Unit Mission: Seventh Marines

[Jakob]

Captain William 'Grimm' Montcrieff
Touching down

Montcrieff clicked a switch to change the notice light in the cargo bay from red to yellow, then shifted his thrusters in order to slow the landing as he turned off the propulsion systems. Gottahave turned on all the weapon safeties and deployed the landing gear as they were guided down to the ground by green smoke. The Pelican shifted in order to point the bay doors towards the Elephant which had temporarily stopped. From here, they were only a ten minute drive from the town itself and the various companies CP's.

Clicking on the intercom for what would hopefully be the last time, he began speaking,

"We are landing at battalion CP now, approximately three miles from..." Grimm pulled the map up on his terminal and nodded, "...approximately three miles from Hill 192. We'll be providing air support later today if we finish up bringing down the rest of the regiment, so I'll be seeing you all later today. Don't let yourselves get wounded, I don't want to wait for Slim to clean up my bloodtray again." Satisfied, he turned off the microphone and leaned back as the landing gear hit the ground, opening the doors once again.

"I think you're getting a hand of the speaking thing, chap, maybe you should do it more," Gottahave said over the radio with what Grimm detected may have been a hint of sarcasm.

"Above this Earth and below, I don't think a soul wants that," Grimm replied.

Major Lucas Blakley
Yelling at his aide

"God damn it, what do you MEAN anti-air isn't coming?" Blakley demanded. The aide squirmed and backed away a bit further, he was used to Blakley's anger and knew not to reply. Blakley ground his teeth and then took a long, deep sip of his coffee until he ran dry. AA wasn't available to him until he had a firm base set up, one that wasn't moving, which meant the town. That also meant he was going to have to run a risk of even more of his air forces being taken down.

"Pelican's touching down, sir," a Marine who had just ran in told him. Blakley sighed and nodded before tossing his mug over to the aide, the man taking it and refilling it without question. Blakley checked the map markers one more time, eyes narrowing as Sorelson didn't follow his orders to a key. He was fine with a bit of independent though on behalf of the lower echelon, but the second that they failed in their objectives, it was on their head.

Sighing, he nodded at the map and strolled out of the Elephant. His aide was close behind him with a mug which Blakley took with an appreciative nod, his energy feeling sapped by his outburst, and took another sip of the mug. Thankfully, the man had finally gotten the right beans this time, and he had had some beautiful beans grinded up, straight from the South American Confederation.

Blakley waved a hand as the Pelican temporarily blocked the sun. Their surroundings were sparse, a rocky valley next to a road with the scorched remains of trees to their east. The area had been bombarded in the Covenant's first assault rather hard and was a large series of craters and burned trees. A column of Warthogs sat on the road, waiting to take the passengers of the Pelicans away as the Marines switched over and some other command vehicles had been set up around.

As the lead Pelican's door opened up, the one occupied by Kill Jr., and stood with his aide and one of his Marines standing to either side of him. He didn't like Kill all that much, but no reason not to make a good impression. And maybe Jr. wouldn't be so bad?

As the man unbuckled and stepped out, Blakley gave a smile and a nod.

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
1/7, A Co., 1st Platoon
On the dirt

Kyle unbuckled his belt, explosively sighed and thanked the gods - all of them in once sentence - that he was still alive. He slid off his chair and onto the dirt, almost like liquid, and turned around to see a Major nodding at him. It took Kyle a full three seconds before he nodded back to the man, still startled an O-4 was looking at him. He knew what his father was saying at that point on about junior officers and enlisted Marines being startled when someone with that paygrade socialized with them.

"Are... you enjoying your coffee, sir.. sirs." Kyle said, realizing the Major's assistant was a higher rank than Kyle was. Well, this is awkward, he thought. He nodded back and forgone the salute as they were in a combat zone and it would identify the major as a important target.

He turned around slowly and looked over his shoulder back into he pelican's troop compartment as his platoon disembarked. The other pelican touched down and immediately his platoon sergeant rushed over towards him swearing and cussing about the close call Kyle had with death but immediately stopped when his HUD read the Major's IFF tag, as well as his neural lace transmitting another friend of foe identification.

"Platoons saddling up in some troop 'hogs, sir." The platoon sergeant said, leaving quickly before the Major could address him. You... bitch Kyle thought blankly. His platoon sergeant just abandoned him in an awkward moment. Smart man, he was. Kyle turned around to face the Major again. The junior officer was in a bit of a hurry.

"Sorry, sir, but I need to excuse myself. I'm late and my company is down a platoon. I apologize for the tardiness." Kyle said, nodding again to show his respect for the mans rank. He left quickly, cambering a round into his primary and secondary weapons on his way towards one of the dozen Warthog APC and M831 Troop Transport 'Hogs. Of course, the convoy had four M41 M12 LRV's as well for protection.

He mounted the passenger seat on one of the M41 variants and told the driver to start driving towards Captain Sorelson. The Warthog lurched forward as the tires demanded acceleration. "Tornado Actual, Tornado One Actual. Sorry I'm late, sir, but I'm inbound. Estimated time en-route... eight minutes." Kyle said, glaring at the driver of the Warthog.

The Corporal slammed his foot on the accelerator. The rest of the platoon would be following at top speeds as well once they had mounted the warthogs. Kyle wanted to get there first. He found it easier to organize the units as they were coming in rather than being in the middle of the pack, besides, he didn't particularly want to see his father at this point as his Warthog crept towards the Major's elephant.

[Wax™]

Jenkins / Bowers / Mendoza

Tornado Four Marines

Battalion CP - Organising 

Justin had now taken a seat after the small episode that occurred on his Pelican, he felt really awkward now and everything went silent and remained that way for the next three minutes. Justin just continued to sigh to himself. Luckily it wasn't able to be heard over the loud roaring engines of the Pelican. Justin now sat opposite Private First Class Daniel Mendoza and Private Elizabeth Elms. He didn't know the two formerly but he knew that the PFC was one hell of a special forces soldier. The man seemingly had a thing for the younger Private Elms. It was obvious to anyone. But everyone kind of just let it slide.

"Touch down in thirty seconds Lieutenant." Came the voice of the co-pilot over the troop bay's PA system.

"Alright..." Justin said standing. "Equipment check... Get your whits about you and if you need to shit... Too late" He said. As he did so the Pelican's rear hatch would open and the men and women inside the Pelican would be greeted with the view of the Battalion CP just a few feet below. Within ten seconds the Pelican would come to an entire halt and Justin would step out of the bird.

"Alright let's go, let's go... Everyone out... Find your squad's and form up in platoon formation." Justin said over the Platoon Wide COMM's whilst sanctimoniously yelling it to those that exited his own Pelican. As he was doing this just a few dozen meters to the left. Staff Sergeant Jason Bowers was doing the exact same thing with the remainder of Fourth Platoon. Soon enough the entire platoon had formed up into a Platoon Sized Formation and awaited further orders.

"Tornado Actual..." Jenkins then started to speak over the Company COMM's. "Tornado Four Actual reporting, Tornado Four has touched down at Battalion CP over."

Staff Sergeant Jason Bowers soon formed up however he stood next to Lieutenant Jenkins, giving the young officer a sly nod of his head and a smile before standing at ease with his MA37 in hand before him.

"Get them organised Staff Sergeant..." Jenkins said before looking over each of the fresh Privates and even some Corporals. Bowers took a step forward and cleared his throat for a minute before beginning to bark out orders to the young marines.

"Alright! Tornado Four! See those APC's sitting dormant at your six, well they aren't going to fill themselves... Get your shit together and board those APC's! Since we're the first Platoon down and organised... Start from the front and work your way back till you're all in an APC... Now this ain't a field trip... Stuff as many men as you can into each APC... I'll be taking point on the lead APC's main gun... Lieutenant... Of course you choose your own seat." He said, turning to Jenkins and offering him a small grin and a nod before looking back to the marines. "Why're you all still here! Go... Move! Move! Oorah marines!"

Mendoza formed up as close as he could next to Elms, however before he knew it the Platoon was already being yelled out and within seconds being told to move already to a large group of APC's stationed behind the Platoon. Once Staff Bowers small speech of orders was over. Each and every marine began to move out. Mendoza himself made a run for the second vehicle behind the lead. With his Squad Sergeant Hunt. Mendoza looked back to Elms, whether she started running or not. He mouthed the words 'stay close' to her, before finding himself being thrown into an APC among the sweaty bodies of a dozen other marines.

Mendoza noticed that the top hatch was already open and no one claimed the spot of the second APC's M41 gunner. So Mendoza stretched out his arms and pulled himself through the hatch, slamming his feet onto the small rise in which the gunner stands on. As he looked out he noticed the Battalion CP and started to buzz with a lot of activity. Looking over to the APC's behind him he watched as they were boarded by marines. He then turned around to look front. Noticing Staff Bowers had already claimed his own spot on the lead vehicles M41. Man that guy was quick. All Mendoza and the rest of the Platoon began to move out with the other vehicles once everything was organised and ready to go.

[LaxKnight]

LCPL Steven 'Slim' Valky
DMMP-278 Supporting 1/7
At CP Flight Line

Captain Grimm closed the cabin doors as Slim brought the machine gun back down and gave a satisfied sigh. His first combat mission and he took down two Banshees. That's pretty epic. He looked down and saw that even though there were some slight burns, his vac suit still had integrity. The armored plate on the gun did its job in protecting him from any splash damage. Slim heard some swearing behind him and he turned to see it was the LT. He asked if it was always like this. "Only on weekdays sir," he replied, "But in all seriousness I wouldn't know anything about that. I've been flying for over a year but this is my First combat mission."

Slim then noticed that the cargo bay light changed from red to yellow. They were landing. When the light turned green and he felt the characteristic thump of a Pelican landing Slim rushed to the back of the cabin and waited for the ramp to lower. He listened to what Captain Grimm had to say but he was too focused of the outside to acknowledge it. As the ramp went down he saw the Marines' destination, the large Elephant that remained stationary to receive them. When it finally went down Slim did a double take when he saw a Major waiting for them. He didn't have time for formalities. He had a Pelican to get unload and get back in the air. The engine was still bellowing some smoke. 

