Date: January 2nd , 2528 Time 0730 Local time.
Location: Planet Solace, Delta tranquillitas system
Objective: Survive.
Squad members: Ensign Asa Ericksdotter, Unknown SCPO.
Medical status: ODST: Dislocated kneecap, third degree burns over 60% of body. Ensign Ericksdotter: Minor Concussion, second degree burns across most of lower back, recovering from shock and possible sole survivor syndrome.
Asa looked at him, analyzing his burnt and battered body. What he had gone through to acquire those burns had to be something that she wouldn't be able live through. There were burns everywhere, but the most intense burns were located on his legs. Somehow, he even had burns close to there. Anyone else would be dead. His legs and torso were blackened or red. His arms were pale and his face was shadowed by the faint markings of a beard. He had blond hair that was matted with sweat and oil from his skin and streaked with silver and red. He had a scar on the left side of his face right underneath his eye. The scar stretched from his left eye to his left ear. His face was haggard, as if he was desperate for something. His breathing was shallow, struggling for the smallest breath. His armour was charred; the red and white paint was blackened and sooty. His body burned with a temperature higher than most could stand to even be close too. Asa was sweating just being near him, as the soaking wet cloth that she had laid on his forehead dried out from the heat she switched the rag for another one and laid the warm one in the ice cold water.
"I told you, He'll be fine" Athena sighed irritatingly at the ensign.
"How fast does he heal usually?" Asa asked the AI.
"He doesn't heal." Athena looked away from the officer.
"What do you mean he doesn't heal?"
"He doesn't stop often enough to get healing. He normally retains injuries until he is forced to get treatment aboard a ship or he isn't able to continue fighting."
"How is he still alive than?"
"I have no idea at all." Athena sounded off frustratedly, "All the calculations and scenarios I have run turn out to be wrong, EVERY time."
"Aww," the soldier moaned out. "I didn't know you cared 'Thena'"
"Now he wakes up." Athena said. "Sleep well?"
"No not really," he struggled to get out in barely a whisper. "But the service is pretty nice."
"Really now?" Asa interrupted "Because I can stop and let you do this yourself at any time."
"Sorry." He whispered.
"You're forgiven." Asa responded. "But you need to go to sleep now, you haven't recovered from your injuries yet."
"I'll be fine." He whispered as he began to get up out of the bed before she pushed him back down again.
"No you won't." She said as she began to apply anti-inflammatory salve to his burns. "When was the last time you slept?" then interrupted him before he could answer. "Don't answer that, I know you haven't slept in a month except for being unconscious." Now lie down and rest."
6 hours later…. 1400 local time
He sighed as she finally went to sleep in the chair by his bed. Picking himself up out of the bed, he went to the linen closet and changed the sheets before picking ASA up bridal style and laying her in the bed and covering her with the blankets and wiping the few strands of hair out of her face. Picking up the M6D that was left in her chair, he placed it on the bedside table and then proceeded to grab a set of black ODST fatigues out of his rucksack. Then; he eased over to the bathroom where he proceeded to shower as much dirt and soot off as he possibly could before changing into his fatigues and cleaning his wounds out before applying antiseptic ointment and injecting himself with antibiotics. Tearing one of the sheets from the linen closet, the soldier in ODST fatigues wrapped the makeshift bandages around his most severe wounds and wrapping his sidearm's thigh holster into its proper place and inserting his modified and silenced M6D with a soft click. Moving towards the door at the end of the room, he paused and grabbed a remote Com device and linked it to his Neural Interface.
Opening the door to the closet; he walked over to his stack of weapons in the corner and examined them all for a second, pausing on each one before coming to a selection. Seeing as his armour was literally a piece of melted scrap minus his rucksack, he would need to be reliant on Athena for Intel more than ever. Reaching over to her holographic pedestal, a holographic keyboard appeared and he began to enter in silent command threads to which she responded in the affirmative before transferring herself into the city infrastructure. Moving out into the hallway, he braced his M7S against his shoulder as he checked for any signs of movement or tampering with his traps that he had set in the hallways. Continuing to move forward; the soldier stopped at every major intersection and possible opening; recalling vaguely that several Jackal snipers had been watching him when he entered the hotel; he made sure to stay away from any and all windows that were in the hotel.
He stopped. There was movement over there. Wait, now it was behind him. Turning to face the new enemy, he braced himself against the forearm of the Skirmisher as it tried to bring its Needler like blade down on his stomach. Grabbing the wrist of the vulture like creature, he twisted and broke it as he grabbed the blade and stabbed it into the head of the avian creature, pushing it off of him and drawing his combat knife to face the other skirmishers that were bound to be there. The other members of the jackal squad squawked at the armed human as he braced his sidearm against his knife hand.
