Capture the Flag.

-"Today is a good day for you to die!"-

Staff Sergeant Sarge

Yamada swiped her finger over her tact-pad, her eyes focusing on the small device before looking back at me. She swallowed. "it sounds like you were close with them."

I chuckled. "You could say that." We were more than close. Spending every waking moment with the person next to you tends to make you connect. "Training dose that to you."

She looked like she wanted to talk more but she was stopped when her pad beeped. She glanced down before cursing under her breath. She smiled at me before asking me to continue where I left off.

Right. The 'fun' part of training. Combat simulations. The second reason why Helljumpers hate Mars. Unlike the standard training wargames used by everyone now. Back during the war, the only simulation was paint. God, how I hate the paint...

Combat training field 3-alpha.

Three kilometers north of Camp Kettle

The albatross was a special ship. Each one was capable of carrying 50 men into battle and as nearly as maneuverable as a pelican. Each platoon had one. But with 151 men some ships were over packed. Luckily we were not one of those. We were about 8000 meters above our objective. A large box canyon containing two structures on each side separated by a forest. To get there we would have to jump from our safe secure ships and parachute in. Or at least that's what the Captain had instructed us to do. If we were in our gear, we were used to it wouldn't have been a problem. But we weren't. We were in our new full combat gear. Packs, ammo, guns, full set of armor. The whole shebang. Only problem was we didn't know our full range of motion with the full armor set. Meaning that while we looked like Helljumpers we moved like we had our balls in a vice grip.

Then there was our mission. Defend or capture the objectives, or eliminate the opposing side before the objective is captured. We didn't know what the objectives were or who we were defending it from, but I had a sinking feeling that I knew the person. And she's not a nice lady. But I felt confident we would win. I mean we had 151 men. And we were told that we had numerical supremacy on our side. I mean we managed the training this far so I think that means we can handle anything.

The crew chief stood up and approached the back wall and pulled a lever. The ramp lowered and he moved to the side. As one we all stood and checked our partners gear with drilled proficiency. Wordlessly we waited for the red light above the ramp to turn green.

I glanced at Mac. While I couldn't see his face I knew him well enough to tell he was tense. Of the impending jump or the battle simulation itself I didn't know. I smirked. There was a loud horn sound as the light switched to green. "Go Go Go!" the crew chief yelled as he smacked the first in the line. I pushed myself forward and closed my eyes before I felt gravity take hold of me. When I opened them I couldn't help but feel a little uneasy. I wasn't afraid of heights but when you live in a city where the tallest buildings are only 60 stories up, you tend to like the ground better.

I looked at the readouts on my VISR. there were two markers, one in red and the other blue. The blue marker was our objective to defend and, I guessed, our rally point. In the corner was a small timer that counted down. When it ended the match would start. after a few seconds of freefall, I pulled the cord releasing the shoot from the pack. A second later I had the air forced from my lungs when the shoot stopped my rapid descent. The rest of the trip was silent as I aimed myself to a clearing. I landed on the ground with a grunt as I rolled with the momentum. I stood, unlocked my pack and folded shoot back into it for later use. Not that I would. Fulbright just pounded it into our heads to do it.

I checked my VISR. I was half a click away from the objective we were to supposed to defend. To the back of me was the one we had to capture. I was about to make my way when I head a twig snap. I twisted around pulling my rifle off of the magnetic holster and leveled it to the direction the sound came from. "Beer's Good!" I shouted into the trees.

I waited for a few seconds before I head the reply. "But Whiskey's better!"

I relaxed and lowered my weapon. I ran over to the source of the voice. Three guys from different platoons crouched behind the tree line their guns aimed directly at me. Once they saw me they switched their aim to the surrounding forest. I crouched down to the nearest one and took aim to the left of the group.

"Have you guys see anyone else?" I asked, scanning the trees.

Another guy spoke up behind me, "No you're the first. Any idea what we should do?" he asked.

"I suggest we head to the RV point. We're out in the open... I'd rather not be in the open," another one called out.

"Where would we go otherwise? The enemy objective? I'd rather not get my head blown off. Let's move. Hey, you, you're on point."

I nodded my head. "Got it." I stood to a standing crouch and started to move through the foliage. I heard the three men take up position behind me.

