March 28th, 2540 (Military Calendar)
Orbiting Zanar Prime
Kaipo's POV
The ship rocked as another plasma blast impacted on the hull causing me to stumble against the wall. Catching myself, I continued my sprint down the corridor and into the drop bay where the rest of the squad was busy getting suited up.
"Kaipo, glad you could join us." Banner joked as he fastened his chest plate and tightened the locks on his armguards. "I need you to travel light this op, just ammo and your rifle; Marx will do the heavy lifting and cover you. Parker and I will meet up with whoever is in command on the service and find out what the situation is."
"Roger that." I moved toward my pod; already armored and settled inside. The pod door hushed shut and red light covered the inside of the pod.
My helmet was in my lap as I reached inside and pulled from it my new photo of my family. Rebecca and April were both smiling and the newest addition had a cocky grin on his face as he wore a pint-sized ODST shirt. They had all surprised me when I came home and I couldn't help but pick them all up in a hug.
Joseph…My son had been wary when I first walked through the doorway of his home and didn't immediately warm up to me. April had assured me that it was only natural, but it still hurt when my son didn't seem to like me. He had finally come around when I visited his school with him and talked to all his classmates about being an ODST and he got to brag a bit.
Kids.
Rebecca…she was a ten now and had become everything like I hoped. Even now she was looking like her mother and acting like me. April told me she had gotten into fights when some bullies picked on one of her friends. Atta girl.
I was shaken out of my memories when, what could only be a broadside, shook the ship and sent the alarms blaring. Sighing, I stuck the photo into the webbing of my helmet and pulled it on; polarizing the visor immediately.
Just another day in the suck.
Banner's POV
I stumbled into my pod after grabbing my M7 and strapping it to my thigh. Climbing inside the pod, I rapidly entered the codes for ejection and waited for the countdown to begin. The door had just sealed shut when Naomi flashed in front of me; her kimono replaced by samurai armor again…she always did that when we were engaged by Covenant.
"Gunnery Sergeant, the situation on the planet has escalated. Your mission parameters have changed."
"Dammit, you never even gave us the parameters." I snarled as the countdown began from sixty seconds. I slammed my fist on the side of the pod and nodded to myself as it was given back by Parker. "What's the situation?"
A hologram of a cluster of buildings flashed in front of me and Naomi pointed at several points. Flashes of light and red dots converged on green elements and several of the green ones winked out in an instant.
"I'm assuming the green ones are us?"
"Correct, Army forces are being pushed back by the Covenant forces into their FOB in the Zanar Prime's governor's estate. You are being dropped into the hot zone here along with elements of the 19th Shock Troops Battalion to sweep and clear the area." Naomi said before disappearing and only her voice remained. "No Covenant survivors, Gunnery Sergeant."
Nodding again to myself, I sent the mission info to the rest of Echo and glanced up to see that the timer countdown from one to zero. I gritted my teeth as the pod's mechanisms prepared it for drop and then my stomach flopped suddenly as thrusters engaged and sent me rocketing towards the surface.
"Helljumpers! How do we go?"
"Feet first into Hell, Gunny!" The squad responded as we gripped the handles of our seats and prayed for the plating of our pods to hold.
Sweat beaded on my brow as we entered the planet's atmosphere and I glanced out the window to see several additional pods come alongside ours. I typed a series of commands into my pod and maneuvered it to make room for the others.
"Hey, Gunny. I just thought of something." Parker's voice came over my helmet's speakers.
"That's dangerous." Marx quipped from her pod, frustration in her voice as her pod was buffeted by winds.
"As I was saying, this is the first time since training that we've dropped by pod. Anyone worried?" Parker asked.
"Nah, if it was our time for a dirt nap, we'd know already." I answered, watching as two pods disappeared in a cloud of dust and plasma. "Echo, watch for flak and adjust your trajectory."
