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Bravo Squad by Helljumper 552390
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Stranded
Date: 26 October 2007, 7:17 am
0600 Hours, 17th June, 2552/
Covenant Controlled New Mombassa
The city was shell of what it used to be, at least that's what PFC Drake Vendera thought. The ruins of New Mombassa where a reflection of the entire Human Covenant war. They had tried to hold their ground but the second time the Covenant came back they hit New Mombassa hard. Like ever other planet faced with annihilation by the Covenant they had fought. They were fighting a losing war one in which there was no escape this time. He hadn't heard any of his CO's admit it but his Non-Com's had uttered it a couple of times. There wasn't much action in the 77th Marine Regiment at Voi so his squad had been reassigned to reinforce New Mombassa. The Covenant had made a gap in the Orbital MAC cannons and managed to occupy or destroy most of the city. His comrades had fought hard but in the end what did they have to show for it, a smouldering pile of stone and twisted metal. Then he focused, there was still hope. As long as he or any other marine still drew breath from inside of the ruins of New Mombassa there was hope.
The slums of New Mombassa were being warped by the wavy heat lines that stemmed from the ground. Drake wiped the sweat from his face and tried not to think about the sun beating down upon them. His combat armour wasn't helping him cool down and he felt like he was lugging a tonne of bricks around. He grasped his MA5C assault rifle, it was the one the thing that comforted him when he was on patrol. He had been fighting with the remnants 405th Alpha Company since he had touched down in New Mombassa. He had learnt of the Covenant's warship Slipspace diaster which had wiped out a large portion of the city ands its occupants. His squad hadn't been there for the first battle and it weighed heavily on his mind but now they were here and in the thick of it. Sergeant 'Gunnie' Reynolds, was their squad leader Drake trusted his sergeant so much it was frightening. He knew that he would follow Reynolds to whatever end. Tedros Amara an African soldier who felt that he was fighting not only for his home planet, humanity but his homeland. Shifty Wright a marine who hadn't seen much combat and was regarded by the squad as a greenhorn. Ramirez Holt was one of the most fearless soldiers among them who carried the M90A shotgun as his preferred weapon. The last of the five man squad was Blake Benseti, Drake found that he acted as the conscious of the group. He also was pretty humorous at times. His Australian accent suggested that he had been pulled from a long way away to be in this squad. Whenever Drake asked why he was here Blake always gave the same answer
'I'm here to fight' the words seem to echo in his head and Drake threw the thoughts aside.
He scanned the small hamlets and slums of New Mombassa. His squad was on a long range recon, ever since the Covenant had returned marines had been pulling out of New Mombassa in droves. A few suckers had been left behind, among them himself. They had to find some sort of suitable extraction zone where a Pelican could land and evac them back to their main HQ at the Crows Nest. Every time they thought that they had found an area it was always populated with Covenant troops or an AA battery. After much consideration the marines had decided to clear an AA site or landing zone of Covenant then a dropship could bug them out. Drake jogged down the small street and took cover behind a pile of rubble. He poked his head up and spotted no Covenant in the vicinity. He had noticed that in the second assault by the Covenant there were no longer any of the tall bipeds that he had seen and heard so much about. They had been replaced by what his comrades had nicknamed 'Brutes' the name fitted as these hairy creatures were so massive they could break bones and kill with every strike. Drake relaxed as he saw no contacts and signalled for his squad to move down into the slums. He was on point and had to make sure that no Covenant were searching the area with patrols. Ramirez ran up next to him and ducked behind the pile of rubble.
"Get your own damn cover this doesn't fit two!" Ramirez screwed his face up and grunted. He ran to an adjacent building and hugged the wall. He was a masculine man but Drake had no problem arguing with him in the field. They had to move down a long a street which seemed to meander towards a large clearing ahead. Reynolds keyed his mike and his voice filled Drake's head.
"Alright we move down to the clearing up ahead. Remember we have to scope this possible LZ and avoid enemy contact. I don't want us to get into a firefight. We haven't got the weapons and were too far out to call for support. This could be our chance men." Drake realised that they'd burn through their ammunition pretty quick if they tried to take out a Covenant held position. Blake ran down the street and ducked next to Ramirez. He paused then ran down further until taking cover behind destroyed slum. Reynolds and Tedros carried up the rear and stayed behind watch their six. Shifty ran over and dove to cover near Drake behind a small wall. He gripped his MA5C so hard his knuckles had turned white. Drake would have told him to calm down but the green marine was right, they should be worried. They were cut off and moving through enemy territory with barely enough supplies to keep them going for a day. Drake looked at Benseti who raised his hand in a fist.
"Sarge contact!" Drake felt his heart pump, whatever Blake could see it had him scared.
"What is it soldier?" Blake crouched and raised his rifle down the alley.
"Sir one large brute with about five of those little bastards, please advise?" Reynolds ran down the alley and signalled to conceal themselves. Blake ran back up to their position and ducked behind the rubble with Drake. He could hear a disgruntled grunt from Ramirez come from his left.
"Alright, we let them pass but if they come our way we take them down hard and fast!" Drake heard the heavy thump of the brute's boots long before he could see them. His heart was pounding and he clicked the safety off his MA5C. Sure enough like Benseti described a large brute accompanied by what the marines called 'grunts' came patrolling into their alley. They were well hidden but if the brute led his squad further into the alley he would be almost face to face with his squad. Drake pulled down his orange tinged visor and looked at Blake. He uttered a short prayer and pulled down his visor. There was a sudden stop and the brute halted his grunts. Drake peered through the small cracks of the rubble and felt his heart stop as the brute's gaze became fixed upon the alley. The brute lifted his head high and like a dog sniffed the air. The grunts grumbled amongst themselves and seem to murmur the longer the brute was stationary. Drake pressed his helmet hard against the concrete and tired to force himself lower. It was a futile effort but trying gave him a strange sense of hope. There was a low grumble and the brute began to talk in a butchered English accent.
"I smell vermin!" Reynolds keyed his mike and alerted the squad.
"Hold Bravo squad!" Drake knew that every fibre in his body was telling him to engage the enemy or hightail it back to the 405th, though another emotion stirred in him as the brute un-holstered its 'spiker'. Whether it was courage or a blind sense of obligation to fight for his squad he slowly rose from the concrete.
"They're close!" The brute's voice had a bloodcurdling hint of excitement in its sinister tone as he smelled the air again. Reynolds swung out from the building he was behind with his BR55HB Battle Rifle and Drake rose with him.
