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Under the sergeant's cap (chapter 1)
Date: 10 January 2003, 11:02 pm

<Note from Author: This is my first go at this and I would love some feedback!>


"Marines, this is Cortana, we will enter normal space in two hours, please sit up, cough, clear your tracheas of the bronchial surfactant and swallow."

       Sergeant Johnson coughed and spluttered as he bent over in the cryo tube and felt the chilled mist flowing from the tube wash around him, he looked down at his toes until they came into focus. The whole cryo room echoed with coughs followed by the sound of mucus being spat onto the cold cryo room floor,
"They might have been awake for a few seconds but they're as disobedient a bunch of bastards as they've ever been." The Sergeant thought to himself with a brief smirk.
Sergeant Johnson swallowed the fluid. At a time like this he couldn't afford to waste anything, no matter if it tasted like snot. He awkwardly climbed out of the tube and tried to stand straight, but couldn't help but sway. He was a rugged, well built man. His skin was dark brown and his jaw was square with broad cheekbones. He may have been 42, but he hadn't let his physique go in the slightest, he was as fit and muscular as he'd been 20 years ago. His eyes, however, looked out of place in his stone-chiselled face. They were full of emotion, burnt with the pain and suffering of watching his men die and entire worlds being glassed. He surveyed Fire Team Charlie, the marines were clumsily climbing out of the tubes and regaining their balance.
"Urgh, give me a bunk any day" growled Private O'Brian, and shot a resentful glare at the cryo tube he'd just stepped out of.
"Alright you grunts, you heard the lady," the Sergeant addressed the marines, straightening, "we're two hours from our arrival point, the fly boys probably know as much as we do about what the situation will be like when we get there but we ARE GONNA BE WASHED, DRESSED, ARMED AND LETHAL IN THIRTY MINUTES! DO YOU UNDERSTAND MARINES!?" the Sergeant bellowed.
"SIR, YES SIR!!" the marines cried in unison.

       The Marines piled into the armoury and started to load up. Spirits rose now the marines were gripping assault rifles in their hands and had pistols in their holsters. Even the Sergeant found it hard to suppress his satisfaction, if he had a gun he was at his most deadly, if he was at his most deadly he would inflict maximum damage on the enemy, if he inflicted the maximum damage on his enemy he would die knowing he had fought to the best of his ability.
"Oh Jesus! I wish there was a Covenant bastard right here now, I swear I'd blow his legs off and kick his ass with 'em!!" cried Private Barclay.
"Enjoy it now Barclay 'cause you ain't gonna have the chance to be cocky when they get here" Private Jenkins shouted from the opposite side of the room.
"Let them all come, man, I'll tear them to pieces!!" He shouted back with a confident grin.
"He might as well be cocky," thought the Sergeant, "it's either that or give up."
"This is Captain Keyes." came the ship com, "All Fire Team Leaders report to the bridge for briefing on the double!"
The Sergeant holstered his pistol and marched out through the automatic doors.
"Bring back some good news Sir!" someone called behind him as the door slid shut.

       "Right gentlemen," began the Captain, addressing the 15 or so Fire Team Leaders "We know that the Covenant are tracking us, and if they aren't waiting for us when we enter normal space, they will be soon enough. They're following us because we are an easy opportunity for them to gain information, I don't think I need to tell you the consequences if they get hold of the ships AI; Cortana."
"Actually Captain, I'm not the Pillar of Autumn's designated AI. Operating the Pillar of Autumn is not my primary function" Cortana, corrected.
"Thank you Cortana" said Captain Keyes, with a hint of strained patience in his voice.
"So, I believe we can expect the Covenant to attempt to board, and we're going to need the marines to repel borders long enough for ops personnel and Cortana to get off this ship, it's as simple as that. Questions?"
Sergeant Daux stepped forward, "Permission to speak freely sir?"
"Granted"
"Can't you see that getting that AI off is not going to change anything? And that's provided someone can actually get it off the ship! The Covenant will get it sooner or later, whether you get it off the ship or not. Why? Why try to get it off the ship? Just destroy it, that'll ensure the bastards won't get it." Sergeant Daux put his hand through his closely cropped hair in bewilderment and waited for the answer.
Captain Keyes took out his pipe and examined it for a moment before answering the Sergeant.
"Sergeant, you may or may not know that Cortana was designed with the purpose of breaking into the databanks of a captured Covenant ship and discovering the Covenant home world, so that we may try to get onto it and capture it's leaders."
Seargent Daux listened,
"Now with the fall of Reach, humanity's options are few, Cortana may be the human race's last chance." Said Captain Keyes grimly.
"But sir" protested Sergeant Daux desperately "That's just nonsense! Who could possibly pull off something like that?"
"The same person who will get Cortana off the Pillar of Autumn, Sergeant, the last remaining soldier from the SPARTAN II project - the Master Chief."
"Of course" Sergeant Johnson thought to himself, he'd clean forgotten the Master Chief was onboard somewhere. Sergeant Johnson had escaped from an orbital space dock orbiting around Reach with the great armour-clad Supersoldier, along with Private Jenkins, Bisenti and O'Brian just before Reach was destroyed. The SPARTANS were legends in the UNSC, surely if there was one human who could pull off such an insane mission, it was the Master Chief.
"Sir" began Corporal Davies , "the Master Chief would be a huge aid in repelling the ship's borders-"
"I'm sorry Corporal, the Master Chief is too important to risk getting into any more battles than he has to. He is still in the freezer, and will remain there where he is safe until the very moment we need him. Then we shall get him out, but he will have to take Cortana and get straight off the ship and that's all I'm afraid."
"Sir" Cortana announced, "we will be arriving in normal space in 20 minutes"
"Alright men, this is it, get your marines ready and prepare to repel borders!" ordered the Captain
"Yes sir!" the Fire Team Leaders saluted and marched off.

      In the hangars in the lower belly of the Pillar of Autumn marines scrambled to and fro, loading up Pelicans with ammunition and equipment and preparing vehicles for transportation. The Captain had issued the order to abandon ship. Ops personnel were being loaded onto Pelicans to be evacuated, (the escape pods were reserved for the marines repelling borders and remaining Ops personnel who wouldn't have time to get to the hangar to escape on Pelicans.)
Sergeant Johnson had gotten a message that the bridge officers had found a ring structure of unknown origin, which was earth-similar and hospitable for them to land on. What the hell it was and why it was hospitable the Sergeant didn't know and neither did he give a shit, that was way back in his mind. The point was that once the Captain gave the order that the marines could evacuate his men had something to land on.
"Think of us while your asses are safe in there, huh guys?" Private Bisenti called to some Ops personnel who were strapping themselves in to the seats. There was enough time before the vacuum door sealed shut to see their ashamed faces.
"All military personnel stand by to repel borders." came Cortana's voice.
"YOU HEARD THE LADY! MOVE LIKE YOU GOT A PURPOSE!! Bellowed the Sergeant, his marines may have been a wily, but they snapped right into order when the Sergeant raised his grinding voice.
They scrambled and formed two perfectly straight lines facing each other.
The atmosphere was electric now. The Sergeant could feel adrenaline rushing through his body. Every fiber of his being was alert and ready. His heart felt like it was trying to thump it's way out of his chest. His trigger finger was ready to clench at the first sight of a four-jawed face or the glint of a gas mask.
"This is not a drill, repeat, this is not a drill."
"So back to this shit again" thought the Sergeant "how many men do I have to watch die this time?"
"ONCE AGAIN IT IS OUR JOB TO FINISH WHAT THE FLY BOYS STARTED. WE ARE LEAVING THIS SHIP PLATOON, AND ENGAGING THE ENEMY ON SOLID GROUND. WHEN WE MEET THE ENEMY, WE WILL RIP THEIR SKULLS FROM THEIR SPINES, AND TOSS 'EM AWAY LAUGHING!!!

- AM I RIGHT MARINES?"

"SIR, YES SIR!!!!"



TO BE CONTINUED

Under the sergeant's cap (chapter 2)
Date: 11 January 2003, 9:19 pm



"Covenant boarding party on deck 6, breach in supply silo 2, combat team Charlie prepare to engage enemy," came Cortana on the com.
Fire Team Charlie piled into the hangar shaft lift. The lift chimed and they were speeding down to deck 6.
"MARINES! THREE TO A SIDE OF THE BLAST DOORS!! BISENTI AND I TAKE THE POINT AS SOON AS WE REACH DECK 6!!" The Sergeant barked. Bisenti was the fastest of the team and had the best reflexes, if there was Covenant behind the level 6 blast door, his reactions might save his life- for a few moments.
They had only seconds before the lift was level with the deck 6 blast door. Bisenti, Barclay and Jenkins took the right of the broad, gauss-floored lift, O'Brian and Mendosa took the left with the Sergeant. They were now level with the blast door, which was already hissing open. The Sergeant signalled to Bisenti and counted down on his fingers-
three,
two,
one-
The Sergeant and Bisenti swung around the sides of the blast door and trained their guns at the corridor ahead. They waited. Nothing yet. Nothing.
The Sergeant took in a small breath and beckoned the marines forward. They expanded in an arrowhead formation into the chamber at the start of the corridor.
"Bisenti" grunted the Sergeant " get in front of me and take the point," he addressed the whole team "the corridor ahead takes a right, stick hard to the right side of the corridor with your heads down." They followed along the wall in single file with their right shoulders to the wall. Bisenti looked around the corner and signalled it was clear. They all came forward. The corridor continued and at it's end it split off in two directions. The Sergeant raised his hand open in the air and waved it forward. The Marines obeyed the hand signal and went three to a wall, and with there assault rifles ready they advanced. The Sergeant once again counted off on his fingers, this time he and Bisenti would look around the corner and check the two different corridors that branched left and right. The Sergeant would check the left, Bisenti the right.
Three,
two,
one-
The Sergeant leaned around the corner and there, about four metres from him was a Covenant Elite in Blue armour. It spotted him and let out a gargling, guttural roar, levelled it's plasma rifle and fired a volley of sizzling plasma at the Segeant's face that was peering out from around the corner. Instead of pulling back around the corner for cover the Sergeant rolled forward into the Elite's corridor, feeling the crackling hot air of the shots that he'd just rolled under. He let out his own angry roar and fired his assault rifle at the creature's head and chest. Bisenti had also swung round and was opening fire. The other marines crawled into the corridor with their heads down and let rip with their guns too. The Elite tried to back peddle down the corridor as a hail of bullets whammed into it's shields and were deflected at odd angles. It fired off it's gun trying to fight back, but it's aim was too put off by the slamming bullets. It had backed more than halfway down the corridor when it's shields gave out and the hail of bullets began to slam into his head and chest. The Elite's body spasmed with the impacts of the bullets for a few moments before it hit the floor with a choked gargle. It's purple blood was spattered on the walls and oozing from the dead body.
"One down, fifty billion to go" remarked Jenkins.
Then there came the sound of hooves from the end of the corridor where the Elite's corpse lay.
"Get ready boys!" said O'Brian.
From around the corner came a pair of Jackals with their energy shields up and plasma pistols levelled, nearly fully charged. The marines opened fire again, but their assault rifles were running out of ammo, and the bullets just deflected of the Jackals' energy shields harmlessly. They fired off their two shots, one caught O'Brian squarely in the chest and the other just missed Bisentis' head. The marines scrambled around the corner of the corridor they'd just come out of and reloaded.
They could hear the Jackals hooves steadily advancing towards them. O'Brian's chest plate had nearly been completely melted away, but he had only minor burns.
"We can't get passed their shields sir! Let's use grenades!" shouted Bisenti
"We can't use grenades this close!!" cried Jenkins.
The Sergeant remembered on the orbital space dock around Reach, the Master chief had told them to concentrate on one Jackal at a time.
"Marines!! Concentrate all fire on the Jackal to the left, then the right!" The Sergeant barked,
"Okay- ready- NOW!!"
The whole team lunged forward from around the corner and let rip on the left Jackal's shield. The two Jackals guns were nearly fully charged again, but the left Jackal couldn't hold it's shield steady as it shook with the constant hammering of bullets. One shot caught the Jackal right in the head and it was thrown backwards. As it fell it discharged it's gun and the shot hit it's companion right in the back, sending fried, thick, dark blue blood into a coating on the inner side of it's translucent energy shield.
"Oh yeah, we're bad ass!" growled Barclay
"Bueno, amigo, beuno!" agreed Mendosa.
"Okay marines, we're gonna deal death to all the Covenant bastards we meet in the same way we did just there! AM I RIGHT MARINES!?" The Sergeant shouted.
"SIR, YES SIR!!" they cried in chorus.

