0713 Hours, October 20, 2552
Aboard Transport Pelican 2
Entering New Mombassa Airspace
"Immediate! Grid kilo 2-3 is hot, recommend mission aboard over"
"Roger recon. It's your call Sarge"
I got up and moved towards the cockpit window. This Pelican was just one of three which had been sent to assault the cruiser. The men I had chosen for this task were Se7en, Anti, Ekelon and Voodoo. It was a tough choice. I had had to leave good men behind on the Cairo to defend the Mac gun but I knew we'd meet again on the ground. Since we had left our "Guests" on the station, I was out of uniform and suited up in the traditional Helljumper body armor. The suit was a black as the night, including the helmet which was copied from the Spartan MJOLNIR helm except for the ridges which sprouted from the forehead. I had chosen Private Voodoo for his keen eye and millimetre accuracy with the sniper rifle. I had once seen him take out a banshee in mid flight by sniping the elite inside through the hole in the side of the cockpit, only ever accomplished by Spartan 058. Private Ekelon was a new recruit which had shown a tremendous amount of promise. I walked over to him and spoke quietly.
"You alright son?" "Umm, yes sir" He replied nervously.
"You'll do well. I'll keep you're back covered as long as you keep mine intact"
It wasn't really fair dropping him into the belly of the beast, but was war really fair? I moved back towards the cockpit.
"We're going in, get tactical marines!" The voice of Sergeant Johnson beckoned over the vox as the pelican dropped into the streets of New Mombassa. Here goes nothing I thought.
"You heard the man, boys. Time for some hazard pay"
As if in cue, Se7en released the safety catch on his battle rifle while Anti smacked Ekelon on his shoulder as in a friendly gesture. We were all friends here. We had learnt long ago to put aside our differences and fight to protect our dearest prize of all, Earth.
"30 seconds out, stand by to…Whoa"
"Sir, you might want to take a look at this." The first pilot called me over.
"God almighty" I murmured. "Do what you can to get me and my boys there in one piece."
500 yards further down the road stood a hulking Covenant battle mech which was classified as the "Scarab". This ground based attack vehicle walks around on six massive legs instead of using anti-gravity pods. It uses two turrets which shoot large shards of explosive crystals for anti-air defence. The scarab's main weapon is a massive, forward firing plasma cannon which are found on Covenant cruisers. The scarab was a deadly and formidable foe, one of the dangerous in the Covenants inventory and I for one was not glad that it was walking the streets of New Mombassa.
Corporal Mere was held steady in the bay of Pelican 3, one hand grasping a hand rail, the other clutching his trusty SMG. He was nervous but he would lead his men into battle none the less. In the background he could vaguely hear the distressed call of the pilot. Flying was never his preferred state of transport but since joining the marines he had learned to cope with it. The scarab had paused and was preparing to fire its main weapon. The cannon was emitting a green luminous light and in three seconds would build up enough energy to propel the superheated plasma over 750m.
"Evade! Evade now!" shouted the pilot. Time was up. The blast hit the pelican head on raising temperatures inside by well over 2500 degrees. The cockpit held for 9/10 of a second, just long enough for Mere to let out a cursing scream before the plasma consumed him and his squad.
"We're being targeted"
"Shake em off us"
"I'm trying to"
The Pelican lurched forward into a dive and then swung to the right. Gigantic crystalline shards erupted from the first turret glancing off the Pelicans heavy armour. Suddenly it plummeted, klaxon alarms blaring in the cockpit.
"Engine one has been hit, I've lost lateral control. I can't hold her much longer"
"Marines, brace for impact"
Squad 2 was contained in an uncontrollable Pelican soaring through the sky towards the sandy shores of New Mombassa as the sun rose for a new day.
For the Elite named Isca 'Aehadee, it was just another day in the war to eradicate the humans. He had had orders from above to scout the city and had met little resistance whilst doing so. He was equipped with his cobalt blue ceremonial armor which he had spilled hundreds of his enemy's blood to achieve. He had in his command two Unggoy and a marksman Kig-Yar with a beam rifle. The Elite was surprised that the Grunts had lasted the skirmishes so far. The usual life expectancy of a Grunt when the battle started was just a matter of minutes. They are cowards and simple minded which is why they are usually used as cannon fodder. In the distance a battle raged on between the invasion force and the human's resistance. Eventually this world would fall like everyone before it. Suddenly a beckoning Whoosh echoed through the air. Isca 'Aehadee looked up in time to see the damaged Pelican of squad 2, flying past overhead, descending rapidly. Bits of falling debris landing on the streets below. The Elite ordered something to his squad and picked up his plasma rifle. Looks like today would be interesting after all.