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The Maiden Fight by pj-NYkr90
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The Maiden Fight:The Mouth of Hell
Date: 12 July 2003, 4:05 AM
Recording...
Personal Data Recorder 0234.09.34
Staff Sergeant Randall E. Daniels
Location:UNKNOWN
Pelican Echo789 sped over the landscape, barely 15 feet above the ground. Three others are following her, stocked full of troops and material. I'm on Echo789, along with the eleven other troops that make up Fire Team Sierra. I could overhear the pilot yelling frantically over his COM, talking about a hot LZ. I thought it might be a good time to boost my squad's morale so that they couldn't hear of the events that are sure to come. So I began my pep talk.
"Alright, when we land, regardless of what happens, what's the first thing that you're going to do?" "Get of the dropship," they all replied in unison. "Good, and when we're off the dropship, what are ya'll gonna do?" "Kill the enemy!" "Damn right! Men, will die. So when you stick your hand, into a pile of goo, that used to be your best friend's face, you'll know what to do. Now, when we meet the enemy on solid ground, we're gonna grab 'em by the nose, and we're gonna kick 'em in the ass. And we're not gonna stop kick'n 'em in the ass until they're all dead. We're not going to stop kickin' 'em until they're all smoldering fucked up piles of shit scarred up and pumped full of lead. And when they're all dead, we're gonna take their guts and use them to grease the treads of our tanks. Is that clear?!" "Yes sir Sergeant."
The fire team was all riled up now. Everybody was a lot more talkative after my pep talk. They were ready to kill the enemy. After all, I've been with them since they were inducted in the Corps. I trained them. Now, they are assassins and warriors, trained for five years to kill the Covenant vermin. They will not stop until they're all gone. They will not question me. I tell 'em to shit, they ask how long, how wide, what color, and where, not why. I tell 'em to shoot, they shoot. They're ready, as they'll ever be.
The chief warrant officer stepped out of the cabin and walked over to me. "We'll be arriving in two, get your men ready." "Right." I set my watch timer for two minutes. "Alright men, let's lock and load." I took out two clips of carbide tipped 5.56mm and put the first into my SOMA5B. The second I put in my ready clip pouch. Then, I pulled out eight shotgun shells. I pumped them into the action and then envisioned a Grunt who would get his head sheared off and splattered against a wall. I cocked the rifle and then put it into 3-round burst mode.
"Let's go!" I jumped from the dropship and then urged my troops on. Enemy plasma screeched overhead. The air around my squad sizzled and scorched. "Grenade!" My Sergeant, Arthur Sanchez, primed a frag grenade and threw it. It landed in between a group of Grunts who were advancing on Fire Team Alpha's position with Fuel Rod Cannons. In a furious explosion, seven Grunts went up in flames and burned into little piles of ash. When all of the fire team was clear of our dropship, it dropped of our Warthog, Sally.
Sally has been with the division for a year. Her guns have claimed more than three hundred kills. She has recently been upgraded to handle a gauss grenade launcher, which we immediately installed after it was delivered. HQ told us that we'd need to get rid of the chain gun in order to install it. But we said no to that. My squad's Tech Sergeant, Andrew Donahew, and the Rocket Jockey Alan Manning, fixed it so that the chain gun's alternate was firing thirty-millimeter grenades that exploded on impact.
"Sanchez, move it! I want that gun up and running in one." "Yeah!" As I've said, none of my men give me lip. In a minute, Sanchez had the machine gun up in a perfect position. Platoons of Covenant troops tried to break through our lines in the battle's first minutes. Sadly enough, they met my men. They attacked relentlessly as would a pit bull. Their platoons were however coming in greater strength. They also adapted to us. While a platoon advanced, two rows of Jackals would lead the main force forward. The front row would have their energy shields the way they normally would, while the second row held their shields above their head at an angle, like a roof.
