After almost of year of rewriting, I finally have something to show for it. The overall story will be the same. The only thing different is the beginning and the main character, Jeremy. Hopefully this is an improvement.

-2551-

Jeremy carefully held his black odst helmet to his face, analyzing its condition. He squinted his eyes and looked for any signs of scratches or dents it may have recently sustained. Nothing so far. He slowly traced his thumb across its top in case his eyes didn't pick up any minor blemishes he may have missed. Seemingly smooth as any metal could possibly be. From what the man could see it was practically unscathed despite the abuse it went through. An odd sense of surprise and accomplishment settled in his mind for a brief moment until he continued on with his examination. The trooper then delicately placed his fingertips on the visor which had a silver exterior. Not a single crack or mark, as it should be.

Cracks of thunder, the howling of wind and heavy rain entered his ears as the vessel he's being transported in opens up, revealing a black cloudy sky. Almost there. He figured with a hard thud of a heartbeat.

"Hey!" A faint voice said, almost entirely drowned out by the harsh weather. Jeremy considered responding, but he pushed the thought aside, chalking it up to his imagination and work taking priority.

He gently placed the piece of armor to a vacant spot beside him and retrieved an MA37 assault rifle holstered on his back. He positioned the butt of the weapon comfortably between his legs for a similar inspection as the helmet, first making sure the safety was on. He ejected the Magazine from the rifle to find it was completely filled and ready for use. Next was the attachments. The detachable scope was firmly locked in place and properly displayed the ammo counter. In general, the gun's overall shape was pristine and well managed. He retires the weapon back to its spot. Overall he thought he did a damn fine job checking over his equipment.

This, however, bothered Jeremy. Now he doesn't have an excuse to stay within the little bubble he resides in. He then returned his rifle to where it was previously. Jeremy hoped the rest of the ride would be relatively quiet, due to the fact he finds it difficult to speak to new people… which he was surrounded by.

"Oi, silent guy… err, Jeremy!" A brash yet feminine voice called out then followed by a light smack to the back of his head. "The hell are you doin' man?" The odst was stripped away from his thoughts as he sprung up from the seat he was resting on. He looked down to see who exactly was talking to him. Standing in front of him was a woman he had a few inches over. She had a full head of unkempt brown hair and a face that screamed abrasive. She wore armor much like his own. Elizabeth, a corporal.

Ugh. The moment I want something, it just slips away. Fantastic. Jeremy thought. He picked up the helmet that sat near him and slowly slid it onto his head. "Nothing." He said in a steady voice. "Just keeping myself busy. What's the problem?" He questioned while straightening out his back in an attempt to look presentable.

"What the hell do you think? We're about to be dropped off at our rendezvous! Maybe that's why you, me, and the whole damn squad are inside a pelican?!" Ignoring the corporal's rude words, Jeremy took a quick glance around to find two more fellow hell jumpers across from him. They were sleeping soundly next to each other, barely separated by safety bars. One was considerably taller than the other and held onto a noticeably buffer build. While the second was a bit of a paper mache swan. A more skinnier frame with arms and legs to match. Elizabeth continued. "You were just sitting there messin' with your crap for like a while, making odd faces and not uttering a single freaking sound. It got me feeling hella weird, and I for one don't work real well with weirdos."

Jesus, this is going to be my whole day, isn't it? Jeremy averted his gaze towards the opening of the pelican for a brief moment, thinking of the pros and cons of jumping out as a way to get out of this confrontation. Broken legs does sound like a step up from being nagged at. Buuuut I'm sure that wouldn't improve my first impression. He still hasn't said a word for a solid fifteen seconds, proving Elizabeth's notion correct in her mind.

"Hello!? Are you even listening?" She snapped, tapping angrily on the steel floor.

This brought Jeremy back to reality, embarrassing him slightly.