"Light 'em up!" Reynolds fired and a short burst found its target and smashed into the brute's armor. Drake pulled down on the trigger and felt the gun kick into his shoulder. He yelled a vicious warcry as the deafening roar of Bravo's squads firepower echoed throughout the slums as their bullets tore through the flesh and hide of the enemy. He paused and lined up a grunt firing a short sharp burst catching the creature in the neck and back. There was a splash of blue alien blood and the horrible thing squealed and collapsed to the ground. He reloaded and ducked behind cover. The unmistakable hiss of a plasma discharge sounded off near him and Drake noticed that his cover was being burnt and dissolved by Covenant plasma fire. The brute stumbled back clutching his chest as Reynolds fired another burst into the beast and it howled a gurgled cry of agony and anger as it toppled to the ground finally brought down. A burst from Ramirez's shotgun caught one of the grunts methane tanks and it popped hissing out gas into the air. The combined firepower from his squad mowed down the retreating grunts and in a few heartbeats it was over. Drake scanned the area and found that all contacts had been neutralized. There was nothing but silence and the hissing sound of ruptured methane tanks. Drake was the first to stand and approach the corpses, he fired a burst into the nasty looking brute's head and watched as it splattered apart in a colourful display of purple blood and dark coloured ooze.
"Not so tuff now are ya!" He kicked it in the chest and was surprised when he founds its body was rock solid. His sergeant ran down and grabbed Drake.
"Cease fire marine! We have a job to do and I'm sure as hell not gonna die trying to finish this fight. I bet a Covenant patrol heard that and is on its way! Drake take up point and lead us to the LZ." Drake cringed as his sergeant forced him back on point, something that had been donned "meat-shield duty" by his comrades. He wiped the purple blood from his visor and continued on through the slums with his squad not too far behind.
Bravo Squad: The Landing Zone
Date: 5 November 2007, 7:54 am
0735 Hours, June 17th, 2552/
Covenant Controlled New Mombassa
Drake ran down the alleyway and seemed to jump every time he heard the drone of Covenant flier engines. He kept moving and found that he was less unnerved as the drone of the Covenant war machines served as a sound cover for them as they sped through the alleyways. They had decided not to move onto any of the roads after they engaged the scouting party a while back. Covenant were now constantly moving armour and small troop detachments along the roads. He knew that the Covenant were aware that there small squad was inside the city and moving throughout there territory. Then he almost laughed at himself, the word territory was meaningless now. The Covenant owned the whole damn city and they were hiding in it like rats. He didn't really mind being lowered to the level of vermin though because if he had to be vermin to get out of the city he would do it. The thought of vermin flooded his mind with the memories of his squad's initial escape from their first assault on a Covenant held AA site. They had wiped out most of the infantry, mainly comprised of grunts lead by one or two brutes. When two large bipeds with large cannons and shields on their arms showed up and destroyed what was left of their warthog. They didn't take out the AA site and the marines had to hightail it back to base. Reynolds had decided to take a scenic route through the sewer systems. They were safe from the Covenant but the stench had nearly killed them. That tactical defeat had closed off their plans of escape using the main entrance into the city. Thinking about the sewer made his nose twitch as the disgusting memories filled his mind. From his knowledge three warthogs had survived the assault and the 405th still had a few at their field base. He didn't forget though the incredible power of the bipeds that one of the marines identified as 'the terrible twos!' He had been astounded when had first seen the things, he even managed to witness one of them crush a lesser grunt. For what reason he didn't know but it seemed that the thing had become almost annoyed with the grumbling grunt and just killed it like a man would do to an insect. He didn't like the prospect of running into another one of those things. The brutes were bad enough and they had a short temper as it was. There were actually rough field reports that Reynolds had told them about. Brutes that had lost their squad and then resorted to a berserker rage and trying to rip marine's limps off with their own bare hands. Their grenade launches they carried were enough to scare him but actually being ripped apart by them was a thought that sent a chill down his spine.
He looked back at his squad and noticed that they seemed to be keeping their distance from him as they moved down the alleys. He never let his battle brothers know he was afraid but it seemed that all of them felt the same. He knew that his fear was natural though, his drill instructor had once told him 'fear is the sign that you understand the siuation.' It drove them and kept them on the edge, if they weren't afraid they would become reckless. He surveyed his surroundings and noticed that the walls of the slums had been scorched by plasman fire, the distinct blackened marks and indents ran all along the homes of citizens now gone. He inspected one and noticed that it was old and the burn was as hard as concrete suggesting that the fight inside the alley wasn't recent. He continued down the alley and felt his heart stop as the drone of a Covenant flier could be heard. Drake ducked into one of the hamlets and spoke into his mike.
"Covenant air patrol, take cover!" He heard the scuttling of his squad behind him but that was soon drowned out by the droning sound of the Covenant air patrol. He looked out through the collapsed roof of the slum and watched as one of their dropships soared overhead.
"Phantoms!" These Covenant dropships were deadly, as they could hold as much as twenty four troops and they were equipped with three, class two energy weapons that could fry a marine in a spilt second. It was followed by two more that seemed to be heading outwards towards the outskirts of what's left of New Mombassa. Then he heard the infamous wail of the Covenants signature flier, the banshee. From his own personnel experience he knew why his comrades called it this. It was because of the wail the engines made especially when the flier dived down to make a strafing run. He saw one fly by but swore there were more escorting the phantoms as the wails suggested that they were flying in a staggered line. The sounds faded into the distance and he felt himself relax a little. Drake kept low until his sergeant got on the comm.
"Alright, they're gone resume the recon. It looks like that LZ is just ahead, past these slums. The LZ is a large stretch of highway that was disconnected from the main roads when the slipspace diaster wiped out a large portion of the city. We gonna need to get their fast and avoid air contacts, a phantom and a open highway don't mix marines!" Drake got to his feet and exited the dilapidated slum. He resumed his role as point man and continued through the alley. He spotted a destroyed truck with its cargo spilled onto the road ahead. Crates were scatted near it and Drake rushed to take cover behind one. He turned to his squad and found that Reynolds had signalled for them to occupy the position. Tedros ran up and ducked behind the upturned truck. Ramirez and Shifty moved out far left and watched the road. Blake ran next to him and grinned,
"The LZ is just done that road, near the clearing. Looks like the Covenant may be occupying the position, ready for a fight!" Blake nodded and he seemed to be in his usually cheering mood.
"Looks like our journey coming to close." Reynolds overheard this and laughed.
"For you maybe, I intend to live." Blake stammered in confusion as he protested his sergeant.
"I didn't mean it like that, I was talking about getting outta here!" Reynolds didn't answer but continued to move low through the crates and cover.