"Alright, we can't hit 'em with our rifles Sargn't Edwards, but, we can use grenades. Let's kick ass!" Corporal Jonathan Bynam raised his M90 Shotgun and pumped two shells into an Elite that got too close to the line for his liking. It staggered backwards while leaking out entrails. Bynam stood and bashed him in the face with the but of his rifle in the face. When it was down, two Grunts came up on his left and fired. "Cover me!" Bynam primed and threw a frag grenade while Private Peter Hahnson laid it into a group of troops advancing on Bynam. The grenade blew the Grunts a couple of feet up in the air and a Jackal that moved too close to the explosion. Bynam to his knife out, attached it to the shotgun's holder, and started gouging wholes into the Jackal's head. Then, he turned the rifle around and smashed it's skull in with one violent blow.
"Shit man. Did you see that mother's head come apart man...I've never seen brains come apart like that man. Shit," Bynam yelled victoriously back to his squadmates. But unfortunately, he had strayed too far from the lines during his little firefight. "That one was for Jack," whispered Bynam silently to himself. "John, watch out man, turn around!" Bynam turned around only to see an Elite with a plasma blade raised above its head. "Wort um narhf war hahaha!" Those were the last words that Bynam heard. The blade came down and then Bynam saw nothing. The Battle's first casualty.
"You son of a bitch!" Private Peter Hahnson opened fire, as did the rest of the six men next to him. "Corpsman," he yelled. " 'Doc' Schmidt came from the CP and asked, "Yeah." Peter pointed to the corpse. Doc would have barfed, but he'd seen so much of it in his past combat encounters. "Right, well let's get him." Doc ran out into the field and was closely followed by Peter and retrieved the body. "One sec," said Peter. He emptied the clip on the Elite that killed his friend, then retrieved its sword. "Always wanted one of these." They then walked back to the lines.
I witnessed all of this. I wouldn't let it go unnoticed. "Captain Garrison?" "Yeah?" "I need to see you at the sniper nest." "Right. Be there, in twenty." "Out" My radio man, Specialist Vernell Tate, asked me, "What ya gonna do, sir?" "Gonna give that man a medal." "OK."
It was only 2:59 AM. This entire attack began in the thick of night. We are GHOSTS. Galactic Human-Operative Special Tactics Squads. We are the 22nd SOD-G. We are the best of the best. Better than the Helljumpers. We always succeed.
"Fire!" Sergeant Sanchez had the machine gun giving hell to the offenders. The poor bastards didn't see it coming. They had all but forgotten night vision. We haven't. They can't see our position. All that do see it are cut down to size. No one encountering it survived. "I see a platoon coming up on our left," stated Gunnery Sergeant Gary Murphy. "Right then, let her rip." Baptism by fire was granted to the platoon. But..."Shit, we're out of ammo Sarge!" "Fuck!!" Gary looked at the ammo counter and it was near full, at 88 rounds. "Naw. It's fuckin' jammed!" "Quick, we can't let 'em get away!" Gary picked up his M6D and fired at three of the targets left. He dropped all of them. But then, another one appeared. "Damn, outta range!" Call in an artillery strike! Quick now!"
"We need artillery at these coordinates. 099 by 327 degrees. Fire for effect." Artillery, from a previously established firebase, let loose the fury of hell on the Covies. A series of explosions erupted, but then something that no one expected happened. Secondary explosions. "Damn, nice guess dude. I know, but man, I've told you guys before, I read minds," stated Sanchez, exuberantly. "Really," challenged Murphy.
But alas, the Grunt was spared; though they lost a major supply base. The Grunt ran double time to their base. The Elite field commander, 'Entmarth, listened carefully to the story and coordinates provided by the Grunt. Talking in their native tongue, the Elite said, "We must take that position out, as they will continue to slaughter my men. I want more men to support a mobilized assault on their right flank where that gun is. Take out as many of the vermin as you can, and their radios. If they have reinforcements moving in, then we must move quickly."
