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Outpost Sierra Alpha 118 by Blue Jaguar
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Chapter One: Stranded Eagle
Date: 25 August 2003, 2:33 AM
Chapter I
Pelican dropship Lima 021 touched down on the landing pad. Captain Adrian Rashon jumped off with his team of ODSTs and cleared the landing pad. The Pelican took off and the commanding officer of the base ran up to greet the squad. "Glad to see you could make it Captain, we have one hell of a situation, well, actually we're neck deep in shit," the lieutenant couldn't have put the days' events any better. "What is the status on our troops from Alcantara?" Rashon asked. "Not good, most of them were wiped out, a couple banshees got in under our air cover and shot a fuel rod straight into the main hangar while the Pelicans were fueling, only 2 dropships made it out. We do have a regiment coming in from Guantanimo, they are all reserves though, so we might be all alone, except for them." the lieutenant replied. "Ok Lieutenant, get your men dug in, I'll go with Alpha Company to the east ridge and set up a lookout spot, Bravo Company will go to the north ridge and pick the covies off as they come through the pass, Charlie Company will stay here and take out any vehicles the Covies give us." As Rashon finished his sentence the last Pelican passed over the North ridge and headed back to Caracas.
The Base Guards began digging in, heavy weapons emplacements dotted the outer perimeter of the base while trenches loaded with marines filled in the section between them. The camp had been erected almost overnight, and it almost already looked like a real base. The Covenant gained a lot of ground the day before and the hastily built forts had little chance of stopping them. The entire eastern seaboard of Brazil had been completely wiped out, and Covenant troops were now moving south and north to eliminate any human resistance in the region.
"Alpha 1-1 come in over" Rashon switched comm frequencies and replied. "This is Alpha 1-1, who is this?" "Alpha 1-1 this is Captain Lukas of the 319th out of Guantanimo, we are inbound on your position, be advised you have a large Covenant force approaching from the West." "Say again, Covenant from the West? What size force?" Rashon was stunned, how could the Covenant have come in from the West, that would mean that the entire left flank had collapsed. "I estimate two enemy Mechanized regiments, they have at least 8 Wraiths, and a lot of smaller vehicles." Lukas replied. "Roger that Captain Lukas, you are now Echo 1-1,
Lieutenant Rineck is Delta 1-1, he is commanding the base perimeter, I want you to land your troops West of the base and take up defensive positions on the ridge, I'll meet up with you in 30 minutes." Rashon replied. "Roger that Alpha 1-1, I'll see you then" Rashon ordered his troops to move out. They had only seen a ghost, maybe two, this new information would explain why.
Rashon got on the radio and called up Bravo Company and ordered them to move east to his position and take up sniping and look out positions there, while his group moved to the West ridge and reinforced the new regiment that was landing there at the time. It sure was nice that the base was in a volcano. The only way out without going over a ridge was to the south, which had once been a ridge but was blown out a hundred years ago by a massive eruption. The only problem with the base' location was if the Covies managed to get a mortar tank up on the ridge, from there they could pound the base into oblivion. But they were NOT going to let that happen.
Two Longsword fighters roared overhead. Air cover was extremely stretched but at least it was still around. Rashon watched as they circled above the volcano and then headed west towards the Covenant force. His company of ODSTs were still working their way up the ridge, only a few hundred more feet to go. "Only..." he thought, it was nearly straight up. The only thing worse is for them to be under fire. As they neared the ridge line they heard a loud rumble in the distance. The sound echoed through the valley and Rashon switched on his comm set. "Yeehaw! Look at that sucker burn, nice shooting two." Then a second voice came in. "Not too bad your self One, your really lit that Wraith up, but I still got more kills than you!" Then the first voice again. "Selfish little prick, always hogging everything, hey we better bug out though, I got Covie air patrol coming in from the Southwest."
Rashon switched the comm set off, it was the best news he had heard all day. He figured the fighter jocks might have gotten a few of the wraiths and maybe some smaller vehicles, and countless infantry. The situation was still grim, but the light was still shining.