"Hold position, I'm going to contact Lieutenant Rockwell." Tedros looked over at Sergeant Reynolds and frowned.
"Sir, will your comm work at this range?" Reynolds ignored him and began to try and make contact with Rockwell.
"This is Sergeant Reynolds of Bravo Squad, reporting to Lieutenant Rockwell. Any UNSC personnel please respond." There was a short a period of tension filled waiting but then Reynolds sighed as a voice answered him.
"Roger that sergeant good to hear from you, I'll patch you through." Blake looked over at Tedros while Reynolds was talking and laughed quietly at him.
"No worry's mate" Reynolds kept talking to Rockwell and Drake felt a sense of vulnerability as they crowded around the truck and crates near the side of the road.
"Sergeant, excellent work what's your situation?" Reynolds looked at the squad then back down the road.
"Sir we are at the LZ and no AA batteries are present. If the position is held by Covenant forces we're going to need extra ammunition and support. We are running low after crossing path with a brute patrol. Other than that our squad is all green and we are in position to strike." There was a sigh of relief on the other end and Reynolds felt the tension in the Lieutenant Rockwell's voice disappear.
"Good work, I'll send a marine squad with a detachment of ODST's, Rockwell out." Reynolds grinned and looked at the squad who were all waiting in anticipation for him to break the news.
"Okay marines, set up a firebase in that hotel overlooking the road and alley. Rockwell's sending supplies with a detachment of ODST's." Drake looked up to see that letters from the hotel's name was missing but he could make it out. it read 'The Ace'
Drake huffed when he heard that ODST's would be accompanying his squad in the attack. He knew all about the Helljumpers, he'd almost signed up for it. Then he realised that he was better suited to the Marine Corps. Drake ran out from the side of the road and ducked into the building that his sergeant had occupied. He positioned himself next to a blown out window and crouched below the frame. While he waited his pondered what the sergeant had said. If what his sergeant had said was true they were about to get some serious support. Helljumpers were the human equivalent to the Spartans. Unlike the ODST's Spartans were shrouded in mystery, they existed for sure but Drake had never even seen what they looked like. They were like ghosts, in and out and nobody can even trace that they'd actually been there. Apparently the legendary 'Master Chief' was involved in the first battle of New Mombassa. The Spartans were good but there were none of them left, the Master Chief was the last of their kind. He'd heard of his heroics but Drake doubted that he'd ever see him. Drake clutched his MA5C and checked his belt. He had one magazine left and the one already in the gun. He knelt down and waited for the reinforcements to arrive.
It had been a while since his squad had hunkered down in the building that looked like a hotel or housing apartment. There had been a lot of Covenant air forces flying about and numerous armoured support could be heard being transported along the highway nearby. Tedros and Blake joked with Shifty in the building while Reynolds plotted various attack tactics on the landing zone.
"Never ever joke with those guys. I heard an ODST killed a marine just for taking too long to load his rifle." Tedros looked at Shifty who scoffed and then at Blake who was nodding.
"Yeah right you guys are just trying to freak me out!" Blake looked at Tedros shrugged.
"You look a lot dumber than you are Shifty." Shifty ran his hand through his short cut black hair and nodded.
"Yeah thanks," Shifty said sarcastically Blake laughed and lent back on the wall.
"Any time." Drake flinched as he though he heard a thump from down the street. He wasn't sure as Blake's ramblings were too loud.
"Don't take it personally Shifty you know that if Tedros had a Covenant confirmed kill every time he insulted someone he'd have more kills than any UNSC personnel alive or dead." Drake jumped a little when his comm buzz in his ear. He waited for a voice but none could be heard. He looked around and his squad had the same look of confusion on their faces. Sharply the static cut out and a weary voice came on.
"This is Lieutenant Rockwell, the Covenant have found our position. We…" There some barking from an assault rifle and a loud bang then Rockwell came back on the comm. "They found,our hideout…Covenant Phantoms carrying troops attacked our position. Looks like…" There was a scream and the whine of plasma weapons was mixed with the bark of MA5C's, slowly the communication seemed to be fading and drowned out by static. "Don't wait for us…going to grab the warthogs…travel down the Tsavo until we reach Voi…ODST's are on the way!" There was some more plasma fire and the transmission abruptly ended. Drake looked around at his squad and they all stood their silent. Reynolds grabbed his Battle rifle and stood up. The message had been quite demoralizing but his sergeant's actions caused something to stir in him.
"Sir, what now?" Reynolds frowned and shook his head.
"We sit tight and wait. If they don't show up in the next ten minutes we hightail to the LZ. Make a stand and try and get out of this hell hole." The speech rekindled what hope they had but Drake knew that there 'stand' wouldn't be long as they were running extremely low on ammunition. As if reading Drake's thoughts Shifty grabbed his gun and leant back on the wall.
"Sarge, we haven't got many clips left. What do we do if we come under attack like the 405th." Reynolds smirked at Shifty and clicked the safety off his Battle rifle.
"Isn't obvious marine? We fight and if we run out of bullets we pick up sticks, stones. Hell we'll throw our own helmets at the bastards till they're so grossly disfigured not even their alien friends can recognise them!" The marines cheered their Corps war cry in response.
"Ohra!" Then they prepared themselves, they'd wait then they'd fight.
Drake was about to give up hope when a voice filled his helmet,
"This is Gunnery Sergeant Blackstone of ODST Sigma detachment does any USNC personnel respond?" The message repeated and Reynolds quickly answered.
"This is Sergeant Reynolds of Bravo Squad 77th Marine Regiment we are holding in a beaten up hotel named 'The Ace' We are holding near the road by the LZ what's your status?" There was a moment of silence but it was broken by the relieved voice of Sergeant Blackstone.
"This is Blackstone my squad narrowly escaped Covenant air patrols. We are closing on your position with supplies, hold tight and we'll explain everything." The communications link cut out and Drake sighed and he felt the squad ease as they heard that the ODST squad was on the way. Upon hearing the news Drake dropped his MA5C and grabbed his canteen. He shook it and noticed that there were still a few drops present. He lifted the bottle to his cracked and blistered lips and drunk down the cool liquid. He placed it back on his belt and was surprised when he looked down at a piece of broken glass and saw his own reflection. His face was covered in dust and he had a long cut running down his eye. He then proceeded to smell himself and almost recoiled when he smelt the foul odour coming from his body armour. They had been cut off for too long, his squad needed to be back into human facilities. He wiped the beads of sweat from his brow and noticed that even inside and in the shade they were still baking under the harsh African sun. He glimpsed out of the window and noticed that the sun was still rising into the sky. He then looked down the streets and saw a black figure move down the alley towards them. Drake pulled his head in from the window and picked up his MA5C. He felt his heart grip with fear and his mind begin race with a thousand thoughts. He hadn't become used to it but he'd come to expect it. Drake signalled to his squad and they moved to the entrance of the hotel. Drake looked out the window and spotted a tall humanoid in black armour holding a M6G pistol. He instantly recognised them as the Helljumpers, his heart eased and he called out to them.
