SURFACE OF ATLAS

1001 LOCAL TIME

ECHOLEON PASS

When the first wave of Grunts attacked his position, Sergeant Jonathan Walker of Charlie team knew his men were in deep trouble indeed. He knew that the Covenant army outnumbered him and his marines, but until he saw the magnitude of the opposing army with his own eyes, the reality hadn't set in.

There was one silver lining though. These Grunts were mostly a leaderless rabble, driven by the fear of the Brutes behind them. Their weaponry was basic also, just plasma pistols which were easy enough to avoid with the right amount of cover. Still, a hundred odd Grunts is not a sight any marine wants to see unless those Grunts are filled with lead.

Luck, it seemed, was on the Human side for this first battle. Without an Elite or Brute leader to stir them on in the midst of battle, the Grunts panicked as soon as one of their nearby comrades died. This resulted in wild shots that never hit any humans, or foolish plasma grenade throws that more often than not hit one of the Grunts in front of them. In a matter of minutes the first Covenant wave was a mere memory, the clearing silent save for the occasional burst as a Battle rifle took out a cowardly Grunt attempting to sneak back behind cover.

Once the field was clear, the marines took quick advantage of the lull. Medics rushed around fixing up the few marines who had taken hits, while the rest took the opportunity to replenish their dwindling supply of ammunition. Apart from a few burnt arms, none of the marines had any serious injuries; neither were any dead. But they all knew the next battle would not be nearly this easy.

'Good work men.' Walker said over the radio. 'We showed those alien pricks who's boss. But be prepared for vehicles next round. Heavy ordinance team, I want you on field this time.'

A group of ten marines, all carrying rocket launchers and assault rifles, acknowledged his order and changed their position, spreading out along Charlie Teams position.

Suddenly a loud roar was heard from where the Covenant was based. All the marines snapped to attention and raised their guns to eye level, barrels trained on the forest edge. A full minute ticked by before movement was seen and a mix of Jackals and Grunts broke cover. Flanking this infantry were several Ghosts, raining hot plasma fire on the marines position. The marines responded in kind, rifles blaring and grenades exploding in the midst of the approaching infantry, while the keen eyed ordinance marines blasted the Ghosts to pieces. The destruction of the small vehicles boosted the marines confidence, although the sporadic loss of men made it less so.

When the mass of infantry had dwindled to half its original size, three huge masses of plasma shot high into the air. 'Wraith!' a marine yelled, causing most eyes to look up at the sky. It was at this moment that a line of the strange vehicles the scout Jackson had seen earlier broke the cover of the trees. The Jackals and Grunts made room for these grey monstrosities, and once the Wraith fire landed harmlessly before the marine line, the humans realised they had been duped; the real danger was from these new vehicles.

They could now be seen to be huge motorcycle-like things, each one driven by a snarling Brute. Worse, each machine was packing two grenade launchers, now being used with devastating effect on the Marines' position. After the barricade protecting them got destroyed, two marines began a hasty retreat from the vehicle opposing them. Suddenly another loud roar was heard and a burst of flame shot out from the exhausts of the Brute's vehicle, giving it an extra boost forward. It was now within a few metres of the marines, and it looked like there was no hope for them.

One of them looked over his shoulder and then tripped over a stone, falling onto his comrade and causing them both to fall. They both looked at the approaching machine, fear evident in their eyes. The Brute cheered with bloodlust and prepared to run them over.

And then his head exploded.

'I got your back boys.' Jackson called over the radio.

It was then that they noticed that several other Brutes and their vehicles lay motionless around the clearing, all killed in the same way. The rest of the Brute riders were milling around in confusion, and when another of their number collapsed into a heap, headless, they abruptly turned around and retreated, the surviving marines cheering and mocking the ape-like aliens.

'Thanks, Jackson.' The marine who had fallen over first called in. 'I owe you my life.'

'Or at least a beer.' Came Jackson's quick reply. Both men laughed.

Sergeant Walker quickly assessed the battlefield. Hundreds of dead covenant lay strewn across the field; while a half dozen destroyed ghosts burned quietly in various locations. The Brute vehicles, now labelled 'Choppers' by the marines, sat calmly where their drivers had been killed. On the human side, at least a quarter of the marines lay dead or dying, and at least ten more had serious plasma burns. The medics where doing the best they could, but for some marines they were too late. Walker sighed. Only half of Charlie Team was fighting fit, and it weighed heavily on his shoulders. He knew that they wouldn't last much longer in battle, yet to retreat would increase the odds that they might reach the orbital guns.

Sighing again, Walker turned his radio on to Charlie Teams frequency. 'Men, we gave those Covenant bastards a good strapping down today. Even the motorcycles from Hell couldn't destroy us. But I know you are all realist enough to realise that another attack like that would probably destroy us, especially if they start sending in those Hunters. Now I don't want to make you feel like cowards, but our only way to stay alive is to retreat. However, if you want to remain here and hold this position as long as possible, I will be happy to stand by your side.'

Walker paused for a moment. 'So does anyone here feel like retreating to fight another day?'

Determined silence greeted him. None of Charlie Team were backing down. Walker let out a smile. 'Alright then. Let's show these Covenant pansies what real men are made of!'

The remaining marines let out a deafening HOO-RAH! And quickly prepped their weapons. They were Charlie Team. UNSC Marines. And they were ready.

'Damn it Walker.' Captain Holwerda muttered angrily. 'Your pride will be your downfall.'

Then he straightened up, smiled proudly and saluted. 'But by thunder I wish I was down there with you.'

Authors Note: Right here is my first note. I'm hoping that the story is flowing nicely (and more reviews would be lovely, any suggestions will be appreciated). I'm planning to change the start of each chapter from here on, in other words getting rid of the time/location section, and replacing it with a character section (which you will see why next chapter.)

Above all though, thankyou for everyone who reads this story, it is my first fan fiction, and as I have been writing various stories just for myself for several years, moving on to something like this is daunting. So I hope you enjoy this story as much as I enjoy writing it.

Cheers, Nickos101