The marines continued to equipment silo 2, sure enough, the hull had been blasted through.
The Sergeant had a look inside the landing pod that had sealed itself airtight to the breach in the hull. It was chromed and smooth, with iridescent purples and blues and symbols like Chinese calligraphy in places. It had quite an organic feel to it, none of the hard angles like the Pillar of Autumn had, smoothed curves everywhere. "So this is what the inside of the Covenant ships look like?" he thought. The Sergeant felt a slight guilt when he realised that he was appreciating it as beautiful. "Snap out of it!" He thought to himself "These bastards are cold-blooded mass murderers without a beautiful thought in them!"
"Sir?"
Sergeant Johnson snapped awake again. It was Mendosa.
"What is it Mendosa?" he asked,
"Sir we've checked the area, the Covenant must have moved onwards to the lower decks" Mendosa reported.
"If they are headed down, they must be trying to block the escape pods. Where's the nearest Fire Team to stop them?" The Sergeant asked.
Mendosa called to Jenkins, who was wearing a helmet with an HUD reticule.
"Where's the nearest Fire Team on the lower decks?" Mendosa asked.
Jenkins fingered three buttons on the front rim of his helmet for a moment, then his eyes rapidly darted back and fourth, scanning his reticule.
"Fire Team Sierra is posted on deck 2, Sir" he said, still scanning the reticule. "-anddd- there's Fire Team Sierra and Echo that have been posted on deck 4, you might also want to know that there have been six Covenant boarding parties that have connected already, and four of them are heading down toward the escape pods."
" The escape pods are on deck 2 aren't they?" the Sergeant asked.
"Yes sir." Mendosa replied
"Mendosa, Jenkins get everyone back here, I think we can make it a lot harder for the Covenant to take the escape pods."
"SIR, YES SIR!" They cried.

"Right grunts," the Sergeant addressed the marines, "We know that the Covenant are headed for the escape pods on deck 2 to try and prevent us from getting off the ship." There are four boarding parties heading down from this deck and deck 5. There are three Fire Teams already posted who stand in their way at the moment. The Covenant will be fighting their way down to the escape pods and trying to stop anyone getting down to them. We are going to take the shaft lift to deck 1 and surprise attack them from behind while they're trying hold off those coming from above. DO YOU UNDERSTAND MARINES!?"
"SIR, YES SIR!!"
"THEN LET'S GO SMASH SOME COVENANT SKULLS!!"

The lift chimed as they reached deck 1 and the blast doors opened.
The marines proceeded, Bisenti taking the point and Jenkins directing them with the HUD reticule on his helmet.
"There's a heavy supply and equipment staircase very close to escape pod stations 1 and 3 that we can use to sneak up behind the Covenant." Jenkins whispered.
"We have a problem, 1 and 3 are on opposite sides of the ship" moaned O'Brian "There aren't enough of us to secure both 1 and 3, and if we assault one first, we'll have lost the element of surprise."
"One secured pod station is better than none, it'll mean the Fire Teams trying to fight their way down from above have an easier time." Said the Sergeant, "Marines, we're going to assault station 1"
"Shhhhut up!" hissed Bisenti as they approached the equipment staircase and got ever closer to the escape pod stations.
The heavy supply and equipment staircase was broad and open in the middle of a large, cross-braced, octagonal room. Heavy crates were all over the bottom floor and there was a landing going all the way around the square set of stairs on the second floor.
"Bisenti" The Sergeant muttered "get up there and check it out"
Bisenti nodded silently and crept, keeping his head low, up the broad, metal stairs. The team watched him as he scanned carefully the whole landing above him as he crept. When he reached the top he signalled for them to follow. The Sergeant lead them up the staircase. He was halfway up when Bisenti cried out and leapt down the stairs to where the Sergeant was, just in time to dodge a volley of plasma fire. Bisenti then ran straight into the Sergeant, knocking him out of the way of a hail of needle crystals and plasma and off the staircase onto the floor below. They rolled and ended up sprawled on top of one another against a wall.
"Sarge," Bisenti said as he helped him up "please stop sending me as the point"
The Seargent shoved Bisenti,
"SHUT UP AND HELP YOUR TEAM MATES MARINE!!!"
"YES SIR!"
"SIR!" cried Barclay" "THEY'RE ON THE LANDING ABOVE US, THEY'RE EVERYWHERE!!"
"FOR FUCKS SAKE MARINE" the Sergeant cried while popping up over the stair case and firing a burst of bullets at a Grunt "DON'T YOU THINK I'VE NOTICED!?!"
A Grunt threw a plasma grenade down at the Sergeant. The Sergeant rolled backwards as the grenade bounced where he would have been, settled and detonated. A blast of intense heat scorched the Sergeant's body and he felt blisters bubble all over the front of his body.
"I'LL TEACH YOU TO THROW THAT CRAP AT ME YOU FURRY LITTLE SHIT!!!" He screamed in utter rage he charged forward and fired his assault rifle at the crouching Grunt that had thrown the grenade, he kept his finger on the trigger and kept the Grunt under a blaze of bullets and didn't stop until he saw the spray of methane erupt from it's mangled life support mask.
That was one down but there were more up there, and grenades continued to compliment the rain of plasma and needles that were coming down on them.
"OH SHIT, THE BURN!!!" came an agonised cry through gritted teeth from one of his men, "SHIT!! SHIT! SHIT!!!"
"They're gonna kill us" thought the Sergeant, "we can try to fight back but they're going to kill us and win just like with everything else!!"
It was getting desperate, the Sergeant and his men continued to fire but things were looking bad.
"This is hopeless" he thought, seeing his men scramble to get out of the blast of another grenade.
The Sergeant aimed his gun at the Grunt that had thrown the grenade and killed it instantly- but wait, his gun was out of ammo- there went another one! And another! Grunts being taken out with single shots. One of his Marines was a much better marksman than he thought. He turned to see where the pistol fire was coming from.
And when he saw who it was his spirits lifted, there at the foot of the stairs was that armour-clad Supersoldier, it was the Master Chief! He was firing the pistol without pausing, aiming perfectly and killing Grunts with single head shots. The Sergeant heard the Grunts cry out in terror and try to flee, to the anger of their Elite. The Master Chief then leapt up the whole staircase in 4 bounds, he was immensely heavy and powerful yet moved with an unnexpected fluid and seamless grace. By the time he was at the top of the staircase his assault rifle was drawn and he was sprinting toward the Elite while hammering it with an unbroken stream of bullets, by the time he reached the Elite it's shields were down and it's chest was already peppered with bloody holes. The Elite stood there for that split second, dazed with pain, then the Master Chief's gun butt smashed into it's jaw. The Sergeant saw the spray of purple blood and heard the sound of the Elite's jaws smash and was sure that whatever the Elite's face in that helmet had looked like before that blow it was nothing but mush now. The Marines let out a triumphant cheer at hearing the Elite's dying cry. They hadn't even gotten to the top of the staircase when they heard the Chief's gun blaze again. When they did reach the top they saw that the Chief had already smashed up another Elite through a broad blast door and was mowing down Grunts.
"Hey! Leave some for me!" one of the Marines laughed.
"This is fantastic, the Chief was headed for escape pod station 1 to get Cortana off the ship, and is saving our butts in the process!" the Sergeant thought.

The Marines just followed the Master Chief, and if they couldn't see him they followed the sound of gunfire and Covenant corpses. They had followed him nearly all the way to the life pod station. Suddenly they heard O'Brian (who'd almost managed to keep up with the Chief) cry out around a corner that the Chief had gone past. When the Sergeant and the others caught up and found O'Brian, he was staring blankly at a closing blast door.
"Oh shit-" said Mendosa.
O'Brian turned to them, "He's on the other side!" he said, pale.
"Don't worry, he'll be fine on his own" reassured the Sergeant.
"I'm not worried about him I'm worried about us!" O'Brian said, "Not only are we on our own again but they're closing the blast doors and the life pods are on the other side!!"
"Actually I think the life pods are already gone guys!" called Jenkins who was looking out of one of the observation windows "the exterior doors are open, they must have closed the blast doors so Covenant boarding parties trying to get through the airlocks would be trapped. If we hurry, maybe there'll be a pod left in station 3 on the other side of the ship, come on!"
The Marines broke into a desperate run back where they came from and headed through the corridors to escape pod station 3.
Things were looking good, they hadn't met a single Covenant so far, but when they were nearly at escape pod station 3 they readied their weapons, hearing the gunfire around the corner that they'd been expecting.
The Sergeant was almost relieved to hear the fighting, they had met no Covenant on their way to station 3, and he had been starting to think it was a trap.
"Mendosa, see what the situation is around the corner" the Sergeant ordered.
Mendosa leaned cautiously around the corner for a few moments and slowly turned back to face them.
"Three Technicians and three Marines, one of the Marines is injured, I think, and there are several corpses. They're taking cover, they're trying to get into the last escape pod, but at the far end of the corridor are Covenant and they can't get past for enemy fire."
"How many Covenant are there" the Sergeant asked,
"It's hard to tell, they're hiding behind those stationary shield projectors." Mendosa replied,
"Give me an idea how many, boy!" The Sergeant hissed,
"Too many!" Mendosa hissed back.
"We've got no choice" the Sergeant said, "let's charge and see if we can't surprise them enough for us to get in the pod."
The Marines approved.
The Sergeant came to the front of the group and signalled with his hand-
three,
two,
one,
"CHEEEEEEAAARGE!!!!"
The Marines sprinted around the corner, roaring.
The Marines and Technicians as well as the Covenant stopped for a split second, then continued firing, more heated than ever, the Covenant now focusing their fire on the advancing humans.
The Sergeant ran and tried to fire his gun at the same time, but the recoil was too powerful for him to aim it properly while moving. The Marines realised they were going to die if they didn't take cover from the Covenant's maelstorm of fire. The Sergeant leapt to hide in the indent of one of the escape pod airlock doors. He hit his head on the door, hard. His ears rang, but at least he was out of the line of fire. He reloaded his rifle and looked at what was going on. There was a new corpse on the floor, it was face down, he recognised the hat it was wearing, Barclay was dead. He could see Bisenti slumped against a crate, clutching his side, his clothes were stained with red. O'Brian was hiding behind an iron fortification shield just in front of the Sergeant, if he kept his head low he could get to him and there'd be virtually no risk of getting hit. He leapt forwards and crouched next to O'Brian, who turned to face him.
"It's not looking good-" said the Sergeant grimly.
"And we're too far to reach them with grenades" added O'Brian
"Son, I think we're just gonna have to run for it and take what we take" said the Seargent.
O'Brian seemed to be deep in thought for a moment then suddenly came back to the real world,
"Sir I think I have an idea," but he didn't look confident, "if you can get the guys to give me some cover."
"And what are you going to do?" the Sergeant asked with a piercing stare.
"Just trust me, Sir, just give me some cover." insisted O'Brian.
The Sergeant looked at the Marine for a few seconds.
"Agh Hell, I hope you know what you're doing, boy!"
"Not in the slightest sir," O'Brian laughed nervously, getting ready to run as soon as he got some cover.
"MARINES!! RELOAD! ON THREE!!
THREE!
TWO!
ONE!!
The Marines and Techs opened fire at the Covenant at the end of the corridor, the Sergeant was pleased to see that the Covenant were suitably frightened enough of their synchronised efforts to get cover. He turned to see where O'Brian was headed. O'Brian was trying to pry open the open the gauss door of a maintenance access way
"Son of a bitch! That's why he wouldn't tell me, he's gonna get around the back of them using the access way and distract them long enough for us to get away, he's gonna get himself killed. A blast of plasma shot past his field of vision, leaving little dots of light on his eyes and letting him know the Covenant were firing again. He fired the rest of his clip at them, and another, and another. He had just reloaded it with his last clip and was aiming it when he saw, there at the end of the corridor, behind the Covenant, was O'Brian. He had a grenade in his hand, he had it above his head, he was throwing it. The Sergeant watched it land out of his sight among the Covenant Grunts, Jackals and Elites. The Covenant fire stopped as they all turned, hearing the clink of a grenade somewhere. Some leapt and scrambled away, while a few just stood, paralysed.
BOOOOOM!
The explosion sent bodies flying and erupted sprays of different kinds of blood.
"GET IN THE POD!" he cried, some of the marines and techs had already done so once the fire had stopped. The Sergeant ran forward and helped Bisenti up. Just as he was getting into the pod he heard what was left of the Covenant at the end of the corridor getting their revenge on O'Brian.
"Now you're a man" the Sergeant muttered quietly.
Bisenti sat down and strapped in and the Sergeant saw who was in the pilot seat of the pod. It was one of the Techs.
"Can you fly this thing?" he asked
"I've done simulations but-" the Technician started
"JUST GET US OUT OF HERE TECH!!"
The Sergeant strapped himself in to a seat next to another of the technicians who was one seat from the rear of the pod.
"So they weren't having me on" the Tech said to him "They really are eight foot tall"
"What?" the Sergeant scowled
"The 'Elites' really are eight foot tall" the Tech said again.
The Sergeant couldn't believe what he was hearing.
"TECH!! GET US THE HELL OUT OF HERE!!"
Everyone in the pod was savagely thrown sideways against their straps by the strength of the launch away from the ship.
"Whoa!" came an awe-struck voice from the pilot seat, "there it is- it's beautiful- and it's HUGE!"
The Sergeant couldn't see what the Tech was looking at properly, but he knew it was the ring he'd been briefly notified about in the Hangar.
"OKAY" The Tech shouted "HOLD ON, I'VE NEVER DONE A SIMULATION OF LANDING ON ONE OF THESE THINGS!
The Sergeant looked out the window and saw what "One of these things" was. He was right, it was beautiful, and really HUGE!. He could see a small peninsula sticking out in a great blue ocean that reflected the sun's rays, he could see mountains and clouds. It was all on the inside of the giant artificial ring (the Sergeant assumed it must be artificial,) it was breath-taking.
"What in sweet Jesus is it?" said one of the Marines who wasn't in the Sergeant's Team.
"If we live long enough we might find out, son!" He answered.
The escape pod began to shake violently as it entered the atmosphere, and the Sergeant felt his stomach shoot upwards as he felt the effects of the rings gravity. Bisenti opposite him was still clutching his side.
"Don't worry Bisenti, when we're on the ground I'll spray that full of Bio-foam and patch you up." the Segeant reassured him
Bisentis smiled weakly and nodded.
"OH CRAP! OH CRAP!! OH CRAP!!!" screamed the Tech in the pilot seat.
"WHAT IT IS IT!?!" The Sergeant boomed over the sound of the shaking pod.
"HERE COMES THE GROUND!!" the Tech wailed "Uh- OK- Uh- Oh shit, OH SHIT!! I CAN'T FIND THE AIR BREAK!!!"
The Sergeant was by now so pissed off with the way the incompetant idiot was panicking he just started laughing ."Well then" he laughed "We're all gonna die!"
As if what he said clarified everything for the Tech the Air Brakes opened and the break thrusters fired. The whole pod was now shaking and with such force it felt as if some giant monster had picked it up and was hurling it around above it's head. The Sergeant could see a forest out of the entrance/exit window, it was getting closer, until he could actually see the trees swaying in the slipstream of the pods speeding wake. For a split second he saw the Forest end at a large ridge and a clearing before.