"Excuse me, are you lost?" The tall Helljumper turned and waved his arm gesturing towards the hotel. Quickly and silently the rest of the ODST's filled the building. There was only five, not what he had hoped for but they'd get the job done. One of the ODST's wearing a red tag on his shoulder took off his helmet and wiped his forehead. He seemed to be the sergeant of the Helljumpers. He had a large scar running down his cheek bone.
"Nice to finally met up with you boys" His accent was very western and he had a rough voice. The scarred sergeant seemed to be carrying a SRS sniper rifle. The others however were armed with BR55HB Battle rifles and one who carried a M41 Rocket Launcher. The one that Drake had seen first had a small red cross on her shoulder pad and it seemed that she was a medic. She carried a M6G pistol which worried Drake as the pistol was designed rather as a last resort than a primary weapon. He didn't deny though than they packed a punch and could kill a grunt with a clean headshot. Drake was surprised that they all weren't as tired as he was when trying to get from the base to here. One of the Helljumpers carried a long range comm set on his back and Drake found comfort in the fact that they now could call the Crows Nest directly.
"What happened sir?" Blackstone looked at Reynolds and frowned.
"Just after we left a small wing of Covenant Banshees hit the outer defences. Then Phantoms deployed a small strike force of troops at the outer area. One phantom was downed but the Banshees destroyed what anti-air missile pods or machine gun emplacements we had left. The Lieutenant ordered to pull back when a large squad of about ten brutes equipped with jump packs began scouring the area looking for the base. They grabbed the remaining warthogs and headed for Tsavo Highway and try to break through to Voi." Ramirez huffed and looked at Reynolds.
"That's suicide, you know how many warships we've seen heading that way, not to mention the blockades. The Covenant own that highway." The ODST sergeant spared a moment for them to reflect on the 405th then he continued.
"Situation now is that are only chance is to clear that LZ. If we use these supplies we should be able to clear it out in time and hold it until the dropship arrives." The sergeant nodded to his men and they dropped their packs and begun to pull out there contents. "My men had to hump this all the way from camp avoiding air patrols so make it count." Drake watched as the ODST's began to pull out spare magazines and some M9HE fragmentation grenades. Drake grabbed some magazines and two fragmentation grenades. Sergeant Blackstone pointed to his squad, first he mentioned the medic.
"That's Dog, she's low on medical supplies but can still patch you up fine." The Helljumper with the call sign 'Dog' had a lot of scars and indents in her helmet. She stood a good head higher than Drake and he found it hard to believe that under the bulky armour was a woman. Though she did move with graceful precision and all her movements seemed fast. It wasn't an unusual habit though for a medic, they needed to act fast and with a careful hand in order to save lives. He moved onto the Helljumper holding the M41. "This is Rogue, he'll be dealing with any armour we come across." Rouge nodded, he was smaller than Dog but seemed to be quite bulky. His masculine appearance went hand in hand with his clumsy movements. Blackstone pointed to the two other Helljumpers armed with Battle rifles. "Those two are Phoenix and Jayne. I've already been debriefed about your squad so let's get ready to take those Covenant bastards head on." They readied themselves in what ever way and Drake looked up as the ODST known as Rouge approached him.
"Hey you know why they call the medic Dog?" Rouge's voice was low and had a tinge of menace to it so Drake just shook his head. "It cause she's a chick, get it a female dog?" The medic overheard this and swung her M6G over Rouge's head. There was a crack and the Helljumper moaned. Dog approached Drake and shook his shoulder.
"You boys like you have been through hell. Just hold on a little longer one more fight and we'll be home free." Drake nodded and he heard the low laugh of Rouge, reassuring him that he was okay from being battered in the head. Reynolds exited the hotel and his squad followed. Drake walked out into the hot sun and looked down the road. There was a stretch of highway that ended as the road twisted and stopped where a large explosion had caused the highway to collapse. Reynolds ran out onto the highway and signalled to his squad.
"Move it out, watch for Covenant!"
Drake and the Helljumpers had taken cover amongst rubble near the highway while Blackstone had proceeded downwards to recon the position. Drake looked out at the large, open highway that stretched onwards into the heart of New Mombassa. Though the more they saw of the city the more Drake was sure it would never be the same. Large smoke columns rose hundreds of meters into the sky and everywhere it seemed that the city was red with the embers of fire. The sky itself was a darkening and Drake couldn't quite tell but he was sure a storm was coming. The landing zone itself was a large clear section of the highway that a dropship could easily mauver into and not be trapped by Covenant forces. Drake instinctively cringed as the roar of Covenant fliers could be heard and he looked up into the sky to see where it was coming from. Quickly before he had a chance Phoenix pointed into the sky and gasped.
"Look at that, a bloody warship!" Drake looked at where he was pointing and spotted the strange and alien shape of the Covenant battle cruisers. It was slowly moving out of New Mombassa and heading towards the desert. Dog lent back on the debris the two squads were tucked behind and huffed.
"Why are they leaving, like all the others?" Drake looked at her puzzled and Reynolds acted for his squad.
"Where are they moving to?" Dog shook her head.
"We tracked large movements of Covenant forces and ships mobilizing out of the New Mombassa grid and in the direction of Voi. Whether they want to attack that next we're unsure but we do know that these bastards are just being drawn to something around Voi." Reynolds thought about it for a second then he looked out at the warship.
"I wonder whether they've given up on New Mombassa." Ramirez laughed and gripped his shotgun.
"I doubt it the Covenant may be moving their air forces but their ground forces have dug in deep, only reason why they haven't glassed the whole damn city already." Drake was baffled by the depth of Ramirez statement coming from a man not so educated but he had a point. Why the Covenant hadn't begun glassing the entire planet was confusing. There was obviously no strategic advantage of holding a war torn city that had half of its buildings wiped out in a slipspace diaster. Drake grabbed his MA5C and sighed in relief as Blackstone finally contacted them.
"This is Blackstone, I'm taking surveying the highway and it looks clear. You boys might want to get down here before that changes." Reynolds got up and gave them the go ahead.