"Hm? Oh, um… I'm sorry you uh, feel that way?" He couldn't think of anything of real substance to add after that, though a thought popped inside his head. "hold on, why are you upset about me just checking up on my equipment when those two are sleeping?" The woman started to look even more aggravated than before. For a second, he thought he could see a vein pop out. Oh my God, please, just something come in and disrupt this.

VROOM

The cockpit door opens up, revealing a much older man wearing very minor protection with a camo uniform underneath. Lieutenant Davidson, Who was holding some kind of empty soda moment he came into view, Jeremy heels turned and gave a salute.

Davidson's attention was quickly caught by the two soldiers standing up, mid conversation. He then proceeds to throw the can in his hand directly at Elizabeth's head. "Agh, dick. Why the hell did you do that?!" She screamed. The lieutenant in response gave her a knowing look. The Corporal crossed her arms and locked her gaze at the old man, waiting for an answer.

"I already told ya before; play nice. Especially with the Private here. Do you want me to chuck another can cuz I have a whole lot more to get rid of young lady." Elizabeth snuck a quick death glare at Jeremy who still kept his stance. "Besides, you got a helluva lot louder out of nowhere, it's distracting the pilot. If that wasn't bad already, I was also trying my best to get the beauty sleep I deserve."

Jeremy tried his hardest to hold in a snicker, as he didn't think the bratty lady would appreciate it. "Ugh! Why? It's not like he'll last very long. I've skimmed Through some files. I did an extremely thorough background check like um… six? Six times already!" Elizabeth angrily interjected. "Twenty medical visits for broken bones. Three cases of accidental friendly fire during training sessions… where fire arms weren't even being used. I'm no perfectionist. Hell, I'm not even the best with anything too heavy for my hands, but God dammit am I skilled with at least a butter knife. That's more than what I can say for him."

Davidson looked down for a brief second while scratching his chin. As he did, Jeremy thanked his seemingly godly luck that nobody kept track of his medical records past the twenty already confirmed shattered bones.

"Well I wouldn't consider all that heapin' pile of mistakes a real deal breaker. Hell, I've had my fair share of mishaps here and there and I'm still a freakin' lieutenant!" Davidson finally noticed Jeremy's salute and gestured him to stop.

The woman's mouth went agape either out of shock or sheer disappointment. After, she connects both her thumb and pointer finger to her eyelids while unleashing an enormous sigh. "Davidso-"

"Lieutenant." Davidson interrupted with a very glee shit eating grin.

"Right - Lieutenant- It's great that you told us about that, but that's not good enough for this sorry excuse of a soldier."

Hey! Jeremy mentally called out. While he didn't necessarily, hundred percent, in fact agree with her extremely biased and or out right exaggerated statement, he could somewhat see where she's coming from at the very least.

"Even with my absolutely sublime eyesight, I still don't seem to pick up an ounce of a problem 'round here. As I said, we all make mistakes." The old man then crosses his arms in a juvenile manner along with an "hmpf".

"It wouldn't have been a problem if he didn't do all of that crap within a bloody month!" The odst cringed at that reminder. That being said, it did posed a question in his mind. Why did the lieutenant bother to bring him along anyway? His skills weren't anything too special. Just about on par with your average hell jumper and nothing more.

He'd only go as far as to say that he's a grade above a simple marine. His element, or any semblance of it, firmly sits between a magnum or battle rifle. Despite him adoring the arts of spray and pray that defines the assault rifle, he considers a little accuracy to be his usual forte. But being a decent shot with an oversized handgun shouldn't mean you'd be dragged into a group of people you've never met on a secret mission. No, it's definitely something more than his marksmanship. What was it? Was there some quota of filling up squads he didn't know about? Maybe placing soldiers into random groups was becoming a bit more prominent due to the Covenant serving all of humanity's ass on a glassed platter.

Davidson clicked his tongue and sighed. "Well, if you must know, little ol' Jeremy here knows a thing or two about explosives. He's a bit of an expert so to speak." the lieutenant's tone quickly changes to a more excited one on the dime. "He's the lucky, lucky man who's gonna bomb a whole god damn covie base!"

