Fireteam Glory

[SrgtGreen]

Oh my.

Red, that was AMAZING. Incredibly well written, really got the feels running. Paced perfectly.

I wholeheartedly agree.

[RedThree]

Also, how did Parvisal end up working with the team? I don't recall :/

They found her as a prisoner of the Brutes occupying the base they traveled to. They freed her after after they took the base. This all occurred in Part 123 I believe, so go ahead and give that a reread if you want a better understanding.

[RedThree]

Also, how did Parvisal end up working with the team? I don't recall :/

They found her as a prisoner of the Brutes occupying the base they traveled to. They freed her after after they took the base. This all occurred in Part 123 I believe, so go ahead and give that a reread if you want a better understanding.

tfw you finally get around the responding to a question you were asked at the beginning of last month

[SpartanDelta444]

i made 300 fan spartans funny enough

all spartan IIIs

[RedThree]

Fireteam Glory Part 131
The Pelican’s bay door closed as it began to lift off, leaving everyone in the dark for a moment before the lights flickered on. Lawrence looked around at the ragged, tired, and bloodied people around him. They were all seated and looking away from each other; some stared into the distance in silent shock. Most of the adrenaline that had flooded his system on the ground was quickly fading, leaving him with only aching joints and a numb feeling in his fingers. There were still tears running down his face when he finally reached up to wipe his face. His glove was soaked with sweat and stained red from Ivanoff’s grip. Delicately, he removed his gloves and flexed his hands as the cool air ran over them. Lawrence sat there for a moment, thinking about his next action.
“Just focus on getting everyone out alive,” he said to himself, “just do your job. Don’t let him down already by wasting time.”
He slowly stretched his aches as he rose to his feet and strode towards the front of the Pelican. As he approached, Cass joined him at his side. He stopped to look at her. She gestured towards the cockpit and together they entered the small space. Kip was at the controls, pressing buttons and guiding the aircraft across the sky. He looked over his shoulder for a moment and saw them.
“I was just about to call someone up here.” he said. “We’re about to have company. Radar just picked up a Covenant air patrol closing on our position fast. They don’t plan on letting us fly away that easily.”
“I figured as much.” Cass grumbled. “Is there a machine gun in the back?”
Kip nodded. “It’s fully loaded and ready to go. I’m trying to get this helmet linked up to the chin gun, but something isn’t working right. I think my helmet got damaged in the last crash.”
“I can get the back gun, see if I can’t buy you some time.” Lawrence said.
Cass disagreed. “No, I’ll take the gun. You just sit down and hold on.”
Kip cut back in. “Lawrence should take the gun. I’m down a co-pilot right now, so do you have any experience flying Pelicans?” he looked at Cass.
“I was trained to operate aircraft in case of an emergency, so yeah I can help you keep this tub going.” she said as she climbed into the co-pilot’s chair. “Just tell me what to do. Lance corporal, go get the gun ready for our guests!”
Lawrence nodded and ran to the back of the Pelican. As he ran past everyone, he shouted for them to fasten their seats’ restraints. At the back of the Pelican, the machine gun was stored against the roof, meaning Lawrence had to disengage the locks and bring it down to his level. When it was in his hands, he pulled back the charging bolt and clipped a safety line onto his belt.
“I’m all set!” he shouted to the front. “Open her up!”
The Pelican’s bay door opened, the freezing night air rushing into the troop bay. New Mombasa laid beneath them, pockmarked by blazing fires and devastated buildings. Lawrence stared for a moment at the remains of the space elevator they had only a couple weeks before ridden down to see the beautiful city that now laid in ruins. He couldn’t even tell which fire they had just left. Scanning the skies around him, he spotted the incoming attackers. A Phantom, flanked on each side by Banshees, was quickly approaching them. It would only be a few minutes before the alien craft were on them. The wind made it too loud to Kip in the cockpit, so Lawrence switched to his radio.
“Kip, we’ve got a Phantom and three Banshees coming in hot. How’s it going with that gun?” he asked as he watched the Covenant ships get ever closer.
In the cockpit, a system finally synced to Kip’s helmet and the targeting system flickered to life. “I’ve got it!” he shouted. “And we’ve got fully stocked missile pods! Oh girl, I love you!”
Cass, meanwhile, prepared the Pelican’s countermeasures for deployment. “Microdrones are ready, along with the spectrum flares. Still bringing the blinders online but they’ll be ready shortly. Radar shows the hostiles are almost in the kill zone, get ready to welcome them lance corporal!”
Lawrence took aim at the Banshees as they sped ahead of the Phantom to attack the Pelican. He squeezed the trigger and listened to the machine gun as it spewed rounds at the Banshees, forcing them to break apart their attack pattern. Focusing on a single Banshee flying up to the left side of the Pelican, Lawrence as the rounds pelted the Banshee, ripping into the systems contained inside the small aircraft’s fuselage and causing it to let off trails of smoke. The Banshee broke off from the attack and disappeared into a cloud formation nearby. The other two Banshees came up on the right and fired their plasma cannons, melting the Pelican’s side armor plating. Inside the cockpit, warnings blasted at both Cass and Kip.