For the next twenty or so minutes we made our way to our destination. Six others soon found themselves attached to our little fire team. So far I was the only one from fifth. Maybe that's why they all listened to me instead of the other three guys. When we arrived at bunker most of us were weary, the reason why? While from above it looked like a solid building, up close we could see all the damage nature and untold number of simulation battles had done to it. The place looked like it would fall apart the moment someone sneezed.

I took a breath and called out the call. Almost immediately I heard the return call. I looked back at the other members of my makeshift outfit and nodded my head. Together we made a dash for the bunker. I'd like to think that from afar we looked like an organized fighting unit instead of a bunch of recruits. Knowing my luck? We looked like chickens with their heads cut off. Once inside I allowed myself to smile when I found myself staring at most of my platoon. Ellie Came up to me and smacked me on my shoulder, she didn't tell you but that was her way of showing affection... well at least to us. Chaffer got more then he wanted from her. Not that he complained or anything, it just gets old having to listen to soft grunts and a squeaking mattress every few nights. Hell if Fulbright didn't find it hilarious it would have been stopped the moment she discovered it.

I looked around. The inside of the bunker looked exactly like the outside. worn, scarred and ugly. Besides our ten there were eighty others inside the bunker, if it wasn't for the second story, it would have been a little cramped. A few guys were resting while others either counted rounds, talked, or kept watch on the tree line through cracks holes in the walls. I walked over to where my platoon was guarding the entrance way and sat next to Mac. He nodded his head at me before looking back through his sights.

I looked over to Al and asked him, "Where's everybody else?"

"We saw some guys from third making their way to the enemy objective, Ellie tried talking them into regrouping here but... You Know." he replied, never looking away from the trees.

Yeah, I knew. While the whole company had their issues with Ellie and our platoon in general, the other platoons had learned to play nice when we proved we weren't some joyriders. But Third? Third never gave her or us a chance, granted they hated everyone else besides their own, resulting in us giving them the nickname Bullfrog, but you would think that they would at least try and cooperate. Al took that personally, somewhere along the line he made it his mission to make friends with everyone in the company. I looked at Ellie, "Any plans?" I asked her.

She smiled, "I talked to the other guys who took charge of their platoons, they agree that our best bet would be to hunker down and repel any attack. That way if third dose succeed we can at least protect their back door."

"What time does the match start?"

"A few minutes if mah' clock is right. Don't know 'bout you guys but I don't think third has a snowball's chance in hell at managing to take out whoever we are against." Mac said in usual bored tone.

I smiled "Gee, aren't you the optimistic one."

"When ah' was younger mah' sisters would play dart tag using the trees as a battleground. Guess who usually won."

Al chuckled," What? Your sisters beat you? You're a giant compared to them. How do you lose?"

Mac shrugged. "Mah youngest sister was small and fast. She'd hit you from one position and by the time you narrowed that position down she would have hit you from somewhere else. It got so bad that Jackie an' me had t' team up just to stand a chance." He began to laugh. "Don't even mention her friends. The three of them would plan ambushes, flank, heck even successfully charge us one time..." He looked down at the ground and sighed. "Ah' miss them." He looked back at Al with a small grin. "Size don't mean a thing unless you know how to use it."

"Heh," Al smiled at him. Oddly he didn't take the obvious penis joke. Even stranger was the fact that the two people who never spoke to one another for more than a few jabs were talking. I looked at Ellie who was staring intently at the exchange. Glad I'm not the only one who noticed. "Good thing you're a helljumper in diapers. I bet when you play dart tag with them next you'll win for sure." He smiled wistfully. "I know when I get home I have a huge list of things to do. Maybe I'll add that."

Mac gave a heartfelt chuckle. "Ah' doubt it. She and her friends probably have all sorts of plans for school and college... last time we played together was when ah' was still in high school. She's a tad t' old t' be playin' with her big brother now." He picked up a rock from the ground gave it a look over and tossed it out the window. "How about you Al? Ah' never heard you talk 'bout yer' family before. You got any?"

Al shrugged. "I have two younger siblings. Sarah, she's 8, and Tanner who just turned 13 this month. I... really don't like talking about them much." he added as an afterthought.

That's new. Al never gets quiet. "Why not?" I asked. Sure maybe not as tactful as others but it got a reaction.

His gaze lowered to the ground. He was quite a few seconds and I could see the gears turning before he looked back to me. "My folks and I had a fight before I left... It was rough."

I nodded. "No need to tell me anymore. I understand." I looked at Ellie as she played finger math with Chaffer. "How about you Ellie? You have family to go home to?"