"Bomb?" The Corporal Tilted her head, eyes squinted with skepticism. "This guy-" she points directly at Jeremy, who suddenly remembered the reason why he came along. "This guy right here. Is gonna explode a covenant base? Fucking how?" Davidson's face turns ecstatic as he hurries away back into the cockpit. A series of clanking and quiet but audible swears emitted from the other side right before sliding open again.

The old man carried a huge black case with latches and a keyhole. He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small golden key with initials too far away for Jeremy to clearly read. Davidson quickly opened the case like a Christmas present. He turned it around to reveal a massive device the size of the Private's helmet.

"Ahh. See this bad boy?" Davidson confidently said while carefully patting the explosive. "This incredible piece of technology has the power to take out an entire skyscraper all on its lonesome." Both Elizabeth and Jeremy gawked at the bomb in awe, more so Jeremy. "Look at it with glory fellas, this right here is my own personal holy hand grenade. And we're gonna use it to exterminate a local infestation of alien bastards."

Jeremy's sights were firmly set on the bomb. Its exterior was a stainless steel circular shape with a permanently set timer of five minutes placed on the center. One group of wires stemmed from a port, another directly from the timer itself. Both of which have ends that seem to connect. An overall simple, but very striking mechanism.

"Wait, local?" The Corporal suddenly grew a horrified expression. "As in they're in our territory?" Davidson confirmed this with a sly smile and thumbs up. "And you're telling us now?!"

Jeremy turned to the lieutenant after analyzing the explosives, already figuring out how the bomb worked. "I suppose we're heading over to the rendezvous to eliminate those hostiles before they're able to radio in for reinforcements." The Private stated matter-of-factly.

"Right you are, soldier. If we can deal with these unwanted visitors right now that should slow 'em down for the time being. It'll be a hell of a welcoming gift, so let's not disappoint." Davidson closed the case and locked it up then returned it to the cockpit. Right before closing the doors he looked back and said "we're landing real damn soon, in a few minutes. You better wake those two up before we drop or else I'll take their sleeping privileges per-man-ently." After that he finally leaves

"Coulda told us sooner… dickhole." Elizabeth's voice lowered on that last word. She waited a few moments to make sure that the lieutenant wouldn't randomly come back before placing her arms on her lower back then bending backwards, producing a string of popping noises. A relieved sigh left her mouth as she kept the position for a couple of seconds. "Alright. I guess there's no more time for arguing, unfortunately. Now, let's wake up these two lovely peons." Elizabeth strolled her way to the other odsts with a chip on her shoulder. The instant she came a few inches within their space she slams her fist on the wall the two lend on for support.

"What! Who!? More allens?" The bigger hell jumper awoke and fumbled his words, accidentally saying something else other than aliens. His sights spun side to side to gather as much information as possible in a few seconds. His mind relaxes when he realizes there weren't any threats swarming him at the moment, so he finally calms down. "Damn it, Liz. Can't a man just have a full six hours of sleep?" He groaned while blinking constantly.

"Wakey wakey!" She turned her sights to the second odst who still managed to keep her eyes closed. "I said-" she moved her hands close to the still asleep soldier's helmet and bounced it back and forth repeatedly. "Wakey wakey, Jay!" The odst finally springs back to life like a scared cat. She almost flew out her seat as she jumped, though she was caught by the odst sitting next to her.

"Bloody hell! What was that for you crazy bint?!" Jay unbuckled herself, stood up, and threw an impressively fast punch in the Corporal's stomach, grinding her fist the moment it made contact with her. Elizabeth barely faltered at the attack. Producing a toothy smug grin that led to Jeremy getting some uneasy thoughts.

"Hehe, my turn." The Corporal replied coldly with a strike of her very own. This time aiming for Jay's liver. Jeremy couldn't tell, as the helmet was still on her head, but he thought the color must've drained from Jay's face. Elizabeth stepped backwards slowly, admiring her work intently.

