U.N.S.C. Garuda, Earth orbit, Above Africa, October 20th, 3:30 PM
Mathison and the other three members of TREC 1 Settled into their Drop pods.
The Single Occupant Exoatmospheric Insertion Vehicle, or SOEIV, is the standard drop pod used by the ODSTs. With a survival rate of 80%, they are the best chance ODSTs have of making it to the drop zone, but have a nasty tendency to drift off course.
"Ok boys, make sure your gear is stowed, your harness is on, and your balls are there, we drop in 3." Mathison said into his helmet's radio.
"Lugo here, I'm good to go."
"Logan. I'm ready."
"This is Ty, Ready to rock."
"Alright, just sit tight, hatches are comin' down now."
The SOEIV's doors swung down and clicked shut, followed by a distinct whoosh as the Interior pressurized. The following minutes were nearly silent, with the only noise being that of the Technicians checking, and double-checking the Pods. Mathison just hummed to himself. He been through hundreds of drops before, and this one would be no different. Ty, on the other hand, Checked and rechecked his harness.
"You nervous, Kid?" Mathison said over his comm.
"Kinda, yeah. I've been through a few drops before, but never in an urban environment."
"Don't worry, if you hit a building, you'll only feel it for a few seconds before you die." Mathison said with a chuckle.
"That's….. Reassuring…"
"I'm just messing with ya, you'll be fine."
"Yeah… yeah….."
The next minute seemed to last an eternity, until finally the lead technician's voice crackled in their helmets.
"All pods are set. Commencing drop in thirty seconds."
Ty cracked his knuckles, and put a tight grip on his pod's control sticks.
"Alright ladies, do or die time!" Mathison said.
"20 seconds."
"Hey Sarge! I'll race you down!" Lugo cackled over the comms.
"Lugo, you know you can't keep up with me!" Mathison snickered back.
"10…. 9…."
"Hey, new guy," Logan said into the comm.
"Uh, yeah?"
"Stop breathing so heavily on the comms."
"Oh… sorry…"
"5….. 4…..3…..2…..1….."
The air seemed to thicken, and time stood still for an instant.
"Drop."
The four pods shot out of the drop bays, and were pulled into the upper atmosphere.
"Tighten up the formation! We don't need to get separated!" Mathison roared into his radio.
"Can't help it, cross wind is blowing us off course!" Lugo answered, struggling to keep his pod on target.
The four pods shook as they entered the lower atmosphere, and suddenly, a huge Covenant carrier came into view.
"That's it? The force on Reach was way bigger!" Mathison though out loud.
"Maybe the MAC's took them all out?" Ty suggested.
"No way, reports said they only got four or five…. And that the Chief got one by himself."
"By himself?!"
"Almost makes soldiers like us unnecessary…" Mathison sighed. 'Anyway, cut the chatter, and tighten up!"
"Negative Sarge! Something's locking up my controls!" Lugo shouted.
"Mine too!" Ty added.
"Same here." Logan said calmly.
"It's the shielding! We're passing through the carriers shields!"
"Ah, Crap… Alright, when we clear it, try to get back in as tight as we can, and we'll regroup in the city. Deploy Air foils in three…..two…..one…. Deploy!"
The four pods launched their airfoils, slowing them down to a safe landing speed. They tried to close the formation, but they entered the cities airspace before they could get close enough. The pods smashed into the ground, a few blocks apart. Mathison opened his bay door and climbed out.
"Oh man… Report in!"
"This is Lugo, I'm good. I landed outside of the 8th street Hospital. Want me to come to you?"
"Negative, wait there, we'll come to you. Logan? You alive?"
"Yes. I'm on the Corner of 3rd and Mandela."
"Alright, head to the Hospital. On 8th street."
"Moving."
"Hey kid? You there?"
Ty's reply was scrambled, but legible.
"-m fine-…..-nded in the subway-…-y way up-….-at the Hospit-…."
"Alright, get up here ASAP."
"-s Sarge."
Mathison retrieved his Shotgun from the Pod and turned to examine his surroundings. He had landed in a city park. He was alone, luckily, but the entire area felt eerie, completely silent save for the occasional gunshot or explosion, and the ever present Banshees screaming overhead. He shrugged off his nerves and started off toward 8th street.
