up; said i was going to be killed right off the back. I told him off saying, "It was much better to go down fighting then it was to just sit here waiting for the Covenant to begin raining plasma on us." After that I left. I wished my mom a farewell and told her I would write to her as much as possible and up and left for boot camp.
Sadly three months later after basic I learned that the Covenant had paid Precisian IV a visit only two weeks after I left. It had been a massacre. The Covenant hadn't even landed troops. They simply glassed the planet from orbit and moved on. The UNSC hadn't even tried to defend the planet. I guess a back water planet with a population of 200,000 wasn't worth the risk of sending a defense fleet.
Anyways I was sitting in Snyder's humid office tapping my thumbs together waiting patiently for the therapist to come. The office was dimly lit because the blinds had been closed ever so slightly. I could see the dust particles floating in between the small amount of sunlight shining through. The incensive tick tock of the clock hung up on the wall was driving me crazy. It was literally to the point that I wanted to get up and rip the damn thing off the wall and smash it. I was actually about to act upon my thoughts, when the door suddenly opened.
A short slightly chubby man in a t-shirt and shorts strolled in. He had the rank of major on his military jacket. I rolled my eyes. That was nothing more then a formality. He, and a majority of the Medical Corps, was given high ranks so that most of his patients will be under his authority.
"Hot in here," he said turning on the fan on a nearby drawer, before taking his seat opposite of me. He leaned back in his chair putting his hands behind his head and his feet on the desk, "So Ramirez, what do I owe the pleasure of seeing you again?"
I mimicked his pose and replied coolly, "Oh you know. Lieutenant Martinez thought I was too pretty and sent me here to get your opinion on it." I mentally patted myself on the back for that one. Snyder knew damn well why I was here; Martinez obviously sent him a report on why he sent me here.
The psychiatrist got out of his relaxed state, leaning forward. He took on a more serious tone as he spoke, "That's not what I heard. I heard you were contemplating suicide." I smiled, "Oh that, yeah now that I think of it that is probably why I was sent here."
Snyder sighed, "Ramirez this isn't funny stuff. Soldiers like you are always losing it and many end up actually pulling the trigger. All I want to know is why you put a fully loaded Magnum to your temple and threatened to kill yourself?" I got out of my relaxed state as well, "You really want to know why?"
Snyder nodded.
"It is because I am bored," I admitted, "There's nothing at all too do on this damn base except sit around." It was true. The last time I had seen action with the Covenant was back on Sigma Octanus IV, and that was in July three months ago. Although "seeing: action with the Covenant was a sure way to bring your life expectancy to a halt, I really needed to do something. "And besides Doc, I was just playing around, the safety was on."
Snyder shook his head, "In Martinez's report he mentioned that a trooper, one PFC Dominique Cromartie said that you had mentioned killing yourself plenty of times too him. Enough to warrant cause for concern."
Cromartie is a dead man, I thought to myself. "Man, that asshole I call my friend would say something like that just to stir up trouble for me and entertainment for himself."
"Ramirez can you tell me why I should let you back out there. And not put into a crazy house for your actions where you won't be a threat to yourself or others?" Snyder said with complete seriousness.
"Because if you do I'll give you a blowjob."
There was a good thirty seconds of awkward silence between us. All that was heard was the hum of the fan and the constant ticking of the wall clock. before Snyder sighed and pulled out a folder from his drawer. He opened it showing the report from Martinez on me. He pulled out a pen and wrote clear on one of the lines and then signed his name.
He pushed the paper over to me and indicated for me to sign under his name. I scrawled my name on the appropriate line and tossed him the pen.
"It's been nice seeing you Doc," I said giving him a fake salute, "I'll be sure to give you that blowjob sometime soon."
Snyder looked as if he was going to blow a gasket, "Ramirez, I don't ever want to see you in my office again. Because if I do I will be sure to have you put in an insane asylum and locked up for life."
I smiled, "Will do doc, will do." With that I turned on my heels and began to make my way out of his office but turned around at the last second, "And you really should think to upgrade to a digital clock. That one you have now is enough to make a sane man crazy."
As I stepped outside I was nearly blinded by the morning sunlight. My eyes quickly adjusted and I took in my surroundings.
