- Ric0chetSniper
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Chapter One: Bravo 001
0613 Hours, August 30, 2552 (Military Calendar) / UNSC Pelican Dropship, Epsilon Eridani System Above Reach's Atmosphere
Carper began the Spartan ritual of checking his gear for any problems that might appear. Chief Mendez had always taught them to check their gear before an op. Because if you find something wrong with your equipment during a fight, -as Chief Mendez put it- you'll be in some deep -blam!-. Not having a weapon that fired properly could cause the result of death, even for a Spartan. Carper shook his head and tried to erase that thought.
"Spartans don't die," He whispered to himself. "They're just-"
"Missing in action." A voice beside him finished his sentence.
Carper looked at the Spartan beside of him. The voice had come from Carper's best friend, Harv-015, who was tuned in to Carper's COM channel. Harv was a quiet Spartan that usually kept to himself, but that never got in the way of a mission. To most of the Spartans he was Red-Fifteen, Carper was one of the few people that called him by his first name. They created a strong bond thanks to Mendez's rigorous training exercises. Even though Harv rarely spoke, Carper usually could tell what he was thinking just by looking at him.
"That's right, Harv," Carper smiled and patted his friend on the back. "We never die."
Suddenly the dropship violently shuddered and Carper could feel his stomach dropping at an alarming rate. He instinctively grabbed for something above him to hold on to. He caught a long pole that stretched from the front to the back of the Pelican, he assumed that the pole was for situations like this, but he wasn't positive of it.
He frantically looked around at the rest of Red Team in the dropship. All of them apparently had the same idea, they were all holding on to something. All of them had their helmets on and all of them were ready for whatever was going to happen next. They were Spartans, this is what they had trained for.
"Mayday! Mayday!" The COM channel screamed. "This is Bravo One! We are being attacked by Seraphs! I repeat, we are being-"
There was a flash of light and afterwards a large explosion. Carper could see the cockpit had exploded in the result of decompression. The pilot was scattered around the cockpit, blood everywhere.
Carper noticed Spartan-029, Joshua, had made his way to the Pelican's controls and was trying to slow down the dropship from crashing. He moved the remains of the pilot and sat down at the controls.
"The Pelican's computer systems are all fried," Joshua said through the COM system. "I can't activate the auto-pilot. I can try to slow down the velocity of the ship, but its going to be a hard landing!"
"Do it." Fred replied.
After a few moments of messing with the controls Joshua knew that the landing would most likely result in the death of most of Red Team. His mind raced for other ideas for landing, and since Spartans couldn't grow wings, only one logical idea remained.
"Sir!" Joshua said over the COM. "I slowed the Pelican down, but at the speed we're going we'll end up just like the pilot if we remain in the Pelican."
"What exactly are you implying Spartan?" Fred asked.
"We jump, sir."
Red Leader pondered the idea for a moment. "This is going to be a hell of a ride gentlemen!" Fred yelled through the sound of roaring wind. "Red Team! We're no use dead to the UNSC! You heard Joshua! Grab your gear and prepare to make a high-altitude jump!"
All of the Spartans quickly followed orders. Carper grabbed a hold of his MA37 Assault Rifle and attached it to a magnetic weapon holder on the back of his armor. Then he grabbed his M6B Handgun and placed it on his right hip. Another magnet clicked as the pistol attached itself to the armor. He checked his supplies, he had a total of five magazines for his AR, three fragmentation grenades, and one extra clip for his sidearm.
They all bought the standard amount of equipment and ammo, because they would be able to obtain more once they landed on Reach. Carper wondered to himself if this was a bad decision, considering the current situation. But they were trained to improvise on the battlefield since their first week in boot camp. They all knew what to do in order to survive.
The bay doors of the Pelican began to slowly open. The sound of the wind flying past them became louder every second. Though naturally the Spartans helmets adjusted the sound coming into the helmet to make sure none of them suffered from loss of hearing. The air pressure began to become strong in the atmosphere, even for a Spartan, but their suits adapted to it in a heartbeat. Reach's atmospheric pressure was noticeably more than Earth's. Carper wondered if the pilot, hadn't he died from the explosion, would've died from the air pressure.
Red Leader walked to the back of the Pelican and stood near the open bay doors. He turned to look at the Spartans, and the Spartans turned and looked at him. Carper could see the world spinning outside the Pelican in the background.
"Alright Spartans!" Fred yelled through the COM system. "We're going to free fall to from the atmosphere to the ground! We are putting our trust in our armor and shielding to absorb the impact! Do I make myself clear?"
"Sir, yes sir!" The Spartans yelled in unison.
"Then why are we still on this Pelican? Let's move!"
Carper stood with the rest of the Spartans and formed a line in the Pelican. One by one each Spartan jumped out of the bay doors and into Reach's sky. Carper was momentary sent back to his first mission in boot camp and through all the training he had gone through that lead to this point. It was his turn to jump. And like every Spartan, he never hesitated.
[Edited on 06.23.2011 10:07 AM PDT]