New Jerusalem, Cygnus System
Platoon Staff Sergeant Hemin, Leroy J.
September 13, 2552
1st platoon, Kangaroo Company, 3rd battalion, 216th Star Regiment, 105th Helljumper Division
Orbital Drop Shock Trooper of the UNSC Marine Corps
"Everybody out! Come on! Evacuate your homes! The Covenant is coming!" I had heard that phrase too many times for over 25 years. We were evacuating the survivors of the initial attack from the west of the capital on the colony of New Jerusalem. Even though the Covenant had been slaughtered in that area, they would come back. They would always come back.
I had just put the rookie on handling little children on the transports when I heard the sonic pitch of a nuclear explosion. I looked up at Mount Haven and saw that it was literally coming down. I then looked at the rookie and saw that he was sleeping near one of the boxes.
"Hey sleepy-head, wake up!" I shouted to him, "Look up!" The rookie slowly moved his dazed head upward and saw that Mount Haven was falling down. He jumped in the air and started to finally do his job.
"Is it a glassing?" asked Corporal Jameson, a member of 2nd squad.
"No, there'd be a ship above," I said to him, "and we'd be dead already." To fully justify my facts I looked up and in my frightened state I saw a Covenant CCS battle cruiser.
"Everybody get on the fucking transports NOW!" I screamed to the colonists. And they listened. They ran to the transport freighters and filled them all up in less than 10 minutes when the glassing, 100 miles away, started.