WHUUUUUUMPH!!!!!

...................

"Sir, Sir wake up, we made it. SIR!!"
Everything slowly came into focus as the Sergeant looked around, he could see a blurred face right in front of him- it was Jenkins."
"We made it sir, we're on the ring, wait till you see it!"


TO BE CONTINUED

Under the sergeant's cap (chapter 3)
Date: 17 January 2003, 10:33 pm

The Sergeant unstrapped himself from his seat and followed Jenkins out of the pod.
"WHOA!!" exclaimed the Sergeant.
"I know" agreed Jenkins.
The Sergeant followed the land, where the horizon should have been the land just continued up and up, getting further and further away until it was just a small band of land and ocean above their heads, and then in the opposite direction it came back down, getting closer and wider.
"Who the hell built this place?" the Sergeant said, more to himself than anyone.
"The Covenant?" Jenkins offered.
"Jesus Christ, I hope not..." replied the Sergeant, starting to survey the land around him, "the land reminds me of Earth... it even has the same strength of gravity."
"And nearly exactly the same atmosphere" added Jenkins.
"Have you investigated that structure" the Sergeant said, indicating a large structure that looked more like some giant monument crafted from solid metal than a building.
"Mendosa and one of the other Marines we met on the Autumn are checking it out now, Sir."
"Have you met any life forms?"
"Nothing Sir, whoever built that thing doesn't seem to be here."
The structure suddenly pulsed and sent a pulse of what reminded the Sergeant of the Covenant ship's plasma fire, it shot up all the way into the sky, travelling to the other side of the ring.
"What the hell was that!?" the Sergeant asked,
"No idea sir, but it keeps doing it, it doesn't seem to be meant to cause any harm."
"Where's Bisenti, he was wounded."
"One of the Techs is tending to him and the other injured Marine."
"Take me to him" the Sergeant ordered.

The Sergeant followed Jenkins to Bisenti and another injured Marine. They were sat infront of a boulder next to a large metal wall that was part of the structure, under the shade of the ledge above them.
"Sir!" Bisenti got up off the ground.
"You OK, son?" the Sergeant asked.
"I can fight sir" said Bisenti with a determined face.
"Good man" the Sergeant said with a proud twinkle in his eyes.
The Sergeant turned to the other Marine.
"How about you?" he asked.
"I've taken a couple of those damn needles in my shoulder, they've blown some of the cartilage off my arm socket, the Tech pumped me full of painkillers, so I'm OK, but they're affecting my sight and reactions, I can fight, but I'm gonna be fighting like a pissed one-armed civilian." The Marine replied, he had an Australian accent.
"What's your name and rank Marine?" the Sergeant continued.
"Sir! Private Hackett, Sir! Fire Team Sierra!" The Marine said, saluting with his uninjured arm.
"I am your new commanding officer, Private, you will address me as Sergeant, you and your team mates are officially transferred to Fire Team Charlie!" "Sir! Yes Sir!" Hackett saluted again.
The Sergeant turned to see Mendosa returning with another of the new Marines.
"Sir!" said Mendosa, "I see Jenkins managed to wake you up from your beauty sleep"
The Sergeant gave him a 'don't-push-me' glare.
"...uh...the structure is clear, Sir, it doesn't seem to have an entrance, I guess what's inside is the thing that's making that pulse." Mendosa reported quickly, "However it's a useful spot, plenty of cover and places to fire from, we've got the Techs emptying the weapons and supplies from the pod, they're taking it up to the ledge above us now.
The Sergeant acknowledged but didn't reply, instead he ignored Mendosa and turned to the other Marine.
The Marine straightened and saluted,
"Sir, private Kennedy, Sir! Fire Team Sierra" he shouted.
"Not any more Marine, now you're in Fire Team Charlie." The Sergeant said.
The Sergeant turned to face Jenkins, "Have you called for evac? Is there any evac, even? I don't wants us to stay out here a second more than we have to, what's the status with command?" He asked.
"One of the Techs has managed to get a com working, there is a group of Pelicans, Longsword Fighters and the Command Shuttle about 80 kilometers downspin. They're having trouble with Covenant air forces at the moment, but they'll get a dropship out here as soon as they can, Sir." Jenkins replied.
All of a sudden the Marines heard the roar of engines, they looked up to see a life pod with it's break thrusters firing and air breaks open. It was rocketing through the air above them, leaving a dense grey trail of exhaust. They watched it shoot down behind a rock face crowned with evergreen trees.
"SHE'S COMING IN TOO FAST!" Kennedy shouted.
They heard it's rockets go off into the distance and then they felt the ground beneath their feet tremble slightly and heard a distant
<whaaaam!!!>
"Shit that must have struck the ground pretty damn hard..." said Mendosa.
"Shouldn't we go and see if anyone survived?" asked Hackett.
"No one could have survived an impact like tha-" the Sergeant began, but he was cut off.
"COVENANT DROPSHIP INBOUND!!!" Screamed one of the Techs from above them on the ledge.
"MARINES" The Sergeant roared "LOCK AND LOAD, LET'S SET THE TABLE FOR THESE MOTHERFUCKERS!!!"

"GO! GO! GO!!" The Sergeant roared, beckoning the Marines up the slope on the side of the structure to the open floor above them.
The Sergeant glanced to see the Covenant dropship coming down near the life pod. The plasma turret on it's underside turned to aim at him. He sprinted up the ramp, hearing the repeated discharge of the turret and the fizzle of scorching plasma hit the structure wall just behind him.
"RUN SARGE, RUN!!!" shouted Mendosa on the ledge above him, firing his rifle at the dropship in a futile attempt to distract it. The Sergeant lunged forward behind the cover of a wall at the top of the ramp that was in between him and the turret. He heard the plasma impact against the wall with an angry hiss. Keeping his head low he walked up the rest of the ramp right in front of him to the landing where the rest of them were. They were all hidden behind what could only be described as broad metal barricades that were about a metre high, they served very well as battlements, which was probably what they were.
"The dropship doors are opening Sir!" shouted Hackett, peering through a gap around the battlement he was behind.
"Everyone get some grenades before that dropship takes off and we have to get cover from it's turret again!!" the Sergeant ordered.
Everyone, including the Techs, scrambled for the small spread of ammunition they had placed on the floor.
"AND SOMEONE PLEASE GIVE THESE TECHS SOME WEAPONS!!" the Sergeant cried, handing the Technician who'd been in the pilot seat his pistol.
"HERE COME THE COVENANT!!" Someone shouted.
The Sergeant chanced a look over the battlement. A blue-armoured Elite charged with a squad of seven Grunts towards the structure, they were two far to reach with grenades, and the Sergeant wanted them to be as far as possible.
"TRIGGERS DOWN MEN!!!"
The Marines emerged from their hiding places and rained merry hell down on the advancing Covenant.
Because of the distance and the recoil of their guns the bullets were inaccurate and sprayed all around the Covenant in a spread firestorm. The Sergeant kept his finger down and watched the bullets rain down on the creatures. Sending up clods of Earth all around them and making the ground they stood on look like it was boiling. The Grunts shrieked and jumped on their feet on the spot in a panic-induced dance. The Elite flickered brilliant silver as a few bullets bounced off it's body force-field. The Grunts ran for cover. Three Grunts were already sprawled dead on the ground, and the Sergeant could see bright blue methane leaking from the life support pack of another one that was headed for a tree. That one would be dead soon too. The Elite, however did not run for cover. The Marines guns were still firing, but their accuracy was poor because of the recoil and distance, and the Elite had realised this.
It put it's claw to it's waist and drew a plasma grenade. It pulled it's arm back and grunted as it put it's whole weight behind it's hurl. The Sergeant watched the ball of blue flame rise into the air, about sixty feet, the creature was a powerful thrower. It arced and came down towards the ledge. It was coming in to land right in between Bisenti and a Tech, and the Sergeant was sure that that was exactly where the Elite had wanted it. Apparently the Elite was a very accurate thrower too. Bisenti turned on the spot and ran from the deadly, fizzling threat of the plasma grenade. The Tech however, did not, he stood there paralysed with fear for a moment, then in an incredible demonstration of bravery, the Tech tried to kick the plasma grenade back down at the Covenant. However he also demonstrated he had no idea about the awful ability that the Covenant grenades had - they seemed to know when they were touching something that was a target, and when they did they stuck to that something, in this instance; the Tech's boot. He flailed his foot about in panic for half a second before it detonated, incinerating his legs and sending what remained of him crashing into the branches of a tree.
"WHOR HRUGH WRAAAAAAAGH!!!" The Sergeant heard from the ground below, he turned to see the Grunts who had regained their courage now there was a break in the human fire, charging for the ramp.
"REGAIN YOURSELVES MARINES!! LOAD AND FIRE!!"
it was impossible, the charging Grunts were firing their plasma pistols and needlers up at the ledge, forcing the Marines into cover.
"Wait a second..." The Sergeant said, "where the hell's that Elite gone!?" The Sergeant turned around to see on the opposite side of the landing was the top of another ramp. It was leading down to the ground on the other side of the structure!
"Oh shit." The Sergeant said, "The bastard's sneakin' up behind us!"
The Sergeant sprinted to the other side of the landing.
"SARGE!!" shouted Jenkins.
The Sergeant ignored him and came to a stop on the part of the landing that was directly above the head of the ramp, if the Elite was coming up it wouldn't see him, but he would hear it."
Sure enough the Seargent could hear the loping, striding footsteps of the Elite sprinting up the ramp beneath him.
The Sergeant drew his grenade, unlatched the detonation latch with the same hand and crouched down. The loping footsteps were nearly right beneath him. Looking down on the top of the ramp the Sergeant saw the Elite emerge from beneath the obscurity of the ledge that the he stood on.
"Surprise" the Sergeant said quietly.
The Elite heard him and turned it's head up just in time to see the Sergeant directly above it before he dropped the grenade. The Sergeant leapt backwards, hearing the "clink!" of the grenade dropping at the Elite's feet and a great gargling roar that could only be a cry of terror.
BOOOOOOOOM!
The Sergeant saw a plume of flame flare up from behind the edge of the landing above the ramp and heard the spray of blood spattering against a solid wall.
"Sir!" exclaimed Jenkins, running up to where the Sergeant lay and offering him a hand up off the floor, "The guys are dealing with the Grunts, they just turned tail and ran!"
"They must have heard what just happened to their leader" the Sergeant grunted.
"So that explosion was..." Jenkins began, peering down the ramp "Oh, I see."
"ANOTHER COVENANT DROPSHIP INBOUND!" someone cried.
"MEN!!" The Sergeant shouted, running over to the Marines "LET'S SPREAD OUT ONTO THE GROUND BELOW. I DON'T WANT US ALL UP HERE. IT'S TOO EASY FOR THE BASTARDS TO SURROUND US! TECHS! YOU STAY UP HERE AND GIVE US SOME COVER FIRE!!"