"Move it!" Drake got to his feet and made for the highway. He even grinned at Shifty as their eyes met. Drake jogged down and felt a warm comforting feeling wash over him as he made his way to the landing zone. Drake thought he was a goner when he first came to New Mombassa. A lot of marines had different thoughts on their chances of survival but the one thing he realised was that war was almost as much luck as it was skill. He'd seen the most battle hardened marines survive impossible odds only to be killed be friendly fire or on a routine patrol. He considered himself extremely lucky in his combat missions within New Mombassa. He looked over at Tedros who was grinning and through his scarred face Drake saw the first real glimpse of happiness he'd seen since they were stationed in New Mombassa. Drake went to grin back when a loud bang echoed throughout the area. Drake felt the happiness drain from his face and he instantly burst into a sprint as more bangs sounded off from Blackstone's position.
"Contact, I've been ambushed, Its getting kinda hot out here!" Drake raced down the highway and spotted the ODST diving behind a destroyed truck. He was returning fire against what from first glance seemed to be a pack of brutes. Drake raced towards him and fired off a short burst at the brutes. He could hear the footsteps of his team behind him and he knew that he was leading the charge. The brutes spotted them and opened fire, spikes flew past Drakes head and he sprinted towards cover. He heard a thump and his team scattered into cover, he didn't look back but he didn't hear a scream so he assumed the spike had hit something else.
He closed the gap and ducked behind the car with Blackstone. He looked back and noticed that his comrades had taken cover behind other piles of rubble or abandoned cars and trucks. Drake noticed that Jayne had accompanied him behind the car and the trio where tightly ducking behind the car hulk.
"Sir this piece of junk aint gonna last." Blackstone lifted himself up and fired his SRS sniper at the brutes and laughed.
"Acknowledged soldier next time I get a chance I'll get right on it!" Drake looked over the upturned car and noticed that there was a brute pack of five. They had staggered their approach and it seemed that an ambush had been set up for them. Their pack was evenly spaced so that they had a good angle on their small squad. The lack of cover had spread his forces thin but the brutes were charging in their position totally exposed. Drake decided to take advantage of this and he rose and aimed at what appeared to be the leading brute. He fired off a short burst and the brute stumbled as the rounds penetrated his leg guards and smashed into his knees and shins. Drake ducked and satisfied with his shot and took cover. There was a grinding noise of metal banging against metal and then Drake realised that the brutes had opened fire on them with their spikers. Drake was scared stiff of the weapon, he'd seen marines get hit by them. The aftermath of the brute's spiker usually ended in a bloody and painful death. He'd seen spiker rounds pin marines to concrete walls then watch as the brutes would put one last spike into their unlucky prey.
"They're closing in use your grenades!" Drake followed Blackstone's orders and grabbed one of his fragmentation grenades. Drake clicked the activator and hurled it at the brutes. He didn't see the result but the explosion that followed from the combined forces of five or so grenades shook the ground. Drake covered his head as debris rained down on them. Drake looked back up and noticed that two brutes had survived and managed to leap to safety.
"Rush them now!" Reynolds screamed into the radio and Drake roared in response as he leapt out from behind the car. He moved in on the closest brute that had lunged to the left narrowly avoiding the explosive force of the grenades. From what Drake could see he was banged up by the shrapnel and he was staggering to keep his feet. Drake pulled down on the trigger and watched as purple blood sprayed from an exposed area of flesh on its chest plate. The creature groaned and fell to the ground as Ramirez and Jayne put another few rounds into its head, crumpling its skull inwards. Drake turned to face the other brute and felt horror grip him as it's masculine arm reached back gripped a 'spike grenade'. The large serrated looking grenade was nicknamed this because of its sharp features and the dozens of spikes that it would discharge when it detonated. Drake yelled and began to strafe to the left as the brute threw the grenade at him. He dove as it was soaring through the air and he heard the grenade sever into a body. Drake heard the beeping noise as the spike grenade began to get ready to detonate and he prayed that it hadn't caught one of his men. He looked back and noticed it had avoided him and stuck into the other brute's corpse. The Helljumpers and marines fired at the brute bringing it down as Jayne dropped his MA5C and ran towards the grenade. The beeping quickened and Drake ran for cover as he feared it would explode in the insane ODST's hands. Jayne wrenched the spike grenade from the dead brute. The beeping became faster and he hurled it quickly with a yell off the highway. The grenade flew through the air and detonated. Drake could only dive down and cover his head as the spikes rained outwards. He heard thumps as they smashed into the highway concrete and a sickening sounded crunch followed by a bloodcurdling scream. Drake looked at the road and noticed that the spikes were sticking out of the ground at a angle facing the way the grenade had exploded. Drake turned and noticed that Jayne had a spike through his shoulder. Drake looked at the Helljumper and screamed the only response he knew in times like these
"Medic!"
Dog ran over and looked at Jayne who was screaming on the ground. The ODST's and marines fanned out on the stretch of highway and Drake couldn't help but watch as Dog tried to comfort Jayne. He felt a hand grab him and he turned and looked into the face of Reynolds.
"Drake are you alright?" Drake found that his voice was muffled and he slowly looked over his body. Except for a few cuts and bleeding he was fine. At least he was fine enough to know he was in mild shock. Drake nodded and his sergeant shook his shoulder.
"Good, go and hold the highway with them." Reynolds pointed to his squad and the remaining Helljumpers and Drake took one last glance at Jayne. He ran over and looked for Tedros. He ducked next to Shifty who was crouching in the middle of the road in a small ditch a fragmentation grenade had made.
"Shifty where's Tedros?" Shifty looked up at him and shook his head. Drake felt fear grip his heart and he looked over at Blake.
"Benseti where's Tedros?" Blake pointed back down the highway and Drake spotted him lying motionless in the road with a spike protruding from his chest. Drake felt his heart sink and he noticed the pool of blood around his body. Drake turned and sat next to Shifty. Drake felt tears well in his eyes and he tried to stop himself but he couldn't. He hadn't cried since he was a kid. He didn't sob but he couldn't stop the tears from running down his check. It wasn't just the death of Tedros it was larger than that. They had suffered defeat and after defeat and Drake had just had enough. Drake looked down at Shifty and he found they shared the same featureless face that he'd first seen in the marines that had been through the first fight for New Mombassa. He had fought through his baptism of fire but this was something different entirely. He had faced the cold and bitter taste of defeat before but he had never experienced being beaten over and over until they realised that all hope was faded. Every passing hour is seemed that there situation was getting worse until Drake began to think about what death he would face. He wiped the water from his eyes and stood up. He reloaded his MA5C and noticed that Phoenix approached him. Drake felt a wave of anger and hate overwhelm him and he gripped his gun tightly.
