UNSC Midsummer Night HEV Drop Bay
Orbiting over planet Vert
Almost every single UNSC starship had drop bays for ODSTs. These bays held numerous Human Entry Vehicles, or HEVs that transported Helljumpers to the surface of a hostile planet. The titanium eggs that lined the bay walls offered next to no protection from the reentry heat and enemy projectiles. The only thing that kept the ODSTs safe from the hard vacuum of space was their body suits. Normally, there were around 7 pods on the ship, but with the loss of three squadmates at Pegassi, there were only four now lining the wall.
Callard led his men into the room. They each picked up a mirrored helmet and slipped it on their heads. A slight hiss and pop told them that they were airtight and had 30 minutes of recycled air if needed. Each pod had the name of the Helljumper printed on it so they would know where to go. A technician saluted as the Sergeant approached and led him to his pod. The other techs led the lower rank troopers into their HEVs. As soon as Callard gave the thumbs up, the techs sealed him in and a red light illuminated the inside.
"Sarge, how do we know Eggman doesn't already know we're here?" Lucas said. His face appeared on Callard's pod screen. All he could see was Lucas' mirrored helmet. The only thing that set him apart from the others in the squad was a white spray painted paw on the front of his helmet; his own personal Mobian recognition system other than the flag that was on his left shoulder-pad.
Callard exhaled. It was like dealing with children. "We checked the freaking spectrum four times before drop. There are no known frequencies hitting our hull." Maybell cut in; there were painted hawk eyes on the side of her helmet. "Sir, you said 'known frequencies'. Remember. Some Mobians have entirely different methods of radar detection. Remember back in Downunda three years back?" "Billy," Callard started. "There's nothing watching us. Shut up, Wilhelmina, and check your systems." "You tell her, Sarge!" Martinez crowed.
20 seconds until drop. Callard couldn't shake the unnatural feeling from his stomach. It was sort of like the feeling he had when he took his first pod ride. It was fear. He knew he shouldn't be fearful. But he was. Something about fighting Eggman made him scared. He was scared when he was on Mobius in 3235, He was scared during the Battle of Earth a year later. And he was scared now. If Robotnik caught them, he would have them killed on the spot, or worse…
Callard had heard whispers about people who were taken prisoner by Robotnik. How he could just touch them and they would have their free will taken away, like drones; an empty shell to do his bidding. He had seen Robotropolis, how the citizens there fought without question for their new master. Some innocents fought back, but they only increased their numbers. He chimed on the COM.
"Hey, not like it matters or anything, but if anything happens here, it's been a pleasure serving with you boys." The other three squadmates recoiled in their pods. Matrinez did a double take. Through a private conference channel, Maybell asked, "Did he just say that?" Lucas piped up, "Yeah, I thought Sarge was a badass." Martinez offered his opinion, "Maybe he thinks something's coming." "The Sarge?" Lucas scoffed. His ears twitched when he laughed. "Bullshit!" The drop officer sounded, "5 SECONDS! PREPARE FOR DROP!" "Here's hoping he was joking around." Billy said leaning back straight.
The locks disengaged with a sharp clack. The pods slid right down the shaft that led to open space. Once through this portal, the tube sealed so that no pressure was lost. The pods continued their drop down to Vert.
Callard looked over the outer layout of the structure on his screen. There were no internal schematics and the doctor threw up powerful firewalls to hard for UNSC AIs to break through. "OK, team." He said. "You have the correct weapon load-outs for this mission? Remember, close quarter stuff." "Don't you worry." Martinez sounded. "Me and my M90-K will wipe the floor in that place." "Provided," Lucas chimed in, "that we manage to get in alive." Martinez got angry. "You are SUCH a pessimist you furry son of a bitch. What the fuck are you even doing in the Helljumpers? We don't even need whiny bitches like you!"
"Martinez, YOU shut up. Lucas, quit worrying. I'll make sure we get into that place or die trying." Callard barked into the radio. "Wilhelmina, make sure those two don't kill each other." Maybell laughed. "I'll try my best, Sarge."
