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Prolouge
The Covenant are looking for our home world. We can't let them get there. We are the line. We can't break. The Covenant are in orbit, right now, planning to take this world like they did Reach. Colonel Ackerson has bigger plans.
November 18th, 2552
Mare Erythraeum, Mars
Hello all! Some of you may have heard about my new project that I have been working on alongside Winter Contingency, and I am proud to release the first chapter of Line in the Sand.
This story brings you to a completely new environment, the planet of Mars. It has been terraformed to support life, and it is covered in many cities and weapons factories. It is a vital part of the UNSC's victory in the Human-Covenant war, and the home of Misriah Armories. It is the last defense before the Covenant reach Earth, and the Human race is lost forever. Follow the five men of Badger One Charlie in their struggle to save mankind.
Chapter One: First Contact
October 26th, 2552
0800 hours
Eos Chasma, Mars
"York station, this is Badger one charlie, we have visual on Covenant Corvette. Request fire mission, over."
"Roger, Badger one charlie. Fire mission is a go. Send coordinates."
"Two, one, Oscar, X-ray, six, Yankee, four."
"Coordinates received, MAC firing..."
A massive, blue colored, tungsten round emerged from the soft white clouds and ripped through the small Covenant vessel, raining shrapnel down on the infantry below. A large boom was heard a few moments later and it echoed through the mountains before reaching sergeant Patrick O'Donnel's ears. The ship whined and then crashed into a nearby mountain.
"Thanks for the assist. Bravo one charlie, out."
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"Alright Marines! Command wants this Covenant double-A position destroyed to allow our birds to pass through this valley and proceed to their OP. Once we've cleared the way, we're going to catch a ride on a Pelican. Understood?" Pat yelled over the crackling gunfire coming from further down the mountain.
"Yes sir!" The four men replied in unison. They gathered their ruck bags and weapons and set off for the objective.
As they abandoned their safe position in the dusty mountain side, a battle roared on below them. About twenty Army troopers kept the Covenant onslaught at bay as they took cover behind a series of sandbags. The Covenant force consisted of at least fifty or so Grunts, twenty Jackals, fifteen Elites, and more than a handful of Hunters. They were defending four idle Covenant AA Wraiths with everything they had.
The six soldiers scurried over to the pinned troopers.
"Who's your CO?" Pat asked a panicked soldier who sat behind the sandbags, reluctant to fire his weapon. He looked at the sergeant for a few moments, and a slap to the side of the head reminded him where he was. The gunfire was absolutely deafening.
"Captain Hughs, sir." He said, pointing to soldier who was firing his DMR into a group of grunts. The Captain's short black hair was barely visible beneath his helmet, and he was a sort of frightening sight. His left eye was completely white, with just a small scar through his eyebrow to remind him of the sly insurgent. He was an impressive six foot five inches, and every time he fired an somewhat evil grin appeared on his face.
O'Donnell slid through the white sand on his way over to the officer. The rest of his team joined the other Army soldiers and fired at the advancing enemy forces.
"Captain, sir." The sergeant said, saluting Hughs when he ducked behind cover to reload.
"Greetings, Sergeant. Whats the news?" He replied, seemingly out of breath.
"HQ has given us orders to take out those AA tanks." He reached his hand over the sandbags to point. "Once their gone, the Pelicans can bring us to a UNSC frigate in orbit." Pat shouted over the contant gunfire.
"Alright. I have rocket teams available when needed." The Captain said, his one good eye showing a sign of sincerity. The Sergeant nodded.
Pat crawled back to his team and detached his rucksack and laid it on the ground to allow himself more flexibility for the fight. His team was very unorganized, and it included soldiers with all different specialties. He looked up and saw one of his men crouched behind cover, reloading. His brown eyes had a sense of extreme alertness, and his blondish hair glowed in the sunlight as he scrambled to retrieve his hat. He knew this man more than anyone he had ever known before. His name was John McCaffery. They were like brothers to each other when they grew up in America. John had always wanted to lead his own team, but instead he ended up with his old friend, under his command. He didn't nessasarily like it, but it was good to be able to fight with his best friend.
Pat removed the clip from his DMR and opened the chamber of his rifle to wipe the sand out. He glanced over to see another soldier in his squad. Kyle Hulverson sat behind the sandbags assembling his SPNKR Rocket launcher. As soon as he did so, he looked towards Pat and waited for the order. The grenades in his bandolier swung from side to side as he waited. Pat gave the order. Kyle was the grenadier of the team. His two weapons were the grenade launcher and the rocket launcher, and he was extremely lethal when it came to disposing of an enemy vehicles. He was born on Reach, and had a distinct accent. He seemed to act quieter, and became more secluded after the fall of Reach.
The soldier next to Hulverson was the squad's sharpshooter, Ryan Connoly. He alternated between his sniper rifle and his side arm, shooting any Covenant figure he saw. He was the youngest in the team. He had a smaller build than the other men and he always taunted and shouted at the Covenant during CQB. His CQB weapon was the M6D pistol and he fired it very well. This was only his third encounter with the Covenant, as before he was training on Earth.
The last soldier at the end of the sandbags was named Gregory O'Brien. He crouched next to an injured trooper, and he quicklet worked to remove a spiker round from the man's knee. He was the squad's medical expert, and one of the most important people there. A red cross contrasted greatly on his white arm band, reflecting in a incapacitated soldier's eyes as a mark of hope. He only carried a TAC Shotgun, without any sidearm. He always put everyone before himself, even exposing himself to enemy fire while caring for an injured soldier.
Pat loaded a clip into his DMR and finally stood up to fire. He was surprised at what he saw. The dusty canyon below him was full of dead Covenant, and two inoperable AA Wraiths. The soldiers all cheered and rushed down into the canyon to attack the already dead bodies. They jumped around like monkeys and smashed the defenseless carcasses with the butts of their guns. Badger One Charlie all stood as still as stone and watched the troopers celebrate.
"Command, this is Badger One Charlie. Objective is complete, request EVAC for next assignment. Over."
"Well done, Badger. Request granted, a Pelican is already en route to your position. Two klicks out, ETA approximately five mikes. Command out."
It would be extremely cool if MaxRealFlugel or Wolverfrog posted in this thread! : )
[Edited on 09.24.2010 10:05 PM PDT]