User:EliteMaster117/Boots on the Ground

Boots on the Ground is a short story of a squadron of ODSTs.

Winter Contingency
Two words crackled into the comm system of a Marathon cruiser's drop pod bay. "Winter Contingency. That was the last word Orbital Drop Shock rookie Dylan Rust wanted to hear. It meant he would be fighting. And hard.

Three ODSTs walked by, each in identical armor. Dylan was their medic. He was their only hope if they were wounded. He put on his helmet, and stepped into his pod. A hatch came over it, and it closed, turning around to give a spectacular view of a colony, tainted with shades of violet, as Covenant ships appeared.

The commanding officer appeared on one screen, another ODST on the other.

Dylan remained silent. The pod lighted up, systems good. Dylan pulled a picture from his shoulder pad. His mother. He looked at it, and imagined he was back on Earth. He was on a farm, running through wheat fields, the sun baking his skin a golden brown, the wheat scratching it into a white.

But then he heard the voice on his panel, and was brought back into the world.

The CO briefed them. They would be defending a warehouse from Covenant forces, and since they were already almost there, pods would be required. When the CO was done, the was a timer. Three... two... one...

The pod shuddered. Dylan made sure to grab on to the handrails. Then, suddenly, the pod started descending. Covenant ships flew by, Seraphs and Banshees leaving violet streaks of energy in the air.

Dylan saw how serious this was. A fleet of UNSC ships, and a full on battle going on above. The Covenant had made a swift move. They were one step closer to Reach.

They passed a destroyed Pelican dropship. There were dead UNSC marines, floating coldly through space, getting moved by the nearby ships.

Dylan shuddered. They said this would be a once in a life time experience. He knew why.

The pods passed by a Banshee, which fired a plasma torpedo towards Dylan's pod, narrowly missing it. Dylan heard a crash, and the CO's screen faded to white noise.

Dylan curved left, getting a view of the CO's pod. It had stopped moving completely, and there was no sign of the commander, other than the blood on the hatch. He had probably been sucked out.

Dylan knew this was going to be a bad day, as he slammed into the atmosphere. He suddenly felt much heavier, and never could get used to the change in gravity. Red had collected outside his pod, and it was getting hot inside. He was tempted to take off his helmet, and wipe the beads of sweat, but it was against regulation. If there was even a minuscule leak, he would suffocate at this height.

But he was dropping fast, and three pods beside him, he knew already, his squad would be doomed without their commander.

The pod slammed down onto the ground. The hatch flew off, landing a few meters away. Dylan grabbed his M7S Submachine gun, and his M6D Magnum, and jumped out of his pod. There was an explosion behind him, and suddenly, his pod was much farther away. Behind him, there was a Covenant tank. A Wraith.

Dylan panicked, and started shooting the Wraith. It would do no good. The Wraith launched another mortar, and Dylan ran. He felt a heat so immense he could have been lying on a stove, and was abruptly thrown off his feet. For a second, time slowed. He could see every bullet passing around him, every plasma bolt zipping by, and every grit of dust in the air. Then time started to speed again, and he landed in the mud. He was stunned for a second, as all he could see was mud, but then, he stood up, wiped the mud off of his visor, and started running.