Post by Arbiter124 on Sept 7, 2013 16:13:44 GMT -6
The Rookie didn't dream about anything important. Just a mixture of faces from his days in the Corps. His old commanding officer barking some orders, the strong but tired faces of the other recruits in the ODST boot camp. Flashes of his past battles. Terrible scenes of those damned Elites, with their creepy little grey Grunt minions. The birdlike Jackals, their bright shields lighting up the detail of their horrific faces.
Nothing important.
The Rookie felt something against his thigh. The ODST flailed out, grunting, and snapping out of his dream. He met the gaze of the dark soldier. What was his name? Kojo, yea, Kojo. The Rookie was pretty sure that they called him Romeo, though.
J.T. had decided it be better to not ask why.
"Wake up, buttercup." Romeo taunted, smiling as he did so. He was holding a sniper rifle, and J.T. understood why. He was the marksman of the team. The strange part was, they were headed inside a carrier, so the fact that he was using a sniper rifle inside a Covenant ship seemed a little idiotic.
Romeo was shoved out of the way by another ODST sporting several bright orange patches of color on his armor. He looked huge, and was carrying to of the M7/Silenced SMG's. The preferred weapon of the Rookie. His name was Dutch. Corporal Dutch.
"Relax Rookie, he don't mean nothin'. Besides, now's one of those times, it pays to be the strong, silent type." Dutch said, tossing one of the SMG's to The Rookie. The ODST's hands shot up to catch the thing, and he examined it, looking at the slick features of the weapon. He turned to the side, and shoved the weapon into the pod's primary weapon holder. His M6S was holstered in its place on his right hip.
The Rookie looked up to see the door of the pod lower, and he forced himself fully into the pod, the hatch closing and hissing violently, ensuring that the door wouldn't open while in space. This was J.D.'s first drop, so he desperately hoped that something like that wouldn't happen.
He just wanted a safe drop.
The pod began to rotate in place, and in moments The Rookie was looking out into the depths of space, the surface of the Earth directly below them. The Lance Corporal could see one of the space elevators not far away from the ship, and tons and tons of UNSC wreckage drifting around the area.
It was obvious that the Navy didn't put up a good enough fight.
Two faces flashed onto the screens on either side of the Rookie. One of a strange helmet that The Rookie remembered seeing a SPARTAN wearing in combat a few years ago. It must have been that ONI Officer that was taking control of the squad. The name 'Dare' was on the helmet's forehead in big white letters. Her name was Dare, obviously. The screen to the left showed the dark blue visor and black helmet of an ODST. Gunnery Sergeant Buck, the former squad leader no doubt. He now acted as the second in command, and The Rookie highly doubted he was happy about that.
"Latest intel reports Covenant troops are massing beneath the Carrier." Dare's voice spoke in a strong, but still feminine voice.
"They're pulling back? Why?" Buck responded, a sharp static coming at the word 'Back'.
"We're not gonna' find out way up here." Dare retorted to the Gunnery Sergeant.
Buck's helmet shook slightly, obviously in annoyance at the ONI Officer. "Pucker up Marines! I sure as hell ain't hosing out your pods!" Buck shouted, his radio coming out awkwardly on The Rookie's line, making it impossible for the ODST to completely know what he had said.
The Rookie's pod started beeping in a rythm, and the ODST watched, dumbfounded as dozens of pods shout of of the ship, flying down towards Earth at incredible speeds. After the final beeping in his own pod, he shot out with the rest of the flock. His pod shook like some sort of rollercoaster, but he knew it was normal. After all, he isn't on some sort of stable track, so of course it may drift or shake awkwardly.
The Rookie looked towards the space elevator as he descended in awe. He had never been on one, but someone in his old company had told him about how it was the strangest feeling in the world to go on it. The ODST's attention turned to the wreckage of UNSC ships, still on fire and burning the metal.
"I take it back," Romeo's voice sounded in his pod, the sniper obviously observing the same ship graveyard that The Rookie was looking at. "Navy got its butt kicked."
