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Halo: Liberation of Earth by HawkEye
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Halo: Liberation of Earth - Section 1
Date: 15 February 2004, 4:12 PM
Halo: The Liberation of Earth
Chapter 1
"We are five to dirt; repeat, five to dirt"
The Master Chief looked round the Pelican's interior. Nine marines equipped with combat armour were seated in its 10-capacity troop bay. All of the marines were armed with the Battle Rifle, a variation of the MA 5B assault rifle. It had a 2x scope, was more accurate, but had a slower rate of fire and a smaller clip. During the bitter street fights that occurred all throughout Earth City, however, it was incredibly useful. They were also armed with a multitude of grenades.
The Pelican's door gunner was surveying the sky behind the aircraft as it approached the LZ. Suddenly, a Banshee emerged from the clouds, and the gunner promptly shot off one of its short stubby "wings." The alien aircraft spiralled down out of sight, and there was a dull explosion a few seconds later.
The Master Chief was also armed with the battle rifle and varying types of grenade, but also with two SMG's which were secured in holsters on his thighs. The SMG's were extremely useful in close quarters, sporting a high rate of fire and a large ammo clip. The rounds were also caseless.
"We are two to dirt; repeat, two to dirt," the pilot spoke over the COM. "The LZ is hot."
"Roger that," Sergeant Wallis spoke. "OK marines, those Covenant freaks are swamped all over this city like methane on a grunt. I want the LZ secured 10 minutes ago, now lock-and-load!"
At once, the marines checked their battle rifles and loaded fresh magazines into them. They also put on their combat helmets.
The whining of plasma fire was heard, and all around them, something alike to flak cannons, plasma exploded in the air. The Pelican was manoeuvring tightly now to escape the lethal plasma. Then the aircraft began its descent.
"Touchdown - hit it marines!" the pilot yelled, and 9 marines and the Master Chief leapt out into the fray.
Chapter 2
The Master Chief pulled out his SMG's and opened fire. Grunts fell as the high-velocity rounds tore through them, methane leaking out of their breathing apparatus. The sound of a Ghost reached his ears, and in one fluid motion he pulled out a plasma grenade, ignited and threw it. His aim was perfect; the grenade sailed through the air and landed on the engine compartment of the vehicle, and the Elite pilot was still trying to abandon the doomed craft when it exploded into a ball of flame.
The marines had tackled the grunts and jackals, leaving him to deal with the Elites. One of them charged at him, and he dropped the SMG's, neatly rolled to the side, turned 180 degrees, and caved in the back of the alien's head with the butt of his battle rifle. Then he turned again and put 12 rounds through the chest of another Elite.
Suddenly, a ball of green plasma sailed through the air and hit him squarely in the chest. His shields bleeped furiously and he saw two hunters emerge from a side alley. The Master Chief knelt down and activated the rifle's scope, he aimed at the first Hunter and put the rest of the clip into the alien warrior. It fell, and he heard the howl of rage from the fallen creature's bond brother. The creature charged recklessly, and the Master Chief was forced to back-pedal furiously to avoid being hit by the Hunters shield or worse, its razor-sharp spines. It was almost upon him, when the distant crack of a sniper rifle was heard and the creature fell in a pool of its own blood. The Master Chief calculated the trajectory of the shot mentally, and saw that it came from a skyscraper 2 miles away. That was some sniper, he thought, and re-entered the fray.
"Pelican Delta 194 to fire team Alpha; LZ secured."
"Roger that Delta 194; on route to rendezvous point. Over," Sgt. Wallis said. "OK marines, fall in quickly. Head to the NAV point."
The marines moved out. The rendezvous point was 2km from the LZ, and there they would meet up with the rest of the UNSC ground forces at the city's military headquarters.
The journey took 20 minutes, and they met little opposition along the way. Then they were at HQ. It was still held by the marines, but there had visibly been some form of Covenant attack during the past 24 hours.
"Good to see you, Master Chief, Sir" one of the marines on guard said. He was manning a stationary gauss cannon, the type seen on the new Warthog variant. "The rest of UNSC ground forces are in the armoury."
Fire team Alpha was cleared to enter and headed towards the armoury.