"Everyone keep off the main streets, Covies have a lot of air presence, and there are bound to be troops on the ground."
"Yeah… definitely troops on the ground…" Ty said over the comms, finally getting back above ground.
"You have eyes on, kid?"
"Affirmative, Platoon sized, Brutes and Grunts."
"What are they doing?"
"Sweeping the buildings, probably looking for potential prisoners."
"Alright, give them a wide birth, you don't have the gear to take them out on your own."
"Don't have to tell me twice. I'm on the way to 8th street. See you there."
A few uneventful minutes later found them all meeting outside of the 8th street hospital.
"Sitrep!"
"No contacts, Hospital's got quite a few civilians inside, along with the staff." Lugo said.
"Logan?"
"Ran into a few on the way. I handled it."
"Good, Ty?"
"Nothing other than the group at the Subway entrance. The might be headed this way though."
"Sounds like a good bet, 'specially if we try to get these civies out of here…. Covies can't resist a target like a Pelican." Mathison pulled off his helmet and wiped his brow. "Alright, here's the plan; Logan, you're gonna head into the Hospital and set up a perch on one of the upper floors." Logan nodded and jogged off. "Lugo, you and me are gonna stay here and organize the evacuation, and cover the civilians. Ty, you're gonna head up the street, and spot targets for Logan. Don't fire unless you need to. I don't want you trying to take them on alone."
"Got it. You catch that Logan?"
"Yeah."
"Alright, I'll try to find some juicy ones for ya."
Ty sprinted off down the street. Mathison turned to Lugo.
"New kids got a decent head on his shoulders."
"I give him that. Let's see if he can keep it there."
"How many do we have inside?"
"50 or so, 70 with the staff."
Mathison put his helmet back on, and switched radio channels.
"Command, come in, this is TREC 1-1."
"This is command, we read you TREC 1." Came the slightly static reply.
"We're at the Hospital on 8th street, Financial District. We've got a large group of Civilians here and they need to be evac'd. How copy?"
"Solid copy. How many birds do you need?"
"Probably two, send three to be sure."
"Copy that, Archangel 1,2, and 3 are on the way. ETA twenty minutes."
Ty's voice crackled on the comms.
"Sarge! I don't know why, but that platoons headed your way!"
"Already?!"
"They may have tapped our comms."
Mathison slapped his forehead.
"And I just gave them our position… Lugo! Get the staff to barricade the doors!"
"On it!" Lugo ran inside the doors, and began shouting orders.
"Logan! Are you in position?"
"Almost. In the elevator now."
"As soon as you are, start dropping 'em!"
"With pleasure…"
"Ty? Where are they now?"
"Just turning onto 8th street now."
Mathison looked out to the city.
The hospital was built on a dead end, with a large courtyard between it and 8th street. And the only way up to it was directly up the street. The Covies would be funneled in, but with Brutes, that was hardly an advantage.
Mathison jumped as he heard the distinct Boom of Logan's 12.7 caliber sniper rifle.
"Jesus, Logan! You just took that friggin' Brute's jaw clean off!" Ty said into his radio.
"Kill confirmed." Logan responded quietly.
"Alright… take the one on the right side, by the Red car. He's got a Brute shot."
"I see him."
Another loud bang.
"Ooo…. This is your brain… this is your brain on lead, any questions?"
That earned a quiet chuckle from Logan.
"Alright, you've got the grunts nice and confused. The next Group won't be here for a few more minutes. Drop 'em as you see fit. I'm gonna move to a better position."
"Roger."
Lugo had rejoined Mathison in the courtyard.
"They moved some benches in front of the doors, and there are two Cops inside with Pistols, but we're gonna have to hold them here."
"I had planned on it." Mathison said, peering into his binoculars, watching as Logan did what he did best. "If Hawkeye up there keeps this up though, we won't have much to worry about."
"What about the new guy? He doing his job?"
The radio crackled again, almost as if to answer Lugo's question.
"Logan, I've moved to the Convenience store on the left side of the street. The next squad is coming in. All Brutes, Spikers and Plasma rifles. Don't fire until they reach the Mailbox in front of the store."