“That barrage hit us hard,” Kip growled, “I need to get them in front of us so I can use the Anvils and blow them out of the sky!”
Cass smiled as the rainbow blinders activated. “I’ve got your solution right here!” she shouted. “Get ready to decelerate when I tell you to! Hold it, not yet… NOW!”
Cass fired the blinders at the Banshees, crippling the Covenant sensors and preventing them from seeing Kip slow the Pelican to let them to fly ahead. Both Banshees flew erratically and made it difficult for Kip to line up a missile on either.
“It’s times like this,” Kip said to himself, “that I wish Anvil-IIs could lock on to things!”
Instead, he opted to try and shoot them out of the sky with the 70mm autocannon. A targeting reticle lit up on his HUD, the gun following where he looked. His sight fell on the Banshee to his left and he followed its flight path. The Banshee was sent screaming towards the ground far below as a blazing ball of purple fire as the weapon tore into it; the other was blown to pieces by an Anvil missile when it began to straighten out its flight path.
“That makes two tangos down!” Kip reported happily. “How’s the situation with that Phantom, trooper?”
Cass checked the radar. “Moving in to engage. Gonna get messy quickly when its in firing range.”
“Roger that, everyone hang on back there!” Kip said over the radio.
The Phantom came up behind the Pelican and took aim with its plasma cannons, launching large bolts of plasma at the ship. Kip quickly turned the Pelican to the right, making Lawrence tighten his grip on the machine gun as the ship began evasive maneuvers to avoid the projectiles. The Phantom followed as both ships descended quickly. As they broke through a low cloud layer, Kip saw that they were flying over the shores of Kenya.
“I think we’re approaching Tanzania.” he said to Cass. “I’m going to try and reach the jungles and set us down there, try and radio UNSC forces for extraction or a rally point.”
Cass nodded in agreement. “Sounds good, we just need to get this Phantom off our tail!”
Lawrence fired another burst at the Phantom’s chin gun, forcing it to move out of his range. He watched it float to the right and up to the side of the Pelican. “Kip, lo-” he started to say before Kip cut him off.
“I see it, hang on!” Kip shouted as he pulled back on the engine power to slow down.
The Phantom roared a head for a moment, letting Kip pound its flank with the autocannon before firing an Anvil into its backside. Flames and smoke began to bellow out of the Phantom as it began evading the attacks. By now, the two ships were over a large jungle as they continued to battle. Kip brought the Pelican lower, following the wounded Phantom as it tried to ditch him. He fired the autocannon again, missing the Phantom with most of the rounds disappearing to the jungle below.
“Almost got him,” Kip said as he lined up the Phantom for an Anvil strike, “almost got him.”
Before he could fire, a radar warning beeped furiously to warn of incoming aircraft. Cass checked the radar and saw a small enemy craft approaching fast.
“Kip!” she shouted. “Enemy aircraft on our flank! We need to-”
An explosion rocked the entire ship suddenly, causing system warning to appear everywhere. A Banshee shot overhead, trailing smoke from already sustained damage.
“No, no, no! Come on, speak to me girl. Speak to me!” Kip shouted at the consoles flashing red at him. “Engines are losing power, that Banshee must’ve hit us with a fuel rod! I’m going to have to find a place to set us down! Hold on everyone!”
The Pelican began to fall, settling into a flight path over a river as Kip fought with the controls. The Phantom and Banshee fell back to a distance, seemingly waiting to see what he would do next. Lawrence could see the Covenant aircraft and fired at them with his machine gun. A few rounds impacted the Phantom’s fuselage, which made the alien craft move back further as the Banshee dived off to the side and out of his sight. He scanned the area looking for it. Suddenly, it was on his right and closing in fast. He quickly moved to intercept it, firing the machine gun as it closed the distance. The Banshee returned fire, plasma bolts impacting the side of the Pelican. One bolt flew into the troop bay, ripping through Lawrence’s safety line. Just as he realized what had happened, another shot ripped into the Pelican’s right secondary engine pod and shook the entire ship. Lawrence stumbled forward, tripping over the severed safety line. Everyone watched in horror as Lawrence fell out of the Pelican and towards the river below.
“Lawrence!” Teresa shouted as she helplessly reached out.
Her terrified face was the last thing he saw inside the troop bay as he fell into the open air. Everything seemed to move in slow motion as he watched the burning Pelican speed away trying to dodge the Banshee. His mind raced, taking in everything going on. He was falling fast, the river rapidly getting closer. Instinctively, he covered his nose with his elbow and covered his head with his other arm while straightening his legs. He tensed every muscle in his body as he hit the river.