He hopped out and waved for the Marines to disembark. He stepped backward to assess the damage on the Pelican. There was a nice melted slag hole on the front right engine. "Ah shit," Slim said then said over ICS to the pilots, "Sir I'm going to need you to turn off the engines but leave the APP on so we can initiate  repairs."

Slim looked over and saw a Flight Line mechanic, recognizable by his shit brown helmet, run over to them. The Crew Chief waved him over and yelled over the noise, "Go get Airframes and tell your desk sergeant we got a shot engine!"

The mech nodded and ran back. When all the Marines were out Slim walked to the front to go through the turn down procedures with the pilots.

[Cabel]

[Tranquilitas Beta: Moon Sanctuary: Alpha Company Command Post: Firebase Carbide: Captain Mark “Spade” Seamus Sorelson: Year 2547]

“Tornado Actual, Tornado One Actual. Sorry I’m late, Sir, but I’m inbound. Estimated time en-route…eight minutes,” chimed the voice of Lieutenant Killinger, Commanding Officer of First Platoon, over his helmet-mic.

“You’re not late, Tornado One Actual. Second and Third Platoons have moved onto the town, with light armor. Elements of the One-Five-Three are on the opposite side of the town having dropped into heavy resistance. I want you to bring your people up to the front. Unfortunately, you won’t have time to have chow or relax. You had enough time to do that on your flight. Be advised, mortar rounds from this firebase are peppering the town. Your boys will have a fight on their hands, and I’ll give you and the other platoons as much artillery fire as possible. Tornado Actual; out,” Mark said into the helmet-mic on the same frequency. He’d been giving orders for a while now, and though his commanding officer may want his hide after the operation Mark couldn’t stand by while his marines fought for every inch of ground.

“Tornado Actual,” he heard over the helmet-mic again. “Tornado Four Actual reporting. Tornado Four has touched down at Battalion CP over,”

“Tornado Actual, Tornado Four Actual. Glad you could join the party. Second and Third Platoons have arrived at the outskirts of the town and the area is being saturated with mortar fire from this firebase. You are to bring your people around and join in. First through Fourth Platoons are to link up with elements of the One-Five-Three on the other side of town. Those elements dropped in and have encountered heavy resistance. Don’t worry, there’ll be plenty to go around,” Mark said.

“Gunny, bring four warthogs around and my own warthog,” Mark said turning to face his Company’s Gunnery Sergeant. The Gunnery Sergeant gave a bit of a smile knowing exactly what his commanding officer had planned to do, and after reading over Mark’s dossier to find he’d risen through the ranks from being an NCO he wasn’t about to stop him.

* * * * * *

“Sir, I can’t let you drive. You’re my Captain. I’m you’re driver…” the young Corporal that had been designated as Mark’s driver began in protest after the warthog bearing a triple-barrel anti-aircraft and anti-infantry gun had driven up to the command bunker. The Corporal had been right, Mark realized, but he’d never been one to have others do the driving for him and it had been some time since he’d been at the wheel of a Warthog in combat.

“I know, Son. I’m not asking you to sit by and stay here, but to come along with us. I need a door gunner, and if I remember reading your file you weren’t that bad a shot with a rifle. What do you say?” Mark asked.

“I can’t…I…um…why do you want to go into that hornet’s nest? You have a command staff and a nice bunker,” the Corporal asked.

“It’s the reason why I want to drive into that hornet’s nest. My staff is fine, but I was an NCO for most of my career. I have to be part of the action, and I’d rather lead by example where my marines can see me than in micro-managing,” Mark explained.

“What about Major Blakley? Won’t he get angry?” the Corporal asked.

“Oh, I’m counting on it,” Mark said. “He’s probably angry I haven’t kept to his exact plans,”

* * * * * *

“You’re crazy!” the Corporal shouted from the passenger seat clutching his MA5C rifle as the Warthog maneuvered passed boulders, trees and under fallen logs or over fallen logs. Despite the high velocities, the off-road utilitarian vehicle remained in Spade’s firm and steady handling.

“Live a little, Corporal. You’ll find you like it,” Mark smiled a little while keeping his eyes on the terrain while monitoring the fighting around the town as well as inside the town on his HUD.

“Shades, get ready and chamber that triple-barreled monster. We’re not far from the thick of it…” Mark began shouting over his shoulder to the Sergeant that manned the turret. Four other warthogs ranging from two Gauss hogs and two Rocket Hogs kept pace following Mark’s own vehicle through the foliage towards the town. The Warthog convoy used the terrain’s natural features, and the foliage to their advantage in keeping out of sight and as low a profile as possible.

“Shades, Sir? It’s Sergeant Ramirez. Who’s Shades?” Sergeant Emilio Ramirez asked while sweeping the area with the M-Forty-One Triple-barreled gun.

“Sergeant Ramirez…my apologies. Keep your sights clear,” Mark replied having been reminded albeit unintentionally by the Sergeant that his old friend and his old squad’s Marksman had retired with a full pension roughly eight years prior to return to Earth. Had it been that long since his old squad had parted ways or at least the survivors had? He‘d attempt to swing around to join up with members of the Third Platoon or at least into a staging area for First Platoon and Fourth Platoons.

[littlesoldier]

ODST PFC Kevin Decker, Alpha Company, 153rd ODST
After drop

    Two Jackals dropped to the ground as Kevin shoots them with his M7S. The drop here was...hell. He had to watch helplessly as his fellow comrades blew up in the atmosphere by the Covenant. Damn bastards. They were going to pay. He looked around at the handful of ODST that were at his side. He saw GS Stonebridge taking control of this platoon. He'd rather be someone of a higher rank, but since the ones that came with us are all dead, they needed someone in charge. Without a Commanding Officer they'd be dead for sure. Kevin ducked behind cover and reloaded his weapon. He took out his grenade. This is the first one, two left. He thought. Still unaware that he only brought two grenades with him.

    Kevin threw his grenade at the Covies. A grunt tried to scramble away, but ended up getting blown up by the explosion. Too busy cheering to himself, he didn't notice the Jackal holding a Needler, aiming straight for Kevin's helmet. Another ODST saw this, and yelled at him. "Lookout soldier!" He warned.

    The Jackal fired at Kevin. However, Kevin snapped to attention and ducked. Due to his late reaction, the needle skimmed the top the top of his helmet, taking part of it off. He was wide-eyed as he realized that his life could've ended in a split-second. Kevin looked at the soldier and nodded in thanks. Kevin got up out of cover and began to fire at the Covenant platoon. This was going to be a long day...



    

[Joker]

ODST Corporal Aaron Cole, 153rd ODSTs, Alpha Company

Drop Zone

Plasma bolts washed over the small bit of cover that he had. Cole grunted as he rolled to the side and came up to a knee with his MA5C raised. In just a second, he took in what he was up against. Three Grunts and a Jackal were advancing on his position; Grunts in front and the Jackal in back taking well aimed shots with his carbine. He didn't really have a chance of hitting the Jackal, but the Grunts were clustered enough to make his Assault Rifle a deadly weapon.

He squeezed off a burst from his rifle and caught one of the Grunts in the center of the chest, tearing a gaping hole in his methane tank. The other two Grunts opened fire again with their plasma pistols, send Cole scrambling back to cover.

Not twenty yards from him, another ODST opened fire cutting down the Jackal with a well aimed burst from his BR-55. It drew the fire from the Grunts and one snapped a lucky shot off into the ODST's helmet, melting straight off him and killing him instantly. 

Cursing, Cole popped out of cover again and fired his rifle at the aliens. The 7.62mm rounds gutted the Grunts and finished their little firefight.

The ODST dropped his now empty magazine from his rifle and slid a fresh one into the receiver. Since touching down, this had been the first moment he'd been able to get his bearings and plan his next move. Gunny Stonebridge was in command of the company now and they'd been thoroughly beaten to hell on their way down.

His first order of business was to link up with any ODSTs he could find. With that in mind, Cole set out a quick jog towards the nearest sounds of fighting. He came up on the rear of several ODSTs taking fire from a large number of Covenant forces.

Cole sprinted to cover and ducked in beside none other and their new CO, Gunny Stonebride. Looking to his side he saw PFC Decker fire his M7S. Damn they were spread thin already he thought looking at the collection of ODSTs that were there.

Deciding not to waste any more time, Cole slid out of cover and opened fire on the advancing Covenant forces.      

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Sergeant Maximilian Drake Fields

1/7, A Co, 1st Platoon, Third Squad

Not Dead yet, possibly in a few minutes

The ride down had gone from scary to hell within seconds, after Slim shot down the first banshee, when plasma fire had flown into the compartment, and slammed into the chest of a marine a few seats down from him. Luckily the marine's armor absorbed the heat, though the marine screamed out in pain for a split second before dying in that seat. His body fell limp in the seat, as the pilot and slim conversed, an explosion rocking the bird as he announced an engine had been destroyed. Seconds later the pilot pulled off a crazy maneuver that almost made the whole platoon pass out. All Drake knew was that the second Banshee had been shot down and he owed the platoon and the Corporal a drink.

As the pelican touched down, the entire platoon gingerly stepped off the bird, the 1st Lt was speaking to the another marine as Drake saddled up in the rider spot on a Anti Personal Hog (The one with the machine gun turret). A Corporal took the driver seat as a Private stepped up on the gun. The 1st Lt stepped into one of the other M41 variants and the platoon rolled out. The Sergeants hog fell in formation a few hogs down from his, "Stay Frosty boys, we're heading towards the front lines."

(Sorry for short post, kinda rushing to post this)

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
1/7 A Co., 1st Platoon
Inbound... HOT!

"Way ahead of you, sir!" Kyle replied back to Captain Sorelson. His Warthog was reaching maximum speed and rocketing over the terrain, be it bouncing aggressively because the tires sucked up a rock and spat out pebbles to swaying left and right over smaller bumps. The 'hog was never stable and calm. The gunners legs buckled under him and he decided to sit down as the light reconnaissance vehicle sped away from the Battalion CP.

