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The fall Of Cote d'Azur: Part 1
Posted By: thisdopeknows<nofx1249@yahoo.com>
Date: 14 December 2003, 2:41 AM
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A Marine Campaign, and The Fall of Cote de Azure.
Cote d'Azur, sector B-1A2
Harper Gibson, born of the planet Earth, was about to die. He was unaware of this, and was having an otherwise perfect day. He passed the market where he bought his newpaper each day. Coffee in hand, he strode across Road 01023. He was instantly killed when the landing pod slammed into him. Thousands of identical pods streamed down into the city. Nearby pedestrians screamed and ran, and one simply stood, rooted, as the landing pod hatch opened, and a black armor-clad alien leaped out. He sized up his immediate surroundings, and spotted the unmoving pedestrian. Rather than end his life quickly, the alien marched up, issued a war cry that made those able to move run faster, and slammed his chromed weapon into the man's head.
Cote d'Azur, sector R-201T
Dennis Carth had the good sense to hide when the landing pods hit. He made his way through the city's intricate sewer and drainage system cautiously. He knew almost the instant a pod landed near him what was happening. He had the good sense to arm himself with an M6E pistol, the civilian model of the M6D. It lacked a scope, but had the same incredible stopping power. He hoped he'd never need it. He paused under a steel grate, and a body, minus the head, fell on top. The minute amount of light that passed through the now covered grate cast distorted shadows on Dennis' face. He mentally recited a prayer, pressed himself against the wall, and silently moved on. He quickened his pace when he saw natural light ahead, and was greeted by a view of the cities extensive farming fields. He squeezed through the bars that were meant to keep people out, and sprinted for an irrigation ditch. He didn't stop until he reached the thick of the planet's jungle.
Two days after the initial invasion, Dennis Carth stumbled out of the jungle, towards the resident military base. An MP spotted him, and shouted for him to put his weapon down. He passed out, dropping his pistol on the soft, muddy ground. When he woke up, he was in a steel gray room. He realized he was alive, and sat upright. He glanced around, and noticed a guard standing by the door. "Excuse me," he asked the guard, "I need to speak to whoever is in charge."
"Sure. He was going to see you anyway. Ill bring you to him. Your clothes are in the bin next to you."
He quickly dressed, and followed the guard to an office door. The guard keyed the intercom. "Sir, Dennis Carth is here to see you." There was an audible pause, then a gruff voice called back, "Send him in."
Dennis told the corporal of the invasion of Cote d'Azur, but it appeared the already knew. The marines, it seemed, were already planning a counteroffensive. They were almost positive that everyone in the city would be dead, but the Covenant needed to be eliminated.
Covenant Frigate, Eternity, Geosynchronous Orbit over Sigma Octanus IV
"The extermination of the humans in their filthy city is complete. We need now only to send our soldiers in to the remaining population centers," barked the alien. The creature sitting next to it drummed it's fingers impatiently.
"Withdraw all Elite Warriors from the planet. Send in the lesser invasion forces. I expect the planet to be under our control within two human days. "
Shipmaster Sanu' Foramo strode to the command unit. He tapped several buttons with his long, malicious fingers, and in the belly of the ship, three thousand grunts, jackals, and hunters all prepared for the second invasion wave.
The elites that remained on the planet were picked up by the covenant's slender, oval-shaped troop carriers, and shuttled back to the Eternity. Three carriers of the same kind rained out of the ship, and all of them angled towards Cote d'Azur. Along with the Eternity, there were two destroyers in orbit, the Immortal and the Undying Hero. They too released their carriers, and more than eleven thousand troops were on their way to clean the human infection from the planet.
Back at the military base, 750 marines and 250 ODST's readied for a hot insertion into Cote de Azure. The had very loose orders, simply to take back the city at all costs. They had no idea that the forward attack wave had been called back, and instead of the 700 expected, there were eleven thousand. Dennis Carth had enlisted as soon as he heard of the invasion, and Corporal Harland put him in Fire Team Alpha. He was at first skeptical due to Carth's lack of training, but he soon found out that Carth had served during the minor insurgencies of 2521, and was honorably discharged. He knew how to fire a weapon, and that was enough for the Corporal. They faced a three mile hike to the rice paddies outside the city, and who knew what once they forced their way in.
Carth shifted his MA5B to his left shoulder, and scanned both sides of the damp, misty jungle trail. He was about to ask his CO how much further to the fields, but the CO answered his question before he asked. " 'Bout half a mile more, men," he shouted. The soldiers marched with renewed vigor.