Chapter Two: Stranded Eagle
Date: 25 August 2003, 9:56 PM
Chapter Two
13:45 Local Time, Saturday, October 17th
Alpha Company reached the top of the ridge. He looked out over the vast jungle below, not much to see except several burning fires in the distance and several plasma bursts flying through the air. He looked to the north and saw a large smoke cloud moving east, it was coming from Firebase Soshia, the main artillery base in the region. Radio contact had been lost with them a few hours ago, and they were the relay station for communications to higher up places. The loss of this base meant that: A, there would be no artillery support, B, no contact with the outside world for several days, in which the world might not exist, and C, no resupply shipments.
There were many positive things going for them though. The edge of the volcano was too steep for Covenant hover vehicles, and the Mortar rounds from the Wraiths couldn't fire over the ridge. The Covenant would have to make an infantry assault straight up a rocky cliff. They had some cover from the rocks, but the ODSTs were expert marksmen, and many of them carried long range rifles.
As Captain Rashon discussed the situation with Captain Lukas, they decided on a common battle strategy. The base guards would be left at there posts in case of an attack from the south, in which the Covenant could move quickly through with vehicles and large amounts of infantry. Bravo Company would split into two groups and cover the north and east ridges. Alpha Company would stay on the West ridge for now, and see what the Covenant decided to do, while Charlie Company would stay at the base and add extra security, and also act as a fast response force in case a defensive line was failing.
Adrian brought his troops south to secure Captain Lukas' left flank. He would then be in position to move and assist troops protecting the southern border if needed. The 20x binoculars with adjustable zoom really were helpful. Compared with earlier models they had many huge advantages, mostly size and weight. Rashon peered out into the jungle, searching for area's with thick Covenant concentration. "Just 1 howitzer, that's all I want" he thought. At least the 319th brought some 96mm mortars with them. He turned the comm set on and gave the mortar crews the coordinates of the thickest Covie concentrations. He listened to the loud thuds come from the mortars and watched the shells streak through the air. He was rewarded 10 seconds later when they slammed down into their targets. Bodies of grunts and limbs from Elites flew through the air. The Covenant troops immediately spread out, they wouldn't be so dumb as to concentrate themselves like they had been before, so mortar rounds wouldn't be so effective.
"INCOMING!" Adrian dove behind a large rock, he looked upwards into the sky and saw a large green flare move quickly over his head and hit harmlessly into the ridge above him. The fuel rod was followed up by large blue plasma bursts from the front of the banshee, which were silenced when two Jackhammer rockets slammed into the craft destroying it in mid-air. He got up and looked out into the jungle, the Covenant were preparing for a massive assault, through his binoculars he could see the Covenant troops forming lines, Grunts first, Jackals, then Elites. He grabbed his comm set and ordered all units to target Elites and Jackals only unless the range was less than 50 metres. He didn't want his marines wasting priceless sniper ammo on worthless grunts, that really couldn't do any damage at more than that range anyway.
Behind him he saw at least 20 Banshee's orbiting the volcano, diving down 4 at a time on specific targets in the base. They rarely fired more than one fuel rod and a quick plasma burst before being mowed down by heavy machine gun fire or blasted from the air by a rocket. A few however, managed to get off devastating shots. One scored a direct hit on the Command centre, knocking out power to the base, while another hit the repair depot. The Covenant where however, losing to many banshee's on each pass. Nearly 30 had been shot down in the last hour, and several more before that. He knew however, they were just trying to shock the marines, before the main attack came.
In the mean time, he needed some sleep. Only a few hours before the attack might begin, and it wouldn't end until one group was gone.
Chapter Three: Stranded Eagle
Date: 27 August 2003, 12:02 PM
Chapter Three
Adrian was shaken awake by one of his sergeants. "Captain, we got Covenant incoming!" the sergeant screamed. Adrian got up and looked over the rock down the hill. It was night now but he could see the moonlight reflecting off armor of Covenant soldiers. Adrian grabbed the comm set and immediately began issuing orders. "Alpha 1-1 to all units, we have contacts with Covenant troops at the bottom of the ridge, all units are to check the area below you, and open fire at exactly 01:25. Rashon out."
