[b]Chapter 4[/b] Lieutenant Duncan had been in a number of hairy situations. Being an ODST, it was a given that he would experience his share of trouble. This, however, definitely took the cake for unexpected setback. He and his men had been preparing to drop into Reach, when the destroyer they were currently on was critically hit by a Covenant ship. Nearly the entire ship was vented of its atmosphere as a result of the wounds, leaving the Lieutenant and his men in a vacuum. Luckily, most of them had their suits sealed, but such a blow would undoubtedly lead the commander to enact the Cole Protocol, and initiate the ship's self-destruct sequence. That meant that it was time for them to get on the ground. Now. "Alright, men, we've got ground troops waiting for backup, a Covenant Invasion fleet ready to take them out, and a ship about to blow. Anybody gonna chicken out on me now?" "No, sir!" his squad yelled, most of them smiling through their de-polarized visors. This was the kind of impossible situation the ODST's lived for. "We're standing miles above hell, and we've got front row tickets. So how are we getting down there, ODST's?" "We go feet first, sir!" "Then get ready to drop, troopers. We deploy in 60 seconds." Getting a squad of fifteen organized and into their pods in only a minute may seem like an impossible task, but for ODST's, nothing was impossible. The squad was ready to go with fifteen seconds to spare, just enough time for Duncan to enter the launch codes and get in his own pod. Another fifteen seconds and he was hurtling towards the surface of Reach like a bullet, and he couldn't feel more at home. -------------------------------------------------- The woods had some surprises of its own. The trees became dense, and the terrain became rough. Numerous river gorges and drop-offs forced us to take different routes. Once we got even further into the woods, however, things got strange. Small craters dotted the landscape, trees bent and broken, covering the metallic chunks embedded in the ground. "Stay sharp." I warned my men, not sure what to make of these craters. That was, of course, until I saw it, laying in a crater near what was left of a crashed Pelican. It looked like the giant from the Resolute, but not quite the same. I stomped on the brakes, and everyone turned their eyes to the Spartan. I jumped out of the hog and approached it, keeping my gun shouldered, just in case. Once I got within a couple of feet from it, I realized how huge it was, at least a foot and a half taller than me. I tapped it with my foot, and got no response, so I motioned to Sharpe and Stone to come and help. Together, the three of us rolled the massive metal form onto its back. As the front of the helmet rolled into view, I saw that the visor was nearly gone, and the face was visible, scratched from shards of thick, nearly indestructible polycarbonate. I removed his helmet, now sure that the Spartan was human, as the program went public just 3 years ago, but that it was male. I put my fingers against his unnaturally muscled neck, and felt for a pulse, which was there, but barely. "Stone, he needs a wake-up. He's a big man, give him a big dose." Stone nodded, and silently pulled a medkit out of his pocket. He fumbled with it for a few seconds before he pulled out a massive adrenaline needle. He moved it around, confused as to where he should inject the Spartan, as his armor covered most of his body. He shrugged, and plunged it into the man's neck. We all jumped back, not wanting to be in the way if he should wake up and swing his arms or legs. His eyes opened and he sat up with a start. His eyes darted from me, to my squad, to the civilians, to the shards of the Pelican scattered all around us. "Who are you?" He asked "Where's the rest of my team?" "I'm Sergeant Jonathan Roland, Spartan." I replied "I don't know where your team is, but we could really use your help. We have a MAC generator station about 7 kilometers west of here with 50 men trapped inside and an entire Covenant armada trying to tear it down." At the words 'MAC generator station,' the spartan looked up. I wouldn't find out until later that this was because his mission was to protect them in the first place, despite being with his team or not. "Why can't you contact your team?" "I don't know." He replied, "My suit must have malfunctioned on impact. Looks like my vitals metering is malfunctioning; it says I'm flatlined." He stood, and walked around the area, scanning the ground. I followed him, but he stopped before long. As I took a step sideways, I saw why. Four more Spartans lay sprawled along the Forest floor. The Spartan's jaw clenched, and he knelt to check his team. "...They're dead." He muttered. I gave the giant the time he needed, which was surprisingly little. "What happened?" "My team and I were coming in from orbit, when our pelican got shot down. I tried my best to land it as best as I could, but the others jumped out just before impact. We were a Headhunter team. I was the oldest out of us, I always thought I would be the first to go..." [i]Maybe they really are human[/i] I thought to myself."What's your name, Spartan?" I asked, hoping an actual name would help me to see him as a soldier, instead of whatever he really was. "Keiichi - 047" he replied. [i]047?