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A Marine Named Peters: Forward to Bravo Base!
Posted By: GLADIATRRR3000<gladiatrrr2002@hotmail.com>
Date: 17 June 2003, 6:02 PM


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**My computer got a little screwed up half way through, so they paragraphing might be a little off later on.**

"Are you sure this'll work?"
"Almost positive."
"Great. Just great."
*****************
Gagaw the Grunt checked his Needler again. There were rumors that there were humans in the area. Everyone wanted to be the one lucky person to destroy the primitive aliens, because Field Master 'Putametee had promised a reward to the one or ones who killed them. Gagaw, being a lowly Grunt, had never had a single reward or acknowledgement from a higher being, such as an Elite. He leaned over to Sasat, another Grunt.
"I will kill the puny humans with my Needler. They will never make it back to their base."
"That is true, except for one thing. I will be the one who kills the devils."
They both chuckled and checked their gear one more time.
*****************

"Everyone take cover. I'm setting the timer for ten seconds."
"That gives the Covenant ten seconds to get away."
"They won't."
*****************

Gagaw stood up. He was tired of waiting. He began to pace back and forth and wondered if the rumors were true. He turned around and began to walk away, when a huge explosion behind him blew everything apart. "Is anyone alive!" he exclaimed.
No one answered.
*****************

"HaHA! I told you it'd work!" said a happy Private Jones., the teams demolitions expert. He carried a rocket launcher.
"Stop gloating and kill anything that moves, private," said a recently promoted Lieutenant Peters. "Fire at will!" he commanded his squad, the FireBats.
Shortly after his fight for Alpha Base, he was given an award for bravery and was promoted to Lieutenant. He never thought he'd get past Private, because he believed that he was going to get shot down in his first fight. Amazingly, however, he was able to kill 16 Grunts, 4 Jackals, and 2 Elites, along with 3 Banshees. Pretty good for a guy who wet himself when he got too nervous.
"Alright, lets haul ass back to Bravo Base and see if it's still there." Peters told his squad.
"Why didn't we just fly there?" Jones questioned.
"Because, private, all air support was lost in orbit. It's better to have them stop the Covenant from glassing the planet then to ask them to fly us 100 miles to a base we don't know still exists or not." Peters retorted.
"Ah, that's why."
*****************

Gagaw was running for his life. He hoped he could make it back to the dropship and get the hell out of this hellhole. That would take luck, and not very many Grunts were lucky. He saw a dropship 100 units in front of him. "Wait! Wait! Don't leave me here!" he yelled, but the dropship took off.
He started to think that he was going to die here, but then the dropship exploded in midair, and he realized something worse. He was going to die here.
He started to run again, and saw a few Grunts to his left. Surprisingly, Sasat was among them. "Sasat! I thought you died in the explosion!"
"I almost did, but the explosion blew me across the field and I landed in a pool of water."
"Good. So, does anyone have an idea as to how we're going to get out of here?"
"I do," said Pak, a higher Jackal. "And since all the Elites are dead, making me the commanding officer, what I say is what we do."
Gagaw didn't know if having a Jackal as a leader was any better than having an Elite. He decided not to question him or his motives. At least with a Jackal, they'd have a shield to stand behind.
"My plan is to kill the remaining humans. I saw them shortly after the explosion, and there are very few. There are four humans, perhaps five. One is wielding what they call a 'rocket launcher'. He is the primary target as of now. With him gone, there will be fewer explosions, which can destroy many with one shot. Next, we will attack the 'sniper'. With him out of the way, they cannot kill us with distance." Pak continued. "Then, we will attack the two or three humans with their close range weapons, the 'assault rifles'. I believe their leader is one of those humans, and I want him to die last. I want him to see how easily we, the great Covenant, can destroy him and his people."
"Any questions?"
*****************

