Sergeant Andrei Korolev, of the 606th Rangers, sat in his Shortsword with fifty other Rangers. He was on a surgical strike mission: to land, sabotage, and run to the rendezvous point.
Unlike ODSTs, Rangers were similar to paratroopers, jumping from planes, but from really high altitudes.
Their use in surgical strikes, storming targets, earned their nickname of "stormtroopers".
Shortswords, on the other hand, were originally retired, but not for long.
The introduction of the Rangers, alongside its unsurpassable nature of high-altitude bombing with unforeseen accuracy, made it perfect for surgical operations.
Andrei was dozing of when —
"Incoming target."
He awoke with a start, just as the Shortsword's bay door opened, and he jumped out, followed by his fellow Rangers.
Andrei himself was the age for a second-year high-school student, but his desire to serve saw him in the Marines, before transferring to the Rangers.
And the most obvious fact is that he was of Russian decent.
He landed in a field with his orange parachute which made the Rangers claim to fame and ran for his target.
"SG 1, here."
"Ranger 4, reporting on movement to the west."
"Go north."
"Split?"
"Two. One north, one west."
"Understood."
The Rangers split into two, in two directions.
"Caution, incoming fire."
"Take cover."
They had just enough time to hide behind some trenches when tracers wizzed overhead.
"Shots coming from 010 magnetic. Orders?"
"Snipers."
"Here."
"RPGs."
"Here."
"Shoot 'em."
"Heading?"
"010 magnetic."
"Understood."
The next half hour saw a mass of frenzy as RPGs left their silos, wreaking havoc amongst Fog positions.
"Enemies gone. Proceed?"
"Call West Team."
"They're moving in."
"Then move in."
The Rangers entered the deserted Fog base, with walls shredded by RPGs.
"ST One, SEAL Two."
"SEAL Two, ST One."
"Mission accomplished."
"Maintain defense position. Repeat, maintain defense position."
"Understood."
Sergeant Joseph Fuego, of the legendary 772nd SEAL strike team, was on a Pelican with a dozen other SEALs. SEALs were the most famous Special Forces branch of the US military, but has been long disbanded. However, the close of the Covenant war saw the UNSC regaining pre-war status, of course, with shields, supercarriers, lasers, which looked like searchlights but fired blue beams in a style similar to the ones you see in EVE Online.
Also, it saw the addition of the Rangers, and SEALs.
SEALs tend to act in teams of twelve, landing in by storm.
Ranger tend to act in teams of fifty or more.
He was on a mission, to land, secure, and defend a Fog base, so that later forces could reinforce and assist them in their campaign.
Joe was gently dozing off when—
The door of the Pelican swung open, and he jumped out, along with his team of SEALs.
They landed by storm, in the dead center of the base, shooting dead many Fog troops before they could realize what was happening. However—
"Incoming fire."
"Take cover."
Tracers whizzed overhead.
A SEAL lifted his rifle.
"We've got Fog lockeys."
"Get 'em."
A massive battle erupted, with tracers and bullets whizzing in all directions.
After half an hour—
"Enemy positions destroyed."
"Deploy smoke signals."
"Clear."
Joe took out a radio from his waistband.
"SEAL Two-Seven, Marine One."
"Marine One, SEAL Two-Seven."
"Mission accomplished."
"Roger. Comin' in hot."
A/N:
Last chapter, I discussed the existence of two extra branches to the UNSC(Special Forces). Well, here they are.
PS: somebody wrote "short as ****", so beware.
But he's a guest, though.