[RedThree]

Fireteam Glory Part 132
Kip desperately fought with the barely responsive Pelican’s controls as warnings continued to blare at him. Both secondary engines were heavily damaged, the ship falling rapidly as systems lost power.
“It’s no good!” he yelled to Cass. “I’m going to have to try and land in the jungle!”
The Phantom and the surviving Banshee had pulled back, content to watch the Pelican as it struggled to stay airborne. Kip guided the Pelican slowly into a crash course with the jungle below.
A moment before impact, he lowered the landing gear and shouted “Everybody brace yourselves!”
The Pelican hit the trees first, the strong tree trunks ripped to splinters by the impact of the armored fuselage. Kip was violently thrown around his seat as the Pelican collided with more trees, his vision going red with pain. The entire craft spun as the left secondary engine was ripped off. The ship hit the ground hard, everything was drowned in a roaring cacophony of screeching metal, mutilated trees, and debris bouncing off the canopy. A large rock hit the side of the Pelican, causing the back half to lift off of the ground before slamming back into the ground and breaking the landing gear. The controls in the cockpit began to spark and screens shattered as the systems overloaded before finally shutting down. Inside of the troop bay, everyone held on as they were shaken and jarred by each impact. Lights flickered and died, leaving them all in darkness.
Teresa tried to see anyone else in the dark, but her sense of direction was thrown off and it was too dark to even see where she was looking. “Edward? Elizabeth?” she shouted, trying to be heard over the noise of the crash “Parvisal!?” Nobody answered.
Finally, the Pelican began to slow as the main engines powered down. Teresa waited until the Pelican stopped moving, then unbuckled herself and stood up. Her head was ringing from the noise and she felt weak. She couldn’t see at all, so she blindly felt around her until she felt her rifle in her grip. A beam of light left the front of her gun as the flashlight lit up the troop bay. Everyone else around her was doing the same as her. Santos’s seat was empty and he was sprawled out on the ground. She panicked and ran to him, kneeling down to check his pulse. To her relief, his heart was still beating.
“Thank goodness you’re still breathing.” she whispered. “Just unconscious.”
“Yeah,” a voice weakly muttered, “Just needed a little power nap.” Santos reached up and wrapped his hand around her forearm, allowing her to pull him up. "Those seatbelts are faulty. Popped loose when we hit the ground."
"Are you feeling alright? Did the crash cause your hip to start hurting again?" she asked as she checked him for injuries. “Any new pains?”
Santos dusted himself off. "Nope, just really shook me up. Probably gonna have some nasty bruises, but I'll survive."
"Good, now get up. We need to be-” she stopped as she remembered what had happened before they crashed. “Lawrence! He was at the rear gun when the Pelican was hit and I saw him… I saw him…” She felt cold and dizzy.
Santos quickly caught her as she fell over. “Hey!” he said, shaking her gently. “Hey, are you okay? Where’s Lawrence?” He shouted over his shoulder to the others. “Has anyone seen Lawrence!?”
Teresa pushed down the lump in her throat and weakly muttered. “I saw him fall.”
Santos looked up at the entrance to the troop bay. The machine gun had been torn off in the crash, but he could see what she meant. Hanging from the roof, a safety line dangled with a burnt end where plasma had cut through it.
“Poor kid…” he said. “Teresa, come on. You need to get up now.”
Cass and Kip came limping from the cockpit. They both had several injuries and Kip was holding his arm against his chest.
Cass immediately began giving orders. “We can’t stay here, the Covenant will be all over this wreck in a few minutes. Grab your gear and let’s get ready to move out!”
“Hey, ODST!” Santos shouted. “Just so you know, we lost the lance corporal during the flight.”
Cass stopped and looked at him. “There will be time to remember him and Ivanoff when we get out of this.” she said. “If we get out of this.” she said to herself, uncertain of their fates in the next few minutes.
