The Marines of Charlie Company
Chapter 10:
Things Are Getting Weird…
Since most of the officers on board the Pillar of Autumn had been killed either in the landing or aboard the ship, the NCOs had taken over leading the squads and men. David had been promoted not twenty minutes after he got back to Alpha Base, and promptly fell asleep afterward, but was awaken an hour or two later (he couldn't be sure, exactly; the Chronometer he'd worn on his wrist had been lost in the crash) and told that he'd be accompanying the Captain on a mission of great importance as a squad leader and to pick the people he'd take.
The obvious choices for him were the surviving members of Charlie Company from Reach, since he'd worked with all of them and led a few of them before in combat. However, there weren't enough survivors to produce a full assault team, so he worked with what he had; men from Able and Bravo companies of the same battalion. Most of them were around his age, but Privates Tiem and Cang were younger than the others and fresh out of high school.
As David went through this mental check in his mind, he was still observant of his surrounding. At present, they were over what appeared to be a lush jungle forest, zipping along just above the treeline in a Pelican transport. His orders were to maneuver around to the rear of the structure the Captain located and secure it for an alternate escape route in case the Marines were ambushed by the Covenant and the front entrance was sealed. David fingered the trigger of the M90 shotgun that rested across his lap, glad to have the insanely powerful weapon with him; the next best thing would have been a rocket launcher.
David shifted his view around the cargo area of the Pelican and watched the soldiers under his command, who were all either talking and laughing or sitting still and concentrating on what was to come. 'This is Charlie Company,' he thought quietly to himself as he watched the other soldiers, 'my Charlie Company.' David tightened his grip on the handle near his head at the rear of the Pelican as the drop ship changed course sharply. It was raining now and, frankly, putting David on edge; he didn't like rain…especially if he had to fight in it.
Below, the scenery changed from a lush green jungle to a foggy, damp, murky swamp. That brought back some particularly bad memories from the fighting back on Jericho IV, but he'd have time to contemplate that later; right now, he had a mission to lead. David felt his stomach rise slightly as the Pelican slowed and began to descend. He was the first one out of the ship and into the cool water that waited below and landed with a bit of a splash.
"Sergeant Johnson, this is second squad. We're on the ground and moving to secure your exfil, over."
David didn't wait for a reply and waved his squad forward, taking the point ahead of everyone else. They moved slowly through the water and underbrush and spread out to cover more ground, yet close enough together to provide a base of fire if it came to it. David's squad took twenty minutes to get to the structure they were designated to secure and, surprisingly enough, met no resistance along the way. He knew that this was not a good sign; thus far, the Covenant fought like dogs wherever they went and rarely left their flanks exposed to anything the Humans threw at them. After he told the Marines to stay alert, he pressed ahead of the group in a low crouch, shotgun at the ready and finger hovering over the trigger, to try and see what he could see, which wasn't much in the thick fog.
Illumination ahead caught the Marine's attention and he picked up his pace. At last, he could see their target; a structure that had been cut into the side of a rather large hill that apparently contained an elevator shaft and not much else. He waved the Marines under his command, around two dozen or so, forward and they swept in to secure the building, only to find that it was empty. David ordered some field lights to be set up (it was rather dark, after all) and a squad down the shaft to investigate and clear any enemies. Five or six shots echoed about a minute after they descended, and all was quiet. The squad reported that there was nothing but a grunt or two, thankfully, and received orders to hold position and wait for the Captain and his squad.
Upstairs, all the Marines had to do now was sit and wait. David tuned his radio into Johnson's frequency and sat nearest the doorway, waiting for something to happen. He didn't have to wait long. David was sitting there near the entrance of the structure with the M90 resting across his lap when transmissions came in…from Johnson's squad and from the men he'd sent down inside. Apparently, the Captain and his team had come across a locked door…a door that the Covenant didn't want anybody getting into.
'Or out of…' David thought solemly.
Then, just as they got inside the room, the Comm. Crackled to life.
"Captain, Sarge can you hear me?"
"What's going on up there, soldier?" came the Captain's voice.
"We're under attack by some new form of Covenant! They're everywhere, just tearing through us! We can't-argh! Get off me!" All went silent. Johnson's voice came on next.
"Corporal! Corporal, can you hear me? Damn it…Mendoza, get your ass back to second squad's position and find out what the hell is going on!"
David couldn't hear what Mendoza said; his radio wasn't on. All he could hear was Johnson's reply of;
"I don't have time for your lip, Soldier! I gave you an-"
"Sarge! Listen!" That was Bertuzzi.
The next few moments consisted of nothing but…noise. A strange, wet squirming sound. Then, the comms suddenly sprang to life again.
"Argh! Get it off, get it off!"
"Hold still!"
"There! Mirah!"
"Fire! Fire!"
"Sergeant, we're surrounded!"
"God damn it, Jenkins, fire your weapon!"
"There's too many, Sarge!"
"Don't even think about it, Marine!"
"Jenkins! Jenkins! Damn it, Captain, Jenkins is down!"
By now, David and over half his squad were on their feet. He spoke first.
"Johnson, what the Hell is going on down there? Johnson, respond!"
There was nothing but the sound of static. David cursed softly and looked to the Marines surrounding him. They were all pale faced and apparently scared out of their wits, and so was he, but David knew that he still had to lead them. Within a few moments, the beginnings of a plan formulated in his mind.
"You, you and you; watch the elevator. Anything that comes up gets blasted to Hell, breathing or not. Kane, try and establish contact with anyone in the area; I mean anyoneHuman or otherwise. Jones, take Hall and Travis and scout the swamp; see if you can find anything. Fire Teams Echo and Foxtrot, on me. Alpha through Delta, wait here."
A chorus of "Yes sirs!" echoed in the small space, followed by the various clicks and clacks of weapons being locked and loaded. David took a deep breath, stepped onto the elevator and slapped the ignition. The elevator started down the shaft with a low rumble, clicking of gears and whirring of technology. It only lasted a moment or two, and the Marines were at the bottom, all in a low crouch and turned so that they had a full three hundred and sixty degree view around the room.
David motioned 'Forward' with two fingers, and a pair of Marines obliged, heading toward the alcove that jutted forth from the wall. They gave the 'all clear' signal and the rest moved forward behind them, splitting up to cover both sides of the alcove. David moved in on the left side and crept up on the door, which opened upon sensing his presence. Suddenly getting a very bad feeling about this, he turned to the dozen Marines gathered around him.
"I need six volunteers to come with me; the rest of you, back up the shaft."
Six of the men stepped forward, all from Charlie Company, and the rest shuffled back toward the elevator. To be sure, David didn't move any further until he heard the elevator go back up.
"McClung, Davis, Smith, you through first. Allister, you're on me. Timms, Owen, you wait here. Move!"