I don't own Halo or any themes from the book or game; neither do I
own Ghost Recon or its character names. Men of The Front
Greg Hashimoto, a.k.a. Spartan-097, checked through his gear a last time. The mission was almost a routine one. Find and eliminate all enemy forces in the region. He was part of the Spartan III unit. They were made in reply to the loss of presumably all of the Spartan II's, with exceptions of a few being MIA. They had been drafted at the young age of six, receiving the most elite training, and undergoing the most dangerous and technological surgeries in the system. As with the batch before them, a great number of them died during the physical augmenting, making the Spartans much stronger than the average human. They can easily lift over five times their own weight, and have lightning fast reflexes. They have been trained for all styles of combat, and have also undergone the new space combat training, preparing them for space and the conflicts that could ensue. Their MJOLNIR armor, which also helped augment their abilities, was fitted with small afterburners in their backs. The rockets had enough power to allow them H.A.L.O. jumps without parachutes, and they could leap off cliffs, and land with relative ease. Before the Pelican dropship arrived at their position, he assessed the rest of his team one more time.
John Hamm was one of Greg's closest friends. They consulted each other on solutions, and the two's combined efforts helped bring the entire Spartan force through a number of the Chief's Missions. he sat across from Greg, staring back at the other Spartans. The Spartans were close. They've trained all their lives, together. Of the original hundred that were drafted into the project, only about 60 lived. It was a better success rate than the Spartan II's. they lost a lot of people from the augmenting.
Along with the two esteemed officers, there sat Cameron Moreno, Paul Reeves, Lyle Trujullio, Jim Gribble, Jonathan Nguyen, Xandra Brown, and Danielle Anderson. Xandra and Jim were the snipers. They were very deadly with their weapons of choice. They were the only ones with a specific role. The others did what needed to be done.
"One minute to dust!" the pilot called. Greg nodded. He was commanding officer on missions. He was the best soldier for the job. He stood up. "Alright," he started.
"You know the parameters. Kill them all. Intel doesn't say anything about survivors, but I want you to keep your eyes open. Computers aren't reliable. Also, we have to destroy the weapons facility. We don't want any more technology falling into covenant hands. The warehouse has records of where their equipment was shipped from. So that means they could find out where Earth is. That obviously can't happen. If you find any documents, destroy them. Also, we're gonna try and take some of the base's equipment back with us. If possible, hijack any vehicles you think will be of use, as with supplies."
"5 seconds!" the pilot called again. "Lock and load!" John yelled. The Pelican's doors opened, and the nine super soldiers filed out, making almost the most elite soldiers look like recruits. Their teamwork was superb. Nothing the UNSC had ever seen before. A result of that had been from their nearly 20 years of training together.
They held their ground, all of them scanning the horizon for enemies as the dropship flew away. After about 15 seconds of scanning, the team gathered. John and Jonathan were still looking around, but trying to focus most of their attentions to Greg.
"Alright. We're going to split into three teams for this. Three people to a team. I'll take Alpha team. John, you'll take Bravo team. Danielle, you'll take Delta." The three soldiers nodded. "Cameron and Jim, you'll go with John. Paul and Lyle will be going with Danielle. I'll take Jonathan and Xandra. Each person takes a different route to the warehouse."
"Alright then, let's move." He finished. "Alpha will take the middle route." He added. A number of beeps followed, showing that the others knew what was going on. One beep meant yes, and 2 meant no.
The three teams departed along the different trails. Their blue armor moved along the almost orange dirt roads in awkward silence. The planet of Turquoise used to be a hot spot for vacations. It boasted blue foliage and seemingly turquoise oceans. It was one of the most prominent backwater planets. Now, it was one of the few that hadn't been glassed by the Covenant, Earth's greatest and most prominent foe.
Greg kept his assault rifle at the ready, as they traveled the road through the dense woods to the military warehouse. They stopped at the gate to the warehouse. The main gate was gone, and the fence was riddled with burn marks. The team closed in for a closer inspection.
"These are plasma burns," Jonathan said. He was right. Greg tapped into his radio. "Heads up everybody, they are inside the compound." 6 beeps followed his warning.
"Sir!" Jonathan called. Greg met with Jon. Xandra stayed in the road, keeping an eye out for enemy troops. Jonathan was kneeling at a body. There was very hoarse breathing coming from the man on the ground. He had three plasma burns in his chest. They were deep. It had been a wonder that he wasn't dead yet. He didn't have much time left either, however.