Kyle planned on taking his platoon, mounted in a convoy of Gauss and M41 Warthogs, and flanking around the city at high speeds. No stopping until they reached the 153rd ODST Company and provide relief through firepower and light armor. They'd pick up the survivors with the Warthog APCs, which carry sixteen passengers, and retreating back towards the two platoons waiting in the cusp of the towns entrance.

Smoke bellowed from the sky as the young officer neared the smaller town. He raised his binoculars and was rewarded with a headache as the stability of the 'hog over the terrain was proving difficult to get a reliable read with the magnification. He dropped his binoculars and accepted the trade between speed and intelligence. He pulled out his tactical pad and accessed the areal map, updated roughly four hours ago. A satellite wasn't in orbit over this specific spot, but maybe Kyle could pinpoint the area the ODSTs had landed. He send a text message to the Iowa requesting a drone to scan the area for him but the request was ultimately ignored. So he sent his father a message instead, hoping he could get the UAV scan of the area they desperately needed.

His father, obviously, replied pretty quickly. He had also sent the request, and a green indicator on Kyle's tactical pad appeared. Two minutes later the feed became live and with a good resolution of the surrounding area. He watched as the ODSTs exchanged fire with the Covenant, and the leaning tower of bankpesa looking like it was blown to bits and more. If they fell back to a secondary position I could get to them without suffering any casualties en route, Kyle thought. He knew they had suffered a casualty on the pelican ride in but he still had forty nine Marines including him.

The Warthog passed Captain Sorelson in a plume of smoke and dust, but through the middle of it Kyle was sticking his thumb out on his way towards the Grizzly Tank that had done the damage to the bank. From this point on, it was a mere minutes before Kyle's driver pumped the breaks gingerly and slowed the speeding LRV down from maximum speed to a nice cruising speed. Since the Warthogs were automatic the driver pressed down on the accelerator slightly and maintained his speed at about 50 MPH.

He pulled up next to second and third platoons line of Warthogs they used to get this far. He counted fifteen M41 Warthogs and seven Gauss Warthogs. With the four extra M41 variants arriving, he had enough Warthogs to split his platoon apart and provide some mobile firepower to the ODSTs while the rest of them followed his platoon Sergeant and second and third platoons into the city when the Marines advanced.

Now he had to just wait for the rest of his platoon to arrive, and they'd be here momentarily.

Colonel Johnathon Killinger
Seventh Marines
Battalion CP

//United Nations Space Command//
Encryption Code: Green
Public Key: Private/ Personal Password
From: First Lieutenant Killinger, J. Kyle (1/7-ACo-1P)
To: Colonel Killinger, B. John (7th Marines)
Subject: I need shit, dad.
Classification: None

Dad, I contacting the Iowa and I wasn't able to get the drone scan I need. The maps we have are four hours old and quite frankly, a lot of stuff has happened in the last four hours. You know I don't ask much from you, because typically I try to prove my worth... anyways. Drone scan. Can you get it for me?
// MESSAGE ENDS //

"What?" John said, startled. He was about to get out of the Warthog but sat back down and started typing up a reply to his son, while opening a new channel on the radio so he can contact the UNSCS Iowa communications officers while replying to the message.

"Guardian Actual to Iowa Actual, how copy?"

"Stand by, Guardian Actual..." The voice replied. A moment later the woman's voice changed to male. "Go ahead, John."

"Sir, I need a drone scan." John said, adding in the co-ordinance at the end of his sentence. The Admiral took a moment to reply, but he did eventually. John got the request. The Admiral said he was using the drones to keep tabs on the Covenant Navy's movement but could re-task a nearby drone to scan the area for thirty seconds. John took it, thirty seconds was better than none.

//United Nations Space Command//
Encryption Code: Green
Public Key: Private/ Personal Password
From: Colonel Killinger, B. John (7th Marines)
To: First Lieutenant Killinger, J. Kyle (1/7-ACo-1P)
Subject: RE: I need shit, dad.
Classification: None

You got a 30 second scan, make it work.
// MESSAGE ENDS //

With that done, John hopped out of the Warthog and took notice of a Lance Corporal, the same one he had scared fries and bacon with not too long ago, had begun his repairs judging by what the marine had said. John noticed the Major was also nearby. Typically, a Lieutenant Colonel lead a Battalion but since they lacked a Lieutenant Colonel at this time the man was given his chance to show what he was capable of.

John had never met the man before, but as a Regiment CO he had read the files of the Major but not thoroughly enough to actually give a crap. He knew the man was seeking glory and was relatively inexperienced when it came to fighting the Covenant. Only two battles were on his record, from what John had read at least, and he was awarded the rank of Major mostly because of how many years he'd been active in the UNSC Marine Corps. His promotion to Major was slightly expedited to the apparently overwhelming success he had at a shipyard, but since then truth about the defense had started to surface when commanding officers of the units his men were assigned to when he was promoted started complaining. No action was taken.

"Major?" The Colonel said. "What is your battalions progress?"

[Jakob]

Major Lucas Blakley
Sipping some coffee

Blakley was hoping to say hello and goodbye, having yearned for a bit of Human contact, and was surprised when the young lieutenant had practically sprinted out of the firebase and towards the battlefield. Blakley just stood there as his aide stealthily slid up next to him and refilled the mug in his hand, where Blakley then took a nice long sip. After a few minutes, he could only shrug and start walking toward the Elephant.

Then, there was a grumbling sound as a convoy of Warthogs pulled into the firebase, Kill Sr. at the head of it. Blakley took another sip and did a half salute, not enough to imply anything about rank but enough to show some deference and walked up to him, switching the mug to his off hand and shaking the colonel's hand.

"Major?" The Colonel said. "What is your battalions progress?" Blakley took another sip and nodded towards the Elephant before walking towards it.

"Slow, sir. 1st company has been stalling for reinforcements but I told them to go ahead anyway. Command's been uppity about securing a real base and I've been denied any real anti air until we get a foothold that isn't moving. We nearly lost your boys Pelican on the way day, lucky the gunner was a decent shot or you'd be one boy down." Blakley took another sip before turning to his aide, "get the colonel a cup already man. Or maybe a cigarette if he prefers... anyway...

"I got 1st company moving along so hopefully they'll actually see some progress before the damn advance stalls. The ODSTs are getting pounded in the city but I have the fourth and fifth beelining for the center so if we're lucky they'll link up before long and start setting up a defense."

Finally they walked into the center of the Elephant, the holographic map displaying unit markers across the board. Blakley made a sweeping motion as they walked in and the various Marines working around the room quickly went to attention before Blakley sent them back to work.

Captain William 'Grimm' Montcrieff
Sitting on his thumbs

Grimm followed Gottahave out of the cockpit and outside of his bird. Half of the back of the engine was blasted away, left with scorched, blackened and twisted metal. Some mechanics were already carting out metal sheets and bits of wiring to slap some form of working order back together and the two men walked up to Slim who was standing nearby.

Gottahave took out a pack of cigarettes and smacked out one for Grimm and one for himself. Grimm leaned over and cuffed Gottahave's lighter as he lit his before standing straight again, taking an appreciative draw and rubbing the end of his mustache appreciatively.

"Want a light?" he asked Slim for the second time that day, taking another cigarette from Gottahave and offering it over.

[LaxKnight]

LCPL Steven 'Slim' Valky
DMMP-278 Supporting 1/7
Getting the Bird Up

When the engines shutdown Slim heard the noise of several feet running on the flight line. He turned to see seven Marines, four wearing green helmets indicating either Airframes or Avionics then three brown helmets of the Flight Liners. Two of the green helmeted Marines, the Airframers, got out their drills and wrenches from their tool box as they began to take off the damaged panels. They finished and let Avi (Avionics) begin messing with the electronic components to see if any were damaged when the pilots came up behind Slim and asked if he wanted a light.

"No thanks sir," Slim said. One of the Flight Liners, a Corporal, came up to Slim.
"What the fuck happened here?" he asked.
"We got tailed by two Banshees. Shot them down."
"That would do it. There's quite a mess in there but we got the parts we need. I say thirty minutes tops."

The Corporal looked over to the group and yelled, "If we aren't still waiting on Avi!"

Slim nodded and looked to the sirs. "It's going to be awhile," he said.

[MrKill]

Colonel Johnathon Killinger
Seventh Marines
Battalion CP

John listened to the Major as he spoke, pulling out a cigar from his heavy set of armor and lighting it. As they entered the cool, air conditioned elephant with a sealed roof John admitted it was a nice pause from the heat he endured from the pelican ride in. Fortunately, it wasn't too hot outside and no one was complaining about the heat... literally. He just arrived but his HCC knew better than to complain about petty stuff when it was 30c out.

John had chosen to not comment about his son. Truth be told, he was glad the Major had mentioned it, but became worried after reconsidering what the messages he had received from them meant. He was able to put two plus two together, though, and figured his son was in the pelican that was damaged.

"Very nice, Blakley." John said as he examined the various unit markers moving around on the holotable. With the drone scan ending, however, those updates weren't going to be in real time until the company commanders reported their grid positions. Or, hopefully, a UNSC reached orbit and started feeding them information. John chewed on the end of his cigar for a moment before pulling out to talk again.

"Second Battalion is trying to take the city, but I haven't received a sitrep. Third, forth and fifth are spread out along the line. This is the only battalion in the immediate AO that can take this town - as you might already know - so I'm going to get that air support you want. I get to make those calls, my friend." John said. He switched channels to the flight of AC-220 Vulture Gunships. "Voodoo Actual, Guardian Actual. I need immediate combat air support for first battalion, how copy?"

"Solid copy, sir."

John smiled in response and put the radio on the holotable. It would take the Vultures a little while to get here, but John had other things on his mind. "The UAV or Drone scan, what ever you want to call it, didn't reveal any surfaced anti-aircraft artillery but there is nearby areal battles between the UNSC Air Force and Covenant flyers. It's a tough call, but if they lose the battle we'll be down two Vultures."

"So, we'll draw protection from the Hornets parked at the forward operating base... Sound like it will be fun."

