A/N: Thank you to my readers for their kind reviews. I hope I can continue to improve this with the help of Obsidian13. Here are a few shoutouts:

NSATrooper: I'm scrapping the sequel and starting over. I am completely out of ideas for it.

aznricechink54: Thanks for the review and I'll get around to yours when I can…sorry. Lots o' work to do.

The Marines of Charlie Company

Chapter Two:

Touchdown

Music: Points of Authority – Linkin Park

Halo theme

Both men hoisted Carson into the air and headed toward the nearest lifepods as the Master Chief systematically annihilated every Covenant soldier in his path. They were as careful as possible when carrying the wounded Marine as they manuvered down the blood soaked titanium corridors as the ship rocked and tumbled from continual blows from Covenant ships. They were finally able to locate a lifeboat with enough room for the Marines to get in and set Carson in a seat, strapping him in and doing the same themselves. With a quick warning, the small craft rocketed out of the bay it was held in, narrowly missing a blast of plasma fired at it. The one next to it, however, was not so lucky as it exploded in a brilliantly horrifying display of fire and metal.

Carson gulped audibly as he watched the other lifeboat disintegrate and his stomach sank. He heard a Marine to his left praying for the other people's souls and for their own safety. Sighing quietly, he looked over the corner of the pilot's seat and his eyes widened at what he saw; a massive ring world, ten thousand kilometres wide and at least half that thick, its surface dotted with landmasses that looked oddly familiar to Earth, and oceans, accompanied by clouds and swirling hurricanes. "Dear God, what is that," he muttered.

As the rest of the men looked on, the pilot shrugged. "Your guess is as good as mine," she said honestly, "But that's where we're headed. Hang on, atmospheric entry in five."

Instinctively, the Marine Corporal gripped the straps that held him to his seat and inhaled sharply, hoping that they could survive the inevitable crash. His chest still ached and complained from the plasma burns, but he was used to it by now. A person doesn't spend three years fighting the Covenant and not get wounded, after all.

Suddenly, flames erupted all around the small craft as it began its descent through the atmosphere and toward the surface. The steel fuselage began to heat up like an oven as the ground rushed up to meet them quickly…too quickly. The pilot flipped a switch on her left and the lifeboat lurched, slowing immensely. "Brace for impact," she shouted.

Carson's head snapped forward and then back, smashing into the bulkhead, giving him one Hell of a headache when they collided with the ground. Unconsciousness threatened to overtake him, but the twenty-six year old Marine fought back, barely managing to stay awake and unstrap, the surviving men and women following suit.

Only two people had died in the crash, both of their skulls being smashed in when they collided with the bulkhead. Neither of them wore their combat helmets. Carson attempted to stand, but his knees buckled and he braced himself against the fuselage. He then felt an arm close around his shoulder and another around his waist, helping him stand. When Carson looked down, he found the pilot smiling up at him. "Come on, we need to find some better cover than this tin can," she said softly.

He nodded and muttered in agreement, allowing her to help him outside and into the sunlight. The Marine's eyes swept over his surroundings, taking in everything; high canyon walls surrounded the small valley they were in, two tunnels connecting them to the rest of the ring. In front of him was a large, turquoise building, a spire reaching high from its base hundreds of feet into the air, spewing out bright blue beams of light every few seconds. To his left was a large hill dotted with trees and rocks; a perfect hiding place until evac arrived. "Okay," he called, "Listen up!"

The other Marines turned to him, questioning expressions on their faces. "The Covenant will be sending troops soon to check these lifeboats for survivors. We need to take cover until backup arrives. You two," he said, pointing to two younger men, "go set up emergency beacons at the entrances to this canyon. The rest of you gather everything useful that you can and we'll head up that hill and take cover there."

No one moved for a second, then something seemingly clicked and they got to work. Carson and the pilot made their way up the hill after she gathered some medical supplies and he grabbed a sniper rifle and several clips for it. She leaned him carefully against a rock and began to work on his wounds. The other Marines followed close behind, hauling everything of use with them; MA5Bs and M9Ds, with clips of ammo for each of them. Carson hissed as the pilot sprayed some biofoam over the wound.

