South-east Able, Mortum,
New Able,
September 14th 2541,
1720 Standard UNSC Time,
2 hours after initial drop,

In the sub-conscious of James' mind, his brain felt like it was slowly having electricity pumped into it. He moved his mouth unintentionally, trying to feel the feeling in his mouth.

The first thing James thought when he regained consciousness was that he was having a very bad day. He let out a groan that echoed though the cracked and dented hull of the ODST pod, his legs and back aching the most. When he opened his eyes, he first tried to get an idea of where he had landed, but the glass had been coated over with a layer of dust and the parts that weren't caked in inch-thick dust showed him the sky and the rooftops of high-rises. Though, judging by his position, he made out that the pod had landed with his back to the ground.

He tried to stretch his body to the left, then to the right, only to find that there was a sharp pain in his right hand. He looked down to see some blood splashed on the interior of the pod. A large piece of the thick glass that screened the pod had chipped loose and decided to embed itself in James' right hand.

James tapped the on button to his heads up display on his helmet, as it had turned off to find that it didn't work, surprisingly as ODST helmets were quite robust. He tried again, only this time, when it did not work, he slapped the side of the helmet, which caused the HUD to come to life. He checked the time and was shock that he had been out for more than two hours, thinking that his since his squad didn't come to look for him that they had to be either very tied up with their work, or presumed him dead. The latter being the less likely.

He then tried to go for his field kit, but realised that it was behind the seat. In such confined space, he couldn't shift far enough forward to reach behind and get the kit. Not to mention the fact that he was almost completely on his back because of the angle the pod faced. He began trying to fire the emergency release bolts on the pod door, as toggling the switch to open the door didn't work.

There was a loud hiss and a straining sound, but the door did not seem to budge. James then began trying to kick the door open. 'If I can unlatch the main door, the bolts may just do the rest of the work.'

He kicked it two more times before stopping when he hears unfamiliar chatter. James then stiffened and slowed his breathing-unnecessary as he was still wearing his helmet-until he was almost perfectly still. In the distance, James could hear the sound of footsteps against loose bits of concrete, pavement and glass. He waited as the footsteps got closer and closer, until they were just outside of his pod.

Then, a hand was pressed against the scratched and began wiping away the dust, causing James' heart to double its pace. Then, the dog-like face of a Grunt was pressed against the glass. It seemed to examine James for a few moments, before another high-pitch squeal broke it's focus and it moved on.

James let his body relax, but only continued to try and exit the pod after he was sure that not another sound could be heard. He kicked the door repeatedly with all of his might, which was not much considering how little space he had to move in. 'I am not going to die in this damn pod.' He thought as a kick caused the door to shift slightly. He stopped kicking the door and began pushing on it as hard as he could. With a grunt of effort, he caused the door to shift even further, allowing for a loud hiss, followed by a small gas explosion that sent the door flying. It landed with a loud clanking sound.

James knew he had to move quickly, as the sound would likely attract Covenant straggles if he was lucky. If he wasn't, he might've just alerted a battalion.

He climbed out of the pod with a groan, stretching his arms and legs. He reached back into the pod to grab his assault rifle and magnum, as well as the medical kit. He attached the rifle to his back and began looking for a well-covered place to bandage and bio-foam his hand. Already, he felt like The Covenant knew exactly where he was.

He made a beeline for one of the high-rises with a broken window just as a Covenant Spirit flew overhead, it's engines wailing in the quiet streets. He crawled into a café and hid behind the counter. After performing the routine medical procedure, he opened up his communications on a squad-wide frequency. "This is Lance Corporal James Fisher, does anyone copy?"

He waited, but his only response was the crackle of white noise. "Squad Tango-Five, this is James Fisher. Does anyone copy?" still no response. He was wondering why his squad wasn't responding when he heard the sound of glass breaking. He peered over the counter to see a small squad of three Grunts and one sniper Jackal.

James looked around for a rock, wanting to try out a trick he learned from a former squad-mate. He picked up a piece of the building that had fallen from the ceiling and watched as the Grunts waddled over to analyse his pod, toying with the doors. He hurled the rock as hard as he could at a window on the building opposite him. The rock fell short and hit the pavement, but it still did its job to draw the attention of the Grunts.

