This Is My House - Prologue
Posted By: Odin of SoS.<kavika86@yahoo.com>
Date: 25 July 2005, 10:43 pm
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The sunset on Kroff IV was one of the best in the human empire. Brilliant oranges, reds, blues, and golds clashed for control of the sky. The golden grass that covered the planet reflected the sky's beauty. David Fagalii and his wife, Ashley, watched the sunset together every chance they had since they were just teens dating in school. Together they sat on their front porch, swinging on a bench. David held her close and kissed her hands, never letting go. Their eyes followed the sun behind the horizon and watched as the explosion of colors faded to black.
With the darkness came another light show. Miles down the road, the nearby city of Sara lit the sky up. David hated the clutter of the city so he bought a small house far away from the noisy, polluted place. He placed his head in his wife's lap and watched as houses lit up. He didn't bother with his porch light, he was the happiest man in the world with his wife.
David was a Sergeant in the UNSC Marine Corps, on leave back home after three years of fighting. His unit was back in build-up phase, recieving new Marines and issuing gear and new weapons. Scars marked his arms and chest from the various battles he had survived. His eyes were bagged and dark from sleep deprivation and stress, but his smile was as large as could be. He was far from the Covenant, and every second with his wife, was heaven.
For hours, they sat on their porch and talked, David in his camoflauge uniform and Ashley in a sundress of her own design. They talked until he just passed out from exhaustion. His wife looked down and smiled as she ran her fingers through his short hair. She continued staring at the stars with her husband's head on her lap. She watched the sky until she fell asleep as well.
The couple were violently awoken by a vibration in the ground. They both stood up and ran to the end of their walkway, stopping at the fence. David looked in disbelief as a section of Scorpion tanks rolled down the road pass his house. They were Army tanks from the Twenty-Second Armored Division. A platoon of soldiers in Warthogs escorted the MBTs down the road. They watched as the convoy passed their house and rolled towards the city. Then horror and fear struck their faces simultaneously as they gazed upon Sara. The buildings that lit the sky the night before, now filled the sky with smoke. Many of the city's skyscrapers were toppled. David looked to sky and witnessed another horror. Covenant ships were visible through the atmosphere, surrounding the planet.
A Warthog that wasn't with the convoy pulled up in front of the gate entrance and the driver and passenger jumped out. David looked at the gunner as he continued to scan the sky for enemies. The passenger moved towards the couple as the driver jogged to catch up. He noticed a single silver bar on the passenger and that the driver was a Corporal. The Lieutenant walked to the gate and looked at David's chevrons on his collar.
"What are you doing here Sergeant?"
"I'm on leave now sir. This is my home." David said, looking past the officer and at Sara.
"Well Sergeant, my platoon is escorting that section of tanks to eliminate some enemy armor in the city. They've taken Sara, Sergeant. I suggest you take your wife and go to the civilian collection point at San Bara, it's East of here. Do you know how to operate any plasma weapons Sergeant?"
David looked at the Lieutenant with question. "Some of them sir."
The Lieutenant reached behind himself and retrieved a plasma pistol. "I pulled it off of a Jackal. Take care of your wife and get some Marine."
"Thank you sir. Good Luck to you sir." David said as he relinquished the officer of his weapon.
"We don't need luck Sergeant, we're Rangers." The Lieutenant ran back to the Warthog closely followed by his driver. They sped off to catch up with the convoy, leaving David and his wife.
David crammed the alien weapon into his cargo pocket and ran towards the house, his wife was only a few steps behind him. He sprinted up the stairs and into his room. His wife entered to see him scrounging through her underwear drawer. She knew what he was doing and ran towards the kitchen.
David his wife leave the room out of the corner of his eye. He dismissed it and tossed more panites from the drawer. Finally he came upon a small hole along the edge of the bottom. He placed his finger in the hole and pulled the bottom of the drawer out. Underneath was a pair of civilian bought M6D pistols and two boxes of ammunition. He went to work loading clips and cursed the Covenant.
Ashley was in the kitchen cramming as much food into a duffel bag as she could. She filled the large bag full and ran to the garage. Her Infinity GS convertible was parked safely in the garage and she tossed the bag into the back seat. She turned to the door just as David came through.
"What are we going to do?" She asked with a worried face.
"I don't know baby, we can't go to get to San Bara. The Army has a base there, that's more than likely where everyone's going. Camp Killion isn't far from here, there are Marines there. I'd rather trust my life with some leathernecks than the doughboys." His Marine pride forced a laugh out of his wife as they got in the car.
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