She glanced my way before returning her focus on her partner. "Used to. Dad was with Colonel Akono Menteith on Actium. Mom was on the Everest during his last stand. As soon as my aunt let me, I joined up." That was it.

I glanced at Chaffer. "How about you big guy?"

He didn't even look up. "Nope, I was the only one left at home. My six siblings and my parents were all shipped out a year ago. Joined up as soon as I graduated primary."

Ellie smiled at me. "Aren't you Mr. talkative today," She remarked in a sarcastic tone.

"Not everyone has the gift of talk like you and Al. Some of us prefer actions over words aint that right boys?" I replied, giving Mac and Chaffer a smile.

Mac slapped my back and Chaffer only grunted. Al decided to switch the focus onto me. "What about you Young? I know you have family. You and Mac never stop talking about them. You excited to see them?"

I shrugged, "As much as I love them they weren't really supportive of me joining. They weren't against it but I figured that they would have wanted me to join the N.M.D.F instead of becoming a crazy bastard who jumps from orbit. But Yeah I plan on treating them to a nice dinner when I get back."

I looked up at my mission clock. "Fifteen seconds." I call out. It's strange seeing the shift between joking pranksters and drilled professionals. For instance, Al, the loud mouth wise ass turns into a soft spoken direct machine of precision. Ellie, the tomboyish badass turns into our fearless leader, Mac and Chaffer? The two quiet giants turn into the most vulgar curse spewing sons of bitches you'll ever meet. Any of the playful banter gets replaced with coordinated clear communication and orders, and any ass grabbing is transformed into pure focus on the objective.

But seeing as this is our first time in combat you couldn't ignore the excitement that was in the air. I Checked my clock. Zero seconds. I heard a pop as my comm unit activated. "Comm's up." I heard Ellie say though it. "Remember what the Fulbright said. When in doubt."

"Light it the FUCK UP!" We finished for her.

"Alright boys cover your sectors. Bullfrog do you read? Over." She called over the radio.

A few moments passed before we heard a static filled reply "Yeah we -ad you. Wha- do yo- -nt?"

"Do you have eyes on the objective?" She asked. I heard movement from the second story, most likely repositioning to get better angles or to get better spots to sit. Can never tell with some people.

"Afer-ive, looks un-ed. Heh. ma- -ey just lef- to kill -ou. Wait! -it! sni-r g- to -over! W- been eng-ed -ver! Multip- -sualties. repea-. -ultiple casualties! They're tear-" The frantic voice soon devolved into screaming and random bursts of gunfire. Everyone was quiet as we all listened to it. I eyed the number counter of our company as the numbers quickly dropped. After a few minutes it stopped dropping leveling out at ninety-two. There were ninety of us inside the bunker so that left two outside without support. Two that were probably running towards our position in order to save themselves.

I looked over to Ellie. She looked back before nodding. "Alright boys! Looks like third's attempt failed. Lock and load!" She shouted. There were no arguments as I heard the bolts slide back loading rounds into chambers. From behind me I heard the other platoon leaders shout out orders for their own people. I swallowed as I pulled back my bolt of my MA5.

Mac and Chaffer both shifted nervously as we waited for anything to happen. Then Al pointed towards the woods directly in front of the building, calling out, "contacts!" As he readjusted his aim.

Ellie looked through her scope. "Hold up," She called out. "They're ours! Al get them in here."

Al gave a thumbs up before standing up to call out to them. The moment he stood a sniper pellet struck right between his legs showering his black armor with red paint. He paused a brief second before the pain of the nut shot registered. He fell to his knees right as another pellet struck him in his head, knocking him out cold. Before Ellie had a chance to yell out, another pellet came through her window and struck her in the faceplate sending her sprawling onto the ground.

The two survivors of the failed attack dropped to the ground as more pellets impacted on their backs taking them out of commission. Mac, Chaffer and I all opened up at the same time. That was enough of an order to signal the rest of the ninety to fire their guns as well. Another sniper pellet impacted Patrick, another member of my platoon, sending him sprawling onto the floor next to me. From upstairs I heard more thumps as our defense was picked off one by one. I flung myself down into cover. Nanoseconds later several pellets shot past where I been. "Eat This!" Owyn yelled out before leaning out of his own cover. His head was thrown back as another sniper pellet was fired.

