Chapter 15

"Lieutenant Henson," the intercom said, "you have three hours before departure." I got up and pulled out my weapons to pack.

"Wait, sir," Brad said. "Aren't you going to finish your story?"

"I'll make this part quick. We got everyone re-geared for defense before the Covies arrived, but they came in overwhelming numbers. It looked like every troop they had in the region was coming for us, but we had them bottlenecked in a mountain pass. Claymores and anti-tank mines tore their first wave to shreds in there, and we had snipers picking them off as they approached the house. I remember standing on the roof of my house, watching as they moved closer and closer. I saw them come in Banshees, too, but my anti-aircraft crews took out the small waves of them. Everything was going fine, but we weren't stopping them, only slowing them down.

"Every time they made it past one of our long-range defenses, we had another set waiting for them, so we killed a good number of troops and vehicles before they made it anywhere near the house itself. It's when they got in range of the rockets when the shit really hit the fan. I didn't know how they did it, but my fellow students were holding back the universe's most powerful military force. As soon as I could see them, I opened fire on the little bastards from the rooftop. Four Hunters came out front, so I waved for the guys waiting on the other side of the roof to come up. As I waved, though, a sniper shot hit me dead in the right shoulder, but it didn't hit any bone. I think it was the prototype for the Beam Rifle, because the shot was pencil-thin. I ducked behind cover and remotely fired artillery shells at the Covenant instead of coming back out of cover. They got so close I was firing shells literally right in front of my own men.

"Once they took our first foxholes, everything went downhill from there. I told everyone to slowly retreat inside the house and fight from there while I covered them with my M16 and M203, which was pretty hard with a beat-up shoulder. I took another shot in the left calf from someone, so that leg buckled under me as I kept shooting. Eventually I had to fall back to the other side of the roof, so I fired as I dragged myself over. Once safe I resumed using artillery fire until a miracle happened: Major Evans' ship had flown extremely low and fired its MAC gun at the incoming Covenant, so those near us were trapped between the shell's crater and my men, buying us a small window to board the five Pelicans sent to get us.

"I fast-roped to the ground as we all rushed to the evac, but I remember Ethan and another guy grabbed me and ran me to one. We took off quickly and had Longsword escorts, but a huge fleet of Banshees attacked and started taking out the Pelicans. Mine was hit on the floor, so I watched as Ethan and my friends were burned by the plasma or fell out of the Pelican. I then got in the cockpit with the pilot and co-pilot when I heard that we were the only surviving Pelican, but we had plenty of Longswords around. Those Banshees had focused on the Pelicans, so the Longswords destroyed them quickly. Two medics took me to the infirmary while I heard that the Covenant cruiser was glassing the planet, red-lining its weapons. It was so focused that we got to destroy it, but the damage had been done. New Lexington was finished.

"I came to Earth with the UNSC and finished high school while training to enlist. Being so good at killing, to be blunt, I got promoted like crazy. Once I hit Sergeant Major they made me an officer, too. I had made it up to Major, but on one mission I 'lost control' of the situation and almost got my battalion killed. We were lucky to survive at all due to the huge amount of troops the Covenant sent, but I still got demoted to 1st Lieutenant and the rest of that time has been here with you guys. There, happy?" I explained.

"You going to keep in touch while you're with the rebels?" Nicholson asked.

"I'll try to. Well, as soon as I learn how to use their stuff, since we're not allowed to take any issued equipment except uniforms with us."

"Yeah, that totally sucks. I wanted to take my rifle with me, but no, they won't let me. Bastards," Davis piped in. "Speaking of which, what are you doing with those guns, sir?"

"They weren't issued to me. I can take them wherever the hell I want," I answered.

"Can I have your sniper rifle since I can't take mine?"

"You can't have it, but you can use it whenever you want. Ammo's not too much of a pain to make."

"So, what other guns do you have? And are they really better than what the Corps uses now?" Posada asked.

"I have my M16, M24, Desert Eagle, and energy shield and sword from the attack, and since then I've made the M249 and M60, which are light machine guns. I have a Colt .45 and another Glock 18, which are pistols. Lastly, I have a SPAS-12 pump-action 12 gauge shotgun. Then there's the ammo to carry for all of them, so they get extremely heavy."

"Holy shit, sir. Are you planning on equipping a squad with all that, or you taking it all into combat yourself?" Davis questioned with a laugh. I had a hard time packing it all in as little space as possible, but I knew no one on the Concrescence would ask what I had. Once I finally finished I had a half hour left, so I went to get some very late dinner. We were having bean burritos, so I felt sorry for the people on my transport. After dinner I took my stuff to the hangar and put it near the transport. Then I went back to the room for a last visit.

"Well, Marines, it's been an honor serving with you. I've seen you through many missions, and you've seen me through my borderline insanity, and for that I commend you." I got some laughs from that. "But seriously, we've taken many round trips to hell and I'm just thankful that we've never left a man behind. You're getting a new leader now, so the best of luck to you. Don't make him or her hate you too much, okay?" Several Hoo-ah's followed.

"Lieutenant Henson and First Sergeant Davis, report to the armory with your equipment to return immediately," the intercom chimed. We got up and grabbed our gear.

"Looks like it's time to go, so I'll see you guys later. Come on, First Sergeant," I said. We walked down the hall in our formal uniforms, which looked as neat as possible. They were second only to the uniform of Colonel himself. While we were turning in our stuff Colonel asked us to turn in our rank. We obediently turned in our rank, but I wondered what for. I turned around to see someone holding a video camera, which was apparently broadcasting to everyone in the mess hall.

"First Lieutenant Henson, for your loyal service to the UNSC, I am promoting you to the rank of Captain," Colonel said. I took my two silver bars and put them where the one had been. "First Sergeant Davis, for your loyal service to the UNSC, I am promoting you to the rank of Sergeant Major." I watched as she proudly put the rank on her uniform. There was much applause from the spectators all around us as we walked out of and to our transport. As I was closing the door, I remembered all the good times that I had on the Concrescence and wondered about how things would go from here.