But the Dropship passed straight over them and continued in the direction of the other life pod.
"If anyone did survive they aren't gonna be alive much longer!" said the last new Marine that the Sergeant didn't know the name of.
"And if no one did survive then they're gonna come and deal with us, let's be ready.

Two tense minutes later one of the Marines shouted, "HERE COMES ANOTHER ONE!!"
The Marines aimed their guns up at the menacing, circling Covenant dropship, but stayed in the cover of trees and boulders (the turret was searching for targets.) The dropship came to a stop and started to come into land on the opposite side of the structure to Fire Team Charlie's life pod.
"MARINES!! FRONT AND CENTRE!!"
As the dropship came down it's broad side doors swung down, and when it reached the ground the Covenant who'd been inside piled out - six Grunts and one Elite. The Sergeant aimed his rifle at the group of four Grunts who'd just jumped from the left dropship door when in the distance on a ridged hill beyond the dropship he saw an unmistakable figure. It landed from a huge jump onto a huge boulder about ten foot high and launched itself back into the air with puma-like grace. The Sergeant saw the Master Chief draw a pistol in mid-air and open fire on the Grunts the Sergeant himself had been aiming at. By the time the Chief had hit the ground two of the Grunts were dead, and he continued to charge and fire the pistol. In moments all four Grunts were motionless, bleeding. The dropship took off and the Elite who'd come out of the opposite door to the Grunts saw the Chief and it's four dead soldiers. The Master Chief ran behind a tree and the Elite growled and advanced with it's plasma rifle ready.
When the Elite was mere feet away the Chief emerged from behind the tree and charged towards the Covenant warrior. The Elite opened fire, but the Chief just kept running and then leapt right over the incoming plasma and over the Elite itself. He landed gracefully behind the Elite and with lightening speed span around and sent the butt of his gun slamming into it's face. The Elite's shields took the blow, but they were surely badly weakened. The Chief instantly levelled his gun at it's chest and opened fire. The force field flickered out and the Elite staggered back as bullets tore through it's chest, until finally it fell to the ground with an agonised groan. The two remaining Grunts were fleeing, waving their arms in the air in panic, it was a strange thing - what sheer terror could do. They ran right into the gunfire of Hackett and Mendosa, and were thrown back by the force of bullet impacts.
"Shit! I knew there was a Spartan on board, I KNEW IT!" said Kennedy, who started to run to greet the Supersoldier. The Sergeant followed him. The Master Chief had reloaded his assault rifle and pistol and was now taking plasma grenades from the Elite's corpse.
"Thank God, Master Chief" Kennedy said when he reached the hulking figure "I thought we were in real trouble."
The Sergeant stepped forward and proceeded to report the situation. "It's a mess , Sir, we're scattered all over this valley. We called for evac, but, until you showed up, I thought we were cooked."
The Sergeant looked into the gold visor of the Master Chief's helmet, but merely saw his own distorted reflection, it was unnerving. The reply however did not come from the Master Chief but from a woman's voice that he recognised as Cortana from the bridge. It surprised the Sergeant for the briefest of moments before he realised that, of course, the Chief had Cortana with him.
"Don't worry Sergeant, we'll stay here until evac arrives." She said calmly.
"HEADS UP! I GOT A COVENANT DROPSHIP HEADIN' IN, OVER HERE!!"
The Master Chief, however, had already started running to engage the incoming enemy the moment they'd heard "dropship."
Kennedy was just about to follow the Chief who was headed around the left side of the structure when the Sergeant shouted after him, "HOLD IT!" Kennedy stopped and turned to face him, the Sergeant could see from his face that the Marine was itching to see the Chief in combat again. "I don't think the Chief is going to need your 'help' Marine, you're coming with me to secure the right side of the structure." The Sergeant ordered. The Marine was disappointed but understood that the Sergeant was absolutely right.
The two sprinted to enforce the other side of the structure.
The dropship had already touched down and unleashed it's load, and the Chief was already there perched on a smaller structure to the front of the large one. He was sending a dead accurate hail of pistol rounds down on a charging Elite. They cracked away at it's shields, until the field gave out. The stream of bullets however, did not pause, a pistol round blew right through the Elite's face and out the back of it's helmet, sending the contents down onto the ground. The Sergeant was watching the Chief dealing with a pair of Jackals when a familiar impish bark made him aware of three incoming Grunts. He and Kennedy fired bursts at the Grunts while trying to duck and cover from their plasma shots. They managed to get down and crouch behind a boulder unscathed, but could hear the trot of the advancing Grunts, who were spurred on by Kennedy and the Sergeant's retreat. The three yapping Grunts were getting closer. The Sergeant had to act now or at least one of them would be killed by the trio, they were outnumbered. He remembered how the Grunts on several occasions had just fallen apart and fled once frightened.
"Kennedy, give me a leg up over this boulder when I say" He hissed.
Kennedy asked no questions and got ready.
"NOW!!"
Kennedy put his whole force under the Sergeant's foot and propelled him right over the boulder.
The Sergeant saw the Grunts jump back in fright at the sight of a roaring, flying human.
He landed two feet infront of them and fired his assault rifle into the gut of the middle Grunt before they had regained themselves. The other two however were under control again and had their guns pointed right at the Sergeant.
The Sergeant hesitated, but before he had decided what to do a blast of bullets from Kennedy behind the boulder blew through the Grunt's armour to his right.
The other Grunt turned in surprise and the Sergeant brought the butt of his gun crashing down on it's skull. The thick strip of metal that was attached to the gasmask and went along the front of it's face and over it's head prevented the blow from smashing the Grunt's head in, but the little simian was still concussed by the force. The Sergeant would have kicked the little monster to death had he not heard the call of a Marine on his comm: "LOOK SHARP, COVENANT DROPSHIP ON APPROACH, I COULD USE SOME HELP OVER HERE!!"
The Sergeant looked up to see the dropship decelerating and coming to a stop right in his field of vision, about the same distance from the escape pod as the previous dropship had been in the opposite direction.
Another thing entered his field of vision, the Master Chief had his pistol and drawn and raised up at the craft as he charged from the direction of the previous dropship. The moment the dropship doors opened the Chief's gun fired, a grunt was tumbling out of the craft before it had even landed.
"KENNEDY! NOW LET'S GO GIVE THE CHIEF SOME HELP!!"
"YES SIR!!" cried Kennedy with open enthusiasm.
The pair ran between the cover of the huge bulbous-trunked evergreen trees to the dropship. The hatches were open, one door faced them, the other faced the direction of the Chief. The door that faced the Sergeant and Kennedy now had four Grunts climbing out of it. The Sergeant and the Private leaned around the tree they hid behind and sent short bursts (too increase their accuracy) of bullets at the creatures, their shots missed however and just ricocheted into and off of the dropship interior, ringing in the Grunts ears and fully alerting them.
They did not panic however, they spotted the two soldiers, and realising they had superior numbers, charged barking and howling.
That is until they heard a grenade explosion and the dying cry of their leader on the other side of the now rising dropship. The dropship took off from the small hill it had landed on, and up over the top of the hill came the unstoppable, relentless figure of the Master Chief.
With his rifle drawn he charged down the slope of the hill after the terrified and fleeing Grunts, mowing them down methodically and efficiently. The Sergeant could see that the Chief took no pleasure in killing things. Once the Chief had dealt with the Grunts he reloaded his gun and ran right past the Sergeant and Kennedy, without acknowledging them. The Sergeant's eyes followed the Chief until he saw the Covenant dropship the Spartan was running to engage.
"UH-OH! ANOTHER BANDIT DROPPIN IN BEHIND US! THEY'RE TRYIN' TO FLANK US!"
"Let's go sir!" called Kennedy, following the Chief.
The Sergeant reached for a clip on his belt... there were none.
"How are you doin' for ammo son?" The Sergeant called back to him.
Kennedy tapped his gun, "This one's my last"
The Sergeant started to run, as he passed Kennedy he said, "Let's get some more while we have the chance, we don't know how long we're gonna have to hold up here!"

