Chapter 5

We were called up to the base near the more middle area of the city. A small city, really run down, no skyscrapers or anything, basically it looked like we were in a city made of outskirts.

The troop transport truck stopped and we piled out, most of us helmets clamped to our belts and rifles on our backs. Nic, Regg, and I walked over to a green tent with a bunch of people on desks in and around it. We were registered after giving our serial numbers, names and whatnot.

We were led to the only big building there. We sat down and waited for further orders. None of us felt like talking so we all just simultaneously did a gear check and started cleaning out our guns and fixing up our suites. I remembered my fried shoulder pad. I also needed a new rifle seeing as I had bashed up the end quite nicely in hand to hand combat. I was worried it might not last too much longer. I got some good whacks in though. Also I needed more ammo.

"I'm gonna go get some air" I said to the others after a few minutes.

I pushed myself up and off the wall we were sitting up against. It was loud in here, not that loud but loud enough. I kind of felt odd. I had only seen combat once or twice before, it was A LOT different than the simulations we ran back at I-7447.

I walked out the door and headed for the tent that had a fire symbol on it. Munitions tent.

I stepped in and walked up to the guy behind the counter/desk. It wasn't just a camping tend kinda thing, it was a very large tent, big enough to hold the weapons we needed after all.

I placed my rifle on the table.

"BR-55," I said to him.

He took it and tossed it in a pile of guns to be repaired, walked to the back of the tent, and brought me a new one with a few new clips. I registered them all and left.

Next I went to the tent with a shield symbol on it.

"Fried shoulder plate."

The man scrounged around and brought me back a new armored vest. You can't replace such a specific piece of armor. I slid on the new armor over my bullet/fire proof vest and shirt. Bullet proof for friendly fire and shrapnel, fire for Covenant plasma weapons. Some of them can light you up. Also the UNSC found that it helped against the extreme heat of the plasma

"Your lucky, that we have an outpost like this, most of the time you would just have to cope, and the times we do have these stations we hardly ever carry ODST gear, stay safe."

I just nodded and left. On my way out someone slapped the back of my leg, I turned around to see another ODST sitting on the floor, helmet on.

"Don't take it the wrong way, but you really should have your helmet on all the time, or most of it at least." he said.

I cocked an eyebrow.

He sighed,

"If the Spartans went around without their helmets, we would all see their faces, and it's the fact that they almost never speak and that we never see their faces that keeps us from losing respect. It seems like there almost above human, well, they are, but you know what I mean. They command respect," he said standing up.

I put my helmet on and glanced at his rank insignia, First Lieutenant, I saluted him and walked out.

I figured I would turn back to the building where my unit was. I held my hand up to block my face from the sun before I realized my helmet was up. In the time it took me to do that I glanced over to the road. I almost fell down from shock.

I had to do it, I took my helmet off. My eyes were stinging from the heat inside it. And I needed to see this without assisted vision. Or else I could never believe it.

Trucks. Tons of them, the first few with a canvas over their cargo, some of them with makeshift covers, they must have ran out, the rest were just open backed. Even with the full covers I could still see what was dangling out the back.

They were filled with bodies. All of them. Marines, all Marines, this is why they ordered an ODST drop. They needed us here, something was going to happen, or as was apparent, has started. Where the hell am I any ways?

The trucks just kept coming, I wanted them to stop, or for me to wake up, or to see even more covenant bodies than Human, ANYTHING!

I wanted to cry when I saw them, I jammed my helmet back on just incase I lost control of myself. I ran. I needed to find out where I was. There was a thought in the back of my mind the whole time but I pushed it back, along with tears.

I ran out into an area still populated by civilians, with UNSC around though. There were more bodies, on the ground, being collected and moved. Plasma bolts exploded in the sky. Longsword bombers raked the clouds.

That's when I saw it, a green sign lying on the ground, we WERE in the outskirts, the rest of the planed had been destroyed. I could see off into the city where fires the size of skyscrapers exploded. I took off my helmet, not even holding back tears this time, I knew it but I had to confirm it, I dusted off the sign,

'Welcome to Reach'