[/i] Numbers really didn't help me identify with him, it just made him seem more alien. "What's the plan, Sergeant?" "We've got four hogs, each loaded up full. Once we cut through these woods, we will be within 750 meters or so of the MAC generator. The Covenant won't see us coming until we're nearly there. Only one problem, we don't have any seats for you... Keiichi." "Don't worry about me, I'll run alongside. Just let me troubleshoot some of my malfunctioning armor pieces real quick, sir." I winced at the thought of having to slow to running speed for the spartan, but if any of the stories I'd heard were true, it would be well worth it once we got to the battle. "Granted, can you be ready in 5 minutes, Spartan?" "I can be ready in two, sir." he confirmed. "You got any weapons hidden in that crater? We don't have any to spare, save for the heavy weapons, and those won't do any good except against vehicles." "I'll make do when we get there." He replied. I exhaled in relief knowing that I didn't have to give him one of my guns, I was going to need them a lot more than he was. "OK, men, once Keiichi here is ready, I'll take point ahead. Young, Hardy," I looked towards the two civilians, "You two stay behind me. Nguyen, bring up the rear. Spartan, you keep up where ever you can, we'll match your speed." "Yes, sir!" All replied. I was a little surprised to hear the civilians follow suit as enthusiastically as my squad. Maybe they wouldn't be such a pain after all. Once we got moving, Keiichi quickly ran ahead, matching the top speed of the warthog. I was amazed at how quickly he ran. I wouldn't have thought it was possible, and, even after a few kilometers, he didn't slow. He even lifted our hogs out of a mud pit when they got stuck. I was amazed, and seeing how strong and fast he was, I couldn't imagine how Jericho VII had fallen all those years ago, with multiple spartans on the ground. By now, I could see the edge of the woods, where we would soon emerge. "Stay sharp, marines." I warned "We'll soon be in sight of the Covenant." Lance Corporal Stone put his finger on the trigger, ready for whatever was in the clearing. We shot out into the open, and prepared for battle. -------------------------------------------------------- Duncan and his squad were rocketing to the surface of Reach at terminal velocity. His body shook around with the force of atmospheric resistance, jerking his pod around like a child's toy. It was getting hot inside his HEV, the flames surrounding it cooking him like a thanksgiving turkey, but Duncan ignored the heat. What he was focused on was the Covenant carrier slowly moving underneath him, blocking his way to the ground. The drop had gone smoothly so far, but that ship posed a major threat, he would have to change their direction mid-flight, a dangerous maneuver that would most likely send at least two of his squad tumbling uncontrollably. As the carrier continued to move underneath, he knew his time to give the order was quickly dissipating. He hesitated for a split second, then opened a comm. to his squad. "Change trajectory men!" he barked, "Covenant cruiser is moving to block our path. Turn due east with a two degree angle of attack, that should get us just over the side of the ship, and set us down nearly on top of the generator station... On my mark, change trajectory." He waited as his squad confirmed their readiness by blinking lights to his visor. "Now!" He jammed a big red button with his fist, igniting a small thruster on the bottom side of the HEV, turning it slightly. He knew if the air got under the pod at the wrong time, it would catch the side of it and send it spinning out of control. He closed his eyes and hoped he would get lucky. A few seconds later, the thrusters stopped, and he was fine. Duncan exhaled, but his relief soon disappeared when he heard screams over the comm. He checked his HUD and saw that Corporal Grant's pod had begun to tumble out of control, and hadn't even changed directory. Duncan and his men did all they could, they turned off their comm.'s and watched in silence as Grant's HEV slammed into the Covenant Cruiser. Thinking that it was safe in-atmosphere, the cruiser had its shields down, and his pod crashed through the center of the ship, directly through the control room. Duncan watched in amazement as the ship lost control, wobbling around before finally beginning to dip towards the planet. It sank down as Duncan's pod passed it on its way down. He released his drag flaps, and braced for impact. ---------------------------- [Edited on 04.05.2011 10:41 AM PDT]