- Shadowemonc
- |
- Heroic Member
I usually post my work in private groups, but I decided to give you guys a try. Enjoy!
Cover Illustration
Chapter 1
She was tall, slim, and moved gracefully in her matte black, skin-tight jumpsuit. Her hair was dark and cropped very short. She had ice-blue eyes, which contrasted sharply with her deathly pale skin. She was my new spotter, or partner, if you preferred.
Frightening.
She and I had both lost our teammates in the last operation. Almost two whole SPARTAN Headhunter teams gone. Commander Mcsopevich had paired us in anticipation of the next mission. Of course he didn't know we were Headhunters, very few people knew about the ONI Headhunter program. Both of us were playacting as normal SPARTAN IIIs, which are also a big enough secret to send shivers down the CO's spine whenever he glanced in my direction.
I had no idea what my new teammate would be like, the Commander hadn't even told me her name, but she could never replace Markus. Mark was my old spotter, he would point and I would shoot, nobody could take out targets faster than us.
I watched my new teammate push past the group of Marines at the door of the mess hall and get in the line for rations. I'd already eaten my own, horrifyingly familiar, standard issue pre-sealed ration pack. I sat at a grimy off-white table on the far end of the large rectangular Mess Hall. Between myself and the door six tables were arranged roughly parallel, seating nearly 200 battle hardened UNSC Marines, along with two squads of Orbital Drop Shock Troopers. A round table off to the left featured a few of the commanding officers, including Commander McSopevich and the ODST Captain Stevens. At the center of their table rested a holographic display pedestal where the Firebase's "dumb" AI calling himself Zarquon was giving a lecture on local terrain. My own table was, naturally, completely empty. SPARTAN's are generally given a wide berth.
The two of us were now the only two SPARTAN IIIs in the sector, after the disastrous operation of the previous week. ONI was now pulling most of it's personnel out of the area, I expected to be gone before the coming week was over.
"James?" asked a soft feminine voice, breaking thorugh my stream of thought.
I looked up into the face of my new partner, I stood respectfully gesturing to the seat across from mine. "Yes, and you are?"
"Emily, the Commander told me you were my new partner." she said briskly, taking a seat and setting down her tray.
"He told me something along the same lines, glad to finally meet you," I replied, offering a hand across the table.
"Likewise," stated Emily, shaking it. She pealed open her ration packet. "Delicious," she said without enthusiasm, tucking in to the flat, compact protein bar and vitamin rich pudding-like substance that passed for food around here.
"Ah, good to see you two are getting to know each other, we'll be heading out to have another crack at that Covenant outpost soon. I'll want you two on the best of terms." said the gruff voice of Commander Mcsopevich.
"Yessir," I said as enthusiastically as I could manage. I wasn't in a hurry for another suicide mission, especially after the CO's obvious incompetence during the last operation.
"Indeed sir," agreed Emily, once she had swallowed. "Do we have a new plan of attack?"
"Ah yes, I'm quite glad you asked." said McSopevich enthusiastically, "Actually we were just finishing off the last few details." He waved toward the AI pedestal and Captain Stevens. "You see, first the brunt of our marines will attack head on. Hopefully distracting the Covenant enough for them not to notice the ODST squads circling in behind. You two will lead the frontal assault in our last two Warthogs, and hopefully-"
A concussive blast shook the entire room. Marines dropped their trays, several people fell. Emily and I were on our feet before the CO had even reacted. I pulled the magnum out of the Commander's hip holster and Emily and I ran for the door. Emily reached the door control first and slammed her hand across it. The door retracted quickly into the ceiling and a wave of sunlight and dust hit me in the face. The courtyard was in flames. Directly across from us a group of Marines were pinned down outside the barracks, which was smoking from a crater in the concrete roof.
"Grunts, 2o'clock." reported Emily, "Marines across the courtyard, 12o'clock."
"Gotcha," I replied, "Thanks," I added. The magnum I had taken from the shell shocked Commander was a custom, ODST grade handgun with a silencer and scope. 'Fancy wooden grip too' I observed. I did a quick checkover of the courtyard. Besides the Mess Hall and the Barracks there was a garage and landing pad, as well as the main HQ at the rear. At the center of the courtyard a flagpole held aloft the UNSC flag, plasma burns marred its gray and white fabric and it hung limp without wind to carry it.
The entire facility was nestled into the lush forests of Trillian V. The foliage was thick and green and vines snaked through the knee-high grass. Banshees shrieked across the vivid blue sky, coming around for another pass after hitting the mess hall and barracks. A bolt of green plasma tore through the air near my face. Emily and I ducked to avoid another burst of fire from the Grunts coming up the main trail toward the complex.
I raised the magnum and took a few clean headshots, but we needed cover, fast. The banshees were coming in low and swift, their tail fins glowing with energy. Beside me Emily grabbed my arm and pulled me back inside the mess hall. Another great explosion shook the building, this time part of the roof caved in. Light poured in from the hole, illuminating the Marines who had been crushed beneath the rubble from the ceiling.
The nearby ODSTs started heaving rubble off the crushed Marines, hoping for survivors. Most of the other Marines were prepping whatever weapons that had brought to lunch with them and lining up in front of the door. Captain Stevens was at the front, issuing orders.
"If you've got a gun, gut up here at the front. If not, keep your head down." Called Stevens over the general commotion. "We're going to push for the barracks to grab weapons and gear, run and gun!"
"Ooh rah!" was the general chorus from the marines.
"Ooh rah," I muttered, looking at Emily. She nodded, and we stepped into the ranks of the attack group.
_______
I'm done with this chapter, too busy writing the next. But I will take general critiques.
I'm planning on changing the title to something more original too, any ideas?
[Edited on 08.10.2010 9:19 PM PDT]