"You… you-" the small odst's voice turned raspy. Each word came out winded or breathless, more or less like a dying old man on their deathbed. "You fuckin'... cunt." She barely was able to let out her seemingly final words. As amusing as they were, Jeremy felt like what was spoken really could've been her last. She sunk back into her seat along with a wheeze. It only took less than a few seconds for her to catch her breath and verbally counter the Corporal. "Barely felt a pinch, love."

Elizabeth giggled and swayed her arms to her back. "Will then I'll just give you a bit more than a pinch next time you cheeky Brit. Oh, sorry, love." A silent pause entered the scene, with the two staring daggers at one another. A bombardment of odd and threatening expressions were trading like blows, Jay nor Elizabeth continued their small scuffle, as this was its replacement.

"Quite the show huh, mate?" Jeremy looked to see one of hell jumpers standing beside him, also watching the spectacle. "Don't often see these two get all pissy. But it's a brilliant sight, ey?"

"I'm just glad I'm not in the middle of all that action. It'd be kinda sad if I died to a couple of angry chicks rather than some aliens."

"Heh. don't know bout that one. I know a few guys who'd congratulate a man that'd be able to survive a scrape with a hell jumper gal."

"Guess you're right uh-"

"Theo" he extends a fist that Jeremy returns. "Not short for Theodore. Jus' Theo. Plain and simple like yours truly."

"Good to know you have a stable head on your shoulders compared to those two.."

"The secret is a good ol' beer. It does wonders to man right before dropping feet first into hell."

The Private chuckles "Good beer? My taste buds lack appreciation for it. So I never really thought there weren't any actual good ones."

"Maybe for you plain-English speakers there aren't, but those from the down under know of a magical brew, if you get me."

"I'd greatly appreciate to be proven wrong."

"Alright then. First thing we do when we get done with this mission. I'll show you my stash of wonders to prove my point."

"Sounds like a blast, Theo."

Usually Jeremy never considers what to do after completing an assignment. Normally it's to kill whatever is In the way, escape with your life by a hair, then go take a nap. It's a rather monotonous cycle in retrospect and having a person so easily dismantled that routine tells a lot about it. Jeremy wonders if this little change of plans would be worthwhile. If anything, he'd get to try new beer.

"Okay." A dry cough left Jay's mouth. "I'm gonna throw another punch, this time at your fack ugly mug." She wobbles her way on her feet slowly, which didn't impress Elizabeth.

"You know, I only ever caused funerals. I just might change things up and arrange one just for you. Since we're good pals here after all!"

VROOM!

"Hey, you two!" The pilot doors reopen with Davidson stepping out in a huff. "For the love of God, Elizabeth. Did the Private bore you so much you had to switch to someone else? I heard the punching n' wheezing from the other room. Your pointless commotion is gonna fry my brain and cause me to have a damn aneurysm. So I suggest cleaning up your act this instant before I kick your ass off my ship three hundred feet in the air!" The lieutenant's anger caught Jeremy off guard. Just before he acted rather lively despite his rank. Elizabeth backed away from Jay and resided next to her, still keeping tabs on her from the corner of her eye. Davidson turned to Jeremy, who Theo was standing next to. Seeing as he was finally awake, his tone immediately changed. "Ah, Theo my boy. Finally awake are we? That's mighty great of ya. Have you introduced yourself to the Private yet?"

Theo casually stuck his thumb out "Yes sir, I did. We were just discussing this cat fight here." Jeremy nervously chuckled and threw a small wave at Davidson.

"Well, that's just immaculate. Now Jeremy-boy, seeing that you've been introduced to the majority of the team I think it's high time we finally touch down on some land and deliver our present to the wonderful intruders of this planet."

The pelican began to steady itself to correct its path for landing. The whole shuttle rumbles and shifts side-to-side rapidly. Now the back entrance fully opens introducing a wider view of the storm raging on against the night. Other than the constant mechanical hums of the ship, the heavy rain and thunder masked almost every sound Jeremy would've heard.