Answered by three green acknowledgement lights, I maneuvered my pod for the last two hundred feet and braced myself as the pod slammed hard into the ground. Split second later, the pod door detached violently and I hurled myself out and brought my M7 to bear.
The landing area was a complete mess. The Covenant had overran the UNSC forces and I had managed to land right in the middle of a squad of grunts. Opening up, I grinned when the short bastards squealed and broke away; their bodies absorbing my bullets.
Reloading, I moved forward and dove into a crater half-filled with water. A single Army trooper laid in the water; gasping for breath. He had severe plasma burns on his chest and his arm was at an odd angle; definitely broken.
"You'll be fine." I said, clapping him on the shoulder. "Marx, come in."
"Just landed Gunny, what's up?" Marx's voice came through with a bit of static.
"I'm in a crater about ten meters from your position. I got a wounded trooper here." I rose up and fired; downing a jackal carrying a beam rifle.
"I got wounded all over the place, Eric. He's gonna have to hold on." Her voice was serious as the plasma fire intensified on my position. "Dammit! Focus on the right!"
Marx cut the link and I slid farther down into the crater. Grabbing the trooper, I slid his body deeper into the water and tilted his head back. He grabbed my hand and squeezed hard; staring at me with worry. The man was already gone and he knew it, but neither of us wanted to admit it.
"Relax, the Covies will think you're dead if you stay down and still. I gotta move."
With that, I sprinted out of the crater and rolled to the side as a grunt took a pot shot at me. Returning the favor, I made my way towards Marx's position and narrowly dodged an elite swinging an energy sword.
Cursing, I dove onto the ground and rolled onto my side and emptied my magazine into its shields. The shields held halfway through my barrage and the rest of my rounds punctured the elite's armor; splashing purple blood all over my armor.
Regaining my feet, I stumbled behind a huge fountain and found myself staring down a dozen or so bloodied Army troopers. They barely gave me a glance before going back to the fight. Crouching down I made my way towards Marx as she was giving chest compressions to a trooper whose legs were missing from the knees down.
Tapping her shoulder, I opened a private link. "Heard from the guys?"
"Kaipo moved into the estate and I think is setting up a perch. I saw Parker's pod land somewhere to the left of mine, but haven't seen him." She shouted above the gunfire as she continued her compressions. "This is fucked, we need air support!"
"Don't you think I know that? Naomi, come in!" I shouted as I one-handed my M7 and sprayed and prayed.
"Yes, Gunny?" Naomi's voice sounded calm but that was probably because her circuitry was safe inside several layers of Titanium-A armor plating.
"We need air support on my position, danger close. Hornets, pelicans, anything!" I pulled Marx down as a grenade exploded nearby and sent shrapnel whizzing over us.
"Roger, you might want to get your head down."
I moved to the troopers who were still crouched behind the fountain. "Troopers, we've got mail incoming! On my word, heads down!"
"Who put you in charge?" A sergeant shouted over the noise; soot covering his face. He didn't say anything after that because a needler round pierced his helmet and exploded; showering us with his brain matter.
"Keep your fucking heads down!" I shouted firing over the fountain and scoring a hit on an unshielded elite.
"Wraith!" A trooper shouted, her finger pointing in front of us.
The tank rotated towards the fountain and I groaned when the main gun began to warm up. A few troopers on the right stood and threw grenades only for the wraith's turret to cut them down immediately afterwards. The grenades exploded near the tank and only scuffed the plating as it rotated back towards us.
"I need a Spanker!" I shouted, looking around for anyone who might have one.
"Way ahead of you Gunny!"
Parker slid to my side with two other ODSTs behind him; both carrying the launchers. I punched him on the shoulder before directing the two ODSTs to follow me. We dove/crawled away from the main group of troopers and slid into position right as the wraith's main gun was almost fully charged.
"Cream the bastard!" I shouted.
The two men both opened up with the launchers and we dove down as the tank's turret opened up on us. One of the men cried out as his side was burned from a graze. He fell heavily and his partner grabbed him and pulled him behind more solid cover.