"What happened here?" Greg asked. The bloodshot eyes looked over to the lead Spartan. The body struggled in a breath.
"The Covenant attacked out of nowhere. Maybe ten minutes after they were reported to be in orbit, we had ground forces on our ass. They landed inside the base. We took a lot of casualties before we could even retaliate. I tried the best I could to take as many with me as I could, but it didn't turn out so well I guess." A trickle of blood left his mouth.
"How many were there?" Jon asked. The wounded man heaved. "I don't know.I'm sorry.they were out to raid the warehouse, they sent patrols up the..road..I..I..I'm.Sorry." Greg gripped the man's hand. His time was up.
"Its alright soldier. You did well. You did well." Greg reassured him. "We all woulda done the same." The soldier let a weak smile at the Spartan's comment. Suddenly, he heaved heavily, then slowly fell limp. Greg let go of the man's hand. He had to set aside his feelings, and finish the mission. He stood up and left the small entrance booth.
"Sir, we got a number of Covenant bodies on this road here," Xandra said. "there was a pretty fierce battle over here."
"They ambushed the station. We have to hurry, for all we know they could've found the location of Earth by now." He moved faster. "All units, pick up the pace, we have covenant in the warehouse." He addressed.
"Alpha team, This is Bravo, do you copy?" John replied. Greg tapped the radio again. "This is Alpha, loud and clear. What's the problem?"
"We are taking enemy fire. We can handle it, but we may be a little slower reaching the warehouse than the others. Over."
"Acknowledged. Do you need assistance?"
"Negative," He replied. "We can handle it, it'll just slow us down is all. Over and out." The radio went silent again.
"Sir, the warehouse is about 100 yards away." Jon informed. The winding road hid everything that could be waiting for them. They continued on their hurried pace. After the first bend, Delta's stance went to code red. They had encountered the Covenant as well. That left only Alpha to run into the enemy.
They passed the next to bends without any interference either. "40 yards!" Xandra called. The road straightened and revealed the warehouse. It was a large gray building. The lower levels were underground, to help reveal the appearance of a military base. The clearing was littered with human and covenant bodies alike. There were burn marks and small craters from grenades and heavy weapons fire. The trail of wreckage increased as they neared the building. Before they could make any more observations, a Covenant patrol found them and opened fire.
"Incoming!" Jon yelled. They dived for the ground. "Open fire!" Greg yelled. Small bursts of assault rifle fire erupted. The patrol was mainly Grunts, accompanied by two Jackals. Plasma fire pelted the ground all around them. Greg and Xandra moved to a pile of rubble nearby, to provide them some cover. Jonathan followed.
"This is Alpha team! We are at the base, about 35 yards away from the warehouse, we are taking fire. We'll move into the warehouse once we've apprehended the threat. In the mean time, I want you guys to hurry up here, so we can destroy those files and loot this place. Over."
A number of beeps replied his orders once again. His tactical map in the lower left of his Heads Up Display. The yellow dots of his fellow Spartans began to catch up. Xandra's sniper rifle barked, bringing a jackal to the ground. Greg fired a small spray of bullets through the patrol, taking down about three Grunts.
"Let's move!" he yelled. The three warriors, keeping their heads low and their weapons raised, continued their assault. the last of the patrol was easily finished, the Jackal and the remaining Grunts falling in a hail of fire from the two riflemen.
Immediately they opened the door and ran in. The main entry hangar wasn't very intact. A large firefight must have erupted here.
"In position," Greg announced. The other two teams would arrive shortly. "Okay people, remember. Destroy any documents you see. Looting is second in priorities. Spread out and let's move." The two soldiers nodded.
Greg went straight for the elevators. The vehicles and equipment would be on second floor. Intelligence was usually bottom floor. He punch B4 on the elevator's controls. The 3 meter wide platform began to descend.
"This is Nguyen, I'm heading down to basement 5, over." He announced.
"Roger. I'll meet you there." Greg replied.
"This is Brown, I'll hold position here to keep an eye out for enemy reinforcements." Greg beeped a 'yes' through his MJOLNIR suit. The elevator stopped. Greg's weapon was trained on the large door right away. The doors opened slowly, showing an unsuspecting pair of Jackals, and grunts roaming the area. Greg was unnoticed. Except for a pair of Elites. They saw him right away.
"Y.You!" one yelled. "Freez!" a small group of Grunts appeared at the opening to the elevator. Greg wouldn't have time to close the door. Something bewildered him in the midst of his being caught. Why weren't they attacking him? The covenant never took prisoners.
