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Honor, Duty, Integrity. by Sgt. Hardick
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The Battle for Avalon: 2nd Platoon.
Date: 13 October 2006, 1:25 am
The Claxons and Alarms where blaring as the first of the Covenant drop ships appeared over Avalon. Triple A fire greeted the phantoms and U's as they approached the surface. Skyhawk jump jets and Pelican's loaded with missile pods went up to engage the enemy. Myks platoon had received orders to move from the forest to the City's Government House, and defend it at all costs. As they crossed the last 100 meters of open terrain from the Jungle to the Concrete, signs of damage where already evident.
A skyscraper in the distance began to collapse as a phantom crashed into the side, and subsequently exploded. Civilians were running in every direction, trying to find the nearest shelter. Myk ordered his platoon to split into squads, and precede down three parallel lanes that lead straight to the city center. Seun took 2nd squad and went left, while Derrick took 3rd squad and went right. Myk would stick with Rob and 1rst squad all the way to GH. They crossed the next five blocks without incident, however as they rounded the next corner they walked into a war zone.
A Covy phantom had deposited it's troops in the center of the street, and they had deployed energy shields and 4 shade turrets to defend it. A squad of marines was trying to retake the position however they where being decimated by overwhelming fire. " 3rd squad, attack their right flank with smoke and frags, keep them occupied. 2nd squad, hit them from the left flank, try and take out their shades with your snipers. 1rst will go head to head with them and try to do our part." There where 3 aye, sirs as the squad leaders relayed the information. The covy right flank exploded as 10 frags went off in the center. One of the shades was sent flying, and several grunts were killed, however fire continued to pore from the other shade.
Myk saw a flash from atop a building and quickly knocked Sgt. Rob to the ground. The beam rifle round hit his ankle armor, causing it to smolder and partially melt away. Pvt. Wilson put three rounds from his S2-AM through the jackal, and quickly ended the threat. 2nd squad had already managed to eliminate almost all the defenders on the left flank, and had advanced right up to the covys face. Myk ran up to the corner of the building and took cover. He primed to frags's. He quickly tossed them round the corner, taking out 3 grunts and the last shade. His motion tracker showed movement, and he turned around just in time to be smashed aside by the elite's blow. He stood back up and pulled his 3 bladed knife from his holster. The elite charged forward, so Myk sidestepped. He lunged with all his might and jabbed the knife into the elite's neck. It fell to the ground trying to stop the bleeding, grasping for air. Myk drew his side arm and aimed it at the elites head. He fired once, and the blood splattered his faceplate.
In the 3 minutes he had fought for his life, his platoon had retaken the intersection, and finished off all surviving covy. He walked over and met up with Seun. " We've got 2 WIA, and no KIA, so id consider it a mission success." Considering the frontal assault Myk had expected more casualties. "What about the other marine squad?" Seun tallied the roster for a second, he had to talk with the other squad leader. "He says he's from Charlie Company, 2nd platoon. He's got 5 KIA and 3 WIA." That wasn't good, the squad probably would have been completely decimated if it hadn't been for his men. "Alright tell the Cpl. To have his KIA grouped together and marked for pickup, we'll leave the wounded men here to defend this position, call in for a medical extraction ASAP. Tell the 2 remaining men to hook up with 3rd squad to take over for Valence and Schroder.
They gathered weapons and ammo from the dead, and Myk stopped to swap up his ankle armor with one from a KIA. "Alright lets move out platoon, same formation and street assignments. Only 8 more blocks till GH." The rest of their jog was uneventful, except for the occasional whoosh of a drop ship, either Covy or UNSC. When they arrived at government house the 31 men deployed in the best defensive positions available. Command had given them 5 Portable machine guns and 2 warthogs. So he focus a gun in each tower on the four corners, giving them a good field of view. The last was positioned so that it could cover the rear door. The two Hogs where covering the front door.
Minus the 15 men assigned to vehicles, Myk positioned the rest of his men accordingly. He had five on the roof with snipers, and 2 on each side. The remaining three, himself, Seun, and the squad leader they had rescued, Cpl. Drew Hall, were going to act as a reaction force, moving from action to action, and also acting as ammo carriers. 2 hours went by without incident, then his radio chirped indicating an incoming message. "Sir this is Derrick, I think you should come take a look at this." Derrick was on of the snipers on the roof, so Myk went upstairs. Derrick indicated the street that lead straight to GH. Myk brought his Binoculars up and saw at least 100 grunts, preparing to charge the building.