Camp Cole; duly named after the late Admiral Preston Cole, Hero of the Battle of Harvest, was in full swing. Or as full swing as anything could get in times like these. I walked pass the motor pool. Lines and lines of M12 Warthogs, IAV Armadillo APC's and M810 Komodo Main Battle Tanks were parked waiting for use by the bases current occupants, the 69th Regiment of the 327th Infantry Brigade and the 15th Mechanized Brigade.
UNSC personnel were doing this and that. Today was just another day for us. Most of us had been on this base for a couple months now and it was excruciating. Now you can see why suicide was being contemplated, even though I was joking.
The first thing I did was light a cigarette with my Zippo lighter. I know people say the thing is bad for you and can cause lung cancer, frankly I don't care. With modern technology nowadays people can easily get a cloned lung if anything goes south. Smoking was becoming more popular now among soldiers. It was a great way to deal with the anxieties of battle.
I strolled over to the basketball courts. Basketball and Football were some of the only outlets of fun we had when on base. Of course when we were awarded leave we took complete advantage of it, but that was only every few weeks at least.
A bunch of Army troopers sat around lazily watching the game of a few troopers playing. I spotted the person I was looking for nearby sitting atop a box of crates looking at his cell phone. I walked over to him.
Private First Class Dominique Cromartie was my best friend. He and I had been in the same unit ever since he joined up a year and half ago. He was my longest surviving squad mate, besides Staff Sergeant Graves. Dom; as I referred to him was about as tall as me. His dark skin made him out to be black, but apparently he was more Caribbean. He had a good sense of humor but was the squads' resident jackass. Though he was a good soldier and always had your back.
As I walked up to him, he looked up and gave me the goofiest grin ever, "Ah Connor I see the Doctor let you out."
"Fuck you," I said giving him a swift punch to the gut. Not one other person noticed as Cromartie grunted and held his stomach. It was one of my specialties that I could hit someone ever so slightly, but make it still hurt.
"So you figured out about my little report to Martinez," he said straightening up ever slowly; he still had a grin on his face. I glared at him, "Yeah asshole, way to get me in a lot of trouble that could've been avoided."
"I'm sorry Connor my man, but you were talking about dying all those times," He said faking innocence. I flipped him the bird, "Yeah dying of boredom." Dominique smiled at me, "Oh well at least I wasn't bored for a little bit." He got up off the crate and began walking away signaling to for me to follow, "Come on we got to finish that last game of ninety nine we were playing."
All hate towards my best friend quickly vanished when he mentioned our game of ninety nine, "Oh yeah, I was winning that shit before."
We made our way through Camp Cole. I exhaled another puff of smoke from the cigarette in my mouth. Dominique noticed this, "Yo, light me up." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes of his own. I pulled out my Zippo and lit it for him. We continued on through the base smoking and talking about my discussion with Doc Snyder.
"You will give him a blowjob?" Dom said wearily, giving me a side glance.
I chuckled, "I wasn't serious Dommy."
"I know, but still. Its stuff like that that makes me consider your sexuality." I couldn't help but smile at that, "You know I am all for the pussy."
Dom made a sighing noise, "Yeah all too well. Speaking of pussy when are you going to get around to talking to Michelle? I know you have the hots for her." I shook my head, "In my own time Dommy boy, in my own time."
We finally made it to our barrack. Row 4 building 6. The small rectangular building had served as my sleeping quarters for the greater part of two months. I opened the door letting Dom go in before me. I closed the door and took in the scene before me.
On the floor doing pushups was PFC Johnny Knox. Knox was a twenty two year old self proclaimed badass. He always bragged about how he would waste an Elite in hand to hand combat. Dom had actually dared him once, on Sigma Octanus IV, to take on an Elite Major Domo that was challenging gone of the squad to face him in unarmed combat. Of course Knox didn't and we ended up simply hosing the elite down with our weapons. After that Knox's reputation went down a bit with us, but he still had his moments. And he was as reliable as any brother in arms would.
"Knox, stop humping the floor and lets continue our ninety nine game," I said slightly kicking him in the leg. He hopped right up; pushing back his close cropped blonde hair, "Damn okay, but I was like on two hundred fifty."
I shared a quick glance with Dominique before turning to Knox, "Sure Knox," I turned to the other members of our squad, "Cho get over here and bring the crate."