"Step out of the lift!" the other Elite called. He set down his assault rifle, and discretely hit the S.O.S. beacon on his suit. He began to leave the elevator when the radio buzzed in.
"This is Nguyen. I'm on my way, sir, hold on." Greg smiled. The Covenant didn't know about the other Spartans yet.
Greg walked out of the lift and took a few steps forward. The control center was about 30 feet away. He saw the squid-like engineers purging through the data, trying to find out all that they could. Greg tapped the Objective beacon on his suit as well. the Elite raised a warning. "Do not move or we'll shoot!" he barked. Greg nodded. The Elite took him over to the control center. It was a group of computers arranged in a cylinder, with breaks in the machines for entry and exiting. The Elite looked at Greg.
"Tell me." He started. "Where is the Planet Earth?"
* * * * * *
The elevator moved terribly slowly. Greg had sent the S.O.S. beacon off nearly a minute ago. Jon was almost to the last floor. On the way down, he had informed the others of the S.O.S. and the mission objective beacons. It was up to him to rescue Hashimoto and destroy the computer mainframe. Finally, the door chimed. He was at Basement five. He hugged the wall as the elevator opened. Nothing happened. He peeked out to see where they all were, and saw Greg being held captive by two Elites. They were standing at the control center. The Elite was talking to Greg, as if he were trying to get something out of him. Jon was puzzled. The Covenant didn't take prisoners, unless they were high ranking officials.
Jon crept back to the walls of the room. He made his way slowly around the room, not to disturb anything or alert them of his presence. About 5 meters to his right, there was a Grunt and a table housing a rocket launcher and an assault rifle. Jon withdrew the knife, and began to study the Grunt's patrolling pattern.
Eight steps to the left, eight to the right. He could handle it. He waited for the Grunt to turn his back on his, and he charged. When he reached the Grunt, he jammed the knife deep into its face. he whirled around and grabbed the rocket launcher off of the table as well. The other Grunts hadn't noticed the disappearance of their teammate. Jon snapped on the 2x vision for the launcher and got ready. This would be close. He saw Greg, being held at gunpoint from at least five different soldiers. Two of them happened to be Elites. He aimed the rocket to fly just past Greg's head, straight into the engineers and the computers.
Greg Hashimoto, a.k.a. Spartan-097, checked through his gear a last time. The mission was almost a routine one. Find and eliminate all enemy forces in the region. He was part of the Spartan III unit. They were made in reply to the loss of presumably all of the Spartan II's, with exceptions of a few being MIA. They had been drafted at the young age of six, receiving the most elite training, and undergoing the most dangerous and technological surgeries in the system. As with the batch before them, a great number of them died during the physical augmenting, making the Spartans much stronger than the average human. They can easily lift over five times their own weight, and have lightning fast reflexes. They have been trained for all styles of combat, and have also undergone the new space combat training, preparing them for space and the conflicts that could ensue. Their MJOLNIR armor, which also helped augment their abilities, was fitted with small afterburners in their backs. The rockets had enough power to allow them H.A.L.O. jumps without parachutes, and they could leap off cliffs, and land with relative ease. Before the Pelican dropship arrived at their position, he assessed the rest of his team one more time.
John Hamm was one of Greg's closest friends. They consulted each other on solutions, and the two's combined efforts helped bring the entire Spartan force through a number of the Chief's Missions. he sat across from Greg, staring back at the other Spartans. The Spartans were close. They've trained all their lives, together. Of the original hundred that were drafted into the project, only about 60 lived. It was a better success rate than the Spartan II's. they lost a lot of people from the augmenting.
Along with the two esteemed officers, there sat Cameron Moreno, Paul Reeves, Lyle Trujullio, Jim Gribble, Jonathan Nguyen, Xandra Brown, and Danielle Anderson. Xandra and Jim were the snipers. They were very deadly with their weapons of choice. They were the only ones with a specific role. The others did what needed to be done.
"One minute to dust!" the pilot called. Greg nodded. He was commanding officer on missions. He was the best soldier for the job. He stood up. "Alright," he started.
"You know the parameters. Kill them all. Intel doesn't say anything about survivors, but I want you to keep your eyes open. Computers aren't reliable. Also, we have to destroy the weapons facility. We don't want any more technology falling into covenant hands. The warehouse has records of where their equipment was shipped from. So that means they could find out where Earth is. That obviously can't happen. If you find any documents, destroy them. Also, we're gonna try and take some of the base's equipment back with us. If possible, hijack any vehicles you think will be of use, as with supplies."