"Hey Romeo," Buck responded, an annoyed tone in his voice. "Member' when I told you to shut your mouth?"
"Yeah?"
"Consider that a standing order."
As the ODST's reached the clouds, everything in his window became a blur of white and grey. He couldn't see anything for a good three seconds, before a flash of white and the sight of New Mombasa. The city was surrounded by water, and was being hovered over by the largest Covenant ship the The Rookie had ever seen. J.D. hadn't been present on Reach, but he had heard that the ship there made this one look tiny.
He found that hard to believe.
Dare's voice turned on the TEAMCOM. "Stand by to ------ trajectory on my mark." The Rookie didn't hear that perfectly, but it didn't sound right.
"What she just say?!" Dutch called out over the TEAMCOM, obviously having the same worry as the Lance Corporal.
"Mark!" Dare called, and The Rookie's pod jerked to the right, causing him to grunt in his pod, provoked by the sudden action. He looked down in his window to see the other dozens of pods turn in that same sharp motion. This wasn't right. They weren't headed for the Assault Carrier.
They were going to miss.
"We're way off course!" Mickey's worried voice chirped in.
"We're headed exactly where I need to go." Dare responded, snapping at the PFC.
"But we're gonna' miss the Carrier." Mickey responded, obviously confused like the rest of them. Rookie nodded in agreement, but did not speak up, remembering Dutch's last words before the drop. He was the strong silent type.
"Radiation!" Dutch growled.
"The Covenant just set off a Nuke!?!" Mickey yelped.
"No... The Carrier's going to jump!" The ONI officer muttered in a sickly realization. "It's a slipspace rupture, you need to-"
The Carrier opened a portal, and leaped through it, and in a blinding flash of light, everything went into utter chaos. The Drop Pod's activated their shoots, and flew back above The Rookie. The ODST searched frantically in his pod, having a moment of doubt of where the shoot eject button was located.
One of the pods flew towards the Rookie's at intense speed, and collided. All The Rookie saw was a flash of Mickey before his pod was spiralling out of control, the glass broken bad and barely holding together.
'We're going in hard!" Dutch roared.
The Rookie grappled onto the handles of his pod, and gripped tightly as he spun in motions that made him want to vomit in his pod. He tensed his entire body, but could not stop the shaking of his limbs as fear took hold of him in this chaotic twirl down to Earth.
He felt his pod jerk and stop suddenly, and everything went black instantly.
---
The Rookie groaned, opening his eyes for a brief moment before closing them once again, and repeating this several times before he kept them open. His arms and legs ached, but his endurance and training was enough to shake off the feeling, or at least ignore it.
The ODST looked around, both of his eyes darting to the dual screens in front of him. Neither worked, just the grey and black flashing dots of lost connection. The Rookie lost his breath as two phantoms passed by, their hovering noises being heard through the cracks of the pod's glass. The Rookie watched as they failed to notice him alive in the pod, flying down the street. He grunted in frustration, and looked to the ejection button of his doors. He punched them in, and the doors of the pod hissed, steam coming out slightly before the door shot out, flying and falling thirty feet down before smashing into a car, bouncing off, and skidding to a stop in the street ahead, kicking up sparks as it slid.
Shit.
The Rookie looked down, holding onto his pod tight so he wouldn't accidentally fall and break his neck. He was two or three stories up, his pod lodged into the side of the building. It was night. It wasn't night last he remembered, so he must have been out cold for at least a couple hours.
The Lance Corporal backed into his pod, and looked towards his SMG, silenced. He grabbed onto the middle of the gun, and pulled, using his right hand to grip the pod tightly, giving him leverage and balance. He made several pulling motions before ripping the thing from its tight placement. The momentum of that last pull made him stumble in his pod, and he widened his eyes and one foot slipped into open air, his torso following. He jerked to a stop midair suddenly, his right hand still holding onto the pod. He held onto his pod, hanging in midair, his SMG still in his left hand. The Rookie surveyed the situation. He would land in the street and probably break his legs in almost every situation, except for the car directly below him. It was still twenty five or so feet, but it was his best bet.
