Here is Chapter 9 folks, enjoy!


Ch. 9: Rest and Relaxation

March 20, 2550

Airspace around Forward Operating Base Invincible, Prestwick

Gunnery Sergeant Jack Price

"Thanks for pulling us out of their when you did…"I paused, not knowing the pilots name.

"Gary, Gary Owens" came the reply, as well as an outstretched hand.

"Jack Price" I replied, taking the hand and shaking it. "Those covvies were just getting a little bit too close for comfort. By the way, where are you taking us to?"

"I'm taking you guys there" he said as he pointed strait out the cockpit, "FOB Invincible."

I looked in the direction he was pointing as saw the base. It was bigger than I thought it would have been. From its size alone you wouldn't think of it as a forward operating base but more as a full on base of operations.

"That's the FOB, I thought it would be smaller, why is it so large?"

"Well it used to be normal sized for a FOB but as the covenant started to push us out of the city the troops retreated back to the nearest base; and for most it was Invincible. So I guess the name forward operating base doesn't suit it anymore due to the amount of men and machines stationed there but nobody has bothered to change. Plus it is the most forward of all the bases at the moment."

"I see." I replied as we landed at the base and started to shuffle out of the pelican.

"You might want to go see the commander, he should be in the CP which is on the other side of that hill" he said pointing to a hill out the back of the pelican, "it's hard to miss it, just look for the building with all the antennas sticking out of it."

"Right, thanks for the evac Owens, see you around. Let's move Carnage." I said as I started walking in the direction Owens had pointed to; the guys quickly falling in behind me. As we walked through the base I could see where tents and buildings had been added when all the troops came in and where there were the more permanent buildings from the original FOB. There was also burn marks, craters, and the occasional wrecked vehicle from multiple Wraith and Banshee attacks. As we reached the top of the hill I stopped and looked around. You could see the entirety of the base from atop that hill, as well as into the city.

"Anders, when we end up defending the base I want you right here on this hill" I told him, "Great fields of view and fire."

"Yes sir"

"Let's keep going, I can see the CP from here." And we headed down the hill and into the command post. It was a small one room building but for a FOB that's all you need. As we walked in I stop us right near the edge of the holo table. "Gunnery Sergeant Jack Price and Carnage Squad reporting for duty sir!" I said as we all saluted the man.

"At ease gentlemen; I am Brigadier General Tsubasa Sang and welcome to FOB Invincible."

"Thank you sir" I replied as we all stood at ease.

"Now, what can I do for you son?" he asked.

"What's with generals and calling everybody son?" I thought. "We just came out of a fierce firefight so some R&R and a resupply would be nice before heading out again. Also a status update on the space battle."

"I can help you with a resupply; the armory is right here" he said as he pointed to a map of the base and highlighting were the armory was, "R&R is going to be another story though."

"Why is that sir?"

"I have intel reports that the covenant is going to launch a major offensive soon. I don't know when exactly the attack is going to be but my intel says it will happen within the next three or four hours. So you can rest up until the attack anywhere you can find some space, but I need you in tip-top fighting position on the front line when they attack so we can repel it."

"Yes sir; are there any reports on the space battle? It was just starting when we dropped."

"Yes there is. The Navy gave the covenant one heck of a beating, shooting down the two CCS battle cruisers and damaging the CAS assault carrier with only minor damage to the Pioneer. Unfortunately one of the cruisers managed to land its troops before being blasted out of the sky and the assault carrier landed just perfectly to block the larger ships from being able to land close enough to drop off troops and supplies."

"Wow, when have we ever done that good in a space battle?"

"Whenever we catch them off guard and with their shields down."

"True, now if you don't mind I would like to get my men resupplied and ready for the upcoming battle."

"Of course gunnery sergeant, you and your squad are dismissed."

"Thank you sir" I replied as I turned around and walked out of the building with my squad right behind me.

"Ok guys let's get to the armory and stock up on ammo and prepare for that attack; then we can get some rest." I told the men as we walked over to the armory. When we got there I noticed that there were boxes and crates stacked all over the place, it was a maze of sorts.

As we got closer I stopped one of the solders coming out, "Excuse me, where can we get some ammo?"

The soldier was reading something on his holo-pad so he didn't look up, "Does nobody listen? You're going to have to go to one of the ammo distribution sites that are put throughout the camp." He said in an irritated tone.

"Corporal, I was told to resupply here by the general and I really do not want to go chase down another ammo dump" I said, slightly irritated myself that he didn't even bother to look up. He looked up after I said that though and what he saw scared the crap out of him. Well, who wouldn't be scared by a squad of ODST's, in full armor, glaring at them? "Now, how do we make our way through this maze to get to the main armory?"

"Y...y...you just follow the path in and take your second right, you can't miss it. Harvey is the guy in charge." He replied before scurrying off to recover from the heart attack we most likely gave him then finish whatever he was going to do before we stopped him.

"Well let's get going, I'm starting to feel less threatening without all my ammo" Dmitri said as he walked into the maze and disappeared.

"let's get going, I'm sure you guys all feel the same way" I said before walking into the maze of boxes and crates, hearing my squad follow me in. it truly was a maze, there was opening to the left and right and it curved every now and again. After a little walk we found the second right and took it. It seemed like forever before we came out of the maze and saw the armory. For a forward operating base it had a pretty big armory; but then again, it was most likely added onto when all the troops started pouring in from the city.

"Jack, over here, I got the ammo crates we need." I heard Dmitri call out. I looked towards the sound of his voice and saw him standing near a small stack of ammo boxes. He was filling up his ammo from one of the boxes, but had taken the time to also collect ammo boxes for the weapons we used.

"Ok boys, it's a field day on ammo; gather as much as you can carry. If this offensive is as big as I think it is, we won't have time to resupply"

"Yes Sir"

"So Dmitri, how did you score all this ammo?" I asked him as I noted there was ammo for everything from Anders SRS to his LMG to McFee's grenade and rocket launchers.

"I just used the old Vasilyev charm on Harvey." He replied with a smirk.

"Oh, so you just showed him your muscles and he decided to let you have unrestricted access to the ammo?"

"Pretty much, I asked where the ammo was and he took one look at me and just pointed over here and said take what you want."

"Ha-Ha. Hey Dmitri, are those 9.5 mm APHE rounds on the other side of you?" I asked upon seeing the box.

"Yes they are, I was keeping them apart from the others so I could give them to you. Have fun!"

"Oh I will!" I replied back as he handed them to me. At that time everybody had finished loading up on ammo and grenades and I even saw McFee shoving some SPNKr ammo to Stein for him to carry. "Ok guys, let's go get some sleep before that attack." I said as I started walking out the maze, not waiting for them but I knew they were right behind me. When the general said we could camp anywhere I instantly thought of the hill we had stopped at earlier. So I lead the men there and once we reached the top of the hill I turned around.

"Let's get some rest before that battle shall we?" I said to the agreement of everybody as they then just laid down anywhere and fell asleep. It just amazes me how a person can fall asleep in full body armor, but then again I have done it in the past. I didn't feel tired but I knew I was and as soon as my head hit to ground I was out cold until whenever the covenant decided to launch their attack.


Chapter 9 folks, there you go. I managed to write this chapter in a single day! This is a filler chapter that somehow snuck up on me as I was writing it. I had planned for the events in Ch. 10 to take place here but they just didn't fit so I ended up cutting and pasting a lot of ideas for this chapter to the next. Well, I see that again there is not one review...or a favorite…or a follow. :( I was hoping for at least one of those things to happen. Reviewing helps me flush ideas out and brings a fresh perspective to the table so please leave a review.

Semper Fi,

Thearizona