Contact all units, North side, I repeat North side, Northeast and Northwest towers free to engage, hogs free to engage, 4 snipers engage, remaining cover rear. Reaction team reinforce North wall. East and West wall send one man each. The men got into position and prepared to face the coming assault. The gunners on the hogs pulled back the arming bolts, sliding the first 20mm round into the 6 barreled gun's. The arming bolts of 10 MA5B assault rifles clicked as each round entered the chamber. All four S2-AM rifles opened up on the enemy, engaging them well outside of their range of fire. Myk was happy to see that the anti-material rounds easily over penetrated their targets, causing Methane tanks to explode, and killing many more grunts.
The ground shook as the grunts charged forward, howling for human blood. "Wait till their in range, wait for it, NOW." Shouted Myk. The tracers light up the night sky and grunts began to pile. More Methane explosions killed dozens of grunts each time. Of the original 300 perhaps 50 made it within 100 meters. They where quickly killed by the chain gunners, and it became very quiet again. The defenders went back to their original positions, and heavy machine guns where reloaded. Myk went up to the rooftop and watched as hundreds of tracer rounds went up to greet the covenant invasion force.
The 120mm triple A guns where massive, and he found it hard to believe that anything could survive. It remained quiet all night, and by morning word had reached the platoon that clean up operations could now commence. At roughly 0800 hours, a pelican arrived in front of GH. Captain Mitchell and Major Baker stepped off the troop deck. Myk and Seun both walked over to meet the officers. Major Baker started talking. " Good work today Gentlemen. You did me proud." The Major stared out at the dead grunts, then turned back towards Myk. " How many casualties did you take?" Myk wasn't surprised he asked this question, however was quiet proud of his answer. " Zero KIA, one man with a minor wound to the arm, Sir". The Major had a look of amazement on his face. "Well im glad to hear that at least some of my platoons did alright. Ill let the Captain tell you the bad news."
Cpt. Mitchell wasn't looking his best, his helmet was cracked, and parts of his armor where almost completely burned away. " 1rst platoon was completely lost, 31 KIA. A phantom crashed onto their position and completely engulfed them. 3rd platoon is down to half strength, with 10 KIA and 5 WIA. 4rth platoon has 15 MIA, and presumed KIA." Myk couldn't believe what he just heard. Out of a Company of 125 men, with a presumed 51 KIA and 9 WIA. That was almost a 50% casualty rate. The Major went on. " As such Delta and Charlie Companies are now joining together. Charlie lost all its command staff, and suffered an almost equal number of casualties. Mitchell now has command of the renamed Yankee Company." Myk was saddened by this news, that meant that odds where casualties where this bad all over the planet. " Myk, you are now Yankee's companies second in command, congratulations, First Lieutenant."
It wasn't much of a rank difference, but it gave him a gold bar instead of a silver one. "First Sergeant Seun, you are hereby given a battlefield commission and the rank of Second Lieutenant. You will command 3rd platoon. Sgt. Derrick, you are promoted to Second Lieutenant and given command of 4rth platoon. Sgt. Rob, you are promoted to Second Lieutenant and given command of 1rst platoon. I know its not the best way to be promoted, but you have earned it. Congratulations." Mitchell and Baker re boarded the pelican, and now the job of reconstruction would commence.
EARTH NEWS BROADCAST:
TOTAL CASUALTY REPORT FOR THE BATTLE OF AVALON, 2nd Through 4th Marine Divisions:
2nd Division, Alpha Company- 65 KIA, 32 WIA.
2nd Division, Bravo Company- 45 KIA, 27 WIA
2nd Division, Charlie Company- 55 KIA, 20 WIA
2nd Division, Delta Company- 51 KIA, 9 WIA
3rd Division, Easy Company- 75 KIA, 3 WIA
3rd Division, Fox Company- 23 KIA, 62 WIA
3rd Division, Good Company- 56 KIA, 32 WIA
3rd Division, Hotel Company- 49 KIA, 51 WIA
4th Division, Indigo Company- 125 KIA, No WIA
4th Division, Juliet Company- Off world, Zero KIA, Zero WIA
4th Division, Kilo Company- 69 KIA, 12 WIA
4th Division, Lima Company- 33 KIA, 45 WIA
TOTAL KIA/MIA: 646KIA/293WIA TOTAL CASUALTIES:939/1500 Troops. 63% Casualty Rate.
Invasion of Collovia 4: Part 1.