Chapter 3
"OK everybody hustle," Lieutenant Kellett said. "The Covenant have cut off a large group of UNSC forces in this industrial complex here." He highlighted an area of the holographic map. "our task is to insert a squad in aerially and push through to the survivors. Then they must reinforce them and call for evac." The plan looked dangerous, but it was their only option. There were hundreds of Covenant within that area, and there were only a few areas of open ground within which a Pelican could deploy its troops, and these areas of open ground were held by the Covenant.
"With all due respect Sir," the Master Chief said. "Judging by the strength of the Covenant in that area, our best bet would be to send in aerial support before deploying as many marines as we can spare, with vehicular support to hold the LZ's for extraction." The Lieutenant stared at him, then nodded. "Very well. OK marines, you heard the Master Chief. I want the minimal amount of marines left to guard this place, the rest of you, prepare for battle!"
The strength of the marines numbered 138 for the assault - and when the number required for the vehicles (15 warthogs and 8 Scorpion tanks) was subtracted, it left them with 100 combat-ready marines. The tanks and the warthogs would patrol the LZ's, whilst the rest of the marines would enter the structure and find the survivors. Fully half of the combat force were mounted on ATV's to push through quickly and protect the survivors whilst the over marines on foot would work their way through, clearing the way ready for evac. The ATV's were to be secured to the D-rings in the Pelicans deck, and were to be in the Pelicans which weren't burdened by Scorpion tanks and Warthog's.
The Master Chief would be one of those on an ATV, and he had devised a plan for a quick deployment of the vehicles - when the Pelicans had descended to 10 metres, the ATV's would be released from the d-rings and the drivers would jump out of the aircraft and speed off towards the complex. Modifications had been made to the Pelicans so each dropship could carry five ATVs. Also, there were special quick-release levers attached to each d-ring so that the ATV's could be released quickly.
The marines using the ATVs were armed with plasma grenades, twin SMG's and magnums as their sidearms. The non-mobilised marines were split into five fire teams of 10 troops each - designated fire teams Bravo, Charlie, Delta, Echo and Foxtrot. Two of the marines in each fire team were armed with the S2 AM sniper rifle, two were armed with the M19 SSM "Jackhammer" rocket launcher, and the rest were armed with MA 5B assault rifles. Everyone had a shotgun for close-in work.
Five minutes later, a fleet of Pelican dropships designated Sierras 1 through 33 set off for the objective.
To Be Continued...
Halo: Liberation of Earth - Section 2
Date: 16 February 2004, 7:01 PM
Halo: The Liberation of Earth
Chapter 4
"This is Pelican Sierra 1 to assault teams - five to dirt; repeat, five to dirt."
"Roger that. OK marines, what are you waiting for, an invitation? Lock-and-load!" Sergeant Wallis yelled. He was part of the squad on the ATV's, and was seated upon his personalised model. It had the words "Rolling Thunder" stencilled down the side. At those words, the three marines in the ATV squad (designated fire team Lima) mounted the vehicles and prepared for insertion.
"Pelican Sierra 1 to ATV squads - we are currently at an altitude of 50 metres. Estimated time for descent to 10 metres; 60 seconds."
The Master Chief mounted his ATV, and grasped the quick release lever. Their timing would have to be perfect. Too early and the suspension on the ATVs wouldn't be able to cope with an impact onto solid Titanium-A - it would snap, causing the engine of the machine to impact upon the metal and the whole vehicle would become a fireball. Too late and they would land on top of the other ATVs.
"30 seconds to insertion," the pilot spoke. Suddenly, strobes of plasma streaked up from below, although they were largely inaccurate. The Master Chief looked at one of the viewscreens showing the landing area, and saw that it was teeming with Covenant. At least they would provide a soft landing, he mused.
"Hit is marines!" the pilot yelled, and 50 ATVs streaked out of the dropships onto the enemy below.
The Master Chief's ATV was the first to hit the ground, and he had been given tactical command over the assault. "Marines, on me!" he spoke over the COM, and the ATVs instantly formed up on him and sped towards the complex. All around him plasma bolts flew through the air and pink needles bounced off the smooth surfaces of the ATV's.