"Well, after reviewing your footage, I will have that soldier, and the two that recovered his body awarded with a medal. Now get back to your lines Sargn't." "Yes, sir!" "Keep up the good work Byron," I stated as we left the sniper nest. He was my squad's sniper and the best shot in the division. As I was walking back, a giant explosion erupted on my lines. "Fuck," I yelled. Over my radio, I asked Bravo team for reinforcements. "Roger, I got six guys and an ATV comin' in. I'll pull the chain on all available firepower I can get for your position. Out." Soon enough, an ATV and six guys were popping off rounds at the place where the explosion came from. The sniper nest let loose several clips each on the targets swarming in through the lines.
Leading the charge through the gap were three Wraiths. They didn't last too long. Rocket Jockey Alan Manning let loose a swarm of rockets at the lead tank. Hahnson took a frag grenade and tossed it under a tank. The tank flew backwards and then exploded in a furious flash of light. But then, that seemed not to be the main attack.
"This is Fire Team Bravo! We need immediate artillery support at our position now! Sierra Team, we need help. Shit! HELPPPP...chzzzztz" The transmission ended. "Pete, Tat, get in!" I assumed the gunner's position. Hahnson drove, Tate provided added close range weapons support. I turned the engine over, pushed the pedal down, and burned rubber. We sped over the relatively calm terrain and finally reached their position. The Corpsman was treating two critically wounded and the rest of the team was in bad condition. I didn't hesitate to fire. I let loose with grenades first. I wanted them to suffer for the pain they inflicted on my troops and my friends. The bastards exploded in hellish flames. "Damn, nice shootion' Tex," teased Tate. "Yeah." I ripped their lines open with the gun. It was fun to watch them die. Finally, artillery support came. We were saved.
Just as the enemy troops called off their attack, the reinforcements Bravo team let my team borrow returned to their friends' aide. The resuply teams came in and gave us ammo and fresh troops to put into harm's way. The other one dropped off a Scorpion tank. We loaded all of the dead and wounded onto one of the dropships and then let them leave.
As the battle stands, we have 2 men dead, Bynam, and Sanchez, and three wounded, Murphy, Donahew, and Hahnson, but Hahnson didn't want to leave, so we let him stay. My team is out one machine gun and four men. I figure that the Covenant will nibble at us all night long, and send in a large force at dawn. The time now is 2:43 AM.
The Maiden Fight: Reality Strikes A Stone Mind
Date: 12 July 2003, 7:24 PM
Recording...
Personal Data Recorder 0346.37.12
Staff Sergeant Randall E. Daniels
Location:DZ Alpha
Lieutenant Erin Padu pulled the stick back slightly and set the Pelican down on the ground. "Get that ammo outta here so I can set the Scorpio down!" "Yeah, yeah, yeah," replied the Corporal that was pulling ammo out of the bay and giving it to supply chiefs of each of the fire teams present. When the people had given the dropship a wide berth, Padu dropped the Scorpion tank. He heard a loud bang on the right side of the cockpit. "What the heck was that?" "Nothing," guessed the Warrant officer. "Have fun kids, heheheh." "Yeah, suck my cock flyboy." "I'm not gay like you Ghost." "Fuck you bitch!"
The Lieutenant had fun picking on the ground pounders. He knew that he would never have to go through what they did. He considered himself lucky to be a flyboy. He loved flying since he was a little boy on Cherrasuv IV. Anyhow, he was in the top of his glass at the Flying School on Mars. "Are you ready to go supersonic 'Hamhead'?" "Yeah, replied the chief warrant officer, Ensign Heimlic Garner. But what he forgot on this particular mission is what saved his life.
"How are we holding out Tate," I asked. "Good man, real good." "You sure? We're probably gonna get hit all around the perimeter tonight. Can you be trusted to command these guys when I go down?" "Yes sir! You can count on me all the time!" "Good man. I'm gonna check out the rest of these guys OK." "K." I moved down to the next man in line and talked to him, reassured him of survival. "Doc, you got the dog tags," I asked. "Yeah," he replied. Schmidt tugged two dog tags from out of his left chest pocket and placed them in my hand. "I tried my best man." "I know you did; I wouldn't have it any other way." "Thanks." I took the tags over to the 'Hog. Putting them on the hood, I paused to think where the letter paper was. "Glove compartment Sargn't," stated Hahnson as he passed me on his way back to the trench. He'd gotten back from taking a piss and must've noticed the dog tags on the hood. "Thanks."