[littlesoldier]

ODST PFC Kevin Decker, Alpha Company, 153 ODSTs
Engaging Covenant Forces

    Bullets washed over an Elite as Kevin tried to kill it with his M7S. However, other Covenant began to fire on his position, so he ducked behind cover. He saw one ODST firing on the Covenant as well, only to be shot through the head by a Needler by a Grunt. Muttering curses under his breath, Kevin got up from cover and laid down fire on the grunt, killing it. He began to focus fire on a jackal as the enemy platoon kept advancing. Crap. He thought to himself. They needed to act fast, or they would eventually get overrun. He ran out of ammo in his M7S. He only had three more clips. He looked over at the fallen ODST, laying down, his head in blood. Kevin had an idea.

    "Cover me!" He yelled to another ODST soldier. 

  Running toward the corpse of a dead helljumper, Kevin could see that he also had an M7S. He knelt down beside him, and took a clip from the gun, and looked around the body for more clips. After finding three more ammo clips, he sprinted back to cover and reloaded his M7S. If felt wrong to do what he did, but what else was he going to do? An M6G wasn't going to do much good in this fight. He began to return fire on the Covenant. Our forces were getting worn down by the second. It was only a matter of time before they get past us. Well then again, it would be nice to have some close combat fighting with an Elite. Except he probably die since an Elite has a shield and he doesn't. 

    Kevin ducked behind cover again and looked up at his Commanding Officer. Hope he think of something fast. Kevin thought. It would be a shame to die because GS Stonebridge didn't give us directions to help survive this God forsaken battle. Kevin killed another Grunt and a Jackal before focusing fire on the Elite once more. How long was this going to last? What was actually minutes seemed like hours, and it only seemed to be getting longer as the firefight progressed. He wasn't sure if he was going to live to see the next day. Come on Gunnery Sarge... He muttered to himself, Do something.... 

[LaxKnight]

LCPL Steven 'Slim' Valky
DMMP-278 Supporting 1/7
Waiting on Avi...

When Avi pulled their shit out of the way Flight Line finally got to the engine and took a look. They quickly went to work, replacing damaged parts and such. Meanwhile Airframes decided to take a look at the rest of the Pelican and began replacing panels that were damaged. Slim watched it all as he waited for the fuel truck to come. A sudden tap on the shoulder caused him to jump. He turned to see his best friend, LCPL Jenny Summers. His fellow Crew Chief had her helmet off displaying her lovely blonde hair cut at her jawline. "Hey you, miss me?" she said.

"Jenny!" Slim exclaimed, "Good to see you made it. How was your flight?"
"Boring since all the Banshees decided to follow your sorry ass."
"Hey, must be something if my sorry ass took down two Banshees! Which  reminds me, pay up."

"Damn it," Jenny dug into her pocket and dug out 20 credits. Slim had a winning grin when she handed him the credits. At this point Flight Line finished their repairs and Avi moved to make theirs.
"Ha! Told ya I get first blood," he said.
"Well since you got all banged up, I got your cargo mission."
"Maybe that wouldn't happen," Slim said then said real loudly, "If we weren't waiting on Avi!"

He heard a snarl which made both of them snicker. "Anyway I got a flight to catch," Jenny said as she put on her helmet, "Try not to die."

"You too," Slim said as he watched her walk off toward her Pelican. The bird turned up then took off with Slim keeping his eyes on it until it became a mere speck. He gave a sigh then turned to the bird he was on. Airframes was finished with the other panels. Now everyone was waiting on Avi yet again as they fiddled with wires and electronics.

[Jakob]

Major Lucas Blakley
Looking at his fancy little map

"So, we'll draw protection from the Hornets parked at the forward operating base... Sound like it will be fun." Blakley nodded and shrugged,

"I had the Vultures in earlier to bomb the hell out of the place, though it didn't do much besides..." he kicked the map and it refreshed, showing most of the buildings in the Marines line of sight collapsed or in ruins. There wasn't much doubt that the situation deeper in the city was similar, "besides give the Covenant a few more avenues. If there's any plus, that ground's practically impossible for tanks to move, Covenant included... though we're probably going to want to call in engineers to start clearing some avenues..."

Blakley took a sip as he watched the unit's progress. When he looked down he was surprised to see Sorelson moving quickly towards the frontline. He felt a growl emerge from his throat and tapped the marker with his free hand,

"That though, they'll end up being a problem. If I lose a captain down there... again... it's not going to look good." Blakley took another sip when he realized what he just said, he quickly swallowed and opened his mouth again, "I also don't want to lose a good man like that," Blakley added. He sighed internally, honestly not caring much for Sorelson's life as much as the after effects of its taking.

Captain William 'Grimm' Montcrieff
Watching

Grimm and Gottahave stood side by side, enjoying their smokes as the maintenance crews scurried over their Pelican like ants over food that had been left out. The monotony was broken up when Slim and some woman began chatting nearby and both men watched stealthily from the side. Once they were done chatting, both of the older men quickly snapped their view back to the Pelican, the 57 and 53 year old men not wanting to appear peeping.

After some time, Gottahave looked to his side and said, "boys these days and their crushes, eh Montcrieff?" Grimm nodded and looked back to Slim,

"Quite."

"Regardless chap, I think the engines are about fixed," Gottahave told him. After a moment, Grimm nodded and walked back towards the cabin.

[2LT Saint]

2LT Jason Saint
153 ODST Co, 2nd PLT

ODST Operational Ralley Point

Amidst the chaos of the 153rd ODST Alpha Co, 2LT Saint gasped into consciousness.

"Welcome back, sir!" Jason recognized the southern accent, it was his second squad leader SGT Seals. "We thought we'd lost you there for a second. Your pod crashed through the side of a building, my squad managed to pull you out. Hang on..." As the lieutenant collected his bearings the squad leader clicked the radio in his helm, "Sergeant Lawton, the LT's awake."

A moment later another ODST knelt beside the junior officer. "How you doin, sir?" SSGT Lawton asked quickly, clearly he had more pressing concerns.

Adrenaline swiftly dissipated the fog that had once lingered in Jason's mind. "Give me a sitrep Sergeant," LT Saint ordered bluntly. Recovering into a crouched position the hell jumper checked himself and his equipment for deficiencies, everything seemed to be intact. Around him other wounded ODST had been collected and were being administered first aid by the medic.

"We took heavy casualties on the drop sir. The company is at 50% strength, but compared to the other platoons we were lucky." Jason had never heard the SSGT use such a grave tone, then again this was their first mission together. "The CO is dead, hell sir, you're the only officer still alive. The Gunnery Sergeant has taken charge of the company for now."

What about my men? How many are dead?

"What is our platoon's status?" As the lieutenant made the inquiry he skimmed through his platoon roster on his HUD to see for himself.

"We have taken sixteen casualties so far, sir. I have consolidated our platoon down into three squads. With Wilson down I've placed Lucas in command of 3rd squad..."

"Enemy situation?" LT Saint interjected, doing his best to maintain a stoic demeanor. Not realizing his tone was even colder than he had intended.

"The covies are pounding us from all sides. As we expected they have everything and the kitchen sink to throw at us. They aren't holding anything back. Infantry, ghosts, possible wraiths, and banshee air support. We have managed to carve out a small area of control just inside the city's edge, but we can't hold here for long."

This is a bad day. The Covenant knew we were coming and they know we are here now. One hundred and fifty of us dropped into a hornet's nest of thousands... what about support?

"What is the friendly..." A nearby explosion drowned out the lieutenants voice, he could feel the pieces of gravel and debris pinging against his helmet.

"Fucken Bastards!" Lawton shouted in a mixture of frustration and excitement.

"Sergeant!" Jason's stern yell reclaimed his platoon sergeants attention. "What is the friendly situation, and what kind of support do we have available?"

"First battalion hasn't even made it into the city yet," Disappointment marked SSGT Lawton's tone. "Their bombardment prior to the advance has blocked most entrances into the city, they will probably need engineers to clear a path. Air support is rearming, all we have at the moment is mortar support from Alpha company."

"So we barricade the city for the Covenant, blocking our main effort." Sarcasm laced LT Saint's steely voice as he recounted the situation, "Then drop us into the belly of the beast, with virtually no support, and expect us to miraculously fight through the city and link up with the battalion. That about sum it up Sergeant?"

"We have a bit of a reputation sir," The smile in Lawton's voice vanished as he finally unveiled his real concern. "Sir, right now we are waiting for orders from higher, but we need do something now. If we sit around here any longer we are going to have too many wounded to move, let alone complete the mission!"

"Understood Sergeant, give me a minute." Jason needed a moment to digest the situation and consider all of the available information, during OCS they referred to this as a "tactical pause." Pulling up the TACMAP on his HUD the Lieutenant scanned the map for strategic locations, known enemy locations, the locations of friendly forces, and of course the 153rd's current location. A plan was tentatively forming itself in the confines of the junior officer's mind. LT Saint stood from his position in cover, exposing himself to the battle that surrounded the Company. His head swiveled slowly from left to right, then back again. Even as needler rounds and plasma bolts hissed through the air, the Lieutenant's battle rifle remained at the low ready. Then without warning, he was yanked hastily back into cover.

"For fuck sake sir!" Lawton's urgency crackled through Jason's platoon com. "If you won't do something then..."

"I've got it Sergeant Lawton!" LT Saint reassured his platoon sergeant, clasping a firm hand on Lawton's shoulder. "Get me our radio officer, then take me to the Gunny in charge."

Seconds later 2nd platoon's PSG and PL were en route to Gunnery Sergeant Stonebridge. As the skulked through the ruinous terrain, SGT Lock, the platoon's radio transmission officer, began tracking down available support, grid coordinates, and command frequencies. When they finally reached the Gunnery Sergeant's position Jason was taken aback. Clad in ODST armor a giant stood before them, above his the FOF tag did in fact read "GYSGT Stonebridge."

"I got them on the radio sir," SGT Lock announced to the Lieutenant.

Ignoring Stonebridge for the moment Jason acknowledged his RTO, "good work, patch me through."

"Tornado Actual, this is Angel Two Actual of the 1-5-3. Come in, over." The second lieutenant waited for the unit's reply before continuing,

"Requesting immediate fire for effect, at Grid Kilo Whiskey 8-6-2-5-3-4-8-0.
Target is company size covenant infantry element, south of our position.
Fire mission is danger close.
How copy, over?"

