Spartan -116 and -118 by John Wilson
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Spartan -116 and -118 (Chapter 1)
Date: 27 February 2004, 12:05 AM
Chapter 1
The Drop
The air around the Pelican Drop ship sizzled as Covenant Anti-Aircraft Plasma narrowly missed the Pelican which was already scarred from past engagements.
"Five minutes till' touchdown!" screamed Warrant Officer Degan with a hint of desperation in his voice, "ONI Intel reports that the LZ's control has swayed back and forth between Marine and Covenant Forces but report that the LZ is currently UNSC controlled. But be ready just incase that intel is outdated"
"Roger that" responded John in a leisurely voice.
The ODST Sergeant had a different way of conveying the message to his troops.
"You heard the man troops!" barked Sergeant Peterson over the private squad COM, "ETA 5 minutes till' touchdown! Now get ready, I wanted that LZ secured ten minutes ago!"
"Yes Sir!" replied the squad in unison.
"This outta be fun" remarked Elijah over the squads COM.
John's acknowledgement light winked on two seconds later. He couldn't say anything; he was reviewing his mission. Suddenly a mini-map of New Mombasa and the words Operation Unyielding Courage flipped into view in his helmet.
"Got to thank Cortana for this intel... wherever she is" whispered John.
John started thinking about her and the Master Chief but then reminded himself about the task at hand and went back to reviewing the mission.
"Ok Elijah here is our mission" said John calmly even as plasma exploded less then twenty-feet away from him and the door of the Pelican, "We are supposed to reinforce this position here" an elevated position was magnified on his and Elijah's mini-map, "Then destroy the Covenant forces in the area along with batteries of Covenant Artillery and Anti-Aircraft" John highlighted another position on the mini-map and it was magnified, "Then we are supposed to meet the Master Chief and Cortana in this area to assault a Covenant Cruiser that is dropping troops into the city"
"Roger that" responded Elijah, "But why couldn't you tell me before?" John replied "Because I didn't know until ten minutes ago when I received an encoded message from Cortana.
Elijah smirked although it wasn't apparent through his MLJONIR Armor, "Just like those two"
John smiled something rare for a Spartan. The two Spartans conversation was cut short however when explosions rattled the Pelican.
"Hang on!" yelled the pilot, "Evasive maneuvers! Two Phantoms at 6 o'clock! This is going to get rough"
"Elijah take that thing out!" John ordered.
Elijah however was already prepping a spare Jackhammer Rocket Launcher when John gave the order. He squatted next the door of the Pelican and concentrated as if he and the Phantoms were the only things in the universe.
"3, 2, 1.... Farewell...." whispered Elijah.
The Jackhammer fired and a thick trail of smoke followed the rocket as it accelerated towards the two tightly packed Phantoms. One of the Phantoms pulled away just in time as the rocket accelerated towards its former position and the second Phantom. The second Phantom started to pull away but in vein as the rocket it home, its cockpit.
Elijah felt two taps on his helmet, a gesture for a job well done from John but before Elijah could fire the second rocket the enraged surviving Phantom opened fire with its whole arsenal. Vast amounts of plasma melted the war-torn Pelican's hull as the air around the Pelican ruptured because of the superheated plasma.
"Sirs" the pilot said, "The hulls' taken maximum damage... Were going to have to bail out"
The Pelican shook violently as one of its wings melted away and thousands of pieces of Titanium-A fell towards the city streets.
"Mayday... MAYDAY!" screamed the pilot fear trickling from his voice, "This is Zulu 221... We are taking have fire at this vector... bailing out over"
"This is Guardian Airbase, we can spare a squadron of Longswords and are dispatching them to your last transmitted position over"
There was no reply, Warrant Officer Degan didn't have enough time to talk and maneuver the Pelican.
"Were going now!" yelled John in an ice cold voice, "Let's go Marines! Sergeant get them going! GO GO GO!"
"Roger" replied Sergeant Peterson, "Keep me posted"
"Of course" responded John calmly.
The Orbital Drop Shock Troopers and their Sergeant activated their jump packs and plummeted towards the war-torn streets of New Mombasa amid its many skyscrapers.
"Elijah go and secure the LZ with the Marines. I'll get the pilot out of here" said John, trying to yell over the sound of the plasma explosions.
Elijah's acknowledgement winked on as he jumped out of the doomed Pelican.
"Time to go" John said his voice steadfast amidst the explosions of plasma and now exposed thundering of the Pelican's backup engines.
"I don't have a pack" replied Warrant Officer Degan.
"You can have mine" responded John less then a second later with not hint of doubt in his voice.
An air of silence fell over the Pelican save the sound of the Pelican and plasma explosions as no one spoke.
"Ok... but what about you?" asked Warrant Officer Degan his voice full of worry.
"I'll find a way" whispered John, "Now go! This bird can't handle much more punishment"
The Warrant Officer jumped out of the Pelican and used the jump pack controls to propel himself towards the squad's new landing zone.
John cursed, he needed to find a jump pack and get off this Pelican before it blew. He checked the emergency medical care storage compartment and the other storage compartments but couldn't find anything but ammunition; the nature of the mission probably caused the Navy Engineers to fill the Pelican with as much ammo as possible. Suddenly John heard an explosion and the Pelican began to plummet.
"Those bastards must have hit the backup engines" remarked John.
The battered, one winged Pelican shook violently as it began to plummet.
"Shit" John cursed to himself, "Only one way out now" John whispered.
John stood at the edge of the door of the Pelican and looked down at the city below. John shrugged his shoulders, something extremely hard to do in MLJONIR Armor, this reflected his agility. He then moved both his feet to the edge of the door, sighed, and began his freefall.
To Be Continued...
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