"5 seconds!" the pilot called again. "Lock and load!" John yelled. The Pelican's doors opened, and the nine super soldiers filed out, making almost the most elite soldiers look like recruits. Their teamwork was superb. Nothing the UNSC had ever seen before. A result of that had been from their nearly 20 years of training together.
They held their ground, all of them scanning the horizon for enemies as the dropship flew away. After about 15 seconds of scanning, the team gathered. John and Jonathan were still looking around, but trying to focus most of their attentions to Greg.
"Alright. We're going to split into three teams for this. Three people to a team. I'll take Alpha team. John, you'll take Bravo team. Danielle, you'll take Delta." The three soldiers nodded. "Cameron and Jim, you'll go with John. Paul and Lyle will be going with Danielle. I'll take Jonathan and Xandra. Each person takes a different route to the warehouse."
"Alright then, let's move." He finished. "Alpha will take the middle route." He added. A number of beeps followed, showing that the others knew what was going on. One beep meant yes, and 2 meant no.
The three teams departed along the different trails. Their blue armor moved along the almost orange dirt roads in awkward silence. The planet of Turquoise used to be a hot spot for vacations. It boasted blue foliage and seemingly turquoise oceans. It was one of the most prominent backwater planets. Now, it was one of the few that hadn't been glassed by the Covenant, Earth's greatest and most prominent foe.
Greg kept his assault rifle at the ready, as they traveled the road through the dense woods to the military warehouse. They stopped at the gate to the warehouse. The main gate was gone, and the fence was riddled with burn marks. The team closed in for a closer inspection.
"These are plasma burns," Jonathan said. He was right. Greg tapped into his radio. "Heads up everybody, they are inside the compound." 6 beeps followed his warning.
"Sir!" Jonathan called. Greg met with Jon. Xandra stayed in the road, keeping an eye out for enemy troops. Jonathan was kneeling at a body. There was very hoarse breathing coming from the man on the ground. He had three plasma burns in his chest. They were deep. It had been a wonder that he wasn't dead yet. He didn't have much time left either, however.
"What happened here?" Greg asked. The bloodshot eyes looked over to the lead Spartan. The body struggled in a breath.
"The Covenant attacked out of nowhere. Maybe ten minutes after they were reported to be in orbit, we had ground forces on our ass. They landed inside the base. We took a lot of casualties before we could even retaliate. I tried the best I could to take as many with me as I could, but it didn't turn out so well I guess." A trickle of blood left his mouth.
"How many were there?" Jon asked. The wounded man heaved. "I don't know.I'm sorry.they were out to raid the warehouse, they sent patrols up the..road..I..I..I'm.Sorry." Greg gripped the man's hand. His time was up.
"Its alright soldier. You did well. You did well." Greg reassured him. "We all woulda done the same." The soldier let a weak smile at the Spartan's comment. Suddenly, he heaved heavily, then slowly fell limp. Greg let go of the man's hand. He had to set aside his feelings, and finish the mission. He stood up and left the small entrance booth.
"Sir, we got a number of Covenant bodies on this road here," Xandra said. "there was a pretty fierce battle over here."
"They ambushed the station. We have to hurry, for all we know they could've found the location of Earth by now." He moved faster. "All units, pick up the pace, we have covenant in the warehouse." He addressed.
"Alpha team, This is Bravo, do you copy?" John replied. Greg tapped the radio again. "This is Alpha, loud and clear. What's the problem?"
"We are taking enemy fire. We can handle it, but we may be a little slower reaching the warehouse than the others. Over."
"Acknowledged. Do you need assistance?"
"Negative," He replied. "We can handle it, it'll just slow us down is all. Over and out." The radio went silent again.
"Sir, the warehouse is about 100 yards away." Jon informed. The winding road hid everything that could be waiting for them. They continued on their hurried pace. After the first bend, Delta's stance went to code red. They had encountered the Covenant as well. That left only Alpha to run into the enemy.
They passed the next to bends without any interference either. "40 yards!" Xandra called. The road straightened and revealed the warehouse. It was a large gray building. The lower levels were underground, to help reveal the appearance of a military base. The clearing was littered with human and covenant bodies alike. There were burn marks and small craters from grenades and heavy weapons fire. The trail of wreckage increased as they neared the building. Before they could make any more observations, a Covenant patrol found them and opened fire.