"Jesus, you never get used to that stuff," he said loudly. The pilot laughed as she replaced the chest plate to its former place.

"By the way," she said, "my name's Sally Collins."

"David Carson," he replied friendlily.

Their introductions were cut off by the roar of a Warthog engine. Two stoic figures shot up the hill in the nimble vehicle, but something was amiss; both of them were SPARTAN II's. "Wow," called one Marine, "a Mark-V!"

The Warthog slid to a stop at the top of the hill, scattering small rocks and dirt as the heavy tires carved up the soft earth. The SPARTAN in the diver's seat hopped out and headed towards Carson, who recognized him immediately; it was the Master Chief. Sally stood and headed over to the one-ton warrior. "You're a sight for sore eyes, Chief. We're in a bad way, we've got wounded here," she said, motioning toward David over her shoulder.

Stoic in his MJOLNIR armor, the Master Chief walked to Carson and knelt next to him. "Good to see you, sir," the wounded Marine said weakly. The Chief nodded and looked him over.

"You going to be okay, Marine," he asked in his deep, gravely voice.

Carson nodded slowly and smiled. "I've been shot up worse than this, sir. You don't have to worry about me."

Master Chief nodded, stood and began to walk off when Carson called out to him. "Sir, take this sniper rifle," he said, hefting the heavy weapon and tossing it up to the SPARTAN. Once again, Chief nodded wordlessly and headed over to the Warthog to converse with the other Spartan, who was clad in blue armor with a Sergeant emblem emblazoned into the bicep in gold. Suddenly, the whine of a Covenant drop ship could be heard over head and Carson reached called out to another Marine. "Hey! Hand me a sniper rifle! I'm gonna need it!"

The man nodded and rummaged through a weapons pile, extracting a sniper rifle and several clips for it, then proceeded to hand them to Carson as Chief and the other Spartan opened up on the Covenant that jumped out of the drop ship. Not wanting to miss out, Carson rolled onto his stomach and set up the bipod of the sniper rifle and then gazed down the scope. He centered the cross hairs on an Elite's head, then moved it ahead of the creature about a meter and squeezed the trigger. The bullet exploded from the barrel and shot through the air, striking the Elite's head, causing its cranium to explode in a mass of blood and brains and the rest of its body to do a cartwheel. He repeated the process on a trio of Grunts, then reloaded.

"More Covenant coming from the left," a Marine cried. Carson grabbed the rifle and rolled again, setting the rifle on the bipod and staring down the scope. A Jackal was hiding behind a rock and its shield with only a section of its torso exposed. 'Mistake number two,' thought Carson as he squeezed the trigger and watched the creature as it was ripped in half by the sheer velocity of the round tearing into it's body. He then found another Elite, a red one this time, and focused his sights on its head, pulling the trigger and smiling as its head exploded. The Marine then heard footsteps behind him, followed by an angry roar. He turned and came face-to-ankle with one very angry Elite. It raised its weapon and prepared to deliver a devastating blow when it just collapsed. Master Chief was standing behind it, the butt of his MA5B coated in purple blood. "Thank you sir."

"That makes us even," the supersoldier said calmly.

Smiling, Carson looked back down the scope of his rifle and continued picking off Covenant forces as they came. The battle went on for a good twenty minutes before the enemy was driven off and it was safe for Echo-419 to come and pick them up. The familiar whine of Pelican engines sounded as the sleek silver ship maneuvered over the canyon and landed near the crashed life boat. Sally and another Marine helped David over to the Warthog and carefully set him in, Sally clambering in afterward and sitting down in his lap, claiming to make sure he was okay. The other Marine only smiled and nodded, walking down the hill as the Chief steered the Warthog toward the Pelican, being as careful as he could to make the ride as smooth as possible.

'Finally,' thought Carson, 'maybe I'll be able to get some rest…'

A/N: There's the end of chapter two. Sorry for the delay, but I've been busy on Xbox Live…and with school. That too. Anyway, just add Sgt Carson to your friends list on there (send me a message with your pen name so I know who you are). Until next update, review!