The Rookie let go of his grip on the pod, and fell through open air. His boot connected his the car, and he bent his legs to try not to break anything. However, his ass slammed into the windshield of the car, shattering the glass. The ODST fell onto the hood of the car back first, and flipped over onto the pavement on his stomach, groaning. He looked left and right, before picking up his M7S and staggering to his feet. He looked around the dark street, the only light coming from the ads of building signs and the street lights on either side of the street.
The ODST looked around at his options. He could either go down the street on the right, middle, or left. Each way was probably equally right or wrong, it was just a matter of how many Covenant he would find down each street.
The Rookie chose the right street, just because it was right. A bad guess to go off of, but he had no other choices.
The ODST walked through the street in a fast crouch, aiming his SMG towards every alley and every corner. He quickly reached a small decrease in elevation, going down the hill fast. He saw the street take a turn, and ran to the wall of the corner building. He was breathing heavily, and peeked out the side.
He saw figures, but he couldn't make out what they were. They were coming close to him though, and he had a bad feeling in his gut. Regardless, he turned on his HUD's VISR, and everything became brightened and highlighted.
The figures were a Brute flanked by three hapless grunts, all of their weapons out but their minds not very alert. The Rookie cursed. He was a match for the Grunts, but how coudl he take the Brute in a fight? He decided not to try and confront this patrol. J.D. glanced towards a car, and looked back at the patrol nearing him. He looked back and forth three times before rushing out, through the darkness, and gracefully and quietly as possible. He vaulted over the hood of the car and landed in the street on the other side of the vehicle. He sat behind it, his back pressed up against the door of the car.
The Rookie heard the footsteps near him, and the high pitched voices of the Grunts.
"Why we doin' this? All the Hoomans are dead!" The Grunt complained in a rasped tone.
"Shut up, fool. Some of them remain. And I plan to tear them limb from limb." The deep, demonic voice of the Brute responded. The Rookie gulped, and laid flat on the ground, pressing his helmet against the pavement, looking under the civilian car. He saw the figures began walking off down the street, towards the way he came.
It would be a long night.
(I will continue more tonight.)
Nothing important.
The Rookie felt something against his thigh. The ODST flailed out, grunting, and snapping out of his dream. He met the gaze of the dark soldier. What was his name? Kojo, yea, Kojo. The Rookie was pretty sure that they called him Romeo, though.
J.T. had decided it be better to not ask why.
"Wake up, buttercup." Romeo taunted, smiling as he did so. He was holding a sniper rifle, and J.T. understood why. He was the marksman of the team. The strange part was, they were headed inside a carrier, so the fact that he was using a sniper rifle inside a Covenant ship seemed a little idiotic.
Romeo was shoved out of the way by another ODST sporting several bright orange patches of color on his armor. He looked huge, and was carrying to of the M7/Silenced SMG's. The preferred weapon of the Rookie. His name was Dutch. Corporal Dutch.
"Relax Rookie, he don't mean nothin'. Besides, now's one of those times, it pays to be the strong, silent type." Dutch said, tossing one of the SMG's to The Rookie. The ODST's hands shot up to catch the thing, and he examined it, looking at the slick features of the weapon. He turned to the side, and shoved the weapon into the pod's primary weapon holder. His M6S was holstered in its place on his right hip.
The Rookie looked up to see the door of the pod lower, and he forced himself fully into the pod, the hatch closing and hissing violently, ensuring that the door wouldn't open while in space. This was J.D.'s first drop, so he desperately hoped that something like that wouldn't happen.
He just wanted a safe drop.
The pod began to rotate in place, and in moments The Rookie was looking out into the depths of space, the surface of the Earth directly below them. The Lance Corporal could see one of the space elevators not far away from the ship, and tons and tons of UNSC wreckage drifting around the area.
It was obvious that the Navy didn't put up a good enough fight.