From the top of the structure after they had replenished their ammo they simply watched from the edge of the building as the Chief finished off the newest Covenant forces.
The Sergeant watched the Chief punch through the lifepack and spine of a fleeing Grunt , spraying his armour with methane and blood. It was good to see the Covenant having their asses kicked.
"Why didn't the UNSC make more of those guys?" a Tech said incredulously (the one Sergeant Johnson had sat next to in the life pod), pausing to fire off his pistol at a Grunt fleeing into some trees.
The Sergeant remembered once seeing a UNSC specs operative who had suffered extreme Parkinson's Disease and some mutated bone growth. He had wondered why the UNSC had decided to even accept such a disabled individual.
When he asked his superior he was told to watch where he stuck his nose. However after a little digging he discovered the 'individual' had been a failed Spartan, and there were others. It seemed that the Spartans had gone through some risky bio-enhancement that had killed and badly disabled many of them. All the suffering the Chief must have gone through...
"They don't just crank them out on a factory line, boy! They're Human Beings, Show some respect!" The Sergeant scolded.
The Tech shrank, "Sorry, Sir. It's just..." The Tech froze, staring beyond the Sergeant, "OH SHIT, HERE COME TWO OF THEM!!"
The Sergeant turned. The two menacing dropships were coming in to circle them like birds of prey, the turrets searching. One of the turrets locked on their position, making them run from the open-to-fire edge of the landing to the cover of the middle. The Sergeant, Kennedy and the two Techs stayed under the cover of the monument-like structure above them, listening to the malevolent hum of the two ships.
The dropships were coming down to land (like others before them they were landing to the front of the structure near the escape pod.)
"LET'S MOVE IT KENNEDY!!" the Sergeant barked.
As they came down the ramp they saw the Chief headed for the left dropship, the one that was closer to the ground.
"MARINES!!" the Sergeant cried, addressing all those who could hear him, "THE CHIEF CAN HANDLE THAT DROPSHIP, LET'S TAKE THE ONE TO THE RIGHT!!"
The Marines acknowledged and ran to hide behind cover around the right dropship's LZ, ready to engage.
Over the throbbing hum of the Covenant ship they could hear the sound of the Chief mashing his way through his enemies off near the other dropship.
"MARINES, GET YOUR GUNS READY!!" the Sergeant bellowed.
The dropship was a metre from the ground.
"FIRE IN THE HOLE!!!" cried Bisenti, hurling a grenade that settled in front of the craft's left door.
The doors opened, from the left side of the ship came three Jackals and an Elite.
They piled out, and unaware of the grenade, they walked straight over it.
BOOOOOOOM!!!
The grenade detonated a few feet behind them, the blast caught the Elite and one of the Jackals.
It sent the Jackal flying forward, but the Elite's body-shields protected it from the blast.
The Marines emerged from their hiding places and fired.
But the Elite and remaining Jackals didn't panic, the Jackals instinctively raised their shields, in time to deflect the incoming bullets.
The Elite waved his hand imperiously and roared, ordering the Jackals forward. The two vulture-headed creatures advanced while firing their pistols, sending cover fire at the Marines who were leaning around boulders and rocks.
The Sergeant wasn't sure whether they had enough manpower to try a frontal assault, he needed to see what had come out of the other door... The ship took off, revealing four Grunts, two red, two yellow. The Elite roared again and the yellow Grunts came forward to help the Jackals. They sent plasma in the Marines' directions, forcing them into cover and not giving much opportunity to retaliate.
"I'VE BEEN SAVING A LIITLE SOMETHING FOR YOU, YOU BASTARDS!!" cried Hackett, pulling his grenade from his belt.
However before he had a chance to pull the latch, the Sergeant saw the two red Grunts the Elite make a synchronised grenade toss, sending three plasma grenades right among the hidden Marines.
"They're flashing us out" thought the Sergeant.
Despite this he had already started to run, he'd rather take his chances with the Covenant plasma fire than with an exploding plasma grenade. The Marines scrambled from their hiding places, running for the nearest safe cover.
The Sergeant ran for a tree, awaiting blasts of plasma to rip through his back.
He heard the Covenant fire their weapons... yet he was unharmed, he didn't even see shots that had missed him. Then he heard human gunfire. He stopped and looked over his shoulder.
The Master Chief was there, he had pulverised the Grunts and was advancing on the Elite and Jackals. He rolled under a volley of fire, and as he straightened up the Sergeant saw he had drawn a grenade. The grenade was thrown behind the Jackals, who turned to shield themselves from the explosion, exposing their backs to the Chief. The Chief ducked under a weighty blow that the Elite had aimed at his head, and fired his rifle at the two exposed Jackals' backs.
The bullet impacts sent them toppling forward, only to be flung back by the sudden explosion of the grenade.
The Chief turned, to face the Elite, but the towering creature was already on him, it struck a skull-crushing blow to him with it's plasma rifle, the Chief's shields saved him from a messy end...only just.
The Chief was thrown to the floor.
The Elite levelled it's gun at the unshielded Chief.
"HEY, YOU SON OF A BITCH!!!" The Sergeant cried, firing his rifle, more to attract attention than to hit the Elite. "TAKE ME ON!! I'LL RIP YOUR THROAT OUT!!"
The Sergeant could have sworn the Elite had understood what he'd said, as it let out an enraged roar, and aimed it's rifle.
Before it had a chance to fire however, a plasma grenade hit it squarely in it's chest and stuck there. The Elite stopped and looked down at the grenade unbelievingly, before the explosion blew it backwards, staining the grass around it purple with blood.
The Master Chief rose from the ground, and reloaded his gun.
The Sergeant was going to see if the Chief was OK when an unexpected but welcome surprise piped through his comm.
"This is Pelican Echo 419, anybody readin' me? Repeat, any UNSC personnel respond!"
It was Foe Hammer!
"Roger Echo 419," Came Bisenti's voice over the com, "This is Fire Team Charlie, we read you five by five. That you Foe Hammer?"
"Roger Fire Team Charlie, good to hear from ya!"
"If you're not to busy Foe Hammer, we could use a lift, we have survivors to transport to the command shuttle."
Before a reply came the Sergeant heard the roar of more engines other than that of the circling Pelican's.
The roar got louder until finally three more life pods emerged from beyond a ridge and continued downwards into the distance and out of sight again.
A woman's voice piped over the comm channel that the Sergeant realised was Cortana, "Foe Hammer, we need you to disengage your Warthog, the Master Chief and I are going to see if we can save some soldiers."
"Great," thought the Sergeant "with the Master Chief headed out the survivors will have a solid chance of getting back alive, and we'll have more men."
"Roger Cortana," came Foe Hammer over the comm "OK Charlie Team Warthog deployed. Saddle up and give 'em hell!"
"Roger Foe Hammer" replied Cortana "Stand by to evac survivors and transport them to safety."
"That's affirmative, Echo 419 staying on station. Foe Hammer out."

The Master Chief was headed for the Warthog, and the Marines and Techs headed for the Pelican, eager to get back to a friendly area. The Sergeant helped the Tech who'd piloted the pod, who'd taken a needle to his hip and was limping in quite serious pain.
Cortana's voice, however, came over the comm once more, addressing the Sergeant, "The Master Chief and I need some back up, can you spare a few men?"
The Sergeant called over the Tech's shoulder, "ALRIGHT LADIES, VOLUNTEERS STEP UP ON THE DOUBLE!!"
The Sergeant could see however that Kennedy was already running to get into the passenger seat of the Warthog, next to the Master Chief. The Sergeant grinned, the soldier's fascination with the Spartan, was stronger than his fear of death.
"The rest of you get to the dropship!" he addressed the others.
Mendosa and Jenkins helped the Tech into the Pelican and into a seat.
The Sergeant climbed in and strapped into the seat right by the hatch.
The Pelican lurched forwards and upwards unpleasantly, the momentum made the injured Tech groan in pain, as the lurch moved his messed leg. Mendosa, who sat next to the Tech gave him a painkiller.
The Sergeant watched the ground below get smaller, he saw the trail of turned earth from the shrinking Warthog turn into a small band of brown against the rich green grass before they flew over a crest of trees and the clearing they had fought in disappeared.
The Pelican levelled and put on a powerful burst of speed , the engines roared powerfully, and the ground sped away below them.
The Sergeant walked to a comm on the rear wall and switched it on.
"HEY FOE HAMMER," he shouted over the noise of the engines "HOW LONG TILL WE REACH THE COMMAND SHUTTLE?"
"About ten minutes Sarge!" came the reply.
The Sergeant was about to take his seat again when he switched the comm back on, "AND CAN YOU CLOSE THE GOD DAMN HATCH!!"
He got no reply but the hatch started to close, when it did it muffling the sound of the roaring engines a bit.
The Sergeant inserted a music chip into an audio player on his belt.
The inside of the Pelican was filled with the powerful sound of heavy metal, even more powerful than the Pelican's engines. To this Mendosa, Jenkins and Bisenti groaned, they hated it.
"Don't you think we've suffered enough!?" wailed Mendosa in mock hysteria.

TO BE CONTINUED

Under the sergeant's cap (chapter 4)
Date: 19 January 2003, 11:33 am

The Pelican hatch began to open, the Marines awoke from their dosing stupor that tended to be brought on by ten minutes of listening to the Sergeant's music.
"OK Charlie Team, we're here!" came Foe Hammer through the comm.
The Sergeant switched his audio player off and peered out of the Pelican down to see a few Longsword Fighters surrounding the Command Shuttle.
The Command Shuttle was a broad ship about two Pelicans wide and three long, and the shape sort of reminded the Sergeant of a Manta Ray, if a Manta Ray was a bit longer and swept back with hard angles. There were sensors and radar all over the front section of the ship before the very cramped bridge.
It had four anvil missile pods and four 50mm gun emplacements, two facing forwards, attached to the swept back 'wings,'one below on it's belly and one on it's back.
It was nearly as well armoured as a battleship, 75cm of titanium-A battle plate in most places, a little less in others. It also had the green plasma-distoring sheen that the Warthogs, Pelicans, Scorpions- in fact most new issue UNSC vehicles had, designed to spread out a blast of plasma.
The Command Shuttle's purpose was exactly what it was doing now; should the crew of a UNSC battleship have to abandon ship, the Command Shuttle would be the place where the orders and decisions would be made afterwards.
The Sergeant knew why there were no Pelicans on the ground, but one thing did confuse him,
"HEY FOE HAMMER, WHY HASN'T ANYONE EVEN STARTED TO SET UP CAMP?"
"We're running to a timer Sergeant," came Foe Hammer's voice, sounding grim,
"It's estimated we've got 20 minutes before large amounts of Covenant enforcements get here, they know where we are, we have to get as many survivors out as we can before we have to take off and move on, I just hope the Master Chief is as incredible as I've heard. We can't afford to wait too long for the Covenant who're gonna be headed for the new lifepods to be neutralised so we can land."
"Where are the other Pelicans?" asked the Tech the Sergeant had sat next to in the life pod.
"They're either still incoming after escaping from the Autumn, trying to rescue other lifepods, or destroyed," Foe Hammer replied. "OK gentleman, kindly move your asses, I have other Marines to evac."
The Marines helped out the injured Tech and felt the air around them blow and howl from the Pelican's airbrakes before it went up and engaged it's thrusters, flying back where it came from.
"RIGHT, MENDOSA! JENKINS! GET THIS TECH INTO THE SHUTTLE AND FIND HIM A MEDIC!!" The Sergeant turned to Bisenti and Hackett, who were also injured, "You too, boys, go on, DOUBLE TIME!!"
They nodded and followed Mendosa and Jenkins who were carrying the Tech.
The Sergeant then turned, there was the remaining Tech who he'd sat next to on the life pod and the last Marine they'd met on the Autumn that the Sergeant didn't know. The Sergeant addressed the Marine
"Name and rank?" he said.
"SIR! PRIVATE MITCHELL, FIRE TEAM SIERRA!!"
"Fire Team Charlie now Son!" the Sergeant corrected him, "You stay here and keep guard, I think we're the first Marines to get back."
Then he turned to the Tech who straightened and saluted,
"Weatherly, Sir, Reactor Maintenance Technician, Sir!" he replied.
"You're coming with me, Tech. After I've seen the Captain I'll kit you up, I don't think we're gonna need a 'Reactor Maintenance Technician,' but we are going to need more soldiers." The Sergeant said.
He was pleased to see, however, that the Tech didn't flinch at being told he was going to have to be a soldier and fight.
The Sergeant saluted Mitchell, who returned his salute, and then he marched off to the Command Shuttle with the Tech following his stride.

The Sergeant walked up to the access ramp hatch of the Command Shuttle, it was closed. He unlatched the vaccum cover for the control panel and keyed the 'door open' request button...
The door didn't open.
The Sergeant was about to bang on the hatch when a voice came through a comm. on the panel,
"State your emergency priority access password and ID code, please!"
The Sergeant scowled and shook his head angrily. He pressed the comm.
"Uh yeah," he replied, "here's my access password: OPEN THIS FUCKING DOOR BEFORE I SMASH IT THROUGH AND I BREAK YOUR FACE YOU LITTLE PUNK!!!"
There was a pause... then the door pistons whined and the ramp opened.
The Sergeant stormed in, utterly furious, he looked around for the one who'd been on the comm.
It was a Tech, stood at a small security control panel in the wall. The Tech recoiled in terror at the sight of the enraged Sergeant storming towards him.
The Sergeant backhanded him hard across the face.
The Tech clapped his hand against his struck cheekbone in shock.
The Sergeant then took the Tech by the scruff of his uniform, dragged him straight past Weatherly to the access hatch and flung the Tech down the ramp, who tumbled and landed heavily, crumpled on the ground outside.
The Sergeant went to the control panel and keyed the door shut. He then stood at the closing hatch and saw the Tech's horrified face.
"AND THAT'S MY ID CODE!!!" The Sergeant shouted before the hatch slammed shut.
Weatherly seemed both shocked and impressed as he followed the Sergeant out, who was grumbling about cocky punks getting power trips.

