Halo: Astanchia

Halo: Astanchia

Prologue
UNSC COLONY WORLD ASTANCHIA APRIL 9, 2652; 0502 HOURS LOCAL TIME

James "Vag" Jones awoke with a brief yawn. The hot night had caused him to sweat in the desert of the mining planet. He was two weeks out of basic training which he had served in the cool Canadian summer, where he was also raised, which made him even less comfortable in the heat. He was the only member of the platoon from Earth, and felt left out. While the others of the platoon discussed what each colony was like, they need not know Mark's as Earth was well-studied by all.

The platoon itself, known as the 4th Platoon of the Marine Corps' 84th Mechanized Infantry Batallion, was assigned to the planet as with detachments of other units in response to a intercepted Covenant transmission targeting thirteen UNSC and Imperial planets and in response defenses were bolstered to an extent on each of the targeted planets. Astanchia, though before the Second Great War was a planet of nothingness until a prospector uncovered the largest known concentration of titanium in the Human Sphere. Now that the Covenant had possibly targeted the planet, the UNSC wasn't taking any chances. A total of two thousand soldiers, seven warships, and a multitude of mines now protected the planet.

"Vag, we have contacts near Hivarious. Suit up and get going." The owner of the voice was Sergeant Major Dass Birch, a seasoned soldier fighting since the end of the Second Great War.

"Yes, Sergeant Major." It grudged Vag that Birch wanted him to refer to him by his full rank instead of something more simple like Sergeant or Sarge. Still, Vag thought little of it as he slipped his combat suit on over his dampened fatigues, a draining process though one well worth it seeing as the suit provided its fair share of protection. At last, he slipped his fingerless gloves on and clipped his helmet to his back. At last, he slipped his M50 rifle from an open locker on the wall into a sort of holster over his left shoulder blade and holstered an M21D sidearm at an angle on his left hip. As he took a step out the door of the sheet metal cabin, he noticed the dusty, makeshift parade ground originally used for the colony's Colonial Militia stationed at the small base. Dotting the grounds were groups of Marines, Army personnel, and Militants. However, he quickly took notice of his gathering platoon not far from his tattered barracks. He arrived just in time for Birch to begin giving the plan.

"Alright platoon," he began in his slightly raspy voice. "Our platoon and the Militia's 3rd Platoon are going to the city and we'll help the evac planetary AI and CM 1st Platoon began." Before he could begin another sentence, all of the soldiers looked into the sky. Fifteen Covenant destroyers loomed in a W-shaped formation over the planet in high atmosphere. "Change of plans," the Birch commanded. "Damn aliens set two groups in. One stopped in system and one in orbit. Damn bastards."

"What the hell are we gonna do now?" a young Militant cried out.

Before Birch could scold the panicking rookie, a voice filled the COM speakers of the ground. "Attention! This is Colonel Hackard. We have birds en route and we will be moving as quickly as we can. We're gonna get this done right, boys."