Adrian put the comm set down and the looked back over the rock. He grabbed his binoculars and turned on the NOG mode. Down below hundreds of Covenant troops were swarming the edge of the ridge. It was almost funny, the Grunts were unable to climb over the large boulders, and the Elites weren't going to help them any. Rashon watched for a few more minutes and counted up all the Elites. "At least 50 Elites." Rashon paused. "At least 50 kills that I'll really enjoy." Adrian looked down at a private near him.
"You good with a sniper rifle private?" Adrian questioned
"marksman 1st class, I shot squirrels at 100 yards for fun back home sir." the private responded
"home....where is home for you private?" Adrian questioned again.
"Reach sir." the private again replied.
"Well then, bag me a gold elite, he's down near the back of the group, on top of a large boulder." Rashon ordered.
"I got him sir, fire?" The private asked
"Blow the bitch's head off." Rashon said.
The private fired, Rashon could see through his binoculars, the elites head bursting open. Blood splashed everywhere and the elite slowly fell into the ground. This pissed Adrian off.
"GOD DAMNIT YOU STUPID SON OF A BITCH! SPIN WHEN WE SHOOT YA YOU STUPID ASS!" Rashon yelled out. All the soldiers around him laughed at this and then they opened fire on the Covenant troops. It was 01:26 Local Time.
01:49
Rashon watched as the Covenant bodies began to pile up. There were almost no Elites left in site, they were either talented hiders or were dead. A few jackals occasionally opened fire back on the marines, but it was sporadic and they usually didn't get more than one or two shots off. The grunts however, were still in the open, trying to lift each other over the boulders. His marines were somewhat upset at not being able to shoot at the grunts now that the Elites were dead, but Rashon knew their ammo wouldnt last forever.
03:18
A second wave massed at the bottom of the ridge, hundreds of Jackals and Elites began climbing up the hill. "Stupid fuckers, let em have it marines!" Rashon yelled. Sniper rounds ripped through the black night. Large blood stains could be seen on the ground. The moon was almost full, and the Covenant blood reflected well. This really gave the Covenant a big disadvantage. "That and the fact they are really stupid" Adrian thought to himself. Rashon finally caught a sense of urgency as several of his marines began reporting they were out of sniper and rifle ammo. Adrian decided on moving them down the ridge, so that they would have a forward defense line, and the Snipers wouldnt be forced to shoot at Covenant at point blank when the time came.
What Rashon didn't count on, was the marines would be in range of the Covenant mortar batteries, and once they began opening fire the Wraiths did too. Adrian watched as the plasma soared upwards, lighting up the sky. "Holy fuck, Marines pull back now! Now! NOW! The Marines began climbing back over the rocks trying to get up the ridge. They were too late however. The mortar rounds hit their targets dead on. Bodies and pieces of marines began flying through the air. Of the 18 marines, only 2 came out unscathed and 3 badly injured. This was not only bad because the marines were losing men and guns, but they were also losing some bit of faith in their commander. But given the circumstances, they were fucked over anyways.
The Covenant continued to battle up the hill for a few more hours. By sunrise, they were almost completely wiped out, except for the grunts. The boulders only got smaller however, and their progress up the hill was rapidly increasing. But it would still be another hour before they were a serious threat. Rashon laughed as he thought to himself. "Grunts make me want to puke" he thought.
Chapter Four: Stranded Eagle
Date: 1 September 2003, 4:30 AM
Chapter Four
07:15
The Marines continued firing down on the Covenant assault force. The grunts were coming into range and they were starting to hit marine targets. But more often the marines were hitting them. Captain Rashon was growing more nervous by the minute. Nearly 20 more of his soldiers had run out of ammo. He sent them back to the main base with the wounded. They were to bring more ammunition when they returned, but that wouldn't be for another two hours. Meanwhile the remaining 57 ODSTs would have to make due with what ammo they still had.
09:32
Blood was now pouring down the ridge. Rocks became shining gems off the late morning sun just asking to be picked up. But despite the beauty in it, the battlefield was still extremely hostile. Nearly half of the ODSTs were out of ammo, and Captain Lukas' marines were in no better situation. They had been hit by the heaviest concentration of Covenant forces the previous night, and their were reports of hand to hand combat between the two groups. On the eastern slope of the volcano, minor firefights were erupting between Bravo Company and Covenant recon groups. Even Charlie company, back at the main base had come in contact with Covenant troops trying to break through the southern gap in the volcano. All sides were holding out, and since the Covenant weren't using any air power, it was awfully easy to maintain the perimeter.
