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Chambers Company: Chapter Four
Posted By: AngryHorizon<rennerma@alltel.net>
Date: 14 January 2006, 11:24 pm


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      Chapter 4

      I was over eager about this, this task that lay ahead. My heart was pounding wildly. My head logically told me it would be nothing, while in my heart I knew. I knew it would be something more.

0845 hrs. September 21st 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Fort Erickson, On the planet Yerszan in Quadrant Five

      We were several feet off the ground now. I sat at the end of the dropship, and chanced a glance down. Heights had never been one of my few strong points. The men chatted about what they expected to come of this endeavor. It would only be a few minutes to the deployment site, so I did everything I could to gather my thoughts. I recalled all of my training.

       "Two minutes," called the pilot over the com. Once again my heart surged with anticipation. Beta 213 flew behind and slightly to the right of us.

       "I hope we are back in time for lunch,'" called the voice of Lance Corporal Jack Lenon. He never missed a meal for anything.

      The two minutes seemed to fly as we neared our insertion zone. "Enemies painted on motion detector," called the pilot over the com. Enemies. It rang in my head, my first contact with the Covenant. "We will have to drop you here."

       "All right 1st platoon, this is our first real engagement, keep your cool," I ordered, also telling myself. I unbuckled myself seconds before touch down. When we were close enough I jumped to the ground, while the rest were unbuckling themselves. I lifted my rifle, and scanned the area for contact. None. This would give us at least some time to group up.

      My Marines were all off the Pelicans, and we were ready to engage. "Captain," I called across the com.

       "What is it Lieutenant," he responded almost instantly.

       "We should run a recon before engaging. How about you, and me?" I offered.

       "Yeah, all right lets move," he agreed. He switched to the command frequency to give out orders, "Sergeant Melanco, you're in charge until Joseph and I return from recon,"

       "Ten-four," was his response.

       "Let's move," I urged my superior. He concurred, and we proceed out of the small clearing, and into thick woods. The moved swiftly, but with incredible stealth. Our real-time battle analysis screen that come from the helmet, and was a small green transparent screen painted contacts one hundred feet away. We crept up behind a boulder, looked out across the woods into another meadow.

      I observed five Elites. Four in the metallic blue armor, and one in the red armor. They had sixteen Jackals, and more than twenty Grunts. There were several deep-set purple tents looking structures. I looked for points of advantage over the camp. There were several boulders in my general area, and some on the left side.

       "I have a plan," I whispered looking at Red.

       "What is it," he asked in an equally low voice.

       "I am going to take Alpha, and bunker down in those rocks. I will send Bravo here. You lay down a base of fire, make them retreat behind cover. We will hit them with frags, and finish them off," I elaborated on my scheme.

       "Good deal, you get the men, and I will wait here," he ordered patting me on the back.

       "Sir, you should come with me, because the men won't know where to go," I beckoned for my superior to follow me back. He nodded in agreement, and we sneaked back out the way we had come. It didn't take very long to reach the platoon. The men were standing around talking, not protocol.

       "What the hell are you guys thinking," asked Captain Summers in an angry tone, but not raising his voice. "If we were the Covenant you would be dead meat. You didn't even see us coming."

       "Sorry," said Johnny. "It won't happen under my command again."

       "It had better not," ordered the Captain. "Now, the is a what looks like a small platoon size unit, and we need to wipe them out. Yauni, you men are with me, Johnny, you roll with Joseph. Bravo, we are to engage from the front, while Alpha hits them on their flanks. We need to be quite on the way over there, let's move."

      Private First Class Andrew Lexington had his camera on the entire time, and was excited that he was about to film is first engagement. In school he would always have his camera with him, so he requested a helmet with equipped with a camera and received it.

      I saw Bravo get into position easy, but my squad had to loop around a long ways to avoid detection. The thick woods gave us just enough cover to get by. I looked over the boulders we were behind, and saw that we went undetected. There were undoubtedly men inside the barrack looking structures, but with any luck they would run in confusion.

       "Alpha is in position, mission is a go," I reported over the comm. I reached for a grenade, and waited. The others did the same.

       "Roger Alpha, we are going to 'nade 'em as well," informed Captain Summers. "We will then unload at the same time after the firework display."

       "Ten-four," I responded. I didn't need to explain to the men, they heard it on their comms.

       "On three," said Captain Summers. I could tell his heart rate was racing. "Three, two, one, let fly!"

      A hailstorm of grenades went into the air, but the Covenant were transfixed on who said "let fly". When the grenades landed wit a thud in the camp, they began to scream, and run. Several different explosions quickly silenced them at once. Smoke drifted away from the camp, while my men unloaded.

       "Yeah, chew on that," yelled Lance Corporal Ronald Baldwin, but we call him Printer. There were several other remarks as the Covenant troops fell under the accurate, concentrated fire of my men. The battle, if you could label it as a battle, it was more of a small skirmish, lasted only a minute or two.

      When the last round rang in our ears, I signaled for Alpha to move up, and Bravo to cover the advance. We ran a routine check of the camp, and deemed it secure. There was one structure that stood out from the rest however. It had what looked like several computers, and other stuff of that sort in it.

       "Beta 213, do you copy over," asked Red over the comm. He lowered his masculine build onto a rock, and waited for a reply.

       "We hear you Captain, did you eliminate the target," asked the pilot.

       "Roger, but we made an interesting find," told Red, "Contact command, and see if you can't get an AI here ASAP."

       "Ten-four." A few minutes later the pilot came back on line. "We have an AI coming, but Brigadier General Howard, and the 3rd Platoon will be making the trip. ETA fifteen minutes."

       "Good, you can bring your Pelican here if you like," offered Red.

       "Negative, en-route back to Fort Erickson," the pilot responded.

      "All right, signing off main comm then," said Captain Summers. "1st platoon, set up a perimeter, the General is coming."





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