Specialist Aaron Cho was the squads' radio specialist. He had been through three years of college; the farthest any of us had gotten in education. He had earned the rank of Specialist upon entering the Army and had been given a radio. But between you and me, I think he wasn't cut out for war. I had only seen him in action once on Sigma Octanus IV and I didn't like what I saw. He was slow on the radio calls and he had a habit of breaking under pressure.
Cho kicked over the stolen ammunition crate we had and placed it in between the cots. We pulled the beds closer so that we could each have sitting positions.
I looked over at the last member inside the bunker. She was sleeping on a cot in the far corner. Private First Class Michelle Calkins was the newest member of the squad. She had been transferred to our unit after her unit got mulched on Reach.
Reach was a terrible battle. Millions lost holding an indefensible planet. The Covenant came in and destroyed the UNSC second strongest planet. Although they paid for every inch they took. We lost a lot of brave souls on Reach and they will all be remembered for their bravery.
Luckily my unit had avoided the massacre, because we had been stationed on the planet Hebron, during the siege of Reach. After that we had been rotated back to Earth as part of the Home Defense Guard.
Michelle was pretty. There was no denying that. She was one of the prettiest girls I had ever seen. With her blonde hair, hazel eyes and hourglass figure, she looked like something you would see in a fashion magazine. Girls like that just don't drop into the Army for no reason, but trying to get her to spill the beans on her life was near impossible.
It was like this for many members of the military who came from annihilated or near annihilated units. When they got to their new unit they would shut themselves away from everyone else and not get to really know anyone. I guess it was the feeling that if they got to know another unit then they would suffer just as much if they lost them. I really just thought it was an extreme form of survivors' guilt. She would eventually talk in her own time.
Knox caught me looking over at her, "She's been asleep ever since this morning, she didn't even have breakfast."
"I'm awake," Michelle said suddenly, without moving. This had surprised us. She hadn't talked much in the two weeks she had been here. She only really only answered yes and no to us and never made conversation. The fact she had even said a complete two words to us was a huge milestone.
"You want to join us for our game?" I asked timidly like I was a school boy talking to a girl for the first time. Knox and Dom shared a glance smiling devilishly at each other. Michelle turned in her cot and propped herself up on her elbow, "What game?"
"Ninety nine"
She seemed to think it over, "I'm not too sure how to play, but I'll watch and learn." That was good enough for me. I began to deal out the cards as she walked over.
"Alright," I said, "Each person gets three cards. They place their card of their choosing into the middle and then draw a card. If the card is a 5 or an 8 then the rotation is reversed and it goes back to the previous person. If you get a 10 you have the option to raise or lower the count by ten. The first one to get a perfect amount of ninety nine wins. Got it?"
Michelle nodded, "Yeah but I'll still watch the first few rounds."
I nodded and our game began in earnest. The first round actually got hectic as I came close to winning putting down a 5 to make it ninety three, but Dom being the ever loving douche he is had to have a four waiting the next turn and one the pot. The pot being a pack of cigarettes. These things were our only real stake at money right now. All our pension checks for being in the military go directly to our bank accounts so we don't really get any hard cash, unless we are about to go on leave, then we get a few dollars for beer and if you can find one, a cheap hooker.
"You are lucky black boy," Knox said eyeing Dominique as he took in the pot. Dom eyed him, "I told you I'm Caribbean." I could tell Dom was getting angry and Knox never knew when to quit, so intervened with a question of my own, "Where's Graves?"
It was Cho who answered, "He and the other NCOs and officers got called away to some debriefing with Colonel Sharper." I raised an eyebrow at that, "Colonel Sharper you say, must be something big going down if the entire leadership of the regiment is being called together."
Cho shrugged. I finished dealing out the next round of cards and this time Michelle joined in. This game lasted a good ten minutes before I came away with the W. "Damn you're lucky you're a crack shot with that DMR of yours Ramirez or I would've socked you by now."
I rolled my eyes at the younger man, but he had a point. I was a pretty damn good shot. Years of hunting Artic Wolves on Precisian V had made me a crack shot. That is why I was designated the squads sharpshooter. With my eyes and aim I could shoot the wings off a butterfly at 200 yards.