Peters and his squad were running. They were low on ammo, and didn't know how many covenant there were. Also, they had yet to finish their primary objective, reach Bravo Base. Bravo Base had not sent a single transmission in a week, and with all satellites wiped out, they had no choice but to get there by foot. Peters had requested two Warthogs, but he had been denied them, being told they were too expensive and would be trouble in the mountainous terrain they had to cross.
"How close are we to Bravo Base?" asked Private Karls, the squad's sniper.
"Three miles. We should be there by nightfall if we hustle."
"Then hustle we will!"
They came upon a small cliff, maybe 100 feet down to the ground. About 2 miles after that was a mountain range codenamed MR 10-5. In MR 10-5 was Bravo Base. Bravo Base was nearly impossible to see from above, which was another reason they couldn't see what happened to Bravo Base.
About half a mile from where the FireBats stood was a small town. Luckily for them there was a small army outpost there. If they were lucky, there would be a Warthog, maybe even a Scorpion tank, even though it was highly unlikely.
"Okay, people, lets find a way down this cliff and check out that outpost over there. Maybe we'll find a ride there."
The FireBats acknowledged and moved out.
"I found a hill over here!" Karls said over the radio. "It isn't steep, so we can go down it. It leads right to the town, too."
"Good work, Karls." Peters replied. "Okay, team. I'm marking the location of the hill with a NAV point. Last one there gives up their cigarettes for a week."
Everyone made it there within five minutes. Everyone except Jones. "Probably slowed down with all the explosives." Peters said.
Peters didn't show it, but he was worried. "Okay, that's been long enough. Let's radio him."
*****************

"Jones, are you there? Come in Jones."
Gagaw couldn't understand what was coming from that metal box the human carried, but he knew it was from his four remaining teammates.
"Good job, people. Let's take his 'rocket launcher' and move out." Pak said.
"But the Prophets forbid the use of human technology!" replied a lesser Grunt, Tasat.
Pak leveled his plasma pistol at Tasat's head. "The Prophets aren't here right now. Are they?"
"No."
"Don't. Ever. Question. Me. Again."
"…But the Prophets sai…" Tasat never got to finish his sentence, because Pak fired a plasma bolt through his skull, splattering brains and blood over the remaining 3 Grunts.
"Anyone else have a problem?" Pak questioned.
"No, your Excellency."
*****************

"Dammit. Okay people, it's time to move out," said a discouraged Peters.
"Hey, what about Jones? We can't just leave him here!" Karls cried.
"Look, Jones should have been here by now. My guess is that the Covenant got him. He was always fast, even when carrying the explosives. So, unless you want the Covenant to catch us too, you will follow my orders and move out."
"Yes, sir."
Just as the FireBats started to move out, a rocket flew over their heads and detonated when it hit a rock 50 feet away.
"Jesus! What the hell was that?"
*****************

The Grunt who fired the rocket launcher was blow back. The force of the shot had pushed both the gun and the Grunt back so fast that he hit a boulder and it crumbled, crushing him.
"Uncover the weapon. Leave the dead." Pak commanded.
Gagaw and Sasat, being the only Grunts left, were forced to unearth the rocket launcher from the rubble. Gagaw, surprised by the weight of the human weapon, fell backwards when he lifted it, and hit Pak on his head. Pak fell to the ground, his skull crushed. Gagaw and Sasat just stared. "This… never happened."
"Agreed."
*****************

The FireBats were almost down the hill. Karls had been right. The hill not only led them to the city, it cut off a quarter mile of their trip. "Karls, scope the area. I don't want to get caught in an ambush."
"Yes, sir." Karls then proceeded to look at the town through his sniper rifle's modified 15X zoom. "My God… the town… there's nothing left…"
"What do you mean, private?"
"The Covenant have been here. There are skeletons all over the place. The residential section has been… glassed."
"What about the outpost?"
"Intact, but heavily damaged."
"Okay, people. Proceed to the outpost, and try to find a ride. Not a Longsword, it'd be too hard to land in the mountains. Try to find a Warthog or a Scorpion."
They proceeded to look for a vehicle. After about five minutes, Johnson, the teams vehicle expert, found one "Sir, I've got a Warthog over here. Intact and everything. Still has some ammo for the LAAG, too."
"Good. One person will have to sit in the back, though. Damn, I wish this had an extra seat." Peters said.
"Sir, I've found a Covenant vehicle over here. I think they're called 'Ghosts'," said Parker, an expert on the Covenant. He had been sent along to try to salvage any Covenant weaponry or machinery. "Looks intact, too. I'll drive this to Bravo Base."
"Sounds good," said Peters. "You do that. We'll make sure no Covenant air support gets to you."
They then began to drive to Bravo Base.
*****************

