Halo
The Helljumpers
By: Austin Renfroe
PROLOGUE:
Ryan stood at attention in his dress uniform. His jacket and trousers pressed to perfection. His hands rested firmly along the seams of his pants. He held his head high in the air, feeling the respect his father had for him.
The only thing that could make his graduation from Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, or, ODST training better would be his dad. He missed him, but knew he was looking down on him proudly. Captain Derek Preston approached Ryan, causing the young Corporal's breath to become slightly louder.
"Corporal Ryan Jacob Courtney!" shouted the Captain as he stood in front of the marine.
"Sir, yes Sir!" was the immediate reply as the towering Captain looked down on him with the eyes of a battle-hardened warrior. The Captain held a silver medal portraying a classic pineapple fragmentation grenade hanging from a parachute. Ryan decided quickly that it was possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The Captain slowly pinned the medal to Ryan's breast and took a step backward.
Ryan could barely hold back his smile as he snapped a crisp salute. The Captain eyed him for a moment, then, returned the gesture. "Congratulations soldier!"
Ryan looked to his new medal, then back at the Captain as he made his way down the row of Marines. Fine men they were, every last one of them having trained hard for months to stand here now. Ryan could barely hold back a tear.
The post-graduation party had begun, leaving Ryan sitting next to his long time friend, Corporal Jared Michael Vencill. Jared had graduated from ODST earlier that day along with Ryan, and they were now celebrating with an enthusiasm that could only belong to a marine. The spirits flowed heavily that night as a crowd of nearly one hundred newly initiated ODST drank to the future, the past, their troubles, and pretty much any other excuse to throw down some cold ones.
Jared and Ryan were both feeling pretty good. They sat at a poker table and talked, drank, arm-wrestled, drank, played drinking games, and drank. Ryan was beginning to wonder if he would ever get to sleep that night.
A fight broke out unexpectedly among a group of low ranking members who all had their eyes on a pretty little lady sitting by herself at the bar. The brawl was cheered on with enthusiasm as the not quite sober crowd was granted entertainment.
Ryan and Jared both laughed as drunken punches were thrown in every direction, and insults were shouted with enough slur to confuse a translation AI. The room was giddy with excitement until Captain Preston appeared in the doorway.
The low maintenance military pub grew silent as the Captain's figure strode deliberately slowly through the room. The boys forgot about their fight quickly, and immediately stood straighter than any drunks Ryan had ever seen. Both boys had blood dripping from their noses and bruises on their cheeks.
"Parties over troops, we got work to do!" the Captain said so everybody was sure to here. He gave the scrappers very little attention, surprising both Ryan and Jared. "Get your gear and report to the docks at 0100 hours!"
Ryan and Jared exchanged nervous glances, then, quickly stumbled from the pub to their barracks to gear up.
***
Gunnery Sergeant Austin Gerald Renfroe lay quietly in his cot. His friend and squad mate, Staff Sergeant Alex Armstrong, lay beside him, telling a story that only the two ODST could appreciate. The two had a sense of humor that nobody else seemed to understand.
Both soldiers were exhausted from preparing Romeo base all day. Octanus Three proved to be rather tough terrain, leaving most of the 509th ODST platoon fast asleep in their quickly assembled barracks.
Austin reached below his cot and snagged a full canteen of water. Cool liquid ran across his parched lips, and glided smoothly down his throat. He held the water towards Alex, who took it gratefully.
With something in his stomach finally, Austin was feeling better, and rolled to get comfortable in his cot. He caught a glimpse of the tattoo on his left bicep as his arm fell over his chest, reminding him of what could happen when you fall asleep drunk. Being stuck in hostile situations always brought fond memories flooding to the Gunny. The tattoo featured an alien animals skull with large tusks protruding from its jaw. The image reminded Austin of an elephant, and he was sure he had seen it in a movie somewhere once. The mark always seemed lucky to the soldier, so he wore it proudly. The Gunnery Sergeant's thoughts suddenly switched from the tattoo. He wanted to be asleep, but had too much on his mind to do so. He was unsure as to what kind of threat this new race would pose. He glanced over, and found Alex snoring loudly, mumbling something while he slept. He hoped his buddy rested well, it could be the last night he ever got to.
Alex pretty much forgot his story after taking a monstrous swig from the canteen. He noticed Austin turn over, and decided to bunk up himself. A warm sleeping bag and about five minutes were all it took for Alex to fall fast asleep. He began to have a heart warming dream about little green men flooding out of a flying saucer, then being blown up in slow motion by a barrage of RPG's.
Austin was nearly asleep when the sound of a drop ship's engines brought him back to life. Muffled shouts and orders flooded through the camp as the new ODST landed. Austin sat up almost instantly, and put his boots on. Alex rolled in his bed, and slowly opened his eyes. He also fastened his boots, and followed Austin outside. The Sergeants starred at the large troop transport in awe. Austin was quite thrilled to see reinforcements. Both men suddenly realized, as they carefully watched the transport unload, that this fight was going to be very real.