"Young! See if you can get a bead on that sniper!" Mac called out as he fired blindly over his cover. Several pellets flew through the window and hit the wall behind us. Another pellet shot from the sniper hit his hand causing him to yank it back down to his chest screaming, "FUCK! That stings! Damn it Grayson! Get that sniper!"

I popped my head out of cover for a second before several pellets impacted near it. I threw myself back into cover as more pellets impacted the window's frame and the wall behind me. I looked up to see two more members, Hue and Jack get picked off by a combination of sniper and other small arms fire. I glanced at the numbers of our troops still able to fight, I watched, with a mix of amazement and pure terror as it fell with every bout of fire exchanged. I leaned back out of cover and fired off the last of my current mag at a suspicious looking bush before leaning back in. Looked around the room my platoon was in. There were only twelve of us left. I glanced at the mission timer. Shit, it had only been two minutes since Al had been shot. I eyed Mac and Chaffer, who were both crouched down as more bullets flew through the window. They both looked back at me, before nodding. "Fifth platoon fall back." I shouted out.

Two more fell before we managed to move to the inner defensive structure inside the bunker. Moments later the fourth platoon who were guarding the other side fell in besides us. There was only seven of them. From upstairs, I heard more thumps as more and more of our numbers were killed off. Finally, after another minute of constant fire the last shot was heard from outside. Our two forces inside the center of the building were the last ones left. Everyone else from upstairs was 'dead' as was our moral.

We stood back to back facing both entrances our guns cocked and ready. I risked a glance at Mac and Chaffer, they stood ass to ass, Mac facing my door way, Chaffer the other. The others were in similar positions. I myself stood the farthest away from the doorways in a crouch with two others.

Seconds passed before I heard a metallic tink.

We all froze. Before I could yell out a warning the flashbang exploded sending us in a frenzy of panicked screams, gunfire and thumps of bodies.

I felt my armor freeze up before the pain of getting shot forced me to fall up against the wall.

"...Ow..."

Apparently I was wrong about being able to hand anything. Oh so wrong. Being on your ass with your combat gear locked up by paint generally proves that. Hey at least I still have a view. Now I can watch the rest of the company get raped by the Captain and his Sergeants. You'd think that one hundred and fifty recruits would be able to handle six well trained and hardened troopers. Nope. It was a massacre. It was funny really. The way we were trained in the past few months made us cocky, ignorant, and gave us a big ego. Now... Now everyone who was still up were all panicking and trying to figure out what to do, while being pinned down by gunfire that seemed to come from everywhere.

It was a simple mission, win. Either by elimination or by capturing the flag. It started out like a well-oiled machine. Then Fulbright came. I let myself smile at the way she took out Al. He'll be a tenor for a week. Well that's combat training for you. I just don't know what went wrong... Oh yeah. Now I remember. We didn't have a clue on how to fight as a unit. After a few seconds the background noise of gunfire and shouts ended. I tried to move my head to see anyone, but I couldn't move it. I shifted my glance over to the troop counter. Crap.

I was the only one left.

"Well that was fun." There's the voice of the captain. I could have sworn I heard his voice over the open comm. So where's-

"Well t' me it wasn't fun. Ah' was hoping fer' a bigger threat. Especially from my girls." Ah, there she is.

I looked up and watched them as they came into the room where we made our last stand and began to relax. Joking about their kill count. Sometimes shooting a jab a one another.

For some reason that made me angry.

I saw the sniper welding Fulbright take another glance around the room before turning to the Captain and fellow staff sergeants. "So, where d' ya' think the last one is?"

I made a fist. Wait. fist? I looked down at my hand. Sure enough my hand was able to move. And a plus? In my grasp was my rifle. I smiled. Sweet revenge is worth a corporal punishment wouldn't you agree? "Eh who cares? Once we grab the flag we win and then we can tune up what they were poor at." Buck responded as he checked his magazine. As he did that I lifted my gun up so it leveled at their backs.

"Ah always business with you Buck. Reminds me back during training you would always try an-" I fired.

To their credit they had reflexes like pumas. Fulbright, without me having time to track her, tackled the captain out of the way. Even with their reflexes at awe inspiring levels, the other four Sergeants couldn't escape my pellets as they slammed into their backs and chests, forcing them to lock up and join the bodies of my comrades on the floor. I fired for another few seconds until my ammo ran dry. I was laughing the entire time.

My laugh was cut short however as my gun was kicked out of my hand. The view of my victory was blocked by the view of Fulbright and her un-polarized VISR "Why ya' little shit. Think yer' clever eh?" She raised her pistol up to my face "See ya in the infirmary, Young!" She pulled the trigger and my mind went black.

