The Fallen: Chapter 4 Section 3: Through the Woods
Posted By: Hikaru-119<hikaru119@email.com>
Date: 8 August 2003, 5:21 PM
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An apology for readers of the series: I've been gone for over a week with marching band so sorry if it seems like its been too long since I have written. If you have been keeping track of the story just skip down to the first line of asterisks.
Summary of the story thus far(for those that have not read it all):
Chapter One - Master Chief has boarded a Covenant cruiser through one of its maintenance ducts with the help of Cortana. Following this he takes the bridge and the rest of the ship after marine reinforcement piles into the shuttle bays. Upon taking the ship entirely he heads down to Earth on a Pelican.
Chapter Two - Once down in Earth's atmosphere MC has been deployed to the floating capital of New Mombassa, Kenya where he is assigned to take down another cruiser that has survived the battle in orbit and is giving this city hell. After fighting his way through the streets he encounters the first reporting of an orbital drop of infantry done by the Covenant. After many hours of fighting he boards the cruiser to find it is abandoned and sends it off into the Indian Ocean. Yet again he is pulled out of the action and is shipped out.
Chapter Three - He is sent to New York City along with a few hundred other marines and makes a barely successful landing at the cargo docks. He then makes his way into the city where he must destroy the city's main server which holds several star maps to the remaining human colony worlds. He completes this objective noticing an odd glow shortly there after and what would appear to be a Covenant ship with stealth technology. He stays in the city and is nearly killed by a golden Elite wielding an energy blade when saved by the other survivors of the past. Those being six other SPARTAN IIs. After a day's worth of battle the Spartans make an assault along with a company of marines and retake the Covenant stronghold. They succeeded, barely, and discovered some new information that the Covenant were working hard to get at.
Chapter Four - The Spartans are put on the Leviathan where they receive information about another ring world. They also are told of the Militia help and other units that will assist them in their mission to take this other Halo. After a five day trip aboard the UNSC cruiser the Odin they make it to this other ring world to find the Covenant already making their initial landings and are dispatched while the fleet deals with the dozen ships in orbit.
And that's where we pretty much are. Tell me in the post/read comments section what you did and did not like. Maybe even some suggestions. I need the constructive criticism.
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Chapter 4 Section 3: Through the Woods
0419 Hours November 21, 2553 (Military Calendar)
Enroute to Sector 0012 by Grid 019 On Halo's Surface
The Pelican next to Omega 74 was hit a vanished into several tiny orange fireballs as it entered the ring's atmosphere. Ellerman looked over to the radar and watched as their signal split up and disappeared. Twelve men were dead in an instant without a fighting chance. He and Marner watched and struggled for control as their dropship was going through the re-entry process. The entire craft grew hot as the atmosphere burned all around them.
" We're almost through the worst of it! Hang on back there! " Lieutenant Ellerman yelled into the troop bay. The Master Chief closed his eyes and allowed his body to jolt back and forth as his straps held him in place. The marines that had accompanied his squad grew nervous and were sweating bullets. They nearly lost their cool before they even hit drop.
" I've got a bad feeling about this drop man! " one of the marines screamed gripping his rifle. The dropship gave a sudden jolt and it began to cool down as they were through the worst of it.
" Stow that mister! I don't need to hear your whining! " the man's sergeant yelled back. There was another jolt and the dropship's flight became smoother than before.
" One minute until drop! Verifying coordinates of landing zone! " Marner yelled. They passed through a thin layer of clouds and the surface of halo could be seen. Lush hills teeming with plant life littered the area. A pine wood forest extended out to the horizon and in it was an odd formation. From this distance it looked almost like a structure. Towers several meters high owned the outer edges of the roof and several massive openings toward the base of the browned structure were wide open exposing themselves to the outside world. Marner took a look at it and back at the landing coordinates. " Ellerman are these coordinates right? "
Ellerman checked them, double checked the map of the area that had been quickly made by Cortana, and looked out and saw what Marner was confused about. " They're right. Looks like we are going to make a siege. " The lieutenant couldn't have been more correct.
The front entrance was guarded by two Lucifer dropships while ten Banshees were on patrol in the air. The Covenant dropship doors opened and let loose six Creep troop transports each. A hundred and twenty infantry ranging from Grunts to Brutes were released to do their worst.
