Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. You like action? I hope so, cause the action has finally started. So without further delay, let's get on with it:
"Relax, Rookie, you look good," Buck said. James didn't answer, but rather tugged on the collar of the suit he was wearing for what must have been the hundredth time. They were standing in Air Temple Island's main foyer, with Buck wearing his BDUs while James was in an Air Nomad style suit that had been borrowed from Tenzin.
When he had first gotten this assignment, James had figured he'd be playing the role of silent, faceless sentinel, keeping watch over the Avatar while wearing his armor. Instead, he was playing the role of camouflaged protector, standing at the young woman's side the entire time while also blending in.
Logically, this course of action made more sense. The negotiations they were about to attend were intended to reaffirm some trade deals as well as settle a border dispute between the United Republic and Earth Kingdom. Having an armored soldier guarding the woman who was suppose to be mediating wasn't the best way to get the best results. Still, James would have preferred to be in his armor, rather then the woolen deathtrap he was in now.
"Ah good, it fits you well," Tenzin said as he appeared.
"Is the VIP ready?" Buck asked.
"Yes. We will be taking a sky bison to City Hall so as to minimize potential threats to Korra. The Representative of the Earth Kingdom is Ambassador Chung," Tenzin said.
"Rookie, you all set?" Rather then answer, the ODST showed where he had stashed a pistol on his chest. It had been stripped down to it's standard issue form for concealment purposes.
"Alright. Let's get this show underway."
City Hall, Republic City.
"You don't need to be at my side every single second," Korra muttered out of the corner of her mouth. James didn't answer, but rather continued to scan the crowd of diplomats around them. Many in the crowd were giving the ODST a wide berth. His scarred face and shaved head made it clear that he didn't exactly belong here. The fact that he had Korra on his arm eased their nerves somewhat, but not by much.
Korra was wearing the dark blue gown she had worn to the gala Councilman Tarrlok had thrown for her a few months earlier. What the soldier standing next to her thought about it, she had no idea. James spoke very little, to the point where it was frustrating just trying to have a conversation with him.
But Korra didn't press him on it. She could tell just by looking in his eyes that he was a man who was hurting. Not physically, although judging by some of the scars she had seen, there was plenty of that as well. No, he had the eyes of a man who was haunted by some very traumatic things. The war that he and his squad mates had escaped, the hellish nightmare of an ever advancing enemy that just couldn't be stopped, Korra couldn't even begin to contemplate such a thing.
"Avatar Korra, shall we begin?" Raiko asked as he appeared from the diplomats.
"Just tell me where to sit," Korra replied. The meeting that followed was relatively boring. Korra's place here was little more then a formal one, which meant that both her and James were basically just watching everything unfold. Well, attempting to watch everything unfold. A more accurate description of the Avatar's attempt to pass the time was keeping herself awake while the two sides droned on about trade relations.
Just when it seemed that Korra was about to pass out from boardom, a pair of men hurried into the room from opposite sides. One went to Raiko, while the other went to the ambassador from the Earth Kingdom. It was like watching a mirrored event as both messengers bent down and whispered something in the representatives' ear, slipped them a note, and then left the room in the same manner they had entered.
Korra perked up slightly as she watched these events unfold. The manner in which they had taken place, along with the faces of shock the two representatives now had meant that something was going on. James remained where he had been the entire time; a full two paces behind Korra with his arms clasped behind his back as he stood at attention.
"What is it?" Korra finally asked as the two sides of the table began to frantic whisper amongst themselves.
"It's the village we had intended to discuss at this very meeting," Raiko answered, "it would seem that this village has been destroyed by an unknown force."
"An unknown force?"
"Yes. There are no Earth Kingdom military units near that location," the Ambassador said.
"Nor any United Forces either. Both sides had agreed to keep their respective militaries at a minimum hundred mile distance until negotiations were over," Raiko added.
"Could it be bandits or something?" Korra asked.
"Unlikely. Bandits and rebels are hardly this organized," the Ambassador said.