"How did it happen?" Phoenix looked Drake in the eye and grunted.
"He got hit as we were charging, didn't even get a chance to scream. Poor sucker just took it in the chest and was dead before he hit the ground." Phoenix was honest and Drake wasn't sure whether he liked that or not. Blackstone walked over to them and signalled to Phoenix.
"Phoenix call for evac. This is it men! We have to hold this area until the pelican gets here. There is no retreat there is no surrender, there is just us and this landing zone!" Drake roared and Phoenix grabbed the long range comm and attempted to contact the Crow's Nest.
"Crow's Nest this is Helljumper detachment Sigma please respond." There was a short wait and Phoenix sighed in relief as someone answered.
"Roger that detachment Sigma, we have been wondering what you've been up to." Phoenix laughed,
"Never mind that, Crow's Nest, we are awaiting pick up in New Mombassa at coordinates on grid twenty by fourteen. We need immediate pick up, we have wounded and our situation is hot!" The almost robotic voice on the other end responded in its dull tone.
"Roger that detachment Sigma we'll send pick up. Covenant air movement that area has been freed up so we'll be there shortly with an Albatross, code name Hocus. We will also send two Hornet escorts just in case." He put away the comm and the two squads waited for his response.
"Crow's Nest is sending an Albatross with two Hornet escorts, from the sounds of it there's something big going down." Reynolds nodded and helped carry a moaning Jayne down within the small perimeter they had set up. Reynolds looked out at the highway and then back at the soldiers.
"Alright we got to set up defensive positions. They know where here and we aint moving come on marines lets go!" Blackstone nodded and pointed at his men.
"That means you too Helljumpers let go!" Drake got up and surveyed his position. There was only a few ways the Covenant could attack from and it seemed that an air assault was probable. Drake couldn't tell over the roaring winds and crackling of fire but he could swear that there was a soft drone being carried on the wind.
Bravo squad: Angels in the sky
Date: 13 December 2007, 5:15 am
Angels in the Sky
0830 Hours, June 17th, 2552/
Covenant Controlled New Mombassa
There was an almost electric atmosphere at the landing zone as the marines hunkered down behind their crudely made defences. Drake had moved some debris in front of a ditch made by a fragmentation grenade during the bombardment of the brute squad. It wasn't deep but Drake had also managed to pull the enormous body of a brute over to his ditch and it now lay on top of hunks of wreckage acting as a barrier between him and the Covenant. He looked across at his squad mates and surveyed their defences.
The Helljumpers had taken up a position to the right flank that was most exposed. Rouge had nestled his M41 on top of a pile of concrete uplifted from the blast of fragmentation grenades. Drake couldn't see past the soldier's helmet but he knew that he was worried. They were all worried, all except Blake who was still cracking jokes out a loud. His squad had taken cover on the left flank, it was scattered with motor vehicle hulks and other fragments of New Mombassa. Drake pulled down his visor and looked across at his squad. Ramirez and Reynolds where stationed up further down the highway about fifteen meters from Drake.
Shifty and Blake were spread out only a few meters from Drake and right next to him was Jayne. He was lying against his cover with his gun fixed upon the highway. Due to his wound Jayne could only operate one hand but Drake was surprised at the courage and endurance of the Helljumper as he proceeded to keep fighting even after have a spike impale his shoulder. Blake was still trying to get a laugh out of the squad. Drake figured it was his way of dealing with hardship and as much as Drake didn't want to he couldn't help but laugh.
"Bloody flyboys, I could have been home by now if had ran all the way back to base." Drake did feel that every minute they waited for the dropship seemed to stretch for an eternity. "I tell you if I get back hot meals and warm sheets is the only-" Blackstone suddenly barked at Blake on the comm.
"Shut up!" Drake was pulled back into reality and quickly the squad went silent.
The Helljumpers moved uneasily it seemed that something was up. Drake closed his eyes and blocked the visual distractions and tried to focus on his hearing. He listened to the howling wind that blew past them and cooled the sweat on their faces. Drake could almost pick up on the panting of the men around him. He could hear Jayne's laboured breathes and long exhales. Then as if on queue there was a slight drone. He quickly opened his eyes and looked around to confirm whether anyone else had heard it. He spotted Shifty's face light up and he grinned,
"There here!" Reynolds looked back at Shifty and yelled at him.
"Get your head down marine!" Blake grabbed him and pulled him back into cover. Then Drake listened to the drone again, it was louder and becoming more distinct. Drake heard the ominous click, clack of the BR55HB battle rifle and noticed that the Helljumpers had stiffed up and ducked low behind their cover. Then as the sound became louder Drake realised that it wasn't the roar of a dropships engines but the howl of the Covenant war machines.
He braced himself and checked his supplies. He had one fragmentation grenade left and four clips of ammunition for his rifle. His heart sank as the sound of wailing Covenant fliers encroached closer. Squinting he could see the metallic shine of dark purple and blue in the sky. Two banshee's flew gracefully through the air sailing towards them.
"Banshee's take cover!" Blackstone yelled into his mike. Drake followed his advice and curled into a ball behind his cover. The shriek became so loud that it drowned out all other sounds. Drake took a glance up and noticed that the banshee was circling around the highway almost searching for them. The ODST sergeant had been right, the Covenant were aware of their presence on the highway. Drake gripped his rifle and almost felt like screaming as the shriek of the banshee's blasted his ears. Even through his helmet their shriek was loud and frighting, Drake almost cowered as it flew closer.
Then he looked at the Helljumpers. Rouge stood up from his cover and braced himself and fired his M41. The bloom of smoke blew out the end of rocket launcher and Drake watched as the rocket soared towards the banshee. The banshee saw it coming and tired an evasive mauver but it was too slow. The rocket smashed into the side as it tried to pull away and the hellish flier was engulfed in flame.
The sound of the blast of the rocket smashing into the banshee was glorious. Drake cheered and watched as Rouge fired another rocket with deadly procession. The rocket sped towards its target and the second banshee veered to the left and the rocket caught it's wing. The two extended pieces of alien metal that made up the right wing flew off at an incredible speed as the rocket detonated on its wing. The banshee fired a few plasma blots at the highway then swung into a flat spin and spiralled off down towards the ground.
Drake looked on in pure awe as the once dreaded banshee crashed into the side of building and the metal screeched as it's wings were torn off. Drake caught a glimpse of its insides and he saw the blue panels and sparks before the flier was torn in two and its remains plummeted into the ground. There was a mighty cheer as the second banshee went down and Drake howled with his comrades.
"Nice shot son, alright Bravo get ready." Reynolds warned them. Blackstone responded by issuing an order to his squad as well.