The pelican settles in a quick motion, floating a few feet off the ground. This staggers the Private. He barely catches himself by holding onto a nearby handle. "Alright." Davidson calmly announced. "In light of me not actually briefing the mission, I'll leave that responsibility to the Corporal. As she'll fill in for me as squad leader."

"Wait what? Oh you motherf-" Elizabeth barely had time to finish her sentence. The lieutenant has already begun to shout out the rest of his plans.

"Anyway! Keep sharp out there. Make sure to check your comms before engaging any hostiles. Theo! Take this case with you and hand it to the Private. I expect a good show out there, make ya lieutenant proud! Over and out!"

Jeremy was the first to jump down from the hovering craft with a hard landing. He quickly switches on his night vision to scan his surroundings. So far it's just him, his group, and the large trees of a forest nowhere near any kind of base. He radios in through his helmet "clear." Then the rest of the odsts all carefully exit the pelican.

The vehicle rumbles, blowing grass and leaves away as it returns to the sky. "We dropped y'all off a click away from your target so we don't get caught too early." Davidson informed through the comms. "Remember. I'll be in contact. If anything goes wrong, because of the Corporal, make sure to call in for an emergency evac if necessary. Or for fun." Davidson made one last reminder before leaving the scene.

A quick equipment overview commenced among the soldiers. Checking up on themselves with their weapons, then moving on to each other's gear. A simple procedure done in less than a minute.

Everyone circles Elizabeth, intently listening for their orders. "Since that dick decided to just leave everything to me, it'll be my job to lead you all." Theo settles the bomb's case at Jeremy's boots with the key lazily taped on top. "Our orders are simple. We get that explosive to the territory acquired by the Covenant. We make our way to the area, infiltrate the enemy's base and rig that bomb to detonate. After the mission is taken care of we get to head home. So let's not, not do anything and hurry our asses out already." Elizabeth mostly groaned her orders out as if she had already recited them multiple times. For preservation's sake he'd hope not to step on her toes accidentally or otherwise from here on out

In between looking around to absorb the calming rage of the storm and keeping away from Elizabeth, Jeremy didn't have much to do. For the twentieth time he ejected his assault rifle's magazine and for the twentieth he put it right back after twirling it with his fingers. Again he was about to repeat his little trick, until he was interrupted.

"Yo, Jeremy." Theo spoke up through his personal channel. Jeremy looked back and saw Theo with his mag in hands while pointing at it. "Dude, you have to show me how to do that. I'll give you anything you want. Like my MRE or something."

Instantly disgusted,"Ehh, I like my bowels working, thank you for the offer though."

"C'mon, mate. Just tell me how. If you don't want it I got something even better. Fruit snacks."

Jeremy's mind changes its tune immediately. He quickly replied and gave his answer. "...deal."

"Every man can be bought, Jeremy." Theo switches off his communications. He places his pointer finger near the bottom of his helmet to do a 'shush' motion. Beginning with a practice twirl between the fingers, he almost drops the mag on the floor. Jeremy cringed at the thought of the abrupt sound it would've made. If he was lucky he might survive Elizabeth's brutal punishment for minimal disturbance alive.

Jeremy double checked his surroundings to make sure the Corporal wasn't scanning in his direction. Elizabeth still faced forward with a confident stance as if she prepared for anything. So lazer focus on everything revolving around her and her alone. seemingly god sent to the Private.

Jeremy turned to Theo, mag in hand to pass on his skills. It started at his thumb. Both it and his pointer finger held the magazine together tightly. They lead forward as the rest of the fingers retreat to his palms. The metal ammo holder then rests on his middle finger-

BLAM!

Jeremy didn't even get to finish. A fierce green bolt of plasma across the air and instantly blew a hole in his helmet. His hands instantly release and drop the mag onto the cold, wet grass.