The Sergeant and Weatherly got to the 'bridge.' It was a small, cramped, dim, sweaty little room about five feet wide and seven feet long towards the front of the Command Shuttle. It had four seats that faced control panels along the opposite seven foot walls, two seats to a wall. There was a door that lead beyond the cramped bridge to a two-pilot cockpit.
Ops Personnel manned the terminals and there in the centre of the little room was Sergeant Daux.
He was white with a small, non-regulation goatee and a scar across his face. Sergeant Daux was not Sergeant Johnson's favourite character, in fact, the Sergeant thought that he was a hick and a bit of an idiot.
At seeing Sergeant Johnson, Daux grinned,
"I saw what you did to that Tech, Johnson. You know, he was just following orders, the Shuttle was on alpha alert and at full security! That was verbal and physical abuse to a fellow member of the UNSC, do you know the penalty is for that?" Daux asked in imitated authority.
"I don't have time for this crap Daux, where's the Captain?"
"Ah" said Daux, his face fell, "I see you haven't heard. The Captain manually crash-landed the Autumn, he could be dead or captured by Covenant."
"Oh shit," Sergeant Johnson hissed angrily. He turned to the Ops Personnel who was monitoring the sensors, "Locate that ship and scan it for the captain's CNI transponder signal!"
"You know I'm not completely incompetent Johnson!" Said Daux angrily "I've already got them looking"
Johnson turned angrily to Daux, "But you ARE incompetent enough to not even post a guard outside!"
Sergeant Daux threw out his chest,
"Hey! Look my men are tired, they've just seen their comrades dieing and they need to get a break and something to eat while they can!"
"Oh hell with it!" said the Sergeant. "I came here to see the Captain and he's not here" The Sergeant turned his back to Daux and walked past Weatherly to the exit,
"Come on Tech!" the Sergeant called, "let's kit you out!"

Sergeant had Weatherly in armour and was showing him how to reload an assault rifle in the small armoury when a Tech came nervously through the automatic door. It was the Tech he'd thrown out of the hatch, he had a large bruise across his face.
"Sergeant Daux trying to traumatise the Tech a little more I suppose" thought Sergeant Johnson to himself.
The Sergeant stared at the Tech and he jumped,
"uh... Sergeant D-Daux ...aa... he told me to tell you th-that the Master Chief was here w-with the last of the survivors, Sir! He requests you g-go to the bridge..." the Tech stuttered.
He seemed to be expecting the Sergeant to beat him again, and was desperate to get out of the room.
"Thank you Tech, dismissed" the Sergeant said calmly.
The Tech breathed a small sigh of relief and made for the door.
"Oh and Tech" the Sergeant called to the Tech's back, who froze, "Sorry about the face."
The Tech waited a moment, then quickly walked off.
"Right Weatherly" the Sergeant said "I'll leave you to work out how to reload, just don't cause a hull breach."

As the Sergeant walked up the small ramp to the tiny little bridge he felt the Shuttle shudder and take off.
He walked through the small automatic door and entered.
Sergeant Daux turned to face him.
"Sergeant, good news, the Chief did a great job, we got back a good number of survivors with only a few casualties!"
"Excellent" approved Sergeant Johnson.
"Also, Cortana's managed to locate Captain Keyes. He's alive!"
"Where?"
"A grounded Covenant cruiser, 'The Truth and Reconciliation.' Cortana disabled it before we abandoned ship 'pparently. So no risk of it getting away any time soon!"
"Good news, but we still need to get on board a Covenant cruiser and past all of it's crew" said Sergeant Johnson pessimistically.
"...yes, well, I prefer to not think about that" said Sergeant Daux, his enthusiasm punctured, "But anyway, we're headed over an ocean now, staying low of course, we're headed for a small set of islands to hide from the Covenant, when we get down we can decide what we're going to do."
"Sounds good" agreed the Sergeant.

The small fleet of Pelicans, Longswords and Command Shuttle flew perfectly level, 300 feet from the water. The sun began to disappear behind the great gas giant that the ring orbited.
Unlike on Earth, there was no shades of orange as the sun disappeared, due to the fact that the sun was not shining through a large part of atmosphere because of the shape of the ring.
Neither was there twilight, the rings spin just brought them into darkness.
The small fleet flew on.

"COME AND GET IT!!" cried Mendosa, who was stirring a huge vat full of staple UNSC stew, or 'Shit' as the Marines had come to call it.
"I don't care what it is, I could eat a Grunt!" cried one Marine.
Attention turned to the Master Chief as he took an especially large serving and sat down to eat.
Everyone fell quiet as he reached his hands up and undid a catch on his helmet.
He lifted.
In a simple movement the powerful, faceless and quite unnerving robot became a person.
Everyone couldn't help but stare.
The Master Chief had closely cropped, dark oak-brown hair, a strong jaw and cheekbones and a broad face. His eyes were thoughtful and deep.
Those same eyes were looking around at everyone who was staring at him.
Everyone suddenly realised they were staring and awkwardly started to eat again.

Spirits were running high, they were safe, they had hidden the craft, set up camp and had all gotten good meals.
Now was the time for briefing.
Sergeant Johnson called everyone around the fire they'd set up and began.
"OK people, we've discovered that Captain Keyes is alive.
We know he's been taken by the Covenant, and we know where.
Our next objective is simple: Rescue Captain Keyes and any other UNSC personnel aboard the Covenant cruiser."
A murmur went through the group, as they turned and looked at one another.
One Marine raised his hand,
"Yes Marine?" the Sergeant asked
"How?" the Marine said simply.
"Well," the Sergeant began matter-of-factly "We will take a Pelican, get in as close as we can, drop in a small squad with the Master Chief taking the point"
The Master Chief (who stood head and shoulders above everyone else) nodded, his head concealed behind his helmet again.
The Sergeant continued, "Then we'll fight our way on board the ship, get to the Captain and get him out of there. I'm sorry, but what the hell do you want me to say, we're out on a limb here, we've just gotta risk it."
The group was silent, it was the stupidest mission they'd ever heard.
Then one Marine raised his hand.
"Yes Marine?" The Sergeant asked.
"Sir! I would like to volunteer for the mission, Sir!"
The Sergeant's face wrinkled with a smile as more hands started to rise,
"I'm in"
"Count me in too, Sir!"
"Yeah! I'm game!"
"Hell, why not? I'll go!"
"Just try an' stop me!"
The Sergeant raised his arms in the air and everyone fell silent.
"You make me proud Marines, but we can't afford all of you to go at once, we'll need a tight, point squad lead by the Master Chief that can get as close to the ship as possible without being detected. However no doubt we'll need some reinforcements on hand."
Sergeant Daux cut in,
"I'll lead the reinforcements should we need them"
Sergeant Johnson nodded,
"Now, we'll need five Marines to head the mission with the Chief. I'm not going to choose you, 'cause I don't know who most of you are, I'll leave it to you to decide who'll be going."
The group leapt into discussion;
"I've survived against larger numbers of Covenant before!"
"I've had intensive infiltration training!"
"I've done rescue missions before!"
"If you don't let me go I'll stow on board!"
They went on for several minutes before the argument descended into quiet decision, and finally everyone was silent.
"Have you decided?" The Sergeant asked,
The Marines acknowledged, and five of them stepped forward.
The Sergeant only recognised one of them, that was Private Mitchell, the man who he'd left on guard when they'd landed after being evac'ed by Foe Hammer.
"Good, I'm sure you are all content with the choice, but don't worry, we'll still need some of you on standby should the mission hit a hitch."
Some of the Marines faces brightened at hearing this.
"OK, that's all we have. I'm afraid there's no other intel we've got to help the mission.
Marines, all you'll have is your wits, the Master Chief and any intel Cortana can give you during the missions course."
The Marines acknowledged.
"You'll be leaving at 0500 hours, by the time you reach the objective it should be dark on that part of the ring and it'll make the mission that much easier. So get some shut-eye!"
The Marines all dispersed to prepare their sleeping bags.
As they did, only one of them noticed the Seargent walking off...

The Sergeant sat on a rock on the beach, it was silent except for the rhythmical breath and sigh of the waves, which were much smaller on the ringworld due to it's smaller tides than Earth
He looked up, following the incredible structure up into the heavens above...
...heavens...
"Mind if I sit with you?"
The Sergeant jumped to his feet and jerked around,
"Whoa! Sorry Johnson, never seen you startled before!"
It was Daux.
"You should be getting some sleep!" replied Johnson.
Daux came and sat next to him,
"Nah, can't" he replied
"..." The Seargent just stared up at the ringworld.
"What're you thinking about?" Daux asked, studying Johnson.
"My wife and kids"
"You got kids too, huh?" Daux grinned, pleased he had found some similarity between himself and the stoney Johnson,
"I have three, love 'em all. That's why I'm here fighting in God knows where. Mine are on Earth, yours?"
The Sergeant kept looking up at the ring,
"Mine are dead."
Sergeant Daux cursed himself silently for talking about family,
"I'm... really sorry" Daux began,
"So am I" said Johnson, "But now I fight for other people's families and loved ones..." the Sergeant turned to face Daux, "...like yours."
Daux nodded slowly and smiled.
Then he leaned forward and pulled a small liquid container from within the armour of his boot.
He offered the container to Seargent Johnson, who merely looked at it,
before growling,
"I suppose I'm right in assuming that's not water," raising his eyebrows, "You know the penalty for carrying alcohol?"
"You didn't seem to be paying too much attention to penalties yourself when you threw that Tech out of the hatch, huh, Johnson?" Daux shot back with a smirk
The Sergeant sighed.
Daux leaned forward,
"Look, you and I both risk our necks fighting for all humanity, don't you think the UNSC can forgive us for an awful breach of regulations just this once?"
Johnson just looked silently at Daux, to which Daux just shook his head and said,
"Well I know that I may die in a few hours. I know that you can't fight for everyone's lives and not try to live your own. Because if you don't, well, then that's one life you failed to save. So bottoms up!"
He tilted the little container and took a big swig, threw forward and shook his head,
"ARGH, good stuff..."
The Sergeant looked at Daux for a moment, then he reached forward and whipped the little container out of his hands.
He tilted the container and drank down all of the fiery liquid, the WHOLE bloody container.
It scorched his throat like plasma, but it fired his soul.
"You drank it all!!" exclaimed Daux, in between anger, shock and amazement.
"Just to make sure there's no risk of you getting drunk on the mission Daux, now get some sleep!" Seargent Johnson barked.
Sergeant Daux stared at Sergeant Johnson for a moment, considering him.
Then he grinned and saluted,
"Yessir!!"


TO BE CONTINUED

Under the sergeant's cap (chapter 5)
Date: 31 January 2003, 10:55 pm

NOTE FROM TRAU. MAR.



It had been dark for hours on their part of the ring, but darkness had only just started to come on the area of the ring that was their objective.
The five selected Marines who were to head the infiltration/rescue mission with the Master Chief, as well as Sergeant Daux and the five backup Marines, were getting prepared for the mission (the Chief was armed already.)
Sergeant Johnson was starting to feel slightly dizzy. He handled alcohol well, but whatever had been in Daux's drinks container he was sure had been distilled from jet fuel.
He didn't know exactly why he'd drank the whole container, perhaps there was a part of him that had really wanted it, for whatever reason it was, it'd still been completely out of his character and a direct violation of UNSC protocols.
Sergeant Johnson did know, however, that he dearly wanted to go and be the first in the rescue mission and fight. But he reminded himself that with Daux and the Master Chief already going on the mission, he had to stay, they couldn't risk losing all of their field commanders in one mission.
-Or at least that's what Johnson would have reminded himself, but he had taken in a lot of alcohol, and the restraint that he'd learned from the UNSC was depressed in his mind, and as far as he was concerned, nothing would stop him getting on that Pelican.