09:47
"Heads up, Friendlies coming in!" The Corporal shouted, behind him, 19 marines were coming down from the top of the ridge. In their hands: ammo, ammo, and even more ammo.
"Hey guys ya miss us?" The lead soldier asked?
"Shut your ass up private, start giving out ammo and get your ass back in the line, next time we ask for ammo haul ass double time!" The Corporal barked back.
"Jeez corporal, the 319th wanted ammo too, so we stopped by them first, if ya want to yell at us yell at them." The soldier piped back.
"Ah shut your shit excuses" the corporal responded, he really didn't care, he was just happy they had ammo now.
10:13
"Charlie 1-1 to all units, we are under heavy attack from the south, massive Covenant troop concen.........an't hold off......ckup immed.....out." Rashon heard this through the comm set. The Covenant assault had died down a lot in the last 10 minutes, maybe this was why.
"Alpha 1-1 to Echo 1-1, Charlie Company is under heavy attack, how many troops can you spare?" Rashon asked into the comm set.
"Captain Rashon, we have been hit badly, Captain Lukas is severely wounded sir, and we are down to about 100 men that can still fight, and even they are needed to tend the wounded." The comm set responded.
"Shit" Rashon said to himself. He looked around at his group, about 65 of his troops remained.
"All right, I need 40 volunteers to haul ass back to base camp and help out, Charlie Company and the Guard Battalion are taking a real whoopin down there." Rashon finally said.
Immediately almost all the hands went up. Rashon looked at the group, he picked out 38 of his troops, the ones with the least injuries, and sent them back to the base. He then picket up his comm set and had Bravo Company send half of their group to the main base as well.
11:02
"Alpha 2-5 to Alpha 1-1, We have reached the base camp, sir, we are too late." A sergeant said. "Captain, holy shit get down! Captain we are under attack, Covenant dropships inbound!" The Sergeant screamed.
"Alpha 1-1 to all units, Covenant have air support, all units, break perimeter, and head for the jungle north of the volcano, we will rendevous there. Rashon out!" Adrian yelled.
Adrian threw the bulky comm set onto his back and then picked up his rifle. "Lets move out marines, double time!" He barked.
11:54
A Pair of Longsword fighters streaked in from the north west. Rashon watched as a pair of missiles streaked out from each aircraft, came in over his head and then hit their targets just over the ridge. Rashon could not see, but he could hear large explosions coming from inside the volcano. Covenant dropships began scattering, many heading for orbit, but they could not outrun the human craft. Only a few remained after the fighter pilots finished their run. They stayed for a few more minutes after clearing the skies and then headed back north.
Adrian was relieved that the Covenant had lost air support but the marines had lost group integrity. They were now scattered about the sides of the volcano. Charlie company was completely wiped out, as were the 38 marines he had sent to rescue them. Lieutenant Rineck had escaped with about 10 of his marines, they were now working their way up the inside north ridge of the volcano. Bravo Company had already rejoined and was moving west to cover the 319th while they carried their wounded down the ridge to the safety of the jungle.
Chapter Five: Stranded Eagle
Date: 1 September 2003, 4:49 PM
CHAPTER FIVE
4:15
Covenant Air cover had remained non-existent since the longsword fighters had pounded them that morning. The afternoon sun was now directly on the marines, who were struggling to get down the last bit of rock and into the jungle canopy. Lieutenant Rineck had met up with Rashon's group, they were analyzing the battle, Covenant troops still remained inside the volcano, but they weren't pursuing the marines. Perhaps they feared that the marines could call in air support and would wipe them out if they came in after them, but then again, staying up there wasn't any safer.
