Part I: The Arriaval
Posted By: Matt Battaglia<Lazykaybates@hotmail.com>
Date: 4 January 2004, 3:10 AM
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The pelican floated through the air, swaying from side to side. Private Ace Fisher sat in the dimly lit transport, grasping his MA5B standard issue assault rifle with sweaty hands. Ace was trembling, but not in fear, in anticipation. The Covenant had claimed the life of two of his cousins, and now he was ready to claim the life of their entire race.
Ace looked into the eyes of the men he had called brothers for the past two years, and he saw no fear. These men were ready to wreak revenge upon every last Covenant warrior. The Covenant had destroyed their homes, their planets, and most of all...their families. They tore young boys from their homes to fight in an intergalactic war that they didn't understand. Ace hadn't seen Earth for over 9 months. That was the last time his platoon was able to visit their families. He hoped that the next time he went home would be for good.
Ace and his comrades served in the 12th division 8th platoon of the UNSC marines. They had seen no action since the war started, and all of them were itching to fire their guns. The platoon was on their way to reinforce the planet Reach, but the planet had been destroyed before they even came near it. They were redirected to a newly discovered, ring-shaped planet. They knew nothing about the planet, all they knew was that they were ordered to do anything in their power to not let the Covenant control the planet. And they didn't intend to.
Ace dozed off in the silence, the calm before the storm... He dreamed of Earth. The sites and smells of home crept into his nose. He thought of playing football in the yard with his little brother, and the huge turkey he enjoyed each year at thanksgiving. His family crowded around the dinner table, laughing and smiling. Suddenly his family drifted away and he saw barracks, rows and rows of metal barracks. He saw Men marching and drill sergeants shouting orders. No more home... "Look alive Marines. We're making contact in under two minutes!" Sergeant Cortez hollered.
There was a murmur of voices and the clicking of rifles. Ace woke up and turned to his best friends, Dallas Johnson and Billy "Trigger Finger" Goodman. Billy had grown up with Ace back on Earth. They went to high school together and were inseparable. Billy had always been a little bit stronger than Ace. He was the star quarter back of their high school football team. Billy earned the nickname "trigger finger" because he could unload 12 shotgun rounds in 8 seconds.
Billy inserted shells in his M90 shotgun and asked "You guys ready?". "I was born ready," Dallas answered as he loaded a clip of armor piercing rounds into his S2 AM sniper rifle. Dallas had the best shot in the platoon, and was determined to test it against the enemy. Ace and Billy had met Dallas at boot camp, and the three of them had become very close. They would take a bullet before seeing each other die at the hand of the extra-terrestrial bastards. Billy looked at Ace. "What about you Ace, you ready?" he asked. "I'm as ready as I'll ever be" Ace replied. "Yeah me too...I guess" Billy said to himself under his breath. The Sarge told his troops to keep the Covenant spread out and aim for the head at all times, But Ace wasn't listening. He had only one thing on his mind...Kill every last Covenant soldier.
The pelican hit the ground and the transport stopped...They had landed on Halo. The ship's door fell to the ground with a thud, making a ramp for the marines. "Alright marines file out! And remember what I told you," yelled the Sarge. One by one the marines stepped out onto the moist grass of the ring planet. Ace came into the light and peered around. There were mountains behind them and a structure in front of them, but no Covenant. He looked into the sky, but could see no sign of the other carriers that accompanied their own.
An eerie silence filled the air. Ace cocked his gun. "There's no one here!" Corporal Smith announced to the platoon. Just then, hundreds of balls of plasma soared through the air towards the Marines. "You had to open your big mouth!" Sergeant Cortez yelled to Corporal Smith as he unloaded a clip into an elite. Ace took cover behind a purple box and tossed a frag into one of the doors of the huge silver building. There was a blast and a grunt came soaring out of the doorway and landed face first a few feet away from him. He had killed his first Covenant troop...
I hope you liked it. I'm only 14, so if you have any ideas for the next installments, please let me know. My e-mail is lazykaybates@hotmail.com.
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