0545 Hours, August 30th, 2552 (Military Calendar)/ UNSC Frigate In Amber Clad, Over Planet Reach/ Epsilon Eridani System
Staff Sergeant Scott Williams kicked up his feet, resting them on the cold metal bar at the end of the rack. Above him, the mattress belonging to Private Jimmy Nichols squeaked as he turned over. Scott buried the back of his head into his pillow, holding up a data pad. To his right, on the other bunk, Corporal Eddie Jones and Lance Corporal Jessica Staples sat next to each other, talking. Fraternization was strictly against military code, but this was something only uptight commanders actually went after. Lieutenant Robert Murphy, the platoons commander, was really relaxed, but when it came to combat, he was strictly business. It was pretty clear that Eddie and Jessica were together though.
This platoon of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers had been together for six years, and had not lost a single man to combat. So far, they had seen sixteen battles on land, and two space battles. Even with all that, they hadn't lost anyone. For their renown and skill during battle, this platoon went from 2nd Platoon to Omega Platoon, an official name and nickname. Omega was one of the few officially named platoons in the ODST battalion.
Scott crinkled his nose, and sat up, setting down the data pad. The room was really dark, the only light being that from the other troopers data pads or the light coming in from the small viewports against the wall. Clearly most of the platoon was sleeping, and were really enjoying it.
Scott swung his legs over the bed and sat on the edge, rubbing his eyes.
He looked up at Eddie and Jessica and asked, "I'm heading to the galley. You two want anything?"
Eddie said, "I'm good. What about you, Jess?"
"Oh, I'll have the usual. Thanks, Sarge," the slim blonde said softly.
Most of the troopers in Omega Platoon looked like kids, but in combat they were as ferocious than a Brute pack.
Scott walked through the long barracks and cracked open the door, trying to not let a lot of light inside. He slipped into the bright hallway, shuffling quietly along, trying not to bother anyone. He walked down to a pair of doors, that slithered open. Scott stepped into the empty galley, with only four people inside, not counting the cooks. Sitting at a table by himself was Sergeant Gary Woods, a short dark haired man that had been transferred into Omega about four years prior.
Scott walked up to the line and said to the main cook, "Can I get two glazed doughnuts, and a cup of coffee, please?"
"Sure, Staff Sergeant. Take a seat, we'll bring it to ya," the cook said.
"Thanks," the trooper replied, turning around.
He walked over to Sergeant Woods, and sat down across from him.
"How are you, Gary?" asked Scott.
"I'm fine. This whole battle thing's really shaking me up," Gary said.
Scott looked around and leaned in closer, "Did your family make it out?"
Gary nodded, and said, "They were some of the first out of Quezon. The war came soon after."
Scott put his hand on Gary's shoulder, and said, "At least they made it. Sanctuary is safe."
"But what about the others? What about the ones who didn't make it?"
The Staff Sergeant sat silent. The main cook strode up to Scott and set down two doughnuts wrapped up and a cup of coffee. He then turned and left.
"Yeah, that's what I thought," Gary said.
"Would you rather they be killed?"
Gary opened his mouth to say something, but then closed it.
"Sorry, Williams. I... I dunno what's happening," Gary said, looking down.
"Hey, this could have gone worse. Could you imagine what would've happened if we had only like a hundred and fifty ships?" laughed Scott, taking a slurp of coffee.
Gary nodded at the doughnuts, and said, "Those for Jess?"
"Yup, her usual," Scott said.
"Alright, I'm gonna head to the Bay, hang out there. You get back to the barracks," Gary said, getting up.
"See you later, Sergeant Woods," replied Scott.
The two went their separate ways.
Scott came back to the barracks, handed Lance Corporal Staples her doughnuts, and plopped back down on the bed. The second his head hit the pillow an alarm started screeching and a red light lit up the room. Private Nichols jumped down from his bunk, wide awake. Everyone in the barracks snapped awake, and started to congregate in the middle of the room.
"Companies Alpha through Delta, report to the main hangar bay. ODST platoon Omega, get to your pods," the familiar voice of Miranda Keyes said over the intercom.
Lieutenant Murphy shouted, "You heard the lady! Get to the Bay and load up!"
"Fuck, and I just got started on these!" Jessica sighed, looking at her snack.