I came to a few hours later with an angry Fulbright in my face. Word of advice. If you ever find yourself in front of someone who you are intimidated of, don't make them angry at you. Unless it turns you're like Al. Than by all means go for it.

If it wasn't for the Doc keeping her form jumping me I'm sure I would have died... or worse kicked out. Not that he was on my side. No he was a part of the staff and as such treated me like every other trainee. Shit. After Fulbright left he told me all of my injuries I had received from the simulation. A broken nose, two broken fingers, three bruised ribs, a cut on my lip, and all of this from falling over after getting shot by Fulbright... yeah.

The Doc gave me some pills before booting me out of the infirmary and on my way. That dinner I was welcomed as a hero from the entire company. A few of the staff had set up a screen showing the battle form start to end. Most of it were scenes of humorous death moments. Then came the ending. To say there was a cheer as I watched myself unload the rest of my ammo into the backs of the four sergeants would be an understatement. Even the four staff members who were watching us cheered. But like we had learned our first day our sergeants hated fun.

It took a few weeks before I was able to move without the need for pain pills. In those few weeks we ran through simulation after simulation. Sometimes we would lose, other times we would almost win. And even fewer we would live long enough to lose our flag and not lose by elimination. Heck we even won one when the sergeants decided to let the B team take a crack at us. Some of Staff Sergeant Sarge's men from when he was still a ground pounder. Strange batch they were. Fulbright was surprised by the outcome. Hell. We were too. We had their flag in hand when all of the sudden two of them came riding into battle driving a damn warthog blaring polka music from speakers that weren't standard issue. It was the most majestic thing I have ever witnessed. That was right before I took a series of pellets to my face. We still won but only after another twenty of us fell.

Also, in those few weeks every platoon had their numbers trimmed some more. We lost two more members while first platoon was brought down to an even twenty from their previous thirty-two. Now it came down to our these last few training exercises. And unlike the other exercises where we fought against the staff or our instructors, our next few were platoon vs platoon. Finally, some fair fighting between equally incompetent retards.

The Crew chief's voice shouting out orders brought me back to the situation at hand. Our next simulation. Cluster fuck here we come!

The jump was successful with nothing lost or broken. A few minutes after touching ground I found a part of my group. Mac Chaffer and Ellie were all together along with four others. Al was nowhere to be seen. Hopefully we'll meet up on our way to the area we decided to meet in the albatross. I looked over the four other troopers. The names of Hejazi, Hue Sing, Ling Poe and Daniel Masters blinked into life in the upper right corner of my VISR as I glanced over each of them.

I smiled. Hejazi was our EOD man. However, since this was a training exercise he didn't have his usual gear. Instead he had standard silenced SMG and pistol; Although, he did have a dozen extra grenades strapped unto his person. Next to him was Ling Poe. The only guy in our platoon who was given the M392 DMR for his performance on the range. Behind the two of them were Hue Sing and Daniel Masters, Danny for easy remembrance. The two of them were average troopers. Each equipped with the standard gear. But the two also had hidden talents. Danny is an extraordinary pilot, while Hue is one of the best tankers in camp. All in all, a pretty even unit.

Ellie squatted next to me before her VISR depolarized showing her youthful, bad-assed, sexy, face. "See anything on your way here Young?" She asked me as she tapped the glass of her helmet.

I got the message and depolarized my own helmet before answering. "No. But when I was on my way I saw seven blips show up on my scanner six hundred meters back beyond the hill," I said as I pointed my thumb behind me.

Ellie looked at me for a second. "See who it was?" She asked.

"Nope," I told her. "I stopped, dropped and waited the moment they walked into range. Didn't see anything except their blips moving in a loose box formation to the east."

"Box formation..." She mused. "What do you think Mac?"

Upon hearing his name, the second largest man made his way over to us. He tilted his head in thought. "Might be third, or first... Everyone else uses a tight or double formation to walk."

She patted his shoulder piece. "Thanks Mac. Alright boys, we're moving is thirty Young, Mac, Chaffer take point, Cross formation. Poe take the rear."