"Indeed. Ambassador Chun, with permission from your country, I'd like to send a task force of the United Forces to investigate this attack," Raiko said.
"Absolutely not! Wai is Earth Kingdom territory. Her Majesty's Royal Army will be the ones to investigate," Chun replied.
"With all due respect, Ambassador, Wai is one of the reasons we are at this negotiation table. The United Republic has just as much claim to that village as the Earth Kingdom does," Raiko countered.
"If I might interrupt..." Korra started.
"I'll have you know that the Queen herself fails to recognize the United Republic as a legitimate nation. The only reason we are at these negotiations is because the other nations refuse to work with us unless we work with you," Chun said, ignoring her.
"I don't care what the Queen thinks. The United Republic is a recognized by the Fire Nation, Water Tribes, and the Air Nation. Even the Earth Kingdom sighed the treaty that allowed the formation of it's existence," Raiko countered.
"Enough!" Korra yelled, gaining the attention of all others at the table. All eyes turned toward her, expecting her to say something. This caught her a little off guard, but she quickly regained her confidence.
"Why don't you send a joint task force? That way you can figure out what's going on without violating the terms of agreement," she said. Both men stroked their chins in thought.
"The Avatar's plan seems sound," Raiko said after several moments of thought.
"Indeed. I'll coordinate with our command structure and get this task force underway," Chun said.
"And I shall do the same with ours. Until the task force's findings are returned, this meeting shall be adjourned," Raiko said, bringing it all to a close.
Village of Wai. Thirty Six hours later.
The airship touched down just beyond the edge of what I could only assume was the remains of what had once been a village. Just about all of the wooden and straw structures were little more then smoldering remains. The sky was dark and filled with smoke and embers fell from the sky like glowing orange snowflakes. A nearby pine forest was glow with flames as it burned with an uncontrolled wildfire.
I held my M7S at the ready, scanning the shattered remains of the village with an eagle eye. So far, we hadn't seen a single sign of life.
"Alright, Rookie. The feed is good, we see everything you see," the gunny's voice said in my ear. He and Captain Dare had insisted that I accompany the task force that had been assembled for this mission. If nothing else then to maintain the peace between the two sides. In reality, I figured they were just as curious about what was going on here as everyone else was.
I acknowledged his transmission by holding a thumb up in front of my visor before continuing with what I had been doing. The United Forces and Earth Kingdom troops were spreading out, their hands held at the ready should they suddenly find a need to bend. That was another reason I was here. If we found ourselves engaged by an enemy, Buck and Dare wanted to know what exactly these people were capable of. I'd tried to explain some of it based on what I had seen, but in the end it was hopeless. Footage was better then an eyewitness testimony anyway.
It was about this point that I found my first body. A man wearing eloquent green robes. He had two burn marks side by side in his middle, one set on the stomach and the other on his back. I knelt down and rolled him over so my helmet's camera feed could get a look at it as well.
"Are those burn marks?" Dare asked.
"Looks like a wound from an energy sword," Buck answered.
"That might not be the case. Initial reports claim that there are people with the ability to manipulate fire. This could be a result of something like that," Dare said. Silently, I prayed she was right and this was just some sort of firebender's work. Working my way further into the village only served to dash those hopes. Any tracks that might have been on the ground were long gone, washed clean by the recent thunderstorms that had shook the area. The bodies, however, were still in the twisted positions they had been in when they had died.
I rolled the body of a middle aged woman over and silently cursed. Her eyes were wide open and glazed over as she had fallen face down when she died. It was apparent that she had been fleeing whatever had attacked here. Her back was badly scorched, her clothing and flesh, what little of each had survived, having been fused together by the heat. I'd seen these kinds of wounds before.
"Those are plasma burns," Buck said in my ear.
"It can't be. There's no way the Covenant could be here without us knowing, could they?" Dare asked, suddenly sounding unsure of herself.
"That was how Reach started."
"If this is true, we need to put everyone on high alert. Initiate WINTER CONTENGENCY."