"Just bring them with you," Eddie said.
"I can't do that! We're going into battle, for Christ's sake!"
Eddie rolled his eyes.
Within two minutes, the troopers were in the drop pod bay, a sleek dark corridor that had a wide part in the middle for a tactical map. The troopers suited up in their battle armor and congregated around the map.
A hologram of New Alexandria came up, and it showed a formation of Covenant ships swarming over the skyscrapers, firing into the streets below. On the ground, hundreds of green arrows moved around, and some disappeared. Everywhere, however, were red arrows, engaging the green. Every few seconds an evacuation transport would launch, under heavy fire.
"Troopers, this is Colonel Richardson, 111th Infantry. New Alexandria has been under siege since the Covenant retreated in space, and they have serious backup. Sixteen corvettes are over the city, hitting us hard and dropping off fresh troops by the minute. All of our frigates that we had earlier left to join the space battle, and haven't come back. But now, we can take back the city hopefully, with the help of your ships. I hear that your platoon is one of the best, am I right, Lieutenant?" the comm flared to life.
"Yes, sir," Lieutenant Murphy replied, staring at the map.
"Good, very good. Now, those Spartans that came in are helping, but there are only two of them, and New Alexandria's a big city. So, I'm going to have you drop in here," Colonel Richardson said.
The map zoomed in on a large plaza, filled with hundreds of arrows. It was then that the troopers realized that when the map was zoomed out, the arrows represented squads, platoons, or companies, but when zoomed in they showed individual soldiers. In this plaza, the green arrows were disappearing fast, while the red gained ground. Two Warthogs rolled up, but were quickly blown up by plasma grenades.
"This plaza is vital to capturing the city center. If we lose this plaza, the Sinoviet Tower will fall, and then the ONI Headquarters too. Drop in there, and take it back. Richardson, out."
Murphy sighed, and yelled, "You heard him! Grab your weapons and get set for a combat drop!"
"Yes, sir!"
Scott grabbed an MA5C assault rifle and jumped into his pod. Private Nichols sat in the pod next to his.
When the ODSTs were all in their pods, the doors slid shut, and the pods were pulled back. The bay doors opened, revealing the planet below them. The small screen in the pod came on, and Lt. Murphy's helmet came into view, looking around.
"Alright, airspace is clear. Dropping in ten seconds. Troopers, we are green and very, very mean!"
Three beeps came in and then all of the troopers pods shot down from the frigate, rapidly going into Reach's atmosphere. They passed by the remains of a UNSC corvette, and went into the clouds. Scott looked down, and saw the lights of New Alexandria approaching.
"Woah, daddy. We were about to all land on a rooftop. Adjusting our course," Murphy said.
"Great going, LT," Private First Class Michael Roosevelt joked.
"Cut the chatter, troopers," Lieutenant Murphy replied.
The Helljumpers rocketed past the Covenant corvettes, and then past the Sinoviet center.
"Shit, the grounds getting closer!" cried Corporal Douglas McCormick.
"Oh, shut it, Doug!" Scott barked.
"Pop your chutes!"
The pods immediately slowed down as their metal parachutes popped open. They arced towards the plaza below, and the pods began shaking.
"Here we go boys!" shouted Private Kyle Marsh with glee.
Scott's pod then stopped, and a loud shrill siren came on. His visor went black, covering his eyes, and the door jettisoned off. He snatched his assault rifle and barged out into the battlefield, looking for a target. All around him, pods slammed into the ground, and platoon members ran out, firing their weapons. Scott spotted a blue Elite leading a group of Grunts and started firing. The bullets hit the alien's shields and the Elite quickly dove behind a small cement block with plants in it. Scott took cover behind a bench, and reached for a frag grenade. He set it to his right, and poked his head over the top of it. A dozen Grunts advanced, under heavy fire from the humans.
Scott got a tap on his shoulder, and turned to see Private Nichols behind him, leaning against the bench.
"We got them on the run, huh?!" shouted the young man.
Scott chuckled, and jumped up, throwing the grenade at the Elite. The blue alien also rose, firing its plasma rifle at him. It then looked down, noticing the grenade. It roared as the grenade went off right as its shields went down, blowing it apart. The Grunts stared at their dismembered leader, and began screaming.