The marines then opened fire. Grunts were knocked off their feet by the sheer amount of ammunition poured into them; jackals managed to hold their own for a few seconds before their shields failed, and the rounds tore them apart. Elites gave as good as they received, and several ATVs exploded into flame, but the column sped on. Covenant - grunts, jackals and Elite's alike were flattened beneath the tyres, and the assault force entered the complex.
Meanwhile, back at the landing zones, chaos reigned. The Covenant were still trying to figure out what happened when the second wave of marines hit the dirt. There was a steady crack crack crack of sniper rifle's, hundreds of explosions as Frag and plasma grenades sailed through the air, landed in tightly knotted groups of Covenant, and tore them to shreds. Incendiary grenades also found their targets, and many Covenant warriors screamed and fell, burned to death. Then the five fire teams followed the trail of dead Covenant towards the complex.
Minutes later, the defensive force of warthogs and Scorpion tanks were released, and began to patrol the landing zones. Soon after, a squadron of 20 banshees swooped out from behind a skyscraper, took aim, and were promptly blasted into oblivion by the scorpions battle cannons and the rear guns on the warthogs. The wreckage tumbled through the skies, and shattered as it hit the ground.
Chapter 5
The Master Chief rounded a corner and skidded to a halt. They had found the survivors. The rest of the column took up defensive positions at the entrances to the vast room, as Sergeant Wallis and the Master Chief dismounted and headed towards the marines. They had constructed barricades of metal crates and anything else they could find, and looked extremely relieved, and slightly shocked when they saw the amount of marines sent to rescue them.
"What's your name soldier?" the Master Chief asked a young marine who had been manning a stationary chain gun.
"Private Miller Sir" the marine stated.
"Who's in command?"
"Lieutenant Burchett, Sir," Miller replied. "He's over there." The young private pointed to another barricade, where a grizzled veteran was manning a gauss cannon.
"Lieutenant Burchett, Sir, we have been sent by Lieutenant Kellett to rescue your team."
"Well, it's about bloody time," the lieutenant scowled, then he grinned. "Master Chief saves the day again, eh?" he joked.
"Just doing my job, Sir," the Chief replied, with an air of humour to his voice. "Before we can extract, however, we must wait for fire teams Bravo through Foxtrot to provide an escort for you." No sooner had the words left his mouth entered 39 marines. 11 had died during the assault.
"Well, looks like our escort has arrived. Lets move out!" the lieutenant yelled to his squad. The force of marines moved back towards the LZ's.
"Master Chief to HQ, survivors rescued. Proceeding to LZ's. requesting extraction. Over."
"HQ to Master Chief; Pelicans dispatched. ETA 10 minutes. Over."
"Roger that."
Chapter 6
Private Deacon was at the controls of Pelican Sierra 26. He was positioned on the wing of Pelican Sierra 27, piloted by Private Genders.
"Pelican Sierra 1 to Sierras 2 through 33 - Two to dirt; repeat, two to dirt. Over."
"Roger that Sierra 1. Sierra 26 beginning descent now. Over." He pushed the yoke forwards slowly, and the fleet of Pelicans began their descent. Suddenly, 10 Covenant phantoms appeared above and behind them.
"Pelican Sierra 1 to Sierras 2 through 33 - evasive manoeuvres now!"
Private Deacon swore. Two of the phantoms had latched onto his tail, and another two were on the tail of Private Gender's tail. The other had deployed their troops, and then flew back towards the Pelicans.
"I cant shake them!" Deacon yelled over the COM, as the phantoms opened fire. His Pelican shuddered under the impact of superheated plasma, and then the wing broke off. Smoke billowed into the cockpit, and he gagged. His only hope was to eject, he thought, and was just about to pull the lever when there was a dull boom, and flames filled the interior. He screamed as the raging fire engulfed him, then the dropship exploded into thousands of tiny pieces.
Private Genders' Pelican has also taken hits and was billowing smoke, but he had a strong motto of "if I'm going then I'm gonna take you bitches with me!" and was just about to fly into the nearest group of Covenant when he couldn't believe his luck. 3 phantoms were flying so close to each other, practically touching, and right in front of his nose, and he steered the doomed aircraft towards them.