Then, as if by mutual consent, the jackals charged him. Firing a short into the lead jackals head, the soldier rolled backwards as he drove his knife into the knee of the next skirmisher as he snapped its neck while simultaneously firing a shot flawlessly in to the head of the final jackal as everything came to a stop. Nothing moved except for the lone human as he ensured that the jackals were all dead with well placed headshots. Moving over to the fallen SMG, he picked it up and began to inspect it for any damage. Finding nothing wrong, he moved over to the next hallway; more cautious than ever before. Seeing movement, he fired a burst from the silenced SMG and watched as a cloaked grunt fell to the ground. Hearing footsteps, the soldier turned around and moved the energy sword enough that it only cut a line into his torso instead of taking his arm off. This took the elite by surprise and the human soldier quickly used this to his advantage as he kneed the stunned elite's genitals and drew his sidearm only to fire its HE rounds into the unshielded biped. As the body began to fall towards the ground in slow motion, he turned around and drew his combat knife as he threw it into the other elite's wrist, snatched it out and jabbed into the throat of the two meter tall alien. Grabbing the plasma rifle at the elite's side, he turned it towards the last enemy in the room and fired just short of overheating. The slagged and molten body of the final elite hit the ground as the soldier staggered against the wall clutching his side. Reaching into his pack, the soldier removed some biofoam and traced the line in his side before sprinting back towards the room where the sleeping UNSC officer was. When he reached the door he paused; waiting for a few seconds while listening for any movement or noise in the room before opening the door.
30 minutes later…. 1630 Local time.
"So, I did some digging. And there's an ONI nuclear fallout bunker 5 klicks from here." Athena reported over the com as the pair moved into a darkened alleyway.
"Roger" Asa replied, seeing as the soldier hadn't spoken a single word since she had woken up. "We'll head over there."
Turning towards the heavily laden ODST, she asked "You got that?"
He just nodded and adjusted the rucksack on his back as he braced the sniper rifle against his chest and fired a shot, causing a jackal to fall from a nearby building and hit the ground with a solid crunch as the avian bones were pulverized.
"Tango down." He signaled with his hands as he swapped his sniper rifle out for his sidearm once again.
Moving into the street, they proceeded to locate at least one functional vehicle left from the aftermath of the evacuation and death.
"No!" his hands signaled.
"Come one!" Asa argued, "It isn't that bad."
"No!" He signaled again. "I refuse to enter the vehicle."
"I can and will order you to get in." She grew frustrated, seeing as the argument had gone on for the past five minutes.
The soldier sighed as he climbed into the neon pink civilian vehicle. This was SOO ruining the image for all UNSC soldiers everywhere. As Asa turned the engine over and shifted into first he glared at her; His gaze now hidden behind silver reflective lenses instead of a polarized visor.
Several minutes later…
The vehicle finally gave out as they reached the building with the bunker located in the basement as they pulled into the perfect position to see the Covenant trying to cut through the door of the building.
"Stay here." His hands flashed as he stepped out of the vividly feminine vehicle. He was now holding an MA5B instead of his traditional sniper rifle or M7S and slowly sneaked behind the first elite, kicking it in the knee and driving his knife into it's mandibles as he turned and emptied his Assault rifle's clip into the back of another Elite Minor. Turning, he withdrew his knife from the mouth of the dead elite at his feet and flicked the blood off of it before calmly sheathing his blade. Drawing his sidearm once again, he felled the rest of the enemies without a single sound to show for the amount of death he had just left in his wake. Turning towards the gaping Ensign, he beckoned her over to the doorway as he grabbed the spent Assault rifle and placed it into the duffel bag once more as he placed his SRS into its proper place onto his back.
Joining the officer at the door, he tapped in an override code and sent an UNSC identification code before watching the door slide open, revealing a grizzled old Marine with a cigar stub in his mouth and a DMR in his hand.
"Well it seems the good Lord has answered our prayers." He said off to the side. "Jenkins, get your ass over here and greet our two guests properly."
"Yeah yeah Sarge." The younger man with hardened eyes replied. "As long as you get the flip music crap turned off."
"That's part of your history son." The grizzled black man retorted. "This is what we're fighting to protect."
"Maybe that's what you're fighting to protect Sarge." The young man smugly replied. "But if the Covenant want to wipe out his particular part of my history that's fine by me."
"Ignore the smartass and welcome to the place you can now call home." He said with a pearly white smile. "Names Johnson."
Author's note: Well, college finals are coming up and I'm going to be busy once again. Life just doesn't seem to let up but I'll update as often as possible. And yes, I absolutely had to introduce Johnson into this fic. I mean, after all what's a good Halo Fanfiction without Johnson and his cracks? I don't generally condone cussing, but Johnson will be the exception to that rule in this fanfiction. Not to mention I understand that soldiers cuss and I will be trying to write as authentically as possible while keeping a minimum on the vulgarity.
