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Halo 2: New Mombasa Part 1
Posted By: Spartan 153<mbones153@hotmail.com>
Date: 26 June 2003, 3:26 AM


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NOTE: Hi. This is my very first Halo fan fiction. It follows the events of the E3 2003 trailer and somewhat builds upon them. As far as I know, no one has written anything of this sort yet. I put alot of work into it and tried to get the dialogue close to perfect (if you watch the trailer, most of the dialogue should be exactly what they say). I would greatly appreciate any thoughts or comments you have about it-- pertaining to the story, writing style, or whatever. If I hear good things, I will conclude the story, with an action-packed ending of course!



1930 Hours, August 30th, 2556 (Military Calendar)/
New Mombasa, East African Protectorate, Earth

As the black clouds shrouded the evening sky in darkness, the soft roar of a pelican's engines could be heard in the distance. The sun's soft rays shined on the windshield of the dropship. The Master Chief stood at the rear of the aircraft, clutching a handrail for support and admiring the blue hues of the clouds below him. He blinked and resumed his search for the damaged cruiser. The covenant starship "Retribution" had broken through the UNSC's line of defense and closed on earth. Fortunately, the orbiting super MAC guns severely wounded the cruiser. "It took two in the nose and dropped into the atmosphere," stated Cortana. "Who was first contact?" the Chief inquired. "405th under Diego Garcia," bellowed a deep voice from the cockpit. Sergeant Johnson turned around to look at Master Chief. "But don't expect a big welcome. The covenant wiped most of them out before they hit the ground." The pelican's airfoils quickly adjusted and sent the craft into a steep dive, piercing the cloud cover and descending into the abyss below.

A bead of sweat formed on Corporal Lovell's forehead. He carefully took aim and depressed the trigger of his S2 AM sniper rifle, sending the 14.5mm armor-piercing fin-stabilized discarding-sabot round through the Hunter's trachea. The Hunter stumbled for a moment, gasping for air, until it fell to the ground with a metallic thud. "Twelve degrees right by three degrees up!" Lovell quickly readjusted his sight and fired another round into the spinal column of the second hunter. "Good shot," remarked his spotter, Corporal Garner. "Those hunters are damn near impossible to kill, and they always travel in pairs." "Thanks," replied Lovell, slapping a new magazine into the rifle. The sniper/spotter team lay prone on an upper plate of the city, surveying the streets below and picking off any unfortunate covenant soldiers that happened to walk by. "What's it look like down there, Garner?" questioned a voice over the radio. "Reading grid thirteen by two as hot. Recommend mission abort," he responded as Lovell fired off another two armor-piercing rounds.

"Roger that recon," Lieutenant Ricks said while looking back at Johnson, "It's your call, Sarge." Johnson had a stern look on his face. He knew that he was probably sending his men to their deaths, but he had made his decision and pointed out towards the city. "We're goin' in." He then turned to the rear of the pelican and shouted, "Get tactical marines!" With that, the Master Chief sat down and inspected his equipment. The soldiers next to him did the same. The Master Chief stared at them for a second. These marines were not your average grunts. They were members of the famed and feared Orbital Drop Shock Trooper unit, a highly trained Special Forces detachment. They had a reputation for being a bit eccentric, and sometimes downright crazy. The ODSTs donned matte-black battle suits that incorporated a plasma refractive coat and provided the user with a HUD in the helmet. The suits were similar in appearance to his MJOLNIR armor, although the similarity stopped there. But watching the ODSTs caused the Master Chief to think of his "brothers and sisters": the Spartans. They were the only real family he had ever had, and he missed them deeply. He could still remember the look on Linda's face as he watched her slowly die. "Covenant ground forces control this city. We'll need to deal with them before we can kill that cruiser," said Cortana, jarring Master Chief from his thoughts. "Right," he replied and returned to checking his gear. He carried eight magazines for his MR9A battle rifle, which he still grasped. He set the rifle next to him, unholstered an M6D, and cocked the slide. Once he was satisfied that the pistol was in good working order, he holstered it and checked his supply of grenades. The Master Chief carried a payload of four fragmentation grenades and two plasma grenades, which he had acquired earlier that day. He grabbed his battle rifle, slid the bolt back, extracted and examined the magazine, and then reinserted it. The Master Chief slid the bolt forward and chambered the first round. He was ready.

The pelican soared above the city's skyline, weaving in and out of incoming plasma fire with unparalleled grace. Upon reaching the designated landing zone, the pelican's airfoils swung down and sent the aircraft into a slowly descending hover. A faint squeaking sound could be heard as the pelican's landing gear extended and eventually touched down on the pavement, sustaining the aircrafts weight. A lone marine stood at the edge of the LZ, covering his face from the all the dust the pelican was kicking up. Amongst the engine's roar, Master Chief heard Johnson scream, "Pile out! Go, go, go!" The ODSTs jumped out ahead of the Master Chief and quickly ran towards the command post. He, instead, walked calmly over to the awaiting marine. He quietly swore to himself that on this day, he would avenge the fallen Spartans.