"Like the sergeant said watch out, Rouge reload and get ready for heavy contact. We're about to enter the thick of it men!"
Drake heard the loud drone of the Covenant dropships.
"Phantoms" Drake looked down the highway and spotted two phantoms soaring towards them like Dog had described. One stopped and lowered itself towards the ground, while the second kept moving towards them. Drake watched in horror as the phantoms panels opened and a whole assortment of Covenant troops flooded fourth. Drake tried to identify them and he could spot, a few jackals holding their shields. A squad of grunts lead by a brute and one brute leader of some sort. He wore red robes and battle armour and carried a nasty looking hammer with large apparatus attached to the end.
Blackstone stood up and roared,
"Get some!" Drake rose and fired his MA5C at the Covenant and watched as they reacted under fire. The first line of grunts was wiped out as the bullets shredded right through them. The second phantom spotted their forces and opened fire with its plasma weapons.
Drake felt his heart stop as the main cannon aimed at him and he dove behind his makeshift cover and prayed that it didn't hit him. There was a loud pulse sound and he felt his neck and back burn as the intense heat washed over his body. There was loud bang and Drake felt the heat subside and looked up and noticed that the second phantom's cannon had been blown off. He looked over at Rouge who didn't even take notice that he had saved his life. Drake felt his nostrils flare as he smelt the foul odour of burning flesh.
He looked at the brutes corpse and averted his eyes when he noticed that the flesh had been melted and it was partly still glowing red. Its chest was a mangled mix of raw muscle and cauterized plasma burns.
Drake winced as he peered down the highway and found that within the brief moment he had ducked down the Covenant troops were already closing on their position. Drake fired his rifle and tried to catch any of the jackals off guard. Unfortunately for him they had grouped together and placed their shields in a small barrier between them and the other troops. The two brutes had taken cover but were still returning fire. Drake aimed at the jackals and fired. His bullets pinged off their shields and landed in the concrete. Drake cursed and took cover,
"Aim for the small openings near their pistols!" Blackstone advised, Drake rose again and aimed at the jackals small opening in their shields. He noticed that it extremely small but Drake took a chance. He fired a small burst only to watch in agony as it pinged once again off their shields harmlessly. He ducked as green plasma bolts streaked through the air crackling as they went.
There was a bang and Drake saw that Blackstone and found a gap in their defences and nailed one of the bastards with his sniper rifle. The SRS sounded off again and another jackal fell to ground it's head a messy pulp of purple blood. The jackals moved to regain their shield but they were too slow. Ramirez fired his shotgun and the blast caught one of the jackals in the side. It stammered and Drake fired and watched in astonishment as the front line was cut down under a barrage of bullets.
"Take that you bastards, how do you like it!" Drake cheered with Blake and suddenly he could hear his marines screaming taunts at the approaching Covenant force. He had lost track of the phantoms and noticed that they'd pulled back to a safer location. The remaining jackals tried to defend themselves but the marines and ODST's positions had them beat. They we're walking right into their trap. They had charged the middle and now where being hammered on their left and right flank. Drake could hear the occasional burst from Jayne and he marvelled at the Helljumper's strength. Drake ducked to reload and looked at Jayne who had removed his helmet.
"I bet that recoil kills!" Jayne looked at Drake with a hint of bravado in his eye and laughed.
"Beats a hard kick in teeth!" Drake laughed and brought himself back up and became increasingly alarmed as the Covenant drew closer.
Plasma bolts began to pin some of his squad and Drake ducked down again after only a few shots as the grunts lay down suppressive fire. Drake grabbed his fragmentation grenade and bounced it off the concrete so it rose at about waist height at the approaching Covenant assault. It was a little trick he had picked up while training with some seasoned veterans back in Voi. Drake watched as the grenade detonated and took three grunts instantly. He rose after the explosion and continued to fire at them. Ramirez and Reynolds had become only a few meters from the grunts and he could see they were in a tight spot.
"Sarge, you got to get out there, covering fire Sergeant Reynolds!" He hoped that his squad and the Helljumpers would respond to his call for help. He fired at the little grunts and tried to take down as many as he could. The little bastards had entered their small perimeter and had begun to hide behind their defences and wreckage. Reynolds got on his comm.
"Cover Ramirez!" Ramirez turned and ran for some cover near Blake. A plasma blot streaked across and burned the ground around him. Ramirez kept running and Drake watched on in amazement as he sprinted through the volley of plasma fire. Ramirez approached Blake's cover but then a plasma blot struck his left arm. Ramirez toppled down under its force and stumbled. He was moving too fast and the blot had pushed him sideways. He collapsed a meter from Blake's cover and tried to crawl into his ditch. Blake grabbed him and dragged him behind cover. Reynolds had become stranded behind the wreckage and was now cut off. Drake reloaded and then fired another burst at a charging grunt. The grunt was caught by his fire and then collapsed as his methane tank hissed. He tried to regain his feet but Drake discharged a burst into it's head.
The collapsed and Drake focused his attention on other enemies. The two brutes had now charged and the smaller one with the spiker fired three shots at Rogue. He ducked and they dug into his small chunks of concrete. The Helljumpers hadn't taken any shots but they we're slowly becoming cut off from Bravo squad as the Covenant assault cut right down the middle. In an instant the battle had turned. Bravo squad now faced an entrenched number of about a dozen grunts and one brute chieftain who was heading straight for Reynolds. The chieftain swung the hammer back and swiped it right into the truck hulk Reynolds was behind.
There was a discharge of small electricity and Drake watched in horror as the whole truck wreckage was thrown three meters in the air. Reynolds was thrown across the highway and he rolled to a stop near some creates. The chieftain roared and it sent a chill down Drake's spine.
The chieftain ran for the wounded Reynolds. The beast was blood drunk and it was roaring and shaking its hammer like the berserker tales Reynolds had told his squad about. It raised the hammer above Reynolds and Drake fired at the beast in a futile effort to stop if from smashing his sergeant's head in.
The beast stammered back as the bullets collided with its armour. It rose it's hammer up and then it's head exploded in a spray of purple blood.
Drake looked at his rifle and wondered whether he had done it. Then he noticed that Blackstone had nailed it with his SRS. A sniper round tear through its chest and the headless body collapsed backwards. The remaining brute came out of cover and looked over at Blackstone and aimed its spiker for him. It discharged and a spike ricocheted off the ground and penetrated his lower leg. Blackstone pivoted on his good leg and fell back behind cover.