"OK gentlemen," said Lieutenant Shannae Houston, (a renowned pilot with quite a reputation, she'd turned down many promotions so she could remain a pilot in the field, the Marines nicknamed her Foe Hammer) "Get your carcasses on board and let's rescue the Captain!"
The Marines cheered and followed, going through the hatch and strapping in.
Foe Hammer walked through the automatic, airtight access door from the drop-off hatch to the cockpit.
She got a little shock as she climbed in, however.
There, leaning against the pilot seat was Sergeant Johnson.
"Sir, what are you doing here?" Foe Hammer asked, trying to sound unsurprised.
"I'll be over-seeing the mission Lieutenant" he replied simply.
"With all due respect Sir I don't believe you said anything about this in the brief" Foe Hammer protested.
"The mission will be unaffected by my presence, Houston, if anything it will be helped, if there's a problem I want to be on hand." Growled Sergeant Johnson dangerously, "Now kindly get this thing up in the air before I do so myself!"
Foe Hammer complied and got in the pilot seat, but there was definitely something off with the Sergeant, throughout the time she'd known him he'd never acted like this.
The Pelican took off, and after about ten minutes flight the Sergeant relaxed,
"Thank you Lieutenant" he said, and with that he turned around and keyed open the access hatch.
The Marines (two of whom were sat on the floor,) the Master Chief and Sergeant Daux all turned their heads to the sound of the access door hissing open.
They were all, at first, confused at seeing Johnson (the Sergeant was sure behind the Chief's visor he was a bit confused too) when he was supposed to be back at the Command Shuttle.
There was an awkward moment before Sergeant Johnson announced,
"I'll be joining the first squad in the assault."
The Marines were even more confused at this unexpected and completely illogical announcement.
All that is, except Sergeant Daux, he'd suddenly understood what was going on.
He unstrapped and got up,
"Come with me Johnson and let's talk in private" he said, nudging the Sergeant Johnson back through the access door.
"Hey Foe Hammer!" said Daux, trying to sound cheery and casual, "How long 'till our arrival point?" Foe Hammer craned her neck around the pilot seatand stared for a moment, still confused by the fact that Sergeant Johnson was onboard, before regaining herself,
"ETA in fifteen, Sir!" she replied.
"Great! Look Lieutenant do me a favour and put us on auto for a few minutes and give the Sarge and me some privacy!"
"Sir what's going-" began Foe Hammer.
"THAT'S AN ORDER LIEUTENANT!" barked Daux angrily.
Foe Hammer quickly unstrapped and headed for the access door,
"Men-" she mumbled angrily.
"Do you have something you wish to say Lieutenant?" snapped Daux.
"No Sir!" Foe Hammer said quickly, before opening the door and exiting the cockpit.
Sergeant Johnson was quite impressed, he'd never really seen Daux in action, but he wasn't as incompetent as he'd first imagined.
"That was well handled boy!" He remarked.
Daux turned to him,
"Really? Thanks!" He said with a pleasant smile for a moment, before his face hardened, "And WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE!?"
The Sergeant stepped forward and raised his finger,
"Watch how you talk to me son! I'm going with the first squad!"
Daux grabbed Johnson by his shoulder plates and shook him,
"LISTEN TO YOURSELF JOHNSON!" Daux hissed, "That drink has made you lose your common sense! You can't possibly do any good like this, you'll get yourself and maybe others killed!
NOW PULL YOURSELF TOGETHER!!"
Johnson listened- what's more, he understood. He took off his cap and pinched the bridge of his nose,
"Look, Daux, you're right, I've done something unforgivable-" Johnson began,
"Hey!" Daux cut in, "If you shut up and get a grip then I'll forgive you!"
Sergeant Johnson looked at Daux- finally Johnson said,
"Come on Daux, get ready, we're gonna be there soon, let's get Foe Hammer back in the pilot seat!"
Daux nodded, looking content.

"OK gentlemen, I'm gonna drop off 2nd squad backup a safe distance from the cruiser and then I'll take 1st squad in as close as I can." Foe Hammer announced on the comm. "And don't worry 2nd squad, I'll be back!"
"YOU BETTER!!" shouted one of the Marines in 2nd squad.
The Pelican came in to land relatively close to the base of a set of towering cliffs, the Covenant cruiser could also be seen from where they were.
"OK, 2nd squad pile out!!" cried Daux, "Good luck Chief, and you too guys!" he said to the rest of them, "Hey Johnson!! Come on!!"
Johnson leaned out of the Pelican hatch, gripping the side,
"Daux, I'm gonna stay here and see 1st squad off." He said to Daux who was on the ground.
Daux eyed Johnson suspiciously.
Johnson raised his hand,
"I promise you that's all I'm gonna do!"
Daux nodded.
"ALRIGHT FOE HAMMER!! GET US UP THERE!!" Johnson bellowed.
Daux and 2nd squad watched Foe Hammer gain altitude until it was high enough to pass over the cliffs and out of sight.

The Sergeant stood behind Foe Hammer in the pilot seat, looking out of the cockpit view port.
There was the Covenant cruiser; Johnson had never really had the time to take a long, hard look at one of these great, majestic craft. They had always been too busy trying to destroy them.
Despite the resent he should have felt, he had to admit, it was a beautiful piece of work.
It was then he realised something- it wasn't on the ground!
"Hey Foe Hammer! Look, it's in the air!" he said stupidly,
"Yessir, I make it about 300-350 metres!" replied Foe Hammer.
"We've already hit a problem; how the hell can we get to it?!" cursed the Sergeant angrily.
"Actually Sir we're in real luck" corrected Foe Hammer, "I'm reading gravitational anomalies in the centre section on the belly to the aft of the cruiser. What's more, I've got flux signals ascending and descending distances of about 300 feet give, or take. I'm pretty damn certain there's some kind of grav lift that the Covenant are using to move supplies and themselves up and down!"
"A grav lift WE can use to board! Excellent!" said the Sergeant happily.
"Sir! You'd better tell the Marines and the Chief that we're nearly there, I've just sent Cortana the data on the cruiser's position!" announced Foe Hammer.

Sergeant Johnson entered into the drop-off hatch,
"OK gentlemen, get ready, we're gonna drop you off as near as damn possible!"
One of the Marines looked at the Sergeant apprehensively,
"So you're not coming now?" he asked, his eyebrows raised.
"You've got the Master Chief, boy, you don't need me!" the Sergeant replied evasively.
"Right," came Cortana's simulated voice from the Master Chief's suit, "Let me reiterate before we land. The enemy has captured Captain Keyes, and are holding him aboard one of their cruisers, the Truth and Reconciliation. The ship is currently holding position approximately three hundred meters above the other end of this plateau."
The Marines were lost, one of them asked incrediously,
"So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corp issued me a rifle, not wings!"
The Sergeant stepped forward,
"There's a gravity lift that ferries troops and supplies between the ship and the surface. That's our ticket in!"
Land appeared below the Pelican, and it stopped accelerating. It came to a stop and made a steady 180 degree turn anti-clockwise, so the hatch faced towards the plateau.
"HIT IT MARINES! GO! GO! GO! THE CORP AIN'T PAYIN' US BY THE HOUR!!"
The Sergeant barked after them as he watched the Marines and the Chief pile out and disperse, their rifle torches on.
The Sergeant turned around and went back into the cockpit, encase he suddenly decided to jump out at the last moment. Those Marines would likely die tonight.
Foe Hammer took off and headed back to where they'd dropped 2nd squad for safety.

Daux and the Marines heard the Pelican's distant, roaring engines and looked up to see it emerge from beyond the plateau. It spiralled downwards towards them and came to land on the ground, the airbrakes were disengaged but the throbbing engines still rumbled deeply.
Daux was relieved to see Sergeant Johnson emerge from the Pelican, followed by Foe Hammer.
"Thank God!" Daux thought to himself, "I thought he might decide to jump out and join the others-"
Sergeant Daux jogged up to them,
"How did it go?" he asked,
"Fine" replied Johnson.
After all, what else could he say?
"Come on, we've got a small chemical heat radiator going, it's getting real cold." Indicated Daux, who had already started walking back to the other Marines, who were in a circle around the glowing chemical rod that shimmered with heat. They couldn't risk the light of a fire, though if the Covenant decided to search they'd trace the heat signals anyway, so either it was reducing the risk only very slightly. Still, they had to keep warm.