Flames lapped at the titanium armor of the HEV's skin. Lower they descended into Vert's atmosphere. Still, they met no anti-aircraft fire. Callard's computer stated that they were still on course and were due to hit in three minutes. Now there was no more time for playing.
The drag chute deployed already and snapped away as the HEV's speed reached high enough numbers to easily kill the ODSTs inside on impact. From then on, retro thrusters would take on the job of keeping the pod's descent speed at a manageable level.
The pods impacted with a deep crunch in the rich soil of Vert's southern continent. A small crater was formed when each pod impacted the ground even with the aid of the retro boosters. The Marines inside kicked the doors of their pods and they flew away with ease. The first thing each Helljumper did was remove their helmet and each took a breath of non-recycled air.
Vert's atmosphere was tropical so it was very stuffy, sticky, and humid. Actually, the atmosphere had a 0.000001 per cent saturation level. Not even nearly enough to kill a human though. "Man, it never gets old." Lucas said with appreciation, "You know, breathing fresh air. None of that scrubbed shit we inhale on the ships. It reminds me of back home." Martinez groaned and put on a pair of aviator glasses. "Oh Christ, here he goes again." Lucas was very sentimental of his former life on Mobius, a planet which was the future incarnation of Earth in an alternate universe.
"Enough of that, Lucas." Callard barked. But secretly, he enjoyed the fresh air. Jonathon grew up in Sydney. Lots of skyscrapers, shuttle docking structures, space elevators. Typical metropolitan center of the 33rd century. Whenever he got the chance, Jon's parents took him on outings far away from Sydney's city center. Sometimes as far away as Melbourne where it was as simple as 27th century Toronto. That was the air he longed for, Grade-A Aussie air. But this was good enough for him.
"How far are we away from the target, Billy?" Maybell took out a portable scanner. It hooked up with a GPS aboard the Night. "Hmm…Slightly off: 1.273 kilometers from the entrance. Still, the river should be close by." Callard nodded. "Lucas, Martinez. Secure our weapons from the pods. I want a complete inventory in five minutes. Today, soldiers, TODAY!" The two marines scampered away and Callard thought about their plan one more time.
The river actually flowed from the ocean. Some cargo vessels that belonged to Eggman docked here under the guise of Vertian cargo freighters. He trafficked weapons, vehicles, and even robotic soldiers themselves under the civilians' noses. Disgusting, the lot of them.
Callard and his boys got lucky today. There was already a vessel coming in from the capitol. It was loaded with iron ore, aluminum, titanium, and even some liquidized Mercury; all components to be used to build his army. That's how the squad would get in.
They wouldn't hide in the ship, oh no. They (the robots) had scanners that checked the ship thoroughly. They would be using a different method.
The suits the Helljumpers were wearing could be sealed for thirty minutes. This could be used for vacuum operations and even underwater assignments. This was exactly what was happening here. Callard ordered his men to activate the magnetic soles in their boots. This would allow them to stick to the freighter's hull and pass though undetected. It was so simple it was brilliant and was sure to be overlooked for security.
"Everyone ready?" Jon asked. "Sure thing boss. I forgot my swimming cap though." Martinez joked. "Yeah, good thing I'm wearing this suit. It would take hours to dry my fur out." Lucas said more seriously. Callard placed his helmet back on. It hissed to confirm the seal and his HUD activated. Martinez put his helmet on but left the aviator glassed on. It was his trademark. Finally, each trooper placed a rubber stopper on the barrels of the weapons. This prevented water from entering the guns and fucking up the mechanisms thus, keeping them ready to fire.
"Sergeant Maybell, I want you to keep continuous tabs on how much oxygen's in our tanks. I don't want to lose anyone down there. "Gotcha, Sarge." Wilhelmina replied. "OK, Helljumpers: dive!" And one by one, each black clad soldier slipped into the water, and towards their objective.