"These guys aren't UNSC. Even if they listen to us, they won't be prepared. Rookie, do what you can to get that Task Force out of there and get back here as quickly as you can," Buck ordered.
"Rodger that," I said before killing the comm link. I made my way back toward the airship, where a Lieutenant Mao from the Earth Kingdom was in charge. The Lieutenant was busy directing troops, sending them into the ruins to look for survivors. Judging by the state of the buildings, I highly doubted they would find anything other then more dead bodies.
"Sir, we are underequipted to deal with the danger that is here. We should pull out immediately," I said. Mao looked at me with a mild disinterest.
"Corporal Durant, was it? As much as I appreciate the concern, we are more then capable of dealing with a few rouge firebenders."
"It's not firebenders, sir. It's the Covenant."
"Covenant? What is the...?" he never finished as a bright blueish white plasma blade erupted from his chest. I raised my M7S, while the other troops around me raised their hands in preparation to bend. Their mouths were hanging open in shock as they watched their leader being lifted off the ground before being tossed aside like a rag doll.
In Mao's place, a red armored Elite shimmered into existence. It was a massive creature; seven and a half feet tall, reptilian in nature, with four mandibles for a mouth. Holding aloft it's still ignited energy sword, the Elite let out a roar, it's jaws stretching out as it bellowed.
"What is that?!"
"Take it down, take it down!" The soldiers around me began to bend their respective elements toward the Elite. Suddenly, the air was literally abuzz with blue plasma bolts. All around us, Elites with plasma rifles unveiled themselves and caught us in a crossfire. Men screamed as they were hit and their bodies were cooked inside the melting remains of their armor.
"AMBUSH!"
I was on autopilot, focusing my sub-machine gun on the officer directly in front of me before unloading on it. The silenced weapon unleashed a deadly spray of lead, causing the red armored giant's shield to flare and then fail. It stumbled backwards as I finished emptying the clip into it, tearing it's body apart.
The survivors of the initial burst of plasma fire rallied around me, throwing boulders and fireballs at our attackers. A few quick thinking earthbenders even bent quick barricades of stone so we could have some cover. I slammed a new clip into place and began firing short bursts at our attackers. I'd wait until an earth or firebender brought down an Elite's shield, and then fire a burst at the alien, either killing it or wounding it in the process.
"What do we do?!" one soldier asked as he ducked for cover behind one of the barricades, his fist alight with flames.
"Fall back to the airship, everyone fall back!" I ordered as I reloaded my weapon again. There weren't many of us left, and I didn't doubt that the ones who had been out on patrol when the ambush started were all dead. I gave the troops cover fire as they ran for the open hatch in the back of the airship before following them.
The airship lifted off, leaving the village behind. What few survivors of the task force that were on board were panting and sweating, exhausted from their efforts. I was still on edge, knowing full well that we weren't even close to being out of this mess.
"What were those things?" the firebender asked.
"Elites. A vanguard force of the Covenant," I said.
"What's the Covenant?" someone toward the back asked. I didn't bother to answer.
"Hey, we got a contact of some sort incoming!" came a yell from the bridge of the airship. I made my way forward and peered out the widow in the direction the crew member was pointing. A pair of purple craft were heading towards us at a high rate of speed, twin trails of energy streaking behind them as they came. I felt my blood run cold.
"Banshees! Everyone brace for impact!" One of the craft belched a green cylinder, which slammed into the side of the airship and exploded. Alarms and fire raced throughout the craft as the crew lost control and the airship began to lose altitude, falling toward the mountains that were blow us now.
"Airship unit 1-6 to Republic City, we are going down, repeat we are going down," one of the crew said into a radio.
"Prepare for crash landing!" The airship shattered several pine trees like match sticks as it slammed down hard onto the mountainside, and everything went dark.
Fleet of Unflinching Condemnation. Orbit.
The golden armored Fleetmaster looked down upon the blue and green ball below. Initial reports returned from the vanguard that had landed on the surface seemed to confirm that this human world was far more primitive then the ones that had been encountered before. The lack of craft from the planet's surface to engage them seemed to reenforce this narrative. Despite the clear advantage that he had, the Fleetmaster had refrained from engaging the planet. Contact with High Charity had been spotty since their patrol had begun, and had totally broken down over the past couple of days.