They all sat in a circle, with the eerie, dim glow of the chemical rod casting gaunt shadows on their faces.
"So," began one of the Marines, addressing Johnson, "how did you end up here?"
This caught Johnson off guard, he'd never really thought about how he'd wound up where he was, he'd been to busy worrying about surviving the ordeal.
"Well son-" he began, "I think it started on Reach. There was a new, secret project underway from SpecWar, headed by a guy named Ackerson, he was a Colonel I think. They needed a squad of test subjects for a new kind of neural implant they had designed to improve individual and squad performance in the field. It was called a ABNDSC- Neural Alphawave Broadcast and Depressant/Stimulant Chip.
We'd had a lot of preparation briefing on its specs and what we could expect from it. It was designed to depress negative neural functions like fear, while boost positive ones like determination and confidence."
One of the Marines interrupted,
"Whoa! Wait a second, you're saying it screwed around with your emotions? Didn't you think it would be a bad idea to have something like that in your head?"
The Sergeant replied,
"It was stimulated by adrenaline, when you were in danger, or in the field. It was then the effects kicked in. It made you a better fighter, it made you more focused and boosted your stamina.
But there was one other, more interesting application the chip had. Which was why they needed a close squad who'd been together a long time, they needed a squad who understood how each other thought.
The chip had a minute broadcast system, it allowed alpha waves to be translated from one neural pattern, broadcasted, and translated to another mind by another chip. Effectively, giving the squad a sort of 'telepathic' bond. Things as complex as orders and strategies were said to be able to be 'telepathically' sent from one person to another, it was ground-breaking technology, and it was estimated that it would improve squad performance by up to 80%. It eliminated the need of a comm, and therefore the need for noise, meaning that there was no risk of being heard for sound. And of course, split second battle strategies and other problems in the field were much more easily understood telepathically than aurally.
It sounded like the piece of tech that might give us the upper hand over the Covenant in the field, we would be able to strategise at a level no one had ever dreamed of before."
Daux leaned forward,
"So what happened?"
Johnson continued,
"The squad consisted of myself and Privates Hawaka, O'Brian, Jenkins, Flint and Bisenti, we had arrived on Reach on transfer from being posted on the frigate 'Saint Ivy.'
However while we were at the SpecWar facility, before we had even seen the new ABNDSC, the Covenant orbital assault started."
Another Marine interjected,
"So how'd you end up on the Autumn?"
The Sergeant turned to him, irritated,
"I'm gonna tell you, boy! So just shut up and let me continue!
Right, now I'm pretty damn sure almost none or none of you have ever been on a planet's surface when it has come under attack from Covenant warships, because few survive an experience like that. Well let me tell you, the people on Reach were freakin' out like it was Armageddon. Which it pretty much was. The difference between Reach and most other human planets that have gotten glassed before was there was enough UNSC forces to hold off the Covenant long enough for any kind of escape to be possible.
So, this guy we were now under the command of, Colonel Ackerson. This guy wasn't nobody's fool, he already had a private space craft, slip-space capable and stocked with supplies, waiting for him in one of the orbital docks. So -you won't believe this- the bastard used a military machcopter to go and pick up his wife! When he was just about set to take a launch craft up to the orbital docks he found out that the Covenant were headed for space dock 9, the one with HIS escape ship inside. So what does he do? He kindly invites us and our guns along for the ride, with the promise he'd get us safely away from Reach!
But we had no other options, we couldn't do anything to help Reach, and we didn't want to die, so we went with Ackerson and his wife.
We reached the docks before the Covenant landing parties, but only a few minutes before, not long enough to get to Ackerson's ship. We met Covenant forces on the way, and had to retreat. In our running around from the Covenant on that God forsaken dock, Ackerson and his wife were killed, as well as Hawaka and Flint. I was so damn sure we'd had it, I was certain that it was on that dock that we'd meet our deaths.
But no, 'cause it seemed that there had been some unsecured navigational data on a ship in that dock. THAT was what the Covenant were after, and what's more, that's what the Master Chief his Supersoldiers had come to stop them from getting. We met him in one of the-"
The Sergeant stopped, because Foe Hammer had suddenly stood bolt upright.
"What is it?" asked Daux
"Shhhhhh!" hissed Foe Hammer.
They listened.
They listened for several seconds.
"Oh shit-" hissed a Marine.
"BANSHEES!!!" Shrieked Foe Hammer.
They could now make out the far-off but rapidly-getting-closer balls of intense plasma that had erupted from several distant incoming Banshees.
"MOVE!!" Cried Daux, as deadly plasma rained down around them, sending up boils of scorched earth.
They dashed for the cover of the Pelican, plasma impacting so close they felt their skin blister and bubble from the broiling heat.
They leapt into the Pelican's hatch.
"Holy shit this is gonna be a rough flight!!" cursed Foe Hammer as she shot into the cockpit, and quickly set about bringing the Pelican off the ground.
Sergeant Johnson heard the angry sound of plasma impact and bore into the Pelican's roof.
"BUCKLE UP MARINES!!!" cried Foe Hammer, "THIS IS GONNA BE REAL BAD!!!"
The Pelican's engines screamed and roared as Foe Hammer urged them to go at max.
The Pelican then rocketed forwards with a velocity that made the Sergeant close his eyes for fear his eyeballs would be wrenched from their sockets.
The Sergeant could hear the sound of the wailing Banshees horrifyingly close, he squinted his eyes open to see them giving chase, about 100 metres behind them. The Sergeant counted four, rocking dangerously from side to side as they tried to get dead straight with the Pelicans course- so they could fire into the hatch!!
"FOE HAMMER!!!" Screamed the Sergeant, "CLOSE THE MOTHER FUCKING HATCH!!!"
The hatch whined as it began to close, but the Banshees had already fired an onslaught of intense, superheated plasma. The orbs of light were incoming, but because the Pelican was also accelerating,
the shots were going to take longer to get to their target.
The hatch was nearly closed,
nearly,
nearly,
nearly.
HISS-THUMP!!
The hatch was shut, and moments afterwards the Marines heard the salvo of plasma impact and splash against the door.
The Sergeant closed his eyes in relief, hearing another volley of fire slam into the other side of the closed door.
"HOLY SHIT!!" Exclaimed one of the Marines, "THE DOOR, LOOK!!"
The Sergeant looked up to see that in places the door was glowing an angry shade of red, and with every new impact of plasma the colour intensified.
The drop-off hatch began to fill with the fumes of molten metal, some parts of the door were starting to glow a dangerous yellow. The doors were going to melt!
"BUCKLE UP!! EVASIVE MANEUVERS!!!" screamed Foe Hammer.
The Sergeant felt all of his insides float sickeningly inside his body as the Pelican dove into freefall,
then felt gravity crush his body at five times normal strength as the Pelican pulled up and rose into a steep, 70 degree climb. The Sergeant closed his eyes and clutched desperately at his straps; the only things that were keeping him from being smashed to death against the inner walls of the drop-off hatch. He kept his eyes shut, and felt his body urging against the straps, he felt freefall quickly followed by crushing ascent, sickening barrel rolls and long, arcing, loop-the-loops that lasted long enough for the blood to rush to his head and collect until he was sure his temples would burst.
All of this time the Pelican was struck in different places by the muffled thumps of the Covenant Banshees' fire.
"Foe Hammer's one of the most talented pilots in the UNSC, but even she can't dodge like this forever,
and they're still hitting us!" The Sergeant thought to himself.
"FOE HAMMER!! SCREW THIS!! ENGAGE THEM!! FIGHT!!!" The Sergeant yelled, so loud his vocal chords felt like they were being scraped with sharp stones.
No reply came, either Foe Hammer hadn't heard him for the screaming engines, or was too tied up to reply.
However, neither did the Sergeant didn't hear the sound of cannon fire or missile launches, the Pelican just continued it's manoeuvres, throwing the Marines against their straps painfully.
The Sergeant had no idea how long he was thrown about for, maybe five minutes, maybe half an hour, all he had to occupy him was the sickening sensations of the evading Pelican.
However finally a sound pierced though the roaring engines, the staccato of the Pelican's 50mm cannon rang like a joyful song, breaking the course of the endless hellride.
A muffled explosion came from in front of the Pelican.
"YEEEEEEHA!! TAKE THAT YA BASTARD!!" Came Foe Hammer's ecstatic voice over the comm.
"Finally!" Thought the Sergeant, "something's happening!!"
However that moment was short lived, soon the Pelican was throwing around like it had before.
It was then that Foe Hammer made a desperate and incredibly dangerous manoeuvre to lose the Banshees. The Pelican rose at what was an almost vertical angle, for several seconds.
The force of it caused Daux's cap to fall off, it came to lie at on the access hatch directly below them, flat against it because of the G-force.
The Sergeant gripped at his straps, and couldn't help but thing how painfully his bones would splinter if the straps were to break and he would fall towards the hatch and hit it.
It was then the Marines got a horrible fright.
The thrusters had suddenly cut out.
Gone.
Silence.
The Sergeant's heart missed a beat.
Then they felt gravity regain it's sickening recontrol of the Pelican, and the laws of physics decided where they were going to go-
Down.
The great heavy mass of Pelican began to plummet back towards the ring and the ground, getting faster and faster.
The Sergeant just closed his eyes and tried to grip his straps, every part of him screamed that he was going to die.
The Marines briefly heard the sound of Banshees screeching below them, and then the sound shot passed them and continued on above their heads until the sound disappeared, as the Pelican fell past them and continued to plummet.
The Sergeant was starting to pray when the thrusters cut in.
The Pelican shook, it shook so hard it was surely going to fall apart.
It remained vertical, the thrusters strained and strained, roaring in agony.
But the Pelican began to slow down, but the Sergeant was certain that the ground was too close for them to survive.
The Pelican however continued to tremble and quake with effort, and the Sergeant felt it's descent slowing down.
It was slowing, Foe Hammer was beginning to gain control, but the ground couldn't be more than a kilometre below-
Slowing.
Slowing.
Slowing.
Slowing.
CRUNCH!!
The Pelican came to a violent and instantaneous stop, a stop that could only be brought on by hitting something solid. The shock knocked the wind out of Sergeant Johnson.
"We didn't just hit the ground did we?!?" choked a breathless Daux in disbelief.
The thrusters continued to roar, and the whole body of the craft strained, then the Marines felt what could only have been the tail of the Pelican embedded in the ground wrench free.
"Holy Crap-" murmured one of the Marines who was as pale as chalk, "that really was the ground-"
He then passed out.
The Pelican rose and put on a violent burst of speed, finally returning to a horizontal position.
The Sergeant felt indescribable relief now that his rear was connected with the seat under gravity's will.
He was about to try to stagger up and amble into the cockpit when he realised how painfully he'd die if manoeuvres restarted.
"JESUS FOE HAMMER!" Cried Daux, "Please tell me that wasn't the ground we just hit!!"
At last they heard Foe Hammer's voice again, though it was weak and quiet,
"Okay Sergeant- that wasn't the ground."
Foe Hammer was clearly very badly shaken up.
Sergeant Johnson managed to get his breath back,
"- Foe Hammer- what's our status with the pursuers?" he asked breathlessly.
"They're quite far above us sir, that little stunt sure as hell put some distance between us!" replied Foe Hammer.
"For the heart attack it gave me I should fuckin' hope so woman!!" remarked Daux.
"Is it straight runnings now Foe Hammer?" asked the Sergeant gingerly.
"I should think so- for now" replied Foe Hammer.
"What about the Chief and the others, they're gonna need evac!" said one of the Marines.
"Our first concern is shakin' off these damn Banshees, Private!" replied Foe Hammer.
However it was only five minutes later when a familiar voice, one that brought a message that got everyone sitting up, chimed into the comm.
"Cortana to Echo 419. We have the Captain and need extraction on the double." Came her calm voice.
"Negative Cortana, I've been engaged by Covenant air patrols, and I'm havin' a tough time shakin' em. You'll be better off findin' your own ride. Sorry!" replied Foe Hammer.
Cortana replied, not at all put off by this bad news,
"Acknowledged Foe Hammer, Cortana out."

The Pelican continued to fly onwards, they'd been flying for another ten minutes after Cortana had called when Foe Hammer came across on the comm.
"Gentlemen I've been observing the ping screen and I think those Banshees have been called back, I'm gonna turn about and see if the Captain's rescue team still need evac.
"Good!" Approved Johnson.
"Transmit to Cortana, let her know we can get back there if needed." Added Daux.
There was a pause.
"I have done Sergeant, and I'm getting a reading here that says that the Chief's signal is moving, very fast. In our direction too!"
"ETA?" asked Johnson.
"If they continue at current speed and I go at max in their direction- I make it about two minutes sir!"
"Let's go!" said Daux, gesturing impatiently with his hand.

"Foe Hammer to Cortana, do you read me? I'm picking up a Covenant dropship signal inbound with your position vector, I'm assuming that's your getaway vehicle?" Foe Hammer hailed over the comm.
"That's affirmative Foe Hammer" replied Cortana.
At hearing that they were using a Covenant craft Sergeant Johnson unbuckled and went into the cockpit, he then used the comm.
"Hey Cortana," the Sergeant asked, "Is there any means by which the Covenant can trace that Bandit you're riding in?"
Cortana replied calmly,
"Don't worry Sergeant, I accessed the dropship schematics and disabled it's monitor signal, we're clean."
"And what about Keyes and the rescue squad?" Johnson pressed on.
Keyes' voice came on over the communicator,
"I'm fine Sergeant- but I'm afraid all but the Master Chief in the rescue squad were killed in action-"
The Sergeant paused for a moment-
"-Well, it's good to have you back with us Sir!" he said finally.
"Not just me Sergeant," replied Keyes, "Corporal Patterson and two Privates are also with us, alive and well."
"Well that's some good news!" the Sergeant consoled himself. However he felt a strange emptiness in his gut, like he didn't really belong where he was, that he should have died with the rescue squad.
"Well," came Keyes over the comm once more, "Let's get back to base, the Covenant didn't have the hospitality to feed us while they held us captive and the Marines and I are starving. Keyes out."

Many curious Marines and Techs were poking around inside the Covenant dropship, they'd had a go flying it, using the plasma gun turret on the underbelly. Some Marines were now leaping into the binding force field in between the two drop-off prongs of the craft, and hooting and laughing as they did summersaults in zero gee. A few others who found the Chief far more interesting had started to ask about his reflexes, to which the Master Chief had offered for them to try to get a single hit at his armour. The Marines were now furiously trying to tag the Chief's armour using small branches from trees, but the Chief was a blur of moments, blocking each attempt as if he had a sort of foresight.

Despite the human race was under threat of extinction and they had no idea where they were or how long they'd live, for that brief while, they had forgotten their worries and were having a laugh, something they hadn't done for a long time.
Captain Keyes and Sergeant Johnson watched from the edge of the gathering, uninvolved.
They were discussing what their next move would have to be.
"Cortana says that the Covenant believe that this ringworld is a superweapon. They call it 'Halo,' Cortana says the ring is 'of deep religious significance' to the Covenant." Said Captain Keyes.
"Well," said Johnson, "Looks like we're luckier than we thought, finding something like this. If it is some kind of superweapon then we may have unwittingly stumbled across the way to save humanity!"
"Well, first we have to get to the control room before the Covenant do. They haven't found it yet, so we've got to hurry if we're going to beat them to it!" Said Keyes, "Cortana has accessed the Covenant battle networks and thinks she has found two very important installations that we need to get to before the Covenant."
"And they are?" asked the Sergeant,
"One of the installations the Covenant aren't sure of, they think it's some kind of weapons cache, the second and more important installation is a Halo map room, that will hold the data we need to find the control room. We need to get there as soon as we can!"
"Right! 'As soon as we can' is right now, I'll get the Marines ready!" Said the Sergeant.
"Very good Sergeant, we're going to need two groups, one for the map room and one for the weapons cache. I want the Marines briefed and ready to go in 20 minutes, understand?"
"YES SIR!" Saluted the Sergeant.

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