" Screw this. I'm dropping these people somewhere else. We'd be cooked if we even tried to land on top of the structure. " Marner said. The Chief's eyes popped open after hearing this and shifted them towards the cockpit. He left his seat and used the handrails above to keep his balance.
" What's the problem lieutenants? " he asked.
" Master Chief we're dropping you at the edge of the forest and several others are doing likewise with their men. There are just too damn many to risk an engagement with only ten Pelicans left in this sector. We can take on the Banshees, but those drophsips will tear us to pieces. " Ellerman responded. The Chief thought the logic of this over and agreed with their action, even if it was against orders.
" Very well. Awaiting drop. " The Chief retook his seat and waited as the rear bay door opened. A wave of cold air could be felt inside the dropship as the door lifted. Omega 74 descended and touched down for a moment. The seven Spartans and five marines got off and saw another Pelican about two hundred meters distant lifting off after deploying their marines.
" Okay let's move out! GO! GO! GO! " the squad's sergeant barked. The five men immediately ran into forest and disappeared. The Spartans however stayed until the dropship lifted away and engaged with the Banshees above.
" Spartans I'm sending you NAV points for the structure that we've been ordered to take. " Cortana said. A second passed and on each Spartan's HUD an orange NAV point appeared. They had a good kilometer to advance until they would reach the Covenant stronghold.
" Red-Group move one hundred meters that way and then advance into the woods. " the Master Chief said pointing in the opposite direction of the marines. The three Spartans nodded and immediately ran. High above the screaming engines of the Banshees could be heard tearing through the air while the occasional rifle burst was heard within the forest. He turned to Blue-Group and then back to the tree line. " You three follow me. Ten meter spacing, don't bunch up for grenades. " The Chief then ran into the woods. Blue-Group followed from a distance.
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" Damn it Rigel fire your weapon! " Sergeant Johnson yelled as a hundred splinters of wood flew past his face. The private he was yelling as he clumsily brought his weapon up and fired blindly at the distant enemy. One of the forty bullets he fired actually hit the Covenant. Johnson looked crouched down next to the private and smacked the back of his head.
" What the hell was that for!? " Rigel yelled rubbing his head.
" Learn to aim private! Now shoot CORRECTLY! " Johnson barked. The sergeant fired ten rounds and took out two of the orange cropped shelled Grunts. He continued firing killing three more until running out of ammunition for his MA8A. Several bolts of green plasma flew his way as he took cover and examined what was left of his squad. Privates Tellerman and Sheen were holding tight to their tattered sides. The Grunts had hit them with needlers and made them members of the casualty list. Four others also had been hit. There was not much of them left. Johnson searched the bodies and desperately tried to find some ammo. It was now that he desperately wished to be out in the open, where his team Warthog could have been used.
He found what he needed. An M7C with about two hundred rounds and an M6D with twelve in the mag. Johnson procured the weapons and wiped the tiny pieces of burnt meat away from the trigger guards. A sudden large amount of plasma fire came in nearly missing him.
" GRENADE! " Rigel yelled. Johnson turned from the dead and wounded to see the flaming blue explosive fly through the air. Going towards it was Private Rigel hands open. " I've got it! " Before the sergeant could say anything the private had already grabbed the grenade. He tried to throw it back, but was caught by the realization that it had attached itself to him. " SARGE GET IT OFF! " he yelled running back to the squad. Johnson pulled out his pistol before the marine could make it back and put a .45 caliber bullet between his eyes.
The man fell and nothing remained of him as the plasma grenade went off. Only a glowing crater was left of the "green" soldier. The Grunt that threw it looked disappointed and sauntered back to the rear line of its squad. This futile action did not save it. One of the remaining marines threw a grenade returning the favor and killed the last four Grunts that were giving them hell. The wounded were given WIA transmitters and were left behind. Sarge didn't like leaving anyone back, but they would just slow the rest down.
The structure was just a few hundred meters ahead and the sound of the Lucifer dropships drowned out everything else. A perfect opportunity to sneak in and see what was left guarding the structure. The remaining three marines stopped and hid behind a fallen log and were given adequate cover. They all were frightened by what they saw.
