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Teridan, Part I
Posted By: Duckfoot<duckfoot_2@hotmail.com>
Date: 7 September 2005, 1:57 pm
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The sun was rising. The white dwarf of the Teridan System barely provided any light. Or heat. The planet, after several million years without a bright star in its system, had become barren and empty. The only reason the UNSC were on this planet was because of the vast nuclear resources present. And the fact that the planet had previously held host to some form of life. Excavations were omnipresent over the surface, but they were all empty now, the troops and ships being sent to defend which human colonies that had not been taken by the Covenant. Only a small group of soldiers had been left as a rear guard. D company, 512th Regiment, had been left to defend an entire planet (albeit only the size of earths moon).
All seemed well, until the fall of reach. After the covenant defeated the garrison, they sent scouts around the local area, apparently to destroy the remaining human presence. Teridan, Being the largest of the two planets in the system, was considered the namesake of the cold, battered system. The Covenant landed on the planet in force, sending approximately 10,000 troops down to the surface. At first, however, the covenant did not appear to be aware of the human presence on the planet, which allowed the 124 men of D company to prepare a guerrilla war against the covenant.
Due to the standard sub-zero temperatures prevalent on the planet, however, the marines were limited to fighting in spacesuits, or in the bases, of which there were four. The senior officer in the base, Commander Jackson, chose the latter option, and formed a plan…
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19/7
0823h
Jacobs, Lieutenant Commander
The Operation starts at 0900. The Commander set off the radio beacon in the tower above this facility. Medical, or so they tell me. I get the feeling that we might need it later. The plan is that we lure about forty or so covenant into the facilities, and ambush them with booby traps that my demo guys fixed up yesterday. I have a bad feeling. Never having lost a man in combat, I get the feeling someone's going to catch a mouthful of plasma today. Better dismiss it though. Nothing like tempting fate.
19/7
1712h
Jacobs, Lieutenant Commander
Ensign Jones, next to me, slapped a mag into his rifle, and cocked it with a flourish, sending the sound throughout the building. A young Corporal glared at him, then noted his officer's slips and bit his lip. Ignoring the Corporal, Jones looked up at me.
"Your pistol, sir"
I looked down at my side, and my hand traced the outline of the thigh holster. I lifted it up, the slid the slide back to examine the chamber, and to my surprise, a round from the magazine slid smoothly in as a closed it. If I had realised this any later, I would probably be sleeping on the floor of the medical facility, a hole for my face. Cold, I know, but true.
Jones has a thing for weapons. He knows what's wrong with them, without even looking. How he could tell my pistol was unloaded I will never know. 'Cause he's dead now. A plasma shot to the stomach doesn't exactly do wonders to your intestines, ill tell you that. Sad. Another life lost to the covenant.
Back to the battle though. It was 0852 when the signal went out, and by 0858, the covenant had arrived, eager to investigate the signal. I was in the main lobby, with Third platoon. The airlock cycled, then around five elites stepped forward. We had counted on this. If the covenant had blown their way through, we would not be able to stay alive long enough to put up any fight. Waiting until the airlock closed on our side, and began to cycle again, we then opened fire on the unfortunate aliens.
Silenced guns clattered all around me, brass casings falling to the floor behind the sparse cover that we were behind. The rounds bounced off the elites armour for a while, but the sheer amount of lead aimed at them eventually had its way, and the unusual alien blood began to splatter against the walls and floor. The bodies were quickly checked and cleared away: we needed to clear the room before the next group appeared, or they would send word back to the troops outside.
The next group appeared in a flurry, a dozen grunts, and a couple of elites stood there, suspiciously eying the scene: an empty room. Which is what killed them. Another flurry of bullets cut them down while they were clumped together, the grunts squealing as the bullets hit their methane gear. A yellow armoured elite, however, let out a long howl, with a very quiet silence after it. Nothing talked. It took almost thirty seconds for the airlock to begin to cycle again. A quick thinking private near the door took out a hand grenade, and with surprising guts, pulled the pin, and let the handle spring free when the airlock cycled. The other men around him sprinted away to more cover, while the private spun round, and rolled the grenade into the airlock as it opened, and slammed the emergency shut button. The door closed, and there was a massive thump as it exploded in the airlock. Another silence followed.
There was a massive roar, and, I have to be honest, I let it go. The constipation that had been with me for almost two weeks now disappeared and my body just did what is natural. Yes, I shat my pants. And so did many of the others, judging by the smell. Because everyone knows that roar. The walking tanks of the covenant. Hunters.
A slam was heard, and the airlock door bent inwards. This time the roar was louder. The private who had thrown the grenade went completely white. He had killed the hunter's mate, and had probably sentenced everyone in the room to certain death. Another roar. Another slam. The door, three inches of solid titanium, buckled like tinfoil. Silence for a moment. Another roar. And finally, A massive explosion by the door. People close to the door were thrown across the fifteen yards of the lobby, and the remains of the door flew past my head, slamming Sergeant Cochlen into the wall, his legs flying in the other direction. The wash of heat went over my head, burning my inch long hair down to a slaphead appearance. From then on, I wore my helmet. The hunter slammed its way through the hole that was the airlock, leaving its blood covered mate in the airlock.
Roaring yet again, the hunter blasted at the closest marine with its fuel rod cannon. It incinerated him, not even a fingernail was left. Without a command, the silenced room quickly became filled by the clattering sound of the rifles. The machine gun over head, a minigun fixed to the security system, opened fire, but the hunters armour stood up to the barrage. Oblivious, almost, it span round, embedding an unfortunate marine in its weapon arm. Letting off another blast, the green glowing crap flew into the reception desk, leaving nothing but a few charred bodies in its place.
I felt a tap on my shoulder. It was a PFC Yu, a guy who had been in the marines for around five years, but had refused promotion to corporal or sergeant, despite being asked almost every month. He looked into my eyes, looked right into me. He took my hand into his and said to remember him. I asked what he was talking about, but he ignored me. After grabbing a grenade from my belt, he smiled.
"ashes to ashes."
"WHAT?"
Shouting above the noise of the minigun, and the screams of the wounded, I could barely hear what he said. He responded with a smile, and turned around. About to comment about his theft of the grenade, I opened my mouth. Yu sprang up, and sprinted across the room. The hunter, busy venting his anger on some screaming marines, didn't notice the sound of the pin being pulled, nor the handle clattering on the floor. Echoes to echoes. It rang a bell. Yu held the grenade in his hand, and proceeded to hold a fist. The five seconds from the time that the handle sprang free and the time exploded was more like five hours. Slamming his hand forward, he plunged his hand into the soft backside of the creature. Then it noticed. Whirling around, it clipped Yu with its armoured arm, smashing his jaw up into his skull. Laughing in its own way, an odd throaty cough, it seemed quite triumphant. For around a second. Then there was an incredible thump. Parts of the hunter were found in the ventilation system. The nearest vent was over a hundred meters away. Straight up. All that was left of the Hunter was bloody parts of armour.
Dust to dust.
Silence filled the room. A few shell-shocked marines peered over their cover, staring at the mess. Then there was a rattling in the air vents. They had found a new way in.
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