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Defending The Beaches (Part 2)
Posted By: MT<brevard1986@hotmail.com>
Date: 3 March 2004, 9:46 PM
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Soell heard the sniper shots and felt his spirits lift after each one. He helped Estael up the bluff. They were almost there. He constantly prayed that plasma bolt would not find him and smash into his back.
Soell saw Hopkins and Garwood reach the top rise only to find a second one. They were about to go up this one when they heard the sergeant's orders for them to take up positions here. Laying down Garwood aimed at the two Jackals and fired. Hopkins kneeled on one knee and fired at the short, stubby and funny looking Grunts that appeared around the Covenant dropship.
Estael and Soell reach the top just before the Covenant dropship lifted off quickly and fired several shots from its turrets before speeding away. Already the second and third dropships were starting to land beside the spot where the first was.
One more shot rang out from the rise to Soell's right as Green killed a Grunt. There was a pause as Green reloaded his rifle, and then two more shots quickly followed one after the other. A Jackal lay dead beside his partner whose shield protected him from the first shot. A third shot rang and the surviving Jackal was blown back by the force of the bullet before dying. Estael shouted at Soell to fire his rifle, and then pointed at the new wave of Covenant troops which came from the two dropships.
Soell watched as four Elites raced towards the boulders, firing as they ran. He saw a group of five Jackals in a line with their shields in front. A larger group of ten Grunts were close behind, using the Jackals' shields as cover. They were advancing and Garwood's shots could not penetrate.
Soell suddenly realised they were going to die.
Hopkins fired at the rushing Elites. He saw a Gold which was already at the boulders. Most of his shots did not penetrate the Elites' shielding, but it did make one red Elites hesitate. Green saw this moment of hesitation and fired into the Elite's thigh. The Elite roared, more in anger than in pain, and back peddled to the group of Jackals and Grunts.
Green's second shot missed it mark. The entire squad concentrated on the two remaining Blue Elites which were mere moments away from reaching the boulders. One had its shield taking out by one of Green's round. Hopkins and Estael did not hesitate to kill it. The other Elite reached the boulders barely dodging a sniper shot that ricochet off the rocks.
Hopkins paused to reload his assault rifle and saw Green taking out a Grunt which strayed too far out of the line of Jackals defensive formation. The red Elite with the Grunts and Jackals commanded them to fire at high rise where Green was. Estael and the men attempted to take out the group as they turned slightly to face Green. The gold and blue Elite jumped out to shoot at the bluff. The men ducked as dozens of blue plasma bolts kissed the ridge of the bluff. Dirt and sand spat upwards and fell back down onto their helmets.
Hopkins cursed under his breath.
A swarm of green plasma bolts struck the high rise solid beneath. Already the rock was melting away from the quantity of shots and Green felt it starting to shear off. Before he could roll out, the rock crumbled beneath him sending the high rise crashing down with him on it. It was a fifteen foot drop, and each foot was filled with plasma fire. Green's body was blasted apart bit by bit as both green and blue plasma bolts hit home.
Green died before he could have felt the ground.
Estael heard the roar of celebration and felt a moment of anguish that passed as quickly as it came. It was not time to lose your head; he still had the rest of his squad to command. He risked a look over the bluff and saw the Jackals and Grunts start moving towards the bluff.
"Hopkins, cover the boulders. Short bursts." Estael saw Hopkins nod. "Soell, I want a frag' behind the Jackal line. Garwood, give me suppressive fire on the Grunts."
"Yes sir," the three marines replied in unison.
Estael watched Soell prepare the fragmentation grenade which he hoped would take out most of the group of Covenants. When he was ready Estael shouted "Now!"
Estael ignored the pain in his chest as he placed his assault rifle over the ridge and aimed at the red Elite commanding the Covenant group. The men fired in unison and Soell threw the grenade. Soell quickly held his gun up and started firing keeping one eye of the grenade in the air. It landed to the left of the line and exploded. It instantly killed a handful of Grunts and two of the Jackals, blasting the Elite and the rest of the Covenant down onto the ground.
Estael did not hesitate to fire at the fallen Elite; its shield was severely damaged by the blast. Garwood also concentrated on the Elite. It was ripped to shreds by the armour piercing rounds. Another Grunt died before the Jackals were able to bring their shield back up.
There was a shout from Hopkins for the men to duck. Blue plasma bolts slashed through the air forcing Estael to duck. Garwood was too slow and a plasma bolt hitting into the side of his helmet, shattering it. Estael saw bits of cranium and blood fly through the air. There was a bloody mess in the place of Garwood's helmet side, and blood dripped down his face.
Estael glanced at the rest of the men. Soell was fine, but Hopkins right arm was bleeding heavily. Evidence of plasma scorching was apparent on his armour. He wouldn't be able to fire the assault rifle with his left arm. In both men's eyes there was fear.
Their ammunition was dangerously low. Barely enough to take out a Gold Elite let alone the rest of the Covenant. Soell heard a roar from one of the Elites, most probably the Gold. He looked up to see a blue Elite running up the bluff towards them. He ducked as the Gold Elite spotted and shot at him. He raised his gun to the left, aiming at the spot where the Elite will appear over the ridge. He hoped he would die without much pain.