"What should we do?" Gagaw asked, knowing that Sasat wouldn't have an answer.
"I know what we should do." Sasat said.
"…You do?"
"Yes. We'll chase the humans, and when we kill them, we'll get a reward!" Sasat's eyes glazed over when he thought what wondrous things would be bestowed upon him when he took down an elite human squad.
"How do you suppose we'll catch up to them? No doubt they'll use a vehicle to get to their destination faster." Gagaw stated.
"We'll look for a vehicle of our own!" Sasat said. "Just think, when we kill them, the Prophets might allow us to return to our planet and never ask us to fight again!"
Gagaw, hungered by the fact that they might not have to fight again, complied and began to search for a vehicle. After a while, they found an overturned Ghost. "Let's flip it over and take this!" Sasat said.
"It's a one-man vehicle. We can't both fit on it!" Gagaw pointed out.
"We're small, Gagaw. We can squeeze in!"
Sasat won the argument over would drive, so he got the front, and Gagaw got to hold on for dear life in the back as Sasat drove wildly off. Gagaw then realizes something. "Do you actually… know how to drive one of these?"
"No, but I'm learning!"
Gagaw then soiled himself and began to scream.
*****************

"Does anyone else hear that? … Or smell that?" Karls asked, covering his nose. The two vehicles then came to a stop to listen.
"Sounds like… another Ghost, with an engine problem." Parker said.
"Sounds like a screaming Grunt." Peters said. "Whatever it is lets start moving."
*****************

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" screamed Gagaw, over and over again.
"Will you shut up?" asked a very annoyed Sasat. "Look, I can see the humans now. If you shut up, I can kill them!"
Gagaw continued to scream.
*****************

"We're almost there!" exclaimed a very content Johnson. "Look! We're almost at the start of the mountain range!"
Parker was about to say something when a wave of plasma washed over him. The surprise attack caught them all of guard, and Parker's right arm was blown off. Spiraling out of control, Parker crashed into the mountainside and caused a landslide. The landslide cut off the Warthog's path, so they had to pile out and climb up the trail to Bravo Base on foot. "Come on! Look! Only another mile!" exclaimed Peters.
*****************

"I'm picking up a signal on our radio." Gagaw yelled over the engine. "They're sending a dropship our way!"
"No! This is OUR kill! I will NOT let some 'holy warrior' elites take that from me!" screamed Sasat.
He's gone crazy. I'm going to die. Gagaw thought.
They raced up the hill. Unfortunately, Sasat didn't see the large rock in front of them, and the Ghost hit it, flinging both Grunts out. Immediately after, three humans jumped on Gagaw and Sasat and pinned them down.
Sasat tried to pull out his Needler, but one human took out a pistol and shot him twice in the head. Sasat's muscles relaxed, and he awaited his entry into Paradise.
*****************
"One's down. Let's see if the other is more cooperative." Peters said. He faced the remaining Grunt. "Do you speak English?" the Grunt struggled, and Karls punched him in the face. Peters asked again. "Do you speak English?"
The Grunt stared at him and said, "Y-yes."
"We're going to ask you a few questions." Peters explained. "If you answer right, you won't get hurt. Now, where are your reinforcements?"
"They are in a dropship, and they are going to land somewhere around here." The Grunt said, obviously angered that he was becoming a traitor.
"Jesus, that'll put them right on top of Bravo Base!" Karls said.
"Next question." Peters said. "What do you know about this area?"
"I know nothing. The Prophets, however, know everything. They know that I am betraying them right now, and I shall be killed when I return." The Grunt replied.
*****************

Why are they asking so many questions? Why aren't I dead yet? How low is my methane tank? The last question was answered first. He began to suffocate and wheeze. The humans, wanting to interrogate the alien as long as they could, removed his methane tank and placed Sasat's tank on him. Relieved that he could breathe, and amazed that a human would actually save his life, he began to talk more cooperatively.
*****************

After a few more questions, Peters had had enough. "Thank you for your cooperation. Now, I'm normally not supposed to do this, but I'll give you a choice. Come with us, or go back home?"
After a few minutes of thinking, the Grunt replied, "Home."
They removed all the Grunts grenades and guns, and let him run away. They then began to sprint to Bravo Base to tell them that they were about to come under attack.
*****************

** Back on a Covenant Starship**

"So, lowly Grunt, you are the last of your battle group, are you not?" Asked a Prophet.
"Yes, I am, your Excellency. The rest were destroyed by the humans."
"I have reason to believe that when they captured you, you told them many things of the Covenant, am I right?"
"Well, yes, but, your Excellency, I can explain…"
"Silence! I did ask for an explanation! You have betrayed us all, and you will die a most dishonorable death!"
As an Elite with a plasma sword walked up behind him and readied himself to execute the traitor, the small Grunt uttered his last words, "Can't we talk about this…?"

The End

My second story for halo, also the second story for the series: A Marine Named Peters. Check it out! …or, of course, don't, but I'd like some people to read what I wrote. again, my computer got screwed up and the indentation is messed up, but i hope you can get through it.





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