Two faces flashed onto the screens on either side of the Rookie. One of a strange helmet that The Rookie remembered seeing a SPARTAN wearing in combat a few years ago. It must have been that ONI Officer that was taking control of the squad. The name 'Dare' was on the helmet's forehead in big white letters. Her name was Dare, obviously. The screen to the left showed the dark blue visor and black helmet of an ODST. Gunnery Sergeant Buck, the former squad leader no doubt. He now acted as the second in command, and The Rookie highly doubted he was happy about that.
"Latest intel reports Covenant troops are massing beneath the Carrier." Dare's voice spoke in a strong, but still feminine voice.
"They're pulling back? Why?" Buck responded, a sharp static coming at the word 'Back'.
"We're not gonna' find out way up here." Dare retorted to the Gunnery Sergeant.
Buck's helmet shook slightly, obviously in annoyance at the ONI Officer. "Pucker up Marines! I sure as hell ain't hosing out your pods!" Buck shouted, his radio coming out awkwardly on The Rookie's line, making it impossible for the ODST to completely know what he had said.
The Rookie's pod started beeping in a rythm, and the ODST watched, dumbfounded as dozens of pods shout of of the ship, flying down towards Earth at incredible speeds. After the final beeping in his own pod, he shot out with the rest of the flock. His pod shook like some sort of rollercoaster, but he knew it was normal. After all, he isn't on some sort of stable track, so of course it may drift or shake awkwardly.
The Rookie looked towards the space elevator as he descended in awe. He had never been on one, but someone in his old company had told him about how it was the strangest feeling in the world to go on it. The ODST's attention turned to the wreckage of UNSC ships, still on fire and burning the metal.
"I take it back," Romeo's voice sounded in his pod, the sniper obviously observing the same ship graveyard that The Rookie was looking at. "Navy got its butt kicked."
"Hey Romeo," Buck responded, an annoyed tone in his voice. "Member' when I told you to shut your mouth?"
"Yeah?"
"Consider that a standing order."
As the ODST's reached the clouds, everything in his window became a blur of white and grey. He couldn't see anything for a good three seconds, before a flash of white and the sight of New Mombasa. The city was surrounded by water, and was being hovered over by the largest Covenant ship the The Rookie had ever seen. J.D. hadn't been present on Reach, but he had heard that the ship there made this one look tiny.
He found that hard to believe.
Dare's voice turned on the TEAMCOM. "Stand by to ------ trajectory on my mark." The Rookie didn't hear that perfectly, but it didn't sound right.
"What she just say?!" Dutch called out over the TEAMCOM, obviously having the same worry as the Lance Corporal.
"Mark!" Dare called, and The Rookie's pod jerked to the right, causing him to grunt in his pod, provoked by the sudden action. He looked down in his window to see the other dozens of pods turn in that same sharp motion. This wasn't right. They weren't headed for the Assault Carrier.
They were going to miss.
"We're way off course!" Mickey's worried voice chirped in.
"We're headed exactly where I need to go." Dare responded, snapping at the PFC.
"But we're gonna' miss the Carrier." Mickey responded, obviously confused like the rest of them. Rookie nodded in agreement, but did not speak up, remembering Dutch's last words before the drop. He was the strong silent type.
"Radiation!" Dutch growled.
"The Covenant just set off a Nuke!?!" Mickey yelped.
"No... The Carrier's going to jump!" The ONI officer muttered in a sickly realization. "It's a slipspace rupture, you need to-"
The Carrier opened a portal, and leaped through it, and in a blinding flash of light, everything went into utter chaos. The Drop Pod's activated their shoots, and flew back above The Rookie. The ODST searched frantically in his pod, having a moment of doubt of where the shoot eject button was located.
One of the pods flew towards the Rookie's at intense speed, and collided. All The Rookie saw was a flash of Mickey before his pod was spiralling out of control, the glass broken bad and barely holding together.
'We're going in hard!" Dutch roared.