Again, 2LT Saint waited for a response, then said, "roger that Tornado Actual." Jason reconnected the Tornado Actual with his RTO on his heads up display. Then looked to SGT Lock in person, "tell them to keep making it rain steel until we say stop."

"Yes sir."

"Gunnery Sergeant," LT Saint spoke carefully, but confidently. The man had earned the respect. Jason remembered his father had explained to him why the Marine Corps needed NCO's and why they needed officers. NCOs are the backbone of the military, they were doers, give them a task and they will accomplish it. Officers plan and plan well, as lives depend on it. The Gunnery Sergeant was waiting for a task, he needed one in order to do what he was best at. 2LT Saint had never given a senior NCO an order in combat, but he intended to give Stonebridge a task to execute. Hopefully, together they could save their company from what had become a suicide mission. "Gunnery Sergeant, we can't wait for orders from higher. We need to act now, while we still can. I am not trying to take command of the company, but I do have a plan. A plan that will need your help if it is to succeed."


(OOC:  Hey guys first post.  Exciting, spent all day on it lol.  Feel free to message me to clarify anything, or to make edits as needed.  Also gave 153 Alpha Co, the call sign "Angel" since we didn't seem to have one yet.  Will edit that if need be.)

[MrKill]

(( OOC: Hey, Saint. RTO's no longer exist in the Halo Universe at the platoon level organization, or even company level. With the changes of known radio discipline and the invention of the Neural Interface, it's become obsolete. Just a heads up. ))

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
1/7, A Co., 1st Platoon
Flanking

"Well, don't stop firing then!" Kyle said above the tri-barreled chain guns successive shots as the gunner yelled in agony as plasma rounds sizzled over his head. The gunner was aiming at a small group of grunts and a jackal with an arm shield, but most of the rounds sparked off the shield and slammed into surrounding areas. The inaccuracy of the shots weren't unsurprising, and was actually rather impressive at the speed he was going. By now, the rest of the Warthogs in his convoy were rolling through the side routes of the city and occasionally getting shot at. Once of the M12 M41 LAAG 'Hogs were knocked out already when a couple of shots landed on the tires and melted the rubber.

That left Kyle with nine M41 and five Gauss Warthogs as they sped through the area. The 153rd ODST's were taking a beating from what the Drone Scan revealed and Kyle was doing something about it. The rest of the Company was lagging behind and the young lieutenant knew if they didn't do something quick the ODSTs would be a pile of blood running into sewer drains.

The driver on the lead warthog slammed on his brakes, tried to steer to the left but was obliterated by a fuel rod cannon. The elite who fired it issued a throaty mocking laugh before his body was plaster on the wall behind him when a quick shot rang out from a Gauss canon. Eight M41 warthogs left, but at least they were rolling again. Fortunately, his platoon had only suffered four casualties. Two men per hog and the Lieutenant was riding shotgun on what was the second hog in the convoy.

Killinger radio'd the two warthogs behind him, a M41 and a Gauss, and told them to over take his position and get in front of them. When he saw the passing warthogs, his platoon sergeant was in it. Fuck! Kyle swore. He thought for a moment who was the most senior sergeant in his platoon. It came to him in a moments notice. Sergeant Drake Fields.

"Tornado One Actual to Tornado One-One, you'll have to lead the second half of the platoon with second and third platoons. Be advised: Uh.. you'll take your orders from available Lieutenants in the area. Out." Kyle said as his Warthog turned sharply to the left.

The rattles of UNSC rifles were close.

And the gunners started opening fire.

"I heard you special ops boys needed your asses saved! Shift down the line, we're going to use the artillery as a shield. We'll regroup a click to the south and formulate a plan there! The rest of Alpha Company is regrouping towards that side of the town," Kyle said; pointing towards the location of the two platoons of Marines. "Bravo and Charlie companies are that-a-way." Kyle said, his finger pointing towards the forests in the distance.

"Gunners, keep the pressure on!" Kyle said, dismounting. "Let's go, Marines!."

[Wax™]

((Cabel: I am going to assume that you are currently stationary by Third Platoons location judging from your last post.))

Jenkins / Bowers / Mendoza 

Tornado Four Marines 

Inbound to 2nd + 3rd

Bowers gripped onto the hand holds of the lead APC's M41 as hard as he could as the driver of the vehicle gunned it to the location of Alpha's Second and Third Platoons as fast as the vehicle could go. Surprisingly even with a whole squad and a bit inside the vehicle moved faster than Bowers expected and nearly kept up with a 'Warthog' passing by. However the APC went over one bump too hard and nearly threw Bowers out of the gunner's position. Throwing him half onto the roof of the APC his legs dangled inside the vehicle before he managed to drop them back down on the platform the gunner stood atop.

Meanwhile Lieutenant Jenkins sat in the passenger seat in the front of the second APC's in the line. Contemplating a large amount of plans that were going all around his head at once. It was only his second deployment. But he already had ambitions to impress all the Officers in his Company and even the Battalion. The standard way of doing so would be to charge in without thinking and some how survive but Jenkins thought. Following the rules can impress people too.

"We're nearly at Thirds Position Lieutenant!" Yelled the driver of his APC over the roaring sound of the huge diesel engine and the rocks being pelted against the thick bullet proof windscreen from the lead APC.

Bowers gripped onto the handle of his M41 even harder as he began to spot remnants of Second and Third Platoon stretched across there current line of offense. Bowers' plated chest slammed into the hand holds of the M41 as the APC driver veered off to the right and slammed on the breaks to the heavy vehicle causing it to slide a few meters in the dirt or road. Bowers then lowered his head into the APC and spoke to the men and women who were inside. 

"Everyone high tail it out and use the APC's for cover... Take cover and stay close... I don't know how much longer we will be here." As he said this. The rear door to the APC began to move down and some marines began to pile out. Jason jumped out too and stopped one of the Privates who were about to exit. "Take the gun mate." He said, offering the young Private a friendly wink.

Jenkins lifted his hands and pushed heavily against the dash of his APC as it slammed on it's breaks and skidded to a halt almost sideways with two more APC's coming to a halt across the line behind Third and possible Second Platoons. Jenkins then opened the passenger side door. Picking ups his MA37 he ran over to the previous lead APC and took a knee near the ramp near Staff Bowers. However before he said anything to the Sergeant he spoke over the Platoon COMM's.

"Spread out and find some cover Fourth... Stay close to the APC's... We'll hopefully be moving soon... Gunners, suppress any Covenant forces that try to make a move on this position." Jenkins said before looking to Bowers. Bowers looked to Jenkins and smiled before looking away and pointing at a Warthog. But not any Warthog particular. A Warthog that contained Captain Sorelson. Jenkins then proceeded to grip his MA37 and run over to the Captain's Warthog before using it as cover.

"Captain..." Jenkins said nodding, not sure if the Captain knew who he was or not. "Permission to utilize my Platoon's APC's and punch through the Covenant lines and give the One-Five-Third some extra guns Sir... I'd need some suppression fire from Second and Third though, Sir."

Meanwhile Private First Class Mendoza began to lay down some suppression fire on the Covenant positions, if any. In front of Third and Possibly Second Platoon as his own Platoon began to stretch out across their current small perimeter and take cover whilst awaiting for further orders.

[Cabel]

[Tranquilitas Beta: Moon Sanctuary: Alpha Company: Assembly Area: Near the Town: Captain Mark “Spade” Seamus Sorelson: Year 2547]

A single mortar round provided for fire effect provided from Firebase Carbide impacted on the coordinates provided by the elements of the One-Five-Three, and the spotters at Firebase Carbide seeing where the round impacted readjusted their other mortars for a carpet effect. Within a very short time, dozens of mortar rounds saturated the grid provided careful of incurring friendly-fire on the pinned down ODSTs within the nearby vicinity. The mortar crews at Firebase Carbide had answered the One-Five-Three’s request hammering the area with dozens of gifts provided by marines of Alpha Company stationed at Firebase Carbide, and caught the Covenant woefully by surprise until the rounds assigned were depleted though the mortar crews were in the process of reloading.

* * * * * *

“Captain…” he heard a voice over the din of mortar fire, marines prepping for an assault when the word was given and shouts of orders from NCOs and officers alike drew his attention from a map of the town or at least in so far as could have been gathered. “Permission to utilize my Platoon’s APCs and punch through the Covenant lines and give the One-Five-Third some extra guns, Sir. I’d need some suppression fire from Second and Third though, Sir,”

“Lieutenant Jenkins…” Mark began recognizing the Second Lieutenant from the Company’s roster brought up from his HUD. “You have the authority to deploy your platoon’s APCs to punch through the Covenant lines. Do be aware that the streets and surrounding buildings have been reduced to rubble from the previous aerial bombardment. You won’t have the Grizzly to cover you once you punch through into the town, but I will have Second and Third Platoons provide cover for you. If you get into a hairy situation, call in an artillery strike from Firebase Carbide,”

“You can thank our dear Major for making your path and our insertion that much more difficult. The vultures weren’t that specific in their bombardments, and the roads including the surrounding buildings are in shambles. I’ve ordered two squads of Combat Engineers to the front with their Aardvarks to help us get over some of the heavier debris that can’t be cleared. They should be here shortly. Lieutenant, be aware that Lieutenant Killinger’s platoon has passed us by to head clockwise around the city to meet up with the One-Five-Third…” he began before noticing the explosions and plumes of smoke from incoming mortar rounds from Firebase Carbide that arced over them to impact in the town. “I hope First Platoon and the survivors of the One-Five-Third aren’t directly in the path of that,”

“Tornado Actual to Tornado One Actual. Fire Mission in effect in your vicinity. Grab those marines from the One-Five-Third and get your asses out of there. Fourth Platoon will link up with you,” he said into his helmet-mic, opening a frequency to First Platoon’s frequency.