I opened up the glove compartment, pulled out some memo paper and a pen and then put them on the hood. I looked at Sanchez' dog tags and noticed the address. Jehrico VII. She had been glassed more than twenty years ago. So much for his letter. Then I looked at Bynam's address. Earth City. Lucky him. He was born in the motherland. I wrote a letter of deep sorrow and gratitude for being able to fight by his side to his closest family, a cousin. I folded it up and placed it in my chest pocket. I would get it to my superiors for immediate mailing ASAP.
Lieutenant Padu didn't know that he had been surveyed from a distance by Covenant Spec Ops Elite 'Orthin. He activated his cloaking device and was ready to report his findings. Before the dropship left, he shot a tracking device onto her.
Field Lieutenant 'Preghar listened to the Elite's findings in his debriefing. "It seems that they're lifeline is base about eighty kilometers from here. They keep on giving them reinforcements and supplies. But I have a strategy. Give me a squad of our best Ops and I will have that entire base there destroyed in half an hour." 'Preghar thought it over a couple of times and then licked his teeth. "Fine, I will have a squad readied to attack on the landing strip in ten minutes." "Thank you, your majesty."
Echo 563 set down on Pad Two at Alpha HQ. Lieutenant Padu and his Warrant Officer Garner got out of the cockpit. Garner spewed chunks all over the call sign. "Shit man, you okay?" "I forgot my fuckin' G-Suit man." "Oh, shit, Doc! Doc!" The docs that are always ready on the field help to assist Garner to the Medical Bay. "Alright man, you get rested, okay." "Yeah." As soon as Garner lay his head down on the cot's pillow, he fell asleep.
Padu got another Warrant officer from the barracks. But little did he know he had some unwanted guests coming along for the ride. The Phantom dismounted twenty Spec Ops Elites, all camouflaged and hidden by the darkness. They made it to the base's perimeter and could easily make out the shapes of six Pelicans. "Let's go." Using his plasma blade, 'Orthin cut a whole large enough for the Elites to fit through. When they all reached a point 50 feet from the dropships, they stopped and regrouped. "Alright, I want five men on each dropship. Kill their copilot, and all other crew aboard except for the pilot. When we get to their other base, we get out and kill them all." "Yeah!" They all moved towards their assigned dropships.
I saw a Grunt coming up to our lines. I put two into his methane tank and watched as he suffocated. Ten more came up to take his place. I tossed a frag grenade and watched as they exploded in a furious painting of colors. I swear that I saw a Grunt eye fly over my head. Manning got painted with blood. I turned and saw that several other guys along fire team Alpha's lines were firing their rifles. "Manning, Hunter! To your right!" Manning lifted up his rocket launcher but was too late to stop him from bringing its shield down on him. Well, he would have been too late but not Byron. Byron put two in its head. Orange blood spurted from its head like Old Faithful. Manning turned and gave him a crisp salute. "You made me waste two bullets on your sorry ass!" "Thanks dude."
I heard its bond brother yell out in anger and sadness. He charged the line. Manning was a lot more alert this time. He put a rocket into him, but unfortunately, he raised his shield. Manning fired again and his aim was true. The rocket exploded upon impact with its impervious armor. It crushed in on his vital organs and the armor pierced his lung. The giant monster collapsed with the ground.
The dropships had been in the air long enough for 'Orthin. He keyed his mike twice and that was enough for his men to know what to do. 'Orthin pulled out his plasma pistol and fired at the two humans in the main bay along with tons of ammo. The other four threw the bodies over the edge of the bay and finally assumed positions in seats. 'Orthin took out a charge and blew the door of the cockpit off its hinges. "What the fuck!" 'Orthin put two into the Chief Warrant Officer's head. "Fuck!!" "Human, pilot this ship," ordered 'Orthin. "Hell no! I'll die fir..." 'Orthin pressed the pistol to Padu's head. "I can make that happen." Padu felt the burn of the barrel. It apparently hadn't cooled off completely after he shot the CWO. By this time, Padu had crapped and pissed in his pants.