The Rookie grappled onto the handles of his pod, and gripped tightly as he spun in motions that made him want to vomit in his pod. He tensed his entire body, but could not stop the shaking of his limbs as fear took hold of him in this chaotic twirl down to Earth.
He felt his pod jerk and stop suddenly, and everything went black instantly.
---
The Rookie groaned, opening his eyes for a brief moment before closing them once again, and repeating this several times before he kept them open. His arms and legs ached, but his endurance and training was enough to shake off the feeling, or at least ignore it.
The ODST looked around, both of his eyes darting to the dual screens in front of him. Neither worked, just the grey and black flashing dots of lost connection. The Rookie lost his breath as two phantoms passed by, their hovering noises being heard through the cracks of the pod's glass. The Rookie watched as they failed to notice him alive in the pod, flying down the street. He grunted in frustration, and looked to the ejection button of his doors. He punched them in, and the doors of the pod hissed, steam coming out slightly before the door shot out, flying and falling thirty feet down before smashing into a car, bouncing off, and skidding to a stop in the street ahead, kicking up sparks as it slid.
Shit.
The Rookie looked down, holding onto his pod tight so he wouldn't accidentally fall and break his neck. He was two or three stories up, his pod lodged into the side of the building. It was night. It wasn't night last he remembered, so he must have been out cold for at least a couple hours.
The Lance Corporal backed into his pod, and looked towards his SMG, silenced. He grabbed onto the middle of the gun, and pulled, using his right hand to grip the pod tightly, giving him leverage and balance. He made several pulling motions before ripping the thing from its tight placement. The momentum of that last pull made him stumble in his pod, and he widened his eyes and one foot slipped into open air, his torso following. He jerked to a stop midair suddenly, his right hand still holding onto the pod. He held onto his pod, hanging in midair, his SMG still in his left hand. The Rookie surveyed the situation. He would land in the street and probably break his legs in almost every situation, except for the car directly below him. It was still twenty five or so feet, but it was his best bet.
The Rookie let go of his grip on the pod, and fell through open air. His boot connected his the car, and he bent his legs to try not to break anything. However, his ass slammed into the windshield of the car, shattering the glass. The ODST fell onto the hood of the car back first, and flipped over onto the pavement on his stomach, groaning. He looked left and right, before picking up his M7S and staggering to his feet. He looked around the dark street, the only light coming from the ads of building signs and the street lights on either side of the street.
The ODST looked around at his options. He could either go down the street on the right, middle, or left. Each way was probably equally right or wrong, it was just a matter of how many Covenant he would find down each street.
The Rookie chose the right street, just because it was right. A bad guess to go off of, but he had no other choices.
The ODST walked through the street in a fast crouch, aiming his SMG towards every alley and every corner. He quickly reached a small decrease in elevation, going down the hill fast. He saw the street take a turn, and ran to the wall of the corner building. He was breathing heavily, and peeked out the side.
He saw figures, but he couldn't make out what they were. They were coming close to him though, and he had a bad feeling in his gut. Regardless, he turned on his HUD's VISR, and everything became brightened and highlighted.
The figures were a Brute flanked by three hapless grunts, all of their weapons out but their minds not very alert. The Rookie cursed. He was a match for the Grunts, but how coudl he take the Brute in a fight? He decided not to try and confront this patrol. J.D. glanced towards a car, and looked back at the patrol nearing him. He looked back and forth three times before rushing out, through the darkness, and gracefully and quietly as possible. He vaulted over the hood of the car and landed in the street on the other side of the vehicle. He sat behind it, his back pressed up against the door of the car.
The Rookie heard the footsteps near him, and the high pitched voices of the Grunts.
"Why we doin' this? All the Hoomans are dead!" The Grunt complained in a rasped tone.
"Shut up, fool. Some of them remain. And I plan to tear them limb from limb." The deep, demonic voice of the Brute responded. The Rookie gulped, and laid flat on the ground, pressing his helmet against the pavement, looking under the civilian car. He saw the figures began walking off down the street, towards the way he came.
It would be a long night.
(I will continue more tonight.)
