Chapter 5
"Marcus Faust?" A voice called him, he sat up from his camp bed and looked towards the tent flap, "that's me, can I help you?" he answered, voice groggy as he attempted to focus himself after his sleep, "You don't recognise my voice? Cheeky bastard" the voice replied, footsteps coming closer as a woman slumped herself down on the camp bed opposite his, "Alice?" Marcus said, "Holy shit, you're alive?" He said, rubbing his eyes to try focus himself quicker, looking over, she smiled, but there was something sad in her appearance, "I have some bad news Marcus" she began, "Titch... He ah" she began to stumble her words, "he was hit pretty bad, our 'hog was slammed by a banshee that was shot down, we flipped, his leg was broken, as I dragged him back to cover, but he got hit by rounds from a Grunt Plasma pistol" She stopped, she saw Marcus was beginning to laugh, "I don't get it?" she said in response to his strange act, "Well, Titch, killed by a Titch, I'm appreciating the irony, not the way he'd want to go, he probably dreamt of being butchered by an Elite, but he got shot by the cannon fodder... Ironic in a way" he replied, continuing to laugh, Alice found herself joining in, "I suppose it is a bit" she said through the laughter. "Two more things Faust" Alice said when their laughter stopped. "Okay, shoot" Marcus replied. "I got a promotion, quite the promotion in fact. We're short of officers, and we're short of experienced troops, so I made it to First Lieutenant, anyway, that meant we had to restructure some things, and I was short a Sergeant. So, Sergeant Faust, get your gear, we're deploying to the North, Alpha Base is under siege again, and we're going to break it, Intel says it's the last major Covenant force on the planet, so let's go smash the fuckers, and end the war once and for all, then maybe we can be home by Christmas eh?" she said. Marcus was caught off guard, and after a short pause, nodded to Alice, who left the tent. Gathering his equipment, he left the tent, and boarded a nearby Pelican with his new platoon.
'One final effort' Marcus thought to himself as the dropship began to take off, as the door began to close he glared out towards the carnage of the Covenant Landing Zone, hopeful that this was the beginning of the end, 'One final effort, is all that remains'.