Besides the two dropships nearly fifty infantry remained outside on patrol. Not one of them was lower than a red shelled Grunt. Four of the original Creeps criss-crossed each other in the clearing made by the dropships. About ten Elites watched over the lower ranks and kept an eye out along they outer edge. Their infinite black eyes saw all. The three marines were frozen for nearly a minute and it was then that the Elite commander saw the top of Johnson's cap through the brush. It extended a long claw towards him letting out a roar and a squad of Jackals approached. They encircled the front edge of the log and searched on the ends for the humans.
Their movements darting and bird like they walked all along the edge of the log. One of them crawled over and saw them. Its large orange eyes grew wide as it struggled to fall back. Johnson unloaded a burst into the alien's skull and was given a shower of blood in return. The gun fire was enough to alert all of the Covenant there. A literal wall of plasma flew towards the log burning it down to tiny embers. The firing ceased for about three seconds giving the marines enough time to get up and run.
Johnson and another made it out unscathed, but the other marine was not so lucky. Forty guns opened up and turned him to a pile of blood and ashes. He let out a final momentary scream of pain that tore through the drowning sound of the engines. Johnson didn't have time to care. He just ran blindly towards the insertion point until he hit something and fell to the ground. The sergeant rubbed his head and looked up. He thought it was a tree for a moment until he was picked up and placed on his feet.
" Good to see you Sergeant Johnson. Didn't realize you were on this op. " Cortana said.
" Better to see you people. We've got dozens of Covenant back there. " Johnson said gesturing behind him. " I recommend we get out of here and blast them from above or get a helluva lot of reinforcement. " The Chief stepped past the sergeant and the three other members of Blue Team stepped out to follow him.
" No need for that sergeant...We're here. " the Chief replied. The marine watched the Spartans fan out and take up an assault formation. One of the smaller ones climbed up a large tree and propped his S2 AM on a branch over looking the squad. Six rounds rang out and the Covenant advanced eager for the taste of human flesh. The forward Jackal unit was in sight and began engaging the Spartans. Johnson and the only other man in his unit watched as they disposed of the ten Covenant warriors with ease.
" Six hostiles coming in right flank! " the Spartan sniper said reloading his weapon. The other three changed their formation and spread themselves out even farther. Two red armored Elites armed with plasma rifles and four Grunts with needlers came running through the thicket. Four shots were heard and the Elites fell dead. The Grunts were confused at the death of their officers and slowed to a crawl. Another two shots were fired and they ran with arms flailing. They were put down by battle rifle fire. A small crashing noise was heard and a few twigs fell as the sniper dropped from his position. A group of ten marines came from behind as the Spartan landed and checked his weapon.
" We heard heavy gun fire, is everything alright? " one of them asked Johnson. He turned to the marines and then back to the Spartans. The man leaned over and saw what he was looking at. " Never mind, question rescinded. "
" Marines the Spartans and I need some assistance. Follow us to the Covenant dropships and lend support. " Cortana said over the radio. The marines were a bit apprehensive until they saw the dead bodies of the Covenant. It was the morale boost needed to send them further into the front.
" No problem Cortana. Awaiting your order to assault. " one of the marines said. The Spartans gave a quick look at their new support and made their way towards the dropships. They passed the still burning pieces of wood that Johnson had hid behind and kept an eye out on the Covenant on patrol.
They were all aggressive in their searching and even began to bicker amongst each other. Agitated, the Chief thought, just we what need. He leveled his rifle on the golden Elite and took aim for the chest. A staccato burst happened next to him from one of the marines and his trigger finger slipped letting out an early burst.
" Let's hit 'em marines! GO! GO! GO! " one of the humans yelled. The human forces advanced inward and fired at the nearest targets. Several Grunts were taken down easily within the first few seconds, but the others compensated for their loss. Three marines were hit hard by the Creeps' main cannons. The Chief fired again and unloaded the last of his magazine on the ever moving commander. Its shields were white hot when Dale-119 fired two sniper rounds into it finishing off the shields and decapitating the Elite.
The lesser units that saw their commander die went into a momentary panic giving the foolish marines enough time to fall back and take cover from the six APCs on patrol. Only six of the original twelve made it out. Those left out in the middle of the opening were prime targets for heavy turret fire. Their bodies burned away from the heavy fire and returned to dust. Several minutes had passed before reinforcement had arrived from the right of the dropships splitting the Covenant in two.
The battle was in utter chaos as the humans held back what they could. It seemed a little out of normal to the Chief and he then realized why. The dropships hadn't fired a round, if anything they looked like they were getting ready to dust off. He couldn't have been more right. Just then they were closing their bottom hatches. The Master Chief primed himself to run and jump.
