User:Spartan 112/8th Shock Troops Battalion

The 8th Shock Troops Battalion, known by their nickname "The Dragons", is an ODST special warfare battalion of the Naval Special Warfare detachment. The battalion distinguished itself in the battles of Metisette and Ballast, and continued to serve into the Post-War Era, and eventually against the Necros.

Operational History
The 8th was activated in the 2500s to deal with the growing Insurrectionist threat. In the time span between 2513 and 2525, the 8th racked up multiple victories against rebel forces, and had managed to capture a large amount of URF commanders. In 2525, after the Covenant began their genocidal campaign, the 8th was pulled out of TREBUCHET, and prepared to fight the Alien empire. In 2535, the 8th was stationed aboard the newly commissioned UNSC Midsummer Night, a Stealth frigate, and the 8th began to enforce the newly ordained Cole Protocol.

The first months of the operation ran into much difficulty, with the trap on the freighter Finnigan's Wake by Insurrectionst forces, to their capture by Rubble rebels. However, a Jackal Zealot named Reth, leader of the 'rebel' Jackals, prepared to attack the Humans on Rubble and take carefully guarded navigation data which could lead the Covenant to Earth. The 8th were freed, and in a daring maneuver, were dropped onto the surface of Metisette.

Battle of Metisette
After learning about Reth's invasion, the UNSC struck first. The battle began as the UNSC Midsummer Night entered Metisette's atmosphere for a high-speed pod drop of Alpha Company. The company was divided between two different landing zones, one with Jai-006 and one with Adriana-111 of Gray Team. Adriana's ODSTs were severely reduced, from the original sixteen to six, mostly from Jackal snipers which had pinned them down. Jai's team landed near the Redoubt's Communications Hub. The team successfully planted a SHIVA nuclear warhead, however Unggoy forces under the command of Reth attempted to wipe them out, but they had failed.

With the help of Adriana, her team managed to destroy two anti-air emplacements which prevented Pelicans from extracting the force. After they had destroyed the AA, Pelicans were deployed and picked up the survivors. As they arrived to the Midsummer, the SHIVA detonated and destroyed much of the Redoubt.

Battle of Miridem
During the Battle of Miridem, the 8th Orbital was assigned to protect key UNSC personnel from the Covenant, one of these being Dr. Catherine Halsey. With assistance from Sheila-101, they managed to get the Doctor, as well as many UNSC HIGHCOM personnel into shuttles for evacuation, however they were attacked by a large force of Covenant, where Sheila and the 8th held them off. During this firefight, Sheila was killed when a Jackal sniper shot her through the heart, but not before she managed to kill the Elite Zealot leading the assault. As the 8th began to evacuate, they activated Sheila's MJOLNIR to detonate. As they were being taken to ship, the armor exploded, killing many Covenant.

Battle of Earth
When the Covenant invaded Earth, the 8th Orbital was assigned to destroy a Covenant Citadel in West Australia, where the Covenant were excavating an unknown structure. The 8th dropped in via SOIEV and quickly went into action, breaching the Citadels defenses. As they headed towards the bases generator, they came under heavy fire from the base's guardians. Despite this, they pressed on, and placed multiple M165 Demolition Charges on the bases Plasma Reactor. They successfully evacuated the base prior to the explosion, but their combat actions on Earth were not over.

Post-War Operations
After the Human-Covenant War, the 8th was given an extended leave, much like other UNSC units, to visit their surviving family and to grieve those lost. Many of the 8th volunteered to help rebuild shattered homes and colonies. However, the unit was sent back into action against rising Insurrectionist forces, and increased Remnant and Pirate activity.

Organization
Following standard organizational patterns of the UNSC SOCOM, the 8th is separated into four companies.


 * Blue Dragons.png - Alpha Company (5/8 ST)
 * Green Dragons.png - Bravo Company (6/8 ST)
 * Red Dragons.png - Charlie Company (7/8 ST)
 * Yellow Dragons.png - Delta Company (8/8 ST)

=Trivia=
 * The brown helmet color is the result of mixing Red + Blue, and Yellow + Green, and then combining the color each makes.
 * The exact coordinates of the West Australia citadel are 30°30'38.44?S 115°22'56.03?E.