Hopkins saw Soells fear and watched him raise his gun to aim at a point of the ridge. Estael did the same. Hopkins stared at the depleted assault rifle which he could not use. Garwood still had forty rounds left but it was useless to him. He shrugged and slowly got up, clutching at a fragmentation grenade with his left hand. He ignored Estael's shouting and the harsh pain in his arm. The blue Elite appeared over the crest with his plasma rifle pointing at Hopkins. It growled and attempted to swing the rifle and hit Hopkins. Suddenly, Hopkins jumped forwards and attempted to shoulder barge the Elite.
The Elite frustration of missing the marine was soon taken over by vague amusement. Hopkins attack did not even budge the Elite which attempted to swat the marine off. Hopkins suffered each blow and was able to take out the pin out the grenade. He wrapped his bleeding arm around the Elites thick torso and held tight shoving the grenade up to the Elites chest. Seeing this, the Elite roared anger and tried to push the marine away. Hopkins held on tight with all his determination and smiled up at the Elite. A moment of clarity was upon his face as he looked at death.
"This is for my arm," whispered Hopkins.
The grenade exploded.
Estael saw what Hopkins was trying to do as soon as he got up. He signalled Soell to roll away who was prompt to do so. Both Estael and the Gold Elite could not fire and merely watched. Estael heard the pin release of the fragmentation grenade. He quickly rolled Garwoods dead body over himself, hoping that it would save him from the blast.
The grenade exploded, and Hopkins and the Elites bodies took most of the energy from the explosion. The remaining blast went into Garwood's body, and Estael merely felt a strong pressure on his chest. He silently thanked the dead marine and rolled him off, only to see the sky raining purple and red blood.
Hopkin's action saved him and Soell for now, but the Gold Elite was already coming up the bluff. It will be on them in moments. Even if they somehow managed to kill it, the rest of the Covenant was already passed the boulders at the base of the bluff.
Suddenly an explosion in the middle of the Grunts caused the Gold Elite to stop and turn quickly. A Warthog was racing along the beach and the marine on the light anti-aircraft gun was raking the remaining Covenant. Estael ignored his exuberance of being saved. He used this opportunity to signal Soell. Both got up and charged down the bluff towards the Gold Elite which still was looking at the action below him.
When the Elite turned his head, Estael and Soell were already upon him. Soell stopped, knelt and fired his remaining clip into the Elite's side. Estael roared and dived at the now off balanced Elite. They fell hard on the ground and started rolling down the bluff. The Elite was snarling, its chest vibrating violently causing Estael's pain to be more apparent. He clutched on until they were near the bottom. Finally he let go, using the momentum they gathered to push the Elite away with his legs.
The Elite fell backwards onto the sand in the open. The Elite quickly got up and stared at the injured marine clutching its wounded chest. His plasma rifle must have been lost during the roll, but the Gold could still rip the human apart. Suddenly he was jolted forward. Series of 12.7mm armour piercing rounds abruptly ripped through its body and into the sand in front. It howled in agony before slumping face first onto the ground.
Corporal Cardoso was driving the Warthog. Stephens was on the passenger side with his rocket launcher at the ready. He already had the two rocket barrels loaded and aiming forward. Wilson was on the gunner position scanning the skies. They drove around another corner at a dangerous speed.
Minutes ago they saw several dropships flying away from the island. They didn't find much on their sweep and was about to cut it early when the Sergeant radioed in. Three Covenant dropships was hell for a large company let alone a small squad of eight. He wondered if those five could hold out for a bit longer. Cardoso hoped that he wasn't too late as he took the last corner at speed.
They saw the Jackals first with their bright yellow shields. Then they saw the Grunts. There weren't any Banshees in the air. Cardoso thanked god. Stephens signalled for Cardoso to go in at an angle. Cardoso swerved and steadied the vehicle in, without losing speed. Stephens fired a single rocket into the midst of the Covenant.
Most of the Covenant flew into the air by the explosion, but some were only injured. Cardoso quickly turn right as Wilson swung the LAAG around and fired at the remaining Covenant. Blue and purple blood erupted from the Grunts and Jackals as the armour piercing rounds pushed them away. Wilson saw a Gold Elite and a marine roll down the bluff and trained his gun on them. He saw the Gold Elite pushed into the clear and stand up. He fired, watching the armour piercing rounds go through the Elite easily.
Cardoso and Stephens shouted in celebration and started to compliment Wilson on his shooting. A large green explosion of plasma erupted in the right side of the Warthog before they could. The vehicle swerved and flipped over on to its left side. Stephens was killed outright from the explosion, and Wilson was thrown out suffering a heavy injury. Cardoso had a large gash along his side as he was partially thrown out from the driver seat. He saw Stephens's burnt body hanging over the middle roll bar.