Date: 19 October 2006, 10:56 pm
The storm had hit sooner then expected. The pelican shook as gust after gust struck it's sensitive wings. The high winds had begun to push the invasion force apart, as the pelicans couldn't stand up to the grueling conditions. Added to that the blue streaks of plasma that continued to soar up at them, despite multiple bombing runs from Longsword interceptors, and it made for one helluva ride. Out the window, Myk's gut churned as a pilot lost control, and his pelican collided with another. They formed together for a split second, before exploding in a ball of light, and engulfing the 28 unfortunate men. He checked the status of his other squads, and was somewhat calmed to discover that none of his men had been onboard. This was the only part of fighting he hated, when you had no real control over your life, and prayed that a lucky shot didn't hit you...
The pelicans finally cleared the clouds, below them they saw rolling plains and briefly wooded areas. Craters marked the landscape, evidence that the navy had been doing their job. The 32 remaining pelicans continued their descent. Through the rain they could make out glowing objects coming in their direction. It didn't take long to identify them as banshees, quickly Sky Hawks broke formation, charging forward to defend the transports. The lead pelican, the one on which Major Baker was on, took 3 hits. It broke formation trailing smoke, landing hard on the plains. As the pelicans finally reached their drop zone, they deployed landing gear and came down with a dull "thud". Marines quickly began exciting and forming into squads, even as banshees continued to harass them from above. Seun saw a pelican mere meters from the ground. It was hit by a fuel rod cannon, and pancaked hard into the grass. It was quickly engulfed in flame, and marines rushed to escape a painful death. A medic ran over and attempted to put out a fellow marine with his canteen, as the marine rolled trying to survive. As the last of the marines jumped off the deck, the pelicans armed their chin guns and tried to aid the fighters.
The 372 marines didn't even have battalion strength, but they'd fight regardless. Whiskey company was the first to assemble, and moved out towards a covenant supply base they had been ordered to destroy. Cpt. Mitchell finally found his platoon leaders, and convened a brief mission report. "Myk, Seun, Rob, Derrick. You guys know the drill, command wants us to launch an attack on a superior covenant force located 5 clicks to our north. We're to keep them occupied long enough for the rest of the division to finish their objectives. I know this mission is FUBAR, but its vital none the less. We move out in 10, 1st platoon has our left flank, and 4th will take the right. Ill be riding along with 3rd platoon in left center, and Myk will have 2nd in right center. We have very little cover on the route, so we'll have to move fast. We should be getting some scorpion tanks to assist with the heavy stuff, but God knows if they'll make it. Good luck, dismissed."
It was time to move out. Myk took up position in the front of his platoon. They where spread out in skirmish formation, to avoid multiple casualties from heavy ordnance. The other platoons where about 10 meters apart. They moved at a brisk jog, as canteens and ammo pouches clattered together. It took them 30 minutes to reach their objective, a raised hill that looked over a long valley. They had orders to dig in and await attack. Scott had snipers and launchers dig in up front, while the rest of the company dug in behind them. The first two rows would be a trench system, with those following being firing holes. Only one scorpion had made it to reinforce them. The others had been lost by the high winds and low visibility. By 13:45 hours every thing was in place. Command had estimated the covenants arrival at 15:00 hours, so all they could do was wait. Scott, Myk, and Seun all held another brief meeting. They decided that if they were overwhelmed, 4th platoon, under Seun, would stay and cover the companies retreat. It became the longest hour Myk or anyone else had ever had to wait...
Myk looked out through his binoculars, seeing a vast sea of purple, red and the rest of the rainbow. "Command estimates at least 1,000 troops. Snipers and launchers engage when ready. Everyone else wait until ordered.". echoing reports followed each S2-AM shot, and soon plasma fire began to fall around the men. The covenant had plenty of armored support, including some 12 ghosts and 3 wraiths. One sniper nest took a direct hit from a mortar round, and as the light faded, all that remained was charred ground and bone. The covenant took casualties too however, as a wraith exploded from a 120mm tank round. Grunts charged the forward position, once they were within 100 meters of the snipers, they triggered claymore and C-7 charges. The grunt line exploded as bodies were blown apart. More kept coming however, and the snipers where forced to abandon their pits and fall back.
Lt. Rob saw one of his snipers take a hit in the leg, and ran over to help him. He tossed his rifle and picked up the young Private. They limped to the trench line, Rob felt his arm go cold just as they fell in. A medic quickly ran over to give first aid, shoving the nuzzle for a can of biofoam into the wound. It would stop the bleeding but hurt like hell. He slapped on a battle dressing and moved to Rob. A beam rifle round had torn through Rob's arm. A large hole remained just above the elbow. It had apparently melted away the bone, and also cauterized the wound. He put a make shift splint onto it to keep it attached, then had him go to the rear line.