We followed her orders and got into positions before we started our journey. The cross formation was something I thought of back during our unit cohesion training. Basically the one with the biggest gun takes point while the center is the one in command. To the sides of the one in the middle are two others who are similarly armed as the point man. The rest of the troopers in the unit would take formations behind the one or three depending on the number and situation. The reason why a three strong point was to have enough cover fire to effectively spread out the rear should something try to attack the front. There might be an official name somewhere out there but Ellie liked the name I gave it when I thought of it.

We were halfway to our destination, a small pond in the middle of the canyon, when the timer of our VISRs blinked zero, signaling to everyone in the box canyon that it was now open season. Not seconds later the first shots were fired. Chaffer raised his fist signaling to us that he heard something. Months working with the quiet man made me trust his silent judgment and both me and Mac took a knee raising our guns to the possible threat. From behind me the other four moved as well. Each one taking up positions covering our rear and sides.

Ellie however, asked, "What is it Chaffer?"

The quiet man pointed his finger ahead of us. "Targets. Beyond the tree line. Non Friendly."

I heard her pause before asking, "You sure?"

Chaffer cocked his M247H before saying, "Yes."

I could hear the smile as he said that. I heard shuffling as the Ellie gave commands to the other four. Silently they fanned out to the right and left of us. The random bursts of fire elsewhere faded into background noise as we focused on our objective. In all it took fifteen seconds for us to get prepared. I felt Ellie pat my back twice. I didn't look to the left to see if Mac was there. I knew he was. While chaffer would provide cover fire the two of us would move up and catch them while they were pinned. I was three steps ahead when the six troopers behind us opened fired. Me and Mac doubled timed it to the tree line, taking cover behind trees and foliage just in time for whoever was behind it to gather their wits and return fire.

I counted seven distinct rifles and SMGs firing back. I looked at Mac. He lifted his hand and counted down from three to zero before making a fist. I didn't need anything more as I took a steep from the cover of the tree.

The first thing I noticed was that the Trooper in front of me had his SMG held in one hand loading another Clip into the top. He looked up just in time to see my own gun to start firing at him. The trooper to the right twisted his head towards me as I took another step. The first trooper fell onto his back, unconscious, as his comrade brought his own SMG up firing away as his body started to turn to intercept me. I was faster with my MA5. I squeezed the trigger as I took another step into their line striking him in the chest sending him falling back out cold. I dropped to my knee and rolled to my shoulder turning my body around before pulling my rifle up, and taking aim towards the other two who were just now pulling their SMG and BR55 up to fire. They were still crouched when they focused their sights in my general direction. I held my trigger down, sending the rest of my magazine at the two. They in turn fired at me. My rounds struck true sending both of them down onto the dirt. Thiers, however, missed. I looked over to see Mac also on his knee, his MA5 aimed at the two other troopers. Both of them were riddled with paint pellets.

He looked over to me before loading another magazine into his rifle. I did the same. I turned on my squad channel before saying one word, "Clear."

A few moments later Chaffer came barreling through the tree line toting his machine gun. He looked around before his shoulders slouched. "No fair... I wanted to have fun too."

I smiled at the big man. " Sorry Chaffer. Maybe next time." I pulled by the bolt sliding a round into the chamber as I stood. I stepped closer to one of the fallen troopers, before flipping him over. I smirked at the emblem on the chest piece.

Ellie stepped next to me. "What do we have Young?" She asked me.

I pointed to the frog. "Looks like Bullfrog just lost some of its members," I said as I grabbed a few grenades from the body. "Good thing they didn't check their trackers. Would have been a lot different than what happened."

She nodded. "Alright the lake is another two hundred meters due south. If we hurry, we'll get to our boys before anyone else can." She pointed to the three of us and motioned for us to get moving.

After a few minutes we stepped through a small clearing. Besides the lovely view of the small, ugly looking pond it wasn't much. A few boulders and overturned logs on the eastern side would give anyone good cover should we get hit. However, the far off firefight up north made me doubt that anyone was close enough to get the drop on us. I could only imagine the firefight that was taking place. I crouched down near a small boulder overlooking the pond and watched for any movement. The other six took up positions behind me watching my six.

I felt something tap my shoulder and twisted around, bringing my rifle up by reaction only to look into eyes of Alphonse Pierz. "What are ya looking for Young?"

How the hell did he do that? "How the hell did you do that?" I asked aloud. The six turned to look at the magically appearing Trooper. Chaffer saying shit in his native tongue was the only sound they made.

He smirked before tapping his helmet hanging by his hip. "The FOF tag is only activated when it's on. They should really fix that." I only stared at him, silently thinking of ways to kill him that would inflict the most pain. Ellie had other ideas.