Mathison looked over at Lugo and chuckled.
"Sounds like it."
Lugo rolled his eyes and spoke into his radio.
"Hey, New guy! If you're in the Store, get me a soda."
"Yeah right. I'll get right on that once Planet of the Apes is over. Logan, drop the one in front."
Another sharp response from Logan's rifle.
"Oh man… if he was still alive, he'd feel that in the morning…"
Mathison sighed.
"Kid, I asked you to spot, not give commentary."
"Sorry Sarge. Logan, take the one on the left, near the street light."
Another load roar from the Anti-material rifle, and another dead Brute.
"Reloading, hold off on new targets." Logan said as he reloaded the rifle.
"Make it quick, they're gonna start running!"
Ty poked his head over the shelf he was hiding behind.
"oh… Sh-, Guys! We've got a problem…"
"What?"
"4 squads! All High ranking Brutes!"
"Damn it… I thought this could be easy… Keep your head down and keep spotting for Logan, kid. Me 'n' Lugo are gonna get into a defensive position."
"Roger…" Ty whispered as the large group rushed past him.
"I'm ready for more targets." Logan said into his radio.
"Ok…. Uh…." Ty poked his head out again, trying to pick a high risk target out of the crowd. "Near the blue fuel truck. Brute Commander. Grav' hammer. Get him before he gets any closer. He might need a few shots."
Logan trained his scope over the Brute's eye, but stopped. He saw a better target, and moved his scope over to the truck itself.
"Keep your head down Ty."
"Uh… ok….."
Logan fired two shots at the truck, and two more at the trailer it carried. The resulting fireball launched the rushing brutes across the street, and blew out the windows of the Convenience store Ty was in.
"Crap! A little warning next time?!"
"You're fine…"
"Yeah, but that could have- Oh crap…." Ty's comm cut out.
"Ty?" Logan said into his radio. Receiving no reply, he moved his scope over to the store. He could just make out Ty hiding behind the counter as the Brutes searched around.
"Sarge. Ty's pinned down."
"What?"
"The brutes are looking for him in the store."
"Crap… Lugo! Let's make some noise!"
"How much noise?"
"Go Rambo, buddy."
"Awesome!"
Lugo sprinted down the street, firing his AR and taunting the Brutes, while Mathison tossed frag grenades toward them. All the Brutes turned to investigate the noise and ran out to fight the new arrivals.
"Thanks guys…" Ty said over the Comm. "I'm gonna flank behind them. See if I can drop them while you have their undivided attention."
"Good call! Logan! You are weapons free!"
Logan decided to let his rifle reply for him, as he put another round perfectly through a brute's skull, and searched for another target.
Lugo and Mathison had taken position in the courtyard before the Hospital.
"Kid? Feel like helping?!"
"I'm moving in now! Watch the crossfire!"
Ty crept behind a flipped car, and leaned out. Lugo and Mathison were holding their own, but they were under a lot of fire. He tucked the extended stock of the M7S into his shoulder, and fired off a quick burst. The brute he had aimed at cringed as the 5-by-23-millimeter rounds ripped into its back, spraying a fine red mist into the air, and fell over, dead. Ty had no time to admire his handwork, however, and moved to get a better shot at another target.
"Sarge, why the hell did you bring a shotgun?" Lugo asked as he slapped a fresh mag into his MA5B.
"It seemed like a good idea at the time…" Mathison said, swapping the shotgun out for his sidearm.
"In a street-to-street op?"
"Shut up and keep shooting!" Mathison ordered as he hopped up to fire, putting two rounds through a cowering Grunt's methane tank, sending him spinning through the air.
"Hell, I didn't know we were gonna get a fireworks show!" Lugo chuckled. He leaned over the low wall they were using for cover, and shouldered his AR. A brute was charging towards him. "Big mistake, Monkey!" Lugo squeezed the trigger, emptying the 32 round mag into the Brute's torso, stopping him, literally, dead in his tracks.
"Please tell me someone's keeping score!"
"Lugo! Less talk-y, more shoot-y!" Mathison barked.
"You always spoil the fun…" Lugo groaned, reloading his rifle.