The wraith exploded in a fiery, blue blaze as the HE rockets impacted and tore through the armor; taking half a squad of grunts along with it. There was a loud cheer along the line when that happened followed by a loud droning sound coming from behind us.
Glancing up, a Shortsword bomber soared over our heads and I watched as a series of ordnance dropped from the wings. Grabbing Parker, I shoved him to the ground and at the same time shouted for the rest to get down.
The entire line erupted in a cloud of fire; scorching across the mass of Covenant infantry and burned though the aliens shields. Smoke and debris blew across us and I could hear the troopers coughing when they inhaled the smoke. I could only guess what it smelled like thanks to the filtering system in my helmet.
"Thanks Naomi." I whispered to myself as I made my way back to Marx; Parker stopping to help a medic carry a wounded woman as she limped towards the hotel. Finding Marx beside another trooper, she bandaged his head before standing and wiping her gloved hands on her chest plate; blood streaking the armor.
"Why can't we ever go anywhere nice?" Marx asked as she picked up her MA5 and stuck it to her back. I shrugged the best I could in my armor and gestured for the entrance of the hotel.
"I keep asking myself that same question. Kaipo, you there?"
"Hey boss, I'm watching you guys now, nice fireworks." Kaipo commented from inside the hotel; his rifle boomed suddenly. "A major just tried to crawl towards some cover…he didn't make it."
Grinning, I depolarized my visor as I walked into the torn apart lobby area. Sandbag barricades surrounded the perimeter and M247 machine guns tracked us as we entered. The gunners realized we were human and relaxed; their shoulders dropping and one woman leaned against her gun, wiping sweat from her brow.
"Trooper, who's in command?" I asked, pulling my helmet off and cradling it under my arm.
The woman stood up and pointed down the corridor. "Captain Bison is down that way."
Tossing her a two-fingered salute, I lead the way down the corridor and passed a couple of rooms filled with either ammo or wounded…mostly wounded though.
"Captain Bison?" I asked a trooper who jerked his thumb into a room behind him. Thanking him, I pushed the door open and sucked in a breath when I saw a very large man standing over a holotable and peering down at the city.
"Sir, Gunnery Sergeant Banner of Echo Squad." I saluted, watching the man lazily return the salute and maneuver to the opposite side of the table.
"Be with you in a sec. Lieutenant, move those emplacements three rooms down. Corporal, I want another fireteam on the walkway connecting the estate here." Captain Bison ordered a mixed group of marines and troopers who saluted and filed out of the room. Turning to me, he crossed his arms over his massive chest and leaned against the table. "Helljumpers? What do I owe the privilege?"
Shrugging despite him being a superior officer, I just glanced around in a sarcastic way. "Looked like you needed some help with the place."
"Damn right I do. We've got intel on some major goings on near our front line." The captain said as he zoomed in onto a grid about fifteen klicks beyond our lines.
"Uh, sir?"
"Okay, it was near our lines before the Covies broke through our lines." The captain himself shrugged. "A pelican was carrying some kind of special cargo and was shot down. We assumed there were no survivors, but we just got pinged by someone who is trapped inside the pelican and can't get out."
Staring at the hologram of the pelican, I wondered what could be on the pelican that was so important.
"Any idea who it is, sir?" Marx asked, pulling off her helmet and setting it on the table.
"An ONI officer, a Major Jones." Captain Bison said as he read from a datapad. "Brooke Jones, she was in charge of the ONI operations before the Covenant hit."
"Oh, shit." I muttered as I ran my hands over my face.
"What?" The captain asked, his eyebrow cocked.
"Long story, sir."
Well, everyone's favorite ex-girlfriend is back after a while and I think that was a pretty good drop after so much time since training. Parker would agree I think.
So I hoped you enjoyed this chapter and I just want to thank Axel100 for the great review! I'll be sticking around as long as I can updating before I leave. So leave me a review so I know what ya think!
Semper Fi!