"Attention, soldiers!" The PA blared over the ships comms, waking those who slumbered and annoying those who were still up. "Prepare for slipstream jump and eminent assault of Covenant vessels. Engineers have exactly 15 minutes to complete repairs and disconnect the ship." Jonathan shot out of his vessel and looked around, his eyes adjusting to the light. The other soldiers did likewise, jumping into combat armor. He looked at the vet he had spoken to earlier. He was tightening his chest plates into position.
"What's going on?" Jonathan asked nervously. The vet looked up at him.
"War. They've either found Earth or Reach or somewhere. Either way, it's bad. Get ready, boy, we gotta fight soon." He answered while getting ready. Jonathan leaped out of bed and grabbed his gear. He strapped his armor on knowing that he would see combat, and prayed that it wouldn't be his last time.
David Pasley had heard the alarms as well, and was already donning his flightsuit. Nitoka burst into the room, sweating and panting. She began shouting at the half-prepared pilots to get ready for more combat. David could hardly believe it. They had just come out of combat, after all. She ran over to her bunk and grabbed her pistol.
"Lieutenant! What's going on?" David shouted over. He didn't even look as she answered. She strapped her boots on and answered him simply.
"They found Reach."
"Commander Ward! We exit slipstream in three minutes. Reports from the Euclid say they're bringing more ships in, looks like two destroyers. Reach informs us that nearly the entire UNSC fleet is there fighting more Covenant ships than they can count." A deck hand shouted. Ward strode the deck, his sword brandishing. He was a brilliant tactician and fearless captain, but even he knew this battle wouldn't end in victory. His breathing grew heavier as he paced back and forth.
"Schroeder!" Ward shouted. Lt. Schroeder stood to attention, jumping out of his computer terminal.
"Sir!" He answered. Ward walked over to his terminal, prompting Schroeder to sit and continue his work.
"Son, I'm about to order you to do everything to kill yourself except pull the trigger. Do you understand?" Ward calmly asked. Schroeder continued working as if he hadn't heard, then suddenly spoke up.
"Sir, I believe I speak for everyone in the human race when I say we are behind you 110. Order me as you will, sir." Schroeder proudly answered. Ward smiled and set his hand on Schroeder's shoulder.
"Then here's the plan," Ward explained.
The two ships rocketed towards Reach at blistering speeds, but one had a plan.
"Alright, Marines! ASSEMBLE!" Lewis shouted. The 25th Tactical snapped to attention and formed two neat lines facing each other as Lewis walked between them. "We exit slipstream in a few minutes and will be immediately going topside. Now's the time where you're told… they've found Reach. Every Covenant ship we've known about is there and twice as many we didn't. We're gonna give 'em one hell of a fight, though. Reports say that they've landed on Reach and their infantry is moving out to destroy power so the planetary defense cannons will go offline. It's our job to stop those bastards. Are we ready to give them Hell and Brimstone, Marines!"
"OOH-RAH!" Came the response from the Marines. Lewis nodded in satisfaction.
"Damn straight. Move out to the dropship bays, soldiers." He ordered. The Marines saluted and made their way to the dropships. The Pelicans were waiting for them. Jonathan stood in line, waiting to be assigned a ship to board. One ship filled with Marines, then left. Then another followed it. Finally, it was his turn to board. He sat in the front of the bay as the doors closed behind their group. The forward hatch door opened and he saw a familiar face sitting in the pilot's seat.
"Hey, boys. How're ya doin'?" Jas asked with a grin. The Marines smiled and asked him about the combat. "Whoa, whoa, one at a time, fellas. We leave in one minute, I'll drop you down by the power stations on Reach to defend them. Everything else is up to you."
"What if we get shot down on the way there? Ground fire or something." Jonathan asked nervously. The other Marines leaned in, intent to hear his response. Jas just laughed hard and shook his head.
"Listen here, greenie," Jas began. "I've raided plenty of UNSC junkyards, because I ain't stupid. I know what I'm doing. I've fitted some of those warthog chainguns to the front of this Pelican, and two spankers on the side." JP looked at him confused.
"Spankers?" He asked himself. Another vet leaned in to answer him.
"He means rocket pods. They'll launch two rockets each and blow shit up." The vet helped. JP nodded in approval, but the vet had his own question.
"Hey, Lieutenant!" He called.
"Yep?" Jas called back.
"Those aren't just ordinary spankers, are they?" The vet asked with a laugh. Jas turned back with a grin.
"Depleted uranium rounds. Small nuclear explosions are fun." He answered with a maniacal grin. The Marines sat looking more comfortable, even the greenies. The bay doors in front of the Pelicans opened as they came out of Slipstream.
The sight before them was that of absolute hell. Reach shone below them, flashes of light from explosions flickered across the war-torn plains like cameras from a crowd taking pictures of their nightmares. Their view was also intruded by intense space combat as they dropped out of the hangar bay. Flashes of fire flew down past them to the planet.
"The hell was that!" One marine shouted. "Are they shooting us?"
"Negative." Jas came back over the intercom to their helmets. "Those are genuine ODST's en route to the LZ." JP stared at the fabled Orbital Drop Shock Troops as they plummeted through the atmosphere of the planet. A silent explosion of white light burst forth from the corners of their eyes. They quickly turned and saw a Covenant cruiser meeting its end. The engine bays had exploded from the inside, tearing the ship into several chunks. Cheers came over their helmets communications array as they got closer to the fleet.
"There's one! She was big, wasn't she?" One voice laughed.
"Stay focused, dammit, there's one on your six!" A senior voice commanded.
"Roger that, I am moving in for the kill."
"Give me a firing solution, Schroeder!"
"Sir! Priority alert from ground – communications blackout imminent!"
The voices came too fast to decipher the messages anymore. Somewhere, a UNSC ship was ready to unleash its payload while the fighters scrambled to protect them. Jas's rushed voice suddenly came over the intercom.
"Hang tight, boys! We're about to get engaged!"
"Give me a firing solution, Schroeder!" Commander Ward shouted, brandishing his sword high. "There's a troop transport frigate with a giant bulls-eye painted on the side and I'm ready to blow its payload to hell!"
"Roger, sir! Working as fast as I can!" Schroeder replied, panting and covered in sweat. His fingers worked as quickly as his body could support, desperately solving equations and predictability patterns. Finally he found one that worked for him. With a few quick taps, it was uploaded to the ship's AI and the captain. Ward turned to his console and grinned, almost evilly.
"This is incredible Schroeder. You're getting a raise for this; I'll make sure of it." He commented as he activated his com-link to the fighters. "Nitoka, are you there? I have a firing solution you might find particularly wicked."
"I copy that, sir. Let's see it." Nitoka's reply came, sounding relatively calm considering the situation. A few moments later, the channel was flooded with laughter. "Sir, this is genius! You'd better be giving Schroeder a raise for this!"
"That's what I told him!"
"Well then, we're ready when you are. Fighters arm your nukes and pick the engine bays of different targets. Make sure you pick the biggest ships you can, and aim for the insides. This should be good." Nitoka confirmed with the fighter pilots.
"Good then, Schroeder are we ready?" The Commanders voice boomed. Schroeder pressed a button quickly and gave thumbs up.
"We're good to go, sir."
"Excellent. Fire at will."