- Gottalovec4
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- Noble Legendary Member
About me: I am a vicious wolf of a man.
But really am sweet at heart. =)
Ch 6
We all carry stress, it is a way of life. On the battlefield it is magnified to the infinite.
Carver stood with a hundred other Marines in the sweaty, dimly lit, cramped troop bay of a Navy "Albatross" heavy landing craft. Behind him, a private sneezed. The resulting mist covered everything in front of him with a fine, floating mist. It hung in the zero G and remained there. For some men in the bay it reminded them of snow, of home, of shoveling the family JOTUN out after the final harvest.
Harvest.
The meaning of the name had changed, the planet was now reaping the lives of young men and women b the millions...a blood crop that soaked the ground with death.
Suddenly, a heavy lurch sent everyone nearly to the deck. Had they not been secured by thick straps by their harnesses to the ceiling it would have been serious indeed. The spittle that had brought back so many happy memories now fell on a dozen men. Quickly, cusses were thrown in the perpetrators general direction, but the Marine had already retreated into the rear of the bay.
Suddenly the bay was quiet and a female voice crackled on the bay speakers.
"Now haer this, we will be making a hot drop into Utgard, be combat ready as soon as you step off the ramp, that is all."
Immediately explosives were secured, helmets were donned, and rifles were charged. Carver made sure his M6C service pistol was secured on his him, as well as his great, great, great, something or other's Colt Python .44 magnum.
He also put a 150 round drum into his MA5D: a squad support version of the MA5B. It could fire a deadly 20 rounds a second and was only five lbs heavier than the MA5B. It also had overheating problems abound, so the Corporal also wore thick kevlar padded gloves. He was nervous about only having 600 rounds of ammunition. Everyone was nervous about that, they were supposed to have been dropped five miles distant from the fighting.
He looked around him and found Jamison loading a 40mm grenade into his M208 Grenade launcher mounted on his MA5A. The private smiled at him and nodded, he was ready.
A few more clicks and racks of bolts echoed through the space, then it was dead quiet except for the heavy breathing of nervous men.
The call echoed for thirty seconds...then ten...then the doors opened.
The rear hatch of the Albatross dropped open. The men were exposed to deadly cold and the blinding light of Epsilon Iridani traveling through the thin, glassed atmosphere of Harvest. Shortsword bombers flew overhead dropping napalm. Just 100 yards distant Covenant Elites were slaughtering a squad of Marines.
Suddenly a Hunter turned to the new UNSC threat and fired into the mass of men and fired. The plasma liquified a dozen men, the wave came inches from Carver's face and the whole bay reacted with violent over heating. The Albatross colapsed upon it's self.
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It's a little sloppy, but I'll proof it again later. I'm really stressed right now. Sorry it took so long to get a new chapter guys. I'll update more regularly I promise.
[Edited on 02.26.2011 11:05 AM PST]