"How long until the dropships arrive," I asked our radioman. "Ten minutes, sir," replied Tate. "Alright." Hahnson was given a field commission to Sergeant, and so was Tate. Right now, only eight men protected the right flank. A big attack is likely to come soon. We probably will lose a lot more men before this is all over. But I will lead my men to the end.
"Lieutenant, Commence your attack on their base. We will attack from the interior," commanded 'Orthin. "How long do until we land human," asked 'Orthin. "One, maybe, two minutes." "Hurry troops, get ready to attack!" 'Orthin took a charge out and placed it on the vehicle that the vermin called, Warthogs. When they took it off to drive away, he would detonate it. Sure enough, the dropship got close to the ground. 'Orthin's men all ran out of the ship to avoid detection. 'Orthin closed the door and killed the human pilot.
I saw a series of greenish flashes originate in the cockpit. "Peter, Manning, follow me." "Yes, sir." The two of them climbed out of the trenches and got ready to fight an unknown enemy. I saw three men moving toward the Hog to bring it back to their lines. I saw a blur move in front of the jeep. I blinked my eyes to see if it was just my mind playing tricks on me. When I reopened my eyes, I saw nothing. "Get away from that jeep," I ordered. "But sir,..." "Shut up and step away from this jeep." "Yes, sir." The three men backed off. I saw a blur again. "Everyone, turn on your thermal vision." Hahnson and Manning looked at me and then flicked it on. "What the hell!" Hahnson pumped the nearest Elite with lead. I put one in the ground with a well-placed shotgun round. "Sir, I need help here," stated Tate. "I'll get to you as soon as possible. I'll get you some fire support." "Thank you sir. Oh shit ..Bang, chzzztz"
"Scorpion G-8, we need fire support at Sierra team's position." "Roger, opening fire." "Then, take down the Pelicans." "Sir." "Just do it." "I hope you know what you're doing sir. Opening fire" I saw the flash from the muzzle of the big gun. The next thing I saw was a giant explosion and flying limbs. The Scorpion fired again. It hit a Hunter and it exploded in an ocular display of lights. The turret turned. It fired at the nearest Pelican. She went down. I saw three thermal readings come out. I threw a grenade and watched as they all died. One still defiantly moved on. I pumped two shotgun shells into it. His shields flickered and then failed. He tripped over a body of one of his comrades. The human was closing on him. I was close. He stared at me in horror. I smiled and then pumped my last shotgun round into it's head. All that was left of it was a pile of bloody pulp.
The Scorpion fired again. The second Pelican went down. But, a piece of shrapnel hit me in the neck. "Ahh." I had that falling feeling. I hit the ground hard. Matthew Byron was shooting off rounds at threats. Two down, many more to go. He had his thermal vision on and was hitting the Elites that had commandeered the Pelicans. Their cloaking units did hide them from visual appearance, but it made more heat. So they stuck out like sore thumbs. Byron felt a sharp pain in his back. He turned around and saw an Elite had shoved a plasma blade into his back. Two of the other snipers were dead. "Helppp...," he moaned. The last remaining sniper put three rounds into its head. The Elite fell backward and died.
I found myself on the ground in agony with Hahnson looming over me. The attack seemed to be coming to a close. I just sat there. We had now three men dead, Byron, Bynam, and Sanchez. All the rest of the men, including myself, were wounded. We have lost a lot of our ammo because of their most recent attack and almost all-available sniper cover. We have lost four Pelicans, only two are left at base, which we now hear is under attack. Reinforcements are out of the question now. We wouldn't get help for another two hours at the least. Fire Team Delta is pulling out because they have to reinforce HQ. There's only three FT's left. This isn't my first fight. But it's the unit's first fight. Bad thing to start off the record. The time now is 5:12AM. Dawn is peaking at us. This is going to be a bloodbath. Maybe I will die.
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