Cardoso crawled out to see a pair of Hunters side by side with their fuel rod cannons up. The behemoths were the largest of the Covenant fighters the marines had to fight. Hunched down they were still eight feet tall and the row of long spiky tendrils on their backs make them look like odd blue hedgehogs. They carried large slabs of impenetrable metal as shielding and melee weaponry along with that huge plasma fuel rod cannon it was pointing at Cardoso. He glanced around and saw Stephens's rocket launcher. By the time he got to it, the Hunters would kill him. The Hunter on the right fired. Cardoso hugged the ground and felt a blast on his right and a whoosh of air above him.
Wilson saw the Warthog barely flip over Cardoso and land mere inches from his prone body. Wilson's femur was shattered and several of his ribs were broken due to the plasma blast and fall. He winced in fear and pain as the Warthog crashed down on its tires and spread an air of sand into his eyes. He saw underneath the Warthog the two Hunters in the distance and Cardoso trying to stand up.
The left Hunter had his fuel rod cannon ready and charged to fire at Cardoso. It was waiting for the Corporal to stand up. Before Cardoso could stand fully erect, a large explosion enveloped the left Hunter. The heat of the explosion could be felt from when Wilson was laying, and he couldn't imagine what was happening to the Hunter. It stood its ground, not blown back by the blast which took the right Hunter off guard. It was only a moment but it seemed like an hour.
The Hunter finally slumped onto the ground and died. Wilson could see a slight mark on its impenetrable armour where the rocket impacted. He marvelled at its armour and its ability to sustain so much damage. He once saw a single Hunter take five clips of assault rifle rounds at almost close range. It killed three marines with its large heavy shield slab before it could be brought down.
The remaining Hunter was stunned only for a short while. It soon lifted its large protective shield to protect itself. A second rocket hit the Hunter from behind rendering its shield useless. It was propelled forward onto the ground and lay there. A slight rhythmic rise and fall from the armour was the only indication it was still alive. Quickly Cardoso was up holding his shotgun and running towards the down Hunter. He saw the exposed orange flesh of the Hunter and shoved the barrel of his shotgun into it. He fired a single buck into the Hunter which promptly stopped moving.
Estael and Soell were running towards Cardoso as he tried to wipe off the Hunter's orange blood from his chest plate. He waved them off and signalled them towards Wilson. Soell nodded and ran towards the fallen marine pointedly ignoring the burnt carcass of Stephens. Estael was still walking towards Cardoso, but looking behind them. He didn't glance at Cardoso when he said "You hurt?"
"No."
"Good." Estael walked passed towards the figure on the horizon holding a used rocket launcher. As he got closer he could see that the figure was male, and wearing a flight suit.
"Should I thank you first or ask your name?"
"Lieutenant Kiren Hunter," said the pilot and made an awkward salute.
Estael returned the salute. "Thank you for saving my corporal's ass. We weren't expecting the pilot to survive, but I welcome this surprise."
"I didn't think I was going to make it when I saw a couple of Banshees flying past. I think they were picking up my Pelican's beacon so I had to disable it."
At the mention of Banshees Estael remembered Carter. He clicked his com-unit instantly and radioed for her. There was a crackle of static before a surprised voice came.
"Sir?" There was another crackle of static a muffled plasma sizzle as Carter muttered "Damn!"
"Carter, you're alive," said Estael almost as surprised.
"Just following orders sir."
"And you're good at disobeying them Carter, we-"
"Sir," Carter interrupted. "I'm a bit busy with a pair of Banshees."
Estael cursed and thought of something.
"Carter come round the island again fly over the boulders. Make sure the Banshees are following." Estael looked at Hunter, "You got more ammo for that RL?"
"Yes sir."
"Load 'em." He clicked his com-unit, "We got a surprise waiting for them."
"Roger," replied Carter, now in a toneless voice.
Cardoso gripped the handle of the rocket launcher he shouldered and watched the burning Banshee crash into the sand. The second Banshee was sinking under the water just off the shore from Hunter's rocket. Soell and Wilson whooped and clapped when the rockets hit their mark. Carter gave the Pelican a small victory roll as she passed. Estael nodded at Cardoso and stared at the bluff and rise where three of his marines died.
They buried all three marines in the sand; Green's sniper rifle buried along with him. There wasn't enough of Hopkins body to be buried so they scattered his remains in the oceans. They left the Covenant where they laid.
They got the ammunition crates from the down Pelican into Carter's. Hunter had a sad look in his eyes as they flew away from the Pelican. Carter appreciated this and flew away slower than she should have. This gave Estael an opportunity to think, and that wasn't good for a marine.
He replayed that gruelling battle in his head. He wondered what he did wrong; what he could have done to save those marines. He remembered Hopkins last act, Garwood quick death and Green's body being ripped to pieces. He saw in his mind the burnt carcass of Stephens being hefted away from the Warthog, and stared at the moaning Wilson laid on top of the rocket crates. Were four marines worth this? He grimaced at his wound when Carter told him the ship A.I. Cortana was radioing them. It seemed that the SPARTAN was in need of some heavy fire power. Well, he thought, maybe it was worth it after all.
Pelican dropship Bravo 22 roared into the distance.
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