Ten seconds before impact he keyed the COM and changed the frequency to public, and yelled "don't mess with marines!" then his Pelican collided with the middle Phantom. The human dropship instantly exploded under the impact, and punched a hole right into the reactor of the middle Phantom. The reactor couldn't take the pressure, and exploded. A huge ball of plasma erupted from the craft and engulfed the other two alien vehicles, which disintegrated. Six more Pelicans had been destroyed, and the rest descended until they were just skimming the ground. The phantoms followed, and were instantly destroyed under the hail of gauss rounds, high-explosive shells and high-calibre ammunition thrown at them by the patrols.
To Be Continued...
Editors note: This is my first story. Chapters 7-9 are currently being developed and I am open to suggestions. If you have any comments on the story so far, or any suggestions for the next section, please e-mail me at: muse_aholic@hotmail.com
Stay loyal to Bungie!
HawkEye.
Halo: Liberation of Earth - Section 3
Date: 21 February 2004, 8:37 PM
Halo: The Liberation of Earth
Section 3
Chapter 7
The Master Chief emerged into the sunlight on his ATV and looked around him. Everywhere he looked there were corpses - many were Covenant, but sadly, there were marine dead as well. He also noticed the burned-out wrecks of Covenant and human vehicles alike - phantoms, ghosts, two warthogs, a Scorpion, a Pelican, banshees and even a few wraiths.
The ATV squad secured the perimeter of the LZ's and waited patiently for fire teams Bravo through Foxtrot to arrive with the survivors. The patrol was circling the LZ area, and the Pelicans were hovering in case they had to retreat. The ground squad arrived shortly after, and the warthogs and scorpions were clamped under the Pelican's belly's. then the ATV's were secured, and finally, the ground squad entered the Pelicans. Sierra squadron gained altitude and headed towards HQ.
Upon entering HQ airspace, they noticed with despair that the Covenant had thrown another assault on the base, and that the perimeter defences had been breached. It looked as if the defenders were still active, though, as the Covenant were still landing troops outside the complex and not inside.
"This is Pelican Sierra 1 to UNSC forces; the LZ is too hot to approach. Heading for emergency LZ. Five to dirt; repeat, five to dirt. Prepare to take those bastards out!"
"Saddle up Marines!" the sarge yelled. "Here's the plan. The ATV squad will cause confusion among the Covenant ground troops and head towards the armoury. Patrol squad, you will take up defensive positions around the entrance and take out all Covenant armour and mobilised squads. Ground team, you are going to infiltrate HQ via the sewers and head for the armoury; Lieutenant Kellett will have chosen to hold out there to minimise the risk of running out of supplies." The surviving members of the ATV squad mounted up and loaded fresh magazines into their weapons. The patrol squad also got ready to make a fast assault, while the ground teams prepared to infiltrate HQ via the sewers.
"Sergeant Wallis," the Master Chief said.
"Yes?"
"This assault will most likely reach the armoury and reinforce those inside - however, the Covenant will launch a huge offensive and if they do, HQ will fall."
"I see your point, Chief, but what can we do?"
"I'm going to find as many reinforcements as I can. There are still a lot of marines left within the area, and when I find them I'm going to bring them back here."
"Good luck Chief."
Chapter 8
The Master Chief's ATV leapt over a pile of rubble in the street. It hit the ground, the suspension smoothing the landing, and the Chief put the vehicle into a powerslide round a blind corner. There was a flash, and a lance of green plasma arced through the air, slamming into the ground beside the vehicle. It flipped wildly into the air, and the M.C. rolled off the vehicle and landed in a crouch. Two hunters were positioned down the street in front of him. He turned, and was just in time to see the ATV roll into a deep sewer trench. Seconds later there was an explosion.
He turned back to the hunters, and pulled out his battle rifle. He activated the scope, and focused on the Hunter on the left, aimed at its chest, and unloaded the whole clip into the beast, but it remained standing. These Hunters somehow took more damage than the Hunters he had fought earlier - genetic enhancement maybe? he thought to himself whilst diving for cover. Lances of plasma from the Hunters fuel rod cannons sped through the air, melting the Titanium where he had stood before. He reloaded the battle rifle and span from behind the pile of rubble he had been using for cover.