Cote d'Azur, sector T1-AR
Jackal Commander Tak's long, thin claws twitched with envy. Rather than be assigned to defend the city walls, he had been assigned to a sleepy position gaurding a human structure. He pondered what possible significance this structure could have, but questioning orders was not his job. Ninety percent of the human population had been killed in the initial attack, and the rest were killed mere hours after the second wave. His fingers gripped the plasma pistol he held even tighter. He had seen not one living human, and longed to taste blood again. The Elite's rations were life sustaining, but that was all.
He relived the hunts on his home planet, and much desired to hunt again. He was brought to attention again by the presence of two hunters, both of which were trailed behind by three grunts each. They carried chrome cases full of valuable equipment, but the jackal enjoyed seeing a hunter take out it's rage when the clumsy aliens made a mistake. They carried the cases inside, and the thunder of the Hunter's steps and rattle of their armor disappeared. It was then that all hell broke loose. The jackal writhed with excitement at the prospect of a real meal.
Perimeter Wall, Gate Ten, Cote D'Azur
"Blow those turrets to hell! And stagger your firing, we don't want to end up reloading all at once!" Major Golding shouted to his troops, which had taken up positions in the irrigation trenches, perfect cover from the soil-scorching fire of the enemy plasma. "Get those rockets into the air, ASAP! Those things'll tear us to pieces! Six rocket trails, and six turrets destroyed. Golding's impeccably trained squad was performing superbly, with no casualties. The had approached from the west, a position that was decidedly the best approach. So far, so good. The remaining 720 men were attacking at the other nine gates. He hoped they would succeed.
When he was confident that all resistance at the gate had been eliminated, he ordered his men over the top, and they slowly made their way towards the entrance. There were bits of dead grunts and jackals strewn about, and smoldering hunks of metal. The Major guessed these were from the turret. A grunt shrieked in fear, and thirty more poured out of an alley. "FIRE!"
The Major dove behind an overturned GR-11, car that would have been the envy of he and his men, but , like the rest of the city, it had been reduced to so much scrap. Plasma whooshed over, to the left and right of him, and thumped into the wrecked automobile. He leaned out to fire, and eliminated two grunts. He saw several more fall, leaned back in, and primed a frag grenade. He tossed it without even looking, and heard the thunderclap of an HEDP grenade. Bits of meat rained down, and the Major spat in disgust. The fire fight raged for another six minutes, and the major assessed the damage. Two Marine casualties, thirty-one Covenant. An unfair trade, he thought. The Covenant were the ones who should be dying.
Cote d'Azur, sector T1-AR
Tak was in a near-ecstatic state. He could smell human flesh, and even blood. He prayed to the prophets that it would not all be spilled before they reached his position. In the time since the hunters arrived, two Shade turrets had been deployed, and a hundred more jackals, all under Tak's command, were milling about the streets. He was even fortunate enough to have a squad of black-suited Veterans. He could almost taste the blood on his thin, birdlike tongue.
The hunters inside the structure had not a moments rest. The grunts had set up the equipment, and ordered to leave. They moved from display to display, looking, searching for something. Something that was better left unfound.
They were completely focused on their objective, when they heard a rattle outside of the building.
Fire Team Beta had rounded the corner into hell. One hundred jackals silenced, turned, and screamed. Major Denner was frozen in shock, and would have been burned into nothingness if his men hadn't pulled him back around the corner. He radioed fire team Theta, which would soon come to the same intersection. They were the heavy weapons team, armed with ten Jackhammer launchers and a mobile LAAG turret. Each soldier also carried ten grenades, and they had three Fury Tac-Nukes. In addition to these, each one also had a modified MA5B with an extended clip and scope. Each clip could hold 90 rounds, and each soldier carried ten of these clips.
Lieutenant Stead peeked around the corner, and saw exactly what he wanted to see. One hundred jackals. With their backs turned. These were the jackals firing upon Beta Team. He signaled to his men to anchor the LAAG, and they signaled back when it was ready. He waved to the Jackhammer team, which took up strategic positions in buildings, and behind rubble piles. "On my mark, we send them to Hades. NO ONE FIRES BEFORE MY MARK!" There was a tense three seconds, and then the Lieutenant bellowed, "MARK" A single salvo of ten rockets slammed into the jackal crowd, killing thirty instantaneously. The second salvo struck one point five seconds later, and twenty five more jackals disappeared in blue clouds of effluence. The mobile LAAG turret issued an elephantine roar, and swallowed six jackals in hundreds of rounds. Six seconds after the initial attack, however, things began to fall apart. Half of the jackals turned to face them, protecting those with their backs still turned. It was going to be a long day...
Stay tuned for part two!
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