The Fight
(Disclaimer: I don't own Halo)
"They're here," the call came over the comm. link. "Several hundred looks like, all on foot."
It had been only a quarter hour since James and his men arrived at the downed ship and in that time he had allowed his men to scatter to where they felt they would be most effective. He was posted on top of the ship where he could see over the battlefield. To his right by ten paces was an escape hatch where he could get inside the ship if the front was overrun. The first thing he saw was a pair of Marines hauling ass back to the ship on a Mongoose ATV. Next he saw a pair of Banshees pursuing them. The several 50mm Point Defense Guns not destroyed opened fire on the incoming Banshee ships taking them down in a matter of seconds. All of them clicking empty by time the last Banshee dropped from the sky.
James chuckled as he watched through his helmets zoom, "Hopefully that's all their air support."
"Yeah," Bunker said, "Now we just gotta worry about Wraith Tanks."
"Yeah," Tyler said, "We're out of anti air guns, aren't we?"
"Yep," James replied, "That's why I said hopefully that was it. Ground troops we can handle even if they come in hundreds. Air and armor support we might as well draw back into the ship."
They were speaking over their team link and couldn't be heard by anybody other than ODST, which is why Tyler now risked asking his questions.
"Can we win Corporal?" was all he dared ask.
"Yes," James told him simply, "But it'll be a close one. It'll be a fun one though." He said the last with a chuckle.
"Is Corporal Dawn crazy," Fatima asked over the link.
"You try going through half the things we've done and see if you don't go a little crazy," Donald told him. James chuckled at the declaration and said, "If you boots live past today then maybe you'll get to do some of the fun stuff we've done."
"It must be a shitty day for you guys," Menendez spoke up.
"How so," Bunker asked.
"You and Donald and Corporal Dawn had been with some of those guys for a while and you had to watch them die in a pelican crash," Menendez said, "Died in an accident, no glory in an early death."
"That's enough," Dawn said sharply, "We all learn at the start that you cannot dwell on others. When the war is over we will mourn our fallen but until then we have to push it aside and fight to live."
"Wow, Corporal," Donald said, "That was deep, almost philosophical."
"Shut your mouth," James told him as the whole team chuckled. "Look to your front we've got scouts on the way." He had spotted several dozen Jackal scouts approaching on a front several hundred yards wide coming up a hill. "I'm gonna have some fun until they come into range."
"You do that Corporal," Bunker said.
James lay down and used his bipod to steady his rifle. He settled the crosshairs on the opening in a shield and steadied his breath before squeezing off his shot. The Jackal was blown back and the round bounced off of the next shield in its path causing it to die. James blasted that Jackal too. He picked them off as fast as he could and enjoyed doing it. He had eliminated half of them by the time the main party arrived headed by a score of Elites. He then started to pick them off and had gotten three by time they realized what was happening.
They surged forward and began deploying shields to hide behind, while they sent the pair of Hunters forward supported by hundreds of grunts. James took aim at one of the Hunters before shooting it in the face which put it down. The second one howled in anger and charged forward again.
"Incoming Grunts, by the hundreds," James said over an open link, "The elites are down to seventeen and shouldn't be much of a problem. There's only one Hunter left and a dozen Jackals. I'll keep sniping, but they'll be in range soon."
By the time the Covenant forces reached the forward Marines, James had taken out the second Hunter and a pair of Elites. When the machine gun and assault rifles opened up James continued sniping as many Jackals and Elites as he could but missed more often as they began dodging to avoid him. As the Marines began dying and were forced to pull back to ship little by little, James fired more often until he had shot all the ammo he had brought to the fight.
He dropped through the air lock next to him and slung his rifle as soon as his feet touched the ground. He racked his shotgun with a smirk as he ran down the hall and ladder ways to the air lock that the Marines and Sailors were now streaming through. His team was the last one through with Donald and Tyler both sporting slight plasma burns.
James gave them a chuckle and they all returned it as they started to push barriers around the air lock to block it. James called to Gunny Jordan as his men pushed the last ones in place.
"We'll hold them here for as long as we can," James told him, "Send us a fire team with a couple crates of grenades and ammo, or as much as can be spared."
"On its way," Gunny Jordan sent back.
Grunts were streaming in by the dozen and being cut down by automatic fire in a genuine turkey shoot. "Looks like fun," a Lance Corporal shouted as his fire team approached the barrier carrying several crates of fragmentation grenades and another of loose ammunition.
James gave them a loud chuckle, "Join in the fun."
They spent almost an hour picking them off as they flooded into the ship through the airlock. The assaults into the ship started to slacken and James used all the down time to reload all of his magazines and had his men to do the same.
"Hopefully they don't turn left into the airlock and run around the corner," Menendez said to no one in particular.
"Hah," Bunker said, "If we don't get them Corporal Dawn will whip out his rifle and make them wish we had."
"No," James said slowly, thinking. "It still might happen, and just one will cause us problems because we'll have to hunt it down." He keyed his mike, "Gunny, what about putting a blocking force at the corner in front of our position?"
"I'm headed your way now," was all the reply he got. Ten minutes later Gunny Jordan was standing beside James and eyeing the corner.
"If a squad sets up back there with barriers a few feet past the corner," James was presenting his case, "They'll be safe from us and surprise any that try to hide around the corner."
"A squad huh, what makes you think they'll need that many?" he asked James.
"A Marine fire team backed by a dozen sailors, armed with close quarters weapons," James elaborated on his thoughts.
"That'll work," Gunny Jordan allowed, and keying his mike called for a sergeant who was his acting second.
As Gunny Jordan turned the corner to make his way back to the command and control center in the middle of the ship, a dozen Jackals erupted from the airlock shields in front ready to repel fire. What they got was a half dozen grenades and several burst of gunfire after the last one refused to die.
"Too easy," crowed one of the Marines. The ODST were all silent and listening for a follow up attack.
When nothing happened after a few moments they began to ease up and go back to whatever it was they were doing. James continued to watch the airlock. 'I really want to go up top to snipe some more," he thought. 'But I can't leave these guys here. Team leader is no fun.'
"UNSC War Games, this is Delta 428 come in over," was what James heard over his head set. He listened tensely as Lieutenant Tyson answered.
"I've got three other ships with me we're gonna fly you guys out, over," the pilot said. "Got a place we can land?"
"Corporal Dawn, come in, over," Lieutenant Amy Dawn called over his team link.
He keyed his mike and answered, "This is Dawn."
"You have orders to access the ships bridge and reclaim the AI cube or to verify its destruction," she told him, "You're also to set a Havoc Nuclear device inside the ships core to ensure its total destruction."
'What the fuck,' James thought before answering, "Roger on the move."
James relayed his orders to Gunny Jordan who wished him luck and took off at a sprint to the hanger where the Pelicans were landing. He accepted a pair of Havoc Nukes from one of them and gathered his team close as they watch sailors climb aboard the waiting Pelicans.
"Bunker, take Menendez and Fatima with you to the core and set both these to detonate in a half hour," he hated to split up but if they didn't they would miss the birds. "I'm taking Donald and Tyler to the bridge." He eyed them in their suits. "Stay safe gents, we've lost enough men today. The blocking force will hold long enough around the air lock for us to get out so don't waste time."
James watched as Bunkers crew took off for the reactor room in the center rear of the ship. With a sigh and mentally crossed fingers he let his two off to the bridge. Hopefully they all made it out alive.