"Fleetmaster, the vanguard has engaged a human military force. The humans are aware of our presence," a lesser ranked Elite reported.
"Has contact been reestablished with High Charity?" he asked.
"No, Fleetmaster. Our signal has been silent."
"Send a single ship back to the main fleet and relay news of our discovery that way," he ordered. The lesser Elite placed his fist over his chest in salute before bowing and walking away to carry out the order. Another Elite, this one the commander of the ship they were standing on, stepped forward.
"What of the rest of the fleet?"
"The time of hiding in the shadows is over. Commit the three assault carriers to the three largest settlements on the planet. The battle cruisers will conduct raids against the remaining population until a reinforcement fleet from High Charity arrives," he said. The Shipmaster placed a fist over his chest.
"By your will, Fleetmaster."
City Hall, Republic City.
"This was the last bit of footage we got before the feed was lost," Dare said as she showed a video pad to Raiko, Lin, Tenzin, and Korra. On the screen were the last images from James' helmet feed as he and several other troops in the task force were ambushed by Elites.
"By the Spirits...what are we looking at, exactly?" Tenzin asked.
"We believe it's an advance landing party of a Covenant invasion. Lance Corporal Durant and the rest of the Task Force stumbled across them by accident and were caught in a crossfire as a result," Buck answered.
"And what is the status of the Task Force now?" Raiko asked.
"Unknown. The airship that served as a transport sent out a distress call before going down somewhere in the mountains," Lin reported. The President folded his hands in front of his face in thought.
"Do we know what these beasts will do next?" he finally asked.
"Now that we've outed their force, the Covenant will commit themselves fully to the fight. Our only hope is to get a message out to the UNSC and have a rescue fleet send out so evacuations can begin," Dare said.
"And until that happens, what can we do?" Dare and Buck looked at each other.
"Fight. Hold out as long as you can. Pray," Dare said.
"And run," Buck added. The whole office shook with a small earthquake. For a moment it stopped, and then the shaking resumed again, this time with much more intensity before stopping again. Everyone in the room looked at each other.
"Earthquake?" Korra asked, a hint of hope in her voice.
"Explosion," Lin corrected in a deadpanned manner. Everyone stood from their place and hurried outside. Air raid sirens were beginning to sound all over the city. In the sky from the direction of the sea came a monstrous white colored ship that vaguely resembled a fishhook. It easily stood out against the red sky of the setting sun behind it.
"What is that thing?" Korra asked.
"Covenant ship, CAS class assault carrier," Dare answered. As she spoke, the ship fired a few plasma torpedoes. The bolts of energy sailed from the ship and into the city, exploding as they struck a few skyscrapers and setting the buildings alight.
"Tenzin, begin the evacuation. I'll contact General Iroh and get you as much cover as I can," Raiko said.
"You're going to need help. That carrier has a full contingent of Covenant ground troops," Buck said.
"That's where you and your men come in, Sergeant. We have no knowledge on how to fight these things. While Captain Dare is trying to get a distress signal out, I need you and your men helping us," Raiko said. Buck and Dare shared another look. They hadn't wanted to get involved with this world. This turn of events had changed all that.
"I'll see what we can do."
And cut. The Invasion has begun. Now, someone pointed out that ODST took place around the time of the beginning of the Covenant Civil War, when the Elites stopped following the orders of the Prophets. For that I would like to clarify some things.
ODST takes place over the afternoon and into the night of October 20th-21st. The Great Schism didn't actually begin until the Battle of Delta Halo, two weeks later on November 2nd-3rd. Helljumper is set within the timeframe of these two weeks, when the Elites were still loyal to the Covenant. That and there's also some major communication errors with this particular fleet, but that will come into play later.
As always, please read, review, leave a PM, ask me a question or ten, or state what you liked or didn't like, and I'll see you all next time.