Last Hope

Chapter One

A team of ODSTs sit around a holographic projection of the city of New Mombasa.

"Alright, so what are we up against today?"Sabre, the teams' leader asked.

"Well," Doc, the teams medic answered "it looks like we've got a Covenant Cruiser or two, maybe a transport frigate, nothing too crazy."

"And what's our goal?" Chy asked "some sort of HVT?"

"Yeah, isn't he supposed to be humanity's last hope?" Noob, the teams' rookie chimed in.

"I guess," Doc said "that's what the file says."

The doors open behind Sabre, a girl walks in, not much younger than all of them.

"You lost?" Noob asked.

Chy smacked him up side the head and said, "She's the girl we need to help track this guy down, she knows him."

"Oh," Sabre said " I thought she was lost, too."

"It's OK," the girl said "I'm Clementine."

"Well," Sabre said turning toward her "Welcome to Blue Team, I'm Sabre."

"You're the leader, right?" She asked.

"Yeah," He continued as he pointed at everyone "that's Chy, that's Doc, and that's Noob."

"Hi," Clementine said with a smile.

"Hello," everyone except for Noob said in return.

"For the record," Noob said standing up " I didn't choose the noob life, the noob life chose me."

Chy smacked him again, this time in the gut.

"HEY!" Sabre yelled "enough, now all of you in your pods now, that includes you Miss."

"Alright," Clementine said

They all then made their way to their drop pods. Everyone had no troubles getting in, including Clementine. They had gone over the plan several times. Get down there, get the guy, and get him to the extraction point. Simple. Or at least it should be.

"Alright guys listen up," Sabre said over TEAMCOM "we're gonna drop one by one, so that we aren't one huge target, watch out for ships, and debris on the way down. Good luck. We'll meet up at rally point Alpha if we get lost, not far from the objective."

Everyone's lights winked green, meaning they all heard. Sabre was impressed Clementine was already able to do that, it had taken Noob a week to do that. One by one they dropped, not a single Covenant fighter was in the sky, weird under those terms. Not a single pod was disturbed during their fall, it was odd. Something didn't add up, and Sabre knew it.

"This isn't right," Sabre said after everyone left their pods "something's definitely wrong, stay alert guys."

Clementine was standing by his side, holding her SMG like she had been doing it all her life

"How'd you learn to hold that so quick?" Noob asked.

"Tucker taught me," She answered.

"Who?" Chy asked.

"Tucker," Clementine said "the guy we're here to get."

"Oh," Doc said "so is that why you're here, debt?"

"No," Clementine said "I'm here because I know him better than all of you, I know his mind, and humanity needs him. I need him. Now let's go."

The team went silent.

"She's right," Sabre finally said "let's go, move out blue team."

They moved down the streets of New Mombasa, slowly and carefully, checking the rooftops for snipers. Alleys for ambushes, and just behind everything. Everything was going as planed, but Sabre didn't like it, things were going to well. Nothing ever went this well, even in training. Then a plasma beam shot towards them, about a foot above their heads. They all hid behind something, cars, barriers, anything they could find. They all thought a jackal was hidden on the rooftops, but why would he have missed his shot.

"BLADE!" a human voice yelled.

"Where the hell did that come from?" Doc said.

"I don't know," Noob said grabbing his sniper off his back "allow me to find out."

"Wait," Clementine said " I know that voice."

She holstered her weapon, and stood up with her hands in the air.

"CHAOS!" She yelled in return.

"What the hell are you doing!?" Sabre demanded.

"Step into the lights," the voice said.

She did as she was told.

"It's me," she said again "we're here to help you, I promise."

"What are you doing here?" the voice said "helping them"

"I know you better than they do," she said with a chuckle "and by the looks of it I just saved their lives, and yours."

"Fine," the voice said "I'll be down in a minute."

As they waited for the person behind the voice to show up, Noob and Doc decided to set up camp in a nearby store, they were out of time to make their way to the extraction point before the Covenant showed up. They needed to stay hidden.

"Alright I'm here, what do you want?" a voice said. Everyone turned to face the voice, it was a man. A little tall, wearing navy blue clothes, a ski mask only showing his eyes, and what looked like a data pad on his wrist. "Whoa they said they would send a team to search the city. I thought marines, not ODSTs."

"Well get used to the fact," Noob said " we're here."

This time Sabre was closest to him, and smacked Noob's helmet.

"Thanks Sabre," Chy said "I'm too far away to hit him."

"So why are you guys here?" the man asked.

"We're here to get a man named Tucker," Doc said "you know where he is?"

"Yeah," the man said " you're talking to him."

All the ODSTs stood at attention, except for Clementine. She knew better. She was just a civilian, in armor.

"So," Tucker said "I'm guessing you know why I'm needed then."

"Kinda," Doc said "it's still fuzzy."

"Come on," Tucker said "I'll lead you guys to my camp, no need to worry about setting one up."

"Alright," Sabre said "you take point."

"Roger that," Tucker said "follow me."

He lead them down streets, through alleys, and up stairs. They we're heading to a safehouse that was along the way to the extraction point. Then they came to a corner, Tucker rounded the corner and froze dead in his tracks.

"What's wrong?" Sabre asked.

"Shhh," Tucker said pointing forward "hunter 12 o'clock"

"I'll run a distraction," he said "you guys shot him when he turns toward me."

"No," Sabre demanded "you're not wearing armor, that fuel rod cannon will tear you apart."

"He'll be fine," Clementine said.

Tucker moved around the hunter, and after he got on the other side. He shouted at it.

"Hey worm," he said "over here."

The hunter turned toward him, and Tucker took off running. He ran towards a semi-truck, and slid under it.

"Try moving that you little-" he started but couldn't finish before the hunter charged into the truck. Flipping it and having it land on it's side, right in front of him. He didn't stop moving, mantling the side of the truck. Everyone was amazed at what they were seeing. "Someone shoot that thing," Tucker said, right into their secure radio channel, nobody said anything only reacted. Noob shot all four rounds of his sniper into the beasts back. Sabre, Chy, and Clementine all shot their SMGs in short, controllable burst. Tucker stood on top of the truck with a surpressed pistol keeping it's attention. The hunter charged it's cannon, sending a shot off as it collapsed onto the ground. The shot hit Tucker's hand sending him onto the top of the truck in pain.