"And when he gets to heaven,
to Saint Peter he will tell,
'one more soldier reporting sir,
I've served my time in Hell.' "
Corporal James Smith was so nervous that he nearly jumped when the deck commander ordered him onto the hovercraft. The invasion force was massive: Two Marine Divisions, a Wolverine Division, and five Titans.
"Move it, Corporal!"
"Yes, Sir!" Smith boarded the hovercraft. It left the bay, bound for shore. He watched as a squadron of Orca Interceptors took off from the aircraft carrier. The Orca Interceptor was a more heavily-armed and armored version of the old Fighter. They formed up over the fleet of hovercraft. Dropships followed with more troops and the vehicles. Smith noticed a flash from shore. He looked up just in time to see an Orca explode and fall into the water. The Orcas and Dropships scattered and came low to the water. Smith then scanned the sky but saw no parachute.
"Thirty seconds!" Smith stood up, which was hard to do in the hovercraft.
"Ten seconds!" Smith's grip tightened on his M-16 Mk. III laser rifle. He clenched his jaw.
"CLEAR THE RAMP!" The ramp dropped and the platoon ran ashore. Lasers flew at them. Smith dove behind a rock just in time. A laser hit where he was standing just a second before. He looked up and saw Dropships and Orcas exploding from SAM missiles. A single Dropship was able to drop its cargo: three wolverines. They were shortly destroyed by laser emplacements. Smith looked to his right and saw a medic running for a wounded Marine. A sniper's bullet went through his faceplate and out the back of his helmet. He crumpled to the ground, dead before he hit. Droppods flew in from above. They hit hard. Many of them were destroyed upon impact. One landed near him. The pod opened and a Marine jumped out and dove behind the rock with him. He read the Marine's nametag: CPL. JONES. He saw the unmistakable insignia of the legendary 105th Drop Pod Regiment. The most important thing that Smith noticed was that Jones had a radio.
"Does that thing work?"
"Hell yeah!" Jones handed him the microphone.
"Hello? We need air support! Can anyone hear me?" There was a torturing silence, finally followed by a reply.
"Roger, this is the carrier Eagle. What is your situation?"
"We're pinned down by laser emplacements. I need an air strike!"
"Roger. What is your position?" Smith gave the position, and then told the operator about the SAM sites.
"Affirmative. We have three bombers inbound."
"Got it. Thanks." He gave Jones the microphone. "Air strike inbound." Jones nodded and continued shooting. Smith started shooting around the rock. As he reloaded he noticed three dots on the horizon. They grew larger and took the form of Orca Bombers. The bombers dropped low. There was a deafening roar as they flew over the beach. They pulled up sharply as they released their bombs. They had left before the SAM sites could get a lock. The Marines let out a cheer and charged up the beach, firing. Some Nod soldiers shot back, but most of them ran. They were all killed just the same. Smith walked inside a bunker. He saw a Nod soldier. The soldier grabbed a rifle off the floor. Before Smith could shoulder his weapon the soldier had pulled the trigger. Smith closed his eyes and thought this is it, when he heard the subtle click of a jammed rifle. The soldier dropped the rifle in shock and horror. He turned to run, but was stopped by Smith's shots. He screamed and fell to the ground. Smith left the bunker and walked to the shore. A Carryall had dropped an MCV. It had deployed and started construction on a base. Smith walked to the reddened shoreline. He looked around at the hundreds of bodies on the beach. He shook off the thought and stared out at the setting sun…