The front line opened fire on the covenant troops, taking down row after row. As half the men dropped to reload, the other half opened fire. Sgt. Hood stood next to Myk. A fuel rod round hit him square in the chest. Melting away half his armor and burning through his skin. Myk dropped to aid his fallen comrade, "MEDIC! MEDIC!".A medic came running as soon as he heard, unfortunately their wasn't much he could do. He covered the whole wound in Bio Foam, and did his best to slap a dressing on. " Sir he isn't going to make it unless we can get immediate medical EVAC. It might be a good time to try and get a pelican in here." Myk radioed Cpt. Mitchell, and explained the situation. It would take 20 minutes for a pelican to make it, but it was coming. Myk left the medic's to carry Hood to the aid station, and continued firing at wave after wave.
The first trench line was forced to retreat, leaving behind several dead troops. Around 80 of the original 120 men where still fighting. 10 men where dead and another 30 too seriously wounded to continue fighting. When the Med Evac pelican arrived, it took aboard 8 of the most critically wounded. Another pelican was on the way, ready to evac more troops. It would be another 10 minutes before it arrived. The pilot told Mitchell that Whiskey company had completed their objective, and were loading warthogs to come to their aid. It would be a while before they arrived however. The pelican fell under fire, and was forced to lift off. The rear gunner was hit by a beam rifle, and his body fell out the back. He was stuck dangling from his safety harness
Invasion of Collovia 4: Part 2.
Date: 23 October 2006, 12:28 am
Scott came running up the trench line, stopping a few feet from Myk. He signaled for Myk to switch radio channels, and he did. "Things aren't looking to good right now Myk, we've lost the forward trench and the left flank is starting to fall apart. Start pulling your men back to the rear firing holes, they'll have to cover the rest of the companies fallback." Myk tapped his helmet acknowledging the order. He contacted his squad leaders and relayed the orders.
Staff Sergeant. Paul Riven was ready to fall back. He was in charge of 2nd platoons 3rd squad. So far he hadn't taken any serious casualties, and was happy to hear about a withdrawal. He relayed the order to each of his men, and they let 3rd platoon take over their spots. Half of his squad took off, staying low to avoid fire. They took shelter behind the scorpion tank, taking up positions to cover the rest of the men.
As Paul stood, he saw a bright light in the corner of his eye. The light connected with the scorpion, and a small star appeared on the battlefield. Two seconds later it was over, and nothing remained of the his 5 men or the tank. The blast's concussion hit him a second later, knocking him off his feet and back into the trench. The heat caused blisters to form on his skin, and his hair stood on end. He hit the floor with a wet "thud", his armor smoldering in some spots. He looked around dazed, his vision blurry.
Myk saw the tank vaporize, along with the outline of those who were near it. He also saw Staff Sergeant Riven go down. He pushed through the trench line until he saw Riven laying in the mud. With some difficulty he lifted up the larger marine, and slung his rifle. Private Delgado and Corporal Smith came over to cover the pair as they fell back to the medical position. The rest of 2nd platoon had already fallen back by then, taking up positions in the pre-dug holes. They where already forced to open fire on the covenant attackers, as they broke through 1st platoons left flank.
Those who could began to abandon their positions and fall back. Some crawled away, seeking any help they could get. The men where massacred as the covenant troops took over their positions and began using the cover to fire on them. Derrick fell on his face as an overcharged plasma pistol hit him in the back. He shook his head and looked back over his shoulder. He saw plasma weapons everywhere over the trench line. He dropped his rifle and reached into the holster on his vest, pulling out a C-7 detonator.
He switched off the safety and pressed the button. A 15 second countdown appeared in his HUD. He let the detonator go, and hefted his rifle again. As he fired his last magazine back at the covenant, he was thinking only of his brothers and sisters in arms. His wife, children, and parents flashed through his mind, and he prayed for their safety. The trench line erupted into flame as the planted C-7 exploded throughout. Grunts and Elites were thrown into the air, or blown to bits. Mounds of dirt and mud flew in all directions making visibility poor. The explosion had eliminated the 50 or so covenant troops in the trench. It also took the life of Lieutenant Second Class Derrick Beretski, as the flames consumed his body.
The rest of the company dropped as the left flank exploded. Enough room had been put in between each platoon to insure if one platoon was forced to detonate their line, the others wouldn't be killed in the blast. Still that explosion meant that the battle was going badly. 3rd platoon had already fallen back to the newly formed line. 4th was still taking on the covenant onslaught.