I was about to deal out the next hand of cards when the barrack room doors swung open. Standing in the frame of the door was Staff Sergeant Graves. Graves was of Caucasian descent. He had grown up on the world Harvest before it was glassed by the Covenant in 2525. He had only been six at the time, but he still remembered being huddled onto that cargo elevator and watching as a single Covenant cruiser glassed his home. He vowed revenge for that and joined up in the Army as soon as he was of age.
"Morning Staff Sergeant," Dom said, gesturing to the cot next to him, "Take a seat and join in." Graves had a look upon his face of seriousness. Now Graves was usually a pretty laid backed guy on leave and during downtime like this, but once shit hit the fan that relaxed calm guy became a serious shouting drill sergeant type of guy.
And right now he was being the drill sergeant type of guy, "Games over lady and gentlemen. Pick yourselves up off your asses and get suited up." Suited up, that struck me as odd. That's when I noticed that Graves was already in full combat gear, complete even with his preferred weapon, the M45 Tactical Shotgun.
"What is going on Sarge?" Knox inquired getting up and pushing his cot back into place, "We going out for a training exercise?" Graves seemed to think over his next words carefully, "There is no easy way of saying this so I'll just say it. The Covenant are on Earth."
There was a silence that developed the room. One could have heard a pin drop on the floor. It was Dom who spoke next, "What's the situation?"
"A fleet of 15 Covenant ships jumped in orbit near Earth only a couple hours ago. Our fleet got the jump on them, but one of the Assault Carriers slipped through and has currently taken position over the Tether City of New Mombassa," Graves explained. He took a deep breath before continuing, "The ship is currently deploying thousands of troops into the city. Colonial Militia and Marine defense forces are engaging them as we speak."
That wasn't good. New Mombassa was only like 15 kilometers away from Camp Cole. Any conflict there and we were bound to be drawn into it.
"What's our mission?" I inquired, impatiently waiting.
Graves looked me over, "Lieutenant Martinez will inform us and the rest of 1st platoon in hangar B at 1100 hours, so hurry up and get suited up and be ready by then."
It was silent as everyone suited up in their BDUs, which consisted of olive-drab fatigues, with brown-gray armor plating covering it. The main components of the armor include an armored vest, a helmet and large shoulder pauldrons. The chest armor also has an extension to provide protection to the groin. The shins are not armored like in the Marine BDU, with only dust-gray combat boots and black kneepads on the lower leg. The thighs have attachment rigs for equipment much like in the other versions. On the waist is a utility belt used for storing equipment. My armor was battered and bruised in certain places but I liked it. It reminded me I was alive and they sort of made me look cool to the newer guys.
I placed my helmet on my head. I quickly activated my HUD to make sure everything was good. Then I linked up the CNM or Command Network Module. The external attachment to our helmets was our way of communicating with one another. It also had our friend/foe identifier. It pretty much was the Armies version of the Helljumpers VISR attachment.
I removed my helmet from my head and reached into my locker and withdrew my final thing, my DMR. The M392 designated Marksman Rifle was my weapon of choice. Being the squads' sharpshooter I had been assigned the air cooled, magazine-fed, gas-operated select-fire bull pup rifle. This baby had saved my life more times then I could count. I kept her clean at all times and she never jammed.
I gave my baby one quick kiss, it was sort of a ritual I did every time I got it out of storage. I hoped no one would see. However one person did see and it was the last person I wanted too.
"You kiss your weapons a lot?" Michelle asked. She had her helmet on already. Her blonde bangs were slightly poking out from beneath her helmet. The Army was lenient on its hair regulations. Her eyes were covered by the clear ballistic goggles. She had a small grin on her face.
"I ….uh you see," I blabbed out. I must have been red as an apple. "Ramirez, Calkins! You two stop flirting and get your asses in line to fall out," Graves shouted from the front of the barrack. Saved by the Sarge.
I placed my helmet on my head, grabbed my M6G sidearm (The same one I used to when I faked suicide) and fell in with the rest of the squad. Dom held his M319 IGL to his chest like he was carrying a baby. Twin belts of grenade ammunition were strapped across his chest armor in a X. On his back was his secondary weapon, a MA37 ICWS Assault Rifle. The weapon carried a lot of stopping power, but lacked the range.