"Tear them apart!" yelled a wounded army trooper.
Just then, four more Elites popped out from cover, advancing. They killed two army soldiers, and destroyed a Warthog with a wave of plasma grenades.
"Kill those things!" shouted Lieutenant Murphy.
Scott and Jimmy rushed out from cover, dropping Grunts right and left. Two Jackals approached, wielding shields. Scott slid behind a destroyed car, Jimmy across from him behind a cement block. Scott leaned out and shot the closest Jackal's hand, making it drop the shield. Scott then unloaded into the alien, killing it. The other alien turned to face Scott fully, giving Jimmy a clear shot into its back as it fired a shot from its plasma pistol at the Staff Sergeant. The bolt hit Scott's right shoulder pad, melting it away.
The Jackal then fell to the ground, riddled with bullets.
"You alright, Staff Sergeant?!" shouted Jimmy.
Scott nodded, holding where his shoulder pad used to be.
He rolled out from behind the car, and sprinted forward. An Elite Minor popped out in front of him, but Scott's instinct kicked in and he swept out the alien's legs, making it fall to the ground. The ODST pounced on its chest, pulling a knife from his boot and jamming it into the Elite's neck. Blue blood spurted out, covering Scott's visor. He got up, wiping off the blood.
Scott picked up his assault rifle and kept going forward, toward a small building at the other end of the plaza.
The humans were closing in on the Covenant forces, who continued their defense.
Scott was about to go up the first set of steps to the building when he saw four Grunts jump up, holding Fuel Rod Cannons.
"Get to cover!" cried an army trooper.
The four small aliens fired, blowing apart many soldiers and throwing Scott against a cement barricade. He closed his eyes for a second and then opened them, looking around. Dust was everywhere, and it hurt to move. He breathed heavily, and then let his head sink into the back of his helmet. Just then, an ODST appeared above him, looking all over him. It was Sergeant Woods.
"Come on man, come on! We got a war to win here!" he shouted.
"How... how bad is it?" Scott panted.
Gary lifted Scott's arms and looked under them, finally saying, "Not bad at all. No wounds that I see. Must have been the throw. You're probably sore. Now come on!"
And with that, Gary pulled up the Staff Sergeant and handed him his assault rifle, before charging back into the battle.
The Covenant were clearly on the ropes, and were bunching up against the building.
Scott joined Omega in the final charge when multiple loud screaming noises came in over the city. He looked up and saw seven UNSC frigates descending into low atmosphere above the city, joined by dozens of fighters.
Lieutenant Murphy led the push up the steps, bashing in a Grunt's head with his battle rifle and then chucking a frag grenade at a group of landed Drones.
The army troopers let out a victory cry, knowing that their part was soon to be over.
But then, through the doors of the building, two colossal Hunters smashed their way into the courtyard, piledriving into six men. Murphy dove away, barely missing their strike. The humans all went into cover, about seventy of them total.
"Use your grenades!" shouted Jessica.
Every few seconds, an explosion would go off by one of the Hunters, which barely reacted.
Scott and Gary, who found themselves behind the same concrete block, popped up and fired at the weak spots in the aliens. Then, the pair of Hunters turned to face the Helljumpers, and charged their deadly plasma cannons.
"Shit!" cried Scott.
The two scurried back down as the impact of the cannons peeled away at the block, tearing off chunks of cement with every second. The other Covenant forces were making a counterattack, killing more soldiers. Omega Platoon was falling back, towards the center of the plaza, around a fountain.
"Can we make it back to the rest of Omega?!" Gary yelled as more of their cover was being blown away.
Scott solemnly shook his head.
Gary ran his hand over his helmet and said, "Well, I didn't think I'd go out this way."
Scott said nothing.
The firing from the Hunters stopped, and suddenly the block was completely shattered as the two massive aliens charged into it. The two ODSTs were thrown back several yards, covered in debris. A large golden Elite shouted something, and ignited an energy sword. It held up a hand to the Hunters, who turned and started shooting at the other humans. It strode over to Scott, who was closest to it, and picked him up.
It held Scott up against its face and it snarled, "Why do you continue to fight? It is futile."
Scott spat in the aliens face.
The Elite chuckled and held up its sword.
