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Last Hope part 8
Posted By: SSJBRK<brkessler@columbus.rr.com>
Date: 28 May 2002, 10:52 pm
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Once all the marines were aboard "The Hellion" we headed for Solitarius Seven. It would take us three hours to arrive by slipstream. I feared that the battle would already be over. All we could do was wait. I decided to get some sleep, and I wondered if "The Absolution" was still in tact, all my personal stuff was onboard. With an hour left to go before we arrived, the shipboard AI, Yisa came over the comm. " All combat teams report to your action stations, we will enter Solitarius Seven space in one hour." The captain insisted that the sixty four surviving marines of Beta and Charlie squads form as one. The new unit would be designated Omega. I was now the acting commander of Omega squad.
As we exited slipstream, we were met by the wreckage of Covenant and UNSC cruisers. It was obvious to everyone that some serious shit had gone down here. Scans weren't showing any friendly craft, there was too much debris. I had my squad report to action stations and be alert for boarding parties. Boarding craft could be hiding in the floating wreckage surrounding us. Yisa ordered long swords out to check the area. Suddenly a flash of light passed the ship's bow. A disabled Seraph fighter took one shot at us, before being blown in two by the archer missiles of one of the long swords. Yisa immediately spoke over the comm. " Covenant forces sighted, all marines report to defensive positions, boarding craft on intercept course. Eta five minutes."
"The Hellion" plowed through the wreckage at top speed. Once we cleared the debris, our scanners worked clearly and we saw what we had been missing. The battle in space was not over. The UNSC and Covenant were on the other side of the planet, fully engaged. The Captain came over the radio, requesting a situation report. Our scanners showed three UNSC ships and seven Covenant cruisers. A fourth ship showed up on the scanners a thousand kilometers ahead of us. Whatever it was, it was still in slipstream. The Captain ordered the MAC cannon trained to that position. A sliver of light appeared, then a whole ship came in to view. "The Last Stand" came in right in front of us. We would need the back up. We headed for the far side of the planet, ready to jump into the fray.
As we turned the corner, the battle on the screens was now right in front of us. We came in, guns blazing, our MAC cannon fired, punching a hole right through a Covenant cruiser which had turned to broadside another UNSC ship. The purple craft exploded in blue fire. The small victory soon faded. I looked at the monitor in horror. "The Absolution" and a Covenant ship rammed head on, and began to fall closer to Solitarius Seven. My heart sank as both began to fry in the atmosphere. My sadness was turned to concern when the ship shook violently. A huge, metallic thud was heard all over the ship. Boarding parties. Yisa came over the comm. " Boarding parties have attached to air locks November through Tango. Marines, move to engage." Finally I could do something to stop the Covenant. I grabbed my rifle, and an M6-D pistol. My men were waiting at their positions, time to go to work. I felt a sense of loss and rage like no other, the only thing I had to remind me of my wife was probably gone for good. Aside from the memories in my head, I had nothing left. The Covenant would pay, I would make them pay.
I turned the corner and ran to the nearest air lock. The sound of gunfire and yelling led me to my first group of marines. They were pinned behind a bulkhead, with two elites and five grunts firing plasma as fast as they could. I grabbed one of my special grenades. " Frag out !!"
I let the grenade go and dove across the hall behind the bulkhead with the rest of my men. A second later the hand of an elite flew past us, hissing and melting. That acid was wicked stuff. "Alright men, we're done here, let's move !" As we moved down the corridor, grunt and elite dripped down the walls, men were slipping on chunks of Covenant. We rounded the corner and came to the next air lock. An elite had his back turned to us, he was firing at a group of marines around the far corner. With my other grenade, I sent the bastard flying. As we cleared the hall, I grabbed the three plasma grenades the elite had dropped in flight.
We kept moving, kept fighting. I brought my rifle up, my shots would have to be center mass or they would go right through and possibly frag a marine or two. Our next bunch of dance partners comprised of four grunts, all running around the corner, firing like mad. I dove to the floor and fired one round. It blew the leader in half, and the rest turned and ran, screaming something in covenant. My men mowed them down in seconds. We kept advancing, firing, killing. We were making steady progress until we encountered a hallway coated in blood. Plasma scoring was everywhere. Whatever had come through here cut down the fire team waiting for it like nobody's business.
