O.D.S.T.
Orbital Drop Shock Trooper
Book I: Rescue in Force
Prologue
UNSC White house
1600 Pennsylvania Ave.
The explosions of gunfire echoed throughout the oval office. The President of the UNSC sat behind his desk staring at the news report that had just come through on the television. The reporter was saying:
Reporting live from Abilene, Texas.
"As you can see behind me, UNSC Marines have fought hard and long to keep Abilene, Texas. Earlier this morning, an element from the 305th Orbital Drop Platoon was medivaced from the forward lined to a rear field hospital in Nebraska. A new element should be arriving soon."
Then the reporter looked up at the sky as a small roar that was growing steadily louder filled the camera's external mike.
"I think they are inbound now."
The camera then swung upward , the lens then focused on twelve distant objects growing bigger by the moment. As the range finder zoomed in, the drop pods fired their braking jets and deployed their drag chutes. The cameraman zoomed out and followed their descent to the ground. When the pods hit the barren earth, twelve geysers plowed there way into the air and settled slowly back down. The pods doors blew off on explosive bolts. As the smoke cleared twelve figures stood clad in the matte black armor of the O.D.S.T. Polarized visors swept back and forth. The Mark III unpowered battle armor was standard issue for the O.D.S.T.'s. It was vacuum sealed and it had nine hours of life support so they could work in environments where oxygen was on short supply. Across the torso section and on the back were compartments where they stored their gear. The helmet contains a communications and radar suite. The Armor clad troopers were holding there weapons in a almost casual way.
Then the President was thrown from his desk as an explosion blew the windows out. He looked up and saw secret service swarming around him and one of them asked him something and then everything went black…