Right before it could stab Scott, the Elite was suddenly tackled, and dropped its energy sword. Scott fell, and rolled over. He got on his hands and knees, and looked up. An ODST was on top of the Elite, pummeling its face in with his fists. On the troopers back was a pair of crossed battle rifles. Scott recognized the trooper immediately. It was Eddie.
Scott scrambled to his feet and ran over to Eddie.
"Kill the fuckin' thing!" shouted Eddie.
The Elite screamed out in pain,
Scott pulled out his magnum and fired a single round into the Elite's skull, ending its life.
The Covenant were continuing their advance, but it was quickly stopped when a flight of twelve AV-14 Hornet's soared around another building, closing on the courtyard.
"Hell yeah, cavalry's here!"
The VTOL aircraft unleashed a fury of chain gun and missile fire, ripping apart the Hunters and other Covenant forces. They slowed and began hovering over the courtyard, gunning down any Covenant that moved.
Then, over the comm, Lieutenant Murphy shouted, "Omega, regroup at the fountain!"
Eddie and Scott looked at each other and then started sprinting towards the medium sized fountain in the middle of the plaza, still spurting out water. The ODSTs were all falling back the fountain, shooting as they went. Of course, whatever they fired at was quickly dropped by the Hornets above. Corporal Jerry Moore, one of the oldest in Omega, had his M739 SAW propped against the fountain, firing at a pair of Elites retreating into the building. They were gunned down by the air support.
"This is Gunfighter Actual, skies are clear. Bring in CASEVAC," the radio crackled.
Then, a trio of Pelican dropships soared towards the courtyard, descending. They kicked up dust as they neared the ground, and wounded army soldiers started approaching them, ready to leave.
The dropships swiveled around, and their back doors opened. Thirty fresh troops jumped out, fully armed. Following them came two medics from each Pelican.
"Get the wounded in the Pelicans!" one of them shouted.
One of the new soldiers ran up to Lieutenant Murphy and said, "Lieutenant Xu, 9th Platoon, 111th Infantry. Thanks for the help!"
Murphy put his hand on the soldier shoulder and said, "Always happy to help, soldier. We got the Covies falling back, but there's always gonna be more of them."
"Sir, our orders are to secure this plaza as an F.O.B. and wait for more reinforcements," said Lieutenant Xu.
Robert then asked, "What kind of reinforcements are we talking about here?"
Just then a loud blast shook the ground, and everyone looked up to see one of the UNSC frigates erupt into a great ball of fire and fall to the ground in pieces.
"Shit! Uhh... tanks, Hog's. You know," said Xu, staring at where the frigate used to be.
"Holy Christ, that was the Constitution!" shouted Sergeant John McNamara, one of Omega Platoon's snipers.
Two of the Covenant corvettes started moving forward, closing on the human frigates. The Aegis Fate and Forward Unto Dawn fired, stripping one of the corvettes' shields. A quick shot from the In Amber Clad finished it off. The Longsword fighters, combined with the human frigates' firepower, destroyed the other one.
"Hey, you're an ODST, right?" asked someone to Scott's right. He looked over and saw a short, tubby soldier standing next to him, looking up at him. He looked like a high school student, not a soldier.
"I'm wearing the armor, aren't I?" replied Scott, flipping off his visor, revealing his eyes.
The soldier scratched his neck, and said, "Well, yeah... do you think we'll win?"
Scott looked at the boy, and said, "Yeah. Now that the ODST's are here."
"Oorah," Eddie said quietly.
The soldier turned and rejoined his squad.
"That kid looked like fifteen," Eddie said.
"Yeah... yeah he did. He shouldn't be here," Scott replied.
"But we need everyone for this. This is Reach, for fuck's sake. If we lose Reach, the war's over...," said Eddie.
Scott looked at him and said, "Good point."
"This is Echo 4-1, we're clear for dustoff. Take it easy down there," the radio cracked. The Pelican's bay doors slowly closed, and then they began lifting off.
"Alright boys, Gunfighter's out. Have fun," the lead Hornet pilot said.
All of the aircraft turned and began flying away.
Suddenly, a Longsword fighter flying over was hit by a plasma bolt and lost control, crashing into the skyscraper above the plaza.
Just then, Lieutenant Murphy shouted, "Alright Omega, huddle up!"
