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Chapter 1: Key to Survival
Posted By: Shinai Purugganan<hybrid_phoenix2k2@hotmail.com>
Date: 18 July 2003, 4:46 PM
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The citizens of Reach had watched helplessly as their disparate defenders and the UNSC fought desperately against the overwhelming Covenant firepower. Confidence in the planetary defenses evaporated when drop-ships descended toward the polar ice caps. All chaos broke loose as civilians panicked attempting to decide how to defend themselves or hide. This man decided that hiding was the best option, and that defense, meant suicide. After what seemed like hours of horrifying bombardment finally ended, he resurfaced from inside the building where he had hidden. Luckily, the lower section of the structure remained intact; however, he notice the upper department had teetered off and fallen into a complex nearby. Plasma scoring emanated from nearly every structure he could recognize. The skies resembled the calm day it had once been, but the ruined city reminded him that that calm morning he woke up to vanished. The deafening lack of bustling noise that he believed the aliens would cause implied that they never landed.
"Maybe they never landed, or maybe they never came here," he wondered. Looking around he realized his assessment was false. The damage was clear evidence; they came, and they came with a terrible force. The streets were littered with wreckage and corpses, but that did not stop him from rummaging through them. He had hidden in a single place that presented protection from the Covenant ever since they began their battle over the planet's atmosphere. Now he needed to stay alive, to him it meant he needed a weapon and to find help. He wandered aimlessly, searching for other people that had tried to hide or shield the bombardment to no avail. The survivor decided to head to the star-port until he turned the next corner. An alien hunched over a car with its weapon pointed directly at him. He dove to the ground and hoped that he would life. He lay there for a moment when he realized nothing happened. Somehow he was spared. Cautiously, he crawled over to the car and looked upward. The alien's jaws were wide open and a gaping hole exposed the side of its head.
"It's dead. Thank somebody it's dead," he whispered. He sighed and slowly reached for its weapon. While prying it from the cold hands of the carcass, the body slipped backwards abruptly. Pulling the weapon close to his chest, he ducked and heard a thud as the body made contact with the road. Again, nothing happened. He peeked around the hood of the car and was not surprised. More corpses cluttered the road ahead of him, but this time the aliens had their own carcasses among them.
"At least they killed some aliens too. Better to see dead aliens for a change," he thought to himself. He surveyed the street behind the car while holding his new weapon out in front of him. The man discovered a military vehicle in the center of the road and reminisced the recruitment commercials that plagued the viewing of anything. He nearly jumped for joy until the vehicle's mounted gun swiveled around and opened fire on him. He flung himself backwards dismayed. He clutched himself in wonder until he felt the cold metal object in his hand.
"This alien thing, of course!" he exclaimed, scolding himself afterward.
The gun from the marine vehicle kept firing as the gunner yelled, "Die, you Covenant bastard, die already!"
The survivor threw the weapon in the air without any regard of its eccentric design and waited for the gunner to stop firing.
"You aren't playing that trick on me again!" the marine screamed as he unleashed more bullets into the car. After the extra salvo, the mounted weapon screeched to a stop. "Damn thing, don't jam on me now!"
Deciding if he was ever going to get out of this planet alive, he'd better get through to this shell-shocked gunner. As the marine slapped the side of the chamber in frustration, the survivor leapt up and threw his hands in the air. "Hey! I'm just a civilian. Don't shoot me! Please!" he desperately cried.
"What the-well don't just stand there give me a hand over here!" the gunner bolted out. "I need a doctor, are you one?"
"No, I'm not," the man yelled as he ran over to the gunner.
"Just my luck!" the marine muttered. "Well give me some help here anyways!"
As the man approached the car, he noticed the marine holding the mounted gun with one hand. The gunner had bio-foam in his other arm, which clung to his stomach. After noting the gunner, he gazed at the driver hunched over the wheel. Hole in his armor exposed his back that had been filled with purple shards. He was dead. The marine in the back hopped out to the opposite side and gestured the civilian to come over. He rushed over and paused as he gazed at the body lying on the ground.
"Well, come on, help me get it into the passenger's seat," the marine demanded.
"That's a…" the civilian stood in awe.
"A Spartan, one of ours got it? Now, come on, help!" he demanded again. They struggled but managed to get the Spartan into the seat. "You'll have to drive to the hospital, my driver, Stevens, is dead. Put his body in the back with me. I'm not leaving him with these filthy bastards." As he finished his statement he climbed back to his post in the back.
"Okay," the survivor said as he placed the body in the back, "What if the hospital is gone?"
"Well, if there's no hospital… we'll get to that. What's your name?"
"Jason Ducati, what about you?" he replied.
"Corporal Matthew Porter, just leave it at Matt I guess."
Jason started the engine after placing Stevens in the back. Fortunately, he knew where the hospital was, but the Spartan's presence never left his mind as he began driving through the lower streets of the city. "Matt, what… I mean, who is that Spartan, are you sure its alive?"
"I don't know for sure, but you and I better hope it is. Give it some respect to, we'd be dead without it," Porter responded.
Jason understood. Without that Spartan they probably never would have met. If the Covenant returns to finish the job, they would need the help. With the Spartan they had a chance to survive, if it was alive. He remembered the wail of the banshees. "If only…"
To be continued…
(Next: Remnants of Reach: Dilemma)
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