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Chambers Company: Chapter Eight
Posted By: AngryHorizon<rennerma@alltel.net>
Date: 6 February 2006, 3:26 am
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Chapter 8
Suicide is what I called it. If a planed attack could not take a ship, then what would an improvised charge do? I don't think 1st Platoon will survive this day.
1243 hrs. September 21st 2552 (Military Calendar)/
Fort Erickson, Yerzan
I kept running out the door. The firing of the guns, the bang of the explosions, it was all lost to me. I just ran for the closet cover I could find. 1st Platoon, and the ODSTs followed. The Covenant screamed around in banshees, ghost, and spectres, blasting plasma as they went. Flames were everywhere.
We quickly dealt with the immediate threat that waited for us outside of Command. We continued in the general direction of the pelicans.
"Alpha, move up. Bravo, lay some cover down now," I yelled while pointing to where I wanted them to go. The ODSTs talked to each other in the helmets on a separate comm, so I could not hear them. A ghost came in from behind the corner of the building Bravo and I were hunkered down at.
"Ghost," yelled 2nd Lieutenant Melanco pulling out a grenade. It speed forward with it's speed boost catching an ODST, and Lance Corporal Ronald Baldwin. They were ripped over the hood, and hit the ground with a hard 'thud'. Their legs screamed forward, blood splattering everywhere. Ronald cried out in pain, and the ghost circled back around. With a short burst it silenced him.
Next to me, Melanco through his grenade, and Alpha unloaded on it. The fragments from the grenade ripped through the Elite who commanded it. The flurry of rounds pierced his armor, and jerked him to the ground in a loud scream of agony. I ran forward, unable to believe my eyes. Ron was still in formation with running with us, he had to be. My chest was contracting, my head started to hurt. I realized I wasn't breathing. I gasped for breath.
"Hold," I hollered, hold up a fist. I knelt next the corner and looked around. There was nothing except blood, and bodies everywhere. I gave the go for the ODSTs to proceed across to the opposite building. They crossed swiftly and professionally. In the windows of the tall building grunts stuck there methane sucking heads out.
"Up top," yelled an ODST, first pointing, then shooting. More ODSTs opened up on the tangos. It was then our turn to cross, we moved quickly, non-hesitatingly. We ran to edge of the next building, the ODSTs on our heels. I peeked around the corner, and masses of Covenant were in the open field that lead to the hangers that housed the pelicans.
"What do you think," I asked the Captain who was looking at what I was looking at. I looked again, spectres, ghost, wraiths, and men, lots of men.
"We are not going to make it on foot, that is almost certain. This is one of the vehicle bays, I suggest we load up," he said standing from his kneel, and entering a door that was only a couple paces behind. He threw a grenade in the room, and then entered in a storm. All I could here was several shouts of clear.
"Lets move it boys," I called walking through the doorway, and looking at a burnt, splintered wall. I proceed down the hall the ODST captain was sprinting down. We moved swiftly through the dark, unlit halls. We cut a left, and entered a large bay, with all of the doors still shut, but with holes of molten plasma, and bullets riddled throughout it.
"We need to load up in the hogs, and jet for the hangers. The tanks are too slow, even though they will do a lot of damage," said the ODST captain. I nodded in agreement, and walked over to my men. "Load up, and ride as fast you can towards the hangers."
"One pilot to a 'Hog, we don't want all of you dying in one 'Hog," ordered the Captain over the comm. I loaded up with Private First Class Bruce Rebel, and Lance Corporal Jack Lenon.
"Sir," said Bruce in the passenger side of the 'Hog. His look was sad, and his eyes were watered down. He must have seen Ron get hit by the ghost. I looked all around me, and all of the men were loaded in a Warthog. The ODST captain drove his M12 to a control panel, got out, and activated it. He quickly got back in, and waited for the large doors to open. The doors were silent, so maybe we had a chance to build speed before the Covenant noticed us, but not with our luck.
As soon as the doors were high enough, plasma screamed through. Mortars hit, splashing under the opening, and hitting the M12s in the front. The survivors of the first attack got out, ran for another Warthog. When the door was high enough, the men in front me hit the gas. When there was enough room for me to accelerate, I hit the gas. The smell of burning rubber filled the air as we exited. Plasma flew in from all sides. Mortars hit some targets dead on, some flipped Warthogs, and the survivors were gunned down by concentrated plasma fire.
"Look at all of them," called out Jack, unloading on the Covenant with the LAAG.
"Yeah, there is a lot," said Bruce firing his weapon.
Jack opened his mouth to talk, but it was filled with concentrated energy, and an enemy sniper hit its target. He didn't even have a chance to scream before he was dead, and on the ground.
"Fuck," called Bruce in a loud frightened voice, "Joe, did you just see that."
"Yeah, I caught a small glimpse of it," I said wearily. Only a couple of more yards before we reached the hanger. Some men had already reached their destinations, and the pilots fired up the pelicans. The hanger doors were still closed, and the survivors were entering a side door. I stopped the 'Hog next to the small group of 'Hogs that had made it.
"Get out, move," I screamed, and Bruce ran for the door. I was right behind him. We entered, with a stream of plasma right behind us. There were several ODSTs, and three men from Chambers Company guarding the entrance. The ODST captain was looking at a dead elite that they had killed.
"Load up in the first pelican, that's where the rest of Chambers Company is," ordered the ODST captain. I finally saw his name on his helmet, Captain Brossard. "You three, go with him. We are leaving here in thirty seconds" He pointed to the three from 1st Platoon, and they followed me.
As we walked to the pelican, I could here mortar fire landing on the roof of the hanger. The ghost and banshees screamed around the structure. I loaded up, and saw three more men from 1st Platoon waiting. I looked back out the back of the pelican. The Captain waited at the door. At about twenty seconds, and group of Covenant entered the doorway, only to be put down by a storm of fire. More were coming in right behind them.
"Alright, that's it, there is no one else," yelled the Captain. The ODST must have known that meant to leave, because they stood, lobbing grenades at the door, and running to the pelicans. The Captain hit the control panel to open the hanger doors.The Covenant were halted temporarily by the grenades, but the men would not have enough time to get away, so I shot from the back of the pelican, as did Private First Class John Restor. The doors opened fast, and the Covenant weren't in a good position to shot at us as the pelicans left the hanger.
Our Pelican was first out, and only two other pelicans followed us out. Banshees came down on the last one hard. Brilliant blue plasma hit, and bright green fuel rod shots hammered its hull. It began smoking, and stopped gaining altitude. The back engines erupted, and in fell out of the sky like a stone.
"Sealing off the back," called the pilot over the comm. I backed off as a Titanium A door slide into place. I made a small noise, as the cabin pressurized. I looked at my men again. Only eight of my fifteen men made it. Only eight of my classmates, my friends. I fought tears.
"Good job men," I said in a low voice. My hands were on my knees, and my head sagged.
Jack, Thomas, Hector, Aspen, Ron, John, and Kevin, all of them dead. They did not make it. My mind raced through all of the memories. It was just too much.
"Captain," called Captain Brossard over the comm.
"Yes, sir," I answered.
"What is your dead count," he asked sounding as unwilling as I was.
"Seven out of fifteen. I only have eight left, sir," I said taking slow, painful breaths.
"I have fourteen here, not count me," he informed me, "that's twenty-three altogether, counting me, plus the four pilots, so that would be twenty-eight.'
"Yes, sir," I agreed with his math.
"We reach the Covenant vessel in three minutes," called the pilot.
"Sir, we will engage in three minutes," I told the Captain.
"Good, I'm more then ready to get back at them," said Captain Brossard.
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