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The Corporal: Part 1
Posted By: The Scribe<nero@cinci.rr.com>
Date: 16 January 2004, 9:59 PM
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It's been forvever! I'm back.
The last time he had seen a Spartan was right as he darted for Foehammer's Pelican drop ship in the flood-infested steamy jungle on Halo. The Chief had suddenly disappeared and was lost from radar. Later, Corporal William Harris learned that the Spartan had gone off with a 343 Guilty Spark or something like that to supposedly "stop Halo".
Later, on Halo, only a few days before its end, the Lance Corporal's leg was severely wounded, earning him a ticket off of Halo. Foehammer evacuated him and a few other KIA and WIA Marines to a small and nearby cruiser, the Helix 8. It had eventually made its way back to Earth where the Corporal was able to heal his leg and get back into the war.
Three months later, the Corporal found himself crouching behind an odd-looking palm tree on the desert/tropical planet of Basalt, named after what most of the planet was made from. A cobalt plasma bolt flew by, hitting a tree three meters in front of him. The plasma splashed onto the tree, frying it in half. It crashed to the ground, leaving small bits of leaves and a hairy substance floating in the air.
The twenty other marines with the Corporal were getting pretty pissed. They had been crouching here almost all day, taking small bursts of plasma. Only two had been killed, and that was when they had gone to take a piss on some tree.
"Jesus Christ," the Corporal said. "We'll be here all day. We'll never get to that plant."
The plant they were going after was one that the UNSC wanted destroyed. They said that it had the power to build replica of the Unyielding Hierophant, which had been some huge Covenant control center that the Chief and some other surviving Spartans had destroyed.
The plant was only a mile away and visible, but it still, and obviously, had some guards tending to its defense. Suddenly, Romulus, the team of Marines' AI aboard the ship orbiting Basalt, spoke over the COM.
"According to my readings, the nub of the plant's security force is located outside the structure only one hundred meters from your position," the AI's apathetic voice said.
"Please, Romulus," Harris said, "tell me something that I don't know at the moment. For starters, we're having trouble getting past this group of Covenant in front of us."
"One moment," Romulus responded. "Corporal Harris, it may take some time, but I believe that I can cause one of the plant's energy turbines to rupture. This should create a very distracting explosion. However, it is nowhere near the plant's main energy source, so your mission will still have to be acc-."
"What ever the hell it takes, Romulus!" Harris barked. "Just get us passed these damned Covenant."
"Yes, Corporal."
The Corporal slouched down even farther towards the moss-covered ground. Romulus was a serious requirement. The AI was specially built for hacking, so there were very few Covenant computers or in very rare cases AIs that could make a countermove on Romulus.
"What's going on, sir?" a private asked.
"Romulus is going to see if he can't hack into the plant's energy turbine's computer system and overpressure one of the valves. That should cause a distracting explosion. During that time our 'friends' over there should turn there heads for a minute or two. When they do, I want a frag grenade and plasma grenade tossed over there. I'll throw the frag. Garfield, you got that plasma?"
"Yes, sir."
"After that, I want Jackson to send a SPNKr over there."
"Aye, sir," Jackson said.
The time seemed to slink by. A small salvo of plasma bolts slammed into the trunks of trees and fried surrounded bushes. The Marines weren't the only ones tired of waiting. Suddenly, a boomed thundered from the plant's direction. It reverberated from the trees and caused the surrounding brush's leaves to shudder.
An Elite called out from the group of Covenant one hundred meters away.
"Goddamn it, NOW!" Harris shouted.
The Corporal shot to his feet and ripped the pin from the grenade. Garfield sprang up and tossed his grenade along with the Corporal's. The two small explosives, landed right in the middle of the guarding team. A grunt just began to cry out when two thunderous explosions rumbled the Marines' chests. A small, scaly blue arm still clutching a plasma rifle bounced from the trunk of a tree near Harris.
"Now, Jackson! Blow 'em to hell!"
