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Always Jump Feet First Into...
Posted By: Johny117<john_gammeter@hotmail.com>
Date: 29 January 2006, 12:31 am
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This may be a pretty crappy story. The part on the beach is almost like the Normandy invasion from in the movie "Saving Private Ryan." But I was bored and felt like writing something. So.... Enjoy!
1409 Hours, February 3, 2559 (Military Calendar) /
En route to Landing Zone Delta on Paris V,
Aboard UNSC Pelican
Private First Class Clarke knew it would soon be over. Every Marine in the Pelican knew it as well. Their mission was to assault a Covenant held fortification on a large island along a beach that was taken from the humans. Already, three waves had failed to take the sronghold and Clarke wondered if this wave of Pelicans would fail too.
The Pelican had departed from the UNSC Frigate Columbia in orbit around the planet. There was an entire human fleet of about eighty-some ships around Paris V, engaging the groups of Covenant vessels that kept arriving for some time now. Reinforcements kept coming from both humans and Covenant, and the battle wasn't going to end anytime soon. After all, Paris V was the very last Outer Colony in exsistence and the humans would not let it fall. Paris V had a colony population of six million. Since Reach had been glassed, the Covenant had found every Outer Colony with an exception of Paris V. But a single little stronghold could not be taken back from the humans. The Covenant had landed their ground forces and easily conquered the stronghold.
There were bombings from the Longsword fighters that swooped by over the stronghold to breach the walls, but it did almost nothing to damage the stronghold. There was extremely heavy AA fire from the Covenant.
Clarke remembered how the stronghold was built many yeass ago. Two and a half metres thick of solid titanium-A, thicker than most armour plating on most UNSC vessels, with a research laboratory underground. And auto-turrets and MGs surrounding the base and minefields in the forests at the rear of the base. The stronghold was almost like Reach's CASTLE BASE, but Reach was no longer there. It could resist anything less than an atomic bomb.
But there was something in the stronghold that kept the humans from destroying the stronghold: a data crystal, that the humans had been studying and creating. It had been secretly transported from Reach to Paris V for testing. This crystal contained data that could advance humans Slipspace technology by
decades. The only thing that stopped the Covenant escaping with the crystal were the Marines and the Longswords that kept coming, trying to stop them.
The Pelican was two minutes away from the drop zone, and outside of the Pelican, Clarke heard AA fire from the Covenant. It would be one hell of a drop. Almost like the Normandy invasion that had happened during World War Two on Earth that took place a hundreds of years ago.
"Alright! Is everybody happy?" yelled Sergeant Barker to his Marines.
"Yes sir!" the Marines in the Pelican responded.
"This is it Delta Team. Prepare to land in one minute." the pilot told them over the speakers.
The Pelicans headed directly to the landing zone to the beach, flying over the ocean beloew them. The Covenant AA turrets began to open up and sprayed fire toward the Pelicans. One dropships wing was blown off and the Pelican crashed into the water.
"You know the plan! Corporal Harland and his squad are moving up the east end of the beach. Sergeant Lister and his squad will move up the west side. Me and my troops will move up the center. Give 'em hell!" Barker told them all.
"Ten seconds boys." the pilot keyed to them.
Clarke would be with Sgt. Barker on the assault.
There were dozens of continuous explosions outside rumbling the Pelican. There was so much AA fire that most of the men that were standing couldn't keep their balance.
Clarke was ready. He put his finger on the his rifle's trigger. And prayed he would live through this.
They arrived at the landing zone.
"Shit this LZ is hot. Good luck Marines." the pilot keyed over the com.
The ramp on the Pelican lowered and in poured sunlight.
"Marines! Go! Go! GO!" Barker yelled.
Clarke took a deep breath, shut his eyes, and all the Marines ran out of the Pelican.
Clarke thought he would be running onto actual land, but splashed right into the ocean and was confused for a moment. He opened his eyes and realized the Pelican didn't exactly let them land on the beach. There must have been too much AA fire to land there.
He kicked for his life, swimming to the surface. The extra ammo and supplies weighed him down, so he quickly pulled out his knife and cut off his pack. A few other Marines drowned and sank below. He wished he could have helped them.
Luckily, the beach wasn't so far away when Clarke dropped, so when he finally got out of the water, he immediately ducked behind the small remains of a crashed Pelican. Dead bodies were everywhere. Burned by the plasma turrets that suppresed all the Marines. The beach was huge. It would not be easy making it up to the seawall. There was nothing to hide behind with an exception of blown off wings, cockpits, and pieces of Pelicans that had been shot down all over the beach. The plasma turrets from above the seawall were firing like a hose that had an unlimited water supply. Plasma sizzled everywhere and over Clarke's head. He scanned the beach for anyone he could link up with.
He spotted Barker and a few of his squadmates behind a wing of a Pelican that had been blown off. Barker saw him and waved him over.
"Get the hell over here!" Barker yelled.
Clarke got up and ran as fast as he could to Barker, almost behind shot by a plasma bolt.
"Sarge! What the fuck do we do now?!" Clarke asked.
"We have to make it to the seawall. Head to the east side of the beach, there is more cover there. Rally as many troops as you can on the way, find Private Anderson and proceed with me!" Barker replied. "Let's go! Squad, on me!"
Barker, Clarke, and his squad began to get up and run to the east side of the beach getting more Marines to follow. Clarke wondered if the other waves were doing any better around the island. How Team Alpha was doing in the forests. The Covenant mortar teams were firing their bombs all over the beaches.