"Incoming!" Jon yelled. They dived for the ground. "Open fire!" Greg yelled. Small bursts of assault rifle fire erupted. The patrol was mainly Grunts, accompanied by two Jackals. Plasma fire pelted the ground all around them. Greg and Xandra moved to a pile of rubble nearby, to provide them some cover. Jonathan followed.
"This is Alpha team! We are at the base, about 35 yards away from the warehouse, we are taking fire. We'll move into the warehouse once we've apprehended the threat. In the mean time, I want you guys to hurry up here, so we can destroy those files and loot this place. Over."
A number of beeps replied his orders once again. His tactical map in the lower left of his Heads Up Display. The yellow dots of his fellow Spartans began to catch up. Xandra's sniper rifle barked, bringing a jackal to the ground. Greg fired a small spray of bullets through the patrol, taking down about three Grunts.
"Let's move!" he yelled. The three warriors, keeping their heads low and their weapons raised, continued their assault. the last of the patrol was easily finished, the Jackal and the remaining Grunts falling in a hail of fire from the two riflemen.
Immediately they opened the door and ran in. The main entry hangar wasn't very intact. A large firefight must have erupted here.
"In position," Greg announced. The other two teams would arrive shortly. "Okay people, remember. Destroy any documents you see. Looting is second in priorities. Spread out and let's move." The two soldiers nodded.
Greg went straight for the elevators. The vehicles and equipment would be on second floor. Intelligence was usually bottom floor. He punch B4 on the elevator's controls. The 3 meter wide platform began to descend.
"This is Nguyen, I'm heading down to basement 5, over." He announced.
"Roger. I'll meet you there." Greg replied.
"This is Brown, I'll hold position here to keep an eye out for enemy reinforcements." Greg beeped a 'yes' through his MJOLNIR suit. The elevator stopped. Greg's weapon was trained on the large door right away. The doors opened slowly, showing an unsuspecting pair of Jackals, and grunts roaming the area. Greg was unnoticed. Except for a pair of Elites. They saw him right away.
"Y.You!" one yelled. "Freez!" a small group of Grunts appeared at the opening to the elevator. Greg wouldn't have time to close the door. Something bewildered him in the midst of his being caught. Why weren't they attacking him? The covenant never took prisoners.
"Step out of the lift!" the other Elite called. He set down his assault rifle, and discretely hit the S.O.S. beacon on his suit. He began to leave the elevator when the radio buzzed in.
"This is Nguyen. I'm on my way, sir, hold on." Greg smiled. The Covenant didn't know about the other Spartans yet.
Greg walked out of the lift and took a few steps forward. The control center was about 30 feet away. He saw the squid-like engineers purging through the data, trying to find out all that they could. Greg tapped the Objective beacon on his suit as well. the Elite raised a warning. "Do not move or we'll shoot!" he barked. Greg nodded. The Elite took him over to the control center. It was a group of computers arranged in a cylinder, with breaks in the machines for entry and exiting. The Elite looked at Greg.
"Tell me." He started. "Where is the Planet Earth?"
* * * * * *
The elevator moved terribly slowly. Greg had sent the S.O.S. beacon off nearly a minute ago. Jon was almost to the last floor. On the way down, he had informed the others of the S.O.S. and the mission objective beacons. It was up to him to rescue Hashimoto and destroy the computer mainframe. Finally, the door chimed. He was at Basement five. He hugged the wall as the elevator opened. Nothing happened. He peeked out to see where they all were, and saw Greg being held captive by two Elites. They were standing at the control center. The Elite was talking to Greg, as if he were trying to get something out of him. Jon was puzzled. The Covenant didn't take prisoners, unless they were high ranking officials.
Jon crept back to the walls of the room. He made his way slowly around the room, not to disturb anything or alert them of his presence. About 5 meters to his right, there was a Grunt and a table housing a rocket launcher and an assault rifle. Jon withdrew the knife, and began to study the Grunt's patrolling pattern.
Eight steps to the left, eight to the right. He could handle it. He waited for the Grunt to turn his back on his, and he charged. When he reached the Grunt, he jammed the knife deep into its face. he whirled around and grabbed the rocket launcher off of the table as well. The other Grunts hadn't noticed the disappearance of their teammate. Jon snapped on the 2x vision for the launcher and got ready. This would be close. He saw Greg, being held at gunpoint from at least five different soldiers. Two of them happened to be Elites. He aimed the rocket to fly just past Greg's head, straight into the engineers and the computers.