Booth loaded a rifle and slung her sniper rifle over her shoulder. “I agree. We’ll make those Covie freaks pay for both of their lives. I’ll go out first and scout out the area, if I start shooting you all had better be ready to go.” She ran out of the crashed Pelican and into the trees to establish a sniping position. She found a small area between a couple of large rocks and a fallen tree. The branches offered good camouflage and the rocks would protect her from hostile fire, so she quickly got to work setting up her rifle. She quickly made a note of how many magazines she had left, one in the rifle already loaded and six spares. One magazine she set aside from the rest, realizing it was loaded with HEAP rounds. “Best to save that for any of the big freaks.” she said to herself. Getting low to the ground, she activated night vision and began scanning the jungle for approaching threats. There were lights in the distance that immediately caught her attention. Heat signatures glowed bright colors, signalling the approach of two Covenant lances consisting of Grunts, Jackals, and Brutes. Searchlights from a Phantom floating above the trees lit up the ground as they closed in on the wreckage. Booth got on the radio. “We’ve got two lances closing in. I count fourteen little gas-suckers, eight beaks, and six apes. Captains are in the back behind their troops. Phantom in the air with lights. Spread out and pick your targets.”
“Copy that.” Cass said as she hefted the rocket launcher onto her shoulder. “We’ll knock their bird out of the sky to generate some confusion and take them out while they’re looking at the fireworks.” She quickly ordered everyone to positions, pointing at Santos first. “Sergeant, you and the private will take the left. I’ll take Sergeant Donovan and come from the right. Corporal,” she looked at Teresa, “you stay here with the pilot and treat his injuries. Shut the troop bay behind us.”
Teresa went to Kip’s side and helped him sit down in one of the chairs. “Yes sir, go and get them!” she said.
Cass got low with Donovan and snuck into the undergrowth to find a good position to set up. Satisfied, she stopped and took aim with the launcher. She could see the Phantom approaching a hole in the canopy so she lined up the targeting sight with the opening. A red square blinked over the Covenant aircraft before locking on. “Ready to fire when you go for the first captain.” she said to Booth over the radio.
“Copy that,” Booth said, already having lined up her first shot. “Firing in three. Two. One.” She squeezed the trigger and let the first shot ring out across the jungle before it was silenced by the deafening roar of a rocket launching into the sky. The first Brute captain went down instantly, a clean shot through the temple. Booth immediately switched to the next captain and fired, taking it down as quick as the first. The rocket slammed into the unsuspecting Phantom, detonating and destroying the cockpit. Without an operator, the ship fell to the ground as a flaming wreck. The Covenant troops on the ground immediately went on the offensive, moving to take cover and find the assailants. Several Grunts and a Jackal ran past the bushes that Santos and Parvisal had concealed themselves within and they were all cut down by the two marines’ concentrated fire before they realized. Cass and Donovan rose from the undergrowth and fired on several groups of Covenant that were returning fire on Santos’s position. Booth took out a Jackal that peaked its head out from behind a tree. The Brutes quickly rallied the panicked and disorganized infantry to return fire on both positions as Booth tried to take them down. Rounds struck the trunks of trees, sending bark flying while plasma lit up the dark forest in a blend of blue, green, and pink. A Brute’s shield flickered under a long burst from Parvisal’s gun, with Santos making the killing shot. The Grunts under its command scattered before being caught in more rifle bursts. A couple more Grunts managed to make it close enough to use grenades, arming several plasma grenades and tossing them out. Cass and Donovan moved to the cover of some rocks as a grenade landed near them while the other two missed by a wide margin and uselessly tossed up burnt soil. Cass countered with a grenade of her own, tossing it towards the two Grunts. There was a loud thud and dirt was kicked into the air as the Grunts were downed by the shrapnel. Gunfire rattled in the air, accented by the boom of Booth’s rifle. Fires were started by grenades and plasma, basking the battle with a harsh orange glow and darkening the air with smoke.
