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Loyalty to duty by Commander V



Calm before the storm
Date: 23 March 2008, 12:20 am

      "I don't like this," whispered a marine struggling to hold his rifle steady.
"Oh please, quit your bitching and help me with this would ya?" retorted a man wearing a bright-white officer's uniform.
      "Damn," said the marine under his breath, "why do I even have to do this?"
"Because I ordered you too, now hop to it!"
The marine took in a deep breath, climbed out of the fox-hole he was using as cover, and bolted towards another fox-hole one-hundered meters behind them. He only got about ten meters before the hills in the distance lit up with blue and green glows. Twenty-meters. The sky began to turn a mush of green and blue streaks as a loud, roaring sound filled the valley.
      "Fuck me" the marine thought to himself as he began to run out of breath. Fifty-meters. The ground began to shake as the projectiles closed in on its target. "Almost there" Eighty meters; he could now see the outline of the ditch that the darkness hid from him. He was within jumping distance of the hole when a shock-wave from behind him launched him a good twenty feet into the air, and felt the impact from the fall.

      "You are a lucky sonofabitch, marine." His vision was hazy, and he couldn't feel any pain that should have occured, and he swore he heard a chick's voice; to be honest, he felt like it was his senior year in highschool.
"I see white people," the marine said, who clearly had something wrong with him.
      "I need a corpsman, now. Tell them that he's suffered severe head trauma, and minor cuts on his arms.
"Whooaaa," the marine said, his eyes wandering all over the place.
      "Wait," yelled the officer kneeling beside him as she slapped the marine across the face. "I believe you have something for me, yes?"
The marine was still somewhat high on the fumes from the projectiles, but the slap had helped him enough so that he could reply. He could faintly make out gold bars on her shoulder, but being the rebel he is, honestly didn't give a fuck.
"Yeah of course, but you have to reach in my pants to pull it out."
He chuckled softly, but immediatly stopped as he felt cold steel touch under his chin.
      "Now I'll ask again. Where is it?"
"I'll tell you if you do me a 'favor'" he retorted, as he winked to her.
      "How about I do other women a 'favor' and humiliate you in front of your peers?" She said as she moved her pistol between his legs.
"Stop! Ok,Ok! This is all he gave me!" He screamed as he handed the woman a folded map and a hand-written note.
      "That wasn't so hard, was it?"
"No, but I know something else that is." He began to chuckle again.
      "Ugh!" She screamed in disgust. "Corpsman, hold on to him until he gets better before I shoot him!"
She turned began to unfold the letter her subordinate had given her. In it, several directions and information about the enemy concentrations and their own:

UNSC Ground forces:
57 UNSC willing and able marines.
4 marine snipers.
24 wounded marines. (Requesting evac immediately)
2 Scorpion MBTs. One has slight engine damage, the other needs main-gun ammo.
3 Warthogs. All in fully functional conditions.

Covenant Loyalist forces:
Ground infantry:(500?)
Snipers:(8?)
Wraith tanks:5
Artillary batteries: (anti-air, anti-tank) 4
Banshee ground support vehicles: (5?)

Multipliers:
Highground
Numbers
Air superiority


And in big, bold letters at the bottom of the note:
SEND SPARTANS.

She wondered why she had been sent here. Because of her loyalty to duty? Her "grace" under pressure? Right now she felt the weight of an entire system on her shoulders, and she wasn't about to blow it.
"I need a runner!" She shouted into a group of men huddling around a fire to stay warm. Several seconds went by, until a man with a long, gray rifle rose to the challenge. "I'm your runner." He said, throwing his weapon over his shoulders. "And ma'am?" He asked, "requesting permission to stay with the attack party once I arrive."
She paused to think, until finally, "permission granted soldier, now go get'em," she said, handing him a note she had been writing. The two saluted, and the marine took off in the direction the earlier marine had run in on.

The woman thought to herself, "How many need to die before this is all over?"







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