Rouge arose from his cover and fired a rocket at the brute. It soared across the highway and blasted into the crate the brute was behind. The crate smashed open and the brute was flung five meters across the highway. Phoenix and Dog charged up and sprayed the grunts attacking Blackstone. Dog fired her M6G pistol and Drake become aware of it's power as it blew clean off one of the grunts breathing apparatus. Drake followed their example and sprinted from out behind his cover towards Reynolds.
"Charge marines, we're killing the bastards!" Blake and Shifty rose as the only able handed men there and ran with him. Drake sifted through the crates and wreckage mopping up the remaining grunt resistance that had dug in. He felt the courage stir in him as the grunts cowered and ran from their counter attack.
Drake ran towards Reynolds and found a grunt running away from their assault. Drake shoved the butt of his rifle into the grunt's face and then as it stumbled fired a burst into it's chest. Light blue blood splattered Drake's green armour and he proceeded to Reynolds. Drake grabbed him and dragged him back to the other wounded soldiers. Drake placed him next to Ramirez who was groaning in pain as he clutched his plasma burn. Drake ran over to Jayne who was ducking behind his cover.
"You alright?" Jayne nodded and Drake ran back to his squad. Blackstone the appealed for order on his com,
"Alright, regroup!"
The Helljumpers had gathered around Bravo Squad and they all hunkered back down in cover. They had survived the Covenant assault barely, another wave would surely finish them. Reynolds had regained his grip on reality and pulled himself out of shock.
Reynolds stood up and placed his helmet back on. Drake wiped the blood and sweat from his face and looked into the sky. There was no dropship in sight and Drake felt the cold grip of fear grasp him. Dog scurried around assessing wounds and applying field dressings and biofoam. Dog came over to Drake and she looked at him,
"You hit?" Drake shook his head and sat back down. She then moved onto helping Sergeant Blackstone. Drake watched on as the ODST sergeant groaned at the spike in his leg. Dog looked at it then shook her head.
"I'm sorry sir but I don't have much biofoam left. If we remove this you could bleed out. I'll apply a field dressing and then we'll leave it as it is." Blackstone was placed next to Jayne who looked at him with a grin.
"Join the club sir." Blackstone reloaded his SRS and then pulled the stand out and laid down. Ramirez was tensing and flexing his arm while Shifty put what bandages they had. He grabbed his shotgun and loaded a few shells into it. His armour had taken most of the burn but his arm was still badly burned. He gritted his teeth as Shifty tightened the bandage.
"There you're good to go!" Ramirez nodded and crouched down and lent against the small pile of debris that had built up around him. Rouge reloaded his M41 and shook his head.
"Sir this is all I got left" Blackstone nodded,
"That's okay, Helljumpers dig in!" The ODST's ran across the highway and took up position among cover. Drake sat and listened to the wind howl. His arms and legs ached and his head throbbed. He clutched his MA5C and rested his head against it.
Drake snapped to attention as Blake swore and pointed down the highway.
"It's another bloody Phantom!" The Covenant flier soared towards them stopped at where the first assault had been made. They we're no longer in set positions. They were clustered together in cover and had lost the element of surprise. The phantoms ramps did not lower though instead a ring of purple and white light lit up and pulsed on its underbelly. Then Drake's fears were realised as two gigantic walking tanks were lowered on the small grav lift onto the highway.
"It's the terrible twos!" Drake screamed. Blackstone then shuddered and looked at Jayne who sat next to him.
"Hunters!" Jayne nodded and Drake braced himself as the large bipeds edged closer with their shields lowered. He fired a burst at them and the squad responded the same by laying down fire. This was in vain though as every round from there weapon pinged off their armour. Blackstone fired the sniper rifle and a round found its target as it hit the biped's chest through a small gap.
The gigantic thing recoiled and then kept edging closer. Drake reloaded and noticed he was on his last clip. One of the biped's weapons glowed brightly then a beam of plasma discharge crackled through the air and burnt the area around them. Blake grabbed his grenade and flung it at the two beasts.
"How do you like that mate?" The grenade exploded and the shrapnel from the blast flew into the bipeds. Orange ooze splattered onto the highway and Shifty screamed in anger.
"They're not stopping!" He fired his MA5C and Drake looked across at Reynolds.
"Marines take cover!" A second barrage of plasma sprayed the area and Drake could smell the foul odour of burnt flesh. He looked at the brute and noticed that now its whole body had been burnt.
He also took note that the plasma burning from the phantom and the bipeds weapon were about the same. He'd seen the bipeds take out warthogs with their cannons and Drake had never seen one killed. He fired another burst and watched as the bullets barely made a scratch on their bright blue armour.
Drake ducked and felt doom take a hold of him and he realised that he about to die at the hands of these giants. Then as if answering his prayers the roar of human engines could be heard. Drake rose and spotted two Hornets fly past and then turn back to circle them. The roaring engulfed them and the two Hornets opened fire on the bipeds with their mounted guns. The bullets ripped into the backs and sides of the hunters and the creatures lurched to try and get into position as to defend themselves but they were too late.
The creatures moaned and collapsed to the ground with a mighty thump. The marines cheered as the bipeds fell and the Hornets flew over them. There comm's sparked to life and one of the pilots voices entered their ears.
"Good to see you boys hung on, hold on we'll clear the area!" The Hornets then gracefully turned and fired rockets at the Phantom which returned fire with plasma bolds from his main cannon. The rockets blew one of the engines and the phantom turned to escape but suddenly an albatross dropship flew in from amongst the buildings and fired its rocket pods.
Drake averted his eyes as the intense display of blue light and flames engulfed the phantom. He moved his arm from his visor and looked at the burning wreckage of the phantom as it plummeted to the ground in pieces. The marines cheered as its ruins were cast ablaze on the highway.
"This is Hocus, load up the wounded and let's hightail it back to base!" Drake looked at the Hornets and then Reynolds,
"Sir what are those things?" Reynolds laughed and looked at the Hornets as they circled the landing zone.
"They're our angels in the sky soldier." The dropship turned and landed near them in a small clearing behind the marines. Phoenix and Rouge picked up Jayne and Blackstone limped to the dropship with the help of Dog. Shifty, Ramirez and Reynolds and ran for the dropship and hopped aboard. Drake took one last glance at the battlefield and spotted the body of Tedros lying amongst the dozen's of Covenant. They'd done the impossible, they had held out but Drake couldn't help but wonder.
'Was the lives 405th and Tedros wasted or spent?'
He turned and boarded the dropship. He took a seat next to Reynolds and relaxed. He was safe, Drake placed his MA5C on top of the netting above his seat and he sat down.
They had finally escaped New Mombassa but Drake still felt that the storm was near and he knew it was about to hit.
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