“Lieutenant Jenkins, gather your men and deploy as you see fit. You have your orders to link up with First Platoon, and the survivors of the One-Five-Third. We’ll provide cover,” Mark said, sliding the helmet mic back to turn back towards Second Lieutenant Jenkins. He’d send the word along the line for Second and Third Platoons, from the marines to their APCs and the warthogs to provide cover fire for Fourth Platoon in their spearhead. He'd deployed the marine sniper teams, allowing them to find the best positions that provided the best angles of sight without being spotted themselves and knew they'd cover the marines of Fourth Platoon from their perches.

[Frazer]

Gunnery Sergeant John Stonebridge
UNSC Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, 153rd ODSTs, Alpha Comapny, Acting Commanding Officer.
Outside Town, ODST Regrouping Area
Taking Heavy Fire

John awaited a reply. The comm channel was silent. Then as soon as John was about to turn around to the Sergeants to give some new orders the comm came to life. "Anvil Actual to 153rd ODST Co. CO, be advised: Inbound HE shells to Pulluso bank, vacate the area if you've got men around there. Firing for effect - ten HE and two smokes to indicate I've stopped firing. Anvil Actual out!" John took no time warning his company.

"Roger Anvil Actual." John quickly switched to his companies comm channel. "Alpha heads up, Inbound HE shells to Pulluso bank and then two smokes to indicate the firing has stopped." John got down behind his cover as he indicated to fellow ODSTs around him to do the same. As the firefight continued on John noticed a Corporal get into cover next to him. John nodded to him. "Keep them pinned Cole." John liked to know most Corporals and Sergeants in his company. John went back on the comm. "First, second and third platoon, I want firing arcs on the town. Get in and around my position if you can. I want us to try and move in shortly and claim our new home. Keep their heads down for now." He didnt like having the Company all over the place. 

John lifted his head up out of cover, then quickly with his rifle, fired downwards into the closest building where some Covenant troops were set up trying to keep the company pinned. John couldnt keep firing for long as the Covenant soldiers in the building started to fire into Johns cover and other ODSTs cover next to him. John spoke. "You." John pointed to one of the Sergeants. "Keep fire focused on that building." 

Motor fire was coming in onto the town. John spoke on the comm. "Mind your spacing everyone. We got allied motor rounds hitting the town." Damn they we're close to the town. Too close. He needed Sergeant Williowbay up here. But should he wait? The remains of his company was pinned down by the Covenant. Too much so. He had to do something otherwise they would be dead. "Fuck it." John thought, he was about to speak on the comm but then someone interrupted him. 

"Gunnery Sergeant," John noticed it was Second Lieutenant Jason Saint, commander of Second Platoon. John thought all officers we're dead. "Gunnery Sergeant, we can't wait for orders from higher. We need to act now, while we still can. I am not trying to take command of the company, but I do have a plan. A plan that will need your help if it is to succeed." He was right. Although John didnt like it, deep down who knew they needed to act and do something to survive.

"Welcome to the fight Lieutenant." John paused as Covenant rounds started to hit their position harder. He noticed a private fall as he tried to move into different cover. John shuck his head and pointed to Corporal Cole, who was nearby, and other nearby ODSTs to provide more covering fire. John spoke again."I am agreed on you with that one." John paused, he looked to the two Sergeants with a frown as they said all platoon commanders we're mostly dead.

"What do you have in mind, sir?" John replied to the young Lieutenant. John didnt want to trust the remains of his company to a young platoon commander, so as long as he didnt bring it up, John was still in charge. John spoke again on the comm to his company before the Lieutenant could reply. "Third Platoon keep fire focused on the nearby building. I have marked it. Keep those Covenant bastards heads down." He needed to keep the exchanging of fire up otherwise more people were going to die without covering fire. He then focused on what the Lieutenants' reply was going to be.

[MrKill]

Colonel Johnathon Killinger
Seventh Marines
Mobile Command Post

"Vultures won't hit it like they did previously," John said to the Major. John believed he was assuming the Vultures were going to shot everything up again, but that wasn't how it was going to work this time around. Ground forces would have to identify a Covenant target and tell them to open fire. They were cleared for combat air support, not bombardment. "Our forces will have to call the shots in first." John said. He watched as the unit market updated on the holotable and was immediately disheartened to see the majority of the 153rd had been killed before impact. He berated himself, taking the responsibility of the significant losses in such a short time.

John took a couple steps back from the holotable, brought his hand to his face and rubbed his eyes together while thinking of a new strategy. His son had arrived but it wasn't enough. He had to find a way to assist the ODSTs before they were gone. His solution? The 53rd Combat Engineers. If the way in was blocked by rubble hopefully that unit would be able to get it cleared so the UNSC Forces could move in again and capture the town.

"Damn it!" John cussed with white knuckles. He scanned his Neural Interface and found the callsign of the Combat Engineers that were assigned to the regiment. He switched channels and was pleased to see it was open. "Reaper Actual, Guardian Actual. Standby for orders." John said into his microphone. He scanned the holotable again, realizing that the combat engineers were also a combat effective company as well. But he knew their main goal was to get the Marines and Grizzly into the town. "Your orders are as followed. You're to clear a debris field halting the Marine advance into the town and proceed into the town with the Marines to verify the structural integrity of the bank. Guardian Actual out."

As soon as he was finished, another transmission piped through the veteran officers headset.

"Hotel Actual; break, break, break. Guardian Actual, are you receiving? I say again, Guardian Actual - are you receiving?"

"Solid copy, Hotel Actual. Requesting sit-"

"Break, break, break! Sir, we've got Covenant units in strength at the city center! They were broken through our lines before we even got here! Second Battalion is suffering casualties! Broken arrow! I say again, broken arrow! Requesting all available air support and reinforcements!"

John swore, sighed then turned his focus on second battalion. Unlike First Battalion, 153rd ODSTS and 53rd Combat Engineers; Second Battalion was operating purely on their own resources. If Lieutenant Colonel Carter was issuing a call for all air available air support it meant the stuff she had to begin with was refueling/rearming, damaged or destroyed.

"You'll get your air support, Carter. Stand by," John said. He switched over to the local UNSCAF frequencies and attempted to contact Airforce Base India. After three failed attempts, he knew that the base was either destroyed or two busy with their own battles to answer the call. He reverted to the channel and prepared to give the Lieutenant Colonel some bad news. "Limited air-support is inbound, Carter. Hand tight. Killinger out."

By some miracle, the airforce base responded. "AFB India Tower to the last callsign on this frequency - identify yourself, how copy?"

"Solid copy, India Tower. Colonel Killinger, Seventh Marines, serial number 03603-50340-JK; over!"

"What do you need, Colonel?"

"One of my battalions had declared broken arrow and are requesting any available aircraft, over."

"I'll send what I can, India Tower out."

John sighed slightly.

The Covenant were behind the Marines.

[MrKill]

[tag: ALL UNSC CHARACTERS]

UNSC Lines have been broken around second battalion (Map reference will follow shortly). Second Battalion is roughly 20 KMs away from First Battalion. This means Covenant troops are BEHIND the UNSC lines and are growing in the city. Their forces are expanding outwards from the population center.

[Wax™]

Jenkins / Bowers / Mendoza  

Tornado Four Marines  

Inbound to 2nd + 3rd 

“Lieutenant Jenkins, gather your men and deploy as you see fit. You have your orders to link up with First Platoon, and the survivors of the One-Five-Third. We’ll provide cover.”
Captain Sorelson ended with that. Jenkins made sure to maintain stationry for a few seconds before actually pushing off from his current position and making his way back to Staff Sergeant Bowers. He'd sprint to the mans position before quickly taking a knee near the back ramp of the lead APC and drop his hand down on the mans shoulder and yelling near his ear over the fire of the mans MA37.

"Alright Bowers... Get your men back in this APC... We're going to spear head through the town to the One Five Third's position under covering fire from Second and Third Platoon's and hopefully the ODST's too..." Jenkins waited for a few moments for Bowers to stop firing before the Sergeant turned his head and nodded at Jenkins before reloading his weapon to fire on the enemy once more. Jenkins nodded to the man and patted him a few times on the back before waiting for a slight pause in the fire before making a run to his APC. Once he did he switched on the Platoon COMM's moving his helmet mic near his mouth and speaking into the piece.

"Fourth Platoon... Saddle up, we're going to be spear heading through the town to the ODST's and First Platoon's position on the other side... Every APC will need a gunner and use the gun holes... We roll out in one mike." Jenkins said before before opening the passenger side door to his APC and sliding himself inside. Meanwhile the driver had his own door open and was hanging out the vehicle unloading a few of his battle-rifle rounds into the enemy. Once the Corporal realized the Lieutenant was inside the vehicle he quickly dropped into his seat and closed the door. 


Bowers had gathered his squad and rally-ed them into the back of his own APC, once all the men and women were inside, he too jumped inside the armored vehicle and closed the hatch behind them. He went to squeeze through to the vehicles M41 but a young Private beat him to it. Instead taking a seat near the M41 and opening a near by firing hole to shoot out of once he the group began to move out.

PFC Mendoza maintained his position on the second APC's mounted M41 and every now and then shot at a Covenant position when one of the squids tried sticking their head out of cover. Jenkins in the front seat waited for exactly a minute before opening up a channel between himself and Sorelson. "Alright Captain... We're ready to move out, will do in five seconds... Would appreciate some heavy covering fire." He said to the Captain before closing communications on his side down. Waiting five seconds he'd open up a second channel between the Platoon and the drivers of the APC's. "Alright Fourth... Let's move out... Punch it, full speed through the center of the town to the One Five Third." Jenkins then opening up a channel between the CO and NPC's of the One Five Third if possible.

"153rd Alpha Company... This is Lieutenant Jenkins of the Seventh Marine's First Battalion Alpha Company... My Platoon are currently starting to punch through the center of the town using armored APC's to lend you some extra guns. We'd appreciate some covering fire in our approach from your side of the town... Over?" Jenkins said before closing the channel on his side and banging the metal dash of the APC. "Let's go... Full speed." He said, despite the fact that the APC was already moving.

Staff Sergeant Bowers was once again holding onto dear life as the APC he was in bounced all around the joint as it begun to push through the center of town. Although it wasn't as bad now that he was sitting down. Bowers had to move himself to the side for a moment and once he did he stuck the barrel of his MA37 out the nearest gun hole to him and begun to fire controlled three round bursts at anything he saw move at this point. Which was hard to tell considering the APC was moving at full speed and jumping over pieces of rubble and dirt.