As they ran, dodging plasma bolts, one bolt caught Barker right in the neck. He squrmired and dropped to the ground as blood was spraying all over him. One of the Marines tried to stop the bleeding.
"Sarge!" Private Fincher yelled. "Fuck! Now what do we do? We're all gonna die in this fucking shithole!"
"Calm down!" Clarke said. "We'll link up with Corporal Harland on the other side of the beach! "I'm ranking Private here, so everyone follow me. Let's move!" Clarke told him.
They ran to the other side of the beach and finally reached the radio specialist, behind a chunk of hull that been blow off from a Pelican. The radio specialist held his shin stoping the bleeding and keeping pressure on the wound.
"Are you Private Anderson?" Clarke asked him.
"Yes. I am. W-what do you need??" Anderson replied.
"Where is Corporal Harland?" Clarke asked.
"He's gone! Got blown apart from a mortar bomb!" Anderson told back to him.
"Alright, I'm ranking private here so you're coming with us to the seawall. The rest of the Marines on the beach are heading up there. You got to come with us." Clarke said.
"I can't run. My leg is too wounded." Anderson replied.
"Then I'm just gonna have to carry ya." Clarke told him, as he picked him, and his radio, and slumped him over his shoulder. "Let's go!" Clarke called to the following Marines.
The Marines ran from cover to cover, hiding behind broken pieces of wings and engines and metal. Then the cover started to get smaller and fewer as they went along. When they finally made it to the last chunk of Pelican hull, it was one final run from Clarke's position to the seawall. The Covenant turrets still fired upon them. They had to make it to the seawall. Clarke knew he would get killed as would all the Marines on the this beach if they just sat here. Only a nine Marines had been rallied and followed Fincher and Clarke with Anderson to their cover. Many Marines were still cowering behind cover all over the beach and wading in the water. Sergeant Lister had been progressing further up on the west side of the beach with his squad.
"Alright." Clarke told the Marines besdie him. "We're goin' to that seawall!"
"Hell no! I'm not gonna die here like that! Those turrets are gonna blast me apart! Fuck, I should just shoot myself!" the Marine replied.
"Listen you!" Clarke told him. "If none of us get to the seawall - if no one on this cursed island gets inside that bloody stronghold, the Covenant will take crystal that is inside the stronghold, and will be able to jump from one end of the galaxy to your fucking house! So you're coming with me!"
The Marine shrugged and took a big breath.
"Okay! Let's go!" Clarke shouted.
They got up, and ran. They all zig-zagged up to the seawall. There was an explosion right beside Clarke and it rained blood but he didn't look to see. He did what he could to not get hit by the plasma bolts, but Anderson slowed him down. And the alien on the turret that was aiming for the human that carried the other human was a dead shot. One bolt struck Clarke squarely in the chest, then in the shoulder, and one right to his knee. Anderson was hit in the back. Clarke fell in a heap, dropping Anderson. Coughing up blood, he struggled and tried to drag himself to the seawall.
Anderson tried to crawl away but was shot in the back twice.
"Clarke!" Fincher yelled from the seawall. "I'm coming!" Fincher called.
"No! Don't!" one of the Marines shouted, grabbing Fincher's arm, holding him back. "You'll be as dead as him if you go out there."
"Fuck!"
Clarke and Anderson were shot three more times and were completely lifeless. Fincher stared at their bodies for a few seconds. He averted his eyes, seeing if there was anyone else that made it with him. Seven of the nine that were following had successfuly made it to the seawall. Fincher also saw Sgt. Lister and his squad make it up. A total of twenty-five soldiers had made it to the seawall. Maybe there was a chance they wouldn't all die.
The Demolition specialists had been with Sergeant Lister's squad, and they were ready to blow open the seawall and make it into the stronghold.
All of a sudden, the shooting from the turrets stopped at once. There was assault rifle and plasma fire that was heard up in the bunker above the seawall. An explosion ended it all. Then Fincher realised what had happened up there. Team Alpha had successfuly infiltrated the base from the rear. Marines' heads' appeared in the bunker, waving toward them. Everyone on the beach started to give a cheer of victory.
They had won. They had taken the beach, and saved huamn technology from the Covenant. The water of the shoreline was mixed with blood the air had the stench of burned hair and flesh. Craters and bodies seemed to fill every square meter of the beach. Bodies floated in the water with parts from the Pelicans. Besides the cheering and the waves rolling in, it was oddly quiet after the plasma turrets had been shooting non-stop.
The Marines in the bunker continued to infiltrate the stronghold killing all Covenat therein. Fincher walked over to Clarke's destroyed body. He closed Clarkes eye-lids and covered his face with his bag.
A Longsword fighter flew over head escorting a group of Pelicans. Things must have been well upstairs, because when the Pelicans landed, a Commander had come out of a Pelican to congratulate the Marines.
Word had spread around the planet that the humans had kept the crystal from the Covenant. Most of the human fleet had jumped out of orbit by then. A few days were spent on the island cleaning up the bodies. Every corpse would be taken into a vessel and put into a casket and shot into space. There would be a long mourning ceremony.
Fincher was walking along the beach that still had pieces of metal on the shoreline. He remembered Clarke. If it were not for him, he knew he would have died here. Fincher picked up a smoth stone and threw it out toward the ocean. It skipped several times and sank. He couldn't wait to get off this planet. After the crap that he went through, after landing on this beach knowing this mission was FUBAR, and after jumping feet first into hell.
Is it good? Is it bad? A little long? You decide. Well...here was my story, even though it didn't actually fir into the Halo timeline.
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