I heard the heavy thudding of a hunter. In all the space combat I have been through or heard of, a hunter on a boarding party was something new. I did a quick peek around the corner, it's back was to me, good. I pulled out my rifle and sent a round flying straight through the red spot on it's back. It roared as it died, and the last sound it made was it's metal shield hitting the deck. As we moved up the hall, we saw the hole it had boarded from. The entire airlock seal was blown away, and the enemy boarding craft was still attached. A marine tossed in a frag, just to be sure. I had nothing against being cautious. We moved on. I was curious, why would the covenant only send a hunter in a boarding craft big enough for a platoon ?
I had bigger things to worry about. We approached the next airlock and took cover. I switched to my M6-D pistol, this corridor was too narrow for my rifle. The whole hall shook when the boarding ship blew the air lock away. The door slammed into the opposite wall propelled by bright blue plasma. I barely had time to yell "Fire !!" when elites started pouring through the hole. As we opened up, the elites either pressed our cover spots or ducked back into the hole. "Frag out !" The elites who pressed us were now pressed against the ceiling, walls, and deck. Three marines had fallen keeping this area secure. One leaned to me, screaming "Major !!!" as he held up his M6-D, holding it so I could take it. "We'll kill them all." I said as I took the pistol. In the heat of battle time seemed to stand still as I watched the arm of that marine fall. I will kill them all.
Armed with two M6-D pistols and my rifle clipped to my back, I led my marines to the last air lock. We came to a T intersection, and we met with another group of marines coming the other way. There were two bulkheads and a barrier in the center of the corridor. As we set up shop, we felt the same thud as the last few air locks. The blast from the air lock nearly knocked us down. The plasma burned the door into nothingness before it could come at us. Grunts came out carrying needlers. Their armor glittered jet black. As I rolled to the center barrier, I hollered to the marines at the bulkheads " Frag em !" My order was met by two grenades thrown right into the airlock. The grunts with the needlers took the blast head on. They blocked the hole into the boarding craft, covering the rest of the Covenant. As they fell to the deck, two more grunts side stepped into the open. These two were different, they had some kind of shoulder mounted fuel rod cannon. The same kind of cannon hunters carried. I swear I heard one laugh as he fired. I rolled behind a bulkhead just in time to see my little barrier blasted into nothing. A marine lobbed a grenade out. After the blast he did a quick peek to see if he got anything. A flash of blue came from the corner of my eye, and the marine dropped from a head shot. This meant there were elites too.
His body fell into the hall and was immediately vaporized by a fuel rod shot. The grenade had done nothing. I had to figure out how to keep them pinned long enough to think up a way to kill them. I needed a plan so I could think up a plan. " How many frags are left?" The marine across the corridor turned to his squad. The marine behind me tapped my shoulder, "Six sir " The marine across the hall from me shouted the same number. Now I had a plan. "Hand the grenades to the second man in line, he will arm them. The first in line will throw them. Aim for inside the boarding craft. Toss half of them in the ship, then half into the corridor just past the air lock.
"Do it when I call mark, everyone ready ? Mark !" Upon my orders the men handed off grenades and threw them in rapid succession. As the first one blew, I did a quick peek. All of the covenant had ducked to the edge of the airlock. As the chain of explosions pushed them forward, they gave up their cover. Before the last two could go off, I ordered my men to open fire. With the covenant out in the open they had no chance. A monsoon of bullets crashed into the group of covenant, tearing them down one by one. As good as the Covenant Special Ops were, they bled just like any other Covenant bastard, and died just as messy. The last elite roared in rage and charged our group. I rounded the corner kneeling, and fired from both pistols, I felt like one of the " gunslingers" I had learned about in history class as a child. Ten M6-D rounds pounded the elite in the chest and head, and it dropped to the deck oozing purple, foul smelling blood.
We had fended off the Covenant boarding parties. As far as I was concerned, we were finished here. I radioed the captain asking for battle status. "Major it is now three to ten, the enemy flag ship has crashed on the surface, along with "The Absolution". Knock out the covenant forces setting up shop on the surface. I want you to get Omega squad together and head to muster bay four. It has everything you need. Now get moving !" As my men and I moved towards the muster bay, I wondered what the chances were of getting my hologram back. Perhaps I could kill two birds with one stone and gather intel on the Covenant home worlds as well. We loaded up on supplies and hopped into the pelicans. As we headed for the surface, space was ablaze with gunfire, I prayed we wouldn't get picked off en route.
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