The second Med-Evac pelican flew in taking small arms fire as it drew closer. It's pilot reported to Captain Mitchell that Whiskey company was 15 minutes out, and that another covenant unit had been spotted to the northwest. Zulu company had their mission aborted, and were being withdrawn to aid Yankee. He also told Scott that if he could mark the covenant line, he'd get some air support in, even if he had to strap some guns under his ship and do it himself. The pelican took of with another 8 critically wounded, and began its long assent back to a waiting UNSC medical frigate.
The dust from Whiskey companies warthogs was now unmistakable. Unfortunately most of Yankee company was either surrounded or wounded. In the last 20 minutes another 27 men had been killed, with 32 more suffering additional wounds. Out of the 80 they had, some 50 where still in fighting condition. That was a far cry from the original 120.
They had been forced to form a U to keep from being completely out maneuvered and surrounded. Lieutenant Seun Carey was busy trying to deploy strobe markers for an air strike, but was unable to get close enough to the covenant line. The only good thing about how close the two sides where was that covenant armor support didn't want to risk killing their own men, and had stopped firing.
Captain Mitchell hit the triggers on the remaining C-7 detonators, and ordered the company to take cover. The ground shook as the last of the trench line imploded on itself, taking with it many of the remaining covenant troops. Several small fires remained burning as the remaining covenant troops charged forward again. A gold armored Elite charged straight through the fires, leading his remained troops forward. Some 100 troops were all that remained of the original 1000 plus. They overwhelmed the forward firing holes, not bothering to stop and finish off wounded. The Elite caught site of Scott, and rushed to kill him.
Scott turned around just in time to evade the first swing. The elite brought his plasma rifle up and around, and fired at point blank range towards Scott. The plasma splashed across his armor, his electronics flickered as the EMP shortened out his systems. He removed his helmet and threw it at the elite, hitting it in the chest and causing it to drop its weapon. It reached onto its belt and activated an energy sword. As it swung downwards, Scott brought up his rifle to block. The blade sliced the weapon in two smoldering halves, and cut into the marines armor. The heat burned his chest but the blade didn't hit skin. Scott kicked the elites knee, and it dropped in surprise.
Myk saw what was happening, but couldn't aid his friend as the few covenant troops continued to attack. Whiskey company was 3 minutes out, and their chain guns had already opened up on some of the covenant troops. In the air Pelicans began to descend in mass, bringing with them the unknown.
Scott was knocked to the ground by the elite. He reached onto his hip, and withdrew 2 frags. He pulled the arming pins and rolled to the side, just as the Elite brought down the energy blade. It was lodged into the hard ground, which gave Scott the time he needed. He rolled the grenades toward the Elite, and tucked into a ball to protect his head. The explosion killed the Elite, and also sent the Captain flying. He landed on his back, still conscious but out of it. The shock of the blast had disoriented him, and a private had to pull him down so he wasn't killed.
Whiskey company arrived a few seconds later, and finished off the remaining covenant troops. They all disembarked their warthogs and began helping up the wounded. The 35 Pelican's touched down just behind the two companies. Those who could still walk boarded the birds, while others helped the wounded aboard and loaded bodies.
5 minutes later it was over, as the Pelicans began to ascend. Myk looked down onto the field below, it was strewn with red and purple blood. Fires and wreckage burned still, and sizzled as rain fell on them. The Pelicans broke orbit, and began to dock with various UNSC ships from the fleet. Many showed evidence of recent engagements. One ship, the destroyer Knowledge, was attached to the hard points on the cruiser Fearless. Half of the ship was missing.
As soon as the last Pelican docked, the ships broke orbit and began burning for slip space.
Covenant Cruisers and Destroyers took up positions around the planet. Plasma began to join the rain that hit the surface, burning through clouds as if they were not even there. As the last ship went to Slip Space, the Covenant continued to glass the planet. Collovia was lost that day, it wasn't the first planet to fall to the Covenant onslaught, but it certainly wouldn't be the last...
ONI Classified debriefing: Loss's on Collovia_ Operation Tiger.
Estimated Covenant Casualties: 7,400 killed. 10 Capital Ships destroyed.
UNSC Casualties: 17 Capital Ships destroyed, 16,627 naval personal lost.
2nd Division, Whiskey Company: 23 KIA/ 17 WIA
2nd Division, Yankee Company: 45 KIA/ 75 WIA.
2nd Division, Zulu Company: 38 KIA/ 25 WIA/ 12 MIA.
Total Marine Casualties: 106 KIA/ 117 WIA/ 12 MIA
Total men hit/killed: 235/561 41.8% Casualty rate.
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