Mendoza held onto the hand-holds of his APC's mounted M41 as hard as he could whilst trying to fire the weapon at the Covenant and prevent himself from flying out of the gunner's position as the APC stormed through the center of town. Weaving left and right out of the path of enemy fire and debris that loitered the town. All Mendoza could see was the bright flashes of his M41 firing at the enemy and plasma/spiker and needle rounds being hurtled to his position. Though there wasn't as much as there normally would due to the fact that every marine who could find a gun hole inside the APC was firing outside like a mad man.

Mendoza ducked for a moment as a plasma ball went straight into his line of sight, impacting against the gunner's hatch and melting a portion of the armoring before he pulled himself back out with a struggle and begun to fire at the Covenant once more. Due to the fact the APC was moving so fast. All he could do was suppress, only taking out your odd soldier here and there.

((Platoon Casualties will occur in my next post))

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Captain Kelvin M Duncan

53rd Combat Engineeers A Co.

On the ground

Duncan stood by his Aardvarks, about 2 km behind the fighting at the town, speaking to his second in command. "Hawkins, I want you and Lefty to make sure all the Aardvarks are ready to move. We can't keep them in the wide open forever, that's just begging for the covvies to shoot at us."

"Copy that captain, I'll grab Lefty and we'll get right on it." A couple of small bulldozers could been seen passing by behind him. Duncan had ordered the company to bring them after hearing about the vulture strikes. The company however, was not ready to move at the moment. They were spread out over this small area awaiting orders from their captain. So Duncan thought up of a formation for the move up.

He smiled as he switched over to the company wide channel, "Benson, we're gonna be moving soon. I want your platoon up front in front of the Aardvarks and dozers. Keep the drivers posted about any situations you see up ahead. Howards get your platoon ready, they're gonna be driving. Baldwin, your platoon is on escort duty. I don't want to see a single one of these machines lost." 

A series of wilco's filled the airwaves, as a message came over the line from the Battalion CP ""Reaper Actual, Guardian Actual. Standby for orders."  The message was from the Colonel, which meant the 53rd would be seeing action today. "Your orders are as followed. You're to clear a debris field halting the Marine advance into the town and proceed into the town with the Marines to verify the structural integrity of the bank. Guardian Actual out."   

Duncan switched the channel over to his Company Sergeant, GYSGT "Lefty", and opened up a line between the two. "Colonel just gave us orders, we have to clear the road into town and check out that bank's structural integrity. We're rolling in ten minutes, so make those checks quick. Duncan out."

Sergeant "Drake" Fields
1/7, A Co, 1st Platoon
Trying to come up with orders his half of the platoon

The ride over had not been the smoothest road wise. At least they hadn't gotten shot at again like the pelican ride. Soon they met up with second and third platoons at the line, the two warthogs between him and the 1st Lt. moved up with him. "Tornado One Actual to Tornado One-One, you'll have to lead the second half of the platoon with second and third platoons. Be advised: Uh.. you'll take your orders from available Lieutenants in the area. Out."



Drake cursed under his breath, as he tried to get through to one of the other platoons. "Tornado One-One to Tornado Two Actual and Tornado Three Actual, Requesting orders for my platoon, over." He hoped that they would get some orders over the comms, until then there wasn't much Drake could have this half of first platoon to do. He opened the up a channel to the members of the platoon that were under his command, "All units, for now form up on the line with second and third platoons and open up with your guns, Fields out."

[littlesoldier]

ODST PFC Kevin Decker, Alpha Company, 153rd ODSTs
Awaiting orders from GS Stonebridge

    Decker dropped his M7S as he started to hyper-ventilate. Kevin could feel the sweat beating down his face as he was getting more nervous and thinking about the possibility of dying in this battle. Anything could happen now. This firefight seemed to have lasted decades when it was only a few hours. About to freak out, he remembered what his objective was and his duty to the UNSC. Regaining his focus on the task at hand, he took some deep breaths and picked up his M7S and used the last of his ammo clip returning fire at the building.  He had then ducked back under cover as Needlers hit the small cover he had. Kevin was reloading his M7S behind cover while 2LT Saint was talking to Gunny Stonebridge. While doing this, decided to take a breather. The fight seemed like it couldn't get any longer.... We hadn't even moved from our position yet. All these long hours of fighting, it felt like it would be forever before he got a break, might as well take one now. While he was still breathing. After a while of listening to the sounds of the firefight, Decker got from cover and fired into the building where the Covies were stationed. Kevin smirked as he saw his enemies fall. However, he and his comrades were still taking heavy fire. The fight was far from over. At this rate, he may never get to see the rest of the town before ending up getting shot and killed. Kevin ducked back under cover as it was being washed with Plasma bullets and Needles. This was getting annoying. "Damn Bastards. Why can't you just DIE!!" Decker yelled.

   Still taking heavy fire, Kevin took out his second and last grenade. After this, I only have one more left.... He thought to himself, somehow still unaware that this was his last grenade. He got up from cover chucked it into the building. Soon after he crouched back down behind the little protection he had, he heard an explosion and some screams of the Covenant. Satisfied, he got a good grip on his M7S and returned fire into the building. He shouted while firing this time, mixed with rage, excitement, and just pure fear. It was a good thing he had his visor was on, because he could feel the tears running down his face and mixing with the sweat that running down his forehead as he kept firing.

[Jakob]

Major Lucas Blakley
Sipping some coffee

Blakley sipped on his coffee as Killinger had a bit of a cry about something with the ODST's. He didn't care too much, and instead drummed his fingers on the side of the HOLOPAD, curiously watching the progress. Sorelson was complaining about roadblocks or something and was still trying to stall, and Blakley opened the channel up to him as Killinger talked to the local engineers,

"Sorelson! Get your men moving, now. Even if the engineers got there, they wouldn't be able to do shit without your men securing the rubble first. Go! Out." he turned off the channel, not giving the other man a chance to break radio protocol and sat back as a transmission began breaking through the command channel.

What it said left Blakley quite a bit worried, with a bit of sweat starting to drip down his brow, he turned the colonel,

"Wait, what? They're behind us? Damn it, we better move this thing... a few miles back won't hurt..." he said, looking at the sight of Covenant infantry markers blinking to life all over the Marine lines.

"Sir, what should we do? My men are getting restless," she asked

Gunnery Sergeant Louie 'Lefty' Leftkowitz
On his smoke break

The engineers were trying to enjoy themselves after the captain had sent his orders,

Lefty was sitting on one of the flanks of the Aardvarks, chewing an apple he had found when they went sifting through an abandoned grocery store on the way up. They had had a rest stop as they were traveling to the FOB and Lefty and a few of the boys had cracked open the door to the building and were surprised to find a still working refrigerator filled with food. Name brand stuff, not the slimy shit the Corps called food, and Lefty had filled his pack with snack bars and fruit, and everyone had taken a flask of something or another.

"It'll be a cold day in hell when what we just did was legal," Lefty told Alfarsi as the two sat together. Alfarsi was enjoying something that may or may not have had more alcohol in it then the stuff used in hospitals, and she tossed the flask up to Lefty as she swished the drink around in her mouth.

"It's a free nation," she said with a shrug as Lefty balanced the apple on his knee and filled his mouth with the completely legal to have on a battlefield beverage. He felt his entire body burn and for a second he wondered if Alfarsi had actually looted the medical bag and stolen all their alcohol. then he realized he didn't particularly care, and took another swig before dropping it back down to the corporal sitting on the dirt.

"Hey I'm sure the good people of uh... shithole won't mind giving a donation to the brave UNSC engineering Corps! The few, the proud and the soon to be wasted!" said some private, pulling a beautiful glass of Pinot Gris that he must have found somewhere other than the industrial freezer and waved it in the air for his friends to be jealous of. A passing corporal snatched it out of his hand as he passed by, informing the man he'd be given it after the fight. They all laughed as the man whined.

Then, their ten minutes were up and the captain let them know over the radio. Lefty cursed and tossed the apple over his shoulder before giving Alfarsi a hand up. He yelled for the driver to get off his lazy ass and get moving before stuffing the other foodstuffs he found back into his bag.

The entire mission was ridiculous. They had as much C12 as they normally had, and they were ordered to blow up a bunch of roadblocks (remove them was the official term, but to Lefty, anything vaguely resembling an offer to make something explode was an order to make everything explode) and instead of giving more demo materials they had been given... Aardvarks.

It was typical UNSC shit, and Lefty made sure to voice his opinion, as he always did,

"This is fuckin' typical," he started, everyone around him rolling their eyes as he began one of his favorite rants, "we ask for C12, the Corps gives us Aarvarks. We ask for shotguns, they give us rifles! We ask for god damned soap and they give us shampoo! Typical shit I tell you, just one more way for the Greenie Weenie to fuck us!" a few of the men chuckled and Princess offered his opinion from the other side of the vehicle,

"Hey man, at least we get a bit of fun!" he said,, waving a block of C12 for Lefty to see. Lefty shook his head and sighed as they began approaching the town, joining the bulldozers and such of other groups of engineers, gunfire already having begun as second and third companies were hit by the Covenant ambushers,

"Join the Marines they said. It would be fun! They said."

(OOC: I'll write myself blowing up barricades next post.)

[Cabel]

[Tranquilitas Beta: Moon Sanctuary: Alpha Company: Entering the Town: Captain Mark “Spade” Seamus Sorelson: Year 2547]

“Alright Captain…we’re ready to move out. Will do in five second. Would appreciate some heavy covering fire,” he heard from Jenkins over the helmet-mic.

“You’ve got it, Son,” Mark said into the same frequency, and within a moment of Fourth Platoon’s APCs advance into the town over the rubble resulting from the bombardment from the Vultures the warthogs of Second and Third Platoons opened up. Rockets to fifty-cal rounds or rather their equivalent covered the advance of Fourth Platoon taking out or at least pinning any Covenant squatters that happened to be in the way. Quite a few of the pockets of the squatters targeted by rockets were annihilated where they’d stood, and left craters.