The platoons unofficial-official leader stormed over before hitting him on the back of his head. "You idiot. Shit like that could get you booted! Now put your helmet back on. Who else is here?" She glared at the surrounding trees. I watched, shaking my head in astonishment as eleven different yellow dots lit up on my tracker. Ellie clenched her fist before making several hand signals. The eleven troopers stepped out through the foliage and made their way to where we were standing. I overheard Ling whisper to Mac something about stupid is as stupid does.

When everyone was gathered ten of them took up positions around Ellie as the rest of us stayed quiet waiting for Ellie to come up with the next part of the plan. She turned to Al before asking, "Did you find anyone else Al?"

Al's smile faded as he replied, "We lost five when we were ambushed by first platoon. Managed to repay the favor but they forced us to retreat. I see that you managed to snag the three big ones..." He grinned before asking, "how were the big pieces of meat?"

She smacked his head. "We took out seven from third, no casualties on our side."

Mac playfully shoved me before turning to Ellie. "What are ya' thinkin' Ellie?" he asked.

She reached into her pack and pulled out a map. "The main bunker is here, right next door to the pond. Whoever has control probably has eyes on the tree line to the north and east and someone covering the rocks to the west... I was thinking we'd take a stroll through the pond and take it for ourselves." She glanced around showing her smirk.

Al started to laugh. "Subtle, original, and loud. I like it!"

Ten minutes later I found myself moving through still water of the small body of water. I glanced around. The names of my teammates blinking into existence when I looked over to where they were walking. "Why does this feel like this is cheating?" I asked to no one.

"You need to learn that not everything is as black and white as you see things Young."

I looked over to where the talker was walking. Lings' name popped up on my display. "So says everyone I know. I'm just saying what if we get shot down here? We only have enough air for five more minutes... then what?" I replied.

"Then you accept your pussy death and just enjoy life until then. I still don't understand why you are so stubborn about accepting defeat." Another voice asked from our line.

I rolled my eyes. "Hey Mac, why don't you answer Al's question?"

I heard him grunt before saying one word. "'Merica."

Al groaned and started to speak when Ellie stopped us. "Cut the chit chat boys. This is it. Alright. Chaffer, Mac, Young and Al. You four go up along the center. Stay down. Once you get to the Bunker's walls the rest of us will pop out of the water and cover you should the other teams get wise on us. Then do what you do best. We'll join you as soon as you start suppressing the other ass holes."

Three green lights answered her while Al chose to give a witty comeback. Well as witty as an idiot can get.

Slowly the four of us stepped further up the submerged beach. As my helmet breached the surface the filters activated and started to cycle the stale, Grayson smelling stench out with good old fashioned pond stench. I heard Al gag. I suppressed my chuckle. The outer wall was three meters ahead of us the constant fire from the right and left of us told me we had limited time to reach it before someone one facing the bunker saw us.

I flashed my green light once signaling the others that I was ready. I flicked my safety before raising it to my shoulder. I waited as second before saying one word. "Go."

As quickly as we could, and without making a big dramatic scene, we charged up the beach and across the fifteen meters of open ground. I made it to the wall first. Al and Mac slammed next to me while Chaffer threw himself on the other side of the doorway leading inside. I turned to look at Al. "Hey Al Do me a favor and cover the corner. Mac think you can do the same of the other side?" Two sets of lights blinked on my hood. I smiled before turning to look at Chaffer. "Just you and me. You take high I take low."

He nodded before flicking the safety. "Franks before Yanks Young." I could hear the smile in his voice. I smiled before raising a grenade up with my hand. He nodded his head like a lost puppy.

I primed a grenade before tossing it in. There was a bang followed by Chaffer swinging in his gun in and opening up as soon as it entered the door frame. I rolled up under him and fired at the first target I saw. The trooper was in the process of turning to face us when my rounds struck his side sending him down. My next target were two troopers who were in the middle of reaching for their guns. They fell before they had a chance to touch them. When it was all done thirteen troopers were now unconscious most by the grenade and Chaffer's Rambo style antics.

I flashed Ellie the green light and immediately heard her reply in the form of guns firing off into the trees. I turned to the window and watched as several Troopers who had decided to foolishly charge the bunker drop to the ground. "Chaffer! Take the left I'll take the northern window! Mac! Get in here and help me suppress these idiots." I was about to fire on the closest target when I felt a burning pain in my back before darkness took hold.