He waited as the Jackal ordered the Grunts to go find out what the noise was, and waited some more until the Grunts were a good three metres away from the Jackal. Then, he slid over the counter, making sure not to knock over or break anything.

James made a mad dash for the Jackal, drawing forth his combat knife. He was two feet away from the Jackal when he stepped on a thin, loose piece of pavement which made a loud, audible crack. The Jackal turned around at the sound, but James was able to close the distance just in time and stick his knife into the Jackal's neck as it gave of a loud, gurgled squawk.

That was all that it took to gain the attention of the Grunts, but as they turned around James used the Beam Rifle that the Jackal was holding to fire beam after beam of flesh-searing energy at the Grunts. He fired until the gun overheated, singeing his hand as causing him to drop the rifle. But by then, the Grunts were all dead.

He dropped the Jackal's body with a thump. Wondering how to proceed from here. He opened a wider frequency that the rest of the division could pick up. "32nd Rifle Division, this is Lance Corporal James Fisher, does anyone copy?" He was once again met with white noise static. He gave up trying to open communications after that.

'I better regroup with a unit.' Looking down both directions that he could take through the street. To one end, there was a tall skyscraper with a large satellite dish at the top of it. To the left, what laid beyond could not be seen because of a large mass of a building that had collapsed.

He eventually decided to go left, towards what appeared to be a roundabout intersection. Just as he was about to enter the intersection, he noticed that several Covenant squads had gathered in the centre of the intersection. The squads were mainly comprised of Elites, as far as James could see, as he wasn't sure how many Grunt squatters were hiding in the surrounding buildings and ruins.

The Elites seemed to be standing around a mix of dead squads, probably gloating over their kill. James considered his odds on whether he should try to sneak around them or double back down the other way out of the street.

That was when he saw it; the flash of a laser-sight from a building. It was directed towards him and was…flickering? It flickered three times, then held. It repeated for several instances when James picked up on it. It was a new code.

Three dashes. Wait. For. It.

James only had to wait two seconds before the sniper rounds rang out. They punched through the Elite's energy shielding and caused the Elites to drop to the ground, which were followed by a second salvo of shots that effectively killed the Elites. James saw the Grunts and Jackals panic, firing wildly at the buildings and running out of spots where James could not see them. That was James' cue as he rounded the corner and opened up on the aliens with his assault rifle. They were startled by him, and immediately began to focus all their fire on him, forgetting about the snipers that fired a third salvo at some of the Jackals that had hidden themselves behind make-shift cover. After he had emptied his second clip, all the Covenant forces were dead.

He heard more footsteps coming from the buildings and drew his pistol, but lowered it when he saw UNSC forces signalling him over. When he was in the building, the sergeant spoke. "What's you designation soldier?"

"Fisher, James, ODST, 32nd Rifle Division." He spoke with a crisp salute.

"I can see that." The sergeant said, gesturing to his armour. "At ease, marine."

He relaxed and saw that this was a sniper team by the looks of the rest of the soldier, who all had special helmets with tactical-sights and sniper rifles.

"Fine timing you had," the sergeant continued, leading him further into the building, passing flickering lights and supplies. "-coming along when those damn Covies sprung our trap. You just about saved us a salvo of ammunition." He led Fisher through to the other side of the building, where another sniper was camping behind a steel barricade. "Status!"

"The area seems clear, sir. But there might be squatters in that garage." The sniper replied. "I saw Grunt movement, but didn't have a clear shot."

"That's fine, didn't want you to take the shot anyway. Might've blown our cover." He turned back to James. "All right shock trooper, you're with us now. You will address me as 'Sergeant' or 'Sergeant Fukhikoto'. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." He replied before following it up with a question. "Sergeant, if I may ask. I haven't been able to raise the rest of my squad. There seems to be something wrong with the comms."

"That's what we're working on. The Covenant have set up a series of signal jammers. We're trying to commandeer some of the Warthogs in that garage over there," He pointed to a flat-roofed, two storey building. "-so that we can head over and destroy as many jammers as we can. The more jammers we destroy, the more area we restore comms. to."

James nodded with affirmation. "When do we head out?"

Sergeant Fukhikoto reached for a DMR and M7/caseless submachine gun that were lying against a crate next to the barricade. "When you're ready. You look like you could use some more ammunition."