Jackson let out a continuous battle cry and stood upward, the SPNKr rocket launcher resting atop his shoulder. The rocket launcher shhhhed loudly as the small missile broke free of its chamber and impacted a surviving Elite right in the center of its chest.
"Open up!" Harris ordered.
The team of Marines fired at where the Covenants' dead bodies, reducing them to purple, bloody pulps.
"Stay low and move slow," Harris said. "I'll take point."
The Marines made their way to where the guard team had been. Blood dripped from the surrounding trees and plants. Small chunks of meat and hollow, charred armor plating hung from tree branches. The upper half of a gold-armored Grunt pulled itself away from the Marines with its left arm. It's right one hung by a few strands of muscle.
"Holy hell," Garfield said, walking over to Grunt. He placed his foot on the Grunt's back and bent down, placing the barrel of his M6D on the back of its head. The Grunt let out what sounded like strained gurgling cry of fear. Garfield fired once and the Grunt's head split apart, its left arm twitching.
"We need to get to that plant," Harris said, looking off into the sky. He suddenly snapped back to attention. "There are still Covenant left in the area, so don't walk easy."
The Corporal and his troops cautiously approached the plant.
"Romulus," the Corporal said into his COM. "How exactly will we know where this main turbine is?"
Some static and then Romulus's voice spoke out, "Once you enter the from the side of the plant you're on now, you should immediately enter a small room with five doors in it. Take the door with the geometric figure of two circles vertically adjacent, with a straight line sticking through them both."
"Gotcha," the Corporal muttered as the team came to a door on the side of the building. The whole building was a blackish purple and was very large. Like many of the Covenant's architecture, small blue lights had been sporadically placed on the structure.
The door slid open. Inside, it was pitch black.
"Light's," Harris said.
The Marines flicked their MAB5s' front lights. The Corporal placed his small circle of light on each door until he found the one with the correct shape.
"This is it," he told the team. He pressed one of the buttons on the holo-panel. The door slid open and the Corporal could see that about a twenty-foot long hallway lead right to another door with the same symbol. The only problem was that the Marines' gun lights fell upon a small group of Covenant strike troops, dressed in their traditional velvet black.
Jackson had barely had time to yell, "Shit!", when two Grunts, wielding fuel-rod guns on their shoulders fired. The first lob hit Jackson, blowing his lower half off. The second slammed into the top of a private Fieldon. Fieldon's upper left side disappeared, along with his head, and he fell into his own crimson puddle.
Harris dived to the ground and grabbed Jackson's SPNKr rocket launcher and fired. The projectile slammed into the small and cramped group of Covenant troops. One of the fuel-rod guns bounced over and landed at the foot of Garfield.
"Hot damn, a souvenir!" Garfield said, picking it up.
"No!" Harris shouted. "The failsafe!"
But it was too late. The weapon exploded. Garfield let out a muffled grunt mixed with a scream. His mangled, limbless torso slammed into the wall and grossly slid down onto the floor, making a vertical stripe of blood on the way.
Harris looked over to Jackson's upper half. The Marine was still alive and began dragging himself toward Harris. He spit up some blood and then grabbed Harris's sleeve.
"Do...you...remember that...Grunt?" he rasped with difficulty.
Harris nodded and stood up. He slid his M6D out of its holster and aimed.
"It was a pleasure," Jackson gurgled and then, miraculously, smiled.
Harris pulled the trigger. After sharply inhaling, the stern Corporal returned to his normal state.
"Romulus!" he barked. "We have five KIA, zero WIA and zero MIA."
"Message received, Corporal," Romulus said.
"Now...we blow this son of a bitch and quit losing men."
Harris and his team entered the large room which contained the turbine. It was a giant glass tube, with sparkling energy spiraling on the inside.
"Wow," a private remarked calmly.
"Hastings, three Lotuses," Harris ordered.
"'Sir," the private said, handing the Corporal the large anti-tank mines.
Harris timed the mines and then said, "We've got five minutes to get within three quarters of a mile from this thing. Let's go!"
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