ODST to the Core by Blue Mongaloid Warrior
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ODST to the Core
Date: 29 November 2004, 3:08 AM
ODST to the Core
Chapter One
"Damn," Private Marks cursed under his breath, "What now?"
A warning klaxon blared in his ear.
"Can't a guy get any sleep these days?" he asked himself as he sat up in his cot.
"Attention all ranks, we are under attack, I repeat, we are under attack," Captain Larson's calm voice emanated from the speaker beside his bead.
"Covenant cruisers have appeared at the edges of Earth space, I want all forces ready to muster at 0500 hours."
Adrenaline spiked through Ben, waking him from his grogginess. He looked at the clock. 0437.
"Shit," he whispered.
Jumping up from the cot, he started to don his uniform with practiced efficiency. While he laced his boots, Ben reflected for the thousandth time why he had joined the Marines.
He was fresh out of high school, had graduated at the top of his class, and had three ivy league schools bucking to give him a full ride in engineering. Then the covenant had attacked. Steadily they had closed in on humanity, burning world after world, closing the noose a little tighter every time. Ben had little worry they would reach him and the rest of Earth. So much as he knew the fleet had been holding its own and the stories of the Spartans reassured his belief that he would be safe.
Then everything changed. His parents had been vacationing on Cote de' Azure when the Covenant had struck. He received the news from his brother who was an ensign on the Defiance. There was nothing more than a burning rock where his parents had been. The choice had been made immediately in his mind. He joined the ODST's because of the rumors. First into battle. Ruthless efficiency. Then his brother had been lost at the battle of Reach. Now all he had was his fellow marines. He wanted to kill covenant then, and he wanted kill covenant now.
Snapping out of his flashback, Ben realized he had been tying the same shoelace for two minutes. Latching his helmet, he grabbed his Battle Rifle and double timed it to the drop pods.
Oddly, the HEV pods were his favorite characteristics of the ODST's. The "Helljumpers," as they were refered to, were launched from a ship in metal cans and plummeted into a planets atmosphere at speeds almost to hard to handle. Ironically, these rides were the most peaceful of his life. Ben liked the total out of control hit-or-miss blind luck of the HEV's. It gave him time to think. To relax. To prep his mind.
And now, he was ready to defend his home. To avenge his parents. To avenge his brother.
"Marines, I'll see you on the surface," Lieutenant Mackerson's voice boomed in his ears.
Ben felt the thud, and the familiar feeling of vertigo returned signaling that his pod had been jettisoned. Thirty seconds later another thud resonated and a whiplash indicated his chute had deployed. The shuddering had become violent when he crashed into the ground, and his "door" popped open. The sight that met his eyes was like none other.
They had landed on the shoreline of New Mombasa, and there were covenant everywhere.
"You like that? Have some more!" yelled a voice to the right of Ben.
Three Marines were taking cover behind some rocks firing at group of grunts running towards them. An Elite popped his head over an overturned ghost and lobbed a plasma grenade towards the marines. Ben snapped up his rifle, quickly yelled, "Fire in the hole!" and opened fire. The rounds caught the elite in the side and cracked through his armor. Purple blood oozed from the wound. The elite turned just in time to receive another three round burst in the head, this one fatal.
Ben looked back at the Marines and saw only a crater of sand. Clearing the image from his mind, he instinctively looked for cover. Seeing a hunk of Pelican stuck in the ground, he sprinted towards it when a blast knocked him to the ground.
"Shit," he cursed as he scrambled back to his feet.
His vision swimming, Ben's instincts told him to keep running. Suddenly he tripped and fell in to a crater. Looking up he saw the backs of fellow ODST's crouched on the top of the crater, simultaneously firing and calling out targets. A face appeared above him and mouthed something incomprehensible. His ears had a strange ringing to them, and the Marine's face suddenly looked up and ran to the top of the crater and commenced firing. Ben blacked out.
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