"We'll evac the wounded. Keep me posted Cortana," ordered Johnson over the radio. "Of course Sergeant," Cortana responded. The Master Chief looked up at the sky momentarily, only to see an enormous trail of plasma arc over the city. The blast had emanated from somewhere nearby. "Sir!" The Master Chief refocused his attention on the marine in front of him. "Corporal Perez, A company. CP's this way!" The corporal turned and ran down the exit ramp to the street beneath, leading the Master Chief by a medical tent. As he ran past, the Chief heard a marine's vital signs flat line, and the medics' struggle to resuscitate him. He caught up to the Corporal and looked down to see a man lying on a stretcher, half of his stomach missing. "The lieutenant got hit as soon as we dropped in," reported Perez. "Who's in charge now, Corporal?" questioned Cortana. "Sergeant Banks, ma'am. He's pinned down up front. Come' on, I'll show you." Perez about-faced and lead the Master Chief up a flight of stairs. He could make out the sounds of gunfire and the low rumble of explosions in the distance. Perez and the Chief emerged in a short hallway, and ran to an opening near the end. Outside the hallway stretched a landing that overlooked a broad avenue "Parsons!" Perez called out. "Yeah?" came the shaky reply. "Is it clear?" Suddenly, a plasma shell struck the side of the landing and a deafening blast erupted with tremendous force, nearly knocking the Chief off his feet. "You tell me!" was Parsons's answer. Perez waved his hand to the right and yelled, "Friendlies movin' out! Covering fire!" He stepped to the side and fired off a few rounds while the Chief ran by. The Master Chief caught sight of a gigantic plasma mortar turret positioned on a rooftop across the avenue, and watched it gather energy and fire off another massive round. He ran to the end of the landing and tossed a frag grenade into a crowd of patrolling grunts beneath him. The grenade detonated with such force that it literally blew the bodies into the air. The Chief leveled his battle rifle and took aim at two grunts that had strayed ahead of the pack. He fired two shots, and two bodies hit the floor. The 9.6mm rounds easily tore through the grunts. He jogged down a ramp to another balcony and met up with Sergeant Banks. Banks looked at the Chief with a slight grin on his face as plasma fire whizzed over his head. "I asked for reinforcements. I didn't think they'd send a Spartan." He looked at the covenant turret and said, "We've got to take that thing out! Cover me!" Banks crawled over to a dead marine hanging over a railing and jerked the body back onto the floor. He snatched the radio from the corpse and tried to raise someone on narrowband. "CP, this Corporal Banks. I've got covenant artillery two hundred meters north and I need assistance!" The Master Chief stood and fired at three grunts. The rounds hit the leading grunt in the face and shattered his breathing mask, causing methane to seep out into the air. The other two grunts, which were standing directly behind the first, opened fire with their plasma pistols. But the plasma bolts accidentally ignited the methane and the area went up in a ball of flame. Banks yelled a warning to the Spartan. "Jackals to the right!" The Chief glanced to his right and saw five of the creatures open fire, but he also noticed an M43 LAIG had been set up at the far end of the balcony. He dodged the incoming fire and dashed over to the gun. He firmly grabbed the gun's handles, cocked the bolt, and swiveled the gun around. The jackals were quickly ripped to pieces by hundreds of armor-piercing rounds. Banks called out again, "Does anyone read me!? This is Corporal Banks. I need assistance with covenant artillery!" He paused and sighed. "Damnit, isn't anyone on this frequency!?" Just then, a voice came in over the radio: "Sergeant, this is Major Heasly. Hang tight, we're inbound." The Master Chief looked up in time to see two Longsword fighters scream across the sky and bomb the plasma turret. A brilliant blue light was cast upon the street as the turret exploded, causing dirt and debris to rain down on the battered marines. "Verify delivery of ordinance on target," Major Heasly requested. "Dead on, Major!" replied Banks.

With the path now clear for the marines, the Master Chief provided covering fire as they ran down onto the street. He turned to follow, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. He turned around to face Sergeant Banks, and saw that he had been injured. The Sergeant held out his dual MP3Bs and said, "Here, take my weapons. You'll need 'em." He examined the sub-machine guns. They were sturdy and included a collapsible handgrip. The Chief nodded, and sprinted down to the street. He targeted a nearby jackal and pulled the triggers. The rounds erupted from the barrel with the staccato "BRAP" that the MP3Bs were infamous for. The jackal was hit in his left shoulder by the first burst, and in the head by the second. The Master Chief pivoted right and two more jackals hit the ground. He climbed up a small hill of rubble and ran toward the entrance of a small alley. He pressed his back against the wall before entering, and saw two marines do the same on the other side of the opening. Private O' Mailey peered into the alley, only to have a bolt of plasma sizzle past his ear. He jerked his head back to cover and screamed, "Frag and Clear!" Next to him, Private Lee prepped a grenade and tossed it into a cluster of jackals and grunts. After the ensuing blast, Private O' Mailey shouted, "Clear now!" The Master Chief swung around the corner and emptied the rest of the MP3Bs' magazines into the survivors. Dropping the sub-machine guns, the Chief unslung his rifle and reloaded it. He then made his way down the narrow side-street, which ended at a wide boulevard. A nearby unit of jackals spotted him and opened fire. The air was peppered with plasma fire, and the Master Chief was forced to take cover behind a large chunk of concrete. The jackals formed a line and locked their energy shields together, creating an almost impenetrable wall. The Master Chief had never seen the covenant use that tactic before, and it surprised him. He unhooked a fragmentation grenade and hurled it into the pack. The shrapnel from the grenade shredded two jackals in half, splattering purple blood all over the inside of their shields, and blew another's legs off. The remaining two jackals were cut down by fire from two M12 Warthogs that rolled up next to the Chief. Private Matthews called out from the driver's seat, "We could use a gunner, sir!" The Master Chief jumped into the back of the Warthog and it sped off down the boulevard.





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