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Over The Line; Part 2
Posted By: AmokTheClown<jake.oconnell@defence.gov.au>
Date: 10 December 2003, 4:18 AM
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The snipers on the valley floor, however, didn't need a fire control computer to estimate where the projectiles were going to land.
"Oh shit!" Private Jessop screamed, "we got incoming, Charlie, get your asses out of here, fall back and regroup, NOW!"
The Covenant had been waiting for the indirect fire support to find its mark. And as the incoming bombs flushed out their unseen attackers, they launched a brutal counter attack. A Storm of plasma fire buffeted the retreating marines.
It was a bloodbath.
Private Jessop ran for all he was worth, plasma fire screaming all around him, he turned to tell the man next to him to pick up the pace, but he was no longer there, he lay face down in the snow, slowly staining it with his lifeblood. Something snapped inside Jessop, something he'd been trained to do so that he would survive.
"Fuck it"
He wasn't going to survive, he knew it.
"Charlie, continue to fall back, I'll cover"
There were no acknowledgments, either no one replied, or no one was left alive. It didn't matter. Jessop dropped to one knee and took up a firing position; he dropped all of his magazines in front of him and chose a target.
CRACK
A Jackal fell, vomiting blood from its headless torso.
CRACK
Three grunts that were standing behind one another doubled over.
CRACK
An Elite's chest exploded, spitting purple blood and bone behind it.
CRACK
A Hunter's shot went wide as the anti-material round hit his fuel rod gun, jolting it to the right. Five Jackals disintegrated where the round struck.
CLICK
The empty magazine slid from the rifle, a fresh one replaced it moments later. Jessop didn't skip a beat, firing four times, four more targets fell. Another empty magazine fell from the rifle. He grabbed a new one, four more targets.
Reload.
He lined up a hunter and in quick succession pumped four rounds into its head and neck. Bright orange blood sprayed from it neck. It slumped over and collapsed, twitching twice, then it lay still.
Jessop was about to reload, and would have if a Plasma bomb hadn't landed two feet where was kneeling. The heat from the detonating projectile enveloped his body, instantly vaporizing him.
"Hit that Fucking fire support" Sergeant Chilsa yelled into helmet as he shot down another Banshee, there weren't many of them now, but they still proved to be dangerous as hell. Two of the MBT lay smoldering wrecks because of them, one on the valley floor, one on the walls.
"Flex, incoming!"
"Copy that" Jones replied as he elevated the turret of his tank, tracking a Banshee that was homing in on his position. A shell marked 'Postage Paid' slid into the Barrel, breechblock closing behind it. The tank rumbled as the charge detonated, gases created with explosive force propelling the shell out of the barrel at high velocity. The round struck the Banshee, detonating, causing its speed to drop significantly, also causing the Banshee itself to drop significantly, straight into the ground.
Jones re-aligned his turret downrange and handed it over to the fire control computer. The computer picked the best area for a hit and fired. Bravo gun, on the valley floor did the same. Two shells hurtled down the Gauntlet, detonating on a Wraith that had ventured out of its safe area. The Wraith exploded in a shower of debris, then crashed into the ground.
The Wraiths now targeted the Scorpion tank on the valley floor. The MBT wearing the designator of 'Alpha Gun' and Jones' Tank managed to destroy three of the Covenant Indirect Fire Support Tanks before the first Bombs struck. Two of them slammed into the ground near Alpha gun, the other two fell right on it, killing the crew instantly and turning the tank into a pile of molten slag.
Chilsa's voice came over on the Comm-net.
"Move to a new position Flex, we can't loose all of our MBT's. Leave it to us, we've got these bastards"
And with that, Fire Team Zulu tore off in the direction of the Wraith's that were mingling about at the rear of the enemy column, the few remaining Banshee's following close behind. The two rearmost Warthogs took up the role of anti-aircraft fire, while the other three dealt with the swarm of troops that was moving towards them at speed. The drivers, for their part, forgot everything they had ever learnt on defensive driving and braved the storm of fire, aiming for the largest masses of troops, mowing them down with diligent efficiency.
The Grunts at the front of the Covenant formation broke and ran and died as Fire Team Zulu plowed through them. Brass fell from the M41 LAAG's like rain as the gunners strafed the entire area as they punched through, heading for Wraith's. Plasma fire zinged through the air all around the vehicles, scorching the paint and armor. Surprisingly though, none of the crew were hit, they were traveling too fast for the Covenant to hit and cleared the mass of troops with no major casualties.
The first Warthog to move into the open disappeared in a flash of blue. The Mortar bomb had detonated right at its wheels, leaving a huge smoking crater, the destroyed vehicle sliding back into it. The rest of the Fire Team began evasive maneuvers, trying to dodge the fire from the three remaining Wraith's. The closest Tank, which was already damaged, blossomed into a massive fireball as a 102mm shaped charge HE Rocket struck it from behind. The door gunner quickly reloaded his M19 SSM Rocket Launcher and lined up the next Wraith. He pulled the trigger.
Miss.
The Wraith skimmed to the left of it, only to be blown apart from the combined fire of four LAAG's, its armored shell bearing striking resemblance so Swiss cheese. The last Wraith reversed quickly back towards the area where the landslide had been triggered earlier, trying to put some distance between it and the Warthogs so it could use its main weapon more effectively.
Chilsa's 'Hog threw a huge fishtail and took chase, pursuing the Deadly opponent. He jammed his thumbs down on the dual triggers and aimed the LAAG at the Tank. Tracer rounds pinged off some of the more heavily armed portions, ricocheting into the air. A Plasma Bomb exploded from the barrel of the Wraith, heading straight for the speeding Warthog; it was traveling too fast and was too close to disengage. The driver could do nothing but watch as the blue projectile arched toward him...
