- Sergeant Murph
- |
- Noble Legendary Member
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The chieftain swiftly stepped through the sand, examining his soldiers. Surely the base would be defended. Who knew what the Humans possessed, and if it was in that very base? He came in front of his pack, grunted, and held up a hand, signaling for silence.
“We strike tomorrow morning, this time exactly. Ready the vehicles, we shall need to make a diversion in order to get troops into the base.”
The Brutes nodded. The chieftain walked away.
He cared not for how the operation went, so long as he was promoted to his rightful position afterward. His destiny was closing in on him, fast.
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“God dammit! You can’t get anywhere these days without being shot by a super alien alliance, can you?” Anderson muttered, unfastening himself. He raced to the cockpit, pulling the pilot out.
“We have to jump! Open the door, quick!”
“You’re crazy!”
“Damn right I am! Do as I say, now!”
The pilot ran back to the controls, snapping a lever and pulling the back door open. Everyone stood up now. I looked down. Only minutes ago I had wondered what it was like to jump from a high place. Now I had gotten my wish.
The cliff seemed to fall down into everlasting darkness. The walls were covered in vines.
Everyone was on their feet, ready to leap. I looked down again: the pelican was about to go over the cliff. If we didn’t jump now, it would be over.
“On three!” Sanchez yelled over the roar of the passing wind.
“Hell no!”
All eleven of us, the ODST’s, the four marines, Burns, and myself flew out the door at the same time. The moment my feet left solid ground, I regretted it. I seemed to be floating in midair, drifting down toward the ground. Surely I would fall to my death. Frantically, I searched around for something to land on, and found nothing. I yelled out when I saw a tree, just to the left of where I would fall. I shifted my body weight as much as I could to the left, twisting and fumbling. I found myself above the tree. It worked! I bolted toward the tree, stuck an arm out, and caught myself on a thick branch. Agony raced through my spine and up through my arm. It was lucky that I had thrown out my feet, pushing them against the tree. If I hadn’t, I could very well have lost my right arm.
Slowly, I lowered myself down the tree, branch by branch, until I dropped to the ground. I brushed dirt off my armor, then stood up. In the distance, I could just make out the voices of Brutes. I had landed only about twenty yards from the camp, but it felt like forty, concealed by the massive trees. The camp was in a small clearing with a stream running through it. There was no sign of Anderson, or anyone else for that matter. Had I been the only survivor? No, that was impossible. Besides, ODST’s were trained for jumping, weren’t they? Burns surely would have stuck with Anderson.
I crept through the trees, sneaking a view at the campsite. The Jiralhanae, Unggoy, and Kig-Yar all lined up, weapons ready to strike. They were waiting for us, eyes fixed in the direction of the cliff.
I heard pebbles fall from the cliff. Survivors? I had to know. They may have needed help. I walked stealthily over to the side of the cliff, peering down. Nine sets of eyes stared back at me. Burns held a finger over his lips. I nodded. Each of them clung on to their own vine, slowly grappling their way up the side of the cliff. I lay down flat on the ground, making myself as small as possible. If I was seen, it could be fatal for everyone.
Anderson was the first up the cliff, helping the rest of them up. I stood up, taking in my surroundings. To the left was the edge of the jungle, to the right was the cliff, and in front of me was a long clearing, edging around the cliff for what seemed like miles. The campsite built around it seemed to drift farther away with every second.
I looked around and counted everyone again. Nine. Who was missing? The ODST’s were all present, as well as all the marines. That left the pilot. As if reading my mind, Anderson spoke.
“He didn’t make the jump.”
I shook my head in horror. What an awful way to go. Falling from the sky and not feeling ground again until you become part of it. Madness. Troy stepped up and revised his plan.
“All right. Here’s the plan. We have to be stealthy…”
Anderson ripped a Fragmentation grenade from his belt, and sent it soaring toward the campsite. The explosion took the infantry by surprise, as they had been facing the opposite direction. Grunt’s screams howled above all others, four Jackals released their energy shields and were flung over the side of the cliff.
Typical Anderson.
“New plan. We fight and hope we don’t die,” Anderson sneered.
“Sounds like fun,” Troy murmured, disapproving of this method. He pulled the Assault Rifle that he had slung around his back. The marines, save for Burns who had his Battle Rifle, only had their sidearm weapons, Magnums. Anderson unfastened his Shotgun. Suddenly, reality hit me.
“I don’t have a weapon.”
“Don’t worry. You didn’t think I forgot to bring you a treat, now did you?” Anderson smiled. Off of his belt, he pulled a black handle, flipping it over to me. I immediately recognized it as my personal Battle Blade, the customized Energy Sword that maneuvered faster than its counterpart, as well as being different in color. I gripped the handle and activated the sword, sending a quick burst of red plasma out of the hilt. The maroon blade was beside me, now. I remembered the last time I had felt it, when I ran it through the chest Zens Kovalee, the lunatic Ultra who nearly destroyed everyone on Delta Halo. It seemed so long ago.
[Edited on 09.28.2008 5:56 PM PDT]