When the Human-Covenant war officially ended, many ODSTs joined the SPARTAN-IV program. Some advanced to a more elite ODST unit.
Such was not the case for Lt Colin "Spectre" Montgomery, though. Born in Cambridge, England, on Earth, Speck (as his friends knew him) was a young ODST, attached to the 105th Marine Expeditionary Unit[SOC]/ODST, 7th Shock Troops, and at 23 one of the youngest to ever be in the unit.
That was not going to be helpful today. Experienced Helljumpers would have been better suited to the job.
The picture was bleak. Ground shaking, earth moving like water and buildings toppling. This had been a city on his native Earth, once. San Francisco. Speck had no clue what was about to unfold, but what he did know was that this was a 10.3 magnitude earthquake.
Why, you ask?
A Guardian had just flown into orbit (for reasons the young Brit was not aware of), sending an orbital MAC station haywire. The station had fired 3 rounds dead center of the San Andreas fault, causing an enormous seismic wave.
Alongside a squad of Marines and Spartans, the young ODST was deploying to rescue a frightened and trapped populace. Boots hit the floor.
The marines, ODSTs, and Spartans that had been on board the Pelican spread out.
Speck grabbed ahold of a young man's arm, just as the youth had begun to plummet down a widening fissure. Tugging the civvie's hand, he hoisted him into the arms of a medic. A Spartan, likely a IV, cried out. That couldn't be good, the young ODST thought grimly.
"Over here, we got a bus full of people!"
"Oh.. shit. Help me with these cables, we'll airlift them out."
The two set to work in seconds. With secure cables, a police Pelican had lifted the bus away, likely to the frigate as she lay in orbit ready to treat the wounded.
A sudden rumble shook the ground, and the ground split next to unknown Spartan tackled him out of the way, taking the full brunt of the heavy blow.
A rebar went straight through her, like a horseman's lance. And all Speck could do was watch, hopeless as she went limp.
Today was going shit.