I awoke later in the infirmary alongside nine of my fellow platoon members including Mac and Chaffer. Across from us were 20 members of first platoon. Next to them and us were members from second, fourth and third. I looked over to Mac. "What happened?" I asked.

He pointed towards one of the smugger looking ones. "Ya' missed one. Took ya' out before shootin' Chaffer. Managed to gun him down just as he fired at me. Al managed to secure the bunker long enough for Ellie to get in. Good news. We won." He grimaced. "Bad news is that Fulbright's goin' to run us ragged for the stupid mistake." He stood before stretching. Many of the other recruits took this as their cue to get up as well.

I looked down at my hands, angry at myself. Damn.

A month later was our graduation. However, there was one last test to prove our worth as Helljumpers before we received our helmets. Jumping to our certain doom in small boxes while heavy metal plays in the speakers of our headsets. Brutal isn't it? One hundred fourteen of us were left after the last few wargames and training exercises. And now we all stood inside the cafeteria of the UNSC Marathon Cruiser Dixie's Pride waiting for the orders to jump. Finally, The Captain walked up in front of the makeshift stage and asked a single question. "Helljumpers, how do you go?"

Our reply was a loud and crisp, "Feet first Sir!"

He smiled. "Damn straight. To your pods!" With that command our Drill instructors led us to the drop bays in the under belly of the massive vessel. We geared up in the fully sealed vacuumed suites instead of our usual gear. As I stared into the pitch black VISR of my helmet, I began to feel like I was an angel of death instead of a "small" city farm boy. I let myself smile. A year of struggle and high intensity training coming down to this. Me, a pod, and gravity.

I glanced around the quiet bay as my friends and teammates dressed in their gear. Ellie stepped next to me with a grin that said this is only the beginning. I gave her a nod before I placed my helmet over my head and sealed the pressure seal. I walked over to my pod that displayed my name. I laughed at the fact that it was still misspelled.

Fulbright stepped forward dressed in her own armor. The scratches, dents and partially melted plates told more about her than we could have figured out from training under her. "Toppers!" She yelled. "Into yer' pods!" She equipped her helmet and entered her pod.

"Yes Staff Sergeant!" came the reply. I entered the pod and instantly felt the weight of what I was about to do fall on my shoulders. I forced myself to calm as the heavy drum beat of the chosen song filled the pod though the speakers. I felt the pod move and watched as it was carried to an open section. The three long beeps followed by the song playing the chorus signaled the start of the drop. I felt the gravity of the ship lessen before being replaced by the growing force of Mars. Watching the ship get smaller as the ground began to grow towards you is a strange feeling.

Just as the song was speeding up my pod hit the wall known as air and began to shake and heat up. The howls and excited screams of my fellow troopers turned Helljumpers made me began to laugh. The heavy base and strong beat increased the feeling of badassery one hundred fold.

And just as fast as it started it was over. I took a shaky step forward away from my steaming pod and looked around towards my platoon mates. Some of them were on their knees as they tried to get their bearings while a few of them began to celebrate. I, myself, walked to where Fulbright was sitting and took a seat next to her. "Ya' did good Young. Keep 'em safe." With that she stood and left me to my thoughts.

When we returned to our bunks we were surprised to find the barber smiling at us with an ancient looking machine. "Time for your marks boys and girls." He said as the tool in hand began to buzz. After two hours of getting an extremely painful and extensive tattoo of a flaming drop pod surrounded by the words Hellfire and Helljumper as well as the motto, we were now standing at attention in front of the main building of the camp. The Captain said a few closing words before snapping a solute. We returned it with a resonating "Sir!"

From there we were given our individual orders. Seventeen of us, myself included, were being transferred to reinforce a decimated platoon of Helljumpers that were being deployed to Paris IV. The rest of the Company was being transferred to Reach to reinforce returning squads and platoons returning from combat. Fulbright told me that we seventeen were chosen because we were the best. I think she just didn't want to deal with us anymore.

But before we left Al gave me a note that he wanted me to give to his folks back in Paris IV. It would be a few more months before he earned enough points to cash in a time of leave. So I accepted without thinking that maybe I would never get the chance to fulfill my promise.

My last few thoughts were of my own family as I was put under the effect of cryo-sleep. I had the sinking feeling that whatever God had planned for me wasn't anywhere near completion. I just hope that I'm wrong.