Besides Sergeant Graves, Dominique, and I everyone else in the squad carried the basic kit for an Army trooper. A MA37 Assault rifle with an M6G pistol and a handful of grenades.
Sergeant Graves began distributing the ammo out for our rifles. The ammo was kept in a foot locker at the front of the barrack that only Graves had the key to open. I guess the higher ups didn't trust us. But after that little stunt I pulled earlier, I wouldn't think they would trust us.
The DMR and MA37 both supported the same 7.25x51mm ammunition. So it was easy to give everyone a few clips and call it a day. I hooked the clippings to my webbing on my armor and placed a few grenades in my rucksack. After that I quickly fell in step with the others and headed out.
Right before stepping out, I turned around and gave one last look at the barrack room. This had been my home for two months and I wondered if I would ever see it again. I shook my head. Now was not the time to be thinking in such a way. There were covenant to kill.
As we made our way outside the barracks we fell in line with other squads from our platoon. There was a lot of talk as we made our way across the base to the hangars. Camp Cole was no longer the boring drawn out place I had seen an hour ago. Word of the Covenant invasion spread fast and everyone was hustling to get ready. Warthogs were being armed and getting last minute checks before they would disembark for battle. M810s were rolling out of the base. They sounded like a stampede as they disembarked.
Some of the tanks were being loaded into C107 Heavy Transport vehicles. These were like giant cargo planes that were used to transport heavy machines like tanks and Armadillos if need be. Hell they could transport over an entire company of soldiers if need be.
Lines of pelicans waited out on the airfield. They were being feuled up and fitted with rockets.
We arrived at Hangar B along with the rest of 1st platoon. Lieutenant Martinez stood at the head of our motley group of thirty. "Well ladies and gentlemen," Martinez said with a slight Spanish accent, "Shit has hit the fan. The Covies are on Earth and to be more specific they are really hitting New Mombassa."
"We will be transported to a forward rallying point outside of the city by pelican," he explained, "From there we will be transported into the Old Mombassa by Armadillo. Civilians are still trying to evacuate. We have to set up a defensive line. Our sister companies not to mention our sister battalions are already on the scene. We will be the last as we are 3rd Battalion."
So the whole 69th Regiment was being used. That means shit must really be getting heavy over in Mombassa. This was going to be one helluva fight.
"How come we don't simply fly into the city? It'll be a lot faster then changing over to Armadillos," a young private asked. Martinez gave him a stare and said, "Because the Covies have a hell of a lot of AA emplacements all over Old Mombassa. We would be shot down before we even get to the line."
The private shut up realizing his foolish question. Martinez looked around, "Anymore questions? Good now Darwin's theory was that only the strongest survive. Now I know you guys know the Covenant are stronger then us. So how's about we go prove Darwin wrong and go kick some Covenant ass!"
A chorus of, "Hoo-ah!" Went up from the gathered crowd. We were getting pumped; we would need to so as to fight the Covenant.
"You are dismissed. And god be with you all of you," Those were Martinez's words of inspiration. I was atheist. I didn't believe in a god. If there really was a god then he would have helped us defeat the Covenant a long time ago. No we are on our own with that one.
We made our way out onto the airfield. The lines of Pelicans that had been getting fueled up were now sitting there waiting for our arrival. As one our company moved out to out designated pelicans. It was a marvelous thing to see the might of the UNSC in action.
2nd Squad, my squad, went onto the third pelican in. we were joined by 3rd squad led by Sergeant McAllister. Graves gave him a curt nod as he and his men embarked. "Looks like we are going straight into the suck again, eh Joseph?" McAllister said returning the nod.
Graves nodded, "Yup, but it's about time the Covies found Earth. I was wondering what was taking the bastards so long."
What Graves said got me thinking. Did High Command know of an imminent Covenant attack on Earth? Was that why we had been rotated back to the home planet? As I asked myself these questions I slowly realized that we were ascending. I rested my head back against the seat. Well rested was an overstatement. These dropships were never really made for comfort. They were just to get you from point A to point B without being blown up.
The midday sun peeked into the blood tray reflecting off many of our armor pieces and sort of creating a light show for us. I smiled, that smile quickly turned into a frown when I realized we had a long day ahead of us.
