- Wolverfrog
- |
- Fabled Legendary Member
I do hope you like this part. You'll notice the perspective changes midway, this is intentional.
Part 29: Promotion, URF style
A shot cracked through the air as I squeezed the trigger of the Sniper Rifle, sending a harsh jolt of recoil up my tired arm. The bullet flew across the clearing and hit the target dead in the middle. Bullseye, yet again.
"Wow, how the hell did you do that?" Lieutenant Harper asked between his smoking cigar for the third time.
"Em....Lucky shot I guess..." I muttered in an undertone, systematically reloading my sniper rifle as I did so.
Me and Blade were together on a Sniper training course, and I hadn't missed a single target yet, much to the disbelief of Lieutenant Harper, an old man who seemed upset that I was more proficient than him with the rifle. Blade was doing okay, but the Sniper had never been his strong point. He preferred a good or BR-55 or an MA5, also known as an Assault Rifle. He was also rather partial to his shotgun too, which apparently had been given to him by his Grandfather. At the moment though, it was with Switch and everyone else. Not for the first time, I wondered how they were coping.
As I raised the scope of the rifle to my eye once again, and prepared to shoot the tin can a few hundred yards away, I felt a sharp pain in the leg, and realised that Blade had kicked me. I looked up at him, and he gave me a glare.
"Stop showing off, you'll blow our cover idiot..." Blade murmured quietly.
"Sorry..." I spoke as I raised the scope to my eye again. This time, just before I shot I jolted the weapon the the side on purpose, and the bullet struck against a snow covered rock.
"Aha, see!" Harper shouted in delight. "You need practice son, but don't worry, old Lieutenant Harper's here to help."
He then spent the next half hour carefully instructing me on the correct way to hold the Sniper, and how to keep my arms still in the face of recoil. He meant well really, but it still annoyed me that I had to pretend I was useless.
After Harper was happy with my aim, he moved onto Blade and checked him out. Of course, having established a cover story as a retired ODST, Blade was at liberty to demonstrate the full prowess of his combat abilities. Harper didn't do much, he just sat back and made noises of approval, occasionally praising a particularly shot.
"I think you'll be leading a squad in no time Andrew, you're combat skills are amazing!I'll be sure to report this to Commander Mains." The Lieutenant said to Blade in an admiring tone.
"Well, my only wish is to stay with the boy. I'm the only person he's got, and I have a vow to his father to uphold."
"Of course, of course. I'll tell you what Mains has to say later. Anyway, what say we move onto the Battle Rifle course? Our design is slightly different from the ones you'll be used to, as we made them ourselves."
I got a sinking feeling in my stomach, I was terrible with the BR. Then again, I supposed now would be a good time to learn how to use it, I wouldn't always be able to rely on a Sniper Rifle.
"Where does the URF import it's weapons from then?" I asked innocently. If I could find out where their main factory supply line was and tell ONI, it would be incredibly beneficial to the UNSC.
Unfortunately though, Harper shook his head and said.
"I'm afraid I can't tell you that young James, not because I don't want to, but because no body here knows. Not even Mains. The only people who know where all our weapons and vehicles come from are the Generals high above, and I don't even know their names."
"Sounds pretty shadowy." I remarked.
"It seems like it at first, but we're really a bunch of friendly guys. Well, some sections of the URF are downright horrible, missiles, suicide bombings, killing hundreds of innocents in the process. But here on Harvest we're different. We only use lethal force when necessary, and we never harm civilians. Just soldiers who refuse to drop their weapons." Harper reflected.
It didn't sound to bad. These definitely weren't the evil child killing rebels I'd been told about as a kid. Blade then grabbed my arm and drew me to one side.
"Now don't you be getting any ideas Farm boy, this is the enemy you're having a friendly chat with, not your god damn squad mate." He whispered at me harshly.
"I know that! But he doesn't seem that bad..."
Blade was about to reply, when Harper looked back and asked if everything was alright.
"Yeah we're fine thanks." I moved away from Blade in anger. How could he be dubious about where my loyalties lay? I was one hundred percent committed to the UNSC.
"So." I began, resuming conversation. What's your view on the Covenant?"
*************************
Switch crouched on the soft, loamy rocks, and confirmed it.
"They were definitely here all right."
Rook and the Spartans were stood around him, arms folded in expectation.
"Well what happened to them?" Rook asked.
After Blade and Farm boy had failed to return last night, the squad decided to go looking for them. Eventually, they tracked them down to the shore of the sea, and Switch was trying to work out what had happened.
"Well, from what I can deduce, they were talking with each other, when suddenly, and this is judging from the depth of the print nearest to the water, they jumped into the sea." Said Switch.
"Why the heck would they do that?"
"I don't know. Perhaps they were attacked?"
That would make sense, Switch thought. Farm boy and Blade were talking, they get ambushed, and jump into the water to escape. Then the Aliens, or whoever attacked them cover up their tracks.
"Perhaps." Reflected Michael. "Now what should we do?"
Switch looked up into the sky, the blazing light of Epsilon Indi illuminating his black armour.
"We find them. Luckily, transmitters aren't just in our suits, I took the liberty of ordering some tracking chips about six months ago that went...well...inside us. I haven't had time to place one on Farm boy yet, but Blade's should be live and kicking."
"What? When the hell did you do that?" Rook exclaimed.
"I knew you wouldn't agree to it Rook, so I just slipped it into your cereal on day."
"And you didn't even tell-" Rook was then cut off by Switch.
"Unfortunately, the only way to receive the chips signal is through a direct satellite link. And unfortunately, we don't have the equipment on us to do that. However, I'm sure the Covenant do, and if I could have a look at some of their equipment, I'm sure I could rework it to our favour."
"So where do we go then?" Michael asked, speaking for him and the other Spartans.
"We go where we were going to go all along. To the Waterfall, and that mysterious ruin the Covenant were skulking about.
[Edited on 05.19.2009 2:05 PM PDT]