Once again he activated the scope, but this time he aimed for the visor of the alien's helmet, and fired 30 rounds in quick succession towards it. Most pinged off the alien's helmet, but several entered the creatures brain and pulverized it. The Hunter collapsed, and the second Hunter howled and charged, firing its fuel rod cannon rapidly. The Chief dove for cover again as the plasma sailed through where he had just stood.
He stood up, primed a plasma grenade and lobbed it. The device fused onto the alien's helmet and glowed, then detonated. Unbelievably the behemoth had survived. The Chief primed two incendiary grenades and lobbed them at the ground in front of the alien. They exploded and coated the ground in flames. The creature had just started to slow down when it hit the area of flames, slipped over and hit the ground with a thud. The Chief ran towards it and pulled out his SMG's, emptying the ammunition into the Hunters exposed chest. It growled and struggled, then stopped, and fell silent.
The M.C. reloaded the SMG's and headed towards the tower where the sniper shot originated from. He reached a crossroads and cautiously looked around. A Ghost with a Grunt driver emerged from a side alley, but there were no other targets. He pulled out the battle rifle and took the Grunt out with a single headshot, commandeering the vehicle, and headed towards his goal.
Chapter 9
"Fire in the hole," a marine yelled, and threw a Frag grenade towards the Covenant. It exploded with a dull boom, and several Grunts and an Elite were hurled lifeless into the air.
"Fall back!" Sergeant Wallis yelled, and the strike force headed back towards the armoury. They had successfully rendezvoused with the marines holding it, and launched several counter-offensives throughout the day, but still the Covenant pushed through.
" Fire teams Golf and Hotel, move out. Hold the stairwells, and fall back when I give you the signal." The two fire teams sprinted towards the conflict above. "OK troops, here's the plan," Lieutenant Kellett said. They were all gathered around a large holographic map of the structures interior. The Lieutenant looked tired. He had been taking a very active role in the defence, leading the counter-offensives in an alternating pattern with Lieutenant Burchett, and this had shown upon their faces. They were both extremely tired, and there were multiple plasma burns on their bodies, but they fought harder than any soldier.
"This armoury has five access points. There are two long corridors, here," he highlighted an area of the holographic map, "and here. The Covenant have yet to reach the elevators heading down to those corridors. There are also these two stairwells which our forces are currently using, here and here. The fifth access point leads to the vehicle bays, where Sierra squadron are fuelled, reloaded and ready to evac us out if things get to hot. Fortunately for us, that is the only way other than aerial insertion to the vehicle bays, and the Covenant cant aerially insert troops because we have AI-controlled anti-aircraft weaponry and patrolling warthogs and scorpions in the vehicle bays. Also, Longsword Squadrons Yankee and Zulu have been dispatched from the nearest UNSC airbase, 'Guardian base' which is holding perfectly well without them. These Longsword squadrons should arrive within the next two days. Lieutenant Burchett?" he enquired.
"We have decided that these four access points must not fall under any circumstances. If they do, the armoury will be rigged to blow and we will be forced to evac. Yes Private?"
"Sir," Private Dewsbury enquired. "If we do fall back, where will we go?"
"We have arranged with the boys at Guardian base to rendezvous there if we get into trouble. As I was saying, the long corridors will be designated 'snipers alley 1' and 'snipers alley 2'. I want ten snipers at our ends of the corridors, with alternating fire so that you're not all reloading at once. I also want five rocket launchers with the snipers for extra firepower. Lieutenant Kellett?"
"Fire teams Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta will hold the elevator shafts for as long as possible. If it gets too hot in there, then fall back, OK?"
"Yes sir," the marines answered.
"Good. We don't need any more unnecessary deaths. Better to live and fight another day. Now then, fire teams Golf and Hotel are currently holding the stairwells. I want fire teams India and Juliet to reinforce them, whilst Titanium plugs are quickly built to barricade the stairwell exits. Fire teams Kilo and Lima, you're on barricade duty. Prepare those plugs for quick and strong installation. Move out!"
The marines moved to do their designated tasks.
To Be Continued...
Any Comments? E-mail me at: muse_aholic@hotmail.com
Stay loyal to Bungie!
HawkEye
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