The Helljumpers
By: Austin Renfroe
PROLOGUE:
Ryan stood at attention in his dress uniform. His jacket and trousers pressed to perfection. His hands rested firmly along the seams of his pants. He held his head high in the air, feeling the respect his father had for him.
The only thing that could make his graduation from Orbital Drop Shock Trooper, or, ODST training better would be his dad. He missed him, but knew he was looking down on him proudly. Captain Derek Preston approached Ryan, causing the young Corporal's breath to become slightly louder.
"Corporal Ryan Jacob Courtney!" shouted the Captain as he stood in front of the marine.
"Sir, yes Sir!" was the immediate reply as the towering Captain looked down on him with the eyes of a battle-hardened warrior. The Captain held a silver medal portraying a classic pineapple fragmentation grenade hanging from a parachute. Ryan decided quickly that it was possibly the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. The Captain slowly pinned the medal to Ryan's breast and took a step backward.
Ryan could barely hold back his smile as he snapped a crisp salute. The Captain eyed him for a moment, then, returned the gesture. "Congratulations soldier!"
Ryan looked to his new medal, then back at the Captain as he made his way down the row of Marines. Fine men they were, every last one of them having trained hard for months to stand here now. Ryan could barely hold back a tear.
The post-graduation party had begun, leaving Ryan sitting next to his long time friend, Corporal Jared Michael Vencill. Jared had graduated from ODST earlier that day along with Ryan, and they were now celebrating with an enthusiasm that could only belong to a marine. The spirits flowed heavily that night as a crowd of nearly one hundred newly initiated ODST drank to the future, the past, their troubles, and pretty much any other excuse to throw down some cold ones.
Jared and Ryan were both feeling pretty good. They sat at a poker table and talked, drank, arm-wrestled, drank, played drinking games, and drank. Ryan was beginning to wonder if he would ever get to sleep that night.
A fight broke out unexpectedly among a group of low ranking members who all had their eyes on a pretty little lady sitting by herself at the bar. The brawl was cheered on with enthusiasm as the not quite sober crowd was granted entertainment.
Ryan and Jared both laughed as drunken punches were thrown in every direction, and insults were shouted with enough slur to confuse a translation AI. The room was giddy with excitement until Captain Preston appeared in the doorway.
The low maintenance military pub grew silent as the Captain's figure strode deliberately slowly through the room. The boys forgot about their fight quickly, and immediately stood straighter than any drunks Ryan had ever seen. Both boys had blood dripping from their noses and bruises on their cheeks.
"Parties over troops, we got work to do!" the Captain said so everybody was sure to here. He gave the scrappers very little attention, surprising both Ryan and Jared. "Get your gear and report to the docks at 0100 hours!"
Ryan and Jared exchanged nervous glances, then, quickly stumbled from the pub to their barracks to gear up.
***
Gunnery Sergeant Austin Gerald Renfroe lay quietly in his cot. His friend and squad mate, Staff Sergeant Alex Armstrong, lay beside him, telling a story that only the two ODST could appreciate. The two had a sense of humor that nobody else seemed to understand.
Both soldiers were exhausted from preparing Romeo base all day. Octanus Three proved to be rather tough terrain, leaving most of the 509th ODST platoon fast asleep in their quickly assembled barracks.
Austin reached below his cot and snagged a full canteen of water. Cool liquid ran across his parched lips, and glided smoothly down his throat. He held the water towards Alex, who took it gratefully.
With something in his stomach finally, Austin was feeling better, and rolled to get comfortable in his cot. He caught a glimpse of the tattoo on his left bicep as his arm fell over his chest, reminding him of what could happen when you fall asleep drunk. Being stuck in hostile situations always brought fond memories flooding to the Gunny. The tattoo featured an alien animals skull with large tusks protruding from its jaw. The image reminded Austin of an elephant, and he was sure he had seen it in a movie somewhere once. The mark always seemed lucky to the soldier, so he wore it proudly. The Gunnery Sergeant's thoughts suddenly switched from the tattoo. He wanted to be asleep, but had too much on his mind to do so. He was unsure as to what kind of threat this new race would pose. He glanced over, and found Alex snoring loudly, mumbling something while he slept. He hoped his buddy rested well, it could be the last night he ever got to.
Alex pretty much forgot his story after taking a monstrous swig from the canteen. He noticed Austin turn over, and decided to bunk up himself. A warm sleeping bag and about five minutes were all it took for Alex to fall fast asleep. He began to have a heart warming dream about little green men flooding out of a flying saucer, then being blown up in slow motion by a barrage of RPG's.
Austin was nearly asleep when the sound of a drop ship's engines brought him back to life. Muffled shouts and orders flooded through the camp as the new ODST landed. Austin sat up almost instantly, and put his boots on. Alex rolled in his bed, and slowly opened his eyes. He also fastened his boots, and followed Austin outside. The Sergeants starred at the large troop transport in awe. Austin was quite thrilled to see reinforcements. Both men suddenly realized, as they carefully watched the transport unload, that this fight was going to be very real.