“Sorelson! Get your men moving, now. Even if the engineers got there, they wouldn‘t be able to do shit without your men securing the rubble first. Go! Out,” he heard the Major‘s voice over his helmet-mic.

“Major, careful now. Your blood pressure's high enough already, and that coffee I'm sure your swallowing is going to leave you squatting in the bush. You've given the Covenant what they wanted,” he began before noticing the frequency had been shut off from the Major’s end. The aging Captain swore under his breath about the Major, about foolish officers out for their own egos who couldn’t empty a head not because they couldn’t but because they’d get crap all over their new medals. “Remind me to make an appointment with the Major after this. If I have to serve under another glory-hound, I’ll drag them out to the front lines and let them see what it’s like. Why couldn’t I have served under Patton?” he asked to no one in particular.

“Hell…” Mark began before committing to a decision and turned the wheel of his warthog sharply to the left to avoid another parked warthog before straightening it out. Taking off towards the town, he’d take note of how much distance he had before the piles of rubble that had at one time been recognizable as a road the Major had so wisely allowed. Holding the emergency break down, he’d rev the engine flooring the throttle forcing the tires to smoke and quickly pulled back on the emergency break to send his warthog flying with an equally intimidating growl from the twelve-liter deuterium-fed engine with all the cylinders firing at once. It wasn‘t until after the warthog had taken off that he‘d realized he hadn‘t exactly spread word to the rest of his platoons, and quickly sent the word.

“Second and Third Platoons, stay with the Grizzly and wait for the Engineers to arrive. Stay around the APCs, and man your guns. Keep your sights clear and eyes peeled,” Mark relayed through his helmet-radio after the warthog had left the ground sailing over the tallest of the rubble piles created by upturned sections of instacrete roadway. The warthog happened to clear the piles, and two others behind it before touching down fairly hard enough to force its occupants to grip the warthog’s interior but not enough to dislodge any of them and the warthog continued advancing under its own power.

The Sergeant manning the M41 triple-barreled gun opened fire in controlled bursts while the Lance Corporal that had been Mark’s assigned driver followed suit from the passenger seat with his MA5C. The other two warthogs that had followed Mark‘s own vehicle from Firebase Carbide hopefully followed suit taking Mark's cue. The Captain‘s warthog personally helped provide cover for Fourth Platoon‘s advance, and from time to time a methane tank would explode from a lucky strike.

[Guardian Cat of Yappa's]

Captain Kelvin M. Duncan

53rd Engineer Corp, A Co.

Moving out

Duncan walked along the aardvarks, listening in on the chatter of the marines. He had already know the condition of the AVLBs, it was his way of telling his marines to stop ******* off and to get ready to move. The marines of A. Co. liked to enjoy themselves though. They would drink from time to time on the battlefield. Thankfully for Duncan, they didn't drink often well deployed. He had given up on trying to stop the habit; it was how they dealt with the stress of the job. After reports from each of his lieutenants came in, he decided to cut the wait time a minute short. "Alright boys, time's up. We're Oscar Mike." 

Duncan hopped up onto the side of one of the aardvarks, radioing in to Tornado Actual, "Tornado Actual, Reaper Actual here. We're inbound with equipment to clear the road, how copy?"

The sounds of plasma fire and rifle fire could be heard in the distance. Duncan sat on the side of the AVLB for a second, wondering how the battle as a whole was going. A corporal sitting inside the vehicle spotted him sitting exposed like that "Sir, awe..." the corporal stopped for a second in hesitation, before another chimed in, "Sir, will you get in the dam aardvark, we don't want Hawkins or Lefty in charge of the company." 

Duncan laughed at the bluntness of the marine, "Alright, scoot your enlisted ***** over." He climbed over the armor of the AVLB and hopped in the small bay; originally taken up by an autoloader that had been removed along with the main gun. Duncan tried to position himself to where he could see the terrain in front of the unit. He could see the edge of town and the Warthogs of Alpha Company charging over the debris and into the town. "This is going to be a fun day." he thought to himself as they continued to move towards the town. 


(OOC:I know the first paragraph is choppy but it's late where I'm at and I'm forcing this post out, tomorrow I will go and edit it so it reads smoother.)

[Armory]

Sgt. Johnathan Miller/Anvil 1-1

Status: Anvil Mobilizing, heavy armor inbound.

Mission Directives: Participate in spearheading the capture of the vital town while providing infantry support to troops on ground.

Time Zone: 11:29/DATA ERROR/2457 Sanctuary Time, approx. 0:08 into mission start up.


Miller could feel himself pulling the tanks seat belt tight after memories of the last drop drifted to mind. The interior of his new tank felt slightly alien as he settled in for the latest bit of combat. Miller waited for his gunner to hop in as he ran the start up diagnostics on the metal beast he sat it. With 120 tons of metal making up the Grizzlies frame only a Covenant solider with a death wish would try to stand in it's firing line. However while the small troops were slightly dangerous depending on what they were armed with Miller was more worried about Covenant armor. The Covie's had come packing heat after their last loss. Miller could hear the sound of Ingram climbing on the tanks frame to hop into the gunner's seat. It was time to get rolling once again he thought to himself as he fired up the engine, the thing giving of it's loud whine as Ingram plopped in the gunner's seat. 

"Covie bastards have already deployed on ground which complicates things...heavily." Ingram said over the com link.

"Any word form Pain?"

"He's deployed hot already Miller, we're coming down with the last group"

"Got it" Miller grunted as he began to guide the tank out of the bay and into the albatross. There was a loud click as the tank was secured inside the bird before the rear door closed. "Let's just hope we don't drop out of the fucking sky on this one" He said as the albatross began it's lift off. Miller could feel the thing moving out of the hanger before slowly making it's descent into the atmosphere. The cabin of the tank was mostly quiet as the descended with both Miller and Ingram praying another EMP surge would rear it's head. 

"Yo Miller..."

"Yeah?"

"Let's kill everyone one of these religious nuts." 

Miller gave a smile as he heard his gunner readying the gun. "Damn straight man, you read to rock?" He asked knowing the answer even before it was said. Ingram replied in kind as the albatross lowed the bay door and the green light was given. "Turning fuel to fire, let's let this monster roar." He joked as he turned the engine to full ignition as the tank let out roar as the turbine went to work. The diesel fed monster began rumbling forward with it's loud whine filling the air. Miller switched on his com as he flicked the switch on the auto loader letting the machine load fresh shells into the breach.

"Anvil 1-1 to Anvil Actual, we've deployed to ground and we are looking for some Covie ass to kick sir, what's your position?"

[MrKill]

First Lieutenant Kyle Killinger
1/7, A Co., 1st PLT
Under fire!

"Are these guys deaf?" The gunner of the closest Gauss 'Hog said, firing the cannon into a grunt. The barking methane sucking fucker tore into a dozen different pieces as the weapon based off the magnetic accelerator cannon flew into it with more than enough kinetic force. Someone whooped, and Kyle pipped up.

"That was gruntly!" He said, amused with the pun.

"Stop, please. Sir, just stop." Another man replied over the channel. Kyle laughed in response, oh no. He was just getting going. This was him, and he was going to bring it to full force when ever he could. Unfortunately, the mood was interrupted with the driver and gunner bailed out of one of the eight remaining M41 Warthogs. A blue pulsing explosion tore into the air, sending a tire towards the Covenant but flipping the Warthog in a lazy cartwheel and it landed in the intersection.

One of the Marines were gunned down instantly as overwhelming plasma fire connected with his body. The gunner fell and was a melting corpse before he even hit the ground. The driver, however, managed to scramble towards another Warthog in time. They were taking casualties, though. Two drivers were already dead and a Gauss Hog had no gunner. The ODSTs had to hurry, before the warthogs were simply melted down.

The Gauss hog received a gunner, the one from the recently destroyed warthog, and begun firing again. Unfortunately, two Warthogs were still missing a driver. This meant Kyle had to get into the driver seat and start moving his units around. The Convoy was stopped, and they were loosing material and men. More plasma erupted from their firing positions and connected with a M41 turret. The metal withstood it for a moment, but the volume of fire forced the gunner to abandon his post and the weapon produced hot slag in the weapons position. On the bright side, they had another driver. On the dark side, they had lost a gun.

"Okay, we can't stay here." Kyle said, channeling his team on the radio. "Alpha Team, Tornado One Actual. Everyone, get your asses behind cover. I want the warthogs behind buildings and away from incoming fire. If you can, position your gun at the edge of the buildings corner so we can keep the pressure up. Killinger out."

The Gauss hog behind Kyle reversed and hid in the alley between two buildings. Soon enough, the remaining Warthogs around him were behind cover. Unfortunately, they had lost a fair share of them. They had arrived with thirteen unscratched warthogs, and now they only had eight combat effective warthogs. Another one was working, but had no weapon to use. From their positions, the amount of guns firing into the Covenant line lessened. Two Gauss Cannons were still reporting, but the consistent clacking of the tri-barreled anti-aircraft guns were running in bursts now.

"Shit," Kyle swore as he got into cover. The last of the warthogs were pulling away, and presumably found cover in the general vicinity. Kyle did a head count. He came up with seven warthogs. The eighth must have been circling around, or it was destroyed before it even got into an alley.

"Wonderful!"

First Lieutenant Terrence Pain
1/7, A Co., 15th Armored
Waiting... and waiting.

"Well then," Pain said. "It's about time you showed up Anvil One-One!"

Since they had stopped firing, the bank had shifted a few inches and another floor had buckled. From here, it looked like the thing was about to collapse but managed to keep holding every time. Ironically, it appeared from this location the structure might have actually been strengthening. If it looked that way, it meant the Covenant were trying hard to keep it repaired. Any UNSC officer would have told his men to get the fuck out, but maybe the Covenant liked the line of sight the building provided. It was easily the tallest building in the town.

"Miller, I'm just outside the town. You'll see me, trust me. I'm the only other tank here for right now. We've got Scorpions on our six, but they're lagging behind. Dunno why, maybe Sorelson is using them in reserve. But for reference sake, I'm next to two Marine Platoons and a... red fuel truck. Over."