5:21
Rashon and Rineck's group reached the edge of the jungle. They felt a much higher sense of safety. When they were on the rocks they could easily be seen from the air, and now that they were in the jungle, even with IR capabilities, seeing them would be nearly impossible. The 319th and Bravo Company, which had moved completely across the northern edge of the volcano and caught up with the 319th, were moving northwards from the west base of the mountain. Rashon was quite impressed with the speed at which the marines were moving. Although Bravo company had virtually no casualties, it was still impressive that they were able to move as far as they did in such little time.
7:43
The sun had already set over the mountains to the west. Most of his troops were extremely exhausted after a long march and battle. He decided to set camp in the jungle. Rashon looked back towards the volcano. It was about 10 miles behind them now, and still no attempt by the Covenant to pursue him. Adrian was becoming worried that maybe they had a trap planned.
Three days later
04:57 Morning of November 18, 2554.
With the volcano completely out of site, and the entire group rejoined, Rashon changed direction and began heading northwest. Up ahead, about 15 miles, was Fire Base Soshia. It was located on a low plateau above the valley. The base had been wiped out about a week ago, but the Covenant might have left some vehicles there.
14:13
The group finally reached the base. As they entered the gates the marines spread out and began searching for targets. All of the sudden they heard a voice. "Marines?" The voice yelled out.
"Yeah, who is this?" One of the ODSTs replied
"This is Major Fyodori Alexei, I am the commanding officer here." the voice replied.
"I am Captain Adrian Rashon, what happened to General Stone?" Rashon demanded.
"We were hit hard the first night, the Covenant snuck in between the defense bases and drilled us. We were defeated but several of us managed to survive in an underground bunker system. Aren't you the guys from that outpost southeast of here?" The voice responded.
"Yeah, we saw you guys really got hammered, we are going up north to try and get to Manaus, want to come with us?" Rashon asked.
"Sorry captain no can do, we intercepted a Covenant message, it seems they have some high priority personnel arriving at your outpost tomorrow afternoon. We figured we might go kill a few of them." The Major replied.
"Oh" Adrian thought for a minute,"We have a lot of wounded, if you want, I'll give you 40 of my troops to help out, but the rest are going to Manaus, we gotta get these people off this hell hole." Rashon said finally.
"All right Captain, I understand, if you want there are a few vehicles down in the vehicle yard. I cant guarantee that they will run, but best of luck to you." As Major Alexei said this he stepped out from behind a barrier, 18 more marines stepped out as well behind him.
Adrian motioned for 40 of his ODSTs to go join them, while the rest of the group headed for the vehicle yard.
Evening of November 23rd, 2554
The Marines entered the city of Manaus. The city was in complete ruins, massive plasma scoring had ruined the buildings. The city looked like a scene from the apocalypse. Of course this was the apocalypse. The troops spread into 4 groups, one to probe ahead, one to cover the right flank, one to cover the left flank, and one in the center for the wounded. As they neared the center of the city by midnight, they looked to the sky and began seeing explosions. Not just small explosions from small missiles, but massive nuclear explosions. The marines watched as the Covenant warships began breaking in pieces and falling from the sky. They were firing back with plasma torpedoes at the unseen enemy on earth. B
By 2 AM the light show had ended, nearly all Covenant vessels orbiting earth had been obliterated. Had the UNSC actually won? The Marines wouldn't know until they had found a radio.
5 AM, Morning of November 24th, 2554
A marine came running down the street screaming "I found one! I found one!"
The other marines began running after him and followed him into a building. Rashon walked in after them and behold, there was a UNSC long range comm set. He picked up the microphone and spoke into it. "This is Captain Rashon of the 89th ODST Battalion, any UNSC units please respond." Rashon waited a minute and then a voice came back through the unit.
"Captain Rashon this is Lieutenant Jones of the 135th Airlift wing, I am currently flying over Caracas, what is your situation?" The voice said.
"We are in Manaus, we have many wounded and need pickup, what can you do for us?" Adrian replied.
"I'll be at your location in about 1 hour, sit tight. Of and just a little FYI, the Covenant fleet is in full retreat. Operation Repulse is accomplished." This was the best news he had heard in his entire life. All the marines around Rashon began cheering, the Covenant had finally been stopped. It was now time to get some payback.
THIS IS END OF STORY, FOR FURTHER READING, READ
RISE OF THE PHOENIX, my next story
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