halo.bungie.org

They're Random, Baby!

Fan Fiction

Memoirs of an ODST by Wolverfrog



Memoirs of an ODST - Parts one and two
Date: 14 June 2009, 12:45 pm

Well, this is the first fan fic I'm posting here, it's pretty popular on Bungie.net. Not sure if you'll like it, but comments would be nice! Enjoy.

*******************

PART 1- Contact

I volunteered for it . Volunteered to drop in a titanium box, volunteered for the most risky job in the UNSC.I volunteered to become an ODST marine or a "hell jumper", as they were commonly called. it wasn't patriotic pride, or anything like that. It was revenge.

20 years ago, I was a 15 years old, lounging about lazily in the plentiful fields of the paradise colony world harvest; I had a good home, and harvest was pretty much safe from rebels, pirates, and the other troubles that plague less fortunate colonies. Life was good, just me, and my mum and dad. Then they came.

The day started like any other, me and a few of the other lads going to watch those Marines in training. We were fascinated by them, how they followed orders to the bone, how they acted swiftly and surely. Later in the day however, an unknown object entered the atmosphere.

It wasn't like any of our cruisers; it was purple, and made of a shiny metallic element which was definitely not used in any of our standard ships, on closer inspection, it seemed like the ship was curvaceous, although why it was built this way was a mystery, surely it would just slow it down with its un-streamlined shape. Needless to say, the UNSC ships rose up armed to meet it.

There were whisperings amongst the local colonists, finally, other sentient life had been discovered. I didn't find out what happened up there until much later, hours went past without it moving an inch, and apprehension slowly crept into the onlooking crowd. Suddenly, the enemy cruiser fired on one of our ships, plasma streaming out of its dual cannons ,that was when the screaming started.

Time went as a blur after that, chaos predominated over every other sense as one by one, our ships were shot down by the shear power of the enemy cruiser, as easily as scissors cut through paper. My parent's house was miles away,yet still, I should have ran back, should have warned them; maybe then I wouldn't even be recounting this tale.

However, I was in disarray, people were yelling everywhere, screaming how they were all going to die, next thing, the also petrified marines were shouting at civilians to board the ship, to evacuate. I tried to run back to the house, to tell my parents, but a marine in black armour which had the initials ODST printed on the right shoulder pad grabbed me and threw me on-board ,probably saved my life.

As we left the atmosphere, I saw before my very eyes blue explosions smash into the once great planet harvest, the UNSC's pride and joy, and my home, and bury it under a glassy field.
My parents hadn't made it; they were still down there, dead or dying. As we fled out of the planets atmosphere, and jumped into slip space, I made a vow that day to wreak a terrible vengeance on the monsters that had committed this heinous act.

20 years later, standing 10km above the desolate New Mombassa, I'm starting to regret it.........

******************

PART 2- Enrolment

Even as we were just emerging out of slip space, officers were parading around the bridge asking for volunteers to the UNSC marine corps. They managed to convince many of the colonists, and soon, the room was full of people signing papers swearing allegiance to earth and all of her colonies.
I hesitated for a moment, and then also stepped forward to the makeshift enrolment booths. A marine noticed me, and walked towards me, the enslaving papers in hands. "Can I help you son?" the heavily armoured man said between a smoking cigar.

"Are you here to sign up?" he queried,

"yyyes sir", I replied, stumbling over my words.

"Hmm..." the man mused "Well, you look like you'd make a good soldier, you've gotta good, strong build, tell me son, how old are you, in earth years I mean."

He said this last part due to the fact that a harvest year passes 2/3 slower than an earth year.
"18 sir", I lied.

"Well, usually we'd run checks on you, make sure you're tellin' the truth and all that, but under these circumstances, we don't have time for that. Now, are you sure you want this son? The life of a soldier isn't as glorious as the adverts claim it is."

He spoke this last part slowly, as if to drum it into my very skull.

"Yes sir", I replied, "please sir, who are those marines in the black armour?" I spoke out of curiosity, anxious to know who had stopped me from running away, and most likely, saved my life.
A shadow crossed over the marines face. "Oh, you don't want nothin' to do with them son, they're what you call ODST marines, or 'hell jumpers' as the rest of us normal soldiers call them. They are the ones who, when battle calls, answer it with a hell of a lot of gunfire. Their actions decide a battle, they are the elite, they are the ones who kill the majority of our enemies in battle; yet they are the ones who die in battle too....".

He spoke this last sentence solemnly, as if even the mention of them saddened him to the bone. I pondered what he had just said, they kill the most in battle, yet they die the most in battle....well, if I was gonna die, I might as well take a few of those alien creatures to hell with me...

"Please sir, where would one go if they wanted to join these 'ODST's'?" the marine looked shocked, and quickly protested

"Son, in the brief time I've known you, I've summarised that you seem like a nice lad, don't waste your life with them, you'll be--"

"Please sir", I interrupted, "It's what I want to do, and no amount of persuading on your part will convince me otherwise" the soldier looked like he was going to protest again, then resigned, and mutely pointed to a booth on the far side of the room.

"Thank you," I softly said to him, and walked towards the ODST's, to my destiny. As I was walking across the room, I faintly heard the soldier say

"Good luck!", then mutter to himself, "You're going to need it......"





bungie.org
brr!