Booth had loaded up her HEAP rounds with another Brute lined up in her scope when her motion detector lit up behind her. She spun around just in time to see a pack of Brutes flanking the Pelican’s crash site. She quickly took aim but was stopped as a large, hideous jaw filled the scope. She fired in panic, sending a HEAP round flying into a tree and ripping out a large chunk of it. The tree gave way and fell on a couple of Brutes as Booth tried to repel the large Brute bearing down on her. She fired again, but she was so close that she missed. The Brute grabbed the rifle, lifting up Booth with it. She let go, jumping back and firing with her battle rifle instead. The shots deflected off of the Brute’s powerful shields as it tackled her and tossed her backwards. Booth landed hard, her back aching from the impact as she quickly leaped to her feet with her combat knife ready. Nimbly, she ran at the Brute to try and fake an attack to expose the neck. The Brute anticipated the move and laughed as it grabbed her arm. It again tossed her to the ground, kicking her in the gut this time while she was down. The Brute barked at two others to grab her and set her aside while it led the rest of the pack in an attack against the two other positions. Cass and Donovan were quickly surrounded by Brutes, desperately trying to hold them back. Cass looked at Donovan, who was hiding his head and blindly firing over the rocks.
“Come on and get up! You're not hitting anything, you moron!” she yelled at him.
“Forget this!” Donovan shouted at her as he grabbed several grenades off of her belt and shoved her away. He quickly tossed the grenades in all directions, disorienting the Brutes as he ran into the dark jungle.
“Sergeant! Sergeant get back here this instant!’ Cass shouted at him before she was knocked to the dirt by a Brute. The giant alien grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. She uselessly kicked at the air, drawing laughter from the Brute. That laughter quickly turned to a yell of pain as she jabbed her knife into its arm. It dropped her as it tried to treat its wound, another Brute choosing to punch her in the face and knock her unconscious for its pack brother. Parvisal and Santos were grabbed and taken to the Pelican along with Booth and Cass. The Brute that attacked Booth stood at the front of the pack, looking down on the defeated marines. It was clad in bronze-gold armor with a large V-shaped head crest adorning its head. The armor of a War Chieftain. Soon, the Pelican had been opened with Teresa and Kip also taken prisoner by the Brutes. Several Phantoms landed around the crash site and the prisoners were taken by the War Chieftain to one of them. Each of them was thinking different things as the Phantoms closed up and took off, but each knew they were now living on borrowed time.
“First Ivanoff, then Lawrence,” Teresa whispered softly, “now the rest of us will follow.” She resisted the urge to break down crying as the Phantoms flew away from the crash, leaving only burning trees and fallen Covenant in their wake.

[SrgtGreen]

I just read the dogfight part. It’s gorgeous.


And now the second part.

I was about to say “I hope they eat Donovan first” when I remembered that he fled like the coward he is.

[RedThree]

I just read the dogfight part. It’s gorgeous.


And now the second part.

I was about to say “I hope they eat Donovan first” when I remembered that he fled like the coward he is.

1) Ah, I'm glad that people are still enjoying this!
2) Ha, I see I've succeeded in making Donovan a hateable character!

[Rogue-Elite]

I'm a bit out of touch but this is amazing.


I'd love this is a novel form.

[SrgtGreen]

I'm a bit out of touch but this is amazing.


I'd love this is a novel form.

Same. It’s amazing.