" Cover me! " he yelled into the radio as he dashed forward. Blue-Three tried to stop, but failed in the attempt. Instead he simply fired his weapon doing as ordered. The Chief slung his rifle and used the confusion of the battlefield to his advantage. Plasma bolts and bullets alike whipped past him occasionally making contact draining his shields. The dropships were almost about to go off and gather more reinforcement when the Chief jumped up and pulled himself into the main deployment compartment of one of them.
He rolled in and landed on his back. The doors shut and he was sealed inside the massive section reserved for armor units. A few scattered dull blue and red light decorated the ceiling as did multiple docking clamps with the walls. There were crates, communication stations and a few Shade turrets as well.
" Mind explaining this one to me Chief? " Cortana asked. He stood up and unslung his rifle bringing it to bear.
" This is a Covenant heavy model dropship. It is designed to withstand alot of outside punishment. Pelican dropships have insufficient firepower to take down this type of craft. Even if they do outnumber them five to one. So the key word is outside in the type of punishment. " he replied.
" So you intended to set its reactor off then? " Cortana asked.
" No. " he replied. A very rare and very small amount of mischief entered his voice. " I've picked up a bad habit of taking things over that don't belong to the UNSC. " Cortana let out a long sigh and a single NAV point appeared.
" Cockpit is this way. Sorting self for control interface. " He felt a sudden jolt and lost his footing buckling to his knees for a moment. The ship was flying off and fast. After regaining his balance the Chief walked towards the cockpit. Inside it was awfully quiet for such a large ship. Quiet enough to hear two nervous Grunts and an Elite. He slowed his pace when he made it to a ramp that lead up to the second story of the dropship. He wasn't far from the cockpit when its main door opened and one of the Grunts stepped out.
It jumped when it saw the Chief and ran around as if searching for something. He saw what the Grunt's problem was, it was unarmed. The Grunt made it to a rack of plasma rifles and grabbed one. The threat was clear now and the Chief fired a five round burst into the alien. It fell to the deck silently. The bullets' report echoed off the hull giving away his existence to the pilots.
The Elite exited from the cockpit and saw the body of the dead Grunt and the human. It reached for a plasma pistol on its belt and leveled it at the intruder. The Master Chief fired at the beast and evaded best he could from the incoming plasma. His shields were hit by a charged blast and went out. It grew to nearly intolerable temperatures inside his armor as he took cover giving his shields a chance to recharge. They barely made it half way when the Elite made it past his cover point. It got off another charged blast and missed. Bits of molten metal flew past the Chief's helmet and hit both of them. He quickly closed the distance and engaged in hand to hand combat.
With full force he swung the butt of his rifle into the Elite's shields. He struck again and again doing further damage. The shields dropped as the Chief went in for another attack. His blow made contact sending the Elite back ten feet slamming it into a wall. The tall creature coughed black blood and doubled over from the human's strength. Thirteen rounds were sent into the beast silencing it. The Chief reloaded his empty weapon and made his way to the cockpit.
" CHIEF BEHIND YOU! " Cortana yelled. She couldn't of said it any sooner as two green bolts flew past him. The explosive rounds detonated and damaged the ramp he came up on. Twin green lights grew and the Chief knew what they were. Hunters. He fired his battle rifle at the massive creatures barely scratching their armor. After reloading and fired the last of his rifle's ammunition. Still no effect. Tossing his weapon aside he ran for the Hunters with his M6D. He got in close enough for them to reconsider shooting and had them attack him with their massive shields.
As one lifted its arm up high he fired three rounds into its gut to make sure it was dead. The other came down and missed. Angered it tried again and met a similar fate as three explosive rounds tore through its spine and out its front. Luminous orange blood splattered everywhere. The Chief went over to each of them and lifted up their heads by the thin helmets they wore and put another round into the brain cavity.
" Only the pilot remains Chief. Let's take this craft over. " Cortana said. He agreed and went for the cockpit. The doors slid open and much to his surprise a Grunt was piloting the ship. Has to make up for something he guessed. The pilot turned around and jumped out of its seat just to have its skull crushed by the Chief's fist. The dropship stopped and hovered in mid air.
" Ready when you are. " he said. The ship began moving and they headed back to the original target structure. This time though they had a bigger gift to deliver.
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