And detonate just before the front wheels.
If it hadn't been for the snow and subzero temperatures, the armored tires probably would have melted, instead the force of the explosion threw the vehicle into the air. The 3.25-ton vehicle flew through the air, landing on the Wraith. The force of the impact drove the tank straight into the snow, landing on what appeared to be a rock.
It wasn't a rock.
Earlier, when the demolition charges that had been spider webbed across the valley were triggered by remote, some had failed to detonate. Most, if not all of them, carried a secondary trigger mechanism. These mechanisms are pressure sensitive.
The demolition charge exploded, shredding the tank, engulfing it in a mighty fireball. The explosion, however, did not consume the Warthog. The Hog's forward momentum carried it clear of the blast, landing awkwardly in the snow. Chilsa slapped the drivers helmet.
"YEAH-HOO" He screamed out loud.
"Pulled that one right out of your ass didn't you private?"
"Didn't even know it was there, sir!"
The celebration didn't last long, the 'Hog next to Chilsa's disappeared in a fluorescent green explosion. As the remainder of the Warthogs pulled away, Chilsa found the source of the shot. A new wave of Banshee's had arrived, too many for Fire Team Zulu to handle.
Lieutenant Turley's voice came through Chilsa's headset.
"Fallback to HQ Sergeant, we need your men here, there is nothing else you can do out in the open" The sound of an explosion cut the transmission short.
"Copy that sir, on our way"
The three remaining vehicles in Fire Team Zulu speed off towards Munin, leaving plumes of heavenly white snow in they're wake. The snow was falling thick and fast now, Covenant troops seemed to appear as if from nowhere, the pristine white revealing them only as the vehicles passed a few meters away. A storm of Plasma fire lashed at the vehicles as they ran another gauntlet through the enemy troops. This time they weren't so lucky, another Warthog was destroyed, hit buy a blast from a Fuel Rod gun, the crew were killed instantly. The Marine riding shotgun on Chilsa's 'Hog was killed by a plasma blast to the face.
Two badly damaged, smoking Warthog's blasted out the other side of the Covenant formation. The distance between the installation and the enemy had shortened significantly now, leaving Sergeant Chilsa and the surviving men of Fire Team Zulu barely enough time to dismount and take cover in the main entrance. There were two marines manning Shade Stationary Gun emplacements outside. As Chilsa passed, one of the Marines stopped firing and gave him a slight nod.
Chilsa stopped.
"Good luck son" he said as he saluted him.
"Thank you sir, now, get inside... sir"
Chilsa smiled. He saluted the private again and ran inside, taking up his position near the Artifact, and the now armed HAVOK tactical nuclear mine. Corporal Jones stood over the mine, his finger extended, ready to press a luminous blue button, one that would start the countdown timer.
***Countdown Sequence***
***00:05***
***Accept?***
"Where is Lieutenant Turley, Corporal?"
"Dead sir, and incase your wondering, I'm under orders to hit this button if I see anything resembling Covenant walk around that corner, sir"
"Carry on"
Jones heard two muffled explosions and the firing from the Shade's stopped.
"Here they come" One of the Marines whispered.
The few remaining marines that had defensive positions up on the top floor opened fire, thick at first, then slowly it slackened to sporadic bursts, then stopped. The Marines on the second floor began firing as the Covenant continued their relentless push down into Munin. They're superior size had finally taken their toll on the woefully outnumbered Marine force. Even though massive casualties had been inflicted on the Covenant, they moved deeper into the installation.
There were a series of explosions, and the staccato roar of machinegun fire stopped. From where Sergeant Chilsa and the remaining rearguard stood, they could hear the alien laughter...
And the screams of their comrades.
All of the defenders had been killed. Except for what appeared to be a lone Marine. His rifle never stopped firing, every few seconds there would was a burst of rifle fire and something screaming. Grenades could be heard exploding, Fragmentation and Plasma. Sergeant Chilsa whispered to himself.
"Go down fighting son, go down like a Marine"
His impromptu prayer was cut short by the voices of Elite's just around the corner. Chilsa and the other men brought up their rifles and sighted down the hallway. Ready to sell their lives dearly for the prize that the Covenant sought. There were more voices too, what sounded like Grunts and Jackals.
Jones moved his finger a little closer to the 'Activate' button.
The defenders heard an intense fire fight break out in the next room, heard an MA5B Assault Rifle bark, a grenade explode, an Elite scream. A massive boom of a shotgun reverberated through the hallway and more Grunts screamed, two more blasts, a Jackal screeched. Moments later there was a long burst of automatic Plasma fire and an Elite laughed.
Chilsa cursed to himself.
"Get ready Marines, this is it. Make 'em pay"
There was a long, long silence. A slight whistling could be heard from a cold breeze that was blowing through the complex. Except from that, it was quieter then a tomb. One of the Marines began to shake a little in fear, his rifle rattling. Sergeant Chilsa shot him a deathly stare, the shaking stopped.
Something stepped out into the open down the far end of the corridor. The light that glinted off the armor had a green hue. Where its face should have was an emotionless gold reflective visor. In one hand it held a shotgun, the other clenched an MA5B.
"Hold your fire!" Chilsa yelled at his men.
The figure slung the shotgun and strolled down the hallway, its heavy footfalls echoing off the walls interlaced with the distant sounds of a Dropship idling. The man stopped a few meters from the remaining Marines who just stood there, dumbstruck.
Up close the armored figure was absolutely terrifying, standing eight feet tall and dripping with purple, alien blood, it just stood there for a long moment, unmoving like a statue from hell. After he had looked over what remained of the Marine Rearguard, the Master Chief's eyes fixed on Jones.
"You can remove you finger from that button, Corporal"
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