Fallen Angel: Part 2 Escape
Posted By: Gruntkiller/Covert<ttavenor@nf.sympatico.ca>
Date: 29 December 2002, 2:52 am
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2 _ months before John 117 death Boom! The forest erupted in a plasma blue light as trees were instantly carbonized around the area where a Covenant artillery round landed. Josh's visor quickly changed color to protect him from the bright light that came from the blue plasma. Josh quickly fired off a three round burst in the general direction of the advancing Covenant troops.
Almost a half an hour earlier the Covenant had captured the fusion generator that powered the orbital super MAC guns now the Josh and the remaining Spartans along with a few Marines were being pushed back into the woods like a feather caught in an endless wind. The calls for medics had been almost endless since they entered the woods but no medic could ever help them all.
Josh fumbled with a clip as he reloaded his rifle, he quickly bent down and picked it up, just as he started to stand up again a fuel rod shot blazed over his head causing the sweat under his helmet to boil.
"Crap," said Josh as he quickly slammed the clip into his gun cocked it and brought it up to a shoulder mount.
Almost a hundred meters away from him a hunter stood deflecting the bullets with its shield. Josh carefully aimed his gun for a mall spot of exposed flesh on the hunter's neck and tightened his finger on the trigger.
Bang! Somewhere off to Josh's right a sniper rifle let out a loud report sending a smoke trailed straight through the same spot Josh was aiming for.
"Good shot," said Josh through his communicator.
"I could of done better," said Kelly.
"We got to get off this damn planet," said Josh as he began to send out a distress signal on the FLEETCOM network. "This is Spartan Josh 87, requesting immediate evac. Repeat requesting immediate evac."
Plasma bolts began to heat up the air, the covenant had found them. Josh quickly jumped in a crater left by a covenant artillery shot for cover.
"This is UNSC cruiser Centurion, we have tracked your signal and are sending pelicans," replied the comm. In Josh's helmet, "how many need evac."
"20 of us," said Josh ducking his head to avoid the oncoming onslaught.
"Rodger the pelicans will land 400m east of your location, over and out," replied the comm.
"Everybody take ammo and your weapons leave everything else behind," said Josh through his comm. To the Spartan's and the Marines.
"Even the wounded," said Marine.
"If you can carry them without falling behind take them, if you can't leave them," said Josh as he set up a NAV point for the EZ. "Now lets go."
Josh got up out of the crater and fired off his rifle on full-auto at the advancing covenant forces, he managed to kill several grunts. Josh quickly began to retreat towards the clearing that was their EZ. All around him plasma flew most of it slamming into trees. He watched as a Marine in front of him was turned into a charred mass of flesh by a charged plasma pistol shot.
Once they got within 200m of the EZ most of the small arms fire coming from the covenant had stopped. From overhead the sound of covenant artillery rounds could be heard as they began to descend upon the retreating soldiers. The first one hit the ground just off to Josh's right sending splinter of now carbonized trees everywhere. Another round landed right on top of a nearby Marine vaporizing him immediately. More and more of the plasma artillery rounds slammed into the earth sending huge plumes of blue superheated plasma mist into the air. 100m to go.
Josh broke out into the clearing where the EZ was located behind him 10 Spartan's and the single remaining Marine followed, more and more artillery round ploughed into the ground leaving scorched earth everywhere. Up ahead two pelicans touched down with the open ends pointing towards the sprinting soldiers.
The 11 remaining soldiers all reached the pelicans intact josh quickly hoped up into on and sat down in the seat closest to the hatch, right after him Kelly jumped in and sat down across from him and brought her sniper rifle up to her shoulder aiming out the hatch towards the tree line about a 100m away.
"Good thing we got here when we did," said Kelly as the last Spartan climbed in and took a seat close to the cockpit.
"Why," said Josh.
Kelly pointed to the tree line at first everything looked normal but then Josh began to see hundreds of grunts and Jackal's running out of the trees towards the pelicans.
"Everyone buckle up and prepare for lift off," said the pilot through their comm. Channel.
The pelicans lifted up off the ground and rose up into the sky. Josh sat looking out the window in the back hatch that was closed shortly after they lifted off, on the ground it was pure mayhem. Off in the distance the HAVOK tactical nuclear device that they had planted at the beginning of the day went off covering reach in a bright white light.
"It's hard to watch a place we once called home being destroyed," said Kelly interrupting Josh's train of thought.
"Yes, but you always have to remember a place is just a place, its people that really make a difference," said Josh thoughtfully.
The pelicans quickly ascended into orbit were the battle was quickly coming to a close, everywhere pieces of UNSC ships floated lifelessly, off in the distance blue plasma torpedoes could be seen mopping up the remaining ships that stayed in a hopeless attempt to protect reach. Far off in the distance the Pillar of Autumn sped off into slipstream on a journey that would soon touch Josh, Kelly and all the other Spartan's even though they were left behind.
The pelicans made a sharp turn right towards the waiting cruiser Centurion. They slowed down and flew into the docking bays where they were quickly locked down. The Centurion then quickly went into slipstream and left the now being glassed over planet behind them.
Next: First Move
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