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Fan Fiction


Down in Flames
Posted By: NevinNiven<awm338lapuamag@hotmail.com>
Date: 16 August 2001, 11:14 PM


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A Covenant Banshee sailed high overhead. The Marines crouched in a cave winced as the shrill noise reached their ears. They had taken cover here after having struck at a Covenant forward search group, their Jeep had taken a direct blast from a Covenant tank. Melting the front half and bursting the tires. Johnson had been badly burned, but they had hauled him off. Now, the Covenant were searching for them, for retribution.

Jagr looked over at Milstein, and searched his face for any emotion. None, none whatsoever, same as him. What was this war doing to them? He didn't know, not really, just a cold detachment that came over them whem they went and fought. They could not allow themselves to slow for one second when a comrade died. Not one lousy second. And now they were in a cave, he wasn't sure how he had gotten here. Some time of grand scheme it seemed.

A flash of movement outside caught Milstein's attention. Then another, through the foilage. A dropship had landed. And Marines poured out of it. He grabbed his rifle, and secured it to his back, Jagr did the same and they picked Johnson up. They ran through the dense forest, and burst into a hellish scene. Bright fire erupted from so many human weapons as ice cold plasma bursts screamed back at them. Dirt and dust was flying all over the place, bullets ricocheted off of rocks and into anything they could bury themselves into. A plasma burst caught a Marine in the shoulder, spinning him about in a lazy pirhouette. He collapsed and his position was filled in by another Marine.

The Marines were simpy spraying their fire in an attempt to hold the Covenant back. And then a silver flash arced across the battlefield. It impacted with a Marine's head, bursting it and passing into the forest, where it blew several trees apart. The Marines concentrated their fire in that locale. A grenade thumped out of its launcher and landed behind the outcropping of rocks. Blowing four Elites sky high, one of which had a long silvery rifle.

Milstein and Jagr ran behind the line of Marines, watching bodies fall, burnt and mangled, to the ground. The Marines now placed their shots carefully. Covenant bodies wrenched themselves this way and that as the high velocity bullets punctured their body and shredded their innards.

The Covenant charged, their ranks surging forwards, at least one hundred of them, with shields, against forty Marines. The Covenant did not fire as they advanced. And the first wave was cut down quickly, fifteen dead. The second wave, this time Jackals, did fire as they approached. The shots weren't well aimed and only four Marines fell dead. The Grenadiers in the Marines ranks were given the order and fired. The regular Marines threw their grenades into the ranks.

And like firecrackers, a chain reaction was set off. The first grenade exploded, sending bodies hurtling high into the air, as the other grenades touched off bodies lost limbs from the force, blood and bits of innards rained down upon the Marines.

The Marines thundered forward. Dropping down into the freshly made trenches. Cutting the legs out from under the third wave. The Grunts turned and ran, being cut down where they stood. Milstein and Jagr reached the dropship and left Johnson with the medics. They unstrapped their rifles and ran to the battle. They were inssued orders to lay down cover fire.

Half of the Marines laid down cover fire as the other half bolted straight for the Covenant position. They slammed against the outcropping of rock that the other side of the Covenant position. Then the Marines who had laid down cover fire charged as the other half breached the line. And they found nothing, nothing but a soft blue glowing monitor. Attached to a magnetic containment chamber.

"Get out! It's a bomb! Move move move!" The Sergeant yelled.

The Marines turned around and ran as fast as possible towards the dropship. A third of the Marines made it in when the bomb exploded. It immediately shattered the rock, sending that into the rear of the Marine forces, killing several instantly and leaving others sprawled on the ground. The shock wave threw a good portion of the Marines into the air, throwing them against the side of the Dropship, and sending them tumbling down, unconcious.

Half of the Marines were inside the dropship when the actual ball of flame hit, lighting anything outside on fire. And blackening the hull of the dropship. The door swung up and locked closed. The dropship roared upwards on ion flames. And then several balls of plasma leapt out of the forest and at the dropship, impacting all over the hull, the dropship lost power and control, then the pilot compartment burst into flames, the dropship hit the canopy and then crashed into the ground, throwing Marines into the forward compartment. The rear panel tore open and was thrown clear. The Marines shook their heads and crawled out of the dropship, and ran into the forest as quickly as possible, with Milstein and Jagr carrying Johnson with them, deep into the forest. And then, the dropship exploded, tearing out trees and shaking the ground, knockin over several Marines. Who were now stuck in the middle of a forest, being hunted by the beast known as the Covenant.





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